The Department of Social Development has confirmed it has deregistered over 6,000 non-profit organisations for failing to submit their annual reports as the law requires. 

IT’S THE LAW

The department’s acting deputy director general of welfare services, Mpho Mngxitama, said the move is part of efforts to prevent NGOs from being used for money laundering and terror financing. "We have not been de-registering or applying the law, and therefore, there were no consequences. Even those who were capable of reporting any suspicious activities did not see it fit to report because there was no punishment. Those who didn’t comply were not de-registered, so the cycle continued. However, we have since reached a point where we have to apply the law," she said.

GOVERNMENT FUNDERS ON BOARD

Mngxitama said they have been in contact with all the government departments that are funding NPOs. "We have asked the departments to give us a list of these organisations that they are funding. We will then approach them to check for compliance and warn them that if they don’t fix their affairs, they are going to lose funding." She explained that the response has been positive in this regard. "All the government departments that have been funding NPOs have been complying and submitting reports. Our next level is to approach the public funders, the donors, to make them aware of the consequences of not complying. Some do check with us and others don’t, so they need to make sure their money is being directed to serving its intended course."