
President Mnangagwa yesterday spelt the legislative agenda of the 10th Parliament when he delivered the state of the nation address and officially opened parliament.
The state of the nation address and official opening of parliament of the 1st session of the 10th parliament comes after the country successfully held credible, free, fair and peaceful Harmonised General Elections on the 23rd of August 2023.
The President congratulated legislators for securing the mandate to serve the people of Zimbabwe.
It is time to come out of election mode and focus on the assignment at hand.
Speaking at the new Parliament building in Mt Hampden, the President implored the 10th Parliament to conclude the unfinished business of the 9th parliament.
“I challenge you to accelerate the completion of the matters outstanding from the legislative agenda of the Ninth Parliament. Much work lies ahead”, President Mnangagwa said.
The 10th parliament was implored to complete all outstanding business.
“The Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill; Public Finance Management Amendment Bill; Medical Services Amendment Bill; Insurance Bill and the Private Voluntary Organisation Bill, which were outstanding from the Ninth Parliament, must be concluded during the First Session of this Parliament”, said the President.
Zimbabwe has outdated laws on its statute, the nation was informed.
Such laws as the Fredrick Clayton Trust Act; the Service of Documents Act; Settled Estates Leasing Act and the War Marriages Validation Act will be repealed under the Repeal of Laws, General Amendment Bill.
The President set out the new bills to constitute the business of the first session.
Government intends to amend the Persons with Disabilities Act and the Administration of Estates Act.
Other bills the first session will look at are The Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Bill. The intention of the bill is to streamline the registration process for foreign legal practitioners.
The Inheritance and Succession Laws (General Amendment) Bill, 2023, which aligns inheritance and succession laws to the Constitution and international best practice is also on the agenda of the first session.
Government also seeks to tackle climate change head on with the tenth parliament expected to amend the Water Act; the Zimbabwe National Water Authority Act and the Plant Breeders Act to align with current climate change challenges.
The much-anticipated Climate Change Bill seeking to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and facilitate low carbon development technologies will be debated the motive being strengthening appropriate institutions and funding mechanisms.
Government will set up a Human Wildlife Conflict Relief Fund to offer monetary benefits to victims of human wildlife conflict in communities. Human-wildlife conflict is when encounters between humans and wildlife lead to negative results, such as loss of property, livelihoods, and even life. It is a scourge that need to be tackled in a sustainable way.
The Parks and Wildlife Act will be amended to cater for the new provisions.
As parliament gets down to business members are urged to expedite and thoroughly deal with the bills for the betterment of the country.
Turning to the economic front, President Mnangagwa advised the nation that the economy has been on an upward trajectory, recording positive growth rates across sectors, despite the illegal sanctions imposed on the country by its detractors.
The mining sector reached the US$12 billion target in 2023. It grew from US$2.8 billion in 2017 to the present US$12 billion which is unprecedented.
Government set up the US$10 million Mining Industry Loan Fund to assist capitalization of small-scale and artisanal miners. The move has been bearing fruit as witnessed by the growth of the sector.
Power supply in the country has improved following the commissioning of Hwange 7 and 8 power units. Government will revise the entry requirements of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in order to improve power supplies.
Zimbabwe is now wheat sufficient following massive interventions by the government.
“Zimbabwe is now wheat self-sufficient”, President Mnangagwa advised the nation.
The devolution and decentralisation agenda remains on course with government undertaking various projects in communities across the country.
Priority is being given to projects which improve access and quality of education, health, roads, water and sanitation.
Borehole drilling is on course with government targeting 35,000 boreholes in the country.
To enhance connectivity, government continues to upgrade the road network across the country using domestic resources.
Similar initiatives are being implemented with regards to rail infrastructure, with focus on recapitalisation, rehabilitation and refurbishment.
The tourism sector continue to register growth. An increase of 62% in international tourist arrivals was registered during the first half of 2023.
Government continues to accelerate implementation of the Heritage Based Education 5.0 Model, aimed at producing goods and services for the country’s socio-economic needs. This Science, Technology and Innovation thrust has scaled up science-based education from the primary level up to institutions of higher education. More of our young talented boys and girls are registering patents and running viable start-ups.
Zimbabwe is poised for massive growth as government takes deliberate steps to strengthen its laws and deliberately sets in motion development projects
What is left is for the nation to come to the party and seat at the front row and see to it that President Mnangagwa’s vision of an upper middle-class economy by the year 2030 (Vision 2030) is realized.
Opportunities abound in the country. Do not be left behind as the nation turn the corner.