The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights has filed a High Court application seeking an order declaring repressive provisions of the Zimbabwe Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Act, which governs the registration, governance, and funding of private voluntary organisations, unconstitutional and invalid as they brazenly infringe on fundamental freedoms and criminalises human rights activities.
While the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human rights is the applicant, the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and the Attorney-General are the respondents.
The application says the PVO Act, as amended, constitutes a "fundamental encroachment" on the rights NGOs and charity organisations operating in Zimbabwe.
It says the targeted provisions constitute the unconstitutional over regulation, over legislation and criminalisation of human rights, development and charity works.
They also overeach by blatantly violating freedoms of assembly, association and expression and the right to property, administrative justice and fair hearing under section 71 of tje constitution.
It further says some provisions are vague and badly drafted, give the Public Service minister wide, discretionary and arbitrary powers and excessive political interference on NGO activities.
Zimbabwe stands to lose hundreds of millions of United States dollars in donations ans charity, particularly to humanitarian activities affecting the poor and vulnerable, due to the bad law.
The application says:
"TAKE NOTICE THAT at the hearing of this application, the Applicant intends to raise the following constitutional issues: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Whether or not section 4 (a) of the Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Act (hereinafter called the PVO Amendment Act) is incomplete and therefore void for vagueness?
Whether or not section 4 of the PVO Amendment Act fundamentally contradicts section 9 (5) of the PVO Amendment Act, creating a lacuna in the law and uncertainty, in violation of section 68 (1) of the Constitution?
Whether or not section 9 (5) of the Act gives excessive power to the Registrar to consider and determine every application for registration and every proposed cancellation or amendment of a certificate of registration, without recourse to the Board, in violation of section 56 (1) of the Constitution?
Whether or not section 9 (5) of the PVO Amendment Act violates sections 68 and 69 of the Constitution in so far as the decision of the Registrar is not appealable?
Whether or not section 13 A of the PVO Amendment Act, violates sections 56(1) and 58 of the Constitution, in so far as it requires Private Voluntary Organisations, (PVOs) to
apply for registration or reregistration where there is a material change in certain circumstances?
Whether or not the powers of the Minister in section 14 of the PVO Amendment Act are excessive in violation of sections 56(1), 68, 69(2) and 69(3) of the Constitution?Whether or not the power of the Minister, in terms of section 21 of the PVO Amendment Act, to suspend the executive committee of a PVO and appoint a trustee or trustees, violates sections 56 (1) and 71 of the Constitution?
Further take notice that the applicant will be seeking the following relief: That section 4, section 5 as read with section 9 (5), section 6, section 13A, section 14, and section 21, of the Private Voluntary Organisations Act [Chapter 17:05] (as amended by the PVO Amendment Act) be and are hereby declared ultra vires the Constitution of Zimbabwe and are hereby set aside."
🔴 Below Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights director Roselyn Hanzi.