The NGO sector in Kenya is not just a collection of organizations delivering services. It is an economy. Tens of thousands of Kenyans are employed by NGOs. International NGOs bring foreign currency. The NGO sector is a significant part of Kenya's employment and revenue structure.
The existence of a large NGO sector reflects both Kenya's development needs and Kenya's limited state capacity. Many services that should be provided by the state are provided by NGOs instead. Healthcare, education, water, sanitation, all have significant NGO involvement.
The NGO economy creates a particular kind of professional class. NGO workers are educated, skilled, often English-speaking, internationally connected. NGO workers have access to salaries and benefits that exceed what many Kenyans earn. The NGO sector is a path to a middle-class life.
But the NGO economy also creates dependencies. Communities become dependent on NGO service provision rather than demanding that the state provide services. When NGO projects end, services disappear. The presence of NGOs can reduce pressure on the state to provide services, can enable the state to abdicate responsibility.
The NGO economy also creates distortions. Health workers are drawn away from public health facilities by higher NGO salaries. Teachers work for NGOs rather than public schools. The best talent is pulled into the NGO sector, weakening the state sector.
The NGO economy is also primarily urban and concentrated among the educated elite. Poor and rural communities often see little NGO presence or benefit. The resources that flow through the NGO sector are concentrated in specific networks and communities.
The NGO economy represents a particular form of development: external resources and expertise delivered through organizations that are not accountable to states or communities in the same way that states are supposed to be. It represents development that relies on foreign funding and foreign priorities rather than on state capacity or community determination.
See Also
- The NGO Complex
- The State Fragility Legacy
- Urbanisation and Identity
- The Debt Legacy
- Education Paradox