Relief for troubled MPs

BY SITHENI NLEYA

Government has stepped in to end years of humiliation, sleepless nights in cars, and evictions from hotels by Members of Parliament after the acquisition of Monomotapa Hotel in Harare.

Legislators were in the past forced to live like paupers and endured humiliation from hotels in the capital due to failure by Parliament to pay for accommodation.

The accommodation was one of the many worries by the MPs who also have gone for months with allowances and coupons for logistics while the Community Development Fund (CDF) has not been disbursed to others over two years after the 2023 elections.

In announcing the latest development, Finance Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, said the facility, formerly owned by African Sun, will be permanent home to the MPs.

“This strategic move is aimed at ensuring the comfort and convenience of legislators during parliamentary sessions and national events while also reducing accommodation costs previously incurred through private bookings,” Ncube said.

“The acquisition reflects the government’s commitment to improving the welfare of Parliamentarians and enhancing institutional efficiency in the execution of legislative duties.”

For years, Parliament has been engulfed in chaos over unpaid hotel bills.

In 2023, MPs were forced to sleep in their cars after hotels refused to host them. Some were booked in brothels and rundown lodges when debts piled up.

The problem stretches back more than a decade. In 2012, Parliament was forced to adjourn after hotels demanded a US$600,000 payment. In 2015, over 40 legislators were kicked out of a Harare hotel. In 2022, lawmakers were again footing their own bills, paying US$30 a night at budget lodges.

The purchase of Monomotapa Hotel marks the end of an embarrassing chapter for the legislature. For the first time in years, MPs will no longer have to beg for rooms, sleep in their cars, or miss sittings because the Treasury failed to pay.