Disciplinary action against the MDC Alliance MPs

FELLOW parliamentarians yesterday condemned the rowdy behaviour and disrespect to President Mnangagwa exhibited by their MDC Alliance counterparts just before the presentation of the 2019 budget by Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube in Parliament.

MDC Alliance legislators refused to acknowledge the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces when he entered the National Assembly chamber before the budget presentation.

Speaker of the National Assembly Advocate Jacob Mudenda then ordered them to leave the House, but the legislators refused despite efforts by Sergeant-at-Arms Mr Nicholas Marufu to escort them out.

Chaos ensued following the refusal by the legislators to vacate the House as they resisted the Speaker's order and fought running battles with police details that had been summoned to restore order.

Adv Mudenda yesterday said disciplinary action would be taken against the rowdy MDC Alliance legislators.

"The international community has fully recognised the legitimacy of President Mnangagwa and we do not expect anyone to de-legitimise the Head of State," he said.

"Appropriate action will be taken."

Leader of Government business in the House and Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi deplored the behaviour by the opposition MPs.

"There are protocols that have to be followed when you are in Parliament and respect for the President is a must," he said.

"They decided to show disrespect and the Speaker had to invoke his powers and ejected them, which is correct.

"You cannot have a group of people who show disrespect to the President each time he comes to the House. I believe the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders will sit and consider appropriate action to be taken regarding the behaviour of those members."

Kwekwe Central MP Mr Masango Matambanadzo (National Patriotic Front) condemned the MDC Alliance's behaviour, saying it was pre-planned.

"The behaviour by our colleagues shows that they had caucused and had planned to disrupt proceedings," he said.

"They were not supposed to do what they did because if the President was sworn in as happened with His Excellency President Mnangagwa, it's something that has been globally accepted. We should show him some respect."

Norton legislator Mr Themba Mliswa (Independent) said the MDC Alliance MPs were hypocritical and should also reject benefits they get from the fiscus if they did not believe in President Mnangagwa's legitimacy.

"It is quite unfortunate because they really contradict themselves," he said.

"In one minute they do not accept President Mnangagwa as the President. They exercised their constitutional rights of approaching the Constitutional Court which ruled that President Mnangagwa was the legitimate winner of the election.

"The next minute, they want to enjoy Government resources. What they must understand is that the President is the Head of the three pillars of the State. I don't know how they do not see that they are under the President. It is unfortunate and a waste of tax payers' money. When we must be moving forward, we have such retrogressive behaviour being exhibited when the international community is watching.

"Who are they to say President Mnangagwa is illegitimate when the highest court in the land and the international community have accepted him? Why don't they also reject the benefits from Government?"