HARARE, Aug 12 (AFP) - A bill that would ban human rights groups in Zimbabwe and cut off overseas funding to non-governmental organisations will hit ordinary Zimbabweans hard, an association of NGOs said Thursday.
With up to 80 percent of the population living under the poverty line, unemployment hovering at between 60 and 80 percent and a quarter of the population with HIV and AIDS, the "NGO sector is a safety net and hope for the nation," said the National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (NANGO).
"Unfortunately the bill criminalises a sector that is providing social safety nets to a lot of communities throughout the country," said NANGO in a statement.
"The bill is hitting the ordinary men, women and children who are beneficiaries of the services of NGOs," it said.
A draft bill which is set to be debated in parliament this year seeks to clamp down on NGOs through the banning of international human rights groups from Zimbabwe and cut off overseas funding to local organisations promoting rights.
NANGO represents some 700 non-governmental organisations but an estimated 5,000 NGOs are working in Zimbabwe, the majority of them providing relief for HIV and AIDS.
If the bill is enacted, NANGO said "it will do Zimbabwe more harm than good".
President Robert Mugabe has said Zimbabwe must not allow NGOs "to be conduits or instruments of foreign interference in our national affairs."
The leader confirmed that a bill tightening control over the NGOs would be introduced in parliament during the current session, which is the last one ahead of crucial legislative polls due in March next year.
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