Legislators on Tuesday deserted the National Assembly during debate on the 2016 National Budget, resulting in the motion on the Finance Bill falling off the House Order Paper due to lack of quorum.
by VENERANDA LANGA Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa was yesterday forced to move a fresh motion, so the Finance Bill could be reinstated on the Order Paper after several MPs abandoned the debate on the Bill to do with passing the budget the previous day.
MDC-T chief whip, Innocent Gonese brought up the issue, saying MPs lacked seriousness on budgetary issues, as they had left the House after having the free supper they were provided to ensure they stayed late discussing the budget.
Chinamasa had moved for suspension of the rule of automatic adjournment of the House at 6:55 pm to enable MPs to debate the budget beyond that time.
But several MPs left after supper, leaving about 54 legislators to debate the budget when a quorum of 70 MPs was needed.
“MPs in this House are not taking heed of budgetary issues because on Tuesday, it was incumbent upon MPs to remain in the House, but it is an embarrassment that the House had to be adjourned due to lack of quorum at 8:55pm,” Gonese said.
“All of us should take business of the House seriously because we had suspended automatic adjournment, and there was no excuse for us to fail to have a quorum of 70 MPs when we have 270 MPs in the House.”
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Mudenda said failure to have a quorum showed MPs did not understand the importance of the budget.
“The Minister of Finance was committed to the task and we had prepared dinner for MPs to have their meals and come back so that the question of the quorum does not arise,” he said.
“I hope it shall not happen again, so that we carry out our responsibilities as far as looking at the Finance Bill is concerned.”
During debate on the Finance Bill yesterday, Bulawayo South MP Eddie Cross (MDC-T) said the new traffic fines announced by Chinamasa were illegal.
Leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Thokozani Khupe blasted Chinamasa for reducing the travellers’ tax rebate from $300 to $200, saying the move would affect mostly women, who are informal traders and poor.
“Actually, that travellers’ rebate should have been increased from $300 to $400 or $500,” she said.
MDC legislator Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga (Proportional Representation) brought back the issue of failure by Chinamasa to make sanitary pads affordable to women.
“Every month, there are more than 3,6 million women that are menstruating in Zimbabwe. The cheapest sanitary pads cost $1. It means we have $3,6 million circulating in the economy. Imported pads cost $2,65, and let us assume two million women are using them and the other million using cheap ones, then it means $6 million will be circulating,” she said.
