admin
Nduduzo Tshuma Senior Political Reporter—
PRESIDENT Mugabe has said the revival of industries remains the government’s top priority and as such a number of laws will be re-aligned to, among other things, stimulate economic growth. Officially opening the Second Session of the Eighth Parliament of Zimbabwe yesterday, President Mugabe expressed hope that a number of laws will be synchronised with the new constitution.
He said a Joint Venture Bill to facilitate the implementation of infrastructural projects inline with Zim-Asset will be among the many bills to be tabled in Parliament.
Labour and procurement laws and the tax regime would be revised and the Debt Management Bill which provides a framework for addressing the national debt problem would also be tabled in Parliament.
He said another bill to be tabled was the Tripartite Negotiation Bill which seeks to render the tripartite negotiation forum more receptive, accountable and responsive to the development needs of the nation.
“In fulfilment of its constitutional mandate, Parliament will during the second session of the eighth Parliament place great emphasis on the re-alignment of laws with the New Constitution and the reviewing of existing and enacting of new legislation that lends support to the attainment of the goals of socio-economic development in general, and to those of Zim-Asset in particular,” said President Mugabe.
He said while the new Income Tax Bill will be tabled during this session, the Insurance Act and the Pension and Provident Fund Act will be amended to address deficiencies in the legislation and align them with international best practices.
The Electronic Transaction Bill, the Cyber Crime Bill and the Data Protection Bill are also lined up for tabling during this session.
President Mugabe said agriculture which registered a positive growth during the 2013/14 agricultural season remained the backbone of the country’s economy. He said the good harvest recorded in many parts of the country had greatly improved household food security.
He said experts had predicted a favourable 2014/15 rainy season which augers well with the government’s efforts to reinforce the sector‘s recovery.
President Mugabe said the government will continue to provide agricultural inputs as well as tillage services to communal, resettlement, small scale commercial and A1 farmers.
Turning to the mining sector, President Mugabe said work on the establishment of diamond cutting and polishing centres, a Zimbabwe diamond bourse, a platinum refinery and a chrome melting plant were already in progress.
He said the successful implementation of Zim-Asset hinged on the provision of adequate energy to all sectors of the economy.
“To this end therefore, various initiatives to boost power generation are at varying stages of implementation. These include the Kariba South expansion project, the ZPC Syno Hydro Hwange Thermal Power Station Unit 7 and 8 projects and several other small projects which when complete should yield a total of 5,000 megawatts by 2020,” said President Mugabe.
Commenting on the general performance of the economy Cde Mugabe said the economic growth was constrained by among other factors unreliable and costly utilities, lack of affordable long term finance, weak business linkages and dependence on obsolete machinery and technology.
The President said government was also aware of concerns regarding the implementation of the country’s tax system which is perceived to be stifling business growth and said the matter would be addressed soon.
Cde Mugabe assured the nation that implementation of road infrastructure projects covered under memorandum of understanding recently concluded with China would soon take off.
He however said he was disappointed by locals playing fronts to foreign companies and working against the objectives of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act.
“It’s depressing that some of our people have turned themselves into mere fronts of foreign investors thus defeating the fundamental objectives of the indigenisation and economic empowerment programme,” he said.
The President warned that decisive action will be taken to address such negative developments through strengthening the general enforcement of the relevant legislation.
He called on companies that pledged funds under the Community Share Ownership Scheme to honour their commitments.
President Mugabe said the Public Health Bill which seeks to promote quality health service delivery was also among the bills to be tabled during this session.
He said the government’s efforts to support the Health Ministry’s recovery were set to be boosted by the $89 million loan facility concluded with China for the procurement of medical equipment, ambulances and other accessories.
The President said eventually specialist surgical operations will be performed locally thereby eliminating the need to seek such services abroad.
President Mugabe said bills for the establishment of the Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences and the Gwanda State University would be tabled before Parliament and revealed that work on the establishment of the Pan African Minerals University of Science and Technology in Harare is at an advanced stage.
He said primary and secondary school curriculum was being reviewed to align the education system with the national development needs that would see emphasis being put on the learning of science, technology and mathematics.
He said the E-learning programme in conjunction with the Presidential computers programme would also be introduced at all school levels.
President Mugabe said the government had launched a housing programme to provide 313,283 residential stands in a bid to address the national housing backlog.
He said parliament would also consider the Bill for the transformation of the national defence college into a national defence university.
Cde Mugabe said the university would provide education in national policy and strategy formation for senior military and civilian leaders under the discipline of national defence and security.
He applauded the security forces for their unwavering commitment to defending the country’s territorial integrity.
On Zimbabwe’s foreign relations, the President said government was ready to establish mutual beneficial partnerships with any country based on mutual understanding and respect.
Online Reporter