Parliament has suspended public hearings on the Constitutional Amendment Bill that were supposed to start this weekend, as part of measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

The suspension of the public consultations is part of a cocktail of measures adopted by Parliament to curb the spread of the contagious disease, which included suspension of sittings and international travel, among others.

“The public hearings on the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No 2) Bill scheduled to start at the end of March have been cancelled until further notice.

“The cancellation is part of the measures adopted by Parliament to give effect to the national effort to curb the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus,” reads a notice from Parliament.

The portfolio committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs led by Makoni South MP Misheck Mataranyika (Zanu PF) was set to lead the public hearings.

Some of the issues in the Bill include a clause that repeal the concept of running mates, extends the women’s quota in Parliament with another two terms, and extend retirement age for Supreme Court and Constitutional Court judges to 75 years.

Government has indicated that there was need to repeal a clause on running mates saying it was undesirable.-State media