CAIRO - A lot of obstacles face anyone wanting to launch a new NGO, such as the start-up capital, red tape and the issue of receiving funds, whether Egyptian or from abroad. "The law governing NGOs in Egypt is in dire need of more amendments," according to Ahmed Abdel-Aziz, the head of the NGOs and Civil Society Department in Giza's Social Solidarity Directorate. NGOs have played a big role in improving civil society, something totally ignored by the Government. They have helped enhance Egyptian citizens in the areas of education, eradicating poverty, political awareness and women's rights. According to Law No. 84 of 2002, there was no fixed start-up budget for an NGO; it was simply estimated by officials at the Social Solidarity Ministry, the authority responsible for licensing NGOs and permitting them to receive foreign funding. But now any new NGO must have at least LE100,000 and it remains to be seen how this might affect the work of NGOs in Egypt. “That's a lot of money, but it gives credibility to the projects to be sponsored by any newly established NGO,” Abdel-Aziz told the Egyptian Mail. "Most NGOs ask a lot from the Ministry of Social Solidarity, but their projects often fail, because of poor planning.” The official also noted that there are some well-planned marketing models created by some pioneering NGOs many years ago. These NGOs succeeded in creating long-term, sustainable projects. "However, a strategic plan for civil work in Egypt is needed in the coming period, because the development of society totally depends on the impact of these organisations. "Fund-raising, all over the world, needs to be creative to encourage people to donate and partake in the development of society; it's not just a matter of NGOs getting new licences.” Meanwhile, Khaled Eissa, an advisor in International Law and Board Director of one of the Egyptian human rights organisations, explains that receiving funds is not an obstacle, if the NGOs follow the necessary procedures. According to the Ministry of Social Solidarity, the money must be paid into a bank account belonging to a licensed institution, not individuals. The Ministry, which must be notified of this, then sends the documents to the security authorities to check the real reason for this money being sent to Egypt. Commenting on the case involving foreigners and illegal funding, Eissa says that this was illegal and a form of indirect interference in local affairs. "Some NGOs received funds from foreigners without notifying the Egyptian authorities. “Americans cannot preach to us night and day about the need to abide by the rule of law and then ask us to break the law to serve their interests,” says Eissa. This case makes one wonder whether the receiving of foreign funds will still be a very sensitive issue or not in the future. Most countries have rigid regulations concerning the funding of any of their institutions. But Lebanon and Morocco are exceptions. There, the funding of NGOs isn't supervised. "NGOs can receive money from and co-operate with foreign bodies without harming Egypt," he adds. Human rights organisations in Egypt have for long worked with different foreign institutions, but always with the knowledge of the security bodies. Eissa says that he himself has done programmes, sponsored by foreign organisations, but the purpose of this was only to improve the procedures to ensure clean elections. In his view, the civil impact on positive political participation after the revolution is clear. “The programmes, boosted my political awareness and the Government, [under the ex-regime] knew what was going on. "After the revolution, there was very little cheating in the elections; under Mubarak, the cheating was 100 per cent," Eissa told the Mail. There is concern that restrictions on NGOs may harm society, as they are 99 per cent responsible for development projects for the poor and needy, who suffer greatly in this country. “NGO workers want a new law to facilitate their work, as LE100,000 is a lot of capital, which many of them cannot afford,” according to Eissa. The Board Chairman of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights, Hafez Abu Seda, says that the draft law, signed by 55 NGOs and other organisations, will hopefully contribute to the development of society in the near future. He describes various NGO laws in Egypt, such as Law No. 32 of 1964 and Law No. 84 of 2002 as unsuitable, as they favour the administrative authority affiliated to the Ministry. "NGOs don't want to sever their relations with the Government, but they want more co-operation from the Ministry to facilitate their work," Abu Seda adds. The Minister of Insurance and Social Solidarity said in a recent statement that a new law is being discussed by the Ministry as an alternative to the law passed under the previous Ministry and described by many NGOs as rigidly limiting their activities. Abu Seda explains that this new law, suggested by a number of NGOs, is simpler than the previous one, as it contains only 35 articles; the old law contains 75. “The new draft bill has been presented to different political parties and the Ministry, but we've had no response as yet,” he comments. ‘Gov't crackdown shocking and ambiguous' Egyptian lawyers and human rights activists have strongly condemned the security forces' crackdown on 17 NGOs, 400 of whose staff members are being investigated. The raid was launched under the pretext that these NGOs had received funding from foreign governments in ways that violated Egyptian laws. They say that the security forces only target organisations working in the field of human rights awareness. "These NGOs worked and received funding for many years under the eyes of the Government in the era of former president Hosni Mubarak. Why can the Government receive aid, but not NGOs?" asks Tawhed Ramzi, a lawyer. The timing of the crackdown is of concern to some Egyptian lawyers and human rights activists, as Ramzi believes that there are political reasons for this incident. The NGOs that were raided include the Mohamed Alaa Mubarak Organisation, the Democratic Institution, the Republican Institution and Ansar Al-Sunnah Al-Mohamadiya (The Supporters of Al-Sunnah Al-Mohamadiya). The latter has been accused of receiving about $300 million from Qatar and Kuwait; investigations into this organisation continue. Ramzi finds the investigations into Ansar Al-Sunnah Al-Mohamadiya ambiguous, as its role is wholly charitable, helping the poor. Investigators told a press conference earlier this month that they had discovered the existence of secret bank accounts in the names of the suspected NGOs and their staff members. There are nearly 70 charges against these organisations. Some of these include illegal residence of some foreign members of staffs and tax dodging. According to investigations, these NGOs operated in Egypt without obtaining the necessary licences from the Government. They have also been accused of meddling in Egyptian politics, which is not the business of civil societies. After the headquarters of the organisations illegally working in Egypt, the foreign activists, being referred to court have been prevented from leaving, a measure which gave rise to a US-Egyptian spat, the highest in decades. The Republican Institution and the Democratic Institution are accused of directing Egyptians to vote for certain political trends in the parliamentary elections of 2011. Ramzi is critical of this, as he says that they were only encouraging political participation and helping some political parties arrange their political campaigns and activities at large. Khaled Dawoud, a journalist and a consultant in Al-Sout Al-Hor (Free Voice) Institution, believes that the Government is trying to divert society's attention from the main demands of the revolution by focusing on NGO issues. “The Government is working all the time to prove that the revolution has had a negative impact, not the opposite. I think this is really shocking, as civil society organisations must work without any restrictions,” he told the Egyptian Mail. Criticism of NGO crackdown "The NGOs weren't given prior notice, nor were they allowed to defend themselves. The offices of the NGOs were raided and all their documents were confiscated by the security forces," says Ramzi. He argues that the local press has been eager to highlight the Government's position in this case, while neglecting the viewpoint of the activitists themselves. These NGOs have been accused of working without licences, although some of them, as Ramzi says, were in the process of applying for licences. Khaled el-Henawi of Al-Sahwa, a charitable NGO, thinks that the issue of foreign funding should only be of concern in the case of NGOs working in human rights, not those involved in charitable activities. “It's obvious that the crackdown was prompted because these organisations are anti-Government.” El-Henawi questions the timing of these investigations, as these organisations have been working in Egypt for many years. Trial adjourned An Egyptian court on Sunday adjourned the trial of pro-democracy activists accused of illegally receiving funds from abroad until April 26, a decision lawyers said would give them and the judge time to review the case. Some of the Americans, who are among 43 defendants targeted in a judicial probe of illegal funding of civil society groups that has strained ties between Egypt and Washington, have taken refuge at their Embassy in Cairo. The extended timeframe for the trial could give more time for a diplomatic solution to the case, lawyers say. Meanwhile, the suspects have denied the charges, the maximum penalty for which is five years behind bars. Negad el-Borai, who represents some of the American defendants, said he did not expect them to appear in court on Sunday. He was right. The democracy groups' leaders deny their activists have done anything improper or illegal. Senator John McCain, who recently visited Cairo, said that Field Marshal Tantawi, is working 'diligently' to resolve the issue. Earlier this month, Minister of Planning and International Co-operation, Fayza Abul Naga linked US funding of civil society initiatives to an American plot to undermine Egypt. Minister Abul Naga had told investigating judges that Washington funded the groups to cause "chaos" in Egypt. "The United States and Israel could not create chaos in Egypt directly, so they used direct funding to organisations, especially American ones, to do this," she said in her testimony.
