525 NGOs Officially Illegal. Is There Hope For Job Seekers?

By Elizabeth Benu,

Working for an NGO is always a dream to many looking for a huge salary and great benefits that come with the job.

That perception might fade following the move that saw I5 NGOs deregistered for allegedly funding terrorism activities in the country and the region, and their officials are likely to be prosecuted.

“The NGOs Co-ordination Board has also deregistered another 510 charitable organisations for failing to file their audited reports as required by law, frozen their accounts and acquired their assets for redistributing to other NGOs pursuing similar activities,” reads the Daily Nation

The government has also given a 21 days ultimatum to another 12 NGOs with an income of more than Sh500 million and which have failed to file their audited reports.

Among the 12 NGOs put on notice for failing to comply with the law are Medecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders); Technoserve Kenya; Water for Life; LVCT Health; Adventist Development and Relief Agency International; and Artsen Zonder Grenzen-Holland.

Others are the Centre for Health Solutions Kenya; Concern Worldwide; FH Association; and Veterinaires Sans Frontieres Belgium.

On the same, financial accounts of some of the organizations have been frozen hence the employees will not have their salaries for this month.

What do Kenyans have to say about this?

“I think this is a blow to students who are currently undertaking courses that can only get them jobs in NGO’S. Think of those taking Project Management, M & E, Environmental Sciences or the Medics majoring in Public Health? Did the government put into consideration what it might do to them?” says Mercy Cherono, a recent graduate with a degree in Community Development.

Samuel Ongechi, a business man in the CBD opines that the donors of such organizations are the ones to be held liable.

“Freezing the accounts will not help. It is bad that employees have to suffer for their employers mistakes. It would have been better if they were paid before the accounts got frozen,” Mr. Ongechi adds.

Christine Mumbi, a field Officer at a local NGO is content with the move.

She says, “If the said organizations have been funding illegal activities as speculated then it is better we do away with them. As for the students there is always a way out such as volunteering. The move has also affected me and I support it if it will help unearth the unscrupulous NGO’s.”

“These fake charities and NGO’s with little or nothing to show should have been out a long time ago. Job seekers should be glad that this did not happen when they were working there. If I was an employer I would be skeptic about employing someone who has worked in any of the named NGOs,” says John Ndegwa, a fourth year in a local university.

A list of the de-registered NGOs can be found on The Standard on page 3.

Do you still have hopes of working with an NGO after all this?

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