LEADERS of NGOs who believe they can provide better leadership than the Government should put their names forward at the next elections instead of engaging in political criticism, says Minister for Public Works Ro Filipe Tuisawau.
He also accused some civil society and NGO representatives of stepping beyond their organisations’ mandates by criticising national leadership and development programs.
Speaking in an interview in Lautoka yesterday, Ro Filipe said some organisations were established to address specific issues, including women’s rights, development and the needs of disadvantaged communities.
“What I have noticed is that some civil society and NGO organisations have terms of reference, for example, women’s issues, development issues or addressing the needs of the needy,” he said.
“But they are crossing the line from what their terms of reference entail into politics by criticising the leadership.”
Ro Filipe said some NGO representatives appeared to be involved in politics while continuing to operate under the banner of civil society organisations.
“Basically, some of them are playing politics.
“That’s why I’m saying they need to make up their minds whether they want to stay within the terms of reference as an NGO, in terms of their areas of responsibility, or whether they would like to participate in politics.”
He said some representatives were commenting on national leadership and development programs while claiming they could do a better job.
Ro Filipe said those who believed they had better solutions should seek an elected mandate and become part of the country’s leadership.
“They seem to think they know better and can do better than us. So it’s good if they stand in the elections.”
