Today I celebrate the people of Zimbabwe. They have turned out in their thousands around the country to attend the public hearings being held by the Parliament on two important proposed laws – the Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Bill (PVO Bill) and the Persons with Disabilities Bill (PWD Bill).
The PWD Bill is a good law which can be improved. I shared the areas of improvement in an earlier post this week.
But the PVO Bill is beyond redemption. It is a malicious piece of law that must simply be flashed down the sewer.
At ZimRights we have recommended the establishment of a CSO Roundtable with the Government of Zimbabwe and consider the many excellent proposals for CSO regulation. The current Bill stinks. The good thing is that the people have seen it. They are smelling the stench.
What remains is for us to see if we have a listening Parliament.
Listen to Kudakwashe Bumhira speaking in Bindura yesterday. Kuda is a model citizen, stepping forward to have his voice heard.