ARTICLE
3 May 2023

The Meaning And Likely Effects Of The PVO Bill

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...
Zimbabwe Government, Public Sector

The Purpose of the Bill

According to its memorandum, the Bill has three purposes:

  • to comply with recommendations made by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF),
  • to streamline administrative procedures and allow for the efficient regulation and administration of PVOs, and
  • to prevent PVOs from undertaking political lobbying [This purpose is mentioned in the memorandum almost as an afterthought, but it may be the principal objective of the Bill].

Controversial clauses within the Bill

  1. 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 etc 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.

In light of the above, it is of importance to not that the Minister in this regard 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 such a declaration.

Further, the declaration by the Minister will extend the Act to cover institutions that are not currently within its ambit, and will impose additional controls over them that are not currently laid down in the Act. In more simple terms, a declaration will therefore constitute a major amendment of the Act, which the Minister will make by regulations.

  1. Clause 2 of the Bill also contains a provision permitting the Registrar (i.e. the Director of Social Welfare) to prohibit trusts that are registered with the High Court, but are not registered PVOs, from collecting contributions from the public or from outside Zimbabwe for any of the purposes specified in the definition of "private voluntary organisation" (i.e. charitable purposes, social welfare assistance, legal aid and animal welfare).
  2. 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. But the Bill does not define political activities.

Overview

The Bill gives the responsible Minister power and discretion to suspend an Executive Committee of a PVO yet this was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on the grounds that it does not afford PVOs an opportunity to be heard before the Minister suspends their committees

The Minister can appoint a temporary trustee to run the PVO's affairs, and the Minister can do this without inviting representations from the PVO concerned. And as in the existing section, committee members who have been suspended for more than 30 days will cease to hold office and be disqualified from standing for re-election.

Overall, the Bill is badly conceived and badly put together and the most dangerous aspect of the Bill is its vagueness. The Bill can be used to prevent civil society organisations from engaging in civic education or election observation or similar activities

Limiting the activities of CSOs and subjecting them to government control, will stifle not only democracy but also economic development.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

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