"Members Of Parliament Sleeping In Their Vehicles"

Members of Parliament have pleaded with Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister, Mthuli Ncube, to ensure that their accommodation is paid for amid claims that some are sleeping in their cars after attending Parliament business in Harare.

As reported by NewsDay, ZANU PF Chief Whip Pupurai Togarepi raised the issue as a point of privilege, saying they have raised the issue several times but little has been done to address it. Said Togarepi:

I rise on a point of privilege after some perennial challenges that are facing Members of Parliament each time they come to the House.

There is a challenge in terms of accommodation, MPs get desperate to the point where some sleep in cars and others are disturbed by the approach of some of the hotels.

When members go to hotels, they are told in an unfriendly way that ‘we are not taking MPs,’ which is very disturbing.

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The honour and the respect that MPs must be accorded, they are not getting any.

My issue is, where are those responsible in Parliament administration, why do they not engage service providers?

I am raising it here because I have engaged Parliament administration not once but many times, but we are assured and it is only this week that we are going to be sitting and many of our members are desperate.

We know that there could be challenges in terms of funding the stay, but they are not the source of money.

Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda said he was aware of the MPs’ challenges and at one point approached President Emmerson Mnangagwa to intervene. Said Mudenda:

I recall that the government chief whip approached me and the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion was not around.

I approached the Head of State and Government, President Emmerson Mnangagwa. He immediately called the permanent secretary George Guvamatanga and asked if there was a budget for Parliament.

He said yes and it will be done immediately because the situation in that particular week had become desperate.

Zimbabwe has a bicameral legislature, that is, Parliament is divided into two Houses. The lower house, or National Assembly has 280 members, and the upper house, or Senate has 80 members.

More: Pindula News