PVOs Bill: 18,000 jobs on the line

BRIAN SITHOLE
At least 18000 jobs are on the line while Zimbabwe is set to lose close to US$1bn from the donor community after Parliament last week passed the Private Voluntary Organisations (PVOs) Amendment Bill that observers say will further subdue the already bleeding and highly dependent economy.
The PVOs Amendment Bill has been frowned upon by the opposition and civic society organisations who described it as draconian and meant to muzzle operations of the non-governmental organisation who the ruling Zanu PF party view as agents working with the west and opposition to drive a regime change agenda.
According to the opposition and civic society, the Bill was ill-conceived and has devastating social and economic consequences for the country.
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition chairperson Peter Mutasa told Business Times this week that the passing of the PVOs Amendment Bill was going to create a huge “economic hole.”
“Our economy is going to tinker. We are going to lose approximately 18 000 direct jobs in the NGO sector. We will lose more than that. We are going to have a problem with foreign currency because the donors are bringing about a billion every year, the third largest from exports and diaspora remittances,” Mutasa said.
He said Zimbabwe was highly dependent on donor money mainly in the education, health and social protection areas hence the Bill, in its current state was problematic and spells doom.
“Most of our budgetary support in key social areas such as health, education, food security and social protection is coming from the donor community, and if we are not careful, we are going to create a big hole because most of the donors are going to take a wait and see attitude and some are going to pull out of Zimbabwe,” Mutasa said.
“This is going to create a social problem economically once those donor funds are taken out.”
According to a report on a research titled Punching Holes To A Fragile Economy? compiled by Prosper Chitambara, Clinton Musonza and Phillan Zamchiya, recently, there were far-reaching negative impact and implications for CSOs and government development programmes and the poor who rely on aid for survival and access to critical social services.
The report reads in part: “NGOs have also played a critical role in bridging the huge financing gap in the critical sectors of the economy such as social protection, education, health, water and sanitation among others.”
“For instance, according to the 2022 national budget statement, during the period January to September 2021, the country received development assistance amounting to US$647.8 million, of which US$401.9 million was from bilateral partners and US$245.9 million from multilateral partners,” the report stated.
The PVO Amendment Bill was gazetted in November 2021 and seeks to amend the PVO Act to impose new restrictions, but civil society organisations have warned the proposed amendments will constrain their work and violate human rights, while negatively affecting communities who depend on their activities.
“Owing to the huge financing gap in productivity-enhancing and poverty-reducing sectors of the economy such as health, education, social protection, water and sanitation, the country has had to rely on donor financing from international NGOs and development partners,” the report reads in part.
“Sustained and strong partnerships with NGOs and other not-for-profit organisations such as trade unions will strengthen the implementation of the National Development Strategy 1 as well as the attainment of the country’s Vision 2030: Towards a Prosperous & Empowered Upper Middle-Income Society by 2030.”
However, the government gazetted the Bill which it says seeks to comply with recommendations made by the Financial Action Task Force; streamline administrative procedures and allow for the efficient regulation and administration of PVOs.
The government added the Bill will also prevent PVOs from undertaking political lobbying.
The Bill also prohibits 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.”
The 2022 monetary policy statement says NGOs are the third-biggest earners of foreign currency in the country after export proceeds and diaspora remittances. Total foreign currency receipts from NGOs rose by 50.5% from US$647.78 million in 2020 to US$975.16 million in 2021.
However, Zanu PF Chief Whip Pupurai Togarepi rubbished claims by the opposition and CSOs saying “only the guilty are afraid.”
“Every organisation at law is an individual and that individual is expected to operate in a certain way. The PVO bill is just dealing with issues of operations, how these organisations, PVOs will operate if they want to do business in Zimbabwe,” Togarepi told Business Times this week.
“We have also realised that a lot of money flows into this country. Some of this money is coming from terrorism, money laundering and so forth. All of that must be controlled.”
He said Zimbabwe was a country with laws hence everyone interested in operating in the country should follow set laws.
“We have a law that says anyone who steals should go to jail. Would somebody who doesn’t steal say we don’t want that law because it will send someone to jail? It means someone is a thief because they are saying if this law is enacted then they will be sent to jail,” Togarepi said.
“People and institutions who are law abiding have no problem with this act. Many have said silently and openly to us to ensure that this law passes because our environment as PVOs is now a jungle.”
The PVOs amendment Bill has attracted international attention and subjected to discussions in the House of Commons and other global platforms where it has been attacked.
Zimbabwe goes for elections next year with the opposition now claiming the PVOs Amendment Bill was being used by the Zanu PF government to silence critics and those exposing alleged human rights violations in the country.