Speaker of the National Assembly Advocate Jacob Mudenda has urged parliament to hold public officials accountable regardless of office. He urged the different Parliamentary portfolio committees to follow up with the respective Ministers and charge them with contempt of Parliament if necessary, when the Ministers did not follow the committee’s recommendations.
Addressing legislators at a Parliamentary Budget Office Workshop, Mudenda said:
I want to give you courage, especially the Public Accounts Committee, Budget and Finance Committee and chairpersons that as you do work, especially after the new Constitution, you may be seen to be stepping on other people’s toes in the executive; that calls for courage of conviction,
…Now, if that time frame comes, what’s next? If it’s the Minister of Mines you call that minister. Say, minister if no action has taken place we charge you with contempt of Parliament. Let’s hear those charges coming.
More: Herald