A group of civil society organizations have written to Parliament demanding for the shelving of debates on the contentious Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Amendment Bill.
In a scathing letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Mudenda, 24 organisations including Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA Zimbabwe) said the amendments infringe on constitutional freedoms.
Some sections of the public, civic society and diplomatic community have condemned the proposed amendments, largely seen as muzzling free expression ahead of the 2023 elections.
The civic organizations expressed concern that the proposed amendments has ‘potential to unduly restrict freedom of expression and civic space’.
“Honorable Speaker, while we accept that the right to freedom of expression is not absolute, the PVO Amendment Bill does not serve a legitimate purpose and neither is it necessary.
“…We urge the Parliament of Zimbabwe to delay debate on the PVO Amendment Bill until it meets local, regional and international standards and best practices for the exercise of freedom of expression, free association and the right to privacy.
“Embark on a wide-ranging consultative process on the regulation of CSOs, Trusts and NGOs. This process should be consultative and reflective of the views of a wide spectrum of Zimbabwean society,” reads part of the letter.
Some contentious amendments will see the prohibition of PVOs from “political involvement”, viewed as an ‘overly broad and vague term’ by the civic organizations.
Initially government ostensibly proposed the amendment to comply with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations to align the country’s laws and ensure that NGOs/PVOs are not misused by terrorist organizations.
“It was noted that PVO activities will excessively involve the Executive, it is feared that NGO and CSO funds may be expropriated by the government under the guise of complying with provisions of the FATF recommendations. There is a real risk that the expropriation of the funds can be done without due process of the law and without compensation.
“…the Bill further seeks to govern CSOs’ support for political parties, which flies in the face of the Constitutionally-protected right to freedom of association.
“…that has the potential of being misused to target and persecute CSO leaders, pro-democracy activists, human rights defenders and NGOs that may be involved in promoting and protecting civil and political rights guaranteed under the country’s Constitution and major international instruments that Zimbabwe has signed and ratified.”
