THE EMERGENCE OF LOCAL NGOS IN THE RECOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS OF SOMALILAND (NORTHWEST SOMALIA)

by Mohamed Sheikh Abdillahi

This report discusses the emergence of local NGOs in Somaliland (Northwest Somalia), which has been wrought by social, economic and political cataclysmic upheavals of prolonged civil conflict leading to the utter destruction of the country and the unravelling of its society.

The local NGOs bear the marks of this "forced birth" in many of their weaknesses. However they have also played an important role in rehabilitation and reconciliation programmes, and they have the potential to play an even greater role in the on going recovery and development process in Somalia.

Indigenous Somali NGOs: Origins in Somalia

Indigenous Somali NGOs first appeared in the early 1980s in the wake of international aid agencies that rushed in to help with the huge influx of Ethiopian refugees into Somalia as a result of the 1977 1978 Ogaden war. As the international agencies began to withdraw, local NGOs increased rapidly in number, and as the 1980s progressed the majority remained based in Mogadishu.

The activities of these early local NGOs were mainly in the fields of health, income generation and agriculture. Donors such as the World Bank and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) were ready to provide funding and training opportunities to the local NGOs, although very few had the capacity to utilize these services.

The external funding of local NGOs at the time was too small to excite the predatory instincts of the dictatorship, so they were left on their own with minimum or no regulation from the state, apart from perfunctory registration with the Ministry of Interior. However a serious organizing effort by the more established NGOs was underway when the war engulfed Mogadishu in early 1991.

Somaliland (Northwest Somalia) indigenous NGOs are only as old as Somaliland itself, which must be taken into account when evaluating them. The main factors behind their emergence (and indeed mushrooming) are the following:
-- the forced return of many educated and qualified Somalilanders to their communities and the extremely limited job opportunities open to them;
-- devastation of the country and the urgent need for immediate intervention at every level; and
-- the imperative for international aid organizations operating in the country to do something immediately in response to the prevailing tragic conditions.

The only avenue open for these organizations was to invite local NGOs as partners because of the international community's non recognition of the Somaliland (Northwest Somalia) administration and because of the non existence, for all practical purposes, of governmental institutions for the first few years. Entry into the NGO sector was easy because of the predominance of relief and rehabilitation activities.

Since the inception of Somaliland (Northwest Somalia) NGOs several years ago, the following features can be observed:
-- development along regional lines, which reflects the transitional socio economic and political realities of Somaliland (Northwest Somalia);
-- proliferation of NGOs in every region, creating or reinforcing negative perceptions about the NGO movement everywhere;
-- an urban or semi urban bias in the activities of most local NGOs;
-- failure to develop a clear definition of indigenous NGOs' roles and responsibilities and a continuing search for identity;
-- managerial and organizational weaknesses reflecting the NGOs' infancy as well as the impact of the socio economic and political milieu in which they operate;
-- misunderstanding and mistrust between indigenous NGOs and their "linkages" (such as authorities, international organizations operating in the country, communities and elders) and between local NGOs themselves;
-- failure of local NGOs to organize or to develop a sense of community at regional and national levels;
-- total dependence on external funding, resulting in donor driven activities and programmes; and
-- failure to develop grassroot linkages with constituent communities by many local NGOs, which may be their greatest shortcoming.

Despite these difficulties, the record of Somaliland (Northwest Somalia) NGOs in relief and rehabilitation is quite impressive. Among other things schools, health facilities, watering points, prisons and roads have been rehabilitated, and contributions have been made to the peace and reconciliation process.

The Socio Economic and Political Milieu

Somaliland (Northwest Somalia) has been destroyed in the prolonged civil conflict and the fight against a brutal dictatorship. The utter destruction of the economy, the infrastructure and all institutions, both civil or governmental, has created an extraordinarily difficult and chaotic situation in which to start the recovery process. The brutalities of the civil conflict, and the violence and lawlessness it unleashed, resulted in tremendous social, economic and cultural upheavals. Core traditional values were eroded, and society was left anchorless and at the mercy of young gun toting, traumatized clan militia. At the same time, the pervasive clan politicking, which operated in a political vacuum, resulted in a chronic instability that still affects the country.

This impossible situation was exacerbated in the early years by two things. First, there was a lack of institutional framework support and an absence of tradition or access to experience and lessons learned about locally based, vibrant NGOs in other parts of the world. Second, there were critical infrastructure problems related to a lack of public telephones, banks, postal services and other communication facilities, and a lack, or poor conditions, of roads in most of the rural areas.

The Qaat Habit and NGO Performance

Qaat is a mild narcotic used extensively in Somaliland (Northwest Somalia), mostly by adolescents and adult males. Its present and widespread use (and often abuse) is directly related to the trials and traumas of the country's recent history. It has had a devastating effect on the economy, the health and well being of citizens, and on the chances of the country's recovery. Qaat also affects the resources and performance of the staff of many NGOs because it is expensive, time consuming and causes insomnia, a dangerous combination that adversely affects efficiency and effectiveness.

Relations with Authorities

In the early years relations between local NGOs and Somaliland (Northwest Somalia) authorities at both regional and central levels was characterized by mutual misunderstandings, mistrust and recriminations. In fact authorities were barely able to conceal their hostile attitude toward emerging and unfamiliar NGOs.

In recent years, the relationship stabilized into an amicable modus vivendi, although the two are still often at loggerheads at the regional level. However, the critical issues (to local NGOs) of legal space for operating and for recognition and regulation still need to be addressed.

Causes affecting the relationship include:
-- a complete lack of understanding on the part of high government officers about the role and responsibilities of a local NGO because of the novelty of the concept and practice;
-- the adversarial relationship and territorialism common between governments and indigenous NGOs in the South were exacerbated in Somaliland (Northwest Somalia) in the early years by some NGOs that had more resources than the administration;
-- non recognition of Somaliland (Northwest Somalia) and the non existence for all practical purposes of government structures has resulted in channelling of aid mainly through local NGOs in the early years, which the government resents;
-- local NGOs have failed to make conciliatory moves toward the government or to explain their role and responsibilities clearly;
-- the "Somali curse," or breakdown of communication between intimately related people, has affected the troubled relationship between authorities and local NGOs; and
-- the competition for resources in a devastated country, greatly dependent on donor aid, has continued to exacerbate the often difficult relationship between the NGOs and authorities, particularly at the regional level.

Relationship with International Organizations

The relationship between local NGOs and international aid organizations is fundamentally skewed by the present donor recipient arrangement. At the beginning (and in certain cases still today), international organizations had doubts about the authenticity of local NGOs and their professional capacity. The NGOs, on their part, often complained about an inherent bias against them on the part of international organizations. Presently relations between the two parties are healthier, as each international organization based in Somaliland (Northwest Somalia) finds the modus operandi in working (or not working) with local NGOs.

Relationship with the Public/Communities

The litany of misunderstandings and mistrust is again at work in the relationship between the general public and communities, and local NGOs that purport to represent them. Some of the causes of this situation include the following.
-- The public's misunderstanding of local NGOs' role and responsibilities because of their novelty. The Somali name for a local NGO is hay ad samofal wadani ah, which roughly translates as "do gooder agency," leading to raised expectations and unrealistic demands by the public on the NGO.
-- During the Siad Barre dictatorship corruption was rampant, and embezzlement of project funds and misuse of resources was not only extremely common but often encouraged by the dictator and his policy of clan patronage. The legacy of this tradition is corrosive cynicism on the part of communities about NGO implemented projects: rip offs are expected, and local NGOs that manage to attract funding are often targets of envy and sentiment in a society with extremely limited employment opportunities.
-- The mushrooming of local NGOs in all the regions, and the fact that many of them have been established as an income generating opportunity for their members, reinforces cynicism and negative attitudes in the community.
-- Communities perceive local NGOs as the "middleman" standing between them and aid meant for their benefit. In addition, the tendency of international aid organizations to deal directly with communities has had tremendous and complicated implications for NGO relationships with the public.
-- Finally, local NGOs bear a major share of the blame for the souring of their relationship with communities. After all, the main reason for their establishment is to represent their communities, so they should have done more to repair damage to the relationship.

Women's Organizations

Women's NGOs are now active in all regions of the country, although their development is more advanced in some. These organizations are faced with specific opportunities and constraints that are gender related.

Opportunities
Women's NGOs are on the whole drug free since women staff do not chew qaat. This translates into enormous benefits in work discipline and reduced overhead expenses. The target communities of women's NGOs are more cooperative and compliant than their often truculent male counterparts since in the case of women, benefits go directly to the family and are not wasted on addictive habits. This boosts morale for programme implementers.

Somali women's NGOs also benefit from worldwide focus on the status of women. International aid organizations operating in the country nearly always have specific projects targeting women, and they prioritize women's needs in all their programmes.

Constraints

However, women's NGOs are severely constrained by the near total absence of educated and skilled women in the country. Somali women have had limited access to education, and many who are educated have left the country for better opportunities. The few remaining with any education or skills are being hotly pursued by international organizations, which recruit them as secretaries and gender officers, etc.

Women, who are the mainstay of Somaliland (Northwest Somalia) society in these troubled times, are emerging more and more as the major breadwinners and heads of household because of conflict fuelled socio economic upheavals. Traditionally Somali women were active in family and community affairs, in contrast with many of their sisters in the Islamic world and Africa. However, they have always been excluded from the top power structures, be it the Guurti in the old days or present government structures. The lack of exposure to executive decision making, combined with the cultural bias against female leadership (to which even women often vocally subscribe), tend to make women's organizations in Somaliland (Northwest Somalia) prone to conflict over issues of legitimacy, power and personalities.

Capacity Building

Local NGOs in Somaliland (Northwest Somalia) have always prioritized capacity building in their organizations and development agendas. Initially, the term capacity building was meant primarily for the NGOs' development of technical, administrative and management skills. However there is growing recognition that matters of attitude, approach and ethos are equally (if not more) important in the maturing of the local NGO movement.

The preoccupation with capacity building reflects the following realities:
-- of the hundreds of local NGO practitioners in all regions, only two or three had experience in NGO work before 1991;
-- there is an almost total lack of access to data, technical literature, reference works, etc., pertaining to running an NGO in Somaliland (Northwest Somalia); and
-- the indigenous NGO community is isolated from experiences of the worldwide NGO movement as a result of communication constraints.

Many workshops in capacity building for local NGOs, held mostly in 1994 1996 and sponsored by international organizations such as the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Oxfam America, have helped address some of these problems. The British based International Cooperation for Development (ICD) training capacity building programme was particularly important, since it introduced approaches to participatory development and conflict resolution, as well as giving advanced training in these fields to a cadre of Somali NGO development practitioners.

Care Capacity Building Programme for Local NGOs
In 1997 1998 the USAID sponsored umbrella grant partnership programme, administered by Care, selected nine Somaliland (Northwest Somalia) partners from all the regions. The main objective of the programme is to strengthen and enhance institutional capacity of the local NGOs, and then fund their activities and programmes if they address the critical problems facing the country, such as those related to food and livelihood security.

Organizing Efforts

From the beginning, indigenous Somaliland (Northwest Somalia) NGOs felt the need to organize to address the multitude of problems facing them. However, early efforts at organizing crumbled when confronted with the fractious socio political reality in the country, since the local NGOs are themselves steeped in the same fragmenting and debilitating social processes.

It was felt by all that organizing efforts would be successful only if they respond to needs at the regional/grassroots level. There are already some successful regional umbrella organizations, such as the Awdal Rehabilitation and Development Organisation, as well as several women's umbrella groups. It is possible that umbrella groups will mushroom in response to perceived donor inclinations, or urging in the case of women's NGOs.

A serious organizing effort by the more established local NGOs at present in Hargeisa, the capital city where all international organizations are based, could potentially develop into a national umbrella organization.

Recent Developments Concerning NGOs

Awareness Raising
Capacity building workshops for NGOs, sponsored by international organizations both inside and outside the country, and the operational "teeth cutting" experience in the troubled early years awoke in the more experienced NGO practitioners an attitude of reflection, soul searching and a keen awareness of the manifold weaknesses and shortcomings of the local NGO concept as practised in Somaliland (Northwest Somalia). This is a recent and healthy development that has profound implications for the maturing of the local NGO movement.

Shrinking of the Funding Base
The emergency phase and the resulting easy access to external funding for local NGOs was over by 1995. This, coupled with the renewal of serious civil conflict in Somaliland (Northwest Somalia) in 1995 1997 and the international community's reaction to the conflict of "wait and see," caused a drastic drop in the funding of NGO activities and programmes. The response of donors is beginning to be felt since the country is now at peace and has achieved a certain level of normality.

Emergence of "Quality" NGOs
The above mentioned developments interacting with the changing socio economic and political realities of present day Somaliland (Northwest Somalia) have resulted in the emergence of a small number of "quality" NGOs. They have developed the requisite attitude as well as a level of administrative and management capacity commensurate to their needs, role and responsibilities. This has been accompanied by a withering away of many "artificial" NGOs. For example in the Awdal region, where NGOs were most active and numerous in the emergency phase, less than a dozen are now truly operational; only two years ago there were over 50. The "quality" NGOs are also beginning to specialize and develop expertise in selected fields such as agriculture, water and income generation in preparation for the anticipated move from humanitarian relief to development in the country.

This chapter is a revised version of a report entitled Somaliland NGOs: Challenges and Opportunities, published in April 1997 by the London based Catholic Institute for International Relations (CIIR).