by Bernard Mutambudzi
President Emmerson Mnangagwa is set to open the 9th Parliament of Zimbabwe with the public expecting much more deliberations on the alignment of laws to the 2013 constitution.
With ZANU-PF controlling two thirds majority in Parliament, President Mnangagwa is set to set out the legislative agenda for the session tomorrow which is expected to mainly anchor on improving relations with other global players, improving the business environment following his mantra ‘Zimbabwe is open for business’ and re-aligning laws to the new Constitution.
Mr Tapiwa Macherenje of Sunningdale 2 in Harare said, “The Ninth Parliament must move away from non-consequential, textual corrections or piecemeal amendments to more substantive issues. The House must prioritize massive publicity of the hearings so that more people attend and make submissions.”
National Secretary for Administration in the ruling Zanu PF Youth League Tendai Chirau said, “Politicization of the hearings and the violence that was witnessed at some of the past meetings must be a thing of the past,” he said.
He added that other innovative ways of conducting public hearings must be sought to reduce costs and reach out to a wider audience.
One such mechanism is accelerated use of live radio hearings. This was pioneered during the Eighth Parliament, but somewhat failed to gather the desired momentum.
New Zanu PF House of Assembly member for Chimanimani East Constituency, Joshua Kurt Sacco said he was looking forward to start his work as an MP.
“Being in Parliament for the first time is quite an experience as people in my constituency have a lot of expectations from me,” he said.
“I have to debate on national issues and expect less heckling from my peers in the August house.
“We should leave partisanship outside parliamentary chambers and focus on debating important motions as the people who voted us expect to be represented fully. However, I know that I am still a new MP and I am going to be guided by my party, but it does not mean that I have to rubber stamp everything that will be brought before the House without debating on it,” said Sacco.
