PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Friday, 16th December, 2022.
The National Assembly met at Half past Nine o’clock a.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order! Hon. Members. Please can we take our seats?
COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY
MAIN ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE
First Order read: Committee of Supply: Main Estimates of Expenditure.
House in Committee
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON (HON. M. KHUMALO): Order Hon. Members. When progress was reported yesterday, the Committee of Supply had under its consideration the Main Estimates of Expenditure for the year ending, 31st December, 2023.
On Vote 14 – Ministry of Health and Child Care - $462 086 163 000:
HON. WATSON: Thank you Hon. Chairman for this opportunity to debate the allocation to the Ministry of Health. I would like to point out to the Minister that as we are debating here, there is a huge crisis at Ingutsheni Hospital in Bulawayo. They were left budgetless, foodless for the patients they have an outbreak of pellagra. Pellagra is a disease which equally makes you mentally unstable. So patients who are really mentally unstable are now likely to be worse.
The very fact that this budget allocation has gone in mere terms down, from USD1.1 billion equivalent to USD730 million equivalent is likely to mean that long before the mid of next year, when you can come to this House for a Supplementary Budget, patients in Government institutions would have no choice but to be there, given their mental condition, many will be starving yet again. The fact that the per capita spending has declined from USD71.66 down to USD48.78 is an indication of absolute understaffing in the health sector and that it will be left in a more dire position than it has been this year, which is being bad enough.
I seriously believe that having read the Health Committee report, you may have decided prior to this debate on each Vote to actually relook at the Health Vote, because at Abuja they said 15% of nothing is nothing. Per capita spending in USD terms is ultimately what counts. We are well below the World Health Recommended figure and we are likely to find our health institutions severely incapacitated and severely underfunded. I thank you.
(v)HON. NDIWENI: Thank you Hon. Chairman for giving me the opportunity to talk about the Ministry of Health Vote. The Ministry of Health Vote, the problem that we are facing is that of disbursing money. There is very late disbursement and the state of the health sector at the moment is not pleasing at all, mainly due to lack of disbursement of money.
Mr. Chairman, I want to draw your attention to places like Parirenyatwa Hospital, this previous year, 2022, have had zero disbursement on their capital budget. What that means is even if there is a bulb that blows out - I think you remember at one stage there was a ceiling they were showing that was falling apart at Parirenyatwa Hospital. The truth is there was no money, zero was released for capital budget at that central hospital.
So we plead with the Minister that whilst the money cannot be enough but the little that had been budgeted for should be released timeously because we look at our ordinary people; the only interface they have with Government is hospitals, the health sector. So if you do not put anything to the health sector, the only interface that our people have got with Government, will be deplorable. People are not going to be happy with the Government because this is the only time they meet the Government. This is the only time when they are ill that they feel that the Government should do something about them. I plead with the Minister that please, we know that this year, the amount allocated to Health is even less than last year in terms of the Abuja Declaration, that 15% allocation of the total budget should be reserved for health. We know it but if you give it 2% or 10%, then release that money timeously.
Look at the brain drain that is happening in the health sector. Some Municipal clinics here in Harare are closing because there are no nurses, why, because there is no money to pay the health workers. So I plead with the Minister that let us not play around with the Health budget. Of all the budgets that we have, let us release whatever money is allocated to the Health Ministry timeously and save our people. I thank you Hon. Chair.
HON. GONESE: Thank you very much Hon. Chair. I rise to make a contribution on this very critical Vote. I am cognisant of the fact that the resource envelope is already stretched. I am alive to the fact that there are so many competing interests but I rise on a matter of principle. I really want to say that as a nation, we have made some progress in terms of achieving the target which we as a nation willingly and voluntarily acceded to when we signed the Abuja Declaration.
I am concerned that we are retrogressive because I believe that at one time we had gone to 13% but when you look at the current allocation, it is not even that. It is around 9%, which I think is a step backwards. I would like to get clarity from the Hon. Minister of Finance as to why we are moving forward and then we move backwards. Having acknowledged that some adjustments have already been made, I submit the importance that the Health Vote is to our nation. If we do not have enough medication and facilities at our hospitals and people dying all the time and we have our health workers not satisfied with their working conditions, we will continue losing lives that could have been saved. I therefore request that notwithstanding the difficulties and the challenges that we have, that we seriously reconsider this particular Vote. I urge the Hon. Minister to increase it. I would have loved it to get to the 15% of the Budget and I think that would be the position that we should strive to have. In the event that we are not able to achieve it this year, we must take steps to ensure that at the next Budget, we get there. For now, I would submit that let us get at least to 14% so that as a nation, we are seen to be serious. It is not just about the target. It is also about the impact, effects and the consequences of not increasing this Budget. It is for these reasons that my contribution is that, please Hon. Minister, let us increase this particular Vote, ideally to where it should be which is 15% of the Budget. I so submit Mr. Chair.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON (HON. M. KHUMALO): May I remind Hon. Members not to debate. Please bring new ideas, do not debate.
HON. MADZIMURE: Thank you Hon. Chair. I have got two issues. The first one has to do with motor cycles that were supplied by the World Health Organisation (WHO). It is now four years after these motor cycles were donated and to date, they are not working. So, we have got 100 motor cycles that are lying idle that were donated some four years ago. The reason is simple. They are saying they do not have money to train health workers who are supposed to use those motor cycles. If you divide the 100 motor cycles by 10, it means each province will have 10 motor cycles for the health workers. This will make a big difference. In other countries, for those people who are diabetic, HIV positive, high blood pressure, they supply medicines using motor cycles. We have got 10 motor cycles lying idle because the staff that is supposed to use them cannot be trained.
The second one Hon. Chair has to do with a hospital in Matobo. When we were doing consultations, it was submitted that the hospital was actually condemned and if you visit the hospital, it is in a sorry state. You do not have accommodation for the pregnant women. Even those who will be in the wards waiting to deliver may be shifted when rains come because the roofs are leaking. So, there must be a line that deals with that particular hospital because that is the only hospital that they have. As a result, you find people crossing into Botswana or South Africa to deliver. It is an issue that needs to be dealt with. Thank you Mr. Chair.
(v)*HON. CHIDAKWA: Thank you Hon. Chair for giving me this opportunity to add my views. The Vote for the Ministry of Health should be increased so that hospitals are capacitated. If you go to major hospitals like Parirenyatwa, the service that you receive immediately is BP and temperature checks but it takes time for patients to get assisted. This is due to the fact that there will be few doctors and the doctors do not have the necessary tools to use. Food that is being served to patients is not good due to lack of funding. Hon. Chair, some hospitals do not have medical equipment to do Xray and scan. The other cause for shortages of drugs is failure by the Ministry of Finance to disburse the allocated funds to the sector. Let us increase the budget allocation to this Ministry. I request that funds should be disbursed timeously in order to avert the health challenges that we are facing as a country. For a nation to progress, its people should be in good health. I thank you Hon. Chair. I thank you.
HON. CHINYANGANYA: Thank you Mr. Chairman, I would like to speak on the Ministry of Health’s budget. The Health Ministry is one of the critical ministries that we have because it concerns the lives of people and as such, it deserves to be allocated a budget that will be able to cater for the purchase of medicines and the hospital infrastructure as well. If you look at it right now, most patients in border towns are going across the borders to access health care. Victoria Falls, they are going to Zambia; in Beitbridge they are going to South Africa and in Mutare they are going to Mozambique.
We used to be one of the most advanced and most equipped countries when it comes to healthcare. Right now, our health system is in the intensive care unit. So we kindly ask the Minister of Health to increase the budget so that our people can have proper healthcare facilities. As we speak, the situation at Parirenyatwa, Chitungwiza Hospital is dire. At Kadoma General Hospital, there is no medication and there is no critical medical equipment. The Minister can increase sim tax to fund the Ministry of Health budget, and I think that will go a long way in trying to serve our people. I thank you.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Hon. Members, may I remind you that you seem to be repeating what has been said already by other Hon. Members. Can we move forward?
HON. I. NYONI: Thank you Mr. Chairman I will try not to repeat what has been highlighted. My contribution on the Health budget is, I am looking at the National Blood Transfusion Service. We know that blood plays a major part, particularly in the festive season where we are expecting to have a number of accidents on the roads. Blood plays a major part in the maternity ward in various hospitals. I will give an example in the Southern region; we have UBH, Mpilo Hospital and other hospitals in the region.
At the moment these various blood transfusion stocks are very low and the reason is that they are not paid on time by the relevant Ministry because of inadequate funding. It is very important that adequate funds are allocated to the Ministry of Health so that you are able to meet funding on this particular important part of health, which is blood and that is life.
Currently, we are facing inadequate blood supplies because the National Blood Transfusion Services are not able to fund their services on a daily basis. Therefore, my clarion request to the Minister is to ensure that there is timeous release of funds. There must be an increase in the allocation to ensure that the National Blood Transfusion Services are well catered for. I thank you.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Hon. Members, I repeat again may you summarize your suggestions. I will end up not giving other people time to debate.
*HON. T. ZHOU: Thank you very much Mr. Chairman. If the Ministry of Health is awarded an additional budget, I am pleading with the Minister that disbursements must be done on time. I will give an example whereby you allocated an amount amounting to 250 million to Mberengwa District Hospital. All the processes were done but on disbursements, that fund was not disbursed. They had planned to build the OPD Department but they did not manage to build it, they have only managed to put up a foundation only this year.
In next year’s budget there will be no allocation to that effect. We just promise people but we do not disburse the money. I am pleading with the Minister that all projects must be completed and for this year’s uncompleted projects they must be carried forward to next year’s budget. I thank you.
(V) *HON. NYABANI: Thank you Hon. Chair. Where I come from in Rushinga, we value the well-being of people. The Hon. Minister must allocate more funds to Health because there is no medication in Rushinga clinics. The clinics do not have vehicles like ambulances and other vehicles. Rushinga is near the border and there are a lot of diseases like malaria and so on. People travel long distances to go to the clinics. Rushinga must be given more money so that they do not have to travel long distances to access medication.
My son was not well and I tried to take him to hospital but by the time I got to the hospital at around 6p.m. it was closed. A lot of hospitals and clinics must be solar powered so that even if they work late they will not have any difficulties and people will be helped.
Mr. Speaker, in Rushinga even if people are involved in car accidents and I once helped accident victims by taking them to the hospital, they were only given cards because there was no medication; they were expected to buy their own medicines. My plea is that people be helped when it concerns health issues. People in rural areas are suffering, they do not have money. If only we had companies in this country that manufacture medicines instead of importing from other countries. This will ensure that we have enough supply of drugs for our hospitals so that our people can be treated using these drugs. I thank you Hon. Chairman for giving me this opportunity to make my contribution.
*HON. TEKESHE: Thank you Hon. Chairman. I want to emphasise on the points made by the previous speaker, Hon. Nyabane. The main issue is that our rural hospitals do not have drugs, even drips and people have to buy for themselves. These people in rural areas do not have the money to buy drugs. If they visit the hospital and they are given a prescription, the next thing is that they go straight home without the required medication.
So I appeal to the Minister. The funds that have been allocated to the health sector are too little. The health sector should be given more funds so that hospitals are well equipped and they have enough drugs and even ambulances. In the rural areas, there are no ambulances to ferry the sick to hospitals. If there is an accident, people die because there are no ambulances. Well wishers end up ferrying the injured to the hospital.
Nurses used to be searched when exiting hospitals but that is no longer being done because there is nothing for them to steal. If this Bill passes in this House, please allocate enough funds to buy drugs and medication. Members of Parliament are now taking it upon themselves to buying medication for some of the less fortunate people in their constituencies. Thank you Hon. Chair.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Hon. Members, there is vehicle AFX1475 which is blocking other vehicles.
(v)HON. BRIG. GEN (RTD.) MAYIHLOME: Thank you Hon. Chair. My contributions are very few. The first one Hon. Chairman is about district centres that do not have hospitals or rural health centres. May the Ministry also consider these places that have been identified and presented in the citizens’ budget as not having adequate rural health centres?, Esigodhini was identified together with Shamva five years ago that it was the worst hospital in the country but no allocations have been made in the past three years.
Secondly, the issue about cost recovery in hospitals - it is my proposal for domestic resource mobilisation. We are saying instead of giving the wrong perception that we are offering free medical services, people find that there is nothing. It is better if people were charged at least for paying subsidised rates and then they find that x-ray machines, scans and diagnostic equipment are working. You go to renal clinics, you find that the renal clinics at Parirenyatwa out of the 17 that were operational, only three are operational now because the equipment is just degraded and run down and we are saying these non communicable diseases, you have to address them because these are very expensive and very real problems that people face. Renal patients have not much else to do besides living through that dialysis. So if only the Minister can consider equipping Harare, Parirenyatwa, Mpilo and UBH hospitals with renal equipment at least 10 for all of those hospitals.
Finally, the issue of Ingutsheni Hospital - honestly those people are sick enough already to be at that place. For them now to go without food, I think really as a society, as a nation that cares, we do not seem to be taking Ingutsheni Hospital very seriously. We are seeing letters flying all over the place. They are begging for food. Why are they begging for food when we are saying everyone else in the country has sufficient food? Where is the Ministry of Health and Child Care, where is the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and where is the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development? Ingutsheni Hospital is circulating letters asking citizens to subsidise it on food. It is not fair. Let us have a budget that addresses the immediate plight of people who are sick. Everybody one day will fall sick. I thank you Mr. Chairman.
(v)HON. S. NDLOVU: Thank you Mr. Chairman. I also want to add my voice on this Health budget. What I have seen in hospitals is women who are giving birth cannot be operated unless and until they buy things that are supposed to be used during the operation like injections to put someone to sleep and even gloves for the doctors. There is absolutely nothing in hospitals. So I am saying as a woman myself, the women are doing a service to the nation by giving birth to Zimbabweans and truly speaking, they must be looked after especially in time of giving birth.
Most of our women are from the rural areas and they do not have the money to buy these things for them to have an operation because the hospitals are not equipped enough and the disbursement of funds are not even adequate. From what was given to our hospitals, they cannot even buy things like gloves and paracetamol and we are talking of a woman who is giving birth to a child who belongs to the nation. So I am saying can the Minister look into this matter to add more funds to the health sector, to disburse the funds timeously and to disburse everything that has been allocated to the Ministry.
Sometime this year, what was allocated to hospitals was not disbursed, not even half of it. So how do we expect hospitals to run if they do not get the allocation that has been budgeted for them? Can the Minister look into this issue? Again not women giving birth only, everybody who goes for an operation must buy whatever is needed for that person to go through an operation. Also the machines in hospitals are not working. Private doctors are bound to make more money because the doctor will say well, the machine is not working in hospital but you can go to this clinic in town and you will get assistance.
Why should we go that far? Why can we not equip our hospitals with machines that are working and what are we saying to the district hospitals that do not even have these machines? They are supposed to be transferred to bigger hospitals like Parirenyatwa, Mpilo and UBH, but also in these big hospitals, these machines are not working. So as a Government which is saying we do not want to leave anyone behind, I think we are doing the opposite; we are leaving a lot of people behind. As it is, people no longer go to hospitals because they do not have confidence in these hospitals anymore. Can the Minister look into this seriously?. I propose that the monies must be disbursed by the first quarter of 2023 so that ministries including the Ministry of Health and Child Care can start buying things that are needed for the hospitals. Thank you.
(v)*HON. MANGORA: I want to add my voice to the Health budget. My request to the Minister of Finance and Economic Development is that he should add a lot of funds to cater for diseases like cervical cancer that are detected often too late because of unavailability of facilities at primary healthcare level. By the time one needs that medication, it becomes too expensive especially in private hospitals. We need to have such facilities in public hospitals so that people can be treated earlier. If you are supposed to go for chemotherapy, not so many people can afford that especially people who earn low salaries. For hospitals that cater for mental health hospitals, we need to have a lot of funds allocated there because sometimes they end up becoming violent and some of them escape because of hunger. There is need for a lot of funds to be allocated so that they get enough. I do not have much to say but just to say funds must be availed to those hospitals that cater for mental health as well as for the procurement of ambulances. I saw patients especially paralysed ones failing to get into an ambulance because they were not user friendly, so we need funds to be allocated for that. I thank you.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON (HON. MAVETERA): Hon. Members, I am closing this debate, all of you are repeating the same things. We are closing this debate. Can I have the last one.
(v)HON. TOFFA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. Without having to repeat what others have said, I would like to add the fact that in rural areas – [HON. NDUNA: Inaudible interjection.] –
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Order, Hon. Nduna, order please!
(v)HON. TOFFA: There is no medication, they have got no X-rays and I will give a typical example of Filabusi where we were attended to and we were to share a cube of tablet. Hon. Speaker, I would also like to talk about Ingustheni Hospital, just to add and I know it has been spoken about. It is important because it looks like as a country, we do not look at mental health as something important. I think we need to take that very seriously. I would like to make a recommendation; as we have done public hearings and moved around, I have noticed that at most hospitals, there are broken down cars. I would urge the Minister of Finance to have all these broken down vehicles collected and sold. You can actually raise money for the Ministry of Health instead of letting the cars rot at the hospitals and all the other Government departments. Thank you Hon. Chair.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Thank you Hon. Chairperson for the comments from the various Hon. Members, which I really appreciate. Let me start off from the comments by Hon. Watson; she has left the House. Basically, the Health sector budget is actually split into two; the first part is what we appropriate from the Consolidated Revenue Fund and this amounts to about ZWL470 billion; that is what we are debating. Then we have an additional ZWL232 billion from development partners. They support Health directly and they are very clear about that; they run various programmes. The total that is going to the Health sector is ZWL702 billion. That is what we should be looking at. If we look at the draw-down in terms of budget utilisation for the Health sector, up to now it is 65%. Also, there is the donor funding that is also being drawn-down in parallel as well.
The issue about this sector is not so much that of using adequate funding, but it is about the speed of disbursement and it is a push and pull issue. If we look at other ministries such as Transport, they have actually run out of budget; Agriculture has also run out of budget. They are high expenders and they real push for their budget release. We feel that perhaps we could improve the absorptive rate so that they can get their funding faster. At the same time, you have competition between donor funding and also domestic funding where you are quite aware that in some sub-sectors, officials prefer to work with donor funding because they are getting hard US dollars for that. We have all those challenges as well.
Hon. Chair, also there is something else, I do not know whether you have noticed that we have got private hospitals mushrooming everywhere, every other corner of Harare, there is some private hospital coming up - I am dramatising. It is quite clear that this is a growth sector. If you go to those private hospitals, you will find that there is adequate medicine and there is equipment and quality personnel. Also we have found that some of the drugs that we buy for public hospitals disappear very quickly and how come these private hospitals always have medicine, what is going on? I think there are a lot of issues that I think we need to deal with within the sector including perhaps finding a way for the public sector and the private sector to work together on a public-private-partnership. Maybe we need to find a way to subsidise our citizens for them to access the private hospitals. Really at the end of the day, it looks like access is the issue but there are quite a lot of private hospitals around us.
Hon. Chairperson, I want to mention something else - some colleagues – and here I am not going to be specific mentioning the issue of cancer. In the last year’s budget, we have created a fund for non-communicable diseases where we have taxes from sugar drinks and should be ring fenced to deal with subsidising drugs for cancer, hypertension, diabetics, UNCDs; so this needs to be operationalised. In addition to that, I am going back to the resources again. We have been borrowing to also support the Health sector. Some of you have seen the clinics that have been built through the MNS arrangement, the one in Harare South and the one in Cowdry Park is as good as done now. The one in Mataga in Zvishavane has started and then we move on to Chimanimani, I heard Hon. Mayihlome mentioning Filabusi- we are eying Filabusi to build again a polyclinic there. We will build about 30 of these polyclinics around the country and that is based on our borrowing activities, not even from the budget but borrowing to support the sector.
The way we see it, we feel that the sector in terms of resources that have been allocated, there is adequate resources but the issue is draw-down, competition between donors and Government funding. We also need to find a way for the public and private sectors to work together so that they can improve on access to our public citizens.
Therefore Hon. Chairman, I do not think there is room to maneuver here; let us just work on disbursement so that the Ministry can also receive funds as fast as other ministries such as Agriculture, Transport, Office of the President and Cabinet and so forth. I thank you.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Hon. Minister, how do you reconcile the issue of you indicating that for part of your Health budget, you are relying on development partners at a time that this country is pushing a Bill that is literally going to restrict the operations of development partners through the PVO Amendment Bill –[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
HON. TOFFA: Thank you Hon. Chair – [HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Inaudible interjection.] -
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Order! Hon. Sibanda, that is unparliamentary.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Is the Minister’s conduct Parliamentary; he sits there as an arbiter, be independent, do not be sided in your opinions. Is his conduct parliamentary - that is nonsense!
THE TEMPORARY CHAIPERSON: Order, order! Hon. Sibanda, may you withdraw that word.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Listen Hon. Chair, how does he interfere and say the Hon. Minister should not answer when I did not direct the question to him? Okay, I withdraw nonsense.
HON. TOFFA: Thank you Hon. Chair. My point of clarification is that whenever the Minister responds or even when he responded today with regards to the timeous disbursement of funds, particularly to the Ministry of Health and Child Care, he says it is a draw-down and the Ministry’s fault but as a Minister of Finance and we are always asking the Minister about this issue, what mechanisms have you put in place to correct this? What is it that you are going to do to make sure that the Ministry of Health gets the funding on time? If they are not drawing down, the people in Zimbabwe and in the hospitals in particular, are not getting medication and are not being capacitated and yet you say the funding is there sitting in the coffers waiting to be used. What is it that you are going to do to remedy this mischief?
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank very much Hon. Chair. I really thank Hon. Toffa for asking for mechanisms that we should put in place to improve the disbursement. I am glad she asked that. What we have done with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Transport is to set up coordination process where the technical teams meet every week to track progress on disbursements and programmes. It has worked very well for those two ministries, so again I would suggest that we follow a similar approach because it has worked. It is not yet in place but we will put that in place and in some occasions the Ministers also get involved. So for example for Transport and Agriculture, some of the meetings I attend with Hon. Masuku and Hon. Mhona. So the same thing will apply to Health - that is what I propose Hon. Chair, I think it will work going forward.
Vote 14 put and agreed to.
On Vote 15 - Primary and Secondary Education – ZWL631 279 722 000:
(v)HON. S. BANDA: Thank you Madam Speaker. My concern on the Vote for Primary and Secondary Education emanates from sanitary pads which were given just $1.5 from $1.3 billion this year. I thought the Hon. Minister could maybe double that, like what is happening to other situations given the inflationary pressures. So I just want the Hon. Minister to increase that figure and take it from the unallocated reserves.
(v)HON. NDUNA: Thank you Madam Chair. I just want to express my displeasure. Your ICT is playing games today. I cannot believe it. I was vouching for them to get better remuneration yesterday. I withdraw.
Madam Chair, the issue of the third party insurance is key. I ask that the money be taken to fund the education sector. I say that because you are now on the Education Vote but it would have made sense if we were still on the Health Vote that disallowed me to contribute. There is more than USD100 million coming from third party insurance annually and it is not benefiting the end user. It is my hope that, that Act gets to be repealed and we get to have that third party insurance going into the central revenue. I will give you an example, every seat in the bus of an 85 seater bus pays $15 per seat, which translates to about $4 500 per passenger insurance. It is my hope that this money can be out towards education for our citizens.
There is also what is called a comprehensive insurance Madam Chair. This is the only insurance that maybe the citizens are benefitting from. This is the only insurance that should remain in force. The other insurance where the Minister of Finance previously in the year 2022 budget, has taken 20% transit fees and all that to finance the health sector, in particular at the tollgates or the procurement of ambulances for the tollgates; he should continue to take from all insurance sectors to finance the Health and also the Education Votes.
The last issue that I want to contribute on is the issue of the school feeding programme. Madam Speaker, I continue to say Section 13 (4) of the Constitution says let the resources that are extracted in the localities that they are extracted benefit those localities. It is my hope that the Minister of – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Order. Hon. Nduna, can we please be specific to the Primary Vote. You need to understand the environment that we are now.
HON. NDUNA: It is the Vote for Education, is it not? I am basically saying you should find ways to extract monies from the miners in those localities to finance education and the issue of the school feeding programmes. The pupils are getting school feeding from the pittance from Government whereas in the private sector, there is a lot of money that the Minister can tap from. This is my clarion call Madam Chair and I ask that your ICT department behaves like normal people that are employed by Parliament. They should not be used to pick out Members from virtual and to mute Members unnecessarily. I thank you.
HON. WATSON: Thank you Madam Chair. I wish to raise one point only and that is the budget allocation for sanitary pads to schools for young girls. This budget has dropped by 80% in USD terms down to USD2.32 million from USD11.64 million. That means essentially young girls in school who have not been receiving the sanitary pads according to the education Committee, will most certainly not receive them. That means a lot of young girls will not attend school. I hope the Minister got that. Thank you Madam Chair.
HON. MUCHIMWE: I rise to wholly support the credibility of this budget. Really, the Minister and his staff did exactly what is called realistic performance. I say this because throughout his budget allocation to all entities, he insisted on our local currency. No country can grow distinctively while using other countries’ resources. We may only employ the tactic that engagement and reengagement. The problems in budget presentation will be forgotten in the future if the Minister supports agro-based projects. The fundamental principle of developing is to provide irrigation facilities in communal areas. For this to be functional, funds must be allocated to constituencies to enable dam rehabilitation and construction. The Youth Empowerment Bank must receive enough allocation for it to assist the youth.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Order Hon. Members.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Chair, please with your permission, could I ask Hon. Watson just to ask her question again.
HON. WATSON: Thank you Madam Chair. Thank you Hon. Minister. My point is about sanitary pads for girls in schools. The budget has also dropped by 80% from USD11.64 million down to USD2.32 million equivalent. In the Education report, girls were said not to be getting the sanitary pads in any case. This will mean effectively that they will not get the sanitary pads and a lot of young girls particularly in rural environments will not attend school. I think it is extremely unfortunate. Also I am going to support Hon. Toffa’s point that it might be better to use the USD2.32 million within the first quarter to buy machinery to manufacture sanitary or reusable sanitary pads so that these young girls will be afforded the opportunity to attend school. Thank you.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you very much. Madam Chair, the Budget for the Ministry is the largest allocation for any NDA within this year, the 2023 budget. I think if Members feel that the budget for sanitary wear is rather on the low side, why do we not virement because again when it comes to taking money from elsewhere, We have very little room to maneuver. If anyone has a proposal on how we can virement or cut back on one item to increase that budget, I am all ears. Let me explain something; every year we always run out of the UR by June. So, let us virement from elsewhere, that is what I propose. If we run down our UR, we will be in trouble. Already what we want is a UR which is about 10% of the overall budget. We are already down to $72 billion after what I proposed yesterday. We are already so low on the UR that we cannot function like that and we still need to respond to certain exigencies and shocks. So, I propose we virement and if anyone has a proposal, I am happy to accept.
HON. T. MOYO: As the Committee on Budget, we suggested that 0.5% of VAT must be collected and given to Primary and Secondary Education.
HON. TOFFA: Thank you Madam Chair. The suggestion that we had proffered to the Hon. Minister is the fact that we are importing these pads, why do we not use that money to buy machinery to manufacture the pads? I think that way we will have control and we will be spending less foreign currency while creating employment at the same time.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you, I really appreciate that proposal from Hon. Toffa. I think that is the direction to take although we need to figure out who will operationalise the project. We need to find a private sector partner who can work with Government to do the right thing but that suggestion is most welcome. We will explore it as fast as we can so that we can make sure our rural girls are well supported. I thank you.
Vote 15 - Primary and Secondary Education - $631, 279,722,000, put and agreed to.
On Vote 16 - Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development - $156,509,466,000;
HON. MAPHOSA: Thank you very much Madam Chair. I will not belabour this House by going through my report once again but I have got two issues. If we are serious that we want education to change the situation of our country, or should we say if we want education to be a driver to the economic change and to alleviate the burden we have right now, we must be serious about the trajectory that has been taken, which is of Education 5.0. When I was presenting my report, I deliberately did not say what the President, His Excellency Cde Mnangagwa has done to the institution by injecting his monies; I do not know where he is taking them from. So, I implore the Finance Minister to also have the same vision that the President has. I talked to you through the report and I know you are aware of what I am talking about. Firstly, the issue of work for fees that I talked about, we all know that we do not have grants anymore but we have banks giving out loans which are not easily accessible by students. We cannot do away with poor children. The institution has tried to make ‘Work for Fees’ work and I gave you a lot of examples of what these children are doing so that they also graduate. I am therefore imploring the Hon. Minister to allocate the $580,000,000 that was asked for by the Ministry specifically for that so that at least no student is left behind.
Secondly, I will only talk of Gwanda State University. I know there are shortages in some institutions but at least they have got something while we have zero budget for Gwanda State University and like I said, the President laid a foundation stone for infrastructure for the innovation hubs and the laboratories. Right now, I should be in Marondera where he is also laying a foundation of another infrastructure but we have no budget. So, I am pleading with the Finance Minister to at least add the budget for Gwanda State University and the Work for Fees Programme. I thank you.
HON. MADZIMURE: Madam Chair, we now have incubation hubs at universities and some are doing very well. I however think that we have not established a system where we account for the monies that we raise through these programmes. My suggestion is that a fund be established that the Ministry should know and the fund should be retained by the university so that it is used for assisting children from poor families learning in these faculties which are doing more work in the incubation hubs. So, if the Minister could tell us how he is going to deal with that particular issue because we may end up in a situation where a lot of money is raised but it is not accounted for well.
(v) HON. S. BANDA: Thank you Hon. Chair. I just have one issue. There is a problem of electricity in the universities particularly for lecturers. So, if you are going to pass the amount that is there now in the budget, it would not necessarily ensure what is needed to happen. I was going to propose the equilibrium system to be completed so that the Hon. Minister can quickly fund that aggregate. I thank you.
(v) HON. NDUNA: Thank you Madam Chair. I request that there be an allocation for reverse engineering to document the recent satellite launch into space that we did as Zimbabwe. It is applauded and to bolster that, I request that there be an allocation for reverse engineering. The other issue is that of having the right people in the right places and not square plugs in round holes. We have a recent issue that occurred at the University of Zimbabwe, Law Faculty it does seem that we have the wrong people as Deans in the right places. It is incumbent upon the Ministry to also start directing to put the money where his mouth is, where he actually directs so that we have people with credibility of probity so that we will not have, say, examination papers leaking or otherwise because of their deficiencies and inefficiencies. These are the issues that I want to make so that the Minister can actually take unallocated monies so that it can take us forward as a nation.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you Chair. I was going to ask my colleague to sit with me for a minute so that I can show her the Blue Book regarding Gwanda State University. If you have a copy of the Blue Book, on page 351, under Gwanda State University we have $100 million for the rehabilitation of infrastructure, $150 million for some lecture block, $10 million for a mining laboratory, $150 for innovation fund as someone mentioned about supporting research and innovation, there it is, $80 million for industrial park and $20 million for innovation hub equipment and that comes to about $660 million rounding off quickly there. There is something there if you check but thanks for raising it; we have not forgotten Gwanda State University.
On the issue of work for fees; I do not have to virement. If there are ideas that I can do this, it will help to see where we can take funds and apply to this programme because we are really running out of budget. Things are really tight. On the comment about supporting innovation and so forth, I did not hear you applaud when we launched the satellite. This is where I started in 2018 if you remember and I said let us launch a satellite that will stretch our research. It has done that and we are doing a second one now.
That is just an example but we have done a lot in terms of research and innovation in our universities. Every university has an innovation hub and they are doing something. So many patents have been patented from the research that is coming from academics. We just need to upgrade the model around commercialising entrepreneurship ideas coming out of these innovation hubs but it is a process. It starts with the knowledge, its commercialization and then eventually you roll it out so that you may start making money out of it and it is sustainable. So colleagues, overall I really feel that we have done our best to allocate adequate budget to this Ministry.
This Ministry is also very efficient at using their budget, especially for infrastructure development. We are very happy with them. They tend to use their own building brigades to put up buildings. They do it very quickly and cheaply, usually it is about 25% of the cost of what we are experiencing for other ministries. We are very happy with this Ministry in terms of efficiency in the use of the budget. We feel that this budget will go a long way. They always deliver and use every dollar properly. Please let us support it as is.
Vote 16 put and agreed to.
Vote 17 – Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development – $18 541 814 000 put and agreed to.
On Vote 18 – Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage – $293 009 806 000:
HON. NGULUVHE: I just want to bring this to the attention of the Minister concerning this department. The issue of the legacy bills in ZRP and Registry; we are all aware that we had voter registration across the country. People were engaged to carry out that exercise and a lot of people were not paid. There is an outstanding bill of about RTG$15 billion of people who took part in that exercise. We are still to do a mop registration of voters as we move towards the 2023 elections and therefore, there is a need that those outstanding bills, the people should be paid. We should also continue to register our people. So as we move towards 2023, the election funding gap for the Registry and ZRP should be taken care of. I propose that we move that Registry bill to about $70 billion.
We also have an issue that some departments like Museums should be allowed – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Thank you. You will find that Hon. Minister, I know that you collect all the funds but you might have to reconsider the issue of retention funds for some of the departments under Ministry of Home Affairs.
My last point is; we take care of our National Heroes Acre well but if you go around the country and check where our provincial heroes are buried, and some of those victims are buried; outside or inside the country, the shrines are in a bad state. So, I appeal to you to consider that department also to be given additional funds. Thank you.
HON. I. NYONI: My contribution on the Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage is on the police services. I am sure most Hon. Members here usually help the police with full and transport. At most police stations, they only have one vehicle and a good example is in my constituency. We have two police stations where they share one vehicle but police a very big area. I recall the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs did go around checking on the challenges that were faced by the police and some of those that were identified when the report was presented here in Parliament was transport, accommodation and uniforms.
However, we are also aware that during the patrols, police no longer do the normal patrols in the areas because of this kind of incapacitation. The patrols are usually done by neighbourhood watch committees and this leaves members of the public exposed to thieves. We have cases whereby ZESA cables are stolen regularly because there are no police patrols because of this kind of incapacitation. I suggest that the Vote be increased to a reasonable amount – say about ZWL$300 billion.
*HON. CHINOTIMBA: I propose that the Minister goes around police camps to view the state of accommodation for police officers. They live like vagrants, especially those in border towns. They are supposed to be paid travelling and subsistence allowances but they are not. This causes them to be corrupt. This Vote should be increased in order to ensure that police officers are capacitated and there is no corruption.
(v)*HON. RAIDZA: May the Minister allocate more funds on the department of flora and fauna at the CID because there is a lot of illicit financial leakages since the police officers who are doing that work are incapacitated. We need to curb mineral pilferage in our country. I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Thank you Hon. Chair for the debate on Vote 18 – Ministry of Home Affairs. I really feel that we have done a lot in supporting this Ministry. If we look at the three areas around police, there is the issue of mobility – [HON. MEMBES: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Order Hon. Members. You are making a lot of noise. I do not think we will progress with what you are doing. We can hardly hear the Hon. Minister. Let us keep our voices low. I know you have got a lot of caucuses because of elections and all – [HON. MEMBES: Inaudible interjections.] –
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: In terms of support to the police force, there are three critical areas, one is mobility, then the other is cantonment or institutional accommodation and the third one is on rations. On the issue for mobility and as I mentioned yesterday as with the Ministry of Defence; we have sourced US$60 million for purposes of purchasing cars as well as motor cycles for the police including four helicopters. That procurement is underway now and they will receive their cars and will be mobile.
On the issue of institutional accommodation, that is a multi-programme. We have tried hard. Looking at Tomlinson Depot facility, in fact this year alone, we budgeted 230 million and it should be complete. This was adequate budget. For 2023 there is no budget and this should be done this year. We just need to check how far this has gone. We have 50 million allocated to Buchwa Police Camp for example. We also allocated a budget for ZRP clothing factory for the making of uniforms and another 150 million for the head office for drilling boreholes to provide clean water. We also allocated 300 million for the Dotito police station and another 30 million for the Hwedza police station. We have been targeting various police stations and upgrading the quality of facilities.
If we look at the area of registration, we have been supporting offices in Insiza, Goromonzi, Kadoma and Murehwa with resources for a district level for registration. I really feel that we tried hard to support the Ministry in all the key areas where we kept budgetary expenditure up to now – the Ministry is about 80% at the moment and has 20% to go. They have not spent the entire budget. Wait until the mobility programme has been fully rolled out to really see whether our police are supported or not because that has been the major impediment – motor cycles and vehicles. I thank you.
HON. HAMAUSWA: I just want to make a suggestion to the Minister in terms of police officers accommodation. If you check our police stations, there are those wooden houses that are very nice. Wood is readily available here in Zimbabwe. Why can we not come up with a programme that is along that line that will really make sure that those wooden houses have been there for more than 25 years now. In Warren Park, they are there. They are very nice even looking to other low cost housing materials which we can then roll out. We then engage our polytechnic colleges; they can be partnering police stations or Government departments to roll-out low cost housing systems to our police officers and other Government departments. In Zambia they are taking PVC material which was displayed at Harare Show, it is actually cheaper and very strong. It can go for up to 100 years. It was displayed in 2014. We tried to engage the then Minister of Local Government but we do not know why our systems are not transforming. That is another way you can actually help the police force.
The other important issue which is missing out is - can you increase to the Police Service, a budget that will take care of the disabled persons? Persons with disabilities are not being handled well because there are no facilities that will really cater for the persons with disabilities, starting from hearing impairments. It is difficult for those who cannot hear for them to give their statements. There is need to really look into that issue of persons with disabilities. It is a very critical issue Hon. Minister which we cannot pass this budget unless you can actually increase something to the persons with disabilities.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: I thank the Hon. Member for a wonderful suggestion regarding wooden houses which are cheaper than the brick houses. I will certainly take this up so that as we construct these houses, we make use of wooden material. That is a great suggestion. From what I am hearing from the others, they are saying these houses are durable. They can last at least 10 years. That is really helpful.
On facilities for supporting the disabled, as they come in to report their cases and so forth, this is part of the infrastructure programme within the Ministry which we will have a budget for as we support the Ministry. I do not think we need to be that specific but we just want to say that the buildings and equipment should be supporting our disabled people and be compliant with the rules. I do not think there is an issue but we will allocate a specific budget and then increase. We will deal with it within the current budget. I thank you.
Vote 18 put and agreed to.
On Vote 19 – Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs – ZW$120 333 701.000;
HON. CHINYANGANYA: The current state of our prisons and the state of prison wardens’ accommodation is in a very bad state. I am suggesting that the Minister of Finance looks into it and increase the budget for the Ministry of Justice so that these issues can be addressed. Also our ten Commissions are critical in the affairs of our nation and they need funding so that they can render their duties in a way that is progressive. I propose that their budget is increased. I thank you.
HON. MAVETERA: I was kindly asking especially on programme number 3 concerning prison services. I was asking if we can then increase the amount, especially on the ZW$79 million which was allocated. If you look at the state and the amount that is going for issues concerning food, we are talking of an amount which is going for ZW$93 million. Considering that we have got a whole year and that we have 25 000 prisoners across the country, we are kindly asking if we can then be able to increase that budget. If you can increase just a little concerning prisoners, I think it will really work on programme number 3.
HON. BITI: I am making a strong appeal to the Minister of Finance that you revisit the issue of prisoners. The condition of prisoners is pathetic, deplorable and sad. I am hoping that you can take from your pocket; we know it is a bit strained. You can take at least ZW$2 billion and add it to prisons. Prisoners do not have adequate food and clothing. The cells are infested with lice. I am requesting that our prisoners be looked after very well.
I was in Harare Central Prison very recently when I was interviewing death row prisoners, it was shocking to see that most of them were malnourished and starving. I am appealing to the Minister of Finance to consider the plight of prisoners. If you are locked up at Chikurubi Prison weighing 105kgs, by the time you come out, you will be so thin like a cockroach due to starvation. I am requesting that you take Z$2 billion from your back pocket and increase the budget of prisons.
The salaries of the prison guards are very low. In fact, prison guards earn far less than teachers and soldiers yet they are all civil servants. I am asking that you increase the budget of the prisoners and the prison guards. I thank you.
*(v) HON. TEKESHE: Thank you Hon. Chairman for giving me this opportunity. The Minister should take note of providing funds to the Judicial Service Commission because matters at courts are now being dismissed since the witnesses are not forthcoming reason being they are not being given their witness expenses when they come to testify. The witness is not an accused person, therefore they should be provided with lunch and accommodation. Thank you Hon. Minister.
+ (v) HON. L. SIBANDA: Thank you for recognising me Hon. Chair. I want to add my voice to this debate. I appeal that the Ministry of Finance increases its budget allocation to the Judiciary, especially to the prisons. First of all, prisoners are going around naked and secondly, they do not have enough blankets. They just have one blanket. Thirdly, all our prisons in Zimbabwe are congested. I appeal that the Ministry of Finance increases its budget to the department of Prisons and Correctional Services. Inmates are dying because of poor hygiene and continuously infecting each other with diseases due to overcrowding. It is better for you Hon. Minister to also put these prisons in order because no one is immune from being arrested; you can find yourself being imprisoned one day. I thank you.
(v) HON. S. BANDA: Thank you Hon. Chairman. I have got three issues and the first one is; there is a misrepresentation in terms of junior officers who are earning more money than their seniors. So I urge the Hon. Minister to look into it and make sure that the responsible officers like the Officer in Charge and the Superintended are given their appropriate allowances so that at least the junior officers do not seem to be like they are now the senior officers.
The second issue that has also been discussed is pellagra which continues to develop in our prisons. I urge the Hon. Minister to take it from what Hon. Biti said that there should be the minimum of ZW$2 billion in prisons so that we can look at the welfare of our prisoners.
Lastly, I would also want to urge the Hon. Minister to also go and visit one of our colleagues who is in prison. He is also not just an Hon. Member of Parliament but a friend of the Hon. Minister. You can also go and see Hon. Sikhala. I thank you Hon. Chair.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): I thank the Hon. Members for their impassioned presentation. I can react to a couple of things and I can say in this sector, our approach has been to deal with the issues of accommodation. Chikurubi was mentioned but we allocated for that prison. For example, we have Ntabazinduna and Army Prison which is also included. Staff College and Anju Farm houses, I also allocated a budget to them. Khami houses and Chikurubi actually got the highest Vote at 116 million. We have Hwahwa Prison, and other prisons in Mutare. Marondera Female Open Prison also was allocated a budget. In Mutare farms, I also allocated a budget.
The reason I want to emphasize the issue of farms is that prison services have got the farms and I would like to know if they are using these farms to produce food. They should use these farms to produce food. The last time I visited Chikurubi Prison and we handed over 20 tractors to various prisons so that they could make use of the farms. The idea was that they should put these farms under the Command Agriculture Programme so that they could be supported.
I think they should be able to use these farms effectively and internally but I will say something at the end. We have also budgeted for Tsholotsho Prison, Plumtree, Gwanda, Marondera, Ridikita and then Hurungwe, Chinhoyi , Karoi and Kadoma. So it is quite a lot that can happen here in terms of institutional housing and farm support. In addition to that, I talked about this USD60 million that we have sourced for the entire defence security sector. The Prison Services are also included in terms of vehicles for the officers but also vehicles for transporting prisoners to courts and back. That is also included. You will see a change in this regard.
I am also aware and I went to Harare Central Prison; what I found there was very impressive where the prisoners were making window frames, door frames, doors and they also have a clothing facility where they learn how to make uniforms. So I just got a sense that perhaps the more we support those activities, the more we do not only give skills to these prisoners but also the prisons could generate extra income and this reduces the demand from the fiscus. These are some of the things to consider.
Let me deal with the issue raised by Hon. Banda on allowances. I reviewed the allowances for prison officers, Ministry of Defence, the soldiers as well as the police. There is a risk factor and the risk factor principle is that it is COVID Military Salary Concept, that the officer who is on the frontline, the private soldier should get a higher allowance as a percentage of his/her salary than the boss. The scale cascades upwards and the General is the least paid in terms of risk allowance as a percentage of his/her salary. That is how it works. So it is a risk factor.
It is not surprising therefore that junior officers and prisons are getting a bit higher allowances than their bosses. That is exactly how it works. That is exactly what we want to incentivise, we want to deal with the restripes. Having said this, I therefore propose that I still add half a billion Zimbabwe dollars ($500 million) to support our prisons services.
HON. HWENDE: Thank you very much Hon. Chair. I just have one small point on the political parties’ allocation. What I wanted clarity from the Minister is why there is $2.5 billion for political parties and I wanted to find out why these funds are not being audited. The Auditor-General is supposed to access all the funds that we disburse from here but these funds are not being audited. I think we must make sure all funds that are appropriated from Parliament are audited. I am sure you are aware that before we became CCC, we became the first party to audit the last grant that we received when we were still in the old party. It is a culture that we must encourage everyone and by law also all political parties must audit and publish their accounts for the money which they received from the tax payers. Thank you very much. That is the only point that I wanted to make.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): I agree with him. Every dollar that is extended by Government to anyone should be audited, why not. I agree with him.
Amendments to Vote 19, put and agreed to
Vote 19 as amended put and agreed to.
On Vote 20 – Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services – 8.619.877.000.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): For the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, I would like to move this budget to at least $10 billion. So I propose that we allocate an additional $1.5 billion, to take it just above $10 billion. This is the Ministry that sells the brand of Government. If I had a way of taking money from every Ministry to make up that $1.5 billion and put it there, I would have done that. I will take it from the UR.
Amendments to Vote 20, put and agreed to.
Vote 20 as amended, put and agreed to.
Vote 21 – Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture, $25,136, 050.000.
HON. MAVETERA: Thank you Hon. Chair. I was kindly requesting the Hon. Minister; I have got three issues. First one is on the Empower Bank. Empower Bank was given $3 billion. Since it was given $3 billion, the amount which is needed from Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) just for capital requirement is $5 million, which means that is already – if I am looking at the official exchange rate, we are looking at an amount which is more than $5 billion there. Then again there is the issue that we have got some workers who left their jobs and after leaving their jobs, they started suing the bank because they did not manage to get the service vehicles they were supposed to be given. Already that shows that there is a challenge when it comes to service vehicles.
Again, Hon. Minister, if we look at the amount which is there, it is $3 billion, let us say we are not going to look at the computers that are being needed; there is need for them to be going technological and also being able to start recapitalising in terms of making sure that they look at ICTs which they are supposed to do. The amount which is needed there is going to be about $2 billion. So we are saying, if you look at the $3 billion, it means there would not be any money that is supposed to be given to the youth for them to be loaned out.
I feel that it is important for the Empower Bank to actually be able to work and be operational like any other bank so that capital outlay is very important for Empower Bank. If you look at that amount again, the amount that the youth will then be able to be given, it will be able to benefit – if we say a youth is going to get USD1000, that means that amount, without looking at salaries; without looking at capital; without looking anything, we are looking at 3000 youth benefiting. If 3000 youth benefit, considering that the youth are 5 million, It therefore then becomes a problem.
The other issue, when you come out from the Youth Bank. I think there was a proposal which was given to say why we cannot house the Empower Bank at the Ministry of Youth. If you look at it, it is quite capital intensive, when it comes to the amount that they pay in terms of rent. So, I think it is quite important that we can then be able to see how best we can deal with that so that it is housed at the Ministry of Youth. This was suggested by Hon. Togarepi.
In conclusion, I also feel that there is the amount which was given last for the Art Fund, which was $100 million. Now, there is no figure like that. It is not there. There is an amount which is there, which is $8 million, which is for the National Arts Culture Centre, yet there was a requirement which has been requested for $200 million. Again there is acquisition of studio equipment, which has been allocated $24 million, yet there was a requirement of $310 million. Again, we also have got a national sports stadium, of course the requirement was $15 billion but they were given $900 million. There that shows a lot.
I am just saying that, if you look at it, next year we have got Africa games in Ghana. If you look at the Budget, there is no budget for that. Also again on the National Sports Stadium, it is a bit minimum. On the National Sports Museums and National Sports Academy, there is no funding. Even for the National Youth Day, the 21st February that we always celebrate as the youths, we do not have a fund for that. That is one event that the Ministry of Youth actually gets to connect with the young people. Hon. Minister, I was kindly requesting if you can bear with the youths. The five million youths out there are basing on you because we know you are a youth centric leader who always goes on to listen to the plight of the youths. We know you will definitely understand us very well. Hon. Minister, please just try to do something. I thank you.
HON. TOGAREPI: Thank you Hon. Chair. My take on the youth is; are we really serious that we would want youths to be funded. If we are serious, then what we budgeted for the youth given their demographic numbers, must reflect in the quantum of what we put aside for the youths. One area that worries me is the Youth Bank is stationed at Tendeseka Park, a very expensive place. Many banks have run away from that place. Ours is there yet it is not capitalised to do what it was designed to do. Government has got buildings in Harare or anywhere in the country. If we want to help this institution function, why can we not donate buildings so that all the money that we give should then look after the salaries and go to the youths?
The other thing is, this same bank when it is giving out loans, youths struggle to get that money. They are asked to come up with collateral security and all those stories that impede the youths from getting the money. When this idea was mooted, it was to look after the most disadvantaged youths who could not raise funds for a business. It was mooted that youths do not have collateral security but they have got ideas. Their ideas are the collateral security. At this stage, we have an institution that is not giving youths the attention that we want. I will definitely recommend – I do not know where the Minister will get it from but I think anything below $10 billion to support the youth cause in the Empower Bank and the Ministry itself is not going to give value to the biggest segment of our population. I really pray that you look for money from somewhere, virement from anywhere else and look after our youths. Thank you.
*HON. CHIDZIVA: Thank you Hon. Chair. I want to add a few words on the Vote for the Youth Ministry. I would want to talk on the topical issue, the issue of drug and substance abuse. As we look into this budget, when it was formulated and the analysis that was done shows that there was no money budgeted for awareness campaigns in the Ministry. Maybe it rests with another Ministry and not the Ministry of Youth. It is the youths who are carrying out these awareness campaigns.
I also observed that on drug and substance abuse, the money is put either to the Police, Health or Social Welfare in dealing with the victims. It is not talking about prevention measures, creation of awareness and ensuring that in youth development, sport facilities are attended to and people have proper recreational facilities. People tend to do drugs because they will not have sufficient funds. Youths are not accessing any money from the Empower Bank. If the youths were doing certain projects, they would be in a better position and drug and substance abuse will be minimised. I thank you.
*HON. MUCHIMWE: I also support the issue of Ministry of Youth getting more funding. Youths are the mainstay of the country. They still have the strength. They are the ones that do the farming. I thank you.
HON. SVUURE: Thank you Hon. Chair. I will not say much. I was just going to say if as a nation we are really serious about the future of our country and any nation in that matter, I think it is determined by how much investment we put towards our youths. My colleagues have already spoken about what we find our young people doing, the drug abuse and everything. This all comes from the fact that they have got nothing else to do.
I will touch very quickly on the Empower Bank. Besides just the name, the bank is so poorly funded. If we look at what the Minister of Finance has budgeted for it, $3 billion will not do anything. So I would want to echo the appeal that we increase the funding towards our Empower Bank so that they will be able to access funds and do things. Our Vocational Training Centres (VTCs) which are scattered across the country, they have got nothing. They have got no equipment or anything, so if we equip our VTCs across the provinces, we will make sure that our young people will find somewhere to spend their quality time being empowered and having skills that they will develop and apply for the furtherance of their own economic life. I would like to appeal to the Minister to increase the budget that they have put to that Ministry, particularly targeting the Empower Bank which is where we all believe that our young people should access funding and equip themselves and progress. Thank you so much. I just felt I needed to echo that because to me it sounds quite critical and very important.
*HON. CHINOTIMBA: Thank you. Hon. Chair, I am on the issue of the Empower Bank. I feel the proposed $3 billion should be allocated per province so that the 10 provinces should receive $30 billion for the youths. I say so because in Manicaland Province, if we look at the numbers, the youths and the women are the majority of the people in this country, so we cannot have the majority of people who are unproductive. As other Hon. Members have said, it does not work. They will end up abusing drugs and in the end it will become a national problem, they will become border jumpers. They will be assaulted – [AN HON. MEMBER: Inaudible interjection.] –
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Hon. Chinotimba, please proceed.
*HON. CHINOTIMBA: Our Zimbabwean people are being burnt alive because we are not funding them. If we fund our youths they will never leave Zimbabwe to go and be burnt to death in South Africa.
*HON. JANUARY: Thank you Hon. Chair. I want to contribute on youths; youths must be given a lot of money because they will have some projects to do. If these young people have nothing to do they will end up using illegal drugs like a case that happened in Trojan; the mother was killed by the son. This shows that the youths will be idle, so I say Youth must be given money.
*HON. MAGO: Thank you Hon. Chair. I am worried about the Empower Bank; if it does not have adequate funds then the Reserve Bank is not seeing it as a befitting bank. My worry is; if this bank for the youths is not befitting, will our youths get anything? Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe requires that a bank must have five million but Empower Bank has only three million. My plea is that Empower Bank must be given funds. The previous speaker alluded to the fact that if youths are given money they give 3000 youths 1000 each. One thousand dollars is nothing and this will divide the youths because the amount is very little. Empower Bank is a good bank if it was capacitated, they once called us to an Indaba at Monomotapa Hotel, and we found out that it is not all youths that fail to return the money to the bank. Some are more successful than grown up people. Some are into pharmacy, retail, construction, and there was someone named Kwateri who is in rural areas and the project is very successful. Empower Bank must empower more youths so that we avoid the problem of idle youths who end up abusing drugs. They also engage in immoral activities resulting in the births of unwanted babies.
I touch on the issue of stadiums; they are given inadequate funds, why not concentrate on one stadium at a time so that we finish with one stadium and then move on to the next? We cannot have many stadia that are below standard, I think this is a waste of resources. On recreational facilities, children do not have anywhere to go for entertainment and sports facilities. Some of the recreational facilities have been turned into residential residents. We must not forget that our children need recreational facilities.
(v)*HON. SHUMBAMHINI: Thank you Hon. Chair. I want to add on the issue of youths. I want to thank the Government for encouraging banks to give youths loans. The problem is of interest rates that are so exorbitant that are ranging from 150 to 200 percent. The project proposals that are being done by youths, it is not possible that they will be able to pay back the money with interest. They must reduce the interest rates. I thank you Hon. Chair.
(v)HON. SANSOLE: Thank you Hon. Chair. While I recognize the importance of this Empower Bank just like the Women Micro-Finance Bank which writes of quite a significant amount of loans, there is need, whilst I support this, to place measures to ensure that these loans are actually repaid.
HON. MUSAKWA: Hon. Chair, some people are repeating and I have never been given a chance to speak.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Who is this one?
HON. MUSAKWA: Hon. Musakwa.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Where are you, I cannot see you in the House, come.
HON. MUSAKWA: On the issue of capitalization of Empower Bank. I think we are spending a lot of money on capitalization of Empower Bank, Women Bank – can we not consolidate them into one bank and capitalise one institution and the youth can be a department of that bank, women a department, small and medium enterprises a department of that bank and then we cut also on bureaucracy. So we owe them US$5 million, instead of looking for US$15 million for capitalisation. We then use US$5 million for capitalising one bank and the other US$10 million can go to lending. That is my suggestion to the Minister. I think we are spreading ourselves too thin.
(v)+HON. S. NDLOVU: Thank you Hon. Chair for giving me the opportunity to add my voice on this debate. I want to talk about children that are on the streets and those that are abusing alcohol and other forms of drugs. The youth do not have sporting facilities. They do not even have clubs to go to. I would suggest that the budget allocated to the youth be increased so that they can be useful and have functional sporting facilities and other recreational facilities.
I will zero in to the Gwabalanda issue. There are no football pitches in Gwabalanda. We want more of such facilities. We have sporting facilities and clubs which need to be serviced and revamped because they are not functional at this present moment. So that the youth by the time they attend such facilities, they can be able to perform their various talents in these places.
Some are talented in arts, some are talented in sports however, the facilities that are currently present do not support such activities to be conducted because they need to be revamped and be serviced. We need football and netball pitches which are up to date then we can have clubs and other areas of clubs to be serviced also. If there are swimming pools which are present, they need to be serviced also so that the youth can be able to utilise these swimming pools so that we can be able to take our youth away from the bridges and other drug and substance abuse that they are falling trap into and they can develop and also be successful sports men that exhibit their talents in various forms. I thank you for this opportunity.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): I thank Hon. Members for their contributions. Let me start with the comments from Hon. Mavetera regarding, I think the Empower Bank then the Arts Fund and the general budget.
On the Arts Fund, actually we have allocated US$150.8 million. It is there in the Blue Book. I think maybe it is an issue of presentation so it could not be read easily by Hon. Members, but we have done that allocation. It is a very important issue to support our artists.
Then on the issue of Empower Bank which was raised by several Members, let me say two points. Firstly, you see Empower Bank is a deposit taking microfinance institution. So as a deposit taking institution, it must now take deposits and then those deposits should be deployed on the other side of the balance sheet as loans which earn interest. That is how it works. So it is clear that perhaps it had not done very well in deposit mobilisation, but they are a deposit mobilising institution.
Secondly, there are other institutions that complement it. If I recall one Hon. Member said look, why do we not amalgamate them. You have the Women’s Bank and again members of the youth could approach this bank and then you also have the National Venture Fund as well which is also supporting start ups from the youths. Not just the youth but youth are included. So there are other institutions also which could support the youth, but having said this and also having explained that it is a deposit taking institution, I still propose that we allocate an additional ZWL$200 million towards the Empower Bank.
There are other areas such as infrastructure development, stadium, sporting facilities and so forth. Colleagues, we are short of budget. I think that really if we target our youth, we have got various vocational centres or rather youth development centres that are being proposed here that have been funded. We have done a lot for the youths, but I am also aware that when it comes to sporting facilities private sector players are also keen to partner Government revamping stadiums, but also we could share some of the facilities for schools, universities, sporting facilities that is. So really the need then to spend a huge budget on sporting facilities is therefore kind of ameliorated by the availability of other facilities for which partnerships could be struck profitably. I thank you Mr. Chairman.
Amendment to Vote 21, put and agreed to.
Vote 21, as amended, put and agreed to.
Vote 22 – Energy and Power Development – ZWL$15 468 309 000, put and agreed to.
Vote 23 – Information, Communication, Technology, Postal and Courier Services – ZWL$17 386 696 000, put and agreed to.
Vote 24 – National Housing and Social Amenities – ZWL$27 679 072 000, put and agreed to.
Vote 25 – Judicial Service Commission – ZWL$37 940 833 000, put and agreed to.
Vote 26 – Public Service Commission – ZWL$107 473 955 000, put and agreed to.
Vote 27 – National Council of Chiefs – ZWL$4 150 000 000, put and agreed to.
Vote 28 – Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission – ZWL$4 740 600 000, put and agreed to.
Vote 29 – National Peace and Reconciliation Commission – ZWL$2 957 230 000, put and agreed to.
Vote 30 – National Prosecuting Authority - $11 341 414 000, put and agreed to.
Vote 31 – Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission - $7 378 820 000, put and agreed to.
Vote 32 – Zimbabwe Electoral Commission - $2 320 900 000, put and agreed to.
Vote 33 – Zimbabwe Gender Commission - $3 485 660 000, put and agreed to.
Vote 34 – Zimbabwe Land Commission - $10 372 281 00, put and agreed to.
Vote 35 – Zimbabwe Media Commission - $2 616 446 000, put and agreed to.
On Vote 5 - Finance and Economic Development - $185 196 838 000:
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): On Vote 5, we want to be precise with figures. During the debate for various Votes, we reduced the Unallocated Reserves by a total of ZWL4, 7 billion. We are therefore reducing the UR component within that budget by that amount. Therefore, the total budget now for the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development comes down to $255 203 008 000.
Amendment to Vote 5 put and agreed to.
Vote 5, as amended, put and agreed to.
House resumed.
Main Estimates of Expenditure reported with amendments.
Report adopted.
Bill ordered to be brought in by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development in accordance with the Main Estimates of Expenditure adopted by the House.
FIRST READING
APPROPRIATION (2023) BILL [H. B. 14, 2022]
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE) presented the Appropriation Bill (2023) Bill [H. B. 14, 2022].
Bill read the first time.
Bill referred to the Parliamentary Legal Committee.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. SPEAKER
NON-ADVERSE REPORT RECEIVED FROM THE PARLIAMENTARY LEGAL COMMITTEE
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Members, I have to inform the House that I have received a Non-Adverse Report from the Parliamentary Legal Committee on the Finance (No. 2) Bill [H. B. 13, 2022].
Second Reading: With leave, forthwith.
SECOND READING
FINANCE (NO. 2) BILL [H. B. 13, 2022]
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that the Bill be now read a second time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read a second time.
Committee Stage: With leave, forthwith.
COMMITTEE STAGE
FINANCE (NO. 2) BILL [H. B. 13, 2022]
House in Committee.
Clauses 1 and 2, put and agreed to.
On Clause 3:
HON. MUSHORIWA: Thank you Madam Chair. My submission in respect to Clause 3 is, I have a challenge which we need to deal with. Firstly, I have no problem with the Commissioner-General having accounts in various financial institutions where for instance we do not have the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. But what I find practically impossible is the view by the Hon. Minister that the financial institutions should ensure that they submit the revenue collected on behalf of Government within 48 hours. I think it is practically very difficult and will create a lot of administrative hurdles. To make it even worse, if you look at No 4, the penalties being proposed by the Hon. Minister that if within the 48 hours, a financial institution fails to remit the amounts they are supposed to be charged interest of 15% per annum in case of US dollars or 200% if it is Zim dollars, I think that is problematic. In any event, we should always leave room for administrative justice. There could be a reason or rationale why there was a delay. So, you cannot just come up with a clause that seeks to be punitive. I suggest that you amend Clause 3 by removing the 48-hour period and replace it with 96 hours and then No 4 should be amended as follows “an institution that delays without valid reasons” – there should be a leeway so that no punitive action is taken where the delay is beyond what the institution can do, for example technical challenges.
HON. BITI: I think there should be a provision in this section that allows the financial institution to be penalised if it does not have a valid reason for late remittance. So, suppose there is a power shortage, the penalty should come if there is no valid reason for the delay. Yes, we accept they must remit quickly but there should be leeway for a valid reason beyond the control of the bank.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: I thank Hon. Mushoriwa and Hon. Biti for their interventions. On the first issue of that sub-clause 3 about the 48 hours versus the 96 hours that you propose, really they have no reason to hold on to the money. They should remit within 48 hours. Actually when we were discussing, we were thinking of 24 hours but then we put it to 48 hours which we are comfortable with and they should be able to do it. However, I propose that we amend that sub-paragraph 4 to read as follows: “that an approved financial intermediary that delays to comply with sub-section 3, without a valid reason, becomes liable to the Commissioner….” I thank you.
HON. BITI: Clause 4(c) is an extremely dangerous provision which seeks to give the Commissioner-General power to convert all indebtedness due to ZIMRA which was in RTGS to be converted to US dollars in an effort, I suppose, to hedge against inflation. We lost money in 2019 when Government converted our US dollars amounts into ZWL and did the tax returns at the interbank rate. The Commissioner-General is being given power to convert at the parallel market rate. I think if the debt is in ZWD, it must remain in ZWD and if it is in USD it remains in USD. This provision is pretentious, not fair and we must not allow that.
HON. I. NYONI: I also want to contribute on 4 (c). There are instances where the Government will owe some refunds to taxpayers. I am looking at duty refunds, VAT and other refunds of some sort. It takes usually quite some time for the taxpayer to be refunded. Apparently, this amendment is only looking on one side. It will only be fair that we look at both sides. If the amendment has to be made, it should also make sure that the taxpayer’s money has got value when it is refunded. By this I mean by the time when you claim your refund in ZWD; well it takes time to refund but it should also be converted to USD and when you are refunded, it has to be refunded at the rate of exchange that is applicable at that particular time, to be fair to both sides.
HON. BITI: We cannot continue undermining our own currency. We are the ones who dollarised through S.I 33 of 2019. We enacted S.I 142 of 2019 and we enacted the Finance Act No. 2 of 2019 and said the Zimbabwean dollar is now official currency yet through the back door, we continue clinging on to the USD. We have argued some of us that de-dollarisation was premature, let us stick to the USD but we cannot continue to be eclectic. We choose what we want which punishes the citizens but what benefits the citizens we do not. If we are going to put such a clause, then compensate us for the pensions and monies we lost in 2019. This is a very hypocritical, dishonest, mendacious and nicodemus provision.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: I have consulted my experts on this one, 4 (c) including the Minister of Justice, an expert in law and legal precedents, and not tax to be clear. Therefore, given that this could open some Pandora box and so forth, I propose that we expunge paragraph 4 (c).
Amendment to Clause 3 put and agreed to.
Clause 3, as amended, put and agreed to.
On Clause 4;
HON. MUSHORIWA: I think the Hon. Minister might have forgotten to revise the figures. You are aware Madam Chair that the inflation rate is more than 200% as we speak today and you are also aware that the low tax threshold of $900 000 is the amount that we agreed to when we did the Supplementary Budget but things have moved. To then want to stick to $900 000 as we go to 2023, I think it will not be right. I am aware that the Hon. Minister would want to get every cent if possible to boost his revenue. So, I propose Madam Chair, that up to $1,5 million should actually attract zero percent and that the table should then be adjusted accordingly, given the hyperinflation that we are currently in, also, bearing in mind that the same people that we are charging this PAYE are also the same people who will pay the IMTT from this money. I suggest to the Hon. Minister that let us put the amount up to $1, 5 million at zero percent and we adjust the table accordingly.
HON. BITI: I recall vividly and I have a memory that remembers things. When we debated the Mid-term Supplementary Budget in September in the year of our Lord, 2022, our good brother the esteemed Minister of Finance made a concession that increased the tax free threshold from $300 000 to $900 000, which comes to $75 000 a month. He also then took the commitment that because we have just a few months to go, and I remember it was Hon. Mpariwa. Hon. Mpariwa came with the proposal that the tax free threshold should actually be $1, 2 million. The Minister in principle, actually did not have a problem with that and Hon. Chinotimba, you were part of the debate. The Minister said ‘let us just give it a few days because we are in the last quarter of the year. We are in September and the 2023 budget is coming very soon in November’. We are now in December and I would have thought that at least in his draft, he would increase the tax free threshold to what in principle we agreed in September, which was $1,2 million then you then hear the wisdom of Dr. Mushoriwa and increase it to $1.5 million and we make the consequential adjustment. My reminder to the Minister is that he is an honourable man. Can you at least stick to the agreement of $1.2 million then because he is such a good man, he listens to Dr. Mushoriwa and then goes to $1.5 million? Our people are suffering Madam Chair. You come from a constituency where people cannot buy baby formula and diapers - I represent...
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON (HON. MAVETERA): That is noted Hon. Member.
HON. BITI: I represent Tafara in Ward 46, 13 year olds are getting pregnant because of poverty. Let us just give them a Christmas present and we go to $1.2 million as a starting point then we listen to Dr. Mushoriwa.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): I thank the Hon. Members for their passionate contributions on this matter. Colleagues, two things have happened, we approved these tax bands to be effective only in August and that is a few months ago. What has happened is that inflation has been dropping month on month and year on year. Now we are saying that perhaps we should raise these thresholds to $1.2 million at least for 0% and then everything just accordingly – I think what we will do is, we will end up contributing to increase demand that will militate against our desire to push down inflation. I am really worried about this.
Secondly, we have just approved an Appropriation Bill, now we are going to start losing revenue if we adjust these bands. Are we saying that we should go back and cut our budget? I do not think that is what we want to propose – please bear with me and we stick with this for now. We will have another opportunity in six months’ time in the Mid-Term Review to make some adjustments maybe during the supplementary budget stage. To make adjustments now will be counter intuitive for those reasons that I have given.
HON. MUSHORIWA: Hon. Minister, I do not think you will lose much. Infact, we are very cognisant of the Appropriation Bill that we have passed and this is the reason why I had actually said to him – we know that you want to collect as much money as possible but the effect of raising the band to 1.2 million will also increase demand and people will spend the money. The Hon. Minister will then get more money in terms of IMTT and VAT. This cancels each other. I do not think there will be a problem. I think the Hon. Minister should consider this but more importantly, Hon. Biti has put an important issue. The Minister made a commitment in this august House. Everything that we say in this House is recorded and you do not want people to say our esteemed Minister of Finance is not honourable enough to keep his word.
*HON. CHINOTIMBA: The rate of inflation is always rising and workers need to be cushioned. The Minister should keep his promise by increasing the threshold. That is what we agreed on in this House.
HON. BITI: My family sent me to a supermarket the other day and I went to Food Lovers Market in Borrowdale. I had a swipe card. I literally bought five things; chicken, lamb, cooking fat and this cost ZWL 200 000.00. There was no mealie-meal, rice or bath soap. I asked the teller if this was the correct figure and she confirmed. This $1.2 million is just ZWL100 000 and when the bread basket is now 800 000 - this is absolutely nothing.
*Madam Chair, if you go out with your three friends at Meikles, that money will not be sufficient. I checked the price of a turkey and it costs ZWL40 000.00; ZWL100 000.00 is nothing. If you convert it at the parallel market rate it is US$100.00. It is nothing. The Minister’s fear is that you will lose revenue. You do not lose revenue because hundreds and thousands is low income and you know better than I do – you are the economist and I am just a pretender. The marginal propensity to consume for the poor is high – this money will go back to Chigumba Cash and Carry, OK, Bon Marche or Choppies. You will get your money back. Besides there is IMTT, there is no RTGs that will move without the bank cards – we will swipe and you get back the money. Minister, please go back to $1.2 million, that is what we agreed on after Hon. Mpariwa proposed. I thank you.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Those who are in the low income bracket tend to spend on the basic consumption basket, buying basic commodities which are already zero rated in terms of VAT. There is no VAT that is paid. So, basically one man has argued that if you increase the minimum threshold to a higher figure, we will collect more in VAT may not pan out because they are spending on goods that are zero rated. That is our fear that this revenue impact via indirect tax might not materialise in fact. We will lose revenue. This is what the numbers are showing us. We did a quick calculation and my staff are saying let us wait until mid-year of 2023. I will be happy to look again and see where we are and we can have some adjustments. For now, we are fearful because the revenue loss is clear.
HON. MUSHORIWA: I think the Hon. Minister is not being fair to this august House. Do you know that one of the things that we need to uphold in this august House is that whatever we have said, even his statement to say I want to look at it maybe next year, no one can trust that word because he said something in September and he said he was going to look at it. I want to debunk the myth that most of the goods that the poor will take are zero rated. It does not necessarily mean that the extra Z$25 000 on top of ZW$75 000 - others would decide to buy beer while others will decide to buy cigarettes. There are a number of things that people can actually do with the additional expenditure. I can argue that this one will not have a dent on the income for Treasury. Hon Chinotimba was correct, the expectation that we build when we do these budgets and when people hear that we came up with a compromise when we came with ZW$900 000, I actually remember on that day even Hon. Mliswa had to come and sit with you until we had a compromise on ZW$900 000. Hon Minister, you cannot today renege on that undertaking, I think it is not right. We had actually communicated to our constituents when we were doing feedback that the Hon. Minister had said that ZW$900 000 up to end of December and thereafter we are going to review the amount upward. How can I go back and face the same people and say no, the Hon. Minister decided to say no, I cannot do that when he had made an indication? There is need for the Hon. Minister to make sure that he moves. It is important for our people that are suffering out there.
*HON. CHINOTIMBA: Every year has its own requirements. Last year’s budget is not the one that we are debating right now. There is no reason why the Minister should stick to ZW$900 000 threshold because it is as if we are supposed to go back to the budget that ends this year on 31 December. As leaders of workers, there are things that we see affecting workers. All we want is for the Minister to own up to what we agreed, that we should stick to what we agreed. Let us focus on the next year’s budget and proceed with the 2023 budget.
What I am saying is that it is no longer viable for us to stick to ZW$900 000. Let us go back to ZW$1 200 000 that we agreed. The Minister must be fair. If only the Minister could compromise that would be understandable. I do not think those technical people from his Ministry seated at the back are fair. Maybe they are getting a lot of money because why do they not want to move an inch. Our people are suffering. Yesterday we were discussing that anyone who earns ZW$75 000 cannot buy fertilizer. They cannot even afford sugar. We are not saying this should be our personal benefit but things are tough out there. I kindly request that the Minister understands us.
*HON. HWENDE: I rise in support of what Hon. Chinotimba has said. When we come to this august House to debate this budget, we expect you to own up to the promises that you make because we are here to represent the constituencies. After each sitting, we go back and give feedback to the people out there. Have you ever pondered about what workers are going through? I once asked you Minister whether the salaries that you are giving to the workers are adequate.
A lot of people depend on their salaries out there. My appeal is that let us be reliable on what we say because you are the Minister of Finance who is in charge of the national purse. I was very happy to see you campaigning for a Central Committee position in your province. Now that you are in politics and as a politician, if you do not fulfill your promise, the people will not vote for you.
HON. BITI: I want to contest the Minister’s contention that low income people consume zero rated goods. School uniform from ENBEE is not zero rated. The beef that we buy from the butchery is not zero rated. The washing powder such as OMO or Surf that we buy from the supermarket is not zero rated. These goods are taxed. Do not look down upon us as the poor people and say these goods are zero rated. If we go to Pick-N-Pay supermarket situated at the corner of Second Street and Jason Moyo, you will see that all the things that are there are taxed. Let us not patronise on the working people of Zimbabwe. His answer is patronising the working people of Zimbabwe. We are making a simple request, you Hon. Minister you agreed to ZW$1 200 000 after Hon. Mpariwa had moved it in this august House. If you were not there, it is not our fault. Hon. Mpariwa moved to 1.2 million supported by everyone, including Hon. Chinotimba and other Hon. Members. He then said ‘I have no problem but let us just push to December because in December, we are coming for the 2023 budget’. That is exactly what happened. Zvokwadi naMai Dzororo that is exactly what happened. So let us honour the ZW$1.2 million. I thank you very much.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Madam Speaker Ma’am, we have been working out the numbers and I am trying to work out the losses, revenue and so forth. There will be some losses but I propose that we move this 0% threshold from ZW$900 000 to ZW$1.1 million. I thank you.
Amendment to Clause 4 put and agreed to.
Clause 4, as amended, put and agreed to.
HON. BITI: I hope the Minister will understand what I am about to say that because you have pushed to ZW$1.1 million, it then affects the other provisions. Thank you.
On Clause 5:
HON. MUSHORIWA: I think given that the Minister had agreed on Clause 4, then it follows that Clause 5 also needs to be amended accordingly.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Madam Chair, having amended Clause 4 and Clause 5, they go together; one is in words and the other one is in actual numbers and bands. Thank you.
Amendment to Clause 5 put and agreed to.
Clause 5, as amended, put and agreed to.
Clause 6 put and agreed to.
On Clause 7:
HON. MUSHORIWA: Hon. Minister, may I know how much money we have in the Strategic Reserve Fund since we have been collecting this money for some time now starting from the NOCZIM days? I am just wondering because the disclosure is not coming up and we do not know how much money we have? I think by now we should be clocking more than USD20 billion judging by the number of vehicles that we have on the road. It is just a question of saying we need disclosure so that people know that this money is being kept for purely strategic purposes?
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Hon. Mushoriwa has made a good suggestion that from time to time, I should come before Parliament, myself and the Minister of Energy to explain as to how much is in our Strategic Reserve Fund, obviously in the form of the commodity itself. I agree and I am happy to do that but I just want to say that in the last year or so, with the fuel price hikes we have had to give up a lot of taxes under the strategic reserve to cushion citizens from the hiking prices. So we have not been accumulating much but going forward, once we have stability in the fuel prices over oil price, we should be able to accumulate the reserves a lot faster. I thank you.
HON. MUSHORIWA: I just wanted the Hon. Minister, probably to advise this august House, what mischief does this amendment seek to fix? We just need an explanation, what is it that you intend to fix by coming up with such a clause?
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you Hon. Chair. I would like to thank Hon. Mushoriwa for the intervention. Basically, the issue here is like this; most countries have stopped giving special economic zone status to the mining sector because there are challenges with revenue leakages through sub-process. Minerals which are exported and so forth; royalties which are rather low, so I am sure that by extending special economic zone status, we are just giving away more revenue to that sector. We want more revenue from that sector to be retained locally. That is the mischief that we are trying to cure. I thank you.
HON. MUSHORIWA: Madam Chair, I think I understand where the Hon. Minister is coming from in respect to the issue of people having fiscal invoicing and the need of having a fiscalised electronic register, but I have got some challenges that Hon. Minister has to explain to this august House.
First and foremost, the Hon. Minister, we have not heard mechanisms or measures that the Ministry is taking in terms of ensuring that our small scale business people and the medium business people that do not have the capacity to buy the electronic register, what are we doing to make sure that we empower them? Secondly, I also have got a challenge in respect to this clause, primarily because I have a feeling that we are going to end up excluding a number of businesses that will hide behind this clause and simply make sure that their payment of taxes, VAT and other taxes, they just decide not to pay.
So, I am just wondering whether this one is accommodative enough. Rather Hon. Minister, I want to find out whether the problem that we are trying to solve will not create even bigger problems for the Treasury. I thank you.
HON. BITI: Thank you Madam Chair. What the Minister implies is that the Commissioner General shall not accept for the purposes of tax deductions ,any receipts other than one generated by fiscalised machine. In a country where 65% of the people are in the informal sector, we do not have fiscalised receipts. You only get a fiscalised receipt when you go to Pick and Pay; when you go to TV Sales and Hire. So, if I go to a doctor, a doctor does not have fiscalised invoices. He will give you a receipt that is written.
I am a pig farmer and I am constructing pig sties. I buy my marata, my wood, nemapranga ezvikwere zvangu pamagaba, there are no fiscalised receipts. Are you saying that I cannot get deductions for the purposes of my trading account because there is no fiscalised receipt? I said yesterday that the World Bank Country Report of October, 2022 said we are 65% informalised. This does not work. You are creating a danger to the innocent, honest businessman who is going to Glen View to support the informal sector; who is going to Magaba to support the informal sector. You are now forcing us to go to one market but the economy is not sustained by that market. This economy is being run by the informal sector. The biggest tax collection bracket is VAT, it is not income tax, it is not corporate tax. I think we are not yet ready for this provision and we will suffer under the law of unintended consequences. It is a bad law and we cannot make law to benefit the Halsteads of this world, the Power Sales of this world, the Electro Sales of this world because that is exactly what we are doing. It is not our business to make laws that benefit the elite only. I thank you very much.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you Madam Chair. I thank Hon. Biti and Hon. Mushoriwa for their contributions. Madam Chair, this clause is meant to encourage formalisation, even of the informal sector. It does not exclude anyone. I think we are so advanced and also ready technologically. We would be able to do this because even if you do not have a fiscalisation machine, you can do it virtually and we have a clause again to deal with that. Virtually means that you can use a mobile phone. We are ready for it, we have the technology. Almost everyone has a mobile phone, including those in the informal sector. We will have no difficulty at all with virtual fiscalisation. I thank you.
HON. HWENDE: Just a small contribution. Just like what other Hon. Members said, we should not have laws that seek to punish the poor, just like what we are doing with the salaries. Even your assertion that everyone has got a phone, have you been to Magaba? If you go to Magaba, 80% of the people there do not even have smart phones, vane twumbudzi twuya twuya. So our appeal, yes we want them to formalise but not now. We are not saying your idea is out of question but the country is not ready now. The majority of our people are not ready. That is our appeal. Vanhu havana mari, chimbouyai timboita tour pamwe chete Minister nesu timboshanyira kwatiri kutaura mumboona zvinhu zviriko Minister, so that you have got a better understanding of the reality on the ground. Thank you.
HON. MADZIMURE: Thank you Madam Speaker. There are several other better ways of trying to formalise our informal sector. We cannot then jump to go to the end of the process of formalisation. Minister, whilst you may understand this better but the people whom you intend to use this law are not yet ready. They are not prepared, so if we start off by punishing them, the net result is that you are going to see a lot of resistance. People will not comply. People cannot comply with things that they cannot understand. People will not comply with things that they do not have, even the gadgets to do so. Let us work on the system; perfecting our systems first, whilst we are receiving income the same way we have been receiving income. Madam Chair, I have listened to the Hon. Minister’s explanation. My suggestion Hon. Minister and I think we should actually do it as a compromise is, could we change and amend this so that we say with effect from the year of assessment beginning on 1st January, 2024 so that we allow the market to adjust and work towards that because to just do it abruptly, it will create a problem. I actually feel that the best way is to then say we push it, give the market notice and also allow time for adjustment. If we do that Madam Chair, I think it will be a better compromise.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Thank you Madam Chair. I thank Hon. Mushoriwa for that suggestion and the comments from other colleagues that we can perhaps compromise on this and investigate further, buy time to allow the system to adjust. Therefore, I agree that this clause should be effective 1st January, 2024. Thank you Hon. Chair.
Amendment to Clause 10 put and agreed to.
Clause 10, as amended, put and agreed to.
On Clause 11:
HON. BITI: Madam Chair, the motive and intention of formalising the economy; no one can question that. However, if you look at Clause 11 and the proposed Section 25 (a), this clause needs redrafting. The law must be simple and straight forward. This clause is mumbo jumbo. It says, “registrable taxpayer means a person earning income from trade who by reference to the turnover of his or her business in the last quarter of the calendar month before registration or the average number of employees employed by him or her in each of the four quarters of the calendar year ending with the quarter immediately before ….” It goes on and it is mumbo jumbo. What we simply need to say is that if you employ X number of employees or you earn your gross income X, then you must register. Let us say it instead of saying, if before this quarter your grandmother was this one, you do not go before that quarter and that quarter. The law must be simple and effective. I appeal to the Minister of Justice to help us.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): I have been consulting with my staff at the back, including our Chief Legal Drafter and everyone concurs that this is rather convoluted. Let us simplify it. What I propose is that we skip this clause Madam Chair. We will come back to it once they have come up with a suggested text, a simpler text. I thank you.
The Hon. Chair having put the clause to vote.
HON. MUSHORIWA: Madam Chair, we have put Clause 11 in abeyance until the drafters have looked at it.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON (HON. MAVETERA): We will put it in abeyance. We will then come back to it.
Clauses 12 to 16 put and agreed to.
On Clause 17:
HON. MUSHORIWA: Madam Chair, I want to implore the Hon. Minister. When the Hon. Minister reduced the VAT to 14.5%, he cited issues of COVID. The issue of now raising it up – I raised it in the Second Reading of the Budget Statement to simply say, for our Zimbabwean taxpayer, there is 2% IMMT. You are then asked to pay an additional 0.5% VAT. We need also to ask ourselves, are we really outside the threat of COVID. I said this given the fact that most of us are vaccinated by the Chinese vaccine and if you have followed what has been happening in China in respect of COVID-19, you will actually see that no country at the moment can claim that they are out of danger. This is my view that maybe the timing of increasing VAT to 15% may not be now. I think we are still in trouble and I think most businesses and most houses have also not recovered from the effects of COVID-19 and they still need Government to help them.
To that extend, my view on this is that if possible could the Minister try to probably retain the 14.5 per cent VAT for some foreseeable future.
HON. MARKHAM: I have an issue here; if you buy and bearing in mind that most of the electronic transfers done on the phone are done by the poor, I have a problem with VAT which is at 14.5% and is now going to 15%. As soon as you do the transfer, on your receipt you get a US100 bill and you are paying 14.5% of that in VAT to do that tax collection or to pay that tax, you are actually paying 2% on your tax again. Does that make sense? We pay 14.5% VAT on a grocery bill but then you charge the 2% on that because the VAT is in the bill. I have to pay 2% transfer fees on that as well. So to collect your tax, I have to pay 2%, I have a problem with that and that is why I have a problem with VAT moving back to 15%. So any electronic transfer money should remain at 14.5%. I thank you.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you Madam Chair. If I could share with the House the VAT rates in the region across Africa; Angola is at 14%, Botswana 14%, and these are the lowest, DRC is at 16%, Lesotho 16%, Madagascar 20%, Malawi 17%, Mauritius 15%, Mozambique 17%, Namibia 15%, Seychelles 15%, South Africa 15%, Eswatini 15%, Tanzania 18%, Zambia 16% and proposing Zimbabwe to go back to 15%.
Madam Chair, it is clear that we are not at the upper end of our peers, we are in the middle and in fact we are below average. The average is actually 16%, Tanzania is 16%, so when you look at Madagascar at 20%, that is quite higher and those are our peers. So I feel that Hon. Members are really fighting to make sure we do not over tax people and so forth. I believe that 15% is a fair level. I did drop it by half percent full on account of COVID-19 to deal with the shock that citizens were experiencing. I think it is fair to say that now we have gone back to normal, we are not going to shut down the economy anymore and cause a lot of pain that way, people losing jobs and so forth; that is not going to happen going forward.
We have learnt to live with COVID-19, people should just get vaccinated. Besides we agreed that half percent should be ring-fenced for dealing with education issues so that we can probably be true to this issue of free education as we go forward. So this half percent is for the education sector as agreed, I thank you.
HON. MARKHAM: I just like the Minister to read those figures again but add 14.5 % VAT plus 2%, it is now 16.5%. The Minister is very clever at cropping figures to suite his argument. All those States do not have IMTT taxes, so I have just said the poor people who use the mbudzis to pay their bills and ecocash are the main users, the poor people, that is why I am saying on electronic transfers VAT should stay at 14.5% because you are already paying another 2% in transfer tax.
*HON. BITI: Thank you Madam Speaker. The rule of VAT is not that good on ideology; this is bad because money is taken from the rich and power. It is an unprogressive tax. Coming to the issue of who is paying this tax? We find that it is the poor people. The structure of our economy is that 65% of the population is not employed formally. So the person in Glen View is the one who is paying this tax like what Hon. Markham said that we have IMTT that other countries do not have. We have other problems that other countries do not have. We are the only country in the region where you put your money and the bank manager phones you to say your money has been eroded by bank charges.
All these other countries have got savings accounts. In Namibia, you get rich by keeping money in your savings account. When we grew up, we used to have what are called PUPS - paid up permanent shares. We knew that when you deposit money in POSB green book, you earn interest and our parents opened these accounts when we were still as young as 9 to 10 years.
We are pleading that the Hon. Minister have mercy on us because we are tired of paying taxes. Our Income Tax Act, 40% is the highest in the region. The Minister yesterday was mentioning the ratio of our revenue to GDP which he said was 18%, but what he has not said which is very important is that the ratio of our taxes to GDP is 33%, every other country Uganda, South Africa is 15%, so we are literally doubling tax than the average region.
Picture Zimbabwe a huge load and the tax payer, a poor thing, tax payer is carrying that tripod shaped load on his shoulder. Taneta nemutero. Madam Chair tirikukumbirawo the esteemed Hon. Minister of Finance to have mercy on us; 14% and we enjoy our Christmas. I plead Madam Chair, Hon. Prof. Ncube, may the Lord have mercy on you.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Can I say that Hon. Mushoriwa, Biti and Hwende sound very persuasive today and Hon. Markham as well. Let me say something, other countries as well have got some kind of IMTT tax but they call it with different names. They call it mobile tax, digital tax, it is there, we will do the research for you and we will show you, we have got the figures. You are not the only ones who have got IMTT tax; other countries also have it. Then number two, when you pay ZIMRA into a ZIMRA account there is no IMTT tax on that. So I would be surprised Markham, that this is happening, that you are paying tax twice. It needs to be investigated. We will investigate. There should be an exemption. If you are right, we will investigate. It should not be the case that you are paying double, both the IMTT and then IMTT on the VAT because the VAT is being paid to ZIMRA. There should be an exemption on the IMTT for that. So we will check on that.
Then coming to whether we should move at all for 15%, I heard what Hon. Biti said. You know what colleagues, we are hard up for revenue. Things are not easy and there is very little room for maneuver. We need this revenue. We in fact agreed, the principle, my staff have been taking notes that this extra 0.5%, let us tuck it in the education sector and that is a good thing, I thought. So to move back to 14.5% and stay there, I think that we will really suffer revenue-wise colleagues. Let us leave it for now. We are not the highest in the region. We are even below average. Thank you.
Clause 17 put and agreed to.
HON. BITI: Hon. Chair, can I come back to Clause 13? [technical fault]
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: May you please approach the Chair.
Hon. Biti approached the Chair.
Clauses 18, 19, 20 put and agreed to.
On Clause 21:
HON. MUSHORIWA: Madam Chair, in September when we were doing the supplementary budget we had actually suggested that the rate on royalties should actually move to 10% and with the Hon. Minister, we had come up with a compromise to say let us move it upwards, but the new way the Hon. Minister is bringing to say that the 50% is now paid in kind and the like, does not make sense. What we want the Hon. Minister to simply do and to simplify this clause, is to simply say that with effect from 1 October, 2022 we should actually increase royalties to 10%. That would make sense.
Hon. Mushoriwa briefly stopped debating as the Minister of Finance and Economic Development was conversing with Hon. Biti.
HON. MUSHORIWA: Madam Chair when the Hon. Minister debated the supplementary budget, we had an understanding that we were going to increase the royalty rate to about 10% and we ended up I thinking moving it from 5% to 7%, but what the Hon. Minister now proposes is that out of that 7%, 50% of 7% should now be collected in kind. I actually think that does not work in this modern world. The best way in my view, is that we should just simply increase royalty rate to about 10% and then that could actually help.
I do not understand how you can actually collect royalties in kind. The administrative forces of doing that are totally unbearable and I do not think that we have got the capacity to do that. The best way, we want money, we want revenue let us just put it at 10%, if we have got a problem in terms of saying the platinum group of companies are benefiting a lot, then maybe we need to come up with other measures like the measures that let us make sure that all the minerals’ refineries should be here in Zimbabwe rather than the continuous exportation of raw minerals out of this country. So in my view, I think we need to simply put it that royalties are now 10% and forget about this ‘in kind’ and other stuff. I thank you.
HON. MADZIMURE: I just want to add on to what Hon. Mushoriwa was saying. Everything that we have to put in place must be backed by a system that works. How and what point would you say this is the 50% in kind. If it is platinum, at what stage do we say this is the 50% that we are going to get as royalties – you open up for corruption, discretion. You cannot really pin down anyone who would have committed any act of misconduct or being dishonesty or corrupt.
So I totally support Hon. Mushoriwa’s proposal that if we want to raise more money, then let us look at that 50%, how much could it be and in percentage form then we raise the royalties by the equivalent percentage. Tt becomes easy and for anyone to comply with the law, it is also easy. So we remove the opportunity or the chances of anyone using his or her discretion to determine the royalties.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): I thank the Hon. Members for their contribution on this clause where we are proposing that 50% of the royalties be paid in the physical metal. What motivated this? Basically we want to make sure that we maximise on the royalty that we are collecting and companies do not under-declare, under invoice and so forth. We want to make sure that we are in possession of the hard minerals ourselves and be able to get the full prize from the market because we believe that there are some illicit activities.
Secondly, when we have got the physical metal in your vaults, it gives you one advantage to realise cash out of that metal. You do not have to sell it; all you need to do is to securitise it so you issue some certificate on the back of that gold in your vaults and then you discount those securities, that piece of paper in the market and receive the cash. It is as if you borrowed from the market on the back of the physical gold but you do that without selling the gold that is the advantage it gives you. It gives you that advantage of leveraging of the hard battle, the physical metal which ordinarily if you have the cash, you just spend the cash. So, we believe that this will go further in supporting us raising additional resources from our royalties.
I understand the argument about releasing the royalty in the first place but I think that colleagues, we raise to 7% in August, they want to do that again now. I am not so sure that the mining sector investors will feel that our environment is stable in terms of the environment for doing business. I think the vetting will be the environment will be unstable.
I would like to urge all the Members to allow us to continue with this proposal, implement it and then ask us again how it is going. If we are having trouble, we will do so and correct it. Who knows we might even change it to something else. However, the thinking was let us leverage off our physical metal, we do better that way rather than just receiving cash. I thank you.
HON. MUSHORIWA: I understand that but the issue is very simple because there is the logistical and administrative aspect to this. Imagine we have got two mining companies, the Ziyambi mining company which is mining platinum and they simply say you want your 50% of the 7%, come and get it, they have finished mining or do you want another company to then say you do deliver it to somewhere else and which institution is he going to deliver to and which is going to administer it.
We would want a situation where people will end up using, because there will only be structure, no legislation and people end up abusing that platinum –[HON. ZIYAMBI: Inaudible interjection.] -
HON. MADZIMURE: Madam Chair, Hon. Ziyambi is even complicating it more. If you want to get 7% as your royalties, you will get 7% instead of splitting it three and half percent becomes the physical metal and 3,5 is in monetary. Are you saying you will be better off selling the metal your selves than getting the same, because you are saying the value of the 7%, you are splitting in half, you want metal, you want cash.
Hon. Minister, before you come in, this becomes even subjective, you need more people physically who must be experienced in all the issue of having the metals, storing the metals. We are again opening another avenue of corruption. Why can we not just get our 7% if we want 10%, we say 10% instead of this splitting. I just want to know from you Minister, has this worked anywhere else in the world? Does it work for you to say we have learnt from this country where it is happening or it is a new thing?
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you very much Madam Chair. There are many countries in the world that have designated some of the metals that we have listed here as reserve minerals and these are kept in vaults. It is not new. So, the storage of minerals which are national assets in our vaults is not new, we store gold, we stole diamonds, MMCZ is doing it, RBZ is doing it, there is no impediment when it comes to storage, and we have got the storage. Hon. Mushoriwa was very pointed basically about the other 50% which is in metal arguing whether we can do better at selling the metal.
Actually it is not about selling the metal that is exactly not the point. The point is we want to leverage off that physical metal, be able to borrow against it, enjoy the use of the resources without selling the metal so it gives you leverage. I thank you.
HON. BITI: The arguments that the Executive is making both the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Finance have no problem for gold and to some extent diamonds because gold is fungible, gold is currency and gold can be stored. This country has been storing gold for 100 years but the platinum metals are a problem. Beyond diamonds and gold, you have a problem and the problem is; we do not have a platinum refinery in Zimbabwe. The metals that are mentioned here, platinum, palladium and lithium – platinum is a generic term when we have got ZimPlats which mines platinum. We have got Murowa and Unki that are platinum miners but go to their returns of last year, go to the Budget Statement of last year which had a breakdown of the minerals, the number one mineral that ZimPlats has been mining in the last three years is lithium because when you get that ore, it is then processed and several derivatives come. Madam Speaker, because we do not have a refinery, we cannot determine that. We cannot determine what they are coming up with. If we had a refinery then we could put the army and the soldiers at that refinery. Now that we do not, that is why illicit financial flows are coming out of our minerals. The biggest driver of illicit financial flows in Zimbabwe is ZimPlats. Demanding physical does not work. The solution in the long or mid-term is to build a refinery. We have been arguing for that but in the September budget, he gave them an extra five years. He suspended their obligation to build a refinery now. Go to our Finance Statement (No. 2) of September 2022, only a few months ago, he gave them a further concession, akatovapushira bhora kumberi iye murume uyu, iyeyu Minister of Finance. Madam Speaker, with regards to gold, diamonds, there is no problem but the platinum metals are a problem. It is not practical because we do not have a refinery.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you. The Hon. Member Biti is correct about the medium and long term solution to this issue being the investment in refineries and I agree with him on that. That is the ultimate solution. We will get there but on the suspension of the beneficiation tax, that was only suspended up to the end of this month – December. It comes back in again. I just want to correct that if by the 1st January companies will not have complied, it kicks in again. That will give them encouragement to invest in this refinery that he is talking about.
On the PGMs where the mineral composition is not known, we have to rely on the company to tell us the truth and so forth. We are already losing now. We are not any better off by sticking to the status quo. I agree the refinery is the final ultimate but let us try the physical metal aspect. If they have to refine abroad, which is what they are doing, let them refine and they give us our physical metals.
*HON. BITI: Madam Chair, Bindura Nickel Company (BMC) has got a nickel refinery because nickel is a PMG. That refinery can refine what is being mined at ZimPlats, Murowa and Unki. If our Government is serious about arresting these culprits, let it direct that what is mined at Unki, Murowa and ZimPlats be refined at Bindura because that same refinery has got the capacity but they do not want because they are thieves. What you want to do does not work unless we have deployed Zimbabwe Defence Forces, the Army at the Sun City where their refinery is. This country is losing a billion dollars annually because of elicit financial flows and the chief culprits are ZimPlats and those people who are doing cigarettes including Simon Rudland, let us deal with these thieves.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you. I think he has amplified his argument which I agree with regarding investment, the investment in a refinery including alternatives which already exist. So we agree with him and that is something we should look into very seriously. I thank you.
Clause 21 put and agreed to.
Clause 22 put and agreed to.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Madam Chair, I move that we report progress and seek leave to sit again so that we complete all the remaining clauses. I think it is Clause 11 that we need to deal with and we have made some amendments. I thank you.
House resumed.
Progress reported.
Business was suspended at Twenty Minutes past Two o’clock p.m. and resumed at Eleven Minutes to Three O’clock p.m.
On Clause 11:
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Madam Chair, we have now amended Clause 11 and simplified it. For what it is worth, the Members of this House who are also trained lawyers have been of great assistance and have concurred with the new simplified wording on this clause. I am going to read – in this part, we define a registrable tax payer which means a person that is carrying on any day or any trait or (b) who has registered a company, trust, pension fund or other juristic person but does not include (i) a presumptive tax payer except such class of presumptive tax payer will be specified in a notice prescribed under Section 25 (b) or
(ii) an employer registered as such for the purpose of the Thirteenth Schedule, except such class of employer as maybe specified in a notice prescribed under Section (b).
Amendment to Clause 11 put and agreed to.
Clause 11, as amended,, put and agreed to.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): In the draft Finance Bill that I presented here in August during the Supplementary Budget, I made a proposal regarding the pension fund access for Members of Parliament, depending on their tenure in Parliament and their age but it was just too controversial. We had to remove it. The Public Service Commission really would want this issue to be resolved, so I want to reintroduce that clause as follows: it is an amendment and it is Clause 23:
AMENDMENT OF SECTION 7 CAP 2 (2)
Section 7 Entitlement to Pension of the Parliamentary Pensions Act 2:2, hereinafter called the principal Act, is amended by the insertion of subsection 2 of the following subsections:
iii) a person who has reached 65 years and has served as a Member of Parliament for the duration of two Parliaments and is still continuing to serve as a Member, shall be entitled to receive his or her pension; the continued services rendered afterwards be non contributory.
What we mean here is that we are trying to support those Members of Parliament who have been so successful at winning elections - 1, 2, 3 and 4 elections and are still winning and they are still serving. We are saying that they should be able to access their pension beyond the age of 65. Otherwise they will continue contributing until they drop dead. All they have done in their life is to be successful Members of Parliament and keep winning elections and they have no benefit from the pension scheme.
It is not a lot of Members who keep winning elections beyond a second term. It is very few. So I implore Hon Members to support me on this one.
iv) If a person reaches the age of 65 years and is still serving in Parliament but they have not yet served as a Member for the duration of two Parliaments, he or she may elect to continue contributing until he or she has served for the duration of two Parliaments. It is a very simple request. I thank you.
Amendment to new Clause 23 put and agreed to
New Clause 23, as amended, put and agreed to.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): I also wish to recommit Clauses 4 and 5 for the record. I thank you. Let me read Clauses 4 and 5 that we are recommitting:
Clause 4
Section 14, Income Tax Periods of Assessment after 1.4.88. Section 2 (a) of the Finance Act Chapter 23:4 is amended with effect of 1 January in the year of assessment beginning 1st January 2023 by the repeal of items (i) to (vi) and the substitution of -
- So much as does not exceed ZW$1 100 000;
- So much as exceeds ZW$1 100 000 but does not exceed ZW$3 840 000;
- So much as exceeds ZW$3 840 000 but does not exceed ZW$6 576 000;
- So much as exceeds ZW$6 576 00 but does not exceed ZW$9 312 000;
- So much as exceeds ZW$9 312 000 but does not exceed 12 million dollars.
(vi) So much as exceeds twelve million dollars;” That is the end of Clause 4. I thank you.
I now proceed to Clause 5 which is the schedule or table.
5 Amendment of Schedule to Chapter I of Cap. 23:04
The Schedule (“Credits and Rates of Income Tax”) to Chapter I of the Finance Act [Chapter 23:04] is amended with effect from the year of assessment beginning on the 1st of January, 2023, in Part II by the deletion of the items relating to the level of taxable income earned in Zimbabwe dollars from employment, and the substitution of the following:
Section |
Level of taxable income |
Specified Percentage % |
14 (2) (a) (i) |
1 100 000 |
0 |
14 (2) (a) (ii) |
1 100 001 to 3 8140 000 |
20 |
14(2) (a) (iii) |
3 840 001 to 6 576 000 |
25% |
14(2) (a) (iv) |
6 576 001 to 9 312 000 |
30 |
14(2) (a) (v)
|
9 312 001 to 12 000 000 |
35 |
14(2) (a) (vi) |
12 000 001 or more |
40 |
That is the end of Clause 5. I thank you.
Amendment to Clause 5 put and agreed to.
Clause 5, as amended, put and agreed to.
On Clause 23:
HON. TOGAREPI: Madam Chair, the issue on Clause 23 on pensions of Hon. Members, I want to persuade you to reconsider the area of coming up with a non-predictable pension to Hon. Members when they leave Parliament. In other sectors, they would say 100% of what is given to a sitting Hon. Member, some will say 75%. If you go to the Army, if a Major leaves employment today, he will be paid two thirds of an active member. Vice Presidents get 100%. So we are saying 100%. So when we are saying for a Member of Parliament we expect a defined benefit. Largely, our pension scheme is defined and so if it is a defined benefit, if we must predict, when I leave, what should I predict; what would be my income?
HON. MUSHORIWA: I also just wanted to buttress on this Clause 23. Hon. Minister, when you say 100% but the amount of money that a seating Member of Parliament gets include the salary and includes the other allowances. When you then talk of 100%, you are only talking of the 100% of salary. So we are not asking a lot. In fact, the amount of money that the person will get, you find that if you do the proper calculation, it is probably around 40% or 45% of the amount the sitting MP will be getting. It is not like we are asking for 100% of the whole amount. It is just what is defined as salary minus all the other allowances. So it is fair for us to ask that and I support what the Hon. Member has said.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Madam Chair, I am being persuaded by the Hon. Members and I also express that I should agree to the 100% because effectively, it could be a third or 25%. So I agree. - [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] -
Amendment to Clause, 23 put and agreed to.
Clause 23, as amended, put and agreed to.
House resumed
Progress reported.
Bill reported with amendments.
Bill referred to the Parliamentary Legal Committee.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER
NON-ADVERSE REPORT RECEIVED FROM THE PARLIAMENTARY LEGAL COMMITTEE
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. KHUMALO): I have to inform the House that I have received from the Parliamentary Legal Committee, a non- adverse report on the Appropriation (2023) Bill [H. B. 14, 2022].
Second Reading: With leave, forthwith.
SECOND READING
APPROPRIATION (2023) BILL [H. B. 14: 2022].
.THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): I move that the Bill be read a second time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read a second time.
Third Reading: With leave, forthwith.
THIRD READING
APPROPRIATION (2023) BILL [H. B. 14, 2022]
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): I move that the Bill be read the third time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read the third time.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER
NON-ADVERSE REPORT RECEIVED FROM THE PARLIAMENTARY LEGAL COMMITTEE
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. M. KHUMALO): I have received a Non-Adverse Report from the Parliamentary Legal Committee on the Finance (No. 2) Bill, [H. B. 13A, 2022].
Consideration Stage: With leave, forthwith.
CONSIDERATION STAGE
FINANCE (No. 2) BILL, [H. B. 13A, 2022]
Amendments to Clauses 4, 5, 11 and the New Clause, 23 put and agreed to.
Bill, as amended, adopted
Third Reading: With leave, forthwith.
THIRD READING
FINANCE (No. 2) BILL [H. B. 13A, 2022]
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Mr. Speaker Sir, I now move that the Bill be read the third time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read the third time.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Mr. Speaker Sir, may we revert to the Third Reading of the Appropriation Bill. I thank you.
Motion put and agreed to.
THIRD READING
APPROPRIATION (2023) BILL [H. B. 14, 2022]
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (PROF. M. NCUBE): Hon. Chair, I move that the Appropriation (2023) Bill [H. B. 14, 2022] be now read the third time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read the third time.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that Order of the Day, No. 2 on today’s Order Paper be stood over until Order of the Day No. 3 has been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
CONSIDERATION STAGE
PRIVATE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 10A, 2021]
Third Order read: Consideration Stage: Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Bill [H. B. 10A, 2021.
HON. MUSHORIWA: Hon. Speaker, we want to debate this Bill – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections] -
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Mr. Speaker, this Bill was referred to the Parliamentary Legal Committee. After the Committee Stage; there is no debate because all the clauses were put and agreed to. I am not sure what he wants to debate because the debate was closed. The process for debating was closed; we then referred the Bill to the Parliamentary Legal Committee. What is outstanding now is the Third Reading of the Bill. Hon. Mushoriwa cannot say he wants to debate, which stage of the Bill does he want to debate?
HON. MUSHORIWA: Mr. Speaker Sir, the last time if you check in the Hansard when Hon. Advocate Mudenda was on the Chair, when we adjourned the debate, we were debating on the Third Reading, there is no provision that says that Third Reading you cannot debate, we do have to debate and we have got quite a number of issues, there is no way that you can try to hijack. The best thing is let the Hon. Speaker come on board - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – What is there in the Standing Rules that says you cannot debate Third Reading? Hon. Speaker there is no quorum, that is the first thing – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] -
[Bells rung]
[Quorum formed]
CONSIDERATION STAGE
PRIVATE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 10A, 22]
Amendments to Clauses 2 (b), 3(a), 4, 5, 6 (a), 6 (b), 6 (c), 6 (d), 6 (e), 9 (a), 9 (b), 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35, put and agreed to.
Bill, as amended, adopted.
Third Reading: With leave, forthwith.
THIRD READING
PRIVATE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 10A, 22]
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that the Bill be read the third time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read the third time.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI), the House adjourned at Five minutes to Four o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 24th January, 2023.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 15th December, 2022
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)
HON. MAMOMBE: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir, for allowing me to raise a point of priviledge. Hon. Speaker, I am worried about the disregard of the Urban Councils Act in our communities. Hon. Speaker, there is an illegal mushrooming of the unlicenced housing and structures informally planned suburbs. Of late, land has been allocated on greenway spaces and infills. My prayer today is that communities like Mabelreign in Harare West and also other areas like Cowdry Park in Bulawayo are being invaded.
I want to pray that the Hon. Minister of Local Government should come and give a guarantee that the allocation of greenway spaces and infills must stop and that the land that has been allocated to date must be reversed.
This is a matter of urgency especially in view of global warming, overcrowding and potential of diseases in our suburbs. I would also want to add that the Zimbabwe Republic Police must enforce the law as is expected. This is a time bomb in our communities. I thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: We will capture your observations and bring this to the attention of the Minister of Local Government. However, as Members of Parliament from your respective constituencies, must engage the local authorities themselves because that is their first port of call in terms of managing their areas of jurisdiction.
HON. MAMOMBE: Thank you Mr. Speaker, I have already done that.
HON. GONESE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, I rise on a matter of national public importance which is predicated upon the provisions of our Constitution, in particular, Section 56 which provides that no one should be treated in a discriminatory manner, that persons are expected to have equality before the law. It therefore follows that we should not be having selective application of the law.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I am concerned that we are increasingly seeing cases, situations where it appears that these principles are not being upheld. We have the case of Hon. Job Sikhala who has been incarcerated at Chikurubi Maximum Prison. The principle of our law is that we have a Harare Remand…
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order!
HON. GONESE: It is not about bail Mr. Speaker – [AN HON. MEMBER: Inaudible interjection.] –
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order! I am saying order; you cannot say order. Please take your seat. Can you switch off your mic please? Hon. Gonese, a learned lawyer, you are aware that any matter that is before the courts is subjudice and there are procedures and avenues for raising such issues by the concerned Hon. Member and that due process needs to be followed outside this House – [HON. GONESE: Inaudible interjections.] – I have ruled – [HON. GONESE: I am not talking about Hon. Sikhala.] – I have ruled, can you sit down – [HON. GONESE: No, no Mr. Speaker. I think you are not being fair. I was talking about principles of selective, I am now not going to refer to that one. I am talking about the administrative justice.] – Order! Can you sit down?
Hon. Gonese having approached the Chair.
THE HON. SPEAKER: I said I ruled before. Do not approach the Chair. Can you sit down – [HON. GONESE: Inaudible interjections.] – I ruled that nobody should approach the Chair. Can you sit down – [HON. GONESE: Inaudible interjections.] – Sergeant-at-Arms, take him out! Hon. Gonese, can you leave the House!
The Sergeant-at-Arms escorted Hon. Gonese out of the House – [HON. HWENDE: Inaudible interjections.] – Hon. Hwende, this is not shake-shake House, alright! Withdraw that statement. Do not bring to disrepute this august House, withdraw that statement – [HON. HWENDE: I withdraw.] – Please take your seat.
HON. MARKHAM: Thank you Mr. Speaker. My point of national interest dates back to August when we requested from the Minister of Home Affairs, regarding the issue of the Registrar-General, officers going around registering the people with no IDs. That was in August. He promised this House that by the end of September, the project would be completed. It started in April. He promised the House he would return and you ruled that it was a directive from the President to leave no one behind and no place behind. I stated there were over two thousand people in Hatcliffe and over five hundred in Borrowdale who were not registered. He promised us that he would come back after that programme. Nothing has happened. When I raised it the third time, he promised us a statement. It is now four months and there has been nothing – no statement, no one coming back and no help from them. My question is, we are now approaching elections in six months’ time approximately, does that leave these unregistered people unable to vote now because it is taking so long? My question Mr. Speaker falls unfortunately on Parliament. Why are these things not followed up? When a Minister tells us he is going to give a statement and he does not, why do we not follow it up? It is continuing. Thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you. Hon. Member, do not wait for four months to elapse. If two weeks, three weeks have elapsed and the House is sitting, raise the issue and action should be taken accordingly.
HON. MARKHAM: Thank you Mr. Speaker. As I said, when I raised it the third time, he told us he would give us a statement. This is now the fourth time and still nothing has happened. That is my frustration.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Clerk, can you make sure that this does not happen. Thank you.
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. SPEAKER
NON-ADVERSE REPORTS RECEIVED FROM THE PARLIAMENTARY LEGAL COMMITTEE
THE HON. SPEAKER: I wish to inform the House that we have received Non-Adverse Reports from the Parliamentary Legal Committee on the following Bills and Statutory Instruments:
- Electoral Amendment Bill [H. B. 11, 2022],
- Prisons and Correctional Services Bill [H. B. 6, 2022],
- Statutory Instruments Nos. 187, 188, 189, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 2001, 202, 203 and 204 published in the Gazette during the month of November 2022.
PETITIONS RECEIVED FROM THE WOMEN’S COALITION OF ZIMBABWE, CHILDREN OF ZIMBABWE NATIONAL LIBERATION WAR VETERANS ASSOCIATION AND THE DRIVERS ASSOCIATION OF ZIMBABWE
THE HON. SPEAKER: I have to inform the House that on Tuesday, 6th December 2022, Parliament of Zimbabwe received a petition from the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe, beseeching Parliament to amend the Trafficking in Persons Act, Chapter 9:25 to incorporate a definition of trafficking in persons consistent with the relevant protocols, to prevent, punish and suppress trafficking in persons especially women and children. The petition has since been referred to the Portfolio Committee on Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services.
I also have to inform the House that on Thursday, 1st December, 2022, Parliament received a petition from the Children of Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association, beseeching Parliament to amend the Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Act, Chapter 17:12 to include the Constitutional provisions of respect, honour and recognition and clearly define and operationalise aspects of these provisions. The petition has since been referred to the Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.
I further have to inform the House that on Tuesday, 6th December 2022, Parliament received a petition from the Drivers Association of Zimbabwe, beseeching Parliament to enact supporting legislation that will professionalise driving so that it becomes compulsory for employers to employ drivers who are members of the association as they will be competent and ethical in their profession. The petition has since been referred to the Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructural Development.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. TOGAREPI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I move that Order of the Day, Number 1 be stood over until Order of the Day, Number 2 has been disposed of.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
FINANCE BILL: BUDGET DEBATE
First Order read: Adjourned debate on motion that leave be granted to bring in a Finance Bill.
Question again proposed.
HON. MUSHORIWA: Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to start by thanking you for giving me this opportunity to debate on this particular issue. I want to start my debate by stating that the 2023 budget is the fifth budget that the Hon. Minister has presented before this House. I want to look into the history of the past four budgets presented in this august House. One key attribute of all the budgets that have been presented before this august House by the Hon. Minister of Finance is that they have always fallen short of the assumptions that have been made by the Minister continuously for the past four years. He has always been over the mark. The Hon. Minister has failed in terms of his projections when it comes to inflation and even the exchange rate and as we speak, if you look into the budget for 2023 and analyse the assumption that underlines the budget, it tells you that something is amiss. The Hon. Minister for instance, will propose that one of the pillars that underpin his budget is the continued supply and stability in power supply yet we know we are in a crisis. What that means is that this budget is totally off even before it has started.
The other issue which has become so problematic with the Hon Minister’s budget is that for the past four years we have got ministries and departments that have been underfunded - including Parliament, to the extent that the figures that he presented here, he does not mean them because four years without exception, you find ministries and departments like the Auditor General never getting even 50% disbursement. You cannot be off the mark four years continuously and even right now in the fifth year; you cannot expect anything more which is different from that. Mr. Speaker Sir, you are aware that one of the major challenge that we face in this country is that we are using both the US dollar and Zim dollar but one of the things that has become so clear in the market is that a huge population is now using the US dollar. The only limited people are the ones getting their salaries in Zim dollar like the civil servants, local councils, but the majority of the people have now migrated to the US dollars.
The credibility of presenting a budget in RTGs raises a big challenge and once it is certain, given the history of the Hon. Minister of failing to tame inflation and the exchange rate fluctuations, it means that by the time we get to June, this budget will actually be worthless.
I also want to specifically talk on the document that he presented before this august House in his budget. He gave us a booklet on the SDR funding. Mr. Speaker Sir, the Budget and Finance Committee has been…
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon Member can you be specific. Are you talking of the Blue Book or the Budget Statement? What are you talking about?
HON. MUSHORIWA: When the Hon Minister brought his Budget Statement, amongst the papers that he laid on the table which had to do with the three year strategic plan on the use of SDR funds, I want to bring to your attention an issue that has been before your Committee on Budget Finance and Economic Development. We have queried and asked the Hon. Minister to come before the Committee and twice they have come and we have asked them to give us disaggregated data pertaining to how the SDR funds have been used. One of the things that have become so critical is that the Hon. Minister came into this august House and boasted saying that we had used our own resources to fund our COVID vaccines as well as reconstruction of the Masvingo road.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Mr. Speaker Sir, I object to the use of the word boast which the Hon. Member is using. I do not think that is the right word to use.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order Hon. Hwende, I am admonishing you for the second time. Can you sit down! I have not said anything on what has happened.
HON. HWENDE: Ok, you are going to state something about what the Hon Minister did.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Hwende, can you withdraw - you are going to state something about what the Hon Minister did.
HON. HWENDE: Ok, I withdraw whatever you want me to withdraw.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Can you leave the House!
HON. HWENDE: Why?
THE HON. SPEAKER: You are being very sarcastic to the Chair. Can you leave the House!
HON. HWENDE: No, Why?
THE HON. SPEAKER: Leave the House!
HON. HWENDE: No.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Can you leave the House! Be parliamentary and leave the House.
HON. HWENDE: You must be specific on what I should withdraw.
THE HON. SPEAKER: I told you that - [HON. HWENDE: Inaudible interjection.] - Order, order, order, order, leave the House, I do not have to repeat myself. Order, leave the House, can you leave the House!. Order, order, can you leave the House, can you leave the House! - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible Interjections.] - Order, order can you leave the House! Leave the House, can you leave the House! Leave the House please! Shadow Ministers must behave.
Hon. Minister, if you have something to say you raise a point of order. You do not stand up and then press the button as you speak. I am sure that is taken. Hon. Member, you state what the Minister said. Do not value-add what the Hon. Minister said. So the word ‘boast’ should be withdrawn.
HON. MUSHORIWA: I withdraw the word ‘boast’ and quote verbatim what the Hon. Minister said. The Hon. Minister, when we were asking about the COVID virus and dualisation of Masvingo Road, he said that ‘zvakarongeka’. He was saying that he was using resources from the budget but check Mr. Speaker Sir, if you look in the SDR; he now claims that he used SDR funds to procure vaccines. He also claims that he used SDR funds to do the road to Masvingo.
Mr. Speaker, you cannot have an Hon. Minister who comes and addresses this august House and say that no, we are funding our COVID vaccines worth US$100 million from our own resources and he goes and does double dipping. Something is not clear or right and we have asked the Hon. Minister and the Ministry of Finance to come clean and simply say what he used. Remember the Hon. Minister would come here and say we used this from the surplus he got from the budget. That Mr. Speaker creates a problem.
I just want to touch briefly on the issue pertaining to the overall assumptions the Minister has actually put. I want to look into the taxation aspect. The Hon. Minister, in his budget, has now come and said, look at the SADC region - the average VAT, ours is at 14,5% and we need to increase it by 0,5%. What the Hon. Minister does not state in that proposal is that in the SADC, it is only Zimbabwe that charges 2% IMTT. What it means is that Zimbabwe is double taxed. You increase VAT from 14, 5% to 15%. If the Hon. Minister wanted to make sure that it becomes average or the same with SADC countries, then the best way was to say I increased by 0,5% to 15% and reduce the IMTT or even remove it. The minimum we expected from you Hon. Minister was to reduce it to 1, 5% or alternatively do the right thing and remove it.
The other issue which in our view does not make economic sense, during the supplementary budget, we had an argument with the Hon. Minister when we were discussing the Finance Bill pertaining to the payment of royalties. We argued that we need to make sure that the royalties percentage should be increased to somewhere around 10%. The Hon. Minister comes before this august House with a marvel way of collecting royalties and said that 50% has to be in minerals. This is 2022 getting into 2023; I do not understand how the Hon. Minister could actually think that proposal would actually work. What we expected from the Hon. Minister is to come and simply say I believe that we need to tax these miners, let us increase the royalties to around 10% rather than to have a way of trying to hide the non-increase of royalties by coming up with a novel way of trying to do the taxes.
During the supplementary budget, again we explained to the Hon. Minister that he could not charge forex transactions at 4% IMT and for the first time, I think he listened. I think sense knocked into the Ministry of Finance and they have actually reduced, which is actually by the way, the only positive thing that I could actually talk of pertaining to the budget statement presented by the Hon. Minister. Tied to that Hon. Minister, talking of getting sufficient funds to the budget, do you know Mr. Speaker if you go out into town, the majority of people are now charging in USD cash. There are few that would want you to transfer your USD from Nostro accounts or even RTGs.
What it means is that most of the businesses that are charging in USD are not paying IMT. What we did not find in the budget is what are the mechanisms or measures that the Hon. Minister is going to implement to ensure that the tax net can actually net as many people as possible. We had suggested when we presented the report on the budget that ZIMRA needs to be well capacitated and also retain 3% of the revenue that they collect so that ZIMRA officials and as an institution is capacitated to do its work in a proper manner. In any event, the 3% is well-articulated in the ZIMRA Act and we do not understand why the Minister of Finance is dithering on doing something which is already contained in a piece of law.
Lastly Mr. Speaker Sir, I just want to buttress that one of the key issues that we believe needs to happen. In this country we now have many people that are so rich. I think you now know the term mbinga, the mbingas of this world. If you go to the taxmen, they do not even have any tax record. They pay nothing to the fiscus and do nothing but they live a luxurious life. We need to make sure that we introduce a wealthy tax. A wealthy tax targets these people who drive luxurious vehicles, living in mansions but without a single tax return to support that this person is actually paying tax. Wealth tax is now the way to go and it is better to make sure that we tax those rich people big time and protect the poor people in Dzivaresekwa, Epworth and the whole country. That is what we expect the Hon. Minister to do and we still urge you Hon. Minister, even as we go towards the Finance Bill, to probably consider making sure that we come up with something in respect of taxing the rich so that we can get as much money into the fiscus. I thank you.
HON. MADZIMURE: I will start with infrastructure for the purpose of growing our industry. If I look at the measures that the Minister intends to take on making sure that our infrastructure is compatible with, especially the digital economy that we are now in. We are in an industrial revolution where emphasis is now on digital economy. What is happening on the ground does not speak to what the Minister is saying.
We now have our roads especially in our industrial areas; if you drive around Harare in the industrial areas, you would regret having started that particular journey. We are talking of dualisation of the roads and the song is Harare – Beitbridge and Harare –Mutare up to Plumtree but in our industrial areas, you try to go with your Mercedes Benz, you would prefer getting out of that car, feeling sorry for it and start walking. This means that it is now not enjoyable to drive around the industrial area especially in Harare. Because of that, the kind of the business people we are now attracting in those areas – the quality is now pathetic. Go to Conrad Road in the light industry where we used to have companies that would manufacture electronic and telecoms components; people would manufacture some spares but those areas have now been turned into tuck shops. The whole road up to the end, you find plastic ware and pots. There is no industrial growth anymore Mr. Speaker. This is evident from the empirical data that we now have from the census where we have Zimbabwe from our own esteemed organisation saying that we have 74% unemployment. This means we only have 26% of people gainfully employed. It points to the fact that we are not developing industry at all. We are not growing at all. Where we have got people trying to do manufacturing, the infrastructure is not being developed.
I can give a typical example of what happens to Glen View Area 8 in Harare where we have got young people manufacturing furniture. We have experienced fires year in year out and no one has ever thought of that to grow that industry. This place houses more than 3000 artisans and we have experienced fires year in year out. What needs to be done there is to build clusters – industrial cubicles like where each person is allocated his or her own place where you manufacture from and identified, and graduate as a formal person. We are not doing that. It is not only in Harare. There is nowhere in Zimbabwe where you will find housing development area where you have an industrial area where you would build such things where you afford manufacturers proper housing. That is the only way you can collect even revenue. You must collect revenue from places that can be identified or people who can be identified. If you are not providing infrastructure for these people, you are not growing industry. Because of the fact that they do not have places to operate from, no one cares about issues like manufacturing. You cannot build a country where you only produce raw materials; you mine your minerals and you do not value add. You produce your cotton and you sell it as it is; you harvest your tobacco and sell it as it is too. That is why we now have more than 80% unemployment because we are not creating employment.
The issue of electricity is another thorn in the flesh. You cannot expect the Minister to collect revenue in a country which is now almost a dark city, even in the rural areas where there was rural electrification. I was in Masvingo over the weekend, there is a young man who built a service station there and he was telling me that in a week, you only get electricity two days. The whole infrastructure is run by a generator. This makes the product expensive. The moment you have expensive products, you become uncompetitive. Even the Africa trade area that we are talking about, Zimbabwe will not be able to compete because the cost of the products that we are going to produce makes them uncompetitive.
When the Minister talks about the additional 600 megawatts from Hwange 7 and 8, he forgets that 1 to 6 are down. This means that these 600 megawatts that we have increased are only trying to replace probably the 400 that we were producing. Effectively, this means we have gained only 200 megawatts from Hwange. We are not going anywhere. For anyone to then have his projections and take them seriously, it becomes very difficult. Whilst you were away, we could not watch the world cup because we now do not have electricity from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. in the morning. That is on another day. On the other day, electricity goes at...
THE HON. SPEAKER: May you please address the Chair.
HON. MADZIMURE: Through you Mr. Speaker Sir.....
THE HON. SPEAKER: Yes, address the Chair.
HON. MADZIMURE: Through you Mr. Speaker, whilst the Minister was away, this is what we have been experiencing. More than 8-12 hours of non-availability of electricity, which means whatever he expected to get from IMMT transfers is not going to happen because cell phones will be off – there will be no transaction hence you will not get that money.
The Minister also talks about house delivery. This is contrary to the ZANU PF manifesto where it promised two million houses from 2020-2025. He is giving us 450 000. He will have to explain what really went wrong as far as the building of houses is concerned considering that the population is high and we have got a lot of people who do not have accommodation.
One area that I am passionate about is the issue of youth, sport and culture; there is nothing that is there in the budget that gives hope to our young people. Our young people do not have stadiums. They do not have tracks to run; they do not have swimming pools for them to learn how to swim. Sport has become a serious business. In Zimbabwe right now, we do not have stadiums or playground in our constituencies anymore but we have a fund. I do not know how that fund is used. We have a fund that should be used to develop rural sporting facilities and there is no single member here who has ever said he benefitted from that fund. That is not the only fund that we have; we have got 87 funds under the purview of the Minister even though they reside, some of them in the various ministries. Out of those funds, we rarely see Ministers coming here to explain how those funds are used. These are targeted funds.
We have the water fund but we have not heard anyone coming to this House to report on the use of these funds....
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Member, why have you not called the Ministers to account in various committees?
HON. MADZIMURE: As Budget and Finance, we have tried to do so. We also have an aerial view of what happens in other ministries. We have got a situation where you see transfers from a fund back to a Ministry instead of the money getting out of the fund and going to its intended purpose. On that, the Minister has got an obligation to explain how he has been monitoring the use of those funds. Whenever you pay for fuel, there is money that goes to ZERA and EMA but at the end of the day you do not see reports explaining how those funds will have benefited the people whom it must serve. We have a number of those funds and I would want the Minister to explain.
This is why we have never seen a lot of Ministers complaining that their budget is too low. It is because they know they have somewhere to get funding. When we pay shop licences there is money that goes to a fund. I would want the Minister to pay attention to that and also for Ministers to account for the use of those funds. Those funds are known and they can do us wonders. I would like to implore Hon. Members to understand the funds that are administered by their various ministries so that they would also ask the Ministers to account.
On the issue of education, we now have a crisis as far as education funding is concerned. If I look at what is allocated for the Ministry of Education, I cannot see Government funding the sector like what is being talked about, which is free education starting next year. We must also take into cognisance that there is money for school development that is also paid by parents. We still need to cushion the people. I cannot see a situation where we will be able to have free education next year. If we are going to have it, then it must be inclusive so that pupils get value for money. I would want the Minister to review some of his targets because the Minister’s budget has not been performing. We have a tendency of allocating a lot of money but come end of year, the money that will have been disbursed from those appropriations is pathetic and that is evidenced from stagnation of the economy that we are seeing.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon Togarepi, I am chairing Hon. Members on my right and left. Why is it that there is no contribution from Hon. Members on my right? Nobody is standing up.
HON. TOGAREPI: They did debate. Hon. Members on the left side refused to debate in the absence of the Minister of Finance. We still have some who want to debate.
THE HON. SPEAKER: I cannot be seen to be recognising Hon. Members from the left as if this House is left handed –[AN HON. MEMBER: Havana zvekutaura]. I understand the explanation. I was not aware that the majority of Hon. Members on my right did debate. As Chairperson, I get concerned when I do not see a balance in debate.
HON. MASOKA: I want to buttress three points. Firstly, it is about tax on the welfare on some members of our society. That is long overdue because we have many members of our society that are living large and are doing very well but if you go to the tax side, they are not paying anything to Government. I feel that is something that the Minister of Finance needs to look at and look at very seriously that this bracket of people in our society brings back something to Government.
Secondly, ZIMRA needs to retain the 3% so that they are capacitated and when they are capacitated they need also to go to the informal sector because in our society right now, 80% of our people are informal. They are making a lot of money but there is no one who is taxing them. ZIMRA is not capacitated enough to follow on these people. That is why we need that 3% to be retained with ZIMRA so that they can be capacitated and they can then be able to follow up on the informal which is the bulk of where the money is right now.
Look at Leopold Takawira Street in the CBD where there is wholesaling that is going on. That is like the heartbeat of Zimbabwe right now and there is a lot of money that flows there that is not taxed. Most of the people that are there are foreigners. There is need for ZIMRA to go and fiscalise those people and bring back the money.
My last point is on the different funds which I counted up to 11 or so. There are ministries that are dipping into the pot like three or four times because some of these funds go directly to them. I feel that the Ministry of Finance should consider that to say those that have funds and dip into the pot like three or four times, there is need to review their budget. Some of them get a lot of money but they have these other funds that they are getting money from. Those are some of the areas that the Ministry of Finance can look at. I thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Biti, only yesterday you said we were putting on ties, we are not liberated in our minds – so you have joined the club today?
HON. BITI: Hon. Speaker, I was in court and a High Court judge said you cannot put on a dressing like those. Fortunately, I keep a suit in the office.
THE HON. SPEAKER: It is appreciated.
HON. BITI: Thank you for allowing me to join in the debate of the 2023 budget. Before I go into the merits, I want to express my disappointment with the Minister of Finance, my colleague, for being absent for two weeks. The budget is a national document and it is the only statement by a Minister that is actually defined mandatorily in the Constitution of Zimbabwe in Sections 302, 303, 304 and 305. In other words, it is a constitutional obligation that the people of Zimbabwe have placed on the Minister and I think the Minister should not undermine his own budget by doing what he did.
At the same time, there was an Article 4, IMF Mission in the country which has been here from the 1st of December, 2022. They have just issued their interim financial statement which I am going to refer to that he also abandoned that Article 4 because that Article 4 is so important because you are giving an input and you know Mr. Speaker that we are suffering under debt unsustainability and therefore it is important to narrow the gap between us in the IFIs and that Article 4 Mission was very important.
Mr. Speaker Sir, when you read this budget, you get a sense that the Minister was in a hurry. Maybe it was because his mid-term statement was in September and then the budget was in November. I have compared this budget and his previous budgets, some of the passages are just cut and paste. The only thing that is done is to modernise the figures. I think he needs to take time when preparing the budget because it is a national statement. I do not think he afforded it the same concentration and quality of attention that is required in what is clearly a cerebral process. So there is a lot of cutting and pasting and he bears final responsibility because he is the Treasury. He is the Minister as defined by Section 7 of the Public Finance Management Act.
Our economy is facing serious structural problems. If you read the World Bank country report of October, 2022, it speaks of 65% of our population being in the informal sector. That is a frightening figure and that report says that for this economy to attain the vision 2030 being espoused by the authorities, our economy needs to grow from 2023 by a figure of 15% per annum and we are limping at around 1%/2%. Eighty-nine per cent of our people are living in extreme poverty. People are wallowing in poverty. These are serious things.
One of the things that are most worrying in that World Bank country note is the fact that out of 17 countries that they examined, we are second from last in terms of productivity. This economy is not productive. These are some of the things that we thought the Minister would address. I want to come to the actual budget. The first thing that I want to deal with is the credibility and legitimacy of this budget. In an economy that is now so dollarized to the extent that 72% of the transactions that are being done in Zimbabwe right now are being done in USD; the USD is on a cash economy. A credible and legitimate budget could and should have been expressed in USD.
If you look at the 2022 budget, we made the same point that the budget should be expressed in USD. The Minister did not listen to us and the net result was that by mid of 2022 in July this year, he had come with a supplementary budget that was 200% bigger than the original budget. His original budget was for ZW$700 billion. We increased a supplementary budget of 1.9 billion, almost 2 billion dollars. So for the sake of legitimacy and credibility, the budget ought to have been expressed in USD.
The second thing on credibility is the growth projection of 3.8% and I want to echo what we have said in the Budget Committee that your assumptions do not support the 3.8% growth rate. Moreso, in light of the fact that the regional economic outlook produced by the IMF of September 2022, predicts that...
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, Order. There are two people who are taking an audio of what you are speaking – please stop it. If you want to follow what is being said, you can always check in the Hansard.
HON. BITI: So that regional economic outlook says that the economies that will do well in sub-Saharan Africa, the growth will be around 1.5%. It is hard to imagine where the 3.8% is going to come from particularly in light of reduced agricultural output acknowledged by the Minister in his budget, the absence of power which was one of the anchors of his macro-economic assumptions. The third thing around credibility is that the budget is a ZW$4.5 trillion yet the growth rate is 3.8%. Theoretically, the budget must grow and the revenues must grow by 3.8% of the 2022 budget which was ZW$1.7 trillion.
So the growth of the budget from ZW$1.7 trillion to ZW$4.5 trillion is not supported by the 3.8% growth rate which he is targeting. This means that this is a budget that implicitly accepts that the inflation rate of this country will remain at above 200%. The growth of the gross figure of the budget from ZW$1.7 trillion to ZW$4.5 trillion can only be supported by the inflation figure of over 200% and that is most unfortunate when a Minister has to budget for such growth levels of inflation.
The fourth thing on credibility is on disbursements. If you read the supplementary budget, by September of 2022, the average disbursement was a mere 36%. We acknowledge as we do in our statement from the Budget Committee that there are four ministries that have overspent. There are four ministries that have gotten the lion’s share but the rest of the ministries, the budget outturn has been 36%, meaning that what we are doing is just a waste of time because money is not going to be disbursed except to those four privileged ministries.
Number 5 on credibility is that we come here, we approve this budget but there is a parallel budget that operates somewhere. There is parallel expenditure that operates somewhere and as I am talking to you right now, there are taps that are open somewhere that we will see two/three years later. As I am making these submissions, we have before this august House two Financial Adjustment Bills. The first Financial Adjustment Bill is for USD10.6 billion. We have not approved that Financial Adjustment Bill.
In other words, over and above what we agreed on, Government went on to spend USD10.6 billion. As I am talking to you, there is a second Financial Adjustment Bill of 100 billion dollars and six billion to make 106 billion dollars in respect of the financial years 2019/2020, meaning that what we are doing again is exercising self delusion because there is a parallel budget that is being run oblivious to this august House and that undermines our work and credibility.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I have referred to the Article 4 Mission that was in the country. They have just issued their preliminary statement and they make four fundamental points that we have been making to the Minister which this budget ought to have addressed.
The first point that they make is that the exchange rate should be liberalised. We have been arguing with the Minister for the last four years that you cannot de-dollarise as he tried to do in February of 2019 when conditions for de-dollarisation did not exist and we know that de-dollarisation has failed and the Government itself is the first character to acknowledge the failure of de-dollarisation. All Government charges, without exception, are now expressed in USD terms, whether it is passports, fuel, birth certificate, death certificate, licencing, number plates for vehicles, et cetera.
So, the biggest undermining of the de-dollarisation process has been the Government itself but we said you can use the Zimbabwean dollar, there is no problem but float the Zimbabwean dollar. Let the Zimbabwean dollar be floated, let it find a natural mark in the market; that did not take place and as a result, what we saw is massive arbitrage. The same budget will tell you that since June of 2020 to now, the auction system has disbursed USD 3, 6 billion but the economy has nothing to show for that. It is a lot of money.
The elites have been accessing cheap USD for two years at an average exchange rate of 1:83 but the parallel exchange rate in the streets has had a premium of 200 to 300%. People have made money out of speculation on the Zimbabwe Dutch Auction System, which is why as a Committee, we have recommended that there should be the introduction of a Wealth Tax so that we can net these speculators who have taken advantage of this loot and booty of the Dutch Auction System.
Another recommendation that is made by the same Article 4 Missions, today, namhla, khathesi, you must abolish the gold coins. We have made the same point that for a country with a weak currency like ours, for a country with a weak current account like ours, do not take the figures he gives in the figures; the reality of the matter is that we have got a negative current account, capital account; he will tell you otherwise that the import pressures of this country are too much we need to import fuel, food, electricity, so there is no way we can have a current account surplus. However, that is an issue for another day.
My point is; in a country with a weak currency, we need to keep our gold, to preserve our gold but instead we are now minting that gold and selling it at a price which is 200% less than the true value of that gold. The going price of an ounce of gold right now is USD1800. We are selling that gold in its currency form at USD1200. We have spent over 18 billion USD printing gold coins but what we have gotten in return is around nine billion dollars. Who does that - no sane, objective person does that.
The third thing that the IMF recommends which we have also made to the Minister is that you must live within your means, you must eat what you kill, and you must maintain a fiscal consolidation. That has not been happening. The Government has been printing money, the Reserve Bank has been printing money, and quasi-fiscal activities are now at least 20-30% of GDP. If you look at the budget itself, I think it is paragraph 93, it will tell you that between January and September of 2022, broad money which economists like Hon. Prof. Mashakada there will tell you, grew by 400%. In other words, we generated hot air of 400% into the economy.
Mr. Speaker, when too much money chases too few goods, you have a crisis of over accumulation. Like in 2008, we all became trillionaires but trillionaires who could not buy a bottle of soda water. Your Members of Parliament, we earn ZWL 200 000 per month but we cannot pay rent Mr. Speaker. The salary we earn cannot fill even a fuel tank to go to Dotito to plant maize. That is the crises of over accumulation. We have made arguments in the past that there is need to rationalise the activities of the Central Bank, the Article 4 Mission also makes the same recommendations.
However, I want to come to the real economy Mr. Speaker Sir. Our economy needs to deal with certain fundamental structural issues to move forward. The first one is the issue of debt; the debt levels produced by the Minister shows that we are around 18 billion dollars. That is not the real issue; the real issue is that our debt as a percentage of GDP is now around 102%. The acceptable threshold, the SADC convergence threshold is 60%, so we are way above. Debt puts a premium, a tax on future generations and our debt and the obligation to deal with our debt is a developmental issue. We defaulted way back in 1999. However, because we have got huge arears around two billion to the World Bank, around 600 million dollars to the African Development Bank, five billion dollars to the Paris Club of Lenders, we need to deal with these arears so that we can access the huge amounts of developmental funds that are sitting at the African Development Bank. Resolving our debt crises de-risks Zimbabwe, lowers the risk profile of Zimbabwe.
So, I am disappointed personally, that when you read the Budget Statement, there is no plan for debt. As a Committee, the IMF Mission yesterday, one of the things we raised was, when are we going to get the next Staff Monitored Programme (SMP) because it is both quantitative and qualitative? It at least tries to show some track record of performance. We do not have that since the collapse of the last SMP in April of 2020. So we are doing nothing, we have spent five years doing nothing; at least Minister Chinamasa tried his Lima process in October of 2016. It may have failed but at least there was effort, so you give him two out of 10 for the effort but my brother, you cannot give him anything - so, that is sad.
The second structural issue I want to deal with is agriculture. We have mismanaged agriculture and one of the reasons why we have mismanaged agriculture is the unsustainable interest rate of 200%. If you want the economy to raise an interest rate of 200% which interest only benefits bankers, there is no savings rate of 200%; in other words, if you put your money in your bank, you are not going to get 200% but if you lend, you are going to be charged 200% plus charges. It means the effective lending rate in Zimbabwe is 280% and that is not sustainable.
So, we are going to shrink this economy, output is going to decrease; in my own calculation, if you get 1, 2% growth rate, you will be very lucky. Thanks to that punitive interest rates but it is killing agriculture, and as I am speaking to you right now, a bag of 25 kg of maize, whether Mbizi or Mbada is 90 USD. A bag of compound D is USD45 or USD50, a bag of ammonium nitrate is USD70; if you find it. Where I come from in Chiendambuya, they add USD80. How can you plant anything? A hectare you need USD600 yet we are USD 600 if you look at us kudhara kudhara, we have no money. So agriculture is being killed. What we suggest Mr. Speaker, is that if you look at the budget, the Minister proposes to give special certificates to Model A1 and A2 farmers which are bankable, why play around with these fancy instruments that have no legal basis? Why not simply introduce title deeds to farmers on Model A1 and A2 farmers? That is what the Constitution says anyway in Chapter 16, so that farmers can go and borrow cheap money. If a farmer is going to borrow at anything more than 5%, he might as well shut down. That is why Mr. Speaker right now, if you go to places like Gokwe, throughout the country, you will find Command Agriculture inputs being sold on the streets because it is cheaper and more profitable to sell the inputs than to put a badza or a gejo in the field and to plant.
The second structural issue Mr. Speaker Sir is the energy. We had the Minister of Energy yesterday, the esteemed Hon. Zhemu Soda. We have a crisis Mr. Speaker. If you listen to him carefully, his only answer is ‘I hope to import more’. He is hoping to import 500 megawatts from EDM in Mozambique and from the SADC power pool but there is a deficit in the entire region. Eskom, South Africa has a black-out – welcome to Zimbabwe, Zambia – same thing. There is a regional deficit. If the strategy of the Minister is to import when everyone is in a net deficit position, it is a disaster but this economy cannot move Mr. Speaker without addressing the issue of power.
The third issue is the issue of mining. Mining can transform this country. This country can be a $200 billion economy purely on the basis of mining but we have to do certain things right. Firstly Mr. Speaker, we cannot give away our mining rights as if they are cakes at a wedding. Anyone who wants, we give him a lithium mine. Anyone who wants, we given him iron ore. Anyone who wants, we give him diamonds. Anyone who wants, we give him platinum. Manhize is sitting on 43 billion metric tonnes of iron ore – the biggest in the world. We gave them for free. I was very hurt Mr. Speaker by a company called Karo Investments or Tharisa. They got a special mining lease. To get a special mining lease, in terms of Section 139 of the Mines and Minerals Act, you must show the authorities, Minister of Mines, Hon. Chitando that you have got USD100 million. So they came here with nothing then they list on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange some bonds to raise money to mine our minerals. They raised $34 million. Are we that foolish Mr. Speaker with great respect? We give away our mining concession for nothing, then we allow that same person kuti korokoza tumari twedu twatinatwo muhomwe and we say we are governing the country.
Mr. Speaker, it cannot be right. Let us get our mining right. The issue of licences and leases, let us auction them. They should go to the highest bidder. We get our qualified economist, lawyers, accountants and they do the cadastral surveys, evaluate and get best price. We call sharp people from South Africa, Botswana with experience and we auction our mining rights. How much money do you have? What are you going to do in the next five years? Mr. Speaker, we are giving platinum licences but there is no single refinery in Zimbabwe. One of the things that my esteemed friend has done in the budget is to introduce, through S. I. 89 of 2022, the payment of royalties in alternative minerals. How does it work Mr. Speaker? Take platinum, it has got six to ten PMGs derivatives and you do not know what is in a tonne. The soil you extract, it has to go to a refinery and we do not have a refinery here. So it will go to South Africa where they tell us whatever they have found because we are not there. Then we are now expecting them to drive lorries to bring the 50% of the royalties – to drive them where Mr. Speaker? It does not work Mr. Speaker. I can understand gold because it is fungible. It is like oil. I can understand a law that says 50% of our gold royalties should be paid as gold because it is fungible and it is a reserve but what about coal, what about platinum, chrome? It does not make sense. The point I am making is that if we get our mining right, we can transform this country.
The fourth issue is our model of accumulation…
[Time limit]
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: On a point of order Mr. Speaker. With your indulgence, Hon. Biti is not only a former Minister of Finance, he is the shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance in this country. Therefore, I plead with you Mr. Speaker that he may be given an extra 10 minutes to exhaust his points.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order. Why do you not make your request without embellishment? In terms of our Standing Order – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Order. When you speak you do not have to clap your hands please. Use your voice. In terms of our Standing Orders, you are allowed extra five minutes Hon. Biti, if you may please wrap up your contribution?
HON. BITI: I will wrap up. So Mr. Speaker, we need to start afresh. Mining can change our country. Mining can transform our country. I had started talking about our accumulation model. If you look at the structure of our economy, our economy is designed to extract and export. The two major activities in our economy are mining and agriculture. If you take agriculture, it is designed for export. Ninety per cent of the tobacco that we produce in this country goes out of Zimbabwe. Tobacco like cocoa, the farmer gets 2% from the value chain – he gets nothing. I live along Enterprise Road, everyday there are literary hundreds of small little trucks full of women and men from Mutoko selling tomatoes. They have been doing that for the last hundred years. The more they sell, the poorer they become and the reason is because of our accumulation model.
I have said before, if you wake Cecil John Rhodes today he will not get lost because Zimbabwe, 44 years after independence is still structured like Southern Rhodesia, like Rhodesia. It has not changed because we are still exporting raw materials. I urge the authorities, the Minister, to ensure that there is value addition in this economy, to ensure that there is manufacturing in this economy, to ensure that there is beneficiation in this economy. Countless trade policies have been written which speak to the same thing but nothing has been done.
One small point on agriculture Mr. Speaker Sir, the marketing of agricultural goods is killing the farmer, earning the farmer RTGS76 thousand for maize and USD90 when you have spent USD300 does not work. I urge the Minister to have the courage of introducing a commodity exchange so that the person who sells maize is in the same position as the person who sells tobacco. He goes to the market, gets his money and goes back home. The marketing model needs to be changed.
I want to come to the taxation review. One of the problems I have with my friend, the esteemed Minister of Finance, an approach to taxation from the point of view of government coffers, just getting money. Tax used wisely is a tool for progressive social intervention. This business of increasing VAT is not only cruel but it is uneven and unequal because the person who stays in Borrowdale will pay the same 15% as the person who stays in Buhera, Chiendambuya, Dotito, Tsholotsho or Nkayi. The same applies to the Intermediated Money Transfer Tax, we do not need that. We are one of the few countries in the Sub-Saharan African region who has that. The IMTT punishes the small person because it is the small person who goes into a bank and at the ATM but rich people do not do that Mr. Speaker Sir. So why are you punishing the poor? IMTT must be scrapped Mr. Speaker Sir.
Now I want to make the following recommendations to the Minister through you Mr. Speaker Sir:
- Express this budget in US dollars. It is clear that your budget was US$4.5 billion. So just say it as it is.
- Make timeous actual disbursements to ministries.
- Pay special attention to education and health as these are drivers of the nation. Speaker, when I went to University in 1986, the esteemed Minister was my senior. He was doing his Masters when I was doing my first degree. I know for sure that if he had not gotten the education that President Mugabe gave him, he would be herding cattle somewhere in Tsholotsho.
- Scrap the auction. I read something on the Reserve Bank talking of opening the auction on the 9th January 2023. Please scrap the auction, scrap the US dollar and pursue fiscal consolidation, the issue of debt and issue of title deeds to people. Reduce and scrap VAT and the IMTT.
- Lastly, please respect the budget.
I thank you very much Mr. Speaker.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Thank you Hon Speaker. From where I come from, a budget is supposed to be a tool that seeks to remedy social and economic ills of a society. Any budget projections should be anchored on prevailing macro-economic environment especially that environment which has to do with social and economic well-being of its citizens. In that regard, a good budget is one that is aimed at improving the income capacity of the majority of its citizens and social infrastructure capacitation. The majority of our income earners in this economy find themselves in the Public Service and in the informal economy. I am not saying that budget should therefore exclude the formal sector but I am arguing that with almost 80% of income earners being housed in the public service and in the informal sector, it is important that any budget takes cognizance of those two sectors before it is passed.
A budget that strengthens these two consequently has downstream effect on the entire economy in the sense that it improves aggregate demand of the population. Aggregate demand by its nature, stimulates economic growth. The budget therefore should be aimed at improving the buying power of the public servants who constitute the majority of income earners in this economy and also improving the delivery of social services such as education, health and the pensions of our pensioners. The improvement of purchasing power of civil servants has a huge impact on economic growth as indicated, while a stable and growing informal sector impacts positively on productivity. The question therefore is; does the 2023 budget address these two issues? To answer this question, one has to look at the projected allocations by the Hon. Minister. What is it that has been allocated towards the wages and salaries of the public sector? Hon. Speaker, you will realise that it is negligible and therefore in terms of impacting on aggregate demand in this economy, there is nothing that is going to happen; therefore, economic growth cannot happen with a population that is not able and capable of purchasing from its own economy.
We also have to look at the allocations that have been made towards capacitating the small scale sector, the informal sector of this economy. Hon. Biti talked a lot about it. I will also touch on the infrastructure development which is a necessary condition for any sustainable economic growth. However, not every infrastructure development leads to economic development and I will repeat that Hon. Speaker, not every infrastructure development leads to economic development. The way our infrastructure development is being prioritised leaves a lot to be desired. Hon. Speaker, it is my submission that when we are prioritising infrastructure, we target high impact infrastructure rather than any project that we may think of. We have chosen projects on the basis of political and regional expediency rather than on the basis of economic impact of a project. I will give you an example, we know that the current Government is always going around saying we are building infrastructure but the question is where is that infrastructure being built and what value is it adding in terms of the GDP of this country. So, in terms of priorities of infrastructure development, I believe that this budget has simply continued with the existing trend where we simply pinpoint that we want to do Masvingo highway but without really measuring how much impact that highway is going to add in terms of our economic growth. It is high time we prioritised projects that will have huge and immediate impact on the GDP for example if we want to build highways like Hon Chinotimba once said; why do we go to put tar on top of another tar. Let us go and open up areas that need opening up. Let me give you an example – if we were going to do the Karoi, Gokwe, Binga, Victoria Falls Road, how much impact would that have on the GDP? Let us open up our rural areas because those are potential economic growth areas rather than us concentrating only in these traditional urban areas that we have always been concentrating on in terms of infrastructure development. So, the problem associated with the infrastructure development besides the element of choice and how we choose which infrastructure to build is the issue of cost inflating, disbursement delays and corruption that ends us up not getting the value that we are supposed to get from the infrastructure. So, the 2023 budget in my view and as Hon. Biti has submitted, lacks credibility. If we look at the assumptions that this budget was drafted or crafted on, one of them was that we will have constant power supply and before the voice of the Hon. Minister’s presentation of the Budget Statement had drowned, we gotten ourselves into a crisis of power. Therefore, what does that mean to the budget that we are currently debating when the assumptions that this budget was build on, most of them are actually lacking in terms of credibility.
So, the budget in my view Hon. Speaker, we are already debating a budget which is astray if we are going to look at the assumptions that it was based on. Therefore, it is clear that the growth projections that have been made will not take us anywhere. These are my proposals that we need to see in this budget policy measures that are meant to capacitate the small scale or informal sector because this is where our production is going to come from as an economic.
I also propose that we have a significant increase in the wages of the public sector. Why the wages of the public sector? Because that way we are going to get aggregate demand which is going to stimulate the economics whilst at the same time improving the welfare of our people.
My final submission and suggestion to this budget is that let us increase the budget on social services and the infrastructure that is attended to social services. I thank you.
*HON. CHINOTIMBA: I want to add a few issues that I have and to add on to what Hon. Biti said concerning our budget. I want the Minister to know that the budget, when we look at farming which is the mainstay of the economy, but right now, I do not know if the Minister is aware that we are actually facing a year of drought and hunger. I saw because right now we are facing challenges with the banks which are not giving us funding. The big farmers such as A1 and A2 farmers do not have farming implements but farmers have a lot of fertilizers. I think the Minister should go back to the programme where they gave Agritex or Ministry of Agriculture fertilizers to give to the farmers.
In terms of fertilizer, the farmer is not getting anything because the farmer is only getting very little. The loan that was taken to engage in agriculture is taking all the money. The farmers are basically farming for the banks and not for their families. Once this happens, the banks increase the interest. An example is that fertilizer is manufactured here in Zimbabwe. Compound D is manufactured in Dorowa here in Zimbabwe. It is not imported but it now costs US$60 which is equivalent to diesel. Our diesel is very expensive. Why do the prices not go down?
If you go to Zambia, diesel is $110 but here in Zimbabwe diesel is $160/170, but the diesel going to Zambia passes through Zimbabwe in transit. We are drawing from the same producer. The same thing happens with fertilizer. A child who is in Buhera where fertilizer is manufactured is forced to pay $70 for Compound D fertilizer yet these are resources found in their communities. We once said that communities should benefit from their natural resources. Fertilizer comes from Dorowa and taken to industries here in Harare, and is sent back and they are forced to pay the high prices. If the Minister is not aware of the hunger that we face this farming season, he should look into it.
The A1 or Pfumvudza inputs that we are giving, very few people are farming using Pfumvudza. Even the President knows that fertilizer is being sold and he gave a statement that whoever is found selling fertilizer from the Presidential Input Scheme will face the music. The President cannot say that without being knowledgeable of what is happening. So, the A2 farmers are left without any option. My request is that the Minister should divert some money towards A2 farmers so that they can engage in farming and that will take care of the food security in our country.
The third point that I want to talk about Mr. Speaker is that this country is blessed with a lot of minerals. We have chrome, lithium and other various minerals. Chrome is used to manufacture the block for the vehicles but we do not have engineers or even one university that we have said the Minister of Finance should fund to say Zimbabwe University, this is the money we have and we want an engine here from this funding. There is no university that does that. All we want is to drive vehicles from Japan or South Africa, these Toyota cars. Even electricity, I remember at one time, people made a laughing stock of Chingoma when he built his helicopter. Instead of supporting and financing him to make his dream come true, we actually made him a laughing stock and asked him to remove his helicopter from one point to the next until eventually he took his helicopter to various places and he still has it.
As a country, we have educated people. In Africa, the engineers in Zimbabwe are there just to manufacture burglar bars and windowframes as well as doorframes because we were denied the opportunity to learn about some of the engineering fields. Our minerals are being used to manufacture weapons but as Africans, we are forced to go and buy these in China yet we have the raw materials. We enjoy being the bosses and we are happy importing things from outside the country. Let us get duty where people buy from us and we export. Let us also capacitate our universities.
I am deeply pained by the fact that lithium - I was happy yesterday when the President said that we do not want lithium to be exported but this is coming after a long time whilst there was illicit flow of lithium. Neighbouring countries always say if you want USDs, go to Zimbabwe because this is where the USD is mostly found. There are diamonds as well but we have not seen a diamond value addition plant where rings are made. We have not seen where diamonds are used in Zimbabwe but we are selling them raw. Eventually, we do not have money to remunerate people like Hon. Biti and then we go to auction.
I think the Ministry of Finance should re-consider who should be availed funding because this is no longer viable. Everyday people are making money. Individuals have money – that is why we see the whole country has filling stations. There are no cranes to show that there are industries but only filling stations. The most profitable business in Zimbabwe is to invest in filling stations. Mostly, it is the big people of my status - they are the ones who own these filling stations. These stations will continue to generate more money because they are owned by top officials.
I remember one day that the former President Mugabe said the price of diesel should go down after the price had shot up. He said this when he had just disembarked from a plane coming from a foreign trip. The price immediately went down. There are repercussions. The Minister said that people are stealing diesel – instead of the diesel coming through the border, it is being smuggled into the country.
One Hon. Member said we should increase salaries for civil servants – that is very sensitive. Once we do not do that especially the police – they will make sure that smuggling continues. The Ministry of Finance then bears the brunt of the effect and it remains without money. Civil servants work for the country and they should be considered because their paymaster is the Ministry of Finance. When I spoke about the salaries of the armed forces and police, I was in trouble with the teachers who said that I only defended the police and armed forces salaries; all I am saying is that the increments are done in stages.
Let us see where we have money. Maize harvesters should be manufactured in Zimbabwe. All you need is a blower and cutter but we find ourselves exporting those harvesters from Japan and Italy whilst we have our people at the University of Zimbabwe who are being educated to produce windows and door frames. Why are these engineers at the university?
Those are the two issues I wanted to speak about; the issue of farming and engineers. Do not listen to some Hon. Members. We are not here to come and sleep. We have come here to defend Zimbabwe and the Budget so that the country does not collapse further but we develop the nation. We have a lot of money in this country but our money is being lost as we sell our raw materials. Let us tighten screws through our legislation to ensure that we keep our raw materials and engage in value addition. When we want the Ministry’s money here, we begin to fight with Hon. Mthuli. I think we need to strengthen our legislation. Universities should be given money for their innovation hubs. The Minister should then say I want an engine tomorrow, here is the money and we get people to assist. For example, we buy a vehicle block in SA yet we have chrome here in Zimbabwe. These are the few words that I wanted to add. I thank you.
HON. PROF. MASHAKADA: Thank you Hon. Speaker for giving me this opportunity to air my views on the 2023 National Budget. Before I proffer my observations and recommendations, I wish to pay tribute and acknowledge the contributions by the previous speakers especially on two issues; the question of wealth tax is something that we have to keep on hammering. We need a wealth tax and I think we cannot over-emphasise this point. I thought I should pick from that point. The issue of value addition and beneficiation of our mineral resources is something I also want to build my argument upon. I thought I should pick from these two fundamental matters raised by my fore speakers.
Coming to my own debate and observation, I notice that the total expenditure envelope is ZWL 4.5 trillion, but juxtapose that against the total request or bids of ZWL 21.8 trillion –there is a huge gap. ZWL21.8 trillion requested by all ministries and only 4.5% allocated. What is the significance of that? The significance of that is that the delivery of public services is being compromised because of the resource envelope and fiscal space. The Minister has got to juggle around with the little resources that are available and thereby end up only allocating 4.5 trillion as opposed to the bids of 21.8 trillion and look at the revenue, only 3.9 trillion. My first point is that we must address the issue of fiscal space. I think my colleagues have also touched on that issue of how to raise revenue. I will not go into those areas because I think they have ably spoken about means of raising additional revenue to support our purse because without raising additional revenue through domestic resource mobilisation, we will continue to have a weak budgetary system where ministries are demanding money but the money is not there. Not only is the money not there, the disbursement will continue to be late. Could the Minister take note of that point?
I must also hasten to observe some positive spin offs that I was listening to when the Minister was reading the Budget. Clearly our current account balance is doing well. In this Budget there is a surplus of US$320 million. Our current account balance is doing well - of course, riding on mineral exports but all the same, I must record that it is a positive development in the economy compared to many years of trade deficit that we had experienced.
I also notice that there have been some positive developments in the growth in mining, consumer service, agriculture to some extent and infrastructural development. I want to acknowledge the infrastructural developments that are happening in the country. If you look at Masvingo-Harare-Chirundu Highway, it is something that we must take note of. I want to acknowledge the expansion of the airports. I want to acknowledge the expansion of Gwayi-Shangani projects. I want to acknowledge so many infrastructural developments that are taking place in this country using our own resources. That is why at times I do not want to cry about sanctions because what has been happening on the infrastructural projects shows that we can go it alone. I want to commend Government and the Minister for putting the resources where they are needed because infrastructure is an enabler of growth.
Having noted those spin offs, I hasten now to look at the downside risks associated with this Budget which I want to draw the Minister’s attention. The first downside risk is the simmering inflationary pressures that continue to bear in the economy. I notice that inflation has marginally declined from 285% to 268% which is still in its hyper inflationary region. You are an economist and you know hyper inflation is 50% and above. We cannot celebrate an inflation rate of 268%, it is still high. That is why people are complaining about the cost of goods and services in the economy. It is because of this high inflationary pressure. This inflationary pressure is coming from food prices as well as oil prices and the effects of the Russian-Ukraine war are also being felt in our own country. The Minister must reign in on inflation especially the inflation tax on civil servants’ salaries, fixed incomes, and pensioners. Inflation is a tax to the poor. That is one down side risk to this Budget.
The second downside risk is the exchange rate volatility. I know the gap between the official exchange rate and the parallel market rate has significantly narrowed but from time to time, the parallel market tends to bear its ugly head especially around January and February during school fees time. You find that the gap again widens. The Minister must keep an open eye on the exchange rate management issues.
The third downside risk is money supply growth. In the Budget, he admits that money supply growth has upped to 425% and this will also increase liquidity in the economy and create inflationary pressures coupled with interest rates which Hon. Biti was talking about.
The other downside risk is of course the electricity shortages which my colleagues have already talked about. It is a serious downside risk with implication on growth and social economic development. The other downside risk is the development of a dual economy. I have always talked about a dual economy. We are focusing on a Zimbabwe dollar budget when the whole economy has dollarised as my colleagues have said. How do you plan for a dual economy? Which sector is benefiting from the macro-economic policies? Is it the Zimbabwe dollar sector or the dollarised sector? We must harmonise our policies and bear in mind that this economy is dollarising fast. In fact, the market is dollarising.
Unemployment is another downside risk. You need to create jobs and aggregate demand to push supply in the economy. If you have long term unemployment, how do you do that? I have already talked about the fiscal space and the mining resources case.
I come to my recommendations. The first recommendation is that there is need to strengthen social protection. Civil servants’ salaries must continue to be reviewed upwards. We now risk losing teachers because the UK has opened up to Zimbabwean teachers. Rwanda has opened up to Zimbabwean teachers. So we risk losing our critical mass of trained teachers to UK and other countries if we do not remunerate them efficiently.
The funds for BEAM have to be paid. In fact, the BEAM budget has to be increased. Those vulnerable groups in our society have to be protected. So, social protection continues to be key. You touched it in the budget but we need to up the game when it comes to social protection and the upkeep of civil servants.
The other recommendation is that there is no need to remove the rebate on basic commodities. There is no need. People were surviving on importing goods from South Africa and Botswana. The cross border traders, women and youths are surviving on that. If you remove this rebate on basic commodities, what do you want people to do when things are so expensive in the shops? I urge the Minister to reconsider retaining the rebate on basic commodities. The other recommendation is to revise the VAT to where it was, to 14.5 because this is an unequal tax as my colleagues have ably said. The VAT is a major source of taxable income but it is quite uneven to the society.
So I beg the Minister to revert to the original level. The other recommendation is timely disbursement of these allocated resources. If you are going to disburse 80% to ministries during December, what do they do and yet next year you look at the execution rate and you reduce the allocation based on what you disbursed in December or November. There is not much time to use those funds. The Minister must improve on the disbursement.
I am also talking about the efficiency in tax collection. Our tax collection is porous. Let us improve tax management so that we collect more. I also urge the Minister to reverse the de-industrialisation that is taking place. Capacity utilisation in industry is hovering at around 45% to 50%. There used to be a strategy of import substitution which is strategic. I know we are part of COMESA and the arrangement on reciprocity, but we must also do our best to introduce tactical targeted import substitution to avoid wholesale de-industrialisation. I urge you to continue to promote transparency and accountability in the implementation of this budget.
Everyone needs to monitor the implementation of this budget and you need to come back and give us timely quarterly reports, credit reports on the implementation of this budget especially with the Budget Committee. Most importantly, we must continue to build inclusiveness and a sustainable economy. I thank you.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I want to give some proposals to the Minister of Finance in so far as it relates to how we can grow the revenue base and what it is that you can find out of my debate in order to bolster your revenue. The issue of transport and aviation in particular, grows economies, the tourism sector and according to the Aviation (AITA) Chairman Tim Taylor of 2010 - he says aviation grows economies and I think it does. It is also an enabler of other facets of the economies. It is my thinking that it should be looked at, its growth by the way, it grows other economies.
Therefore, there is reason to support aviation in the same manner like the British Airways during the COVID period, how they were supported by bail-outs and how other airlines like China Airways was also supported by its nation in terms of making sure that it can take, not only carry its citizens but...
HON. MATEWU: On a point of order Mr. Speaker Sir. I think the rules are quite clear in this House, you cannot debate twice on the same motion. I do not know why Hon. Nduna is being allowed by the Clerks to debate when it is clear that from the Hansard he has debated this motion. He must give others that are waiting and have not debated a chance to debate on this motion. Thank you.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. M. KHUMALO): Hon. Member, our records show that he has not debated. Can you proceed Hon. Nduna.
HON. NDUNA: You need to take notes as I debate. The aviation sector can help bolster the revenue base by the support from the fiscus. First and foremost, if the aviation sector is supported, it is not support that is gone to the dogs. It is support which is well meaning and that can also support the industry. Zimbabwe, for argument’s sake, is landlocked and we can use the aviation sector as a pedestal and as a platform to enhance the growth of our economy.
It is my thinking Hon. Speaker Sir, as I take you to my proposal as to how the aviation sector can have some taxes revitalised in order that there is something that goes to the revenue base. Other countries have taxes such as the airport handling fees and the baggage handling taxes. In light of that, some of these taxes need to be increased. There is what you call air bridges in our aviation sector such as what you see in Victoria Falls Airport. The enhanced Victoria Falls Airport that is now able to handle 2.5 passengers per annum and the current R. G. M. expansion project is going to see us handling about five million parks per annum.
Those air bridges that you see which are a link between the airport infrastructure and the fuselage or the body of the aircraft – that aero-bridge, you need to actually encourage companies to advertise on the aero-bridges so that you get revenue from the aero-bridges. The current set up is that they are like white elephants. No one is advertising on them, we are not getting any revenue on them but we have spent money to establish them. So you can use that as a revenue generation mechanism.
Mr. Speaker Sir, the issue to consider is the VAT on ticket sales. You also need to consider like I have said, the airport tax, air travel and security charge, the passenger service charge. This could enhance our infrastructural maintenance at the airports. So you do not need to perpetually give money for airports and aviation expansion but you can drive revenue from that, as I have alluded to.
If we look at the successful economies, especially the G20 countries, the national airline is one of their key priorities. I have spoken of the British Airways; I have spoken about the Canadian, Singapore, and China and so on. If you look at how they are crafted and how they get bail out, you would know that there is a lot that you can derive from aviation especially if only it is a once off bail out that you give to them and there is spin offs that come out of the aviation sector in terms of revenue generation.
Mr. Speaker Sir, the issue that I want to also touch on, Air Zimbabwe has got large bodied aircrafts that are becoming second or third generation aircrafts, some of which are the Boeing 777, Boeing 737, Boeing 767, Boeing 200; those can be relegated to cargo aircrafts as opposed to passenger aircraft. Some of the aircrafts that we have and which are in the hangers are not moving. Mr. Speaker Sir, when an aircraft is on the ground whether you are in the air or on the ground there are components that you still need to replace even if it is on the ground for five years; they are lifespan bound, there is need for replacement.
It is my thinking that for the aircrafts that were not utilised, it is time to sell those and bring in modern aircrafts, small compact aircrafts; the ERJ 145 for argument’s sake carries 55 to 60 passengers and it costs, second hand about $5 million but you can turn around the economy of this country using aviation and those aircrafts, modern but very effective, efficient and they have a way of giving us the Yamoussoukro Declaration of the Open Skies Policy and the Continental Free Trade Area Africa Trade in our continent without going outside but enhanced by our own aviation sector.
Mr. Speaker, if you want to go to Mozambique, we have to go to Europe in order to come back to Mozambique because there was no link between Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Now it is time that as long as it is in Africa, let us have our aircrafts going to these countries in the manner that Air Zimbabwe is going to Tanzania and such like. Let us not go to Europe in order to come back to Africa; you have to go to South Africa in order to go to Burkina Faso and such like. You have to go to Europe in order to come back.
I remember we went to France one time with Hon. Maboyi in order to get to Morocco; we went to Morocco but we did not land - there was fog and three times the aircraft aborted the landing and we had to land 400 km away just because we could not access an airline that could take us to Morocco from Zimbabwe. It is my thinking that if you support aviation we can curtail, avert, avoid and completely annihilate the issue of going to Europe in order to come back to Africa.
The issue of mining, I was elated when His Excellency spoke about lithium, raw lithium non-export. At some point we were supposed to export raw chrome to the tune of three billion dollars if I am not mistaken. The Second Republic brought that to a screeching halt. What that does mean is, we can value add, beneficiate and make sure that we get 10 times the value for our minerals.
Mr. Speaker Sir, the issue of platinum, the PGMs, I propose that the Minister puts in measures to stop the export of raw chrome. As much as you are getting taxes in terms of minerals, in terms of royalties, he needs to go further. It takes about a maximum $5 billion dollars to establish a refinery and for you to beneficiate or value add an ounce, it is about 950US an ounce of platinum beneficiation. The spin-offs, the catalytic converters that we then benefit out of that is not only Zimbabwe that needs them, but assuming our all weather friends, the Chinese, they can put in a production line of catalytic converters here en mass. All vehicles have a catalytic converter and it is only just right, it is urgent that we establish a refinery Mr. Speaker Sir.
As Chairman of the Affirmative Action Group in Mashonaland West, I will be putting in members to crowd-fund in order to establish a refinery for our platinum so that we curtail the export of our raw platinum.
Coming to beneficiation and value addition of our minerals, there is an urgent immediate reason to beneficiate and value add our uranium. We are under sanctions already - why should we fail to value add our uranium because somebody thinks we are going to have a nuclear weapon, so be it we are a sovereign nation. If we have nuclear weapon, so be it but we need to just a little borrow for uranium will solve our power situation, our energy situation.
South Africa next door does have uranium powers, why should we not value add our ubiquitous amount of mineral resources. Coming to the issue of claims held for speculative purposes, ZIMPLATS and all other conglomerates, Pickstone Peerless where I come from is a gold mine and is a second largest gold reserve in the whole of Africa and they are listed on the London and Australian Stock Exchanges, premised on the value of the minerals that they have embedded in our soils; some of the claims that they are holding for speculative purposes.
So, it is within this context that I ask that you let these big or large scale miners to shed off some of these claims that they are holding for speculative purposes so that we can immediately extract our resources from those places in a structured manner. The small scale artisanal miners have no rights to those claims, they will get what they can and can what they get and there is haemorrhage in terms of pilferage and minerals that are currently finding their way out of Zimbabwe. I can tell you this Mr. Speaker Sir that in Zambia, for you to export gold or chrome products whether to Qatar or to Dubai. It is easy. You just go and get a licence, you put on FedEx and your gold is gone to Dubai easily. So there are a lot of our minerals finding their way to Zambia. They get a licence, they export their minerals. So the issue of Minerals Marketing Corporation and like companies, we have a lot of bodies that have gone to sleep because of our laws that are archaic, moribund, rudimentary, antiquated and medieval to some extent sometimes. We need to make laws for the good order and governance of our people in order that we benefit from our minerals. Currently, we are not because our artisanal miners – in my place I have got more than 500 000 artisanal miners but a lot of that gold is not finding its way to your coffers, it is finding its way out of this country. Some of it is finding its way to Rand Refinery in South Africa. They are refining our gold and exporting it as theirs, whereas it comes from Zimbabwe. So it is my clarion call and fervent view that at least you can ameliorate that scenario by giving those claims to the artisanal miners. Register them. You will get a lot of spin offs from that and a lot of advantage from that.
Still on mining, you need to revoke the copper licences. Currently the people that are holding copper licences are mining on our ZESA cables and our transformers. Why should we continue to issue out copper licences and trade in copper when Mhangura Copper Mine is still defunct and it is still closed? It is my thinking that immediately, we need to revoke copper licences. We cannot continue to issue out copper licences as we continue to hemorrhage the country. So in the mining sector please, can you revoke the copper licences? We have spoken about this times without number.
On the issue of title, in particular land, I want to go to section 295 of the Constitution that talks about compensation to the land that has been taken from our erstwhile colonisers in order to make sure that we capacitate the formerly marginalised black majority. It talks so vociferously and voluminously about compensation. It is very clear and it takes us to section 72 (7) (c) of the Constitution that says the people of Zimbabwe should be enabled to assert their right to land. I come before you now in order that we deal with the housing backlog. All along our highways, there is need to look at the compounds or the former farm workers’ dwellings and because we have got a global agreement with the farmers where you are paying about US$3.5 billion, it therefore means all the properties in the farms they are for the President because he is paying compensation for them.
Here my clarion call is that the former farm workers should be given title to those compounds. An example will be you have given A2 farmers 50 hectares of land. Part of the 50 hectares is 7 hectares that belongs to that compound. The 7 hectares should be surveyed and should be given title so that the former farm workers can use that farm compound as collateral or as property to get collateral in the banks. We do not need the former farm workers chased, as they are being done, to come to town without any benefit from the land that they were producing at. They are being chased from those farm dwellings by the new farm owners. So it is my hope that you can bring that to a screeching halt and give them title and also make sure that when you go to His Excellency, request that there is title all along the highways and people get to be given that land - 200m2, 400m2 for free but they get to have title and use that for collateral to get money from the bank.
Lastly the issue of buses and mass transport system - I spoke in the Eight Parliament about the 5% that you had given for importation for buses. I ask that you continue on that trajectory because if you do not do that, if they buy the mass system buses, for argument sake, Inter Africa and they register that bus in Botswana, they would have taken with them 300 jobs to Botswana. As long as you see Inter Africa with number plates that are exotic and not indigenous, it means that they have registered in another country because they are avoiding paying duty and taxes during importation of those buses. So it is my hope you can even zero-rate the importation of buses so that we have a robust, resilient, effective and efficient mass transport system in our country.
Those would be my proposals in your budget Hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Development and I would like to thank you, Mr. Speaker Sir, for giving me this opportunity to vociferously, effectively and efficiently debate on this 2023 budget as the people of Chegutu West would have me debate, in particular the following: Sarah Chikukwa, Lameck Nyamarango, Majory Ruzha, Patricia Nyamadzawo, Million Daniel and a lot of other members in the districts, branches and in the cells. Mr. Speaker Sir I want to thank you for that opportunity.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Mr. Speaker Sir, let me begin by thanking you and Members of this esteemed House for their contributions, input, questions during this robust debate.
First of all, let me really express my gratitude to the Chairpersons of the Portfolio Committees who kicked off this debate last week. They made certain recommendations and in my response, I will try to respond to those or deal with those, then the esteemed Members themselves in their individual capacities and as a follow up. They also made some very valuable contributions.
I want to start with an issue that was raised by the Portfolio Committee Chair for Budget and Finance, Hon. Nyashanu. This pertains to public debate. It was also raised by other Hon. Members in this august House. Zimbabwe’s total public guaranteed debt including RBZ debt stands at ZWL$10.97 trillion as of end of September 2022. This is just a Zimbabwean dollar translation of both United States dollar debt and Zimbabwean dollar debt. If you look at the external debt that amounts to close to 70%, we also have blocked funds as well. Domestic debt is about 2, 2 trillion Zimbabwean dollars and includes the bulky of the debt pertaining to the compensation for the former farm owners of 3, 5 billion USD.
So, when you see this large figure of trillions and so forth, it is the translation of USD debt into domestic currency. So basically, you will find that 98% of our debt is denominated in hard currency. So, you can imagine what happens when we have a depreciation of the currency, that means that debt then balloons in Zimbabwean dollar terms, hence you see this large figure.
I now want to come to an issue on credibility of growth projections raised by the Chairperson of the Budget, Finance and Economic Development Committee but also, I recall the contribution from Hon. Biti, Hon. Mushoriwa and others. Basically, they are questioning the growth projection of 3, 8% in GDP for 2023. I must say that we are alive to this growth projection having considered the key factors that are driving economic growth.
First of all, we will get the projection for global economy; that global economy is slowing down, the outlook is certainly headed downwards and in some countries, you might end up in a recession – so we took that into account already.
The second factor we took into account is the commodity prices for our mineral commodities. A key important factor there is the growth in the Chinese economy but of course other economies too, India and so forth that absolved the bulk of our minerals. We see China growing at about 4% next year and increasing in 2024, India growing in the order of 78%, probably the fastest large economy globally. So again in terms of our assumptions, according to our models, we feel that this will hold up commodity prices in the mining sector which will grow next year above the growth rate of 10%.
It has been raining Mr. Speaker Sir, even in my absence, now this augurs well for the agricultural sector and we again, on the back of this, should be able to have a good season but we are aware that in some of the areas, rainfall has been patchy but in the bulk of areas, it has been a good season so far.
Looking at the issue of monetary policy and fiscal policy, again I recall a comment by Hon. Biti and other Hon. Members who talked about the high interest rates that this time the monetary policy is likely to slow down economic growth. We took that into account, even if we look at our growth projection for the manufacturing sector, it is just above 2% which is due to the fact that we feel these interest rates will choke the demand for credit towards that sector and among other sectors, therefore slows down economic growth, so the 3,8% GDP growth rate includes that.
The other assumption is that we are committed to continuing with the multi-currency regime which is basically a dual currency between the domestic currency and the USD, both of which are circulating in the domestic economics. So, in the back of these assumptions, we are very comfortable about GDP forecast of 3, 8% in 2023.
I now turn to tax policy issues; here I am referring to the policy recommendations from the Committee Chairperson, Hon. Nyashanu. The first one is on the operationalisation of the levy, new cellular handsets. The Committee on Budget, Finance and Economic Development requested an update on the operationalisation of the levy on new cellular telephone handsets which was presented in the 2022 National Budget. Mr. Speaker Sir, consultations have been held with service providers and the responsible line Ministry and it has been observed that the providers are yet to invest in infrastructure necessary for the implementation of the policy but it does not mean that the policy should be abandoned. Once that infrastructure is in place, the implementation of the levy will commence and will keep Parliament updated.
Let me turn to an issue regarding the re-introduction of the 3% retention for ZIMRA, again it was raised by various members of this august House as well as the Committee on Budget, Finance and Economic Development. A proposal was made by the Committee on Budget, Finance and Economic Development and other Members of Parliament, for Government to re-introduce the 3% retention for ZIMRA in accordance with the Revenue Act to help finance its operational and infrastructure development.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to correct Members of Parliament on this issue by informing this House that the Revenue Authority Act does not provide for retention of 3%. Section 26 (1) (2) of the Revenue Act which governs the annual budget of ZIMRA states as follows:- “on or before such date, before the beginning of every financial year, as the Minister may direct, the board shall prepare and submit to the Minister for his approval a budget showing the expenditure which the board proposed that the authority will incur in respect of that financial year”. Secondly, “during any financial year, the board may submit to the Minister for his approval a supplementary budget relating to expenditure which was not for good reason provided for in the annual budget or was inadequately provided for in the annual budget due to unforeseen circumstances” - it is very clear. Where the Minister is very happy to augment the budget of ZIMRA as needed.
HON. MUSHORIWA: On a point of order! Mr. Speaker Sir, I think the Hon. Minister is actually misleading the House. It is common knowledge that the Committee on Budget and Finance had a petition from ZIMRA workers and hearings were done. We even asked the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development to come before the august House represented by Mr. Kunaka who has now been transferred and the three chief directors.
The finding was that it was agreed and the Ministry of Finance agreed with the findings and a report was tabled in this august House. If the Hon. Minister had the view that he is trying to take, he is actually due to bring Treasury Minutes in response to that. Therefore, it is wrong for the Hon. Minister to try to mislead this august House to say that the Revenue Act does not allow that. It is actually clear that it states that and it is in black and white. The relevant section that he is quoting is not the proper reading of the law and I think it is wrong and a resolution by this august House cannot just be ignored like that.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: In relation to retention, Section 27 of the Revenue Authority Act states that “the Minister shall cause the authority to retain sufficient monies from the revenues collected to meet the expenditure which the authority proposed to incur during that financial year as shown in the supplementary budget approved by the Minister in terms of Section 26 for the financial year. The retention therefore relates to the quantum of the budget as approved by the Minister, which is not pegged at any level. Introduction of the clause entail the amending of the current Act which however we think might cause volatility on ZIMRA revenue; as revenue will fluctuate in line with economic activities. In addition, the Government has adopted programme based budgeting which is implemented at Central Government level and being cascaded to State owned enterprise and local authorities which should be the basis of budgeting. Each programme should have various activities which have been costed and that inform the budgetary process.
I now move on to the Sovereign Wealth Fund, ring-fencing of mining royalties towards Sovereign Wealth Fund. Again, this was proposed by the Committee on Budget, Finance and Economic Development which recommended that Government should ring-fence 10% of mining royalties towards Sovereign Wealth Fund. This proposal is noted for consideration and Government has already spelt out that the policy objective of building national savings in the form of mineral reserves is something that we want to accelerate. This will also assist the country by hedging against fluctuations in international mineral prices but also to deal with issues of inter-generational equity. This is a proposal that we will study carefully and see how best to carry it forward.
I now want to respond to the issue of the introduction of a wealth tax which was raised by various Members of this House. I think I recall Hon. Mushoriwa, Hon. Madzimure and Hon. Biti as well. The Committee on Budget, Finance and Economic Development chaired by Hon. Nyashanu raised this issue as well. To properly consider this proposal, there is need to undertake an extensive research on this subject including learning from other countries which are already implementing this type of tax. Again, it is a welcome proposal. We will study it carefully and we will be happy to look into it going forward but I must hasten to say there is a small portion of sort of wealth tax payment upon death where there is the usual levy of 5% in terms of transfers of property if the property is not the primary dwelling. If it is the primary dwelling there is no levy of 5% but there is 5% levy if it is the second property. So upon transfer from the names of deceased to those who are surviving who are entitled, such as a widow for example but of course there are exemptions as well in terms of pension savings. We will consider this in full going forward. We hear the Members of Parliament loud and clear.
There is also a proposal from the Committee and among other Members that this half percent extra increase from VAT from 14.52 to 15% perhaps should be ring-fenced for supporting the Ministry of Education and basic education. I think this is a good idea, we can ring fence it but you see, money is fungible frankly, but we are very happy to ring fence it for that purpose. Maybe it can be tracked carefully and we can report it as we progress.
There is also a request that there should be exemption of local authorities from paying the IMTT tax. The Committee on Local Government, Public Works and National Housing recommended that local authorities should be exempted from paying the IMTT tax. Mr. Speaker Sir, the IMTT tax has over the past years generated substantial resources that have enabled Government to support various infrastructure projects including responding to shocks such as COVID-19 and other climate shocks that the economy has experienced. The proposal to exempt local authorities will erode our revenue base but besides, these local authorities at that level are also benefiting from the devolution budgets to deal with infrastructure developments at that local level. We feel that it will erode the revenue base but we will examine it going forward and try to see whether we can proceed with this kind of proposal but for now we feel there would be major impact on revenue erosion Mr. Speaker Sir.
There is an issue which was raised again regarding allocation back to at least 5% retention to the CVR, VID and RMT. A proposal was made that Treasury should allow CVR, VID, RMT to retain and spend 5% of their collections. As you may recall, retention funds had contributed significantly towards complementing budget resources, however the lack of accountability which was raised in this House is undermining the efficient utilisation of these public resources. We wanted to uphold the principle of transparency and accountability in the utilisation of public resources, Government ministries and departments are now required to remit all revenue collected into the Consolidated Revenue Fund for appropriation by this august House. Some Members requested that at least some reports should be produced by the line ministries working with myself Minister of Finance, to report back to this august House how these funds are being utilised and I agree with that. We are not in favour of the 5% retention request for that reason.
I now turn to the issue of expenditure allocation Mr. Speaker Sir, on budget allocations. I have listened carefully to all presentations by Portfolio Committees. There is not a single Portfolio Committee that has not expressed that their budget was for their line Ministry that they supervised. They all said it is inadequate and that is what it is frankly. It may be inadequate but we have to live within our means. You will notice I presented a Budget of ZWL4.2 trillion but the bids were three times this figure. Clearly, we cannot support that kind of expenditure request. We just do not have the resources. The resources that we can reliably generate is just over ZWL4 trillion.
Also we are very sensitive to the level of debt Mr. Speaker that we have always said, in terms of the Public Debt Management Act, we should not go above 70% of GDP and we are straining ourselves not to breach that because the higher expenditure means that we have to borrow more and we end up breaching the hurdle and that is not good for us.
On budget disbursement, Portfolio Committees, almost without exception, and Members also raised a legitimate concern on none and late disbursement of budgeted resources to ministries and departments. Mr. Speaker Sir, the cash budgeting system we are implementing entails Government spending is restricted to revenue collected. You can only spend what you have collected. Some put it as you will eat what you have killed. You cannot eat more than what you have killed unless you borrow someone’s skill and again there is a limit as to who wants to give you that. We have to do this with no recourse to the Central Bank. What used to happen before was, Treasury or Government would borrow from the Central Bank and we know it is not a good idea and we stopped doing that on the 1st January 2019 to bring sanity to public finance management. We will live within our means. We run the quasi cash budgeting system and you can only spend the cash that you have collected. These delays in implementing, budget commitments have to do with the availability of that cash but we will strive to improve as we go forward. In fact, what we have been noticing for what it is worth Mr. Speaker Sir, is that since our insistence on the principle of value for money we are getting more efficient disbursement process taking place because prices are now within reasonable ranges. Before, prices were wild and so forth and contracts were inflated. And that obviously just put more pressure on the cash that is available but now we are seeing reasonable contracts coming through and the disbursements have actually improved.
Then on comments from individual members, let me start with the comments from Hon. Togarepi who raised concerns that the budget does not provide for free basic education. I have said earlier that provision of free education is a process hence the budget increased allocation to the sector by 2.1% from the previous year’s level. Let me take this opportunity to advise the august House that already Government is the main funder of basic education and that is from paying of teachers, construction of schools, provision of teaching and learning materials, supporting public examinations access, payment of fees for some schools and learners such as the BEAM programme. Government is already doing a lot in terms of making sure that there is better education access indeed education is free. To fully transition to total free education, we have to undertake a thorough evaluation of requirements, identifying gaps to debate and implementation of activities that broaden coverage for education to every child. So, this is a process, we will get there because we have started but we are already doing a lot in terms of education access.
Some Hon. Members raised the need to tax the informal sector. We have already started and I think when you look at what we have tried to do using the IMTT tax, for those in the informal sector who use electronic means to beat their liabilities, they are paying that tax. So, that is inclusion of the members of the informal sector. We also introduced a location tax where landlords of members of the informal sector who operate under their premises were designated as agents who will collect taxes on behalf of Government. A presumption tax is being paid. In fact, as I speak, ZIMRA is on a blitz in the informal sector ensuring that members of the informal sector are paying their taxes and landlords are collecting and remitting that tax. So a lot is happening but we will continue to do more and continue to learn from other countries as we do so and we stand ready to take advice from members of this august House.
I now turn to comments and input from Hon. T Mliswa. The Hon. Member raised a number of comments and suggestions that I take very seriously. Let me respond to some of the issues that he raised. He questioned the rationale behind the increase in the number of war veterans from about 34000 to 142000. I will endeavour to check with the line Minister on these figures but that was what we were given as Treasury and I have made use of these figures in my budget statement. There was also a blitz in terms of registration of beneficiaries in that war veterans’ umbrella and I suspect those numbers are coming from there and we will endeavour to find out more.
The Hon Member also insinuated that Government was doing nothing to stem the depreciation of the local currency and the rising inflation. We are doing a lot. The measures we have taken in the last few months, in the 3rd and 4th quarter and we have maintained those measures, are aimed at exactly that and that is why you are seeing stability in the domestic currency, the narrowing of the gap between the official and parallel rate. We are also seeing month-on-month inflation beginning to fall followed by year-on-year inflation. So the policies are working and the positive real interest rates are working and the fiscal tightness that we have been practicing is working.
The introduction of the gold coins which are also assisting in mopping up liquidity while being a social value preservation for investors are all contributing to deal with inflation and currency volatility.
The Hon Member also indicated that the budget may overshoot owing to issues of financing elections. We have made a provision of 74.7 billion in the unallocated reserves and some of these resources will be used to deal with any shocks that arise from budget overruns in our election budget though we feel that the amount that we have allocated is adequate and sufficient to handle elections. I think we have learnt a lot from supporting the by-elections in terms of the budgets last year. We were also able to finance the population statistics drive, and that was an expensive exercise which cost almost US$100 million. On top of that, you add the cost of the by-election. I think we will be able to cope with any shocks. The Hon. Member also bemoaned the low allocations to institutions responsible for fighting corruption. This comes back to the issue of availability of resources. It is also my desire to give all NDAs, ministries and departments adequate resources to ensure they are well equipped and can undertake their mandates. This also applies to failure to meet international benchmarks such as the Abuja and the Maputo Declarations among others. It is just an issue of resource constraints but we believe that within the current resource envelope we have done a lot in terms of allocating resources to the institutions that are fighting corruption. There is an issue regarding the allocation to the Health and Education sectors that this budget is perhaps skewed towards recruitment expenditure especially employment costs. The two sectors are naturally labour intensive in the provision of services. Health expenditure is skewed towards employment costs. This does not mean there are no capital projects underway but the budget statement and estimates of expenditure both highlight some of the capital projects being supported under the 2023 budget. For what it is worth, in the last 12 months, we have managed to begin to construct over 270 schools under the devolution budget. We are also finding now that the issue of delivery of physical infrastructure such as schools is being spread between the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and devolution funding. That is what is going on. That is a good thing and we are not too worried where the schools are coming from as long as we get to the school. Hon. Mliswa also raised an issue around the arrears clearance and debts relief and restructuring strategy that why do we continue to borrow. Countries will always continue to borrow from time to time for one reason or another. So, we cannot stop borrowing but the issue is can we service the debts? We have started the process of servicing some of our debts.
I now turn to comments by Hon. Raidza. He also questioned the status of the retained funds being brought under the Consolidated Revenue Fund. I have already dealt with this issue and we need to make sure there is order in our budgeting process. We need to put everything under the CRF and there must be accountability. He also called on the review of agricultural products, particularly maize. We share his sentiments as alluded to in my budget statement. The thrust is to allow the development of a strong commodity market anchored on the Zimbabwe Mercantile Exchange. We have already launched this market. I recall Hon. Biti arguing that we need to launch the agricultural commodity markets, we have already done that but I also must allow it to work and that has been done. Overtime, we will make sure that it works and begin to the source of the price discovery within the sector so that we do not have too much disparity between market prices and Government dictated prices.
The Hon. Member also called for consolidation of all empowerment financial institutions to enhance their impact on the ground. The proposal is well noted but requires stakeholder consultations before adoption in order to do the consensus on the issue. He also emphasised the need to complete the amendment of the Mines and Minerals Act, I concur. He also raised an issue around the completion of State enterprises reform, again I concur.
On the proposal to introduce 20% tax on third party insurance, what we are trying to do here Mr. Speaker was to use this 20% of revenue to support the health sector infrastructure, buy ambulances and station them at tollgates and so forth but we have received some advice from experts in the insurance sector. They said Minister, if you receive 20% of premiums, it also means that you have to be ready to cough up 20% of claims. Once you receive a premium, you also have a liability of claims as well. It cuts both ways. I said to the team let us pose and analyse this and that is why you will not find it in the proposed Finance Bill. I took it off because I could sense that there was an issue that we needed to sort out. We will be back at some point because it is important but we just need to get it right. It is just a legal conundrum for now.
The comment from Hon. T. Moyo who referred to full dollarisation but I also had similar comments from other colleagues, we have allowed the USD and ZWD to circulate and be used freely. So, anyone can pay in USD and receive USD. I would not even use the term dollarisation; both the ZWD and USD are our currencies as of now. There is no issue of overuse of the USD or underuse of the ZWD. We are using both those currencies and that is a policy that we said we will maintain because of the peculiarity of our situation – [HON. BITI: Inaudible interjection] –
I will come to that. I should not respond like that but I have been tickled and if you can allow me to respond to what Hon. Biti, but I was going to respond later on floating the ZWD. You will have noticed in the last few weeks or months perhaps that the gap between the official rate and the parallel rate has narrowed. If you believe that the parallel rate is a freely floating rate which has narrowed the gap with the official rate, surely that tells you that the official rate is as close to freely floating as possible. That is what it tells you. So, I think I have responded ahead of time on that one – [HON. BITI: The parallel rate is at ZWD1000 today.] – We have a different figure.
I now turn to Hon. Banda. He called upon the budget to support interventions that support the growth of the economy. Well, in the budget, I have said we are supporting the 14 pillars of the NDS1 strategy. Each of these 14 pillars basically, are supporting growth of the economy because they are targeting infrastructure, incentives for mining sector investment, retooling the mining sector and then we can see its impact. Even import substitution, our companies are beginning to put a lot of products on the shelves up to 80% in some shops. So, clearly the budget is focused on growing the economy because it is targeting the pillars of growth in the first place.
Let me turn to additional comments from Hon. Mushoriwa. He went into some history, the budget falling short, projections not met and so forth. In 2019, we suffered a nasty shock; the drought, cyclone and so forth and that took us off course. You recall that I actually came back to this House in 2019 for a supplementary budget because of that. That shock actually caused us to come off course. In 2020/21, we went straight into COVID, yet another unprecedented shock. We have been living under serious pressure in terms of external and some internal shocks. I think we have done very well in managing those shocks and each time we have come before this House to seek permission, either for a supplementary budget or whatever and I did so again this year. There is nothing wrong with coming back to this House for a supplementary budget. That is what it is; I should come here and request that. There is no issue there at all. I would like my friend Mushoriwa to be a bit more relaxed.
On the issue of underfunding that we are not giving ministries what they request for, ministries are always requesting for three times the revenue that economy can generate. This economy is stuck somewhere at around 80% of the GDP in terms of revenue to GDP ratio. That is all it can afford and you cannot extend beyond that 80% of GDP. It is not even underfunding. We are funding what we are able to fund with the resources we have. Hon. Mushoriwa also makes the comment that most people are now using USD, so maybe we should also budget in USD. Look, as I said earlier, both USD and ZWD are currencies that we are using and basically we can choose any currency that we want to budget in, better still if it is the ZWD.
On SDR usage, we have been very transparent on that. I am told but I will try to verify but I am happy to take the credit that we are the first country to produce an SDR Usage Report. No one else has done it and I presented it before this Parliament. It is very clear how we have used resources. We have been very transparent. We will put it up on our website as well. We have been transparent about this. On the issue of vaccines, Hon. Mushoriwa should be very happy that he was vaccinated. He should be so pleased, not whether I used SDRs or the budget. Akabaiwa and we have the resources to bring those vaccines and I do not know what his problem is. He should be so happy and smiling.
I wrote here assumptions but I think he was referring to the VAT issue, the 15% where I argued that this 15% is in line with the regional average. Actually, the regional average is higher, it is at 16% and at 15% we are still 1% below. If you recall, we took it down from 15% to 14, 5% because of the shocks from COVID and so forth and we wanted it to be part of the stimulatory package to stimulate the economy and that is what we did. We feel right now it can go back to 15% and it is only half a percent. Besides, we have agreed that let us ring-fence that extra half a percent for education and I think that is a good thing.
On the issue of royalties, Hon. Mushoriwa mentioned that we should be at 10% but now the Ministers come up with a clever thing of 50% cash. No, no and if you recall last year Mr. Speaker, I had proposed for PGMs that will move from 2, 5% to 5% royalties. Members ferociously argued that no Minister, it should be at 10% and I said let us compromise, can we meet halfway then we noted 7%. The royalties are actually at 7%. This should be split between the hard mineral and cash - basically (50% each) I think that is good, going through we can review later and see if we should go up. I know that Zambia is higher than 7% - we can review. Let us not move too fast so that we kind of discourage investment in the sector.
Hon. Mushoriwa was positive about the drop in the IMTT in USDs from 4% to 2%. I thank you very much - you find some silver lining there. The majority of Zimbabweans are paying USDs cash - how do you manage that? We are trying to deal with this informality. You then came back to the issue wealth tax – I think this is something worth considering. We will study it and come back to the House on that.
I will now turn to Hon. Madzimure; he mentioned the importance of investing in infrastructure, digital economy and the state of roads in the industrial sector – I thought roads are under municipalities and not central Government, unless there are specific ones that are under central Government. –[HON. MADZIMURE: Municipalities get money from ZINARA….] –
With your permission Hon. Speaker, may you allow him to explain that point so that I understand the issue?
HON. MADZIMURE: Minister, ZINARA now collects every cent paid by motorists on licensing and insurance. ZINARA is expected to give money to local authorities to develop and maintain roads. Of late, ZINARA has not been doing that. It decides on who to give and how much; as a result, local authorities are left with nothing. The devolution funds like in Harare – the Minister of Local Government has decided to give the money to the Pomona people and this means that nothing is left for Harare to develop its road. The Government is now deciding on behalf of the people of Harare on how to use their devolution funds. That is why we are asking for the Act which governs the use of the devolution funds to be brought here in Parliament. Do not expect any roads to be maintained in Harare. Minister, try to drive around the industrial areas and you will be shocked with the state of the roads.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: I thank you for that clarification. Now I understand the issue. I will endevour to engage the Minister of Transport and the parastatals to make sure that they do timeous disbursements to local authorities for the maintenance of these roads.
On the issue of employment and youth, we still have that incentive in place – we are busy evaluating how effective this programme is and to see whether we should be using other strategies for incentivizing companies to hire more workers, especially the youth. I think Hon. Madzimure will agree with me that we cannot really say that people who are successful in informal sector players are not employed; they are self employed and they are earning an income. Actually they are very profitable. I have been to Mbare of late and I see and know what goes on there. I realised that some formal businesses are actually sourcing some of their finished goods from places like Mbare where there are door frames – companies like Mohamed Mussa, that is what is going on.
I look at these businesses and say - are we saying that these people are not employed – that cannot be. Surely they are self employed. Sometimes I see these figures of 70% – [HON. MADZIMURE: They do not have medical aid..…] – I am sure that is not how you want us to have the conversation but he is raising important issues. They are self employed but going forward I think we need to come up with ideas of how to develop some social security systems for them. I have listened to his auxiliary comments carefully. On these informal sectors, we have tried IMTT tax in terms of letting them in and also the location tax and we continue to do more.
On the issue of electricity and power, of course this is a challenge to the economy and Government is doing everything it can. I am happy to report that we have thoroughly concluded on the structure and framework of what we call the Government Implementation Agreement to support investment from the independent power producers (IPPS). It will cover three areas – an appropriate level of tariffs; Government guarantees on the power purchase agreement and also guarantee currency compatibility. They have asked for these three things and we have put three of the projects on pilot. We are now satisfied that we can as Government support GIA to cover those three areas. Monday next week, we will make a formal announcement and this will go a long way in the medium term in dealing with the power situation. We also have intervened in terms of emergency resources to support both ZETDC and ZPC to the tune of USD34 million for them to be able to source power from outside. Unfortunately, that is the best we can do immediately and this is being processed over the next seven days.
I have noted his comment about the delays in rolling out Hwange 7 especially that 300 megawatts. There has been a delay and the Minister has been before this House to explain why these delays took place. There are technical reasons behind that in terms of testing the system and so forth. It was our hope that in the first quarter, Hwange 7 is up. There is a lesson from it which I think will hasten the commissioning of Hwange 8 so that we have the full 600 mega watts eventually.
On housing, the Hon. Member referred to some figure (2 million); I urge Hon. Members to go by the Budget. We are not discussing the manifesto in the budget. Can you imagine if I had to go through every manifesto? We have got a budget and it is forming 50 000 houses and we think that this target is achievable. Houses are being delivered by both the Government in terms of institutional housing or near institutional housing but also by the private sector responding to incentives provided in the sector. We are pleased with the progress in the housing sector.
On youth, sports and culture, he would have wanted to see a bigger budget. The envelope always has a challenge. He also mentioned education which I have already gone over.
For youth, there was an idea that was proposed I think it was Hon. Temba Mliswa two years, that in terms of some of the sports facilities, perhaps we need some kind of partnership between the schools and the universities. Who has sport facilities by the way and the youth who are outside those institutions who can then make use of these facilities on some kind of arrangement. I think that is a viable option and we should explore it together.
From Hon. Masoka on the issue of wealth tax, I have dealt with it, we will look into it. On the retention fund, here I am not yet convinced. I think you heard my answer earlier. I stand ready to give ZIMRA additional budget on a supplementary basis as they require it. There is no issue there. On informal sector taxation, we are trying our best but we will study what other countries are doing as well. I am sure we can do more. On the issue that ministries need to account for the earmarked sector funds that they manage, I fully agree with it.
Hon. Biti, I have already tackled maybe one or two of your comments that 66% of the population is in the informal sector. As I said, the informal sector is a form of employment and it is not a bad thing. On the issue that I should present the budget in US$ - no, no, I chose to present it in ZW$ and that is fairly in order, given our currency regime. On growth projections, he argued that the budget is about $4.5 trillion and the growth rate is 3.8%, so perhaps the numbers do not add up. These figures are always in nominal terms. We have not made an assumption about inflation. It is what it is. We are using year-on-year inflation. We will see month-on-month declining but year-on-year will still remain high. That is what we are picking here and it is fairly clear.
On disbursements to September, that the budget utilisation is not fast enough - as I said, it has got to do with the availability of cash and also the utilisation rate and absorption capacity of the ministries themselves. Some of them are absorbing their budget much faster like the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Defence, President’s Office – Ministry of Finance not quite. You will find that it is mainly the infrastructure ministries that are the fast burners of cash. The contractors are pushing that they want to get paid for their contract. So we understand and we have to pay them.
Hon. Biti then makes a comment about parallel budgeting and why we always come for condonation. Look, I have come to this House to seek condonation and that is how it works. That is not breaking the law. I have come to present supplementary budget and you have been so kind as an august House to allow me to have a supplementary budget. That again is within the law. That is how it works. So there is nothing wrong in coming to this august House to seek condonation. Nothing wrong in coming to this House to seek permission to have a supplementary budget and it is in order.
I think Hon. Biti went overboard on the IMF statement. Let me assist. I have it here with me and I approved it because they cannot release it without me approving it. When I read this, it is not as negative as Hon. Biti purports it to be. For what it is worth, let me just read one or two paragraphs. It says here, at the conclusion of the IMF, Mr. Ghura who is Mission-in-Chief issued the following statement, “ the Government provided a swift response to the COVID-19 pandemic supporting businesses, livelihoods and the health sector resulting in real output growth of 8.5% in 2021 under scoring the economy’s resilience, renewed domestic external shocks such as inflation surge, erratic rainfall, electricity shortages, Russia-Ukraine war are however adversely affecting economic and social conditions, real GDP growth is thus expected to decline to about 3.5% in 2022” That is their figure. Mine is 4%. 3.5% is still very good.
“These multiple shocks will continue to weigh on Zimbabwe’s growth prospects, currency and price pressures which emerged earlier this year largely owing to a spike broad money growth and the official exchange rate misaligned with market fundamentals and so forth”. The IMF Mission notes the authorities’ efforts to stabilise local exchange rate market and lower inflation. In this regard, the swift tightening monetary policy along with the greater official exchange rate flexibility - we moved to the willing-buyer willing-seller basis – and a prudent fiscal stance are policies in the right direction”. We are being commended. My learned friend, I am highlighting that he should not be selective. He should be balanced and the statement is very well balanced. It is quite positive and complimentary. While he raises issues one should always listen when colleagues raise issues. I think his projection of that statement was slightly selective.
On the issue of gold coins, someone said they should be banned, no I disagree. We should not ban gold coins. They have been very useful in mopping up liquidity and tighten monetary policy. It is a good thing. Hon. Biti makes a point that the IMF statement says we must live within our means, that is exactly what we are doing. We have been living within our means as far as budget is concerned. What happens from time to time when you have a surge in money supply, this is largely driven by the depreciation of exchange rate because some liabilities are in US$ and when you translate the impact of that depreciation, you have a surge in domestic liquidity and then it impacts the currency naturally. It is not that we have decided to increase budgetary expenditure, no. it is just the impact of currency depreciation at play.
Hon. Biti insinuated that we do not have a debt arrears clearance plan, we do. If I can challenge him - when he was Minister of Finance, he did nothing about clearing our debts. He did not do anything. I am not aware – [HON. BITI: Zimbabwe rejoined IMF]- Hon. Chinamasa tried to do something and then he was blocked. I am trying to do something. I think he should be more sympathetic. He had certain constraints which I am aware of which I will not say in this House but I am aware of them because I travel out there. I know what he was told out there because they tell me. The same people that he met, I also met them. So, we have a plan and if I can remind this House and him, we have agreed that Adesina can be our champion and we are very pleased that he is a champion for arrears clearance. We held our first high level meeting on 1 December with IFIs, the preferred creditors as well as the Paris Club Partners to discuss our roadmap. We have also roped in the former President of Mozambique, Mr. Chissano to also help us deal with some of the governance reforms. President has been very transparent, he has been leading from the front on this issue and we have a plan and a document which I am happy to share with anyone. I will gladly give him a copy.
On agriculture; that we have got high interest rates – we are aware of the impact of high interest rates on agriculture. We are making use of the medium term facility with a lower interest rate to support the sector but we are aware of that impact. That is the thing about interest rates – they can be a necessary but blunt instrument in dealing with credit extension. We are aware of this and that is why we have selectively decided to lower the interest rate for agricultural facilities.
On the issue of introducing title deeds and so forth, we have to move in steps. First order of business, make sure that those who need offer letters get their offer letters. We are giving them and now we are converting those offer letters into securitised documents with a bit more stronger sense of title better than an offer letter which can be forged. He talks about title deeds; we need to move in steps. Even before that, we need to strengthen our 99-year leases and that is what we are working on. So we are moving in steps and he should be patient but it is a proposal that he would want us to move faster.
On IMTT, I reduced it from 4% to 2% but total scrapping not yet. Hon. Sibanda talked about public sector wages that it should be increased. There is a rule in budgeting that you do not want your recurrent expenditure, further wages to be above 50% to 55% of your overall budget. It is a bad idea. It should even be much lower than that. So when you talk about just increasing wages, what are you going to do about public sector investment? You need to invest in schools and roads and that is where growth comes from, so that supply side is critical and not just the demand side. I would like to request Hon. Sibanda to be more balanced in his analysis that it is not just about demand but it is also about investment and supply.
He talked about an uneven distribution of infrastructure investment not in all regions, which regions and so forth. That is why we also introduced devolution and we are saying let us target social infrastructure, schools, clinics, hospitals, buy grades in every district, deal with your roads, buy a drill and drill boreholes – that is the infrastructure that is game-changing if done properly. This way development can be even. I think he should make use of his devolution funds. In fact, I would like to talk to him about that.
On power supply – this is a point we made and we are acting on it. We have immediate interventions as well as intermediate and long term interventions. Increased budget and social sectors, that is what we have done and that is why you see that the budget for education is the highest. Look at the health sector budget but also Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, we tried to do something and again the package on social protection is very clear whether we are looking at BEAM or we are supporting the elderly and so forth.
Hon. Members should not forget that the Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme is what you call a productive social protection programme. You have to throw it in there as part of the social protection measures. So that is ZW$77 billion dollars on its own. When you do that, you realise that the social sector, we really tried to support it.
Hon. Chinotimba also talked about the cost of locally produced fertilizer. When fertilizer is produced in Zimbabwe, it does not necessarily mean that it will be cheaper. That is one thing I am realising but locally produced fertilizer can be expensive. This is an issue of subsidies and so forth but the cost of production is not necessarily low just because it is locally produced. I understand where he is coming from.
On Pfumvudza inputs being sold, I have heard about this that people are selling inputs ,which is not nice and he suggests that we should divert some of these inputs or budget from Pfumvudza and support the A2 farmers. I will engage the Minister of Lands on this one to see what he thinks about this proposal. Hon. Chinotimba made a very important point on the need to support innovation, research and that is what we have tried to do with our universities. All of them now have innovation hubs and they are making various products, incredible research and so forth. So we have taken that route of supporting research and innovation. He is right that we should be making more of our own weapons, tractors and so forth. I agree with him.
Hon. Prof. Mashakada came back to the issue of wealth tax. It is a very popular proposal and so we are taking it seriously. We will do our research and we will come back to this august House. Thank you for commending us on the infrastructure development using domestic resources. I think we have tried our best on this one. The inflation pressures are still an issue and he is right but month-on-month inflation is going in the right direction and so we are happy. What is also there Hon. Prof. Mashakada is a base effect because the index level was low last year.
So you are now calculating inflation as changes in the index year-to-year on the back of that low base. So it slows down the rate of decrease of year-on-year inflation. It is a statistical phenomenon and that is why we need to focus on our month-on-month inflation; that is what we should be following in terms of our story on inflation.
Let me turn to the issue of money supply – I have tried my best and this is being driven by exchange rate depreciation. You talked about social protection, we really tried on this one and then civil servants and salaries, the reports I am getting is that even bonus that we paid last month and then this month in USD have been well received by civil servants. We will continue to do more to support them. The rebate on basic commodities expired, that Statutory Instrument expired. It is a fine balance act. If all basic commodities have no tax at all and there is no protection for the formal sectors, you start losing jobs as well. That is the complaint that I was receiving. So it is a balancing act when you are a Government.
We are watching whether prices will start running away again and if they do, we will reintroduce the policy and that is what I said in the statement. We will not hesitate again to make sure that our citizens can import basic commodities without any duty. We will reintroduce it but we thought that for now, let the Statutory Instrument expire and we analyse and see what is going on. It is a fine balancing act.
On promoting import substitution Hon. Prof. Mashakada, there are so many domestically manufactured products on our shelves in the shops that tell you that there are some import substitution. I do not know where you have been shopping. Mr. Speaker Sir, I vouch there are so many domestically produced goods on our shelves. If you compare what you see now to five years; 10 years ago, there has been a major shift and clearly there is import substitution taking place. I would urge Hon. Members; seeing that he is an economist, I am very happy if he comes and works with my staff in Treasury so that we can analyse this together, so that in future he should not have any doubts.
Hon. Nduna, thank you for your very detailed contribution on proposals regarding the aviation sector. This is really appreciated. I actually think that to do not justice to your proposals, I will propose that maybe you visit Treasury and spend time with my staff; our analysts and that you go into these in detail. I think you just need time to do it properly because you are raising some very interesting issues here. For example, it is something as simple as adverts on bridges; the L bridges, VAT on airport sales, aircraft which should be moved, put to use as cargo carriers rather than carrying people; all these are interesting strategies. I really appreciate that. So, I am inviting you to spend time with our staff. Let us digest what you are proposing properly.
Then the ban on export on lithium, yes we actioned on that. You said chrome, well even chrome is banned but what happens is that companies come forward with very compelling reasons as to why they should be allowed to export a portion of the raw chrome. Usually it is a specific tonnage which is bonitary by the Ministry of Mines and that permission is for a specific period. Usually it is 12 months. So we allow that because the company has specific issues.
I know a couple of companies that we approved recently. They had external loans and they were burning, they needed to pay off their offshore loans. So, the Government said hang on, should we allow this investor to go under or rather they should galang to pay off their loans from proceeds of the raw chrome. So, we allow them to export but it is also banned actually.
Finally, we should establish the mining companies, I agree with you. They know the law that they ought to establish refineries. On uranium, I agree with you this is another source of power. Of course we need skills too – we can partner others. They can partner us to exploit this resource. The issue about mining claims, big companies holding on to mining claims depriving the smaller player and all that, I think this is a point well made.
Revoking copper licences; I have had a conversation with the Minister of Home Affairs who deals with these licences to say, Cde you see we have trouble in this sector and maybe we should revoke these licences. It is a proposal.
In terms of farmer compensation and then the properties on the farms that workers should be allowed to inherit this property, again these are proposals which again, we put forward to the Minister of Agriculture but I suspect the new farmers also want those properties. Let us see how that works in the end. I will put this to Hon. Masuka.
Then the issue of importation of buses; again on this one Hon. Nduna, we should allow for some importation of buses but there is also fine balancing if we have to value addition locally. Deven Engineering as of last year had assembled 20 buses or so. I think there are about 20 buses, I might be off by one bus or so but it is a nice figure like that. That is a good thing because it is creating jobs, retaining skills and so forth. So let us balance the value addition locally with bus imports for us to win in reference to more prices in terms of imported buses but create jobs on the other hand by supporting Deven Engineering and others.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that leave be granted. I thank you.
Hon. Markham having wanted to debate after the Minister responded.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. KHUMALO): You do not further debate after the Minister has responded. Further debate would come in the Committee Stage.
HON. MARKHAM: On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, in the National Budget Statement, the Minister stated categorically that the Government conversation in September, 2022, laid an offer of settlement on the GCD, which was accepted by the former owners through a referendum. That is total false statement. There is no agreement. The offer is on the table but there is no agreement. We are talking of $3.5 billion and the Minister is trying to bulldoze those farmers into agreement by putting a statement in the National Budget. This is nowhere near what is happening on the ground. It is a false statement…
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Member. I think you would have an opportunity to bring that issue during Committee Stage. – [HON. MARKHAM: I will have the opportunity in Committee Stage but I would like it in the debate, publicly noted that this statement is false. The Minister should withdraw that statement, it is false.] -
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill ordered to be brought in by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development.
FIRST READING
FINANCE (NO. 2) BILL [H. B. 13: 2022]
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT presented the Finance (No. 2) Bill [H.B. 13, 2022].
Bill read the first time.
Bill referred to Parliamentary Legal Committee.
COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY
MAIN ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE
Third Order read: Committee of Supply: Main Estimates of Expenditure.
House in Committee.
HON. BITI: We do not have the Appropriation Bill.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON (HON. M. KHUMALO): Order Hon. Members. I am informed that the Appropriation Bill was circulated together with the Finance Bill – [HON. MEMBERS: No!] –
HON. BITI: I went to the Papers Office and only the Finance Bill was there. In fact, there are two Finance Bills. One has the departmental draft and the other one which was gazetted. There was no Appropriation Bill.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: The Administration is saying it was there. Bills are sent via e-mails.
HON. PROF. MASHAKADA: I can confirm that the Appropriation Bill and the Finance Bill were sent on our e-mails on 13th December, 2022.
House in Committee
HON. MUSHORIWA: Madam Chair, we are dealing with about 35 Votes. We wanted today, when we are doing the Appropriation Bill, to have some other Cabinet Ministers in this august House. There are only two Cabinet Ministers. I do not know whether it is an issue of Cabinet Ministers not having an interest in the National Budget because part of the Appropriation Bill, there are certain issues that the Hon. Minister should not answer. We also need other Cabinet Ministers to also discuss. Leader of the House you should tell other Ministers.
Vote 1 – Office of the President and Cabinet – $161 735 813 000.
HON. MUSHORIWA: Thank you Madam Chair. My debate on the President’s Office is not necessarily on the figures as presented by the Hon. Minister but it is actually on DDF. DDF, if you check in the Auditor-General’s report, they have been getting qualified reports and we are aware that if for instance you ask them to come and drill boreholes in your area, they actually charge. There is no accountability in terms of the funding so that we will not belabour you with questions because we will be asking; we have got quite a number of fund accounts and retention across the ministries. Most of these ministries are actually digging into these funds and there is no...
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: You are not connected Hon. Mushowira. - [AN HON. MEMBER: It is no longer connecting, the network is down.] –
HON. MUSHORIWA: My plea is that I am simply asking that the Hon. Minister, in future, we need a statement on fund accounts. I mentioned the DDF because it is on number one. Apparently, if you then check all the fund accounts, they are not performing as they are supposed to. I will possibly dwell on it much when I deal with the Justice Ministry because the Hon. Minister is here. Hon. Minister, DDF should have a mechanism, seeing that if there is no accountability, we should have a way to have the mechanism that the Ministry should actually punish errant entities like DDF. That is my suggestion, otherwise the figures themselves will not change much because I know that on Vote 1, they will feed the budget anywhere.
HON. MADZIMURE: On DDF, I think, I do not know may be I might be giving instruction to the Executive. For it to remain in the President’s Office, they are taking advantage of that as DDF because it becomes less accountable and taking the excuse that they are under the President’s Office, I think DDF must be removed from the President’s Office and be a stand-alone so that they become more accountable.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Thank you Madam President, I think the points made by the two Hon. Members are really valid that the Office of the Auditor-General is issued with an audit statement and highlighted certain difficulties in a specific MDA, and then we should follow up and make sure that certain sanctions are imposed on them. It is not just DDF, it is also other entities, so I will actually endorse that and that is something that I will look into. I thank you – [HON. MADZIMURE: Inaudible interjection.] – He is right on the issue of moving DDF out of the President’s office to some other MDAs. It is a proposal so I have taken it on board and I will socialise it with my bosses and others to see if that is workable. I thank you.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Madam Chair, DDF presides over 700 kilometers of road network in the farming and mining areas. I propose that Section 13 (IV) of the Constitution comes alive, which says the minerals or the resources should benefit the localities from where they are mined. I request that there be a section or a provision in the budget that actually implores the miners to seed part of their production. I will propose 10 to augment and complement DDF meager monies so that they can go to rehabilitate the roads in those areas.
I have spoken about the more than 700 kilometers that it presides over and I have also spoken about the section that is sui generis citing subsection IV and I have proposed the 10% issue that should be a provision that can go and complement the efforts of the gold finger, the Minister of Finance.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you Madam Chair and I thank Hon. Nduna for that proposal Madam Chair. Again, I think we will put it on our agenda for discussion when you visit my office Sir and I have invited you.
HON. NDUNA: I thank you.
*HON. CHIDZIVA: Thank you Hon. Chair, my issue was on Vote 1,
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Hon. Chidziva, you are not properly dressed, please go and dress properly – [HON. PROF. MASHAKADA: NdoMandelaka iyi.] –
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Hon. Chidziva, can you please leave the House and go and dress properly.
Hon. Chidziva walked out of the House.
HON. BITI: Munosarudza, dai ari Mliswa asina kubuda.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: In terms of decorum, we cannot accept that, we can do that in terms of any other rules but in terms of our Standing Orders, in terms of decorum we act like that.
(v) *HON. CHIDZIVA: Thank you Madam Chair, let me use the virtual platform. We have noted that last year this Vote was allocated an excess amount and this resulted in them paying bonuses. They must have allocated excess monies to other ministries; they ended up paying bonuses because the money was in excess. Has the Hon. Minister rectified this problem now so that the all ministries get a fair share?
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you. The budgets for salaries and bonuses are allocated in each Ministry. They are not allocated in each Ministry so that they sit with the President’s office and then they are allocated from there. That is not quite correct. So the bonuses and salaries for staff within the Office of the President is in there. It is in their budget. For the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, it is in our budget. For the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, again it is similar. So that is the budgeting process.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON (HON. MAVETERA): Minister, may you please connect.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: I am saying that the budget for salaries and bonuses is allocated for each MDA. It is sitting in each MDA. It is not sitting in the Office of the President as a budget in a vote. What is in there is just salaries and bonus provisions for employees in that department. So I just wanted to correct the Hon. Member on that one.
Vote 1 put and agreed to.
Vote 2 – Parliament of Zimbabwe – ZWL$47 820 193 000:
HON. MATEWU: Thank you Madam Chair. I want to turn to the Constituency Development Fund which has been appropriated ZWL$4.8 billion. If you divide that by 210 constituencies and further divide that by the current prevailing rate of 650 you will get something like US$33 500. I remember when the Minister stood here in September.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Can you please connect so that you can be heard.
HON. MATEWU: Madam Chair, I was saying if you look at the appropriation that has been given to the Constituency Development Fund of ZWL$4.8 billion and divide that by the number of constituencies, which is 210 and divide that by 650 you will get something like US$33 500. I am talking of the official rate, let alone the parallel market rate, but you still get US$33 500.
The Minister stood here when he was giving the supplementary budget and also made a solemn promise and also when he was giving the Budget Statement, that CDF would now be US$50 000 from next year. So that is the first point which needs to be corrected in the Blue Book.
The second one, obviously we are going into an election year where you will have new Hon. Members. Some here might be lucky to come back and so forth. There is also the issue of the vehicle scheme. So Hon. Members who are coming next year, the appropriation of ZWL$8.4 billion, if you add together with the Senate members to make it 350, that money adds up to US$37 000 per Hon. Member and in the last budget it was I think US$80 000 when we came in 2018. So that needs to go back where it was to US$80 000 and this one, the CDF needs to go back to US$50 000.
You have got also the Parliamentary Constituency Information Centres which we have been promised and I think it is atrocious that many Hon. Members have to work in their cars. It is really not on and this has been appropriated ZWL$100 million for 210 constituencies. I think this is ridiculous. So that needs to be really looked at and my suggestion would be that if Parliament managed to rent offices in every constituency so that there is parity. In some constituencies, like my good Hononourable friend here, Marondera East, there is a Constituency Information Centre but most constituencies do not have that. So I think it is only imperative that, that is included in the budget and every constituency rural, urban, whatever it is, does get an information centre where people can come and talk about their concerns and know more about the Bills that are going in Parliament and get every information that they need because the current state of affairs at the moment is that many people in constituencies do not know what their Member of Parliament does. They do not appreciate the role of the Member of Parliament because there is nowhere to see them. They have to go to their homes yet if we are talking about local authorities they can simply walk to their council offices but when it comes to Parliament they cannot come to the august House, here. So we need these offices to be operational from next year and we know we have been lied to for the last five years, but please let us correct that in this budget so that next year those offices can actually be operational. Thank you.
(v)HON. BRIG. GEN. (RTD.) MAYIHLOME: Thank you very much Madam Chair. Related to that on Vote 2, I see a glaring omission there. Where I seek clarification of the Minister is the issue of accommodation for out of Harare Members of Parliament. As it is now, I am actually on virtual in my constituency because I cannot go to Harare since there is no accommodation. The Minister undertook that he was going to be paying us accommodation in advance. I do not think that this budget that he has for Parliament actually provides for that.
Secondly, the issue of constituency staff - we have been talking of this for the past four years that we are paying the administrators or the clerks in our constituency using our own personal funds and this is not fair for the Members of Parliament to be expected to subsidise Parliament in that manner. So could the Hon. Minister please clarify how he is going to cater for that? Thank you.
HON. MADZIMURE: Thank you Madam Chair. Minister, a number of Hon. Members have found no value in them applying for the CDF because it adds to their problems. They are accused of corruption and misusing the CDF because it is insignificant. If you are an MP who has 12 wards, you are given equivalent to US$17 000. What kind of a project would you do in a ward that would be significant for people to appreciate what you would have done?
Therefore, the US$50 000 that was there was quite well thought. We do not have any interventions coming right now from Government, to be honest, where a Member of Parliament can point to and say I have caused such a project. Secondly that same amount of $17 000, you are expected to run around, to do all the administrative work and it is a Member of Parliament who is supposed to do all that. The moment you engage a team to run around for quotations and other things, it is a cost that you will have to incur. You can even spend all the money on administration only.
Hon. Minister, where you have managed to do a single project, people appreciate and it causes significant difference. I can give an example in my constituency, I managed to do combined basketball and tennis court. The excitement that is there! Right now there are battles of these teams, the basketball team wants to use the court, and the tennis team also wants to use the court and because of that, that court is overused. Within a period of three months, it is already worn out, the small stadium that I have and I am lucky, in Harare, it is almost the only stadium left, the majority of them, people have parceled them out for building and doing residential stands because they were dilapidated, abandoned. If you go to that small stadium today, at an average you find 500 youths in there, so, it really makes a difference. It is also helping Government to have something in the constituency and it is entertaining a lot of children and adults who come to support their children. So you may not understand the impact of these small projects, it is doing a lot, so do not think that you are losing money in CDF.
There are two things that you need to consider, the issue of administration which takes me to the issue of a constituency office. Hon. Minister, right now if I want to meet people from my constituency, imagine you have got two women representing a club that want to talk to the Member of Parliament, where else can you meet them other than in your car? However, if you come across and find your wife in my car, what are you going to say? It becomes complicated.
Therefore, the issue of accommodation for a Member of Parliament is so important and this is something that you do once. You build a constituency office, probably a three roomed, where you have got a bigger one as the reception, then an office that you may use as a Member of Parliament and then have another one where you keep some documents that people may want to come and refer to. That thing may cost basic building, a small building of boundary panels that is plastered inside can be a perfect office but as far as disbursement is concerned will be another issue. We need these facilities, it enhances the work of a Member of Parliament, it also helps a Member of Parliament to have at least one person in that office whom people will meet in the absence of the Member of Parliament.
Therefore, Hon. Minister, seriously consider increasing the CDF because the intervention that Members of Parliament can do in Constituencies can mean a lot. Take a constituency like Rushinga where you have one school, that is one block, one house, if a Member of Parliament comes there, adds another House probably of six rooms, you will have teachers in those rooms, it makes a lot of difference. So, if you can consider increasing that money and help us put together infrastructure that makes it easy to administer the CDF. We do not want to be accused of corruption, we want to be accountable but make it possible for us to be accountable.
(v)*HON. CHIDAKWA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to contribute on Vote 2 that when the Hon. Minister is allocating monies to Parliament Vote, may he also consider the welfare of staff of Parliament. Parliament staff should be given decent salaries and allowances due to the nature of their job and the status of the institution, one of the three arms of the State. Parliament staff should be allocated enough resources in order that they continuously improve themselves in terms of education so that when they deliver their work, it will be to best practice. I thank you.
HON. BUSHU: At the start of the Ninth Parliament, we were allocated 80 000 dollars for our vehicles as Parliamentarians, we got the facility and got paid up to 50 000, so there is a difference of 30 000 dollars which Government indicated that will be available to us. What I would like to ask of the Hon. Minister is for that to be provided for in the 2023 Budget.
HON. MUSHORIWA: Hon. Minister, my suggestion is that could you increase the CDF allocation from 4, 8 billion to around 7,4 billion and this is actually on a matter of principle. You know very well that it has always been 50 000 and we are simply saying, if you put it at 7,4 billion using the current rate, it goes back to 50 000 USD. So to me that is important so that at least there is consistency. That is my humble submission.
HON. TOGAREPI: Madam Chair, my issue to the Minister on the Parliamentary Budget is that many times we hear that Parliament has been given ZWL47 billion but when it comes to disbursement or exercising their right to spend the budgeted figure, it is not there. Can we not ensure that Parliament is given three months upfront of its budget so that it operates more efficiently and effectively? As we stand, we have a situation where Members of Parliament have lost their dignity in hotels. They are chased up and down, stay in the cars until we get some approval from some director who is in UK and things like that. It is because Parliament does not have the money. They rely on monthly requests. If this is what you have given Parliament, can it be released upfront, may be not the whole amount but for them to be able to manoeuvre within the budget that they have been given. Thank you.
(v)+HON. O. SIBANDA: [Part of speech not recorded due technical glitch.] – Our MPs cannot even buy shoe polish. Comparing their salaries with black market rates, it is equivalent to USD210. I ask the Hon. Minister, where are we going with such salaries? I am saying that after the Budget has been allocated, it should be quickly disbursed to Parliament because we do not want it to appear as if the Parliament Administration and staff are the ones who are failing. The Administration does not have money. They are not doing anything wrong. The budget allocation to Parliament should be increased. The Hon. Minister should also note that he is a Member of Parliament too and as such, he should make sure that the Hon. Members are well paid. The salaries should compete with those of the Service Chiefs and Judges because we are also part of the arms of the State. My wish is that an MP should be a happy person because he is responsible for the law making. My wish is that the money that is allocated to Parliament should be disbursed to Parliament in time so that if there are other programmes which need to be partaken, it should be done in time. It is really difficult to be an MP in this era. We want to work with the Minister in good faith and people to respect us as Hon. Members who are representing the President and the nation. I thank you Madam Chair for the opportunity you have given me. I really wished to be part of the seating but I failed to travel because of fuel and accommodation challenges.
*HON. T. MOYO: Thank you Madam Chair. I would like to present my debate in line with Vote No. 2. The Members of Parliament are losing their dignity and respect especially in light of the remuneration that we get. An MP gets ZWL200 thousand which is equivalent to USD150 to USD200. If you are to see my payslip, the whole country will laugh at me. For that reason, we hide the payslips in our wallets. The public will laugh at you for earning USD200. The same can be said for the staff of Parliament. Their salaries are very low. I am requesting that the Minister of Finance looks into the budget for Parliament and increase the allocation for us to be able to discharge our duties.
I also want to talk about the fuel that we get to our constituencies. I go to my constituency once a week and my constituency is large. It stretches from Gokwe South to Binga and I use 80 litres every weekend. If you work out 80 litres x 4, we are talking of 320 but we are getting 120 litres of coupons. I am requesting the Minister of Finance that he increases the allocation that we get.
The other major issue that is of concern since October is that Madam Chair, I went to Victoria Falls as the Chairperson of Primary and Secondary Education. When I got to Bulawayo, there was no accommodation. I had to use my own money to pay accommodation at Rainbow Hotel. When I got to Victoria Falls, I had to pay again. I then went to Lupane State University and Gwanda and I used my own money and that has not been reimbursed. That affects the dignity of the MPs and respect. On Sunday when I came, I could not get accommodation and I slept in my car. I went to Crown Plaza and my name was not there. I thank the Chief Whip who was able to get me accommodation on Monday. Where is the dignity of the MP when we are suffering like that? We request the Hon. Minister to consider this matter so that our dignity is restored. I thank you.
*HON. TEKESHE: Thank you Hon Chair. I just want to also add my voice to the issue of accommodation as alluded to by my fellow MPS. The issue of accommodation has become problematic but I do not see any provision for the construction of flats or accommodation within the life of Parliament. If you could build something each year for the five year session you will have covered ground in terms of accommodation for MPs. Every MP would just get keys for the allocated flat until such time when he/she leaves Parliament.
The other issue is of transport as we go out for outreach programmes. We continue to hire and we are using a lot of money to do so. I do not know if they are not your companies. So, I am thinking that if we buy our own buses we will not continue wasting money hiring. The amount you have budgeted for transport hire should be used to procure our own buses. I hope you will take my submissions into consideration. I thank you.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Hon. Chair. On the budget for Parliament, all I ask is what is called front end loading. This is the gatekeeper for all your resources. We oversee the Auditor General and she was lamenting that if she could get all her budgetary support she would definitely police the pilferage and hemorrhage of the meager financial resources. I ask that let there be front end loading for the budgetary support for Parliament. It is going to help you police all the other finances that you are allocating to ministries and other government and quasi-government departments. In my view, if the money that we have debated is released upfront, Parliament is able to use it for the purposes that have been outlined. I am sure you mean well in terms of protecting the money that you are giving to ministries, departments and the commissions. I think to police that money, use Parliament to do it for you but without the resources they have a challenge.
The other issue that I want to come out clearly is that you have done very well in supporting Parliament Administration staff. I see they are moving around in brand new vehicles. We have been talking about the welfare of the staff of Parliament and some of them had gone for two to three terms without getting their terms of condition vehicles. I think you have come out guns out blazing in the Second Republic gold finger Sir. You need to be thanked for that. If no one else is going to thank you for presiding over this and making sure that Parliament Administration staff is well catered for, I am going to thank you from the bottom of my heart and from the people of Chegutu West Constituency. So my issue is, please front end load and peg our salaries. Let it be known how much we will be paid at the bank rate. If it is going to be US$2000, let it fluctuate whichever way. Pay us in local currency but let it be known how much we are getting. Sometimes there is $200 000 in the account. We do not need that money for ourselves but to carry out our mandate seriously. Also the money for CDF, let the money be there. You put in your application and you are told the money is not there but the electorate is expectant. If there is one institution you need to front end load, let it be Parliament. We will help you to help the budgetary support. You can suspect the Hon. Members like Hon. Caston Matewu and others, but not me. You know I mean well. I really ask from the bottom of my heart that if you support Parliament you have supported yourself but if you do not do so, you are cutting your nose to spite your face. We want to be the gatekeepers. The ex-officio Member of Parliament, the Auditor General will be assisted if we are given the resources. I thank you.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Hon. Members, order. I was kindly asking that for our debates to be more meaningful and constructive, I was thinking that we have got our Appropriation Bill with some allocations, let us revert to those so we are able to have a conversation with the Hon. Minister. I know we have a lot of welfare issues that we wish to discuss, but I think the most appropriate thing is to go Vote by Vote and debate whether the allocation needs to be increased or you are agreeable with the figure. What we are trying to do here is to have a decrease or increase on the amounts which are there. We need a debate which is more constructive so that we are appropriate and specific, for example we have a figure for PCICs. Let us argue about it and not just generalise and tell the Hon Minister what we are looking forward to. I think then it is more social than it is economic. So may we please be more economic and speak of figures so that the Minister can respond accordingly.
*HON. PETER MOYO: Thank you Madam Chair. I am appealing to the Minister to increase the Parliament budget by at least 20% of the current allocation. I say so because we have been talking about the issue of Parliament staff where if we go out for outreach programmes and come back late around ten or eleven in the evening, MPs will retire in their hotel rooms while the staff of Parliament are requested to go home. We asked how many they are that they cannot also be accommodated in hotels and they are only two or three. How much would it cost the country to accommodate them so they can also rest and not travel to their homes late? Our elders used to say that the stomach of a visitor will not empty your granary. It means that they have only but very few. How many, there could be two or three. How much is the country going to lose than risk going to Chitungwiza and Ruwa, and we will have slept and these young people will still have to travel during the night.
Secondly, we were thinking when you consider civil servants; Parliament staff should also be given money. Also give Parliament staff bonuses that you are giving to the Public Service. While I observe the workers in the Hansard Department, there is a certain Hansard staffer who went to SADC and produced debates and she was the first one in the region to do that, meaning we have high standards. We should be retaining such experienced personnel because they are skilled and exceptionally good. We should be concerned about the welfare of Parliament staff.
Members of Parliament used to get $2 000. It is better to give each Member of Parliament a million RTGs and it will be a done deal. Without belabouring the point, I would want to reiterate that when we are on official duties, Parliament staff should be accommodated in hotels and should not go home during the night. That is not proper, thank you.
(v)*HON. R. R. NYATHI: What is important is that we should appreciate people when they are still alive and not when they are dead. We want to thank our Chief Whip Hon. Togarepi for the manner in which he handles welfare issues for Members of Parliament.. He showed us our problems as Members of Parliament which should be catered for in the budget. He struggles and hardly sleeps as an Hon. Member. I would want to reiterate the words that have been said by Hon. Sibanda.
I would also want to thank our Minister and if you go to his office, he takes his time to listen to what you will be presenting before him. A Member of Parliament should be able to tell how much money they are going to be earning and understand the words you said that we should not talk about the welfare of Members of Parliament or Members of Staff but we should touch on the hot spot. What I wanted to say is that he is the Member of Parliament, the face of Parliament and also the face of the political party. The Member of Parliament who works with the community –
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Hon. Nyathi, we have a long night ahead of us, please go straight to the point. I will now urge people not to wander about but go straight to the point.
(v)*HON. R. R. NYATHI: The crux of the matter is that the budget should be increased and money should be timely disbursed.
(v)+HON. MOKONE: I would want to thank you for the opportunity to add my voice on the issue concerning my constituency. Most of our provinces especially for us proportional representatives, the constituencies are very big for one person to cover. The second issue is that the Minister should look into our salaries because the areas where we come from, we need to have burial societies and medical aid. If anything happens, we will be able to assist in the communities that we come from. Thank you.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): I thank the Hon. Members for the intervention. Basically, if I can summaries the intervention they want an additional budget. So, I propose that we take $1, 5 billion from the Unallocated Reserve and direct it towards the Parliament budget. My proposal is if we could target increasing the budget for CDF from the current $4, 8 billion plus $1, 5 billion to take it to $6, 3 billion.
I must also hasten to say we are really struggling on the Unallocated Reserve. If we keep taking more and more for other ministries and so forth, we will have a real problem. You can only allocate if you have got the revenues as well. So if at supplementary stage which is mid-year, there are no revenues coming through, there is nothing to supplement so there must be something to allocate, I would say $1, 5 billion for now. Perhaps there will be an opportunity for a supplementary next year but if we can work with that for now.
On the issue of the three months’ buffer which was raised by Hon. Togarepi, that is a point well taken of frontloading as Hon. Nduna put it. Again, we will make sure that happens and we will look into that. There is the issue of constituency offices and information centres; we have an allocation in 2022. There was a budget set aside for that and I need to check with Mr. Chokuda and others on the progress when it comes to information centres. How many Members of Parliament have constituency offices? I do not know what happened to that budget but there is a budget line for it in this year’s budget.
HON. PETER MOYO: You did not respond to Hon. Bushu’s request that you have our $30 000 which you are supposed to avail to us from the $80 000 for the Ninth Parliament and also you did not respond to the request that I made to you to say can you also accommodate Parliament staff when we have these outreach programmes when we arrive here in Harare.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: It is administrative.
HON. PETER MOYO: Yes, it is administrative but we have to say it because we are the ones who travel with these kids, you know. When we travel with them, it is so painful to take a young girl and say go home and I sleep in a hotel as the Chair, it is not pleasing to me.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Hon. Minister, may you respond to the first one, the second one is an administrative issue and is dealt with by the Clerk.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Absolutely. On the first one we said that the $40 000 loan that is being offered at the moment, you have a choice. You can use that to acquire a stand or a second vehicle. So, going into next year’s budget, we will then accommodate the second issue whether it is a stand or a car. We have performed. I do not know what alphabet you are but you will get. We intend to clear these payments by the 27th. We have been under pressure from the bonuses of civil servants but through this staggering process, 27th we want to clear all the payments.
*HON. TEKESHE: The Minister did not respond as to what actions he will take on the issue of accommodation for Members of Parliament that is so stressful when we come for sittings.
(v)HON. MARKHAM: The Minister said that he does not know what happened to constituency offices, has he allocated money to Parliament for these?
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: He said it is in the 2022 Budget.
(v)HON. T. ZHOU: What is the position with regard to stands for Eighth Parliament? Was there any allocation...
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: That is administrative Hon. Zhou. It is not part of the Budget.
(v)HON. T. ZHOU: It is about funding the project. It looks like once MPs do not come back to Parliament, no one represents them on outstanding benefits.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: It is still administrative Hon. Zhou.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: I will start with Hon. Zhou. First of all, this issue is administrative. The resources for servicing the stands have already been allocated and Ministry of Local Government will deal with the matter. We allocated this in this year’s Budget. I do not have the exact figures allocated for servicing the stands. We can get the information and supply it to the Hon. Member, may he be patient.
Hon. Markham spoke about the amount allocated for Constituency offices – I do not have the figures with me but there is an amount. You can check with Parliament and Treasury. There is an amount which was allocated in this year’s budget but it is clear that no draw-downs have been made because no one has a Constituency office. The last time I checked there were issues around procurement and so forth but clearly resources were allocated for this purpose.
On the issue of the welfare of MPs and accommodation, again this is an administrative issue – we agreed that the amount per day is USD and that should be given to you so that you get your own accommodation. We agreed on that modality and it is just implementation.
(v)HON. NDIWENI: The Minister talked about an increase to the CDF budget of 1.5 billion dollars. What does it translate to a constituency because we had a figure already for the CDF?
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Hon. Ndiweni, I think we can do our Maths on that. May you please get your calculator and calculate.
Amendment to Vote 2 put and agreed to.
Vote 2, as amended, put and agreed to.
On Vote 3 – Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare – ZWL$91 620 309 000.00:
HON. MUSHORIWA: I have just been looking at the figures pertaining to the salaries for civil servants. I just want to find out from the Hon. Minister the trajectory that the Ministry intends to do pertaining to remuneration. Are we going to be continuing with increase in RTGs salaries or any discussion for salary negotiations for civil service and public servants will now be done on the USD amount? I say this Hon. Chair primarily because my worry is that should there be a spike in inflation, either to the current power outages and other unforeseen circumstances, we may actually have an uphill task within our civil service.
On this particular Vote, it is one Ministry where we have got close to about eleven funds that are administered by this Ministry. They have got the training centre, the Children on the Streets Fund, the Child Welfare Fund, Community Recovery Fund, National Drought Fund and so on. The problem is that there is nowhere within the lines that you see anything that is said about these funds. We would like to avoid a situation where we have got ministries that do double dipping and that is the reason why we were hoping that if these Ministers were here, they could have helped you in terms of answering some of these questions because there are certain amounts that we may feel they are getting more money because ministries tend to complain that they are getting fewer dollars than they require yet others have other funds that they put their hands and dig outside the knowledge of Treasury. I thank you.
HON. MATEWU: For me, it is on the Social Welfare on two budget lines. Firstly, support for elderly persons. Increasingly we have a lot of elderly people who are actually wallowing in poverty. Just to give some statistics, we are actually number 15 out of 16 in terms of absolute poverty and inequality - the gap between those who have and those who have not. Most of those who have not are actually pensioners or elderly people who cannot cater for themselves. The allocation here is ZW$400 million, I think that is too little if we want to be serious in terms of social protection to the most vulnerable in society.
You also have ZW$1.4 billion being appropriated to people living with disability. I think that is also far too less for what they need. I think they have made their case a lot of times on outreach and everywhere they need the support of this Government. In this Budget we must show that we are actually putting more money into the most vulnerable people in our communities.
I would propose to the Minister that for elderly persons, maybe ZW$2 billion and ZW$3 billion for people living with disabilities. I thank you.
(v)*HON. E. NCUBE: I would like to request the Minister to increase the budget of the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare because it is one Ministry which looks after the welfare of employees. Everyone looks up to this Ministry when there is drought and in need of food assistance. So I would very much appreciate if the budget of this Ministry is increased significantly. I thank you.
(v)*HON. MAGO: I am requesting the Minister to increase the vote for this Ministry since they also cater for the young ones in children’s homes. Most of the children’s homes operate on a shoestring budget which is not enough to cater for the needs of these homes. I thank you.
(v)*HON. B. DUBE: My contribution is that the salaries of the civil servants should be pegged at US$500 or its equivalent for the lowest paid worker so that the nation can curb the brain drain that is obtaining in the country right now. Most civil servants are breadwinners but they are not winning anything because they are bringing nothing home.
HON. BITI: I want to make representations to the esteemed Minister of Finance on the issue of safety nets under this vote. There are vulnerable people that I want to speak on their behalf. The first ones are people living with disabilities and I think they have been allocated ZW$1.2 billion. The second ones are the elderly who have been allocated ZW$400 million. I do not see cash payments and cash grants which you will recall Minister you introduced in your interventions on COVID-19 in 2020. I urge the Minister to take ZW$2 billion from the unallocated reserve and allocate it to social safety nets. Our people are suffering. There are various reports on the statistics of people living in extreme poverty. There are some reports that put it at 89%. Some reports like the recent World Bank Country Note puts it at 49%. The fact of the matter is that we know that our people are suffering. Look at street kids, you know them; you find a disabled parent being carried by a child and so forth.
Cash grants are a fashionable way of dealing with the demand side of economics. Through cash grants, the Minister gets his money back anyway because the marginal propensity of the vulnerable is very high. If you give them ZW$50 they will go to a supermarket and you get the money very quickly as VAT. I urge the esteemed Minister to take ZW$2 billion and virement the social safety nets, including people living with disability, the elderly and people living on the streets. I thank you.
(v)*HON. KARUMAZONDO: My request to the Minister of Finance is for Treasury to release funds timeously to the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare. Recently, I was at the Ruwa Rehabilitation Centre and I discovered that the home had just run out of food for the children. You will also find out that most of the children at these homes spend a lot of time doing nothing as they do not have enough resources for their practical skills. I thank you.
(v)HON. WATSON: Thank you Madam Speaker for giving me this chance to address the Minister on the issue of the Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Vote. On the issue of social welfare and vulnerable groups, the biggest problem with his budget is the budget allocation. I want to support the Hon. Member who raised the issue of children’s homes. They are also old aged groups which have not received any social assistance from Government for a very long time. These institutions are in dire need. They are old people and you cannot call them pensioners because they do not get a pension and they do not get money from anywhere. He really needs to extend his budget and issue social grants to these people because they are suffering interminably. They cannot get healthcare, they cannot do anything and sometimes when I listen to him and I see this Appropriation Bill, it does not take cognizance of what was said in the Committee Report. One of the points raised by the Health Committee is that the Ministry of Health and Child Care is called Ministry of Health and Child Care but ‘child care’ is not really catered for specifically either to those social welfare sectors of the public service appropriation of the health appropriation Bill and children are honestly citizens of Zimbabwe who are not cared or catered for. He seriously needs to look at this allegation. Thank you.
(v) HON. MAKARI: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to plead with the Hon. Minister for the Ministry of Social Welfare especially for constituencies that might be in urban areas but are peri-urban in all terms and purposes. I am referring to a constituency like Epworth. We have challenges where people do not get food allocation like our rural constituencies because they are seen as constituencies in urban areas. My plea is let us increase our budget allocation to cater for these peri-urban constituencies and to disburse the money on time. Some children have been out of school because they rely solely on BEAM and they are not being catered for. Thank you.
(v)+HON. MAHLANGU: Thank you Hon. Chair. Looking at the fact that this Ministry is an important Ministry because it caters for different people in the country which include the children and the elderly and health workers; I appeal that they should increase salaries for health workers, including these incentives that they are given quarterly. They are supposed to be incentivised because they perform a great task. They work as the immediate nurses in our communities but they are not rewarded. We were kindly asking that the Ministry increase the budget that is given to the health workers. This is my prayer to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. Thank you.
(v)*HON. E. NCUBE: I think the Hon. Minister should look at the lives of people. It is the Ministry that ensures that when there is drought, people are given food. If they are orphans, it is the Ministry that is responsible for housing them. The Ministry should be given adequate funding and such funding as he has stated that what he has budgeted for is what is there, we plead with him to timeously disburse the funds to the Ministry so that the relevant ministries are able to utilise the funding so that when they cry that the funds have been unable to sustain them, then the Ministry would have used the majority of its budget. At the moment the Ministry has no motor vehicles to monitor what is happening in their districts because the funds have not been released. They used vehicles offered by donors. We cannot be reliant on donors all the time. That is my plea as the majority of the issues have been raised by my fellow Members of Parliament. Thank you.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): I want to thank the Hon. Members for their interventions. They have been very helpful. I propose that we add another ZW$1 billion to deal with the issue of the elderly and the disabled. That is my proposal. –(HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear):
Amendment to Vote 3 put and agreed to.
Vote 3, as amended put and agreed to.
On Vote 4: Defence and War Veterans Affairs; ZW$331 143 086 000.
HON. BRIG. GEN. (RTD.) MAYIHLOME: I just want to bring to the attention of the Minister - it is unfortunate that when the report was read, he was not in the House. The Hon. Minister needs to understand that the perpetual underfunding of security forces has created a serious national security risk that we are looking at and that would visit this country in the next five to ten years from now. Defence Forces are not security guards. We cannot have a defence force that feeds on sadza and vegetables and we cannot have a defence force that sleeps on the floor. There must be an attention to address the quality of life of the defence forces. Efforts were made to construct the hospital and we commend the Minister for the efforts. Almost 90% complete but on the accommodation side, only about 25% of the works have been done for the Dzivarasekwa, Mbizo and other camps within the country. That is the sad state of affairs because there you have defence forces members who eat, live and travel in conditions that are worse than the rest of the public. How do we expect those members of the defence forces to be perceived by the members of the public? We are talking of people that cannot negotiate for their salaries. We are talking of people that cannot go on strike, we are talking of people that always have to obey the orders whether the orders are good or bad. These are people who cannot say no to any orders. These are the people that at any disobedience of the order, it is death when they are convicted and we continue perpetually to disregard their welfare. When it comes to a stage where these fellows stand up saying kusiri kufa ndekupiko,this is why we are finding so much indiscipline. I think the Commanders must be commended for doing so much to curtail and control these disgruntled defence forces. The budget that was allocated for 2023 is far inadequate to address especially provisions and accommodation.
Then the veterans of the liberation struggle, I think at barest minimum, Minister, the veterans of the liberation struggle should be given something equivalent to the poverty datum line in USD. These are people who are not asking for favours. These are the people that paid me and you and everyone else in this country to live in Borrowdale Brook, to live in Gunhill, to live in Mount Pleasant, to construct and so much wealth to go and watch football matches outside the country. They sacrificed their lives so that everyone else – just like in the Bible, you will find that the Lord Jesus Christ sacrificed his life so that you and I enjoy going to heaven. This is exactly what the war veterans did but they are ridiculed, you saying that they are demanding too much. They are only 30 000 of them that are left. I am talking of the war veterans themselves. Give them some decent living wage, at least a poverty datum related welfare and look at their ventures; ventures that they were given by His Excellency the President. They need to be capacitated. They need to have money so that those ventures actually bring money into the welfare. That is the best domestic resource mobilisation that will make them earn decent salaries.
Most of the war veterans are over 60 years and they cannot even work on those ventures and expect them to do it for themselves and have a decent life. That is my contribution about the defence forces. Equip them to get the tools that they need to carry out their duties. You cannot have a defence force that is worse than a Fawcett Security Organisation. Without vehicles, without food, without uniforms, without accommodation, no Hon. Minister, please just revisit that issue on institutional provisions. After all, this is a constitutional requirement. I rest my case.
HON. TOGAREPI: Minister, I heard that you are going to give $391 billion to the Ministry of Defence and War Veterans. My issue is, we have the army, defence forces; we also have the war veterans and the other categories like ex-detainees, restrictees and war collaborators. We cannot disaggregate the figure so that we know because their expectations are different. Some have already been approved of what they are going to get monthly as incomes, schools fees for their kids and so forth. We also have categories whose reasonable expectations have not been defined. When are you going to do that in your budget? What is it that you are going to give war collaborators because they have got a process which has been completed?
We have restrictees whose process has not been completed but they will be bunched in the whole figure. Is it going to be used by salaries, how would we know? Have you really factored in the expectations of these different categories of the liberation struggle?
HON. MADZIMURE: Minister, there is only one area that I am concerned with, the issue of those war veterans who were injured during the war. We still have quite a number of them. Those people are suffering, if I can say. Some of them have got permanent disabilities. So they need like crutches, some have got limps, some have those injuries that require them to see doctors now and again. Those people require constant attention. Some of them have been deteriorating, so they require treatment now and then but they do not have the resources for that to be done. Minister, can you consider a fund, specifically for those so that whenever they go to the doctor or to the hospital, they can have some sort of facility, because of technology they can have special medical cards that can always be accepted in those places where no money will be expected to be paid.
I say this because I have associated with those war veterans who were injured during the war from 1980 because I have a brother who is a war veteran. He has been poured napalm bombs, and because of that, whenever the weather changes, he experiences so much pain. We think it is even worse because he has some fragments within his body and a bullet in his other leg. Sometimes when he is walking, he can actually freeze in the middle of the road. It is quite dangerous for him.
When he needs any attention, I tell you, sometimes I also have to help. He is not the only one, those with limps, you know what happens, they also expire. Those with crutches also have the same problem. So I am of the opinion that you have a special fund for those people. They are not many because they are already in the registers. They are well known. If you can help on that one, I think on their last leg of their lives they can at least spend it in a more comfortable way. Yes, we have betrayed them already because we have not done much for them. At least at this last part of their lives, if they can rest peacefully, instead of us then declaring them district, provincial heroes or even national heroes, let us help them whilst they still survive.
*HON. CHITURA: This is a programme which was done openly, where people were vetted. Did you include this process in your budget so that the programme of vetting war collaborators, ex-detainees and war veterans who were not vetted before is completed? I thank you.
*HON. CHIBAGU: I would also want to make an addition that in Mbire, all the people involved in that exercise, especially ex-combatants, detainees, restrictees and children of war veterans are facing a lot of challenges. Inasmuch as I am trying to assist them, we do not have any hospitals in our area. I am quite grateful on the issue of the ex-combatants and the war collaborators who suffered during the war. In my area in lower valley in Kanyemba, people are dying. My vehicle goes to Katondo and Zambia to assist those elderly people, ex-combatants and war collaborators. There is no medication. That is why we are asking for a district hospital at Mushumbi. Can the clinic at Mushumbi be upgraded to a district hospital? To transport a patient from Mbire to Karanda, approximately 220km, you only get there when the person is already dead. If you go to Katondo, everyone recognises my vehicle. If it goes to the Zambian side, it is easily recognised. That is the duty that my vehicles are performing. We ask that if it goes according to plan, this would assist a lot of people. People in my area fought for the liberation struggle. I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Thank you very much Madam Chair for this debate on Vote 4. I will start with Hon. Mayihlome regarding the welfare of the defence forces. I agree with him that on the issue of accommodation, we will accelerate the development and building of institutional accommodation. It has already started but it is a multi-year programme. We cannot do everything in one year.
On the issue of vehicles, we are taking a very swift action. We have sourced USD 60 million which will cover the Defence Forces, the police, as well as prisons in terms of transportation vehicles and so forth. So we are onto it. On the hospital, we will certainly support it to completion. I can assure you on that.
On the various categories of war collaborators and so forth, we can finance this but in the Blue Book, we have not broken it down to show exactly what is allocated to each category. Hon. Madzimure, on those injured war veterans, he proposed maybe a fund so that they can be supported with medical support. I must say that for this one, it is actually a statutory appropriation below the line, so we have allocated $2.87 billion for that, so there is some resources for it already.
On whether there is extra budget for vetting, here we have been driven by the Ministry responsible for war veterans. We did the first round then they sought an additional budget and we approved it. I think we have to wait for them to also trigger us. I was not aware that this was an ongoing exercise. Frankly, we have not been sensitized as Treasury. I do not even know where we will get the budget for it because we have not been sensitized.
Hon. Chibagu, the issue of a district hospital in Mushumbi; yes, this is a very important issue. We will coordinate with the Ministry of Health to see if we can progress this project. I thank you.
Vote 4 put and agreed to.
On Vote 5 – Ministry of Finance and Economic Development – $185 196 838 000:
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Madam Chair, I propose that we skip this one for now and we do it at the end because we have been virementing the unallocated reserves.
Vote 5 deferred.
On Vote 6 – Office of the Auditor General - $9 858 381 000:
HON. MUSHORIWA: Madam Chair, the quantum of money that has been allocated is very little. More-so considering the challenges that the Office of the Auditor General is facing, we have always argued that the best practice is to allocate 1% of the Budget to the Auditor General’s Office. We did a report here in the House which was adopted by this House, pertaining to the plight of the Auditor General’s Office. We were expecting the Hon. Minister to supply us with Treasury Minutes which has not yet been done.
My suggestion Hon. Minister, I think we need to allocate an additional $2.2 billion to this Vote. The reason why I say this is that we have realised that most of the audits that are pending is primarily because most of the auditors under the Auditor General actually do not have laptops, smart phones and vehicles. I was shocked when I went to attend one parastatal’s annual general meeting. The reason of the delay was primarily the Auditor General’s failure to send personnel. The other problem is that we now have another big challenge facing the Auditor General’s Office. Most of the qualified personnel in the Auditor General’s Office are no longer remaining within the office. We are now using the Auditor General as a training ground and people move on to greener pastures. If we continue to do that it becomes a problem.
The reason why I think an additional $2.2 billion is necessary, you know Hon. Minister that the Auditor General audits all the line ministries, local authorities and parastatals but now there is an additional job, the devolution funds also need to be audited. I think we need to look into this. I now ask you to put it at 1%, you may not probably have the flexibility to move but I want to really ask you Hon. Minister that for the sake of oversight role played by the Auditor General, let us try to increase this budget by $2.2 billion so that the Auditor General’s Office can actually function well. I thank you Madam Chair.
HON. TOGAREPI: Madam Chair, I want to concur with the Hon. Member who spoke before me. The Auditor General’s Office is very critical for accountability, for checks and balances, for our ministries, Chapter 12 Commissions and everyone else. If we do not give these people money, we are exposing them to corruption. They will end up doing shoddy work; I really know that the Minister may have a very tight budget where he is operating from. I do not think it will be harmful to your budget if you can really deliberately - whatever you are going to increase to target the welfare of the auditors. They need to be paid well; a chartered accountant at the Auditor-General’s office must not envy what another chartered accountant who is out there in the private sector is getting.
We must keep skills within the Auditor-General’s office, it should be an area where every auditor would want to be employed and once we have people like that in that department, then we are assured of the audits and follow ups. At the end of the day, we will have very strong checks and balances existing within our Government. I do not know what you have in your back pocket after moving some funds to other requests but I think adding it to – if it is $9 billion, why not round it off and we will have $10 billion? The extra amount must be targeting the welfare of the auditors. I thank you.
HON. BITI: Thank you Mr. Chairman. Can I appeal to the Minister of Finance to take $2 billion from his pocket of $74 billion under unallocated reserves which is now slightly less because he has been generous to give money to social safety nets and to Vote number 2. Zimbabwe to be a strong country, it needs strong institutions. It is strong institutions Hon. Chair that protect our country as a modern democratic State and as a call at the core of strong institutions accountability and accountability is fostered by the Office of the Auditor-General.
We have been inadequately funding her in the last few years. She is losing staff, staff is hemorrhaging, she does not have modern instruments to help in her work, computers, software and so forth. She does not even own an office of her own. They do not have adequate vehicles; they have to outsource a lot of their audits because they cannot do their audits on their own. The quality of their work is being compromised. If you look at the quality of their 2020 report, it leaves a lot to be desired, I do not know whether it is the staff and I do not know whether Ms. Chiri is in her last term, I do not know. That report does not measure up to the same standards as to our reports. I urge the Hon. Minister to provide $2 billion to this important Vote.
The people who work in the Auditor-General’s office like officials in the Ministry of Finance, they develop high skills because they have got a global micro-view of the entire economy. They are very attractive to the private sector and other sectors of the economy. So naturally they are the high skilled personnel that is why you find the big private audit companies Delloite and Touche, Ernest and Young of this world, they porch from the Auditor-General’s Office. Let us give the Office of the Auditor-General a fighting chance by empowering her with resources so that she can carry out her job. Her job is also vital to this Parliament; Section 119 says our function is to oversee other institutions. Section 298 says we follow wherever resources go and we cannot do our work particularly the public accounts Committee if we do not have her audits.
So empowering her is also empowering us so there is also a selfish element but the real issue is she is part of nation building and accountability, let us empower her with resources. I thank you.
HON. BUSHU: Thank you Mr. Chairman, I would like to buttress the argument that the Auditor-General deserves an additional 2.5 billion dollars. In the last 4 years, we all can testify that there has been a significant impact on the performance of Government in general because of the reports coming out of the Auditor-General’s Office even if she was under resourced. What we are saying is we have also, as a Public Accounts Committee, argued that an appropriate allocation of 0.01 percent of the budget must be given to her. We understand the budget concerns and we also appreciate the fact that the Hon. Minister had adjusted the Auditor-General’s budget to a level that was better than the previous years.
We think that her performance will get better if an additional 2.5 billion is given to that office. It is critical that just on the basis of performance that the Auditor General be empowered, be resourced and we will see better results going forward. I thank you.
*HON. MADZIMURE: Thank you Hon. Chair, on the issue of the 2.5 billion being added to the Auditor-General’s budget, if we are to look at people’s expectations currently as they await the Auditor-General’s report, are quite extensive. The Auditor-General has become popular to the extent that people want to know how public funds are being used and they look forward to that report by the Auditor-General. If you want to know how Parliament is working, you need to wait to hear from the Public Accounts Committee and that Committee is informed by the Auditor-General. If you look at the offices of the Auditor-General and for you to imagine that the reports are coming from such an office, you will be embarrassed. If you see the Auditor-General’s offices when benchmark visits are done, you will realise that the Auditor-General has become the first employer in terms of auditors - [technical fault] - if you look at the account that they have to do, we are talking of fund accounts that add up to 87 and you look at the ratio of the work that they are supposed to do, the people of the Auditor-General’s Office, with the limited resources that they have, is a sorry sight. Even increasing the allocation by 5%, we can save a lot out of the performance of the Office of the Auditor-General. So they need to be given resources to enable them to perform their work. My request Minister is that disbursement and increasing the allocation should be considered at a higher level for the Auditor-General and people will begin to understand what you mean when you say you want resources to be used efficiently.
The Public Accounts Committee appreciates the work of the Auditor-General and she is doing a fantastic job. We want to be able to attract another good person again to take over that position when she gets to the end of her term.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: I think Members have been eloquent in saying perhaps we should increase this budget so that the Auditor-General can do their work, they can source vehicles, improve capacity and look after the auditors. So I propose that we increase this budget by ZWL$500 million. I thank you.
HON. MUSHORIWA: …[Technical fault] You see the rationale. We did not want to pull you to 1%. The truth of the matter is that for some of us who work with the Auditor-General’s Office on a day to day basis, the situation is pathetic. I can tell you that it is now difficult for an auditor to do work. It is just like asking a policeman to go and arrest a multi-millionaire and you expect that they will do a proper job. We now have a situation. Look at the 2021 Auditor-General’s report and if you see the number of ministries that were not audited and the problem is primarily that the office is actually functioning at probably around 37% performance level and ZWL$500 million; Hon. Minister, we do not want to do it just as a token. I think on this one, we really need this office to function.
I know your Permanent Secretary, George Guvamatanga paid a visit to their office. He can bear testimony that the situation – I went there. I happened to move from the first floor up to there not by lift. I was even afraid to use the lift because I thought that lift may not function. The situation is bad Hon. Minister. So I actually think that ZWL$500 million is just too little an amount to add. At least add something significant.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you Hon. Mushoriwa. The thing is, colleagues, we will run out of unallocated reserves I am telling you at this rate because I have been quite generous in responding to very persuasive advice and the truth is, if they need more money, if they have run out of money in the next six months or whatever, we are always there as Treasury to support them if we have the resources.
So really we have tried hard. If you look at the level of increase from last year to this year and we just added another half a billion. We are trying to support them as much as possible, but at this rate, I think that we are going to run out of unallocated reserves if you ask me and then the whole Government is under extreme pressure. So I think that ZWL$500 million is a start. If they run out of budget, we could always find a way to support them. I thank you.
Amendment to Vote 6 put and agreed to.
Vote 6, as amended, put and agreed to.
Vote 7 – Industry and Commerce – ZWL$15 630 381 000 put and agreed to.
Vote 8 – Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development – ZWL$362 520 603 000 put and agreed to.
Vote 9 – Mines and Mining Development – ZWL$12 987 529 000 put and agreed to.
Vote 10 – Environment, Climate Change and Hospitality Industry – ZWL$14 199 197 000 put and agreed to.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Order Hon. Member, you are not properly dressed. May you please leave the House!
Hon. Munetsi left the House.
Vote 11 – Transport and Infrastructural Development – ZWL$144 571 220 000 put and agreed to.
On Vote 12 – Foreign Affairs and International Trade – ZWL$81 864 071 000:
HON. SHAMU: Thank you Mr. Chairman. Firstly, I should start off by thanking the Minister for having taken on board the issues we raised during our discussions with regards to the need to review the budget. In saying so, I think it will be important for us to note that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has most of its transactions being carried out in foreign currency.
Now, if you go back in history you will find that fluctuations have been devastating, as we stand today with the current position, the overall budget has a shortfall of 34, 74%, which really means that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade is going to find it very difficult to carry out its engagement and re-engagement agenda as emaciated by the President. I am saying so because if you go back to the year 2022, the exchange rate moved from USD1:150 to USD1:649. This went on again to be affected in the same manner as the exchange rate continued to rise.
Therefore, if the Minister is not going to agree to allocate the Ministry in USD, maybe we can make an appeal to the Minister to consider giving us our full request and that will only mean a request of about 28 billion dollars. If that could be done, it would assist us in carrying out our mandate.
As we speak, Hon. Chair, we were in India last week and now India is going to take over chairmanship of the G20. This was a development that was not on our table when we first presented our budget, which means there are changes every day in the world. There is a demand for the Ministry to be present and therefore, we cannot double prong the role, not only of making sure that we continue to inform the world about what Zimbabwe is doing, our image and so forth. We also have to respond to developments in other countries and I have just given one example. I am sure that the Minister who has been very positive in terms of our request before, will give our current position a very positive response. I want to thank him in advance because I think that he will appreciate our position. I thank you.
HON. C. MOYO: When I read the report of the Portfolio Committee of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, when my able Chairman was not around, the Hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Development was smiling when I put the request that we needed more money. I said we are not going to focus much on achievements because there is year 2023, we need to achieve more and he smiled again.
So, here is our request; surely if you look into NDS1 there is the issue of image building and international cooperation. For you to build the image, you need to have money, it is very clear. So if you do not give us 110 billion as our request, it means the image of our country will remain in tatters but if you give us that, then we will say you have achieved the targets which are very clear in our NDS1.
If you talk of international cooperation which is the other complaint again in NDS1, we need to make sure that ZIMTRADE will do wonders on the global arena. For us to do that, it is just a matter of acceding to our request of 110 billion which is not much. I know you were giving 500 million to other ministries, surely Foreign Affairs is also appealing to you. Thank you in advance.
HON. MATEWU: Thank you very much Hon. Chair. I just want to concur with the previous speakers who talked about the importance of re-engagement as a country but I want to applaud the Minister for appropriating, just in comparison to last year, an amount of money that you have done to Foreign Affairs this time. I do not believe in putting too much money in this area because I think this is an area where we need people who are very competent in terms of putting out a good image and of course luring investors and enabling the Diaspora to play its part as we go. So, I would like to thank you for the budget that you have given us, thank you very much Hon. Minister.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Thank you Hon. Chair. I thank the Hon. Members who have contributed on the debate on this Vote especially the Chairperson of the Committee, Hon. Shamu. I also take note of the contributions from the other two colleagues.
Colleagues, our strategy for support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade is a multi-year one, we actually agreed that over a three to four year period we are going to make certain progress. We started with the issue of vehicles because there is a time when diplomats could not move around, they had no vehicles. So, that was the first round at the end of 2019.
In 2020, we kept making progress, back then the backlog in terms of unpaid salaries and other allowances was as high as 80 million USD. I am happy to report that we have been dealing with that backlog, that legacy debt, it is now down to about 14 million dollars and will extinguish soon.
We then moved on to phase three which was infrastructure development targeting the Botswana Chancery, I actually saw the work on the facility in Johannesburg and then from New York, we said we were going to do it as a public-private-partnership, so we are waiting for that. Then there is Addis Ababa as well. So this is the infrastructure development and we have been systematic. We have drawn the line to say that for current salaries, support and other allowances we must be current and we are current. The only issue is the $14 million which we will clear soon. My view is we have a multi-year approach. We will get there. We did a lot this year in just moving the budget where it is, the $81.7 billion. It was a huge jump for the Ministry and feel that we are going the right direction. If I could persuade Members of the Committee and everyone that just be patient with us, we will sort out the Ministry. Then in terms of forex payment, actually every month we give Ministry of Foreign Affairs hard currency of between USD6 and USD7 million because we know that they have to pay the diplomats in hard currency. In fact, my complaint has been why are diplomats and staff out there not getting bonuses and I am still waiting for an answer because my expectation is when we approve bonuses for civil servants, they too ought to be included. I think this is something that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the Public Service Commission, should look into so that our diplomats also receive annual bonuses like everybody else. We do not have the space but I would really want to support Hon. Shamu with another $28 billion but I do not have the money. If you can be persuaded that we adopt the multi-year approach, we will get there. We will do a lot already with the $82 billion that we have allocated this year. I thank you.
Vote 12 put and agreed to.
On Vote 13 - Foreign Affairs and International Trade – $81 864 071 000 (a)
HON. MATEWU: Thank you Chair. I have got three points on this one. The first one is, I sit on the Committee of Local Government and this is something that was very pertinent from the Ministry officials, I think Churu, whom you worked with at Ministry of Finance. They are very clear on the procurement of Government buildings. As you know, if you go to some district and some provincial offices across Zimbabwe, you will find that some buildings are so dilapidated. Some of them have cracks and Government is in the process of trying to purchase some buildings. The money that you have appropriated is $1.8 billion which I think cannot even buy anything. I think you will need to increase that a little bit so that you can buy a building. I do not think there is any building that cost ZWL1.8 billion. You need to look at that one.
Secondly, in terms of the Local Government strategy, we want urban regeneration. Most of our towns were built in the Smith era and like someone says if Cecil John Rhodes was to wake up today, he will probably find the same buildings still there. If someone who died in 1971 comes to Marondera today, they will probably will not get lost because it is very much still the same. So we need more money.
Lastly, can we please be very strict next time in 2023. Let us not give money to the Ministry of Local Government for devolution without the Bill. There is no formula that the money is being disbursed to various provincial authorities. In fact, there are no provincial authorities to talk about yet it is in the Constitution. What is happening is that you give money and we do not know how it is being used. I would implore Treasury that without the Bill, do not give that money for devolution to the Ministry of Local Government. We need that Bill to come in first so that it can tell us how the distribution of the Constitutional 5% should be spent. I do not think that should be given unless and until there is a Bill in terms of the Constitution. Thank you.
*HON. RAIDZA: My issue is pertaining to ZUPCO in relation to the mass transport system. We are all aware that if our economy is to develop it is dependent on an efficient mass public system. Currently the ZUPCO buses are limited and cannot serve the workers. So my request to the minister is to come up with measures to address this to improve on our mass public transportation system. We also hear that the ZUPCO workers have not been paid for the past two to three months. This is all hinged on the money that we appropriate and also subsides to ZUPCO. Did that money improve the operation of ZUPCO or we are going to continue facing this challenge as a nation? My request is that the Minister considers this sector and provides adequate support in order to have a viable mass transport system. We cannot live without that Madam Chair.
HON. BITI: Thank you Madam Chair. I have no problem with the allocation that has been made by the Minister. My point is a constitutional issue. The Constitution makes it very clear in Section 301. I believe that the Minister of Finance, on a formula, shall allocate at least 5% of the budget to provincial devolution structures set up in terms of Chapter 14 of the Constitution. That shall be done on the basis of an Act of Parliament. That Act of Parliament is not there. Chapter 14 then says there shall be provincial councils elected in the following manner: there shall be metropolitan councils for Bulawayo and for Harare. This is the Fifth Session of the Ninth Parliament.
Madam Chair, in the absence of the Act of Parliament envisaged in Section 274 of the Constitution, the one setting up these provincial councils and in the absence of the actual actualisation of these provincial councils, making the disbursements as the Minister of Finance has been doing to the Minister of Local Government Mr. July Moyo, has simply amounted to the provision of a slash cross mafia fund to Mr. July Moyo which he has used; simply amounted to the provision of a slash cross mafia fund to Mr. July Moyo who has used those monies subjectively, illegally and sometimes corruptly. I refer to his payment of a controversial contract connected with Pomona dumpsite where the contracting authority, the City of Harare, in May of 2022, cancelled the contract, which is costing the citizens of Harare US$22 000 a day. Hon. July Moyo, in his wisdom or more appropriately, lack thereof has paid more than US$15 million to Georgenix for the collection or our own dump. So, I suggest Madam Chair that we resolve that the appropriation has been made but the disbursement Hon. Minister, should not be made until the Act of Parliament has been passed by this Hon. House. I need to bring your attention to the fact that there are High Court judgements that have ordered Minister July Moyo to come up with an Act of Parliament. He is in contempt and he will be in contempt until he dies because he wants to protect that sludge fund. So, we cannot be accomplices to crime, we cannot aid and abet Hon. July Moyo’s insatiable appetite for our resources. I say nadha macomrades nadha, taramba. Minister, do not disburse until the Act of Parliament setting up the Provincial Councils in terms of Chapter 14 has been passed by this august House. I thank you very much Madam Speaker Ma’am.
HON. MADZIMURE: Madam Speaker, listening to Hon. Shamu’s plight and we are now faced with the Local Government budget; as we debate this budget, we must also look at the revenue generation. Sometimes we generate revenue through making sure that whatever we get is used appropriately. In this case, you are quite aware of the controversy of the Pomona deal and at law, that deal must not see a cent coming out of the money that we have allocated to the City of Harare without the approval of a well constituted body, which is known as the Provincial Council. You are aware of that but because we have a Minister who has the latitude of using the money that will have been allocated to a fund that is not supported by law, he will continue doing so. Of late, we have been waiting for the fire tenders from Belarus. Those were paid for by devolution funds. Of all the local authorities in Zimbabwe, including those who did not need those fire tenders, the enquiries have proved that not a single council sat down and made a resolution to buy those tenders.
Hon. Minister, if we allow the allocation of money to continue, we will also be an accomplice because it is affecting the operations of local authorities. Right now everybody else is talking about the failure of the Fire Brigade to attend to problems. Also, the amounts used to purchase those fire tenders are alarming all because we do not have bodies that are supposed to ensure amounts allocated to this fund is used to the best interest of the locals. So, we can save money from there and even give it to those legitimate ministries like the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where you expect people to convince people that they can do business with Zimbabwe and we can have investors coming to Zimbabwe. But to be honest Hon. Minister, it will not be appropriate to continue disbursing devolution funds without the legal framework. Hon. Minister, with the assistance of the Minister of Justice, you can tighten the screws because the Minister of Justice is fully aware that there is a legal gap there and he can help you.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Thank you Hon. Chair, I want to thank all the Hon. Members for their contributions. I will start with Hon. Matewu, regarding the three points that he outlined; procurement of government buildings, $1.8 billion. Hon. Chair, I really do not have room to increase these amounts. I think if the Ministry feels this is low, they should think about how we can virement within their budget envelope. If they can come up with those ideas, I am very happy to listen but we do not have extra budget to throw at this specific item from elsewhere other than from within the Ministry itself.
Then on urban regeneration, I am aware that there was a programme for regeneration, for example of Mbare, Makokoba as well as Sakubva. This was a PPP arrangement in terms of funding, working with various banks which would then extend loans, which would be serviced by the residents who would have taken accommodation of those newly constructed apartments. Perhaps this is one way to progress and ensure that the commercial sector also participates in urban regeneration, which is not just something the Government directly invests in but there is so much out there, for example pension funds resources and banks that can also be partnered with.
On the last issue which was also raised by Hon. Biti and Hon. Madzimure regarding constitutional issues, I would advise that with the process of disbursing the five percent devolution funds, it is within the law and that is what I have been advised by our experts within Government. Then maybe the Hon Members can assist in speeding up the approval of this Bill so that I should throw it back at them and say let us work together and speed up the approval of this Bill that we establish provincial councils. It will be very good if we did that.
Then on Hon. Raidza regarding ZUPCO, public transportation, as you know, ZUPCO no longer has a monopoly because we opened up that a few months ago. There are other players now in the market providing transport and that is the way to go. We have also received a few proposals regarding the development of some metro rail, mono rail system and others and that is the way to go going forward.
HON. MUSHORIWA: I think the Hon. Minister when it comes to the devolution funds, yes the Constitution says you have to appropriate at least 5% of the budget for devolution but you cannot disburse the funds without the legal framework and secondly, there are no legal councils – [HON. ZIYAMBI: Wazviwanepi?] – Hon. Minister of Justice, you should actually be helping the Hon. Minister of Finance. You will recall that Hon. Markham took the Minister of Local Government to court and a judgement was made. When the first judgement came, do you know what the Hon. Minister did? He brought –
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Order, Hon. Mushoriwa. You are now misleading because these are now issues to do with the legislative agenda.
HON. MUSHORIWA: No, it is actually about the devolution funds which are part of the budget.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: No, but for us to continue debating on that, I think let us be clear on the economic issues which we talked about.
HON. MUSHORIWA: No, this is actually an economic issue.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Go straight to your point.
HON. MUSHORIWA: We want that money to be put in the Unallocated Reserve until such a time we have got a Bill before this august House. What we want the Hon. Minister to do is very simple. We are saying that money should be taken away and put in the Unallocated Reserve. It is not disbursed. Keep it until we have passed a Bill because 5% cannot just go.
(v)HON. P. D. SIBANDA: I want to follow up on what my brother Hon. Madzimure was saying and I was disturbed by connectivity. However, my issue is, we are talking about budgetary allocations and appropriations that are being done by Parliament of Zimbabwe to different ministries and these are public resources. The Hon. Minister has answered that he is advised that the allocations are within the law but the major question that I would really want the Hon. Minister with assistance of those who advise, and I want to assume it is the Minister of Justice who is the Leader of Government Business in the House, to really articulate under which law it is that they are distributing and disbursing the amounts of money that they have been disbursing to local authorities for over two to three years now. How do those funds become accountable without a piece of legislation that is specific on how these resources are supposed to be utilised? Hon. Chair, without that specific action I think for us as Parliament, that will be negligence of our duty and obligation that we can allocate resources whose accountability is not based on any legislative platform. That becomes a problem Hon. Chair.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: It is clear that this issue of the legal aspect is quite controversial. As I said earlier, I have been advised appropriately I think within Government. I have understood the contributions from the Hon. Members. They are not objecting to the appropriation and we are here to debate the appropriate. So disbursement is another issue which is operational and on that, so far I have been advised by the legal experts to say it is okay to disburse. However, as I said earlier, if members can assist us in expediting the approval of this Bill but I am pleased that they support the Vote appropriation. Thank you.
House resumed.
Progress reported.
Committee of Supply to resume: Friday, 16th December, 2022.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI), the House adjourned at Twenty Minutes past Nine o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 15th December, 2022.
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: We are supposed to be having Question Time but it seems there is not even a single Minister. I do not know how we can proceed.
MOTION
CONSTRUCTION OF SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE AND RECRUITMENT OF ECD TEACHERS
First Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on challenges affecting early child learning.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: Thank you Madam President for affording me this opportunity to add my voice to the motion raised by Hon. Sen. Mabika. She raised very pertinent points on problems faced by early childhood learners (ECDs). The White government did not want the Black majority to be educated. They did not want to establish ECD centres in primary schools because of their colonial mindset.
We want to thank His Excellency, Dr. Emmerson Mnangagwa, for his vision, where he stated that we are going to have free education as a country. We really thank him very much because it will enable many people to go to school, especially those who live in rural areas. Let me say ECDs are very important, if a child graduates from ECD, going to grade one, the teacher will not face problems because they would have been groomed to be in school. If a child did not attend ECD, some of them will be crying, some will dodge school and some of them will not be participating. They will be afraid because it will be their first time to meet with many people but the formation of ECDs helps to prepare the children for their education.
This will help us a lot because His Excellency has got a vision that we want to have free education in the country. We expect that Government is going to plan this initiative to become a success. I also think that in this country, we have got many primary schools but some of them do not have ECDs. The Government should work towards making sure that each and every primary school has ECD, so that all young learners attend the ECD; the preparatory stage.
If one primary school does not have ECD and the others have, it will affect the children because they will be forced to walk long distances to go to a school which has ECD. We take pride in what His Excellency said, we are going to have free education in the country. We also expect that Government in those ECD centres - we know that we come from different family backgrounds. May Government also consider re-introducing the feeding programmes so that those ECD learners are fed whilst they are at school? Providing food at school helps them to attend and like school and there would not be segregation among them.
I also want to thank Hon. Sen. Mabika for raising this pertinent motion. We love ECDs Madam President because they really help us. Parents will also see that education is very important. Thank you Madam President for awarding me this opportunity.
*HON. SEN. CHINAKE: Thank you Madam President for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to the motion that was raised by Hon. Sen. Mabika. Indeed Mr. President, we know and we see that ECD is good. Our children used to go to the fields to play with mud and now we have taken them for ECD. Some were herding cattle but now we know the good of ECD and we understand their potential from a tender age. Some can now read from one up to twenty and from Grade One, they will know how to read.
It is a good thing that we did as Zimbabweans to support ECD. Madam President, my desire is that this thing that is happening with ECD should continue up to higher grades. From Grade One to Seven it is only extra lessons. Most parents who are in towns are paying for extra lessons. In rural areas, you find that those who cannot afford to pay school fees can also not afford to pay for extra lessons. I wish that this is not extended to ECD. Looking at the whole country, corruption level in schools is astounding. You find teachers dismissing students and those who pay for extra lessons are taught.
Madam President, this trend is continuing. Because of WhatsApp platforms, you find people having exam papers and nothing is happening. Those who go to school are not taught because they do not go for extra lessons. You find students buying exam papers, reading and sharing material. When they go for exams, the exam would have leaked already. This is killing the standard of education in Zimbabwe. Our standards were high the world-over. Zimbabwe was renowned for good education. Now the leaking of exams and other things is being published throughout the world and people are receiving that bad image. Those who are responsible for examinations should be replaced so that new people who have high ethics are employed. You will find that sometimes there is no solution. This was happening in a few corners but it is now found in Grade 7, O’ Level, A’ Level and university level. You will find even people phoning that I want this degree. Madam President, this is not good for the country. Our students should go to school and they should learn. Those who pass should pass and those who fail should fail. This is what is supposed to happen. Those who fail can repeat. Right now, the standard is not good, so my plea is that our exam papers should be guarded jealously so that the standard is not compromised. Those who do not have money and cannot go for extra lessons cannot buy exam papers. This is affecting families. Madam President, thank you for the few words.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHUNDU: Thank you Madam President for affording me the opportunity to share a few words regarding the motion that was moved by Hon. Sen. Mabika on ECD. I remember in the 70s when we went to school, we were told to touch the other ear. If you could not reach it, then you would be disqualified but if you managed to do that you would go to school. We thank our Government which allows ECD education and the training of children from an elementary age.
My plea is that in different areas, children should not walk long distances. They should travel at least one kilometer considering the satchels that they carry with their lunch boxes. Considering the distance and weight of the satchels, this might be too big for the child. This might affect even the back of the child permanently. This is quite pertinent that ECD should proliferate in different corners of the country. Those who are qualified to open such schools should do so. The schools should be capacitated so that young children go to school.
Some do not graduate for ECD because they do not have enough resources. You will find an ECD child wearing a gown like yours Madam President. At Grade 7, Form 4 and Form 6 there is no gown but at college or university. This means that ECD is as important as other levels and this is elementary education. When they graduate, this boosts their confidence. ECD education should be brought closer to homes so that young children are protected from sexual abuse. Some are enticed by lolli--pops and other things and maybe drugged behind bushes whilst they are molested. This is bad behaviour. So ECD schools should be brought closer to residential areas. I thank you Madam President.
*HON. SEN. CHIFAMBA: Thank you Madam President, it has been long since we last saw you. I hope you have brought some goodies from where you were because we have not seen you in a long time. I thank you for this motion which was moved by Hon. Sen. Mabika regarding ECD education. I believe this is the framework that is needed because elementary education is the foundation for all. When a child goes to ECD, there is a difference with the one who spends most of the time at home. They are taught different ethics, the difference between good and bad and how they express themselves and this is different from those who are at home.
At home, they mix with other children in the streets who teach them bad manners but at ECD, they are taught to write their names and do other things. You will see the difference when they go for Grade 1, those who did not attend ECD struggle to write their names. This means that going for ECD makes it easier for Grade 1 teachers because they are not starting from basics. Some parents might think that the teacher is not concentrating on their children; that is not the case because you will find that a child who is disadvantaged from an elementary level might not perform well because it might take them time to catch up. From ECD, they are trained so that when they go for Grade 1, it will be easier for the teachers to teach them. I would also like to say that ECD education must be affordable; it must not be beyond the reach of parents because of the exorbitant fees charged. School fees for ECD education should be affordable because it is difficult to raise money.
I appreciate this motion because it is quite important and this is the foundation which is needed in education just like in marriage or in anything else. This is an important foundation; we grew up differently. When we went for Grade 1, we did not know how to write our names. Our teachers pinched our ears, it was allowed that time but now it is not allowed to beat children or pinch children’s ears. ECD schools must be built so that we have many learning facilities.
In rural areas, you will find that students walk long distances to school. When they get to school, they will be tired or hungry and sometimes the parents would not have prepared them enough food. For some who would have prepared their children food, the food sometimes is eaten by other bully children and they will spend the whole day hungry. Parents must take notice when their children leave home to school, especially ECD children. Sometimes you find that children will be putting on big shoes and this makes it difficult for them to walk. Sometimes they will be wearing oversized uniforms and one can see that the children are having difficulty in walking to school. Let us work hard so that our children attend ECD in a conducive environment that is near to their residential area. It is good for the parents to know that their children are safe at school. If they walk long distances, they will be raped, abused and in rural areas, they can be attacked by animals. It is quite important that ECD education be capacitated. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHISOROCHENGWE: Thank you Madam President. I do not have much to say but I will contribute a few words that I have. I want to thank Hon. Sen. Mabika for moving this motion, which is quite an important motion which teaches people a lot. Looking at the past when we were growing up, for one to go to school, they were supposed to touch their ear using the opposite hand. Now things are different, they now use date of births, birth certificates for children to qualify to go to school. There were some children who were short and could not manage to touch their ear with the opposite hand and they had to go to school at an advanced age than their tall counterparts. I want to thank those who introduced the early childhood learning because it makes it easy for teachers to teach children when they go for Grade 1 because the basic things would have been taught at ECD level.
My request is that ECD school owners should peg their fees at affordable rates so that every parent can afford to take their children to ECD. Exorbitant fees prohibit other parents from taking their children to ECD. The other thing is that elementary education should be free. Some pay US dollars at ECD and they continue to pay in US at primary and secondary education. I want to thank the Government now that education is free for every child, all children will have access to free education.
The other thing is that Government schools must have ECD classes so that they start from ECD to Grade 1. Children do not have to change schools, they must do Grade 1 where they did their ECD because this will be like starting in a new environment learning new things all together and it will affect children. In rural areas, you will find that it is difficult for children to go to ECD because the learning centres are far away from where they live. The request is that those in the rural areas must be learning at centres that are near their homesteads because these days, there are a lot of rape cases and all sorts of bad things that are happening to children. With these few words, I thank you Hon. President.
*HON. SEN. MUPFUMIRA: Thank you Madam President for giving me the opportunity to add a few words to this pertinent motion raised by Hon. Sen. Mabika; a lot has been said indeed. When we were growing up, birth certificates were not there, so schools just estimated the ages of children. You were expected to touch the other ear and if you failed to do that, you stayed at home until you could. However, this was a good period because people had strong relations; people lived and understood the extended families. Children were safe because they were considered to be everyone’s child. Madam President, the unfortunate part is that now even when parents go to work, it is quite tricky to leave children alone at home. So ECD education comes at an opportune time. However, it should also be accessible to every child but the pricing of fees sometimes is beyond the reach of other parents. This eliminates children of those parents who do not have the capacity to take their children to school.
Madam President, this is a time of the post land reform where you find resettlement areas where there are no schools. These areas need support and we request that Government should ensure that ECD schools are put in such resettlement areas because some ECD schools are not registered and their curriculum is different from the approved curriculum. Government should go and visit such places so that they are certain that all ECD schools comply with the 5.1 curriculum.
There should be teachers who are trained to teach children because some of us, if we are asked to go and teach our children, you would find that you cannot teach a four year old child, failing even to apply the method which is needed. There is need to support special ECD teachers and the schools should be reviewed so that health issues are complied with because if an ECD school is not registered and it does not comply with the prescribed standards, you will find that children are exposed to different diseases. As a grandmother I know that grandchildren go to school and when they go for ECD, they can come back with illnesses. If statistics are carried out, you would find that some are taking diseases from ECDs. There is need for inspection. The Ministry of Health and Child Care, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and other departments should be involved so that we ensure the safety of our children so that as they go to school, they go to schools which comply.
We attended Sub A and Sub B. Maybe that was the ECD, I do not know, but at the moment, what children are learning at ECD are things that are complicated which we did not learn when we were growing up. So it is important that we understand that there are some bad things they take from ECD. Even for resettled areas, they should be afforded the opportunity to go to school so that when health centres are being set; I believe when the President was presenting the State of the Nation Address, looking at health, he mentioned that there is a Government programme which is meant to empower different health institutions to make them better so that even in the communities, there are health centres which we know even before independence were responsible for helping people with different health issues. ECDs should be next to health centres so that we train children at the same time having access to health centres because when there is an emergency, teachers should be empowered to know what to do when children fall ill at ECD schools where there is a clinic or health centre nearby, then it is good for them.
We have heard that there was a polio and measles outbreak. So you would find that those who are at home at times do not have access to health facilities but those who are at ECD might be found to be at an advantage because we know that most ECD schools take under five year olds. ECD should be prioritised like any other primary, secondary and university education centres. Children should be taught even the history of our country from a tender age. The syllabus or the curriculum which is approved by Government should be applied to ECD so that it opens their minds to enlighten them about the history of Zimbabwe and the future that we envision.
Teachers should be trained and ECD centres should be inspected and the compliance standards in terms of the numbers of children because when there are many children in a small place, this might expose them to different diseases. So if they know that there are prescribed fees that are allowed by Government, you will find parents paying a lot of money for ECD, more than those that go to university. Indeed, this is happening. This is true but you find parents complaining that the pricing of fees is not fair. You will find some paying as much as US$300, US$500 at ECD. This is too much. This is elitist. This is for those who have money only and those who do not have are disadvantaged. So we want to appreciate the free education policy which should be extended to ECD because what a child is trained at ECD is very important. This is a good foundation which would help them as they grow up.
This is quite a pertinent motion which I want to appreciate the Hon. Senator who raised the motion. ECD should be under Government in terms of regulation. You will find that someone might see that their house is big and they do not have young children and so they just bring children into their houses and the standards are not good and they are not certified by Government to do that. With those few words, I want to thank you Madam President for affording me the opportunity to contribute to this pertinent issue which is important to Zimbabwe and which is important to the young pupils who we look forward to be attending ECD. I thank you.
HON. SEN. MABIKA: Thank you Madam President. I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 20th December, 2022.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that Order of the Day, Number 2 on today’s Order Paper be stood over until Order of the Day Number 3 has been disposed of. I thank you.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
RATIFICATION OF THE PROTOCOL TO THE CONSTITUTIVE ACT OF THE AFRICAN UNION RELATING TO THE PAN AFRICAN PARLIAMENT
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move the motion standing in my name that:-
WHEREAS Section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that any Convention, Treaty or Agreement acceded to, concluded or executed by or under the authority of the President with one or more foreign States of governments or international organisations shall be subject to approval by Parliament;
WHEREAS the AU Assembly adopted the Protocol to the Constitutive Act of the African Union Relating to the Pan-African Parliament at its Twenty-Third Ordinary Session of the Assembly, held in Malabo Equatorial Guinea on the 27th of June, 2014;
WHEREAS the Republic of Zimbabwe signed the Protocol to the Constitutive Act of the African Union Relating to the Pan-African Parliament on the 21st of March, 2018;
WHEREAS the Protocol continues in existence, the Pan-African
Parliament as established by the Protocol to the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community Relating to the establishment of the Pan-African Parliament and defines the composition, functions, powers and organisation of the Pan-African Parliament;
WHEREAS the Republic of Zimbabwe is desirous of ratifying the Protocol;
AND WHEREAS Article 22 of the Protocol provides that the Protocol shall be ratified by member States in accordance with their respective constitutional procedures;
NOW, THEREFORE, in terms of Section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, this House resolves that the aforesaid Protocol be and is hereby approved. I so move Madam President.
HON. SEN. S. MPOFU: Thank you Madam President. Even though I support the ratification of the said protocol relating to the Pan African Parliament, I have a question to the Minister. Why does it take long for these protocols to be brought before Parliament for ratification? I think someone is sleeping on duty because it is an embarrassment to us as a country that we now have an elected President who is from this country yet we have not signed the protocol. Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira has been elected to be the President of Pan African Parliament but we have not signed the protocol. That is my question to the Minister, otherwise I am in total support of the ratification. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. MUPFUMIRA: Thank you Madam President for giving me an opportunity to add my voice on the Malabo Protocol. Indeed, I concur with the last speaker and I want to ask why we were late. If we were listening when the President spoke during the SONA, he spoke about the legislative agenda, the business we are supposed to conclude including ratification of protocols – I am not saying that it is good but I am saying that there are a lot of issues, there is a lot of business which should be done within the limited time which is left for the life of this Parliament. I want to thank the Hon. Minister of Justice for bringing this protocol to the House so that we work on it. This is our responsibility as legislators so that we understand what needs to be ratified and the Bills that need to be enacted. As legislators, we need to push so that this is expedited.
The Constitution says that women and men should be at 50:50 be it in Parliament, Cabinet, parastatals, et cetera. The question is; we are in this august House and as Senators, why did we not push for that to be enacted as an Act of Parliament? We can question Ministers so that these issues are brought to Parliament.
Madam President, let me go back to Malabo…
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Hon. Senator, you had confused the Senate by digressing.
*HON. SEN. MUPFUMIRA: Thank you Madam President. It is our responsibility and it is up to us, we need to push, that is what I was trying to say. Madam President, as a novel idea, the Malabo Protocol will take quite sometime. I believe that the Minister should have informed us about the nations which have ratified that protocol. So, for it to be effective, we need to understand that there are so many countries which have ratified. Some of the people were looking at how the Malabo Protocol will help Zimbabwe. There are things which were supposed to be fixed before we ratify the protocol and this takes time. Sometimes it is embarrassing that we were saying that we want to campaign for our candidate for PAP then we would be asked whether we had ratified the Malabo Protocol but we had not ratified it. We wanted our representative to be the President of PAP. Malabo Protocol is the one which talks about rotation and after looking really at it, now we have the President of PAP being a Zimbabwean. It is our responsibility together with the President, Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira, to make sure that every nation has ratified including Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe had to review and go through the protocol so that we understand and after understanding, some things needed to be worked on. The final position is that the Minister is here with the Malabo Protocol in this House and I believe that we have read it and we need to appreciate that since the PAP presidency is headed by a Zimbabwean and it makes the President of PAP Chief Charumbira to be seen in good light, so let us ratify the protocol. It is good for the different economic roles, ECOWAS and other initiatives; this will allow us to grow in terms of trade relations and it will unite AU and AU will be recognised as being law abiding. We have heard that we are now going to ratify the Malabo Protocol. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. KOMICHI: Thank you Madam President for giving me this opportunity. I want to thank the Minister for bringing the Malabo Protocol which needs to be ratified. I want to join the former speakers. Hon. Minister, we want you to go back and bring the different legislative documents which have not been brought to the House, which need to be ratified.
Now that you are the new Minister and you are responsible for the Ministry, may you bring them to the House so that we join and become one families with other countries. I want to support the importance of the Malabo Protocol because as Africa, it takes us back to what was said by the late Kwame Nkrumah who was talking about Africa as one country; one nation. This is a dream. We have Pan African Parliament which fulfills Kwame Nkrumah’s dream because during his era, there was no Pan African Union but it is there now. These are strides that we are taking to unite Africa so that Africa becomes one.
This is not amazing because America is an amalgamation of different counties; 54 counties which united to make one nation. Europe is taking the same direction because they want to build one union. So as Africa, we must not be left behind because in our unity as Africans, there is power that we get that we do not have if we are divided. This might cascade down to different nations; we are a big country; we are a big continent which is rich. All the wealth is in Africa. We are divided by those who have interest in our mineral resources who are greedy for plundering platinum, diamond, land, water and sun so that they use in their continents.
As we move in the right direction as Africa, after a few years from now, this is going to end and this would allow us to have one Government and one Parliament. So, I want to support this protocol so that it is ratified for the benefit of Africa. I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Madam President. I want to thank the Hon. Senators for the debate as well as the support to ensure that we ratify the Malabo Protocol. I want to thank Hon. Sen. Mpofu and indicate that there is no one who was sleeping on duty. In fact Madam President, when His Excellency took over, he then undertook to ensure that we become part of the global nations.
Hon. Senators will recall that we then brought in what we call the International Treaties Bill, which is now an Act to ensure that we have a legal framework on how we ratify and monitor the treaties that we are part to. When we did that, you also agree that if you go and check the record of the last three or four years, we have ratified several treaties. We brought in a lot of them, bilateral treaties, some of them that were signed early years of independence; we brought all of them for ratification.
I want to also concur with Hon. Sen. Mupfumira that when a treaty is acceded or signed by His Excellency, we then need to ensure that it passes through all our domestic processes of approval. The reason why we do that is, we want to ensure that the best interests of the nation are catered for. You will realise that some of the treaties, we can even ratify with reservations, to say we agree with everything else but this particular article, we are expressing our reservations so that we are not bound by it.
So, these processes are done through the various Cabinet Committees, even the process of bringing it to the Senate or to Parliament, is for Hon. Members to highlight certain issues that they may feel are detrimental to our interests. Once they are highlighted, it will allow His Excellency when he is sending the Minister of Foreign Affairs to deposit the instrument, to say but we are making reservations on this. So it is not automatic that once a treaty has been signed, it must be brought and immediately it should be ratified. There are processes that are done and ultimately leading to Parliament approving. So, I want to agree.
If you look at the Article, 34 AU member States have ratified; out of 55. So we still have some but admittedly Hon. Senators, it was a bit of an embarrassment that we have our own at the helm when we have not ratified the protocol and we felt that let us prioritise it. Hence we decided to deal with it this side of the year. I agree with Hon. Sen. Komichi, when he said we must ratify more protocols. That is our desire but we also want to ensure that they pass all the legal processes that are needed before they are tabled before Parliament. The desire of His Excellency is, we must abide by all the regulations and the rules that bind us internationally. He is an advocate of the rule of law, so we are going to do our best to ensure that all the necessary articles, protocols or treaties are ratified now that we have a legal framework also that we have put in place. Having said that Madam President, I move that this House resolve to approve the Malabo Protocol. I thank you.
Motion put and agreed to.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI), the Senate adjourned at Twenty-Three Minutes to Four o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 20th December, 2022.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 14th December, 2022
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)
MOTION
RATIFICATION OF THE PROTOCOL TO THE CONSTITUTIVE ACT OF THE AFRICAN UNION RELATING TO THE PAN AFRICAN PARLIAMENT
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move the motion standing in my name that:-
WHEREAS Section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that any Convention, Treaty or Agreement acceded to, concluded or executed by or under the authority of the President with one or more foreign States of governments or international organisations shall be subject to approval by Parliament;
WHEREAS the AU Assembly adopted the Protocol to the Constitutive Act of the African Union Relating to the Pan-African Parliament at its Twenty-Third Ordinary Session of the Assembly, held in Malabo Equatorial Guinea on the 27th of June, 2014;
WHEREAS the Republic of Zimbabwe signed the Protocol to the Constitutive Act of the African Union Relating to the Pan-African Parliament on the 21st of March, 2018;
WHEREAS the Protocol continues in existence, the Pan-African
Parliament as established by the Protocol to the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community Relating to the establishment of the Pan-African Parliament and defines the composition, functions, powers and organisation of the Pan-African Parliament;
WHEREAS the Republic of Zimbabwe is desirous of ratifying the Protocol;
AND WHEREAS Article 22 of the Protocol provides that the Protocol shall be ratified by member States in accordance with their respective constitutional procedures;
NOW THEREFORE, in terms of Section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, this House resolves that the aforesaid Protocol be and is hereby approved. I so move Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. GONESE: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir. Whilst
I do not have any problem with the ratification, my concern Mr. Speaker, is that as a country we have developed an ugly reputation of being last minute people. As the Minister has indicated, this protocol was adopted in 2014 and as Zimbabwe, we signed the protocol in 2018 which is four years ago. I do not understand why it has taken this long for the Hon. Minister to bring it to the august House. He is aware that in terms of the provisions of the Constitution, Section 327, it is imperative for this august House as the representative of the people of Zimbabwe to ratify. To make matters worse Mr. Speaker, one of our own, Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira has been elected President of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) when we ourselves as a country have not ratified. Remember a few years ago we had the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance which enquired on 11 ratifications which used to be called 11 before 11. As Zimbabwe, we were not part of the 11. We twiddled our thumps, took our time and it was only done at a much belated stage. I would therefore request the Executive not to sit on their laurels.
When we have signed some of these protocols, they must speedily be brought to this august House so that we do not have the embarrassment of being a country, one of whose citizens was duly elected as President of the PAP and yet we are only signing it at the last minute. Why should we always have this last minute rush when we are going to the end of the year? The point I am making Mr. Speaker, is that the Executive must expeditiously bring to this august House these instruments. We already have a situation relating to the Convention against Torture. Other Members have already said it previously that we signed this protocol a long time ago. I remember in the Fifth Parliament, the late Hon. Mike Auret moved a motion in this august House for us as Zimbabwe to ratify that particular convention and it is now more than 20 years down the line; we still have not done so and one wonders whether we are not in agreement with the principles, but I do not think that is the problem because we would not have signed. It is just the same way with the one we are talking about today.
I think we should not continue having these delays. That is really my point. We are supportive but I know that there are so many of these Conventions and I would really request all the Portfolio Committees to check with the relevant Ministers so that we bring up to speed these and they are ratified timeously. Those would be my submissions Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. DR. MAVETERA: Good afternoon and thank you very much Mr. Speaker for recognising me. I thought I should also add my voice to Hon. Gonese’s sentiments which I feel that PAP is a Parliament which has got Members of Parliament, including yours truly, being part of the delegation which also goes there because of having the same view of having one Africa and one voice. Mr. Speaker Sir, it has been long overdue indeed. If you look at other countries, there are a lot of countries which have ratified that. For us as a country to be found lacking, I think that leaves a lot to be desired. Let me also say that as Zimbabwe, we are fortunate that we have got our own, His Excellency Chief Charumbira, who is also the President of the PAP. Again, we also have got myself who is the First Vice Chairperson of the Youth Caucus.
I really want to thank His Excellency, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa for affording us as Zimbabweans, even before the ratification, a chance to be able to go there and also having young people to participate. I do not want to lie to you Mr. Speaker Sir, you will realise that Zimbabwe is one of the very few countries which has got young and energetic people coming through to that august House.
On that same note Mr. Speaker Sir, we also had to speak about sanctions which are issues which have been talked about very much for us as a country. In PAP, we went on and spoke about sanctions. On the 25th of October where SADC commemorates sanctions and say no to sanctions, especially for Zimbabwe, we had to go on and celebrate that at PAP. I am very happy that this has come to this august House and we are saying that it has to be ratified with immediate effect. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker.
HON. T. MOYO: Mr. Speaker Sir, I support the motion by the Hon. Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs that Zimbabwe should ratify the protocol. In fact, the provisions of the PAP were ratified in 2018 and as Parliament, we need to support that. It is important because the PAP is an opportunity for member States to respect the objectives of the PAP. Also, issues to do with good governance and human rights will be discussed at that level. It is important because Zimbabwe is a signatory of that international convention that we as Parliament support the idea of ratification of that international treaty because that would be important for us Zimbabwe as a democratic country. We will have a platform where member States, especially Zimbabweans who will be representatives in the PAP, we are happy Mr. Speaker Sir, that one of our own, Hon. Sen. Chief Fortune Charumbira, is the President of the PAP. That is highly commendable. As Parliament of Zimbabwe, we want also to support that because it is important for issues of human rights, good governance and rule of law that we respect them as Government of Zimbabwe. At that level, it would be overseeing measures that will be undertaken by African governments. In short, it is very important for us as an august House to respect and also support the ratification. Thank you.
HON. MADZIMURE: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I am in total support of the ratification of the protocol. I used to think that the Executive cherry-picks protocols to bring to the House for ratification but I now realise that the Executive normally sleeps on the job. We have got several protocols that still have to come to the House. One of it is the Protocol on Torture. Talking about this protocol Mr. Speaker, imagine if anyone had raised the issue of Zimbabwe not being part to this protocol at the time Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira was being elected or campaigning; I tell you we could have lost it completely. We could have lost the opportunity because the Executive, even at that particular time, alarm bells should have rung in the minds of the Executive that there is something that we have not done.
I think the Minister of Justice can also explain why at that particular time they did not realise that our own had a perfect opportunity to lead this Parliament but we had not ratified. Ratifying is simply saying we agree to the contents of the protocol. One of the contents is how the Parliament will be run and we expected Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira to be at the helm. So it was also part and the responsibility of government to support Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira through making sure that the protocol is ratified. Otherwise the protocol is well meaning and it gives an opportunity to Members of Parliament in Africa to present certain issues that sometimes may elude their Parliaments and even start new things that can improve the way which our people are governed. I strongly support the protocol but the fact still remains the same that the Minister must bring more protocols that he knows he has on his shelves that are gathering dust so that this Parliament can also debate the contents of the protocols before they are ratified. I thank you.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir for affording me the opportunity to add my voice to the motion that was brought by the Hon. Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Hon. Ziyambi Ziyambi on the ratification of this protocol which speaks to domesticating this Africa Agenda 2063 at the pith, core and heart of the movement of Agenda 63, which agenda was launched in 2013 and is a 50 year agenda that is going to come to fruition in 2063.
Mr. Speaker Sir, this agenda definitely cannot move forward without ratification of this protocol that gives power to the body of Pan African Parliament. As has been alluded to by Hon. Madzimure on the issue that we are heading this august body as we speak, using none other than the Hon. Chief, His Excellency, the President of the PAP, Hon. Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira; it is critical, just and right for us to be seen to be singing from the same hymn book in terms of advancing the ethos, values and indeed, the positive ratification of the agenda that speaks to having this PAP both to have executive powers in their modus operandi.
I would want to read an excerpt in terms of the Africa we want which is the agenda 2063 Mr. Speaker Sir, which is an African blueprint which can only be helped by the ratification by Zimbabwe and the rest of other continental jurisdictions in Africa in terms of this agenda. It says: “the declaration marked indeed the rededication of Africa towards the attainment of Pan African vision and integrated prosperous and a peaceful Africa driven by its own citizens representing a dynamic force in the international arena”. The Agenda 2063 is the concrete manifestation of how the continent intends to achieve this vision within a 50 year period from 2013 to 2063. The Africa of the future was captured in a letter presented by the former Chairperson of the African Union, Dr. Nkosazana Dhlamini Zuma. The reason I have read this excerpt is so that the Members of this august House can see it in their hearts that en-masse they ratify and also affirm their voices towards the ratification of the PAP. Agenda 2063 encapsulates not only Africa’s aspiration for the future but also identifies key flagship programmes which can boost African economic growth and development and heed to the rapid transformation of the continent.
The rapid transformation can come in when there is the Yamoussoukro Declaration of the Open Skies policy and it can also come in with one voice and one might in engaging on the Inga Dam Energy construction project Mr. Speaker Sir because it is going to produce 10 000 megawatts of electricity and can definitely bring about change in the energy sector, not only in Zimbabwe but continentally. The issue of the continental free trade area comes into fruition because of our ratification and the leadership that is currently at the helm of the PAP.
As I conclude, I want to say as it relates to the ratification of this protocol, my heart is on the right side and the people of Chegutu West Constituency, in particular Cde. Lameck Nyamarango of Bosbury District, Patricia Nyamadzawo of Kaguvi 2, Sarah Chikukwa, the administrator of our office in Chegutu and indeed Mr. Speaker Sir, Mr. Zivhu of Ward 24 as well as all the right minded and right thinking Aldermans and Councillors – the fifteen of them in Chegutu West Constituency who have sent me to vociferously, effectively and efficiently present their position in-so-far as it relates to the ratification of this protocol. It is my hope and clarion view that we are going to sing from the same page and hymn like the people of Chegutu West Constituency. I thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Nduna. I thought your heart was on the left side.
HON. T. MLISWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My contribution is to the Members of the IPU, PAP and SADC PF, I think it is important that instead of blaming the Executive themselves, they must also look at the various protocols that need to be ratified. I think it is quite important and I think we need to bring in the Foreign Affairs Committee as well to take stock of what needs to be rectified so that things are done properly. I think Parliament has those institutions to be able to do that. It also exposes that they seem to enjoy travelling than also working and making sure that when they represent Zimbabwe they are also up to speed with what needs to be done. I think they need to pull their socks up. Instead of blaming the Executive, what are they also doing to ensure that these protocols are ratified at the end of the day?
I think when they are presenting their reports as well, it is important to indicate that there are some outstanding protocols that need to be ratified. With that, a lot can happen but with your indulgence Mr. Speaker, if the Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade can immediately be given that task to ensure that we are up to speed so that we can be known as a Parliament that dealt with many outstanding issues, I think this is one that can certainly make us look like a Parliament which really represented people.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Mliswa, be advised that your suggestion has been taken on board and the Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade has started working along the same lines that you suggest, which will assist the Executive to respond accordingly in bringing these protocols before this august House.
HON. DR. MUTODI: I rise in support of the motion raised by the Hon. Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs for this august House to adopt the existence of PAP. Hon. Speaker, the world is moving towards an institutional order that guarantees a peaceful and...
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order! Hon. Members from the right door there, the five of you can you listen to the debate.
HON. DR. MUTODI: The world is moving towards an institutional order that ensures that there is prosperity, democracy and cooperation between the nations. The PAP must be supported as an inter-governmental organisation that mimics already existing international organisations such as the European Parliament with a clearly defined international role. The ratification of the African Parliament is a progressive development as it ensures collective security and cooperation amongst African countries.
I emphasise that the world is moving towards an institutional order which emphasises the need to establish a peaceful, prosperous and democratic world and as such, the Zimbabwean Parliament ratification of this protocol is essential to ensure that Zimbabwe takes its part in ensuring a progressive, peaceful and democratic world. The ratification of PAP also ensures that we adopt community ethos as an African community of nations necessary for the positive development of our continent. I thank you.
HON. MUDARIKWA: I rise to support the ratification of the Pan-African Parliament but before that, I need to support what I am ratifying. The issue that we are looking at is if we look at the European Union, the whole of the European Union stands as one country. You do not need a passport to travel in Europe once you are a member of the European Union. The trading side of it, I remember the other time when Zimbabwe was selling beef to Britain, they would go and negotiate in Brussels with the European Union. So there is need for Africa to have one voice.
The issue that was raised by the other Hon. Member who stated that since we had not ratified, Hon. Charumbira should not have been elected President. The fact that you are black and you live in Africa, you are supposed to be there. All these boundaries were created by our colonisers and we do not recognise these boundaries. As long as you are in Africa and you look like the colour of the earth, then we are ratifying yes but I am saying to justify the election of Hon. Chief Charumbira, he is elected because he comes from Africa. The issue of boundaries which were created by colonisers - the problem with many of us is that we remain indirectly unknowing agencies of imperialism and neo-colonialism because you will be trying to criticise something that is non-existent.
You look at the situation of Kwame Nkrumah who announced in Addis Ababa when they formed the Organisation of African Unity that “Africa is not free when any other African country is still under colonialism”. That speech alone is what made Hon. Chief Charumbira to be elected because he is part of Africa. The long term situation we must do as Africa is to look at what was happening during the times of the liberation struggles where other African countries felt that Africa was not liberated until Mozambique got its independence. They went on to say Mozambique is not liberated until Zimbabwe is freed but the situation we face in this country is anything that promotes the development of Africa automatically promotes the economic free trade of Africa which is the ultimate objective of Africa.
The element of Pan-African Parliament in future must look at the overall free trade of Africa and having one passport for Africa. The other time I was going to Burundi, you go to this country – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Yes, it is necessary for some of you to understand what is Pan-Africanism. The element of illiteracy, the day when you know you were illiterate is the day you will start learning. This is the problem of illiteracy. The day when you realise that you do not know is the day you are liberated. So, many people are not liberated and this is the struggle that Africa faces today.
We must continue educating our brothers so that they understand that we are one people so that Africa will never have all these wars that are happening. The African Parliament, long term, must have legislative powers to deal with people who go outside the country appealing for sanctions to have Zimbabwe under sanctions and sanctions issued outside the structure of the United Nations. Anything that is issued outside the UN has no relevance to the people of Africa – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – You see ignorance is like death, you will never know that you are ignorant – [Laughter.] - A dead person will never know that he is dead. So this is the situation. With these few thought provoking words, Mr. Speaker Sir, I support the ratification of the Pan African Parliament. Thank you.
HON. HAMAUSWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I also want to add my voice...
HON. MADZIMURE: Point of order Mr. Speaker Sir. It appears we all agree and there is no point in repeating.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Hamauswa, did you hear what your colleague Hon Madzimure said? Are you coming up with something fresh?
HON. HAMAUSWA: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir. I appreciate what Hon. Madzimure said but I think I am bringing in fresh issues. Also as someone who represents the people of Warren Park Constituency who are hosting the African Museum for the African Liberators, it is also important for me to add my voice to the ratification of this protocol relating to the establishment of Pan-African Parliament.
More importantly is that the preamble says this protocol is ensuring that there is inclusive governance whereby the people of Africa, their organisations including those in the diaspora are included in decision making. Therefore, as we are ratifying this, I am actually at pains to notice that when the Museum for African Liberators was established in Warren Park – there was actually a fight which ended at the courts whereby a cooperative of cultures called Kubatana, whom I think can actually be part and parcel of the Museum for African Liberators; Government wanted to chase them away but they had to fight and luckily they won the case. In remembering the preamble which says that the people of Africa including those in the diaspora are supposed to be included in decision making, it is my call to the Executive and Legislature that we should remember the people of Africa and also those in the diaspora. They want to be involved in this. We know the Pan African Movement, it also took the participation of artists – the negritude movement was a movement which spearheaded the spirit of pan-Africanism. When you find the Executive establishing something that is good like the African Museum and you are excluding the local people who are not being consulted, then it is against the spirit of pan-Africanism as embodied in the preamble to this protocol which relates to the establishment of the Pan-African Parliament.
Therefore Mr. Speaker, beyond the ratification, I encourage that we need to inculcate a culture of inclusive governance and a culture that respects the people that we represent.
I also want to take note of another important provision in the preamble which says ‘determined to promote democratic principles and popular participation to consolidated democratic institutions and culture and ensure good governance. This is very important especially to countries like Zimbabwe where the democratic record has not been impressive. We also have to make sure that the Pan-African Parliament will ensure that the principles of democracy are promoted; popular participation is really promoted through this Pan-African Parliament.
I would like to end by picking just two objectives of the Pan-African Parliament. Objective (a) says - to give to a voice to the African people; to facilitate the effective implementation of the policies and objectives of the AU and to promote the principles of human and people’s rights in Africa. These are very important objectives and this is why I am supporting the adoption and ratification of this protocol that if you give the people of Africa a voice and those in the diaspora, this also calls for all African governments to make sure that the people in the diaspora are given space. They also participate in economic and political development. They should actually vote. This is why some of us are calling for the diaspora vote because this is actually in line with the protocol that we have just ratified.
Why are we not allowing the diaspora to vote because they are important? They are the ones who started the PA movement. If you check in the 1900 when this Pan African Movement started, the people in the diaspora were at the forefront of promoting African unity.
I will end by also highlighting that the other important objective of pan-Africanism is to have a Pan African economic community. We need to do away with borders. It is my hope that the Pan African Parliament will give us an opportunity to come up with legislative procedures to harmonise our legislative issues and policies. Even when we look at treatment of Members of Parliament, it is something that we need to look at from a regional perspective that they are treated with the decorum that they deserve as is the case with other Parliaments in Africa.
I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, especially to represent the people of Warren Park. They need to be heard especially on issues relating to the establishment of the Museum of African Liberators. Warren Park is actually called the liberation city but the people are not liberated. We need to make sure that we give a voice to those people.
HON. BITI: Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir. I rise to support the ratification of this important protocol. Mr. Speaker Sir, when the Organization of African Unity was set up in 1962 under the leadership and mentorship of the late and great Kwame Nkrumah, the big debate that was in the Chamber was whether we needed separate individual African states or we needed a unified Africa. I remember Hon. Speaker, when I was in Government, spending some hours with the late President R.G Mugabe; he was in Ghana at the time and he was invited as a guest to listen to the conflicting debates amongst luminaries. There was one luminary, there was one camp led by President Nkrumah and another led by the late and great President Mwalimu Julius Nyerere who argued that we should remain as separate countries and another which said that we needed to form one continent.
My respectful submission is that we cannot continue perpetuating the vestiges of the Berlin Conference of 1884 and remain little splintered countries despite our huge population of over a billion to give actualization to the dream of Pan Africanism. We need to break the artificial boundaries that were created in Berlin by Otto von Bismarck and others in 1884, that will then give power to the Pan African Parliament. At the present moment, it is a talk show because it does not have any policy or legislative power making authority. It does not make anything that is binding on the nation and State. The simple and good reason is that African elites and African leaders have refused to let go of their national authority. I submit that we should move for regional total African integration - destruction of those borders, nation, and states in Africa as we know it today.
This agenda is urgent for three reasons, one of them is the implosion of conflict on the African continent, as I am talking to you right now, the biggest war is raging in Northern Ethiopia where the Ethiopian Government is at war with the citizens of Tigray and thousands of people are being displaced across the region. Only last week, more than 24 people, Ethiopian citizens were found dead in Zambia, previously it was in Malawi because of the offshoot of the civil war that is raging in Ethiopia.
There is a conflict in the horn of Africa; Eritrea is unstable, Somalia and Mogadishu is caught up with terrorism. There is conflict in Somaliland which is trying to become an independent State. There is vicious conflict in Southern Sudan, sometimes the peace holds and other times the peace does not hold. There is a conflict in Sudan itself which has moved from military dictatorship under Bashir to a people’s revolution. Back to the military – again, there are coups on the African continent. We have seen a coup in Benin, in Mali, in Burkina Faso, there is civil disturbance in Cote d’Ivoire, there is a conflict in Cameroon where English speaking citizens and French speaking citizens are against the leadership of President Paul Biya who is the second longest serving President in Africa after the President of Equatorial Guinea who just won an election by 93% a few months ago.
There is a conflict in Central Africa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly in Eastern DRC. Eastern DRC illustrates my point on these artificial boundaries. Eastern DRC, they speak the same language between those that are found in Rwanda, so Rwanda the city is called Goma and in the DRC, it is called Gisenyi but it is one city which is separated by a river. So the conflict is taking place amongst people who speak the same language.
If you go to Rwanda, there is underlying conflict between the Hutus and Tutsis, they are people who speak the same language. If you go to Burundi, there is an underlying conflict between people who speak the same language; Kenya, Rwanda, the Hutus and the Tutsis. If you go to the Central Africa Republic, there is nothing republican about the Central African Republic; it is a State permanently in conflict since the days of Emperor Jean Bedel Bokassa. If you go to Togo, same conflict; if you come into our region, there is conflict in the Democratic Republic of Mozambique arising out of terrorism in Northern Mozambique.
So, the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa is battling under the scourge of war, civil war or coup, which means we must empower the continental bodies, the African Union and the African Parliament but this can only be done if we discard our little national flags and national anthems which were imposed by Bismarck and others in Berlin in 1884.
The second reason is economics. We have a population of more than a billion and by 2045, this population will double but we are not reaping the economies of scale that come out of the huge population. We have the same population as China but China is reaping the economies of scale that comes out of a huge population; scientists call it the demographic dividend because we are not integrated.
So I submit that the idea of the African Continental Free Trade Area which was signed by African Heads of State in March of 2021 must be actualised so that it becomes a full bodied customs union. We remove trade barriers, we remove passports, borders but that also must apply to the political bodies. We need regional integration so that we can harvest the demographic dividend, the huge population of a billion people. Zimbabwe has got an effective market of less than two million; there are less than 500 000 people with actual domestic aggregate demand that can support an economy. If we were to integrate as SADC alone, Zimbabwe will suddenly have a market of 300 000. If we were to integrate on the African Continent, that is a market of a billion people. Think of what benefit our farmers, miners, manufacturers will derive; 65% of our economies are informal and I am referring to the recent World Bank note produced in September of 2022.
That informal sector, I want to give an example of Glenview. If you go to Glenview, you will find the latest couch being made under the tree. Can you imagine if those people had a market in Mozambique, Burundi, Kisangani, Zaire, Mogadishu and Zanzibar - it would transform this e economy. So the issue of establishing one free Africa should be seen as the ultimate developmental and transformation agenda. The esteemed Minister of Energy and Power Development Hon. Soda is struggling because Zimbabwe has got an installed capacity of energy of 2000MW but at any given time, less than 600MW are being produced. In DRC on the Congo River, there is Inga Gorge which is capable of producing 40000MW of energy enough to light the whole of Africa and export to southern Europe to Spain and Portugal which were knocked out of the World Cup.
It pains me that the World Bank and others have not provided finance to Inga because they know the liberation effect that Inga will have on the ordinary wanachi on the African continent. We have lost 40 decades of independence pretending to run countries when we are running little tin pot countries. I would rather own 10% of an elephant than 100% of a rat. Our small countries are little rats, let us come and form this giant called Africa. It pains me that if I want to go to Tunisia, I have to go to Charles de Gore Airport first and then come down. There is no direct flight from here to Mali, from here to Dakar Senegal, from here to Togo because of the old colonial infrastructure. Even here in sub-Saharan Africa, it will cost me US$800 to go to Cape Town but I can buy a ticket to London for US$400 because of the colonial vestiges. Look at all my learned friends, they are putting on neck ties and they cannot put on an African dress like me because colonisation is in the mindset. I am sorry Mr. Speaker Sir, including yourself – [Laughter]. The only exception is Hon T. Mliswa. We ought to have our own dress and language so that we can be pontificating in isiZulu or kiSwahili. We are not able to do that.
Yes, we support this motion but it must raise deeper issues about our omissions as a generation that has failed to unite Africa and bring Africa together. I thank you very much.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order Mr. Speaker Sir. I just want to appreciate the debate and contribution by Hon. Biti. I must say it is really refreshing and educating to have somebody with such a brilliant mind, who is able to put things in such order. I am sure that the Minister of Energy did pick one or two things which I think are quite critical to raise in Cabinet in terms of how best as Africa we can have power which is key for our economies to grow. Chakanaka chakanaka. It was quite a brilliant presentation.
(v)HON. R. R. NYATHI: Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to add my voice on the motion that has been raised by the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. I want to say that Africa has a population of 1.4 billion people which represents 16.72% of the world population. The setting up of the Pan African Parliament is now coordinating all the issues of these people so that when we speak, we speak with one voice.
You will also understand that the reason for the creation of Pan African Parliament was basically to make sure that the economic development and integration of the continent should be coordinated as one thing. In that way, we can have discussion on decision making on problems affecting Africa.
Part of speech not recorded due to network challenges.
He mentioned a number of countries where there are a lot of problems which is the reason why there was the setting up of the Pan African Parliament. I stood up to agree with all other Hon. Members that have been speaking on this matter to say Zimbabwe must also be part of the Pan African Protocol. I therefore, support the approval of the ratification of the protocol and thank you so much Mr. Speaker Sir for affording me the opportunity to add my voice. I find no reason why we must continue debating this issue because all Hon. Members that have spoken, have supported the motion that has been raised by the Minister of Justice. I thank you.
HON. PROF. MASHAKADA: I wish to acknowledge the debate that has been contributed by my fellow Hon. Members regarding the ratification of the Malabo Protocol. I want to thank the Hon. Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs for bringing this motion before this august House because when we are at the Pan African Parliament, we are taken to task by those countries that have ratified. It would have appeared that Zimbabwe is flawing against the spirit of Pan Africanism yet we are taking time to ratify.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to debate this protocol in the context of the African Union (AU) itself. As you are quite aware, the AU was preceded by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963. Then in 2002, the OAU was transformed into the African Union and today AU has various organs including the court of People’s and Human Rights; the African Union Commission itself and the Pan African Parliament which is the third organ of the African Union.
Ranking number three, in the hierarchy of the organs of the AU, the Pan African Parliament still did not have legislative powers. All it could do was to recommend and pass advisory motions, it did not really have the teeth to bite but in the context of its advisory and recommending roles; yes, the Pan African Parliament has also accomplished certain milestones. For example, it has been able to pass, in its current recommending role, model laws on disability, model laws on free movement of people and so forth but this has been limited because model laws are just model laws. They are not binding to anybody.
So, the context of this protocol is that PAP will now have legislative powers to pass laws that can bind the African Union itself and can bind other organs of the African Union. So this motion is very important.
Hon. Biti has already spoken about the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) which is a major milestone of the African Union but for this ACFTA to gain currency, PAP has to legislate more subsidiary laws to govern the practical implementation of the ACFTA. So, if PAP becomes a legislative body, it can then come up with a number of laws to implement the ACFTA; not only the ACFTA but there is the question of Africa’s single air market transport that will also have to be ratified. There is also the question of the free movement of people and free movement of goods that will also have to be ratified if PAP becomes a legislative body.
So, this Malabo Protocol is long overdue. This Parliament must ratify this protocol so that PAP becomes a powerful institution but there has been resistance also from Heads of State. Their argument has been that the AU is not like the European Commission, it is not a continental Government. Therefore, you cannot have a legislative Parliament for the continent when you do not have a continental Government. I think that is neither here nor there. We start building the blocks gradually. We had the racks as building blocks for the African Continental Free Trade Area. So, if we start with PAP as a legislative body, we are building the blocks for eventually establishing one continental Government like the European Commission which would be the equivalent of the African Union. So, we will get there but for now, if we ratify this protocol, I think it would be a very good development. I think the protocol requires 24 ratifications and I think we will then aide the total ratification of the PAP Protocol so that PAP can become a truly legislative body. So, I truly support this protocol and want to commend the Hon. Minister for tabling it. I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
THE HON. SPEAKER: In terms of Standing Order Number 111, we have to avoid repeating what has been stated already. So I am now going to put the question.
HON. ZIYAMBI: Just a few responses Mr. Speaker Sir, I am sorry Mr. Speaker Sir.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Sorry, I should have called for any further debate. Hon. Minister, please proceed.
HON. ZIYAMBI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir for recognising me. Firstly, I want to thank the Hon. Members for the robust debate. I must say, it is one protocol where Hon. Members debated widely and I presume maybe it is because it concerns Parliament and …
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, Order Hon. Minister, please be connected.
HON. ZIYAMBI: Thank you Mr. Speaker, I am sure now technology is in agreement with us. Mr. Speaker, I was saying that I want to thank Hon. Members for the robust debate. In fact, so many Hon. Members were eager to debate this protocol and I think it is a commendable thing. Often times we pass these protocols without much debate, this is actually refreshing.
Going to the debate, I want to thank Hon. Gonese. His concern was that we are not bringing these protocols for approval frequently enough. His sentiments were echoed by Hon. Madzimure who indicated that we are sleeping on duty. Mr. Speaker Sir, let me indicate that since the Second Republic came into being, in fact His Excellency is one who wants us all to obey the rules and whatever we are supposed to obey. In fact, in upholding the rule of law, he is very excellent in that regard. He wants us to ensure that we comply with whatever we are supposed to comply with. If you have noticed Mr. Speaker Sir, for the past four years, the number of treaties that have been approved by this august House is actually more than what has been approved in several years. It is an indication of the kind of man he is.
We went further and brought an International Treaties Bill to this Parliament, it is now an Act which then allows us to publish all the international treaties that we would have ratified. So, in terms of the appetite to ensure that we are in compliance with our legal obligations, I would like to applaud His Excellency, he has pushed all of us to make sure that we satisfy that; not only that, even reports from independent commissions. You have noticed how we have managed to ensure that we come up to date by presenting them to Parliament.
However, I also have to indicate that once a treaty has been signed by the President or a representative, it is not automatic that we must rush to bring it to Parliament. We also need to ensure that it goes through all the requisite legal processes in-country, before submitting to Parliament. We also have to scrutinise it; there are certain things that even though the President has signed, you may find that we have reservations about certain clauses or articles. So, we also had to go through the necessary Cabinet Committees and because of the number of treaties that have been coming to Parliament, these committees also have been overwhelmed, notwithstanding that we also had COVID for about one and a half years. I just wanted to clarify on that issue to say that it is not a deliberate thing but we are very much for the ratification of most of our treaties.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I agree with the majority of the presentations. In fact, we have artificial boundaries and I agree with the presentation by Hon. Mudarikwa and Hon. Biti that have affected us as a country.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order. Hon. Chief, you cannot be up standing when an Hon. Member is having the floor. You should have sat next to your colleagues there to whisper whatever you wanted to whisper. Hon. Minister, please proceed.
HON. ZIYAMBI: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I was just indicating that I support that as a continent, perhaps at the top we need to relook the issue of our borders and move towards integration. The article does not speak to that. In fact, this is one step towards that. I believe we need to move in that direction. You also commented on what Hon. Mliswa presented. I will not go beyond what you said because I agree with that, that perhaps our Parliament Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs and Parliament at large, must also take an active role in reminding the Executive of their duties.
I did not see any connection with Hon. Hamauswa’s diaspora voting inclusion. It is not even there in the protocol. Perhaps he was speaking his mind about issues that he is passionate about but that are not a subject matter of the protocol. Having said that Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to thank the Hon. Members and yourself and move that Parliament do approve the protocol. Thank you.
Motion put and agreed to.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Members, you did make a request last week and yesterday for a Ministerial Statement on the energy situation in our country. The Hon. Minister of Energy is here and he is prepared now to present that Ministerial Statement accordingly.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT
ENERGY SITUATION IN ZIMBABWE
THE MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. SODA): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir for allowing me this opportunity to present a Ministerial Statement on the state of electricity supply that is currently obtaining in the country. Zimbabwe is currently experiencing a depressed power supply situation which was exacerbated by the reduced power production from Kariba Power Station. Besides the usual challenges of aged equipment at the country’s thermal power stations, climate change effects have hit hard on us at the Kariba South Hydro Power Plant where the dam that supports generation of power has received much reduced water inflows due to the poor 2021-2022 rain season. The water levels at Kariba Dam have gone down such that power generation at the dam had to be curtailed. You might be aware Mr. Speaker Sir that on Friday, 25th November this year, the Zambezi River Authority notified the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) that the utility had exhausted its water allocation for 2022 and there was need for the power station to be completely shut down.
The shutdown of the power plant would have had the following impacts: about 70% of the country’s power supply would have been lost as a result of shutting down the power station. The network stabilization would also have been disturbed which ordinarily would be done through Kariba Power Station. The Ministry engaged its counterparts in Zambia through meetings which were held at board level and also there was a recommendation from the board to allow the two utilities to engage. It was through those engagements that the Council of Ministers had an Extra Ordinary Meeting to allow ZPC to continue generating from Kariba Power Station but this time at a reduced capacity of between 250 to 300 megawatts. This effectively resulted in loss of about 300 megawatts capacity on our grid, increasing our power deficit to over 500 megawatts.
The country’s current available internal generation capacity gets to around 800mgw and the power is contributed as follows: from Hwange there is a generation of up to 400mgw which we are currently obtaining. Kariba is running between 250mgw and 300mgw and then from the small thermals there is a contribution of 30mgw, which we are currently having. Independent power producers are contributing a total of 56mgw to make up for the 800mgw which we are generating internally. We are also getting some imports of electricity from Eskom, which is supplying us with 100mgw and another 50mgw from utilities in Mozambique called HCB and EDM also supplying 50mgw. ZESCO of Zambia has an agreement with ZESA for the supply of 100mgw and in total, we are getting 300mgw as power imports.
Madam Speaker Ma’am, in order to mitigate the current shortfall that was occasioned mainly by the reduced power generation from Kariba Power Station the Ministry together with ZESA have come up with some measures. The first one is to increase our imports, which I have already indicated that we are currently receiving 300mgw. We intend to increase by an additional 500mgw which we are targeting to get from Mozambique and from the Southern African Power Pool. Discussions are currently underway for an additional capacity of 150mgw from Mozambique, particularly from EDM power utility. We will also get another 50mgw from the participation of ZESA at the Southern Africa Power Pool Electricity Market to give us an additional 200mgw over and above the 300mgw which we are currently importing. Another measure is to ramp up local generation. There is potential to increase generation at Hwange Power Station and I have already indicated that at the moment, we are getting 400mgw and the intention is to have it staying on the grid and sending that 400mgw. Then from the small thermal power stations, we are intending to increase production and to obtain a contribution of 45mgw. The independent power producers who are currently connected to the grid would be expected to contribute around 75mgw with special focus on ZEE which is to us a low hanging fruit currently sending out 17mgw but their capacity is 40mgw. They have depressed power generation as a result of incapacitation, which we are currently working on in terms of the coal which they require for power generation. To that end, a rescue package has been proposed from the Government to cover for additional imports, coal supply and transport costs which have been an inhibiting factor to have adequate coal supplies at the small thermal power stations.
Discussions are currently underway with Treasury for the release of the rescue package. The other measure is to work on the demand side management. Intensive power users are being engaged to reduce the load and also employ efficiencies in their operations. Domestic customers are also encouraged to implement energy conservation measures like switching off switches and also to work on the restricted use of electricity geysers and use of efficient gadgets such as efficient lights, fridges and other appliances. Various platforms are being used like the radio, social media, television and newspapers for members of the public to be aware of the need to conserve the available electricity.
ZESA is expediting the installation of prepaid and smart meters to improve the management of electricity consumption. The other measure is to get the excess capacity through the net metering facility which allows customers with excess capacity from their generators like solar systems on rooftops to be connected to the grid. There are some advantages which can be enjoyed by the producers of electricity themselves. You are aware that a normal solar system should be having some storage facilities but through this facility, you only need to have your solar panels and you will use the grid to bank your electricity which you will be withdrawing during times when you are out of production. Currently 5 megawatts of capacity have been connected to the grid and we are targeting an additional 7mgw. ZESA is working flat out to ensure that these customers with excess capacity of 7mgw are immediately connected to the grid.
There shall also be an immediate review of the hydrological situation at Kariba Power Station. The reduction in the power generation capacity has been occasioned by the low water levels in the Kariba Dam. The minimum operating level of the dam is 475.5mt above sea level. What it means is that any water that is above 475.5mt becomes the live lake storage which will be used for power generation. For 2022, we had a total allocation of 45 billion cubic meters provided by ZRA, which was shared by our two utilities, ZESA and ZESCO. ZESA exhausted our 22.5 billion cubic meters but inflows have just started to collect into the dam and there shall be an immediate review in January 2023. We hope that is going to ease the current load curtailment which is obtaining.
In the medium term, there shall be some interventions especially by way of the rehabilitation of the current Hwange station on the existing units 1 to 6. Already, work is in progress and the detailed project report giving the scope of works to be done at the power station has been finalised and it was accepted by the project owners which are ZESA Holdings and we are seized with ensuring that my Ministry and the Ministry of Finance engages the Indian Exim Bank to also endorse on the detailed project report so that disbursements can immediately commence for the purposes of the rehabilitation of Hwange Power Station.
The intention is to bring that power station, the current Units 1 – 6 to the installed capacity of 920 mw, which if added to the expansion project which we are expecting to produce 600 mw, the total that will be coming from Hwange Power Station will come to 1520 mw. In the long term, there shall be massive exploitation of hydro-power potential along the Zambezi River and the immediate one is through Batoka Hydro Electric Scheme which has a potential of producing 2 400 mw and as we speak, a feasibility study was concluded and the environmental impact studies have also been endorsed.
Another measure is on Government giving support to the independent power producers. The focus will be on solar PV generation projects. Currently, a total of 100 licenced projects have been licenced by ZERA. My Ministry is engaging the Ministry of Finance to help de-risk the independent power producer projects through provision of Government implementation agreements for projects which have been awaiting Government guarantee to reach financial closure.
As we speak, three pilot projects have so far received Government implementation agreements and standard power purchase agreement documents. My Ministry is also finalising on the formulation of competitive procurement framework. This is work in progress and we hope by the first quarter of 2023 this will have been finalised.
I now come to the progress on the Hwange Expansion Project through Unit 7 and 8. The project involved the installation of 2 x 300 mw generation units at Hwange Thermal Power Station. The project has surpassed 97% completion. The completion of Unit 7 is currently under way with the unit expected to be synchronised to the grid before the end of this month and we will be getting around 300 mw once the commission tests reaches commercial operations but as we commence the synchronisation or commercialisation, we will not immediately get to the 300 mw. There shall be some connections and disconnections and testing of various performances during this process but this synchronisation will be achieved before end of this month.
Commissioning of Unit 8 will follow immediately after Unit 7 has achieved commercial operation and is expected to take not more than two months after reaching commercial operations of Unit 7. These interventions will ease the current power supply situation and the Government is seized with the implementation of these measures. I submit.
HON. NDUNA: Would we have contemplated the issue of non-availability of electricity in the six months or three months before the water levels dwindled in the Lake Kariba? Does it mean we have got square plugs and round holes in the form and mould of the board which could have appraised the Minister that six or three months before we are going to have a challenge? Secondly, what is it that we have as a mitigating strategy or modus operandi to ameliorate the current situation both for the festive season and the months to come? I thank you.
*HON. TEKESHE: I wanted to seek clarification from the Minister that yes, we have a shortage of electricity but the challenge we have is that production happens during the day and in the evening everyone will be sleeping. Surprisingly, electricity is availed to us during the night from 2300 hours to 0400 hours. So, what are we supposed to do and how should we produce in terms of production? I think it is best that they avail electricity during the day so that we sleep at night. I was shocked with the issue of coming up with measures to produce yet the electricity is not available. I thank you.
HON. T. MOYO: Madam Speaker Maam, I seek clarification from the Hon. Minister, firstly on the issue of incentives for independent power producers. I have read an article that says that independent power producers produce a lease in terms of energy in Zimbabwe. What incentives are there to motivate these independent producers so that they produce more, compared to what is happening and obtaining in South Africa and Zambia?
Secondly, I would like to seek clarification on the amount of megawatts that are produced at Kariba. ZESCO is allowed to produce 800 mega watts, ZPC Kariba 250 and 300 mega watts; why do we have these disparities and yet production is happening on the Zambezi?
The third issue is about obsolete equipment at Hwange. Is it not prudent to decommission two of the units because they are persistently giving problems to ZESA so that we remain with units that are reliable, for example Unit 6, 7 and 8? Those are my submissions.
HON. MUTSEYAMI: Hon. Minister, would you inform this House as to why ZESA is no longer giving timetables with regards to load shedding? If there is a timetable, one is able to plan and see how best to manage their work.
Secondly, what happened to the solar farm in Gwanda – that big investment which was going to help us a lot in terms of alleviating this situation? What is the position? I am sure it had an investment of plus US$5 million.
Last but not least, Hon. Minister, you have to take note during the part of your history as the Hon. Minister of Power and Energy Development – this is the first time this country has suffered a lot in terms of accessing the world cup. It is a real sad story in the history of our country. I think it is important for the Hon. Minister to apologise to the country for that sad situation. I thank you.
(v)HON. NDIWENI: I would like to thank the Hon. Minister for his Ministerial Statement. I would like to seek two clarifications. Firstly, can the Minister clarify on the condition of Unit 4 in Kariba? We have seen information circulating on the social media on the state of Unit 4 in Kariba. What does the Minister intend to do to the tariffs as it stands as a long term solution to solving power problems that we are facing?
(v)HON. MOKONE: I would like to know why load shedding is more pronounced in other towns than others especially in Matabeleland South in Gwanda town, ZESA is switched off every day at 5 am up to around 10 am. Why can the Minister not provide a proper load shedding schedule that he adheres to? In the past you gave us a load shedding schedule but you did not adhere to it. I would like to know how far the Minister has gone with the plant in Blanket Mine in Matabeleland South because you once said that very soon it would be generating electricity.
(v)HON. BRIG. GEN. (RTD). MAYIHLOME: I am particularly concerned about the time taken to authorise permits for independent power producers. If I heard you correctly, you said there are about 100 applications that are awaiting permits from your Ministry and the Ministry of Finance and only three are being considered and will be allocated soon. What will happen to the 97 – what is going on? What is the problem when we have got such a crisis? Why do you have the luxury of taking so much time to issue these permits? I know some applications that have been outstanding for more than four years in your Ministry and Ministry of Finance. If we do not have expertise, why do we not use consultants to deal with particular problems?
HON. GONESE: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. I have got several points on which I seek clarification. The Hon. Minister in his Statement informed us that they received communication from the Zambezi River Authority, were they not aware that as a country we had exceeded our allocation. I would have assumed that we were all aware because in Kariba North, they do not seem to have a problem which means that Zambia were within their allocation. Can you explain to the nation why they were sleeping on the job to the extent that they were only to be alerted by the Zambezi Water Authority that as a country we had exceeded our allocation?
The second point is that we have been going around in circles in terms of conservation. The Hon. Minister time and again has talked about measures which are supposed to be put in place to conserve energy. What in practical terms have they done to ensure that people are not just conscientised but people are able to implement those measures which are necessary to conserve energy? For example, we are looking at the issue of cooking, what efforts have they made to encourage people to move away from using electricity for cooking and use gas instead. I think in most of the developed world, you will find that gas is the preferred option and what measures has the Ministry put in place to ensure that perhaps gas is cheaper and also that gas stoves are affordable and more available so that people can move away from the use of electric stoves.
On the issue of solar geysers, this Government talked about new houses not being allowed to put up electric geysers but that is still happening so there is no implementation. May the Hon. Minister explain why they are not implementing their policy pronouncements. Why do we continuously have these policy reversals or lack of implementation? As a Ministry, what are you doing to ensure that people start using those smart gadgets in terms of availability? Otherwise it is just idle talk.
HON. NYOKANHETE: The first question is that are you financially fit to do all the intervention as you were just alluding? Are you not going to push the cost to customers especially when you are going to do this intervention of increasing imports and doing whatever you were just mentioning?
Secondly, we have bigger inland dams like Muturikwi and Tokwe Mukorsi in Masvingo. What plans do you have with these dams for local generation of electricity?
(v)HON. MUSAKWA: My point of clarification is to do with Kariba. It seems we have got the same generators of the same capacity as Zambia and we run them at almost similar terms and conditions. Why is it that ours exhaust their allocation and theirs they do not? Is it inefficiencies on our side or there are some technical issues.
Secondly, On the Harare-Munyati and Bulawayo power stations, I heard the Minister saying that he is going to ramp up production to 45 mega watts but if you look at it, 45 megawatts is around 20% of their installed capacity. So, you are running something at 20% of its installed capacity, can we really call that ramping up because I think it is highly inadequate.
Thirdly, independent power producers, can we not give them a viable tariff, for instance just to pay them parity with import tariff that we use to import but at least they will be generating locally and will be more reliability as well as generating jobs locally.
(v)HON. SHAMU: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I have been listening to the Minister as he was speaking; he said he is now coming up with the issue of ramping up existing channels of provisional energy. Do we have to wait for a crisis of this nature in order for us to come up with innovative methods of increasing our supply of energy?
HON. CHINYANGANYA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am for affording me this opportunity to talk on the current crisis that we are facing as a nation. I have a few clarifications that I want to seek from the Minister and a few suggestions as well.
What is the Ministry doing to minimise the issue of loss control of power because there are so many people that are using electricity without paying for it. Is the ZESA Loss Control unit really working?
Another clarification, what is the Ministry doing because if you move around right now, be it in commercial or domestic properties, you will find that if the power is there, the lights will be on during the day. What is the Ministry doing to deal with that because that is loss of power?
The third issue is having so many subsidiaries or entities under ZESA. ZESA has so many entities and what is the Ministry doing to deal with that because if we look at it closely, there are boards that need to be remunerated and the executives receive huge perks? I believe that if those entities are merged, then a lot of saving will be done which will enable ZESA to import electricity as well as to upgrade the existing infrastructure.
The other suggestion is the setting up of solar farms in each and every town for domestic use and the power that will be generated by Kariba and Hwange will be used by the industries.
(v)HON. R. R. NYATHI: I was listening to the Hon. Minister and I want to find out about the situation with regards to electricity in two weeks and in a month’s time. What are Zimbabweans expecting in the next quarter so that at least we can prepare ourselves? I did not hear the Minister telling us when we are going to see the situation improve.
HON. SODA: On the first question which came from Hon. Nduna where he wanted to know if there were some plans to improve the power supply situation before Christmas, this is what we are working on. I indicated that already there are some discussions to have an additional capacity of 150MW from EDM of Mozambique and also to participate at the SAPP market. We are finalising on the actual agreement with the power exporters; that is EDM and also the conditions for participation at the SAPP market. Those are being looked into but they are running along with negotiations or discussions with the Ministry of Finance for a bail-out package which I have already indicated. It is our hope that within the next week, all these processes will be finalised and we would also have wanted to have this additional capacity being wheeled to Zimbabwe before Christmas.
Again, Hon Nduna asked whether the board did not know about this risk of low water supply that would arise at Kariba Power Station. I would say ZRA, as the managers of the water resource, communicates from time to time with the ZESCO and ZESA. We knew about this situation on the fast receding water levels at Kariba Dam but we were advised at a time when we could not stop some of the units for purposes of water conservation especially that we were in winter. We had a crop that needed to be protected in terms of adequate moisture that was required during winter cropping season. This was known in terms of the water levels but our hope was the coming in of Unit 7 which was supposed to coincide with the reduction of power generation at Kariba at a time when this Unit 7 was supposed to be connected to the grid, bringing in that difference. It was the coincidence that we hoped for which did not happen.
Concerning the question by Hon. Tekeshe, what happens with electricity at national level is the same with what happens at domestic level. If you are to use a lot of gadgets at your home, you may experience your electricity breakers tripping. In the evening it is easier because there is less use of electricity and that is what happens with electricity nationwide. At any given time, the amount of power circulating is known and the power is distributed accordingly.
From Hon. Moyo, he was seeking clarification as to what incentives are available to expedite development of independent power producer projects. We have a number of incentives that are on offer. The Government of Zimbabwe is assisting investors in the provision of land for the development of these projects, just to start with. Also, there are a number of tax incentives that are on offer. IPP is bringing in some equipment into the country, especially for renewable. There are tax rebates that are being offered. Over and above that, they are also offered some tax holidays, as a way of expediting projects in the IPP space.
The other question was - why ZESCOM is allowed to generate electricity currently at 800 megawatts (mg), whilst ZESA has been asked to reduce to 300 mg. From the explanation that I gave, the total water allocation which was provided for in 2022 was 45 billion cubic metres of which 22.5 was the allocation for Zimbabwe. We exhausted our water allocation, until ZPC was then ordered by ZRA to suspend generation. We had to get the current generation after extensive negotiations with ZESCOM.
As we speak, to be very honest, we are actually using their allocation of water to generate the 300 mg that we are obtaining from Kariba Power Station. The other question from Hon. Moyo was on why we are not decommissioning Hwange Power Station. It will be unwise to immediately decommission Hwange Power Station which is contributing 400 mg, like I indicated in my statement. We intend to then decommission at a time when the two units; Unit 7 and 8 will be connected to the grid and start feeding the 600 mg and that would be most appropriate for decommission these units. We will not decommission them all at once. We shall be decommissioning two units at a time to allow the remaining units to continue to be contributing whilst those that would have been decommissioned will be undergoing rehabilitation through the loan facility which I have spoken, also the progress that I have indicated that we are now at DPR stage and soon some disbursements will commence from the Indian Exim Bank.
From Hon. Mutseyami, why ZESA is not seen availing the load shedding schedule - Madam Speaker Ma’am, like I have indicated, we are currently seized with the additional capacity, which is being sourced from Mozambique and also from the participation at SAPP market. It is only when that would have been concluded that a timetable will be given because we are still expecting an additional capacity of about 200 mg. Once that is finalised, then a timetable will be provided. I am aware that there is need for this timetable to allow for people to plan on the use of the available electricity. Certainly, this will be provided once we are done with the additional capacity which we are intending to procure.
The other question was on what happened to the Gwanda Solar Project. That project suffered a false start. That is what I would say and there are currently some wrangles with the contractor who was given the work to develop the project. What I can say in short is, this project has been halted at the moment.
On the condition of Unit 4, I cannot remember this Hon. Member who spoke about Unit 4 at Kariba. I know there were some rumours that there is a unit which is beyond repair at Kariba Power Station, which is Unit 4. It is not true. Unit 4 lost a turbine blade, which turbine blade is being procured and once that blade is mounted, the unit will be ready to generate electricity. It is also among the units that have been taken out of production, owing to the issue of water that is not available for generation.
The other question was on the tariffs. We are aware of the issue of tariffs that have been in use by ZESA for some time but we have just started to implement cost-reflective structure. As we speak, exploiting customers are paying a tariff of around 12 cents, which is near cost-reflective tariff. According to the cost of service tariff which was conducted by the World Bank, the appropriate cost reflective tariff should be around 16 cents. This is a process and we have started at 12.2 cents. ZESA shall be guiding on the cost reflective tariff but in consultation with other stakeholders that are one of the regulator action consumers themselves. There have to be some considerations as well as to affordability of the tariff.
Hon. Mokone wanted to understand why load shedding is more pronounced in some towns than others. I would not want to confirm on this one but I can always check as to why that is happening. Also, she spoke for the need of the load shedding schedule, which I said we will be working on it and it shall be published once they finalise on the issue of the additional capacity which they are currently procuring.
She also wanted to understand on the progress at Blanket Mine where there is an IPP project of 12 mega watts capacity which is being developed. According to the latest reports which I received, this project is supposed to be commissioned I think this year before 31 December, 2022. We expected this project to have started to feed power into the grid.
Hon. Mayihlome’s concern was on the issue of permits. I think there were some misunderstandings. Permits are being issued in the form of licences by ZERA. I have indicated that about 100 licences have so far been issued to independent power producers but what is not happening is the actual development of the projects. There have been issues around the development of these projects, especially some funders who wanted to have some mitigation against some perceived risks, one of them being currency convertibility and also the risk of payment from ZETDC itself. We have sought the intervention of the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe which is going to issue Government implementation agreements or guarantees. So far, three projects were selected to test on the conditions that were issued by the RBZ. Once we get to financial closure through the use of those conditions which were provided, we will then be rolling out. It is just a pilot on the three projects that were selected to implement the conditions that were offered by the RBZ to de-risk on the risks that were indicated by the independent power producers or the investors.
From Hon. Gonese, it was also the same question as the one that was asked by Hon. Nduna as to why as the Ministry of Energy, together with the power utility we did not take action on time until the water levels got to those critical levels to warrant the reduction in power production. I have already responded to this question that yes, there were some reports and communication between ZRA who are the managers of the water resource with our two utilities, that is ZESCO and ZESA. Unfortunately, we could not stop generating electricity during the time when the call was made because we had a crop that needed to be supplied with water for irrigation. Another concern from Hon. Gonese was on the implementation of efficiency measures that I have just spoken about. We are currently coming up with a policy on energy efficiency. It is currently being put together and we hope that it would be ready by the first quarter of 2023, which will speak to some incentives and also some punishments for failure to observe regulations which would be provided through this policy. Already, we have some regulations which ZRA is implementing not to allow houses that would have connected electricity geysers to pass the inspection test. We have such regulations but we are currently putting up a whole policy that will speak to energy efficiency issues.
Hon. Nyokanhete wanted to understand whether there was a ready funding for the interventions that I have spoken about. Hon. Speaker Ma’am, I have indicated that the Ministry of Finance has been engaged for the purposes of a rescue package, specifically for the additional capacity which we intend to import and also participation at the SAPU market and for the payment of coal which has been the cause for the outages of the small thermal power stations, that is Harare Station 3, Bulawayo and Munyati. This is an avenue that we think we will have some bail out to allow for the additional capacity to be immediately imported into the country.
The other concern was whether the funding will result in raising of tariffs or not. For now, I would not want to say it will result in additional tariffs unless some other considerations are made because all that is going to happen is just to procure the electricity. Obviously from the sources, the weighted average cost per unit may not change much and which may not result in the movement of the tariffs but some evaluations can always be made to ascertain whether the additional capacity is coming at a higher cost than the current cost. If that happens, obviously there will be some adjustments to allow for capacitation for ZESA.
The other question was on the plans that the Government has to have power generated at our dams. It is Government policy. I think this has been spoken about several times that for all new dams that the Government is constructing, there shall be power generation. It also goes with some evaluations that have to be made in terms of the height of the dam wall to allow for the fall which will drive the turbines. Some evaluations have to be made but we have a whole Government policy that speaks to generation of electricity to all inland dams.
Hon. Musakwa asked why ZESA exhausted their water allocation at Kariba. It was because we increased generation when we had challenges with our thermal power stations. There were some outages at Hwange. In order to suffice for the power that was required in winter, generation was above what was recommended by ZRA and we had to exhaust the water allocation. The other question from Hon. Musakwa is an observation that came out when I mentioned that we shall be ramping up production at our small thermal power stations. His concern is whether producing a total of 45 megawatts, which 20% of the capacity is ramping up. For now, I would say it is ramping up because you will notice that some of the small thermal power stations are out of service because of a variety of reasons, some as a result of faults and some as a result of inadequate supply of consumables like coal. In the interim, we will ensure that each and every small thermal will be making a contribution until proper rehabilitation or re-powering exercise is conducted.
Can we not pay IPPs viable tariffs? The observation has been that there is a tariff which is paid for power imports which he wanted to be matched to tariff that is offered to the independent power producers. When these power purchase agreements are entered into with the off taker and in our case ZETDC, there are negotiations. This is not a one size fits all. It is all determined by the size of the investment and other considerations. So the tariff is not the same for all IPPs but there are negotiations that are being done in order to arrive at a PPA.
Hon. Shamu’s concern is similar to the concern from Hon. Nduna together with Hon. Gonese as to why preventive controls were not implemented well before we got to a point of exhausting our water allocation, I think I have already attended to a similar question.
With regards to Hon. Chinyanganya - what is the Ministry doing to reduce loss of power? Yes, we are aware that there are some losses that are obtaining from time to time through some illegal connections and also some power thefts that are happening and no wonder why ZESA has a department for loss control. Some people are being brought before the courts and some punishments are given for violations of this nature.
This is a continuous process and with regards to reduction of these losses, we are also aware that from the statistics, there is a loss factor of about 18% of the power which is generated from any sources until it gets to where that power is used. There are some efforts or some works that are being done on the transmission and distribution system of ZETDC in order to reinforce the existing infrastructure so that we do not continue to incur losses through wheeling of our electricity.
Another question from Hon. Chinyanganya was the measures that the Ministry is implementing to deal with inefficient use of power. I have already indicated that we are coming up with a policy, a framework which will be dealing with inefficiencies which will have some incentives and also some punishments which will go with inefficient use of electricity, especially on the example that he has given that sometimes you will find during the day, lights are on and nobody bothers. It is also about our culture on conservation of available resources, so it is that culture which must be erased so that we conserve our electricity.
The other observation from Hon. Chinyanganya was on the boards and his observation was that we have various boards for the subsidiary companies under the ZESA Holdings Group. It is a correct observation but this is going to be dealt with through re-bundling. We have already started the process of re-bundling and our intention will be to have a vertical structure and the current subsidiary companies will become departments under the newly formed structure or the newly formed company and we shall be having a single board. We are aware of the costs that are being incurred especially by the boards that we currently have.
There was a suggestion again from Hon. Chinyanganya of having some off grid systems that will be serving some towns. This is a welcome suggestion and already we have a similar approach through the Rural Electrification Agency. They are doing similar projects especially in rural areas where instead of extending the grid to give access to electricity to people in rural areas, they are now developing off grid solar systems that will provide electricity to some communities and that will not be connected to the grid. We have one such project that was concluded by REA in Tsholotsho for the Bemba community and it has a capacity of around 60 kilo watt hours and it is serving around 30 households including some public institutions. So that is a welcome proposition and we can always consider that if we have investors that will show interest in investing in that space. We can always have those discussions with them.
From Hon. Nyathi, he also wanted to get assurance as to our ability to provide electricity within the next two weeks or before the end of this month. Like I have already alluded to, this is premised on the negotiations which are currently under way with the power exporters especially EDM where we are targeting the 150 and also participation at the market and it is as well premised on the provision of the rescue package. Thank you Madam Speaker, I think I have done justice to the questions posed.
HON. SHAMU: On a point of order Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is your point of order?
(V)HON. SHAMU: Madam Speaker, the Hon. Minister is bunching questions into one response, so my question was not responded to where I asked whether we have to wait for a crisis of this nature in order for us to come up with innovative methods of increasing our supply of energy. .
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Minister, Hon. Shamu is saying that you did not respond to his question.
HON. SODA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. Obviously we do not have to wait for an alarm to be made. Thank you.
HON. MAHLANGU: Thank you Madam Speaker. The Minister did not answer the question that was asked by Hon. Tekeshe unless if the Minister is saying the electricity is only used in the evening and not during the day. Hon. Tekeshe asked that how come ZESA comes during the night when everyone is asleep and it goes as early as 4 a.m. Unless if the Minister is saying there is no longer electricity for household consumption, I will agree but I think he did not answer Hon. Tekeshe’s question.
*HON. HWENDE: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker. I have two questions. The first one is that I heard the Minister saying that there are over 100 people who applied and were given licences. My question therefore is; those whom you are giving licences, have you done due processes to investigate if these people really have money to invest
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Hwende, please may you be connected?
*HON. HWENDE: My question has got to do with people who are being given licences. What are you doing as a Ministry to see whether those people you are giving licences have money to invest? What are you then doing with people who are working in your offices who are following those who have been granted licences wanting to be included in those companies? I am talking about corrupt activities by officials from your Ministry. A case in point is the issue brought up by Strive Masiyiwa three weeks ago in which he said he approached the Government intending to invest in the electricity sector but was frustrated by those who wanted corrupt activities.
Secondly, what are you going to do with the US$5million that you gave to Mr. Chivayo? Most of the money bought shoes that we see in pictures circulating on social media. What are you going to do to return this money to the people because if you get $5million you can buy electricity? The situation in people’s homes is terrible, people are suffering.
Thirdly, as you can see there is no other Minister besides you who is in this House. You are giving each other solar panels worth US$12 000 as Ministers and Deputy Ministers. Are you even thinking of the ordinary person? Today if you have installed solar for your homes, where are others going to get electricity from? Your response is not showing the urgency that this issue deserves as expected by the masses. The way you are seated there, given the US$12 000 that was given to you, it seems everything is well with you. Ministers have run away from this House.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Hwende, please ask your question.
* HON. HWENDE: My question is: we know very well that there is electricity that you are exporting to Namibia as a result of the agreement that you have. When is this going to end? As it is, can we not cancel the agreement so that we use the electricity locally instead?
Lastly, it is my request as Parliament that if you can kindly relay communication to His Excellency the President, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa to say the Minister has failed. Can you relay that communication? As Parliament, we are saying we need someone else who can work on this situation.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Hwende!
*HON. HWENDE: The Minister was given a task and he failed. He never made his maiden speech in this Parliament. He has never said anything in this Parliament.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, please Hon. Hwende!
*HON. HWENDE: What it means is that he does not know anything with regard to electricity. We kindly ask you to return the Minister who was there before him. We are pretty much sure that he is very good in that area.
HON. T. MOYO: On a point of order Madam Speaker. My point of order arises from what Hon. Hwende was saying. He was digressing from what he was supposed to concentrate on. He was supposed to seek clarification. Now the issue to do with the appointing authority is out of order.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Hwende, you were supposed to ask questions in line with the Ministerial Statement. What you are now asking is very wrong. You should withdraw your statement. You cannot come into this House and start asking about performance and competence of a Minister.
*HON. HWENDE: The truth is that the Minister failed. Your house has no electricity, my house has no electricity. I cannot withdraw when my house has no electricity. People in Kuwadzana have no electricity. The Minister has failed in his job.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I am the Hon. Speaker and I am in charge and leading. I am saying you should withdraw your statement.
*HON. HWENDE: I am saying the Minister has failed his task. I do not know why he was brought into this office.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Hwende, can you withdraw your statement.
*HON. HWENDE. I withdraw.
*HON. BITI: My question to the Hon. Minister Hon. Zhemuis, as difficult as the situation is right now, why do you not allow everyone in Zimbabwe who has the ability and who can afford to import whether lithium batteries, solar panels, inverters or even poles, anything to do with solar products so that we can actually make it duty free so that people get assisted in that area? Maybe that can cushion the problem we are having.
Secondly, normally internationally it costs US$1 million to produce a megawatt. So the 300 megawatts that is going to be produced at Hwange Furnace 7 could have cost us US$300 million. Furnace 8 has 300 megawatts and so it could also have cost us US$300 million, but the cost of both furnaces 7 and 8 is US$1.5 billion. Why do we have such a bloated figure? This is where we see corruption. Where we were supposed to pay US$600 million we are now paying US$1.5 billion. This is where corruption comes in.
What are we doing about Batoka so that we get 2 000 to 2 500 megawatts working together with Mozambique? We cannot continue importing because we do not have that money. The Government has failed to import. What have you done about Batoka Minister?
*HON. NYAMUDEZA: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. My question to the Hon. Minister is that you mentioned you are going to undertake studies to see if dams in this country can produce electricity. My question is, how long does it take to establish if our local dams can produce electricity? How long will that take?
Secondly, may you inform the nation that as ministers and deputy ministers are getting solar products worth ZWL12million but the actual market value is ZWL3 500.00? Is this true? Is it ZWL14 000.00 or ZWL3 500.00? Can we have clarity on that?
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Madzimure, please may you switch off that mic.
HON. GABBUZA: Thank you Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I seek for two clarifications from the Hon. Minister. Firstly, there are some low hanging fruits that we could easily implement but we do not see much appetite from Government. For example, there are places where the water current is fast enough and is perennial which we could simply put in our turbine and it starts generating. Zambia is doing it on the Victoria Falls but on the Zimbabwean side, we are doing nothing.
Hon. Minister, we have water around just downstream of the Victoria Falls, it is always there and always flowing. We have water from Mutirikwi Dam, it is always flowing. We have water from Tokwe-Murkosi Dam and all those are potential places where we could simply put our generator or even water coming out of the generated Kariba electricity, downstream we could put some turbines, low cost and we start generating. Why are you not considering that?
Secondly, we are generating electricity at 475 from the statistics that you gave us, meters above sea level – that is where our turbines are taking their water at 475 meters above sea level. When we put the second extension at Kariba south, we went back to 475 meters and put turbines there to draw water. Why could we not go a bit lower because we knew that there is a shortage of water, go a bit lower, maybe just two meters then we would have an extra two meters of volumes of water times the distance up to Victoria Falls but you still went where there is no water and put our turbines to uptake water from there. Thank you.
*HON. MADZIMURE: Firstly, I would like to comment on the ruling party’s manifesto which relates and assured everyone that we would have access to electricity in five years. Where did we get it wrong according to the manifesto? What is that we missed and did not do correctly? What happened to the adage, Magetsi ngwee?
Secondly Madam Speaker, why did we fail to pay contractors so that we have electricity in the country? Since we failed to pay contractors on time, we told each other that we would be done with installation of Hwange 7 and 8 by November. As we speak, Hwange 7 is going to be online but Hwange 8 will take quite some time.
Another question Madam Speaker is, why are we failing to emulate Zambia? In order for Zambia not to get water from Lake Kariba and still have electricity - the reason is, as alluded by Hon. Gabbuza, Zambia is generating more electricity using all the resources that they have. Why do we not have a similar plan also in this country? Dema had said it would break electricity into the grid and we gave the Tagwireis a lot of money. What has then happened because Dema is not working properly and not even a single megawatt is coming onto the grid? – [HON. MUNETSI: Yave kutoshanda!] – Dema is actually dilapidated before it even starts working. Can we get clarity on that issue of Dema because nothing has happened and it is not bringing anything onto the grid?
Madam Speaker, we have people who can bring their money into the country but we hear a lot of people complaining that we are not getting the licence simply for the reason that the requirements are very complicated and not everyone can meet the requirements. Is it because of Mr. Gata that we brought back to Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA)? Now he is back again, if we look back at what he had done before. Mr. Gata left everything in a very shambolic state and now he is back and everything is dilapidated; just a short period that he is back, nothing has improved. Is it possible that Mr. Gata continues as Executive Chairperson of ZESA as difficult as things are right now? Do we still need Mr. Gata on top of things?
Lastly Hon. Minister, things are not looking good when we look at industries. This budget that we are talking about is meaningless when the situation in the industry remains as dire as it is now. Until 2300 hours, there is no electricity, we actually have electricity late into the night and it goes so early in the morning – it is meaningless. There are people who are getting electricity, those who are irrigating their crops but they are not paying anything towards ZESA. Those in industries are paying their money to date yet we have farmers who are just using electricity for free, without paying a single cent. There are people who have prepaid electricity but they do not have anything. I am saying to the Hon. Minister these are the people who are giving us a problem.
I am into foam rubber manufacturing, if I am not informed of when electricity is coming or going, what happens? We are talking about producing foam rubber using five chemicals and an additional sixth chemical of five milligrams that costs only a dollar; if we are not informed of when electricity is coming back or going, it means you are going to ruin the whole production cycle of a block worth $500.00; if we lose that input, the whole production is going to waste. What will the Hon. Minister do to assist those in the industries for them to continue with their production?
There are some rich people who can afford three phase generators in their homes. Those are the people who are well financed; they do not worry about the electricity situation in the country. These are the mbingas of this country; they are not even bothered and are also responsible for destroying the economy. How can the Hon. Minister assist us so that we continue working and continue moving forward as a country? I thank you.
*HON. CHIDZIVA: Thank you Madam Speaker for affording me this opportunity. My question to the Minister is; what plans do you have in mind because we have got communities such as Highfield where there are a lot of old people who are on medication and they require the medication to be refrigerated. They can no longer access electricity and their medication is being affected. A lot of deaths are now occurring in these areas. I had to attend to three funerals for elderly people yesterday because their medication had been ruined. What plans do you have in order to compensate or take other ameliorating measures as a Ministry because you preside over that particular sector?
Minister, robberies have increased and there are now too many thieves. What do you have in mind to quickly attend to this as a result of the loss of lives that is occurring in these particular areas?
I would also want to know that in this country, apart from the challenges that we have, do we have the capacity to produce sufficient electricity for ourselves? If so, would it not be better for you to use the resources that you are using on importing to repair the infrastructure that we have so that the country can be self-sustaining instead of importing electricity because it is too expensive to import? The loss of functionality for our accessories or infrastructure such as Hwange and Kariba, why are we importing accessories when ZESA has trained various forms and types of engineers that are able to manufacture equipment or machinery? Why are we constantly going to procure expensive machinery? It would appear that ZESA is now normalising the abnormal. People are relaxed as if going without electricity for long periods is the norm. It is not normal and Minister, you must avert to this lack of electricity as quickly as possible because this is abnormal. I thank you Madam Speaker.
(v)*HON. JOSIAH SITHOLE: Thank you Madam Speaker. My debate is focused mainly on what is happening in the communal lands. The electrical poles are falling down. The transformers are also malfunctioning and people are not attending to these faults quickly in these rural areas. As a result, people may be electrocuted but the interim would be giving such problems to the relevant offices in our areas. At times the technicians come and promise to come back but they will never do so. What is the Minister doing about such problems and how is he going to alleviate the problem? I thank you.
(v)*HON. R. R. NYATHI: Madam Speaker, I was very much disturbed when the Minister said that we are losing 18% due to illegal connections. What is he doing to ensure that we do not have such losses? The Hon. Minister should approach the Hon. Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education and share his problems with the learners as they are busy coming up with electricity hubs so that they address their minds to the issues to do with electricity. This would then assist in the management of electricity outages. If 18% from the grid is being lost, then the country will come to ruin. My advice to those that have attended electrical studies or engineers should come up with ways to ensure that our electricity is now full proof to theft so as to minimise the gap. Thank you Madam Speaker.
(v)HON. S. NDLOVU: Thank you Madam Speaker. I want to thank the Hon. Minister for bringing the Ministerial Statement in the august House. I would have loved to hear the Hon. Minister speaking in regards to solar systems because we have a crisis. The only solution to it is the solar system because we have the sun and everything, besides having the gadgets themselves. So I would have loved to hear the Hon. Minister speaking to issues that relate to solar, maybe talking about incentives to those who can solarise especially businesses because that would be a big project. Again, the solar systems have gone around and I have heard of a complete solar system which I hear is $14 thousand from what we have just gathered this past week. Minister, what is Government doing to make sure that someone in the rural areas can afford to solarise their businesses and their homes? If it is $14 thousand, then how many people can afford to buy the solar system? I want to find out how much would be a complete solar system with batteries, with solar package and maybe bringing a solar geyser as well from the neighbouring countries if you pay tax on that. Let us hear the Minister explaining about bringing solar systems from outside the country because they are affordable as compared to the prices of solar gadgets in the country. So let us hear the Minister speaking to that so that he can make decisions on whether to buy solar systems outside the country or in the country. Can the Minister also explain what government is doing to ensure that the solar systems are affordable in the country? Is there a company which is housed to manufacture solar panels and batteries so that they are affordable locally?
(v)HON. WATSON: My point to the Minister is; I think he should bring a statement to the citizens of Zimbabwe on how on short term, medium term and long term measures - for example the Batoka Gorge can only be described as a long term measure but it is not going to bring Zimbabwe anything in the short term. I would also like to ask the Minister to confirm that one unit of Hwange 1 to 6 is actually completely burnt out and we were told as the Budget and Finance Committee that it is unrepairable and unrehabilitable. It cannot be refurbished. He did say 400mgw from the remaining unit but Hwange is yet to produce more than 200mgw maybe 300mgw but certainly never 400mg based on what ZESA has put out. Is that really part of the solution or is it just waiving a carrot in front of people in order to try and cope? I would also like to find out if any progress has been made in terms of the coal bed methane gas being converted to power. We have heard about it before but nothing seems to have happened. I would also like to say that if every consumer, particularly in Bulawayo, is to have their copper wire stolen, transformers vandalized, it is a challenge being faced by ZESA and they spend months trying to put the money together to reinstate the vandalized equipment while people go without electricity for that period.
*HON. SODA: Thank you Madam Speaker. The same question that was posed by Hon. Mahlangu was asked by Hon. Tekeshe to the effect that, why are you saying you want the country to have electricity during the day when we are only having it during the night. I had earlier on responded that we are having outages because we do not have sufficient quantities hence you find that some areas that do not have electricity during the course of the day are able to utilise power during the night or day. This is done alternatively with those who would have received it in the afternoon and vice-versa. It is not possible at the moment to do away with load shedding. When we talk about load shedding, we are merely stating that we have insufficient electricity on the grid and what then happens is that people are given time slots to utilise electricity at different times. As a result of this, some people will not get electricity in the evening. So it may so happen that those who might not have the need to use it may not but those with businesses can use electricity during that time of the night. However, I am also alive to the fact that thieves have now become a menace because of the darkness that is now prevailing and measures can be put in place to ensure that the thieves are deterred from doing that.
There is a question that was posed by Hon. Hwende about the issue of licencing of private players amounting to a 100 and you wanted to find out if due diligence was carried out in terms of raising sufficient finances to finance the projects. We look at all that but people can use some expertise in getting the licences because there are some people that are speculating over the use of licences. All these things are being done to ensure everything is okay. When the licence expires and one has not done anything it will be cancelled. We now have an added requirement and when one wants to be awarded a tender they should show proof of source of funds.
The other question was on the Gwanda Solar Project. At the moment I am unable to give you an answer because this is a matter before the courts and I cannot comment on the issue. After the court ruling we will then see what position we can take.
All corrupt activities should be reported and we should not just talk about it. If there are any bribery cases or corrupt activities, there is ZACC and people should go there and report. If an investor is coming and there are corrupt people who do not want to see the light of day for that project and if reported, investigations will be carried out and the police and ZACC will be involved. Investors cannot be deterred from making investments in Zimbabwe. All corrupt activities should be reported.
There is also an issue that is coming out that Ministers and their deputies are having solar systems being installed for this particular group of people. That is false, nothing of that sort is taking place but what I know is that through the Public Service Commission, there are incentives that are going to be introduced by the Ministry to civil servants without specifically mentioning any category. This is where mention was made of assistance that would be rendered to civil servants for installation of solar systems. It is a lie that Ministers and their deputies are receiving solar installations.
On the question of why we are still selling electricity to Namibia when we have power shortages or the suggestion that we should stop exporting electric to Namibia, the genesis of the agreement with the Namibian Power Supply is because of the loan that we got when we were expanding the electric source in Kariba. We entered into an agreement whereby we had to supply them with power and an account was then ring-fenced where the payments made by buyers would go into which we call ring-fenced funding or amount and that money should always be seen in that account. So according to the agreement that was made during the expansion of Kariba South, that money has to continue to be availed in that account, otherwise we will be breaking the agreement we entered into when we got the loan to do the expansion. We have to honour that agreement because it is the same manner in which we can source money to be able to pay the loan.
Hon. Biti wanted to know why there are no opportunities for ordinary people to import solar equipment and accessories duty free. Maybe he is unaware that people are allowed to bring solar accessories duty free. They are given exemption to bring in solar equipment and the same applies to those that would want to set up solar power stations. They both benefit from the duty free of importing the equipment. The other question from Hon. Biti was why is it that the money that was used for expansion of Hwange Power Station amounted to US$1, 5 billion is not being used for solar energy because it is his view that we are using $1, 5 billion to raise 600 mw which could have just used US$600 million.
Our energy mix as a country should have a provision for base load. This is the electricity that is not affected by the weather conditions, whether it is raining, night or day or any other conditions but there are times when solar energy is not used during the night. So the solar energy is supported by base load. Our base load is coming from Kariba and whenever we have enough water, we are assured of being capable of raising energy. We cannot just go to solar energy because solar energy without base energy cannot be able to supply electricity to the country at all material times. Hence, we had to then expand Hwange Power Station and use that particular amount without turning our attention to solar energy.
The question that came from Hon. Nyamudeza where he asked about the dams that we have in our country as to why they are not being used to generate electricity, it is not every dam that we have in this country that can generate electricity. We have to do feasibility studies to see if the fall of the water from the dam can be able to turn the turbines and produce electricity. There is a certain height that is required for the generation of the electricity. So it is not every water body that has water that can generate electricity. What the Government is doing at the moment is that we need to bear that in mind at the design stage of the dam wall to incorporate the generation of electricity so that once the dam wall is constructed, there is provision of generation of power. If there is no provision, the dam and water will be there but it cannot generate electricity because the power generation will not have been incorporated at the design stage. The policy of the Second Republic is that all the dams that are being constructed should be designed in such a manner that they can generate electricity.
Hon. Nyamudeza also spoke about the issue of $14 million worth of solar energy systems that the Ministers are having installed at their houses. That I cannot confirm because I know naught of where this arrangement has taken place and the amount stated is also not true. Hon. Gabbuza asked about the rivers that we have that can be used to generate electricity through run-off the river action and wondered why we not generating using that. It is true there is room or scope for that because we have rivers such as Pungwe in Manicaland where we have electricity that is being generated by the run-off the river action. Once it rains, turbines are turned and electricity is generated. What is not there are the investors to invest in the construction of such infrastructure of such rivers. At times we only have access to water without power generation because of lack of an investor.
Hon. Gabbuza also posed a question as to why we did not allow the new turbines that were installed at Kariba Power Station as the expansion project to be below 475, 5 metres above sea level which I have just indicated as the lowest operating level. That was not possible because of ingression. The water that is below 475, 5 metres is not available for power generation. It is not because of the intake levels of our power generation units but that is supposed to be the dead level of the dam. That water cannot be used for power generation.
Hon. Madzimure asked a question as to why Hwange was not switched on time and why it did not give us electricity at the stipulated time. I hope we all remember that we now have the opportunity to sit in this House and debate but because of COVID-19, we have not been doing it for almost a year and a half. We were in lockdown and this also affected the construction of Hwange Unit 7. Nothing was happening because an EEC procurement, construction and engineering says that all the material should be coming to China, hence we were not able to do that on time. It was our considered view that Hwange Unit 7 must have been completed by now. We were also affected by the lack of water in Kariba and that poses as a scenario where it appears we did something wrong but Hwange 7 was delayed by the pandemic.
This also answers Hon. Madzimure’s question - ‘where did you go wrong’ for us to have the power station generating electricity? We did not fall far from the target. The gestation period from the onset of project up to completion requires a lot of years. It so happened that during the years that we were planning, we had not foreseen that for one and half years, there will be no work due to the effects of COVID. I believe that we are not way off the mark in terms of the completion of this particular power station. It is our expectation that now we can recover because Unit 7 is almost complete. We hope that this unit will be able to produce electricity at the end of this month followed by Unit 8. There is also an assumption that Unit 7 and 8 will produce electricity but at the same time, that is not correct. From ab initio, it has always been very clear that Unit 7 would come on the grid first followed by Unit 8. They were never meant to come simultaneously on the grid.
There was also a question about the Dema Project and why it was not feeding power on the grid. This is an independent power project. We once considered that it should be looked into to see if it has the capacity to be able to be on the grid and generate electricity. It was observed that Dema has been decommissioned and as of now, has no use to us. In the short time, it cannot be producing electricity.
There is also a school of thought that investors are being deterred by the ZESA conditions so that they can come and set up power generation sites. These are national projects that are of national interest and the safety of consumers or those that work at the station should be safeguarded. When such big projects are to be embarked on, national interests and feasibility studies should be carried out – and also find out how much the project will cost and how much the power that is going to be generated is going to be sold; at what price a unit and is it affordable to the people. Environmental Impact Assessments reports should also be done to see the impact of the project on the environment. This was not clearly spelt out where the delay was coming from but certain standards have to be met and research done to find out if the project is not going to be detrimental to the community.
There was also the issue of lack of electricity in the industrial areas. As a result, entrepreneurs are failing to carry out their work. I symphathise with them and understand the predicament. It is true that electricity drives our economy in terms of industry. Electricity is a driver of growth and it is the major enabler – we are alive to this and that is why you see that we are busy looking for alternatives to ensure that the industrial areas have electricity all the time hence the economy will not be disturbed. Whenever we see challenges that are detrimental to the economy’s growth, we look for ways to see how best we can alleviate power shortages so that the industries can continue functioning.
He also spoke about the chain of production and raw materials that are affected once power is cut during the production process. There is bound to be losses. We are going to ensure that this is attended to in the short, medium and long term.
Hon. Chidziva spoke about the plight faced by people who are on medication and when power is cut, the medication goes bad. He wants to know what we are doing as Government. We have short, medium and long term plans to ensure that we have adequate electricity generation in the country.
The construction of new electricity power stations in the short term – we are in NDS1 era. This was also looked into and discovered how much would be required in the form of electricity generation for agriculture, mining and other industries plus new households. That information is common cause. That is why you have seen Hwange 7 and 8 being brought in as well as the rehabilitation that is going to take place once Unit 7 and 8 are in place.
There was also a question as to why we are failing to manufacture our own equipment that we use. This is not a very clear question but if there are solar panels, the manufacturer of solar panels will require invertors.
*THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: May you please respond to Hon. Sithole and Hon. Ndlovu’s questions in English.
*HON. SODA: I am still responding to Hon. Chidziva’s question Hon. Speaker.
Hon. Sithole has talked about the issue of power line poles that fall down and they are not quickly attended to. I have noted this one. If there is a specific area that this is prevalent, please let us know so that we can look into this specific issue. It is true that sub-standard work might have been done; Government’s policy is to ensure that everything is done timeously, that electricity should be readily available to all who need it and that once poles have fallen down they must be attended to.
Hon. Nyathi said he is worried about my explanation that 18% of our electricity before they get to where they are utilised, power generation is lost. He wanted to find out why there is such a loss and he said there must be a research between the Ministry of Energy and Power Development and the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education so that there could be solutions. The reason why we are losing electricity from source to user is because of old equipment that we are using which is now obsolete. Therefore, the panacea of the problem lies in new technology, so where we have old conductors, there is need to replace them with new conductors. We are in the process of importing 1 400 transformers, the said transformers are now being installed. These were the ones that were malfunctioning and those that had been attacked by faults. Power lines that did not carry heavy loads need to be replaced so that heavy load power lines are installed in order that the required load can then be transported along that particular power line.
A question from Hon. Ndlovu, she was saying that I did not speak to solar systems whilst we have abundance of solar and also the need for incentivising big projects. I thought I had articulated on solar systems when I indicated that they are mainly done through the independent power producers where there are some incentives on offer, especially for development of projects. When equipment is being imported into the country, there are some tax rebates which are being offered and tax holidays which are also on offer.
We also have net metering facilities as an incentive and this allows one who would have done a solar system not to be bothered about the storage of the power that would be generated. The power that is generated from solar panels is immediately sent to the grid and the storage is done through banking into the grid. The consumer can then withdraw from what would have been deposited into the grid – so that is another incentive that is on offer, especially in the solar energy space.
Then this question continues to arise as to how many people can afford the $14 million which is being provided to Ministers; like I indicated earlier on, I am not aware of this $14 million which is being offered to Ministers for installation of their solar systems. Again, the cost of solar systems, if it is true that they are costing $14 million, I cannot confirm this because I think some evaluation has to be made. What I believe is that the cost goes with the size of the equipment that one would be installing.
What is Government doing to allow affordability of solar systems – there are some incentives which I have just spoken about. If one wants to import some equipment, they can enjoy some tax rebates among other incentives that are on offer.
The question which was raised by the Hon. Watson, she said in my presentation, in the Statement that I issued, I did not indicate the short term, medium term and long term measures. Maybe there was some misunderstanding. I indicated that the short term measures would be to import the additional capacities which I just spoke about and the targeted markets being: - the EDM power utility of Mozambique and also our participation on the SAPP market, those will be among the short term measures.
Another short term measure will be the review of the hydrological situation at Kariba which is going to happen next month in January 2023. Once that happens and already some inflows have started to get into the Kariba Dam, and when that situation is reviewed with a possibility of having additional water allocation then with the readiness that is already at Kariba Power Station, with the availability of the power units then generation can immediately be resumed. So that is among the short term measures and we are also looking at the coming in of 300 mega watts from Hwange Unit 7 as one of the short term measures.
The medium term measures that I spoke of include the rehabilitation of the existing Hwange Power Station which is currently in progress with a detailed project report having already been issued to guide on the scope of works that will be conducted through the rehabilitation of Hwange. Among the long term measures, that is when I spoke about the Batoka Gorge Hydro Electric Scheme.
The other question from Hon. Watson was on a unit; again this time Hon. Watson is indicating that it is a unit in Hwange which is said to be beyond repair. I am not aware of this, the same with another unit which is being alleged to be beyond repair, again at Kariba Power Station, I am not aware about that development.
The other question was on the Coal bed Methane Gas from Lupane as to why that is not being harnessed for electricity generation. The reason has been on lack of investments. There have to be investments for exploration of the gas first and once that gas is explored and we obtain some commercial reserves then that can be utilised for electricity generation. I thank you.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Thank you Hon Minister. I really want to thank you for those elaborate and extensive responses that you gave in response to the Ministerial Statement on the State of Power and Energy in the country. We really need to applaud you for those responses. This was quite a well awaited Ministerial Statement which everyone was waiting for. Thank you very much.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. SODA), the House adjourned at Twenty Minutes past Six o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 14th December, 2022.
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. MOHADI: Thank you Mr. President. I move that Order of the Day, Number 1 be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President for giving me the opportunity to add my voice to the debate on the State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered by His Excellency the President, Cde. Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa. I would like to thank His Excellency for his vision. When we went to the new Parliament Building, we were all impressed by the state of the art building. This is part of development in the country, which we need the most.
During SONA, His Excellency the President talked about chiefs’ Zunde raMambo, which he had extended to village heads. The chiefs are there but they will be helped by lieutenants, the village heads in order to cover the whole country. This will help people in the rural areas so that no one is left behind, as the Government takes care of all its people. As big as the country is or as big the area of a chief is, it will be covered when it comes to food distribution during needy times
The President also talked about finance, in relation to the Insurance Bill. Insurance companies had proliferated everywhere in the country but when people need to be assisted through their contributions, it was not happening. Even if you fall ill, you were asked of shortfalls but you will be contributing every month. I want to thank our President for such wisdom that he wants people to benefit from their contributions towards insurances like medical aid. We feel great because we have a caring President, who has his people at heart.
Mr. President, His Excellency also talked about the office of the Attorney-General that it is no longer part of the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. The President’s foresight helps us because we all know the history of our courts. If one is persecuted and goes to court, the cases were not coming to conclusion. Victims would be called to court several times and in the long run, the docket will be missing or you can be told to come the other day and so on. What our President did now would see our courts being run professionally and cases dealt with timeously; especially cases of corruption, they do not need to take long before conclusion because a lot will be happening behind the scenes. I think this will help us go a long way in trusting our courts.
His Excellency also talked about the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bills. This is going to correct things which were not right. We know that our minerals will be channeled where they are supposed to be going so that they benefit the nation. This is different from what was happening where people would just take their minerals to all corners. This is going to bring order to the mining sector and it is going to benefit the country.
Mr. President, His Excellency spoke about Disaster Risk Management Bill, which is a vision meant to save lives. His Excellency saw that we were not prepared when disaster occurred in Chimanimani. We lost a lot of lives because there was no mechanism in place to mitigate the disaster. The Disaster Risk Management Bill is meant to address this so that the departments which are tasked with that responsibility would be prepared for disasters. There will not be any need for being reactive to the situation but the departments would be proactive. Due to climate change, we do not know when disasters come and the end result. If there is preparedness and there are mitigatory measures, the nation will not lose many lives. I want to thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. CHIDUWA): I move that the debate do now adjourn.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 15th December, 2022.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. CHIDUWA): Thank you Mr. President. I move that the House reverts to Order of the Day, Number 1 on today’s Order Paper.
MOTION
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER NOS. 32 (6), 52, 65, 67 (5) AND 137
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. CHIDUWA) on behalf of THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Mr. President, I move that the provisions of Standing Order Nos. 32 (6), 52, 65, 67 (5) and 137 regarding the reporting period of the Parliamentary Legal Committee, automatic adjournment of the House at Five Minutes to Seven o’clock p.m. and at Twenty Five Minutes past One o’clock p.m. on a Friday, Government precedence and Private Members’ precedence, questions and stages of Bills respectively, be suspended until business relating to the Budget has been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
CONSTRUCTION OF SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE AND RECRUITMENT OF ECD TEACHERS
Second Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on challenges affecting early child learning.
Question again proposed.
+HON. SEN. S. MPOFU: Thank you Mr. President for the opportunity that you have given me. This motion is about ECD, young children who are supposed to go to school. It is very important to the children so that they access knowledge at an early stage. It is important for children to attend ECD because this prepares them for Grade 1. A child who goes to Grade 1 after attending ECD will be well prepared for primary school learning. Before ECD when children attended Grade 1 lessons, they used to cry refusing to go to school hence children need to attend ECD.
If there is a problem with the child that the parents did not notice when the child was home, teachers help in observing problems that need to be attended by medical practitioners and they will advise the parents. Some schools in rural areas are not yet ready for ECD A and B. It is important for some of the requirements to be met. Classrooms for ECDs are unique, the classrooms are wider.
The wide classrooms are not there in some schools where they offer ECD. There are a lot of requirements that need to be attended to. There is need for such classrooms in rural areas so that the children have enough space to learn and play from. Most places when you go around schools, you find that the children will be outside. When it is cold or raining, they have to share a classroom with other children and as such, learning is impeded because they will have to mix them with grade ones.
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education must look into that especially for rural schools so that proper infrastructure can be set up for ECD students. ECD learners are very young and some of them travel long distances to go to school; Government must build nearby schools.
The other problem is, in most areas, there is no electricity of which electricity enables internet connectivity. Most of the rural schools do not have internet connectivity. Most of the rural schools do not have internet connectivity. Most schools these days are being attended to through the internet. Children cannot use WIFI because there is no electricity. The Government should help either by setting up electricity or solar powered systems so that rural children can also access learning like other children in urban centres.
Again, in the rural areas we do not have the required teachers. The Government should look into this matter that we should have ECD teachers. They need to be trained so that the rural children can also access education just like their urban counterparts. What is good is that Government said that these children should have food at schools. In most places, particularly in rural areas, food is a problem. They leave home without having eaten anything and when they go to school, they cannot learn properly in that condition. In some schools, the food is not prepared. They just store the maize and beans. It is because the parents do not know that they should take the initiative in that programme of feeding the children in schools.
The other important thing, Mr. President, is computers in rural areas are not there so the Government should avail laptops, tablets or phones which are cheaper to enable parents and guardians to buy for their children at low prices.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Order! Hon. Senator, you may take your seat. I am not very good in Ndebele but we are being advised that you are debating on child marriages and yet this motion is about the challenges which ECDs are facing. If that is correct please can you debate on ECDs. This motion is about ECD.
HON. SEN. S. MPOFU: Mr. President Sir, I am debating on ECDs, the disadvantages which are faced by ECD children in rural areas.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Okay, unfortunately, I cannot judge for myself so I will take your word for it.
+HON. SEN. S. MPOFU: Thank you Mr. President. I was saying the children in ECDs are disadvantaged because they do not have access to gadgets for them to be able to use and learn. Therefore, we request that Government should have a programme where they supply cheaper gadgets so that rural parents and guardians can manage to buy the gadgets so that these children can also enjoy learning ICT related educational matters.
Again, the teachers in the rural areas, we need ECD teachers who also use the language of the community because most of the ECD children normally go through this problem because the teachers are not able to speak the local languages. That makes it difficult for these children to learn or to understand what they are taught. We therefore request that the Government should look into that. Those children should access all the necessary prerequisites for ECD such as books, toys because they are still young. They still have to play because they are still at infant stage.
The Government should look into these matters to enable rural children to learn like their colleagues in the urban centres. With those words, Mr. President, I thank you.
ÙÙHON. SEN. MOHADI: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to add a few words on the motion that was moved by Hon. Sen. Mabika, which talks mainly about the ECD. Mr. President Sir, I now revert to my mother language.
Mr. President Sir, the children who attend ECD are very young. Some of them are as young as 4 years and some are 5 years old. I would like to focus on the resettlement areas. Children have to walk 20km to school and talking of ECD, are we saying these children will be able to get to a school which is 20km away from where they stay. It is not possible. If they are likely to get to such a distant school, they will not concentrate because they will be tired, Mr. President.
Meanwhile, we are happy that our children will grow up going to school through ECD but in other areas which are disadvantaged, it is not working out. Even if we are to look at rural areas, the current situation is that the classrooms that they are using, especially in resettlement areas are not proper classrooms. These children will be using mud houses as classrooms which were left by the previous farm owners. In such kind of an environment, what do you expect a kid to do?
Mr. President, let us also look at these children that are at such schools; if we are to look at those in Regions 4 and 5, even if people plough in their fields, they do not get meaningful harvests. So these children normally go to school on empty stomachs and the school feeding programme is not there in quite a number of schools. If these children are going to school hungry and get back home hungry, it affects their performance.
Mr. President, children walk long distances and there is no transport to ferry these little children to and from school. If you look at these children who are five to six years, nowadays people are cruel, they no longer respect children. We realised that there are more reports of kids being raped on their way to and from school. We realised that very few of those children are able to reach Grade 7. Most of them do not get to finish their Grade 7 because they would get pregnant and leave school. Our President is always saying we are leaving no one and no place behind. If possible, may the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education set out a small budget that focuses on ECD so that it alleviates such challenges that I am highlighting here. Without anyone looking at this issue, it means kids will continue to be in trouble. Mr. President, I have said much about these kids, they need our care; they need to get proper education which is similar to that of their counterparts in towns and growth points.
Going to the issue of teachers that are teaching these kids, we do not have enough teachers. Those who are not capable of teaching these classes end up taking those classes without the requisites, just because they want them to be at the same level with those in growth points but the ones on resettlement are kids that have been left behind so much. These kids in the resettlement areas end up not taking education seriously because they always suffer at that tender age. My plea to our Government is to help our kids because it is a fraction of Zimbabwe that needs to be assisted. With these few words, I thank you.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 15th December, 2022.
On the motion of HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA seconded by HON. SEN. S. MPOFU, the Senate adjourned at Seventeen Minutes past Three o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 13th December, 2022
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)
HON. MADZIMURE: Thank you Mr. Speaker and welcome back.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you.
HON. MADZIMURE: I hope you had a good trip.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Yes, very much so.
HON. MADZIMURE: Mr. Speaker, some three weeks ago, an Hon. Member stood in the House and asked the Minister of Energy and Power Development to come and give a Ministerial Statement on the state of electricity in the country.
As you are aware Mr. Speaker, this is our business part of the year as far as manufacturing is concerned. Industry uses this particular …
THE HON. SPEAKER: May you pull your microphone to face your mouth please?
HON. MADZIMURE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I was saying that …
THE HON. SPEAKER: But you said that the matter was raised last week?
HON. MADZIMURE: No, no, it is now three weeks ago and the Hon. Minister was supposed to have come back. Yes, the matter was brought up by Hon. Munengami.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Member, I have checked with the Clerk of Parliament. He said that the issue was raised last Thursday.
HON. MADZIMURE: No, last week was actually the second time…
THE HON. SPEAKER: Last Thursday was the second time?
HON. MADZIMURE: Yes, last Thursday was a reminder. So, looking at the situation Mr. Speaker, we cannot wait any longer. What happens in industries is that you have your programmes and some of the equipment that we now use is digitalised to the extent that the moment it is interrupted, there are so many losses that the industry incurs. Why? This is because there is no information as to when to expect electricity and when it will go off. The information that industry is using is now sketchy, gathered in bits and pieces as no one really understands what is going on. Industry is also preparing for annual shutdowns and these also indicate to industry what they will then do next year - but no one is certain at the moment and the Hon. Minister is quiet. This is quite disturbing. People must be informed about the budget that we are going to debate that it depends solely on what we are going to produce and transactions that happen within industry and commerce. Without that information, we are letting the country down and we do not expect miracles to meet even the budget. My plea is for the Minister to come and spell out the situation and programme, when to expect electricity so that even if we are to have the usual load shedding, but as far as industry is concerned, it must be known as and when we will have the load shedding.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you. Let me check the Hansard record and let us see whether the Minister got the request so that it can be done as soon as possible. We will follow it up.
MOTION
FINANCE BILL: BUDGET DEBATE
First Order read: Adjourned debate on motion that leave be granted to bring in a Finance Bill.
Question again proposed.
HON. MUTSEYAMI: On a point of order Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon Mr. Speaker Sir. I think it is important to note that Business of the House last week when the Bill was presented and when the motion to do with the Budget came up last week, the substantive Minister of Finance was absent and in his absence, the House agreed for the Chairpersons of Committees to do presentations of their reports in their fellow Committees. Then there was a mutual agreement amongst us and I remember there was the Leader of the House and in the Acting capacity for the Chief Whip was Hon. T. Moyo, myself and Hon. Tekeshe. We agreed that when we move to the next phase on Thursday, the Hon. Minister of Finance will be back in the country and will listen to the processes of the Budget. Unfortunately, on that Thursday, the Hon. Minister did not come and with the indulgence of the Chief Whips, we agreed for the debate of Chairpersons to be completed regardless of his absence bearing in mind the mutual understanding that this coming week, the Hon. Minister of Finance today will be available to hear the debates as they move. Unfortunately, the Hon. Minister of Finance is not here today. We see the Deputy Minister. In that debate last week, it was debated that the Hon. Deputy Minister does not sit in Cabinet and there was supposed to be an Acting Minister of Finance of which that Acting Minister of Finance has not been pronounced to the House. With your indulgence Mr. Speaker, please note that there was the agreement that the Hon. Minister of Finance will be here today and he is not here. Presumably, he was supposed to be here from last week Thursday. Now we are going back to this debate and the Minister is not here and there is no explanation. Thank you Mr. Speaker.
An Hon. Member having stood up on a point of order.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Just a minute, I have not responded. I want to hear clarity of facts and I want to be clear. Did the House complete the debate on the submitted reports by the Committee Chairpersons?
HON. T. MOYO: Mr. Speaker, the Chairpersons, after completing their reports, we were expecting Hon. Members to also come in and debate and they did not debate. They were not accorded that opportunity on the basis that the Leader of the House who was there last week, after consultation said the debate was going to proceed when the Hon. Minister of Finance is around. That was the agreement which was done and the Hon. Minister of Justice agreed to that.
THE HON. SPEAKER: You were supposed to be debating as from today!
HON. T. MOYO: It was supposed to be on Thursday.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Then what happened on Thursday? You are not telling me the full story. You were the Acting Chief Whip! Can you proceed?
HON. T. MOYO: Yes and I want to appraise you. The Hon. Minister of Finance was expected to be in the House last Thursday and he did not come. The debate could not proceed because Hon. Members on your left requested that the debate could not proceed without the presence of the Minister of Finance.
THE HON. SPEAKER: What was the response from the Deputy Minister about the absence of the Minister?
HON. T. MOYO: He was there to present. He said the Minister was not there but he was ready to respond.
THE HON. SPEAKER: No. When would the Minister be available? That was the question at that time.
HON. T. MOYO: I did not ask him that question. Maybe he can respond.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Minister, you heard what transpired, you were there. Did you engage the Hon. Minister Prof. Ncube about the impasse?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. CHIDUWA): Thank you so much. I managed to engage the Hon. Minister and the current update that I have is, the Hon. Minister is coming back in the country on Thursday and is likely to arrive in the afternoon, which may mean that it may not be well – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. SPEAKER: Can I hear the Hon. Deputy Minister please! Hon. Biti, can I hear please?
HON. CHIDUWA: Yaah, which may mean that I think he will be able to join us a bit late but he is arriving on Thursday. I think he will be able to join us a bit late in the afternoon.
THE HON. SPEAKER: In the afternoon, in time for the House sitting? It must be clear.
HON. CHIDUWA: Yes, from the information that I got, he is arriving in the afternoon on Thursday but in terms of the time, I did not get the time.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Okay Hon. Deputy Minister, I am sure you are aware of the Standing Rules and their requirements. What I would have thought was for you to emphasize that the House had to adjourn in anticipation of the Hon. Minister being in the House today. Did he get that message?
HON. CHIDUWA: Yes, Mr. Speaker Sir.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Then what happened? He is not here today.
HON. CHIDUWA: That is the position that is there. -[HON. MEMBER: Inaudible interjection]-
THE HON. SPEAKER: You do not comment. You seek leave to make some clarification. Yes, he will have his bite.
HON. TOGAREPI: Mr. Speaker, if you remember we had a supplementary budget which is a budget as well, which was presented by him and we had no problems. Secondly, our Standing Rules define a Minister as Minister/Deputy Minister, so my worry is, are we going to stop business because there is somebody who is away but we have done the same business with the Deputy Minister?
THE HON. SPEAKER: I thought you were coming up with a different issue in terms of clarification.
The Hon. Leader of Government business.
- [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members! Hon. Members, the debate can take place and when it comes to debate on the Committee of Supply, that is when the Hon. Minister himself can come in. There are other members who would like to debate following the reports of the Committees and after that, we will see how we can proceed.
Meanwhile, I have asked the Deputy Minister to get in touch with the Minister so that he should be available tomorrow evening and we can do the Committee of Supply on Thursday. If we do not finish, we carry on on Friday. There are members who would like to debate so I am advised – [AN HON. MEMBER: We had an agreement-] – You did not conclude the debate on the Committee reports because there are members who would like to debate now – [HON. BITI: That is not what we agreed-] – Not on the Finance Bill, neither getting into Committee of Supply and that is permissible – [HON. GONESE: Mr. Speaker Sir, can you indulge me.] –
Do not close out those who want to debate – [HON. GONESE: No, it is not the issue. If you could hear me out Mr. Speaker?] – You want to overrule me? –[HON. GONESE: No, I am not overruling you Mr. Speaker and that is why I am begging your indulgence because I want to put firstly the contextual background and also the nature of the discussions which took place last week and the consensus which was reached, including …] – I have been briefed already by Hon. Mutseyami. He made the summary. – [HON. GONESE: No, it is not just about Hon. Mutseyami because there was an impasse last week. That is one other thing which …] – I am unravelling the impasse, right.
The debate continues on the Committee reports. Hon. Member, can you take your seat. – HON. GONESE: I seek your indulgence. This has to be placed on record Mr. Speaker.] – Can you take your seat? We are not doing the Finance Bill. We are continuing with debate on Committee reports – [HON. GONESE: The need to seek leave to bring in a Finance Bill where that understanding which I am about to articulate was reached. It was not in relation to the Finance Bill. Mr. Speaker, last week on Wednesday the House adjourned around 4 p.m.] – Hon. Member I have heard the Chief Whip. Can you sit down please – [HON. GONESE: Yes, but as a member I also have got my individual rights and it is …] – I have heard the summary of what transpired, can you please sit down – [HON. GONESE: I will sit down but I believe that as a Presiding Officer, it is also important to hear me.] - Can you please sit down! – [HON. GONESE: I intend to sit down but I also seek your indulgence to articulate what I believe may not have been communicated.] – Can I decree? The indulgence is denied. Thank you.
HON. MUNETSI: I stand to raise certain facts connected to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism from the report that we gave in the House. I have quite a lot that I want the Ministry to consider, especially after having been allocated just very little from the bid that the Ministry wanted. Our Ministry of Environment had asked for $64, 2 billion from Treasury and it was only allocated $13, 9 billion, which if you calculated, is within the 20% range. I also got confused how this Ministry is going to run by a 20% from the bid that it had submitted.
I went through to find out what exactly we want the Ministry of Environment to do. I discovered there is a lot that the Ministry of Environment must do. I also discovered that the Ministry of Environment is a key Ministry in the country. It is the supermarket of any country. If you do not treat the environment well, it means everything else that comes after will be in shambles. For example, if the environment is not clean, the result is seen in hospitals; a lot of diarrhoea and some diseases spread across.
Now, we put more money suppose in the Ministry of Health so that we cure a mistake in the Ministry of Environment. My argument is if we treat the Ministry of Environment well and give him more money, that will help to reduce other budgets – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
HON. BITI: On a point of order Mr. Speaker. This exercise is pointless – the Minister must be here in terms of Section 7 of the Public Finance Management Act. The Budget is the sole responsibility of the Minister of Finance who is identified as an individual. There are three pillars that run the country’s finance in terms of the Public Finance Management Act – the first one is Treasury, which is the Minister; the second one is the Paymaster-General, who is the Secretary to Treasury. The third one is the Accountant-General. Those are the three tripods of the Ministry of Finance. My submission is that the Minister must be here –uMthuli must be here kathesi, namuhla...
THE HON. SPEAKER: Can you respond to the debate. You are making a general statement.
HON. BITI: I am submitting that there is no point in him continuing the debate in the absence of the Minister. That is why we have the agreement made with the esteemed Leader of the House Hon. Minister of Justice, Hon. Ziyambi, that we debate on Thursday when the Minister is around. We debate on Thursday and sleep here. If we do not finish, we come back on Friday. If we do not finish on Friday, we come back on Tuesday.
THE HON. SPEAKER: I have given him the right to speak –[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
HON. BITI: My point of order is, can the Hon. Member speak to reports of Committees.
THE HON. SPEAKER: That is better. Thank you.
HON. BITI: We are ad idem now. Thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Member, can you be so directed. Speak to the Committee reports that were presented last week.
HON. MUNETSI: I am speaking to the report that was presented here in Parliament and I am making submissions so that we can get more funding from Treasury. That is what I want to debate – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order. Hon. Member, you do not respond to the heckling. You address the Chair. Can you proceed –[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
HON. MUNETSI: But they are disturbing me Hon. Speaker –[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – How can I proceed?
THE HON. SPEAKER: You may also speak to the Hon. Minister’s statement that he made – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Order, order Hon. Member, if you want to contribute please do so. I am just extending. You can debate on reports presented – certain angles. You can also debate on the Minister’s statement that he presented to the House.
HON. MUNETSI: I will start off with what is in the report that we need more funding too. There are certain key areas within the Ministry of Environment and Tourism which we felt were left out in the report but they factor in during the proceeds of the Committee and the Ministry’s work. The Ministry of Environment, like I said, is key to anything in the country. I would like to analyse the bid for Policy and Administration Programme which was 5.2 billion – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Yes, I have something to say on that- the allocation was only 3 billion. As a Committee, we discovered that Treasury gave us too little, certain issues will not be addressed because the money will be too little. We want to recommend that strategic policy planning, monitoring and evaluation of programmes within the Ministry under the Policy and Administration Programme will not have enough money to be tackled because what has been allocated is too little.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order, I think Hon. Members must understand that the Minister allocated what he had. For you to keep on saying he must add more and yet he is saying this is what he has does not make any sense. The way forward is to suggest domestic resource mobilisation where he can get the money from. The budget was only 4.5 trillion dollars which the Minister said he has hence he allocated that accordingly. From where should he allocate more? We need to be very clear on that or else it will not make sense because everyone who stands up is going to say he must give more but the budget is only 4.5 trillion. This becomes a useless debate to be honest with you. How then can he get more money? This is where the emphasis should be.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Correct, that is why I said the Hon. Member can address himself to the Minister’s statement in a similar manner as what Hon. Mliswa has said – where else can the Minister get the money from because he is constricted? That is why he gave us that budget of ZWL4.5 trillion.
HON. MUNETSI: Hon. Speaker, are you saying –[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – I want to get clarification –[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – I want to get clarification from the Speaker. You are not the Speaker. He will direct me....
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Member, I have warned you, do not address Members opposite you. Address the Chair.
I am checking here in the Hansard – what you are stating was stated already. As Hon. Mliswa has said, how can the Hon. Minister get more funds so that what is being raised by the committees of certain Votes that are underfunded – you can get money from?
HON. MUNETSI: I hear you Hon. Speaker but I want to get clarification – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Then there will be no reason for debate, because if we feel…
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon Member, if you have nothing to say, please take your seat.
HON. MUNETSI: Can you hear my point?
THE HON. SPEAEKER: How else can the Hon. Minister of Finance get resources to meet what the Committee Chairpersons reported to as underfunding, that is what we would like to hear in the debate.
*HON. TOGAREPI: Thank you Mr. Speaker for giving me the opportunity to debate on the statement that was presented by the Minister as well as the reports by the Chairpersons of Committees.
As I look into the issue of education, I considered the funding that was availed to education by the Minister but I noticed that next year there is going to be free education, as was announced but when I look at the $1, 9 billion that was allocated towards BEAM, I see that as being very little and insufficient for us to roll-out the free education policy.
In my opinion, the Minister’s Statement was supposed to be focused or considering the policy that is in place that beginning 2023 January there will be free education but his Statement allocated very insufficient funds towards the programme. Does this mean we are going to have free education as we had planned?
Mr. Speaker Sir, my suggestion is that the money that was availed to the Ministry of Education - we have new resettlement areas whose schools need to be well built; they do not have enough resources especially for teachers to use. In allocating the funds, since the Minister is unable to stretch the budget, on the allocated funds there should be some alignment to our aspirations so that the Ministry of Education can operate well. I think that is the major issue that I considered.
However, I also considered the issue of environment that was mentioned by one of the Hon. Members here. I concur with him on the issue that all the challenges that we face are because of the way we manage our environment as we strive towards the development of our economy, be it livelihoods or building the nation, we should be allocating resources in line with protecting our environment such as climate change looking at what we are doing as a country in order to manage our environment which will ensure that we do not face climate induced disasters.
I also considered those who deal with meteorological services, they said that currently in Zimbabwe we have challenges that we will experience about five cyclones, so if that funding does not go towards climate induced disaster preparedness then the cyclones will affect us badly. I am looking forward that as the Minister does his work, he should also consider the topical issues that we meet on a daily basis in the running of the ministries.
*HON. MADZIMURE: On a point of order! The Hon. Member debating is repeating what was said by the Committee Chairpersons. He is talking about utilisation of funds instead of resource mobilisation. So my request is that he looks into the issue of domestic resource mobilisation for the Minister to increase the budget allocation.
*HON. TOGAREPI: Hon. Speaker, give them the opportunity to debate. If they are waiting for the Minister, what are they doing in this august House? – [HON. BITI: Inaudible interjection.] – Hon. Speaker, this man in white robes is giving me problems. Mr. Speaker, are you allowing these people to disrupt…
HON. GONESE: On a point of order! The point of order which I am raising relates to the remarks by the Hon. Government Chief whip to the effect that this man in white robes referring and pointing to Hon. Biti. I believe that is unparliamentary. All Hon. Members in this august House are entitled to be referred to as Hon. Members. If there is any reservation on what Hon. Biti might have said, then the Government Chief Whip should have stood up for indulgence.
*HON. TOGAREPI: It is Hon. Biti who had said to me, “this man”. I withdraw. Mr. Speaker Sir, if I am to consider the statement by the Minister of Finance, it reflects that the money that we get to allocate to different Ministries is very little because the Minister does not have multiple revenue collection measures. When we look at Zimbabwe, there are businesses that are in operation that are not paying tax or revenue and the Minister is not considering these in his statements. If you go to Mbare at a place called Magaba, you will find sacks and sacks of money and that money does not find its way into the Consolidated Revenue Fund. So, the Minister needs to come up with measures together with his Ministry, to find ways of ensuring that everyone in Zimbabwe has a culture of paying taxes.
People in Zimbabwe are very rich because they have a lot of billions in their bank accounts and there are people like Hon. Biti who drive expensive cars yet they do not pay their taxes.
HON. BITI: On a point of Order Mr. Speaker. My point of order is that the esteemed Chief Whip from the Government side, since morning, has just been after my case. So, I am wondering what is the motive. I do not know why he is dreaming about me. I am so ugly and I do not know why he is dreaming about me. The whole day it is Biti, Biti, Biti. I need protection.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Where did you meet this morning?
*HON. TOGAREPI: I only mentioned Hon. Biti’s name as a person I normally joke with. I do not have any other issues with him. I just used his name as an example, as someone whom I am facing as I stand here. There are many people here in Zimbabwe who are wealthy but are not paying taxes that can contribute to the revenue. The Ministry of Finance should sit down and consider some of these measures to collect revenue to ensure that roads are rehabilitated and health centres are well furnished and resources are available. What I was saying is that we have so much wealth and for some, we know where their wealth is coming from. My question is, are these people paying taxes in line with the wealth that they have? The Minister should consider this to ensure that our country is able to get revenue.
Our economy is predominantly informal, which means our economy is more in the informal sector than in the formal sector but we realise that the Minister seems to be targeting those in the formal sector. There are more people in the informal sector who have more money than those in the formal sector. Government does not have industries and that is the only way that it can get tax. Everyone should be cultured in such a way that they contribute by way of paying tax.
It is my hope that if the Minister has any other funds that he has put aside which he normally refers to as the back-pocket, I feel the back pocket should go towards BEAM so that we can be sure that when we get to January 2023, there will be free education, meaning Government will be paying fees. If the back pocket is released, then road rehabilitation will take place.
There is another issue of freedom fighters and considering the statement made by the Minister of Finance, Government embarked on a vetting exercise of categories of freedom fighters. We did not see in his statement where this will be done and also how much money is allocated to that programme to enable them to get their money. So I think the back pocket should also be used to fund the veterans of the liberation struggle so that they can receive a decent living. I thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity. Mine is more or less an analysis of the 2023 National Budget which was presented by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development Hon. Prof. Ncube on 24 November 2022. The National Budget has a total Z$4.5 trillion, which is ZW$5.6 billion using the parallel market of ZW$800 and ZW$6.9 billion using the official exchange rate of ZW$640.00. This was against a national anticipation of ZW$9 billion National Budget if Zimbabwe is to attain an upper middle class economy by 2030. An evaluation of the 2023 National Budget shows public policy politics on how wholesome populist policies have undermined optimum resource distribution according to national challenges. As Government tradition, the security sector has been given a huge allocation but despite that, Zimbabwe has experienced both negative and positive peace.
It is rather worrying that the number of war veterans continue to increase from 34 000 in 1997 to 142 000 in 2022. The Government was supposed to have dealt with these 34 000 who deserve to be given what belongs to them but how does this number increase to 142 000 in 2022? There was a great difference and clearly why we are trying to show that the budget is for everyone, this figure needs to be interrogated further. It has the highest level of corruption, misinformation and criminal in nature that there is no way war veterans can increase on 34 000 to 142 000 in 2022. Despite that increase, what boggles my mind is that 142 000 war veterans have been given ZW$46 billion, which is USD57.5 million, 1% of the total budget while Social Protection has been given ZW$50 billion, which is about USD63 million, 1.12% of the total budget.
So what we are looking at is that because of corruption and criminal activities, certain monies meant for real issues have been taken out and we continue to fight corruption to no gain. This is despite the fact that the Zimbabwe Social Protection Unit is in a dire situation of 3.8 million rural people facing food starvation and 1.6 million urban starvations. There are 4.6 million children living in severe acute malnutrition and 4.8 million in need of Basic Education Module known as BEAM. Therefore, if one is to take into account these allocations, it is to argue that the budget is not inclusive and it disregards the plight of the marginalised and vulnerable citizens.
It is supposed to be a pro-poor budget and these figures do not talk to a pro-poor budget. It also misses international benchmarks and commitments. Zimbabwe does not work in isolation and we are bound by the various treaties that we sign. To this end, the 2023 National Budget analysis seeks to present a review of the politics of public resources and how it undermines national growth and development. The economic outlook and the massive dollar depreciation experienced for most of the 2022 budget is largely to blame for incessant inflationary pressures that eroded the new value of local currency earnings. This widened income inequality gaps and plug the majority of population into poverty with World Bank statistics showing that 40% are trapped in extreme poverty.
Mr. Speaker Sir, between January and November 2022, the Zimbabwe dollar lost at least 75% of its value in the black market leading to an unbearable monthly inflation averaging 12% per month unprecedented with inflation and nothing was being done to address this so that there is disposable income which makes people live. Basic needs cannot be purchased as a result of this inflation. The Government did nothing and had no mitigating measures to deal with that, which is cause for concern. That is the reason why the poverty percent has risen to 40%.
The cost of electricity substitutes such as fuel and gas ballooned due to an impasse of the Russia/Ukraine war. You cannot at all talk about the economy without factoring in the Russia/Ukraine war. The sanctions and the counter sanction between Russia and the West continue to constrain global trade and cooperation. Resultantly, global food and energy price inflation raised havoc and that is subverting economic activity. In light of this, Treasury downgraded its 2022 growth projection to 4% from the 4.6 stated in the 2022 Mid-Term Fiscal Review.
The authorities expect national output which is GDP growth to moderate further in 2023, registering a 3.8% growth which is however lower than the 5% target as per publicly shared National Development Strategy 1. It would not be proper for us not to refer to NDS 1 as these are the documents that guide us in terms of economic growth. The realisation of this growth is hinged on the assumptions of favourable rainfall patterns and global mineral prices, a stable ZW$ power supply, tight monetary policy and continued use of multi-currency.
As such, authorities expect inflation to average 1% to 3% in 2023 owing to sustainable fiscal deficit expected of 1.5% of the GDP. However, after considering the risk to the economic outreach, the public concludes in a way that the Government will likely miss these targets. Public opinion is important especially when disposal income and inflation is there. In that aspect, Government has got to respond to the public by coming up with a budget which will give them confidence and comfort at the end of the day. It is all about confidence at the end of the day and this budget once again does not give confidence to the public.
There is a possibility of a continuation of ZW$ deterioration with sky rocketing prices in 2023 driven by excessive fiscal spending fuelled by upcoming general elections. When there are general elections, naturally the economy is a bit shaky and all roads lead to elections. The politicians who are some of the Ministers now focus on elections rather than the economy. Statistics show that the proposed ZW$4.5 trillion 2023 budget is 13.7% higher than the projected ZW$1.9 trillion for 2022. Inflation has spoken and also leakages of public funds from corruption and illicit transactions will escalate in 2023 as politicians seek for re-election at all costs. When politicians are going for elections, they forget everything and all they want is to be in power and corruption is rampant and again the law is not respected. You expect law and order to prevail, the respect of human rights is also critical but it is ignored at the time.
So it is critical that corruption and illicit transactions have caused quite a lot. If they could be plugged, there would be more money for the Minister to now use for us to grow our economy but there is not much being done. You will even see with the budget which is allocated to Anti-Corruption agencies which is not much. Money which is supposed to go to the Auditor-General’s Office in terms of the audit is not much. It seems that there is a deliberate measure by those who are corrupt, which is a cartel not to give money to agencies which will arrest corruption, plug the holes, money comes through and then we are able to actually thrive from it.
This is an issue which we believe as the African Parliamentary Networks against Corruption, that corruption indeed robs us all and this is a clear example that the ordinary person who is innocent and who is supposed to be surviving through Government growth suffers. Although the Hwange Thermal Expansion Project was installed, capacity of 600 mega watts is progressing well and the public expects erratic electricity supply to persist in the first half of the year. The main threat is the dwindling Kariba Dam levels and the frequent breakdowns at existing ongoing thermal power stations. As you know Mr. Speaker Sir, some of the thermal power stations have been deemed useless - as a result, while we are increasing with 600 megawatts; there are also some that are not functioning, meaning we are again in the red. So really, the installed capacity that is supposed to be 600 megawatts means nothing at the end of the day but there is a loss in terms of business.
While our citizens have been good, in any other country, ZESA would be sued by companies because they do guarantee power to businesses and to homes but fortunately, they have a country that is kind but any other country they would be sued on this and that is the reason why we do not understand. You pay for electricity and you do not get it; you pay for water and you do not get water. So to me, there is also that lack of confidence in the people of Zimbabwe because when they pay for a service, they do not get it. So how can they continue paying for the service?
The main threat again Mr. Speaker Sir and the uncertainties of this world especially the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war will likely exert massive pressure on global inflation thereby affecting perennial importers like Zimbabwe. This is the reason why Mr. Speaker Sir, we were supposed to grow our industry so that we do not then rely on anybody. We have the resources across many others, if we do not we have the minerals to be able to get industry moving and so forth.
The rainfall pattern was not what we expected and now the harvest is low; the producer price for the farmer is low. So the farmers have quietly done a protest to say, we are not growing maize this year because they want to pay more for imported maize than for what the farmers grow. So, what is the point of the land reform? The land reform was to empower people, to feed their nation but the Government seems to be bent on feeding other farmers more money than the local farmers which is unprecedented. You ask them why and not only that, the maize itself is GMO. It has got repercussions in terms of diseases and all that. So to me, why would they do that?
Moving forward Mr. Speaker Sir, we cannot talk about this budget without an analysis of the budget allocation versus international benchmarks. These are the percentages of international benchmarks that we have in the education sector, 20% declaration of 2000, we did 16.5% - we always fall short of this, which really makes it very difficult for us to be respected as a country.
We then go to healthcare, Abuja Declaration of 2001, it is 15%, we are still on 13%; we will also go to the African Union Water Supply and Sanitation Declaration of 2008, we are on 0% yet it is on 1.5%. Then we go to transport and infrastructure, the AU Declaration of 2000…
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, Order Hon. Member. In your own wisdom, you indicated that the debate must focus on how the budget can be made more elastic in order to meet some of the shortfalls in the budgetary allocation. I think, you need not to contradict yourself in that regard. You may proceed.
HON. T. MLISWA: Hon. Speaker Sir, if I am not mistaken, when I raised that issue, you also said to Hon. Munetsi that you can also talk about the Ministers and I am focusing on the Minister’s statement. I have decided to focus on the Minister’s Statement and I do not know if that is in order.
THE HON. SPEAKER: As far as we want the budget to be more stout, what can we do so that when the Hon. Minister comes back to this Hon. House for supplementary budget then the ideas will be incorporated accordingly to meet the shortfalls of the presented National Budget.
HON. T. MLISWA: I totally agree Mr. Speaker Sir, that is why I also thought that we are not an island or in isolation. We also work with international benchmarks that we are a signatory to and I also want to know why we are not complying with all this. I think the Minister has to make sure of that because as a nation, we lose credibility and I think he has an unallocated budget as well which I am basically saying we should also be adhering to these international benchmarks that are set for us, which we are also part of. When you do well, they also give you more.
THE HON. SPEAKER: True. How do we create wealth to achieve that and that is the point of the debate?
HON. T. MLISWA: My point here is compliance as compliance also attracts more money…
THE HON. SPEAKER: Please proceed.
HON. T. MLISWA: Thank you. So the transport and infrastructure AU Declaration is on 9.6% and we are on 7.1%; the social protection which is the social policy for Africa 2008 is on 4.5% and we are on 2.5% and then Mr. Speaker Sir, Agriculture the Maputo Declaration of 2003 is 10% and I think we have done well in agriculture I must say, and we are on 11% which is quite good.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I think the National Budget is commended for surpassing the 1.5 declaration on water and sanitation by allocating $142 billion which constitutes 3% of the total budget. However, Zimbabwe continues to fall off the international benchmarks with respect to health and education.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I also want to zero in on the aspect of the social protection which I think is critical in terms of the pro-poor. I commend the efforts undertaken by the Government to fight poverty in Zimbabwe, in Africa at large as it is on an upward trend. This has been exacerbated by the adverse impacts on COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and the soaring death levels.
Mr. Speaker Sir, climate change is critical. We have had COP27 and even at portfolio committees and Parliament being part of that, coming in to give reports but we seem not to again have done much on that. There was a drought and we expected cloud seeding to happen but it did not happen. If we had taken such measures, there would not be this drought which then affected the crops at the end of the day. Up to now, there is no explanation on how we are going to deal with a situation where there is also a drought. The cloud seeding aspect, the climate changes, we seem not to be in line with it. This again is important Mr. Speaker Sir so that we attend to the necessary strategic goals as well.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I also want to zero in on the aspect of health which I think the healthcare provision and health infrastructure is in a deplorable state with over 80% of the health budget going to recurrent expenditure and the balance being capital expenditure. This raises obvious questions around the sincerity of the Government’s commitment to improve health sector outcomes and it continues to set aside limited funds for public healthcare every year. The Government has allocated $475. 7 billion which is 10.5% of the budget to the health and childcare from 2010 to date, the budget vote towards the health and well-being has never met the prescribed 15% Abuja Declaration. As a result, the status of health facilities at both central and local Government level is undesirable as characterised by major inequalities in terms of access …
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order, Hon. Member, you have three minutes.
HON. T. MLISWA: Lack of basic medical support, depleted infrastructure, women failing to get quality maternal health services which is adversely impacting on child mortality rate and maternal deaths; motivated workforce and lack of critical equipment amongst other factors.
Mr. Speaker Sir, you will see that most of the health professions have left the country. The country is operating with less than 300 functional ambulances from this end; health policies inclusive of the National Health Strategy (NHS2025) clearly lack financing and implementation and alignment with the national and regional health agreement like other public services. Healthcare is also constrained by undertaking efficient management of public resources. To improve health care delivery, the 15% Abuja Declaration has not only been met but surpassed and this should be coupled with reasonable remuneration of healthcare workers in order to retain critical expertise and prudent management of resources. Mr. Speaker Sir, a lot of money is used by Government to educate these people but it does not make sense when you do not have enough money to remunerate them so that they can continue doing their work. As a result, they have got to be well remunerated and Treasury must facilitate systematic allocation and timeous imbursement of allocated resources for the health sector.
Education: the current globalisation technological advancement era only comes with a developed human capital so that we enjoy increased competitive advantage. On the contrary, the Zimbabwe human capital development continues on a downward trend mainly due to tightening micro-economic situation resulting in high education cost. Limited funding for expansion on learning infrastructure, student grants, research and development, the budget only allocated money for salaries and no capital. Basically, you are churning out these teachers and they are teaching in facilities and places where there are no schools. That does not make sense.
There has got to be an alignment of the teachers that you are churning out and they must be well accommodated. The schools must be there so that it becomes a pleasure to teach and not a way of people being poor. To me, in light of this, the 2023 Budget has allocated 14% of the Budget, ZWL631.3 billion to Primary and Secondary Education. Like I have said, to provide quality infant junior and secondary education with the bulk of the allocation going towards payment of salaries for teachers and all that.
Teachers’ colleges as well have been affected a lot in terms of how they operate. I am a farmer and if you look at the agronomists coming from universities, they do not know anything. They do not know a tractor and they do not know even how to work in a workshop because these machines are not in these facilities. It is important to know that if we are going to be really serious about this, they should be given the necessary equipment so that they are in tandem with what is going on. These are paltry budgetary allocations. We need to do much more to improve education service delivery as the situation is currently dire.
For Primary and Secondary Education, it is critical to know that the share of extremely poor children in the rural areas with access to mobile learning remain severely constrained. The rural area is a different country...
[Time Limit]
HON. BITI: Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that the Hon. Member’s time be extended by 10 minutes. I thank you very much.
THE HON. SPEAKER: The Hon. Member’s time has been extended with 10 minutes.
HON. T. MLISWA: Hon. Members, I want to thank you. It takes a lot to sit and research and produce all this work. I really want to thank you for giving me that time.
Mr. Speaker Sir, let me move to debt. The 2023 statement of public debt released along the proposed budget revealed that the total publicly guaranteed which is PPG debt as at end of September 2022 stood at ZWL10.97 trillion which is equivalent to USD17.6 billion, 477% and 22.3% uptake in Zimbabwe Dollar and USD terms. Respectively from 1.9 trillion to USD17.2 billion recorded at the end of December 2021. The total PPG comprises of external debt stock of ZWL8.7 trillion, equivalent to USD13.99 billion with about ZWL3.9 trillion which is 45% being arrears and penalties. Statistics show that domestic debt statement, the astronomical increase in debt stock in ZWL reflects exchange rate deterioration while 2.3% USD growth rate of debt accounts for new dispensary for ongoing projects Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe borrowing and continuous accumulation on penalties.
The story here is that why do we continue to borrow and we cannot pay? The money we pay for penalties is more or less the same with what we borrow. It is now getting to that level, you borrow and you do not pay. Why are we not able to borrow when we have got a number of foreign direct investments coming in? We have got a number of minerals coming in. If there is anything, Zimbabwe must borrow people money because of the resources that we have. All the Chinese that we see with Manhize and so forth, a multibillion dollar project, where does it fit in ensuring that the welfare of the people improve? The platinum mines, where are they in making sure that they contribute to this? There is no point should Zimbabwe borrow if there is anything with the domestic resources which we have, we must have enough money and this is why domestic resource mobilisation is quite critical. This is something that we are living for generations to come. Instead of living them a country which is full of milk and honey, we are now living the country which is full of bees which do not make honey and cattle which do not make milk but bees which will sting them.
I think it is important that we really look at this and deal with this debt. Without us dealing with this debt, at the end of the day, no matter how hard you work, even in business, your profit is what matters, but it is clear that there is no profit. We are not adhering to this but we continue to borrow. We thought we are all weather friends with the Chinese but it is clear that they are gaining at the end of the day. The debt areas show that Zimbabwe is trapped in debt, distressed and struggling to settle obligation when they fall due. Despite this, the appetite for borrowing by authorities continues to persist. Despite this, there is no discipline from the authorities to stop borrowing. They continue to borrow more money because it is clear that they are also putting their own percentage there so that they can make money. With corruption which is there, you cannot write that one off.
For instance, the debt stock is set to jump in 2023 as Treasury faces a mammoth task of financing a proposed ZWL575 billion Zimbabwean dollar budget to cover the overall deficit of ZWL336.9 billion and net loan repayment of 248.6 billion. The tabled proposal to finance the gap by issuing a domestic 100 million bond and a 400 million loan facility from AfriExim Bank, ZWL10 billion changes in bank balances and 8.2 billion Zimbabwean dollars in Treasury Bills. This lays bare the dire impasse of higher indebtedness as Treasury has elected to spend more tax payers’ money on debt servicing in 2023 than resources it has allocated to the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare – A paltry 50.4 billion for the provisions of that.
If you read that, taxpayer’s money is going into settling debt. Instead of taxpayer’s money going into showing that the economy grows and so forth. To me it is important. Tax regime, since the embrace of austerity measures in October 2018, the successive national budgets passed as legislation to date have constantly pursued anti-poor tax policies. The current year’s budget was passed by Parliament despite it being decorated by primitive regressive taxes, for instance, the budget introduced new additional taxes like USD50 cellphone tax, while maintaining now the unpopular 2% tax – a tax which greatly suppresses the budget of poor households. Generally, the poor spend most of their income on current consumption when compared with their rich counterparts. Also the 2022 tax brackets failed to bring adequate relief to the working class anywhere below the poverty datum line. The poverty datum line has gone up to $500. Members of Parliament are being paid $150, so we are not even there. What about the ordinary person at the end of the day? That is the reason why Zimbabweans need to understand that Members of Parliament are equally impoverished at the end of the day. They are also part of the 40% of people who are poor. We are putting more money in terms of getting constituencies going. We were not given fuel allowances and all that. So, we have suffered and in suffering, it does not mean that we are not pushing the agenda. This Parliament pushed $900 000 tax free for the people of this country, which we thought would cushion them.
Let me conclude by saying that the 2023 National Budget undermines people’s aspirations and disregards the ambitions of benchmarks of National Development Strategy 1. The budget missed all international commitments except for Water and Sanitation which satisfied 1.5 eThekwini Declaration of 2008. This shows government’s sincerity in addressing the plight of the citizens and also the pro-poor budget we spoke about. Like in previous budgets, the 2023 National Budget prioritises the security sector over service delivery; a clear indication of the manifestation of the politics of public resources rather than ample feasibility study into resource allocations. Although Government has introduced numerous tax reforms, there is need to ensure that prior to the introduction of these reforms, citizens are consulted. It is critical to note that the negative coalition between people’s aspirations and the presented budget emanates from public hearings and consultation forums which Parliament undertook in October. This should serve as a lesson that all inclusive consultative forums come late into a people centered budget. To this end, the budget theme does not capture the reality on the ground and presentation made by the Minister of Finance ‘Accelerating Economic Transformation’. I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
+HON. NCUBE: Thank you Hon. Speaker for affording me the opportunity. I also recognise that I am the first female to contribute. My contribution will dwell much on the contribution made by the Minister of Finance. Pertaining to the budget allocated to the Ministry of Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development and the Committee on Lands and Agriculture following the budget allocation to this Ministry, I was expecting that there was a budget set for water. We can have land without water but we cannot utilise the land. You can speak of agriculture but without water, you cannot do anything. You can speak of fisheries but without water also nothing can be done.
If we look at rural development, it is the mainstay but without water, there is no development that can be done. I was expecting that water would be given the first priority because without water, there is no development that can happen in any country. I want water to be given the first priority in the budget. This can include the construction of new dams and the drilling of boreholes. It can be even other ways of collecting water from rivers to portable sources where it can be stored for future use. Most of the times our dams run dry before the end of the dry season. This is because we do not have enough water collected in these dams. I also noted that the Ministry of Finance should increase the budget in order to attend to the water crisis. We are all here and alive because we have water. We cannot live without water. Everything that lives survives on water. The Ministry should also look into ways that can be introduced in order to harvest more water. If we have enough water, we could solve problems in other ministries. With enough water, we can practice agriculture effectively.
Most rural districts in our country survive on farming. This is the backbone of their economy. Without water, livestock cannot survive and plants also. We are faced with climate change and we no longer receive enough rainfall as we used to. This has increased the chances of drought in rural areas. This can however be solved by harvesting adequate water. The old aged women in rural areas can practice farming and sell their produce. This will enable them to send their children to school and raise money for other light hospital bills.
The issue of environmental cleanliness cannot be achieved without water. We are appealing to the Minister of Finance to increase the budget allocation for the Ministry of Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development. This increment should specifically be meant for the provision of enough water in the rural areas. Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir.
*HON. RAIDZA: Thank you Hon Speaker for giving me this opportunity to debate on the 2023 budget which was brought into this House by our Hon. Minister of Finance. I have a number of issues which I want to debate on. The first issue is about the budget credibility. This issue needs the Minister of Finance to critically look into. We spend more time in this august House discussing about this issue, putting our views with the hope that the way the money is utilised within the country, things can move properly.
From the research which we have done, we have seen that there are a lot of things which are done after the budget has been passed in this House. When the budget is passed and it is now time for allocation or disbursement of funds from the Ministry of Finance, Government agencies and ministries are expected to receive money from Treasury. Some of the Government departments receive more money compared to what we will have allocated in this House while others are given very little. The issue of allocating money in a way which has not been discussed and passed in this House makes this House lose its credibility. This is an issue which I think the Minister should look into so that the manner in which funds are then disbursed is predictable according to how we will have appropriated funds in this House.
The other issue that I would want to talk about is concerning other funding that was set aside by this House as statutory funds. As Parliament, we receive quarterly reports from ministries. We find that the programmes are in progress in ministries but despite this progress, they still bemoan lack of funding release by Treasury. So as Members of Parliament, we then request for explanations on why there is no progress despite release of funds. That affects our work here as parliamentarians because it seems to be more academic than practice. We want to urge the Minister that for our budget to be credible, what we have agreed in this House should be implemented. The Minister also promised after assuming office that he wanted the fund accounts that are not being utilised in ministries to be consolidated to the Consolidated Revenue Fund. The issue is for this House to be apprised on the use of public funds for various projects. This is important if what we are doing in this House is to be taken seriously.
I also want to talk about the BEAM fund. Our President had foresight in that most pupils cannot afford educational fees and pronounced that there will be free basic education for all. If we consider the budget that was presented, it did not satisfy the needs of this programme despite the allocated funds, considering programme based budgeting. We realise that most of the funding will be taken up by civil servants wages in the education sector and very little is left for the implementation of the programme. I have a perspective that was also made by the Committee on Budget which is that for the money that was allocated by the Minister.
On the issue of Value Added Tax that was raised from 14, 5% to 15%, that 0, 5% should be ring-fenced towards the President’s commitment to basic free education because it is every child’s right to be educated. These are things that we can do and are expected to receive support in this august House.
The other issue I want to thank the Minister for is for the funding that he availed to civil servants. We have realised that there is quite a significant allocation made to this cause. We are all aware of the poor remuneration for this group in the past few years. I realise that the Minister of Finance had foresight to improve service delivery by the civil servants who would perform well because of the improved remuneration. I think next year’s budget if passed as it is, our civil servants will be quite happy for such an initiative.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I also want to look at agriculture. The Minister allocated a substantial amount but we do not see the support he is making towards the National Enhanced Agricultural Productive Scheme. What is his position on this? If we consider the issues that he presented on, it reflects that banks like CBZ are facing challenges in repayment of loans by the farmers because the farmers are not selling their grain to the GMB. Most of them are engaged in side marketing. Side marketing is also being caused by quite a number of issues. Mr. Speaker Sir, the price of grain is very little and does not encourage the farmer to continue producing.
So I want to urge the Minister of Finance to have other measures and conduct research on how they can come up with policies to enhance the farmer to continue producing grain. I am saying this because I am aware of the fact that for farmers to be able to access loans from CBZ, the Government signs guarantee forms. If a farmer fails to repay, some of the banks are now requesting the Government to repay the loans because the Government was the guarantor. This is not to say the farmers did not produce. They did produce grain but what pains them is the cost of taking their produce to GMB because the money being offered is very little.
What I am saying Mr. Speaker Sir is that what goes around comes around. If the Minister fails to pay a good price for the grain, he is the one who is now burdened to pay back the loans. If we ensure that the Minister takes care of the pricing system for grain, then the farmers can repay their loans taking the burden off Government. We realise that the last farming season was affected by climate change effects but we meet other farmers who say they have grain but are not encouraged to take their grain to the GMB because of the poor prices Government will end up importing maize and pay more money by not paying a local farmer. By doing so, they will be taking the locals’ jobs away. This should be looked into so that we come up with a solution for the whole country and be able to feed our nation at household level.
Wheat farmers are happy this season because they were paid good prices for their wheat and they can go back and re-invest their money in wheat production. This should also apply to maize growers.
I would like to applaud the Minister on social safety nets. He tried by all means and allocated $50.4 billion for this. Some people in our country struggle to make ends meet and wish that Government should assist them in this regard. There is a Pfumvudza programme which was introduced by the Government and it assists the less privileged who are willing to do farming. Thank you Hon. Minister for this - may he continue allocating more money for safety nets. If we receive enough rains, the Government bill towards this will decrease.
The Minister highlighted that he would like to deduct money on third party insurance and this money will be used to assist accident victims. That is a good idea but this 20% should not be put in the Consolidated Revenue Fund because it will be problematic. Our neighboring countries like South Africa, Botswana and Namibia came up with such funds (Motor Vehicle Accident Funds) (MVA funds). If this 20% goes into the Consolidated Revenue Fund and I am involved in an accident on my way to Mberengwa – will that money be extracted in that Government fund in order to assist me in this needy time? The idea is alright but the objective is very difficult to be implemented. The Minister should revise this idea and come up with success stories…
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MAVETERA): You have five minutes left.
*HON. RAIDZA: When an accident occurs in South Africa, Botswana or Namibia, it will not take time for a helicopter to come to the scene to pick the victims and they are examined by a medical doctor at the scene of the accident. This saves live and that is what we should do in order to save lives. The Minister of Finance should work hand-in-hand with the Minister of Transport and make sure that this fund is set up in order to assist our people instead of putting this money in the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
We have a vision and plan to assist the youth and women in coming up with businesses. We have Women’s Bank, Empower Bank, Women’s Fund, Youth Fund and so on but on the ground, they are not effective. Capital is allocated to these institutes but it is chewed up by inflation. I think there should be only one fund or company that is allocated enough funding in order to empower these groups of people. If we do so, we will end up with a linear structure which is effective. The Minister should consider that we are well capitalised and have one effective organisation.
In conclusion, I will speak on mining. The Bill on mining should be tabled if we are serious with domestic resource mobilisation. This Bill will enable us to transact fruitfully as a country. There is a lot of illicit financial flow in the mining industry. There is need to curb all this because there is an opportunity for us to make a lot of profit as a Government. The Minister should support our ZRP so that they are adequately resourced. ZMDC is the company that does all our minerals marketing but they do not have the capacity to do so. This should be corrected. Some of the minerals even illicitly, flow through Fidelity – we should curb all this so that we have resources that will enable us to develop as a country.
The Ministry of Mines should push the agenda together with the Ministry of Finance with regards to value addition. In Mberengwa, there is a lot of lithium at the moment but a lot of soil is being taken somewhere but no one is accountable. The miners are getting only US$100 but in South Africa, a tonne of lithium costs US$2500.00. There is a wide gap which is being manipulated and we hope that if this Bill is passed in this House, we will improve in terms of the money that we get as a country.
Money should be put in the cadastral system so that we know where we stand as a country in terms of our minerals’ bank. How much do we have as a country so that when we negotiate with other countries in terms of mining chrome or any mineral, we will then know what we have on hand. At the moment, that is not the situation. Still on mining, gold incentive schemes should come because there are a lot of artisanal miners. The artisanal miners should be advised to sell their gold to Fidelity.
Nonetheless, I would like to thank the Minister of Finance and Economic Development for the 10 million which he channeled from the SDR’s to assist artisanal miners in this sector.
The other issue is of the Sovereign Wealth Fund – if the Minister is really serious, this fund should be well financed so that we have a smooth flow. As we speak, our royalties are being paid in kind. Let us then make sure that our Sovereign Fund is very strong.
I would also like to support the issue of Wealth Tax which was mentioned by the Chief Whip as well as in the Budget. Is it not possible that we bring equality among ourselves, for example the more you get the more you pay tax. What is happening in this country - the biggest contributor of our tax is Pay As You Earn. Pay As You Earn means monies that we pay as we work. On our tax revenue, corporate tax should be contributing the biggest chunk but currently as we speak, Pay As You Earn is contributing more. We have people who are evading paying tax, and those who do so are the ones whom we are seeing on the streets flashing their wealth. We always wonder where this money is coming from.
If we introduce Wealth Tax, we should make sure that people enjoy the services that they get. What is happening nowadays in our country is not good; people are no longer bothered about their surroundings as long as one has a big house, a borehole and a big car. Why can we not say the more money we make, the more tax contribution we pay for services? Depending on where one stays, they should contribute more towards the services being offered. This is what they do even at local authorities; rates are not the same for those staying in the low density suburbs and those in the high density suburbs, so the same should apply with electricity billing. The Minister should put this into consideration that those staying in affluent suburbs should contribute more as compared to low income households.
Lastly, I will talk about State owned enterprises; I did not hear the Minister talk about this. However, I want to encourage ourselves that as we look at domestic resource mobilisation, let us have our parastatals being productive. They should desist from corrupt activities; we have companies like NRZ, TELONE, POSB and NETONE which have the capacity to make money. Most of these people in parastatals are just working for their salaries yet they are supposed to be generating revenue for the good of the country. The Minister of Finance, in 2019, gave a suggestion to say there is going to be privatisation of these institutions but nothing has been implemented so far. We kindly ask him to revisit this issue so that we see which institutions are serious about this. There should not be free lunch in these parastatals.
(v)HON. WATSON: Thank you Madam Speaker. I think that despite one of the recommendations in the Budget and Finance Committee, we should all understand that load shedding and the lack of generation of power is one of the biggest known financial risks to the budget basics and any economic stability. For growth, we require investment, investment requires savings, savings require confidence, and confidence requires stability. If we cannot create a stable environment, we simply will not get the predictions in the revenue.
I would also like to say that insufficient funding to ZIMRA, our revenue collection agency, also hamper domestic resource mobilisation. If ZIMRA cannot be capacitated to collect the revenues, we will simply not get the money and we go back to the circus of non-allocations which were not disbursed particularly across the social ministries.
I would also like to say that the reduction in allocations in real terms on some of the social sector budget is extremely worrying, for example the one for free sanitary pads in schools. This budget was reduced from the equivalent of 11,64 million USD down to 2,32 million USD, which will mean those who have not been given these sanitary pads anywhere are less likely to get them and they will not attend school as a consequence. These trends are very worrying; it is also to re-affirm that per capita USD spending although in 2022, the per capita spending was 71,66 USD and in the 2023 budget, it goes down to 48, 78 USD and that is primarily caused by the deferential in capital funding. Without capital funding, the health system will not improve. We see where we are now; it is dire and yet we are up from 2019 from 4, 18 USD per capita spending up to 71 and now 48. It means that health is severely underfunded in all regards and I would like the Minister to see that the entire social sectors are underfunded in favour of the perennial ministries which overspend. I thank you.
(V)HON. MUSAKWA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to add my voice on the budget proposals that are before the House. Firstly, I would like to commend the Minister for undertaking to review the transaction taxes both on NOSTRO and the domestic RTGS. These were becoming another tax on corporates and individuals and were working against financial inclusion and the promotion of the use of the banking system. So, I would like to commend you for that and I would like you to do maybe even more. Also to incentivise deposits and savings, for instance. I can give you an example that if somebody wants to save in a NOSTRO account, banks are charging an average of 15 USD per month for account maintenance fees. So if someone saves 100 USD in plus or minus six months, that 100 USD will attract a lot of charges and the owner will realise that the money they would have saved becomes nothing.
So, I would like in this current budget, the Minister to encourage savings and also savings in real currency so that these monies can be used to lend to the productive sector and generate more wealth.
On the same note, I notice there is quite an allocation towards agriculture but you will find that the price for maize is very depressed, even that for wheat is not where it should be. I would like to encourage the Minister to relook at the funding model for grain procurement in that the State focuses on buying the strategic grain reserve and allow private players to finance the procurement of the rest of the crop. That will reduce the burden on the fiscus and also stimulate production and competitive pricing of the commodities.
The underfunding of BEAM and its non-disbursement, a lot has been said about that, I will not repeat any of those. I want to thank you Madam Speaker for the opportunity and thank you very much for allowing me to speak.
(v)HON. C. MOYO: Thank you Madam Speaker for allowing me to also add my voice on this important budget proposal. In 2022, we had a budget of ZW$1.9 trillion in total and for 2023 we have a budget proposal of ZW$4.5 trillion. With these trillion dollars, no one will say this Budget is people centred. With these trillions, surely it means the incapacitation of our citizens, civil servants, Members of Parliament and Zimbabweans in general. Since 2019, I have been saying that the Minister of Finance must simply dollarise. The reality is that people are using the United States dollars and some are using the South African Rand. Even Government itself is using United States dollars, why not simply dollarise and see how our economy will perform?
Secondly, on the theme of the budget of 2023 ‘Accelerating Economic Transformation’, surely having 14 hours a day without electricity, we cannot talk of accelerating economic transformation for 2023. We talk of our students, they have to make sure that they make use of Education 5.0 but there is no way they can talk of innovation as well as industrialisation when there is no electricity. We talk of our industry and the general populace they are heavily affected by power cuts. In Mpopoma today, electricity went off around 5 a.m. and I know for sure electricity will then come back around 11p.m. The Minister of Finance must make sure that he adds some resources. Again, the Minister must simply offer more money to the Ministry of Energy so that they can explore the possibilities of increasing solar energy as an alternative not forgetting Hwange Unit 7 and 8 and Kariba Dam where there is no water. The Minister has to come up with alternative ways to the issue of energy to make sure we achieve our theme of accelerating economic transformation.
On international commitments, I am worried that the 2019 National Budget did not meet the international commitments. The 2020 to 2022 National Budgets again did not meet the international commitments. When we talk about health, we cannot year-in and year-out talk of the 15% Abuja Declaration of 2001. There is nothing in our hospitals. Let us comply with the 15% and see how our health sector will improve. We talk again of education, the Dakar Declaration of 2000 states that we should set aside 20%, but we have 14.2%. Let us just comply. Let us set aside 20% in this 2023 National Budget and then see how our education will improve rather than to hear examination leaks and decreasing literacy rates.
I was having a feedback meeting last week on social protection and citizens were told that BEAM will only be paid for first term in 2023. What it means going into second and third terms in 2023 is that there will be no BEAM unless the citizens were not informed properly. Let us make sure that we increase more funds on social protection so that BEAM will be there for all the three terms in 2023.
In one of my feedback meetings, I heard an 81 year old granny saying she is not getting anything from our current Government. It means we have a lot of people, including the disabled who are not getting anything from the Government. We need to make sure that we give more money to the department of Social Welfare so that they can increase the number which they have under the vulnerable group. There is a social concept for Africa which was adopted in 2008 that clearly states that in our National Budgets we must give 4%. Why can we not comply with these international commitments so that we see how our vulnerable groups will be assisted?
Madam Speaker, I would not close my speech, without talking about water. Since 2018, I have been highlighting this that there are water problems, which is a perennial problem that is affecting Bulawayo and other provinces. We hear these percentages that Gwayi-Shangani is at 40% or 50% but if you go there, it is way down. What it means is the suffering continues again in 2023. Yes, we gave 3% according to the eThekwini Declaration. Why do we not comply by giving more money rather than the 3% because we have been doing nothing since 2018?
On roads, there is AU Declaration of 2009, which was very clear that 9.6% must be allocated to the Ministry of Roads. Why do we not comply rather than to give them a paltry 3.2% that will do nothing? Besides that, the Government adopted even the local roads under ERRP-2 - so let us give them more money so that we avoid these accidents; these dish holes and pot holes which we are seeing in our provinces.
Also Madam Speaker, as a youthful MP, you know that we constitute 50% and there is rampant drug and substance abuse. Surely additional rehabilitation centres have to be there so that they can support those affected. Not only that, we need more of youth empowerment programmes. We also need to upgrade sport facilities and recreational centres. Therefore, more money must be given to the Ministry of Youth.
Madam Speaker Ma’am, the Minister of Finance developed all of that; he can take some funds from the security sector. If you look at the budget, Defence was given 7.3% that is $331 billion. Home Affairs was given $6.5% of the National Budget. So we are failing to comply with service delivery commitment and focus more on security. Why not say from the 7.3%, let us say 5% and distribute it to health, education, social protection, water and then to roads. Then we take the 6.5%, why not take 3% or 4% and distribute this accordingly to service delivery issues rather than allocate money into security sector. That is my proposal Madam Speaker. I thank you.
(v) HON. R. R. NYATHI: Thank you Hon. Speaker Ma’am. I would like to add my voice concerning the issue of our National Budget and also add my voice to what other Hon. Members talked about. I am more concerned about what Mr. Speaker said that can we find some sources of revenue that the Minister of Finance is able to extent his purse so that we can cover deficits that are much needed by various Portfolio Committees. I just want to advise that, looking into our economy, I think that there is need to grow our industry or expansion of our industries. Once our industries expand, we then have more revenue.
How do we do that, we expect the Minister to create a situation where banks can create soft loans for industries, those that are going into industry. Once that is done, then we have got a good source of income through taxes that we get from those industries. It is also important for our Ministry of Industry and Commerce, such companies like ZIMCHE, and our diplomats that have been coming from outside the country so that they must also market our products that are here in Zimbabwe in those countries so that we can generate the much needed revenue.
That also is very critical because we are looking at how we can produce our local goods for our local consumption and how we can also produce goods that are for export so that we can get the much needed foreign currency. Our sources of revenue, you know they are through individuals and corporate taxes. They are also through goods and services taxes. We also get as revenue, income tax and corporate tax. Our sources of collection must be well monitored. They must be digitalised. We must close all loopholes because we can never grow the purse of our Ministry of Finance if all those incomes are not well monitored. So there is need to monitor.
I also want to mention what one Hon. Member said that we can also make money without taxes, which is through customs duties. List Government owned land and buildings, you will see that we have got a lot of Government land that is lying idle that can be put into proper use for us to get the much needed revenue so that all these Portfolio Committees that are requiring more money to make sure that the Ministries function well can also be financed through that. We also need to call the sale of natural resources, where we ask Government where we have got Government land, they can plant trees. As we cut the wood, they will also be creating some problem when it comes to issues of degradation and so forth but we can also continue planting those trees and selling abroad.
We can also utilise our natural deposits that is our minerals, to create finance. I want to mention that we can also grow our wealth if we boost the level of capital. I am referring to loans advancement; it means we must ease the production of goods. We have the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development which has come up with a very good innovation, what we call innovation hubs of how we can grow our labour to produce. If our labour force is geared in producing more products, it means that we will have more sources of income and the Government will be having more sources from taxes. So, if our people are economically empowered to start their own industries and to grow industry, then we know it becomes much easier.
In my looking into the Budget, I was thinking that there is need also for relevant ministries to help the Minister of Finance by finding methods of reducing corruption. Hon. Speaker Ma’am, you will notice that if the Minister of Finance allocates a certain sum of money into a given Ministry and that money is not properly looked into and is not put to good use, for example if somebody is capable of stealing $15 million, you are not only looking at the figure but you are looking at the number of households that could have been fed by that $15 million. If you are looking at our Zimbabwean population, we are saying the poor that we have in Zimbabwe, how many dollars do they eat a day? So if we curb corruption, then we can also increase our purse.
I also want to mention that even the Minister can also help these ministries by disbursing the finances that have been allocated to them on time. I am giving an example that if one gives timeous distribution of funds, suppose we say 100% has been allocated but at the end of the year, you will find out that only 20% has been distributed. This means that particular Ministry is unable to meet its key result areas and a lot of things will remain hanging that particular year, so there is need also for our Minister to make sure that he distributes the money on time so that ministries are able to meet their key result areas.
Hon. Speaker Ma’am, I want to add that there is also need for our people to develop an attitude or culture of patriotism so that singularly or severally we can join hands with each other, with one purpose to say let us grow our country and economy. Once we have that attitude, whatever we do whether industry or anything else, all of us will say if I am getting an income, I must be able to retain a certain percentage of tax so that we can keep the wheels of Zimbabwe turning.
Hon. Speaker Ma’am, yes the Minister is budgeting from an anticipation that in 2023, this is the kind of money that we are able to generate as revenue, so it might also be difficult for him to play around when Portfolio Committee members are saying may you increase the purse. I also want to argue and say once we are budgeting from what we do not have, the Minister must also have a number of people in his Ministry that will find sources of generating revenue without having time to sit down and say this is what we are anticipating but where else can we find more revenue so that at least these ministries can function properly and meet their key result areas.
Hon. Speaker Ma’am, I also want to mention that I am a member of the Local Government Portfolio Committee. I was sitting there, listening to the Permanent Secretary when she was saying that with the budget that I have been allocated, I will be able to just build one block per province. In her argument, she was saying, ‘surely as a Permanent Secretary, can I just sit here and say for a whole year I am going to build ten structures and I will be comfortable’. This means while we are looking at growing and providing accommodation for our people, there is also need to look at these kinds of ministries so that at least we can be able to finance them and give them priority over other ministries that have existed over time.
I want to thank you Hon. Speaker Ma’am for giving me an opportunity to air my views concerning our Budget. I think that if all of us put our heads together, it does not remain an issue for the Minister of Finance alone but it also becomes our baby. This august House, our Ministers and the Executive, let us put our heads together and make sure that this Budget works. I thank you.
HON. S. BANDA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this debate. Madam Speaker Ma’am, in 2021, our Budget was at ZWL$968 billion. This one that we have has almost like quadrupled. It has gone up by about 425%. If we look at the original budget and the supplementary budget, it means it is 600%. Is this possible? Are we able to spend that much? I think the Hon. Minister can really reflect even the way Hon. Charles Moyo was speaking of dollarisation. If we have got that, what it means is, we will have a more realistic budget. If we compare in US dollar terms, the Budget for 2022 and 2023, you will realise that the 2022 Budget was worth $5,2 billion and the one that we have now is worth about $6,2 billion. That is reasonable actually. From where I come from, we have realised that imports and exports are around $6 billion. Hon. Speaker Ma’am, if the Budget more or less meets the exports it will really show that money is circulating around the country.
Madam Speaker, let me go to the issue of statutory funds. The amount of money that is retained or that is being receipted by the line ministries and other organisations, you find that the money is enough to fund as of last year, a minimum of 1:1 but as of the current proposed Budget that would be about a quarter. I think there should be another way of managing the statutory funds so that they directly contribute to the Budget. In this instance, we do not know how much for example Ministry of Health is getting in terms of cards and how much are patients paying. We do not really know and we do not know where that money is going. I would urge the Hon. Minister to look into that and find out how we can ensure that statutory funds also come into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
Madam Speaker Ma’am, let me talk about BEAM. I shudder to think that BEAM, the Hon. President pronounced that there will be free basic education in 2023. My question is; are the modalities now in place so that there is a basic free education? If it is there, then we have got - [technical fault]- We want the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development to give infrastructural development, particularly on the Beitbridge road or the Beitbridge Border Post, other border posts and in some rural areas. What I shudder to see is that the percentage of money that has been allocated to the Ministry of Transport has actually gone lower than higher and yet if you look at the performance of some of the contractors who are now on the Harare-Beitbridge Road, you find that it has gone slightly down due to possibly payment issues.
Hon. Speaker, I will urge the Hon. Minister to relook into the budget of transport and find ways of growing it. If I look at the overall growth that was presented by the Hon. Minister’s projection of 2023 for SADC as a whole - [technical fault] - I am disturbed by this Madam Speaker, seeing that we are coming from an era of COVID-19 where there were a number lockdowns, where a number of things - [technical fault] - that is in the SADC, that the annual growth rate must be above 2.4%, so it is something that the Hon. Minister can also look at.
When we look at the GDP for 2023 Madam Speaker, it is projected at US$21.76 million. Madam Speaker, convert that into per capita income, it means we are around 1.3 thousand per capita and if we divide it into 365 days, every Zimbabwean is expected to be consuming an average of US$3.5 per day. That is something that we really need to grow if we want to move towards the middle to upper income society by 2030. We really need to grow the GDP by increasing the power supplies that we have. We need to have more independent power producers of energy. We need to have more suppliers of watered communities rather than ZINWA only because I think at the moment, their cup is full and they need to do more.
Madam Speaker, I also want to look at the youths and women of this country to say the amount that has been proffered to their respective banks; the Empower Bank, Zimbabwe’s Women Empowerment Bank, is not really solving the problems of the youths or women. We need to do more, we need to do away with the issues of collateral especially for women, I think that must go.
As I close, I continue to urge for more money to be put across especially to the health and education sectors. In Higher and Tertiary Education, there is some grading issues - [technical fault] - In prisons, when the last salary adjustment was made by the Hon. Minister, some of the Prison Officers are actually earning even more than their superintends. So you find that there is that element that needs to be properly looked at by the Hon. Minister and solved.
In terms of revenue – [technical fault] – Zimbabwe is already heavily taxed, so I think may be the Hon. Minister should go to 14% rather. With that Hon. Speaker, I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this debate.
(V)HON. JOSIAH SITHOLE: Thank you Madam Speaker – [technical fault] – primary and secondary because education got the highest money of the budget. It is unfortunate that most of that money goes to payment of salaries which is 87% of the money. As we look forward to the State funded basic education, there are a lot of things that are needed because payment of teachers and so on is actually one area which is also good that we have to pay good salaries to our teachers. What must be done in terms of improving in the education sector? I would also like to say funded education is going to give us a challenge bearing in mind that at the moment, we do not even know which sector or which part of -[technical fault] - State funded education and this makes it very difficult to give good and accurate statistics to what will be done by the Ministry of Finance.
Madam Speaker, you will also find that we need to capacitate the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education – [technical fault] - supervision to ensure that we must teach. The classrooms that we have must not be a hazard to the children. The Ministry must go down to grassroots and hence the need for capacitation. They need cars, they need to go and see that all those teachers who are there are doing their work. The issue of State funded education is like what we hear that “iwe neni tinebasa”. It is not only something for the Ministry of Finance.
We also have to look at the issue of our CDFs. We must come up with a policy and say for the CDF, we get we help in building classrooms or provision of furniture in our schools. That will help this provision for State funded education. We are actually borrowing this from the Zambian experience. When we visited Zambia as a Committee on Primary and Secondary Education in 2019, we realised that CDF can help in the building of schools and that can also be done in our country.
Madam Speaker, the teachers are very far away from their spouses, from their homes, they travel a lot and if the schools open, they always complain that – [technical fault] – Provision of those expensive assistive devices must be considered and especially also claims for persons with albinism. We have to consider these issues because we are always being left behind in terms of considering persons with disabilities as given by some conventions that were actually aligned to the African Charter, United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. You would find that we are still behind. Even our Disability Act is one of 1992, but if we are to bring this up to align it with the Constitution then it means we need to increase funding so that our people with disabilities are also going to come up like the rest. I want to thank you Madam Speaker.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Madam Speaker I move that the debate do now adjourn.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 14th December, 2022.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Madam Speaker I move that Orders of the Day Number 2 to 9 on today’s Order Paper be stood over until Order Number 10 has been disposed of. I thank you.
Motion put and agreed to.
SECOND READING
JUDICIAL LAWS AMENDMENT BILL [H.B.3, 2022]
Tenth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Second Reading of the Judicial Laws Amendment Bill [H. B. 3, 2022].
Question again proposed.
HON. GONESE: Madam Speaker I had not anticipated that the debate was coming up today. I liaised with the Hon. Minister and indicated to him that I intend to debate, but if the Hon. Minister insists I can debate now.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: May you please connect.
HON. GONESE: I can even debate now if Hon. Members are amenable.
HON. ZIYAMBI: Madam Speaker, I move that debate do now adjourn.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 14th December, 2022.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI), the House adjourned at Twenty-Five Minutes past Five o’clock p.m.
A st230-240 13th December, 2022
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 13th December, 2022.
The Senate met at Half-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE
SWEARING IN OF A NEW MEMBER
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Good afternoon Hon. Senators. I have an announcement. In terms of Section 39 (7)(a) of the Electoral Act, [Chapter 2.1.3], the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) notified Parliament that Ishmael Zhou was elected by the persons with disabilities Electoral College, to fill in the vacancy in the Senate that occurred following the death of Hon. Watson Khupe with effect from 19th November, 2022.
Section 128 (1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, provides that before a Member of Parliament, takes his or her seat in Parliament, the Member must take the oath of a Member of Parliament in the form set out in the Third Schedule of the Constitution. Section 128 (2) states that the oath must be taken before the Clerk of Parliament.
NEW MEMBER SWORN
HON. SEN. ISHMAEL ZHOU subscribed to the Oath of Loyalty as required by the Law and took his seat – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.] –
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I move that Order of the Day Number 1 be stood over, until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Second Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MABIKA: Thank you Mr. President. I would like first of all to thank Hon. Sen. Mpofu for the motion and Hon. Sen. Siansali who seconded. It is in very good order that we assess and commend on His Excellency, Cde. Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa’s State of the Nation Address. Overally, the country performed….
THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Order, it seems you are not connected.
HON. SEN. MABIKA: Thank you Mr. President. I was saying it is in very good order that we assess and commend on His Excellency, Cde. Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA). Overally, the country performed above expectation, in nearly all sectors except energy. Despite sanctions, COVID-19 effects, climate change issues and the general global economic turmoil, we are focused to have a minimum economic growth rate of 3.8%. With the stern direction of His Excellency, a lot was achieved in the areas which formed the foundation of a sound economy.
Output explosion in the mining sector is quite evident in all areas, especially gold, PDMs, coal, chrome et cetera. What is fascinating is the step-by-step approach towards the value addition which saw several processing plants being commissioned. Rapid investment in lithium has also been a pleasing development, which is set to have the value chain from extraction, all the way to processing. The efforts to stop the bleeding via illegal exports of minerals are also commended. A bit more work is still required in this area and use of technology to boost this capability is something that our security sector may need to promote.
The economic growth and energy growth are directly co-related. Industries are being revived more rapidly than energy production can keep at this point. However, we are aware that this is a medium to long term problem to be solved urgently.
His Excellency has fully supported the development of Muzarabani oil and gas project which is now at a very advanced stage. Armed with gas, power generation can be significantly boosted to cover more than our requirement. We appreciate that the development of gas fields takes time but what is most encouraging is that His Excellency is fully in support of all programmes around this wonderful God-given resource which will solve many of our headaches, including energy, fertilizers, fuel, plastics, chemicals for pharmaceuticals et cetera.
Many solar power plants were licenced. We look forward to seeing progress in this area which is dogged by capitalisation issues due to the sanctions. Infrastructure development also sits at the foundation of any economy. Road rehabilitation has made tremendous strides. Zimbabwe is seen as being the most dammed country in the region. New and modern hospitals have been commissioned with more being under construction. Airport modernization and expansion plus new air strips have been under construction. Tourism and hospitality industry is being promoted enough to recover from the COVID -19 pandemic.
As for parastatals performance, His Excellency is on point when he proposes increasing efficiency of the sector to profitable levels. As is acknowledged by many joint ventures, partial privatizations, engagement of technical partners and so on are the keys to unlocking value in majority of the parastatals. Apart from the potential capitalisation prospects, the work ethic and commitment levels of the parastatals will increase with such similar arrangements.
Chimurenga Chepfungwa - the Education Revolution is of paramount importance. As a basis for capturing innovation and creating new global industries, the platform is now set for putting Zimbabwe’s brains and products on the world map. We commend with pride the launch of ZimSat-1 Satellite which comes with tremendous capacity to manage many critical facets of our motherland from agriculture, mining to land management and so on.
The importance being attached to the development of e-government systems cannot be overlooked. Ease of doing business is much more easily enhanced by the use of IT. We stand proud to see that the functionality and efficiency of the Civil Registry Department has so greatly improved. Winding queues littered by the touts has become a thing of the past. Thanks to His Excellency for ensuring that the solution was delivered to our people. Provision of housing has been a nightmare to many, especially given the population increase of several millions over the past 10 years. Current and future planned housing projects are all visibly sound and achievable.
The Youth Build Zimbabwe Programme is yet another demonstrated vision of where His Excellency wants the nation to go. With a well disciplined and well trained nationalistic youth, the country can scale ladders rapidly. Love thyself is the beginning of commitment and progress. The refocusing of tertiary education towards tangible production and services for our youth is an inevitable cog which has eventually arrived. We cannot speak about youth development without paying attention to the current new menace of drugs within our youth communities. It is recommended that we pay extra attention to this plague and that we deal with it decisively.
Although certain sectors prefer to try and put the blame of drug menace on Government, those who know about the machinations surrounding the opium wall in China will soon realise that this was actually an externally driven menace meant to wipe out the potential in several generations of youths in that country. Cultivation of opium was in India but its trade into China was by the British. Our menace should as well be considered a war technique from the outside world.
Our foreign policy is plausible to say the least - friend to all the enemies to none. We have no need to meddle in matters of other sovereign’s internal activities or politics. By the same token, other nations should also not have foreign policies which are intended to mess around with our domestic policies and matters. We have made the first move to open ourselves to all who feel like interacting with us constructively. This, we have also demonstrated by participating in peace initiatives all over the world but only through internationally accredited institutions such as SADC, AU, UN, et cetera.
We take pride in the recognition that His Excellency is giving to all our war veterans. We look forward to seeing the successful capitalisation of the Veterans Investment Cooperation.
On the legislative side of issues, it is highly commended that the Attorney General’s Office has been weaned off from the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. We anticipate that the reduced red tape and function conflicts will see the AG’s efficiency increasing dramatically. Proposed amendments to various agricultural acts are welcome. As we step up to the next gear in food security, indeed sugar must be considered a strategic resource.
Conflict between farming and mining where mining was legally given higher priority by colonialists deserves attention. We look forward to a balanced act which considers both sides in their merit. The issue of taking a look at ICT online transactions is also critical, given that the world is heading towards central bank digital currencies but appearing to transit through the disastrous crypto currency regime where billions of dollars were lost globally with no recourse. Our populace certainly requires such protection.
In his conclusion, His Excellency correctly calls for the critical bottom line for attaining Vision 2030; production and productivity in all sectors of the economy. Everyone must therefore contribute by working hard and smart each in his corner. The time to wait for outsiders to come and build things for us is over. He further calls for peace, unity and harmony during the upcoming harmonised 2023 elections. This is critical. It helps each and every Zimbabwean to ensure that the political risk rating of the country improves from where it is.
Lastly, caution on the COVID-19 risks must be maintained. The health of our people and economy do not require recklessness to hinder our hard won progress so far. In conclusion Mr. President, it goes without saying that Zimbabwe has made tremendous progress since the Second Dispensation took office. The greater part of the first term of the Second Dispensation has successfully delivered stability and has set the foundation for growth via policy adjustments, infrastructure building, work ethic improvements, e-government adoption, education realignment and taking a step by step approach towards a sustainable self-reliant economy. We applaud His Excellency, Cde. Dr. E.D. Mnangagwa for taking the bull by its horns and staying the course on our socio-economic development programmes. I thank you Mr. President.
HON. SEN. MABIKA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 14th December, 2022.
MOTION
CONSTRUCTION OF SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE AND RECRUITMENT OF ECD TEACHERS
HON. SEN. MABIKA: Mr. President Sir, I move the motion standing in my name that;
ACKNOWLEDGING that education is a right for every citizen and permanent resident in Zimbabwe;
COGNISANT that the State, through reasonable legislative and other measures, must ensure that education is progressively available and accessible even to adults as constitutionally obligated;
FURTHER ACKNOWLEDGING the importance of Early Child Development (ECD) in laying the foundation for children through education;
CONCERNED that Early Child Development (ECD) is confronted with a myriad of challenges such as inadequate funding, shortage of classrooms, information communication technology (ICT) equipment, teachers and reading materials, among other things;
This House calls upon-
- The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to prioritise the construction of school infrastructure and recruitment of teachers for Early Child Development (ECD);
- The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development to provide adequate financial resources for Early Child Development programmes.
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: I second.
HON. SEN. MABIKA: Thank you Mr. President. Zimbabwe considers access to high quality education as a basic right for all citizens and permanent residents. Education is also the foundation for cultural, social, economic and demographic growth of our nation. The architecture of our education system is a 2-7-4-2-structure, meaning two years of ECD, seven years of primary education, four years secondary education and two years higher secondary education.
The 92% literacy rate that we boast of is built of this structure. However, the latest population census has shown a significant increase in population, which therefore points at a requirement to increase school infrastructure and all the associated resources. ECD as at March 2017, the sector had 427 800 learners taught by 4000 teachers, with 5800 more teachers required. Only 21.6% of age 36 to 59 months were attending ECD programme. It was also identified that there is need to build the capacity of existing educational officials to provide sound grounding in ECD philosophy approaches and methods.
It was also identified that required is the right age, appropriate infrastructure and equipment; this is focused on creating resonance between the play and learn approach that ECD requires. It was also identified that there is a requirement for feeding programmes at ECD schools due to the current economic status of our country. A large number of ECD learners, 27.6% of learners are stunted while 11.3% were underweight; to develop a health brain one needs good nutrition. Distance travelled by some ECD pupils leaves a lot to be desired. In today’s world, ability to use ICT equipment for accessing information, processing data and making decision is very critical. Proficiency in the area at an early age will provide a sound grounding for modern citizens of the future. Ability to utilise ICT equipment will provide room for stronger student development as they advance in their studies and into the workplaces; use of ICT must be in their blood like the way a child develops the ability to walk without thinking about every step.
Not being ICT proficient is a bit like a person who thinks in vernacular language and translates the response into English before responding. The Education Sector Strategic Plan of 2016 to 2020, highlights all these issues but at a more global scale. What is actually missing is visible action on ground. Some private sector ECD services have tended to take the space but being private sector, the monitoring and compliance management becomes significantly complex especially in a situation where demand is outstripping supply multiple times.
According to the Ministry of Education Declaration, our education architecture is a 2-7-4-2-formation with only about 22% of learners having access to ECD education, that means, most of our children are going into Grade 1 totally unprepared. This has got a number of implications on the future academic performance of our children going forward. The Majority of the children who skip ECD begin to feel that going to school is very hard stuff and some of them get totally dejected thereafter, unrecoverable as they compare their initial performance to that of their peers who will have gone through the preparatory stage.
Grade 1 teachers get into a frenzy trying to level out how they teach concepts to classes of skilled development levels. In the end, it slows down the entire class as the teachers are attempting to mix some ECD concepts with Grade 1 concepts. The culture of learning begins in ECD and starts to be implemented full time in Grade 1. Over 78% of our junior school learners get into the grove unprepared. National culture and the sense of belonging to Zimbabwe require to be built into the children at the earliest stage possible. The repercussions of such an educational component are evident in a large number of our new adults who do not show any sense of belonging to the nation. We also see how they ululate when something like exchange rate chaos happens, they get excited and happy yet they are the ones who are going to be suffering; some of them even to the extent of aiding further chaos deliberately. ECD develops a culture of focus at an early stage; there is no better time to develop a national culture than at the youngest age possible. The children get to know that there is a time for everything. There are rules around which the world works on, your brain brings glory. Interacting with other people selflessly, the optimum way to co-exist with others and so on, it is not about parents not having a maid; they must dump their children somewhere for the day. It is a human development process; our country badly needs this area to be cleaned up by providing adequate and relevant facility for this critical development of our future leaders, engineers, lawyers, Members of Parliament, Senators, et cetera.
The main stumbling block to the development of the ECD sector is funding, the current budget for the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is largely consumed by staff salaries, both the administration officials and teachers. There is hardly anything more than 5% of the entire budget left to capacity development. In 2017, only 3% of the entire budget was left for development whilst the rest went to staff expenditures. There is not enough ECD focused teachers in the country, the majority of parents send their children to ECD for the wrong reasons. They consider ECD as somewhere to dump their children while they carry on with their day to day chores.
Other parents do not consider ECD as a critical part of education at all and they will not even bother themselves with it. As a result, it will appear as though there is not much demand for ECD access in the country and the problem tend to go unnoticed as a result. Low disposable income in most families also hamper the zeal to send the children to ECD but now given that His Excellency the President, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa has declared free education to all from 2023, a huge influx may be experienced but the physical infrastructure to cater for that is not nearly sufficient. There is not enough trained ECD teachers. The equipment and other related facilities for ECD are nonexistent. Most parents cannot visualise the potential impact of the curriculum that was set up for ECD learning. So some public relations exercise will be required within communities.
To achieve or correct all above, one thing is very critical – funding. The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education needs to protect and emphasise its development plan to satisfy the ECD requirements. The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development must be encouraged to place high priority on the development of ECD infrastructure and its associated requirements.
In conclusion Mr. President, a nation is made up of people and the lack of full development of a people will result in the lack of development of the nation in the future. The development has got to officially start at ECD by developing relevant curriculum and providing affordable access to the entire Zimbabwean population with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education providing the route plan and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development delivering the required resources. I thank you Mr. President.
I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 14th December, 2022.
On the motion of HON. SEN. MUZENDA, seconded by HON. SEN. ENG. MUDZURI, the Senate adjourned at Two Minutes past Three o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 8th December, 2022
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE ACTING SPEAKER in the Chair)
HON. MARKHAM: Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir. My point of national interest is requesting a statement from the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement and the Minister of Finance and Economic Development. Currently, we are aware that the Government has yielded and received 255.000 tonnes of wheat. That has been in stock now for nearly two months and no wheat farmer that I am aware of has been paid anything yet. Wheat farmers are due to receive $200 to $220 per tonne and also ZWL 255.000 but none of this has been paid.
I think it is a matter of national importance in that this House asks for a statement from the Minister as to the delay in payment. There are also rumours that a farmer has to stomach the price as the cost of storage and the marketing of that grain because the Government cannot pay them. The matter is seriously urgent because any farmer who grew winter wheat and cannot fund his crop for this coming summer season in inputs as he does not have payment is affected this summer. The farmer only has one option which is to go into the market and borrow the money at 200% interest. I have no idea what the Ministers of Agriculture and Finance are thinking in order to solve this situation. We have always stated the need to peg the producer price in US dollars. There is nothing more urgent than now. Could the Minister bring a statement to this House? Thank you.
THE ACTING SPEAKER (HON. M. KHUMALO): Thank you Hon. Markham. Your request will be attended to and the Minister will advise.
MOTION
RATIFICATION OF THE REVISED GEORGETOWN AGREEMENT
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move the motion standing in my name;
THAT WHEREAS section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that an international treaty which has been concluded or executed by or under the authority of the President does not bind Zimbabwe until it has been approved by Parliament;
WHEREAS the Georgetown Agreement created in 1975, is the Framework Act of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States which aims to ensure sustainable development and poverty reduction within the ACP’s Member States. Zimbabwe, together with other Member States are progressively adopting policies and implementing measures in accordance with their obligations in terms of the Agreement and exercising political will by calling for the transformation of the ACP Group of States into an international organisation which will act as a multilateral body, taking into account the changing global geo-political context;
AND WHEREAS the Revised Georgetown Agreement was opened for signature in 2019, and came into force in April 2020, the Revised Agreement endorses the Organisation’s change of name from the ACP Group of States to the Organisation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (OACPS). Other significant changes include among others, a revision of addressing the challenges to development in all its dimensions with respect to environmental matters, climate change, peace and security, gender and private sector development:
NOW, THEREFORE, in terms of section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, this House resolves that the aforesaid agreement be and is hereby approved for accession.
HON. BITI: Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in principle we have no problem with the ratification in terms of Section 327 of the said Georgetown Treaty of 1975. We wish to place on record two challenges that we have. Firstly, is the delay in the ratification of these treaties - there is now a constant regime of delaying the approval of these treaties. If you look at the majority of all the treaties that we have ratified in the last two years, there is actually a timeline of at least five years between the time that the country signs on to the treaty and the time that the treaty is brought to this august House.
In fact, if you look closely at Section 327 of the Constitution, the signing of the agreement is actually preconditioned to Parliament approving, so there has to be prior parliamentary approval before the Minister or His Excellency the President accedes his signature to the document. What is happening invariably in all the situations is that there is a signature and then we are called upon to ratify. So we are then used purely as a doormat, purely as a nominal approval board yet in terms of the Constitution, the power of approval lies with this august House.
On selection application, there are some important conventions that we have signed on but we have not ratified. One of those is the Convention against Torture. Zimbabwe signed same way back in the 90s but we are still to ratify that. It is a mystery and a wonder Mr. Speaker why we are not ratifying that because our Constitution in Section 53 already outlaws cruel torture or degrading a treatment, so there is no reason why we should not be ratifying conventions such as CAT the Convention against Torture. I urge the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs forthwith to bring the instruments for ratification before this august House so that we can act in terms of Section 327 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
Thirdly Mr. Speaker Sir, it is nice to be a member of a proliferation of these organisations. I really wonder the benefit of Zimbabwe in joining this particular organisation. The history of the ACP is re-linked to the European Union and the Cotonou Agreement. So the ACP is created within the context of poor countries that trade with Europe who get equal and preferential treatment in terms of the Lemo Convention and in terms of the Cotonou Agreement. So, I appreciate the South-South Cooperation but what really are we getting from this association which we are not getting to our heather to existing ACP cooperation within the context of the European Union? Mr. Speaker, the motion before you speaks of promoting the environment but we are already a member of the Cop process, the climate agreements of the UN. Only recently we were in Egypt, only recently we were in Scotland, so we are already part of the global infrastructure of dealing with the environment.
Sometimes we are happy to be a member of proliferation of tripod institutions, the CommonWealth is one of them, beyond tea what is the benefit? This one is another tripod institution, let us strengthen our membership of the African, and let us mention our membership of the ACFTA, let us make good our membership of SADC, UN and the UN General Assembly. After all we join these organisations, we do not pay subscriptions. If you look at the budget before you, we have not paid subscriptions to most of the organisations that we are members.
On those words of caution Mr. Speaker, we will support this motion but can the Hon. Minister bring other instruments that need to be ratified, in particular the Convention against Torture.
HON. T. MOYO: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I support the motion by the Hon. Minister Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs that Zimbabwean Parliament, we must support the ratification of the African Caribbean and Pacific Group of States in line with the Georgetown Agreement of 1975 which was revised in 2022. Hon. Speaker Sir, the provisions – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections]- The Hon. Members are making noise.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members.
HON. T. MOYO: Hon. Speaker, the provision of the Georgetown Agreement of 1975 that was reviewed in April 2020 is very important. Issues to do with climate change, environment, peace and security and gender issues are so topical Mr. Speaker Sir. Just recently, the Zimbabwean Government launched what we call ZIMSAT 1 where we had to launch satellite into orbit, into space that is very important particularly on the economic implications on how we can use the satellite to detect mineral deposits which have not been found in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is endowed with a number of resources; one of the minerals that I need to mention is the issue of uranium. Two weeks, the Zimbabwean Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Russia because of the challenges of electricity. We are going to resort to nuclear energy. We have uranium in Gokwe, all those mountains are endowed with uranium, so this agreement is very important because we need to protect our environment.
The other provision that is very important is, issues to do with sustainable development are very important and that will culminate in poverty reduction. No-one on this planet is against the issues of poverty reduction. It is my clarion call that we need to embrace and support the Government to ratify this international convention because it is very important for us.
On gender, Zimbabweans are known for having ‘HeforShe” champion; I am one myself and we were having 16 days of activism against gender based violence. So we are saying this convention is also important because it will be very important for us males who will support the need to protect and also to capacitate women in line with SDG Number 5 where we want to ensure that women are capacitated so that they are able to compete with their male counterparts and that is also very important, Mr. Speaker Sir. I so submit.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Hon. Members for the debate and largely the support that we need to ratify this agreement. I just want to make a few comments with regards to what Hon. Biti said.
The Constitution is very clear that what starts is the President executing and signing an agreement and the other process is to give effect to that agreement and will follow the necessary domestic procedures in any country, which is what we are doing. You do not start by having Parliament approving the signature of the agreement before the President has appended. So the process that we are doing is exactly the correct one, not the other way round.
Secondly Madam Speaker, this agreement is very important and like he rightly alluded to, being party to this Georgetown Agreement will certify a country to become a member of the Organisation of African Caribbean and Pacific States and it will allow us to access rights and privileges and other benefits of being a member. Contrary to what Hon. Biti was saying, there are actually privileges that will accrue to a member and the country will be eligible to access funding, benefits from OACPS projects and technical capacity building from negotiations for an economic partnership agreement with the EU like he mentioned, and that Zimbabwe is currently undertaking. Zimbabwe has benefitted immensel, Madam Speaker, from OACPS projects and programmes mainly in the agricultural sector through the Trade Com 1 and 2 projects which saw farmers in Chimanimani receiving funding and know-how on growing pineapples, avocados and cashew nuts for export to EU.
Madam Speaker, Zimbabwe has also been a beneficiary of European development funds which assisted in the education and health sector and on 21st November, 2022 the EU Ambassador signed two agreements with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MAVETERA): Order Hon. Members. There is a lot of bickering. Please may we try to maintain silence so that the Hon. Minister can be heard in silence? Thank you.
HON. ZIYAMBI: Thank you Madam Speaker. I was saying Zimbabwe has also been a beneficiary of European development funds which assisted in the education and health sectors and only a month ago on 21st November, 2022, the EU Ambassador signed two agreements with the Minister of Finance and Economic Development for the disbursement of funds amounting to 47 million Euros to support the health sector and the electoral process.
Additionally, the private sector has received funding from the European Investment Bank to the tune of 50 million Euros which was disbursed through three banks, namely NMB, CABS and NED Bank. If Zimbabwe does not accede to the revised Georgetown Agreement, the country will not be eligible to sign the Post Cotonou Agreement which gives eligibility to EU development corporation and funding. The prerequisite to accessing funding from the new neighbourhood development international corporation instrument which came into force on 14th June 2021, is that one has to have acceded to the revised Georgetown Agreement and signed the Post Cotonou Agreement.
So Hon. Biti was correct to a certain extent but he did not have the fuller information that there are several benefits that would accrue if we accede to this. I therefore move that the House do agree that we ratify the agreement. I thank you Madam Speaker.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
FINANCE BILL: BUDGET DEBATE
Second Order read: Adjourned debate on motion that leave be granted to bring in a Finance Bill.
Question again proposed.
HON. GONESE: On a point of order Madam Speaker. I think the second order which has just been read which we are about to debate is the motion for leave to bring in a Finance Bill, but I notice that the Hon. Minister of Finance and Economic development, I have tried to check and I know that my eyes are getting old but I am not seeing the Hon. Minister.
Yes, the Hon. Deputy Minister is here and the Hon. Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs is here but the National Budget is a very important instrument and to that extent, when we have a presentation of the budget, everyone, all the Hon. Ministers attend, including the President, and therefore it is in that context Madam Speaker, that the nation deserves an explanation as to the whereabouts of the Hon. Minister.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I explained yesterday.
HON. GONESE: No, you did not say it officially because yesterday when the issue was raised we did not get it on record as to where the Hon. Minister is. I believe that we need an explanation. The nation, the Hon. Members of Parliament who are representatives of the people must…
HON. ZIYAMBI: The Hon. Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Development is here and I myself am here.
HON. GONESE: Yes, we appreciate that the Deputy Minister is there but in the past if you look at the convention, if you look at the precedence which we have set as this august institution, the Hon. Minister has been personally present painstakingly taking notes. It is not about getting it from the Hansard. When it comes to the National Budget, I have already emphasised the importance of that National Budget because it is the one which actually shapes the destiny of our country. As a result, I think it is incumbent upon our colleagues seated on your right to explain to us why the Hon. Minister is not present as has always been. I know that we have sat up to midnight and the Minister has always been present. It is not just about what would have transpired, he must also be able to see the demeanor of the Hon. Members as they are contributing to the debate and to see the whole environment which you cannot discern from reading the Hansard. It is in that context that before we can debate the Order of the Day, the Hon. Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs who is privy of the whereabouts of the Hon. Minister of Finance informs the nation so that it is placed on record to know whether he indisposed; is he admitted into a hospital, we do not know - although there is someone who looks like him who is in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea – we need to know Madam Speaker.
HON. BITI: Madam Speaker, the making of a budget is personal to the Minister of Finance and Economic Development; Section 6 of the Public Finance Management Act defines the function of Treasury but if you go to the definition section, it defines the Minister as Treasury.
Section 7 of the Public Finance Management Act defines the duties of the Minister and one of the duties of the Minister is to provide the macro-economic policy of the country, to present before this august House the macro-economic policy of the country, the accounts of the country and the budget of the country, it is persona to the Minister.
Section 305 of the Constitution says the Minister shall present estimates of expenditure and revenue for the year, so it is persona to the Minister. If the Minister is out of the country, something which the esteemed Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs did not disclose yesterday, then there must be appointed an Acting Minister of Finance who will carry out the duties and the Acting Minister of Finance sits in Cabinet.
The danger is that we cannot make submissions when the Minister who has been given the power personally is not around, we are breaching Section 6 and Section 7 of the Public Finance Management Act, the later and spirit of the Constitution captured in Sections 305, 306 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. So, the Minister himself, esteemed Mthuli Ncube suspended Standing Orders for sitting on Tuesday when he was in this august House, we will wait for him when he comes, we can sleep at midnight when he comes from Malabo, Angola and Georgia.
Finally, the most important function of a Minister of Finance is the National Budget. What Minister of Finance and Economic Development disrespects his own work? This Minister is unique, unprecedented, he makes Chinamasa looks like a genius when Chinamasa was not a genius.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MAVETERA): According to our Standing Orders, a Minister is defined from being a Minister and also the Deputy Minister, all of them are encompassed for us to define a Minister –[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Order, order!
The Hon Deputy Minister has on a number of occasions represented the Minister and has presented Bills on behalf of the Hon. Minister of Finance. So it is not a surprise that today he is doing that because he has always done that – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
Order! The Hon. Deputy Minister will take notes and then will present to the Hon. Minister and he has got capacity to also respond. The Minister is out on official business.
HON. S. BANDA: - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members! Let me reiterate what I have said. According to Standing Order Number 1, on definition of a Minister, it says ‘Minister means the Minister of Government of Zimbabwe and this includes the Deputy Minister’. So I do not know what you are talking about when you are talking about a Deputy Minister not being a Minister especially in this House. So we are going to proceed with the Deputy Minister – [THE HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order! With due respect, we have got to follow procedure, the budget is announced by the Minister of Finance. I have not seen anybody else other than the Minister of Finance and that is the reason why he has that ‘briefcase’. Hon. Ziyambi cannot carry that ‘briefcase’; Hon. Ziyambi can carry a briefcase on Justice, Parliamentary and Legal Affairs. To me, you must understand the whole processes. The Ministers too should be here to respond to the performance of the budget. They must be here: Hon. Ziyambi is here, fine, Hon. Mhona is always here. They must respond to the budget that we pass, they must also respond to the performance. We need the Minister of Finance and Economic Development here; we need the Minister of every portfolio here for them to be able to respond. Hon. Ziyambi has done well, he deserves to be reappointed by the President at any other time but – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Parliament has no power to appoint an Acting Minister of Finance and Economic Development.
Madam Speaker, I would like to see a letter from the Office of the President and Cabinet appointing the Acting Minister of Finance. Deputy Ministers do not sit in Cabinet, why do they not sit in Cabinet? The President finds another Cabinet Minister to act, so if you are telling me that you are now the Head of State, then we did not know that you have such powers of appointing Acting Ministers here. It is the prerogative of the President and do not take the President’s powers, no wonder, Hon. Chiduwa, with due respect he is here but cannot act as the Minister of Finance ....
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, Hon. Mliswa.
HON. T. MLISWA: Let me finish Madam Speaker. These are the procedures we know, we do not want to do things which will get us into trouble tomorrow. You are an upcoming young Speaker and I would like you to adhere to certain protocols – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – can we have a letter from the President appointing an Acting Minister of Finance....
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Mliswa, I was very clear!
HON. T. MLISWA: We cannot debate outside this, this will be challenged in the courts, the whole world is watching this. This is a budget for a specific Minister. Hon. Ziyambi has done very well being here but this is not Question Time. Ngatiite zvinhu zviri right zvoita kuti nyika iyenderere mberi.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Mliswa. Hon. Members, there is no-one who ever talked about being appointed or appointing anyone, but we are following our Standing Rules and Orders. Our Standing Rules and Orders are very clear on that one, we are going to proceed, that is what I am telling you, and I do not want send people outside – [HON. S. BANDA: Ndidzingei.] – It is okay, you can excuse yourself. Hon. Banda, continue making noise and you will see what will happen. We do not need to undermine each other, that is what I can tell you.
HON. T. MLISWA: My point of clarity is; we want to understand the powers of Parliament. Parliament cannot have Executive powers. I also want to know if it is now standard that Parliament can appoint an Acting Minister because it is the prerogative of the President. We must believe and follow the doctrine of the separation of powers. That is critical and I am saying Standing Orders mean nothing according to the Constitution. Let us go to the Constitution and read the powers of the President. If we want to read the Bible, let us start from Genesis to the end, let us not read where we want. What does the Constitution say about the Ministers - who appoints Ministers? We must be very clear. Parliament does not appoint Ministers; it only plays an oversight role on Ministers because we are now encroaching into a territory which is not ours. Be guided properly, we cannot continue doing this. The Minister of Finance is responsible for the budget; the Ministers should be here to respond to what we pass in the Budget and so forth. Let us go to the Constitution, do not be misled. Madam Speaker, I have said you are an upcoming great Speaker, young lady, vibrant youth, do not destroy your career by being misled – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Let us allow the President to appoint the Acting Minister of Finance. Clerk, can you please advise the Speaker properly. The prerogative of appointing Ministers remains with the President not anyone else. Parliament must not be on record of usurping the powers of the President, we cannot usurp the powers of the President, let us be honest.
Hon. Chiduwa, if he wants to present the budget, let us have a letter from the President appointing him as the Acting Minister of Finance, that is it. Deputy Ministers do not sit in Cabinet, why? The President appoints an Acting Minister, you know that. We shall wait for the Minister of Finance to do his job and to respond to issues.
HON. T. MOYO: Madam Speaker Ma’am, I think we set precedence yesterday that all Chairpersons should present. I think we are left with one or two, if Hon. Members may allow the Chairperson of Defence to present.
HON. T. MLISWA: I support Hon. Moyo’s point, the Committee Chairpersons can present, Hon. Chiduwa can take notes and the Ministry officials as well and give those notes to their principal to respond. Only, Hon. Minister Prof. Ncube can respond to us.
HON. NGULUVHE:
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE AND WAR VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
INTRODUCTION:
1.0 Global Overview and Analysis of the Ministry’s 2023 Budget Allocation
1.1 The Ministry has three programmes, namely Policy and Administration; Defence and Security and the War Veterans department.
1.2 The Ministry is grateful to Treasury for availing US$15 million for the purchase of vehicles through the current contract between the Ministry of Defence and Croco Pvt. Ltd.
1.3 However, Treasury allocated $331.1 billion against an ideal requirement of $800.8 billion, thereby compromising the Ministry’s capability to fulfil its constitutional mandate. The allocation leaves a funding gap of $469.7 billion, and this will have multiple negative effects on the Zimbabwe Defence Force’s operational activities and hence the entire nation’s peace and security.
1.4 Your Committee noted that the Ministry has key expenditure items that cannot be half-funded because of their interconnectedness in nature. For example, adequate fuel, military equipment and food are required to complete a full training programme since training cannot be half-done.
1.5 The budget shortfall affects employment costs, recurrent and capital expenditure in the three programmes as follows:
Programme |
Ideal Bid |
Budget Allocation |
Budget Shortfall |
Policy and Administration |
$40.54 billion |
$8.94 billion |
$31.6 billion |
Defence and Security |
$725.54 billion |
$317.3 billion |
$408.3 billion |
War Veterans |
$34.72 billion |
$4.9 billion |
$29.8 billion |
TOTAL |
$800.8 billion |
$331.14 billion |
$469.7 billion |
2.0 Major Highlights of the Ministry’s 2023 Budget
2.1 The Ministry has a heavy debt burden amounting to $6 billion which has resulted from low budgetary support and the suspension of all payments by Treasury in August 2022. The temporary suspension has resulted in some service providers withdrawing their services. As a result, the Ministry expérience;
- Inadequate supply of rations,
- Low stock levels of drugs, fuels, oils and lubricants,
- Delays in the procurement of essential spares and failure to maintain military equipment.
- Late payment of school fees for veterans’ children,
- Late payment of medical bills for the war veterans.
- Stalling of PSIP projects which could have helped to ease accommodation challenges.
2.3 The Military Salary Concept has not been fully implemented hence a budget bid of $258 billion would have adequately covered this item. A budget shortfall of $215 billion will result in the Ministry losing its key personnel to greener pastures.
2.3. Goods and services constitute the bulk of the Defence and Security budget and cannot be half-funded. An allocation of $84.3 billion falls far below an ideal bid of $257.9 billion. Critical components which will not be covered given this small budget include:
- Health services for both serving and retired officers yet it is their constitutional right,
- Procurement of specialized military equipment which require an ideal budget of $93.6 billion. This is required to cover carry-overs from 2021 and current creditors who are owed $15.2 billion
- Utilities have accumulated carry-overs (on rates, water and hire of services) from 2021 financial year to present. Treasury allocated only 18% of the required bid of $10.4 billion.
- Institutional provisions were seriously underfunded despite carry-overs dating back to 2021. An allocation of $23.8 billion against an ideal bid of $84.44 billion will result in the Ministry failing to provide adequate rations and uniforms to its members. Members will have to supplement from their paltry salaries thereby causing serious adverse effects on health and morale.
2.4 Travel expenses (both domestic and foreign) must be fully funded. Treasury allocated $522 million against a bid of $6.12 billion to cover travel and subsistence, hotel accommodation, workshops, trade fairs and community assistance trips. Indiscipline in the military will be rampant due to lack of these institutional requirements to cover travel expenses.
2.5 Fuel, oils and lubricants are part of the institutional requirements, and this includes special aviation fuel which is very expensive but is needed for various activities. A paltry budget of $16 billion was allocated against a bid of $41.05 billion despite the presence of a total of $68.4 million payment carry-overs owed to creditors which dates back to 2021.
2.6 Progress has stalled on several high impact PSIP projects that would ease accommodation problems in the military. These projects include:
- Dzivarasekwa housing units,
- Imbizo housing units,
- The Manyame Hospital, and
- Rehabilitation of selected buildings within cantonment areas;
2.7 The War Veterans Affairs Department has key expenditures items that were grossly underfunded. These mandatory expenditures include:
- Social welfare benefits that are paid to war veterans and their dependents and dependents of deceased war veterans. The benefits include medical benefits, funeral benefits and educational benefits. These require an ideal budget of $19.8 billion, against an actual allocation of $2 billion. This means that veterans of the liberation struggle shall remain neglected despite their contribution to the freedom of Zimbabwe.
- There is a pending mop up vetting exercise to identify additional war veterans, war collaborators and ex-detainees. This exercice requires $300 million.
- The capacitation of War Veterans District Offices requires an ideal amount of $3.8 billion. These offices are meant to bring services close to the beneficiaries at low cost.
3.0 Recommendations
In light of the importance of national peace and security which is primarily provided by the Ministry of Defence and War Veterans Affairs, your Committee recommends the following:
3.1 Treasury should review upwards the allocation to the Ministry by at least 45% of the current allocation. This means increasing funding by at least $150 billion so that the minimum barest allocation is about 50% of the Ministry’s initial bid of $800.8 billion.
The Ministry will then reprioritize and fund its most critical expenditure items that are inescapable.
3.2 The Military Salary Concept must be fully implemented to avoid loss of skilled personnel to other greener pastures and general brain drain.
3.3 The military construction regiment should be capacitated so that it can compete for construction bids and be allowed to retain the funds generated. The funds would help to ease some funding challenges in the Ministry.
3.4 Treasury should support partnerships and joint ventures which the Ministry has, for example in construction projects.
3.5 Adequate funds must be allocated to cater for the payment of the Ministry’s payment runs or carry-overs in order to ensure an uninterrupted service delivery by service providers.
3.6 Inescapable expenditure items must be prioritised and be adequately funded. These include institutional provisions, acquisition and maintenance of military equipment, training and development needs; fuels, oils and lubricants.
3.7 The war veterans’ affairs must be reviewed upwards to cater for their benefits and outstanding allowances. Their revenue generating projects must be fully supported and ensure that everyone who qualifies to get the benefits has access to them. The mop up vetting exercise earmarked for 2023 should be fully supported.
3.8 The PSIP projects in the Ministry are low-hanging fruits hence should be completed in order to ease accommodation problems. Treasury can consider capacitating the construction regiment so that it can finish off these projects.
MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE - VOTE 18 ($293.1 BILLION)
4.0 Global Overview and Analysis of the Ministry’s 2023 Budget Allocation
The Ministry has five programmes; namely, Policy and Administration, Civil Registration, Police Services, National Heritage Management and Migration Management.
4.1 The Ministry prepared the 2023 budget guided by the Budget Strategy Paper, Treasury Call Circulars of 2022 and the National Development Strategy (NDS1) policy document.
4.2 Your Committee is grateful to Treasury for increasing the Ministry’s budgetary allocation from the initial allocation of $185 billion before the Call Circular to $293 billion after the Call Circular.
4.3 The expenditure items whose budget allocations were increased after the Call Circular include:
- Goods and services earmarked for Policy and Administration were allocated an additional $39.2 billion.
- Capital expenditure budget allocation increased by $6.5 billion.
- Employment costs have an additional allocation of $61.6 billion.
- However, the Ministry has expenditure items under various programmes which were seriously underfunded despite the additional budget allocations.
- Major budget allocation shortfalls affect the following programmes:
- The 2023 mop-up mobile registration exercise to be done by the Civil Registry Department requires an ideal bid of $29.8 billion.
- Capital and recurrent expenditures for the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) to enhance its readiness for the 2023 harmonised elections requires an additional $496.8 billion.
Specific expenditures that are underfunded in the ZRP are:
- ICT equipment,
- Fuels, oils and lubricants,
- Institutional provisions and
- Domestic travel expenses.
- Acquisition of electronic documents and records management system (EDRMS) software and hardware for Records and Archival Management Department requires $1 billion.
- Computerization Programme in the Migration Management to enable an online management of Zimbabwe’s borders requires $3.8 billion.
- The Ministry’s allocations (excluding employment costs) in the 2023 National Budget of Zimbabwe are broken down as follows:
Programme |
Ideal Budget |
Actual Allocation |
Budget Shortfall |
Policy and Administration |
$20.9 billion |
$6.2 billion |
$14.8 billion |
Civil Registration |
$81.9 billion |
$11.05 billion |
$70.9 billion |
Police Services |
$560.9 billion |
$64.1 billion |
$496.8 billion |
National Heritage Management |
$23.1 billion |
$6.8 billion |
$16.3 billion |
Migration Management |
$14.1 billion |
$4.9 billion |
$9.2 billion |
5.0 Analysis of the 2023 Budget Allocation for the Ministry
This analysis focuses on expenditure items whose allocations were grossly underfunded. These are the priority areas which will enable the Ministry to fulfil its constitutional obligations in 2023. The budget shortfalls by Programme are as follows:
5.1 Civil Registration
5.1.1 This department plays a crucial role in the upcoming 2023 harmonized elections plebiscite through the issuance of civil registration documents required for voter registration.
5.1.2 However, the department has a huge financing gap of $70.9 billion which is likely to derail the department’s efforts of decentralizing services beyond district level.
5.1.3 Key expenditure items that require an upward review of funding include:
- Outstanding mobile registration allowances for the years 2022 which require an ideal budget of $15 billion yet Treasury allocated $3 billion only. These outstanding balances will negatively affect staff morale who participated in the 2022 mobile registration exercise. This will affect even the upcoming 2023 mop-up mobile registration exercise.
- The impending 2023 mop-up mobile registration requires a budget allocation of $29.8 billion yet nothing was allocated hence it will not kick-start. Some citizens will be denied their constitutional right to access certain services and the right to vote.
- Domestic travel expenses and allowances to be incurred during the mop-up mobile registration exercise was allocated $0.6 billion against a requirement of $53.1 billion.
However, these are institutional requirements which must be provided.
The mop-up mobile registration exercise also requires adequate office supplies and services such as computer and computer consumables and stationery; printers, photocopiers, generators and photographic equipment. These items require an additional budget of $7 billion to ensure an uninterrupted issuance of civil
- Registration documents. Treasury allocated just $3.1 billion for goods and services and this is inadequate.
- Fuels, oils and lubricants required for vehicles travelling long distances between sub offices, district, and provincial and central registry offices must be fully funded to the tune of $6.2 billion. Treasury allocated a paltry $0.3 billion, leaving a budget balance of $5.9 billion.
- Transport equipment (including all-terrain vehicles) which is required for management and staff mobility was allocated $0.3 billion against an ideal budget of $1.1 billion. This means that some remote areas will be left out during the mop up mobile registration.
5.2 Police Services (The Zimbabwe Republic Police, ZRP)
5.2.1 The ZRP plays a crucial role in Zimbabwe’s security sector through crime management, maintaining public order and protecting people and property. However, the ZRP service standards have fallen to unprecedented levels due to gross underfunding that has persisted for more than ten years now. Police officers have remained loyal and continued to provide their services despite lacking the requisite tools of trade, operating from sub-standard offices without furniture and stationery and without institutional requirements. Therefore, the ZRP cannot modernize its policing without modern gadgets to detect, deter and investigate crimes, and with limited mobility due to continued use few and inefficient vehicles.
5.2.2 Analysis of the 2023 ZRP Budget allocation
The organisation was allocated $64.1 billion against a requirement of $560.9 billion, leaving a variance of $496.8 billion. The allocation is grossly insufficient to meet all the critical operational and administrative requirements associated with policing elections, dealing with increasing crimes, VIP guards and escorts, tracking and escorting dangerous and armed criminals among other key police duties. The following are ZRP’s priority expenditures:
ICT equipment such as advanced radio equipment, computers, modern PABX telephone switch boards, traffic equipment and other specialized military equipment require an ideal budget of $10 billion. Thus, an additional allocation of $4.9 billion is required.
(a) Fuels, oils and lubricants are a major priority in the organisation’s operations to enhance mobility, police deployments and visibility in all parts of the country before, during and after elections. An additional budget of $8.2 billion is required to enable the organization to acquire adequate fuel, oils and lubricants for the ZRP’s vehicle fleet. Currently, the organization is receiving between 7% and 10% of its monthly fuel requirements.
(b) Institutional provisions are mandatory in the ZRP but a paltry budget of $8.4 billion was allocated against an ideal requirement of $25 billion. This caters for uniforms, food, bedding facilities and hygienic items for detained suspects. These constitutional obligations should be met hence an upward review of the budget allocation is required.
(c) Budget allocation towards domestic travel and expenses require an upward review to cater for the welfare of officers deployed away from home stations and curtail corrupt tendencies by the ZRP officers. A total bid of $50 billion was submitted but Treasury allocated $14.32 billion.
(d) Several ongoing construction works, refurbishment and rehabilitation work taking place throughout the country will remain work in progress if Treasury fails to increase budgetary allocation from the current $4.1 billion to $376. 7 billion towards this expenditure item. Priority is given to the following ongoing high impact projects:
(a) Chimoio flats
(b) Dotito, Hwedza and Chirundu Police Stat
(c) Acquisition of institutional accommodation,
(d) Refurbishment of office buildings and staff houses.
National Heritage Management
The programme has two departments, namely the Heritage Preservation and Presentation Services and Records and Archival Management. The most seriously underfunded department is the Records and Archival Management whose key priority is to digitalise all national records through the use of electronic documents and records management system (EDRMS). Thus, the department requires an ideal bid of $1 billion to support the acquisition of the EDRMS software and hardware equipment and modern laptops. However, nothing was allocated towards this important programme.
The department of Heritage Preservation and Presentation Services will also upgrade all provincial Heroes Acres across the 10 provinces in Zimbabwe to avert the general deterioration of heritage sites. It is disturbing to note that no funds were availed for this new responsibility in the department. The programme requires an ideal budget of $2.7 billion.
Migration Management
The department has two key priority items which were grossly underfunded. First, the department is migrating to online border management system (OBMS) by computerizing all its operations. This programme requires a minimum support of $4 billion. However, a paltry budget of $1.36 billion was allocated towards all capital projects for the department, leaving only $200 million available for this OBMS capital project. This project has overarching implications on the operations of the department, particularly in tightening the country’s security and plugging revenue leakages through smuggling.
The department also requires an adequate supply of stationery such visa and permit stickers. These items require an ideal budget allocation of $1.2 billion. However, Treasury allocated a paltry $200 million, and this will compromise the operations of the department.
Recommendations for the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage - Your Committee proposes the following key recommendations to Treasury:
Treasury should prioritise clearing all outstanding payments that the Ministry has to make. These include:
(i) Payments due for the 2022 mobile registration,
(ii) Rental and hire service arrears,
(iii) Outstanding utility bills, and
- iv) Backlog on T and S allowances for service members.
6.2 Treasury should allow the ZRP, Civil Registry, Immigration Control and the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) to retain funds to sustain their operations.
6.3 In addition, Treasury should facilitate private-public-partnerships and joint ventures so that critical projects and programmes can be completed on time. Such priority projects and programmes include the digitalization programme in the department of Records and Archival Management of Zimbabwe and the OBMS being executed by the Migration Management department. Such partnerships can also be extended to construction projects in the Ministry.
6.4 Funds allocated to the Civil Registry Department should be reviewed upwards by $70.9 billion to cater for the following 2023 priority expenditures:
(a) Goods and services, and transport and equipment required during the 2023 mop up mobile registration exercise;
(b) Domestic travel expenses and allowances earmarked for the 2023 mop up mobile registration exercise; and
(c) Completion of the Central Registry building.
6.5 Similarly, Treasury should increase funding earmarked for mandatory expenditure items in the ZRP by $496.8 billion. These include:
- transport and equipment required for increased mobility before, during and after the 2023 harmonised elections.
- Institutional provisions that cover rations, uniforms and travel and subsistence (Tand S) allowances.
- Acquisition of modern and specialised tools of trade;
- Fuels, oils and lubricants which are part of the institutional requirements for the ZRP.
6.6 Treasury must adequately fund ongoing and near-complete construction projects throughout the country particularly institutional accommodation and offices projects.
7.0 Conclusion
It is evident that both ministries have huge financing gaps on their inescapable expenditures. However, these expenditure items should adequately be funded to avoid total disorder in the country during and after the upcoming 2023 harmonised elections. It should be known that State security, law and order are very expensive yet are prerequisites for any peaceful and prosperous economy. Therefore, Treasury should exhaust all the financing options at its disposal to avail adequate funds to the ministries’ major expenditure priorities earmarked for the year 2023. I thank you Madam Speaker.
HON. HWENDE: On a point of order Madam Speaker, there is no quorum in this House.
[Bells rung].
[Quorum formed].
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members, we now have a quorum, so we can proceed with business.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Madam Speaker, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 13th December, 2022 – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Madam Speaker, I move that we...
HON. T. MLISWA: Madam Speaker, there is no quorum in the House, there are only 64 people.
[Bells rung].
[Quorum formed].
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Members, I think it is only proper for us to act honourably as we may seem because I think we are taking this place as a kindergarten whereby we can just do things. I do not think we are supposed to do that. Hon. Members, I think let us all try to be Honourable as our names proclaim.
*HON. T. MLISWA: These are Parliament rules.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: We cannot continue doing it whereby whenever we seem like we want to settle some scores then we continue doing that. That is not it Hon. Members – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Madam Speaker, I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 3 to 13 be stood over until Order of the Day, Number 14 on today’s Order Paper has been disposed of. I thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order Madam Speaker. We are 71, I hear what you have said. Hon. Ziyambi has gone and we are 70, so can you tell all these members not to get out as well. If they get out we will be 69 – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]- But I am trying to tell you the truth. The rule is 70. If we are less than 70, Parliament cannot continue – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]- On a more serious note, we also need to stay here, that is my point because the moment that they walk out, the number goes down, we have to be 70.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Members, let us not go out of the Chamber so that we do our work for the day.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order! Hon. Sacco is not wearing a necktie.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Sacco, may you put on a necktie.
MOTION
RESTORATION OF THE LOSS CONTROL AND PRIVATE SECURITY MANAGEMENT BILL [H. B. 5, 2022] ON THE ORDER PAPER
HON. DR. MURIRE: Madam Speaker, I rise to move that this House resolves that the following Bill which was superseded by the end of the Fourth Session of the Ninth Parliament be restored on the Order Paper at the stage which the Bill had reached in terms of Standing Order Number 171 (1) (a), the Chartered Institute of Loss Control and Private Security Management.
HON. T. MOYO: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
On the motion of HON. T. MOYO seconded by HON. GONESE, the House adjourned at Twelve Minutes to Four o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 13th December, 2022.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 8th December, 2022
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE DEPUTY CLERK OF PARLIAMENT
ABSENCE OF THE PRESIDENT OF SENATE, THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE AND MEMBERS OF THE CHAIRPERSON’S PANEL
THE DEPUTY CLERK OF PARLIAMENT (MS. H.B. DINGANE): Hon. Members, I have to advise the Senate of the absence of the President of the Senate, the Deputy President of the Senate and Members of the Chairperson’s Panel. In terms of Standing Order Number 47 (5) which provides that the person presiding at any sitting of the Senate must be – “(b) in the absence of the President and the Deputy President of the Senate, a Senator elected for the purpose by the Senate, for that day only but that Senator must not be a Minister or Deputy Minister”. So for that reason, I therefore call for nominations for a Senator to preside at today’s sitting.
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I nominate Senator Chief Ngungumbane to be today’s Chairman. Thank you.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
THE DEPUTY CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: There being no further nominations, Hon. Sen. Chief Ngungumbane will take the Chair.
PRAYERS
(THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE
APOLOGIES RECEIVED FROM MINISTERS
THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE (HON. SEN. CHIEF NGUNGUMBANE): I have received apologies from the following Ministers: Hon. Gen. (Rtd.) Dr. C. G. D. N. Chiwenga, Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care; Hon. Dr. J. Mangwiro, Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care; Hon. Prof. M. Ncube, Minister of Finance and Economic Development; Hon. Prof. A. Murwira, Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development; Hon. Prof. P. Mavima, Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare; Hon. L. Matuke, Deputy Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare; Hon. Dr. S. Nzenza, Minister of Industry and Commerce; Hon. Dr. A. Masuka, Minister for Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development; Hon. D. Marapira, Deputy Minister for Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development; Hon. D. Garwe, Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities; Hon. Sen. M. Mutsvangwa, Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services; and Hon. F. M. Shava, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
In the House, we have the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Hon. Mhona. I would want to commend you as one of the few Ministers – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – who has taken time to be in the Senate timeoulsy without fail. I think you have done very well for the Senate. We recognise the good service, but I would like to you to encourage fellow Ministers when you meet in Cabinet that Parliament also includes Senate as much as it includes the National Assembly. Thank you.
HON. SEN. KOMICHI: I would like to complement you Mr. President. This is one of the evidence why people outside shout at us as Hon. Members of Parliament. The people that we represent sent us to Parliament to represent them on their issues. Today being a Thursday is one of the most important days that we as Members of Parliament should be able to express what our people are saying back home but when we look at the bench, it is almost empty. Thank you to the few Ministers that have come but the majority betrayed us. Whilst we appreciate that they have sent apologies, we do not appreciate their absence because they cannot be absent, both the substantive Minister and the deputy. This is betrayal of the people’s expectations. This is making this House useless and when people are shouting at us back home, they are correct. We are failing to represent them because we are being undercut by the absence of the Ministers. It had improved a few months ago but it has started again. This is a wrong thing and it must not happen. People expect us to do the job. They expect us to represent them. Who then do we talk to, if the Ministers are not able to come? This is a serious offence and the Ministers are betraying us. Thank you Hon. President.
THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you Hon. Sen. Komichi. I think as this august House, we agree with you that the Senate is the other part of Parliament that Ministers should take seriously. Chief Whip, can you please convey this message to the Leader of the House that Senators are not happy. This is the start of a new session and we should start with new beginnings and not with old beginnings where absenteeism of Cabinet Ministers was the order of the day. Please convey our message as Senators. Thank you.
HON. SEN. ENG. MUDZURI: Thank you Hon. President. I just want to appreciate you for taking over the Chair. I wonder who is going to be the leader of the House today because I am looking at a situation where Ministers have not come, and the whole leadership of the Speaker’s Panel is absent. Is there something going on in the country that has made all these people be away? I just want the answer on record if there is something happening in the country that has taken all these people away. It is time for people to go for the Christmas holidays but there are so many questions we want to ask. There are also many Ministers who have never been in this House and we want to take stock. I can mention those who have never been in the House. I have not seen the Minister of Local Government or Minister of Agriculture. If they were appointed and the President is serious, he must talk to these people so that at least they come to this Upper House so we can discuss serious business on what is happening in the country. I thank you.
THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you Hon. Sen. Mudzuri. We take note of your concerns and those concerns, I direct to the Government Chief Whip. I think next week, in all fairness we should see an improvement in terms of attendance. I thank you.
In the House we have Hon. Machingura, Deputy Minister for Higher Education and Deputy Minister of Energy, Hon. Mudyiwa.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: My question is directed to the Minister of Energy and Power Development. Hon. Minister, the challenges that we are facing with regards to power, what is government’ s policy with regards to provision of electricity? I thank you.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. MUDYIWA): Thank you for that pertinent question asked by Hon. Sen Chimbudzi, especially at this time where we have problems to do with electricity. I think you are aware of the reasons. Most of our electricity is generated from Kariba but because of climate change, Kariba Dam is now dry, so we are unable to generate electricity from there. As Zimbabwe, we share that water with Zambia but we are most affected because we used most of our water this whole year generating electricity from Kariba. As a Ministry responsible for power as well as ZESA, we are running around at the moment to look for ways to solve this problem. Firstly, we are increasing power imports, which is our immediate solution. We are negotiating with electricity suppliers from Mozambique so they can add on to what we are already getting. If that succeeds we should have improved power supply from next week. Secondly, we have Unit 7 and 8 under the Hwange Expansion Programme which we expected to be commissioned by November but there are issues that led to that date passing without the commissioning. We had also been given the 13th December as another date but from the look of things, we will not be able to fulfill the commissioning on that date. However, the project is over 97% complete and we anticipate that the project will be completed before the end of this year and expect to get 300 megawatts. Unit 8 is also almost complete and we expect it to be complete by February and that should give us another 300 megawatts which will total 600 megawatts from Hwange into the grid. In addition to that, we are encouraging those who had started renewable energy projects like the solar energy projects, to speed up construction of those power stations so that we increase power generation. That is another way we are trying to mitigate the situation.
In addition to that, we are encouraging the nation to accept this as a problem that we are all facing. So we urge all the citizens to use power sparingly so that we may be able to get electricity. Load shedding will continue until we get improved supplies. Demand outweighs supply and that is all I can say about electricity. I thank you.
HON. SEN. KOMICHI: Last week I read an article in which the President was suggesting to disconnect households from the grid. It may sound wild but what I thought was why government does not come up with a policy in which such items like solar batteries and panels are subsidized and made cheaper. We are aware that the question of load shedding is going to be with us for a very long time. We can dream and have Unit 7 and 8 but that will not help us much though it will improve slightly but will not remove load shedding challenges. So we probably need to take a new direction of subsidizing solar inputs so that they are affordable. Also, to deliberately encourage people to install solar panels for lights and many other things. I think you can run a clear programme where you can install solar in a certain suburb then go to the next suburb and Government should be behind it. The only long term solution for electricity is still very far away and the challenges will increase as we get more investors, more companies opening and more industries opening. The demand of electricity will go high and the system we are following to complement that demand is very slow. Can we not ensure that the investment policy for the people who are installing solar projects is made easier, lighter, more conducive and more attractive so that they can fill and flood this country with solar panels? I thank you.
*HON. MUDYIWA: I would like to thank Hon, Sen. Komichi for the contribution. The article that the Hon. Senator is referring to, unfortunately I did not see it. He made very good suggestions; we will sit down and look into them. On the issue of subsidising solar panels or batteries, as a Ministry, we are unable to do that because we do not have a budget. The Ministry of Finance is the one that can do that because they are responsible for mobilising resources. As a Ministry, we are unable to get such resources.
Indeed, I take the suggestions from the Hon. Senator. There are a lot of investment policies that we launched including the one that was launched by His Excellency in 2019. There are incentives that are included in that policy.
HON. SEN. ENG. MUDZURI: My supplementary question is: have you really asked ZESA to give you the projection of how this is going to pan out?The way you are speaking in this House is that we will finish maybe end of the year. You are not certain. This is a House of Members of Parliament and they need to explain themselves to say we are expecting this by such a time. I expect you to come with figures. When things are like this, it is a crisis and you should be able to come with something to Parliament to explain the situation so that parliamentarians have something to tell their constituents. It is not proper that we come here and just say maybe by such a time.
When we talk today and say water is finished in Kariba Dam, where was the projection that water is likely to get finished? It is not something that is unscientific. It is supposed to be worked out by your engineers and it is important and incumbent upon the Ministry to supervise ZESA to ensure that they deliver the social goods which go with electricity. I plead with you that let us have a statement from the Ministry that gives accurate dates and projections of when power is likely to come then you embrace what my colleague has said on the panels.
It is not for you to say the Ministry does not have funds but it is for Government to have a general policy to ensure that we deliver the power that people need. It is a right that people get power.
*HON. MUDYIWA: I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Mudzuri. The projections from ZESA were there all along but the problems that they faced were beyond their control. Firstly, our projections were that Unit 7 and 8 were supposed to be working by the first half of this year but we failed to meet that timeline due to problems like COVID-19. There were problems like COVID-19 in China and some of the equipment came in late; some of the workers that went back to China faced restrictions and were locked down in China. There were a lot of problems that we faced.
We were given another projection for November and there are other issues that we are facing such as payment issues that are also affecting the meeting of the deadline. That is why they have also given us another projection of 13 December with regards to Unit 7. What we have learnt is that the commissioning that is going to take place is to try and synchronise the system to see whether it is working. It would take some time because they have to test all the systems first. At the moment we do not have a deadline on what we are going to do. We are in negotiations with ZESA to ensure that the timelines are adhered to. We are also uncomfortable with the developments but I take into consideration the suggestions by the Hon. Senator.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF MAKUMBE: My question is - what can the Minister say about the load shedding schedules? Sometimes electricity goes off for 24 hours yet on the schedule it will be reflecting a few hours. Electricity is the backbone of the economy. There can be no production without electricity. We need to be told what to do. We need to be told the truth so that people may make other options. If there is no electricity, we need to be told the truth instead of lying to us. When we talk about electricity, we should know that it is a human rights issue. Let us tell people when they should expect power and when load shedding will end. Yesterday, electricity was restored at midnight and by 5 a.m. this morning the power had gone. The Ministry of Transport uses electricity and so does hospitals and water pumping systems. ZESA should give us a correct schedule of load shedding.
This country signed a lot of independent power producers (IPP), how come there is no power that is being added to the national grid yet the country issued a lot of contracts? What is happening? Is it because of our policies? We should have rectified all these things in the past by now. I thank you.
HON. MUDYIWA: I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Chief Makumbe for that question. Firstly, I do not have the schedules here, so I cannot tell how they are supposed to be. What I know is that the reason why we are not getting electricity on time is because the demand is too high yet the supply side is very low. That is the reason why sometimes we spend a lot of time without electricity because during peak times that is when there is high demand of electricity, especially in the morning and evenings. ZESA is unable to supply power during that time. That is why there is that imbalance. What I can do is to go back to ZESA so that we may understand their schedules and encourage them to give out correct information with regards to load shedding that they are undertaking. On the second question with regards to IPPs, we have those people or companies that applied for licences through ZERA, especially those who want to generate power from solar. What was happening was that people were applying for those licences without money and would then look for money or investors after getting the licences. Most of the licences were awarded to people without funds and who failed to get funding for those projects; that is the biggest challenge we face. If only all those IPPs had produced the solar plants in accordance to the licences, we will be having more than 2 000 megawatts by now but right now we have nothing.
If we were to publish the IPPs, we are not getting more than 15 megawatts. Most of them are just generating electricity for their personal use and not adding much to the grid because they have not fulfilled their obligations after getting the tenders or licences. We have encouraged ZERA to re-look into the awarding of the licences with the aim of ensuring that all those who have failed are withdrawn. Some of them have held on to those licences for more than five years. ZERA has been instructed to re-look into those IPPs. Some of them acquired the land but are unable to generate electricity. We need to get investors with funds to take over.
THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I think Minister, in all fairness the country is faced with a national crisis with regards ZESA. There are a lot of issues that have been raised by Hon. Members starting from the policy of solar equipment and IPPs. I think you have not fully or comprehensively answered the concerns of Hon. Members. I would ask you to make a Ministerial Statement covering all those matters because you cannot have a person holding on to an IPP that does not support the national grid. This is a crisis situation and we need to be hands-on in terms of the management of our electricity. Minister, the Senate demands that you bring a comprehensive Ministerial Statement to this House. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHUNDU: My question goes back to the Minister of Energy. In Mashonaland West where I come from, indeed that is where the dam is and people were displaced from that area because of the construction of the dam. There were traditional ceremonies that used to take place and the rituals that used to be done are no longer being fulfilled. There used to be different types of fishes living in that dam. Even if there is climate change, we need to look into why the dam is dry now yet in Zambia they are able to generate electricity.
THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I will ask you to put that question in writing and you have included the other Ministry of Local Government, so there is need for them to liaise. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF. CHIKWAKA: Allow me again to pose my question to the Minister of Energy. As farmers, ZESA is telling us that they want to introduce prepaid meters to commercial farmers. I do not know whether they consider other Government departments like GMB where as farmers we take our produce. We wait for payment and GMB takes too long to pay us yet we may need to pay for that electricity in advance. I do not know what their plan is with regards to that aspect. They are going to destroy the agricultural sector which is important to the economy. They expect us to irrigate using prepaid electricity whilst other Government departments take their time to pay us and that is a problem which is going to affect us. What is their plan because that will affect us?
Finally on the load shedding, we no longer understand whether it is load shedding or faults. This means the power systems are archaic and cannot support us. What are the plans with regards to resuscitation of substations and our supply systems? They are outdated and we need modern equipment.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. MUDYIWA): The idea of prepaid meters came about because many people were not paying for electricity using the post-paid meters. People would spend as much electricity as they wanted and would not pay up. For your information, ZESA is owed about $14 billion right now. ZESA is not getting any funding from Government for its operations. It is a company that is supposed to run on its own just like any other company. It is supposed to buy equipment as vehicles which are used when attending to faults. They are supposed to procure fuel and are not getting forex because many people are paying in Z$. ZESA is supposed to pay its workers. You might have heard that there is a lot of brain drain that took place at ZESA and a lot of professionals left this country and went as far as UK and Australia and ZESA is supposed to pay its workers adequately - all that is not happening because ZESA is owed a lot of money by consumers. All these units that we are using at Hwange need revamping, they are very old and need rehabilitation but there is no money because ZESA is owed more than 40 billion dollars.
With regards to farmers, we used to understand but when these farmers get their money even if we make these arrangements, they forget to pay ZESA. They ignore ZESA debt because they just consider it as a Government thing and do not prioritise paying electricity debt. I think we need to assist each other with the best way forward. ZESA actually understands farmers. There are times when ZESA used to cut off power at farms and mines. Most of them would come up with a payment plan. We have a crisis already; there is not electricity and we do not have the money to import the electricity. The farmers want that little electricity that we have but when they do not pay, what are we supposed to do as ZESA?
The other question has to do with load shedding and faults. These two are different. The Hon. Sen. said that he understands that our equipment is outdated and we need to rehabilitate. We do not have funds to rehabilitate. Some of the faults are caused by vandalism of transformers and cables. Usually it is ZESA that traces these problems. ZESA is facing challenges in replacing cables and transformers that are being vandalised.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHIKWAKA: The Minister has responded very well and asked what we should do. Farmers are given agricultural inputs and then they pay off the debt after they have sold their produce. This stop order arrangement is done with banks. Why does ZESA not do the same and collect what they are owed once farmers send their produce to the Grain Marketing Board. This will ensure that we have electricity and we continue to produce.
THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: We have asked the Minister to give a comprehensive Ministerial Statement about the challenges affecting ZESA. Let us give the Minister a chance to respond. If there are any critical issues that emanate from that speech, we will take that issue up.
HON. SEN. DR. MAVETERA: I rise on a point of order; we have had so many Ministerial Statements which are very flat. I would want to urge the Minister to say what we are dealing with is a national issue which is going to take us to Vision 2030. Minister, you were evading answers. What is sitting in front of you is corruption. We want you to bring in all those people who were given licences and how many have performed? Who gave them these licences because we do due diligence when those licences are issued?. Right now we have Sir Wicknell and they are boasting yet they illegally spent millions. That is what we want included in that statement. We want to see what ZESA is doing about corruption. The Head of State always says corruption, corruption, corruption and we have the mechanisms to handle that. Those people should be blacklisted so that detailed part will be necessary for the country. From what the Hon. Minister was saying, definitely they have no problem – ZERA and Ministry staff members who were doing all these contracts are the culprits. That is what we would want to be included if that Ministerial Statement is going to be of any use to the nation. I thank you.
HON. SEN. A. DUBE: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity. I will direct my question to the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development. When is the Government going to consider re-introducing the STEM programme in order to assist under privileged students who are willing to specialise in STEM?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. MACHINGURA): Thank you Mr. President Sir. STEM is already included in our programmes – the Ministry’s title is Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development. With STEM, we have started with teacher training programmes. We realised that there was a shortage of STEM teachers. We have selected some colleges around the country that are running STEM teacher training at the moment. In our programmes at higher education level at universities, ZIMCHE has re-oriented our programmes so that we look at needs of the people of Zimbabwe and the problems we are having. The programmes have got to align to that one – that is our education 5.0. There should be alignment to the extent that our students are able to produce goods and services. The Ministry is not a ‘STEM’ Ministry but actually considers STEM subjects very much.
*HON. SEN. DENGA: Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to the Minister of Transport. I realise that you are doing great work with regards to some of the roads but I am concerned by some roads that we are seeing being patched by gravel only without tar. That widens the potholes during the rainy season, especially the Harare-Chirundu Road. Is your Ministry aware of that? This road is in now in a bad state and the potholes are not being properly patched.
*THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Mr. President. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Denga for the important question. On the rehabilitation of our roads, most of them are now outdated. If you patch one side, another one comes up. I am glad that he has raised the issue of the Chirundu Highway but there are yet other several roads indeed. I would like to inform the House about the Government programme with regards to roads. I am sure most people are aware of the developments on the Harare-Beitbridge Road-Chirundu Road. To us, it is the same road. Indeed, in some areas we can rightly say there are no patches of that road. Even if you patch one side, another problem arises next to it.
Next week we are going to issue a statement on what we are going to be doing with regards to that road. We are also going to issue a statement on the refurbishment of the Chirundu Border Post. So I am going to issue a statement on the progress on what we plan to do. I am also going to issue a statement on the progress that we plan to do as well as the progress on the Beitbridge-Bulawayo-Victoria Road. We are going to work on the sections of the road that are very bad. For example, coming from Hwange, there is no road anymore. We are going to refurbish the sections of that road from Victoria Falls to Beitbridge. This is an example of one of the bad roads that we have just like what Hon. Sen. Denga alluded to.
Sometimes when we patch using gravel, it does not mean that is the end of the construction. Sometimes that is only the foundation, although sometimes vehicles may use that road. I know that some engineers like Sen. Eng. Mudzuri are aware that sometimes if the temperatures or conditions do not allow for the application of the tar, but it will be work in progress as we wait for the appropriate temperatures. Some people may think that is the end of the construction. Indeed, some of our roads are dilapidated and have outlived their life-span, but we are still going to work on them.
HON. SEN. PHUGENI: Thank you Mr. President. I recognise that you said no more questions to the Minister of Energy and I will respect that. It would be a rhetorical one and it will benefit her statement which she will make very soon. Countries like Australia are benefiting from the solar energy, solar technology to the extent that they have a surplus of energy from generation. They want to have control where they can shut off solar panels because of too much generated energy. I say so seeing that Australia has more or less the same climate like us.
THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Order Senator. Can you get straight to the point? You are taking long.
HON. SEN. PHUGENI: That is what I am doing now, it was important. Seeing that Australia has the same climate like us, why does the Government not have a policy of residential houses feeding the grid? That way you will not have a problem of generation and it will mean less storage capacity for residents as they will only need it in the evening. Why do you not adopt a policy of the residents feeding the grid? Thank you Mr. President.
THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you. I think that is a point to note. When you make a ministerial statement, you will address it.
*HON. SEN. MANYAU: My question is directed to the Minister of Transport. I have asked the question in relation to people living with disabilities in this country before but I am not satisfied with the response. The public transport in this country has got many steps and we are not able to board. You are all ware that money is found in the CBD area and for me to travel from home to work or to hospital we need to use the public transport. Where are we as a country with regards to transport that is user friendly to people living with disabilities?
*THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Mr. President. I would like to thank Hon. Senator Manyau. Indeed, it is true that may be I failed to respond to that question because it is supposed to be responded to by our sister Ministry that we work closely with. The Ministry responsible for that is the Ministry of Local Government because it is the one responsible for urban transport. Nevertheless, I am sure we will be able to liaise with the Ministry to consider those issues being raised by people living with disabilities when we procure buses. In future when buses are being procured that should be considered. We are supposed to be able to get buses that are user friendly whereby a wheelchair can be simply loaded onto the bus easily so that people using wheelchairs can easily travel. We can liaise with the Ministry of Local Government to ensure a speedy solution to that problem. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. MANYAU: I am requesting the Minister to inform us when this will be done. We have been talking about the issue of transport for a long time now and we are being told it is under consideration. Can we have a timeframe when this can be addressed?
THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Disability rights are also human rights and we should treat them the very same way we treat the able-bodied counterparts. I think this is a question which was raised in the last session and it is reappearing. Minister, since you are coming back to the Senate next week, can you in your address touch issues that have to deal with access to transport for people living with disabilities. I would also appeal to you to share with your colleagues at Cabinet because access to buses is not the only challenge that people living with challenges/disabilities encounter. Even access to buildings is a nightmare. Most buildings do not have ramps that will assist easy access for disabled people. I want you to take note of that Hon. Minister.
* HON. MHONA: Thank you Mr. President. I think when I gave my first response, I explained that the Ministry that looks into the matter that she raised is not the Ministry of Transport. That is why I said I was not able to give you a response but the Ministry of Local Government will bring a response.
THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Hon. Minister, I think you are repeating what I have been talking about in response to access to transport for people living with disabilities. Your Members in Cabinet should also come and respond to other challenges that were raised.
Questions Without Notice were interrupted by THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE in terms of Standing Order No. 67.
HON. SEN. KOMICHI: Hon. President, I move that the time be extended by 20 minutes.
HON. SEN. ENG. MUDZURI: I second.
THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: It has been noted. I will extend by 10 minutes.
HON. SEN. MUPFUMIRA: Thank you Hon. President for giving me an opportunity to ask a question. My question is directed to the Minister of Transport. Minister, I would like to thank you on behalf of my province and I am sure on behalf of the rest of the country for the tremendous work which is happening on our roads, especially the highways. I would like to know the Government policy on the issue of haulage trucks driving at night. I am referring to the Harare-Chirundu Highway which I have a special interest in and the menace which is caused by the haulage trucks including those with hazardous substances driving at night.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Hon. Sen. Mupfumira for that very important question. Indeed, we have got a policy that whether it could be trucks carrying hazardous or dangerous products plying our roads, they are not permitted to move after six o’clock p.m. This calls for massive and vibrant enforcement policies. If you find in particular fuel, EMA will be manning our roads and also we have the police on the roads. Since the Hon. Sen has raised that particular point, we are going to also work and approach the whole government to ensure that enforcement is upheld. At the end of the day we also make sure that after six o’clock p.m. if you have witnessed, it could also extend to buses ferrying our school children. I was also mandated by the National Assembly to table a Ministerial Statement on the carnage that we are witnessing on our roads and I have also included that element of night driving. Not necessarily hazardous products but naturally it is not advisable to drive after hours. I want to thank the Hon. Senator that it is also one of the major causes of road carnages that we are witnessing, especially those that drive long distances as they will be tired and at times not sober-minded when they are driving. So I am happy that the Hon. Sen has raised that important question and surely, Chirundu is one of our gateway routes connecting the SADC region. We will make sure the issue to do with enforcement especially by Police, VID and EMA to ensure that products that are not allowed to be transported after hours are not being transported. Thank you Mr. President. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHINAKE: My question is directed to the Deputy Minister of Higher Education. What measures have you put in place regarding the leaking of examination papers every year?
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. MACHINGURA): Thank you Senator for that question. When we look at Education 3.0, examinations were the only way to ensure that people were now knowledgeable to the extent we expect. Under Education 5.0 which came about as a result of realising that a person can write the examination and is very knowledgeable academically but the purpose of our education is to look at the challenges that we are facing as a country. For example, the roads that are being constructed - what is known as bitumen is from South Africa, so if something is being accessed outside the country, it means we are losing foreign currency to another country which can be used to procure that expensive resource. So we lose a lot of money.
When we are at universities we investigate and see what we can do to ensure that the transport sector does not continue to lose foreign currency. The students at Midlands State University, through their innovation hub came up with innovative measures to ensure that we get the relevant material for road construction which is of the same quality as bitumen. The reason why we give examinations is so that we can address issues of things that we need in the country. Once we have that we can export and bring in foreign currency but now when there is the leaking of examination papers, it means we are now downgrading our knowledge that we are trying to promote. If there are examination paper leakages there is need for investigation.
Currently, I do not have an explanation as to what is happening but I will raise this issue. I will come again and present to you a Ministerial Statement to that effect. Let us value our education and continue to uplift the good standards. What we want is to address issues such as poverty and shortage of food through education. We need to look at what our tertiary institutions are doing to ensure that there is food security. At the moment, our beef industry is not in good order because our cattle are being affected by various diseases and we want what our children in universities are doing to try and avert those challenges. That is basically what we are looking into.
What informs our curriculum are the needs of the country. The needs of the country inform the curriculum and what students will learn. That can lead the development of our industries in our country. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHUNDU: My question is directed to the Minister of Transport. We have residents who stay around tollgate areas and they can travel more than five times through the tollgates. They have constructed their own short-cuts to avoid paying toll fees. I do not know what measures you have put in place to assist such people.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): I want to thank Hon Sen. Chief Chundu for that question. The people who stay in areas around the tollgates pay very minimal charges for the tollgates. We do not compare them to those who will just be passing through. All the money that we get from tollgates is used to rehabilitate the roads. If we allow people to use their own short-cuts, it becomes a challenge. So I appeal to the chief to assist us in trying to punish such unlawful citizens.
What I can advise him is to inform them that they should visit ZINARA and they will be given very minimal charges for use of the proper roads.
Hon. Ziyambi having stood up to announce the suspension of automatic business in the Senate
HON. SEN. ENG. MUDZURI: On a point of order. Hon Ziyambi I really appreciate your coming to announce the Budget aspect. As Leader of Government Business, I really want to appeal to you to look at what has happened today. There are no Ministers and there is no one at the President’s Panel. Are we really serious about Government business when you come in and announce? We have been complaining everyday and you have to take it seriously that the people who have sent us expect us to be discussing with our Ministers. There are Ministers who have never been here. We appeal to you as Leader of Government Business to ensure that they come - otherwise it is useless for us to come on Thursday during Question Time.
Every time we have two or three Ministers, which is not fair for this House. This is a very senior august House where Chiefs even come to ask questions about their jurisdictions. Please, can you do something?
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Mr. President. I really wanted to come but I was torn in-between Houses and my apologies. I did not have colleagues to deal with business there but your point is well-noted and apologies for the state of affairs that happened. Really, all the points that you have noted are very correct. His Excellency has always implored all of us to take the business of Parliament with the respect that it deserves, so I will communicate to my colleagues what you have said to me.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that Order of the Day, Number 1 be stood over until Order of the Day, Number 2 has been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
RATIFICATION OF THE REVISED GEORGETOWN AGREEMENT
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move the motion standing in my name;
THAT WHEREAS section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that an international treaty which has been concluded or executed by or under the authority of the President does not bind Zimbabwe until it has been approved by Parliament;
WHEREAS the Georgetown Agreement created in 1975, is the Framework Act of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States which aims to ensure sustainable development and poverty reduction within the ACP’s Member States. Zimbabwe, together with other Member States are progressively adopting policies and implementing measures in accordance with their obligations in terms of the Agreement and exercising political will by calling for the transformation of the ACP Group of States into an international organisation which will act as a multilateral body, taking into account the changing global geo-political context;
AND WHEREAS the Revised Georgetown Agreement was opened for signature in 2019, and came into force in April 2020, the Revised Agreement endorses the Organisation’s change of name from the ACP Group of States to the Organisation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (OACPS). Other significant changes include among others, a revision of addressing the challenges to development in all its dimensions with respect to environmental matters, climate change, peace and security, gender and private sector development:
NOW, THEREFORE, in terms of section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, this House resolves that the aforesaid agreement be and is hereby approved for accession.
Before I so move Mr. President, I will give a brief preamble why it is critical that Zimbabwe accedes to the Revised Georgetown Agreement. The Organisation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States which is now OACPs in collaboration with the Republic of Angola, will host the 10th Summit of OACPs Heads of State in Angola, Luanda from 5 – 11 December, 2022 which is this period. If Zimbabwe does not accede to the Revised Georgetown Agreement, the country will not be able to participate at the upcoming 10th OACPs Summit.
Most importantly Mr. President, besides the participation, being part to the Revised Georgetown Agreement satisfies a country to be member of the OACPs and can access the rights and privileges and other benefits of being a member. The country will not be eligible to access funding, benefit from OACPs projects and technical capacity building from the negotiations for an economic partnership agreement with the EU that Zimbabwe is currently undertaking.
Zimbabwe has benefitted immensely from OACPs projects and programmes, mainly in the agricultural sector through the Tradecom 1 and 2 projects which saw farmers in Chimanimani receiving funding and know-how on growing pineapples, avocados and cashew nuts for export to the EU. Zimbabwe has also been a beneficiary of the European Development Funds which assisted in the education and health sectors.
On 21st November, 2022 the EU Ambassador signed two agreements with the Minister of Finance and Economic Development for the disbursement of funds amounting to EURO$47 million to support the health sector and the electoral processes. Additionally, the private sector has received funding from the European Investment Bank to the tune of EURO$50 million which was disbursed through four banks namely; NMB, CABS, NED Bank and FBC in Zimbabwe for on-lending to the private sector under the private sector facility.
Mr. President, if Zimbabwe does not accede to the revised Georgetown Agreement, the country will not be eligible to sign the post-Cotonou Agreement which gives eligibility to development co-oporation and funding. The pre-requisite to accessing funding from the new Neighbourhood Development International Corporation Instrument (NDICI) which came into force on 14 June, 2021 is the one that has to be acceded to the revised Georgetown Agreement and sign the post-Cotonou Agreement. That is the brief background Mr. President.
I now move that this House agrees to the ratification of the Cotonou Agreement.
HON. SEN. KOMICHI: I do not have much to say but just to appreciate. If there are efforts to make Zimbabwe re-engage with the international community, there is nothing wrong with that. We have as a country been under isolation and we are suffering a lot because of isolation. If there are any efforts and means to make sure that we are engaged with any other country, it is a welcome development. So, I support the motion.
HON. SEN. DR. MAVETERA: I want to thank the Minister for his motion but I would want to urge the Minister by saying that there are so many treaties which Zimbabwe has not ratified which will actually have benefits to the country. Instead of leaving because I think this treaty was on the Minister’s desk for sometime because it did not come today, I think the Minister is sleeping on duty and depriving the country. I do not have to go into detail on how many treaties are very potentially beneficial to Zimbabwe but are just gathering dust without being ratified. Thank you Minister for bringing the motion but I would urge you to go to your colleague and look in his basket. There are so many useful treaties which we have not ratified and say he is doing the country a disservice and probably that is why he never attends Senate for him to answer allegations of crime against the country.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I would like to thank the Hon. Sen. for their contributions – first Hon. Sen. Komichi for his support. Indeed, that is the stance of His Excellency that we should be friends to everyone and enemy to none. Let us engage and re-engage; this is part of that process. I would also want to thank Hon. Sen. Mavetera and say that the Minister was not sleeping on duty. We have a deliberate foreign policy shift. If you have noticed over the last year or two, several treaties have come for ratification. We even went further to come up with a Treaties Act to regulate how treaties come through. They are registered and published for the benefit of the public. These are the efforts His Excellency is putting to ensure that as we become part of the international community, we are alive to our obligations to have all the treaties domesticated according to our laws. It is part of the process, it is not the Minister’s fault but now we are in full swing to identify all of them. I think we have collective responsibility. That is the reason why you have seen me here duly representing the Minister. He is here but not in person. We are together in it. I agree with him that we must accelerate this process of ensuring that all the international treaties that have been acceded to by the President or under his authority that we need to ratify, we push them through Parliament so that the instrument of ratification can be deposited.
I move that the Revised Georgetown Agreement be now approved by Parliament for ratification.
Motion put and agreed to.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI), the Senate adjourned at Seven Minutes past Four o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 13th December, 2022.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 7th December, 2022
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair)
*HON. MUNENGAMI: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. My point of order is that this House should note that the country is in darkness. There is no electricity and there is no power. People get electricity from 12 midnight until 4 in the morning, both residential and industry. We have Ministerial Statements which we request as Parliament in every session. These issues were raised by Hon. Members so that the Minister could come and explain but he has not come back to the House. The Minister of Local Government was also asked to give a Ministerial Statement on water shortages in Harare but the Minister has not addressed the issue. Even the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education was requested to give a Ministerial Statement on the state of affairs in tertiary institutions but the Minister has not come back to this august House as well. I can continue with my list of different ministries.
My question is; who is responsible for chasing up such issues? Is it the Government Chief Whip, the Office of the Speaker or the Clerk of Parliament? Madam Speaker, these issues have been pending for a long time. These are perennial issues. Electricity has become a big problem. It is quite surprising that you find people ruling till Kariba dries. Madam Speaker, when is this going to end when people do not have electricity? Every day we do not have electricity. This has never happened since independence. What should we do Madam Speaker? – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] -
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Thank you Hon. Munengami. I will start from where you ended that a country is ruled until it ends - nyika inovakwa nevene vayo and until Kariba Dam fills up. The other question that you asked is; who is responsible for the attendance of Ministers in Parliament to present Ministerial Statements - it is the administration of Parliament.
*HON. MUNENGAMI: Hon. Speaker, I am kindly requesting that you raise your voice, we are not hearing you.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: You must keep quiet as well. You asked a question about the attendance of Hon. Ministers, it is the duty of the administration of Parliament. You also requested for the responsible Hon. Minister to come; the Minister will be reminded to come.
HON. NDUNA: On a point of national interest Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is your point of national interest?
HON. NDUNA: My point of national interest borders around the compounds in the farms that were taken for the Agrarian Reform Programme. I request because of the rampant evacuation and displacement of those former farm workers on those farms that there be a moratorium to hold in abeyance the issue of evicting those former farm labourers and compound dwellers because of two reasons. When Government took over farms, it redistributed farms and compounds are being paid for under the Global Agreement Fund.
It is my clarion call because of those evictions that if we do not evict those compound dwellers and former farm workers, we can use those compounds to ameliorate the current backlog in terms of housing infrastructure development. The example would be where there is 70 hectares of land that has been given for resettlement, 70 hectares fall under the compounds. It is my clarion call, fervent view and request that those in those compounds get to be allocated the houses as theirs since Government is paying for those improvements.
The current scenario would have a situation where the farm owners who have been given those farms now act as those houses in the compounds have also been given to them, alas or to the contrary, those houses belong to Government and it is my thinking that in the long term you can give or if we can request His Excellency the President to give title deeds to the former farm workers who are dwellers in the compounds to reduce the housing backlog. I thank you and I hope that this is going to find favour in your eyes and in the eyes of Government. I thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Nduna [HON. T. MLISWA: Inaudible interjection.] – Order Hon. T. Mliswa, Hon. Nduna thank you, you have raised a very valid point concerning compounds in farms in which farm workers are residing but I urge you to ask as a question to the responsible Minister who is the Minister of Lands on Question Time on a Wednesday. I thank you.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Thank you Hon. Speaker; I have this urge to raise a point of national interest. This point of national interest Hon. Speaker hinges on the decision that was made by the Government through the office of the Hon. Minister of Local Government, to appoint a Chief for the same people who are found in Tsholotsho. Hon. Speaker, the national importance of this matter is that the same people for a long time are a group of people who have not really been recognised by the Government of this country until of late.
The decision to have or to install a chieftainship for the group of people is important but however Hon. Speaker, there are issues that have to be looked into on that aspect on the decision of Government. Firstly, did Government really consult the same people and then decided that they wanted a chief or it was an initiative of Government on its own? I am raising this issue because the same people in Tsholotsho District are spaced and spread across two chieftainships.
Firstly, the chieftainship of Chief Poso and Chief Gampu, the question therefore Hon. Speaker that we want to understand from the Minister of Local Government is; what is the motive driving Government to decide that they have to install a chief for the people of the same community?
Secondly Hon. Speaker, how is it going to be implemented? You have got the same people that are living under Chief Poso and same people that are living under Chief Gampu. What will be the jurisdiction of the chief that is appointed by Government for the same people? How will that chief exercise their jurisdiction in the areas that are under the control of Chief Poso and also under the areas that are under Chief Gampu? At the end of the day Hon. Speaker, like I did ask firstly, what is the motive driving Government to decide that there should be a chief for the same people when the same people themselves do not feel like they want a chief? Who identified the individual that Government wants to install as a Chief, is it the same people themselves or it is Government initiative? Hon. Speaker, I think if the Minister of Local Government can come and apprise the nation on those issues, we can answer a number of questions pertaining to that issue. I thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. P. D. Sibanda, I urge you to put all your questions in writing asking the Minister of Local Government to bring the response to this House under Questions With Notice.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: My fear Hon. Speaker is that this is a matter of national interest, national importance and it is urgent. I am speaking like that because it is boiling on the ground and therefore it is important that the Hon. Minister comes and gives a Ministerial Statement rather than a Question With Notice.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: That is fine Hon. Sibanda. The responsible Minister will be asked to come to this House with a Ministerial Statement concerning all your issues.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Thank you Hon. Speaker.
FIRST READING
ELECTORAL AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 11, 2022]
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI) presented the Electoral Amendment Bill [H. B. 11, 2022].
Bill read the first time.
Bill referred to the Parliamentary Legal Committee.
MOTION
RESTORATION OF BILLS ON THE ORDER PAPER
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I rise to move that this House resolves that the following Bills which were superseded by the end of the Fourth Session of the Ninth Parliament, be restored on the Order Paper at the stage at which the Bills were in terms of Standing Order Number 171 (1) (a)
- Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Bill [H.B. 10A, 2021]
- Police Amendment Bill [H.B. 2, 2021]
- National Security Council Bill [H.B. 2, 2022]
- Children Amendment Bill [H.B. 12, 2021]
- Child Justice Bill [H.B. 11, 2021]
- Labour Amendment Bill [H.B. 14, 2021]
- Insurance Bill [H.B. 1, 2021]
- Judicial Laws Amendment Bill [H.B. 3, 2022]
- Electricity Amendment Bill [H.B. 7, 2022]
- Medical Services Amendment Bill [H.B. 1, 2022]
- Public Finance Management Amendment Bill [H.B. 4, 2021]
I so move Madam Speaker.
HON. GONESE: Thank you Madam Speaker. In principle, I have no problem with Bills being restored to the Order Paper at the stage at which they were at the time of the end of the Fourth Session. However Madam Speaker, if my memory serves me right, in respect of the Police Amendment Bill, this is the second time that it is happening and I think the Administration of Parliament can assist me because from my recollection, the Police Amendment Bill was on the Order Paper at the end of the Third Session of this Parliament and it was not concluded in the Fourth Session.
If that is the case Madam Speaker, where a Bill is being restored to the Order Paper in the next session and again it is not concluded and disposed of, it cannot be restored at that same stage but the Minister and the Executive have to start all over and start by regazetting. So I have got reservations in respect of the Police Amendment Bill because procedurally, it is not permissible and that is the only reason why I have stood up to say in respect of the Police Amendment Bill, what the Hon. Minister is seeking to do is not permissible and as such, the Police Amendment Bill should be removed from the list of Bills which are supposed to be restored to the Order Paper for the simple reason that in terms of the Standing Orders, it cannot be done that way. That is the only one where I believe that the Administration of Parliament can assist us. It was from my recollection on the Order Paper for the Third Session that it was not concluded and it must therefore be removed and treated differently from the other Bills which the Hon. Minister has mentioned.
HON. ZIYAMBI: Madam Speaker, I will check. If that is correct then it can be removed.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
FINANCE BILL: BUDGET DEBATE
Second Order read: Adjourned debate on motion that leave be granted to bring in a Finance Bill.
Question again proposed.
HON. BITI: On a point of order. We are not seeing the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Hon. Prof. Ncube. He has to respond. The Minister must respect this budget and this august House – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] -
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of Government Business and Minister of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Hon. Ziyambi will be taking notes on behalf of the Minister of Finance and Economic Development – [HON.MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]-
HON. BITI: Hakusi kufudza mombe, the Minister must come and listen, it is a technical area. He must respect this august House – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: We also have Ministry officials who are also taking notes on behalf of the Minister.
Hon. Biti and Hon. Gonese were asked to approach the Chair.
– [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Members, may we have order in the House.
HON. JOSIAH SITHOLE: I rise to present a report of the Portfolio Committee on Information, Publicity and Media Broadcasting Services on behalf of the Chairperson, Hon. Mokone.
Madam Speaker....
HON. MADZIMURE: On a point of order Madam Speaker. In the absence of the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, let us allow the Chairpersons to just submit the reports since we are not going to debate them. They should just submit them and the Minister will read those reports.
*HON. T. MLISWA: I rise to take note of those who have not collected their USD40 000. Please, let us meet outside so that I compile that list – [Laughter.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Please take your seat Hon. Mliswa.
HON. T. MLISWA: No, it was on a lighter note, to be honest with you, I think we must take this budget seriously. The first thing is that the Minister of Finance and Economic Development and the Deputy Minister are not here and the Permanent Secretary is not here as well. The second issue is that Ministers and Deputy Ministers responsible for these portfolios like Information, Broadcasting and Media Services are not here. The Chairpersons of Portfolio Committees are not here, we cannot undermine authority to such a point. Madam Speaker, may I propose that those substantive Chairpersons who are here be given a chance to read. Like in this case, there was no reason given for the Chairperson why she is not here. At least she could have said I am giving a report for the Chairperson who is not well or who is somewhere.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Members, please may we behave like Hon. Members of Parliament. Why are you making a lot of noise?
Hon. Biti having stood up
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, no, you cannot stand on another point of order Hon. Biti, you are a seasoned Parliamentarian, please switch off the microphone. -[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections]-Order, order, may we have order in the House. Hon. Mliswa, the presentation of a Chairperson presenting is not different from the presentation of any other Committee member presenting on behalf of the Chairperson. Please allow Hon. Sithole to continue with his presentation – [HON, MEMBERS: Achiudza ani?] – Achiudza imimi nemamwe ma Ministers arimo! [HON. MUNENGAMI: Inaudible interjection.] – Hon. Munengami, if you continue with such behaviour, I will send you out.
HON. MARKHAM: On a point of order, mine is clarity...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Markham, please take your seat, no more points of order.
Hon. Markham left the House.
HON. JOSIAH SITHOLE: Report of the Portfolio Committee on Information, Media and Broadcasting Services.
1.0 Introduction
The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Information, Media and Broadcasting Services plays an oversight role over the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services. The Ministry is responsible for the dissemination of information locally and globally to uphold and promote Zimbabwe’s founding values, identity and interests.
1.1 Parastatals Administered by the Ministry
(i). Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ)
(ii). Zimbabwe Film and Television School for Southern Africa (ZIFTESSA)
1.2 Companies and Public Enterprises Administered by the Ministry:
(i).Transmedia
(ii). Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation
(iii). Zimbabwe Newspapers Limited
(iv). New Ziana
1.3 Functions of the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services:
- Formulation and Implementation of dynamic media and information policies that promote rights, the country’s development and national sovereignty.
- Administration of information –related Acts for fulfillment and compliance
- Information services to the citizenry on Government policies, programmes and other public issues
- Articulation of Government position and views on national issues
- Articulating Zimbabwe’s position and views internationally
- Supporting Government ministries and departments in the development of information – related structures in the development and expression of national culture, as well as forgoing national duty identity, cohesion and consensus.
- Image building of Government and the country
- Providing rural information services to bridge the information divide
- Providing platforms for artists
- Participating in Fairs, Shows and Exhibitions
- Providing training in information and media skills
- Regulating Information and media industry
- Laying media infrastructure and platforms and diarizing government events and activities
1.4 Services under the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services
- Media liaison
- Content development and Production Services
iii. Rural Communication Services
- Urban communication services
- International communication services
- Finance, Administration, Human Resources and internal Audit vii. Broadcasting services
viii. Transmission Services
- News Agency Services
- Book Agency
- Training (Media, Information and Film)
xii. Archival Material Storage and Retrieval
xiii. Licensing and Regulatory Services
1.5 Major achievements during 2022 fiscal year
The Ministry achieved the following during the year 2022:
- Four (4) Community Radio Stations were operationalised.
- Exhibitions staged –ZITF 2022, Expo 2020 Dubai and four (4) provincial shows held in Midlands, Mat. South and Mash. East.
- 2022 Population and Housing Census and NDS1 Awareness campaigns conducted.
- All State functions dressed and equipped.
- Zim @42 Documentaries (lndependence, Heroes commemoration skits, print and broadcast materials) produced and distributed.
- All government diaries produced/circulated /covered.
- Three hundred and forty-five (345) foreign media practitioners/ journalists processed.
- Performance contracts for Ministry and parastatals senior management crafted, signed and evaluated.
- Successfully held two (2) national shows (42 lndependence and Heroes commemorations)
- World Radio Day and World Press Freedom Day commemorations held.
- Six (6) undocumented national heroes’ obituaries produced.
- Broadcasting Services Amendment Bill 2022 submitted to AG’s Office, Regulations gazzeted-Licence Fees Statutory Instrument (105) of 2022 and Complaints and Handling Statutory Instrument (SI), Memorandum of Understandings were drafted and reviewed.
1.6 Constraints in the year 2022
1.6.1 The Ministry’s plans were affected by the following concerns:
- Continued late disbursement of funds coupled with underfunding resulting in the delayed implementation of priority targets.
- The Ministry had no budget space in most of the key line items as from April because of the thin budget allocation that was allocated to the vote which was further eroded by inflation.
iii. Since the beginning of the year, there was an increased ad hoc demand for the deployment of the Public Address System (PA) to the presidium which crowded the budget for other planned targets.
1.6.2 The constraints affected the implementation of different programs listed below;
- 6 studios to be modernized was a missed target due to financial constraints
- The Ministry failed to exhibit at the Harare Agricultural Show because of late disbursement of funds from the Treasury.
iii. Only six exhibitions were done out of the 11 targeted during the year. iv. Information packaged and dissemination number of documents amounted to 164 the target was missed by 197 because of budgetary constraints.
1.7 National Development Strategy 1 Sector Outcomes and Strategies
The Ministry will contribute to the following sector outcomes and strategies
(a) Sector outcomes
- Informed nation and international community
- Improved competitive brand b) Sector Strategies
- Develop an effective and coherent information communication strategy to accurately inform the nation and international community
- Develop a robust national publicity strategy with clear communication protocol to enable a two –way communication between government and the public.
- Reshape the National view point through content creation, development and dissemination to improve Zimbabwe’s visibility.
- Align existing laws to the Constitution reinforced by the maintenance and administration of a good regulatory framework and facilitation.
- Enhance traditional media through a robust Digital Media Strategy
- Modernise communication infrastructure, particularly the expansion and digitalisation of media platforms.
- Efficient maintenance of the existing infrastructure and capacitating the Government Internet Service Provider (GISP).
- Develop a powerful national adornment drive in which national symbols and cultural heritage are used.
- Improve public relations, especially at ports of entry through requisite frontline officer’s training as well as dressing and adornment of reception areas.
- Create a highly competitive national brand, incorporating provinces.
- Recommend sprucing up and adornment of public building sand spaces in Zimbabwe and Missions abroad with Zimbabwean art-culture and heritage artefact.
- Establish a national branding committee to strengthen coordination and harmonisation.
- Develop a strong national brand through marketing heritage, world class education, health care and transport, low crime levels, peace and stability.
- Broaden the capacity building program in protocol and diplomatic services for officials in the Civil Service and Public Entities
- Develop a robust inclusive national events strategy.
1.8 Ministry Strategies and Intervention for 2023
- Research, package and disseminate information in order to set the agenda on national development.
- Increase online publicity.
iii. Real time information dissemination.
- Create content for social media and mainstream media platforms.
- Conduct public outreaches, roadshows and exhibitions (mobile and static)
- Furnish information hubs with content/publications.
- Install and effectively use Outdoor Public Viewing Screens in marginalised communities where there is no radio and television reception and transmission.
- Creating an enabling environment for the media through licensing, commissioning and regulation of the media.
2.0 The National Budget Proportion
2.1 The Ministry had submitted a budget request of Z$73.4billion against an expenditure ceiling of Z$5,3billion. The expenditure ceiling is 8% of the Ministry’s bid resulting in the gap of Z$68 billion which translates to shortfall of 92%. The Ministry was finally allocated Z$8,6billion which culminates to 0.52% of the total National Budget and 14% of the bid. In 2022, the Ministry of Information Publicity and Broadcasting Services was allocated Z$2,6billion which was 0.28% of the total National Budget. This time the Ministry was allocated a huge chunk from the cake but still the funds allocated are not enough in implementing critical programmes.
Comparison of Budget Allocation for 2021, 2022 and 2023 in Z$
Year |
2021 |
2022 |
2023
|
Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting services |
1,5billion |
2,6 billion |
8,6billion |
National Budget |
422 billion |
927million |
4,5 trillion |
Percentage of total budget |
0.35% |
0.28% |
0.52% |
The allocation to the Ministry has subsequently increased by 0.24%. The budget allocation for 2023 amounts to 0.52% of the national budget compared to 0.28% in 2022 and 0,35% in 2021.
2.2 Breakdown of budget allocation
- New Ziana Z$294.7million
- Transmedia Z$250million
iii. ZimDigital Z$1.5 billion
- Film School (ZIFTESSA) Z$263. 4million
- Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) Z$200million
- Program 1: Policy and Administration Z$2.4billion
- Program 2: Information and publicity Z$3.6billion
2.3 HEAD OFFICE BUDGET Program 1 Budget: Policy and Administration (million)
|
Approved Budget 2022 |
Budget Bid 2023 |
Revised Expenditure target 2023 |
Variance(RevisedBid) |
Compensation of employees |
75,1million |
0 |
549, 2 million |
549,183 |
Goods and services |
86,5million |
2,73 billion |
1,02billion |
-273.378 |
Maintenance |
80,6million |
927,5million |
505million |
-422.568 |
Acquisition of non -financial assets |
150million |
626million |
400million |
-226.055 |
Grand Total for Programme 1 |
392,351 |
4,287,003 |
1,525,000 |
-2,832.819 |
All budget items under program 1 had negative variances which indicate a budget shortfall except for compensation of employees. This will negatively affect the Ministry‘s ability to carry out their mandate effectively. Compensation of employees with a positive variance is favourable and will positively affect the operations of the ministry due to increased morale hence productivity. Capital expenditure which is key for service provision going into the future has a negative variance and is less than what the Ministry bid for, which means the Ministry will not be able to acquire capital goods due to resource constraints. Goods and services with a negative variance will affect the county's engagement and re-engagements efforts.
PROGRAM 2: INFORMATION AND PUBLICITY
|
Approved Budget 2022 |
Budget bid 2023 |
Revised Expenditure target 2023 |
Variance (revised expenditure bid) |
Compensation of employment |
82,1million |
|
462,4million |
462,474 |
Goods and services |
215,1milllion |
6,6 billion |
1,85billion |
-6,471,648 |
Maintenance |
61,5millon |
|
616 million |
616 .000 |
Acquisition of fixed assets |
250million |
1.47 billion |
700million |
-1,487,013 |
Grant total for Head office |
608,773 |
155,358 |
3,175,000 |
616,000 |
Goods and services which shapes the correct narrative of the country had a negative variance which is unfavourable, hence this underfunding level will negatively impact on the country’s international engagement and re-engagements efforts as well as image building. Acquisition of fixed assets had a negative variance which will make it difficult to procure vehicles and equipment for daily operations. This will also affect investment levels.
Major concerns
- The Ministry had a bid of Z$73,4billion and was allocated Z$8,6 billion giving a rise to a shortfall of ZW$65,8 billion which is translated to 14% of the bid.
- 27 new district officers were appointed by the Ministry in line with the devolution and the Ministry is now represented in those districts. These district officers report and disseminate information on all areas in the outskirts so that citizens get information on real time basis. These district officers lack motor vehicles and equipment to carry out their duties effectively.
- The Ministry also proposed a budget on goods and services of Z$955,4 million to cater for national branding and image building, however Z $336,6 million was allocated giving a shortfall of Z$ 618 million which will negatively affect the government’s image building as well as informing the national and international community.
- The shortfall will affect the Ministry in carrying out its duties efficiently and effectively.
The Ministry is requiring a top up of Z$1, 4 billion towards acquisition of 37 vehicles @Z$36 million each distributed as 27 for newly appointed district officers and 10 for the head office to replace the old fleet.
2.4 BROADCASTING AUTHORITY OF ZIMBABWE (BAZ)
The BAZ is the agent for digitalisation which started in 2015.Over the years since inception the project has been underfunded. The project has a long way to go with 30 more transmitters needed to finish the project. The target is to install 48 transmitters nationwide to complete digitalisation. The aim is to install ten (10) transmitters during 2023.
Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) Budget Z$000
Expenditure item |
2023 Budget Bid |
2023 Budget Allocation |
Variance (bid budget allocation |
%variance |
BAZ |
23,6billion |
1,5billion |
22,1billion |
-93% |
The total budget bid for BAZ was Z$23, 6 billion and BAZ was allocated Z$1.5 billion which resulted in under-funding of Z$22.1 billion. The allocated amount is not even enough to procure one transmitter, which means with the current funding of ZimDigital will take another thirty years to reach the intended purpose. This will negatively influence investment in capital grants and slower the digitalisation project.
Committee Observations
I.The Committee calls for early disbursements of funds to minimise possible exchange losses.
- The slow implementation of Zim Digital project leads to violation of Sections 61 and 62 of the Constitution which calls for Freedom of expression and freedom of the media and access to information.
iii. Digitalisation of ZBC is key for image building
- BAZ needs to be funded so that they improve radio quality and coverage since citizens now relies on radio services as we approach the 2023 harmonized elections.
- Need for software upgrades to minimise disruptive interruptions of systems. ZBC fails to archive information because there are no backup and archival retrieval systems.
BAZ priority projects
Ten (10) transmitters are targeted for the year 2023, therefore
Digitalisation was recommended to proceed.
It was resolved that BAZ will require an additional of Z$22,1 billion geared towards the 10 transmitters under digitalisation programme.
Purchasing of one (1) Public Address System to aid the existing one will require a budget allocation of Z$697,6 million.
The Committee recommends that the purchasing of the PA system early in the budget should put the Ministry in good stead given election-related sound system demands in 2023.
2.5 TRANSMEDIA
Transmedia mantains the transmission infrastructure nationwide. Transmedia was allocated Z$250 million out of a total bid of Z$2,1 billion which results in underfunding of Z$1,7billion.
Transmedia budget (Z$000)
Expenditure item |
Budget bid 2023 |
Budget allocation 2023 |
Variance (Bid allocation) |
% Variance |
Transmedia |
2,1billion |
250 million |
1,7billion |
-87% |
A negative variance means a budget shortfall therefore the following areas will be negatively affected if adequate resources are not availed.
- Radio transmitters for community radio stations which implies less radio services coverage and less communities participating in the national economy, hence some citizens are left behind.
- Spares for the ageing radio and TV network
iii. Operational vehicles which are used to attend to faults
- Feeder roads to the transmission sites
- Lack of vehicles affects reaction time for transmission faults and installation
2.6 NEW ZIANA
New Ziana produces community newspapers in various parts of the country in line with the devolution policy. It also has a publishing arm that operates eight provincial newspapers. The budget request was Z$1,2billion and the allocation amounted to Z$294,7million resulting in underfunding of Z$293,5million.
NEW ZIANA Budget in Z$000
Expenditure item |
2023 Budget bid |
Budget allocation 2023 |
Variance (bid allocation) |
Compensation of employees |
|
174,7million |
174,761 |
Equipment and machinery |
1billion |
|
1,002,267 |
Use of goods and services |
191,6million |
120 million |
71,632 |
Total |
1,193,899 |
294,761 |
1,248,660 |
Committee Observations on New Ziana
- The allocation of compensation of workers will be used to boost morale, hence productivity as they were the least paid in the media industry. Goods and services will be used for printing news gathering and distribution, rentals and communication costs.
- There was no allocation for capital expenditure which New Ziana needed for Printing press, ICT equipment and motor vehicles.
iii. New Ziana requested for an additional allocation of Z$470 million for recurrent expenditure.
2.7. ZIMBABWE FILM AND TELEVISION OF SOUTHERN AFRICA
The film school is the sole training institute in the country which train and provide the nation with professionally qualified film and television personnel. The film school submitted a budget of Z$544,6million and was allocated Z$263.5million resulting in a budget gap of Z$281,2million.
ZIFTESSA Budget in Z $000
|
Budget bid 2023 |
budget allocation 2023 |
Variance (bid –allocation) |
Compensation of employees |
|
33,5 million |
33,459, |
Goods and services |
239,6million |
180milion |
-59.63 |
Machinery and equipment |
305 million |
50million |
-255,04 |
Total |
544,6million |
263,5 million |
-281,211 |
Funding requested by the film school was required for equipment, teaching aids and vehicles to run the school. Goods and services as well as machinery had a negative variance, which means the film school will not be able to procure machinery for mobility and crucial film training equipment due to underfunding. The Z$50 million availed will be channeled towards the procurement of three cameras for the film school.
Impact of underfunding the film school and Committee observations
- The school is badly exposed as a poorly resourced institution since it has five old working cameras and three editing machines only.
- The school is running without credible film and textbook libraries which are important facilities for a credible film training college.
- The Committee also noted that the film school should also try to raise funds by covering events such as weddings, engagements for instance.
- It is prudent to timely disburse the funds before the value is eroded by inflation.
2.8 ZIMBABWE BROADCASTING CORPORATION
The corporation is heavily incapacitated in terms of mobility and shortage of vehicles which has greatly affected service delivery. The corporation submitted a proposal of Z$31 billion but was allocated Z$200 million and will be channelled towards the procurement of about 6 vehicles only.
ZBC Budget Allocation for 2023
|
Budget bid 2023 |
Budget Allocation 2023 |
Variance (bid allocation) |
%Variance |
ZBC |
31billion |
200million |
30.8 billion |
-99.3% |
A negative variance means ZBC is underfunded by Z$30.8 billion.
Impact of underfunding ZBC and Committee Observations
- ZBC submitted a total of Z$31 billion to cater for operations but received Z$200 million which presents a budget gap of approximately Z$30.8billion.
- The corporation has been experiencing power outages which are affecting its operations.
- Governments departments should honour their obligations to ZBC, to enable the corporation to generate revenue.
- ZBC is an institution of national interests and being a security center, requires modern security systems such as CCTV’s and Biometric systems.
- The amount allocated to the corporation should be disbursed early to the avoid foreign exchanges losses.
2.9 Zimbabwe Media Commission
An independent commission whose purpose is the entrenchment of a democratic society; the Commission regulates media industry whose functions is to uphold, promote and develop freedom of the media, to promote and enforce good practices and ethics in the media and to promote fair competition and diversity in the media.
ZMC Budget Allocation for 2023
|
Budget bid 2023 |
Budget allocation |
Variance (bid actual) |
%variance |
ZMC |
5 billion |
2,6 billion |
2,4billion |
-48% |
The Commission was given Z$2,6billion for the year 2023 against an expectation of nearly Z$5 billion resulting in underfunding of programmes. Of the total budget proposed, Z$416 446 000 is meant for employee’s salaries. A total of Z$900million meant for expenditure and of this amount Z$100 million is meant for building infrastructure while Z$425 million is for transport, leaving $375million for other machinery and equipment. From the total budget, a provision of Z$1.3 billion was made for recurrent expenditure. Of this amount, only Z$284,8 million is supposed to cater for all the programmes at hand. This is inadequate in the view of the mandate and expectations of the stakeholders, hence targets are not going to be met with this budget.
Observations and recommendations by the Committee on ZMC
- The current pool of vehicles donated in 2014 to the Commission is constantly breaking down. Although the Commission was given funds to purchase fleet in 2022, they only managed to purchase four out of 11 budgeted for due to late disbursement of funds. The 2023 budget for this activity is far from being enough.
- The Commission purchased its own home in 2021. Funds for the renovation of the building were not disbursed and the little disbursed was eroded by inflation. The proposed Z$100million is not adequate to attend to issues needed in terms of renovations
iii. The need to reach out and sensitise stakeholders and members of the public during elections will be difficult in view of the meagre allocation.
- To enable the Commission to achieve its intended purpose and contribute meaningfully in the holding of 2023 elections, a total of Z$450 million is required.
- To enable the Commission to undertake outreach programmes and election observations, at least five (5) vehicles will be needed for the purposes yet only Z$30million for the purchase of programme vehicles was proposed under programmes in the budget.
vii. The Commission needs to hold stakeholder engagements with the security sector as well as political players in a bid to create a working rapport between these stakeholders to uphold the image of the country.
Hence ZMC requested a top-up of Z$4, 5 billion in order to carry out their mandate effectively.
In total, the Ministry and its agencies are requesting for an additional allocation of Z$23,5billion and Z$697,6million for the PA system.
3.0 General Observations and Recommendations by the Committee
- The Committee commends the government for efforts made in increasing the budget allocation for 2023 since it received a larger proportion compared with the past few years.
- The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development should disburse funds on a timely basis in full allocation so that the Ministry can fully execute its mandate and to also guard against possible exchange losses. iii. Government departments and agencies should honour their financial obligations to ZBC.
- Bids for capital expenditure were reduced which hinders efficient service delivery across the country.
- There is need for information centers to translate policy in languages that all economic agents understand in view of devolution. This will mean analysis of policies using vernacular languages so that economic agents respond appropriately to policy proposition and changes.
vii. Procurement of vehicles will help create and save jobs as all government ministries and departments are mandated to procure vehicles from local suppliers in line with the local content policy.
3.1 Conclusion
The Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services plays a pivotal role in the dissemination of information, promotion of public communication and image building for the country. However, the 2023 Budget made cuts on capital grants and expenditure bids which is most likely to compromise efficient service delivery of the Ministry and enterprises under it. There is a high risk of non-completion of the digitalisation programme due to inadequate funds and exchange losses hence digitalisation should be awarded high government priority status so that future prospects of engagement are not forsaken. There is need to curb for inflation and exchange rate losses hence the timely disbursements of funds is key. This will also ensure that the Ministry is fully capacitated to effectively deliver their mandate locally and internationally.
HON. S. K. MGUNI: Thank you Hon. Speaker Ma’am. I would like to table the report of the Industry and Commerce Portfolio Committee.
- Introduction
On the 24th of November 2022, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Hon. Professor Mthuli Ncube presented the 2023 National Budget. The 2023 National Budget was presented in the turmoil of new waves of COVID-19, negative externalities from the global geo-politics, tightening global financial conditions and was informed by the country’s Vision 2030, which is benchmarked by the continued implementation of the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), 2021-2025, which is an economic blueprint outlining the policies, institutional reforms and national priorities as the country aims to attain the middle-income status by 2030. Hence, the 2023 National Budget is aligned to the provisions of the NDS1 as it is centered on accelerating economic transformation.
The year 2023 marks the mid-year of the NDS1 implementation. The attainment of Vision 2030 and other regional and international development agendas such as the Sustainable Development Goals anchor on a diversified and competitive industrial sector as the core of economic transformation. Thus, the vision of the Ministry: A highly industrialized, technologically advanced and diversified Zimbabwean economy by 2030 aligns with the Vision 2030, regional and international development agendas.
While the economy has been exposed to various shocks coupled with macro-economic risks, there is still need and space to firmly set focus on strategic priorities for economic recovery and growth anchored on building resilience against such shocks. Hence, the need to accelerate the industrialisation drive if we are to turn around the economy and steer it towards the achievement of Vision 2030.
- The Ministry’s 2022 Budget Performance Review
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce’s mission is to facilitate and promote the development of sustainable, innovative, inclusive and globally competitive industrial and commercial enterprises for economic growth. This mission is aided through the Ministry’s main service delivery areas of policy and administration, industrialization and consumer protection and quality assurance.
The Ministry was initially allocated a total budget of ZWL$3.9 billion, which was later reviewed upwards to ZWL$5.54 billion after the Supplementary Budget during the year 2022. The increase in nominal value to the Ministry is always welcome. However, the major concern is around the actual disbursement of the allocated funds as the draw-down by September has been 32%, 32% and 42% for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively. The poor draw-down also cascaded to the Ministry’s priority areas as of September 2022, policy and administration (32%), industrialization (49%) and consumer protection and quality assurance (28%). This trend of failure to access the allocated resources negatively impacts on the functioning of the Ministry and highly threatens to compromise the attainment of national, regional and international objectives.
The Ministry’s major achievements under the three key result areas during the 2022 budget year include:
- Continued implementation of the Zimbabwe National Industrial Development Policy (2019-2023)
- Increased industry capacity utilization from 47% (2020) to 66% (2022)
- Implementation of the E-Licensing for Import and Export licences
- Improved availability of local products in the market (70%)
- Increased number of pharmaceutical players in the industry from nine (9) companies in 2020 to eleven (11) in 2022
- Successfully organized the 62nd Zimbabwe International Trade Fair
- Successfully facilitated the Beitbridge Border Post upgrade
- Operationalized the Consumer Protection Commission
- Registered 4 650 reserved sector businesses as at end of September 2022
- Commissioned a state of art shoe Polyurethane Pouring Plant at Bata Shoe Factory in Gweru
- IDCZ realized US$500 000 per month in export of magnetite
- Completed and commissioned the Zimphos Fertilizer Blending Plant in Msasa
- Deven Engineering under the IDCZ, with assistance of resources from Treasury, has started refurbishing ZUPCO buses and have received semi-knocked down kits to start assembling buses.
- Overview of the 2023 National Budget
The Ministry was allocated ZWL$15, 6 billion which represents almost 200 percent increase from the revised 2022 National Budget allocation of ZWL$5.54 billion. The allocated figure falls short as it represents only 68 percent of the Ministry’s bid of ZWL$23 billion. Although the Ministry’s share of the total budget has been slightly increasing, from 0.24 percent in 2021 to 0.35 percent in 2023, these resources still remain far below the Ministry’s requirements. The prioritization of industrialization is not reflected in the allocations with the programme, trending a decrease in the past three years, 60.6 percent (2021) to 46.8 percent (2023). This vicious cycle of under-resourcing the line ministries impacts significantly on the ease of doing business and competitiveness as well as have huge implication on the nation’s route to fourth industrial revolution and the successful attainment of Vision 2030.
While the Ministry appreciates the overall allocations to its three main operating areas, Policy and Administration, Industrialization and Consumer Protection and Quality Assurance, however, concerns remain on the pace of disbursement of the funds across the thematic areas as this retards the overall functioning of the Ministry, implying threat to attainment of national objectives.
The IDCZ is the industrialization arm of the Government which plays a key role as a development finance institution. However, the Ministry notes that the strategic role of IDCZ is not reflected in the National Budget allocation to the institution as only ZWL$5.1 billion was allocated to IDCZ against a bid of ZWL$10 billion. This simply implies that the institution will be jeopardized on its mandate which includes supporting the functioning of the industry through contribution to import substitution, value addition and beneficiation, exports growth, employment creation, devolution and industrialization.
- Post Budget Presentation Analysis Meeting Output
Your Committee duly held a post budget presentation analysis meeting with Ministry officials led by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Mavis Sibanda, and the industry representatives, CZI on Thursday the 30th of November 2022. The following issues were observed:
In its meeting with Ministry officials on the 30th of November 2022, the Ministry appreciated the slight increase reflected in 2023 National Budget allocation to the Ministry. However, there were concerns on the variance (32 percent) between the Ministry’s bid of ZWL$23 billion and the budget allocation of ZWL$15.6 billion which is likely to have a negative impact on the efforts of the Ministry towards attainment of Vision 2030, regional and international goals. Your Committee was in consensus with the Ministry officials in regards to the need to capacitate the industry towards aiding the 2030 vision.
Your Committee raised concerns on the low resource absorption rate over the past three years, averaging 32 percent in 2020 and 2021 and 42 percent in 2022. This low draw-down cascades to thematic areas, with 42 percent for industrialization as of September 2022 and this poses a threat to the overall attainment of Vision 2030. The Ministry officials also highlighted their concerns on delayed disbursement of budget allocations and requested your Committee to help in ensuring release of resources by Treasury to the Ministry in due time.
The Ministry, in their submissions, emphasized the significance of IDCZ in the industrialization process in the country and how they are concerned with the institution’s underfunding in the 2023 National Budget. Your Committee acknowledged the significance of the IDCZ and requested a breakdown of what the institution may attain in 2023 with availed resources as well as missed opportunities due to underfunding. Your Committee further asked the Ministry to provide statistics and progress of IDCZ on industrialization efforts and exports. The Ministry shared the success stories in respect to industrialization and exports by the institution.
Your Committee noted that the attainment of the Vision 2030 and national economic development is centered on successful industrialization process and value chain mapping and beneficiation. However, your Committee was concerned with the lack of prioritization and resourcing of the Ministry as its mandate and mission are vital for attainment of national, regional and international development agendas.
The submission from CZI was centered around lack of priority given to the Ministry in relation to other ministries, the poor draw-down at Ministry level which cascades to Programme areas, and the failure by Treasury to disburse funds to the Ministry and other ministries in time. They noted that the strategic vision of industrialization under NDS1 is to contribute to economic structural transformation by moving the Zimbabwean economy up the value chain through industrial transformation. Their concern was that this is not reflected in the resource disbursement to the Ministry over the years. Your Committee agreed to the concerns of CZI as attainment of Vision 2030 is anchored on successful industrialization in the economy.
Your Committee asked a question on the status of ZISCO Steel resuscitation as it has been appearing in the National Budgets and has been a center of discussions for some time but without notable progress on the ground. The Ministry officials highlighted that there is progress on the ZISCO Steel resuscitation with work plans to start in January 2023 in place in partnership with Kuvimba Mining House. Your Committee tasked the Ministry to share the work plans once they are finalized. Your Committee also raised a question in line with payment of ZISCO workers’ pensions. The Ministry officials highlighted that they were of the impression that progress has been done but they will verify and report back on the status quo.
Your Committee asked the Ministry position with regards to internal resource mobilization in the face of limited National Budget allocations as well as whether the Ministry is retaining funds from its projects. The Ministry highlighted it is not mandated to retain funds and of the few retentions such as from SDF, they are utilized in line with Parliamentary Gazette.
Your Committee also asked the Ministry officials about the Ministry on the position of disbursement of SDRs allocated for industrialization. The Ministry responded by highlighting that the funds have been distributed to the banks and will be used according to the intended purpose of supporting retooling and capitalization of the industry.
Your Committee also asked questions on the progress of the Economic Empowerment Principles Bill and on the status quo of Deven Engineering and Willowvale Motor Industry. The Ministry responded by highlighting that the Bill is work in progress with expected finalization by May 2023 and with regards to Deven Engineering and Willowvale Motor Industry, the Ministry reported that they have received semi-knocked down kits to start assembling whilst Willowvale Motor Industry have obsolete equipment and needs urgent attention. Your Committee further requested site visits for Deven Engineering, Willowvale Motor Industry and other Ministry projects. The Ministry responded by informing Your Committee that they are available for the sites visits.
Your Committee asked the Ministry to provide statistics on production and imports of water treatment chemicals as well as the demand for the IDCZ products. The Ministry, through IDCZ representatives, provided demand statistics for the products the institution is producing, including water treatment and grain protectants as well as the chemicals they are importing to treat water in the country.
Your Committee asked IDCZ representatives if they had alternative solutions to the power challenges currently being experienced in the country and further questioned on the reported improvement in the ease of doing ranking for Zimbabwe. The Ministry, through IDCZ representatives, reported that there are various solar projects being implemented to sustain production and with regards to ease of doing business ranking for Zimbabwe, the Ministry acknowledged that there is still room for more improvement.
- Recommendations
Your Committee recommends:
The prioritization of the Ministry in terms of resource allocation and disbursement of funds from Treasury, particularly IDCZ allocation, to reflect the Ministry’s key and significant role in the realization of national, regional and international development agendas. The provision of funding to IDCZ is crucial for funding the industrial sector for retooling, industrial modernization and upgrading, and technology upgrade for adaptation.
Improved and expedient disbursement of funds by the Treasury, from the current 42 percent to at least 75 percent, to allow the Ministry to carry out its core mandate towards Vision 2030. The manner in which the budget allocates resources to the Ministry should reflect the need to scale up industrialization in pursuit of NDS1 and Vision 2030.
The need for continuous oversight on budgetary allocations and disbursement to the Ministry on a monthly basis to ensure funds are released with the oversight of the Committee. In line with this, there is need to invite the Minister of Finance and Economic Development in the future to account for the low disbursement of resources.
Establishment of concrete steps towards the resuscitation and capacitation of ZISCO steel citing clear stages to be followed with clear work plans and timelines.
Ensure effective disbursement and utilization of the SDR allocation for retooling, new equipment and replacement of value chains since industrialization requires significant transformation in order to improve production capacity and competitiveness.
The need to improve the ease of doing business and competitiveness of the country so as to attract both domestic and foreign investment, hence the need to ensure macro-economic stability as a benchmark for economic growth and attainment of Vision 2030.
The Ministry should be empowered to embrace internal resource mobilization and retentions of funds from its projects for sustainability and enhancing. This should also include tapping on opportunities presented by the implementation of the AfCFTA.
The need for capacitation of Deven Engineering through disbursement of sufficient resources and removal of knocked down kits on duty to enable Deven to compete with duty free imported buses.
The need to retool and recapitalize Willowvale Motor Industry in order to enhance its production capacity and allow it to meet the local demand as there is an increase in the buy-Zimbabwe mantra.
The urgent visit of the Industry, Deven Engineering; Willowvale Motor Industry; Rushinga and Dorowa, to keep up to date with developments and needs of the Industry and in a way enhancing informed policy making processes.
- Conclusion
The Zimbabwean economy continues to be exposed to various shocks and macro-economic risks which have disturbed the industrial growth and development process. Hence, industrialization lies at the heart of our vision of becoming an upper middle-income economy by 2030. It is through industrialization and digitalization that we can effectively exploit the backward and forward linkages that primarily exist among the agricultural, mining and manufacturing sectors; thus, bringing to reality the structural transformation that this economy desperately needs. These aspirations can only be achieved when there is coordinated and complementary effort amongst all stakeholders, public and private, towards accelerating economic transformation. I thank you.
HON. MUNETSI: Thank you Madam Speaker. I rise to present a report for the Portfolio Committee on Environment and Tourism.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The recommendations are in line with the NDS1 and the 2023 budget thrust. The Committee analyzed the policy issues, grant budgetary allocations and analysis by Ministry programmes and lastly analysed allocations done to the Ministry’s parastatals.
POLICY ISSUE THAT AFFECTS THE SECTOR
Government will increase marketing and promotion efforts by deploying tourism attachés at our embassies to aggressively promote destination Zimbabwe in key source markets , including China, France, Germany, India, Japan, South Africa, UAE, and the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Flagship regional and international tourism meetings, conferences and exhibitions (MICE Tourism), marketing and promoting Zimbabwe’s tourism to the world through promotion programmes like VisitZimbabwe, MeetInZimbabwe and InvestInZimbabwe campaigns.
Image building and promotion through hosting of tourism opinion leaders and influencers, as well as organising familiarisation tours for media houses from key international tourist source markets.
Intensify domestic tourism through necessary campaigns and promotions, such as ZimBho/IZimYami programmes.
Infrastructure development, particularly focusing on offsite and onsite infrastructure for the Victoria Falls Special Economic Zone
- Community Based Tourism Enterprises
- Reviewing the National Tourism Policy and Tourism Act in line with current trends
- Government established a US$7.5 million Facilities Services Development and Upgrading Revolving Fund (TFDURF) through the use of SDRs
- Development Partner support of US$0.8 million, towards the renovation and rehabilitation of Great Zimbabwe, as well as technical assistance to Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and Zimbabwe National Parks.
- Suspension of duty on specified capital equipment imported by approved tourism operators
- Rebate of Duty on Goods Imported by Operators in Special Economic Zones
- Government’s Devolution policy
BUDGETARY ALLOCATIONS
The Ministry submitted an ideal bid of ZWL64,2 billion and was allocated ZWL 13,9 billion of the request for its four programmes namely:
- Policy and Administration
- Environment and Natural Resources Management
- Tourism Development and Promotion
- Weather, Climate and Seismology Service
This means 21.65% of the ideal budget has been financed and
The Committee recommends an additional combined ZW of $ 50.3 billion to effectively finance the four programmes. Possible sources for this additional funding will come from carbon tax and tobacco levy.
ANALYSIS BY PROGRAMME
The ideal budget bid for the Policy and Administration programme was ZWL 5.243 billion and Treasury allocated it ZWL 3.484 billion. This entails that Treasury finances 66.45% of the ideal budget.
The Committee recommends an additional ZWL$1.759 mainly to finance activities in the new Department of Strategic Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation with an establishment of 13 personnel.
The ideal budget bid for the Environment and Natural Resources Management programme was ZWL$26 billion, and Treasury allocated it ZWL$3,853 billion. This entails that 14.82% of the ideal budget is financed by Treasury.
The Committee recommends an additional ZWL$22.147 billion to cater for parastatals under the programme, outstanding international subscriptions, ICT equipment, environmental projects co-financing, environmental policy coordination and monitoring and evaluation.
The ideal budget bid for the Tourism Development and Promotion Programme was ZWL 24.1987 billion, and the Treasury allocated ZWL 3.821 billion. This entails that Treasury finances 15.79% of the ideal budget.
The Committee recommends an additional ZWL$20.3778 billion to finance Markets Development and Diversification, which entails intensifying destination marketing and promotion. Furthermore, funding is needed to cater for the Devolution Policy, outstanding international subscriptions and meet our obligations under Bilateral and Multilateral Agreements with regional and international tourism bodies.
The deficit thereby further increases our already existing debt to these organisations. Currently, outstanding subscriptions to international organisations for the year 2022 is USD$892,908.40.
The Committee recommends additional funding to meet these international subscriptions so that we can also unlock funding and loans from these Green Climate Funding, COP24, etc.
The ideal budget bid for the Weather, Climate and Seismology Service Programme was ZWL 10.8 billion and Treasury allocated it ZWL 2.735 billion. This entails that Treasury finances 25.32% of the ideal budget.
The Committee recommends additional funding of ZWL$8.065 billion to cater for equipment, rehabilitation of buildings, climate change mainstreaming, implementation of community-level adaptation interventions, delivery of the country’s climate change commitments through the Nationally Determined Contributions, co-financing incoming multi-lateral climate finance and payment of outstanding international subscriptions.
Funding is also needed to cover for the security of the already acquired weather, climate and seismology equipment.
ANALYSIS BY PARASTATALS
Programme 2: Environment and Natural Resources Management
- Forestry Commission
The ideal budget bid for the Forest Commission was ZWL$11.6 billion and Treasury allocated ZWL$1.4 billion. This entails that Treasury finances 12.07% of the ideal budget.
The Committee recommends the timeous release of tobacco levy for afforestation.
The Committee recommends an additional budget allocation of ZW$10.2 billion for the Hunting and Photographic Safaris rehabilitation and equipment procurement to enable self-sustenance.
- EMA
The ideal budget bid for EMA was ZWL7.577 billion and Treasury allocated it ZWL$ 300 million. This entails that the Treasury finances 3.96% of the ideal budget to implement activities like wetlands restoration, rehabilitation of degraded lands, and ecosystem, eradication of invasive species, developing pollution abatement facilities, acquisition of hazardous substances, emergency response, and ambient air quality monitoring equipment. There is also a need to construct a National Hazardous Waste Landfill in Kwekwe.
The Committee recommends an additional budget allocation of ZW$ 7.277 billion for Waste Recycling Initiatives (ZWL 300m), Wetlands Restoration projects (ZWL 450m), and other environmental abatement activities.
The Committee also recommends total disbursements of carbon tax timeously from the treasury. If EMA is allocated carbon tax alone it can self sufficient for its ideal bid.
ZIMPARKS
The ideal budget bid for ZIMPARKS was ZWL$2 billion and Treasury allocated it ZWL$200 million for Capital Budget. This entails that 10% of the ideal budget is financed by Treasury and this will heavily affect our expected domestic-led tourism.
The Committee recommends an additional budget allocation of ZWL$ 1.8 billion to cater for reconstructing the aging and tired, unattractive tourist infrastructure, asset base, and resources to curb the increased poaching incidents through sophisticated methods.
The Committee further recommends the above additional budget allocation so that ZIMPARKS can move away from only environmental conservation to industrial value addition and beneficiation, e.g skin tanning, shoe making, etc.
Programme 3: Tourism Development and Promotion
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA)
The ideal budget bid for ZTA was ZWL$13.962 billion and Treasury allocated it ZWL$1,2bn (ZWL$1bn is for recurrent expenditure and ZW$200million for capital expenditure). This entails that 8.59% of the ZTA ideal budget is financed by Treasury and has received inadequate funding, negatively impacting Tourism and Growth Strategy, Government Devolution Policy, and Domestic Tourism Campaign.
The Committee recommends additional funding of ZW$ 12.762 billion to cater for ZTA’s extensive marketing and promotion and to meet recurrent and capital expenditures. The funding will also help the initiatives in traditional and domestic-led tourism, e.g Village /Township tourism and First Lady’s tourism initiatives.
The Committee recommends ZTA to structure the use of the established US$7.5 million Facilities Services Development and Upgrading Revolving Fund (TFDURF)
Mosi Oa Tunya Development Company
The ideal budget bid for Mosi Oa Tunya Development Company was ZWL$4.095billion and Treasury allocated ZWL$725 million. This entails that only 17.7% of the Mosi Oa Tunya Development Company ideal budget is financed by Treasury. The company is still in its infancy and the current operations are non-revenue generating. The company needs to do a Validity of Feasibility Study, Architectural Modelling of the Concept plan in the Victoria Falls Special Economic Zone and the Victoria Falls integrated Tourist Resort.
The Committee recommends that an additional ZWL$3.37 billion be allocated to the company meant to develop onsite infrastructure for Lot 1 of Jafuta Estate situated in the Victoria Falls Special Economic Zone.
Conclusion
While we are advocating for additional funding, we expect the Ministry and its parastatals to work within the allocations and provide the following possible strategies;
- Track donor funding and Ministry funding
- Efficient use of the allocated resources
- Create value from parastatals so that government can assist on capital expenditure and not recurrent
- Avoid requesting funding for the same projects (rhetoric requests) e.g Landfill
- Advocate for cost-cutting, cost-sharing in activities like tourism promotion, afforestation
- Realistic budgeting, e.g requesting large amounts to a project at feasibility stage
Mobilise out of budget funds to complement Treasury. I thank you Hon. Speaker.
HON. WATSON: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to present the report from the Health Committee on the Ministry’s budget allocation for 2023 on behalf of Hon. Dr. Labode.
Introduction
Background
The Ministry of Health and Child Care’s mandate is to provide the highest standards of health care services to all Zimbabweans in line with the Primary Health Care approach as set out in the National Health Strategy.
Methodology
Following the presentation of the 2023 National Budget by the Minister of Finance, the Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care engaged the Ministry of Health and Child Care and stakeholders to gather their views. The Committee consolidated the views and came up with its own analysis of the budget.
HEALTH AND CHILD CARE BUDGET ANALYSIS
Overview of the 2023 budget
The Ministry of Health and Child Care received an allocation of ZWL$473.76 billion (equivalent to US$740.5 million using official rate) compared to ZWL$117.7 billion (US$ 1.1 billion using official rate) originally allocated in 2022. This allocation represents a 302.5% nominal increase to what was allocated in the previous budget. It further represents a10.54% share of the National Budget indicating a marginal decline from 12.16% that was achieved in the 2022 National Budget.
To contextualise the budget allocation to the health sector, an analysis of the top ten vote allocations was made (see Figure 1). Allocation to the Ministry of Health ranked second after Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.
Figure 1: Top ten vote allocations for 2023
Figure 2 shows the trends in the Ministry of Health and Child Care budget allocations and its share to National Budgets from 2014 to 2023. It illustrates the loss in the momentum that the sector had gained between 2018 and 2021 where health share of the budget rose from 5.84% to 12.87%. Instead share of the health budget fell to 12.16% in 2022 before reaching 10.54% in 2023.
Figure 2: Trends in Health and Child Care Budget Allocations (US$): 2010-2023
The share of the health budget to total expenditure for 2023 remains significantly below the 15% stipulated under the Abuja Declaration for the delivery of quality health services.
Trends in per capita health spending
The 2023 Health Budget allocation of ZWL$473.76 billion translates to US$48.78 in per capita terms, down from US$71.66 in 2022 (see Figure 3). This falls short of the National Health Strategy optimum per capita level of US$104.
Figure 3: Trends in per capita spending on health in Zimbabwe (2010-2023)
Further, it is only 56.07% of the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended threshold of US$86.
The 2022 Health Budget performance
The Ministry of Health and Child Care had received 85% of the revised budget of ZWL$146.63billion as at 30 September 2022.
Table 1: Summary of the 2022 Expenditure performance as at 30 September 2022
Expenditure |
Revised Budget |
Releases |
Expenditure |
Expenditure Rate |
Capital |
18,092,800,806.00 |
2,983,932,806.00 |
2,183,923,660 |
12% |
Operations |
58,963,341,464.00 |
24,949,912,415.92 |
23,793,576,432.55 |
40% |
Employment Costs |
69,455,314,913.00 |
99,345,712,021 |
98,129,673,344 |
141% |
Total |
146,511,457,183 |
127,279,557,243 |
124,107,173,437 |
85% |
As shown in Table 1, as much as 141% of the salaries budget; 12% of capital budget and 40% of the recurrent expenditure had been exhausted as at 30 September 2022. The utilization rate for central hospitals was 94% while that of provincial hospitals was 89%. District hospitals had a burn rate of 81%.
The Ministry implemented several capital projects in 2022 although these are at various levels of completion. These include the acquisition of medical equipment (30% complete); construction of Lupane Provincial Hospital (11% complete); Upgrading Ambulance Fleet (100) (32% complete); NMS-New Clinics (4) (25% complete); Staff Canteens (75% complete); Health Posts (10) (20%); Natpharm Storage (100% complete); Rehabilitation & Refurbishment of Central and Provincial hospitals (25% complete).
Economic Classification of 2023 Health and Child Care Budget
Employment costs will take up 73.1% of the Ministry’s total budget compared to 21.5 % originally allocated in 2022 (see Table 2) or 47.3% allocated in the 2022 revised budget. This allocation represents a significant increase in employment costs from the 2022 allocation.
Table 2: Economic Classification of MOHCC 2023 Budget (%)
|
2023 |
2022 Original Budget |
2022 Revised Budget |
Compensation of employees |
73.1 |
21.5 |
47.3 |
Capital expenditure |
8.3 |
15.5 |
12.3 |
Recurrent expenditure |
18.6 |
63 |
40.2 |
Capital expenditure for the health sector remains small as indicated by the 8.3% allocated in 2023 down from 15.5% allocated in 2022 original budget and 12.3% in the 2022 revised budget. This expenditure includes buildings and structures, machinery, and equipment as well as capital grants. As much as 18.6% of the Ministry’s Budget will be spent on recurrent expenditure compared to 63% allocated originally allocated in 2022 but later revised to 40.2%.
Programmes Budget Allocations vs Bids for 2023
The Ministry of Health and Child Care submitted a bid of ZWL$820 billion to Treasury for its programmes but received an allocation of ZWL$473.76 billion (or 58% of its funding needs) leaving a funding gap of ZWL$346.28 billion (see Table 3).
Table 3: 2023 MOHCC BID vs Allocation by Programme (ZWL$)
Program |
Bid |
Allocation |
Allocation % to Bid |
GAP |
Programme 1: Policy and Administration |
182,492,353,457 |
95,886,621,000 |
53% |
86,605,732,457 |
Programme 2: Public Health |
82,184,360,401 |
41,334,336,000 |
50% |
40,850,024,401 |
Programme 3: Curative Services |
537,686,696,122 |
333,311,189,000 |
62% |
204,375,507,122 |
Programme 4: Bio-Medical Science, Engineering and Pharmaceutical Production |
17,677,837,170 |
3,226,063,000 |
18% |
14,451,774,170 |
Total |
820,041,247,150 |
473,758,209,000 |
58% |
346,283,038,150 |
Three of the Ministry’s programmes received half to slightly above half of their funding requirements. For example, Policy and Administration was allocated ZWL$95.89 billion (53% of its bid). Public health programme was allocated ZWL$41.33 billion (or 8.72% of the total health budget) constituting exactly half of its bid. Curative services programme was allocated ZWL$333.31 billion (70.36% of the total health budget) and this represented only 62% of its funding requirements. The fourth programme, Bio-Medical Science, Engineering and Pharmaceutical Production received only 18% of its bid (see Table 3).
Programme 1: Policy and Administration
Policy and Administration Programme received ZWL$95.89 billion but 47% of its financial needs were not met under the 2023 Budget.
Table 4: Programme 1. Policy and Administration (ZWL$)
PROGRAMME 1: POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION |
2023 Allocation |
2023 Bid |
Share of Programme allocation (%) in 2023 |
Share of Programme allocation (%) in 2022 |
Sub-Programme 1: Ministers' and Permanent Secretary's Office |
3,497,147,000 |
8,136,208,694
|
4 |
4 |
Sub-Programme 2: Policy Planning and Co-ordination |
5,654,459,000 |
38,095,796,612
|
6 |
14 |
Sub-Programme 3: Human Resources |
10,236,086,000 |
17,391,282,000
|
11 |
14 |
Sub-Programme 4: Finance and Administration |
13,006,289,000 |
53,379,445,000
|
14 |
16 |
Sub-Programme 5: Monitoring and Evaluation |
2,917,134,000 |
4,696,334,996
|
3 |
4 |
Sub-Programme 6: Internal Audit |
989,326,000 |
2,207,020,000
|
1 |
3 |
Sub-Programme 7: Logistics and Asset Management |
59,108,792,000 |
57,977,002,156
|
61.5 |
44 |
Sub-Programme 8: Legal Services |
477,388,000 |
609,264,000 |
0.5 |
2 |
Total |
95,886,621,000 |
182,492,353,457 |
100 |
100 |
The most affected sub-programme is the Policy Planning and Coordination whose requirements are ZWL$38.01 billion but only received ZWL$5.65 billion. The level of priority to sub-programme allocations did not change much from 2022 except for logistics and asset management whose allocation increased from 44% in 2022 to 61.5% in 2023 (see Table 4).
Programme 2: Public Health
Public health programme was allocated ZWL$41.33 billion (or 50% of its bid). Significant changes in allocations in the 2023 Public Health budget compared to 2022 were noted in environmental health (41%) and family health (29%) (see Table 5). Allocation to communicable diseases was slashed from 71% in 2022 to only 26% in 2023 possibly due to the fact that the country is emerging out of COVID -19 pandemic.
Table 5: Programme 2: Public Health (ZWL$)
PROGRAMME 2: PUBLIC HEALTH |
2023 Allocation |
2023 Bid |
Share of Programme allocation(%) in 2023 |
Share of Programme allocation(%) in 2022 |
Sub-Programme 1: Communicable Diseases |
10,598,594,000 |
27,104,126,000
|
26 |
71 |
Sub-programme 2: Family Health |
12,086,677,000 |
32,667,379,825
|
29 |
14 |
Sub-Programme 3: Non-Communicable Diseases |
1,650,618,000 |
8,638,128,576
|
4 |
5 |
Sub-programme 4: Environmental Health |
16,998,447,000 |
13,774,726,000 |
41 |
10 |
Total |
41,334,336,000 |
82,184,360,401 |
100 |
100 |
Sub-programme 4 on Environmental Health is the only one that received more than its bid (123%). The worst affected is sub-programme on Non-Communicable diseases that received ZWL$1.65billion representing 19% of its financial requirements. This was followed by Family Health sub-programme that received ZWL$12.09billion (or 37% of its bid) and Communicable Diseases sub-programme that received ZWL$10.6billion (or 39% of its bid).
Programme 3: Curative Services
Curative Services programme was allocated ZWL$333.31 billion (or 70.35% of total health budget) against a bid of ZWL$537.69 billion. The level of priority attached to curative services sub-programme allocations did not change from 2022 (Table 6).
Table 6: Programme 3: Curative Services (ZWL$)
PROGRAMME 3: CURATIVE SERVICES |
2023 Allocation |
2023 Bid |
Share of Programme allocation (%) in 2023 |
Share of Programme allocation (%) in 2022 |
Sub-Programme 1: Quinary (Research Hospital) |
8,862,869,000 |
2,534,568,601
|
2.7 |
0.5 |
Sub-Programme 2: Quaternary Care(Central Hospitals) |
113,412,617,000 |
270,326,340,880
|
34.0 |
29.5 |
Sub-Programme 3: Tertiary Care(Provincial Hospitals) |
35,023,410,000 |
86,606,875,824
|
10.5 |
13.5 |
Sub-programme 4: District/ General Hospitals Services |
80,749,503,440 |
61,805,550,661
|
24.2 |
26 |
Sub-programme 5: Rural Health Centre and Community Care |
94,875,754,560 |
114,641,337,156
|
28.5 |
30.2 |
Sub-Programme 6: Traditional Medicines |
387,035,000 |
1,772,023,000
|
0.1 |
0.3 |
Total |
333,311,189,000 |
537,686,696,122
|
100 |
100 |
Allocation of ZWL$80.75 billion to the districts/general hospitals exceeded the Ministry of Health’s bid of ZWL$61.81 billion. The same was noted in the allocation to the quinary care that received ZWL$8.86billion amounting to 350% of its bid. This is a newly introduced health care service that will offer advanced specialist care that is normally sought from outside the country. Central hospitals received ZWL$113.41billion (or 42% of bid). Provincial hospitals were allocated ZWL$35.02billion (or 40% of bid). The sub-programme on traditional medicines is still receiving some funding from Treasury although its allocation as a share of the total budget to Curative Services fell from 0.3% in 2022 to 0.1% in 2023.
Programme 4: Bio-Medical Engineering, Bio-Medical Science, Pharmaceuticals and Bio-Pharmaceutical Production
The Ministry’s fourth programme on Bio-Medical Engineering, Biomedical Science, Pharmaceutical and Pharmaceutical Production got the least allocation of ZWL$3.23billion (or 0.68% of the total health budget) against a bid of ZWL$17.68 billion. More than half of this allocation went towards health research (54%) in 2023 compared to 28% allocated in 2022 (see Table 7).
Table 7: Programme 4: Bio-Medical Engineering, Bio-Medical Science, Pharmaceuticals and Bio-Pharmaceutical Production (ZWL$)
PROGRAMME 4: BIO-MEDICAL ENGINEERING, BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE, PHARMACEUTICAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTION |
Allocation |
Share of Programme allocation(%) in 2023 |
Share of Programme allocation(%) in 2022 |
Sub-Programme 1: Bio- Medical Engineering |
232,700,000 |
7.2 |
15 |
Sub-Programme 2: Bio- Pharmaceutical Engineering and Production |
250,359,000 |
7.8 |
17 |
Sub-Programme 3: Bio-Medical Science Research |
259,965,000 |
8.1 |
23 |
Sub-Programme 4: Bio-Analytics |
741,161,000 |
23.0 |
17 |
Sub-Programme 5: Health Research |
1,741,878,000 |
54.0 |
28 |
Total |
3,226,063,000 |
100 |
100 |
The other sub-programme that received higher priority is bio-analytics that was allocated 23% of the programme budget in 2023 compared to 17% of the budget in 2022. No significant changes were noticed in the remaining sub-programmes.
Zimbabwe Health Financing (2014-2023): Domestic vs Partner funding Trend
The 2023 health financing mix shows that Government of Zimbabwe increased its contribution from US$406 million (or 43.84%of the total funding on health) in 2022 to USD$591 million (or 60.3% of the total funding on health). Late and partial disbursements on the part of Government, however remain an issue.
The Ministry of Health and Child Care continues to receive substantial partner funding in various programmes such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, maternal health among others. This increases the country’s vulnerability to health shock should these funds dry up.
COMMITTEE OBSERVATIONS, ISSUES AND CONCERNS
Funding gap too wide, health outcomes may not be met
The Committee is concerned that the Ministry of Health and Child Care only received 58% of its funding requirement of ZWL$820 billion in 2023. This is equivalent to US740 million if converted using the official exchange rate but only US592million using spot rate being used by most economic agents in the market. The much-applauded 2022 budget that translated to US$1.1 billion upon its pronouncement but translated to only US$406 milliondue to the fall in the value of the Zimbabwean dollar experienced in 2022. This allocation is grossly inadequate to support the Ministry to fulfil its mandate of providing the highest standards of health care services to all Zimbabweans.
Although the Ministry of Health received the second highest allocation, the Committee’s concern however, is on the partial and late disbursements of allocated funds which recur annually. For example, whilst 86.87% of the 2022 Health budget had been released as at 30 September 2022, only 16% of capital budget and 42% of the operations budget had been released. Late disbursements seriously affect the Ministry’s operations and compromises its capacity to deliver on its mandate.
The 2023 allocation of 10.54% to the National Budget remains well below the Abuja Declaration target of 15%. In fact, the Committee is disappointed that the momentum that had been gained towards the 15% threshold between 2018 and 2021 has been lost. It is of very serious concern that Zimbabwe continues to miss this commitment despite it being a signatory to the Abuja Declaration. The trend has been that disbursements are always less than the allocated share, which is a worrisome practice to the Committee given that ZIMRA always exceeds it revenue collection targets. Where is the money going?
The Committee is concerned that the trend in per capita spending in the last 5 years remained below the expected optimum level of US$104 under the National Health Strategy and the US$86 as recommended by WHO. Such low levels of per capita spending in health care indicate that health financing in the country is insufficient to guarantee adequate access and quality healthcare. This implies that the health sector will continue to significantly rely on out-of -pocket expenditures and donor assistance. This is not sustainable given the low disposable income amongst the public and the unpredictability of donor support.
All the hospitals across the country were grossly underfunded in the 2023 National Budget. For example, central hospitals received ZWL$113.4billion (or 42% of their financial requirements) whilst provincial received ZWL$35.02 billion (or 40% of their financial requirement). This level of financing will leave them incapacitated to deliver their services. It is of concern that there is gross under-investment in medicines. It is now normal for patients to buy basic medicines like pain killers; lack of medicine supply from hospitals have seen the mushrooming of pharmacies that are fleecing patients of their hard-earned cash.
The 2023 National budget is grossly inadequate to address the massive brain drain of nurses and doctors. Further, the Committee is deeply concerned with the heavy-handed way Government used to end the recent strikes by the health personnel. The strikes were not properly managed and instead fueled the massive exit of health personnel into the region and beyond. They continue to earn salaries in RTGS yet meet their living expenses in USD.
- Family health was allocated ZWL$12.09billion and this constitutes only 37% of its bid. This is grossly inadequate given the level of maternal deaths and health needs in the hospitals.
- Non-communicable diseases sub-programme was the least prioritized under the Public Health programme as it received only ZWL$1.65billion, representing 19% of its financial requirements.
- The allocation of ZW$1.78 billion towards contraceptives however, represents 96% of the Ministry of Health’s bid. The Committee commends Treasury for this level of priority it attached to contraceptives.
- Zimbabwe is not exploiting the use of Public Private Partnerships in the provision of public healthcare as some countries like South Africa do.
Budget largely funding salaries and operations whilst neglecting capital expenditure
The Committee is concerned that the bulk of the health budget is going towards salaries (73.1%) and recurrent expenditure (18.6%) leaving only 8.3% for capital projects. Investment in capital projects continues to decline yet this is where significant share of the budget must go in order to address the deplorable state of the health system. Gross underinvestment in health infrastructure leaves the Ministry of Health incapacitated to deliver the expected health services. In addition, the capital budget is largely biased towards construction of hospitals whilst neglecting the procurement of tools of trade for medical personnel.
Budget allocation inclined more on curative than preventative programmes
Although Curative Services was allocated ZWL$ 333.31 billion (70.36% of the total health budget), compared to the ZWL$41.33billion (or 8.72% of the total health budget) allocated to public health; this level of priority it received signifies little investment in prevention of diseases but more on curative measures.
The allocation to health left several critical projects worth US$28.06billion unfunded.
These include Natpharm warehouse ZESA project; provisions of medical staff houses; hospital laundry; mortuary and kitchen cold-room; health posts; Natpharm Harare; furniture and equipment for provincial hospitals; procurement of motor vehicles; medical equipment; Binga and Chivhu nurses schools; solar systems; port health ; and high infection treatment centres among others. Staff accommodation is critical for health personnel retention in view of the massive brain drain in the health sector. Failure to fund this budget line is a shot in the arm. Most of the health equipment is dilapidated and cannot offer decent health services. It deserves high funding priority. Further, no capital support was given to the Ministry’s parastatals.
Funding towards specialist services in Zimbabwe long overdue
- The Committee commends Treasury’s support to quinary care. In fact, it is long overdue; offers many advantages but does not come cheap. Quinary care is critical for provisions of specialist health services locally thereby cutting on external referrals and saving on the much-needed foreign currency. Further, it is likely to improve staff retention; attract medical personnel and promote health tourism if effectively implemented. These specialized services, however, remain a preserve of the elite as they are costly. Equal priority therefore, needs to be attached to basic health services that benefit the majority of the population as these are still largely underfunded.
Health Financing mix needs further balancing
Although external health financing significantly dropped from 56.16% in 2022 to projected 37.13%, it is still substantial and continued reliance on donor funding has its own challenges. HIV treatment in Zimbabwe is a case in point. Over 10% of Zimbabwean population lives with HIV and the country has a successful model of antiretroviral treatment. The Committee is concerned that the bulk of the funds supporting that programme are coming from development partners. Whilst the country is stabilizing the HIV burden and striving to reach the global commitment of ending HIV by 2030, withdraw of such funds will result in the country missing this goal.
The unconducive macro-economic environment continues to compromise health service delivery
The health budget continues to be implemented in an unstable macroeconomic environment characterized by high inflation of 268.8% in October 2022 and unstable exchange rate.
Child care expenses are hidden in the Health and childcare budget
The Committee is concerned that whilst the budget is for Health and Child Care, the statistics are highly aggregated and biased towards health care. This makes analysis of the implications of the budget to childcare very difficult. In addition, child care issues cut across ministries, i.e. the Ministry of Health and Child Care and that of Public Services and Social Welfare making coordination and implementation of projects fragmented. This is the challenge experienced when ministries are bundled up. Despite the increasing cases of child abuse (child marriages, teenage pregnancies; rape, etc), there is nowhere victims can find help as there is no funding for them.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Treasury to increase the health budget: Treasury to increase the share of the budget allocated to health to 17-20% in order to adequately address the health needs of the people. This must be complemented by timely disbursements of allocated resources in full. In addition, more resources still need to be channeled towards central, provincial and district hospitals; mental health, non-communicable diseases and remunerations among other areas. There is need for increased investment towards medicines to ensure these are made available to patients in hospitals.
Treasury to ensure disbursements of allocated funds to the Ministry of Health are done by mid-year
- to avoid loss of value due to depreciation of the exchange rate and
- to ensure adequate time for programme implementation.
Treasury to reconsider the funding of critical projects that were omitted in the 2023 budget
- Treasury to fund the retooling of hospitals. Hospitals need retooling if they are to offer health services of international standards.
- Financial Support to Natpharm is imperative as it improves drug supply and service delivery.
- The Ministry’s proposal to localize nurses’ training schools in remote areas such as Chivhu and Binga must be promoted. This will go a long way in increasing staff retention as locally trained personnel will be more keen to stay in their local areas than those from afar.
- Treasury to prioritize investment in medical personnel accommodation as part of its efforts towards staff retention. This will go a long way in curbing the massive brain drain that is experienced in the health sector.
- Port health and health posts must be funded as they are critical in the prevention of diseases.
Treasury to explore alternative health financing options
In view of the limited fiscal space, there is need for Treasury to explore alternative domestic funding options. Some of these include:
- charging cost recovery health fees where patients are charged a basic fee towards the purchases of consumables used for each service they receive. This is normally covered by the National Budget but it no longer funded.
- Introducing and ring fence the health fund levy for it to be effective. This fund will target medical equipment; laboratories; and medicines. The budget allocation for this levy needs to be in United States Dollars to cater for the importation of most medical equipment, drugs and accessories.
- Introducing a road fund levy. Currently, the vehicle insurance is targeted on vehicle repairs but not on the injured person or casualty services. If introduced, this will go towards blood procurement, ambulances and emergency services.
- Tobacco levy and carbon tax to partly fund the treatment of non-communicable diseases. The increase in non-communicable and respiratory diseases emanating from smoking and carbon emissions justifies introduction of this levy.
- Introducing tax on manufactured and retail foods that cause obesity. Such fund will go towards investigations of diabetes; arthritis and dental disease that emanate from the consumption of such foods.
- Beer levy. Tax beer and alcohol substance manufacturers as consumption of these has mental health implications. Allocate the collected funds towards operations or rehabilitation and detoxing centres.
- Promoting PPPs to invest in quinary health services. In this regard, the Zimbabwe diaspora community to ride on this facility as government is providing land as incentive towards investment in this area. PPPs can also be used for the creation of private wings in big referral hospitals and funds collected from these are then used to subsidize poor patients. Most of our hospital wards are empty. Therefore, big companies like Econet through its Higher Life Foundation; Old Mutual; and big mining companies among others can be incentivized to participate in this initiative where they will bring latest medical equipment and other requisite infrastructure. A PPP model that is already running at UBH for orthopedic services to children can be replicated. In addition, Zimbabwe can pick lessons on how the South African model is working and then customize and implement it in a phased approach. In addition, nurses working in the public hospitals can then have shifts in these private wards in order to augment their salaries.
Programme allocation must be balanced
- There is need for a balance between what is allocated to curative services and public health to ensure the health sector is adequately prepared to prevent the spread of diseases.
- The same applies to allocation to family health that deserves equal attention as environmental health. In addition, allocations towards non communicable diseases and mental health must be commensurate with the situation on the ground.
- Moreso, financing of specialist health services must not overshadow the funding of basic healthcare as this benefits the majority of the population.
- Whilst allocation to salaries is very critical, its share to total budget must not crowd out allocation towards capital expenditure that also has to fund tools for trade.
- The Minister of Finance to develop long term human resource retention schemes to health personnel to attract and retain motivated staff and stem brain drain. These include but not limited to material benefits such as allocation of stands; housing loans; school fees support; study loans; medical aid; and motor vehicle loan facilities. Their salaries must be in USD and in line with their living expenses.
- Government to ensure a stable macro-economic environment that promotes price and exchange rate stability. This will ensure improved health service delivery.
- The Health Budget to support the prevention of substance abuse; construction and refurbishment of rehabilitation centres in Zimbabwe.
- Ministry of Health and Child Care to be unbundled so that there is a stand-alone Ministry on Child Care to adequately address and respond to children needs.
HON. GABUZZA:
Introduction
The Portfolio Committee of Energy and Power Development has an oversight responsibility over the Ministry of Energy and Power Development. The Ministry of Energy and Power Development is mandated to provide adequate and sustainable energy supply through formulating and implementing effective policies and regulatory frameworks. Post budget consultations conducted with the Ministry and its stakeholders showed that there was an increase in the 2023 budget allocation to the Ministry of Energy and Power Development from the 2022 budget allocation. Key Policy Priorities for the Ministry of Energy and Power Development in 2023 - The Ministry of Energy and Power Development has managed to identify some key developmental areas to pursue. Some of the Ministry’s priorities for the period 2023-2025 include:
- Plant maintenance and Rehabilitation of existing energy infrastructure
- Development and commissioning of new energy infrastructure
- Finalise competitive procurement framework for renewable energy projects
- Secure additional power imports
- Develop an electricity pricing policy
- Building up national strategic stocks of fuel reserves
- Completion of storage facilities for Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) and ethanol
- Create an enabling environment for private sector participation in renewable energy infrastructure.
Ministry’s key achievements in 2022 - In 2022, Ministry of Energy and Power Development managed to post some achievements, which include the following:
- Increased fuel availability in the market
- Commissioned Hwange Thermal Power Station Unit 7, adding 300MW into the national grid
- Commissioned a 12MW solar power capacity at Blanket Mine in Gwanda
- Completed the construction of the 6million litres ethanol storage facility at Mabvuku to ensure consistent blending capacity
- Significant progress in the expansion works at Hwange 7 and 8 units
Ministry of Energy and Power Development 2022 Budget Performance - In the 2022 Mid Term Fiscal Policy Review, Treasury revised the Ministry’s budget to ZWL$8.184 billion. However, as at 30 September 2022, the Ministry had only spent 41% of the revised budget and by 31 October 2022, expenditure had reached 57%. Consultations with Ministry Officials revealed that the late disbursements greatly affected the Ministry operations as Programme 1 (Policy and Administration) received 34% of the allocated budget. The non-disbursement of funds negatively affected the acquisition of motor vehicles and machinery and equipment which had a budget outturn of 0%. As a result of the failure by Treasury to release funding to the Ministry, the following budget performance impacts were noted:
- Failed to carry out monitoring and supervision of projects under the Ministry’s purview as the Ministry’s vehicle fleet is very old and have become very expensive to maintain;
- Failed to achieve some of the 2022 targets as the non-disbursement of funds resulted in the stagnation of most projects.
Overview and Analysis of the Ministry's 2023 Budget Allocation:-
Ministry of Energy and Power Development 2023 Budget Allocations - The Ministry of Energy and Power Development was allocated a total of ZWL$15.468 billion (Equivalent to US$23,620,603.69) in the 2023 budget. The amount allocated represent an 89% increase from the 2022 budget allocation of ZWL$8.184 billion. Although the Ministry’s budget in Zimbabwe Dollars increased from the 2022 budget allocation, in terms of US dollars equivalence, the budget allocation for 2023 is lower than the 2022 budget allocation of US$33,634,913.87. Furthermore, whilst in nominal terms the amount allocated increased, the share of the Ministry’s budget the total budget decreased from a share of 0.42% in 2022 to 0.35% in 2023. Figure 1 shows the Ministry of Energy and Power Development’s budget shares in the total National Budget for the period 2019 to 2023.
Economic classification of the budget - Of the Ministry’s total allocation of ZWL$15.468 billion, 32% was allocated towards the Ministry’s current expenditure, 39% for capital grants to the Ministry’s parastatals, 20% for capital expenditure and 9% for loans to ZESA for Hwange 7 and 8 Expansion and ZRA legacy debt.
Ministry’s 2023 Budget Allocations versus Bids - An analysis of the Ministry’s funding requirements and the Ministry’s allocations in the 2023 budget for its two programmes reveals that the Energy access and Supply Security Programme was grossly underfunded. The Programme was allocated only 32% of the Ministry’s requirements. The largest deficit/shortfall is coming from State Enterprises Capital Grants, which were allocated 17% of the funding requirements. The underfunding for this programme will likely affect the supply of energy in the country as both generation and distribution of energy will be negatively affected.
On the other hand, Treasury is applauded for the improved allocation for Programme 1: Policy and Administration, which was allocated 78% of what the Ministry had requested. In the past, the Ministry perennially suffered from serious under provision for its operations which mostly fall under the sub head “Use of goods and services” and “Acquisition of non-financial assets” excluding “Capital Grants”. Barring unexpected inflationary pressures, the improved allocation will go a long way in ensuring attainment of the Ministry’s 2023 targets as the Ministry’s operations will be adequately funded.
Acquisition of non-financial assets excluding capital grants however remained in the doldrums with very subdued allocations at 18.7% of the requirements. Acquisition of non – financial assets excluding capital grants comprise of the following
- Transport equipment
- ICTs, that is Desktop computers, laptops, printers, tablets and cell phones (tools of trade)
- Office furniture and equipment, i.e. desks, chairs, photocopiers, projectors, kitchen and culinary equipment, etc.
- Furniture and fittings, which includes office portioning.
Figure 3 shows the Ministry’s two programmes’ 2023 budget allocations versus the Ministry’s funding requirements.
Figure 3: MOEPD’s Allocation versus its funding requirements for the two Programmes
Source: Budget Estimates (2023)
A further breakdown of the Ministry’s budget reveals that the variance between bids and allocations is also coming from underfunding for the strategic fuel reserves. The strategic fuel reserves were allocated $1.45 billion against a funding requirement of $6.5 billion. The allocated amount for strategic fuel reserves will not be adequate in meeting the Ministry’s target of having fuel reserves that cover three months of the country’s fuel requirements as per the International Energy Programme (IEP) requirements. The maintenance of adequate petroleum reserves and stocks remain a strategic imperative for any crude oil importing country and therefore should be prioritised.
COMMITTEE OBSERVATIONS, ISSUES AND CONCERNS
The Committee noted that the Ministry got an overall budget which is 58% lower than what it had requested for. The major shortfall is on strategic fuel reserves and capital grants that were allocated 22% and 30% respectively of the Ministry’s budget requirements for 2023. The following are some of the Committee’s observations and concerns with respect to the Ministry of Energy and Power Development’s budget and the possible implications of the 2023 budget allocation to the Ministry’s operations and the energy sector.
Goods and Services - The Ministry was allocated ZWL$1.394 billion against a funding requirement of ZWL$1.735 billion for goods and services. The amount allocated represents 80% of the funding requirement for Ministry’s operations such as training and development expenses. The Ministry needs to continually train its staff due to high staff turnover. For a number of years, the Committee has raised concern that Treasury was not making adequate provision for Ministry operations. In 2023, Goods and Services is one of the major sub-head in the Ministry’s operations. The Committee appreciates the improvement in funding for goods and services that is a key sub head item in the Ministry operations.
Capital Transfers - Treasury allocated ZWL$6 billion for capital grants to the parastatals under the Ministry of Energy and Power Development against a funding requirement of $19.8 billion. Of the Ministry’s capital grant allocation, Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) got ZWL$3 billion (27%) of a requirement of ZWL$11.2 billion. This is for VAT payments to Sino hydro for the expansion of Hwange Units 7 & 8. The cumulative outstanding VAT refund in 2022 is ZWL$8.434 billion (US$12,895,490.53) against a 2023 proposed budget estimate of ZWL$3 billion (US$4 580 922). Assuming no further payments are done in 2022, the Vat refund due in 2023 is US$16,076,261.23. This leaves a funding gap of US$11,458,876.61. The amount allocated falls short of the Ministry requirements and this will likely affect the finalization of work at Hwange Units 7 and 8. The finalization of the expansion works are critical especially in light of the power challenges currently experienced in the country for the past few months as the additional power will offset the current power deficits experienced in the country. The capital grant will also cater for the promotion of the Ministry’s renewable projects under the Rural Electrification Agency. REA will get ZWL$1 billion for installation of solar systems and construction of biogas digesters. Whilst the Committee applauds Treasury for the allocation, the amount allocated represent only 11% of what the Ministry had requested from Treasury.
Strategic Fuel Reserves - Strategic Stocks are an important component of any government policy package aimed at coping with severe fuel supply disruptions. Disruptions to the availability of fuel often results in economic losses besides social inconveniences.The Ministry’s desire is to reach 30 days’ cover in 2023 to enable the Government to meaningfully intervene in the event of fuel supply disruptions on the market. The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development is committed to achieving 60 days’ cover while best practice is 90 days cover. The allocated ZWL$1.45 billion falls far short of the requirement of ZWL$53.397 billion.
- In previous years, there was a the “Strategic Fuel Reserve Fund” established in terms of Section 18 of the Public Finance Management Act for the purposes of procuring strategic stocks. The Minister of Finance and Economic Development, in his 2021 National Budget Statement, directed that all revenue retention funds be surrendered to Treasury. The Ministry complied with this directive and this revenue is now going to the Exchequer like all other Government Revenue.
- In the 2023 budget, MOEPD had proposed ZWL6.512 billion which regrettably was grossly understated as it is capable of procuring about 10 million litres only at the current exchange rate. The allocated funds are therefore not adequate to build up the strategic reserve stocks to the targeted levels. The Ministry will have to engage Treasury to avail funds to procure meaningful quantities of strategic reserves since Treasury is collecting the strategic levy.
Rural Electrification Fund (REF) - The Ministry noted with concern that REF has not been receiving its share of the foreign currency revenue collected by ZETDC from customers billed in foreign currency. The non-disbursement has occurred despite the existence of a Statutory Instrument that specifies what the money should be used for. Consultations with ZESA revealed that the failure to disburse the money to REA is beyond ZESA’s control because of myriad of challenges the company has been facing, some of which include non-payment of bills by almost all local authorities and the need to procure critical inputs in electricity generation such as diesel and coal which are all paid in foreign currency whilst tariffs for the majority of customers are billed in Zimbabwe Dollars. The problem is worsened by the delay by Government in approving electricity tariffs.
Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) - This is a legacy debt which the Government of Zimbabwe through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development made a commitment to settle with monthly installments of US$300 000 from November 2021 and was upped to US$400 000 from February 2022. The debt which started off at about US$16.9 million is due to be completely liquidated at the end of 2024. In the initial expenditure ceiling announced in the Budget Call Circular, only ZWL$1 billion could be allocated to ZRA but the final allocation saw the amount being doubled to ZWL$2 billion for 2023 and the Committee is grateful of this.
Energy projects in general - The Budget Statement indicates that the 2023 budget will allocate additional investments to complete the Hwange 7 and 8 project which was reported to be at 95% complete in October 2022. The statement is silent on the development of new projects such as Batoka Hydropower Scheme and several IPP initiated renewable energy projects.
Recommendation - In light of the analysis of the Ministry of Energy and Power Development’s budget analysis and issues raised, the Committee recommends the following measures that it feels will raise revenue in the sector and contribute to sustainable energy supply.
None and late disbursement of allocated budgets has become a perennial problem in the country’s budget system. This trend implies that Ministry’s activities also suffer from the failure by Treasury to timeously release funds allocated in the budgets. For example, in the 2022 budget, as at 31 October 2022, the Ministry had spent about 57% of the total budget. It is therefore recommended that in 2023, Treasury should meet its side of the bargain by timeously releasing allocated funds to the Ministry.
The Committee reiterates the importance of providing funding for strategic fuel stocks and having considered Zimbabwe’s own situation in terms of risk exposure and the associated effects resulting from any disruptions in the fuel supply chain. The Committee recommends that Ministry of Finance jointly manage the Strategic Fuel Fund together with Ministry of Energy and Power Development to ensure that all the funds are used for the procurement of strategic fuel reserves. In addition, the Committee recommends that the Ministry submits reports to Parliament semi-annually to update Members on total amount collected and fuel reserves procured.
The Committee noted with concern the deteriorating electricity supply in the country following reports of low water levels at Kariba Dam, which is threatening shutting down power generation at Kariba Power Station. In light of the challenges faced at Kariba Power Station, the Committee recommends that ZPC comes up with ways of increasing electricity generation from other existing power plants and scale up investment in renewable energy sources especially at government institutions. This will help in creating a vibrant renewable energy market in the country. Alternatively, the Committee recommends that ZESA should consider securing additional power imports and for electricity imported, the tariffs must cost reflective. If the government wants to subsidise, there should be budgetary support to that effect.
The Committee notes with concern that whilst most customers of electricity pay in the local currency, critical inputs such as coal and diesel are paid for in foreign currency. In light of this, the Committee appreciates that although it is not feasible to charge electricity exclusively in foreign currency, ZESA should devise ways of increasing the share of customers paying in US$. This can be done through offering incentives to customers paying in US dollars.
Consultations with MOEPD and ZESA revealed that current electricity tariffs for both USD and Zimbabwe Dollar customers are below the cost recovery tariff levels. To address this, the 2023 budget should have prioritized the formulation of an electricity pricing policy. In addition, the Committee recommends that to mitigate the country’s dependency on imports, the Government must support the IPPs by giving them import parity tariffs in US Dollars.
Conclusion - The Portfolio Committee on Energy and Power Development is of the view that the energy sector is a key enabler for the success of the NDS1. Failure to implement the infrastructure and development projects such as the rural electrification projects, Hwange Units 7 and 8 expansion projects will inevitably impact on the success of the NDS1 and regress the achievements that have been realised to date. I thank you.
HON. BIG. GEN. (RTD.) MAYIHLOME: On a point of order. May I bring to your attention that the Committee on Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services has not presented its report, all because we only met the Ministry of Defence this morning. They were incapacitated to meet us last week. We are ready to present the Home Affairs report but the Defence aspect was not ready. We will only be ready to present on Thursday, if that can be recorded. It is not deliberate. It was beyond our control. That is the situation regarding the Committee on Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services. The report has not been completed. I thank you.
HON. KASHIRI: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to present a report on behalf of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development. Unfortunately, Hon. Gorerino has had an emergency, his wife has been hospitalised. So he has asked me to present this report before the House.
Introduction
The Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructural Development (hereafter referred to as the Committee) plays an oversight role over the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development (hereafter referred to as the Ministry). The Ministry’s mandate is to provide and manage transport and transport related infrastructure and services through the development of policies and regulations for the transport sector. Transport, Infrastructure and Utilities is one of the key national priorities under the National Development Strategy 1 with the Ministry central to the Transport related infrastructure.
Following the presentation of the 2023 National Budget by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development on Thursday 24 November 2022, the Committee conducted post budget consultations. The post budget consultations held virtually included hearings from the Ministry and State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) under the Ministry. SOEs under the Ministry include the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (ZINARA), Air Zimbabwe, National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ), Central Mechanical and Equipment Department (CMED), Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe.
The pre and post budget consultations, indepth analysis of the 2023 budget documents and National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) as well as the Committee’s oversight activities during 2022 and in previous years informs the Committee’s analysis of the 2023 National Budget presented in this report.
Ministry’s strategies and contribution to NDS1 sector outcomes.
The Ministry’s selected NDS1 targets include:
Increase the number of kilometres of road network converted to meet Southern Africa Transport and Communications Commission (SATCC) Standards from 5% to 10% by 2025.
Increase the number of kilometres of road networking in good condition from 14702km to 24500km by 2025.
Increase the proportion of track meeting set standards (Track Quality Index) from 57% in 2020 to 68% by 2025.
Increasing freight cargo moved from 2.6 million tonnes per annum in 2020 to 6.7 million tonnes per annum by 2025.
Analysis of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Budget
Review of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development 2022 Budget Performance
The Ministry has a revised budget estimate of ZWL$ 107.3 billion (5.6% of 2022 revised budget) compared to an original budget estimate of ZWL$60.8 billion (6.3% of the overall budget). Following the supplementary budget in July 2022, the Ministry’s budget increased by only 76.5% whereas the total budget increased by 189.4%. However, on a positive note the Ministry utilised ZWL$67.9 billion (63.2% of the Ministry’s revised budget) as at 30 September 2022 which is comparable to the overall utilisation of 64.3%.
As at end of September 2022, the Ministry’s largest programme, the Road Infrastructure and Transportation programme had utilised 68.4% of the programme’s budget which is equivalent to 94% of the Ministry’s expenditure at that point. Policy and Administration has utilised 29.3% of the programme’s budget and 3.4% of the Ministry’s expenditure. Rail and Aviation Infrastructure Development & Services had utilised 29.9% of the programme’s budget equivalent to 2.6 of the Ministry’s expenditure as at 30 September 2022. Inland Waters Infrastructure and Transportation’s expenditure is a paltry 12.4% and equivalent to 0.1% of the Ministry’s expenditure at that point. There is over reliance on the Road Infrastructure and Transportation with little investment in alternative transport sources such as Rail which could be cost effective for transportation of bulky goods.
Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development 2023 Budget
For 2023, the Ministry has a budget of ZWL$144.6 billion (3.2% of the 2023 national budget) leaving a funding gap of ZWL$604.5 billion. There is a shift in prioritisation from the Transport to other sectors as shown by the sector receiving only 3.2% compared to a revised 5.6% in 2022. The Ministry’s budget increased by 34.7% only in 2023 compared to an overall national budget increase of 133%.
Additional resources for the Ministry in the form of Statutory and other resources are ZWL$94.7 billion. Road Infrastructure and Transportation has the bulk of the resources at ZWL$84.5 billion (89.1%) with Rail and Aviation Infrastructure Development and Services taking up the rest at, ZWL$10.3 billion (10.9%).
Program Classification of the Ministry 2023 Budget
There isn’t much change in terms of the Ministry’s prioritisation with Road Infrastructure and Transportation allocated 120.4 billion (83%) same as in 2021. Rail and Aviation Infrastructure Development and Services is second with a budget allocation of ZWL$12.2 billion which is 9% of the Ministry’s budget. The Policy and Administration with a budget allocation of ZWL$10.7 billion (7%) while Inland Waters Infrastructure and Transportation taking up the remainder of the budget with ZWL$1.2 billion (1%).
Economic Classification of the Ministry Budget
Acquisition of non-financial assets has the largest share of the Ministry’s budget with ZWL$134.7 billion (93% of the budget) reflecting the capital intensive nature of the Ministry’s operations. The Ministry has set aside ZWL$9.9 billion (7% of the budget) for the acquisition of financial use
Buildings and structures which falls under acquisition of non-financial assets classification dominate the Ministry’s budget with ZWL$107.6 billion (74.4% of Ministry budget allocation). Capital grants have an allocation of ZWL$20.4 billion (14.1%) slightly below the 15.6% set aside in 2022. Other fixed assets budget allocation is ZWL$4.2 billion (2.9%) which is a slight increase from the 2.5% in 2022. On the other hand, transport equipment has a budget allocation of ZWL$2 billion (1.4%) up from 0.5% in 2022. The other machinery and equipment have a budget allocation of ZWL$515.5 million (0.4%) which is the same share as in 2022.
The budget allocation of use of goods and services is at ZWL$5 billion (3.4 % of the Ministry’s budget) and is closely followed by compensation of employees at ZWL$4.9 billion (3.4%) which is more than double the 1.4% in 2022. Other expenses have a small budget allocation of ZWL$17.2 million (0.01%).
The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development presented a total budget proposal of ZWL749 billion for 2023 but was allocated ZWL$144.6 billion leaving a funding gap of ZWL$604.5 billion. This represents 19.3% of the Ministry’s bid compared to 2021 where the Ministry received 75% of the budget.
Capital expenditure received ZWL$134.7 billion (18.5% of the Ministry’s bid) against capital requirements of ZWL$728.5 billion leaving the largest funding gap of ZWL$593.7 billion. Operations received a budget of ZWL$5 billion (53.6% of the Ministry’s bid) against a bid of ZWL$9.3 billion which leaves a funding gap of ZWL$4.3 billion. Compensation of Employees fared better receiving ZWL$4.9 billion (142% of the Ministry’s bid) or ZWL$1.5 billion above the requested figure of ZWL$3.4 billion. The large funding gap, coupled with high inflation, compromises the implementation of most of the transport projects unless other innovative financing mechanisms are found.
Policy and Administration
The Policy and Administration programme (Programme 1) was allocated ZWL$10.7 billion of which ZWL$7.8 billion is for CMED capital grants (procurement of buses) against a proposal of ZWL$11.2 billion. The requested ZWL$11.2 billion was meant to cover for the Ministry’s administrative costs. The Programme provides support to the Minister’s and the Permanent Secretary’s Offices. Other Departments under Programme 1 include Human Resource, Finance and Administration, IT, Audit and Legal Services that provide services to the Ministry.
The Committee is concerned about the funding gaps under this programme will have implications on monitoring of projects especially for the Audit Department. The Committee is also worried about the inadequate resources allocated to the Audit Department which is essential in monitoring the financial administration and procedures to ensure among other requirements that adequate internal checks and controls are observed in line with Section 80 of the Public Finance Management Act [Chapter 22:19]. The Audit Department is also required to assess the cost-effectiveness of any projects undertaken by the Ministry which is an important function that will suffer when adequate resources are not allocated.
Roads Infrastructure and Transportation
Roads Infrastructure and Transportation Programme received a budget of ZWL$120.4 billion against requirements of ZWL$728.5 billion or 16.7% of its requirements. The capital budget was allocated ZWL$113.2 billion against request of ZWL$722 billion leaving funding gap of ZWL$608.8 billion. Operations and maintenance received ZWL$3.5 billion instead of the ZWL$6.5 billion requested leaving a funding gap of almost ZWL$3 billion.
The Ministry is carrying the following outstanding payments into the 2023 budget year. Harare-Beitbridge has outstanding payments of US$61 million and ZWL$39.7 billion. The Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme Phase 2 (ERRP2) has an outstanding payment of ZWL$41.6 billion. Additionally, the Government is expected to start repayment of the US$350 million, Harare-Kanyemba loan facility in 2023 with US$65million expected to be paid starting in April 2023. The Mbudzi Interchange has accrued a compensation bill amounting to US$34.5 million for land acquisition which was not budgeted for.
The Committee’s observation is that the funding gap in the Road and Transport programme is too large for the Ministry to undertake any meaningful road infrastructure projects in 2023. Equally concerning for the Committee is the carry-over of some payments to 2023 which is likely to affect contractors and stall the positive progress that had been achieved in the road sector. The Committee notes that the capital budget is not enough to recapitalise CMED and DDF to be the leading road contractors in the ongoing ERRP exercise as recommended by the Committee.
This huge funding gap is coming at a time that most of the sections of the country’s roads are deteriorating and hence the Ministry should be doing more than the planned 10,000 km stipulated if the country is to meet the NDS1 target to increase the number of kilometres of roads in condition from 14,702 km to 24,500 km by 2025.
On a positive note, the Committee applauds the Ministry of Finance for allocating the Ministry ZWL$6.5 billion towards the completion of the following programmes, Transport Management Centre, VID Chitungwiza Inspection Workshop, New VID Beitbridge and VID Forbes Office Block. The Committee encourages Treasury to disburse funds in time to minimise the impact of fluctuations in prices of building materials.
The Committee notes the dire situation at Central Vehicle Registry (CVR), Vehicle Inspectorate Department (VID) and Road Motor Transportation (RMT) where these entities often run out of consumables and raw materials to provide basic services. As such, the Committee is of the view that the Ministry should be allowed to retain part of the revenue generated to fund operations.
Rail and Aviation Infrastructure Development and Services
The two sectors were allocated ZWL$12.2 billion against a request of ZWL$61.8 billion. For rail and the rehabilitation of rail infrastructure, the Ministry together with NRZ requested ZWL21.4 billion but received ZWL$4 billion. The Committee notes that this is adequate to carry out the required maintenance works on the existing infrastructure and at the same time allow for discussion with partners on the recapitalisation efforts of Government. The Committee notes that a functioning rail system will reduce pressure on the country’s roads and reduce the cost of doing business.
In terms of aviation, the development of airport infrastructure received an allocation of ZWL$3.1 billion against a request of ZWL$8.4 billion. The Committee observes that the amount is 36% of the requested amount and is not adequate to cover the required works, some of which are being carried over from the previous year 2022.
Air Zimbabwe requested approximately ZWL$20.3 billion but only received ZWL$4.5 billion meant to assist in the entity’s turnaround strategy and catapult the airline to meet its targets and make critical payments to institutions such as IATA. The Committee is concerned that there is little investment towards the Air Zimbabwe turnaround strategy. Additionally, the Committee is worried at the slow pace in finding suitable partners for NRZ and Air Zimbabwe.
Inland Waters Infrastructure and Transportation
The Inland Waters Infrastructure department requested ZWL$407.4 million but received ZWL$64 million leaving a shortfall of ZWL$343.4 million. The situation is worse for Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) with the department receiving a budget allocation of ZWL$588.9 million equivalent to 11.8% of the Ministry’s ZWL$5 billion bid. The Committee notes that the department has been consistently underfunded even in previous years thereby limiting the commercial benefits that can be accrued from Inland Waters infrastructure. The Committee is also concerned that in years that the department has been given a better allocation - disbursements have been poor. For example, the two PSIP projects that received funding in 2022 at Tugwi-Mukorsi Dam, namely the Control Tower and F14 staff houses stopped when Government failed to pay contractors outstanding invoices of US$41,253 and US$54,133 respectively as at 30 June 2022.
Recommendations
Increase budget allocation to the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development
The Committee is concerned by the shift in prioritisation away from the Ministry to other sectors. This has the seen the Ministry’s budget allocation increasing by only 34.7% only in 2023 compared to an overall National Budget increase of 133%. The Ministry’s share of the budget also decreased from a revised 5.6% in 2022 to 3.2% in 2023.
The Committee calls upon the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development to increase the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development to at least ZWL$250 billion in line with the average budget increase. This will allow the Ministry to undertake the planned infrastructure projects and achieve the NDS1 set targets.
- Payment of Outstanding Projects
The Committee recommends payment of outstanding balances to contractors to allow for the resumption of projects that have been stopped and ensure timely completion of all projects that have been initiated. The Committee is of the view that there should be a balance between the currency stabilisation efforts and the completion of ongoing transport projects.
Roads Infrastructure and Transportation
The Committee recommends that the bulk of the additional resources should go towards the Roads Infrastructure and Transportation with capital expenditure prioritised. The Committee recommends increased funding to the rehabilitation of the following roads:
- Murehwa-Madicheche;
- Darwin-Mukumbura and Bhinya roads;
- Urban roads
- Ngaone road in Chipinge.
- Gwanda-Maphisa road
- Dualisation of the Boterekwa Road
- Nkayi-Bulawayo Road
Ring-fencing Traffic Safety Council Levies
In the past, the Committee has suggested the ring fencing of the remittances to Traffic Safety Council and insurance levies for all transport-related insurances. The Committee recommends that the Government should use part of the proceeds from these levies towards fencing along highways.
Recapitalisation of CMED and DDF
The Committee recommends that part of the additional resources recapitalise CMED and DDF so that they effectively participate in the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme.
National Railway of Zimbabwe (NRZ)
Additional resources should also be channelled towards increasing the amount allocated to NRZ to service and maintain its locomotives and wagons, and remove speed cautions on railway tracks which affect NRZ's deliveries.
Air Zimbabwe
Although the Committee acknowledge progress being made in Air Zimbabwe turnaround, the Committee calls upon the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development to allocate funds to Air Zimbabwe to enable it to acquire smaller aircraft that can be used to service domestic and regional routes.
Retention of Funds
Although the Committee appreciates the PFMA requirements for all funds to be remitted to the Consolidated Revenue Fund, the Committee recommends that Treasury should allocate back at least 5% of that to CVR, VID and RMT to fund their operations. This will enable the departments to efficiently collect revenue that will be used to ensure quality services to the public, business and other stakeholders.
Road Accident Fund
The Committee applauds the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development for taking on board some of the Committee’s suggestions to redirect and ring-fence 20% of the Third-Party Insurance Premiums collected from locally registered motor vehicles to the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the benefit of road accident victims. However, the Committee recommends the prioritisation of the setting up of a fully-fledged Road Accident Fund in 2023.
Transformation of ZINARA
As part of restructuring of State Owned Enterprises, the Committee calls for the transformation of ZINARA from a Road Administrator to a Road Authority in 2023.
- Disbursements of Funds
The Committee recommends timely disbursement of funds to ensure projects are completed on time, particularly to the Inland Waters Infrastructure and Transportation that has traditionally suffered from low budget allocations and disbursements.
Conclusion
While the Committee appreciates the tight fiscal space the country is faced with, the Committee is of the view that transport infrastructure should remain a top priority considering the central role that transport plays as a catalyst to economic development. The Committee therefore calls for increased resources for the Ministry to build on the progress that has been achieved thus far.
Annexure 1: Summary of Ministry Budget Allocation and Bid
|
2023 APPROVED BUDGET ZWL$ |
MINISTRY PROPOSAL ZWL$ |
SHORTFALL ZWL$ |
Compensation of Employees |
4,856,120,000 |
3,414,207,992 |
1,441,912,008 |
Policy and Administration |
10,708,608,000 |
11,242,441,990.00 |
(533,833,990.00) |
Rail and Aviation Infrastructure Development and Services |
12,247,500,000 |
442,508,655.57 |
11,357,516,146.43 |
Inland Waters Infrastructure and Transportation |
1,197,674,000 |
5,445,462,800.00 |
(4,247,788,800.00 |
Operations and Maintenance
|
5,000,000,000 |
9326358509.27 |
(4326358509.27 |
P.1 : Policy and Administration |
695,774,000 |
2298717250.00 |
(1602943250.00) |
Ministers' and Permanent Secretary's Office |
|
363,000,000.00 |
|
Human Resource Management & Development |
|
401,507,250. |
|
Financial Management & Administration |
|
616,000,000.00 |
|
Internal Audit |
|
426,552,000.00 |
|
Legal Services |
|
317,658,000.00 |
|
Information Technology |
|
174,000,000.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
P.2: Roads Infrastructure and Transportation |
3,491,645,000 |
6,483,316,000.00 |
(2991671000.00) |
Road Infrastructure Development |
|
|
|
o/w road maintenance |
|
|
|
Road Transport Safety and Standards |
|
6,483,316,000.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
P.3: Rail and Aviation Infrastructure Development and Services |
409,835,000 |
136,902,459.27 |
272,932,540.73 |
Aviation Infrastructure Development & Services |
|
75,000,000.00 |
|
Rail Infrastructure Development & Services |
|
61,902,459.27 |
|
|
|
|
|
P.4: Inland Waters Infrastructure and Transportation |
385,514,000 |
407,422,800.00 |
(21,908,800.00) |
Inland Waters Infrastructure Development
|
|
200,000,000.00 |
|
Inland Waters Safety And Standards |
|
103,711,400.00 |
|
Marine Navigation |
|
103,711,400.00 |
|
Capital |
134,715,100,000 |
728,462,234,196.31 |
(593,747,134,196.31) |
Policy and Administration |
9,206,000,000 |
1,118,588,000.00 |
8,087,412,000.00 |
Roads Infrastructure And Transportation |
$113,209,100,000 |
722,000,000,000.00 |
(608,790,900,000.00) |
Rail and Aviation Infrastructure Development and Services |
11,700,000,000 |
305,606,196.31 |
11,394,393,803.69 |
Inland Waters Infrastructure and Transportation |
600,000,000 |
5,038,040,000.00 |
(4438040000.00) |
Appropriation Total |
144,571,220,000 |
749,027,937,437.57 |
(604,456,717,437.57) |
Source: Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure 2022 Budget Analysis
HON. T. MOYO: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. MAHLANGU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 8th December, 2022.
On the motion of HON. T. MOYO, seconded by HON. MAHLANGU, the House adjourned at Twenty Minutes past Four o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 7th December, 2022
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE
SWITCHING OFF OF CELLPHONES
THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE (HON. SEN. KAMBIZI): May I remind Members to put their phones on silent or switch them off.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
First Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: Thank you Mr. President Sir for giving me the opportunity to support the motion raised by Hon. Sen. S. Mpofu, seconded by Hon. Sen. Chief Siansali. I want to thank His Excellency the President, Dr. Mnangagwa for the address that he presented which gave us the roadmap on how to conduct business in this House. All the things he mentioned in his address will bring development. At first I could not understand what it meant but now I understand what he was saying. I began to see his vision, that is, to improve and develop relations with other countries so that developed countries will come and invest in our nation.
His Excellency openly said that we do not have to make enemies because we need to attract foreign investment. This is important to us because most businesses will open whilst creating employment for our children as well as enhancing the wealth of our country.
The President of Zimbabwe talked about sanctions that were imposed on us which are hurting us as Zimbabweans. This is why you see SADC as a region, in unison with Zimbabwe, came together advocating against sanctions. This issue of sanctions has affected the employment rate. In my own opinion, sanctions were imposed on Zimbabwe by the same people and organisations that always talk of human rights. This has sabotaged a lot of things in Zimbabwe.
Let me thank the President for reiterating on the issue of sanctions that they must go. We need development in Zimbabwe and to raise the GDP but as long as sanctions are there, it will be very difficult. As the august House, I think we should all raise awareness that sanctions must be removed because they are an obstacle.
I want to thank the President who also mentioned and congratulated Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira on becoming the President of the Pan African Parliament (PAP). This position is not for Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira alone but it is for the whole of Zimbabwe. We are excited because this position has never been in the SADC. We also want to thank all the countries that voted in favour of Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira. Zimbabweans are very good when it comes to doing their work. We are proud to have him as the PAP President.
Allow me also to mention that our President mentioned our defence forces who engage in peace keeping missions, be it in the AU, UN or SADC. What excited me most was the number of women partaking in peace keeping missions in order to maintain peace. So we want to thank the President for uplifting women and his faith in women. We want to thank the Major who was given an award by the UN for a job well done because she did very well in terms of performing her duties. I therefore want to thank His Excellency, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa for remembering that the women are there and they are working hard in those areas, making us proud. I want to say that our defence forces, because of the importance of their work, should be availed adequate resources, be it human or financial, food or uniforms. I hope that our country will seriously look into the welfare of our defence forces because they are raising our flag. We want to thank His Excellency for being cognisant of the defence forces going for peace-keeping missions.
The President also said that we are heading towards the 2023 general elections where we look forward to different parties campaigning. We expect them to campaign in peace without any violence. These elections are not the first of their kind because we have always gone for elections. Violence is not good because it brings anarchy and some people lose their limbs and become disabled because of elections. The President has pleaded with the nation that we need to be united. There is no development without unity, so let us learn to be united and maintain our peace. Zimbabwe has well educated people, therefore we should maintain peace. For all of us who are going to engage in election campaigns, we look forward to these being done in peace. Let me say, with these few words, I want to thank you for the time you have given me to support the motion raised by Hon. Sen. Mpofu.
+HON. SEN. A. DUBE: Thank you for giving me this opportunity to support the motion raised by Hon. Sen. Mpofu. I would like to applaud the address by His Excellency, to both the National Assembly and the Senate. The speech was delivered in the new Parliament building which is so beautiful and I guess it could be the most beautiful Parliament in the whole world. I think the Parliament will bring respect to this country and also dignity to us the legislators. . I would like to applaud the President’s message when he said it is very important for a country to have good relations with other countries and took note of China’s relationship with us, which has brought about such a beautiful building. He also said 2023, after elections, the new session of Parliament will start in that new building. His Excellency the President also referred to progress in mining, agriculture as well as power generation. He said input distribution to farmers is progressing very well and right now the inputs are being distributed. He also referred to the success of Pfumvudza/ Intwasa.
He also spoke about the special production dedicated to the Chiefs, Zunde raMambo which he said should be devolved to village heads as well as their subjects. I hope that will be very good. His Excellency spoke about good production of gold, chrome and coal. He also spoke about the official opening of the Chem plant and the extension of many other mines that will contribute to the development of the economy.
With regards to mining, His Excellency said people should work within the confines of the law. They should not work outside the law because some of the things may bring hazards to the environment. He also alluded to several progressive issues fulfilled by the Second Republic, such as road rehabilitation and he spoke about the Harare/Beitbridge Road which is almost complete. It has been modernised and is now open to traffic. There is also a lot of progress in other roads.
His Excellency spoke about airstrips especially in rural areas. He spoke about the Binga airstrip where I come from and I can vouch for. He also spoke about the Bumi Hills airstrip that has been refurbished. He highlighted the refurbishment of international airports like the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport that it has been modernised. The President spoke about several projects including the Beitbridge Border Post that has been modernised. It is a border post that we all know and it is very famous, especially for some of us who have a lot of children who cross to South Africa. They are speaking glowingly about such modern border posts which they say they have never seen before.
His Excellency referred to progress in the health sector, touching on clinics and district hospitals. Indeed, I applaud him because that is happening in the rural areas. The provincial hospital in Lupane is being constructed. I worked for 36 years in Tsholotsho and we have been calling for the upgrading of a provincial hospital in the province. Indeed, that has been fulfilled. That is development by the Second Republic.
The President referred to the Simon Mazorodze School of Medical Science that is very good for doctors. He said we now have four institutions where doctors can be trained in this country. A lot of our children may want to study medicine but the facilities were not available. That is a huge development because we now have four institutions. He alluded to the Home Affairs Department at the Registry Offices which has made work much easier. Now, the processes are easier for people to acquire all the necessary documents such as passports. I went to Bulawayo Passport Office and I thought I was in a bank because it has been modernised. I saw it myself. Indeed, there is a lot of progress. There are a lot of developments at the Registry Offices where long queues are a thing of the past. Within a few minutes you are able to get your passport. That shows a lot of development.
His Excellency also spoke about the illegal sanctions that are a problem to us and these must go. He thanked the region as well as the African Union for calling for the removal of sanctions. All those countries agreed that Zimbabwe is suffering due to these sanctions. He referred to orphans and other needy people especially those that are being taken care of by the BEAM that is paying fees for them because it is important for children to be able to attain education. The future requires education. That is why he referred to this development where they have access to education.
His Excellency the President talked about the invitation of Zimbabwe to the USA-Africa Summit which is a very good development and he applauded that. He said that is a very good gesture because Zimbabwe is being invited to that occasion. Like what my fellow Senator alluded to, the whole country applauds that development that has taken place where Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira has been elected to the position of President of the Pan African Parliament. The President also thanked Mr. Zavazava who was elected to a high post at the International Telecommunication Union. They are raising the flag of this country high by being appointed to those high offices.
The country has been honoured by being given the chairmanship of the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme. He also spoke about women. His Excellency respects the promotion of women to high offices. He alluded to their participation in the peacekeeping missions as well. He said now there are 50% females participating in that aspect as well as the fact that many women have been seconded to those peacekeeping missions. So we are fulfilling the calls by the Constitution for us to have 50-50 opportunities in terms of gender equality. His Excellency has been exemplary in this aspect by fulfilling gender equality. I would like to applaud him for that. May God continue remembering us as women; it shows that we are very important and it shows that His Excellency considers in high esteem the issue of equality. That can actually bring blessings to the family. That is why we have a wise person like King Solomon and a lot of other messages that he brought across which I am sure other Hon. Senators will refer to.
Finally, I would like to repeat that the new Parliament building will actually open the minds of Hon Senators and Members of Parliament. I am sure in such a place they will not fall asleep in the House and they will respect that wonderful environment which should push Hon Members to be active and represent their people very well. With these few words, I would like to thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to add my views on the speech delivered by His Excellency, Cde E. D. Mnangagwa. I thank you.
HON. SEN. CHIEF MATHUPULA: Firstly, allow me to thank Hon. Sen. Mpofu who brought this motion to the House, seconded by Hon. Sen. Chief Siansali. I thank them very much for bringing such a motion to the House, a motion to appreciate and thank His Excellency the President of this State, for the State of the Nation Address which gave us the direction that the nation will be moving as we enter into a new Parliament and 2023. The SONA gave us the direction that we are taking; economic, social, political, cultural and legislative direction. As a member of this House, I think I am very happy with the direction that was spelt out.
I will start with the external direction, where the President spoke about the need for re-engagement, partnerships and open-doors. I think the direction that we are taking is very wise and it is self-proven from what we have seen on the ground when we look at the facilities that have been opened up in investment for our country; the John Deere facilities and other facilities which have been opened. We have seen a lot of mechanisation taking place on the ground. We have seen a lot of partnerships coming in investments and even though some may say they have not seen anything but at least all of us have gone to the New Parliament Building which is testament of re-engagement and partnerships which happen on the ground. That building as Hon. Sen. Dube has very profoundly spoken of, is a marvellous and state of the art structure in Mt. Hampden, which I am sure is up to international standards if we look at it. We are very proud of it and we are proud of having such a structure as parliamentarians.
In the internal politics direction, the President spoke about peace, peace and peace as usual, reconciliation, engagement in a peaceful manner and he said it is very important for us to reach Vision 2030. A lot of players have been put on the ground, Commissions like the National Peace and Reconciliation and Chiefs have also been given a mandate to work on a peace programme. All these are programmes which the President has put on the ground for our people to become a peaceful and prosperous nation by 2020. The President also spoke about what matters also for the people on the ground, the agrarian direction. The people have been getting their inputs on time.
The President spoke about the vulnerable people getting their free inputs on time every year. I can speak about the fact that on the ground, the people have been getting their inputs every year before the first rains; the inputs would be already on the ground. It is up to us as chiefs and parliamentarians to ensure that the people use and not abuse their inputs. This issue of selling inputs and deals on the ground must come to an end. The President and the Government are doing their best. We should be seen to be assisting.
The President also spoke about Zunde raMambo/Isiphahla seNkosi programme which he said there is need to capacitate it so that people have production at grassroots, chiefs’, headmen’s and village level. This will assist people so that they know and can see on the ground what production is about and they can start producing themselves. At chiefs’ level, the vulnerable are able to move to the chief who is very close to where they are and get assistance; per chance they may face hunger or starvation. We are happy that the President mentioned the Zunde raMambo/Isiphala seNkosi programme and we are looking forward to great assistance to capacitate that programme. Already, we have received a lot of inputs for that programme and thus, we are very happy and we continue to show our gratitude for such assistance.
The President also spoke about the cultural direction. The President said “we celebrate our traditional leadership who are an integral part to the maintenance of our social fabric”. The President spoke about traditional leaders and mentioned that they are the ones at grassroots level with the people and Government will continue to support them where possible and when they call for support. We thank the President for such words and we call on the nation to continue working with the traditional leaders for the betterment of our people.
On the developmental direction, the President spoke about many things which I cannot exhaust at this time. I will speak about the things that pertain to where I come from, Matebeleland. He spoke about road construction, the Beitbridge–Harare Road which I will not go into but we have many roads which we are working on in Matebeleland. We have the Bulawayo –Tsholotsho Road of which 10 km has already been completed and we are looking forward to continuous work on that road. The Government Complex and hospital at Lupane, the Gwayi–Shangani Dam which has taken 100 years being spoken about and only the New Dispensation has started work on the Gwayi–Shangani Dam. As I speak now, it is more than 70% complete. Also, the pipeline which is being laid and it passes close to my homestead in Tsholotsho. There are many different segments of the pipeline being worked on by different players, so we are looking at that on the ground and it is taking shape as we see it. We are quite happy with that intervention.
Power generation which is a national problem right now, I think as Matebeleland, we are taking a big part in solving that problem. The President spoke about Unit 7 and 8 in Hwange which is close to completion and will give us quite a lot of megawatts into the national grid. Speaking about local power generation, we are also happy that Matebeleland was chosen. The Bemba Solar Grid which is a pioneer project in Zimbabwe for villagers to have solar and have electricity, an entire villager was given power, homestead to homestead. It looks as if you are in an urban area when you are deep in the rural areas. We are quite happy with that intervention as well.
The Beitbridge Border Post modernisation to make it a one-stop facility and other border posts which are being worked on; all these things, we are seeing them and the President spoke about them. We are quite happy. On the legislative direction, a lot of Bills were spoken about and we look forward as legislators to handle those Bills and to see that they become Acts of Parliament and serve the interests of the people of Zimbabwe. Let us not forget the Traditional Leaders’ Bill which we continue to wait for, which will assist us also as traditional leaders as we harmonise our Bill with the Constitution of Zimbabwe. Thank you very much.
HON. SEN. S. MPOFU: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIEF MATHUPULA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 8th December, 2022.
THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you Hon. Minister. Before I proceed, I would like to commend Hon. Senators for their attendance today. I wish to commend that we continue with such attendance.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR MASHONALAND CENTRAL PROVINCE (HON. SEN. MAVHUNGA), the Senate adjourned at Sixteen Minutes past Three o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 6th December, 2022
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE
SUSPENSION OF VIRTUAL MEETINGS
THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE (HON. SEN. KAMBIZI): I have to inform the Senate that the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders, at its meeting held on Friday, 18th November, 2022, resolved that all parliamentary sittings and committee meetings will be held physically with immediate effect. The only exception will be meetings of the Parliamentary Legal Committee.
APPOINTMENT OF COMMITTEES
THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I have to inform the House that all Committees that subsisted in the Fourth Session, Ninth Parliament, will continue to operate to expedite the work of Parliament.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
HON. SEN. S. MPOFU: Mr. President, I move the motion standing in my name that a respectful Address be presented to the President of Zimbabwe as follows:
May it please you, your Excellency the President:
We, the Members of Parliament of Zimbabwe, desire to express our loyalty to Zimbabwe and beg leave to offer our respectful thanks for the speech, which you have been pleased to address to Parliament.
HON. SEN. CHIEF SIANSALI: I second.
HON. SEN. S. MPOFU: Mr. President, I stand before this august House to move a motion in support of the Presidential Speech. In so doing, I also wish to thank His Excellency the President, Dr. Emmerson Mnangagwa for giving the nation a clear roadmap towards the socio-economic development of this great nation. The President clearly highlighted the vision and direction that the country is undertaking under the New Dispensation.
Mr. President, I am sure fellow Senators will agree with me that this year’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) has been on with a marked difference in the context that it projected a remarkable list of accomplishments and milestones that have been achieved and implemented under the Second Republic. His Excellency the President, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa demonstrated the Government’s commitment and serious determination for socio-economic progress and growth.
His Excellency also highlighted many examples of tangible attainments that the Government has implemented in fostering the country forward. In this regard, His Excellency has been constructing, breaking ground and commissioning a myriad of projects throughout the country. Typical examples of these initiatives have been witnessed through major growth in the mining industry, infrastructure development, energy and manufacturing sectors as well as aggressive measures to tame inflation through monetary and fiscal discipline.
Several stalled projects have either been completed or are at various stages of implementation. I have in mind projects such as the Gwayi-Shangani Project which was a pipe-dream but has now become a reality and is 70% complete. The Beitbridge-Harare Highway is near completion. The new Parliament in Mount Hampden, Harare, has given dignity to the legislature and we must applaud our President for this vision and focus.
Mr. President, Matabeleland North, several projects have been implemented such as the Epping Forest Water Project which was commissioned by our President last year in 2021. Several mining projects have also been initiated and also solar farms have been implemented in this new dispensation. In the City of Victoria Falls, the New Dispensation has ushered in a stock exchange in recognition of the country’s tourism status as a financial special economic services zone. All these are projects the New Dispensation can pride itself in.
During the Presidential SONA Speech, His Excellency the President, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa also tabled parliamentary Bills for debate for the current Session. He implored us as legislators to engage with critical pieces of legislation as a matter of urgency. I am sure all of us are alive to the fact that good laws and policies are one step towards achieving a prosperous stable Zimbabwe. We have therefore been given the right direction and a clear roadmap towards achieving our national socio-economic sustainable development.
Growth in road infrastructure development in other areas such as the Bulawayo/Nkayi, Bulawayo/Tsholotsho and Bulawayo/Victoria Falls are such projects under consideration in this New Dispensation.
On the agricultural sector, we also emulate that the Lupane/Bubi Dam has brought hope and enhanced the livelihoods of the surrounding communities. This massive green belt development in the Matabeleland North Province will benefit immensely the communities in this project. Through income generation, the project is destined to sustain their livelihoods.
Furthermore, SONA emphasised that the New Dispensation is targeting over three million families in Zimbabwe under the Presidential Input Programme. It is therefore incumbent upon us as legislators to ensure that inputs that are to be distributed under this programme are safeguarded and utilized for the purpose for which they are meant for. We should ensure that we strive for a corruption free distribution of the presidential inputs.
His Excellency also echoed milestones in the energy sector wherein Unit 7 & 8 at Hwange Power Station would be commissioned soon, adding a cumulative 600 MW to the national grid. This will be ideal at the time when demand for power is growing due to rapidly expanding manufacturing and mining sectors.
In order to ensure a sustainable supply power, His Excellency highlighted that there are plans to step up efforts in renewable energy generation and that more energy expansion projects will be required.
The manufacturing sector has realised a capacity utilization of over 66% in this current year up from 47% in 2020. The implementation of the local content strategy has led to the emergence of new products that are critical in the agriculture, mining and transport sectors, among others.
I would like to applaud His Excellency for highlighting the local content policy as I believe this is an important area if we are going to see more development in our country. In the same vein, I would also call upon the government to continue supporting the implementation of this policy as we can substitute imports by ensuring that a lot of the products are being made locally. This import substitution will save quite a substantial amount of foreign currency.
His Excellency underscored the importance of State enterprises and parastatals in economic development. He stated that there is need to ensure they operate efficiently and profitably. In pursuit of that, some of these State enterprises and parastatals have made some structural adjustments. For example, the Grain Marketing Board was demerged from SILO. This has ensured that the strategic grain reserve is now a stand-alone devoid of the commercial arm. The Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe has also become an independent institution. The same goes for the Airports Company of Zimbabwe which now operates as a stand-alone entity. The Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation is being boosted through a series of joint ventures with like-minded business enterprises.
Emphasis was placed on the successful completion of the 2022 population and housing census. This was the first ever in Zimbabwe to be conducted digitally, leading to preliminary results being released in less than three months.
Another noteworthy milestone was the recent launch of Zimbabwe’s first satellite into space, ZIMSTAT-1. This innovation was plausible as it will contribute immensely to agriculture, mining, weather forecasting and land management sectors.
On the E-Government system, His Excellency said that it was long overdue and that the government is prioritizing the introduction of a robust digital system. Under this platform, citizens would be able to obtain permits, licences and personal documents online.
Modern and efficient infrastructure is the cornerstone for socio-economic development. As such, His Excellency indicated that 340 kms of the Harare/Beitbridge road have been completed so far. Construction of the Mbudzi interchange is also currently ongoing. Local companies contracted on the Emergency Rehabilitation Programme have created both direct and indirect jobs. Considerable progress has been made on airstrips for Binga and Bumi Hills, which the upgrading and modernization of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport is on schedule. Phase 1 of the Beitbridge Border Post Modernisation Project is complete and now open to the public. He reiterated that these are some of the infrastructural developments that are going to boost the manufacturing industry further. There are also further plans to construct the Beitbridge Airport as this will further open the southern corridor for domestic, regional and international flights.
Road transport is the dominant means of transport in Zimbabwe, with 80% of traffic and trade by volume utilizing this resource. In Zimbabwe, mining and agricultural exports are a major source of foreign currency and a driving force for socio-economic growth. These exports are largely transported by road. In this regard, road transportation is therefore indispensible to socio-economic and development in any country. This has a significant implication on development and the economy of our nation, thus, the rehabilitation and maintenance of roads to an acceptable standard is a prerequisite as roads also play a crucial role in determining the competitiveness of exports and imports on international and regional markets.
These are some of the salient noteworthy highlights of the Zimbabwe SONA 2022 address by His Excellency the President, Cde Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa. I thank you.
HON. SEN. CHIEF SIANSALI: Thank you Mr. President for giving me the opportunity to add my voice and views on the Presidential Speech which contained the legislative agenda and set the pace for the business of Parliament. I would like to thank the mover the motion, Hon. Senator Mpofu who endevoured to highlight the issues that were raised by His Excellency the President.
Most issues have been raised by the mover of the motion but allow me to mention some as a way of emphasis. In his address that marked the opening of the Fifth Session of the Ninth Parliament, the President touched on a wide array of agendas that give Government direction. I will not attempt to regurgitate everything but I will touch on just a few.
On agriculture, the President stressed expansion and Government support on farming programmes on issues to do with Pfumvudza/Intwasa. This programme has increased our farming yields tremendously, especially in rural areas. It has come with a new farming technique that gives concentration on small farming areas but with tripled yields. Gone are the days when farmers would waste their time on very big hectares of land which do not give equivalent harvests. A lot of energy and time is saved on Pfumvudza. This has seen the President and Government now extending hands in supporting villagers and headmen on the Zunde raMambo Programme, expanding and promoting traditional leaders for social welfare, thus, buttressing his mantra which says “leaving no place and no one behind”.
The President’s re-engagement programme has seen Zimbabwe benefiting immensely in a lot of assets, starting with the new Parliament of Zimbabwe building donated by the Government of China. We can all bear testimony to this, no wonder why most of us were sleeping during SONA – [Laughter.] - We had a lot of comfort.
There are several mining companies that are doing mining in areas like Hwange and many others. In Matabeleland North and Binga to be precise, for the first time ever we have seen Government pouring a lot of resources that have seen the consistent works at the giant Gwai-Shangani Lake. If completed, the project will resuscitate most industrial operations in the biggest town of the region, that is Bulawayo, and supply water to a green belt that will be along the pipeline cutting across all five districts starting from Hwnage, Binga, Lupane, Tsholotsho and Umguza before we get into Bulawayo.
Lupane and Binga Government Complexes are all at advanced stages of completion after decades of abandonment by the previous Government. The airstrip of Binga is second to none after being renovated by Government through DDF. This will go a long way to boost tourism in Binga District, supported with massive road works that have seen the long awaited Binga-Siabuwa-Karoi road being tarred starting from both ends and meeting at the centre. This will reduce the distance to the capital from Victoria Falls by 300 kilometres.
On electricity, Hwange Unit 7 and 8 are at various stages of completion. Unit 7 is expected to come into life by the end of the year. However, Lucifer is also not sleeping but very busy trying to derail Government efforts. We hear of dwindling water levels in Lake Kariba which has put a lot of pressure on the efforts in place. Let me warn whosoever the driver of that scam that Zimbabwe is now in different hands and we say go back to sender. We shall overcome and emerge victorious. We will win and we will not fail to have electricity.
On industry and commerce, the local content strategy introduced by the President has brought confidence in the market. We are now witnessing more locally produced products on the market which was not there before. Again, the launch of ZIMSAT1 will improve service delivery. It will improve service delivery in Government ministries and promote an investment of e-governance, thereby doing away with winding queues that are always witnessed in most Government offices that deal with the public. That will also go a long way in the fight against the endemic vice of corruption which has been institutionalised in some departments like Vehicle Inspection Department (VID) and promote the ease of doing business.
Allow me to leave some to my Hon. Members to fill in. Once again, thank you very much for the opportunity given to me. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter as we get closer to achieving our Vision 2030. I thank you.
HON. SEN. S. MPOFU: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIEF SIANSALI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 7th December 2022.
On the motion of HON. SEN. DR. PARIRENYATWA seconded by HON. SEN. CHIEF SIANSALI, the Senate adjourned at Three o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
THE SENATE
FIFTH SESSION – NINTH PARLIAMENT
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday 23rd November, 2022
(PRAYERS)
(THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
MEETING OF PARLIAMENT
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I lay upon the table a copy of the speech which the President of Zimbabwe has been pleased to deliver this day.
STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS AND OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE FIFTH SESSION OF THE NINTH PARLIAMENT
THE PRESIDENT OF ZIMBABWE (H.E. DR. E.D MNANGAGWA) was pleased to address Parliament as follows:
First Lady, Amai A. Mnangagwa;
Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care, Hon. Gen. (Rtd) Dr. C.G.D.N. Chiwenga;
Vice President and Second Secretary of ZANU PF, Col. (Rtd.) K.C.D Mohadi;
Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Adv. J.F. Mudenda;
President of Senate, Hon. M.M. Chinomona;
Chief Justice, Hon. L. Malaba;
Honourable Ministers of Government;
President of the Chief’s Council Chief F.Z. Charumbira and other traditional leaders here present;
Honourable Members of Parliament, and the Senate;
Senior Government Officials;
Service Chiefs;
Fellow Zimbabweans here at home and in the Diaspora;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Comrades and Friends.
It is my singular honour and privilege to address this august House, marking the opening of the Fifth Session of the Ninth Parliament of Zimbabwe. This state of the art and majestic New Parliament Building here in Mt. Hampden, where we are gathered, is testimony of the strategic and comprehensive partnership and excellent fraternal relations between our great motherland, Zimbabwe and the People’s Republic of China.
The Session comes ahead of the 2023 Harmonised General Elections is, therefore, expected to accelerate the completion of the matters on the legislative agenda in line with the expectations of the electorate.
The period since my last address to this Parliament has seen unprecedented socio-economic growth as well as the accelerated implementation of the National Development Strategy 1.
Tight monetary and fiscal policy measures to stabilise the economy, and curtail speculative borrowing and other rent-seeking behaviour, are bearing fruit.
Gold coins valued at ZW$9.5 billion were sold as at 30th September, 2022. Smaller denominations of the gold coins have been unveiled by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to broaden access and inclusivity. Month-on-month inflation for September significantly declined to 3.5% from 12.4% in August, 2022. Every Zimbabwean must jealously guard this stability.
Meanwhile, foreign currency earnings amounted to US$7.7 billion for the eight months up to 31st August, 2022. This reflects a 32.4% increase from the US$5.8 billion recorded over the corresponding period in 2021.
Mr. Speaker, Madame President;
In agriculture, the Presidential Input Programme is targeting three million farmers for enhanced production of cereals, oilseeds and legumes. The programme will support five Pfumvudza/Intwasa plots per household, with specific crop input packages based on agro-ecological regions. The Zunde RaMambo/Isiphala SeNkosi Programme has been extended to also cover Headmen and Village Heads. Our traditional leaders are constantly with our people at grassroots level. Hence, my Government will render all possible support to them.
In mining, output growth is evident in gold, coal, chrome, PGMs and related minerals. The commissioning of the Cam and Motor Mine Biox Plant; Radnor Mine and expansion of Blanket Mine, among others, coupled with contributions from artisanal miners, have resulted in increased gold production.
Investments in the lithium sector are pleasing and encompass extraction through to value addition. Government is decisively dealing with illegal mining and smuggling of precious minerals. All players in the sector are once again urged to operate legally and in an environmentally sustainable manner.
The economy is growing faster than power supply. The Hwange Unit 7 is expected to be commissioned by year end. A further 300 MW from Unit 8 is expected to come on stream by the second quarter of 2023. Efforts are on-going to expand the country’s energy mix, with focus on renewable energy.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Madame President;
The rebound of the manufacturing sector is encouraging, with industrial capacity utilisation exceeding 66% in 2022, up from 47% in 2020. The implementation of the Local Content Strategy has seen the introduction of new products that are critical in the agriculture, mining and transport sectors, among others.
Modern and efficient infrastructure is the cornerstone for economic development. More than 340 kilometres of Harare-Beitbridge Road has been completed and open to traffic. Construction of the Mbudzi Interchange is also well underway. Local companies contracted in the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme have created both direct and indirect jobs. Considerable progress has been made on airstrips such as Binga and Bumi Hills, while the upgrading and modernisation of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport is on schedule. Phase One of the Beitbridge Border Post Modernisation Project is complete and now open to the public.
Tourism and hospitality sector is on a rapid post-COVID-19 recovery path and more airlines are servicing our routes.
State Enterprises and Parastatals have great potential to contribute to economic growth. As such, their profitability and efficiency remain a priority. The Grain Marketing Board demerger has separated the Strategic Grain Reserve from the Commercial division. Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation subsidiaries have been recapitalised and strengthened through joint venture partnerships. Furthermore, the Airports Company of Zimbabwe and the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe are now operating as two distinct companies.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Madame President;
In April of this year, our nation accomplished a historic transition by undertaking a digital Population and Housing Census, replacing the traditional paper based system. Results were delivered within a record time of less than three months. This is a sample of the importance of technologies and innovation in the improvement of our systems.
The Competence-Based Curriculum in primary and secondary schools supports the transition from school to the world of work through study of sciences, technology, innovation and the production of goods and services.
Our education revolution dubbed “Chimurenga Chepfungwa” is progressing at an accelerated pace. Robust innovation and industrialisation ecosystems now characterise our universities and colleges with more and more of our young talented boys and girls registering patents, start-ups and breakthrough inventions. These will continue to be nurtured for commercialisation as we leap forward the modernisation and industrialisation of our motherland.
Zimbabwe recently launched our first satellite, ZimSat-1 into Space. This will have far reaching impacts on all sectors of the economy, including agriculture, mining, as well as weather and land management systems.
Our quest to achieve Universal Health Coverage remains on course. Renovations and the construction of health centres, clinics and district hospitals are being speeded up. The new Pathology and Diagnostic Centre at Midlands State University, with state-of-art equipment has increased community access to related services.
The Simon Mazorodze School of Medical and Health Sciences has been established as part of a comprehensive programme to enhance the training of medical practitioners in the country. This becomes the fourth
Medical and Health Sciences School in our country.
Polytechnics, teachers’ colleges and industrial training centres are now under the newly created Tertiary Education Council. The mandates of these colleges are being enhanced towards national development through learning of science, technology, engineering and innovation to produce goods and services that better the quality of life of our people.
Government is prioritizing the roll-out of the e-Government system. Citizens should be able to obtain permits, licences and personal documents without visiting Government offices. To date, the use of information communication technologies has greatly enhanced service delivery within the Civil Registry Department, which is now issuing passports more efficiently.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Madame President;
Our responsive social protection measures are catering for vulnerable individuals, households and communities. Over two million orphans and vulnerable children have benefited under the BEAM Programme. The Food Deficit Mitigation Programme is ongoing.
Housing delivery is expected to spur the nation towards the attainment of Vision 2030, with projects underway in all parts of the country. Financial institutions and the private sector are commended for complementing Government efforts, in this regard.
Youth Development and economic empowerment are critical cogs in the Second Republic’s transformational agenda. Under the Youth Build Zimbabwe Programme, more youths are volunteering towards community and national development programmes.
All stakeholders are urged to scale up programmes to end the new menace of drug and substance abuse, child marriages as well as all forms of violence.
Government is mainstreaming and entrenching a New Work Culture across the public sector to bolster performance and the delivery of quality services across all levels of public entities, including authorities and State owned enterprises.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Madame President;
Zimbabwe’s foreign policy of Engagement and Re-engagement, as well as our thrust to be a “friend to all and an enemy to none,” continues to bear fruit. Our diplomatic missions have been re-focused towards economic diplomacy and diaspora engagement to attract investment and mutually beneficial partnerships.
The need for the unconditional removal of sanctions, which have constrained socio-economic growth for decades, remains urgent and imperative. We are grateful to AU, SADC and other world leaders who made similar calls during the 77th United Nations General Assembly. Our country welcomes the invitation to attend the US-Africa Summit in December, 2022 and emphasis remains on dialogue and multilateralism as the best option to resolve today’s global challenges.
We take pride in the election of Hon. Chief Charumbira as President of the Pan African Parliament, Dr. Cosmas Zavazava as Director of the Telecommunications Development Bureau of the International Telecommunications Union as well as Zimbabwe’s election into the International Civil Organisation Council. Our country has also assumed Chairmanship of the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme. A sanctions free Zimbabwe stands ready to do more, within the comity of nations.
Meanwhile, our Security Forces are contributing officers for Regional and International Peace Support Operations under the United Nations, the African Union and within SADC.
The participation of women in Peacekeeping Missions has increased with the current Air Force of Zimbabwe deployment surpassing the 50% mark espoused in UN, AU and SADC Protocols on gender equity.
The all-encompassing Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Act is being implemented following the provision of funding for the operationalization of the Veterans Investment Corporation.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Madame President;
Allow me to now turn to the legislative business which must occupy the Parliamentary schedule during this final Session of the Ninth Parliament. The Office of the Attorney-General has since been hived off from the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. This should see this office fully discharging its mandate more efficiently and effectively.
In the financial services sector, the Insurance Bill seeks to replace the Insurance Act to address regulatory gaps and weaknesses. The new Session must expedite passage of the Labour Amendment Bill.
Cabinet recently passed the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (Compliance, Monitoring and Evaluation) Regulations, 2022 as well as the Amendments to the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (General) (Amendment) Regulations, 2018 which among other provisions, will require all procuring agencies to establish the market value of goods for ease of evaluation of quotations.
In line with the Agriculture Food Systems and Transformation Strategy, amendments to the Plant Breeders Act; the Land Commission Act; and the Bees Act will be tabled. Equally, the Fisheries and Aquaculture Bill; the Agricultural Resources Conservation Bill; and the Agricultural Education Bill will enhance the attainment of food and nutrition security. In addition, the Sugar Act is being reviewed in order to classify sugarcane as a strategic crop.
The Mines and Minerals Amendments Bill now awaits gazetting. Farming and mining activities will be accorded due recognition in the resolution of disputes. The Bill will also strengthen environmental protection.
The Fifth Session must speedily consider legislation towards alignment of the Devolution and Decentralisation Programme of the Second Republic, through amendments of the Provisional Councils and Administration Act; the Rural District Council’s Act; as well as the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act. The Disaster Risk Management Bill will promote the involvement of all citizens in effective disaster preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery measures.
Government shall be seeking Parliamentary ratification of various Memoranda of Understanding regarding partnerships to promote ICT infrastructure and skills development. Through the Electronic Transactions and Electronic Commerce Bill, Government seeks to establish a legal framework that facilitates fair, accessible, responsible and sustainable online transacting, including the recognition of digital signatures.
The Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) (Amendment) Bill, 2022; the Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Whistle Blowers) Bill, 2022; the Electoral (Amendment) Bill, 2022; the Witness Protection Bill; the Zimbabwe Human Rights (Amendment) Bill; and the Legal Aid (Amendment) Bill must all be tabled during this Session. The Electoral (Amendment) Bill, which spells out new provisions for holding the 2023 Harmonised Elections, should be speedily concluded.
Outstanding Bills from the Fourth Session of the Ninth Parliament must be expedited. These include the Child Justice Bill, the Judicial Laws (Amendment) Bill, and the Prisons and Correctional Service (Amendment) Bill.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Madam President;
As I conclude, I wish to reiterate that the attainment of Vision 2030 of a prosperous and empowered upper middle-income society requires raising production and productivity across all sectors of the economy. This can only be achieved if our people are united and peaceful.
Political players, seeking the people’s mandate during the upcoming 2023 Harmonised Elections, must maintain and consolidate the peace, unity, harmony and love that we have built under the Second Republic. Violent confrontations have never been part of our culture.
Let me also emphasise that although the COVID-19 pandemic has largely subsided, the virus still poses a threat. Therefore, there is need for all our people to remain vigilant.
I want to take this opportunity to wish Parliament success in dispensing its onerous duty as the elected representatives of the people of Zimbabwe.
With these remarks, it is now my singular honour and privilege to declare the Fifth Session of the Ninth Parliament of Zimbabwe officially open.
God bless you.
God bless Zimbabwe.
I thank you.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE
RESUMPTION OF COMMITTEE BUSINESS
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I have to inform the House that in order to expedite the work of Parliament, all Thematic Committees of the Fourth Session will continue to operate as previously constituted by the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE adjourned the House in terms of Standing Order No. 13 (2) (b) at Eight Minutes to One o’clock p. m. until Tuesday, 6th December, 2022.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AND SENATE
FIFTH SESSION – NINTH PARLIAMENT
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 23rd November, 2022
(OFFICIAL REPORT)
MEETING OF PARLIAMENT
Parliament met in the Chamber of the National Assembly in terms of Section 140 (1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
1200 Hours
[National Anthem]
STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS AND OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE FIFTH SESSION OF THE NINTH PARLIAMENT
THE PRESIDENT OF ZIMBABWE (H.E. DR. E.D MNANGAGWA) was pleased to address Parliament as follows:
First Lady, Amai A. Mnangagwa;
Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care, Hon. Gen. (Rtd) Dr. C.G.D.N. Chiwenga;
Vice President and Second Secretary of ZANU PF, Col. (Rtd.) K.C.D Mohadi;
Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Adv. J.F. Mudenda;
President of Senate, Hon. M.M. Chinomona;
Chief Justice, Hon. L. Malaba;
Honourable Ministers of Government;
President of the Chief’s Council Chief F.Z. Charumbira and other traditional leaders here present;
Honourable Members of Parliament, and the Senate;
Senior Government Officials;
Service Chiefs;
Fellow Zimbabweans here at home and in the Diaspora;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Comrades and Friends.
It is my singular honour and privilege to address this august House, marking the opening of the Fifth Session of the Ninth Parliament of Zimbabwe. This state of the art and majestic New Parliament Building here in Mt. Hampden, where we are gathered, is testimony of the strategic and comprehensive partnership and excellent fraternal relations between our great motherland, Zimbabwe and the People’s Republic of China.
The Session comes ahead of the 2023 Harmonised General Elections is, therefore, expected to accelerate the completion of the matters on the legislative agenda in line with the expectations of the electorate.
The period since my last address to this Parliament has seen unprecedented socio-economic growth as well as the accelerated implementation of the National Development Strategy 1.
Tight monetary and fiscal policy measures to stabilise the economy, and curtail speculative borrowing and other rent-seeking behaviour, are bearing fruit.
Gold coins valued at ZW$9.5 billion were sold as at 30th September, 2022. Smaller denominations of the gold coins have been unveiled by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to broaden access and inclusivity. Month-on-month inflation for September significantly declined to 3.5% from 12.4% in August, 2022. Every Zimbabwean must jealously guard this stability.
Meanwhile, foreign currency earnings amounted to US$7.7 billion for the eight months up to 31st August, 2022. This reflects a 32.4% increase from the US$5.8 billion recorded over the corresponding period in 2021.
Mr. Speaker, Madame President;
In agriculture, the Presidential Input Programme is targeting three million farmers for enhanced production of cereals, oilseeds and legumes. The programme will support five Pfumvudza/Intwasa plots per household, with specific crop input packages based on agro-ecological regions. The Zunde RaMambo/Isiphala SeNkosi Programme has been extended to also cover Headmen and Village Heads. Our traditional leaders are constantly with our people at grassroots level. Hence, my Government will render all possible support to them.
In mining, output growth is evident in gold, coal, chrome, PGMs and related minerals. The commissioning of the Cam and Motor Mine Biox Plant; Radnor Mine and expansion of Blanket Mine, among others, coupled with contributions from artisanal miners, have resulted in increased gold production.
Investments in the lithium sector are pleasing and encompass extraction through to value addition. Government is decisively dealing with illegal mining and smuggling of precious minerals. All players in the sector are once again urged to operate legally and in an environmentally sustainable manner.
The economy is growing faster than power supply. The Hwange Unit 7 is expected to be commissioned by year end. A further 300 MW from Unit 8 is expected to come on stream by the second quarter of 2023. Efforts are on-going to expand the country’s energy mix, with focus on renewable energy.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Madame President;
The rebound of the manufacturing sector is encouraging, with industrial capacity utilisation exceeding 66% in 2022, up from 47% in 2020. The implementation of the Local Content Strategy has seen the introduction of new products that are critical in the agriculture, mining and transport sectors, among others.
Modern and efficient infrastructure is the cornerstone for economic development. More than 340 kilometres of Harare-Beitbridge Road has been completed and open to traffic. Construction of the Mbudzi Interchange is also well underway. Local companies contracted in the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme have created both direct and indirect jobs. Considerable progress has been made on airstrips such as Binga and Bumi Hills, while the upgrading and modernisation of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport is on schedule. Phase One of the Beitbridge Border Post Modernisation Project is complete and now open to the public.
Tourism and hospitality sector is on a rapid post-COVID-19 recovery path and more airlines are servicing our routes.
State Enterprises and Parastatals have great potential to contribute to economic growth. As such, their profitability and efficiency remain a priority. The Grain Marketing Board demerger has separated the Strategic Grain Reserve from the Commercial division. Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation subsidiaries have been recapitalised and strengthened through joint venture partnerships. Furthermore, the Airports Company of Zimbabwe and the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe are now operating as two distinct companies.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Madame President;
In April of this year, our nation accomplished a historic transition by undertaking a digital Population and Housing Census, replacing the traditional paper based system. Results were delivered within a record time of less than three months. This is a sample of the importance of technologies and innovation in the improvement of our systems.
The Competence-Based Curriculum in primary and secondary schools supports the transition from school to the world of work through study of sciences, technology, innovation and the production of goods and services.
Our education revolution dubbed “Chimurenga Chepfungwa” is progressing at an accelerated pace. Robust innovation and industrialisation ecosystems now characterise our universities and colleges with more and more of our young talented boys and girls registering patents, start-ups and breakthrough inventions. These will continue to be nurtured for commercialisation as we leap forward the modernisation and industrialisation of our motherland.
Zimbabwe recently launched our first satellite, ZimSat-1 into Space. This will have far reaching impacts on all sectors of the economy, including agriculture, mining, as well as weather and land management systems.
Our quest to achieve Universal Health Coverage remains on course. Renovations and the construction of health centres, clinics and district hospitals are being speeded up. The new Pathology and Diagnostic Centre at Midlands State University, with state-of-art equipment has increased community access to related services.
The Simon Mazorodze School of Medical and Health Sciences has been established as part of a comprehensive programme to enhance the training of medical practitioners in the country. This becomes the fourth
Medical and Health Sciences School in our country.
Polytechnics, teachers’ colleges and industrial training centres are now under the newly created Tertiary Education Council. The mandates of these colleges are being enhanced towards national development through learning of science, technology, engineering and innovation to produce goods and services that better the quality of life of our people.
Government is prioritizing the roll-out of the e-Government system. Citizens should be able to obtain permits, licences and personal documents without visiting Government offices. To date, the use of information communication technologies has greatly enhanced service delivery within the Civil Registry Department, which is now issuing passports more efficiently.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Madame President;
Our responsive social protection measures are catering for vulnerable individuals, households and communities. Over two million orphans and vulnerable children have benefited under the BEAM Programme. The Food Deficit Mitigation Programme is ongoing.
Housing delivery is expected to spur the nation towards the attainment of Vision 2030, with projects underway in all parts of the country. Financial institutions and the private sector are commended for complementing Government efforts, in this regard.
Youth Development and economic empowerment are critical cogs in the Second Republic’s transformational agenda. Under the Youth Build Zimbabwe Programme, more youths are volunteering towards community and national development programmes.
All stakeholders are urged to scale up programmes to end the new menace of drug and substance abuse, child marriages as well as all forms of violence.
Government is mainstreaming and entrenching a New Work Culture across the public sector to bolster performance and the delivery of quality services across all levels of public entities, including authorities and State owned enterprises.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Madame President;
Zimbabwe’s foreign policy of Engagement and Re-engagement, as well as our thrust to be a “friend to all and an enemy to none,” continues to bear fruit. Our diplomatic missions have been re-focused towards economic diplomacy and diaspora engagement to attract investment and mutually beneficial partnerships.
The need for the unconditional removal of sanctions, which have constrained socio-economic growth for decades, remains urgent and imperative. We are grateful to AU, SADC and other world leaders who made similar calls during the 77th United Nations General Assembly. Our country welcomes the invitation to attend the US-Africa Summit in December, 2022 and emphasis remains on dialogue and multilateralism as the best option to resolve today’s global challenges.
We take pride in the election of Hon. Chief Charumbira as President of the Pan African Parliament, Dr. Cosmas Zavazava as Director of the Telecommunications Development Bureau of the International Telecommunications Union as well as Zimbabwe’s election into the International Civil Organisation Council. Our country has also assumed Chairmanship of the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme. A sanctions free Zimbabwe stands ready to do more, within the comity of nations.
Meanwhile, our Security Forces are contributing officers for Regional and International Peace Support Operations under the United Nations, the African Union and within SADC.
The participation of women in Peacekeeping Missions has increased with the current Air Force of Zimbabwe deployment surpassing the 50% mark espoused in UN, AU and SADC Protocols on gender equity.
The all-encompassing Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Act is being implemented following the provision of funding for the operationalization of the Veterans Investment Corporation.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Madame President;
Allow me to now turn to the legislative business which must occupy the Parliamentary schedule during this final Session of the Ninth Parliament. The Office of the Attorney-General has since been hived off from the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. This should see this office fully discharging its mandate more efficiently and effectively.
In the financial services sector, the Insurance Bill seeks to replace the Insurance Act to address regulatory gaps and weaknesses. The new Session must expedite passage of the Labour Amendment Bill.
Cabinet recently passed the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (Compliance, Monitoring and Evaluation) Regulations, 2022 as well as the Amendments to the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (General) (Amendment) Regulations, 2018 which among other provisions, will require all procuring agencies to establish the market value of goods for ease of evaluation of quotations.
In line with the Agriculture Food Systems and Transformation Strategy, amendments to the Plant Breeders Act; the Land Commission Act; and the Bees Act will be tabled. Equally, the Fisheries and Aquaculture Bill; the Agricultural Resources Conservation Bill; and the Agricultural Education Bill will enhance the attainment of food and nutrition security. In addition, the Sugar Act is being reviewed in order to classify sugarcane as a strategic crop.
The Mines and Minerals Amendments Bill now awaits gazetting. Farming and mining activities will be accorded due recognition in the resolution of disputes. The Bill will also strengthen environmental protection.
The Fifth Session must speedily consider legislation towards alignment of the Devolution and Decentralisation Programme of the Second Republic, through amendments of the Provisional Councils and Administration Act; the Rural District Council’s Act; as well as the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act. The Disaster Risk Management Bill will promote the involvement of all citizens in effective disaster preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery measures.
Government shall be seeking Parliamentary ratification of various Memoranda of Understanding regarding partnerships to promote ICT infrastructure and skills development. Through the Electronic Transactions and Electronic Commerce Bill, Government seeks to establish a legal framework that facilitates fair, accessible, responsible and sustainable online transacting, including the recognition of digital signatures.
The Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) (Amendment) Bill, 2022; the Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Whistle Blowers) Bill, 2022; the Electoral (Amendment) Bill, 2022; the Witness Protection Bill; the Zimbabwe Human Rights (Amendment) Bill; and the Legal Aid (Amendment) Bill must all be tabled during this Session. The Electoral (Amendment) Bill, which spells out new provisions for holding the 2023 Harmonised Elections, should be speedily concluded.
Outstanding Bills from the Fourth Session of the Ninth Parliament must be expedited. These include the Child Justice Bill, the Judicial Laws (Amendment) Bill, and the Prisons and Correctional Service (Amendment) Bill.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Madam President;
As I conclude, I wish to reiterate that the attainment of Vision 2030 of a prosperous and empowered upper middle-income society requires raising production and productivity across all sectors of the economy. This can only be achieved if our people are united and peaceful.
Political players, seeking the people’s mandate during the upcoming 2023 Harmonised Elections, must maintain and consolidate the peace, unity, harmony and love that we have built under the Second Republic. Violent confrontations have never been part of our culture.
Let me also emphasise that although the COVID-19 pandemic has largely subsided, the virus still poses a threat. Therefore, there is need for all our people to remain vigilant.
I want to take this opportunity to wish Parliament success in dispensing its onerous duty as the elected representatives of the people of Zimbabwe.
With these remarks, it is now my singular honour and privilege to declare the Fifth Session of the Ninth Parliament of Zimbabwe officially open.
God bless you.
God bless Zimbabwe.
I thank you.
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZIMBABWE, having caused a copy of the Presidential Speech to be delivered to the Hon. Speaker, was pleased to retire.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE and Hon. Senators withdrew from the Chamber.
THE HON. SPEAKER assumed the Chair at Twenty-Four Minutes to One o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. SPEAKER
PRESENTATION OF 2023 NATIONAL BUDGET
THE HON. SPEAKER: I have to inform all Hon. Members that tomorrow, Thursday, 24th November 2022 at 1445 hours, the Hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Development will present the 2023 Budget in the National Assembly Chamber at the New Parliament Building at Mt. Hampden. Buses will depart Parliament from Nelson Mandela Avenue at 1230 hours.
TABLING OF PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH
THE HON. SPEAKER: I lay upon the table a copy of the Speech which His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe Hon. Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa has been pleased to deliver to Parliament.
RESUMPTION OF COMMITTEE BUSINESS
THE HON. SPEAKER: I also have to inform the House that in order to expedite the work of Parliament, all Committees of the Fourth Session will continue to operate as previously constituted by the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders.
MOTION
APPOINTMENT OF COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): I move that a Committee of Supply be appointed in terms of Standing Order Number 123.
Motion put and agreed to.
THE HON. SPEAKER adjourned the House at Quarter to One o’ clock p.m. without putting any question.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 22nd November, 2022
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
PRESENTATION OF THR STATE OF THR NATION ADDRESS AND OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE FIFTH SESSION OF THE NINTH PARLIAMENT
THE HON. SPEAKER: I have to inform the august House that His Excellency, the President Hon. Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa will deliver the State of the Nation address that will mark the Official Opening of the Fifth Session of the Ninth Parliament at the new Parliament building in Mt Hampden on Wednesday, 23rd November 2022.
In light of the foregoing and the need to make necessary travel related logistics, Members of Parliament (MPs) and officers of Parliament whose presence is required at the new Parliament building are requested to take note of the following:
There shall be a mandatory testing of COVID-19 for all those attending the official opening ceremony. The testing commenced today Tuesday, 22nd November, 2022 at 0800 hours at the usual Parliament Clinic.
Due to the current limited parking space at the new Parliament building, all Hon. Member and staff will be ferried by buses to and from the venue and buses will pick up Hon. Members from Nelson Mandela Avenue at Parliament Building at 0930 hours sharp.
Additionally, details pertaining to relevant logistics are provided for in the information brief that was circulated to all Hon. Members on Monday, 21st November, 2022 via email. Additionally, I should add - be guided accordingly by Whips and follow their guidance to the letter.
I also have to inform the House that the new Parliament building has not yet been officially handed over to the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe. A special request was made to hold the Official Opening of the Fifth Session of the 9th Parliament and State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the new Building, which was deemed a suitable venue for the occasion and the Chinese acceded to the request. Hon. Members will be taken for a familiarisation tour once the handover has been done and Hon. Members will be informed accordingly.
HON. T. MOYO: Hon. Speaker, I rise on a point of national interest which arises from the adoption of African Disability Protocol of 2018. The African Disability Protocol is very important. Its aim is to ensure that the conditions of people who live with disabilities are improved. It is a clarion call for Zimbabwe to ratify and also adopt the African Disability Protocol. Zimbabwe has not adopted this protocol despite the fact it is an initiative that was started in 2018 by the African Union. So it is very important Mr. Speaker Sir, for us as Zimbabwe to adopt and also ratify the African Disability Protocol so that the conditions of women in particular who are disabled, and people who have albinism, are going to be improved. Mr. Speaker, this is a very important issue and I thank you for that.
THE HON. SPEAKER: The Clerk will engage the Hon. Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to bring the documentation for ratification accordingly.
HON. CHINHAMO-MASANGO: I rise on a point of privilege. Section 81 (1) of the Constitution defines a child as a boy or girl below the age of 18. The Marriage Act introduces the minimum age of marriage and prohibits any person under the age of 18 to enter into a marriage. This was further elaborated in the constitutional ruling that establishes the age of sexual consent to 18. In light of that Mr. Speaker Sir, as a Member of Parliament and a Member of the Parliamentary Child Rights Caucus, I am aggrieved that our young girls are now being taken as wives or mothers at a tender age destroying their bright future.
Children’s rights are being violated left, right and centre and yet the perpetrators are walking scot free. The children, by virtue of being human beings, have rights that must be respected too. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations proclaimed that childhood is entitled to special care and assistance. Is that what these children are getting from us the adults? No! What we witness in today’s world, especially here in Zimbabwe is a sad story. How can one sleep with a nine year old or a Grade Four child and enjoy sex? This is just a tip of the iceberg as I believe there are more cases being swept under the carpet. Where is the Government? Where is the Judiciary? Where is the Legislature? What are we doing as responsible leaders? We cannot continue as a nation to have young girls’ lives being destroyed by morons who have no respect for children’s rights. Mr. Speaker Sir, in here we are all adults and we know that when a married woman is deemed not able to perform well in bed anodzoserwa kwatete. Ko kamwana ako kano performer zvakanaka pabonde here iko kachichema kachirwadziwa? Ndiko kunakidza kwacho here nhai Speaker?
Mr. Speaker Sir, whilst the Government must act in haste to strengthen the current laws and ensure that the children of Zimbabwe live and play wherever they are without any fear of being abused, abducted, killed for rituals or raped, just to mention but a few, please let us do enough so that the rights of children, particularly that the girl-child is protected from the evils that are currently taking place across our beautiful country Zimbabwe. Where is our girl-child safe? At home with the parents, no! At school with the teachers, no! At church, no! The girl-child is not safe anywhere, so we need action now. I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.]-
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, do not take away the Chair’s authority in terms of response to the question of national interest. When you have said, ‘oh, that is powerful’ what can I say as the Presiding Officer? Manditorera sadza pamuromo. On a more serious note deserving the matter of national interest as raised by Hon. Masango, I recommend that Hon. Masango should come up with a motion so that the House can debate fully and come up with suggestions on the matter. Agreed Hon. Masango?
HON. CHINHAMO-MASANGO: Yes.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you.
*HON. CHIKOMBO: My issue pertains to the issue regarding the shortage of water that has hit the City of Harare. The city has no chemicals to treat the water due to a shortage of foreign currency to buy the chemicals. The Government is not assisting the City of Harare. We notice that the problem is mainly affecting areas such as Glenview, Kambuzuma, Budiriro, amongst others. You will recall that in 2008, we lost a lot of lives to Typhoid and other water-borne diseases. If the Government is not going to intervene and have the people at heart, more people are going to die to water-borne diseases.
Mr. Speaker, we urge and the Government as you would know that the Water Act is presided over by the President, it is our plea that if chemicals can be secured and have Kunzvi Dam and Musami Dam assist Lake Chivero because Lake Chivero on its own is failing to cater for the people in Harare. I thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Chikombo. I think the matter will be raised with the Hon. Minister of Local Government so that he can liaise with the Governor of the Reserve Bank and ensure that the matter is attended to. Your suggestion that perhaps we need to look at other sources of water like the dams you have mentioned, that also is related to the Hon. Minister responsible for water, Hon. Dr. Masuka. Thank you.
HON. MARKHAM: Thank you very much. Good afternoon Mr. Speaker. My point of national interest pertains to the tobacco industry which, as we know, is our largest cash crop earner. The tobacco industry is overseen by the Tobacco Industries Marketing Board, which overlooks the farmers marketing to the industries. We saw in the press that the CEO and one other person had been suspended because of corrupt activities. However, the major corruption in the Tobacco Industries Marketing Board is on the I.T side. They have created an App called Re-entry but what it does is that when your stop orders there and you pay the manager, you close all your stop orders for 24 hours while you market your tobacco. This is being enacted by tobacco buying companies. This is being enacted by the Government on TIMB and a whistle-blower came forth and told the powers that be, both in TIMB and eventually the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission or the people who have initiated the initial audit action but not on this App Re-entry. This is phenomenal because by stopping it, you are stopping Government from taking their money. Therefore, we cannot recoup our legacy debt and our revenue drops. What is shocking is the whistleblower has been dismissed for three months wages. No benefits other than the three months’ wages. He has notified the TIMB Board through the Chairman, he has notified the Ministry of Agriculture through the PS and yet nothing has happened.
The CEO however, is on full benefits including his fuel allowance but the whistleblower has been fired in essence. My concern is, we here in Parliament should be protecting people like that and overseeing issues like this. How can a whistleblower come to this House when the Chairman of the Agriculture Committee is under similar charges? When this happened with Hon. Mliswa, with the Mining Committee, he stood aside honourably and we have sat still as a House for two or three months since the charges were laid and nothing has happened. Mr. Speaker, I seek your guidance. I thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you very much Hon. Markham. We appreciate your observation. The matter is being pursued by ZACC but none-the-less, why do you not put your question in writing so that the responsible Minister can respond accordingly?
HON. MARKHAM: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker for your guidance, but I would like to point out to you that if I do a written question, on average, my written questions are taking two to three months to be read out. Secondly, we have a defunct Committee for Agriculture, purely because our Chairman is under the same charge. I therefore seek your guidance that who do we go to at this point? Can the Minister not give us a ministerial statement that the matter is in hand because he knows about it and also explain to us why the whistleblower was fired?
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you. Perhaps we can ask the Hon. Minister to give us a ministerial statement but at the same time… -[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections]- Order, order, order Hon. Members. Hon. Matangira, Hon. Matangira, order! Hon. Members, there is an Hon. Member who drives a Land Cruiser, white in colour, registration AEG3390, it is blocking other vehicles. Can the owner attend to it immediately?
HON. MARKHAM: I rise on a point of order Mr. Speaker Sir. You were halfway through something before you were rudely interrupted by someone walking in here and you did not finish.
THE HON. SPEAKER: I had agreed with you Hon. Markham that a Ministerial Statement should be made accordingly and also let us find out how far the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs has gone in terms of gazetting the Whistleblowers Bill. I thank you.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. TOGAREPI: I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 22 be stood over until Order of the Day Number 23 on today’s Order Paper has been disposed of.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
THIRD REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ON THE PROVISION OF SANITARY WEAR IN RURAL SCHOOLS
Twenty Third Order read: Adjourned debate on Motion on the Third Report of the Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education on the provision of sanitary wear in rural schools, progress made on the construction and refurbishment of schools.
Question again proposed.
*HON. MUCHENJE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, for giving me the opportunity to also add my voice on to the report by the relevant Portfolio Committee and I would want to start with infrastructure development. Most of the infrastructure in rural areas is appalling. There are no good buildings that we can talk of. If we come up with a policy on construction of schools, there should be sufficient buildings and good toilets so that children in rural areas can attend school because the majority of people in communal lands are unable to further their education because of the unconducive environment that they learn in. For example, in Gokwe, we observed that the majority of schools were not good in terms of infrastructure development. There should be construction of schools first before the Ministry allows children to attend specific schools.
In terms of online lessons, all the children that are in the communal lands did not do well in the public examinations because in the majority of cases, adults in communal lands do not use cellphones because of the non-availability of network. It becomes an insurmountable challenge for a school child to then access online lessons. It is now the rainy season and parents receive seed maize and fertilizers because we know that they do not have adequate means to provide for themselves, so a lot of children that are in communal lands were unable to attend online lessons because they do not have the necessary gadgets to facilitate online education. They did not have money to buy data, there was no WiFi, - hence nothing much came out as benefit of online lessons to the communal school children.
We need to first investigate the environment that we want to set up programmes, taking into account the fact that some of these schools are rural based. Most of the cases are of the rural areas, even in this Parliament, the majority of our constituencies are rural constituencies. So the majority of these rural schools should be looked at when we talk of infrastructure development. The rural populace should be seriously considered as they are in the majority because in the national examinations, they did not achieve much.
On the issue of sanitary wear, since I am a woman, I have experience on sanitation, that sanitary wear should be provided. People should be honest about it; there are certain schools that are unaware that there is free sanitation that is being provided for girls because pieces of clothes or rugs are not there and outdated. There are no blankets, so it becomes difficult for one to use a piece of cloth or pany as a pad. It is my view that those in rural schools should have adequate sanitary wear so that a girl child can hygienically look after herself and also attend schools without any hustles and in a hygienic manner. I reiterate that the girl child is important. All of us in this august House came out of a woman. Our little girls are falling pregnant at eight to nine years, so there is need for sanitary wear. The quantities of sanitary wear should be improved because many of these girls are getting into menstruation. I thank you.
+HON. DR. LABODE: Thank you Mr. Speaker. Today I will debate in Ndebele. We went around the whole country. The sad thing is on this sanitary wear issue. The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education should carry out an audit because some of those schools - we had to go close to the border with Mozambique. Some of those schools do not even know anything about sanitary wear, so it is either the sanitary wear was not bought or it was procured and diverted to pharmacies where it is being sold or it was procured but at a very high price. It is very sad; when we asked the children about sanitary wear, they were wondering what it is all about. The saddest thing is that in those schools where we heard about ICT being installed, there is no electricity so how can we have ICT services, like in Rushinga - we found one teacher manning 600 pupils. How do they learn, only God knows? That situation is replicated in other rural areas, especially in Matabeleland North and South. I say so because my team was in Mashonaland. It is so painful that we talk of introducing online education yet we are not ready for that. Some schools are not built well while others have better structures. Yes the roads are tarred; it all depends on who the provincial officer is. So who is doing that, maybe they are the ones who are diverting things.
We discovered that on BEAM, in Mashonaland, everyone is paid under BEAM, 90% yet in Matabeleland it is only 30%. So those school children cannot be sent away if they are paid for under BEAM. Let us agree that all pupils must be paid for under BEAM so that we deal with the issue. We heard some complaints about some of those things. I was very glad to the Mashonaland people. Some of the roads were very bad, otherwise it is very difficult to travel, and indeed pupils go through a very difficult time. I thank you
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Moyo, did you go back to the Committee to interrogate the Minister about your findings?
HON. T. MOYO: We were hoping that after the debate, we were going to adopt the report and the Hon. Minister will come to the House with the response.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you for that clarification.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order Mr. Speaker. It is difficult for me to keep secrets. Thank you for indulging me Mr. Speaker Sir. I really appreciate this. This country is really a spiritual country. As I was coming from the village in Shurugwi, there is something that was haunting me along the way. The question was - okay we are going to the New Parliament but were the traditional leaders of the area informed of the structure? Do you also know about it? Even those who are dead are respected, you see the grave before you bury the person. How come we never got the opportunity to even see the structure? One of the issues that came to me is, ko building ikangodonha musina kutevedza chivanhu chenyu muchaita sei? I am really strong at that - processes in terms of us being there, who are the chiefs? Isusu tirikuenda ikoko hatizive kune toilet, kungopinzwa semombe dziri kungotinhwa kudhibhi. To me, I thought it was the worst disregard for Members of Parliament to go to an institution, a new building - even your own new house, you see it before you get in. It really troubled me and knowing you that you follow the traditional aspect, the Christianity of this country, ko baba wedu sei wati tinopinda mumba tisingazive kuti takamira sei? Mumwe achaenda kutoilet osangana nevakadzi ikoko, vakadzi vosangana nevarume. Ini ndaona zvichindinetsa.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Mliswa, you came a bit late. We have discussed this issue already. We said it is a temporary arrangement. We could not get a place at the HICC and the building is not officially opened. I want to inform you that before the digging started, the local chief did what he was supposed to do in terms of chivanhu. When the building is officially handed over, I think we are also going to do chivanhu first to receive the building. In the announcement that I made, Members of Parliament will be taken on a tour of the whole building so that they are familiar with the building. That was announced before you came.
*HON. MADHUKU: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir for giving me this opportunity to add my voice on this wonderful job that was done by the Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education. We went around this country on a familiarisation tour because this is an important Ministry, which is the foundation for development. All other programmes such as the National Development Strategy precede from a sound education foundation.
The Government is trying its best in development programmes, especially schools in rural areas. With regards to schools in rural areas, there are some schools that have been running for a long time now and they are not registered under ZIMSEC. When it comes to examinations, pupils cannot sit for examinations at the school. What is the problem with ZIMSEC in terms of issuing examination centre numbers? Pupils end up going to temporary boarding schools. Sometimes, they have to travel 10 to 15 kilometres and look for accommodation nearby where they go with their food. When pupils stay under such facilities, they come across a lot of abuse. Right now, there are cases of abuse of eight or nine year children. There are problems that emanate from such kinds of arrangements. Sometimes the children engage in drugs. They travel 10 to 15 kilometres away from their homes and no one is able to monitor them. Sometimes they run out of food and that leads to abuse by adults who may take advantage of the situation.
My appeal is; the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education must register schools that have been there for a long time but are not examination centres. We have realised that children with disabilities face challenges when they go to such schools to write examinations. That becomes a big challenge to the parents as well as the community. That issue must be rectified immediately so that our children go to school easily. They should be able to sit for examinations in their usual environments instead of transferring to a different environment that they are not familiar with.
Hon. Speaker Sir, there is another point that has been repeated over and over about sanitary wear. We realised that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education was supposed to start distributing sanitary wear in rural areas instead of starting with schools in urban areas. This is because in the rural areas, there are needier pupils. These pupils end up using unhygienic material that may compromise their health. The other problem that we have is, the procurement system of sanitary wear is bureaucratic. Sometimes, it takes a long time for procurement to take place. The other problem that we realised is that there is centralised procurement. This does not bring about progress, we should decentralise so that we have something happening at provincial level. Our Constitution speaks about decentralisation and that is what we should follow. There is need that everything moves smoothly and efficiently. There is also need for monitoring and evaluation because some of the goods that are being purchased are substandard. Some girls are even saying no to the sanitary wear because it is substandard. The Committee responsible for the procurement of sanitary wear should do their duty diligently - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: May the Hon. Member be heard in silence please.
*HON. MADHUKU: We expect our ministries to work hand-in-hand so that we produce quality goods.
On school feeding programme, this was passed at UN level. This programme is necessary for school children; hence their health improves. Headmasters and teachers should be sensitised about this programme and they should be given land, seed and fertilizer so that they - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members, order please.
*HON. MADHUKU: Government can assist by giving food but schools should also produce and use their produce. The Ministry of Education should also intervene and assist the schools in order to support Government efforts; hence our children will be healthy. I thank you.
+HON. MATHE: Thank you Madam Speaker for giving me this opportunity to debate in this special Parliament. We are debating on the visits or hearings made by the Committee on Education in relation to the problems that learners face nation-wide.
These days our children need to do on-line learning. In Matabeleland North, Tsholotsho and Nkayi, there was no network. We could not contact each other because of network challenges. For our education to improve, ministries should work hand-in-hand so that they come up with a plan that will be supported by all ministries in order to come up with something tangible.
On sanitary wear, we found that at Kezi – there was a small box which had less than 20 pads. When you ask the Ministry, they will tell you that they have given pads to all schools but other schools had none.
We also went into classrooms and asked learners if they knew what sanitary pads are. Most learners did not know what it is. We even went deeper and asked them what they use and they said they used cow dung, leaves and newspapers during this era yet the Government of Zimbabwe has released money for sanitary pads. These pads are not there in schools. Let there be a way, when allocation for sanitary pads is released, it is given to all schools so that the heads of schools can go and buy such that schools benefit.
The Ministry, in consultation with other ministries that construct schools, should agree that there be a girl child friendly toilet which should be a must. Every secondary school should have a girl child friendly toilet which will leave a girl child able to wash and tidy herself during menstruation time. She can also wash the used pads, dry them and then come back and collect it. This type of a toilet dignifies a girl child. The child friendly toilet will have mirrors and will allow the girl child to beautify herself.
Lastly Madam Speaker, what I would like to speak on is that children are engaging in sexual relationships whilst they are young. Can we not find a way of protecting these children? The issue of teenage pregnancy and early sexual intercourse can be avoided if this Parliament can agree that when COVID-19 started, the Ministry of Health went around educating people on what COVID-19 was about. Then there was the issue of HIV which most of us have. There were many Committees that went out to teach people on the ground what HIV was all about. We are appealing Madam Speaker that we have Committees that are selected among the community to go and teach our children. People who can be selected are village health workers. These Committees should be elaborative on what dangers are encountered in relation to early sexual intercourse.
We have just heard two cases of early child pregnancies but very soon we will hear a lot of them. I appeal Madam Speaker that there should be elderly people going around teaching our children on the dangers of indulging in sexual intercourse at an early age.
*HON. NYABANI: I would like to add a few words. As you are aware that education is very important, especially looking at the education sector, where I come from, Rushinga, Mt Darwin and Mbire, what Hon. Labode said here that in some schools there will be one teacher manning the whole school yet CALA was introduced; imagine that teacher must take care of ECD to Grade 7 pupils. Do you think they can pass? They write the same examination and are expected to pass. Do you think that is reasonable? That is actually destroying one tribe indirectly.
I come here and I am expected to become a Minister. How can I be a Minister when I am not educated? We want the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to look at those issues. Where I come from in Rushinga, a teacher has to travel three kilometres to look for network to make a phone call yet that person may have better access where they come from. They will refuse to stay at the school because the conditions are unfavourable for them. Government should consider that when they install transmitters or network boosters, teachers must be considered.
Teachers should also be considered with regards to devolution. Teachers who come from other places, for example Rushinga, may not be able to stand those conditions because they are not used to those conditions. Recruitment should be such that teachers are employed in their respective districts. I am grateful that was done in Rushinga, maybe to silence me but in Mt. Darwin, that did not happen. My appeal is that in all rural districts, teachers must be recruited depending on the districts where they come from.
We understand that schools have to do computers as a subject. How can you do computers when there is no electricity or network? Government must install solar panels as well as electricity in order for computer education to be successful. My expectation is that as we look into the coming year that we are going into, Government did very well by providing computers in primary schools but now we realise that there will be one teacher manning the whole school. How can the pupils pass when they are taught by one teacher - the whole school? How can they pass when they are not taught? How can they get 5 ‘O’levels when there are no teachers? The police or army require 5 ‘O’levels for one to be recruited. So how can it happen when there are no teachers? I appeal that teachers be provided all the time and a teacher must be employed in their respective district in which they come from.
*HON. L. SIBANDA: Thank you for this opportunity that you have given me to add my opinion and support the motion that was presented by Hon. T. Moyo on Primary and Secondary Education which speaks to the challenges that affect children in schools. The Ministry should consider providing sanitary wear to schools in rural areas because students there face more challenges. When they reach their menstruation period, they have sanitary pads to use. Looking at good hygiene, a girl that does not use sanitary wear can be affected in the near future if they use products like cow dung or leaves. This can even affect the fertility of the child and can end up not conceiving in the future. Children need to have proper sanitary wear so that they can use them and prevent themselves from such conditions.
Children in urban areas can access sanitary wear from the shops and can learn how to use the sanitary wear from television sets and other social media sites. Children in rural areas have never had access to television and they do not know what a sanitary pad is and how it is used properly. I therefore encourage the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to take this programme to the rural areas and not just dwell in urban areas.
Then on the issue of schools, especially in Matebeleland, most of our schools are still below standard and do not even have suitable furniture. The children will be sitting on the floor. So, I am urging the Ministry of Education to consider building schools in rural areas and give them proper furniture. We also need boreholes so that the children can have clean and safe water. For children that have reached menstruation age, if they mess themselves up, they do not have anywhere to wash up. In some areas, they have already drilled boreholes but they do not have installations to draw the water from the ground. So I appeal for solar panels to be supplied so that it is easy to pump the water from the ground. This will assist the children from poor backgrounds. Even those that will have messed themselves up can wash and look presentable again. It affects them psychologically if they cannot clean themselves because other children will laugh at them.
In conclusion, people will end up saying children in Matebeleland South are not educated; they just want to cross the border going to South Africa. This is because the education in South Africa is different from that which is provided here. The Ministry of Education should also go to the rural areas and ensure these children do not only focus on going to South Africa but they also learn scientific subjects so that they can also be lawyers or doctors, just like other children. There is no ICT infrastructure and technology is still a thing to be heard of. They are failing to access technology in the same way they are failing to access education. I thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: Good afternoon Madam Speaker. I hope that being a farmer you have already started planting. I would like to contribute to this debate which was moved by Hon. Moyo, which I think is thought-provoking in many ways and also makes us interrogate our own laws that we passed in this House. As we speak, there is the Bindura case where an 8-year-old was raped by two boys and after that we had another 7 year old rape case.
Madam Speaker, if you recall, sometime ago we had a law that we passed in this House which dealt with sex education. I think it was a law to do with comprehensive sex education. I think Hon. Labode brought it up and that law had quite a lot in it. I even remember asking in this Parliament who had passed that law because MPs debated strongly against children who are made pregnant to continue with school. We went against it yet the law was passed. So basically, it is that very same law which is making children to become pregnant because they can go to school. There was no age stipulated that at this point-in-time, you can continue if you are pregnant. That is why you have seen the increase of young children getting pregnant because the law allows them to be pregnant and to continue going to school. I am saying this because there is a law which talks about 18 years being the age of consent but we have two laws which do not talk to each other. In the law allowing children to go to school while they are pregnant, there was no specific age limit, which means even a girl who is nine months old can be pregnant and continue going to ECD. I do not know if Members of Parliament have interrogated this extensively. We then argued against that law but that law found its way and became law. So, who are we now to stop a child from being pregnant when they are seven years old, when this House passed a law stipulating that as long as they are going to school, they can continue going to school?
We were going against a law which said when a child is pregnant they are expelled. Our sisters managed to see themselves to who they are today because they were scared of being expelled, but there is no child today who is scared of being expelled. The sex education aspect of it was critical in that they should be taught about sex and contraceptives but it still contradicts itself. How do you introduce contraceptives when you allow them to be pregnant? Let us look at this law and interrogate it. I have been saying that as legislators, we must admit that this law is not working and the increase in the early child marriages is absolutely unacceptable but it continues. Not only that, but the people who are suffering the most are the poor. Most of us can afford $200 for abortion when our children get pregnant but people in the rural areas cannot afford that.
I have done some analysis and have statistics in which probably 30% to 40% of girls have an abortion. I did this because most of the girls I used to go out with, I would talk to them and they would share with me that when they were young, they went through an abortion. I studied how many told me that and my analysis showed me that 40% had an abortion. However, these girls came from rich families and they continued with school. This law has made the poor in the rural areas poorer and that is the end of it. The mother cannot say anything; the mother is not educated to stand up for the rights of the girl child. They are told to keep quiet.
There is also the economic situation which has made these figures go high. The best way to make money is to marry off your child. Not only that, but religion, churches and pastors are marrying off children especially some of the apostolic faith churches. We cannot allow children to suffer for political expedience. Just because you want to be in power, we must not rein in on a certain religion yet they are giving each other five to seven year olds as wives then they go about saying they support President E. D. Mnangagwa yet they go against the law and destroy the lives of these youngsters. The President must be careful with such people because the real vote is from those that are young and they must be protected. So, why are you not zeroing in after a lot of stories have come up? Why are we allowing them to get away and not be charged in terms of raping these young children at the end of the day. So to me, that is also an issue that needs to be looked into seriously. There is the issue of sanitary wear - the level of corruption has reached unprecedented levels. Condoms you find them in beer halls for free and so forth. I have always said that condoms are optional but sanitary wear is not optional. It is something which a girl child must have. Ndiko kuvakwakwa kwaitwa munhukadzi naMwari. Hapana option. People are so cruel to be selling it yet we have passed a law that it must be made for free. We have even said to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education that we are prepared to pick these sanitary wear at district education offices and distribute them to the schools.
Not only that, most of the schools have Fashion and Fabrics Classes; why are they not giving money to those schools so that they can produce their sanitary wear? That is empowerment. That is devolution. You are also empowering the local communities by making sure that women and girls can produce their sanitary wear, which is reusable and cheaper. They are making their own; it is decent, they accept it, you have given them money and you have empowered them. Why are we not picking companies to be able to do it? What is the role of the women in communities?They are given sewing machines and that is an empowerment initiative. Power and money devolves so I am asking myself whether we have gotten to a point where we cannot empower local communities in that aspect. Why have we not been able to empower these local communities?
This issue also becomes scientific. There is also GMO. The GMO foods that the children are taking today are making them bigger and there is the aspect of hormones. If I am not mistaken, for you to want to be sexual, you must reach a certain level but these GMO foods that we are bringing in are destroying us. Science has got to come in and investigate the effects of GMOs. You have got to understand one thing - Hon. Labode spoke about the Kagame way of doing things. We must empower the President because there are two options in this county which are lawful and allow for abortion – one when the mother is in danger and when the child is in danger. May the President be empowered that any child at the age of 7 or less than 18 abort and give them contraceptive of a long time. We now need to move that law as Members of Parliament. We cannot allow a nation where grandchildren are lactating. What life is that? What country is that? May we allow the President to be very clear that any child who is below 18 years who is pregnant, abort and go on contraception. We must be very clear about this because this is the only way we can stop this.
We have a situation where a child is allowed to go to school when she is pregnant. Madam Speaker, you know that when women are pregnant, they have habits. So, how can you be in a class with one who is pregnant but they are spitting. I want to give you the scenario of the law that you passed. The class becomes a spitting class. You cannot stop the child from spitting because she is pregnant. Why have we allowed this to happen? Why have we allowed to turn schools into maternity wards? To me it is very important that the legislature, with immediate effect, moves in to change these issues so that we protect the girl child. It is absurd and unheard of because today that is the headline every day. We now do not know how many are pregnant who are quiet.
The Ministry itself runs the education system and where is the aspect of sex education. Where is the aspect of the traditional way of educating the aunts and uncles to educate our children? Where is that? We are not seeing that. When we grew up, we were sent to the village. We would go to Rusape to my grandmother. At times you would see the girls with my grandmother. We would go to Silobela to my grandmother on the paternal side. The girls now understand why every holiday we would go there because they would be taught how upbringing should be. People in the rural areas are able to tell whether a child is sexually active or not. By us not taking our children to the rural areas, we have also stopped that eye that sees that this child is not okay.
I remember going to the rural areas as a family with some of our brothers and cousins and the next thing one of our cousins was pregnant. It was picked up by our grandmother. The next thing we heard she was pregnant because our grandmother had seen the habits. Mothers of today do not have time for children because they are breadwinners. At what time do they have to observe a child but our grandmother was able to pick it up. We then realised that this was the situation.
On the economic situation and I want to speak to the women. If you do not stand up and be counted to seeing your own daughter becoming who you are, you do not have to go to heaven. You belong to hell. Why should you allow your child to be married because of the economic situation where you keep quiet? The most dangerous person in the home can be a mother. She knows all the secrets and she keeps them. Are you telling me that the mother cannot tell that this child is pregnant? A child gives birth at seven years old and seven years old is also the power the President must say at seven years; you have not grown up. You cannot look after yourself and as such, order an abortion. How do we encourage one to be a mother at seven years?
In the Bindura situation, you could see that an eight-year-old girl was raped by two boys who are 16. This is child play. Why should we allow child play to be taken seriously? It is a level of immaturity. And then we say congratulations, you now have a baby. No wonder why people vote at the age of 18. The law is very clear because you are mature when you are 18. At 16 you are not mature. If ever you have to ask her between the two boys who the father is, she does not know. We cannot allow this to happen at the end of the day. That is why sanitary wear is important as I close because sanitary wear gives dignity to the girl child. If the girl child does not have sanitary wear, people end up finding ways to these young kids yet it is supposed to be for free. Poverty cannot make people get to a point where humanity is lost. We cannot allow that to happen Madam Speaker. Those people and I hope that the Chairman has recommended that there must be an investigation. Refer it to ZACC and there must be prosecution with immediate effect because we cannot continue like this. This is taxpayer’s money which is meant to go to the good of the girl child at the end of the day.
I want to close by saying it is therefore important that the economic situation must improve. We can never allow a situation where there is no equitable distribution of wealth between the urban and rural areas. It is about time that legislators move that we cannot do a, b, c until the rural constituencies get into this level. You now have a situation where the urban constituencies are ahead and the rural constituencies behind. So may we push that we stifle progress in the urban: they can do what they want and then push aside the rural issues because we want to live in one country. We are living in two different countries - the rural and the urban.
Members of Parliament in the rural areas will tell you how difficult it is. There is no network, Hon. Mathe spoke about there being no network; you are a Member of Parliament, you are supposed to be receiving a guest from Parliament, you do not even know where you are. We cannot do that in this era, not only that communication is power. While we want to put hotlines for these children to phone when they are in trouble, how do they phone when there is no network? WhatsApp is cheaper, how do they have access to WhatsApp when there is no network, when no one has money for airtime? So the lack of communication, lack of digitalisation system results in all these happenings at the end of the day.
I want to thank you Mr. Speaker for giving me this opportunity to be able to debate and to say may we relook at our laws, may this Parliament before it ends, come up with a law that children who are under 18, who are pregnant, there is need for automatic abortion and use of contraceptives. There is no way anybody wants her girl child to be dependent on another man. If you do that it will continue, she will be a mother at seven and when she also has children, she will equally do the same to those children to be mothers when they are young. When is the nation going at the end of the day?
I want to thank you Madam Speaker for giving me this opportunity and also to say to women Members of Parliament, for example you Hon. Mpariwa, you had a good upbringing, today you are a Minister, you are this and that because of hunhu hwedu. This should start with us Members of Parliament; let us go back to our culture. With the CDF fund, build houses so that aunties can come and teach these children, because without that we have no nation to talk about at the end of the day. Thank you.
*HON. RAIDZA: Thank you Mr. Speaker for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the debate on this report. With regards to progress on the distribution of sanitary pads to school pupils as well as infrastructure in various areas, I would like to thank the Committee. Indeed, what they discovered is the truth on the ground. First of all, I would like to talk about the infrastructure especially in rural schools, it is in a very bad state. Most of our infrastructure shows that it is dilapidated and has not been refurbished over a long time. I would like to encourage this House as well as Government, to come up with a plan that can assist rural schools to be refurbished after five or ten years because even our buildings, if we do not renovate them, they become dangerous to the inhabitants.
These days because of the rains due to climate change, most schools remain without roofs and are affected by winds and rains to an extent that pupils run out of shelter for their education. So, I consider it a very serious issue that Government should prioritise and implement a strong programme including the involvement of parents as well as local authorities. There must be a plan to work on such things. Most rural schools are at great risk to the pupils, one day we will realise a lot of disasters emanating from those institutions. I urge the Ministry to take these recommendations seriously in order to ensure that our pupils are assisted.
Mr. Speaker Sir, with regards to sanitary pads, at the Pre-Budget Seminar it was stated that the Ministry is allocated funds after discussing and debating over this issue for a long time. We realised that there are a lot of things that take place. Sometimes money is deposited but it will not be enough for the procurement of those pads. What we realised is that there was lack of capacity on the Ministry’s side. There were challenges in terms of procurement of those pads, from procurement to supply side. Sometimes the delays may be due to corruption. So there should be thorough scrutiny when Treasury releases those funds. Why do they delay the procurement of the required items because pads are very important items for the girl child?
We also encourage them that it is not about procuring from their friends because the Second Republic Government has a whole government approach. That speaks to the interrelation between ministries and that should ensure the quicker distribution of those items. Some ministries can actually take up that opportunity, for example the SME sector should supply those pads which would ensure that we do not spend foreign currency but instead we create employment and business for the locals. There should not be excuses on the delay of the procurement and distribution of those pads. Why should it be Harare doing that? That should be looked into strongly. If funds are allocated it should reach the intended benefit. We realised that sometimes people may frustrate the process if they do not benefit personally in a corrupt way. Government led by the President has allocated funds for that but along the way, we see corruption taking place and frustrating that process. That is a very touching issue. As Hon. Members, we should ensure that those funds are released and benefit the intended beneficiaries immediately.
It is a very important issue that we should look into strongly. I thank you.
HON. CHIKWINYA: Thank you Hon. Speaker for allowing me to add my voice on this very noble motion before us, by the Committee on Primary and Secondary Education, as ably led by Hon. Moyo. I want to agree with the majority of speakers before me, suffice to say that what I have identified whilst interacting with some children within my constituency is that in pursuit of their education, and I want to believe that this inquiry was made largely in pursuit of making sure that we provide quality education by the services of basic things which are; sanitary wear and the housing or infrastructure under which these children are supposed to partake their lessons.
More importantly, allow me to take this challenge back to us as Parliament that I have also identified and as has been done by other Hon. speakers before me, that us as Parliament, at least at times we focus on the Constitution when we are aligning our laws but we are not focusing on the laws themselves, whether they are talking to each other. So you find a particular law which is correct in terms of aligning it to the Constitution but it then overrides or takes away the rights as enshrined in the other particular law.
Hon. Mliswa ably managed to put that point across and I just want to emphasise but I am not very sure which Committee is supposed to look at that. Perhaps it is the Parliamentary Legal Committee to say as we are passing one particular piece of legislation, how is it affecting other pieces of legislation which are to do with the subject matter which Cabinet or the Government wants to address too. I have also seen in various other court judgments that the judges have bounced back these issues to Parliament to say this is a legitimate law passed by Parliament but they are contradicting each other. So which law then takes precedence over the other?
I want to believe that there is a Child Justice Bill that is before us. When matters are to do with the rights of a child, can we ensure that our wording puts it across and captures that this Child Justice Bill will have clauses that override or that put together the rights of the children as captured in the other various pieces of legislation. I say so because this is to do with pads and infrastructure but with regards to the rights of this particular child whom we want to go to school, some are even failing to go to school because of identity.
A matter that I got on Friday was that a father wanted to be an informant for birth certificate of a particular child now doing Grade 7 and in preparation for examination, but whereas there is a court ruling that says previously only a mother could become an informant, but now even a father can become an informant because what happens to the mother can also happen to the father in terms of gender parity issues. We have not aligned our laws for us to be able to deal with that. So the people at the Registrar’s Office are still taking only the father to become the informant.
So as a father, if I have my child and the mother has gone for some other reason, I cannot go and become an informant for the purposes of birth registration for my particular child. I want to believe that these are some of the issues which we need to take care of as Parliament. I want to also challenge or implore on the Minister of Justice, to have a sharp eye with regards to all the judgments that come from the courts which are supposed to be sanitised and put into law by this Parliament because we have various judgments which are now precedent which the courts are now saying they are law but Parliament has not put them into statutes and the various Government departments are not yet implementing them because they have not yet been put into the respective structure of law enactment with regards to Parliament.
I will then move over to the issue of sanitary pads. We were at the Pre-Budget Seminar and there was evidence of failure to procure yet the money was there. The Minister of Education, sitting at the high table and I remember the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance was seated with the Ministers and Deputy Ministers, he put a challenge to the Minister of Education to say ‘I even wrote a letter to you that we have given you money – what problems are you facing in producing these sanitary pads?’ There was no clear answer coming from the Ministry of Education.
So in our interaction with the Ministry of Education, let them be clear and honest enough to say that we are largely interested in providing education for our children. These issues of procurement need assistance and therefore, we end up facilitating that they can be assisted because the Ministry of Finance released the money but the Ministry of Education kept on moving, winding for them to be able to procure this essential material.
Hon. Speaker, we are under Education 5.0, are we telling ourselves as Parliament with these brains that I see in here and in our universities where graduations are happening year in year out, that we fail to have a department that can produce sanitary pads? We fail to have a department at the National University of Science and Technology and University of Zimbabwe and at various universities throughout the country that can fail to produce what in my view looks to be a piece of cotton clothed on some clean material for our children to use. I think we are not thinking enough and we are not being innovative enough.
I take a challenge from the Chinese – they have various equipment that they have put into Zimbabwe which we are told that they have been produced by university students, some which have become revolutionary. The Changfa Engine for example, has replaced electric power in the majority of rural areas and mining is happening but we are told that was produced at a university college in China. Are we failing to challenge our students in various universities for them to produce sanitary pads? I leave it to the House so that when we make the necessary interactions with the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education especially during the budget time, we put them to task that if they have been given this money which was meant to procure sanitary pads perhaps outside the country, could they not have made better use of it in terms of capacitating universities and vocational colleges for them to come up with sanitary pad machinery and material?
My third point Hon. Speaker and I want to agree with the recommendations of the Committee that a full enquiry must be made in terms of tracing every cent that was released for the purposes of procuring sanitary wear. We have been in an era whereby people abuse Government funding and reports are made, condemnation is done and we move over. I think we need to begin to come out of that particular mode and put everyone to account. Where did this money go – certainly it was released by the Ministry of Finance but the pads did not find their way to the schools – what happened in-between? Some heads must begin to roll. I think the moment we begin to do that, from a parliamentary perspective, from ZACC anti-corruption perspective, from a policing perspective, I think we will begin to achieve results with regards to public funding.
My fourth point is on construction, which is one of their items of inquiry. There is a report that once came out in the press to say 3 000 schools have been built between 2018 and now. I think the Committee did well to go on the ground and said for this particular year, under this particular budget where 45 schools have been budgeted for, what happened? What is it that is happening with regards to the budget? I propose that we get a schedule of exactly what happened between 2018 and now. If there are schools that have been completed, we celebrate. Those that are halfway through, we want to know how much was budgeted; how much was disbursed so that at least as we interact with the Hon. Minister of Finance - we realise at the Pre-Budget, the majority of Ministries were reporting between 35 to 60% disbursement.
We cannot be sitting here debating and producing a budget which is not being disbursed to the particular Ministries; which does not have an impact to borrow from your words as Speakership. The words came from in particular; Hon. Mudenda that MPs must look into the impact of the budget. So, where we are saying we need to build a school, we must be able to interrogate with the number of children that are going to benefit. Pupils, who were walking 15 km, will now be walking only 3 km that is the positive impact. Now, if we come here celebrating figures but these schools are not being built, I think we are wasting each other’s time, especially with the dignity and decorum that is given to Parliament that whatever we say, people expect it to be consummated. So I propose that the Committee goes further to produce a schedule of every budgeted school and give us the amount that was budgeted for, amount disbursed and completion stage.
I will speak for my constituency - I have a secondary school called Mbizo 15 Secondary School. Construction began in 1999, up to now there are only two blocks which are half-way done. Nothing has been done, just bricks that are put there. Every time I ask the Minister of Local Government to shed light on this, there is no commitment; the Minister of Education to shed light there is no commitment but children are cramped in only one high school that is in my constituency, yet we had started to build another secondary school to relieve pressure from the one which was in existence.
The other issue, as I wind up, is that there seems to be miscommunication with regards to construction of schools between local authorities and Government. If you go to this particular constituency, you are told this school belongs to the local authority and therefore, it can only be rehabilitated or constructed in terms of expansion by the local authority. Or you are told that this school belongs to Government but the general people in our constituencies simply want to see results. They do not care whether the money is coming from Local Government or whether the money is coming from Central Government. They want to see results.
I want to challenge the Committee as they interrogate people in our constituencies that the bridge between local authorities and Central Government with regards to construction of schools must be closed, so that we do not have this us and them. The Minster at one point said I have this number of schools but I am not going to take care of them because they belong to local authorities. I have got this number of schools which I am only concentrating on because they belong to Government. I think we need to close this gap so that at least all the schools belong – even if they were built by the local authority, they have to be handed over to Central Government for the purpose of rehabilitation and getting funding.
The last point is a challenge and it is a question. I want to believe the Hon. Chairperson will take note and give us a solution. Is it not possible, seeing to it that Government is going into joint ventures on other Government programmes where there are Built Operate and Transfers or PPP ventures. Is it not possible with our current economic situation for private players to be allowed to work with Government on a Built Operate and Transfer programme or on a PPP arrangement so that at least we have more construction of schools in our constituencies but them being landing at an affordable price as stipulated by Government. That will be my challenge. I thank you.
HON. T. MOYO: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I want to thank the Hon. Members who contributed to this very important debate. I must say that the discourse that was under debate was very important and we got a lot of invaluable comments and information that will go a long way in shaping our report.
Of particular importance, I would like to thank the following Hon. Members; Hon. Murambiwa, Hon. Shamu, Hon. J. Sithole, Hon. Biti, Hon. S. Banda, Hon. Muchenje, Hon. Labode, Hon. Mutambisi, Hon. Madhuku, Hon. Mathe, Hon. Mpariwa, Hon. Madzimure, Hon. Nyabani, Hon. L. Sibanda, Hon. Nduna, Hon. Mliswa, Hon. Raidza and Hon. Chikwinya. If you debated and your name has not been called out, it is not deliberate. I want to thank everyone who contributed. At this point in time, I move that the Third Report of the Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education on the Provision of Sanitary Wear in Rural Schools be adopted. Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. TOGAREPI: I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 22 to 26 be stood over, until Order of the Day Number 27 has been disposed of.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC WORKS, NATIONAL HOUSING AND SOCIAL AMENITIES ON PETITIONS PERTAINING TO SERVICE DELIVERY AND IMPLEMENTATION OF DEVOLUTION
Twenty-Seventh Order Read: Adjourned on motion on the report of the Portfolio Committee on Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, Social Amenities on five petitions pertaining to service delivery and the implementation of devolution.
Question again proposed.
HON. CHIKUKWA: Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir. I would like to thank all the Members who debated and I will not mention names because they were many, in case I leave somebody and they will be offended. I also want to urge the Ministry to urgently bring the Devolution Bill to Parliament because it is causing a lot of problems in the communities and in all local authorities. With that, I therefore move that the Report of the Portfolio Committee on Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, Social Amenities on five petitions pertaining to service delivery and the implementation of devolution be adopted by this House.
Motion put and agreed to.
On the motion of HON. TOGAREPI seconded by HON. TEKESHE, the House adjourned at Twenty-Nine Minutes past Four O’clock p. m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 22nd November, 2022
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE
SWEARING IN OF A NEW MEMBER
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: In terms of Section 39 (7) (a) of the Electoral Act, Chapter 213, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) notified the Clerk of Parliament that Maryleen Nobuhle Ndiweni has been nominated by the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance MDC-A Party to fill in the vacancy in the Senate that occurred following the death of Hon. Sen. Mildred Dube, representing Bulawayo Metropolitan. Maryleen Nobuhle Ndiweni has therefore been duly appointed as Senate Party List member for Bulawayo Metropolitan with effect from Friday, 11th November, 2022.
Section 128 (1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that before a Member of Parliament takes his/her seat in Parliament, the Member must take the oath of a Member of Parliament in the form set out in the third schedule of the Constitution. I therefore call upon the Clerk of Parliament to administer the oath of a Member of Parliament to be Senator in terms of Section 128 of the Constitution.
NEW MEMBER SWORN
HON. SEN. MARYLEEN NOBUHLE NDIWENI took and subscribed to the oath of loyalty as required by law and took her seat.
STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS AND OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE FIFTH SESSION OF THE 9TH PARLIAMENT
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I have to inform the Senate that His Excellency, the President Hon. Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa will deliver the State of the Nation Address that will mark the Official Opening of the Fifth Session of the 9th Parliament at the New Parliament Building in Mount Hampden on Wednesday, 23rd November, 2022. Additional details pertaining to relevant logistics are provided for in the information brief that was circulated to Hon. Senators on Monday, 21 November, 2022 via your e-mails. I hope you have read your e-mails.
I also have to inform the Senate that the New Parliament Building has not yet been officially handed over to the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe. A special request was made to hold the Official Opening of the Fifth Session of the 9th Parliament and State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the new Building, which was deemed a suitable venue for the occasion and the Chinese acceded to the request. Hon. Senators will be taken for a familiarisation tour once the handover has been done and Hon. Senators will be informed accordingly.
PARLIMAENT IDENTITY CARDS
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: There is a request from the Chief Whip that Hon. Senators are kindly reminded to bring their Parliament Identity Cards for ease identification at the New Parliament Building tomorrow. I thank you.
SWITCHING OFF OF CELL PHONES
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Hon. Members who are very senior in this House know that we put off our cellphones when we get into the House please.
*HON. SEN. KOMICHI: Thank you Madam President. There seems to have been confusion – tomorrow when we are bringing our gadgets, where are we going? Are we coming here or we are going to the New Parliament Building?
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: It is good to seek clarification. According to the announcement that I made, it says that there is information which has been sent to your e-mails. If it is not clear, I think we heard that it says we have not been taken for a familiarisation tour and that is because the building has not been handed over to us so that we are taken on a familiarisation tour. We are being forewarned that it is cheaper to use that building for such events than hiring a place like a hotel where we pay some monies yet that House is open. So, authority has been sought for us to use it for the Official Opening. We will be advised in due course when we will permanently move to that new building. I hope it is clear.
*HON. SEN. ENG. MUDZURI: Thank you Madam President. I wanted to ask on the issue of iPads; if you go to ICT personnel, they also cannot help us in terms of sending and receiving messages. For a number of times, I have been there. This affects a number of Members of Parliament. Gadgets are there but they even told me that a number of Members of Parliament have the same problem. As a result, we do not receive information on time.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I am being informed that there is information in our pigeon holes as well.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE ZIMBABWE ELECTORAL COMMISSION FOR THE YEAR 2021
Second Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission for the year 2021.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 23rd November, 2022.
On the motion of HON. SEN. MUZENDA seconded by HON. SEN. KAMBIZI, the Senate adjourned at Thirteen Minutes to Three O’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 9th November, 2022.
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: Thank you Madam President, I move that Order of the Day No. 1 on today’s Order Paper be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE (HON. SEN. MOHADI): Before we start, I think today we are very lucky because we have our Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care with us. It might be his first time in this august Senate. We really appreciate your presence Sir, feel at home – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.] -
SECOND READING
HEALTH SERVICE AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 8A, 2021]
Second Order read: Second Reading: Health Service Amendment Bill [H. B. 8A, 2021].
THE HON. VICE PRESIDENT AND MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. GEN. (RTD) DR. CHIWENGA): Thank you Madam President. This Bill is about aligning the Health Service Act with the new Constitution. My Ministry, in collaboration with the Inter-ministerial Taskforce on the alignment of laws with the Constitution identified some provisions of the Health Service Act for amendment. My Ministry has already aligned the Public Health Act with the Constitution in 2018, and as for other alignment issues affecting my Ministry, these will be covered by the amendment to the Medical Services Act which is still before Parliament.
Hon. Senators may know that in 2004, the whole body of employees of the State employed in the provision of health service to the public was carved out of the Public Service by the Health Service Act. This was to allow them to receive special or better conditions of service than applied to them when they were members of the Public Service. Under the Health Service Act, a Board was set up to keep their conditions of service under review. In this task, they were assisted by separate hospital boards established for each State hospital which were given considerable autonomy to hire and fire and to enter into contracts with service and goods providers to improve and stock State hospitals.
Since that law, it was not clear to what extent the ordinary rights applicable to most other employees also applied to health service providers in the service of State. Everyone knows that such health service providers are discharging an essential function that cannot simply be withdrawn during a labour dispute without proper safeguards for public health and safety. Under the Labour Act, health service providers in the service of the State were listed as providing an essential service and therefore prohibited entirely from engaging in strike action.
Hon. Senators, now under the new Constitution that came into force in 2013, the issue is put beyond doubt. We read in section 65 (3) of the Constitution as follows:
“Except for members of the security services, every employee has the right to participate in collective job action, including the right to strike, sit in, and withdraw their labour and to take other similar concerted action, but a law may restrict the exercise of this right in order to maintain essential services.”
Therefore, our proposal under this Bill is not to prohibit health service providers in the service of the State from participating in the activities just mentioned, but to restrict them in the public interest. You will see how the Bill does this if you read the explanatory memorandum and I do not propose to go over it again here.
The provisions are far from being oppressive as some ill-informed people have said. How can something be oppressive that seeks to balance fairly on the one hand, the interests of health workers to improve their conditions of service and on the other, to ensure that persons who are ill or injured are not put in danger of their health or life by uncontrolled strike action?
Another major objective of this Bill is to transform the Health Service Board into the Health Service Commission with a more expansive mandate than before. The Commission, unlike the Board will no longer be a creature of the Minister but be appointed by His Excellency in recognition of the essential part that it plays in the delivery of a most important service to the people namely health.
Moreover, the Chairperson of the Health Service Commission is no less a person than the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission himself or herself. This illustrates that the Health Service is an important organ of the Executive branch of the State and a very special one, requiring the special scrutiny of the highest echelons of the State.
To ensure uniformity of conditions of service across the Public Health Sector, decisions on hiring and firing of staff made by the Hospital Management Boards in the discharge of their delegated mandate must be done with the approval of the Health Services Commission (See Clause 7). Nor is the Commission left out of the picture when the Minister appoints these hospital Management Boards, for he or she must in future consult the Commission when doing so (see Clause 6).
In conclusion, I urge you Hon. Senators to pass this law and in doing so, raise another important milestone in the development of our country into a middle income economy by 2030. I now move that the Bill be read a second time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read a second time.
Committee Stage: With leave, forthwith.
COMMITTEE STAGE
HEALTH SERVICES BILL [H. B. 8A, 2021]
House in Committee
Clauses 1 to 9 put and agreed to.
Schedule put and agreed to.
House resumed.
Bill reported without amendments.
Third Reading: With leave, forthwith.
THIRD READING
HEALTH SERVICE AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 8A, 2021]
THE VICE PRESIDENT AND MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. RTD. GEN. DR. CHIWENGA): Madam President I move that the Bill be read the third time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read the third time.
On the motion of HON. SEN. MUZENDA, seconded by HON. SEN. MATHUTHU, the Senate adjourned at Three o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 22nd November, 2022.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 8th November, 2022
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE
BILL RECEIVED FROM THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE (HON. SEN. KAMBIZI): I have to inform the Senate that I have received the Health Services Amendment Bill [H. B. 8A, 2022] from the National Assembly.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. DR. MUSABAYANA): Thank you Mr. President Sir. I move that Orders of the Day, Nos. 1 to 2 on today’s Order Paper be stood over until Order of the Day, No. 3 has been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE DELEGATION TO THE 7TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE AFRICAN PARLIAMENTARIANS NETWORK ON DEVELOPMENT EVALUATION HELD IN MOROCCO
Third Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report of the delegation on the 7th Annual General Meeting of the Africa Parliamentarians’ Network on Development Evaluation.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. CHIEF NECHOMBO: Thank you very much Mr. President, I would want to wind up our report. I would want to thank in a very big way the Hon. Members of Senate who debated the motion, those who were able to go through and give an ear to the report on the 7th Annual General Meeting of the Africans Parliamentarians Network on Development Evaluation. In thanking the Hon. Senators, I would want to wind up and emphasize the fact that development evaluation is at the heart of us parliamentarians in doing our oversight role, our representative and legislative roles. This is so because of our oversight role, policy formulation and decision making and the need for us to monitor Government programmes and intervention.
Mr. President, the need for us to demand evidence from evaluation in the matrix of development would continue and would remain imperative if we are to realise the sustainable development goals and also the Vision 2030. To that end Mr. President, I propose that we adopt the report of the 7th Annual General Meeting of APNODE.
Motion that this House takes note of the report of the delegation to the 7th Annual General Meeting of the African Parliamentarians’ Network on Development Evaluation held from 1st to 3rd August, 2022, in Rabat, the Kingdom of Morocco, put and agreed to.
On the motion of THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. DR. MUSABAYANA), the Senate adjourned at Twenty Two Minutes to Three o’clock p.m.