http://https://youtu.be/n20iHPPfwu8
The Public Voluntary Organisation (PVO) amendment bill was rejected by Midlands residents recently. The consultation meeting was held at Zibagwe rural council at Joel Growth point with an overwhelming attendance as people came in from as far as Gokwe to express their views.
The consensus from people who attended the meeting was that the bill interferes with the independence of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and paralyses humanitarian work. “NGOs help us when our fields are dry and there is a drought, they give us food and aid when government fail to do so. If government then comes in to restrict them and they run away this will increase poverty. What we don’t understand is why government is set on crafting laws that will destroy us instead of ones that help us as a nation,” said Emanuel Taruvinga of Gokwe.
According to Veritas, the Bill has three purposes which are to see to it that there is compliance with recommendations made by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).To streamline administrative procedures and allow for the efficient regulation and administration of PVOs. Also to prevent PVOs from undertaking political lobbying. FATF is an inter-governmental organisation set up in 1989 to act as a global watchdog against money laundering and terrorist financing. It has set international standards, known as the FATF Recommendations or FATF Standards, to prevent these illegal activities.
Clause 2 of the Bill will extend the application of the Act to cover persons, legal arrangements, bodies, associations or institutions which the Minister declares in regulations to be vulnerable to misuse by terrorist organisations, or at high risk of being misused by terrorist organisations. The persons, legal arrangements, bodies covered by a Ministerial declaration will have to register as PVOs under the Act and will be subject not only to the requirements and obligation laid down in the Act but also to any additional requirements the Minister may specify in regulations. The Minister is not obliged to give notice to the persons, legal arrangements, etc. before declaring them to be vulnerable to terrorist misuse, nor will he or she have to invite them to make representations before making the declaration. This violates the principles of due process and, more specifically, infringes section 68 of the Constitution which guarantees everyone the right to administrative conduct that is procedurally fair. Clause 5 of the Bill will insert a provision into the Act permitting the PVO Board to cancel the registration of a PVO if it engages in political activities. Unfortunately it is almost impossible to discern what political activities will trigger cancellation. If the provision is construed at its widest, it would permit cancellation if a PVO supports or opposes a political party or candidate in an election. Yet there are NGOs that support women in political participation, grooming them so that they are able to run for office.
Sandra Ncube, Babson Ndhlovu and others were of the opinion that the bill gives too much power to the minister and this will result in abuse of power and corruption. “We need to check the amount of power this bill gives to one person. The vulnerable like the girl child and people living with disabilities and other diseases have been protected and assisted by NGOs. This bill takes away all that and compromises the livelihood of women and girls child. We will die if this bill is passed, who will protect us?”
Clause 8 of the Bill will insert a new section 22 into the Act requiring the Minister, at least once every five years and with the co-operation of the Reserve Bank’s Financial Intelligence Unit, to assess the vulnerability of PVOs and other similar organisations to being used for terrorist financing. On the basis of this assessment the Minister will be able to require any PVO or organisation to take specified measures to mitigate their vulnerability, or to make regulations prescribing special measures to be taken by “designated” PVOs and organisations. If a designated PVO or organisation fails to register as a PVO under the Act, it and its office-bearers will be guilty of a criminal offence and liable to a fine of level 14 (currently Z$500 000) or ten years’ imprisonment or both. In addition the Minister will be able to get the Registrar to revoke or suspend the organisation’s license or registration and order the removal of its office-bearers. The assessment of PVOs’ vulnerability will be done by the Minister and a unit of the Reserve Bank. The PVO Board will not be involved, and individual PVOs will have no say in the matter. This is contrary to what FATF itself says, that countries should work with PVOs and civil society organisations during the risk assessment process. It is does not state how PVOs and other institutions are to be “designated” or who is to designate them. The lack of involvement of PVOs in the assessment of their vulnerability infringes the rules of natural justice enshrined in section 68 of the Constitution, one of the most important of which is the right to have a voice in decisions that affect one’s interests. The penalty for failing to register as a PVO is disproportionate to the offence, as we have said, and therefore constitutes cruel or degrading punishment for the purposes of section 53 of the Constitution.
Laurence Bhamu said that the bill was “reversing devolution. It doesn’t promote human and political rights that are provided for in the constitution. Some donations that are given out in rural areas are given out along partisan lines. It’s only NGOs that help everyone.”