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Female MPs hand panty pads to Mnangagwa

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Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa was yesterday given panty pads by female MPs after he professed ignorance as to what they were and how they were used.

Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa was yesterday given panty pads by female MPs after he professed ignorance as to what they were and how they were used.

BY VENERANDA LANGA

This was after MDC-T Proportional Representation MP for Harare Tetty Banda asked Mnangagwa, who is also Justive minister, to explain government policy on ensuring that female prisoners got sanitary wear.

“To be honest, I am not sure what sanitary wear is. I stayed in prison for 10 years, but I never heard about that because we stayed in different sections with female prisoners and I did not know about it. I am ignorant,” Mnangagwa said.

“However, I believe they are a necessity and a right as well as a special need relating to female prisoners, and so I will undertake to check the system and ensure they are supplied.”

Banda immediately pulled out an unused panty pad from her handbag and gave it to Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga (MDC Proportional Representation) to pass it on to Mnangagwa.

The VP took the pad and said in jest: “I am grateful to the MPs who managed to show me panty pads. However, what they failed to do was to demonstrate how they are used,” sending the House into laughter.

Meanwhile, Harare Central MP Murisi Zwizwai asked Mnangagwa to give a progress report on electoral reforms, amendments to the Electoral Act to enable access to the electronic voters’ roll and registration of new voters.

Mnangagwa said the amendments would be brought before Parliament today or next Tuesday.

“We have finished doing 11 Acts which relate to electoral reforms and registration procedures,” he said.

Mnangagwa said the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission should register new voters as provided for in the Constitution.

Meanwhile, Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa claimed sanctions have fuelled corruption in the country.

“Sanctions by their very nature cause corruption in that they induce businesspeople to do transactions outside normal channels. As long as Americans want to do business here, they will do so using clandestine channels,” Chinamasa said in response to a remark by Mbizo MP Settlement Chikwinya (MDC-T).

The Finance minister said the high graft ranking of the country was also politically-motivated.

He said countries that were worse than Zimbabwe were being ranked as better off.

He said the ranking was “punitive to us”. In an unrelated matter, Transport minister Obert Mpofu urged members of the public to report corrupt Vehicle Inspection Department officers to the police.