PARLIAMENT cannot debate the proposed Urban Councils Amendment Bill, Electoral Amendment Bill, the Human Rights Bill and amendments to the Public Order and Security Act because these issues fall under the Global Political Agreement, Zanu-PF said yesterday.

The position adopted by Zanu-PF follows a caucus of its legislators at the party headquarters in Harare yesterday, which discussed a number of issues among them selection of parliamentary portfolio committee members and the Constitution-making process.

Zanu-PF chief whip Cde Joram Gumbo confirmed that the party was opposed to any debate on the Bills in Parliament.

“Those Bills should not be discussed in Parliament as they are covered by Section 20 of the Global Political Agreement,” he said.

Cde Gumbo said Zanu-PF leader in the House of Assembly, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa, will engage the Speaker of the

House of Assembly Mr Lovemore Moyo on the matter.

Cde Gumbo said there was a tendency by the MDC formations to “smuggle Bills using the loophole that Members of Parliament were allowed to bring motions”.

“Under normal circumstances, you cannot stop members from bringing Bills, but the GPA is a special arrangement.

“There are other issues to be handled by principals,” he said.

The Electoral Bill and Human Rights Bill have been tabled before the House of Assembly and are due for their second reading.

The POSA Amendment Bill has since sailed through the House of Assembly and is now before Senate.

The Urban Councils Amendment Bill, which is being steered by Buhera Central legislator Mr Tangwara Matimba (MDC-T) was tabled before Parliament last week and is due for second reading.

The Bill seeks to ring changes to the operations of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development with observers saying in pushing the bill, MDC-T wants Minister Ignatius Chombo’s powers clipped. Minister Chombo is opposed to the proposed Urban Councils Amendment Bill.

The minister argues that “while every member of Parliament was generally entitled to introduce a Bill in terms of schedule 4 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, that privilege was lost to members in 2009 in terms of section 15 of the Act No. 1 of 2009 (Amendment No 19). A new schedule 8 was added to the Constitution of Zimbabwe, Section 1 of schedule 8

It reads: “For the avoidance of doubt, the following provisions of the interparty political agreement, being article XX thereof shall during the subsistence of the interparty political agreement, prevail notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Constitution”. Minister Chombo contends that schedule 8 of the Constitution therefore takes precedence over any other provision in the Constitution, which conflicts with it.

Article 20.1.2 paragraph (c) provides that “the Cabinet shall have the responsibility to prepare and present to Parliament, all such legislation and the instruments as maybe necessary to implement the policies, and programmes of the National Executive”.

“The obligation therefore of presenting Bills to Parliament is vested in the Cabinet.

“Schedule 8 overrides schedule 4 as the interparty agreement is still in force,” Minister Chombo said.

During the currency of the GPA “in terms of schedule 8, the provision in schedule 4 allowing a member to introduce a Bill is inoperable by any person or party which is covered by the agreement, he contends. Minister Chombo also makes it known that the introduction of the Urban Council Amendment Bill “is ultra vires the Constitution”.

Currently, the Ministry of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development is undertaking a process of amending the Urban Councils Act and the other three major local government acts — Rural District Councils Act, Provincial Councils Act and the Traditional Leaders Act.

The intention is to have a single Local Government Act to govern local governance in the country.