ZIMBABWEAN MPS BUILD PALACES WHILE CITIZENS STARVE
Zimbabwe’s parliamentarians are building castles for themselves while the people they claim to represent are sinking deeper into poverty. Since 2018, their priorities have been crystal clear and shamefully selfish. Instead of fighting for clinics without medicine or schools without chalk, MPs have turned parliament into a personal vending stall, where the only merchandise they care about is their comfort.
The role of an MP is sacred in any democratic society. Elected to represent the people, they are supposed to be the voice of the voiceless. Their job is to craft laws, scrutinise government spending, approve national budgets and above all else, hold the executive to account. In Zimbabwe, that definition is known, repeated and ignored. Instead of attending to burst sewer pipes and broken hospitals in their communities, MPs are fixated on their own welfare.
The record is embarrassing. In December 2022, MPs were awarded housing loans of US$40 000 and vehicle loans of US$60 000. Many of them still complained. As if that wasn’t enough, they are now demanding new housing loans of US$150 000 each. Their excuse is inflation and the fact that ministers get more. These are the same people who want duty-free second-hand cars worth US$40 000 and have asked to bring their spouses on official parliamentary trips. They have pushed for salaries of US$2 000 per month, excluding allowances, and want Toyota Land Cruisers on top of all this. Recently, they also requested that their constituency development funds be doubled to US$100 000. Not for the people but for control and visibility.
MPs have turned parliament into a buffet where they feed endlessly while the rest of the nation watches from empty plates. The government has already started allocating land for their houses. These are legislators who rarely visit their constituencies unless elections are looming. They know the roads are bad and the hospitals are worse, but that is not their concern. Their biggest political activism is for benefits and perks. Their most consistent vote is for personal privilege.
Of course, public servants should be remunerated fairly. There is value in ensuring MPs are not destitute. But fairness must be measured against integrity, not greed. The ideal is to attract leaders of principle, driven by service not profit. What Zimbabwe is seeing is the opposite. Parliament is attracting hustlers in suits. These are individuals more interested in real estate than reform, more concerned about car loans than clean water. The more they enrich themselves, the more the country bleeds.
The most insulting part is that all of this happens with barely a whisper about civil servants. Nurses are still being paid in ZWL. Teachers walk to work. Soldiers are demotivated. Yet MPs, who should be lobbying for better wages and working conditions for everyone, are too busy lobbying for themselves.
Nigerian statesman Peter Obi once warned that a country where politics is more profitable than industry will manufacture poverty. Zimbabwe is now a perfect factory. The entrepreneurs are broke while the politicians drive luxury cars. The honest citizens struggle to make rent while MPs cry for second allowances. This is not governance. It is gluttony wearing a suit.
Every new demand made by Zimbabwean MPs widens the gap between power and the people. They are not representatives. They are predators in parliament. Until the nation demands more and votes differently, these lawmakers will continue milking the system while the rest of us dry up.
