Our history

Before a dedicated legal framework existed, organisations were registered under the Companies Act as companies limited by guarantee, or set up as trusts under the Trustees Incorporation Act. Neither was designed to regulate NGOs, so oversight was fragmented and the fast-growing sector was poorly coordinated.

Recognising the need for a specialised framework, the Government enacted the Non-Governmental Organisations (Registration) Act, Cap. 113 in 1989, establishing the National NGO Board to register and oversee NGOs. It was the country's first comprehensive attempt to regulate the sector.

As the sector grew in size, complexity and reach, the limits of that framework became clear. The expanding role of NGOs in national development, humanitarian response, governance, health, education, environmental conservation and community empowerment called for a more robust, transparent and accountable regime.

To meet that need, the Government of Uganda developed the National NGO Policy, 2010, laying the foundation for reform. Those reforms culminated in the Non-Governmental Organisations Act, 2016, which repealed the earlier law and introduced a modern framework built on accountability, transparency, coordination and partnership between Government and the sector.

The 2016 Act established the NGO Bureau as the principal institution responsible for regulating and coordinating the sector, mandated to register, regulate, monitor, inspect, coordinate and oversee the operations of all NGOs. The Non-Governmental Organisations Regulations, 2017 then set out the detailed procedures for registration, compliance, governance, monitoring and enforcement.

Today the NGO Bureau, under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, is Uganda's central regulatory authority for the sector, promoting a transparent, accountable and well-coordinated environment in which civil society can contribute to national development while complying with the law.