By Kuda Pembere
Citing the heavy-handed provisions of the Private Voluntary Organizations (PVO) Act, youth organizations in the development programming space have urged the government to review the Zimbabwe Youth Council Act.
Some youth-led organizations especially Youth Associations and Community Based Organizations (CBOs) have been operating under Zimbabwe Youth Council (ZYC) registration, but the introduction of the PVO Act may cripple their operations.
Speaking at a Stakeholder Breakfast Engagement Meeting organized by ZYC and Students and Youth Working on reproductive Health Action Team (SAYWHAT), Mr Kunaka, SAYWHAT Head of Grants and Compliance called for the harmonization of the ZYC Act and the PVO Act. He stated that SAYWHAT together with Save the Children and WILD and with support from the European Union is implementing the Youth Collective Action for Social Transformation (YCA4SoTra) which aims to capacitate 40 youth organizations operating at grassroots level who often operate with limited financial, technical and administrative capacity.
“At the center of youth organizations challenges is the interaction between two key legislative frameworks: the ZYC Act and the PVO Amendment Act. While both Acts are Acts of Parliament and serve legitimate regulatory purposes, their practical application has created overlapping, and at times burdensome, compliance requirements for youth organizations striving to operate legally and effectively” Kunaka said.
Speaking to HealthTimes on the sidelines of the Stakeholder Breakfast Engagement Meeting Tshilidzi Development Trust Organization Director of Programs and the Chairperson of YCA4SoTra Youth Board, Jubilant Mangava said the PVO Bill had a devastating impact on youth-led organizations registered under ZYC. Within YCA4SoTra there are 40 youth organizations from Beitbridge, Binga, Chimanimani, Chipinge, Gwanda, Kariba, Matobo and Mutare districts. While Mangava’s Tshilidzi Development Trust is in the process of registering under the PVO Act, two other organizations under YCA4SoTra working in Beitbridge district face an uncertain future because of the Act.
“I will zero in on Beitbridge where my organization is based and, in the project, there are two more organizations, both Youth Associations, and the PVO Bill is saying that, organizations that are going to be implementing activities within communities should be registered as PVO”.
“So that means my organization, which is actually undergoing the registration process and it is actually a bit difficult for us, we might be the only organization from Beitbridge able to remain within the project. That will affect the implementation of the project because we have digital transformation that is supposed to be implemented in Beitbridge. We have climate action that is supposed to be implemented in Beitbridge,” Mangava said.
Mangava added that while his organization is undergoing registration, the others are yet to begin.
“But now considering that those other two organizations did not even start the process because they are just associations led by students, and for them to satisfy the requirements now they cannot. So which means that the intervention or programming that has anything to do with climate, we will not be having them for Beitbridge,” he said.
He said this was a legal barrier affecting many youth-led organizations across the country.
“So that is the case across Zimbabwe and the figures that we presented today to say the 40 organizations over the past five years have managed to reach 75,000 young people directly and 250,000 people indirectly speak to our impact,” he said.
Having started the registration process six months ago, he is required to attend an interview with two other board members who are currently not in Beitbridge.
“So I think this is going to have a very huge impact. As I shared with you, we are supposed to be having interviews for the board members and when I started the process six months back all the PVO cases were not yet there. Now the young people, some are working in Harare and some are working in Zvishavane, and they are needed next week for an interview.
“So if I cannot bring them to Beitbridge for the interview, it means there is no PVO registration that is going to be happening. So I think the process is just too tedious, especially for an organization that is working on interventions amongst young people,” Mangava said.
He called for an amendment to the ZYC Act to include a clause allowing youth-led organizations to continue operating in the civic space.
“So if we can add a clause in the ZYC Act that allows us to operate and be in the civil space using that registration, or better yet have a waiver for youth-led organizations that are community-based and are operating only within their wards”.
“So if they can waive the newspaper article posts and the registration amounts, which amount to US$300. Most young people in schools do not even have that disposable income in a quarter”.
“So that is the issue that we have currently and we really, really implore, through the mantra of President Emmerson Mnangagwa of leaving no one behind, may we not be left behind just because of a policy issue that can be addressed through the ZYC policy that is not tedious,” he said.
Mangava added, “Because we have been doing reports to ZYC over the time we have been here for five years as Tshilidzi Development Trust, if there is anything that needs to be added for oversight it can also be added in the ZYC Act and not have us go to the PVO Act. But if that is a need, we can maybe then convert our ZYC registration to the PVO Act without any financial burden on the young people.”
An official from the Ministry of Public Service, Labor and Social Welfare told participants during the breakfast meeting that engagements were underway to inform and educate the public about the PVO Act.
“As Ministry of Public Service, Labor and Social Welfare, I would just like to comment on the issue of the PVO Act. I am happy to say that engagements have already started and there will be awareness workshops that further explain what the PVO Act is about providing us an opportunity to find out what it is exactly that you would want from us,” she said.
An official from the ZYC explained the roles and functions of the council, noting that young people can choose to become be registered under ZYC or under the PVO. The official added that the council will disseminate accurate information for youths transitioning to PVO status.
“I also just want to buttress some of the issues like the PVO Act. As the ZYC we noticed and we heard your plight as young people and as has been said, the department responsible for PVOs is engaged. It is important to understand the role of the council in this matter, where the youth council starts and where it ends. We regulate the sector and registration is a voluntary exercise for young people.
“You can choose to become a company, you can choose to become a PVO, you can choose to become an association under ZYC. It is important to understand the Zimbabwe Youth Council Act because it clearly defines what an association is”.
“It is a matter of us disseminating the correct information to our youth associations or to our young people so that they know that should they choose to become a private voluntary organization, this is what it means,” the ZYC official said.
An official from the Ministry of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution urged ZYC to engage the Minister on harmonizing the ZYC and PVO Acts.
