CHENGETAI ZVAUYA
Zimbabwe’s legislators are working under poor conditions and want an increase in their salaries, which is commensurate with their status.
The legislators poured their hearts out at an induction workshop on Monday saying they were living like paupers and beggars as they were not well- remunerated. MPs get around $1 500 a month.
Zanu PF legislator for Shamva North Oscar Goreno said they have to meet a number of financial demands from constituents with people seeking money on a daily basis.
“We are being asked to meet even the funeral costs of our party members, but we don’t have the money. We have become welfare officers in our constituencies and a laughing stock in constituencies that we don’t have the money,” he said.
“People in the constituencies don’t understand that we are poorly- paid. They still demand money from us, and we are asking government to increase our salaries, so we can be able to continue helping people who are always demanding money from us as their MPs.”
Norton legislator Temba Mliswa said lawmakers were sacrifising a lot of financial resources from their pockets in their constituencies without any help and needed more financial support from government to cater for their welfare.
He said the MPs were always queuing and scrambling to fuel coupons, which were in short supply to them.
“In Kenya, MPs are paid $15 000 per month and have been given land to build houses and vehicles have been bought for them. They also have constituency offices where they can do research with the assistance of 10 or more researchers, but in our country, constituency offices were closed long time ago,” Mliswa said.
Godfrey Sithole (MDC Alliance) said their conditions of service were poor and needed government’s intervention so that their social status can be upgraded.
Clerk of Parliament Kennedy Chokuda, said Parliament was seized with the matter and was going to write to government to avail more funds for lawmakers.
“We have communicated with government and have asked them to improve the welfare and service of conditions for the MPs.”
