The civil society has decried Parliament’s amendment of the NGO law, saying it is threatening and retrogressive to the work of civil society. “We are going backward. It is not progress. It is regress. We needed both representation and mechanisms of appeal. And these two have been taken away,” said Sarah Bireete, the director of the Center for Constitutional Governance.
Last week (Tuesday, April 23), Parliament passed the Non-Governmental Organizations (Amendment) Bill 2024 that disbanded the National Bureau for NGOs (NGO Bureau) board and returned the semi-autonomous body (bureau) under the Ministry of Internal Affairs as a department. The bureau and board were established by the NGO Act 2016.
“The bureau had a direct link with the NGOs and tried as much as possible to understand them as individual entities. Remember these are private organizations established each with a mandate in their memorandum and articles of association. So, the bureau took time to read the documents to understand the objectives, goals, and functions of each organization. It becoming a department means there will be few people paying attention to the above,” said Charity Ahimbisibwe, the executive director of the Electoral Laws Institute.
According to Moses Kimbugwe programs Director of Spectrum Uganda Initiative, “It’s better dealing with govt ministries directly. For me, it’s a better option. In my experience, it’s more effective and efficient to work directly with the ministries to get things done. it’s wise to communicate directly with the government ministries.
Vincent from EAVA Artists said that the decision to return the NGO Bureau to the ministry is a sign of a wider, more dangerous attack on basic freedoms and democratic principles that affects all levels of our society. This move is symbolic of a growing trend toward authoritarianism and intolerance that poses a serious threat to the foundations of our democratic societies. If NGOs are under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who will hold the government accountable?
The passed law, which was introduced barely a month ago, is part of the ongoing government plan to rationalize agencies and attendant public expenditure as agreed by Cabinet in 2021. The Rationalization of Government Agencies and Public Expenditure (Rapex) was premised on the Government’s need to create institutional harmony, eliminate functional duplication overlaps, and curb the high cost of administering the agencies. The bill now awaits the President’s assent before it becomes new law, but according to Bireete, the NGO sector was not consulted. the “NGO sector was never consulted. NGOs were told by the committee chair that there was no time. We might have to sort out these amendments in court,” she said.
Presenting the majority report of Parliament’s committee on defence and internal affairs, the chairperson, MP Wilson Kajwengye (Nyabushozi) said the bureau has a wage bill of sh1.3 billion. “The wage bill allocation does not accommodate the costs of the NGO Board and the adjudication committee, which are entitled to sitting allowances, mileage allowances, communication, and monthly retainer. The Ministry of Internal Affairs informed the Committee that due to the lack of provision for funds for these allowances, the NGO Board and adjudication committee had accumulated arrears of sh1.173 billion,” he said.
In a minority report, MP Donozio Kahonda (Ruhinda County) argued that assessing the broader mandate of the bureau visa vie cost saving was critical. “The NGOs and CBOs registered in Uganda are reported to bring into the country a minimum of sh 4.5 trillion annually,” he said. There are 5,916 duly registered NGOs as of 31st December 2023.
Kahonda reported that the bureau was the only regulator of the NGO sector and that its rationalization would weaken the capacity to oversee NGO operations in the country. “There are no duplications whatsoever with any other government department or agency,” he added.
Civil society actors rejected the reason for reducing wastage as the credible and good reason for mainstreaming the bureau. “A country loses sh10 trillion every year to corruption, how can it posture that saving sh 1 trillion is the magic bullet you need? At the same time as Parliament was rationalizing agencies, the President appointed 300 assistant resident district commissioners (RDCs). So, you have a district that has three representatives of the president – with a vehicle, a salary, and allowances. Does that seem like a person serious about cutting down the size of the government? He is saving money for more wastage?” Bireete asked. The bureau mainstreaming came just a few days after the creation of new offices of assistant RDCs in addition to the deputy RDCs.
Bireete said putting the bureau under the ministry not only causes bureaucracy but also denies the NGO’s redress. “If you put in your application and it is delayed, you appeal to the board. If they have not given you a favorable decision, you ask our representatives on the board what happened, and they can follow up. Now the same bureaucracy will remain, but where do you address it? The sector was represented by people on the board, the board has been dissolved,” she said.
The arbitration committee which was mainly handling redress and complaints from the sector has also been dissolved. “This takes away all the dialogue and we are only remaining with courts of law as the only avenue for seeking redress on matters of regulation and monitoring of the NGO sector which is not good. Now we are only left with going to court to challenge the decisions of the ministry. How do we challenge the decisions of the ministry? If they have passed a decision that is against you, where do you appeal?” Bireete wondered.
The Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, accused NGOs of money laundering. “How does the money come into the country? Is it through the windows, not the main door? I want you people to be very careful when you are talking about NGOs. NGOs – this is where money is being laundered into the country. This is how homosexual money is coming into the country,” she said, interrupting an MP who was highlighting the revenue increments the bureau collected over time.
The minority report credited the NGO bureau for saving Uganda from being blacklisted as a county whose NGO sector was vulnerable to Terrorism Financing (TF) and its possibility of being abused as a conduit to channel funds for TF activities. Uganda was on the grey list in 2016 but removed on February 23, 2024 after the bureau addressed the areas of concern.
Responding to the Speaker, Ahimbisibwe cited the Constitution, national objective 5 clause ii: The State shall guarantee and respect the independence of nongovernmental organizations that protect and promote human rights. “What NGOs usually do is protect human rights. Even as much as they talk about homosexuality, it is also a right for some people. But the bigger rights that are being protected are not only the homosexual ones; there are environmental, water, women, children, and election rights,” she said.
Ahimbisibwe fears the new changes at the bureau are a ploy to shrink the civic space. “It could also curtail the work of NGOs. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is sometimes managed by soldiers. Look at the minister himself. Muhoozi, who was presenting it on the floor of Parliament, is a UPDF soldier. A command could come saying we don’t want a certain NGO operating because of intelligence or reports of the NGO dealing in money laundering,” she said. Maj. Gen Kahinda Otafiire is the minister, Gen David Muhoozi (minister of state for internal affairs), and Lt. Gen. Joseph Musanyufu, is the permanent secretary. According to the ministry’s website, the 10-man executive has three more soldiers.
