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House sends Budget to Senate - Bill Watch 55/2011
Veritas
December 12, 2011
Both
Houses have adjourned until Tuesday 13th December
Estimates
of Expenditure and Budget Bills Passed by House of Assembly
The Estimates
of Expenditure for 2012 and the Amended Estimates of Expenditure
for 2011 were approved by the House
of Assembly on 6th December. As explained in the Budget Statement,
the amended Estimates for the 2011 financial year are needed to
cover an additional expenditure requirement of $595 million, brought
about by cost overruns on employment costs [$403 million, arising
from unbudgeted salary reviews in January and July]; and other unavoidable
expenses [$192 million, including costs of the constitution-making
process, 2012 Census preparations and grain procurement]. $391 million
is to be covered by Budget reallocations and reductions under Ministry
votes, enabling the additional appropriation to be limited to $204
million. The cash budgeting rule will not be broken, as sufficient
additional revenue for 2011 is anticipated. [Examples of reallocations
and reductions: the President’s Office vote goes up by $31
million; the Defence, Home Affairs and Education votes go up substantially;
the Energy and Power Development vote is almost halved.]
The House then
passed the three necessary Money Bills: [Electronic versions of
all three Bills available from veritas@mango.zw]
- Finance
(No. 2) Bill: The Bill gives effect to those taxation changes
proposed in the Budget Statement that the Minister of Finance
cannot implement by statutory instrument. Changes include: raising
the income tax threshold; broadening the income tax bands; increasing
the tax-free amount of employees’ bonuses. Legal practitioners
and company secretaries should note that the Bill also “dollarizes”
amounts still stated in old Zimbabwe dollars in the Companies
Act, although some of the problem provisions have apparently escaped
the notice of those preparing the Bill.
- Appropriation
(2012) Bill: This gives effect to the approved Estimates of Expenditure
for 2012, i.e., it authorizes expenditure from the Consolidated
Revenue Fund for the purposes listed in the Estimates.
- Appropriation
(2011) Amendment Bill: This gives effect to the approved Amended
Estimates of Expenditure for 2011 and increases the total amount
appropriated for 2011 from $2 467 600 000 to $2,661,207,000. [This
is strictly speaking not part of the 2012 Budget as it makes adjustments
to the 2011 Budget, but it was treated as integral to the Budget
Statement.]
Last
Week in Parliament
House
of Assembly
The House of
Assembly sat on Tuesday for just over three hours, dealing only
with the Budget items on the Order Paper. The sitting started with
a heated discussion over whether the Budget business was properly
before the House. ZANU-PF members maintained that at the previous
sitting on 1st December debate on the Budget had been adjourned
until the 13th December. MDC-T MPs were adamant that the adjournment
had been until the 6th. Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara confirmed
the MDC-T position and the Acting Speaker ruled that debate on the
Budget items should proceed. [Going by Hansard for 1st December,
this was correct. It records that Hon Zhanda of ZANU-PF requested
more time for MPs to consider the Budget and suggested they needed
until the 13th December. But no motion to that effect was proposed
or approved.]
Debate on Budget:
The House heard reports from the chairpersons of portfolio committees,
starting with the report of the Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance
and Economic Development. For the Budget Committee Hon Zhanda stressed
the need to allow Parliament to consider the Budget fully in future
and suggested 1% of the Budget should be allocated to the Constituency
Development Fund, which should be regulated by a special Act. Other
committees mentioned the need to ensure a smooth flow of funds to
Ministries throughout the year to permit effective use of limited
allocations under the Budget. After the Minister’s winding-up
remarks the House dealt with the Estimates and the Budget Bills
[see details above]. The Bills were then transmitted to the Senate.
No other business was conducted. The House adjourned until Tuesday
13th December to accommodate the ZANU-PF conference.
Senate
The Senate met
on 6th December, but adjourned, without doing any business, until
Tuesday 13th to accommodate the ZANU-PF conference.
ZANU-PF
Annual Conference in Bulawayo
The ZANU-PF
conference in Bulawayo started on Tuesday 6th December, was opened
by President Mugabe on Thursday and ended on Saturday with uncompromising
calls for an early end to the inclusive government and elections
in 2012 with Mr Mugabe as the party’s presidential candidate.
Coming
up This Week in Parliament
House
of Assembly
Bills: The National
Incomes and Pricing Commission Amendment Bill, restored to the
Order Paper last week, is listed for its Second Reading. If the
Senate recommends amendments to the Budget Bills, the House will
have to consider these and decide which, if any, to adopt, before
the Bills go to the President for assent.
Motions: Three
new motions by MDC-T MPs are listed for 13th December:
Motion to dismiss
Clerk of Parliament: This motion calls for section 48(2) of the
Constitution to be
invoked “to dismiss Mr Austin Zvoma from the service of Parliament
forthwith through a secret ballot process”. It cites Mr Zvoma’s
alleged failure to uphold the values of “honesty, integrity,
professionalism and respect” that bind officers of Parliament,
specifying “misdemeanours”, including:
- failure
to conduct the election of the Speaker in August 2008 in accordance
with Standing Orders [this election was overturned
by the a majority of the Supreme Court in March 2011 for the Clerk’s
failure to enforce the secret ballot procedure required by Standing
Orders]
- conduct
related to the election of the Speaker in March 2011 after the
Supreme Court’s decision: unprocedurally deferring a scheduled
sitting of the House [at the time MDC-T began court action over
this but it fell away when the Speaker’s election proceeded
before the case was heard]; disdaining the Attorney-General’s
advice that the unseated Speaker, Mr Lovemore Moyo, had reverted
to being an MP following the Supreme Court’s judgment; and
tampering with the record of the proceedings of the House when
Mr Moyo was re-elected Speaker on 29th March [during the proceedings
Mr Zvoma directed that certain passages be stricken from the record]
- having a
“condescending attitude” towards MPs and the Office
of the Speaker, and issuing press statements contemptuous of MPs.
Section 48(1)
and (2) of the Constitution
provide: “(1) There shall be a Clerk of Parliament appointed
by the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders. (2) A person appointed
as the Clerk of Parliament shall not be removed from office unless
the House of Assembly resolves, by the affirmative votes of more
than one-half of its total membership, that he should be removed
from office.”
[It is curious
that MDC-T members are complaining about the 2008 Speaker’s
election, when MDC-T MPs were guilty of the very conduct that the
majority of the Supreme Court said had destroyed the secrecy of
the ballot.]
Motion on Broadcasting
Authority of Zimbabwe [BAZ] and broadcasting licences: This motion
calls for the dissolution of the current BAZ Board because it was
illegally appointed; the appointment of a new Board in accordance
with the Broadcasting Services Act; and the withdrawal of two broadcasting
licences recently granted by the current Board. [Note: The inter-party
dispute over the BAZ Board is of long standing; in August 2010 the
party principals and Cabinet endorsed the GPA
negotiators’ agreement to “regularise” the Board
as part of the 24-point “Implementation Matrix”. The
agreement was that regularisation would be effected in one month.
The irregular Board has nevertheless remained in place ever since,
with the Minister of Information and Publicity denying its appointment
was illegal. Question: Why didn’t MDC-T or other stakeholders
take legal action to unseat the Board before this issue was complicated
by the Board’s action in calling for licence applications
and then granting licences.]
Motion on Air
Zimbabwe: This calls for the current Air Zimbabwe fleet to be “put
out to pasture” and for Air Zimbabwe to be privatised.
Question Time:
If the House sits on Wednesday there are 25 questions on the Order
Paper awaiting responses from Ministers, including a new one for
the co-Ministers of Home Affairs about an alleged police practice
of shattering windscreens of commuter omnibuses when traffic offences
are suspected.
Senate
Budget Bills:
The main business of the Senate will be to deal with the three Budget
Bills transmitted from the House of Assembly [see above]. As explained
in Bill Watch 53/2011
of 25th November the Senate cannot itself amend these Bills but
can recommend amendments for consideration by the House.
Motion: Also
on the agenda is Senator Komichi’s motion for a thematic committee
investigation of unethical and unprofessional activities by the
media.
Deputy
Speaker Nomalanga Khumalo
The rift in
the MDC party led to disorder in the House of Assembly on 1st December
when Professor Ncube was heckled about the current loyalties of
MPs elected on the MDC ticket in 2008, before the rift. These MPs
include Deputy Speaker Khumalo, MP for Umzingwane. Last week a Ncube
faction spokesperson said Hon Khumalo was the subject of party disciplinary
proceedings. Speculation about Hon Khumalo and the other MPs facing
forfeiture of their seats under the floor-crossing provisions of
section 41 of the Constitution seems premature until legal proceedings
over the MDC rift produce a clear-cut resolution of the leadership
dispute. Section 41(1)(e) provides for a seat to fall vacant automatically
if the incumbent ceases to be a member of the political party of
which he was a member when elected and “the political party
concerned” by written notice to the Speaker declares that
he or she “’has ceased to represent its interests in
Parliament”.
Status
of Bills
[Electronic
versions of Bills are available from veritas@mango.zw]
Bill awaiting
Second Reading in the House of Assembly
- National
Incomes and Pricing Commission Amendment Bill
Bills awaiting
Second Reading in the Senate
- Finance (No.
2) Bill [gazetted 30th November]
- Appropriation
(2012) Bill [gazetted 30th November]
- Appropriation
(2011) Amendment Bill [gazetted 9th December]
Bill gazetted
and awaiting presentation
Bill being printed
for Gazetting
Lapsed Bills
awaiting restoration to the Order Paper
Bills passed
by Parliament awaiting gazetting as Acts
Government
Gazette
[electronic
copies of statutory instruments not available]
National Museums
and Monuments By-laws [SI 143/2011]: These updated by-laws prescribe
entry and other fees and prohibited behaviour, and replace much-amended
by-laws dating back to 1973.
Marketing of
ethanol-petrol blend [SI 144/2011]: This SI under the Petroleum
Act requires producers of ethanol and blenders of ethanol and petrol
to be licensed and fixes specifications for ethanol-petrol blend
and anhydrous ethanol.
NSSA assessment
rates and pensions [SIs 145 and 146/2011]: These notices take effect
from 1st January 2012. Pension contribution rates go up from 3%
to 4%. Pensions are increased.
Government financial
statements: The October statements were gazetted on 9th December,
well before the deadline set by section 34 of the Public Finance
Management Act.
Veritas
makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take
legal responsibility for information supplied
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