Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Cde
Ziyambi Ziyambi yesterday accused MDC Alliance House of Assembly
representatives of hypocrisy for demanding to have Cabinet ministers attend
Parliament to respond to their questions when they did not want to recognise
the appointing authority.
Minister Ziyambi said the time had come for ministers to
start declining to respond to questions from opposition backbenchers until they
recognised President Mnangagwa who won the July 30 harmonized elections.
His remarks followed an incident recently in which MDC
Alliance lawmakers refused to stand up as the Head of State and Government
walked into the august House to follow the 2019 National Budget Statement that
was presented by Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli
Ncube.
The MDC Alliance lawmakers also declined to accompany
Speaker of the National Assembly Advocate Jacob Mudenda and Senate President
Cde Mabel Chinomona to State House where the presiding officers were officially
introducing themselves to President Mnangagwa following their election.
Only leader of opposition in the Senate, Engineer Elias
Mudzuri accompanied presiding officers but was at the receiving end of a
backlash from his colleagues who openly dressed him down at a local hotel.
“Ministers, according to the Constitution, are appointed by
the President and serve at the pleasure of the President. The Honourable
Members do not recognise the President. We cannot continue in this House with
hypocrites. You cannot on one hand refuse to recognise the President but on the
other want to ask questions to the same ministers appointed by the President,”
said Minister Ziyambi.
Responding to another question, Higher and Tertiary
Education, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Amos Murwira
said they had stopped funding Advanced Level students studying Science
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics saying his ministry’s mandate was to
take care of tertiary students.
He said “A” Level students were handled by a different
ministry and using STEM funds for high school pupils was improper.
Kwekwe Central MP Mr Masango Matambanadzo (National
Patriotic Front) had asked why Government had stopped funding “A” Level
students.
“We will continue providing scholarships under STEM. The
idea of helping ‘A’ Level students was not proper. We stopped it. Money was
being abused,” said Prof Murwira.
He said a forensic audit conducted on STEM unearthed
rampant abuse of the fund which eventually saw them reverting to its mandate
whic excludes support to “A” Level pupils.
Energy and Power Development Deputy Minister Magna Mudyiwa
said Government was making frantic efforts to ensure that enough fuel was
available during the festive season.
“Fuel is now getting to several stations and we will
continue to ensure that the situation returns to normal,” she told legislators
during a tension-filled sitting.
Yesterday’s sitting was characterised by heckling and
trading of accusations and counter-accusations.
At one stage proceedings came to standstill for about 10
minutes as Buhera South MP Cde Joseph Chinotimba and leader of the opposition
Ms Tabitha Khumalo engaged in a slanging match which saw other lawmakers
joining the fray thereby disrupting question time. Herald
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