CHAOS continued yesterday in Parliament after the Portfolio
Committee on Information and Media chaired by Binga North legislator Prince
Dubeko Sibanda (MDC Alliance) was disrupted by Zanu PF legislators, who said it
will not sit until the opposition recognised President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s
legitimacy.
The impasse between Zanu PF and the MDC is now threatening
to cripple the work of Parliamentary Portfolio Committees, whose main task is
oversight over government ministries and departments.
Gabuza Joel Gabbuza, whose committee was yesterday
gathering oral evidence from the Zimbabwe Energy regulatory Authority and
independent power producers on the capacity to generate electricity, failed to
preside over the Energy committee. It was then chaired by a Zanu PF MP after
Gabbuza was told the meeting would not continue with him presiding.
In the House, the impasse resulted in Justice minister
Ziyambi Ziyambi refusing to entertain any contributions from MDC legislators
until they recognised the President.
This has severely affected scrutiny of Bills, and will
affect debate on budget Bills if the MDC are not allowed to contribute.
The Information and Media Committee had invited the former
Zimbabwe Media Commission commissioners to give oral evidence on the ZMC Bill
currently before Parliament.
The witnesses turned up, but Zanu PF MPs Tendai Nyabani
(Rushinga), Kindness Paradza (Makonde), Webster Shamhu (Chegutu West) and Alum
Mpofu (Mberengwa South) said the committee would not sit until the MDC
legislators recognised Mnangagwa.
Some of the witnesses, like Matthew Takaona, had come all
the way from Masvingo, but were turned back because of the impasse.
“We were meant to receive oral evidence from former
commissioners of the Zimbabwe Media Commission, but the Zanu PF MPs then
declared that there was no meeting going to take place until the MDC recognises
the President,” Sibanda said.
“I have decided that the committee should no longer meet
until Parliament leadership deals with the problem, because I don’t subscribe
to resolving matters physically and so as chairperson, I decided to call off
the meeting.”
Gabbuza added that Zanu PF legislator Elias Musakwa (Bikita
West) had to chair the Energy committee after the ruling party MPs told him
that they were under pressure from their party to oust the MDC chairpersons.
Due to the political impasse between Zanu PF and MDC
legislators in Parliament, Norton MP Temba Mliswa on Tuesday threatened to
mobilise Zimbabweans to beat up MPs for politicking and wasting taxpayers’
money when the masses were suffering.
Later during the National Assembly sitting, Mbizo MP
Settlement Chikwinya (MDC Alliance) raised a matter of privilege with the
Speaker of the National Assembly, Jacob Mudenda over the continued disruptions
of MDC-led committees
“In the past two weeks, committee business has been
disrupted by Zanu PF MPs and today, the Media committee only sat for five
minutes before it was disrupted. All committees led by the MDC are being
disturbed from doing business and, therefore, it is my humble submission that a
Privileges Committee be set up to investigate these MPs disrupting committees,”
Chikwinya said.
Mudenda responded: “I hear you, but the events are
symptomatic of a bigger problem which the Standing Rules and Orders Committee
is seized with and will look into it in detail.” Newsday
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