Law puts NGOs under scrutiny
The government has passed laws that make it hard for people to conduct illicit financial transactions in local Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). All institutions registered under the Registrar of Societies must be supervised and monitored for terrorism financing.
According to the Chief Legal and Compliance Officer at Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA), Catherine Moalusi, penalties for money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation attract a P20, 000 000 fine, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 20 years, or both.
She explains that the money laundering scheme has three stages, which are placement, layering, and integration.
Chief registration officer at the department of civil and national registration Ofentse Gojamang also notes that money laundering, financing terrorism, and proliferation are a global concern.
He says there are almost 9 500 societies registered in Botswana, and all of these deal with money in one way or the other.
He says just because terrorism is not rife in the nation, does not mean that Botswana should relax.
Gojamang says that internal processes of handling finances differ from one society to another depending on a lot of factors such as the size of the NGO and its purpose, therefore the way individual organisations will be monitored will differ from one society to another.
'Societies have a responsibility to account for all the monies that come in and out of the organisation. They must keep financial records of up to 20 years and must appoint skilled people in leadership positions so that they can adequately answer for any discrepancies in their roles,' he says.
Gojamang adds that the society’s certificates will be now tied to them filing their annual returns. If they fail to file their annual returns, they will forfeit their certificates.
The department will soon introduce digital technologies so that annual returns can be done online.