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Ratification of protocol set to enhance trade between Zim, DRC RELATIONS between Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo received a big boost this week after Parliament approved the trade agreement between the two countries. The ratification of the trade agreement was the only meaningful event which took place in the House in a week, and which saw MDC legislators continue to trivialise the legislature. Mr Gabriel Chaibva (Harare South MDC) provided the latest antics that left everyone in agreement, including the other MDC legislators, that there was need for change of attitude if people are going to take the House seriously. Mr Chaibva disappeared from the House after moving debate on adjournment and could not be located when he was supposed to move a motion to discuss the water crisis in Harare just before the House adjourned. The trade agreement between Zimbabwe and the DRC was ratified amidst stiff resistance from MDC legislators. The Speaker of Parliament, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa had to divide the House and call for a vote on the trade agreement. All the MDC legislators stood up in opposition of the agreement when Cde Mnangagwa asked for those who were against it, to show it by standing up. Zanu-PF MPs however, outnumbered the MDC lawmakers in support of the trade agreement. MDC legislators argued that this was not the right time to ratify the trade agreement since the peace process in the DRC was still taking shape. They said Parliament should wait until the peace process was over so that the Government knows exactly whom it was dealing with. But the MDC MPs appeared to have overlooked the fact that trade protocols are signed between countries and not individuals, so if a new government emerges in the DRC it would be bound to respect the agreements. Ms Trudy Stevenson (Harare North MDC) said the Government should approach dealings with the DRC cautiously. "The trade agreement should be supported on condition that it guarantees acceptable international business payment modalities," said Ms Stevenson. The sentiments by Ms Stevenson were also expressed by the parliamentary committee on Foreign Affairs and Industry and International Trade. The committee recommended the ratification of the protocol but said it had to be transparent and acceptable to both parties. Zanu-PF legislators said the protocol was crucial because Zimbabwe sent troops to the DRC to help that country wade off attacks by rebels aided by Uganda and Rwanda. Cde Webster Shamu (Chegutu Zanu-PF) said the DRC was a vast market beckoning Zimbabwe. "This market should not be lost," he said "This House should, therefore, support this progressive development by our Government. "The quicker we do it, the better. The agreement is one of the fairest documents I have ever seen. It is mutually beneficial and very flexible." Zanu-PF MPs said if Zimbabwe delays in entering into trade protocols with the DRC, other countries that did not help create peace there would get contracts ahead of the country. Zimbabwe, together with Namibia, Angola and briefly Chad, sent troops to the DRC after the vast central African country was invaded by Rwanda and Uganda in 1998. Peace is beginning to hold now and the belligerents including Zimbabwe, have withdrawn their troops. The ratification of the protocol coincided with the Zimbabwe/DRC joint commission meeting in Lubumbashi this week to explore ways of implementing the trade agreement. The meeting is the third ordinary session of the DRC-Zimbabwe joint commission on military and economic co-operation. The two countries agreed to work together in the medical, meteorological, geological, air services, road transport, tourism and hotel management sectors. The protocol ratified by Parliament would enhance trade between the two friendly countries. It would lift customs duty on goods being traded and increase the flow of capital to both countries. It was soon after the ratification of the protocol that the House was about to adjourn and Mr Chaibva was supposed to move his motion on debate on adjournment. Almost all MDC legislators stood up in protest when the Minister of State for Science and Technology, Cde Olivia Muchena moved that the House adjourn. The MPs indicated that they had been given permission by Cde Mnangagwa to move the motion. They were however embarrassed to discover that Mr Chaibva was not available in the House to move the motion. MPs are allowed to move motions on urgent issues affecting the country when the House is about to adjourn. But the MP who moves such as motion has to be in the House, ready to move the motion as soon as there are indications there is no more business to be pursued. The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Cde Edna Madzongwe had to give the MDC MPs 10 minutes to locate Mr Chaibva. The House then adjourned after the MPs failed to locate him. He was later discovered to have been sitting outside the chamber and was besieged by his MDC colleagues who wanted an explanation. Mr Chaibva said he had gone outside to switch off the lights of his vehicle, which he had mistakenly left on. He later apologised for his actions and openly reproved himself for not being in the House at the appropriate time. But Cde Madzongwe had already expressed reservations about his behaviour. "You must take this House seriously," she warned the MDC legislators. "When you move debate on adjournment, you have to be in the House because you do not know when it will adjourn." The motion Mr Chaibva wanted to move was on the water crisis facing Harare. He said there was need to clear the air as there were accusations and counter accusations on the real cause of the water problem. Mr Chaibva wanted to call upon the Government to provide the needed foreign currency to the Harare City Council to buy chemicals to treat the water. Some Harare suburbs went without water last week after council said it did not have chemicals to treat the water. But the behaviour of Mr Chaibva is just an expression of how the MDC legislators view proceedings in the House. They have been warned on several occasions since the beginning of the Fifth Parliament of Zimbabwe in July 2000 for not taking debate seriously. The MDC MPs have in the past openly defied the authority of Cde Mnangagwa, trivialising debate and opposed important motions just for the sake of doing so. The House only set on Tuesday before adjourning to give Zanu-PF MPs a chance to attend their party�s sixth annual conference in Chinhoyi. The conference is being attended by at least 3 000 delegates from around the country. The Mulindwas
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