Bill Watch 31/2019
Progress on Bills
21 June 2019
Like the ZIDA Bill, this Bill did not come up for discussion on Thursday 20th June,
although the Order Paper for the afternoon contained seven pages of amendments
to be proposed during the Committee Stage by Hon Misihairabwi-Mushonga as
chairperson of the portfolio committee. These amendments are available on the
Veritas website [link].
The Committee Stage is listed as item 2 on the National Assembly’s Order Paper
for next Tuesday, 25th June.
Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill: Still with PLC
This Bill [link] was referred to the PLC on 9th May after its First Reading in the
National Assembly. It is still under consideration by the PLC, which has requested
an extension of its 26-day reporting deadline.
Meanwhile, joint public consultations were conducted by the National Assembly’s
Portfolio Committee on Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services and the
Senate’s Thematic Committee on Peace and Security in all provinces from 3rd to 7th
June. The committees were due to consider their joint draft report on the public
consultations at a meeting yesterday, 17th June.
Note: The National Assembly’s Standing Order 135 states that every Bill, except a
Constitutional Bill, must be referred to the appropriate portfolio committee once
gazetted. The committee then has 14 business days, excluding Fridays, to prepare
a report of “its deliberations and recommendations” on the Bill for consideration by
the National Assembly at the Second Reading stage. And it will, in accordance with
section 141 of the Constitution, ensure that interested parties are consulted about
the Bill, usually by inviting the public to make submissions and conducting public
hearings around the country. When the Second Reading stage is reached, the
practice is for the committee’s chairperson to present the report after the responsible
Minister has made the Second Reading speech and before backbenchers begin
making their contributions.
Government Gazette 14th June 2019
Collective bargaining agreements
SI 132/2019 is an agreement that “regularises” an arbitral award of a cost-of-living
adjustment for the year 2017 in favour of Harare Municipal Undertaking workers. A
chart lists basic salaries plus housing allowance [25% of basic] and identical acrossthe-board water, rates, electricity, education, and transport allowances.
SI 133/2019 corrects an error in SI 251/2018. The preamble to SI 251/2018 will now
refer to the National Employment Council [NEC] as being the body representing
Zimbabwe Schools Development Associations and Committees in “Government run
Schools” only, instead of the erroneous “Government and Council run schools”.
Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Listings Requirements Rules
SI 134/2019 [link] contains these long-awaited rules, made by the Zimbabwe Stock
Exchange and approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission in terms of
section 65 of the Securities and Exchange Act.
Public Finance Management (General) Regulations
SI 135/2019 [link] enacts these regulations, which set out detailed rules fleshing out
the broad principles laid down by the Public Finance Management Act. With effect
from 14th June 2019, the regulations, according to section 2, “supersede all