The long-awaited commencement date for the Public Benefit Organizations Act 2013 (“PBO Act”) has been gazetted by the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration, Hon Kithure Kindiki.
In Legal Notice No. 78 of the Kenya Gazette Supplement No. 100, the Cabinet Secretary, in exercise of the powers conferred to his office by Section 1 of the PBO Act appointed 14 May 2024 as the date on which the Act will come into operation.
The PBO Act now repeals the Non-Governmental Organizations Coordination Act (“NGO Act”) and creates a new legal, regulatory, and institutional framework for non-profit organisations doing public benefit work in Kenya, under a single law. The PBO Act also establishes a new regulatory body for non-profit organisations engaging in public benefit activities: the Public Benefits Organisations Authority, which will, among other functions monitor whether PBOs are complying with their statutory obligations under the law.
Kenya’s Parliament passed the PBO Act in December 2012, and the President approved it in January 2013, but a date for its implementation had not yet been set until now.
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