The impact of non governmental organisations (NGOs) on sustainable development in Botswana.

Development of Africa has featured in many debates, writings and researches about the
continent. It is vivid that there exist a lot of theories that compete for the attention of the
continent. This is primarily because there is no approach that can be said to be most
suitable for rescuing the continent from its deprivation and economic backwardness.
Botswana is a country that unlike others in the continent seems to be doing exceptionally
well both economically and politically. However, some experts are not credulous to take
the praises that are directed at Botswana without raising questions. They echo that
underneath the praises exists abysmal poverty arriongst the citizens of this glorified country.
The existence of Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in this country gives hope to
many people who are relegated to deprivation and want, in a country that is acclaimed for
its political and economical prosperity.
This study attempts to demonstrate that Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are
useful in development. However, they are faced with immense challenges that render them
economically and politically powerless. Amongst those challenges is their inability to
generate their own resources to fund their own projects, which inevitably makes them
dependent on resources from the donors or governments. Most studies on NGOs have
indicated that the problem of lack of resources have some negative impact on their
relationship with their beneficiaries. This is often as a result of pressure that. they exact on
their beneficiaries to meet terms and conditions that are drawn by the funding agencies.
This arrangement fundamentally defeats the ideals of Sustainable Development that
advocates for active participation of those people that are directly affected by their
interventions. It comes to light that even in cases where NGOs display some willingness to
involve their beneficiaries in their activities; it is always not easy due to insurmountable
task of parrying influence from governments. The government of Botswana for instance,
maintains its power over disempowered communities, so that it can act unilaterally without
having to face resistance from politically and economically empowered communities.
This study pointed out to the problem that is caused by the exclusion of NGOs by
governments from their policies formulation structures. For instance, the government of
Botswana used policies that were formulated through consultancies instead of those that are
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inputted by poor people through NODs. It has to be made clear that even where NOOs
attempt to enlist on the active participation of poor people, such efforts are usually
undermined by their unwillingness' to formulate some withdrawal strategies. These
strategies could fundamentally strengthen their quest to empower communities to realise
both acceptable and necessary socio economic and political levels of development. There is
a tendency for NOOs to give communities some falsified impression that they would
always be available to assist them. This is often not communicated, but has a significant
bearing in encouraging dependency of communities on NODs and other development
agencies. Interestingly, this study has found out dep~ndency to be amongst the reasons why
Sustainable Development, like other attempts made before, to have not succeeded.
This study demonstrates adequately that NOOs in Botswana did not have any impact on
Sustainable Development. It is evident that with programmes and projects' that NOOs
obtrude on communities that they targeted, their beneficiaries are not empowered enough to
sustain their level of economic and political development. They also do not get empowered
to account for environmental resources that are supposed to be under their charge. The
beneficiaries do not also account for the resources that are made available to them by the
donors through NODs. The beneficiaries cannot demand accountability from their civil
leaders because they are not empowered to do that.