[Bill-Watch] Bill Watch 4/2014 of 29th January [Parliament Continues with Budget Business]

[Veritas Bill Watch]

BILL WATCH 4/2014
[29th January 2014]
Both Houses of Parliament Sat Last Week and are Sitting This Week
Coming up in Parliament Today and Tomorrow
National Assembly
Budget business to continue
Following the completion of the Budget debate and yesterday's passing of the
Finance Bill [see below], the next stages of the Budget process can go
ahead:
.        consideration of the Estimates of Expenditure in the Committee of
Supply, which is a committee of the whole National Assembly [the main
Estimates of Expenditure for 2014 will be dealt with first, and the
Supplementary Estimates of Expenditure for 2013 next]
.        thereafter, assuming approval of the Estimates, introduction and
passing of the Bills giving effect to them:
o   Appropriation (2014) Bill [revised version - see below, Withdrawal of
adverse report from Parliamentary Legal Committee]
o   Appropriation (Supplementary) (2013) Bill
[Bills available - see addresses at the end of this bulletin]
These Bills, once passed by the National Assembly, will also be transmitted
to the Senate [see under Senate below].  
No constitutional deadline for passing Budget
It has been suggested, citing section 305(2) of the Constitution, that the
Budget proceedings must be completed by 30th January.  This is not so.  The
provision's 30th January deadline applies only to the Minister's
presentation of the 2014 Estimates of Expenditure, and Mr Chinamasa met this
deadline when he laid the Estimates of Expenditure before the National
Assembly at the end of his Budget Statement on 19th December.  Completion of
the proceedings is nevertheless urgently needed.  Although the Public
Finance Management Act, as permitted by section 306 of the Constitution, has
emergency provisions for funding of Government operations pending the
gazetting of an Appropriation Act for 2014, but these operate only until the
end of April.
Other business
Income Tax Bill  This re-committed Bill is listed for consideration, but it
is near the end of a long Order Paper and unlikely to come up this week.
The Bill was passed by the previous Parliament in June 2013, but in December
the refused to assent to it and referred back to Parliament for
reconsideration in the light of his stated reservations [see Bill Watch
62/2013 of 20th December 2013].  To facilitate reconsideration, the Bill
should be reprinted, to reflect the amendments that were made during its
fast-tracked progress through Parliament last year - the President's
reservations were, after all, based on the amended version of the Bill. 
Other Bills  There are three other Bills that have been gazetted and could
at least be introduced, receive their First Readings and be referred to the
Parliamentary Legal Committee [PLC] for consideration: the Electoral
Amendment Bill [H.B. 7, 2013]; the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Zimbabwe Bill
[H.B. 6/2013]; and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Control Bill [H.B.
5.2013].  [Soft copies available; see addresses at the end of this
bulletin.]
Motion for 30-year sentence for rape  A new motion, to be proposed by Hon
Majome, is high on the Order Paper.  It deplores the high rate of
gender-based violence and calls for mandatory minimum sentences of 30 years
for rape and the provision of suitable forensic personnel and equipment for
police investigation rape cases.  
Other motions  There are 14 other motions on the Order Paper, all of which
have been listed previously, most of them already partly debated.
Question Time (Wednesday)  There are 16 questions on the Order Paper, all
deferred from last Wednesday, when there was poor Ministerial attendance
[see below].  
Senate
Budget business
The Finance Bill, which was passed by the National Assembly yesterday, 28th
January, is item 1 on the Senate's Order Paper for today, Wednesday.  The
two Appropriation Bills will also be going to the Senate.  But, because all
three of these Bills are Money Bills, the Senate, like its predecessor under
the former Constitution, has no power to amend them.  It does, however, have
the right to recommend that the National Assembly make amendments, and any
such recommendation must be considered by the National Assembly.  The Senate
can also refuse to pass a Money Bill, but if that happens, the Bill can be
sent to the President for his assent and be gazetted as law in the form in
which it was passed by the National Assembly [Constitution, Fifth Schedule,
paragraph 7 and the definition of "Money Bill" in paragraph 1].  
Other business
New motion on Special Needs Education  A new motion, referring to the
challenges faced by learners with disabilities at all educational levels,
calls for the crafting by Government of a National Policy on Special Needs
Education and the enactment of legislation on the same subject.  The motion
will be proposed by Senator Mashavakure and seconded by Senator Shiri, who
represent persons with disabilities.  Debate is also scheduled to continue
on the other motions under discussion in the Senate [see below].  
Question Time [Thursday]  The Order Paper lists five questions with notice.
One asks the Minister of Mines and Mining Development whether mining
agreements with big companies can be amended to compel miners to fund
community development projects such as road surfacing.  A similar question
asks the Minister of Environment, Water and Climate what measures have been
put in place to ensure that agreements with investors compel companies to
undertake rehabilitation of the environment and infrastructure.
In Parliament Last Week and Yesterday, 28th January
National Assembly
Budget business
MPs put in longer than usual hours last week, after approving a motion
suspending Standing Orders to permit fast-tracking of Budget business.  They
sat until 6.48 pm on Tuesday, 6.06 pm on Wednesday and an extraordinary
10.43 pm on Thursday, but rose at 4.42 yesterday, 28th January.  The first
part of the Budget debate was taken up with reports from portfolio
committees presented by their chairpersons; this took until the end of
proceedings on Wednesday.  A recurring theme in portfolio committee reports
was that, given the inadequacy of amounts allocated to Ministries, it was
essential for Treasury to raise the required funds and release them to
Ministries timeously.  On Thursday private members began their
contributions, starting with former Finance Minister Tendai Biti.
Yesterday, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development replied at
length to the debate, and the Assembly went on to pass the Finance Bill.
The Bill was then transmitted to the Senate. 
Withdrawal of adverse report from Parliamentary Legal Committee [PLC]   The
PLC initially returned an adverse report on the Appropriation (2014) Bill,
pointing out that it did not comply with the constitutional provision
requiring separate votes for certain constitutional entities [Constitution,
section 305(3), which lists the Constitutional Commissions, the Office of
the Auditor-General, the National Prosecuting Authority and the Council of
Chiefs].  The Minister undertook to submit a revised Bill, and the Assembly
approved the PLC's withdrawal of the adverse report.  
Other business
Approval of loan agreement with Export-Import Bank of China  On 23rd
January, before returning to the Budget debate, the Assembly approved this
$319.5 million preferential loan agreement, which was concluded in November
2013.  The loan will finance 90% of the cost of the Kariba South Hydro-Power
Extension Project, the contractor for which is the Sinohydro Corporation
Limited of China.  There was much discussion of the pros and cons of
borrowing from China.
Motions  Budget business crowded out discussion of the private member's
motions on the Order Paper.
Question time [Wednesday]  The Minister of Finance and Economic Development
rejected allegations that the banking sector is "sick".  Poor attendance by
other ministers drew protests from MPs, and the Minister undertook to convey
to his colleagues "the imperative of attending Parliament, especially at
Question Time".  The Deputy Minister of Power and Energy Development
explained Government policy on mandatory ethanol blending.  The Minister of
Agriculture spoke on tick-borne cattle diseases and the cotton price and
problems of cotton producers.  When the House moved to questions with
notice, the Minister of Agriculture, and the Deputy Ministers of Transport
and Infrastructural Development and Energy and Power Development fielded
questions until Budget business resumed at 4.15 pm.
[Note:  Under Standing Orders, Wednesday afternoon is reserved for private
members' business - questions without notice from 2.15 pm to 3.15 pm,
questions with notice from 3.15 pm to 4.15 pm, motions thereafter until 6
pm.  Questions without notice are confined to matters of Government policy
which Ministers can be expected to deal with without special preparation.
Questions with notice seek information on matters within a Minister's
responsibility that require  preparation and briefing from his officials.]
Senate
The Senate had short sittings while waiting for the National Assembly to
complete Budget business.  It rose before 4 pm on Tuesday and Thursday, at
4.36 pm yesterday, and at 2.50 pm last Wednesday.  Senate sittings start at
2.30 pm.
Motions  Senators continued debating the motion on the President's speech,
the motion on harmonising existing legislation with the new Constitution,
and the motion on cancer, and hearing Senator Ncube's opening speech in
support of his motion suggesting measures to curb the carnage on Zimbabwe's
roads, such as resuscitating the railway system and limiting heavy vehicles
on highways to certain hours only.  
Question Time [Thursday]  This saw a virtuoso performance from the lone
Minister present, Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Parirenyatwa.  He
spent the whole hour allotted to questions without notice by answering a
wide range of questions on health matters.  Questions with notice were
carried forward to 31st January. 
Statutory Instruments and General Notices of 24th January
Telecommunications licensing fees  SI 8/2014 is a republication with
corrections of SI 165/2013.  It deals only with licence fees for private
networks and VSAT with local hub.
Government financial statements  GN 12/2014 notifies the inclusion in the
Gazette of the financial statements for the month of October 2013.
 
Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take
legal responsibility for information supplied
To subscribe or unsubscribe from this mailing list please email
<mailto:veritas at mango.zw> billwatch at mango.zw
If you wish to contact Veritas please email  <mailto:veritas at mango.zw>
veritas at mango.zw 
If you are requesting legislation please email  <mailto:veritas at mango.zw>
veritas at mango.zw or look for it on  <http://www.veritaszim.net>
www.veritaszim.net
 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mail.veritas.co.zw/mailman/public/bill-watch/attachments/20140129/fb4b1e7f/attachment.html