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The Speaker of Parliament, Hon Advocate J.F.N Mudenda, who is in Luanda, Angola, for the 147th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly and Related Meetings, being held from the 21st to 27th October 2023, received commendations from the Executive Committee and SADC Group for his sterling contributions to the IPU Executive Committee during his four-year tenure on the Executive Committee of the IPU.
Speaker Mudenda’s term comes to an end at the conclusion of the 147th Assembly and Related Meetings. He served his tenure with distinction, as testified by his fellow Speakers and Member of Parliament at the ongoing 147th IPU Assembly in Luanda, Angola.
The Assembly is running under the theme “PARLIAMENTARY ACTION FOR, PEACE JUSTICE AND STRONG INSTITUTIONS”. As Hon. Pacheco reflected on his three-year tenure of office which ends at the conclusion of the 147th Assembly of the IPU and Related Meetings, the IPU President commended the incisive legal mind and clarity of thought demonstrated by Speaker Mudenda during the Executive Committee and Assembly Meetings. The Indian Member of Parliament who sits on the IPU Executive Committee, Hon A. Sarangi, also joined Hon.
Pacheco in extolling Speaker Mudenda’s sterling contributions during Executive Committee and Assembly Meetings, which contributions resulted in the Executive Committee and Assembly Meetings making sound decisions anchored on solid legal interpretation of IPU Statutes.
At the conclusion of the last sitting of the 291st Session of the Executive Committee on Sunday the 22nd of October, Speaker Mudenda was subsequently awarded a certificate of recognition by the IPU President, Honourable Duarte Pacheco. The citation on the certificate reads, “CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION CONFERRED UPON MR. JACOB FRANCIS NZWIDAMILIMO MUDENDA (ZIMBABWE)FOR HIS OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO THE WORK AND MISSION OF THE INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION AS A MEMBER OF ITS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2019-2023”.
Speaker Mudenda delivered his final report as a Member of the IPU Executive Committee to the SADC and Africa Geopolitical Groups. The report synthesised deliberations of the 291st meetings in Luanda, Angola. After delivering his ultimate report to the SADC Group, Speaker Mudenda received further approbation from Hon. Members of the SADC and Africa Geopolitical Groups for his diligence and attention to detail in the current Report and previous ones.
On that score, Hon Elibariki Emmanuel Kingu from the Tanzanian Parliament moved a motion that the Geopolitical Groups should formally recognise Speaker Mudenda’s contributions to the IPU by formally acknowledging them through a letter of appreciation. The motion was unanimously approved after being seconded by the Rt. Honourable Professor Peter Katjavivi, the Namibian Speaker of Parliament.
It is common cause that the Hon. Speaker continually provided legal guidance to the Executive Committee, Governing Council and the IPU Assembly on critical legal matters in order to ensure that the IPU operated within the letter and spirit of IPU Statutes and Rules. In the same vein, Speaker Mudenda chaired the Working Group established to craft Special Rules of Procedure to regulate the conduct of virtual sessions of the IPU Assembly and its Standing Committees, not only for the 142nd IPU Assembly but also future IPU Assemblies that would be held virtually. Resultantly, the IPU successfully convened virtual IPU Governing Council and IPU Assemblies following the amendment of the Rules of Procedure as recommended by that Working Group to the Executive Committee.
In accepting the honours from the IPU, fellow Speakers and MPs, Speaker Mudenda insisted that this is not an individual recognition, rather it is recognition of the Parliament of Zimbabwe and the Republic of Zimbabwe for their contributions to multilateral institutions as espoused in the context of His Excellency, President, Dr E.D Mnangagwa’s diplomatic efforts of engagement and re-engagement.