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General
Laws Amendment Act, 2005 (Act 6/2005)
February 03, 2006
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Laws Amendment Bill, 2005
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Published and into
force Friday 3rd February, 2006
General
Laws Amendment Act - Highlights
Excerpt from Bill Watch 4/2006
Veritas
February 11, 2006
Most of the Act's
thirty-four sections deal with relatively unimportant tidying-up amendments
to various statutes. Significant provisions that are likely to be of more
general interest include the following:—
- tenfold increases
in the monetary values of the 14 levels in the Standard Scale of Fines,
the new values ranging from $50 000 for level 1 to $25 million for level
14 (section 11). One effect of the new scale is that the police will
now be permitted to invite admission of guilt fines of up to $250 000
in appropriate cases (the previous maximum was $25 000). This is the
first adjustment to the Standard Scale of Fines since September 2003.
- increases in fines
for money-laundering, by stating them as levels and thereby relating
them to the Standard Scale of Fines (section 9)
- changes in the
Defence Act's provisions for court martial appeals, which will once
again be heard by judges of the Supreme Court, not the High Court (section
16)
- increases in fines
for offences under Public Order and Security Act, by stating them as
levels and thereby relating them to the Standard Scale of Fines (section
18) [contrary to suggestions in some Press reports, there are no new
prison terms for the offences of insulting the President or communicating
falsehoods; all prison terms remain unchanged]
- formal repeal of
provisions of Postal and Telecommunications Act declared unconstitutional
by the Supreme Court in The Law Society of Zimbabwe vs the Minister
of Transport and Communications and the Attorney General, 2002 (section
19)
- validation of rural
electrification levies improperly collected by ZESA since 2002 (section
21)
- relaxation of the
previous strict controls on the use of farm equipment compulsorily acquired
by the State under the Acquisition of Farm Equipment and Material Act
(section 26)
Note: Recent Press
reports have described the “looting” of farm equipment from
farms in the Lowveld.
The only law providing
for compulsory acquisition of farm equipment is the Acquisition of Farm
Equipment and Material Act, 2004 (No. 7 of 2004). The acquiring authority
must be a Minister on behalf of the State.
Section 10 of that
Act is headed "Use of acquired farm equipment or material".
When the incidents
described in the Press reports occurred, section 10 was in the following
form:—
"10 Use of acquired
farm equipment or material
Any farm equipment
or material acquired in terms of this Act shall vest in the State for
the benefit of the Land Reform Programme and shall not be sold or otherwise
disposed of to any private individual, institution or corporation."
With effect from the
3rd February, 2006, however, section 10 was repealed and the following
new wording substituted (by section 26 of the General Laws Amendment Act,
2005 (No. 6 of 2005):—
"10 Use of acquired
farm equipment or material
(1) Subject to subsection
(2), any farm equipment or material acquired in terms of this Act shall
vest in the State for the benefit of the Land Reform Programme.
(2) The State may,
subject to such conditions as are prescribed under section twelve, sell
or otherwise dispose of for valuable consideration any farm equipment
or material acquired in terms of this Act to any private individual, institution
or corporation requiring to use the equipment or material for agricultural
purposes on any agricultural land:
Provided that if
the person from whom the farm equipment or material was acquired by the
State contests the acquisition, the State shall not sell or otherwise
dispose of it in terms of this subsection until the matter is finally
determined in accordance with section eight."
It is significant
that the wording of the new section 10(2) authorises disposal for valuable
consideration thus excluding gratuitous donation to a third party.
ACT
To amend
section 9 of the Statute Law Compilation and Revision Act [Chapter
1:03], the Maintenance Act [Chapter 5:09], section 4 of the Judges
Salaries, Allowances and Pensions Act [Chapter 7:08], sections
13 and 14 of the Judicial College Act [Chapter 7:17], the Service
of Documents (Telegraph) Act [Chapter 8:13], section 346A of the
Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act [Chapter 9:07], sections 6
and 7 of the Miscellaneous Offences Act [Chapter 9:15], section
63 of the Serious Offences (Confiscation of Profits) Act [Chapter 9:17],
section 9 of the Stock Theft Act [Chapter 9:18], the First Schedule
to the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23]
(No. 23 of 2004), section 18 of the Betting and Totalizator Control Act
[Chapter 10:02], section 5 of the Pools Control Act [Chapter
10:19], section 6 of the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures)
Act [Chapter 10:20], section 5 of the Lotteries and Gaming Act
[Chapter 10:26] (No. 26 of 1998), the Defence Act [Chapter 11:02],
sections 2 and 30 of the War Victims Compensation Act [Chapter 11:16],
the Public Order and Security Act [Chapter 11:17] (No. 1 of 2002),
sections 98 and 103 of the Postal and Telecommunications Act [Chapter
12:05] (No. 4 of 2000), the Electricity Act [Chapter 13:19] (No.
4 of 2002), section 1 of the Rural Electrification Fund Act [Chapter
13:20] (No. 3 of 2002), section 4 of the Copper Control Act [Chapter
14:06], section 3 of the Moneylending and Rates of Interest Act [Chapter
14:14], section 4 of the Second-hand Goods Act [Chapter 14:16],
section 19 of the Health Service Act [Chapter 15:16] (No. 28 of
2004), the Acquisition of Farm Equipment and Material Act [Chapter
18:23] (No. 7 of 2004), sections 6, 13 and 119 of the Water Act [Chapter
20:24] (No. 31 of 1998), the Environmental Management Act [Chapter
20:27] (No. 11 of 2002), section 6 of the Exchange Control Act [Chapter
22:05], the Banking Act [Chapter 24:20], the Boxing and Wrestling
Control Act [Chapter 25:02], the Legal Practitioners Act [Chapter
27:07], and sections 193 and 196 of the Urban Councils Act [Chapter
29:15]; and to update cross-references to the Children's Act [Chapter
5:06] in certain acts.
ENACTED by the President and the Parliament of Zimbabwe.
1
Short title
This Act may be cited as the General Laws Amendment Act, 2005.
2
Amendment of section 9 of Cap. 1:031
Section 9 ("Appointment of Law Reviser") of the Statute Law
Compilation and Revision Act [Chapter 1:03] is amended by the insertion
after subsection (3) of the following subsection-
"(4) Notwithstanding
the above provisions, the Minister may appoint the Deputy Chairman of
the Law Development Commission appointed in terms of section 4(b) of
the Law Development Commission Act [Chapter 1:02] to act as Law Reviser.".
Download the full document
1.
Votes and Proceedings, 28th July, 2005, page 177
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