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Parliament Adjourns until 28 February - Bill Watch 56/2011
Veritas
December 16, 2011
Both
Houses have adjourned until Tuesday 28th February 2012
Parliament
Goes into a Long Recess
The adjournment
until the end of February suggests that the Government does not
at present anticipate having any business ready for the House until
then – and that three important current Bills will not be
dealt with for at least another two months: the Electoral
Amendment Bill, the Zimbabwe
Human Rights Commission Bill and the Public
Order and Security Amendment Bill. It is particularly regrettable
that the failure to move on the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission
Bill means a further delay in the “operationalisation”
of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, although its members were
sworn in on 31st March 2010.
Both Houses
can be recalled only at the request of the President. If he so requests,
then under Standing Orders the presiding officers – the Speaker
of the House of Assembly and the President of the Senate –
have the power to interrupt an adjournment and recall members if
satisfied by representations from the President that the “public
interest” requires legislators to meet before the scheduled
end of the adjournment.
This
Week in Parliament
House
of Assembly [13th to 15th December]
Prime Minister’s
End of Year Address: The Prime Minister addressed the House before
the start of other business on 15th December. In a speech stressing
the many problems within the inclusive
government, he mentioned the slow pace of implementation of
the Government’s legislative agenda, revealing that the principles
of four key Bills listed by the President for the current Parliamentary
session have not yet been introduced before Cabinet: these are the
Referendums Amendment Bill, the Diamond Bill, the State Enterprises
Restructuring Agency Bill and the Zimbabwe Investment Authority
Bill. [Cabinet must approve the principles of a Bill before it is
sent to the Attorney-General’s Office for drafting.] He said
the Media Practitioners Bill and Criminal Law Code amendments, among
other Bills meant for introduction in the previous session, had
simply disappeared from the agenda. [Electronic version of full
speech available.]
Bills: The House
did not deal with the only Bill on the Order Paper – the National
Incomes and Pricing Commission Amendment Bill.
Motions: Two
controversial new motions by MDC-T MPs were debated.
Motion for investigation
of conduct of Clerk of Parliament: This motion recited complaints
against Mr Zvoma and called for a resolution to “invoke provisions
of 48 (2) of the Constitution
of Zimbabwe to dismiss Mr Austin Zvoma from the service of Parliament
forthwith through a secret ballot process”. It caused uproar
in the House on both Wednesday and Thursday, with ZANU-PF MPs invoking
the sub judice rule [Mr Zvoma has lodged a High Court application
for an interdict] and taking strong objections to the constitutionality
and fairness of both the motion in its original form and an amendment
proposed by the motion’s seconder, Hon Mushonga, which appeared
on the Order Paper for Thursday. The Speaker overruled the sub judice
objection and turned down a ZANU-PF request that he recuse himself
from presiding over the debate because the complaints against Mr
Zvoma involved his own election as Speaker. On Thursday, when debate
continued despite their protests, all ZANU-PF MPs present walked
out of the chamber, led by their Chief Whip Joram Gumbo. The motion
was then passed in their absence, incorporating the amendment proposed
by Hon Mushonga. The clumsily-worded operative part of the resolution
as amended is very different from the original demand for dismissal,
but still of dubious legality. It is to this effect:
- a special
5-member committee must be appointed by the House to look into
the issue and invite the Clerk to give his side and respond to
the allegations raised during this motion;
- the committee
is to make recommendations to the full House on its findings whether:
i) to terminate
immediately the Clerk of Parliament's contract of employment;
ii) to suspend
without pay for a period of time;
iii) to demote
and or reprimand the Clerk of Parliament;
· the
committee shall report to the House within six weeks.
[A more detailed
discussion of this contentious matter will be undertaken in a separate
Bill Watch.]
Motion on Broadcasting
Authority of Zimbabwe [BAZ] Board and broadcasting licences: There
was heated debate on this motion on Tuesday, with ZANU-PF MPs strongly
contesting the proposer’s assertions that the existing BAZ
board had been illegally appointed and that its recent granting
of two broadcasting licences had been contrary to the GPA commitment
to open up the airwaves. Nevertheless this motion, too, was passed
on Thursday afternoon. As the resolution adopted merely “calls
for” the substitution of the BAZ Board by one properly appointed
and the immediate withdrawal of the licences granted to Zimpapers
Talk Radio and AB Communications, it has no legal effect; it merely
records the views of the House and a request for action. [Note:
Two unsuccessful applicants for broadcasting licences have said
they are taking BAZ to court to get these two licences annulled.
In his end-of-year address on Thursday the Prime Minister referred
to the BAZ Board problem in a complaint about the “outright
arrogance and intransigence” over media reform of the Minister
of Media, Information and Publicity, Webster Shamu, and his officials;
see above.]
Senate
[13th December only]
Budget Bills
passed: The Minister of State Enterprises and Parastatals Management,
Hon. Gorden Moyo, presented the Budget Bills to Senators on behalf
of the Minister of Finance. The House passed the three Bills without
calling for amendments:
- Finance (No.
2) Bill
- Appropriation
(2012) Bill
- Appropriation
(2011) Amendment Bill.
The Bills will
now be sent to the President for his assent. They are expected to
be gazetted as Acts before the end of the year.
International
agreements approved
The Senate approved
the following international agreements:
- Interim
Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) signed in Mauritius on 29th
August 2009 between the Eastern and Southern Africa states (ESA)
and the European Union (EU)
- International
Coffee Agreement of 28th September 2007.
Bulawayo
Court Interdict against Mutambara a Temporary Bar
On 15th December
Justice Kamocha of the Bulawayo High Court confirmed and extended
the scope of an earlier interdict granted to MDC against Professor
Mutambara. This is a final decision in that particular court case
which was an application for an interdict on Professor Mutambara
acting as MDC party president and GPA principal until a decision
in the main court case which is sub judice in the High Court in
Harare. Therefore this is an interim bar on Mutambara. In the yet
to be heard case in Harare, the anti-Ncube and pro-Mutambara faction
have challenged the validity of the January 2011 party congress
at which Professor Ncube was elected party president. The Bulawayo
court decision is valid for the time being, so that Professor Mutambara
is:
- prohibited
from "purporting to be president” of the MDC and exercising
any function vested in the president of the MDC or interfering
with the structure and organs of the party [which was the position
under the earlier provisional interdict]
- expressly
barred from attending any meeting of whatever description of the
principals in the inclusive Government or any regional or international
body as a principal in the GPA. The court ruled that Prof Ncube
immediately became the principal in the GPA upon his election
as president of the party
Professor Mutambara
has already said that he will appeal to the Supreme Court against
the Bulawayo court decision. The noting of an appeal will immediately
suspend the operation of Justice Kamocha’s interdict, thereby
lifting the prohibitions against Professor Mutambara pending the
hearing of the appeal. The matter is still not settled. In all this,
Mutambara’s position as Deputy Prime Minister of the country
is not affected.
Ex-Deputy
Minister Mutinhiri
Tracy Mutinhiri,
former ZANU-PF MP for Marondera, automatically ceased to be a Deputy
Minister by operation of law on 14th December – three months
after her Parliamentary seat became following her expulsion from
ZANU-PF. Section 31E of the Constitution lays down that no-one can
hold office as Minister or deputy Minister for more than three months
without being a member of Parliament.
Status
of Bills
[Electronic
versions of these Bills are available from veritas@mango.zw]
Bills passed
by Parliament awaiting gazetting as Acts
- Finance (No.
2) Bill
- Appropriation
(2012) Bill
- Appropriation
(2011) Amendment Bill
- Deposit
Protection Corporation Bill
- Small Enterprises
Development Corporation Amendment Bill
Bill awaiting
Second Reading in the House of Assembly
- National
Incomes and Pricing Commission Amendment Bill
Bill gazetted
and awaiting presentation
Bill being printed
for gazetting
Lapsed Bills
awaiting restoration to the Order Paper
- Public Order
and Security [POSA] Amendment Bill [Private Member’s Bill]
- Electoral
Amendment Bill
- Zimbabwe
Human Rights Commission Amendment Bill
Government
Gazette
Trade marks
– Banjul Protocol Notice – SI 147/2011, dated 16th December
2011, sets out the text of the Banjul Protocol on Marks, an international
agreement within the framework of the African Regional Industrial
Property Organisation. The Protocol has had the force of law in
Zimbabwe since 10th September 2010, the date of commencement of
the Trade Marks Amendment Act (10/2001). Publication of the text
by the Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs is obligatory under
section 97A of the Trade Marks Act, as amended by Act 10/2001.
Public Holiday
on 27th December – GN 588/2011 from the co-Ministers of Home
Affairs confirms that both 26th and 27th December are public holidays
this year.
Veritas
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legal responsibility for information supplied
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