-
Addressing the press on Monday, the authority’s chairperson Mwambu Mabongah Stated that the particular NGOs are receiving huge amounts of funds that they are not accountable for.
- At the same time, Mabongah claimed out of the 16 NGOs said to have received money from the Ford Foundation, only three are registered by both the registrar of societies and companies.
Image: VINCENT NGENO
The Public Benefit Regulatory Authority now wants the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to launch a probe into NGOs currently operating in the country.
The regulator claims some of the organisations are operating without the requisite registration documents in total breach of the PBO Act and Kenyan Law.
Addressing the press on Monday, the authority’s chairperson Mwambu Mabongah stated it has already forwarded to the agency a list of these organisations.
“The authority has forwarded to the DCI for further investigations, PBOs that are currently in operation without obtaining requisite registration,” Mobongah stated.
He claimed the particular NGOs are receiving huge amounts of funds that they are not accountable for, running bank accounts not authorised and also implementing projects that cannot be quantified or accounted for.
At the same time, Mabongah claimed out of the 16 NGOs said to have received money from the Ford Foundation, only three are registered by both the registrar of societies and companies.
Mabongah’s address comes in the wake of reports that some NGOs are allegedly behind the recent protests in the country.
Last week, Foreign Affairs PS Korir Sing'oei, in a letter to Ford Foundation President Darren Walker, claimed said some of the organisations funded by the Ford Foundation have been at the center of anti-government protests.
Sing'oei said Kenya is concerned that some of the organisations linked to the protest spent millions of shilling in the last month in an unexplainable manner.
"It is noteworthy that several of your Grantees received a total of US$ 5.78 million (approximately Sh752 million) between April 2023 and May 2024 - with unexplained expedited funding amounting to US$ 1.49 M (approximately Sh194 million) - over the last month alone," Sing'oei said in a letter dated July 18, 2024.
"Deeply concerning is that most of the Grantees have been at the centre of the Anti-FinanceBill protests and the subsequent anarchic mobilizations that have sought to upend the peace and security of the state."
He asked the organisation to provide full details of their Grantees over the last year, the programmes approved (particularly over the last three months), budgets for each project, the amounts so far disbursed and what is pipelined for disbursement.
"Furnish us with Reports from your Grantees detailing the activities carried out, the cost of these activities and their beneficiaries," Sing'oei stated.
The PS also wants the Ford Foundation to share a report on the Ford Foundation’s compliance with its Non-Lobbying Policy or a statement that this policy is inapplicable to its activities in the country.
Kenya at the same time wants the Ford Foundation to prescribe any sanctions it will impose for breaches of the law or their internal policies.
Ford has, however, denied any involvement, emphasising transparency in all its activities.
The information, it stated, is public and "readily accessible" on its website.
"As a charitable foundation with a global presence, our grant-making is transparent and readily available on our website," it said.
This, it has added, includes the database of where its funds are channelled to as well as the "highlights from our rich history in East Africa and around the world".
The Foundation also reiterated that while it supports the right of Kenyans to peacefully advocate for a just and equitable country, denounced any acts that advocate violence.
"We repudiate any actions or speech that are hateful or advocate violence against any institution, individual, or community," the statement reads.