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Peter Matika, [email protected]

THE Parliament of Zimbabwe is conducting an Institutional Strategic Plan (ISP) seminar in Bulawayo to review the 2018 to 2023 operations and come up with recommendations to guide the 9th Session while buttressing the ideals of Vision 2030.

The seminar began yesterday and seeks to improve the crafting of the next ISP of the Parliament, thereby strengthening its capacity and operational relations with other arms of the State.

Speaker of the National Assembly, Advocate Jacob Mudenda, gave the keynote address at the launch of the seminar and said the ISP reflects the priorities of the 9th Parliament.

“We are looking at the current Parliamentary Strategic Plan, 2018-2023 covering a period of five years.

We are looking at the key result areas of the ISP to see how best we can improve, as we craft the next Strategic Plan of Parliament, focusing on six key result areas,” he said.

“In that regard, my presence here is to encourage our staff to exercise their minds in analyzing the current ISP as a point of departure as they craft and present the next ISP,” said Adv Mudenda.

He said the existing plan has pointed to a few challenges to which Parliament staffers will present mitigating factors to improve on the next ISP.

Parliament workshop

Adv Mudenda said that in their vision and mission as the Parliament of Zimbabwe, they strive to be strong, independent, people-driven, and world-class.

“Our mission is to protect the Constitution, make laws for good governance, effectively represent the people, and hold the executive and public institutions to account,” he said.

“With the actions proposed in this Strategic Plan, Parliament will contribute to the attainment of Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030, which seeks to achieve an upper middle-income status by 2030 in a sustainable and equitable manner in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Adv Mudenda said the Parliament supports the attainment of a prosperous Zimbabwe by fostering sustainable and equitable benefits to all people.

“This goal will be achieved by strengthening the Constitutional mandate of Parliament as well as the supportive framework for the work of Parliament,” he said.

Among the key results, Adv Mudenda said they envisaged delivering an effective oversight on all institutions and agencies of the State and Government at every level, timely passing of laws that are consistent with the Constitution, and effective representation of people.

The mandate extends to effective analysis, scrutiny, and approval of the national budget, timely approval and domestication of international treaties, protocols, and agreements as well as effective administration of Parliament.

Adv Mudenda said the 2018-2023 ISP was a bold statement of strategic intent by the 9th Parliament of Zimbabwe in making a quantum leap in the evolutionary reform process by enhancing Parliamentary and participatory democracy, which must cement Parliament’s indispensable role in the national governance matrix.

“This ISP serves to articulate the flight path, which the 9th Parliament will traverse in its quest to meet its mandate of protecting the Constitution and promoting democratic governance in Zimbabwe as provided in Section 119 of the Constitution,” said Adv Mudenda.
The meeting ends tomorrow.