A Zimbabwean legislator yesterday called for laws that will bar those disparaging the country or calling for sanctions from holding political office either as councillors or Members of Parliament.
Gutu South legislator Pupurai Togarepi yesterday introduced a motion in Parliament calling for the banning of holding of government office positions by those who continue to advocate for sanctions against the county and yet still continue to enjoy benefits from such responsibilities.
“Mr. Speaker, it is my proposal in this motion that such people must not be allowed to hold office. If somebody lies about this country, lies about the politics of our country and it is discovered and verified that this person was doing it for politics, that person must be denied a right to participate in the politics of this country,” Togarepi said.
“We need some laws in the country for people who claim to be politicians because politicians must be people who would want to see this country moving forward. Politics and development go hand-in-hand, but if you are a political leader who would then want to lie about your country, go about blacklisting your country, the leadership and the people by asking for sanctions, you are not a good person for this country.
“You cannot come back and say you want to run that country in a political office like Government being a councillor or Member of Parliament whilst you were saying things that destroyed the image of your country.”
Full contribution:
MOTION
CONDEMNATION OF PEOPLE WHO CALL FOR UNWARRANTED SANCTIONS ON THE COUNTRY
HON. TOGAREPI: I move the motion standing in my name;
That this House-
ACKNOWLEDGING that Zimbabwe is a multi-party democracy that accommodates divergent political views from all parties in the country;
COGNISANT that such tolerance of all views by Government is not a sign of weakness but the pillar and cornerstone of goodwill as envisaged by our peace loving people all over the country;
NOTING with disdain the deplorable and potentially explosive political gimmicks by forces of negation who always vilify the Government and have the audacity in their stunts to advocate for the perpetuation and perpetration of very illegal and retrogressive sanctions on their own motherland by foreign governments;
CONCERNED that each time the country gears for elections, such political malcontents rear their ugly heads and start speaking with forked tongues wherein they advocate for sanctions on one hand and still want to participate in fair and free elections on the other hand without any repercussions for their unpatriotic and destructive utterances and calls for the tightening of sanctions;
NOW, THEREFORE, calls upon this House:
To condemn in the strongest of terms such people who have nothing to contribute to our nation other than to call for these unwarranted sanctions on our country.
The banning of holding of Government Office positions by those who continue to advocate for sanctions against the county and yet still continue to enjoy benefits from such responsibilities.
The banning of the swearing into office of anyone advocating for sanctions against the country.
HON. NGULUVHE: I second.
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