UNITED States ambassador to Zimbabwe Brian Nichols yesterday insisted on implementation of political and economic reforms if the country is to come out of isolation.
BY KUDZAI MUCHENJEKWA
Speaking during a courtesy call to Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda, Nichols said the government had done well in coming up with proposals that would bring about reform, but it was time to take action and implement recommendations given by foreign observer missions during the July 30 polls.
“The proposals from this government have been wonderful, but we need to see concrete action and Parliament is where those actions take place: repeal of [Public Order and Security Act] Posa and [Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act] Aippa, electoral reforms, implementation of some of the recommendations of the observer missions and improving the environment for doing business. That is all parliamentary business,” Nichols said.
Mudenda said Parliament has a bigger role to play in ensuring reforms that bring about a new Zimbabwe are implemented.
“Any electoral reforms that need to take place will come through Parliament like Posa. The Constitutional Court has already ruled that section 27 of Posa seems to offend the free assembly of people, so Parliament has no choice, but to amend that section of the Constitution,” Mudenda said.
“We have indicated to the ambassador [Nichols] that we have started the process through the administration of the Parliament to ensure that the pieces of legislation that were proposed by his Excellency the President [Emmerson Mnangagwa] during the State of the Nation Address are pursued with vigour to ensure that the legislative process is consummated in the next few months.”
US President Donald Trump signed the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Amendment Act of 2018 (S 2779) soon after the August 1 shootings, as government failed to meet the human rights conditions the US has demanded.
