Registering CSOs in Tanzania:Legislation and procedures

Asna Mshana 13.6.2016

CSO legislation in Tanzania● Generally, although there is a national policy and law on Non-

Governmental Organisations (NGO), Tanzania still lacks a national sector-wide policy and law on Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).

● The existing NGO law does not cover the activities of all non-profit organisations, or make them more accountable to the public.

● Majority of CSOs are registered as NGOs which comprises 44% of all registered organisations in Tanzania. The rest of CSOS are registered under other regulations.

● In general CSOs are regulated by different laws and regulations governed by different ministries and bodies. The main laws that govern non-profit organizations in the country are listed in the following slides in this presentation.

NGOs Act 2002● The enactment of the NGOs Act 2002 was intended to unify the law for the

governance of all NGOs in Tanzania.

● Instead, the new law has only streamlined the registration of NGOs and forced NGOs registered under other laws to comply with its provisions. However, it has neither invalidated nor prohibited registration of NGOs under other laws.

● In fact the NGOs Act has two major objectives: registration and monitoring of NGOs in Tanzania. According to the Act, an organisation, operating as an NGO without obtaining a certificate of registration, commits an offense liable to incur a fine not exceeding 500,000 shillings, imprisonment for up to one year, or both.

● Registered NGOs are governed by register of NGOs, under Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender and Elderly.

NGO definition

The NGO Act 2002 defines NGOs as a voluntary grouping of individuals or organizations which is autonomous, non partisan, non profit sharing organized at a local, national or international level, for purposes of enhancing or promoting economic, environmental, social or cultural development or protecting the environment, lobbying or advocating on such issue; or established under the auspices of any religious or faith propagating organization, trade union, sports club, or community based organization but does not include a trade union, social club, sports club, political party, religious or faith propagating organization or community based organization.

Societies Acts

● The Societies Act, Cap 337, 2002; This act provides for the registration of societies and for related matters. It was enacted to register and govern voluntary associations registered in Tanzania. Under this act, registered societies are governed by the Register of Societies under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

● The Co-Operative Societies Act, Cap 211; This act governs the formation, constitution, registration and operation of co-operative societies.

● The Tanganyika Law Society Ordinance, Cap 341, which governs the Tanganyika Law Society, a professional association for advocates.

Companies Act

● Companies Act, Cap 212, 2002; This Act provides for the registration and incorporation of the companies in Tanzania. According to this law, there are two types of companies: those that are limited by shares (profit making); and those that are limited by guarantee without share capital (non-profit making). According to the NGOs Act, registered companies, which are non-profit, are required to apply for a certificate of compliance which is issued by the Registrar of NGOs.

● The Copyright and Neighboring Rights Act of 1999, which governs copyright societies.

● Employment and Labor Relations Act, 2004, which governs trade unions and employers associations.

NGO registration

● As mentioned earlier about 44 % of civil society organisations are registered as NGOs. About 75% of these NGOs in Tanzania are registered under the NGOs Act. About 13% of NGOs are registered under the Societies Acts and about 6 % under the Companies Act.

● According to NGO Act 2002, There are two main categories of registration: 1) Registration at local level, 2) Registration at international level.

● The registration at Local level is sub categorized into three levels namely: (i) District level (ii) Regional level (iii) National level.

Registration requirements● The application for Registration of a Non-Governmental

Organization shall be accompanied by the following as per Section 12(2) of the NGO Act:

a) Copy of Constitution of the NGO.b) Minutes containing full names and signatures of founder membersc) Personal particulars of office bearers.d) Address and physical location of the head office of an NGO.e) Application fee in Tanzanian shillings, 41500 at district, 56500 at regional level and 66500 at national level. f) Any other particulars as may be required by the Registrar.

Registering INGOs

● The NGOs Act, recognizes International NGOs as charitable organizations that have originally been registered outside Tanzania.

● Procedure for registration of INGOs is provided for under the provisions of section 12(3) of the amendment Act 11/2005.

● In case of International NGO, the application for registration shall be submitted in a duly filled prescribed form no.1, and shall be submitted by three or more persons, being the founder members and two of whom shall be residents of Tanzania.

Registration requirements● (i) Certificate of incorporation in the Country of origin as proof of its

existence as a charity and/or for charitable purposes.● (ii) The governing constitution/by laws of the organization as per

Section 30 of the NGO Act. (that requires constitution to be submitted as a governing document and no NGO shall operate contrary to its constitution).

● Minutes containing full names and particulars of founder members.● (iv) Personal particulars of office bearers.● (v) Application fees, USD 267● (vi) Address and physical location of the head office of the NGO in

Tanzania.● (vii) Any other information required by the Registrar.

Certificate of Compliance● The provisions of Section 11(3) of the NGO Amendment Act,

requires NGOs that are registered under any other written laws in Tanzania, where their status requires registration under this Act, to apply to the Registrar for Certificate of Compliance. No fees shall be paid for compliance.

● This means a Certificate of Compliance shall be issued upon satisfaction by the NGO, be it local or international, of the terms and conditions for registration under this act and shall have a similar effect as a certificate of registration.

Procedures for complience

● (i) The application for Certificate of Compliance shall be accompanied by the following:

a) Copy of Constitution of the Non-Governmental Organizationb) Certificate of incorporation.c) Minutes containing full names and signatures of founder members.d) Personal particulars of office bearers.e) Address and Physical location of the head office of Non-Governmental Organization.f) Any other particulars as may be required by the Registrar.

Post registration/complience requirements

● All registered and/or complied NGOs including INGOs are required to pay fees annually and to prepare a report of activities including audited financial reports that shall be made available to the public, the Board and the Council and other stakeholders (see Section 29 of the NGO Act 24/2002).

● The annual fees applicable for INGOs is USD 60 and for local NGOs is 50,000 Tanzania shillings.

Further information● FCS, Annual report on the state of CSOs in Tanzania 2009:

http://www.thefoundation.or.tz/saturdaybackup/images/State of CSOs Annual report 2009.pdf

● Prime Minister's Office, Labour, Youth Employment and Persons with Disability: http://www.kazi.go.tz/

● NGO Coordination Unity , Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Children and Elderly:http://www.mcdgc.go.tz/index.php/departments/category/ngo_coordination_division/

● Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Children and Elderly:http://www.mcdgc.go.tz/data/procedures.pdf

● NGO Work in Tanzania Highlights of relevant facts, policies and laws Evod Mmanda (2012): https://www.kepa.fi/tiedostot/julkaisut/ngo-work-in-tanzania-2012-update.pdf