Recently the mainstream media has carried the story of 27 Zimbabwean Members of Parliament (MPs) who were stranded in China while on a shopping spree.The Zimbabwe Sentinel solicited views from members of the public on how they viewed the incident. Here are some snippets of the views expressed.

“MPs are the ones preaching about local consumerism, it is a shame to this nation as they do not believe in their own country’s goods and services. This reflects badly on the structure of the government, we expect better of our MPs to stop the dilapidation of our manufacturing industries”, said Zephaniah Eric a shop owner in Marondera.

Gwyneth Gwara, a Harare resident, stated that she was not a news fanatic but the issue of MPs getting stranded was quite interesting and shocking to her, ‘That’s weird, as MPs they should really lead by example, if they cannot keep up with a merely stated time, how do they manage running serious government issues”.

Michael Tapfuma who hails from Harare put it bluntly when he said “I think it’s a general case of not being organized”.

He also went on to say that as grown men and women the MPs should have at least have enough money in case of an emergency.During an interview with residents in Chiredzi, locals like Ellah Chipfunde were just grateful that the stranded MPs were back, safe and sound with their families, “we all make mistakes, who doesn’t?The MPs should be forgiven for getting overwhelmed by cheaper prices of goods in China”.

Another interesting point was raised by a citizen who requested anonymity. She said, “my only hope is that the fascination of bright lights and bullet trains that got the better out of them ignites something and inspires the MPs to try and achieve development in their constituencies and in the country .”

The trip which resulted in 27 parliamentarians, their spouses and legislators getting stuck in China after missing their flight back home last Sunday was organized by Honourable Mandi Chimene who is the Makoni South MP.