Six NGOs dissolved for failing to elect directors

Manama: Labour and Social Development Minister Jameel Humaidan issued an edict yesterday dissolving six associations, which failed to re-elect their board of directors for four consecutive years.

The sanctioned associations are Muharraq Fans Society, Private Sector Development Society, Cleaning and Maintenance Contractors’ Society, National Institutes’ Society, Bahrain Car Rentals’ Society and Earth Sciences Society.

Under article 50 of decree law 21 for 1989, the relevant Minister on non-governmental organisations (NGOS) is legally entitled to dissolve an association or order its administrative closure for a period, which does not exceed 45 days.

Humaidan stressed the Ministry’s right to dissolve the associations as they failed to elect their legitimate boards of directors.

The Ministry’s NGOs Support Directorate has surveyed more than 80 non-governmental organisations in a bid to regulate their situation. The Ministry appointed the board of directors of some of these associations and assigned the panels to convene annual assemblies to elect legitimate ones or face compulsory dissolution.

It is worth mentioning that the Ministry is committed to having standard to affirm the legitimacy and legality of NGOs to counter money laundring and terrorism financing.

The board of the National Centre for NGOs support at the Labour and Social Development Ministry started to confine troubled NGOs and worked to rectify the organisations, which amounted up to 80 troubled NGOs.

The board countered the problem by having the troubled NGOs hold a public assembly meeting to elect board of directors, if they failed to do so then the organization would be dissolved.

On this occasion, the Minister stressed the leaders of the NGOs to follow the law, with respect to their missions most notably during their general assembly meeting for electing a board of directors and avoid such violations in order to be a key partner in development.