BILL WATCH 2/2015 Alleged Disregard of Constitution by Executive The chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Hon Jessie Majome, has announced to the press that her committee intends to take the Executive to task for disregarding the Constitution. The instances she cited are: • the President’s failure to inform Parliament about the deployment of troops in Equatorial Guinea to provide security at the Africa Cup of Nations football tournament; • the President’s failure to give a State of the Nation address to Parliament; • the government’s failure to bring existing laws into line with the Constitution. Deployment of troops Section 214 of the Constitution states that when troops are deployed outside Zimbabwe, the President must cause Parliament to be informed “promptly and in appropriate detail” where they are deployed and the reason for their deployment. The obligation to inform Parliament only arises after they have been deployed, however, and Parliament has not been sitting since their deployment. The President’s first opportunity to tell Parliament will be when Parliament resumes on 27th January. Until then, the President cannot be said to have breached section 214 of the Constitution. When the deployment is reported to Parliament, however, members may well query its legality. Section 213 of the Constitution permits troops to be deployed outside Zimbabwe for the following reasons: • on peace-keeping operations under the auspices of the UN or an international organisation of which Zimbabwe is a member; • to defend the territorial integrity of a foreign country; • in fulfilment of an international commitment; or • in defence of Zimbabwe’s security or national interests. It may be doubted if providing security at a football tournament falls within any of these reasons. State of the Nation address Section 140(4) of the Constitution states that the President “must” address a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament “at least once a year” on the state of the nation. The President has not done so since his re-election in 2013, and clearly he must rectify the omission as soon as possible. Failure to align laws with Constitution In this regard the government’s failure is lamentable. Nearly two years after the Constitution came into effect, very little has been done to make it operational. Pretty well all the government has done so far is to secure the amendment of the Electoral Act [and even then it did not bring the Act entirely into line with the Constitution] and to enact the National Prosecuting Authority Act. All the other statutes which are inconsistent with the Constitution — covering such important matters as citizenship, the conduct of criminal proceedings, good governance, the rights of women and children, and provincial and local government — remain unaltered. The government’s failure, as we have said, is lamentable and Hon Majome is right to point it out. To some extent, however, the remedy lies with Parliament itself. Private members of Parliament can introduce Bills to align our laws with the Constitution. Perhaps Hon Majome and her committee should consider this option.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:27:11 +0000
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