President complied with Constitution

Farirai Machivenyika, Harare Bureau
President Emmerson Mnangagwa complied with the Constitution by informing Parliament of the deployment of soldiers around the country during Operation Restore Legacy, Clerk of Parliament Mr Kennedy Chokuda has said.

Operation Restore Legacy was launched in November by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces to thwart a potential volatile situation in the country that was caused by criminal elements in the G40 cabal that had surrounded former President Cde Robert Mugabe.

Mr Chokuda said this while addressing officers from the Zimbabwe Staff College attending the Joint Command Staff Course number 31 that toured Parliament yesterday.

The country’s Constitution requires the President to inform Parliament of any deployment of soldiers.

“Early this year the President had to inform Parliament the reasons for the deployment of the defence forces in Operation Restore Legacy in line with the Constitution.

“The President complied with the Constitution and wrote to Parliament informing Parliament why the defence forces were deployed,” Mr Chokuda said.

The launch of Operation Restore Legacy resulted in the resignation of former President Mugabe while several ministers and Zanu-PF parliamentarians who were part of the G40 cabal were fired from both Government and the ruling party.

The cabal used former First Lady Grace Mugabe’s proximity to the then President to capture State institutions.

Mr Chokuda also commended the security services for being the most compliant in submitting reports to the legislature as required by the country’s Constitution.

“The security services are one of the most compliant in submitting reports to Parliament despite the fact that they deal with issues of a security nature,” Mr Chokuda said.

“The Ministry of Defence is on top including the Ministry of Home Affairs.

“With other ministries we have to push them but we have not had any problems with the security services.”

Ministries and Government departments are required by law to submit budget performance reports to Parliament.