adminNqobile Tshili Chronicle Reporter
THE National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (Nango) has urged civil society organisations (CSOs) to partner government to work towards the development of the country.Speaking at a consultative meeting in Bulawayo yesterday, Nango chairman Paul Juru said NGOs should not be unnecessarily antagonistic.
He said there was a need for civil society to change its perceptions and help government in developing the country.
“There is no need for us to continue being antagonistic with the government. We need to occupy our space in promoting development. The governed should not be afraid of the governors and vice-versa,” said Juru.
His call comes shortly after European Union Head of Delegation to Zimbabwe Aldo Dell’Ariccia told NGOs to support government initiatives such as Zim-Asset saying there was no need for them to be always fighting the state. Speaking at a public debate in Harare, the EU envoy also told CSOs that there was no leadership crisis in the country so they must work with the government in place.
Juru yesterday said they wanted to take advantage of the government’s initiative to align a number of laws with the new constitution and as such proposed the repeal of the Private Voluntary Organisations Act (POVs Act) which governs their operations.
He said NGOs can also be registered under the Deeds Registry Act or operate as unregistered voluntary organisations or associations known as universitas in terms of the common law.
Juru said they had carried out an assessment and came up with a shadow bill.
“Nango wishes to advance the shadow PVO amendment bill which reduces the discretion of the board and allows for a more independent oversight mechanism. There is a need to reform the manner in which CSOs are registered to ensure the process is simple and harmonise the process to do away with numerous methods of registration,” he said. Juru said at the moment it was cumbersome for civil society to register with many organisations opting to register as trusts while they are doing NGOs work.
“CSOs have over the years complained about challenges that include delays in registration process, overregulation, and administrative interference in their operations by the regulatory authorities,” said Juru.
A legal practitioner with Nango, Brian Pendura, said the proposed bill will also encompass all the NGOs even those which operated as trusts.
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