The government’s proposed fiscal reforms announced on Monday will likely face resistance from opposition legislators in parliament with Harare East lawmaker, Tendai Biti threatening to block their adoption into law.
Biti said they will be waiting in parliament to block Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube’s tax reforms.
“The good news is no revenue proposals can become law without a Finance Act approved by Parliament. So all revenue measures announced by the new mess is null and void, until approved by parliament. We will be waiting in Parliament. Trust me, reads Biti’s Twitter post.
Renowned constitutional lawyer and University of Zimbabwe law lecturer, Advocate Fadzayi Mahere warned that the seperation of RTGs and Foreign Currency Accounts which the government announced on Monday have no legal basis in both the constitution and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act.
“I know they don’t care but I just want to say to Mthuli Ncube and Mangudya – there’s no such legal thing as an RTGS currency. There’s no such legal thing as a Zim dollar. Neither the RBZ Act nor the Banking Act provide for their illegal utterances yesterday, she said.
“The Govt is acting unconstitutionally and violating section 68 by introducing a new “RTGS currency” which is not recognized at law. The law says we have a basket of “foreign currencies”. On what legal basis do they wipe all that out in a random proclamation? Mugabe days are back,”
Mahere urged the government to accept failure to run the country as the economy drifts further into abyss amid 2008 hyperinflation scenario beginning to knock at the door.
She urged RBZ Governor, John Mangudya to resign as well as the Mnangagwa administration to accept that they do not have a solution to the various problems facing the country.
Meanwhile, 263Chat could not establish the government’s legal position on the matter as the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Ziyambi Ziyambi’s mobile went unanswered.
