African groups on aid cuts: ‘This is a disaster’

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  Elles van Gelder

  Africa journalist

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  Saskia Houttuin

  Africa journalist

Organizations on the African continent are reacting with shock and concern they announced austerity plans from Minister Reinette Klever (PVV). They say the funding and cooperation they have built with the Netherlands is “vital” and “needed now more than ever”.

On Monday, the Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Aid announced that she wants to cut about two-thirds of subsidies for non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This amounts to a cut of about 1 billion euros. Today the House of Representatives will debate it.

The NOS called on organizations in Uganda, Sudan, Mali and the Democratic Republic of Congo to receive funding through Dutch partners. Countries where human rights are under severe pressure. where the consequences of climate change are very good and where, with the exception of Uganda, wars are ongoing.

“We were afraid for a while that this was coming,” said Gahoussou Traoré, director of CAEB Mali, an organization that focuses on health care, clean drinking water, agriculture and education. “The Netherlands has always been a partner we could count on in difficult times. That’s how the Netherlands is known here, among organizations and among the people.”

About 40 percent of CAEB Mali’s funding comes from the Netherlands. The group works with Cordaid and Nuffic from the Netherlands; Since 2014 they have also been in direct contact with the Dutch embassy. “If that funding is cut, it will be a big surprise for Mali, even a disaster,” said Traoré. “Especially because we are already living here in times of war and severe drought.”

According to Traoré, it is particularly important not only about the loss of money, but also about the knowledge that the Netherlands provides, especially in the fields of agriculture and water. “We really need that cooperation. For Mali it is extremely important.”

Africa journalist Elles van Gelder went to see a project in Kenya with Plan International, which has received Dutch support for years and is also concerned about them:

Richard Lusimbo, who fights for LGBTI rights in Uganda, also says that Dutch support is important. In recent years, LGBTI people have been subjected to further discrimination due to strict anti-gay law to be busyThey are also often victims of violence. According to Lusimbo, Dutch support is needed now more than ever.

“We are getting stronger,” he says. “Not only in Uganda but also in many other African countries. The global right-wing movement is also affecting us. When Trump was president of the United States the last time, we received much less financial support. The Netherlands filled that gap at the time and we decided to help us stand up and stand up for our rights.”

According to Lusimbo, the Netherlands has always distinguished itself in this way. “That has been very powerful. About 40 percent of our budget comes from the Netherlands through the Hivos group and the embassy. Not only do we get financial resources, but also knowledge and experience from that relationship. When Holland takes its foot off the accelerator, we are in a vulnerable position in Uganda, this can literally cost lives.”

The Sudan Abdalla organization receives development funds through the Dutch peace movement PAX. He had not heard about upcoming cuts, he says on the phone. His group has been working for ten years on building peace in the Nuba Mountains in southern Sudan, where many groups of people live.

“Right now things are stable, and the rest of the country is at war,” he says. “This is partly due to the work we have done there with local leaders to resolve disputes. But that stability is under pressure, because many refugees come from other parts of the country. It is more important than ever to keep the peace here, now that the national leaders of Sudan are at the head of a terrible war.

Claudine Tsongo, co-founder Dynamics of Women Lawyersfear that thousands of Congolese women are being abandoned. Since 2006, she has run a group of female lawyers who provide legal advice and accompany the court process. “We help women who are victims of serious war crimes, such as sexual violence, the burning of villages and looting,” she said from the city of Goma in the eastern Congolese region.

The group is supported by the Dutch Confederation. It is not yet known how much the cuts will affect Tsongo’s organization; The protection of women’s rights would be one of the pillars that will last, according to Minister Klever. But anyway, according to Tsongo, this is a historic cutback. “I hope the Dutch government realizes that this will have real consequences.”