(Addis Fortune) 

The Federal High Court 11th Civil Bench upheld the decision of the Ethiopian Charities & Societies Agency (ECSA) Board which blocked eight million Birr belonging to the Human Rights Council (HRCO), a local NGO, on October 25, 2011.

The Board has blocked the money claiming that it was collected from foreign sources and constituted more than 10pc of their capital against the Charities and Societies Proclamation of 2009.

The proclamation states that local NGOs must secure 90pc of their funds from local sources to be allowed to operate in specific areas such as rights advocacy. It had given charities and societies a one year grace period to prepare for and register under the new system.

The HRCO took its appeal to the court contesting the board decision on April 28, 2011. The Council argued that the money was unused funds that were supposed to be returned to donors.

They have filed their appeal arguing that the board, which has blocked their account, did not make disparity while HRCO had a reserve capital that has not been used and is supposed to be returned to the donors. HRCO, which was first established in 1991, also claimed that some of the money was to be used as reestablishment capital under the new law.

The decision of the Board did not take the audit report into consideration, argued the Council.

“The council is not at fault,” claimed HRCO, asking the money to be returned to donors if it was not going to be released to it.

However, the Board had countered that the Council had a year to prepare and use the money and knew about it. Only an amount contributing to 10pc of its capital would be released to it every year, the Board decided.

The Council did not contest that it has collected a little over five million Birr from abroad while it has raised 331.571 Br from local sources.

The presiding judge Aseffa Aberah at the High Court found that the Council has collected more than 10pc of its budget from abroad and cannot use it as it is registered as a local NGO.

The Council is planning to put advertisements to run for eight weeks in order to solicit donations from local sources.

By EDEN SAHLE
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER