Legislative reform tops 2020 Parliamentary calendar
MASSIVE recalls of MDC- T legislators by the party’s leadership, legislative reforms particularly in the media and Covid- 19 related disruptions of sittings sum up the 2020 calendar for Parliament.
The Second Republic led by President Mnangagwa lived to its word when it embarked on a legislative reform agenda, particularly the repeal of the contentious Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
As a culmination to the media law reform, Parliament has since passed the Zimbabwe Media Commission Bill which now awaits assent by the President before coming into law.
The ZMC Bill is part of the Second Republic to have an expansive media landscape, and is one of the legal instruments that repeal AIPPA as well as align laws with the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
Other Bills include Freedom of Information Act, signed into law in June this year and the Media Practitioners Bill as well as Protection of Personal Information Bill, which are yet to be tabled before Parliament.
Delivering her speech to mark the end of post Cabinet media briefing last Tuesday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the Second Republic had prioritised the creation of a conducive national media environment.
She said this year, that objective had been achieved through the repeal of AIPPA and transparent of issuing of licenses to six new TV stations.
“A lot of progress has been made in the radio sector and we should see community radio stations licences being issued soon. Meanwhile, Great Zimbabwe University became the first tertiary institution in the country to get a broadcasting licence for its campus radio station and went live on 7 June 2020. Other tertiary institutions will be licenced as they apply and meet the set requirements. In 2021, as part of opening the media space we expect the amendment of the Broadcasting Services Act and the Protection of Personal Information Bill to be enacted,” she said.
There are some laws that have been enacted consistent with the desire to align laws with the Constitution and some of them include the Education Act, the National Prosecuting Authority Act, and the Attorney General Office Act.
Parliament is still however saddled with a lot of Bills that have remained on the Order Paper largely because of inaction by some members of the
Executive who have not been giving them due weight.
There is need to dispose Bills that would have been presented by the President when he officially opens Parliament as a demonstration of its resolve to discharge its legislative role.
While it is understandable that Covid-19 induced adjournment has had a bearing on the delay, there is need for Parliament to pull up its legislative socks.
The outstanding ones include the Marriages Amendment Bill, Constitutional Amendment Bill (Number Two), Financial Adjustments Bill, Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (Number 1), Forest Amendment Bill, Cyber Security and Data Protection Bill, Pension and Provident Funds Bill, and the Centre for Education, Innovation, Research and Development Bill, among others.
Some of the Bills are meant to align with the Constitution and bring necessary political and legal reforms that the Second Republic has set out to achieve.
There is also the much awaited Mines and Mining Amendment Bill which initially went through Parliament, but President Mnangagwa withheld his assent and referred it back to the august House so that it could address concerns that he felt were not consistent with the Constitution
Another highlight of this year is the massive recall of 31 MDC-T legislators by its leadership led by Dr Thokozani Khupe as a climax of the infighting within the opposition ranks.
The Dr Khupe led MDC-T recalled legislators it nominated to fill seats won by the umbrella MDC-Alliance, which it sees as an electoral pact, during the feud within the opposition.
This culmination of the recalls saw the swearing in of Dr Khupe and 15 others under Proportional Representation to replace those that were recalled.
The MPs were recalled in terms of a constitutional provision that declares seats held by members of the party that sponsored them in the last election become vacant if the party writes to the Speaker of the National Assembly or Senate President to declare the persons no longer represent that party.
The recalling of MDC-T MPs followed a Supreme Court ruling in April this year conferring legitimacy to Dr Khupe as the leader of the party.
At the heart of the dispute within the opposition is whether the MPs and senators elected under the MDC Alliance umbrella belong to the party that nominated them on the MDC Alliance list, or belong to the MDC Alliance which regards itself as a political party in its own rights. So far, decisions in the Court have ruled that the MDC-A is an umbrella organisation.
During the formation of the MDC Alliance before the 2018 elections, the parties that formed the alliance were each allocated constituencies to nominate a single MDC-A candidate, while negotiations produced lists of nominees from each formation for the proportional representation seats in the National Assembly and the Senate.
The MDC-A and some its constituent elements regard this formation as a new party dating to before the poll, while the MDC-T with its 2014 structures regard it as still being an umbrella organisation.
Another highlight of 2020 was the Covid-19 induced recess which also saw some legislators contracting the disease on Parliamentary business.
The pandemic did not spare the legislative assembly which eventually saw it holding its sitting virtually with a limited number of lawmakers being allowed in the Chamber.
Portfolio committees have also been hectic in holding public outreaches on Bills and some have tabled their reports.
Concern is still abound on other committees which were still to table reports their reports.
That notwithstanding, the 2020 Parliamentary calendar had been a hectic year despite the major challenge of Covid-19.