Former Norton legislator turned village head, Temba Mliswa, has highlighted the importance of a robust opposition for effective governance in the country.
In a recent interview with a local online television, Mliswa said a competent opposition party, not only to provide checks and balances to the ruling party but also to ensure accountability and parliamentary efficacy.
“Clearly, we would want to see an opposition party that is good for the ruling party, but when the opposition is weak as it is, it’s not good for the ruling party and the ruling party must not equally celebrate because you need accountability and people who understand the art of Parliament,” said Mliswa
He singled out Tendai Biti, the former Minister of Finance, praising his ability to set the tone in parliamentary debates and hold the government accountable.
“This is why I always speak about Tendai Biti, that debate in Parliament when the budget was being presented in Parliament, we looked up to Tendai Biti, he was the former Minister of Finance, he set the tone. He would come left, right and centre to correct and even the Minister of Finance would pull his socks to make sure that he performs,” he said
Mliswa lamented the lack of institutional memory within the opposition, attributing the continued dominance of the ruling Zanu PF party to its seasoned members who leverage their experience to maintain control.
“Now that there is no institutional memory, that’s why the ruling Zanu PF continues to dominate because they have people who have been there for a while and have that institutional memory and they are able to play with it,” said the former Zanu PF member
Mliswa argued that Chamisa’s experience in government and familiarity with critical institutions should have positioned him as a formidable opposition leader.
“You cannot do that when you are outside of the mainstream politics, you have to show you are the government in waiting, you have to show you are the opposition, the leader of the opposition so that when they come to elections, they are able to gauge you that this man did well as the leader of the opposition. You have to start somewhere you cannot be out of it.
“That’s the reason why it was critical for Nelson Chamisa to be in that Parliament to be the leader of the opposition because he has an experience of these institutions which are critical to the governance of this country. He was a former Minister and cabinet, he was supposed to lead the opposition in Parliament so that he was supposed to be invited to State functions so that he is recognised as the leader of the opposition, that was extended to him and to me I would say that was the biggest blunder ever. Again, it’s the people around you who ill advise you but he did not follow that,” said Mliswa
