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NGOs express mixed feelings on grants increase...
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NGOs express mixed feelings on grants increase...
Three frontline non-governmental organizations (NGOs) ? PILS, Chrysalide and Dr. Idrice Goomany Centre have received additional grants of Rs 1.5 million, Rs 1.2 million and Rs 1 million respectively. This is no coincidence as all three NGOs are involved directly or indirectly in the fight against HIV/AIDS. This will help expand their reach and achieve more results.
PILS, for example, will invest its grant in its human resources. ?We have previously been receiving money to invest in our social actions but we?ve had to pay our staff from our own funds. We will use this additional grant to pay our staff. We will use our other funds for other projects devoted to prevention, communication and patients. We shall have a mobile caravan by the end of the year, for prevention and screening. There will also be a media campaign for the social marketing of condoms and their importance?, explains Nicolas Ritter of PILS.
On the other hand, the officer in charge of Chrysalide Center declares that nothing has been decided as to how this unexpected fund will be used. The president of Link to Life, Shashi Desai, who will get a grant of Rs 500,000, considers it a very positive move. ?It?s the first time we?re getting such a grant from government.We will use it to pay our staff and finance our projects. It?s a good initiative and it should be like this every year.?
CEDEM (Centre d?éducation et de développement pour les enfants mauriciens) is one of those NGOs that have obtained a 20% increase in their grants. For Rita Venkatasawmy, the president of CEDEM, the grant will help but it is still not sufficient for the proper management of the organization. ?The cost of living is rising in Mauritius. We have to give food, clothing and education to the children as well as increase the salary of our staff. Managing such a big organization efficiently while providing an excellent service costs a lot. I?m very pleased with this increase but I think that this 20% will be spent in a blink of an eye.?
Disappointment and envy</B>
While special provisions have been made in the fight against poverty, the president of SOS Poverty, Yousouf Dauhoo, expresses his disappointment. ?We are only receiving the grant of the NGO Trust Fund and it?s quite disappointing that our grant has not been increased. Fighting against poverty is as important as fighting against HIV/AIDS as they linked. The government has certainly made a move but there is still injustice. If I had received such a huge additional grant as some organizations have, I could have done lots of things to fight poverty. I think that it is a moral duty for the minister of Finance to set a poverty line and define what is absolute poverty so that people can know exactly where they stand.?
The budget speech 2008-2009 has certainly created very mixed reactions among the NGOs. The Government has certainly taken steps to fight against the major social issues affecting the country but still, lots of questions remain about why some NGOs have not received additional grants when they consider that they are also working hard? Others complain that their grant is insufficient to achieve results in their work.
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