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| author/source:Daily Telegraph (UK) |
| published:Mon 19-Jul-2004 |
| posted on this site:Mon 19-Jul-2004 |
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| Article Type : News |
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| Government threatened yesterday to use banning orders and arrests to force them to register with the state |
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Harare - Zimbabwe's human rights groups and aid organisations are in increasing danger after the government threatened yesterday to use banning orders and arrests to force them to register with the state. The threat appeared in the state-controlled Sunday Mail newspaper, a week before laws controlling non-governmental organisations are due to be presented by President Robert Mugabe to the last session of parliament before a general election next March. All NGOs have had to be registered since 2002. But the Sunday Mail quoted Lancaster Museka, the permanent secretary in the welfare ministry, as saying: "Any organisation found operating without registration will be closed and employees arrested." His statement followed threats from Paul Mangwana, the welfare minister, that there was "too much room for NGOs to engage in politics". The proposed law will make it illegal for hundreds of human rights groups and community organisations to continue to operate as trusts, answerable only to boards of trustees and members. Trustees of several pro-democracy trusts said they believed that if they had applied for registration as NGO's under the existing law, their applications would have been turned down. Brian Kagoro, co-chairman of human rights group the Crisis Coalition, said: "I have seen a draft of the new NGO bill and it is terrible. It will make it illegal for trusts to continue."
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