ISLAMABAD, March 18: Existing laws are being reviewed to effectively regulate the network of NGOs and provide enabling environment to enhance indigenous philanthropy in the country.

“Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy (PCP) is preparing recommendations through transparent consultative process at provincial and federal level for new legislation or amendments in the existing laws to foster the role of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the social structure development”, Shahnaz Wazir Ali, Executive Director of the Centre said on Monday.

An earnest endeavour of the centre with the government is to mobilize additional resources indigenously to trim the dependence on the foreign assistance to rope in the objectives of the social sector development.

According to a study conducted in 1998, she said around Rs72 billion donation and charity are dished out every year in cash and kind including Rs34 billion alone in cash, adding this amount comes to 2 per cent of the GDP which if properly directed and channelized, major objectives of the social sector could be realized sans any foreign assistance.

A meeting on the consultative process at the federal level is being held on March 20. The legal drill will be completed by July next to submit the recommendations to the government for further action, she added.

The consultative process will help produce consensus-based enabling regulatory framework for CSOs and NGOs operating in the public interest.

All the stakeholders from grassroots level to the top are being consulted and involved in carving out such mechanism which would provide impetus to the role of these organizations in the social structure development, she stated.

The recommendations of the centre will help the government to come up with new regime and mechanism to improve the role of NGOs and CSOs through supportive and facilitating environment.

This organized move, she hoped would also enhance the efficiency and contribution of the organizations to the welfare of the people through social sector development programme.

The centre being non-funding organization would neither raise any fund nor provide funding to any organization adding, the donations and charity are needed to be channelized in the right direction.

Certain modifications are required in the legal framework to channelize the social sector investment in the right direction.

A Memorandum of Understanding was inked between Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy and Ministry of Women Development and Social Welfare in September last to check the anomalies in the existing laws governing the NGOs and CSOs and enhance their role in the society.

In the first phase, the centre would work in the corporate sector to channelize their donations to the social structure development.

Genuine NGOs and CSOs, she responded, would be facilitated and further patronized through amendments in the laws while the fake organizations and their operations would be checked and discouraged.—APP