Speaker calls for public funds transparency

Farirai Machivenyika-Senior Reporter

Parliamentary public accounts committees and national offices of auditors general have an important role to play in the provision of checks and balances to ensure effective and transparent utilisation of public resources, Speaker of the National Assembly, Advocate Jacob Mudenda has said.

Officially opening a two-day capacity building workshop of the Southern Africa Development Community Organisation of Public Accounts Committees (SADCOPAC), Adv Mudenda said accountability for the use of public resources squarely rests on the shoulders of the public accounts committees.

SADCOPAC is an inter-parliamentary grouping of countries in the Sadc region formed in 2002 and headquartered in Tanzania.

“Governments are not angelic as they are run by human beings with all the attendant frailties, biases and selfish impulses that sometimes negate the common good. 

“This fundamental conundrum about governmental human experience necessitated the establishment of the system of parliamentary democracy which created the select committee system of checks and balances among the three arms of the                                                                                             State.

“Consequently, the anchor of the checks and balances regarding the accountability for the use of public resources squarely rests on the shoulders of the public accounts committees and rightly supported by the Auditors-General,” he said.

The chairman of the Parliament of Zimbabwe’s Public Accounts Committee, Mr Chalton Hwende said the convening of the workshop was necessary to capacitate parliamentarians and their staff.

“However, with each day, need arises for continuous improvement due to the dynamic nature of the world we live in hence the need to have these trainings regularly,” he said.

SADCOPAC chairman and Zambian legislator, Mr Warren Mwambazi said transparency was the foundation of trust. 

“It ensures that government actions are visible and understandable to the public, thereby fostering accountability and integrity. As members and technical officials of oversight committees, you are at the forefront of this endeavour,” he said.