The Sunday News
Lincoln Towindo, Harare Bureau
A RAFT of constitutional and legislative reforms meant to deepen civil liberties, individual rights, extend the women’s quota system and entrench political and electoral reforms, are expected to be gazetted next month under an omnibus Constitutional Amendment Bill, it has been learnt.
Once gazetted, the public will have the opportunity to critique the legislative proposals — which were compiled by an inter-ministerial committee set up in March this year — before they are tabled before Parliament for debate after three months. Cabinet recently approved principles of the proposed Constitutional amendments, which essentially gives the Attorney-General’s Office leeway to begin drafting the envisaged provisions.
Some of the legislative proposals include removing “contradictory and conflicting clauses” and refining provisions borrowed from other jurisdictions. It is believed that some clauses are making it difficult to harmonise laws with the Constitution.
Government also intends to enact constitutional provisions that create the Office of the Public Protector and house the Office of the Chief Secretary to the President in the country’s supreme law. Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi told our Harare Bureau that the Bill will be gazetted before Parliament adjourns for the festive season holidays.
“So we are hoping that by the time we go for Christmas we should have sent it for gazetting so that by early April we would have introduced it for debate.”
A memorandum detailing the amendments gleaned by this paper shows that the contemplated amendments include delinking the national population census from the delimitation exercise (which sets electoral boundaries for elections) to prevent a possible administrative nightmare, especially in the 2023 harmonised elections.
The country’s next population census, which informs the administrative boundaries used to delimit constituencies, falls due in 2023, which coincides with the plebiscite.
Furthermore, the sweeping reforms will also establish metropolitan councils, which are a critical pillar to Government plans to devolve State power; remove the running-mates clause for Presidential elections (Section 92(2)); raising the retirement age for senior judges; and enabling the President to appoint the Prosecutor-General (Section 259(3)).
Notably, the running-mate clause — which was suspended for 10 years after a new Constitution was enacted in 2013 — is considered objectionable because it is peculiar to local politics and also out of sync “with the practice in other countries in the Sadc region”.
Further, a proposal is being made to raise the retirement age for Supreme Court and Constitutional Court judges, including the Deputy Chief Justice and Chief Justice from 70 to 75 years. Sitting judges will also be exempted from public interviews on promotion. The proposed changes will also include stating grounds for removal of a PG from office.
