Prime
Minister Otafiire defends merger of NGO bureau
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Maj Gen Kahinda Otafiire addresses guests during the CSO convention in Kampala on November 2, 2023.
What you need to know:
- The Minister's remarks come amid concerns from NGOs that the proposed merger into the Ministry of Internal Affairs could compromise the NGO Forum's autonomy.
Gen Kahinda Otafiire, the Minister of Internal Affairs, has urged Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) to halt their objections regarding the merger of the NGO Bureau. The bureau is responsible for registering, regulating, coordinating, inspecting, monitoring, and overseeing all NGO operations in the country.
Speaking at a quarterly dialogue on Thursday between NGO leaders and Ministry officials, Gen Otafiire emphasized that the government's rationalisation efforts concern entities under its purview, not NGOs themselves.
"I have heard members from the NGO sector complaining about the government programme of rationalisation, my dear collaborators in the NGO sector, we are rationalising what belongs to government and that is the NGO bureau, we are not rationalising what is yours (the NGOs)," Gen Otafiire said.
Gen Otafiire said while government is fighting corruption, it is also important that they fight wastage and reduce expenditure so that they can save resources for the people through rationalisation of the agencies.
“The fact that we are rationalising these government agencies, is indicative with what has been going on in the functioning of agencies and MDAs and it is in the interest of our people that we try to save us as much money as possible," he said.
The Minister's remarks come amid concerns from NGOs that the proposed merger into the Ministry of Internal Affairs could compromise the NGO Forum's autonomy.
Ms Margaret Sekaggya, the Executive Director of the Human Rights Centre Uganda, expressed reservations about the merger, advocating instead for a strengthened, semi-independent NGO Bureau capable of managing the country's 5,000 NGOs effectively.
"We wanted it to maintain its semi-independent status so that it can be able to handle the 5,000 NGOs which are in the country. It's a lot of work and we thought it would be better to strengthen it rather than shrink it under the Ministry," she said.
Ms Sekaggya highlighted that the ongoing dialogues over the past seven years between NGOs and government institutions have been instrumental in resolving issues and fostering good relations.
Cabinet approved the merger of various government entities in February, aiming to achieve substantial annual savings of about Shs1 trillion.
