Proposed law regulating donor funds causes friction

Zambia is considering a law that could compel NGOs to account for donor funds allegedly being used to criticise the government. President Levy Mwanawasa announced at a public rally on Tuesday in the northwestern district of Kabompo that authorities were closely monitoring the activities of NGOs and some churches. He said the government would consider introducing laws that stipulated the parameters within which NGOs could operate, and said NGOs and members of the clergy should refrain from engaging in politics. Mwanawasa claimed that the religious sector and civil groups had taken democracy too far. "Being at liberty does not mean that people should do anything injurious to others," he said. The announcement of the proposed legislation has been interpreted by NGOs as an attempt to subdue the church and civil society organisations critical of Mwanawasa's rule. NGOs have said there was no need for the government to introduce legislation compelling them to account for donor funding because the existing Societies Act empowered the Registrar of Societies to monitor their operations. Transparency International president Alfred Chanda pointed out that the minister of home affairs could de-register or ban any NGO not operating within the law, and added that the majority of the NGOs were contributing to the government's efforts to improve the lives of Zambians. Ngande Mwanajiti of the Inter-Africa Network for Human Rights and Development called on the government to be more specific about the proposed law. Mwanajiti told IRIN that NGOs would welcome government scrutiny but, in turn, the long-awaited Freedom of Information Bill, compelling the state to disclose public expenditure, needed to be passed. He said Mwanawasa's statement was a direct attack on NGOs, which would further strain relations between the two. The president had called for reconciliation between opposition parties, civil society and the government ahead of the 40th independence celebrations last month. Civil rights activists have accused Mwanawasa's administration of disregarding appeals for broader participation in the ongoing constitutional review process. The government has also come under fire for failing to alleviate widespread joblessness and chronic poverty: three-quarters of Zambia's 10.8 million people live below the World Bank poverty threshold of US $1 a day.