New Parly Building, city strategic for Zim development
STANDING majestically atop Mt Hampden Hill, the New Parliament Building located about 20km from Harare’s central business district, will blow you away, both in stature and elegance.
Well, there are some among Zimbabweans who have taken up criticising as a profession, and these are well-known — for they do not hide their intentions.
And some of them actually benefit from this “profession” as their criticism is sometimes taken seriously by gullible entities which end up sponsoring them to amplify their negative comments.
But the New Parliament Building is one of the developmental achievements by the New Dispensation that makes the critics cringe in owe, left with no any other words, except, of course, positive comment.
The building, on which the contractors are putting finishing touches, is an epitome of the intentions of the Second Republic in terms of taking the country forward.
The New Parliament Building’s setting, on top of the hill in Mt Hampden, reminds me of a line on the legendary gospel music couple – Shuvai and Jonathan Wutawunashe’s classic song “Ipenye”.
The song, done in the early years of independence, is about the rise of Zimbabwe.
The line goes: “Guta rakavakwa pagomo, harivigwi rinoonekwa” (a city built on the mountain is easily noticeable).
The New Parliament Building cannot be missed as it stands on the slopes of the hill at Mt Hampden.
In the next few weeks, the mammoth structure will be ready for official opening and then for use by legislators.
This is a milestone in the development of Zimbabwe, as a new city will sprout in the area, perhaps as an extension of Harare going north-west.
Once the building is commissioned, Parliament business will move from the central business district of Harare to the more spacious building.
Yet, the New Parliament Building and the city that will eventually be built around the structure mean a lot to the country.
There will be new opportunities that come with urban expansion, which opens up more space for the ever increasing urban population.
Harare is now known to be congested, both by human and vehicular traffic, and the building of a new city in Mt Hampden will lessen this burden as people and businesses relocate.
The new city comes with fresh infrastructure, enhancing the ease of doing business and easily attracts more investors.
By building the new city around the New Parliament Building, Zimbabwe is showing its strength as an emerging market, joining other countries that are showing direction in this area.
In many countries, especially in Asia, a number of new cities have been emerging as development kicks in and the old cities cannot accommodate the economic expansion.
These new cities are being presented as a solution to a number of problems that affect urban areas, especially in developing countries.
These problems include overcrowding, pollution, traffic congestion, housing shortages, lack of green space and economic stagnation.
The new cities create new space that helps solve these problems by providing fresh amenities that attractive to residents and investors.
When it comes to population, people who lived in Salisbury (now Harare) were less one million, but now Harare is inhabited by more than two million people, at least according to the 2012 population census.
The 2022 population census, which is now in the mop-up phase, is likely to reveal even higher figures in terms of the population residing in Harare now.
The new city in Mt Hampden will relieve this pressure caused by population expansion in Harare.
The city will trigger various developments including the construction of banking halls, residential areas, government buildings, universities, technological centres and shopping centres.
All this will contribute to the attaining of Vision 2030 of achieving an upper middle income economy, as it goes a long to empower citizens.
It is important to have a look at the New Parliament Building and its ambience.
The building has six stories and takes a circular shape, mostly inspired by the influential structure of the Great Zimbabwe Monuments.
Being constructed by the Shanghai Construction Group, the New Parliament Building sits on an area of 50.000m2.
When it is officially opened, it will be able to accommodate joint sittings of the Senate and the National Assembly, and there will be extra facilities such as two conference centres, with a capacity to accommodate 350 people each.
There is a banquet hall capable of accommodating 1 000 people, offices for parliamentary officers, and many boardrooms for parliamentary committee sessions, as well as a spacious parking space.
The Senate chamber is located a rung above the National Assembly chamber, depicting the importance of the hierarchy in terms of the organisation of Parliament.
Apart from committee rooms, the building hosts ministerial offices, secretariats, and other numerous offices.
The project is being funded by a grant from the Chinese government as part of the pledges under the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.
At the moment, Parliament is renting a building in Harare’s city centre where it has traditionally held debates, with the building housing both the Senate and National Assembly chambers.
But the building has proved to be too small and both the Senate chamber and the National Assembly chamber are crowded during debates.
Parliament and its importance
According to Parliament of Zimbabwe, uni
versally, the mandate of Parliaments may be generally described as legislative, representational and oversight in nature as well as judicial to some extent.
These core functions have evolved over millennia and in their present form; they chiefly comprise legislation, consent to taxation and control of public expenditure, debate on government policy and scrutiny of government administration.
Pursuant to the need to enhance governance systems, some parliaments are now actively involved in the selection and appointments of members of independent constitutional commissions.
Primary law making powers are vested in Parliament and the President notwithstanding the fact that legislative authority may be conferred or delegated to other bodies and authorities.
The new Constitution of Zimbabwe gives prominence to the fact that all institutions and agencies of the state and government are accountable to Parliament.
Even the Presidency as a state institution is not exempt from accountability to Parliament.
A number of functions and roles can be derived or are derivatives of the broad mandate of making laws for peace, order and good governance of Zimbabwe.
But the most prominent role of Parliament is the legislative function.