Representatives and heads of different Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and government institutions have held a wide-ranging discussion on the latest Directive issued by the Ministry of Finance regarding tax exemption services for CSOs. During the discussion forum, various research papers were presented regarding the topic and participants at the meeting exchanged their views regarding the effects of the new Directive on the implementation of CSOs' projects.
In his message at the event, Executive Director of the Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations Council (ECSOC), Henok Melesse, stated, "Civil society organizations have generally been discussing draft directives and regulations and offering recommendations in which the Council has been playing a leading role to coordinate the process. The Council believes that the Directives that have been issued and are being implemented need to be useful to further expand the civic space. ECSOC will be closely monitoring to ensure that no directive restricts the activities of civil society or becomes a reason for narrowing the civic space.”
In his opening remarks, the Director General of the Authority for Civil Society Organizations (ACSO), Jima Dilbo, said, "The Authority has received complaints and reports regarding problems posed by the recently issued directive by the Ministry of Finance (Directive No. 942/2015), which is constraining civil society organizations project implementations. Today's discussion platform has been prepared because it is important to explore solutions to the problems identified so far by discussing the matter directly with the relevant parties.
This consultation platform was organized by ECSOC in collaboration with ACSO.
