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2021 has been a challenging year for civil society in Zimbabwe but also a year of achievements and successes as we build back better from the scourge of the COVID-19 pandemic. The civic space environment in Zimbabwe has undoubtedly deteriorated over the past years, with more existential threats and attacks on civic freedoms. In Zimbabwe, we have seen the government moving ahead to amend the Private Voluntary Organisation (PVO) Act. In short, we witness a great contestation of those civic actors working for human rights, democratic freedoms, and social justice.
In many instances, civil society has not been spared from COVID-19-induced restrictions but has also succeeded in mobilising and putting solidarity into practice to provide help, share vital information and hold the government accountable for the COVID-19 response. The pandemic confronted us with the interlinked nature of the threats facing people and their livelihoods. The extent of consequences of this crisis will continue to unfold for many years and continue to change our societies for decades to come. In light of this, civil society needs to rethink and adapt continuously to the changes in various contexts. And more than ever, civil society organisations must exert their power to change things for the better.
As the National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (NANGO), we believe that civil society in Zimbabwe has a crucial role to play in our country which is facing increasingly complex challenges. We are convinced that movement building and collaboration will be determining factors to position civil society as a key actor of governance at all levels, to promote human rights, and to build an inclusive and sustainable world. The increasing restrictions on civic space highlighted by the NANGO members across the country give the necessity to develop sustainable links between civil society organisations and the citizens who are the beneficiaries of our interventions, the strengthening of collaborations between CSOs and the private sector when values are shared, and more importantly the ability to find each other between CSOs and government at all levels.
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The Covid-19 Pandemic has largely directed and dictated operations, actions, and outcomes for the past year. We saw several changes in ways of doing business but largely in the manner in which programming was conducted by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). Despite the shortfalls and grave detriments of the pandemic, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to the National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (NANGO) Board, its Members, and the Secretariat for the tremendous work that they have done throughout the year 2020.
As Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), we exist to contribute towards sustainable development through various ways at both the local and national levels. This has seen a significant number of citizens benefitting from programmes supported by NGOs in the area of social and humanitarian interventions. In the year 2020, NANGO was driven towards programmes centred on the sensitisation of the public on various developmental issues, community resilience building through offering life skills and livelihood programmes as well as coordination of civil society to efficiently and effectively play the watchdog role and; speak in a unified voice.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has been a major priority and may continue as such for a while, we should not be blind sighted to the current worsening socio-economic and political challenges the general public has been facing even before the advent of COVID-19.
To read more, download the attachment below:
CSOs-Joint-Submission-on-PVO-Amendment-Bill.pdf