President Emmerson Mnangagwa said that he will sign the Private Voluntary Organisation Bill (PVO) into law once it reaches his desk.
The Bill was recently passed by Parliament, but some civic bodies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) immediately implored Mnangagwa to ignore it.
Critics argue that some provisions of the Bill may serve as the basis for restricting the operation of many NGOs.
In July last year, Mnangagwa argued that the Bill is meant to flush out dirty money and stop non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that seek to undermine the country’s sovereignty.
Writing in his weekly column in The Sunday Mail today, Mnangagwa said the new law will usher Zimbabwe into a new era of genuine philanthropic and advocacy work. He said:
The Private Voluntary Organisation Bill, PVO Bill, has now passed the various stages of the legislative process.
It is now being cleaned up for my assent. I will sign it into law once it reaches my desk.
Thereafter, Zimbabwe will enter a new era of genuine philanthropic and advocacy work, unsullied by ulterior political or financial motives. This has been our goal as Government in drafting such a law.
To protect our society, specifically the needy and the vulnerable against the greed, wiles and subterfuges of the crooked, found both here at home and abroad.
Mnangagwa also said bona fide organisations “have nothing to fear”, as they could continue their work and vocation by serving the needy and poor. He added:
Our churches have been at the forefront of doing humanitarian work. This Godly role must be nurtured, furthered and protected.
To that end, governance structures envisaged by the new law for the sector will incorporate churches so they bring their honest, beneficent influence to bear on all actors.
The President asserted that the law will “protect and defend our sovereignty from foreign interests”, who were increasingly using NGOs “to infiltrate and destabilise us”. He wrote:
It is regrettable that a sector meant to do good for the weak and vulnerable has over the years got infiltrated and weaponised against our nation and our people, including the very poor in whose name and for whose benefit the sector arose to serve in the first place.
Any responsible Government would not stand idly by as this happened. Corrective action had to be taken to cure such mischief.
It has since been taken through this enabling legislation, which now empowers Government to protect the weak and vulnerable while fortifying our sovereignty against insidious encroachment by these hostile forces.