Correspondent|The government has amended the current Companies Act which was passed in 1951 and gazetted a new Companies and Other Business Entities Bill which seeks to replace and update the law relating to companies and private business corporations.

The present Companies Act was passed in 1951 and some of the new features in this Bill include the introduction of an Electronic Registry for the incorporation and registration of domestic and foreign companies and private business corporations and the substitution of criminal penalties by civil penalties wherever possible.

The bill also caters for the provision for the issuance of shares rather than shares with a fixed value, together with provisions for the valuation of no-par-value shares;

The amendment of the Companies Act is accompanied by two other bills that government has gazetted which includes the Tripartite Negotiating Forum Bill, Companies and the Finance (No. 2).

Two other bills namely Consumer Protection Bill and Forest Amendment Bill are awaiting to be gazetted.

In a statement released by Parliament, the Consumer Protection draft bill has been sent to Printflow while the Forest amendment draft bill has been sent to the Attorney General for proofreading.

According to Veritas, a watchdog of law in the Parliament of Zimbabwe, the Tripartite Negotiating Forum Bill “seeks to establish a Tripartite Negotiating Forum whose mandate is to ensure consultation, cooperation and negotiation on social and economic issues by Government, Organised Business and Organised Labour,”

Another Bill, Finance (No. 2) Bill, 2018 seeks “to confirm SI 205/2018 re Intermediated Money Transfer Tax, this Bill will amend the Finance Act [Chapter 23:04], and the Income Tax Act [Chapter 23:06], to give effect to the new rate of intermediated money transfer tax provisionally enacted (subject to endorsement by the Parliament) by Statutory Instrument 205 of 2018 pursuant to section 3(2) of the Finance Act [Chapter 24:04),” stated Veritas.

It further states that “Draft Consumer Protection Bill, seeks to promote a fair, efficient and transparent marketplace for consumers and business, to promote consumer rights to basic needs (food, shelter, health, education and clothing), to provide for improved standards of consumer information, to prohibit unfair competition, marketing and business practices, to promote responsible consumer behaviour, to provide relief to parties to consumer contracts where the contracts are unfair or contain unfair provisions or where the exercise or non-exercise of a power, right or discretion under such a contract is or would be unfair; to repeal the Consumer Contracts Act [Chapter 8:03], and to provide for matters incidental to or connected with the foregoing.”