Committee backs NGO financial disclosure law
The Parliamentary Committee on Social and Community Affairs has backed government’s move to make it mandatory for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to make full disclosures of their financial sources and use.
Members of the committee made the remarks yesterday when NGO Board officials appeared before Parliament to explain delays in enacting the new NGO Act.
During the meeting, the committee dismissed assertions that the proposed law would hinder the work of NGOs in the country, saying financial disclosure will protect the citizenry from abuse by unscrupulous NGOs.
Among others, the proposed Act says NGOs that fail to adhere to the law could be shut down or suspended by the regulatory body.
Committee chairperson Richard Chimwendo-Banda (Malawi Congress Party-MCP) said the committee was convinced the move to ensure NGOs are reporting to the NGO Board will help the country stop leakage of resources.
“Taking an NGO to register does not limit the right to association. Let’s not allow CSOs to interpret for us our own laws. We need to be regulating the civil society to also protect the public. We need to know how money is being spent. This is accountability. There is no threat,” he said.
Chimwendo-Banda also said Parliament will ensure that the new law offers enough protection to NGOs from government interference.
NGO Board chairperson Abigail Dzimadzi said they are working on ensuring that the Act was tabled in Parliament.
“From the government perspective, government is clear there is not much room for negotiation on the Act, but I would recommend that the committee also engages the Principal Secretary for Gender on the proposals which are in the ministry’s custody,” she said.
The proposed law, which will put stringent mechanisms to enforce reporting to the NGO Board, has attracted discontent from some NGOs which fear that it will interfere in their work.
The organisations further argue that knowledge of sources of funding by government can be used to cripple NGOs critical of the State by working to close aid taps.
However, government has cited recent cases of embezzlement and fraud in the NGO community as the reason behind the law. n
