Hon. Mudenda Advocates for Social Development and Justice at IPU 150th Assembly

By Staff Writer

The Speaker of Parliament for Zimbabwe Honourable Advocate J.F.N. Mudenda delivered remarks at the 150th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan recently. Parliamentary leaders from around the globe come together at the Assembly themed “Parliamentary Action for Social Development and Justice”, where they explore ways of promoting equitable development and rights-based approach to social justice.

Honourable Mudenda highlighted Zimbabwe’s dedication to the Ubuntu principle of “Leaving No One and No Place Behind,” which is an ethos promoted by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, as being central to a country’s development agenda.

He further cited the 1995 Copenhagen World Summit for Social Development, which emphasized the importance of addressing poverty and inequality through social justice, in underlining the importance of social development as a basic human right. He urged parliaments across the globe to ensure that equitable development is at the top of their legislative, oversight and representational agendas.

He pointed to such parliamentary measures as Zimbabwe’s initiatives of establishing youth and women entrepreneurial banks, which he said will help bridge gaps of inequality. The Speaker spoke about the global inequality crisis, declaring that “despite everything we’ve made” through technology, “the gap continues to grow.” He noted that the richest 1% of the global population owns 45.6% of the global wealth, while nearly 700 million people are trapped in extreme poverty.

Hon. Mudenda, who turned his focus to the African continent, hailed the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which, he said, provided a visionary framework and guiding strategy for a prosperous and integrated continent.

However, he lamented that the continent had an average GDP growth of 3.4% between 2018 and 2023, but that has not necessarily led to a reduction in poverty levels.

He stressed that the figures are troubling, citing that 490 million Africans live below the poverty line, while youth unemployment is 19.8 per cent, more than double that of the global average. Hon. Mudenda, called on world leaders to end inequalities between Global North and South at the Second World Summit on Social Development, due to take place in Qatar in November 2025.

Global peace, security and strong multilateralism, he said, were essential for social development and justice.

In his closing remarks, Hon. Mudenda suggested that members must act together as a parliament to challenge current-day dilemmas to create a just and equitable world.

The IPU launched its 2025 gender campaign, “Achieving Gender Equality, Action by Action,” to accelerate gender parity in public and private sectors. It is based on three key thematic areas, namely, political parity; gender-sensitive institutions; and ending gender-based violence and discrimination.

The Assembly also marked the 40th anniversary of the IPU Forum of Women Parliamentarians, which has served as a tool for female legislators to unite and confront common challenges.