BY HARRIET CHIKANDIWA BOTH Houses of Parliament resume sitting today after a COVID-19-induced break which started in January, with the highly-infectious respiratory disease claiming lives of Members of Parliament and Cabinet ministers, among others. Some civic society organisations had already raised concern that the continued closure of Parliament would affect the crafting of key legislation. Several laws that were announced by President Emmerson Mnangagwa when he officially opened the Third Session of the Ninth Parliament last September need to be crafted, while other laws are at different stages of crafting. A statement from Parliament yesterday said: “Both Houses of Parliament would resume sitting with effect from February 16, 2021 with only 30 MPs attending physically in the National Assembly and 25 senators attending physically in the Senate.” Other MPs will follow the proceedings and contribute to debate through the Zoom platform after Parliament made moves to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Only four media houses will be allowed to physically cover Parliament proceedings, while others will follow virtually. Zimbabwe has been on level four national lockdown since January 5 this year after the country recorded a sharp increase in the number of infections and deaths during the second wave of COVID-19. Follow Harriet on Twitter @harrietchikand1
