It became apparent that the government would seek to change the law in order to ensure that it controlled the operations of NGOs by making the registration process difficult and subject to the whims of a government-appointed registration body. We have seen how such government-appointed bodies operate from the actions of the Media and Information Commission, which has - in two short years - done everything possible to shut down the independent press.
In a speech to Parliament on July 20, President Robert Mugabe had the following to say about NGOs: “Non-governmental organisations must work for the betterment of our country, and not against it. We cannot allow them to be conduits or instruments of foreign interference in our national affairs. My government will, during this session, introduce a Bill repealing the Private Voluntary Organisations Act and replacing it with a new law that will create a Non-Governmental Organisations Council, whose thrust will be to ensure rationalisation of the macro-management of all NGOs.
What the president’s speech immediately shows is that government regards most NGOs as working against the country. No mention is made of the enormous benefits that have been accrued by the ordinary people of Zimbabwe from the work of NGOs. It is instructive that the President made no reference to the “betterment” of the people of Zimbabwe, who are the beneficiaries of most of the work done by NGOs.
It is also instructive that the President made no reference to the fact that the majority of NGOs have stepped into the shoes of government by providing services that ought to be provided by the government. The failure to acknowledge that NGOs have sought to complement government services that are either non-existent or on the verge of collapse can only serve to show the negative perception that the government has towards NGOs and their work. The president’s speech also makes it clear that NGOs are perceived to be agents of foreign interests that have been set up to interfere in government affairs.
This is an all too familiar allegation that has been used to further reduce the democratic space in Zimbabwe, and to limit the participation on national issues by ordinary Zimbabweans.
That the new law is being promulgated for no other reason than to control NGOs and their work is also clear from the fact that the proposed NGO Council will be tasked with “rationalisation of the macro-management of all NGOs”. There can be no doubt that government will seek to control the registration of NGOs with a view to ensuring that certain NGOs are not registered.
There can also be no doubt that those NGOs that will be registered will have their operations controlled and “managed” by the proposed Council in a clear attempt to control the work of NGOs. Those NGOs that have traditionally sought to bring to the fore, government excesses, and failures are not likely to be registered, and civil society, as we know it, will cease to exist.
This is not the first time the government has sought to control the affairs of NGOs. When the current Private Voluntary Organisations Act was passed in 1995, it gave the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, power to suspend the Board or Executive Committee of an NGO and to replace it with members he would have nominated without reference to the organisation or its members.
The minister promptly used this provision against the executive committee of the Association of Women’s Clubs and this was successfully challenged in the Constitutional Court as being against the right to be heard before the determination and taking away the right to freedoms of association, and expression. Therefore, the government is clearly seeking to reintroduce this law with the full knowledge and comfort that the current Constitutional Court is unlikely to fight against it as has happened in other constitutional challenges.
The effect of such legislation will be disastrous for the average Zimbabwean, particularly as we approach an election year. NGOs that have generally followed the conduct of elections are at high risk of not being registered by the proposed Council.
Victims are not likely to have any assistance outside government structures, which are not likely to be sympathetic to such victims. With the absence of an independent daily newspaper, excesses committed by political parties, their members and other agents are not likely to be published. Unlawful arrests and detention at unknown places, which are usually accompanied by torture, will not be reported, thus lessening the chances of investigations and seeking redress.
Basically, the meticulous recording of human rights’ abuses that characterised the last election will not be possible if the government determines which organisation should be registered and who should manage it. The implications for the proposed legislation are grave, and will cut out the free flow of information to the outside world, as monitoring some of the excesses will be criminalised. The proposed legislation should therefore be fought by all freedom loving persons.
Romania St. Matthew-Daniel
International Bar Association
By email
