Source: CAB3 moves to Senate – herald
Minister Ziyambi ZiyambiHerald Reporters
DEBATE on the Constitutional Amendment No.3 Bill in the Senate is expected to begin today when Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Ziyambi Ziyambi presents his Second Reading remarks, opening the platform for contributions from parliamentarians in the Upper House.
The Bill was passed by the National Assembly with support from both the ruling party, Zanu PF and the opposition CCC last week after 216 legislators voted for its adoption, while 42 voted against it.
This was way above the two-thirds majority of 187 required by the Constitution for amendments.
In his speech, Minister Ziyambi is expected to outline the objectives and rationale behind the proposed constitutional changes.
After the Second Reading debate, the Senate will then go into the committee stage, where Senators will debate it clause by clause.
The chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Eddison Zvobgo (Jnr), whose committee is charged with coming up with a report on amendments, said they were expecting the Bill to sail through the Senate this week.
“The Bill will be read for the second time and they (Senators) will debate the Bill. Our hope is for the debate to move fast and get finished this week. We hope that they go into vote like what happened in the National Assembly last week. Indications are that the presiders also want it to move in that direction, but it will depend on the number of Senators who would want to contribute.
“Remember, the Senate has politicians and politicians by nature, given the opportunity, they would want to speak. It is possible that all Senators may want to speak during the debate and it will determine the day of voting for the Bill,” he said.
Cde Zvobgo appealed for co-operation from Parliamentarians to allow processes to be undertaken within expected timelines.
“We ask for their co-operation and a bit of help from them for the Bill to move. If there are changes to what has been done in the National Assembly, the Bill will be sent back for reconciliation. If there are no changes, it will then go for Third Reading and to the President for his assent”.
Last week, Minister Ziyambi indicated that they were not expecting to take long in debating the Bill in the Senate.
“Once the debate is exhausted, we then respond and proceed to the committee stage, where we will look at it, clause by clause. Once that is done, we then do the process that you witnessed in the National Assembly of voting to ensure that we satisfy the two-thirds majority required by the Constitution,” he said.
Minister Ziyambi said after the voting, the Bill will then be transmitted to the President for his assent.
He expressed confidence that the Bill will pass through the Senate.
“We are very confident because the Bill has been widely debated. The majority of Honourable members are fully up to speed with the contents and the substance of the Bill. So, we are confident that we are going to sail through in the Senate,” Minister Ziyambi said.
In the National Assembly, legislators moved for the reversal of a proposal to abolish the Zimbabwe Gender Commission and merge its functions with the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission.
They argued that the Commission should remain an independent constitutional body dedicated to promoting gender equality and women’s rights.
A provision in the Bill relating to the appointment of senators was also amended.
Under the revised clause, the President will appoint 10 senators on the basis of professional skills and competencies, but only after consultation with Parliament.
However, Minister Ziyambi rejected proposals that the appointed senators should not have voting rights, arguing that they execute their duties within Parliament the same as what proportional representation MPs and youth quota do.
Another amendment corrected a provision that would have required a designated judge to preside over the election of a President in Parliament, with that responsibility remaining with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.
The Bill was also amended to provide for the establishment of the office of president of the Supreme Court.
Changes were also made to the proposed Zimbabwe Delimitation Commission, whose board will now include a demographer, a cartographer and a representative of the Zimbabwe Chiefs Council.
The House further approved amendments extending the population census cycle from 10 years to 14 years.
Legislators also retained “upholding the Constitution” as one of the functions of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces after the Government accepted proposals from opposition legislators to restore the provision.
The Bill was also amended to align the tenure of the National and Provincial Assemblies of Chiefs with the proposed extension of the electoral cycle from five to seven years.
The post CAB3 moves to Senate appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.