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Parliamentary Roundup Bulletin No. 31 - 2011
Southern African Parliamentary Support Trust
September 23, 2011

Introduction

Both Houses continued debating the motion in reply to the President’s Speech. However, the House of Assembly struggled again yesterday to maintain a quorum and Hon. Madzimure had to truncate the presentation of his motion on the match-fixing involving the national soccer team in Asian countries.

House of Assembly and Senate Plenary Proceedings

Debate on the President’s Speech

Members in both Houses of Parliament continued debating the motion on the President’s speech. Themes such as youth empowerment, support services to the agricultural sector, politically motivated violence, poor conditions of service for civil servants, sanctions, indigenization and empowerment and challenges facing the educational sector kept recurring in Members contributions on the debate in both Houses.

Match-Fixing Scandal

Hon. Willias Madzimure (MDC-T Kambuzuma), seconded by Hon. Jeffryson Chitando (MDC-T Masvingo Central) moved a motion in the House Assembly condemning the match-fixing scandal involving the national football team in Asian countries. The scandal has come to be known in the country as the “Asiagate”.

In moving his motion, Hon. Madzimure noted that sport plays a crucial unifying function in society and that it has become a big business and thus urged government to give it due attention like other sectors of the economy. He called on the government through the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture to come up with a comprehensive sports policy that creates a conducive environment for sports development and advancement.

Hon. Madzimure castigated the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC), Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) and the police for their apparent luke-warm response towards reports of rife corruption involving the national soccer team. He said all the culprits fingered in the Asiagate report should prosecuted without further delay in order to cleanse the image of sport in the country and also to nab corruption in the bud in the sports sector. Hon. Madzimure recommended that a Committee of parliament be established to investigate and make recommendations on the role of the Ministry of Education Sport, Arts and Culture in sport. Further, he said the proposed committee should be empowered to determine the role played by the Sports and Recreation Commission and ZIFA in the the Asiagate scandal. This committee should also ensure that all administrators implicated in the commission of corruption in soccer be referred to the police and the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Restoration of the Condolence Motion on the Death of Retired General Solomon Mujuru on the Order Paper

As highlighted in our Parliamentary Roundup Bulletin No. 30, debate on the Condolence Motion on the Death of Retired General Solomon Mujuru was superceded by the lack of quorum on Wednesday’s sitting and thus it fell off the Order Paper in terms of Standing Order No. 27(1).

Yesterday, Hon. Kudakwashe Bhasikiti gave notice to restore the motion on the Order Paper. Restoration of POSA Amendment Bill on the Order Paper

Notice by Hon. Gonese to restore on the Order Paper his amendment Bill on Public Order and Security Act (POSA), which had lapsed with the prorogation of the 3rd Session is still pending. The matter will be brought up for discussion on Tuesday 11 October 2011 when the Senate resumes its sitting.

However, unconfirmed reports indicate that Senate would reject the motion to restore the Bill on the Order Paper and thus “kill” the Bill. In our next Bulletin, we will explore the constitutional and procedural implications of such a move.

Adjournment of Parliament

The House of Assembly adjourned to Tuesday 4 October while the Senate adjourned to Tuesday 11 October 2011. However, the break will not affect meetings of Portfolio and Thematic Committees.

Notice of Public Hearings

The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Education, Sport, Arts, and Culture will be conducting public hearings and consultations on challenges in the Education Sector from 26 - 29th September and 4th October 2011. The purpose of the hearings is to afford stakeholders and the public an opportunity to raise these challenges to the committee so that it can recommend to government appropriate policy interventions.

The dates, times and venues are as indicated below:-

Educationists, professional organizations, civic organizations and members of the public wishing to contribute to the process are cordially invited to participate. Written submissions are welcome and should be addressed to:

The Clerk of Parliament Attention: Portfolio Committee on Education, Sport, Arts and Culture P O Box CY 298 Causeway Harare, clerk@parlzim.gov.zw , Telephone No. (04) 700181 - 9, 252936 - 50 ext. 2051 (Mr. Chiremba) Fax: (04) 252935

After conducting the public hearings, the Committee will compile a report and table it in the House of Assembly for debate.

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