Bill Watch 23/2019
Update on Bills and Gazettes
5th to 19th April
22 April 2019
BILL WATCH 23/2019
[22nd April 2019]
Both Houses of Parliament are in Recess until Tuesday 7th May
Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill Gazetted
This Bill [link] was gazetted in the Government Gazette dated 19th April
[released to the public on 17th April ahead of the public holidays on 18th
and 19th April]. As demonstrated in Bill Watch 22/2019 of 17th April [link]
the Bill differs only slightly from the Public Order and Security Act
[POSA]. According to the Bill’s supporting memorandum – but not the Bill
itself – the Bill will repeal and replace POSA.
Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency Bill
This substantial Bill [link] was gazetted on 5th April. It is a major component
of the Government’s “ease of doing business” reforms to attract both foreign
and domestic investors.
If duly enacted by Parliament and assented to by the President, the Bill will
become law on the day it is gazetted as an Act. There is no provision for
its date of commencement to be fixed by the President by statutory
instrument.
The
Bill’s
ten
parts
include
parts
dealing
with:
the
establishment, management and finances of the new Zimbabwe
Investment and Development Agency [ZIDA] and its One Stop Investment
Services Centre [OSISC]; investor guarantees and non-discriminatory
treatment; investor obligations, including social responsibility; provisions
common to investors in and outside Special Economic Zones; investment and
other activities in Special Economic Zones [details in the Third Schedule];
Public Private Partnerships [details in Fourth Schedule]; and dispute
settlement.
ZIDA will replace, and take over the functions presently entrusted to, the
Zimbabwe Investment Authority and the Special Economic Zones Authority
[both statutory corporations] and the Joint Venture Unit in the Ministry of
Finance and Economic Development, which advises Government on Public
Private Partnerships.
All this will require adjustments to existing legislation:
• repeal of the Zimbabwe Investment Authority Act, Special Economic Zones
Act [link] and Joint Venture Act [link];
• amendment of the Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act [link] to
align it with the new arrangements for Public Private Partnerships.
Transitional provisions are also necessary to provide for the succession of
ZIDA to the bodies it will replace and to their assets and obligations. Clause