Executive is out of order, renders Parliament powerless: Mliswa

By Nyashadzashe Ndoro | Nehanda Politics |

Norton legislator Temba Mliswa has castigated the executive for being “out of order” because several ministers are failing to attend Parliamentary meetings.

Mliswa accused government Ministers of taking a long time to respond to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s State of Nation Address (Sona) and disregarding the call made by the Speaker of Parliament to them.

“What I am trying to say is that with the powers we have, we seem powerless because I think the Chair has also let us down in terms of the Executive.

“I spoke to the Chief Whip to say the Speaker spoke about the response to the State of the Nation Address, did you write a letter to the Ministers.

“He said, yes we did. I said how come last week they were supposed to be here to respond but if I am not mistaken, only one Minister did that. The rest did not,” Mliswa said.

He added: “So, we then become powerless because we cannot then do anything.”

Mliswa said the executive needed some whipping in order for it to comply with parliamentary business.

“My point of departure here is that the Chair is letting us down and not whipping the Executive in line. We are powerless and can only do so much to the Executive. May the Chair, the Hon. Speaker and Leader of the House, start using the powers bestowed on him to put the Executive in order? We cannot,” he said.

The Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda responded and said more Ministers were going to come and respond.

“I was going to say thank you very much to my child but the Hon. Speaker does not have powers. It is the Constitution that we apply and as far as I know, I was not here part of last week but at the time when I left, there were about eight Ministers who were going to respond to the Sona.

“Many more are going to do so. Also, in response to the reports of Committees, again there is a line up of the Hon. Ministers and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development is one of them. They have started,” Mudenda said.

He said he was hoping that all the reports will be responded to after the Clerk of Parliament writes to each and every Minister indicating which Parliamentary Committee report they have to respond to. Nehanda Radio