[Bill-Watch] Bill Watch 4/2015 of 11th February [In Parliament 3-10 February and Coming Up 11-12 February: RBZ (Debt Assumption) Bill & Accountants Bill]

[Veritas Bill Watch]

BILL WATCH 4/2015

[11th February 2015]

Both Houses of Parliament Are Sitting This Week

What Happened in Parliament 3rd to 5th February and 10th February

National Assembly

Bills

Gender Commission of Zimbabwe Bill  On 4th February the Acting Minister of
Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development , Hon Mushohwe, began the
Second Reading stage by delivering a speech explaining the need for the Bill
and its objectives.  The debate then had to be adjourned because the
Portfolio Committee's report on the Bill was not ready for presentation.
Later the Speaker explained that consultations were still under way between
the committee and Ministry.  [Comment:  It is hoped that these
consultations, and the consultations said to have taken place between
Ministry and Parliamentary Legal Committee, result in amendments to the Bill
being brought up at the Committee Stage.]

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe [RBZ] (Debt Assumption) Bill  The Second Reading
debate resumed on 5th February, with the presentation by Hon Chapfika of the
report on the Bill by the Portfolio Committee on Budget and Finance.  The
report referred to public fears, expressed at the committee's public
hearings on the Bill, that the Government's assumption of the RBZ debts
would mean an extra burden for taxpayers; and the committee's acceptance as
satisfactory the explanation from the Minister of Finance and Economic
Development and the RBZ Governor that funds to retire the debt would be
raised by issuing Treasury bills.  The committee did feel, however, that the
debts listed in the schedule to the Bill had to be thoroughly validated, and
had been assured by both Minister and Governor that this would happen.  MPs
then contributed to the debate, which continued at length on 10th February.
Some MDC-T MPs argued that those who had benefited from farm implements
supplied to them by RBZ as part of its quasi-fiscal activities should be
made to pay back their value - a suggestion hotly contested by Government
supporters who defended the necessity for those activities, saying they had
saved Zimbabwe.   

[Note:  The Bill provides only for the Government to shoulder certain debts
owed by RBZ to its creditors.  It says nothing about the fate of debts that
may be owed to RBZ as a result of its quasi-fiscal activities under the
former Governor, Dr Gono.  It remains to be seen whether MDC-T MPs will put
forward Committee Stage amendments to cater for their concerns about
recovering amounts owed to RBZ by beneficiaries of the farm implements
hand-outs.]

Inheritance laws and the plight of widows  On 4th February, after Question
Time, Hon Misihairabwi-Muchonga introduced a new motion calling for
harmonisation of inheritance laws in Zimbabwe, enhancement and
decentralisation of the operations of the Legal Aid Directorate to make its
services more accessible to widows experiencing financial difficulties, and
the creation of a Widow's Fund to assist widows during times of distress and
dispossession of property and assets.  

Scourge of child marriage  Debate on this motion continued on 3rd February. 

Climate change  On 10th February Hon Anastancia Ndhlovu, seconded by Hon S.
Mpofu, moved a motion urging the Government to form a Zimbabwe Chapter of
GLOBE International with a view to Zimbabwe benefiting from GLOBE's
capacity-building programmes, with particular reference to enabling Zimbabwe
to produce essential national legislation for Reducing Emission from
Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD).

Question Time [4th February]  Ministers present fielded a variety of
questions, ranging from the GMB's failure to pay farmers for their maize
deliveries; the fact that ZIMRA had been without a board for nine months;
alleged partisan distribution of agricultural input under the President's
agricultural inputs scheme; why the new "bond coins" had not been minted at
the Bulawayo mint; ZIMSEC examination paper leakages; and the proliferation
of unregistered learning institutions. 

Senate

Again, the Senate had no Government business to deal with.  Sittings on 3rd,
and 4th February therefore ended early, with debate limited to contributions
to the debate on the President's speech of 17th September 2014 opening the
present Parliamentary session.  The President of the Senate again urged
Senators to bring up motions for discussion.  And on 10th February the
Deputy President exhorted Senators to put down more written questions for
Ministers.

Motion  

Gender-based Violence in Churches On 10th February Senator W. Sibanda
presented the Report of the Thematic Committee on Gender and Development on
this subject.  

Question Time [5th January]  Ministers had the excuse of an unusual Thursday
Cabinet meeting for failing to turn up for questions.  In desperation the
President of the Senate stood down question time in the hope some Ministers
or Deputy Ministers would appear later.  Senators Mahofa and Goto then made
brief contributions to the debate on the President's speech.  The Deputy
Minister of Energy and Power Development turned up but was not required to
answer any questions.  After several Senators had complained about the
dereliction of Question Time duty by Ministers and Deputy Ministers, the
Senate adjourned after sitting for only 35 minutes.

[Note: The week's Cabinet meeting was delayed from the normal Tuesday to
Thursday in view of President's longer than usual stay in Addis Ababa for
the AU Summit; the extra two or three days enabled him to engage in
commitments related to his new role as AU Chairperson.  His peers elected to
him to this position on  30th January at the beginning of the two-day
Assembly of AU Heads of State and Government.]

Coming up in Parliament This Week

National Assembly

Bills

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (Debt Assumption) Bill  Second Reading debate to be
continued.

Public Accountants and Auditors Amendment Bill  The Second Reading debate is
expected to continue.  

Gender Commission Bill  Continuation of the Second Reading stage awaits the
report of the Portfolio Committee.

Motions  Debates on motions presented in previous sittings are scheduled to
continue.  New motions high on the agenda are: 

International Women's Day as public holiday  Hon Khupe's motion urges the
declaration of International Women's Day [8th March] as a public holiday.

Vagrancy Act repeal and replacement  This is a motion by Hon Muderedzwa.

Declaration of assets by MPs, public and private officials  Hon Madzimure's
motion, referring to Zimbabwe's ratification of the UN Convention Against
Corruption in 2006, and section 198 of the Constitution, proposes action to
compel declaration of assets by senior public and private officials and MPs,
and that Government should bring up a Bill to regulate the conduct of public
officials negotiating deals on behalf of the Government.  [Note:  Section
198 of the Constitution says there must be an Act of Parliament providing
for such matters.]

Written Questions [Wednesday 11th February]  There are now 50 written
questions listed, at least half of them new to the Order Paper.

Senate

As in the first two weeks of the current series of Parliamentary sittings,
the Senate Order Paper remains sparse.  No Bills have yet been transmitted
from the National Assembly for its consideration - because the National
Assembly has not completed work on the three Bills on its Order Paper. 

Senators have not yet responded to Hon Madzongwe's call to bring up their
own motions.  The only motion listed is the continuing debate on the
President's speech opening the present session.  There are only three
written questions listed for Thursday afternoon.

Motions  

Production of small grains  Senator Goto's new motion urging the Government
to incentivise the production of small grains is listed for presentation.

Gender-based violence  Debate is scheduled to continue on motion to take
note of the Report on Gender Based Violence in Churches produced by the
Thematic Committee on Gender and Development.

The only other agenda item under motions is for continuation of debate on
the vote of thanks to the President for his speech opening the present
Parliamentary session.  

Question Time [Thursday 12th February]  

Senator Chimbudzi has put down an impressive 11 written questions, bringing
to 14 the number of questions awaiting Ministerial replies.  

Government Gazette

[not available from Veritas unless otherwise stated]

Government Gazette Extraordinary dated 4th February

State Procurement  SI 19/2015 increases the thresholds for the
implementation of various tender procedures set by sections 4 and 5 of the
Procurement Regulations [SI 171/2002].  Thresholds of $300 000 become $500
000; the threshold of $1 million becomes $2 million.  

Petroleum (Fuel Pricing) Regulations  SI 20/2015, made under the Petroleum
Act, amends the principal regulations gazetted in May 2014 [SI 80/2014] and
repeals a previous price control order for petroleum products that was made
under the Control of Goods Act.  The only comprehensible part of the new SI
is the provision penalising contraventions of the principal regulations and
the withholding of petroleum products for speculative purposes for future
resale [fine up to $600 or imprisonment for up to five years or both].  The
remainder of the SI suggests an intention to adjust the Zimbabwe Energy
Regulatory Authority [ZERA] pricing structure, but is obviously incomplete -
terms are defined but not used, and a new Second Schedule is set out, but
with no explanation for the reader of what it really means or how it is to
be applied.  So the Minister of Energy and Power Development and the
Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority, as the joint authors of the SI, need
to try again.  

Government Gazette Extraordinary dated 5th February

Commissioners of oaths  GN 20/2015 notifies the appointment by the Minister
of Home Affairs of commissioners of oath for Zimbabwe.  There are two
Schedules, the first listing persons appointed for an indefinite period, the
second listing persons appointed for the year 2015 only.  The GN says they
have been appointed as "ex officio Commissioners of Oaths"; but the words
"ex officio" must be a careless clerical error and should be treated as
surplusage.  An individual is an ex officio commissioner of oaths while she
or he holds some other office designated for the purpose by statutory
instrument [e.g., registered legal practitioner, officer in charge of a
police station, etc].

Government Gazette dated 6th February

Collective bargaining agreement - agricultural industry  SI 21/2015 sets out
agreed new minimum wages effective 1st August 2014.

 

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