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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY HANSARD 27 October 2015 42-18
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 27th October, 2015
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. SPEAKER
INVITATION TO CATHOLIC LEGISLATORS THE HON. SPEAKER: Will all catholic legislators assemble in the Senate Chamber tomorrow at 1145 hours.
COMMITTEE STAGE
BANKING AMENDMENT BILL [H.B. 6, 2015] First Order read: Committee Stage: Banking Amendment Bill
[H.B. 6, 2015].
House in Committee.
HON. CROSS: Madam Chair, I would want to report to the
House that this Bill is under consideration by the Budget and Finance Committee. We met yesterday to take advice from the Reserve Bank and the Secretary for the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. We have agreed on amendments to the Bill and we wish to ask the House to defer consideration of the Bill at Committee Stage until such time we have a chance to submit amendments to the Bill.
THE VICE PRESIDENT AND MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON.
MNANGAGWA): Madam Chair, under the circumstances, I move that the Chairperson reports progress and seeks leave to sit again.
House resumed.
Progress reported.
Committee to resume: Wednesday, 28th October, 2015.
COMMITTEE STAGE
ADVERSE REPORT BY THE PARLIAMENTARY LEGAL
COMMITTEE ON STATUTORY INSTRUMENT NO. 77 OF 2015
Second Order read: Committee Stage: Adverse Report by the
Parliamentary Legal Committee on Statutory Instrument No. 77 of 2015.
House in Committee.
THE VICE PRESIDENT AND MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON.
MNANGAGWA): Mr. Chairperson, apparently debate is exhausted and also the Minister of Health and Child Care is out of the country. Therefore, I move that the Chairperson reports progress and seeks leave to sit again.
House resumed.
Progress reported.
Committee to resume: Wednesday, 28th October, 2015.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Third Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the
Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
HON. CHIKOMBA: Thank you for affording me the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the State of the Nation Address at the Official Opening of the Third Session of the Eighth Parliament addressed by His Excellency the President, Cde. R. G. Mugabe.
Madam Speaker, I will begin with the State of the Nation Address which was in relation to the creation of micro-economic fundamentals and indeed a positive engagement with the Mid-Term Fiscal Policy Review presented by Hon. Chinamasa earlier this year. I will not go into the …
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: On a point of order Madam Speaker, I think the Order of the Day that has been read does not concern the State of the Nation Address. The Hon. Member appears to be saying that he wants to debate on the State of the Nation Address instead of the Presidential Speech which is motion number three.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Member, are you
replying to the national address or the …
HON. CHIKOMBA: In fact, I was going to contribute to both, the
State of the Nation Address and the Opening of Parliament. – [HON.
MEMBERS: Inaudible interjection] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Member, the debate is on
the speech that was presented by the President at the Official Opening of
Parliament. You can proceed if you wish…
HON. CHIKOMBA: Thank you Madam Speaker, I will do it
again.
HON. D. M. NCUBE: I wish to commend His Excellency the
President for the speech that he delivered at the Opening of the Third Session of the Eighth Parliament... -[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order! Hon. Members, may I appeal to Hon. Members to kindly lower your whispers. We want to hear what the Hon. Member is contributing also; he is far at the back of the House.
HON. D. M. NCUBE: Thank you Madam Speaker. I wish to commend His Excellency for the speech he gave at the Opening of the Third Session of the Eighth Parliament. The goals which he gave us are clear and achievable if we really decide to work efficiently and effectively.
Madam Speaker, the number of Bills tabled by His Excellency for consideration give a clear signal and message that our economy can grow if we attract both foreign and local direct investment. Zimbabwe should be a destination of choice for direct investments. Most countries in the world welcome and compete for FDIs. The intensity of competition has increased as a consequence of the fallen barriers to international investments and due to globalisation of the world…
Hon. Members having stood to converse in the House between the Chair and the Hon. Member debating.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order Hon. Members,
order! Order, order, Hon. Members.
HON. D.M. NCUBE: Thank you Madam Speaker. The intensity of competition for FDIs have increased as a consequence of fallen barriers to international investments and due to globalisation of the world economy. Tax incentives are one of the main instruments for attracting FDIs. The other factors are predictable and nondiscriminatory regulatory environment. The absence of excessive administrative bureaucracy, hence the wish by His Excellency that the Zimbabwe Investment Authority (ZIA) be turned into a true one stop shop investment centre.
Good infrastructure also is a major consideration for inflows of FDIs, such as roads, water supply and power. Madam Speaker, the conversion of the State Procurement Board into a non-executive standards setting and compliance monitoring body shows that as a country we are serious about attracting business. We aim to do all we can to make Zimbabwe the destination of choice for investors both local and foreign. We must therefore, work diligently as Members of
Parliament to ensure that the Legislature ………
HON MUNENGAMI: On a point of order Madam Speaker. The
Hon. Member instead of referring to his notes, he is actually reading word by word.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I saw the Hon. Member
referring because at certain stages he was looking at me - [Laughter.]-
HON. D.M. NCUBE: Yes, Madam Speaker I am referring to my notes - [Laughter] - Thank you Madam Speaker, we must work diligently as Members of Parliament to ensure that the legislative agenda as set out by His Excellency is promptly fulfilled.
I wish to touch on role of infrastructure as an engine of growth and development. By its very nature, infrastructure is capital intensive and requires a long gestation period from feasibility to implementation phases. If we are really patriotic, we need to realise that sanctions have had a major impact for Zimbabwe to attract infrastructure finance. As a result, we have not undertaken much meaningful infrastructure and there has been a lot of neglect in terms of under investment in infrastructure.
Madam Speaker, so many questions have been raised on why the
Beitbridge – Harare - Chirundu highway has not been given any priority. The road carries a lot of traffic, particularly heavy trucks. Some of the trucks straddle onto oncoming traffic leading to head on collisions. The road in some places has no shoulders and some of the edge backs - because of lack of maintenance, are in such a deplorable state that they pose a great danger to motorists particularly those motorists who are coming from South Africa where the roads are in good shape.
In South Africa major highways are tolled and meet a certain minimum standard. We must therefore, not take tolling lightly. It is actually a commitment that you are paying to use a road which meets a certain standard. I should not be a one way ticket to heaven. I therefore, challenge the new Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development to make a difference. His candid comments on his provincial tours have been very encouraging.
We also need to pay particular attention to our railway system.
For a start, the railway needs to address particular attention to the signaling system. Around the 16th October, two goods trains collided leading to unnecessary loss of lives. This is unacceptable. Particular efforts have to be redoubled to ensure that our railway system which used to be the pride of southern Africa is returned to its former glory.
On the 30th October, I interacted with some of the recent graduates on the Faculty of Engineering. I was moved by these young Zimbabwean some of whom were facing a bleak future in the job market. There is so much to be done in this country, our infrastructure is in dire need of rehabilitation. In almost all urban cities water supply is awfully in adequate. Sewage treatment works are virtually nonfunctional. These young and keen graduates can assist in building our country but they need to be given opportunities. Opportunities will remain few and far in between if we as legislators do not act in unison. We cannot be contesting for political power while we are ignoring economic fundamentals. It is my humble submission that, maybe we need to regulate the mushrooming of political parties and concentrate on economic matters.
It should treasonous to agitate for punitive economic measures against your own country. Let those who agitate for punitive economic measures against their country be arraigned before the courts and be barred from contesting in any elections until such a time that they redeem themselves.
Lastly, Madam Speaker, the Government and local authorities need to be resolute in addressing the issue of land barons. These heartless people, some of whom I am made to understand are Members of
Parliament, should be dealt with without fear or favour. It is a duty of every responsible Government to safeguard the welfare of its citizens. These land barons or financial leeches should be dealt with decisively and not selectively. Therefore, land barons wherever they are, should be warned that their time is up. I thank you.
HON. SIMBANEGAVI: Thank you Madam Speaker Maám.
Firstly, I want to thank the President of Zimbabwe, Cde R.G. Mugabe for taking his time to preside over the opening of the Third Session of the Eighth Parliament of Zimbabwe and setting the agenda for the session. I want to appreciate that the President has directed the Eighth Parliament to focus on improving the economy through discussion of
Bills, such as the Companies’ Act, Zimbabwe Investment Authority Bill and others.
It is gladdening to note that there is serious focus on the stimulation of both local and foreign direct investment inflows. Also that Government is focusing on introducing measures to improve business environment in the country. The consideration of the one-stopshop for investment initiative should be taken seriously by this august House.
In the Public Procurement Bill, this will see better and improved procurement procedures of goods such as drugs and technological equipment. The decentralisation of the procurement functions to ministries, public enterprises and local authorities will improve the movement of essential and critically needed goods. The clearance of administrative bottlenecks at the country’s border posts will also go a long way in improving economic activities.
Special focus on the Economic Zones Bill will improve industrialisation. However, more focus should be placed on skills development and technology transfer, especially for the youths living in rural areas. There is serious need to revive our industries, especially the manufacturing sector. So, it is very gratifying that the President talked about the Banking Amendment Bill as a way of regulating and strengthening the banking system to ensure smooth flow of funds from banks to Small and Medium Enterprises.
The mining sector is critical to the revival of the economy. His Excellency, the President highlighted on the importance to invest in exploration. Value addition and beneficiation is important for the promotion of participation of small scale miners. The issuing of licences and better marketing platforms to small scale miners – [HON.
MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order! Can the hon. member
be heard in silence?
HON. SIMBANEGAVI: The issuing of licences and better marketing platforms to small scale miners should be improved as envisaged under ZIM ASSET. Madam Speaker, the protection and promotion of consumer rights for fair business competition and market is also very important. If the Zimbabwe Standards Regulatory Authority is operationalised, compliance and quality, safety and improved standards of imports and exports will be ensured. It is also good that the issue of infrastructure development was clear in the President’s Speech, taking into consideration the state of our road networks and other infrastructure, such as rural schools and clinics. Such focus from the Government is highly appreciated.
Tourism is also another important sector and facilitation of free movement of tourists through the National Border Posts Authority Bill is going to promote tourism. However, it is very critical to keep a close monitoring on foreign tourists to reduce poaching of wild life and other illegal activities by foreigners.
In conclusion, the Cooperative Societies Act will deal with issues of SMEs and vendors. It will also regulate and promote sustainable economic participation of cooperatives. Therefore, it is very gratifying that the President also put much focus on that sector. With these few words, I thank you.
THE VICE PRESIDENT AND MINISTER OF JUSTICE,
LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON.
MNANGAGWA): I move that the debate do now adjourn.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 28th October, 2015.
MOTION
STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY
THE PRESIDENT
Fourth Order Read: Adjourned on motion in reply to the State of the Nation Address by His Excellency, the President.
Question again proposed.
THE VICE PRESIDENT AND MINISTER OF JUSTICE,
LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON.
MNANGAGWA): I move that the debate do now adjourn.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 28th October, 2015.
MOTION
REPEAL OF THE VAGRANCY ACT
HON. MUDEREDZWA: I move the motion standing in my name
that this House -
CONCERNED by the increasing number of beggars, street kids, street mothers, fathers and youths at road intersections and pavements in urban areas;
DISTURBED by wanton abuse of alcohol and other intoxicants by younger generation against African values and norms;
ALARMED by the increasing levels of prostitution in both urban areas and growth points around the country;
CONCERNED by the Government’s inertia in addressing such abnormalities in society;
CONSCIOUS that the Government has a constitutional duty to look after the poor and the weak and to hold the norms of society; NOW, THEREFORE, calls upon the Executive to:
- Repeal such laws as the Vagrancy Act that are alien to safeguarding the interests of the poor and the weak;
- Introduce laws that are amendable to upholding human rights and dignity of the underprivileged;
- Effectively play a paternal role to such vulnerable groups in line with its constitutional obligations;
- Engage the service of the abundant pool of social workers from the institutions of higher learning in order to promote reformation and rehabilitation of social misfits for the common good.
HON. MUDARIKWA: I second.
HON. MUDEREDZWA: Thank you Madam Speaker Maám. I
moved this motion being motivated by a number of factors which I am going to highlight and describe. There is an increasing number of beggars, street kids, street fathers and mothers, youths who are found at road intersections and pavements doing immoral things. We have noted that there is an increasing number of youth who are wantonly abusing alcohol and other intoxicants. It is disturbing to see that in urban areas, cities and towns, there is an increasing number of prostitution. In Harare, if you go to the Avenues at night, you will see immoral things happening there.
Hon. Madam Speaker, why is it that we are having these things in a country such as ours? The people I am talking about are beggars, they are found everywhere. They are found right here in the City. If you go to Fourth Street and Samora Machel Avenue, if you go to Avondale and quite a number of intersections, there are a lot of disturbances that take place. People who come to work usually ignore what they see, especially us Members of Parliament and those who are working for the Government. I think these things are supposed to be managed. We are living in a society that advocates for observing African values and human norms. These people really seem to have no protection. There is nobody who is looking after them. This problem is actually increasing day by day.
Hon. Madam Speaker, there is an issue that I regard as the vicious cycle theory. These street kids started long back as young boys and girls and they have now grown up to become men and women. They are now having children in the streets, behind buildings and along the rivers. That is where they are staying. They are actually having their families there but these people are also involved in crime and violence. What we should know is that part of our problem in the administration of justice is caused by us failing to look after these vulnerable groups. These people eventually commit crimes. When they commit crimes, they are taken to prison; the Government will be obliged by law to look after these people in prison. As they stay in prison, they became hardened criminals but with the passage of time, they are going to be released from prison, they go back to the streets, they commit crimes again and this problem continues unabated at the expense of the fiscus. We are saying let us nip this problem in the bud.
Hon. Madam Speaker, as a Government, we are supposed to have a system that manages these problems. I take note that there are a number of inadequacies in our administration system. There is a law that is called the Vagrancy Act. I wanted to know about this Vagrancy Act, then I went to the Oxford Dictionary and I looked at the definition of vagrancy. It is talking of a person who wanders from place to place without a place to settle, without a job and a person who is considered to be lazy or dishonest. If you look at the word vagrant, it talks about a person without a settled home or regular work, hence the word vagrancy is a condition of committing the offence that is called the vagrancy.
Let us now look at the genesis of the Vagrancy Act, how it came about. Hon. Madam Speaker, it is disturbing to note that the Vagrancy Act is part of the colonial laws that were created by our colonisers. We are aware that there was the Land Tenure Act, the Land Husbandry Act, the Land Apportionment Act and the Trespassers Control Act. These Acts were created by the colonisers and they caused our people to move from rural areas into urban areas …
Hon. Mutseyami having moved from his place to the other side of the House.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON DZIVA): Order, order,
Hon. Mutseyami, may you please sit properly and concentrate.
HON. MUDEREDZWA: Thank you Hon. Madam Speaker. I
was making reference to oppressive laws that are also part of the
Vagrancy Act, Chapter 10 (25). That was created long back in the year 1960. This law, according to Government administration, is supposed to be administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs, that those people who are caught under this Act should be prosecuted. When I looked at the Act, it describes a vagrant as a person who does not have a place to live and who is not employed. Our people ended up coming to urban areas; you know places like Mbare in Harare and Makokoba in Bulawayo, they were hostels that used to accommodate them so that they create a labour force. But these hostels could not accommodate large numbers of people who were coming to urban areas. What was happening then was that the colonisers came up with this Act so that they can protect these people from moving into the CBD area and low density areas. So, the law is supposed to arrest vagrancy, beggars and so forth …
An hon. member having passed between the member speaking and the Chair.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order! Order! hon. member,
may you please go back, you are crossing the floor.
HON. MUDEREDZWA: So, in terms of the law. Hon. Madam Speaker, the law is there to prevent vagrancy and for dealing with THE insane. It used to be there to suppress the black majority so that they are not able to go to areas meant for whites. But this law is still on our statutes and I am saying, why is it still there? If it is still there, why is it not being enforced? The problem with this law is that the law is colonial and it is archaic and the law enforcement agencies are not enforcing it.
As Hon. Members of Parliament, as Government, we are not taking any action and this is not good at all for our nation.
I take note of the fact that the problem of children in the streets is supposed to be catered for by the Children’s Protection and Adoption Act. In a way, this law also is colonial in nature because it is talking of adoption of children which is not a common practice in African culture. Also, any person who is above the age of 16 cannot be arrested or corrected in terms of the Children’s Protection and Adoption Act. The Vagrancy Act from the other side cannot be enforced on people who are under the age of 16, hence there is that vacuum. We are saying, this vacuum should be plugged by coming up with a law, a law that is paternal in nature, a law that is able to look after all the vulnerable people in our society. A Government…
[An Hon. Member having passed between the Chair and the Hon.
Member speaking]
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order. Hon. Member,
go back to your seat. You are disturbing the Hon. Member debating.
HON. MUDEREDZWA: Madam Speaker, I am saying both laws
have weaknesses that cannot plug the problem that we are seeing. It is not proper for us as enlightened members of society to see this type of problem continuing unabated. I am saying, let us come up with a new law, a paternal law, and a law that is supposed to cater for these people. This law should cause the nation to come up with a fund; a fund that is similar to the Aids levy, a fund that each and every Zimbabwean who is working should subscribe to, so that we have a fund that does not run dry. This fund will then be used to cater for these people.
Madam Speaker, even in this Parliament, every day we start with a prayer that relates to the appointment of offices of rulers and parliaments for the welfare of society and the just government of man. This prayer is also talking about rulers and parliaments being entrusted by the people. We are saying we should mobilise the nation including churches and every sector of society to come up with a paternal law. This law will cause the nation to have this fund. The fund is going to be used by the nation so that we are in a position to look after these people.
We have social workers, our institutions of higher learning are coming up with social workers, those who have done psychology and so forth, these people are underutilised. They should be employed where they are engaged in human behaviour modification efforts. We are saying if we nip this problem in the bud, we will be in a position to come up with a society that is law abiding.
I want to make reference to a country called Rwanda which is not far away from here. It is a place where there is a national cohesion towards social ills. Right now, if you go to Rwanda, you will not see papers littered around in the streets and highways. These people have come together as a nation and said we have certain norms and values to observe. They have agreed, even if you call it a guided democracy, they are doing very good things in their country. We are saying as
Zimbabweans, it can be very good for us to ensure that we come up with a programme that is able to address issues that I have been talking about.
I think even tourists will be very happy to come to Zimbabwe, as they drive their vehicles passing certain intersections, they will not see these beggars, street kids, drunken people who are everywhere and some of them even naked. If you go to the Avenues, they put on skirts at night, if you are passing there with a beautiful vehicle; they show their nakedness and then cover themselves afterwards – [Laughter] – Suppose tourists have come to Zimbabwe and see these things, they will see or take Zimbabwe in bad light. Madam Speaker, let us ensure that as a nation we are organised. We claim that Zimbabwe is an educated nation; if we really are, let us show that we are educated by our behaviour, by ensuring that we look after those people who are unable to look after themselves.
Madam Speaker, my debate is to stimulate discussion in the nation about these issues. I hope that Parliamentarians who are here are going to take this debate further so that we are in a position to address these archaic laws as a nation. This is why I am saying my prayer in the motion should be addressed. Otherwise, I would like to thank you very much Madam Speaker.
HON. MUDARIKWA: Madam Speaker, I would like to thank you for allowing me to contribute on the motion by Hon. Muderedzwa. This motion is basically about our youths. Our youths now are victims of some drugs which are being manufactured in South Africa, moved to Botswana and then sold in the streets of Harare. There is a cough mixture known as ‘bronco’ and when they are in Mbare, they call it ngoma. In other instances in the morning, it costs a US$1 and when they get drunk, it increases by the day, it will be sold for US$4. When these youths drink this ‘bronco’, it must not get on to the teeth but the tongue only. When you hear most of those rank marshals shouting
Harare apo! Harare apo! they will be all drunk because of ‘bronco’.
It is actually moving into Zimbabwe in huge quantities, I am sure you saw the arrest which was done by ZRP, where a consignment of over 30 tonnes was confiscated. Bronco is made by a company known as Adcock Ingram Ltd. in South Africa.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, Hon. Members, may
you please go back and use the other entrance; you are disturbing the Hon. Member speaking.
HON. MUDARIKWA: Thank you Madam Speaker. These drugs are moved to Botswana, when you go to any waste-dump, like what I did in Murehwa, I commissioned 5 youths; I was paying them US$10 a day and an additional incentive of US$10, if they brought more – 100 containers. We managed within a week to raise 600 empty containers of ‘bronco’ and this shows the extent of the destruction.
We also visited some of the youth who are involved in this drug thing. We greeted them, in the morning they will be struggling to walk and in the evening, they will be very high. Some of them are now 30 years but they do not have any girlfriends. It really shows the social effect of ‘bronco’. Just for people to understand, I worked in the Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment for 25 years. I left the Ministry as an Assistant Secretary, I am a youth worker. - [An Hon. Member having passed between the Chair and the Hon.
Member speaking]-
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order!
HON. MUDARIKWA: Thank you. So, we checked at their homestead, there is a dog which has nine names; this one comes and gives a name. I think when somebody does not have kids, the desire of naming and just giving those names to dogs and it is an unfortunate situation where our youths are entrenched in this drug syndrome. It is so dangerous that some of them when they have nothing to eat, they now go out and start getting vegetables from neighbours’ gardens and start cooking. It is a situation which needs the nation’s attention. It is a situation which needs the welfare department. It is a situation which we need to do something.
The Youth Development Programme of Zimbabwe must now have
Youth Officers with special skills to deal with these ‘bronco’ graduates. These drug addicts as I am advised here by Hon. Members live a life where on Monday, they put on a jean and they will never wash it until next Monday. These are young people and they are future leaders of Zimbabwe. What do we expect of them?
Our Youth Officers must now get themselves involved. Our urban councils must take a leaf from Bulawayo City Council which gave free land to Amakhosi Theatre led by Conte Mhlanga. I went there to see for myself how they are trying to rehabilitate some of these drunkards. They also tried to bring on board all the youths. An idle mind is a devil’s workshop and we must as a nation look at this problem and deal with it. During the old colonial Harare, there was Mai Musodzi Hall where we used to get musical instruments. That is where Thomas Mapfumo and Harare Mambo Band graduated from. It was the city council welfare programme which provided musical instruments free of charge and some instructors would teach these youths on how to play musical instruments.
We must also realise that some of the Vagrant Acts which have been mentioned by Hon. Muderedzwa, were designed by the colonial rulers not to allow many people to move into urban areas, lest they would hear about nationalism and spread it to the rural areas. We must get rid of these Acts because they are now archaic because it is something which was designed to oppress the black people. The issue with drugs is like a funeral, you only feel the loss of a loved one when it is in your house. In a normal situation, people will wake up and think all is well.
Even if you go to Holiday Inn, you will find some 20 youths seated, drinking and when they drink, the sort of songs that they will be singing - there is too much disorder. When they look at you they start laughing at you. To them, they have made their day by laughing at you. I asked one of them what they were laughing at. They kept quiet and looked at me and said, mudhara une musoro muhombe – [Laughter] – You can imagine how many people in Zimbabwe have the size of my head. They were so interested in me. It is a laughing matter but I am just expressing the sort of danger this nation is facing through our youths who are lost.
Reports show that about 65% of our Zimbabwean youths, one way or the other are trying these drugs. These addicts call these drugs the
“feel-good-drugs”. When I asked them what feels good, they said after you have taken one-and-half bottles of ‘bronco’, everything becomes green and you feel a lot of fresh air. After that, they start taking those lolly-pops. You see a 30 year old youth sucking a lolly-pop and I asked him why he was sucking a lolly-pop and he said, it reminded him of when he was in Grade 7 enjoying music from his teacher. Where is the relationship between music and a lolly-pop? It shows we are heading for a disaster and attention should be drawn to the relevant Ministry that there is a serious problem.
The major reason why these drugs are getting into Zimbabwe…
An Hon Member having passed between the Chair and the Hon
Member speaking.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, Hon. Member, you
cannot pass through whilst the Member is on the floor.
HON. MUDARIKWA: Thank you. I hope they are not victims of
‘bronco’ because some of them are – [Laughter] – quite senior Members of Parliament who know what is happening. The major reason why our youths are going towards ‘bronco’ is the cost - $3 for a rank marshal is nothing because most of the rank marshals earn between $20 and $30 a day.
One thing that we discovered is that most of the disc jockeys who are in these nightclubs also use….
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order! I have asked you the
first time to sit properly and you continue. Hon. Mutseyami can you please go back to where you were so that I can give a ruling.
Order! Can I advise that you should take Parliament business seriously. You should sit well in Parliament and also talk softly. We want to hear the debate that is going on and we also want you to contribute and not only sit, watch and observe. You may continue Hon.
Mudarikwa.
HON. MUDARIKWA: Thank you Madam Speaker. When we
were doing my research, we visited some of the nightclubs and we discovered that some of the disc jockeys, use ‘bronco’. Normally when they start, they will be playing certain music and not participating and dancing. As time goes on towards midnight, you hear them say ‘feel good, feel good’ and everybody will be saying ‘good, good’. They will all be jumping in the air. The disc jockey turns to be a choirmaster of drug addicts. What we have also realised and discovered is that when they get ‘bronco’, sometimes they change the containers. They can put in any other container so that even if the law enforcement agents see them, it is not in the original container.
It is unfortunate that the Portfolio Committee on Health and Child
Care has not visited some of these places. If there was a place in every
Hansard, I would organise empty ‘bronco’ containers and make sure that every pigeon-hole has one. It will assist you when you go back to your constituencies to know that this is what we are talking about. ‘Bronco’ is different from mbanje because when somebody smokes mbanje, you can see the smoke and you can obviously smell it but you cannot smell Broncho. After eating a lollipop, it gives you a different flavour. So, it is an unfortunate situation that now needs our urgent attention.
We can also use churches. Churches in Zimbabwe have created all the tricks to have money. They now have anointed ballpoint pens, which if you buy and sit for examinations in November you are guaranteed that you are going to pass – [Laughter] - We now need to involve our churches to preach to our youths and convert them so that they know that the taking of these drugs is dangerous, is a criminal offence and they will never entre the kingdom of God as a way of trying to convince our youths to move away from this evil system.
Finally Madam Speaker, it is the responsibility of every parent to find out how their son or daughter spends their day. Try to engage them and have some discussion. I visited my sister and tried to talk to one of her sons, in five minutes he was asleep. I woke him and he said,
“sekuru, do not disturb me I am having a nice dream”. All this is a result of massive drug abuse which we must take very seriously. We must also look at a situation where school heads must also be involved to create awareness so that students in schools do not use this Broncho. The cost of alcohol in Zimbabwe to most of the youths is far above their reach. A pint of castle is a dollar and after five pints they do not get drunk but with broncho, with $3 you would have made your day. This is what we must look at.
At international level, the Government must approach the South
African company and ask them why they are manufacturing the drug.
The drug is purely for Botswana market and from Botswana to Zimbabwe. I want to thank Hon. Muderedzwa; he is a former police officer and has the experiences that he can share on individual basis with hon. members and emphasise to them the dangers of drug abuse. The dangers will obviously extend to Aids and HIV because when you are high, you do not discriminate. Also, when the other partner is high, the whole process becomes an event of the day – [Laughter] –
Madam Speaker, I want to thank you for allowing me and appeal to hon. members to go to their constituencies and try to identify, especially at ranks where you see rank marshals. Just look around or task some people to say anyone who brings 100 empty bottles of Broncho, I will give you $10, you will get thousands of them coming from the dumpsites. This thing is happening and we must deal with it once and for all. I want to thank you Madam Speaker.
HON. CHASI: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. I wish to start by thanking Hon. Muderedzwa for the motion and also to thank Hon. Mudarikwa for the detailed presentation that he has given on this matter to which I also want to add my voice by saying it is indeed a very serious matter. I just want to pick on an aspect which I have not heard from the previous speakers and I want to say that whilst there is a problem concerning importation of some of these drugs from our neighbouring countries, we also need very desperately to look at the controls in our own health institutions. It seems as if there are massive leakages of controlled medicines such as Pethidine. There is also abuse of medicines that are used when treating people that have developed mental problems.
If one goes to Mbare, you will actually see people who are said to have taken these tablets and they are referred to as ‘kabi’. They just take that tablet and the more water they drink, the more drunk they become. It is really a sorry sight and it turns youngsters into zombies. The effect of these drugs on youngsters is very much different from alcohol or even broncho. However, I also want to say that this broncho thing has become so serious. It is now being sold publicly and the effect is very immediate.
I want to congratulate the Executive for their actions to date which have resulted in the arrest of some of these people who are importing these drugs. I also want to urge the Minister of Health and Child Care and the Minister of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment to work in close collaboration and ensure that the public institutions that are responsible for these drugs actually tighten the controls. The laws are already in place which require that this be done, but it seems as if there has been a breakdown of administration in this respect. I thank you.
*HON. RUNGANI: Thank you Madam Speaker for giving me the opportunity to make my contribution on Hon. Muderedzwa’s motion. I feel this is a very pertinent issue. We have observed street kids who are indulging in this substance. We should start with our children in our homes. If you ask these children where they are coming from, they will tell you they are coming from Epworth. They run away from school and start begging for money in the streets and the money they get is for buying these drugs.
In 2005, I saw some people who were in the middle of the street between First Street and Nelson Mandela, during that time they were young but they are now family people with children who were born in that place. I appeal to the police to collect these people from the streets and take them to some place. When you ask some of these people where they are coming from, most of them say they come from Epworth, especially on streets like First Street and Nelson Mandela.
These places have no toilets and therefore they use the sanitary lanes and these people smell. If you ask them why they are there, they say they come to fend for themselves; they want to get some money for their school fees. We have children who are on the streets, how do you fend for them? They are on the streets, we see them at the same place and there are games which they play. They will be playing cards and I remember some time these guys were playing these card games at the back of a truck which was parked. I am asking the law enforcement agents what their role is in curbing this menace because they are heading for disaster. I also want to talk about the shuttle taxis commonly known as ‘mushikashika’. The touts will be hanging precariously behind these cars, we seriously need to do something and rehabilitate these people.
In my constituency, I am hard-working and do a lot of farming to the point that I will never be a beggar. If you are living comfortably, you will not need to run away from home to come and beg on the streets. These street kids and beggars are lazy and do not want to fend for themselves hence they seek solace from bronco and mbanje.
I have seen people in Mbare selling tablets and other medication. They even have the audacity of boarding buses and start selling those tablets. I am asking the law enforcement agents why they are not controlling this menace. Tablets should only be distributed by authorized dispensers like pharmacies, hospitals and clinics. I appeal to the police to arrest these perpetrators because once they start selling these drugs they then proceed to sell bronco. This is why I stood to make my contribution that we control our offspring for a brighter future.
*HON. PHIRI: I would like to thank the Hon. Members who contributed to this motion and also make my humble contribution on the issue of drug and substance abuse; and prostitution that was mentioned by one of my predecessors.
When we talk of drugs, I represent an urban constituency called Kadoma Central. This is a very painful experience and I have noticed that most of the children who are partaking in the abuse of substance are of school going age; who should be in schools and not loitering in the streets. What is painful is that, no action is taken when you report this to the law enforcement agents to alert them as to where this is happening. I am relating to a typical case of what happened in my constituency.
I held a meeting in my constituency and was given the location of a particular house where drugs were being dispensed. The policemen who went to the place, raided it and arrested the perpetrators but did not find any substance or evidence that drugs were being sold. I am sure one of the people who attended the meeting that I held was a sell-out who went and informed these people that they were about to be raided by the police. I believe the police were responsible for tipping off these criminals. One of the women, at the meeting accused me of trying to get her arrested.
The most painful thing about drug abuse is the fact that these youngsters are our future leaders. These drugs that should be helping sick people are being smuggled from hospitals yet hospitals have security guards and security systems that are in place in order to curb the smuggling of drugs from hospitals. We know that records should be kept and security agents should be alert but still these drugs find their way onto the streets to pollute outsiders.
Why are these children partaking into drug abuse? We need to establish the reason why this is so and when we know then we may be able to curb the issue of drug and substance abuse. Most of the children who are abusing drugs in the streets are coming from split families and have nobody to take care of them. It is also fueled by unemployment.
Therefore, it is up to the Government to create more jobs so that these children are employed and can fend for their families. I reiterate, most of these drug abusers - the street kids, should be in school. What measures are we taking in order to return them to school? Some of them should be in secondary schools and others in tertiary education. I am urging the State to create a fund and pool resources and use the money to take the children back to school where they belong.
In past years, plans were put in place that in rural areas especially at growth points, these should develop but it seems the development plans have fizzled out. I know if we develop these growth points, our offspring will work in those areas and we will curb the rural to urban migration. I also noticed that these people in towns reside in shacks and the reason they came is because of the poverty in rural areas. Therefore, let us empower these rural areas so that we curb the rural to urban migration.
I also realised that some of the rules and regulations that we enact are adopted from foreigners. Let us be aware of the rules and regulations that we make. We are adopting foreign cultural rules and normative values and imposing them on our people. On our streets, we have seen some semi-naked if not naked women moving and this is a disgrace to the country. We are now baptizing bad activities like referring to prostitutes as sex commercial workers. Yes, prostitution was there even in biblical times but it was never given a good name. I know I am going to be a target for attack by prostitutes because they want to be referred to as sex commercial workers.
In the streets, we have individuals who have graduated into street fathers as they are no longer street kids. It is up to us as legislators to create employment for these street fathers so that they can fend for themselves and their families. I plead with the powers that be that we create Half Way Homes. These are places where people who have had challenges in their homes may temporarily reside whilst negotiations with the other partner are being held so that they reunite. We need to create homes that we can house orphans and other vulnerable groups so that they have shelter instead of these children staying in the streets.
I also plead with the Minister of Sport and Recreation that his Ministry harnesses these talents because some of these children can excel in sports and we will have created employment for them. We used to have stadia and sports fields for cricket, tennis and swimming pools that are now lying derelict due to poor maintenance. Our local authorities no longer take care of these places; they are letting them go to waste. When we were young, we used to utilise these facilities going for sports and entertainment. We need to revive them.
I discussed about schools that we need to put funds in these schools so that we pay fees for children who are coming from broken homes so that they do not go into the streets. I thank you.
HON. MUTSEYAMI: Thank you Madam Speaker for giving me the opportunity to make my contribution on a motion raised by Hon. Muderedzva and supported by Hon. Mudarikwa. We have children who are in problems and this has made them to live in the streets. These children sleep in the streets and eat from the waste bins. They are now involved into drug abuse such as the one we are talking about and cocaine.
At times, some of these children, it is not their fault that they are into this situation. I put the problem squarely on the shoulder of Government because it has lacked necessary plans to develop these people. Let us not hide from the truth. Let us not hide our heads in the sand and shun from these problems. People need jobs but they cannot find the jobs. We also have graduates who are roaming the streets and cannot get employment and these people end up resorting to drug abuse such as bronco and cocaine, it is because they are seeking for solace because they have no jobs.
One may wonder, why is it that bronco is being abused in Zimbabwe when Zimbabwe has ports of entry which are manned by security agents. Why is it getting in? We do not manufacture cocaine, we do not have any in this country and how are these drugs imported into this country? I will say they are imported through corruption. We have people who should be stopping the importation of these substances but because they are corrupt, they let them come in. We have people who have been seeking employment for 37 years but cannot get it anywhere. These people then start saying maybe if we go to our neighbours, local Member of Parliament, local councillor and beg for money, we could get some assistance. I have a problem with the Government which has been in power for 35 years and it is not benefiting the citizens….
HON. NDUNA: Madam Speaker, the Hon. Member is speaking in
Ndawu. I do understand however, he talks to the issue of this Government having been in power for 35 years in a mismanagement position. Madam speaker Ma’am, I beg to differ, the Hon. Member should withdraw the issue of mismanagement. – [HON. MEMBER:
Inaudible interjection.] -
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order. Hon. Murayi you
are not the Speaker of Parliament.
HON. NDUNA: The issue of mismanagement of this country
Madam Speaker…
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order, Hon. Nduna,
order, order. Please can you get straight to you point of order. What is your point of order?
HON. NDUNA: Madam Speaker Ma’am, the Hon. Member
should stick to the motion and stop digressing on issues to do with management of this country. This country has not been mismanaged. He should withdraw that notion in toto. The assumption, whichever way should be withdrawn not tomorrow but now.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: When we are in Parliament,
we come from different political parties and any views are acceptable depending on the motion. Hon. Nduna, you will be given an opportunity to debate in support of the motion or oppose what the motion is saying.
There is no point of order.
*HON. MUTSEYAMI: Thank you Madam Speaker for coming to
my rescue. Coming to another issue, if we look in our streets, you find that there a lot of children who are not supported. We need to have some regulation whereby we will support these children, protect them from the disturbances which they are facing because they will have a bleak future. I am saying, we are saying we have a lot of laws which are there for the protection of children. In the new Constitution, we also have provisions for children’s protection but the problem is the monitoring and lack of monies needed to protect these laws. We have a situation whereby we are told that if you have any problems, you have to go to the Department of Welfare and you are supported. If you are 75 years, you go to that same department and you will be put on a support programme but at the moment, there is no money set aside for this department to help people. That is why we have problems in supporting these people. I say, thank you very much to the mover of this motion. He was afraid of stating some things in his motion and I am there to be the voice of the voiceless.
Madam Speaker, I beg this august House not to be worried about the problems such as commercial sex workers which are there. These people have been there since the biblical times. It is not easy that we remove these commercial sex workers. I know we call them by different names, some say sex workers, some say commercial sex workers, some of these people are decent people. They are normal people and this is their work. They are taking their children to school and feeding their children. Some of us here are acting as if this is a new thing and have never heard of it.
What really worries me is that when we are campaigning for elections, we go to these sex workers and ask them to vote for us. Please my fellow members, these people are in this commercial sex work not because they want but they want to fend for their families. Some of them are divorcees, some were left by their husbands and have nothing to do yet they have to take care of these orphans. As a result, they take lonely men who want the company of women for different reasons.
Poverty is really at stake here and therefore I am pleading with the Government to work hard and support these people through founding of homes and ask other countries to come and assist us. Let us do away with our pride. Let us go to those countries and be open and tell them that we need assistance in supporting our people who are living in the streets as beggars so that they can live in decent homes. Let us not just have that empty pride and be foul mouthed. People are supporting us so that when we get that support, we will be building homes, feeding those people and also paying school fees and taking care of their health. If we do not do that, these street people will be bearing more children because they have nothing else to do. The only pastime they have is creating babies. I also plead with the law enforcement agents such as the police that they should arrest these drug addicts who are abusing zedi, broncho and cocaine. If people work hard, they can control these. I am saying this because these drugs are not found in shops but in the streets, townships, villages and in farms. We all know they are imported from other countries. So, we can only stop this by tightening our border entry points and patrols around them.
We have people who are suffering. Government should come out in the open and confess that they have failed to assist these people. I also advise Government to give up and surrender to say we have failed to rule the country by supporting these people. Therefore, they should give other people a chance. I know it is difficult for anybody to admit that they have failed but due to these circumstances, they should come up in the open and say they have failed. I thank you.
*THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, I urge all Hon.
Members, when you are making your contributions, please do not use language that denigrates other people. Just put your points across without provoking anyone.
+HON. MKANDLA: Thank you Madam Speaker Maám. I
would like to add my voice to this motion that was brought by Hon. Muderedzwa on the children, mothers and fathers who live on streets, begging. First of all, these children who live on streets, I would like to point out some of the causes I know of. Some children would have lost parents and their inheritance would have been taken by relatives. These children would not know how to assist themselves. They would not have money to go to school, buy food or clothing, then they go out in the streets to beg.
Secondly, as others have pointed out, there are children who run away from their proper homes because of peer pressure. The children are pushed to do things like that. They therefore, leave their homes and go and live in the streets. They also start indulging in drugs and alcohol. Thirdly, some of the children whom we see on the streets as young as below five years, will be having their parents who send them to beg.
The parents will be nearby watching. We realise that at times the child will be smart and you wonder where they would have bathed and eaten their food. After the day, they go back to the house and sleep.
The reason is that most mothers are lazy to fend for their children, hence they resort to begging. Every woman should work hard; have a garden, for tomatoes and vegetables. They should engage in different projects so that they fend for their children instead of begging. We are begging Government through the Ministry of Public Service and Social Services to note that children on the streets are exposed to early sexual intercourse and this increases again the number of children who live on streets.
These children should be taken to proper homes and should be trained in different projects so as to decrease the number of children on the streets. Yesteryear, as we grew up, most of us went to school through school fees raised from beer selling by our mothers, but we never ran away from our homes. The generation which is there now is suffering mostly from laziness and want simple life. Most of these children end up pretending to be drunk or would have taken marijuana. What we realise is that they are not taking good care of themselves. As parents, we need to make sure that we teach our children about these issues. We all need to look into the issue of how children run into the streets.
We plead with the Government through the Ministry of Health and Child Care to make sure that when these children are taken to proper homes they are mentally stable because most of them would have been affected by the drugs that they take. It should be made sure that there are no children, fathers and mothers in the streets because this is a country which was so beautiful before the sanctions era. We used to live so beautifully. We never used to suffer from any kind of poverty. We had plenty for ourselves. These sanctions should go. I thank you.
HON. MARIDADI: Thank you Madam Speaker. There is
something in Corporate Strategy, which is called ‘root cause analysis’. What it means is that when you see a problem and you want to deal with the problem, you do what is called an analysis of the root cause of that problem. I think what we are discussing here; children on the streets, drug abuse, and prostitution are symptoms. Symptoms are as a result of an underlying problem. It is that problem that we must unpack for us to be able to understand the symptoms. If we do not unpack the problem then we will not be able to understand the symptoms. The symptoms will continue to haunt us forever.
In Zimbabwe, we have a population of about 15 million.
Unemployment is at 80%, industry is operating at below 25% capacity. There is unmitigated corruption. We have about 80 parastatals in the country; none of them are making profits. None of them have declared a dividend to Government ever since 1995. They are all making a loss.
Every Minister of Finance, ever since Dr. Simba Makoni, has complained that parastatals are a drain on the fiscus. What it means is the fiscus is continuously bailing out parastatals. Yet before 1980, parastatals contributed 40% of this country’s GDP.
Cold Storage Company (CSC), at its peak slaughtered 750 000 head of cattle every year. Last year, the CSC slaughtered less than 2 000 head of cattle. At its peak CSC used to make $740 million in profit.
Today the CSC is more than US$100 million in deficit. The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), one of the key parastatals in the country, at its peak, moved more than 28 million tonnes. Last year, NRZ reported in their annual report, a copy which I have here, reported that they moved less than 3.5 million tonnes.
HON. J. TSHUMA: On a point of order. Madam Speaker, the motion and what the Hon. Member is talking about right now are two different things. Can he stick to the motion that was raised by Hon. Muderedzwa about the street kids and the drug abuse. That has nothing to do with CSC and how many cattle were actually slaughtered. So, he is out of order. Please, can you reign him to order so that we talk about the children that are busy smoking mbanje and drinking ‘bronco’.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order, the motion is
centralised. Also people can debate on the causes or on things that affect the people on the streets. So, here the Hon. Member is debating around the motion; there is no point of order – [HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear.]-
HON. MARIDADI: The Cold Storage Company at its peak used to employ 5 000 people and today, they employ less than 1 200 and of those 1 200, 400 have been given letters of termination. Those 400 that have been given letters of termination and the difference between 5 000 people that were employed by CSC and those that are remaining in the CSC employed today, that difference is what matters. Those are the parents who have children that are on the streets of Harare.
Hon. Madam Speaker, I was driving from Bulawayo one day, and I stopped by Lake Chivero. I was approached by a young man who was selling fish; these are fish poachers, they go to Lake Chivero and they catch fish and sell them on the streets. He sold me the fish and he said to me, mudhara can you find me a job and I said but you know there is a problem of unemployment in Zimbabwe. He said, here is my curriculum vita (CV). He gave me a paper which he called a CV and put it in my car and I drove away. Over the weekend when I was cleaning my car, I took that paper and I went through it. I have never seen anybody with such a beautiful CV. The boy has seven As at ‘O’ Level and 15 points at ‘A’ Level. He went to University of Zimbabwe to study biochemistry and he has a First Class. He also has a Masters in Food Science but he is a fish poacher. In a country like South Africa, just across the border, that young man would be employed and he will be earning a starting salary of 35 000 Rands but in Zimbabwe he is a fish poacher. He is not even able to get a job as a teacher because he is not a trained teacher but here is a person who is able to teach chemistry up to undergraduate level. Here is a young man who is able to teach physics up to Masters but he is not able to get a job, even as a temporary teacher at a high school although he is able to teach physics, mathematics, biology up to degree level.
Madam Speaker, the problem that we have in Zimbabwe is a problem of the economy. Our economy is not performing, that is why you see children on the streets of Harare. We have people that have parents that work in Government, those children are not able to go to school because their parents cannot afford to pay for their schooling and they drop out of school. In Mabvuku alone, Tsindirano Primary School, the primary school where I did my Grade One to Grade Seven, they have not been able to get money for BEAM for the past two years because Government is not able to pay. What it means is that that school is not able to function and children will be thrown out to the streets.
Madam Speaker, in 2005 ….
Hon. Murai having been making noise.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order, Hon. Murai.
Hon. Murai, there is only one Speaker in the House - [HON
MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] - May the Hon. Member be heard
in silence.
HON. MARIDADI: In 2005, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe issued a statement and in that statement they said, 75% of the problem that we have in this economy are as a result of corruption and not anything else – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] - 75%, that is on record. Those that have brains to understand and those that have eyes and are able to read can go and google and see that statement that was issued by Dr. Gideon Gono, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
Madam Speaker, we have a problem of electricity. The problem of electricity has nothing to do with anybody. It has everything to do with mismanagement and failure by Government to put money into the electricity supply industry. Our industry is operating at 25% of capacity ….
*HON. CHINOTIMBA: On a point of order Madam Speaker. My point of order is that the motion raised by Hon. Muderedzwa has nothing to do with the economy. He was talking about the street kids and how Government can remove these kids from the streets. The Hon.
Member is talking about the economy. If the motion has changed, we may need to recall that video so that we view it, this will show us the reason why the country is in its current economic state. Therefore, I beg you Madam Speaker, that we debate on the motion.
*THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Chinotimba
for the point of order which you raised. But, may I also explain that the motion which has been raised regarding the street kids and the street adults; these are people who are not able to get enough support from their homes. When we are debating this issue, you also have to talk about the economy of the country because we want to get the solution to these problems. Hence, we need conducive laws to correct this anomaly. We look for ways and means of showing the problems which have caused these people to leave their homes. This may include debate on sanctions and the economy. Therefore, Hon. Members can debate in any way. So, the Hon. Member is not out of order. Hon. Maridadi, talk about street kids, street adults and beggars. Do not deviate a lot. I know you may have to include the economy but please stick to the motion.
HON. MARIDADI: The number of beggars Madam Speaker,
beggars on the streets of Harare, I have had calls to talk to some beggars. There is an old man that lives in Mabvuku, who lives off the streets and people have always believed that he is of unsound mind. I am actually working on a case where his house was unprocedurally taken away from him. His name is Sipalo Munyama, he is of Malawian descent and is 78 years old. As we speak now, he is living out on the streets. I engaged him some two months ago and discovered that he was of sound mind. The reason he is living out on the streets is because he has nothing to give his family; he has no food in his house and he has not paid rentals for the past five years. That is why he is living on the streets. He is a man of sound mind, he could actually be taken and given a job and he could work and live like anybody else.
The number of street children on the streets of Harare; if we do what you want to call ‘random sampling’ and you talk to the number of street kids in the streets of Harare – because I happen to have done a research some 10 to 15 years ago on the street kids in Harare, some of them that you talk to, came from Masvingo. The reason the boy came from Masvingo is that his mother died and his father who was not employed got married to another woman. That woman is the bread winner and that boy at 16 must move in, stay with his father and the step mother who is the bread winner. But we know the way people live; there are some people who are not able to look after children who are not their own flesh and blood. That boy, because of ill treatment leaves home where there is food, breakfast, lunch, supper, a roof above his head, leaves home and prefers to sleep on the streets. It is because we have no social safety nets to protect the vulnerable. All those children and beggars that we see on the streets are the vulnerable. Our country should put in place social safety nets to protect the vulnerable but there are no social safety nets to protect them, that is the reason why we see them on the streets.
If we sit in this Parliament, thinking that if we come up with laws which are going to move beggars, vagrants and street kids from the streets of Harare, then we are a big joke. Laws will not remove street kids from the streets of Harare. Street kids will be removed from the streets by money. Government must be able to construct places, drop- in centres for street kids. Government must be able to construct drop-in centres for those that are of unsound mind, that do not have relatives, those that are old that are put into old people’s homes. That is what a Government is supposed to do. That is what people pay taxes for and that is why companies pay corporate tax for.
That is why in Zimbabwe we say companies that are in mining, I will give you an example of Marange. There is not a dime, Hon.
Chinamasa has said it, Hon. Biti said it, the Ministers of Finance and Economic Development before them said it, that no money is coming from Chiadzwa. Imagine, if US$1 billion had come from Chiadzwa,
Government would have allocated US$200 million to Social Security.
I will give you another example. What would have happened in this country, if Zimbabweans behaved like Germans or Swiss people where there is no extended family network? It was because of the extended family network that Zimbabwe was able to deal with the problem of HIV/AIDS. Between 1994 and 2004, there is not a single person who is seated in this House who did not lose a brother, sister, wife or husband to HIV/AIDS. The reason we were able to continue as a country was not because the Government had anything in place to look after the orphans of HIV/AIDS but it was because of the extended family network. You would have a brother in the family who dies, leaves six children, a brother who is in Chegutu takes two of them…
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, Hon. Maridadi, you are
left with three minutes.
HON. MARIDADI: Thank you. A sister in Marondera takes
another child; it is because of the extended family network. Imagine if the problem of AIDS had come between 2007 and 2013, the devastation that it would have done to this country - this country would have ceased to exist as a country because there is nothing the Government has put in place to look after the vulnerable and the under privileged in our society.
The problem that we must talk about here is not the problem of the law; we have laws. The laws are there, it is not the problem of anything but it is the problem of how the economy is being mismanaged. If we get a good economic manager of this country, I tell you the following day, street kids will be out of the streets of Harare. If we continue at this rate, even Members of Parliament who are seated in this House today, who have no skills and are benefiting from corruption, if the state of the economy persists like this, when those people are out of this House as Parliamentarians, they will become street beggars like Hon. Chinotimba here….
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order Hon. Maridadi. I
think when you are debating, you have to confine yourself to facts. You cannot debate issues that raise emotions and you are not allowed to name Hon. Members here and accuse them of being part of any corrupt activities especially if you do not have evidence. Whatever you want to communicate, may you please give written evidence to Hansard department so that we know that your facts are supported by evidence.
I want you at this point, to withdraw what you said to Hon.
Members in this Parliament that are involved in corruption and Hon.
Chinotimba as well.
HON. MARIDADI: I did not say Hon. Chinotimba was corrupt. I said a person without any known skills like Hon Chinotimba – [HON.
MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections]-
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order Hon. Maridadi, I
said withdraw the two statements right now.
HON. MARIDADI: I said before he came to Parliament, he was a security guard with the City Council… – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible
interjections]-
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order Hon. Maridadi, I
will not hesitate to take action against you. May you please withdraw the two statements?
HON. MARIDADI: I withdraw the statement that he has no skills and I withdraw the statement that Hon. Members are corrupt.
HON. CHINOTIMBA: On a point of order! Kana tikatarisa mafambiro atanga tichiita muhupenyu sezvaanditaurira inini, iye akanyenga mukadzi wemunhu akatiza achienda ku America … – [HON.
MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections] - saka hupenyu hwangu hurinani.
I was a security guard but he was….… – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible
interjections] - achinyenga vakadzi vevanhu. Today, he is talking nonsense here.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members. I have
advised before that Hon. Members are not allowed to abuse their priviledge on Point of Orders and you are not allowed to use such language in Parliament. I will not hesitate to take action against Hon. Maridadi and Hon. Chinotimba in this Parliament because this is a honourable House that needs its respect and we should stand guided by the Standing Rules and Orders of this Parliament.
Hon. Maridadi, you have withdrawn, I have heard you. I also want
Hon. Chinotimba to withdraw the social aspect of Hon. Maridadi in this
Parliament. You can talk about that outside this Parliament.
*HON. CHINOTIMBA: Ndirikubvisa shoko kuna Hon. Maridadi rekuti anonyenga vakadzi vevanhu.
HON. RUNGANI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. CHINOTIMBA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 28th October, 2015.
On the motion of HON. RUNGANI, seconded by HON.
MATSUNGA, the House adjourned at Twenty Six Minutes to Five o’clock p.m.