The Private Voluntary Organisations (PVOs) Amendment Bill has sailed through National Assembly and now awaits scrutiny by Senate before it is taken up for Presidential assent.
Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi announced the development while speaking to NewsDay. He is cited as saying:
The Bill has sailed through National Assembly and now waits for Senate, hopefully they will consider it and waits for Presidential assent.
The Bill amends the PVO Act and the government says it will curb money laundering and PVOs’ participation in politics. It proposes harsh penalties, including jail time of up to one year for perceived offences.
Opposition legislators and human rights activists say the proposed Bill is flawed and that it contains controversial clauses that should be subjected to scrutiny and debate.
They expressed fear that if passed into law in its current state, the proposed law will further shrink the country’s democratic space and lead to the closure of several NGOs perceived as anti-government.
Opposition legislator Sichelesile Mahlangu (CCC) said they could not stop ZANU PF because it has a majority in Parliament. Mahlangu added:
On our side, we managed to go out and didn’t participate. We were expecting that it will come next year, not this year.
But Zanu PF has described the Bill as a necessary tool to whip rogue NGOs and CSOs into line. Zanu PF chief whip Pupurai Togarepi said:
The Bill sailed through, even the opposition members silently supported the Billl. We are excited that people supported the Bill. It will be signed by the President as law, we are going to have a very good environment.
Norton legislator Themba Mliswa (Independent) said passage of the law would affect many people dependent on donor support.
Early this year, prominent economist Prosper Chitambara warned that the proposed PVO Amendment Bill will hit the economy hard saying NGOs are filling the gaps in public programmes and services that States have failed to perform or provide owing to limited fiscal space.