Fury as Matebeleland omitted from Parly event

Matebeleland turn coming … Speaker, Jacob Mudenda

The move, which has been played down by National Assembly Speaker, Jacob Mudenda, has elicited strong rebuke from pro-Matabeleland groups.

The groups view this as a deliberate ploy to exclude two provinces that allege decades of marginalisation by the Zanu PF led government and to stifle debate on devolution, a subject which the two provinces are known to be passionate about.

The parliamentary committee on local government is set to convene a single meeting for five provinces, Mashonaland East having 3 meetings, Mashonaland West having 2 and Harare having 2.

Public hearings shall be held in Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru, Mutare, Masvingo, Karoi, Mvurwi, Mutoko, Murehwa and Macheke.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the Matabeleland Institute for Human Rights (MIHR) described the omissions as a “glaring act of deliberate exclusion, marginalisation and violation of Constitutional Right to equality and non-discrimination as espoused in Chapter 4 section 56 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe”.

“Our concern as a human rights think tank is that other provinces have undeserved 2 or 3 meetings whilst the people of Matabeleland North and South are totally deliberately excluded from expressing their views and opinions on the Bill,” said the group.

MIHR called on Parliament to “rectify this human right violation” by ensuring that there are public hearings in the two predominately Ndebele provinces.

“We also call on the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission Chairperson to protect and promote the rights of the people of Matabeleland North and South by compelling Parliament to hold public hearing meetings in these two provinces too,” said the group.

“We also call on all the Members of Parliament (House of Assembly and Senate) from Matabeleland North and South to stand for the constitutional rights of the citizens of their provinces by demanding public hearings to be done in these provinces.”

Matabeleland South proportional representation MP, Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, was equally surprised her colleagues chose to skip her constituency.

“Parliament is the custodian of the constitution,” she said in an interview with NewZimbabwe.com.

“I cannot believe that a committee of parliament can expect the institution of parliament to legitimise any hearing that violates section 18 of the constitution.”

Misihairabwi-Mushonga, who does not sit in the Local Government committee, is MDC legislator, whose party has been vehemently pushing for devolution in the country.

She added: “I am waiting to hear how the committee will define that hearing as public, unless ‘national’ now has a new meaning otherwise that report cannot be a legitimate report and some of us will certainly challenge it.”

Mudenda on his part denied the omission was deliberate.

“I think it’s the first part of hearings but otherwise we cover the whole country. Their turn is coming,” Mudenda said.

“We still have the second programme; we will see how we go in the first part. The whole country must be covered.

“There is indeed local government in Matabeleland as well.”

Mudenda could, however, not state when the next part was due.