Parliamentarians Go For A Year Without Allowances, While Speaker Blows US$70 000 on 5 Star Accommodation

Sitting Pretty: The Speaker of Parliament (pictured in the Speakers Chair in Parliament) has been splashing out on suites at the Miekles, a 5 Star hotel in Harare, to tune of US$6 000 per month for bed and breakfast only since August last year. No wonder they all want this to last another four or so years.

Harare, Zimbabwe, 27 September 2009

While Parliament and government plead poverty and refuse to pay doctors even just a paltry US$300 per month, it has been revealed today that the Speaker of Parliament has had a permanent suite at the Miekles at a cost of more than US$6 000 per month since he was sworn in.

This is happening as MPs have also gone for a year without their allowances, making it difficult for the most dedicated to see to their constituencies and giving the crooks an excuse to steal the people blind.

The story dominates the Sunday Mail front page today.

It simply goes to prove that the best form of leadership is leadership by example.

Why should doctors and teachers not strike when they see the leaders in government spending so much money on themselves while driving everyone else into poverty. These are our tax dollars they are doing this with.

Apparently, the Speaker moved into a house at the beginning of this month and was bought furniture to the tune of US$30 000 for his new house by the State.

Even this happened only after an MDC MP, Douglas Mwonzora, refused to hand back the car Parliament had hired for him and incurred an extra, unauthorised bill of US$7 000.

When parliament refused to pay, he threatened to go to the press with the story of Moyo's stay at the Miekles and his lavish lifestyle there at taxpayer expense.

The matter was quickly settled, we are told.

And this Douglas Mwonzora is a co-Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Constitution. IS this the sort of man we want presiding over our future constitution. A man who believes that if see a policeman stealing you should also join him and steal instead of raising the alarm. When he tries to arrest you then tell him that he should leave alone because he is also a thief.

Does this not make him a thief as well?

This is quite apart from the culture of entitlement that pervades the MDC now, which is why the Speaker sees nothing wrong in using taxpayers' money to live a rock star lifestyle. Like Mugabe and ZANU PF, they now believe that they are entitled to run this country because they were beaten by policemen and harassed by Mugabe. Just as Mugabe believes that he is entitled to rule forever because he "liberated" us.

These are the sorts of people the voters of Zimbabwe are sending to parliament. Men and women who believe they are power solely to feather their nests. With an approach like this, what hope is there that this country will be developed.

We know that MDC MPs are falling over themselves to grab farms that are being newly acquired as the push to drive out the remaining white farmers intensifies. We know who they are. We know what farms they have been given.

If they feel libeled let them sue.

The fact of the matter is that this government is nothing but one big raiding party, plundering, raping and destroying where it should be nurturing and growing.

We are sick and tired of high-sounding words and meaningless 100-Day Wishlists to which no one is held accountable.