Authorities will also prioritise the enactment of a law to
operationalise provincial and metropolitan councils in line with Constitutional
provisions for devolution and decentralisation.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, Justice, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said: “Our priorities are to
ensure that we get down to dealing with the Bills as outlined by His Excellency
in his State of the Nation Address and legislative agenda last year.
“On top of the list of Bills to deal with is the Criminal
Code Amendment Bill to deal with sexual offences involving minors.
“You will recall that we had to request His Excellency to
use his Presidential powers to deal with a lacuna (gap) created after the
courts had declared that the section of the code that criminalises having
sexual intercourse with a young adult was unconstitutional.
“So, we need to ensure that the best interests of children
are protected.”
President Mnangagwa recently used the Presidential Powers
(Temporary Measures) Act to promulgate Statutory Instrument 2 of 2024,
Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) (Criminal Laws (Protection of Children
and Young Persons)) Regulations, which made it an offence to initiate or have
any sexual or indecent relations with anyone under the age of 18.
In May 2022, the Constitutional Court declared sections 70,
76, 83 and 86 of the criminal law code governing the age one can consent to
sexual intercourse unconstitutional.
The Constitutional Court then suspended the declaration of
invalidity for 12 months to allow authorities to correct the defect and amend
the law.
The 12-month period expired last year with no law enacted
to protect children from sexual exploitation.
The President then stepped in to plug the loophole through
the statutory instrument.
Added Minister Ziyambi: “Secondly, we need to enact
legislation to give effect to provincial councils.
“This has been outstanding for a long time and we need to
fast-track the law so that our devolution agenda becomes fully operational.”
The Government, he said, will also move to enact an Omnibus
Amendment Bill to repeal several obsolete laws on the country’s statutes.
Some of the laws include the Fredrick Clayton Trust Act;
Service of Documents (Telegraph) Act; Settled Estates Leasing Act; and the War
Marriages Validation
Act.
“To deal with land issues and enhance productivity at
farms, an Agrarian Laws Amendment Bill will also be introduced that will
enhance the security of tenure and ensure farmers and financial institutions
invest more in agriculture,” continued Minister Ziyambi.
“We also have the Mines and Minerals Bill that is long
overdue, and this will be high on the agenda.
“The office of the Master of the High Court has been moved
from the Judicial Service Commission and appropriate legislation will be
enacted to give effect to it and improve efficiency in that office.
“This is in response also to the great work by the First
Lady (Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa) in ensuring that inheritance issues are dealt with
transparently.
“So, in a nutshell, this will be a busy session and we hope
that Parliament will be able to discharge its duties diligently.” Sunday Mail
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