Crackdown on sham NGO’s long overdue

Following investigations carried out by the Ministry of Local Government and a subsequent report that exposed fraudulent acts committed by numerous Non Governmental Organisations that have, for years, been ripping off donors at the expense of Rwandans, immediate action should be taken. In Rwanda, like any other post conflict society, we witnessed hordes of NGOs after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, with most of them existing only in name, with no activities to justify the funds they got from benefactors. As the country recovered beyond any expectations, and got better organized, many of these outfits were exposed. However, a number of these sham NGOs, somehow, managed to maintain presence in the country, continuing to mislead the donors that they were doing charity work in Rwanda. It is shocking as revealed in the report, that most of these groups cannot account for the funds they have been receiving and they have resorted to falsifying ownership of existing government programmes such as Mutuelle de Sante, as some of the projects they initiated and have been funding. Such individuals should not only be stopped from operating in Rwanda, but should be also prosecuted to account for the crimes. Similarly, organizations that have been masquerading as NGOs to access donor funds (and to evade tax) for purposes of promoting certain political agendas, should be called to account. Ends

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Crackdown on sham NGO’s long overdue