PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday proved before all and sundry his appreciation of lawmaking in Zimbabwe.
He inexplicably blamed Parliament when it is obvious it’s his Executive that slept on the job.
Mnangagwa made some remarks during the opening of the second session of the 10th Parliament.
The occasion marked the end of the first year of the five this Parliament has.
Parliament has not seen much action in lawmaking in the session except the perfunctory passing of legislation to legalise the budget.
“May I preface the legislative segment of my address by highlighting that Parliament has an obligation to expedite the enactment of all Bills that, for one reason or another, are outstanding from previous sessions of the august House,” Mnangagwa said.
“The list includes Bills relating to: Persons with Disabilities; Administration of Estates Amendment; Civil Aviation Amendment; Death Penalty Abolition; Parks and Wildlife Amendment; Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment; and Mines and Minerals Amendment. Others are the Medical Services Amendment; and the Insurance and Pensions Amendment.”
A quick check shows that of the 13 Bills gazetted in the first session, only one was passed.
- Mr President, you missed the opportunity to be the veritable voice of conscience
- ED to commission new-look border post
- Zanu PF ready for congress
- EU slams Zim over delayed reforms
Keep Reading
This was a poor return by any measure, especially for a government that has a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly.
Soon after laying the blame on Parliament, Mnangagwa realised as an afterthought that it’s his ministers that should be steering the Bills in Parliament.
“The second category comprises Bills that came to light since my last address, but which ministries never forwarded to Parliament. I also challenge Parliamentary Portfolio Committees to be seized with the business of Bills that fall under their respective purviews. All concerned parties must address these anomalies for the collective good of our nation.”
The President had a few facts muzzled up. Portfolio committees only make recommendations and lead in public hearings after Bills are gazetted.
They do not introduce legislation. It is the function of the line ministers or the leader of government business in Parliament, in this case Justice and Parliamentary Affairs minister Ziyambi Ziyambi.
Despite being a former Speaker of Parliament, Mnangagwa exhibited selective amnesia by forgetting that government business is prioritised over private members’ Bills in Parliament.
In simple terms, a government minister has the first right to be heard before any other MP during sittings.
Mnangagwa’s Cabinet has been sleeping on the job.
It is in no hurry to do anything.
Or perhaps, it is Mnangagwa who is in no hurry to achieve anything since he has power to hire, fire and even censure his Cabinet ministers.
He seems to be like a man who loves firefighting: Always reactive, and trying to do anything in a hurry.
In the Ninth Parliament (2018-2023), Mnangagwa caused the passing of two constitutional amendments, both which dealt with increasing the President’s powers.
Mnangagwa lived up to his nickname — Crocodile.
He stayed clearly off any talk about a constitutional amendment to extend his presidential term.
It did not occur to him that he could have used this platform to quell the calls for a third term once and for all by making a bold statement in the House.
One can only conclude, this issue is not dead, but can be resurrected at some point in future.
It is important to note that Mnangagwa deliberately did not say anything on two Bills, that are demanded by the Constitution.
He totally remained silent on the Debt Management Bill a law that would put a cap on the size of national debt and change the way sovereign debt is contracted.
To make matters worse, this Bill was ordered by the High Court in March 2023 and the government, Finance minister had to bring the Bill to the House within 12 months.
One would hate to call the government a constitutional delinquent, but if it tramples on court orders, one is left with no option.
The government is going rogue.
The Mnangagwa administration deliberately is failing to bring a Devolution Bill, a law that will change local and provincial governments by giving them some autonomy.
Zanu PF likes the one centre of power principle and cannot fathom some minions, especially from the opposition, running the two metropolitan provincial governments in Harare and Bulawayo.
It should be remembered that it was Zanu PF in 2006 that changed the law and removed executive mayors in urban local authorities after the opposition had taken a clean sweep of all municipalities.
The President did not speak anything about the ratification of the Convention Against Torture despite Zimbabwe being a signatory.
It is worrisome that the convention is deliberately not being ratified by Parliament yet Zimbabwe has become some sort of a pariah State, where torture is employed against political activists.
It can be concluded that this government enjoys the use of torture as one of its coercive tools in its toolkit to control opposition activists.
It is used as a sort of the Damocles sword just hanging there.
Could the opposition act on the President’s granting of leeway to Parliament to expedite passing of legislation by coming up with Private Members Bills?
Does the opposition have that capacity or it now feels it’s not a moment to rock the boat after receiving the swanky SUVs and constituency development funds?
After all has been said and done, the buck stops with Mnangagwa.
He has the Executive powers, leads the ruling party that enjoys a two-thirds majority and superintends a Zanu PF Cabinet, but cannot cajole it to pass legislation to express his leadership.
Alternatively, why would his Cabinet want to sabotage him by not bringing the Bills that he would have lined down as the government business to Parliament?
It serves no purpose to speculate on that except for a brave opposition MP to question the leader of government business in the House.
Anyways, for now, Mnangagwa seems impotent.
It is only him who can show he has a plan and is ready to execute it or he will be known as the leader who had the majority, but achieved nothing for the population.
- Paidamoyo Muzulu is a journalist based in Harare. He writes here in his personal capacity.
