NGO Board warns CSOs

The Non–Governmental Organisations (NGO) Board of Malawi has warned that it will deregister any civil society organisation which flouts the laws governing the operations of non–State actors in the country.

NGO Board chairperson Emily Banda gave the warning on Monday during a district executive committee sensitisation meeting in Mangochi on the existence of the NGO Act enacted in 2001.

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“The board, both as a registrar and a regulator is charged with the responsibility of keeping a register which has since shown that there are a lot of NGOs operating in the lakeshore districts which has raised suspicion,” Banda charged.

She said recent monitoring visits the board conducted found 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.

“This is the more reason we are sensitising the council to be on the look–out because, as you heard for yourself, Mangochi alone has over 68 NGOs which is generally a huge figure compared to development contributions on the ground,” Banda observed.

Mangochi District Council principal administrative officer Bissaih Mtayamanja hailed the NGO Board for enlightening the council on the need for cordial relationship between CSOs and government sectors in complementing each other in development activities.

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