Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube [email protected]
THE Government has beefed up the Attorney General’s Office, particularly with legal drafters to help speed up the crafting of Bills.
This comes as the Second Republic continues to walk the talk in aligning laws with the Constitution to buttress the country’s transformative drive towards an upper middle-income economy vision by 2030.
Speaking at the Zimbabwe Building Contractors Association (ZBCA) inaugural regional construction summit in Victoria Falls, the Deputy Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Advocate Nobert Mazungunye said there had been challenges with legal drafters in the Ministry but that had been addressed.
“As the Ministry of Justice we were here to deliberate on issues with regards to infrastructure development and of note has been an issue with drafting of the Construction Bill which we have been eagerly waiting for which will change the shape of the construction in Zimbabwe.
“It has taken long as it has been referred back to the Ministry of Local Government so they refine it. There has been a challenge is respect to the drafters of Bills at the Ministry of Justice but I think at the moment that is being addressed as you have noted that the Attorney General now has put a new board and new organogram which encompasses law officers in the Ministry,” he said.
Adv Mazungunye could not give details on how many legal drafters were in Government.
“So they will come on board and this is a positive step which will ensure that we will cover that gap of drafters in the Ministry of Justice. So very soon it’s highly likely that we will see movement and some notable changes, and improvement. We will see bills coming through as that arrangement will go a long way in assisting the Ministry and Government,” said Adv Mazungunye.
Adv Mazungunye was responding to concerns from ZBCA members about the delays in the crafting of the Construction Contractors Council Bill.
The Bill is expected to change the landscape of the sector.
Former ZBCA president Dr Obert Sibanda said there was a need to speed up the crafting of the Bill.
“We expect our leadership to follow up so we don’t drop the ball. The by-laws we have were last amended in 1977 in Rhodesia and these are issues we need to engage now and after. We have a contractor’s Bill which has been on the table for some time. This is for contractors to regulate how they work how they handle new entries and how the industry operates.
“Most players in the industry have their own Acts of Parliament but the contractors who are the major players don’t have an Act of Parliament. That is the Bill that is being worked on but we hear now it has come to a level it might be finalised as soon as possible,” he said.
The Construction Contractors Council Bill has been on the cards for many years as the industry operates without specific regulations.
The Bill is among the Bills that were set for revision during the tenure of the 10th Parliament.
Speaking at the 7th Institutional Strategic Plan (2024-2028) for the 10th Parliament in Victoria Falls early this year, Speaker of Parliament Advocate Jacob Mudenda said more than 50 Bills were lined up for debate during the 10th Parliament’s legislative agenda.
He said 48 pieces of legislation were to be reviewed while some that had been overtaken by time and no longer served the interests of the people were to be repealed.
Others were to be struck off as their existence lapsed with the dissolution of the 9th Parliament.
President Mnangagwa, during his State of the Nation Address, also reiterated the need to speed up the processing of Bills and alignment with the Constitution.
The ZBCA summit is being held under the theme: “Leveraging investment in infrastructure as a catalyst for economic growth” and ends tomorrow.
The construction industry has the potential to prosper as infrastructure is a pre-condition for economic growth and key in urbanisation, driving the nation towards Vision 2030, African Union Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
-@ncubeleon
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