Both Houses of Parliament sat this week. The Senate sat on Tuesday 6th and Wednesday 7th August and then adjourned until Tuesday 27th August. The National Assembly sat on Tuesday, Wednesday and yesterday before also adjourning to Tuesday 27th August; its three days of sittings produced the results summarised below.
Finance (No. 2) Bill and Appropriation Supplementary (2019) Bill
Both these Bills were passed by the National Assembly yesterday and transmitted to the Senate. They will not become law until they have been passed by the Senate, assented to by the President and gazetted as Acts of Parliament. As the Senate had on Wednesday adjourned until Tuesday 27th August the Bills will not be dealt with by the Senate until that date at the earliest.
Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill
This Bill was also passed by the National Assembly yesterday but with amendments proposed by the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs to accommodate the reservations expressed by the Parliamentary Legal Committee [PLC] in its adverse report. The adverse report had been withdrawn on 1st August after the PLC and the Minister had agreed on the amendments. The amended Bill received a non-adverse report from the PLC before the final vote in the National Assembly and its transmission to the Senate. The amendments made to the Bill will be available on the Veritas website shortly.
The amended Bill will not become law until it has been passed by the Senate, assented to by the President and gazetted as an Act of Parliament. That cannot happen until the Senate resumes sitting towards the end of the month.
Zimbabwe Media Commission Bill Gazetted
This Bill was gazetted today.
