The government has withdrawn its earlier order barring Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) from operating in Matabeleland South until they provide information including their funders.
The government had issued a directive through District Development Coordinators (DDCs) requiring the organizations to suspend operations until they had provided their details for a documentation blitz.
In a letter to the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (The Forum), Beitbridge DDC Sikhangazile Mafu said the directive had been withdrawn after the former had threatened to take legal action against DDCs if they failed to withdraw their previous directive.
“This is to advise that my communication dated January 18, 2024, concerning a circular on NGOs and CSOs, has since been withdrawn,” Mafu said in the letter dated February 1, 2024, to the Forum’s Executive Director, Vera Musara.
In a strongly worded letter to the DDCs after giving their orders, Musara stated that requiring NGOs to submit certain requirements violated the law because the Registrar under the Private Voluntary Organisation Act is responsible for the governance of NGOs.
Musara informed the respective DDCs that they lacked legal authority to order NGOs and CSOs to stop their operations until they comply with an ongoing registration exercise, as such action is unlawful.
Read: https://cite.org.zw/ngo-forum-gives-insiza-ddc-a-week-to-reverse-ngo-ban/
The Forum was prompted to act after the DDCs in Insiza and Beitbridge on January 17 and 18, 2024, directed all NGOs and CSOs in their districts to submit specific information to their offices for an ongoing operational audit.
The DDCs wanted NGOs and CSOs to provide a list of 22 requirements, including intrinsic details such as the profiles of key personnel in the organization, account signatories, amounts received for projects, and banking details.
This directive came in the backdrop of plans to pass the Private Voluntary Organizations Bill, which would stifle the operating environment for NGOs by proposing harsh penalties, including up to a year in jail for perceived offences related to the NGO registration framework.
The Zanu PF-led government has also often threatened to deregister NGOs or CSOs that engage in politics.
