Inclusive Government UpdateIt is the first time in the life of the inclusive government that President Mugabe has implemented the GPA provision that says the Prime Minister is deputy chairperson of Cabinet [GPA, Article 20.1.4(a)].
President Mugabe left on 3rd March for another medical check-up in Singapore.
South African Facilitation Efforts Facilitation team members spent several days in Harare from 22nd February onwards, pushing the parties for progress on the roadmap to the next elections as called for by the SADC Windhoek Summit last August. They will return to Harare towards the end of March to check on progress on the roadmap. In South Africa last week both Vice-President Motlanthe and Deputy Minister of International Relations and Co-operation Marius Fransman stressed the commitment of both SADC and President Zuma, as SADC facilitator, to full implementation of the GPA, resolution of outstanding issues between the GPA parties [Gono, Tomana, Bennett etc] and having the new constitution in place, as pre-conditions to the holding of fresh elections. There has been no further talk of a special meeting of the Troika of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.
Principals Agree to Revive Implementation Matrix At their meeting on 25th February, while the SA facilitation team was still in town, the principals agreed to implement the remaining 23 agreed items in the implementation matrix they approved on 4th August 2010. As the time-limits for implementation fixed by the matrix expired before the end of last year [see Bill Watch 2/2011 of 31st January for list of agreed items and time frame], the principals will have to engage with the Ministers responsible for implementation of each agreed item to set them a new time-frame. [Note: It was in March 2010 that the party negotiators reached agreement on the 24 issues encapsulated in the matrix. Approval by the principals took nearly five months. Endorsement by the SADC Summit came swiftly, in mid-August. But implementation was near zero there was half compliance with only one item out of the 24 [Bill Watch 2/2011.]
Anti-Sanctions Petition Campaign Government or ZANU-PF?
On 2nd March the President launched what was billed as the Governments National Anti-Sanctions Petition Campaign, but without participation by MDC-T and MDC representatives. MDC-T distanced itself from the campaign, describing it as a ZANU PF project and platform. Full-page advertisements for the campaign launch in The Herald were headed Government of Zimbabwe but prominently displayed the legend This page has been sponsored by the Zanu PF Information Department.
Parliamentary Update
Neither the House of Assembly nor the Senate sat last week, but there were sittings of House of Assembly portfolio committees and Senate thematic committees.
Coming up in the House of Assembly This Week
Bills The Deposit Protection Corporation Bill is the only Bill listed for consideration by the House. It awaits its Second Reading debate, when the Minister of Finance will explain the Bill to the House and members can express their views on the merits and demerits of his proposals. This is also when the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance etc will present his committees report on the Bill, following its examination of the Bill in the light of representations submitted by banking sector stakeholders. [The Bill proposes the establishment of a Deposit Protection Corporation and Deposit Protection Fund to provide for the compensation of depositors in failed financial institutions. This would replace the existing compensation scheme, which is spelled out in the Banking Act and in regulations made under that Act.]
Two Bills are under consideration by the Parliamentary Legal Committee [PLC]:
General Laws Amendment Bill [Electronic version available] [See Bill Watch 7/2011 of 5th March for a commentary on this Bill and Bill Watch 44/2010 of 31st October for an opinion that the Bills clause imposing copyright protection on the text of Acts, statutory instruments and court judgments would be unconstitutional.]
Small Enterprises Development Corporation Amendment Bill.
There can be no further proceedings on these two Bills until the PLC has reported on their consistency or otherwise with the Declaration of Rights and other provisions of the Constitution.
Motions listed on the Order Paper call on MPs to take note of portfolio committee reports.
Question Time [Wednesday] According to Standing Orders, this is divided into two segments, with up to one hour allowed for each segment:
Questions Without Notice This is when backbenchers can put impromptu questions to any Minister about policy issues falling within his or her area of responsibility. Ministers can reasonably be expected to be deal with such questions off the cuff.
Written Questions With Notice This is when Ministers provide answers to written questions submitted by backbenchers and printed in the Order Paper. This segment is designed for questions seeking information that a Minister cannot be expected to have at his fingertips.
Absentee Ministers The success of Question Time depends on Ministers being present to deal with questions. At the last Question Time, on 23rd February, only one written question out of 25 was answered because only one of the Ministers concerned was present. Absentees included the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, the Minister of Transport, Communications and Infrastructure Development, the Minister of State for State Security, the Minister of Energy and Power Development and the Minister of Information Communication Technology. Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara, who is Leader of the House, undertook to ensure Ministerial attendance in future. It remains to be seen whether Ministers report for duty on Wednesday.
Coming up in the Senate This Week
POSA Amendment Bill Mr Goneses Private Members Bill to amend the Public Order and Security Act is the only Bill listed on the Order Paper. Proceedings on this Bill commenced in the House of Assembly in November 2009 and it was eventually passed by the House, with amendments, and transmitted to the Senate on 8th December 2010. The Bills progress will be delayed until Parliament has finalised the procedural changes needed to allow Mr Gonese to speak to his Bill in the Senate although he is not a Senator. [Electronic version of Bill as passed by House of Assembly available.]
Other Bills There are no other Bills ready for the Senate It must wait for the House of Assembly to pass the Bills on its Order Paper.
Motions on the agenda include:
Political violence MDC-T Senator Komichis motion condemns the unabated incidents of violence in Mbare, Budiriro and surrounding areas and calls on the police to maintain law and order professionally and bring the culprits to book. There have already been heated exchanges between Senators of different parties during debate on this motion.
Inclusive Governments achievements and failures This new motion is to be introduced by Senator S Ncube [MDC].
Committee Meetings Last Week
Police Commissioner-General on Current Political Violence Highlight of the week was the appearance, after two postponements, of Mr Chihuri before a joint sitting of the House of Assembly Portfolio Committee on Defence and Home Affairs and the Senate Thematic Committee on Peace and Security. He
denied that the police force is biased in favour of ZANU-PF in its handling of political violence cases
gave the committee statistics showing that since the beginning of the year 40 incidents of political violence had been reported, resulting in the arrest of 20 ZANU-PF activists involved in 3 incidents and 102 MDC-T activists involved in all 40 incidents
accused MDC-T leaders from Deputy Prime Minister Khupe down, including co-Minister of Home Affairs Makone, of committing acts of violence.
. Update on Bills
Bills Passed and Awaiting Presidential Assent and Gazetting as Acts [The Government Printer is waiting for page proofs to be checked by the drafters in the Attorney-Generals Office.] [Electronic versions available]
Criminal Laws Amendment (Protection of Power, Communication and Water Infrastructure) Bill
Attorney-Generals Office Bill
Zimbabwe National Security Council Amendment Bill
Energy Regulatory Authority Bill
Bills in Parliament [see above]
Bill Gazetted and Awaiting Introduction in Parliament
National Incomes and Pricing Commission Amendment Bill [gazetted 5th November 2010]. [Electronic version available] This Bill provides for the downgrading of the National Incomes and Pricing Commission to a board with much reduced powers and functions. Powers to fix prices and pricing standards and control rentals, incomes and service charges are repealed. The board will be an advisory body tasked with research and monitoring functions. Price control will be covered by regulations and orders under the Control of Goods Act, as it was before 2007.
Bills being printed for presentation in Parliament None
Statutory Instruments and General Notices
[electronic versions NOT available]
Statutory Instruments gazetted on 25th February and 4th March included:
SI 26/2011 regulations prescribing forms to be used and fees to be paid by persons seeking advisory opinions from the Competition and Tariff Commission
collective bargaining agreements for: printing, packaging and newspaper industry [SI 20]; cotton industry [SI 22]; commercial sectors [SI 23]; agricultural industry [SIs 24 and 24].
General Notices 40 to 97/2010 list additional suppliers accepted by the State Procurement Board as approved tenderers.
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