BY HARRIET CHIKANDIWA PARLIAMENTARY Legal Committee (PLC) chairperson Jonathan Samukange yesterday said Statutory Instrument (SI) 25 of 2021, which increased deposit fines for motorists, was unconstitutional and must be withdrawn. Samukange said this in the National Assembly while presenting an adverse report on SI 25 of 2021, which was gazetted on January 25, saying it had been red-flagged by the PLC. “The SI 25 of 2021 does not specify in its preamble who the minister enacting it is. The reasons why specifying the minister is material is because the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act provides for two instances where either the Minister of Finance, or the Minister of Justice can increase the standard scale of fines through a statutory instrument. “Since the SI does not categorically state who enacted the SI, the presumption is that because the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs administers the Act, he is, therefore, responsible for the enactment of the SI. The presumption invokes subsection (6) of section 280 of the Act. “The committee found the SI to be ultra vires the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9: 23]. Summarily, it is the PLC’s opinion that SI 25 of 2021 is ultra vires the enabling Act and, therefore, unconstitutional,” Samukange said. He also said that a draft of the standard scales was not tabled before Parliament, before SI 25 of 2021 was published as required by section 280 (6) of the Act. Last month, High Court judge Justice Webster Chinamhora dismissed an application by a retired lawyer Sheila Frances Jarvis and the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights), who were challenging publication of SI 25 of 2021, which approved increases in spot fines. Justice Chinamhora said the matter was not urgent. Jarvis and ZimRights had cited Finance minister Mthuli Ncube, Home Affairs minister Kazembe Kazembe and Parliament seeking an interdict and declaratory relief in terms of Order 32, Rule 241 as read with section 85 of Constitution and challenging the publication of SI 25 of 2021. The SI had proposed an increase in level one fines from $200 to $1 000, level two from $300 to $2 000 and level three increased 10 times from $500 to $5 000. It also granted the police the power to levy fines, instead of referring cases on level one, two and three to the courts. Follow Harriet on Twitter @harrietchikand1