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Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Cde Obedingwa Mguni

Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Plumtree Correspondent
THE Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Cde Obedingwa Mguni, has accused some Non-Governmental Organisations operating in the country of snubbing Government and operating as agents of regime change.

In a meeting with NGOs in Plumtree, Cde Mguni said an investigation carried out by his Ministry had revealed that some NGOs were not reporting to their relevant ministries.

He said some NGOs were deliberately running projects that were parallel to Government programmes.

“As the Ministry of Home Affairs we have a mandate to supervise operations of NGOs. We have realised that there are some NGOs which are snubbing Government officials and they are not linked to relevant ministries that they should report to.

“Some NGOs are already operating on the ground without communicating with relevant offices such as the DAs office and local authorities,” Cde Mguni said.

He said NGOs were expected to follow guidelines of the Private Voluntary Organisations Act and his Ministry would closely supervise them to ensure that their operations were within Government policies. Cde Mguni said workshops would be conducted in various provinces where NGOs will be furnished with details on what is required of them.

He said NGOs must desist from separating their activities from those of the State.

“As Government we need NGOs so that we can realise development and at the same time NGOs need Government to approve their operations. Communities have to know that NGOs are here to complement Government efforts.

“Some NGOs snub State functions. For example VP Mnangagwa was in Ingwizi recently and a certain NGO chose to hold a food distribution programme at Ingwizi Business Centre while the VP was addressing which in turn diverted people’s attention,” Cde Mguni said.

He said NGOs were not being funded by Government but they had a duty to report to relevant Ministries and departments.

There was a need for NGOs to desist from viewing themselves as anti-Government structures as they had a crucial role to play towards developing communities.

Cde Mguni expressed appreciation for NGOs that had regularised their operations and were implementing programmes that were in line with Government policies.

“From now on we want to harmonise operations between Government and NGOs. We don’t want conflicts because they have led to NGOs being used as agents of regime change and political agendas.

“NGOs should stop telling people that they are here to chip in where Government has failed as that isn’t the case. We will make a follow up on operations of all NGOs to ensure that they are on point,” he said.

@DubeMatutu