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Mail & Guardian
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Mail & Guardian
Amendments to the voluntary organisations Act threatens civic space in Zimbabwe
Oppression: Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Photo: Natalia Fedosenko/Pool/Reuters In a nation where democratic space is already under suffocating pressure, Zimbabwe's new Private Voluntary Organisations (Amendment) Act, 2024 (PVO Act) arrives cloaked in the language of reform yet carries the sharp edges of state control. This is not merely a bureaucratic adjustment but a calculated move in a broader campaign to consolidate power and stifle dissent. Some justify the law as complying with the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) Recommendation 8, which seeks to protect nonprofit organisations from being exploited for terrorist financing. But this justification rings hollow when viewed in context. The FATF explicitly cautions against overregulation and insists that any countermeasures be risk-based and proportionate. Zimbabwe's approach fails on both counts. Rather than identifying high-risk entities through a transparent process, the Act casts suspicion on all civil society organisations indiscriminately. The law requires all organisations engaged in public fundraising or receiving foreign support to register under a new regulatory regime. It grants the registrar of private voluntary organisations and the minister extensive powers to deny, suspend, or cancel registration based on vaguely defined criteria such as 'public interest', 'public morality' or the 'economic interests of the state'. These catch-all phrases have historically been used to suppress activism and silence whistleblowers. This issue extends beyond mere compliance; it is fundamentally about control. The new law also authorises government interference in NGO governance, including the power to remove elected boards and appoint trustees who would likely be loyal to the state. The implications are vast. Imagine an organisation offering legal aid to victims of political violence or a charity advocating for the rights of LGBTQ+ people. Under the new rules, such entities could be shuttered overnight based on nothing more than bureaucratic discretion. We have already glimpsed this future. The recent imprisonment of prominent journalist Blessing Mhlanga for investigative reporting reflects the trajectory Zimbabwe is on. Mhlanga was not promoting instability or inciting violence. He was doing what journalists are meant to do: holding the powerful to account through offering a platform to a political dissident. His arrest signals a government increasingly intolerant of any form of oversight or scrutiny, and the PVO Act places NGOs in the same line of fire. These measures are not only anti-democratic but also anti-development. Civil society organisations play a crucial role in Zimbabwe, particularly in addressing gaps left by an under-resourced state. They operate health clinics, educate vulnerable populations and advocate for the rights of women, children and minority groups. Curtailing their work under the pretext of anti-terrorism is not only legally dubious but morally indefensible. International best practice presents a different model. South Africa's nonprofit law permits voluntary registration and ensures civil society can operate without unwarranted state interference. Although not yet fully implemented, Kenya's Public Benefit Organisations Act was developed through extensive consultation and includes legal safeguards against political misuse. Even Zambia, once notorious for its restrictive NGO laws, has recently reduced many of its excesses. The Private Voluntary Organisations (Amendment) Act contradicts Zimbabwe's constitutional commitments and its obligations under international human rights law. section 58 of Zimbabwe's Constitution guarantees freedom of association, while section 61 protects freedom of expression. These rights are reiterated in Article 10 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, to which Zimbabwe is a signatory. The Southern Africa Litigation Centre, working across the region and with the Global Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty and Status, has witnessed the devastating consequences of overregulation. In countries where civic space is stifled, human rights violations go unchallenged, corruption flourishes, and ordinary people suffer in silence. The government of Zimbabwe still has a choice. It can repeal or significantly revise the PVO Amendment Act and adopt a regulatory framework that genuinely enhances transparency while respecting constitutional freedoms. Alternatively, it can continue along a path that further isolates it from international partners and undermines its development objectives. The international community must not remain silent. Donors, multilateral institutions, and regional bodies must demand reforms that align with democratic norms. The FATF must clarify that its standards are being misused when governments adopt laws that criminalise legitimate civic engagement. Zimbabwe does not need another tool for repression. It requires institutions that foster trust, governance frameworks that enable participation and laws that reflect the values of freedom and accountability. The PVO Amendment Act is not a step forward; it is a leap backwards. Blessing Mhlanga should not be facing charges for doing his job, NGOs should not operate in fear, and Zimbabweans should not have to choose between their rights and their safety. The world is watching. And Zimbabwe must decide whether it wants to be a democracy in practice or just in name. Melusi Simelane is the civic rights cluster lead at the .
The Review Geek
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
The Assessment (2024) Recap & Ending Explained – Do Mia and Aaryan pass the assessment?
The Assessment Plot Summary The Assessment is a sci-fi movie and the directorial debut for Fleur Fortune. The film is written by Neil Gargarth-Cox, John Donnelly, and Dave Thomas and presents a depiction of humanity's possible fate in a future where climate change destroyed the whole world and whatever is left is strictly controlled by the state. The film introduces a couple, Mia (Elizabeth Olsen) and Aaryan (Himesh Patel), who are among the privileged group enjoying more exclusive perks, unlike the rest of the world, who dwell in wastelands. Mia is a plant biologist, while Aaryan is an AI expert. Due to the limited resources, childbirth is state-regulated in this new world. Residents are only allowed to have a child after passing an assessment test. Mia and Aaryan feel that they are ready to raise a child. Therefore, they have to undergo the state-mandated observation by Virginia (Alicia Vikander) for seven days, after which she will report to the superiors on the couple's eligibility to become parents. What happens during the Assessment Test? Virginia does not inform Mia and Aaryan what will be tested. She says that keeping them in the dark is part of the assessment process. The couple is kept in the dark to make sure that their actions are genuine. Virginia tests the couple's relationship and gets to understand their work. She becomes an active and passive participant in Mia's and Aaryan's lives. Sometimes, Virginia behaves like a child, throwing a tantrum to assess how they respond to such situations. She even invites Mia and Aaryan's old colleagues, with whom they do not get along with for dinner. Virginia tries to constantly provoke Mia and Aaryan to reveal their bad side, which the couple starts to find odd and wonder if it is all part of the assessment. How does Virginia disrupt Mia's and Aaryan's lives? Virginia tries to create conflicts between Aaryan and Mia. It feels like it is all part of the process initially, but it gets stranger. One time, she tries to kiss Mia and get her to leave home for a fake emergency. When Mia goes away, Virginia manipulates Aaryan into giving in to his urges, making him think that sleeping with her will help the couple get a positive assessment. Throughout the assessment, Virginia switches from acting like a child to acting like an adult. She makes Aaryan and Mia envious of each other as she switches her affection from one to the other. Do Aaryan and Mia pass the assessment? After a series of experiences that shakes the relationship between Mia and Aaryan, Virginia eventually says that the couple cannot have a child. Considering the turmoil they have been through all week, the couple gets angry. Aaryan confesses that he slept with Virginia, saying that Virginia forced him in return for a positive assessment. Mia's and Aaryan's relationship seems irreparable at this point. The negative assessment ruins their relationship, making Mia re-evaluate her life goals. Did Virginia have ulterior motives during the Assessment? Mia felt the urge to understand why Virginia gave them a negative assessment. She managed to track down Virginia even though contacting the assessor after the evaluation was against the rules. Mia learns that Virginia's real name is Grace. Her living conditions were not ideal, underscoring a stressful financial situation. Grace revealed that for the last six years, no couple had passed the assessment. Mia realises that the assessment was just a scam to keep people hopeful, while the reality was that no one would become parents. It was fabricated as an illusion designed to automatically fail the participants. Mia condemns Grace for agreeing to be part of such a scheme, knowing that it has an emotional impact on the couple. However, Grace had her reasons. She had lost a daughter and was promised a child by the state if she continued working diligently, without any complaints. Grace was desperate, but she did not know that she, too, was a puppet for the state. How does The Assessment end? After the confrontation with Mia, Virginia realises that she might be just a puppet for the state. There is no way that the state will give her a child when the elites like Mia and Aaryan do not pass the tests. Virginia commits suicide by jumping out of the window during her next assessment. Mia felt hopeless and trapped in the new world. She had recently learned that people were surviving outside in the old world, and they were giving birth without any restrictions. In the new world, children were grown ex-utero, while women in the old world experienced the joy of pregnancy and childbirth. Mia decides to take a risk, giving up her life extension pills and ID to cross over to the old world. Mia hoped to reconnect with her mother, who was sent to the old world for protesting against the state-controlled system. Back at their home, Aaryan is seen playing with a young girl while Mia waves from a distance. Presumably, Mia and the girl are AI models Aaryan created to fulfil his desires.
