BILL WATCH 38/2021
[17th June 2021]
Non-Legislative Business in Parliament Last Week
As we said in Bill Watch 37/2021 of 15th June, Parliament did not tackle any of the Bills on its agenda last week. Both Houses did, however, sit on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, as usual, and get through the non-legislative business listed below.
In the National Assembly 8th to 10th June
Tuesday 8th June
Reports Noted
There being no further debate on the following reports, the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs withdrew his motions for the House to take note of them:
- National Prosecuting Authority Report for 2019
- Judicial Service Commission Report for 2020
- Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission for 2020
When it came to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s Annual Report for 2020, however, MPs complained that they had not received soft copies of the report; proceedings were adjourned to allow this glitch in the “paperless Parliament” system to be remedied.
Take-note Motion on UN’s 2021 Virtual Parliamentary Hearing on fighting corruption
Hon Mavenyengwa presented his motion for the House to take note of this hearing, held on 17th and 18th February this year under the theme Fighting corruption to restore trust in government and improve development prospects, at which the Parliament of Zimbabwe had been virtually represented by Senator Muzenda, Hon Tsvangirai and himself. Hon Josiah Sithole seconded the motion and also spoke briefly. Among other measures, the report recommends the enactment of special legislation to protect witnesses and victims of corruption in line with the UN Convention against Corruption [UNCACC] and tackling corruption through a gender-sensitive lens, including having women MPs chairing strategic committees. Debate is to continue.
Ministerial Statement on Rural Waste Management Systems
Hon Garwe, Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities then delivered a statement on the Government’s proposal to adopt an Easiflush Waste Water Management System which is affordable and effective, and had already been successfully tested at a school in Epworth and could be used in rural areas. An advantage of the system was that it used only 2 litres of water per flush as opposed to the 7 to 10 litres required by conventional systems. Phase 1 of the roll-out programme is focusing on rural schools, community centres and clinics. The necessary funding would come from devolution funds, school development associations and donor participation – and, the Minister hinted in a call for support by MPs, the Parliament’s Constituency Development Fund.
Access to Reproductive Health Services by adolescents Debate continued on the joint report by two Parliamentary committees; women MPs supported access and one male MP strongly disagreed. Debate is to continue.
Wednesday 9th June
“Paperless Parliament” problems
Presumably prompted by the problem raised the previous day, the Speaker advised MPs who were having difficulty accessing documents sent to them by email from Parliament’s administration to seek assistance from Parliament’s ICT department.
Question Time
Length of time taken to complete murder trials The Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, answering a question about an apparent three-year minimum period to complete murder trials, the Minister explained the special procedures, such as pro Deo legal representation, that must be followed, but said that the Judicial Service Commission was working on expediting the time taken. For instance, by 2021 seven out of the ten provinces, as opposed to the present four, would have their own High Court stations; this and the new case management system being introduced would reduce delays.
Appointment of chiefs In answer to a question raising the difficulties caused by delays in appointing substantive chiefs after a chief dies, Local Government and Public Works Minister Hon Chombo explained that his Ministry has no right to decide who is appointed a chief. Someone from the late chief’s family assumes the role of acting chief until the families who have the right to do so decide on a successor; their nomination is the vetted by the Provincial Chiefs Council to see that the correct procedures – which vary from region to region – have been followed. When the Council is satisfied, the name of the accepted candidate is forwarded to the Ministry, which prepares the necessary papers for the appointment of the chief to be made by the President.
Debate on the President’s SONA Speaking in the ongoing debate on the President’s State of the Nation address [SONA] at the beginning of the current session, the Minister of Industry and Commerce mentioned her Ministry’s legislative reform activities: amending the now out-of-date Sugar Production Control Act of 1964; replacing the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act with an Economic Empowerment Act; and amending the Competition Act to bring it into line with the African Continental Free Trade Area and other regional and international protocols.
Report on the Petition against Fees Increases in Tertiary Education Institutions
After Question Time Hon Maphosa presented this report by the Portfolio Committee on Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development on the petition by students and student organisations. Noting that fees in tertiary education institutions [polytechnics, teachers training colleges and industrial training centres], inclusive of accommodation, had risen steeply and at very short notice, the report’s recommendations include harmonising tuition fees across all State institutions by 2021 [same fees for same subjects], greater student participation in discussions about setting fees, Ministry engagement with CBZ Bank to improve the conditions for accessing student loans, and formulation by the Ministry by September this year, of a sustainable education financing model that recognises the Zimbabwean context and meets the Committee’s observation that at present it is not clear what percentage of costs Government grants to the institutions are meant to support and what percentage the institutions are supposed to shoulder on their own.
Thursday 10th June
Petition to halt proceedings on Constitution Amendment No. 2
The Deputy Speaker informed the House that in May a petition had been received asking Parliament to stop proceedings on the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 2) Bill and revert to the point at which the Bill had not been amended by the National Assembly. The petition had been rejected as inadmissible because when it had been received the National Assembly had already passed the Bill and sent it to the Senate; also, the Deputy Speaker added that the Bill was now sub judice in view of the two cases that had been lodged in the Constitutional Court challenging the procedure followed by Parliament in enacting the Bill.
Motion on the Crisis in the Education System
Hon Mushoriwa, seconded by Hon Priscilla Moyo, presented his motion passionately, comparing the 1980s when it was possible to be proud of the Zimbabwean public sector education system [then under the centre-left Government of President Mugabe] to the present-day when pride is out of the question. He suggested neglect of duty by Government Ministers as the reason for the decline, and asked why, under the present centre-right government, politicians are flocking to invest in private education sector – but failing in their political task which is to support education in the public sector. The motion calls for an in-depth investigation by a portfolio committee into his allegations about the ideological shift in Government policy, neglect of duty by the responsible Ministers and incapacitation of teachers due to poor remuneration and conditions of service.
Presentation of Report on online classes for learners during the COVID 19 pandemic
Hon Peter Moyo presented the joint report of the Portfolio Committees on ICT, Postal and Courier Services and Primary and Secondary Education on the provision of online classes for learners during the COVID 19 pandemic period.
Adoption of committee report on factory pollution in a residential area
This report caused expressions of outrage by MPs when it was presented in March. In his reply to the report and MPs’ contributions to the debate, the Minister of Environment, Climate Change, Tourism and Hospitality revealed that the Steel Brands company had adopted measures to mitigate air pollution and had “regularised” the situation revealed in the report. The Minister also said he accepted the report’s recommendations for a Bill to amend the Environmental Management Act and the setting-up of an expert committee to make recommendations about relocating the factory to a heavy industrial area, and the deadline of 31st December 2021 for compliance with the recommendations. The report was then adopted by the House.
In the Senate 8th to 10th June
Tuesday 8th June
Motion on supporting soccer
The main feature of the afternoon’s debate was the presentation by Senator Femai of his motion on the beautiful game, citing with disapproval the rampant chaos bedevilling the administration of soccer in the country and the retirement of top-flight soccer players in abject poverty after their playing days are over. The motion calls on Government to adequately resource community football clubs such as Dynamos from the fiscus in view of the large sums of money that they generate for local authorities by playing at council venues; to bring normalcy to the administration of football; and to put in place legislation that caters for the welfare of soccer players after their playing days are over.
Wednesday 9th June
Motion on SADC initiatives for development of liberation struggle history modules
Presentation and discussion of Senator Tongogara’s motion took up most of the afternoon’s sitting – and continued on Thursday after Question Time. The motion reminds readers that SADC played a pivotal role in assisting liberation movements in Southern Africa, informs them that SADC member states with assistance from UNESCO and SARDC [Southern African Research and Documentation Centre] are currently reviewing the liberation struggle curriculum and developing appropriate materials covering various modules such as Youth in the Liberation Struggle and the Role of the Front-line States, stresses the importance of documenting the history of the struggle and ensuring the teaching of liberation history from a national to a regional perspective, and calls upon Government to provide material and financial support for the SADC initiatives.
Thursday 10th June
Question Time
The Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs was kept busy answering questions about the implementation of the relatively new Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Act. She explained that the provisions of the Constitution about war veterans as well as the Act and informed Senators that the registration exercise for the new statutory categories of non-combatant cadres and war collaborators would start on 19th June and would also cater for war veterans who had been left out of the 1997 exercise and ex-detainees. There would be offices in each district for the purpose at places that would be published and different forms for the different categories; registration could also be done at Defence Forces cantonments. The vetting phase would follow in due course.
The Deputy Minister of Local Government and Public Works confirmed that the current blitz on illegal traders and demolition of their illegal structures was backed by Government.
