Parliament sits for only 20 minutes

PARLIAMENT yesterday sat for less than 20 minutes and further adjourned to September 1, 2020 with less than 30 legislators in attendance.

Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Tsitsi Gezi presided over the sitting whose only activity was to swear in new MP Esther Nyathi (Zanu-PF).

Gezi announced that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) had written to Parliament on August 4 regarding the nomination of Nyathi as a Zanu-PF proportional representation MP.

Nyathi will fill the seat which was left vacant by the late Alice Ndlovu.

She then took oath as MP before the Clerk of Parliament, represented by his deputy, Nomasonto Sunga, in terms of section 128 of the Constitution.

Parliament has been on a prolonged break since July after some MPs tested positive to the coronavirus.

However, several Bills still remain hanging or are yet to be crafted.

The Second Session of the Ninth Parliament is expected to end soon, with reports saying that it might end next month.

The important pieces of legislation that are being crafted include the Cyber Security and Data Protection Bill, the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No 2) Bill, and the Marriages Bill, among others.