This Week in Parliament
Both Houses of Parliament will resume sitting on Tuesday 7th October. In this Bill Watch we shall outline the business they are expected to deal with when they resume. Please however bear the following points in mind:
- When the National Assembly and the Senate adjourn, they set down all outstanding business on their Order Papers (i.e. their agendas) for the next appropriate sitting day. There is usually too much to be covered in one day so whatever is not dealt with is postponed to the next appropriate day.
- Both Houses of Parliament can change the order in which they consider business.
THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Tuesday 7th October
Bills to be dealt with
The Assembly is expected to deal with the following Bills:
- Medical Services Amendment Bill [link]
The Committee Stage of this Bill is due to begin.
- Zimbabwe School Examinations Council Amendment Bill [link]
The Second Reading of this Bill is due to begin.
- Pipelines Amendment Bill [link]
The Second Reading of this Bill is due to continue.
- Insurance and Pensions Commission Amendment Bill [link]
This Bill is due to begin its Second Reading.
- State Service (Pensions) Bill [link]
The House is due to consider the Parliamentary Legal Committee’s adverse report on this Bill [link]
Reports of constitutional commissions to be considered
The Assembly will be asked to consider:
- 2024 report of the Judicial Service Commission
- 2024 report of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
- 2024 report of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission
- 2024 report of the National Prosecuting Authority.
- 2024 report of the Attorney-General’s Office
International agreement to be approved
The Assembly will be asked to approve:
- The SADC Protocol on the Inter-State Transfer of Sentenced Prisoners [link]
- Treaty on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters with China
- The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction [link].
- Convention establishing the International Organisation for Mediation [link].
Reports of parliamentary committees
The Assembly will be asked to consider committee reports on the following issues:
- Operations and sustainability of community radio stations
- The state of prisons in Zimbabwe
- The state of digital information centres in Zimbabwe
- The 2024 third quarter Budget Performance Report for the Ministry of Defence
- Responsible mining by artisanal and small-scale miners
- Constraints and challenges affecting Zimsec
- The 2025 first quarter Budget Performance Report of the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife
- The 2024 fourth quarter Budget Performance Report of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce
- The accounts of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development for 2022
- The 2024 budget performance report of the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wild Life
- The 2024 third and fourth quarter Budget Performance Reports for the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry [link]
- The 2024 Budget Performance Reports of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development [link]
- The 2024 Budget Performance Reports of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
- The 2024 third and fourth quarter budget performance report of the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises
- Large-scale irrigation schemes
- Innovation hubs and industrial parks in universities and polytechnics
- The 2024 quarterly budget performance reports of the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development
- The 2024 third and fourth quarter Budget Performance Report of the Ministry of ICT, Postal and Courier Services
- The 2023 audited accounts of the Zimbabwe National Road Administration
- The status of women
Reports on petitions received
- A petition on security of tenure and access to title deeds for the urban poor
- A petition for a Lippert Concession Decolonisation Restorative Justice and Reparations Bill
Motions on the National Assembly order paper
Motions set to be debated by the Assembly will include the following topics:
- Measures to protect girls against rape
- Introducing a two-term school year for Zimbabwe’s schools
- Increasing spending and reducing regulations to encourage technological innovation
- Regularising informal settlements in urban areas
- Birth certificates and IDs for Zimbabweans living in South Africa
- Enforcing weight restrictions on passenger and goods vehicles
- Youth quotas in provincial councils, local authorities and public boards
- Quotas for local players in Premier Soccer League club teams
- Policies to protect the inheritance rights of widows
- Measures to support the health and welfare of students at institutions of higher education
- Drilling of boreholes and sharing of drilling costs
- Compensation for victims of road accidents
- Decentralisation and rotation of national independence celebrations
- Introduction of quotas for employment of youths in the public service
- Declaration of the public health situation to be a national emergency
- Tax relief for businesses that invest in or sponsor arts, sport and culture
- Measures to combat deforestation
- Promotion of traditional culture and practices
- Extending the prohibition against smoking tobacco in public places
- Controlling dangerous dogs and increasing protection against rabies
- Increased resources to treat mental disorders, particularly drug-related conditions
- Abolition of bank charges for balance enquiries
- Preventing child marriages and protecting girls from exploitation
- Dealing with tuberculosis and silicosis among miners
- Fires in communal areas
- Ensuring that local authorities fill vacant posts with substantive appointments rather than acting appointments
- Management and protection of wetlands
- Remodelling of community information centres
- Reply to the President’s speech.
Wednesday 8th October
Note: On Wednesdays, questions and other private members’ business have precedence over government business.
Questions set down for answer
Among questions set down for Ministers to answer in the National Assembly on Wednesday are questions on the following issues:
- Government policy on menstrual leave
- Measures to support businesses affected by current economic environment
- Compensation for victims of political violence since 1980
- Implementing recommendations of the SADC election observer mission from 2018 and 2023
- Compliance with court orders by companies, institutions and communities
- The appointment and removal of village heads
- Concessions for senior citizens on local authority service charges
- Sewerage and drainage problems and mismanagement in Chitungwiza
- Government policy on breeding and keeping dangerous dog breeds
- Statistics on prosecutions of drug dealers
- Payment of allowances owing to persons employed on registration exercises in 2023
- Details of the Government’s contract with a private company to produce passports
- Statistics on convictions for procuring in 2023 and 2024
- Repatriation of remains of liberation war fighters killed in Zambia
- How the government balances its commitment to democracy and human rights with trade relations with autocratic regimes
- Repatriation of Zimbabweans in foreign immigration holding centres
- Abolition of visa requirements for Zimbabweans visiting African countries
- Time allocated for party political broadcasts before elections
- Exemption of deaf people from paying for car radio licences
- The amount and application of revenue collected from vehicle radio licences and its impact on access to information
- Housing and capacitation of school teachers
- Payment of school fees and the consequences of non-payment
- Fees payable by university students and the inclusion of medical aid in those fees
- Construction and maintenance of roads, dams and other infrastructure.
- Fees for renewal of vehicle licences
- The cost and time-scale of projects such as the Trabablas Interchange project
- Revenue from the issue of vehicle number plates in 2025
- Why no Public Health Advisory Board has been appointed since 2014
- The recruitment of nurses and the authentication of their qualifications
- The number of teachers employed since 2015 and the number of teacher vacancies in primary and secondary schools
- Measures to improve the welfare of pensioners
Thursday 9th October
The Assembly will continue with business stood over from Tuesday.
THE SENATE
Tuesday 7th October
International agreements to be approved
The Senate will be asked to approve:
- Establishment agreement of the International Mangrove Centre
- The SADC Protocol on the Inter-State Transfer of Sentenced Prisoners [link]
Reports of Constitutional Commissions to be considered
The Senate will be asked to consider the reports of the following constitutional Commissions:
- The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission’s report for 2024
- Reports of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission on by-elections held in October and November 2024 and January 2025 to fill vacancies in local authorities
Thematic Committee reports to be considered
The Senate will be asked to adopt a report on:
- Status of border posts in relation to border security and governance
- Access to reproductive health services by sex workers
Motions to be dealt with by the Senate
The Senate is expected to debate motions on the following topics:
- Measures to protect children against sexual abuse
- Establishment of DISCO Steel Mill
- Protection of wetlands, particularly in Harare
- Measures to reduce traffic accidents.
Wednesday 8th October
The Senate will continue business stood over from Tuesday
Thursday 9th October
Questions set down for answer
Among questions for Ministers to answer in the Senate on Thursday are questions on the following issues:
- Exemption of senior citizens from paying rates and levies to urban and rural local authorities
- Exemption of war veterans from paying parking fees
- Revenue raised from agricultural export licences
- Land audit to identify under-utilised land for reallocation
- The number of villages targeted for borehole drilling in 2025
- The recognition of historical monuments, in particular King Mzilikazi’s grave
- Response of police to emergencies in rural areas
- The US government’s suspension of visas for Zimbabweans
- Whether a social welfare fund has been established under section 10 of the Older Persons Act
- Disposal of vehicles impounded at border posts
- Recognition of International Women’s Day as a public holiday
Bills Being Considered by the Parliamentary Legal Committee
The PLC is considering the following Bills: