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Notice
of amendments proposed by MDC to NGO Bill (H.B.
13, 2004)
Parliament
of Zimbabwe
November 15, 2004
Return
to main proposed amendments,
Read the report by the Portfolio Committee
Read
the adverse report by the Parliamentary Legal Committee
Read
the NGO Bill
CLAUSE
2
By
Mr Coltart:
In
lines 7 to 19 on page 4 of the Bill, to repeal the definitions of
"foreign funding or donation" and "foreign non-governmental
organisation" and to substitute the following:
""foreign
funding or donation" means any funding provided or donation
made by—
(a) an
individual who is neither a permanent resident nor a citizen
of Zimbabwe; or
(b) a
company which is not incorporated in Zimbabwe or, if it is
so incorporated, does not carry on business in Zimbabwe; or
(c) an
association or persons, whether incorporated or unincorporated,
that is predominantly controlled, directly or indirectly,
by persons referred to in paragraph (a) or (b);
"foreign
non-governmental organisation" means a non-governmental
organisation which is predominantly controlled, directly or
indirectly, by—
(a) one
or more individuals who are neither permanent residents nor
citizens of Zimbabwe; or
(b) one
or more companies which are not incorporated in Zimbabwe or,
if they are so incorporated, do not carry on business in Zimbabwe;".
In
lines 20 and 21 on page 4 of the Bill, to repeal the definition
of "issues of governance".
Between
lines 29 on page 4 of the Bill and 22 on page 5, to repeal the definition
of "non-governmental organisation" and to substitute the
following:
""non-governmental
organisation" means a body or association of persons, whether
incorporated or unincorporated, Zimbabwean or international,
which is formed for any one or more of the following purposes—
(a) enhancing
or promoting economic, environmental, social or cultural development;
(b) promoting
issues of general public interest or of interest to a section
of the public;
and
includes a body or association established by or under the auspices
of a religious body, a faith-based organisation, a political
organisation or a trade union, but does not include—
(i) any
body or association, whether incorporated or unincorporated—
A. whose
primary purpose is the making of profit; or
B. the
benefits from which are exclusively for its own members;
or
(ii) any
international organisation or agency whose privileges, immunities
rights and obligations in Zimbabwe are governed by the Privileges
and Immunities Act [Chapter 3:03]; or
(iii) any
governmental or quasi-governmental organisation or institution
whose legal status is that of an instrumentality or arm of
a foreign government; or
(iv) any
institution or service maintained and controlled by the State
or a local authority; or
(v) any
religious body; or
(vi) any
educational trust approved by the Minister; or
(vii) any
health institution registered under the Health Professions
Act [Chapter 27:19], in respect of activities
for which it is required to be registered under that Act;
or
(viii) any
body or association in respect of activities carried on for
the benefit of a hospital or nursing home that is approved
by the Minister; or
(ix) any
political organisation in respect of work confined to political
activities; or
(x) any
trade union or employers’ organisation; or
(xi) the
Zimbabwe Red Cross Society established by the Zimbabwe Red
Cross Society Act [Chapter 17:08]; or
(xii) such
other bodies, associations or institutions as may be prescribed;".
In
line 28 on page 5 of the Bill, to delete "subparagraph (vi)"
and to substitute "subparagraph (vii)".
CLAUSE 3
By
Mr Coltart:
In
line 44 on page 5 of the Bill, to delete the word "five"
and to substitute "eight".
In
line 10 on page 6 of the Bill, to delete subparagraph (viii) of
paragraph (b) and to substitute the following:
"(viii) the
Ministry responsible for the environment;".
In
lines 17 to 30 on page 6 of the Bill, to repeal subclause (4) and
to substitute the following:
"(4) Before
appointing a member of the Council referred to in—
(a) paragraph
(a) of subsection (2), the Minister shall call upon non-governmental
organisations or any body which represents a class of non-governmental
organisations to nominate such number of qualified persons
for appointment as the Minister may specify;
(b) paragraph
(b) of subsection (2), the Minister shall call upon the Minister
responsible for the administration of the Ministry or office
concerned to nominate a qualified person for appointment;
and
shall select the member from the persons so nominated:
Provided
that—
(i) the
Minister may decline to appoint a person so nominated and
call upon the organisation, body or Minister concerned to
nominate one or more other persons;
(ii) if
no nominations are received within a reasonable time after
the Minister has called for them, the Minister may appoint
any person who, in his opinion, will adequately represent
the organisation, Ministry or office concerned;
(iii) in
appointing members referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection
(2), the Minister shall ensure that the views of as broad
a spectrum of non-governmental organisations as possible are
represented on the Council.".
CLAUSE
4
By
Mr Coltart:
Between
lines 7 and 8 on page 7 of the Bill, to insert the following new
subclause, the existing subclause (2) being renumbered accordingly:
"(2) The
Council shall establish such provincial and district offices
as will enable it to exercise its functions effectively and
efficiently throughout Zimbabwe.".
CLAUSE
9
By
Mr Coltart:
In
lines 16 and 17 on page 8 of the Bill, to repeal subclause (4) and
to substitute the following:
"(4) A
non-governmental organisation shall not be registered if its sole
or principal object is to further or facilitate the activities
of a particular political party.".
Between
lines 25 and 26 on page 8 of the Bill, to insert the following proviso
to subclause (5):
"Provided
that no prosecution for a contravention of subsection (3) shall
be instituted against a person unless the Registrar has, in writing—
(a) notified
the person that the non-governmental organisation concerned
is contravening subsection (1); and
(b) required
the contravention to be remedied within a period of three
months;
and
by the end of that three-month period—
(i) the
non-governmental organisation has not applied for registration
in terms of subsection (1) or for an amendment of its
registration under that subsection, as the case may be,
in order to remedy the contravention; and
(ii) the
person continues to take part in the management or control
of the non-governmental organisation.".
CLAUSE
10
By
Mr Coltart:
In
lines 40 to 43 on page 9 of the Bill, to repeal subclause (11) and
to substitute the following subclauses:
"(11) Every
registered non-governmental organisation shall pay such annual
fee as may be prescribed.
(12) A
certificate of registration issued in terms of paragraph (a) of
subsection (7) shall be valid for three years from the date of
its issue.
(13) If,
on or before the expiry of its certificate of registration, a
registered non-governmental organisation applies to the Registrar
for a new certificate, the Registrar shall issue a new certificate
of registration to the organisation, valid for a further period
of three years, upon being satisfied that the organisation has
paid any outstanding annual fees.".
CLAUSE
15
By
Mr Coltart:
Between
lines 23 and 24 on page 11 of the Bill, to insert the following
subclauses in clause 15:
"(3) An
appeal shall lie to the Administrative Court against any decision
of the Minister in terms of subsection (2).
(4) An
appeal in terms of subsection (3) shall be made in the form
and manner and within the period prescribed in rules of court.
(5) In
an appeal in terms of subsection (3), the Administrative Court
may confirm, vary or set aside the decision appealed against
and may make such order, whether as to costs or otherwise, as
the Court thinks fit.".
CLAUSE
17
By
Mr Coltart:
In
lines 36 and 37 on page 11 of the Bill, to repeal the clause and
to substitute the following:
"A
non-governmental organisation shall not accept any foreign funding
or donation for the purpose of furthering or facilitating the
activities of a particular political party.".
CLAUSE
20
By
Mr Coltart:
Between
lines 14 and 15 on page 12 of the Bill, to insert the following
subclauses, the existing clause becoming subclause (1):
"(2) A
non-governmental organisation that is aggrieved by a determination
of the Registrar under subsection (1) may appeal against it to
the Minister.
(3) An
appeal under subsection (2) shall be lodged in writing with the
Minister within thirty days after the appellant was notified of
the Registrar’s determination, and shall specify the grounds of
the appeal.
(4) In
an appeal under subsection (3), the Minister, after making such
investigation as he or she thinks necessary and giving the Council,
the Registrar and the appellant a reasonable opportunity to make
representations in the matter, may confirm the Registrar’s determination
or, subject to this Act, may make such other determination as
in his opinion the Registrar ought to have made.
(5) An
appeal shall lie to the Administrative Court against any decision
of the Minister in terms of subsection (4).
(6) An
appeal in terms of subsection (5) shall be made in the form and
manner and within the period prescribed in rules of the Administrative
Court.
(7) In
an appeal in terms of subsection (5), the Administrative Court
may confirm, vary or set aside the decision appealed against and
may make such order, whether as to costs or otherwise, as the
Court thinks fit.".
CLAUSE
32
By
Mr Coltart:
Between
lines 17 and 18 on page 18 of the Bill, to insert the following
subclause, the existing clause becoming subclause (1):
"(2) Any
non-governmental organisation which—
(a) was
carrying on any activities in Zimbabwe before the date of
commencement of this Act; and
(b) immediately
before the date of commencement of this Act, was not registered
as a private voluntary organisation under the repealed Act;
shall
lodge an application for registration with the Registrar in
terms of section ten not later than one year after that
date and, pending the final determination of the application,
may continue to carry on its activities as if it were registered
as a non-governmental organisation under this Act.".
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