adminPrevious proposals to build a new parliamentary complex in the Kopje area ran into enough financial problems, and plans have been continually delayed, but the site itself was one of the best available.
Everyone agrees that the present parliamentary complex, centred on the dining room of a hotel that went bankrupt in the 1890s with a new block built in the 1950s for the unlamented Federal Parliament, is far from ideal.
The space is totally inadequate for modern Zimbabwe and Members of Parliament who live outside Harare find it difficult and expensive to find suitable accommodation for the three or four nights they need to spend in Harare while Parliament sits.
But the site does fill one major requirement: it is right next to the large complex of office buildings housing most of the Executive branch of the Government.
This makes it easy for ministers and deputy ministers to attend Parliament and run the State, and equally important it makes it easy for constituency members to go to the relevant Government departments when sorting out problems faced by their constituents.
The further Parliament moves the harder it will be to keep that vital link between the Legislative and Executive branches, especially when it is considered that
ministers and deputy ministers are members of both.
The kopje at least is just a 10-minute drive away from most ministerial offices, so while not quite so convenient as a site in the eastern half of the city centre, it is a lot better positioned than Mount Hampden.
The amount of space required is not that large: the ground floor needs space for two decent-sized chambers, caucus rooms, dining and lounge area, library, lobbies and security offices. Besides that complex, which because of high use should all be on one level, there is need for an office block and a complex of multi-storey flats.
These flats need not be large; the standard bachelor flat of room with private bathroom and a small kitchen is all that is needed.
MPs can socialise in the complex’s lounges and dinning areas, or formally meet in committee rooms.
Most MPs live in their constituencies with their families, not in downtown Harare, and they just need a comfortable place to stay when Parliament or the committees they sit on are sitting.
Besides all this the MPs need a car park, or multi-storey parking garage.
We agree it would be worthwhile to have the official residences of the Speaker and President of the Senate in the same complex, but two decent houses with entertainment areas could not possibly take up more than one hectare.
The whole desired complex could easily fit into 10 hactares, even with surface parking and a healthy perimeter for security.
In the modern world with terror groups having access to high explosives, the need for an enclosed complex with single entrance is essential, we agree, but there is plenty of land still around the Kopje.
The Kopje area has a first-class hotel in the vicinity, when MPs need to entertain on a grander scale, and the Harare International Conference Centre would be a short walk away for large gatherings, such as regional meetings.
We fail to see why MPs need a private golf course or a large shopping complex.
When they are physically present in the parliamentary area they are working and when Parliament is not sitting they are supposed to be in their constituencies.
Most of their shopping will be for families, and those who live in the constituencies and presumably support local merchants.
Serving the people of Zimbabwe as their representative in Parliament is a privilege, not an excuse to live a life of luxury for five years.
Even with the legislative programme that faces Parliament each year, and the need for committees of legislators to keep the Executive branch on its toes, most MPs
will still spend the bulk of their time in their own areas, not in Harare, and simply need adequate facilities to spend the night and to do their meeting work.
They cannot regard Parliament as either their home, or as a long-term career.
The facilities should reflect their needs, not their desires.
Online Reporter