[Bill-Watch] Bill Watch 43/2014 of 17th November [Ebola Law: 2002 Election Report: Sovereign Wealth Fund Act gazetted]

[Veritas Bill Watch]

BILL WATCH 43/2014

[17th November 2014]

Parliament is in Recess until Tuesday 25th November

Ebola and Zimbabwean Law

Ebola is an “infectious disease” and a “formidable epidemic disease” for the purposes of the Public Health Act.  It was so declared in 1976 by the Minister of Health in a statutory instrument made in terms of the Act [SI 1051/1976].  The Public Health Act’s provisions for notification of cases of such diseases, and for quarantining and other special measures that can be taken by health authorities, are, therefore, applicable to Ebola.

Note: Ebola is not mentioned by name in SI 1051/1976, but, as it resembles and is closely related to Marburg disease, it is clearly covered by the underlined words in this extract from the SI: “Marburg disease and any diseases resembling Marburg disease, and Lassa fever and any diseases resembling Lassa fever, are hereby declared to be (a) infectious diseases; and (b) formidable epidemic diseases; for the purposes of the Act.” 

South African Judges’ Report on Zimbabwe 2002 Presidential Election 

Not Free and Fair

After several years of litigation between the Mail & Guardian newspaper and the South African government, a report by two South African judges on the 2002 Presidential Election in Zimbabwe was finally released, in compliance with a court order, on Friday 14th November.  The conclusion stated by the report is that although voting on the polling days was peaceful, “having regard to all the circumstances, and in particular the cumulative substantial departures from international standards of free and fair elections found in Zimbabwe during the pre-election period, these elections, in our view, cannot be considered to be free and fair.”  It was principally the pre-polling, legal and other environment that led the judges to this conclusion; concerns cited in the report include intimidation and violence, which “must have engendered fear in voters and compromised freedom of choice”; Government’s disregard of the rule of law, e.g. its refusal to comply with court decisions; voters roll irregularities; police partiality; and absence of equal or equitable access to State-controlled media for all parties.  [Full text of report available from the addresses given at the end of this bulletin].

Background:  Then South African President Mbeki commissioned Justices Khampepe and Moseneke to report to him on the conduct of this election.  The Mail & Guardian’s efforts to obtain access to the report under South Africa’s freedom of information legislation were consistently resisted in the courts by successive Presidents Mbeki, Motlanthe and Zuma, but this resistance proved unsuccessful in all courts, from the North Gauteng High Court up to the Constitutional Court.  

Parliament Rejects MDC-T Bid to Unseat 18 Renewal Team MPs

On Friday 14th November the Speaker, Hon Jacob Mudenda, and the President of the Senate, Hon Edna Madzongwe, announced that they had refused to give effect to written notices dated 5th November from MDC-T Secretary-General Douglas Mwonzora invoking section 129(1)(k) of the Constitution and informing them that 15 members of the National Assembly and 3 Senators [see lists below] had ceased to belong to the party.  

Note:  Section 129(1)(k) of the Constitution provides that the seat of a member of Parliament becomes vacant “if the member has ceased to belong to the political party of which he or she was a member when elected to Parliament and the political party concerned, by written notice to the Speaker or the President of the Senate, as the case may be, has declared that the member has ceased to belong to it.” 

The rulings by the presiding officers maintained the position adopted by the Speaker in early May.  At that time, having received letters from both MDC-T “formations” in the immediate aftermath of the of the meeting of 26th April 2014 at the Mandel Training Centre that marked the split in the MDC-T, he said that the situation in the divided MDC-T was a matter for decision by a court, not for Parliament or its presiding officers.  Friday’s rulings referred to the fact that after the May ruling the MDC-T had started legal proceedings in the High Court against the Renewal Team, that those proceedings had not been concluded, and that in the circumstances the presiding officers would not act as requested by Mr Mwonzora on the strength of the recent party congress decision on the 18 MPs, cited by Mr Mwonzora in his notices to them, because it was not a “judicial decision”.  

Reaction to the presiding officer’s ruling  The Renewal Team spokesperson welcomed the ruling.  MDC spokesperson Obert Gutu expressed the party’s disagreement with the decision, and pointed out that the party had on the 7th November withdrawn the legal proceedings referred to by the presiding officers in their ruling.  He said the party would now approach the Constitutional Court for a definitive decision on the issue.

The 18 MPs “recalled”  The National Assembly members and Senators named in the MDC-T notices to Parliament are listed below, with their constituencies or, in the case of proportional representation [PR] members, their provinces: 

>From the National Assembly

1.  Hon. Tendai Biti - Harare East 

2.  Hon. Willias Madzimure – Kambuzuma

3.  Hon. Paul Madzore - Glen View South

4.  Hon. Solomon Madzore – Dzivarasekwa

5.  Hon. Lucia Matibenga - Kuwadzana West

6.  Hon. Samuel Sipepa Nkomo – Lobengula

7.  Hon. Reggie Moyo – Luveve

8.  Hon. Evelyn Masaiti – Harare Province [PR]

9.  Hon. Bekithemba Nyathi - Mpopoma/Pelandaba

10. Hon. Moses Manyengavana - Highfield West

11. Hon. Albert Mhlanga – Pumula

12. Hon. Roseline Nkomo - Tsholotsho North

13. Hon. Settlement Chikwinya – Mbizo

14. Hon. Hon Judith Muzhavazhe – Masvingo Province [PR]

15. Hon. Gorden Moyo – Makokoba

Note:  MDC-T won 70 seats in the National Assembly in the July 2013 Parliamentary elections [49 out of 210 constituency seats, plus 21 out of 60 proportional representation seats for women only]

>From the Senate [all PR]

1. Sen. Sekai Holland – Harare Province

2. Sen. Rorana Muchihwa – Harare Province

3. Sen. Watchy Sibanda - Matabeleland South

Note:  MDC-T won 21 of the 60 proportional representation seats in the Senate in the July 2013 Parliamentary elections.

Parliament’s Pre-Budget Seminar at Victoria Falls: 6th to 8th October

On 28th October both the Speaker and the President of the Senate reminded Parliamentarians that this seminar “is an important annual Parliamentary activity meant to enhance the contribution by members of Parliament to the process of budget formulation and prioritisation ahead of the presentation of the 2015 National Budget and the passage by Parliament of the Finance and Appropriation Bills”.  The theme of this year’s seminar, held for all Parliamentarians from 6th to 8th November, was Moving Towards Actualisation of Policies Meant to Promote Socio-Economic Transformation in Zimbabwe.  The Speaker said the seminar was intended to assist the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development craft a 2015 budget which will promote industrial recovery, and would also discuss addressing the civil service salary bill and attracting domestic and foreign investment by refining investment and indigenisation laws.  MPs heard presentations from Ministers and others, including the Governor of the Reserve Bank. 

The Minister of Finance and Economic Development stressed:

·        the acute shortage of funds available for development, given that Government’s recurrent expenditure takes most  of its revenue [92.5%, of which the wage bill accounts for 81.5%] and that revenue targets are not being met;

·        the vital importance of Ease of Doing Business [EDB] in attracting foreign direct investment [FDI] 

·        the “legislative bottleneck” produced by the shortage of legal drafters available to Government, which was holding up such vital Bills such as the Public Debt Management Bill, the Mines and Minerals Bill, and the Banking Bill, and thereby slowing down any improvement in EDB.  

The Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development promised a new mining policy in an address entitled Creating a Conducive Environment for Investment in Mining and Minerals Beneficiation through Appropriate Legislation and Policies.  He also mentioned the need for his Ministry to work with other ministries in creating laws that assure the investors, of policy consistency.  

The seminar was probably useful for briefing MPs, particularly those new to Parliament.  But its value as part of the budget formulation and prioritisation process has been questioned – observers have pointed out that, as the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development would already have finalised the budget priorities and framework by this time, any input from MPs would necessarily have little impact.  The suggested solution was to hold the seminar much earlier in future.  

The Speaker pointed out another consequence of the general shortage of funds – the inadequate resources allocated to Parliament in the 2014 Budget had prevented Parliament, for the second year running, from carrying out its constitutional mandate of involving stakeholders, such as business and civil society organisations, and ordinary Zimbabweans in the budget formation process. 

Sovereign Wealth Fund Act Gazetted – But Not in Force

The Sovereign Wealth Fund Act was gazetted on Monday 10th November as Act No 7 of 2014 [soft copy of Act available from the addresses specified at the end of this bulletin].  Contrary to some press reports to the contrary, the Act is not yet in force – in terms of section 1(2) it will only come into force on a date to be gazetted in due course by a Presidential statutory instrument. 

The principal object of the Fund is “to make secure investments for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations of Zimbabweans”, using part of the proceeds accruing to Government from its royalties and dividends on the country’s minerals.  Various things need to be done before the Act can be brought into effect – for example, amending the Finance Act so as to specify the percentages of mineral royalties and special dividends from the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation that will be paid into the Sovereign Wealth Fund [SWF] instead of being used for general government purposes [Act, section 14]..  In the Government’s present straitened financial position, it will perhaps be some time before any significant amounts can be made available for investment via the SWF, let alone to cover the expenses of the SWF Board [the latest addition to a long list of statutory bodies corporate] and its chief executive officer and staff.  

Government Gazettes 31st October to 14th November

Acts  Sovereign Wealth Fund Act gazetted 10th November [see above]

Bills  None

Statutory Instruments of 31st October

[* SIs 156 and 157/2014 are available in soft copy from the addresses given at the end of this bulletin]

* Exchange control  SI 156/2014 amends the Exchange Control Order of 1996.  The effect is: 

·        to reduce to US $5 000, or its equivalent in other currency, the maximum amount of cash that may be taken out of Zimbabwe on the person or in the baggage of a person departing from Zimbabwe [amendments to sections 13 and 14 of SI 110/1996; previously the maximum amount was $10 000]

·        to regulate the repatriation of foreign currency by an authorised dealer [e.g., a bank] [new section 14A inserted in SI 110/1996] 

* Legal practitioners – debt collection commission  SI 157/2014 substitutes US dollar amounts for Zimbabwe dollar amounts in section 70(2) of the Law Society of Zimbabwe By-laws, which regulates the commission that lawyers may charge when collecting debts for clients.  Other Zimbabwe dollar amounts in the principal by-laws are left untouched. 

Harare (Vendors) By-laws  SI 159/2014 repeals and replaces the previous Peoples’ Markets By-laws of 1983.  They regulate vending from “vending sites” established by the Council on land or in premises set aside for the purpose.  

Prisons and Correctional Service  SI 158/2014 provides for badges of rank for commissioned and non-commissioned/junior officers in the Service, from the Commissioner-General down to Prison Officer.  

Statutory Instruments of 7th November

State pensions review  SI 160/2014 provides for increases in State pensions, ratifying increases implemented with effect from 1st January 2014.

Council for Legal Education – changes to professional ethics examination  SI 161/2014 amends the Council for Legal Education Rules [SI 447/1992].  It replaces item 7 on the list of examinations for would-be legal practitioners [Part I of the Schedule to SI 447/1992], replacing a one-hour oral examination by: “7. A three-hour paper on the practice, duties, functions and ethics of a legal practitioner.”

Statutory instrument of 14th October

Agriculture – new farm feeds regulations  SI 162/2014 contains a new set of Farm Feeds Regulations, replacing much-amended regulations dating back to 1968.  Provisions for registration of stock feeds and manufacturing plants, proper labelling and packaging, are backed up by criminal penalties for breaches of the provisions.

General Notices of 14th November

Government Financial Statements – General Notices 465 and 466/2014 notify the publication with the Gazette of 14th November, in terms of the Public Finance Management Act, of the “Consolidated Statements of Financial Performance of the Consolidated Revenue Fund” for the months of July and August 2014.

 

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/20141118/4373aeef/attachment.html