Zanu-PF says Zimbabwe’s non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society groups need not worry about the controversial Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Bill if they are doing nothing wrong.
Last week the bill, which gives the government the power to control and monitor the operations of NGOs, sailed through parliament's upper house, the Senate, and awaits President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s signature to become law.
The bill allows for the government to pry into the affairs of civil society and humanitarian organisations and shut down those deemed to be operating unlawfully. It also proposes that board members of NGOs can be held liable in their personal capacities should they fail to comply.
“We don’t see anything wrong about this bill. Even some opposition [MPs] were in support of it, saying that some [NGOs] became contrary after being given the green light to work in the country,” senator Tsitsi Muzenda, Zanu-PF's upper house chief whip, told the Sunday Times.
“Those who are doing honest work, we won’t have any problems with them.”
The imminent passing of the bill comes as a poll conducted for the Brenthurst Foundation think-tank by UK research group SABI Strategy found that Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa would defeat Mnangagwa in the general election to be held later this year by 53% of the vote to 40%. However, those surveyed were concerned that the election would not be free or fair.
The results of the survey, published this week, also showed that the CCC would win the parliamentary election, beating Zanu-PF with 52% of the vote to 40%.
Prosper Mutseyami, the CCC chief whip of the lower house, the National Assembly, said there appeared to be a “politically motivated objective to shut down civic society organisations that focus especially on human rights and democracy and this further damages the credibility of Zimbabwe domestically and internationally”.
“Institutions that work to strengthen the democracy and culture of accountability must be protected,” he said.
Tabani Moyo, director of the Zimbabwe chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa, said his organisation had no choice but to start re-registering itself in line with the new law.
Various media organisations under the umbrella of the Media Alliance of Zimbabwe (MAZ) have also started similar processes after getting legal advice.
MAZ programmes manager Nigel Nyamutumbu wrote a memorandum to all partner organisations last week advising them to comply with the law.
“Instead of channelling resources and efforts in seeking legal advice on the PVO Amendment Bill it could be better to channel such resources and efforts in preparing to comply with this law in anticipation of its enactment,” he wrote.
Loughty Dube, director of the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe, said: “If the PVO Bill is passed we will have no option but to comply with the law.”
Instead of channelling resources and efforts in seeking legal advice on the PVO Amendment Bill it could be better to channel such resources and efforts in preparing to comply with this law in anticipation of its enactment
While some media organisations seem to have given up the struggle it appears others are determined to fight.
Blessing Vava, director of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, a grouping of more than 80 civil society groups, said they “will not be cowed into submission to comply with such a colonial and draconian law”.
“This is reminiscent of the '60s and '70s, when the colonial regime imposed laws banning the black liberation movements. But did they cease their operations? No. Instead they came up with different strategies to fight for our independence. This is exactly what we are going to do. If anything they have given us an opportunity to regroup, restrategise to defy unjust laws,” he said.
However, Vava stressed that their affiliated organisations were not bound by their position.
Gorden Moyo, director of the Public Policy and Research Institute of Zimbabwe think-tank , said the proposed law “is essentially a surveillance instrument for civil society activists”.
“It is meant to shrink the civil society space and intimidate the actors that are critical of government activities and are making government accountable,” he said.
“The instrument is premised on the wrong assumption that civil society, NGOs, community-based organisations and others are all either seen as anti-government or seen as working in cahoots with the opposition political formations, which is untrue,” he said.
Moyo said that while his organisation was preparing to comply with the new law, albeit grudgingly, some of the law’s aspects could be challenged in court.
“Our work will be curtailed given the current provisions of the bill ... but I do not think we have a way out other than to comply,” he said.
“There are of course certain areas and provisions that need to be challenged through the courts which are so intrusive, unthinkable, and they are against the principles of the constitution.”
Political analyst and National University of Science and Technology lecturer Methuseli Moyo agreed.
“I think the NGOs have no option but to comply if they wish to continue operating in Zimbabwe. They may continue to lobby for the amendment of the law and hope for the best in a post-election environment,” he said.
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