Story by Panashe Nagoli
THE stage is set for the first reading of the Constitutional Amendment Number 3 Bill in Parliament following the conclusion of the public consultation process on May 18.
All eyes will be on the National Assembly this Tuesday when the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Honourable Ziyambi Ziyambi, presents the First Reading of the Bill, which was gazetted on February 16.
The proposed legislation has attracted significant attention from political, business and religious stakeholders, creating heightened anticipation ahead of this week’s parliamentary proceedings.
Minister Ziyambi confirmed that he has already submitted notice of presentation to the Speaker of Parliament.
“I have already given notice of presentation to the Speaker and I will be giving the First Reading speech this Tuesday. Thereafter, we will have the Second Reading on Wednesday and we want to give all Members of Parliament an opportunity to debate so that we come up with an inclusive Bill. Debate will then continue after the parliamentary committees present their findings,” he said.
The minister also explained the rationale behind Parliament’s voting procedures.
“Parliament is where MPs represent the interests of their constituents, not their own. Therefore, it is not realistic for them to vote in secret. Parliament is a public institution and members of the public are entitled to know how their representatives are voting,” he said.
It has been more than 100 days since Cabinet approved the Bill on 10 February, with government targeting the completion of the legislative process by the end of June.
“Given that this is a Constitutional Bill, we want to move through the process efficiently so that the nation can focus on other matters. Our target is to ensure that all processes connected to this Bill are completed by the end of June,” said Minister Ziyambi.
Among its key proposals, the Constitutional Amendment No. 3 Bill seeks to extend the electoral cycle from five to seven years, transfer the functions of the Zimbabwe Gender Commission to the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, and repeal Section 281(2) of the Constitution, which prohibits traditional leaders from being members of political parties or participating in partisan politics.
The Bill now proceeds to Parliament, where legislators are expected to deliberate on its provisions before the legislative process advances to subsequent stages.
