Bills that united, divided legislators in the House
The most intriguing Bill that was gazetted in 2016 was the Constitutional Amendment (No. 1) Bill that seeks to amend the Constitution by giving the President Powers to appoint the Chief Justice, Deputy Chief Justice, Judge President of the High Court.
AT LEAST six Bi l ls sailed through Parliament while 14 others were still under consideration as the curtain came down on the 2016 Parliament sittings. The Special Economic Zones Act, Local Government Act, Gwanda State University, Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences Act, Public Finance Management Act and Public Accountants and Auditors Act sailed through Parliament in 2016 and all are now law after President Mugabe assented to them.
Of the six, it is the Special Economic Zones Act that many might remember because it was the first law during the life of the Eighth Parliament that was initially rejected by President Mugabe when Parliament passed it.
In rejecting the Bill, President Mugabe cited Section 56 of the Special Economic Zones Bill which he said was not consistent with Section 65 of the Constitution as it sought to suspend operations of the labour laws in the zones.
The National Assembly eventually convened and accommodated the reservations President Mugabe had made before sending back to the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces for his assent.
The Local Government Act seeks to amend the Urban Councils Act and Rural District Councils Act by providing for procedures to be used when suspending a mayor or councillor of a local authority through appointment of an independent tribunal in dealing with city fathers’ misdemeanors.
Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister Saviour Kasukuwere indicated last week that he will invoke that law in respect of Gweru city councillors led by Mayor Hamutendi Kombayi.
This was after Minister Kasukuwere withdrew his appeal in the Supreme Court after he lost his bid to expel them.
Minister Kasukuwere said this while responding to a question from Mkoba MP Mr Amos Chibaya (MDC-T) on why he was not reinstating the Gweru city councillors who won their case at the High Court.
The Act sailed through amid protests from MDC-T MPs who felt that the law was meant to fix Harare Mayor Bernard Manyenyeni who at that time was on suspension.
The opposition lawmakers would walk out and leave the Chamber without the mandatory 70 MPs that constitute a quorum in their bid to derail the law.
The Gwanda State University Act and Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences Act are meant to establish two more State universities to address growing demand for use of technologies and application of sciences.
The most intriguing Bill that was gazetted in 2016 was the Constitutional Amendment (No. 1) Bill that seeks to amend the Constitution by giving the President powers to appoint the Chief Justice, Deputy Chief Justice, Judge President of the High Court.
Gazetting of the Bill, which was done last week, followed a week of debate on how to replace outgoing Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku as the Executive was of the view that the President should have his powers to appoint restored, while the Judicial Service Commission wanted to proceed in terms of the current law.
The JSC proceeded with the interviews a fortnight ago despite a High Court order issued by Justice Charles Hungwe interdicting it from conducting public interviews since the Executive had indicated its intention to amend the Constitution.
One notable Bill is the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill that seeks to give legal effect on the bond notes that were introduced in terms of the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act whose lifespan expires in six months.
Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa religiously attended sitting of the National Assembly to steer the Bill but his effort was put to waste by MDC-T legislators who would walk out in order to create a quorum crisis.
Other Bills include Public Procurement and Disposal Bill that seeks to strip the State Procurement Board of its powers to adjudicate on tenders following allegations of rampant corruption.
There was also the Land Commission Bill, National Competitiveness Bill, Mineral Exploration Marketing and Corporation Bill, Pan-African Minerals University of Science and Technology, Mines and Minerals Bill, Judiciary Laws Amendments Bill, Deeds Registry, Movable Property Security Interest Bill, Shop Licence Bill and Estate Administrators Amendment Bill.
The Land Commission Bill is meant to make periodic land audits and the Parliamentary Legal Committee last week issued a non-adverse report thus giving it a clean bill of health.
Parliament’s Question Time continued to be haunted by absenteeism of ministers to field questions both in the National Assembly and Senate.
Presiding officers in both Houses expressed concern over the issue with Speaker of the National Assembly Advocate Jacob Mudenda saying he had prepared a dossier in consultation with Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is also Leader of Government Business.
There were also motions that were brought to the fore some of which united legislators while others left them divided.