|
Back to Index
Bills
for next sitting & Government Gazettes 5 to 19 April –
Bill 12/2013
Veritas
April 24, 2013
Both
Houses of Parliament are Adjourned until Tuesday 7th May
Although the
Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 20) Bill will be ready for
debate on Tuesday 30th April [having been gazetted, as is the constitutional
requirement, at least 30 days before this] there has been no indication
that Parliament
will be recalled early.
Important
Bills Scheduled for when Parliament Resumes
- Constitution
of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 20) Bill
- Ministry
of Finance Bills
The Minister
of Finance has three major Bills on the House of Assembly order
paper, each one waiting for the Minister to present his Second Reading
speech and all previously labelled urgent, although so far they
have not been treated as such.
At the end of
the last Parliamentary session three proposed Private Member’s
Bills lapsed, having failed to make it through Parliament during
the session: the POSA
Amendment Bill, the Urban
Councils Amendment Bill and the Bill to repeal section 121(3)
of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Amendment. Not one of these
Bills has re-appeared on the current Order Papers for the House
or Senate. The Supreme Court has not yet handed down its decision
in the case brought by Minister of Local Government Ignatious Chombo
arguing that during the life of the GPA
Parliament is constitutionally restricted to passing Government
Bills only, thereby barring the Urban Councils Amendment Bill in
particular and Private Member’s Bills generally. The court’s
decision is expected early in the next court term, which starts
on 6th May.
After the Bill
for the new Constitution has been passed by Parliament, other Bills
must also be brought to Parliament to enable the forthcoming elections
to be held in terms of the new Constitution:
- Electoral
Amendment Bill
- Urban Councils
and Rural District Councils Amendment Bills
- A Bill for
the new-style metropolitan and provincial councils, which must
be formed under the new Constitution.
- Bills to
remedy at least the most obvious inconsistencies between existing
laws and the new Declaration of Rights, given that it will be
coming into force immediately the Constitution Act is gazetted
- Rules of
the Constitutional Court must also be enacted, either in a separate
Constitutional Court Bill or under the Supreme Court Act, to give
effect to the court’s constitutional jurisdiction
Government
Gazette 5th April
Statutory
Instruments
Collective bargaining
agreements
Agricultural
industry - SI 41 and 42/2013 gazette new wages effective 1st March
2013 for the agricultural industry’s general sector and kapenta
sector, respectively.
Tobacco industry
- SI 43/2013 gazettes wages for the industry’s grading sector
effective 1st December 2012 to 30th November 2013. The agreement
also covers deduction of NEC levies by employers and remittance
of levies to the NEC.
Textile industry
- SI 44/2013 gazettes minimum rates of pay for the industry for
the period 1st January to 30th June 2013, plus a new schedule for
calculation of gratuities.
Government
Gazette Extraordinary 5th April
Statutory
Instrument
A controversial
SI about unpaid ZESA bills [available from veritas@mango.zw]
SI 44A/2013
sets out the Electricity (Unpaid Bills, Prepaid Meters and Smart
Meters) Regulations made by the Minister of Energy and Power Development
under the Electricity Act. The Parliamentary Legal Committee may
find it necessary to consider the validity of section 3 of this
SI in depth. This section seems to be aimed at making the property
owner legally liable to pay for all electricity consumed on a property
and shown on the prepaid meter, regardless of contractual arrangements
between ZESA and the actual consumer of electricity on the property,
such as a tenant or sub-tenant. Consumer protection organisations
should also study this SI.
Another section
defines “smart meters” as gadgets which not only record
electricity sales, but also allow two-way communication between
consumer and electricity supplier. Consumers are allowed to purchase
and install these smart meters as long as they are not “persons
in rural areas, high density domestic or light load farms”.
Compulsory installation of smart meters is not mentioned in the
SI.
Government
Gazette of 12th April
Statutory Instruments
- Collective
bargaining agreement: construction industry
SI 45/2013
sets out comprehensive new conditions of service for workers
in the construction industry, embracing the former building,
civil engineering and concrete products industries and replacing
the agreement published in SI 244/1999,
- Customs duty
suspensions
SI 47/2013
republishes with corrections suspensions of duty first enacted
by SI 36/2013. The suspensions affect tariff headings 25.23,
30.04, 40.16, 48.07, 69.03, 73.18 and 74.11 and 76.05.
- Local authority
by-laws: Chegutu
SI 46/2013
enacts new residential rents and service charges applicable
to the incorporated area under the jurisdiction of the Chegutu
Municipal Council.
General
Notices
- Government
Financial Statements:
Two General
Notices announce the publication with this Gazette, as required
by the Public Finance Management Act, of the consolidated monthly
and quarterly financial statements for the month and quarter
ending 31st December 2012 [GN 213] and the monthly statements
for January 2013 [GN 214].
- Diamond industry
trade union applies for Labour Act registration
GN 208/2013
gazetted on 12th April notifies that application of an application
for registration of the Zimbabwe Diamonds and Allied Workers’
Union to represent the interests of diamond miners, cutters,
polishers, sorters, drillers and blasters, and other trades
within the diamond industry. Those wishing to make representations
relating to the application have until 13th May to lodge them
with the Registrar of Labour.
Government
Gazette of 19th April
Statutory Instruments
- Import and
export of medicines
SI 48/2013
clarifies the scope of application of the Medicines and Allied
Substances Control (Import and Export of Medicines) Regulations,
which were gazetted in SI 57/2008, with an express statement
that the regulations apply to all medicines with the following
exceptions: those medicines controlled under the Dangerous Drugs
Act; psychotropic substances controlled under; medicines imported
under section 75 of the Act for a named person as long as the
consignment is cleared in the usual way and via an official
port of entry, including Forbes Border Post which is added to
the official list; medicines imported by an individual for personal
use.
- Local authority
by-laws
SI 49/2013
enacts new rents and service and supplementary charges for Masvingo
City Council’s incorporated area.
General
Notices
- Land acquisitions
under section 16B of Constitution
GN 221/2013
notifies the immediately effective acquisition of three pieces
of land, including one belonging to Goromonzi Sports Club and
a smallholding in the Gweru area owned by Moral Rearmament.
- Preliminary
notice under Land Acquisition Act
GN 222/2013
notifies the Government’s intention to acquire for urban
development 1057 hectares making up Remaining Extent of Saturday
Retreat Estate near Harare. Objections and compensation claims
must be lodged on or before 20th May.
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.
TOP
|
