Parliament has this afternoon withdrawn a law containing new standard scale of fines relating to various offences that was unveiled by the Government in January.

The withdrawal happened in the National Assembly after Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi conceded to an adverse report that was issued by the Parliament Legal Committee (PLC), which argued that the manner in which Statutory Instrument 25 of 2021 was enacted was unconstitutional.

SI 25 of 2021 contains the standard scale of fines.

The PLC is an arm of Parliament that scrutinises all laws and Statutory Instruments that come before Parliament to ascertain whether they are consistent with the Constitution.

In tabling the adverse report, PLC chairperson Cde Jonathan Samkange said the preamble of the Statutory Instrument did not specify which Minister had issued the regulations between the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, both of whom were empowered to do so.

He said that omission made its enactment fatally defective at law, rendering it unconstitutional.

In response, Minister Ziyambi agreed to have the proposed law on new fines withdrawn saying he will reenact it properly and as envisaged by the Constitution.

The standard scale of fines had seen the lowest fines at Level One for minor Offences being pegged at $1 000 while the maximum fine of Level 14 being pegged at $1,6 million.

The new fines represented a 100 percent increase for criminal offences.