ZCSD BOARD CHAIRPERSON Fr. NICODEMUS. CHABU ZCSD GENERAL ASSEMBLY SPEECH AT MINT LEAF LODGE IN LUSAKA FRIDAY 8TH DECEMBER, 2016

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BY ZCSD BOARD CHAIRPERSON

 

Fr. NICODEMUS. CHABU  

 

AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE ZCSD GENERAL ASSEMBLY AT MINT LEAF LODGE IN LUSAKA ON 8^TH DECEMBER, 2016

Guest of Honour, Hon. Emerine Kabanshi, MP

Former Board Members of ZCSD

Current Board Members of ZCSD

Directors from CSOs present

ZCSD Members of Staff

Members of the Press

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

I welcome you all to the Zambia Council for Social Development (ZCSD) General Assembly and launch of our 2017 – 2020 Strategic Plan.

Zambia Council for Social Development (ZCSD) is a Civil Society Organisation (CSO) whose mandate is to improve the capacity of civil society organisations to coordinate and complement each other for the benefit of social and economic development for the majority of Zambians.

Historically, ZCSD has been at the centre of creating and promoting civic space in the country and its collaboration with government has produced successful results of the duty for which the civil society movement in Zambia exist.

However, the nation is currently experiencing a sharp shrinking in civic space and this is posing a serious danger not only to the tenets of democracy but to the well being of our people who deserve a decent lifestyle which come with good governance.

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Today, Civil Society Organisations are operating under difficult circumstances and there is need for government to create an enabling environment that will help CSOs help Zambians in all spheres of life. There is an urgent need to repel the 2009 NGO act which has seen the civil society movement from doing fully what society expects from it.

It is our hope that the NGO Act which is under formulation will promote civic space in the country and give CSOs a platform to contribute fully to the governance system of our country which needs the civil society movement than ever before.

However, the decline in donor funding to NGOs is worrying and has weakened the civil society movement in Zambia and there is therefore need to also find alternative ways to CSOs sustainability.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The near absence of a culture of philanthropy in Zambia has greatly undermined the resource base of CSOs to an extent that some organisations have found it difficult even to fulfill certain organizational obligations like the regular holding of Annual General Meetings (A.G.M) as they are rarely available funds to support such an activity and if this continues, CSOs would find it extremely difficult to execute the duties for which they exist.

Accordingly, there is heavy dependence on international donors by most CSOs in the country and this has come with its own challenges. For instance, the heavy dependence by local CSOs on international donors has led to the agenda of Zambian CSOs being donor driven.

Ladies and gentlemen,

ZCSD notice with sadness the increase in inequality levels in a country which has more than enough to share equally.  The gap between the rich and the poor has continued to widen and this has exposed the huge role CSOs have in bridging this gap.

Unfortunately, civil society organisations equally are faced with numerous challenges which also call for immediate interventions to keep the civic space in the country afloat. And this calls for a clear and powerful law which will protect, promote and give focus to the civil society movement.

 

Honourable Minister,

Your appointment as Minister of Community Development would have not come at a better time than now when the nation has joined the rest of the world in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are aimed at improving the welfare of our people in Zambia.

And ZCSD as an organisation with a vision to have improved lives for the vulnerable where people are healthy, educated, motivated, and empowered to make informed choices, we look forward to collaborating with your Ministry in achieving these SDGs especially Goal number one which seeks to end hunger and poverty in all forms as it falls in your armpit as Ministry of Community Development and Social Welfare.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today’s launch of our 2017 – 2020 Strategic Plan is a true manifestation of our commitment as ZCSD to help fight hunger, poverty, inequality and other negative vices which are affecting our communities.

Once more, you are all welcome and enjoy the deliberations of the ZCSD General Assembly and launch of the 2017 – 2020 Strategic Plan.

 

Thank you very much and God bless our country