US$40 000 Loans Are Not Donations, Says CCC Chief Whip.

Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) chief whip Prosper Mutseyami has confirmed that lawmakers from his party accepted government-issued housing loans and further emphasized that the facility  was above board.

The clarification comes after the CCC party leader had vehemently expressed his disagreement to legislators demanding for their welfare given the current state of the nation.

The nation is currently grappling with unemployment, load shedding, an ailing health system among other issues.

When the issue of government extending UD$40 000 loans to all legislators across the political divide emerged, it attracted mixed reactions while the opposition lawmakers remained tight lipped. 

One sector of society supported the move suggesting that the law makers deserved the loans while the others argued that law makers from the opposition parties had no business accepting the loans, with some accusing them of accepting a bribe from their arch rivals.

Press Conference

Speaking during a CCC press conference held in Harare last Wednesday Mutseyami said the loan should not be confused with a donation or selling out.

“The suggestons in some members quarters suggesting that the loans are donations is not correct. 

“In the mid-term supplementary budget of September 2022 a provision was made  for a housing and vehicle loan for US$40000.

“The loan was understood as genuine part of the member of parliaments welfare, the loan is therefore not a surprise executive instrument but one that went through the due process as provided in our constitution in our country,” said Mutseyami.

In justifying why opposition legislators accepted the loans, Mutseyami said the law makers in Zimbabwe were underpaid in comparison to other countries in the region. 

“In other countries the member of parliament is capacitated by the provision  of  constituency office, research assistant, research budgets, computers, a decent income. Sadly, that is not the case in our motherland Zimbabwe.

“On average till September the salary of an Mp has been reduced to the equivalence of about usd$60 per month,” says Mutseyami.

However, parliamentarians managed to negotiate for an increase during the supplementary budget debate which hiked the salaries to US$200 per month.

Mutseyami said local MPs earned peanuts compared to their counterparts in the region who earned between US$2000 to US$13000 a month.

In addition to good salaries Mutseyami added that law makers in the region had constituency officers, paid researcher assistant, research budgets and computers.