THE country’s lawmakers will be exempt from paying parking fees in Harare’s central business district.
Each legislator will have two vehicles that will be exempt from paying parking fees. City Parking charges US$1 per hour and vehicles are clamped at the expiry of the parking period paid for.
The lawmakers will also enjoy express lanes at selected tollgates.
National Assembly Speaker Jacob Mudenda last week said the express lanes would begin at selected tollgates such as Skyline, Dema and Eskbank. The lawmakers only need an e-tag to be accorded free passage, Mudenda said.
The Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) manages the tollgates and the revenue is used to revamp the country’s roads. Each year, Zinara disburses funds and diesel to road authorities.
This is sweet music to the ears of the legislators who have failed to resist the temptation of the trappings of power.
The legislators put their political differences aside and forge a united front when it comes to ensuring the mantra “It’s our time to eat” is respected.
They are experts at pushing for their welfare issues and have consistently arm-twisted the Finance minister every year for them to pass the national budget. How will the lawmakers hold Zinara accountable when they enjoy express lanes at tollgates? Not that Zinara has skeletons in the closet.
What the lawmakers needed to do was to pay toll fees and get reimbursement from Parliament.
City Parking last year stopped lawmakers in their tracks when they wanted to probe parking fees in Harare which had led to clashes between parking marshals and motorists.
City Parking said it was a private company outside the remit of the Public Finance Management Act when legislators wanted to use the legislation to probe the company's affairs.
In 2019, the government acceded to the demand by Members of Parliament for diplomatic passports after years of lobbying by the legislators who argued that the privilege would put them at par with their regional counterparts.
At a time when roads are riddled with potholes, the electorate expects lawmakers to interrogate road authorities on whether they are putting disbursements from Zinara to good use. They must question if they have acquitted all disbursements accordingly.
It took a commission of inquiry to expose the rot at Harare City Council. Where were parliamentarians when Harare officials and councillors were turning the city’s assets into a piggybank? They were fast asleep and only woke up when welfare issues were under discussion.
The Legislature is one of the key arms of the State and once it is compromised it loses the moral authority to keep in check the excesses of the Executive and the Judiciary.
Our lawmakers must not be seen to be fighting for freebies. Rather, they must push for a stable economy, adherence to the rule of law and a society that has zero tolerance to corruption. The foregoing are for the greater good of society which they swore to serve.
