Malawi NGO Board warns CSOs, 400 face ban

The Non–Governmental Organisations (NGO) Board of Malawi has given over 400 nongovernmental organisations up to May 31 to register with the board or face the chop, warning that it will deregister any civil society organisation which flouts the laws governing the operations of non–State actors in the country.

The NGO Board has the mandate to register and regulate the operations of civil society organisations in the country.

Deputy chairperson of the board  Maziko Matemba said out of 900 non governmental organisations only 500 are registered.

“The NGO Act empowers us to regulate both local and international NGOs. We want each NGO to submit their plan of actions, we want them to register with the board for transparency and accountability,” he said.

Matemba said NGOs can register through online, saying 275 NGOs have done so this year.

He warned failure to register means they will not get a licence from the ministry of Justice which they use to solicit funding from donors.

There have been reports that some NGOs who register in the name of charity have been carrying out contrary activities such as operating forex exchange bureaus or promoting homosexuality.