By Owen Dhliwayo
Prof Lovemore Madhuku in his book; “An Introduction to Zimbabwean Law” states that “the preservation of peace and order must be sought with due regard to justice and respect for fundamental human rights”
On 5 November 2021, the government of Zimbabwe gazette the Private Voluntary Organization Amendment Bill. The bill seeks to amend the Private Voluntary Organisations Act [Chapter 17:05] by purporting to streamline administrative procedures for PVO and allow for efficient regulation and registration. The government defends the enactment of such a draconian bill to the Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) recommendations made to Zimbabwe.
The PVO amendment bill is a reflection of the politics of power and not compliance with the recommendations of FATF, and this will not lead to any real societal transformation. The main objective of FATF is largely unrecognized and ignored looking at the provisions of the bill, or worse are manipulated for a self–serving political agenda. The resultant effect of this bill in our communities will be a bitter clampdown of civil society, PVOs, NGOs and CBOs due to a bitter socio-political environment that it would have created.
A government is deemed good when it aims at the welfare of its citizens but it is considered bad when it cares only for itself. Our government is moving in a direction that will make it easier to be defined by the ethical qualities of the laws that it enacts, and it in that essence can be deemed to be oligarchy as it intends to govern without consideration for the poor.
Civic participation and awareness are the discourse of our community life as they are limits to what politics can provide to better the human condition. It is archaic to create a socio-political culture that generates citizens with low awareness, expectations and participation. During the war of liberation and post-independence, PVOs, CSOs, NGOs, CBOs and FBOs played a critical role in mitigating the devastating effects of war on the general populace. These organisations in their various formations evoked in communities a genuine desire to respond to a larger vision that guided their sense of purpose and direction.
Zimbabwe has had decades of misgovernance, political violence and human rights violations, and this has led to polarization in our communities. The total collapse of our communities has been mitigated by the efforts of PVOs, CSOs, NGOs, CBOs and FBOs. At the same time, through these organisations in their various formations, our society is striving towards gender equity and social cohesion. The epidemic rates of rape and violence against women have been defined as a fundamental social crisis.
The PVO amendment bill is an attempt by the Zimbabwean government to compel communities to live in ignorance, poverty and political subjugation. The values, assumptions and structures being proposed by the PVO amendment bill are not in tandem with the values of modern society. This is a clear sign that Zimbabwe lacks any coherent and compelling social vision.
Our government is currently treading on a contradictory trajectory. It came into power on the mantra “The Voice of the People is the Voice of God”, and this political pedestal exalted the voice of the people as supreme. However, with the PVO amendment bill, the same voice of the people is now intended to be silenced and subsequently impoverished. Local people speak through different platforms; with one being the political voice and the other being the civic voice.
With this bill, Zimbabweans can begin to see clearly the rhetoric of the second republic. Through the PVO amendment bill, the government desire a society where the ritual of elections will replace genuine citizen participation by trying to create a closed socio-political discourse. This closed discourse will definitely preempt genuine public participation on issues that most affect their lives.
It is imperative to stop this bill in its current form as it is retrogressive and can have catastrophic consequences in our communities.
