Parliament to resume sitting end of January

PARLIAMENT will resume business on January 29 next year after breaking for the festive season. Both the National Assembly and Senate adjourned last week on Thursday after the former had passed the 2019 National Budget.

The leader of Government business in Parliament who is also the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Ziyambi Ziyambi announced that Parliament will resume on January 29.

"On the motion of the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs honourable Ziyambi, the House adjourned at Two Minutes past One o'clock a.m. until Tuesday, 29th January, 2019," said the Minister following the passing of the 2019 National budget in the National Assembly.

"I want to thank the honourable members for staying up until 1AM so that we consider matters of our Budget. I really appreciate the effort that has been put in debating and the robust debate that we had today. It is much appreciated."

When Parliament resumes, the Senate is expected to debate and pass the national budget. A number of proposed laws will also be tabled in Parliament next year. Officially opening the Ninth Parliament, President Mnangagwa laid out the legislative agenda, with 27 Bills proposed to give urgency to the achievement of Government's economic turnaround drive.

Some of the Bills that deal directly with economic issues that the President presented include the Companies and Other Entities Bill, which will overhaul the Companies Act; the Regional Town and Country Planning Amendment Bill, which seeks to reduce the time and procedures for processing construction permits and the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) Bill, which seeks to consolidate various pieces of legislation on investment, which are presently spread under various Acts.

ZIDA will also provide for the establishment of a one-stop investment centre, the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency. As part of Government's promise to fully implement devolution, the Rural District Councils Bill intended to give Rural Councils greater autonomy, as enshrined in the Constitution will be brought before the House while the Traditional Leaders Act will be amended to bring it into line with the Constitution and more particularly, to provide for the establishment of Provincial Assemblies.

President Mnangagwa said the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill that was passed in the last session of the Eighth Parliament will be re-tabled to address some inadequacies and provide for online registration of mining rights and title.

The Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act and the Immigration Act will also be amended. The other Bills that will be tabled include the Gold Trade Bill and the Precious Stones Trade Bill, which seek to curb leakage of precious minerals and the Consumer Protection Bill which aims to protect consumers from unfair trade practices and abuse by suppliers of sub-standard goods.

"To mitigate the security risks and cyber-crime related threats, a Cyber Crime and Cyber Security Bill shall be tabled before this Parliament," President Mnangagwa said.

The President said the Cooperative Societies Amendment Bill and the Tripartite Negotiating Forum Bill, which aim to facilitate participatory development by fostering greater collaboration between all social partners, will also be brought for consideration by the august House.