Mudenda to write Mugabe to rein in his ministers but opposition says this is not enough

HON. GONESE:  Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir.  I would like to thank you for the observations that you have made.  I believe that the Hon. Ministers are not just in contempt of this august House but they are actually in contemptuous of the whole nation of Zimbabwe; they are not taking the people of Zimbabwe seriously.I want to suggest Mr. Speaker that you invoke the provisions of Standing Order 63.  In terms of the provisions of that Standing Order, the Ministers are actually in contempt of Parliament.  I believe it is not sufficient just to write to His Excellency but it is now time for this august House to crack the whip, so that we also use the powers which are at our disposal over and above what the Executive might be doing.

It is my respectful submission Mr. Speaker that the time has now come for us as an institution to actually hold these Ministers accountable.  I am asking that we have got the registers – let us look at all those Ministers who have been absenting themselves without your leave as provided for in the Standing Orders and let those Hon. Ministers be held accountable.  Let them be held in contempt of Parliament.  That is what I am seeking Mr. Speaker that with immediate effect, can you please put in motion the necessary steps to get the register of all those Ministers who have been contemptuous of this august House and the nation of Zimbabwe.

HON. CHASI:  Thank you Mr. Speaker.  I agree that the issue at hand is a very serious one in that on the face of it, it suggests a contravention of the Constitution.  However, I would want to suggest that we must not treat this matter hastily as I think we are almost about to do.  To treat all the Ministers as being in contempt without giving each Minister an opportunity to explain – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.] – Yes.  Mr. Speaker, I think it is very important that as Parliament, we must display the highest standards in terms of upholding the standards that are displayed in the Constitution.  As I speak, we can already see some of the Ministers walking in – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.] – Mr. Speaker, this is precisely my point.  We cannot engage in bush …

THE HON. SPEAKER:  Order, order!

HON. CHASI:  Mr. Speaker, what I am saying is that each Minister is entitled to give an explanation to this House as to why they are not in this House.  It is improper to hold all of them en masse to be contemptuous of the House without giving them an opportunity to answer – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.] – Each one of the Ministers must be given an opportunity to explain why they are not in the House at this moment in time.  The same standards that we are applying to the Ministers must apply to those MPs that do not come to this House.  Ministers are not held to a different standard, compared to those MPs who do not come to the House – [HON. MINISTERS:  Inaudible interjections.] –

THE HON. SPEAKER:  Order, order!

HON. CHASI:  That is my point Mr. Speaker.  I am just cautioning the House that we must not treat the Ministers en masse and say that all of them are in contempt and so we must hold them to be contemptuous.  Thank you.

HON. MATUKE:  Thank you Mr. Speaker.  May I suggest that this issue be referred to the different caucuses so that we deal with that issue at caucus level – [HON. ZWIZWAI:  Hatidi zvemacaucus.  Inyaya yaSpeaker, Speaker ndiye mukuru.  Ndezvavashe izvi.] –

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