Botswana - Apply for Reservation of Non-Governmental Organization Name

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Procedure

Apply In Person

1. The application to reserve a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) name shall be made to the Department of Civil and National Registration office, whose mandate is to register and certify societies; (non-profit making societies and non–governmental organizations) in Botswana.Department of Civil and National Registration Regional Offices Contact Details
2. Upon organizing/forming a group of at least twenty (20) members, hold a meeting to Elect NGO’s officials (Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer).
3. Applicants should submit the letter of intent to register an NGO; attached to the supporting documentation as mentioned under the “Required Documents” section of this page, to the local Civil and National Registration office, where the society's office is based for consideration, within fourteen (14) days from the date of the meeting.
4. Applicants are expected to propose three (3) names in order of priority for the organization to be registered
5. Upon receipt of the application, the Registrar will check for discrepancies or ineligibility in the application documents. If a discrepancy that cannot be immediately corrected exists in any of the documents, the application and all the submitted documents will be returned to the applicant and should not be re-submitted until the discrepancy has been rectified and corrected.
6. The registrar will conduct a name search to ensure that the proposed name is not already registered with another organization, which usually takes half a day.
7. Once a name has been approved, it is reserved for a stipulated duration, the registrar will send the following to the applicant(s) for completion of the NGO registration process:
   • Registration form for a society (Form-A) to be completed in triplicate.
   • Membership list.
   • Guidelines for forming the Society’s constitution

Note: For the full NGO registration process please refer to the Wikiprocedure website Botswana- Register a Non- Government Organisation (NGO)

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Required Documents

• Letter of intent to form a society.
• Minutes of the formation of the society with three or more objectives.
• List of signatures and national identity numbers of attendees at the formation of society meeting.
• Ten suggested names for the society in order of preference. The names should be reflective of the nature of the society whether it is an association, club, church, or society.
• In the case of non-citizens serving on the executive committee, provide the following:
  • Certified copies of resident permit.
  • Certified work permit.
  • A certified copy of pages 1 and 2 of the passport, showing their picture and personal details should also be submitted.

Office Locations & Contacts

Department of Civil and National Registration
(Ministry of Nationality, Immigration, and Gender Affairs)
Address: Block 8, Government Enclave, Khama Crescent
Private Bag 00240Gaborone
Botswana
Tel. (+267)3611100/361115/3611132
Fax. (+267) 3907426
Email: [email protected]
Toll-Free Number. 0800 600 777
Department of Civil and National Registration Regional Offices Contact Details
Ministry of Nationality, Immigration, and Gender Affairs Contact Details

Botswana Council of Non-Government Organisations (BOCONGO)
Address : Plot No. 54513 Unit 5 Courtyard Village,
Gaborone
Botswana
Private Bag 00418 Gaborone
,Botswana
Tel: +267 3911319
Fax: +267 3912935
Email : [email protected]
BOCONGO Website
Business hours: Monday-Friday from 8:00 am-1:00 pm and 2:00 pm -5:00 pm, closed during Public Holidays & Weekends.

Eligibility

• Organized groups in Botswana seeking registration as a Non-Government Organization are eligible to make the application.
• The group should have at least twenty members of legal age.

Fees

• Please consult with the Department of Civil and National Registration office

Validity

• The validity period of the name is forever.
• Once a name has been approved, it is reserved for a stipulated duration as determined by the Registrar.

Documents to Use

Please attach documents that can be used by people. e.g. links

Sample Documents

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

Processing Time

• The processing time is half a day.

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications.
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type='website'>video ID|width|height<&/video&> 
from external websites.
Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, 
myspace, revver,
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video 
is displayed.
e.g In the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 
'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

Instructions

Please provide other instructions related to the certificate/documents.
e.g. The state office holds birth records since January 1908.

Required Information

• Three proposed names are in order of priority.
• Basic Information of the Non-Government Organization (NGO)
• Official Meetings
• Membership in the NGO
• Management Committee
• NGO Project Objectives
• Activities of the NGO
• Type of activity(ies)
• Future Plans/Activities (if any)
• Assistance from the Government/Other Organization(s)

Need for the Document

• An NGO needs to be registered for it to carry out its objectives in Botswana. For it to be registered it needs a name to operate with. The reservation allows the NGO to reserve its name during its registration.

Information which might help

• A Non-Government Organization (NGO) is a registered non-governmental, non-profit and non-political organization.
• Within Non-Government organizations (NGO), there are many variations in terms of size and organizational structure. Some Non-Government organizations (NGO) with a written constitution and directors are formally registered and incorporated. Others are much smaller and informal and are registered by the Department of Civil and National Registration.
• Some of the activities commonly carried out through NGO’s include, but are not limited to, environmental, social, advocacy, and human rights work. They can work to promote social or political change on a broad scale or very locally. NGOs play a critical part in developing society, improving communities, and promoting citizen participation.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

Please explain what are other uses for obtaining this document/certificate.
e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

Botswana Society Registration

Others

More information which might help people.