Rutendo Chirume
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have labeled the Private Voluntary Organizations (PVO) amendment bill as a piece of legislation which government wants to use in order to enforce authoritarian rule and thwart dissenting voices.
These CSOs feel that the Bill does not meet standards and best practices for the exercise of freedom of expression, free association and right to privacy.
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum Executive Director Dr Musa Kika said the bill poses a needless threat to the work of CSOs, ultimately affecting citizens who are the prime beneficiaries of their work, and limiting the strength of democracy.
“The PVO Amendment Bill is in stark contradiction to the values of an open and democratic system. Worse still, it goes against the very mantra of Zimbabwe is open for business. How can Zimbabwe be genuinely open for business when it is closed for civic space and collective citizen action? Who invests in a country where whole institutions can be rearranged in this fashion?
“The Bill and its intended purpose are not fit for purpose; government should take an evidence risk-based approach to work with CSOs deemed at risk of money laundering and terrorism financing, not this blanket approach that will hurt citizens who benefit from NGOs and the economy. In any event, Zimbabwean NGOs have never been at risk nor a risk when it comes to money laundering and terrorism financing,” said Dr Kika.
Youth Decide Zimbabwe (YDZ) director Learnmore Munhangu said government has tried for the past years to suppress democracy and this bill will be used as a weapon against the law to eliminate citizen participation and humanitarian work by civic societies.
“The PVO Amendment Bill is like a stress reducent pill. Instead of focusing on reforms and pro-citizens realignment of the constitution, government is now proposing an impediment tool. We consider the PVO Amendment Bill a way to eliminate effective participation of citizens in civic society and humanitarian work. Over the past few years, we witnessed an exponential increment in levels of suppression, regression of democracy and weaponisation of the law against dissenting voices.
“The civic society used to play a very key role in exposing the ills and advocating for constitutionalism. This is an attempt to silence dissenting voices and further step towards authoritarian rule while protecting the elite at expense of national interests and general populace. As youth, we are in contrary to the Bill and we encourage youth to attend the hearing sessions which are underway so that our voices can be heard,” said Munhangu.
Zimbabwe Democracy Institute (ZDI) research director Patience Sibanda bemoaned lack of information in citizens regarding the bill and said it is meant to shrink the democratic space and clampdown on CSOs.
“Parliament has not done enough to educate citizens on the PVO bill. Are the citizens aware of what it entails or its being forced on them? The bill will limit operations of CSOs particularly those operating as watchdogs and advocating for a just and fair Zimbabwe. They are limited to being guard dogs. The bill undermines democracy and imposes unfair restrictions,” said Sibanda.
Recently, parliament went on a nationwide consultative process in form of public hearings on the Bill.
