Malawi NGO Board warns against partisan civic and voter education
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) Board, a regulatory body of NGOs in the country has cautioned organizations accredited to conduct civic and voter education for the 2014 tripartite elections against being partisan when discharging their duties.
NGO Board’s Chairperson Emily Banda warned the organisations Wednesday during a District Executive Committee (DEC) meeting held in Mzimba. The meeting was aimed at briefing the DEC members and NGOs working in the district on the existence of the board, its roles and objectives.
She said NGOs need to abide by the code of conduct when executing their work and warned that the board will close or suspend any organisation which will not abide by the laws.
“NGOs need to be professional and non-partisan when executing their job. They should not aim at supporting political parties but teach the people on how they can vote in a tripartite election and not necessarily telling the voters the candidate to vote for,” Banda said.
She then urged all NGOs to continue complementing government efforts in the implementation of development activities for the benefit of the rural communities.
Banda also asked all organizations that are not yet registered with the board to register before June 30, 2013 in order to win donor confidence.
District Commissioner for Mzimba Rev Moses Chimphepo applauded the board for the enlightenment and NGOs working in the district for complementing government development programmes.
He, however, asked the NGOs not to form parallel structures when implementing development projects.
“I would like to urge them to work with and maintain the already existing structures such as Area Development Committees (ADCs) and Village Development Committees (VDCs) and not to form their own parallel working structures,” Chimphepo said.—Malawi News Agency
