11 Mar 2019

Minister of Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs, Mr Ngaka Ngaka says following the establishment of the Advisory and Arbitration Council in April 2017, the council has received 17 cases for arbitration, out of which six have been concluded and 11 processed.

Mr Ngaka said the Advisory and Arbitration Council was faced with challenges of poorly formulated constitutions as well as poor record keeping by registered societies which delayed settlement of disputes.

He said to address the challenge, his ministry has developed a model constitution framework to guide prospective societies in developing their own, adding that they continued to create awareness and educate the public on issues of good governance related to societies.

Furthermore, Mr Ngaka said following the establishment of the Non-Governmental Organisation council in 2012, there had been improved coordination and dialogue between government, civil society and the private sector.

He noted that the council held two biennial national stakeholder dialogues on issues of national interest. 

In addition, he said council had developed a draft financing strategy for the establishment of a endowment fund which was still under consideration.

“The NGO council was faced with challenges of NGOs who do not affiliate to umbrella organisations thereby lacking representation at the national level,” he said.

Mr Ngaka also cited as a challenge the retention of the secretariat staff, noting that his ministry had so far appointed the programme officer and was in the process of recruiting the NGO council coordinator.

Member of Parliament for Nkange, Mr Edwin Batshu had asked the minister on the performance of the Advisory and Arbitration Council since its establishment, and to highlight its achievements and challenges as well as measures to address those challenges.

Mr Batshu also wanted an update on the performance of the NGO council since its inception, with achievements and challenges being highlighted, including measures in place to address current challenges. ENDS