Sri Lanka’s NGOs Under Siege
The virtually overnight suspension of the US government’s multibillion dollar foreign aid program channeled through USAID has been headline news in the U.S. and in other parts of the world where this aid has been very important. In the US itself, the suspension of USAID programs without due notice has been accompanied by loss of jobs in the aid sector. In areas of the world where US aid was playing an important role, such as in mitigating conditions of famine or war, the impact is life threatening to large numbers of hapless people. In Sri Lanka, the aid suspension has led to the closure of many NGOs and to loss of employment for hundreds if not thousands.
US government authorities have been asserting that the foreign aid program has been suspended for various reasons, including inefficiency and misuse, and that the program goes against the present government's policy and is not in America’s national interest. In Sri Lanka, however, the suspension of US aid has made headlines for an entirely different reason. The attack on USAID by its own government has enabled politicians in Sri Lanka who played leading roles in previous governments but are now under investigation for misdeeds associated with their periods of governance, to divert attention from themselves.
These former leaders of government are alleging that they were forced out of office prematurely due to the machination of NGOs that had been funded by USAID, and not because of misgovernance or the corruption they were accused of.
THE “ARAGALAYA” MOVEMENT
The fact is that the people’s protest movement in Sri Lanka, known as the Aragalaya, gained momentum due to severe economic hardships, including fuel shortages, rising food prices, and medicine shortages, which left the population in dire straits. The economic collapse had nothing to do with either NGOs or foreign aid. Many of those who came to the streets to protest believed that those in power had siphoned off the country’s wealth, exacerbating the economic collapse. The onset of economic bankruptcy meant that the government did not have foreign exchange (dollars) to pay for essential imports, including fuel, food and medicine. People died of exhaustion after waiting hours and even days in queues for petrol and in hospitals due to lack of medicine.
PROBING NGOS
There have been demands by some of the former government leaders who are currently under investigation that USAID funding to Sri Lanka should be probed. The new NPP government has responded to this demand by delegating the task to the government’s National NGO Secretariat. This is the state institution that is tasked with collecting information from the NGOs registered with it about their quantum and sources of funding and what they do with it for the betterment of Sri Lanka’s people. Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala has said he would deal with allegations over USAID funding in Sri Lanka, and for that he had sought a report from the NGO Secretariat which is operating under his Ministry. The report could also include recommendations regarding possible government support to the NGO sector and other beneficiaries of USAID to survive the present crisis.
Data obtained from the Department of External Resources (ERD) reveal that since 2019, USAID has financed Sri Lankan government projects amounting to Rs. 31 billion. This was done under different presidents and political parties. Projects costing USD 20.4 million were signed during the last year (2019) of the Maithripala Sirisena government. USD 41.9 million was signed during the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government, USD 26 million during the Ranil Wickremesinghe government, and USD 18.1 million so far during the Anura Kumara Dissanayake government.
At the time of the funding freeze, there were projects with the Justice Ministry, the Finance Ministry, the Environment Ministry and the Energy Ministry. This is apart from the support that was being provided to the private sector for business development and to NGOs for social development and good governance work including systems of checks and balances and separation of powers.
WHO RECEIVED THE AID?
If the magnitude of contributions by the international donor community, including USAID, is assessed over time, it may be found that much more has been given to the government and to the private sector than to NGOs. Most donor agencies operating in Sri Lanka, including USAID, have rigorous processes which they follow in disbursing their limited funds to NGOs. Usually, the donor agency will issue a call for proposals which specify their areas of interest. NGOs have to compete to obtain these funds, stating what they will do with it in considerable detail, and the impact it will have. Once the grant is awarded, the NGOs are required to submit regular reports of work they have done. The donor agencies generally insist that reputed audit firms, preferably with international reputations, perform regular annual or even six-monthly audits of funds provided. They may even send independent external monitors to evaluate the impact of the projects they have supported.
The value of the work done by NGOs is that they often take on unpopular and difficult tasks that do not have mass appeal but are essential for a more just and inclusive society. This may be why they are targeted for investigation more than the government or private sector. Mahatma Gandhi, who started the Sarvodaya (meaning, the wellbeing of all) Movement in India, was inspired by the English philosopher John Ruskin, who wrote in 1860 that a good society was one that would care for the very last member in it. The ideal that many NGOs strive for, whether in child care, sanitation, economic development or peacebuilding, is that everyone is included and no one is excluded from society’s protection, in which the government necessarily plays a lead role.
Ironically, those in Sri Lanka who now demand that USAID funds and those organisations that obtained such funds be investigated were themselves in government when USAID was providing such funds. The National NGO Secretariat was in existence doing its work of monitoring the activities of NGOs then. Donor agencies such as USAID have stringent policies that prevent funds they provide being used for partisan political purposes. This accounts for the fact that when NGOs invite politicians to attend their events, they make it a point to invite those from both the government and opposition, so that their work is not seen as being narrowly politically partisan.
RACE TO THE BOTTOM?
The present situation is a very difficult one for NGOs in Sri Lanka and worldwide. USAID was the biggest donor agency by far, and the sudden suspension of its funds has meant that many NGOs have had to retrench staff and stop much of their work. Some have even closed down. It appears that the international world order is becoming more openly based on self-interest, where national interests take precedence over global interests, and the interests of the wealthy segments of society take precedence over the interests of the people in general. This is not a healthy situation for human beings or for civilization. The founders of the world’s religions knew, and said consistently, that the interests of others -- of the neighbour, of all living beings -- should be prioritized.
In 1968, when the liberal ideas of universal rights were more dominant in the international system than they are now, Garrett Hardin, an evolutionary biologist, wrote a paper called “The Tragedy of the Commons”. Hardin used an example of sheep grazing land. He referred to a situation where individuals, acting in their own self-interest, overexploit a shared resource, like a pasture or fishery, leading to its depletion and eventual destruction, even though it is detrimental to everyone in the long run. If everyone and every country thinks of only themselves first, it becomes a race to the bottom. The world appears to be heading in that direction. In these circumstances, the work of those, who seek the wellbeing of all, needs to be strengthened and not undermined.
