After only seating for less than two weeks, Zimbabwe’s parliament has been forced to adjourn until November 11 as it has run out of money to sustain its operations.
The suspension of parliament was announced on Thursday night by the acting Leader of the House, Emmerson Mnangagwa. He said: “Because of the constraints relating to the non-existence of the inclusive government, the House will not be sitting for a while.
“In the event measures are put in place, we may be able to call for the sitting of the House at a much earlier date.”
The move came as legislators from both Zanu PF and rival MDC factions rallied together in a rare moment of unity to support a motion to declare the food shortages in the country a national disaster.
Parliamentarians were told that the government had run out of money to pay for their accommodation and allowances during their sessions.
Compared to other law makers in the region, Zimbabwean legislators are
poorly paid, with their monthly salaries averaging less than US$5.
They also complain that they had been informed that the government currently had no money to buy vehicles for the 210 House of Assembly members and 96 senators.
Zimbabwe’s worsening economic crisis and the threat of a major food crisis has injected urgency to the process of establishing a new government.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has indicated that he will attend the Monday summit meant to rescue a stalled power-sharing.
The MDC says Mugabe is trying to seize important ministries and sideline the opposition and Chamisa cited a “litany” of Zanu-PF actions he said went against the spirit of a power-sharing deal signed more than a month ago.
