4.3 Registration and De-Registration of NGOs

One respect in which the final draft policy appears to be a clear improvement on the old regime is its provisions for expediting the registration process. First, the policy proposes a time limit of three months for the completion of the registration process. The Registrar is required to inform the applicant whether the application for registration has been approved or rejected within one month of the submission of the application. In the event of rejection, the final draft proposes a right of appeal to the Minister responsible for NGOs who will be obliged to determine the appeal within two months. Thereafter, the applicant has option of appeal to the ordinary courts of law.¹ (The final draft does not specify which court shall have jurisdiction to determine these appeals.)

Time limitations are also imposed on the de-registration process. The final draft proposes that an NGO be afforded the right to be heard before it is de-registered by way of a written notice. The NGO will then be required to respond within three months. It is implied that during this period the NGO will be suspended but this suspension will last for a maximum of six months after which the suspension will presumably be lifted.² Should the NGO concerned be dissatisfied by the decision of the Board, it shall have the right to appeal to the Minister who is required to determine the appeal within 30 days of its submission. Thereafter, there is a further right of recourse to the ordinary courts of law and while the appeals are pending in the courts, the NGO shall be allowed to continue with its operations.³

The effect of these provisions is to end the extensive ouster and finality clauses within the Ordinance which shielded officials from judicial scrutiny of their decisions. Welcome as they are, they represent less of a concession to the rule of law than might at first sight appear, as the Tanzanian courts have already developed jurisprudence that challenges the constitutionality of these clauses (Lissu 2000).

More significant perhaps, is the proposed decentralization of the registration process from the central government institutions to the regional and district authorities. It is, for instance, proposed that NGOs which intend to operate locally shall be required to be registered in the district or region where they will operate, while only those with a more national character shall be registered at the central level.⁴ This will make the registration speedier and cheaper, reducing the logistical burden that central registration in Dar es Salaam presents for many NGOs under the present system.

1. Ibid., 13, para. 7.5(i).
2. Ibid., 14, para. 7.6.
3. Ibid., 15, para. 7.6.2.
4. Ibid., 14, para. 7.5(iii).