Private Voluntary Organisations (Amendment) Bill, 2021

The genesis of the Private Voluntary Organisations (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (the PVO Amendment Bill) is the Non-Governmental Organisations Bill, 2004 which was passed by Parliament but was not enacted into law.

The PVO Amendment Bill seeks to amend the Private Voluntary Organisations Act [Chapter 17:05] (the PVO Act).

The PVO Amendment Bill comprises of eleven (11) clauses and is likely to be enacted into law before the 2023 general elections in Zimbabwe. For instance, on the 11 th December 2022 the PVO Amendment Bill was restored to Order Paper in Parliament and on the 16 th December 2022 the PVO Amendment Bill sailed through Parliament and now awaits Senate approval, before Presidential assent.

Who does the PVO Amendment Bill affect?

The PVO Amendment Bill affects any association of persons, corporate or unincorporated, or any institutions whose objects include or are in one or more ways the following: (a) the provision of all or any of the material, mental, physical or social needs of persons or families; (b) the rendering of charity to persons or families in distress; (c) the prevention of social distress or destitution of persons or families; (d) the provision of assistance in, or promotion of activities aimed at uplifting the standard of living of persons or families; (e) the provision of funds for legal aid; (f) the prevention of cruelty to, or the promotion of the welfare of animals.

As a result, the PVO Amendment Bill affects all private voluntary organisations in Zimbabwe, which include all ‘legal persons, legal arrangements’, civil society organisations, trusts and all other organisations which provide a charitable service and everyone who benefits from, or supports their work.

Why the PVO Amendment Bill

The PVO Amendment Bill is being made firstly, in orderly to comply with the Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) made to Zimbabwe to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism.

The PVO Amendment Bill seeks to comply with the recommendations under technical compliance raised under Zimbabwe’s Mutual Evaluation Report. In the second part, the PVO Amendment Bill proposes to ensure that private voluntary organisations in Zimbabwe do not undertake political lobbying.