The NGO Regulatory Authority has urged all organisations operating as NGOs without registration and those that did not comply last year to register and submit reports respectively by 31st March 2024.
Speaking during a press briefing on Wednesday, January 17th at Capital Hotel in Lilongwe, NGORA Chief Executive Officer Edward Chileka-Banda said according to the law, organisations that are not registered are not recognised as NGOs.
He said, “we want to enforce the laws that only NGOs that comply should operate in Malawi, and now we are giving them a notice of 31st March, at least three months’ notice for them to comply.
NGOs that have not registered should register and those that have not submitted their reports and do not have their annual license should submit their reports and get a valid license.”
He then emphasized on the importance of compliance and urged NGOs need to submit all their reports because they (NGOs) mobilise resources on behalf of Malawians.
“The NGO Sector Report for 2023 indicated that in 2022-2023 financial year NGOs mobilised about 600 billion Kwacha which is a lot of money. The question we are having together with government as well as development partners is if the investment is matching the results on the ground. So, if NGOs are not reporting government may not be aware of their contributions and it is an accountability issue,” he said.
Banda further said that in 2023, NGORA expected to receive reports from 706 NGOs, but only received 432. This represents 61% compliance rate. He further added that despite some NGOs not complying there is an increase in report submission and number of registered NGOs in 2023 compared to the previous years.
NGOs are mandated to submit their annual reports six months after the end of their financial year. The reporting period for the last reporting year ended on 30th June 2023 and was extended to 31st July, 2023.