NGO authority to deregister NGOs not complying with regulatory requirements
NGO Regulatory Authority (NGORA), a state-owned registrar and regulator of non-governmental organizations in Malawi, has ordered NGOs that have not met all regulatory requirements—including registration, reporting and having valid annual license—to do so by 31st March, 2024, or risk being deregistered.
NGORA Chief Executive Officer, Edward Chileka Banda, said this at a press conference on Wednesday in Lilongwe.
Banda quoted, for instance, section 22 of the NGO Law, which requires that every registered NGO file to the authority audited financial statements, annual reports, annual returns and sources of funding.
“Once we receive these reports, we consolidate them into one public report known as the NGO Sector Report and also upload the information to our online portal known as myNGO.
“Through this provision of NGO information to the public, Malawians are then able to trace how resources mobilized by NGOs in their name are being utilized,” he said.
According to Banda, on the reporting requirement, the authority, in 2023, expected to get 706 reports for the financial year 2022. However, only 432 reports were submitted by NGOs, representing 61% compliance rate.
The NGORA CEO said, although the compliance rate was high for the just ended year in comparison to the previous years, there are 147 NGOs that did not comply and, therefore, their information is not updated.
“We are currently issuing licenses to compliant NGOs who submitted reports in 2023. All NGOs that did not comply are therefore instructed to comply by 31st March, 2024, beyond which non-compliant NGOs shall not be allowed to operate in Malawi.
“Only NGOS that are registered and have valid annual licenses will be allowed to operate in the country as per the NGO Law.
“Further to this, the authority would like to notify all NGOs that have not complied for the past three years, that they will be deleted from the NGO database and the authority will impose relevant penalties”.
Banda further said the authority is also engaging NGOs in order to urge them to comply, as the government is initiating programs to deepen and strengthen the sector, focusing only on NGOs that have met all regulatory requirements and legally operating in Malawi.
“Apparently, the operating environment for NGOs remains conducive. We are only mobilizing them to ensure that they contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals and Malawi 2063 vision.
“NGOs collectively mobilized MK 615 billion in the financial year 2022-2023 alone, which is a lot of money. Government, citizens and development partners need to know if such investments are matching with results on the ground”.
Currently, there are 982 NGOs registered by the authority, excluding 43 that closed. Out of the 982, 126 are dormant due to operational challenges and 77 were newly registered in 2022.
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