The public’s perceptions of civil society organisations (CSOs) in Ghana are generally good, except among party activists, who perceive CSOs’ criticisms of the government as attempts to make the regime unpopular.
The Ghana CSO Sustainability 2019 Index Report indicated that most people see CSOs as charitable organisations and broadly support their activities, especially in local communities.
The CSO Sustainability Index is a tool created by USAID to study the strength and overall viability of CSO sectors in countries of operation.
Ghana was among the first sub-Saharan African countries that took part in the assessment in 2009 with the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) as the local implementor.
The 2019 report was presented in Accra at a media dissemination workshop by Douglas Quartey, a development consultant and author of the Ghana CSO Sustainability Report.
Code of ethics
Quartey said using a standard set of indicators and collecting data each year, the CSO Sustainability Index tracks changes in the strength of the CSO sector over time and allows for cross-country comparisons.
The report reiterates that the government perceptions of CSOs remain mixed. The business sector’s view of CSOs was positive, though collaboration was limited.
It shows that both the government and portions of the business sector recognise the expertise of CSOs and invite them to speak at their events.
The report shows that social media usage was high among both urban and rural-based organisations, with many using Facebook to disseminate information.
“CSOs in Ghana still do not have a general code of ethics, although most organisations include codes of conduct in their operational manuals,” the report says.
It notes that in 2019, as part of the grant award process, CSOs receiving funding from STAR-Ghana had to share their organisational codes of conduct.
State support
Despite their importance to national development across all sectors, CSOs in Ghana faced monumental challenges for survival in 2019, it adds.
Kwesi Jonah, a senior fellow at IDEG, said that as international development partners and donor agencies are gradually cutting off funding support to CSOs, African governments must create new sources of funding for their local civil society organisations.
He observed that, in most advanced democracies such as the United States and Denmark, the government provides funding support for CSOs. African governments can do the same, Jonah argued.
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