(Last Updated on May 11, 2021 by ZIMDAILY EDITOR)
HARARE – The MDC T national Spokesperson, Witness Dube has said attacks on Hon Memory Mbondiah in Parliament today by Hon Temba Mliswa, is an attempt to stop the newly appointed Public Finance Committee Chairperson, from unravelling covered-up corruption.
“It is also worth noting and very telling that the newly appointed PAC Chairperson from the MDC-T found not less than seventeen (17) committee meetings which had been sat, with no adopted minutes of same as records of work done. It therefore stands to reason that whilst the previous chairperson, Hon Tendai Biti, was given to being high-sounding on being a champion of fighting corruption through this committee, he left nothing to suggest any appetite to do same, and the entry of Hon. Dube can only be read as having broken a gentleman’s agreement that would have existed in maintaining corruption under wrap through this committee,” Dube said.
In his defence, Hon Mliswa said “As parliament we can not raise issues that are before the courts. If we have problems, we go to legal counsel of parliament which tells us what to do because it prejudices the case at the end of the day”.
Find below the full statement
Hands-Off The Public Accounts Committee: MDC T
The MDC-T is outraged by the attack of its parliamentarians in the Public Accounts Committee, namely the chairperson of that committee and MDC-T Secretary for Legal Affairs, Honourable Brian Dube, and a fellow committee member from our party, Honourable Memory Mbodiah in what was supposed to be a hearing on the ZESA report. The party wishes the public to take note of this development in the manner following.
First, it is the party’s public record through our two honourable members of parliament that the work of this committee came to an abrupt end after disturbances that were singularly orchestrated by Hon. Themba Mliswa, an independent Member of Parliament.
Hon. Mliswa is said to have accosted Hon. Dube in his Chair, seeking to stop him from proceeding with the meeting. Meanwhile Hon. Mbondiah recorded the whole episode on her iPad device before hiding same under her breasts.
Hon. Mliswa is said to have indecently assaulted Hon Mbondiah in the process of wrestling her iPad from her, which he proceeded to smash. It is after this that a physical confrontation ensued between the two.
Counter allegations by Hon Mliswa are therefore a capricious and malevolent fabrication calculated at making women organisations to view Hon. Mbondiah as a typical ‘man who bites a dog’!
Second, this PAC had called in Mr Wicknell Chivayo of Intratrek to shed light on the Gwanda Solar Project where he was awarded US$5.6 million in advance payment and subsequently failed to deliver on the project. Specifically the PAC meant to forward the following questions to Mr Chivayo:
1. Did Intratrek get the contract through any tender? If there was a tender, Mr Chivayo to provide proof of same.
2. What is the current status of the project?
3. What were the sources documents used by Intratrek for all payments they received? 4. Why did Intratrek not issue any bank guarantee as required in terms of the contract?
5. What is Intratrek’s plan going forward since payment was made and no work was done? Do they intend to refund the nation? Are the funds still there since no work was done?
The Intratrek Gwanda Project is not pending in the courts as to be exempt from the PAC, see Judgement SC 39/21.
The party therefore reads Hon Mliswa’s actions to have stopped the newly appointed committee chairperson from unravelling sedimentary and rampant corruption at ZESA Holdings around issues to do with controversial awarding of contracts on tenders without due diligence, and failure to follow procurement regulations among other alleged infractions of the law at this our national power utility company.
Third, the party is of the view that whatever Hon. Mondiah’s emotive and retaliatory attacks on Hon. Mliswa were, they are minor compared to his indecently assaulting a woman in the parliament precinct, and his violation of parliamentary decorum given the manner he stopped proceedings of this PAC meeting.
Fourth, it is also worth noting and very telling that the newly appointed PAC Chairperson from the MDC-T found not less than seventeen (17) committee meetings which had been sat, with no adopted minutes of same as records of work done. It therefore stands to reason that whilst the previous chairperson, Hon Tendai Biti, was given to being high-sounding on being a champion of fighting corruption through this committee, he left nothing to suggest any appetite to do same, and the entry of Hon. Dube can only be read as having broken a gentleman’s agreement that would have existed in maintaining corruption under wrap through this committee.
And fifth, the MDC-T wishes to assure the public that its newly appointed clean sweep broom is unperturbed by the resistance being shown by the corrupt cartels and their proxies, and will redouble efforts in brooking no interference in ridding our society of this evil that has brought endemic stagnation in our national economic growth.
Witness Dube
Secretary for Information and Publicity