Chronicle Editor
Members of the House of Assembly as representatives of the people are expected to have an appreciation of the state of the economy.
Government has adopted austerity measures in order to build the economy and it is therefore disturbing when MPs make outrageous demands such as top of the range Toyota Land Cruiser V8 vehicles, a rise in their allowances and pension among others.
The MPs have demanded to be served three luxury meals a day plus dessert while attending Parliamentary sittings. They also want to be provided with gym facilities or have their membership or subscription fees paid by Government at sports clubs and they want Government to buy them Ipads.
The MPs want an increase in their allowances at a time when Government has cut by five percent salaries for all senior Government officials including the President, Cde Mnangagwa and his deputies. The MPs seem to be living in Utopia where the economy is performing very well hence their demands. President Mnangagwa has already warned the nation that the road to recovery would be bumpy in some cases hence the need for people to be patient.
The MPs should take the lead in implementing measures to cut Government expenditure but they are doing the opposite by making outrageous demands. The tightening of belts should start with the MPs who were elected to represent the people’s interests as opposed to self- aggrandisement.
Cde Mnangagwa has said there is much more to be done and there will be further bumps along the road, a reality that MPs should appreciate and explain to the electorate. The MPs, instead of articulating issues to address the welfare of the people they represent, are instead concentrating on their own benefits.
What the legislators are raising in Parliament are not bread and butter issues that affect the people. President Mnangagwa has said leaders should be true servants of the people that should be moved by matters that affect the people but the MPs seem to have decided to do the opposite. They want to live in luxury while the people they represent suffer.
Austerity measures means the nation has to forgo some luxuries for some time in order to turn around the economy and the MPs should lead by example. It is time our legislators expend their energies on finding solutions to challenges facing our economy.
We cannot afford to put spanners in the works at a time when we have started the process of renewal and recovery of our economy. It is a fact that we have workers who have not been paid full salaries for several months and the MPs as the people’s representatives should know better.
This is a confirmation of the reality on the ground that the MPs cannot pretend to be ignorant of.
Online Reporter