ADDIS ABABA- European Union (EU) Delegation to Ethiopia announced its plan to continue supporting Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to enhance their contribution to the development and democratization processes of the country.
The third Civil Society Funding project (CSF III) that was launched in 2018 has been completed with ‘great performance’, the EU said. In his remark during the closing event of CSF III project yesterday, EU Cooperation Head Stefen Lock said that the EU has objectives of supporting voice of CSOs representing constituencies and citizens in policy dialogue and policy monitoring.
The project has been achieved with great performancein spite of some challenges related to insecurity and COVD-19 pandemic, he said. The project has benefited CSOs to continue playing their greater role in terms of influencing policy making in the country, he stated. The Head also stressed that the CSOs should play more active role since they are intermediaries between the citizens and government bodies.
“Of course, capacity still needs to be there. The sector still has much capacity constraints. Operational capacity, management capacity and financial capacity needs more funds,”he said, and added that EU will continue providing supports.
The CSF III project provided technical, expertise, and capacity building to beneficiary CSOs. In granting this project, the EU spent about 11.75 million Euro grant during the five year period of the project, according to the Delegation.
Ethiopian Authority for Civil Society Organizations (ACSO) Director General, Samson Biratu also acknowledged EU’s supportive role of funding CSOs engaged in Ethiopia.
ACSO has been monitoring and evaluating the project that enabled several organizations to receive a grant. Such positive engagements should be continued, therefore, Samson said, adding that the government always appreciates partnerships to increase the participation of CSOs.
BY YESUF ENDRIS
The Ethiopian Herald October 12/2023
