The
by-laws,
which
affected
councils
including
Masvingo
City
and
Murewa
Rural
District
Council,
were
thrown
out
after
the
Parliamentary
Legal
Committee
(PLC)
issued
an
Adverse
Report
finding
that
the
Minister
had
“usurped”
the
powers
of
local
authorities.
In
Statutory
Instrument
Number
40
of
2026,
the
Minister
was
forced
to
withdraw
all
24
by-laws
after
Parliament
rejected
them.
However,
what
angered
the
MPs
even
more
is
despite,
having
informed
the
Minister
that
his
actions
were
illegal,
he
went
ahead
and
published
new
Statutory
Instruments
(SIs)
that
did
exactly
the
same,
trying
to
take
over
powers
that
belong
to
local
councils.
Presenting
the
findings
to
Parliament
recently,
Tafadzwa
Mugwadi,
speaking
on
behalf
of
PLC
Chairperson,
Jonathan
Samukange,
explained
why
the
by-laws
had
to
be
thrown
out.
The
Committee
had
met
on
29
January
2025
to
look
at
a
long
list
of
statutory
instruments,
which
included
by-laws
from
the
City
of
Masvingo
on
cycle
licences,
environmental
and
natural
resources,
public
health
and
control
of
livestock.
There
were
also
by-laws
from
Murewa
Rural
District
Council
on
community
halls,
control
of
livestock,
even
hairdressers,
beauticians
and
barber
shops.
“The
Committee
unanimously
resolved
that
an
Adverse
Report
be
issued
regarding
the
above-mentioned
Statutory
Instruments,”
Mugwadi
said,
who
stated
the
Minister
had
no
authority
to
make
these
by-laws
in
the
first
place.
“The
Parliamentary
Legal
Committee
identified
that
the
Hon.
Minister
usurped
the
by-law-making
powers
of
the
urban
councils.”
Mugwadi
took
MPs
through
the
Urban
Councils
Act
to
show
how
by-laws
are
supposed
to
be
made.
“Section
228
(1)
of
the
Act
reads
as
follows:
‘Subject
to
this
Section
and
Section
229
and
of
any
other
law,
a
council
may
make
bylaws
for
all
or
any
of
the
matters
referred
to
in
Section
227
and
may
at
any
time
thereafter,
amend
or
repeal
any
bylaws
so
made,’”
he
quoted.
Mugwadi
cited
the
law
is
clear
in
that
councils
make
by-laws
and
then
submit
them
to
the
Minister
for
approval,
he
does
not
make
them
himself.
“This
procedure
was
not
followed
because
there
was
a
procedural
irregularity,”
Mugwadi
said.
“The
bylaws
have
been
made
directly
by
the
Minister,
whose
role
in
terms
of
the
section
cited
is
just
to
approve
the
bylaws
made
by
the
Urban
Councils
Act.”
The
same
problem
applied
to
by-laws
made
under
the
Rural
District
Councils
Act.
The
second
reason
for
throwing
out
the
by-laws
was
that
the
fines
were
illegal.
The
law
says
penalties
for
offences
in
by-laws
should
not
exceed
level
5,
which
is
US$200
under
the
standard
scale
of
fines.
However,
some
of
the
statutory
instruments
had
penalties
ranging
from
US$500
to
US$5
000.
“Any
fine,
therefore,
which
exceeds
US$200
in
the
bylaws
is
a
contravention
of
the
principal
Act,”
Mugwadi
said.
Section
134(c)
of
the
Constitution
requires
that
statutory
instruments
be
consistent
with
the
Act
of
Parliament
under
which
they
are
made.
These
were
not.
Another
problem
was
some
of
the
by-laws
said
fees
were
payable
for
permits
and
licences,
but
did
not
say
how
much.
“There
are
clauses
in
which
fees
are
payable
for
permits
and
licences.
The
figures
to
be
paid
have
been
omitted,”
Mugwadi
pointed
out.
“It
is
unclear
as
to
what
amount
a
person
should
be
charged
in
the
event
that
they
are
supposed
to
pay.
How
much
are
they
supposed
to
pay?”
He
warned
this
creates
a
dangerous
situation
where
officials
can
charge
whatever
they
want.
“Somebody
will
be
made
to
pay
a
particular
figure,
another
one
will
be
made
to
pay
a
particular
figure
different
from
the
one
paid
by
another
yesterday,
depending
on
what
the
relevant
council
will
be
thinking
on
that
particular
day.”
Mugwadi
said
this
violates
the
Constitution’s
requirement
that
laws
be
clear,
certain
and
predictable.
It
also
opens
the
door
for
corruption.
“This
may
also
create
a
breeding
ground
for
corruption
and
therefore,
be
unconstitutional.”
The
Committee
also
found
that
some
by-laws
tried
to
charge
motorcycle
owners
fees,
even
though
they
already
pay
similar
fees
to
Zimbabwe
National
Road
Administration
(ZINARA)
under
the
Vehicle
Registration
Licensing
Act.
This
would
have
meant
people
paying
twice
for
the
same
thing.
There
were
also
bad
drafting
errors
that
some
SIs
referred
to
sections
of
laws
that
do
not
exist.
“The
Statutory
Instrument
is
incomplete,
and
there
is
missing
information,”
Mugwadi
said.
The
MPS
became
worked
up
after
observing
that
not
only
did
the
Minister
have
the
SIs
wrong
once,
but
continued
doing
so
even
after
being
told.
Descent
Bajila
applauded
the
Parliamentary
Legal
Committee
for
their
work,
saying
it
gives
hope
“that
better
days
are
possible,
better
days
are
coming
for
the
Republic
of
Zimbabwe.”
However,
Bajila
pointed
out
a
serious
problem.
“Yesterday
(2
March
2026)
I
was
reading
Statutory
Instrument
Number
40
of
2026,
where
the
Minister
is
withdrawing
24
Statutory
Instruments
because
of
a
Parliamentary
Legal
Committee
Adverse
Report.
Now,
the
reasons
that
were
stated
by
the
Parliamentary
Legal
Committee
for
their
Adverse
Report
leading
to
the
Minister
withdrawing
those
Statutory
Instruments
are
the
same
reasons
that
the
Minister
proceeded
to
gazette
other
Statutory
Instruments.”
Bajila
asked
whether
ministries
actually
respect
the
views
of
the
Parliamentary
Legal
Committee.
“The
Parliamentary
Legal
Committee
said
the
Minister
has
usurped
powers
of
local
authorities
with
respect
to
24
Statutory
Instruments.
The
Minister
proceeded
to
come
up
with
other
Statutory
Instruments
that
still
usurp
powers
of
local
authorities
after
this
had
happened,”
he
said.
Bajila
proposed
that
“repetitive
violation
of
the
Parliamentary
Legal
Committee
recommendations
be
punishable
or
be
a
penal
offence
by
this
House.”
He
also
linked
this
to
the
constitutional
principle
of
devolution.
“We
are
trying
by
all
means
as
a
country
to
devolve
powers
to
local
authorities.
The
repetitive
attempt
by
the
National
Government
to
take
away
powers
of
these
local
authorities
is
being
seen
and
observed
through
these
Statutory
Instruments.
It
is
something
that,
as
a
country,
we
need
to
frown
upon
and
see
measures
that
can
be
taken
to
deal
with
these
attempts
to
usurp
the
powers
of
local
authorities.”
Bajila
questioned
whether
the
system
was
“failing
to
have
proper
and
qualified
people
within
the
legal
departments
of
all
these,
starting
from
the
local
authorities,
Minister
of
Local
Government
and
the
Attorney
General,
or
is
it
an
attempt
where
someone
wants
to
truly
usurp
the
powers
of
Parliament?
Hoping
that
maybe
if
we
just
send
these,
the
PLC
may
not
pay
attention
to
detail.”
MP,
Shakespear
Hamauswa
raised
that
such
could
negatively
affect
the
Minister’s
reputation
and
erode
public
trust.
“When
you
look
at
continuous
adverse
reports
to
the
Minister
and
this
House
fails
to
come
up
with
measures…
it
will
end
up
affecting
the
Minister
mentally.
The
Minister
will
also
end
up
losing
confidence
because
he
keeps
bringing
in
the
laws
and
they
are
given
adverse
reports,”
he
said,
warning
it
also
undermined
public
trust.
“If
the
Minister
is
found
overstepping
the
powers
when
he
is
supposed
to
be
guided,
then
what
it
means
is
that
the
people
who
are
actually
believing
that
the
Minister
is
doing
the
job
to
the
best
of
their
interest,
then
they
lose
trust.”
Hamauswa
said
under
the
Constitution,
Cabinet
Ministers
are
collectively
responsible,
so
what
one
Minister
does
affects
the
integrity
of
the
whole
Cabinet.
Minister
of
Justice,
Legal
and
Parliamentary
Affairs,
Ziyambi
Ziyambi,
responded
by
pointing
out
that
the
SIs
actually
originated
from
the
local
authorities
themselves.
He
defended
the
parliamentary
process,
saying
it
is
working
as
it
should.
“That
is
exactly
what
should
happen
to
make
sure
that
there
are
checks
and
balances,”
he
said,
agreeing
that
the
report
should
be
adopted
and
they
would
look
at
improving
the
processes
so
that
officers
check
the
work
properly
before
taking
it
to
the
Minister
for
signature.
“
I
move
that
we
adopt
the
report
so
that
the
relevant
Minister
can
instruct
after
Parliament
has
written
and
gazetted,
that
they
redo
the
statutory
instruments.”
This
is
not
the
first
time
concerns
have
been
raised
about
how
statutory
instruments
are
made
in
Zimbabwe.
The
PLC
has
also
issued
Adverse
Reports
on
other
statutory
instruments
of
the
same
nature.
In
2025, Christopher
Mugaga,
Chief
Executive
Officer
of
the
Zimbabwe
National
Chamber
of
Commerce
(ZNCC),
highlighted
the
proliferation
of
SIs
as
a
major
challenge
for
businesses.
He
said
they
are
often
introduced
without
proper
consultation
and
create
an
uncertain
business
environment
while
increasing
compliance
costs.
In
2023, Harare-based
lawyer
Frederick
Nyamande
launched
a
court
challenge against
the
Presidential
Powers
(Temporary
Measures)
Act,
arguing
that
it
gives
the
President
too
much
power
to
make
SIs
and
usurps
the
powers
of
Parliament.
Section
134
of
the
Constitution
says
Parliament
is
responsible
for
making
and
considering
legislation,
but
Nyamande
argued
the
Presidential
Powers
Act
allows
the
President
to
effectively
make
laws
that
should
be
passed
by
Parliament.