We Were Closed For Holding The Government Accountable, NGOs Speak Out

We Were Closed For Holding Government Accountable – NGOs Speak Out

Posted by: Suubi Anne in Uganda news August 23, 2021

Closed Non-Governmental Organizations have spoken out on why they think government closed down. The government halted the activities of over 50 NGOs on Friday.

Apparently, they were not providing annual reports to the government as required of them. However, in a twist of events, the African Institute for Energy Governance(AFIEGO) said they only targeted NGOs critical of government.

“AFIEGO takes note of the fact that seven of the organizations whose operations the NGO Bureau says that it has halted are AFIEGO’s partners. AFIEGO and its partners have been targeted because they play key human as well as environmental rights protection roles in the oil and gas sector. The organizations also hold government accountable with neither fear nor favour.”

According to AFIEGO, the government has always targeted these NGOs with threats. These include deregistration, freezing of their bank accounts, arrests, and office raids among others.

Youth Line Forum, one of the NGOs insisted it surprised them that the government decided to suspend their activities. This is despite meeting all the requirements.

“We are a law-abiding entity, operating under and abiding by the laws of the Republic of Uganda. We have a track record of calling upon NGOs to comply with state regulations as they push back and reclaim their Civic Space. As a matter of fact, we are currently supporting 300 organizations nationwide to synchronize their operations with the law,” Youth Line Forum said.

It is however not yet clear what will happen to the employees of these NGOs after the suspension.

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