KELUM BANDARA  Courtesy The Daily Mirror

• Enactment of law for monitoring, supervision of NGOs delayed
• National NGO secretariat to be removed from the authority of Public Security Ministry

Colombo, Sept. 6 (Daily Mirror) – The government has delayed the enactment of the proposed piece of legislation for monitoring and supervision of both local and international NGOs despite the availability of a draft worked out during the previous rule, Daily Mirror learns.

The need for monitoring and supervision of NGOs has been debated for well over a period of two decades because of complaints about unchecked spending and working against the national interests of the country. However, there are a large number of NGOs engaged in humanitarian, charitable work, contributing to the national economy in the end.

Currently, NGOs are registered in terms of different laws – the voluntary Social Service Organisations (Registration and Monitoring) Act No. 31 of 1980 and Amendment Act No 08 of 1998, the Companies Act No. 17 of 1982, the Special Acts of Parliament, the Societies Act of 1972, the Companies Ordinance, the Protection of the Rights of Elders Act No 09 of 2000, the Consumer Affairs Authority Act, and the Trustee Ordinance.

There are thousands of NGOs operating in the country, but only 1,895 of them have been registered with the National NGO Secretariat, which currently functions under the Public Security Ministry. The proposed law is meant to make it mandatory for all NGOs to register with the Secretariat.

In the evolution of the new piece of legislation by the last government, there was pressure from NGOs and sections of the diplomatic community, which cited it as an attempt to stifle freedom for civil society.

However, the new government led by the National People’s Power (NPP), ahead of the UNHRC session, has taken a soft stand regarding NGOs. According to a letter from the Foreign Ministry, the government is now seeking to place the National NGO Secretariat under the purview of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment by the end of this month. In the same communication, the government has stressed that it will ensure space for civil society to function well.

Way back in 2006, a parliamentary select committee was appointed under the chair of Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath, who was then an MP in the opposition. The committee submitted an interim report with recommendations regarding NGOs.

It, among others, recommended at that time that the audit reports of NGOs be prepared in compliance with the accepted audit standards of Sri Lanka and be subjected to direct supervision and investigation of the Auditor General.