Lack of coordination causing mistrust between NGOs, regulators

Summary:

• The Defenders Protection Initiative advocates for NGO-regulator coordination following a study revealing trust gaps. A symposium in Kampala discussed the need for an independent platform for civil societies to engage with regulators, addressing compliance and trust issues. Regulators present included URSB, NGO Bureau, FIA, KCCA, NSSF, URA, and district NGO committees.

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KAMPALA, (Examiner) – The Defenders Protection Initiative has called for coordination between non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and regulators. The call follows a study that revealed that there is a persistent lack of trust between Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and regulators due to lack of clear coordination and communication.

The findings were released during the ‘Talk to your regulator’ symposium held in Kampala.

Yona Wanjala, the Executive Director of the Defenders Protection Initiative, said that there is a need for an independent platform for civil societies to communicate with regulators regarding key aspects of the regulatory landscape in the country.

According to Wanjala, the platform would address compliance obligations, and foster trust and transparency.

The regulators that attended the meeting were the Uganda Registration Service Bureau(URSB), The NGO Bureau, the Financial Intelligence Authority, the Kampala Capital City Authority, the National Social Security Fund, the Uganda Revenue Authority, and The district NGO monitoring Committees among others.

James Nkuubi a researcher from the network of public interest lawyers stated that the research conducted in the 9 regions of the country also revealed the lack of feedback from FIA and challenges related to district monitoring of NGO committees.

He also stated that there has been friction between NGOs and the regulators based on perceptions or misperceptions and mistrust.

“Trust can illuminate or ferment compliance, people can choose to comply with you the moment they trust you, we wanted to transform where NGOs comply because of fear such that an NGO can voluntarily comply because it trusts the regulators.

According to Nkuubi, there is so far some progress made by the regulators that brings them closer to the NGOs.

Stephen Okello the Executive Director NGO Bureau emphasized the need for NGOs to recruit compliance officers to monitor compliance and avoid penalties for those that are non-compliant.

Razarus Mukasa, the Director of Monitoring and Analysis at the Financial Intelligence Authority said that in terms of compliance as a sector, there are varied indications NGOs are doing well in some fields and not good in other areas like capacity building.

He also denied allegations that FIA is targeting Muslim-led organizations, adding that no NGO had been sanctioned.

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