BILL WATCH 30/2021
Source: Coming up in the National Assembly This Week – The Zimbabwean
Only the National Assembly is Sitting This Week
The Senate is in Recess until Tuesday 18th May
Coming up in the National Assembly This Week
Bills
There are only four Bills mentioned on the Order Paper, following the National Assembly’s passing of the Centre for Education, Innovation, Research and Development Bill [link] and its transmission to the Senate.
Zimbabwe Independent Complaints Commission Bill [link] – for First Reading
The Bill was gazetted on 24th November 2020 and commented on in Bill Watch 77/2020 a few days later [link]. The Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs gave notice of his intention to present the Bill for its First Reading last week. The Bill is expected to be presented this week, after which it will be referred to the Parliamentary Legal Committee [PLC] for the committee’s report on whether or not the Bill would, if enacted by Parliament in its present form, be inconsistent with any provision of the Constitution.
Cyber Security & Data Protection Bill [link] – for the start of the Committee Stage
There are many pages of proposed amendments to be considered, emanating from both the Minister of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services and the Portfolio Committee. All the amendments are captured in a document prepared by Veritas and available on our website. The Minister‘s amendments are extensive and were summarised in Bill Watch 18/2021 [link]; if adopted, they will change the original Bill considerably.
Forest Amendment Bill [link] – for the start of the Committee Stage
Comprehensive amendments, all proposed by the Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, appear on the Order Paper and are available on the Veritas website [link].
Pension and Provident Funds Bill [link] – for the start of the Second Reading stage
The Minister of Finance and Economic Development is yet to make his Second Reading speech explaining why the current Pensions and Provident Funds Act needs to be replaced and how and why the Bill will change the way pension and provident funds are regulated. Public hearings on the Bill have been conducted by the relevant portfolio committee and the presentation of its report on the reaction to the Bill by both the pensions industry, pensioners and their associations, and members of the public reaction will follow the Minister’s speech.
Question Time on Wednesday
Question Time will start as usual with Questions without Notice, which should be limited to questions about Government policy on any subject.
Questions with Notice, which appear on the Order Paper, will follow. This Wednesday’s batch of questions include questions on:
The Employment of disabled persons in the Army and Police The Minister of Defence and the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage will be asked about Government policy on the employment in the Army and the Police of disabled persons with professional qualifications, whose disabilities prevent them performing physical entry tests such as running. They will also be asked for statistics on the numbers of disabled persons presently employed.
Unused new clinic at Bikita The Minister of Health and Child Care will be asked why persons in Bikita South still have to use make-shift premises as a clinic while a new standard clinic which was constructed and completed long back at the site, using devolution funds, still lies idle.
Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied.
COMMENTS