The Government seeks to streamline Non-Governmental Organisations operating in the country through the Public Benefits Act, which emphasises the need for financial transparency and accountability.
The PBO Act, 2013 came into place in May last year, following an order by President William Ruto, replacing the previous Non-Governmental Organisations Co-ordination Act, 1990.
According to the new Act, the Public Benefit Organisations shall be required to keep up-to-date records of all their financial records, including audited accounts, detailed inventories of their assets, and annual progress reports of their activities and programmes. The NGOs will be referred to as PBOs under the new Act.
Speaking during a public participation forum for the new PBO regulations in Garissa, Public Benefit Organisations Regulatory Authority (PBORA) Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Laxmana Kiptoo said that the government is keen to operationalise the Act and get rid of organisations that only solicit funds, with no actionable programmes.
“The Kenyan government wants to know and ascertain all the organisations previously known as Non-Governmental Organisations, which are now referred to as Public Benefit Organisations, operating across the country,” Kiptoo said.
“We need to know exactly where these entities operate from and who their beneficiaries are. This law will make sure that we get rid of all ‘briefcase’ organisations who purport to be operating in certain areas of our country. They collect money from the donors, but in essence, these funds end up in other people’s pockets,” he added.
The CEO regretted that there have been non-governmental organisations operating in the country suspected of funding illegal activities such as terrorism and money laundering, which has put the country on the international radar.
He said that the Act will seal the gap and ensure that only legitimate organisations are operating in the country.
Kenya is currently on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, which was added in February 2024, due to deficiencies in its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) frameworks.
“There are NGOs that are suspected to be funding illegal activities and that has put us in problems as a country. You are aware that the country was grey-listed by the FATF because non-profit organisations have been touted to be a conduit for money laundering and terrorism funding, which has put us as a country in an awkward position,” he said.
Khalif Nunde, Chairperson for the Garissa Civil Society Network, applauded the new regulations, saying that the framework will bring some sanity among the NGOs.
“Regrettably we have briefcase NGOs that were only siphoning donor funds and failing to deliver on their mission. Going forward we need strict regulations to address these concerns,” Nunde stressed.
He said NGOs serving communities must be held accountable with mandatory reporting requirements, audits and allowing members of the public to access information on their activities.
“The new Act must be strict to weed out organisations that have no presence on the ground but are siphoning donors’ funds while operating with little oversight,” he said.
All Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Kenya have until May 13, 2026, to restructure their internal systems, including governance, financial reporting and registration requirements, in line with the Public Benefits Organisations (PBO) Act.
This follows the government’s decision to extend the compliance deadline by a year to allow for a smooth transition into the new legal regime.
According to PBORA, only 4,000 out of the 14,000 NGOs registered in Kenya are currently compliant.
According to the Annual Sector Report, the sector received Sh196 billion in project support and employed approximately 80,000 persons in 2024.
By Erick Kyalo
