ADDIS ABABA – Agency for FDRE Civic Society Organizations and Ethiopian Civic Society Forum said that the current reform is playing indispensable role through eliminating long bureaucratic process on the sector which hinder to exercise their responsibilities for effective manner.
Tigist Dagninet, Acting Communication Director with Agency for FDRE Civic Society Organization told The Ethiopian Herald that preparing clear procedure, scaling up capacity building, preparing technology for online registration and awareness creation are among the various activities carried out by the Agency during the past one year.
According to Tigist, the pervious Civic Society’s proclamation obliged Civic Societies to operate only on local financial sources. On the other hand, the Agency is preparing five draft bills and regulation which will be significant to ensure effective procurement process, material disposal, sources of income, civic society’s administration and registering it.
She further stated that the Agency has registered 542 new civic society organizations that fulfill the requirements after amending the proclamation during the past one year. In this regard, more than 1,500 Agencies are re-registered due to the enforcement of the new proclamation. For more understanding, the new civic society organizations can register within two weeks while the regular civic societies are re-registering three up to five days only.
As to Tigist, implementing the new proclamation on the ground, capacity building, and due attention to the tasks that are assisted by information technology is mainly the future activity of the Agency.
Blen Asrat, Head of Ethiopian Civic Society Organizations Forum agrees that the previous proclamation was the main challenge that inhibited civic society become working in communities in a full manner. However, following the reform, the forum has taken many activities in collaboration with the Agency.
According to Blen, over 10,900 different citizens could take significant training during the past one year across the nation. In addition to this, the Forum is preparing Code of Conduct which helps the Civic societies to self-regulate themselves in a transparent manner.
Particularly, the forum gives due attention to societal awareness creation so that they can effectively use their rights and enabling the coming national election period through forming coalition agencies that work on elections.
Blen believes that strong civic society organizations are able to create strong nation. In this regard, civic societies are known as the fourth government organs in developed countries. It shows how civic society organizations play key role in a country.
Furthermore, private sectors and government should be working on forming strong linkage so as to create strong association in Ethiopia while due attention to democratic system and development is the next serious task of the forum, she added.
The Ethiopian Herald January 11/2020
BY MESERET BEHAILU
