Chantel Boyce
In democracy, the promulgation of any piece of legislation should be to the benefit of the nation and its people. However, when pieces of legislation are tailor-made to suppress and oppress, they become counterproductive. The legislative system is now being used to rubber-stamp unpopular laws which do not have the ordinary people at heart. When laws restrict civil rights and suffocate the civil society, they cease to serve national interests in favour of personal ones as well as to achieve political expediency.
This can be said of the proposal made by government of Zimbabwe to push for the enactment of the PVO Amendment Bill. The Bill is being pushed by power hungry politicians who do not have the nation and ordinary citizens at heart.
The battle between the state and civil society in Zimbabwe has escalated to alarming levels to the extent of the former plotting to change the legal environment under private voluntary organizations, non-governmental organizations and non-profit organizations. For a long time the government of Zimbabwe has labelled NGOs agents of regime change particularly those surviving on foreign funding. The label has been generally applied across the whole civil society sector.
The civil society in Zimbabwe has been working very hard as a check and balance of the abuse of power by the state. Civil society organizations like the Zimbabwe Peace Project, Crisis Coalition in Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights have been at the forefront of exposing and denouncing abuse of power and repression by the government. Thus restrictions on their operation will lead to despotism.
The civil society in Zimbabwe has been at the forefront of exposing and shaming corruption. Organisations like Transparency Zimbabwe International, Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) under the how far mantra have been demanding transparency and accountability condemning the endemic corruption in state circles. Therefore, silencing civil society that helps in the Nobel fight against corruption is not a good fit.
Civil society organizations are necessary in building and strengthening democratic systems in the country. The Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network (ZESN) always encourages people to vote and condemn electoral fraud. Thus making life difficult for these civil society organizations who are in attempt to muzzle civil society so as to deeply entrench dictatorship.
NGOs have been playing a major role in disaster relief and management in Zimbabwe so treating them all as enemies of the state is counterproductive. Due to climate change, Zimbabwe has been regularly hit by natural disasters like cyclones, droughts and floods. In the most recent, Cyclone Idai which hit hard parts of Manicaland and Masvingo, several NGOs partnered government to bring relief aid to affected communities. If draconian laws are introduced targeting NGOs, there is a genuine fear that they will withdraw their services leaving the cash strapped government exposed.
NGOs are working hard to transform marginalized communities in like Gokwe, Binga and Rushinga. A case in point is the work being done by Activista under Action Aid Zimbabwe. The organization installed a borehole at Nyagwande in Nyanga which can now be used to provide clean water to about 32 households. ADRA Zimbabwe has also brought clean tapped water to the Chidora community under Chief Chireya in Gokwe North. If the operations of such NGOs are affected by the proposed law, they will simply shut down and it is the ordinary people who suffer.
Every year, many Zimbabwean communities would be in dire need of food aid. This is largely due to climate change which has greatly affected rainfall patterns leading to drought and famine. 100 000 people have been assisted with food aid through the World Food Program since 2019. WFP helps in both rural and urban communities to the extent of some of them receiving monthly cash pay outs.
NGOs have ensured access to education for thousands of underprivileged children across Zimbabwe. Examples that quickly come to mind are Camfed and Plan International. They build schools and pay school fees. If government drives these NGOs away through draconian policies like the PVO Amendment Bill, no one would ever support the government in developmental projects.
The above submissions are part of the broader discourse on the implications of the PVO Amendment Bill on civil society and NGOs as well as the beneficiaries who are the ordinary people. My submission is that the Bill should be revised or at least scrapped because it will not serve the national interests.
The writer is an opinion writer who can be contacted on 0778413023
e-mail address 07******************@gm***.com
