US embassy cable - 03HARARE1974

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 001974 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR J. FRAZER 
LONDON FOR C. GURNEY 
PARIS FOR C. NEARY 
NAIROBI FOR T. PFLAUMER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, ZI 
SUBJECT: PARLIAMENT TO RESUME SESSION ON OCTOBER 7 
 
REF: A. HARARE 1506 
 
     B. HARARE 1880 
     C. HARARE 1135 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: After making limited progress on the 
government,s ambitious legislative agenda during the last 
session, Parliament is slated to resume attention on October 
7 to a host of potentially important bills, including an 
electoral act and an anti-money laundering law.  Parliament 
last adjourned September 11 but not before getting the 
Privileges Amendment Bill, which would punish members of 
parliament who boycott a Presidential address, through the 
first reading or setting the stage for the NGO Bill, which 
threatens to curtail NGOs' abilities to operate freely within 
Zimbabwe.  Mugabe signed into law this month amendments to 
the Broadcasting Services Act, passed in June, that may 
impinge on freedom of expression.  On a positive note, 
despite the continued threats to civil liberties, 
Parliamentary procedural reforms continue.  The most recent 
change being the Standing Rules and Order Committee's 
decision to set up a Business Management Committee that would 
wrest the development of the Parliamentary agenda from the 
Minister of Judicial, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Patrick 
Chinamasa to a committee that includes opposition and ruling 
party members.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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New Bills 
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2.  (U) Of the seventeen bills Mugabe mentioned in his 
opening of Parliament speech in July, only two -- the Stock 
Theft Bill, which reintroduces a minimum mandatory sentence 
for the theft of horses and cattle, and the Privileges 
Amendment Bill, which punishes MPs who boycott, interrupt, or 
walk out on a Presidential address to Parliament -- have 
reached the first reading stage.  (NOTE: Three readings are 
required before a bill is conveyed to the President for 
signature. END NOTE.) The NGO Bill President Mugabe mentioned 
in his opening day speech (Ref A) has run into problems in 
the Cabinet Committee on Legislation and is back in the 
Attorney General,s office for drafting.  After the brouhaha 
surrounding the government's August proclamation that all 
internationally donated food aid would be distributed via 
government-dominated channels, some within government 
reportedly are concerned that the NGO bill, as written, would 
run international assistance out of the country (Ref B).  In 
addition, the government is expected soon to gazette a new 
regulation or statutory instrument on Promotion of Banking 
Transactions and Suppression of Money Laundering.  (NOTE: 
According to parliamentary process, bills are fist published 
(gazetted) in the government gazette at least two weeks 
before they are introduced in Parliament.  After gazetting, 
the bill proceeds to the first reading. END NOTE.)  Other key 
bills receiving attention are amendments to the Mines and 
Minerals Act, which reportedly may receive public hearing, 
and a supplementary budget authorization. 
 
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Old Business 
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3.  (U) Two controversial bills -- the Citizenship Bill and 
Electoral Bill -- were dropped in June during the last 
session; however, the Electoral Bill is being redrafted and 
is expected to be resubmitted.  Both the Parliamentary Legal 
Committee, which checks bills for constitutional 
irregularities, and the Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal 
and Parliamentary Affairs were critical of the bill and 
suggested a government redraft.  As originally drafted, the 
Electoral Bill would have vested observer accreditation 
powers with the government, restricted provision of voter 
education, limited voter eligibility, and severely restricted 
posting of electioneering materials. 
 
4.  (U) There has been no movement on the suspension of MDC 
MP Tafadzwa Musekiwa, who has missed more than the 
constitutional limit of 21 consecutive days of Parliament. 
 
5.  (U) Just before the last Parliament closed in June, 
Parliament passed the AIPPA Amendment Act and the 
Broadcasting Services Amendment Act.  The President signed 
the Broadcasting Services Amendment Act into law in 
September, after a period far exceeding the 21 days allowed 
for assent into law by the Constitution.  The AIPPA Amendment 
Act has yet to be signed.  The amended AIPPA Act is not much 
different from the original one -- most of the changes 
adopted by the government were cosmetic and did not address 
major problems identified by the Portfolio Committee (Ref C). 
 The Broadcasting Services Amendment Act is intended to 
expand the original Act's scope of coverage, notably 
appearing to encompass internet service providers.  The 
original Act, passed in April 2001, enabled the Ministry of 
Information to regulate or effectively ban new private radio 
and TV stations and community radios by refusing to isssue 
licenses. 
 
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Parliamentary Reforms Continue 
------------------------------ 
6. (U) On a rare positive note, during its August meeting, 
the Standing Rules and Order Committee agreed to establish a 
Business Management Committee (BMC).  The BMC would monitor 
and oversee the implementation of the House, set the annual 
program--including the legislative agenda--implement the 
rules regarding scheduling and functioning of committees, and 
issue directives and guidelines to prioritize House benefits. 
 Prior to the formation of this Committee, the Leader of the 
House and Minister of Justice, Legal, and Parliamentary 
Affairs Patrick Chinamasa managed the house.  After a bit of 
cajoling earlier in the year, Chinamasa agreed to the 
formation of the committee.  The BMC comprises the Speaker of 
the House (Emmerson Mnangagwa-ZANU-PF), the Deputy Speaker 
(Edna Madzongwe-ZANU-PF), the Leader of the Opposition 
(Welshman Ncube-MDC), the Chief Whip (Joram Gumbo-ZANU-PF) 
and the Opposition Whip (Innocent Gonese-MDC).  At the August 
meeting, SROC agreed to meet again in October and to decide 
which portfolio committee chairpersons to retain.  The SROC 
also agreed to meet three times a year versus the annual 
meetings they now hold. 
 
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COMMENT 
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7. (SBU) Zimbabwe's legislative agenda continues to manifest 
the government's interest in tightening controls on potential 
opposition in its various guises.  The Broadcasting Services 
Act amendments and NGO bill would appear to give government 
AIPPA-like means to harass and/or control potential critics 
outside the press arena.  While ostensibly of value against 
organized crime and terrorist organizations, the anti-money 
laundering bill likely will enhance the government's legal 
means to investigate and to seize the assets of regime 
critics.  Civil society is tracking the bills closely, and a 
September 25 Supreme Court decision upholding Capitol Radio's 
constitutional challenge of certain provisions of the 
Broadcast Services Act probably foreshadows more 
constitutional attacks on the government's legislative 
output. 
 
8.  (SBU) The MDC continues to feel its way in Parliament but 
appears still largely unprepared to exploit its considerable 
presence there.  Although the constitution permits any MP to 
introduce a private bill, to our knowledge none of the MPs 
have ever done so and the parliamentary opposition remains 
essentially a reactive force.  None seem interested, for 
instance, in challenging the Broadcasting Services Amendment 
Act's signature into law long after the period permitted by 
the Constitution for signature had expired. 
 
9.  (SBU) We will reseve judgement for now on the Standing 
Rules and Order Committee until we have seen how this body 
functions in practice, and wheteher it will redress some of 
the more egregious failings of procedure engineered by 
Chinamasa in pursuit of ZANU-PF's legislative agenda.  END 
COMMENT. 
SULLIVAN