Legislative Work of Parliament [Bills & Acts] in 2016

• Criminal Procedure and Evidence Amendment Bill
• General Laws Amendment Bill
• Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences Bill
• Gwanda State University Act Bill
• Public Finance Management Amendment Bill
• Special Economic Zones Act
• Local Government Laws Amendment Bill
• Pan-African Minerals University of Science and Technology Bill

All were gazetted and became law as Acts before the end of the year.   Details are shown in the table of Acts below.

Two Bills were withdrawn/abandoned during 2016

• National Peace and Reconciliation Commission Bill

This Bill was withdrawn in May 2016 following an adverse report by the Parliamentary Legal Committee following its presentation and First Reading.  In withdrawing the Bill the Deputy Minister in Vice-President Mphoko’s office said a replacement Bill would be brought to Parliament.  That had not happened by the end of the year.

• Zimbabwe National Defence University Bill

As explained in the note preceding the table of Acts below, the Bill for what was to have been Act 1/2016 was in effect abandoned at a very late stage by the Government.

Bills Presented in 2016 but Carried Forward Uncompleted to 2017

In the National Assembly

Seven Bills were carried forward to 2017 uncompleted—

• Land Commission Bill [for report on amendments made during Committee Stage] [annotated copy showing amendments available link]
• Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill [“Bond Notes Bill”] [Note this has now been passed and gazetted as an Act of 2017 link]
• Deeds Registries Amendment Bill
• Judicial Laws Amendment (Ease of Settling Commercial and Other Disputes) Bill
• Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Bill
• National Competitiveness Commission Bill
• ZEP-RE (Membership of Zimbabwe and Branch Office Agreement) Bill

In the Senate

No uncompleted Bills were left on the Senate Order Paper when it adjourned for the year.

Four Gazetted Bills Awaiting Presentation to Parliament as at 31.12.2016

[in order of date of gazetting]

• Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill  [gazetted 12th August 2016] link
• Estate Administrators Amendment Bill  [gazetted 9th December 2016] link
• Shop Licences Amendment Bill  [gazetted 16th December 2016] link
• Movable Property Security Interests Bill  [gazetted 28th November 2016] link

Bills awaiting Gazetting as at 31.12.2016

• Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 1) Bill link

This Bill is not listed among gazetted Bills in the previous paragraph because the official Parliamentary date of gazetting of this Bill is 3rd January 2017, the date on which the Speaker of the National Assembly gazetted it as H.B. 1, 2017 in a Government Gazette Extraordinary and expressly nullified an earlier publication in December by the Clerk of Parliament [GN 2/1017].

• Appropriation (2017) Bill
• Insolvency Bill

Not gazetted as at 25th March 2017 [text NOT available]

The Eight Acts of 2016

Note on the absence of Act 1/2016  There is and will be no Act 1/2016.  The number 1 was earmarked for the Zimbabwe National Defence University Act, but the Bill for that Act, although passed by both Houses in March 2016, was recommitted in  May for correction of an alleged error.  Before the correction process was completed by the National Assembly, the Seventh Session of Parliament came to an end and the Bill lapsed.  It was not revived by the Government once the present Session started.  Instead, the Zimbabwe National Defence University has recently been established by a Charter granted by the President in terms of prerogative powers and published in the Government Gazette as Statutory Instrument 38/2017 [see Bill Watch 7/2017 link].

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