Parliament suspended the remaining two committee meetings that had been initially allowed to continue, as a precautionary measure yesterday.

The Public Accounts committee and the Agriculture and Rural Resettlement portfolio committee had been winding up urgent business, after sitting of both houses and the rest of the committees were suspended until May 5.

Clerk of Parliament, Mr Kennedy Chokuda, yesterday said the first confirmed cases of Covid-19 and the Government action announced by President Mnangagwa to reduce levels of on-duty staff at all ministries by two thirds had prompted Parliament to end the two exemptions.

“We have also asked most of our staff to stay home,” he said.
“So, there will be no more meetings until further notice.”

When Speaker of the National Assembly, Advocate Jacob Mudenda, announced the suspensions last week, Public Accounts committee chairperson, Mr Tendai Biti (MDC Alliance), said there were committees that were behind time in terms of their schedules.

He said considering that committees had less than 30 people, such committees should be allowed to continue to meet so that they conclude their work.

Adv Mudenda told Mr Biti to liaise with the Clerk of Parliament, as such cases would be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The Public Accounts committee was interrogating the audit report for parastatals on how funds for Command Agriculture were utilised.

The agriculture committee led by Gokwe Nembudziya legislator Cde Justice Mayor Wadyajena (Zanu PF) was meeting stakeholders to establish how a US$27 million grain import facility from the Reserve Bank was utilised by the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe.-State media