Harare — THE House of Assembly resumed business on Tuesday but events in what is supposed to be an "August House" on Wednesday leave a lot of questions on the calibre of legislators.

Are these men and women the best we have to lead the country, especially in solving the challenges that we face today?

MDC-T legislators led by Masvingo Urban representative Tongai Matutu and his counterpart Amos Chibaya (Mkoba) once again exhibited rowdy behaviour totally unacceptable in any civilised society.

They even went on to demean Deputy Speaker of Parliament Nomalanga Khumalo when they openly defied her orders to allow a motion they didn't agree with to be put before the House.

One would ask what was the fuss all about on the notice given by Zanu-PF Mwenezi East representative, Kudakwashe Bhasikiti to urge Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his deputy Arthur Mutambara to engage their Western allies to have illegal sanctions imposed on the country removed.

It is obvious that the sanctions that have been imposed on Zimbabwe have had devastating effects on the livelihoods of the ordinary people and operations of many companies.

Many a writer, has chronicled the impact of the illegal sanctions and this writer will not delve into that but just note it was very appropriate for Bhasikiti to move his notice for the motion.

For as long as they are in place, sanctions would have to be condemned by every Zimbabwean and it was in order for Bhasikiti to move the motion so that Parliament also speaks out on the evil that has affected every facet of life in Zimbabwe.

The MDC-T legislators argue that the notice was not presented procedurally and was a matter being dealt with in the ongoing talks between the parties' signatories to the Global Political Agreement.

British foreign secretary David Milliband, a fortnight ago, said his Government would remove the sanctions imposed on the country in consultation with MDC-T.

This was a clear confirmation of the MDC's complicity in the whole sanctions regime and given statements made by Prime Minister Tsvangirai in Switzerland on the issue, it became obvious that his party was involved.

The Prime Minister said he was in favour of a staggered removal of the sanctions despite the clear evidence of the effects which makes it imperative that Parliament plays its role by exerting pressure on him to call for the unconditional removal of the embargo in its entirety.

Therefore it becomes imperative that Parliament, with its oversight role, should openly debate this issue.

It will be foolhardy on our part to sweep the debate under the carpet on the flimsy excuse that it is a matter being dealt with by the negotiators.

In fact, it should be a matter for every Zimbabwean to condemn given the fact that they have caused untold suffering to ordinary people.

The MDC has been in denial on the existence of sanctions and this has not helped anyone.

So it is only proper that Parliament debate this issue with all the vigour until the sanctions are removed.

In the Committees

Turning to other events, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy, raised concern over the manner in which the country's diamonds are being managed.

Again, it is obvious that proper management of this resource can go a long way in improving the country's foreign currency generation and solve a number of challenges being faced by the economy.

The country has lost out on a lot of revenue due to leaks in the management of the resource.

It should be a cause for concern to every Zimbabwean that Mbada Diamond Mining Company wanted to clandestinely auction diamonds mined at Chiadzwa without the knowledge of the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation and the Police Minerals Unit.

That such an important resource, with a potential to raise millions of dollars and hence solve the country's problems, can be auctioned in unclear circumstances, raises a lot of questions than answers.

If the above mentioned organisations are honest that they did not have any knowledge or involvement in the intended sale then Government should quickly institute thorough investigations into the matter.

The country has a lot of resources that can address our external debt requirements, our import bills for critical requirements like electricity, fuel, medicines, agricultural equipment and so on.

With proper management, the need to globetrot with a begging bowl will be significantly diminished.

There are a lot of the country's detractors working round the clock to ensure that our diamonds are banned on the world market and such incidents will only energise them in their endeavour to further isolate the country.

The Public Order and Security Amendment Bill was brought to the House for its first reading.

This is one Bill that is likely to raise controversy again in the house.

MDC-T chief whip Innocent Gonese brought the Bill as a private member's Bill.

This procedure is not common in Zimbabwe as ministries normally sponsor Bills that come to Parliament.

The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs and Defence also received evidence from the Ministry of Home Affairs and senior police officers on the Bill and they all said the proposed amendments would only weaken the police in their quest to maintain law and order.

Among the provisions in the Bill are clauses that will effectively make it not necessary for organisers of public gatherings to notify the police in advance on their activities.

The Bill also proposes that citizens no longer have to carry on them their national identity documents.

It also curtails powers of police officers to ban carrying of traditional weapons that have often been used in acts of violence.

The Bill also removes responsibility on organisers of gatherings or demonstrations to compensate people whose properties might be destroyed in the event that their activities turn violent.

It is this writer's opinion that while we have to uphold people's democratic rights, we have at the same time to ensure public security.

The Public Order and Security Act has been contentious with the opposition claiming that it has been used to suppress them.

But what is needed is to put in context its origins and the politics of the country in the past 10 years where agents of illegal regime change where active in trying to topple the Government led by President Mugabe.

However, as Home Affairs Secretary Melusi Matshiya said before the committee, the Bill will make it very difficult for the police to effectively carry out their duties.

We hope that when the Bill is debated, the legislators will not put emotions in front but rationale and reason because as we have said before laws should be meant to last for as long as possible.

Given events that have occurred in the past like the violent food riots in 1998 and student demonstrations where property was destroyed and lives lost it becomes necessary for police to be adequately empowered to deal with these kinds of eventualities.

There are a lot of organisations that have a propensity to engage in violence so the police have to be given teeth to ensure that there is public security and an enabling environment for investors who want to do business in the country.

As stated earlier, we hope debate on the Bill will be guided by reason.

Lastly, the constitution making process hit a new snag when the Select Committee rejected a new document crafted by the UNDP and its management committee on the select committee's interaction with donors.

The committee argues that the new document would make it useless and gives unfettered power to donors.

As said in earlier instalments of this column, donors should not have overriding powers in the process because the constitution goes to the heart of our sovereignty so we should not risk outsiders determining the contents of the nation's supreme law.

The matter has since been referred to the principals and we hope they will find a solution that will not negatively affect future generations.