Chileka Banda (middle) addressing the media in Lilongwe on Tuesday
* Out of 1,132 registered NGOs, only 553 have submitted their reports, which include technical and financial audit statements
* While 649 organisations held valid licenses by the end of 2024, only 167 NGOs have valid licenses for 2025
* Non-compliant NGOs would be deterred from using district councils’ and banks’ services
By Elia Chibwe, MANA
Since the directive that was issued in November 2024 by Non-Government Organisation Regulatory Authority (NGORA) — for all NGOs to submit their reports and comply with licensing laws — a total of 121 complied with 55 registering with the regulator, 55 submitting their reports and 11 renewing their licenses.
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This was announced on Tuesday by NGORA Chief Executive Officer for NGORA, Edward Chileka Banda at a press briefing in Lilongwe where he reminded all NGOs operating in the country to submit their reports and comply with licensing laws before the set deadline of March 31, 2025.
Chileka Banda added that out of 1,132 registered NGOs, only 553 have submitted their reports, which include technical and financial audit statements — and that while 649 organisations held valid licenses by the end of 2024, only 167 NGOs have valid licenses for 2025.
According to Chileka Banda, the total reported income in the NGO sector for 2024 amounted to K734 billion — a financial result which Chileka Banda acknowledged as underscoring the significant role that NGOs play in the country.
“We recognise the significant role NGOs play in advancing Malawi’s development agenda,” he said. “The contributions of these organisations — from enhancing healthcare and education; to promoting human rights and sustainable development — are invaluable to our society.
“However, for this impact to be both meaningful and sustainable, we must ensure that all NGOs operate within the framework of our laws,” said the CEO.
He stated that non-compliant NGOs would be deterred from using district councils’ and banks’ services as a way of preventing them from operating without licenses.
Names of all NGOs operating in the country with valid licenses in 2025 will be published in newspapers to ensure the institution’s transparency and accountability.
He commended response from the notice made in November, which prompted other NGOs to comply with the legal obligations as at that period, about 344 NGOs were operating without valid licenses, 173 without registration certificates while 419 failed to submit their annual reports.
NGORA first set a compliance deadline of December 31, 2024 before extending to March 2025 and at a press conference in November, Chileka Banda emphasised that NGOs need to register before starting operations in Malawi — which is also to protect them from being involved or targeted by risk activities.
The directive was a follow up to the public notice and several communications that NGORA made and Chileka Banda said once NGOs are registered, it is required of them to submit annual reports to the Authority.
He stressed that by not registering and not submitting reports, it becomes hard for the government to ascertain accountability and transparency and sometimes it may be difficult to monitor operations of NGOs and ensure that they do not cause any harm to communities.
The reports are also meant to appreciate NGO activities, their impact on society and any challenges they may face so that government should create an enabling environment for them to conduct their operations.
At the commemoration of NGO Day at Sanjika Palace in Blantyre in October 2024, President Lazarus Chakwera applauded the NGOs and all other development stakeholders who continue to support a vision for a better Malawi.
Celebrated under the theme; ‘Strengthening Partnerships and Capacity in the NGO Sector: Panacea for Achieving MW2063 Agenda’, the President said the NGOs’ “dedication to service and partnership is invaluable to the achievement of the MW2063 national development agenda”.
“Together, we will build a stronger, more prosperous Malawi, leaving no one behind,” he had said. “Without partnerships and enhanced capacity among all actors including NGOs, progress shall be slow against our wishes.
“We must be deliberate in fostering effective collaborations and double our efforts towards capacity building for the NGOs and the beneficiary communities.”
The commemoration of the day preceded three sectoral workshops which NGO Regulatory Authority (NGORA) hosted at Amaryllis Hotel in Blantyre, organised in collaboration with Council of NGOs in Malawi (CONGOMA) and the Ministry of Gender & Social Welfare.
The workshops were in three parts, focusing on NGOs that deal in education on the first day, October 9; health on October 10 and agriculture on October 11.
And it followed last year’s event in Lilongwe where a 2023 NGO Sector Report was also launched, which highlighted some serious challenges the sector was experiencing, which prompted President Chakwera to direct the Ministry of Gender, Community Development & Social Welfare and NGORA to work out how the sector could be capacitated.
In recognising the important role that NGOs play, the government factored the NGO Fund in its 2024/25 National Budget, which Parliament passed pegged at K1 billion.
Chakwera encouraged NGOs to continue collaborating with NGORA to ensure that the collective impact is felt even more strongly across the country and reiterated his administration’s “unwavering commitment to the localisation agenda” saying “sustainable development must be driven by local actors who understand the unique challenges and opportunities of their communities”.
“By building local capacity, we empower Malawians to take charge of their own development, fostering resilience and long-term success. The localisation agenda is not just a policy directive — it is a national imperative.
“The goal of the national development agenda, the MW2063 cannot be achieved without strong local organisations that are capable of delivering services, advocating for communities, and leading innovative initiatives.
“This is why we are prioritising efforts to support local NGOs and create an enabling environment for them to thrive.”
In its report in October 2024, NGORA indicated that by September 30, 2024, Malawi had a total of 1,089 registered NGOs from 941 while the number of NGOs operating without registration certificates dropped to 177 from 198.
From July 1, 2023 to September 30, NGORA recorded 148 newly-registered NGOs as compared to 77 in the 2022/23 financial year — representing 92% increase.
In 2024, 498 NGOs submitted reports to NGORA compared to 432 NGOs in 2023, representing 15% increase and as of September 2024, 604 NGOs were operating in Malawi with valid licenses as compared to 481 NGOs in 2023 — representing a 26% increase.
Revenue received and reported by NGOs jumped from K589 billion in 2023 to K734 billion in 2024, representing a 25% increase (from the 52% of the NGOs that submitted reports).
Health, education and humanitarian aid reported to have received the biggest proportions with 30%, 15% and 7% share respectively.—Additional reporting and editing by Duncan Mlanjira, Maravi Express
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