Bill criminalising NGOs signed into law

Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed the controversial Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Amendment Bill into law on Friday, reports News24. However, civil society groups and NGOs said the new Act would lead to their total shutdown. Speaking in Parliament recently, Zimbabwe's Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said the PVO Amendment Bill aimed to criminalise NGOs that fund political parties and activities to remove the government. The Act was published in the Government Gazette on Friday by Martin Rushwaya, the chief secretary to the President and Cabinet. A coalition of over 80 civil society groups and NGOs, under the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, condemned the new legislation. It said the Act would cripple their operations. The law itself was unconstitutional, unjust and was premised on a false notion of compliance with the Financial Action Task Force recommendation to curb money laundering and the financing of terrorism, said civil society and analysts. Blessing Vava, the director of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, said the implementation of the Act would result in NGOs shutting down. Political analyst and rights activist Precious Shumba said: ‘The Act presents a huge challenge to civil society organisations in Zimbabwe,’ and was a continuation of the agenda to shrink the civic space for the democratic movements where people ask difficult questions.

Full News24 report