Parliament is expected to complete its consideration of the Constitutional Amendment No. 3 Bill today, paving the way for its transmission to President Emmerson Mnangagwa for assent.
The National Assembly has been convened for an extraordinary sitting to consider six amendments proposed by the Senate after the upper house approved the Bill with the support of 75 senators.
Clerk of Parliament, Kennedy Chokuda said the sitting would mark the final stage of the parliamentary process before the Bill is sent to the President to be signed into law.
“The National Assembly members were summoned by His Excellency and will sit this Tuesday to consider the amendments proposed by the Senate. Our laws require that the same Bill text be passed by both Houses, so the National Assembly will consider those six amendments.
“The process is not a long one. It should take an hour at most, and once it is completed, it will mark the end of the parliamentary process before the Bill is transmitted to the President for assent to become law,” said Chokuda.
Chokuda explained that most of the proposed amendments are consequential, aimed at refining the wording and improving the coherence of the legislation.
“There are a total of six amendments which the National Assembly will consider. Most are consequential amendments, with the Senate essentially cleaning up the Bill,” he said.
Among the substantive changes, the bill proposes transferring some functions of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission to the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission. It also seeks to amend procedures governing Parliament’s first sitting following the election of a President.
The Constitutional Amendment No. 3 Bill was gazetted by the Speaker of Parliament on February 16 with 22 clauses. Following deliberations and amendments by both the National Assembly and the Senate, the Bill now contains 26 clauses.
Once the National Assembly adopts the senate’s amendments, the bill will complete all parliamentary stages and be forwarded to President Emmerson Mnangagwa for assent, after which it will become law.
