Opinion (Page 13) Daily Nation, 04/04/2013 William Maema Tough regulations to cause ripples in NGO sector once they are implemented Perhaps owing to the highly charged political atmosphere over the last few months, the enactment and assent of a new NGO law may have passed unnoticed.The Public Benefit Organisations Act (No 18 of 2013) is bound to send shock waves across the NGO landscape when its implications begin to be felt in a few months. Although the new law was assented to by the President on January 14, 2013, it is yet to come into force, pending the gazettement of the commencement date by the Cabinet Secretary for Planning and National Development under whose docket public benefit organisations (formerly known as NGOs) will fall. Apart from introducing a few cosmetic changes such as christening NGOs as Public Benefit Organisations (PBOs), the NGO Coordination Board as the Public Benefit Organisations Regulatory Authority, the NGO Council as the National Federation of Public Benefit Organisations, among other fancy names, the new law also introduces drastic changes to the NGO sector. Under the transitional provisions contained in the Sixth Schedule to the new Act, all NGOs registered under the old law are required to seek fresh registration under the new law within a year from the commencement date of the Act. Failure to comply carries grave consequences. An NGO which fails to so register will be stripped of the character of a public benefit organisation or equivalent status within 30 days after the expiration of a formal notice from the PBO Authority. All NGOs that had been exempted from registration under the repealed law are required to seek registration within three months of the commencement of the Act. This means that their exempt status has been abolished. PBOs are required to submit to the regulatory authority a detailed inventory of all their assets and such record shall be open to public inspection. Anyone is entitled to obtain a copy at a reasonable cost. The election of the nine members to the governing board of the PBO Federation will be supervised by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission. Remuneration for PBO directors has been abolished. The new law provides that directors of PBOs shall serve on a voluntary basis and shall only be reimbursed costs and expenses properly incurred in the service to the organisation. This might make it difficult for PBOs to attract high calibre professionals to their boards. PBOs are also required to be professionally audited annually and their financial statements filed with the regulatory author ity within six months after the end of each financial year. Except for international organisations which must have one third of their directors as Kenyan citizens who live in Kenya, it is no longer necessary for any of the top officials of a PBO to be a Kenyan who resides in Kenya. However, PBOs are required to submit to the regulator personal particulars of their officers including their names, office and residential addresses within one month of their appointment or election. The governing body of a PBO is to be distinct from the management to enhance transparency and accountability.Upon the dissolution or wind ing up of a PBO, its assets shall be transferred to another PBO with similar objectives and no officer or member of the PBO shall benefit from such distribution. The regulator has power to fine, suspend or cancel the registration certificate of a PBO which is found to be operating in violation of the Act or contrary to its own constitution. The new law also introduces a myriad of other changes that NGO are likely to welcome, namely: The time for registration has been condensed to two months, from the current four to six and an obligation imposed on the authority to either register a PBO within the stipulated time or give reasons for the refusal; The benefits to be enjoyed by PBOs are now clearly spelt out in the law including tax exemptions, incentives and access to government training. There is no personal liability for officers of a PBO in respect of anything done in good faith on behalf of the PBO. PBOs are now permitted to own and manage real estate for their public benefit objectives. They are allowed to engage in economic and income-generating activities to support their programmes. – The writer is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a partner in the law firm of Iseme, Kamau & Maema Advocates. On Thu, Apr 4, 2013 at 2:42 PM, Daniel Otieno Omondi <dottocomp@yahoo.com>wrote:
Thanks for that info Alex
Daniel O.Omondi Dotto Computer Agency P.O.Box 16753-00100 Tel:+254-020-313939/38 Cell:+254-722-756211 E-mail:dottocomp@yahoo.com Skype:dottocomp Facebook:dottocomp Nairobi,Kenya
------------------------------ *From:* Alex Gakuru <gakuru@gmail.com> *To:* Grace Mutung'u (Bomu) <nmutungu@gmail.com> *Cc:* Daniel Otieno Omondi <dottocomp@yahoo.com>; ISOC Kenya < isoc@lists.my.co.ke> *Sent:* Thursday, April 4, 2013 1:04 PM *Subject:* Re: [ISOC_KE] NGO/Society
Hi,
"Sensational" is too mild a narrative. I am actually torn between crying or laughing at the nameless author. Reliable sources affix BYLINES for articles ownership and credibility reasons. The author clearly has no idea of the genesis of new law, what motivated it, the social justice leaders whom drafted it and lobbied hard the push for its enactment. But then again, neither does whois kenyan-post.com reveal much about the domain name owners, save for:--
Domain Name: KENYAN-POST.COM <http://kenyan-post.com/> Registrar: GODADDY.COM <http://godaddy.com/>, LLC Whois Server: whois.godaddy.com Referral URL: http://registrar.godaddy.com Name Server: NS63.DOMAINCONTROL.COM <http://ns63.domaincontrol.com/> Name Server: NS64.DOMAINCONTROL.COM <http://ns64.domaincontrol.com/> Status: clientDeleteProhibited Status: clientRenewProhibited Status: clientTransferProhibited Status: clientUpdateProhibited Updated Date: 28-feb-2013 Creation Date: 30-mar-2012 Expiration Date: 30-mar-2014
Under these untrustworthy circumstances, it's better to simply just ignore such "news." Huyu mtu hata hajiu anaadika juu ya nini..
regards,
Alex
On Thu, Apr 4, 2013 at 12:39 PM, Grace Mutung'u (Bomu) <nmutungu@gmail.com
wrote:
Hi, No. The PBO Act does not affect Societies such as ours (See section 5 (2) of the Act) . Also, please if you can, read the Act for yourself . The reporting in that article is too sensational.... Best!
2013/4/4 Daniel Otieno Omondi <dottocomp@yahoo.com>
Greetings Folks, Will this affect our society too...
http://www.kenyan-post.com/2013/04/all-ngos-in-kenya-to-change-their-names.h...
Daniel O.Omondi Dotto Computer Agency P.O.Box 16753-00100 Tel:+254-020-313939/38 Cell:+254-722-756211 E-mail:dottocomp@yahoo.com Skype:dottocomp Facebook:dottocomp Nairobi,Kenya
------------------------------ *From:* WANGARI KABIRU <wangarikabiru@yahoo.co.uk> *To:* ISOC Kenya <isoc@lists.my.co.ke> *Cc:* Roselene.Ofori-Mensah@isoc.gh *Sent:* Thursday, April 4, 2013 11:48 AM *Subject:* [ISOC_KE] Fw: PRESS RELEASE: ISOC GHANA to hold discussions on Internet and Openness
Greetings ISOC Kenya,
An interesting debate this is.
Looking forward and I am sure ISOC GH will share the proceedings.
Have a pleasant day.
Regards/Wangari
--- Pray God Bless. 2013Wangari circa - "Being of the Light, We are Restored Through Faith in Mind, Body and Spirit; We Manifest The Kingdom of God on Earth".
--- On *Thu, 4/4/13, ISOC Ghana Chapter <secretariat@isoc.gh>* wrote:
From: ISOC Ghana Chapter <secretariat@isoc.gh> Subject: PRESS RELEASE: ISOC GHANA to hold discussions on Internet and Openness To: wangarikabiru@yahoo.co.uk Date: Thursday, 4 April, 2013, 10:27
[image: ISOC Ghana Chapter Logo]
Dear **, *mediate Release* *ISOC Ghana to Organize Stakeholder Discussion on Internet & Openness* *Thursday, 4 April 2013* The Internet Society Ghana Chapter (ISOC Ghana) is organizing a social event to discuss the future of the openness of the Internet. The Internet Society believes in and facilitates the open development of standards, protocols, administration, and the technical infrastructure of the Internet. In December last year, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) convened the WorldConference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This landmark conference sought to review the current International Telecommunications Regulations (ITRs), which serve as the binding global treaty designed to facilitate international interconnection and interoperability of information and communication services, as well as ensuring their efficiency and widespread public usefulness and availability. The multi-stakeholder approach adopted for the development of the Internet since its inception has served the Internet community well over the past years leading to breakthrough innovations. This approach was called into question at WCIT-12. The questions being asked are: · Should the Internet continue to remain open or should governments be allowed to regulate its usage including determining what kind of content should be published on the internet? · What will a governmental censorship of the Internet mean for the advancement of Internet related innovation and technology? ISOC Ghana Chapter is inviting officials from the National Communications Authority, National Information Technology Agency, Ministry of Communications, Civil Society and other interest groups to share their views on the subject and matters arising in the aftermath of the WCIT-12. Where SSNIT Guest House, Near Police HQ at Ako Adjei Interchange When Friday 5th April 2013 at 6:00pm Who All Interested person in the subject *About ISOC Ghana Chapter* Internet Society Ghana Chapter (ISOC Ghana) is a chartered Chapter of the Internet Society (ISOC) which is a non-profit organization founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet related standards, education, and policy. ISOC Ghana is dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of people in Ghana and throughout the world. Since it was formed in 1996, ISOC Ghana has championed a number of initiatives in capacity building for the technical community and education. For more information, please visit the chapter’s website at http://www.isoc.gh/ *For further information, please contact Roselene Ofori-Mensah, Communications and Programs Chair on **+233-208122561 **or via email at ** Roselene.Ofori-Mensah@isoc.gh * *Internet Society Ghana Chapter *c/o 16 Boundary Road, East Legon, Accra Email: info@isoc.gh Web: //www.isoc.gh
_______________________________________________ isoc mailing list isoc@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/isoc
_______________________________________________ isoc mailing list isoc@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/isoc
-- Grace L.N. Mutung'u (Bomu) Kenya Skype: gracebomu Twitter: @Bomu Website: http://www.diplointernetgovernance.org/profile/GraceMutungu
_______________________________________________ isoc mailing list isoc@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/isoc