Over 200 refugee NGOs operating illegally in camps countrywide — Onek

There are 208 illegal Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs) reportedly operating in refugee settlements across the country, information from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) has revealed.

Minister of Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees Eng. Hilary Onek, in a letter dated August 17, to all refugee partners, said over 208 refugee partners were operating within refugees settlements without valid permits, valid memorandum of understanding (MOUs) with the OPM and valid projects.

Onek directed the illegal partners to immediately register or be prosecuted. He said some of the illegal partners implement activities outside the MOUs, and, therefore, unauthorised, while some simply cross from one settlement to another without authorisation and notifying the Government about their activities, investments and results.

"The government, through the Office of the Prime Minister, is strongly cautioning all refugee partners to comply with the rules and regulations that govern refugee operations in Uganda. In order to conduct refugee related activities, all NGOs and willing partners should possess a valid MOU with the Office of the Prime Minister, inclusive of the authorised activities and scope and valid licence to operate from the National NGO Bureau," Onek said.

Onek advised illegal partners to leave the refugee settlements and report to the OPM before the end of this month.

"Those who fail to comply with this order will have broken the law and will be prosecuted immediately," he said.

Onek said partners with valid operating documents should submit them to the OPM with all the information, including periodic reports on their operations and copy the reports to the office of Internal Affairs.

Onek also directed the OPM, security organs and other government agencies to clean the NGOs register and refugee response of noncompliant actors

A source told the New Vision that the number is likely to be higher since some partners are sub-contracted by some international agencies to implement on their behalf without clearance from OPM.

Documents indicate that only a total of 69 partners are fully authorised to implement refugee response activities in Uganda, meaning they have valid MOUs, permits and valid projects.

Data by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees indicates that currently, there are over 1.4 million refugees living in Uganda, majority of whom are from South Sudan.

The refugees are hosted in 14 settlements across the country.