President Emmerson Mnangagwa has sent back the Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Amendment Bill to parliament, more than a year after it was endorsed by the Parliamentary Legal Committee. The bill had previously been approved by the National Assembly and the Senate.
Although the bill had been debated and received general support, it underwent further scrutiny before being sent to the president for assent. Tambudzayi Mutare from parliament’s public relations department confirmed that after being sent to the OPC, the bill was then sent back to Parliament. She told NewsHub:
I have been told by the relevant office that the bill was returned to parliament. In that regard, parliament will once again have to deliberate on it. However, given the fact that the bill was passed during the last parliament and there is now a new one, it means the process will start afresh.
Newly elected parliamentarians were sworn in last week following the 23-24 August harmonised elections, which resulted in President Mnangagwa securing a second and final five-year term. The previous parliament, in existence from 2018 to 2023, consisted mostly of ZANU PF members, making it easier for bills to pass from the National Assembly to the Senate.
The ZANU PF government proposed amendments to the PVO Act, citing the need for improved financial accountability and to combat money laundering, terrorist funding, and criminal financing of political activities. However, this raised concerns among the non-profit sector, fearing excessive government control over NGOs. Civil society and human rights defenders have repeatedly called for President Mnangagwa to abandon the bill. The reasons behind the president’s decision to return the PVO Bill are unclear.
Source Pindula
