An individual or a group wishing to set up a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) will be required to present one hundred signatories before the state notary for the organisation to be recognised, members of the Lower Chamber agreed yesterday.

Lawmaker Liberata Kaitesi,  however, wanted to know from the head of the standing committee, Bernadette Kanzayire, the viability of the requirement with regard to time management and service delivery.

"Subsection 7 of article 18 says that one of the requirements to set up an NGO is having 100 people who will be required to append signatures in the presence of a public notary, practically I feel it will be an impendiment to other locals’ time,” she said.

To this, Kanzayire explained that the signature requirement could not in any way be a problem to anyone because the Notary could even alternatively find the applicants in their offices.

She also said that one hundred signatures were not many citing an example of signatures that are required before one registers a political party. Article 6 also touches on the NGOs’ limitations in activities.

"An NGO shall neither engage in fundraising to support any political party, nor canvass on behalf of candidates for political office. It shall neither propose nor register nor in any way endorse candidates for public  office,” its says.

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