Civil Society organizations in Zimbabwe are petitioning the government as it reflects on an instrument which seeks to regulate the registration and operation of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the country. The Private Voluntary Organizations (PVO) Amendment Bill (2021) has been uncontested in the Southern African country’s Parliament, having undergone its first and second reading in its National Assembly.
Various actors are now calling on the Zimbabwean government not ascent the bill as it reads now, claiming that it has deleterious effects on development indicators and the efforts of Civil Society.
“We are particularly concerned that the amendments have been introduced without public consultations. This has been done in violation of section 141 of the Constitution which mandates Parliament to invoke public participation in its legislative processes through a process of consultation with interested stakeholders,’’ lamented Musa Kika, Executive Director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum.
The heavily contested PVO Amendment Bill (2021) was put in place to regulate and dictate the registration of NGOs, as well as, curb money laundering and the abuse of NGOs as proxies for Illicit Financial Flows. Claims which civil society has dubbed insincere and an attempt to shrink civic space, it is reported.
According to local media, civil society organizations have opposed the instrument citing the possible politically-motivated weaponization of the bill, absence of significant public consultation, and the possible detraction of Human Rights organizations’ work which could lead to loss of lives and progress on development indicators, among other concerns.
