Norton legislator Temba Mliswa has revealed that he is going to accept the US$40 000 windfall that has been dangled to legislators.
He said people are being unnecessarily emotional about the issue, adding that legislators must be well-resourced if they are to perform.
‘’I am accepting it; I am definitely accepting it. There are no two ways about that, there is inflation, are we not all affected by it? But you will also appreciate what I will use it for that is what is important.
‘’It is very clear, people must read, the problem is that our people are too emotional. There is no point to be emotional, parliamentarians first of all must be well-resourced, and I keep saying this.
‘’If we are not well resourced, we must get parliamentarians who are rich and that can only happen if the citizens themselves complain and change the constitution. And say the criteria of being an MP must have a house, so much wealth, this level of education, and so forth.
‘’So that when they get in there, they know they don’t have to get anything but just work for the people,’’ he said.
Mliswa added that in such countries as England and America, legislators are paid over a hundred thousand dollars.
He said in as much as the economy in the country is not good, people should not be in the habit of wanting to see others suffer.
‘’We appreciate the economy is not good for everyone but at the end of the day we have work to do, and if we are under resourced, we will be compromised. There will be corruption and we will not exercise our oversight properly.
‘’You can see with the agriculture committee because members are not very well resourced, corruption happens, allegations of Wadyajena and the entire committee being captured, being given money not to ask questions, to entities which are seen to be wanting.
‘’So it was in the Blue Book, US$80 000 was in the Blue Book, for the car. We have to look at what is in the blue book. US$50 000 was the one which was given, so there was a balance of US$30 000.
‘’With the supplementary budget agreed, and Parliament again had a supplementary budget approved and out of that, that is where the US$40 000 came from. It’s a loan and that loan will be paid through pension funds that people have. ‘’One can say no to a loan anyway and so forth, so let us understand that’’ he said.
