MDC Alliance MPs have been chided for joining the “ZANU PF gravy train” and forgetting what they claim to stand for, that is, being pro-poor and keeping the government under check.
Writing for NewsDay, Sibanengi Dube opined that air tickets, five-star hotel rooms, three-course meals, allowances and single malt whiskies seem to have taken precedence on the MDC MPs’ priorities. Wrote Dube:
MDC MPs should by now have raised their profiles beyond the seduction of mammon, stipends or allowances.
A $3 200 attendance fee, fuel coupons and air tickets were enough for MDC MPs to throw away their hymn books and start singing Zanu PF tunes.
Members of Parliament from the across the political divide were in Victoria Falls for several days to attend a pre-budget conference that reportedly gobbled $5 million.
The MDC has since defended its MPs for the jaunt, saying that it was necessary for them to attend.