Zimbabwe’s opposition lawmaker on Tuesday walked out of parliament as President Emmerson Mnangagwa presented his State of the Nation Address (SONA).
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) members of parliament refused to stand as Mnangagwa entered the House chamber as well as when the national anthem was played.
They walked out of the chamber as the Zimbabwean leader was about to present his SONA address to a joint sitting of the National Assembly and the Senate.
The address marked the official opening of the second session of the Ninth Parliament of Zimbabwe. The Ninth Parliament is expected to end in 2023.
The MDC says it does not recognize Mnangagwa’s legitimacy as Zimbabwe’s head of stated, accusing him of rigging last year’s elections.
They also accuse Mnangagwa of presiding over the collapse of Zimbabwe’s economy as the southern African country battles acute shortages of water, electricity, fuel, drugs and banknotes.
However, Mnangagwa was unperturbed by the walkout and proceeded with his address in which he outlined the state of the economy and spelt out the legislative agenda for the second session of the Ninth Parliament.
He said his government was taking steps to address current electricity shortages that have seen Zimbabweans enduring more than 16 hours without power per day since the beginning of the year.
The proposed measures to address the power shortages include the restructuring of the state-owned Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority to eliminate corruption and improve efficiency.
The government is also mulling allowing duty-free imports of fertilizer as part of measures to boost agricultural production, Mnangagwa said.
JN/APA