ZANU PF MPs Friday revived their push to remove Tendai Biti as the chairperson of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee ahead of the appearance of controversial tycoon Kuda Tagwirei before the same committee next Monday.
On Friday, Zanu PF MPs told Biti to stop chairing the committee because his party does not recognise President Emmerson Mnangagwa as the legitimate president of Zimbabwe.
The MDC, in which Biti is the Vice President, has declined to recognise Mnangagwa as the legitimate president of the country claiming the 2018 presidential election results were rigged in his favour by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).
Zanu PF MPs led by Mberengwa East MP, Marko Raidza and Chegutu West Dexter Nduna disrupted the start of oral evidence by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) commissioners demanding that Biti be removed as committee chairperson.
This is not the first time Zanu PF MPs have made such attempts.
Last year, when Tagwirei, owner of Sakunda Holdings, was scheduled to appear before the same committee, Zanu PF MPs refused to recognise Biti as the chairperson of the committee and the proceedings were abandoned.
“You (Biti) particularly as MDC, you refused to recognise our President. So we have issues with you also chairing this committee. We have raised this issue in our previous meetings,” Raidza told Biti.
However, Biti would have none of it telling the Zanu PF MPs that the issue had nothing to do with the ZACC hearing.
“Your issue has nothing to do with ZACC and I think it’s an issue that you should have raised before we invited our visitors and the press. So I’m actually disturbed by the timing of your questioning. But that as it may, I will ask (ZACC) commissioner Gabriel Chaibva to excuse us and I’m sorry for washing our dirty linen in your face,” Biti said.
ZACC officials and members of the press were told to leave the room for more than an hour before proceedings resumed.
When the meeting resumed, Biti said he had sought the guidance of the Clerk of Parliament, Kennedy Chokuda who advised them to proceed.
“We have sought guidance from the Clerk of Parliament who assured us that this committee is right to proceed pursuant to two determinations that have been made by the Speaker of the House to the effect that all committee business should proceed and that the issues raised by honourable Raidza have been referred to the Committee of Privileges,” said Biti.
