By Peace Mlilo
ZANU PF has ordered employees of non governmental organisations across the country to start job hunting as they will soon be unemployed when the PVO Bill is enacted.
The Public Voluntary Organisation Bill (PVO) was gazetted on November 5 last year but has been rejected by various quarters of society who describe it as unconstitutional and repressive.
PVOs in Zimbabwe argue that once the bill is enacted the existence of their organisations will be under threat leaving thousands in the sector jobless. Moreso the bill will expose vulnerable communities who receive aid from them.
However ZANU PF Secretary for Information and Publicity Christopher Mutsvangwa said
he does not care about the 18 000 formal jobs under threat from the PVO Bill.
“Those who are working in the NGOs should start looking for other jobs,” he said.
Mutsvangwa praised the PVO bill saying it will help Zimbabwe protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity against NGOs that have funding violence activities in the country.
MDC-T’s Fungai Chiposi criticised the bill citing that the party is not in support of the move to audit NGOs.
“We as a party, are against the PVO as it stands, we do not agree with it. We do not think that NGOs should be audited by the State because it opens abuse of those particular NGOs,” he said.
Public hearings across the country for the PVO Bill are now in progress wherein in some parts of the country the proceedings are ending prematurely with alleged ZANU PF activists disrupting the hearings.
