News / National
Government aligns 159 laws with the new constitution
18 Jun 2016 at 09:40hrs | Views
The Government has aligned 159 laws with the new Constitution following its adoption in 2013, and efforts are underway to complete the process, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said.
Mnangagwa, who also oversees the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, told Senators on Thursday that there was no deadline in the alignment of the laws with the new Constitution.
He said this while responding to questions in Senate on when the government would ensure that all laws were aligned with the Constitution before another election.
"There is no deadline. Out of the 299 Statutes in our books, we have so far aligned 159 statutes. We have identified about 200 Statutes requiring alignment and out of that number, 159 have been completed and processed through this House, through the General Laws Amendment Bill and other independent Statutes," he said.
"The ones that have not been processed are from line ministries where Ministers have not been able to process in time the areas of their concern or mandate. However, with regards to such alignment relating to the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, the Government or the Executive directly, that has been completed."
Senator for Bulawayo Province Senator Victor Mapungwana, had asked Mnangagwa the deadline of the realignment of a number of amendments to the electoral laws to guarantee the credibility of the 2018 harmonised elections.
Said Sen Mapungwana, "It is now 36 months after the draft Constitution was signed into law, which relates to three years. "My question is, what is the time limit or deadline for all outstanding provisions of the Constitution to be implemented, taking into account that we are left with less than 18 months to go for another General Election."
Zimbabwe adopted a new Constitution in 2013 putting an end to the post-war Lancaster House Constitution that had been used as the country's supreme law since 1980.
Mnangagwa, who also oversees the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, told Senators on Thursday that there was no deadline in the alignment of the laws with the new Constitution.
He said this while responding to questions in Senate on when the government would ensure that all laws were aligned with the Constitution before another election.
"There is no deadline. Out of the 299 Statutes in our books, we have so far aligned 159 statutes. We have identified about 200 Statutes requiring alignment and out of that number, 159 have been completed and processed through this House, through the General Laws Amendment Bill and other independent Statutes," he said.
"The ones that have not been processed are from line ministries where Ministers have not been able to process in time the areas of their concern or mandate. However, with regards to such alignment relating to the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, the Government or the Executive directly, that has been completed."
Senator for Bulawayo Province Senator Victor Mapungwana, had asked Mnangagwa the deadline of the realignment of a number of amendments to the electoral laws to guarantee the credibility of the 2018 harmonised elections.
Said Sen Mapungwana, "It is now 36 months after the draft Constitution was signed into law, which relates to three years. "My question is, what is the time limit or deadline for all outstanding provisions of the Constitution to be implemented, taking into account that we are left with less than 18 months to go for another General Election."
Zimbabwe adopted a new Constitution in 2013 putting an end to the post-war Lancaster House Constitution that had been used as the country's supreme law since 1980.
Source - Chronicle
