The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development (MoPED) has revoked the registration certificates of 26 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) across Sierra Leone, citing persistent violations of the NGO Policy Framework and statutory requirements. In a press release dated 6 July 2026, they revoked the licenses of 7 NGOs, and an additional 19 NGOs in a press release dated 13 July 2026.
According to the Ministry, the decision follows a nationwide compliance verification exercise which revealed that the affected organisations failed to maintain identifiable office premises, report their development interventions, and meet mandatory legal and regulatory obligations necessary to retain their registration. MoPED said the revocation, which takes immediate effect, is part of efforts to strengthen accountability and transparency in the NGO sector while safeguarding public confidence. The Ministry stressed that compliant NGOs remain vital partners in Sierra Leone’s socio-economic development and reaffirmed its commitment to supporting organisations that adhere to the rules.
Civil Society Organizations including Campaign for Good Governance (CGG) welcome these strides to sanitize the NGO environment and safeguard public confidence, however, they remain concerned that these actions by MOPED to ban NGOs could be high-handedness to regulate the space using the NGO Policy Framework 2023, and this has affected mostly local NGOs. There are concerns that the policy does not prescribe for step-by-step punitive action against operational NGOs including warning and administrative review, instead of a straight ban. CGG is equally apprehensive that MOPED will use the policy as overreach to ban fully operational organizations who are critical of government under the guise of non compliance, and are encouraging MOPED to be fair and transparent with this process, to enhance public confidence.