Zimbabwe MP complains: what can I do with a paltry $1 000 a month

*HON. MUTSEYAMI: Thank you Madam Speaker for giving me time to make my contributions.  Last week, Hon. Mandipaka raised a point of order when he was talking about the welfare of Members of Parliament.  We are now faced with the budget which you introduced last year and we were promised a lot of things in the previous budget but none of them was implemented.  When we are looking at this national duty at hand, especially when I look at my responsibility as a Committee Member of the Welfare of Parliamentarians, we were told that you were going to respond to our questions but today is Thursday; tomorrow we are going to a seminar and then we go away.  You have not responded to the issue on the welfare of Parliamentarians.

The Speaker also told us last year when we were going for Christmas that, each Member was going to get an Ipad and we are now facing the 2017 Christmas and no one has received these promised items.  We raise these issues which are related to the welfare of the Members of Parliament and we also said that those members who are responsible for writing these Hansards, the Hansard Reporters are in crowded offices.  Their offices are stuffy; they are unhealthy.  The Speaker promised us that he was going to look into the welfare of the office space of Hansard officers and the offices were going to be air conditioned or aerated but nothing to date has been done.  Definitely, when we go to our offices and we see the great things done by these workers, they are in unhealthy and unhygienic conditions.  Please sympathise with them.  Please respond to our requests.

 *THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Member.  We know you have a lot of issues which you want to be looked into and these were raised by the Committees in previous Parliaments.  I only hope – some of you read the stories which appeared in our newspapers today.  There was a column which was discussing the welfare of the Members of Parliament. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]

–   Order, order Hon. Members.

 When we look at the issues which we promised, the Ipads and those other things, they are being looked into by Parliament Administration.  Let us not give to reporters some of these things which are not supposed to be for public consumption.  This is just for the sake of the Caucus.

 HON. MLISWA: Madam Speaker, the issue….

 THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Bring it as a motion Hon. Mliswa. I have recognised the Chief Whip.

 HON. MLISWA: Chief Whip chimbogarai pasi, hatina mari.  Welfare yedu iri important.

*HON. HOLDER: We now realise that the Minister of Finance and Economic Development has been changed, when the new one comes and we tell him about the issues, he will tell us that he has no information on what was discussed in the past. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, Hon. Mliswa, please can we have silence in the House.

Continued next page

(544 VIEWS)