The leader of the opposition Labour Economists African Democrats (LEAD) party, Linda Masarira, has warned that the US$40 000 loans provided to legislators by the government will create voter apathy in the 2023 general elections.
The government extended a US$40 000 loan facility to all Members of Parliament (MPs) across the political divide and US$500 000 and US$350 000 for ministers and their deputies respectively.
The loan facility has been condemned by citizens considering that it comes when the MPs are nearing the end of their terms and the country’s health sector is in a sorry state.
Commenting on the loan facility in a Facebook post, Masarira said it will result in a low voter turnout in the 2023 election. She said:
These loans are going to increase voter apathy in 2023.
Since elections are about 7 to 8 months away, how are the legislators going to pay back the loans if they are not re-elected into office?
I sense a grant packaged as a loan and we can’t keep silent as taxpayers’ funds are once again been looted.
The next we will hear is that the loans have been written off.
According to a recent Afrobarometer survey, the electorate was dissatisfied with how its interests were being represented by MPs.
Parliamentarians are expected to represent those who elected them into office, but they seem to put a lot of pressure on the Treasury only when they want their needs to be met and their welfare to be catered for. | Open Parly