By Sharon Tawuya
Harare, (New Ziana) — President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday officially opened the Fourth Session of the Tenth Parliament and tabled the legislative agenda for the coming session, with a call to clear the backlog of outstanding Bills.
Delivering his 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the New Parliament Building in Mt Hampden in line with Constitutional requirements, President Mnangagwa set out the law-making program for the new session.
In the just-ended Third Session, Parliament passed seven Bills, including the Constitutional Amendment Number 3 Bill (CAB3).
The amendment included the extension of the election cycle from five to seven years, the election of the President by Parliament from direct public vote, the return of the management of the voters’ roll to the office of the Registrar General from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, as well as the creation of 10 addition Senatorial seats to expand the skills base from which Cabinet Ministers are chosen.
The CAB3 received bipartisan support, with 226 voting for it in the National Assembly and 41 against, while in the Senate, 75 voted in favour of the amendment and 4 opposed.
The other Bills that Parliament passed include the IATFCO Entities Hosting Amendment, Insurance and Pensions Commission Amendment, Medical Services Amendment, Tourism, Occupational Safety and Health, and Climate Change Management Bills.
President Mnangagwa also declined to assent to the Zimsec Amendment Bill after he raised reservations over some clauses and has since returned it to Parliament.
Parliamentary Portfolio Committees tabled 54 reports during the last session, with 16 of them being on quarterly budget performance of Ministries, public petitions and other inquiries.
The Clerk of Parliament also reported a 100 percent submission rate from MDAs under the Public Finance Management Act, while Parliament launched the Committee for the Future to anticipate future developments.
President Mnangagwa expressed concern at the backlog of outstanding Bills which said was unacceptable and urged Parliament to do more.
“The total backlog of outstanding Bills is unacceptable,” he said. “Parliament must do more to ensure these Bills are brought before the House and finalised,” he said.
Outstanding Bills expected to be concluded in the new session include the Police Amendment Bill, Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Amendment Bill, State Service (Pensions) Bill, Mines and Minerals Bill and the Public Service Amendment Bill, which were at various stages of Second Reading and consideration of adverse reports by the Parliamentary Legal Committee.
For the Fourth Session, President Mnangagwa set out an ambitious legislative agenda and the new Bills to be tabled include the National Productivity Institute Bill, Disaster Risk Management Bill, as well as amendments to the Competition Act, Mines and Minerals Act, and Broadcasting Services Act.
Other Bills on the agenda for 2026 include the Commercial Premises (Lease Control) Amendment Bill, Defence Amendment Bill, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Bill, Iron and Steel Industry Amendment Bill, Meteorological Services Amendment Bill, National Heroes Amendment Bill, National Languages Bill, Research Amendment Bill, Sport, Leisure and Recreation Bill, Sports Integrity Bill and Zimbabwe Media Commission Amendment Bill.
President Mnangagwa said the legislative program is anchored on modernisation, industrialisation and the attainment of Vision 2030 (to become an upper middle-income society by 2030).
New Ziana
