The national conversation surrounding the newly proposed Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) (Registration and Supervision) Bill has largely locked horns over a false dichotomy. On one side, critics argue that the Legislation introduces bureaucratic overreach and constricts civic freedom. On the other, proponents defend it as a necessary tool for State regulation and compliance.
Yet, before we even debate the contents of the Bill, a fundamental affront to democracy stares us in the face: the secretive, selective manner in which this draft Law has been handled.
The stigma of the selective draft
To date, the precise line-by-line text of the 2026 NGO Bill has not been made openly and universally accessible to the public on open Government portals. Instead, drafts have been shared selectively behind closed doors — trickling down only to specific civil society collectives and select legal bodies upon request.
This practice treats ordinary citizens as lesser stakeholders who have no business inspecting laws that govern public-welfare organisations. Laws that shape public trust, civic accountability, and foreign or domestic funding flows cannot be drafted like exclusive club bylaws. If a Bill is designed to regulate organisations that supposedly serve the public, the public itself has a primal, non-negotiable right to read, scrutinise, and debate that draft from its inception. Treating national Legislation as classified material breeds immediate suspicion and signals a profound contempt for participatory democracy.
Notwithstanding this secretive method of drafting, several key legal mechanisms have been put forward for consideration, proceeding on the assumption that these vital aspects may have been overlooked or excluded from the current framework.
The myth of operational secrecy in public-benefit work
This culture of backroom exclusivity trickles down directly into the non-profit sector itself. A troubling premise has quietly entrenched itself within NGOs: the notion that because an organisation carries a noble or charitable label, its internal mechanisms, funding flows, and decision-making pathways are proprietary secrets.
In a robust democracy, public benefit cannot coexist with operational opacity. When substantial funds stream into organisations aiming to shape public policy, influence legislation, or impact vulnerable communities, the public possesses an absolute right to trace how those resources are utilised. Philanthropy and social advocacy are not private commercial ventures. They occupy public space and affect the social fabric. Shielding their choices behind closed doors invites misuse, shields inefficiencies, and breeds widespread public skepticism.
Bringing NGOs under the RTI framework
To dismantle this culture of secrecy, both in State drafting rooms and within non-profit boardrooms, accountability must extend beyond routine administrative audits. The most potent tool for transparency at our disposal is the Right to Information (RTI) Act, No. 12 of 2016.
While State institutions are rightly bound to disclose information in the public interest, bodies operating under public mandates, tax exemptions, or public-benefit privileges should similarly be brought within the outer perimeter of transparency standards. Expanding the philosophy of the RTI framework ensures that any citizen can scrutinise how an NGO operates, how project funds are allocated, and who truly benefits from its initiatives. Sunshine remains the best disinfectant. Bringing non-profits under active public scrutiny transforms them from insulated entities into genuinely participatory partners in national development.
Extending Asset and Liability Declaration Laws to administrators and key employees
True transparency must go beyond high-level balance sheets; it must capture the individuals who steer these organisations. At present, rigourous Asset and Liability Declaration Laws are typically confined to public servants and State politicians. However, the immense financial flows, policy influence, and socio-economic footprint wielded by major non-profit leaders mean that they hold power and manage resources on a scale parallel to public officials.
To safeguard public trust entirely, all key administrators, directors, and principal employees of NGOs should be brought under Statutory Asset and Liability Declaration frameworks.
Eradicating conflicts of interest
Mandatory declarations expose hidden financial entanglements, commercial cross-holdings, or partisan ties that could quietly compromise an organisation's stated humanitarian mission.
Guaranteeing financial integrity
When massive grants and public donations are managed, transparency regarding personal wealth accumulation ensures that non-profit leadership remains driven by authentic public service rather than private enrichment.
Shielding the honest majority
Honest administrators who genuinely live by their mission have nothing to hide. Clear Asset Disclosures protect the broader, hard-working non-profit sector from generalised suspicions of illicit enrichment or foreign manipulation.
Proposed Legislative Provisions for integration into the NGO Bill
To translate these principles into Statutory reality, the following provisions are proposed for inclusion within the text of the Bill.
Section 15 — Maintenance of a public information repository, digital accessibility, and transparency
Every NGO registered under this Act shall maintain an updated public information repository at its principal office, containing: (a) Certified annual audited financial statements, including itemised statements of both foreign and local grants, project expenditure, and administrative overheads; (b) Comprehensive reports detailing project objectives, targeted local communities, implementation timelines, and measurable output evaluations; and (c) The full names, professional profiles, national identity card numbers, and concurrent directorships of all members of the governing board and principal executive officers.
The records specified in Subsection (1) shall be open for inspection by any citizen during standard working hours, subject only to nominal administrative reproduction fees prescribed by regulations.
Mandatory digital availability
All records specified under Subsection (1), including Asset and Liability Declarations submitted by key administrators and employees, shall be made digitally available and easily accessible to the public via an online portal maintained by the National Secretariat for NGOs, ensuring full transparency without necessitating physical presence.
Section 16 — Application of the RTI framework
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the RTI Act, any NGO utilising public-benefit status, tax exemptions, State-allocated resources, or foreign funding channels shall be deemed a body fulfilling a public function for the purposes of ensuring citizen access to information regarding public-interest projects.
Any citizen may make an information request to a designated Information Officer of the NGO concerning: (a) The allocation, disbursement, and ultimate utilisation of project funds or grants; (b) Memorandums of understanding, implementation agreements, or partnership pacts entered into with State agencies or foreign donors; and (c) Beneficiary lists, selection criteria, and programmatic execution reports.
Information requests under this Section shall follow the timelines, procedural constraints, and appeal mechanisms laid down in the principal RTI Act.
Section 17 — Declaration of Assets and Liabilities by key administrators and employees
Every director, board member, chief executive officer, chief financial officer, and project director of a registered NGO whose annual operational budget or foreign receipts exceed the threshold prescribed by the Minister in charge of the subject by way of regulation shall submit a formal Declaration of Assets and Liabilities.
Filing and scope: (a) The declaration shall be delivered under sealed cover to the Auditor-General (AG) upon initial appointment and subsequently on or before the 31st of March of each year for the preceding financial year; and (b) The declaration shall encompass all movable and immovable property, cash assets, offshore investments, commercial enterprise cross-holdings, and substantial gifts or foreign honoraria held by the officer, their spouse, and dependent children.
Offences and penalties: (a) Failure to submit an Asset and Liability Declaration within the stipulated timeframe, or the submission of willfully false, incomplete, or misleading disclosures, shall constitute an offence under this Act; (b)(i) Upon conviction before a Magistrate, the offender shall be liable to a fine or to a term of imprisonment, or to both such fine and imprisonment; and (b)(ii) Additionally, the Court may order the permanent disqualification of such person from holding any administrative, managerial, or fiduciary position within any non-profit or charitable entity in Sri Lanka.
Section 18 — Citizen application to District Court for financial investigation and audit commissions
Any citizen of Sri Lanka having reasonable grounds to suspect financial mismanagement, malfeasance, or opacity in the conduct of affairs of a registered NGO may apply by way of summary procedure to the relevant District Court (DC) for an order: (a) Compelling the disclosure and production of accounts and financial records; and (b) Appointing a commission or a qualified independent chartered accountant or directing the AG to conduct a full financial investigation and special audit into the conduct of affairs and resource utilisation of the said NGO.
Upon being satisfied that a prima facie case of public interest or financial irregularity has been established, the DC may issue appropriate orders and directions for the execution of such audit, with costs and parameters to be determined by the Court.
Section 19 — Overriding effect, application to pvt. member foundations, and implied repeal
Universal application
The provisions of this Act shall apply to all NGOs, trusts, charitable foundations, and public-benefit entities operating within Sri Lanka, including any such body established, incorporated, or governed by or under any special Act or Private Member Bill, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any such prior written Law.
Supervening authority and implied repeal: (a) This Act shall operate as a supervening framework of public accountability. To the extent that any provision of a prior written Law, incorporation Statute, or Private Member's Bill is inconsistent with the transparency, reporting, RTI compliance, Asset and Liability Disclosure, or audit mechanisms mandated under this Act, such conflicting provisions shall be deemed impliedly repealed or modified to give full force and effect to the provisions of this Act; and (b) No charitable foundation or trust incorporated via a Private Member's Bill shall be exempt from the scope of this Act unless expressly and specifically excluded by name within the text of this Act, a schedule attached to this Act, or subsequent Statutory Amendment.
Explanatory memorandum for law reform and editorial review
Subject: Incorporating citizen-centric transparency, digital portals, judicial audits, and overriding Legislative Provisions into the Draft NGO Bill
Context
The discourse on the NGO Bill has focused excessively on top-down State bureaucracy. True accountability requires that non-profits answer vertically to the citizenry whose welfare they champion.
Digital accessibility and judicial oversight
Moving toward central digital repositories and empowering citizens to approach the DC directly for specialised audits ensure real-time accountability and grassroots enforcement.
Eliminating loopholes via Private Member Bills
Ensuring that historical foundations incorporated via Private Member Acts are fully subordinated to this supervening Law closes critical loopholes, guaranteeing uniform public accountability across all non-profit entities.
Conclusion
The debate over the supervision of NGOs should not be framed as a standoff between State control and civic autonomy, but as a covenant with public trust. If NGOs are truly acting for the public benefit, they should embrace the light of public scrutiny, open their operations to the RTI mechanism, and subject their leadership to transparent Asset and Liability Declarations. Accountability is not the enemy of compassion, it is its ultimate guardian.
The writer is an attorney-at-law
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The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication