Graft: Mnangagwa faces Parly grilling

via Graft: Mnangagwa faces Parly grilling – NewZimbabwe 01/02/2016

ZIMBABWE’s parliament resumes sitting this Tuesday with Vice President and Justice Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa expected to be grilled on why the country’s anti-corruption and rights commissions “remain toothless”.

The country’s legislature, now deep into its current five-year mandate, took a Christmas break mid-December last year.

According to this week’s order paper, MDC-T Senator David Chimhini will ask Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa on measures being put in place by government to curb abuse of scarce public funds by Ministries and parastatals, as shown by the Auditor-General’s reports, and what penalties, if any, have been applied in such cases.

“He (Chimhini) will also ask the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs to explain what the Ministry is doing to make the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission effective and to ensure the independence of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission,” reads the order paper.

This week’s session will also see the house welcome two new members of Parliament from Zanu PF who are expected to be sworn in on Tuesday.

These are Killian Sibanda, who is new MP for Bulawayo’s Nkulumane constituency.

Sibanda won the 19 December by-election to fill the vacancy created by the death of Tamsanqa Mahlangu of MDC-T.

The upper house will also see Clemence Makwarimba being sworn in as new party Senator for Masvingo Province.

Makwarimba was successfully nominated by Zanu PF to fill the vacancy created when Dzikamai Mavhaire was expelled from the upper house at the instigation his party for allegedly abetting a plot to topple President Robert Mugabe.

During parliament’s resumption, the house is also expected to consider a second adverse report on Vice-President Mnangagwa’s second attempt to resurrect section 121(3) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act.

The controversial law, once declared unconstitutional by the country’s courts, has often been used by the Prosecutor general’s office to block the release of opposition and civil society activists.

Also among 28 listed questions to the executive would be one asking the Mnangagwa to explain government policy regarding compensation to victims of negligence in government hospitals; and another asking the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Services for an update on the outcome of last year’s pension verification exercise, how comprehensive it was and what anomalies were noted as regards ghost pensioners.