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The structure, functions of a bicameral Parliament
Open Forum with Austin Zvoma
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The Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 17) Act, 2005, among other things, reintroduced a bicameral Parliamentary system.
This write-up seeks to inform and educate members of the public about the new parliamentary set up.
It seeks to answer general questions, which the public might have relating to the composition, mandate and functions of Parliament within the context of bicameralism.
It sets out the general and special features of the Senate and the House of Assembly and describes the mechanisms for cooperation and inter-relationship between the two houses.
It also attempts to give the justification for the change from a bicameral to a unicameral system. Lastly the write up sets out in brief the administrative arrangements in place to effectively manage to system.
n Constitutional Definition of Parliament
The State in Zimbabwe, as in other States, is made up of three arms namely the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature. In terms of Section 33 of the Constitution the Legislature consists of the President and Parliament.
Parliament is defined in section 33 as consisting of two Houses, namely, the Senate and the House of Assembly. The two are appointed in the same way. This is further amplified by the fact that the laws and procedures relating to the opening, prorogation and dissolution of Parliament apply to both House equally.
n The mandate of Parliament is provided for in Section 50 of the Constitution, which states “Parliament shall make laws for the peace, order and good government of Zimbabwe.”
n The role of Parliament was aptly described by the Parliament Reform Committee (PRC) which stated in its report that “the role of Parliament is to legislate, to scrutinize and policies and activities of the Executive, to hold the Executive to account for its actions and to act as a forum for democratic participation by all members of society”.
Embodied in this statement are the four roles of legislatures that are recognized the world over, and these are;Legislative; Executive oversight; Representational; and; A Forum for Public Debate
The extent and mode of exercising these roles by legislatures differ from place to place. Our Parliament performs its legislative role by passing Bills that are subject to assent by the Head of State in terms of section 51 of the Constitution.
Any Bill, except a money Bill, can be introduced in either House. Money Bills can only be introduced in the House of Assembly but must be considered by both Houses.
Parliament performs Executive oversight by scrutinising government policies, programmes and expenditure plans.
This is done, among other things, by making inputs into, monitoring and approving the national budget. Parliament, through its system of committees, monitors all government policies and programmes to ensure efficient use of national resources. In addition, individual members can raise questions or move motions that relate to government policies and programmes.
The representational role of Parliament stems from the fact that the majority of Members of Parliament in both Houses are directly elected. Members of Parliament can raise constituency issues on behalf of the people they represent through the Parliamentary Question Time on Wednesday in the House of Assembly and on Thursdays in the Senate.
To further enhance the representational role of Parliament, 120 Parliament Constituency Information Centres have been established to provide members of the House of Assembly with a venue where thy can meet with their constituents. A policy decision concerning Parliament Constituency Information Centres has still to be made in respect of Senators. Through portfolio committees Parliament has also since 2001, been holding public hearings on major pieces of legislation and other topical issues in order to obtain pubic input in the legislative process.
As a forum for public debate of national issues, Parliament also offers an opportunity to debate, through motions, on specific issues. Members of the Executive are compelled to respond to motions raised by Members of Parliament that fall within their portfolios.
n Why a bicameral parliament?
Background
As most people are aware, the bicameral system is not new to Zimbabwe. At independence, in 1980, the Lancaster Houses Constitution provided for a bicameral Parliament modelled along the Westminster system, consisting of the Senate and the House of Assembly. This arrangement continued in existence until 1990 when the bicameral system was abolished. Members of the Houses of Assembly were initially elected on the basis of two voters’ rolls. The Constitution provided for eighty members elected on the Common Roll and twenty members elected on a Special Voters Roll reserved for white citizen.
The Senate was made up of forty members elected by three electoral colleges. An electoral college of the eighty black members of the House of Assembly elected Fourteen Senators. The white members of the House of Assembly elected ten Senators.
Ten Chiefs were elected to the Senate by the Council of Chiefs in Mashonaland and Matabeleland, giving an equal number of five seats each for the two provinces. The remaining six Senators were appointed by the State President acting on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.
n The pre-1990 Senate
The questions that will be on the minds of many people are: how is the new bicameral system different from that which existed up to 1990? In what ways will this system be an improvement on the current unicameral system?
The answer to these questions lies in the fundamental difference between the system of electing the pre-1990 Senate and the new system.
As mentioned above, the system used to elect the pre 1990 Senate was flawed in that it was not founded on democratic principles but rather on an attempt to manipulate the electoral system in order to achieve undemocratic outcomes, which were necessary to protect minority interests.
A blatant example of this institutionalised manipulation of the electoral system was the use of different voters’ rolls for black and white citizens and the use of electoral colleges in the election of Senators, which ensured the existence of a disproportionate number of white member representatives in the Senate.
The newly introduced Senate on the other hand is based on democratic principles in that Senators will be elected by universal suffrage in a first past the post system. The racial and tribal overtones, which characterized the pre 1990 Senate, are absent.
nExperiences with the Bicameral and Unicameral Systems
Zimbabwe has had 26 years experience with both bicameral and unicameral Parliaments. Our experiences have shown us that there exist strong arguments in favour of a bicameral system, provided that its conceptualisation, formulation and composition are based on democratic principles.
The main disadvantage of the pre 1990 bicameral Parliament was that the electoral system, as described above, was undemocratic and caused racial distortions in the composition of Parliament. In addition the members of the Senate were not directly elected which raised questions regarding their ability to effectively represent the citizens.
n The existence of a bicameral Parliament was one of the features of the Constitution protected for ten years by an entrenched clause.
At independence, Zimbabwe inherited a legion of colonial legislation, which embodied the racist and imperialist values that the Rhodesian government stood for. There was, therefore, urgent need to revise the statute laws of the country and repeal all the laws that were at odds with the values and objectives of the nationalist Zimbabwean government.
Under the circumstances, it was felt that the existence of two houses of parliament would unnecessarily slow down this law review process.
The bicameral system was, therefore, abolished as a way of speeding up the legislative purpose in order to expedite law reform.
By 2005, the legal and political environment was such that the situation was right for the reintroduction of a bicameral system.
Two important developments acted as catalysts in this regard. First, government had, during the unicameral era, carried out extensive law reform through the repeal of colonial legislation and the enactment of new laws, which supported the values of the government.
Second, the parliamentary reform process, which began in the 5th Parliament, sought to enhance the effectiveness of Parliament by creating avenues for public involvement in the legislative process.
The re-introduction of a bicameral system with Senators that are directly elected by citizens was seen as a way of further enhancing the reform of the parliamentary system.
A bicameral Parliament is an important element of the system of checks and balances, which is an essential part of any constitutional democracy. In other words, the two Houses of Parliament are essential as each House is empowered to act as a check on the powers of the other House and also balances the powers of the other House so that no House would emerge as superior as or more powerful than the other. In such a relationship, the possibilities of abuse of power are greatly diminished.
The existence of two Houses of Parliament is also an advantage in that apart from acting as a check and balance on each other’s powers, the two Houses also provide a review mechanism for each other’s actions and decisions.
For example, errors made by one House can be identified and rectified in the other. Bad policies advocated by one House are reviewed and refined in the other.
A bicameral Parliament has the capacity to formally represent diverse constituencies (regional, class, ethnic, etc). With two Houses, there is enhanced oversight of the Executive. Abrupt change of laws is rendered difficult thereby minimizing the chances for social upheavals caused by the introduction of new policies to a public that is ill-prepared for the change.
Apart from arguments founded in general theories of Constitutionalism, in favour of a bicameral Parliament, the Minister of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs is on record as saying that the re-introduction of the Senate at this point in time in our history is also motivated by the recognition by the government of the fact that over the past twenty five years, Zimbabwe has accumulated a large number of veteran legislators whose wisdom and experience in governance matters should now be put in use in the Senate.
The Constitution provides that Senators should be at least forty years old. This age restriction is meant to ensure that the Senate will consist of only mature members with adequate experience.
In assessing the desirability and value of a bicameral Parliament, it is important to note that the bicameral Parliament is a more popular model than the unicameral system. Most of the leading democracies in the world have bicameral Parliaments of one form or another. Examples of countries that have bi-cameral Parliaments include the United Kingdom, the United States of America, France, Canada, Japan and Australia.
On the African continent good examples include South Africa, Namibia, Swaziland and Lesotho. The popularity of this system in a diversity of cultures should be seen as a testimony of its efficacy.
n The houses of parliament
n The senate
Setions 34-36 of the Constitution provide for the composition of the Senate as well as for the election and tenure of office of the President and Deputy President of the Senate.
n The Senate is composed of a total of 66 members made up as follows:
n Fifty Senators, via, 5 elected in each of the ten provinces
n The President and Deputy President of the Council of Chiefs
n Eight Chiefs representing each of the provinces except the metropolitan provinces
n Six Senators appointed by the President
All Senators except the Chiefs must be at least 40 years old.
The Attorney General is also an ex officio member of the Senate but has no voting rights in that House.
n The Senate is presided over by the President of the Senate and the Deputy President of the Senate who are elected in terms of Section 35 of the Constitution.
To avoid confusing him with the Head of State, the President of t he Senate should always be referred to by his full title.
n Powers of the senate
In terms of Section 57 of the Constitution, the Senate has the powers to make its own internal rules known as Standing Orders, jointly or severally with the House of Assembly.
It enjoys the power to discipline its own members for contempt of Parliament as provided for in the Privileges, Immunities and Powers of Parliament Act (CAP 2:08). In terms of Section 43 of the Constitution, the Senate is empowered to expel or suspend its own members who have been convicted of criminal offences.
The Senate also has the power to decide its own sitting days, which do not have to coincide with those of the House of Assembly.
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