Zanu PF legislator Benjamin Ganyiwa blocked from complaining about delimitation effects, told to raise issue in 2033.
Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda has blocked Gutu East legislator Honourable Benjamin Ganyiwa from complaining about the effects of the delimitation exercise.
The delimitation is an exercise of revising constituency and wards boundaries and takes places every 10 years after a census exercise.
Zimbabwe through the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) conducted the delimitation exercise last year (2022), which was used in the 2023 general elections.
However, several stakeholders, including political parties where not happy with the manner in which the exercise was conducted, as well not happy with the results that came out.
However, Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda blocked a Zanu PF legislator Honourable Ganyiwa from raising complains on the issue arguing that it was mute and he has to raise his complains in 2033.
‘’Order! Take your seat Hon. Member. You are debating SONA and you have to be very careful that you debate that which was stated by His Excellency, the President during SONA.
‘’What you are now debating is a matter that is very mute because section 161 of the Constitution regarding delimitation is gone.
‘’If you would want to raise the issues, perhaps before the 2028 harmonised general elections, you may move a motion so that the delimitation be looked into but even then, you will be out of context because the delimitation is done every 10 years.
‘’It means you will have to fight hard to be back in Parliament so that in 2033, you may raise the issue accordingly before the delimitation exercise commences because we will have concluded almost 10 years accordingly,’’ the Speaker said.
Honourable Ganyiwa had complained that rural constituencies are too big stretching as far as 200km and are in need of fresh delimitation.
He said it was easy to hold constituency meetings in urban constituencies than it is in rural due to distance.
Below is the full text of what Honourable Benjamin Ganyiwa said before he stopped by the Speaker:
‘’Madam Speaker, rural constituency re-delimitation and urban constituency consolidation will enable and help Parliamentarians to represent all people from the respective constituencies well.
‘’Mr. Speaker Sir, the reason why our citizens felt that there was less consultation regarding the delimitation is that, if we compare the rural constituency, some are stretching as far as close to 200 kilometers embedded roads in some instance with difficult accessibility to other areas. Some constituencies even have about 9 or 10 constituencies like the one I represent in Gutu East.
‘’Mr. Speaker Sir, the consolidation proposal in the urban set up, we strongly believe that considering the geographical location, if the urban constituency Member of Parliament wants to meet up or to go about on any consultation to his or her constituency, if we are to consolidate for example Glen Norah-Highfield constituency, it is easily accessible. You may only need two meetings, one in Gwanzura and one in Glen Norah Stadium, and you will have already met up with your people that you present,’’ he said.
