NGO,S In Pakistan

Presented By :
Muhammad Adnan Ashiq
Muhammad Yasir Hameed
Muhammad Faheem Sadiq
Hafiz Muhammad Faiz
Contents
 1. NGO definition and introduction
 2. History of NGOs in Pakistan
 3. Laws governing the NGOs in Pakistan
 4. Regulatory framework for NGOs in Pakistan
 5. Types and activities of NGOs in Pakistan
 6. Role of government in NGOs in Pakistan
 7. Role of donor support in NGOs in Pakistan
 8. Impact of NGOs on poverty in Pakistan
 9. Problems of NGOs in Pakistan
 10. Prospects for NGOs in Pakistan
 11. How NGOs can be improved in Pakistan?
NGO definition and introduction:
 The World Bank defines NGOs as "private organizations that
follow activities to relieve suffering, promote the interests of the
poor, protect the environment, provide basic social services, or
undertake community development" (Operational Directive
14.70)
 Many NGOs are active in the traditional social sectors:
emergency support, rehabilitation, poverty reduction, maternal
and child health, family planning and education.
 Most of the NGOs in Pakistan are unregistered, small scale
and their funding source is philanthropy.
History of NGOs in Pakistan (Contd.)
 Unlike past during 2000s more NGOs emerged in the field of advocacy and
development.
 It is difficult to estimate the number of NGOs working in Pakistan.
 According to a study by UNDP the number is between 8,000 to 16,000, if
unregistered NGOs and CBOs are added, the number could be between
25,000 to 35,000. (This number is 45000 by Aga Khan Foundation)
 Funding coming to the government is many times higher than the amount
of funds coming to NGOs.
 Only few NGOs have comparable credentials, sufficient resources,
coverage, linkages, delivery mechanisms and documentation systems.
 According to Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) there
are less then 100 effective NGOs in Pakistan, but thousands of generally
weak CBOs.
Laws governing the NGOs in Pakistan
 There are six laws under which NGOs operate in Pakistan
 1. Societies Registration Act, 1860 (for professional, cultural and educational
bodies)
 2. The Trusts Act 1882, (it provides legal cover for private acts of charity)
 3. Cooperative Societies Act, 1952
 4. The Voluntary Social Welfare Agencies (Registration and Control)
Ordinance, 1961 (to regulate and assist the development of NGOs
undertaking welfare activities)
 5. The Companies Ordinance, 1984 (it allows NGOs to set themselves as
nonprofit companies) 6. Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 (this Act sets out the tax
exemptions which NGOs are eligible for)
 The foreign NGOs and those in receipt of government funding are required
to register with the Economic Affairs Division and Central Board of Revenue
respectively.
Regulatory framework for
NGOs in Pakistan
Registration requirements
The Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education and the
Provincial Social Welfare Departments are responsible for registering
and monitoring organizations under the Voluntary Social Welfare
Agencies (Registration and Control) Ordinance 1961.
The District Offices of the Industry Department are responsible for
registering organizations under the Societies Registration Act 1860.
Not-for-profit companies are required to apply for a license from the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The income tax exemptions are granted by Ministry of Finance and
these are not automatically granted. NGOs can apply for exemptions if
they are registered with Central Board of Revenue
Types and activities of NGOs in
Pakistan
 NGOs in Pakistan can be divided into several broad categories:
 1. Advocacy and lobbying NGOs
 i. Advocacy and lobbying NGOs are well-known, though their actual impact is low.
ii. These include organizations focused on legal rights, literacy, women’s issues,
children, minorities and human rights.
 2. Policy advocacy NGOs
 i. Policy-based NGOs are relatively new in Pakistan.
 ii. Their purpose is to participate in and initiate dialogue about policy issues, be it
with the government, other NGOs, or international organizations.
 iii. These are involved in international and regional networking. They most often
do not get involved in project implementation or service delivery.
 3. Emergency, rehabilitation and relief organizations
 i. The majority of NGOs in Pakistan fall into this category.
 ii. Except some very large organizations most of smaller grass-root organizations
dominate this category.
 4. Those involved in implementation of development projects and programmes.
 5. Service delivery organizations and CBOs
Role of government in NGOs in
Pakistan
 The Pakistan government has been positive towards NGO development.
 In the first five year plan (1955-60) a permanent social welfare section was
created which is now part of Planning Commission.
 Recently in seventh and eighth five year plans contain supportive policy for
assistance for NGOs .
 The income tax ordinance exempts NGOs from income tax which has
helped NGOs in terms of sustainability and resources.
 Many government sponsored institutions provide financial grants to NGOs
National (and provincial) Social Welfare Councils, Zakat Councils, Social
Action Programme, National (and Provincial) Education Foundations,
National (and Provincial) Health Foundations, Trust for Voluntary
Organizations, National Trust for Population Welfare etc.
Role of donor support in NGOs in
Pakistan
 The term donor is used for bilateral or multilateral funding agencies in
Pakistan.
 It does not include Pakistani philanthropic organizations, or individual
citizens.
 Funding agencies typically provide funds for economic and public sector
development, particularly for large scale infrastructure development.
 In the absence of internal resources, bilateral and multilateral funding
agencies have received an important role in social development and support
to NGOs
Role of donors support in NGOs in
Pakistan (Cont.).
The multilateral agencies include various United Nations
agencies focusing on education, health, water, nutrition, safe
motherhood, reproductive health and gender.
Among the bilateral sources of aid Canada, Germany, Japan,
United States and United Kingdom are noteworthy in their
contributions to the social sector.
There are also several INGOs active in Pakistan, which include
Oxfam, Save the Children, Asia Foundation, British Council,
Action Aid and Christian Social Services.
Since NGOs do not participate in the project planning stage,
there are often problems in implementation.
Impact of NGOs on poverty in
Pakistan
 ‘working for the poor’ whether this is in ‘relief’ mode or in
pursuit of more durable ‘development’ solutions to chronic
poverty [Mustafa (1992); Narayan et al. (2000)].
 There has been mixed record of NGOs performance in
Pakistan.
 Relations between NGOs and the government have at time,
marked by tension.
 NGOs are reported to have not moved forward to address
fundamental inequity issues that create the problems in the first
place [Mumtaz (1997)].
 NGOs in Pakistan mostly prefer to work on relief rather than
focusing on problems of poverty and inequality.
Problems of NGOs in Pakistan
 The registration process is quite complex.
 Although the government provide financial and technical
assistance to NGOs, there are problems and delays due to
bureaucratic procedures.
 Funding problems due to withdrawal of many INGOs
 Restriction to work in specific areas.
 Corruption by elite, politicians and bureaucrats .
 The failure of many NGOs to meet their legal obligations and
to be open about their sources and amount of funds has
produced an environment of suspicion around NGOs
Prospects for NGOs in Pakistan
 The future of NGOs in Pakistan is bright due to the
emergence of free media and judiciary.
 Media can be used for mass mobilization and advocacy
campaigns.
 Free judiciary has also provided a supportive platform for
strengthening of democracy where NGOs feel free to work as
compared to the military rule.
 More role for NGOs is expected due to weak government
performance in development sector
How NGOs can be improved in
Pakistan?
 If the biggest problem of registration is solved many problems
regarding availing the funding from international donors can be
resolved.
 The streamlining of work of NGOs is necessary to
complement their role as well as of the government.
 Proper regulatory framework is needed to avoid corruption
and elite capture of NGOs.
 NGOs work can be improved through monitoring,
accountability and capacity building.