Speaking at the Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (BOCONGO) 14th Annual General Meeting (AGM), which coincided with the launch of a website at the Oasis Motel in Tlokweng, Ambassador Malin said that even though some donors had decided to pull out, the EU was willing to continue financing Botswana's NGOs.
"Even if some European member states have reduced or ended their co-operation programme the EU, as a whole, remains committed to complementing our macro-level assistance to government in education, training and health by supporting non-governmental organisations at grassroots level to respond to development needs," he said.
Malin commended BOCONGO for launching its website. He said that a website was a preliminary step in the direction of improved communication and networking with stakeholders. "The membership will hopefully be able to reach out to and secure working relationships with similar organisations in Europe and elsewhere, as a step towards ensuring sustainability of operations and benefits," he said.
And speaking at the event earlier, BOCONGO chairperson, Reverend Biggie Butale said BOCONGO was undergoing hardships. He said that they were faced with a mammoth task of repositioning the organisation to come up with a better resource mobilisation strategy that would help establish a reliable fund for NGOs.
"Most companies that contributed to a large share of our funding have decided to either leave or fund a few organisations in Botswana. This is because they have decided to move to other countries that are considered to be lower income countries. Botswana is however considered a middle-income country," he said.
Butale said one of the major reasons for launching a website was to gain exposure for BOCONGO and its NGOs. He said a website was an easy way for BOCONGO and its members to communicate and share ideas.
He also said that it would be easier for them to get more donors from developed countries, as they would be able to access it. "NGOs without websites will also be given the opportunity to market themselves to the outside world through the website," he said.
The BOCONGO website's address is www.bocongo.org.bw. The website has a home page, sector, member, programmes, executive committee, secretariat, partners, activity schedule, documents and contacts pages that can easily be accessed and browsed.
The event ended with a thrilling performance by the Mafitlhakgosi Traditional Group.
