Debra Matabvu
PARLIAMENT has received more than 300 000 public submissions on the proposed Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3 during a 90-day consultation process that ends tomorrow, representing one of the largest public participation exercises in recent constitutional reform processes.
The Bill, which was gazetted on February 16, seeks to amend provisions of the Constitution and could significantly reshape aspects of Zimbabwe’s governance and electoral framework.
Under Section 328 of the Constitution, Constitutional Amendment Bills must undergo a mandatory 90-day public consultation period before they can proceed to Parliament.
Although the official deadline falls today, submissions will still be accepted tomorrow because the final day coincides with a Sunday, in line with legal procedural requirements.
Thousands of Zimbabweans submitted their views through written submissions delivered physically to Parliament, via email and during four-day public hearings held between March 31 and April 2 across all the country’s 64 districts.
With the public consultation phase now drawing to a close, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs is expected to begin analysing the submissions before the Bill is formally introduced for debate when the National Assembly resumes sitting early next month.
Parliament is currently adjourned.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, Clerk of Parliament Mr Kennedy Chokuda said submissions had already surpassed the 300 000 mark by last week.
“At the moment, I do not have the exact figures. However, as of Tuesday (last week), we had received 300 000 submissions and we are still receiving until Monday when the 90-day window closes,” he said.
“After that, we begin analysing the submissions and compiling a report from the views expressed by the public.”
The committee is expected to take between two and three weeks to compile its report before tabling it in Parliament.
“There is a committee that will sit through and then come up with a report as well as recommendations,” he said.
“The report will be tabled by the committee during the second reading of the Bill.
“Currently, Parliament is adjourned, so the first reading is likely to be introduced when Parliament resumes in the first week of June.”
The committee has already started working on the report and has been receiving submissions from constitutional and statutory bodies likely to be affected by the proposed amendments, including the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, the Chiefs’ Council and the Zimbabwe Gender Commission.
Chairperson of the committee Mr Eddison Zvobgo said it will also analyse demographic trends and patterns emerging from the public hearings.
“We have been working on the report throughout,” he said.
“We had a meeting on Thursday (last week) with the Chiefs’ Council, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the Zimbabwe Gender Commission. These were verbal submissions from these groups.”
The committee was also compiling statistics from the nationwide hearings to assess how different demographic groups responded to the proposed constitutional changes.
“We have also been working on verbal submissions and producing statistics from the public hearings. For instance, male and female demographics, what were the opinions based on various criteria, what did women say, what did men say, age groups,” he said.
“This is important for us because it is information about what the public thinks.
“Maybe people from rural areas will think differently from people in urban areas. Women and men might think slightly differently, especially on issues concerning the gender commission.”
The committee will begin incorporating written submissions into the final report after the closure of the consultation window.
“The Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs will then table the report to Parliament. We will present the report to the full House and say this is what we have. This is the information. This is the breakdown.
“The purpose of that is it arms parliamentarians with facts and figures when they start to debate.”
Under Zimbabwe’s legislative framework, public consultations are a critical component of the law-making process as they allow citizens and organisations to directly participate in shaping legislation.
During public hearings, members of parliamentary portfolio committees travel across the country to gather oral submissions from citizens, while written submissions are also accepted from individuals and organisations unable to attend in person.
The process is designed to strengthen democratic participation by ensuring public views are incorporated into national laws.
While the committee compiles its report, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi is permitted to introduce the Bill’s first reading in Parliament, a procedural stage that simply involves reading the Bill’s long title before the House without debate.
Process
Under Section 328 of the Constitution, amending Zimbabwe’s Constitution is a rigorous process that differs significantly from ordinary legislation.
Before a Constitutional Amendment Bill can be introduced in either the National Assembly or Senate, Parliament is legally required to publish a 90-day notice in the Government Gazette informing citizens of the proposed changes.
The mandatory waiting period is intended to prevent rushed or secret amendments to the Constitution and to provide adequate time for public scrutiny.
Immediately after the 90-day notice is published, Parliament is legally required to invite the public to express their views.
The process typically involves public hearings where members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice travel across the country to gather oral submissions.
Once the 90-day notice period expires, the Bill is formally introduced in Parliament for the first reading stage.
The Bill then moves to the second reading stage, where substantive debate begins.
At that stage, the Minister of Justice explains the rationale behind the amendments, while the chairperson of the portfolio committee presents a report outlining the views gathered during public consultations.
Parliamentarians then debate the merits and demerits of the Bill.
For the Constitutional Amendment Bill to pass, it must secure a two-thirds majority of the total membership in both the National Assembly and Senate during the final vote.
Failure to achieve the required threshold in either House results in the Bill falling away.
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