CLERK of Parliament Austin Zvoma has denied allegations recently made in the National Assembly that he was highly paid and had watered down a motion on corruption.
STAFF REPORTER
This follows disclosures in Parliament by Mbizo MP Settlement Chikwinya recently that Zvoma earned an obscene salary and that he had watered down a motion on corruption moved by Kambuzuma MP Willias Madzimure.
NewsDay published the claims which were also corroborated by Parliament’s official publication, the Hansard. But in a letter to NewsDay this week, Zvoma said: “As for your paper’s repetition of the unsubstantiated ‘obscene’ salary I am supposed to be earning, the jury remains out for lack of evidence, which, incidentally, is not what one simply utters, but what is.”
Chikwinya alleged Zvoma was enjoying a luxurious lifestyle at the expense of MPs, flying in executive class while they flew on economy class and driving a very expensive Mercedes-Benz.
“Parliament is also weakened by individuals who have been running the institution for many years and when we approached Zvoma asking him to give us permission to move the motion he watered it down saying it was not part of Parliament’s mandate to investigate corruption,” Chikwinya claimed.
NewsDay reported the issues as they were debated in Parliament and made follow-ups on the Speaker Jacob Mudenda’s ruling that Chikwinya might possibly face contempt of Parliament charges over his unsubstantiated claims that the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority boss Gershem Pasi earned $310 000 monthly.
A follow up story was followed quoting legal experts who said Mudenda’s ruling was tantamount to gagging MPs who were whistleblowers as they contributed to the corruption debate.
