Foreign Missions And Agencies (Premises) Act [Chapter 3:01]

Foreign Missions And Agencies (Premises) Act

Act 17/1980.
AN ACT to provide for the control of the acquisition and use of premises by the missions of foreign
governments and the agencies of international organizations; and to provide for matters incidental to
or connected with the foregoing.
[Date of commencement: 17th October, 1980.]
1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the Foreign Missions and Agencies (Premises) Act [Chapter 3:01].
2 Interpretation
(1) In this Act—
“agency” means the agency of a specified international organization;
“head of the mission or agency” means the person charged by the foreign government or specified international
organization, to which the mission or agency, as the case may be, relates, with the duty of acting in
that capacity;
“member of the staff of the mission or agency” means a member of the diplomatic or consular staff of the
mission or the principal executives of the agency, as the case may be, and includes a member of the administrative,
technical and service staff, including domestic staff, of the mission or agency, as the case
may be;
“Minister” means the Minister of Local Government Rural and Urban Development or any other Minister to
whom the President may, from time to time, assign the administration of this Act;
“mission” means a diplomatic or consular mission of a foreign state and includes any representation, department,
branch or bureau of a foreign state or international organization the purpose of which is to give
technical or other advice or assistance in Zimbabwe but which is not otherwise a mission or agency;
“premises” means immovable property;
“premises of the mission or agency” means the buildings or parts of buildings and the land ancillary thereto
used for the purposes of the mission or agency and includes the residence of the head of the mission or
agency and the residences of the members of the staff of the mission or agency but does not include
buildings or parts thereof used by honorary consuls and their staff or the residences of citizens of Zimbabwe
who are employees of the foreign state or international organization;
“Secretary” means the Secretary to the Ministry for which the Minister is responsible;
“specified area” means an area declared to be a specified area in terms of subsection (3);
“specified international organization” means any international or regional organization which the President
has declared to be a specified international organization in terms of subsection (2).
(2) The President may, by statutory instrument, declare any international or regional organization to be a
specified international organization.
(3) The Minister may, by statutory instrument, declare any area which he considers suitable or convenient for
the situation of the premises of missions or agencies or of any class of such premises to be a specified area for
such premises or class of premises, as the case may be.
3 Control of acquisition and use of premises
(1) No mission or agency shall—
(a) purchase, hire or otherwise acquire any premises; or
(b) use any premises as the premises of the mission or agency, as the case may be;
otherwise than in accordance with the approval of the Minister.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1), where an agency was using premises as the premises of
the agency immediately before the date on which the organization to which the agency relates was declared to be a
specified international organization, such agency may continue so to use those premises otherwise than in acco rdance
with the approval of the Minister—
(a) until the expiry of the period of ninety days next following the date of the declaration of the international
organization concerned as a specified international organization; or
(b) if application has, within the period of ninety days next