Zvamaida Murwira Senior Reporter
ABOUT 400 Members of Parliament want Harare City Council to allocate them residential stands in leafy suburbs at subsidised prices.

They say this will reduce money being spent on hotel bills.
The legislators said owning residential stands in the capital was part of self development because most of them remained poor despite serving the country.

The request for stands is among several demands legislators have made as their terms of office near completion.

Zimbabwe is preparing for elections this year and history has shown that a number of sitting MPs fall by the wayside during polls.
MPs have in the past demanded second vehicles, saying those they got under the vehicle loan scheme were no longer efficient because they used them during the Constitution outreach programme. They have also demanded a US$3 000 monthly salary to match colleagues in the Sadc region.

Some legislators are facing allegations of abusing Constituency Development Funds.

Parliament welfare committee vice chairperson and Murehwa West MP Mr Ward Nezi (MDC-T) said legislators were proposing that the money they were owed by the Government in sitting allowances be used to build houses once they were allocated sta-nds.
“We are not saying we should get these stands for free. We will buy . . . what we want are favourable conditions that take into account our low salaries,” said Mr Nezi.

“Remember we are owed a lot of money by Government in sitting allowances, so we would use that money to build our houses and when we have houses that will save money in hotel bills.”
The legislators were prepared to take up stands in “respectable” suburbs.

However, Parliament has bought a hotel near Parliament building to ease accommodation challenges.
Mr Nezi said it will be embarrassing for legislators to become destitute when they leave office as they will have nowhere to put their heads.
“Would it be proper to see Honourable MPs selling cigarettes or tomatoes when they leave office? What I can tell you is that most MPs are struggling, it’s very pathetic, they even fail to get money to buy diesel, they always drive with their eyes on the fuel gauge, but of course some have done very well,” he said.

Mr Nezi said he had approached Harare City Council and they were awaiting notification of a day for a meeting with Mayor Muchadeyi Masunda.
Mr Masunda could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Another member of the welfare committee, Uzumba MP Cde Simba Mudarikwa (Zanu-PF) said there was need for legislators to develop not only politically, but also socially and economically.

“The motivation behind this desire to acquire stands is that we have to develop socially and economically, that is the whole concept,” said Cde Mudarikwa.
“The level of association of MPs have to develop as well.”
Legislators were paid US$15 000 each in December in outstanding sitting allowances.

There are 370 legislators including Ministers, Governors and Chiefs.