Saturday, September 30Malawi's top news source
Shadow

Non-Governmental Organisations Bill to block staff from politics

`The government intends to amend the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) Act, a move that will restrict people working in the sector from engaging in active politics.

The Bill, which was gazetted on February 25 2022, also seeks to change the NGO Board into an Authority and also remove the requirement that NGOs have to register with Council for NGOs in Malawi (Congoma) before registering with the board.

It further intends to create a provision that will require the Authority to comply with Public Audit Act, Public Finance Management Act and Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act requirements.

The other proposed change pertains to the authority’s financial year which, if the Bill is enacted into law, will have to be aligned with that of the Central Government.

The Bill further proposes to amend Section 23(v) of the NGOs Act to include “a declaration that management and staff of the NGO shall not engage in partisan politics, including electioneering and politicking”.

The amendment, according to the Bill— which The Daily Times has seen— also seeks to remove functions of Congoma from the Act in recognition of the fact that Congoma is a non-State actor whose functions should not be in statutes.

“Further with respect to the role of Congoma and operations of NGOs, the bill proposes that [stakeholders must] streamline the registration process of NGOs by the Authority by removing the requirement for NGOs to register with Congoma before being registered by the Authority.

“Repeal provisions subjecting the Authority to oversight by the Congoma General Assembly in order to promote independence and professionalism of the Authority,” the Bill reads.

The government argues that the move to amend the NGO Act is meant to incorporate recent developments in the NGOs sector, enhance the role and independence of the governing board, streamline operations of the board, promote corporate governance of the board, streamline registration of NGOs and strengthen the reporting framework for NGOs.

However, Human Rights Defenders Coalition Chairperson Gift Trapence said the Bill could not be tabled now as there was a court injunction on the same.

“Parliament should not table the Bill until issues we raised are resolved. What I know is that the court order is still in place,” Trapence said.

He claimed that the government intended to use the authority to stifle dissenting views from NGOs while killing Congoma by making membership with the umbrella body voluntary.

“The NGO law is problematic as it has some sections that are aimed at shrinking the civic space.

“This is targeting institutions that work on governance and accountability. This is aimed at silencing NGOs that are critical to the government. We would also like to remind the Tonse Alliance-led administration that there is already an injunction which Cedep [Centre for the Development of People], CHRR [Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation] and Yas [Youth and Society] obtained. It stops Parliament from discussing the bill. The injunction is still intact. If Parliament brings back the bill, we will instruct our lawyers to institute contempt of court proceedings on this issue,” he said.

Congoma Board chairperson Kosamu Munthali said the Bill has some areas that need to be reviewed before it is passed.

“We have been discussing with government our expectations, and it is surprising that some clauses we asked government to remove are still appearing, As NGOs we will be meeting on Tuesday to map the way forward. We are asking members not to enact the law until our input is heard,” he said. The Bill is listed on the Order Paper, an outline of business to be tackled in the National Assembly.

Yas, CHRR and Cedep obtained injunction pending judicial review on December 18, 2018.

The Bill is under the custody of the Minister of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare.“`

Related News
Malawi Protesters Demand Inquiry Into Allegations Of Rape By Police Officers

EU and Britain ramp up pressure on government to act as street demonstrators converge on Lilongwe Hundreds of rights campaigners Read more

Dust Refusing to Settle for Martha Chizuma

Dust is refusing to settle for Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Director Martha Chizuma as she has been taken to task to Read more

Nancy Tembo clarifies why the president is attending the meeting in America

Minister of Foreign Affairs Nancy Tembo clarifies why the president is attending the meeting in America. She says the president Read more

Malawi president under fire for family appointments to cabinet

New 31-member cabinet includes six figures who are related to each other, although not to the president. Malawians have voiced Read more

Zameer Karim accused of intent to defraud Ecobank

Businessman Zameer Karim is facing a charge of intent to defraud Ecobank over K850 million, which is connected to Police Read more

MWENYE KIDNAPPING SAGA: Mustak Chotia implicates Mr Dipak Jevant of Sealand Investments

Mr Mustak Chotia, the mafia who masterminded the kidnapping of Shayona Cement Managing Director has implicated Mr Dipak Jevant, Managing Read more

Malawi Police zero on Indian Community’s kidnapper ring leader: Lebanese lady Rola Nasr Eldinne involved

Kadadzera: We are still investigating The issue of kidnapping and attempts on Indian community in Malawi with evil intentions is Read more

Fear grips Malawi’s Asian community over attacks, kidnapping

                                        Read more

Mustaq Chotia Implicates Mr Dipak Jevant mastermind kidnapping Shayona Boss

Mr Mustak Chotia, the mafia who masterminded the kidnapping of Shayona Cement official has implicated Mr Dipak Jevant, Managing Director Read more

Oops! Batatawala’s Son On the Loose

The Anti Corruption Bureau ( ACB ) has arrested self styled Blantyre businessperson Lido Karim also known as Batatawala two Read more

News To Read

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *