On Wednesday the 1st of March 2017, in an article entitled 2018 polls: EU oils anti-Govt groups state-controlled newspaper The Herald accused the European Union of attempting to influence next year’s election through “a surprise US$ 5 donation to civil society.” The Herald said the money was for “fomenting instability using quasi-political, civil society organisations.”
However, the European Union revealed that they had signed a National Indicative Programme (NIP) for cooperation between the European Union and the Republic of Zimbabwe. The NIP is in the public domain and as part of the programme, the government and the EU agreed that the EU would fund civil societies to the tune of EUR 6 million. Therefore, nothing should have been surprising about the funding.
Part of the agreement reads:
4. MEASURES IN FAVOUR OF CIVIL SOCIETY
In line with the revised Cotonou Agreement and its Annex IV, an indicative amount of EUR 6 million is set aside to support civil society organisations. Additionally, further funding to civil society may be allocated under the three focal sectors in order to reach 5% target of the total NIP allocation in support to civil society organisations. Support shall be provided to their participation in public policy formulation, transparency and accountability, service delivery, inclusive and sustainable growth, and conflict prevention and peace building within the framework of the Constitution and as contribution to the implementation of Zim Asset.
You can download the full NIP by clicking on the link below:
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