Gov’t orders all NGOs to ensure donor aid aligns with bottom-up development agenda

Internal Security and National Administration Principal Secretary Dr. Raymond Omollo on Friday said the move is aimed at ensuring Kenya as the host country benefits equally from the donations like the donors.

PS Omollo says the aid architecture must comply with the laid out international frameworks in order to be of mutual benefit to both the donor and the aid recipient contrary to the current situation where he says the donors often take the lion’s share.

He therefore implored all the organizations to ensure the donor aid aligns with the current regime’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).

“The Government recognizes the critical role donor aid plays in our socioeconomic development, but, for purposes of mutual accountability between the host country and its development partners, the aid architecture must comply with the global best practices and the established regulatory frameworks,” stated Dr Omollo.

"The Government has formally written notice to all NGOs and PBOs in the country to comply with this requirement and align their operations with Kenya’s development priorities as captured in the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA)."

According to Dr Omollo, the current misalignment also poses a threat of weakening Kenya’s capacity to accurately monitor and manage donor aid management in the best interest of our national security. 

He notes that the result of the new alignment will reaffirm a better partnership in the sector which in turn will develop the lives of Kenya citizens.

"This will guarantee greater partnership and synergies among different parties working in the aid industry to ensure that donor aid is not only producing better impacts for Kenya but also benefits local communities," he noted.

Omollo added: "Our prime focus is on optimizing the value of all projects and programmes funded through international aid to ensure they complement our developmental plan outlined in BETA."

He at the same time reassured of the government’s commitment to heighten surveillance against illicit financial flows as one of the strategic interventions to disrupt criminal and terror financing activities.