Bill a threat to NGOs

IN THE SENATE

■ Stories by Kim Boodram

kim.boodram@trinidadexpress.com

'LET'S amend the title to...an act to provide for the elimination, abolition and destruction of NPOs (non-profit organisations).'

This was the declaration of United National Congress (UNC) Senator, attorney Gerald Ramdeen, on Tuesday as the Senate discussed the Non-Profit Organisations Bill 2019.

Ramdeen was among those condemning the legislation as threatening to ruin the local NGO (non-governmental organisation) sector by scaring away potential organisations and outright discriminating against some who may want to start up an NPO that could ultimately benefit society.

Ramdeen said the Bill has, unfairly, thrown hundreds of local NGOs into panic and called for some areas of the legislation to be clarified as it could affect 'innocuous' groups such as football clubs, church groups, parent-teacher associations and even groups who stage annual beach clean-ups.

He also raised an alarm at the number and status of some of the NGOs which have complained of a lack of consultation in drafting the legislation.

These included Autism Spirit, CAISO, the RC Commission on Social Justice, Families in Action, Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) and the Islamic Ladies Organisation.

The last organisation came as a surprise, Ramdeen quipped, as he knew Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to be a frequent guest of the Islamic Ladies for the annual observance of Eid.

Ramdeen went on to call for NGOs to be afforded the respect they deserve, as their members volunteer their lives for the benefit of others.

He said he believed some 10,000 non-profit organisations would be affected, as well as some 100,000 people whose lives are made better by these efforts.

Calling into question the Bill's requirement that an NGO be registered every three years and that it display accounts and photographs of its directors, Ramdeen found it harsh that an NGO could be fined $50,000-or face five years' jail--for failure to comply with the registration requirement.

He said one of the groups doing crucial work which stands to be negatively affected was Vision on a Mission, as the Bill could destroy its leadership.

Vision on a Mission works with ex-prisoners and is run by Wayne Chance, a former convict whose work centres on rehabilitation.

Ramdeen said 'Vision' could be left without leadership, as the Bill bars anyone who has served jail time from running a non-profit organisation. This could include convictions for smoking marijuana and driving drunk.

He condemned any attempt to force a 'once size fits all' Bill onto the NGO sector and dismissed Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi's defence that the Bill creates two tiers of NGOs and does not affect all, as only those earning more than $10 million must be audited.

Ramdeen noted that the Bill requires all NGOs to register and knocked Government's apparent lack of consultation, saying it flew in the face of the PNM's (People's National Movement) people- centred mantra.

HARSH: Gerald Ramdeen