By Tafadzwa Chigandiwa
Zimbabwean human rights lawyer, Douglas Coltart has urged citizens to reject the enactment of the Private Voluntary Organisation (PVO) Amendment Bill which he described as draconian and extremely dangerous.
This comes after the government approved the proposal of the amendments of the PVO Act [Chapter 17: 05] which will stifle the operations of private and non-governmental organisations in the country.
President Mnangagwa’s administration claims the bill is meant to curb money laundering and financing of terrorism by individuals and institutions in the country.
In an interview with Bustop TV, Coltart expressed concern over the decision to amend the bill.
He said: “The PVO amendment bill is an extremely dangerous and draconian peace of draft legislation and its important for all the citizens of good to speak out against it,” Coltart told Bustop TV.
“I implore citizens to urge the parliament not to enact such a law which would essentially have a effect of hampering and in many instances criminalising the work of very important non profit organisations that are already assisting many people in various ways including, legal assistance, education and supporting the girl child.”
The bill has been widely interpreted as an effort by Mnangagwa to gain absolute control of non-governmental and private organisations in Zimbabwe ahead of the 2023 presidential elections.
This article was produced with financial support of the Content Creators Network ZW.
