Dzivarasekwa legislator Edwin Mushoriwa has expressed concern over the low turnout at a budget report back meeting in Harare where less than 10 people attended.
Parliament is currently holding feedback meetings on the 2022 national budget from the 30th of May up to the 3rd of June 2022.
However, the low attendance is likely to affect the effectiveness of the feedback meetings.
According to Honourable Mushoriwa, the meeting was adequately advertised but is confused with the low turnout.
‘’The attendance today was poor, in fact, there were less than 10 people that came to this post-budget report-back meeting, but we are not very sure because in terms of the adverts and media coverage they were done so that people would come.
‘’But I think as Parliament we need to improve our communication so that in future, we can have this house full when we come for a consultation,’’ he said.
This is not the first Parliament meeting that has been lowly attended by the citizens.
Earlier this year people also snubbed public consultation on the Insurance and Pensions Bill that was done in Bulawayo, Mutare, and Harare.
The meetings were poorly attended as only a total of 25 people attended the 3 consultative meetings, as follows, Bulawayo (17), Mutare (1), and Harare (7).
Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda blamed legislators and civic society organisations for not mobilising enough people for the meetings.
People who have been interviewed previously indicated that they do not attend the meetings with Parliament because their views are never considered when the final decision is made.
Honourable Mushoriwa is however of the view that maybe Parliament is failing to properly communicate its message to the public.
He said there is a need to go deeper to find the real problem that is repelling people from the meetings.
‘’Maybe there are two things, one has to do with Parliament itself in that as Parliament maybe we are failing to properly communicate our message so that people can come.
‘’But the second issue which may be worrying is that people of Zimbabwe maybe do not see the value of attending such meetings and again as Parliament, we need to go deeper and see what we need to do to make sure we motivate people to attend these meetings,’’ he said.
-OpenparlyZw
