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Space
headache for Parly
Hebert Zharare,The
Sunday Mail
January 27, 2008
http://www.sundaymail.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=851&cat=1
Government is mooting
plans to hold special Lower and Upper House of Assembly sittings
on open ground or hire extra space from nearby buildings as the
current Parliament of Zimbabwe building is too small to accommodate
the larger number of legislators expected after the March harmonised
polls. In an exclusive interview in Vumba last week, the Clerk of
the Parliament of Zimbabwe, Mr Austin Zvoma, said the increase in
the number of parliamentarians in the Lower and Upper Houses from
the current 150 to 210 and 66 to 93 respectively, presented serious
challenges in various ways. "We might have to consider having
special sessions outside the building, but that is the prerogative
of the President (Mugabe) obviously advised by the parliamentary
authorities like the President of the Senate to address the practical
reality. In terms of the Constitution he (President Mugabe) determines
where Parliament sits and so on those occasions, it may be possible
to look at facilities outside Parliament.
"The real problem
that is more than the plenary session of the two Houses separately
is the facilities for committee meetings. There we have a serious
problem because this is where most of the work of Parliament is
done. The reforms meetings will be open and so it means we have
serious constraints." Both formations of the opposition MDC
endorsed unanimously the Constitution Amendment Number 18 Act, that
ushered in a number of changes, among them the increase of MPs in
the Lower House from 130 contested ones to 210 and 66 senators to
93, among an array of other amendments to the country's electoral
systems. Mr Zvoma said that the major problems come on the official
opening of Parliament and other events such as the State of the
Nation address by the head of Government (President Mugabe) and
during Budget presentations.
"That is when we
have maximum attendance and also some other days when there will
be some important debate in the House of Assembly. But since these
ones are exceptions, they do not constitute a general pattern of
attendance, so we are not really worried by that temporary problem
until the new building (parliament) is completed. Quizzed on what
was going to happen as the current House of Assembly was too small
for such a huge figure added to scores of Zimbabweans who throng
the House during special events, Mr Zvoma said a number of options
were in place. Said Mr Zvoma: "This is another challenge we
have to find ways of addressing and one possible way is of looking
at renting other buildings near Parliament if they are available.
The building of a new parliament is not something for the long-term
future; it is, in fact, starting this year. "The building contractor
is already on site and in the 2008 Budget, the funds were allocated.
They might not be adequate for the first phase, but the projection
is that as long as the resources are available, the project should
take between two and half to three years. It might take longer because
it is a big project."
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