KAMPALA, Uganda \u2014\u00a0Over 5,000 people employed by 54 non-governmental organizations in Uganda are staring at joblessness after the government halted their operations.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0National Bureau for Non-Governmental Organizations<\/a>\u00a0(NGO Bureau) indefinitely suspended the operations of the affected entities for failure to comply with statutory regulations.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the exercise of its mandate, the NGO Bureau has with immediate effect halted the operations of 23 NGOs over expired permits; 15 for failing to file annual returns and audited accounts and 16 for operating without registration.\u201d<\/p>\n An organization whose permit expires but continues to operate without renewal of its permit will is liable for a Sh2,000,000 [$566.63]-fine for every month of operation in default of renewal of its permit.<\/p>\n But, representatives of some affected organizations said the bureau\u2019s directive is an attempt by the government to suppress political dissent organizations critical of human rights violations.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll be writing to the National Bureau for NGOs reminding them of\u2026documents filed with them and other authorities in January this year,\u201d said\u00a0Nicholas Opiyo<\/a>, the executive director and lead attorney at\u00a0Chapter Four Uganda<\/a>.<\/p>\n A joint security team and\u00a0Financial Intelligence Authority<\/a>\u00a0arrested him on Dec. 22, 2020, accusing him of terrorism after his organization allegedly received Sh1.2 billion shillings ($340,000) from foreign donors.<\/p>\n He said his organization has always acted above board and rejected allegations of unlawful conduct.<\/p>\n Critics said the open-ended suspension of their operations is \u201can act of cowardice\u201d by the government to silence vocal non-state actors\u2019 oversight roles.<\/p>\n \u201cThey always harass us because they fear that when we speak, we unearth the truth which hurts Government and her reputation,\u201d Miria Matembe, the president of the\u00a0Citizens\u2019 Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda<\/a>, told Zenger News.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Covid-19 pandemic containment measures affected many activities in the country. It affected the timely submission of our returns. That does not warrant the suspension of our development partners?\u201d<\/p>\n Her organization is a coalition of 800 like-minded civil society organizations and over 8,000 individuals advocating for democracy in Uganda.<\/p>\n She said the affected organizations employ an average of ten people who now face an uncertain future without jobs due to the government directive.<\/p>\n Godber Tumushabe,<\/a>\u00a0the lead senior researcher for the Kampala-based\u00a0Great Lakes Institute for Strategic Studies<\/a>, said the government\u2019s action is tantamount to harassment to pro-democracy activists.<\/p>\n \u201cBy law, my organization is required to register and comply with the provisions under the Companies Act and not the National NGOs Act,\u201d he told Zenger News.<\/p>\n \u201cIt seems the bureau exists to harass independent rights groups.\u201d<\/p>\n Arthur Kintu, an employee of the\u00a0Africa Institute for Energy Governance,<\/a>\u00a0one of the 54 charities listed for immediate closure, said he\u2019s staring at financial ruin due to the government\u2019s move.<\/p>\n \u201cI am destined for severe financial hardship and poverty because halting our operations means severe socio-economic consequences for my family and me,\u201d he told Zenger News.<\/p>\n President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has had a fractious relationship with civil society.<\/p>\n While campaigning for his sixth term in office, which he won in January 2021, Museveni repeatedly accused his main challenger, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, of being a stooge of unnamed foreign forces.<\/p>\n Soon after winning the presidential race, he suspended the activities of the\u00a0Democratic Governance Facility<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 the largest funder to charities and civil and human rights organizations in Uganda \u2014 in February 2021.<\/p>\n Consequently, 74 organizations that depended on the Democratic Governance Facility as a principal funder shut operations, rendering over 5,000 people jobless.<\/p>\n The Democratic Governance Facility was established in July 2011 by eight development partners: Austria, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.<\/p>\n Its mission was to support state and non-state entities to strengthen democratization, protect human rights, improve access to justice and enhance accountability in Uganda.<\/p>\n But in his letter dated Jan. 2, to the Minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development,\u00a0Matia Kasaija<\/a>, Museveni accused the entity of foreign influence-peddling and subversive financial activities to undermine Uganda\u2019s sovereignty.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has come to my attention that the Ministry of Finance, under the hand of the Permanent Secretary, irregularly and unilaterally authorized a \u00a3100 million fund, known as the Democratic Governance Facility, to be operated exclusively by a foreign mission in Uganda,\u201d the president\u2019s letter read in part.<\/p>\n \u201cThe government of Uganda has no say or oversight on how the Democratic Governance Facility is administered in the name of the improving governance.\u201d<\/p>\n He asked the ministry to explain why it sanctioned Sh500 billion [$4.56 million] to the fund without cabinet involvement.<\/p>\n Legislators raised concern over the group\u2019s suspension as \u201ca matter of national importance\u201d in\u00a0Parliament<\/a>\u00a0in February 2021.<\/p>\n However, despite several meetings between the government and the organization\u2019s representatives, it remains suspended.<\/p>\n