Online Reporter
Walter Nyamukondiwa
Mashonaland West Bureau Chief
Speaker of Parliament Advocate Jacob Mudenda has challenged legislators to abandon a “tick-the-box” mentality and deeply entrench a culture of excellence.
The call comes as Zimbabwe’s legislature intensifies efforts to strengthen institutional performance through robust quality management systems.
Officially opening a Capacity Enhancement in Quality Management and Team-Building workshop for Parliament’s Quality Management Team in Kadoma recently, Adv Mudenda stressed that Parliament’s ISO certification must not be treated as a mere prestigious credential.
Instead, he said, it must serve as a living institutional culture anchored on efficiency, accountability, and superior public service delivery.
He warned that quality management systems risk degenerating into meaningless documentation rituals if they are not tied to genuine institutional transformation.
“Certification is only the beginning of the journey, not its destiny. It is the standard against which the institution must daily hold itself accountable in every operational process,” said Adv Mudenda.
He said Parliament’s quality management framework is central to Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy (NDS2), which sought to transform the country into an upper-middle-income economy through efficient and responsive public institutions.
As a constitutional service institution accountable to the people, he said, Parliament could not afford inefficiency or weak systems.
“When the institution gets its processes right the first time, it is the citizen who benefits. When it does not, it is the citizen who pays the cost,” noted the Speaker.
Adv Mudenda highlighted that excellence was never accidental but was the product of disciplined systems and consistent practice.
While Parliament’s adoption of ISO 9001 of 2015 standards had already improved institutional discipline, accountability, and inter-departmental coordination, Adv Mudenda said that critical hurdles remain.
To bridge these gaps, the Speaker urged Parliament to urgently embrace digital innovation, artificial intelligence (AI), and data analytics to modernise its quality assurance systems.
“Artificial Intelligence, data analytics, and automated monitoring systems possess enormous potential to elevate Parliament’s quality management framework to new heights of precision and responsiveness,” he said.
By integrating these technologies, Zimbabwe aligns itself with global best practices.
The Speaker cited the parliaments of Finland and the United Kingdom as prime examples of legislatures that had successfully institutionalised rigorous quality frameworks benchmarked against Inter-Parliamentary union (IPU) standards.
The workshop sought to address findings of internal audits that identified gaps requiring refresher training, system tweaks, and stronger continuous improvement mechanisms.
It brought together senior managers, internal auditors, process owners, root cause analysts, and risk champions.
In remarks delivered on her behalf by Provincial Secretary Mr Josphat Jaji, Mashonaland West Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Marian Chombo applauded the initiative.
She urged parliamentary staff to remain committed to transforming policy into tangible action.
“Your work is central to strengthening governance systems, enhancing institutional efficiency, promoting transparency, and ensuring that Parliament fulfils its constitutional mandate of legislation, representation, and oversight,” Minister Chombo said.
