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New
Parliament session - date not yet announced - Bill Watch 40/2012
Veritas
August 28, 2012
Both Houses
of Parliament
have adjourned until Tuesday 4th September
No Date
Yet for Ceremonial Opening of Next Session
There has still
been no announcement of a date for the official ceremonial opening
of the next Parliamentary session. As only seven days remain before
the end of the present Parliamentary recess on Tuesday 4th September,
an announcement should be made soon.
Any further
delay in commencing the new session will make it difficult for Parliament
to keep to the very tight schedule carefully planned for the remainder
of the year – which must accommodate the customary recess
of about two weeks to consider the implications of the President’s
Speech, the time-consuming run-up to the presentation of the Budget
in November, Bills to be passed and other business. Toward the end
of the year there are also customary recesses for party congresses,
etc. which eat into the working time before Christmas.
At the opening
ceremony the President’s Speech will outline Government’s
policy and legislative intentions for whole of the next session
of Parliament. This session – the Fifth Session of the current
Seventh Parliament of Zimbabwe – will be the last before the
next elections are held. The Speech should therefore give an indication
of when the draft Constitution, the Referendum and essential pre-election
reforms will take place.
The President’s
Speech is essentially a collective Cabinet presentation, but the
President has the final say on content. It is compiled in the President’s
Office, under the supervision of the Chief Secretary to the President
and Cabinet, from contributions submitted by every Ministry. Well
ahead of the anticipated opening date Ministries are called on to
submit their suggested input on their highlights/achievements over
the past year and what they wish to do in the year ahead, including
the Bills they want to take to Parliament.
SADC
Facilitation Team Coming
President Zuma’s
facilitation team [Lindiwe Zulu, Charles Ngaqula and Mac Maharaj]
is expected back in Harare for a two-day visit on Tuesday 28th and
Wednesday 29th August to follow up on the resolutions of the SADC
Summit in Maputo on 18th August.
Included in
the Summit’s resolutions on Zimbabwe was the decision that
“if there are any difficulties with regard to the Constitution
and implementation of agreements, the Facilitator should be called
upon to engage with the parties and assist them resolve such issues,
bearing in mind the timeframes and the necessity to hold free and
fair elections”.
The facilitation
team’s first task will be to assist with the impasse
on the Constitution following ZANU-PF’s presentation of
its own re-draft of the COPAC draft constitution, the outraged refusal
by both MDCs to countenance further constitutional negotiations
and the ZANU-PF Politburo’s re-affirmation of its re-draft
at a special meeting a few days ago, on Saturday 25th August.
President
Mugabe at NAM Summit in Iran
President Mugabe
left Harare on 26th August to attend the Non-Aligned Movement Summit
in Iran. The Summit is scheduled to run until 31st August.
By-Elections
There has still
not been a Presidential notice fixing dates for the three long overdue
Matabeleland by-elections in response to the Supreme Court’s
order of 12th July. 31st August was the deadline given by the Supreme
Court for the gazetting of a notice, so if the President intends
to comply with the court’s order, there are only a few days
left in which to do so.
So far, apart
from general remarks in Parliament by Minister of Justice and Legal
Affairs Patrick Chinamasa confirming the Government’s respect
for the rule of law and for the courts, there has been no official
reaction to the Supreme Court’s order. If the three Matabeleland
by-elections are to be held, in principle the many other overdue
Parliamentary and local authority by-elections, although not directly
affected by the Supreme Court’s order, should also be held.
But, the first priority would seem to be to respect the court order
over the three Matabeleland constituencies – there are only
four days left for a notice to be gazetted calling for these, after
which the President will be in contempt of court.
Status
of Bills
[no changes
since Bill Watch 39/2012
of 20th August]
[Bills available
from veritas@mango.zw
unless otherwise stated]
Passed Bills
being prepared for Presidential assent before gazetting as Acts
Bill gazetted
and awaiting presentation in Parliament
- Securities
Amendment Bill [Gazetted on 10th August 2012. See above.]
Bill being printed
for gazetting before presentation [not yet available]
- Micro-Finance
Bill [expected to be gazetted on 31st August]
Bill approved
by Cabinet, but not yet in the Parliamentary Pipeline
- Income Tax
Bill – mentioned by the Minister of Finance in his Mid-Year
Fiscal Policy Review
Government
Gazette of 24th August
[copies not
available]
Statutory
Instruments
Collective bargaining
agreement SI 138/2012 replaces the existing provision for monthly
levies payable to the Motor Industry National Employment Council
by workers and employers in the industry.
Customs Agreement
with Botswana SI 136/2012 sets out an agreement between Zimbabwe
and Botswana amending the existing agreements of 1956 and 1988.
It will come into force on a date still to be announced, after completion
of internal approval processes in both countries.
Trade Agreement
with Namibia SI 137/2012 sets out an agreement signed in Harare
on 28th October 2009. It amends the existing trade agreement between
the parties with effect from 24th August 2012.
General
Notices
Government Financial
Statements - Published with this Government Gazette are the monthly
financial statements for May and June 2012, and the consolidated
statement for the quarter April to June.
Veritas
makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take
legal responsibility for information supplied
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
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