Under the new law, any group that draws more than 10 percent of funding from abroad will be classified as foreign, and thus banned from working on issues related to ethnicity, gender, children’s rights and conflict resolution.
“My agency should not be termed foreign just because it receives more than 10 percent of its budget from another country,” Taddelle Derse, head of an NGO called Vision Ethiopian Congress for Democracy, said in a debate in parliament.
“In that case, the government itself is foreign as it receives a lot of money as budgetary support from outside sources,” said Taddelle, whose group focuses on conflict resolution and political dialogue.
“It is irrational that on one hand the government wants to empower and improve the lives of women, while on the other wants to put limitations on agencies that work for that cause,” said Mahder Paolos of the Ethiopian Women Lawyers’ Association.
The bill, which is expected to be approved in early January, also provides for the creation of a state-controlled agency that would supervise the work of foreign aid organisations.
“The law will create a lot of problems for NGOs in Ethiopia, where 90 to 95 percent depend on foreign funding,” opposition lawmaker Lidetu Ayalew said.
But ministers said the bill was devised to safeguard the interests of citizens.
“Our intention is to achieve sustained development. We may sacrifice and pay a price for that, but we will not back down from devising a policy that benefits our country,” Justice Minister Birhan Hailu told participants.
The government insists the legislation’s aim is not to restrict activities of NGOs, but rather to ensure transparency and accountability.
“We will allow any organisation to operate in the country if it doesn’t violate the rules of the land. We want to ensure that targets are met with accountability and transparency intact,” said Cabinet Affairs Minister Birhanu Adelo.
