Bill Watch 51/2019 [Last Week in Parliament & Second Session Opened Today 1st October] 01 October 2019
Condolence motions The National Assembly concluded debates on and
adopted condolence motions following the deaths of the late MPs Hon Vimbai
Tsvangirai, Hon Obedingwa Mguni and Hon Kaston Gumbwanda. [Note: All
three vacant seats have since been filled by by-elections in the constituencies
concerned.]
Motion of Thanks for the President’s Speech opening the First Session This
debate was concluded and the motion approved on Wednesday 25th
September. In his response to the debate on behalf of Government the Minister
of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs claimed progress on many of the
issues raised during the debate.
Question Time
Question Time took place as usual on Wednesday. The Minister of ICT and
Courier Services assured MPs that his Ministry was pushing for abolition of
customs duty on all ICT equipment and urged MPs to support the Ministry by
lobbying the Minister of Finance and Economic Development. The Deputy
Minister of Primary and Secondary Education said the Ministry was prioritising
the training of teachers to ensure that all little children are taught in their mother
tongue, including Sotho, Kalanga, Tonga and Venda. Other issues raised
included water supply problems in Harare and the legality of subdividing
agricultural land into residential plots; on the latter the Minister of Justice, Legal
and Parliamentary Affairs advised MPs to await the report of the Uchena
Commission of Inquiry into Disposal of State Land around urban areas.
Other Business in the Senate Last Week
Debates concluded and motions approved
The Senate adopted Senator Timveos’ motion on the perennial shortages of
clean and potable water in towns and growth points. The motion specifically
calls on Government to urgently allocate foreign exchange to local authorities
for the development of water infrastructure in towns and growth centres and for
the purchase of water treatment chemicals.
Question Time
On Thursday Question Time went ahead as scheduled. The Minister of Energy
and Power Development dealt with several questions about ZESA and power
supply problems. The Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural
Resettlement was faced with several questions about issues at the Grain
Marketing Board.
International Standards Organisation Certification Hand-Over Ceremony
&
The Launch of Parliament’s Institutional Strategic Plan
On Friday 27th September a ceremony was held in the courtyard at Parliament
at which:
•
the Standards Association of Zimbabwe handed over Parliament’s ISO
9001-2015 Certification; and
• Parliament’s Institutional Strategic Plan for 2018-2023 was launched.