How do you know you’re on the right track? One might ask.
As a civil society organization, it is obligatory to follow up modalities that keep you transparent, accountable, and trust- worthy during the course of your service to humanity.
Last month, a two days zonal capacity building workshop, drawn from the 5 Eastern states of Nigeria, was conducted under the EGLAI program, to discuss self-regulation and institutional accountability within the civil society organizations.
According to the Team Lead Dr. Harry. Udoh, the CSO Self regulation framework includes flexible modalities that combine the code of conducts and self assessment mechanisms that enables effective compliance of the Non-governmental organizations while in the service of humanity.
These modalities existing in the code of conduct are built in such a way that it blends almost perfectly to the rules set by the regulatory bodies such as FIRS, CAC,ecetera. A few of these compliance indicators are; Goals, aims and focus areas of the organization should be visible in the mission Statement. There should be strategic implementation plan, and annual reviews to discuss the way forward of the organization every now and then.
By the end of the program, the CSO representatives were made to develop detailed action plans for their various states, in order to preach to other CSO’s the importance of adopting self-regulatory modalities that improve their transparency, accountability, and trust- worthiness in the society at large.
Some of those self-regulatory modalities we will be breaking down in bits.
#CSO #EGLAI
- Organizational Purpose: That includes identity, vision, legal status, discipline, accountability, objectives and activities.
- Board responsibility: through effective use of resources, sound administration, timely reporting and operational excellence.
- Legal Compliance: unwavering respect for legal and regulatory framework.
- Conflict of Interest: Personal interests must not interfere with organizational duties.
- Financial Transparency: that includes public disclosure of financial statements that enhances trust.
CSO Regulatory modalities are hybrid because it combines voluntary compliance from bottom up, with external accountability, to stakeholders and statutory laws. And it is important for Civil society organizations to look into their regulations to ascertain if they are in accordance with the code of conduct.
