The 1 billion Kwacha NGO Fund was launched by the Minister of Gender, Community Development, and Social Welfare Jean Sendeza at a ceremony that took place at Amaryllis Hotel in Blantyre.
Speaking at the event, the Minister said the fund is a response to capacity gaps affecting the sector which include failure by NGOs to register with NGORA and getting audited financial statements due to financial constraints.
She added that “we have also noted that potential donors, fail to provide grants to some NGOs who fail to meet donor requirements and fail to manage the grants due to capacity challenges.
Further to this, there is an outcry from MDAs who have noticed challenges in the coordination of NGOs especially at the district level which has contributed to these NGOs working in silos hence duplicating their efforts. Monitoring of NGO work has also proven to be difficult due to financial challenges in the district councils. Not only that, poor alignment has also made it hard to profile the sector’s contributions towards national development.”
The Minister said that the government’s vision is to assist NGOs to have an impact in the communities that they work in and help the country achieve the Malawi 2063 and the SDGs through the Fund.
Board Chairperson for NGORA Innoncentia Ottober said that NGORA was excited with the launch of the fund as it will support the NGO sector.
Ottober said that NGORA has in the past failed to offer incentives to NGOs due to financial constraints and thereby failed to implement two key objectives of the NGO Act. These include promoting the development of a strong civil society in Malawi and creating a conducive environment for NGO development through government incentives.
She then requested organisations and MDAs that will use the fund to utilise the resources for their intended purpose.
Said she “We at NGORA are very excited that we have gathered for the launch of the Fund today. I would like to call upon all of us to work together to ensure that once it is rolled out, the funds will be used for their intended purpose.”
NGORA Chief Executive Officer Edward Chileka-Banda said the Authority was pleased to launch the fund as there has been debate on the capacity of the sector and whilst this is going on, communities are increasingly becoming dependent on aid and handouts.
“The increased dependence on aid amid worsening poverty and hunger justifies the need for Malawi to invest in capacity building in all sectors including the NGO sector.
We expect that the NGO Fund will trigger growth in capacity by local agencies, and improve collaboration among NGOs, government agencies, and development partners to eliminate policy misalignment, and duplication of efforts and instead boost sustainability of NGO sector interventions. Additionally, the NGO Fund is expected to improve the quality of services being provided through robust monitoring and learning activities,” he said.
The NGO Fund has been sourced from government subvention to NGORA as well as fees paid by NGOs. It is aimed at building capacity of NGORA, NGOs, Ministries, and District Councils. The capacity will be built by focusing on three areas namely institutionalization, coordination, and monitoring and learning. To access the application form, please visit https://www.ngora.mw/ngo-fund/