News / National
Ministers must be charged with contempt of parliament - MDC-T MPs
26 Jul 2016 at 08:15hrs | Views
The MDC-T legislators have called for the ministers who skip parliament to be charged with contempt of parliament, indicating that the nation hopes to get a lot of answers from the ministers over the problems affecting the nation.
Innocent Gonese said there is a Constitution of Zimbabwe in terms of Section 3, the Constitution of Zimbabwe which is a supreme law of this country and the same Constitution has a provision which obliges Vice Presidents and Ministers to attend Parliament and the language which is used is peremptory.
"It says that ‘they must attend Parliament'. As a result, the Constitution obliges Ministers to take the business of this House seriously. As we speak, we are wasting taxpayers' money and they should not have scheduled their Cabinet meeting to coincide with the sitting of Parliament because today, on a Wednesday, the whole nation would be waiting expecting answers on issues which are pertinent to the welfare and the wellbeing of the people whom we represent," he said.
His view was buttressed by Nelson Chamisa who said a few weeks back he raised the same issue sighting both the Constitution and also the Standing Orders and the Speaker promised that he was going to look into the matter.
"The specific plea that I am now asking for is that the Hon. Ministers must be charged with contempt of Parliament because they are in contempt of Parliament," he said.
"It is something in which your office, through the Speaker, made a promise and undertaking and that has not been fulfilled. We therefore demand that the Chair charges the relevant Ministers with contempt of Parliament. That is the prayer which I am advancing on behalf of all Hon. Members across the political divide."
Innocent Gonese said there is a Constitution of Zimbabwe in terms of Section 3, the Constitution of Zimbabwe which is a supreme law of this country and the same Constitution has a provision which obliges Vice Presidents and Ministers to attend Parliament and the language which is used is peremptory.
"It says that ‘they must attend Parliament'. As a result, the Constitution obliges Ministers to take the business of this House seriously. As we speak, we are wasting taxpayers' money and they should not have scheduled their Cabinet meeting to coincide with the sitting of Parliament because today, on a Wednesday, the whole nation would be waiting expecting answers on issues which are pertinent to the welfare and the wellbeing of the people whom we represent," he said.
His view was buttressed by Nelson Chamisa who said a few weeks back he raised the same issue sighting both the Constitution and also the Standing Orders and the Speaker promised that he was going to look into the matter.
"The specific plea that I am now asking for is that the Hon. Ministers must be charged with contempt of Parliament because they are in contempt of Parliament," he said.
"It is something in which your office, through the Speaker, made a promise and undertaking and that has not been fulfilled. We therefore demand that the Chair charges the relevant Ministers with contempt of Parliament. That is the prayer which I am advancing on behalf of all Hon. Members across the political divide."
Source - Byo24News
