Africa-Press – Tanzania. At least 150 civil society organizations (CSOs) are set to brainstorm how they would push the national development agenda forward.
In their statement issued to the media on Monday this week, the organizations said they would meet in Dodoma late this month for that purpose as they mark Civil Society Week which kicks off from October 23.
The event provides an opportunity to interact with multi-sectoral actors to strengthen collaborations.
Francis Kiwanga, Executive Director of the Foundation for Civil Society (FCS), said they will also discuss on President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s new directives on the first day of the week.
“After the instructions have been discussed, each organization will be given the duty of putting them into action. We applaud President Samia’s government for recognizing CSOs as a critical sector for the country’s economic growth and for making time to speak with us,” he stated.
Lulu Ng’wanakilala, Chief Executive Officer of the Legal Services Facility (LSF), said they expect Speaker of Parliament Job Ndugai to grace the event, to ensure that the parliament works closely with CSOs because they all serve the people.
“As CSOs, we work to serve the public,” she explained, “while the parliament has Members of Parliament who are the people’s representatives establishing policies and laws for the people to implement.”
This year’s topic, ‘CSOs’ Contribution to National Development,’ according to Ms Ng’wanakilala, would be used to track government and citizen development in collaboration with the government and private sector.
The CSO Week began in 2018 as the brainchild of FCS, whose reflections revealed the need to bring together sectoral players in a week-long event to enable them to primarily engage with the government to improve the operational environment for civil society organizations. Since the first event, the sectoral group in charge of organizing it has made the strategic decision to hold it every year.
Ramadhani Masele, Executive Director of the Tanzania Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (TANGO), said that during the seven-day event, numerous CSOs from Tanzania mainland and islands will showcase their work as well as their products. Dialogues, as well as free legal aid services, are among the additional activities available to the general public.
According to him, the week provides an opportunity for high-level deliberation and discourse on Tanzania’s growth.
Anna Henga, Director of the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), stated that on October 31st, they will offer prizes in 13 categories to community members and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for their contributions to Tanzania’s development.
The prizes, which were open to the recipients after their work was presented, covered a wide range of topics, including the best performing CSOs in terms of gender equality and social responsibility.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, they also assisted in conflict resolution, supporting the disabled in obtaining their rights, and those performing various duties of delivering education and services.
President Samia called for NGOs in the country to strengthen openness and accountability in their work, as well as align with government policies and initiatives, to boost productivity in society, in September this year.
She explained that the government is now executing the Third National Five-Year Development Plan (2021/22- 2025/26) and that these organizations must align their objectives with it.
