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Lifting
of suspension on NGO humanitarian fieldwork - Bill watch special
Veritas
September 10, 2008
Background
to recent lifting of suspension on NGO humanitarian fieldwork
Original
ban: The Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social
Welfare [PSLSW] wrote
to PVOs/NGOs on 4th June 2008 suspending humanitarian field operations.
Clarification
of the suspension: In response to queries about the suspension
the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare sent a
letter to all PVOs/NGOs on 12th June 2008 with an attached Clarification.
There were exemptions
from the ban given in this clarification [ARV and home-based care
programmes, community-based feeding programmes for children, operations
at head, regional and district offices, churches]. But it was reported
that, in practice, only some activities which should have been exempt
were able to continue, while in many areas organisations were forced
to stop even exempted activities.
The Clarification
made it clear that the suspension of field operations did not imply
banning or deregistration of PVOs/NGOs. But reports came in that
PVOs/NGOs whose work should not have been affected by suspension
[i.e. they were not doing humanitarian field work] were also stopped
doing their work by harassment and threats.
Press
statement released by Ministry of Public Service, Labour And Social
Welfare on 29th August 2008
Lifting
of the suspension of NGO/PVO field operations
Reference is
made to the notice issued by the Minister of Public Service, Labour
and Social Welfare on June 4, 2008 suspending field operations of
all PVO/NGOs.
This suspension
is hereby lifted with immediate effect for all PVO/NGOs registered
in terms of the PVO
Act Chapter 17:05 and operating in the following areas;
- Humanitarian
assistance, food aid, relief, recovery and development
- Family and
child care and protection
- Care and
protection of older persons
- Rights and
empowerment of people with disabilities
- HIV and AIDS
treatment, care and related support services.
The lifting
of suspension only applies to NG0s/PV0s duly registered in terms
of the PVO Act Chapter 17:05. A General meeting of NGOs/PVOs and
other relevant stakeholders will be convened on Monday, 01 September
2008 by the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare
to clarify operation modalities.
L.C. Museka
Secretary for Public Service, Labor and Social Welfare
Comment
- Nothing in
this Ministry Press Statement introduces new legal obligations
- either for
those organisations benefiting from the lifting of the suspension
- or for those
organisations which were not affected by the suspension in the
first place
- The lifting
of the suspension on humanitarian field operations applies only
to organisations registered under the PVO Act
- Conversely,
for organisations not obliged to register under the PVO Act, there
is nothing in this document signalling any change in their position.
- There is
no comfort in this document for organisations which should have
registered in terms of the PVO Act but have not done so –
i.e., organisations presently operating in contravention of the
PVO Act. They are not given the go-ahead to operate without having
registered
Meeting
at the Ministry of PSLSW with PVOs on 1st September to clarify lifting
of suspension
No official
record of this meeting is available and the Ministry of PSLSW has
informed us that minutes of this meeting will not be made available
- it was a Consultative Meeting and it was up to the organisations
attending to take notes.
NGOs/PVOs at
the meeting were informed that the lifting of the suspension was
conditional on:
2003
government policy document to be observed
The Ministry
has stipulated that all PVOs doing humanitarian field work must
comply with the Government’s July 2003 “Policy on Operations
of Non-Governmental Organisations in Humanitarian and Development
Assistance” the objectives of which are to:
- define the
registration process for NGOs in humanitarian and development
assistance
- define NGO
interaction with local communities
- outline the
public works approach for food assistance to the able-bodied
- outline the
reporting structures to be used by NGOs to facilitate government
monitoring of their activities.
Questionnaire
to be filled in by ALL registered PVOs
This became
available today. The Ministry has said that it will be posted on
the Government of Zimbabwe Website www.gta.gov.zw.
And that it has been sent to OCHA for posting on their website ochaonline.un.org/zimbabwe.
The Ministry
have said they require organisations to hand in hard copies of the
completed questionnaire, but will not make forms available because
of a shortage of stationary; they expect organisations to download
and print out the form from the Internet or approach NANGO and ask
them for a copy.
Originally the
Ministry set 21st September as the deadline for completing and handing
in the form, but this has been changed – the new deadline
will probably be mid October, although no exact date has yet been
fixed.
The form [several
pages long] requires comprehensive details of activities for the
year preceding the imposition of suspension and asks for details
of management, programmes, information on budgets and donors, food
purchases, stocks etc.
Note: The Ministry
has said that all PVOs/NGOs registered under the PVO Act [not only
those doing humanitarian field work] should complete and hand in
this questionnaire.
Comment
Section 15 of
the PVO Act and section 17 of the General Regulations cover reporting
obligations. They do not presently refer to the sort of details
called for by the new questionnaire. Section 15 of the Act does,
however, permit the Registrar of PVOs to require registered PVOs
to submit “additional information” as well as the annual
reports and returns required by the regulations. Failure to submit
reports when legally obliged to do so is a ground for cancellation
[PVO Act, section 10(1)(f)], but cancellation of registration is
a function of the PVO Board, not of a single official.
Ministry
letter to the Commissioner-General of Police
02 September
2008
The Commissioner
General Police Headquarters
Re: LIFTING
OF THE NGO SUSPENSION OF FIELD OPERATIONS OF NGO/PVOS
I wish to inform
you officially that the Government of Zimbabwe has lifted the suspension
of field operation of NGOs/PVOs in the following categories:
- Humanitarian
assistance, food aid, relief, recovery and development
- Family and
Child Care and Protection
- Care and
Protection of Older Persons
- Rights and
empowerment of people with disabilities
- HIV and AIDS
treatment; Care and related support service
May I also advise
that only NGOs/PVOs duty registered in terms of the PVO Act (Chapter
17:05) are the only ones affected. As a condition for lifting the
suspension, all NGOs/PVOs will be required to display a copy of
their PVO Registration Certificate at their National, Provincial
and District offices.
Additionally,
all NGOs registered in terms of the said Act will now be required
to deposit a copy of their Registration Certificate with the Provincial
Governor's office, District Administrator's office and the District
Police Station in the areas which they operate. These measures,
it is hoped will allow for easier monitoring and enforcement of
conditions of registration.
May you please
note that any other organization purporting to be an NGO/PVO but
not registered in terms of the NGO Act is not affected by this lifting
of suspension. Such organizations have been advised to consult with
their registering authority.
Thank you for
your usual cooperation.
L.C Museka
Secretary
for Public Service, Labor and Social Welfare
Note:
The depositing of Registration Certificates at the Provincial
Governor's office, District Administrator's office and the District
Police Station in the areas in which NGOs operate applies to all
NGOs registered under the PVO Act.
NGOs
not registered under the PVO Act
The original
ban as clarified was targeted at all NGOs/PVOs doing “field
work” whether or not they were registered under the PVO Act.
[In fact if they were doing humanitarian aid or any field work involving
welfare work they should have been registered according to the Act.].
The Act has
a list of activities which necessitate registration - these are
mostly welfare activities involving working with people [provision
of funds for legal aid is included in this list].
NGO’s
that are registered as trusts are not necessarily exempt from registration
under the PVO Act if they are carrying out the activities outlined
in the PVO Act. The only trusts that are excluded are trusts established
directly by Act of Parliament and trusts registered with the High
Court [these are usually trusts of deceased estates]. There is nothing
in the PVO Act exempting trusts registered at the Deeds Office from
registration under the PVO Act if they are carrying out work listed
under the PVO Act as welfare work.
A Herald report
stated that organisations believed to be operating outside the law
will be contacted and given an opportunity to explain their operations.
There are certain
NGO’s whose work has nothing to do with welfare work that
do not at present have to register under the PVO Act. [This was
going to be changed if the NGO Bill had become an Act – all
NGOs, whatever their work, would have had to register.] Organisations
in doubt about the need to register should read the list of activities
specified in the PVO Act [section 2] and if necessary seek legal
advice. [PVO Act available on request]
Comment
Legality
vs. Political Reality: Despite the lifting of the ban on
humanitarian aid the political situation on the ground may still
make relief work difficult/impossible in some areas. A press report
has come in that on Monday 8th September, well after the lifting
of the ban, war veterans and state security agents blocked the distribution
of relief aid in Gutu, Mwenezi and Bikita in Masvingo Province.
Lawyers have
questioned the way that Ministerial statements in the state media
are being used as an alternative to properly gazetted regulations
or Acts of Parliament – this happens also in other spheres
such as pricing, land issues, mining, etc. Sometimes these statements
are followed by the due legal requirements, sometimes not. Whatever
their legality they are acted on by either formal or “informal”
law enforcement bodies or interested beneficiaries and, even when
there is a Ministry retraction or a legal challenge, continue to
enforced. Unfortunately the political situation forces adherence
to these Ministry “directives” and resorting to courts
is often too drawn out to be worth pursuing or even if a court order
is obtained, it may not be effectual..
Regarding the
Ministry suspension of humanitarian field work, Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights took the position that this was not
legally valid as the Private Voluntary Organisations Act does
not empower the Minister to suspend an NGO's operations. Neither
was the threat to close organisations. As stated above, under the
PVO Act it is only the PVO Board, for good cause and after due process
and provisions for appeal, that can deregister an organisation.
Nevertheless the suspension was enforced and now the lifting of
the suspension is hedged about with administrative hurdles.
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