New Act to streamline NGOs

Nadira Gunatilleke

A new Act will be presented to Parliament soon to streamline all Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Some INGOs and NGOs render a significant service to Sri Lanka while some INGOs and NGOs are involved in terrorism and other illegal and anti-Sri Lankan activities, Social Services and Social Welfare Deputy Minister Lionel Premasiri told the Daily News.

The Deputy Minister said through the new Act all INGOs and NGOs will be brought under a single law. When the new Law is passed in Parliament NGOs will be assigned to do the projects and programmes required by the people of Sri Lanka.

Under this new law, NGOs are required to change their foreign staffers once in every three years and are compelled to give priority to employ Sri Lankans. At present some retired foreigners use NGOs as a cover to stay in Sri Lanka, he said.

Deputy Minister Premasiri said the General Secretariat of NGOs functions under the Social Services and Social Welfare Ministry but the NGOs can register themselves under the present law which register NGOs as a company which do not make profits with District Secretariats and other similar regional State institutions. “Therefore there are no exact records of them.

The situation became worse after the Tsunami because a large number of NGOs came to Sri Lanka,” he said.

Due to this, the Government has no idea as to which NGOs are operating and what type of work,

they are involved in various parts of the country. Using this opportunity some NGOs are involved in terrorism, other illegal activities and various projects and programmes which have no relevance to the requirements of the relevant communities, he said.