Ceps hosts training on good governance for NGOs |14 July 2018

Seventeen non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have signed up to participate in a two-day training programme organised by the Citizens Engagement Platform Seychelles (Ceps) to further strengthen the governance capacity of their organizations.

The workshop is being spearheaded by Ceps' Gender, Rights and Governance Commission in collaboration with the Ceps secretariat.

The aim of the training is to equip NGO leaders and members with the necessary skills and knowledge to apply practices of good governance and effectively manage their NGOs.

It was the chairperson of Ceps, Jude Fred, who officially launched the workshop yesterday.

“Good governance plays a crucial role in the effective functioning of an NGO. Further, governance and set standards in an organisation are indispensable in maintaining transparency and accountability for the organisation,” Mr Fred noted during his opening remarks.

He stated that Ceps is strongly convinced that every NGO has the responsibility to think early and deeply about its governance practices in order to establish transparent guidelines and principles.

“It is our sincere hope that this training will help NGOs gain more legitimacy, credibility and confidence in championing the good governance causes,” Mr Fred rounded off.

The issue of legitimacy and credibility was reiterated by the Commissioner of the Gender, Rights and Governance Commission, Eline Moses, during an interview with the media.

Mrs Moses explained that topics covered during the sessions, in particular how to adhere to the legal obligations under the Registrations Act and financial reporting, will be essential in ensuring that NGOs remain transparent and accountable to the community and society they serve.

“This training is in line with Ceps' strategic plan and good governance is one of the key areas on which our commission is focusing in the next two years,” Mrs Moses said.

“We are responding to a demand to reinforce the structures of our NGOs. Hence the training gives them the opportunity to conduct evaluations and identify governance issues in order to improve on them.”

Mrs Moses further added that NGOs face various challenges such as meeting the obligations set out by the Registration Act and auditing accounts.

She stated that these are important elements not only to good governance but also will be the standards to which donors use to decide if to fund an organisation.

“Donors tend to look into NGOs’ records and background before funding them because they have to ensure that their investment will be worthwhile. They will not give money to an organisation who has an unaudited account, for instance.”

The workshop is expected to conclude today and Ceps is working on additional pieces of training to continue in strengthening the capacity of NGOs.