CSOs feel targeted about money laundering
Civil society organisations are experiencing more concerted efforts by the government to monitor and control them.
ELLANIE SMIT
WINDHOEK
The legal environment for civil society organisations (CSOs) in Namibia deteriorated last year, with more concerted efforts by the government to monitor and control the sector.
According to a new report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), these organisations felt particularly threatened by the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), which seemed to regard them as a major risk for money laundering and financing of terrorism.
CSOs also complained of worsening bureaucratic obstacles during registration, according to the report entitled ‘2020 Civil Society Organisation Sustainability Index’.
The report noted that CSOs register as trusts with the Master of the High Court or as companies not for gain with the Business and Intellectual Property Authority. CSOs offering healthcare or educational services must also register with relevant line ministries, and organisations involved in child protection activities must comply with additional registration requirements.
“Both trusts and companies not for gain continued to face delays and red tape when seeking to register, update details, or deregister in 2020.”
Rushed policy
Furthermore, the report said CSOs felt pressured last year by ongoing attempts to revive a government-civil society partnership policy and create an umbrella body for the entire civil society.
A foreign development agency acting on behalf of the Ombudsman’s Office was widely seen as the main driver of the initiative, it read.
“CSOs saw the agency as forcing the issue and were concerned that they were not involved as equal partners and the effort was overly rushed. The agency ignored a request for a meeting from the Action Coalition and set what CSOs believed were unrealistic deadlines for the agreement to be finalised and the umbrella body to be established. The initiative petered out at the end of the year.”
The report further said that as the FIC, which is attached to the Bank of Namibia, prepared for a review of Namibia by the Financial Action Task Force in 2021, it maintained that civil society posed a significant risk for money laundering and terrorism financing.
“Some CSOs disputed the FIC’s proposed requirement that all non-profit organisations register with it under the Financial Intelligence Act 13 of 2012. “Other CSOs subscribed to the overall aim of preventing money laundering and terrorism financing, but questioned why the FIC was targeting civil society when Namibia’s major money-laundering scandals concerned government-linked bodies, private companies and politicians.”
Stringent requirements
By the end of the year, the FIC was still consulting with CSOs, including churches, in an effort to persuade them to register with it and supply financial information. Some CSOs also found it difficult to meet the more stringent compliance requirements imposed by their banks in 2020, usually under anti-money laundering regulations, according to the report.
For example, the requirement to file many mandatory forms posed a heavy administrative burden on CSOs with little capacity.
[email protected]
WINDHOEK
The legal environment for civil society organisations (CSOs) in Namibia deteriorated last year, with more concerted efforts by the government to monitor and control the sector.
According to a new report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), these organisations felt particularly threatened by the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), which seemed to regard them as a major risk for money laundering and financing of terrorism.
CSOs also complained of worsening bureaucratic obstacles during registration, according to the report entitled ‘2020 Civil Society Organisation Sustainability Index’.
The report noted that CSOs register as trusts with the Master of the High Court or as companies not for gain with the Business and Intellectual Property Authority. CSOs offering healthcare or educational services must also register with relevant line ministries, and organisations involved in child protection activities must comply with additional registration requirements.
“Both trusts and companies not for gain continued to face delays and red tape when seeking to register, update details, or deregister in 2020.”
Rushed policy
Furthermore, the report said CSOs felt pressured last year by ongoing attempts to revive a government-civil society partnership policy and create an umbrella body for the entire civil society.
A foreign development agency acting on behalf of the Ombudsman’s Office was widely seen as the main driver of the initiative, it read.
“CSOs saw the agency as forcing the issue and were concerned that they were not involved as equal partners and the effort was overly rushed. The agency ignored a request for a meeting from the Action Coalition and set what CSOs believed were unrealistic deadlines for the agreement to be finalised and the umbrella body to be established. The initiative petered out at the end of the year.”
The report further said that as the FIC, which is attached to the Bank of Namibia, prepared for a review of Namibia by the Financial Action Task Force in 2021, it maintained that civil society posed a significant risk for money laundering and terrorism financing.
“Some CSOs disputed the FIC’s proposed requirement that all non-profit organisations register with it under the Financial Intelligence Act 13 of 2012. “Other CSOs subscribed to the overall aim of preventing money laundering and terrorism financing, but questioned why the FIC was targeting civil society when Namibia’s major money-laundering scandals concerned government-linked bodies, private companies and politicians.”
Stringent requirements
By the end of the year, the FIC was still consulting with CSOs, including churches, in an effort to persuade them to register with it and supply financial information. Some CSOs also found it difficult to meet the more stringent compliance requirements imposed by their banks in 2020, usually under anti-money laundering regulations, according to the report.
For example, the requirement to file many mandatory forms posed a heavy administrative burden on CSOs with little capacity.
[email protected]
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