Government to crack down on errant NGOs

GASABO - Unregistered international Non Governmental Organisations (NGO’s) have been warned to register by March next year or face closure, an official of Immigration and Emigration department have warned. Claudette Umulisa, the head of the Nationality and NGOs department told The Sunday Times at her office in Kacyiru on Thursday that at least six NGOs have been notified that they are operating in the country illegally. She did not name the six. “We have written to them because they have not shown us the necessary requirements needed to work in the country,” she said. Umulisa added that announcements were made on radio notifying NGOs that registration and other requirements to operate in the country will now be handled by the office of immigration instead of the Ministry of Local Government. Umulisa said at least 130 NGOs turned up for inspection following the announcement, adding that the blacklisted NGOs had not turned up for the exercise. The shifting of the registration of international NGOs from the Ministry of Local Government started in January this year after a cabinet meeting endorsed the office of immigration to regulate the NGOs. Umulisa pointed out that some NGOs’ incomes do not reflect their activities on the ground and that potential aid recipients of their programmes have not benefited from their activities. For instance a recent audit report now at the Supreme Court indicates how leaders of Italia Solidale, a local church-affiliated NGO diverted about Rwf 3billion meant for orphans. The report now under judicial scrutiny reveals that the NGO was established to help over 2000 orphans left vulnerable by the 1994 Genocide against Tutsis. Mid this year the Senate ordered investigations on NGOs to ascertain whether their funds were being misused. It was observed in the reports that NGOs receive substantial funding yet there is little activity reflected on the ground, on how it is used. The Director of Immigration, Theodore Mutabazi, added that an assessment is being done with all line ministries to ascertain which NGO’s have served beneficiaries adequately as a basis for the renewal of their work permits next year. He explained that most NGOs have been working without a proper orientation on the country’s development agenda. “Government should take charge in orienting and giving these NGOs priority areas for development. They should be part of the country’s development, and there should be accountability,” Mutabazi noted. According to Mutabazi, NGO interventions should be in line with the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS), Vision 2020 and Community Development Plan (CDP). The official website of the Immigration Office’s has published requirements for International NGO’s that want to operate in the country. These include; a statute, a detailed plan ofaction, a recommendation letter from the line ministry and attestation of collaboration from the district. “As far as I know the NGOs have adopted the new process,” Philip Christensen, the chairman of the International NGOs Forum, told The Sunday Times yesterday. When asked whether the new process will not affect their operations, Christensen said that it was too early to speculate because he does not know why the registration process had to shift from the Ministry of Local government to the Immigration office. He added that the Immigration has added new requirements on the list of credentials needed saying that this may slow down the registration process. Ends