By Vincent Gunde
President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has encouraged Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to collectively assess and determine the programs that have a demonstrable impact on achieving the country’s development goals.
Dr. Chakwera said as Head of Government, he needs NGOs and CSOs that are credible and strong to hold those in public office accountable wondering how can public officers be held accountable by organizations that are not themselves accountable.
He said a more accountable NGO Sector is good for the creation of a more accountable Government saying he has been informed that Government is not properly accounting for foreign currency received through NGOs resulting in the country losing much-needed forex.
Speaking during an NGO Day held at BICC in Lilongwe on Thursday, President Chakwera has directed the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Gender to jointly engage Non=Governmental Organization Regulatory Authority (NGORA) to ensure that all forex received in the NGO Sector comes through regulated systems.
President Chakwera said Government must have the rule of law as its modus operandi if it is going to make any progress on its development goals thanking all NGOs who are exemplary that they are NGOs Malawians need to prosper together.
He also thanked NGOs that are delivering clear outcomes, constructing schools, hospitals, homes for the vulnerable and educating the masses in line with the country’s human capitalization agenda saying these exemplary NGOs are critical to setting the pace in how to partner and collaborate with Government to bring tangible transformation to Malawians.
The President said he has been inspired by the partnership between Government, NGOs, and Development Partners in serving the most vulnerable Malawians observing that this partnership has saved thousands of lives this year.
“Cholera in every district and Cyclone Freddy across the southern region, partnership has really worked,” said Dr. Chakwera.
He called on Development Partners to join the Malawi Government in supporting that work, assuring them that he is fully committed to measures that strengthen and expand the civic space, appealing to the NGO Sector that when they have concerns about Government policy, they should raise the specific concerns for Government to address them.
According to the NGO Sector report, Malawi has a total of 941 registered NGOs , of which 78 percent are local and 12 percent are international while 40 NGOs have closed their operations in the past year due to lack of funding.-
