Chaos and disorder rocked the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee public consultations held in Bulawayo, Wednesday, on the Private Voluntary Organisation (PVO) Amendment Bill.
The consultations, held at Selbourne Hotel and Emakhandeni Hall meant to assist the Committee on Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to capture people’s views on the proposed bill.
The consultations were marred by a lot of disturbances as some rowdy elements disrupted the smooth flow of the meetings.
Participants who were making suggestions that the Bill should be opposed were being heckled while those who were for the Bill were getting cheered on and given enough audience.
Making his contribution at Emakhandeni Hall, Eliphas Mashaba, a well-known Zanu-PF member, said the government was justified in demanding to know where and how civic funds are used around the country.
Mashaba alleged that people are not aware of NGO mandates and how they should operate hence are taken advantage of.
Speaking at the same venue, Nkululeko Dube of Mission to live Trust, noted that the Bill should clarify whether the government will have control over NGOs or it is only granted permission to regulate.
“There is a difference controlling and regulating. All the existent organisations were registered in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. The government must not be afraid to approach organaisations they think are not sticking to the procedure of operation,” he said.
“There must be a difference between controlling and regulating. This Bill is vague on that aspect. We have no problem in being regulated, what we don’t want is to be controlled because that would disrupt the operations and independence of CSOs.”
