Parly committee chairpersons live in fear after threats from ministers: Speaker Mudenda

Advocate Jacob Mudenda, the speaker of the National Assembly has revealed that some parliamentary committee chairpersons have received a number of threats from ministers, not happy with being exposed or questioned by the committees.

Speaking at the 10th anniversary of the Southern Africa Parliamentary Support Trust (Sapst) in Harare last Friday, Mudenda said:

We shall continue to protect the Constitution which stipulates that all institutions and agencies of government at every level are accountable to Parliament. This places an onerous responsibility on MPs.

Some of my chairmen of committees have been threatened by ministers who say to the chairman you want to take over my ministerial responsibilities — why is your committee so inquisitive? My answer is that it is not the committee that is inquisitive — it is the Constitution that is inquisitive and says all State institutions and agencies must be accountable to Parliament, and if you do not like that then let us amend the Constitution.

Some ministers do not have the humility to accept recommendations of parliamentary committees. We are now at the crest and members of the Executive are beginning to gel in now and are working very closely with Parliament.

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