Angolan non-governmental organizations (NGOs) must adapt to the new law by September, which strengthens the mechanisms for registering, monitoring, and controlling their activities and sources of funding. Monitoring will be carried out by a body appointed by the President of the Republic.
The legislation came into force on Tuesday (3) and justifies, in its preamble, the need to update the legal framework to bring it into line with the country’s current development context and strengthen the mechanisms for NGO action, highlighting that the law aims to improve monitoring procedures and ensure greater transparency in the actions of these entities.
Non-governmental organizations will also have financial transparency obligations, including regular reporting on projects, financing, and transactions, as well as maintaining organized accounting and the possibility of audits, especially when using public resources.
The new law establishes that monitoring and supervision will now be centralized in a body responsible for monitoring, supervising, and evaluating its activities, to be appointed by the President of the Republic, as head of the executive branch.
This body, whose composition is not detailed, is responsible for supervising programs and projects, verifying their sources of funding, and ensuring that they are not used for illegal activities such as money laundering, terrorist financing, or human trafficking.
The law also provides that this same body may determine the suspension of an NGO’s activities for up to 120 days, extendable, whenever there are indications of illegal practices or practices that “undermine the sovereignty, security, or integrity of the Republic of Angola.”
Among the main new features is the creation of a formal system for the accreditation and registration of NGOs, requiring organizations to register with the entity responsible for monitoring and evaluating their projects after legal registration.
Source: Lusa
