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GOVERNMENT is taking up to five years to register non-governmental organisations, forcing many organisations keen on assisting people living with HIV/Aids to operate outside the law.
The Private Voluntary Organisation (PVO) Act stipulates that organisations seeking to engage in community projects must register with the government first.
It also gives the authorities the powers to stop or discourage operations of non-governmental organisations.
One of the organisations whose operations have been hampered by the law is New Dawn of Hope, which assists 349 people living with HIV and Aids in Harare’s Mufakose high-density suburb.
Reward Muziri, the New Dawn of Hope programme officer says it took them five years for the PVO board to okay their operations.
This made it extremely difficult for the organisation to get assistance from donors.
“The PVO board took up to two years without sitting and this has slowed down the process of registration,” Muziri revealed at a recent National Aids Council (NAC) media tour of Aids projects in Harare province.
“The problem we faced was that NGOs refused to work with non-registered organisations so we could not access donor funds.”
Veronica Kwati, the director and founder of Tamuka Foundation in Kuwadzana said the cumbersome registration process had made it difficult for her to get a bigger piece of land to build shelter for 27 children affected by HIV and Aids.
The children are currently crammed in a five-roomed house.
Tamuka Foundation was started in 2001 by Kwati and gives shelter to children affected by HIV and Aids and also supports people with personal problems.
“We need to register with the PVO board first in order to obtain a bigger place because each day our numbers are increasing yet we do not get much help from NGOs because we are not registered,” she said.
“We help everyone in the community even those who are HIV negative but just need help.”
Some NGOs have registered as trusts through the High Court as a way of avoiding the “draconian” piece of legislation, she said.
Fambai Ngirande, the former spokesperson of National Associations for Non-Governmental Organisations now at Inter-Churches Organisations for Development said: “The law is nothing but just a way by the state to monitor operations of NGOs.
“There should be a law that protects the interests of the country, the government and the NGOs as a whole.”
Most organisations said they had resorted to community projects in order to get funds for the fees and treatment for people living with HIV/Aids as they had lost hope of getting donor support.
Ministry of Public Service and Social Welfare officials referred questions to the permanent secretary, Lancaster Museka, who was said to be out of the country.
Paurina Mupariwa, the Minister of Public Service and Social Welfare was also not available for comment last week.
BY PERPERTUA CHIKOLOLERE
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