Judgment No. CCZ 10/2018 Const. Application No. CCZ 80/2016 It is common cause that the petition was duly presented to the Speaker and that Parliament proceeded with the passage of the Bill despite this protest. It is also common cause that on 28 June 2016 the Speaker declared that “the matter will be tabled before the appropriate Committee and that investigations will be done”. However, no such investigations appear to have been undertaken and, even if they had been, the findings of the appropriate committee have not been availed, either to the National Assembly or to this Court. I have already cited s 141 of the Constitution in terms of which Parliament is enjoined, inter alia, to facilitate public involvement in its legislative and other processes and in the processes of its committees. The paramount importance of participatory democracy and public participation in the law-making process was aptly emphasised in the Doctors for Life case (supra). In the words of Ncgobo J: “Therefore our democracy includes as one of its basic and fundamental principles, the principle of participatory democracy. The democratic government that is contemplated is partly representative and partly participatory, is accountable, responsive and transparent and makes provision for public participation in the lawmaking processes. Parliament must therefore function in accordance with the principles of our participatory democracy.” [at para 116] “It is implicit, if not explicit, from the duty to facilitate public participation in the law-making process that the Constitution values public participation in the lawmaking process. The duty to facilitate public participation in the law-making process would be meaningless unless it sought to ensure that the public participates in that process. The very purpose in facilitating public participation in legislative and other processes is to ensure that the public participates in the law-making process consistent with our democracy.” [at para 135] “In my judgment, public participation in the law-making processes of the NCOP is the goal of the duty to facilitate public involvement comprehended in section 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. 20