SW Radio Africa (London)
Tichaona Sibanda
13 November 2008
The country's dire economic crisis has hit two main centres of power this week, as Parliament and the High Court were forced to suspend business because of water shortages.
In another glaring display of just how bad things are, hungry MPs based outside Harare had to be fed by a donor agency in the capital on Tuesday afternoon because Parliament is broke and cannot pay for their meals.
MDC MP for Bulawayo South Eddie Cross could not help but laugh when he detailed how they ended up having lunch donated by an aid agency.
MPs usually eat at the hotels they are booked into, but hotels have been refusing to accommodate them because of huge, unpaid, parliamentary bills.
Sam Sipepa Nkomo, the MDC MP for Lobengula, confirmed party MPs from outside Harare ended up having lunch provided by 'a good Samaritan.'
'Yes it's true, I had the lunch myself and this tells you all about the state of the country where MPs end up sourcing for food from strangers,' Nkomo said.
The MPs ended up in this dilemma after they had exhausted all their cash in paying for their own hotel accommodation and being unable to withdraw enough cash from banks.
And across the street from Parliament, the High Court was deserted after the building was shut down on Tuesday due to lack of water. It's suspected that water supplies to the building may have been cut due to unpaid bills. A report published by a news website said several lawyers intending to file court papers were surprised to find the gates locked.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) castigated the authorities for their approach to the situation at the High Court.
In a statement the ZLHR said the fact that such a court, a vehicle for protecting human rights, is closed due to lack of water seriously undermines equal protection to litigants, detainees, and even convicted prisoners whose matters are on appeal from lower courts.
'ZLHR calls upon the Ministry of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and relevant authorities to ensure that the High Court of Zimbabwe, and indeed all courts in Zimbabwe, are given all the necessary tools and essentials to enable them to function properly, timeously and effectively in exercising their judicial authority,' the statement added.
The water situation in Harare had also forced the adjournment of Parliament on Tuesday, until the 16th December.
Parliamentary business came to a halt just a few hours after the legislators resumed sitting.
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