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Fidelis Munyoro Harare Bureau
President Robert Mugabe has fixed September 15 as the date for the official opening of the Third Session of the Eighth Parliament. In a proclamation issued in the Government Gazette yesterday under Statutory Instrument 94/2015, President Mugabe acted in terms of the powers vested in him as resolved by Parliament on September 18, 2013.

“I do hereby, by this proclamation fix Parliament Building, Harare as the place at which the official opening of the Third Session of the Eighth Parliament of Zimbabwe shall be held; and twelve o’clock noon on Tuesday, the 15th September, 2015, as the time and date at which the Third Session of the Eighth Parliament shall begin,” said President Mugabe.

It is provided under Section 146 of the Constitution that each House of Parliament determines the time and duration of its sittings, other than the first sitting and its periods of recess.

The section also stipulates that the President may summon Parliament at any time to conduct business and no more than 180 days may elapse between sittings of a House.

Last week, Clerk of Parliament Kennedy Chokuda said President Mugabe would address both Houses at the occasion of official opening on September 15.

The speech, he said, would give the legislative agenda for Parliament to be followed for the coming Session.

The Second Session of the Eighth Parliament ended on August 25 with the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces delivering his State of the Nation Address.

One of the major highlights of the Second Session was the passage of the Labour Amendment Act, which sought to put a stop the sacking of workers on three months notice.

More than 25,000 workers were dismissed by companies based on the Supreme Court ruling of July 17, 2015, which allowed employers to fire workers on three months notice.