Parliament takes a budget bootcamp in Bulawayo

PARLIAMENTARIANS have been urged to utilise Artificial Intelligence to enhance their thinking.

This was said by the Speaker of Parliament, Advocate Jacob Mudenda, while giving his remarks during a two-day Parliament of Zimbabwe workshop for its portfolio committees in Bulawayo.
“Your Committees perform complementary functions of Budget approval, fiscal oversight and stewardship of the public purse. In doing so, the two Committees are charged with the sacred responsibility of demanding unwavering standards on the value-for-money across every tier of government expenditure.”

However, Adv Mudenda said fulfilling this responsibility compels Parliamentarians to move beyond perfunctory examination to critical analysis of the National Budget.
“In this regard, I am reminded of the timeless counsel of our elders, which affirmed that. Until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter.
“In the past, analysis of the National Budget has been done by others, leaving you as mere spectators in decisions that directly affect the welfare of the people you are sworn to serve. Today, you begin the process of becoming the lion that writes its own story through the mastery of rigorous Budget analysis,” said Adv Mudenda.

Adv Mudenda says proficiency in budget analysis demands a comprehensive understanding of the Public Finance Management (PFM) framework.

He says the PFM system is built on strong legal and institutional foundations which delineate every stage of the budget process, namely, from the initial planning and preparation, approval, implementation and expenditure, to the final monitoring and evaluation level of due analysis.

Adv Mudenda says the framework places fiscal oversight on the Committees’ responsibility to exercise with probity the budgetary processes.
“This is where you, as parliamentarians, must step forward to fulfil your hallowed responsibility.”