Zambian NGO's under Government control?

A government draft bill on NGO regulation proposes tight governmental control on the entire Zambian NGO-sector. If the bill is agreed to, it could be the end of smaller grassroots organizations, Zambia Council for Social Development fears.

By Soren Johannsen, Development Worker, Zambia Council for Social Development

06. June 2007

The umbrella organisation Zambia Council for Social Development (ZCSD), an MS strategic partner, is spearheading civil society’s response to a government draft bill on NGO regulation.

- It’s crucial because it will affect the capacity of NGOs to act as watchdogs, influence policies and provide checks and balances to Government, Programme Officer Humphrey Sikapizye of ZCSD explains.

Grass-roots in danger
The problem with the proposal that all NGOs have to submit themselves to an audit is that smaller grass-roots organisations simply will not have the financial means to pay for an external audit. Therefore they risk being deregistered even if they conduct their affairs legitimately.

Sikapizye does not believe there is a need for Government to impose stiffer restrictions in terms of how the NGOs should operate.

- It’s a way of controlling the most vocal NGOs or those who pose as a threat to Government, he says, also emphasising that there should be a higher degree of NGO self-regulation.

This means where the power to register and deregister NGOs lies with a board with majority members from the NGO-sector.

Apathetic civil society
In December last year, the ZCSD was given a mandate by more than 100 representatives from Zambian Civil Society Organisations at a symposium held in Lusaka to push for a much more self-regulatory bill.

This involves finalising the counter-proposal to the NGO draft bill, mobilising the voice of civil society to unite behind the counter-proposal, launching press campaigns and stepping up the dialogue with Government. However, ZCSD is experiencing challenges in mobilising civil society.

- There does not seem to be much concern about the NGO Bill. In general, there is inertia amongst the NGOs themselves who are focusing mostly on their own activities,  Sikapizye says.

Sikapizye sees the coming SADC Civil Society Forum in August, which ZCSD is co-hosting, as a good way of placing the NGO-bill problem high on the agenda.