EDITORIAL COMMENT: Cordial relations between MPs and ministers key Minister Lazarus Dokora
Minister Lazarus Dokora

Minister Lazarus Dokora

IT has become customary for MPs to complain about ministers who don’t show up for question time in both chambers of Parliament.

They always complain about what they see as disrespect from some ministers missing key sessions. They also view the failure by ministers to attend Parliament sittings as disrespect, not only of Parliament, but also of the electorate.

A few weeks ago, the Senate nearly chucked out Dr Lazarus Dokora, the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education after his fellow ministers failed to attend a sitting in the upper house. As temporary president of the Senate on the day in question, Chief Fortune Charumbira could not hide his frustration over the presence of only one minister — Dr Dokora — yet senators had burning questions they wanted other ministers to respond to.

“We are actually not utilising taxpayers’ money to its fullest value because we just come to talk without any proper conclusive position which can yield any result,” said Chief Charumbira.

“I think we have the crisis which our administration and the Presiding Officers should look into so that the ministers can respond to all the motions. They should come to respond to both Questions without Notice and Questions with Notice. So, we stand guided in future but Clerk of Parliament, if there was a way of having a resolution or a motion adopted as Senate to ensure that we call upon ministers who do not come, somehow they are reprimanded in terms of the Standing Rules and Orders like we do for committees, contempt of Parliament, because a minister has gone for more than three times without coming to answer questions. Unless we have good grounds, I think a committee should be set up by Parliament to investigate why that minister is behaving like that.”

Similar complaints have also come out of the National Assembly.

We acknowledge that ministers are busy which is why some of them miss critical sessions in both houses. We appreciate that, and we are confident that MPs appreciate that too. They have much work to do at their ministries — meetings, travelling for official functions at home and abroad, reading volumes upon volumes of texts on their ministries and so on.

However, it becomes a challenge, as Parliament argues, when there is some kind of a pattern.

Yes some of them might miss key sessions because of other equally important commitments elsewhere, but there is also a possibility that some may lack the right information at the material times to stand the grilling commonly associated with Parliament.

It has to be pointed out that some of the questions legislators would be keen to pose, would have come from their constituents who would obviously be expecting answers. If their MP fails to secure the answers, his or her electors might feel shortchanged.  Therefore, we implore ministers to, as MPs always do, find time to assist them (legislators) to play their oversight and representative roles. When their busy schedules don’t permit, we believe there is a way that can be communicated officially to Parliament.

That the Speaker of the National Assembly, Advocate Jacob Mudenda has prepared a comprehensive report aimed at bringing to book errant Cabinet Ministers who fail to attend Parliament is enough proof that there is a challenge that needs to be addressed and is happily being addressed.
That should help remove the “conflict” that has been there between law makers and ministers.

But Advocate Mudenda, as we quote him elsewhere in this issue, also highlighted that while MPs are good at complaining about ministers shunning question time, some legislators were also in the habit of missing sessions. This removes the moral ground some law makers claim to want to penalise ministers for absenting themselves from Parliament.

“I know there was some little heckling saying Ministers! On that issue I have discussed the matter with the Hon Leader of Government business and I have come up with a dossier that will see certain action being taken. . . . Indeed it has become a chorus in the august House for Hon Members to clamour for Vice Presidents, for Ministers and Deputy Ministers to attend Parliament in order to answer questions as provided for in Section 107 subsection (ii) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. It therefore follows that as Hon Members, we should lead by example through religiously attending sittings of Parliament and Committees,” said Adv Mudenda.

 

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