The National Assembly is in Recess until 8th September

Harare – The following Acts were gazetted on Friday 26th August.  All came into force with effect from that date.

Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences Act (Act 4/2016)

The Act establishes this university.  [Act available on Veritas website via this link]  

Gwanda State University Act (Act 5/2016)

The Act establishes this university.  [Act available on Veritas website via this link]

Local Government Laws Amendment Act (Act 8/2016)

The Act is the Government’s first, small step towards bringing the Urban Councils Act and the Rural District Councils Act into line with the Constitution.  It became law four days after the third anniversary of the Constitution’s coming into full force on 22nd August 2013.  All the Act does is to make provision for the Minister responsible for Local Government to set up tribunals to consider Ministerial proposals for the removal from office of elected mayors, council chairpersons and councillors.  The Minister is given the power to suspend from office pending a tribunal decision.  The Bill for the Act aroused controversy, the main objection being that the tribunals envisaged by its provisions would not qualify as “independent tribunals” required by section 278(2) of the Constitution.  Nevertheless, insisting that the Bill was urgent, the Minister pushed it through Parliament without accepting any significant changes.  [Act available on Veritas website via this link]

Note: The Act does not validate the steps taken by the Minister against the Mayor and councillors of Gweru and the Mayor of Harare. For background and more on the Bill for this Act, use the following links to the Veritas website for Constitution Watches 7/2016 , 9/2016 and 10/2016  and Bill Watches 28/2016 and 29/2016.   

Bills

The following Bills were gazetted on Friday 26th August. [Please see summary and comments in a coming Bill Watch]

Deeds Registries Amendment Bill

The Bill is to amend the Deeds Registries Act (“the Act”).  It merits careful study by all legal practitioners and their IT advisers.  [Bill available on Veritas website via this link]

Judicial Laws Amendment (Ease of Settling Commercial and Other Disputes) Bill

The Bill aims to amend the High Court Act, the Magistrates Court Act and the Small Claims Courts Act. [Bill available on Veritas website via this link]

Statutory instruments

Collection of border post fees by ZIMRA  SI 93/2016 makes responsible for collecting fees due to the Ministry of Agriculture Mechanisation and Irrigation Development for phytosanitary certificates, plant import permits and other matters under the Plant Pests and Diseases Act.

Customs duty suspensions  SI 95 and 96 [three-year suspensions for development of specific mining locations]

ZINWA raw water tariffs  SI 97/2016 is a “correction of error” notice, designed to change the effective date of the tariffs set out in SI 48/2016 from 6th May 2016, the date SI 48 was gazetted, to 1st December 2015.  ZINWA customers need to check whether backdating the tariffs prejudices them; if so, they could challenge SI 97 for ultra vires retroactivity.

Harare declared a rabies area  SI 98/2016 adds Harare Metropolitan Province to the existing list of rabies areas.

Drug manufacturers licences  The effect of SI 99/2016 is that a manufacturer’s licence issued under the Medicines and Allied Substances Control (General) Regulations [SI 150/1991] is valid for the 12 months commencing 1st March in each year.

Securities – Alternative Trading Platform   SI 100/2016, made by the Securities and Exchange Commission with the approval of the Minister of  Finance and Economic Development, sets out the rules for operating an electronic market for trading in securities.  Registration with the Commission is required.  Integrity and security of systems are subject to comprehensive provisions.  Proper and timely collection of taxes must be ensured.

Opening of next Parliamentary Session  SI 101/2016 fixes Tuesday 4th October as the date for the opening of the next Parliamentary session, which will be the Fourth Session of the present Parliament.

General Notices

Notices gazetting Acts  Gwanda State University Act [GN 220/2016], Local Government Laws Amendment Act [GN 221/2016], Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences Act [GN 222/2016].  [There is a note on the Local Government Laws Amendment Act in Bill Watch 38/2016]

Notices gazetting Bills  Deeds Registries Amendment Bill and Judicial Laws Amendment (Ease of Settling Commercial and Other Disputes) Bill [GN 223/2016].  [There are notes on the Bills in Bill Watch 38/2016]

 

Government Gazette of 19th August

Bills and Acts

None

Statutory instruments

Customs rebate – printing and packaging  SI 87/2016 adjusts the names of two of the companies entitled to the rebate under SI 152/2015.

Collective bargaining agreement – Code of Conduct  SI 88/2016 publishes a Code of Conduct for the Electronics, Communications and Allied Industry.

Estate agents – fees for services  SI 89/2016 deals with estate agents’ fees for sales, letting, property management, consultancy services and “general”.  It replaces several existing Parts of the Schedule to the Estate Agents (Professional Conduct) Rules [SI 200/1987, as amended, particularly by SI 130/1989].  As the present SI has to be read with the SIs of 1987 and 1989 to be fully understood, the more helpful approach would have been for the Estate Agents Council to gazette the complete Professional Conduct Rules in up-to-date form.  [SI 89/2016 available via this link to the Veritas website]

Toll roads – collection of toll fees at ports of entry  SI 90/2016 authorises ZIMRA [the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority] to collect tolls on vehicles using ports of entry.  This and SI 91/2016 are the latest of a series of statutory instruments making ZIMRA the collector of official fees at ports of entry.

Public service vehicles – collection of fees at ports of entry  SI 91/2016 makes ZIMRA the collector of fees payable at ports of entry in terms of the Road Motor Transportation (Public Service Vehicles) Regulations.

Local authority by-laws – Harare – road verges maintenance  SI 92/2016 saddles the occupier [defined as owner, tenant, lessee or any other person occupying the property through one of them] of a property liable to maintain the road verge adjacent or opposite to the property he or she occupies.  The term “road verge” is defined as the land adjacent or opposite a property between its boundary and the carriage way, including open storm drains.  There are also definitions of “maintain” and “shrub”.  Apart from the duty to maintain, the occupier is also forbidden to do other things on road verges.  Penalties are laid down for contraventions, and there is an extravagantly wide [and ultra vires?] presumption that the occupier is “aware and responsible for” some contraventions.  The by-laws apply to the whole Harare City Council area and local government areas under its administration and management.  [SI 92/2016 available via this link to the Veritas website]

Parliamentary by-election proclamation – Norton  SI 93/2016 [available via this link to the Veritas website] is the Presidential proclamation fixing dates for the by-election to fill the vacant National Assembly constituency seat for Norton—

• Nomination court: Tuesday 6th September at the Magistrates Court, Chinhoyi
• Polling day: Saturday 22nd October.

General Notices

Mazowe North by-election result  GN is the official ZEC notice of Advocate Martin Dinha’s election as constituency member of the National Assembly for Mazowe North, with effect from 24th July.

Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied