Zimbabwean civil society organisations are navigating a more complex operating environment marked by new regulatory requirements, shrinking development finance and growing pressure on civic actors, the National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (NANGO) has said.

The concerns were raised during NANGO's Talk To Your Regulator (T2R) workshop, which is examining the experiences of civil society organisations following the operationalisation of the Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Act, 2025.

Opening the workshop on behalf of the NANGO National Board Chairperson, Netsai Risinamhodzi said regulation and an enabling civic environment should not be viewed as competing objectives.

“Regulation and an enabling civic space are not mutually exclusive,” Risinamhodzi said.

She said an effective regulatory framework should be based on clarity, consistency, transparency, proportionality and accessible engagement between regulators and the organisations required to comply.

Risinamhodzi said these principles were central to NANGO's T2R initiative, which provides a platform for CSOs and regulators to engage directly on the implementation of regulatory requirements.

“This is exactly the spirit behind NANGO's T2R initiative, creating structured platforms where CSOs and regulators can engage directly, clarify issues, and work together to resolve challenges facing the sector,” she said.

The workshop comes as civil society organisations assess their experiences with the operationalisation of the amended PVO legislation and its implications for their day-to-day operations.

NANGO Executive Director Ernest Nyimai identified five major characteristics shaping the current operating environment for civil society: increasing state interest in controlling civic actors, fractures in multilateralism, shrinking development finance, expanding regulatory and compliance requirements, and the politicisation and delegitimisation of civil society.

On security and safety, Nyimai pointed to “a growing appetite among states to control civic actors”, placing the issue among the major pressures facing organisations operating in the civic space.

He also identified “shrinking development finance” as a significant challenge, with traditional bilateral donors reducing, restructuring or reassessing their engagement.

The funding changes are occurring alongside what Nyimai described as “compounding regulatory and compliance requirements”, increasing the obligations organisations must meet to operate.

He also highlighted what he described as the growing “politicisation and delegitimisation of civil society”, which he said was contributing to challenges around the legitimacy and independence of CSOs.

The discussions come against the backdrop of wider changes in the international humanitarian and development system.

Nyimai highlighted the Humanitarian Reset Process, which is pushing humanitarian organisations towards greater efficiency, accountability and value for money.

He also pointed to the increasing integration of humanitarian, development and peace programming through the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus and the 5Ps Model of Integration.

At the same time, the sector is seeing growing international emphasis on the localisation agenda and locally led development, with greater focus on strengthening the role of local organisations and communities in development and humanitarian responses.

For Zimbabwean CSOs, the changes present a combination of regulatory and financial pressures.

The PVO Amendment Act is being operationalised at a time when organisations are also confronting changes in the availability of external development finance and a broader restructuring of the international humanitarian system.

The T2R initiative is therefore providing a platform for organisations and regulators to address practical questions arising from the implementation of the amended framework.

NANGO's position is that regulation should provide clarity and accountability while maintaining an operating environment in which civil society organisations can continue carrying out their functions.

The discussions also place emphasis on direct engagement between regulators and CSOs as organisations seek greater clarity on their obligations under the amended framework.