Story by Silibaziso Dlodlo
MEMBERS of Parliament this Friday gathered in Bulawayo for a budget analysis and oversight capacity-building programme aimed at strengthening Parliament’s constitutional role in monitoring public expenditure and ensuring public funds deliver developmental impact.
The programme is part of efforts to strengthen accountability and improve public resource management.
Members of Parliament who attended the programme said the training will strengthen Parliament’s oversight role by enabling MPs to track the allocation and utilisation of public funds across government ministries and departments.
“The honourable speaker talked about the importance of the budget for us as Members of Parliament in order to monitor how funds allocated are distributed to reach where they are supposed to be and serve their purpose,” Harare Metropolitan Province Member of Parliament, Hon Chitime Vivian Pamella reflected.
“The Honourable Speaker, Advocate Jacob Mudenda spoke not only about how the funds are allocated to different ministries but also on whether they serve the purpose or not,” Member of Parliament for Nyanga South, Honourable Supa Mandiwanzira added.
In his keynote address, Speaker of the National Assembly Honourable Advocate Jacob Mudenda challenged Members of Parliament to move beyond routine budget examination and embrace detailed and evidence-based scrutiny anchored in constitutional obligations.
“Fulfilling this sacrosanct responsibility compels you to move beyond a perfunctory examination to a penetrating, forensic analysis of the National Budget across every dimension. The role of Parliament in budget oversight is not a matter of political convenience, executive benevolence or mere happenstance. It is a categorical constitutional mandate etched into the very juridical foundation of the budgetary architecture.
“The Constitution does not merely permit you to scrutinise public expenditure as a courtesy. It commands you to do so, for you must ensure that public resources are deployed on programmes designed to advance the livelihoods of the citizenry with the greatest attainable equity, efficiency and developmental impact.”
The programme is expected to strengthen Parliament’s budget oversight function and enhance accountability in ensuring public resources contribute meaningfully to national development.
