Do NGOs and INGOs pull quality staff away from working for government? This was a point that Paul Famer made in his testimony to the U.S. Senate (see earlier post for text).
However, if INGOs rely on non-Haitian employees, how are these international staff members perceived by local professionals? Note these observations by Amaka Megwalu, a graduate student from Harvard, one this issue in Africa:
For others, particularly some non-expatriate staff, the aid industry itself is perceived as unjust. These staff members point to significant discrepancies in salaries between expatriate and national staff even when it seems that both do similar work. They point to a practice of systematically treating expat and national staff differently. They note the custom of having most management positions filled by expat staff. And they note the sometimes relatively lavish conditions in which expat staff live.
[Note similar views in a review by the Stimson Center and the Peace Divend Trust of UN peacekeeping work in many conflict zones, mentioned in an earlier post.]
People often talk about the Haitian government's weaknesses, and the need for additional staff. However, if the government cannot compete as an employer with the INGOs that are flooding into the country (and have yet to reach full strength), where will Haiti find people to run the government? One possibility is that the government and some donor nations establish a professional school for training of officials or people who can work in government. In Washington, DC the US Department of Agriculture has a night "graduate school" that serves this purpose to some degree: while the school does not offer any real degrees, entry-level and mid-level government officials can take classes to build specific skills (the school does offer some certificates, and is open to the public; some friends have taken low-cost language courses there).
Before the earthquake, I felt NGOs were already attracting a large number of competent workers that are badly needed in the public sector. I'm also all for more training for civil servants, but with more skills, it is also likely that they eventually get recruited by the NGO sector. There may be also some other adverse effects. I know some people who could have been good entrepreneurs, but with the flow of NGO money they choose to specialize in writing projects proposals in order to obtain grants. Not to say NGOs are bad...but it's good to keep these effects in mind.
Posted by: Carl-Henri | February 17, 2010 at 09:46 PM
Haiti was an event that really strike the world but people should not forget what they have to do back home. NGO's have contributed alot financially and interms of labour, let Haitians participate like wise. All should not be point to NGO what is UN doing so far as training staffs are concern.this an opportunity for Haitins to benefit from training and become professionals.
Posted by: Fongwen | June 08, 2010 at 02:41 AM