Sarah Mahoko complains over MPs being booked in economic class during flights

The out spoken Zanu PF MP Sarah Mahoko has complained that when the MPs are on international air t5ravel they are crammed in the economic class where it like they are in a chicken bus and demanded that the legislators be treated like the executive who are booked in special classes.

This was after another Zanu PF MP Oliver Mandipaka presented a report on the affauirs of the MPs.

"I would want to thank Mandipaka for his report which is very good. The report of  Mandipaka has brought all the Members of Parliament together. They have become united because this is a good report. So, we want to thank you Hon. Mandipaka for this insight," Mahoko said. "It is very true Mr. Speaker that there are three arms of State which should be equal. As Hon. Members, when the Budget is being presented, it is us who will be applauding so that the budget would pass. This is where it all starts. You cannot say that if a herd boy takes all the cows in the kraal, then you start complaining. If we say we want to be equal, it does not work because when the budget was presented, we applauded in agreement."

She said all the arms were represented and the budgets were allocated according to the three budgets and we applauded that it was a good budget.

"We ululated when we saw that the allocations were different but because Hon. Mandipaka has presented his report, the issue about diplomatic passports that we are talking about is the one that is important. When we go out on our airports, we are treated as servants. We are not seen as people," she said. "When we travel with you, you take your own route which is not congested. I will go and use the normal one where I will be pushed and shoveled. Some of us are really conscious about our presentation. We really want to look good and want to represent our country well, but it will not be seen because when you get to your destination, you will be dirty."

She said some of them even fall down when they are shoveled and they get to their destination dirty, but there will be a line which is not congested.

"When we get into the plane, you go into the Economy Class. It is like you are in a chicken bus. I think you should plead on our behalf. We should have talked about this when we were doing our budget. However, a diplomatic passport does not need a budget, what it only needs is for you to look into it," she said. "The same way people have had faith in us is the reason why they have chosen us to represent them in Parliament. I think you should also be on our side, representing us. If you give us the diplomatic passports, it will not do any harm to us but rather help us when we go out representing our country, smartly dressed like I am, we will be confident as Zimbabweans."

Mahoko said with the  President, Robert Mugabe, who is also a Continental leader, they should have diplomatic passports.

"Wherever our President goes, he is very confident but his Parliamentarians are being seen shoveled. Our President is very educated and we love him but we should also be seen in the same vein with him," she said.
"I want to thank Mandipaka for this report. I think Members of Parliament; we should be wise during budget presentation and be critical on the budget."