NBOs BOARD BOSS NOSTALGIC OF OLD MOI DAYS

The chairman of the NGOs Co-ordination Board Joshua Leparashau has warned that the board will not hesitate to take firm and decisive action against non-governmental organisations that in his words “infringe on the country’s security regulations and undermine national cohesion”.

Leparashau declared that NGOs would be deregistered and blacklisted and that it is upon them to act according to the law in order to survive.

Addressing the media, Leparashau stressed that NGOs must strictly work within the framework of the laid-down objectives since as a government agency, his board was giving everybody an enabling environment to operate without favour.

“But if you go wrong in a way that undermines state security, we will take drastic action against you based on the evidence on the ground. We will do so once we establish that you have jeopardised peace, and acted contrary to the laid down security conduct,” said Leparashau, a former chairman of the Kerio Valley Development Authority in Eldoret town.

“We do not mind if you are national or international. We will act in accordance with the evidence we have gathered against you,” the chairman warned.

The board, he asserted, will not sit down and watch as some NGOs lose track and embark on a mission of threatening national security, considering that cases of terrorism and money laundering have been on the rise in some parts of the country.

“The security of the state is paramount. It is a matter of life and death and cannot be taken for granted under whatever circumstances,” Leparashau averred.

NGOs, he contended, should complement the government’s role of nation building and should not divert from their objectives.

“If  it is health, water, agriculture, children or human rights programmes NGOs are engaged in, the all-important thing is for them to stick to their programmes without using them as a bridge to undermine peace, and by extension, the security of the state,” stated Leparashau.

He announced that the board will soon partner with county governments and all NGOs in formulating a master plan to avoid duplication of roles in these sectors.

“Our aim is to thrash out any contentious issues. We want NGOs to work with county governments in development matters,” emphasised Leparashau.

“It is imperative that county governments be involved in all projects on the ground so that development is accelerated for the good of locals and the country at large,” the chairman concluded.