Jordan Times
Sunday, April 26, 1998
Princess Basma underlines need for government, NGO
cooperation
AMMAN (Petra) — HRH Princess Basma on Saturday stressed that
development cannot be achieved without the combined efforts of
governmental and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Addressing the opening session of a six-day pan-Arab symposium on
the role of voluntary institutions in social development,
Princess Basma underlined the important role NGOs can play in
development, noting their contribution in addressing many human
and development issues.
Princess Basma voiced hope that the symposium would succeed in
formulating clearly defined principles for dealing with
development issues in accordance with priorities reflecting the
actual needs of communities.
Princess Basma emphasised the need to involve NGOs in discussing
development needs and to utilise their experience in addressing
such issues. She called for putting the necessary resources at
the disposal of NGOs, which she said will be an active force in
the next century.
The Princess called for utilising the expertise of others in
enacting legislation to address development issues, noting that
problems and difficulties facing different Arab communities are
similar.
She voiced her appreciation to the Arab League and to HRH Prince
Talal Ben Abdul Aziz for providing the opportunity to enable Arab
ministers of social development and NGOs to meet periodically and
discuss means of strengthening dialogue between the two sectors
and enhance their role in serving Arab development objectives.
In his address to the opening session, Minister of Social
Development Mohammad Kheir Mamser said NGOs have become the third
economic and social power after the public and private sectors.
Dr. Mamser stressed that the traditional social and welfare
programmes are no longer enough to address the economic problems
and social changes which marginalised and less privileged groups
face.
Reviewing challenges facing Arab social voluntary work, Dr.
Mamser said the biggest challenges lie in rapid population growth
coupled with the increasing number of the poor, the widening
income gap, and the high cost of social programmes, which he said
has doubled and sometimes trebled. The increasing number of the
unemployed, particularly among the poor, the absence of a minimum
wage policy, and the low turnout of volunteers to carry out
social work have compounded these problems, he added.
The symposium was organised by the Ministry of Social Development
in cooperation with the Technical Secretariat of the Council of
Arab Ministers of Social Affairs.