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Khaya Moyo says he sees the forthcoming election for Speaker as an opportunity to extend the good work that has been taking place in Portfolio Committees to the floor of the House.
He told The Herald yesterday that he had observed over the last 30 months the prog-ress made by Parliamentary Portfolio Committees and has been impressed by the mu-tual co-operation and respect among the parties represented and would like to see that spirit brought to the floor of the House.
He said he was disappointed to note that floor debates had not been constructive.
They had generally been acrimonious and there was a lot of tension, which was not in keeping with the spirit of the Global Political Agreement.
This was in stark contrast to the way the majority of the 19 or so portfolio committees have been working.
“The MPs know that the way they are working in their portfolio committees is not the way they have been working on the floor, yet it is possible to extend the same spirit that is in the committees to the floor,” said Ambassador Khaya Moyo.
He believes there is need for better facili-tation by the chair of the House to accommodate all parties represented in the House.
“The Portfolio Committees have been able to hold Government ministries and departments to account in a critical but constructive and responsible manner in the true spirit of legislative oversight.
“By and large the leadership of these committees has shown a lot of wisdom in facilitating meaningful debate and discussion of real public policy issues by MPs from across the political divide.
“It is a pity that the same wisdom has not been seen in the House debates over the last 30 months.
“That is the bad news.
“The good news is that we have an opportunity to change course in the national interest by using the election of the Speaker to bring the spirit of Portfolio Committees to the floor of the House.”
Ambassador Khaya Moyo is to set to contest against MDC-T’s Mr Lovemore Moyo for the post which fell vacant after the Supreme Court nullified the election of Mr Moyo.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail at the weekend Ambassador Khaya Moyo said he sees the contest for the post of Speaker as a “considered vote of MPs who, while coming from three different political parties, are united by the special fact of being MPs”.
He said: “Parliament does not make laws for Zanu PF or MDC-T or MDC but for Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans. For all of us!
“I therefore want to be the Speaker for everyone and not just for some, because the laws that are made in the House are for everyone.
“I therefore expect to get the support and votes of MPs who share this view that while we belong to different political parties and we may from time to time disagree on that basis, we in fact always have one Zimbabwe and one shared loyalty and responsibility to that Zimbabwe based on the legacy of our heroic struggle which brought our democracy and independence in 1980.”
He said the position of a Speaker was not like that of a headmaster but merely facilitative of the work of MPs who have been elected to represent people and make laws for all the people.
Ambassador Khaya Moyo has previously served as a Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament for Bulilima Mangwe South, which he represented between 1990 and 2000. From 2000 to last year he was Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to South Africa.
A scholar, Ambassador Khaya Moyo completed his Advanced Levels at Fletcher High School in Gweru in 1965 before leaving for Zambia to join the liberation struggle.
He obtained a Diploma in Social Science from the University of Zambia after which he proceeded to Makerere University in Uganda where he acquired a Bachelor of Social Science degree with Upper Second Class.
He also worked in Uganda doubling as Zapu chief representative.
He received military training at the then Germany Democratic Republic, not Democratic Republic of Congo as incorrectly reported in our sister paper The Sunday Mail yesterday.
He returned to Zambia in 1975 (not Zimbabwe) and was appointed secretary and special assistant to Dr Joshua Nkomo.
He presently serves as Zanu-PF national chairman.