MS Zambia Newsletter August 2009

Zambia passes restrictive NGO law – NGO’s protest

The Zambian president, Rupiah Banda, has given his assent to the NGO-bill on August 28th, thereby finalizing the process of passing the much debated law, which many say will be detrimental to a free Zambian Civil Society.

By Lena Vind-Andersen, Information Officer, MS Zambia

01. September 2009

In a press statement issued last Friday by the three largest CSO umbrella organisations in Zambia, the organisations express their dismay of the president’s action and comment that “we find it frustrating and in bad taste that (..) a republican president would see fit to assent to a proposed law that has gross constitutional encroachments on well entrenched constitutional rights of freedom of association and expression.”

The law imposes serious constraints on the work of NGOs:

All NGOs including community based organisations are required to submit themselves to compulsory registration which must be renewed every five years. Registration can be denied in the public interest, which is not defined in the law. They are also required to report on organizational funding, activities and the personal holdings of their officials. A newly established authorizing board will be responsible for instituting a “code of conduct” to ensure that all NGO activities are in accordance with Zambia’s national development plan. Non compliance can result in cancellation or suspension of registration.

The law thereby blatantly violates regional and international instruments on human rights that guarantee freedom of association, in particular the International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 9, 1998.

Ingrid Srinath, Secretary General of CIVICUS points out that any regulatory framework for NGOs must actively preserve the independence of the sector. This law in contrast seeks to emasculate the autonomy of NGOs and co-opt them into becoming extensions of the government.

Law passed without consultations
The Zambian NGO law was first tabled in 2007 but at the time it encountered so many protests and opposition that it was eventually withdrawn from parliament.

This year, the since then newly elected government has clearly been determined to pass the law through regardless of protests. The Zambian government spokesperson and minister of Information, Ronnie Shikapwasha, claims that the government "consulted widely" before coming up with the Bill, but this is not a scenario recognized by the NGOs:

“The law was conceived without consultation with civil society, and government's "micro-management" of the sector would impact negatively on Zambia's social development, says Engwase Mwale, executive director of the NGO Co-ordinating Committee [NGOCC], an umbrella body for civic organizations promoting gender issues.

She is echoed by Zambia Council for Social Development (ZCSD) Executive Secretary Malawo Matyola: “Government has not included most of the submissions which came from NGOs which were supposed to be included in the Bill.”

The practical implications
In practical terms, the implications of the law can be a serious set-back to NGO activities.

Engwase Mwale is worried about the 5 year re-registration requirement. She is of the opinion that it could potentially be damaging and create insecurities among NGOs and donors, who will suddenly find it hard to plan more than five years ahead. This will particularly affect organisations that work on longer-term projects. She also points out that it will be difficult for smaller grass root organisations, like women´s clubs, to live up the the requirements of the law regarding registration and declaration of assets.

One of the consequences of this law could thus be a decline in the numbers of community based organisations, who are currently providing essential services to the rural population, in particular in areas, where the government services are lacking.

Another concern is voiced by Lee Habasonda, Executive Director of Saccord, who points out that it could discourage professionally qualified people from going into the NGO sector. “When they hear that the NGOs are being ordered to declare their personal assets by a board of people who don't seem to be sufficiently able to supervise them then they may just shun venturing into the sector,” he recently told Irin News.

Quelling dissent
To put it shortly: with the new law, the Zambian Government can now decide who gets to register, how long they can register, what issues the NGO’s should work on and where they should be doing it. And the government is very clear on what it doesn’t want: "It is old-fashioned to set up an NGO so that you are going to be at variance with the government ... with the people that have been elected ... When you are going against the government, you are becoming a political party," states Ronnie Shikapwasha

The Zambian NGO’s are not giving up without a fight however. A demonstration has been planned for Friday 4th of September and efforts to mobilise NGO’s nationwide are ongoing. The next step will be to take the government to court on passing laws that are unconstitutional.