Parliament passes peace and unity, NGO bills

Parliament has passed the peace and unity bill as well as NGO’s bill

The unity bill which was presented by Minister responsible Timothy Mtambo was passed after a lengthy debate

Commenting, Social and development expert as well as Makanjira development foundation has described the passing of NGO Act Amended Bill as impinging works of NGOs and developments in communities.

The reactions come a day after parliament passed the bill which defines the roles of NGO board and CONGOMA as well as seeks to bring sanity and accountability in the operations of NGOs in Malawi.

Among others the bill has raised registration fees for NGOs from K50, 000 to K5 million kwacha.

Reacting, social and development analyst George Phiri said “this move will see the number of NGOs reduced in the country as some of them will fail to pay registration fee which is very exorbitant.”

Phiri added that restricting registration of NGOs in Malawi will have negative effects as development will stall at community level where government fails to reach out due to lack of resources.

Makanjira development foundation executive director Osman Kennedy said “much as the law brings sanity on the operations of NGOs, it is tantamount to suffocating their activities.”

Kennedy said civil society organizations presence promotes democracy hence parliament should not pass laws that restrict operations of NGOs.