Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, Minister of State for Finance, has indicated that the lack of a legislative framework for non-profit organizations (NPO) is a serious flaw in the nation’s anti-money system.
“The contributions of NPOs to our socio-economic development are significant. However, it has become important, globally, to ensure that appropriate mechanisms are put in place to prevent the sector from abuse; especially for terrorist financing-related activities,” Dr Adam told parliament in Accra.
The minister, who is supporting fast-tracking legislation, claimed that it is past time for legislation to be enacted to standardize NPO operations and stop what he called “abuses and rising money laundering among NPOs.”
Although a Cabinet-approved directive for the management of NPOs is now in effect, he emphasized the urgent need for a suitable legislative framework.
He claims that the development is a result of efforts to maintain the advancements made as a result of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) observation process, which required the government to implement sufficient measures to further strengthen the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.
He added that a draft NPO bill is currently being discussed across the country.
“Upon approval of Cabinet, the NPO bill will be forwarded to parliament for consideration. We expect that the House [parliament] will help us enact the NPO bill to strengthen the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.”
His remarks were in response to a query from Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpey, the MP for Keta, on the measures the government is putting in place to prevent Ghana from being included in the Financial Action Task Force’s list of countries with a history of money laundering.
Source: b&ft
