Members of Parliament are reportedly being turned away from hotels over unpaid bills whenever they come to Harare for Parliament sittings and are now sleeping in brothels.
The matter was raised in Parliament on Tuesday by Norton legislator, Temba Mliswa (Independent). He said:
I think it is also important for you to know that the conditions which the Members of Parliament are facing are rather sad.
Not only that, just decency and dignity — we are fast losing it because of the accommodation crisis.
We have Members of Parliament staying at places like the Harare Club, which is a no-star and a brothel.
I think if there is no means of accommodation; it is good to advise MPs not to come, rather than exposing them to such places.
Others are married and being seen in such places does not augur well. It causes a lot of pain and disharmony in a family.
In response to Mliswa, the Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda said the issue of legislators’ accommodation should be presented to the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mthuli Ncube. Said Mudenda:
To that extent, that honour needs to be respected and protected. So as a way forward, we will ensure that by tomorrow when the (Finance) minister is within the country, we iron out some of these issues which not only affect Parliament but have affected all government ministries because they owe the hotels. Some hotels have been owed from six to nine months.
They have been owed for a long time and what they are owed now has been eaten up by inflation. These are the concerns also of the hotels. They also want value for money.
So these are the issues, and we will sort them out. Any challenges are there to be sorted out and get solutions accordingly.
I am sure we should be able to find lasting solutions to that effect. So your point of order Honourable Mliswa is understood in that context.
| NewsDay