Several civil society organisations (CSOs) in Zimbabwe have called for the immediate withdrawal of the Private Voluntary Organisation (PVO) amendment bill.

The CSOs, including Amnesty International Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Lawyers of Human Rights (ZLHR), and the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), said the bill would have serious consequences like restricting civic space and access to humanitarian support services.

They raised concerns that the bill has been altered significantly without the input of the public, which is a violation of their constitutional rights.

‘The bill that was presented to the public has now been altered significantly and must be taken back to the public for consultations as mandated by the constitution’, they said in a statement.

‘Without this, the public’s due process and constitutional rights have been violated.

‘The proposed bill, as amended, will have dire consequences of restricting civic space and access to humanitarian support services in Zimbabwe.

‘Under the circumstances, CSOs call for the withdrawal of the bill, and the initiation of a comprehensive process of fresh consultations to be held with the public and CSOs’.

CSOs engaged Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi in April and agreed to include inputs that were suggested by the voluntary organisations in the amendment bill. However, the minister did not proceed as had been agreed.

The PVO amendment bill, according to CSOs, would provide the government with unfettered discretionary power to overregulate and interfere in the governance and operations of NGOs.

Photo source: Paul Kagame