Significant Changes For Not-For-Profits As PBO Act Comes Into Effect After 11 Years

Without any forewarning, the current administration operationalised the 11 years old, Public Benefits Organisations Act (the PBO Act) which replaces the 30-year-old Non-Governmental Organisations Coordination Act (the NGO Act), significantly altering the regulation of not-for-profit entities.

The PBO Act was assented to on 14 January 2013 by the late former President Mwai Kibaki, and its date of commencement was to be determined by a Gazette notice. Since then, and despite multiple attempts to operationalise it, there has been a reluctance by the Government to sign it into law. This all changed when the date of commencement was finally made public last week when the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration (the CS) published a Gazette notice stating that the PBO Act shall come into operation on 14 May 2024 (the Operational Date).