[Bill-Watch] Bill Watch 21/2014 of 13th May [Parliament to Sit Again Today 13th May: Update on Bills & Acts]

[Veritas Bill Watch]

BILL WATCH 21/2014
[13th May 2014]
Both Houses Will Resume Sitting Today Tuesday 13th May
Public Hearings on Bills
Electoral Amendment Bill  The Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs held public hearings on this Bill from 2nd to 7th May,
visiting Rushinga, Gweru, Inyathi [Bubi district], Plumtree, Bulawayo,
Masvingo, Nyika and Mutasa, and Harare.  Attendance in the rural districts
was generally poor, and participants complained about inadequate advance
publicity and failure by Parliament and their MPs to make copies or
summaries of the Bill available to them.  The Inyathi hearing was completely
disrupted by objections to the way the hearing was organised.  This could be
interpreted as contempt of Parliament.  The Harare meeting venue was changed
at the last moment to one that was too small to accommodate all would-be
participants, and it also came to a premature end, as departures by
Committee members meant there was no longer a quorum.  The Committee now has
to table its report in the National Assembly. 
Trafficking in Persons Bill  The Portfolio Committee on Defence, Home
Affairs and Security Services plans to hold a series of public hearings on
this Bill around the country, dates and venues to be announced in due
course.  Before these hearings take place the Committee has asked the
Minister of Home Affairs and his officials to explain the Bill at its next
meeting on Monday 19th May.  
Speaker's Statement on Internal Differences in MDC-T
On 8th May the Speaker, Hon Jacob Mudenda, issued a statement that he has no
authority or role to play in internal disputes within political parties;
such matters, he said, "may be appropriately dealt with by a competent
court".  [The full text of the Speaker's statement is available from the
addresses given at the end of this bulletin.]   This followed his receipt of
two letters from officials of the strife-torn MDC-T:
.        Hon Tendai Biti's letter informed the Speaker that only he, Biti,
as MDC-T Secretary-General, had authority to communicate with the Speaker on
party matters, particularly the use of section 129(1)(k) of the Constitution
to recall party MPs.
.        Hon Thokozani Khupe's letter informed the Speaker that only she, as
MDC-T Deputy President and therefore Leader of the Opposition in Parliament,
had authority to communicate with the Speaker on party issues, including
invoking section 129(1)(k).  
The Speaker said that neither of these letters called for a ruling from him
under section 129(1)(k) of the Constitution.  [Note:  This provision allows
a political party to terminate an MP's membership of Parliament, if that MP
was a party member when elected to Parliament but has since ceased to belong
to the party; the formal procedure required is for the political party to
give written notice to the Speaker declaring that the MP has ceased to
belong to it.]  
Bills Partly Considered by Parliament before the Easter Recess
The Senate and the National Assembly left proceedings on four Bills
unfinished when they began their five-week Easter break on 10th April [all
the Bills are available from the addresses given at the end of this
bulletin]:
Electoral Amendment Bill  
Senate  This important Bill was introduced in the Senate.  Surprisingly,
given widespread criticism of the Bill's constitutional inadequacies [for
example, in Bill Watch 12/2014 of 4th March]', the Parliamentary Legal
Committee [PLC] gave it a non-adverse report.  On 25th March the Deputy
Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs delivered a short
Second Reading speech explaining the Bill to Senators, who requested a week
in which to study it before embarking on further debate.  When debate
resumed on 1st April, MDC-T Senators Makore and Marava protested about the
deficiencies in the Bill, but the Deputy Minister brushed their objections,
saying they raised mere operational issues that could be dealt with by the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.  The Second Reading was approved, and the
Bill was immediately taken through the Committee Stage unchanged [MDC-T
Senators did not table amendments].  On 2nd April it was given its Third
Reading and transmitted to the National Assembly.
Comment: MDC-T Senators were possibly taken by surprise by the Government's
decision to take the Bill through the Senate, when it was well known that
the Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs was not
yet in a position to report on the Bill - because efforts to organize public
hearings were still underway, amid funding problems.  Such hearings are
obviously essential for Parliament to fulfill its constitutional duty to
consult the public on such an important Bill.  Some MDC-T Senators walked
out of the Senate in protest at the cursory manner in which the Bill was
dealt with. 
National Assembly
On 10th April the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs
himself delivered his Second Reading speech in the National Assembly and
stressed the Bill's "great urgency", citing: 
.        the lapsing last December of the temporary amendments of the
Electoral Act made under the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act
for the purposes of the 31st July harmonised election, and 
.        the need to fill existing party-list vacancies in the Senate, which
cannot be done until the Electoral Act has been appropriately amended.  
He acknowledged that the Bill does not cover all the amendments needed to
the Electoral Act, but asked MPs to pass it as a preliminary Bill, to be
followed by a second Bill, consultations for which would be completed before
the end of the year.  He indicated he was prepared to introduce Committee
Stage amendments to replace all references to the Registrar-General in voter
registration with references to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.  MDC-T's
Mr Chimanikire then urged that the portfolio committee be allowed time to
complete public consultations on the Bill, and the Minister agreed to  the
debate being adjourned for this purpose - but did not relax his stance that
the Bill should be passed as a preliminary to a later, comprehensive Bill.
National Prosecuting Authority Bill  This Bill went quickly through its
Second Reading, Committee and Third Reading stages on 10th April, and was
transmitted to the Senate.  MDC-T's Hon Cross complimented the Minister,
saying the Bill was both well drafted and historic, as the first major piece
of legislation brought before the House for implementation of the new
Constitution.
Sovereign Wealth Fund Bill   Although the National Assembly gave this Bill
its Second Reading in March, the Committee Stage had not started by the 10th
April.  The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning has tabled amendments
he wants the National Assembly to approve [see below]. 
Financial Adjustments Bill  This Bill is to condone expenditure in excess of
budget allocations during 2013.  On 3rd April it was passed unopposed by the
National Assembly, with amendments put forward by the Minister of Finance
and Economic Planning, and transmitted to the Senate.  Hon Cross told the
House that the Finance Portfolio Committee accepted that the expenditure had
been essential and should be condoned.  
Bills Coming up in the National Assembly 
The following Bills [all available from the addresses given at the end of
this bulletin] are  listed on the Order Paper for 13th May [this does not
actually mean they will be dealt with that day]:  
Electoral Amendment Bill  Continuation of debate is awaited, following the
Minister's Second Reading speech a month ago.  Debate is expected to be
postponed until the Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary
Affairs is ready to present its report on the Bill, as was agreed by the
Minister on 10th April [see above].    
Sovereign Wealth Fund Bill  The Committee Stage of this Bill is item 2 on
the Order Paper.  This is the stage during which the Bill will be considered
clause by clause and amendments can be made.  The Minister of Finance and
Economic Development, who introduced the Bill, has given notice that he will
propose amendments [text of amendments available from the addresses given at
the end of this bulletin].
Trafficking in Persons Bill  This important Bill, designed to enable
Zimbabwe to give effect to its international legal obligations under the
Palermo Protocol, is still under consideration by the PLC.  The Second
Reading Stage will not proceed until the PLC has reported on its
constitutionality and hopefully public hearings have taken place. 
Income Tax Bill  This massive Bill is item 29 on the Order Paper.  There has
been no indication of when the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning
will be ready for the National Assembly to start reconsideration of the Bill
in the light of the reservations the President expressed when returning it
to the National Assembly in December after refusing his assent.  The Bill
was hastily passed by the last Parliament in June 2013, just before it came
to the end of its five-year term.
Bills Coming up in the Senate 
Only two Bills are listed for consideration by the Senate, both of which
were passed without demur by the National Assembly [see above] [both are
available from the addresses given at the end of this bulletin]:
.        Financial Adjustments Bill  
.        National Prosecuting Authority Bill. 
Other Bills in the Pipeline
[not available from Veritas]
One Government Bill, gazetted on 3rd January, is still awaiting introduction
by the Minister of Defence:
.        Biological and Toxin Weapons Control Bill.
Parliament has also sent two other Government Bills for printing prior to
gazetting and subsequent presentation in Parliament:
.        Public Accountants and Auditors Amendment Bill
.        Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (Assumption  of Debt) Bill.
Note: The latter Bill has nothing to do with amendments to the Banking Act
to tighten governance in financial institutions, a subject discussed
recently by the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning with financial
sector stakeholders.  Any Bill to enact such amendments is still some way
off, because the Minister still has to secure Cabinet approval before
requesting the drafters in the Attorney-General's Office to begin drafting.
Acts of 2014 Already Gazetted
The first two, and so far the only, Acts of 2014 were gazetted and came into
force on 4th April, over two months after the relevant Bills were passed by
Parliament:
.        Finance Act [Act 1/2014]
.        Appropriation Act [Act 2/2014].
 
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