adminHerald Reporter
HOSTILE conditions in criminal courts during presentation of evidence have resulted in doctors being scared of specialising in forensic pathology, a situation that has seen the country facing a serious shortage of the experts, Parliament has heard.
Health and Child Care Deputy Minister Aldrin Musiiwa said there was need to speed up legislation on a coroner system that would create a buffer between the forensic experts and criminal courts.
He was responding to a question in the National Assembly from Mberengwa North MP Cde Tafanana Zhou (zanu-pf) on why Zimbabwe has few pathologists.
Deputy Minister Musiiwa said since 1980 the country has relied on India, Tanzania, Nigeria and now Cuba for forensic pathologists, with the country having three from Havana. (two in Bulawayo and one in Harare).
“The nature of forensic pathology is that it is a medico-legal specialty and the pathologists have to testify in court on very contentious life and death cases such as murder. Zimbabwe’s legal system is adversarial in nature and the atmosphere in courts is hostile.
“The outcome of that hostile process is that none of the Zimbabwean doctors have chosen forensic pathology for a career. Other jurisdictions have protected their forensic experts by creating the office of a coroner who then creates a buffer between the forensic experts and the courts,” said Deputy Minister Musiiwa.
He said consultations between the Ministry of Health and Child Care, and the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs have been conducted over the last two decades.
“Cabinet then approved the enactment of a coroner’s legislation to be spearheaded by the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs in July 2014.
“As Ministry of Health and Child Care, we were promised by the office of the Attorney General that the draft Coroner’s Bill would be ready for consultations by the end of December 2015. However, that did not materialise and we are still waiting,” he said.
Responding to another question, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Walter Mzembi urged churches like Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries and United Family International Church to register their lodges as part of efforts to take stock of their contribution in promoting religious tourism.
Chirumhanzu-Zibagwe Member of Parliament Cde Auxillia Mnangagwa (Zanu-PF) had asked if Government was using conferences being convened by the huge churches to promote religious tourism.
“We urge those people who come here to see prophets Magaya and Makandiwa to also register their lodges and pay the required taxes to the tourism sectors — the 2 percent levy as well as in the hotels where they stay. We are actually encouraging the religious sector to register these and for them to pay taxes.
“Firstly, from the buses and cars that they use to transport people, those should be registered and ensure that all cars that are extending hire services to the public should pay the attendant taxes. We realised that they always ferry people using their buses, but they forget that once they start doing that they are already in our books in terms of remitting taxes,” said Minister Mzembi.
“For those who go and stay in the lodges they also need to pay and those who have built their own accommodation also need to register what they have built.
“We engaged them and they appeared to understand what we were talking about in terms of paying taxes. I have not seen them opposing that measure. So, we have embarked on a project to make sure that they register so that they pay taxes to Government.”
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