By Levison Lester

Lilongwe, April 19, Mana: Non-Governmental Organization Regulatory Authority (NGORA), with support from the British High Commission, is set to conduct capacity gap assessment in order for organisations to sustain socioeconomic developments in the country.

Speaking during a meeting with NGO representatives at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe on Friday, NGORA Chief Executive Officer, Edward Chileka-Banda, said the regulatory body, together with NGOs, will identify issues that necessitate capacity building gaps.

He said despite NGOs doing enough in achieving socio economic development in the country, there are still gaps in governance and compliance.

Government, through NGORA, has committed K1 billion to help in dealing with issues arising from capacity gaps so that NGOs should be able to attract more funding from donors.

"There has been accusations and counter-accusations about capacity issues in NGO sector. People argue that local NGOs lack capacity to manage donor funds.  

“As government, we have also noticed that there is a challenge of sustainability of projects. When a project comes to an end, there is low continuity, and communities go back to the same situation hence the need to address capacity issues,” he said.

British High Commission has given Robin Macgregor, a consultant, the task to help NGORA assess capacity gaps.