NGO Affairs Bureau (NGOAB), the regulatory body for foreign-funded non-government organisations (NGOs), has asked 2,072 NGOs in Bangladesh to involve officials from the regulatory body or local governments, in their activities. Md Nurun Nabi Talukder, director-general of NGOAB told The Independent, on Sunday, “To monitor the activities of foreign-funded NGOs, we have asked them to involve our staff or those from local government bodies, in their programmes, including seminars, discussions and workshops.”
Sources at NGOAB informed that after receiving a number of allegations about reluctance, negligence and corruption in implementation of donor-funded projects, the bureau has taken this step, starting this week.
“Without establishing transparent practices in foreign-funded NGOs, it won’t be possible to evaluate their activities,” said the director-general.
However, development experts and NGO insiders opined that such an initiative might not be effective in monitoring NGOs’ activities. The government should take more effective steps to monitor advocacy, campaign and communication programmes, that are hardly visible.
In the name of advocacy, behavioural change communication, and campaign, a number of NGOs have received large amounts of foreign funds, said another top official of NGOAB.
Most of these funds are being used in organising international, national, regional seminars, conferences, gathering, workshops and trainings, he said, adding, “It needs to be monitored if those programmes are really helpful in creating awareness, or not.”
The bureau, under the Prime Minster’s Office, started working in 1990, when the number of foreign NGOs was less than 300. There are 2,072 such NGOs in the country, till September 29, this year. In the last one and half years, the bureau cancelled registrations of about 530 NGOs, because of running projects without renewal licenses, failure to submit audit and annual reports, lack of transparency of the projects, doubt about their financial accountability, misuse of the foreign funds, etc, said a deputy director of NGOAB.
Responsibilities of NGOAB includes providing one-stop service to NGOs in respect of registration and processing project proposals, approval of NGO projects, fund releases, permission for appointment of foreign expatriate consultants and fixation of their tenure, examination and evaluation of reports or returns submitted by the NGOs.
It also coordinates, evaluates and inspects NGO activities, collects fees and service charges, inspects field-level NGO activities, besides examining their accounts, liaison with donors and NGOs, It also formulates reports on NGO activities and take appropriate measures.
Most of the NGOs, working in the field of education, health, good governance, establish and empower women and child rights, were found spending majority of donations in advocacy and campaigns, which are not transparent for stakeholders and the regulatory body, sources said.
The bureau provides registration as per the Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulations Ordinance, to regulate receipts and expenditure of foreign donations for voluntary activities.
As per the Ordinance, “foreign donation” means a donation, contribution or grant of any kind made for any voluntary activity in Bangladesh by any foreign government or organisation, or a citizen of a foreign state, and includes, except in the case of a donation made for such charity as the government, may specify any donation made for any voluntary activity in Bangladesh by a Bangladeshi citizen living or working abroad.
-With The Independent input
