BILL WATCH 7/2026: This Week in Parliament

• When the National Assembly and the Senate adjourn, they set down all outstanding business on their Order Papers (i.e. their agendas) for the next appropriate sitting day.  There is usually too much to be covered in one day so whatever is not dealt with is postponed to the next appropriate day.
• Both Houses of Parliament can change the order in which they consider business.

THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Tuesday 24th March

Bills to be dealt with:

The Assembly is expected to deal with the following Bills:

• Medical Services Amendment Bill [link]

The Assembly in committee will consider amendments which the Senate made to this Bill [The Senate resolved to delete the clause which amended the Termination of Pregnancy Act to simplify the procedures for obtaining an abortion]

• Climate Change Amendment Bill [link]

The Second Reading of this Bill is due to begin

• Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Amendment Bill [link]

The Second Reading of This Bill is due to continue

• State Service (Pensions) Bill [link]

Consideration of the Parliamentary Legal Committee’s adverse report on this Bill [link] will continue.

• Mines and Minerals Bill [link]

The Assembly is also due to continue its consideration of the PLC’s adverse report on this Bill.

• Public Service Amendment Bill [link]

Consideration of the PLC’s adverse report on this Bill will continue.

Reports of constitutional and statutory bodies

The Assembly will deal with reports by the following bodies:

• Reports by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission on by-elections held in June, August, September and October 2025
• 2024 report of the Zimbabwe Gender Commission
• 2024 report of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission

International agreements to be approved

The Assembly will be asked to approve the following international agreements:

• Convention Establishing the International Organisation for Mediation (2025)
• UN Agreement for the Adoption of Uniform Technical Prescriptions for Wheeled Vehicles (1958) [link]
• UN Agreement for Establishing Global Technical Regulations for Wheeled Vehicles (1998) [link]
• UN Agreement for Adopting Uniform Conditions for Periodic Technical Inspection of Wheeled Vehicles (1997) [link]
• UN Agreement for the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (1957) [link]
• UN Convention on Road Signs and Signals (1968) [link]
• African Road Safety Charter [link]
• Protocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters Specific to Railway Rolling Stock (2007) [link].

Reports of parliamentary committees

The Assembly will deal with reports on the following topics:

• 2023 financial statements of the National Handling Services
• 2023 financial statements of the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority
• 2023 financial statements of the Grain Marketing Board
• 2020 financial statements of Air Zimbabwe
• The state of cultural sites in relation to tourism
• 2025 first and second quarter budget performance reports of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce
• Operations of the Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank
• 2024 fourth quarter Budget Performance Report of the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services
• Projects implemented by the Lotteries and Gaming Board as part of its corporate social responsibility
• 2022 financial statements of the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion
• The 2024 fourth quarter Budget Performance Reports of the Ministries of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and Skills Audit and Development

Petitions received

The Assembly will consider a report on the following petitions:

• Petition on the inclusion of women in traditional courts
• Petition on community care-givers

Motions on the National Assembly order paper

Motions set to be debated by the Assembly will cover the following topics:

• Adoption of the African Parliamentary Network Against Illicit Financial Flows Initiative
• Measures to prevent vandalism of infrastructure and natural resources
• Measures to provide equitable care and treatment of diabetes
• Youth quotas in provincial councils, local authorities and public service boards
• Measures to improve cultural creativity in Zimbabwe.
• A national innovation procurement policy to encourage procurement from tertiary institutions and state-owned enterprises
• The use of artificial intelligence in recruiting nurses and teachers
• The use of artificial intelligence in adjudication of government tenders
• Requiring all Premier Soccer League clubs to have at least 30 to 40 per cent of local players
• Review of employment tax (PAYE) brackets
• Measures to control machete-wielding gangsters in rural areas
• The erection of public galleries and statues to preserve Zimbabwe’s cultural heritage

Wednesday 25th March

Note:  On Wednesdays, questions and other private members’ business have precedence over government business.

Questions set down for answer

Among questions set down for Ministers to answer in the National Assembly on Wednesday are questions on the following issues:

• Radio and television time allocated to political parties between 2023 and 2025 and whether the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission monitors media fairness between elections
• Exemption of deaf persons from need to have vehicle radio licences
• Revenue collected from vehicle licence fees between January and June 2025 and its impact on access to information
• Reduction of radio licence fees
• Requirement that motorcycle owners purchase radio licences when licensing their motorcycles
• Protection of teachers and other civil servants who are in conflict with community members
• Protection of rape victims from being identified in the media
• Votes for Zimbabweans in the diaspora
• Compensation for victims of political violence since 1980
• Measures to ensure meaningful public consultation on constitutional amendments, and to safeguard the independence of constitutional commissions
• Town status for Ruwa
• Policy on conditions of service for senior employees of local authorities
• Mechanisms for regular audits of service delivery in high-density urban areas
• Lifting the moratorium on processing of applications for change of land use
• Government policy on local authorities billing for water in local currency
• Payment of service charges to local authorities by residents who provide their own services
• Government policy on allowing public access to minutes of urban council meetings
• Measures to ensure that retailers and industries remain in business
• Purchase of electricity at non-commercial rates by local authorities
• Strategies to end load-shedding by ZESA
• Simplifying reporting of faults to ZESA
• Measures to prevent tourism degrading the environment in the Zambezi Valley, and to prevent poaching in the Valley
• Review of civil service salaries in 2026
• Extending the motor vehicle rebate to State-owned enterprises
• Revenue collected from airtime levy and sugar tax in 2024 and 2025
• Adjustment of the interbank policy rate with inflation goals
• Prescriptive asset thresholds for pension funds
• Policy on making the ZiG currency fully fungible locally and internationally
• Re-registration of companies referred to in the Global Compensation Deed for compensating dispossessed farmers
• The legality of the Ministry of Finance making payments directly to suppliers of goods and services
• Oversight mechanisms applicable to the Mutapa Investment Fund
• Measures to ensure that all State procurements are done lawfully
• Measures to prevent service providers, e.g. local authorities, from using currency exchange rates other than the official rates
• The protection of citizens, particularly low income earners, from hardship caused by the IMF staff-monitored programme
• Ring-fencing of government social safety nets
• The dispossessed farmers who have been compensated and the amounts paid to them
• Investigation of cash transactions conducted outside the banking system
• Government policy on people keeping large sums in cash
• Construction and maintenance of roads, dams and other infrastructure
• Returning the vehicle licensing function to local authorities
• The average cost of constructing one kilometre of trunk road
• Plans to deal with school drop-outs due to pregnancies and early marriages, particularly in border areas
• Government policy on using debt collectors to recover unpaid school fees
• Government policy on CAMPFIRE
• When the national soccer team will use local stadiums for international and regional matches
• Abuse and politicisation of government food aid
• Repatriating the remains of freedom fighters who died in Zambia

Thursday 26th March

The Assembly will continue with business left over from Tuesday

THE SENATE

Tuesday 24th March

Reports of constitutional and statutory commissions to be considered

The Senate is expected to consider the following reports:

• Reports of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission on by-elections held in October and November 2024 and January, June, August, September and October 2025
• 2024 annual report of the Zimbabwe Gender Commission
• 2024 annual report of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission
• 2024 annual report of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
• 2024 annual report of the Judicial Service Commission
• 2024 annual report of the Attorney-General’s Office
• 2024 annual report of the National Prosecuting Authority
• 2024 annual report of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission

International agreements to be approved

The Senate will be asked to approve the following international agreements:

• UN Agreement for the Adoption of Uniform Technical Prescriptions for Wheeled Vehicles (1958) [link]
• UN Agreement for Establishing Global Technical Regulations for Wheeled Vehicles (1998) [link]
• UN Agreement for Adopting Uniform Conditions for Periodic Technical Inspection of Wheeled Vehicles (1997) [link]
• UN Agreement for the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (1957) [link]
• UN Convention on Road Signs and Signals (1968) [link]
• African Road Safety Charter [link]
• Protocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters Specific to Railway Rolling Stock (2007) [link].

Parliamentary committee reports to be considered

The Senate is expected to consider reports on the following topics:

• The state of our heritage, culture and monuments in relation to tourism
• Access to safe clean drinking water in rural areas
• Recurring droughts
• Access to mining by women, youths and persons with disabilities
• The state of prisons in Zimbabwe

Motions to be dealt with by the Senate

The Senate is expected to debate motions on the following topics:

• Resuscitating the manufacturing sector
• Measures to prevent child marriages and teenage pregnancies
• Mechanisms to prevent murder in Zimbabwe
• Vandalism of State property, national resources and infrastructure
• Unpaid domestic and care work
• Reply to the President’s speech

Wednesday 25th March

The Senate will continue with business not dealt with on Tuesday

Thursday 26th March

Questions set down for answer

The following questions have been tabled for Ministers to answer in the Senate on Thursday:

• Measures to mitigate the suspension of visas to the USA
• The inclusion of elderly farmers in the Pfumfudza agricultural support programme
• Unspent funds intended for vulnerable members of society

Bills Being Considered by the Parliamentary Legal Committee

The PLC is considering the following Bills:

• Zimbabwe School Examination Council Amendment Bill [link]
• Biological and Toxin Weapons Crimes Bill [link]
• Tourism Bill [link] (the Committee is considering amendments made by the National Assembly)

Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied.