INTRODUCTION
There has been extensive media coverage on Zimbabwe’s Private and Voluntary Organisation’s (PVO) Amendment Bill. Some critical questions pertaining to the function and sustainability of PVO’s still needs to be addressed: should PVO’s also referred to as Non Governmental Organisation’s (NGO) or Non Profit Organisation’s be regulated, what form should it take and what purpose should it serve? What is happening in other jurisdictions with respect to the regulation of NGO’s.
On 29 June 2021 the ruling party’s Harare Provincial Development Coordinator issued a directive that NGO’s must submit their operational strategies to him for review or approval. He called on the police to arrest all those that refused to comply and threatened to ban NGO’s that had not submitted their plans . Civil society came together and challenged the legality of his orders with the high court ruling in September 2021 that the directive was illegal . Then on 5 November 2021 the amended PVO bill was gazetted. In 2004 an initial attempt was made to regulate NGO’s through the 2004 “ Non Governmental Organisation’s Bill it was passed by the Parliament but never signed into law by the then President Robert Mugabe . The NGO bill was brought about in a similar context.
Chapter four [4] of Zimbabwe’s Constitution establishes the various rights accorded to citizens of Zimbabwe. The fundamental rights are provided for in Article 9 of the African Charter on Human People’s Rights which states that every individual shall have the right to receive information and to express and disseminate his or her opinion within law. The African Charter and many other international human rights norms are applicable to various countries including Zimbabwe.
IMPLICATIONS OF THE AMENDED PRIVATE AND VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS BILL
The Zimbabwean government has created legal tools to control civil society organisation’s and where deemed necessary shut them down completely. The amended law will give government the power to interfere in civil society organisation’s governance and activities. PVO’s will require government’s permission for any ‘material change’ in the organisation’s including changes internal management, constitution and funding. The government will have unchecked power to designate any PVO as high risk or vulnerable to terrorism abuse allowing government to revoke a PVO’s registration and remove or replace its leadership. According to the Bill PVO’s will be prohibited from supporting or opposing any political party or candidate. The Bill has the potential to unduly restrict freedom of expression and civic space.
Zimbabwe is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil Political Rights [ICCPR], which among other things guarantees the right and freedom to seek, receive and import information and ideas of all kinds under article 19. the same article protects political discourse, commentary on one’s own or public affairs, canvassing, discussion on human rights and journalism.
Zimbabwe is already regarded as an insecure destination for donor funding. Currently they are many donors who will not bring funds to Zimbabwe. Government has highlighted its discomfort with the idea that some civil society organisation’s are pushing forward for a regime change agenda. However this is yet to be established as fact and it does not mean all donors from all over the world are interested in regime change. Several NGO’s have continued to operate in Zimbabwe and compliment government’s development efforts and drive of vision 2030, regardless of the environment. The Bill if passed will bring fourth a new wave of donor flight and this will further weaken the national development agenda. Defeating the “Zimbabwe is Open for Business Mantra”
According to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development in 2021 alone the free funds that were channeled into the Zimbabwean economy by NGO’s was USD$975.16 million. There is likely going to be significant decline of these free funds if the bill is passed. The sector is also growing as a source of employment and a capacity building and development partner through the financing of self help projects. The passing of the bill will negatively affect NGO’s and some may close down due to these legislative changes tabled in the amended PVO Bill.
Civil Society organisation’s are globally recognised as credible cites for innovation and leadership development as knowledge is interchanged with these different country custodians. Innovations such as pfumvudza and rainwater harvesting were first developed and piloted by NGO’s before being adopted by government. The PVO Bill exposes the vulnerability of women and marginalised groups and negatively impacts the participation in the political, economic and development process at both local and national level. There’s need to safeguard sections 17, 56 and 80 of the Constitution.
Communities have benefited extensively from the development initiatives being carried out by civil society. During the Covid 19 Pandemic family lost several breadwinners and civil society came to the aid of these families financially. During the Chimanimani disaster and to Togwe Mkosi disaster NGO’s assisted communities significantly to reduce the effects of the disasters among other incidents. The PVO Amendment Bill will affect benefiary communities who are being assisted by these civil societies.
STRATEGIES TO COUNTER THE CLOSURE OF CIVIC SPACE
There’s need to lobby government to withdraw the amendments to the PVO Bill and go back to practitioners, beneficiaries, communities and to check different best country case studies on any amendments to NGO legislation. Social media services can be utilized to create awareness and disseminate information on the PVO Bill. A hashtag movement can be initiated to ensure the public is aware of this Bill and its interpretation. There is need to create public awareness on the PVO Amendment Bill in order to give communities all the information they require so that they are aware of the possible challenges associated with the implementation.
Engage government to hold more in-depth participatory engagement with actors in the governance process. Citizens should engage their MP’s, councillors, chiefs and other community leaders to get more clarity on the PVO Amendment Bill.
There’s need to engage in dialogue so that policies/laws and amendments do not infringe on the essential features doctrine of the constitution which empowers citizens with their fundamental rights.
A peer led council needs to be established for the registration and regularization of civil society activities. This council will include government officials this will allow easy registration and efficient processes and procedures which define conditions of operation and consequences of non compliance to foster confidence in the good will of government and to restore the confidence in funding partners, beneficiary communities and government.
Civil society organizations including regional organizations needs to engage the international community so that they can assist in lobbying or advising Zimbabwe on implications of such legislation. A petition of these PVO’s or NGO’s may assist in informing government why this Bill will create challenges for PVO operations. Both government and NGO’s need to find each other to come up with an alternative regulatory blueprint that advances the development interests of the entirety of Zimbabweans. The Civil society organizations currently operating in Zimbabwe should desist from fragmenting themselves in order to speak with one voice.
IMPLICATIONS OF THE PVO BILL AS WE APPROACH THE 2023 ELECTIONS
Civil society organisation’s play a crucial role in elections by educating voters, enabling citizen registration, monitoring the conduct of the process and observing the election itself with an eye on identifying irregularities. This is crucial work in every country. The amended PVO Bill will undermine this.
There’s need to advocate/lobby the African Union and regional power broker South Africa needs to press Zimbabwean leaders to forgo these unnecessary amendments to the PVO Bill
The PVO Bill amendments will contravene multiple continental and regional conventions that seek to uphold election integrity, including the SADC principles and guidelines governing democratic elections. To create an enabling environment for the elections civil society, democracy defenders, political parties, SADC and AU need to act now and work together to hold government accountable to its human rights and bilateral obligations.
The paper was written and presented by Kudzai Matsika at ZDI Meeting in Gweru.