When
the
President
delivered
his
State
of
the
Nation
Address
on
the
28th
October
last
year,
he
outlined
the
Government’s
legislative
programme
for
the
new
session
of
Parliament
–
that
is
to
say,
he
announced
the
Bills
which
the
Government
hopes
to
present
in
Parliament
during
the
coming
year.
With
Parliament
resuming
its
sittings
next
Tuesday
–
for
its
agenda
when
it
resumes
see
Bill
Watch
1/2026 [link] –
this
is
an
appropriate
time
to
look
at
the
Government’s
legislative
programme
for
the
rest
of
the
year.
Uncompleted
Bills
The
President
began
by
noting
that
several
Bills
announced
in
previous
years
had
not
been
passed
by
Parliament;
the
total
backlog
of
Bills,
he
said,
was
unacceptable.
Some
of
the
Bills
he
mentioned
in
this
context
are
currently
at
various
stages
in
their
passage
through
Parliament:
-
Insurance
and
Pensions
Commission
Amendment
Bill [link]:
This
Bill
is
awaiting
its
Second
Reading
in
the
National
Assembly. -
Mines
and
Minerals
Bill [link]:
The
PLC
has
reported
adversely
on
this
Bill,
and
the
report
is
being
considered
by
the
Assembly. -
Occupational
Safety
and
Health
Bill [link]:
This
Bill
is
due
to
undergo
its
Committee
Stage
in
the
Assembly. -
Pipelines
Amendment
Bill [link]:
This
Bill
has
since
been
passed
by
both
the
National
Assembly
and
the
Senate,
and
is
now
awaiting
presidential
assent. -
Police
Amendment
Bill [link]:
This
Bill
is
ready
to
be
presented.
The
President
erroneously
suggested
it
had
lapsed
at
the
end
of
the
Ninth
Parliament. It
should
be
noted
that,
despite
its
title,
the
Bill
will
also
amend
the
Private
Voluntary
Organisations
Act
and
the
Criminal
Law
Code. -
Public
Procurement
and
Disposal
of
Public
Assets
Amendment
Bill [link]:
This
Bill
too
is
due
to
begin
its
Committee
Stage
in
the
Assembly. -
Public
Service
Amendment
Bill [link]:
The
PLC
issued
an
adverse
report
on
this
Bill,
and
the
Assembly
is
due
to
debate
the
report. -
State
Service
(Pensions)
Bill [link]:
This
Bill
was
amended
in
Committee
by
the
National
Assembly
and
the
amendments
received
an
adverse
report
from
the
PLC.
The
Assembly
is
still
to
debate
the
report.
Other
uncompleted
Bills
the
President
mentioned
have
not
been
presented
in
Parliament
or
published
in
the
Gazette,
so
presumably
they
are
still
being
drafted.
They
are:
-
Biological
and
Toxin
Weapons
Crimes
Bill -
Electronic
Transactions
and
Electronic
Commerce
Bill -
Legal
Practitioners
Amendment
Bill -
Rural
Electrification
Fund
Amendment
Bill -
Standards
Bill -
Teaching
Professions
Council
Bill.
The
President
failed
to
mention
quite
a
number
of
Bills
which
have
been
published
in
the
Gazette
but
have
not
yet
been
presented
in
Parliament,
or
which
are
currently
going
through
Parliament:
-
Climate
Change
Management
Bill [link]:
This
Bill
is
awaiting
its
Second
Reading
in
the
National
Assembly. -
Medical
Services
Amendment
Bill [link]:
This
Bill
was
passed
by
the
National
Assembly
with
amendments
(relating
to
the
termination
of
pregnancy).
It
is
now
awaiting
its
Second
Reading
in
the
Senate. -
National
Drug
and
Substance
Abuse
Control
and
Enforcement
Agency
Bill [link]:
This
Bill
has
not
been
presented. -
Postal
and
Telecommunications
Amendment
Bill [link]:
This
Bill
too
has
not
yet
been
presented. -
Tourism
Bill [link]:
This
Bill
is
due
to
be
given
its
Second
Reading
in
the
Assembly. -
Zimbabwe
School
Examinations
Council
Amendment
Bill [link]:
This
Bill
is
awaiting
its
Committee
Stage
in
the
National
Assembly.
One
of
the
Bills
the
President
mentioned
as
uncompleted,
the Persons
with
Disabilities
Bill,
has
in
fact
passed
through
Parliament
and
been
published
as
Act
number
3
of
2025 [link].
Altogether
Parliament
has
a
backlog
of
20
Bills
outstanding
from
the
previous
session.
With
only
six
Acts
published
so
far
this
year,
the
President’s
criticism
of
Parliament’s
legislative
record
seems
justified.
New
Bills
Announced
The
President
went
on
to
announce
many
new
Bills
which
he
said
would
be
placed
before
Parliament
during
the
new
session.
He
did
not
name
all
of
them
specifically,
so
some
of
the
names
in
the
following
list
represent
what
Veritas
assumes
will
be
the
Bills’
short
titles:
-
Commercial
Premises
(Lease
Control)
Amendment
Bill,
to
create
fairness
in
the
commercial
rental
market -
Competition
Amendment
Bill,
to
protect
consumers -
Defence
Amendment
Bill -
Disaster
Risk
Management
Bill,
to
replace
the
current
Civil
Protection
Act -
Foreign
Affairs
and
International
Trade
Bill -
Iron
and
Steel
Industry
Amendment
Bill -
Meteorological
Services
Amendment
Bill. -
National
Heroes
Amendment
Bill -
National
Languages
Bill -
National
Productivity
Institute
Bill,
to
drive
increased
productivity
across
all
industries -
Red
Cross
Amendment
Bill -
Research
Amendment
Bill,
to
establish
a
sustainable
framework
for
funding
research
institutions -
Sport,
Leisure
and
Recreation
Bill -
Sports
Integrity
Bill -
SugarProduction
Control
Amendment
Bill -
Veterans
of
the
Liberation
War
Amendment
Bill -
War
Victims
Compensation
Amendment
Bill -
Zimbabwe
Media
Commission
Amendment
Bill.
Further
Legislation
Mentioned
In
addition
to
the
Bills
listed
above,
the
President
mentioned
the
following:
-
He
said
Government
was
working
on
“a
legislative
framework”
for
the
commercialisation
of
products
emanating
from
innovation
hubs. -
“A
notable
number
of
Bills”,
he
said,
would
be
tabled
from
“our
transport
sector”
– whatever
that
is. -
There
would
be
Bills
relating
to
devolution
and
decentralisation
as
well
as
local
government.
He
also
said
that
the
following
Acts
should
be
considered
for
amendment,
though
he
did
not
go
so
far
as
to
say
that
amending
Bills
would
be
ready
for
this
Parliamentary
session:
-
Censorship
and
Entertainments
Control
Act -
Citizenship
of
Zimbabwe
Act [This
Act
has
not
been
aligned
with
the
Constitution] -
Lotteries
and
Gaming
Act -
National
Archives
of
Zimbabwe
Act -
Official
Secrets
Act -
Private
Investigators
and
Security
Guards
(Control)
Act. -
Unlawful
Organisations
Act
Treaties
for
Ratification
The
President
ended
his
address
by
announcing
that
various
treaties
would
be
brought
to
Parliament
for
approval
in
terms
of
section
327(2)
of
the
Constitution,
which
says
that
international
treaties
do
not
bind
Zimbabwe
until
they
have
been
approved
by
Parliament
–
i.e.
the
National
Assembly
and
the
Senate.
The
treaties
he
mentioned
were:
-
Arms
Trade
Treaty
2013 [link] -
Geneva
Act
of
the
Lisbon
Agreement
on
Appellations
of
Origin
and
Geographical
Indications
2015 [link] -
Hague
Agreement
Concerning
the
International
Registration
of
Industrial
Designs
(1925) [link] -
Protocol
Against
the
Illicit
Manufacturing
of
and
Trafficking
in
Firearms,
Their
Parts,
Components
and
Ammunition [link] -
Protocol
Against
the
Smuggling
of
Migrants
by
Land,
Sea
and
Air
(2000) [link] -
Protocol
Amending
the
Trade-Related
Aspects
of
Intellectual
Property
Rights
(TRIPS)
Agreement
2005 [link] -
Treaty
on
the
Prohibition
of
Nuclear
Weapons
2017 [link]
Comments
The
legislative
agenda
announced
by
the
President
is
unrealistically
ambitious,
specifically
listing
more
than
24
new
Bills
plus
the
14
which
are
still
going
through
Parliament
–
more
than
38
in
all.
At
Parliament’s
current
rate
of
enacting
legislation
–
only
six
Acts
were
passed
in
2025
and
only
seven
in
2024
–
it
will
take
Parliament
more
than
six
years
to
get
through
all
the
Bills
the
President
mentioned.
In
other
words,
the
legislative
agenda
is
a
wish
list
rather
than
a
statement
of
serious
intent.
It
is
doubtful
if
even
the
President
intended
anyone
to
take
the
legislative
agenda
seriously.
In
most
cases
when
he
mentioned
proposed
Bills
he
gave
their
names
only
and
did
not
describe
their
contents,
leaving
his
audience
to
guess
what
they
are
expected
to
achieve
–
no
easy
task
in
relation
to
the
Foreign
Affairs
and
International
Trade
Bill,
for
example.
All
this
suggests
that
responsible
Ministries
have
not
yet
worked
out
what
to
put
into
many
of
their
proposed
Bills
and
that
a
great
deal
of
hard
work
remains
to
be
done
before
they
are
even
sent
to
the
Attorney-General’s
Office
for
drafting,
much
less
presented
in
Parliament.
One
notable
omission
from
the
legislative
agenda
is
a
Constitution
Amendment
Bill
to
extend
the
President’s
term
of
office. Such
a
Bill
will
be
necessary
if
he
is
to
stay
in
office
beyond
2028,
and
there
have
been
statements
from
government
and
ZANU-PF
officials
suggesting
that
the
Bill
has
been
drafted. No
doubt
Parliament
will
be
informed
in
due
course
why
the
President
omitted
to
mention
the
Bill.
Veritas
makes
every
effort
to
ensure
reliable
information,
but
cannot
take
legal
responsibility
for
information
supplied.
Post
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