Bill Watch37/2016 The National Assembly is in Recess until 8th September 30 August

BILL WATCH 37/2016

[30th August 2016]

The National Assembly is in Recess until 8th September

The Senate is in Recess until 4th October

National Assembly

The National Assembly was scheduled to hear the Minster of Finance’s presentation of the Mid-Term Fiscal Policy Review on 18th August.The Review was delayed but the Assembly still sat on that day to deal with other business. The intention was that it would then adjourn until Thursday 8th September, the new date for the Review. What happened instead was that the Assembly had three unscheduled sittings caused by ZANU-PF MPs walking out of the House and leaving it without a quorum.

The Senate, as planned, went into recess after its sitting on 18th August until 4th October. Note: the Fiscal Policy Review is heard only by the National Assembly.

Walk-Outs over Motion on Police Brutality

At the start of National Assembly’s sitting on Thursday 18th, Hon Chamisa, with the support of at least 25 MPs of his own party, was granted leave in terms of Standing Order 59 to move a motion to adjourn the House on a definite matter of urgent public importance [police brutality against citizens exercising their constitutional right to protest]. In accordance with the Standing Order Hon Chamisa then had the right to move his motion at 5.15 pm. [Note: Standing Order 59 makes special provision for an MP “to move the adjournment of the House for the purpose of discussing a definite matter of urgent public importance”. The procedure is that the matter must first be raised with the Speaker who, if he considers the matter is indeed a definite matter of urgent public importance, must then call on MPs who support the motion to rise in their places. If at least 25 MPs rise, the Speaker must then declare the leave of the House to have been granted and the matter must stand over until 5.15 pm, when other business will be interrupted and the MP will be free to move his motion.]

As 5.15 pm approached, however, ZANU-PF MPs staged a walk-out, reducing the number present to fewer than the 70 required for a quorum of the House. A ZANU-PF objection to continuing without a quorum precipitated a mandatory adjournment to Friday morning in terms of Standing Order 56. [Note: Where a quorum cannot be formed, this Standing Order requires the presiding officer to adjourn the House, without debate, to the next sitting day.Standing Order 1 defines “sitting day” as a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday that is not a public holiday.So Friday is a sitting day, even though the Houses very seldom sit on Fridays.]

On Friday morning only 44 MPs showed up and there was an objection to continuing, which forced another mandatory adjournment to the next sitting day – which was Tuesday 23rd August. Hence the unplanned sitting on that day.

Another walkout on TuesdayTuesday’s hearing began with a satisfactory initial turnout of 170 MPs and Hon Chamisa informing the Speaker that he believed MPs were now prepared to debate his police brutality motion.For the second time the Speaker gave him leave to move his motion at 5.15 pm, but warned that this would be Hon Chamisa’s last chance under Standing Order 59; if the motion failed this time, it would not be entertained again and Hon Chamisa would have to pursue other strategies to ventilate the police brutality issue.In the event, before Hon Chamisa’s motion was due to come up at 5.15 pm, another ZANU-PF walk-out brought about another mandatory no-quorum adjournment, to Wednesday, 24th August.

Wednesday’s sittingThe National Assembly, therefore, had a third unscheduled sitting on 24th August. Hon Chamisa did not repeat his attempt to move his police brutality motion as a definite matter of urgent public importance.Note: Hon Chamisa’s motion now appears on the Order Paper as an ordinary Private Member’s motion; it is item 16 of 49, last in the queue of other Private Member’s motions waiting their turn to be moved, but ahead of motions already being debated. [Full text of motion available via this linkto the Veritas website]

Other Parliamentary BusinessBetween Walkouts

Bill Watch 35/2016 of 17th August covered business conducted in both Houses on Tuesday 16th August. From this point onwards this bulletin outlines what happened in both Houses on 17th and 18th August, and in the National Assembly on 19th. 23rd and 24th August, i.e., matters not already covered in the previous paragraph on Hon Chamisa’s police brutality motion and its related walk-outs.

National Assembly

Wednesday 17th August

Chimanimani vacancy announcedOn 18th August the Speaker announced the vacancy, which took effect on 16th August in terms of section 129(1)(k) of the Constitution, the date on which the Speaker received ZANU-PF’s notice of incumbent MP Munacho Mutezo’s expulsion from the party.

Question Time took up its full allotted two hours, after which the House was adjourned until 18th August.

Thursday 18th August

SADC Tribunal Protocol approvedSee separate note below.

Report on exchange visit to Palestine ParliamentHon Paradza, chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs, presented a report on a five-day visit by some committee members to the Palestine Legislative Council in May.As described above, the adjournment to the following day was mandatory because there was no quorum.

Friday 19th August [wasted sitting]

There was no quorum.No business was conducted.A totally wasted 28-minute sitting, ending with a mandatory adjournment to the next sitting day..

Tuesday 23rd August[unscheduled but not wasted]

Report on Congo-Brazzaville Presidential electionsThe House approved the motion by Hon A. Mnangagwa to take note of the report of the AU Observation Mission on these elections.

Motion calling for Basic Orientation in Zimbabwe History for MPsHon Mandipaka introduced this motion, which also calls for the political history of this country to be taught in schools and government institutions.Debate was not completed.

Wednesday 24th August [unscheduled, but not wasted]

It being Private Members’ day, the afternoon was taken up by Question Time. The sitting ended after Questions with Notice at 4.47 pm.There was an orderly conventional adjournment to Thursday 8th September.

Senate

17th August

Motions adoptedThree motions were adopted after winding-up speeches by the proposers—

  • Senator B. Sibanda’s motion on corruption
  • Senator B. Sibanda’s motion calling for the resuscitation of the Zambezi Water Project
  • Senator Chief Musarurwa’s motion of congratulations to President Mugabe on his term as AU chairperson.

18th August

Before adjourning until 4th October, Senators approved further motions—

  • Vice-President Mnangagwa’s motion for approval of the SADC Tribunal Protocol of 2014 [see below]
  • Senator Musaka’s motion on upgrading Zimbabwe’s transportation system
  • Senator Tawengwa’s motion of thanks to the President for his speech at the opening of the Session last year.

At the end of the sitting, the Senate adjourned until 4th October, which will see the opening of the next [Fourth] session of the present Parliament.

New SADC Tribunal Protocol Approved by Parliament

Both Houses approved the “new” SADC Tribunal Protocol on 18th August. The motions for its approval were moved by Vice-President Mnangagwa. Opposition MPs in the National Assembly claimed that the text of the Protocol had not been circulated in advance, that they were being taken by surprise and that the Vice-President had not given them a satisfactory explanation of the contents of the Protocol. In a brief response the Vice-President said the Tribunal’s previous jurisdiction to entertain disputes between citizens of member States and their governments had to be abolished because it was inconsistent with national sovereignty. Accordingly, under the new Protocol the Tribunal would entertain only disputes between member States. [Protocol text available via this link to the Veritas website]

Parliament’s approval means that President Mugabe will now be able to present Zimbabwe’s Instrument of Ratification of the Protocol at this week’s SADC Summit. That will give him a basis for urging other member States to follow Zimbabwe’s lead.

Reminder:At the August 2014 SADC Summit hosted by Zimbabwe at the Victoria Falls, the new Protocol for the SADC Tribunal was approved, although not signed by all member States.President Mugabe signed on behalf of Zimbabwe, whose refusal to accept adverse decisions of the SADC Tribunal had been a major factor in SADC Summit decisions to close down the operations of the Tribunal and rethink its jurisdiction.

The Protocol will only come into force when ratified by two-thirds of SADC member States [10 of the total of 15], in accordance with their own constitutions and laws.That has not yet happened, so the Protocol is not yet in force.It was, and remains, highly controversial.In at least two member States – Tanzania and South Africa – legal proceedings have are ongoingto bar the Governments of those States from ratifying the Protocol. A 2014 resolution of the SADC Lawyers Association urged law societies in member States to launch such proceedings.

For more on the SADC Tribunal and the new Protocol, see Bill Watch 42/2014 [available via this link to the Veritas website].

2016 SADC Summit in Swaziland

Preparatory meetings for the 2016 SADC Summit in Swaziland began last week in that country. The two-day Heads of State and Government Summit will take place on Tuesday 30th and Wednesday 31st August. The Summit’s general theme is "Resource Mobilization for Investment in Sustainable Energy Infrastructure for an Inclusive SADC Industrialization for the Prosperity of the Region".

King Mswati of Swaziland is due to assume the SADC chair at the Summit, in succession to President Khama of Botswana.

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