HARARE – President Emmerson Mnangagwa held his fifth tour of the New Parliament Building on Monday morning in the capital.
The building represents a significant infrastructure project that will result in the creation of a new city in Mount Hampden.
The project, which is now 59% complete, was initially supposed to be put into service in March 2021, but the COVID-19 epidemic slowed back progress on it.
The new parliament building, which represents legislative sovereignty, is perched on a platform 70 metres above the picturesque surroundings.
According to the ministry of information, the project will also renovate the neighbouring Charles Prince Airport and provide new transportation options like high-performance trains.
It is now anticipated that the new Parliament Building will be prepared for commissioning in September or October 2021.
The current Parliament Building was once a hotel that had gone out of business and was transformed into a building in the 1890s. The administrator of the British South Africa Company (BSAC) purchased it for a low price.
As a result of the ruling Zanu PF’s gerrymandering of seats, more legislators were elected than the original intended 100, and the space has now become insufficient.
Legislators typically attend parliament to cause commotion, snooze while working, and pass laws that align with their parties.
The current project in Mt. Hampden was started with the help of US$2.4 million spent by the Zimbabwean government even though it is said to be a gift from the Chinese government.
However the project has been received with mixed emotions from citizens with one user named @Gixel tweeting:
“We should always thank God for being alive, Gokwe, Sanyati to Mashame hakuna kana kumbobvira kwava ne road, we used to see you guys kana muchiuya Kuma Rally ne zvikopokopo henyu.”
Another user @tatendam82 was also skeptical about the initiative and commented:
“Why increase the number of parasites that feed on poor people. Parliament is already too big,we actually need less people because they are useless and burden to citizens. It’s the quality of parliamentarians that need to change. China put spying material in AU.”
