Hon. MPs during the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee

By Joseph Kiggundu

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee–Central Government has questioned the legality of the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ continued registration and supervision of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) without a formally constituted oversight committee.

The committee raised the concern over the failure by the ministry to establish the committee responsible for overseeing NGO registration and supervision following the rationalisation of the NGO Bureau in 2024.

Committee Chairperson Patrick Oshabe said the delay had generated complaints from NGOs, including allegations that the absence of the committee was being used to interfere with their operations.

“I have received several complaints and a petition that you are using the absence of the committee to silence people in the NGO world,” Oshabe told ministry officials.

He asked the ministry to explain whether some officials were deliberately delaying the reconstitution of the committee for personal benefit, as alleged in a petition submitted to the committee.

The MPs also demanded that the ministry identify the officials currently performing the functions of registering and supervising NGOs in the absence of the statutory committee.

Ministry officials led by Under Secretary Dorothy Nsereko attributed the delay to changes in the ministry’s political leadership.

Nsereko told the committee that the ministry was working to constitute the committee and pledged that it would be in place before the end of 2026.

The committee is expected to continue scrutinising the ministry’s administration of NGO registration and oversight, including the procedures currently being used in the absence of the formally constituted committee.