• Nat. NGOs Secretariat DG Sanjeewa Wimalagunarathna explains motives behind regulating and monitoring NGOs

The country’s non-governmental organisations (NGO) sector, which attracted attention in various ways in recent years, will soon be subjected to proper monitoring and registration-related processes. The popular notion about such plans is that the Government is attempting to subject NGOs to unnecessarily strict surveillance. However, the true motive behind these efforts is to ensure that NGOs are responsible, lawful, accountable, and transparent, especially concerning the funds that they receive.

Emphasising this, National Secretariat for NGOs Director General (DG), Sanjeewa Wimalagunarathna noted that in order to facilitate these efforts, the Secretariat will, in the near future, be legally empowered as a regulatory authority. According to him, in a context where thousands of NGOs have registered at both the national and divisional levels, such methodical management of these entities is necessary. He made these statements during an exclusive interview with The Daily Morning.

Below are excerpts of the interview with him.

What is the structure of the Secretariat and what are its main functions and powers?

The Secretariat has five main units. They are for the registering of NGOs, the provision of recommendations for visas for those coming to work in NGOs, the conduct of inquiries, the direction of NGO-related matters, and the management of NGOs that provide microfinance-related services. Recently, a district coordination unit was also added.

What sort of legal powers does the Secretariat have?

Under the prevailing law, we perform registration and supervision-related services. At present, we do not conduct any activities as a regulatory authority. However, under the Bill that is being drafted for a new Act, we will receive regulatory functions and powers. There are no considerable inadequacies in the laws that govern the Secretariat at present. But, there are various requirements of the Government, the Parliament, and various other institutions with regard to NGOs, and in order to take action concerning those parties’ concerns, these laws are not really adequate. As a Secretariat, we have adequate legal provisions to perform the duties of the said five units. However, in order to move forward, this has to be established as a regulatory authority. In fact, this is not an institution that has been established under an Act but through a Presidential circular, and therefore, there is a need to further empower this as a properly legally established body. The relevant provisions are included in the proposed new Act.

In addition, NGOs register under various laws, and those that do not register under the Secretariat operate independently, adhering only to those relevant laws. They don’t come under the purview of the Secretariat. The Parliament, the Secretariat, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), and the Government, on various occasions, ask for details of these NGOs. However, the issue is that we have the details of only those that have registered with us. 

For example, when the Easter Sunday attacks occurred, details about various organisations were requested. But, all that we could provide was those that had registered under the Secretariat and were being monitored by us. Another objective of the proposed new Act is to make it mandatory for NGOs to register with the Secretariat regardless of the institutions and laws under which they have obtained registration. This is important especially if they engage in social services.

The proposed Act is currently at the Legal Draftsman’s Department. There were discussions with local and international NGOs with regard to the proposed Act.

There is a huge fear prevailing, especially among NGOs, about the authorities’ plans to regulate NGOs, which many claim could limit the NGOs’ freedom. What is your response to these concerns?

Upon hearing the word “regulation”, many fear that they would lose the freedom that they have at their workplaces and in their activities. But, there is no room for such limitations of freedom. The aim of the regulations is to bring the NGOs that currently operate in the country under some law. In many cases, NGOs work independently. We also plan to promote cooperation between NGOs, the Government, and other relevant parties.

For the time being, we cannot monitor NGOs that operate as trusts or have registered under the Companies Act, for example. However, those registering newly are instructed by the registrar of companies and banks (when opening bank accounts) to register at the Secretariat as well. It is a decision taken by the Government, and as a result, many come here to register. We don’t register any NGO without a request made by them. It is voluntary. NGOs should provide a request letter stating that they would like to register with us, and there is no forced registration process.

How do you view the importance of NGOs to the country?

NGOs are institutions that are independent of the Government, which is a necessary structure. They are often the ones that engage in advocacy and awareness-raising efforts pertaining to human rights. For example, the existence of the Right to Information Act is pointless if the people are not aware of how to use it. It is something that NGOs could take the initiative to do, especially because the Government cannot tell the people to question it. Actually, what NGOs do is sort of fill a gap. In most cases, NGOs are needed to do what the Government misses. NGOs have a massive responsibility, and on the other hand, even the Government sees huge usefulness in NGOs. As per the present Government’s policy in this regard, NGOs are considered partners in progress as they perform a great deal of work. The issue is that this role is not being performed properly. We are planning to talk with these organisations and conduct capacity-building programmes in order to get them on the right track.

What sort of changes can we expect in the near future regarding the manner in which the authorities deal with NGOs?

At present, there are several laws in Sri Lanka that apply to this matter. Among them are the Financial Transactions Reporting Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. In fact, Sri Lanka’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recommended that these Acts be amended and that the Secretariat be given legal recognition. I think that when that happens, the CBSL might impose various regulations. In that case, the Secretariat has to facilitate the implementation of those regulations, especially when it comes to matters like financial transactions monitoring and reporting which are a part of the country’s laws according to which we have to operate.

There are various allegations about NGOs’ activities, especially concerning their long-term objectives, and these concerns are sometimes connected to promoting homosexuality in the country and supporting terrorism. Will these matters be looked into?

Yes. Even now, the necessary monitoring process is operational. But, the only issue is that those processes are limited to the NGOs that have registered with us. The CBSL’s Financial Intelligence Unit currently looks into terrorism financing, and that is not the job of the Secretariat. We don’t have the power to monitor accounts and such. But, when registering with us, we can look into whether those working in these organisations have a good track record and whether they work in accordance with the established system. In the case of homosexuality, it is a human right regarding which legal changes are in progress.

There is also a trend of members of one family or a group forming organisations and registering those organisations under the Companies Act, in which case they lack transparency. In many cases, it is NGOs that talk about transparency the most. However, many of them have failed to maintain transparency in them. In many cases, those organisations are run by members of a family. When they come to us to register, if they comprise only family members, we guide them to change that composition to ensure transparency, and only then do we allow them to register. In addition, when we receive continuous reports about various organisations, including from intelligence services, we apprise our district officials about those concerns and engage in a sort of monitoring effort regarding those organisations’ activities.

Are there instances where legal actions were taken against NGOs for violating laws?

Yes. It is possible to appoint investigation boards, and even now, such boards are looking into certain matters. There is no prohibition on organisations. What happens is that the Government appoints management to replace the existing management. When the relevant issues are resolved, the previous managements are able to return to their respective organisations.

Are there plans to impose taxes on NGOs?

There is currently a tax for NGOs. The general estimation set by the Inland Revenue Department is that out of the funds received by NGOs, around 28% is used for administrative purposes such as salaries, consultation fees, and transport. A tax of 3% is imposed on that 28% of fund allocations.

Local NGOs are supported by both local and international funders. As part of the imminent reforms that you mentioned, will funders be monitored in the future?

There is no such monitoring taking place, for the time being. However, in the event of a problematic situation, we write to the funders about those situations and the organisations involved. The main transaction occurs between the donor and the relevant NGOs. The Secretariat has no involvement in it. Generally, what happens is that the NGOs write to funders seeking funds to address a certain issue faced by the public or the State. Those requests are made on behalf of the citizens of our country, and what we receive as funds is the tax money of citizens of another country. Therefore, the Government has a responsibility, and what our officials monitor is whether the rightful beneficiaries receive those funds.

Of course, embezzlement happens in this sector, and it is not a secret. There is also the squandering of funds. The said efforts are made in order to minimise these. There are organisations against which there are massive allegations of embezzlement. Certain organisations, in fact, obtain funds from several funders for the same project and project activities. They conduct only one project and project activity and send the same report to all the funders in order to save money. Such money could be distributed among different parties in various ways, and fake receipts could also be used in such cases. Such acts do not get caught in many cases, and that is why we require an audit report from a reputed audit firm. There is a certain limit to what the laws can do. The issue is that the citizens of Sri Lanka are not adequately informed in these matters. Be it NGO workers, labourers, farmers, or politicians, that issue has spread to all parts of society, and NGO workers are also part of this society.