PVO bill consultative meeting in Masvingo ends in...

PVO bill consultative meeting in Masvingo ends in violent debacle

**Parliamentarians address delegates to the PVO Amendment Bill consultative meeting at a packed Charles Austin Theatre in Masvingo**

Zim Now Writer

Violence forced the aborting of the Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Bill consultative meeting at Charles Austin Theatre in Masvingo today.

Parliamentarians and members of the public who were attending the consultative meeting had to scurry for safety after fighting broke out between suspected Zanu PF youths and those from the opposition.

Several people reportedly sustained serious injuries, according to eyewitnesses.

Police, who included details from the canine section, eyewitnesses said, arrived at the scene after the violence had already died down although people were still milling around the venue.

**The handful of police officers who attended the scene after violence forced the premature end of the PVO Amendment Bill consultative meeting at Charles Austin Theatre in Masvingo**

However, police were yet to offer an official comment, with Masvingo provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Kudakwashe Dhehwa saying he was yet to get the details of the skirmishes.

The majority of non-governmental organisations operating in Zimbabwe have been campaigning against the amendment bill, arguing that it is a move by government to throttle independent civil society organisations.