Below is the latest picture of the new parliament building in Mt Hampden which is funded by a Chinese grant

Speaking during the opening ceremony in December, ZANU PF President Emmerson Mnangagwa said, “I urge all parliamentarians to understand that they have a critical role to play as they enact and pass laws that will propel attainment of our national vision 2030. As such, hard work, diligence and commitment to duty must be embedded in all parliamentarians. In the Second Republic, non-attendance of meetings and dereliction of parliamentary duty should not be tolerated,” he said.

Mnangagwa said it was critical for legislators to ensure the smooth and efficient passage of laws while demonstrating accountability to the electorate.

“In undertaking your duties, I exhort you to be mindful that the law, as an instrument of development, must enable, facilitate and promote development and change. As such, I challenge you to demand urgency to the pace that the various legislative reforms are being implemented,” he said.

“In addition, Members of Parliament must be accountable to the people, both individually and collectively, as they have the onerous burden to truly represent the people that elected them into office.”

Mnangagwa said citizens should hold their legislators to account with regards to their activities in the august House.

The sentiments come at a time when several parliamentarians have been accused of absconding parliamentary sessions and not taking the business of the House seriously.

During a parliamentary workshop, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Jacob Mudenda, blasted MPs for failure to take Parliament business seriously after they came late to a budget orientation workshop.

“We want to contribute towards the turnaround of the economy, and as a leading institution we have to respect time because Parliament is doing serious business; we are not playing kids’ games, and the title of honourable has to be respected,” he said.