Judgment No. CCZ 10/2018 Const. Application No. CCZ 80/2016 Thereafter, a further meeting was convened on 23 June 2016. Three members were present, being the ZANU-PF contingent, while the applicants were recorded as having tendered their apologies. The meeting considered the Bill together with the notice of amendments that I have earlier alluded to. The PLC then resolved that: “the Minister had responded adequately to their concerns as raised in the previous meeting and that a non-adverse certificate would be issued accordingly”. As appears in the Hansard of 28 June 2016, the first applicant protested that the last PLC meeting “was nicodemously held” and should be deemed a nullity. He explained that all five members of the PLC were part of a WhatsApp group and that notice of the PLC meeting was communicated by Counsel to Parliament through that medium. He further explained that both he and the second applicant had previously indicated that they would not be available during the period in question. Thereafter, the second applicant also voiced her concerns that the PLC had not made any “pre-emptive commitment to issue a Non Adverse Report”. There can be no doubt that the protestations of the applicants in Parliament are at variance with the minutes of the three PLC meetings that I have referred to. It is evident that they were given notice of the final meeting, albeit through their WhatsApp group. However, the specific reason for their non-attendance at the meeting is not entirely clear. More importantly, the minutes of the three PLC meetings in question indicate that the views and concerns of all five members of the PLC were duly ventilated and that the Bill was consequently amended to take those views and concerns into account. The applicants have not challenged the authenticity or accuracy of those minutes nor have DISTRIBUTED BY VERITAS e-mail: veritas@mango.zw; website: www.veritaszim.net Veritas makes every effort to ensure the provision of reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied. 18