"IMPROVED" NGO BILL LEAVES A LOT TO BE DESIRED

C O N F I D E N T I A L LUSAKA 000508


E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/17/2012
TAGS: PGOV ZA
SUBJECT: "IMPROVED" NGO BILL LEAVES A LOT TO BE DESIRED

REF: A. LUSAKA 367

B. 07 LUSAKA 936

C. 07 LUSAKA 887

Classified By: Ambassador Donald E. Booth, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (SBU) Summary. On July 16, the GRZ tabled in parliament
a new version of a controversial NGO bill that was dropped in
2007 after an outcry by civil society and donors. While the
GRZ has made a few changes to the previous bill in the
intervening two years, as a result of consultations with
NGOs, what has not changed is the free hand that the law will
give the government to regulate and potentially manipulate
the operations of international and domestic NGOs in Zambia.
Civil society groups are gearing up to once again fight for
their independence, while GRZ officials insist that the
bill's purpose is to introduce some accountability into the
operations of NGOs. End summary.


2. (U) The announcement in mid-June of the GRZ's intention to
re-introduce the NGO bill during the session of Parliament
that was set to open on July 14 took civil society groups and
donors by surprise and echoed the bill's unexpected
announcement in summer 2007 (refs B and C). Faced with an
outcry by civil society and donors at that time, the GRZ
ultimately withdrew the bill "for further consultations,"
which were undertaken in the fall of 2007. Concerns
regarding the 2007 version of the bill focused on the
almost-unlimited power given to the government in regulating
NGO activities, including the power to reject the
registration of NGOs or shut down existing ones if their
proposed activities "are not in the national interest." NGOs
provided detailed suggestions to the GRZ regarding their
concerns, and donor representatives (including the U.S.) met
with Minister of Justice (and current Vice President) Kunda
to urge that the GRZ reconsider the bill's overly restrictive
provisions.


3. (U) The new version of the bill that has emerged responds
to some criticisms, but the overall restrictive and dirigiste
tone is still present. Key changes include placing the
Ministry of Community Development and Social Services in
charge of the bill's implementation (previously it was the
Ministry of Home Affairs -- i.e., police and other security
organs),increasing the number of members of a newly-created
NGO board, and creating a separate office of registrar of
NGOs. However, the GRZ still controls the appointment of
eight of the 15 members of the NGO board, which is given
wide-reaching powers in regulating the activities of NGOs.


4. (U) Under the bill, both international and domestic NGOS
will be required to register with the NGO Board every three
years, adding uncertainty regarding the renewal of their
registration and potentially leading to "self-censorship"
regarding potentially contentious projects or views. The
board is empowered to "approve the area of work of
non-governmental organizations operating in Zambia," as well
as to "provide policy guidelines to non-governmental
organizations for harmonizing their activities to the
national development plan for Zambia." The board also has
the power to refuse or withdraw registration on the basis
that an NGO's work is not in the (undefined) "public
interest," and the bill contains no time limit for the
board's consideration of registration requests. NGOs are
required to reveal all current and potential sources of
funding, as well as to specify the geographic location of
their work.


5. (U) The bill also creates a Council of NGOs that is
required to develop, adopt and administer a code of conduct
for NGOs. The council is charged with facilitating
self-regulation of NGOs on "matters of activities, funding,
programs, foreign affiliations, training...and any other
matters taking into account national security and the public
interest."


6. (U) Following its introduction in Parliament by the
Ministry of Community Development and Social Services on July
16, the bill was referred to the Committee on Legal Affairs,
Governance, Human Rights and Gender Matters. The committee
will hold hearings on the bill in the coming weeks. Led by
the Zambia Council for Social Development (ZCSD),civil
society groups have already prepared a detailed reaction to
the bill and have requested time before the committee.
International civil action group Civicus has issued a press
release criticizing the bill and has written to President
Banda to express its concern at the bill's provisions.


7. (C) The GRZ's public stance is that the bill is about
accountability. Minister of Finance Musokotwane told
Ambassador on July 16 that NGOs need to account for their
funding, claiming "public funding" to NGOs, including from
some foreign donors, is not used for its intended purpose.
Former finance minister Ng'andu Magande echoed this sentiment
to pol/econ chief on July 15. However, ZCSD Executive
Secretary Malawo Matyola told poloff that in discussing the
bill with a minister, he was told, "You NGOs criticize the
government all the time - now it's your turn to see how we
react." In 2007, then-minister of information told the press
that "it is necessary to have a legal framework to regulate
NGOs' conduct, because some of them seem to have been set up
specifically to oppose the government in everything."


8. (C) Comment. The GRZ's desire to ensure that public (and
donor) money is used as intended is commendable but ironic,
given that the GRZ is unable to keep track of its own money
(ref A),let alone the budgets of hundreds, maybe thousands,
of NGOs. Given the ham-handed use of extant laws to
intimidate the press and opposition, Embassy Lusaka is not
confident the GRZ would be able to resist the temptation to
use the new legislation to reign in civil society groups
critical of the government. Civil society groups appear
confident at this point that they will be able to redirect
the bill, perhaps based on their success in 2007. However,
while the GRZ can credibly claim to have taken on board
certain criticisms of the 2007 version of the bill, the heavy
regulatory and potentially punitive nature of the legislation
has not changed. As in 2007, committee action will be key to
the future of the bill, and civil society groups are prepared
to fight for their independence. Ambassador will raise
concerns about the bill with President Banda in a meeting
expected to occur the week of July 20. End comment.

BOOTH