Why Zimbabwe needs PVO Act urgently Most demonstrations in the country are sponsored by rogue non-governmental organisations.

Saxon Zvina-Correspondent

Zimbabwe shall start having public hearings on the Private Voluntary Organisation (PVO) Bill soon.

The PVO Bill has been criticised by some NGOs and some Western countries.

When the European Union renewed sanctions on Zimbabwe, it mentioned the Bill together with the Data Protection Act and Patriot Bill.

But the PVO Bill seeks not to ban the operation of NGOs, but regulate them and bring about financial accountability. The Bill seeks to monitor the funding and how funds are used in Zimbabwe. The NGOs have been at the forefront of funding subversive activities and the Government has the right to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Zimbabwe.

The NGOs, especially those involved in so-called human rights and governance, are the ones which are against the Bill.

The proliferation of NGOs started to increase globally after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union as the West wanted to remove governments which were pro-communism.

Zimbabwe saw the proliferation of NGOs after the Government embarked on the land reform programme in the 2000s. 

Some NGOs have been on the spirited campaign to demonise the Government and the land exercise.

The regularisation of NGOs is meant to let them stick to their mandate and not foment violence by dabbling in the politics of the nation. NGOs activities have to be monitored and monitoring their finances is a sure way of curtailing subversive activities. We have had NGOs like Amani Trust which used to house political activities and criminals and nobody knew about their funding.

We have NGOs like Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition whose existence is hinged on creating crisis in Zimbabwe. Regulating their activities will help to maintain peace and security.

The world over, NGOs are regulated even in the parent nations of these NGOs.

The nations at the forefront of criticising the Bill do have a history of interfering in the activities of sovereign States through funding of colour revolutions using NGOs.

We have organisations like OSISA fronted by George Soros known for destabilising nations and they do have their sister organisations here doing the bidding for them and the Bill is meant to decimate their activities.

The USAID does fund many activities that are anti-government, thus causing anarchy in Zimbabwe and the Bill is meant to protect the citizens from US regime change agenda.

The NGOs were behind the Arab Spring, Hong Kong riots, Colour revolutions and the West, mainly US and UK, use these organisations to push the narrative and agenda.

The world has noticed how these NGOs have been used to sell US narrative in its rivalry with China by funding anything that is anti-Sino and NGOs are being used to channel the funds.

Zimbabwe recently had these NGOs trying to discredit Second Republic re-engagement and the Zimbabwe is open for business strategy by criticizing investments by China.

The NGOs have been funding activities meant to discredit Zimbabwe whenever there is any international event. 

These activities have been in the form of demonstrations, fake abductions and the many others.

If the NGOs were genuine in their activities, they should have been using the funding to educate people about effects of the US’ sanctions law, the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZIDERA) on the parastatals which employ ordinary citizens.

Ordinary people have also been affected by the effects of ZIDERA to a larger extend as economic activities from which they benefit have been curtailed.

Zimbabwe has been under illegal sanctions, but none of these Western funded NGOs have stood up to condemn such heinous acts because one who pays the piper, calls the tune.

The United Nations, African Union and the Southern African Development Community have pointed out the effects of these illegal sanctions, but the NGOs have been siding with their funders.

Some NGO members and opposition leaders even authored ZIDERA which is stifling the economy of Zimbabwe.

The USAID and Amnesty International have even complained about misuse of their funds by the same NGOs and even threatened to withdraw funding and the Government is taking a right stance by pushing for the enactment of the PVO Act.

They should not be left to operate willy nilly as they have potential to fund terror activities on a grand scale as we witnessed the anarchy they unleashed during the August 1 2018 and January 2019 riots.

The PVO Bill should be fast-tracked as it was long overdue.

The war of liberation was fought to liberate Zimbabwe from the yokes of bondage, and the PVO Bill seeks to safeguard the gains of the liberation struggle.

“The love of money is the root of all evil” and the local NGOs have proved this biblical statement to be true by engaging in activities to destroy Zimbabwe in exchange of money.

In our local culture, a visitor cannot impose his or her own rules, so, why are the NGOs funded by the West allowed to do so?

The Bill should even have a clause to de-register those who deviate from their given mandate.

 Saxon Zvina writes in his personal capacity and can be reached on [email protected] or Twitter:saxonzvina2.

You Might Also Like

Comments

Take our Survey

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey