LEGISLATORS are struggling to pay bank charges on their Constituency Development Fund (CDF) accounts which have remained unfunded for nearly three years, NewsDay can report.
Epworth North legislator Zivai Mhetu raised the issue in the National Assembly saying the MPs are using personal funds to keep these accounts active.
Mhetu called on the government to intervene and have accounts exempted from service charges until CDF is disbursed.
“I rise on a matter of national interest with regards to Constituency Development Fund accounts that Members of Parliament opened. However, these accounts are accumulating debts.
“As you may be aware, since 2023, we have not received Constituency Development Funds that are meant to ensure development in every constituency.
“As a prerequisite, we opened accounts that were meant to ensure smooth and transparent transfer of Constituency Development Funds.
“As you know, banks pay licence fees according to the number of accounts they service even if the accounts are not in use. Banks continue to charge them because they are also being charged.”
Mhetu said the accounts were becoming a burden to legislators.
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“Some of us are parting with our hard-earned cash, personal money, to maintain these accounts, we have reached breaking point.
“With me here, I have a bank statement showing what I kept paying to keep the account active knowing how difficult the process was to open these accounts,” he said.
Mhetu said there was a percentage allocated to bank charges when the CDF funds were allocated, adding that the amount might be insufficient to cover the charges when the accounts had been dormant for almost three years.
“Moreover, if the frozen account is reopened, it is possible that the bank charges in arrears might gobble a reasonable chunk of CDF.
“My request, therefore, to the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, is that he issues a statutory instrument that exempts all CDF bank accounts from paying service charges if the Government is not yet in a position to immediately channel funds to these accounts,” he said.
The CDF is a government programme where funds are allocated to all elected MPs to develop their constituencies.
According to law, only legislators in the National Assembly who represent constituencies directly are eligible to receive the funds.
Zimbabwe’s Parliament comprises 360 legislators (National Assembly and Senate), but only 210 directly represent constituencies, which means Treasury sets aside US$10,5 million.
