MDC-T concerned by delays in realigning laws with new Constitution

Patrick Chitaka, the MDC-T Senator for Manicaland has raised serious concerns over the delays by the government to realign the country's laws with the new Constitution.

Debating on a motion on harmonisation of existing legislation with the Constitution of Zimbabwe in Senate on Wednesday, Senator Chitaka said the realistic approach was to realign all the offending and relevant laws.

It was the second day of debating this motion, the Deputy Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs (Fortune Chasi) made an undertaking that he would bring to this Senate a statement of intent or a programme of how the ministry was going to approach this realignment of laws.

“He gave us a time scale of three weeks and that has since expired. I am not surprised that the minister has not yet come back to us,” said Senator Chitaka.

He said over 100 laws needed to be realigned with the new Constitution adding that; “There are a lot of new laws to be brought in, which are demanded by the new Constitution, the new commissions and provincial councils which are being set up and so on. These are virtually new laws”.

“The core-business of this Senate is to make laws for the good governance of this country. This Senate should not abrogate its responsibility to make laws. I think I am not wrong in assuming that making laws also extends to realigning of laws to the new Constitution which was driven by this Parliament. Rather than putting all the pressure on the Executive to realign these laws – the Executive, with all its good intentions, will obviously prioritise those laws that are in line with its Government programmes,” said Senator Chitaka.

I do not see the Executive realigning those laws which I feel are important within my constituency. Therefore, the realistic approach that I am referring to is that this Senate should seriously look at the whole issue and question; is it realistic for this Government to realign all the laws within the next few months?

My answer is, no. If we have to realign every law that needs to be realigned, this 8th Parliament will come to an end before we have done 100 percent justice,” he said.

Senator Chitaka said the people risked the dangers of the Constitutional Court being inundated by frivolous but genuine cases of laws that are offensive.

A law that offends me may not be important to someone but to me, it will be very important. I have the right, under the present Constitution to take it to the Constitutional Court. So, if all of us start doing that, I think the Constitutional Court will be inundated and it too will end up being bogged down. So, let us be realistic on how we then try to manoeuvre around this dilemma,” said Chitaka.