Non-Governmental Organisations Play Vital Role in Development - Ex-Envoy

Accra, Aug. 25, GNA - The role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in nation building has become so vital that all support must be given to them to make more significant contributions in the next millennium, a retired diplomat said in Accra on Wednesday.

Mr C. K. Mawenyegah, a former ambassador to Algeria, said at a dinner organised by the WANGARA Hotel that the role of NGOs has become so indispensable in the mobilisation, disbursement and utilisation of donor funds that every support must be provided for them to complement the nation's development process.

The dinner, which was held for about 40 major sponsors of a millennium conference to be held in October, was fairly attended. The theme of the conference is "national and international non-governmental organisations operating in Ghana at the turn of the 20th century: national issues, global actors, international responsibility".

Mr Mawenyegah said within the last decade local, national and international NGOs have acquired dominant, potent and well-earned reputation as relatively efficient and dependable vehicles and partners of choice for developmental programmes in the developing countries.

"We need to review their strategic roles in the developmental process, draw conclusions and offer recommendations to enable them to make even more positive and significant contributions towards nation building, " Mr Mawenyegah, a retired police commissioner, said.

He said the strong and proactive role NGOs play in Ghana's landscape in the mobilisation of resources could not be overemphasised. This, he said, calls for high participation in the five-day conference, which is expected to attract over 2,500 delegates from 1,000 NGOs world-wide.