Publications

Freedom of association, as recognized in international, regional and national treaties, provide a legal basis for the protection of civil society organizations (CSOs).  However, there are countless ways in which legal frameworks in African nations fail to protect this right and do not provide an enabling environment for CSOs to develop African philanthropy.  In December 2020, the Parliament of Zambia enacted the Non-Governmental Organisations (Amendment) Act, No. 13 of 2020, which imposes new and potentially restrictive obligations on NGOs relating to their financial obligations and operations. This affects not only CSOs themselves but everything they stand for, such as respect for human rights, commitment to gender equality, the fight against corruption, or environmental protection.

The assessment of the legal environment for CSOs conducted in Zambia by the Zambian Governance Foundation (ZGF) together with the Africa Philanthropy Network (APN) looked at the legislation that governs registration, taxation, resource mobilization, oversight, and policy engagement.

According to the study, CSOs remain largely unaware of the legal framework which can have negative implications on the operations. CSOs are not always consulted in the policy-making processes. The study provides a number of recommendations for addressing the legislative challenges faced by CSOs to include training of CSOs on relevant legislation and its implications. It urges CSOs to explore new methods of raising funds and mobilize domestic sources in order to counter restrictions that prevent them from accessing foreign funding. In the same vein, CSOs must engage communities so as to address the nexus between human resource and resource mobilization challenges by using existing policies such as the National Volunteer Policy.

According to Kotiranta (2019, p.4), “Private giving and donations are globally on the rise, and private resources are increasingly recognized as an important part of aid and development finance (The Index of Global Philanthropy and Remittances, 2010). Knowing the nature and scope of African suffering, it becomes necessary to review the contributions of philanthropic innovations in alleviating such. The aim of this essay is to highlight contributions made by philanthropy in transforming African challenges. It will begin with a historical review of philanthropy globally, followed by a snapshot of the landscape of African philanthropy. This will be followed by a summary of the visible innovations and end with an exploration of challenges faced by the sector.

Ahead of the 2022 APN Assembly which will run from the 8th – the 10th of November in Uganda, we checked in with our members and partners on what the 2022 APN Assembly theme “African Philanthropy: Driving Change ” meant to them.

Grace Wakesho Maingi, Executive Director, of Kenya Community Development Foundation (KCDF) said, “African philanthropy driving change means that we as Africans are prioritizing the use of home-grown solutions to address our most pertinent challenges. We are recognising the resources we have in the continent which include financial, intellectual, and human resources to improve humanity in the continent. She further stated that African philanthropy should focus on solidifying pan-African efforts to address poverty, development, and social justice issues in the continent. “Our money, time, and energy should be harnessed, organized, and applied towards improving livelihoods, education outcomes, health, climate, governance, and justice matters in order to holistically improve lives.”