Addis Ababa, August 4, 2021(Walta) – The Ethiopian Agency for Civil Society Organizations of Ethiopia has announced the suspension of work permits of three foreign Non-Government Organizations (NGO).
The agency suspended the license of MSF Holland, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Al Maktoume Foundation. The reason behind the ban ranges from engaging in an unpermitted area of operation to disseminating misinformation.
The agency has identified rule violations by these organizations while monitoring their activities, the Ethiopian Current Issue Fact Check office said in a statement.
According to the office, MSF Holland and the Norwegian Refugee Council have been disseminating misinformation in social media and other platforms outside of the mandate and purpose for which the organizations were permitted to operate.
Also, these organizations employed foreign nationals without the appropriate work permit from the Ethiopian government for more than six months, it added.
MSF Holland illegally imported satellite radio equipment and made use of it. Since the equipment was not authorized by the relevant government authority, its the employees were thus apprehended by the security forces for using the equipment for illegal purposes, siad the government in its statement.
Furthermore, Al Maktoume Foundation failed to comply with the Ministry of Education’s COVI D-19 protocol, its mismanagement of budget and problems with staff management.
“Despite repeated discussions with the executives of all the three organizations, they were unable to fix the situation,” the statement added.
The Agency for Civil Society Organizations stated that the activities of the organizations have been suspended for three months in accordance with Article 77 (4) of Proclamation No. 1113/2011 until a final decision is made.