Speaker of the National Assembly, Jacob Mudenda, on Tuesday ruled that opposition MDC Alliance (MDC-A) MPs will not receive sitting allowances going back five months.
This comes after the MPs walked out on President Emmerson Mnangagwa while he was delivering the State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Parliament on Tuesday. Said Mudenda:
The behaviour which has been demonstrated by the honourables who walked out when His Excellency the President started to speak shall not be allowed to come back during this sitting today and accordingly, they will not receive their sitting allowances today and also I am aware that they put together a pay sheet for the past outstanding sitting allowances for the past five months.
… if this unpalatable behaviour persists then more drastic action shall be taken as guided by the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders.
This is not the first time that MDC-A MPs have received similar punishment. In August this year, they walked out on Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube’s presentation of the Mid-Year Budget Review Statement and Supplementary Budget with their allowances subsequently withheld by the government.