The Sunday Mail
The grass is not always greener on the other side of the political fence.
Parliament recently announced that it will take legal action against 35 legislators who were expelled by both Zanu-PF and MDC-T.
The former legislators have failed to pay for vehicles procured for them through a parliamentary loan scheme.
Initial efforts to make the dismissed legislators clear the debt failed to bear fruit amid reports that some of them have fallen on hard times and are, therefore, unable to pay.
The former legislators had no back-up and contingency plans as they relied heavily on Parliament as their only source of livelihoods.
Some of the dismissed legislators were reported to be seeking employment so that they could service the debts.
Political analysts say politicians have the mistaken belief that a ticket to public office often translate into riches.
Mr Tawanda Zinyama, a lecturer in the University of Zimbabwe’s Politics and Administrative Studies department said the majority of the legislators joined politics for the wrong reasons.
“The majority of our politicians view politics as a money-making project. The truth of the matter is that one cannot live entirely on politics. Politics is unpredictable and one can lose everything. It should never be taken as a source of income,” Mr Zinyama said.
Mr Zinyama said politics should be taken as a hobby and not as a source of livelihood.
“The majority of former legislators are now destitute. Some have withdrawn their children from expensive schools whilst others are sick and cannot afford medication. Their source of trouble is the fact that they joined politics thinking that they would become rich,” added Mr Zinyama.
Innocent Gonese, an MDC-T legislator, was recently quoted saying that first-time legislators are often shocked to realise that there is no financial return on the huge sums of money they would have “invested” during campaigns.
“I know that some of the new MPs are wondering – is this what we are getting after investing so much during campaigning? They were hoping that there is green grass here. But there is nothing greener here Mr Speaker Sir, the only thing that looks green is the carpet and the benches otherwise this is a dry land,” Mr Gonese said.
Liberation war icon, Cde George Rutanhire, said legislators lack the ideology and patriotism that would have spurred them to put the interests of the nation at heart.
“MPs are leaders and they must think twice whenever they make financial demands. They must know that the economic situation is bad and change their line of thinking. They are there to make laws and safeguard the interests of the people. It becomes a problem if they become selfish and put their own interests first at the expense of the people they are supposed to lead,” Cde Rutanhire said. He said the legislators must take a cue from war veterans who sacrificed their lives and limb.
“We did not sleep in hotels and were not given allowances when we were fighting for this country. Some of the MPs represent very poor people and must work hard to improve their welfare as opposed to them demanding to sleep in five-star hotels and avoiding paying tollgates,” Cde Rutanhire said.
Mr Zinyama said the way the Constitution is structured allows “anyone” to become a legislator, a fact he said is affecting the calibre of those that are elected into Parliament.
“The Constitution states that as long as one is 21 years and a registered voter, that person can run for office. As long as that person is nominated and elected, he or she becomes a Member of Parliament,” Mr Zinyama said.
He said this has seriously compromised the quality of the legislators.
“We have legislators who have not uttered a single word since they were elected into office. Some of them cannot articulate developmental issues, let alone analyse simple budgets.”
“Our legislators must be taught to be patriotic so that they put the interests of the nation first. They must be taught their functions, which are to represent the people and make laws. They must know that public office is not a get way to riches,” added Mr Zinyama.
In other countries, prospective legislators are thoroughly vetted. This is done to minimise cases of corruption.
Parliamentarians have, for a long time, demanded that their welfare be looked into.
In 2014, Parliament debated a motion that sought to force Government to put money into the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), a fund which was abused in the past.
The debate revealed that legislators are engaging in corruption and other social vices such as gold smuggling in efforts to make ends meet.
In 2014, the MDC-T Parliamentary Caucus wrote to the National Assembly seeking a raft of benefits that would cost Treasury an extra $89 million annually. The demands caused a furore.
The opposition legislators demanded, among other things, the tripling of sitting allowances from $75 a sitting to $200, executive vehicles, toll gate exemptions, weekly fuel coupons worth 100 litres and accommodation allowances for legislators who represent constituencies in Harare despite the fact that Parliament sits in the capital.
The MDC-T legislators demanded vehicles similar to those allocated to Deputy Ministers. Most of the vehicles cost over $100 000.
Asked about his opinion on politicians, Mr Onisimo Machokoto, a vendor, accused legislators of not only being selfish but also being cry-babies.
According to Mr Machokoto, some legislators abuse the money they earn and do not take advantage of the connections they make during their tenure to improve their lives.
“Politicians can easily get their loans approved. Some of them do not even pay back the loans. They have access to business connections and can also get both residential and commercial stands. The problem is that some of them squander money with sex workers, resulting in them becoming destitutes,” Mr Machokoto said.
MPS are paid travelling and subsistence allowances whenever they are on parliamentary business.
Parliament has, however, often faced serious financial problems and is at times unable to pay sitting and fuel allowances. A number of former legislators are living in abject poverty with some failing to buy food and medication.
Not all politicians are, however, poor. Some of the politicians are successful lawyers, medical doctors, engineers and businesspeople.
