Members of CCRDA Sign a Code of Conduct

From left to right: Debebe Hailegebriel, Tsigie Haile, and Dr Meshesha Shewarega Members of CCRDA have signed a Code of Conduct on a historic event that took place at the CCRDA Conference Hall on December 29, 2016. The Code of Conduct (CoC) is intended to further step up the commitment of CCRDA members to internalize self-regulation and become accountable to the people they serve. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Meshesha Shewarega, Executive Director of CCRDA, said, “The sector cannot exist without ensuring good governance and ethical practices. The Code of Conduct is thus very important to ensure the development effectiveness of CSOs/NGOs by making them accountable to their beneficiaries.” Dr Meshesha further said that the sector has had distorted image among the public, the government and other development partners. Signing and implementing the CoC is thus a way to build the positive image of the sector. Dr Meshesha concluded his speech by saying that the CoC is a way to correct one another and improve the image of CSOs. CCRDA established a Panel of Ethics at its General Assembly held in March 2016. The Panel that serves as custodian of the Code has nine members who are Executive Directors of nine CCRDA member organizations. President of the Panel, Tsigie Haile, who is also Executive Director of Organization for Women in Self Employment (WISE), said the Panel has been familiarized with its responsibilities, and have had a deeper knowledge of the CoC and have prepared well to accomplish its tasks and responsibilities. Debebe Hailegebriel, a legal expert, had a presentation that helped familiarize the participants of the meeting with the CoC. Sixty two member organizations of CCRDA who attended the CoC launching and signing meeting signed the CoC. Members that have not signed the Code today are expected to sign in due course. CCRDA is a Consortium of more than 400 Ethiopian resident and foreign charity organizations. One of the criteria to join the Consortium is to sign the Code of Conduct. The Consortium and its partners have been exerting a serious effort since the late 1990s to promote self-regulation within the CCRDA membership and beyond.