Today more than yesterday and at a time when non-profit organizations are growing everywhere like mushrooms, governance as a management technique is making a fortune. If the latter gains in relevance and credibility, it is because a non-profit organization, whether in the DRC or elsewhere, is not a vessel for the conquest of lost horizons. Pursuing a social goal rather than a profit goal, it is required to operate according to management rules which do not make it a kingdom at all permissible.
Indeed, who says governance for an ASBL, the same one which does not engage in industrial or commercial operations, except on an incidental basis, and “which does not seek to provide its members with material gain” (Art. 1 of Law No. 004/2001 laying down general provisions applicable to non-profit associations and public utility establishments), known as vision, it determines the long-term operating strategy, it defines a framework and rules, it ensures strategic alignment, it controls activities. Because good governance has criteria such as transparency, responsibility, accountability, participation and the ability to respond to the needs of members.
The novelty by Claude Mamba Kabasu, university professor and researcher keen on economic sciences, is, in this 207-page work, the pairing he establishes between governance and economics of non-profit organizations in the DRC. A pairing which suddenly becomes an irrefutable dilemma and which he translates through this cluster of questions: “What would therefore be the economic relevance of the existence of these non-profit organizations in an economic context dominated by market liberalism and fundamentally marked by the pursuit of objectives of a lucrative nature? Are Congolese non-profit organizations economic entities in the strict sense of the concept? How can we ensure, and assure the direct beneficiaries of their goods and services, the socio-economic legitimacy of their intervention in the public space? What would be their real contribution to economic development in the social spaces where they exercise their identity activities? (p.17).
Through these questions, the dilemma wavers and does not hold up. Because if economic pretension is preserved in non-profit organizations, it is in the name of their social responsibility. This is economicity itself, by the fact that “Congolese non-profit organizations are therefore called, never again, to rational governance, and to permanent control of their results to maintain ever greater coherence between the supply of goods and the real expectations of the beneficiaries, or better between the resources requested and the real impact on the community, and this, under the conditions of dynamic economic-financial balance, in order not to cause the entire community or the community to lose part of it, in the medium and/or long term, the opportunities for “broad growth” (p.17).
We see, in all cases, that economicity ensures, justifies and establishes the socio-economic legitimacy of non-profit organizations, required, on the basis of the presentation of their “social balance sheet”, to institute, in their operation, “ an accounting and social information system", to establish, in their operation, "an accounting information system and management of all material and human resources, and to constantly evaluate their results, not only financial, but also and especially the real social impact that their effective governance will have had on the life of society” (p.p.17-18).
The greatness of a thought is measured by its capacity to question the reigning order or the status quo. In an uncompromising indictment, A. denounces the inadequacies and incongruences of Congolese non-profit organizations in their “factual daily life”. But beyond this denudation, we envisage what A. and its fellow economists call "fundraising", a sort of aggiornamento for a functional effectiveness that meets the challenges of the times, "an innovative mechanism" which "commands a new governance" and "also induces the need to develop a new economic theory on Congolese non-profit organizations” (p.120).
Building on these premises, we are offered in this work a broth rich in ingredients which honors the economics-governance binary in non-profit organizations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, through 5 chapters.
Under the undulation of the first chapter (p.p.21-56), “the identification of the structural identity characteristics of Congolese non-profit organizations” is presented. This identification can be understood by taking a look at history. Indeed, the first theoretical beginnings on associations and their functioning begin with industrial society strongly marked by the (neo)classical economy which is criticized for maintaining competition, private property, individual interest and letting it happen. , having generated the organization of work and the division of society at the base of poverty and misery of a large mass of people. The fact that the limits of this “typical model” of development have been denounced by some authors goes without comment (p.p.22-24).
Deviating drastically from these first developments of associations in the context of industrial society, the associative reality in Congo has always existed, very unfortunately, with an ethnic or clan-based structure devoting respect to the myth of the founding ancestors represented by the traditional leaders. Such a structure, contrary to the current dynamic, restricted the freedom of the members, obliged to stick in everything and everything to the authority of traditions.
It is in reaction against this primary vision that the first associations based on a democratic consensus will begin to emerge with the advent of colonization and the fever of the first hours of independence. In the current movement, two branches stand out: religious and secular or political. These two, from the Church and politicians, are united by identical values, namely solidarity grouping and “social assistance” defending the values of “construction of protective and integrative practices especially with regard to widowed women, orphans, the disabled, taking into account the exclusion they were subject to in society” (p.24).
Around the 90s, the time of maturity dawned. Faced with the bankruptcy of the State which has become incapable, through the famous Objective 80 project, of ensuring the subsistence of the population, several non-profit organizations or NGOs "are born in peasant circles against the greed of traders and the informal tax administration, to help small sellers and farmers to create an “industria propria” (p.26). Today, these associations are numerous, extend to urban areas and take advantage of the partnership contract with the State to be effective and efficient. Hence the need, for their better functioning, of professionalization and the skills made available to them by the studies of the authors who have delved deeper into the associative reality and that A. explains with electronic ease (p.p.28-32).
It is from these studies and the support of successive State decrees testifying to non-profit organizations in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a dynamic reality on the basis of the comparison of for-profit organizations to non-profit ones, that some Common determinants were retained as structural identity characteristics of non-profit organizations:
- The non-profit organization is a place of wealth production, but not in the sense of a productive market unit (p.p.42-43);
- It is characterized by “non-profit seeking” (p.p.44-48);
- It is also characterized by volunteering and giving (p.p.48-50);
- It is a privileged downstream economic actor in the definition and execution of national development policies and strategies (p.50).
And in relation to their governance, non-profit organizations have the following implications:
- The non-profit organization pursues a profit within the limits of the permit as a means of achieving its institutional objectives of a meta-economic nature; therefore social utility as defined in the objectives (p.50);
- This social objective is carried out as a common project and shared by all members in a spirit of cooperation and responsible solidarity (p.51);
- A non-profit organization can increase expenses, maximize costs in order to achieve maximum satisfaction of the needs of its beneficiaries with reference to the Statutes (p.51);
- The criterion for setting prices for goods and services in non-profit organizations is not rigorously determined by the market, but it should be linked to the breach-even point; hence the difficulty of talking about added value and profit in the strict sense of the term (p.51).
- The management result understood as variation in net assets only represents the difference between inputs and outputs and, not necessarily between revenues and costs, so that the summary documents of a non-profit organization would present a situation which does not It is not economic in the objective sense of the term, but patrimonial and financial. Hence, to maintain the dynamic balance between outputs and inputs, we must always focus on the institutional objectives of the non-profit organization (p.52).
It should be noted that the production of overall social value as the vertebra of non-profit organizations has requirements or principles that control the behavior of members and identify the values that allow them to effectively achieve the ultimate goal and overall social value. There are three: Democratic Solidarity; Subsidiarity and Reciprocity (p.p. 52-53).
In conclusion, all these particularities specific to Congolese non-profit organizations can be understood thanks to a capacity which is intimately linked to them and which is called “economicity”, subject of the second chapter (p.p.57-78). Economicity, here is an operational concept, nourishing sap and key to understanding the modus operandi of Congolese non-profit organizations. Through her, A. responds to a good number of concerns: “What does the economicity of non-profit organizations mean? What are the parameters that make it possible to perceive its nature and identify its indicators? Isn’t the concept in question in contradiction with the non-profit statutory identity that non-profit organizations claim to claim? Where would the economic relevance of a non-profit association not wanting to pursue economic profit in the strict sense of the term lie? What is its chance of survival in a context marked today by profit maximization as the final objective of companies? » (p.57).
Through these concerns, we understand that economicity is a loaded concept. It reflects the requirement, for any organization, public or private, for profit or no profit, to scrupulously respect the principle of economic-financial balance in order to effectively achieve its statutory objectives (p.57). In this way, it “constitutes the main criterion which allows us to judge the suitability to undertake and/or continue a certain entrepreneurial initiative, that is to say that it is productive with regard to the maximization of the social satisfaction of the community or part of it” (p.57).
It is not easy to define and determine the indicators of economicity which are otherwise multiple and different depending on whether it is a for-profit company or a non-profit company. However, the only main indicator that stands out is the economic-financial balance in non-profit organizations as “an instrument for achieving its objectives, not as an end in itself as in for-profit companies, but as a necessary condition of its economicity ( even if it is not a sufficient condition) and its sustainability over time because it would be important to evaluate the quality of the goods and services offered to the beneficiaries” (p.61).
Obviously, this concept has become encompassing to the extent that it has extended to a broader context which embraces not only accounting and financial aspects, that is to say quantitative aspects, but also meta aspects. -economic (or better qualitative), that is to say ethics and transparency in management, good governance with the aim of social legislation and the integral development of the community in which these organizations are called upon to carry out their activities (p. 63). As a result, there are two key parameters in understanding the economics of non-profit organizations: Efficiency and effectiveness. Efficiency consists of producing the maximum results with the minimum effort and means, while effectiveness is the capacity which facilitates non-profit organizations their overall social productivity consisting of the following values:
- Sociality, motive (responsibility) of any company for profit (p.72);
- Sociality, internal motive (responsibility) of non-profit organizations (p.73);
- Participation, an instrument of socialization (p.73);
- Solidarity, condition of sustainability of the non-profit organization (p.75);
- The common good, common and final objective of non-profit organizations (p.77).
Better understanding the economics of non-profit organizations also means, through a comparative study, building the regulatory framework which justifies the partnership between the non-profit subject and the dominant subjects of the global economy. This is the very subject of the third chapter (p.p.79-108). But to get there, i.e. show how in a plural economy, the non-profit organization has its own legitimacy and communicates a culture, ethics, strategy and passion which convince the Partners involved in the overall management of the company and the community in which she is currently operating, the A. works to denounce the “failures” of the market and the State through neoclassical economic theory which placed the lucrative enterprise at the center of all economic concerns (p.79).
Indeed, dominating the economic context as a whole and establishing itself as a reference in the economic policy of the world, this theory "has prioritized two economic subjects, namely: the State and the market in the regulation of exchanges with various subjects economic” (p.79). In short, corroding sociality, as Benedict XVI says, through its selfishness and its credo of private property, it urges a shift which led to the birth of civil society organizations, in this case non-profit organizations. “This movement also requires another economy”, due to certain unfulfilled promises from the market and the State in the availability of certain fundamental goods and services for the community. The market therefore, in the name of its selfishness and its omni-market tendency, has failed in its contract of trust: failure of the contract because of the information asymmetry increasingly verified in its functioning” (p.81). In the same vein, Pope Francis, quoted by the A., insists: “Everything is not resolved with market freedom and that, in addition to the rehabilitation of a healthy policy which is not subject to the diktat of finances, we must place human dignity at the center and, on this pillar, the alternative social structures that we need must be built” (p.81).
Thus, “the non-profit organization establishes itself as a new economic actor, rationally situating itself between the market and the State. In its deployment, the non-profit organization would make it possible to remedy certain market failures such as information asymmetry which describes the inability of certain consumers to control the quality of products and the price at which producers offer them on the market. And in relation to the State, the non-profit organization would be an appropriate response concerning the overall offer of collective goods, these goods which are subject neither to consumer rivalry nor to the principle of exclusion that the State today can no longer satisfy completely. The non-profit organization would therefore intervene as a palliative measure by ensuring differentiated supply to differentiated demand” (p.82).
For their best performance, non-profit organizations rely on a regulatory framework for articulation between them, the State and the market. It is a normative framework, i.e. the set of legal texts relating to their legal recognition and the tax facilities that Congolese non-profit organizations enjoy in the exercise of their activities. Of these texts, the most important is Law No. 004/2001, establishing the principles of legal legality and guaranteeing the conditions for operationalization on the ground (p.p.83-86).
This text establishes the partnership between the State and Congolese non-profit organizations and specifies the exemptions or exemptions from para-commerciality which means that "even if an non-profit organization organizes a commercial activity, it must be on an accessory basis as stated Article 1 of Law 004/2001, with a view to effectively achieving the objectives set out in its institutional charter” (p.93).
We then understand why the tax and legal controller is on the lookout to submit the activities of the non-profit organization to an examination to verify compliance with the charter. Hence, each non-profit organization is required to protect itself and control its economy through a document called “Social Mission Report” which reports on the social responsibility of the non-profit organization; in other words, which shows how the non-profit organization met relational needs, respected the contract with the State and filled the institutional inadequacies of the State (p.p.96-104).
The internal coherence of these theoretical developments on “the articulation between the public, private and non-profit sectors” logically leads to the fourth and fifth chapters. The fourth understands and describes the evolution of the socio-economic behavior of non-profit organizations in light of the national and international economic environment, and concludes, following an investigation, that they were bankrupt due to numerous failures (p.p.109- 116) and proposes avenues and recovery strategies summarized in the innovative mechanism, “fundraising” (p.p.117-131) which proposes a new economic theory on Congolese non-profit organizations threatened with loss of their original identity due to multiple errors which they accused. The fifth chapter (p.p. 133-173) completes “fundraising” and honors the economics-governance pairing of non-profit organizations, by proposing some elements for effective management.
Moreover, A. ends his work with some annexes: Law No. 004/2001 in extenso; Free interview questionnaire; Statutes of the agricultural non-profit organization “Tuye Kumpala” and Internal Regulations of Collège Saint-Etienne.
We cannot put an end to this report without pronouncing a laudatio for Professor Claude Mamba Kabasu. With lucidity and insight, in a continent where the economy is in perpetual recession because of the globalized economy which undermines it from within and without, A. opens our eyes to an imposing reality in the socio-economic environment: non-profit organizations. It is a reality which imposes itself as a counterpart of companies linked to the neoclassical economy based on the unbridled search for profit which maintains inequalities which fracture the world into two diametrically opposed classes: Poor and Rich.
The advantage of such a vision is its insistence on the values of solidarity, cooperation and fraternity in unity. These are values that sharply divided Africa needs to boost its development. Because “the multitude which is not reduced to unity,” says De Antoine de Rivarol, “is confusion; the unity that does not depend on the multitude is tyranny.”
In terms of scientific research, this book is a model of its kind. Through its large and well-researched bibliography, it opens vast horizons and thereby becomes a source of knowledge for friends of reading. May it, through its new concepts, give rise to other works which will teach us that economics is a science which helps to manage well, to satisfy the needs which assail us on a daily basis using the means available.
By Ernest BULA Kalekangudu, Graduate of Higher Studies in Philosophy
Claude Mamba Kabasu, Economicité et gouvernance des Associations Sans But Lucratif en République Démocratique du Congo, éditions CEPAS, Kinshasa, 2023, 207p.
(Claude Mamba Kabasu, Economicity and governance of Non-profit Associations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, CEPAS editions, Kinshasa, 2023, 207p)
