By Dalphine Tagwireyi
A law is set to be passed in Zimbabwe that could cut off NGOs from providing aid to rural communities.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has promised to sign the Private Voluntary Organisation Amendment Bill (PVO), which affects non-governmental organisations’ (NGOs) operations.
The bill poses a huge challenge for rural populations which rely heavily on aid due to poverty and erratic rainfall patterns.
In his weekly column in The Sunday Mail, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said he will sign the bill when it reaches his desk as it has passed all legislative processes.
Mnangagwa defended his stance, saying that NGOs are trojan horses that are used to taking advantage of the genuine needs of societies to infiltrate and destabilise the government.
Human rights activists Pride Mkono, who spoke to Scrolla.Africa, said this will undo the work of NGOs in educating communities about their rights, providing humanitarian assistance and defending human rights.
“The upcoming PVO Bill is designed to close the democratic space for civil society,” said Mkono.
“The Mnangagwa regime seeks to close all organisations which are critical of the government ahead of elections while keeping those aligned to the government and ruling party.”
Mkono said the majority of organisations in the human rights and democracy sector will effectively be barred from operating.
“Such drastic action is reminiscent of colonial periods and should have no space in our society,” said Mkono.
The PVO Bill provides the government with wide powers to interfere in civil society organisations’ governance and activities, and rural communities that benefit most from aid may be forced to affiliate with the ruling party in order to receive aid.
Human rights activist Charles Nyoni said that Mnangagwa’s administration wants to make sure that it stifles the areas where human rights and NGOs have been operating.
“This has been a feature in all the laws they are pushing. We no longer have human rights defenders because the space has been closed down illegally as activists were brutalised and arrested,” he said.
Pictured above: Zimbabwean president Emmerson Mnangagwa
Image source: Twitter
