News / National
Zimbabwe parliament to resume sitting
17 Nov 2017 at 04:47hrs | Views
PARLIAMENT will on Tuesday resume sitting despite the fluid situation in the country after the military started an operation to "weed out criminal elements" surrounding President Robert Mugabe, which has already seen the arrest of some Cabinet minister linked to Zanu-PF's G40 faction.
Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda yesterday said it would be business as usual for Parliament next week when it resumes sitting after MPs had adjourned early this month in order to travel to Victoria Falls to deliberate on the forthcoming 2018 National Budget.
"Parliament will proceed accordingly and currently staff of Parliament is at work," Mudenda said without further elaborating on the situation in the country.
"The House will resume sitting on the date it is due to sit," he said.
Main opposition MDC-T chief whip Innocent Gonese said Parliament was operating as usual.
"The MDC-T leadership are the ones that will give us direction as to the stance that we will take when Parliament resumes sitting. For now, it is just normal work and there is no change as far as I am concerned," Gonese said.
MDC chief whip Jasmine Toffa was not available for comment.
Major institutions such as Parliament and the courts are being guarded by the military since Wednesday and it was unclear if normal parliamentary sittings would continue.
In a statement on Tuesday, Zimbabwe Defence Forces spokesperson Major General Sibusiso Moyo assured Zimbabweans that legislators would continue with their usual business.
"To our Members of Parliament, your legislative role is of paramount importance for peace and stability in this country and it is our desire that a dispensation is created that allows you to serve your respective political constituencies according to democratic tenets," Moyo said.
Parliament had to abort public hearings on the Electoral Amendment Act and the Insolvency Act due to the tense political atmosphere.
Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda yesterday said it would be business as usual for Parliament next week when it resumes sitting after MPs had adjourned early this month in order to travel to Victoria Falls to deliberate on the forthcoming 2018 National Budget.
"Parliament will proceed accordingly and currently staff of Parliament is at work," Mudenda said without further elaborating on the situation in the country.
"The House will resume sitting on the date it is due to sit," he said.
Main opposition MDC-T chief whip Innocent Gonese said Parliament was operating as usual.
"The MDC-T leadership are the ones that will give us direction as to the stance that we will take when Parliament resumes sitting. For now, it is just normal work and there is no change as far as I am concerned," Gonese said.
MDC chief whip Jasmine Toffa was not available for comment.
Major institutions such as Parliament and the courts are being guarded by the military since Wednesday and it was unclear if normal parliamentary sittings would continue.
In a statement on Tuesday, Zimbabwe Defence Forces spokesperson Major General Sibusiso Moyo assured Zimbabweans that legislators would continue with their usual business.
"To our Members of Parliament, your legislative role is of paramount importance for peace and stability in this country and it is our desire that a dispensation is created that allows you to serve your respective political constituencies according to democratic tenets," Moyo said.
Parliament had to abort public hearings on the Electoral Amendment Act and the Insolvency Act due to the tense political atmosphere.
Source - newsday
