Spain: Civil society to manage development funds
NGOs, trade unions, employers organisations and youth associations will manage at least half of the budget (52 million ) of the Catalan Agency for Co-operation
di Ges
Civil society will continue to be at the core of development aid due to last-minute changes introduced in the 2007-2010 Co-operation Plan adopted by the Catalan Parliament on the 5th of July. NGOs, trade unions, employers? organisations and youth associations will manage at least half of the budget (52 million ?) of the Catalan Agency for Co-operation.
But the Catalan Federation of Development NGOs (FCONGD) is far from satisfied as it is afraid that public resources for its projects will continue to decrease. Its members consider that although civil society is guaranteed a percentage, the role of NGOs is not adequately recognised. The Plan, they say, insists on the essential role played by NGOs but this recognition is not reflected in adequate resources.
The Director of the Plan has, however, stated that the budget distribution is a clear sign of the role played by non-plubic actors in the Catalan government. It has also remarked that whilst a few years ago only NGOs worked in the development aid field, nowadays there are many other actors such as youth associations, universities and even the government itself.
The Director argued that another important theme of this Plan is that Western Sahara has become a new priority area, and that other regions, such as the Gambia and Lebanon also become key areas.
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