Zimbabwean
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
addresses
a
press
conference
at
State
House
in
Harare,
Sunday,
Aug.
27
2023.
Authorities
in
Zimbabwe
say
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
has
been
re-elected
for
a
second
and
final
term.
The
Zimbabwe
Election
Commission
announced
late
Saturday
that
Mnangagwa
won
52.6%
of
the
votes
in
the
midweek
election.
(AP
Photo/Tsvangirayi
Mukwazhi)
Rights
activists
and
opposition
groups
argue
that
once
signed
into
law,
the
PVO
Bill
will
severely
restrict
the
ability
of
government
critics,
civil
society
organizations
(CSOs),
and
non-governmental
organizations
(NGOs)
to
operate
freely
in
Zimbabwe.
The
PVO
Bill
was
first
passed
by
the
Senate
in
February
2023,
but
President
Mnangagwa
referred
it
back
to
Parliament
for
reconsideration.
According
to NewsDay,
Justice,
Legal
and
Parliamentary
Affairs
Minister
Ziyambi
Ziyambi,
while
addressing
senators,
said
the
amendments
to
the
Bill,
include
the
establishment
of
a
board
to
oversee
the
registration
and
operations
of
charitable
entities
in
Zimbabwe.
The
amendments,
which
were
approved
in
the
National
Assembly,
provide
clearer
definitions
for
pre-existing
charitable
entities
and
outline
the
registration
process.
According
to
Ziyambi,
the
transitional
provision
requires
charitable
entities
to
submit
their
registration
documents
to
the
registrar
within
three
months
of
the
Act
coming
into
force.
However,
this
does
not
imply
that
entities
will
be
fully
registered
within
three
months.
Instead,
the
registrar
will
use
the
submission
date
as
the
starting
point
for
the
registration
process,
which
may
take
longer
to
complete.
Ziyambi
said
the
registrar
is
a
member
of
the
board
and
reports
to
it,
with
all
registration
matters
being
discussed
at
board
meetings
for
approval
or
further
action.
He
argued
that
the
three-month
timeline
is
reasonable,
providing
entities
sufficient
time
to
submit
applications
without
delaying
the
registration
process.
Ziyambi
also
pointed
out
that
entities
will
have
the
right
to
seek
legal
recourse
if
they
are
dissatisfied
with
any
decisions
made
during
the
registration
process.
PVOs
and
NGOs
will
be
required
to
register
with
the
Registrar’s
Office,
which
has
the
authority
to
approve,
reject,
or
grant
applications
with
limited
judicial
or
administrative
recourse
against
such
decisions.