PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday urged Cabinet ministers to religiously attend to government business, following reports that some are skipping meetings.
This follows Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda’s revelation last month that he had written to Mnangagwa about ministers failing to attend parliamentary question-and-answer sessions.
Over the years, complaints have made about wilful absenteeism from Parliament by Cabinet ministers, with the lack of attendance being evident during Cabinet meetings. Certain ministers allegedly absent themselves from such meetings.
Addressing ministers at this year’s final Cabinet meeting held at State House in Harare yesterday, Mnangagwa urged the ministers to remain steadfast in conducting government business.
“Attendance by members was encouraging; however, there is room for improvement,” he said. “Members should avoid the tendency to miss Cabinet and Cabinet committee meetings, as these take precedence over all government business. They (ministers) should remain mindful that we are leaders and representatives of our nation, at all times.”
According to section 107(2) of the Constitution, every vice-president, minister and deputy minister should attend Parliament and its committees to answer questions from legislators.
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“I exhort you to remain mindful that we are leaders and representatives of our nation, at all times, no matter where we are. Let us, therefore, always conduct ourselves appropriately, with the expected restraint and modesty,” he said.
“We institutionalised a results-oriented culture across government, anchored on modern performance management systems, which curbed red tape.”
Mnangagwa added that the economy made positive strides despite global shocks experienced during the National Development Strategy 1 period.
He said the economy demonstrated “remarkable resilience”, bolstered by “strong policy coordination and fiscal prudence”, pointing to the stabilisation of the Zimbabwe Gold currency, among other key economic indicators.
Meanwhile, during post-Cabinet media briefing, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services minister Jenfan Muswere said the government would be identifying illegal settlements and conducting ‘more’ evictions.
“Government remains seriously concerned about illegal settlements, and as such, more sites requiring evictions will be identified, with strategic interventions being implemented to deal with the menace of illegal settlements decisively,” he said.
“The aim is to stem the apparent disregard for the country’s settlement laws as well as court orders by some unscrupulous individuals.”
The revelation comes after more than 300 Stapleford residents were evicted last month by the Zimbabwe Republic Police, after having illegally settled there for decades.