Hon. Speaker, we have seen that there is not even any proper documentation in terms of just tracking of debts that have been incurred by the Ministry. This tells you about the general attitude or character in Government. There is no accountability; it is almost like wapusa wapusa because there is darkness. You know that all bacteria do not want accountability. No bacteria will ever switch on lights. Why? Because they know that they are simply creating a difficult environment for them to thrive and this is what we must be able to deal with.
We have heard about procurement Hon. Speaker, and I know that there is a Bill that is before the House on procurement. We need to move with speed to make sure that we put the necessary framework on procurement and move to e-procurement. Why do we need e-procurement? E-procurement is going to eliminate a lot of shoddy dealings when it comes to procurement within Government. I know Minister Chinamasa understands that we have to move into a smart mode as a Government. In other jurisdictions Hon. Chinamasa, through you Hon. Speaker, governments have now moved into what is called an i-gov platform (Intelligence Governance or Smart Government Platform) or even an e-government platform at very rudimentary levels. Why, because you are going to then track every dollar within the system through the Public Finance Management System but also through our on-line project so that we are not going to have the shoddy dealings.
At times Ministers do not get enough resources but you know where they get their money? I was a Minister and I know colleagues who would actually brag about the deals around procurement on roads, airports, water treatment and so on. This is what we must curb through e-procurement. To do this Hon. Speaker Sir, let us also move Government away from the paper platform and archaic platform to a smart Government platform so that we are able to respond to our issues. I was looking at the Global Competitiveness Index Report, Zimbabwe has been ranked poorly and the reason it is so is that the first pillar, which is very important out of the 12 institutions has not been ranked properly. We are number 125 out of 140, why? The reason is that we have not built sufficient institutions to account for proper Government and accountability within the corridors of Government.
What do we need to do? Hon. Speaker Sir, with speed, I would recommend that let us show a difference, starting with this report. Within 10 days, let the Minister come to us and respond to this report. After responding, let us have all the culprits, including the Permanent Secretary, who has been implicated, they have to be arrested. Why are they supposed to be arrested? To send a signal that we do not tolerate nonsense. However, we should not end with the Permanent Secretary, let us also approach the Minister and if possible invite the Minister to visit the police and account why he/she allowed such things to happen. It is important, this is Hon. Minister Bimha. We want Ministers to account for what they are doing. They must explain to the police why they have allowed such a thing to happen. Once we start doing that, our country is going to turn around within a fortnight. I can assure you that a turnaround is just a minute away, it is just an effort away but it is our actions as Government. Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir.
(390 VIEWS)
