MDC-T Appeals To Parliament, Zanu (PF) Calls For GNU's End

Party legislator for Mbizo constituency Settlement Chikwinya on Tuesday moved a lower House motion saying the MDC-T was concerned with apparent threats directed at the party’s leader Tsvangirai made by the security chiefs.

In the motion expected to be debated in Parliament on Wednesday, Chikwinya called “upon this house to condemn the unconstitutional and treasonous statements that bring into disrepute the professional institutions of the army and the police.”

The motion also “request the relevant institutions to reaffirm their loyalty to the Constitution and the laws of Zimbabwe,” and to “direct relevant authorities to carry out investigations into the said utterances and the unconstitutional statements.”

This follows recent utterances by the army’s Brigadier General Douglas Nyikayaramba who insisted the army viewed Tsvangirai as a major security threat.

“Tsvangirai doesn’t pose a political threat in any way in Zimbabwe, but is a major security threat,” Nyikayaramba told the state-owned Herald newspaper recently. “He takes instructions from foreigners who seek to effect illegal regime change in Zimbabwe. This is what has invited the security forces to be involved because we want to protect our national security interests.”

But Chikwinya, in a motion that was seconded by party chief whip Innocent Gonese, described the utterances as “unconstitutional”.

Reads part of the motion,“…that this house takes note of the provisions of the constitution, the defence act, chapter 11.02, the police act chapter 11.10, prison act chapter 7.11 and the public service act
chapter 11.04 which all demand neutrality of the military, police and prison officers and the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) as well as ordinary civil servants.”

Meanwhile a Member of Parliament from President Robert Mugabe’s party told parliament on Tuesday that unity government must be ended to allow for a new government to run the economy without disagreements as is happening in the unity government.

Mwenezi West MP, Munyaradzi Bhasikiti made the statement in parliament on Tuesday as the House of Assembly was debating the low civil servants salaries and ways that government can improve them. Mugabe at one time has called for the end to the coalition government formed in 2009 saying they were too many disagreements.

On the debate on civil service salaries several MPs said revenue from diamonds sales, government departments and other minerals must be submitted to treasury so that salaries for the public service be improved.

Other legislators said government must remove ‘ghost workers’ who are receiving salaries every month when they are not properly employed. About 70 000 ghost workers are said to be on the government payroll. Finance Minister Tendai biti has said that revenue that is being paid to ghost workers can improve the civil service salaries.

“This creature is continously driving our nation to the dustbin. You can’t have the President saying on one hand civil servants must be awarded salary increases, the Prime Minister on the other hand says again that salaries for civil servants must be improved and a cabinet minister Tendai Biti says he does not have money. This GNU has failed, let the economy be run by an elected government,” Bhasikiti said.

“Investors will not come to the country when people are divided that the country must move to the left while the others are saying we move to the right. Parliamentarians are the worst enemies of the civil servants. You allowed a budget to be passed without the civil servants salaries being increased.”

In a related debate Willias Madzimure, Kambuzuma MP said the issue of the civil servants salaries is not a Ministry of Finance issue but involves the cabinet. He urged MP’s to summon Biti to find out if the government has enough revenue for civil servants salaries.