Only 14 out of 173 INGOs report to govt

KATHMANDU, April 28:

Only 14 out of 173 International non-governmental organizations (INGOs) working in Nepal have reported about their project and expenditure details to the government so far.

Rests say that they are working as per the general agreement with the Social Welfare Council (SWC) under the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MoWCSW).
INGOs have been working in Nepal in various sectors such as supporting the uplift of the marginalized, dalits, minorities and indigenous people, besides the peace process.

According to the council, INGOs have invested a total of Rs 44.35 billion in the current fiscal year for various purposes, and that 80 percent of the sum has been reportedly spent on advocating the rights of the marginalized communities.

“We are completely unaware about the way these INGOs are spending that money,” said Rabindra Kumar, Member Secretary of the council.

The council neither has exact data of INGOs and their projects in the country nor a mechanism to monitor their activities.

According to the Ministry of Finance, only 14 INGOs have spent US $40 million in the fiscal year 2012/13.

Both the council and the finance ministry are at loggerheads with regard to ways to monitor and take action against the INGOs which have been working in Nepal without duly informing the state about their status and activities.

Fourteen INGOs, namely, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Shangri-La Home, Action Contre La Faim, CARE Nepal, Dan Church Aid, Handicap International Nepal, ICCO Cooperation, and International Center for Transitional Justice, International Nepal Fellowship, Margaret A. Cargill Foundation, Micronutrient Initiative, Population Service International Nepal, The ISIS Foundation, and World Vision International have reported to the government last year, according to the finance ministry.

The government had conducted training for 80 INGOs last year in regard to report about their activities in the Aid Management Platform (AMP) introduced by the finance ministry in 2010.

AMP provides online-based entry system to the government donors and INGOs. The government has coordinated with the Association of International NGOs in Nepal (AIN) to bring them inside the AMP ambit.

“The AIN is not very positive about providing details regarding the activities of INGOs or to maintain transparency,” charged Madhu Kumar Marasini, chief of International Economic Aid Co-ordination Division under the finance ministry.

He further told Republica that the government is going to force the INGOs to report about their programs and budget.

However, the government is trying to obtain data of all donors, including multilateral and bilateral ones, which have channelized their transactions through government offices since the past three years.

Although the government´s donors disbursed a sum of $345.6 million off budgetary programs, they have funneled $110.59 million directly to the implementing agencies, bypassing the Treasury Controller Office in 2012/13.

The international organizations working in Nepal should provide details of their financial transactions as per the Social Welfare Act-1992.

According to the Act, international organizations can work in Nepal for a period of five years at one time and can spend a minimum US $ 100,000 a year.

Social Welfare Council officials told Republica that 29 INGOs remain out of contact after signing a general agreement with the council ten years ago. As these organizations have stopped communicating with the council, their status remains unclear and ambiguous.

Council´s member secretary Kumar said that they are closely working with the MoWCSW to amend the Social Welfare Council Act to pave the way to initiate action against the erring INGOs.

As a matter of fact, the council had forwarded the list of such organizations to the MoWCSW and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs eight months ago, requesting the line ministries to initiate action against those organizations.

But the ministries apparently turned a deaf ear to the council´s request.

Issuing a public notice in March last year, the council had urged 32 INGOs to clarify their status in Nepal.  Only three of those organizations came into contact with the council following the notice.

Others have not submitted their audited reports for years now.

“As long as we do not amend the act, our hands are tied. We cannot take action against the erring international organizations,” Kumar added.

Refuting Marasini’s claims, AIN President Ashutosh Tiwari said that 112 INGOs are in touch with the government.

“Out of them 80 INGOs have taken training from the Ministry of Finance, under which workshops are being held in Kathmandu,” Tiwari said.

Tiwari, who is also the country director of Water Aid, added that INGOs affialiated to the AIN are regularly submitting details of their activities as per the existing act of the council.

But the government officials brushed aside Tiwari’s claim, stating that Water Aid itself has not reported its activities to the government.

Source: Republica