Harare (New Ziana) -The extraordinary sitting of the National Assembly on Tuesday considered and adopted the amendments that the Senate made to the Constitutional Amendment Number 3 Bill (CAB3), with an overwhelming 226 votes in favour and 41 against.
The bill was recommitted to the National Assembly after the Senate debated it extensively before unanimously passing it with six amendments on Wednesday, with 65 votes in favour and 4 against.
In terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe and the Joint Rules and Orders of Parliament (often referred to as the Standing Orders), a Bill should be returned to the National Assembly once the Senate has made some amendments to it.
Because a Bill must be passed by both Houses in the exact same form to become law, any amendments made by the Senate mean the Bill must return to the National Assembly for the lower house to debate and approve the Senate’s changes.
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President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday summoned the National Assembly for an extraordinary sitting on Tuesday to consider the changes that the Senate had made to the CAB3.
Following its passage by both Houses, the Bill will now be transmitted to President Emmerson Mnangagwa for his signature (assent), while the National Assembly has resumed its adjournment, from which it will return to business on July 7.
In terms of the Constitution, the President has 21 days to sign the Bill into law or return it to Parliament with reservations.
“Parliament will do the legal scrubbing and transmit it to the President,” Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi told the media at the new Parliament Building in Mt Hampden after the passage of the Bill.
He said “history will record that it has had record breaking numbers of participation in public hearings, and debate by the most number of MPs and Senators.”
In the National Assembly, Ziyambi said: “Nothing is taken for granted. The House is now free of the Bill. It has done its Constitutional duty.”
New Ziana
