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No transparency in NGO spendings


Published : 29 Sep 2019 09:01 PM | Updated : 05 Sep 2020 08:38 PM

The process of receiving and spending of around Tk 3000 crore foreign donation per annum by the country’s NGOs is quite murky as they provide the government almost no information in this regard. Considering issues such as terror financing and suspicious NGO activities in Rohingya camps, people concerned feel worried due to this unusual secrecy between the donors and NGOs by which they also violate international rules regarding foreign donations.
According to international rules, the donors will have to inform the government about their purpose of financing, and the NGOs will have to inform the government in details about the source of fund as well as the sectors of spending.

A very few NGOs and donors obey this rule in Bangladesh. Most of the donors do not inform the government about their purpose of donating money and the NGOs also do not inform the government about their donors as well as of their area of spending of the received fund. Due to the issues like terror financing and suspicious NGO activities in Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazaar, this unusual secrecy between donors and NGOs has created concern inside the government too, sources said.

The parliamentary standing committee on finance ministry has discussed the matter at a meeting on 28 July last. Md Abdus Shahid MP, a member of the parliamentary watchdog, raised a question whether the government has any record regarding $ 350 million (around Tk 3000 crore) spending per annum by the NGOs. He further said that the parliamentary standing committee should know if there is any chance for it to cooperate with the government to ascertain that the NGOs were not involved, is not involved or will not be involved in terror financing.

In response to the query of Abdus Shahid MP, secretary of the Economic Relations Division Monowar Ahmed said that according to the Paris Declaration on foreign donations, no donor country or organisation can release its fund without providing information to the government of the country where they send the money. But, in spite of having such obligation as per international rules, many donor countries and organisations do not follow it.

However, the secretary further said that the NGOs have started providing information regarding their receiving fund after the government has passed a law in this regard. After enactment of the Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Act 2016, all the NGOs that are registered with the NGO Affairs Bureau are to collect approval of their donation through the Bureau, he added.

But the NGO Affairs Bureau cannot compel the foreign donors to provide their information regarding their donation or releasing fund.According to the information of the NGO Bureau, a total of 2,484 local and foreign NGOs have been registered with the Bureau by July this year. Among them 254 are foreign NGOs. Registration of 679 NGOs has been cancelled so far on allegation of various irregularities.

Besides, a number of NGOs-without-registration have been working in Rohingya camps. The government does not have any information about the funding of these NGOs.

Economic Relations Division officials said, though the NGOs receive their funds through the NGO Bureau, many of the NGOs do not use their funds properly. Even question has been raised against the NGOs regarding proper spending of the donations for the Rohingya refugees from the foreign countries and donor agencies.There are allegations that the NGO officials are spending the lion’s share of the donation for their own luxurious living.