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Parliamentary
Roundup Bulletin No. 36 - 2011
Southern African Parliamentary Support Trust
November 16, 2011
Introduction
Both Houses
resumed their sitting yesterday after a two-week break. The House
of Assembly debated condolence motions on the death
of Professor Elphas Mukonoweshuro and Retired
General Solomon Mujuru. The Senate debated a motion by Hon.
Morgan Komichi on the need to liberalize the airwaves.
House
of Assembly Plenary Proceedings:
Not much business
was transacted in the House of Assembly yesterday save for debate
on the condolence motions on the death of Professor Elphas Mukonoweshuro
and Retired General Solomon Mujuru.
Members described
Professor Elphas Mukonoweshuro and Retired General Solomon Mujuru
as humble men who contributed immensely to the liberation of Zimbabwe
and the development of the country after independence.
Professor
Mutambara said Mukonoweshuro left an indelible legacy in the academic
field which he urged the young generation to emulate. He also said
Mukonoweshuro contributed immensely to the human capital development
in the country as most senior personnel in the civil service and
private sector passed through his hands. Professor Mutambara told
the House that Mukonoweshuro was also a stabilizing voice in the
Cabinet.
Senate
Plenary Proceedings:
The Senate was
engaged in a heated but sadly partisan debate yesterday on a motion
introduced in the House by Senator Komichi regarding what he called
“partisan nature of the television and radio broadcasting
services in Zimbabwe, the print and electronic media”.
Senator Komichi
argued that state-controlled media in the country did not give adequate
and fair coverage to other parties in the Global
Political Agreement (GPA) as much as they did to ZANU PF. He
called for the liberalization of the air waves which will see the
emergence of independent radio and television stations in the country,
thus giving citizens their democratic and constitutional rights
to choose what they want to listen to.
Senator Komichi
lambasted state-controlled media for “hate speech and abuse
of freedom of the press”. He recommended that the relevant
thematic committee should investigate the “unethical and unprofessional
activities by the media and report its findings” to the House
expeditiously.
However, the motion did not go down well with ZNU PF Senators who
argued that “pirate” radio stations did not give fair
coverage to their party.
The debate,
unfortunately, degenerated into a mudslinging contest as Senators
traded accusations against each other along party lines.
Deferment
of Presentation of the 2012 National Budget
The Minister
of Finance was scheduled to present the 2012 National Budget on
Thursday 17 November 2011. However, this has been re-scheduled to
Tuesday 22 November 2011 at 2:15 PM.
Adjournment
of Parliament
Both Houses
adjourned to Tuesday 22 November 2011.
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