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Herald Reporter
Parliament resumes sitting today with major highlights for debate being the introduction of the General Laws Amendment Bill, an omnibus law that seeks to align several legal statutes with the new Constitution.

The General Laws and Amendment Bill was gazetted on May 8, 2015.

It seeks to amend about 129 Acts of Parliament including the Electoral Act.

The Bill was now due to be tabled for debate.

Some of the issues to be addressed include proportional representation which was used in the July 31, 2013 elections under Presidential Powers Act (Temporary Measures).

Presidential Powers Act (Temporary Measures) has a six-month lifespan.

The General Laws Amendment Bill would also bring minor changes such as changing titles of offices, officials, institutions and inclusion of preambles, among others.

Other Acts of Parliament the Bill seeks to amend are Privileges, Immunities and Powers of Parliament Act, Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Trade Marks Act among others.

Another Bill due for Parliament’s attention is an amendment to the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act which seeks to give legal effect to circumstances in which capital punishment might be imposed by a court of law.

Other Bills are the Zimbabwe Gender Bill, Biological and Toxin Weapons Crimes Bill, Marondera University of Agricultural Sciences, Public Debt Management Bill, Joint Ventures Bill and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (Debt Assumption) Bill.

Several portfolio committee reports and motions were also expected to be tabled for debate.

The resumption of both Houses comes after Parliament conducted interviews for the Zimbabwe Media Commission and the Anti-Corruption Commission last week.