Parliament Rejects 5 Petitions for Being in ’’Unacceptable Format or Unclear’’

Parliament Rejects 5 Petitions for Being in ’’Unacceptable Format or Unclear’’

By Daniel Chigundu

The National Assembly has rejected about five petitions from various organisations dotted around the country because they are reportedly in an unacceptable format or they are allegedly not clear.

Zimbabwe’s new constitution, adopted in 2013, creates provisions in Section 149 for citizens and permanent residents to petition Parliament.

Section 149(1) says, ‘every citizen and permanent resident of Zimbabwe has a right to petition Parliament to consider any matter within its authority, including the enactment, amendment or repeal of legislation. …(2) The manner in which petitions are to be presented to Parliament, and the action that Parliament is to take on the presentation of a petition, must be prescribed in Standing Orders.

However, most citizens are not familiar with the template they are supposed to use in writing the petitions because they have no access to the Parliament Standing Orders; hence, their petitions are being rejected.

Standing Orders are the regulations that regulate the proceedings of Parliament, and they are made by the Houses (National Assembly and Senate) individually or jointly.

Parliament in Zimbabwe has not invested in popularising its Standing Orders or at least teaching citizens about the kind of petitions or issues that can be petitioned to it.

The rejection of so many petitions by Parliament is a clear indicator that citizens are not familiar with the requirements of the Standing Orders, even though they would want to petition their Parliament.

However, this lack of awareness can have a negative effect in the future as people will think that petitions do not work.

The 5 Rejected Petitions

Speaking in the National Assembly on the 15th of October (2024), Deputy Speaker Tsitsi Gezi announced a list of petitions that came but were rejected.

‘’I wish to inform the House that on 11th June 2024, Parliament received a petition from the Cotton Producers Association of Zimbabwe, beseeching Parliament to inquire into the activities of COTTCO. The petition was deemed inadmissible as the petition was not clear. The petitioners were notified accordingly.

‘’On 2nd August 2024, Parliament received a petition from the Republic Information Rights, requesting Parliament to inquire into the activities of a group called G-Unit, allegedly assaulting villagers in Chiredzi District. The petition was deemed inadmissible as the request did not fall under the purview of Parliament.

‘’I wish also to inform the House that on 2nd August 2024, Parliament received a petition from the Girls Table, requesting Parliament to ensure that the spirit of Chapter 4 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe in relation to gender balance is respected. The petition was deemed inadmissible since the petitioners were not clear in their request to Parliament. They were notified accordingly.

‘’I further have to inform the House that on 2nd September 2024, Parliament received a petition from the Kushinga Group of Forced Retirees, requesting Parliament to repeal Statutory Instrument 135 of 2024. The petition was deemed inadmissible as it did not comply with the petition procedure outlined in Appendix E of the National Assembly Standing Orders.

‘’On 11th September 2024, Parliament received a petition from the Chiredzi Residents and Ratepayers Association, beseeching Parliament to inquire into the alleged corruption in the engagement of a private developer to service land in the Buffalo Range area allocated to Chiredzi Rural and Town Councils. The petition was deemed inadmissible as the petitioners did not comply with the requirements spelt out in Appendix E of the National Assembly Standing Orders. The petitioners were notified accordingly,’’ she said.

Parliament Rejects 5 Petitions for Being in ’’Unacceptable Format or Unclear’’