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Message: [QUOTE="Munyaradzi Mafaro, post: 51457, member: 636"] Parliament Speaker Jacob Mudenda fired up legislators during a Bulawayo workshop, demanding they transform from passive budget observers into fierce financial watchdogs. The top parliamentary official slammed MPs for letting outsiders dominate budget analysis while they sat on the sidelines like spectators. Mudenda deployed a striking lion metaphor, telling representatives they must become the predators who craft their narrative instead of letting hunters tell their tale. He insisted parliamentarians possess constitutional authority to scrutinize every dollar flowing through government coffers. The Speaker challenged committee members to master rigorous fiscal examination techniques that protect public resources. Constitutional sections 119, 29, and 299 grant Parliament ultimate oversight powers over state institutions and agencies, Mudenda declared. He stressed that representatives must evaluate budget distributions through an equity lens, ensuring women, children, poor citizens, and disabled individuals receive fair treatment. The parliamentary leader urged committees to demand value for taxpayer money from every government department through clinical, evidence-based scrutiny. Mudenda called for an end to superficial oversight practices that fail to protect public interests. He emphasized that stewardship of national funds requires detailed analysis of spending quality and quantity. The workshop targets budget analysis skills as Zimbabwe prepares shifting from National Development Strategy 1 to NDS2 implementation. Mudenda urged MPs to communicate budget impacts clearly to ordinary citizens across the country, from Chipinge mothers to Hwange fathers. He referenced the Abuja Declaration requiring 15 percent health budget allocations for quality healthcare access. The Speaker expects robust parliamentary debates focused on meaningful outcomes rather than political theater. The capacity-building session concluded after two intensive training days. [/QUOTE]

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