Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda says Pupurai Togarepi should consider helping struggling Zanu PF legislators in crafting their speeches for debates.
Zanu PF legislators in the National Assembly failed to debate the Report of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), and the Report of Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC).
The reports where tabled in the National Assembly sometime in August as is required by the law, and the legislators were given time to study them.
However, when the order was announced for debate, Zanu PF legislators remained seated to the disappointment of the Speaker.
‘’Are you saying that you did not read that report?
‘’I think our Whips must help prepare the Hon. Members on the speech on the motions. I think some Hon. Members are mesmerised, totally.
‘’Chief Whip, please can you defer this motion to the end of our precedence,’’ he said.
However, Honourable Togarepi argued that they failed to have a Caucus meeting due the pre-budget seminar and budget consultations that took place last week.
‘’Thank you Hon. Speaker, yes, we would have done that, but Parliament administration has bunched all Committees to the first two days of the week and last week there was Pre-Budget seminar, so we did not have any free room to meet.
‘’We are only going to have our Caucus tomorrow. We wanted to invite Hon. Ziyambi to come forward to try and help Members to understand these submissions, but we could not,’’ he said.
However, Mudenda rejected the excuse arguing that there is no credible reason why legislators failed to read the reports.
‘’If you are online, check all the reports that were on line. There is no excuse for anybody not to read these important reports which affect our lives and which affect the citizens of this country.
‘’So, what I may indulge you; I am not thoroughly convinced that Hon. Members did not read the report since this report was tabled, I think on the 23rd. It proves to me that he actually read the report because what he raised are some of the issues that were raised in the report. I think you take my point Hon. Chief Whip,’’ he said.
Zanu PF is currently on its own in the National Assembly, as Citizens Coalition for Change legislators are serving a suspension for alleged misconduct.
The 10th Parliament of Zimbabwe is only composed of two political parties namely Zanu PF and Citizens Coalition for Change.
Its different from the 9th Parliament which had two independent legislators the late Masango Matambanadzo and Temba Mliswa.
