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Lloyd Gumbo Senior Reporter
Alignment of existing laws to the new Constitution has gathered pace, with the General Laws Amendment Bill passing through the Parliamentary Legal Committee (PLC) without amendments last week.

The latest Bill status report prepared by Parliament also indicates that five other Bills that were gazetted this year are at various stages of alignment. President Mugabe has already assented to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (Debt Assumption) Bill.

Speaker of the National Assembly Advocate Jacob Mudenda last week told the House that the PLC had perused the General Laws Amendment Bill and found no breach of the Constitution.

“I have received non-adverse reports on the General Laws Amendment Bill [H.B. 3, 2015] and Statutory Instruments and General Notices gazetted during the month of July, 2015,” said Adv Mudenda.

A report by Parliament also indicates that several other Bills are under Parliament’s consideration.

Parliament recently passed the Marondera University of Agricultural Sciences that has since been sent to the President for assent. The Zimbabwe Gender Commission that was passed by the National Assembly last week is now at the committee stage in the Senate.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (Debt Assumption) Bill was assented to on July 27, while the Public Debt Management Bill was also passed last week.

The Criminal Procedure and Evidence Amendment Bill is at the Second Reading Stage in the National Assembly, so is the Joint Ventures Bill that has since been referred to the PLC with amendments for the committee’s consideration.

Adv Mudenda recently castigated the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs for the slow pace at which the laws were being aligned to the Constitution.

He suggested that the ministry could engage law lecturers at State universities as well as the civil society to help with the alignment.