MPs dig in on car loan contracts

Government acknowledges it owes them outstanding sitting allowances since 2008.
At the same time the MPs do not see the logic of buying vehicles that are supposed to be used for Parliament business.
Some legislators say their outstanding dues amount to about US$50 000 each at the rate of US$75 per day for MPs who were consistent on their attendance of Parliament business since 2008.
About 300 Senators and House of Assembly Members received vehicles from the Ministry of Finance, which had set a ceiling of US$30 000 for the vehicles.

They were encouraged to buy Mazda BT50 models, which most of them bought.
MPs yesterday held a joint caucus meeting where they unanimously agreed that they would not budge until Government acknowledged owing them.

In an interview after the caucus meeting, MPs Welfare Committee chairperson, Cde Paddy Zhanda said they wanted Treasury to calculate the amount it owes them.
“The MPs are not refusing to sign the loan repayment contracts, all they are saying is that the Ministry of Finance should first acknowledge that they owe us. We are saying let’s do the accounts and see who owes who. The Minister of Finance is trying not to do what he had promised,” Cde Zhanda said.

He said it was not proper for the MPs to pay for the vehicles, which they would use for Parliament business.
“Why should an MP buy a vehicle for Parliament business? After five years the vehicle would have been dilapidated because of the demands of Parliament business. Why should MPs subsidise the State? We come here for Parliament business and sometimes we incur costs by purchasing fuel if Parliament has no fuel yet it should not be our responsibility.

“The way forward from the committee is that we will not sign those contracts until we know how much we are owed in terms of sitting allowances, travel and subsistence allowances,” Cde Zhanda said.
Debating in the Parliament yesterday, Zanu-PF legislator for Uzumba, Cde Simbaneuta Mudarikwa, said: “In this House, we are honourable, but very poor. There is no pension, no funeral policy, no medical aid and they say they can only give you pension if you serve two terms.”

Clerk of Parliament, Mr Austin Zvoma yesterday threw his weight behind the MPs saying he had indicated to the Finance Ministry that it would be difficult for the MPs to repay the loans considering the money they were being paid.

“I had a meeting with the Treasury officials and I told them that how do MPs repay US$30 000 when they were initially getting US$100. If elections go ahead this year, these MPs would only have two years to repay the loan and that means they will have to pay about US$1 400 per month yet they are not getting anything close to that.
“When they asked us to recover the loans from MPs I told them that Parliament was not privy to the conditions given to MPs when they made the deal for the vehicles whether they had given them for free or loaned them. We then asked them to give us background to the conditions in which those vehicles were given,” Mr Zvoma said.

Minister Biti had in 2009 by-passed Parliament in distributing vehicles to members of the House of Assembly and Senate, a responsibility that has always been done by Parliament administration.
He was then embroiled in a row with MPs whom he wanted to buy vehicles Mazda BT50s from Willowvale Mazda Motor Industries – a local supplier to boost the local industry – a condition the lawmakers opposed arguing the vehicles were not suited for rough terrain. The Members of Parliament Motor Vehicle Revolving Fund constitution mandates Parliament to deal with the distribution of vehicles to MPs.