NO one is supporting the Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Bill except for a few individuals, who are foisting their selfish agendas for God knows what.
They are hiding behind fighting the alleged funding of terrorism in Zimbabwe yet we all know the real reason.
They have an axe to grind with non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
For years, NGOs have been instrumental in the development of poor communities in either urban or rural set-ups.
Never in a day have we heard that a suspect has been nabbed while in the process of executing a terrorist activity and go on to mention a single NGO as the funder of that activity.
So government’s reason that it is fighting terrorism is lame.
The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) has written several times to the authorities expressing its disgust over the PVO Bill.
It said the Bill “is a calculated plot by the government to criminalise the operations of civil society organisations and close civic and democratic space.
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"This runs contrary to section 58 of our Constitution, which guarantees freedom of assembly and association and is clearly intended to consolidate authoritarian rule by the incumbent government”.
“The PVO Bill is an attempt by the Zimbabwean government to increase ‘domestic sanctions against its citizens’; presently, the government is failing to adequately provide basic social goods and services including health and education, with a lot of assistance coming from donor organisations and other development partners, who prefer to work through civil society organisations because of the government’s poor corporate governance track record.
“If enacted, the law will result in further curtailing citizens’ access to public goods and services,” CiZC further stated among a host of other arguments against the Bill.
It’s not only CiZC. Two years ago, legal think-tank, Veritas, spoke out against the PVO Bill.
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Association has also added its voice, appealing to President Emmerson Mnangagwa “not to sign the PVO Bill, but instead, advise the Parliament of Zimbabwe to establish an inclusive civic space roundtable to provide support towards a nation-building approach to protection of the civic space.”
United Nations special rapporteurs on human rights have also urged the government to withdraw the controversial Bill, describing it as “an assault on democratic principles”.
Besides, there are two versions of the Bill, which is a harbinger of what is to come.
International organisations will stop channelling funds to Zimbabwe to aid in addressing pressing matters.
Communities will go hungry as many have been assisted to fend off starvation by these NGOs that are under threat today.
Others were getting monthly stipends, which they used to buy a few basic commodities to get by each day.
All these will be gone the moment government signs the PVO Amendment Bill into law.
Government is literally bankrupt.
It cannot afford to feed its people singlehandedly.
Authorities talk of partnerships with the private sector yet tighten screws when it comes to implementation.
What a sad case of indicating left and turning right.
The coffers are empty yet the authorities are being adamant for no reason.
Are they even in the clear of what is happening in the country?
Enacting the PVO Bill into law is a non-starter.
This exposes terrible leadership with a nauseating appetite for trampling on anything that is good.
