Human Rights Archive Zimbabwe

Bill Watch 65/2019 contained speculation that Parliament would, as it has done in past years, have a ten-day break to allow ZANU PF MPs to attend to their party obligations in connection with the ZANU PF Annual Conference.

Last week, only the National Assembly was in session.

Resumption of the Budget debate is on the Order Paper for today, Tuesday 26th November.

ZANU-PF versus MDC-A : Chairing of Parliamentary Committees

The 2020 National Budget Presentation on 14th November, noted briefly in Bill Watch 59/2019 [link], was not the only important event of the last Parliamentary week. This bulletin is to update readers on other noteworthy developments in the National Assembly that occurred last week.

On Friday 8th November the Office of the President and Cabinet announced changes made by President Mnangagwa to his Ministerial line-up with immediate effect. The following tables show the complete Ministerial line-up including the changes, in alphabetical order by name of Ministry.

The Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube, presented the 2020 National Budget to the National Assembly this afternoon

The Senate and the National Assembly last sat on Thursday 24th October. Since then MPs have been occupied mainly with Budget business.

The Government of Zimbabwe blames the country’s steep economic decline in the decades after 2000, on sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe, particularly those of the EU and US. The Government has framed these measures as an international trade embargo against Zimbabwe and, because they do not have the imprimatur of the United Nations Security Council, maintain that they are illegal.

STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS OF 2019

Both Houses will reconvene next week, having adjourned until Tuesday 12th November after their last sittings on 24th October. In the meantime, MPs and Ministers have been attending the pre-Budget Seminar at Victoria Falls from 30th October to 4th November.

Section 50(5)(c) of the Constitution provides that anyone who is detained has the right to communicate with, and be visited by, their relatives, their chosen religious counsellor, their chosen lawyer and their chosen medical practitioner.

Statement to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights at the 65th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights under Agenda Item 4e

When opening the current session of Parliament on 1st October the President criticised Parliament’s low output of Bills during the last session

On 19 September 2019, Dr Peter Magombeyi, a medical doctor was found alive and disoriented, dumped about 33 km out of Harare in a placed called Nyabira.

The Second Session of this Parliament – the Ninth Parliament of Parliament [and second Parliament under the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe] was officially opened by President Mnangagwa on Tuesday 1st October at a joint sitting of both Houses.

This bulletin continues where Bill Watch 52 of 16th October [“Statutory Instruments: Part 1]” [link] stopped; it will deal with Government Gazettes from SI 205/2019 of 20th September up to SI 221/2019 of 18th October.

Several Acts of Parliament contain provisions permitting the President or a Minister to make statutory instruments ‒ regulations, orders and so on ‒ which amend the Acts themselves.

The purpose of this bulletin and another to follow soon is to provide, in two Parts, an update on Government Gazettes and statutory instruments from 1st August to date which have not been noted previously in our bulletins.

As long ago as 1997 our Supreme Court ruled that arbitrarily stopping either people or vehicles infringes the constitutional right to freedom of movement, though the court held that the random stopping of vehicles to check for vehicle defects could be regarded as a justifiable limitation if it was done for the purpose of ensuring safety on the roads.

President Mnangagwa opened the Second Session of the Ninth Parliament of Zimbabwe at a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament in the National Assembly today.

AN ACT to make provision for the maintenance of peace, order and security in Zimbabwe; to repeal the Public Order and Security Act [Chapter 11:17]; and to provide for matters connected with or incidental to the foregoing.

Three months ago, when the Minister of Finance and Economic Development gazetted SI 142/2019 [link] declaring RTGS dollars to be the only legal tender in Zimbabwe, press headlines referred to the "outlawing" of the use of the US dollars and other foreign currencies in Zimbabwe. Ministers and officials said the same thing.

There will be a ceremonial opening of the Second Session on Tuesday 1st October. During this opening the President will present his State of the Nation Address [SONA] and outline the legislative agenda for this session.

The NTJWG joined the rest of the world in commemorating the International of Peace. Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September.

Dr Peter Magombeyi, a medical doctor and Acting President of the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA), was abducted on the night of 14 September.

On Tuesday 27th August the Senate received the Parliamentary Legal Committee [PLC]'s non-adverse report on the amendment to clause 7(5) of the Bill made at its special sitting on 14th August.

The month of August is always a difficult time for Zimbabwe. It is the same month in which at least six civilians were shot dead by the army following the demonstrations in the Harare CBD. Since then, things have not been the same. In this newsletter, we highlight so that you get the full picture of the transitional justice landscape in the country.

Recalled from their recess by the President to conduct special business [see Bill Watch 45/2019 of 12th August [link] – Senators assembled on Wednesday 14th August for a single sitting that lasted for just over eight hours, with the adjournment until Tuesday 27th August coming at 10.37 pm.

The 39th Ordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) was held at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania last weekend. All sixteen SADC member States were represented.

The press statement was issued by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission on 15th August 2019 ahead of the mass demonstrations planned for 16th August.

Statement by Spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on 16th August 2019 Demonstrations in Harare

At a sitting that started on 8th August and ended at 4.10 am on 9th August the National Assembly passed the Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill with amendments, most of which were intended to meet objections raised by the Parliamentary Legal Committee [PLC] in its adverse report on the Bill.

By furious fast-tracking of business on Wednesday 8th [they sat until 10.39 pm] and Thursday 9th [until 4.10 am on Friday morning] the National Assembly managed to pass, not only the Finance (No. 2) Bill and the Appropriation Supplementary (2019) Bill [the two Budget bills], but also, with amendments, the Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill

Both Houses of Parliament sat this week. The Senate sat on Tuesday 6th and Wednesday 7th August and then adjourned until Tuesday 27th August. The National Assembly sat on Tuesday, Wednesday and yesterday before also adjourning to Tuesday 27th August

On Thursday 2nd August the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Hon Mthuli Ncube, presented his 2019 Mid-Year Budget Review and Supplementary Budget to the National Assembly. President Mnangagwa attended the presentation. Opposition MDC-A MPs did not

There were a number of considerable transitional justice developments in the country in the month of July.This newsletter,captures these developments for you,so that you get the full picture of the transitional justice landscape in the country.

Both the Senate and the National Assembly will continue sitting this week, the third week of the current series of sittings.

FINANCIAL ADJUSTMENTS BILL, 2019

The newsletter talks about the human rights developments in the country and keeps people informed on how "The Forum" worked for the realization and enjoyment of the rights of Zimbabwean people in the month of July.

On the 24th July the Deputy Speaker of Parliament announced that the Parliamentary Legal Committee had issued an adverse report on the Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill, meaning that the Committee had found some provisions of the Bill to be unconstitutional. The report can be seen on the Veritas website [link] as can the Bill itself [link].

Parliament has in separate public notices dated 23rd July invited the public to make comments on the above-mentioned Bills. In each case the deadline for receipt of written submissions is Friday next week, 2nd August.

The Marriages Bill, 2019 [H.B. 7, 2019] was gazetted on Friday 19th July. The Bill can be downloaded from the Veritas website [link]. For our analysis of the Bill see Bill Watch 36/2019 of 22nd July