adminZvamaida Murwira Senior Reporter
THE Speaker of the National Assembly, Cde Jacob Mudenda, yesterday read the riot act to both legislators and the administration of Parliament saying he will invoke the necessary Standing Orders for parliamentarians who claim fuel coupons and allowances when they were not fully attending sittings and committee meetings.
Cde Mudenda lashed out at the administration headed by Clerk of Parliament, Mr Austin Zvoma, saying as the Speaker, he was in charge of Parliament, adding that they would undermine his authority at their own peril.
Cde Mudenda, who was speaking during an induction workshop for legislators, took everyone by surprise when he took the floor as Senate Deputy President Cde Chen Chimutengwende was preparing to make a vote of thanks to end the workshop.
For the duration of the workshop, said Cde Mudenda, he noted that officials of the administration of Parliament were trying to downplay his authority, but he did not, however, elaborate the manner in which the disrespect manifested.
On parliamentarians, he said of the 20 portfolio committees that were in the last Parliament, only two discharged their duties professionally while of the six Senate thematic committees only one attempted to do well but it did not produce any report.
Cde Mudenda said he would not allow situations where MPs, just walk in for five minutes in the House or committees just to register their presence before they disappear but still claim full benefits like fuel and allowances.
“If I did that I will be betraying the representative role of Parliament as undertaken by Members of Parliament,” he said.
He said he would introduce a cocktail of changes to improve efficiency, one of which was to close the bar during sittings.
“There is a sad state of affairs in the Houses. The baseline survey of 2012 indicates that there were only two committees that did their work professionally. That is the Health and Child Welfare and Mines and Energy committees.
“The others, when they met, there was no agenda, others did not even meet hence there were no reports to Parliament,” said Cde Mudenda.
“In Senate, the thematic committees remained in a state of confusion because they could not define their thematic areas and secondly they could not define the scope of their thematic areas.
The only committee that attempted to work was the Human Rights Committee but it never produced a report.”
The Mines and Energy Committee was chaired by the late Guruve South MP, Cde Edward Chindori-Chininga (Zanu-PF) while the Health Committee was chaired by former Murehwa North MP, Cde David Parirenyatwa (Zanu-PF), now the Minister of Health and Child Care.
Cde Mudenda said he would have to consider closing the bar when Parliament is sitting.
Online Reporter