News / National
Legislators receive outstanding allowances (US$15 000 each)
03 Jan 2012 at 20:30hrs | Views
LEGISLATORS have started receiving their outstanding US$15 000 sitting allowances at a time Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga says the money cannot cover their car loan schemes.
The allowances are backdated to 2008 at the rate of US$75 per sitting but the executive pegged a flat figure of US$15 000. Only 14 out of 211 MPs have not yet received their money after Treasury ran short of funds.
The legislators indicated last year that they would repay the car loans when they get the outstanding allowances. MPs welfare committee deputy chairperson Mr Ward Nezi (MDC-T) yesterday members who hold CBZ accounts had started receiving the allowances.
"As I am speaking to you an MP who has an account with CBZ has confirmed that the money has reflected in his account," Mr Nezi said. "However, there seems to be some bottlenecks at the CBZ because they were supposed to transfer the money to other banks but up to now there is nothing."
He said an MP with a bank in Mutare had not seen the money. "The MPs are now anxious because they had been promised that the money would be accessible by Christmas."
Welfare committee secretary Cde Kudakwashe Bhasikiti (Zanu-PF) concurred with Mr Nezi that some legislators had received the money.
"The Ministry of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs is in the process of paying MPs, the MPs who have accounts with CBZ have already accessed it and some of them have already spent it," he said.
Minister Matinenga said the delays in other MPs' accounts was as a result of "transactional lag times".
"My Ministry has an account with CBZ, so those MPs who have accounts with our bank should be able to access their money as we speak but those with other bank accounts it takes time because it is the same as RTGs.
"From the schedule I have, payments were done on December 29, 30 and 31. Initially, 131 were paid and then 66 and now we are left with 14 because the money was exhausted," he said.
Minister Matinenga said the salaries and allowances are being given to MPs to settle their vehicle loans. Finance Minister Tendai Biti established a car loan scheme in 2009 whereby 291 of the country's 300 legislators were handed vehicles worth up to US$30 000.
Minister Matinenga said it was important for legislators to separate parliamentary business from welfare issues.
The allowances are backdated to 2008 at the rate of US$75 per sitting but the executive pegged a flat figure of US$15 000. Only 14 out of 211 MPs have not yet received their money after Treasury ran short of funds.
The legislators indicated last year that they would repay the car loans when they get the outstanding allowances. MPs welfare committee deputy chairperson Mr Ward Nezi (MDC-T) yesterday members who hold CBZ accounts had started receiving the allowances.
"As I am speaking to you an MP who has an account with CBZ has confirmed that the money has reflected in his account," Mr Nezi said. "However, there seems to be some bottlenecks at the CBZ because they were supposed to transfer the money to other banks but up to now there is nothing."
He said an MP with a bank in Mutare had not seen the money. "The MPs are now anxious because they had been promised that the money would be accessible by Christmas."
"The Ministry of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs is in the process of paying MPs, the MPs who have accounts with CBZ have already accessed it and some of them have already spent it," he said.
Minister Matinenga said the delays in other MPs' accounts was as a result of "transactional lag times".
"My Ministry has an account with CBZ, so those MPs who have accounts with our bank should be able to access their money as we speak but those with other bank accounts it takes time because it is the same as RTGs.
"From the schedule I have, payments were done on December 29, 30 and 31. Initially, 131 were paid and then 66 and now we are left with 14 because the money was exhausted," he said.
Minister Matinenga said the salaries and allowances are being given to MPs to settle their vehicle loans. Finance Minister Tendai Biti established a car loan scheme in 2009 whereby 291 of the country's 300 legislators were handed vehicles worth up to US$30 000.
Minister Matinenga said it was important for legislators to separate parliamentary business from welfare issues.
Source - TH
