10th Parliament to be more vibrant than ever before
PRESIDENT MNANGAGWA officially opened the first session of the 10th Parliament of Zimbabwe and delivered his State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the new Parliament building in Mt Hampden on Tuesday.
It was a historic event, which heralded the relocation of Parliament to the imposing facility — built using a US$100 million grant from the Chinese government — after being domiciled in Harare for more than a century.
Given that Parliament now has a new home, there are expectations the new environs will inspire legislators to help shape a new era for Zimbabwe. Members of the National Assembly play a significant role in governance by providing oversight of the Executive, representing their constituencies and making laws.
In his SONA address, President Mnangagwa exhorted legislators to work towards furthering the country’s developmental aspirations.
“This August House should ensure that law is an instrument for development. Further, Parliament is encouraged to be an institution of peace-building, hope, national development and the entrenchment of constitutionalism and deepening democratic practices in our country,” he said.
“In all our activities, let us safeguard our values and traditions as the unique people of Zimbabwe. With continued unity of purpose, we can accelerate our ongoing quest to build, modernise and industrialise our great motherland, Zimbabwe.
“This weighty obligation is on our shoulders. We must deliver and lift more of our people out of poverty and into prosperity.”
Clerk of Parliament Mr Kennedy Chokuda believes the 10th Parliament is likely to be more vibrant than ever before.
“Currently, there are 358 legislators, with two vacancies. In total, legislators will be 360. In terms of participation, there are 10 youths selected under the youth quota, so we are expecting a robust contribution from the youths representing their peers. Generally, we expect that there will be more liveliness than previous sessions,” he said.
President Mnangagwa outlined 29 Bills that will be tabled in Parliament.
Five obsolete laws will be removed from the country’s legal statutes, while six Bills that lapsed in the Ninth Parliament will also be dealt with.
Gwanda South Member of Parliament Omphile Marupi said the legislative agenda laid out by the President resonated well with the Second Republic’s thrust of improving the lives of Zimbabweans through development.
“Some laws were now archaic and not in tandem with the modern world, thus obstructing the development by the Second Republic,” he said.
Bulilima Member of Parliament
Dingimuzi Phuti — who is also the Deputy Minister of Information, Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services — added: “The fact that there are some obsolete laws which are going to be repealed, which have in the past hindered development, has set the tone of the development trajectory the Second Republic is pursuing.”
Among the Bills set to be debated are the Competition Amendment Bill; Economic Empowerment Bill; Standards Bill; Sugar Production Amendment Bill; and the Technical Regulations Bill, which seek to promote industrialisation and economic growth.
In an effort to encourage and improve e-commerce, Parliament will debate the Electronic Transactions and Electronic Commerce Bill, while seeking to conclude the long-outstanding Postal and Telecommunications Amendment Bill.
The Zimbabwe Construction Contractors Council Bill will also be brought to the august House, as Government seeks to bring sanity to the sector while providing affordable housing.
Parliament is also expected to consider the alignment of the Housing Standards Control Act and the Housing and Buildings Act.
Efforts to provide quality and affordable healthcare are similarly expressed in the legislative agenda.
It is in this vein that the Medical Aid Societies Regulatory Authority, Health Professions Act; Family Planning Council Act and the Medicines and Allied Substances Control Act will be tabled in Parliament.
President Mnangagwa notably urged legislators to expedite the enactment of the National Health Insurance Bill to accelerate the establishment of the National Health Insurance Scheme, which is designed to achieve universal health coverage.
The Government is determined to deal with the scourge of drug and substance abuse.
The mulled National Youth Bill, for example, “will provide for mechanisms to facilitate mainstreaming of the youth in social, economic and political spaces, as well as the sustenance of vocational training centres as hubs for local community development”, according to President Mnangagwa.
Other planned Bills include the Pensions Amendment Bill; as well as the Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies Bill, while the Small and Medium Enterprises Act will be reviewed.
Mutasa Central MP Innocent Benza said President Mnangagwa’s address was progressive.
“As a new Member of Parliament, I am raring to go. My mandate is to bring issues affecting people of my constituency and also contribute to national debates and the law-making process.
“I was very inspired by President Mnangagwa’s speech, which focused on development,” he said.
Mr Trust Chikohora, who was a presidential candidate in the August 23-24 elections, said members of the National Assembly should understand that they are at the public’s beck and call, as “their mandate is to serve those who voted for them”.
It was important, he added, that President Mnangagwa emphasised the need for national unity after the elections.
“He showed in his speech that he seeks to bring all Zimbabweans together, regardless of their political affiliation. He was clear that he wants to bring people together as one nation so that we move in one particular direction.”