Speaking to the Daily News soon after taking oath yesterday, Biti insisted that President Emmerson Mnangagwa lost the July 30 elections to MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa adding that as long as the two protagonists do not find each other MPs will not be able to deliver for their constituencies.
“This is an unfortunate Parliament coming as it does on the back of a stolen election so unless Mnangagwa accepts the reality that Chamisa is the legitimate one and that he is the one who has the keys to unlock economic value in the country, then this Parliament is bound to fail in its mandate,’’ Biti who is Harare East MP said.
Biti said while the international community had no confidence in Mnangagwa and his administration, the MDC Alliance was not interested in a government of national unity with Zanu PF.
“This is not to say we want an inclusive government, no far from it. We are opposed to it. What is clear, however, is that we as the MDC simply have the keys to economic development.
“Mnangagwa must engage Chamisa to resolve the legitimacy issue, the militarisation of government institutions, the challenges around the economy with signs showing that we are tethering towards hyperinflation. Chickens are coming home to roost and we now bear the hallmarks of a country emerging form a civil war.
“I hope will visit Emmerson so that he talks to Nelson,” he said.
However, contrary to Biti’s assertions Zanu PF MP for Masvingo West Ezra Chadzamira said the prospects of the ninth legislature’s success were bright with Mnangagwa emphasising developing the economy at the expense of politics.
“We have very high hopes that Parliament will be focusing more on issues that enhance economic development to improve the people’s lives in line with the message being preached by the president. There is no reason why we should fail if we follow the leader’s vision,” Chadzamira who is also the ruling party provincial chairperson for Masvingo said.
Another Zanu PF MP for Shamva North Oscar Gorerino weighed in saying the new Parliament will provide the panacea to the long running economic problems bedevilling the country.
“Although I am new in the House, I am confident that what we are going to do here in the next five years will transform people’s lives and have a positive impact on their standards of living owing to the trajectory that the new political dispensation is taking.
The MPs’ oath of office was administered by the clerk of Parliament Kennedy Chokuda in the National Assembly
The swearing-in ceremony will culminate in the election of Speaker of the National Assembly, Senate President and their deputies to be held on Tuesday next week.
After the election of presiding officers next Tuesday, Mnangagwa is expected by law to officially open the First Session of the Ninth Parliament providing its legislative agenda.
Of the 350 MPs sworn-in yesterday, 270 were drawn from the National Assembly while the other 80 are members of the Senate.
The ninth Parliament is a mixed bag of returning members, new faces and those who had been in the previous Parliament but had left for various reasons.
The swearing-in process was done in 27 batches of tens to save time owing to the large number of legislators particularly in the National Assembly . Daily News.
