The Sunday News
THE Speaker of Parliament Cde Jacob Mudenda has defended the institution’s choice of Ford Ranger vehicles that at least 290 back-bencher legislators will get under the Parliamentary Vehicle Loan Scheme, saying MPs had the right to choose the type of vehicles they wanted to drive.
Government through Parliament, went into a deal with Croco Motors for the legislators to get new all-terrain vehicles under the scheme at a cost of more than $10 million.
However, there has been an outcry from different sectors that feel that Parliament should have procured from local assembling companies such as Willowvalle Mazda Motor and Quest Motors.
But Cde Mudenda said it was solely out of choice that MPs opted for the Ford Ranger which will be procured from South Africa.
“It was the MPs’ choices. You cannot force them to accept cars they don’t want,” Cde Mudenda said on the sidelines of the Chamber of Mines annual general meeting in Victoria Falls on Friday.
He said the decision was also to do with the range of cars which the MPs felt would serve them effectively especially in rural constituencies.
“After all it is their money because they will pay for them, so they chose what they are comfortable to buy.”
Buy Zimbabwe, which advocates for the use and consumption of locally produced goods as a way to boost local industry said if Government was serious about the revival of local industry then it had to reverse the deal and award the tender to one of the local car assemblers.
It argued that the $10 million could have been used to capacitate local vehicle assemblers such as Willowvale Mazda Motor Industry and Quest that have been facing a number of problems.
The lobby group added that Government must craft policies to ensure that all Government vehicles (for use by all ministries, municipalities and parastatals) were purchased locally and hopefully run on locally produced ethanol.
“The Zim Asset blueprint demands that Government begin to lead by example, this decision to procure vehicles made in South Africa leaves a very bad taste in the mouth. We hope even at this late moment sanity prevails and in the interest of supporting local industry, enhancing liquidity and paying attention to what His Excellency President Mugabe said at his Independence Day address, we stop this preference for imports,” said Buy Zimbabwe.
Zanu-PF legislator Cde Temba Mliswa was also quoted criticising the deal adding it was a sign of neglecting Zim Asset.
“If Treasury is not seen to be spearheading Zim Asset, then who will?” queried Cde Mliswa. “Patriotism must come from everyone because some of us would want our money to go to WMMI and not a private company.”
The MPs car deal also comes when there is outcry over the issue of continued flight of liquidity as people continue to import.
Figures released by the central bank during the conference indicated that by the end of the year trade deficit was likely to hit $4 billion.
The amount means at least $4 billion will go out of the country this year to cover for imports.
