Seasoned legislator Temba Mliswa says Parliamentarians in Zimbabwe are not only foolish and stupid but are also incompetent to discharge their mandate.
Parliament which has a role in the passing of the country’s budgets has not been able to allocate itself enough resources.
According to the legislators, Parliament is always legging behind the executive and judiciary in terms of resources and yet they are supposed to be equal.
While ministers get two vehicles while in office, legislators only get one vehicle during their five-year tenure.
This has not gone down well with legislators some of whom have been making noise about their welfare on several occasions.
Speaking during a breakfast meeting organised by the Southern Africa Parliamentary Support Trust (SAPST), Mliswa questioned why Parliament has been passing budgets and yet there are a lot of discrepancies every time.
“Why is Parliament passing budgets with all these indicators? It comes back to Parliament. We are stupid, we are foolish, and we are incompetent at the end of the day.
“Not only that, but we do also pass budgets to ministries which spend more money than us who pass budgets for the executive, yet we are ourselves not even get what they get.
“You cannot have Parliamentarians suffering but passing budgets of judges to get range rovers, and the executive to get two cars each a Mercedes Benz and off-road vehicles. So, how do you exercise your role if you are poor and incapacitated?
Mthuli Ncube running a circus
Meanwhile, the Norton legislator has accused the Ministry of Finance of running a circus with the country’s resources.
He said it was disappointing that the money allocated was not being disbursed.
“The ministry of finance is a circus because we pass the budget and yet only 30% of what we pass is allocated.
“So, that breeds corruption on its own, because people are not getting enough,” he said.
-OpenparlyZw
