Emmerson Mnangagwa at the Second Summit Economic and Humanitarian Forum 2023 in Saint Petersburg, in July 2023. (Photo by Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
In Wednesday’s State of the Nation Address [SONA] [link], the President outlined the Government’s legislative agenda for the second session of the Tenth Parliament, i.e. for the next parliamentary year. The agenda is set out below.
Bills Left Uncompleted at the End of the First Session
The President urged parliamentarians to expedite the passing of all Bills that remained outstanding from the previous session of Parliament. He mentioned specifically:
· The Persons with Disabilities Bill [link], which has not yet passed its Second Reading stage in the National Assembly.
· The Civil Aviation Amendment Bill, which has not yet been printed [According to Parliament’s Status of Bills, the printers proofs of this Bill were sent to the Attorney-General’s Office for checking almost a year ago].
· The Death Penalty Abolition Bill [link], which was last considered by the National Assembly in May.
· The Parks and Wild Life Amendment Bill [link], which is ready for its Second Reading in the National Assembly – and has been ready since June.
· The controversial Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Bill [link], which was passed by the National Assembly on the 24th September and has been transmitted to the Senate.
· The Mines and Minerals Bill, which is being printed [an earlier Bill lapsed when Parliament was dissolved before the 2023 general election].
· The Medical Services Amendment Bill [link], which has been presented in the National Assembly and is being considered by the relevant portfolio committee.
· The Insurance and Pensions Commission Amendment Bill [link], whose proofs are being checked by the Attorney-General’s Office.
In addition to those Bills, Parliament’s Status of Bills list mentions two others:
· The State Service (Pensions) Bill, which is being printed.
· The Broadcasting Services Amendment Bill, which is also being printed.
The President emphasised that Parliament has an obligation to expedite the enactment of these Bills. It was a timely reminder because Parliament’s output of legislation during the last session was meagre to say the least. So far only one Act has been published in the Gazette this year – the Criminal Laws Amendment (Protection of Children and Young Persons Act [link].
New Bills for the Next Session
The President mentioned another 14 Bills and urged Parliament to consider them in the coming session. He gave brief outlines of what some of them will do but left his audience to guess the contents of others. We list the Bills below, with the President’s outlines:
· Zimbabwe School Examinations Council Bill, to improve the corporate governance of ZIMSEC. Presumably it will replace the current Act of the same name
· Teaching Professions Council Bill, to regulate the teaching profession
· Occupational Safety and Health Bill, to align our law further with international conventions
· State Service (Pensions) Bill, establishing a State Service Pensions fund
· Public Service Amendment Bill, to align the Public Service Act with the Constitution
· Rural Electrification Fund Amendment Bill, to bring the Act “in sync with present realities”
· Public Entities Corporate Governance Amendment Bill, also to bring the Act in sync with present realities – though what that means in the context of this Act is unclear
· Pipelines Amendment Bill, ditto
· Legal Practitioners Amendment Bill, to alter the registration process for foreign lawyers
· Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Whistleblowers) Bill
· Electronic Transactions and Electronic Commerce Bill, to promote legal certainty in electronic transactions
· Standards Bill
· Legal Metrology Bill
· Media Practitioners Bill
Bills on Last Year’s Agenda Omitted from This Year’s
The President listed only 24 Bills, which is a drastic climb-down from the 50 or more he mentioned in last year’s SONA. Many Bills must have been dropped from the Government’s legislative agenda, for example:
· Insurance Bill
· Child Justice Bill – this was passed by Parliament but lapsed because the President did not assent to it before the dissolution of Parliament in August last year.
· Financial Adjustments Bill – this Bill dates from 2019 and is intended to condone the illegal expenditure by government of over US$9,6 billion. Until it is passed, the Government will be in breach of section 307 of the Constitution.
· Inheritance and Succession Laws (General Amendment) Bill
· Climate Change Bill – this Bill seems increasingly urgent
· Postal and Telecommunications Amendment Bill – the President called this a “long-outstanding Bill” in last year’s SONA.
· Medical Aid Societies Regulatory Authority Bill
· National Health Insurance Bill
· National Youth Bill.
No explanation has been given for abandoning these Bills – if indeed they have been abandoned.
Comment
For many years the Government’s legislative agendas, announced at the beginning of each parliamentary session, have listed multitudes of Bills that are never brought before Parliament – so much so that the agendas have seemed to be extravagant wish-lists rather than realistic legislative programmes. Last year’s agenda was an extreme example: over 50 Bills were listed, as we have said, and only one of them promulgated as an Act. It is to be hoped that after announcing a more modest agenda for this year, the Government will take steps to ensure that all the Bills, or almost all of them, are presented to Parliament and enacted into law. The same applies to some of those on last year’s agenda, particularly the Child Justice Bill, the Financial Adjustments Bill and the Climate Change Bill: these Bills are too important to be simply forgotten.
Post published in: Featured