US embassy cable - 04HARARE743

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000743 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR J. FRAZER, TEITELBAUM 
LONDON FOR C. GURNEY 
PARIS FOR C. NEARY 
NAIROBI FOR T. PFLAUMER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, ZI, Parliamentary Affairs 
SUBJECT: LEGISLATIVE ENVIRONMENT WORSENING 
 
REF: HARARE 720 
 
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Summary 
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1. (SBU) The legislative environment in Zimbabwe continues to 
decline as Parliament,s role in the law-making process is 
increasingly marginalized.  To compound Parliament,s 
ineffectiveness, it is likely to reduce its sittings during 
the next session as MPs hit the campaign trails, allowing 
continuation of the current trend of the Executive Office 
creating law via statutory instruments and without 
Parliamentary input.  End Summary. 
 
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Lackluster Parliamentary Agenda 
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2. (U) Parliament,s next sitting is scheduled to resume May 
11, during which time it is expected to pass the Electoral 
Amendment Bill (Reftel).  If Parliament does not pass the 
bill during the next sitting then, it likely will prior to 
the close of the session sometime in June.  Other legislation 
that will be on the agenda includes: 
 
--the Privileges Amendment Bill that, among other things, 
would fine MPs who miss, interrupt, or walk out on 
presidential addresses to Parliament, and protect judges and 
magistrates from being arrested or searched within the 
premises of any court of which they are judges, magistrates, 
or presidents; 
--the Stock Theft Amendment Bill that would reintroduce a 
minimum sentence for theft of horses and cattle; 
--the Administrative Justice Bill that claims to encourage 
efficient administration and good governance; 
--the Securities Bill, which is the first bill written by a 
group outside the Ministries; 
--the Balance of Payments Reporting bill that establishes 
another way to get foreign exchange from financial 
institutions and large scale exporters; 
--and the Anti-Corruption Commission Bill establishing an 
Anti-Corruption Commission that would report to the Minister 
of Special Affairs for Anti-corruption and Anti-monopolies 
Didymus Mutasa. 
 
The Privileges Amendment, Stock Theft Amendment, and 
Administrative Justice Bills received adverse reports from 
the Parliamentary Legal Committee (PLC), the committee 
responsible for ensuring the constitutionality of 
legislation. 
 
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Legislative Environment Deteriorating 
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3. (SBU) The broad consensus among major donors, outside 
experts who work with Parliament, and Post is that the 
legislative environment has deteriorated over the last few 
years despite the growing role of portfolio committees. 
There is no set legislative calendar, and Parliament,s 
sitting schedule seems to be dictated by when Executive 
Orders are set to expire.  Furthermore, many bills languish 
in Parliament unpassed, resurfacing session after session. 
The statutory instrument (S.I.) has become a popular means of 
law-making, mainly because they are not subject to the same 
procedural requirements as bills and are more effectively 
controlled by the executive.  (Note: Statutory instruments 
originate in the Executive Office and do not need to go 
through the same parliamentary bill-making procedure, 
although they are subject to PLC review.  They are effective 
immediately upon publication in the Government Gazette. 
S.I.,s generated under the Presidential Powers (Temporary 
Measures) Act expire after six months but other S.I.,s have 
an indefinite lifespan. End Note.)  Prominent S.I.'s over the 
last five months include S.I. 273A of 2003 that authorizes 
agents of the Ministry of Lands to seize farm equipment and 
material from former commercial farmers; S.I. 37 and S.I. 41A 
of 2004 that take away the court's discretion on bail and 
authorize the police to detain suspects for longer periods; 
and S.I. 18 of 2004 that grants the government-owned Tel*One 
telephone company a monopoly on international 
telecommunications services.  All of these statutory 
instruments received adverse reports from the PLC. 
 
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ZANU-PF Disdain for Parliament 
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4. (U) Speaker of Parliament Emmerson Mnangagwa most likely 
summed up the party's attitude towards Parliament and a more 
inclusive parliamentary process with comments reported in the 
April 25 issue of The Voice, the ZANU-PF newspaper, in which 
he stated &our greatest challenge remains how to transform 
our party principles onto the parliamentary landscape so that 
the party and parliamentary democracy are 
indistinguishable.8  In the same article, Mnangagwa declared 
the Parliament undemocratic and in need of a &homegrown8 
overhaul that would &espouse certain core values of the 
country.8 
 
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Comment 
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5. (SBU) ZANU-PF apparently is not satisfied with a 
substantial parliamentary majority that already assures it 
full control of the government's legislative agenda.  The 
legislature's shrinking calendar and growing GOZ preference 
for statutory instruments instead of formal legislation may 
be driven in part by budgetary constraints and time 
sensitivities.  Perhaps more significantly, however, it 
reflects executive mistrust of an institution that has 
constitutional authority to exert an independent, albeit 
limited, check on executive power.  Certainly, increasing 
reliance on S.I.'s is a measure of the Parliament's 
increasing marginalization and irrelevance. 
 
6. (SBU) The beleaguered Speaker's reported comments are 
notable in at least two respects.  First, the overt 
partisanship is uncharacteristic in its extremism; since 
assuming the speakership, Mnangagwa had generally been 
supportive of the institution as a forum for debate and a 
place for the opposition, even as he assured the ruling 
party's dominant position and control of the agenda at all 
times.  Mnangagwa had earlier also used the speakership 
postion to seek to burnish his personal credentials 
nationally and internationally.  His latest comments may 
reflect the precariousness of his position and his desire to 
project a holier-than-thou posture within the party as 
corruption investigations against him proceed.  In any event, 
his comments are consistent with the ruling party's 
increasingly evident priority on making Zimbabwe effectively 
a one-party state. End Comment. 
SULLIVAN