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New rules stymying NGO operations
Vusumuzi Sifile/Walter Marwizi, The Standard (Zimbabwe)
September 13, 2008

http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com/

Sringent rules imposed on Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) will affect the resumption of critical relief operations, human rights lawyers have warned.

The lawyers made the warning as inquiries by The Standard revealed that the lifting of a ban on NGOs by government is yet to bring smiles on the faces of thousands of hungry Zimbabweans in urgent need of food aid.

Many Zimbabweans are going for days without proper meals, with some of these relying on wild fruits for survival.

Lancaster Museka, the Ministry of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare's Permanent Secretary announced on August 29 that government was lifting the ban, raising hopes that at least five million Zimbabweans currently in need food aid following a poor harvest in the last farming season could start getting relief supplies.

But three days later, on September 1, Museka also announced that government would closely monitor the operations of the NGOs.

"The freeze was necessitated by reports that several NGOs were operating outside the terms of their registered mandates. Some were not following operational guidelines and some were dabbling in partisan politics. A number of NGOs will have to answer for their iniquities," said Museka.

It was not immediately possible to establish from Museka which organisations would be answerable.

Under the new checks, aid agencies would now be obliged to fill in forms with details of grants they received between July 2007 and June 2008, and how they used the money.

The head of the organisation who signed those forms could be prosecuted if the information proved incorrect. Agencies that failed to present the information by end of this month would be deregistered.

The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) which studied the new rules expressed grave concern on the new checks on aid agencies.

"Such government bureaucracy against aid organisations can effectively compromise the resumption of critical field operations, putting the lives of millions of vulnerable people, especially children, the aged, People Living with HIV and Aids and others in urgent need of humanitarian assistance at risk," noted the lawyers body.

According to the National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (NANGO) - which represents NGOs, including civil society organisations in Zimbabwe - the government has actually tightened its grip on aid agencies with the new rules.

This, said Fambai Ngirande, Nango's Advocacy and Public Policy Manager, will make it even more difficult for NGOs to operate.

"On paper, the ban has been lifted, but practically, the government has actually tightened the screws on the operations of NGOs," said Ngirande.

"For example, militias who were blocking NGO personnel in the villages are still on the ground. The lifting of the suspension is selective and excludes thousands of organisations either registered as trusts or universities as well as organisations registered as PVOs (private voluntary organisations) but not doing humanitarian, development or welfare work."

Most of the organisations whose activities remain suspended are community based; their exclusion is doubly significant because bigger organisations operated mostly through their structures.

Ngirande however said this requirement was against the provisions of the law. Instead, it sounded more in line with a piece of legislation abandoned in 2005 that would have tightened government control of registration of NGOS and prevented them from receiving foreign funding for their work.

"It is Nango's considered view that the new requirements essentially operationalise the contested NGO Bill of 2005, at a time when Zimbabwe requires a positive state-civil society relationship to address the devastating humanitarian conditions in the country," added Ngirande.

The ZLHR also echoes the same view;

"In light of the imposition of such stringent and unnecessary rules the government has effectively introduced sections and aspects of the controversial NGO Bill into law through ministerial policies whose legality might be disputed."

An official with a leading aid organisation, requesting anonymity, said militias aligned to the governing Zanu PF were barring them from independently distributing aid.

"It is now very difficult to operate. The problem is that if you voice your concern, you would be accused of working with enemies of the state, and we might be deregistered, " said the official.

Among other things, NGOs are now required to operate within structures set by the government. This means food distribution will be supervised by Village and Ward Development Committees, traditional chiefs and councillors, who will also screen beneficiaries. In the past, NGOs distributed aid through their own field workers, with collaboration from local government.

"From experience, the structures set up by the government are partisan and exclude a large section of needy Zimbabweans," added the official.

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