The President proposed several Bills to be tabled in Parliament during this Session and I will cite all of them Madam Speaker. Bills to be tabled will be: the Constitutional Court Bill, the Rural District Council Bill, the Traditional Leaders Bill, the Prisons Bill, the Marriages Bill, the Coroner s’ Office Bill, the Small Claims Court and the Commercial Court and the High Court Bill, the Judicial Laws Amendment Bill, Zimbabwe Investment Authority Amendment Bill, the Movable Property Security Interest Bill, the Insolvency Bill, Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill, Minerals Exploration and Marketing Corporation Bill, the Bill for the Establishment for the National Competitiveness Commission, a Bill on the proposed Re-organisation of the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe, the Regional Town and Country Planning Bill, the Public Sector Procurement Amendment Bill, Occupation, Safety and Health Bill, a New Labour Amendment Bill, the Public Health Bill, the Youth Council Bill, Computer Crime and Cyber Security Bill, Electronic Transaction and Electronic Commerce Bill and Data Protection Bill.
It is a mouthful, Madam Speaker, that the Parliament has to follow this Fourth Session, which sounds to be very busy. Amongst the Bills, I am going to pick the Marriage Bill, I think you will understand that it is my passion – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE ACTING SPEAKER (HON. DZIVA): Order Hon. Members, can Hon. Nyamupinga be heard in silence?
HON. NYAMUPINGA: Thank you Madam Speaker for your protection. The Marriage Bill is one of the Bills the women of Zimbabwe have been waiting for. There are many conflicting pieces of legislation to do with marriage, for example, while Section 78 (1) of the Constitution provides that, everyone who has attained the age of 18, has a right to found a family, the Marriage Act, Chapter 5.11provides that a girl between the age of 16 and 18 may, with joint consent of her mother and father, enter into civil marriage under the Marriage Act. The Marriage Act does not permit a boy below the age of 18 years to contract a marriage. There is need for a central registration of all marriages to comply with Section 80 and 81 respectively.
I will move to Prisons Bill, as I said earlier on that I will not articulate what all the Bills are seeking to do but my seconder, Hon. Mandipaka, will run through most of the Bills.
On the Prisons Bill, it is my hope that it will enshrine deliberate clauses that will promote the well being of women in the prisons. Things like giving women sanitary wear, to avoid putting leg irons on women, more women to serve their terms on open prisons if there are light sentences so that they can visit their families because we all say musha mukadzi. The longer they stay in prison, when they come back there will not be a home to talk about.
If we have all watched some of the episodes that are run on ZTV about women prisons – we have seen that most of them by the time they come back, they have nowhere to go and usually they are unaccepted in the communities that they come from. They are also not accepted in their families where they were born. They will end up nowhere. If they serve under open prison, they will have time to go home, see their children and also look after their homes.
It is my hope also that on this Bill, there will be facilities for children to allow those women to serve in prisons with their children. This Bill must also spell out that the rations for the children must be provided in the prisons.
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