REVITALIZING CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS IN KENYA: AN ASSESSMENT OF THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS IN NAROK COUNTY

Abstract

Today, civil society organisations deliver vital services to meet societal needs by empowering communities to participate in debates and decisions pertaining to all spheres of life. The implementation of SDGs calls for sustained effort from both developed and developing state members. Most Governments recognize that to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, collective action should be fostered through diverse participation of various stakeholders including civil society organizations. This paper sought to assess the contribution of the civil society groups in implementation of SDGs’ 5, 10, 16 and 17 which mainly focus on development agenda 2030. The role of civil societies in terms of expertise, knowledge, amplifying voices of the marginalized and those at the grassroots and engaging at all levels of the process has had mixed findings. The study was conducted in Kenya because the level of attainment of the MDGs was not very impressive and also the extent to which the SDGs are being implemented is yet to be noticed even though hundreds of thousands of organizations operate within the nation. Successful implementation of SDGs requires the government to consider the contribution of civil societies (NGOs) in terms of resource mobilization and community sensitisation. The results indicated that there is a very significant influence between the contribution of civil societies and implementation of SDGs in Kenya. The Government needs to give civil societies support to effectively mobile resources and enhance capacity building amongst the communities in order to enhance the implementation of SDGs.