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2011 budget statement on Thursday; Parliamentary Update - Bill Watch
48/2010
Veritas
November 23, 2010
The
House of Assembly will resume on Thursday 25th November for the
2011 Budget Statement
The Senate remains
adjourned until 8th February
2011
Budget Statement Set for Thursday 25th November
Minister of
Finance Tendai Biti will present his Budget
Statement to the House
of Assembly this Thursday 25th November. Admission to the Public
Gallery to hear the Budget Statement is by invitation or for ticket-holders.
Seating is limited, so anyone wishing to attend should contact Parliament’s
Public Relations office to see if there are any tickets still available.
Tel: 252936/55 or 700181/2/3 and ask for Mr Moyo, extension 2309.
There is a separate Press Gallery for journalists; it is also advisable
for them to check the availability of seats with Mr Moyo.
After the Budget
Statement the Minister will table the Estimates of Expenditure for
2011 and a draft Finance Bill to give effect to any proposed tax
changes. Then the House will adjourn until Tuesday 7th December
to allow members and portfolio committees time to study the Budget
in preparation for the Budget debate; portfolio committee chairpersons
will present their committees’ reports to the House during
the debate.
President
Zuma to visit Harare following Cancellation of SADC Troika Meeting
in Gaborone
The expected
meeting of the Troika of the SADC Organ for Politics, Defence and
Security Co-operation in Gaborone on Friday 19th November did not
take place – only South African President Zuma arrived for
it – the chairperson President Banda of Zambia and member
President Guebuza of Mozambique did not turn up. This was in spite
of the SADC Secretariat having invited Prime Minister Tsvangirai
and Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara to attend the meeting, to be
held on the sidelines of the official opening of the new SADC headquarters
building on Saturday. President Zuma took the opportunity to have
a short meeting with all three GPA
principals. The upshot is that President Zuma intends to visit Harare
soon and wishes to see a Troika meeting take place before the end
of the year.
In Parliament
Last Week
The House of
Assembly sat on Tuesday and Wednesday. It then adjourned until Thursday
25th November.
Bills
- Small Enterprises
Development Corporation Amendment Bill – was tabled and
then referred to the Parliamentary Legal Committee [PLC].
- Criminal
Laws Amendment (Protection of Power, Communication and Water Infrastructure)
Bill
– went through its Second Reading and Committee Stages.
Minor Committee Stage amendments were referred to the PLC.
- Attorney-General’s
Office Bill – went through both its Second Reading and
Committee Stage. Amendments were made at the request of the Minister
of Justice and referred to the PLC. The amendments, suggested
by the PLC when it first saw the Bill, are designed to ensure
that any delegation of functions by the Attorney General’s
Office’s Board will be to a Board committee rather than
to the Office’s Director of Administration, as envisaged
in the gazetted version of the Bill.
- Energy Regulatory
Authority Bill – went through its Second Reading on Wednesday.
Committee Stage will be on 7th December, when the Minister of
Energy and Power Development will propose amendments, including
proposals for a Petroleum Importers Levy.
- Public
Order and Security Amendment Bill [H.B. 11, 2009] –
still awaits its Committee Stage.
Motion: The
condolence motion for the late former Provincial Governor Ephraim
Masawi saw heated exchanges when MDC-T members criticised the existing
procedures and criteria for declaration of national heroes under
which the late governor had been accorded national hero status.
Wednesday Question
Time: The following questions were among those dealt with:
Suspension of
pegging of mining claims: The Deputy Minister of Mines confirmed
that pegging of claims has been temporarily suspended over almost
two-thirds of the country, because existing maps are in such poor
condition that over-pegging disputes have resulted. Maps are being
computerised to enable pegging to be resumed, perhaps by the end
of the year.
2009 O and A
Level Pass Rates: The Deputy Minister of Education revealed that
the O Level pass rate for the country was 19.66%, with rural schools
at 19.85% and urban schools at 16.95%. The male pass rate [21.85%],
both rural and urban, was better than the female pass rate [17.83%].
The A Level pass rate was 80.92%, with rural schools at 82.16% and
urban schools at 79.35% - and males [78.3%] being outshone by females
[83.54%].
Comparison between
ZIMSEC and Cambridge pass rates: The Deputy Minister of Education
said he could not provide comparative figures because schools offering
Cambridge and other examination boards did not have to submit statistics
to the Ministry.
School enrolment:
The Deputy Minister of Education gave details of school enrolment:
In 4895 primary schools the total enrolment was 2 662 384 [boys
1 335 597, girls 1 326 787] and in 1748 secondary schools the total
enrolment was 863 526 [boys 436 241, girls 427 285].
Parliamentary
Legal Committee [PLC]: The PLC did not meet to consider the Committee
Stage amendments to the two Bills referred to it during the week.
On the
Parliamentary Programme for this Week
The Senate –
is adjourned until February, but members of the Senate are traditionally
invited to listen to the Budget speech from the Public Gallery.
This is not the same as a joint sitting, so even if the persons
the MDC-T are saying are not legitimate Senators attend, it should
not lead to any objections.
The House of
Assembly will not sit on Tuesday or Wednesday. The main item of
business on Thursday will be the Budget Statement [see above]. Other
items on the Order Paper are unlikely to be dealt with.
Parliamentary
Legal Committee: The PLC is expected to meet to consider the Committee
Stage Amendments to the:
- Criminal
Laws Amendment (Protection of Power, Communication and Water Infrastructure)
Bill
- Attorney-General’s
Office Bill.
Non-adverse
reports by the PLC will clear the way for these Bills, as amended,
to be passed by the House of Assembly and transmitted to the Senate.
Other Committees:
Notice of portfolio and thematic committee meetings open to the
public were sent out in Bill Watch Special of 20th November.
Business
Already Awaiting Attention by the Senate
The list of
items from the House awaiting Senate attention remains the same
as in Bill Watch 47/2010 of 13th November:
Bills
Awaiting Introduction in Parliament
The following
Bills have been printed and gazetted:
- Deposit Protection
Corporation Bill [gazetted 22nd October]
- General Laws
Amendment Bill [gazetted 22nd October]
- National
Incomes and Pricing Commission Amendment Bill [gazetted 5th November]
Statutory
Instruments Gazetted 19th November
SI 175/2010
establishes a new district [Guruve] in Mashonaland Central province;
this is backdated to 1st May, which is contrary to legal principle.
SI 176/2010
fixes at $2 000 the penalty an aircraft company must pay for bringing
in a passenger without valid travel documentation.
SI 154/2010
– Road Traffic Regulations – Deferment Announced but
not yet Gazetted
The Permanent
Secretary in the Ministry of Transport has confirmed that the Ministry
will defer to the 1st June 2011 the commencement of SI 154/2010.
This statutory instrument contains the new Road Traffic (Construction,
Equipment and Use) regulations; among many other matters it restricts
the importation of second-hand motor vehicles, limits the use of
left-hand drive vehicles, and requires all vehicles to have fire
extinguishers and reflective warning triangles. It was due to come
into force next week, on 1st December. The deferment has not been
gazetted, so it is not yet legally effective.
Veritas
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legal responsibility for information supplied.
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