Online Reporter
Farirai Machivenyika-Senior Reporter
Parliament will have at least seven Bills to debate when it resumes sitting next month and are currently are at various stages of promulgation, the latest report on Bills’ status from Parliament shows.
Bills that are currently at various stages of debate include the Persons with Disabilities Bill, the Parks and Wildlife Amendment Bill, the Private Voluntary Organisations Bill, the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill, the Medical Services Amendment Bills, the Insurance and Pensions Commission Amendment Bill, the Broadcasting Services and the State Services (Pensions) Amendment Bill.
The Persons with Disabilities Bill is at the Second Reading stage in the National Assembly and seeks to improve the rights and freedoms of people with disabilities.
This Bill will replace the Disabled Persons Act, which is outdated, and will align Zimbabwe’’s disability law with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The Parks and Wildlife Amendment Bill seeks to, among other provisions, empower communities adjacent to parks in the management of wildlife and benefit from any related commercial activities and also compensate victims of conflicts involving wildlife.
The Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Bill was recommitted to Senate to consider amendments to some clauses that were made in the National Assembly, but were omitted in the Bill that was sent to the Senate.
The Bills seeks to improve the management, accountability and transparency in the management of charity organisations.
The Mines and Minerals Amendment Bills seeks to among others, ensure communities benefit from minerals resources in their communities and address the rights of farmers where minerals are found on their farms.
The Bills has been in Parliament for over a decade with President Mnangagwa withholding his assent to a Bill that was passed in 2018 as he felt some of it provisions violated the Constitution.
The Medical Services Amendment Bill brings the Act into line with the Constitution, especially in the Declaration of Rights where the right to health care for all citizens and permanent residents is entrenched along with the rights of children, rights of the elderly, rights of the disabled and rights of war veterans where medical services are a factor.
The Insurance and Pensions Commission Amendment Bill seeks to widen the mandate of the Commission to improve accountability and transparency in the management of insurance and pension funds.
The Broadcasting Services Amendment Bill will, among other things, rationalise foreign ownership of a broadcasting licence up to 40 percent to allow growth and investment in the sector while the State Services (Pension) Amendment Bill will establish a fund to ensure members enjoy a decent standard of living in their retirement through provision of pensions, gratuities and other benefits.
President Mnangagwa this week signed into law the Death Penalty Abolition Act that removes the death penalty from the country’s statutes in line with international trends.
He also signed two laws, the Appropriation Act and the Finance Act, to operationalise the 2025 national Budget.
