Civil societies call for NGOs board overhaul

Kenya Human Rights Commission acting Executive Director Davis Malombe (right) and CSO Reference Group Executive Director Njeri Kabeberi addressing journalists at Sarova Panafric hotel in Nairobi on October 31, 2015. PHOTO | JAMES EKWAM | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

In Summary

• Mr Mahamed said some of the NGOs have been operating two sets of accounts to hide from the government what they get in donations.
• On Friday, Ms Waiguru told Citizen TV that she had cancelled the directive because of the complaints raised against it.

By ELVIS ONDIEKI
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An umbrella group for civil societies has called for the overhaul of the NGO Coordination Board over Wednesday announcement that some organisations face deregistration.

The Civil Society Organisations Reference Group, consisting of over 200 Public Benefit Organisations, on Saturday questioned where the board’s Executive Director Fazul Mohamed draws his powers from as his term has expired.

“The NGO Coordination Bureau Executive Director Fazul Mohamed speaks in the name of the board yet the term of its members expired early this year.

“The 200 members of the CSO reference group have lost confidence in the leadership at the NGO coordination bureau. We urge the cabinet secretary to overhaul its leadership,” they said at a press conference in Nairobi.

The group praised a move by Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru to cancel Mr Mohamed’s announcement. They said Ms Waiguru “interrupted what was a colossal policy mistake”.

“The bureau was in the process of deregistering 10 per cent of a 40-year-old sector based on factual errors and unsubstantiated allegations,” the organisations said in a statement signed by their Executive Director Njeri Kabeberi.

On Friday, Ms Waiguru told Citizen TV that she had cancelled the directive because of the complaints raised by NGOs.

The umbrella body added that Mr Mahamed’s team had failed to deliver on its primary mandate and called for the formulation of a “professional” team.

“The sector is slowly being choked by a clumsy, short-sighted legislative and smear campaign to reduce space for PBOs to operate,” they added.

In his announcement on Wednesday, Mr Mahamed said some of the NGOs have been operating two sets of accounts to hide from the government what they get in donations.

“They have two sets of accounts — one for donors and another which is correct with less money going to the government,” said Mr Mohamed.

Among the organisations that have not accounted for donations are the Kenya Human Rights Commission (Sh1.2 billion), Kalonzo Musyoka Foundation (Sh64 million) and Africa Development Solutions (Sh9.7 billion).

Others are the Ahadi Trust, known for fighting jiggers (Sh84 million), Deaf Aid (Sh164 million), JISDO (Sh203 million) and Africa Population and Health Research (Sh5.8 billion).