By Agencies
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi is expected to introduce the Constitutional Amendment No. 3 Bill (CAB 3) for the first time in Parliament on Tuesday, marking a critical stage in processes that seek to fundamentally reform Zimbabwe’s governance architecture.
The first reading in Parliament is the formal, introductory stage of the legislative process, where a proposed law is officially presented.
During this stage, the Member of Parliament or minister sponsoring a Bill introduces it to the House by reading its “long title” and objectives.
However, no debate or discussion regarding the merits of the Bill takes place at this stage, after which it is formally placed on the Order Paper before moving to the second reading.
Minister Ziyambi confirmed last week that CAB 3 will be introduced this week when Parliament, which has been in recess since mid-May, resumes sitting on Tuesday.
“It being a Constitutional Bill, it’s not referred to the Parliamentary Legal Committee, which would then allow me — if I am comfortable — to proceed to the second reading speech, where I will formally now unpack the Bill to parliamentarians, explaining the provisions of the Bill, the rationale and opening up debate so that the committees that undertook public hearings can then present their committee reports on what members of the public said,” he said.
“(They will also present) on what they also believe the Bill should be; and then after that it will be opened to all the Members of Parliament to debate, to proffer suggestions on clauses, what they think they should be like — and when all that debate is completed, I will then be able to respond to all the submissions.”
The parliamentary debate, Minister Ziyambi said, would determine whether any clauses should be adjusted or dropped before the Bill advances to the next stage.
“If there is need to adjust or to drop some clauses, I will then, in my closing speech after the second reading speech, indicate if that consideration will be done before we then proceed to the committee stage. But it will depend on the debate — how it goes in Parliament — and hopefully we should be able to conclude the processes by end of June.”
After the 90-day public consultation period ended on May 17, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs has been processing a significant volume of submissions.
It is believed that public consultations for CAB 3 were the most extensive in recent parliamentary history.
The report from the committee is expected to give legislators the context needed to engage meaningfully with one of the most consequential pieces of legislation before the 10th Parliament
