BY BRENNA MATENDERE
THE 5 day visit to China undertaken by a parliamentary delegation led by Speaker Jacob Mudenda, including Foreign Affairs and International Trade Portfolio Committee chairperson Webster Shamu has come in handy as Zimbabwe and China celebrate 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations.
The visit is touted to improve legislative ties between the two countries as Mudenda pushes for the Zimbabwe-China parliamentary friendship association to formalise legislative cooperation
China and Zimbabwe have had a close, fraternal relationship since the latter’s independence.
The Asian country has an embassy in Harare while on the other hand Zimbabwe has an embassy in Beijing and a consulate-general in Hong Kong.
China was one of the first countries to open a diplomatic mission in the newly independent state in 1980.
The visit by Mudenda and his team therefore came against the backdrop to explore best parliamentary practices for mutual development in the legislature.
Mudenda had high-level meetings, including with his counterpart Mr Zhao Leji, chairperson of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, on May 13.
The Speaker of Zimbabwe’s parliament described China as an “all-weather friend”, highlighting crucial post-independence support in infrastructure development, including the new Parliament building and upgrades to the Robert Gabriel Mugabe and Victoria Falls international airports.
“The strategic ‘five-star ironclad’ cooperation framework, articulated by our two leaders (Presidents Mnangagwa and Xi Jinping), will undoubtedly accentuate economic relations between our two sisterly republics,” said Mudenda.
He proposed establishing direct flights between Zimbabwe and China to boost tourism.
On May 14 Mudenda met Mr Wang Huning, chairperson of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference whereupon he applauded China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
“Through parliamentary exchanges, Zimbabwe stands to benefit from the vibrant laws, especially on the establishment of special economic zones to facilitate the ease of doing business,” Mudenda said before he extended an invitation to Mr Wang to visit Zimbabwe.
He also called for the establishment of a Zimbabwe-China parliamentary friendship association to formalise legislative cooperation.
In addition, Mudenda stressed the need to “fight global inequalities” and learn how to promulgate laws that promote the ease of doing business.
In Zimbabwe, the Office of the Speaker is the highest and most important in the House. The Speaker occupies the foremost place and commands respect internally from among Parliamentarians and also externally from the public in general.
After the visit to China, Mudenda is therefore expected to tap from the experiences he got in the Asian country to strengthen the roles of parliament of Zimbabwe.
A number of functions and roles can be derived or are derivatives of the broad mandate of parliament that include making laws for peace, order and good governance of Zimbabwe.
In overall, the most prominent role of parliament is the legislative function followed by oversight on the executive.
In a constitutional democracy such as Zimbabwe, the Executive is accountable to Parliament as a body elected to represent the will of the people.
It is Parliament’s duty to deliberate on and pass laws, to scrutinize government performance and to make the Executive effectively accountable for the manner it initiates and implements public policies and programmes.
However, in line with the principle of the separation of powers as enunciated in s.3 (2)(e) of the new constitution, Parliament must not seek to govern because that is the duty of the Executive.
