ONDERI OURE
3 November 2025On 14 May 2024, the Public Benefit Organizations (PBO) Act, 2013, was finally operationalized, repealing the thirty-four-year-old NGOs Coordination Act of 1990 and promising a new dawn in the regulatory and operational framework for PBOs (formerly referred to as NGOs). However, one and a half years later, PBOs have a well-laid-out destination (the PBO Act) without a clear roadmap (PBO Regulations).
Despite the PBO Authority conducting a rather vigorous Draft PBO Regulations public participation exercise in July 2025, it is still unclear when the PBO Regulations will be passed. The Act provided for a transition period of one year, which lapsed on 14 May 2025 following which the transition period was extended by an extra year to lapse on 13 May 2026. We are already five months into the one-year extension, and with no Regulations in place, PBOs and other entities eyeing the PBO status are left to wander.
Despite the long wait, we have to appreciate the positive changes brought about by the PBO Act, among them: the express provision that PBOs can be non-membership organizations, the extension of reporting timelines, tax incentives for PBOs, and the institution of the PBO Disputes Tribunal.
Most NGOs registered under the now-repealed Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) Coordination Act 1990 are confused as to whether they are NGOs or PBOs, considering they have not transitioned. However, it is worth noting that the PBO Act provides that NGOs registered under the previous regime shall be deemed as PBOs pending transition. For charity vehicles not registered under the PBO Act, the PBO status remains an elusive dream.
Without the PBO Regulations, PBOs have a clear destination with zero clue as to which road to take. PBOs, nevertheless, remain hopeful that the much-anticipated PBO Regulations shall be passed soon enough to enable full enjoyment of the incentives under the PBO Act.