Online Reporter
Peter Matika
Speaker of Parliament Advocate Jacob Mudenda says the success of Zimbabwe’s democratic project now hinges on Parliament’s ability to translate its new 2025–2029 strategic plan into measurable results that safeguard the Constitution and deliver tangible benefits to citizens.
Addressing Parliament’s directors and senior managers during a workshop in Bulawayo yesterday, Adv Mudenda said legislators must rise to the challenge of ensuring accountability, transparency and service delivery in line with the people’s expectations.
“Significantly, this unfolds at a time when the social contract between the governed and their representatives has evolved into an explicitly transactional administrative covenant. Citizens now demand tangible dividends from their governance democratic investment with unprecedented urgency and specificity,” said Adv Mudenda.
He said Parliament’s oversight role, as enshrined in the Constitution, positions the institution as the supreme guardian of constitutional fidelity and the ultimate arbiter of Governmental accountability.
“Parliament must protect this constitution and promote democratic governance in Zimbabwe. Parliament has the power to ensure that the provisions of this Constitution are upheld and that the State and all institutions and agencies of Government at every level act constitutionally and in the national interest,” he said.
To meet this mandate, Parliament has adopted Integrated Results-Based Management (IRBM) as the framework for driving excellence, systematic measurement, and accountability.
“However, while the strategic plan articulates aspirational destinations with perspicuous clarity, the alchemy of transmuting constitutional obligations into lived democratic experiences demands the rigorous discipline that Integrated Results-Based Management (IRBM) epitomises and is expected to deliver,” said Adv Mudenda.
He said the relentless pursuit of distinction through systematic measurement and accountability draws inspiration from both ancient wisdom and modern management epistemology.
“However, that habit must be a culture anchored on a continuous innovation trajectory. Chitsva chirimurutsoka! Okhubekayo ngohambayo! This eternal truth resonates with the contemporary management metrics, where sustainable performance stems, not from episodic exertion or sporadic inspiration, but from embedded management paradigms that render excellence inevitable,” he said.
He said translating these management principles to the parliamentary context requires careful consideration.
Adv Mudenda said the triumph of IRBM implementation in legislative institutions hinges on recognising a fundamental truth.
“However, Parliament’s unique constitutional mandate requires a bespoke approach which harmonises democratic praxis with measurable outcomes. The authority of Parliament is unequivocally grounded in the constitution, which explicitly vests legislative power in Parliament as representatives of the people’s will,” he said.
Adv Mudenda said the constitution further elaborates on the oversight role of Parliament.
“Parliament must protect this constitution and promote democratic governance in Zimbabwe. Parliament has the power to ensure that the provisions of this constitution are upheld and that the State and all institutions and agencies of Government at every level act constitutionally and in the national interest,” he said.
Adv Mudenda said the 2025–2029 Institutional Strategic Plan is anchored on five key result areas that will guide Parliament’s oversight, legislative and representative functions, ensuring measurable impact.
“Every Vice-President, Minister and Deputy Minister must attend Parliament and parliamentary committees to answer questions concerning matters for which he or she is collectively or individually responsible,” he said.
“Importantly, financial oversight is explicitly required through Section 299, which demands that Parliament must monitor and oversee expenditure by the State and all commissions and institutions and agencies of Government at every level, including statutory bodies, Government-controlled entities, provincial and metropolitan councils and local authorities.
“Specifically, the strategic plan is anchored upon five interconnected key result areas that will define the institution’s trajectory and legacy and an effective oversight on all institutions and agencies of the State and Government at every level”.
Adv Mudenda added that building a culture of excellence requires continuous innovation, drawing lessons from global management philosophies such as Peter Drucker’s “Management by Objectives” and its evolution into IRBM.
