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Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
PARLIAMENT has urged chairpersons of Parliamentary Portfolio Committees to execute their duties diligently saying it will not hesitate to remove and replace those who digress from professionally conducting themselves, Speaker of Parliament Advocate Jacob Mudenda has said.
Adv Mudenda was addressing the newly appointed Parliamentary Portfolio Committee chairpersons yesterday during an induction workshop in Bulawayo where he emphasised the need to embrace new technologies and how they could assist in their line of work.
“As Presiding Officers of Parliament and the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders we shall always cast a microscopic eye on how you conduct your business as the Liaison Coordination Committee (LCC) leadership. We will not shy away from replacing committee chairpersons who conduct themselves in a manner that brings the name of Parliament into disrepute or who do not apply themselves diligently to their assigned tasks. This workshop, therefore, has been organised to ensure that you are adequately capacitated to play your roles and shoulder your responsibilities efficaciously as you serve the 10th Parliament to the best of your abilities,” said Adv Mudenda.
Adv Mudenda said Parliamentary Committees are the heartbeat of parliamentary processes while the Liaison and Coordination Committee is the heart that should always sustain the pulsating heartbeat of the committee system. The Speaker said the workshop was going to be a catalyst in motivating the chairpersons to shoulder their responsibilities in a compelling manner that would propel Parliament towards actualising its vision of being a strong, independent, people-driven, world-class Parliament”.
He said the LCC plays a critical role in discharging the Constitutional mandate of Parliament.
“As stewards of this constitutional legacy, your role as the LCC is, therefore, vitally pivotal in upholding the constitutional tenets enshrined in the Constitution. Thus, section 117 delineates the nature and extent of legislative authority, emphasising that this authority is derived from the people and is vested in and exercised by the Legislature in accordance with the Constitution. We are, therefore, enjoined that whatever we do individually and collectively in the execution of our LCC duties is guided by the will of the people of Zimbabwe,” said Adv Mudenda.
He said the LCC is entrusted with the responsibility of coordinating and liaising on the scheduling of all Committee business, fostering a cohesive and well-organised Committee system.
This, he said, ensures that Parliamentary Committee programmes are well-coordinated and value for money is achieved. The proper scheduling of Committee programmes eliminates duplication of effort by Committees and fosters collaboration through joint sittings where there is a common subject for investigation or of interest.
Adv Mudenda further said no Committee must travel outside the precincts of Parliament without the authority of the Speaker.
The Speaker, however, said the chairpersons must not lag in the world of the Fourth Industrial Revolution now driven by Artificial Intelligence saying the leaders must be willing to learn from others, to admit mistakes, and embrace the need to extend their frontiers of knowledge through innovation. @NyembeziMu
Online Reporter