Only 158 laws out of 400 tabled before Parly: Official

via Only 158 laws out of 400 tabled before Parly: Official – NewsDay Zimbabwe June 29, 2015

Out of 400 laws set to be re-aligned with the new Constitution, only 158 have been tabled in Parliament, secretary for Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Virginia Mabhiza has said.

By Tatenda Chitagu

Mabhiza told Masvingo residents at an advocacy meeting last Friday that government had printed less than 1,5 million copies of the new Constitution for distribution throughout the country.

“We have printed 500 000 copies A4 size in English, 350 000 in other languages and 4 000 copies in Braille,” Mabhiza said. “We hope to translate the Constitution into other recognised languages.”

Mabhiza said only 158 laws had been tabled before Parliament for re-alignment.

“Out of existing laws, we singled out 390 pieces which our drafting department scrutinised to see where it is inconsistent with our Constitution,” she said.

“We identified 158 and subjected them to non-consequential amendment under the Amendment Bill which we term the Omnibus Bill.
They are now before Parliament and if it passes, we would have covered 158 Acts for alignment with the Constitution.”

Mabhiza said the alignment of the laws was still ongoing.

“We have an obligation to align all laws which are inconsistent with the Constitution and enact others if need be,” she said.

“Alignment of the laws with the new Constitution is a continuous process and we keep doing so. We do not do that alone. We do that with other stakeholders and line ministries.

“We are working day and night to align the laws. We are also writing abridged versions that simplify the Constitution.”

Analysts have called on government to speedily re-align the laws as the delays were compromising justice delivery.