PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 18th May, 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: Hon. Senators, why is it that the House is almost empty? We complain about the Ministers but we do the same. People cannot lie to me saying they are virtually connected. I talked about this some other time ago that first, you have to check whether the House is full, not just stay in a hotel and login then we think you are there. Before we complain, I think we have to be organised ourselves.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Madam President, I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 5 be stood over until Order of the Day Number 14 has been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
SECOND READING
AMENDMENT OF STATE UNIVERSITIES BILL [H. B. 13, 2021]
Sixth Order read: Second Reading: Amendment of State Universities Statutes Bill [H. B. 13, 2021].
THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Thank you Madam President. With your permission, I have got handouts of my presentation because the electronics are not working, so I have printed for the Hon. Members of the Senate including yourself.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you.
THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Madam President, please allow me to start by premising the start of our presentation on Section 13 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 20) Act 2013 (hereinafter referred to as “the Constitution”)...
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE
CHALLENGES WITH INTERNET CONNECTIVITY
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Please, before you continue Hon. Minister, I have a notice.
Please, be advised that we have a challenge with our main internet link service provider TelOne. They have a technical connectivity challenge. Internet will be connected to the backup link during Parliament sittings. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted. We are sorry about that. You can proceed Hon. Minister.
THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Thank you very much. Madam President, please allow me to start by premising the start of our presentation on Section 13 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 20) Act 2013 (hereinafter referred to as “the Constitution”) which focuses on national development. Subsection 1 of Section 13 states that “The State and all institutions and agencies of Government at every level must endeavour to facilitate rapid and equitable development and in particular, must take measures to (a) promote private initiative and self-reliance (b) foster agricultural, commercial, industrial, technological and scientific development and (c) foster the development of industrial and commercial enterprises in order to empower Zimbabwean citizens”.
His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa pronounced that our national vision is to become an upper middle-income economy or better by 2030 in compliance with the requirements of Section 13 of the Constitution on national development, among others. Thus our National Strategic intent is rapid and equitable development through Vision 2030. Madam President, it is imperative that all Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies must play their part to achieve this vision by providing the required and necessary national capabilities. National capabilities can only be achieved when the relevant national systems are properly configured.
His Excellency, the President further stated that this vision will be fulfilled through leadership in knowledge and innovation. To this end, our contribution as Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development (MHTEISTD) is to ensure Zimbabwe becomes an innovation-led and knowledge driven economy by 2025 as espoused in NDS1. Madam President, this provides an important background and context of our presentation today. To this end, please allow me to explain further on our mission to make higher education relevant for national development as required by the Constitution.
Madam President, please allow me to state the simple truism that no nation can develop faster than the development of its education system, particularly the objectives of that education system. To this end, a national development cycle can be summarised as a tight and inseparable logical combination and flow between human needs, the education system and industrialisation or industry. A good education system, particularly the curricula must be empathetic to and therefore drive from (2) human needs and by being the means for devising solution to provide for these human needs, the education system must, by design, lead to the development of (3) an industry that facilitates rapid and sustainable provisions for that human needs as required by the Constitution.
On Fig 2, we are showing that humans need food, water, shelter, sleep, connection or communication and innovation. Therefore, when we design our education system, it must be informed by what our people need and industry is a repetitive way of producing the goods that would have been designed by an education system for the provision of human needs. Therefore, it is this triangle that must be respected whenever we are designing an education system. It is education for who, to meet whose needs and does that education produce the industry that is needed to provide for those human needs?
Our strategy or game plan is to cause national development which can be summarised as industrialisation and modernisation using well configured national systems and processes to work on our heritage. In other words, when our education system is configured in such a way that it works on our heritage, which means our natural resources that we had and our people, it can only lead to rapid and equitable national development.
On Fig 3, we are summarising this talk to say for a nation to develop, which is the output of industrialisation and modernisation. We have to be properly arranged in terms of our processes, which is the configuration of our processes. Our processes must be based on what we have as a people and as a nation in terms of our heritage, hence when we work on our heritage which is like our minerals and we are able to do it through well configured processes, we can industrialise our country.
Madam President, it is in order to fulfill the constitutional requirement on national development that Zimbabwe had to configure its Higher and Tertiary Education Policy from Education 3.0 which was focusing on teaching, research and community service to heritage based Education 5.0, which is focused on teaching, research and community service, innovation and industrialisation by making our education conform to the Constitution and through making it Education 5.0, we could ensure rapid and equitable national development.
On Fig 4, we are showing Education 3.0 which is teaching, research and community service and never working on our heritage so that we produce an industry. By adding innovation and industrialisation, our intention is very clear in that we are saying our education must lead to something because all the industries that we see in this world are a result of innovation of education systems in those areas. So, our overall aim is this transformation to make Zimbabwe’s education curve dominate the technology curve. We provided Fig 5, which shows two curves; the blue curve is what we call the technology curve and the golden curve is what we call the education curve.
Now we want to describe what suffering is, which is social pain. Whenever your education is below the development of technology elsewhere, it is a period of social pain. It means if your education cannot produce the industry that you need, you will suffer but if you make your education produce the industry you do not suffer. So, our job is to make sure that education causes the industry. I will give you an example, when we are dominating the technology curve we will be able to tell if a bus breaks down. We will just make another one. If our crops fail, we will just irrigate them and ensure we have food. It means if our education is able to make our technology we do not suffer. The colonial education system was not teaching us to make the technology, therefore our education curve was always below the technology curve. So, we were always using words such as we shall import this or buy this, meaning it was produced by an education system elsewhere. What we are intending to do is the blue dot which is called prosperity which can only occur when your education system is dominating the kind of technology you will use. This is basically the way we can make our education conform to the constitutional dictates of Section 30. Universities play a crucial role in this regard. Once we are able to make our university education dominate the technology curve, we transition from social pain to prosperity thereby leading to the facilitation of rapid and equitable development as envisaged by Section 30 of the Constitution. We must make our ploughs, cars, food and must be able to purify our water, make our medicine and at that moment, our education is dominating the technology and we cannot talk about suffering but prosperity.
The amendment of these statutes follow the amendment that you did for the Manpower Planning and Development Act, which is a principal Act and all these university Acts have to conform to that Act which is to align the State Universities Act with the Constitution, especially that Section 30 and making their provision with regards to administration more uniform while maintaining and strengthening their different founding statutory missions. Each of our universities has a mission, for example Lupane State University is supposed to be specialising in dry land agriculture technology. National University of Science and Technology is supposed to be leading in science and technology. Gwanda State University is supposed to be leading us in terms of agricultural technology and mining technology. So each university will maintain its focus but the way we administer them in terms of the structuring of the administration has to be the same. We also want to bring the State Universities mission objectives into line with the need for the 21st century university function as agents of industrialisation and modernisation agenda, and herein expressed as a Government of Zimbabwe Education 5.0 policy direction, which is conforming to the national Constitution Section 30, where education is to be national development outcome based. We do not want an education whereby people finish and still look for jobs. We believe when we have educated people, they should be the job provider. We want an education with a focus on the production of goods and services, thus fostering industrialisation and modernisation. This has already been enshrined in the Manpower Planning and Development Act, Chapter 28:02 as amended and we are now therefore proposing to put all State Universities Acts into line with this constitutional requirement, thereby increasing efficiency and economy in the functioning of University Councils by reducing their size while making them more balanced with regard to gender and regional representation, in line with Sections 9 (2) and 194 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. In the meantime, some of our university councils have numbers of 60 and some even 80 like the Senate, so we must make sure that we conform to the Constitution by making them efficient. We want to make uniform the way some designated or senior university administration officers are appointed across all universities in terms of administration. Also to strengthen and where not clear, make explicit principles of good governance and streamline State universities disciplinary procedures in line with the demands of Section 61(1) (c) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe on Academic Freedom. We know that academic freedom is talking about universities being allowed to be creative and not be disturbed in their creativity.
Specifically, the amendment of State Universities Statutes Bill seeks to amend the following thirteen State Universities Acts:
- Bindura University of Science Education Act [Chapter 25:22];
- Chinhoyi University of Technology Act [Chapter 25:23];
- Gwanda State University Act [Chapter 25:30];
- Harare Institute of Technology Act [Chapter 25:26];
- Lupane State University Act [Chapter 25:25];
- Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences Act [Chapter 25:31];
- Marondera University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology Act [Chapter 25:29];
- Masvingo State University Act [Chapter 25:24];
- Midlands State University Act [25:21];
- National University of Science and Technology Act [Chapter 25:13];
- Pan African Minerals University Act [Chapter 25:33];
- University of Zimbabwe Act [Chapter 25:16]; and
- Zimbabwe Open University [Chapter 25:20].
The Constitution ushered in the promotion of good corporate governance, gender balance and regional representation. This necessitated a process of entrenching these and other progressive principles into the existing laws in order for the laws to be intra vires with the supreme law of the land and to improve service delivery in universities.
Furthermore, innovation and industrialisation are ongoing in compliance with Section 13 of the Constitution, and it is indispensable that the laws speak to innovation and industrialisation of the country, through higher education institutions in compliance with the Constitution.
In this regard, it is also herein proposed that all State University Acts follow the University of Zimbabwe Act model on administration in compliance with Section 61 (1) (c) on academic freedom. The provisions of this Act together with other Acts need to be updated to enhance efficiency and effectiveness as required by the Constitution on matters of basic values and principles governing public administration.
Principle 1: Good Governance
In terms of Chapter 9 of the Constitution, all the State institutions, including universities, must conduct their affairs in compliance with principles and values of good governance which include but are not limited to the following: efficiency, competence, accountability, transparency, professional and ethical conduct, financial probity, responsiveness, inclusivity, meritocracy, equality and non-discrimination.
Accordingly, in this regard, it is proposed that all State Universities must be run by lean and efficient councils which are inclusive in terms of gender and regional representation. Trimming numbers in councils resonates with constitutional values of economic use of resources. Section 194 (1) (b) provides for the efficient and economical use of resources. Apart from expending resources, bloated university councils tend to be inefficient and a burden to the fiscus and institutions they lead, without much additional value being realised.
Appointment of members to university councils must be based on merit. This is in line with Section 194 (2) of the Constitution which provides that appointments to offices in all tiers of Government, including Government institutions and agencies and Government controlled entities and other public enterprises, must be made primarily on the basis of merit.
All university councils must develop and adopt approved Council Charters. All university employees must be governed by Codes of Ethics that respect Academic Freedom. All Vice Chancellors must be appointed by the Chancellor for a single five-year term that may be renewable once in line with the Public Entities Corporate Governance [Chapter 10:31] and Section 197 of the Constitution.
The Vice Chancellor and Chairperson of Council be removed from the Finance Committee. This amendment was necessitated by the need to comply with principles of good corporate governance where the Chairman of Council should not chair committee meetings and council at the same time.
The Librarian and Bursar be appointed by the council with the approval of the Minister, to be in line with the University of Zimbabwe Act. There is clarity in the Acts on how the Registrar is appointed but for the Bursar and Librarian, the Acts just say they are appointed in terms of statutes. This amendment seeks to clarify and standardise.
All university disciplinary procedures must be standardised with the constitutional provision of academic freedom and those procedures as regulated by the Labour Act [Chapter 28:01] in order to remove cumbersome and costly procedures.
Principle 2: Gender Balance
Section 17 of the Constitution stipulates that the State must promote full gender balance and that the State must take all legislative measures to ensure that both genders are equally represented in all institutions and agencies of Government. Accordingly, as much as possible, women must constitute at least half the membership of appointed members at all levels in institutions of higher learning. At the moment, all the universities have gender balanced councils, 100% of them. This principle seeks to bring into effect the right to gender balance as stipulated in the Constitution.
Principle 3: Innovation and Industrialisation
The needs of the nation are ever changing. It is vital for University Acts to speak to the said needs of society. Complying to the triangle that I talked about that all what we learn must be to fulfil the needs of the people and all what we learn must lead to an industry which in turn fulfils the needs of the people. In this regard, all University Acts must specify mandates of universities in their objects section in line with the 5.0 education policy focusing on teaching, research, community service, innovation and industrialisation. Education 5.0 seeks to extend the role of universities in national development programmes by ensuring that the heritage-based education system produces quality goods and services for the nation, therefore industrialising and modernising this nation.
The objects section seeks to promote artistic expression, scientific research and creativity in line with section 61(1) (b) of the Constitution. Some absurdities, such as citing some University Acts using old names, for instance, Great Zimbabwe State University is using Masvingo State University Act. It should be cleaned up through the amendment process. As we speak, Great Zimbabwe University is called Masvingo State University. However, inside it is written Great Zimbabwe University, so this is just to clean up.
Conclusion
The constitutional alignment process is crucial in order to bring the University Acts into line with the Constitution. It is therefore envisaged that once the amendments go through, the Acts will fully be aligned to the Constitution and also that university administration becomes more efficient as required by the Constitution. At the same time, universities become development agencies for this country.
The amendment of the Acts process will also serve to develop and reform the laws governing universities to enable them to address the needs of society in line with changing social, political and economic environment and the desire for the nation to be modernised and industrialised as required by Section 13 of the Constitution. This is just moving the universities from a colonial model to an independent model.
State Universities play a critical role in the industrialisation and modernisation of the nation. The Bill therefore, entrenches the constitutional provision of fostering national development within the constitutional principles of academic freedom which are essential for universities to fulfil their core scholarly mission of seeking truth and advancing knowledge for the purposes of industrialisation and modernisation without undue interference. Thus, universities perform their business by making their mission empathetic to human needs. Universities must be there for the people to provide the needs of the people. They cannot be just there and there which then creates the basis of industry to meet the same human needs as their main guide to service society with regards to rapid and equitable development.
The so called Silicon Valley that we know today is an industrial park of Stanford University. The industrialisation of the United States as we know today is a result of MIT and its university. All the agriculture which is in the United States for example, is done by universities. I thank you Madam President. I therefore move that the Bill be read a the second time.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Madam President for giving me the opportunity to add my voice. Firstly, I would like to thank the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education for the document which shows that they clearly looked at it and identified problems in our education system when they changed that. Education 3.0 must be replaced by 5.0. Education 5.0 makes children clearly understand what they are learning and how it will help them in future.
I would also want to applaud the Minister for saying that the tertiary students who were in school must go back to school in order to clearly understand what they are learning about and not to aid corruption in their studies. This will cause problems because some people will be given jobs that they are not qualified to do because they will be related to the managers.
In conclusion, I would like to say that I am very glad about the issue of gender equality which has been included in the document. Our Constitution says that there should be 50/50 opportunities for both males and females. Our universities are trying their best to make sure that there is gender equality. I would also like to thank the Minister for the job well done by ensuring that our country moves forward. This will reduce the level of unemployment for graduates. I thank you Mr. President.
*HON. SEN. SHUMBA: Thank you Mr. President for affording me the opportunity to second what the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education brought in this House. This is a good contribution. I wish if I would turn back the hands of time and go back to university and have this good privilege. As we were growing up, we only knew that one would go to the university and study a BA degree so that you would teach Shona and Religious studies only. Thank you Hon. Minister Murwira and your colleagues as you are noticing that we were backward. I wish this could start at primary level because not everyone can afford to be at university.
I applaud this Bill and that is why people went to war. They realised that we were disadvantaged. As we stand here, we have degrees which have no use. You can bring a lot of degrees on the table but realise that you have nothing to do with them. You cannot take it to Breton. It is better if someone has done what is being introduced currently. We are grateful for the programme, well done Hon. Minister. I wish this could remain like this forever.
According to the Constitution, there should be 50/50 in terms of gender equality and this is good. I support the Bill brought by the Minister in this House.
(v)HON. SEN. CHIEF MATHUPULA: Thank you Minister for your presentation. It covered very important issues. We wish that our students and faculties could be the answer to many problems that we are facing as a society. They should be the ones to address the parts which are missing on our tractors and servicing of such equipment and many things which need to be imported from out of the country. So, if they can be the ones who can make these things here locally, it can save us on the import bill and it can create skills. This issue of graduates saying we do not have jobs, they are the ones who are supposed to be creating jobs. You also spoke about regional representation of our universities, which is very important, but I think the problem that we have is that we are failing to link higher and lower education system such that if you have a university, let us say in Tsholotsho, the students who go there to learn will be coming from the towns. Look at your universities, they are importing from towns, so our rural schools do not have the infrastructure and the capacity to feed into those universities. You can talk about representation even in rural areas universities; even if they are there, the students who are learning there are not coming from those areas because of the schools.
You spoke about the colonial aspect; I think it is coming back from the colonial aspect. So, I wonder how you will manage, maybe your document can speak about that. If you speak about representation in every region, we need to also look at that representation and see how we can solve that problem of equipping the capacity of those rural areas to feed into your universities. Thank you so much Hon. Minister for your document, thank you Mr. President.
*HON. SEN. CHINAKE: Thank you Mr. President. I just want to thank the Hon. Minister for bringing this Bill which is very important so that our country will succeed and our children will do well. We are grown up and we can no longer go back to school but the country’s future lies in the hands of our children. The Hon. Minister talked about Education 5.0 in the Bill, how have you ensured that this programme is a success? Thank you Mr. President.
HON. PROF. MURWIRA: Thank you Mr. President. I am very humbled by the comments from Hon. Senators which are mainly supportive of the direction of changing our education into something that can transform our lives, transforming this nation from social pain to prosperity through a deliberate design of our systems for effectiveness. I want to thank Hon. Sen. Tongogara for talking about gender equality and also issues to do with an education that has a purpose. We say education must have a purpose and a benefit, otherwise if education in this country – we have been witnessing low levels of industrialisation and high levels of literacy, which should never happen. Education with high levels of literacy, we expect higher levels of industrialisation. It means there was something wrong in this design. This is what this august House is correcting. I thank you.
I also thank Hon. Sen. Shumba for really emphasising on this point of an education that works for us and not an education that takes money from us and never gives back. So, we promise that we will keep on working as honestly and humbly as we can to make sure that our country talks a different language, and sits on different tables from the ones it has been sitting before.
Hon. Sen. Chief Mathupula talked about very important issues in terms of the comment of saying the rural schools are not having enough feed into our universities. We believe that when we have strengthened university education, it means we will also strengthen the type of people who will go into those rural schools because all these teachers are trained in higher education. Once we have transformed higher education properly, it will in turn transform and benefit what is happening in the rural schools. I believe by this transformation, we will be able to improve the feed into the universities that is coming from these schools.
Hon. Sen. Chinake talked about Education 5.0 and we have been talking about it. This Bill is trying to entrench Education 5.0, although it is entrenched in the Act you already passed, which is the Manpower Planning and Development Act. These ones are now cleaning up so that they are all aligned to the Manpower Planning and Development Act and so that our education begins to show results.
Hon. Sen. Chinake, you would know that for example, this country is now able to produce its own oxygen; that is a movement in Education 5.0. We also know that for example, at Marondera University of Agricultural Science and Technology in Mashonaland East, it is having the largest sophisticated irrigation system that we have just installed which just has to be inaugurated, which is a movement towards that direction. You would know that all our universities from Lupane State University, which is doing dry-land agriculture, we have now given it enough livestock so that they are able to study about livestock. We were in a situation whereby people talk about cattle and have a degree on cattle but when they see the cow, they run away. So these are issues which we are now doing where we want to make sure that our education makes sense and make sure that we teach and not cheat. We really believe that this movement that you are supporting and we are humbled by that, will transform our country in our lifetime. We believe that we are laying a foundation that goes beyond ourselves, laying the true independence of this country in terms of mind; a liberated mind leads to a liberated flesh and liberated way of living where the country’s dignity is restored through knowledge. Hon. Mr. President, I thank you. I now move that the Amendment of State Universities Statutes Bill be read a second time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read a second time.
Committee Stage: With leave, forthwith.
COMMITTEE STAGE
AMMENDMENT OF STATE UNIVERSITIES STATUTES BILL [H. B. 13, 2021]
House in Committee.
Clause 1 put and agreed to.
On Clause 2:
THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Mr. Chairman, with the leave of the House, we have noted a typographical error on Clause 2, where it is written ‘student union’ but should be corrected to ‘representative council’ not union. I thank you.
Clause 2 put and agreed to.
Clauses 3 and 4 put and agreed to.
Schedule put and agreed to.
House resumed.
Bill reported without amendments.
Third Reading: With leave, forthwith.
THIRD READING
AMENDMENT OF THE STATE UNIVERSITIES STATUTES BILL [H. B. 13, 2021]
THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Mr. President, I move that the Bill be now read the third time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read the third time.
MOTION
EFFECTS OF DROUGHT ON THE NATIONAL HERD IN THE DRY REGIONS OF THE COUNTRY
Seventh Order read: Adjourned debate on the motion on the effects of drought on the national herd in the dry regions of the country.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President for affording me the opportunity to debate the motion moved by Hon. Sen. Dube concerning drought, which causes our livestock to die due to lack of inadequate grazing land. I would like to start by saying long ago, drought was rarely experienced because things were alright then. Trees were green and we were not allowed to cut down fruit trees and the msasa trees. This was very helpful as people could eat fruits from those trees and they protected people from the winds. It was rare for roofs to be blown away by winds as the houses were covered by trees. Currently, you will notice that man are moving around with axes to cut down trees though it took years for the trees to grow to the level they are at but they are easily cut down. When you hear the reasons for cutting down the trees, you will be surprised. Some would like to use them in their tobacco barns while others use them for firewood. This is unbelievable. As a people, we should play our role of saving these trees as it is also our responsibility to conserve trees. If people do not know the importance of trees, they find it easy to cut down trees. I encourage Parliamentarians to visit everyone responsible for tree conservation. A lot of people reside in rural areas and they are being led by chiefs and they know the consequences for cutting down trees. It will help if Chiefs lead working with EMA, Forestry Commission and all stakeholders who are responsible for conserving trees so that we can have a programme that can teach the importance of trees and their conservation.
THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Hon. Sen. Tongogara, you are debating a different motion.
HON. TONGOGARA: Mr. President, I am on drought which is part of the motion.
THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: You can proceed.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President. I was trying to explain that if we educate people on the causes of drought, everyone will be aware of the importance of trees. The motion also talked about our livestock and how they are dying due to lack of grazing land. What is destroying grazing land is the cutting down of trees. In our culture, having livestock means you are rich. Livestock also was used for marriage purposes because people used to value livestock. There were greener pastures for cattle. Nowadays, my thinking is that if we need the livestock to thrive, we need to do something about it. There are also diseases which affect our cattle. I think a motion was raised on preventing cattle from pests like ticks and the Government responded in a positive way by giving people in rural areas pesticides to help during the January disease period. Therefore, I would like to say we can have cattle dying but we do not sit down to see how we can deal with the problem.
We need to conserve our forests to avoid siltation in our dams and rivers due to deforestation. I would like to thank Hon. Dube for the motion which she raised. A lot of people in the urban areas do not have bank accounts but bank their money in the form of cattle which they can put in their butcheries. We need to take a close look at the areas where cattle are bred so that we conserve the forests and that cattle do not die from hunger. That is how we can move forward Mr. President.
His Excellency tries his level best. We know that there were people who were given cattle so that we could start breeding the national herd to enable us to go to the level we were in the past. If we want the national herd to grow, people must be educated on how to maintain the cattle. We no longer have enough grazing lands. We would like to urge our farmers to plant grass and crops to feed the cattle. Cattle are dying as alluded to in the motion raised by Senator Dube. So, if we do this, it will help us to grow our cattle herd so that we do not import beef as a country due to shortage of cattle.
HON. SEN. A. DUBE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 19th May, 2022.
MOTION
POLICIES THAT ADDRESS AND PLUG LOOPHOLES RELATED TO TAX EVASION
Eighth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on policies that address and plug loopholes on tax evasions, illicit financial flows and corruption.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. CHINAKE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. DENGA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 19th May, 2022.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE 50TH PLENARY ASSEMBLY OF THE SADC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM HOSTED VIRTUALLY BY THE KINGDOM OF LESOTHO
Ninth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report of the 50th Plenary Assembly of the SADC PF hosted virtually by the Kingdom of Lesotho.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 19th May, 2022.
MOTION
MEASURES TO RESUSCITATE THE ECONOMY
Tenth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the need to come up with measures to resuscitate the economy.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 19th May, 2022.
On the motion of HON. SEN. MUZENDA seconded by HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA, the Senate adjourned at Seven Minutes to Four o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 17th May, 2022
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)
THE HON. SPEAKER: I have been away and when the Sergeant-at-Arms announced the Speaker’s procession into the House, someone whom I identified said ngaauye. Why do you want me to start on a wrong note, ngaauye – [HON. MEMBERS: It means welcome, it is different from saying mukomana ngaapinde.] – Ibvai, that is not acceptable. I told you Hon. Members that the Speaker’s procession must be conducted quietly. In Shona they say gudo guru peta muswe kuti vadiki vakutye. Teedzerai tsika dzedu dzekunyarana nekuremekedzana.
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. SPEAKER
NON-ADVERSE REPORTS RECEIVED FROM THE PARLIAMENTARY LEGAL COMMITTEE.
THE HON. SPEAKER: I have the following announcements. The first one – [HON. BITI: Inaudible interjection.] – Hon. Biti, my learned friend, please be attentive. I wish to inform the House that I have received Non-Adverse reports from the Parliamentary Legal Committee on the following Statutory Instruments:-
Statutory Instrument Nos. 34-40, 40(a), 42-59 which were gazetted during the month of March. Statutory Instrument Nos. 60-68, 68 (a), 69-72, 72 (a), 73-76,78,79, 80, 80 (a) 80 (b), 81, 82 and 84 which were gazetted during the month of April 2022.
PETITIONS RECEIVED FROM EVERNICE MUNANDO, WOMEN’S COALITION AND LUCY CHIWASA, WOMEN’S ACADEMY FOR LEADERSHIP AND POLITICAL EXCELLENCY
THE HON. SPEAKER: I have to inform the House that on the 28th April, 2022, Parliament received a petition from Evernice Munando representing Women’s Coalition, beseeching Parliament to launch an inquiry...
On Togarepi having stood up proceeding towards the Hon. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Chief Whip, I am on the floor can you please sit down – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – to launch an inquiry into the statutes of the nation’s state of preparedness on the implementation of gender responsive approaches towards the mitigation of climate change in Zimbabwe. The petitioners further requested Parliament to summon the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Tourism and Hospitality Industry on the same. The petition has since been referred to the Portfolio Committee on Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry.
I also have to inform the House that on the 13th May, 2022, Parliament received a petition from Lucy Chiwasa representing Women’s Academy for Leadership and Political Excellency, beseeching Parliament to enact an all inclusive and stand alone Sexual Harassment Act that deals with cases of sexual harassment that take place in both the private and public spaces; including workplaces schools, tertiary institutions, politics, queues, boreholes, public transport, ranks and vending sites. The petition has since been referred to the Portfolio Committee on Higher and Tertiary Education.
+HON. MATHE: Thank you for the time that you have given me Mr. Speaker. At the same, time welcome back home, having been away for a while.
Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have stood up on a point of national interest. I am happy as a representative of the people that the Government of Zimbabwe has since realised hardships being faced by citizens - that is the high prices of basic commodities. I therefore, commend the Government of Zimbabwe being led by His Excellency, Dr. E.D Mnangagwa.
We are grateful to him and his Cabinet, he has realised that people are having a hard time. I visited a certain shop and I will not mention its name, I picked an item for $899.00, when I reached to the till, the price had changed to $1400. This indicates that people are facing economic hardships.
We are very grateful for the leadership, may the good Government continue to look after its own people. .
HON. RAIDZA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I stood up to hereby request from you with regards what is happening with prices in the shops. Prices are just going up even in foreign currency. I do not understand why, so I hereby request the Minister of Industry and Commerce to come and give a Ministerial Statement explaining what her Ministry and the business community are doing to ensure that prices of basic commodities are affordable to citizens.
We realise that in the past it was as if the business people were somehow rejecting the local currency but we realised that even in foreign currency terms prices have doubled. I thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Togarepi, please approach the Chair
HON. BITI: On a point of order! There was a ruling on that one.
HON. A. NDEBELE: I want to seek clarity so that I do not look like I am against your ruling. Could you kindly clarify what you whispered to the Government Chief Whip?
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Hwende and Hon. Biti, I think they have clarified issues. That was the basis of the whisper.
HON. BITI: I rise on a matter of national interest in terms of Standing Order No. 62. I humbly request that if the Minister of Foreign Affairs can present to this Hon. House a statement of clarification to help our country. Hon. Speaker, you know that almost a million people were killed during the Rwanda Genocide in April 1994. Hon. Speaker Sir, life is important, no one wants genocide particularly given our own history in Zimbabwe.
We learnt with sadness that the UN has excavated the body of a wanted genocidal known as Protais Mpiranya here in Zimbabwe. Mpiranya was responsible as one of the main perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandese genocide. So, we kindly ask the Minister of Foreign Affairs to come to this august House to explain why he was in Zimbabwe, why he was using the false identity and why he was buried in Zimbabwe and why he was not surrendered to the UN Commissions on Rwanda? I thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Yes, we will have some conversation with the Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs.
HON. MOKONE: Thank you Hon. Speaker, good afternoon. Hon. Speaker. Seven miners are dead in Matabeleland South in Colleen Bawn area close to Gwanda Town. These miners improvised the rope to use to go underground because they had no machinery to use and the rope broke off. Mr. Speaker Sir, this incident happened on Friday and today it is Tuesday, only one body has been retrieved. Six of them are still underground and from the information that I got, they are getting pieces of bodies from underground as they are trying to rescue them.
Mr. Speaker Sir, this is worrisome because across the country, we continue to witness such tragedies because it is not only in Matabeleland South but it is across the country. My prayer through you Mr. Speaker, is that we get a Ministerial Statement as far as the safety of the miners is concerned. Secondly, we get a Ministerial Statement as far as the preparedness of the Ministry is concerned when such tragedies happen because I am taking note that it happened on Friday and today is Tuesday. In that regard Mr. Speaker Sir, I would like to thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you. We will pass on the message to the Hon. Minister of Mines so that he can present a Ministerial Statement on the safety of the miners in our mining operations.
HON. NDEBELE: Thank you Mr. Speaker. Owing to poor health, I have not been to the House for some time. Let me welcome you colleagues from either side of the House and more especially lawyers that have come back, the profession my senior brother, cannot be prouder of. Hon. Speaker Sir, I have a reason to make a demand of our esteemed ruling party. I feel it is my duty as a representative of the people of where I come from to make this demand. The theme of our Independence Day Celebration aptly says ‘Zimbabwe at 42, Leaving no one and no place behind’, quite timeous as well as instructive.
It is ironic Mr. Speaker Sir, that the celebrations were held in Bulawayo, the very centre of what we know today as the Matabeleland Region. We, the people of Matabeleland and those who live there, feel and bemoan the effects of exclusionary politics in our dear beloved country. I am lobbying for the appointment of a Second Vice President of our country in line with the unity accord which was forged by the founding fathers of this country. The Unity Accord Mr. Speaker Sir, is irrevocable and it says as much in its articles, I think it is Article No 1. It is a fact Mr. Speaker that the leadership of our ruling party committed to uphold the provisions of that 1987 Unity Accord.
It is also a fact Mr. Speaker Sir, that in the politics of our country, the presidium, for all intents and purposes, is a very powerful body in the Second Republic drive towards the promotion of national unity, devolution and decentralisation. The appointment of a Second Vice President Mr. Speaker Sir, is more needed now more than ever before because our society is highly polarised. I therefore, as a representative of the people where I come from, demand specific performance from our esteemed brothers in the ruling party for the appointment or the commitment to implement the ‘living no one and no place behind policy’. I so submit Hon. Speaker Sir.
THE HON. SPEAKER: The direction of your request says to the party, now the party is not the appointing authority as such. The ruling party is not the appointing authority of Vice President. I think as the esteemed lawyer, you are aware of the provisions of the National Constitution, apart from the sentiments that you capture arising from the mantra ‘leaving no one behind and leaving no place behind’ as we celebrated our 42nd independence in Bulawayo. So in that regard, I am not sure whether you are quite accurate to address yourself to the ruling party because the ruling party is not the appointing authority.
HON. NDEBELE: If I may Mr. Speaker Sir, as you have directed...
THE HON. SPEAKER: I have not directed but I have corrected.
HON. NDEBELE: I want to speak to that correction as well. I do not want a one-on-one with you Hon. Speaker, but I was rising from the provisions of the Unity Accord, which specifically refers to the First Secretary of the Ruling Party. That is where I was coming from, but in line with your correction, I would happily address His Excellency, President E. D. Mnangagwa. Thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir and good afternoon to you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Good afternoon.
HON. T. MLISWA: Mr. Speaker Sir, it is not in dispute that the disposable income of most Zimbabweans due to inflation has eroded and it is not a secret that Members of Parliament are also part of Zimbabwe. As a result, they are equally affected. Members of Parliament have a right before they get to you and that is why the Chief Whips are there. Unfortunately, I do not sit in any Caucus, that is why I stand representing myself and others. There must be a joint sitting, which is a right for Members of Parliament which addresses such issues.
It is unfortunate that the Government Chief Whip seems to be not encouraging it. The last time we had it, Hon. Mpariwa will agree with me when it was called - he instructed Members from ZANU PF not to attend. The agenda is not political because it is about the welfare of Members of Parliament and other business such as their stands and all that. We do not want to come to you all the time. We want a joint sitting and you being the leader of Parliament, you have that responsibility to ensure that Hon. Members’ rights are observed and they are not suppressed. There are members who are being suppressed because of the whipping system which I refer to 129 (1) (k) of the Constitution, but that cannot at all deny members an opportunity to express themselves for what they believe is not right.
Mr. Speaker Sir, may you help us in ensuring that there is joint sitting so that we can air our views. The late Hon. Mguni, may his soul rest in peace, I miss him. He pushed for that and he did not care but he looked at what the Members of Parliament wanted and he pushed for it. We all went into the Government Caucus and caucused and had a meeting to do with issues concerning us. We cannot have a Parliament which we think things are normal when they are not normal. There are channels and that is one of the channels and that is the reason why you see Members of Parliament ending up speaking to you directly because the leadership which is responsible for our wealth is not at all worried about us.
It is sad, no wonder why I say it will be good for parties moving forward, to elect a Chief Whip rather than have one appointed because you lacked one who is believed to stand for your rights. For me, I demand my right - I want the Government Caucus where I can be able to submit issues of my welfare and hopefully others can. It is our right and we cannot be denied our right, I do not belong to any party. My right is with me and Government, it is okay on a one-to-one. We have had meetings with you Mr. Speaker Sir on our welfare. We have heard about the cars and we do not burden you with that. May the responsible office bearers take the task to task? Thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Mliswa. The idea of a joint meeting is there and it is acceptable and there is no harm, but there is also an institution that is constitutional that is in place which is the administrative arm of Parliament and that is the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections]- Hon. Members, I think you are cultured enough to listen. If you have an issue, you can raise it and that is the protocol. Do not start shouting before I conclude what I am going to say as if you are very prophetic.
I was saying the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders is composed of Members of Parliament from our parties here in the House. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections] - You have just arrived please – something is being done for you. In that Committee, issues are raised and for your own information because I have got long ears although they appear very short, I have heard from a distance in Abuja, the concerns and the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders is meeting on Friday this week and one of the agenda items is the welfare of Members of Parliament.
So, the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders is very much alive to that issue and the attack should not be on the Government Chief Whip. It must be on the whips, all of them, because they constitute the welfare sub-committee of the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders and it cannot attribute whatever shortfalls are there to the Chief Whip because they work as a Committee of all Chief Whips and who must present issues concerning the welfare of the Hon. Members. In the past, they have done so and the issues had been resolved. I agree with Hon. Mliswa that the context of the request is against the hyper-inflation that has hit us and will consider the issues against that background on Friday this week. Thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: I thank you for your response and you have taught us to follow protocols. Protocol demands that our representatives are well informed and they must be informed from a Caucus. Unless they are going there to just represent themselves but not us. That is why I talked about it because it then becomes sound because it is the basis, it is the foundation for them to table our views because there is an attack on the Chief Whips that you are sitting pretty because you do not care about us - they must show some concern and that foundation is critical. It becomes easy because there will be some unanimous resolution from everyone and whatever decision is taken should have come from the people. The people in this regard are Members of Parliament.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you for the clarification. The big person in the configuration is myself as Head of Parliament. I am concerned about your welfare. Let us wait for the results of our meeting on Friday.
HON. ZWIZWAI: On a point of clarity Mr. Speaker Sir. You have penciled a meeting for Friday and you have made an observation that as CCC we are still new. Are you going to announce before Friday the constitution of the body which is going to attend that meeting to deal with these pertinent issues and beyond so that CCC is adequately and proportionally represented in that meeting?
THE HON. SPEAKER: That will be taken care of. It cannot be discussed outside the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders. Nyaya inoenda padare. Musakurumidzire dare. Inkundla izahlala phansi.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 5 on today’s Order Paper be stood over until Order of the Day, Number 6 has been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
SECOND READING
PRIVATE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 10, 2021]
Sixth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Second Reading of the Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Bill [H. B. 10, 2021].
Question again proposed.
HON GONESE: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir for this opportunity to add my voice to the debate on this Bill. This Bill was gazetted last year and it was introduced in this august House by the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs in his Second Reading speech on 12th April 2022. The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare presented the Committee report last week. I listened to the Second Reading speech of the Hon. Minister and contributions made by Hon Members.
Firstly, I want to say that this piece of legislation and before I go into the meat and flesh of the contents of the Bill, I want us to ask ourselves a very critical question why we are here. In terms of Section 117 of our Constitution, it is clear that we are here among other things, to make laws for the peace, order and good governance of Zimbabwe. We need to ask ourselves that critical question. Is this law, if passed, going to add to the good governance of Zimbabwe? If we go further to Section 119, it is incumbent upon us as Members of Parliament and representatives of the people to ensure that we hold the Executive accountable and we articulate the views and aspirations of the people who voted for us. My question is, are we doing that if we were to proceed to pass this particular Bill?
The second question which I want to pose is - why now? I want to remind Hon. Members who may not be aware that in 2004 we had a Bill which was brought before this august House. It was called the NGO Bill and Hon Biti et al who were in this Parliament at the time, may remember that we burned the midnight oil debating that Bill which was a draconian piece of legislation which threatened to take away the rights of the people of Zimbabwe, particularly the right enshrined in Section 58 of our Constitution, the right to freedom of association.
At the end of the day, I am happy to say that sanity prevailed and ultimately the Bill was not passed. Unfortunately, several years down the line, today we are seized with a Bill which in my opinion is actually worse than the one which we had at the time. I will explain why I say it is worse. Among other things, it is trying to interfere with even trusts, for example, which are not covered by the provisions of the current Act, universitas and so on and so forth. I believe that we must interrogate, introspect and say to ourselves; is this good for our country? Mr. Speaker Sir, after having listened to the debates last week, it is very clear that we live in a polarized society. Again, another question we must ask ourselves is, why do we have so many NGOs in Zimbabwe? This is the question that we have to ask, and that is the question that we have got to address Mr. Speaker Sir.
In my view, we have got various NGOs and PVOs that deal with a wide range of issues. What we must deal with is why we have got so many organisations that are trying to help the people of Zimbabwe. We have got organisations that deal with health, education, governance and human rights issues. I believe Mr. Speaker Sir, that our Constitution has got a very elaborate chapter on the issue of human rights starting with the Declaration, and the elaboration of the Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms that are enshrined in Chapter 4.
I have already alluded to the provisions of Section 58, and also go further Mr. Speaker Sir, to remind all Hon. Members that apart from the provisions in our Constitution, we are also party to International Human Rights and Instruments. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the African Charter on Human Rights and Peoples’ Rights, and those instruments, together with our Constitution, speak to the same thing. As already alluded to, we have got Social, Economic, Civil and Political Rights and they are all important and not divisible – that is a point that we must be alive to.
The intention of this particular Bill Mr. Speaker Sir, is very sinister. In his Second Reading speech, the Hon. Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs asked us to look at the memorandum and I have done so. When you look at the memorandum, you will see that there is a very long paragraph… - [(v)HON. KASHIRI: We cannot hear anything Hon. Speaker, the Hon. Member is not connected.] - I will just confirm; I think I am connected but let me speak to the microphone.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Yes, you are connected.
HON. GONESE: Yes. The point Mr. Speaker Sir is that the memorandum is very long and it talks about compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). However Mr. Speaker Sir, as Members may be aware, on 4th March this year. Zimbabwe was removed from the grey list, from the list of those countries, that were at the time when the recommendation was made, deemed not to be in compliance. I want to quote the Hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Development on what he said on 5th March – that was after Zimbabwe had been removed from the FATF grey list following an onsite evaluation exercise carried out in January this year.
I want to quote the Hon. Minister to illustrate my point. “I am pleased to inform stakeholders and the nation at large …”
THE HON. SPEAKER: Sorry, you want to quote who?
HON. GONESE: The Hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Development …
THE HON. SPEAKER: Please proceed.
HON. GONESE: That said, “I am pleased to inform stakeholders and the nation at large that following an onsite evaluation carried out in January, 2022, the FATF has on 4th March, 2022, announced Zimbabwe’s removal from the list of countries that are considered to be insufficiently compliant in implementing Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism Standards...” So the actual reason that is given in the memorandum has to a large extent fallen away. However, my point Mr. Speaker, that was never really the intention is actually hidden in one sentence that is within the memorandum that I will just read out. “Secondly, provisions have been added as a way to ensure that Private Voluntary Organisations do not undertake political lobbying.” that is the real intention of the Bill. The reference to the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism is not a reflection of the actual intention behind the real meaning of this Bill.
I also illustrate that point by stating that when we look at the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Reserve Bank, when we look at their reports and the people that it fingered, there is not a single Private Voluntary Organisation or Non-Governmental Organisation that has been cited. Instead, those are private companies that have been fingered. So at the end of the day, the Anti-Money Laundering activities that they are ostensibly trying to prevent by bringing this Bill do not actually apply to the Non-Governmental Organisations or Private Voluntary Organisations whose activities or existence is threatened by the passing of this Bill.
Yes, I heard the Hon. Minister loudly and clearly saying that NGOs should not fear. I have heard the contributions from my colleagues on your right but when you look closely at what they have been saying, and what has been said outside this august House, for instance by Mr. Chris Mutsvangwa relating to Private Voluntary Organisations, you can then discern, and clearly identify what the real intention is. My submission Mr. Speaker Sir is that it is not necessary to bring in this Bill because among other things, we have adequate laws that can deal with issues of money laundering – we already have those in place, and there is no need to add any further laws.
Secondly, we do not have a serious problem at present, of organisations that are being funded from outside, that are carrying out any terrorist activities. Even if we had Mr. Speaker, we have adequate laws – we have the Criminal Code, it can deal with those issues. At the end of the day, it is my respectful submission that we do not need this piece of legislation. I read the report of the Portfolio Committee. It is very clear Mr. Speaker that we have a polarized society, but we must also ask ourselves, why are civil society organisations concerned about this particular Bill?
It is because of the excessive powers that are intended to be given to the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare in terms of registration and even affecting organisations that are not currently affected by the current PVO Act. You are having virtually a retrospective application of the law because even those organisations that are already in existence are actually threatened if this Bill were to be passed into law.
I want to implore Hon. Members across the political divide, to put the interest of the nation first and not partisan political interests. I read the claim that a lot of our organisations are delving in political activity. When you look at Clause 5, it is a very dangerous provision which can be abused. When we are talking of political lobbying, when we are talking of opposing or supporting a political party – that clause is just too wide. It can be interpreted in any manner that anyone wants to use it to suppress or deregister civil society organisations because when we say involvement in political activities, what does it mean?
Let us look at issues or problems that are bedeviling the country. We have got serious problems in terms of human rights, and that is why we enshrined in our Constitution provisions enabling institutions to be set up and in particular, I want to refer to the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission. The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission has tabled reports in this august House that speak to matters, incidents where there have been no observance of human rights and this is an independent body. I am not going to quote other sources of information. I want to confine ourselves to our own institution, and because we have such problems, you will find that there are civil society organisations that are involved in governance issues.
It is not a crime, I have already pointed out that in terms of our own Constitution, we are required as representatives of the people to ensure that all the laws that we pass speak to the provisions of Section 117, which specifically relate and refer to issues of good governance. Section 119 empowers us as Parliament, to ensure that we hold the Executive accountable and that is the reason why I am saying that as Members of Parliament, it is incumbent upon us to ensure that we do not violate those constitutional provisions by being party to the passage of laws that actually inhibit the enjoyment of human rights by the people of Zimbabwe.
I want to go further Mr. Speaker Sir, and say that when the Public Hearings were held, it was very clear that we are a divided society. The civil society organisations are very worried and I believe that they have got good reason to be concerned because of the provisions that I have already alluded to. I know that we may say that we will sanitise them by trying to make amendments and so on, but let us look at the basic principle. Do we really need that Bill? I want to urge the Hon. Minister and his colleagues to go back to what we did in 2004. If you realise that what we must address are the root causes of the problem, why do our people want to demonstrate? It is because some of them are hungry; some of them do not have enough to eat and so on. When people are expressing their rights, we should not suppress them by bringing in obnoxious pieces of legislation and furthermore, we have organisations which will assist on issues and matters relating to good governance. We will talk about civic education, the right to vote. If you look at Section 67 of our Constitution, it is very clear; it actually gives every citizen of Zimbabwe the right to be elected into office and the right to vote. I have already made reference to the other provision which is very clear in bestowing the rights to the people of Zimbabwe. I want to say that we must not have a scenario where we have got this attitude of ‘us and them.’
What we must be looking at Mr. Speaker, is that we have got a governing party today; it does not mean that it will always be a governing party. At some stage in time, it will find itself as an opposition. By the same token we have got an opposition party, at some future stage, it will find itself as a ruling party. If you go back to what happened at independence when the Law and Order and Maintenance Act was passed by the Smith Regime, when we got our independence, that law was still in place and it was then used by the then liberation movement which was not the governing party.
I want to say to my colleagues, let us not pass dirty pieces of legislation; you do not know here you will be tomorrow...
THE HON. SPEAKER: You are left with 5 minutes Hon. Member.
HON. GONESE: I will try to wind up Mr. Speaker Sir. My plea to my colleagues is to say this: we have got other measures which we can put in place. Let us address why it is that we are having so many organisations in the country. If you look at our health issues, Mr. Speaker, we have got a serious problem, we have got our hospitals, there are not adequately equipped. You look at the major referral hospitals, Sally Mugabe Hospital, it does not have something as basic as a cancer machine, and people are dying of cancer.
You look at other hospitals and even X-ray machines are in short supply. You look at issues of medication, this is where various non-governmental organisations have been coming in here and there. I want to appreciate that the target of the Bill may not be those organisations, but the long and short of it is that if the Minister is given excessive powers, he or she can abuse the powers which will be given in the Act if it were to be passed by Parliament. Instead, we must try to find each other as Zimbabwe. Try to find each other as a nation so that we can jointly address the root cause of the problems, why we are in this economic quagmire. We have the issue of corruption - this is what we must be looking at collectively so that we tackle that because you find that if we were to resolve the issues of corruption, you will find that everyone in Zimbabwe would have enough to eat.
This afternoon, Hon. T. Mliswa was talking about issues of the welfare of Members of Parliament. If you look at the civil service in our country, you look at the down trend, you will find that the majority of our people are not even working and at the end of the day, you need to have a situation where you can find solutions for them. When you have got various non-governmental organisations, they are also providing employment. I know that there is an intention to target some of these non-governmental organisations and in the same way that in the past we actually did not proceed with the Non-Governmental Organisations Bill, I really exhort my colleagues to say that at this point in time, let us look at the interest of Zimbabwe. Future generations will frown and spit at our graves if we do not have that collective responsibility. Lastly, I will say that we must put our heads together. We must come together to build a new great Zimbabwe nation, I thank you.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I just want to add my voice on this Bill, I will be very precise because when you have something that you want to deal with and the law does not permit, the other learned colleagues would know that there is need to then change the law to follow your thinking. There is nothing untoward about the Bill and indeed any other laws that we are here for because Mr. Speaker, according to the Constitution Section 141, it says make all parliamentary processes public. To that end, the Committee that speaks and about the Bill that is before us has undertaken public hearings, section 149 of the Constitution goes further to say anyone, including Members of Parliament is allowed to petition Parliament on any issues that they might feel strongly about Mr. Speaker Sir. Having said that I want to actually give comfort to the society at large and indeed the people of Chegutu West Constituency in that as long as there is nothing that any non-governmental organisation, public voluntary organisation is impeding, Mr. Speaker Sir, on the law existing or otherwise, there is no fear there should not have any phobia of the law. A lot of NGOs and public voluntary organisation have not found themselves on the wrong side of the law. There is no need therefore, to have any fear Mr. Speaker of the law. What I encourage – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – I ask for your protection Mr. Speaker Sir.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Proceed.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you. What I encourage therefore, Mr. Speaker Sir, is a continued trajectory on the path of righteousness and on the right path that speaks to and about the laws of Zimbabwe. We have the universal laws, the articles in the continental laws that have been domesticated. We are a signatory to the laws of the United Nations and have domesticated the same. We have the mandate as a nation to make laws for the good order and governance of the people of Zimbabwe
I do not want to be judged for having come into Parliament, eaten good food and led a lavish lifestyle and not made good laws. I want to make history as having come here into Parliament, not slept on duty and made laws. If there is anything that needs to be corrected, make or change the law, I am here to make history and change the law.
The issue that deals with our laws here in Zimbabwe speaks to the pith, heart and core of our mandate here. I will encourage everyone in this House and indeed, including myself to make sure they do not forget the other part of their role as legislators – that of lawmaking. Not only to take up the subject of law as I have done but indeed to walk the talk. To make laws even if some are not lawyers, they are mandated by the supreme law of the land which is sui generis, in a class of its own to make laws.
Section 58 of the Constitution, indeed all other sections closer to that - Section 70 and Section 69 that is for arrested persons and all other laws, there is no infringement that I see happening, in particular on Section 58 by the amendment of this Act. There is no reason whatsoever for anybody to fear, ‘mboko chena inoparira parere nhema’ There is no reason for anybody to have fear of the unknown.
I heard other Members debate and I want to allay their fears. They cannot procrastinate, prevaricate, and think about what the organisations are thinking. They had an opportunity, whoever wanted to put across their notion and also their thinking to appear before the Committee and indeed they did. It is my thinking that there is now need to weigh the pros and cons and make sure that we make laws that are going to be in tandem with the ethos and values of the good governance of Zimbabwe.
I cannot talk about the Tenth Parliament, when it comes into the august House, let them repeal the laws that they think are not in sync with the ethos and values of that time. Let there not be a self serving attitude of taking the laws into their own hands. A good example is that if Hon. Temba Mliswa owes me money, let me go after Hon. Temba Mliswa, let me not take his child and keep him at home.
I definitely want to support that Private Voluntary Organisations continue to follow the law. This is Zimbabwe, there is one issue that I am proud about this county; it makes laws, it does not shy away from making laws and it does not impede on anybody’s progress without the rightful law. Here we are debating the issues of righting the wrongs. When it comes to issues of following the law, the heart that is mine is on the right side, I want to follow the law and so indeed, I ask that whoever it is that the law has been made for, to follow the law.
There is a reason why we do not go about murdering people. It is because it is not right, not just, not allowed and it is against the law. If we leave a void in the law, there is going to be transgression of the law because it does not exist. Here is a law and I ask that if anybody has any submissions that they want to make and indeed there is still an opportunity for those organisations and anybody else to present before Parliament their concerns Mr. Speaker.
Indeed, the people of Chegutu West Constituency whom I represent here are quite elated by the way I vociferously, effectively and efficiently put across the points of these organisations and the Private Voluntary Organisations Bill and indeed, that intends to curtail and put the rights to where there were any wrongs. I thank you.
HON. SVUURE: Thank you Hon. Speaker…
HON. GONESE: On a point of order! If my memory serves me right, Hon. Svuure debated this particular Bill on Wednesday, 11th May, 2022. I think his confusion might be that he thinks it is the report - that report of the portfolio was speaking to the Bill, so he cannot bite the cherry twice.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Svuure, you cannot bite the cherry twice.
HON. MUNETSI: Thank you Hon. Speaker. A very good afternoon to you Hon. Speaker. I rise to add my voice to this debate about NGOs in the country. What I want to explicitly say first is on the abbreviation NGO. Non-Governmental Organisation spells out who those people are. They are not Government and as such, they should not be engaged in any governmental issues that run the country. They are an organisation which has come to assist, to augment Government programmes. They are good friends, we like them, we love them and we cherish the work that they do. They assist the Government in schools, in construction of clinics, assist the vulnerable, the society and they also give food hampers; they assist with fees and so many good things that they do. We cherish that. They are here for a purpose, we like that.
Mr. Speaker, the problem arises when they divert their attention. If they stick to their mandate, there is no problem with having NGOs in the country. If they begin to divert from their MOUs, from their mandate which they have come here to do, then we stand to differ and we will not mince our words, we will not like them in the country – [AN HON. MEMBER: Who are you?] - As Government, we will not like them. When they begin to support different parties which are not within their mandate and begin to speak about toppling the Government, we will not accept that in the country and they must just leave Zimbabwe if they have come for that. If they want to buy people in the country using their monies so that people speak against the Government, let them know that they are not a Government. They will only come to assist and they must stick to their MOU and their mandate. If they divert their attention we have no time to pat their backs.
Mr. Speaker, I have a few proposals about NGOs, they bring a lot of money clandestinely and I want to suggest that their monies be audited by the Government of Zimbabwe because they come to assist the Government. If they bring monies clandestinely, that NGO must just leave the country. If anyone receives that money clandestinely that person must be charged. Everything must be done under the Government and it must be very transparent. I thank you – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.]-
HON. T. MLISWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, I think when a country has so much polarization, there must be a voice of reason and it is only an independent Member who can be the voice of reason. Mr. Speaker Sir, yes, history is in two parts; there is good history and bad history. When we are here, we must talk about the good history that we want to create. We have Section 58 which talks about the freedom of association. We tend to have a knack for rushing using resources to come up with great blue prints, in this case it is the Constitution itself. The Constitution itself, most of the issues have never been attended to. We believe and must appreciate that the Constitution is for the good governance of the country.
Mr. Speaker Sir, we live in a global village and Zimbabwe is on a re-engagement crusade and when we talk about a re-engagement crusade, we are re-engaging America and Europe, there are terms for that re-engagement. One of the terms which is clear on the template is the respect for human rights. The respect for human rights and rule of law becomes critical. The land reform was a noble cause, the Americans never opposed it, but the British opposed because it affected their kith and kin. The Americans opposed because of the human rights violations in terms of deaths, violence we all do not appreciate. With that in mind, an attitude was then built around and that was a build up to sanctions more than anything else. Why are you killing your own people politically, and the majority of the people who die are black. I have never seen a white or an Indian person dying out of political violence in this country but it is our own black people. Why do we have to allow our own when we successfully fought for this country and God and our ancestors gave us permission for blood to spill once because we wanted to liberate ourselves, not second, not third?
Section 2 of the Bill is long, and when you see such a long clause, you then say really will people comprehend this law. You then go to Section 5 itself of the Bill, which really targets anything political, in fact it is political, when any private voluntary organisation that supports or opposes any political party, we have a well equipped security sector; the Central Intelligence Organisation’s role is economic saboteurs, not beating up people as it is alleged. That is the main war, to see that who is it that is sabotaging the economy, who is it that is sabotaging the country. We have got the Army with the Military Intelligence Department who are critical for the security aspect. We have got the Police Intelligence who are also there, they are the watchdog of making sure that a lot does not happen.
Financially, as the other speakers alluded to, you have got the FIU, which monitors transactions. Surely, there are laws which can curb all these rather than us wasting tax payers’ money to come up with an amendment when the very same laws that we have are not enforced. The problem with this country Mr. Speaker Sir, is of non-enforcement of laws and that cannot make you change the Constitution or change the Bill. It might as well change the personnel. Maybe there must be capacity building amongst people who are responsible for superintending these laws. That is a question which is for another day but a very critical point is that how much did they comprehend? Do our people understand the Constitution? Do our people appreciate the Constitution?
Mr. Speaker Sir, we have over 300 Statutory Instruments passed. I was with a friend in South Africa and he said, probably what they have done is seven only and we are over 300. It talks about panic. The recent pronouncement on the monetary issues has just been reversed. All they have is confidence that these laws are bad and they equally be reversed. It is just that the law cannot be reversed as quickly as the pronouncement. Was this done thoroughly, properly? I am glad that the Minister of Finance, when he came here Mr. Speaker Sir in your absence, I asked him to go and revisit these pronouncements because they are not good for the country. I must give credit that it takes a leader to listen to another person to go and revisit. They have revisited those pronouncements and now they are taking corrective measures.
The same that I ask of this Bill is that we are going towards elections – why are you panicking? Have you been told that you are going to lose? Why is there panic every time we go towards elections, laws must be changed. Certainly elections are not won by changing laws – elections are won by an economic situation. What we must be pushing for are economic reforms which better the lives of our people in terms of welfare. However, we see nothing in terms of the economic reform. This House has been seized with draconian punitive Bills coming through.
We dealt with AIPPA and it is no more, POSA as well it is no more. My good colleagues came up with the Patriotic Bill again. So to me, there is the ZACC Bill which is supposed to be in this House for us to curb on corruption but it has not come. So what is more important in terms of priority? The ZACC Bill in curbing corruption or this law? Political power is never through the Constitution. Political power is through the people, the Constitution does not vote and these Bills do not vote but it is the people who vote. You must be able to gage the mood of the people.
Zimbabweans at this point in time, no wonder you mention that these public things were polarized. I am no longer interested in all these Bills. We must also be able to read the ground or the leader; no wonder why any leader has an advance team to go and assess the situation on the ground to see if there are people or there are no people. The President is said to be going to Mashonaland Central. The meeting is cancelled because there was an advance team that told him the truth that there will not be people in the stadium and so do not come. It is postponed.
So it is important for us to be really thorough in what we do. We lack seriousness when it comes to the good governance of this country, when it comes to the law. To say the least, we are reckless, absolutely reckless to the demise of the ordinary people who are innocent. Why do we have to do that when we are such a great country with great loving people? Why should we plant hate? The politicians have planted hate in our people and our people are not of a hate character. They are good people. You go anywhere, they are respectful and they will greet you but when you are now having such Bills coming through the House, it becomes extremely difficult for us to really appreciate these...
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, the Hon. Minister and Leader of Government business, no matter what an Hon. Member may be saying, I think every Hon. Member deserves the attention of the Hon. Minister so that you can give a comprehensive response accordingly. I am requesting the Hon. Minister to please pay attention to what the Hon. Members are saying so that the issues are disbursed accordingly to the satisfaction of the House. I know you have some scribes at the back who are assisting you but personal attention is better than secondary information. Thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. There are institutions in this country that have assisted with education. The Higher Life Foundation which is led by Mr. Strive Masiyiwa through Econet - was he not a talk in the country, an allegation that he was pro-the opposition, but in the 2013 elections, they advanced Government money for elections. The licence that they were supposed to pay - the time was not up but they advanced Government because Government had no money for elections and paid for that.
So how then all this time there was a negative opinion of him but later on you then go and ask him to give you money to pay in advance for a licence? He paid because we had no money for elections. You have got these examples where the Government makes decisions knee-jerk. I have never experienced such kneejerk reactions by any Government. It is the worst that we have seen and at times I said people who are advising the President, are they on Guka or are they on mutoriro? Maybe the drug must go to these people because I do not understand. The pronouncement of the President talk about shows that he is definitely ill advised. He is advised wrongly and it is only this House which can advise him the truth and we have that responsibility. We have the responsibility of oversight.
This law does not fit the shoes and it will not be respected. We are part of the global village. Members of Parliament here some who are hypocritical have benefited from these NGOs. You have come into this House through these NGOs. They have put boreholes in your constituencies, they have paid school fees, they have paid for books, they have given gadgets to kids to work and you have been failing to see the good and you want to talk about the bad which you have not seen. If there is bad in the work that they are doing, why do we cite the bad, we cannot talk away the nation and laws on speculative issues. We cannot speculate Mr. Speaker. I speculate that someone wants to kill me without evidence. We have not been presented with any evidence of any NGO which has acted out of order. If it has, the laws are already in place to deal with them. What is the point of the law enforcement agents?
If they have been corrupt, what is the point of that? We must have checks and balances in whatever we do Mr. Speaker Sir and I am totally against this law. In my constituency, Hon. Ziyambi knows as Mashonaland West Constituency, there is a school Jinks Town Primary School which was built by Direct Aid. This area had a farm and it is brand new. There is a boarding school and kids go there and now they have totally stopped because they will be looting and vandalizing all the equipment. What does it say of our country of resources coming from Kuwait and these NGOs are Kuwait based and we are friends of Kuwait. We have written letters to say how can Kuwait be an enemy of Zimbabwe yet it is a friend.
The Ambassador in Kuwait has tried to say but can you help these people but still the school is lying idle... Children will suffer. Why are we not generous and kind to this? I want to close by saying as you always say Mr. Speaker, gonzo ukariwana mumba, hamupise imba. This law is about one person who is wrong and you are punishing everybody. Zveshuwa here kuti gonzo ropisisa imba yese nema suit enyu akanaka nehembe dzamai nenyaya yegonzo. Ko madii kuteya gonzo nemushonga uripo moona kuti harife here? Madii kutsvaga kiti kuti riwuraye gonzo? Gonzo ropisisa imba here? Ndapedza.
+HON MATHE: Thank you Mr. Speaker for the opportunity that you have given me. I want to contribute to this Bill in connection with those who assist us in this country. We welcome those who assist us and we are grateful for everything that they have done to us. They have helped our girl child, some have helped vulnerable children and others have helped orphans. We wish that they continue helping us.
Allow me to say that this Parliament is like any other Parliament in the world. It has a responsibility to enact laws that correct our wrong deeds. I am glad that the Minister is hearing what I am saying so that the people in Matabeleland North can hear me. Parliament of Zimbabwe has a responsibility to enact laws that govern the nation. Zimbabwe is like a homestead and if you realise that you had put a fence and then you now want to put a perimeter wall, no one should deny you the chance to put that perimeter wall.
Zimbabwe is like a parent who has realised that her children are indulging in different crimes such as early pregnancies and then puts a rule that no child should come home after 8 p.m. in the evening. It would be unfortunate if these Hon. Members are not in a position to make rules in their homes and they want to start making laws here. If they make laws in their homes, then it would be easier for them to make laws in this House.
I am disappointed that when laws are about to be enacted some feel that the laws are meant to punish them. We enacted our laws and took land from the white settlers and today we are what we are because of these laws from Parliament. It is good that Zimbabwe makes laws that those who are helping us should assist us accordingly. We really want these donors but they should do lawful things that uplift the lives of our people. As parliamentarians, we must make sure that we do our duty and role to see that Zimbabwe is protected.
Those who do not like such laws are those people who are doing things that are illegal or against the protection of Zimbabwe. Let people decide who should be their leaders instead of people being paid US$10 for them to choose who should lead. That is a problem Mr. Speaker Sir. We are not in tandem with such behaviour. Therefore, we are putting these laws to curb such behaviour from our partners. We thank the Hon. Minister for bringing this Bill. I wish this House can support this Bill in protecting Zimbabwe.
It is unfortunate that there are some who have not lived outside Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is our home, we feel comfortable and protected when we land at Robert Gabriel Mugabe Airport. These human rights that they talk about when they are outside the country are not good. There is disorder outside. Let Zimbabwe continue enacting laws that protect its safety, progress and prosperity. I thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order Madam Speaker! My Hon. Sister, Hon. Stars Mathe referred to us as comrades, we are not comrades. We are Hon. Members of Parliament, we are not comrades in this House and we must use parliamentary language. May she withdraw that, we are not comrades.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MAVETERA): Yes, that is very true … - [HON. MUCHIMWE: Hon. Speaker!] – Order, order Hon. Muchimwe – [HON. MUCHIMWE: On a point of order!] – Hon. Muchimwe order! – [HON. T. MLISWA: I do not know what he is doing here. Ana Hon. Muchimwe havana kubaiwa vaccine ava! Vari kuita chii muno umu? Havana kujungwa ava! What is he doing in here?] – Order Hon. Mliswa… - [HON. T. MLISWA: On a serious note, what is he doing in here! Haana kubaiwa Muchimwe and he can go on virtual. On a point of order, we agreed and those are the rules of this House. Unless kana akajungwa ngaapinde muno.] – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – [HON. T. MLISWA: No, it is a serious issue. He can go on virtual; we do not want him here. He will spread COVID to us here especially mapositori vanonamata vakawanda!] – [AN HON. MEMBER: Akabaiwa!] – [HON. T. MLISWA: Where is his card? Nyabani, I think it is best for you to stay out of this. No, it is a serious issue Madam Speaker. Our lives cannot be at risk!] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Mliswa, you have raised two points of order. I have not responded yet you keep talking, let me respond. – [HON. MATHE: Madam Speaker…] – Order Hon. Mathe, I am going to make a ruling on what Hon. Mliswa requested for. On the first point of order, indeed Hon. Mathe, we do not relate to each other as comrades here but as Hon. Members. So on that one; you need to make sure that you address people as Hon. Members.
HON. MATHE: Madam Speaker Ma’am, allow me to withdraw to say comrade to my comrade. Otherwise, he is also my colleague. Allow me to withdraw to say comrade.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Mathe, we do not need to be sarcastic about it. The issue is about us being clear to say, we do not relate to each other as comrades in this House.
HON. MATHE: I withdraw Madam Speaker.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Thank you. On the second issue which was on Hon. Muchimwe… - [HON. MUCHIMWE: Thank you very much, on a point of order…] – It is not a point of order. Hon. Muchimwe order, have you been vaccinated? – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – May you please go to the microphone and advise me as to whether you have been vaccinated? – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – [HON. MUCHIMWE: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am, when I am on virtual…] – [HON. MATHE: It is his privacy. No, he cannot be asked here to produce his vaccination card!] – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – [HON. MATHE: He needs to be protected. No, no, he needs to be protected. It is between him and the Hon. Speaker. No, no, we cannot accept that. Who was ever asked to produce a vaccination card here? No one ever produced a vaccination card in this Parliament. He needs to be protected; it is between him and the Hon. Speaker! He will go and speak to the Hon. Speaker. No one produced a card in this House, and why him?] – Hon. Muchimwe, may you please approach the Chair? – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – [HON. T. MLISWA: He cannot speak! Approach the Chair. We cannot have people who have not been vaccinated coming into this House!] Order Hon. Members! Hon. Muchimwe, may you please approach the Chair? Hon. Muchimwe, please come here? – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
Hon. Muchimwe exited the House after speaking to the Temporary Speaker.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Madam Speaker. I move that the debate do now adjourn. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, Order! I had earlier on recognised Hon. Toffa. So we will adjourn debate soon after Hon. Toffa. Thank you. Hon. Toffa, you may proceed. – [HON. MEMBERS: Toffa haana kubaiwa uyo! Haana kubaiwa, ngaaburitse card!] – May you please proceed?
HON. TOFFA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am for this opportunity to add my voice to this very important debate. Madam Speaker Ma’am, this Bill should not see the light of day … - [HON. ZIYAMBI: Inaudible interjection.] – Yes, Hon. Minister…
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: May you please connect?
HON. TOFFA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am, thank you for… - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Ndiri kukumbirawo kutaura? - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Madam Speaker Ma’am, please may I have your protection? - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. Madam Speaker Ma’am, I am grateful for the opportunity to add my voice to this very important debate.
I would like to say that this debate has a lot of negativity. What is most important is the impact that it will have on the citizens, especially the impoverished citizens. A few weeks ago, whilst at Parliament, I was called by the Vendors Association and BBTA of Bulawayo. They were very distraught and distressed. Madam Speaker Ma’am, Hon. Nduna spoke to Section 141 which talks about Public Engagement.
In Bulawayo, there was a lot of chaos. The citizens of Bulawayo were not given an opportunity to air their views… - [AN HON. MEMBER: Vakapihwa mari!] – There were people who were sponsored to create chaos Madam Speaker Ma’am - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – I think Hon. T. Zhou knows who they are. It was said that the non-governmental organisations and the PVOs are committing acts of terrorism against the Government. At this presentation, the Vendors Association representatives said our Constitution has – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – please, may I be protection Hon. Speaker.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MAVETERA): Hon. Members order please. Hon. Leader of the House, Hon. T. Mliswa and Hon. T. Zhou, can I have order please.
HON. TOFFA: Hon. T. Mliswa, I listened to your debate. Madam Speaker, the Vendors Association and the citizens of Bulawayo asked what measures is Government taking to cover these gaps that will be left by the NGOs and the PVOs because the children’s school fees, medical bills are all being covered by the PVOs. Madam Speaker, because most issues have already been said, I felt it important to stand up and speak as a representative. Hon. Gonese articulated most of the concerns very well, so I do not want to spoil it by repeating. What they said that touched me very much was the fact that it was said the PVOs and NGOs were doing acts of terrorism against the country. The citizens of Bulawayo are saying by passing this Bill, the Government will be doing an act of terrorism against its citizens because right now they have nothing, they have no food, they cannot send their children to school and this is the role that the NGOs and the PVOs are playing. As I conclude, I implore the Minister, Hon. Ziyambi that this Bill must not see the light of the day, if it is the citizens that you care about. I thank you Madam Speaker.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFARIS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Madam Speaker, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 18th May, 2022.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Madam Speaker I move that we revert to Order of the Day No. 5 on today’s Order Paper.
Motion put and agreed to.
SECOND READING
HEALTH SERVICES AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 8, 2021].
Fifth Order read: Second Reading: Health Service Amendment Bill [H. B. 8, 2021]
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMETNARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Madam Speaker. I rise to present the Second Reading speech on behalf of the Hon. Vice President who is also the Minister of Health on the Health Services Amendment Bill. I am pleased to bring you a Bill that is very important for the better delivery of Public Health Services, it will amend the Health Services Act to bring it into line with the Constitution and improve the conditions of health service workers. Let me remind you that Section 29(I) of the Constitution says that and I quote “The State must take all practical measures to ensure the provision of basic accessible and adequate health services throughout Zimbabwe”. The Health Service Board was created by the Health Services Act in 2005. It was supposed to fix the minimum conditions of service of health workers and health service standards at Government hospitals throughout the country. Under that Act each Government hospital had its own hospital management board which could hire and fire staff including professional staff. Now we have noticed that there is too much surrendering of responsibility by the board to the hospital management boards and too little coordination between them.
This led to lack of uniformity of conditions of service among public health workers and to cares in the public health delivery system. By this Bill, we propose to change the health service board into a Health Service Commission with similar functions to the Public Service Commission. When this Bill becomes law; no staff can be hired or fired at Government institutions without its permission.
Madam Speaker, I will not repeat what is said about each Clause in the explanatory memorandum to the Bill. I will only stress a couple of important points. Not so long ago, we saw that the public health service was affected by spread strikes, walk outs and refusal of service by public health workers. There were in many cases misled by union representatives who promised that they could achieve the impossible that is to say to compare the Government to give them conditions that were beyond the capacity of Government’s financial ability to offer. We as Government highly value our public health service workers but they are not the only public service workers we have to care for. They, like other workers in the public sector, are entitled to decent working conditions and Government will never stop hearing their reasonable grievances about their material well being but we must balance the aspiration with the reality that in any state, the delivery of affordable public health service is a basic public health good that cannot be withdrawn from our people because of a labour dispute.
Madam Speaker Ma’am, also there is a limit beyond which we can tax our already financially burdened people to pay for health services. We are not yet a high middle income country but our training facilities for health service workers are very good and they are frequently sought after by other countries.
Accordingly, the Bill will declare that health service to be an essential service. This means that the service cannot be withdrawn by ordinary methods of industrial action. Instead Madam Speaker, negotiations must be undertaken leading to compulsory arbitration if there is a deadlock between the parties. At most withdrawal services during collective job action cannot exceed 72 hours in any week.
Clause 5 of the Bill is a very important clause in this connection, it makes it clear that the calling of a health service worker is not simply a job but a vocation to help, heal and save the lives of our people. What is more noble than that? Sub clause (4) of Clause 4 says that a member of the health service is under an obligation to provide the professional skill expertise, care and service expected of him or her as a member of the profession to which he or she belongs. It goes on to say that even during any collective job action, a member of the health sector is under an obligation to provide the professional skill, expertise, care and service to patients in a medical emergency or needing critical or intensive care.
Madam Speaker Ma,am, health service workers who breach these fundamental obligations will force professional disciplinary proceedings, just like any other health service worker in the private sector will face the same.
In conclusion Madam Speaker, I urge Hon. Members to pass this law to improve the status and prestige of our public health service workers and professionals. I thank you and move that the Bill be read a second time.
I move that the debate do now adjourn to allow the Committee report to be tabled before the House.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 18th May, 2022.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 6 to 15 on today’s Oder Paper be stood over until Order Number 16 has been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Sixteenth order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MADIRO): Pursuant to the State of the Nation Address of 7th October 2021, by His Excellency the President, E. D. Mnangagwa and subsequent constructive debate by Hon. Members of this august House, allow me to contribute towards the debate by way of an update on what the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development has executed so far.
Madam Speaker Maam, if it pleases His Excellency the President, allow me from the outset to restate his commitment to infrastructural development by indicating that “Government has prioritised capital spending with 34% of total expenditure to date having been earmarked for infrastructure development”.
The Government is prioritising development of infrastructure to enhance domestic connectivity and global integration in the transport sector. With the guidance and bold leadership of His Excellency the President and a deep understanding that transformative measures in infrastructural development are required to underpin the drive towards the attainment of Vision 2030, we have been focused on road infrastructure development aviation, modernisation and expansion and railway resuscitation.
The ongoing Phase 2 of the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme is indeed transformational across all provinces, districts, cities and towns. Phase 2 focus is on full rehabilitation and reconstruction of sections of the road network.
Madam Speaker Maam, echoing His Excellency’s assertion that “ local resources are being put to good use while local contractors are empowered and the commuting and trading public is experiencing added convenience”, the Ministry took the bold decision to engage local contractors to do the programme projects and the works have been exceptional. As part of the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme, Government employed Provincial Road Engineers for the Harare and Bulawayo Metropolitan Provinces to oversee the construction and rehabilitation of major urban roads in the two major cities. As such, one of the projects is the Masotsha-Ndlovu Road while 6, 9 km of the road has been rehabilitated to date, of which 5 km of the road has since been completed and opened to traffic.
The remaining 1, 9 km is outstanding with base construction in progress. The overall progress is exceptional and has resulted in smooth flow of traffic connecting Seke Road and Simon Mazorodze Road.
Further, Government rehabilitated Masiyapambili Road in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province which saw 2, 3 km being rehabilitated and asphalt overlaid, 7 km resealed and 6,7 km pothole patched and grass cut. The project was successfully completed on 9 December 2021. As you may be aware Madam Speaker Ma’am, the Ministry engaged private players to assist in the rehabilitation of the Harare-Seke Road. This is a major road that supports daily commuters from Seke-Chitungwiza to Harare. The road was in a bad state with serious damages, particularly from Dieppe Road turnoff at Coca-Cola depot to Chikwanha Roundabout in Chitungwiza. This caused major delays and congestion and damages to motor vehicles.
Madam Speaker Maam, the road received funding and my Ministry engaged a contractor who carried extensive rehabilitation works of the indicated stretch of road.
It is imperative to note that regardless of the works done to date and works that were being done during the rainy season, progress on rehabilitation of the majority of the roads was delayed and in a number of instances, potholes and breaks occurred in some of the rehabilitated areas. This was due to the high rainfall during the period from February to April. Allow me to venture into the statistics of ERRP. Under the auspices of ERRP, as of 30 April, 2022, road authorities have managed to do reseal and overlay of about 110km. Construction, reconstruction and rehabilitation is now at 70km, while 370km of road have been graveled and re-gravelled. A total of 2 171 km of road have been graded so that it becomes trafficable. Further, 144 drainage structures have been repaired and constructed. Bush clearing has been achieved to the tune of 1 315.3 km and a total of 2 390 km of road have been pothole patched.
Madam Speaker, using resources, the Government of Zimbabwe through the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development has opened 303km of Harare-Beitbridge Road to traffic so far. This road is currently being rehabilitated by five contractors; namely Bitumen World, Fossil Contracting, Tensor Systems, Masimba Holdings and Exodus and Company.
Madam Speaker, with regards to modernisation, my Ministry has re-designed the Mbudzi Interchange to unlock congestion. The construction of the Inter-change and by-passes is currently being executed and construction is scheduled to begin soon. This area is known for its congestion and other hosts of challenges and criminalistics. The Mbudzi interchange is a national flagship project earmarked to bring sanity to the intersection feeding into the community residential areas and providing passage for traffic out and into Harare.
As a major project, Mr. Speaker Sir, Government encourages the use of other routes particularly for traffic in areas from Waterfalls to Glen Norah, Budiriro and Glen View. It is also imperative to note that some of the companies and institutions in the designated area will be affected one way or the other; by relocation or otherwise. I call upon the communities and citizens of Zimbabwe to bear with Government as work in this area is expected to increase and cause major delays to traffic. As such, it is very important for motorists and the public to make use of the detours and sub-lanes being constructed to allow for traffic flow and movement.
Madam Speaker, road transport management is key to unlocking the value of improved infrastructures. The establishment of electronic systems for the integration and computerisation of the Vehicle Inspection Department, Central Vehicle Registry, ZINARA and related stakeholders has far reaching impact on our national transport management system. This is in line with the SADC Protocol and the Tripartite Transport and Transit Facilitation Programme (TTTFP) which is focused on harmonisation of Vehicle Load Management, Harmonised vehicle and driver regulations and standards, transport registers and information platform system and Corridor Trip Monitoring Systems (CTMS) implementation.
Madam Speaker, the development in transport management have led us to the upgrading of the existing drivers’ licence to an electronic drivers’ licence. This is in line with SADC Protocol on Transport, Communications and Meteorology on Harmonisation of Road Transport Standards and Systems. Once finalised, the electronic drivers’ licence will contain the drivers’ information linking it to the ZIMTIS system.
The Ministry began a roll-out of the computerisation and integration of transport management in Zimbabwe. This is a major project designed to manage the transport sector, particularly the registration and licencing of vehicles and drivers. Rollout of the project started at VID, with the computerisation of Electronic Learner and Testing (ELT) and computerisation of the garage inspection. To date, 14 depots have been computerised across the country. In addition to VID, the Ministry in decentralising the RMT offices to the various provinces, managed to complete the computerisation of the operators’ licence, which can now be issued at all provincial RMT offices. The next phase will involve computerisation of the Certificate of Competence, vehicle inspections and driving testing.
Madam Speaker, in the aviation sector, following the completion of the reconstruction processes. Air Zimbabwe is now en-route to operating viably. The shareholder has procured an Embraer ERJ145 and processes are underway to procure another Embraer ERJ145. This will further capacitate the airline to operate more domestic and regional routes.
Government, through the Airports Company of Zimbabwe, is upgrading the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport to improve the capacity from 2.5 million to 6 million annual throughput. The project is being funded by a concessionary loan from China Exim Bank. Progress is satisfactory and currently stands at 61% to completion.
On Buffalo Range Airport, with funding from PSIP, the runway was rehabilitated, thus improving the safety of the airport and patronage by private players has since improved.
Madam Speaker, allow me to thank His Excellency the President, for his continued direction and support in the development of the transport sector, infrastructure and management systems. With his full support and financial injections from Treasury, we are set as a Ministry to achieve our mandate.
Allow me to thank all Honourable Members of this House for always supporting us, asking pertinent questions and proffering ideas and solutions. This assists us as a Ministry to diligently implement and execute projects for the benefit of the motoring public and our economy as a whole.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Thank you very much Hon. Deputy Minister for coming through and responding on the State of the Nation Address.
HON. MUTAMBISI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 18th May, 2022.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. MUTAMBISI: Madam Speaker, I move that the all the other items be stood over until Order No. 21 has been disposed of.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT ON THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON MINES AND MINING DEVELOPMENT ON A SELF ASSESSMENT OF THE DIAMOND SECTOR
HON. MKARATIGWA: I move the motion standing in my name that this House takes note of the Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development on a self-assessment of the Diamond Sector in Zimbabwe.
HON. NYABANI: I second.
HON. MKARATIGWA:
1. INTRODUCTION:
The Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development, in collaboration with the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, diamond producers, the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) and civil society organizations (CSOs) embarked on a self-assessment of the diamond sector to gauge if the country was compliant with the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme (KPCS). This initiative emanated from a resolution that was made by the Committee on 26th July 2021 to set up a sub-Committee with the sole mandate of conducting an inquiry into the diamond sector, in particular to assess its level of compliance with the KPCS. To this end, the sub-Committee was empowered to spearhead engagements with the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, CSOs and other stakeholders.
The sub-Committee held meetings with key stakeholders in the diamond sector whereupon it was established that Zimbabwe was due for an assessment by the KPCS Review Mission however, there were delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A resolution was made on 18th August 2021 to jointly conduct a self-assessment of the diamond sector. The inaugural meeting was attended by Members of the Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development; Honourable W. Chitando, the Minister of Mines and Mining Development; Honourable P. Kambamura, the Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Mr. O. Moyo, the Permanent Secretary for Mines and Mining Development and Mr. T. Muzenda, the General Manager of MMCZ. Officials from the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) and CSOs represented by the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) and the African Alliance for Responsible Mineral Sourcing and Fair Trade (AARMSOFT), were also in attendance.
The major objective of the self-assessment was to share information and ideas amongst the different stakeholders in the diamond sector in preparation for the actual visit by the KPCS Review Mission. This self-assessment exercise was conducted from 13th of September to 17th November 2021. It was the first of its kind for the country and aroused a lot of interest amongst various stakeholders. There was free exchange of information between the Committee and the stakeholders that participated in the programme.
2. COMPOSITION OF THE SELF-ASSESSMENT TEAM
The joint self-assessment team comprised of the following:
|
Name |
Organisation |
1. |
Hon. Simbaneuta Mudarikwa |
Parliament of Zimbabwe and Team Leader |
2. |
Hon. Edmond Mkaratigwa |
Parliament of Zimbabwe - Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development |
3. |
Hon. Davison Svuure |
Parliament of Zimbabwe |
4. |
Hon. Tafanana Zhou |
Parliament of Zimbabwe |
5. |
Hon. Jasmine Toffa |
Parliament of Zimbabwe |
6. |
Hon. Joel Gabbuza |
Parliament of Zimbabwe |
7. |
Ms. Angeline Gutu |
Parliament of Zimbabwe |
8. |
Ms. Evelyn Masara |
Parliament of Zimbabwe |
9. |
Mr. Masimba Chandavengerwa |
Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe |
10. |
Mr. Ezekiel Mafara |
Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe |
11. |
Mr. Effort Shoko |
Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe |
12. |
Mr. Enoch Moyo |
Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company |
13. |
Mr. Sugar Chagonda |
Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company |
14. |
Mrs. Jacquiline Munyonga |
Ministry of Mines and Mining Development |
15. |
Mr. Arnold Mukombachoto |
Ministry of Mines and Mining Development |
16. |
Ms. Lindsay Dzumbunu |
Ministry of Mines and Mining Development |
17. |
Mr. George Zhara |
Ministry of Mines and Mining Development |
18. |
Mr. ShamisoMtisi |
Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association |
19. |
Mr. Farai Maguwu |
Centre for Natural Resources Governance |
20. |
Ms. SimisoMlevu |
Centre for Natural Resources Governance |
21. |
Mr. Joshua Marufu |
African Alliance for Responsible Mineral Sourcing and Fair Trade (AARMSOFT) |
3. METHODOLOGY:
The self-assessment was guided by the core document used by KPCS Review Missions. In order to gain a full appreciation of the country’s level of compliance with the KPCS, the Sub-Committee held a series of meetings with key stakeholders and conducted visits to diamond producing companies and diamond sorting houses. The fact-finding visits and meetings included the following:
- Visits to diamond producers: Anjin Investments Private Limited and ZCDC in Marange as well as RZM Murowa Private Limited in Zvishavane;
- Visits to the ports of entry and exit in the country which include: Forbes Border Post and
Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport;
iii.Visits to the sorting houses, namely that of Anjin at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport and that of ZCDC at the MMCZ offices in Harare;
- Visit to Aurex, a diamond cutting and polishing centre as well as meeting with the Association of Cutting and Polishing Companies in the country, the Diamond Beneficiation
- Association of Zimbabwe (DBAZ);
- Meeting with the Mrs. Mildred Chiri, the Auditor General;
- Virtual meeting with Alrosa Head Office in Russia; and
- Meetings with communities affected by diamond mining and exploration activities in Marange, Arda Transau, Rimbi community of Chipinge and the Sese Community in Chivi District.
4. FINDINGS:
Legal and Policy Framework in the Diamond Sector:
The diamond sector in Zimbabwe is regulated by the Mines and Minerals Act [Chapter 21:05], the Precious Stones Trade Act [Chapter 21:06], the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe Act [Chapter 21:04] and Diamond Policy of 2019. While the Mines and Minerals Act regulates the issuance of licenses for special grants to mine diamonds in Zimbabwe, the MMCZ Act and Precious Stones Trade Act regulate the export, sale, stockpiling, possession and dealing in diamonds. The Diamond Policy of 2019 outlines the investment opportunities and requirements to be observed by diamonds producers who operate in the country. One of the major loopholes in legal and policy framework is the non-recognition of artisanal and small-scale miners who are largely fuelling the smuggling of diamonds to other countries, particularly through Mozambique. Furthermore, it was noted that the Diamond Policy is not widely known by the public and it was therefore, imperative for the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development to disseminate the policy.
Import and Export Controls:
At Forbes Border post and Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, the Committee met with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA), Airport Authority of Zimbabwe, Immigration and Security officials. These were the key findings of the Committee:
4.2.1At Forbes Border Post, ZIMRA officials were trained on the KPCS requirements but the other agencies such as Immigration Department had not gone through the same. Secondly, border officials highlighted that they were not trained to identify the features of a diamond. To address this gap, MMCZ indicated that it intends to post some of its officials at the border posts.
4.2.2 There were no scanners to detect diamonds and other precious minerals at both Forbes Border Post and Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport. The Committee was informed by the Airport Authority that there were plans to purchase the appropriate scanners in the year 2022.
4.2.3Forbes Border Post had not recorded any official export of diamonds to other countries. All the diamonds were being exported through the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
4.2.4 Officials at Forbes Border Post were not aware of the features of an export certificate used in the trading of diamonds. The customs officials requested MMCZ to supply them with a copy, so that officials would not be caught off-guard in the event that diamonds are exported or imported through that Border.
4.2.5 The security personnel at the Forbes Border Post indicated that they had not recorded any incidents of diamonds being smuggled from that gateway.
4.2.6Zimra officials at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport requested KPCS officials to train them on how to identify tampering of diamond seals.
4.2.7The authorities at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport highlighted that the facility and infrastructure was being upgraded including the security system to curb the smuggling of diamonds and other precious metals.
Diamond Production Statistics:
There are four diamond mining companies in Zimbabwe, namely Alrosa Private Limited, ZCDC, RZM Murowa Private Limited and Anjin Investments Private Limited. Officials from Alrosa Private Limited indicated that the company had not yet begun production and was still in the exploration stage. Conversely, ZCDC and Murowa diamonds were actively involved in the mining of diamonds during the Committee’s visit. ZCDC indicated that it was in the process of ramping up its production and this would be achieved through exploration in the Marange area.
For the year 2020, ZCDC produced 1 375 455 carats of diamonds. For 2021, production was on the increase during the first half of the year, with production levels yielding 1 410 570 carats of diamonds. By 30th November 2021, ZCDC had produced 3 691 731 carats.
The Committee learnt that RZM Murowa located in Zvishavane has the capacity to produce 600 000 carats a year and 80 percent of the diamonds are of gem quality. The sorting of Murowa’s diamonds is done in Harare and 10 percent of the diamonds are sold locally to cutters and polishers while they were being traded with Antwerp.
Anjin was embarking on a re-building exercise after its operations were disrupted in February 2016. The company resumed on-site operations in 2020 and for the period January to December 2020, it produced a total of 724, 497.92 carats. For 2021, the company did not produce anything and was focused more on exploration activities. However, at peak, the company has a capacity to produce 7 million carats per year.
Security Systems at the Mining Sites and Sorting Houses:
Anjin Investments Private Limited:
Anjin Investments Private Limited operated between the period 2010 and 2015 and then resumed on-site operations in 2019. The company found most of its equipment and security system vandalised and therefore, was in the process of re-building its operations. Its security system comprises of CCTVs, boundary fences, sniffer dogs, private security company and the police. The Committee was informed that the company had experienced 3 attempts of diamonds theft which were reported to the police. As part of efforts to strengthen its security, the company intends to migrate to an integrated security system in 2022 which entails off-site access to information by the MMCZ and the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development. Anjin and ZCDC security personnel meet on a regular basis to share intelligence information.
ZCDC:
ZCDC upgraded its security system and put in place an integrated system with on-line access by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development and its Head Office in Harare. The company’s security system comprises of CCTVs, drones, reaction teams, private security companies and boundary fences. The company also has a tip off anonymous but it is restricted to internal personnel. The major security threats for both Anjin and ZCDC were the villagers who reside near their concessions but an intelligence team has been established which works with the community to address this challenge. In the process there has been increased flow of information from the community members to the companies on illegal mining activities. Another risk raised by ZCDC was that of penalties charged for the illegal possession and mining of diamonds. This was not deterrent enough for would be offenders. This needs to be addressed through policy reforms, particularly amending the Precious Stones Trade Act.
RZM Murowa Private Limited:
RZM Murowa is mainly involved in kimberlitic diamond mining located deep in the earth hence there are no incidents of security breaches by artisanal and small-scale miners. The security architecture at Murowa mainly comprises of boundary fences, CCTV and private security companies.
Exploration Work by Mining Companies:
Anjin, ZCDC and Murowa diamonds registered their intentions to increase their production capacities, hence, they were actively involved in exploration work. Both Anjin and ZCDC were conducting exploration in the Marange area, whilst Murowa was engaging in exploration activities in the Sese communal lands in Masvingo Province. Alrosa has not yet begun production but was actively involved in exploration work in the Chipinge and Bubi Districts, at the time of the Committee’s visit.
Artisanal Mining of Diamonds:
The Marange Community informed the Committee that smuggling of diamonds was a common occurrence in the area. It was highlighted that panners usually operated at night and the diamonds were allegedly smuggled through the Mozambican corridor. Civil society members indicated that this was orchestrated by a well-known syndicate operating in Mutare and the police was called upon to act to apprehend the syndicate. The situation was compounded by the fact that the Zimbabwean law does not recognize artisanal mining of diamonds.
Auditor General’s 2019 Findings on the Diamond Sector:
The Committee held a meeting with Mrs. Mildred Chiri, the Auditor General, wherein she highlighted that her role was to ensure that Government departments, parastatals and agencies adhere to the public finance principles as enshrined in the Constitution and other laws of the country. The parastatals in the diamond industry that were recently audited by the Auditor General include the MMCZ and ZCDC. Both MMCZ and ZCDC indicated that they would attend to any issues that may be highlighted by the Auditor General, so as to ensure that the companies and country remains compliant with the KPCS.
Community Concerns in the Diamond Sector:
Community in Marange and Arda Transau:
The major issues that were raised by communities in Marange and Arda Transau include the following:
- There were no written agreements or contracts on the relocation program. As a result, communities could not hold the companies accountable for unpaid compensation.
- The community at Arda Transau stated that they did not have title deeds for their houses which makes them insecure about the future. The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works was called upon to address this issue. There were also complaints that some of the houses had already developed cracks and needed repair. Furthermore, the community had no access to clean water and electricity. A call was made for more land to be acquired to depopulate the community at Arda Transau.
- At Chirasika, in Arda Transau, concern was raised over the shortage of classroom blocks, toilets, teachers’ accommodation and water storage tanks. The community also highlighted the need for a vocational training centre for skills development particularly for the youth.
- ZCDC and Anjin were accused of shirking corporate social responsibility programs. The communities had to beg the companies to implement corporate social responsibility activities.
- There was a perception that the companies chose to associate themselves with a few members of the community, such as the Chief and Headman and exclude the rest of the community.
- There were complaints that the USD$ 5 million that was given to the Community Share Ownership Trust (CSOT) was eroded by inflation hence it did not achieve its intended objectives. A call was made for an audit to be conducted to ensure that all the monies that were disbursed through the CSOT could be accounted for.
- Community members located in the mining concessions of Chiadzwa expressed concern on change of chieftainship in the event that they are relocated to Arda Transau. A call was made for dialogue between the two traditional leaders, Chief Marange and Chief Zimunya before more people were relocated.
- There were allegations raised that members of the security services deployed in Marange were involved in corrupt activities, whereupon they take bribes to facilitate illegal panning of diamonds during the night.
- ZCDC and Anjin were called upon to hold monthly meetings with the community living near their concessions to discuss any security and human rights issues.
- ZCDC offered the community a concession as a strategy to empower the locals and reduce incidents of illegal mining activity in the area. The concession would be mined by ZCDC on behalf of the community starting in 2022. The community welcomed this initiative.
- During the visit it was gathered from community members that the level of human rights abuses and violations by state and private security agents had significantly gone down. The situation was considered normal, compared to previous years where reports of beatings and other forms of abuses were reportedly rampant. However, some community members were of the view that the area was still a protected area and in some cases, people were searched or asked for identification by the police or military personnel which restricts freedom of movement in the area.
Community in Sese Communal Lands:
Murowa Diamonds has been conducting exploration of diamonds in the Sese Communal lands for the past 3 years and a total of US$2,5 million was invested in the project. The Committee was informed that the company had not yet discovered an economic kimberlitic pipe in the area. The exploration activities were being conducted at various sites including; a sporting field of St Simon Zhara Primary School, at a farm of a local villager and in other places in the Sese area. However, there was tension between the community in Sese and the diamond company over its exploration activities, particularly at Danhamombe High School. This had led to several court battles and holding of intergovernmental meetings to try and resolve this conflict. The bone of contention was that the Sese Community wants the mining company to relocate its camping site from the High School in order to pave way for the construction of boarding school facilities. The mining company was also being accused of disrupting learning activities at the school due to noise pollution from the drilling rigs. However, Murowa Diamonds informed the Committee that not all the community members were against the presence of the company in the area and most of the allegations levelled against the company were not true.
The company noted that extensive consultations had been done before exploration began and acknowledged that it might have left out a few key opinion leaders during the process. Some members of the local community refuted this assertion and told the Committee that they were never consulted on the exploration activities of Murowa diamonds. The community went on to allege that the presence of the miner had created new challenges for them such as water shortages, environmental degradation, disruption of farming projects, loss of cattle due to poisoning due to operations of the company. Additionally, the miner was accused of failure to engage in any corporate social responsibility activities in the area. Despite the claim that community members were never engaged, the Committee noted that a total of 15 meetings had been held between all the key stakeholders to try and address these challenges.
Rimbi Community in Chipinge District:
The Rimbi Community is based in Chipinge and in the early part of 2021; Alrosa Private Limited began exploration in their area. The community expressed concern that Alrosa did not comply with the country’s laws, particularly on community engagement before exploration started. Members of the Community informed the Committee that local government authorities were also not consulted on the exploration work by Alrosa. Only a few people were consulted yet the exploration activities were affecting more than 10 villages. The Rimbi community expressed their wish to be involved in the process from the beginning, in line with Part 19(3) of the Mines and Minerals Act, according to which “the Secretary shall send written notification of the issue of a special grant to every occupier or, if there is no occupier, owner of land falling within the area covered by the special grant”. Alrosa Head Office in Russia, represented by Mr. Peter Karachiev indicated that his company subscribes to best international practices in the sourcing of diamonds such as the System of Warranties which observes human rights, labour rights and anti-corruption. In turn once mining operations begin in Zimbabwe, these principles and practices which are applied in the entire Alrosa Group will also be applied in Zimbabwe.
Diamond Cutting and Polishing Industry:
The Committee held a meeting with the Diamond Beneficiation Association of Zimbabwe where they outlined the following key issues:
- The cutting and polishing industry in Zimbabwe was still in its infancy stage. There were less than 20 operators in the country but there was potential for the industry to grow into a multi-million industry in the next few years.
- The diamond cutters and polishers have control over the manner in which rough diamonds were handled once they were purchased from the diamond producers such as Murowa Diamonds and ZCDC. The controls included filing of records on rough diamonds purchased by the cutters and polishers. Furthermore, periodic audits were conducted by MMCZ to ensure that all rough diamonds can be accounted for.
- The premises of the cutters and polishers were secured by a boundary wall, CCTVs and private security companies to reduce any incidences of leakages.
5. OUTCOMES OF THE SELF-ASSESSMENT PROGRAMME:
There were some positive outcomes that emerged as a result of the self-assessment program:
5.1 Zimbabwe was endorsed to become the vice-Chair of KPCS International for 2021 and will assume Chairmanship in 2023. This is partly attributed to the self-assessment program where Zimbabwe showed its willingness and commitment to adhere to international standards in the production and trading of diamonds.
5.2 The Self-Assessment Program brought together Government officials and CSOs in the diamond sector that for a long time had an acrimonious relationship.
5.3 Some of the diamond companies that include Murowa Diamonds and ZCDC began addressing some of the concerns that were raised by communities during the factfinding visits by the Committee.
6. COMMITTEE OBSERVATIONS:
6.1 Most of the government agencies that were visited, including custom officials were generally conversant with the KPCS requirements nevertheless, regular trainings were necessary particularly for new recruits.
6.2 The diamond producers in the country Anjin, ZCDC and Murowa Diamonds showed commitment towards compliance with the requirements of the KPCS as demonstrated by the security systems at the mines and sorting houses. However, it is important for the companies to ensure availability of documentation on request during such visits.
6.3 Diamond producers that include Anjin, ZCDC and Murowa Diamonds expressed their willingness to address challenges raised by local communities in the short-term whilst others would be addressed in the long term.
6.4 There were too many community-based organizations in Marange and it was clear that they were not always speaking with one voice, hence making it difficult for mining companies to address all the challenges facing the communities.
6.5 There is a policy gap on how to address the challenge posed by artisanal diamond miners who are contributing to the smuggling of diamonds out of the country.
6.6 The approach by ZCDC to initiate a self-assessment on its human rights impact on communities through the Initiative on Responsible Mineral Assurance (IRMA), was viewed as a positive step towards promoting responsible sourcing.
7. COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS:
7.1 The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development should review the Diamond Policy and submit a bill amending the Precious Stones Trade Act by 31 August 2022, particularly to integrate artisanal and small-scale miners in order to curb the illegal smuggling of diamonds in areas such as Marange. Alternatively, stiffer penalties can be introduced to curb diamond leakages.
7.2 The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development should provide financial resources to ZIMRA for purchasing modern equipment such as scanners for detection of diamonds and other minerals at the country’s ports of entry and exit by 31 July 2022.
7.3 The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development should ensure that all mining companies develop guidelines on Responsible Sourcing Standards and community engagement, so as to reduce tension between producers and communities by 31 October 2022. To this end, companies are urged to closely work with civil society organisations.
8. CONCLUSION:
The self-assessment program achieved its intended objective, that is gauging whether Zimbabwe’s diamond sector was still compliant with the KPCS requirements. Generally, the country’s level of compliance with KPCS requirements was good. However, more work should be done towards addressing the gaps identified during the self-assessment. To this end, the stakeholders acknowledged the need to constantly work together as a team, in light of the fact that Zimbabwe would be assuming chairmanship of the KPCS in 2023. This will enable the policymakers to get accurate and timely information of activities in the diamond sector so that where necessary, corrective action can be taken.
As we speak the KPCS team has jetted into the country. They came in during the weekend and hit the ground running. They are carrying out their own assessment. I must say, from the information that we get when they carry out an exercise of this nature, their visits to other countries comprise of six, if not less than ten countries but we have about 18 countries that have visited Zimbabwe to carry out this noble exercise which will guarantee that Zimbabwe continues to exploit existing and future diamond markets. Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am.
*HON. NYABANI: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. Let me say a few words on the tour that we had when assessing the diamonds. It is very true that the Committee went around the companies involved in diamond mining. As we were touring, it is true that we saw they were very strict on the control of the movement of diamonds. They do not have the equipment. If we look at Forbes Border post, you find that there are only two ways, the entrance and the exit points but as you go further, there is no security and there are no drones which can move around. There might not be diamonds which went in and out through Forbes Border Post but we can say maybe there were diamonds which found their way out of the country. When we looked at the border, there was no security there and some people living at the border do not have knowledge about diamonds. These people should be taught on what diamonds are like and there should be machines that are able to detect diamonds in case of smuggling out of the country.
We also looked at the companies there that are working in those areas and we found out that they can do whatever they want without the input of the locals. Those companies go about looking for places where diamonds are found without the knowledge of the local people. It looks like our minerals are just being grabbed by those companies and the locals are not benefiting. If they mine without informing the locals, it means that our local people will not benefit through our social corporate responsibility.
As Government, we want investment. What we mean by investment is that they must leave some infrastructure so that locals will benefit from the mining activities in their communities after the mining companies are gone. In this country, there are a lot of diamonds to the extent that if companies do the proper things, our country will also benefit. The locals and the mining companies must work together so that locals are given rights to mine gold. Our people must be also allowed to mine on a small scale basis and get permits to sell their diamonds to the Government. It was also discovered that those diamonds are sold in Harare. There must also be auctions nearby mining places so that these areas will develop and money will circulate.
In conclusion Madam Speaker, we found that the country is mining diamonds legally, that is why it was appointed to be the Vice Chairperson of Kimberly which means that in the future, it will end up chairing. This means that Zimbabwe is mining their diamonds lawfully. With these few words, I want to thank you.
HON. SVUURE: Thank you Madam President. I just want to quickly add a bit on the report that has just been read by the Hon. Chairperson. I am part of a team that participated in the self assessment exercise from the Committee on Mines and Mining Development. I would have this to say. It was a rare exercise whereby by all diamond companies, all stakeholders that included mining companies themselves, members of the Portfolio Committee and the Ministry of Mines came together and exposed themselves to a situation or to an environment supposedly under which they will be assessed by KPC. It was like a mock examination where you expose yourself to the same conditions of the examination. This was quite a rare exercise which we undertook.
This was also an opportunity for the Committee to be able to see and go through the diamond value chain to be able to physically and practically understand what goes on in the diamond industry. We indeed appreciated the process from various stages amongst the four diamond producing companies that we visited. It was also an opportunity even from the confession and testimonies of the four companies that it brought the diamond producing companies together for the first time in a very long time. They confessed that it was something that they had never done in a long time and they really applauded the idea behind self assessment.
I will quickly get to the positives of this exercise, like have been already mentioned by those that spoke before me. It placed Zimbabwe at a level where the International Diamond Community, before the KPC even came, I think three or four months after this exercise, have appreciated and gave a thumbs up to the way Zimbabwe produces its diamond, to the value chain that Zimbabwe goes through to the point that they put Zimbabwe as a Vice Chairman of KPC and subsequently the chairperson of KPC come 2023.
This is an acknowledgement that to a large extend, the production or the value chain or the manner in which diamond is being produced in Zimbabwe is to a very high level in as far as the international standards are concerned. We were also exposed contrary to aspersions and the thinking of other players or other people from other cycles, about the security under the production chain, the security exercise of the whole process which goes through. We were hands on in seeing and going through and appreciating the various stages that the gold production process goes through. Of note was what we witnessed at ZCDC, the level of their security, where their close circuit television security system is linked like the report produced by the Ministry of Mines Headquarters where the Ministry of Mines from the comfort of their office can see what is happening at the various mining companies. They can see every single stage and process that happens, they can be seen from the screens in their various offices.
This dismisses the assertion that the production of diamond in Zimbabwe is not done according to the world standards and we are happy to say few months after the self assessment process, the KPC itself is in the country and it landed in on Saturday and will be here until the 21st of May which is next Saturday. We are hopeful and we have got no doubt at all that by the time this team finishes their exercise, we will indeed confirm that Zimbabwe’s diamond is being produced within the rules and it is being produced within the given guidelines according to international standards. This indeed is something that we should be excited about as a country. We also appreciated the value chain like I mentioned earlier on that not all of our diamond is exported as raw, there is also diamond cutting and polishing.
We were taken to Aurex, one of the local companies that does diamond cutting and polishing and we appreciated what goes through there, the producing of jewelry and many other diamond products from there and also how diamond is then exported having gone through MMCZ.
So I would like to say indeed, Zimbabwe is poised for greater heights in as far as diamond production is concerned, not only in terms of the volumes that the four companies that we are talking about are aiming at producing, but also in abiding with the international standards according to the KPC as will be testified by what the KPC team which will report after their tour that will take a week.
In short, the exercise according to the report that has been tabled in this august House, was a worthwhile exercise because during the time that it was being undertaken, it eliminated some of the areas that would have exposed us, made us not reach the standards that KPC was looking for because of the opportunity that the industry took to assess itself way before the KPC came over. I thank you.
HON. GABBUZA: Thank you Madam Speaker. Let me begin by thanking the Chairperson for a very worthwhile report and well presented at the opportune time when the KPC is also in the country, following on the works of the Committee, if I may put it that way.
There are a few things that came out of our tour and out of the report as presented by the Hon Chairperson of the Committee. As a country, we must appreciate that when we are mining diamonds, these are high value products and the world over there’s a general concern that the proceeds of diamonds must not be used for conflicts. As a nation with an abundance of deposits of diamond, I think it is important that we keep checking ourselves to ensure that we are in line with the international norms at KPC.
However, there are certain things that create the noise in the mining of diamonds and these are some of the things that we established as a Committee, I will highlight some of them.
Madam Speaker, when an investor comes into a country to mine, particularly in the mineral sector, generally there is a need for consultations, the communities where the deposits are must be consulted. Unfortunately, as a country, we lack a legal framework to enforce that. The investor comes, there is no legal requirement for him to get to the ground and consult the stakeholders, the community and the people who are looking after those minerals.
They may not know that there are minerals underground, minerals of high value but the fact that the investor comes in, there is generally or definitely expectations from the communities. However, when communities are not consulted, there is a general tendency to have a lot of noise about those minerals and this is exactly what the KPC system does not like.
Therefore, the Committee needed to know and ensure that in areas where there is potential noise, that noise must not come out loudly, otherwise it will affect our mining of diamond in the country and eventually lose out as a country.
As a country, we need to ensure that our laws are put in clear legal terms that before you get to the communities, before you start your activities, whether it is exploration or the actual mining, the stakeholders, particularly the communities living around must be consulted. We saw this all over, in Hwange, Binga and elsewhere, there is a lot of noise not only for diamond sector but mainly because the miner is not legally bound to consult the communities because it is not a requirement in terms of our statutes. So that is one area that we need to emphasise as a Parliament and see what we can do.
Similarly, when a miner comes into the area, the community expects a bit of corporate social responsibility. They would have damaged roads, the mining activities damage environment but again there is no obligation in terms of the law for the miner to plough back into the community.
The argument of the miner will be that “I am only exploring and exploration does not give me money, I am spending, I am sinking money” but the community does not make a difference, if they see drilling machines and a lot of samples being taken out, they expect a bit of return from their minerals. Unfortunately, this argument will always be found all over the country and we need to sort it out as so that we reduce the noise associated with our mineral deposits,
Again, the issues of rehabilitation, our laws are very clear but as we went around, it looks like all over, people are crying that the mining is causing a lot of environmental damage. Sometimes their fields are affected, the water bodies are also affected and when they see no benefit, seeing their rocks being tramped out of the community, it creates a lot of noise. As a country we have good laws on this one in particular but there is no enforcement.
The agent EMA which is trusted with this duty does not seem to have the capacity to enforce the environmental laws while they ask for an Environmental Impact Assessment Report, they stop there. Rehabilitation is never done and that creates a lot of problems.
We need to have serious scrutiny on these high value contracts between mining companies and Government or mining and Government agency. I think there is need to ensure that before we enter into such contracts, it goes through thorough scrutiny by Parliament because eventually when these contracts end, our rocks are gone, the environment is damaged and there is very little left to the country. We all know that minerals are finite and they will not always be there and exactly what the Committee established, where we thought there was so much deposit of diamonds which were conglomerates in the Marange area but now there is almost no conglomerate or easy to diamonds, it is actually very difficult to mine the now re-mining. The miners have been mining in the country and there is very little benefit that we have benefited from our diamond.
So I think these contracts of high value minerals must be seriously scrutinised.
Lastly, one thing that came out clearly, is the level of corruption and the level of linkages in our minerals. Clearly in eastern highlands in Mutare particularly, the communities indicated that known smugglers of minerals are never arrested. This means there is a lot of connivance between smugglers and our law enforcement agency. If we have to benefit as a country, we need to put strict measures to close these loopholes so that we do not continue to bleed as a country. We have got a lot of things that might require funding as we all know but if we continuously have leakages, it does not benefit the nation but the particular individuals.
With those few words, I want to commend the report and thank the Hon. Chairperson for presenting the report. I thank you.
HON. MUTAMBISI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 18th May, 2022.
On the motion of HON. MUTAMBISI seconded by HON. TEKESHE, the House adjourned at a Quarter to Six o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 17th May, 2022
The Senate met at Half-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE
NON-ADVERSE REPORTS RECEIVED FROM THE PARLIAMENTARY LEGAL COMMITTEE
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I wish to inform the Senate that I have received Non-Adverse Reports from the Parliamentary Legal Committee on Statutory Instruments gazetted as follows:
During the month of March 2022, Statutory Instrument numbers 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 40 (a), 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58 and 59.
During the month of April 2022, Statutory Instrument numbers 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 68 (a), 69, 70, 71, 72, 72 (a), 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 80 (a), 80 (b), 81, 82 and 84.
APPOINTMENT AND CHANGES TO THEMATIC COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I also wish to inform the House that Hon. Sen. Cheza has been nominated to sit on the Thematic Committees on Gender and Development and Human Rights. Further to that Hon. Sen. E. Baipai will move from the Thematic Committee on Peace and Security to the Human Rights Committee.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: Mr. President Sir, I move that Orders of the Day Numbers 1 to 6 be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
SCHEMES TO REDEEM THE NATIONAL HERD FROM DEVASTATING AND DESTRUCTIVE EFFECTS OF DROUGHT
Seventh Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the effects of drought on the national herd in the dry regions of the country.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. A. DUBE: Mr. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 18th May, 2022.
MOTION
POLICIES THAT ADDRESS AND PLUG LOOPHOLES RELATED TO TAX EVASION
Eighth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on policies that address and plug loopholes on tax evasions, illicit financial flows and corruption.
Question again proposed.
+HON. SEN. A. DUBE: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to support the motion that was moved by Hon. Sen. Chinake which speaks to the emancipation of Zimbabweans through the development of our economy. Zimbabwe is rich. It is endowed with different resources and because of that, you would bind that some of our resources are not being properly secured. Some are being smuggled out of the country which is affecting the development of our economy. Mr. President, our economy is deteriorating despite the fact that we are rich. This is because of corrupt individuals who want to benefit alone. You find them smuggling Zimbabwe’s minerals, which is a bad thing because these resources are not cascading down to the fiscus. You find resources being taken out of Zimbabwe yet as Zimbabwe, we are supposed to be getting these mineral resources and the money is supposed to be taken to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
This comes as a result of corruption. You find corrupt individuals doing this so that they benefit as individuals whilst the rest of Zimbabweans are suffering. We appreciate that President E. D. Mnangagwa is very strict on corruption. He is saying that people should desist from corruption and do the right thing. He even formed the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission to deal with corruption. Despite that, you find that there are people who are not prepared to comply. Zimbabweans are suffering. Our economy is not performing well. People are smuggling minerals and other countries are benefiting from our minerals. These minerals are being exported. This corruption is like a cancer which is destroying the country. I do not know what should be done to a perpetrator who is found to be guilty. I think there should be punitive measures put in place. Externalising and exporting Zimbabwe’s resources is not right because people are suffering despite Zimbabwe being blessed and endowed with different resources. We are facing sanctions which were slapped on Zimbabwe by our erstwhile colonisers and other western countries. Instead of surviving on what we have and on other plans that we have as a country, we are suffering. If our minerals were not being externalised, we would be benefitting from their sales. We however have a President who is as wise as Solomon and he is trying his best to ensure that Zimbabwe succeeds. He works with other countries to assist and emancipate the people of Zimbabwe. Let me also reiterate that corruption is like a cancer and it is affecting people. We are supposed to be realising revenue but that is not being taken to the fiscus. Rather, you find individuals carrying cash in suitcases and bags. Some people do not even go to work. You find inflation spiraling as a result of corrupt activities. People do not value the Zimbabwean currency. There is no country which does not require its own currency. As Zimbabwe, we should value our own currency just like other countries do. At one point, I went to Cuba and despite facing serious sanctions like we are doing, they are doing well because the US dollar is not allowed in Cuba. You cannot trade using the US dollar. They insist that you only use the Cuban currency. So it is important that there should be a single currency so that the Zimbabwean currency is the sole currency being used. If that is done, then corruption will be rooted out. We have a lot of things in Zimbabwe but these are not evident because of corruption. There should be strict laws to penalise offenders. The painful thing is that you find people being arrested and released. This is discouraging as corruption cannot be eradicated by one person and one law. We need to be vigilant so that we inform those who are responsible for arresting the corrupt individuals. If you see people engaging in corrupt activities, there is need to inform the authorities because everyone belongs to the Government. If we are the eyes of Government, then there will not be corruption and it will be eradicated. You cannot turn a blind eye whilst watching people engaging in corrupt activities. It is important that perpetrators are prosecuted. Thank you Mr. President.
*HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: Thank Mr. President for affording me the opportunity to add my voice to this debate. I also want to thank the Hon. Member who moved this motion, Hon. Sen. Chinake and the seconder of the motion. The issue is of the wealth of the country in terms of natural resources. We are all agreeing that the Almighty God blessed us with natural resources. Though illegal sanctions were imposed on our country, we are surviving through our natural resources. Since independence, many resources were discovered showing God’s blessing on this country. We had potential for economic development but there are some hindrances which are preventing the growth of the economy of the country. We have Ministers who were given posts by His Excellency Cde. E. D. Mnangagwa, to lead different ministries. If you are given the Ministry of Finance, you must be well versed with all things happening on the financial side. To say the truth, we are being controlled via WhatsApp where the rates rise daily. So every week, the rates are going up. However if we look closely, it seems as if the people using WhatsApp are the ones responsible for raising the exchange rates. The Ministry left people to raise the exchange rates without taking any action until the President discovered the rates were going up and he saw it fit that the money be taken to the banks and measures were put in place to end the issue of raising the exchange rates. This shows that the measures were very effective. The prices of goods and even the rates were stagnant for a long period of time but because of corruption in the country where many people are moving around with large sums of money, both local currency and US dollars, what is surprising is that those people are moving around with crisp new notes, meaning there is corruption at high level. These notes must be in the banks. We also ask ourselves where these people are getting the money from. Our economy is going down the drain because of the corrupt activities. Our economy must be controlled by those who are responsible for working on issues to do with finances. The rates continue to go up and we are worried why the prices continue to go up. Why is it that the current state of financial affairs continues to rise? There are many corrupt activities that are happening in the country. An individual can have billions. There are even some influential people who were caught red handed with large sums of money and evidence was there but when those people were brought to book and nothing happened, they were released. Corruption must end in this country so that our economy can improve. People involved in corrupt activities must face the full wrath of the law so that everyone can see that if you are involved in corrupt activities, you will face the full wrath of the law. The simple word is corruption. These new notes must be at banks and being kept there. We also ask ourselves where these people are getting all this money. Due to these people who are involved in illegal and corrupt activities, our economy is going down the drain. Our economy must be controlled by those who are responsible for working on issues to do with finances.
If we look closely Mr. President, the rates are going up. We are worried why prices and the rates are going up. Why is the current state of affairs on prices continuing to rise? There are many corrupt activities which are happening in the country. An individual can have billions and billions and some other influential people were caught red handed with large sums of money. Evidence was there but when those people were brought to book at the courts, nothing happened and they were released. Corruption must end in this country so that our economy can rise.
People who are involved in corrupt activities must face the full wrath of the law so that the country and all the Zimbabweans can see that if you are involved in corrupt activities you will be penalised. Sometimes we weigh to say this corruption is better than the other, to say there is lower, medium and higher level of corruption. I think corrupt activities should be classified in groups. For example, corruption at the roadblock must be classified. If you see people exchanging it is corruption. How are we going to classify this corruption?
Those who are involved in extreme corrupt activities must be given higher sentences and a stipulated time when to go to court. Those who are found doing corrupt activities and have properties or money, those things must be taken and forfeited to the State. People must see that being corrupt or involved in corrupt activities does not have any profit because once you are caught everything is taken by the State and you are sent to prison. The judges should know that someone who is involved in corruption must face the wrath of the law because corruption is destroying the future of the country. One person can benefit from resources which were supposed to benefit a large group, province or nation.
Mr. President, we know that the Second Republic led by His Excellency Dr. Emmerson Mnangagwa who is very dedicated and knowledgeable, is working on the refurbishment of roads and other economic activities, even agriculture. All departments are moving forward very well but there is a problem when it comes to money. We are not happy with where our money is coming from. Our money must be controlled. If a person borrows money from the bank for farming or other activities, he must return that money within a stipulated period of time. Yes, we understand sometimes a farmer might fail to understand that but there must be proper laws set for those who borrow money for production. Farmers must borrow with the knowledge that they must return that money.
On corruption Mr. President, we must work hard to end corruption. Even the small miners are doing a wonderful job in their mining activities but the management is not good. One other time, we had a discussion that those who have licences in different provinces must send people to go and collect money. Some people who have money go and buy the gold from the miners illegally, which is not good because some of the minerals are being illegally exported through the international airports or other illegal routes crossing to our neighbouring countries. All these activities must be controlled.
On the diamond sector, reports must be given regularly on how much gold or diamond we have produced as a country or how much we got from copper. Reports must be given regularly and the amounts of money must be declared so that we know how we can use that money as a country and we know that the money is there to allocate to the different departments. Yes of course, there are other things that we do not know in terms of management of money and some other activities are private for the sake of the security of the country but the information must be accessible to every individual so that they understand how the monies or economy and natural resources are being used in the country.
We went to Morocco - their currency compared to the USD is different with a dollar or $2. We went to Zambia and Mozambique, even if you give them USD when making payments, they refuse and tell you to change the USD to their local currency so that you can buy. Although we have the USD, we must protect and accept our local currency and use it compared to the appetite of using the USD. Right now, the rates are at 1:350/400, we do not have hope that the rate will go down. We are going to face many obstacles for us to get that rate down. There was a time when we reached a trillion.
Let us work together as a country to reduce and normalise our rates. We know the Second Republic is working very hard and they are going to make plans for the local currency to return its power and the rates to fall so that things can normalise and that the local currency has its power compared to the USD. We need our currency to be strong, able to buy and is beneficial to the country. We need to focus on the issues of finance. We want the ZWD to have power compared to the USD. Yes, it is good to use the USD but it is good to use our own currency. The owners of the USD can deny us to use their currency, so we must work towards the retention of the value of our own local currency.
In the yesteryears, money was measured in gold and the other minerals and our currency was strong. With the little money that we have, let us work together and make our currency to be strong. There are some people who have looted the country’s money and resources, and went to build in other countries. We do not want our resources to be transferred to other countries. With these few words, I thank you.
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: I would like to thank you very much for recognising me to debate on a motion raised by Hon. Sen. Chinake, seconded by Hon. Sen. Denga. The topic ‘mining sector in Zimbabwe’ is a very broad one. One can debate for more than seven days uninterrupted because of its complexity and importance to the generality of Zimbabweans. The current harsh economic conditions existing in this country makes this motion very important to all Zimbabweans in this country.
The mining sector plays a very important role in the development of any country and Zimbabwe is included. The mining sector brings the much needed foreign currency and the revenue that assist in the running of the country. It plays a significant role in the development of this country by bringing the much needed foreign currency and income. I will show how the mining sector is important in this country and how Zimbabwe must handle the mining sector as its cash cow. The Government gets most of its revenue from mining taxation. There are various taxes that stream into the Government coffers. We have
Royalties – These are major tax payments from the mining sector. These are sovereign rights to receive payment based on percentage of revenue of the mineral exported. Whatever company is mining in this country – there is a certain percentage it must pay to the Government for all the activities. Most of the companies that are mining in Zimbabwe are foreign. Therefore, before they export whatever they export, a certain percentage is paid to the Government as revenue.
Corporate tax - This is calculated at 25%. This tax is calculated from the profits of a corporation paid on a company’s taxable income which included revenue minus cost of goods sold.
Additional Profit Tax – These are levies specific to the mining sector aimed at capturing a larger share of the rent.
Value Added Tax – This is calculated at 15%. It is an indirect tax on consumption charged on the supply of taxable goods and services.
Exploration Fees – These refer to payments made to a Government for assessment work, taxes, Government fees, geophysical, geochemical and geological surveys.
Pay As You Earn – This is a system of calculating how much an employee must pay to the Government. In other words, the company deducts a certain tax on behalf of the employee and pays to the Government.
All these that I have explained are revenue streams that keep our Government going. Even when civil servants demand salary increments, even all the developments that are taking place right now in Zimbabwe – I want to praise His Excellency and the new dispensation; all developments that are taking place right now, Government is not borrowing. Where is it getting that money from? It is coming from those streams that are coming from the mining sector. This then shows us how important the mining is to this country.
If the mining sector is not handled properly, it can have negative impacts to our communities. These negative impacts are; destruction of natural landscape; it violates human rights; pollutes surfaces and water; contaminates soils and displaces people. As much as the mining sector is a cash cow – and whatever is coming to the Government is then ploughed back to service communities but a good example is the Chiadzwa community versus the Chinese Diamond Mining companies; the community is not benefiting from companies that are there. We passed through Chiadzwa with a certain Committee. What we found there is very deplorable. There is total destruction. There is no land reclamation. The roads are just bad. Schools have been moved away from the local community and children walk a distance of eight kilometres to the nearest school. As a result, most of the children are no longer going to school. As much as we want these companies to pay tax to the Government, policies must clearly state that wherever they do their business, they must make sure that they improve the welfare of the people because some of the people will have been moved to give way for mining which gives money to the Government. The companies must remember that there is something called social corporate responsibility and community trust.
One area that needs to be looked at closely is the area of social corporate responsibility and community trust. This is enshrined in the Indigenisation and Empowerment Act Chapter 14:33 but it appears as if there is no proper follow up because the mines just speak of corporate social responsibility and totally forget about it. There is ZIMPLATS which is doing very well. Good houses have been constructed for the people but some of these Chinese companies are not doing a good service to our people.
There is also need to consider our small scale miners. They are doing a good job and bringing much of the gold to Fidelity but the way they operate, as I shall explain later, leaves a lot of loop-holes to an extend that most of the gold that is coming to Fidelity is probably 40% and 60% is finding its way out of the country.
It is a fact that Zimbabwe has got more than 60 minerals plus the prospect of oil in Muzarabani and Mbire districts. The predominant minerals are gold, diamond, platinum, chrome and coal but since the year 2000, Zimbabwe has been mining only ten out of the more than 60 namely gold, diamond, platinum, coal, chrome, nickel, black granite, asbestos copper and silver. Corruption is rife in all other spheres but in the mining sector, we feel a lot more must be done because the mining sector is our cash cow. People that are tasked to clamp down and regulate Zimbabwe’s illegal gold mining industry are some of the biggest beneficiaries of the illicit activities.
The Zimbabwean Government had targeted to have at least USD12 billion by 2023 but this has become an uphill task because of corruption, embezzlement, illicit outflows of the gold to other countries. Therefore, as a Government, we need to sit down and screw all the avenues these illicit smugglers are using.
Mr. President, a special commission was set up to oversee the gold sector. It is called Gold Mobilisation Technical Committee (GMTC) but I wonder if any other Hon. Member here knows about this Committee which appears to be a wild goose. It is also rife with corruption, a thing that is against the mandate that Committee was given by His Excellency. It is also against His Excellency’s instruction. Instead of doing what they were supposed to be doing, they have also sunk into corrupt activities. I am not sure if we want His Excellency to go down to the mining areas to plug in corruption.
The mining industry is overwhelmingly defined by artisanal and small scale miners, hence its vulnerability to exploitation and illicit financial flows. Small scale miners normally operate without any regulations, they get to any place and if they find gold, they start mining. Chances are that those big guys with money will just come in and grab all the gold from the small scale miners and take it across the Limpopo to South Africa. Therefore, very strong recommendations are that we need to harness the small scale mines so that not even a small grain of gold is allowed to get out of the country through undesignated border areas.
Popular is a nomadic form of prospectus colloquially known as ‘reapers.’ These reapers dig anywhere where a detector sniffs a possibility of gold. They virtually mine everywhere, even in the roads, they do not care, they can even destroy homesteads and graveyards. This brings the threat of violence during the gold rush. These rippers also sponsor or employ those market groups to displace rivals. The mining sector is in turmoil because of bureaucratic tendencies or red tape and corruption, which results in loss of business confidence and sparks capital flight.
Mr. President, there is something that is also taking place in this country that is called blanketing and carpeting of the whole country’s mineable areas with speculative Exclusive Prospecting Orders (EPOs). Even sons of this country who want to prospect and mine gold everywhere else, it has already been prospected for speculative purposes. I think as a country, we need to look at that properly and take away all other areas which have been packed for speculative purposes and allow other players to get into the same field.
One other thing that is causing pilferage of gold or these illicit activities is the delay in processing of certificates and delays in solving disputes. The delays are man-made and breeds illegal miners, reducing the flow of gold to Fidelity; it closes Zimbabwe for business when it is supposed to be open for business. Mine exports is responsible for 60% of all our exports in this country and mining contributes 18% of our GDP. These figures tell us that we need to do much more to the mining sector of this country. If it is properly done and if corruption is properly suppressed, we do not need to cry about sanctions, we will bust them because we will have enough since we have all the minerals.
My recommendation is, I am not too sure what is supposed to be done, but there is that Committee which I talked about which also sank into corrupt activities but we should not lose hope. I feel as a Government – I have a request to make, I think the Minister of Mines and Mining Development; I am not sure how he can find his way into this House so that he answers some of these things that we are talking about in the mining sector. He is the man in charge, we have a lot of questions, and so we can also give him advice. Unfortunately, I have gone out of the topic but I think it is important that he comes here and listens to us as we also give him some advice.
My strongest recommendation is on corruption and tightening of screws so that all the taxes that are supposed to find way to Government are directed exactly there. I want to repeat that I am happy that all the development that is taking place in Zimbabwe, the Government is not borrowing anywhere and the biggest cash-cow is the mining sector. Those six streams of revenue coming to the Government, if screws are properly tightened, I think Zimbabwe can go a long way in busting the sanctions and we will never cry about sanctions again; we will be like Cuba. I thank you Mr. President – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.] –
HON. SEN. MABIKA: Thank you Mr. President. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Chinake for the motion. My contribution will be that, in short, this is a heavily compounded problem with all the driving forces…
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Order, you are not connected.
HON. SEN. MABIKA: The answer to our problems lies in our natural resources as a key starting point. We consider the natural resources that we have as mentioned before, the gold, platinum, diamond and so on. However, commodity prices have been rising significantly globally, which means these products must give us a lot of high revenues. The crux of the matter is on how to get money to the households. Why are we still broke despite so many minerals which are in high demand globally? A couple of things are happening in the mining area which should deliver chunks of revenue to the State for onward use and distribution to the people via commercial means such as increased construction contracts and subsidies in time of strife.
We have the issue of mining licences, usually after an exploration a concession is awarded and the concessioner automatically is given the rights to mine when they apply for a mining licence. The mining licence fees have no direct bearing to the quantity or quality of the mineral identified. It is usually a flat fee based on acreage and type of mineral in question. I consider this to be a massive but currently invisible leakage. This area can create several chunks of bumper harvest every year, thereby reducing the impact of sanctions and all these high impact exogenous shocks such as lockdowns, price shocks and other similar things caused by geo-political pressures such as global supply chain disruptions. I would like to give an example of a platinum mine - geographically surveyed to bankable level and found to have a resource worth USD10 billion. A 1% mining fee would give you about USD100. In short, if we check how many of these licences have been given out for the past three years, you will find that we could have a revenue stream of well over USD3 billion. If we are not part of the ownership of the mining companies, they will sell a lot of our minerals and Ministry of Finance can announce great figures on current account balance, et cetera, but how are those great figures accounted for to the people? The mining house still owns the revenue and keeps it in their bank account, then what? Suppliers to mining houses are specialised and very few, where will the people meet this revenue for them to know that our mining is doing great? Community ownership schemes literally failed to deliver. The only way is to have shareholding for purposes of monitoring real activities within the companies to reduce chances of transfer pricing among other ills as well as becoming a dividend receiving part of which the dividend must be deposited with the province as the devolution fund. That way the harder a province works the more they get.
The syndrome of simply receiving a devolution fund which has no bearing on the output of the province is like conditioning the people to receive without working for what they receive. This is a terrible national habit brought in by the NGOs to our people’s mind set – a dependency syndrome. Please note that the current process and procedures for acquiring concessions and mining rights were developed during the colonial era. It was specially designed to benefit the colonisers who were very clear why they came to Africa, to get resources back to their homeland – Britain. The process encourage geological work to be done with minimum State resources and the reward for finding the minerals would be the automatic right to mine and specifically export to their homeland, the originally intended final beneficiary.
In our case, we are supposed to be the final beneficiary of our minerals in whatever state of the beneficiation we can get the minerals to. This has got to be rearranged. The Mining Act requires to be urgently reviewed with regards to this recognition. The recognition that we are supposed to be final beneficiary as a country of whatever comes out of our ground, part of the reason land reform is a problem for the West is what is under that agricultural land – minerals. I thank you Mr. President.
HON. SEN. CHINAKE: Mr. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 18th May, 2022.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE 50TH PLENARY ASSEMBLY OF THE SADC PLENARY FORUM HOSTED VIRTUALLY BY THE KINGDOM OF LESOTHO
Ninth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on motion on the Report of the 50th Plenary Assembly of the SADC Plenary Forum hosted virtually by the Kingdom of Lesotho from 10th to 12th December 2021.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: Mr. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 18th May, 2022.
MOTION
MEASURES TO RESUSCITATE THE ECONOMY
Tenth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the need to come up with measures to resuscitate the economy.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. A. DUBE: Mr. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 18th May, 2022.
MOTION
EFFORTS TO CURB CORRUPTION
Eleventh Order read: Adjourned debate on motion to introduce deterrent services for those engaging in corrupt activities.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MABIKA: Thank you Mr. President. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Tongogara for this important motion about corruption. Corruption has become synonymous with the cause of State failure and Zimbabweans’ perception. Corruption has superseded and even replaced all causes of sub economic of Zimbabwe. The people have even convinced themselves that sanctions are a minor contributor to the economic hardships of Zimbabwe. Both local and international media onslaught regarding corruption in Zimbabwe has caused insurmountable damage to all the effort by the State to deliver, to the extent that even when the State delivers something such as dams, roads, health improvement, conquered the COVID surge, et cetera, all that the people see is corruption.
There are two parts to the corruption matter. The first one would be the real corruption and the second one would be the perceived corruption which is usually driven by conspiracy theories generated by third parties who have ulterior motives towards the State or some individuals. We must be quick to note that the way we deal with the real corruption will have a bearing on the relevance of perceived corruption to the people. In other words, the more corruption the State detects and successfully deliver convictions, the less the impact of perceived corruption on the psyche of our people. Failing to deliver on the conviction and eradication of real corruption has got far reaching consequences to our country. The first thing that is attacked by this failure is nationalism. People will inherently attack, as they already do not like anything nationalistic - including and especially our own currency; our achievements to the extent of not even liking our own national soccer team. The flip side of this same anti-nationalist sentiment would be self hate. A nation’s psyche cannot be worse than self hate. How will we be able to develop our country and grow our GDP when we hate what we produce in preference to imports whose forex we do not have? How will we be able to harness maximum innovation from our people when they think that their ideas will be either stolen or misused? How can we assure productivity when the people think that they are only putting their effort for someone else to simply benefit themselves through corrupt means? How can our people trust their currency when they believe that it is going to be siphoned out of the country by corrupt means? How can we harness the intelligence and capabilities of the diaspora for the maximum benefit of the nation when the diasporans think that their country is so corrupt that if they come back home to contribute, it will be wasted energy to be sapped by a few corrupt people?
Basically the people have been left with a hollow feeling about contributing to the nation and to themselves in full, on this soil. Commitment and the will to sacrifice for one’s own country is almost totally eroded. The people are the resource in many aspects. They are the manpower, the innovators, the producers, the market and ultimately the defenders of our sovereignty.
Announcement of operation restore legacy gained the highest traction from all walks of life because of the key pronouncement of getting rid of the thieves around the former President. Nobody can successfully change this perspective. It is therefore more than critical for the Second Republic to demonstrate that corruption is not to be entertained in this country and that anyone who is corrupt shall be brought to book without fear or favour. Attacking corruption is the key binding tool for the nation. It must be used relentlessly for the people to have a positive outlook at themselves. It provides an atmosphere or feeling of fairness. There is no shortcut or alternative to this requirement.
ZACC and other related anti-corruption agents’ limitations
It is evident that ZACC and other anti-corruption institutions in the country have got some limitations in exercising their duties. In the absence of conviction of the corruption agents, there has not been any explanation or release or information on any such limitations. At least some form of credible explanation would go a little way in calming the people down. At this point, no convictions and no explanation create a sense of acceptability of corruption by Government. This is a fundamental problem. Whole anti-corruption departments have been in place since soon after His Excellency, the President of the Second Republic of Zimbabwe was inaugurated. To date, according to the views of the people, there is practically no dent that has been put onto the corruption plate. If anything, it is actually growing in their perception. The question is, what limitations do ZACC and other anti-corruption agents have which could not be solved since 2018? Is it a manpower problem on the part of our investigators? Are the reported cases fake? Is it the judicial system which is slackening after arrests have been made? Are the cases too complex and long to cause arrest and conviction? Could it be our laws are not watertight enough to cause high impact implementation? Is it possible that our people are confusing between ethical and corrupt tendencies? What are the real issues making us look like we are failing to overcome this problem?
This failure to conquer corruption or the perception of it in some cases is putting the Second Republic into disrepute and is hurting nationalism, thereby impacting very negatively on all aspects of our economy through both leakage and having a demoralised people, yet the people form the backbone of the country. I thank you Mr. President.
*HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: Thank you for affording me this opportunity to debate this very important motion on the issue of corruption. If we take a close look on the discussions which were held in this House, they all lead to corruption which will not make our country move to the next level. We were happy when we were given Commissions by the President E.D. Mnangagwa in the Second Republic. We thought everything would be okay since they were Commissioners. As alluded to by the other speakers, is it hard for them or is corruption too much for the Commissioners that they cannot do anything? Are they still Commissioners?
In the Senate and National Assembly, we made vows to the country. So why can we not have Commissioners coming here to train us on what to do so that we can help the Government since we are another arm of Government? We are leaders from different constituencies. We see a lot of things. Some cases where Government money is used, we see as Members of Parliament but we do not have powers to consult anyone where we can use the money. We are hurt.
We see our relatives being called to perform different activities or jobs and end up seeing them wasting resources for the Government or mining away our resources. After they have consumed enough, they leave and others come and consume again and leave. Is it not good for Members of Parliament to advise that on such a place, there is corruption happening and then we wait to see if the Commissioners do not act after getting that information?
Secondly, we have never seen people engaged in business going to the banks or in a queue at the banks. Where do they take their funds to? There is corruption there. In our African tradition, we say there is no smoke without fire. We need to report our cases too. The police on its own is not enough. We see a lot Mr. President which disturbs the country. As Hon. Members, we need to keep our funds well since that is where we get our salaries from. Therefore, we need to build our country well so that our economy becomes stronger.
We know the leaders of corruption. If one person has a lot of stands in one town and others do not have, that is seen by everyone in the country that this has exceeded the corruption level. How much he earns and invests is too much. How is he getting everything that he has? That needs to be closely looked at so that our resources are protected. We were given diplomatic passports to represent our country in other countries but we cannot even represent our citizens in our own country.
As Hon. Members and an arm of Government, we need to help the Government in what is happening in the country. Citizens and Ministers also notice where things are not good. If the Government is not supported, we are also not supported as members of Government. We need a strong Government. His Excellency and the Ministers cannot notice everything. They need our help. We praise others for working well but I think we need to have forms to assess the Ministers so that we know how they are performing.
Corruption is too much Mr. President and corruption alone; I see it happening every day. Members of the public must be able to talk about people or groups they see engaged in corruption. They should be able to name groups, not only individuals who are responsible for hampering the development of the country through looting of resources and money from the RBZ. A lot is happening behind the scenes. We love our country and we need to protect it. Thank you Mr. President.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 18th May, 2022.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON HIV AND AIDS ON THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC LOCKDOWN RESTRICTIONS ON HIV AND AIDS SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM IN ZIMBABWE
Twelfth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the First Report of the Thematic Committee on HIV/AIDS on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions on HIV/AIDS service delivery system in Zimbabwe.
Question again proposed.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON HIV AND AIDS ON THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC LOCKDOWN RESTRICTIONS ON HIV AND AIDS SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM IN ZIMBABWE
Twelfth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions on HIV and AIDS service delivery system in Zimbabwe.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. MATIIRIRA: Thank you Mr. President for affording me the opportunity to add my voice to the motion raised by Hon. Sen. Kambizi concerning the problems faced by people who are HIV positive during the lockdown period. I would like to thank you Hon. Sen. Kambizi for raising such a pertinent motion.
We moved around as a Committee seeing people living with HIV and AIDS during lockdown times and how they survived. In Manicaland - Chipinge, we discovered that during the lockdown a lot of people were affected. We would like to thank the Government through the Ministry of Health and Child Care – they are trying their best that everyone has medicines for HIV and AIDS in all the hospitals. During lockdown, they all faced the problem of lack of medication. They would not come back to look for medicines because of the lockdown. A lot of hospitals had no medicines especially Cotrimoxazole. If they discovered that a person is living with HIV and AIDS they would take a CD4 count. Other hospitals and health institutions had no machines to do the CD4 counts. A lot of people were disturbed because they had no access to their medicines. Some travel a lot of distances and during the lockdown they would not move from one place to another in time and this affected them countrywide. We all know that if one is taking ARVs, he or she needs to be constant in terms of taking the medication. A lot of them defaulted and continued later. Some lost lives due to these problems.
We also discovered that we have children who are living with HIV and AIDs and they are taking care of themselves. It would have been better if they had parents. These children do not have anyone to encourage them to take their medication as per the prescription. People need more sensitisation with regards to COVID-19 since it is still prevalent. They need to be educated on what to do if we have another lockdown so that we do not lose lives. This must be done through the Ministry of Health and Child Care so that everyone gets medication in time. This is what we noted as a Committee Mr. President, I thank you.
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 18th May, 2022.
MOTION
SECOND REPORT OF THE THEMATIC ON HIV AND AIDS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY (ART) ROLL-OUT PROGRAMME
Thirteenth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Implementation of the Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) Roll-Out Programme.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 18th May, 2022.
MOTION
CONDOLENCES ON THE DEATH OF HON. SEN. SIMON KHAYA MOYO
Fourteenth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the untimely passing on of the late Senator for Matabeleland South, Hon. Sen. Simon Khaya.
Question again proposed.
+HON. SEN. NKOMO: Thank you Mr. President for affording me this opportunity to add a few words to the motion which was raised by Hon. Sen. Mathuthu regarding the passing on of Hon. Sen. Ambassador S. K. Moyo. The passing on of Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo really pained the whole nation because of his contribution towards the independence of Zimbabwe and beyond. A lot of things were said by Hon. Senators in this august House and I cannot repeat all that was said. However, the point is that it is prudent that everyone knows the man we are talking about who was a great man of valour.
We have heard Hon. Members saying that he was trustworthy. Because of his integrity, he was sent by ZAPU to go to school, he was sent to pursue university education because of the kind of a person that he was. During the liberation struggle, because of his good deeds, he was deployed in the office of the leader of the party who was the late Vice President Dr. Joshua Nkomo. Zimbabwe, especially Matebeleland South Province lost the father figure who used to urge us to work very hard and encouraged us to unite so that as Zimbabweans, we need to be united in everything that we do so that there is progress. He was a jovial man who was always smiling but hard working. We know that in Government, he had different positions. In Matebeleland South, we referred to him as ‘Mr. Ten years,’ meaning that he was a secretary of different ministries in 10 years. He was a Minister for different departments for 10 years, an ambassador to South Africa representing Zimbabwe for 10 years. This was a serious man who was committed and would sing patriotic songs like the song that we work for our nation. He would urge people to work for positions. We lost a valuable cadre.
The passing on of Ambassador Simon Khaya Moyo really pained us. It really affected me even as an individual Hon. Senator. I am here to represent Matebeleland South and I am here because of his passing on. It pains me that he was a hard worker but also challenges me to work hard like what he used to do. This man was a liberation cadre who fought alongside other cadres so that we attain independence. The Agrarian Reform was also taken up by different cadres including the late Hon. Senator, S. K. Moyo.
The Government should take care of our war veterans. We thank President E. D. Mnangagwa for noting the hard work of the late Hon. Senator S. K. Moyo because he honoured him as a national hero. We thank His Excellency, President E. D. Mnangagwa for the honour. There are a lot of cadres who were with the late Hon. S. K. Moyo, some passed away before independence. Let me thank the President, noting that President E. D. Mnangagwa recently pronounced that he values liberation cadres and war veterans. He even gave a directive that their welfare be looked into because he is a visionary leader and cares for war veterans.
Mr. President, I am saying this because those who passed away before independence should be remembered together with their families because there are surviving families who need to be looked after. We also have some who passed away after independence who should be looked after by the Government because leading our nation will be easy if people are happy. If people are not happy, it will be difficult to lead them. This programme was initiated by President E. D. Mnangagwa, thinking of collaborators, detainees and war veterans, this is a good initiative which encourages the people of Zimbabwe and they appreciate that the Government is doing its best to take care of their welfare. I believe that those who passed away before independence and after are not different from the late Ambassador S. K. Moyo. He was a leader, a fighter and worked with people, he was led by other people and he also led other people within the structures of the war veterans and other liberators.
It is a good initiative if the Government to take care of the welfare of war veterans who fought alongside with the late Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo. Our war veterans are suffering and it is good that they are looked after so that there is peace, harmony and unity in Zimbabwe. Ambassador S. K. Moyo was a wonderful man. After attending the Senate, he would go to Matebeleland South to meet his constituents, party cadres to discuss about developmental issues. He was a man who was developmental. He desired that there be unity in Zimbabwe and we need to unite because those who are late, we do not know where they are but we believe that their spirits know that they left Zimbabwe in safe and united hands. As Zimbabweans, we need to unite and defend what Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo and other cadres fought for so that we protect our economy and nation. Our economy is busy disappearing yet we are here and we cannot ring-fence our economy. We need to be vigilant so that Zimbabwe is not poor but is independent and has a vibrant economy.
Our cadres fought for the liberation of Zimbabwe and for us who are alive, we need to be vigilant and make sure we protect our economy and nation. It was a sad loss, Matebeleland South as a Province really felt the pain of losing Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo. He was a man who embraced all ages. He had an open door policy, he was consulted by different people and was always open to assisting different people. He did a good job and we commend him for that and appreciate him. Let me also thank this august House which stood with Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo even up to the funeral until he was laid to rest. Hon. Senators, I appreciate you. With these few words Mr. President, I would like to say that as I step into his shoes, I would like to say may you rest in peace Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. MATIIRIRA: Thank you Mr. President for affording me this opportunity to talk about our late father, Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo. First and foremost, I would want to thank His Excellency the President, E. D. Mnangagwa for conferring hero status on the late Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo because of his contribution to Zimbabwe. He worked for Zimbabwe as a nation and to ZANU PF as a party. He was a humble man, merciful and peace-loving; hence His Excellency the President saw it fit to accord him the befitting hero status. He left a good image and he was a good role model, courageous in as far as his love for his country was concerned. He loved himself as much as he loved this country. We are aware when he came two days before his passing on and sat here alone in the Senate Chamber, little did we know that he would pass on. When we received the news, we realised that he was a man who was committed and dedicated to his country Zimbabwe and wanted to work for his Government. He had come to bid farewell to the august House. We would want the Moyo family to also know that we are with them as they mourn their dear departed. We know that once God has called one to the Kingdom, no one can stop that. He was promoted to higher glory. As we mourn the deceased, let us be thankful and celebrate his life and look at the future. I want to say farewell to the late Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo. Go thee well. With those few words, Mr. President, I thank you.
+HON. SEN. M. NDLOVU: Thank you Mr. President for giving me the opportunity to talk about our colleague the late Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo. He was short but had a broad vision. He worked hard since before independence. He was an aide to the late Dr. Nkomo and did his job with fortitude. I would like to appreciate our Government for the way he was treated during his days when he was not well. We were informed that the late Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo was admitted in hospital but we noted that Government was involved in providing medical attention. The Minister of Health who is also the Vice President, Hon. Chiwenga ran around to make sure that Sen. S. K. Moyo received medical treatment. Everything was done to try and give him treatment.
When he passed on, we were informed that Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo had passed on and the Vice President, who is also the Minister of Health Hon. Chiwenga was present. We met doctors who informed us that Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo had passed on. We had doctors from all corners who were consulted by the Ministry but it was sad that Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo passed on. When he passed on, the President did not send anyone to declare him a national hero but he came on his own and said that no paper work would be done but that Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo will be going to the National Heros’ Acre. His Excellency said that because of the great exploits and deeds that were done by Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo. As a region, we would like to thank the support that was provided when we took the late Senator to the National Heros Acre. It was not easy but His Excellency the President, E. D. Mnangagwa saw it fit that at a particular time, the late Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo would be taken to lie in state at his rural home and eventually at the National Heroes Acre.
Because of the relationship they had and the good job they did working alongside with other leaders, Government noted that. I would like to say that may his soul rest in peace. I thank you.
HON. SEN. MABIKA: Thank you Mr. President. I would also like to add my voice to the motion raised by Hon. Sen. Mathuthu on the passing on of Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo. He was a very strong man who did not even show that he was sick. He would smile even when he was not feeling well. The late Hon. S.K, as we would passionately call him in other quarters, was a down to earth man. He was very humble. I remember Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo as a very kind man who did not like any controversy. He loved peace. He was loyal in the performance of his duties and above all, he was a gentleman who left a gap that is going to be difficult to fill. May his soul rest in peace. I thank you.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I would like to take this opportunity to wind up this very important motion. I would like to thank all the Hon. Senators who contributed to this very important motion, which touched almost every Senator in this august House. True to all the contributions which were made in this august House, Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo was a very committed man to the nation and the country Zimbabwe. He was a true son of the soil and a national hero. I would like to thank His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde E.D. Mnangagwa for according Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo a national hero status. May his soul rest in peace. I thank you.Motion that this House;
EXPRESSES its profound sorrow on the untimely passing on of the late Senator for Matebeleland South, Hon. Sen. Simon Khaya Moyo, on Sunday 14 November, 2021;
PLACES on record its appreciation for the services which the late Hon. Senator rendered to Parliament and the nation at large;
RESOLVES that its profound sympathies be conveyed to the Moyo family, relatives and the entire Nation for the untimely loss of the Hon. Senator, put and agreed to.
MOTION
DEVASTATING EFFECTS OF DRUG ABUSE BY YOUTHS
Fifteenth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the devastating effects of drug abuse by youths.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. A. DUBE: Thank you Mr. President. I also want to add my voice to this motion on drug abuse. I would like to thank all the Senators who supported this motion. These drugs are destroying our youths. We are talking about the leaders who protect our children from the law societies and all the leaders. Today’s youths are abusing drugs and do not have the future in their vision. This morning I saw someone at Rainbow Hotel and he was bleeding profusely through the nose but it was clear that he had consumed something and was intoxicated. My request is that there should be a law from the National Assembly and Senate that should be enforced and those who abuse drugs should be incarcerated for a long time. Our youths are our future but we will end up not having any leaders if they continue abusing drugs. The children of today insult their parents when under the influence of drugs. Right now they are using pampers as drugs. If we come together as leaders we should assist our youths because they do not understand what is going on in their lives. They are abusing drugs left, right and centre and that is why this motion is very important to all parents. I thank all the Senators who supported this motion. I move for the adoption of this motion.
Motion that this House:
DISTURBED by the excessive and prevalent abuse of drugs by youths countrywide;
NOTING the situation is exacerbated by the unemployment rate among youths who consequently end up spending most of their time idle and end up resorting to taking all sorts of drugs;
CONCERNED that such abuse of drugs has devastating consequences on our future generations and the Nation as a whole;
NOW THEREFORE calls upon the government -
- To put in place measures that will curb the abuse of drugs by youths through self-help projects so as to keep our youths fully occupied all the time.
- Set up rehabilitation centres and hospitals to assist our youths who are addicted to drugs to the extent of treating such abuse as a way of life.
- Legislate for stiffer penalties for the importation of those substances that give rise to incidents of drug abuse in the country put and agreed to.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Sixteenth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN MUZENDA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MABIKA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 18th May, 2022.
On the motion of HON. SEN. MUZENDA, seconded by HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA, the Senate adjourned at Half past Four o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 12th May, 2022
The National Assembly Met at a Quarter-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair)
HON. MARKHAM: Thank you Madam Speaker. My point of privilege is pertaining to the recent changes in the pricing at Pomona Waste Dump. We hear that City of Harare has only got seven out of forty-six trucks working carrying waste. This has given rise to some very efficient private owned waste management companies varying between one truck and some of them twenty or ten in number. These deliver to Pomona Waste and only when a truck arrives there, they pay ZW$7000. Private individuals arriving there are also charged up to ZW$600 for delivery. However, yesterday and this is my concern – the prices changed and those delivering were advised that the prices had risen from ZW$7000 per truck load to US$40 per tonne. Apart from that, there is no weighbridge at Pomona so the tonne cannot be weighed; so what they intend doing is charging US$40 by the tonnage that the truck can carry, irrespective of whether it is full or half full. So, a 20-tonne lorry will be charged US$800 for a delivery but of bigger concern is that when carrying waste, you are not carrying a tonnage. The actual figure is a third of the load. So a cubic metre of waste is anywhere between 250kgs -300kgs. This is an absolute rip off and I ask for a Ministerial Statement from the Ministry of Local Government to explain why this is happening. I thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Markham. May the Government Chief Whip convey the message to the responsible Minister?
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. TOGAREPI: Madam Speaker, I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 5 be stood over until Order of the Day Number 6 has been disposed of.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
SECOND READING
PRIVATE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS AMENDMENT BILL [H.B.10, 2021]
Sixth Order read: Adjourned debate on Second Reading of the Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Bill [H.B.10, 2021].
Question again proposed.
HON. TOGAREPI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday 17th May 2022.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. TOGAREPI: Madam Speaker, I move that the rest of the Orders of the Day be stood over until Order of the Day Number 29 has been disposed of.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE ON THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND UTILISATION OF PUBLIC RESOURCES
Twenty-ninth Order read: Adjourned debate on the Report of the Public Accounts Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic and Utilisation of Public Resources.
Question again proposed.
HON. MADZIMURE: Thank you Madam Speaker, I want to thank the Committee for the report. I have a number of issues that I feel strongly should have been covered in the report. The first thing was because here we are talking of funds that were meant to mitigate the issue of COVID-19, therefore the report should have included first the amount of money that was available, the budget of mitigating those measures and this should have also included all the money that was collected as donations. So this should have been the starting point. We must have been told how much money was available, how much money was made available by Treasury and how much money was made available through the donations. This should not have been a difficult job because if it was from Treasury, obviously the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development should have budgeted for it.
If there were donations, we know that whenever money is donated to Government and meant to be used for public use or purposes, it is recorded. There is a lot of money that was donated. There was a lot of equipment that was donated and this Madam Speaker, should have been accounted. I know or suspect that it was recorded and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development should have made those records available.
Going to the use of the money Madam Speaker, one gap that existed from the time when the issue of COVID-19 arose was making sure that Parliament was not working. Madam Speaker, there should not be any time when Parliament cannot assemble and do its work. I think that is the reason why we have such a damning report. If you look at that report, it tells you that it was free for all. Whoever wanted to benefit from this fund benefited, whoever wanted to enjoy himself benefited.
Madam Speaker, we had a lot of Committees which had chairpersons and if you look at the report it even says the Ministry officials, especially the Ministries of Finance and Economic Development and Local Government and Public Works and maybe Health and Child Welfare were not forthcoming as far as coming to give evidence to the Committee was concerned and this is a serious concern Madam Speaker. I suggest that in the absence of the evidence from the people who were supposed to give evidence, this report is not a complete report. Something needs to be done again because the moment you have a situation where the Ministry officials are not prepared - which means they do not want to divulge the information, you cannot complete an investigation without such important contribution from those people
If you look along the report Madam Speaker, you have situations where there is no reconciliation at all. What you only hear of is money that was paid and that is all. There is no reconciliation. There are no records actually of that particular money and the Public Accounts Act is very clear. An officer who released the money knows precisely what records were generated and those must be made available. If there is no reconciliation, then that person who released the money is accountable and there are measures that must be taken against that officer because it is total negligence. Therefore, as recommended by the Committee, in some cases action must be taken against those people.
When you go to the issue of the beneficiaries, there was no written down procedure of identifying the beneficiaries. As a result, one would just sit in his warehouse and start writing names and the evidence is there, where you probably have 20 names and surnames having one cell phone number through which the money was going to be sent to the individuals - there was no reconciliation it was possible. So money intended for the 20 people was paid to one individual and this has not been solved up to today Madam Speaker. We have people who received money using various names and those who were actually responsible for writing down the names obviously knew it.
So Madam Speaker, even though it was an emergency it was still important that the issue of submitting names for the beneficiaries was done in the right way. The Ministry of Social Welfare has a very good system where they have always interacted with the less privileged people in our communities and in this case they were only going to add one thing that you have been disadvantaged, that you are now not going to work and you include those people on top of the people that were already known to be the less privileged people in our communities. So it was still paramount that a proper system was used because if we now look at what actually happened, if I go back to Kambuzuma we have almost nobody who benefited from that particular fund. That one is a very important issue.
Madam Speaker, we have got one company that is written down in the report which was paid three times on one invoice and this was an amount that amounts to more than US$9 million. Just imagine you supply services that are worth probably US$400 000 and you are paid three times on that particular invoice and it is known and that money has not been paid up to today and there are no measures indicated in the report to say they are being taken for this particular company to pay back. Now the question is, who owns this company and again it is not disclosed who owns that company and money must be paid back.
Madam Speaker, it is important that whenever there is a fund it is properly managed. Why, because this is what inspires other organisations, other institutions to contribute to the Government of Zimbabwe, but if anyone is going to go through this report Madam Speaker, and we have another disaster no one is going to give us money. You have several situations where people from the quarantine centres who were meant to go back to their homes, same destination, yet the amount of money they were given as bus fare was different. Sometimes, one would get $10 and another one is given $40 for the same trip. You look at the information to say, how we reconcile this. Sometimes there are no names of those people who received but the amount of money is there, there are no people who signed for the money. There is no evidence and this is not good for us and for the country. We are talking of individuals who benefitted, we all did not benefit from it and why up to this day, no action has been taken?
We have situations where people would go to a supermarket and pay for groceries and not even collect it. There is evidence in this report that OK Supermarket was paid some money for goods which were not collected to date. This is in the report Madam Speaker and we have not done anything about it. Is it because we do not care because the money is not from our own pockets? Those officials who did that should be made accountable. We also have situations where services were provided to a quarantine centre and there are no records of how many people were there. How do you then charge this certain amount of money for services given to a number of people who are unknown? It was free for all. It was very possible because Hon. Members had no time to ask the responsible ministers here in Parliament because it was said to be dangerous for Parliament to converge.
However, in almost all other countries, they made sure that even if it was money to be spent, Parliament was informed, it debated and authorised the expenditure. Now it tells you how important this House is and how dangerous it is for Government to operate on its own. If the Government was efficient enough, by now we could be hearing of people who are in Chikurubi because there are a lot of people who became so rich such that they are destroying hills in Chishawasha building their houses. We ask questions on where they got so much money when everybody else is suffering. We still have quarantine areas which even went beyond the period because no one cared about how to wind up business at the quarantine areas and money continued being paid to those quarantine centres.
Whilst the report has a number of recommendations, I think there is a lot that needs to be done, especially on this report itself. The responsible Minister must come to this House and say how much money was used for COVID, how much was received, what were the donations received and this Parliament must be told. There must also be a detailed response to this report. It is important that all the gaps that are there be filled by a comprehensive report from the Minister to say, where you are saying we did not do reconciliation or there were no documents for us to do reconciliation for this amount of money, here we are, this is what happened. If we do not do that, we run the risk of being labeled a country that cannot be helped. Not everyone is a thief, I assume that we are very honest people but we have bad apples who take advantage of situations.
From the report, I cannot even see how much money was paid to those Committees which were going around looking at how prepared we were, it is not included in this report. How was the money being accounted for, how were they being taken care of? It is a problem. There are a lot of gaps that we have. We may not, in our lifetime, come across such a situation but whatever we are going to come across, we have had Cyclone Idai and we had issues which were not resolved, especially accountability issues. In this particular case, this is a terrible report which needs to be addressed as soon as possible to make sure that we remain bankable and we can still, as Zimbabwe, approach the international community when faced with a pandemic or disaster for them to respond and help Zimbabwe. Thank you Madam Speaker.
HON. DR. NYASHANU: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I rise to support the motion by the Committee on Public Accounts, particularly on their recommendations. I happen to be part of that Committee and I also felt that I needed to add my voice in view of Chapter 17 of our Constitution. I see that there has been a total disregard of the principles of the Public Finance Management and I find that quite worrisome. The officials in the Ministry show that they have not been adhering to any principle at all. The manner in which public finances were used is quite disturbing.
Madam Speaker Ma’am, the Public Finance Management Bill is before us here in Parliament and we feel that if we have an Act before us, and we have employees in ministries who do not adhere to legislation, they are taking us back to Stone Age not civilisation and I find it very worrisome. I want to add my voice this way, that there are various recommendations that were made by the Committee but I also feel that very punitive measures must be taken on those officials involved. We cannot have public finances which a Ministry or a particular employee fails to account for. At such a time, we want to provide as much as we can, the much needed public services to our people. I thought I should rise up to add that our public finance management principles must always be followed and if there is this kind of deviation, surely some kind of punitive measures should be taken. I rest my case Madam Speaker Ma’am.
HON. T. MLISWA: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. I would like to add my voice to this report which really, as most Members have said, talks about governance issues. Governance issues are critical in any establishment, and it is pretty clear we have totally been blinded with corruption to a point that governance issues are not important.
Madam Speaker, it is like people are on a fast lane to just plunder resources, and the worst thing is to plunder resources that are meant for the public. This report Madam Speaker Ma’am, as other speakers mentioned – this is where we were supposed to show the nation that we are a nation of principles from a financial point of view by ensuring that things were done in a proper manner. COVID was at its worst, we could not meet at Parliament. We behave kunge makudo apinda mumunda pasina mupurisa, pasina munhu. Achingoba chete. This is what we have been reduced to. This way of plundering resources is not different from makudo. We are supposed to be people protecting makudo kuti asabe, asi isusuwo tave kuita semakudo tavakuba. Honestly, it leaves a lot to be desired on such a way of operation.
Madam Speaker, any country is helped when it does handles welltheresources given to them. This has certainly put Zimbabwe amongst one of the most corrupt nations because at a time when the whole world must be helping, you now help yourselves instead of helping the people who are suffering. COVID was a global pandemic which, at the end of the day, we also had to benefit. Madam Speaker, we wonder why we are not given support by most countries because we are known for plundering resources that are meant for the public. The public are innocent, and being innocent, they are the first citizens to be taken care of. This report is indicative of a system that has a head that has rotted, and everything below the head rots. The reason why I am saying that is the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works is supposed to be the custodian for ensuring that systems are put in place to ensure that things that come through them are accounted for.
Madam Speaker, it is the same thing as someone who is at a funeral and they are tasked to keep the money for bereavement then they use the money for personal benefit. So if you use the money for personal benefit, how are the intended beneficiaries going to benefit? Ubuntu is important, corruption has hit the sector so bad that we are no longer considered kuti tine hunhu, hatichanyara. We are competing in terms of stealing, it is like in this Second Republic, people have said, for five years, we want to see who would have stolen the most. We have a situation where people are running faster than Hussein Bolt over 100 meters to get to the five years just to see what resources they have.
Madam Speaker, the COVID pandemic itself, the Auditor-General’s Office, many a times has come up with reports that talk about bad governance. The recommendations are not implemented but who is supposed to supervise the recommendations? How many reports Madam Speaker, are coming through Portfolio Committees? Parliament has done its best, and with limited resources, Parliamentary Committees still meet. I must applaud your Parliament Madam Speaker, for a Parliament of genuine people who have been reduced to coupon vendors. Where you cannot even get to your destination because you are holding onto a coupon to ensure that you sell it to get more money but we do not plunder. The CDF for the people, no negative response has come out of your Parliamentarians, yet we have access to that. We are leading by example at a time when everybody, especially the Executive is on a looting campaign. They are no different from Cecil John Rhodes who plundered, and plundered – now what are we left with?
Madam Speaker, who will police the police? Now that this report is out, the public is waiting to see what will happen. Once again, the very same story, political connections, and no one is arrested. I am the Chairman of APNAC; I was at a workshop today – saying that all these reports coming through; how come no one is arrested? ZACC is arresting, and the Prosecutor-General’s Office is hiding the dockets. It chooses. The Patriotic Bill moves faster in this Parliament than the ZACC Bill. Why is the ZACC Bill not in this Parliament? It is because you know that those Executive members will all end up in prison – they protect themselves. What revenue does the Patriotic Bill bring? Yet the ZACC Bill will cut on all corners but we have people caucusing over a Patriotic Bill. Yet we are not coming up with laws to deal with corruption. I have not seen anything from the ruling party to come up with punitive measures of dealing with corruption, which basically talks about them being part of the corruption, and aiding the corruption.
Madam Speaker, if you look at the duplicated beneficiaries – Mutare District Social Welfare database. It is sad. It even talks about the Accounting Officer having received names of the beneficiaries – 18 beneficiaries paid under the Mangwe District Department of Social Welfare received duplicate NetOne lines each loaded with ZWL$600.00 for payment of COVID-19 relief allowances. There was no evidence that communication had been made to the relevant Net1 office so that the error which might have resulted in the beneficiaries being paid twice could be rectified – that is an example. When no one is making an effort to rectify the situation despite you having done something wrong, you still continue having a walk in the park.
Madam Speaker, it is pretty clear that the recommendations that have been put before by the Auditor-General’s report be implemented. We have a Portfolio Committee responsible for Defence and Security and Hon. Mayihlome is the Chairperson, and a war veteran - a ZIPRA cadre who liberated this country. Who is he scared of? He liberated this country to make sure that things go well. They must be brought to book. There must be no sacred cows because the senior generals are telling you not to bring this one before – he is doing a disservice to the sacrifice that he put in the country.
Madam Speaker, it is your Parliament now through the Portfolio Committees that must be seen to be calling people before it to be exposed. Madam Speaker has power - Section 117; 118 and 119 of the Constitution talks about the power that Parliament has. This is the time that Parliament must show that there are no sacred cows. Everybody must be held accountable, and in being held accountable, they must be brought before the Portfolio Committees, and recommendations must come through. While the recommendations say investigations must be instituted, let that be the case. How many recommendations have these Portfolio Committees spoken about have been conducted? Investigations, but nothing happens. So we must be careful to also be part of this because when recommendations are done in these Portfolio Committees, they must be followed through and do not pass any budget before these recommendations are done. We are also an accomplice to these issues and we must ensure that investigations are done without fear or favour.
One of the recommendations talks about the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and the Zimbabwe Anti-corruption Commission (ZACC) should institute investigations on the issue of duplicate beneficiaries with the view of prosecuting those guilty of any wrongdoing within the 180 days of tabling this report. Hon. Members in this august House have the responsibility of ticking and making sure that these recommendations are implemented. This is tax payers’ money which is going towards making this country better.
The biggest cancer in this country is corruption. We need to fight it together by supporting the Auditor General’s (AG) office. The AG has done a remarkable job in exposing these but they are not complemented. Parliament is then seen to be that friend that aids corruption at the end of the day. The payment of COVID allowances in Manicaland Province – those must come through. The Committee showed very clearly that there was no system of accountability in the receipt of allowances from the Head Office and there was no reasonable justification for the provincial offices failure to adhere to a simple accounting procedure. It would appear that the omission was deliberate and therefore a dereliction of duty. When this comes through from the AG’s office – this is 50% of the evidence before the courts. Why are these people not being brought to book? Why is Parliament not calling the responsible law enforcing agents and say here is the report?
Madam Speaker, you know that when you appear before a Portfolio Committee, you take oath. In taking oath, the Minister of Finance is here; half of the work which the law enforcement agents are supposed to be doing, we do it for them because one has taken oath - the Hansard is also there. Use that to say this is what you did. They cannot say no because they took oath. We must be seeing law enforcement agents in Parliament sitting there taking notes, rather than them going around looking for bribes because of the tough economic environment. We must be having them here to listen to the reports and recommendations and taking notes. This is the House of records, facts and truth. Why are they not here, taking on some of these reports so that their job becomes easy?
The Minister of Finance is here and he must be asking them but how much money do you need for investigation when Parliament does half of the job? The Minister of Finance must cut their budget in terms of investigations – they are going on bicycles and everything yet they can be posted here. We need police officers and ZACC officers posted here in Parliament listening and going after those thieves. They have got police stations around the country and this is what should happen but they are not serious about their jobs. I am glad the Minister of Finance is here – he must say that Parliament is here and the AG is doing its role in doing half of the investigations; why are you not there?
As I conclude, I want to talk about the recommendations. In future, the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works should work closely with officials from the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, the ZRP and ZNA to ensure that there is maximum security for inmates in quarantine centres. This is important. The reason why I touched on this is that all of us can be inmates at any time. A prison is like a church. No matter where you belong, you can be in prison for failing to pay maintenance. I am worried that most Members of Parliament with the salaries they are getting – I do not know if the Minister of Finance knows that some MPs are taking home 5 000 to 10 000 RTGs after PSMAS would have taken their money. PSMAS has not at all spared us...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Mliswa, you are left with five minutes.
HON. T. MLISWA: PSMAS has not at all spared us. I am wondering how those who are paying maintenance have not been picked up yet because surely when you are taking home 5000 RTGs, how do you even pay maintenance? I say so because the Minister of Finance is here and if he can make that the remuneration of MPs is looked into - it also helps the corruption issue that we are talking about. A duty free car with a loan from the bank taken at auction rate – the people who take money to the auction rate are criminals. Can Government pay for the PSMAS; school fees – at least pay for four children. At least the aspect of corruption is out of the system because corruption is also pushed by lack of resources and as a result, it becomes very difficult for parliamentarians to exercise oversight when they are not well remunerated.
Thursday is like a funeral day for MPs. They do not know how to get home. Fortunately, I have a farm with a few cattle but I do not know those if they have got 19 children, how will they go home? At least God has blessed me with a number of cattle and so forth but what about those who have not been empowered from the land reform – our colleagues from the right? They never benefited from the land reform, they cannot grow maize or sugar beans and cannot keep anything. How would you feed your family? We are fortunate and we are grateful to the former late President R. G. Mugabe for giving us empowerment of the land which we have today.
Some of this corruption is created by lack of resources. As a result, people see that as an opportunity to now steal from resources meant for the people but if they are well remunerated, then you do not see much of that happening. I am glad that the Government Chief Whip is also listening to this and I pray that one day, he will also put himself as an ordinary MP and not an MP who has a package of a Minister then it becomes difficult to fight for those who have got a pittance, yet you are a ministerial package remunerated.
The final recommendation – if you hear the conclusion of the AG’s office is that this report is a result of a thorough scrutiny of the AG’s report or evidence gathered from officials in the ministries of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and Local Government and Public Works. The Committee’s recommendations to the ministries and those issues referred to the ZRP and ZACC should be taken seriously. Generally, the Committee was concerned about the record maintenance – so we still have a Government which is not maintaining records. We are talking about a paperless Government. Up to now, the records are not there. If records are there, they are pulled out...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Your time is up Hon. Mliswa.
HON. T. MLISWA: I want to thank you Madam Speaker for giving me that opportunity.
(v)HON. CHIDAKWA: Thank you for affording me the opportunity to add my voice on this very important debate. By listening to this report, I felt like burying my head in sand and cry that we are a nation that does not have shame. What have we become as a nation to the extent that we think of benefiting out of a pandemic? What else has been looted out of the citizen’s eye? This report from Public Accounts is very important because it has exposed us as leaders that we are leaders of a corrupt nation. The AG has been pointing out corruption for a very long time and nothing has been happening to those who would have been pointed out. We always talk about zero tolerance on corruption but we act on the opposite direction. Why do we then waste money on the Auditor-General’s reports? They are always pointing out these anomalies to corrupt activities but nothing is being done to the perpetrators.
I want to talk about what happened in Mabvuku. Only a handful of the citizens got the relief funds. I tried to represent my people Madam Speaker but I got a cold shoulder, not knowing that someone is busy looting that money that is supposed to be relieving the citizens of Mabvuku and Tafara. Madam Speaker, my heart bleeds when I am listening to this report. I pray that for the first time, this Parliament must make strong recommendations basing on this report. Let us act on the recommendations by the Public Accounts Committee. Let us act in defence of the citizens that have entrusted us through voting for us to be where we are today. They spent hours on a voting queue to give us this mandate. Let us defend them. Let us protect their interest and act in their defence as Parliament. Corruption is a serious cancer and it has also brought this economy to where it is today. We must act to stop these activities. We must act as Parliament and the time is now. It is my prayer that we act on the recommendations by the Public Accounts and as Parliament, we must make strong and serious recommendations that will send a strong message to would-be perpetrators. I thank you Madam Speaker.
(v)HON. GANDAWA: Thank you Madam Speaker for giving me the opportunity to speak briefly on the report that was done by the Public Accounts Committee. The report is quite worrying if you read through the concerns and issues that were raised by the Committee in terms of plunder of resources that we saw. It is worrying that we have a whole Ministry with a permanent secretary whom we would have expected to put proper systems in place to manage funds within that particular Ministry and resources that came through for COVID-19. People that suffered the blast of COVID-19 in the rural areas ultimately lost out to this kind of corruption that is reported by the Public Accounts Committee. I recall vividly when the Minister of Finance came to the House and we asked him about the ways and procedures he was going to follow through to ensure that the public is going to benefit from COVID-19 support that was coming through. The Minister spoke algorithms, I am not sure if they are there to support the public or they were there to ensure that people were going to steal and make misappropriation of funds like what we see in the report. It is quite worrying Madam Speaker. People in the village, people of Hurungwe North did not benefit a cent. If you read through the report, there is a column where there is abuse of office by members of the Ministry in Chinhoyi. Public goods that were meant to be distributed to the ordinary citizens, staff members of a Ministry go about distributing those items to themselves. I think that is so wrong Madam Speaker. We would not expect seeing members in that particular Ministry still seated in offices. They must be fired. I pray that the recommendations of the Committee must be taken through in its manner and spirit. Thank you Madam Speaker.
(v)HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Thank you Madam Speaker for giving me this opportunity to also air my views on the report by the Public Accounts Committee pertaining to the use or abuse of resources that were meant for COVID-19 and to alleviate our population from the vagaries of that international disease that has affected our country.
Madam Speaker, I recall vividly that from the time that COVID-19 started, our country, like all other countries globally, was made to benefit huge sums of money that were coming from international and global institutions meant to assist the population and to alleviate them against all effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. I still remember Madam Speaker, that the Minister of Finance was all over the media gallivanting on how transparent the Government was going to be on the use of these resources. I still vividly recall that a journalist Hopewell Ching’ono became a victim of law-fare in this country after he made allegations pertaining to abuse of COVID-19 funds by certain individuals that were named. I also vividly recall that those individuals were arrested but their matters were just fizzled away or they were not found guilty in what some people have said the manner the matters were couched were meant to expect these people at the end of day to go scot free. At this particular juncture, when the Auditor-General goes into books and then exposes all this level of rot, this is the implication that we get Madam Speaker. Firstly, we become a country that cannot be entrusted with international resources because the moment they land in volts and pockets, they do not end up going to meet the intended designed purposes. That is the impression that we are painting to the international community, to all well-wishers that would want to stand with the country in times of need. We are simply saying to them when you send it to us, we grab it like vultures, those that have got access to it and they run away with it. At the end of the day, the intended beneficiaries no longer benefit. It is quite sad Madam Speaker that even as we see these exposures being made by Auditor General, we are alive to the fact that even the distribution of those resources themselves was quite inequitable. Indeed, if we can get deeper, you can see that most of the areas in this country did not get a fair share of those resources. Those resources were abused in the manner that has been exposed by the Auditor General.
What is the way forward Hon. Speaker? I think we have become an august House that merely browses through reports from the Auditor General. We do not really bite with our teeth in terms of our recommendations to ensure that the responsible officials that are mentioned in this particular report are then made to account for their actions. For example, if there is duplication of payments, the question then becomes who are those people that were being paid twice? Are they people who are living and exist or they are ghost names that were simply being advanced by top officials in order for them to loot the money for themselves. We need to look into that.
Hon. Speaker, it is my view that the police should take up that matter and follow up the report. Let us see arrests being done. Let us see prosecutions being done. When the prosecutions are being done, let us not do them in the manner that the former Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr. Moyo was done. The manner that these allegations were put forward, was really put forward in a manner that was meant simply to make sure that the case does not kick off. That speaks volumes of the candidness of our police and prosecuting authorities in ensuring that we fight corruption. I do not know whether the police and the prosecutors act on their own or they act under the instructions, especially looking at the fact that the COVID funds themselves, actually the allegations went up to touch even the first office in this country.
Hon. Speaker, it is my submission that the recommendations should include a timeline within which the police and other authorities should apprehend those people that are mentioned in the report and those people have to be arrested. Let members of the public be able also to see that indeed serious action is being taken against these people that abuse. As long as no action is taken against those people, Hon. Speaker loads of other reports from the Auditor General will come but they will end up just being piles and stock piles of paper that are filing and gathering dust in our offices without anything happening.
I also want to encourage the Auditor General to go beyond merely looking at the abuse in terms of who stole the money. Let us look at the distribution aspect. How were these monies distributed in terms of provinces of this country? Was the distribution itself fair or it was meant to show favor and disfavor to certain provinces? Hon. Speaker, this is my contribution towards this report. I thank you.
(v)+HON. MATHE: Thank you Madam Speaker for giving me this opportunity to add my voice on this debate on the Public Accounts report. Our country must respect the resources that we are given. People should not steal. Some of the issues have been said by other Hon. Members. Madam Speaker, from the report I noticed that there is a lot that transpired on COVID funds.
His Excellency, President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa clearly stated that he does not allow any corruption on this. The recommendations which were raised by the Public Accounts Committee should be followed 24 hours and be finalised. The COVID- 19 funds which were supposed to assist people did not clearly do so. Those allowances were benefiting the top leaders of the communities. Some suffered because they were not assisted with those funds. People who were supposed to get COVID- 19 funds did not get that.
In rural areas like Nkayi, I do not remember if there is anyone who got assisted from the lists that they submitted. Those who got a few goods were laughing at each other. The Ministry which was supposed to look into this issue was supposed to go beyond and assist people in the rural district areas. Madam Speaker, it is unfortunate that a few corrupt individuals are taking advantage of State resources at the detriment of the intended beneficiaries. There are some officers who abuse their offices and engage in corrupt activities. So many things were allocated to districts but the COVID funds did not cascade down to people in rural district areas. These funds were supposed to be disbursed to their intended beneficiaries, however those who were given the task of distributing these funds did not do so, instead they appropriated the funds. The unfortunate part is that MPs and Councillors were not involved in the administration and disbursement of these funds, which culminated in the abuse of such funds which ended up benefiting people who were undeserving. The law should take its course and perpetrators of such corrupt activities should be brought to book. They must not be protected, in the past we have seen such individuals being elected but this should not be the case. There should be a full investigation to ascertain what took place during the COVID -19 era so that those who committed crimes are prosecuted. I would therefore like to implore the responsible authorities to go through the lists of perpetrators so that they are able to prosecute basing on evidence because some people might be on the list whilst they are innocent. I would also like to suggest that the funds which were not be disbursed should then be distributed so that the intended beneficiaries benefit from this noble initiative…
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think we lost the Hon. Member. She is no longer there.
HON. TOGAREPI: Madam Speaker, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. MATHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 17th May 2022.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT
STATE OF THE ECONOMY, RISING PRICES, CURRENCY VOLATILITY AND ACTIONS THAT GOVERNMENT IS TAKING TO STABILISE THE SITUATION
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Madam Speaker, I have the pleasure to present a Ministerial Statement as requested by some Hon. Members in this House. This is a Ministerial Statement on the state of the economy, the rising prices, currency volatility and the actions that Government is taking to stabilise the situation.
Before I go to that, let me hasten to say that on the IPEC Bill, the comments that were put across by Members of this august House last week also mean that we have to amend beyond amending Clauses 2, 3 and 4 and we stopped the Committee Stage deliberations at Clause 4 which pertains to the functions of IPEC. We also have to amend Clauses 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 32 (b). The comments actually imply that we have to amend those. The Attorney-General’s office and my staff in Treasury are still working on that. We are also still consulting on the issue of the regulation of NSSA. What is coming out is that NSSA was established under a separate Bill as a stand-alone institution under a separate Act. But we have to think of how to connect the two Acts, IPEC Bill and the NSSA Act. There is something that needs to be legally worked out and I am still consulting the AG’s office. I wanted to report on that and to say that we will resume the Committee deliberations next week on Tuesday.
Now moving on to the state of the economy, Government is working tirelessly to ensure there is economic stability. As you may be aware, we are faced with a challenging global situation emanating from the global tensions that have escalated into conflict and rising global inflation that we have been experiencing since the last quarter of 2021. Also coupled with our historical domestic imbalances, this has created challenges in terms of economic instability seen through the currency volatility and spilling over into price volatility.
Let me start with the global economic situation. The IMF which originally projected global economic growth at 5.9% in 2021 to 4.4% in 2022 mainly based on the assumption of successful global vaccination programmes has now revised the 2022 global economic growth projections downwards to 3.6% and this is as of April 2022, while I was in Washington last week. Basically, the revision was done and published globally. The downside revision was mainly on account of the ongoing tensions around the world and obviously the opening up of initial global supply chains. Now, disruption of global supply chains across many areas, consequently, energy prices have jumped sharply.
Russia supplies about 19% of the world’s natural gas and 11% of the world’s oil. So, Brent Crude Oil prices have increased to as high as $129 per barrel from around $77 per barrel in December 2021. There is a similar trend when it comes to natural gas and fertilizer prices. Inevitably, this situation has caused imported inflationary pressures on the local economy, for example domestic fuel prices have also been increasing reaching a peak of $1,75 per litre. Wheat prices also surged by nearly 24.5% from a figure of US$390.5 per metric tonne up to US$533.2 per metric tonne. This was in March 2022 alone and this is a record high in the last 14 years. Furthermore, since we import the bulk of our fertilizers, the rise in fertilizer prices has had obviously a negative and further negative effect on the agricultural cost of production and ultimately on food prices at the end of the day. I take it that most Members of this House are farmers and understand what I am talking about when it comes to the impact of these fertilizer prices.
I must also say that if we look at the US dollar which we use in this country as a transacting currency despite growls that I hear that let us dollarize but everyone is using US dollars. They have already US dollarized as far as I am concerned. The US dollar has strengthened to its highest level since the year 2002. This is due to increasing interest rates in the United States in response to record levels of inflation in the USA. USA inflation country came out at 8.3% recently and this is close to the 40-year high which is 8.5%. They are already at 8.3% and the only way is up. Interest rates will go up further and surpass the levels that we saw during Paul Volcker’s time in the early 80s. I am spending a bit of time on this because therein lies part of our challenge as a developing African country. We are importing global inflation whether we see it in the USA, Europe or Asia. There is what we call global spill over into our countries and these started way before the tensions that you see in the eastern part of Europe. They started in the last quarter of last year. And typical of them, interest rates go up in an economy like USA and other markets follow. What happens is that liquidity is drained from emerging markets in developing countries back to the safe haven of developed counties, especially United States dollar assets. So the more the United States dollar strengthens, the more it attracts investment in United States dollars. So you see more purchases of United States Treasury Bills and so forth right across the world because then it also becomes a safe haven because of global tensions but also it is a high yielding currency. Those are our facts.
On a positive note Madam Speaker, Zimbabwe is blessed with many minerals and I must say that the mineral prices so far are holding up starting with the precious metals. Gold is doing quite well and then the PGMs and also the base metals are holding up well so far. So what will happen is that we will have a positive impact from export revenues from these minerals, but of course we are having the negative impact from imported inflation from the global supply chain.
Let me turn now more specifically to the domestic economy having talked about the global spill-overs. Domestic economic performance in 2021 witnessed a great improvement with GDP registering a growth of over 7% which is above the 3.4% average growth for sub-Saharan Africa. This was mainly due to a favourable 2020/2021 agricultural season and higher international mineral commodity prices. A stable micro-economic environment improved access to foreign currency through the foreign currency auction system and better management of the COVID-19 pandemic. All these factors contributed to a good performance in 2021.
In support of the economic growth industrial capacity utilisation for 2021 which surged to 66% from 47% was recorded in 2020 and already in 2020 that was an improvement from the previous years where it was a low as 30% if not lower for some of the areas. In some of the best performing areas in terms of improvement in capacity utilisation are the drinks, tobacco and beverages sub sectors which recorded the highest level of capacity utilisation in 2021 of 79%. The 66% was just the average but these sterling performing sectors recorded as high as 79% in 2021. Then we have other sectors such as food stuffs, chemicals and petroleum products which recorded more than a 20% increase from 2020.
Furthermore, the country witnessed a strong external sector performance driven by exports and remittances. The country exported goods worth US$6 billion in 2021 compared to US$4.4 billion that was exported for the same period in 2020. So that is quite a notable improvement in our expert performance.
The country’s external sector fundamentals continued to show resilience as evidenced by a strong current account position in 2021 and figure estimates so far point to a current account surplus position of USD926.8 million for 2021 which represents a 36.6% increase from the USD678.3 million level that was recorded the previous year 2020.
In terms of public finances, revenue collections amounted to ZWL481 billion against expenditures of ZWL545 million resulting in a budget deficit. These are estimates, we are still finalising the figures, resulting in an estimated budget deficit of about ZW$64.1 billion and that is well within the 2.5% of GDP very easily. In fact, it is just about 2% of GDP. So our budget deficit position for 2021 in terms of current estimates and we are finalising, is in a very comfortable position for the third year in a row.
On the exchange rate and inflation front, traces of volatility in the exchange rate and inflation started to emerge towards the end of 2021. The current inflationary pressures are being sustained mainly by exchange rate depreciation accounting for more than 60% and also due to rising international prices, as I have explained, the global spill-overs. Inflation is also now being driven by expectations of higher inflation and exchange rate depreciation in the future. Prices of goods and services are being quoted with a premium. This results in a self fulfilling upward movement in general prices of goods and services in the economy.
I had a chart here Madam Speaker, showing the movements in inflation, I could not get my team to create slides which I could have shown on the screen, but I think we all know that inflation has been rising and I have made that pronouncement.
So what actions have we taken as Government in response to this volatility and some of the shocks. In response to the current global situation and internal shocks, the Government together with the Central Bank specifically, adopted several policy measures to stabilise the currency and lower inflation, including among other things fiscal consolidation and restraining growth in reserve money. Policies that are currently in place including those that we announced recently include;-
- Reduction in the strategic reserve levy on domestic fuel price from US12.7 cents to the current level of US8.7 cents, this is per litre for 2022. This was beginning January 2022 and this was done through SI 31 of 2022. We also released 30 million litres worth of strategic fuel a few weeks ago to further stabilise fuel prices. So this measure is meant to respond to the sharp increases in fuel prices.
You may have noticed that other countries have caught up with us now in terms of these high fuel prices. I have noticed that for example in Malawi, fuel prices are now higher than Zimbabwean prices for the first time in a long while. It just shows the extent of the challenges that everyone is facing, our neighbours are facing and they have also officially pronounced that they have exhausted their strategic stocks and that is why the consumer is now having to bear the full brunt of the increase in the FOB prices.
- Fiscal consolidation is the second item. Fiscal consolidation continues and is guided by the principle of cash budgeting and we are living within our means because we feel the economy does not have enough borrowing space both in terms of the quantum of resources and the pricing of those resources in terms of the interest rates on Treasury Bills.
We have stopped any recourse to the Central Bank overdraft facility. Since the 1st January, 2019 Central Government or Treasury has not drawn down any resources from the Central Bank overdraft window and it will remain that way for a few years to come.
- We have continued with our partial dollarisation system in the sense that you and I, all of us are free to transact either in the domestic currency, the Zimbabwean dollar or the United States dollar.
- We also have a coordination Committee which we have called Liquidity Management Committee between the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development to manage the injection of liquidity in the economy.
Let me explain further here on this point. For example, if we pay contractors for what they are doing in terms of building dams, roads and so forth, the Committee then makes sure that we regulate how much is eventually paid into those accounts and it is smoothed over maybe a couple of payments or three payments so that we do not then give too much resources, some of which may end up in the parallel market. So the Liquidity Management Committee is doing this and I think so far it is doing its best. I now move on to item 5; what we have also done is that Treasury is continuing to pay in foreign currency for expenditures with foreign components to reduce activity in the parallel market. For example, for any Government department that perhaps wishes to import whatever, we know that the liability is eventually in hard currency. Treasury pays that Ministry or the suppliers in foreign currency directly so that we do not have monies moving into the parallel market. The same thing applies to contractors that I will say we are now paying some of our largest contractors about a third of their bills in hard currency and the remainder in local currency to minimise the impact or potential impact on the parallel market.
Number 6: We have also tightened the monetary policy. Currently our M-zero target or Reserve money target is now zero percent per quarter, which means that we have no wish to see M-zero growth at all, perhaps until the end of the year. Of course, policies will always be reviewed; if we are still tight then maybe we might loosen but for now, it is zero percent growth in money supply to make sure that we maintain this tight monetary policy stance accompanied by a tight fiscal policy stance.
The next point is that, Treasury, together with the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) have improved the management of grain procurement which previously has remained one of the drivers in the parallel market. We are making sure that the payments are snoozed out and there are not too many large payments which were ending up in the parallel market. What we noticed was that, when you pay farmers and they end up buying things in the shops, some of the retailers would also aggregate those resources and some of the resources then end up in the parallel market. So while we are paying each farmer a small amount- but when you aggregate it, it has a large impact in the market if aggregated by a retailer or a set of retailers. We also realised that it is a problem and we started managing that last year.
In the purchase of grain, Members of Parliament will recall that we had a large grain surplus last year in terms of what we had budgeted for. So we had to find a way to pay for that grain. We actually had to create what we call silo certificates to make sure that we match the grain that is bought to the Treasury Bills that we had to issue to raise money to buy the grain because we did not have monies from taxis so we had to borrow to buy that grain using silo certificates. The idea is that whenever the grain is then sold by GMB subsequently, the process of that sale should go towards retiring those Treasury Bills. So you link the issuance of Treasury Bills to the grain that has been bought in the first place.
Another measure is that we will make sure that all mining royalties are now payable in Zimbabwean dollars up to the limit of 50% of the royalties due. This again is meant to promote the use of the domestic currency ahead of the USD or to make sure that we maintain a balance. I might say at the moment, we noticed that most transactions in Zimbabwe are conducted in domestic currency, as much as 70% of transactions are conducted in domestic currency - [AN HON. MEMBER: 70 what?] – 70 percent of transactions but then what happens is that some transactors then quickly want to convert to USD as a savings currency – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members.
HON. PROF. NCUBE: Up to 70% of transactions are in Zimbabwean dollars, we have got the evidence for this. If I can proceed to the next point – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – that all duties and taxis – [HON. HAMAUSWA: Une maZimdollar muhomwe here.] –
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Hamauswa, order.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: That all duties and taxis on the importation of designated motor vehicles are now payable in Zimbabwe dollars up to 50% of the duties and taxes payable. This measure was meant to both promote the use of domestic currency ahead of the hard currency but also to give relief to our citizens who feel that 100% duty in hard currency was difficult and we have responded to both of those imperatives.
Another measure taken is that all domestic taxes due from exporters on their export receipts are now payable in both foreign and local currency in direct proportion to the approved export retention levels. This means that for a minus where the retention level is 40/60, so 40 is in domestic currency and 60 is in – rather they have to liquidate 40% of their foreign currency and they keep the 60%. When they liquidate that 40%, that becomes ZWL, again they should pay their taxes, the remainder is then in foreign currency.
The restoration of lost value on bank deposits by compensating individuals who had funds in their bank accounts of up to USD1000 and below – we started doing this basically last year where we have so far allocated resources to the tune of USD400 000 and we targeted depositors who had deposits in deposit taking microfinance institutions and people are coming up and claiming what is due to them, that will be completed. I must say that we have done a similar measure on the pensions fund where again IPEC has been running the programme and have advertised and pensioners are being compensated accordingly up to USD400 000. We will make another allocation again this year.
In his speech and announcement on recent measures, the President directed us to look into how we can also compensate those who lost deposits of up to USD100 000, we are working on a framework that we will announce soon. So we are committed to compensating citizens for their loss in deposits and in pensions due to the currency reforms of February, 2019 when we introduced the ZWL. Another measure is to clear the foreign auction backlog fully by May, 2022, end of this month. Going forward, the Reserve Bank will ensure that all foreign currency allotments are settled timeously within 14 days and that the auction system only allocates or allots available foreign currency. You will notice that this week, two days ago, the Reserve Bank allotted USD26.8 million and this is what they had on that day and already they are beginning to allocate what they have and that is the kind of Ballpark figure, 25 million/26 million Ballpark figure and payments for current allotments going forward should be paid within 14 days.
I move on to another measure, we have reviewed the willing buyer-willing seller trading limit to a maximum of $5000 per day with a limit of $10000 per week per individual, this is up from the $1000 figure. We have introduced a differential tax system on the IMTT tax, again this is meant to promote the use of domestic currency against the hard currency. So 2% for domestic currency and then 4% for the use of the hard currency. Further, we have also reviewed the foreign currency cash withdrawal limit for amounts above USD1000 from the current 5cents per transaction to 2%. The settlement of foreign currency tax obligations in local currency at a willing-buyer willing-seller rate. So this will become the rate at which these liabilities are settled. Here Madam Speaker Ma’am, we are emphasizing that the willing-buyer willing-seller window is assisting us in the price discovery or process, and enabling us to close the window between the auction rate and the parallel rate.
I move on to outlay other measures, and the next one is the liquidation of the surrender portion of the export proceeds to be settled at the willing-buyer willing-seller exchange rate so that 40% that is liquidated into domestic currency ZWL$ is settled at the willing-buyer willing-seller exchange rate.
We have also said that we will suspend third-party country payments on foreign payments. This really means that if you want to pay someone in Malaysia – I am just using Malaysia as an example, the money should go straight to Malaysia; it should not be routed via India for example because that then creates opportunities for money laundering. We want to make sure that we minimize that – we have just come off the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey list.
The other measure that has been taken and was announced in the statement by His Excellency recently is the temporary suspension of lending by banks. This was meant to deal …
HON. MUSHORIWA: On a point of order Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Mushoriwa, what is your point of order?
HON. MUSHORIWA: My point of order Madam speaker is that
when the Hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Development presents a Ministerial Statement, he is supposed to confine himself within the legal framework that is available in Zimbabwe. Most of the things that he is saying are not backed by a legal framework and Hon. Speaker, it would be wrong for the Hon. Minister to come to this august House saying something that he knows is illegal.
I know you will say that we are supposed to ask but we cannot ask
an illegality. He is supposed to present things that are backed by law. Was there a Statutory Instrument? Those are the things that he is supposed to …
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Mushoriwa, you time
will come to seek clarification from the Hon. Minister.
HON. MUSHORIWA: The intention is for the Hon. Chairperson to direct him …
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, take your seat, you are out of order please take your seat. May the Hon. Minister proceed?
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am.
I proceed to just emphasize that we have issued a temporary suspension of lending by banks. We have also instituted further discipline or measures that will ensure discipline in our Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, the domestic stock exchange, by prohibiting inter-account transfers between client sub-account with a broker, and also third-party funding of client sub-accounts. We have also reviewed the Capital Gains to make sure that there are higher taxes for any liquidation in terms of investment holdings before a period of 270 days.
We have also enhanced market discipline and want to review some of the civil penalties upwards, and institute appropriate legal changes to elevate some of the financial crimes to become criminal offences which automatically attract jail sentence.
Finally, I want to say something about the public transport system which also was an issue that was mentioned by His Excellency that this has been opened up to private players. A Statutory Instrument will be issued to make sure that they comply with certain regulations but this has been opened up, and we will also support these transport or bus operators by making sure they can import their vehicles duty free for a period of at least 12 months. I hope that this House will be supportive of that measure so that we can support our ordinary citizens with transportation facilities.
Further, I must say that Government is planning to issue – this is just further information – a USD-denominated bond on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange. I think investors will find the bond attractive, we will do that but also we are very keen to develop a yield curve for fixed income securities in USD on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange. I must also hasten to note that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) removed Zimbabwe from the list of countries that are considered to be insufficiently compliant in implementing the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism Standards. This was done on 4th March, 2022 following the successful implementation of the FATF Action Plan.
A few words on COVID-19, Zimbabwe together with the global community has been under attack from the COVID-19 pandemic since 20th March, 2020 which posed several challenges retarding the full attainment of the desired economic outcomes. To mitigate the impact of the disease, the Government has spent over US$140 million on the procurement of 22.4 million vaccine doses, and this is enough to vaccinate the bulk of our population or least 60% of the population which is herd immunity. Madam Speaker Ma’am, we have an additional 10 million doses that have been donated to Zimbabwe by the Government of China. We have not taken delivery because we still need to exhaust what we have. So we have enough vaccines to vaccinate everyone, and everyone can also receive a booster shot. I hope that members of the august House are beginning to receive their booster shots, and I encourage them to do so if they have not. I certainly have.
Government also appreciates the continued support coming from development partners to compliment efforts in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, the Government has received US$150.5 million from development partners, which has been spent on COVID-19 related expenditures. Zimbabwe also received US$961 million in the form of SDR allocation, as you know; I presented how this money has been spent in terms of socio-economic, infrastructure, productive sectors as well as supporting our contingency fund for the future, and making sure that we bolster our foreign reserves.
I now conclude, it is my sincere hope that the global situation will improve in the near future, and domestic prices will also normalize, and so will foreign prices. Our business community and the general populace will act responsibly in relation to these prices and exchange rate movements. In the meantime, we are monitoring the developments, if the situation worsens, Government will not hesitate to act in other areas, and intervene to cushion against price increases and exchange rate volatility. I thank you. – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MAVETERA): Thank you very much Hon. Minister. I am going to indulge Hon. Members for any points of clarity that they may deem necessary.
HON. NDUNA: Madam Speaker Ma’am…
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Nduna, may you please put on your mask?
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am… - [HON. MEMBERS: Zvanzi put on your mask!] – Thank you for your protection. – [AN HON. MEMBER: You cannot proceed without a mask!] – Thank you for your protection Madam Speaker Ma’am. I just have a few points of clarity. The first one is to applaud the Minister on the issue of – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections]-
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members.
HON. NDUNA: On the issue of public transport, mass transport system – because we were losing about US$300 000 per bus to neighbouring countries around us but the issue of duty free importation of mass transport system is going to make it effective, efficient, resilient, robust and very good. I applaud the Minister on that.
The second issue is on the issue of blocked funds. You spoke about a third of monies both to contractors and other service providers in United States dollars in order to cushion the effect. What is your thinking around the issue of suppliers, in particular the Committee that I chair on Local Government, Public Accounts – they have about 100 pieces each supplier whose funds were blocked and they did not get them from the auction floor but they have an obligation towards the local authorities to embark on solid waste management and construction of their road systems. What is your thinking on that since you have released some funds on the blocked funds in order to expunge the issue of those blocked funds?
The third one is the issue of inflation, what could be the effect of curtailing or removing the usage of United State Dollars on our economic and business circles? I am alive to the fact that in some countries US$1 is equal to a 1000, may be kwacha or shillings and they do not use the United States dollar except that they change it on the Bureau de Change or in the bank. What could be that effect if we went that same route to, first and foremost, change our foreign currency and then use the RTGs on the local business transactions?
On the issue relating to the price of electricity versus the expansion of the Hwange 7 and 8 – what do you envisage is going to happen to the price of our electricity because this has a lot to do with the upward issues of inflation?
Lastly, our fuel is not reducing in price versus the global trends. When it reduces per barrel at the global market, there is no similar movement in Zimbabwe. Do you see us reducing our fuel price in tandem with the global trends in the very near future? Those will be my five small questions and points of clarity. I thank you.
*HON. NYABANI: Thank you Madam Speaker Maam. I would like to suggest solutions that may assist the Minister of Finance. Our economy is agro-based. The price for cooking oil has gone up yet it comes from cotton seed. I think cotton farmers should be paid more so that we can get seeds for cooking oil. If you encourage people to grow cotton and pay them, we will not import crude oil from other countries. Farmers should be given the seed and everything else so that they produce more cotton; 25% of raw materials come from agriculture. Fertilizer costs more than a tonne of maize; ploughs are also expensive. When you look at the producer price for maize, it is very little. The important thing is bread and butter issues. I think production or the wealth of the nation can increase.
Our borders are very porous and goods are being smuggled into Zimbabwe. I am happy that some ZIMRA officers were arrested in Beitbridge. The country is losing a lot of revenue because of borders such as Nyamapanda, Plumtree and others – I think these borders need stringent monitoring so that we are able to get revenue.
Farmers should be given incentives because they are the ones who are driving the economy as our economy is agro-based. The farmers are concerned because there is no money and this will enable them to work harder. I thank you.
HON. BITI: My points of clarification to the esteemed Minister of Finance are three or four. The first one is that anything that is done by the Government and the authorities must be done within the four corners of the law. The decision taken to ban or suspend bank lending has not been done by force of law. There is no Statutory Instrument (SI), even if there was, that SI would clearly be unconstitutional because our Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of trade, freedom of the profession and the right to labour. The increase in capital gains tax on trades under 270 from 20% to 40% requires amendment of the Income Tax Act and only Parliament can do that. Parliament has not passed such an amendment. The increase of Intermediated Money Transfer (IMMT) on United States dollars from fifty cents to 4% on the United States dollar also requires an amendment to Section 22 (G) of the Income Tax Act. Only this Parliament can do that and we have not done that. So my point of clarification is why is the Minister taking and announcing measures which have not been anchored on law and changes by Parliament?
Secondly Madam Speaker, what is the rationale of banning banks from lending? The core business of banking is lending money. How can you possibly hope that you can control money supply when you are shutting down banks? The consequences are drastic and dramatic. Companies have shut down. Tongaat Huellet has stopped supporting out-grower farmers, indigenous farmers, black farmers who sell sugar to them. Surrey has stopped purchasing commodities from small scale farmers, small scale chicken producers, small scale cattle producers, small scale pig farmers like myself from them because of the move on banking. Their overdraft facilities have been suspended; so to Fivet, so to many other companies in the world. Madam Speaker, you cannot cut your nose to spite your face. The decision to ban lending on banks must be reversed. It is unlawful. It is unconstitutional and it also does not make economic sense.
I now come to the third issue Madam Speaker, which is the interference with the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. Brokerage business as we know it, for all intents and purposes, have been banned. Brokers are middlemen. They operate with flexibility. Anyone who deals with them, you know that you give them full mandate. Once you proscribe their activity, they will not trade. As I am talking to you right now Madam Speaker, the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange in the last three days has lost $3 billion. If you look at the counters, the stock exchange is haemorrhaging. The move to increase the level of capital gains tax to 40% on all sales of shares that takes place in less than 270 days does not make sense because we are in a hyperinflationary environment. Anyone who buys shares on the stock exchange, you buy for short term. You buy short trades because you cannot hold on to your share because of hyperinflation. There are only two counters that you can hold on possibly for longer than three to four months. That is Old Mutual and Delta. The rest of the trades are short term and because of that, you have crippled the stock exchange. If you cripple the stock exchange, you have crippled a source of capital formation. So you have killed two sources of capital formation, the banking sector and the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. Which country in the world Madam Speaker, can grow when it has stifled and suffocated capital formation?
Fourthly Madam Speaker, is the Government’s introduction of yet another exchange control regime. We have the official auction system. An auction presupposes free entry both on the supply side and on the demand side. The auction is the perfect method on price discovery yet the Minister stands this afternoon and says the open market, willing buyer willing seller is being introduced for prices discovery. That is the function of the auction. Madam Speaker, business people now find themselves in the situation that: you have got the official exchange rate determined by the Dutch auction system. Then you have got an open market system. You also have got Fourth Street, the parallel market system. Then you have got the blended rates used by supermarkets. You then have got the Ecocash rate and the ZIMRA rate of around $275.
This is on top of the multitier pricing system that already exists in this country. If you go into a shop, garage or somewhere, there is a price for USD cash, there is a price for RTGS, there is a price for official auction and there is a price for swipe. How can a country survive Madam Speaker, weighed down by the weight of a multitier exchange regime and a multitier pricing system? We said to the Minister when he de-dollarised and enacted SI 33 in February of 2019, that do not introduce the auction system. Just float the Zimbabwean dollar, it will find its mark and it will stabilise.
Hon. Nduna spoke of countries like Kenya where the exchange rate has been stable at 1:6000 for decades because they allowed it to float. The introduction of the willing buyer willing seller basis is a back door attempt to introduce a floating system. Do it properly. Liquidate the official auction system and just float the Zimbabwean dollar. Madam Speaker, I appeal again once more for the Minister to act inside the law. Everything he has done is illegal. Everything he has done needs to be approved by Parliament. He cannot do it through Statutory Instrument.
I come to ZUPCO Madam Speaker. The monopoly of ZUPCO was introduced by Section 4 (2) (e) of the COVID regulations, SI 83 of 2020. If the Government is genuine about introducing other players which we welcome because we are suffering as commuters, Section 4 (2) (e) must be repealed. It has not been repealed. We appeal that Government must act within the law and the Government must respect this august House. We are Members of Parliament, elected to do and carryout the functions defined in the Constitution. How can we wake up as Members of Parliament and be told that banks have been banned? It is unconstitutional and we hold the powers. How can we wake up and be told that Capital Gains is now 40%? How can we wake up and be told that intermediated money transfer tax is now 4%? How can we wake up and be told that to withdraw your own money, USD$1000 you have to pay a 2% levy? We cannot rule by decree Madam Speaker. This is not a monarchy. Minister Muthuli is not Muthuli 1. Thank you.
HON. MUDARIKWA: Thank you Madam Speaker. Some of the issues I wanted to say have been already said by other Hon. Members. The main concern, the current crisis we face in this country because there is a shortage of foreign currency. If we had enough foreign currency, we will not be talking about the exchange rate this and that but we have people who are producing. The exporters have no export incentive. To export is like you are committing a crime. If you export $100, $40 is taken by Government on an auction rate which then does not end there. We are now charged 4% IMT tax. What for? I have already given you 40% as an exporter.
Mostly exporters use foreign currency to buy consumable for us to export. Now you charge me 4% IMT tax and the disadvantage now is that I cannot compete globally because you are carrying a load of taxes. We pay 2% royalty which goes to Government. The purpose of royalties is to develop and to say that is my contribution. I am operating in the country; I am contributing 2% of my gross income. Obvious in mining there is MMCZ taking commissions. In other sectors of the mining industry there is 5% export tax. We want to create an environment where exporters are comfortable so that we do not argue.
I remember at one time there was some form of export incentives every year. We are giving some incentives to importers. I was in Windhoek and at Walvis Bay, there are 192 trucks loaded with sugar coming to Zimbabwe imported from India by one of the beverage manufacturers. How does the sugar industry in Zimbabwe grow when we are already importing sugar that is available in Zimbabwe? One hundred and ninety two trucks full of sugar imported from India and we call those investors? Hon. Minister, this must be investigated, it is unacceptable. In the end we will start importing Ministers because if we are importing things that we have got, you will start importing MPs. Certain commodities that are available in Zimbabwe must never be imported. That is my humble submission Madam Speaker. Thank you.
(v)HON. WATSON: Thank you Hon. Speaker for this opportunity just to get three or four points of clarity. Could the Minister confirm that when he says 70% of transactions are in RTGS, is he talking about formal transactions? Secondly, how is he so sure because this is an accusation that flouts the costs of business communities? The payment to infrastructure contractors, particularly road contractors, no matter how smooth they are paid in RTGS, they are forced to buy US dollars on the black market. He also said the ban on lending is temporary. How temporary is temporary, because it is already having huge and ripple effects, for example in the livestock industry. The other question I have is, did he speak of the backlog on the foreign exchange auction? How is it that they continually accumulate and then he says they will be paid back? The comment from the business person was, we paid that before. Thank you.
HON. MUTODI: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. My point of clarity to the Minister is that before his assumption of duty as a Minister of Finance, he indicated that bad money drives out good money. He was referring to the use of a surrogate currency, the bond notes that we are using. Surprisingly, the Minister has maintained the use of bond notes. This means use of dual currency for the economy. What measures have we put in place as a country to ensure sustainability of this dual currency? We know it very well, he is a professor of economics but a dual currency needs to be delicately managed to ensure that we do not lose public confidence in the banking sector. The Minister must clarify the measures that he has put in place to ensure that the dual currency is sustainable?
Madam Speaker Ma’am, we have seen recently an exchange rate driven inflation. I want to thank the Minister and His Excellency the President for the temporary hold on bank lending. However, we need clarity on what is going to be done to ensure that critical manufacturing companies continue to survive and be able to provide goods on supermarket shelves? Why did it take a long time for authorities to realise that the primary business on the market was now buying and selling foreign currency? In the first place, who is supplying the RTGS dollars to the parallel market? Is it the banks? Is it the contractors that Government has engaged in the road rehabilitation programme? Who is actually supplying the RTGS?
With the contractors, it is clear that when you want to do a major project like the road development, obviously you need a long term loan to finance it. How are we financing the road project Madam Speaker Ma’am? If you are financing from our fiscal budget, is that not contributing to the exchange rate driven inflation because the contractors are being paid in RTGS and they seek the USD on the black market. That affects the ordinary person who is earning ZW$40.000 salary. Obviously, they are paying rentals and fuel in USD. We need clarity on that Hon. Minister.
The last issue I will talk about is the economic planning investment. Are we planning the economy? Are we estimating our macro-economic variables on time? How our money supply, our interest rates, inflation and other factors are going to perform over time such that not only the local people but also international investors can have confidence in our economy. Also the political risk factor, if you are driving towards attracting investment. We are competing for Foreign Direct Investment with other countries in the SADC region and Africa at large. How have you dealt with the political risk factor? Are we sure that the lack of title deeds on farms is helping us in any way? I humbly submit Madam Speaker Ma’am.
HON. T. MLISWA: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. My first point of clarity is, Government embarked on import substitution and that is the reason why they encouraged farmers to grow maize, which means that you save on foreign currency and failure to empower farmers, you spend more foreign currency. Why have you not taken a deliberate measure to pay farmers in foreign currency? The reason why I am saying this is that Government is the biggest culprit of the black market trade. The monies that you pay us in RTGS, we go on the black market to get foreign currency to be able to replenish our inputs because everything else is bought in foreign currency, fuel, fertiliser, labour, et cetera. How then can I be able to sustain my farming programmes when you are not paying me in USD? Right now, we had a bumper harvest. Why can we not sell that maize to other countries so that we generate foreign currency? Zimbabwe was an agricultural hub, which meant that we could export and make money from what we did. The critical issue is to incentivize the farmer. Once you incentivize the farmer, you have enough for domestic consumption and the excess you export. The weather is great, the soil is great, the tobacco is the best, the food in Zimbabwe is non-GMO but we seem not to be taking advantage of that. We accuse the farmers of not being productive, yet once again they are now well remunerated. The other issue, why not deliberately pay the farmers in US dollars because you will get back, if it is a surplus, you will export and everybody is looking at Zimbabwean food. You will get that money back in retrospect. The Indigenisation Act, do you think it was a mistake to suspend it or repeal it because it empowered people with 10%, the communities, workers as well and the international community has been sold to that. Whether you like it or not, the former Late President R. G. Mugabe was consistent on it and people came on board.
The Second Republic came on whether they had an appetite to appease the foreigners; they are not there when they need help, you are sinking. This was to say that we will bring more investors; have you done an analysis to see if investors have come in and foreign direct investments projects which are all there? How much have they brought into the country? You must be honest, you must access other than them getting national status and bringing things duty free in containers and selling. The indigenous of this country cannot sell anymore because the very same company that you empowered, the Chinese company that does tiles, where do they bank? It is a question, where did they put their money but they are busy exporting all the tiles. Everything is leaving the country being exported but no money comes in yet it is national status. What have you done to do a follow up on those companies?
The other issue is, the only business in town is auction. There is facilitation fees, we have come up with policies that have made people become lazy, and criminals in the process. What are we doing to follow up on the auction money that people get, companies, the institutions which are supposed to be doing that? You will see that people are bringing in new cars, buying houses, the value of houses has gone up from 800 million to 1.5 million yet the economy is not pumping. Where is that money coming from? It is from the auction rate where people are getting this money yet not utilising it for the intended purposes. The big companies like INNSCOR, you give them money on the auction rate yet they are generating foreign currency from the food that they sell, what is the point? Who are you trying to please? So the smaller ones are now dying yet the bigger ones are getting bigger and bigger. INNSCOR reported profits in an environment like this but you still go on their knees by giving them foreign currency, what for?
The other issue is the aspect of production. Production is what we have been saying, what have we done about production that has been the theme? Tomatoes from Murewa, where are they going and where is the processing plant so that they can export these tomatoes outside; that has not been happening.
The issue of two percent IMT tax that Hon. Mudarikwa said, why do you punish people who work hard and who are exporting? It seems it is a sin to work hard and to export in this country and then you punish 40%, who would want to invest in a country where you are punished for exporting, instead you must be given an incentive. So we need to closely and honestly look at our policies. There is no way investors can come in a country where we are constantly panicking. These statements made were of a panic nature and for you to get out of them, it will be another five years because there is no more confidence. You blame the people for not banking, is it their fault that they are not banking when you have such policies which you are coming up with?
Banking is about lending, it is a panic statement and I think this Government is seasoned enough. These are liberators of the struggle who have sacrificed their lives. His Excellency sacrificed his life to liberate this country and he must not be put in a panic mode and now there is nothing to respond to this. I think there is need to do a retraction in terms of review because finally, when statements are made by any Government or any institution, there must be a point of review that - are they negatives or positives? It does not hurt for you to review and say no, some of the policies that we made have a negative impact on the people and the economy. These pronouncements require a review and an honest one, because the confidence of the people is gone; it will take another five years. We are going towards election and when people are approaching elections, the only thing that they think about is they do not eat the slogan; they look at the economic situation of the country. In 2008, there was Government of National Unity, the economy stabilised and ZANU PF in 2013 won by two thirds, people did not vote for the slogan but they said, moving forward – with this economy in place, such policies will put Government out of power without knowing.
HON. TOGAREPI: Thank you Madam Speaker. Surely, I want to say as a short term measure, the suspension of lending could be helpful but as a long term or even in the medium term, it may have challenges. I would also want to say Minister, what is the source, where is the US dollar that people are chasing in the market, where is it coming from? Is it not coming from RBZ where they have it on the auction floor then take a little bit of it, take it back to the market, mop the Zimbabwean dollar then take it back to buy more foreign currency? I think Minister, we need also to deal with the source of the Zimbabwean dollar and US that are in the market.
On the issue of people with huge bank balances, where are they getting this money? Are we dealing with that because they are the source of the high demand for US dollars that then drive prices because the black market now drives the prices? So, I suggest that we deal with the issue of people with huge monies, where are those monies coming from?
The other issue, are we also not exposed to money laundering, people who are cleaning their monies in the market? What I have seen for the past three to four weeks, the exchange rate had gone up to more than 400 – [AN. HON. MEMBER: It is now 600 mudhara.]- but I was checking it has gone below 400, meaning this effort that you have put in place may have stifled the supply of Zimbabwean dollars that was chasing the US dollar. So I think we need to fine-tune that but obviously aware that we need lending in the banking sector for us to be able to see production. As a last issue, what can Government do to encourage those with foreign currency to bank it? I was buying something in Mbare and I saw people with huge sacks of US dollars. Can we not come up with ways to encourage these people to bank that USD so that we deal with the rampant price increases because of people chasing the black market rate.
Minister, as a short term, I feel it is working but in the long term, let us find a way that will allow people to borrow as usual and the banking system to do its work. I think the issue that we are not dealing with at the moment is to allow the financial system to work. We need to encourage a situation where people bank their money and to realise that it is a risk to be using the USD as a country because we cannot manage its supply in our market. It can come in and distort our economy but we cannot do anything because we have no control of that money and its supply in our economy. So we need to find a way to move away from the USD and deal with our own currency. I thank you.
(v)HON. C. MOYO: My first issue is on fuel and the Hon. Minister said Malawi’s fuel is now more expensive than ours. My question is: was the Minister comparing with our ZWL or USD viz-a-viz Malawian Kwacha. In fact, the Hon. Minister promised us ZWL fuel stations, where are they? Secondly, I no longer have confidence and trust our Hon. Minister of Finance because he released a 2020 $100 note this year in 2022. Why, when the $100 note is no longer enough to buy a loaf? I no longer trust him, maybe he has already printed a $1 000 note. Can he clarify on that? The third one is about the industrial capacity utilisation which goes to 60% from 47% but unemployment rate remains at 95%. Are there any –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Moyo, may you go straight to your point and repeat yourself as the Hon. Minister did not hear you.
(v)HON. C. MOYO: The Hon. Minister highlighted that the industry capacity utilisation goes to 66% from 47% but unemployment rate remains over 95%. Were there any jobs that were created so that they can equalise with the 66%? Lastly, there is clearance of the foreign currency auction floor. Why do we not release the foreign currency in 48 hours and if we do not have foreign currency, we should simply not dollarise.
HON. DR. MASHAKADA: I want to thank the Minister for the Ministerial Statement on the State of the Economy. I want to raise four pertinent issues in pursuit of the statement. The first issue is that we all know that in your NDS1, one of the pillars is supporting supply value chains in the economy. In other words, boosting production supporting productivity and one of the key issues is the question of the private sector’s access to finance which has been banned or stopped at a time when private companies or firms cannot access offshore funds or lending. To what extent is this policy reversal going to impact on NDS1’s objective of promoting or strengthening supply value chains? I need your clear answer on that.
The second observation or clarification; is the Minister aware of the fact that most of our problems in the economy are caused by exchange rate volatility, especially the fact that price discovery is being interfered with? Why can Government allow free float? Let us abandon managed float and fixed exchange rate because it has not worked. All these distortions are being caused because price discovery mechanism cannot reveal itself or operate efficiently without any hindrance. Can the Minister consider introducing free float to make sure that there is a market determined supply and demand of foreign currency on the market? This will curtail the black market rise or margin between the official exchange rate and the parallel market rate. The reason why the parallel market continues to grow is that the margin between the official and the parallel is rising because of lack of competitive price discovery and mechanism, especially on the auction floor.
The third issue is to do with currency. Our currency is also the centre of our macro-economic problems. A currency, as you know, must fulfill the medium of exchange role and the store of value role. In our case, ZWL or mono-currency is not a store of value. No one wants to hold it because it cannot store value. What measures is the Minister putting in place to make sure that there is credibility in the mono-currency and that it stores its value.
The fourth issue regards money supply growth. I agree with you that M-Zero has been vaccinated and therefore, its transmission mechanism on inflation has been checked but if you check M-1 growth is now at the centre of money supply growth. So what are we doing to curb the growth of M-1 and its impact on inflation?
The fifth issue is that you alluded to imported inflation. Yes, I agree imported inflation may cause inflation to some extent but if you look at the CPI now, there has been a mutation of the Consumer Price Index. It is no longer food inflation. If you look at the CPI, things like education are now on top of price rises and so on. We need to revisit our Consumer Price Index basket and the way we measure it so that we do not continue to harp on imported inflation and food prices when actually it is other things that have now overtaken in terms of the consumer basket. Thank you.
HON. MARKHAM: Hon Speaker, I am a simple man, so my questions are going to be very simple. We talk of the ease of doing business here yet we are introducing more taxes. We are talking of encouraging exporters – exporters just stood up there with 40% retention. They now have IMTT taxes to pay. We are not encouraging exports but discouraging exports, particularly in the agricultural line. We are actually encouraging imports because importers can go to the auction system and get discounted money, which is also being supported by the retention from people who export products. So we have got a major issue there which is the runaway exchange rate and I am talking of the parallel rate exchange rate. Since January it has doubled from $200 to $400 but we are not arresting it. We know where the problems are and it comes from the auction system which is a subsidised pricing system. The RBZ should know and does know the people involved in taking the money and not using it for the purpose it was granted for. We have people with multiple companies bidding for money, taking the money out and get straight onto the street with the money. We know that but what do we do? We introduce more taxes and hammer the exporter. We can talk about manufacturing growth but our tax base is dwindling. I have a major issue with that. How do we arrest it? We have no choice but to let it run because we have not closed off anyone who spares zim dollars. What are they going to do? They cannot get the stock exchange short term or get to the bank. So the only option is to buy foreign currency which is the only place they can park their extra zim dollars. Surely that makes sense.
I have two more issues pertaining to the ZUPCO and GMB. Both are monopolies, have taken huge amounts of money out of the fiscus and they are all for subsidies. The spatial planning budget in local government has overrun last year by 170%, clearly because of ZUPCO yet we continue with it and do not change it. I have a problem with a mechanism with due respect Hon. Minister, of announcements in the middle of the night on a weekend. It is five days down the line and we still do not have a statutory instrument. Without a statutory instrument, what is the law? It is being covered but my issue is this, what is the law with the statutory instrument when the RBZ and the Ministry are already issuing exceptions, for example exporters of tobacco and cotton when we do not have a law. How can you do that? We are already giving exemptions to a law that does not exist. So what will happen is that it will grow. Instead of being an exception, it is going to become the rule and we will achieve nothing but who suffers? Not one person has mentioned the increase of 100% in the parallel rate. Not one person has mentioned the pensioner or salaries. If the parallel rate has gone up 100%, your salary has decreased 50% because all goods in this country are priced on the parallel rate. If you have got a pension and you are a pensioner receiving ZW$7000 in January you are now receiving the equivalent of ZW$3500. We have not addressed the issue of the runaway parallel rate and these issues will not address it but complicate it. I thank you.
*HON. MUNENGAMI: Thank you Mr Speaker Sir. The Minister is going out whilst we are seeking some clarification. We need answers from him because the last time his deputy could not answer a single question and you are well aware of that. My clarification...
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: He will take notes for the Minister.
*HON. MUNENGAMI: I want to ask a very simple question. A man called Neruwana who resides in my constituency in Glenview used to buy a bottle of cooking oil at US$2 and from US$10 he would get US$8 change. Today he is buying 2 bottles of cooking oil and gets US$1 change. That is the people’s concern and not the jargon that the Minister is elaborating. The people just need to know why and where that is leading us. I have asked that question before and I am asking it again but from the Minister’s response, he has not been able to answer the question I have posed. People just need to know why the prices have gone up and the plans government has in place to curb the price increases.
The other bad thing that I have noticed is people lying to each other, especially MPs on the other side. I feel embarrassed because the Chief Whip lied and said the rate has gone down...
*THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: I do not think that is in line with the clarification that you are seeking. Please withdraw your utterances that the Chief Whip lied.
*HON. MUNENGAMI: I will withdraw the words Chief Whip but I will change the word ‘lie’ to ‘misrepresent’ because he said our rate has gone down and that is not true. Those are the lies that I am talking about because the rate continues to shoot up. That is why I am saying as we debate here we should be truthful so that our country can move forward. We should not pat each other on the back when someone lies but we should tell the truth and ask whoever lies to tell the truth, that is why I said he lied because he said the rate has gone down yet it is shooting up.
Lastly Hon Speaker, the Minister did mention the action they have taken and the tax rates being charged. What is going to give me the incentive to want to bank my money? If I get my US$100 and take it to the bank they will charge me 4%, so I will keep my money in the pillow. So what is the point? So I plead with the Minister to explain how the price rises will be sorted out. It should be easy to respond to, so we can move on. I thank you.
(v)HON. MOKONE: Thank you Mr Speaker Sir. I also rise to raise issues of clarity. Minister, since you announced the new measures, prices in shops have skyrocketed beyond the reach of many. In that regard Minister, their salaries have remained stagnant, be it in RTGS, be it in United States dollars, it did not increase. I would like to know from you what measures you have to help especially the civil servants so that at least they can manage to take care of their families because as of now, they are actually suffocating. I am sure you know Hon. Minister, that most of these civil servants are engaged in programmes to capacitate themselves with most universities around the country. So as such Minister, they are failing to actually pay their fees because the RTGS that you are now giving them is too little.
The other issue that I have is the issue of you banning lending from banks. Minister, can you not see that we are slowly going back to the period of 2008 where we could only find fire wood and tissues in the shop shelves? Those are my submissions Hon. Speaker. I thank you.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members, this Pajero AEP4871 is blocking other vehicles, please go and remove it.
(v)HON. MKARATIGWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I just want to also share my sentiments or my reaction to the raft of measures that are currently obtaining in the economic space. I subscribed fully to the intervention but there are major concerns coming from various sectors and I cannot help but also share my concern as an MP who represents not only the communities but also the business sectors. I am also personally a business person and when you look at where we are coming from, interventions may be necessary to deal with indiscipline, financial discipline that is occurring, but what I do not subscribe to is the indiscriminate way that it has to be implemented because when you look at it, think of the real innocent businessman who is trying to actually run a business ethically according to the laws of the land, complying to every other requirement, be it monetary, fiscal or general business practices now being suffocated by the sudden and drastic intervention.
Think about that family, that parent who is fending for his family looking for borrowing to have school fees, borrowing for medical purposes. Someone will have to borrow to ensure that he provides the right education for his children, someone who has to borrow because they honestly want to build a home for their families, someone who has to borrow because a dear family member is under life threat. All these have been put in the term ‘bracket’ with the culprits in business and when we look at it, there is no written sign that is actually required to deal with the inflation.
It is simple, when there is inflation and it is rising everyday above lending, it simply means people who are unscrupulous, people who are not ethical, who actually go and borrow so that it becomes a money making business. So there is need to intervene in good time. I have always advocated for an approach that entails recycled balance, a command approach. Many a time people do not like it, but perhaps there are times that they help but not that it employs 100% but I have at one time said to the Minister, you cannot leave the parallel market, your road port, the so-called black market to determine the exchange rate. You cannot leave the so-called unscrupulous business corporates to determine the exchange rate.
Yes, we have an interbank market. The interbank market at some stage was to guide pricing. For a long time, there had been clarity which was not regulated. The moment the Minister tried to regulate, to align the prices to the interbank market, what happened? Something that was costing $1 the price doubled to $2 because at that particular time, the perception, or it was quite evident that the black market rate was almost double the proper cost, the proper United States dollar pricing of a commodity, if you doubled it and multiplied by interbank rate, it merged the black market rate and this is exactly what happened.
So when you look at regulating and trying to compel the markets to observe the interbank rate, it was a good measure but in reality, there was no enforcement because when you look at the cost alone, the banking sector is responsible for small foreign payments and at the bank all the transactions are known, but when you say there is monitoring of the shops or of the pricing, then that is unlawful monitoring because they were allowed to get away with it when they doubled the dollar – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]-
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Members, please could you somehow shorten your contribution. Are there questions, are you raising areas of clarification?
(v)HON. MKARATIGWA: What I am saying is, when you look at it, bad business practice is actually being perpetrated by a few big corporates. These are the ones that are upsetting and they have got the borrowing power. They can hop from one bank to the other and be able to apply for borrowing. They are able to borrow and they are able to enter into arbitrage and fuel the black market. This is what I think the area of focus should be. If we focus on ensuring that they are actually perhaps monitored and made to account for their operations, for the distortions that they are causing because there are transactions they will be trading, it can actually help a great deal.
There are other sectors…
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Mkaratigwa, I think your time now is just about to end, can you wind up please.
HON. MKARATIGWA: In conclusion, I want to look at the construction area where we have got new equipment that is being imported these days and most of the funding is out of the parallel market. Therefore, by coming up with punitive lending rates to ensure that we do not fuel inflation and there is a balance, it can help a great deal. Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: May I take this opportunity Hon. Members to say it is pointless for you to emphasise or re-emphasise a point that has been highlighted already. You can actually see that if somebody is contributing, if the Minister is not writing, it means that he has heard and is still hearing the same thing. Can we dwell on new areas of concern and new questions?
HON. HWENDE: Thank you Mr. Speaker. Firstly, I want to thank the Minister of Finance and Economic Development for the statement that he has presented to us. I also want to thank fellow Hon. Members from the other side because it shows that we are in agreement in that the matter is affecting everyone. My first question to the Hon. Minister is that the issue of suspension of lending has been mentioned but there is an issue that has not yet been clarified. Hon. Minister, is it not possible to interrogate the issue that the suspension is affecting applications that were already in progress and those that have already been approved so that at least these get a waiver and should be allowed to go through because these are applications that have already been done. Most company owners had already borrowed funding and promised to deliver goods on the basis that their loans have been approved. So if you happen to invoke this drastic move as you have done, it affects everyone despite the fact that we have witnessed lending companies suspending operations.
Hon. Members have also raised the issue of salaries, especially for civil servants. I know that you have increased the remuneration for the Zimbabwe Defence Forces by 37% but even the 37% - considering that the rate has spiraled and is now around 500%, that money is inadequate because the 37% comes to ZWL45 000 to ZWL50000. Are you not putting the country at risk that a soldier carrying a gun takes home ZWL50 000? All civil servants, I do not know where you stay Hon. Minister but you always talk of surplus. Are you not pained by the paltry salaries that you pay to people when you have a surplus, the very people who work for you day in day out? People are struggling with the ZWL40 000 that you are giving them and they are unable to even buy a bottle of cooking oil. They are unable to even buy fuel for their cars, pay school fees for their children to go to school, is your heart not pained when you see such?
I do not know where you stay Hon. Minister, I have heard that you stay at Meikles Hotel, hence you do not witness these challenges out there. As Ministers, you are not at all concerned, because you are always outside the country giving each other allowances of USD5000, so the RTGS salary is not of concern to you. My request Hon. Minister that you look into the matter and ensure that civil servants get remuneration that is adequate for the sustenance of their families.
On the issue of taxes, our taxes are too exorbitant. We have internet service providers – the other issue affecting the people is on the cost of internet data but if you look at the way you are taxing these companies, for every dollar, 35 cents is going towards taxes. The companies pass the burden to the consumers – with the RTGS salaries, children are unable to get internet data for their education because most jobs are also being done on the internet and that is not possible because of the cost of data. We urge you to look into those matters. I am not going to say much because most of the things have already been said.
*THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Hwende. I want to take this opportunity to thank Hon. Hwende because as you were debating, I saw the Hon. Minister jotting down notes showing that your issues are new. I hope that those who are going to debate after you will follow suit as you have set the pace.
HON. MADZIMURE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Firstly, I want to remind the Hon. Minister that Zimbabwe is towards achieving an upper middle income economy but looking at the measures that he has taken, considering that when Hon. Munengami requested for a Ministerial Statement, the nuclear bomb that he just released had not yet been released. During that period, our rate has gone up by 100%, meaning that the remunerations that people were getting had been reduced by 50%.
There is no middle income economy where one earns USD100, considering the demands of food, clothing and so on. Are we saying that we are no longer interested in an upper middle income economy because what is happening currently does not reflect that we are heading towards a middle income economy. We are actually regressing to the lowest income economy.
My other issue is that the Hon. Minister has said that our exports are now around over 6 percent and in his words; he said we have a surplus. Mr. Speaker, if you consider electricity, it is $1billion, medicine is $1billion, fertilizers are $1.5 billion. On the other crucial issues, if you look at the procurement of vehicles, it is a billion and all these are above $6 billion, what of other needs of the people? If you look at the women empowerment and welfare, it is being funded by the donor community and not the Government. This reflects that as Government, we are unable to look after our own people. So the Hon. Minister should be honest with us to come clear on the monies that he is referring to as surplus, what is it exactly that we are exporting that has increased in cost?
The Hon. Minister said that capacity utilisation of the industry has gone up from 40% to over 70% and that is supposed to match with increased employment. Why is this assertion not reflective on the ground? There is no correlation between increased capacity utilisation and increased employment. On the issue of suspension of lending, what will happen to me if you do not allow me to borrow money? I have a big company that needs cash flow. How am I going to access the money? There is what is called illicit wealth. We are saying that many people have illicit funds. So most people are going to engage in illegal borrowing and that is going to lead to an illegal economy. What is the Hon. Minister going to do to ensure that this does not thrive until such a time that they open the banks for lending?
In conclusion, I may sound as if I am repeating but the Hon. Minister is not looking into the sustenance of the civil servants during that suspended period. It does not make economic sense even to me as a Member of Parliament. Even when I tell people that I am earning RTGS60 000.00 - it is nothing but I also do not think that as an Hon. Minister, that is how he is living because what is he is going to do during the short term to ensure that people are able to sustain themselves?
We mentioned the other time Hon. Minister, in terms of these temporary measures – it leads to disasters. This was during the time of Mr. Gono. What he is doing are half measures, if we look at ZUPCO. The Hon. Minister came here, and informed us that he was starting ZUPCO, and people would get franchise to operate in the transport sector. People celebrated that we now have a reliable transport system but now people have decided to move out of ZUPCO, and the Hon. Minister is coming here to tell us that it is a good policy that we have allowed other players to join the transport sector. Who benefited from the temporary period where ZUPCO had monopoly? Buses are a mode of transport but travelling from the rural areas is a challenge, looking at the middle income that we want to achieve. What went wrong that they have now seen that it is a good policy to introduce private players yet five months ago it was cat and mouse, and everyone had to use the ZUPCO franchise? The Hon. Minister has to explain to us why we are now abandoning that policy and the same will apply to the auction system.
Actually it is like a repeat that was played in 2006/2008, it is the same. What is going to happen to our contributions to medical aid? Right now Mr. Speaker, if I want an emergency operation to be done on me, I will find the cost is around not less than two million, and if I am not going to borrow, where am I going to get that money? Contingencies that the Hon. Minister has put in place to make sure that when such an emergency arises - this is how someone is going to survive. How are we going to do it? We have condemned the poor. Can the Hon. Minister answer? What is going to happen in the interim for people to access the most crucial services? Supposing you lose a house today through fire, and you cannot borrow. There is virtually nothing.
Can a country stand still? What the Hon. Minister is telling us right now is that we have come to a standstill – nothing will function. Big corporates survive on borrowing. Thank you Mr. Speaker, can the Hon. Minister respond to some of these questions?
*HON. TEKESHE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I want to thank the Hon. Minister for what he brought to this House. I also want to get clarity from the Hon. Minister on why we are experiencing price hikes in both currencies, USD and RTGS? Before the RTGS price would increase but the USD would remain the same.
*THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MUTOMBA): You are not connected Hon. Member.
*HON. TEKESHE: I want to find out what measures the Hon. Minister has put in place to ensure confidence in the banking sector because I realise that the elephant in the room is the issue of confidence in the banking sector. People have foreign currency in their homes under the pillows, and buried underground. So I want to know what measures the Hon. Minister has put in place in restoring confidence in the banking sector. Before, banks used to operate but now banks are no longer operating because no one wants to bank their money. I also want to know if the Hon. Minister is happy with the auction system flow, if it is positive for him, we request that we be availed our CDF funds in foreign currency. Thank you.
*HON. HAMAUSWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. The Minister of Finance and Economic Development mentioned that mining is contributing hugely to the fiscus but I did not hear him talking about the social impact of mining in communities that are being mined, and most areas are being left with huge holes. As I speak, there are mining activities going on in Warren Park. Yesterday, a school child died after falling into an open mining pit that was left by miners. The proceeds of mines are being seen in the Hon. Minister’s books but for people where mining activities are taking place, nothing is on the ground. So I want the Hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Development to investigate, and also has the law changed? Has the Government law now changed that mining just takes place without environmental assessment and also asking the residents the effects of mining. We have seen that the Chinese company has a mining right in Warren Park in Harare but there was no meeting on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). This is amazing to the people of Zimbabwe that mining is bringing wealth but the people in Zimbabwe are saying mining is bringing poverty to them because it is causing a lot of things and they are not gaining from it. If it was possible, the Minister should sit with other members of the Cabinet and find a way on how they should bring back the 10% empowerment to the communities where mining is taking place. That 10% can be used for land reclamation so that those mines will not endanger animals. In Zvishavane, animals are dying in those holes. The Minister cannot speak highly of such an activity which is impacting badly on the people.
I am sorry that it might seem like I am repeating but I am not. On the issue of ZUPCO, the Minister of Finance and his colleagues – our Constitution says that he is responsible and collectively as a Cabinet; when he brings this on the table, he did not consider that a lot of people were surviving on one kombi and they did not look at how those people were going to survive after removing kombis on the road. Where we stay, there are now a lot of thieves and robbers – we do not know whether some of them are the ones who were working for the kombis. Most of our children are now involved in drugs.
There are areas which are still developing and there are no roads like Hopley, Ushewokunze and so forth – ZUPCO buses and small cars cannot reach there. In Warren Park, there is an area called Parkview and it is on the west of Cold Comfort; there are no ZUPCO buses that go there. People in Harare walk two to three kilometres from those developing communities where there are no roads. If you go to DZ, there is an area called Matombo. If you go there, you have to go to White House first and then you get a small car to get to that area. When you put in place the idea of bringing the ZUPCO, you did not do thorough investigations. I think the Government is putting in laws without consulting the stakeholders. Henceforth, there should be stakeholder consultation and the kombis crew have their associations because we do not see any stakeholder consultations taking place. When you are here, we are looking for laws for good governance but we do not see that taking off because there is no consultation going on.
Lastly, there is a group of people that we are leaving out from what the Minister has presented. We see that the economy is largely informalised but you did not mention anything about the informal sector. There is an assumption that the informal sector or vendors always cause chaos. Those who engage in the informal sector have an opportunity to look after their families. I have observed someone who has been working in the informal sector since 2000 and has managed to buy properties and is able to look after his family.
Our Government is not doing anything about the informal sector. They just see them as perpetrators of chaos. Last week the police had a meeting that there should be a war against the informal sectors. Right now our councils do not have support from the Central Government. The market stalls that we have were built by Smith. The present Government did not put up any market stalls. I think we should also look at what the councils are doing. They are now afraid of this exchange rate. A vendor is supposed to pay US$40 per month to the Harare City Council. This should be investigated so that this amount comes down to US$5 or US$10. This means that this was done without any consultation. For those who are using the constructed market, they are supposed to pay US$70. This is very painful. If you look at most people in here, they went to school because their parents were vending. Vending is not only in urban areas but also in rural areas. You find that farmers from Rushinga come and sell their wares in neighbouring towns. We want the Minister to explain to us what is the informal sector in Zimbabwe and how is it going to benefit from the plans that are there.
Thank you Hon. Minister for being brave – you know how difficult things are. All MPs are crying. When the Minister spoke, no one heard how the economy is going to be addressed but I am pained because for us to come with a way forward, I have seen that most MPs have left but this is what people are crying about from our constituencies. It was going to be good if many MPs were present so that when we go back to our constituencies, we would report that the Minister had addressed our issues. I do not know how the MPs who are absent are going to get responses from the Minister.
(v)HON. S. BANDA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir for giving me time to debate. We are here because of something that is not happening for the first or last time. We have had the Minister of Finance and other Ministers coming in with statements that are supposed to turn the country in the direction that we want. We once had a stabilisation programme which we thought was a success but it dawns on us to say that was just temporary stability. Permanent stability is not yet here. The problem that Zimbabwe is facing, whether we like it or not, which I want clarification from the Minister, concerns the cause of all these things. The cause of these things is not the economy, social or environmental; if we check PEST, the cause is political, there is no political tolerance. We do not listen to what sense is being said, we listen from which side it is coming from, who has got the power. We do not listen to what the minority is saying. Maybe the minority at the time may be representing what the majority voices are saying. Mr. Speaker Sir, what I want to find out is, is it the economy which is the problem or is it the politics which is the problem? Can we not have Ministers even from the opposition? Can we not have other people who are not necessarily political being made Ministers so that what we will come up with is not a politicised Zimbabwe but we have got a country where all of us share ideologies even though they are different? If we come up together, we are going to solve this problem.
As we speak Mr. Speaker Sir, Zimbabwe is not the only country where devaluation is occurring. Zimbabwe is among a litany of countries where devaluation has occurred. In those countries, they do not face the problems that we have now because we are not united. Each one is fighting and we are tearing the country into pieces. The indiscipline that is there right now is because we do not see eye to eye. If we were going to see eye to eye Mr. Speaker Sir, then that will be the end to our problems. I want to check with the Minister what the problem is. Is it politics or the economy? I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
*HON. CHIDZIVA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir for giving me the opportunity. I would like to find out from the Minister what will be done regarding the GEMS fund that was launched in 2021, which requires that civil servants are given loans. What is going to happen to civil servants who have been getting loans after the ban? I want to know whether there will be compensation for the contributions that they made.
I also want to talk about agriculture. We are in the winter cropping season and land preparation for the next farming season has begun. We know that our farmers rely on loans, so what measures are being taken to assist farmers who rely on loans? Let me also say that there is the Women’s Bank and the Youth Empower Bank which are there to give loans to young people and women. This decision Hon. Minister, do you not feel that it is a decision which is not fair to women and young people? A lot of citizens cannot afford to pay school fees, whether universities or secondary schools. With this decision, does it imply that our children should not go to universities and schools? How are you going to address that Hon. Minister? Thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA:The important issue I want to bring to the attention of the Minister is, the Government has been taxing in USD, which means they are sitting on a lot of US dollars. Why has that money not seen itself on the auction to support the auction? The auction is also imperative in driving business but the backlog is because they do not have money yet Government is sitting on that money.
The Minister was very clear in saying that we have dollarised, which is something that we are appreciating from him today that we are using the USD. My point is, why have we not allowed the bulls to fight and see which one stands the ground? You cannot have two bulls or more in a kraal. Here we have got the Zimbabwe dollar which is a bull and it is on home ground and we have the USD which is foreign as well in that regard. Of course, we have local young bulls emerging, ecocash, bond and so forth. Why can we not allow the bulls to fight and see which one wins and we are able to say we dictated the market or the rate was dictated by what happened and so forth.
We seem to be coming up with stringent measures because each time you take a bull in a kraal and it still wants to fight, it will come back and fight. It even would come back with more vigour but let them fight. I have always said the economy or the rate is like a river. Let it flow in its direction. If it would spill into the Zambezi, then that is fine. If it can create a meander which then goes into Zambezi, it will not have the same impact. So, that is what I was saying that Government must be clear and there is inconsistency in terms of the rate. One minute you want to promote the Zimbabwe dollar, the next minute the very same Government is taxing in USD. Why can we not just allow things to flow and at a certain point things will map up in the direction that they should and we will not have all these problems. Admittedly, there are policies that we must look at. We also cannot be stubborn in terms of the economy and in terms of the rate. I think it is time to introspect and revisit on why we cannot allow things to flow.
If you look at 2019, the bond was 1:2 or 1:3 if you remember that. It was strong and it was the Zimbabwean people who had access to cash. Africans by their nature love cash. They are not used to these electronic banking. The cash was available and it was 1:3. We then came up with other monetary policies that then erupted. It was a volcano that erupted and we find ourselves in this situation. I know you have been thinking but it would be good like Hon. Hamauswa said. What is the way forward and what have we learnt from all this, the good and the bad. Make it a package and we move forward. What can happen must happen and what cannot happen, then it does not happen and so forth but allowing things to flow. Thank you.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Mr. Speaker Sir, I thank the Hon. Members for their various questions, input and requests for clarification. I will start with Hon. Nduna. He first of all applauded the moves we have taken or the actions we have taken in dealing with the instability, especially the issue around public transportation, allowing duty free importation of new buses and transportation of vehicles under duty free regime. Certainly, he was serious about this. We want to end the woes on the public transportation.
On the issue of blog funds, I did come before this House to say that let us approve these blog funds and then we issue bonds with different maturities and then we have now begun the process of paying these blog funds beginning with amounts less than USD1 million on a payment plan which we are paying in cash. Obviously, for the bond amount, we will pay upon the expiry of that bond because these are zero coupon bonds.
On the issue of payment of contractors, I did mention that about a third is paid in hard currency and the remainder in domestic currency in order to control activities in the parallel market by some of the contractors. You also wanted to know whether we could do the same with some of the Government suppliers and so forth. Yes, some of the Government suppliers are part of the blocked funds portfolio and as such, their liabilities or assets will be liquidated in USD according to our blocked funds repayment programme. So I could give further information if there is a specific supplier that you wanted to know about how they are being treated. I am happy to share that information because it is meant to be public information.
Moving on to another issue on inflation that perhaps we should remove the USD completely, I think I heard this contribution from a few other Members. At the moment we cannot afford to do that because we do not have balance of payment support, unlike other countries which have access to balance of payment support – that is the first thing.
The second thing is that other countries are also able to receive donor funding through their budgets. Our donors have clearly said they will not route funds through the budget. They do it through third parties such as UNOPS and other implementation agencies such as UNICEF. So we do not have a balance of payments and support that would then improve the picture of our finance but at the same time we realise that there is a flow of ZWL into the economy through exports, various means, remittances.
So we decided that we will create almost a virtual or balance of payments in support position through the introduction of the auction system or some allocation mechanism which allows us to harness USD from the public and companies through surrender policy as well as 20% surrender policy domestically. Surrender policy 80% for exporters and then 20% for retailers.
We then channel that USD on to those who need them, being the exporters and so far the auction has managed to deliver on that fund where importers have been able to access foreign currency. I am afraid at this stage we cannot just shift to ZWL regime only. Also shifting to a full domestic currency only would mean from now on no one then should be allowed to use USD in the shops and it will be then illegal in certain situations to be holding foreign currency.
It would also mean that we have to compel exporting companies to liquidate their USD deposits in the bank. We would have to do everything that a normal country with a domestic currency does. If you go to South Africa or any other country in the region right now, you cannot buy in USD in the shops. Banks are required to liquidate your foreign earning within a certain period of time and that is it.
However, we recognised that we still need the USD, so we have to behave in a way that allows the USD to circulate, to be held in the form of savings in the way we have been doing things. It is too early to fully eliminate the USD but one day we will move towards a mono-currency. We have a road map of moving towards the ZWL.
Then on the issue of electricity tariffs due to Hwange 7 and 8 stations, I do not see a change in tariffs upward, something that has not been announced by the Energy Ministry. On the contrary, we expect tariffs over time to drop as we supply the utilities, we will be able to supply more electricity in the market. We hope that the coming in of independent power producers should increase competition and for tariffs eventually should fall – that is what we have seen in other countries where tariffs have been coming down gradually. We anticipate the same.
Then on fuel, that fuel is not reducing in quantity or price and that perhaps our fuel prices do not respond to global prices. No, they do. If we look at the formula from ZERA for calculation of fuel prices, the global price enters the formula through the Free On board Bulky (FOB) price which is fluctuating in line with foreign movements in the global oil prices. There is a link there and we have been adjusting the fuel levy to cushion citizens but also we have re-introduced blending for petrol. . It is a road to ameliorate the rises in the petrol prices specifically.
Now turning to Hon. Nyabani – pay cotton farmers so that they can grow more cotton, I agree with him. I think that we should make sure that these farmers are paid on time so that they can do more. We also need industry to invest more in processing lint seed oil in terms of edible oils. We have seen over the years a shift towards using soya but we need to use more cotton, sunflower and also maize at some point. We consume corn maize but in Asia, maize is the largest source of edible oil. It is not soya, it is not sunflower, it is actually maize. Therefore, going forward as a Government we are open to really supporting these other value chains for increasing the output on edible oils.
Hon. Nyabani emphasised that we should support the farmers all the time because also their produce is what constitute about 75% of inputs. As a Government, we will make every effort to support the growth of value chains within the agricultural sector.
On cross boarder smuggling that we should deal with it, enforce discipline and deal with corruption. Again, I agree with him and we are dealing with everything to do that. If we look at the border post that we are building in Beitbridge through a private partnership arrangement, we will really go a long way in reducing corruption with improved systems and security.
Of course there is still the border fence, I agree along the Limpopo, they are not easy to patrol the smuggling but we are doing everything to deal with it, rotating the enforcement agencies. They do not stay there too long otherwise they will engage in corruption so we keep rotating them right across our enforcement agencies including ZIMRA as part of the strategy. However, it is never easy to stamp out corruption in full at our borders. Every country struggles with this one.
Then from Hon. Biti, he basically argued that we need the force of law to have instituted the measures that we put in place. If you look at the Exchange Control Act, it gives powers to the President to use certain powers to do certain things within the Exchange Control Act regarding gold currency, securities in terms of transfer property, dealing with certain payments and also in the transaction in relation to debt. This pertains to Chapter 22.05 in Section 2 of the Exchange Control Act.
So, using Presidential Powers, a Head of State is able to institute a whole variety of measures that he deems fit to deal with certain irregularities in the economy. This is what happened in terms of this announcement that His Excellency the President made on Saturday - and I have presented the measures that he announced so that we can debate them and I will provide some clarification here and there, but also, I must hasten to say that issue about bank lending does not necessarily have to be enshrined in a special S.I. although Presidential Powers can be used for that. There is something called moral suasion which is recognised in the Banking Act which says that if the Central Bank, the regulator so designated to regulate banks, is able to agree with the banking sector that a certain action should be taken and they agree to that, it is called moral suasion. It is allowed in law and that is what happened.
In fact, the Central Bank met with the banks on Monday this week on the back of that moral suasion principle to agree to curtail lending and this is a temporary measure. A question has been raised as to why this measure was put in place. This measure was put in place because we had noticed it as a Government that what we call the monetary transmission mechanism had been broken or was being interfered with. The way it should work is that whenever monetary policies institute are pronounced, be it in the form made of an increase in the policy rate of the Reserve Bank, that policy rate should translate into a new lending rate by the banks on the back of which they extend credit and that credit should find its way into the real sector of the economy.
We noticed that this credit was now being diverted towards speculation and towards unscrupulous trading, speculation in both the foreign currency exchange market and also speculation in the equity market. So the transmission mechanism was being interfered with in a way that was causing incredible instability in the economy. So we had to act and sometimes we use blunt instruments for nuclear weapons and that is what we did in this case. We said let us stop all lending and let us make sure that when we resume after a temporary period, naturally as we have said, this credit is properly directed onto the real sector.
We are aware that some players were basically ending up heavily invested on the market or let us take some position on the stock market. Stock market rallies 400%, 12 months or whatever the liquid at those positions or whatever they chose to and then take the proceeds onto the parallel market and the cycle begins all over again. So we are aware of the sort of causal nexus between those markets and that is why we had to use this very blunted tough instrument to deal with misdirected lending to the extent that it was not following the normal transmission mechanism of breaking credit to the real sector as the main mission of banks.
On the issues around tax and not being within the law, the banning of banks, what we have done is that it is literally within Presidential Powers and there is enough provision for the President to be able to intervene in the way that he did. So there is no question of not being within the law. The law allows this and we had to prick that bubble of speculation through the action that we took. Again from Hon. Biti, he says that broking has been banned. It has not been banned. Brokers can still trade. I do not know if Hon. Members are aware of what is really going on here.
A broker will have a single account with a bank, a trust account. Once that account is established, then they will have sub-accounts in the name of their customers and no one can see those sub-accounts except themselves and maybe their auditors. So what happens is that whenever there are any trades in-between those accounts or to payment of third parties, sometimes you do not see real movement in the account that is held by the bank. It is all within the systems of the stock broker. This creates almost an internal banking mechanism which is subject to abuse and it was being abused by certain parties in the parallel market. That is why we had to say let us ban this inter-bank movement and payment of third parties because it is fuelling the parallel market but also fuelling money laundering.
Other countries have done the same to make sure that they really tightly regulate the behaviour of stock brokers. There is no question that they have been closed and can operate. We just want some order and transparency in the spirit of dealing with speculation and in stopping or curtailing money laundering.
On the introduction of the willing buyer willing seller window, why it was introduced – we have always argued and the Hon. Members here have always argued that we needed to improve the price discovery processes. We decided that one way to do it is to introduce this willing buyer willing seller window which we believe will go a long way in improving the price discovery process and even informing the auction as to where the price of foreign currency should be pitched. Of late, you have actually seen the auction rate rise at a faster rate than before, perhaps pointing to the fact that this maybe this smaller window; the willing buyer willing seller window is sending the right signals to the auction market for it to adjust. Certainly, the willing buyer willing seller window is a floating window because you express the price at which you wish to sell foreign currency but also express the price at which you wish to buy. So it is clearly floating already. So the call for a floating exchange rate has been met through this willing buyer willing seller basis window.
On ZUPCO, that Government needs to repeal parts of the S.I. that introduced the ZUPCO monopoly, that is exactly what we will do. We will repeal that aspect of the S.I. that imposes monopoly and then replace that with something that says it has been opened or just repeal it and that will be the end of the story but let me assure you that the openness principle is met.
Hon Mudarikwa talked about the need to curtail imports. I thought that more than 50% of the goods on our shelves are locally produced, which means that clearly local goods are having an upper hand compared to imported goods. I thought that was solved and I do not know whether we need to do more in curtailing imports.
If he feels that we will look into it and see if there is need to do more, you also wonder as well when prices are rising at this rate as to whether we should not be opening up for imports so that citizens can import cheaper goods so that you are not squeezed by the higher prices for the goods that are found here locally. That balance needs to be better understood and we will certainly look into it. He has raised the issue but we will also try to balance it with what I have just added.
Hon. Watson talked about the bulk of the transactions and domestic currency that is the figures that I have that the bulk of the transactions are in domestic currency but of course, agents are using the USD versus domestic currency for different reasons. USD is mainly store of value and the ZWL is mainly for transacting purposes, transacting fast and then going back in the USD. That is what is going on but the fact of the matter is, the bulk of the transactions are in domestic currency but, why is there concern about this? We have allowed for both currencies to circulate and so they are circulating. I do not see any difficulty to that. She also wanted to know how temporary the ban on lending will be. She is asking for a timeline and I cannot give a timeline as to when we will resume but I can assure you that our mentality is that this is a temporary measure. In other words, it is not a permanent measure but we will analyse the impact of it and make adjustments where necessary and certainly go back to lending when we have decided or find that the impact is more negative than positive. Those are some of the guiding principles of us than ban. Hon. Mutodi, basically said that I once mentioned that bad money drives out good money, so what has happened to that principle. What I can read into his mind is that if Zimbabweans are let us say preferring the US dollar which is what I am hearing, that ooh Minister, everyone likes the US dollar because US dollar is a strong currency , we have allowed it to circulate. Then maybe good money is driving out bad money. I am also not sure again what the argument was when repeating what I said. Also when I said at the time I was referring to the bond note. You also said that the bond note is in circulation, the bond note is not in circulation, what we have now is Zimbabwe dollar, if you check the notes that we have been issuing of late, there is no word bond note. It is clear Zimbabwe dollar, we have the Zimbabwe dollar that is circulating and we are pleased with this measure but we have both currencies circulating. So I do not know where the problem is.
Hon. Speaker, on clarifying measures put in place for dual currency to be restrained. The measures that we have announced are part of that where we want to make sure that this dual currency works, as I said we have no choice but to maintain it. The President’s statement was clear that we are in this partial dollarisation situation now of the dual currency and we are taking measures to make sure that it is successful because of necessity, we have to have it.
On measures that we are taking on retailers, what we have found out is that some of these retailers are in the retailing business, yes but there are also in the currency trading business. What they do, we are aware of retailers who were borrowing at the interest rate of 100 percent in terms interest rate. That is a high interest rate and then in order to pay that interest rate and still make money, they then push prices in their shops up so that at the end of the day, it is a consumer who really pays that interest rate and they make a healthy margin and they keep that game going. That is why we also said let us curtail this lending because this lending is not only causing problems into the stock market or power market rightly as I said but also the growth in this broad money, M1, M2, M3 is finding its way into retailers pushing up prices because of the low interest rate. 100% is basically about zero at the moment in real terms. So, that is going on and that is the reason why we said let us curtail lending to deal also with the behaviour of some of the retailers in the first place. May be we take too long to react, we have been announcing policies from time to time when we see situation changes, we cannot announce every week we have to wait and assess.
Again we are assessing the impact of what His Excellency announced and we advise him accordingly as to which are positive facts and negative facts. We will make adjustments but also we have more arsenal in our back pockets. There are three things which I wanted to institute which I had hold back on because we do not want to do too much, we want to do something and then wait and assess. Members should not think that we have run out of options, we still have more ammunition.
On how we are financing the road projects, we are using the budget and is that not fueling the parallel market; you know what, we have made a lot of progress here. Now half of our revenues are going towards infrastructure development. That is why we sustain growth and development. You have seen what we have done with the roads and other infrastructure. It should be like that, it was not like that; that was not right. We have 90% of Government revenues supporting salaries. Really to then complain that a successful public sector investment programme is not as successful is not correct, it is inconsistency.
Mr. Speaker, I did say that in managing the liquidity that is paid out to these contractors, we have a Liquidity Management Committee, we are smoothing it out so they do not push all of it into the parallel market, may be some of it but not all of it and then also at least a third is being paid in hard currency for those ticket payments for the dams. In fact, this week I signed a few, this morning I think I signed almost another USD12 million worth of payment to some of the contractors. Again we are managing this issue that they might go to parallel market but we should not criticize the fact that we have got these projects that Government is financing. We should applaud it.
On whether we are doing any economic planning or not, yes we are. The NDS1 Strategy is a five-year economic plan. The targets are very clear for all to see. A plan, yes, it can be revised and we have followed it to the T. I will be very happy to share the results of the implementation of that plan. I presented those to Cabinet about three weeks ago, in fact I think we should publicise it. I have the idea of a public engagement to tell the public as to how we are implementing the NDS1 targets and we have done very well overally as a Government in the first year of implementation, 2021. On competing for FDY dealing with political risk factors, as the Ministry of Finance, we focus on the economic issues and not political issues but I also do not understand what the Hon. Member is talking about. What are these political risk structures, I am certainly not aware, he could help us and explain what he meant.
I will now move on to Hon. Mliswa that Government has embarked on import substitution to support farmers, why not pay some of the farmers in foreign currency; well for tobacco and cotton, we have been doing exactly that but we would have to assess to see if we can afford as Government to expand foreign currency payments given the pressure we are already feeling in paying for infrastructure projects as well as salaries and other Government needs. We would have to assess that, so he has put that on the table, it is always good to have these proposals on the table. As Government, we then maul over them within the affordability envelope that we have.
On indigenisation, that repeal is not good perhaps we should have some indigenisation, when we repeal the Indigenisation Act, we only repealed the equity ownership element. The rest of the indigenisation measures are still in force. The whole Act was not repealed, it is only a portion which was repealed because investors kept telling us that we are not coming to Zimbabwe as long as there is that 51% rule, you have to do something about it. So, His Excellency responded through the mantra of ‘Zimbabwe is Open for Business’ which we then follow through with the repeal of that Section of ownership but the other empowerment provisions in the Act are still in force.
Then on the auction that it is causing rent problems, yes we are aware, that is how we have also worked hard to improve the price discovery process. In terms of the enforcement that was basically urging us to put in place and I agree that the Financial Intelligence Unit’s capacity has been beefed up. They are following on those who have been allotted foreign currency from the auction to really check if they are conducting businesses activities that they told us they are conducting when they were allotted that foreign currency. We are following up and we keep improving capacity of the FIU.
I think Hon. Mliswa also raised the issue of support for production and processing. You mentioned the issue of tomatoes in Mutoko, actually there is a processing plant in Mutoko now that has been put in place. We recognise that this is key, of course we need to do more for other products. I agree with him that we should do more and we will strive to do more as we seek to improve our value chain and value addition.
Hon. Togarepi applauded the actions we have taken but also urged that these remain short term, especially the issue around lending and of course we have said that this measure is a temporary one. Once things have settled, we will release the valve under the direction of the RBZ. He then asked about the source of the Zimbabwe dollars that are being used for speculation, actually we have tightened the supply of Zimbabwe dollars in terms of M zeros but where things were still loose - the growth of broad money is one of the reasons why we were compelled to take the action - we have taken in curtailing lending because it is now broad money that was adding to the parallel market woes. I mentioned the example of retailers who then used their access to broad money in terms of credit to use that having borrowed to push up retail prices and have the consumers cover their interest and they are still dipping the money and they kept going like that. We had to prick that retail sector price hike bubble as well. At least that was the intention and nothing else.
On the issue that - are we not exposed to money laundering, yes we are, hence these policies that we have taken.
On the issue of how we can encourage banking and foreign currency, of course one way is to further persuade the banks to increase interest in foreign currency deposits. That is one way. He mentioned that the USD is a risk for us to use domestically and that we should move away from the USD and imply that we must use Zimbabwe dollar only. We are not ready for that. We need to maintain the dual currency for now. We will get to a point where conditions are right, we have cleared our arrears and things have improved, we have credit lines opening up then we move towards a mono Zimbabwe dollar currency.
Hon. Moyo wanted to find out whether the prices in Malawi were higher than in Zimbabwe and this is in USD. Prices for fuel in Malawi for both petrol and diesel are higher in USD terms than in Zimbabwe as I speak. He talked about job creation, whether capacity utilisation increases have meant more jobs have been created. Yes, more jobs have been created. We are currently doing a job creation study to really get to the bottom of the numbers. Companies are telling us that they have been adding more people and new companies have been launched as well in the last two or three years as a result of the introduction of the Zimbabwe dollar which has improved their competitiveness.
He said that if we do not have foreign currency we should just dollarise. In other words, use USD only. We have been there before and there was a shortage of foreign currency. There were queues in the banks because there was a shortage of cash. Do you remember that moment colleagues? That is not a panacea. The panacea given our situation is dual currency but let us try to stabilise the situation to make sure that prices do not behave in the manner they are behaving. The exchange rate does not behave the way it is behaving.
Hon. Dr. Mashakada mentioned the issue of supporting value chains in line with NDS1 focusing on production and productivity and that curtailing lending is going to impact that and this will work against these pillars. As I said, this is a temporary measure. We will analyse it and see when we can lift it but we have to prick the speculative bubble that had emerged. He said most of our problems are caused by the exchange rate volatility and that we should allow it to freely float. That is what the willing buyer, willing seller window which is meant to improve our price discovery is meant to do and we are on our way there, if not there already.
He went on to say that the Zimbabwe dollar is not a store of value and what measures should be taken. I actually repeated the measures that were announced by the President including previous measures that were taken. So, measures are being taken to try to stabilise our currency and improve its value storage function. He was correct that M zero growth has been curtailed but broad money M1 has been rising. That is why we have taken the action that we have taken to curtail growth in broad money. He is also correct that in terms of the CPI, the weights are changing and we need to look at that and see whether we can also change accordingly that food inflation is no longer as heavy in terms of weight as before as other items have taken over. We also want to make sure that this change is not temporary. We need a sense of certainty. We do not want to change your CPI weighting now and then next month again you change it. You need some stability and we are analysing this issue. We are looking into it and he correctly identified it.
Hon. Markham on the issues around ease of doing business that some of these measures are in fact discouraging exports and so forth. We have seen growth in exports, as I mentioned up to USD6 billion in 2021. Something is going right. As I said these are policies that were put in place to deal with the speculative bubble and we take a look to see whether we need to fine-tune somewhere to make sure that our export drive is not curtailed. Judging by the 2021 figures, it is something that has worked very well because we have an increase in export growth.
He went further to say the problem is really the fact that we have a runaway exchange rate. Yes, that is why we have taken these measures. As one Hon. Member noted, he noticed that in the parallel market that rate has been kept and started coming down. We wanted to really do. That was the intention actually.
Regarding ZUPCO and GMB monopolies that these were detrimental and contributing to certain woes in the market, that is how we have opened up. We have lifted the monopolies and we would be following up with an appropriate Statutory Instrument (SI) to make sure that private operators can operate.
On GMB, GMB is a fund which is an instrument of Government for basically making sure that we have enough food and enough reserves going forward. It is also pleasing that insurance role – I do not think we have got many on GMB frankly but what it is, we have also opened up the market on the pricing aspect. We have introduced a commodity exchange which is not quite enough as such, but it will get bigger and improve as we go forward. For now, we have also said that anyone who has free funds can import grain. There is no problem there, it is not a monopoly of Government through GMB and others but any citizen or company can import grain. We are not monopolising that at all I can assure you. As I said, the SI regarding ZUPCO monopoly is on its way.
On the issue that the salaries are being eroded by the parallel market, we are aware of this. That is why again we are taking this action to stop the parallel market from running away because we are aware that retailers are using it in terms of setting prices on the shops. That is why we have also decided as a Government to pay part of the salaries of civil servants in hard currency and also part of the salaries for Members of Parliament in hard currency. Of course we will continue to increase as resources of Government allow but for now, we have acted because we are aware that inflation on the parallel market erodes the salaries.
Hon. Munengami said the ordinary person used to buy cooking oil at US$2 but now they are buying for US$5, why is this happening? You see one of the impacts of the global situation is on the increase on cooking oil. That is what is going on because some of this cooking oil is made from soya and so forth which are imported raw materials. So this increase in price globally is impacting the price of cooking oil locally. So, when we see inflation in the shops, it comes out on two things; foreign factors but also local factors. Those together are working against us. That is why we are also taking the action that we have taken.
Hon. Mokone, prices in shops are now higher, salaries are falling, I think I have dealt with the issue of salaries sufficiently. – [AN HON. MEMBER: But salaries are not increasing.] - No, no, we cannot increase salaries every week, we have adjusted salaries already. We are looking into it. We have a programme for salary reviews. We cannot break our programme, we need to be orderly.
Hon. Mkaratigwa, irked that measures being taken on shares are a cause for concern – ah! no, our intention was to click the bubble – so if what we are hearing that the market has lost or dropped by Z$3 billion because of the measures, that was the intention because there was clearly a bubble that asset price inflation, that is what it is called, asset price inflation was a problem that was linked to the parallel market and inflation in real goods and services in the shops. Hon. Mkaratigwa also mentioned that we should may be, be more targeted, I am using my own words now, but he used the word discriminate and so forth, more targeted and so forth, I think here he was referring perhaps to the ban on lending, et cetera. Once we have lifted the temporary ban, we will be more targeted but for now, we had to act using this blunt nuclear weapon instrument but we will be more targeted.
Hon. Hwende, allow for loans that would have been approved to go through and that it should not be suspended. This is exactly what the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe announced that for loans that are already in progress or concluded or about to be concluded, they need to use a case by case approach for each bank to have these approved. That is what we will do. We will not do a blanket approval because we have to check as the regulator that we have so designated that these loans are really bona fide and targeting the real sector and sectors of need and not supporting speculative activities.
Hon. Hwende, on the civil servants’ salaries, he said that Minister, you said that you have a surplus, why do you not use it to improve salaries; actually what I said was last year in 2021, there was no surplus. Actually there was a deficit of Z$64 billion. So, there is no surplus in 2021. Surplus was the previous year which we then used to procure vaccines and the vaccine that he took, yakapinda kwaari yakabva kusurplus. So we used it wisely, this surplus of the previous year.
Hon. Madzimure, he mentioned middle income status is being eroded by the parallel market and inflation. He is right – [Hon. Togarepi having whispered to the Minister that he had only 10 minutes to automatic adjournment] - I am 10 minutes away from automatic adjournment, let me speed up. Of course they are threatening our growth, our development, that is why we had to act. So he is stating what we have also recognised that these volatilities are causing a threat to our development agenda. So we had to act that we empty $6 billion, literally he is implying where is this money going and so forth. Remember, this money belongs to the companies not Government but for us it is a macro-economic indicator of valuable of success. Some of this money is sitting in the banks, it is part of this US$1.5 billion which is in bank accounts and it is not Government’s money. We have no interest in it. We just wish that we will be lending more of it when we lift temporary lending. It is our hope that we will only benefit through this sector but it is not our money. However, we celebrate the success of the private sector because they are part of this economy, the largest part of this economy after all.
Connection between utilisation and job creation are dealt with. There is a connection, jobs are being created. We have just seen the jobs starting to verify certain things on ZUPCO. You also said that we ban ZUPCO before we benefit and so forth. When we created the monopoly for ZUPCO, the idea was to give citizens lower fares for transportation and this was achieved. Citizens were able to enjoy lower fares, riding ZUPCO buses than otherwise. That was achieved but we have a different challenge, which was that we had constrained supply of these buses, so we had to open up. That is what exactly we have done. We certainly responded.
Then I turn to Hon. Chidziva, I think on price increases both in US and Zimbabwean dollars, why? As I said that if you look at most of these US dollar price increases, they have to do with the global connection. The fact that we are importing global raw materials, we are affected by the global situation which is leading to imported inflation that impacts both US dollar and Zimbabwean dollar prices. We should pay the CDF in US dollars, it is food for thought. It depends on the availability of the US dollars within our budget of course and I am saying that at the moment, we are still constrained but it is a proposal that has been put on the table nonetheless.
From Hon. Hamauswa who talked about the social impact of mining, companies and so forth, EMA has a role here and they should be informed. I hope that the Hon. Members have reported this case to EMA, police and everyone. It looks like death was even invoked, it is quite a serious matter actually and I agree with him. The 10 percent ownership in mining will not solve this problem; this is just eliciting behaviour issue that should be dealt with, with or without ownership. If the community gets 10 percent, it does not improve this kind of situation, I really do not think so. On ZUPCO, yes that is where we have removed the monopoly, we have responded. The role of the informal sector, we recognised and we are doing everything to support it through our SME policy run through the Ministry responsible for SMEs, including building market stalls and so forth, it is an ongoing programme.
On Hon. Banda, the issue of economics or politics, well Minister of Finance deals with economic issues that is what I am dealing with, I am not sure that it is a political issue that is why we are dealing with the wrong policy here. On the games fund, I cannot recall who asked that question, I remember it is Hon. Chidziva, I mixed up the names. It has to do with phones. When I was reading the names using someone else’s phone, that is what happened. Ndimukanya Mr. Speaker Sir, I recognise. On the GEMS fund which is a fund meant to support civil servants; this is ongoing, civil servants are able to borrow from that fund, and they have not been curtailed from borrowing from that fund. I know we need to replenish it to increase its capacity and I have asked my team in Treasury to find resources and replenish it but this has not been stopped, it is still ongoing.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Minister please round up.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Support farmers, I agree and in fact farmers are going to receive special dispensation in this suspension of lending whether it is cotton, tobacco, maize farmers, they will be looked after properly in terms of access to funds even this temporary suspension of lending.
Lastly, Hon. T. Mliswa, we have issued safety measures and we access how they are working if we need to fine tune, we fine tune, if we need to introduce new measures, we introduce new measures but for now, we have dual currency, we will continue with it. We use the phrase of two bulls fighting, let them fight and see who wins. They are fighting right now in this jewel US and Zimbabwean dollar are fighting and the bull fight his on and of course over time, we want to make sure a policy that Zimbabwe dollar becomes the sole mono-currency for use in our economy but that will take time. I thank you.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE), the House adjourned at Six Minutes to Seven o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 17th May, 2022.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 12th May, 2022
The Senate met at Half-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE
SWEARING IN OF A NEW MEMBER
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: On the 10th of May, 2022, Parliament was notified by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), that Chezha Chinyani had been appointed as an MDC Party list Member of the Senate for Matabeleland North Province to fill the vacancy which occurred following the death of Hon. Sen. Phyllis Ndlovu.
The Appointment is with effect from the 6th of May 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 3rd Schedule Section 128 (2), and states that the oath must be taken before the Clerk of Parliament.
NEW MEMBER SWORN
HON. SEN. CHEZHA CHINYANI subscribed to the Oath of Loyalty as required by Law and took her seat – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.]-
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: In the Senate today, we have Hon. F. Mhona, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development; Hon. M. Mudyiwa, the Deputy Minister of Energy and Power Development; Hon. D. Musabayana, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; and Hon. Machingura, the Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development.
*HON. SEN. KOMICHI: On a point of order Mr. President, the Ministers are letting us down, every Thursday, we have the same number of Ministers, and these four are the ones that attend Senate every Thursday. However, I would like to thank them for their commitment and I would like to thank them for also respecting the Senate as well as the citizens of this country and His Excellency, the President.
However, I am very saddened by the Ministers who do not come to do their job because Question Time is a very important session for Zimbabweans especially looking at the current economic status. The citizens want to know what is taking place, they would want us to ask questions and hear responses but the Ministers do not come.
We have been sending this request for a long time but nothing has changed. We have complained about the Ministers not taking the Senate seriously. It takes a lot of tax payer’s money to run the sittings of Parliament, there are a lot of expenses incurred in order for Parliament to sit.
All those complaints have been sent but up to now, we are still complaining that they do not take Senate Business seriously. I do not know exactly what this means. Are they playing games with us or they are looking down upon us? The Ministers are refusing to do their job as Ministers because they are refusing to listen to the President. Therefore, let us take action against them.
I would therefore, like to submit a suggestion that can we not stop asking these four present Ministers questions as we wait for the others. At the moment we can proceed, we can debate our normal business because if we proceed with Question Time, we are actually nurturing this problem to continue.
Mr. President, I humbly implore you to consider this my suggestion that let us take serious action on the Ministers who are being insubordinate to the President as well as not respecting the citizens and this Honourable House.
HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA: On the same point Mr. President, the Hon. Sen. needs to be supported and we need to enforce the message. In supporting what I am going to say, I want to refer to the Constitution of Zimbabwe, Section 107 which says, “Accountability of Vice Presidents, Ministers and Deputy Ministers. (1) “subject to this Constitution, every Vice President, Minister and Deputy Minister is accountable collectively and individually, to the President for the performance of his or her functions”. 107 (2), “Every Vice President, Minister and Deputy Minister must attend Parliament and parliamentary Committees in order to answer questions concerning matters for which he or she is collectively or individually responsible”.
This is a constitutional matter and we should take it seriously. None attendance of Parliament business is unconstitutional. We want to appeal to you Mr. President that this matter be given urgent attention, and with a very clear and loud announcement by your seat as to what has been decided or resolved which make us feel comfortable that future business of Parliament will be respected. I see one Cabinet Minister out of a number that I may not be clear how many but there is one. In percentage terms, I think this should be less than 5% and four Deputy Ministers. I therefore want to say this is deplorable. Hon. Senators come from all over the country and long distances. They are paid for the mileage in fuel. They are booked in hotels thinking that they will come in this Chamber to conduct business seriously in terms of this Constitution. This is money wasted because we are unable to conduct business of Parliament to the fullest. Thank you Mr. President.
Some Hon. Senators having stood up to raise the same issue.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you Hon. Senators, if you want to raise the same issue, I think it has been floored. I think the point has been made and you may take your seats. Hon. Senators, I am not in any way belittling or playing down your concerns. If anything, I am 100% behind what has been raised by the two Hon. Senators. It pains my heart also that on a day like this where Hon. Senators are supposed to raise issues of policy with the relevant ministers representing their constituents, the responsible ministers do not turn up except for the same old ministers and deputy ministers who come religiously and studiously.
The Hon. Deputy Minister of Local Government has just come in and she comes every week and the other Deputy Ministers and of course, the Minister of Transport. I am alarmed and this is tantamount to holding the Senate in contempt. It is unconstitutional and it is breaking the Constitution which we are supposed to defend. When we take the oath of Office, we are supposed to defend the Constitution. So, I am 100% behind you and I can assure you that me, together with the relevant authorities and Head of Parliament, we are going to bring this to the attention of the Head of State so that if any action is taken, it should be taken. Otherwise we might contemplate ourselves to charge the relevant ministers with contempt of Parliament – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.] - So I am going take it up with the strongest and the hardest vigour to ensure that something is done.
In the meantime, it will be unfair for the Hon. Ministers who have turned up for us to continue debating whilst they are there. We will carry on with the Questions without Notice but your point has been made and as I have said, we are going to take the necessary action. I thank you.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
HON. SEN. KOMICHI: Thank you Hon. President. My question is directed to the Minister of Local Government and Public Works. In the previous Parliament, we elected provincial councillors and they were not sworn in and nothing happened. In this Ninth Parliament, we also elected provincial councillors and nothing has happened so far in terms of swearing in. We are coming to the end of our term but they were elected by the people. They have lost in terms of benefits and they have never done any work. –What are we doing as Zimbabwe and why are we doing that? My question Minister is, when are we going to swear in these councillors and what is the problem at this particular moment? THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. CHOMBO): Thank you Hon. President and thank you Hon. Sen. Komichi for that question. What happened was that the legal framework was not aligned to the Constitution of 2013. As such, we came up with the Bill which is now at the Attorney General’s Office. Once the Bill is complete, we are going to bring it to Parliament. In the meantime we have tried by all means to make sure that we address the welfare of the provincial councillors, they are getting their remuneration.
+HON. SEN. A. DUBE: My question is directed to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development. Before I ask my question, I want to thank the Minister for the good job that is being done on Tsholotsho Road. It is an old road which was constructed during the colonial time and is being rehabilitated. My question is that there is transport problem in the rural areas. Of course there are ZUPCO buses but they are not enough for the population. Why are you not bringing kombis into the system?
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: The first one is a specific question, it is not a policy question - you should put it in writing. I do not know if the Hon. Minister is ready to answer that one. The second question is for the Ministry of Local Government but may- be the Hon. Minister can answer the Hon. Member on the issue.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Let me also thank the Hon. Senator for asking such a pertinent question. Work is underway on Bulawayo-Tsholotsho Road. Those roads were not rehabilitated for a very long time. I want to thank our President who is a listening President. As we speak, four very important national roads are being rehabilitated. As I speak, Bulawayo-Tsholotsho and Bulawayo-Nkayi Roads are being attended to by my team. Mr. President, even if we start with five kilometres it does not mean we are ending at that stretch.
On the issue of ZUPCO, the relevant Ministry is the Ministry of Local Government. When the President heard that there was crisis pertaining to transport, not just in communal areas but also in urban areas, it was observed that there was need for the private players to come and participate in the transportation business. This is what we are doing and I am sure the Minister of Local Government will table the regulations. We assure you that once the regulations are there, private players can actually participate freely.
HON. A. DUBE: I think there was communication breakdown, I was appreciating the Minister for the great job that is being done on Tsholotsho, I come from that area.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: This emphasizes the importance of communication and the need for all of us to speak all our languages. Thank you very much for that clarification.
HON. SEN. CHINAKE: My question is directed to the Minister of Public Service and Social Welfare.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: The Hon. Minister is not in the House, please put the question in writing to the relevant Ministry.
HON. SEN. CHIEF CHUNDU: Thank you Mr. President, I would like the Minister to clarify about the people working on these major roads. Some of those roads are being worked on properly but sometimes those roads are becoming narrow and narrow and the edges are now damaged, such that when cars coming from opposite direction pass each other, they may not pass each other properly and this may lead to serious accidents or breakdown.
*HON. MHONA: I would like to thank the Hon. Sen. Chief Chundu for his valuable question. When the roads are being worked on, the intention is to improve those roads. From what the Hon. Senator said, those roads are not wide enough and what I would like to emphasise on is that sometimes we will only be repairing a road and not necessarily working on the new one. When we work on any road, we remove all other construction matter that may have happened and we start from the foundation. By so doing, you will not be able to see those problems again.
I would like to inform the House that the roads that we are currently making, we expect their lifespan to be about 20 years. If those roads are not maintained from time to time, yes we may get problems because everything needs to be maintained from time to time, just like any other appliance. It is Government policy that we work on all our roads because they have not been worked on for a long time.
We are improving on those roads. If you look at Harare-Beitbridge Highway, it is now wider than what is was. . This buttresses the point that indeed, the roads that we repair become wider. With time, you will realise that those roads will be better than what they were.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF MAKUMBE: My supplementary question to the Minister is that we used to have road maintenance units dotted all over the country and I would like to know what Government is doing about those maintenance units that we used to have, yet we have camps that are there and they are not doing anything to maintain the roads so that they remain in good condition.
*HON. MHONA: I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Chief Makumbe. Yes indeed he raises a very important issue. In the past we had road maintenance units that would attend to roads wherever there were problems and they would attend to those issues immediately. With the leadership of our President he has requested us to reinvigorate those units and bring them back again. Very soon you will see those camps working and those units will be up and running and maintaining those road portions as they used to. I want to thank you Senator Chief for bringing that very important point because indeed it refers to units that used to maintain our roads to keep them in good state. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHISOROCHENGWE: My supplementary question is that Minister, I heard you saying you remove completely the old surface of the road when you are rehabilitating the roads, Why then does it take you long to complete the road so much that motorists end up using that unfinished road.
*HON. MHONA: I would like to thank the Hon. Senator. We used to see that in the past where roads would be worked on and left unfinished just like that. With the coming in of the Second Republic, what we are doing now is that we are working on those roads in segments to completion. We are working in sections of 5km or so, so that after completing that section, we move on to another one. We are doing that in order to address that issue whereby people end up using sections of the road whilst they are not yet complete.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA: Firstly, I would like to applaud the work being done on the roads; indeed, our road surfaces are good. Is there any budget for rural roads because what is happening in the urban areas should also apply in rural areas? We request for grading of those gravel roads because they are also littered with potholes. What is Government’s policy on that?
*HON. MHONA: I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira for that pertinent question that he has raised. Truly speaking, what he has said is the truth that road maintenance should not be focused in urban areas only. We should also go down to rural areas where people are living. We should also pay attention to those areas. Looking at the manner in which roads were maintained back in the days, roads were maintained by local authorities.
I would to thank the Ministry of Local Government for releasing funds to assist in the purchase of machinery that is being used to fix roads. I would like to say some roads in rural areas do not need much attention, just a little touch on them then they are fixed. I strongly believe that as a Ministry, it is our responsibility to make sure that all areas are given attention, both urban and rural areas. In some instances because people spend most of their times in urban areas, I strongly believe this is where they see work being done. For those who are not satisfied with what we are doing, they are free to come through so that we give them details of the work that is being done. Even when it comes to the welfare of our chiefs, we should make sure that our chiefs have roads in their communities, where it is accessible to get to their homesteads. Actually, we should cater for everyone in this country. Every road should be accessible, they should be maintained and be in good shape.
HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA: I would like to thank the Minister. I praised him before and I will continue to praise this Minister. I am not referring to the urban areas. The roads I am referring to are those in the rural areas. Allow me to praise the Minister of Transport for the good job that he is doing. That is why he is coming to this House and that is why he is coming back because he is not embarrassed to come to this House. His works are visible. We can see what he is doing. He is performing very well, he is very confident. All things are moving. We are seeing tarred roads being resurfaced; a lot of work has been done but when you leave tarred roads coming to the rural areas, on the other part of the country, there is still a story to tell.
I am from Masvingo District, for me to claim that there is a road in the rural areas being maintained or resurfaced, there is nothing like that. I have never seen such things happening in the rural areas. This is why I brought a supplementary question. That is why I asked - is there a corresponding rehabilitation maintenance programme for these roads in the rural areas? May be we may talk of DDF, they are responsible for roads in rural areas. May be we may get detailed information to say money was disbursed for people to resume work instead because they may not have channeled that money towards that particular area.
*HON. MHONA: Thank you very much Hon. President. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira for the question that he asked. It is true what he said. Our roads in the rural areas are dilapidated, they are in a shambolic state and it is true that we need to take action to see to it that these roads are fixed. I would like to inform this House that each and every stage we will come to inform this House to say, we will go down to the council, do our oversight as a Ministry to say money was disbursed to you, why are you not embarking on road resurfacing. I would like to promise you Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira that we will not stop until we get to that stage. I think you will come back next to say we see people working on our roads in the community.
(v)HON. SEN. KALIPANI: Thank you Mr. President. Yesterday in the National Assembly, I heard the Minister saying how many thousands kilometers of roads network need to be done. My question is, of that number of kilometers, how many of them have been rehabilitated and how many are outstanding? What are the benchmarks, if he can tell us, by this period, we expect we would have done so much? My second question will then be directed to the Minister of Local Government. It is the same question but I will be referring to local road network? Thank you Mr. President.
HON. MHONA: Thank you Mr. President Sir. Let me also thank Hon. Sen. Kalipani for that very important question. Mr. President Sir, the question that has been posed by the Hon. Senator requires detailed information. With your indulgence, I can actually go through, fortunately, I have got the figures and I will just go through the numbers but under normal circumstances, if it would have been a written question, it was going to have much detail.
I will just go through - road authorities have managed to reseal and overlay about 110 km. Construction, reconstruction and rehabilitation is now at 70 km while 370 km or the road has been graveled and re-graveled. A total of 2 171 km of road have been graded so that it becomes trafficable. Further, 144 drainage structures have been repaired and constructed. Bush clearing has been achieved to the tune of 1 315 km and a total 2 390 of road has been pothole-patched. So I thought I would just give in a nutshell. If it comes to Harare-Beitbridge Road, we are on 303 km that has been reconstructed. I thank you.
HON. SEN. DR. MAVETERA: Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to the Deputy Minister of Finance. Recently, there was a directive by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to the effect that it had actually frozen all lending activities to members of the corporate world and individuals. My question to the Minister is, for how long is that directive going to be in place and what is the rationale for that policy directive because what we got was to try and curb those who are involved in illicit black market activities? I am sure the banking sector has got all the accounts of those people. We have had several times where there are threats of ‘I will shame you’ but this has never happened. How this policy directive has actually frozen all economic activities in the country because there is no country which can operate when there are no activities on the banking sector and sadly Mr. President, taking into account…
THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE (HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA): Order Hon. Senator, please conclude, it is a question not a statement.
HON. SEN. DR. MAVETERA: Thank you Mr. President, I was just about to conclude. Hon. Minister, we want to know how this policy works with the current thrust of the country for making Zimbabwe achieve its mission in 2030 when we freeze all economic activities coming from the people who are supposed to spearhead it.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. CHIDUWA): Thank you Mr. President and I thank Hon. Sen. Dr. Mavetera for the question. This question is coming at a time when we are trying to build our country in line with vision 2030 as you correctly said; vision 2030 we are implementing in the form of programmes and currently we are at NDS1. One of the critical pillars of NDS1is moving the economy up the value chain system which is the pillar on production following the pronouncements by the President. The President has been very clear and explicit that in order to build this country it is going to be done based on production. The growth of this country is going to be buttressed by production. What we have seen of late is a country that is being destroyed by speculation, a country that is being destroyed by speculative attacks on our currency and the President is empowered by the Exchange Control Act to provide direction in terms of how we should manage our currency.
I have had quite a lot in terms of, some saying it was illegal for the pronouncement to be done as they were against the Banking Act but the Exchange Control Act actually provides for His Excellency the President to give that direction and why have we done that. We want to come up with a new lending framework. That lending framework is going to provide a direction to the institutions to lend based on production. What we are looking for is production, production and production. If you check what has been happening, we have seen cases where borrowings have been done for people to go and participate in the stock market. Borrowings have been done for people to go and buy and sell foreign currency. This is not going to build our country. So the long and short of it is, we are sanitizing the illegalities that are happening. It might affect everyone but what we are working on now is a framework.
We have spoken to the banking sector, we have dialogued with what, we want is lending that is focused on production and they have understood. These measures are just for us to come up with that framework to ensure that lending is going to be targeted towards production. So this is going to be a short term measure, we are finalizing the framework and very soon I may not be able to give you the timeframe but this is going to be very short term, we are finalizing and we will be back to normality. This is where we are Hon. Senator. I thank you.
HON. SEN. KOMICHI: Thank you Hon. Deputy Minister. Yes you said this is going to be a short term measure but have you considered the negative impact that this policy has on macro finance since macro finances the borrowing and lending of monies is their core-business. Have you considered again that most of our civil servants earn 30 000RTGs and less yet school fees are now in the range of 9000RTGS? Most of the civil servants have actually been paying fees for their children using these macro finances monies. Other ailing companies which are the majority in Zimbabwe have been running their business on overdraft, have you considered that because there it is going to be more disastrous than the good intention that we have and is this really a solution to our economic challenges. I thank you so much.
HON. CHIDUWA: Thank you Hon. Sen. Komichi for the follow up question and the issues that you have brought out in terms of the existing structures that have been there and if you managed to go through the provisions as has been provided. We have said in cases where an existing arrangement was there, overdraft facility and loan facility, if the arrangement was there and if an application has been done already and a commitment fee done, those are going to be honoured. I think in terms of how we have approached the whole thing, we are sensitive to all the cases that you have mentioned. Where there is no clarity in terms of the application that has been done, the Reserve Bank is open. We have said we are also going to look at all the cases on a case by case basis but otherwise we are sensitive to the plight of our workers and we are sensitive to the plight of the companies and on a case by case basis we are going to consider those cases if there are any. I thank you.
THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Sorry we still have Hon. Sen. N. Khumalo, Hon. Sen. Chimbuzi, Hon. Sen. Chief Chikwaka, Hon. Sen. Hungwe and Hon. Sen. Chirongoma. In terms of time there should be some other mechanisms. We can now proceed.
+HON. SEN. KHUMALO: My question is directed to the Minister of Transport. Following up on the promise he made in this House that he was going to take some of the work from council and repair the roads, nothing has happened. The roads in the towns are in a terrible state. May the Minister make another promise and state when they are going to start rehabilitating the roads?
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Let me thank Hon. Sen. Khumalo for that very important question. The Minister of Transport superintends over other three road authorities; local authorities, rural district councils and the District Development Fund, and under its purview, there is the department of roads. It is true because of the declaration of the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme, some of the councils, if not most of them, were not rehabilitating their roads and the Ministry of Transport had to go and start rehabilitating. I can confirm to this narrative that we are coming to take over the roads, which is precisely what is happening.
Let me give an example of City of Harare where we have taken over 40 roads that were supposed to be under the purview of City of Harare and we have taken over as a Ministry to demonstrate that when we said we are coming to take over the roads, it is exactly what we are doing. So if you go deeper to other city councils, you will see that the Minister of Transport has taken over roads. It might not be at the accelerated pace that Hon. Sen. Khumalo is anticipating but we must thank the Second Republic that we have started the process of rehabilitating roads that were neglected for years.
We are doing it Mr. President and I want to assure Hon. Sen. Khumalo that if you have such roads, let us share and make sure that we continue rehabilitating those roads. We might not be in a position to do the entire city but we have started and we will continue on that trajectory.
Time for Questions Without Notice having expired
HON. SEN. CHIEF CHIKWAKA: I move that time for Questions Without Notice be extended by a further twenty (20) minutes. We want to make use of the Hon. Ministers who are always loyal to this House, otherwise for most of the Questions With Notice, the Ministers are not around. Thank you.
HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHIKWAKA: My question is directed to the Minister of Energy and Power Development. What is the policy regarding transformers? If you buy one and it is installed, the transformer automatically becomes the property of ZESA. The challenge that we then have is what is the Ministry’s plan to look after the transformers because it is their responsibility. In line with vandalisms, what plans do they have to look after those transformers in the remote areas so that they are not vandalised because right now farmers are busy planting and if we do not have electricity, it will hamper the progress we have made in getting electricity. What plans do they have to look after these transformers because if they are stolen, they take a lot of time to replace them?
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. MUDYIWA): I thank the Hon. Senator for his pertinent question which comes at the right time. The question is in two or three parts. Firstly, he is asking about the transformers that are bought by people which automatically become the property of ZESA and what plans we have as ZESA to look after those transformers. If people come together and buy a transformer, they are given specifications by ZESA and ZESA officials inspect the transformer and also install it. So, if it has been installed by ZESA then automatically it becomes the property of ZESA and they are the ones who are supposed to maintain, look or replace after it has been vandalised.
The problem of vandalism which has been referred to by the Hon. Chief is a challenge that we are seized with. As ZESA, we are doing our level best to look after the transformers but firstly, there are so many transformers in the country. We are looking at ways in which we can protect those transformers. For now, we are only able to put some reinforcement on the transformers so that those who want to vandalise will find it difficult to do so.
Secondly, we say when a transformer has been installed at a certain place, it is our responsibility as ZESA and also the users to help each other to look after the transformer. As users, you can come up with vigilante groups such as neighbourhood watch groups who will protect the transformers from vandalism because if the transformers are vandalised, you will also have a challenge in getting electricity. As ZESA, it will be a loss because we will have to replace that transformer and it is a cost to us to replace the transformer which hampers the work of ZESA. I think we should unite and work together to protect those transformers.
We also have a Bill which has been talked about, the Electricity Amendment Bill which is trying to criminalise vandalism and gives stiffer penalties for the perpetrators. Those are some of the measures that are in place so that we deter vandalism. In short, we work together as the public and ZESA to look after the transformers. As ZESA, we do what we can in the form of reinforcing the transformers and the other things we are doing which are of national security. There is a lot which is happening to make it difficult for people to vandalise transformers.
Coming to the second question, pertaining to the assurance of electricity to wheat farmers, we are trying by all means to make sure that electricity is available. I think if you have noticed, we have lowered the load shedding. Yes, electricity that is coming from Hwange Thermal stations, other subsidiary thermal stations, IPP’s and solar plants is not sufficient. However, we are importing some from Mozambique and South Africa.
On top of that, we are encouraging a lot of people to come up with solar energy power in various places which we refer to as IPPs. We are using the national renewable policy that those who are able should approach our offices and then we can help each other so that they can put solar energy in place, be it for domestic use or for farming purposes.
If someone has installed solar for domestic use, if they have access, we have what we call net metering whereby we put smart meters so that the excess energy will be channeled to the ZESA cables then they will be used and paid for. Therefore, we agree on the paying terms in units because we do not have money but we are encouraging that we will raise the amount of ZESA that we generate.
There are a lot of things that we are engaged in; we have the Hwange Power Expansion Project where we are building two new projects which are about 85% complete now. The other one, Unit 7 should be commissioned before year end and it gives us 300 mega watts which will go into the national grid. So, these are the major projects at hand so that we have a lot of electricity.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHIKWAKA: Thank you Hon. Minister for the answer which shows that the Government is the owner of transformers. However, is it the Government or their department of ZESA that has a policy that when the transformers have been stolen, they say they will not replace transformers unless consumers have reinforced the places? So, is that a Government policy or it is just an opinion of someone who is putting their own laws.
*HON. MUDYIWA: Thank you Mr. President. It is not Government policy. The policy is that when a transformer has been vandalised, ZESA is supposed to replace the transformer at no cost to the consumers. What he is alluding to, we have never heard about it, however, if you come across such, kindly alert us.
HON. SEN. DR. MAVETERA: My supplementary question to the Hon. Minister is that most of the people who are stealing these transformers are actually selling them to companies that will resell those transformers. So, it seems there is a ready market for that, therefore what is the Government doing to ensure that those transformers that are being stolen cannot be recycled and sold back in the market because there are a lot of new companies that are coming up that are very questionable.
*HON. MUDYIWA: The policy is that transformers will have secret markings so that they can be identified in cases where there will be thefts that have taken place. When those transformers are sold to ZESA, ZESA will inspect and check for those secret markings. If it is discovered, that will become a case to the people selling. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development who is very capable and good at his job. What is Government policy with regards to teaching the public not to mine for gold under bridges so that they do not disturb the infrastructure that is important to the development of our country? I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Mr. President. It is true and we are very much worried about people who are so much engaged in corruption and taking this country to ransom by destroying infrastructure such as railway lines or roads.
We realise that there is illicit mining taking place and I would like to appreciate that the Minister of Energy and Power Development is talking about deterrent legislation for those who sabotage infrastructure.
Yes indeed, the country being led by His Excellency, E.D Mnangagwa, is working very much on infrastructure and yet we realise that there are a lot of saboteurs disturbing this development. So, yes there are people who are involved in illicit mining and undermining this project. So, this infrastructure that is being worked on is meant for the benefit of this country. No one else will help us but we need to develop our own country. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. SIPANI-HUNGWE: Thank you Hon. President. My question is directed to the Minister of Local Government and Public Works. If you go to high density suburbs there is too much litter that is encroaching onto the roads. Since they are the ones who are responsible for local authorities, what are they saying about litter that is flooding the roads which is a result of local authorities not collecting garbage, especially in major cities like Harare? The City Council is not taking away garbage, what are they saying about that?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. CHOMBO): Thank you Mr. President. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Hungwe for the pertinent question. It is true especially in the high density suburbs. There is a lot of garbage and as Government was seeing that, you will notice that the President, His Excellency E. D. Mnangagwa declared a clean-up campaign because he realised that things are not good. In towns there is a lot of garbage. They do not have vehicles to collect litter. Most of their vehicles are old but now they have resumed that effort. If you look at the City of Harare, recently they got three contractors that they will be using to collect litter. If you see what is happening right now, you will notice that they are purchasing or ordering those vehicles mostly using devolution funds.
The other thing is that litter is too much these days and it is not easily degradable. So it is also contributing to the high volumes of litter and as Government, we are also looking at what we can do. That is why Government has approved the Pomona Project because we are intensifying the efforts to make use of the litter to our benefit and to ensure that the towns are clean. We also notice that for people to work properly, they need monitoring. We have also introduced performance management system contracts. The President oversaw those contracts being applied first to ministers.
For us to be able to oversee that our subordinates are doing that, we also undergo that and we will ensure that they also sign those performance related contracts. Recently, we ensured that they sign those performance based contracts. One of the requirements is that they have to ensure that they keep their towns clean. We will realise that the devolution funds will be used to purchase those contractors or vehicles that are meant to collect garbage. The other thing will be that in order for people to remain in place, they have to sign those performance based contracts.
*HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to the Minister of Energy and Power Development. We have a challenge in the rural areas. During the rainy season, the poles fall down. Now there are about two poles and it will take up to two or three months without being rectified and they will be along the highway. What is Government policy? Secondly, there is a place where you have lines but there are no transformers. Are you not attracting thieves by doing that?
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. MUDYIWA): Thank you Mr. President and thank you Hon. Sen. for your question. The first answer of falling electricity poles is a challenge and the policy says that when electricity poles fall, ZESA should be swift in rectifying the challenge, but the challenges they are facing are that of resourcing for them to take action quickly. Probably they do not have the money to buy the poles and secondly, transport is also a challenge. We want to end that challenge so that we will not have wood poles but we will have concrete poles which are not affected by the rains.
If you remember very well, long back we had concrete poles and we did not have problems of poles falling and so that one should be attended to quickly. Secondly, what happens in the rural areas is that electricity only reaches a certain place and it takes long for it to get to homesteads. REA which is responsible for rural electrification, it is supposed to install even the transformers. There was a challenge that when they get there, they would leave it like that, without connecting to the homesteads. We have gone past that because now REA is mandated to install electricity, they are supposed to leave it working especially at schools or hospitals. It was just a question of handover because REA after putting the infrastructure, would leave it to ZTD - but we have since rectified that. When REA installs electricity, they should leave it functioning. Thank you.
*HON. SEN. MUZENDA: My question is directed to the Ministry of Local Government. It is about the ZUPCO buses that we see grounded in several places. What is Government policy on that? When these new buses come, are they going to be dumped in deports without being repaired like what we are seeing happening right now? I thank you.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. CHOMBO): I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Muzenda for the question. Yes, I concur with the Senator that most of the ZUPCO buses are currently grounded in various ZUPCO deports. We have some buses which we bought in early agreements, we did not have service kits so we could not repair them but for some of them, we have since ordered spare parts for them. The buses that we ordered the past two years, we also ordered kits for them. So, we have since realised that it is better for us to order these buses as kits so that we assemble them here.
Right now, if you saw on television last week, we have since ordered those kits that have arrived in Durban and they will be assembled by the local engineers so that we are able to maintain them. I thank you.
Questions Without Notice were interrupted by THE HON. TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in terms of Standing Order No. 67.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE
CONTRIBUTIONS BY DIASPORIANS TO THE FISCUS
- HON. CHIMBUDZI asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade to update the House on Government policy regarding contributions by diasporians to the fiscus.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. DR. MUSABAYANA): I would like to thank the Hon. Senator for raising that very important question. I am happy to point out that in the Second Republic, our desire is to engage the Zimbabwean diaspora so that it can fully contribute to the development of the country through accessing investment opportunities and providing their skills to key sectors of the economy.
It is important that the full potential of our nationals abroad is marshaled so that they fully participate in the economic recovery of their homeland and assist the country in attaining an Upper Middle-Income Economy by 2030. I am very pleased to inform you that now at the Ministry, we have a Diaspora Department which deals specifically with our Diaspora.
As Government, we are aware that Zimbabwe’s diaspora possesses skills, resources, market intelligence and networks which can transform their migration to a lasting economic “dividend” for the country. This can assist the country to achieve higher levels of economic growth, accompanied by reduced poverty levels. Among other dividends reaped from diaspora contribution are diaspora remittances, which have consistently been the second highest foreign currency earner in the country during the past three years. There has been an upward trajectory in diaspora remittances inflows amounting to USD1,430.14 billion in 2021, representing a 42.7% increase from the previous year.
As part of implementing Government’s thrust towards economic diplomacy with Diaspora engagement as a key pillar, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and our Missions abroad have been utilising engagement meetings not only to build trust and confidence but to highlight the areas open for Diaspora participation in the nation’s development. In addition, His Excellency the President, Cde Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa has made it a norm to create time out of his programme and engage with Zimbabweans living in the Diaspora whenever he goes outside the country on State and official visits.
To speed up Diaspora investment applications Government has created a Diaspora One-Stop Facility within the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA). The move is aimed at removing bottlenecks that Zimbabweans in the Diaspora might face as they try to be part of the developmental processes within the country. Efforts are also currently underway to have the Diaspora policy document reviewed. The Zimbabwe Diaspora Policy creates a platform for engaging the diaspora community and also establishes the necessary inclusive institutions for co-ordination and proper administration of diaspora issues.
In order to address critical policy issues, that hinder our diaspora contribution towards the transformation of the country, Cabinet is in the process of setting up a Diaspora Cabinet Committee that will be chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Hon. Dr. Shava and deputised by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development Hon. Prof. Ncube as well as a Diaspora Working Party Officials. The two institutional arrangements are being created at the highest level of Government to ensure all policy concerns by the Zimbabwe Diaspora are addressed and if need be, statutes are amended in order to create a conducive environment for the diaspora to actively participate.
Previously, Government’s thrust was to stem the flow of migration to minimise the negative impact of the resultant brain drain on the economy. Previously, Government’s thrust was to stem the flow of migration to minimize the negative impact of the resultant brain drain on the economy while at the same time seeking to maximize the benefit from those of our nationals who had gone abroad and were unlikely to return. However, Government’s focus is growing wider as we seek to promote migration governance in the country and expand the participation of the diaspora in the national development process. I submit.
FORMULATION OF BUDGETS BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES
- HON. SEN. TONGOGARA asked the Minister of Local Government and Public Works to inform the House the procedure that the local authorities use to formulate their budgets.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. CHOMBO): The following are procedures that are used by local authorities to formulate their budgets:-
Section 305 (e) of the Constitution, the Public Finance Management Act Section 47, the Rural District Council (RDC) Act [Chapter 29:13] Section 121, Urban Councils Act [Chapter 29:15] Section 288 and council by-laws and other relevant Acts provide that public entities in each financial year prepare estimates of revenues and expenditures;
Treasury produces a budget call circular, budget strategy paper and macro fiscal expenditure framework which is then extracted by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works to local authorities for them to prepare their annual budgets;
National strategic documents, policies, regional and international policy documents, et cetera are used to inform the budgeting process;
Devolution as well as Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) figures are extracted from the Blue Book;
Local authorities are mandated to consult stakeholders within their jurisdictions;
The Finance Committee presents the consolidated budget to full council for adoption which then is sent to the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works for approval; and
After approval, the local authority implements the budget. The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works has a role to monitor the implementation of the budget.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Why is that councils raise their rates after every month or two? Do you approve of that?
HON. CHOMBO: What happens is that when they have formulated the budget and we have approved it, there are some macro-economic fundamentals in the economy which then necessitate them to request for additional budgeting and we call that supplementary budget. They construct at their local authority level and then they bring it to us as the Ministry. I thank you.
NUMBER OF MALE AND FEMALE OFFICERS IN CHARGE
12 HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI asked the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage to inform the House the number of female and male officers in charge that are present in the police force in the country.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. DR. MUSABAYANA): I wish to thank the Hon Senator for the question and state that there are 887 officers in charge in the Zimbabwe Republic Police. Of these, 704 are males and 183 are females. I would like to also add that these officers are in charge of police stations and sections across the country.
Questions with Notice were interrupted by THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in terms of Standing Order No. 67.
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I want to be guided Mr. President. I wanted to find out from you since the beginning of the Senate, we indicated that Ministers be communicated to because of their non-attendance. As I was looking at the Order Paper, we have some questions which are seven months old not having been answered. So, I was asking your good offices to say when we write the letters, could we please stress to the Ministers especially the Minister of Agriculture, Lands and Rural Resettlement to come and answer some of those questions. Honestly, if it is going to take us seven months to be answering questions, that is very pathetic. I thank you.
THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you for that intervention. I am here supported by the secretariat in front of me and I believe they are also taking note in writing that Senate has directed them through the Office of the Clerk to have something written to this Chamber on Thursday next week or at the appropriate time about what has been done with regard to the issues of non-availability of Ministers to answer Questions without Notice and also non-availability of Ministers to answer Questions with Notice of which some of the questions are from last year. I thank you.
On the motion of THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. MUSABAYANA), the Senate adjourned at Twenty Minutes past Four o’clock, until Tuesday, 17th May, 2022.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday 11th May, 2022
The Senate met at Half-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 6 on today’s Order Paper be stood over until Order of the Day Number 7 has been disposed of.
MOTION
SCHEMES TO REDEEM THE NATIONAL HERD FROM DEVASTATING AND DESTRUCTIVE EFFECTS OF DROUGHT
HON. SEN. A. DUBE: I move the motion standing in my name that;;
CONSCIOUS of the destructive impact of drought on our national herd in the dry regions of the country;
-of the large numbers of cattle that have perished in the past and those likely to face the same fate under similar conditions this year as already evidenced by the massive wilting of crops in the dry regions of the country;
This House strongly urges Government to:-
- Urgently design and implement practical schemes to redeem the national herd from the devastating and destructive effects of drought; and
- Urgently comes up with mitigatory measures such as winter cropping and drought relief programmes which will alleviate the impact of drought in all affected areas of the country.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I second.
HON. SEN. A. DUBE: Thank you Madam President for giving me the opportunity to move my motion which is particularly on the drought we are facing this year. It seems there is going to be drought throughout all the districts. We had rains but when people started to do their farming, the rains ceased. The crops were very much affected and a lot of them wilted.
We realised that there will be a serious hunger throughout the country. Dams have no water, particularly those areas in the region where people depend on livestock. Last year in that region, a lot of livestock were lost. As a result of the looming draught, it is likely that the livestock will die again, whereas people in the rural areas depend on those livestock to pay school fees and when there is a drought like this, they usually sell livestock in order to buy food commodities elsewhere.
All places around the country are dry and they are affected by draught. The livestock we have right now are not dipped and they are affected by those common diseases. People are no longer taking cattle to dip tanks because of non-availability of chemicals.
When we look at the current situation, people are desperate almost everywhere because of this drought. As such, because of this drought, criminality and other dubious behaviours will thrive. A hungry person can do anything so that food can be put on the table. Therefore, if measures can be put in place to help the rural communities cope with the prevailing drought.
Of course, the NGO’s help us; however, sometimes they use that food to divide the people in the community. They change their mandate and end up engaging in politics. People will end up not appreciating their assistance because of their involvement in politics. Yes, they help during these difficult times of drought but they should be vetted properly whether they are the right people to give assistance during these hard times. There is need to put in place terms and conditions of service.
We have some dams which need to be de-silted, even though we have some rains but these dams will not have sufficient water because they are silted. When there is hunger, it is important that people have access to potable water for domestic use and livestock.
This year, there is going to be a lot of challenges, even water is going to be a problem. The rains have been away for a long time, so, for us to get to the next season, people are going to suffer. In most communities, people are suffering because of hunger.
Traditional grains in region 5 used to help in alleviating hunger in time of drought. Now, this year, because the rains ceased, even the traditional grains were adversely affected. Government should therefore help to conserve the few livestock available by taking these livestock to dip tanks. I remember sometime last year, a farmer lost 22 beasts and they were affected by storm thereafter. Such domestic animals are our assets. When there is a drought, these beasts are sold and people source food elsewhere. Government should see to it that we have irrigation all over the country.
We commend the President for coming up with irrigation systems. In Lupane, he opened irrigation there and that irrigation has about 400 families so that they can realise something to live on. If all places can have irrigation schemes, that will alleviate the situation of droughts. If irrigations could be resuscitated everywhere and people be conscientised on winter cropping so that they can do the winter crops, maybe we may reach another season where we will farm again properly.
We realise that maybe next year we will have some rains but we are looking forward to our Government to intervene this year. Programmes like drought could be brought back so that people can access food. It is necessary for that food to be given to the needy ones and that food should be distributed to the actual beneficiaries so that people can be helped this year.
I have said before Madam President, that during drought or hunger, and as a result of these droughts, criminality thrives. It baffles the mind that each time when we go for elections, we have these droughts. The Government should help the people. We are happy because the President says no one shall die of hunger. He is aware that hunger is there with the people. Whatever he will put in place, we request that it be done properly and go to the needy people. If a hungry person is given instruction, he will comply even though it is not clear as to what exactly the instruction is for.
We request therefore for Government to intervene because there are fears of drought in the communities because as we talk, people are hungry. Whatever little they get, sometimes they want to buy ten kilogrammes of mealie-meal which goes for ZWL2 000. Prices are being increased and it affects people psychologically and in such scenarios, disputes thrive and people find no place for respite. We know that the President promised that no one would die of hunger and we request that relief food be distributed accordingly and properly so that it benefits everyone because everyone is affected by this drought. It knows no religion. I thank you Madam President.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: Thank you Madam President for giving me the opportunity to second the motion brought to this august House by Hon. Sen. Dube. Cattle play an important role in our society and in our well-being. Long ago, rich men were identified by the number of cattle they had or a big herd of cattle. When we grew up, our fathers were telling us that most of the mothers we see today, lobola was paid using cattle. Hon. Sen. Dube has said that it is important to preserve the national herd and I agree with her because in our society, we sell cattle to pay school fees for our kids and to plough our fields.
We can even sell cattle to buy some farming implements, seeds or fertilizer. I agree with her sentiments that we must design and implement practical schemes to serve the national herd from the effects of drought. We will urgently need some supplementary feeding for our cattle and some vaccines to serve them from various diseases. I know that our listening President will introduce various schemes to assist various communities to preserve and serve the national herd from perishing. A lot has been said by the mover of the motion, not forgetting that we used to get the much needed foreign currency from the sale of our meat to the European Union and other countries before sanctions were imposed on our beautiful country Zimbabwe. With these few words, I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity.
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to add my views on this important motion that talks about drought. We know that drought is a very bad thing that brings diseases into the country. It leads to death of livestock, it also destroys the economy of the country.
I would like to applaud the new dispensation that in this country even if we face drought, Government manages to fend food for the people to survive, even if that may lead to disturbances of progress with regards to other projects such as roads, schools, clinics or bridge construction. Such projects are usually suspended when there is a drought so that resources are channeled to sourcing food. Just like what Hon. Sen. Dube alluded to, indeed we need a lot of dams in this country because drought has taught us that if we do not have adequate dams, we will not be able to fend for our people by providing enough food.
I would like to applaud the New Dispensation led by President E. D. Mnangagwa because if we look at this country, he saw that long time ago that drought caused by climate change is supposed to be planned for well in advance for its mitigation which is exactly what is happening. When it comes to dams - as we speak in Mount Darwin there is Semwa Dam. It is a very huge dam, we have not seen such a dam before. Mazowe dam is actually multiplied by two. This will help Mount Darwin as well as Rushinga to provide water for irrigation as well as other uses. We would like to thank the Government that in those districts there are committees that deal with droughts. Towards harvesting time, those committees go around the fields to assess potential yields and then they present those reports to Government stating the situation with regards to expected yields so that Government plans properly.
Mr. President, I realised that in places like Zambezi Valley, places like Guruve and Muzarabani where crops do not grow properly, Government usually encourages people to grow small grains. Yes, those were crops grown traditionally but the current generation does not like to grow those crops, they want to grow maize yet Zambezi Valley is good for crops like sorghum and millet. It is very important because those are drought tolerant crops, they can grow well in those areas. People should be encouraged to grow those crops and if they do not want to consume those crops they can go to the GMB to exchange such crops and get maize instead.
Mr. President, let me say leading hungry people is very difficult because it leads to a lot of chaos and violence but I would like to applaud the Government because no one has died of hunger. I would like to applaud the Government for taking the role especially with regards to drought mitigation. Indeed, livestock has not survived during time of drought because pastures may not grow well. Indeed, like what Hon. Sen. Dube alluded to, livestock is essential for farmers because even for us as women, for lobola we want quite a good herd of cattle such as 15 but because of drought we rarely get herds of that magnitude, we just receive few US dollars. With those few words, I thank you.
^^HON. SEN. MALULEKE: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to this motion. I want to thank Hon. Sen. Dube for raising a pertinent motion. We know that there are some areas we are harvesting very well but in some areas there is drought because of erratic rainfall especially in regions 5 and 6. I also thank the President of our country, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa because he makes plans for all areas and there is no one who dies because of hunger.
On the issue of drought facing the country, I plead with those responsible on issues of climate change to look at our area in Chikombedzi to come and study the weather pattern and help the locals to know how to tackle certain situations. I plead with the Ministry of Lands to work with the communities in fighting drought.
Long ago people used to look for wealth before one married her daughter to a certain family. It was not possible to allow your child to get married to a family without livestock because your child would suffer from hunger. In the recent years they believed that a proper homestead must have livestock. We lost a lot of livestock due to diseases and lack of food. We plead with non-governmental organizations to help with livestock feeds. Our Government will help by providing food to its people. We would like to thank our Government for sending drought relief food to all people in the country. When the Government provides food, may the traditional leadership sit down and make sure that everyone receives food without living anyone out. Our President is not selective, he wants everyone to benefit. I plead with the Government to swiftly intervene in our area. There is not even grass for livestock, hence both humans and livestock are suffering. May the Meteorological Department try by all means to give us the correct weather forecast? This year they said rains will end in April, hence we continued planting but the rains ended in January. As a result, we lost a lot of inputs. May the relevant ministries help us on this issue?
The second issue Mr. President, may those who are responsible for distributing farming inputs give us the small grain seed which is red in colour because they are not affected by birds? The white ones are destroyed by the birds. We are at the boundaries. There is a law which says we must not kill these birds but they are destroying our grains and at the end of the day we harvest nothing regardless of the hectares.
The relevant ministries must consult us the locals on the types of small grain seeds which we want before distributing because we know which type perform well in our area. They must consult. In some provinces they are not affected by birds but in our province Masvingo, there are many birds which devour the small grains. Finger millet or mashia are heavily affected by the birds.
In Masvingo, there is drought we did not harvest anything. Our President is very clever and considerate, because under his leadership he managed to build Tokwe-Mukorsi Dam but the dam is supplying water to the commercial farmers. I pray that the rural councils do construct small dams for irrigation in the rural areas so that we mitigate drought and venture into irrigation and planting crops which are short season varieties such as cow peas, beans and other short variety season crops. Tokwe-Mukosi should continue to supply water to commercial farmers who are farming cotton and sugar cane. In addition to that, the dam is very far away from our rural homes.
Mr. President, we have a challenge of mealie-meal in our rural areas. The price is too high and we have very big families. A 10kg packet of mealie meal can only last one meal because of the size of our families. That packet cost around Z$2000 to Z$4000. People do not get that amount of money. In the past, they used to sell their livestock so that they can buy food but right now the situation is different because our livestock died because of drought. I want to plead with shop owners and those who are responsible for pricing and Anti-Corruption Commission to come to our rural areas and help us to solve this issue. Things are very expensive Mr. President. I also thank the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, His Excellency Dr. E.D Mnangagwa because he encourages us to be united and build our country. That is the only solution to end all the troubles the country is facing right now. May Government help us on the issue of prices? Thank you Mr. President for according me this opportunity to add my voice on the motion raised by Hon. Sen. Dube.
+HON. SEN. N. KHUMALO: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to debate this very important motion moved by Hon. Sen. Dube. This year’s drought is severe. It has caused destruction in the fields. People out there will die of hunger. People are hungry right now. They have been to Chiadzwa and in that community, the people are angry because of the hunger. When people are hungry, what will happen thereafter? A hungry person is capable of doing anything in order to put food on the table. This hunger will cause criminality to thrive and people will kill each other for food.
What should happen in this country is that those who know about climate should work. Relevant technology is needed to help them to come up with the right data. Evidence abounds that there is climate change and there is need for us to move with the times. People used to plough around November/December but we now need to use those machines or technology to change the farming season. This year there was a delay to the start of the rainy season. When the rains came, the crops were already stressed. With the right technology, they would alert the people about what was going to transpire so that they can engage in dry planting so that when the rains come, they would be a step ahead. Unless we do such things, people will die of hunger.
The national silos should be stocked with food. Right now I do not think that the silos have anything. If there is nothing in those silos, Government should raise resources and buy the necessary grains for the people. Even if we have diamonds and gold, we do not see the foreign currency that is realised from the sale of those minerals. Government should ensure that everyone has enough food. In the past, we had criminals abusing food relief programme by denying some people food who do not belong to a certain party. We need to look after everyone equally, whether rich or poor. The people did not realise anything from their crops or domestic animals. Government should encourage people to sell part of their domestic animals to buy food to feed the other beasts so that they can live. Many people do not want to part with their beasts, they would rather leave that beast even when it is severely ill and try to resuscitate it. People need to be conscientised for them to understand the benefit of selling one beast in order to buy food for the other remainder of the beasts for conservation purposes. With those few words, I thank you.
*HON. SEN. SHUMBA: Thank you Hon. President for according me this opportunity to add my voice to this motion about hunger. There is hunger for every living thing, which means the whole country is affected by hunger. I want to thank him because there is hunger in the whole country, not only in certain regions. This year is a year of drought because as we move around, we find that most areas have been affected by drought. If you look at the fields, you will feel sorry as we do not know how our animals are going to survive because we do not have piles of stock feed.
People can keep on referring to what the Government should do. Our Government has a lot of work. The President said that no one should die of hunger because our granaries are full but the challenge is that we run short of money because the grain will be sold in USD yet we do not have the USD in Zimbabwe. What really excites me is that during the year of drought, the Lord is very faithful. He can bring up things which people can survive on. I remember the other year when we were in Mberengwa, there was drought but that year you would find people picking money even in ashes or on river beds. So, no one died of hunger because the Lord is faithful. He is there and he will give us. However, we are all required to do something. We should not just look up to Government to provide for us but we should gather the little that we have, it can help us.
Yes, there is climate change but some of us are crying about climate change and others did not even plough. They did not go into the fields because they thought that they would buy. When we have rains, we should make use of it, no matter what time we get the rains. Some suggested that if we come up with irrigations we can have good yields but we can also drill boreholes so that we set up irrigations. It is not only dams where we find irrigation schemes. Like where I come from in Mwenezi, we did not have two successive years of bumper harvest, we always experience little rainfall. So people are now clever. When we get good rains, we make use of the good rains and harvest those rains. We should not always look up to Government when there is drought. These days Government has introduced that we should even farm stock feeds which do not require a lot of rains. So, we should wake up and open our minds.
In Mwenezi, we are not surprised by droughts because we are used to them. We farm small grains which are drought resistant. We also grow round nuts because they do very well with little rainfall. A hungry man is always an angry man. So hunger is not good and it is there for sure. There is nothing that we can do. I think we now have to just look up to God so that our leaders are given wisdom on how we should live, without getting money but if the Lord gives wisdom to our leaders, especially those good leaders who listen to their people, they will listen to everyone. We want to thank them because they always say that no one will die of hunger because hunger is bad.
We want our children and grandchildren to get married but if the cows die of hunger, it means there will no longer be anything to pay. We just put this in the hands of the Lord so that he helps and that we have wisdom in order to live in times like these. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF MAKUMBE: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to also debate on this motion by Hon. Sen. A. Dube and seconded by Hon. Sen. Mathuthu. We should be debating on such issues because those refer to our status as human beings. Human beings and animals need food and water. I also would like to add a few words to this motion, we are now approaching winter and we are harvesting our crops. Some people will now start to cause veld fires, some will cut down trees causing deserts and this contributes to lack of rainfall. Sacred places and wetlands are being disrespected, these are very important in our lives and that is why we are now talking about drought.
All the roads leading to Harare, you will find firewood being sold on the road side. That actually shows that we are destroying the country as we watch. We were given this country by God and if we destroy vegetation, it means that we are reducing the chances of getting adequate rainfall. Of course we are growing crops like tobacco, I would like to say as a leader from an area where people grow tobacco, some people have been growing tobacco for more than 10 years and they get seedlings from tobacco companies. So we are destroying our forests, scientists say wind that blows from trees leads to condensation and eventually rainfall but these days all what the wind is blowing is sand that is very uncomfortable when it enters into our eyes.
Let us encourage each other to grow trees so that the country will have all the natural resources. Let us also respect very essential places like wetlands. In the urban areas we see people building houses in wet lands. Sometimes every year people cry foul that water destroyed their homes but most of the times it is because they build those houses in wetlands. That has happened in Mutare and other places.
I noted that most of the times people say that they want Government to do this and that for them but what are we also doing for ourselves? Are we not being unreasonable enough to be cutting down trees and contributing negatives. How many eyes do you expect His Excellency the President to have to monitor each and every situation in this country. Let us play our roles as citizens. Everyday His Excellency the President says let us build our own country. One way to do that is by strengthening vegetation, let us plant enough trees. As Senators, we must be discussing on strengthening legislation that discourages the cutting down of trees. In most of the areas, trees are being cut down. Some of the places where we used to have trees there are no more. We are making sacred places less sacred. Some people of the apostolic sect actually do not have respect for the sacred areas because they perform their rituals in there tying red, black and white pieces of cloths in trees and breaking clay pots all over. All those things are done to lie and instill fear in people so that they pay money to them.
Those are some of the things that lead to famine and this is very bad. Cattle are used in paying lobola and people fined by traditional leaders pay using livestock; most of the time these days people do not have any livestock to pay. Sacred areas where our spirit mediums are buried should be respected but people are not respecting those curves and mountains. We need to respect our culture and abide by our traditional religion to stop drought. We also need to grow trees to increase vegetation and listen to what the Government says so that we progress.
We need to stop back agricultural practices such as stream bank cultivation or making contour ridges because it leads to siltation in a short space of time. People in irrigation, sometimes just use those irrigation schemes for two years and after that they relocate and find other places and the deserted areas are no longer productive. This is a very important motion that I decided to add my voice to because everyone needs adequate food and water to survive.
*HON. SEN. MURONZI: Thank you Mr. President for according me this opportunity to add my voice on this motion by Hon. Sen. A. Dube and her seconder. This year there is hunger. We toured the country as a Joint Committee on SDGs. Mashonaland West was a little bit better in terms of harvest, then we went to Mashonaland right down to Mukumbura it is hunger all over. There is hunger also in Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe, Mutare and Masvingo, you just see dried crops in the fields.
The reason why I stood up is to urge Hon. Senators to go and share with your constituents about farming. We should not give names to the rains that this is bumharutsva, et cetera. Even if we get rains in November you must start ploughing. Not that I am showing off but I have never been affected by hunger because I was taught farming by my father. We used to farm in October and people would laugh at us. In the heat of October, we would put Rapoko on the ground. With farming, you have to be very skillful. Sometimes, some people will still suffer hunger despite good rains because of lack of skills in farming. People will cry looking up to the Government for help. Even this year; do you think the Government will afford to give everyone food? We should not give lands to the rains but we should have different stages of maize at least about 3 stages. For example, this farming season we got our rains towards the end of the season but now I am enjoying green mealies in Macheke at my farm. The harvest was not good but I got something.
We should teach each other good farming methods. What Hon. Sen. Chief Makumbe said is true that people are cutting down trees and that cattle are also dying because of diseases and of lack of dipping services. So I feel sorry for these people because they do not have livestock and at the end of the day, I do not even know how I can assist them.
I stand to say thank you Hon. Sen. Dube for this motion. Yes, there is hunger - I do not know whether the Government is going to be able to feed the whole nation. The Government normally looks after the elderly but the able bodied are supposed to fend for their own food.
Last year we had a good harvest but for some to have money to go and buy the maize is very difficult.
HON. SEN. DUBE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 12th May, 2022.
MOTION
POLICIES THAT ADDRESS AND PLUG LOOPHOLES RELATED TO TAX EVASION
Eighth order read: Adjourned Debate on the motion on policies that address and plug loopholes on tax evasions, illicit financial flows and corruption.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to express my views on this important motion raised by Hon. Sen. Chinake complaining about our wealth which is just depreciating whilst we are not doing anything.
Mr. President, the problem that we have here is that indeed we have a lot of wealth but for us to realise the actual value of that wealth is another thing. We are a blessed nation because we have a lot of mineral wealth as compared to many other countries that do not have a lot of resources.
Some countries have just a few or one resource that they jealously safeguard and utilise adequately to provide enough for that country. However, in this country we have a problem of greediness. Anyone who discovers minerals, people do not want to give value of any mineral discovery to the country but they are personalised by individuals so the country does not benefit at all.
I do not know what measures can be put in place by this august House to ensure that the country is exorcised of that evil spirit of corruption so that people will come to acknowledge and appreciate that the country belongs to everyone. His Excellency, the President said “nyika inovakwa nevene vayo” but when it comes to mineral discoveries, they are personalised and benefit a few. Most of those people who exploit those minerals for their personal gains do not pay taxes and where the minerals are exported to, they benefit those countries whilst we remain in abject poverty.
Corruption has been alluded to in many fora and several times in this august House including those who have spoken well before me. It has been condemned in this country but I do not know what should be done or what can be done to stop this corruption. Should people continue talking about corruption yet nothing is being done about it?
We have heard people being arrested on allegations of corruption but nothing further is done for their prosecution and we do not get feedback on further steps with regards to their prosecution. They are not sentenced and arrested but if people are arrested because of corruption and convicted especially now that we are facing winter, that would deter people. People would understand that corruption is bad and it can lead to prison. As a country, I think we can learn from that. If we do not do that, it will be very difficult for us to see an end to this corruption. It will not end because today we hear that someone was arrested due to corruption but the next day they are out boasting on the streets that they are untouchable.
The other thing that causes that is, people should be scrutinised especially those in higher offices. Those people who boast that they are not being arrested boast that they are strongly linked to people in high offices. Are those people in the high offices above the law? We should be scrutinising such issues if indeed we have the rule of law. The law should apply to everyone regardless of position so that anyone can be prosecuted and arrested and that they serve jail sentences. At least that might be helpful because in this country, the application of the law is very disturbing and upsetting.
I just wonder what really happens – those law enforcement agents who are paid by Government are just wasting Government money because the people they arrest go scot free at the end of the day since there will be people preventing the prosecution of those corrupt people. Those cases just crumble and disappear like dew. So what that means is that those in high offices continuously benefit at the expense of others yet this country was fought for and people died for this country so that everyone may live happily but nothing of that sort is happening.
The poor remain in abject poverty whilst those in higher offices are enjoying and benefitting. They walk scot free even if there will be crimes alleged against them and so we should find a way of ensuring that those people are prosecuted and convicted. As we speak, we had a lot of people who were arrested because they were found with huge sums of money. We saw those bags on television but right now what has happened to that – nothing at all. We heard of cases like former Minister Chombo – that information was made public and it was all over the media. We were told that they had huge sums of money in bags but nothing happened to that, the public was never updated on what happened after they were arrested or found with those huge sums of money.
That could give confidence to the public if only they were updated. Indeed, people went to the houses and discovered hospital beds at the houses whilst patients in hospitals sleep on the floor and this is so disturbing. We are said to be very literate in this country but that is useless because we fail to give solutions to the problems in this country. If only that education could be seen by people in the rural areas or anywhere. When we speak about the liberation struggle that was meant to liberate ordinary people - ordinary people should be happy after being liberated and should be living happily because this country belongs to everyone.
I remember listening to another preacher saying when the Israelites were told that they were leaving Egypt going to Canaan, they expected that when they get to Canaan, they just fold their hands and find milk and honey flowing, but that was not the case. We have a job Mr. President and we need to teach our people that all good things come from hard work. There were people who had gardens for growing crops – indeed all these good farms that we have are the ones that are meant to give benefits to the whole country. The country should be getting sufficient food. The previous speaker referred to the drought prevailing in the country and we saw crops that did not grow properly. Regardless of that drought, we are the ones who are fools because we bring that drought upon ourselves by cutting down all the trees and causing desertification.
When winds come, they just blow away roofs or constructions because there are no barriers as a result of all the trees that have been cut off. Those are the signs that saw that our country is beautiful when we have vegetation but that has been destroyed by greedy people. My final words are that criminals should face the music for their crimes. We should be updated and told on their sentences or given updates on their cases so that they get to be convicted. At least we can get to know how those who have illegally exploited the minerals need to pay for that.
Sometimes on the streets, you see someone with torn clothes and looking very shabby and poor but with new brand new bank notes. Where did that person get that money from? That should be investigated where that person gets all those bank notes from. If people are arrested, they must be convicted, imprisoned and given deterrent sentences. Remember that in this country in the past, people used to steal livestock but when the sentence became deterrent enough, the crimes were reduced. That should happen to corruption cases because everyone should be happy and be able to benefit from the resources that this country is endowed with by God. These are God given resources that are supposed to benefit everyone. I would like to applaud Hon. Sen. Chinake for raising this very important motion. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA: Thank you Mr. President. I also want to add my voice on this motion by Hon. Sen. Chinake which talks about tax evasion, illicit financial fraud and corruption. I was just sitting there observing as the debate was going on and realise that it is a strong debate because it touches a lot of countries. I think when it comes to illicit financial flows, the former President of South Africa, Mr. Mbeki was once given a job to lead the whole of Africa - if you google, it is there. It think it was more than USD50 billion per year which was finding its way out of Africa through illicit financial flows, which means that it is illegal. Mr. President, we are talking of USD50 billion, if you look at how people in Africa suffer, if this money would find its way in Africa I think our hospitals and roads will be in a better state.
It is true that tax invasion is caused by people who are here and then corruption. All this also leads to corruption. Mr. President, I was thinking that through Parliament, when these issues come to this House, before we close them we should come up with a full day workshop before giving final recommendations and then we are educated on how tax evasions take place. We should have the facts and figures of Zimbabwe or the whole of Africa. I think illicit financial fraud is worse than we are debating here. We should call experts who are in this area to Zimbabwe.
On corruption, I was thinking that from 2018 we debated this issue of corruption several times. I do not know how many times it has been debated in this House. I think we should ask Parliament Administration that motions which were brought to this House when we started in 2018, if they come again we should be reminded that in the last Parliament it was brought in by so and so, it was debated and the conclusion was this so that we go to another step. That is why we should go back to our workshops and discuss these issues and find out what new things will come out.
Mr. President, these issues of people saying that they are protected by the big fish and that some people have got connections, it has been debated. So, what is the next stage so that we have value of what we are doing here in Parliament? I am one of them Mr. President who once sat in the Chair, listened to the debates and I said, yes we are just talking but is there any help. It is just like an entertainment. When it is written in the Hansard, it is just a record but the issues will come back. We do not go further with our issues which we will have debated to find out the outcome of the debates.
These are difficult issues but the approach that we want is that we have to break and get more information and then conclude these debates after research because what we want is progress. There are just debates, we talk and talk, we do not know whom we are talking to, we do not know who is listening to rectify the issues. Thank you Mr. President.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you very much Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira for your thought provoking debate. Before I give the floor to Hon. Sen. Rwambiwa, I just want to say that for as long as a motion is brought in a different session, it is admissible but what you are saying is emphasising what we have said before. We have said that when we debate motions here, the relevant Ministers must come and respond to those motions. This actually will enable some action to be taken in that they will be responding to very pertinent issues raised like that of Mr. Mbeki, the former President of South Africa that he produced a very huge dossier which detailed how much Africa is losing through illicit flows, tax invasions and all those illegal means but no action is being taken.
Hon. Members in this House, we have debated so much about corruption and the need to have action taken against the perpetrators. I think it is an issue we must follow up as administration including emphasising the issue of relevant Ministers coming to respond to the Presidential debate and these motions which are being raised by Hon. Members. Thank you for that very good observation.
*HON. SEN. RWAMBIWA: Thank you Mr. President, firstly I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Chinake for raising this motion. He did not do it for his personal benefits but for the benefit of Zimbabwe. As a country, we need to get adequate benefits from the resources that this country is well endowed with. Those resources should contribute to the development of this country but we realised that we are not benefitting from those resources. They are being smuggled out of the country. If we go to those countries where those resources are being smuggled to – we look for employment there and we come back and say we are earning better salaries there yet those countries are benefitting from our resources.
Looking at this country, all provinces are endowed with valuable resources. If we were to look at areas like Bikita, there is Bikita Minerals, tonnes and tonnes of minerals are being exploited and taken out yet as people from Bikita we are not getting any benefits at all. There are no schools and hospitals and we are referred to Parirenyatwa or Kaitano Hospitals to get treatment there. I do not know how we can get to a point where those resources benefit local people.
THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Order! I think you are debating a different motion. The issue of locals benefiting from the locals’ resources, yes that motion was once brought into this House. The motion at hand is talking about people who are evading tax. Is Bikita Minerals one of those? The motion is talking about people who are not paying any taxes.
*HON. SEN. RWAMBIWA: Thank you Mr. President. Sometimes we get emotional on these issues because all that is caused by corruption. When we do not get any benefits from local mines, we get emotional when we debate because we do not know what is causing all that. Corruption continues because no one is being prosecuted. We cannot pinpoint anyone exactly who is doing corruption but what we know is that there are no benefits translating to people and all the citizens of this country, they are not getting any benefits from the resources.
*HON. SEN. J. HUNGWE: Thank you very much Mr. President. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Chinake for the very important motion he raised in this House. The motion is important to this country. With reference to this motion as presented by others, we should look thoroughly at this motion.
There is the issue of minerals that are being smuggled out of this country and there is the issue of people who are involved in money laundering, channeling all the hard currencies out of this country. The reason why people escape from these corrupt cases is because those who are investigating these cases are not doing their best. There is need for adequate evidence for those who are caught and said to be involved in corrupt activities. People are escaping using loopholes because these cases are not being investigated thoroughly. It is my thinking that Government should be serious when it comes to assigning those who go and investigate these cases.
If you look further into these people who are being involved in these criminal activities, you will be shocked to hear their background. How did they escape is the question? What I am saying is that Government should assign those who are well trained to deal with such cases. When you look into the manner in which people are being apprehended and released, it is because of our police officers who are not doing their work. They are being given kickbacks and bribes and nothing is happening. People are seeing corrupt activities taking place but there is nothing happening. People are walking scot free. They are gallivanting on our streets freely.
We have people who are name-dropping. Some are giving reference to our names but we do not even know them. These people are being skilful and getting away with it because of the loopholes involved in investigating these cases. Those who go about dropping names of people should be arrested. Until and unless people are proven not guilty and not involved in such cases, no one should ever be given a chance to just drop a name and get away with it. The courts cannot allow an individual whether it is a minister or anyone to come through and say you cannot arrest this one because he is one of my networks. That is not acceptable. Those who are investigating such cases should look at that aspect because these people are criminals. We have a case against these people.
I just stood up to talk about those issues. Government should be wary of such people from CID or whatever law enforcement agency who are given such assignments and they do not do a thorough job. The investigating officers should do their work diligently without hesitation.
HON. SEN. CHINAKE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 12th May 2022
MOTION
REPORT OF THE 50TH PLENARY ASSEMBLY OF THE SADC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM HOSTED VIRTUALLY BY THE KINGDOM OF LESOTHO
Ninth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the report of the 50th Plenary Assembly of the SADC Parliamentary Forum hosted virtually by the Kingdom of Lesotho from 10th to 12th December 2021.
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 12th May, 2022.
MOTION
MEASURES TO RESUSCITATE THE ECONOMY
Tenth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the need to come up with measures to resuscitate the economy.
Question again proposed.
+HON. SEN. KHUMALO: Thank you for the opportunity given to me Hon. President of the Senate. The challenge in our country started way back, not today. It started during the country’s independence in 1980 when our Government continued to print money during that time and borrowing money from institutions like the IMF. Since then, the country has accumulated so much debt that has become difficult for the country to clear. This has made the country encounter challenges that include inflation where a lot of money is being used to acquire a few resources that are available. This challenge has also seen our country changing denominations every now and then, like bond note and RTGS. We have now gone back to our Zimbabwean dollar but it is difficult because even though we have gone back to our dollar, we are not seeing any positive move in us using it. It is not helping our economy develop.
The challenge associated with this is that it is being used in conjunction with other currencies like Rands, USD and the Pula. The American dollar is increasing in its value and this creates inflation in our country. It brings more challenges to our locals because you will realise that commodities continue to fetch more money and the poor continue to be poorer in our country yet yesteryear, people were sitting pretty with everything in good working order.
What is now required is that the American dollar be abandoned in our country and let it be used in America because it has brought a lot of challenges in our country. It has made our money lose value. Therefore, I continue to say let us abandon the use of the USD and use our own money. For as long as we continue using the USD in our country, our dollar is not going to develop no matter what. It will not bring sanity to our economy. This has made people remain corrupt because the change moneys continue to operate from the streets. These people are being supported by some of our locals who are giving them money to remain on the streets. This is why we are saying our economy is not going to develop no matter what. Why do we continue to use the American dollar - it is those same people who have imposed sanctions on our country? This makes us a laughing stock by other countries.
One other challenge that amazes me is that why are these money changers not being arrested. There was once a law that was put in place empowering the law enforcement agents to arrest those people but we have not seen anyone being arrested. Why, it is because there are other people, especially leaders in different institutions who are supporting their activities. People who are supporting these money changers need to be arrested as well and be jailed so that we see positive change in our country.
Our country is a country that was supposed to be wealthy because it is endowed with natural resources like gold, diamond and the like. However, people have been left to just mine gold without following stated policies. If one mines gold like today, they need to take it to Fidelity but instead they take it to the black market. Once they get to the black market, they do not use proper channels to sell but they sell it corruptly. Why is Government not putting in place laws and policies that are stringent? May be it is us here in Parliament that need to put stringent policies to make sure that we do not see leakages in our mineral resources like gold.
Right now, we have the Chinese who are enjoying in our country, they are mining our diamonds, taking them to their country. They are keeping our diamonds, they are not even taking care of the community roads where they are mining, just to say thank you to the Zimbabwean citizens. It is very painful because our people continue to wallow in poverty yet the Chinese are getting wealthy from our natural resources. They continue to mine and destroy our environment. Our rivers have since silted due to their activities.
Right now we are talking of climate change and the Chinese are part of things that caused the changes that have resulted in drought for our country. Looking at Umzingwane River in Matabeleland South, that river is now taking time to fill because each time it rains there is need for water to first collect up in the holes that were dug in this river. It is critical that our Government put in place policies that protect our resources. Our people are not supposed to suffer like this and to go hungry when we have resources that were godly given.
Let us look at Botswana nearby, they are enjoying their diamonds and for a long time that we used to visit Botswana, it used to have one round about but right now so much has developed in this country because they are using their resources appropriately unlike us who are not using our resources in the right way. Our people are suffering when we are supposed to be wealthy because of the resources that we have.
Our citizens continue to go for the remains that are left behind by our foreigners who are coming here to take up resources. A few days ago we heard that Government has since stopped banks from lending monies but what is bothering me is that Government has quite a number of ways that it can put in place, ways of making money but it has stopped banking from lending money to people. I do not think this was appropriate in our country.
For our country’s economy to grow, it is critical that Government must stop borrowing and it is prudent that the money that is borrowed by the country is clearly monitored so that it is used for the intended purposes that it was borrowed for? All gray areas in the leakages of minerals must be looked at and stopped because we are experiencing situations whereby people are looting minerals taking them out of the country for their personal benefits yet the rest are suffering.
I heard quite a number of Hon. Senators alluding to the point that even if people are arrested, they are let out despite the crimes they would have committed. People that maybe caught carrying 6 kgs of gold are just left to loiter in the country yet they are supposed to be arrested. Government also needs to stop giving ministers so many perks because it is destroying our country’s economy at a time when we are looking at developing our country.
Government is supposed to arrest all criminals, not to arrest them and release them to go back and commit the same crimes that they were arrested for. Today I was very worried noting that the US$1is fetching 400RTGs on the black market. Are we saying we are going to get our economy back to normal if we continue to let things go like this going on? Government should surely take measures regarding such; therefore our plea to the Government is that it must find better ways of getting our economy back to its position. I thank you.
+HON. SEN. D. M. NDLOVU: Thank you Mr. President for this opportunity. I want to add a few words with regards to this issue. Other Hon. Senators have contributed quite a lot regarding this issue but I liken this as a chicken which when it lays its eggs it then goes back to feed on them and once it does that, it will not be able to get any chicks from those eggs. How are the chicks going to increase when the hen is eating its own eggs? This therefore takes me to the point of saying officials are the ones that are protecting those that are found to be committing corruption because they are caught and released and nothing is being done about it.
There is this issue of the Chinese that have been indicated, when using Lupane Road turning to the left towards the Lupane University, there is a road there, and the Chinese there have taken control of the timber that side. No one locally can take part in that business but what is bothering me is that the owners of this timber are small in stature but giants in business; it appears they have taken control of our resources. We have the big five in our country like lions, leopards, elephants, rhino and African buffaloes; these are big animals that you cannot get close to. These animals are feared but they are being killed by poachers and once you talk about these animals attacking your cattle you may end up in jail.
Right now if you talk about corruption, we realise that it is the one that is creating challenges for our children. In South Africa, they are being burnt alive and now South Africa is taking quite a number of its resources from our country. In Bulawayo at Monarch they are producing door frames and quite a number of things using still and zinc. The doorframes are taken out of the country. Our trucks are going to countries like South Africa and Botswana and they come back with finished goods. So, the same resources in our country are not being given the necessary attention.
You hear people saying I prefer South African doorframes which they pay duty for yet the same goods are being manufactured in our country. You also find that some furniture is being manufactured here in Zimbabwe and exported to nearby countries and the same goods are the ones which some of us go and buy.
Coming to the issue of money; in isiNdebele we call it umkhobo which is ghosts and in Shona they call it chidoma, so, I do not know what type of ghosts have gotten into our country to beat us up. Just look at our own currency the way it is losing its value every day. Five or so years ago, I also witnessed the country getting to using values like trillions whereby one would carry trillions to go and buy bread. After that, we used our Zimbabwean currency which had value then but right now, we continue to cling to the American dollar, I do not know whether it is because of sanctions that have made us enjoy that clinging.
When I was a Member of Parliament the previous sessions, I heard that money is now being printed and $2 came in huge amounts but we could not see those notes, we could only see them from money changers. One day when I was boarding a bus to Harare in the morning at around 6 am, there was a lorry that was offloading monies stashed in cupboard boxes. I saw one of the guys who happened to be my neighbour being part of the crew. His wife is a money changer and he too is a money changer. The man told me that this is where they were hoarding the money from that truck. He indicated that top people were also involved in those money scandals. So, you find that someone who is wallowing in poverty is seen offloading money and you wonder how such people are getting involved with such monies.
People are sleeping at bank queues, one or two people are the ones who get money maybe $200 or so and people spend the night to get that little cash. Some are coming from the rural areas for their pensions and when they get to the banks, they are told there is no money yet in the streets there is plenty of bank notes.
Our money cannot go to foreign countries; it is like a chicken closed in the fowl run which can only circulate in that fowl run. So, our money cannot be changed to any foreign currency be it Rand, Pula or so and once our currency has been changed just like what the previous speaker said that if USD1 is equivalent to ZWL 400, how many 400 RTGS can one use to get fuel from a garage?
There are reasons why things are happening this way for example if children at home are not getting enough food; they are found to open up reserved food for other days because they would be hungry. However, once they are fed, they will not be found to do that. Our children think it is better for them to go to our neighbouring countries and die because in our country it is difficult, they end up spending most of the time seated in bridges taking drugs and other stuff. Once they engage in drugs, they would have released their stress.
Robbers indicated that when they go and rob banks using guns, police officers do not take time because they are not the ones who will be in there. These are the gangsters that have gone there to train such people in our neighbouring countries and when they come here, they pretend to be good people. Our children think it is better for them to go to our neighbouring countries and die because in our country, life is difficult for them and they end up spending most of their time seated in the bridges, taking drugs and stuff and once they do this, they relieve their stress.
I do not know how best we can help each other but in helping each other even though at times it may not work, it is because there are other people that are benefitting from it. The use of law will help us. When gangsters with guns go and enter a bank, police officers do take time because they are not the ones who will be affected. These are the gangsters that will have gone to train in our neighbouring countries and when they come back, they pretend to be honest people who are like horses that should have come here carrying Jesus.
When our children go to our neighboring countries and learn the gangster’s life, it becomes difficult for them because the ones that are spearheading the law are not doing the best they can. Those that are supposed to be criminalising this or the law enforcement agents are the ones that appear to be perpetrating corruption. I do not know how this is going to end but it has to get to an end. We need to make it a point that we enforce our laws to make sure that our country’s economy is elevated. If these demons in this country can be removed, then we can see a positive change. The demons that are in the top officials can be removed so that we can see a positive change. I do not know if we need to fast as a country for the powerful ones in order that their powers are suppressed so that they can see to it that those that are committing crimes are arrested. Thank you Mr. President.
HON. SEN. A. DUBE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 12th May, 2022.
MOTION
EFFORTS TO CURB CORRUPTION
Eleventh Order read: Adjourned debate on motion to introduce deterrent services for those engaging in corrupt activities
Question again proposed:
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 12th May, 2022.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON HIV AND AIDS ON THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC LOCKDOWN RESTRICTIONS ON HIV AND AIDS SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM IN ZIMBABWE
Twelfth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions on HIV and AIDS service delivery system
Question again proposed:
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 12th May, 2022.
MOTION
SECOND REPORT OF THE THEMATIC ON HIV AND AIDS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ANTI-RETROVIRAL THERAPY (ART) ROLL-OUT PROGRAMME
Thirteenth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Implementation of the Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) Roll-Out Programme.
Question again proposed:
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 12th May, 2022.
MOTION
CONDOLENCES ON THE DEATH OF HON. SEN. SIMON KHAYA MOYO
Fourteenth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the untimely passing on of the late Senator for Matabeleland South, Hon. Sen. Simon Khaya Moyo.
Question again proposed:
HON.SEN. MATHUTHU: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 12th May, 2022.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Sixteenth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. A. DUBE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 12th May, 2022.
On the motion of HON. SEN. MATHUTHU, seconded by HON. SEN. M. R. DUBE, the House adjourned at Seven Minutes to Five o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 11th May, 2022
The National Assembly Met at a Quarter-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER
APOLOGIES RECEIVED FROM MINISTERS
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have received apologies from the following Hon. Ministers:
Hon. Dr. C. D. G. N. Chiwenga, Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care;
Hon. Z. Ziyambi, Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs;
Hon. Ambassador Dr. F. Shava, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade;
Hon. O. C. Z. Muchinguri-Kashiri, Minister of Defence and War Veterans;
Hon. Dr. Masuka, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement;
Hon Douglas Karoro, Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement;
Hon. Vangelis Haritatos, Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement;
Hon. Prof. Murwira, Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development;
Hon. Barbara Rwodzi -Deputy Minister of Environment, Climate Change, Tourism and Hospitality Industry;
Hon. John Chamunorwa Mangwiro - Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care;
Hon. Polite Kambamura - Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development;
Hon. Ruth Mavhunga-Maboyi - Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage;
Hon. July G. Moyo, Minister of Local Government and Public Works;
Hon. Kazembe Kazembe, Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage;
Hon. Edgar Moyo, Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education;
Hon. Mangaliso Ndlovu, Minister of Environment, Climate Change, Tourism and Hospitality Industry;
Hon. Evelyn Ndlovu, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education;
Hon. W. Chitando, Minister of Mines and Mining Development; and - [HON. ZWIZWAI: On a point of Order Madam Speaker.] - Hon. Zwizwai, I did not recognise you. We do not stand up for points of order on Wednesday as ruled by the Speaker of Parliament. Hon. Mhona will be the Acting Leader of Government Business. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]-
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Hon. Zwizwai, what is your point of order?
HON. ZWIZWAI: Thank you very much for indulging me after this very long battle Madam Speaker. My point of order is that it is unprecedented that we come in this august House when everybody, including His Excellency, knows that Wednesday is question time and there are no Ministers here to deal with national critical issues that we need to raise at constituency level, at a pressing time when inflation is flying out through the window, when the transport crisis is all over, banking crisis and the issue of the loans which have been raised.
So my point of order Madam Speaker, with your indulgence, is that we defer the question time from today to Thursday so that when the Ministers are available; and that when we summon them and they talk to the President that they make themselves available here to answer to critical issues. The country is burning and we need to deal with that. We cannot proceed with question time here just to be given those common answers, political answers. We need critical answers from Ministers who are responsible. So that is my point of order that we have question time tomorrow Thursday. I thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Mliswa, I know very well the procedure of the House. Please take your seat until I make a ruling on the point of order from Hon. Zwizwai – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]- Order Hon. Members!
I hear you Hon. Zwizwai, you raise a valid point of order. It is true that Ministers and Deputy Ministers must attend Parliament on Wednesday to answer questions from Hon. Members of Parliament but we cannot defer to Thursday because Thursday will be question time in the Senate and Hon. Ministers will be expected to be in the Senate to answer questions from Hon. Senators. So we are going to continue and Hon. Mhona will be our Acting Leader of Government Business. I just hope some other Hon. Ministers and Deputy Ministers will be joining us as we go.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is your point of order Hon. Mliswa.
HON. T. MLISWA: Madam Speaker, thank you very much for the ruling but to be honest with you, this is an institution which is critical on oversight and being critical on oversight, there is a lot that is happening in the country. These Ministers are deployed by the President and they have the mandate to address issues of national interest. In addressing issues of national interest, they have got to be present here. It is becoming a circus because just last week, not that I think lowly of Hon. Musabayana, he actually did well as the Leader of Government Business but he is a Deputy Minister and we are now having Deputy Ministers being Leaders of Government Business when they do not sit in Cabinet. Cabinet is supreme in dealing with a lot of issues.
Hon. Togarepi having stood up.
May you allow Hon. Togarepi to sit down? I have the floor. He must respect. He is also a disaster. He is the worst Government Chief Whip ever. I do not know where they found you but I am telling you, you have destroyed this institution, you have destroyed ZANU PF, and you have destroyed the President. You are somebody who vacillates. You are the very same person who brought Grace Mugabe. I do not know how the President could choose you when he knows you are a traitor, the biggest traitor ever. Be careful. You have destroyed our welfare. People are suffering because of you.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Mliswa, please may you take your seat. I have heard what you said.
HON. T. MLISWA: Madam Speaker, he disrupts issues and you cannot have him dictating this House. He has failed to do good for his own people. He is a fake war collaborator. He did not even pass the vetting test. Who does Togarepi think he is? Not in this House. Why do you always listen to him? He is a disaster. He has failed to stand up for the welfare of Members of Parliament who are suffering. All he does he is go out with the women in Parliament because he has the resources now, he is like a Minister. He has the package of a Minister. Kuswera uchinyenga vakadzi muParliament nekuti unotora mari yakawanda kupfuura isusu – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]-
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Mliswa, please may you withdraw your words.
HON. T. MLISWA: Madam Speaker, I withdraw the words but the truth remains. I have withdrawn the words but I cannot withdraw the truth.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Togarepi, were you standing on a point of order – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]- Order, order! Hon. Togarepi, please take your seat. Order Hon. Members please. I hear you Hon. Mliswa, it is true that Cabinet ministers must be here on Wednesday to respond to questions from Hon. Members of Parliament. We just hope they are going to join us as we go. Thank you.
HON. TOGAREPI: Madam Speaker, I understand that in this House we have privileges but I do not think we have privileges to abuse each other. The issue of ministers coming to this House is in the Standing Orders and Rules and to tell us that there is a Deputy Minister, in the Standing Rules, there is no Deputy Minister, there are ministers – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – So for them… – [HON. T. MLISWA: You cannot defend the Government, he is out of order, haasi Minister uyu, you are not the Leader of Government Business.] – I cannot allow you to mislead us – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – [HON. T. MLISWA: Who are you?] – I am a Government Chief Whip – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Togarepi, please can you take your seat. Hon. Mathe, please can you take your seat.
Hon. Mathe having remained standing was asked by the Hon. Deputy Speaker to approach the Chair.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Order Hon. Zwizwai or I will send you out – [HON. ZWIZWAI: Please do not send me out.] – I will if you continue with that behaviour.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
(v)HON. S. SITHOLE: Thank you Madam Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development. What is the Ministry doing about the roads which you have been given, 10 kms to be tarred between 2003 and 2005 countrywide? What about these other projects which are not completed, what is the Ministry doing about that? Thank you Madam Speaker.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. Let me thank Hon. Sithole for that question. I will try to answer it since he has actually indicated that a specific road is being rehabilitated covering 10kms. It is true Hon. Madam Speaker, that for years, our roads were not being rehabilitated and they are in a sorry state countrywide and for us to do the entire stretch, we have about 98 000 kms of road network in this country. If you look at that, a big percentage is in a sorry state when it comes to our road network and for us to embark on the rehabilitation of the entire country is not feasible.
However, we have started rehabilitating roads in each province and in some cases, it is true that we can start with five or 10 kms. It is better to start now because we were not rehabilitating our roads and I concur with the Hon. Member that it might be 10kms, given the stretch of the road in some cases covering 200kms. However, if we start now, it is better and for that 10kms, we are talking of over USD10million on average. So it is not something small given the fact that we are taking from the fiscus and we are constrained as a nation in terms of resources. I think it is a gesture that must be commended that we have started rehabilitating our roads. I thank you Hon. Speaker.
HON. S. SITHOLE: Hon. Minister, let me put forward which road I am talking about…
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: If it is a particular road Hon. Sithole, you have to put that in writing and submit so that the Hon. Minister will make some investigations and come up with the answer. Thank you.
HON. S. SITHOLE: I said nationwide but I was trying to give him the specific roads.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Those roads, the Hon. Minister needs to do some investigations. Thank you.
HON. SVUURE: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. My question is directed to the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement. Acknowledging the reality of climate change…
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: You are not connected Hon. Svuure.
HON. SVUURE: Thank you Madam Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Resettlement. Acknowledging the reality of climate change and its effect on the rainfall patterns even in this country; what is the Government’s policy in making sure that we fully optimise our water bodies? This is coming from the backdrop that our dams are not being fully utilised, especially now that irrigation is becoming the only option that we have, given the erratic rainfall patterns. What is the Government doing to make sure that we fully optimise our water bodies, in this country for irrigation? I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA) on behalf of THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, WATER, FISHERIES AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA): Thank you Hon. Madam Speaker Ma’am. Let me also thank Hon. Chaplin Svuure for that very important question. Hon. Madam Speaker Ma’am, it is true that we are endowed as a nation and must thank God for the water bodies that we have that are close to 10 000. As a nation, we are not tapping into those water bodies, and even the culture of not harvesting water is within us.
Let me appreciate that with the advent of the Second Republic, the Second Republic has accelerated the irrigation development in every province. As we speak, in terms of mechanisation, there is a targeted plan to actually have hectarage under irrigation in every province so that we mitigate the issues of drought that we have witnessed over years. I am happy that there is a plan, and if you would look at Government’s policy, it is that we go the way of irrigating so that we do not rely on the rains that we are given by God Almighty.
+HON. MATHE: Madam Speaker, what measures are in place to alleviate poverty, at the same time secure peoples’ livelihoods through cultivation and irrigation projects?
HON. MHONA: Thank you Hon. Madame Speaker Ma’am. Let me thank Hon. Mathe for that very important question. It is true that we now need to bring it closer to the grassroots so that we educate our people to make use of the water bodies that we have. If you look at the programme that we have, to say each village is going to be having a borehole, not necessarily for drinking purposes but also to have the issues to do with irrigation – you will have your small gardens. This is a noble way Hon. Madam Speaker Ma’am, where we are saying, we have got our agronomists in different districts who are supposed to partake in the exercise of educating people so that they have self sustenance.
+HON. MATHE: I was not answered Hon. Speaker. – [HON. MEMBRS: Inaudible interjections.] - Madam Speaker Ma’am, let me be very clear on my question. We are aware there are dams and boreholes but Government continues doing that for people. My worry is that our people have not embraced tilling land using their hands without any implements whilst irrigating. What should be done to do that?
HON. MHONA: Thank you Hon. Madame Speaker Ma’am. I think the issue of the reluctance of the community to partake into the exercise of taking advantage of what is being provided by Government comes to the issue of personalities - [HON. MATHE: Inaudible interjection.] – So the humble thing Hon. Madame Speaker Ma’am – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] -
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, Order Hon. Mathe!
HON. MHONA: Hon. Madame Speaker Ma’am, I think this calls for - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Mathe, please may you listen to the Hon. Minister’s response to your question.
HON. MHONA: Hon. Madame Speaker Ma’am, I want to say to the Hon. Member that this calls for moral suasion where we have to support each other when it comes to partaking into the exercises that are being brought by Government. It is a wakeup call to all of us that we need to provide food for this nation, if we have those undesirable elements who are not partaking into the exercise. There is no one who would say if inputs or water bodies are available, then he would deny taking that advantage.
HON. MURAI: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker Ma’am. The issue to do with climate change is critically affected by gas emissions that also affect our rainfall patterns. I would like to know from the Hon. Minister what measures are you putting in place to make sure that there is reduction in gas emissions?
HON. MHONA: Thank you Hon. Madam Speaker Ma’am. Let me thank Hon. Murai for that very important question. Hon. Madam Speaker Ma’am, the issues to do with climate are of paramount importance. We are here because of climatic issues where we need to protect our environment. I am happy, even if you look at the way we are advocating for tree planting – it is also a measure to mitigate the emissions that we are talking about.
As a nation, we have actually taken a step forward to say let us have our clean environment. We have got the Clean-up Campaign every first Friday of the month. These are also mitigatory factors so that we continue maintaining our clean environment.
HON. TEKESHE: Thank you Hon. Speaker Ma’am. My question is directed to the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage. When are they going to remove the spikes on the road which are causing a lot of suffering to the traveller and we are losing a lot of lives through these dangerous weapons so that our roads become safe?
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Let me put it clear that having spikes is not Government policy. Government policy is to make sure that there is safety and order when it comes to issues to do with the public, whether we are within the cities or along highways. The idea of having spikes was ruled unlawful by the courts and we cannot say it is Government policy.
*HON. MUTSEYAMI: My supplementary question to the Hon. Minister is that he mentioned that spikes are not Government policy but we have noted that this is a challenge which is culminating in the death of innocent by-standers. What should be done so that the issue of spikes is resolved? We know that spikes are causing a lot of havoc? It has been clarified that it is illegal to use spikes. Policemen and council officers who are supposed to uphold the law are found breaking the law using spikes. What should be done so that the law takes its course? These spikes are costing Government. May you assist us in that regard?
*HON. MHONA: It is sad that we are losing lives as a result of the use of spikes. I am going to sit down with my colleague, Hon. Kazembe so that the issue of spikes is eliminated. I am glad that we have a listening President, President E.D. Mnangagwa. I believe that when we engage His Excellency, he has a listening ear and this is an issue that is going to be taken up.
HON. ZWIZWAI: My supplementary question is that we continue losing lives as a result of using spikes because of malicious injury to property; we have people who damage motorists’ windscreens. On the inauguration of His Excellency, President E.D. Mnangagwa, when the Commissioner General Chihuri was fired – we heard what the Minister said, we need a Ministerial Statement from Hon. Kazembe which answers the following questions: Is the Commissioner General Matanga aware that policemen are using baton spikes; is the Minister aware that spikes are being used on the road; is His Excellency the President aware that spikes are being used and people are dying as a result of the use of spikes?
Last week in Mutare, some people died, including students. You cannot burn the whole mansion when a rat enters the house. Commuter omnibus drivers are not owners of these commuter omnibuses. The owners are pensioners who would just be working for their livelihoods. Passengers are innocent by-standers and have nothing to do with these commuters. There must be a mechanism where all kombis are registered and are known and the routes they are using. Number plates should also be taken instead of risking the lives of people who are in buses and business. Using spikes is risking people’s lives. We need a Ministerial Statement addressing such issues Madam Speaker Maam.
*HON. MHONA: I have heard what Hon. Zwizwai has said and the request for a Ministerial Statement. I am going to take this issue up with the responsible Minister – Minister Kazembe so that he responds to the questions that have been raised. This issue goes back to drivers – they should respect lives and they should not over-speed but observe the law and respect the lives of their passengers.
*HON. MADZIMURE: When the Hon. Member was responding, he left out a very important point. Those who lose their lives are supposed to be compensated. The question is: who is going to compensate the bereaved families?
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: You are now hiding behind points of order yet you know that the time for supplementary questions has elapsed.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order, if my memory serves me correct and also when I went outside I recalled - there is a High Court ruling which allowed spikes to be used. These should only be made by the police and not home-made. To me, it is important that we respect the court’s judgement. I think it is important that we defer this until further investigations have been made. I think the Clerk can look into the judgement pertaining to the court saying the police can use spike. So, these questions become irrelevant. I am prepared to put 100 cattle on the table if I am wrong but I have done my research when I went outside. The court order said home-made spikes are not allowed but only those made by the police. We cannot override the courts, we must respect certain judgements by the courts. That is why I am seeking your indulgence on that - unless somebody has a court order which we can proffer but we must respect the courts.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Mliswa. The Clerk of Parliament will look into that.
*HON. MHONA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I also thank Hon. Mliswa for the pertinent issue. What was raised by Hon. Zwizwai will assist us in making a follow up on this issue.
HON. CHIBAYA: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. I am going to direct my question to the Acting Leader of the House, Hon. Mhona. The Constitution of Zimbabwe guarantees the right to trade, the right to pursue a profession and labour rights. Banking is therefore a protected trade. In view of the recent announcement, is it now Government policy to ban trade, in particular the banking sector? We all know that the core business of banking is lending money to citizens. I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Madam Speaker. Let me thank Hon. Chibaya for his concerns which are of paramount importance. The type of question that has been posed by the Hon. Member is a very particular question. Before I take my leave, it is also good to say that whenever you are faced with a disaster, there are some mitigatory factors which you impose which then violate the standing dictates. In this particular case, ...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Minister Mhona, order. I am advised here that the Minister of Finance will be coming to this House tomorrow with a Ministerial Statement regarding the matter. So it is deferred to tomorrow. Thank you.
HON. MATEWU: Thank you Madam Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Health. In their absence, I will direct it to the Acting Leader of Government Business. Given the economic crisis that has gripped our nation, there are many psychological health issues and indeed mental health issues that have affected our people in this country, both young and old. There have been a notable number of suicides, a notable number of people murdered and not to mention, a notable number of drug abuses by our youth, mutoriro and the like. What is the Government policy in terms of addressing these health challenges that have gripped our nation? Thank you.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Madam Speaker. Let me thank Hon. Matewu for the important question. I do not know whether I would concur with the Hon. Member on the causes of the scenario, the disaster that we are facing as a nation whether the issue is to do with the disturbances that we are witnessing in tandem with the economic issues. The Government policy – if you have been listening to what has been happening, there is an inter-ministerial committee that is superintending over issues to do with drugs. This is the problem that we are faced with as a nation. The issues of the social decadence that we have witnessed as a nation have resulted in some of the issues the Hon. Member is talking about. Because the President is a listening President, he has constituted a committee to superintend over issues that are affecting the nation in terms of drug abuse where we have seen that a number of our school going children are partaking into the issues of drugs, resulting in the same causes that have been highlighted by the Hon. Member. What is of paramount importance is to give time to the inter-ministerial committee so that they then table their findings to this effect. Thank you Madam Speaker.
HON. MATEWU: Thank you Madam Speaker. I think it is common cause that the lack of employment in this country, the lack of money for the young people has...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Matewu, go straight to your question. Do not debate.
HON. MATEWU: Yes, thank you Madam Speaker. I think it is common cause that the lack of employment that has so much gripped our youth today is paramount and having a massive ripple effect to the extent that our youth are now indulging in drugs. Also because there are no jobs, the economy is in a free fall...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Ask your question Hon. Matewu.
HON. MATEWU: My question to the Hon. Leader of Government Business is, it is not enough to say there is a Ministerial Statement or committee. No one knows about ministerial committee in the public. What is the Government policy to address the mental health issues that are gripping our people in this nation? Thank you.
HON. MHONA: Thank you Madam Speaker. Let me thank Hon. Matewu who is emotional because of the issues. I do agree with him that it is a case where we are losing a number of our able-bodied youth because of drugs. For us to draw a conclusion that what is happening in the society is being aggravated by the fact that he has raised, I think we will be lying to the august House. I had indicated that let us allow the process flow to have the interrogation by the relevant inter-ministerial committee. It is not in the private, it is in the public domain that the public can partake and perform such functions so that they will come back to the people to address the concerns of the people. I am sure these are some of the concerns that the Committee is busy with as we speak so that they give a detailed analysis of what is really happening. I do agree with the Hon. Member that these are emotional issues.
*HON. KARUMAZONDO: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. My question is directed to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development. We are grateful for the job well done on the maintenance of roads. The contractors are taking long to repair the roads. I would want to know what the Government plan is in paying them? They are taking long before receiving their payments which they receive in local currency. How are they going to be compensated because the exchange rate is fluctuating on daily basis?
*THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Madam Speaker. I would also like to thank Hon. Karumazondo for the question. It is true our contractors are being paid earlier or late. I would like to thank the Government for discovering that we are working with contractors and they must be paid in time. Long back, we used to pay them using the rate which prevailed on the day of signing the contract. We now pay the contractors at interbank rate using the prevailing rate.
+HON. R. MPOFU: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to direct my question to the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare. What is Government policy regarding street kids and other vulnerable children without identification documents. I am asking this because these young people also need documentation like every citizen of Zimbabwe. What is being done, particularly to mitigate the circumstances being faced by disabled people who go around begging?
THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. PROF. MAVIMA): Thank you Hon. Speaker Ma’am. I would like to thank the Hon. Member for such an important question. We are operating now on a directive that came from His Excellency, the President of the Republic to say that no child and no Zimbabwean should be denied access to national documents. He clearly indicated that it should be made very easy for any Zimbabwean to be able to get those documents. The current blitz that is going on where citizens are not paying anything follows that directive. He has indicated that within communities, people should just vouch for the children of fellow Zimbabweans to say these are Zimbabweans we know them, so that they can get those documents. This is where we are now and I think a lot of the leadership in this House will testify that those processes have become very easy and we should be able to cover everyone including children that are living on the streets.
The Ministry currently has a programme targeting mainly the metropolitan areas of Harare and Bulawayo to identify kids to place them in places of safety or to re-unite them with their families. Again, as we do that, we should be able to then facilitate the documentation of these children.
*HON. MUCHENJE: My supplementary question is, street kids are no longer found in urban areas only. Also in rural areas, there are children who loiter around because their parents or guardians died. They will be loitering at growth points and townships. What plans are there to help the vulnerable children in the rural areas?
HON. PROF. MAVIMA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I think I had indicated that the programme going on with the registration is a nationwide programme. It is helping people, not just children but citizens of this country. It is even easier in rural areas and semi-urban areas because communities know each other better in those areas. So it is a nation-wide problem. Our own programme that I am referring to is not a programme that is focused on national registration but it ensures that children who are on the streets are brought back to safety in two ways. Firstly, we try to reunite them with their families and secondly, if the first one is unsuccessful we then take them to places of safety. As we do that, we also try to make sure that they are documented.
(v)HON. MAHLANGU: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. Good afternoon to you. I totally differ with the Hon. Minister. People are still facing challenges when taking those documents. They are still chased away to go back and collect whatever is required. Their requirements are still the same and that means the process is still stringent. We are talking about the vulnerable children who do not have all the documentation. If they do not have one or two of the documents required, they are being chased away. People should be able to access those documents without being asked too many questions.
HON. PROF. MAVIMA: Thank you Madam Speaker. What I am aware of is the directive that I referred to earlier on where His Excellency has indicated that even your Sabhuku, Headman or Councillor can just provide the necessary testimony that is needed in order for those children to get documentation. The operational issues that the Hon. Member is referring to can be directed to the appropriate Ministry, which is running this programme of registration and the Registrar General’s office who are actually on the ground and ask if they can make it easier for Zimbabweans to get the documentation. However, His Excellency’s directive is very clear that it should be made easy for everyone to get the requisite documentation.
HON. T. MLISWA: Madam Speaker, my question emanates from the fact that it is 42 years after the liberation struggle but the vetting of the war collaborators has started. Other comrades that were supposed to be vetted are no more. How authentic is this exercise when some of the comrades are long gone? How come we are going for a second round but we have not at all been told of the criteria. There has been an uproar all over. I was in Shurugwi and some of the areas that they have gone to vet, there was no war there. So what are they going to vet? I have some of my friends whom I went to school with who are war collaborators now. How can you allow tax payers money to be wasted like this? Hon. Minister, why are you going on the second round before you have attained results from the first round and how come you have got money to vet the war veterans yet you have no money to give war veterans who you owe money? For those who fought in the liberation struggle you do not have money to give them but you are desirous to give money to criminals who are vetting and not the genuine war veterans who are still suffering. Why have you decided to be so heartless and allowing this vetting exercise to continue at the expense of people who liberated this country who have not been given any money? Hunhu rudzii?
HON. MHONA: Thank you Hon. Peter Mliswa for that very important question. Hon Madam Speaker ma’am, this is a very emotional discussion and I will not cause danger by trying to answer it. I will relay the message on behalf of the Hon. Member to the Hon. Minister so that he addresses the concerns that have been raised by the Hon. Member.
HON. T. MLISWA: Madam Speaker, I want to thank the Minister for a sincere response and suggestion. I do not think it is good to just extend the message. May we have a Ministerial Statement on how it was done on the first round before going to the second and the criteria used to choose people to vet the war collaborators yet they were not part of the struggle. That Ministerial Statement must come to this House before the second round and it should address issues in the first round. With your indulgence Madam Speaker ma’am, it would please this House.
HON. MHONA: Thank you Hon Mliswa for the question. Maybe the definition of relay the message was also to put it precisely like what Hon. Mliswa has said. So I will pass on the message for a Ministerial Statement to be tabled in this House.
*HON. MUCHENJE: Thank you Hon Speaker ma’am. My question is directed to the Minister of Industry and Commerce. Nowadays cooking oil is expensive that we cannot afford it in households. Sugar is also expensive and it is scarce. Things which are manufactured in the country are scarce. What is the Government’s plan or what are you promising us to find on the shelves again, especially the prices which are increasing. Thank you Madam Speaker.
*THE MINISTER OF INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE (HON. DR. KANHUTU-NZENZA): This is a pertinent issue raised by Hon. Muchenje because it is targeted at every consumer in Zimbabwe. This is an important issue which is causing problems to everyone in Zimbabwe.
Yesterday we met with retailers. Some of the issues are being caused by the exchange rate and others are caused by cooking oil which we import from other countries. This situation is temporary but we are engaging the Retailers Association and the RBZ which determines the rate so that the prices will decrease. Thank you Madam President.
HON. BITI: My question to the esteemed Minister of Industry and Commerce is, we see the prices of basic commodities actually rising in United States dollar terms. I would like to give you an example of cooking oil. Last week over the weekend it was US$4 today it is US$6. So an increase in price in United States dollar terms cannot arise as a result of exchange control manipulation or mismanagement. Prices are going up in United States dollar terms. What is the reason Hon. Minister and what are you doing to address this problem?
Secondly, many of the products are actually locally manufactured by companies like United Refineries owned by Sibusiso Moyo. They are local companies accessing cheap foreign currency on the auction floor but they are still raising their prices in United States dollars. Lastly, you have got certain supermarkets that are now refusing to accept local currency for a locally produced commodity. OK Bazaars for instance is not accepting local currency for a locally produced cooking fat. I thank you Madam Speaker.
HON. DR. KANHUTU-NZENZA: I want to thank the Hon. Member of Parliament for that pertinent question, but his question is very specific and the answers require investigation. It is not possible to give him an answer on specific questions that require facts and figures, but Hon. Madam Speaker, let me take this opportunity to say today we launched the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries Manufacturing Survey and what it shows is that we are on a very strong growth trajectory in the manufacturing sector and the current problems we are experiencing now, I want to believe that they are temporary. We are still increasing our capacity utilisation. Thank you.
(v)*HON. C. MOYO: Thank you Madam Speaker. We heard the Minister say this rise in prices of basic commodities is temporary. What does she mean when she says it is temporary so I can go back and explain to the people in my constituency Pelandaba? How many days or how many months is this temporary situation?
HON. DR. KANHUTU-NZENZA: I said I want to believe that it is temporary because we are in discussion with the Retailers Association. We are also in discussion with the RBZ Governor and Prof. Mthuli. It needs to be investigated.
HON. BITI: On a point of order Madam Speaker. Can I kindly ask the esteemed Minister of Industry and Trade to provide a Ministerial Statement on the issues of these contradictions in the pricing regime in Zimbabwe, the multi tier pricing system and why the price of goods is actually going up in United States dollar terms? I think a Ministerial Statement could help. I thank you very much Hon. Minister.
*HON. DR. KANHUTU-NZENZA: I would like to thank again the Hon. Member of Parliament. I said that needs an investigation. We need to work together with the RBZ Governor and Minister Mthuli Ncube so that we find a way forward and that prices will not keep increasing.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Minister, what is your take on the Ministerial Statement?
HON. DR. KANHUTU-NZENZA: Hon. Madam Speaker, a Ministerial Statement will be forthcoming. Thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: Madam Speaker, on a point of recommendation.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: There is no point of recommendation. Hon. Mliswa, please may you take your seat.
HON. T. MLISWA: Madam Speaker, my point of recommendation is that, there are a lot of companies which have received money on the auction floor yet they sell in foreign currency instead of the Zimbabwean dollar. They are supposed to be showing that in their shops. Can you also include those companies so that an assessment is done on whether they have been complying with the foreign exchange rules? This is where a lot of criminal tendencies have been happening in a huge way, so as industry, you know the companies which have benefitted and have also been charging in USD and not ZWL which they used to access USD on the auction floor. That will help us a lot in getting the criminals who are the biggest saboteurs of this economy.
THE MINISTER OF INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE (HON. DR. KANHUTU-NZENZA): Thank you again Madam Speaker. I want to thank the Hon. Member of Parliament for his supplementary recommendation. The Ministerial Statement is going to be very comprehensive.
(v)+HON. MKANDLA: Thank you Hon. Speaker Ma’am. My question is directed to the Minister of Health and Child Care, since he is absent, I will direct it to the Leader of Government Business. There are sick people who are supposed to be transported to the hospital – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members. Repeat your question Hon. Mkandla.
(v)+HON. MKANDLA: I said there are patients who come from local clinics, council clinics who are supposed to buy fuel for vehicles to transport them to district and provincial hospitals. What provisions or plans does the Ministry have to assist these patients?
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Hon. Speaker. Let me thank Hon. Mkandla. I did not hear the first part of the question. For those who heard the first part, it was in connection with the availability of ambulances in district hospitals and was it the issue of fuel that I wanted to confirm. Can I ask the Hon. Member to repeat the first part of the question?
Hon. Mkandla repeated his question.
HON. MHONA: Thank you Hon. Madam Speaker. Let me thank Hon. Mkandla and say, surely it is an anomaly that those who are hospitalised, especially from the district hospitals, are asked to participate in the provision of fuel for their transportation to the main hospitals. I want to advise the Hon. Member that there is going to be a very interesting exercise for the betterment of the people of Zimbabwe through the provision of ambulances. If they have been following the Ministry of Health and Child Care has gone an extra mile in trying to provide ambulances to a number of district hospitals. I am sure this is an exercise that will mitigate the issues of patients having to contribute towards their own transportation to general hospitals.
HON. CHIKOMBO: Thank you Madam Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Local Government and Public Works. The history to the question suggests the effect that the Constitution of this country was consummated 10 years ago but up to this moment, your Ministry or you as the Minister have decided not to enact a law to superintend on issues of 264 on provincial councils and Chapter 4 on devolution. Is it a deliberate ploy for you to undermine the Constitution as espoused in Section 2 of the Constitution on supremacy of the Constitution?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. CHOMBO): Thank you Madam Speaker. Thank you for that question. The Bill is with the Attorney General and once it is complete, it will come to Parliament.
HON. CHIKOMBO: I do not see the sincerity on the part of the answer provided by the Hon. Minister. This is the 11th year since we consummated this heroic Constitution. What law are you using to appropriate funds in local authorities if there is no enabling law to do what you are doing? I am sure there is a serious dereliction of responsibility or it is just an issue of incompetence. Is it a matter of trying to sabotage the spirit of devolution as espoused in Chapter 4 of our Constitution?
HON. CHOMBO: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker and thank you Hon. Member for that follow up question. According to the Section 301 of the Constitution where 5% is supposed to be put aside to make sure that it goes to the underprivileged communities, we are using that Section to make sure that we use the funds to improve the livehoods of the community. I thank you.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MAVETERA): Hon. Mliswa, I will give you the floor. Order! – [HON. T. MLISWA: Thank you.] -
HON. BITI: Madam Speaker Ma’am, the disbursement of devolution funds provided by Section 301 presupposes the existence of an Act of Parliament – that Act of Parliament is not there. How are they distributing devolution funds when that Act of Parliament is not there?
Secondly Hon. Speaker Ma’am, why 11 years after the enactment of that Constitution have they failed to bring a law to Parliament dealing with devolution, Chapter 14 of the Constitution?
Thirdly Madam Speaker, there are court judgments, one of them brought by Hon. Rusty Markham under Norman Markham, compelling them to bring a devolution law within six months of March of 2020. Why are they failing to bring that law?
Lastly Madam Speaker, even though that law is not there, they are already firing Provincial Councils that have not been sworn-in. On what basis are they doing that? Madam Speaker, this is a terrible Ministry, something must be done.
HON. CHOMBO: Thank you Hon. Speaker and thank you very much Hon. Biti for those questions. Definitely, we have been working on the Bill. We do not control the pace; it had to go back and forth. We are very sincere in whatever we do.
Of course, there is not yet an Act to disburse the funds but given the situation, these councillors were elected in the last election - they are there. So we are using them to disburse the funds but I hear you that there is no Instrument in place but we had to weigh the options. Do we just keep the money and not develop the communities until that legal Instrument is in place? For sure, the Attorney-General as I said is seized with that Bill, and it is coming to Parliament very soon. I thank you. – [HON. MEMBERS: Supplementary question!] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER : What other supplementary question do you expect when the Hon. Minister has been- [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Order, Order Hon. Members! Order, Order, the Hon. Minister has been very clear. She said that the Bill is still with the Attorney-General, I do not think that there are any other points of order or any points of clarification that need to be sought. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – No, she was quite clear, she has very much responded to that. –
HON. MURAI: Hon. Speaker, what I have gathered from the Hon. Minister’s conduct is a D-class prisoner in her. In terms of …
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: You see a what?
HON. MURAI: A D-Class prisoner from the way she is conducting business in this House.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Please sit down, and thank you very much. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – I said there are no other points of clarification that are needed. This is very clear, the Hon. Minister has responded to the issue of that … - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – What other point of clarification do you need when she has already answered? - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Hon. Members, we are not going to have any other points of clarification. It is unfortunate that we do not have any other. Thank you very much. – [HON. MARKHAM: In the absence of the Bill Madam Speaker, who is distributing the funds?] – [HON. T. MLISWA: She has submitted for the first time that they are acting illegally, and ZACC should be standing outside to get you arrested with your accomplice July Moyo – that is where you should be. I want to call ZACC to arrest you! Mauraya nyika, mbavha dzevanhu! Kuswera muchiba mari naJuly Moyo uko, mabvuma kuti hamhuna Statutory Instrument. Muchapinda mujeri zvamusati mawona!] –
*HON. MUDARIKWA: My question is directed to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. We clearly understand the issue of school fees. Why are pupils being thrown out of school if they have not paid school fees? Does the law allow school children to be thrown out of school for failure to pay school fees?
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: You are not connected Hon. Mudarikwa.
*HON. MUDARIKWA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I am talking about the issue of schoolchildren being thrown out of schools. Does the law allow children to be thrown out of schools or not? If the law does not allow that, what measures can we take when school Headmasters throw children out of schools?
*THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am, and thank you Hon. Mudarikwa for the pertinent question. Government laws state that school children must not be thrown out of school because of failing to pay school fees. This means that schools that are throwing out school children are violating Government laws. Parents and guardians can report to councillors, and Hon. Members of Parliament in their constituencies so that we know the schools that are engaging in such practices.
I would like to inform the august House that it is not Government policy to throw children out of school for failure to pay school fees. I thank you.
(V)HON. NDUNA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. ZINARA has now made an electronic cover note in terms of insurance – Third Party in particular. This is a new system from analogue to digital. My question to the Hon. Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Hon. Mhona is: what is Government policy in terms of policing this new normal of a digital electronic cover note on Third Party insurance so that there is no hemorrhage, and there is no creation of ghost accounts on the platform for the issuance of Third Party insurance? What is Government policy in terms of policing the issuance of the same on the electronic platform?
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Hon. Madam Speaker Ma’am, let me also thank Hon. Nduna for that very important question. Hon. Madam Speaker Ma’am, it is the desire of Government to digitize so that we then move from the old ways of doing business, and try to ensure that we are in tandem with the contemporary way of doing business where we go digital. This is a major milestone in terms of the ease of doing business - if you can actually relate.
We are even going a step further Hon. Madam Speaker Ma’am where we want an individual motorist to register from the comfort of their homes so that they do everything electronically. So I want to thank Hon. Nduna that this must be something that can be commended – that we have gone electronic and wish to extend the same function to a number of players so that we make life easier for the motoring public. I thank you.
(v)HON. NDUNA: Madam Speaker Ma’am, in the event that there are ghost accounts created by ZINARA for non-existent insurance companies, what is the position that the Hon. Minister is bound to take as policy because where there is movement of any delinquent behaviour on a computer, anyone leaves a foot print. Whoever is delinquent in terms of creation of ghost accounts that have a way of haemorrhaging Government coffers and the innocent unsuspecting citizens of Zimbabwe is bound to leave a footprint.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Whatever system that we can have, whether it is electronic or manual, you need to ring fence and make sure that you hedge against malpractices. I am happy that my colleague Hon. Nduna may be having other outside information outside this discussion that we are having. If he has got particular instances where he has witnessed such malpractice, I will be very happy to engage him but I can assure him that like any other system, we also have the issues to do with monitoring and evaluation. It is a continuous exercise and if there are gaps, we will continue to improve our systems.
HON. MARKHAM: My question is directed to the Minister of Local Government and Public Works. We have noticed an upsurge in green spaces from golf courses to wetlands, to recreational areas which are being sold or rented off on long term leases and particularly change in use. What is Government’s plan with all these open spaces that we have? My issue is particularly in the redundant master plan of urban areas we have, in particular Harare. Can the Minister guarantee us that this land mass is secure in the name of City of Harare?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. CHOMBO): I did not get the question. May the Hon. Member repeat it?
HON. MARKHAM: My question pertains to green spaces in urban areas which are being sold or rented off or given off in long term leases to partners. To what extend are the residents in urban areas having their green areas protected by the master plan of the various urban areas? My issue is that I see day after day, golf courses are being taken by developers. Can the Minister explain what the policy is with the master plan pertaining to green areas?
HON. CHOMBO: The policy is for the Ministry to preserve the green ways. But you have said you have seen the proliferation of developers developing these areas. If there is an open area or green area, we go through the change of reservations and that process includes a lot of consultations with the residents around that area. If they do not object to the development that is supposed to be upcoming, we have no way of refusing. We make sure that if it is a wetland, he or she has to have an EIA from the Ministry of Environment. If they have approved all those processes, we cannot deny the applicant. I thank you.
HON. MARKHAM: I have a supplementary question. In numerous cases, developers are purchasing recreational areas at a very lockdown price because it is the lowest rated property. The purchase of the area, whether it is a green belt or golf course – once they purchase it, they get EMA and City of Harare to approve the change of use and issue a certificate of development and immediately the value of that land goes up more than twenty times. This has been happening in this city but at the moment, I see there are three or four golf courses which are going under the same hammer. The city’s land bank has to be protected. Can the Minister ensure that the master plan is looked at and that we have a certain amount of green area given to us?
HON. CHOMBO: Definitely, we try by all means to make sure that we protect the land. Right now we are re-doing the master plan. It is supposed to be approved very soon. So be rest assured that your concerns are addressed.
We also have a process if there is an application that comes our way, we cannot just deny it. We have set procedures. Once we go through that and the application passes, there is no way we can deny that applicant.
HON. MADZIMURE: As the Minister has said, there is a process that must be taken to get to a stage where the change of use is eventually approved. How is it possible for it to be done in a proper way in a situation like Harare where we currently have an Acting Mayor, Town Clerk, Chamber Secretary, six acting directors and only one substantive director who is the Director of Health? The Committees of the Council are not working because of the directives coming from the Minister of Local Government. How is the population going to be confident that whatever resolution that council makes is a legitimate resolution when there are no officers in the offices of the City of Harare?
HON. CHOMBO: I hear you and agree with you that we have a lot of officers who are facing some disciplinary issues. Right now, all the councillors are there and they are the ones who make council resolutions. For your own information, we have a lot of those officers who are just waiting for approval. Very soon we are going to have a complemented management team.
HON. MARKHAM: The Minister said that they cannot deny a developer. Is the Minister saying that the City of Harare has no right to deny a developer taking over their land?
HON. CHOMBO: We have a processes and procedure to be followed. Once the City Council has a change of reservations application, it comes through our office and we have to go through that process. They can deny or accept that application. They have a right to refuse. We can override it, based on the procedures that would have been followed. We have to advertise for 30 days. Once we advertise, they have to respond and we also respond to them to address their concerns and so forth. The procedure is watertight. I thank you.
Questions Without Notice were interrupted by THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER in terms of Standing Order No. 68.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE
MEASURES TO DEAL WITH CARTELS COLLECTING REVENUES FROM COUNCIL PLACES LIKE MARKETS
- (v)HON. CHINYANGANYA asked the Minister of Local Government and Public Works to inform the House what measures are in place to deal with cartels collecting revenues from council places like markets which are supposed to be collected by local authorities.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. CHOMBO): Thank you Madam Speaker. The Ministry has never received any complaints from local authorities with regards to cartels. If there are any, the issue should be reported to the police. Councils are well aware of what to do should such situations arise as they are the licencing authority. Thank you.
(v)HON. CHINYANGANYA: I want to thank the Hon. Deputy Minister for her response. Inasmuch as the police might be there, the issue is the council officials are scared to report these cartels because they are politically connected. If they try to report to the police, nothing has been done. How can the Ministry assist the local authorities?
HON. CHOMBO: Thank you Madam Speaker and thank you Hon. Chinyanganya. As I said before that we have not had any such reports and if the local authorities need protection, they know we are the parent Ministry and they can come forward with their concerns.
PROVISION OF MORE LAND TO GWANDA MUNICIPALITY
- (v)HON. MOKONE asked the Minister of Local Government and Public Works to inform the House what plans are there to provide more land to the Gwanda Municipality that has a waiting list of approximately above 15 000.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. CHOMBO): Thank you Madam Speaker. The Ministry had acquired two farms Jarz and Dolfontein farms from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement for urban expansion for Gwanda Municipality. The Ministry, Gwanda Municipality and other stakeholders are now working on the planning modalities. I thank you.
(v)HON. MOKONE: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would want to thank the Minister for such a wonderful response. If it pleases her, in terms of the timelines, when are they likely to complete the modalities that they are working on because the people in Gwanda community need accommodation?
HON. CHOMBO: Thank you Madam Speaker and thank you Hon. Member for the follow up question. I cannot give a definite timeline because it involves other Ministries and the local authority but I can assure you that we have it as a priority issue.
REHABILITATION OF ROADS IN KADOMA
- (v)HON. CHINYANGANYA asked the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development to inform the House when the following roads in Kadoma will be rehabilitated:-
(a) Marandu Street;
(b) Parirenyatwa Drive;
(c) Westview-Nyambo Road;
(d) Buffalo Road;
(e) Kerk Street;
(f) Learnard Street; and
(g) Robson Manyika.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Madam Speaker. Tremendous progress continues to be registered in rehabilitating the national road network through the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme 2 (ERRP2) and to the mantra ‘leaving no one and no place behind’. ERRP2 has reached the four corners of the nation gradually reintroducing the easy of movement of goods and people for social and commercial interactions. Likewise, Kadoma town is also a beneficiary of ERRP2 and all the seven roads being undertaken in year 2022. Madam Speaker, execution of the ERRP2 countrywide is being implemented by four road authorities being the Department of Roads, local authorities, rural district council and DDF. Roads in Kadoma being executed by department of roads and Kadoma City Council, Learnard Street and Robson Manyika Street are being implemented by Kadoma City Council. Earthworks for the two roads have since been completed and the contractor is left with surfacing and drainage works. Competition is earmarked for end of May 2022. The remaining roads are being done by Department of Roads. Delays were experienced in commencing works as the projects had to be retendered after the initial contractors failed to execute the works.
Madam Speaker, allow me to inform you that Parinyatwa Drive and Westview Nyambo Road have since been awarded to Frogmerge Construction Company and site handover done on 7 April 2022 and the works are in progress. The remaining three roads being Buffalo Road, Kerk Street and Marandu Street were awarded to Zinondo Holding. Site handover was done on 5 April 2022 and the contractor has started mobilising equipment to site. Thank you Madam Speaker.
(v)HON. CHINYANGANYA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would want to thank the Hon. Minister for his response. The challenge that is facing the city council at the moment is late disbursement of funds to rehabilitate the roads that you mentioned are supposed to be done by the city council. Motorists have challenges in accessing some of the roads. The first phase has been done but there are so many blockages along the way such that motorists are having challenges to access their homes. What is the Ministry doing to make sure that there is timeous disbursement of funds for the rehabilitation of the roads? Also, the ones that have been mentioned that they have been re-tendered, I kindly ask the Minister to expedite the disbursement of funds so that motorists may not be affected in their day to day movements. Thank you.
HON. MHONA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. Let me thank Hon. Chinyanganya for the follow up questions. Yes, if we have got details, we will also need to move with speed in rehabilitating those roads. I assure the Hon. Member that we will supervise the local authority, Kadoma City Council so that they also move with speed in completing the projects they have started. In terms of disbursements, funding is coming from ZINARA religiously, so I do not think there is an excuse from the council to say they are not getting their allocation. Above all, we will also monitor as the Ministry of Transport and also the tenders that we have flighted to expedite the process so that we partake the exercise. Thank you Madam Speaker.
REHABILITATION OF MAGODO ROAD IN BUDIRIRO
12 HON. MACHINGAUTA asked the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development to inform the House when Magodo road in ward 43, Budiriro will be rehabilitated considering that on 5th May 2021, the Minister of Local Government and Public Works informed the House that the road will be rehabilitated under Phase 3 of the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Program (ERRP).
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Madam Speaker Ma’am, allow me to refresh colleagues on the modalities and institutional arrangements in the compilation, approval and implementation of ERRP 2. The backbone of recovering our ailing road network, identification of roads for rehabilitation in a given year begins at ward level and escalated to district and provincial level where the projects are prioritised, consolidated and submitted to the ERRP 2 technical committee at national level. The technical committee consolidates the provincial submission into a national programme that is approved by Cabinet for implementation in the given financial year.
Magodo Road in Ward 43 in Budiriro was not included in the province’s roads programme for year 2022. However, after observing the omission, we have advised City of Harare to lobby for additional funding for this road. My Ministry will also lobby the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development to provide resources for execution of the project. Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am.
RECONSTRUCTION OF NYADANGE BRIDGE IN HURUNGWE NORTH CONSTITUENCY
- Hon. Gandawa asked the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development to inform the House when the Government will reconstruct Nyadange Bridge in Ward 9, Kazangarare area of Hurungwe North Constituency which was washed away by Tropical Depression Anna.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. The effects of natural phenomena have not spared our country, especially the road network infrastructure. The deplorable state of our road infrastructure is a direct effect of these floods, depressions and cyclones sweeping through our country. To this end, the Government through the wise leadership of our President, His Excellency Cde. Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa embarked on the structured ERRP 2 to restore the road network.
Phase one of ERRP 2 was directed at emergency works, to restore roads by attending to pothole patching and storm water drains. Phase two was for preventative works that included road refills, regravelling and selective rehabilitation works. Phase three focuses on full rehabilitation, reconstruction and construction of drainage works. Phase four will focus on major bridge constructions and major repairs of structures damaged by earlier natural disasters.
Madam Speaker Ma’am, let me hasten to say Phase one and two were combined at implementation for objectivity and Phase three is underway with remnants of Phases one and two being completed. Thus, Nyadange Bridge in Ward 9, Kazangarare area of Hurungwe North Constituency will be under Phase four to be implemented next year. However, my Ministry will approach the Ministry of Finance for additional funding to undertake the bridge under special projects. Thank you.
RESURFACING OF MKOBA 12 TO MKOBA 17 IN GWERU
- Hon. Chibaya asked the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development to explain to the House when the Ministry will resurface the road from Mkoba 12 to Mkoba 17 in Gweru.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. Let me also thank Hon. Chibaya for the important question. In the implementation of ERRP 2, my Ministry has encountered non-performing contractors to the detriment of achieving our national goals under ERRP 2. The road from Mkoba 12 to Mkoba 17 was one such road that was graced by non-performing contractor. The contract has since been terminated and the project re-tendered. We expect the road to be resurfaced by the third quarter of 2022. I can assure you that my Ministry is putting a plug to non-performers by blacklisting those found wanting and also tightening the contractor selection criteria. I thank you.
HON. GABBUZA: My supplementary question is on the issue of non-performing contractors. How does the Minister get around the problem where after being blacklisted, the same contractors change their company profiles and retender as a different company. It looks like there is no due diligence done before these companies are awarded projects.
HON. MHONA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. Let me also thank Hon. Eng. Gabbuza for that very important question. It is true that you would find a non-performing contractor in one province moving to another. Because of that malpractice, we have introduced a log book that we have as a Ministry that we check before anyone is awarded a tender. If one changes, that will be having the names of the directors. In this case, you can only by-pass this vetting exercise if you change directors. If you change the name of the company and the relevant details pertaining to address, you will not be in a position to get a tender again. As much as we are trying to empower our local players in the industry, we have also witnessed the gaps in the procurement exercise where we are saying the lowest bidder will get the tender. In a number of cases, you find that one will then bid without necessary equipment to carry the task at hand. So, we have managed to plug all those to say those who were testing the Ministry, I think it is no longer business as usual and we will not allow even one contractor to have so many contracts within the country where you would find one contractor in one province also appearing in other nine or so provinces. This is now a thing of the past.
*HON. TOGAREPI: I do not know whether this will be a new question but I think it is related to what the Minister is talking about. People who are constructing these beautiful roads omit to fix the roads that they will be using to ferry their materials to the roads they will be fixing. Please Minister, tell us what we should do because our inroads which we use have been equally destroyed during the time that the major road was being constructed and they are so bad and difficult to travel on.
*HON. MHONA: Thank you Hon Chief Whip for the important question. My response to your question is, our policy is that these contractors should restore the area to its original position or better it. If there are any areas that have been left like that after projects like road construction, let my Ministry know. It is not Government policy to go and get materials like sand and destroy the used roads and leave them like that without fixing them. Those are some of the contractual agreements we have with the contractors of our roads. I hope all those who are listening will let my Ministry know if there are such areas so we can reinforce restoration and betterment of places they will be working in. I thank you.
MONEY DISBURSED BY ZINARA TO HURUNGWE RDC FOR ROADS REHABILITATION
- HON. GANDAWA asked the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development to explain to the House how much money ZINARA has disbursed to Hurungwe Rural District Council for roads rehabilitation for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021 specifically for the benefit of Hurungwe North Constituency.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Hon. Gandawa for a very important question. Disbursements made to Hurungwe RDC in 2019 were to the tune of ZW$667 745, in 2020, ZW$4,361,48 and in 2021, ZW$72,303,612. I thank you.
REFURBISHING OF THE HIGHWAY BETWEEN MAKHADO AND BEITBRIDGE
- HON. MOKONE asked the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development to inform the House when the Ministry will refurbish the highway between Makhado and Beitbridge.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Hon. Mokone for the question. The section being referred to is from the 221 to 321 kilometre peg at the border post. Under the 2022 programme, the Ministry is currently dualising the section from the 215.7km peg to 221km peg at the border. Plans to upgrade and rehabilitate the section from 266km peg to 270km peg are also in place and it is at procurement stage. The pre-tender site visit was done and we are proceeding to the valuation stage. From 221km peg to 230km peg, we propose to do a reseal on that section which is directly at Makhado. I thank you.
(v) HON. MOKONE: Thank you Hon. Minister for your response. The road that I am referring to is a very important road which is the face of Zimbabwe. So, if it pleases the Minister, may you kindly inform this House when this road will be refurbished? All the tourists from South Africa use that road yet it is in that state.
HON. MHONA: Thank you Hon. Mokone for that follow up question. It is true that the connectivity that is brought about by the connectivity of our trunk roads is very important. I want to assure the Hon. Member that yes it is an economic road of paramount importance that it is rehabilitated. We are seized with your concerns and as Government, we are making sure that all our trunk roads are being rehabilitated. I want to assure the Hon. Member that we have started working on this road and we are not going to stop on the designated areas that I have highlighted but we will continue on that trajectory. I thank you.
The Temporary Speaker having called for response to Question 18.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Madam Speaker, on question 18, as much as Hon. Chikwinya is not in our midst, from the Ministry, we did not have that updated Order Paper, so I ask that it be carried forward.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Minister. We need to applaud you for responding to all the questions and for being prepared to answer all the questions - [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.]- We will defer questions 19 to 24.
SALARIES FOR GOVERNMENT WORKERS AND PENSIONERS
- HON. CHIBAYA asked the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to explain to the House when the Ministry will reveal salaries for Government workers and pensioners considering the sharp increase in the exchange rate both on interbank and the black market.
THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. PROF. MAVIMA): Madam Speaker, may the House be informed that the National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC) met on 28th February and an agreement on cost of living adjustment was signed. Government received the workers position paper to review salaries in light of the current inflation and Government consultations resulted in the review of the salaries. At that particular point in time, US$175 in hard currency was awarded to Government workers and a 20% raise was also given in Zimbabwean dollar terms.
The NJNC meeting will be convened once Government consultations have been finalised for a new review and Government will consider the position of workers and will also put forward its own position.
HON. MPARIWA: Thank you Madam Chair. I want to thank the Minister for his response but perhaps really I need to encourage or to enquire from the Minister what is actually stopping regular meetings of the NJNC in view of the fact that he says their last meeting was in February 2022 and with the vast movement of prices and the loss of the value of the Zimbabwe dollar, I would encourage that the NJNC meets regularly, perhaps even monthly so that at least the gap between the wages and the prices is not so wide in terms of the time that is actually being consumed before the meeting is convened. It is my humble submission that regular meetings would pay dividends in terms of covering the gap in salaries and the wage degradation. I thank you.
HON. PROF. MAVIMA: The meeting that I have referred to resulted in very substantive changes in the conditions of services of the public servants. The most fundamental of which was the awarding of an extra or additional US$100 bringing the United States dollar component of the salaries of the least paid public servants to 175 and that did not touch their Zimbabwean dollar component and then the Zimbabwean dollar component itself was increased by 20%. So it was quite substantial.
We expect that this quarter, there will be another meeting. So it is probably more prudent to have quarterly meetings rather than monthly meetings - we expect this quarter to have another meeting of the NJNC. Typically, what happens is the workers themselves call for a meeting and present their position and then the NJNC is then convened. We have not seen that agitation as of now but as soon as it takes place, then definitely Government’s door is always open for negotiations to take place.
HON. GABBUZA: The Minister indicated that negotiations have been happening but Madam Speaker, the Zimbabwe dollar component, given that it has been seriously eroded and we heard recently from the RBZ that our export revenue has trebled or doubled which means there is now room for maneuvering in the foreign currency component. Is the Minister considering negotiating now in foreign currency given that there has been assurance that our export revenues have increased significantly?
HON. PROF. MAVIMA: Determination of how the remuneration for public servants is done is not the responsibility of the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare or the Public Service Commission alone. You will appreciate that there are quite a number of other factors that have to be considered requiring collaborative look at things together with Treasury and indeed together with the office of the President and Cabinet and therefore that collective responsibility has to be considered before I could actually say as a Ministry or as the Public Service Commission that I represent in fora such as this, one can then go and say we will be basing our negotiations on the United States dollar or hard currency so to speak. I thank you Madam Speaker.
APPROVAL OF CBA IN THE WELFARE AND EDUCATION SECTOR FOR SALARY SCALES DENOMINATED IN USD
- HON. WATSON asked the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to explain to the House why the Ministry has approved a CBA in the Welfare and Education Sector for salary scales denominated in USD where the highest paid worker receives US$ 516.31 and the lowest US$216 whilst it cannot countenance this for Civil Servants.
THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. PROF. MAVIMA): Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. The Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare approved the Collective Bargaining Agreement for welfare and educational institutions because of the following reasons:
- It is a legal right for social partners to negotiate as enshrined in the Labour Act [Chapter 28:01], Section 74 (2) which states as follows;
74 Scope of collective bargaining agreements
(2) Subject to this Act and the competence and authority of the parties, trade unions and employers or employers organisations may negotiate collective bargaining agreements as to any conditions of employment which are of mutual interest to the parties thereto.
It is from this background that the social partners in the sector have negotiated a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
- The salaries were denominated in United States Dollars (USD) but payable in Zimbabwean dollars at the prevailing interbank rate. This was done to protect the employees from volatile economic environment and to avoid continuous salary negotiations.
- There was also nothing at law prohibiting the sector to negotiate salaries denominated in USD but payable in Zimbabwe dollars. It is also important to note that several industries have their collective bargaining agreements denominated in USD but payable in Zimbabwean dollars. For instance, Ferro-Alloys Industry, Water and Allied Industry, Mining and Tobacco.
- It is important to note that the Government employees’ conditions of employment are negotiated through the National Joint Negotiating Committee (NJNC) in terms of the Public Service Act while other industries in the private sector negotiate through the National Employment Councils (NECs) in terms of the Labour Act. Whilst these platforms are used to achieve the same goal that is to negotiate salaries for employees, they use different legislation and they are regulated differently.
- However, it is not entirely true to say that Government cannot countenance the same arrangements for civil servants because we are all aware that since the onset of the year, civil servants are being paid part of their salaries in USD as a way of protecting them from the effects of exchange rate volatility. Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am.
NUMBER OF BULAWAYO RESIDENTS REGISTERED FOR ASSISTANCE THROUGH CASH TRANSFERS
- (v)HON. WATSON asked the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to inform the House the number of Bulawayo Residents registered for assistance through cash transfers, particularly for those in Bulawayo Central Constituency
THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. PROF. MAVIMA): Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare is providing support to vulnerable households in Bulawayo Province through various programmes, namely Harmonised Social Cash Transfer, Emergency Social Cash Transfers and Cash for Cereals. For the Harmonised Social Cash Transfers, the programme is reaching out to 2 566 households in the following wards, Makokoba (7), Mzilikazi (8), Mpopoma (9), Entumbane (10), Emakhandeni (11), Njube (12), Iminyela (13), Lobengula (14), Old Magwegwe (18), Old Pumula (19), Pumula South (27) and Magwegwe North (29). The wards were targeted based on the poverty profiles. Within the Metropolitan Provinces, 17 684 households are benefitting from the Cash for Cereals from Government. In response to unprecedented effects of COVID-19, the Ministry, in partnership with UNICEF introduced the Emergency Social Cash Transfer Programme to support 3 605 transitory poor households in the following areas: Robert Sinyoka, Iminyela, Sizinda, Old Luveve, Nkulumane (Sekusile area), Gwabalanda and Emganwini. Thank you Madam Speaker.
(v)HON. C. MOYO: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. How do we fit in as we play our representative role? You are aware of the legislative and oversight but I am worried about the representative. Firstly, how do we fit in these cash transfer programmes as Members of Parliament who represent people? Secondly, if we meet those who are excluded but more deserving, how do we fit in as Members of Parliament for the people so that they can also be assisted?
THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. PROF. MAVIMA): Thank you Madam Speaker, I am not sure that I fully got the question.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: The question was - how do we fit in as Hon. Members whenever we identify any person who is supposed to benefit from the scheme, and if ever we find any lack within the system, are we also supposed to contribute towards assisting and providing names and people who can benefit from this?
HON. PROF. MAVIMA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. This is a programme that is run by the Department of Social Development, in some cases with partnership from international development partners such as the UNICEF like I referred to but also the World Food Programme.
We try as much as possible to get this programme to operate both on technical criteria for targeting the beneficiaries but if Hon. Members feel that there are people who have been left behind, their best bet is to approach the local office of the Department of Social Development. There is an office in each district of this country where they can indicate those people who have become vulnerable, and the department again where necessary, working with the development partners can then do the assessment and either include this person or tells them that based on their criteria, they do not qualify. So the role of leadership including Hon. Members of Parliament would be to inform the relevant department where they see a situation that needs the assistance of the department. I thank you.
(v)HON. MUSHORIWA: Thank you Madam Speaker. My supplementary question to the Hon. Minister is, in terms of the urbanites who are in the urban areas who were denied rice, especially in Harare and Bulawayo yet in other cities rice was issued in some constituencies like Mutare and Rusape East, what is the rationale behind such a policy Hon. Minister?
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Minister, this question is for cash transfer and does not pertain to issues of rice. So may you please put your question in writing? Thank you.
(v)HON. MUSHORIWA: The Hon. Minister, in his response, said that there are three cash transfers instead of actual food hand-outs. I am simply saying that rice was issued in other cities but was not issued in Harare. Surely there should be a rationale behind such a Ministerial policy.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: As you can see Honourable, that is a new and specific question. Please put it in writing and the Hon. Minister will respond. Thank you very much. Let me also thank the Hon. Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Prof. Mavima for responding to all the questions.
(v)HON. SARUWAKA: On a point of order Madam Speaker Ma’am. I am not sure whether you treated Hon. Mushoriwa’s concern fairly. Cash or food serves the same purpose –you can be given food or money to buy food. So for you to say that it is a new question because we are talking about food and not cash, why do you not allow the Hon. Minister to respond? I am sure he will be capable of dealing with the question from Hon. Mushoriwa.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Thank you very much; I think I have already made a ruling on that. The issue was about cash transfers. As Hon. Members, I think it is quite clear that whenever we have a supplementary question, it cannot be outside the initial question. So the initial question was pertaining to cash transfers and giving an example does not mean that is the initial question. I think we need to be very clear about that.
Hon. Mushoriwa was asking about an issue to do with rice which is a different case pertaining to Harare and comparing them to Bulawayo – that is a new question altogether. So for me to be able to make that ruling, it was based on us now diverting from the initial question. I thank you.
WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE
APPOINTMENT OF PROVINCIAL COUNCILS
- HON. G. SITHOLE asked the Minister of Local Government and Public Works to inform the House:-
(a) when will the Government put in place Provincial Councils as to ensure supervision of devolution funds; and
(b) when will Government complete the borehole projects which were started in Ward 21 and Ward 19 Chitungwiza under the Presidential Borehole Scheme.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. CHOMBO): Thank you Madam Speaker. The Bill is till with Attorney-General’s Office. Once it is finalised in terms of drafting, the Minister of Local Government and Public Works will be able to present it to Parliament. For Ward 19, two boreholes were drilled and only one was successful. It is now waiting installation while the other one was found dry. For Ward 21, two boreholes were drilled and both were successful. They are only waiting for installation. I thank you.
COMMENCEMENT OF THE HARARE-CHITUNGWIZA RAILWAY PROJECT
- HON. SITHOLE asked the Minister of Transport and
Infrastructural Development to inform the House;
when will the Harare-Chitungwiza Railway Project commence
- when will the road opposite Unit B Corner Shops in Chitungwiza be refurbished.
- when will Government erect the bus stop station at Diaspora area opposite Unit B Area in Chitungwiza.
- what is the progress regarding moving the Seke Ziko Tollgate to Seke Mabhauwa area?
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Allow me to proffer my responses as follows;
- The railway project initiation process being spearheaded by the National Railways of Zimbabwe. The project will go through the following processes;
- The valuation of previous feasibility study that was carried out is scheduled to start on 25 May and is expected to take three weeks up to mid June 2022.
- Preliminary establishment of bill of quantities.
- Final bill of quantities.
- Tendering process.
- Adjudication process.
- PRAZ processes and appointment of the contractor or project implementer.
- Roll out of the project and construction up to completion of works.
Let me hasten to say that NRZ is ready for this project and the timeliness of commencement of works is hinged on the availability of funding of distinguished processes. We will continue to lobby for timely funding through the Ministry of Finance.
- In Chitungwiza, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development has taken over five main roads so far, these being Gudza, Kubvumbi, Batanai, Tumba way and Waterland roads. The contractor is already on site and overall progress stands at 21%. During our stakeholder engagement, these roads were the main priority in Chitungwiza as they serve as access roads to Chitungwiza General Hospital from Seke and Zengeza District.
- The road in question is in Unit B (Chibuku Road) which is under the ERRP 2 programme and it is being implemented by Chitungwiza Municipality. The scope of works is pothole patching and we expect the local council to quickly commence work as the councils have already received initial disbursements for routine maintenance from ZINARA. The section being referred to by the Hon. Member is part of the Seke Road extension which passes behind Makoni shopping area to Dema tollgate. That section of road from Chikwanha roundabout to Dema tollgate has been earmarked for dualisation and currently designs are underway for the horizontal alignment of the new road. As we wait for the finalisation of the designs, I will direct my Ministry to work on a temporary bus stop on the diaspora area whilst we incorporate the permanent bus stop on our final road designs.
- The proposed new site to relocate Dema tollgate to Mabhauwa was identified and all stakeholder processes were done. The Ministry has since started procurement processes for the design and construction of a state of the art toll plaza at the proposed new site. We have scheduled to start the actual construction in July 2022.
PLANS TO ASSIST COMMUNITIES FACING HUNGER IN NYANGA
- HON. SANYATWE asked the Minister of Public Service,
Labour and Social Welfare to inform the House what Government plans are in as far as assistance to communities facing acute hunger due to poor rains is concerned in the following areas of Nyanga; Fombe Ward 1, Kazozo Ward 3, Katerera Ward 5, Ruwangwe Ward 4, Gotegote Wards 7 and 9, Nyatsanga, Nyamahumba, Munemo, Avilla Renzva Wards 2 and 10, Nyadowa, Sabvure, Bariri Ward 11.
THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. PROF. MAVIMA): Thank you Hon. Sanyatwe for the question. May the House be informed that Government is responding to any call made across the country for food assistance and other social protection services like the public assistance and the cash transfer. Calls for food assistance are done at district level through drought relief committees. The committees assess the situation in their districts and submit a request for grain. This season seems to be bad across the country and we wait for crop and livestock assessments and the vulnerability assessments to ascertain areas that are worse off. Whilst we wait for these formalities, we have requested the Ministry of Lands to avail grain for an extension of the programme and upscale to the affected districts. Nyanga District has approximately 40 thousand beneficiaries to be targeted.
CONSTRUCTION OF BASE STATIONS WITH 3G IN MARGINALISED AREAS OF HURUNGWE NORTH
- HON. GANDAWA asked the Minister of Information Communication and Technology, Postal and Courier Services to inform the House when POTRAZ, through the Universal Services Fund, is going to construct base stations with 3G in marginalised areas of Hurungwe North, particularly, Mayamba area in Ward 8, Dete area Ward 9, Kachiva and Bakwa area in Ward 22.
THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY, POSTAL AND COURIER SERVICES (HON. DR. MUSWERE): Madam Speaker Ma’am, I want to thank the Hon. Member for the question. We have a five-year Digital Infrastructure Master Plan encompassing POTRAZ USF, SOEs and the private sector to ensure that we leave no one and no space behind. Scoping for all areas has commenced including Hurungwe District, and will be completed before the end of July, in order to pave way for the construction of base stations. The responsibility for base station construction is for all the players, and will include infrastructure sharing passive infrastructure. I thank you.
GARMENT FACTORY IN CHITUNGWIZA
- HON. G. SITHOLE asked the Minster of Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprise Development to explain who is running the Garment Factory situated in Ward 21 Unit A Chitungwiza.
THE MINSTER OF WOMEN’S AFFAIRS, COMMUNITY, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. NYONI): The Chitungwiza Clothing Cluster which was formerly known as the Chitungwiza Clothing Factory is being run by a cluster of men and women who came together for the sake of economies of scale and are supported by the Ministry. The equipment in use was donated by COMESA. I thank you.
Questions with Notice were interrupted by THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER in terms of Standing Order No. 68.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. TOGAREPI: Madam Speaker, I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 27 be stood over until Order of the Day, Number 28 has been disposed of.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
HON. MUSHORIWA: On a point of order Madam Speaker. I would want to understand from the Chair. The reason why we have the Order Paper properly numbered is because the Business Committee is assumed to have sat down and come up with the Orders of the Day.
It has now become the norm that every day we have a situation where Orders of the Day have to be selected for debate. What is happening? Is the Business of the House still sitting or it is now a question of who lobbies the Chief Whip at a particular moment?
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Thank you very much Hon. Mushoriwa. Indeed, the Committee has not been sitting of late. However, what usually happens is that Hon. Members have to also register that they are prepared to debate their motions and this is considered by the Hon. Chief Whip to the extent that even as of today, the only Committee which is ready with their report and ready to debate is that one from Order of the Day Number 28. That is why we are resorting to that.
(v)HON. MUSHORIWA: Thank you Madam Speaker but we said that this is an important Committee of this House and needs to sit and deliberate on these issues.
SECOND READING
PRIVATE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS AMENDMENT BILL [H. B.10, 2021]
Twenty Eighth Order read: Second Reading: Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Bill [H. B. 10, 2021]
Question again proposed.
HON. E. NCUBE: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker Maam for affording me this opportunity to present a report of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare on public consultations on the Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Bill [H.B. 10, 2021]
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Bill [H.B. 10, 2021] was gazetted on 5 November 2021. It seeks to amend the Private Voluntary Organisation Act [Chapter 17:05] in compliance with the Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) recommendations. Zimbabwe is
a member country to the FATF, an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1989 with the major objective of developing policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The country was placed under a monitoring programme in October 2018 to ensure the
alignment of laws on Private Voluntary Organisations (PVOs) to Recommendation 8. The key objective of Recommendation 8 is to ensure that non-profit organisations are not misused by terrorist organisations whether as a way for such terrorist organisations to pose as legitimate entities; or to exploit legitimate entities as conduits for terrorist financing, including for the purpose of escaping asset freezing measures; or to conceal or obscure the clandestine diversion of funds intended for legitimate purposes, but diverted for terrorist purposes.
In terms of Section 141 of the Constitution which enjoins Parliament to ensure public involvement in its legislative process and that interested parties are consulted about bills, the Portfolio Committee on Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare conducted public consultations on the Bill. This report summarizes the views of the people of Zimbabwe on the Bill.
2.0 METHODOLOGY
As part of consultations on the Bill, the Portfolio Committee on Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare attended two workshops which were organized by Parliament in collaboration
with development partners; including the United Nations Development Programme, Zimbabwe Institute, Southern African Parliamentary Trust (SAPST) and National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (NANGO). These workshops were attended Members of the Committee, legal experts, civil society organisations (CSOs) and officials from the
Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare.
The Committee also conducted public hearings on the Bill from 28 February to 4 March 2022. In this regard, the Committee was divided into 2 teams which undertook consultations at 14 different venues across the 10 provinces of Zimbabwe. Group A reached out to a total of 907
people physically comprising of: 49% (452) males, 51% (455) females and 7% (65) being persons with disabilities. Comparatively, the public hearings conducted by Group B were attended by a total of 987 citizens comprising: 386 males and 601 females. The aggregate reach
was therefore, 1894 where 44% were male participants and 64% females.
In addition, virtual hearings were conducted on four (4) radio stations namely; Diamond FM, National FM, Nyaminyami FM, and Skyz Metro FM. Furthermore, the Committee received and analysed several written submissions from interested stakeholders.
3.0 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
3.1 General Submissions
The public applauded Parliament for the efforts made in reaching out to gather their views on the Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Bill. However, a call was made to extend the consultations to district level in the future. Participants complained that the Bill was too technical and written in only one language, that is English while some people required the Braille format which made it difficult for them to participate during the public hearings. Parliament was urged to provide sign language interpreters during public hearings to enable everyone to participate, including those with hearing impairments. It was also emphasised that the review of laws be done with a spirit of protecting the country and safeguarding the interests of the citizens. In addition, a call was made upon the Portfolio Committee on Public Service,
Labour and Social Welfare to conduct benchmarking visits to other countries before finalising its report on the Bill.
3.2 Highlights of participants views in support of the Bill
Some members of the public supported the Bill stating that PVOs need to be regulated at a higher level since some of them abuse funds from donors for personal gain. It was highlighted that as long as PVOs operate in good faith, sticking to their mandate and transparency they would never be adversely affected by the new amendments. In addition, it was noted that good supervision of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) was necessary to stop them from meddling in politics, in particular by supporting political parties. Furthermore, it was noted that some PVOs were diluting the local culture which resulted in moral decadence, hence there was need for regulation. Finally, the Bill was applauded as it sought to curb terrorism which had profoundly affected some countries socio-economically, including those on the continent.
3.3 Highlights of participants views NOT in support of the Bill
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) expressed reservations on the enactment of the Bill in its current form into law. There was a general sentiment that current laws adequately regulate PVOs in terms of accountability and curbing money laundering. These include; the Criminal law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23], Suppression of Foreign and International Terrorism Act [Chapter 11:21], Bank Use Promotion and Suppression of Money Laundering Act [Chapter 24:24], Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act [Chapter 9:07] and Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act [Chapter 9:24], amongst others. Additionally, CSOs indicated that the FATF recommendations no longer mattered as the country had been removed from the monitoring programme. It was also highlighted that the proposed amendments would paralyse civic engagement, compromise independence of PVOs in their operations, especially on advocacy work in line with Constitution. An increase in bureaucratic layers could create
room for corruption due to excessive powers granted to administrative authorities. This could result in the hiking of registration fees beyond the reach of many. Furthermore, it was noted that the Bill reverses the spirit of devolution as it centralizes powers in the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and violates freedom of association as enshrined in Section58 of the Constitution.
4.0 SPECIFIC SUBMISSIONS ON THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS
4.1 Clause 1: Short Title of the Bill
There were no objections to the title of the Bill in all the ten provinces.
4.2 Clause 2: Interpretations
The public noted the following as fundamental amendments which should be captured in the interpretation clause:
- a) The terms “legal person” and “legal arrangement” were considered to be unclear and it was proposed that they be defined to avoid legal uncertainty.
- b) “collecting contributions from the public or outside the country” should be defined in order to comply with the international law of legality;
- c) Section 2(3) should make provision for a risk assessment procedure to be undertaken before designating a type of legal entity as ‘high risk’ or ‘vulnerable’ to misuse for terrorist financing in line with Recommendation 8 of the Financial Action Taskforce (FATF).
4.3 Clause 3: Creation of the Office of the Registrar of Private Voluntary Organisations
This Clause creates a stand-alone office of the Registrar of Private Voluntary Organisations which shall be competent to employ its own staff who will be part of the Public Service. There was a view that the Social Welfare Department under which the registration of PVOs is
currently domiciled is not operating efficiently, thus the new Office of the Registrar of PVOs should not be placed under the Ministry of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare. Concerns were also raised regarding the lack of procedure for appointment of the Registrar and the officers and their roles. Stakeholders noted the need for self-regulation of PVOs with their own Registrar who is independent from the Public Service. Emphasis was made on ensuring that powers of the Registrar do not erode the powers of the PVOs Board. A proposal was also made to review and strengthen the PVOS Board which currently consists of 12
members who are appointed by the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, six each from PVOs and Government Ministries. Instead, stakeholders requested that the majority of the PVOs Board members be appointed by PVOs themselves following a set criterion and
that representation of the Executive be minimal on the PVOs Board.
4.4 Clause 4: Registration Fees
The clause amends Section 9 of the Private Voluntary Organisations Act by providing for the payment of a prescribed fee for registration of PVOs. The public noted that:
- a) It was appropriate that the PVOs intending to register approach the Social Welfare Department for direction on areas which need assistance;
- b) Registration fees must not be prohibitive and burdensome for any organization, in particular smaller organisations.
- c) The fee must be equally and fairly employed to all organisations.
- d) The application process should be simple, with minimal documentation required.
- e) There should be clear and limited grounds for rejection, with the ability to appeal the decision.
4.5 Clause 5. Prohibition of Involvement of PVOs in Political Affairs
The clause amends section 10 of the PVO Act by criminalizing PVOs that support or oppose a political party or candidates or finances a political party or candidate. The public indicated that NGOs should not be allowed to aid local communities on the basis of political background.
Some food distribution programmes by NGOs were allegedly used for political campaigning instead of assisting all vulnerable people. Hence, it was necessary to curb such malpractices. However, concern was raised that this clause violates the right to freedom of association provided for in Section 58 of the Constitution read together with Section 67(2)(d). In this regard, it was recommended that the Bill clearly specify what supporting or opposing a political party or candidates entails.
4.6 Clause 6: Re-registration or Amendment of Registration due to Material changes
The clause introduces a requirement for PVOs to re-register where there are material changes relating to the constitution, change in ownership or control or variation in the capacity of a PVO. The public recommended that:
- a) PVOs should not be required to register more than once;
- b) The requirement for associations to obtain permission from authorities before revising their internal management structures or rules constitutes undue interference by the Government in the internal affairs of PVOs.
4.7 Clause 7: Ministerial Powers
This Clause introduces new provisions relating to the suspension of the Executive Committee in circumstances where it appears to the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare on information supplied to him or her in respect of any registered private voluntary organisation that the organisation has ceased to operate in furtherance of the objects specified in its constitution; or the maladministration of the organisation is adversely affecting the activities of the organisation; or the organisation is involved in any illegal activities; or it is necessary or desirable to do so in the public interest. These provisions are very similar to the provisions in Section 22 of the Private Voluntary Organisations Act, the main difference being that under the proposed provisions the Minister is required to act in pursuance of an order of the High Court instead of making the decision himself or herself. This is in line with the principles of the transparency and accountability and good administrative justice. The proposed new Section 21 (11) provides that any person who makes any false representation to, or otherwise willfully hinders or obstructs a trustee in the exercise of his or her functions under this section; or falsely holds himself or herself out to be a trustee, shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level 7 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
Stakeholders highlighted that the Bill vested too much power in the Minister which reversed the spirit of devolution and may lead to mis-governance and corruption. It was noted that the Clause bestowed upon the Minister unfettered powers to interfere in the internal management of PVOs. A proposal was made to place these powers on the PVOs Board instead or to make use of readily available institutions such as the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission to deal with transparency issues.
However, some members of the public supported the clause as it empowered the Minister to ensure that PVOs stick to their mandates and do not engage in maladministration. This was in view of the notion that some PVOs diverted their mandates and without regulation this may
disturb the peace, order and good governance of the country.
4.8 Clause 8: Identification, Appreciation and Assessment of Risks
The clause repeals and replaces section 22 of the PVO Act. It provides for risk assessment of PVOs to be conducted by the Minister in cooperation with the Financial Intelligence Unit at 5 yearly intervals, to identify organizations at risk or vulnerable to terrorism abuse. In this regard, stakeholders recommended that:
- a) The risk identification assessment procedure and criteria should be clearly stated;
- b) The Minister must include PVOs in the risk assessment process in line with Recommendation 8 of the FATF;
4.9 Clause 9-11: Civil Penalties
These clauses incorporate section 22A and the Schedule to the Private Voluntary Organisations Act. They make provision for the Registrar to impose civil penalty orders to non-complying PVOs and require defaulting PVOs to pay a fixed penalty amount. Stakeholders recommended that the penalties be proportionate to offences in order to prevent over-regulation.
5.0 COMMITTEE OBSERVATIONS
The Committee made the following observations:
5.1 The purpose of registering PVOs through the Registrar is to facilitate accountability and transparency on who does what when and where.
5.2 Criminalising the involvement of PVOs in politics is meant to remind them of their core mandate that is for developmental purposes rather than to support or oppose political parties or candidates or finance a political party or candidate.
5.3 Registration fee is meant to assess or measure the financial capacity of PVOs to operate upon registration.
5.4 The creation of the Office of the Registrar of PVOs is meant to promote sound administration of PVOs, including the maintenance of proper records of registration details and their areas of operation.
5.5 Ministerial powers are meant to encourage PVOs to adhere to their mandates and minimize cases of maladministration.
5.6 The provision for the Registrar of PVOs to impose civil penalties is necessary in order to ensure that PVOs comply and adhere to the Act and the Constitution.
5.7 A majority of the PVOs currently operating in the country are not registered and outside the administration of the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare.
5.8 There was politicisation of the public hearings by CSOs as the deliberately misrepresented information pertaining to the objective of the Bill as they claimed that it sought to ban PVOs. Also, a majority of the CSOs were paying some money to the public in order to influence them to reject the Bill.
5.9 There was a lot of interest expressed by the CSOs as evidenced by their behaviour when they followed the Committee to every public hearing venue and submitted the same contributions as a way of pushing their agenda to reject the Bill.
5.10 Stakeholders complained that the Bill was too technical and written in only one language that is English while some people required the Braille format which made it difficult for them to participate
in the public consultations.
5.11 The non-payment for public hearing venues by the Administration of Parliament in advance compromised the work of Committee.
6.0 COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
The Committee made the following recommendations:
6.1 The close involvement of the Office of Registrar in the operations of PVOs as the regulatory authority.
6.2 The cancellation of a certificate or licence of any PVO that deliberately fails to stick to its mandate or participate in politics.
6.3 That government Ministries in collaboration with Parliament translate all Bills and Acts into the sixteen languages stipulated in Section 6 of the Constitution to facilitate understanding and effective participation by all stakeholders in the law- making process by December 2022.
6.4 Parliament in collaboration with other stakeholders intensify educational and publicity campaigns on Bills, public hearings and other programmes in both urban and rural areas.
6.5 The Administration of Parliament must make sure all public hearings venues are paid for in advance in order to avoid inconveniences.
7.0 CONCLUSION
The Portfolio Committee on Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare exhorts the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare in conjunction with other government departments to expeditiously implement provisions of the Bill, once passed by Parliament and ascended to by the President. Stakeholders at all levels are also encouraged to abide by the law at all times in order to promote harmony, unity and the development of Zimbabwe.
APPENDIX 1
PLACE |
MALE |
FEMALE |
PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES |
TOTAL |
Highfield, Harare |
50 |
80 |
25 |
155 |
Rusape, Vhengere Hall |
85 |
65 |
15 |
165 |
Masvingo – Masvingise Business Centere |
120 |
80 |
15 |
215 |
Mutoko – Kapondoro Business Centre |
83 |
44 |
10 |
137 |
Chinhoyi |
57 |
93 |
- |
150 |
Kariba – Nyamhunga Stadium |
57 |
93 |
- |
150 |
Guruve – Ruyamuro Business Centre |
40 |
42 |
- |
82 |
Zhombe – Zibagwe RDC |
41 |
74 |
- |
115 |
Bulawayo – Selbourne Hotel |
69 |
78 |
- |
147 |
Bulawayo – Emakandeni Hall |
47 |
92 |
- |
139 |
Beitbridge – Lutumba Village Hall |
52 |
112 |
- |
164 |
Gwanda – Gwanda Mishies Hotel |
35 |
90 |
- |
125 |
Tsholotsho – Council Offices |
13 |
21 |
- |
34 |
Jotsholo – Jotsholo Recreational Ground |
89 |
92 |
- |
181 |
I thank you.
(v)HON. MUSHORIWA: Thank you Madam Speaker for allowing me the opportunity to debate this Bill. Let me start by thanking our Portfolio Committee for the good report that they have presented. I want to start by saying that this Bill is badly conceived and badly put together. It is unconstitutional in several respects and I will explain to you Madam Speaker its vagueness in a number of clauses…
(v)HON. KASHIRI: On a point of order Madam Speaker. Hon Mushoriwa should withdraw the statement that the Bill is out of order. Let him withdraw because the Bill has gone through Cabinet but he has the audacity to come and say it is out of order – [AN HON. MEMBER: He is not obliged to]-
(v)HON. MUSHORIWA: Civic societies play a crucial role in the development of this country. It does not matter which field they are operating in. They have contributed immensely during the trying times of this country. If you analyse this Bill, you find that the Minister has given himself powers that are ultra vires the Constitution. The powers that the Minister is giving himself contravene Section 68 of the Constitution which guarantees everyone the right to administrative justice. The question of making unilateral decisions without due process is not right.
Secondly, if you read this Bill, the Minister wants to get a lot of power that will go to the extent of trying to usurp the power of Parliament which violates Sections 134 of the Constitution. Making laws is our responsibility as Parliament but if you see the powers that the Minister seeks under the PVO Bill, is to ensure that he comes up with a regulation that may as well change the text of the Act as it stands.
Thirdly, if you look at the Bill, it goes on to prohibit fundraising by trusts - even those trusts that came into being through the registration by High Court. What the Minister now wants to do is to extend his arm to all of them. It is not clear what the purpose of this provision is. Trusts are regulated under a different statute and we do not understand why the Minister would want to abrogate or end up giving himself a lot of powers.
Clause 5 of the Bill is also vague. The clause says NGOs or civic organisations will not be allowed to engage in political activities. The vagueness of it is on the definition of political activities because political activities mean anything to anybody. When the price of bread goes up you say something, it is actually political to someone and to some it is not. If you then look at it, again it violates Section 58 of our Constitution which guarantees freedom of association and it is buttressed by Section 67 which allows people to have the right to form, join and participate in the activities of a political organisation.
The import of this clause is to simply say for instance if you got the war victims association, they can say you cannot venture into politics. You have got Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Union, the one that was joined by Hon. Chinotimba, they can say you cannot. If you look at it, you then understand that the manner in which it is made is actually not properly thought through and this is dangerous as we go forward.
If you analyse Clause 7 as reported by the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee, the Minister wants to amass powers to himself to make sure that he can actually suspend the executive committee of an NGO if, in his thinking, the NGO or the civic society is not operating to the mandate. The challenge is that the Minister wants to do an application to the High Court whilst the application has not been considered. He wants to give himself power to unilaterally do that. This is patently unconstitutional because it violates the right to due processes. This again shows you that this Bill was not properly crafted.
If you then look at Clause 8 which has been highlighted by the report from the Committee, in this country, we do have sufficient statutes and legislation that deal with illegal movement of cash to the extent that there is no need for us to hide it through such standards when in effect, we have got an agenda which does not necessarily talk to such standards.
Lastly, when you look at the civil penalties that are being proposed, you come to the realisation that the intention of this Bill is not progressive, it does not intend to build a better Zimbabwe. Whilst it is understandable that in any society organisations, human beings and every one of us has to abide by certain standards, rules and regulations but when we do it, we should do it just like when we do the prayer every time we commence Parliament, that we do laws which are for the good governance of this country. If you analyse the Bill, it was crafted with a motive targeting certain civic societies in the governance areas.
If you then check, this country got independence in 1980 and you will realise that most of our freedom fighters got support from these civic societies and some of them were church run. It is wrong for a party that claims to be standing on the shoulders of revolutionary and liberation legacy to then try to cut the freedom that was bestowed by a hard and protracted Second Chimurenga War that ushered this country in 1980. We cannot reverse those gains. Instead, what we should be doing is to ensure that we give as much freedom as possible to allow these civic societies to continuously move and operate and help the country to prosper.
This is my view Madam Speaker and I believe strongly that the crafting of this Bill was wrongly done and was done with a wrong motive. I thank you.
HON. TOGAREPI: Thank you Madam Speaker for giving me this opportunity to also talk to this report by the Portfolio Committee on Public Service Labour and Social Welfare. What I read from this is that the intention and objective of this Bill is that everyone in civil society must stick to his mandate. Only people who are bent on being lawless, would want to live and do business whether it is social work or non-governmental work in Zimbabwe. They want to do it being above the laws of this country. Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs), nobody even the Bill itself, does not dispute that NGOs are a very important part of our society, governance, economy and social services. Nobody doubts and is against that. What we are against is where you find an organisation that comes to Zimbabwe, on a specific request to do a certain line of work in support to the Government of Zimbabwe, deviating from that, starting to do things that are outside their mandate. Nobody would like that. If you go to America today, as an NGO and you involve yourself in the politics of America, they will never allow you to operate. Go to any country, we have evidence everywhere, where NGOs have been used to regime change agents. No country in its rightful senses will allow that.
So, the complaints that we hear from NGOs, we realise that those who are well meaning; the NGOs that have come to Zimbabwe to do genuine work are not complaining. We have only few misguided NGOs who are employed to come to disturb us as a country; who are against this law. If you are a law abiding NGO, who knows very well how you were registered, the objects of your organisation; you will not be worried. If you have come here to do relief work for providing food or supporting disabled persons, you will not talk about politics. So how does that affect you?
Those who do not want to be registered; those who do not want to be supervised on what they are doing, they have got an agenda. They have something to hide. Madam Speaker, this is a welcome development. These people have been getting into our nerves by involving themselves in our politics. We are not talking about politics of a certain political party but all our political parties must never be driven by NGOs. If we allow NGOs to go unregulated, what it means is we will be at the mercy of those who sponsor those NGOs to change our Government when they want; to disturb our politics whenever they want.
So, from the report that I have heard, the caste of this Bill, this is the best law that will serve the interests of Zimbabwe. I want to say to the people of Zimbabwe and those who have been funded and associated with these NGOs with devious activities in this country that we do not need that. We need to be masters of our destiny. We need to do our politics, founded in our people’s views, not taken astray; not being pushed by people who have got money, who fund certain political parties.
We hear specific institutions; specific political parties; specific individuals, they are a clique who have benefited so much out of NGOs and they do not want the law. They do not want the law and anyone who has got doubt that this Bill will pass through Parliament should just forget and smile. The people of Zimbabwe will speak; they have already spoken during the consultations as we have heard and they have said it clearly. Where the law is going to either stifle certain laws, that will be dealt with during the passing of the law but to say a law that seeks to regulate NGOs must not be there; they should come here, do whatever they want; they should wake up organising demonstrations in this country; creating conflict among our people, sponsoring funny political activities at the expense of the mandate because these people apply to say this is what we want to do in the communities of Zimbabwe but when they get out there in the communities they run away from the mandate and start doing things that have nothing to do with what they applied to do.
So, the law has come at the right time. We cannot have a country that is run by an extension of other countries who would want to cause havoc in our country. Majority of those who are crying, those NGOs who are crying today, nobody would doubt their activities are clear, they are regime change agents. They create chaos; they create disharmony and that is what we do not want. That is what this Bill is seeking to cure but all NGOs who are keen to do social work; any activity whether in the health sector, provision of social welfare in any area they have applied and got a licence to do so are very free.
No one would interfere and this law will not interfere with those who stick to their mandate but this law is not going to allow those who come here with a veiled mandate when they know very well that their issues are to interfere with our politics. That must not be allowed and I applaud the Minister for bringing this Bill. I want to thank the Committee for going to the communities and get their views. This law must see the light of the day. It is very critical so that we are truly an independent country; we are a sovereign country. This is not targeted at any political party, ruling or opposition. We are all Zimbabweans and if we need mandate to rule this country, we go to our people but we do not go and hide behind some foreign institutions; some foreign agents who would seek everyday to see us fighting.
All the conflicts that we see in our societies, majority of them are sponsored by these NGOs. They are there, buying people food, beer, drinks, encouraging them to demonstrate and buying them t-shirts. You will see that they have got an agenda. They have now left their mandate, which we respect, that is why we gave them the licence to do that. So the best way - we cannot be kicking them in the streets, the best way is to deal with the law so that we keep them within the rails of what they said they want to do. If they want to come and sponsor political parties, they must say it, first time they are making the application that we are coming here as a political entity to cause regime change; so that we know them than lying to us that they are coming here as helpers, as social partners when they know very well that they are coming here for the politics of our people. They must leave us alone to deal with our politics. If we want the non-governmental organisation, we have challenges like any other developing country, we need the support of non-governmental organisation but we do not want them in our politics. So Madam Speaker, the Bill is very much welcome. The observation by the Committee will be dealt with at the right time when that comes to debate on the Bill, we will deal with that. At the moment, I would strongly say that this Bill has come at the right time. I thank you.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Members, we have 12 Members that are rising their hands, so I am kindly asking that you do not repeat what has been said before. Let us try to make sure that we accommodate everyone because everyone wants to speak on this very important Bill. If ever you are going to be repeating something, I am going to call you out of order. So, please make sure you get your points and listen to everyone and let us not repeat points. We want everyone to speak so that we can at least all contribute towards this Bill.
(v)HON. KWARAMBA: Madam Speaker murikungodeedza varume chete.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: I am going to resort to virtual just now.
(v)HON. GONESE: On a point of order Madam Speaker.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: What is your point of order?
(v)HON. GONESE: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker – [HON. KWARAMBA: Madam Speaker.] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: I have seen you Hon. Kwaramba, I am going to recognise you. I have been given a list by the Hon. Chief Whip, I am going to adhere to it just now – [HON. GONESE: Inaudible interjection.] – I was responding to Hon. Kwaramba. So may you please proceed Hon. Gonese.
(v)HON. GONESE: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. I am cognisant of what you have already said about the list. I was not aware I am on virtual that the Bill is being debated now, however I am ready to debate. Looking at the time, I believe that this is a very important Bill, we are on the Seconding Reading of the Bill. I am prepared to debate tomorrow, so I just wanted that confirmation that the debate on the Bill is not going to be concluded today whilst I am late to speak. I am alive to the fact that you have got a list, so I will defer my contribution to tomorrow or to whenever before the debate is adjourned as long as the debate is not concluded today. I am ready to follow the rules that you need and some of us will debate on a later day, may be tomorrow or any other day.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Gonese, I will not be able to confirm anything of that sort. We have got 39 Orders on the Order Paper and it is beyond anyone’s control. So, to be honest with you, I cannot confirm that.
(v)HON. GONESE: I am simply saying that debate is not going to be concluded today because there are so many of us who want to debate on the Bill.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: I am sure the debate will continue before the Minister responds as we go because the Hon. Minister is not here- [HON. MEMBERS ON VIRTUAL: Inaudible interjections.] – I can recognise you, you are 12 – [AN HON. MEMBER ON VIRTUAL: My hand is up Madam Speaker.] – Order please Hon. Members on virtual, I have seen all of you, the twelve of you or else you have added up, I will recognise you all. Hon. Mpariwa, please proceed.
*HON. MPARIWA: Thank you Madam Speaker, I want to thank you and we are sorry for giving you a hard time. I want to thank the Hon. Chairperson, Hon. Ncube of Public Service and Social Welfare Committee on the issues that were raised during the public hearings on the PVO Bill. I want to thank her because it was a massive Bill and there were a lot of things that were said and quite a number of issues were very pertinent.
Madam Speaker, please allow me to say this Bill is saying that it is aimed at fighting terrorism and to ensure that the players stick to their mandate and not infringe in territories that are not theirs or to put on jackets that do not belong to them. In my view, the issue that came out of the public hearings which I am a member to Madam Speaker, you see that in Zimbabwe we have those vulnerable groups that require assistance from the private voluntary organisations and these are impartial, they do not belong to any particular group. There are groups of vulnerable people who are unable to survive without assistance because a private voluntary organisation is there to augment the work of Government. As they do that, they reach an agreement with Government on the kind of service that they will provide. If they say that they are coming to assist the orphans, their mandate should be focused on assistance of orphans. If they say that they are going to be assisting vegetables, gardens and herbs in rural areas, they should stick to their mandate.
I think that is what the Bill is talking about. I understand that Madam Speaker, as I look at the Bill and speak, I think this Bill was supposed to look at the negatives in terms of the relationship between the PVOs and those who want to assist us to augment Government efforts. It should be more like corrections like what happens in schools. If we take everything, the good and the bad and we throw in the dust bin, that will not help us in anyway. In my opinion, it affects our livelihood because we do not have the required funds to assist the vulnerable groups, the children, the aged and women even in urban areas. My request is that as we go through the clauses that were mentioned by the Chair on the rights of the people in the Constitution, we will be able to sift and come up with a good Bill. Zimbabwe is always in the media for the wrong reasons. We should not be found wanting and continue this image of appearing in the media for wrong reasons because we will have failed to look at this Bill in terms of the way it assists the vulnerable.
We are not saying the Minister should not bring this Bill but we are saying it should address the negatives. Sections 57 and 58 should be considered when we get to the Committee stage where we will look at the Bill clause by clause. So my request is that when we interrogate this section, we should not destroy our Constitution that we were able to draft in 2013. The Bill should be aligned to the Constitution. So I am saying let us take note of Section 58 and 67 when we get to the clauses. I appeal to you Hon. Members to seriously reconsider those sections so that we do not divide our 2013 Constitution because of a law we want to come up with. This is just a piece of law which cannot override the Constitution but should be cascading from the Constitution. I would like to see this law complementing what we agreed to in our Constitution. Zimbabwe should not be castigated for breaking its own Constitution because of this law. If there is a law to ensure eradication of corruption or theft, we already have those laws in place. We have the Public Finance Management Act and ZRP can arrest criminals. So I do not see the reason why this law is said to be pushing for accountability because laws to enforce that are already there and they are in their respective jurisdictions. Madam Speaker, you are a member in some of these committees such as APNAC, APNOD et cetera. These were put in place through the Speaker’s Panel with the knowledge that accountability should be looked at to avert corruption. So I am not seeing how this law will be like coming from the Ministry of Labour. Just yesterday we were saying there was theft at the Ministry of Labour. COVID funds that were supposed to assist the sick were stolen. Today we have a Bill that has been brought by the Ministry of Labour talking about accountability yet that is where corruption took place. I cannot understand where this Bill is leading us Madam Speaker. It looks like this Bill is pointing at someone or something so I think the Bill should be specific so that it does not take everything that has already been taken care of. I see loss of hope (kurasa mbereko nekufirwa). If there are specific people who have done wrong, they should be dealt with head on and not close the doors for others needing assistance.
Then on the issue of Private Voluntary Organisations, most employ Zimbabweans, meaning there was a lot of employment creation. When we had our public hearing, we were actually given the employment percentage which is about 22% employed by NGOs. We have specialists who actually go out to other countries. They have PVOs who are here so our Minister should take note of that. We are talking of education, medication, food as well as people’s welfare. Government needs assistance from others as it cannot do everything on its own. We have institutions like UNDP, and World Food Programme coming in to assist because if we experience hunger, we cannot sustain ourselves without the assistance of others.
I would like to conclude by saying those who will be doing wrong, if approached, I do not think they will fail to appreciate. Even oxen can be made to do the right thing in the field even when they want to stray. Have we failed in this instance? I would like to know how many are errant so we can see if they are more than the ones doing the right thing. So let us go clause by clause supporting or removing some of the things in the Bill brought by the Minister. I think it is easy for us to see clearly those things that belong just like you visualise the difference between Dynamos and Highlanders by their attire. I just do not want us to close shop because of a few individuals. It means we will have failed and will be the laughing stock of others. We had done very well and we need to maintain that and not be seen not to follow our own constitution. Thank you Madam Speaker.
(v) *HON. KWARAMBA: Thank you Madam Speaker for affording me the opportunity to add my voice to this debate on the PVO Bill. Firstly, I would like to say this is a very important Bill but I heard that it is too technical so I think all languages should have been used to enable people to understand what is being said. This will enable them to also participate from a knowledgeable point of view rather than just hear PVO which they do not understand. PVOs do their work in this country. The only problem is that some of them are not registered with the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare as is required. How then can they do their work if they are not registered and not known? Zimbabwe is a country that stands for itself but for those who want to assist us, we expect them to do so, guided by the laws of Zimbabwe and they cannot operate outside the laws of Zimbabwe. We are not saying we do not need their assistance; we need it but they should stay within their mandate. They should not be involved in politics. We see them stationed in Binga, Kariba, Mutare and all we want is for them to stick to their approved mandate and refrain from interfering in politics. We are not saying all NGOs are bad because we have some that we have never heard interfered in politics. We heard some were following Komichi and saying pasi na Komichi and were also paying people money to say what they want to hear. The Committee did a splendid job and I think this is a good Bill because Zimbabwe is facing many challenges. We do not want NGOs to interfere with what does not concern them, especially politics. They should do their work which they registered for. There are NGOs in Binga, Kariba and Mutare but what we expect them to do is that they should stick to their mandate and desist from involving themselves in the politics of the land. I think once they do that then we can work with them, and we know the different mandates of the various NGOs because in Zimbabwe we also have local NGOs. We have never heard them involving themselves in politics. They are supposed to be non-partisan and they should assist everyone despite political party and execute their mandate diligently.
When we go for public hearings they pay people money to speak. That is where we have a challenge. They pay people to bring their issues to the public hearings. So we are saying that is what we do not want but we want to thank them for the work that they have been doing because Zimbabwe is faced with so many challenges. If we face a PVO that then interferes in politics, then we have a challenge. If they want to tell people what to do, inciting them not to adhere to what the Government is saying, then we have a problem. In conclusion, I want to say that the PVOs should be registered. Why do they fear registration and yet there is freedom in this nation?
(v)+ HON. MKANDLA: I would like to add a few words as a Member of the Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Committee. Looking at the PVO Amendment Bill Hon. Speaker, let me start by thanking the private voluntary organisations that work well with the Government of Zimbabwe.
In Zimbabwe we have our own programmes and it does not mean that the coming in of PVOs means that we were not doing anything. Madam Speaker, if you visit someone’s home you are expected to knock and be accepted as a visitor and you would have to abide by the laws of that particular home. I am talking about PVOs. When coming to Zimbabwe, there is need that PVOs abide by our laws. They must be registered and observe the laws of the land. It is true that not all NGOs and PVOs adhere. Of course, some are doing a good job by facilitating school fees and food security, but you find some unregistered NGOs who oppose the Government. At times you find that one PVO might be having different mandates and different NGOs falling under that particular NGO.
Madam Speaker, they come nicodemously, they start photographing orphans and vulnerable children then they go to beg for monies from resource providers. Some are now rich because of such monies. We have churches Madam Speaker which are doing the same. They go around collecting monies for food and other things. At the end of the day they divert the funds to their friends and relatives yet this is money which is supposed to benefit vulnerable people. We heard Hon. Speaker that in Guruve there are some who were providing relief and went as far as Tsholotsho. In Bulawayo there was commotion when some disseminated the wrong information, information that Government was trying to ban NGOs.
Hon. Speaker, we have some campaigning. There are some leaders who are found in different councils, administrators who allow NGOs and individuals to work within their districts even when the Social Welfare is not aware, but the prudent thing is that people should comply with Government directives and the law. It is not right that NGOs come and then pretend to be the owners of Zimbabwe. Indeed, we have many political parties in Zimbabwe.
Madam Speaker, what I am saying is that this Bill reflects what people want. They aired their views on what they want to be in the Bill and what they do not want to be in the Bill was alluded to. It is important that we work together with NGOs. Madam Speaker, thank you for affording me this opportunity.
(v)HON. MOKONE: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. I would like to first start by thanking the Hon. Chairperson for such a wonderful report and I would like to also add my voice to this report that she presented.
Madam Speaker, let me start by saying that it is not the whole Bill that actually needs to be revisited. Some clauses of the Bill are welcome in the society but others are not. In that regard Madam Speaker, allow me to give two schools of thought. I will highlight where the Bill is not okay and where the Bill is okay.
Yes, as the nation of Zimbabwe we have laws. We need to regulate anything that happens in our country. There is no one who can come to Zimbabwe and not get regulated. Maybe let me also look at the role of civil society. Civil society is there to act as the watchdog of the Government. It is there to keep the system of checks and balances to the Government of the day. So as such, the NGOs who actually think that this Bill is not good are saying that the Bill gives too much power to the Minister and they are saying that the Bill will stifle their operations.
Why are they saying that the Bill will stifle their operations? They are saying that the Bill will stifle their operations because of the stringent measures that it brings along. So in that regard they are telling people that the Bill has come to actually close the NGOs and I do not blame them as I actually explained that they think that because of the stringent measures, they are going to find it hard for them to operate. They are going to suffocate and thereby close. The NGOs are so concerned that they followed us everywhere which shows that something was not right because if everything was okay they were not going to follow us everywhere.
I would also like to talk about the implications of this Bill. Madam Speaker, as I have indicated, it is not all the clauses of the Bill that are not okay, some clauses are okay but these are the indications of accepting the whole Bill without actually taking out some of the clauses. If we accept the whole Bill as it is, it will mean that a lot of people who are employed by these NGOs will be retrenched or rather will lose their jobs because most NGOs will close. It will mean that the girl child and the boy child will be affected because I hope you know that most of these school children get payments from these NGOs.
It will mean that the girl child will also have problems with sanitary wear because most of these NGOs are actually helping the girl child gets sanitary wear, then it will also mean that youths in particular suffocate because I am sure you know that most of these PVOs are actually helping our youths in various societies. The people who are living with disabilities will also be disadvantaged because it will mean that there are now few NGOs in Zimbabwe which can actually help. Some of these NGOs, when they go, it means that when we face a national pandemic like the one we are facing right now, COVID-19, it will mean that there will not be any NGOs to assist the Government. These NGOs actually assist the Government with humanitarian aid.
Madam Speaker, as I indicated, the Bill gives a lot of power to the Minister and it should target the sitting NGOs that are anti-government or that are causing problems in Zimbabwe. Clause 2 of the Bill should be amended to make room for a risk assessment process that requires extensive consultation with the civil society. The other issue is that to do with the self-regulation of PVOs. These PVOs should be regulated by the Government but the Government should not be strict on them. I just wanted to add my voice because if I speak at length, others will not get anything to say. I thank you.
(v)HON. SVUURE: Thank you Madam Speaker for affording me this opportunity. I belong to the Committee on Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and I was part of the team that travelled around. I will quickly go through my observations and what I think about the Bill. Let me begin by saying this straight off, that when visitors take the relish that the family should feed on, then the head of the house coughs to assert his authority. This is how I will put it.
In Africa, courtesy is a human right and everyone deserves to be granted that respect in the highest possible form, especially when they are in their own home such as we are in Zimbabwe. In Swahili there is a proverb that says Inkamu hluku mbili, hluki yathatu ndipei jembe. Simply interpreted, it means treat a guest as a guest for two days and on the third day, give him a hoe so he can go and till with others. Put simply, when a visitor stays for long, they have to abide by the laws of the house or in this case, the laws of the country. This is the same with Zimbabwe, it is not an exception. There have been endeavours to hoodwink Zimbabwe into thinking that by removing it from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) where it has been put on the grey zone for a long time, it will be enticed to drop down its attempts to get the PVO Bill through.
However, there are a few things that I want to highlight. On the 7th of March, 2022, there was a tweet by Melanie Robinson, the British Ambassador to Zimbabwe which was designed to sound very innocent and ordinary yet it was very deep and pregnant with political messages. By the way, diplomats do not just communicate. When diplomats speak, we must listen very carefully. Let me try to dissect this statement for a better understanding of the hidden message; Mrs. Melanie Robinson mentioned two distinct processes and entities on the FATF and the PVO Bill which are very paramount. The two are not related in any way if you look at them from a distance but they are being mentioned in the same sentence by a high ranking diplomat of a very powerful vested former colonial master. This on its own should alert us to begin to think deeply on this matter. To a non-critical mind, the mentioning of the removal of Zimbabwe from the FATF grey zone list should be reason to celebrate, the way she wants us to believe.
Again, to the uninitiated, the removal of Zimbabwe from the FATF grey list is supposed to be a cause for celebration, indebtedness and reciprocity in the Government of Zimbabwe to the extent that we should compromise on the proposed PVO Bill. However, let us try to unravel the relationship between the removal of Zimbabwe from the FATF grey list and the PVO Bill. Zimbabwe was put under economic sanctions in 2002, 20 years ago for reasons that primarily include the country’s participation in the Operation Sovereign Legitimacy in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) like many of us may remember and many other issues that Zimbabwe decided as a country to go through. Their sponsored rebels in the DRC were defeated as a result of Zimbabwe’s participation. One of the concerns of the Western power in Zimbabwe is that Zimbabwe has largely withstood consequential economic sanctions and we have continued to weather the storm. The country has been largely immune to these economic measures; I think we are all aware of this issue.
The Western powers are led by USA, they are on their own turning economic sanctions against Zimbabwe; when Zimbabwe take measures to amend its Bills and in particular the PVO Bill, I do not understand why it has caused so much excitement – [HON. NYATHI: Inaudible interjection.] -
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Nyathi.
(v)HON. SVUURE: Can I proceed Hon. Speaker?
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Yes, you can proceed.
(v)HON. SVUURE: Thank you. I was saying the excitement that this Bill caused even for some of us who travelled around is suspicious. You begin to wonder if it is just about the PVO Bill or something else. I want to quickly mention this, that this FATF in the 1987 creation of the Group of 7, the G7, most industrialised nations which initially have nothing to do with Zimbabwe, it was created to combat money laundering activities among those countries. However, before anybody knew it, it was extended to that of policing the world financial markets including Zimbabwe itself. It was a tool to monitor financial transactions in and out of the country to detect and combat illicit financial flows. It then became a convenient tool to snoop in to Zimbabwe’s economic finances. This is important and we must take note of it. Financial mechanisms enable the country to prevail over Western economic sanctions for this long. The FATF which I mentioned was then granted similar powers to those of IMF which supervises and scrutinise the world financial system through its targeted Central Bank.
What is the story with the FATF that makes it a condition for abandoning the amendment of the PVO Bill? I will quickly try to go through this – I have already done an analysis of why Zimbabwe really needs the PVO Bill and I will mention it as I draw to my conclusion. The Private Voluntary Organisation Bill is to date, the biggest threat to USA imperial regime change agenda in Zimbabwe, we must take note of this. Outside the Land Reform of course, it is one of the reasons why the USA Embassy in Zimbabwe went into an overdrive to justify the extension of the sanctions in March, 2022. When they say Zimbabwe poses extraordinary threat to US’s Foreign Policy, they refer to such instruments and processes as the PVO Bill and the Land Reform Programme – these two cannot be separated at all.
Let me explain quickly. It is important to point out that of the three thousand plus PVOs Madam Speaker Ma’am that operate in Zimbabwe, close to 90% of them are USAID funded – it is very critical to make this analysis. The United States International Aid Agency is a United States Foreign Policy extension that is operated, some of you may not know, by the CIA under the tutelage of some other power who is mandated to extend United States influence worldwide through the use of soft power. So when Zimbabwe begins to amend its laws to suit its conditions at a particular time, I do not understand why and how this should worry the external people.
In the United States, the United States had used a multitude of NGOs as financing conduits for clandestine operations in Zimbabwe that include training of anti-Government activists – we all know this, unless we are naïve, funding of opposing powers, and financing of civil unrest in Zimbabwe. Those who take a close look at the goings on in this country would have noticed that most civil unrests were and are sponsored through such funding, and through NGOs as we may want to call it. So through their illegal activities of funding some power pressure groups, the United States has consistently …
(v)HON. S. BANDA: On a Point of Order Madam Speaker Ma’am. My Point of Order pertains to Standing Order Number 54 which states that the Speaker may, in his or her discretion, suspend business time, this also being read in conjunction with Standing Order Number 53, which states that other than Friday, The Speaker must make sure that business closes at Five Minutes to Seven o’clock. I was hoping that Madam Speaker may want to call for an extension, at your convenience of course Madam Speaker Ma’am, seeing that there are a number of Hon. Members who still want to debate. I thank you.
(v)HON. SVUURE: I stand guided Madam Speaker.
HON. MAVETERA: May you please conclude Hon. Svuure because of our time.
(v)HON. SVUURE: Thank you Madam Speaker,
HON. MAVETERA: It does not suffice Hon. Banda, it does not suffice in this circumstance. Thank you. You may proceed Hon. Svuure.
(v)HON. SVUURE: I will just try to be short but I would have said more Madam Speaker Ma’am but because of the point that you raised, I will try to draw my presentation to conclusion.
This is why I think the Bill should be adopted anyway. The Bill should be adopted precisely because it is the country’s best foot forward in combating illicit financial inflows, and potential financing of terrorism. It is therefore the best bargaining tool against western aggression, sanctions, and regime change agenda pressures. The PVO Bill is what Zimbabwe needs at this particular time, especially going into the season that again I should not mention because I assume we all know it. During which funds will most likely begin to flow to incite violence, proper anti-Government activities, and even financing of terrorist activities within the borders of this country. So the passing of the PVO Bill is just about the best thing to do in this season. Some of the activities that will be financed through PVOs in just the same way as the west is smuggling in mercenaries in many countries that we see on television and other forms of media.
Madam Speaker Ma’am, I am one of those who vehemently and vigorously advocate for the passing of the PVO Bill as has been proposed by the Hon. Minister. I am strongly in support of the amendment of this Bill for the good of this country. This country should have sovereign right to change laws in a manner that suits it at any given time. Zimbabwe at this given time has seen it right and proper to amend the PVO Bill – it should be allowed to do that. The PVOs should abide by the laws of the country if they are genuine, and want to operate in Zimbabwe. They should just leave if they feel unhappy and constrained in one way or the other – they are visitors, and this is not their country. When conditions are no longer suitable for them, they must just leave, and find another country to operate from – this is my view.
This far Madam Speaker Ma’am and again for the sake of time, and giving others chance, I thank you for the time that you have given me.
HON. MUTAMBISI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 12th May, 2022.
On the motion of HON. MUTAMBISI, seconded by HON. TEKESHE, the House adjourned at Five Minutes to Seven o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 10th May, 2022
The National Assembly Met at a Quarter-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair)
HON. MUTAMBISI: Thank you Madam Speaker. I rise on a matter of national interest with regards to provision of public transport as announced by His Excellency, the President, Dr. E.D Mnangagwa. To this effect, I want to warmly thank our listening President for allowing private players to provide transport to the public. This will go a long way in easing transport challenges for our people.
HON. TEKESHE: Thank Madam Speaker. I rise on a matter of national interest which emanates from the spikes which are used by the police to stop vehicles. The last time I was here, I asked the Minister of Home Affairs why they use spikes which practice is very uncivilized and outdated but he supported it. What recently happened in Manicaland is that the police threw a spike under a car and it killed a number of innocent schoolchildren. I understand someone took the police to court over that incident but the police won the case. I would ask the police to revisit the use of spikes. They have a problem with the driver who is carrying a lot of innocent people, so I feel Government should look for modern ways to invest in such as cameras so that they move away from those uncivilized methods. The first thing we should do is to respect life but the police who should help us to maintain law and order are the ones killing people. I am appealing to you Hon. Speaker to have that issue revisited. I thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think you raised a very pertinent issue. I advise you to ask the Minister responsible tomorrow during question time.
*HON. CHIKOMBO: Thank you Madam Speaker. My point of national interest pertains to the issue of drugs which is rife in the country. Our children are indulging in drugs on a daily basis but surprisingly, the people selling the drugs are not being arrested? Why are they not being arrested? Could it be that we have drug lords’ protectors in this country who are ensuring that these people are not arrested? We need to get full clarification from the Minister of Home Affairs on their plans to eradicate the problem of drug abuse.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think you raised a very pertinent matter. I advise you to ask the Minister of Home Affairs tomorrow during question time.
*HON. MUTSEYAMI: Thank you Madam Speaker. The issue that I wanted to raise has been alluded to by the previous speaker. I thank you.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. TOGAREPI: Madam Speaker, I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1to 15 be stood over until Order of the Day, Number 16 on today’s Order Paper has been disposed of.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Sixteenth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
THE MINISTER OF YOUTH, SPORT, ARTS AND RECREATION (HON. DR. COVENTRY): Madam Speaker, there are a number of initiatives that the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation have undertaken to ensure that the youths are incorporated into decision making as well as mainstreaming the economy. With regards to the creation of an enabling policy framework, the Ministry has revised the youth policy in which the key strategies include education and skills development, employment and entrepreneurship, governance and participation, health and wellbeing.
Furthermore, gender mainstreaming is a cross-cutting issue to ensure that our youths are not left behind in nation building. In addition, production and incubation hubs have been established in order to capacitate young entrepreneurs. The Ministry is continuing to establish production and incubation hubs across the country. These include the Mutoko Fruit and Vegetable Processing Hub, Kavhuwi Dairy Hub, Pangani Goat Hub and others. The hubs will help young people to develop their entrepreneurship skills so that they can start their…
HON. MADZIMURE: On a point of order Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is your point of order?
HON. MADZIMURE: There is a nasty feedback. Can something be done to correct that?
HON. DR. COVENTRY: These hubs will help young people to develop entrepreneurship skills so that they can start business enterprises and grow the economy.
In line with the national financial inclusion strategy, Government established the Empower Bank, a youth focused bank aimed at facilitating youth financial inclusion. The Empower Bank assists young men and women with financial support to start and support their businesses. In 2021, 43 332 youths were capacitated to the tune of $231 240 480 with a greater percentage in youths having taken part in agriculture through the capacitation of the above mentioned figure.
Apart from accessing funding for their start-ups, the youth entrepreneurs also get business management skills, financial management and marketing skills to improve the operations of their business. During 2021/2022 agricultural season, Government through the Empower Bank’s youths starter pack programme, supported 164 youths in growing tobacco and that equated to 110 hectares in Burungwi??, Mashonaland West Province. It is expected that over 110 tonnes of tobacco will be delivered to the floors by these young farmers.
Madam Speaker, in response to the drug and substance use among the youths, the Ministry is taking a leading role in educating the youths and the general public against drug and substance abuse in all ten provinces. Awareness campaigns were also done during the National Youths Day Celebration. More than 40 000 youths from all 10 provinces of the country attended the event with the theme ‘Alleviating Drug and Substance Abuse by the Youth.’
The Ministry also facilitated public discussions on Capital Radio, Classic 263 Radio and Zimbabwe television network. These programmes had an estimated reach of two million people on the drug and substance abuse.
Madam Speaker, with regards to Vocational Training and Skills Department, as guided by the Government’s devolution thrust, initiatives have been made to ensure the setting up of Vocational Training Centres in areas that currently do not have such. Refurbishing and retooling are ongoing in the existing 43 fully established centres as well as the 25 satellite support centres as part of the modernisation programme that the Ministry is currently engaged in.
Furthermore, the VCTs are configured towards self sustenance by setting up economically viable business units in all the training disciplines. These units also act as business management incubators for young people under training. The introduction of new courses that are informed by training needs assessments and modern trends are influencing the youths to fully appreciate the concept of entrepreneurship and business management as outlined under the Training for Enterprise Model.
Madam Speaker, ICT capacity is also set to be further enhanced, taking into consideration the new normal trajectory ushered in by the COVID-19 pandemic which calls for online teaching and learning as well as the expansion of skills outreach programme. As institutional training has been greatly affected by the pandemic, this is meant to enhance access to vocational skills to young people. As the NDS1is geared towards harnessing, the human capital base across the country with a drive towards achieving an upper middle income economy by 2030, it is expected that at least 20 000 young people will benefit in all the training initiatives involving conventional vocational skills and skills outreach programme under the 2022 training programmes and funds have been allocated in the 2022 budget year.
In line with standardisation and professionalisation initiatives, the vocational training programme being run by Government is overseeing a raft of changes with targets being set to ensure the development of vocational education policy before the end of the year that will guide all the training initiatives. The review of the current curriculum and its alignment to the current market demands will contribute to the skills needs to the nation at large in line with the Vocational Training Centres transformation agenda.
Madam Speaker, significant progress is being registered towards the promotion of entrepreneurship through sport and arts. Community sport and recreation club system is in place in all provinces, districts and wards to identify talent from the grassroots. This cumulative in the women in sport event in Bikita was held on 8th April 2022; youth education through sport initiatives are ongoing in all community sport clubs where issues of drug and substance abuse are being discussed.
In the arts sector, increased productivity of cultural creative industries has resulted in Zimbabwe participating at the following international, continental and regional, cultural and creative events and festivals. The Expo 2020 Dubai, the Zanzibar Tanzai Saraduku, Craft Mela in India, Swan Festival in Egypt and the Venus Biennale in Italy. Furthermore, 197 creative and cultural practitioners participated, of whom 134 were female while 63 were male in various genres which include music, visual arts, fine arts, photography, craft design, fashion, architecture, industrial textile, design and graphic, dance and theatre. I thank you.
HON. TOGAREPI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. BITI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 13th May, 2022.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT
RESPONSE TO THE REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIOS COMMITTEE ON YOUTH, SPORT, ARTS AND RECREATION ON THE PETITION FROM GWANDA COMMUNITY ON YOUTH DEVELOPMENT TRUST REGARDING YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN DECISION MAKING.
THE MINISTER OF YOUTH, SPORT, ARTS AND RECREATION (HON. COVENTRY): Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. Allow me to give a response on behalf of the Ministry for the petition from Gwanda Community on Youth Development Trust regarding youth participation in decision making. This presentation is in response to the Report of the Portfolio Committee on Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation on the petition from Gwanda Community Youth Development Trust regarding youth participation in decision making. The Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation has taken note of the Committee’s key findings, observations and recommendations outlined in the report.
An improved youth participation and development in decision making process is one of the key outcomes to be achieved in the National Strategic Development 1 (NDS 1) Ministry’s 2022 to 2025 Strategic Plan and the 2022 Annual Plans. As such, the Ministry wishes to assure the Hon. Members that measures are being taken to address the issues raised by the petition and as observed or recommended by the Hon. Committee.
Responses to the Committee’s recommendations: the first recommendation; the Committee recommends that the Ministry should expedite and put into place the National Youth Act by 30th September, 2021, that actually ensures that it addresses all the concerns of the youth. The zero draft of the Youth Bill was done and has been submitted to the Attorney-General for further processing. The second recommendation recommends that by the 31st of December, 2022, the Ministry should ensure that the Zimbabwe Youth Council decentralises its structures to promote effective coordination, supervision and fostering of youth activities at all levels. In 2021, the Zimbabwe Youth Council received budgetary support from Treasury under the PSIP to establish the Harare offices. Unfortunately, no budgetary support has been given to fund the employment costs for decentralisation.
The third recommendation is that the Ministry should ensure that all election processes for the Zimbabwe Youth Council are regulated by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to ensure transparency and fairness. An independent electoral monitoring committee which was chaired by an official from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission was put in place by me.
The Committee also recommends that the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs should submit a Bill to Parliament by the 31st of December amending the Constitution to increase the youth quota from 10% to 25%. My Ministry will engage the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs to ensure this comes through to the Hon. Members. The Committee further recommends that the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs should amend the Electoral Act to provide for the modalities for the realisation of the amendment of the Constitution provision for 60 women to include the youth and young women with disabilities by the 31st of December, 2022. Again Hon. Speaker Ma’am, I will engage the said Ministry.
The Committee recommends the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation to go forward, and nominate focal persons to manage youth focal desks in all line ministries by the 31st of December. At the Head Office level, all ministries have complied and submitted names of youth focal persons in their respective ministries. The focal persons are to undergo training to ensure that they have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Follow-ups are now being done in the provinces to ensure the same structures are put into place in the provinces. It would be a delight for the Ministry to be able to provide all Hon. Members with those said names of focal persons if there are any further questions on their respective roles and responsibilities. Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am.
HON. BITI: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I seek clarification from the Minister in both her response to the petition from Gwanda and in her earlier statement. There are three things that are affecting our youth at the present moment and I hope that the Ministry can come up with a policy, if not legislation. The first one is an issue which you alluded to in this statement earlier on, which is the problem of drug abuse. Youth have become captive to drugs, particularly mutoriro, guka, crystal meth and others and it is affecting the whole generation.
Government surely and through your Ministry Hon. Minister, should come up with a clear policy on how to tackle this dangerous problem. The second ailment that our youth are facing is that of child marriages, under-age sex and child pregnancy. We have a generation of youth that is being affected by these problems. Madam Speaker, because of the harsh economic environment, youth are being subjected to abuse by ravenous male species who are preying on our youth with the result that the cycle of poverty is perpetuated because if you are married at a young age, sexually active at a young age or bear children at a young age, you cannot go to school, the two are contradictory and mutually exclusive.
Lastly is the problem of youth unemployment; graduates are selling juice cards, tomatoes and drugs like musombodia. What is your Ministry’s focus on those particular issues? I thank you very much Hon. Speaker Ma’am.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Biti. Drug abuse issues, there is a motion on our Order Paper about that. So, I will allow the Hon. Minister to defer questions pertaining drug abuse issues until the motion has been debated in this House but other things you can respond.
HON. DUTIRO: Thank you Madam Speaker, I would like to seek clarity or make a contribution to the statement that has been given by the Hon. Minister here. The issue on youth is something that we all understand, that our current industrial set-up and going onwards, is no longer a mass employment industry. We are now faced with multiple industries where they employ a very small number of people but these must be people who are technically competent for them to be able to produce the required products by the consumers. The challenge that we have is that our youths are not being exposed to the real industrial technical attachments, wherever they are trained by the Ministry for them to be able to produce the products that customers really want.
I remember last time, these Polytechnic colleges used to run what they call Traditional Apprenticeship Training (TA), whereby youths from these colleges were attached to Mbare Musika, Magamba instead of being attached to a very heavy industry set up; where after completing their attachments, they would not be able to apply the skills that they would have acquired from Unilever or Olivine, and yet they were supposed to come and serve us in Gwanda, Shamva, and Mutoko where there are such big industries; where they would be inclined to use the machinery and skills for that purpose. So they became redundant when they came to the growth points. I think the challenge that we have at the moment is to say, to what extent has the Ministry accredited people at Mbare Musika to train students?
The other challenge that we are having Hon. Minister is that our population has increased very heavily, especially the youths. Looking at the number of technical colleges that are there, they are still very few, and some of them are becoming more and more communal. Communities are burdened by creating these technical colleges, and these communities are finding it very difficult to equip…
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Dutiro, please ask your question.
HON. DUTIRO: Hon. Minister, to what extent do you want to increase technical and vocational training colleges in each of the districts that we have in the country?
HON. MADZIMURE: Thank you Madam Speaker. Can the Hon. Minister explain why, as a Ministry, they have no programme to improve sports facilities in our community? Why does the Ministry not have any programmes at all, even to maintain those facilities that were built as recent as the Africa Games that were played here in Zimbabwe in 1996?
We talk of the Hockey Stadium at the National Sports Stadium, Magamba and Khumalo Stadiums, and swimming pools. The Aquatic Swimming Stadium in Chitungwiza is now being used by mapositori, Les Brown Municipal Pool that we all knew, and Mufakose which the Hon. Minister has actually visited. The biggest swimming pool we have in Zimbabwe is in Ward 36, Kambuzuma which is Mufakose, and the same applies to Avondale. You go there today - what you see is mapositori, ndiyo yavanoto sevenzesa seJorodhani vachienda ikoko. The Hon. Minister is very much aware.
On top of that, the Ministry is not taking care of open grounds that we have…
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Please ask your question Hon. Madzimure.
HON. MADZIMURE: I am asking Madam Speaker, ndatopedza. Can the Hon. Minister explain because her appointment was based on her experience as a sports person? - [HON. TOGAREPI: Wakazvinzwa naani izvozvo?] – What criteria was used other than that? – [AN HON. MEMBER: Inaudible interjection.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Madzimure, it is wrong for you to say that. Please may you withdraw?
HON. MADZIMURE: I withdraw Madam Speaker.
HON. MUDARIKWA: Thank you Madam Speaker. My contribution on the motion under debate is, number one, the pass rate in Zimbabwean secondary schools is standing at 10%, and 90% are supposed to go to vocational training centers. For example, in my constituency, I have Nhakiwa Nyakasoro Vocational Training Centre. I would appeal to the Hon. Minister to come with a supplementary budget to deal with the training of our youths in basic skills like building, carpentry, and agriculture. Even if you look at the levels of production in this country, the average yield per hectare has gone down because the natural knowledge that is supposed to be shared at vocational training centres is not there. There is also the element of looking down at vocational training centres.
I would appeal to the Hon. Minister to conduct Open Days for vocational training centres so that youths can come and appreciate the value of vocational training centres. Even when I am going to the forest to cut trees, I have to sharpen my axe first. If we are to achieve National Development Strategy One (NDS1), our youths must have sharpened their skills to fit what is happening. Hon. Minister, I would like to find out from you, do we have a National Skills Development Policy in Zimbabwe? The skills out there, the best performers are rank marshals, Harare apo! Harare apo! You know, they do it so professionally but in the end, it does not bear any result.
I would appeal that even during school holidays, if you have a policy where we can convert all secondary schools into vocational training centres where our youths can learn how to construct a grave. Last week we had a terrible occurrence in my constituency…
THE HON. DPEUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Mudarikwa, please ask your question.
HON. MUDARIKWA: I am asking as I am going, and I said, is there a National Skills Development Policy in the Ministry towards vocational training centres? We know that the answer may be the shortage of infrastructure but why do we not use secondary schools during school holidays to train specific skills especially building? When you go to other developed countries, they have good structures that were built by trained people – that is my major concern.
I was going to give an example of what happened in my constituency. Tsikamutandas came after a grave had separated because there was no bond. They said that the dead man had evil spirits that had caused the grave to separate but I realised that no bond had been used on the grave. I am saying that our desire to develop starts with developing our dead people where they lie in peace.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I am urging Hon. Members to restrict their points of clarification to the Ministerial Statement which was responding to a Petition from Gwanda Youth.
HON. T. MLISWA: Madam Speaker, my point of clarity to the Hon. Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation is, do you have a database from ministries telling you how many youths they have employed? In terms of the Second Republic, the emphasis is…
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Mliswa, you are not connected.
HON. T. MLISWA: My point of clarity is, does the Hon. Minister get information from line ministries on how many youths are employed so that we can see how we have dealt with the deficit of unemployment amongst the youth? Can she also, if it pleases her, or come later to tell us how many youths have been employed to date.
The other point of clarity is that there is a Vocational Training Centre (VTC) in my constituency. It is incomplete and likely to be vandalised. I have been employing a security guard. I have created employment for a youth, a cadre whom I pay to look after the place. What are you doing to ensure that these VTCs which are incomplete are complete?
The last point of clarity is, how are you reconciling your figures with the rural constituencies? I would want to understand, if you have it with you on the empowerment of the youth in the rural constituencies because there is not much employment there other than the fun in which Hon. Mudarikwa alluded to. Besides that, how far have you gone in coming up with tangible programmes that have made the youth in the rural areas be worth of being citizens of this country?
HON. CONVENTRY: I will try and answer, some of the questions will be answered together since they speak about the VTCs. With regards to child marriages and what the Ministry is doing aside from the Bill that I believe is coming to the Hon. Members or has already come – we have been working closely with the Zimbabwe Youth Council (ZYC) and the specific youth councils across the country that work with young women in this specific situation in terms of support and education and we will continue to do so. We are fully behind the Bill that is coming through.
In terms of unemployment and VTCs creating an environment for youth to thrive increasing industry opportunities for our young people and tackling the number of young people that are unemployed, in my opinion, there is need to be a task force that is done with Primary and Secondary, my Ministry as well as Higher and Tertiary to ensure that we are through the VTCs or teachers’ training or Primary and Secondary are giving the skills that are adequate for today and not for what was used 20 years ago.
My Ministry is focussing on rehabilitation and retooling of VTCs. We have worked with Higher and Tertiary to come up with a new curriculum which one of the Hon. Members spoke about and this is attachment. It is now a part of this new curriculum to make sure that the attachment is with industry leaders and opportunities in industry as well as them also being able to work with PPPs to ensure that we fully refurbish and retool our VTCs. As a Ministry, we were not given enough budget allocation for the full refurbishment of all of the VTCs. I will gladly come back to this esteemed House with a supplementary request on budget so that we can ensure that all of our VTCs receive enough funds to be fully completed. I will do that as soon as I get the team to compile and finish the paper. We have already worked on it and we have the budget – we will just check what the supplementary budget will need to be heard.
The programme for sport and facilities – as a Ministry, we do have a programme and I am happy to come back and elaborate more on that. The other is on Youth, Sport, Art Community Centres which we are refurbishing and rehabilitating, the National Sport stadium, the Hockey Stadium and the aquatic centre – we have full plans for that but there is still ongoing steps being taken between Local Government and ourselves in terms of the transport which is taking far too long.
All the other sporting facilities that were mentioned fall under city councils. I am happy to work with the City Councils but we need that first step to come to an agreement with our recommendations to the City Council. So far we have not heard that reception in terms of the upgrades.
There is only one swimming pool that falls under my Ministry which is the Aquatic Centre in Chitungwiza. All the other swimming pools fall under the City Councils. Unfortunately, I have not been given adequate funding from the council in terms of upliftment. We have approached them to try and work with them - so far nothing has come to fruition.
In terms of the data base from the Ministry and how many youths have been employed – this is one of the roles and responsibilities of our youth personnel at the youth focal desk. I am happy to come back and share that number, I do not have it on me. I will come back with the specific number.
There are some VTCs that are still incomplete. We do not have enough budget but we are working on that. We will come back with a supplementary as well as looking into PPPs with internationally recognised partners that deliver extremely up to date, if not futuristic training centres. So we will focus on those partnerships.
The reconciling of figures between urban and rural and empowerment of youth – most of our rural training is done through our short ISOP trainings – we go into communities and they tell us what trainings they want and we go back and deliver; again I will come back and deliver, I do not have the figures with me but those trainings have been extremely popular and focussed in and around mining and agriculture.
HON. MAVETERA: I have a few points of clarity to the Hon. Minister. The first one is on venture capital. I am sure we approved in the last budget that we will have an amount going to venture capital. How far have you gone with it and are the modalities now in place for us to be having venture capital coming through?
The second point of clarification is on youth participation – yesterday I was in a meeting at Crowne Plaza. A lot of youth came through and they were requesting a Youth Commission. Why is it that it is only the youth who do not have a commission which represents their interests? I know we have got Zimbabwe Youth Council but to date it has not yet been fully constituted. The third question will then be, how far have we gone with the Zimbabwe Youth Council’s Board? I am sure the last time you came into this House you said you had appointed eight members but to date, we have not yet got the remaining seven to fully constitute the Zimbabwe Youth Council Board.
The final one is on youth in politics - I know you have a plan concerning the Youth Bill; maybe I should also ask how far you have gone with the Youth Bill? Where is it now and what has been done? The last time you said it was at the Attorney General’s office. How far is it now? On youth in politics, have you managed to do a deliberate policy which enables you to be able to get to people living with disability to be coming through, especially into Parliament. At the National Assembly, we do not have any representation when it comes to people living with disability. What is it that you have done that you can also be able to enable young people to be coming through who are also living with disability? Those are my points of clarification. Thank you.
HON. MOKONE: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. Most of the issues of clarity that I wanted to raise have been raised by others. However, I have a few points to raise. Minister, what measures do you have in place to support theatre in Matebeleland South, especially in Gwanda? There are so many capable groups in that town. Are there any plans to come up with Youth Empowerment Bank in Matebeleland South where that petition came from? The issue of the inclusion of youths in politics, we acknowledge that there was legislation on the inclusion of youths that is having one youth per province. Are there any other means that you have to push the youths to be also included in politics more than that? Thank you?
(v)HON. S. BANDA: Thank you Madam Speaker. Unfortunately, Hon. Mavetera has taken some of my points, especially on venture capital and on youths in politics. I will just relay myself to one issue Madam Speaker which concerns the issue of youth – [technical glitch] – community is rising as much as in other constituencies. What is the Ministry’s deliberate policy to ensure that that sort of thing stops?
(v)HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Thank you Madam Speaker. My point of clarification to the Minister is that we have realised that in recent days, the department of the Registrar-General has been on a blitz to register young people, not only potential voters but all who have the necessary identity documents. We are aware that Matebeleland as a region is the one that has been most affected by level of registration especially of the young people in terms of the IDs and voter registration. Some figures that have come from ZEC have indicated that. What deliberate policy is the Ministry doing for the region of Matebeleland to make sure that young people may stand up, be counted and feel that they are also patriotic citizens of this country? Thank you Madam Speaker.
(v)HON. C. MOYO: Thank you Madam Speaker. Youths are the leaders of today, not for future. I want to know from the Hon. Minister whether there is a deliberate policy in terms of youths participating in decision making at national level, regional level as well as local level. Madam Speaker, we cannot leave my constituency Mpopoma-Pelandaba where we have got youth centres. Similarly, may be in Gwanda they will be having dilapidated youth centres and there is no way youths can gather in those dilapidated infrastructure to decide or participate in any national issues. Any comment about youth centres because youth centres become pivotal when we gather and decide or participate in local and national issues. Thank you Madam Speaker.
(v)HON. S. NDLOVU: Thank you Madam Speaker. What programmes has the Ministry put in place so as to revive the youth clubs that are dilapidated? Youth have nowhere to go because the infrastructure has dilapidated, so they go out there to take drugs and lots of beer. They are drunk every time.
HON. DR. COVENTRY: Thank you Madam Speaker and thank you once again to the Hon. Members. In terms of the venture capital, that was the fund; it still sits with the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry represented by my Ministry sits on that committee and those questions will need to be redirected to the Hon. Minister of Finance in terms of where they have gone in breaking that funding down and how many youth have been able to access the Venture Capital Fund. I do not have any of those numbers and I have not had a report from them.
Madam Speaker, the youth commission has always been the topic of conversation, whether we keep the Zimbabwe Youth Council, create a commission but the focus right now has been to get the Zimbabwe Youth Council fully established. As the Hon. Members said, the Zimbabwe Youth Council Board at the moment has eight members that are appointed by myself as the Minister and the other seven members are supposed to come from Zimbabwe Youth Councils around the country. We wanted there to be a level of independence and good governance done in how those members were elected. We set up an independent committee as I said earlier, that was led by a member from the Zimbabwe Electoral Committee along with other members. I do not have them off the cuff. That committee was responsible for working with Zimbabwe Youth Councils in terms of the submission of potential candidates. The candidates, as is put in the Zimbabwe Youth Council Act, have to have certain things that are done by their youth council in order to be up standing and able to run for the post.
There were only three councils that fulfilled all of the requirements. The independent committee has recommended to me as the Minister that those three councils be added on to the official board unopposed and that the Act then allows the Minister to appoint the other four members. To be very honest Madam Speaker, I am not sure if that is the right way to go for the Minister to have to appoint four other people. So I have asked the Zimbabwe Youth Council staff and the Ministry staff as well as the Independent Committee to work with the councils that were close to being able to attain the requirements that they needed. Some were just short, maybe it was not ordered or there were a few things that they were missing and that is the process that we are in now. A lot of questions have been around this and my request is to come back with a Ministerial Statement on Zimbabwe Youth Council along with all the youths policy questions. There is a new youth policy as well as the Youth Act which is still in the process. The Youth Bill talks to everything that the Hon. Members have already said are important to us. That is the inclusion of youths across all sectors, youths with disabilities, and youths in decision making - the new policy as well as the Act speaks to that. So what I can do is share with all the Hon. Members the new youth policy so Hon. Members can see that this is all inclusive and we can always adapt and change while the work on the Youth Act remains with the Attorney-General’s office.
Madam Speaker ma’am, in terms of measures specifically for theatre, I believe it was theatre in Gwanda, we are focusing on refurbishment of youth centres which came to the last points and with those youth centres, we are making a holistic overview of the Ministry so they will have space for ICT, theatres and sport. I will come back to the particular Honourable with specifics for Gwanda but I know that has been taken into consideration and there is already a plan in place.
In terms of plans for opening up a specific empowerment branch in Matebeleland North, that comes with a lot of expenses and what the bank is trying to do is, instead of spending money on leases and rents, they would rather spend that money giving it to the youths. We are in conversations now with Ministry of ICT Postal and Courier Services because there could be a possibility of them having windows at our post offices for Empower Bank in particular. So those are the ideas that we are trying to come up with to ensure that Empower Bank can reach across all paths of our country and be inclusive. As we have heard, the inclusion of youths across all sectors, the youths have 30% stake and that will need the support of all Hon Members here in order to ensure that it comes through and does not get diluted.
In terms of the Registrar for I.Ds, the Ministry has been working continuously with different educational programmes. We will continue to do that. The following question was again around decision making. I will ensure that the new youth policy is shared with all Hon. Members and I can make follow up on where the youth Act is. Right now it is being finalised and it will soon be going out for consultations. The last one comes back to the programmes in place around youth centres and reviving them. As alluded to before, the Ministry has put together the revival, refurbishing and retooling of youth interact centres as a holistic overview of the Ministry where all parts of the Ministry will be represented and that will allow us to do numerous things from talent identification to understanding giving platforms to youths organisations and young people to speak to us as a Ministry and create little manholes. I am also happy to share with Hon. MPs all those plans.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Members on virtual, we are having problems with our internet connectivity, so I urge you to read some of the Hon. Minister’s responses in the Hansard.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. MUTAMBISI: I move that Orders of the Day, Nos 1 to 28 be stood over until Order of the Day Number 29 has been disposed of.
HON. MUSHORIWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON LANDS, AGRICULTURE, WATER, FISHERIES AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT ON THE CASE OF THE ELUSIVE US28.2 MILLION DISTRIBUTED BY THE RBZ TO THE GRAIN MILLERS ASSOCIATION
Twenty-ninth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the First Report of the Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Resettlement on the Case of the Elusive US 28.2 Million Distributed by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) for Wheat Imports.
HON. WADYAJENA: Thank you Madam Speaker.
HON. MARKHAM: On a point of order Madam Speaker. Without virtual, I do not think we should proceed particularly on a very important debate like this one.
THE HON DEPUTY SPEAKER: It is now working.
HON. WADYAJENA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I hope my fellow Hon. Member is connected now. I want to thank the Hon. Members who contributed to this report. I now move that the House adopts the report of the Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Resettlement on the Case of the Elusive US 28.2 Million Distributed by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) for Wheat Imports.
Motion put and agreed to.
HON. MARKHAM: Madam Speaker, sorry I insist we are not connected.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: We are connected Hon. Markham. It is only the screens which need to be connected.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. MUTAMBISI: I move that the House reverts to Order of the Day, Number 27.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS ON THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
HON. MBONDIAH: I move the motion standing in my name that this House takes note of the Report of the Public Accounts on the COVID-19 pandemic, Financial Management and Utilisation of Public Resources in the Country’s Provinces by Ministries, Departments and Agencies
HON. MUSHORIWA: I second.
HON. MBONDIAH:
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 COVID19, which broke out in late 2019 across the world and in Zimbabwe in early 2021 brought about fundamental changes in the way people live. Never before had people been faced with serious disruptions of work though such a virus which to date the medical fraternity has not found a cure for. Governments across the world, including Zimbabwean authorities had to come up with policies and programmes to contain the spread of COVID 19. Apart from resources provided by Treasury, individuals and corporates also mobilised resources which they donated to finance Government of Zimbabwe’s effort in fighting the scourge.
1.2 Following the roll out of the programmes it became imperative that the resources mobilised should be accounted for. An audit was necessary, especially after negative reports that came out in various media alleging corruption in the tender processes and generally in the use of resources. The Auditor General’s Report which focused on COVID 19 Relief Funds Management was therefore a welcome development, particularly for oversight institutions. When this Report was tabled in Parliament, it stood referred to the Public Accounts Committee, which resolved to examine the Report as part of its oversight function over the Executive.
2.0 OBJECTIVE OF THE ENQUIRY
2.1 The Committee’s objectives for examining the Report are as follows:
2.1.1 To study the recommendations made by the Auditor General for key Ministries involved in the COVID 19 Government programmes and establish the extent to which these had been implemented;
2.1.2 To proffer the Committee’s recommendations arising from the gaps observed.
3.0 METHODOLOGY
3.1 In conducting the enquiry, the Committee analysed the Auditor General’s Report to familiarise itself with the issues raised and recommendations made;
3.2 The Committee proceeded to receive oral evidence from the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and Local Government and Public Works through two meetings held with each of the Ministries.
4.0 COMMITTEE’S FINDINGS
What follows below are the issues the Committee picked up and examined by seeking clarification and explanations from the two Ministries. Sadly, the Ministries in general could not provide ready answers to the Committee’s questions. Equally disturbing is the fact that despite the Ministry officials’ undertakings to submit the required information within mutually agreed timeframes, this was not complied with leaving the Committee with no option but to finalise this Report without the information sought.
4.1 DATABASE OF BENEFICIARIES
4.1.1 The Auditor General observed that the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Head Office paid COVID19 allowances amounting to $89 022 103 to vulnerable communities’ country wide through Net One. It could not confirm whether the allowances had reached all the intended beneficiaries as reconciliations and confirmation reports were not prepared.
4.1.2 It was also revealed that COVID19 allowances processed through the Net One platform in July 2020 for 873 beneficiaries at $300 each had not been collected from Buhera and Umzingwane District Social Welfare offices. This was caused by- • Incorrect contact details such as the addresses on the database;
- The same address being used for 1107 beneficiaries which made it difficult to contact beneficiaries; and
- Net One lines which did not have beneficiary names to facilitate distribution.
4.1.3The Accounting Officer highlighted that as a Ministry, they did not have the capacity to register beneficiaries due to the lockdown measures that were in place to curb the spread of COVID-19, hence they made use of the local leadership, churches among other sources of information collection to voluntarily provide names of intended beneficiaries which they used to compile their database. He admitted that the personnel tasked with data collection lacked the necessary tools of trade such as computers and had to submit the information to the Ministry in hard copy.
4.1.4 The Accounting Officer indicated that payments were made through the Net One’s one money platform. Normal validation processes were not undertaken due to high volumes of beneficiaries reaching an excess of 350 000 beneficiaries involved. However, sample validation exercises were conducted by phone to check whether the beneficiaries who received were bona fide recipients of their allowances and the amount received. He submitted that the beneficiaries had confirmed receipt of the amounts.
4.1.5 The Accounting Officer, however, admitted that they were cases of phone number duplications. He alluded that the system used by Net One should have been able to identify duplications in the system but in the case where one uses a small letter and a capital letter on the same name it makes it impossible for the system to capture the name as a duplicate. It was indicated that during the clean-up exercise carried by the Ministry about 600 names were duplicated and half were flashed out. In Buhera everyone was said to be in the bread making business which was not realistic, hence these names were weeded out from the database. From the Auditor General’s Report, they received few were paid in duplicate and follow ups were yet to be made after their internal auditors’ report.
4.1.6 The Committee was informed that data clean-ups were conducted by the IT department and were aimed towards the weeding out of duplications. For incomplete data they received they had to return it to the source origin to provide the requisite data that was needed for the process and then forwarded to Net One for processing of another verification as well.
4.1.7 The Ministry’s position was that all the names that had been submitted to Net One attracted the lines to be released to the Ministry. The Accounting Officer indicated that at head office they had a complete database of the beneficiaries as they got the information from local leaders and churches among others. Some of these beneficiaries were not registered at district and provincial office but instead were forwarded straight to the head office and there is a possibility that these people belonged to Manicaland. Due to the fact that the Ministry wanted to pay people in time they did not send back the information to the District and Provincial offices. It was indicated that there was a mismatch on the lines and the database at the district offices but as a way-forward the Ministry was developing a MIS system that would enable District and Provincial Offices to see the complete database.
4.2.1The Auditor General also observed that a total of 88 beneficiaries who were listed on the Buhera District Social Welfare database paid in July 2020 did not receive their COVID19 allowances amounting to $26 700, as the Net One lines allocated to them were not availed by the service provider. There was no evidence that reconciliations and communication was being done to timely address the anomalies.
4.2.2 On collection of COVID 19 allowances by third parties, the Accounting Officer indicated that normally they did not use third parties as the World Bank which so concerned about assisting the vulnerable. Under normal programming the Ministry uses Community based targeting method in a physical manner. The Accounting Officer indicated that he would not want to administer a programme where they get information from third parties, owing to the fact that he will be accountable at the end of the day.
4.2.3 On measures taken to ensure that beneficiaries whose allowances were collected by third parties confirmed receipt, the Accounting Officer highlighted that the Ministry’s regulations provided for collection on behalf of someone in cases where their beneficiaries have disabilities or chronic illnesses, child headed families and the elderly who are not able to walk. He stated that proxies were captured during the initial registration process. With regards to the 88 cases for Buhera District, it was reported that the authentication exercises were still being conducted but out of the 40 that had been sampled, all of them had confirmed having received their allowances.
4.2.4 The Accounting Officer informed the Committee that the Ministry had suspended the programme and disciplined officers as a measure to safeguard the allowances against theft.
4.2.5 Committee’s Observation
The distribution mechanism of the COVID 19 allowances was in shambles leaving the process open to abuse. The Committee believes that the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare had databases for vulnerable people prior to the outbreak of COVID 19, given that one of its principle functions is that of assisting the less privileged in society through various social welfare assistance programmes.
- Recommendations
The Auditor General should within 180 days of tabling of this Report, conduct a forensic audit of the disbursements to establish whether the intended beneficiaries received the allowances and if not, establish cases of embezzlement with appropriate recommendations.
The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Services within 120 of tabling of this Report, should follow up with Net One and update the database of beneficiaries which can be relied on now and during any future COVID 19 disbursements.
DUPLICATED BENEFICIARIES
4.3.1 The Mutare District Social Welfare Office database which was submitted to the Head Office for payment of allowances had the following anomalies: -
- 58 beneficiaries who received COVID19 allowances amounting to $45 240, had similar identity numbers, different dates of birth and of a different gender,
- 375 beneficiaries had uncontactable addresses and ID numbers quoted which did not exist as confirmed with the RG’s Office. These beneficiaries received COVID19 allowances amounting to $292 500.
- The Accounting Officer reiterated that the Ministry had received the names of beneficiaries from various sources due to the nature of the situation which required urgency. As a result, some of the information not been properly captured. He advised the Committee that half of the beneficiaries had been weeded out as some names had been duplicated. He argued that names forwarded to Net One for further verifications were not picked because some were capitalised and some were not. The Committee was informed that internal audits were still being conducted and once concluded people would have to account for the money.
- Eighteen (18) beneficiaries paid under the Mangwe District Department of Social Welfare received duplicate Net One lines each loaded with $600 for the payment of COVID19 relief allowances. There was no evidence that communication had been made to the relevant Net One office so that the error, which might have resulted in the beneficiaries being paid twice, could be rectified.
- Further, on three (3) occasions, two (2) different beneficiaries used the same identity number [58-316200 Y 45, 19-052524 P 19 and 08- 79102 N 03] to collect COVID19 allowances amounting to $600 each at Umzingwane District under the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare.
- On whether the Ministry had recovered any money out of the improper payments made through issuance of duplicate Net One lines, the Accounting Officer indicated that they had not yet recovered any but they were waiting for COVID-19 restrictions to be relaxed before sending their internal auditors.
4.4.4 Committee’s Observation
The explanation from the Ministry was not satisfactory to the Committee as the internal audit referred to should have been conducted and concluded before the commencement of the Committee’s enquiry. The Committee had no option but to note the Ministry officials’ lack of seriousness in addressing the anomalies.
4.4.5 Recommendations
- The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) should institute investigations on the issue of duplicate beneficiaries with a view to prosecuting those guilty of any wrong doing within 180 days of tabling this Report.
- The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare should institute the process of recovering improperly paid allowances from the beneficiaries.
PAYMENT OF COVID 19 ALLOWANCES (Manicaland Province)
4.5.1 The Manicaland Provincial Social Welfare Officer could not provide to the Auditor General a consolidated report and copies of confirmation of receipt of the $3 959 950 COVID 19 allowances disbursed by Head Office and paid to 18 349 beneficiaries in the Province. He indicated that allowances paid to beneficiaries were for vulnerable communities and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) whose businesses were adversely affected by the measures taken to contain the COVID 19 pandemic.
4.5.2 The Committee gathered that in addition to the list Head Office received from the provincial office, the Ministry received an additional list of beneficiaries from other sources within the province in the master database. In response to the Committee’s question on a mechanism developed to account for disbursed allowances for beneficiaries in Manicaland, the Accounting Officer submitted that the anomaly would be rectified by the introduction of MIS that will enable all offices to access the database.
4.5.3 Committee’s Observation
There was no system of accountability in the receipt of allowances from Head Office and there was no reasonable justification for the Provincial Office’s failure to adhere to simple accounting procedures. It would appear that the omission was deliberate and therefore dereliction of duty.
4.5.4 Recommendation
The Ministry should regularise the anomaly by compiling a consolidated report and confirmations of receipt of all COVID 19 allowances. The process should be completed within 60 days of tabling of this Report and copies submitted to the Auditor General and the Public Accounts Committee.
COLLECTION OF ALLOWANCES BY BENEFICIARIES
4.6.1 As of December 2020, a total of 1 273 beneficiaries had not collected their Net One lines at Mutare District Social Welfare Office since July 2020. This amounted to an estimated $763 800 uncollected allowances. It was noted that incorrect capturing of beneficiary addresses in Chiredzi and Gutu Districts resulted in sim cards for 3 710 beneficiaries remaining undistributed for six months (since June 2020).
4.6.2 Furthermore, 366 Mangwe District Social Welfare Office and 195 Umzingwane District Office beneficiaries had not collected their COVID 19 relief allowances amounting to a combined total of $336 600. There was no documentary evidence availed for audit to show that the Districts informed the beneficiaries about the payments.
4.6.3 There was also no safeguard against continuous payment of allowances to unconfirmed beneficiaries. Furthermore, no reports were prepared outlining Net One sim cards which were received but not loaded with money for beneficiaries.
4.6.4 On the issue of uncollected lines at Mutare District Social Welfare Office, the Committee was advised that the Ministry had not been able to get the correct physical addresses and the amount which Government was availing as allowance to SMEs was insignificant. The Committee was advised that the Ministry had taken a position to recall all the money in the uncollected sim lines for remittance to Treasury. The Committee was also advised that the Ministry had since tasked its internal auditors to come up with a report which would guide the next steps to be followed in addressing the anomalies.
4.6.5 Committee’s Observation
It appeared to the Committee that the intended beneficiaries had not been properly advised of the allowances that were due for collection. This was despite the fact that various modes of communication such as telephone, radio and television could have been used to good effect in the midst of COVID 19 restrictions.
4.6.6 Recommendation
The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare should communicate with the intended beneficiaries and ensure that the allowances are disbursed within 90 days of tabling of this Report.
PAYMENT OF COVID19 ALLOWANCES TO MEMBERS OF STAFF
4.7.1 It was noted during audit that members of staff stationed at Toronto Quarantine Centre, Magamba Quarantine Centre and Matabeleland South Provincial Social Welfare Office were paid COVID19 allowances totalling $2 290 599. These allowances were paid to members of staff who reported for duty during the COVID19 lockdown period from April to July 2020. The payments were made without competent authority. Furthermore, there were inconsistencies and lack of documented guidelines on payment of the COVID-19 allowances across different Government departments. The amounts paid ranged from $180 to $320 per day.
4.7.2 The Committee was informed that the basis for paying COVID-19 allowances to members of staff was the approval by the Public Service Commission relating to payment of travel and subsistence allowances. The Ministry officials argued that the conditions in the quarantine centres were very unique and made it difficult to motivate staff to continue work under the prevailing circumstances. They also argued that members of staff were not allowed to leave their posts during their shifts which stretched to a period of two weeks, thus they were subjected to the same conditions as returnees who had to be quarantined for a period of 20 days. The Ministry had, therefore, found it imperative to pay the allowances.
- Committee’s observations
Whilst the fear of contracting COVID 19 was real and the need to pay staff allowances was considered noble by the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, failure to seek the necessary approval for payment of allowances cannot be condoned.
The Ministry Officials could not provide the Committee with the number of staff members who benefited and the corresponding amounts they received and this was perceived as efforts to conceal information for unauthorised conduct.
- Recommendation
The Ministry should seek authority from the Accounting Officer in retrospect and if approval is not granted, recover the allowances paid. The exercise should be completed within 60 days after tabling this Report.
URBAN FOOD ASSISTANCE
4.8.1 Section 4 (3) of the Social Welfare Assistance Act [Chapter 17:06] requires that from time to time reviews/assessments be conducted to determine eligibility of persons intending to receive social welfare assistance in terms of amount, or level of social welfare assistance. The Kwekwe and Zvishavane District Social Development Offices (DSDO) did not avail for audit inspection documentary evidence to show that the urban food beneficiaries who received cash disbursements totalling $187 000 and $3 806 300 respectively during the months of April, May, July and August 2020 were assessed to determine whether or not they qualified to be in the urban feeding programme.
4.8.2 The Ministry officials indicated that the criteria for eligibility of persons were in two parts as follows:
- self-targeting, where applicants approach the Social Welfare Offices and apply for assistance and considered after a means test; and
- community-based targeting, where communities participate in identifying eligible beneficiaries as guided by the officials who then conduct verification
4.8.3 They explained that for Kwekwe and Zvishavane the targeted beneficiaries were those who are labour constrained, food poor, persons with disabilities, the elderly and the chronically ill. It was also highlighted that the Ministry was in the process of coming up with standard operating procedures for the selection of beneficiaries for the urban cash for cereal programme.
4.8.4 The Committee was informed that the Ministry had recently updated the food deficit mitigation programme manual for the rural food assistance programme and it was this same module that had been used for the urban areas but given the difference in dichotomies between rural and urban areas the Ministry had realised that they cannot be the same and hence the different manuals.
4.8.5 Probed on why the District Welfare Offices had not complied with Section 4 (3) of the Social Welfare Assistance Act [Chapter 17:06] that spelt out the criteria for selecting beneficiaries of the Urban Feeding Programme, the Ministry officials admitted that for the community-based targeting and in all targeting criteria there should have been rigorous follow ups to the beneficiaries to ensure that those in need and deserving people were covered. They blamed the prevailing circumstances for limiting mobility of officers to conduct the usual home-based visits to weed out the undeserving beneficiaries. To remedy the anomaly, the Ministry reported that it was drafting a manual that would guide the officers and plans were being made for an online training for the officials.
4.8.6 Committee’s observations
Failure by the Ministry Officials to submit records of assessment to the Auditor General and the subsequent failure to avail the same to the Committee is clear testimony that proper procedures were not been followed. As a result, undeserving people could have benefited at the expense of those who deserved the allowances.
- Recommendations
The Ministry of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare should conduct a review/assessment to determine eligibility of persons who should benefit from social welfare assistance within 180 days of tabling of this Report.
Documentary evidence of periodic reviews must always be kept in files and made available to the Auditor General upon request.
MANAGEMENT OF QUARANTINE CENTRES (Service Delivery in Quarantine Centres)
4.9.1 The visit by the Auditor General to the Mushagashe Quarantine Centre revealed that the security at the centre was inadequate. The facility did not have a secure fence and alternative gates for entry and exit to the Centre were not lockable. Therefore, there was no restriction of movement of inmates from going to other areas of the facility. During the period from June 14, 2020 to December 10, 2020, a total of 141 out of 1 261 admitted inmates, had absconded.
4.9.2 There was also no backup for electricity and water in the event of electricity outage. The availability of electricity was not constant at the facility. The facility was used as a Quarantine Centre before the repairs of electricity and plumbing had been done.
4.9.3 On why the quarantine facilities had been allowed to operate under insecure conditions and the action taken to remedy the situation, the Ministry officials submitted that the identification and establishment of quarantine centres was the responsibility of the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works. They pointed out that while it was desired that the centres be secure with adequate facilities, this had not been the case due to inadequate funds. The Committee was advised that inmates had been admitted at the quarantine centres before the conditions had been met because there was no alternative accommodation at a time there was a huge influx of people through the country’s ports of entry.
4.9.4 To remedy the situation, the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works indicated that it had moved in to replace the security fence and to install a borehole. The Committee sought the officials’ comments on failure to lock a gate and the response was locking of gates was the responsibility of officers from the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the Zimbabwe National Army who manned the gates.
4.9.4 Committee’s observation
There was ample evidence of negligence of duty in as far as not locking the gates was concerned as this resulted in some inmates absconding from the quarantine centres and in the process posing a great risk of contaminating people outside the quarantine centres.
4.9.5 Recommendation
In future, the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works should work closely with other officials from the Ministry of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare, the Zimbabwe Republic Police and Zimbabwe National Army to ensure that there is maximum security for inmates in quarantine centres.
BUS FARE PAYMENTS FOR QUARANTINE CENTRE INMATES
4.10.1 Section 35 (6) (a) of the Public Finance Management Act [Chapter 22:19] states that every Accounting Officer shall keep or cause to be kept proper records of account. Contrary to these requirements, the AG noted the following anomalies:
Mushagashe Quarantine Centre did not avail payment schedules to support bus fares amounting to $42 930 paid to inmates that were leaving the centre.
A schedule showing payments amounting to $18 300 for twenty-seven inmates at Mushagashe Quarantine Centre revealed that the inmates received the bus fares on September 10, 2020. However, the admissions and discharge register indicated that the inmates were discharged on September 22, 2020, thirteen days after payment date.
Out of a total amount of $597 460 paid, inmates whose bus fare payments amounted to $516 370 did not sign the acquittal forms at Mushagashe Quarantine Centre as proof that they had received the amounts indicated. The AG could not confirm the accuracy of the expenditure figures in the absence of supporting records.
4.10.2 Midlands Provincial Social Welfare Office paid in cash bus fares totaling $604 760 to returnees discharged from Quarantine Centres. A sample of payments reviewed showed that persons travelling to the same destinations were invariably paid different amounts. No reasonable explanations were proffered for such practices.
4.10.3 When asked to respond to how bus fares amounting to $516 370 were accounted for given that recipients did not confirm through signing for the disbursed amounts, the Ministry officials submitted that the anomaly had also been of concern to the Ministry after they noticed it. The Committee was advised that the Ministry had suspended the officers concerned but after an investigation by a team led by an official from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development the suspended officers had been cleared. The basis given for clearing the officers were that money had been issued in the presence of the police and other officers and that there had been concerns raised relating to fears of contracting COVID 19 hence the money was not signed for.
4.10.4 The Committee was informed that the Ministry had not been satisfied with the outcome of the investigations and after a discussion within the Ministry involving the Accounting Officer, a decision had been made to reconstitute the investigation Committee.
4.10.5 Regarding the payment of different amounts in bus fare to inmates going the same destinations, the Ministry officials argued that payments were different because there was no formal transport arrangements made for the inmates. As such different contractors had been engaged with different rates charged depending on the time of the day, minors accompanying the inmates and their luggage. On why the details relating to children and the luggage had not been indicated, the Ministry officials blamed that omission on junior officer entrusted with that responsibility and stated that this had prompted the Ministry to place a supervisory responsibility on senior officers over the junior officers. To ensure accountability of public funds going forward, the Ministry officials submitted that they had developed a procedure operation manual to guide the officers in the discharge of their duties.
4.10.6 Committee’s observation
There was serious breach of the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act by officials who did not keep proper records of accounts.
- Recommendations
The Ministry of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare should expedite investigations and finalise this matter within 120 days of tabling of this Report.
A Report of the findings of the internal investigation and remedial action taken by the Ministry should be submitted to the Auditor General and Public Accounts Committee within 180 days of tabling of this Report.
PAYMENT OF ADMINISTRATION FEES FOR QUARANTINE CENTRES
4.11.1 Mushagashe Training Centre charged accommodation and service fees to the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare for the use of its premises as a Quarantine Centre. The fees were purported to be based on the number of inmates resident at the centre on each day. However, there was no authority produced approving the basis used for payments.
4.11.2 Further to the above, a total of $6 993 000 was billed between the period April 7, 2020 to November 14, 2020 for the services rendered and $1 508 500 had been paid by the Ministry. The invoices were not supported by records of the number of inmates for the period and the administration services that the Ministry was billed for by the Institution to enable the Auditor General to validate the invoiced amounts.
4.11.3 The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare did not have a clear decommissioning policy that ensures that sites are restored to their original state upon closure of a quarantine centre. As at the date of audit by the AG, on December 4, 2020, it was observed that the Ministry owed Vuti High School in Mashonaland West Province $138 593 for the damages done to the school infrastructure by the people who were in quarantine as well as other expenses incurred by the School on behalf of the Ministry. The money had been outstanding since the closure of the quarantine centre in June 2020.
4.11.4 The Committee asked the Ministry officials whether there was an agreement and approval of the accommodation and service fees charged by Mushagashe Training Centre and to explain the procedures the Ministry carried out to verify the accuracy of the accommodation and service fees charged. To this, the Ministry officials admitted that there was no agreement and stated that payments were based on the invoice amount and manifesto of the inmates admitted at the quarantine centre. The Committee was informed that verifications were conducted by the Provincial COVID 19 Task Force using the manifesto before the invoices were forwarded to head office for payments.
4.11.5 Committee’s observations
The Ministry of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare made payments to Mushagashe Training Centre for use of its premises as a quarantine centre without any form of contract entered into. Contracts by their nature define and govern the rights and duties between or among parties and in the event of a breach of contract, the injured party may seek judicial remedies such as damages or cancellation.
Lack of supporting documents for payments made for inmates that were accommodated at the institutions is not excusable accounting practice.
The absence of a decommissioning policy is an anomaly which should be rectified.
4.11.6 Recommendations
In future programmes, the Ministry should enter into contracts or at least sign memorandum of understanding with service providers without fail.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) should institute investigations on the issue given the suspicion that money could have been stolen.
The Ministry should formulate a decommissioning policy within 60 days of tabling this Report.
PAYMENT IRREGULARITIES
4.12.1 Gwanda Provincial Social Welfare office overpaid Appleridge Investments when it made three payments totaling $1 938 340 for the same invoice number 012 in respect of catering services rendered at DDF and Beitbridge quarantine centres from August 3, 2020 to September 15, 2020. Furthermore, another invoice amounting to $579 570 was also paid to the same company. The invoice had no reference number, no period for which catering services were rendered and the station where the services were rendered.
4.12.2 In explaining the anomaly, the Ministry officials submitted that reconciliations had been done and these had established that the company had been overpaid by an amount of $1 006 920 which the company also acknowledged. To rectify the anomaly, the officials indicated that they had asked the company to refund the money by 31 August 2021. In addition to the request for a refund, the officials indicated that they had requested the company to improve on its invoicing method. At the time of concluding this report, no evidence had been submitted by the Ministry to indicate that the refund had been made, although the Ministry had undertaken to submit the documents by 3 September 2021.
4.12.3 Committee’s observation
The Ministry did not show concern over the payment as indicated by their lack of urgency to recover the overpaid amount.
4.12.4 Recommendation
The Ministry of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare should recover overpaid amount within 30 days after tabling of this Report. Alternatively, proof of a set off arrangement with other goods that could have been supplied should be submitted to the Committee within the same time-frame.
GROCERIES FOR QUARANTINE CENTRES
4.13.1 In Manicaland Province, approved documented requisitions, detailing the food requirements against the number of inmates, for the procured goods worth $2 998 078, were not availed to the AG by the eight (8) Quarantine Centres.
4.13.2 There were no payment vouchers prepared for amounts paid to retail suppliers for the goods collected. Mashonaland Central Provincial Social Welfare Office did not carry out reconciliations of groceries collected against the amounts that had been paid to OK Zimbabwe amounting to $632 550. Furthermore, no confirmations of payments to OK Zimbabwe from Head Office were submitted to the AG and only a few requests to Head Office were availed. In the absence of these documents, audit could not determine the completeness of the transactions.
4.13.3 In Masvingo Province, goods valued at $1 128 192 were not supported by authorized requisitions from the centres. The Provincial Office did not have records to confirm balances of goods at OK, TM and N. Richards. Also, the Provincial Office did not have financial records on total payments made to each supplier, total cost of goods taken by each of the Quarantine Centres and total cost of services incurred towards the administration of the Quarantine Centres. The AG was therefore not able to determine whether the COVID19 funds were appropriately utilized and accounted for.
4.13.4 Gwanda Provincial Social Welfare office processed payment voucher number 1/2020 on August 12, 2020 and paid $339 796 to OK Zimbabwe Gwanda for food and nonfood items which had been requested by Esikhoveni Quarantine Centre. The goods had not yet been collected/delivered at the time of audit on December 8, 2020 which was almost four (4) months after payment. The management indicated that they had not been given authorisation to collect the goods by the Provincial Office.
4.13.5 The Ministry officials explained the procurement procedure used in procuring food for the inmates were the same as the one used under normal conditions. They submitted that due to the speed with which the goods were required, the Ministry had flighted a tender where the OK Zimbabwe, Pick and Pay and N. Richards were identified as prospective suppliers. The Committee was informed that at the procurement stage the other companies required cash upfront except OK Zimbabwe leading to OK Zimbabwe being awarded the contract and thereafter opening an account from which goods were procured with occasional reconciliations conducted to ensure that the Ministry operated within the budget. With regards to anomalies that had been observed, officials were still to establish how they had occurred through a team that had been set up to come up with recommendations.
4.13.6 With regards to the whether Gwanda Provincial Social Welfare Office had now been authorised to collect food and non-food items paid for in August 2020 from OK Zimbabwe Gwanda Branch, the Ministry officials indicated that the goods remained uncollected. They submitted that there had been a donation received from the Civil Protection Unit and collecting the items would have resulted in loss of the food items as some of them were perishables. The Committee was advised that the issue of authorisation was being handled by the Provincial Office. An undertaking to provide information on the final outcome of the authorisation issues remained unfulfilled at the time of completing this Report.
4.13.7 The Committee was assured that the implementation of the operations procedure manual would address the shortcomings relating to requisitions of goods procured, reconciliations of collected goods and payments and others that had been observed at Provincial Offices. In addition to the procedure manual officials highlighted that the Ministry was going to embark on a training exercise, would bolster supervisory levels and take appropriate disciplinary actions where it was necessary.
- Committee’s Observations
The issue of missing vouchers is a matter of concern to the Committee as it proves that the payments were not authorised.
There must be proper coordination within the Ministry to ensure that intended beneficiaries receive goods
4.13.9 Recommendation
The Ministry should reverse the purchase and get a refund from the supplier within 30 days of tabling of this Report. In the event that the amount was offset by the purchase of another order, documents supporting the transaction should be submitted to the Public Accounts Committee.
INTERNAL CONTROLS (Segregation of Duties)
There was no segregation of duties in the procurement of goods, stores management, distribution of goods to Quarantine Centres and maintenance of registers at Manicaland Provincial Social Welfare Office. One individual was responsible for the maintenance of the Provincial Office cash book, cash receipt books and payment of bus fares to inmates who would have been discharged from quarantine centres.
In explaining the measures taken to address the issue of segregation of duties at Manicaland Provincial Social Welfare Office, the Ministry officials indicated that they had appointed another accounting assistant at the Manicaland Provincial Office. The officials submitted that they were working with the human resources department to make sure that all the vacant positions are filled in across the Ministry so as to improve on internal controls. With regards to supervision, the Ministry confirmed that the Provincial Social Welfare Officer was the head of the Province and was charged with ensuring that work is checked at that senior level.
4.14.3 Committee’s observation
There is need for the recruitment of more staff in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to enable it to assign the different duties to different individuals.
4.14.4 Recommendation
The Public Service Commission should facilitate the recruitment of additional staff in the Ministry within 180 days of tabling of this Report.
DONATIONS (Donations Registers and other Records)
4.15.1 At most centres visited, the AG observed non-maintenance of donations registers and inaccurate registers such that she could not satisfy herself whether the donations reached the intended beneficiaries. Below are some of the specific cases:
Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Polytechnic was identified to be a Quarantine Centre and there were refurbishments that had to be done. An examination of the records showed that the Quarantine Centre, received two consignments of donations of plumbing materials amounting to $300 133 in May and November 2020 from How Mine for infrastructure refurbishment. However, the institution did not maintain a register to record and account for the donations.
4.15.2 Magamba Quarantine Centre did not maintain a COVID19 response donations register to facilitate proper accountability. Instead, a file for the issue vouchers for donations was being maintained by the officer responsible for receipting and distribution of COVID19 response items. There was no evidence of review of the documentation by an independent official.
4.15.3 Plumtree Quarantine Centre did not record a donation of (4) four bales and (6) six sacks of clothing as was reflected on issue voucher number 451371H from the Department of Social Welfare Head Office, Harare. Furthermore, the distribution list of the items to beneficiaries was not available for audit inspection.
4.15.4 Esigodini District Social Welfare Office did not maintain an updated register of donations. As a result, the AG was unable to determine the accuracy of stock records of the donated COVID-19 items as there were variances between figures on the issue voucher numbers 396220 and 9455944E and the subsequent entry of the same in the donations register.
4.15.5 Manicaland Provincial Social Welfare Office did not maintain a separate register for the COVID19 response donations. The donations were recorded together with items received from the Head Office or procured by the Province. This caused confusion in tracking movement of the items.
4.15.6 The Ministry officials submitted that most of the centres did not maintain donations’ registers due to lack of adequate staff knowledgeable about assets maintenance which includes donations. They argued that most of the quarantine centres had been opened with thin staff and some duties had been assumed by non-administration staff. The Ministry officials did not submit records for the Joshua Mgabuko Nkomo Quarantine Centre indicating that items valued at $300 133 had been eventually recorded in the registers. Proof of records prepared after the audit and the lists of beneficiaries of the clothes at Plumtree Quarantine Centre were also not submitted to the Committee by 3 September as promised.
4.15.7 Committee’s observation
The issue of incompetent staff may not be a genuine reason advanced by the Ministry. However, if it is genuine, the issue should be addressed.
4.15.8 Recommendation
The forensic audit recommended earlier on should cover the issue of donations with the Auditor General giving recommendations for her findings.
PROCUREMENT OF GOODS AND SERVICES (Procurement Plan)
4.16.1 Manicaland Provincial Social Welfare Office was tasked with the responsibility of procuring groceries for eight (8) Quarantine Centres in the province where COVID 19 inmates were accommodated. A sample of documents reviewed revealed that groceries worth $2 998 078 were procured from April 2020 up to the time of the audit in December 2020. There was no evidence that the Provincial Office developed a procurement plan for the goods that were to be procured for the Quarantine Centres
4.16.2 The Ministry officials attributed the absence of a procurement plan by arguing that COVID 19 had been an emergency which did not afford them time to plan. They submitted that procurement of goods was based on budgets submitted to Treasury and allocations that were subsequently made. They undertook to ensure that in future procurement plans would be prepared as Provincial Social Welfare Offices had been requested to come up with these plans.
4.16.3 Committee’s observation
In the absence of a procurement plan, the Ministry officials procured goods haphazardly. As a result, there is no guarantee that the goods they procured were of the right quality and quantities and this can be construed as a deliberate destruction of an audit trail in order to embezzle the goods acquired outside proper procedures.
4.16.4 Recommendation
The Ministry should prepare procurement plans for all the purchases done in retrospect within 60 days of tabling this Report.
STORES MANAGEMENT
4.17.1 The stores register at Plumtree Quarantine Centre was not being reviewed by a senior officer to identify and mitigate errors. After a physical count of items recorded in the stores register, a variance was noted where the register indicated a running balance of 168 kilograms against 88 kilograms as per physical count resulting in a shortfall of 80 kilograms of sugar which could not be explained.
4.17.2 Makonde Quarantine Centre was also not properly maintaining stores records as evidenced by the following anomalies:
- There was a variance of fifteen (15) between the quantity recorded on the stock card of forty (40) and the physical count of fifty-five (55) on baby pampers.
- Two boxes with various children’s toys and one mosquito net were not recorded in the register on the date of audit
- There were inconsistencies on the quantities of the food items that were issued to the kitchen from the stores.
- The number of staff members and people quarantined at the centre varied each
day, but the centre did not consider this factor when it issued out the food items to the kitchen. In some instances, the same quantities were issued out when there were no people quarantined at the centre. In addition, there was no evidence to show that the registers were being checked by a senior official or any delegated person.
4.17.3 The AG further observed that 255 blankets and 580 kilograms of mealie meal that were issued to Mushagashe Quarantine Centre were not recorded in the goods received register. As a result, accountability for the items could not be validated.
4.17.4 The Ministry officials submitted to the Committee that investigations on the variances could have been conducted at Provincial level but admitted that Head Office did not have the Report. Like the other documents the Ministry undertook to provide, nothing had been received when this Report was concluded.
4.17.5 Committee’s observation
The variances are a serious cause of concern as they are prevalent and cannot be treated as errors in the absence of well-maintained records. In such cases there is reasonable suspicion of theft.
- Recommendations
The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare should submit a Report on the investigation of the variances to the Public Accounts Committee within 60 days of tabling this Report. The Report should also include action taken against officials guilty of misconduct.
Supervisors should conduct spot check at regular intervals.
CASH RECORDING AND MANAGEMENT
4.18.1 The AG observed that the Zvishavane District Social Welfare Office did not receipt or record cash received during the period June 9, 2020 to November 29, 2020 amounting to $483 730. Acquittals for the money were said to have been sent to the Provincial office without retaining some copies at the District office. As a result, it was difficult to ascertain whether the amounts so received were properly brought to account.
4.18.2 Also Manicaland Provincial Social Welfare Office did not receipt cash amounting to $30 000 received from the Head office between May 20, 2020 and November 25, 2020for bus fares to vulnerable quarantined returnees.
4.18.3 Failure to follow procedures for receipting, recording and disposal of cash was attributed to the use of non-accounting officers in undertaking the duties. The Ministry officials reiterated that at provincial level, a human resources officer ended up performing accounting and administrative duties which was not a normal arrangement.
4.18.4 Committee’s observation
The recording of cash is a simple exercise which can be done by no accounting personnel.
4.18.5 Recommendation
ZRP and ZACC should institute investigations on this matter within 180 days of tabling this Report.
FUEL MANAGEMENT
4.19.1 The Auditor General observed that Mashonaland Central Provincial Social Welfare Office issued 780 litres worth of fuel coupons without supporting fuel requisitions for the period under review.
4.19.2 The Ministry officials submitted that the Provincial Social Welfare Officer had been advised to use a standard requisition form instead of the one that was being used. The old form was reported to have caused some confusion between requests for fuel and requests for vehicle use.
4.19.3 The Committee requested for the list of beneficiaries and purpose for which the fuel had been used for and the Ministry officials undertook to provide this information later arguing that Head Office did not have the information as it was kept at the Provincial office. The Committee was advised that provincial offices kept these records in the spirit of devolution and they were audited
4.19.4 Committee’s observation
Failure by the Ministry to submit to the Committee a list of beneficiaries and the purpose for which the fuel had been used is construed as an attempt to conceal theft of fuel. Recommendation
ZRP and ZACC should institute investigations on this matter within 180 days of tabling this Report.
In future, all fuel coupon issued should have supporting fuel requisitions.
EXPENDITURE MANAGEMENT (Use of Funds on non-prioritised COVID-19 related costs)
4.20.1 The Auditor-General (AG) observed that funds amounting to $581 945 were disbursed for refurbishment of Gweru Infectious Diseases Hospital through the Municipality of Gweru in order to mitigate the spread of COVID19 disease. The Department of Public Works in Midlands Province was tasked to carry out all the procurement processes on behalf of the Municipality. AG’s concern was that these funds were redirected to refurbish Mkoba 1 Clinic and there were no supporting documents and progress reports to support usage of the funds. Consequently, the Hospital remained not fully equipped thereby rendering it unsuitable to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
4.20.2 AG also noted that Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) project funds amounting to $796 817 which had been allocated to Chipinge District Hospital Isolation Centre were used by Manicaland Provincial Public Works Department without the Accounting Officer’s authority, to settle a cost overrun at Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital Isolation Centre. There was also no evidence that the hospitals were advised of the funds which were disbursed to the Provincial Public Works for Isolation centre preparation works.
4.20.3 The Ministry officials explained that they were almost completing Victoria Chitepo Hospital which was the only isolation centre in the Province and there was need to pay a contractor so that the centre would be functional. They hoped that with the next release of funds, they would offset the expenses at Chipinge Hospital. The Committee was informed that the works at Chipinge District Hospital that had been earmarked for the first phase had been completed. The officials stated that regularisation of the re-directed funds had been done orally and there was need for the Accounting Officer to properly regularise it. In that regard, the Ministry’s internal auditors had been asked to double check the transactions so that the Accounting Officer would decide on the condonation of the redirected funds accordingly. This exercise was expected to be completed within a week after the oral evidence with the Committee.
4.20.4 The Auditor-General further observed that out of funds totaling $4 600 000 disbursed for refurbishment of Gweru Infectious Diseases Hospital, an amount of $1 305 681 was still unused. This amount had been earmarked for the purchase of a standby generator around August 18, 2020 and by the time of audit, on December 8, 2020, the generator had not been acquired. Her concern was that the funds were lying idle and losing value through inflation while the process to acquire the generator was taking long.
4.20.5 The Committee sought an explanation for on why $1 305 681 remained unutilised despite there being refurbishments that were required at Gweru Infectious Disease Hospital. In response the Ministry officials submitted that the funds were meant to procure a backup generator for the Hospital. They highlighted that there were challenges with the selected supplier who had provided a generator which did not meet the required specifications. The Provincial Office had asked for a correct generator but the supplier was battling to provide it and the procurement process had had to be restarted in order to identify an alternative supplier.
4.20.6 Committee’s observations
The use of funds on non-prioritized COVID 19 costs may have been for a noble cause. However, officials must at all times operate within the legal framework. In this instance, authority should have been sought.
On the planned acquisition of a generator, the Ministry should have sought for 3 quotations. Failure by the first supplier to supply the generator should have led to the Ministry resorting to second supplier.
4.20.7 Recommendation
The Accounting Officer should regularise the expenditure and evidence of the regularisation should be submitted to the Committee within 30 days of tabling of this Report.
UTILISATION OF COVID19 FUNDS
4.21.1 An amount of $41 528 was incurred towards maintenance of staff houses at Mutimurefu Prison under Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs using COVID19 donated funds deposited into the State Occasions Account.
4.21.2 The Committee sought an explanation on whether the maintenance of staff houses at Mutimurefu Prison under Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs using COVID-19 response budget had been properly authorised. The Ministry officials requested for time to consult the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and the Provincial Works Director for Masvingo in order for them to give the correct position as they did not have the facts of the matter then. However, they admitted that as a matter of principle, the expenditure on staff houses had not been proper unless the Provincial Development Coordinator had authorised it as a temporary measure before rectifying the expenditure.
4.21.3 Committee’s observation
The Committee’s observation was that the Ministry officials had not followed up on the matter as they had undertaken during their submission of oral evidence to the Committee.
4.21.4 Recommendation
The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works should make a follow up on the issue of authorization and submit the response to the Auditor General for verification within 30 days of tabling of the Report. MAINTENANCE OF QUARANTINE CENTRE BUILDINGS
4.22.1 The Midlands Provincial Public Works Department invested a total sum of $983 657 towards the rehabilitation of Torwood Hospital Quarantine Centre. The project was reported to be 78.6% complete at the time of audit. A physical inspection of maintenance work carried out at the hospital on December 10, 2020 showed that although some plumbing and electrical installations had been done, the hospital was not yet ready to be used for the intended purpose as there was no running water. Painting of the building was required and some of the items fitted like tapes and electrical equipment were susceptible to theft due to inadequate security.
4.22.2 The Auditor-General noted that Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare did not have a clear decommissioning policy that ensures that sites are restored to their original state upon closure of a quarantine centre. The case in point is Vuti High School in Mashonaland West Province that was owed $138 593 for the damages done to the school infrastructure by the people who were in quarantine. The money had been outstanding since the closure of the quarantine centre in June 2020. However, the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare indicated that the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works was responsible for all restoration works and crafting of the decommissioning policy
4.22.3 Responding the Committee’s request for an update of the work done to ensure that Torwood Hospital was brought to its intended use, the Ministry officials stated that rehabilitation of Torwood Hospital was still at 78,6 % complete pending the release of funds required to complete the project. It was submitted that additional work had been
done after the audit and this included painting of the structure, drilling of a borehole and installation of the necessary equipment.
4.22.4 On whether the Ministry had a decommissioning policy, the Ministry officials acknowledged the observation that a quarantine centre should be restored to its status or even better after its use. They however referred to a tussle between the Ministry and that of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare in relation to the maintenance of quarantine centres. The Committee was informed that the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works’ understanding was that whenever they are given a job by a Ministry, after doing the job it was expected that the requesting Ministry should manage the institution and when there is change of use and a Ministry requires services to restore the structure to its original use, that Ministry should alert the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works so that resources can be made available for that purpose.
4.22.5 Committee’s observation
The Committee observed that the Ministry of Local government and Public works did not have a policy decommissioning policy to follow and there was no proper coordination with the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare in their work.
4.22.6 Recommendations
The two Ministries must coordinate their work and ensure that a decommissioning policy is formulated within 30 days of tabling of this Report.
The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social welfare should always admit inmates after all the facilities at a quarantine centre are in place.
MANAGEMENT AND REHABILITATION OF ISOLATION CENTRES (Status of Isolation Centres)
4.23.1. The Auditor-General noted that Manicaland Province had four (4) hospitals which were identified to provide isolation services and treatment facilities to COVID19 positive persons. Out of the four (4) Isolation Centres identified, Victoria Chitepo Provincial Isolation centre was the only centre whose rehabilitation and equipping works had been completed and was fully operational as at December 12, 2020. Progress of rehabilitation at the other three (3) isolation centres was delayed by at least fifty-eight (58) days due to the failure to supply equipment by companies contracted by your Ministry.
4.23.2 The AG observed that out of the targeted ten Isolation Centres (253 bed capacity) in Masvingo Province, six Isolation Centres (179 bed capacity) had been completed and operational. Construction and refurbishment works for four Isolation Centres (74 bed capacity) were still outstanding. She also noted that as of December 4, 2020 the construction of the COVID19 Intensive Care Unit that started on May 15, 2020 had exceeded its planned timelines of September 15 by three months. Essential items such as beds, theatre equipment, tables, and ventilators among others, had not been procured at the hospital. Only ten ventilators had been donated for the ICU.
4.23.3 At Ndanga District Hospital an existing female ward was converted into an Isolation Unit and refurbishment works started on May 15, 2020 and should have been completed by September 15, 2020. Costs incurred as at December 9, 2020 amounted to $581 481.However, the Isolation Centre was not operational due to outstanding works that included fencing, toilets and showers, installation of taps, water back up, procurement of oxygen gas pipe and installing an epoxy floor and there were no beds for the whole unit.
4.23.4 Construction and refurbishment works for Chivi and Bikita Isolation Centres which started on May 15, 2020 were expected to have been completed by August 15, 2020. As at December 10, 2020 the projects had not been completed.
4.23.5 Although major construction works for Gutu Mission Hospital Isolation Unit had been completed and operational, the donning and doffing rooms were not properly constructed due to unavailability of building materials. People passing by could see staff changing and flooring had not been done making it difficult to clean and contain the spread of the virus. Installation of the oxygen pipe had not been done because the equipment had not been procured.
4.23.6 The AG observed that as of December 12, 2020 a total of $23 100 000 had been disbursed to Manicaland Provincial Public Works for rehabilitation works at Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital, Nyanga District Hospital, Mutare Infectious Diseases Hospital and Chipinge District Hospital Isolation Centres. However, medical gas piping, plumping and furnishing of the hospital was still outstanding.
4.23.7 In explaining the root causes of the anomalies outlined above, the Ministry officials indicated that a contractor had taken too long to complete works on air ventilation and medical gas since there were components that were being imported from South Africa especially the man holds. The Committee was informed that work had eventually been completed at all the three isolation centres (V. Chitepo, Nyanga and Chipinge) including Mutare Infectious Hospital and the centres had been handed over to the Ministry of Health and Child Care for use. For Chivi Hospital, the Ministry officials submitted that the major sponsor had been Tongaat Hulett and there had been a delay in the provision of materials. Given the delays the Ministry had to request for additional funds from Treasury and all the work under that phase had been completed by 31 March 2021. For Bikita Hospital, a donation had been secured from Bikita Minerals and additional funding from Treasury had complemented the donation and the work had also been completed by 31 March 2021.
4.24.8 Committee’s observations
The Committee noted that there was serious mismanagement of funds as goods intended were not purchased in time. In addition, there was no follow up done by supervisors to ensure that tasks were performed by the junior officers.
Donations received have to be utilised effectively carefully in order to retain the confidence of the donors.
4.24.9 Recommendation
The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works should institute disciplinary action within 60 days of tabling of this Report, against officers who were negligent in discharging their duties.
ADVANCE PAYMENTS
4.24.1 Section 97 (3) of the Public Finance Management (Treasury Instructions), 2019 prohibits the use of advance payments unless advance payment guarantees are furnished. The AG noted that the Midlands PDC’s office made payments amounting to $113 511 on the basis of quotations prior to delivery of goods.
4.24.2 The Ministry officials highlighted that advance payments were made because there was need for urgent procurement. They explained that OK Zimbabwe and some hotels would only deliver commodities after payment had been made and assured the Committee that in future the Ministry would comply with the laid down procedures by ensuring that procurement for Public Sector Investment Projects have advance payment guarantees signed or that payments are made after deliveries have been made.
4.24.3 Committee’s observation
The advance payments made by the Midlands Provincial Development Coordinator’s (PDC) Office were in violation the Public Finance Management Act as advance payments guarantees were not availed to the Auditor General and the Committee.
4.24.4 Recommendation
The Accounting Officer must censure the officials who made the payment in violation of the Act within 30 of tabling this Report.
VIOLATION OF TENDER PROCEDURES
4.25.1 The Auditor-General noted that Mashonaland Central Provincial Public Works Procurement Management Unit, flouted tender procedures when it procured building and electrical material for the rehabilitation of Mvurwi hospital. The Province used competitive quotes method when it awarded tenders. The values of tenders awarded were above the competitive quotation limit of $350 000. No minutes were provided to show that a properly constituted committee sat and adjudicated the bids
4.25.2 Furthermore, the Midlands Provincial Development Coordinator’s (PDC) Office did not source the mandatory three (3) quotations when chickens valued at $16 235 were purchased from Flowell Farming.
4.25.3 The Ministry officials argued that the procurement for $ 350 000 had been conducted in line with Statutory Instrument No. 291 of 2020 whose threshold had been revised to US$ 10 000 an equivalent to ZWL 840 000. They however admitted that tenders awarded were not procured to the best advantage of the Government in the absence of quotations and adjudication
4.25.4 The Ministry officials indicated that the Ministry would write to the Midlands Provincial Development Coordinator’s Office to ensure that in future, the laid down procedures are followed. They attributed the failure to follow procedures to urgent nature of the procurement during a period of crisis where established companies were not ready to deliver the chickens before payment was done and the Office had negotiated with the particular supplier
4.25.5 Committee’s observation
The Midlands PDC’s office violated procurement procedures by procuring chickens without sourcing of three quotation.
4.25.6 Recommendation
The Accounting Officer must censure the officials who violated the procurement requirement in terms of the Act. Evidence of the disciplinary action taken should be submitted the Public Accounts Committee within 60 days of tabling this Report.
MAINTENANCE OF FUEL REGISTER
4.26.1 At Manicaland Provincial Development Coordinator’s office, the Auditor-General observed that a total of 2 154 litres of fuel was said to have been utilised for COVID19 response errands between May 11, 2020 and June 23, 2020. However, 1 954 litres of the fuel utilised was not supported by evidence such as copies of vehicle log books The fuel register did not also indicate whether the fuel consumed was petrol or diesel and issuing officer was not signing.
4.26.2 She observed that Manicaland Provincial Development Coordinator’s office received two Trek fuel cards each uploaded with 2 500 litres of fuel. The Provincial office used card number 2675002063 for fuelling both petrol and diesel vehicles. A circular from Head office referenced Y/CP/28/1 dated May 8, 2020 requested that a proper running balance be kept. Contrary to this, fuel’s running balances could not be verified with accuracy as the fuel issued was not recorded in a sequential and consistent order.
4.26.3 The opening balance of fuel on June 15, 2020 was 2 792 litres worth $69 609. The goods receipt voucher for the fuel card allocated to the Provincial office was not availed for audit. The AG could not therefore confirm if the quantities recorded were correct.
4.26.4 According to a letter dated October 2, 2020 written to Head office by the Manicaland PDC, fuel valued at $60 387 could not be accounted for as at September 30, 2020. Fuel had last been accessed through Trek cards number 26750020633 and 26750020641 on June 23, 2020. The AG was not furnished with the preliminary investigation report conducted at Manicaland PDC’s office neither was there evidence of follow up by Head office regarding the deficiency on the fuel cards.
4.26.5 The Ministry officials explained the root cause of anomalies relating to the maintenance of fuel registers at Manicaland Province by indicating that when transacting the Ministry had noted that the Trek cards were not in quantity form as had been indicated on the vouchers from Head Office but in monetary values. On the fuel valued at $30 387, the Committee was informed that that a special audit had been commissioned to carry out thorough investigations and the report had not yet been submitted. On fuel registers the officials acknowledged the Auditor General’s observation and stated that the registers were being maintained using the same card for fuels. It was submitted that
going forward, separate registers would be kept for diesel and petrol. On log sheets the officials indicated that these had been requested from the users of vehicles issued with fuel and the log sheets had been compiled.
4.26.6 The Committee requested the Ministry to submit receipts vouchers for 2 795 litres worth $ 69 609 being the fuel card allocated to Manicaland Province. The Ministry officials submitted that the Ministry would check on the fuel receipt vouchers and submit them to the Committee. The requested receipt vouchers were never submitted to the Committee.
4.26.7 In response to a question on action taken on fuel valued at $60 387 that could not be accounted for at Manicaland PDC’s Office, the Ministry officials stated that the discrepancy had been noted and a special investigation audit had been carried out in August 2021 and the report was still pending.
4.26.8 Asked to explain the mechanisms that had been put in place to ensure that Matabeleland South Provincial Development Coordinator’s Office obtains value for money on fuel paid for, given the volatile price changes of the commodity, the officials highlighted that the fuel had been a donation of 50 000 litres on the cards. They expressed regret that not more than 15 000 litres had been drawn and Matabeleland Province had ended up surrendering the cards because of failure to access the fuel since Trek was emphasizing on the fuel denominated in United States dollars.
4.26.9 Committee’s observation
The Committee noted that there was lack of accountability in that officials could not even account for the fuel in monetary form. There might have been an ulterior motive for not signing for the fuel issued. Recommendations
The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works must submit the report of the investigations to the Auditor General and Accountant General within 30 days of tabling of this Report.
The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works should institute disciplinary action on officials found guilty of any form of misappropriation.
INTERNAL CONTROLS (Segregation of Duties)
4.27.1 The Auditor-General observed that there was no separation of duties in the preparation of Temporary Deposit (TD) account reconciliations at the offices of the Midlands Provincial Development Coordinator, Midlands Provincial Public Works and Midlands Provincial Medical Director during the period between April to December 2020. The monthly bank reconciliation statements availed for audit showed that total deposits of $936 000, $13 817 171 and $4 500 000 respectively were received. However, they did not provide significant evidence for the doer-checker mechanism, as such reconciliations were only actioned by one person (preparer) and not reviewed by a higher authority.
4.27.2 The officials submitted that during the lockdown period Ministries had been directed to reduce personnel to levels of 50%. He indicated that the internal controls were now being maintained and supervised since the restrictions had been relaxed and about 90% of the workforce was now reporting for duty.
4.27.3 Committee’s observation
The Committee observed that failure to follow procedures is an act of misconduct and stresses that proper procedures should always be followed.
4.27.4 Recommendation
The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works should submit an arrangement that will ensure that in future procedures are followed even under difficult circumstances such as COVID19 restrictions.
4.28.1 Masvingo Provincial Development Coordinator’s Office received 5 000 litres of diesel for use in the fight against COVID19 pandemic. The fuel was issued on the basis of verbal authority contrary to using authorized fuel requisitions.
4.28.2 The Ministry officials submitted that the issue was worrisome and requested the Committee for time in order to look into the matter and give an appropriate answer after verifying the transaction. They admitted that transacting business in Government through verbal instructions was not a standard practice.
4.28.3 Committee’s observation
The Committee noted that by admitting that Government business is not transacted through verbal instructions, the officials acknowledged wrongdoing on the part of the Masvingo PDC’s Office.
4.28.4 Recommendation
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption and Zimbabwe Commission and Republic Police should within 60 days of tabling of this Report institute investigations into this matter.
4.29.1 The Midlands Provincial Development Coordinator’s (PDC) Office received fuel as COVID-19 donations. In addition, the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works Head Office also provided 2 500 litres of petrol and 2 500 litres of diesel towards the same cause. The total amount of fuel was 4 700 litres of petrol and 7 469 litres of diesel. However, there was no evidence that the issuances of all these resources were authorized by a senior official according to the requirements of the fuel requisition forms.
4.29.2 On whether the Ministry had verified that 4 700 litres of petrol and 7 469 litres of diesel issued at the Midlands PDC’s Office was utilised for the authentic COVID 19 related activities the officials submitted that Midlands Province had some challenges in terms of manpower at director and deputy director level as these had not been appointed. They stated that the PPWD was overwhelmed with duties. On the reasons for the vacant posts the officials explained that appointment of staff to commissioned posts rested with the Public Service Commission which they constantly reminded of the vacant posts through periodic reports that were submitted through the human resources department.
4.29.3 Committee’s observation
The Committee observed elements that raise suspicion of misappropriation on the part of the officers in the absence of proof of authorization by senior officials.
4.29.4 Recommendation
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and Zimbabwe Republic Police should within 60 days of tabling of this Report institute investigations into this matter.
DONATIONS (Donations Registers and other Records)
4.30.1 The Auditor-General appreciated the effort made by the administration to keep a record of issue vouchers for received donations and issues done to Districts, except for fuel, all other information for donated items was entered on separate stock sheets. However, Mashonaland West Provincial Development Coordinator’s Office did not maintain a composite register for all goods donated.
4.30.2 The Department of Civil Protection donated to Bindura Provincial Hospital through issue voucher number 517845H dated November 13, 2020, 20 boxes of one plus month pack and 10 packets of one plus combo meal meant for discharged COVID19 patients. However, the donated goods had already passed the expiry date of October 09, 2020. Unnecessary transport costs were incurred transporting the expired goods from the Head Office as the goods were eventually condemned and destroyed.
4.30.3 The Auditor-General was unable to determine whether the donated COVID19 items issued by Chikurubi Maximum Prison to Gwanda Prison were properly accounted for due to variances and inaccuracies in the stock records presented. There were variances between figures on issue voucher number 35 from Chikurubi Prison and the subsequent entry of the same in the Gwanda Prison stock cards.
4.3.4 The Ministry officials acknowledged the anomalies relating to donations in Mashonaland West Provincial Development Coordinator’s Office promised that correct account for the donated goods at national, provincial and district level would be kept given that almost 90% of staff were now reporting for duty. It was submitted that the Ministry had come up with a template which would be used to record the donations. On donations whose shelf life had expired, he indicated that the Ministry would in future not accept such goods and admitted that the euphoria with receiving donations had in the past overshadowed the need to look at the nitty-gritties such as the shelf life of goods.
4.30.5 On whether Chikurubi Prison officials had investigated or inquired on the cause or source of the variances observed by the Auditor General, the Ministry officials submitted that they were looking into the variances with a view to checking and verifying whether the donations were properly accounted for. They explained that the verification exercise was not only being conducted for Chikurubi Prison but for all institutions that had received donations.
4.30.6 Committee’s observation
The Ministry officials admitted to the anomaly and undertook to develop a template for recording donations. Seriousness in addressing the audit observation must be demonstrated by developing the template.
4.30.7 Recommendation
The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works should develop a template for the donations and submit the copy to the Auditor General and the Public Accounts Committee within 30 days of tabling of this Report.
COVID19 VICTIMS DONATIONS ISSUED TO STAFF
4.31.1 At Mashonaland West Provincial Development Coordinator’s Office, from the two tonnes of mealie meal donated by World Food Program (WFP), three hundred and fifty kilograms (350 kg) were issued to staff members and also out of the 359 cases of cooking oil donated, eighty-four (84) litres were given to staff over and above the $900 worth of grocery allowances that staff were receiving. The authority to issue the donations to members of staff was not availed for audit examination.
4.31.2 The Committee requested the Ministry officials for proof of authority granted to staff at the Mashonaland West Provincial Development Coordinator’s Office to collect goods that were meant for the vulnerable people during the COVID 19 pandemic. In response to that request the officials could not provide the authority. They indicated that the anomaly had been noted and that action would be taken against those who had committed an offence. To mitigate against possible loss of donations through pilferage, the Committee was advised that the Ministry would ensure that donated items are declared to a higher structure for example Head Office to avoid double dipping.
4.31.3 Committee’s observation
The distribution of donated goods to staff was done without the appropriate authority.
4.31.4 Recommendation
The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works should submit a report on the disciplinary action taken against officers who committed an offence by distributing goods to staff without authority.
5.0 CONCLUSION
5.1 This Report is a result of thorough scrutiny of the Auditor General’s Report and oral evidence gathered from officials in the Ministries of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and Local Government and Public Works. The Committee’s recommendations to the Ministries and those issues referred to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and Zimbabwe Republic Police should be taken seriously. Generally, the Committee was concerned about the laxity in maintaining records. I thank you.
HON. MUSHORIWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, for allowing me an opportunity to debate and contribute to this motion that has been brought by Hon. Mbondiah representing the Public Accounts Committee in respect to the COVID-19. Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to preface the debate by stating that COVID-19 was declared a national disaster and indeed it was a global disaster. Ordinarily, when a disaster strikes us like COVID-19, one would expect that ubuntu/hunhu and all the cultural norms that we are known for as Zimbabweans and as Africans would come to play. One would expect that when a country like Zimbabwe with the economic challenges that we are facing, and when you see the Minister of Finance going deeper into the national fiscus to dig deep and get resources to allocate to a national disaster, to a pandemic like COVID-19, one would then expect that we as Zimbabweans, especially those ones that have been given the mandate to oversee such disasters, should always manage these resources in a transparent and accountable manner in line with the provisions of our public finance management principles.
Mr. Speaker Sir, what was discovered by the Auditor-General and indeed which the Public Accounts Committee has pointed out, we have a situation of people that took advantage of the pandemic to loot national resources, to loot donated resources for their own benefit. They did not mind the suffering that was being endured by many people. You recall Mr. Speaker Sir, that when COVID-19 was declared, the first 21 days or so, no one would go to work. It was worse for people coming from poor constituencies, for instance Dzivarasekwa and many constituencies in this country. Many of our people rely on doing piece jobs, selling and using their hands. So when Government said we are now going to have some funds which people could access to assist them, everybody thought they would all be assisted, but alas, some people in the Ministry of Public Service decided to use this as an opportunity to enrich themselves. They thought that the tears that were being shed by those people who were failing to go to work would go unnoticed. They had to make sure that they themselves get as much money as possible. The report states that there was no proper accounting and the question of registered people was shambolic. We, in Harare met the provincial welfare officer in Harare and were told to go out there to list the names of those people that we thought deserved to get some funding from Government. We did that and I want to believe that a number of MPs did so for their constituencies. However, very few people were put on that list or managed to get a single dollar. Some of our people went as far as going to NetOne to buy sim cards to submit to the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare but they got nothing. So what did we get? In the report from the AG, we have got people that were getting as much as double if not ten times the amount of money. You would see a person using one form being used with different names of people. If you track that money, it was being taken by officials from the Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Local Government. Whereas people would then blame politicians for taking this but the truth of the matter is that we have people within our bureaucracy that have now perfected the art of taking advantage of natural disasters. The COVID-19 report does not come in isolation. This House had a report about Cyclone Idai challenges that we faced. Again we had the same people benefitting. One of the challenges specifically looking at my constituency in Dzivaresekwa, we had rice which was donated to Zimbabwe and it was meant to be given to various constituencies. Other constituencies managed to get 30 tonnes of rice but guess what Mr Speaker; only constituencies in Harare and Bulawayo were denied this rice. The reason that we are urban does not hold water because in other urban centres like Mutare and other centres, constituencies were getting that rice. Not a single grain of rice was given to the people of Harare. People then start to wonder because people in Harare and Bulawayo were the ones that were hardly hit by the COVID lockdown restrictions. What we then discover which I think is very bad is that you have other people that would end up even selling that rice in Harare. They go to GMB and get that rice yet the people that are supposed to benefit from it because of COVID failed to go to work, failed to get it. That is not right.
Looking at the report, what happens at the quarantine centres? There is no accountability or transparency. Everybody was doing what he or she thought was good for him/her. That spirit cannot build this country. We have people in the Ministry of Public Service who are supposed to be in jail but who continue to preside over this. They try to hide by the excuse that they did not have the manpower and expertise but that excuse is a lame one. The truth of the matter is that we have got - for lack of a better word, thieves who are operating within these offices and it is crucial and important that the call by the Public Accounts Committee, that forensic audit needs to be done and there is need to involve the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) be adhered to. There is need to also involve the police and all other agencies. If we cannot be faithful in little things, we cannot be faithful in bigger things. Imagine this is just COVID. What more of the other resources that the Government entrusts with those government employees in those ministries. How much more are they looting? If somebody can loot money that is meant for an old woman in Dzivarasekwa knowing fully well that the old woman is sleeping without putting decent food on the table but somebody decides to buy a Honda fit, some big vehicles or stands using the looted funds is not right.
I want to end by encouraging Members of this august House to fully support the recommendation by the Public Accounts Committee. We need transparency and to set precedence for the future so that people will not put their fingers into donated funds. We want to set the record straight so that in future, people will be afraid to commit corruption to this level.
(v)HON. S. BANDA: Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to thank you for also giving me this opportunity. I would maybe have been more comfortable if the Chairperson of the Committee had spoken first but since you recognised, me I will continue.
Allow me to thank the mover of the motion Hon. Mbondiah and the seconder of the motion Hon. Mushoriwa. Mr. Speaker Sir, this Committee has perfected the art of oversight and I think this is what Parliament is made out of. I want to thank the Auditor General for a splendid job once again. This is an office that should be given resources because they really know what they are doing. I commend them.
Now let me go into a few issues Mr. Speaker Sir. In Mt. Pleasant, people asked their MP and councillor to say, ‘when are we going to receive COVID-19 allowances? We hear that some people are receiving some cash hand-outs. Do we have an MP, do we have a councillor, do we have representatives of the people in this constituency’, but it was almost deafening. We tried Mr. Speaker Sir, we compiled list after list of people with disabilities and we hear that no response is coming from people who were busy stealing people’s monies. It is unforgivable Mr. Speaker Sir.
I have heard the report. They are saying this should be investigated in 180 days. No Mr. Speaker Sir, 180 days is too far. In thirty days the police should be able to arrest some officers who misbehaved. The distribution plan, a channel that was used relating to the SME sector and to the vulnerable on COVID-19 allowance was a complete disaster.
Members of Parliament and councillors need to be empowered so that at least in every constituency they should be contacted when lists like the ones that were being requested for by the relevant ministries were being written down. Members of Parliament and councillors, in the spirit of devolution, were completely forgotten. They were thrown out Mr. Speaker Sir. That has to be corrected. We need to carry out the role that we were meant to do, which is to represent the people.
The officers involved in this Covidgate must be arrested as it was not erroneous on their part to do what they were doing but they planned this incompetence. Mr. Speaker Sir, 180 days is too much for duplication of checks. We cannot have that. That is deliberate and the police and the auditors must make sure that within 30 days, and I hope the report will also adopt to say from 180 days we expect it to go down to 30 days so that we do not give room for changes to the documents that are there. The moment we give these officers more room to extend that to 180 days, they will end up finding supporting information and therefore the fraud that they perpetrated will not be found out.
That, for your information, is being concealed from a Parliamentary Committee and from the Auditor General. If they can conceal from the Auditor General, how much more can they conceal to the elected representatives? How much more can they conceal even to the police? So this Mr. Speaker Sir, must end. My call is just to say 30 days are more than enough to make this inquiry or to make this investigation.
Lastly, while I appreciate the work that was done by the Auditor General, what is silent in the report is the issue of foreign procurement of COVID-19 vaccines. I have not heard the report tackling that issue to say how much did we buy. The Minister of Finance and Economic Development has given us figures, but this Audit Report does not state how much was bought and whether everything was procured properly, did everything go well, and were all procedures followed. That is not clear Mr. Speaker Sir. I think that is also an area which needs to be tackled. With this Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity. I thank you.
(v)*HON. B. DUBE: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I want to talk about those people who are engaging in corrupt activities without any remorse during this difficult period that we are going through as a country. During the COVID-19 period when we were under lockdown there were vulnerable groups such as people with disability, women and youth who were looking upon the Government to assist them in such times. The challenge was that the Government was looking for funds to address the situation but this was met by those corrupt individuals and such people ended up looting those proceeds and goods for personal benefit.
People continued phoning their councillors and their Members of Parliament seeking for clarity on the way things would be delivered, even the lines that were supposed to be given to them, but this is because of other people who are engaging in corrupt activities who are taking those things meant for the vulnerable.
We have procurement regulations that give procedures which must be followed and when the Auditor General came, the evidence shows that money was disbursed and they procured whatever they wanted but the actual goods procured were not available as evidence. I want to thank Hon. Mbondiah and Hon Nkani because they put this issue before us which has reflected that we have corrupt individuals who have benefited from proceeds meant for the vulnerable groups.
My hope is that the police and the Anti Corruption Commission should take their stand and bring these officials to book as this was a criminal offence. We have so many places that can cater for such corrupt individuals such as Hwahwa and Chawagona Hapana Prison in Bindura. We need to remove them from the offices that they are sitting in because those are the places that such individuals should be housed and they should only be released when our correctional services determine that they have reformed.
I want to thank you Mr. Speaker for the Committee that did its work which was very difficult. We want to thank you because as the Public Accounts Committee you gave us the opportunity to go around the country to gather such information. We do not take this lightly that the Committee was given such work and support. We want to thank you Mr. Speaker and we urge you to continue working with the Public Accounts Committee so that we continue to unearth the rot taking place in terms of use of public funds in order for this country to see that the Parliament of Zimbabwe is serious when it comes to corruption and abuse of funds. I thank you.
(v)*HON. NKANI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I have a few words on the issue that has been brought into the House by Hon. Mbondiah. I am one of the Members of the Committee that looks into the issue of public funds.
Firstly Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to inform you that national fiscal and public funds cannot be used without accountability. It is the same as herding cattle in a tarred road, you will not be able to trace where they strayed and how. I am trying to say, we have an example of fuel, we did not get evidence of how this fuel was distributed in terms of to which car and how much of it, there are no such records. There is no accountability, no one signed for that fuel, which means that it is very difficult to account for it. You cannot tell whether the fuel was for the vehicles or it was poured into a drum.
On the issue of donations, especially in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no records that show that so many things were donated. For example, 5000 of fuel donated but there were no records to show how it was used. There was a gap that left people to loot in terms of allowances that were availed to those manning the quarantine centres. There were no records to show that these officials were given the allowances. There is just a figure to show that so much millions of dollars were used but where the money was going, it was not clear. In some areas, we found that people were scared to sign for the money. When it comes to finances, there is a law that governs and provides for accountability which should be followed. As alluded to by others, I hope that Parliament will take up the issue that ZRP and Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission should investigate the issues of the use of funds during COVID-19, whether it was used or stolen. I thank you.
*HON. MPARIWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I want to thank Hon. Mbondiah and Hon. Mushoriwa who was standing in for Hon. Nkani for tabling the report in this august House. If we look at the issues debated here, it is quite sad. During COVID-19 and the lockdown period, we were grieving over people not having a source of livelihood. As representatives, we had people who were trying to assist but when such funds are availed and the Government wants to assist, that facility does not seem to benefit the beneficiaries. Mr. Speaker Sir, in most cases, we asked questions on why the budget did not respond to the needs of the vulnerable groups, the women, people with disability and even the youth. However, if a budget was set aside to assist the people, then it ended up falling into corrupt hands and it is pathetic.
Let me start by looking at the Auditor-General’s Report who observed that the beneficiaries did not benefit at all. When sitting of Parliament resumed after COVID-19 subsided, we came here to debate and people were given resources to distribute to beneficiaries but these resources did not reach the intended beneficiaries but were lost within ministries. After the Auditor-General brought the report to Parliament, it reflected that some of the people were not cooperating. I think we need to investigate further on this matter and we need to be effective, with teeth that bite as Parliament so that the Auditor-General and her team and those who work with Parliament will be able to know. We need to address the issue of corruption.
Hon. Speaker, the Constitution provides that it is our right and it is the right of the people to know what happened to the COVID-19 funds availed. It is their right to be informed so that there is transparency. Since there is support from the Government, in terms of food and health services, Members of Parliament are the representatives of the people and therefore constituents write to Hon. Members asking what happened to those hand-outs.
The issue of corruption must be dealt with so that the intended beneficiaries get what they are supposed to get. COVID-19 did not just affect a few people but all of us. It is not by luck that we are here because a lot of people lost their lives. These people who lost their loved ones were supposed to get support from the Government but we come in-between and get the resources that are supposed to benefit the affected people. These are the people who were supposed to come and answer to the issue of disbursement of COVID-19 funds, goods and services. The vulnerable groups are people who are struggling in communities and even after the COVID pandemic has gone down, they are still suffering. So, when we are availing goods to the people, we need to consider these vulnerable groups as well as their sources of livelihoods.
However, in the ministries, people were given resources which they were supposed to deliver but they did not deliver. Some of these individuals even refused to respond or they were not available knowing that nothing will happen to them. As I conclude, we know that the youth, women and the elderly are suffering in the community even while the COVID pandemic has slowed down but the problems remain. It is important to investigate how goods are distributed to these vulnerable groups. We need them to be accountable for their actions and also for what they did with the goods and services. I thank you.
*HON. TOGAREPI: Thank you Mr. Speaker and I want to thank Hon. Mbondiah for tabling this report from the Auditor-General which is looking at the use of COVID-19 funds.
Mr. Speaker Sir, us within the Government, officials do not emphasise, and are not honest at all. They have no integrity and their mission is just to steal from the Government, and from the people of Zimbabwe. You hear them mourning that the money that we are paid is very little but Mr. Speaker, if you go to low density suburbs, the houses that are being built are being built by civil servants. Then you ask yourself where they are getting the funds to build in such posh suburbs – that is where the issue of corruption comes in. As a nation or as Parliament, we were supposed to come up with a law that states that – the law is there but I think we need to tighten it so that if a person is seen with unexplained riches, it is important to investigate how that person got those riches. Did the person acquire the wealth through working hard or through corruption?
Surely Mr. Speaker, if you look at the challenges that we faced during COVID-19 that affected everyone, and we lost friends and relatives, and were not able to work because of COVID-19 – even in terms of production in industries, production went down. Even Parliament closed down because of COVID-19 but some people found a loophole to loot funds and goods. These are the same people that when they are called to account for the use of funds that they received, they do not want to cooperate. Where do they get such power not to attend to those platforms?
I heard that the Auditor-General said that measures should be taken to investigate these people. If there is legislation that can bring them to book, then they should be arrested for criminal offences. We went to war, there are people who come to assist us – they may be donors or development partners. Our Government was applauded for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic as a country. The Government took the necessary measures to ensure that people do not die of COVID. Then there were some corrupt individuals who thought they had the right to help themselves to the funds that were being availed by Government for the vulnerable. Mr. Speaker, it is the Government and the Members of Parliament who are castigated, even the leadership of the country but the people who loot such funds are known. If it is something that is bought by Government funds, the prices are escalated four or five times, and this is because Government workers are not honest.
Hon. Speaker Sir, I heard that some said that this matter should be investigated for a certain period. Why should we delay on issues that are before us and are clear? We need to do it as soon as possible because we might forget about these measures. These people looted a lot of funds, and they may end up bribing others before we get there. So I think we should expedite such issues. I also urge our Committee in Parliament that wherever we have the Auditor-General, we should call those people to come and give Oral Evidence on the use of funds, and request them to reimburse the money.
We were applauded as a nation, President Mnangagwa was applauded globally for taking measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and save the people of Zimbabwe. Then we have people who want to taint the image of the country by looting COVID funds. We need to take measures as Parliament to go and investigate, and call them to give Oral Evidence; even the ministers themselves should also come here and give Oral Evidence together with their officials. We want them to be accountable for the use of those funds. If the records are not there to show how the funds were used, then it means that there is a challenge.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to thank our Auditor-General because she reported the matter as is, in a transparent manner. Those who are looting Government funds, we are now aware of them and the ministries that they work in. I think that they should be suspended until such a time that we know where the money was taken to. Until such a time that we have got evidence of how the monies were used, they should be at home on suspension. What was done shows that these civil servants are not of the same vision as the President of Zimbabwe who has said that ‘Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo’. Where others have built, they are busy destroying. One person said to me, if you go hunting with someone else’s dogs and they catch some prey, the prey will be taken by the dog’s owner. What these civil servants did cannot be condoned. If they had the same vision as other people of Zimbabwe, they would have distributed the funds and followed procedures on how to avail these funds but they have taken the kill that we hunted and ran away with it.
This report has been an eye opener that there is a lot that is being done by Government officials. Parliament needs to take a position and advise the Executive that Government officials have a lot of wealth that is not in tandem with the salaries that they earn. We need to bring them to book and they should account for the wealth that they have. If they cannot, it means they looted COVID funds. The Auditor General’s report is important to me but as Parliament, we should be united and bring to book those that have been mentioned so that there can be an example that this is not right. It is sad that there is not even a receipt to show the use of the funds. That is not right. They are making us regress as a nation instead of progressing. We do not need people who do not have mercy on others but what they look for is just an opportunity to loot funds.
These are hunting dogs that are not ours. They are people who were sent by the Government to work for the nation but they are not working for the public; they are busy looking for funds, so they do not qualify to be civil servants.
*HON. PRISCILLA MOYO: I would like to thank Hon. Mbondiah for bringing this report and the seconder Hon. Mushoriwa concerning the investigations or the use of COVID-19 funds. The COVID-19 pandemic brought a lot of problems around the world especially in Zimbabwe because many people did not have resources. Although people were suffering, many people contributed towards those who were suffering from the pandemic.
This report shows that the resources which were mobilised did not get to the intended beneficiaries. After the investigations were done, we are happy that a lot of corrupt activities are being exposed. It shows that there are thieves that are stealing. I suggest that these people must be brought to book. They must be investigated and we have to establish where the resources meant for COVID-19 were taken to. We must not end by just talking but we must take action. Investigations must be done till the end. Most people are being found guilty for stealing but we do not look further at the verdict at court. The Auditor General has investigated and the role of Parliament is to see how best the issues are being resolved.
This report is very important to the whole country. Those in the rural areas are suffering. The COVID-19 vaccines reach the intended beneficiaries late. At the end of the day you find that those resources were mobilised but were taken by an individual who used them for personal use. I suggest that this issue be investigated immediately. As a House, we should come up with a report of what happened to the perpetrators who stole the resources for COVID-19 victims. We must not end with just writing reports and presenting them in the House but we must take action. I support this report, the AG worked hard to expose these corrupt activities. Those who are responsible for bringing the perpetrators to book must do their job. These civil servants must be removed from their posts. If we just continue discussion these corrupt activities by people whom we know by name and position and these remain on their posts whilst people also know that that is the case, it is not good. This issue must be looked into.
There are a lot of corrupt people in this country. A lot of corruption is happening even in our constituencies and people continue being corrupt because they know that nothing will happen to them. Perpetrators are just taken by the police and come back – nothing happens to them. I am pleading with this august House that we must represent people well and make sure that this issue has been investigated and the perpetrators must be brought to book. Certain people must be punished for stealing resources mobilised for COVID-19 victims.
I would like to support previous speakers who said that the resources mobilised for COVID-19 were not used properly. Parliament must invite people for oral evidence so that they explain themselves, hence we will have correct information. Some of these perpetrators still hold their positions in Government and continue with corruption. I plead that this House works towards bringing these people to book. I thank you.
+HON. M. NCUBE: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to thank the Committee which presented the report regarding the Auditor-General’s Report. Madam Speaker, I believe that we procrastinate on certain number of issues. His Excellency is on record saying that people should produce good results and they should do so forthwith. Government is committed to emancipating the people’s lives, particularly during the COVID-19 era which has depleted people’s livelihoods, not only in Zimbabwe but the world-over. You then find someone who does not empathise with other people who work hard. You will find some people neglecting those who are vulnerable. No one chooses to be COVID-19 positive. Madam Speaker, I believe that people should be arrested if they committed any crimes because for the Auditor-General to generate such a report, it has taken investigations. As Hon. Members of Parliament, we need to look into this issue as the law takes its course. There are a lot of efforts that are being done regarding the curbing of corruption.
Madam Speaker, I have a question even though I might not get the answer today. The question is, when the President initiated the programme, it was put under the Ministry of Public Service and Social Welfare. What have they been doing? Did they monitor what was happening? I know I am not going to get an answer to this question but it is important that this question is addressed because this has culminated in such a loophole. When we talk about beneficiaries who did not receive their monies, we are talking about people who are in districts and provinces in different parts of the country who deserved it. This was supposed to be done through the provincial administrators and district administrators’ offices to monitor the COVID-19 monies that were supposed to cascade down to the people. I thank you.
*HON. TEKESHE: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to start by thanking Hon. Mbondiah who presented the report. There are a lot of issues that were talked about and I would like to support what my fellow Members were saying. The officials who refused to appear before the Committee should be taken to task. Why did they do that? This is not supposed to happen. This is my fifth year in this august House whereby we have witnessed issues coming to this august House, debate on them but there is no action. The question is, where are they getting the guts? Some people are going to Rwanda, China finding out on how development is happening in those countries.
Development comes through action. When cases are taken to court, perpetrators should be prosecuted. When there is no corruption, we will see our economy growing but if perpetrators are not prosecuted, then the economy cannot grow. A lot of issues have passed through this august House and some of them are senior Government officials yet nothing has been done. Even the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission should be empowered to prosecute perpetrators. Maybe some are not fit to be at ZACC because if they are empowered with those powers, people would be deterred from committing crimes. We are fortunate that the Auditor-General is very professional and every year we receive reports from the Auditor- General’s Office but there is no action taken. My plea is that we need to witness action taking place.
The Committee did a good job and we need to see action. Year in and year out, we find such reports coming through this august House. At one point, officials were tasked to approach the public service, nothing was achieved from that. Some were saying they did not receive any monies. My plea is that the responsible authorities should be given the power to arrest.
I know that sometimes people might be given monies so that they do not pursue issues. Imagine when people are ordering a single mask at a cost of US$28. Madam Speaker, my request is that when I leave this august House after my term, I should be confident that issues that we discussed were actioned upon. Therefore, Government must give prosecuting powers to the responsible authority. I thank you.
(v)+HON. MOKONE: Thank you Madam Speaker for giving me this opportunity. A lot of issues have been said by my fellow Hon. Members but I would like to add that COVID-19 funds were not handled properly when they were supposed to be disbursed. In many places you would find that beneficiaries were not aware that there was such a fund. Even when I moved around in Gwanda my constituency, you would find that people were not aware.
The other issue is of the NetOne lines which were supposed to be given to people but were not distributed. Some of those people do not have money. The challenge then is that those who benefited from the COVID-19 funds were not supposed to benefit but the intended beneficiaries did not get the money.
Madam Speaker, in the Hon. Member’s report, she alluded to some funds which are not available as yet, especially the COVID-19 funds which were targeted to beneficiaries that time during the COVID-19 era. This issue should be investigated so that it is ascertained where these monies were channeled and Government departments should look into it. Responsible authorities should find out what really happened to these monies.
With these few words, let me say that the report that was tabled by Hon. Mbondiah is a comprehensive one.
*HON. MUTOMBA: Thank you Madam Speaker for affording me this opportunity to add my voice to the issue at hand which is an issue so touching because those who raised funds did so having considered the COVID-19 situation which was affecting people in Zimbabwe. However, there are people who diverted such funds instead of allowing those funds to cascade down to the people.
This is not the first time we are deliberating on corruption in this august House. Corruption has been discussed several times in this House. I have noted that this is not ending, views are being aired in this august House but we are not seeing them being adopted - it seems as if it is a futile exercise. Our constituents confront us out there alleging that Parliament is not doing anything but if you listen to our deliberations, you will discover that Members of Parliament do not condone corruption.
After these observations have been noted, there should be recommendations and after recommendations, there is no implementation of what we would have recommended and adopted. This is what prompted me to stand up because there is no action on the ground. This august House is not getting the support it needs in terms of implementation.
Therefore, I would like to implore this august House that if we do not have the means of implementing what has been recommended in the House, then there should be a Committee which is set in this House responsible for looking at implementation of recommendations of all the reports that are generated in this august House. All the observations should be looked into so that they are followed up and implemented. We debated and suggest a lot but unfortunately, no one is listening.
Out there they are saying we are making unnecessary noise. So I would like to implore this august House that a committee should be set up so that whatever is generated through different reports is implemented and there should be a specific time set for implementation after adoption and the action taken should be put on record.
People criticise us saying Members of Parliament are not doing anything but when you listen to debates, you discover that Members of Parliament are doing their job but there is a missing link, no one is assisting Members of Parliament so that their ideas are implemented.
Madam Speaker, if it is not possible for a Committee to be formed, then these issues should ride on existing committees, for example the Committee on Security so that they understand know that security departments have been given additional responsibility of implementing recommendations that would have been generated by this august House.
It is sad that we can talk about corruption without action because if there is a natural disaster, then these monies should be looked into to determine how they are distributed. If you raise funds from Seke, who accounts and records the money? If there is no clear database of these monies, then this is ripe situation for corruption.
The Committee went to check the figure but 60% of the funds had been diverted and 40% is left, this then is corruption. Madam Speaker, if this issue of corruption is not solved, we are not going anywhere. We need to make a difference so that this august House can be seen to be doing a good job and people will appreciate that Parliament is doing its job.
There should be a Committee which will look into reports and recommendations and observations of Members of Parliament so that it is determined whether they were implemented or not. Corruption has become so popular but there is no action taken; unfortunately there is a missing link.
*HON. SARUWAKA: Thank you Madam Speaker. Corruption is one of our biggest enemies. What it has brought to the fore is that because of corruption, we are seeing no progress on the missing USD15 billion. Civil servants are seeing that there is no meaningful action that has been taken because nothing has been done. Previously when ZUPCO buses were bought, a single bus was bought for USD58 900 and it was sold for USD212 000 to this Government.
The difference bought 3 600 buses. The Government bought 362 buses instead of more than 500 buses. Civil servants will be seeing these corrupt activities happening beforehand. People are doing miraculous things and corrupt activities using Government coffers. Even if you look at Command Agriculture, Government employees will be seeing farming implements, farming equipment and seed disappearing before their eyes.
When we were struck by the COVID-19 pandemic, we already had a corrupt culture within our DNA. Each and every individual is looking for an opportunity to enrich themselves. It is now a tendency amongst Government employees and individuals to say they should enrich themselves at the expense of the masses. We have cultured this corrupt behaviour amongst ourselves for a very long period. We plead with authorities to say for this issue to be addressed, it should start with those involved and if there are no serious measures implemented, we will never see corruption dying.
When the new dispensation came in, we heard we were going to see the arrest of those people who had externalised funds in other countries, but now it is two years and we have not seen anything materialise to that effect. We have people from Ministry of Home Affairs and the Registrar’s office that went around writing down people’s names who had faced challenges and who had been affected. Such corrupt activities that happened - we followed the trail to no avail. Until someone is arrested, and unless someone is actually sent behind bars, then we will not see an end to corruption. Besides that, we will see these corrupt activities going ahead. We should have a period where we show our serious side about this corruption issue so that we send a clear message for the masses to see that we are really serious when it comes to the issue of corruption.
(v)+HON. MAHLANGU: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. I would like to thank Government for raising money for COVID-19 even though there are some people who were abusing the funds. For instance, where I come from in Pumula, it has three wards. There is a peri-urban and the Old Pumula Suburb where the elderly were very happy when they heard that Government was supposed to give them money yet they did not know that those funds were going to be diverted, especially looking at women who are in informal trade who thought they were going to survive because they were no longer selling their wares due to COVID-19.
In such situations, the Government should take the responsibility and the onus should be upon Government officials to give the money to the people because when we talk about such issues, you find that enumerators who were supposed to collect and create a data base of beneficiaries through Net One lines did not do so and those who were supposed to be given money for businesses could not do so because their businesses were affected and most of them were chased away from the streets by the police. Those who are disabled who were also supposed to be selling their wares could not do so because they were chased away by council officials yet they could not get their monies from Government.
So, this money which was meant for the orphans and vulnerable children without parents, they should be given because such records are found in communities. For instance, in Pumula, when the monies are disbursed they should be targeted for specific populations. For instance, the disabled - the monies should be disbursed by the disabled people. If they are given to those who are able-bodied, they might divert the funds because they do not know what it means to be disabled.
This form of corruption is not right. In the near future because of the winter season that is upon us, we might find ourselves facing a similar challenge. In future, money should be disbursed properly by the right people and it should reach its intended targeted population because every programme is debated in this august House. When funds cascade down and get disbursed to the people, we end up not knowing how these monies were taken to the people. This must be clear and so we need to unite so that different meetings are convened to explain the different funds that are being disbursed to the people so that they reach the right people.
(v)*HON. RAIDZA: I would like to thank you for giving me an opportunity to add my voice to the report which was brought by Hon. Mbondiah, supported by Hon. Mushoriwa. Let me start by thanking the Auditor-General for doing a good job by generating a report which is clearly comprehensive and points out everything that has been happening, particularly during the COVID-19 era. This programme which was initiated by His Excellency is a good initiative meant to benefit people. Some people were incapacitated, they could not continue working because of COVID-19. What we noted is that those who were given the task did not do a good job.
We also note that the policies which were supposed to be put in place before the disbursement of funds were not put in place. Even those that were supposed to account for the money through the Public Finance Management Committee did not explain clearly to the Committee what transpired. What I noticed is that the challenge which was not unique to Zimbabwe but the world-over, of COVID-19, culminated in some unscrupulous people taking advantage of the pandemic and they ended up diverting funds. When you really look into this issue, you discover that some people were just taking advantage because they knew that most beneficiaries were not aware of the different laws and what was due to them.
Madam Speaker, looking at the issue, we also note that there were duplicated payments that were done deliberately. You find a name and identification number of the same person who was paid twice. So you discover that this points to a deliberate ploy to divert funds, in the process sabotaging the President’s good initiative. My suggestion is that the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and the Police should intervene and deal with this issue so that perpetrators are taken to task and prosecuted according to the law because of their corrupt activities.
This was a very good initiative but greed and corrupt people took advantage of the situation. With these few words, I would like to say that greed people should be prosecuted and the law should take its course on such people so that things go well in our country. We are facing a lot of challenges which come sometimes at different times like during pandemics and other natural disasters. So, we need to curb corruption because if we allow them to continue being corrupt and taking advantage of our systems, then this will affect our economy. The President is on record saying that corruption is not welcome.
As the august House, we need to look into the issue; it must start with us and the rest of Zimbabwe to eliminate corruption. Those who are given responsibilities should respect the Government and its people.
With these few words, I would like to say the employees of the Public Service Ministry really erred in their activities by diverting groceries and monies which were supposed to go to deserving beneficiaries. Some of the monies were not accounted for properly. There were no checks and balances, so I would like to urge the responsible authorities that those who are responsible for these corrupt activities should be brought to the fore and action taken. I thank you Madam Speaker.
(v)*HON. SANSOLE: Thank you Madam Speaker. Let me add my voice to this very important debate – [ Technical glitches]-
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: I am sure we have lost him.
(v)HON. MAGO: I would like to thank the mover and the seconder. We cannot expect such things to happen without deterrent measures being taken. Those people should be prosecuted for stealing Government resources. As alluded to in the Public Accounts Report, there is need for competent people and we must adhere to the recommendations.
(v)HON. I. NYONI: Thank you Madam Speaker for giving me this opportunity to contribute on the report presented by Hon. Mbondiah, seconded by Hon. Mushoriwa. I also want to thank the Auditor-General for a job well done. Due to COVID-19, we have lost relatives, friends and colleagues. This of course included the loss of materials supplied by Government and failure to follow procurement procedures. It is possible that these anomalies, we deliberate on them in order to look for ways to mitigate corruption. This clearly is corruption at its worst and must be nipped in the bud. Fuel for big centres was not properly recorded and accounted for. I totally agree with the report’s recommendations for further audits and that ZACC and other law enforcement agencies should also be involved in this.
Part of speech not recorded due to network challenges.
THE TEMPORTARY SPEAKER: My apologies. I can hardly hear you.
(v) +HON. S. NDLOVU: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I would like to add my voice on the motion that was brought by Hon. Mbondiah seconded by Hon. Mushoriwa. The issue raised in the report is a very serious one. We lost a lot of loved ones due to COVID-19 pandemic. People should be given what they deserve when they are at home working. I would like to thank the Auditor-General for the work that was done. The groceries that were given to deserving people were allocated to those people who are employed by Government to do their job. There is so much corruption and people are not being arrested.
Government should take measures to prevent corruption and people should be incarcerated when they are found guilty. It is painful when you see that elderly people in my constituency were not allocated the funds which they were supposed to get when they had opened Netone lines. As a Member of Parliament, I would not know what would be happening. There were so many people who were going around writing people’s names stating that there would be funds given to those with Netone lines. Those people who were allocated funds were said to be under age. That is corruption that we are talking about Madam Speaker.
There were no names that were put down on paper. Those people who were doing corrupt activities should be incarcerated. There is so much corruption that is transpiring in this country but there is no one who is being arrested, that is why we are debating on this matter because things were not working properly. Those people who were doing corrupt activities are living luxuriously in their homes. May ZACC do its job? Zimbabweans want to see corrupt people behind bars. Citizens no longer trust the Government which is there at the moment. People should trust Government so that corrupt people are incarcerated. Right now we are talking about millions of dollars which we do not know where they disappeared to.
May those people who are corrupt be incarcerated and ZACC should go into offices and search all those who are corrupt. Fuel funds which Government was defrauded of should be paid back. It is very painful that people are living in difficult situations at the moment like what is happening in Public Service. People should get what they deserve. Judging by the Hon Members that have spoken before me, it is like we are speaking with one voice. We are singing the same song that people should be arrested and incarcerated for those who are found corrupt. People are stealing. As long as Government is not doing anything, people will continue to be corrupt.
I thank you Madam Speaker for giving me this opportunity to add my voice on things that are not going on well. We are in this COVID-19 era and we do not know how things will be. Those people who are defrauding others should be arrested so that people may have trust in Government. As a Member of Parliament, we are answerable to the people in my constituency. We want to be involved when there are Government issues happening in the constituency.
(v)*HON. MIRANZI: Thank you Madam Speaker for giving me the opportunity to add my voice to this motion. I do not have much to say on this motion. Madam Speaker, it is of no importance to continue to debate the same things again and again. What we need to do as the people of Zimbabwe is to find a solution, to stop corruption and arrest people behind corruption. Those people must be arrested so as to show that the country has a leader who has people at heart by protecting them from corruption…
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MAVETERA): You are no longer connected Hon. Miranzi.
(v)*HON. MIRANZI: Girl children are now practicing prostitution but…
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: You are no longer connected again Hon. Miranzi. We have lost connection with her.
(v)*HON. NYAMUDEZA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to thank Hon. Mbondiah who moved the motion, seconded by Hon. Mushoriwa. I would like to thank the mover for his research on the fact that these things need to be corrected. The Auditor General appears to be knowledgeable about her work. If it was in other countries you would observe that in future the Auditor General should actually become our next Minister of Finance. The issue in Zimbabwe is that those that are arrested are those who commit minor offences like shop-lifting, stock theft and those that would be at road blocks, bribe the police officer with a two dollar note and they get away. The police are now very corrupt in Zimbabwe.
We have people who stole large sums of money from Social Welfare and went scot free. In 2023, we would find some of the culprits campaigning to be either a councillor or a Member of Parliament. It is quite surprising that such uncouth characters even have the temerity to campaign as either MPs or councillors. As Parliament, we should never be told by the Executive that we do not have powers. We should ensure that whatever recommendations that we give as Parliament are taken up and that the police should take action. We should never wait for the Executive to make a decision because this will go on unabated.
There was an Hon. Member who talked about US$15 billion, that US$15 billion was stolen from Marange. If we go back to Marange, there is nothing to show for that US$15 billion. The people are living in hard times and today there is nothing to show for their improvement.
People were allocated equipment under the Agricultural Mechanisation Scheme but some of them did not repay the loans and if that continues, it is another form of corruption. Corruption should be nipped in the bud so that this country can develop. We are a rich country but once we turn a blind eye to our kith and kin as they steal, then we are going nowhere. That is not acceptable.
In 2015, there was a certain Member who asked about the issue of the diesel and petrol. It is much expensive in this country and that fuel that is on transit to Zambia becomes cheaper. There are other people who manipulate the market such that Mutare nearer to Beira fuel is expensive and when it gets further away from the country it becomes cheaper, how?
If we were to ask for a list of people that have appeared before the court and have been convicted and incarcerated, if we find that list and the Anti-Corruption Commission plays its role, then we will be able to eradicate corruption.
We also observe anomalies in the auction floor. We only hear that every Monday there is an auction floor but as to who has been given foreign currency at concessionary levels to go and buy goods, there is no such list. Parliament cannot even access the list of those beneficiaries from the auction floor. They are benefitting from cheap foreign currency, buy their own goods and then sell them at exorbitant prices. Corruption has drained this country; corruption has killed this country.
We also look at the roads. A list would have seven contractors but tenders are awarded to people that are of no means. They are given to briefcase companies that would start looking for bulldozers. You will see that four years has been spent on a road but it is still not complete. Tippers are now onsite but they have been lying idle for the past four months. A 32 km road, how can it be constructed over a period of four years? This is corruption at play. These are people who take advantage of people that were supposed to be healed akin to witches.
COVID allowance was supposed to be given to everyone but some people decided to put this money into their own pockets. If this case is not properly looked into and people are not assisted, we do not know what will become of it. We should not have a law where if someone steals an elephant they are not apprehended but one who steals petty things is arrested.
(v)HON. NDUNA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I will be very brief. I just want to thank Hon. Mbondiah for tabling the report and also thank the Committee on Public Accounts according to the Auditor General’s view. I would not repeat what other Hon. Members have said. The Public Accounts Committee is unearthing a lot of issues that have been tabled by the Auditor General and it is good that there be action taken on what the Auditor General has raised. I remember when Hon. Mpariwa chaired the Public Accounts Committee, she actually advocated for another term for the Auditor-General, simply because the Auditor-General was a cut above the rest in terms of unearthing a lot of delinquent behaviour and this current delinquent behaviour is not any different. In fact, all it needs is to be complimented by action taken against the perpetrators of this injustice. I was with ZIMCODE, one day at Zimbabwe Television Network where ZIMCODE was actually saying the Public Accounts Committee does not have teeth because it is not taking any action on the Auditor-General’s Report and now the Public Accounts has been disintegrated into three committees in particular, of which I chair one of them, which is the Local Government Committee sub-Committee. Hon. Mbondiah chairs the other one and Hon. Mushoriwa chairs the Parastatals one.
Now is the time to take action and to make sure that we have teeth, we have had arrests that have been occasioned by Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission since the separation of these Public Accounts Committees into sub-committees. I ask that there be arrests after the debate on this report.
Having said that, as we deal with our issues, as we unpack this delinquent behaviour Madam Speaker, we are not getting calls and we are now getting a lot of information as Public Accounts Committee to the fact that there is a lot of corruption going on in parastatals, other Government, quasi-Government entities and ministries. As we speak, like we were debating last week about the Insurance Bill Regulation and amendment of the same to an extent that the Minister of Finance Hon. Prof. M. Ncube actually said he proposes to debate another day when we were in Committee Stage, that shows how he actually is grappling with issues that are embedded in that Bill and amendments of that Act so that there is a water-tight Act that is going to make sure that there is no corruption that is coming in as a result of Acts that have a lot of flows in them.
We spoke about the issue of insurance at ZINARA and third party insurance which was analogue at some point but now it is computerised. As we speak, after we debated that Bill or the amendments in the Insurance Act, we started getting calls to the effect that there is more than US$10m that is actually going missing at ZINARA, as we speak US$10m for third party insurance where fictitious insurance companies, ghost accounts have been created using computerisation which we created to make sure that there is no delinquent behaviour.
Madam Speaker, if we had to wait for the Auditor-General to unpack what is happening at ZINARA through third party insurance, we will end up not getting to arrest anybody. As we speak, people should be taken by surprise and should be arrested immediately and investigations should see them going before the courts because by any stroke of imagination, that is not a pittance, but it is corpus, humongous, gigantic sums of money that have gone missing. Because we debated vociferously and effectively the Insurance Act and Amendment, now a lot of issues are coming out.
The issue of third party insurance speaks to and about what has happened on the COVID-19 funds except the issue of the COVID-19 funds usage which came to light when the Auditor-General had gone in.
The Ninth Parliament is coming to an end. The 2020 Auditor-General’s Report has come out and the 2021 Auditor-General’s Report is going to come out at the end of this year. The issues that are obtaining at ZINARA about third party are happening now as we speak Madam Speaker. A lot of companies or all the insurance companies, their work was suspended for some time for two weeks at ZINARA and this has not come to Parliament yet. It is because the elements at ZINARA are trying to cover up for their delinquent behaviour. They are using that place as a tuck shop for their own self enrichment.
I will come now to what is happening at the tollgates. That is exactly what happened and mirrors the issues that happened with the COVID-19 funds. If you approach the tollgate and if there is congestion and you are asked to come to the side and you swipe for your fee to go through the tollgate, it is fortunate that you have got an exemption but a lot of people like me and the rest of the citizens do not have an exemption. So we go and swipe for our entry. If you swipe where there is no computer close to the wall, what it means is the money is credited to the bank account of Intertoll and the monies that are credited and where Government has involvement, are monies that are close to where the entry is producing a receipt out of the computer. Since December last year, there has been congestion on tollgates and as long as the money is swiped on the side where it does not conform to the computer, there is no regularisation that can see that money going to Government, that Government will get to tax that money as well. That money is going to Intertoll and it is South African, it is group 5 and that money is having what is called illicit outflows and revenue leakages whilst we watch.
My point exactly is, is it possible if it pleases you, for ZINARA to close for 48 hours and then we open it again, we use new staff and everyone else who is not a thief because it is a cartel, that place smells of a lot of injustice. We do not want to wait for the Auditor-General to bring in at the close of the Ninth Parliament, a forensic audit I am talking about, but this is currently happening now. Luckily, where there is usage of computer, it will leave a footprint. So where people are saying that there were ghost accounts that were siphoning money meant for third party insurance, that is the reasons why there is no compensation for third party insurance.
There is a reason to effect an arrest because there is a prima facie case if for any reason one may dispute the figure of US$10m. I can say to you holistically that there is money in US dollars that went missing at ZINARA through third party issuance of the electronic cover note. This is why people are not being compensated; people are dying today after a road accident because there is no compensation because of this animal called ZINARA.
I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity and I ask that through your Chair and through this debate, you crack the weep for people to get incarcerated immediately. I also want to thank the people of Chegutu West Constituency, that is Patricia Nyamadzawo and all the chairpersons of the districts, 14 of them, for allowing me to come and vociferously debate on this issue. I thank you.
HON. SANSOLE: Thank you Madam Speaker. Sorry I had been cut off. I would like to thank the mover of the motion and the seconder. First of all, my major concern is the failure by the responsible Ministries to furnish the Public Accounts Committee with the information that they required to perform their task, that of coming up with a response.
Despite the fact that they were given a lot of time, they still failed to give the information. So that in itself was indicative that all was not well. I think many issues have been raised by previous speakers to deal with that database of beneficiaries and so forth; where you find that incorrect addresses were given. That shows that there are fraudulent intentions and issues to do with duplicate payments indicate that parts of the funds would have been misappropriated. When the beneficiaries are not given the amounts due to them, that is also an indication or a sign of misappropriation. All these things, Madam Speaker, point to the need of tightening of internal controls.
While I support the recommendations that ZACC and ZRP must play their role in bringing the culprits to book, I think the issue of internal controls must be addressed before funds are lost in this manner. There must be segregation of duties. You cannot have one person for example being responsible for the procurement of the stores of inventories with the same person receiving and looking after the stocks and also issuing out. The same thing applies to bank reconciliations. They need to be reviewed by senior persons.
While we are dealing with this, I think what we are doing is tantamount to closing the stable doors when the horse has already bolted. Therefore, there is need for the Auditor-General to be more proactive in future in dealing with these issues. As we know, prevention is better than cure. Let us put in place the necessary controls rather than recommend action to be taken when monies have been lost. Even when people have been sent to jail, the likelihood of money being recovered is very slim. Thank you very much Madam Speaker for the opportunity.
HON. MUTAMBISI: Madam Speaker, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 11th May, 2022.
On the motion of HON. MUTAMBISI, seconded by HON. TEKESHE, the House adjourned at Nineteen Minutes past Six o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday 10th May, 2022
The Senate met at Half-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 6 on today’s Order Paper be stood over until Order of the Day Number 7 has been disposed of.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
MOTION
POLICIES THAT ADDRESS AND PLUG LOOPHOLES RELATED TO TAX EVASION
HON. SEN. CHINAKE: I move the motion standing in my name that this House;
NOTING that Zimbabwe is endowed with various mineral wealth such as gold, diamond, granite, lithium, which are critical for attainment of an upper middle class economy in line with the 2030 vision;
FURTHER NOTING that the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development has a target to achieve a US12 billion mining sector by 2023.
CONCERNED that the mining sector is experiencing serious challenges on issues like tax evasion, illicit financial flows and corruption, which are detrimental to economic development;
NOW, THEREFORE, this House calls upon Government to craft policies that address and plug loopholes related to tax evasion, illicit financial flows and corruption in the sector, thereby promoting transparency and accountability of revenue generated.
HON. SEN. DENGA: I second.
HON. SEN. CHINAKE: I rise to speak on this motion which has a big bearing on the economic transformation. As we may all be aware, the mining sector has become the mainstay of our economy. In the National Development Strategy 1, 2021 to 2025, the mining sector accounted for 60% of the country’s export earnings and has overtaken the sectors of the economy such as agriculture manufacturing in terms of its contribution to the fiscus.
As we may all know, Zimbabwe is endowed with over 40 different types of minerals which include gold, platinum, chrome, coal and others. We have the Great Dyke which is 330 miles long and very rich in minerals which are on world demand right now - including gold, platinum groups of metals and chrome.
Currently, Zimbabwe is in the top 3 in terms of the world’s platinum reserves, with South Africa on top and Russia second. On lithium, Zimbabwe is in the top 10 of the world’s reserves. All these minerals are on global demand, especially when you talk of issues pertaining to climate change where lithium batteries are featuring a lot in terms of reducing carbon emissions.
As the world moves towards production of electric cars which are less harmful to the environment, I am sure you are aware that Zimbabwe has a huge lithium deposit located in various parts of the country, which include Bikita and Goromonzi. These minerals are going to have a huge impact on the future.
Madam President, in 2018, the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development announced its intention to grow the mining sector into a USD12 billion economy by 2023. This would be achieved in a number of ways that include, attracting foreign direct investment, re-opening of closed mines, opening up of new mines. As you can all see, 2023 is just a few months away and the key issue is whether, as a country, we will be able to achieve the 12 billion target in light of the challenges facing the mining sector such as tax evasion, illicit financial flows and corruption.
In the 2020 Annual Report by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, it is estimated that in 2019, Zimbabwe lost USD684 million through illicit financial flows. Another study by the African Development Bank and Global Financial Integrity estimates that in the past 3 decades ending 2010, Zimbabwe lost USD12 billion through illicit financial flows. This challenge affects most resource rich nations in Africa and is most prevalent in the extractive sector particularly mining, oil and gas.
Madam President, I just want to share with you the nature of corruptive activities that are happening in the mining sector. Firstly, let me start by defining illicit financial flows which are money that is illegally earned, transferred and utilised. This is made possible by a global shadow financial system comprising of tax havens, secrecy jurisdictions, disguised corporations, anonymous trust accounts, fake foundations, trade mispricing and money laundering techniques.
Illicit financial flows are greatly linked to corruption and criminal activities. You will find that those who are involved in the illicit financial flows would have paid bribes to public officials so that they can trade their minerals outside the country. This is further worsened where there are weak regulatory policies such as poor governance. The most commonly used methods to facilitate illicit financial flows are transfers, mispricing and trade mis-invoicing.
Both account for 60% of all illicit financial flows out of the developing countries. For example, a buyer and a seller may collude in a scheme in which the buyer only pays the standard market price for imported goods that is billed for goods at a higher price. The seller then deposits the difference in a bank account in a secret jurisdiction on behalf of the buyer, thus siphoning the funds abroad and prevent national authorities from collecting the much needed taxes. Another example is where a subsidiary of a company avoids paying tax in a higher taxation country by selling its product at a loss to a subsidiary in a low tax country which then sells the product at a final customer at market price and yields the profit, in essence making a loss year after year and staying in business may be an indication of transfer pricing.
Madam President, I am sure most Hon. Members have heard through the media that as a country, we are losing a lot of gold through smuggling. We have a lot of gold being smuggled from ten black markets and it is finding its way either to South Africa or Dubai. As a country, we are busy promoting and developing the economies of other countries instead of our own. In 2020, during an interface with legislators, the President of Zimbabwe, Hon. E. D. Mnangagwa highlighted that USD60 million worth of gold annually finds its way to Dubai. This is a lot of money that should be used to develop our country.
If, as a country, we do not take appropriate action, our economy will continue to struggle. As policy makers, we have to deal decisively with these challenges of corruption and illicit financial flows. The former Secretary General of the United Nations, Koffi Anan once said, “Corruption hurts the poor disproportionally by diverting funds intended for development, undermining a Government’s ability to provide basic services, feeding inequality and injustice and discouraging foreign aid and investment. Corruption is a key element in economic under-performance and a major obstacle to poverty alleviation and development.”
As a country, it is important that we put in place policies and laws that address and plug loopholes related to tax evasion, illicit flows and corruption. We also need to strengthen our institutions that deal with such issues that include ZIMRA who are the tax authorities, the Zimbabwe Republic Police and ZACC. The laws might be there, but the resources may be limited for these institutions to effectively carry out their work. So as Parliament, we should ensure there is adequate budgetary support to these institutions. At the same time, it is important that anyone found committing such offences receives a heavy sentence. You will find in other countries such as China, they are very strict on corruption offences. You may even receive a death sentence for corruption. As a result, corruption offences are very low in China.
As a country, we really need to take strong measures so that we do not continue to lose revenues from our country. All these monies generated from the mining sector should be used to build our economy, which in turn will create more jobs and wealth for our country.
In conclusion, I would also like to encourage our country to join the Global Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI), which promotes transparency and accountability in the revenues generated from the extractive sector. Several of our neighbours such as Mozambique, Zambia and Malawi have joined this initiative as a strategy to limit illicit financial flows from their resources. With these words, I thank you Madam President.
*HON. SEN. DENGA: Thank you Madam President. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Chinake for the motion he brought into this august House. This motion is very important to the economy of this country with regards to the current situation. The mining sector is the one that is giving so much expectation to uplift the economy of this country and the welfare of the citizens of this country. So, this country is endowed with a lot of minerals that are more than 40 different types of minerals but, for lack of the economy comparing to what the President expects, according to NDS1, it shows that things are not moving well in line with mining expectations.
If we look at gold and looking at the status of our country and the gold deposits in our country, it shows that one third of this country has gold deposits but if you look at what is happening in all the areas where there is gold mining, it shows that indeed gold is there because you will realise that there are a lot of goods that have been established, gangs that have been established that go and attack areas where gold is said to have been discovered such as Al-Shabaab, such as another group called Mashurugwi that terrorize and kill people because of gold. Mr. President, as we grew up we knew that the Reserve Bank kept a lot of gold which backed the currency of this country. Right now, if you go to the Reserve Bank you will not see anything that shows what backs our currency. Putting a police officer or a soldier at the Reserve Bank is a waste of resources because Guard Alert Security Company can securely guard the place because there are no threats at all.
Hon. President, I do not know what we can do to ensure that our gold can be preserved and ensure that wherever mining takes place there can be transparency to account for it because what is happening in our economy leaves a lot to be desired. Some people are trying to smuggle gold - be it at airports or at our borders, trying to smuggle it to South Africa, you do not hear anything pursuant to those issues, what happened to those people. They are not prosecuted, so what I am trying to say is, anyone who is found trying to smuggle wealth of this country should be prosecuted in line with the laws of this country. Hon. President, if you look at the diamond sector, De Beers Company did exploration of diamonds for more than five years at Chiadzwa and it never gave out results but during that time it smuggled gold to South Africa and United Kingdom purporting to be testing. Government only woke up after realising the invasion of the citizens in Chiadzwa who went to do illegal mining of gold. That is when they realised that there is a lot of gold. So those people who actually went for diamond panning in Chiadzwa, their livelihoods were transformed.
Hon. President, the diamond mining companies that replaced those formal miners gave dubious statements of how much diamonds they were mining, be it per week or per month but right now they are silent. We do not know whether there is still diamond or nothing is coming out of that place. Our economy cannot grow if those minerals that are supposed to have earned us a lot of foreign currency and also back our currency are not properly managed but when those resources are mismanaged, the economy cannot grow very well. If you look at some areas like Murowa Diamonds, last year a very big plant was commissioned but right now we do not know how much those companies are earning from diamonds proceeds. There is no transparency as to how much Government is also getting.
Hon. President, in Mutoko, there is a lot of mining of black granite. If you go there the roads are in a very bad shape and they are not doing anything at all to repair the roads. If you look at China, you find that they are constructing a lot of buildings and offices from these stones that are mined in Zimbabwe. Here in Zimbabwe you only see them at the National Heroes Acre or sometimes on tombstones but there is nothing else to show the value of the black granite that we have in this country. Maybe the African Museum will also show us the black granite in use which can be used for the construction of the African Museum.
Hon. President, as I conclude, I want to say the Ministry of Finance as well as the Ministry of Industry and Commerce should scrutinise how the minerals are being used. If you go to ZIMRA you will find a lot of tax invasions especially by small companies that were established trying to empower our youth as well as women whom we empowered so that they can also venture into mining. They are submitting tax clearances that do not have enough documentation so at the end they pay corrupt fees for them to get clearance, maybe the Ministry of Finance can look into this. They change from one company to another; after seeing that they have messed up, they move to another. We should also be in a position to scrutinise why someone moves from one company to another, maybe that can assist us and if we can also support the President’s vision of upper middle income economy by 2030 through the mining sector and there must be proper accountability. I thank you.
+HON. SEN. NKOMO: Firstly, I would like to thank His Excellency, Hon. E. D. Mnangagwa for allowing me to be a Member of this House. I would like to thank Mr. President as well and Senators who are in this House for accepting and welcoming me to be part of them as a Senator in this Chamber.
I would like to thank fellow Senators for welcoming me to be part of them and work with them. Mr. President, I first started working here following the death of Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo and I am prepared to learn from those who are in this House who came before me. I am requesting them to help me through so that I can also help in the development of this country.
Looking at the motion moved by Hon. Sen. Chinake which is about the economy of the country with reference to minerals in this country; when we liberated this country, we wanted everything in it including land which was in the hands of the colonisers. If you look at the land and the minerals, it is necessary therefore that we use our resources wisely as is encouraged by our President. Most of our people here are owners of land which they use for farming. If we look at minerals being the backbone of our economy, I think there are a few Members here who have claims – now if you do not own those claims, who then will own them? Are these claims being used properly? We are all hurt that our country has no money but we have resources under the ground as stated in the motion moved here. We should use such resources with wisdom because we depend on them and there are no other resources that we can depend on. We fought for these resources so that we can use them properly to develop our country. Vision 2030 will not be a difficult thing to achieve if we are in charge of our minerals.
Hon. Sen. Chinake talked about the various minerals that are found in this country such as gold which is uplifting the lives of many of our people. There is need to put measures in place to ensure that it benefits our people. Where are those people who used to go after people who were into illegal gold mining? We do not see them anymore. I think they were from the RBZ who used look into illegal mining activities. We need to make sure that we double the gold output so that our nation can benefit. With those few words, I thought I should add my voice to the motion moved by hon. Sen. Chinake. I thank you.
*HON SEN. CHIFAMBA: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to the motion before this House. The President of our country always says a country is built by its own people - brick by brick. So if we are saying that someone is building on this side and on the other side, someone is destroying but if we manage our minerals properly, there is no need to go to Dubai because our country will be like Dubai. We have so many minerals in our country which can provide for us as the children of Zimbabwe, without any debt. Our people are being tortured in South Africa by South Africans who want us to stay in Zimbabwe so that we build our country. We should build our country because we have our minerals.
There is no outsider who is going to build our Zimbabwe but as Zimbabweans, we should build our country. I think when the President said brick by brick, I visualised him putting brick on top of another brick, then the building will be completed. Now, if someone removes the bricks, there is nothing that you will be doing. What is destroying our country is corruption. I see corruption everywhere. I think as Zimbabweans, we should put stiffer penalties like where the miners are mining. In South Africa, you do not move around with gold because you will die in jail since you will be destroying the wealth of the country.
There are other minerals that can be mined by small scale miners but a law should be put in place that the buyers would not buy directly from the illegal miners so that all those illegal miners will channel their gold through the proper channel. There are some who are capitalising on those illegal miners. No matter how small it is, that is the brick by brick because even if they buy with small amounts of money but if we put those small amounts of money together, that is the brick by brick.
Right now the granite from Mutoko, if you look at our buildings, you do not see any building that has been built by that granite, probably Karigamombe Building. If you go to other countries, you will find that they built huge buildings using that granite. We watch it as it goes out of the country yet we have not realised anything from that granite. As Zimbabweans, I think we should have laws in place that will give us direction because if we leave it like that – [Technical glitches] – This will lead to those who are witty to survive because there are people who are living on unorthodox means. If it was possible, I think we should manage our minerals properly because we would not be having any problems, even to wish to go out of this country. Now, because our wealth is not being distributed well, the wealth that we have been blessed with by the Lord – there are other countries that do not have minerals but they are rich. We have everything in Zimbabwe but we are poor. With these few words, I thank you Mr. President.
^^HON. SEN. NYATHI: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to debate on this motion raised by Hon. Sen. Chinake seconded by Hon. Sen. Denga. This motion, if you follow it closely, is emotional. This country just like what other Hon. Senators alluded to earlier, is endowed with a lot of wealth. There is nothing that we do not have. The surprising thing is that since 1980 up to now, we are only talking; we could be at a better stage with our economy but we are going backwards.
It is painful because we fought for this country to liberate it from the colonisers; our intention was to be progressive. The wealth that we fought for is still here in this country, they did not take it. What surprises me is the fact that gold and other minerals that we have are not of any benefit in the prosperity of this country.
Where I come from in Victoria Falls, the Hwange Mine, the roads are dilapidated and we now have dust roads all over, including in residential areas. The hospitals are no longer functional, our thinking was that after 1980, we were supposed to build from the institutions that we had such as hospitals but now it is worse, we no longer have good infrastructure for hospitals and I am referring to where I come from, that is Hwange. We do not have good infrastructure for schools as well and there is nothing to show for our wealth in this country, yet other countries are progressing very well.
Mr. President, where exactly are we failing, why are we failing to deal with all those people who are causing this failure? We have not heard of any prosecution, we only hear about the stories and nothing is being done, yet people continue to suffer. Where will this take us and when are we going to continue talking and just talking? Old people like us have been talking for 40 years yet there is nothing to show for it. We hear of people being arrested trying to smuggle gold but after that nothing happens.
They will continue looting and running their businesses, so what sort of a country is this? It is the same people who continue doing that and some of the people in this country have never touched gold or know what it looks like, yet some people play around with it. Everyone is supposed to benefit from the minerals of this country because we all went to war. As you travel from Victoria, the road is in a very bad state, you will see patches here and there. There are a lot of resources that are supposed to contribute to the economic development of this country yet we are not seeing anything. We are supposed to benefit from gold yet only a few are benefiting from it. The majority are just suffering. Right now children are not learning because of teachers’ strikes and the failure of parents to pay school fees. Parents do not have jobs yet some people are playing around with loads and loads of money yet we are one country.
Let us be truthful and let us tell each other the truth as adults. If someone comes lying to you each and every day, you can tell. Here we are, everyday we continue talking about the same thing that is not yielding any results at all. Let us come up with tangible measures to ensure that the country and everyone benefits from the wealth of this country. No one should be special and get the benefits of the wealth of this country whilst others suffer.
How are people expected to live, some of the people who were born in 1980 have never been employed. They do not know what a pay slip looks like yet here we are talking and talking to no avail. Right now we are old enough and we will die one day without correcting anything, the future generations will blame us. I respect this Senate; we are supposed to come up with strong resolutions or legislation that is supposed to lead to action. This country is endowed with a lot of wealth yet here we are unable to harvest that honey as a country whilst a few people who are doing illicit deals are the ones that are benefitting. His Excellency the President talks and people around him are not doing anything tangible,so we need to progress. With those few words, I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHISOROCHENGWE: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to add my words to this debate. I want to thank Hon. Sen. Chinake for moving this motion. When I look at Zimbabwe, we should be thankful to God because the Lord gave us a lot of minerals that we should live on. We have a lot of minerals, to the extent that we should be living well in Zimbabwe. What is troubling us is the issue of corruption which is causing our minerals to find their way out of the country.
In Zimbabwe each province is blessed with their own minerals, so those minerals should help in the development of those areas. That is not happening because of corruption; you find our gold and all our minerals are being smuggled outside the country. These mineral smugglers sell these precious minerals and the foreign currency does not benefit the country in any way. A law should therefore be enacted to say all those who mine in Zimbabwe should account for all the minerals that they mine here in Zimbabwe.
I want to repeat what His Excellency normally says that ‘nyika inovakwa nevene vayo’. This should be clear to each and every one of us. As a country, we should put our heads together so that we come up with ways of seeing how our minerals are building our country rather than developing other countries through our minerals whilst we are wallowing in poverty here. We should sit down as a nation and find out ways and strategies on how we should be handling our minerals.
People who are able to sell their minerals abroad are the ones who are sitting pretty. These USD are only found in the possession of those corrupt people who sell our gold outside the country.
Mr. President, in a nutshell, I am saying we should come up with stiffer penalties and enact laws to protect our precious minerals. If you go to Shurugwi where I come from, there is a place called Boterekwa. That place is now dangerous but you find people are still mining there. The roads there are now under threat of collapsing yet people are mining minerals there without developing the community.
If you look at this issue on minerals, you find that we have a lot of children who are dying in the mines. There are a lot of things that are happening in these mines and no one is looking at that. So as Zimbabweans, we need to put our heads together and map the way forward in safeguarding our minerals. All those who are mining should be investigated on where the minerals are going. . We should be benefiting from our minerals but our minerals are benefiting people who do not stay in the mined areas.
Mr. President, I want to thank Hon. Chinake for his motion which is very pertinent. We should put our heads together and come up with ways on how to safeguard our minerals so that they benefit the nation as a whole.
*HON. SEN. MOEKETSI: Thank you Mr. President for according me this opportunity to raise my voice on this motion which was raised by Hon. Sen. Chinake, seconded by Hon. Sen. Denga.
Mr. President, first of all, I would like to ask if His Excellency is aware of these motions that are raised in this august House. It appears as if we are just playing in this House because nothing changes. I think it is important that when we are debating pertinent issues of this nature, the President should be aware so that he knows that there are elders who are debating on matters of importance which concern the wealthy of the country.
On the issue of minerals which are being wasted away, truly speaking we should not be having economic challenges at all. Right now the parallel market is very high and we do not know what will become of our RTGS by June because of these unscrupulous dealers. The USD has become highly important when it is actually destroying our country. I feel that this motion should get to the President.
Investors coming into our country should be investigated because our money is going out and we are wallowing in poverty. People were using mishikashika for transport purposes but they were stopped yesterday in order to use the ZUPCO buses, so school children going to school were disrupted.
In our country, there is so much money that there should be industries where our children will be working and enjoying the wealth our country. Our wealth is being swept away. People are saying come 2023, we want to go for elections when we are dying of hunger. Investors are taking our money; there are only 10 people who are enjoying in this country.
When motions like these are raised, I think they should be heard by His Excellency. People are suffering in the rural areas yet the foreigners are the ones living pretty. When they go back to their countries, they surely say there are fools in Zimbabwe because they are taking our minerals away without much restriction.
Let us put our heads together and His Excellency should take this seriously because this issue is of major concern. We have children who are sitting home right now and not going to school right now. What has caused that is because of corruption which is happening in our mines. The Lord would have had mercy on us because we have all the minerals in this country. Even the crops, we have everything that the Lord gave us. He blessed us with everything but us as the owners, there are only ten people who are enjoying and in actual fact, investors have come and they are making their countries rich.
We have so many Chinese; they are running away from their country coming to Zimbabwe where they get it for free. We see them as investors and those people who are working for them are getting nothing, they get something like USD1 or USD2 as wages. Some are being beaten and abused by those Chinese. It is very painful Mr. President. It looks as if we are doing the right thing but I once asked as to who issues out the mining permits and how are they issued because they are the ones who are making our children die. The President has said go and mine and they are letting our children engage in dangerous mining.
We know those who are doing it rightfully and they are doing it properly. When a mine has been closed because of safety issues, they will go behind and they open those mines. Mr. President, we should help each other.
I want to thank those who raised the motion and in conclusion, I am saying let it reach the ears of the President so that he should enforce some measures of control. Thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to debate on this very important motion which was brought by Hon. Sen. Chinake, seconded by Hon. Sen. Denga. Most of the things have been alluded to. This is a very important motion to us as the citizens of this country. It is true that the country is endowed with a lot of mineral resources, the same minerals that are protected by the Constitution of this country, the minerals that we expect to contribute to the development of this country.
Hon. Sen. Chinake talked about corruption – indeed as Zimbabweans, let us protect our country. If we do not protect our county through our behaviour, we are not patriotic and we destroy each and every policy that is put in place by Government. There are a lot of rich countries in Africa that are not endowed with such mineral wealth but their citizens live very well and their people earn good money because people respect their governments and they respect Government policies.
Corruption in this country does not contribute to development and this corruption is not perpetrated by ordinary citizens in rural areas. It is being done by those highly educated people who want to get rich overnight. Previously, I talked of a river in Mt. Darwin which is called Mupfure. That river has a lot of gold and men and women as well as children were busy panning gold in that river and they used to earn their livelihoods without any problems. What happened is that we saw them being evicted and their shelters being burnt, but that was not the solution.
We expect that Government should talk to people nicely and give them all the necessary paperwork and steps that may lead to them operating legally not that harsh way. We should stop that. We expect the Government to address the issue of Mukaradzi properly so that people may work while abiding by the law. They will not refuse and they will work obediently. The corruption net has seen the arrest of people from ZIMRA as well as the Zimbabwe Republic Police.
We have the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission. It is a very important Commission but it can function properly if we assist them. They need to be given all the necessary resources because if they do not have the necessary and requisite resources to carry out their duties, they will also fall into corruption. The same applies to ZIMRA as well as the Zimbabwe Republic Police. They need to be properly equipped. If we look at the border where the alleged smuggling takes place, it is not even fenced just like the other side on South Africa.
We travelled with the Parliamentary Committee of Peace and Security. They patrol for 50 kilometers on foot, so how can they successfully carryout their duties? My appeal is that these people be given adequate resources such as transport so that they patrol properly and get all the necessary security apparatus and equipment that is necessary. That way, corruption may not take place because people will not look for so called ‘cuts’ to earn a livelihood.
As parliamentarians, let us closely debate on this motion. Let us scrutinise it properly so that we look at the existing laws and what can be done. May the Minister of Mines and Mining Development come to the Senate from time to time and give us an update on the minerals as to what is happening and what is taking place with regards to that Ministry so that we move step by step with all the developments that are taking place in that industry.
Zimbabweans are hard working people but if they do not have adequate resources to work with whilst they suffer in abject poverty, they face challenges in paying their school fees as well as starving, they will end up involved in corruption. I hope Government will address this so that we live peacefully in this country. If we look at Parliament, we are the lowest paid Parliament in this world. We hear the other Parliamentarians are earning huge amounts as compared to us, yet we are a country endowed with a lot of minerals. Let us emulate what the President is saying, we build our country brick by brick. We may look down upon that statement but it is very essential. Even gold smuggling, it takes place in cahoots with foreigners who enrich their countries whilst our country remains in abject poverty.
Mr. President, I hope the country will enact very stringent laws that may prevent smuggling of our mineral resources. For this law to be effective, all those who are convicted should be published so that citizens will get to know the people who have been convicted and put behind bars so that they will be deterred from committing the same offences. This is a very important motion. I call upon the House to debate it and come up with very strong resolutions.
+HON. SEN. D. M. NDLOVU: I want to thank the mover of this motion. It is very painful for one to own cattle and having your children not eat the milk, the cream being eaten elsewhere not at your home. Your neighbour’s children are fat yet yours are suffering from kwashiorkor. This is so difficult. What makes me say this is that we went out as a Committee and got to a place called Chiadzwa. It was the first time for me to be there and I thought I was going to see carpeted roads but when we got to the entrance, I was looking forward to a positive change. I only saw us being stopped by law enforcement agents who are soldiers and police officers, the roads are not tarred, the houses in the area are so dilapidated and you realise that people suffered to get those structures to where they are.
Looking at this situation, I thought since there are laws in our country, why is it that Chinese are coming into our country to take our minerals to their countries. We are not even seeing any development that is being brought into the country by these people in the area just to say thank you to the work they are doing in that area. The roads are not tarred, there are just potholes from the place to the main road. You need to stop and check your car if it is still in good condition, yet it is a place that is bringing out thousands of dollars and the money is being taken out of the country.
Chiadzwa is supposed to be an area that is so attractive but that is not happening. As has been indicated by other Hon. Members talking about corruption, it is destroying this country. You need to see to it that since other Hon. Members have indicated, those involved in corruption need to be punished. No wonder why it is said name them and shame them but if people are not even shameful of such acts of corruption, you do not see anything bad in taking part in it.
Mr. President, it is very painful for all Zimbabweans because this corruption is not being done by those people who are juniors but it is done by people that are taking position in the institution. If you go to law enforcements agents with a corrupt activity that is happening, you realise that when you get there, nothing is being done because the agent would have been given something corruptly to remain quiet on the issue. This makes it difficult for us as a country to fight corruption because of such acts of getting the law enforcements agents getting something to remain quiet on these issues.
Corruption in our country is not different from cancer, it is in the same WhatsApp group with cancer because cancer does not end, it can only end by getting someone dead. I do not know if we can refer to corruption like a weed that affects our plants which we call in Ndebele sona, no matter how deep you dig it out, you cannot get rid of it. Right now, we need laws that are powerful that will get those people that are involved in corruption being brought to book. We cannot have people that occupy big offices like senators taking part in corruption shamelessly because they know that due to their position, nothing is going to be done to them. What I know is that their positions should make them be responsible and know that they have a position to protect.
At one point when I was working in Mberengwa, there was a beer called itototo which was brewed in that area. They would brew this beer checking for law enforcement agents and at times they would brew it from the bushes because they knew that if they were to be caught brewing, they would get into trouble. Nowadays the law enforcement agents are ignorant of such things because they only look for people that will give them money to keep quiet on such activities.
What we are asking for is to empower the law enforcement agents but we do not know who is going to do this because the law enforcement agents are the ones that are spearheading corruption. Even at home where children are being brought up with good values, they remain good at what they do but those that would have been brought up in an area where there is so much lawlessness cannot change. They will remain the same and they will continue to perpetrate lawlessness in our country.
What else can we do without enforcing our laws so that even if foreigners come to work into our country, they seriously follow our laws? They need to follow our laws so that they leave something for the Zimbabweans and take up the good from what they will be engaged in. Right now these foreigners are the ones that are taking the greater part of our wealth and leaving nothing for us. What we are asking for from our Government is that they need to make sure that they put stringent laws that will protect the wealth of our citizens. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. M. R. DUBE: Firstly, what I want to say is that since 2018 at the onset of this Parliament, we have had motions that do not end and which do not have answers. Every day we bring in motions which have different wording but they remain the same. What causes that is that the Ministers do not come in on Thursdays when we ask questions. We can spend the whole week debating but on Thursdays they do not come and they do know what would have been debated on like this issue in this House. My view is that the messengers that we are sending are not getting to the authorities. When we ask questions during Question Time, it is like they are dodging and they do not respond to the questions. I think we should come together and find out whom we should send because these Ministers have failed us. We should send someone to the President to put across our issues because things are not moving in our country.
In the last session, we debated on the issue of illegal miners and it looks like the President is not aware and the issues are not reaching his ears. Some ministers are afraid of being labeled incompetent. We should plead with the President to come and then we put across our issues. These mining activities have really destroyed our country. Nothing is coming out of those mines. The gold is not being channeled to Fidelity. I feel that the President is not being told the truth about what is taking place because of the people around him who are involved in the illegal mining. We should tell the President what is happening. Our President is a very good leader but there are some people who are sabotaging him. It is not all the people but some of them. The country is not moving well because of people who are lazy. There are some people who entered politics with nothing but became rich overnight and now they are staying outside the country. I will repeat my statement that the President should come and we should talk to him so that he knows what is happening in Zimbabwe.
Right now when you go out of the country and tell people that you are getting US$180 as a salary, they say are you mad, there is nothing like that. We tell them that our salaries are coming from proceeds of mining activities in Chiadzwa. The ministers who come here on Thursdays are not taking our issues seriously to the President so that he may understand our situation. The President should flex his muscles because from 2018, all these motions have been debated in this House but there are no results. I thank you.
HON. SEN. CHINAKE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 11th May, 2022.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE 50TH PLENARY ASSEMBLY OF THE SADC PLENARY FORUM HOSTED VIRTUALLY BY THE KINGDOM OF LESOTHO
Eighth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report of the 50th Plenary Assembly of the SADC Plenary Forum hosted virtually by the Kingdom of Lesotho from 10th to 12th December 2021.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to say as SADC, we are united. People are working together to see the progress of this region. The main objective is to see us moving forward successfully. It was their wish that as SADC, we have democracy, transparency as well as accountability to have things moving forward with ease. The report also mentioned motions that were put forward to say it was their wish as SADC to continue to have a one-stop-centre. What this meant for SADC is that for those who were travelling across countries as well as reference to goods, it will be easy for everyone. There would not be queues that we see at our borders, all those delays that people experience at borders will be a thing of the past.
If it is a one-stop-centre, it is also an advantage to all those investors who want to invest in our country. It will now be easy for those who intend to initiate business in this country because everything will be done in one place and there will be ease of establishment instead of the trouble some people face when they want to start a business or start an investment in one of the regional countries. This actually reflects order amongst countries if we are to implement such an infrastructure; such an initiative.
Also in the report, it was also suggested that we start water harvesting as water is life. As a result of water harvesting, it is a sustainable solution to humanity where in this life people are experiencing climate change. We have countries where people experience unexpected weather conditions. We have had experiences of natural disasters such as cyclones. There could also be droughts where people lose all their livestock and people also lose their lives.
It is also their wish that all the secretariat; all the things they put on paper - may we see to it that those things are implemented without fail because we are not involved in sabotaging the processes. A good example is what was mentioned in this House that we have minerals in this country but people are suffering. Let us see to it that these things which are deliberated upon are implemented. It is my wish that I see the SADC Secretariat doing their task, implementing their resolutions.
Mr. President, SADC is involved in a very good initiative. As we speak, SADC has a standby force which monitors to see if one of the regional countries is involved in war and they are in need of assistance, with Mozambique being a very good example, where SADC sent their forces for stability and restoration of order in that particular country. Unity is brought about to bring unity of purpose. We also have the intervention brigade which was in support of the United Nations’ programme, which was rendering assistance in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This assists us very well to say every country that will experience problems within its own country, SADC will have forces and brigade to intervene and assist another regional country. We are proud of that and we are happy for such an initiative. If we continue to work together, eventually we will see a United States of Africa. Things will move very well.
In that report, the other pertinent issue which was discussed was the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools were affected greatly because they closed down, 1.6 billion school children failed to return to school because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are one of the countries that was affected by the lockdowns experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of not attending school, we had a lot of teenage pregnancies. The other issue was that of immigration and visas, the difficulties that people face when traveling. It was suggested that SADC countries come up with ways to ease travelling within the SADC region. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Mohadi who brought this report to this Senate. SADC encouraged us to hold virtual meetings. No delegation would attend a meeting physically; virtual meetings have made it easy to convene meetings as countries save money for travelling. In Lesotho where we had a meeting, we could have sent a delegation to that country but we managed to save money by doing it virtually. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Mahodi for that report because it taught us a lot of things on what is happening within SADC region. If we follow some of the recommendations, we will see ourselves having a sustainable likelihood as a country. I thank you.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: Mr. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Date to resume: Wednesday, 11th May, 2022.
MOTION
MEASURES TO RESUSCITATE THE ECONOMY
Ninth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the need to come up with measures to resuscitate the economy.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: Mr. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. A. DUBE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Date to resume: Wednesday, 11th May, 2022.
MOTION
EFFORTS TO CURB CORRUPTION
Tenth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion to introduce deterrent sentences for those engaging in corrupt activities.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: Mr. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. A. DUBE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Date to resume: Wednesday, 11th May, 2022.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON HIV AND AIDS ON THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC LOCKDOWN RESTRICTIONS ON HIV AND AIDS SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM IN ZIMBABWE
Eleventh Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions on HIV and AIDS service delivery system.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: Mr. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHINAKE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Date to resume: Wednesday, 11th May, 2022.
On the motion of HON. SEN. MUZENDA, seconded by HON. SEN. MATHUTHU, the Senate adjourned at Half past Four o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 5th May, 2022
The National Assembly met at a Quarter Past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. SPEAKER
CHANGES TO PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
THE HON. SPEAKER: I have to make the following announcements. The first one is straightforward. I have to inform the House of changes in the Committee Membership where Hon. M. Tembo will move from one Portfolio Committee on Environment and Tourism to the Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.
I have the rest of suggested Hon. Members into various Committees. When the list was drawn, I think there was a lapse of memory that Hon. Members only serve in two Committees and not more than two Committees so that you commit yourself. That is the decision of the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders. The reason is that you have time to commit yourself to your Committee work rather than flip-flopping from one Committee to the other, then to the other and to the other. Use that energy elsewhere.
As I read, those affected must indicate which Committee you are dropping for purposes of our records. The first one is Hon. T. Biti, to serve on the Parliamentary Legal Committee and the Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance and Economic Development - no problem there. Do I recognise you today Hon. Biti – you look very much Nigerian.
HON. BITI: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker Sir and may God bless you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you and you keep it up. The next one is Hon. Hwende, to serve on the Portfolio Committees on ICT, Postal and Courier Services, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and you added Public Accounts Committee. Which one is to be dropped?
HON. HWENDE: I will drop the Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee.
THE HON. SPEAKER: The next one is Hon. Madzimure, to serve on Portfolio Committees on Budget, Finance and Economic Development, Primary and Secondary Education and you went on to add Public Accounts Committee. Which one do you drop?
HON. MADZIMURE: I will drop Primary and Secondary Education.
THE HON. SPEAKER: The next one is Hon. Matsunga, to serve on the Portfolio Committees on Environment and Tourism, Energy and Power Development and the third one, Health and Child Care. Which one do you drop?
HON. CHIKWINYA: Hon. Speaker, perhaps those who are not present or are not linked to the Zoom facility, may they indicate to the Clerk of Parliament at a later date?
THE HON. SPEAKER: No, we want the record straight. The leaders can make a decision for them. Hon. Biti, the first one is Environment and Tourism.
HON. BITI: We drop the Health and Child Care Committee.
THE HON. SPEAKER: We have Hon. Tobaiwa to serve on the Portfolio Committees on Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation and Mines and Mining Development and the third one is Health and Child Care.
HON. BITI: We drop Child and Health Care
THE HON. SPEAKER: Child and Health Care is dropped.
HON. BITI: Hon. Speaker, can we revisit that one, we drop Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation for Hon. J. Tobaiwa.
THE HON. SPEAKER: We drop Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation. Hon. Tobaiwa will now take Mines and Mining Development and Health and Child Care.
Hon. F. Munengami to serve on the Portfolio Committees on Mines and Mining Development, Transport and Infrastructure Development and Health and Child Care;
HON. BITI: We drop Health and Child Care.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Health and Child Care is dropped.
Hon. H. Chidziva to serve on the Portfolio Committees on ICT, Postal and Courier Services; Local Government, Public Works, National Housing and Social Amenities and Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation.
HON. BITI: We drop Local Government, Public Works, National Housing and Social Amenities.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Local Government, Public Works, National Housing and Social Amenities is dropped.
Hon. W. Chikombo to serve on the Public Accounts Committee and Portfolio Committees on ICT, Postal and Courier Services and Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.
HON. CHIKOMBO: I drop ICT, Postal and Courier Services
THE HON. SPEAKER: ICT, Postal and Courier Services is cancelled.
Hon. P. Mutseyami to serve on the Portfolio Committees on Mines and Mining Development; Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and Local Government, Public Works, National Housing and Social Amenities.
HON. BITI: We drop Local Government, Public Works, National Housing and Social Amenities.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Local Government, Public Works, National Housing and Social Amenities is dropped.
Hon. E. Murai to serve on the Portfolio Committees on Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development and Mines and Mining Development.
That one seems to be fine, there are two.
Hon. J. Matambo to serve on the Portfolio Committees on Environment and Tourism; Primary and Secondary Education and Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development.
HON. BITI: We drop Primary and Secondary Education.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Primary and Secondary Education is dropped.
Hon. S. Chikwinya to serve on the Portfolio Committees on Transport and Infrastructural Development; Mines and Mining Development and Information, Media and Broadcasting Services.
HON. S. CHIKWINYA: I drop Information, Media and Broadcasting Services.
THE HON. SPEAKR: Thank you. Information, Media and Broadcasting Services is dropped.
Hon. C. Matewu will serve on the Public Accounts Committee and Portfolio Committees on Local Government, Public Works, National Housing and Social Amenities and Information, Media and Broadcasting Services;
HON. BITI: We drop Information, Media and Broadcasting Services.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Information, Media and Broadcasting Services is dropped
Hon. A. Chibaya to serve on the Portfolio Committees on Public Service, Labour and Social Services; Local Government, Public Works, National Housing and Social Amenities and Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development.
HON. BITI: We drop Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development cancelled.
Hon. K. Phulu to serve on the Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.
It is only one.
Hon. S. Mahlangu to serve on the Portfolio Committees on Health and Child Care; Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services.
(v)HON. S. MAHLANGU: I drop Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare.
THE HON. SPEAKER: You are dropping Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare. Thank you.
Hon. M. Zwizwai to serve on the Portfolio Committees on Information, Media and Broadcasting Services; Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services and Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
HON. BITI: We drop Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services.
THE HON. SPEAKER: We remove Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services. Thank you.
Hon. P. D. Sibanda to serve on the Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. It is only one.
Hon. D. Tarusenga to serve on the Portfolio Committees on Budget, Finance and Economic Development and Industry and Commerce. Thank you very much.
I have received seven requests for statements of privilege on national interests. Remember our maximum is only four. So I will be guided by the first four.
HON. HAMAUSWA: On a point of order Mr. Speaker Sir. I thought you were going to call for notices of motions first before points of privilege.
THE HON SPEAKER: I stand guided. Thank you.
Hon. Hamauswa having presented a lengthy notice of motion.
THE HON. SPEAKER: You are now debating. The question of water is provided for in Section 17 of the Constitution and it is enough. Is there anything else that you want to add other than that?
HON. CHIKWINYA: On a point of order. I notice that there is a departure, out of your ruling, in the manner in which we are now supposed to present our motions. These motions are drafted and they come to your office for approval. When we present them as what the Hon. Member has just done, you have now ruled that they must summarise. I therefore, propose that perhaps….
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order my friend; I admitted that Hon Hamauswa should state his motion as has been approved.
HON. CHIKWINYA: Okay thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Unoda kundibata pahuro.
HON. BITI: On a point of order. You have ruled that the matters of national interest in terms of Standing Order No. 62 should be four. There is no restriction in the Standing Orders and in view of the fact that there are many Members in the House, can that number be reviewed upwards to accommodate Hon. Members.
THE HON. SPEAKER: We had ruled accordingly, so I cannot un-rule because that arose when at one stage we had ten requests and I said we must have a cut off point. We agreed on four.
HON. BITI: Four is a bit on the lower side – [HON T. MLISWA: He said he will see how it progresses] - . It is not a final ruling.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Mliswa is putting words into my mouth. I said I had ruled at one stage where we had received ten requests and I said can we stick to four so that we save time on other items on the Order Paper.
HON. BITI: Can Members stick to one minute and you revisit your ruling Hon. Speaker Sir?
THE HON. SPEAKER: No. I am ruling in terms of Order Number 215, which is final.
HON. BITI: But you can revisit it.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Yes, later.
HON. BITI: The standing time is just one minute and if Hon. Members stick to one minute, then we are fine.
THE HON. SPEAKER: No change for today. The Order Paper has many items.
HON. BITI: But this is just 10 minutes.
THE HON. SPEAKER: No.
HON. BITI: Perhaps if the speaker can revisit the number and then strictly stick to one minute.
THE HON. SPEAKER: In future.
HON. BITI: Yes, yes, thank you Hon. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Members must stick to one minute.
*HON. TEKESHE: Thank you Hon. Speaker. My point of national interest arises from CDF. When the Budget Statement was announced, it was said that it will be $11 million. We thought it was good but looking at the current inflation rate, it is no longer meaningful at all. If we look for quotations, they quote us in US dollars and it comes down to around $15.000 or less. My request is may Parliament be allowed to go to the foreign currency auction system so that we can also bid to get forex?
THE HON. SPEAKER: Can you raise that issue when the Hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Development presents his Ministerial Statement. It is a very important point, the question of devaluation.
HON. MARKHAM: Hon. Speaker, my point of national interest is my concern on Questions With Notice that are going unanswered or hazily put aside. I have a list of things that I personally have been promised and have not been done. I am glad the Minister of Finance is here. He said on global settlement deed of trust that he would avail the documents to us. As of now, nothing has happened and it is two months now. The same can be said about the 38 million of the Dutch loan. Even yesterday, we asked for the ZAMCO and the debt assumption that came in with the Budget, we have not been given what we asked for.
I also have two Ministries. The Minister of Local Government assured me we could have a meeting on the land problems that we have in Harare. To date, I have tried to contact them three or four times and as of now, I have not met with the Deputy Minister. The Minister of Transport has eventually met with me and I thank him for the meeting. One of the issues that we asked for was for the emergency road repair programme to be made available to MPs. As of now, that has not been done. Of the eight issues I have asked for and have been promised, not one has been met. I have left the ninth issue because you Mr. Speaker promised to look into the release of the Justice Uchena Commission and we had no feedback on that either.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Excellent observation. Can you favour me with a small write up? You summarise that so that I can deal with each Minister concerned, in a written form so that I have a record.
HON. MARKHAM: You will have that tomorrow. Thank you Hon. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: If you can do that today for me?
HON. MARKHAM: I will do that.
HON. CHIKWINYA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. My question of national importance arises on the identification and placement of ZISCO Steel as an institution of national strategic importance in the economic recovery of our nation. Accordingly, Hon. Speaker, this Parliament passed the ZISCO Steel Debt Assumption Act which enables any investor to be able to start on a clean sheet. Every other person owed by ZISCO Steel has been paid off except for the workers. I therefore call upon the Minister of Industry and Commerce to come before Parliament;
- To give us a roadmap as to when ZISCO Steel, a critical institution in our economic recovery programme is going to open; and
- When are the outstanding pensions of ZISCO Steel workers who are still owed going to be paid off?
THE HON. SPEAKER: Yes, ZISCO Steel is a hub of our industrialisation. The point is taken. We will engage the Minister of Industry and Commerce to give a Statement. The Clerk, please do not forget.
HON. PHULU: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir for this opportunity. I am from Nkulumane Constituency and on 7th April, this year, one of our young men from Zimbabwe was mugged and burnt alive in Johannesburg, South Africa. His name is Elvis Nyathi. This House recognises that this happened. I stand here after having attended his burial on 16th April in Bulawayo where his remains were interred at Imvucho Cemetery. The elders of the family, the community of Nkulumane and the people of Bulawayo have asked me to come and thank the State for the State assisted funeral that he received and all the other assistance including transport. I was told not to come back if I do not do this. I hereby extend that gratitude to the State, particularly the Minister of State for Bulawayo Metropolitan, Mrs. Judith Mkwanda, diplomats resident in South Africa who did everything they could to ensure that Elvis Nyathi’s remains were brought home.
Having said that, I was also asked to raise a concern on the fact that our young men and women are dying abroad. I have seen recent incidents of a group of people who may be our nationals who were stoned to death. They are doing rounds on the social media. The request was for the State to intervene strongly and for the Minister of Foreign Affairs to give a Ministerial Statement on the State of Affairs in South Africa vis-a-vis our people who are under grave threat. We think that serious diplomatic interventions are necessary in order to secure their lives and to ensure that they are not abused while they are abroad. This is my short statement, which is also obviously accompanied by the need to ensure that we have adequate employment in the country for our people to remain here. Elvis Nyathi earned 200 rands a month. When the people who murdered him talked to him, they wanted to be paid 300 rands. In fact, that is the amount. The amount they earn is not even enough to purchase a phone or to get a passport. This is how grave the situation is. This is the point of public importance that I have, underlining perhaps that it will be much appreciated if a statement could be made to the nation about the attack of our citizens in South Africa, in particular. I thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: The Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade will be requested to do so next week.
COMMITTEE STAGE
INSURANCE AND PENSIONS COMMISSION AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 6, 2021]
Committee Stage: Insurance and Pensions Commission Amendment Bill [H. B. 6, 2021].
House in Committee.
Clause 1 put and agreed to.
On Clause 2:
HON. MUSHORIWA: Thank you Hon. Chairperson. Under Clause 2, the proposed amendment does not make sense. We thought we had agreed with IPEC. The question of a board, if you check the entirety of this Bill, it talks of members of the board, not directors. What normally happens in any entity is the board of directors are referred to as members of the board. So we do not understand the rationale of bringing this amendment under sub (a), where you say “by the repeal of definition of appeal, appointed member and the substitution by an appointed director”, because it is known that a board member is a director. So this amendment does not make sense and we believe that it needs to be removed.
Equally (b), there is no need for this amendment to even be put in there because if you are going to do that, what you need to do Hon. Minister is to then make sure that you probably clean the entirety of this Bill because 9 out of 10, where it refers to the board of directors it refers to them as members. We had an understanding that this one was not necessary, unless if you are going to propose several amendments in the Bill, which refers to members rather than directors. I thank you.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Hon. Chair. I want to touch on the issue of those board members having been absolved in terms of pecuniary interest. The Hon. Minister agreed with me in the Second Reading when we were debating that there was need, even though that was operational to clean up the issues of personal interest of directors or board members, who should not themselves be involved in the insurance sector to the effect that currently some of them are insurance company executives and players, in particular the Chairperson of IPEC as we speak and also one other Mr. Chikono who is also an Executive at Champions Insurance, that needs to come out eloquently, clear and very loud that they should not. Zimbabwe is endowed with technocrats; we cannot have our cake and eat it. There is a lot currently happening at ZINARA as we speak because there is no clause that outlaws those members that are in Executives of private limited insurance companies and also involved with your board Hon. Minister.
It is my thinking that because you have agreed already, find a way to clean up the sector – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MUTOMBA): Members on virtual, please lower your voices you are making some interferences here.
HON. NDUNA: It is my thinking that because you have agreed already, find a way to clean up the sector so that we do not have somebody who has got dirty hands trying to get what they can and can what they get. This is currently what is happening. This is a multi-million dollar industry for argument’s sake, US$200 million annually coming from third party insurance and nearly the same coming from passenger insurance but going to one certain company which is embedded with 14 ZINARA outlets and they are the only people allowed to sell and vend with ZINARA. So, there is cohabitation which is incestuous which should not be allowed and this should be treated in this Bill by a statement. I have said there is no dearth in terms of corpus amounts, in terms of technocrats that we are endowed with as a nation and we should not have one person in a plethora of places where there is pecuniary interest.
HON. BITI: Thank you Mr. Speaker. Section 2 does not capture the concerns that were highlighted in the Second Reading speech. What is the fundamental illness and weakness of the regulator in Zimbabwe? The fundamental weakness of the regulator which was identified by Justice George Smith in the Smith Commission of Inquiry of 2017, is that you have got actors regulating themselves. You have got industry players regulating themselves. So the only thing to address that mischief is to ensure that IPEC members, whether board members or directors, if you follow Hon. Mushoriwa’s submission which is the Committee submission, they cannot be active players in the market and then go and be a regulator. So, you can own an insurance company, you cannot own and have shares in an insurance company and then go to IPEC and become a regulator, it is not possible, there is incest.
We would like to see in Clause 2, if you look at the second section 2 (b), it refers to an independent director. We would like to see all of them being independent directors. They should not be insurance players.
This business that actors or retired actors supervise themselves, it does not work. The Smith Commission Report is very clear about the misdeeds, the omission of the players paying themselves excessive salaries, buying houses, mistresses you name it, eating the capital base, you name it, failure to maintain records in the case of Old Mutual and First Mutual and failure to preserve value. We need independent people to be at IPEC to regulate the pensions insurance and assurance industry.
We ask the Minister to put in Clause 2 a clear prescription that makes it very clear that you cannot be on the board if you sit as a director or you have had prior interest. They are so many Zimbabweans, the population of Zimbabwe is 14 million and it is going to double by 2045. We have got accountants and so many professionals, they can sit on the board of IPEC to kill and address the mischief. I thank you Mr. Speaker.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Thank you very much Mr. Chairman, I thank the Hon. Members for this contribution. This clause is very simple. The issue of blaming an appointed director, this is a director who is appointed by the Minister, it has to be clear and it is just an issue of clarification to make sure there is no confusion between that kind of director and any other members. Also right through the document, there is reference to a member of this and a member of that.
For example, you have got a member annuity fund, we just want to be sure that the word member is appropriately used and that when it comes to a director who is appointed by the Minister, this is an appointed director and there is no confusion - that is all.
On the issue of dealing with the conflict of interest, I agree with Hon. Nduna and Hon. Biti that we want to make sure that members of the board or appointed directors should not be actors in the industry then they are regulating themselves. What we have done in this Bill is, we have taken care of that. It is in Clause 6, I would like to urge Hon. Members Nduna and Biti to look at that clause and then maybe we can wait and see if we can get there, and if this is adequate enough to deal with the mischief and conflict of interest. If they take a look, we will get there, just take a look and see what I mean. So their issue will be taken care of and let us leave it on Clause 6 under conflict of interest, issue around the disqualification of director of IPEC.
I really feel that in terms of interpretation, the idea of an appointed director is appropriate. There is no confusion and the issues of conflict of interest be reserved for Clause 6 where we just check whether this clause is adequate and all encompassing. I stand ready to have any revisions or addition to make sure that we have a water-tight disqualification provision for our directors. I thank you.
HON. MUSHORIWA: Thank you Hon. Chair. I think the Hon. Minister was going to respond. He said he was going to refer to this. If you check Clause 6, you find that this clause and as you go by that board of directors, the word is ‘member’ and it is not directors. Now, if the bulky of the Bill refers to the board members, then the inclusion of this definition of directors does not make sense unless you are going to say that where the word ‘member’ appears as we go by, you are going to change all those to directors.
It should resonate, you cannot put a definition but in the entirety of the Bill, that definition is ‘member of the board’ but here in Clause 2, you have started by the definition.
(v)HON. TOGAREPI: I have been directed by the Minister that the issue of membership of the board in terms of their being not members of any insurance company or pension fund would be dealt with when we get to Clause 6.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: I think let me give comfort to Hon. Mushoriwa and concur with him. I think that there is no harm in really agreeing with him here just to make sure we have consistency right through the document. We will remove “appoint a director” and refer to member of the board, it will still work - there is no difficulty.
HON. NDUNA: On Clause 2, the Hon. Minister talks about giving comfort to us by appointing a director. I also ask that it also be included within that appointment, that pecuniary interest, the director that he would be appointing should, in a way, be as clean as a whistle in so far as it relates to that industry so that we do not have a square plug in a round hole.
So, there is a danger in getting comfort in that the Minister is going to appoint a referee or a director who, in some instances, might also be having some pecuniary interest.
In the second reading, the Hon. Minister agreed that immediately, even before the enactment of this Act and amendments on this Bill, there will be a cleanup exercise in the existing status quo which I believe we need to agree with you now to avert and completely eradicate further hemorrhage and instill immediate financial discipline.
The Chairperson of the current IPEC Board has not only pecuniary interest but has an incestuous relationship. Mr. Chikono who is also a referee has also got a very big interest. How can you have your cake and eat it? Once you clean up the sector now, money will start flowing to other sectors. Mind you, that insurance is the backbone of the economy because they hedge a lot of their funds on infrastructure development. So, I am pleading with you to clean up the sector immediately, irrespective of the fact that we are still going to pass this Act.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: I concur with Hon. Nduna that we should clean up and examine every director on the current IPEC Board to make sure that no one has such a conflict of interest that they are both a player in the industry as well as a referee. We will just make sure that that is cleaned up immediately – I commit to that. Thank you.
Clause 2, put and agreed to.
On Clause 3:
HON. BITI: My submission is that this provision is poorly drafted, it mixes two things. It mixes an object and then it mixes guiding principles. So, (a), the object is to promote the mantainence, that is an objective but (b), (c) and (d) are not objects. “(b) be operationally independent, accountable, and transparent; (c) maintain a high standard …,; (c) meet high professional standards…” Those are not objects, those are principles guiding the operations of IPEC. So, there must be a delinking of the things that are covered under (b), (c) and (d) and the actual objects of which (a) is a proper one.
However, under (a), what is the key objects of IPEC? It is to regulate and oversee the pensions and insurance sector. So, that must be the first object to oversee, they are a regulator, so, it must be to regulate, oversee and supervise the insurance sector – that must be the first object because their main object is to regulate the insurance sector. IPEC is a regulator so that must be the regulator.
Secondly, to put order and you do not put order unless you have got penal powers, powers to suspend players or sometimes to cancel the licence. That must be put as an object because you are giving them power and we need to give them power because of the errand behaviour of insurance companies.
Thirdly, we must also give them the power to make regulations regulating the industry. They must have the power to make a statutory instrument regulating the industry - just like ZEC has got powers to make statutory instruments, just like ZERA has powers to make statutory instruments because they are the regulator. So there are things that do not require Parliament. IPEC must have the power to make regulations for the proper order and maintenance of the insurance sector. So they are poorly drafted and inadequate. I submit Mr. Chair.
HON. MUSHORIWA: I want to support what Hon. Biti has just raised. Hon. Minister, I am surprised that we do not have an amendment because when we spoke and met your IPEC team and the Attorney General, they agreed with our submission that there was only one object and they had agreed that they were going to come up with proper objects of the Commission and that they were going to delete (b), (c) and (d), because they are not objects. I want to submit that the proposal by Hon. Biti should be added so that the object of the Bill comes clear.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Thank you Mr. Chairman. I thank Hon. Biti and Hon. Mushoriwa for their contributions. I agree with them that at the end of the day the primary function of a regulator is to regulate; so that should be clear, and oversee whatever industry they are regulating. That should be clear as point (a) and (b) is also to be able to mete out sanctions for deviation; whether it is cancellation of licences, you should have those kind of powers and also powers to make regulations be on the principle. I agree with this and I think it is correct that these suggestions were communicated to the Attorney General’s Office but were not captured when the Bill was amended. That is true.
I also concur that (b), (c) and (d) should be removed but what we could do if members agree is to say in basically enacting or implementing these objects of the Commission, it will adhere to principles of operational independence, accountability, transparency and that could be added as a paragraph to enhance that paragraph. That is also in order. A stand alone paragraph is also in order to buttress that. I agree with that. Thank you.
HON. BITI: With the Minister’s assertions, it means that the AG must draft full objects that start with No. 1; the objects of this are to regulate and supervise a sector. Then to issue regulations, suspend penalties and so forth, the current (a) which is poorly drafted can be improved and be incorporated but it must be drafted. Then the separate stand alone now dealing with principles and I suggest when the AG does that, as the principles that are already in Chapter 9 of our Constitution which deal with principles governing public bodies’ transparency, fairness and so forth, the high sounding things that guide our public entities.
(v)HON. TOGAREPI: Thank you Mr. Chairman. I think IPEC should be involved in helping the insurance and pension funds industry. I think that way it will work.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: That was a very good suggestion by Hon. Togarepi that IPEC should be involved in developing the insurance and pension funds industry. We will add that item as well. In any case we are amending the whole paragraph. So, we will add it
HON.NDUNA: I want to say because the Hon. Minister has brought up the issue that really supervises the insurance industry – we have got a Bill or we have a petition that was brought before you Hon. Chairperson by a private citizen that seeks to establish what is called compensation for RTA victims or a Road Accident Fund. There is so much in the insurance sector going to third party insurance, passenger insurance and a lot of that. I ask if it pleases the Minister so that it becomes a bit loud in terms of regulating and supervising the compensation of those that are involved in road traffic accidents. I say this because there is a Statutory Instrument 45 of 2005 that actually extracts twelve and half percent from third party insurance. Also Hon. Minister, you have a Statutory Instrument that you have established, you are taking monies that have not been used for compensation from a pool of insurance monies in particular, leaving out the COMESA insurance, road insurance issues but looking at the domestic finances – so you got to that level and understanding because you had seen a lacuna, a gap in the utilisation of those copious amounts of resources which are only benefiting the insurance industry at the expense of those that are involved in road traffic accidents. Passenger insurances pay 15 dollars per seat in public transport; what is supposed to go to the bereaved families is USD4 000 and what is supposed to go to an injured person is USD2 000 but because the law is hazy in terms of both enforcement, regulation and supervision, I ask that there be a paragraph that is explicitly clear, crystal clear about compensation of those that are involved in accidents, otherwise you continue to have Statutory Instruments to tap into third party payments and the third party insurance because you have seen that there is no usage of that money. So, you might think it might be too big in order to go to this operation issues but the supervision of that needs somehow to have an iron fist. Thank you.
HON. BITI: Thank you. When the Minister revisits the objects, one of the functions of IPEC must be to ensure that there is no loss of value of policies and that insured persons are adequately or equitably compensated by the industry. This will then include the category of the insured that Hon. Nduna is talking about.
We have got an unfair situation imposed by Part 3 of the Road Traffic Act. This imposes limitations for compensation to third party victims in the case of an individual and Hon. Nduna says it is USD2 000, it is actually 2 000 RTGs. So if you are injured or lose life, it is 2 000 RTGs but how can my nose, my hand be 2 000 RTGs. If a bus kills people, let us say B & C kills 75 people, the maximum amount it can pay is USD20 000 but because of Statutory Instrument 33 of 2019, it is actually 20 000RTGs. How can a human life cost 20 000 RTGs? There must be an addition; the object of insuring, number one, should be protection of loss of value of a policy and number two, the issue of adequate compensation to victims given the super profits that these houses are making. So, we make that proposal to the Minister.
HON. MKARATIGWA: Thank you. IPEC is there for the objects to actually speak to the protection of policy holders, be it monetary, indiscipline or challenges that are obtaining from time to time. I am not specific to a period but generally from time to time because those who are experts at economics always talk of addressing the root cause. We talk of inflation, vulnerabilities, loss of value of money, be it where banks are involved - where is the role of IPEC and how can it help integrated investments? We know insurance always creates hedge funds. In terms of managing risks, they have got portfolios that spread across the international divide to make sure they hedge against any inflationary effect. They convert the policies, the funds that they generate into brick and motor and yet when we have recession, economic doldrums, we end up with citizens who are vulnerable. Where is the insurance regulations and the objects? They must speak to this Hon. Minister. This is to ensure that where there is loss of value, be it pension or deposits in the bank, IPEC must be able to regulate and compel insurance industries and banks because they have converted the same into brick-and mortar. They have converted the same into hard currency in international jurisdictions that must cascade down to the citizens.
Many a times the Government is blamed and yet it should be the role of IPEC, the regulatory board to ensure that there is integration, even investments. When you look at international jurisdiction, Norway for example, they have pension policies and set up structures that dovetail into financial engineering. They invest across the international fraternity and they have got strong financial institutions that are integrated into this regulatory aspect of the insurance industry. Thank you.
(v)HON. TOGAREPI: The purpose of establishing IPEC was to protect the weaker who are policy holders who do business with these complicated people. They need the protection of policy holders to be clear on the object so that when policy holders see IPEC raising issues
or closing an insurance company or insisting on an insurance company to pay fair and equitable value to the member, it is because it is the duty of IPEC to protect the interests of policy holders. If that can be clear from the onset that whoever comes in the insurance industry to do business should know that the regulator would be protecting whoever they will be doing business with. I thank you
HON. BITI: I hope the Minister and his team are listening. They are having a politburo meeting. Hon. Minister, a regulator without teeth is like a policeman without arresting powers. No one will respect him. No one will listen to him. If you compare the powers that IPEC has and the powers that the Reserve Bank has over banks, there is a huge gap…
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Biti, please approach the Chair.
Hon. Biti approached the Chair.
HON. BITI: My submission is that if you look at the Banking Act, the Reserve Bank has got so much power because it is a regulator of the banking industry. It has so much power over banks. It can shut them down. It can cause a forensic audit to be carried out in a banking institution. Those same powers should be given to the regulator. IPEC should be given teeth and at the present moment it does not have teeth. One of their defences to the Smith Report was that we do not have those powers. We do not have a whip. Under the objects clause, let us give IPEC the teeth to regulate, supervise, monitor and protect the citizens against the errant behaviour of the insurance and assurance houses. I hope that can be found in that.
For those who are going to do the drafting, a comparison of the powers that the Reserve Bank has vis-à-vis the banking sector could be useful in crafting Clause 3(a).
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Members of the Committee at the moment have made some very important contributions. I will start with Hon Nduna referring to how the third party insurance issues are handled – whether compensation is fair or not, Hon. Biti talking about protection of value and ensuring adequate compensation and then Hon Mkaratigwa referring compensation even under some monetary and fiscal indiscipline issues. Hon.Togarepi talking about protection of policy holders and Hon.Biti coming back on the issue of adequate powers for IPEC similar to RBZ in terms of regulating members of the industry. These are very good suggestions. What I propose is that we defer this clause so that it is properly redrafted and can be considered again to make sure that everything is captured properly.
However, I want to add something so that we are all clear on the issue of the third party insurance that the Road Traffic Act also has a role to play. Currently they handle that. It is that Act that administers those kind of issues. We need to make sure the two Acts are aligned when it comes to dealing with third party insurance, the Road Traffic Act as well as IPEC. That is necessary for us to that alignment. Let us defer it.
Motion put and agreed to.
Clause 3 deferred.
On Clause 4:
HON. MUSHORIWA: I listened to the Hon Minister yesterday when he was closing the Second Reading of the Bill. He then said NSSA and the medical societies were not included in this Bill. His reason was that IPEC does not have the capacity to supervise NSSA and the medical societies. I am going to propose and suggest that we need to make sure that the Clause 4 (1) (a) in the principal Act should and must be amended to include NSSA and medicalaid societies under the organisations that are regulated by IPEC.
This is the platform that we have. We have to empower IPEC. We have to capacitate IPEC. Let us give IPEC as much powers as possible. It is wrong in my view, for the Hon Minister to say IPEC does not have the capacity and yet he thinks that the Minister of Public Service and Social Welfare has no capacity than IPEC or to say that the Ministry of Health has more capacity than IPEC. That is not good. What we want to do just like what Hon Biti was saying, if you look at RBZ, there is no banking institution that can do what it wants including state banks like ZB. If you look at all the banks where Government has got the majority shareholding, they are all answerable to RBZ. That is what we want under this.
Secondly, (g) where it says “to accredit actuaries, auditors, asset managers, credit rating agencies and other service providers” should be deleted from the Bill because the auditors are accredited under the PAAB, the asset managers are also accredited there and it says other service providers. What are other service providers? Does that include cleaners and fast food outlets? What does it mean? The best thing is to make sure that we delete that whole clause (g) where it says “to accredit asset managers, credit rating agencies and other service providers”. Those are my two remarks. Let us include NSSA and medical aid societies and remove (g). I thank you.
HON. BITI: The biggest insurance house in Zimbabwe is NSSA. NSSA is a cash cow. It receives contributions which are 3% for every worker that an employee and employer make. They employ inspectors. They visit our businesses and enterprises to ensure that we are paying. It receives a minimum of US$40 million a month and I do not know now with RTGS. It used to receive US$40 million a month yet it is not regulated. Surely that is critical. Three years ago in 2017, there was a Commission of Inquiry into NSSA that was conducted by Accountants Kudenga. That Audit Report was submitted to the Public Accounts Committee. It showed massive and rampant corruption at NSSA, some of which resulted in the ongoing prosecution of the Minister who was responsible for NSSA at the time. I shall mention her name. So, to leave this humongous, monolithic known as NSSA to go unregulated Hon. Chair, we will not be doing our job as elected Members of Parliament. NSSA must be regulated and de-regulated by IPEC. If the fear of the Minister is that IPEC does not have the capacity, let us give them the capacity now. If it is a staffing issue, let us deal with it now. If it is funding issue, let us deal with the issue now. If it is a limitation on their committees and sub-committees, let us deal with that now. We can create a sub-committee dealing with NSSA on its own in the Bill.
Hon. Chairperson, everyone is audited and supervised. Everyone has got a regulator. Why should NSSA be a black swan? What is so special about NSSA, particularly Hon. Speaker, when it is paying injured workers, retired workers 60 RTGs? If you live in Chiendambuya as I do, you have to wait for five months, to wait for a little contribution from NSSA to accumulate before you can board a bus to Headlands to come to Harare yet they are buying buildings. They have become the second largest investor on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, second only to the Old Mutual. They own hotels, banks, palaces and vehicles. We cannot do that Hon. Chairperson. We have to include NSSA amongst the institutions that are regulated by our regulator, IPEC. Ministers cannot regulate. If that was the argument then the Minister of Finance will be regulating banks but he cannot do that. His own job needs 36 hours, so he cannot regulate. The Minister of Labour has got other things, he is feeding people there. He is in Gokwe and Chiendambuya feeding people because one of his mandates is social welfare, so he cannot regulate this monolithic. Let the experts at IPEC regulate it. I know that this is a political hot potato. This is not about politics. This is not about territorial interests of Ministers because certain Ministers do not want their territory to be touched. It is not about that. It is about best practice and what is in the national interest of Zimbabwe. What is in the national interest of Zimbabwe is that every public body must have its armpits opened and examined and there is nothing special about NSSA. NSSA should be included as one of the bodies that IPEC has regulatory powers.
I come to the medical aid societies. A few years ago, we had a huge scandal at the Public Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS). The Chief Executive was earning US$250.000 per month. The President does not earn that, not even David Beckham earns that. A basic director was earning US$60.000. Board members were being given US$50.000 to US$60.000 yet medical claims were not being met by doctors and hospitals. They were not accepting the PSMAS card. Here as Hon. Members of Parliament, we are members of PSMAS and we are members of a scheme called Pinnacle. No doctor in Zimbabwe would accept that card yet PSMAS should be the largest medical aid society in Zimbabwe by virtue of the fact that it covers all civil servants. It should be bigger than CIMAS but due to the mismanagement and abuse of funds, it is a late call. We submit Hon. Chair that medical aid societies should also be regulated by IPEC.
We can listen to an argument by the Minister or anyone that says let us create a separate regulator for them but to say they should just be let free, we as Members of Parliament would have been failing in our duties. One of our core responsibilities is that of supervision. Read Sections 114, 117 and 119. Let us protect ordinary persons, let us protect the citizens because they have been abused by these insurance companies, medical aid societies and so forth.
My own mother Hon. Chairperson is a member of CIMAS. She has diabetes, TB and she is now officially on my salary but she pays a lot of money to CIMAS. That is not good enough. I submit that we need to protect our people by making sure that these people are regulated. Thank you very much.
(v) HON. TOGAREPI: I also want to come in on the issue of regulation, for example, of the medical aid societies. One experience that I had was to see an insurance company that is running a health insurance. After being strictly regulated by IPEC, they would migrate to medical aid societies where they are not regulated. Where they are coming from, they have already stolen people’s monies and can now move to another line of business which does the same thing. Now because there is that freedom in that sector where people have not enough confidence to supervise the credential soundness of those companies, they will just move to medical aid societies and run away from IPEC. IPEC has got actuaries.
The major expertise that is needed in insurance is actuarial science and IPEC has got those competencies. There could be other reasons. If there are areas where medical aid would need doctors, association of doctors, the Ministry or anybody, those areas can remain regulated by those people. However, the credential part or the soundness part which will then cause problems when a medical aid society fails to meet its obligations must be regulated by a competent institution that can deal with credential issues.
I strongly support what the other colleague was saying. If IPEC would not be the best in the view of the Minister, why not establish another regulator who can deal with issues of credential supervision on the medical societies and NSSA. It is very critical that we also understand that these financial institutions, we can talk of them, medical aid societies, NSSA, et cetera are financial institutions with a lot of financial muscle that can cause distortions in the financial systems. I think the Minister as a guru in that area would know better. A big institution with a lot of money can dictate what happens in the insurance industry. Is it to our interest that whatever NSSA does ends up destroying the insurance industry that has financed and strengthened our infrastructural development? Is it good for us? Is it not good for us to come up with regulation, strong regulation, financial regulation.
That is where our issue is. I think in the NSSA Act, there is a section that says the Ministry will have a say on all financial issues related to NSSA. Why not give only that part to IPEC where it will then help the Minister because IPEC operates on behalf of the Minister. So if the Minister is doing that already, if that section is given to the actuaries running under IPEC, will it not give us more benefit in protecting the interests of policy holders who are contributing to NSSA?
The other issue is related to IPEC being given authority to accredit other professionals. I heard my other colleague saying it will be like IPEC invading other areas where there are already experts or established boards. The issue there is, if IPEC has no power to accredit actuaries for example, or auditors, we have had a lot of poorly done audit reports about insurance companies. If they had so presented good audit reports, we would not see failure in the insurance industry before IPEC Act because IPEC relies on these experts bringing correct reports. Correct image of these insurance or pension funds.
So it should be given to IPEC if an audit company fails to perform to the expectations of IPEC as a regulator because it relies on their reports. IPEC should have the authority to say you are not allowed or your reports would not be admitted or admissible to IPEC in making a decision on the soundness of the insurance company. It is not like the IPEC would be an audit regulator but it should be given the right to protect the policy holders where they get a service from an institution that is either not competent or reckless or fraudulent in the report. IPEC should be able to say you are not allowed to audit insurance companies. Only in as far as that, it is critical for the protection of policy holders. I thank you.
HON. MARKHAM: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I just want to buttress debate on this issue. NSSA contributions are mandatory. That means every single civil servant has money deducted, there is no choice, in fact every worker. So the issue is, for the past 20 years, NSSA has nothing to show to 20 years of contributors. Every pensioner for 20 years, is now getting nothing but NSSA has buildings and some rich ex-employees. The issue with the Bill is to regulate everybody. You cannot give NSSA a green card to do what they want when they have that record. It is not right for 20 years of pensioners to have nothing and anyone who excludes them from this Bill is telling the future pensioners that the money that they are contributing for a pension in the current regime will not work and they will not get anything back from it. It is like a tax, it is not a benefit.
The same as medical societies; we had major issues on medical societies. You pay medical societies, we here being in Parliament, I got 6% of the payment. If you look at the local authorities, some local authorities, I will talk about the one I know. The urban local authority here is deducting workers’ contributions and not paying the medical aid society. This has to be regulated under the same regulations for everybody because if you start talking of competitive advantage, how can you give a competitive advantage to NSSA when there is no regulation? They can do what they want because that is what has been happening.
So to say that they are excluded, it cannot happen. The Auditor General, in our deliberations as a Committee, put on the screen the points and the only one taken up by the Cabinet was the one that NSSA must be regulated. So my question is, the Cabinet - as this House does represent the workers and the people of Zimbabwe, do not want the public service pensioners, main pension regulators to regulate them, why? There is no sense because you cannot say to me that IPEC is incapacitated because even in the incapacitation, I am sure and comfortable that they can do a much better job than what is being done for the past 20 years. Being established and providing the Bill as accepted and done in a good fashion, we can call them to order. We cannot say that they must continue in the current vein when basics like conflicts of interest exist in the current board. We cannot say if they cannot do simple good governance, they have hundreds of cases against them from abuse of office to defunct overcast projects to questionable fake answers. How can you let them continue like that and say now they can stand alone? Thank you.
HON. DR. MURIRE: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I have been listening to the argument but my question is, we have got IPEC which covers insurance and pension. I believe it should also be very explicit in terms of the regulation, what needs to be regulated here in insurance and pensions. We need to have a clear understanding of the difference between the two so that the regulations applied become effective.
In terms of insurance, it is governed as a business. In any business, there is an amount of money and in this case it is a business providing insurance and it includes the public service. NSSA was created by Government together with labour. I remember the negotiations that took place when NSSA was promulgated, it involved Labour and Government. Even the composition of the board was made of Labour and Government. If I recall, initially in the board, the late Hon. Tsvangirai was a member. He was very vocal on NSSA having to benefit workers and focus was on people employed in the private sector. As they move forward, it also encompassed Government employees. Now, what benefit is NSSA bringing to the workers? You will see that we have various pension schemes, local Government Pension Scheme, National Railways Pension Scheme, Postal and Courier Services Pension Scheme and NSSA comes in to fill in the gap but if we see today, people are actually involved in these various pension funds that they get from NSSA. What relevance is it offering? So I am saying, the law that we are intending to make should actually rectify this so that NSSA becomes relevant to the needs of the workers. If not, then it is not business. We talk about insurance being business like CIMAS, they are in business, it is not a public service but NSSA is not a business, it is a public service. PSMAS as well, initially it was a Government initiative to benefit Government workers and not a business but if you look at the activities that all these organisations are engaging in, they have ceased to be entities that should offer public service, they are now entities that are there to make profit, with individuals with specific personal interests and not workers. We must ensure that the regulation is so designed to benefit the workers when they retire. Then we can have the other section which deals with business so that a person can go there and invest his salary with the intention of getting extra benefits knowing very well that they are investing in an entity that is in business to make profit on their behalf like buying stock. It will be different from buying stock from the Stock Market so that you can get value. They are taking this as business, the idea is to take care of people when they are in hard times. So let us look at public service insurance being regulated for us offering public service for the benefit of our people.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Hon. Chairperson. I just want to stand on the same pedestal and platform that Hon. Mushoriwa spoke to and about and stood on, the issue of inadequacies in IPEC. There is need to have a separate entity, in particular that is going to regulate the health insurance industry. It is with a heavy heart and I keep mentioning issues to do with road accidents. In road accidents, I lost two children - no compensation from the medical aid society, no compensation from the road accident fund, third party and on full cover. I did not get anything.
Mr. Speaker Sir, 43 people are getting injured each day, 5 people are dying each day due to road traffic accidents and some die later due to the road accident injuries incurred in a road traffic accident with no compensation from the health insurance industry and also from the Vehicle Insurance Industry.
If there are inadequacies in the current set up, I ask that – because 15% of our people are living with disability and most of them because of road traffic accidents. It means every 30 minutes somebody gets injured. We as Parliamentarians are prone to that, we are able to become disabled in the next 30 minutes because you are using an automobile. My clarion call which I would have deferred but I am going to debate now is 70% of our people are dying because they have gone to a definitive place or a health care institution because they have no health care cover. Seventy percent of our people die because they have not been stabilised within the next hour after the accident and that takes money and a copious amount of blood infusion. That is enshrined and a preserve of the healthcare insurance scheme. How they have turned it from provision to a scheme of self benefit for canning what they get and getting what they can and moving off boggles the mind.
They have turned themselves into some business cartel as opposed to service providers. What happened to me should not happen to anyone again especially the opportunity to stand here and make a clarion call to have a change for the better. Let us make sure that as I have done in Chegutu West constituency, I have established an Accident Victim Stabilisation Centre which is too metres from the highway, Bulawayo/Harare 200 metres from the Surisuri turnoff that is about 110 kilometers from here. I intend to establish one in each and every town, an accident victim friendly stabilisation centre so they are one hour apart and they are less than an hour from the highway so that somebody can be stabilised. There is need to actually promote and couple that and make sure there is financial backing from the health insurance. How many times do you go to hospital after paying your contributions to PASMAS, maybe never but the only one time you need medical insurance, you will not get it because it is inside protected by a cartel who we call healthcare funders but they do not do that. It is my thinking that if there is a dearth in terms of capacity at IPEC, let us have regulators and enforcers of the law separate.
You can do another Bill because in my law school, it says if you have risen to think that there are deficiencies in the law and it does not protect the interest that you speak to and about, then change the law. You can change the law, propose another set of rules which is a Bill, let it come here and we debate. His Excellency will assent to the Bill and it becomes an Act of Parliament. I cannot over-emphasise the issue of health care insurance. It touches across the divide. Previously when I debated, I touched on the figures but they can be way much more than that. The amount that has gotten in third party insurance and passenger insurance, I remember because of the deficiencies of observation and regulation, when they appeared before a Committee that I chaired in the Eighth Parliament, the passenger service vehicles, 60 thousand of them were not insured, meaning that the innocent unsuspecting citizens who are seated in a bus to Dotito are not insured by both the healthcare insurance and also by the passenger insurance, so there could not be any issues to do with compensation in the unlikely event that there is an accident. A breadwinner can be lost in the unlikely event that there is a bereaved in that accident like we have seen in a plethora of accidents that have occurred recently. The Government, through the Minister has had to come in through the Minister of Public Service to give 50 kg of mealie meal, a coffin and most of the times there is also maybe Nyaradzo and other service providers who would have said the monies that you were paying for your insurance plan are now equal to half the coffin you paid for. There is a lot of delinquent behaviour occurring in the insurance sector.
Therefore, I ask that if there are deficiencies, let there be a stand-alone and also in that board of directors, there is need to be somebody who has first hand information, somebody who was born able-bodied who is now disabled because of RTA, who is now disabled because they have not had CIMAS and PSMAS pay for their ailment which in this case is sugar diabetes. I have Cde Wunganayi who has no legs, both his legs are amputated but I was in the military for 10 years, he was my instructor, second to none, he was trained in North Korea trained to fight imperialism single-handedly but the man is amputated. He is in a wheelchair because of sugar diabetes and because PSMAS or CIMAS could not pay care insurance for him to continue to have his legs. There is need to regulate, monitor and evaluate the operations of these health care insurance sectors, in particular the health insurance sector.
NSSA cannot continue to exist in the manner that it does, if it pleases you ‘Gold Finger’, I know it does. When it comes to the issues of upholding the Constitution, your heart is on the right side.
HON. MKARAKATIGWA: Thank you. Listening to Hon. Members’ presentations, I cannot help but concur with their emphasis on the need to either strengthen or capacitate IPEC as the current regulator that we have, or alternatively seriously engage in considerations to come up with another regulatory board which is going to be effective.
I am not going to repeat what they have contributed but what I want to do is to give my reason. It is just one reason and it is all clear for all to see. We are in the Ninth Parliament; we have a current Government, the new dispensation but the challenges that Hon. Members spoke to, for example Hon. Biti when he mentioned the scandals to do with medical aid is not the responsibility of the Ninth Parliament nor the new dispensation, it is a legacy issue. Let us agree to call it a legacy issue but what does that do the present and the future? It is responsible for the lack of confidence.
Market confidence is now lacking, every effort that you are doing, and every effort that everyone is engaged in is a zero sum game because market confidence has been lost due to reasons that have been spoken to by other Hon. Members. So I am calling upon you to take this seriously because creation of a system that is going to regulate, a system that is going to be accountable will make life easier, it will restore that lost confidence, it will make sure that what you are doing can be supported by the citizens even those that are chasing capital, the business people, they will support it when they have got that confidence.
Coupled with the issue of confidence Hon. Speaker Sir, is probably a correlation between the activities of the pension funds and the absence or seeming absence of the heavy hand of the regulatory authority in that necessary protection and how they relate to the judicial management. Many a time when there is failure, liquidation kicks in, there is judicial management, there may be corporate rescue practitioners put in place but these have become a haven of corruption because there is no effective rescue that results at the end of the day. What comes out is striping of assets. When insurance is still healthy like I said, they hedge their buildings, properties, assets but when judicial manager kicks in, those assets vanish, those assets are stripped. This can only be stopped by a very strong regulatory board and this will lead to restoration of market confidence. I thought I should emphasize on market confidence.
(v)HON. TOGAREPI: Thank you Hon. Chair. The previous speaker has emptied all I wanted to say and I think the Minister has heard the concerns of the Hon. Members that any financial institution dealing with public funds is allowed to go freely without regulation. There are likely to be infringements on the reasonable expectations of those who contribute to that institution.
So, as for NSSA, now that issues have been raised, I think the Minister will call upon your expertise, your knowledge to ensure that NSSA is regulated either directly under your Ministry and a new regulator is put in place to deal with NSSA issues.
Looking at what has been given to IPEC at the moment, I think IPEC is going to come out of this Act stronger and able to regulate the private insurances companies and pension funds. So, our call Hon. Minister is that let us have regulation for every person who deals with public finances, people’s monies are important, they may be life time investments and if they are then lost people get worried. So for NSSA, I think what the Minister has already presented to us in terms of this Bill, let us leave NSSA get another regulator and the medical aid societies, especially medical aid societies are purely insurance in nature in everything they do. I do not know why they feel being regulated by IPEC would affect their operations. However, it is critical Hon. Chairperson, that we encourage the Minister after this Bill has gone through that he comes up with another Bill to deal with NSSA so that it can give comfort to the people of Zimbabwe who look up to NSSA to protect their future especially in terms of social security.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Hon. Chairman, I have noted the robust contributions from several Hon. Members of this august House on this issue of the regulation of NSSA and medical aid societies by IPEC. Naturally, this is a major amendment. I propose to move that we report progress and seek leave to sit again. I thank you.
House resumed.
Progress reported.
Committee to resume: Tuesday, 10th May, 2022.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. T. MOYO: Hon. Speaker Ma’am, I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 2 to 16 be stood over until Order of the Day, Number 17 has been disposed of.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED LOSS CONTROL MANAGEMENT BILL
Seventeenth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion that leave be granted to bring in a Private Member’s Bill.
Question again proposed.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I promised that I was going to support the mover of this Bill because this is a milestone in the history of Parliament. I think in the Eighth Parliament, there might not have been any Private Member who moved a Bill – I was in the Eighth Parliament but maybe in the Seventh Parliament, Hon. Gonese attempted to bring in a Private Members Bill but the fulcrum of this issue touches on regulation and also it is nothing out of the norm. I know for a fact, where I come from, there is the Zimbabwe Institute of Engineers, there is also an Institute of Chartered Accountants, and there is the Law Society of Zimbabwe.
I have come to know that the Law Society of Zimbabwe has too much power and now it is getting a taste in the courts because the courts are established to interpret statutes. Now the Law Society of Zimbabwe is at variance with a number of lawyers who think that they are being over-regulated in their operations. The issue at hand is that Hon. Dr. Murire should definitely be allowed to have an institution set up that speaks to and about the issues of loss control. I say this because you will find that in a lot of bodies, I will give you an example of a department that I had close interaction with, that is TelOne. They have a Loss Control Department.
When there was over usage of telephone units as opposed to the amount that was coming in – I saw them visiting us at our house and my neighbours at a time when they were using analogue before the digital age. So you will find that an organisation like TelOne and there is another department like that at ZESA which then requires a Loss Control Institution that then covers all these plethora of departments dotted around the different organizations to harmonise, give impetus, power and also regulate their operations. This is a very important department which would have maybe curtailed the 300 km copper theft at NRZ that saw Dabuka Marshalling Yard becoming a white elephant.
According to the statistics at ZENT and ZESA what we should be having is maybe doubling of the clients that they are currently having. Was it not for the plundering and pilferage of long trucks of copper cables we could be having about 600 000 customers more for ZESA who could be paying had that material not been stolen. Because the copper cable material was stolen and there was no robust, resilient, effective and efficient loss control system, we now had to replace 600 000 worth of customer cables. There is no income coming in but just duplication of effort.
An institution such as the one that Hon. Dr. Murire speaks to and about is applaudable, required and just to establish one such as that one at a time such as this one. Hon. Dr. Murire will go down in the history and books of the Ninth Parliament as one Member of Parliament who is vociferous, effective and efficient in his way of dealing with issues. I hope he will come back in the Tenth Parliament because he has now effectively carried out his legislative role of making laws for the good governance and betterment of the people of Zimbabwe, not only his constituency, but also the people of Chegutu West Constituency.
The message from the 14 chairpersons that I preside over in my constituency is that keep moving Hon. Dr. Murire. The message to the other Hon. Members in this House is, do not just come to Harare to eat good food and live a lavish lifestyle but follow suit and make sure that we have an established loss control department that is going to regulate other loss control departments, so that we can curtail the pilferage of whatever it is that is protected by those departments. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to vociferously, effectively, eloquently and elaborately put across the points that the people of Chegutu West Constituency including Chairman Nyamarangwe, Mai Nyasha, Farai and also Mr. Green, and the 10 000 school children from the ages 15 – 18 who are in more than 10 schools put forward.
HON. BITI: W would like to debate and support the Private Member’s Bill but we are handicapped in that we have not seen the Bill. I do not know what can be done so that we can access the Bill. Unlike a national Bill, a Private Member’s Bill is not gazetted. So, I humbly request that the Bill be availed. I thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Biti, I am being advised that you can get a softcopy from the Journals Office.
HON. BITI: May the Clerk undertake to circulate it. Thank you.
Motion to seek leave to bring in a Private Member’s Bill adopted.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill ordered to be brought in by Hon. Dr. Murire.
FIRST READING
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED LOSS CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT BILL
HON. DR. MURIRE: Pursuant to the order, I beg leave to present the Institute of Chartered Loss Control and Management Bill. The Bill will provide for the establishment of the Institute of Chartered Loss Control and Management which shall be administered as set out in this Bill; to provide for the establishment of the Council and for the matters concerned with or incidental to the foregoing. I therefore move that the Bill be read for the first time.
Bill read the first time.
Bill referred to the Parliamentary Legal Committee.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. T. MOYO: I move that Order Numbers 18 to 29 be stood over until Order Number 30 is disposed of.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
SECOND REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION, MEDIA AND BROADCASTING SERVICES ON THE STATE OF THE MEDIA IN ZIMBABWE
Thirtieth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Second Report of the Portfolio Committee on Information, Media and Broadcasting Services on the state of the media in Zimbabwe.
Question again proposed.
(v)HON. MOKONE: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to thank everyone who debated on this report and I move that the report be adopted by the House.
Motion; that this House takes note of the Second Report of the Portfolio Committee on Information, Media and Broadcasting Services on the State of Media and Broadcasting Services on the state of the media in Zimbabwe put and agreed to.
On the motion of HON. T. MOYO, seconded by HON. TEKESHE, the House adjourned at Five o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 10th May, 2022.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 5th May, 2022
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE
APOLOGIES RECEIVED FROM MINISTERS
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Today is Thursday and for the Senate, today is a day for Questions Without Notice and Questions with Notice. Before I read out the list of Ministers who are present, I have a list of apologies which has been tendered.
Hon. C. G. D. N. Chiwenga, the Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care, Hon. O. C. Z. Muchinguri-Kashiri, Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs, Hon. Dr. Masuka, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Resettlement, Hon. D. Karoro, Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Resettlement, Hon. Modi, Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Hon. Dr. Mangwiro, Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care, Hon. Garwe, Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities and Hon. Prof. Murwira, Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development.
The Ministers who are present: we have Minister Mudyiwa, Deputy Minister of Energy and Power Development; Hon. Moyo, Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education; Hon. Machingura, Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development; Hon. Musabayana, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Hon. Chiduwa, Deputy Minister Finance and Economic Development; Hon. Mavhunga-Maboyi, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage and Hon. Chombo, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Public Works.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
*HON. CHIEF NEMBIRE: Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Hon. Minster, what measures are you taking - considering the issue of human trafficking, especially for the ladies who are going to Kuwait to look for jobs which they will be promised but end up suffering, being raped and some of them killed? Thank you Mr. President Sir.
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. MUSABAYANA): Thank you Mr. President. I would like to thank Sen. Chief Nembire for the pertinent question. It is true. As a country we are having a problem with people who are spreading false information that there are job opportunities in other countries. Some people get help, they get tickets, visa cards and all their papers are processed easily. Above that, there are agents - we can call them mediators who are influencing the girl children and women to do that. After going to those countries, they realise working conditions are hard and they work for long hours without getting paid.
Therefore, it is a problem and the Government is concerned. As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, we have started taking action that workers from the Foreign Affairs department are uniting as a department and working together with workers in Kuwait, Oman and other countries and they make arrangements that those ladies and girls are brought back to Zimbabwe. We are helping women to come back to Zimbabwe but as a country, we have not gotten the opportunity to do that and we are trying our best to use some other means like mobile cell phones. We are in the right direction to reach Omani using our ambassador in Abu Dhabi, you get into Omani. After getting permission, he will tell us if this is true or not and if there are Zimbabweans who are suffering in that particular country.
Funds are being processed so that if there are victims, they will get assistance and if there are Zimbabweans who need assistance, they can get in touch with us so that we help them. Hon. President, as I sit down, we are kindly asking people that if they want to get out of the country, for job opportunities, education or whatever reason, it is good to pass through our offices so that they report to us and we clearly indicate to them if there is a bright future ahead or not. We can easily tell them through our ambassadors if there are job opportunities or not, colleges offering scholarships or not. So far, that is what we are doing to help our citizens in those countries. Thank you Hon. President.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF NGEZI: Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to the Minister of Home Affairs. What is Government’s plan concerning the police officers in rural areas who do not have vehicles for transportation to attend to crime scenes? Three days ago, we had a robbery case and the police said they could not attend the scene because they did not have a vehicle. The wife and her husband were robbed but they got no assistance from the police.
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. MAVHUNGA-MABOYI): Thank you Mr. President. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Chief Ngezi for the pertinent question. Yes, we have plans concerning those police officers to look for vehicles for them to use so that the service is reliable. However, we are having problems with funds. We have a lot of places which do not have vehicles to use and we have observed that our police officers are poorly resourced in terms of lack of transportation system, especially when there are armed robbery and murder cases, the police service is not reliable and they cannot easily attend to the crime scenes because they do not have vehicles. Therefore, we have plans that if we have enough funds, we will buy cars for the police officers so that they have adequate transport. There is also the issue of registering documents for the people, it takes a lot of funds from our budget but if we raise funds, we will do that. At least at each police station, there should be one vehicle and if we find enough funding, we will do that. Thank you Hon. President.
*HON. SEN. KHUPE: Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to the Minister of Defence and War Veterans but since she is not available, I do not know who will answer the question. Since my question is pertinent, I am going to ask so that the Hansard will record the question. I would like to thank the Ministry for registering liberation fighters. We saw that happening some days ago, but in some places, people did not get information in time and the programme did not reach them, especially in Matebeleland South Province. A lot of people were not involved in that programme because it did not reach them. My question is; what is the Government position concerning that programme? Can the Government not run the programme again for a week or so in order for other people to get involved? The liberation war left people destroyed, a lot of people do not have WhatsApp and information did not reach them.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you Hon. Sen. Khupe. I do not know if there is a Minister willing to answer the question. However, this question is pertinent and I think we can reach the Minister by putting the question in writing so that we make sure next week the Minister of Defence and War Veterans can answer the question. The question is important and it needs immediate attention. The Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Service is in and if you have any questions in that area, the Minister is now here.
Questions without Notice were interrupted by THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in terms of Standing Order No. 67.
HON. SEN. DR. MAVETERA: Thank you Mr. President Sir for giving me the opportunity to ask my question. Mr. President, my question is directed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Recently, we heard that our citizens in a neighbouring country are victims of xenophobia, some of it instigated by Government officials who later turned the citizenry of that country directing their anger at our citizens. I am referring to what happened in South Africa. I understand that a Government Minister spread xenophobic language that ended with the loss of life of our citizen.
My question Mr. President is, what has our Government done? Have they received an official apology from the Government of South Africa? What measures have been put in place to ensure that our citizens who are earning an honest living in that country are protected? I thank you.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. DR. MUSABAYANA): Thank you Mr. President Sir. I want to thank the Hon. Sen. Dr. Mavetera for asking a very pertinent question. Indeed we are concerned whenever the interests of Zimbabweans, wherever they are, are threatened or compromised. As you know, Section 12 of the Foreign Policy of Zimbabwe is very clear that first and foremost, we are focused on promoting and protecting the national interests of Zimbabweans wherever they are. At the same time, we respect our neighbours in terms of their jurisdictions and the way they do their things, as long as they do not compromise or conflict with our own interests. Our President is forever saying that we are friends to all and enemy to none.
Mr. President, indeed there was a sad incident that happened in South Africa where a precious life of a Zimbabwean who was a breadwinner was lost, the late Mr. Nyathi. The facts that we gathered are that in this particular incident, the perpetrators of the violence were looking for a particular individual who they thought was engaging in illegal activities like stealing. So it was a question of mistaken identity, according to the facts that we got from the people who attended the scene. Over and above that, with this mistaken identity, these perpetrators of violence against a Zimbabwean took the law into their own hands. It is not even within the laws of South Africa but a violation of the South African law because they took the law into their own hands - maybe what they call ‘self help’, which was inappropriate.
The Government of South Africa through President Cyril Ramaphosa, issued a statement and in that statement, he was apologizing on behalf of the South African Government and on his own behalf. He categorically stated that it was not the culture of South Africa to murder people in cold blood. So these perpetrators were mere criminals who murdered a Zimbabwean. Yes, it is also true that there are xenophobic attacks in the area. Even in the Limpopo area, in Cape Town and several other areas, there are reports of xenophobic attacks or the activation of these negative sentiments of xenophobia against Zimbabweans. Actually, it is targeting Zimbabweans where there are allegations that Zimbabweans are taking up their jobs.
So as a Government, we are engaging South Africa but South Africa is saying no, we do not condone such acts of violence and inhuman acts of arson, and killing people. We are engaging, and South Africans are our brothers. We believe with more engagement and more education, the South Africans are also going to realise that we are strategic partners because we have huge trade happening between us. Zimbabwe is the biggest trading partner of South Africa, and besides trade partnership, we import – it is in the negative in terms of Zimbabwe where we import more from South Africa than their export to us. This means that we are creating employment for the South African economy.
Last time I had a meeting with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, I highlighted that issue that South Africans should not view us as robbing them of their jobs because as it stands, our economies are co-joined in some respects where some value chains from South Africa extend into Zimbabwe. If Zimbabweans stop those value chains, it means that even the South African economy will scream, and South Africa’s employment would also be affected. So it is a question of understanding and continuous education of our South African counterparts so that they get to appreciate it.
The other issue that we are also dealing with is the issue of Public Relations also from the Zimbabwean side where they must also appreciate that we may have different work ethics. You must also have the wisdom when you are working in an institution so that you do not look like you are out-shining everybody to the extent that you become the preferred labourer. So that is also creating problems in some of the winery plantations where most Zimbabweans are employed. Apparently, the leadership also prefers Zimbabweans to South Africans.
So we continue to engage, but it is not the attitude of South Africa, policy or culture of South Africans to kill Zimbabweans because we are the same people. I submit Mr. President Sir.
*HON. SEN. CHINAKE: Thank you Mr. President Sir, my question is directed to the Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development on transport issues. Hon. Minister, what are your plans concerning provision of transport for people travelling to and from work?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. CHOMBO): Thank you Hon. Sen. Chinake for the pertinent question. Yes, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development acknowledges the transport. As a Ministry or as Government, our main aim is that people use Government vehicles so that they travel easily from one point to the other or to work. During the COVID era, we said ZUPCO buses will only be allowed to carry people because there were a lot of accidents on the roads. We realised that we had a shortfall in terms of the number of buses on the routes but we did what we call franchise and we invited all those with buses and kombis to register their vehicles through VID, have them checked for fitness for them to be used as public transport. We agreed that we would pay them a certain amount and that went well.
On Monday, we discovered that a lot of them did not report for work complaining about salaries. They said they were not receiving their salaries on time and the said salaries were not up to date. If we take a close look at how we pay them, we are up to date and everything is okay but they are complaining that the funds are very little for their sustenance. Long back we used to sit down to find a way forward but this time they never consulted us., A few weeks ago, a lot of accidents were happening because the vehicles which are being used by people on the roads are not fit.
As Government, we check if the people are safe and if the vehicle is fit for use. We came to the conclusion that we would not let unfit vehicles be on the roads because some of our workers are on strike. These vehicles are not fit to be on the roads. Upon discovering the problem, we observed that we have buses in transit which transport people to Ruwa and Norton which are on time. So we asked them to kindly travel other routes upon finishing their routes. We quickly serviced our vehicles so that they can help to transport people from one place to another. We are also engaging the contractors so that we can have an amicable solution to this issue.
I am not promising that things are now well but the problem is going to improve because we spoke to the Minister of Transport to increase the number of trains carrying people to and from work to ease the problem. I am kindly asking Hon. Members as legislators in this House to spread the word to the people in our constituencies to work with us so that we can get rid of this problem. The transporters must come back so that we can talk with them to resolve the issue. As Government, we are pleading because our citizens are suffering so they must come and engage us.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHIKWAKA: My question is directed to the Minister of Finance and Economic Development. My question pertains to the issue of farmers who are facing problems in that they cannot afford adequate inputs because these are being sold in USD. Seedlings, fertilisers, chemicals and implements are all being sold in USD and even if you want to hire equipment, you are asked to pay in USD. If a farmer harvests his crops and takes them to GMB, the farmer is given RTG$75 000 and will therefore not have enough funds to help him plant again. This will influence them to go to the black market so that they will be able to buy inputs. What are the Government plans to assist those farmers so that they can have access to USD from banks and other financial institutions? Currently, we have wars in Ukraine and those are the countries which were supplying us with wheat. Farmers are busy preparing land to plant crops but they do not have inputs since they are being sold in USD. Thank you.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. CHIDUWA): I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Chief Chikwakwa for the question. He raised an important issue which is in line with the National Development Strategy One (1) pertaining to food security. Farmers use foreign currency to buy inputs such as tractors, combine harvesters and so on but they do not have access to foreign currency. As Ministry of Finance, the Government policy states that farmers and all those who plant crops are on the first priority to access foreign currency. Right now, the Government is busy preparing to allocate people USD, especially farmers. We are releasing US$35 million so that people can easily access foreign currency.
I would also want to talk about smart agriculture. Not every farmer who is going to the market is going to get foreign currency.
Banks, AFC and the Government are also giving people inputs. All these companies do not need foreign currency because they are getting it through the Presidential Input Programme. Therefore, we are giving farmers inputs including tractors. People might say that Government must give farmers USD - we received that proposal but we said a lot of crops that are exported to other countries like tobacco and cotton, we pay using USD but with maize, we will pay using RTGs and we are constantly reviewing the prices, for example it was on $32 000 and rose to $56 000 and now we are paying $75 000 per tonne. The programme will continue like that. Those who want to use combine harvesters and other machinery can now hire from AFC and pay in ZWL.
This is under Government programmes to encourage people to use our currency so that we manage our economy and monetary policy of our country.
*HON. SEN. DENGA: My supplementary question is with regards to the issue of permits that they have offered to those that buy maize – the grain millers. Are their permits allowing them to transact locally or internationally? Why are they not buying maize from farmers and paying them foreign currency?
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: This is a new question and it is not a supplementary question. I now give you the floor to ask your question.
*HON. SEN. DENGA: Thank you Mr. President. A few months ago, a paper was published and it spoke about grain millers importing maize from other countries using foreign currency. Why can the Grain Marketing Board not also buy from local farmers using foreign currency?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. CHIDUWA: As a country, we have a strategic grain reserve that we have and food that we keep in our silos at the Grain Marketing Board. Our monthly consumption reaches to about 100 000 tonnes per month. There are reserves for human consumption and reserves for stock feeding. That is why we gave permits for those who want to import stock feed but some of them sell their supplies in foreign currency. They import using their funds. We are giving foreign currency to those who are importing stock feeds using their free permits. We are not giving foreign currency for people to import grain outside the country.
(v)HON. SEN. PHUGENI: My question is directed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Part of the issue on my question has been raised by Hon. Sen. Dr. Mavetera. What is the Ministry or Government doing with regards to these elevated forms of attacks to our people? There is an individual there in that country called Nhlahlalati who is on daily basis inciting South Africans to go against Zimbabweans. What is the Government doing in order to protect our people in South Africa and make sure that our people have universal rights?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. DR. MUSABAYANA): Thank you Mr. President of Senate for giving me another chance to respond to that question. Indeed, there are elevated xenophobic attacks through cyber bulling activities that happen when some of the organisations go on social media denouncing and encouraging fellow citizens in those jurisdictions to chase away Zimbabweans. Our people are no longer comfortable staying in those countries. Like I alluded to earlier on, as a Government, we continue to engage South Africans and also to encourage them to behave as Pan Africanists. As Pan Africanists, we are the same family and we must cohabitate. When you look at our people working within the region, this is not a new phenomenon. It has happened even during the colonial times. This is why we talk of Wenera and so forth. Even here we have people from other countries coming to work in Zimbabwe, but we have never encouraged such a negative sentiment which is tantamount to xenophobia. We continue to preach the good news to those who are perpetrating violence.
Like I said earlier on, it is not within the policy of South Africa to chase away Zimbabweans, to harass, punish or get involved in any act of violence that violates Zimbabweans or any other citizen in that country. We believe these are criminal elements and at times they are linked to the former colonialists or some people who have been trying to avenge the land reform by inciting acts of violence. It is not within the Government policy of South Africa. Like I said before, the highest level of diplomats in that country with the chief diplomat of South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa apologised and denounced such acts of violence. Of late, they have been dispersing any gathering that involved xenophobic attacks. So we continue to engage and our embassy in South Africa continues to engage the South Africans whenever we believe there are some acts constituting xenophobic attacks.
Over and above that, as a Government we have had policy reforms that are increasing production in this country. When production increases, employment also increases. When employment increases, some of our people who are working out there will also be absorbed back home. Our policy reforms are the long term solutions to some forms of xenophobic attacks. It is not only South Africa doing that, there are many other countries doing similar acts of violence against Zimbabweans. We know names that Zimbabweans are called in other countries even before independence, even before the New Dispensation. This is what has been happening over the years and we are saying our economy is on a rebound - we registered more than 7% growth last year, we expect more than 5.4% this year. That points to improved employment and as we approach the middle income economy, it means more and more people will find comfort in staying in Zimbabwe. I believe that is the long term solution to our problem and Zimbabwe remains open to receive back those people who have challenges when they are out there. I submit Mr. President Sir.
*HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: Thank you Mr. President of Senate. My question to the Minister of Finance is, the standard of living of people in Zimbabwe is now difficult because of the US dollar currency. The exchange rate between the RTGS and the United States dollar is not favourable. May the Minister of Finance clearly explain the relationship or the exchange rate between the US dollars and the RTGS? The money that the GMB is going to pay to farmers will be eroded by the exchange rate. May the Government address this issue? What is the policy in place to resolve the issue of the exchange rate? The US dollar rate is going up while the RTGS is going down.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. CHIDUWA): Thank you Mr. President. I thank Hon. Sen. Kambizi for the pertinent question. It is true that the issue of the exchange rate is an issue which we all know about. Our Zimbabwean dollar has lost value at the auction market. At the parallel market also, the Zimbabwean dollar has lost its value. We also have reports that shops are pegging the dollar at $250, some at $350 and some at $450. There are reports that some schools are even charging $500 per US dollar. As Government, if we look at all the laws which are there from the S.I. 127 which was put in place last year December and later incorporated in the Finance Act, it is illegal to use the exchange rate which is outside the auction rate.
We have discovered that people are using their own rates which are different from the auction rates. The question now is, who is determining the rates? In economics, we look at the fundamentals whether they are okay. Firstly, the printing of money distorts the rate. As Government, since November 2018 till now, we have not borrowed money from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. We are surviving from what we have collected from revenue. This means that there is fiscal discipline and we are living within our means. As a result of the imposed sanctions, we are not able to borrow from other countries and we are going to survive with what we have.
We also have the issue of money supply growth. Looking at the current Monetary Policy Statement, in every quarter we pegged our supply growth at 5%, which means that money supply is not the one driving the exchange rate. Our interest rates are in tally with the inflation rates, which means that there are no people who are going to borrow money because of speculation. What is the cause of the instability in the exchange rate? We do have what we call speculative behaviour and exchange rate manipulation. It is a word which I cannot describe in Shona. In the past, we faced bad times and people’s fears are that things will revert to the bad times. There are others who are manipulating the exchange rate and that has nothing to do with the fundamentals which I have already mentioned and said are in place. Hon. Musabayana also mentioned that for our country to recover from where it is, it needs us as Zimbabweans to work together to resolve our problems. So we need to produce as is always alluded to by our President. We also came up with NDS 1 which focuses on production, road infrastructure and industries. Measures are already in place to improve our production which currently stands at 68% from 37%. This means the country is producing. Even if we go to our supermarkets right now, you will notice that 85% of the products are locally produced. In order for us to move forward,- next week Thursday,, we are going to give a Ministerial Statement on how best we can resolve the exchange rate issue. We also have other measures but we cannot pre-empt them. Those who are involved in speculation of rates are going against the law. Our financial intelligence said they are waiting while following all the bank transactions. There is nothing that we do not know about your transactions. For example, a person with two million in their account, we can see all the transactions. So for those making voluminous transactions and engaging in black market deals, we have sued about 200 companies. Can we develop by manipulating the exchange rate? How is it going to help us? A country is only built through production. We are disadvantaging ourselves by manipulating the exchange rate and this will only result in a negative impact on prices. We are the ones responsible for the high rates that are the order of the day. We will bring a Ministerial Statement on the policies that we will implement, though I cannot pre-empt those now. We are working on resolving this issue of exchange rates.
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: My supplementary question to the Hon Deputy Minister is that the explanation was bookish but the reality on the ground is that there is a lot of money on the street. May the Minister please explain where the money which is being sold on the streets is coming from? What does the country’s law say with regards to this activity?
THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I think that is what the Minister has explained. He gave us the broad picture and principles. He has defined the problem and clearly said they are working on a solution and next week on Thursday, he will bring a Ministerial Statement which will answer all the issues that you have raised. Unless he wants to answer, I think this question is irrelevant.
*HON. CHIDUWA: Thank you Mr. President. I also want to thank Hon. Sen Kambizi for the question. You did mention that I elaborated this issue in a bookish way but let me assure you that we are aware of what is happening as we also see it every day. Many illegal activities are happening in the country and these are being perpetuated by us as individuals, business owners, at service stations as well as us in here, we also go there to do deals. The truth is it is illegal. Right now, because of exchange rate manipulation, all these players that I have mentioned do not want to get money from production but from casino activities. No one can build a country through casino activities. The economy of a country can only rise through production. This is the message that is being preached by the President at all opportune moments, which is production, production, production. When you go to a shop, they sell goods in US$ then they give their runners the money to go and sell on the streets with RTGs. Their aim is to see huge figures but as we continue to do this, we will be devaluating our own currency. Some say our exchange rate must rise to 1:500. We call that devaluation because we cannot have power by raising rates to unexpected figures. All of us are advocating for devaluing our own money. In order to generate wealth, we must produce.
Hon. Senator, what you have said, we have heard it. The money is coming from shops, individuals and from service stations. We are the ones who are taking money and bringing it to the street where the exchange rate is happening and it is illegal.
[Time limit.]
HON. SEN. CHIEF MAKUMBE: I move that time for Questions Without Notice be extended by 15 minutes.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: We have already overrun by 10 minutes as it is. I am sure if you look at the clock behind me, you will see that and I have broken Standing Orders of Parliament. I do not want to be a criminal.
HON. SEN. CHIEF MAKUMBE: So will 10 minutes be okay?
HON. SEN. CHIEF NHEMA: I second.
*HON. SEN. MAKUMBE: Thank you Mr. President. My issue is, we hear what is being said by the Minister and it is indiscipline. We see money every Tuesday being auctioned in millions, but those who get that money do not show any production. My question is, in all those areas where there is indiscipline, how are we going to address that? Those who are going on auction are taking money but that money is not being invested in production. Is there any plan to end the indiscipline for those who take money from the auction? Thank you.
*HON. CHIDUWA: Thank you Mr. President. I want to say although there is indiscipline, it does not mean everyone is indisciplined. There are those who are getting foreign currency and they are using that foreign currency properly. I also said that capacity utilisation has risen from 37% to 69%. If you see the annual reports being written by companies, they are thanking Government because of the auction system. It helped them to raise production but we also have those who steal through the auction system through those casino activities.
What we have done to those culprits, if you remember on our auction, we used to have those who are in gas and fuel. We also discovered that they were forming companies in South Africa and other countries and we ended up banning all those who are into gas business. Right now, I have mentioned that those who are receiving money from the auction floors and not using it for production, we are following up the invoiced addresses to verify if these companies are existing and whether they are into that business which they have mentioned. We have penalised those who have come to the auction with false information. We are also talking with banks that they must do KYC so that the banks can identify the culprits.
We are working with the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe together with the banks and the RBZ. We are working together so that we can identify those who come with false invoices. If we see that, when we report, we list the number of companies which have been disqualified because some of them will be lying that they are into that certain production sector. Thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF NHEMA: Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to the Minister of Energy and Power Development. This question is not new but we do not get proper responses from where we are coming from and from all the areas we travelled to. We are being told that we must use our local currency but right now we do not have any garage which is accepting RTGS and the price of the fuel is rising everyday in United States dollars. If the Statutory Instrument is being made for us the people, if we say the SI is not working, listen to us and come up with another SI which will help us as individuals. We will be looking up to you as Ministers and we say our children are working to promote production and the livelihoods of Zimbabweans.
The Minister of Finance also said let us wait for the Ministerial Statement on Thursday while we are dying and things are difficult for us. These issues did not start yesterday or today, they began a few weeks ago. They must agree that there is a problem.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Hon. Senator Chief Nhema, will you please ask your question.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF NHEMA: It pains me. May the Minister tell us which garages accept Zimbabwean dollars so that we can go and get fuel from those garages?
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. MUDYIWA): The question touches more on fuel, that is diesel and petrol which must be sold in our local currency. Yes, we understand it is a big problem which is affecting everyone in Zimbabwe. The issue of fuel being sold in our local currency, the RTGS, there is fuel which is being sold in RTGS in some service stations. It is not all service stations which are selling fuel in RTGS but there are some service stations which are selling in RTGS, though the fuel for RTGS is very limited. The quantities which we are getting for RTGS fuel are not much. The quantities are below one third or one quarter compared to the fuel which is being imported through the DFI arrangement.
If we are saying DFI, we mean that service stations are using their funds to import their fuel and they sell their fuel in United States dollars so that they will be able to buy another lot of fuel again to sell. The service stations which sell their fuel in RTGS get their money through the RBZ. So the amount of money which we are getting from the RBZ is very little compared to the DFI money. That is why we see RTGS fuel is very limited and the fuel for RTGS is servicing Government departments, hospitals, councils, rural and urban councils, parastatals like ZESA, CMED and others. Many Government departments are getting RTGS fuel and they are getting the little fuel which we get per month. That is where this fuel is going. So for those few service stations which provide RTGS fuel, it does not last long because it is sold out in a short period of time.
We have selected 57 service stations, with ZERA AND NOIC, working together with RBZ under the Ministry so that these 57 selected service stations sell their fuel in RTGS. These service stations must meet other conditions which ensure that the fuel is monitored. To date, we are not able to get fuel to deliver to all these 57 service stations - that is why you assume that there are no such service stations. There is little fuel found and sold in RTGS, that is what I can say for now. These service stations which sell fuel in RTGS must be monitored by the National Fuel Management System which is a computerised system and monitors how many litres of fuel have been received, when it reaches the service stations and the levels must be monitored from a remote controlled office. That system has not started working properly and we are not getting enough fuel under RTGS. That is the problem but plans are there to work towards that.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you Hon. Minister. I think you also need to communicate and let the Hon. Members and the public know where that little fuel is found – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.] – Order. If you do not do that, you then create a vacuum and people start speculating and it is not good for the country. Thank you for your response – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.] – Order.
Questions Without Notice were interrupted by THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in terms of Standing Order No. 67.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE
A cellphone having rung
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: You should switch off your phones when you come to this House or put them on silent
The Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade having been unable to provide the answer to question number 6:
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Hon. Ministers, you should look at the Order Paper and prepare answers for your written questions.
NUMBER OF MALE AND FEMALE OFFICERS IN CHARGE WITHIN ZRP
- HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI asked the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage to inform the House on the number of male and female officers in charge that are present in the police force in the country.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. MAVHUNGA-MABOYI): Mr. President Sir. I am not ready to respond because they have not given us.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: No, these questions are actually sent to your offices.
HON. MAVHUNGA-MABOYI: Yes, please.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: So why do you not have the answer?
HON. MAVHUNGA-MABOYI: The police department has not reacted.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Hon. Minister and the other ministers, make sure that you prepare responses. This question was submitted on the 17th of March. You are not doing your Ministry a favour if you do not respond to it. You will not be in good standing with yourself, Parliament and the public.
WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE
MEASURES TO ADDRESS TEACHERS GRIEVANCES
- HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI asked the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education to appraise the House on the measures being implemented by the Government to address the grievances of teachers so that they are able to resume their work.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. E. MOYO): Thank you Honourable for the question. Conditions of service for teachers are under the purview of the employer, the Public Service Commission (PSC). However, it is now public knowledge that the Government has given a package to the teachers, which includes paying part of their salaries and allowances in hard currency, payment of school fees for teachers’ children and working on a programme to provide decent accommodation to teachers among others. The Government has also promised to continuously work on improving the conditions of service of the teachers.
Questions with Notice were interrupted by THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in terms of Standing Order No. 67.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE 50TH PLENARY ASSEMBLY OF THE SADC PLENARY FORUM HOSTED VIRTUALLY BY THE KINGDOM OF LESOTHO
First Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report of the 50th Plenary Assembly of the SADC Plenary Forum hosted virtually by the Kingdom of Lesotho from 10th to 12th December, 2021.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 10th May, 2022.
MOTION
MEASURES TO RESUSCITATE THE ECONOMY
Second Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the need to come up with measures to resuscitate the economy.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 10th May, 2022.
On the motion of HON. SEN. MATHUTHU, seconded by HON. SEN. CHISOROCHENGWE, the Senate adjourned at Four o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 10th May, 2022.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 4th May, 2022
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: Madam President, I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 6 be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day on today’s Order Paper have been disposed of.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I second Madam President.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE 50TH PLENARY ASSEMBLY OF THE SADC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM HOSTED VIRTUALLY BY THE KINGDOM OF LESOTHO
HON. SEN. MOHADI: Thank you Madam President. I move the motion standing in my name that this House takes note of the Report of the 50th Plenary Assembly of the SADC Parliamentary Forum hosted virtually by the Kingdom of Lesotho from 10th to 12th December 2021.
HON. SEN. CHIEF MAKUMBE: I second.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: Thank you once again.
- Introduction
The 50th Plenary Assembly Session of the SADC Parliamentary Forum was hosted virtually from the 10th to 12th December 2021 under the theme, ‘Celebrating a new era of democracy towards consolidating the vibrant voices of SADC Parliamentarians’. The theme of the 50th Plenary Assembly, which resonated with commemorations of the Golden Jubilee of Plenary Assembly sessions, was aimed at celebrating the achievements of the SADC PF since its inception, including, but not limited to the landmark decision of the 41st SADC Summit meeting held in Lilongwe, Malawi, from the 17th-18th August 2021, which approved the Transformation of the Forum into a SADC Regional Parliament, with the accomplishment of other formalities such as the amendment to the SADC Treaty and the incorporation of the Protocol to establish the SADC Parliament commencing immediately.
Hon. Advocate Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda, Speaker of the Parliament of Zimbabwe, led the delegation which comprised the following Members of Parliament:
- Tambudzani Mohadi, Member of the Standing Committee on Food, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Infrastructure;
- Goodlucky Kwaramba, Member of the Standing Committee on Gender Equality, Women Advancement and Youth Development and Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Women’s Parliamentary Caucus (ZWPC);
- Dought Ndiweni, Executive Committee Member and Member of the Standing Committee on Democratization, Governance and Human Rights;
- Anele Ndebele, Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment; and
- Paurina Mpariwa, Member of the Standing Committee on Human and Social Development and Special Programmes.
2.0 Official Opening Ceremony
In delivering the keynote address, the Guest of Honour, Rt Hon. Dr. Moeketsi Majoro, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho, recognised SADC PF as a key cog of SADC and paid tribute to the Strategic Lobby Team of Hon. Speakers for its unwavering commitment to the Transformation Agenda. The Premier acknowledged that as a late convert to the Transformation Agenda, he had since become a fervent advocate for the speedy amendment of the Treaty to ensure that the Regional Parliament becomes a reality in accordance with the laid down roadmap.
In their congratulatory remarks, the East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA), applauded the model law-making initiatives at the SADC PF and indicated that they stand ready to share their experiences and also assist the institution in the Transformation process agenda.
The Regional Women’s Parliamentary Caucus (RWPC), called for the active consultations of women in all decision–making processes.
Hon. Christophe MBOSO N’KODIA PWANGA, President of the SADC PF and Speaker of the National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Congo, profiled the achievements made by the Forum since its inception and applauded Member Parliaments for their resilience in the endeavour to see the birth of a SADC Regional Parliament.
In proposing a vote of thanks, the Speaker of the Parliament of Malawi, Rt. Hon. Catherine Gotani Hara, graciously thanked the Kingdom of Lesotho for unpacking a well-choreographed 50th Anniversary Plenary Assembly and reminded the meeting of the significant socio-economic contributions of the Kingdom of Lesotho to the region.
- Statement by the Speaker of the National Assembly of Zimbabwe, Hon. Advocate Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda on the Symposium and the Key Deliverables
Hon. Advocate Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda was part of the team that reflected on the Symposium topic, “The Windhoek Initiative and the Birth of the SADC Parliamentary Forum: Celebrating the Emergence of the Voice of Parliaments in SADC Regional Integration”. In his delivery, the Hon. Speaker urged the Region to activate an enduring consultative framework between the Executives and the Legislatures within SADC to keep the momentum going on the Transformation Agenda.
He indicated that this could only be achieved by ensuring that key structures such as the Joint Task Team led by the Secretary-General and the SADC Executive Secretary working under the stewardship of the Strategic Lobby Team of Hon. Speakers continue to collaborate as guardians and custodians of the Transformation Agenda. The Strategic Lobby Team has to guide the Technical Working Group at the political level in order to keep the Transformative Agenda within the SADC Summit decision radar.
The Symposium Statement recommended that all SADC PF Members should studiously read the Proposed Protocol on the Transformation Process once it is submitted by their respective Ministers of Foreign Affairs so as to make incisive input that will accelerate the transformation process to take place before 2023.
The Symposium noted the persistent impediments to regional integration due to the prevailing visa regimes and artificial barriers in the mould of borders which continue to act contrary to the spirit of total regional hegemony. To this end, the spirit and letter envisaged in regional integration and cooperation by SADC Founding Fathers should be foisted to achieve total regional harmony.
The 50th Plenary Assembly Meeting also took time to celebrate the life of Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, a luminary and founding patriarch of African independence who died on 17 June 2021. The glowing tributes acknowledged the work of the illustrious son of Africa who contributed immensely to the liberation of many African countries in the region including Zimbabwe. The participants acknowledged that the life of Dr. Kaunda ably demonstrates the sacrificial servant leadership principle of putting others first before considering one’s own situation.
It is important to note that the Speaker of the Parliament of Zimbabwe spearheaded the publication of a Condolence Booklet commemorating the life of the late President of Zambia which has been shared with the Zambian Embassy in Zimbabwe for distribution to the National Assembly of Zambia and Dr. Kenneth Kaunda’s family, among others.
- Adoption of the Report of the Executive Committee and the Treasurer’s Report
The Executive Committee tabled its report for consideration and adoption during the 50th Plenary Assembly meeting.
The Report acknowledged the work of the Strategic Lobby Team of Hon. Speakers and the consequential approval of the Transformation of the SADC PF into a Regional Parliament and pledged to chart the way forward in terms of amendments to the SADC Treaty and the finalisation of the Protocol establishing the SADC Parliament.
The Plenary Assembly adopted the proposed salary reviews for SADC Secretariat Staff and the recommendations for Member Parliaments to second staff as a stop-gap measure to mitigate the prevailing manpower shortage.
The Plenary Assembly deliberated on and adopted the SADC Model Law on Gender-Based Violence. The Model Law was interrogated clause by clause after undergoing the same processes in the Joint Standing Committee Meetings.
The 50th Plenary Assembly meeting adopted the Trust Deed and urged the host Speaker, Hon. Professor Peter Katjavivi, to finalize the process of registration and the deposit of the first pledge. The meeting was advised that a number of donors were waiting in the wings to see this initiative through, which will naturally improve the finances of the Forum.
The 50th Plenary Assembly expressed profound appreciation to the Parliament of Lesotho through Hon. Speaker Sephiri Motanyane, for hosting the 50th Plenary Assembly Session. Though Speaker after Speaker yearned for the alternate in-person Plenary Assembly, the region appreciated the demonstrated heightened magnitude of preparations by the Basotho which reverberated throughout the Plenary Assembly.
- MOTIONS ADOPTED DURING THE 50th PLENARY ASSEMBLY MEETINGS
5.1 Consideration of the Report of the Standing Committee on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment.
The Plenary Assembly Session adopted a motion on the establishment of one-stop investment shops to provide both local and foreign investors with fast, efficient and business-friendly services. In this regard, the work of the Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency (ZIDA) needs to be enhanced in view of the Second Republic’s operative mantra. “Zimbabwe is open for business.”
The Report also stressed the need to promulgate comprehensive laws to fend off the ills of illicit financial flows.
5.2 Report of the Standing Committee on Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources
The Report encouraged Member Parliaments to push for the implementation of policies that encourage water harvesting in their countries and legislate for deliberate transboundary water sharing measures. This will help mitigate the effects of climate change and the prevalent droughts in the region.
The Report also urged Parliaments in the region to leverage on the power of the purse to increase budgetary allocations towards the water sector to promote investments that can guarantee a water-secure region.
5.3 Report of the Standing Committee on Democratisation, Governance and Human Rights.
The motion adopted encouraged virtual election observation missions as an alternate yet effective substitute to in-person missions.
The report applauded SADC for deploying its Standby Force – the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) – to quell the terrorism threats in Cabo Delgado and for deploying the Force Intervention Brigade (FIB), in support of the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission (MONUSCO), to counter the negative forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In that regard, the Plenary Assembly commended SADC for implementing various initiatives aimed at ensuring that the region continued to enjoy sustained peace and security and that Member States remain politically stable.
- Recommendations and Way Forward
Parliament of Zimbabwe to hold an All-Stakeholder Workshop spearheaded by the Zimbabwe Women’s Parliamentary Caucus (ZWPC), Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, and the Portfolio Committee on Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development and other relevant stakeholders to provide a common platform to deliberate on the domestication of the Model Law on Gender-Based Violence. This initiative to commence by 15 March 2022.
The Plenary Assembly noted the inequalities emerging in the education sector due to Covid -19 related school closures which saw over 1.6 billion learners in more than 190 countries out of school. In this regard, deliberate efforts should be made by the relevant Portfolio Committees to assess the impact of the pandemic on school-going pupils and the effectiveness of policies implemented to rectify the situation, especially in Zimbabwe. The Portfolio Committees on Health and Child Care and the Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education to initiate Fact-finding Missions and virtual submissions on the impact of COVID -19 on the education sector. This should enhance the already tabled reports on the matter and should consider the transmutative nature of the pandemic. The initiatives are to commence on 15 March 2022.
Urgent action is needed to streamline visa and immigration procedures to ensure the smooth movement of goods and people in the region. There is need for Member States to formulate policies that open up borders for the movement of people and even animals inter-territorially. This should be the beginning of the collapse of artificial borders created by colonialists in their endeavour to divide and rule. The Portfolio Committee on Defence Home Affairs and Security Services to call for submissions from its stakeholders on the need to streamline inter-regional cooperation through removal of stringent border controls. This initiative to commence by 01April 2022.
Member Parliaments were encouraged to continue making efforts to domesticate the Model Laws developed thus far to enable the general populace to benefit through sound policies envisaged at the regional level. In this regard, the SADC PF Secretariat will be engaged to present the modalities for the implementation of the scorecard on Model Laws as an appropriate tool to measure the domestication of Model Laws into the national legislative agenda. Parliament of Zimbabwe to engage Secretariat to give a briefing to SADC PF delegates on the proposed scorecard by 31 March 2022.
There is need for Parliaments across the region to continue raising concern on the negative effects of destabilizing forces such as the insurgency in Cabo Delgado Province of Mozambique. Parliament of Zimbabwe to monitor closely developments at the SADC Summitry to ensure that it pitches appropriately its contributions during the forthcoming Plenary Assembly and related meetings.
- Conclusion
The Plenary Assembly concluded by calling Member Parliaments to continue programming towards the celebrations of the 50th Golden Jubilee celebrations aware that the decision of the Summit is only but the beginning of a long and arduous process inclusive of the adoption of the protocol and the consequential amendment of the SADC Treaty.
Parliament of Zimbabwe continues to play a highly effective leading role in the Transformation Agenda in its role as the holders of the Chairpersonship of the Strategic Lobby Team of Hon. Speakers on the Transformation of the Forum into a SADC Regional Parliament. This role, naturally mutates into a Strategic imprimatur apparatus for the Transformation Agenda.
Parliament of Zimbabwe commits itself to the full implementation of the resolutions of the Plenary Assembly which have been shared among all Members of Parliament to facilitate action by different Portfolio Committees of Member Parliaments.
Parliament of Zimbabwe also stands ready to ensure that all mechanisms towards the operationalisation of the SADC PF Trust are fulfilled.
The 51st Plenary Assembly of the SADC PF will be hosted by the Republic of Malawi in a format to be agreed upon in view of the exigencies of the highly mutative COVID 19 pandemic.
Notably, the Speaker of the Parliament of Zimbabwe, Hon. Advocate Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda, was unanimously elected Chair of the 50th Plenary Assembly Session with Hon. Dought Ndiweni presenting the Executive Committee Report. Members of Parliament from Zimbabwe were also incisive and pointed in their contributions to the Plenary Assembly. I thank you.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: Madam President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. A. DUBE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 5th May, 2022.
MOTION
MEASURES TO RESUSCITATE THE ECONOMY
Eighth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the need to come up with measures to resuscitate the economy.
Question again proposed.
+HON. SEN. CHIEF MTSHANE: Thank you Madam President for giving me this opportunity. I am sorry; I thought that I was connected. Firstly, I will start by thanking the Hon. Senator who tabled this motion which seeks to resuscitate the economy of Zimbabwe.
Madam President, Zimbabwe is one of the countries which is found in the United Nations with the aim to eliminate hunger and poverty by 2030. Zimbabwe has been endeavouring to eliminate poverty and hunger in the past two years. The report says that instead of eliminating hunger, the poor people are now poorer than before. This is because Zimbabwean people are earning RTGs. There is not even a single store which sells products in local currency but they sell in USD. It is obvious that someone who is earning local currency will always be poor.
When you go to seek medical assistance, you will find that all doctors charge in USD. They do not charge in local currency and it is obvious that most people do not seek medical attention because they do not have the USD to be treated by doctors in foreign currency. It is important that we look especially at the rural populace which is bearing the brunt of poverty. There should be social safety nets which should cater for our people because if they are not protected, then they are going to die of poverty and hunger. Leaders of political parties should come together so that the electorate is catered for. With these few words, I thank you Madam President.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Madam President for affording me this opportunity to add a few words on the motion raised by Hon. Sen. Dube. This is an important motion which touches on the livelihood of the people of Zimbabwe. When Hon. Dube raised this motion, she had done thorough research on it. She had observed that our economy has gone down and measures need to be taken. We should put our heads together and come up with solutions to improve our economy.
My observation from the debates by Hon. Members who spoke yesterday, I would want to reiterate that the people of this country are the ones that are shooting ourselves in the foot because all of us are greedy. Whenever there is anything that is meant to benefit the people, some people come up with ways of defrauding the people so that they enrich themselves. We are blessed with a lot of wealth. We have natural resources, minerals, farms and there are a lot of things that we can do.
You find that those that would have been employed to oversee the extraction of our natural resources so that our country can be developed are the biggest problem in that whoever is employed in that position will be busy filling their pockets, looting State coffers, hence our economy cannot develop. Even the Government through His Excellency the President, hardworking as he is in putting measures to ensure that our things are okay, it is all for naught.
I brought a motion in here Madam President that dealt with corruption. Corruption is a cancerous issue that has bothered the people of Zimbabwe in that everyone in Zimbabwe requires a bribe to ensure that they perform their duties. Madam President, I believe that because of the motion that I raised on corruption and ways to end corruption, people will put their heads together and work with the authorities and all the people. Corruption cannot be eradicated by a single person. We need to collaborate with one another to eradicate corruption so that we can develop our country.
There is the issue of ZWL$. I implore our Minister of Finance and the Reserve Bank to do something to ensure that our Zimbabwean dollar strengthens. We need to remove the use of the USD and use our local currency. If you go to other countries, you do have foreign currency but when you get to that country, you go to a Bureau d’Change or bank and get local currency which you then use in that particular country. We are failing to do that in this country because we are in a multi-currency situation. The use of the United States dollar (USD) should be completely eradicated in this country. That will help us to develop our economy.
We have small to medium enterprises, they started a long time ago but there is nothing to write home about in terms of development of such business, there is nothing that is visible. The reason being that everyone is at their work place whenever there is mention of trying to ensure that small to medium enterprise can be developed through the use of a bank – the funds are looted. This is because of corruption and greediness. Once we are in that position, it therefore means that we will be unable to develop our country. People will never get the benefits they are supposed to get from the development of this country because of the few people who are misguided and are out there to disrupt developmental programmes. In the process, they enrich themselves and this results in the general populace suffering. This is viewed in the form of the black market. The exchange rate on the black market varies on a daily basis. That is why I said the USD should be removed from being one of the currencies that we use in this country so that those that would want to do black market will not have a platform to operate on. Once we do that, our economy will develop. We will be able to attain vision 2030 with flying colours because we would have put our house in order. We know that we will be using our own local currency and there is no local currency that will be misleading people who when they get ZWL, they want to change their money to USD.
In terms of mining and minerals, there are small scale miners who mine and get something out of it. I request that if possible, people should be able to reclaim the land after mining so that livestock and lives are not lost as a result of these open pits that are left behind. Once we do that, we should be able to cover the pit that is left after a mining exercise.
On cutting down of trees, wherever you walk, you find a man carrying an axe on their shoulder. That is already embedded in the brain that whenever they find some trees, they should cut them willy-nilly. These trees that are being cut down will have been left to grow for a long time. The majority give reasons that they would want to cut down the trees so that they can treat their tobacco. There should be alternative ways that can be used by tobacco farmers so that they will not be able to destroy our forests. The people who cut down trees say there is no problem because they will pay a fine or bribe to EMA. That shows lack of environmental knowledge. We need to put our heads together. We should also involve traditional leaders because everyone who is in a jurisdiction that is run by the chiefs is afraid of committing offences because they know they will be fined by the chiefs. If we exclude chiefs, we will not get anywhere. It is my plea that we involve all the people who are responsible in order to educate people so that they know that they should desist from bribery and that they should not cut trees willy-nilly because it is a cancer that is bedevilling our country. Thank you Madam President, for giving me this opportunity to support this important motion which was raised by Hon. Sen. Dube.
*HON. SEN. DENGA: Thank you Madam President for affording me this opportunity to air my views on the motion that was raised in this august House by Hon. Sen. Dube.
It is true that our economy has gone down the drain. We are no longer able to make a living out of it. The main problem according to me is lack of social contract between the political parties and the people of Zimbabwe. We observed that during the inclusive Government, the Government and the people acted in consent and we had multiple currencies in use in this country. The economy recovered, the industry improved and started producing. At the moment, for us to pin-point where exactly our economy is and how we are living, is not very clear. If we look back to 2017, when the USD was re-introduced, the captains of industry in Zimbabwe did not adopt or did not readily accept the return of the Zimbabwean dollar. There was a cat and mouse game between the Government and the captains of industry.
At the moment, if you request Ecocash – you will observe that the amount is in RTGs but we have left the RTGS era. We are now in the Zimbabwean dollar era. This means that there are some people who are not accepting that we are using the Zimbabwe dollar because they are thinking we are still using the RTGS or Bond. This means that we are not using our real money.
Madam President, the Ministry of Finance is not researching properly to come up with solutions to stabilise the country’s economy. We do have a lot of minerals in this country. Way back when we were school children, we were told that Zimbabwe was an agro based economy – meaning that farming was our mainstay. We were mining gold, chrome and other metals. We do have a lot of diamond and platinum. We have got about 40 or more minerals in Zimbabwe, including uranium and oil that are still to be exploited but we still observe that that economy is going down. This means that those that are responsible for finance, industry and commerce are not doing their duty so that we can restore confidence in our economy.
Our Reserve Bank should be full of gold bars, meaning that the Zimbabwean dollar is weighed on the gold bars. A lot of mountains have been destroyed. In Lion’s Den they have gone deep down 400m from that mountain, meaning that we have such minerals but why are we failing to have gold bars in our Reserve Bank so that we will be able to go and borrow against the gold bars as collateral? Orderly people and companies are coming up with innovations, ,coming up with Inn Bucks but the Ministry of Finance is failing to come up with innovations that will lead people into depositing their funds so that Government can raise money out of that. Inactivity on the part of Ministry of Finance laments the lack of it.
If you look at the farmers, 75 thousand is the amount for the tonne while $420 is the black market rate for a US$1. If one were to sell a tonne, it means they will be selling a tonne at $120. From a tonne of maize, they have only been able to buy two bags of urea. It then forces people to look at some unscrupulous manners to avert this problem. Some have become millers so that they will be able to sell mealie-meal instead of supporting the GMB by delivering the maize to the Grain Marketing Board. People are coming up with their small enterprises in a bid to survive. There are too many leakages Madam President in our economy.
Hon. Sen. Mbohwa once said that our water is leaking like a sieve and it is leaking from all angles. If you look at the houses that people have built, the motor vehicles that they drive and the type of food that they eat show that we have a more than $100 billion economy but there is no evidence to show the storage of that. There is no value stored there. I used to believe that when we were growing up and eating from the same dish, we were being groomed into knowing that we are one people, but on reflection maybe it was a way of teaching you to eat very fast. If you fail to compete you will sleep on an empty tummy. This is typical of what Zimbabweans are doing. Whoever has found something, they are no longer taking to the fiscus. They keep it for themselves using the saying, ‘you must eat before the lights go out’.
Madam President, it is my considered view that we should have people going to China to learn how such a big economy with a billion inhabitants - how they are managing their economy and attending to corrupt tendencies. We would also want to go to Canada, one of the stabilised economies and learn how they are stabilising and dealing with corruption. The President, Hon. Mnangagwa is always calling upon everyone to eradicate corruption but nothing is happening. Parliament is the problematic area because we are not coming up with laws that would give deterrent sentences such as life sentence to anyone convicted of corruption. This will act as deterrent to would-be minded offenders. People are now talking of the catch and release syndrome or practice.
Madam President, we should come up with robust laws that are implemented once they have been passed by this House. The statutes and the instruments should be in place. With those few words Madam President, I thank you.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE
VISITORS IN THE PRESIDENT OF SENATE’S GALLERY
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I wish to recognise the presence in the President of the Senate’s Gallery, of the delegation of the Business of the House Committee from the Parliament of Malawi. The delegation is led by the Hon. Speaker, the Right Hon. Cathrine Gotani Hara and is comprised of the following: Hon. Minister Richard Chimwendo, MP, Leader of the House; Hon. Roderick Khumbanyiwa, MP from the UDF Party, he is the Party Whip; Mr. Jeffrey Mwenyeheli, the Deputy Clerk of Parliament and Parliamentary Services; Mr. MacDonald Kabondo, Controller of Human Resources and Development; Mr. Moffat Makande, Acting Chief Clerk Assistant and Table Office; Ms. Grace Nyirenda, Special Assistant to the Speaker of Parliament; and Ms. Vanessa Manda, Protocol Officer. The delegation is here on a benchmarking visit. You are most welcome Hon. Madam Speaker and your delegation – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: Thank you Mr. President for affording me the opportunity to say a few words pertaining to this very important motion that was raised by Hon. Sen. Alice Dube. It is indeed a motion that deals with the lives of the people of Zimbabwe. It also talks to the ways of revamping the economy for the wellbeing of all the citizens.
Mr. President Sir, the economic situation that is prevailing in this country is both funny and unique. All things being equal, the people of Zimbabwe and their economy should be showing a trajectory that is going up but instead the opposite is happening and I am not too sure why. Zimbabwe has all the resources in abundance, be it minerals or agriculture. Why then are citizens of this country suffering? Why then is the economy on a downward trajectory? That is the biggest question this House must focus on. In fact, Hon. President Sir, the people of Zimbabwe should be reasonably enjoying their life because of the abundance of resources that are in this country. I will be both practical and academic in my debate. Yesterday, another fellow Senator spoke highly about the behaviour of Zimbabweans and he ended up saying Zimbabweans are the biggest enemies of their economy. I will elaborate on that. First and foremost, we have a very funny group of citizens in this country who have the audacity to fly to western countries to ask or beg that sanctions be placed on this country. What does that entail? We will have limited trade and we cannot access lines of credit to revamp our industries. Secondly, there is the issue of political power. We have some citizens in this country who are obsessed by power to an extent that they wish citizens of this country to suffer so that by the end of the day, they think using their stomachs. Come election day, they will vote using their stomachs with the fake hope that the same people who are starving will then opt for change.
The greatest enemy is corruption, corruption, corruption, corruption. Many a times, we have had investors who have shown interest to come and invest in this country but they come in and get out, running away from corruption. I will give an example; one comes in and he is told if you want to invest $5 billion you will have to give me 10% under the table. Then you begin to wonder what is 10% of $5 billion? How much is that? What we are saying is that we need to come up with legislation that ensures that all those involved in corruption and scaring away our investors must be dealt with seriously. Corruption undermines and continues to undermine development in this country to an extent that our development is stunted.
Mr. President, we do not have a shortage of legislation but we have succeeded paradoxically to create an environment that allows thieving and thievery to blossom and thrive. There is need to suffocate all those who are involved in corruption. We must not give them enough oxygen to breathe. They must fail to breathe and die. If they do not die, they must be incarcerated for lengthy periods.
Mr. President, patriotism is a word found in all countries world over. Are we patriotic to our own country? We seem not interested in what is happening to our country as long as we have USD in our pockets. Zimbabweans have stacks and stacks of USD in their bedrooms if we were to search. Unfortunately, we will not do that but that is exactly what is happening. Our own currency is in a sorry state of economic affairs. There is virtually no country that can develop using borrowed currency because we do not have power over it. We need to have our own currency and have confidence in our own currency and that is a fact. We need to soldier on using our own currency until it gains to the level that we want. In military terms they say – and I know Mr. President you are well versed with that; ‘more blood in training, less blood in the battle’. We need to work on that and ooze blood in order to ensure that our currency gains. I have travelled to one or two countries in the western world and I have never seen anywhere where cash is sold on the streets. Just in December, I was in Swaziland. I arrived a bit late, got into the hotel when all banks had closed. I then went to the manager and asked where I could buy some Swazi dollars and he said you want to buy cash this time? This was because mentally I knew in Zimbabwe even at 12 midnight, you could buy money on the streets. He said you have to wait for the banks to open tomorrow. I felt very ashamed because I had just showed him what we do in Zimbabwe which is very shameful.
I want to stress that we need our currency and we must have confidence in it. We need to embark on economic reconstruction. I am happy that the new dispensation is already on that course. We need to bust the illegal sanctions but how can we do that when some other people are saying tozvidira jecha or ndirikusunga one ndirikusunga dozen then where do we go. Is that person a patriotic son of the soil or a citizen of this country? We seriously need to shift a gear up in terms of fighting corruption. Fortunately or unfortunately, corruption is a motion that is coming immediately after this one and I will be standing up to debate very strongly over that so I will reserve some bit of energy. We need to attract our sons of the soil who are in the diaspora but again I am quite pleased with His Excellency because wherever he goes, I have seen it and I have been following on television, he addresses the children of Zimbabwe who are in the diaspora. I am glad they have all shown interest to come back and work with the rest of the people of Zimbabwe to develop our own economy. Mr. President, we completely need to put a stop to these money changers that are roaming around the streets. Probably we as legislators need to come up with a legislation, not today but yesterday, which means we are late. We need to use legislation to wipe out everyone who is selling, be it United States dollar, Rands or Zimbabwean dollars on the streets. There is need to do that Mr. President. The RBZ must tighten the screws and control all other banks so that today, if Hon. Kambizi wants to access United States dollars, I should be able to walk into a bank and access United States dollars, but what is very funny is if I go to the RBZ, there is no United States dollar, if I go to CABS, there is no United States dollar, but get to the streets you find someone with a bunch of United States dollars. Even if we are to look at our own currency, the banks allow somebody a limited withdrawal, but go to Julius Nyerere, you find someone with a heap of brand new notes.
Fellow Hon. Members, this economy is ours; this country is ours. We need to work for it and improve it so that even the generations that are to come must be able to say our fathers and mothers did this for us. Mr. President, I advise that we embark on what I call macro-economic stability. For us to attain macro-economic stability, we need to do away with the following:- We should do away with high inflation, high budget deficit, unstable debt levels and distorted exchange rates.
Today the dollar is worth Z$400 tomorrow, it is Z$450. Nobody controls that. Who is doing that, who controls that and where are those figures coming from? We need to interrogate that and find out where these percentages are coming from. Instead Mr. President, we need to ensure our capital and financial markets are working properly. We also need to ensure that our regulatory frameworks are sound.
Mr. President, competitiveness and ease of doing business must be addressed. We need to avoid delaying tactics at all costs. I will tell you what is happening. These corrupt people will employ delaying tactics. Just to get to the counter and you want to have your paper signed, he will say the manager is not here, the deputy manager is not here so that it sounds a very long process and you become uneasy. The only reason is, he is trying to attract a bribe to say why can you not hide this and I will give you $2. The moment we expedite the ease of doing business, then we are home and dry.
Mr. President, lastly, of course I have not exhausted all, we need to embark on job intensive economic growth. By that, I merely mean and I am quite happy that the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development is talking about Education 5.0 where we are not just talking about putting on a tie and a watch, but we are saying our children must go to school and do things so they become employers themselves. We are saying we need to embark on economic growth that brings jobs to the generations that come because unemployment is a major source of instability and social friction. Mr. President, lack of economic opportunities institute a fertile recruitment ground for violent groups, a thing that I would not want to see happening in my very important country Zimbabwe. Mr. President, I want to thank you for the time that you have allocated to me.
HON. SEN. KOMICHI: Thank you so much Hon. President. Let me also take this opportunity to thank Hon. Alice Dube for raising such a vital motion.
I am equally concerned just like all other speakers that have spoken before me and I totally agree with them that the Zimbabwean economy is collapsing. Life is unbearable in Zimbabwe at the moment. Our currency is losing value like a falling airplane, nose diving into an ocean and it appears as if there is no solution in the very near future. It reminds us of what we went through in 2007 and 2008 when Zimbabwean people were earning more than three million dollars on their pay slips. We are actually going towards that situation once more.
I agree that the Government is trying its best and I agree that Zimbabwe has got one of the best ministers in terms of education, experience and international links (Hon. Mthuli) but things are not getting any better. Being a country that has gone through very difficult economic challenges before, we should at least by this time, have a way to resolve our issues, but still nothing is coming forthwith. Three years ago, we sat in this Parliament over a budget which was $5.4 billion. The following year we then passed a budget of $64 billion and this previous year we went through a budget that was almost $1 trillion. The rate at which our budget is going up has no relationship to the economic growth and development. This only signifies that we are in a conflictual state. We are in a war which is not physical as such, but there is a serious conflict taking place in Zimbabwe, a conflict that requires our attention as Zimbabweans.
If you look at the exchange rate at the moment, it is now increasing on a daily basis. Yesterday it was at 1: 400, today it is on 1:420 at the black market which is the real money which affects the ordinary person. The $155 which is manned by the RBZ does not help us, we do not benefit out of that. Only business people could at least claim some benefit but us, as ordinary Zimbabwean people do not benefit from the $155 Zimbabwean dollars to United States dollar bank exchange rate. The one that affects us on a daily basis, that affects the cost of living, that prices our goods on a daily basis is the $450 that is currently running on the black market.
At the moment, you cannot buy bread, you cannot buy fuel to put in your car. It is very difficult to get cooking oil at the moment, it is very expensive. To make things worse, the salaries that we all earn here, what the civil servants earn here, any other person it is rated according to the $450 exchange rate. If you quote salaries that we are getting today, it is around $30 000. The majority of our people in Zimbabwe are getting $30 000 and $30 000 vis-a-vis the $450 rate; is nothing.
The cost of goods in the shops, bread is almost $400, cooking oil almost $1800 and the Poverty Datum Line (PDL) has gone very high. At the moment, the PDL is around $75 000 to $90 000. How many people in Zimbabwe are earning $90 000? School fees have gone up. The schools that were charging $3000 last term are now charging $10 000. Schools that were charging $6 000 last year are now charging $90 000 today. Boarding schools are now completely out of range but we know most of our children do go to boarding schools.
These are the basic requirements of any human being and this is the responsibility of the Government to make sure that people live comfortably, but the economic challenge or crisis in Zimbabwe at the moment is sliding out of control. The Government has lost control over the economy of this country because the Government cannot take the pace or set the agenda. The agenda is being set by external people, external forces, the people in the street, the people in the diaspora, people that are in other countries that I will mention in future. They decide on our fate and this is quite terrible.
It is true I was just reading an article today that the country is about to face serious instability. The country is about to face uprisings, demonstrations because of hunger. The moment the people of any country suffer, they tend to go into the street. I read somewhere in an article last week when the Malawian people were actually marching on the street to go and present a petition somewhere at a Government office. Why is that happening? You can see; the question is, what is the problem? The problem is not all what we are talking about from my point of view. The problem is us as Zimbabweans and as Africans.
I bleed when I look at the geographical economic strength of the world. Africa is the richest continent on earth but we are the poorest. Zimbabwe is one of the richest countries in the world but today we are crying about our economy and our currency, our Reserve Bank and we are fighting amongst ourselves. We are pointing fingers at each other, the question is why? Why is it that Africa is what it is today?
The challenge is that Africans have failed to be innovative. Africans have gone to school; it has professors and doctors, only to parrot the education that they have gone to school to get. No African has been revolutionary in approach to the system of governance. There is a man whom we will celebrate after some years, the late R. G. Mugabe. He was determined to take the bull by its horns and waged a revolution on our land. We are the only country which has repossessed its own land in Africa and the world-over. That was revolutionary, whatever happened is something else but on the issue of land, we own our land – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.] – We are rich in that aspect and we hope other African countries can also do the same.
My plea to Cde. Emmerson Mnangagwa is to lead a new revolution of setting up an African Government system that is different from what we are having. My argument is we are failing to run our economies because we are using a borrowed governance system – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.] – Today we are in this Parliament using whose system? Next year we are going to elections, using whose system? Do we know it? Africa needs to develop a governance system that has an African culture, African identity and African history. At the moment, we are not using that.
The Western governance system makes us like school children – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.] – There are people outside this continent who will say you have gone to elections in 2023, have you passed; you are marked and given marks. I know the marks that we will get next year, it will be three out of ten - failed. Why is it that their economies are surviving using the same governance system? It is because the governance system they are using is cultured according to their Western world; they know it, because they developed it on their own. For instance, the Eastern world as well, they have their own governance system which they developed and they understand; look at their economies, they are developing. Zimbabweans or Africans are using a borrowed governance system yet we are failing.
Elections alone are not a solution, it actually divides our system – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.] – Hon. President, the moment we go for elections, a certain Western power would take one side and the other Eastern power will take another side and a friction is created in Africa or in Zimbabwe. Throughout the next coming five years, people are not going to develop their economy but they will be fighting over power agenda. Should we always fight for power or be on each other’s neck at the expense of the people’s lives? We cannot do that. We have to think outside the box, be innovative, revolutionary and introduce a new system for African governance so that no one will mark you like a school kid and no one will follow you to say you failed there. We must manage ourselves as Africans. The moment we develop our own system that is not going to be marked by the East or Western world, we will be able to focus on post-election agenda and it must be an economic agenda, not a perpetual fight for power.
I want to call upon Zimbabweans to consider a simple solution, which is to dialogue among themselves. Let us call for an all stakeholders’ conference and invite every key person in the country, invite the ruling party, ZANU PF, all opposition political parties, church leaders, traditional leaders, business leaders and labour unions. Let us prescribe a new system of governance, which should not be related to the West or East but related to the African culture and the system of governance that has got a Zimbabwean identity, culture and history of living together and co-existing. Let us go to elections and elect a President, after that the President must invite the competitors who would have reached a threshold and form a Government of national unity. If we do that, the West will not be able to grab and abuse you and the East will not be able to do that too.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Order, I hear you Hon. Sen. Komichi, but there is a requirement for you to stick to the motion which we are debating. There is now a tendency for speakers to broaden it and turn it into politics. I think Hon. Sen. Dube’s motion was very clear.
HON. SEN. KOMICHI: Thank you Hon. President. I had actually reached a point where I was proffering a solution. What I thought the solution is, is what I am talking about now. Hon. President, I strongly believe that Zimbabweans must unite.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I agree with you.
HON. SEN. KOMICHI: If we unite, all these things will not be there. If we unite and agree on the way forward as Zimbabweans, we will be able to deal with all issues that are affecting us. One of the issues that is affecting our economy at the moment, which has put the economy to nose-dive into this motion is the sanctions. Sanctions need to be dealt with and they cannot be dealt with by one person. We have tried that and it has not worked.
Through national dialogue, the people will be able to put that item of sanctions as an agenda and agree on the way forward. People will be able to go and reach out to countries that have imposed sanctions on us and ask them to remove them collectively. One person cannot achieve that, we have tried that. The solution I am prescribing here is that we should be able to use, it is a very plausible solution. We must unite in every political party that we have, there must be unity in the ruling party and in the opposition parties so that we put together our heads and resolve this matter. The issue of corruption, I agree with you but it is the result of an economic decay. At the moment, everyone is so poor and everyone is so corrupt. It is like asking a fish that is in a dam not to drink water. It will have to drink water because it is there, so corruption levels are so high because everyone is corrupt. There are very few people in Zimbabwe now who are not corrupt. Corruption is as a result of an economic decay, and corruption is as a result of the sanctions that have been imposed on us. It is very difficult to deal with corruption because the person that you send to go and arrest will also be corrupted.
So we need a holistic solution, and holistic approach to this, and it needs brave men and brave women to take up the revolution to make sure that we introduce a new African governance system, a Zimbabwean African governance system. I plead with the country President to take that bull by the horns and push forward, and call all of us to agree on the way forward to save our own country. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. SHUMBA: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to this motion. I also want to give my perspective on the issue of the economy. When you listen to Hon. Members debating, you will observe that the problem has been with us for a while. I was asking myself, when did all these things start? What is the root cause? We should always look at the root cause whenever we have a problem and we uproot the problem from the root, and see if it persists.
I have heard a lot of Hon. Members speaking and they are also of a similar mind that viewed the sanctions being the causative agent of our problems, and that others also are greedy in terms of power. There is also the spirit of ensuring that no one gets anything done – scorched earth policy or the tonnes of sand being poured into an issue. African countries are united in that the sanctions should be removed. Why are they still in place? We will then find that those who are in good books with the whites are the ones who are killing this country, and even today, they are saying that as Africans, they are the ones who are killing this country.
As I was reading the news, I observed that people go to the streets to demonstrate against a Government because the Government has failed to pay its workers and such other things. We agreed in this august House that our economy is adversely affected by foreign currency. Is there anyone who has demonstrated that we no longer want the United States Dollars? Are we not paying lip service in here but once we go outside, no one speaks against the United States Dollars? ZINASU wants colleges closed because fees have been increased. Why have they not gone onto the streets to demonstrate because the United States Dollar value has gone up? Why are we this blind? If we observe this in this august House, what should we do about it?
When you go to the street, you will find sackfuls of United States Dollars as well as local currency but when you go to the banks, there is nothing. Are we incapable of speaking against such things? Is it not possible to question the person who heads the Reserve Bank? What is he like? Why should we not call him since he is responsible for the Zimbabwean currency, and the one who is causing hunger for us? We are suffering from hunger. What does it mean when a loaf of bread costs ZWL$400.00?
We have the amarula fruit being processed in our area but if you want to buy Amarula wine, a small bottle will cost USD$10.00. Why would the amarula fruit processed in Zimbabwe, being sold at USD$10.00? This is what is bothering us. I just had to add my voice by saying that we may spend the whole day debating until the cows come home mooing. There is rampant corruption. I was also recently involved in corruption.
When you get to the tollgates during peak hours, you will find a huge flow of motor vehicles, and there will only be two tellers processing the motor vehicles. Other people would then use the exempted route, and a lot of people pass through that exempt route. I saw a woman carrying a sack full of money – that is corruption. I also produced my money but did not get a receipt. So where is this money going? This is what has killed us. Even those who work for ZIMRA are hungry. We are not seeing where this hunger is coming from because we have a lot of mines in this country yet there is nothing to show for it.
I came from Chiadzwa and a lot of money is being made by the Chinese but the roads are so poor. They are in a sorry state. Where is the money going to? They are simply coming in and taking our money, and we are remaining poorer. Let us as black people do something about it. We are now oppressing ourselves. We used to be oppressed by the British but that era has gone. We are now oppressing ourselves, and as legislators, we must come up with good laws because the country has gone to the dogs. Fuel now costs a lot of money even in the USD terms, let us arise and shine like the Bible says. Let us wake up, stand up and be counted as black people. We must show our displeasure at the poor economy that our country has or maybe this is caused by those who are friendly to the whites because we hear them saying, whites will be flooding in this country after five days when they get into power.
What do we need whites for? After all, they are the ones who have flooded the USD in this country. When we say, let us be united, and when you speak like what Hon. Sen. Dr. Mavetera said, you are stigmatised as having been bought or bribed by ZANU PF. What we need in Zimbabwe is unity. If we are not united, this animal called corruption will never come to an end because there are those saying that such things should be imposed so that we die of hunger.
Like what His Excellency the President has previously stated, I would also want to say that this country can be built by its own people. Zimbabwe can be built by Zimbabweans. Let us build Zimbabwe so that we do not encounter the famine that we are experiencing at the moment. Let us not be self-centered. If there is a leakage, we should demonstrate against those leakages. The Reserve Bank Governor should come and tell us. Why should we be afraid of him? Anyone who is convicted of corruption should spend life in prison or if they are to be beheaded, let it be so. I thank you.
HON. SEN. A. DUBE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 5th May, 2022.
MOTION
EFFORTS TO CURB CORRUPTION
Ninth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion to introduce deterrent services for those engaging in corrupt activities.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: I would like to make a brief contribution to the motion raised by Hon. Sen. Tongogara, a motion that was extensively debated by many Honourable Members. The subject of corruption is a subject that is ever green in Zimbabwe. Like I said earlier on, it has undermined and continues to undermine development in this country. Corruption continues to be pervasive and pernicious to the detriment of the country.
Mr. President, corruption is defined in the First Schedule of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission Act as follows; ‘an act of soliciting, accepting, giving, obtaining, promising or offering of a gratification by way of a bribe or other personal temptation of inducement’. In other words, corruption refers to misuse and abuse of public office for private gain. It is also a form of dishonest or criminal offence undertaken by an individual or a firm that has authority in order to acquire illicit benefits.
Allow me Mr. President to go through the types of corruption that are taking place in Zimbabwe. The types are quite numerous but allow me to go through the most common ones. The first one is bribery which is a criminal and corrupt practice where an entity offers something of value to a corporate or a public figure to solicit for cooperation or influencing of a decision making process. We have seen this happening in most companies. You get to somebody who is in authority; he is given maybe $100 so that the person influences a quick decision to the benefit of the person who is seeking such a service that is bribery. Instead of taking the normal channel and allow the actual process to take place, people are not patient and bribe to quicken the process.
Secondly, I talk of extortion. This is very rampant in this country. Extortion refers to demand for a bribe for a service before it is given, ah ndipe $10 ndiite ichi - that is extortion. You want to apply for a piece of land, can I have $200 so that process goes quickly, and that is extortion. You are getting the money by cohesion. I did not want to pay you because this is Government land and you are asking me for $200 so that you give me the land, this is extortion.
We also have what we call cronyism. This is a practice of partiality in awarding of employment and other benefits to friends and relatives. Who is my relative? There is a vacancy at a certain company; I cannot give Mrs. Muzenda the post because I need a friend or relative. That is cronyism. We also have nepotism which is very common. People are working at a company and a vacancy arises in the company, I cannot give to someone who deserves. I would rather opt to give my friend or relative who does not have the proper qualifications that are required. That is corruption and it is happening everywhere even at the teacher training colleges, nursing schools or boarding schools. Mwana ane four units cannot get a place but somebody comes in with 14, 15 or 16 units, you find them at that school.
Then we have graft which is the unscrupulous use of a politician’s power for personal gain. This usually happens by misdirecting public projects to gain benefits. Mr. President, I am happy when I am talking to legislators who are supposed to be involved in the fight against corruption. I am sorry to liken this to you so that it becomes very clear. We have CDF and I am not shy to say this. Please I beg that you do not ask for examples, I am just saying this in passing. There are certain projects that are supposed to be performed by CDF but many times we go to the constituencies and you hear people saying we do not even know what CDF is. We do not even see where it is used and that is corruption because that fund has been diverted for somebody’s personal benefit.
We go on to embezzlement, which is an element of fraud and normally involves white collar jobs, vaye vanoba nepenzura but it is also a form of corruption. I just decided to talk of these so that we sail on the same frequency because when we talk of corruption, it is not one activity. There are many activities that constitute what we call corruption. Corruption is one of the unholy trinity of dirty money together with criminal and illegal commercial activities.
Allow me Mr. President to talk of the economic impact of corruption so that we see how bad corruption is. Corruption causes people to stay poor and suffer from high infant and child mortality. It deteriorates the country’s public infrastructure. Corruption reduces productivity, hinders investments, reduces economic growth, restricts trade, and distorts the size and composition of Government expenditure. When there is corruption, we are saying we are coming up with a $5 billion budget but that budget in most times is distorted because probably 10% of that budget is lost through pilferage or through the various methods of corruption that I talked about.
So our budget is distorted because of corruption. Corruption also weakens the country’s financial system by strengthening underground economy. There are a lot of activities that are happening underground that involve large sums of money and money that is supposed to be circulating in this country or in banks which is not in the banks but underground. So, there is another economic activity that is taking place underground. That is the effect of corruption.
Madam President, the reason why corruption thrives is because we tend to treat corrupt people as sacred people. Like I said earlier, the problem is not the shortage of legislation. The legislation is there and people are arrested day in day out, but what happens? Five years pass and no sentence was given to anybody; other people will then follow suit and say ndinongoitawo five years ndichienda kucourt ndichidzoka. We must not celebrate ill gotten wealth. We should suffocate corrupt people and create a hostile environment for them.
I will also look into the effects of corruption on nation building. Corruption leads to diversion of development resource for private gain. It leads to miscalculation of talent and loss of tax revenue, the money that is embezzled by the people in the offices is State revenue. That money is going elsewhere instead of benefiting the people. It has a negative impact on quality of infrastructure and public services, thereby slowing developmental growth.
There are quite a number of recommendations that we can try and implement and these include:-
Social Transformation: There is need for formation and reformation of the minds and hearts of Zimbabweans so that they know that corruption is the enemy of development in this country.
Enforcement of Anti-Corruption Law: This should be implemented fully without fear or favour. I encourage that the Anti-Corruption Commissioners be well remunerated so that they do not feel the desire to receive a bribe. The moment someone is hungry and is dealing with large volumes of money stolen from the State, chances are that he will say let me take this US$50.
Improve Socio-Economic Life of our people: This is the biggest weapon and it will reduce the tendency by public servants to demand and take bribes. We need to re-direct all the wealth of the country to develop the welfare of our people.
Adopting Mahatma Gandi’s lessons: The lessons are instructive and applicable to what is happening in this country today. He warned against seven social sins.
These are: avoid politics without principles. We are politicians yes and want to be in leadership positions, some aspire to be President but if you are not principled, you rush to ask for sanctions so that the people in your country suffer.
Avoid wealth without work: I cannot just wake up and be a billionaire and people start celebrating that Kambizi is a billionaire. The source of wealth must be divulged to the State. Today people are building mansions and nobody knows where the money is coming from.
Avoid commerce without morality.
Avoid pleasure without conscience.
Avoid education without character; Zimbabweans are very educated. There are a lot of professors but is the type of education conducive to the development of this country? Everyone wants to put on a tie because he is a professor. Our sons and daughters are professors around the globe but what is happening to this country - that is education without character. I am quite happy that Zimbabwe has shifted towards the correct path – Education 5.0.
Creating an Anti-Corruption Culture among our people: We need to do checks and balances within Government to fight corruption.
There is need for stiffer and prohibitive sentences to those found guilty of even a petty corrupt activity.
Cases of corruption must be dealt with within the shortest possible time and civil servants found guilty of corruption should be incarcerated for lengthy periods and dismissed from work. I thank you.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 5th May, 2022.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON HIV AND AIDS ON THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC LOCKDOWN RESTRICTIONS ON HIV AND AIDS SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM IN ZIMBABWE
Tenth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the impact of COVID-19 on motion on the impact of Covid-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions on HIV and AIDS service delivery system.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. A. DUBE: Mr. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 5th May, 2022.
MOTION
SECOND REPORT OF THE THEMATIC ON HIV AND AIDS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY (ART) ROLL-OUT PROGRAMME
Eleventh Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Implementation of the Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) Roll-Out Programme.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: Mr. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 5th May, 2022.
On the motion of HON. SEN. MUZENDA, seconded by HON. SEN. MATHUTHU, the House adjourned at Twenty-Four minutes to Five o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 4th May, 2022
The National Assembly Met at a Quarter-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. SPEAKER
VISITORS IN THE SPEAKER’S GALLERY
THE HON. SPEAKER: I wish to recognise the presence in the Speaker’s Gallery of the distinguished delegation from the Parliament of Malawi. The delegation is led by no other than the Right Hon. Cathrine Gotani Hara, the Speaker and Leader of the delegation and she is accompanied by Hon. Richard Chimwendo Banda, MP, and Leader of the House. He is also the Hon. Minister of Sport. The next one is Hon. Roderick Khumbanyiwa, MP from the UDF Party. He is the Party Whip. There is Mr. Jeffrey Mwenyeheli, the Deputy Clerk of Parliament, Parliamentary Services and we also have Mr. MacDonald Kabondo, Controller of Human Resources and Development. There is Mr. Moffat Makande, Acting Chief Clerk Assistant, and Table Office. There is Ms, Grace Nyirenda, and Special Assistant to the Speaker of Parliament; and last but not least, Ms. Vanessa Manda, Protocol Officer. The delegation is here on a benchmarking visit. Hon. Speaker, you are welcome to the National Assembly of Zimbabwe - [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] -
ERROR ON THE ORDER PAPER
THE HON. SPEAKER: I have to draw your attention to an error on the Order Paper relating to Orders of the Day Nos. 20 to 21 where the Printer repeated the Annual Report of the Judicial Services Commission for the year 2021. The correct reports are as follows: Order of the Day No. 20 should reflect the Annual Report of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission for the year 2021 and Order of the Day No. 21 should reflect the Annual Report of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission for the year 2020.
APOLOGIES RECEIVED FROM MINISTERS
THE HON. SPEAKER: I have received a general notice of our Cabinet Ministers who are winding up Cabinet Business and should be on their way. We have here an array of the Deputy Ministers except for the following apologies: - Hon. Mangwiro, Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care; Hon. Mudyiwa, Deputy Minister of Energy and Power Development; Hon. Karoro, Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement and Hon. I. R. Modi, the Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce.
Hon. Musabayana, where are you?
HON. MUSABAYANA: I am here.
THE HON. SPEAKER: You are temporarily elevated to be the Leader of Government Business. Please come and sit at the front seat – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – Order, order, Hon. Members on my left.
I have conferred with the senior member of the party and we have agreed – [HON. CHIBAYA: Hon. Speaker, I was simply saying that ZANU PF MPs were attending Committees before swearing in.]- I apologise for that, we wanted a proper announcement.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
HON. MASENDA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, good afternoon. My question goes to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. It is in regard to the Government policy on paying fees for the teachers. There has been an outcry on non-payment of school fees for the teachers’ children and I want to know why that is the case.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. E. MOYO): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I want to thank the Member for the question. The question relates to conditions that were signed for with civil servants representatives at NJNC. I may not be privy to whether they have been paid or not but I think that was the agreement that was signed for. I thank you.
HON. MASENDA: Mr. Speaker Sir, I have full information that that has not been the case. Government has not paid fees for the teachers’ children, so I wanted a response as to why that is the case because none of the teachers’ children had their fees paid by the Government.
HON. E. MOYO: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir and I want to thank the Hon. Member for the supplementary question. Conditions of service of civil servants fall under the purview of the Public Service Commission. As a Ministry, we may not be privy to the latest information in terms of these payments. I am not aware whether they have been paid or not because this is the responsibility of the Public Service Commission.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I just wanted to find out from the Hon. Minister how normal that kind of policy is for Government to say it will pay school fees on behalf of an adult. Why do you not pay the teachers sufficient salaries for them to pay school fees for their own children, not Government to do that? – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.]-
HON. E. MOYO: Thank you Mr. Speaker, I think it is common knowledge that issues to do with salaries and conditions of service of civil servants fall under the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare through the Public Service Commission. Therefore, I may not be able to give an answer on behalf of another Ministry -[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]-
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order, we will defer that question, I am sure the Hon. Minister should come in any time – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Order, order I have ruled that once the Hon. Minister Prof. Mavima is here, he will have to answer that question.
*HON. DUTIRO: My question is directed to the Minister of Industry and Commerce. What is Government policy in terms of funding manufacturers? What is Government policy in terms of creating employment for small enterprises?
THE HON. SPEAKER: In Shona they say seka urema wafa – [Laughter.] -
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. DR. MUSABAYANA): With regards to what Government is doing to support manufacturers in industry, our Government has several policies that are meant to promote industry. Firstly, is to create an environment for those industries to succeed, that is why we have enacted several laws and policies that support local businesses. That is why you hear of import substitution, hence our supermarkets are full of locally manufactured products.
During the just ended Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, we were told that 70% of goods in the shops are locally manufactured products. Those goods are coming from SMEs. There are small businesses doing those products. If you look at who is doing those businesses, it is mainly the youth and women. That is why Government gave funding to the Women’s Bank as well as Empower Bank that promotes small to medium enterprises. Government also availed funds to women’s banks to fund women as well as the youth. That is one way of promoting such opportunities.
Even other commercial banks are also encouraging that you access funding to do that. Finally, our education system through Education 5.0 has established incubation centres whereby those who graduate from colleges or schools can start businesses and get funding from Government. Government is availing such facilities like the incubation centres. Those start-ups show that indeed Government is doing a lot to support industries and the informal sector to be productive and produce various goods. I thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order Mr. Speaker Sir. May you kindly encourage the Hon. Members to speak in English for the benefit of the Malawian delegation because they do not understand. THE HON. SPEAKER: I think that is a sensible point of order. You must be very careful in terms of listening. He said encourage. He did not say they must speak. They are so encouraged accordingly.
HON. MADZIMURE: We continue to see a lot of our school and college leavers roaming the streets unemployed. Is the Minister saying that the measures that Government has taken so far, it has exhausted all the measures that it can to create employment to the extent that they cannot afford to finance industry anymore as they are doing with agriculture?
HON. DR. MUSABAYANA: I would like to thank Hon. Madzimure for such an important question. It is important to note that Government has not only focused on SMEs or start-ups but we are saying Government has focused on creating an enabling environment for industry to strive. The evidence that there is an enabling environment is seen when we look at what has been happening in the last few months where we opened a heavy industry in Chivhu area where there will be mining and processing of steel. We have also come up with models where we said instead of exporting all our minerals as raw, we are now processing them. There must be beneficiation and value addition. This is why we saw the suspension of exports of chrome so that we attract investors to put up smelters and start to produce.
When we start doing that, this is how we start to create employment. When it comes to unemployment levels that are high, the world-over, we now have challenges of unemployment because of the pandemic and many other disruptions that have happened to the global economy. As Zimbabwe, we also see that our agriculture has picked up. We recorded a surplus last year in terms of our cereals, maize and wheat which is an important throughput into the manufacturing sector. Once our agriculture sector starts doing well, it means our manufacturing sector will also have enough throughput. As you know that our industry rides on the agricultural sector, a rebound in the agricultural sector will actually trigger a ripple effect which will be a further rebound into the manufacturing sector which is now happening. You are saying the world over, even the developed world are now focusing on start-ups. The new frontier of creating employment is on start ups. It is where we have innovation hubs and those innovation centres but it is not saying that is the one and only solution or the panacea to our problem of unemployment. So we have a broad approach that the Government has taken to open up various sectors.
We also look at the mining sector and the various reforms that have been put in place to allow the small scale players to take up jobs and to start up their own mining activities, which goes a long way in actually creating employment. Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. CHIKWINYA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. My supplementary question arises from the initial answer so provided by the interim Leader of Government Business to an extent that the two banks created by Government, the Youth Empowerment Bank and the Women’s Micro-Finance Bank are offering loans to the Small to Medium Enterprise Sector. The majority of the intended beneficiaries in those two sectors are the youths and the women. These two groups do not have collateral. My question therefore Hon. Speaker is what conditions have these two banks set up away from the demands of collateral security which is the normal demand in other banks? These are supposed to promote the youths and women so that at least they can develop their ideas, which I want to believe are bankable, without the demand for collateral security.
HON. MUSABAYANA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. It is true that these banks that have been set up also have some levels of collateral. Last year in July, the Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation launched the youths starter pack. The President in October also launched a manufacturing plant in Mutoko where he pronounced some of the expectations for the youths to qualify for these loans. The model that we are using on the Empowerment Bank is a much simplified model where we are saying, the youths can form up a group and part of the group can be qualified as part of the collateral. They have also allowed the youths – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Yes. That is part of the requirement.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order Hon. Minister, can you address the Chair.
HON. MUSABAYANA: The second model that we have used in the Youth Empowerment Bank is that we have allowed the youths - say they want to go into mining, they can submit quotations for the equipment that they want. That equipment becomes part of the collateral. They securitise that equipment and to become part of the collateral. If you want to go into beef manufacturing and you want equipment, part of the moveable assets are now accepted by the banks as collateral. We have also allowed the guarantors to use the assets that they have. In the communal areas, we have allowed scotch carts and all the various tools that an ordinary man will have at a household level to be accepted as collateral and the banks are accepting those items of collateral.
The third model that we have also used is what they call off-takers agreements where youths who are involved in value chain financing will actually get orders for the produce that they want to produce. They get supplies of the materials that they want to use and the orders become part of the collateral. When they sell, the off-takers of the product will pay back to the bank. This is the model that we have come up with and the model is working very well to allow our youths to go into farming. We have also allowed the youths to use affidavits or letters from our councillors or the headmen and chiefs to use as proof of residence which is not the norm under the normal procedures of the banks. These are the models that we have used to try and alleviate the processing of our youths’ loans. Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order. Hon. Members, you will recall that we did adjourn the question on payment of fees for the teachers and the Hon. Deputy Minister is now here. The question Hon. Deputy Minister is firstly, why is it that Government has not instituted that arrangement. The Hon. Deputy Minister from Primary and Secondary Education indicated that the matter is within the portfolio for the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare. Subsequently, there was a supplementary question to say why paying for the fees for the teachers’ children instead of improving the salaries of teachers so that they can pay for their own children. Those were the two questions that arose.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. MATUKE): Thank you Hon. Chair. I will respond to the second question first where Hon. P. D. Sibanda wanted to establish why we are paying school fees instead of improving on the teachers’ salary. It was never an initiative from the Ministry but it was negotiated by the unions. The teachers’ unions negotiated for that benefit, so the Government was responding to the request by the unions to ask the Ministry to pay fees for their children.
The second response as to when we are going to pay the teachers, there is some work to be done before payment is made. We are now in the process of capturing data on the number of teachers where the Government is supposed to be paying the school fees. When this system was introduced, nobody had information about how many kids Hon. Sibanda who is teaching in Binga and in Munyikwa, so we are still in the process of capturing the names. The other thing is, as soon as we finish that process, they are going to be paid - back dating from the date which the announcement was made. So there is no disadvantage. I thank you.
HON. ZWIZWAI: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir. Good afternoon to you Mr. Speaker.
Hon Zwizwai having been talking to other Hon. Members instead of posing his question.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Zwizwai, you want me to stand you down?
HON. ZWIZWAI: I want you to be kind with me Sir.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Yes, I am very kind with you, proceed.
HON. ZWIZWAI: My supplementary question is that as we play our oversight role…
THE HON. SPEAKER: Before you speak Hon. Zwizwai, indulge me, I recognise a number of Members who are not wearing their masks properly; cover your nose and mouth. Please proceed.
HON. ZWIZWAI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My supplementary question is that as we play our oversight role as Parliament, I would like to know from the Hon. Deputy Minister, whether there is a Statutory Instrument (SI) to the effect that those school fees will be paid or it was just a rally talk which you want to be enforced without a SI. If it is not enforced, why does it take more than a year to come up with an SI so that at least the teachers can refer to an SI when their kids are closed out of the gate.
HON. MATUKE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I would like to thank the Hon. Member for asking such an important question. I am sure the issue is still under process and I hope as we gather information from the teachers who are the beneficiaries for that payment, I think it is going to coincide with the time when we are going to pay the teachers.
THE HON. SPEAKER: I think the point is taken. Hon. Zwizwai, I am commenting on your substantial question. I am saying the import of your question is that there must be a legal framework on which the process must stand so that there is no misunderstanding at law.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My question rides on the previous question and also on the answer by the Hon. Minister to the effect that - can there be a moratorium or can there be some relief of some sort for the children of teachers to attend school before the payment of that fees, wherever they attend school so that the more than 10 000 children, where I come from who are in secondary and primary do not unfairly get sent back because Government has not paid. Would it please the Minister to send a letter of comfort to those schools so that they can anticipate in the future the fees and the kids are not sent back home?
THE HON. SPEAKER: Are you sure the 10 000 are children of teachers, where did you get that data from?
HON. NDUNA: The 10 000 are children who are being taught by teachers who have children. Morale plays a big part in terms of teaching…
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order! Your question is out of order.
HON. T. MLISWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My recommendation is, would it please the Minister to write a memorandum to all schools to allow the kids to attend school while modalities are being put in place because the children are innocent and the Constitution is very clear about children…
THE HON. SPEAKER: Which children are you talking about?
HON. T. MLISWA: The children of teachers.
HON. MATUKE: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I think the recommendation that was raised by the Hon. Member is quite good and we have no reason not to try and do that. The only thing is again to speed up coming with a Statutory Instrument that will support the payment. Otherwise it is a good suggestion. I thank you.
HON. MARKHAM: Thank you Hon. Speaker. Before I ask my question, #I am very happy to welcome our delegates from Malawi, thank you - [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –
Mr. Speaker Sir, my question goes to the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and it pertains to the promise of registering two million people with the current undocumented people who are going to be registered. That is all well and good except for 13000 people per day. In a six-months period, we would have already finished the blitz of voter registration. How is the Ministry or Electoral Commission going to capture those two million people who are recently registered? I thank you.
Hon. Speaker having given the floor to Hon. Maboyi – [HON. MEMBERS: Haaaaa] –
HON. CHIKWINYA: On a point of order.
THE HON. SPEAKER: What is your point of order?
HON. CHIKWINYA: Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir. My point of order arises from a ruling in the previous week before we closed wherein a question of such nature was actually raised and you directed the issue of the voter registration not to the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage but to the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. So, I propose that perhaps the answer may come from the Leader of Government business and not from the Minister of Home Affairs.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Let her do what she is able to do – [Laughter.] – Order Hon. Members! The question is in two parts; there is the element of voter registration which is the purview of the Minister of Home Affairs. The other aspect, if the Hon. Minister is not able to answer, the Leader of Government business will step in.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. MAVHUNGA-MABOYI): Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir – [HON. CHIBAYA: Inaudible interjection.] –
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order Hon. Chibaya, that is a very sarcastic statement, you know that the Hon. Minister cannot unmute herself, can you withdraw that. You unmute the gadget and not the person.
HON. CHIBAYA: I withdraw my statement Cde. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: I am not even Cde. Speaker – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Hon. Chibaya, when I sit on this Chair, I am not a comrade. I thank you.
HON. MAVHUNGA-MABOYI: We have already started registering people, although ZEC has stopped, we had an agreement that they will come back. We are going to work with ZEC so that when we are completing the registration, they will also be registering people - [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –
HON. MARKHAM: Mr. Speaker, my question then follows that the undocumented people’s registration continues up to the 30th of September, 2022. Is that to say after September, ZEC will be in the areas again for registration of voters? I thank you.
HON. MAVHUNGA-MABOYI: Mr. Speaker Sir, by September we will have done everything we are going to do because if you go back to your constituency and check the speed in which our people are working, I am sure by end of September, we will have done everything. I thank you.
HON. MARKHAM: Point of clarity Hon. Speaker, my question has not been answered. My question is, will ZEC come after they finish registering on the 30th of September? The other thing is for example, the registration of undocumented people continues to the 30th of September for new identity documents. After that, we need to capture the newly registered people. That is my question, I thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: I think the Minister has already answered that.
HON. MAVHUNGA-MABOYI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I just want to promise you that those who are undocumented, by the end of September, we will have done everything. As I am saying, we are working day and night to make this thing a success. I thank you.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. My supplementary question to the Hon. Minister is that we realise that in most areas where these teams were giving identity documents, they were giving temporary paper identity documents and these temporary paper identity documents are unacceptable in most areas where identity documents are required. Are there any efforts from the Ministry to ensure that they give permanent plastic identity cards to these new identity cards registrants? I thank you.
HON. MAVHUNGA-MABOYI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Yes, we were giving temporary cards but now we have started giving out plastic identity cards. We hope again, as I said by September, we will have completed everything. I thank you.
HON. MUNENGAMI: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker Sir. The blitz on identity cards registration is ending on the 30th of September and they are giving the temporary identity documents, then the Hon. Minister said again by that date on the 30th September, they would have produced the plastic identity cards. So what happens to the others who were given before the 30th of September because as of now, they are issuing paper identity documents? Already we are left with no more than two or three months now up to September. How is that possible - that is impossible? I thank you very much.
HON. MAVHUNGA-MABOYI: We are not giving metal identity documents, the plastic ones - we gave temporary IDs with photos but now we are going to make a follow up and issue out the plastic identity cards. That will be done by September, 2022.
HON. HWENDE: My question is directed to the Minister of Finance and Economic Development. There is a general shortage of cooking on the market and where you find it, the manufacturers have now started selling the cooking oil in USD. What is the Government’s policy regarding companies that are given preference on the auction system to get foreign currency and then they go and sell the products in USD like United Refineries? – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] -
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order! Hon. P. D. Sibanda, yesterday I cautioned you for being unparliamentary.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. CHIDUWA): Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir, and thank you Hon. Hwende for the question. The question is very clear where the Hon. Member is saying we have got cases where retailers and wholesalers, those who are accessing foreign currency from the auction floor that are selling their products in foreign currency. Selling in foreign currency according to the dual system that we have at the moment is legal.
In cases where a product is being sold in foreign currency, there should be a display to show the equivalent in ZWL. However, cases where the implied rate or the displayed rate is at variance with the auction rate, this then becomes illegal. So the penalties that we have stipulated are those that were stipulated under SI 127. Statutory Instrument 127 expired and we then incorporated it under the Finance Bill and it is part of the Finance Act. Therefore, the penalties are still obtaining. So, the long and short of it is where the exchange rate being used is at variance with the auction rate, we apply the administrative penalties as contained in the Finance Act.
HON. MUTSEYAMI: Thank you Hon. Speaker. My supplementary question is to do with the pricing in USD, as the presentation has been done by the Hon. Minister that there are penalties to that with regards to retailers who have a variance against bank rate as advised by RBZ. We have retailers who are selling the cooking oil in USD and if you do not have USD, you do not get it, especially the wholesale shops across the country, the big ones that you know.
The issue of penalties, I do not know whether it is being applied because this thing is happening everywhere without any restrictions.
HON. CHIDUWA: The submission by the Hon. Member is quite a valid submission. I would want to approach the question in two ways,. the first one being the issue of market indiscipline. What is the ideology that we have as a country in terms of pricing? The policy that we have is we would want the economic trajectory of this country to be private sector led. We do not want to impose price controls. What we are looking for is situations where forces of demand and supply operate but they should do so within a specific economic environment where there is discipline. What we have at the moment is profiteering which is bordered on indiscipline.
Therefore, we have engaged the manufactures, the RBZ have engaged the retailers to say we are building this country together; we can wake up tomorrow and say we are having price controls but this is not going to help us. The issue that we are dealing with here is gross market indiscipline that is bordered on profiteering.
Then in terms the raft of measures that we are coming with, I think there was a request yesterday by this august House to say the Ministry of Finance should come up with a Ministerial Statement. I think these are some of the issues that we are going to deal with to say how then do we move forward given the fact that we have got such cases of indiscipline. However, as I have rightly said, all these issues are contained in SI 127 which is now under the Finance Act. What is needed is for us to say let us move a step forward and ensure that we apply the administrative penalties as contained in the Finance Act. I submit.
HON. HWENDE: I feel that my question has not been answered. Cooking oil is an essential basic commodity and there are companies that are given special preferences on the auction market. They get forex, manufacture cooking oil - for example, Dumbbell United Refiners then they are selling the cooking oil for USD only to civil servants and general workers that are being paid in RTGs. Where do you expect them to get money to buy the cooking oil from?
HON. CHIDUWA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. In terms of the administrative penalties, I am sure some of the Hon. Members saw the list that we published some two, three weeks ago. For those who are violating the auction rules, we move around as the Financial Intelligence Unit to check on those who are violating auction rules. Maybe the fines are not deterrent enough but in terms of the imposition of the administrative penalties, this is what we are doing literally on a daily basis. Maybe it is not deterrent enough but we are imposing the penalties. I submit.
HON. CHIKWINYA: My supplementary borders on the deterrent measures as contained in S.I. 127 of 2021 as the Hon. Deputy Minister has said. If you may enlighten Parliament so that at least in our oversight role we take scale of the deterrent measures, whether they are deterrent enough to scare away those perpetrators or they may easily be accommodated within the profiteering mechanism? Moreso, can you also enlighten Parliament on what basis we are coming up with an auction bank rate that is rejected by everyone and they drift to the parallel market? What is the basis of the official exchange rate because we may be putting in a law which is to the extent that it is rejected by everyone and everyone moves over to the parallel exchange rate? Perhaps he can combine those two particular items. Thank you.
HON. CHIDUWA: Thank you Madam Speaker. The response that the Hon. Member wants, these are specific fines but I would want to give an example; let us say there is a case where the retailer is using an exchange rate which is not in sync with the exchange rate that was used at the auction, in most of the cases it is RTGs50 000 and if it is RTGs50 000, surely it is not deterrent enough but what we have also said is what we can do which is to use all the products that are on display. Where we have got 20 products and each product is going to attract a fine of RTGs50 000, then this is going to be deterrent enough. I think this is where we may need to revise and say let us come up with measures which are deterrent enough. I think what is needed is for us to follow the law. If the Finance Act is saying we fine RTGS50 000, we cannot vary that unless if there is an amendment. So that is what we follow.
The other issue is that the Hon. Member asked the issue of the exchange rate which is being rejected by everyone. I am not sure if that exchange rate is being rejected by everyone. There is no way we can sanitise what is happening in the black market and take it as official. If something is illegal, it is illegal and I think what the Hon. Members may need to appreciate is, it is very easy for a country to be drawn into some of these things that are happening when our currency is under attack. Currency attack can actually be used. The issue we are dealing with here is the determination of the exchange rate which is dependent on fundamentals. Are our fundamentals in place? Yes, our fundamentals are in place.
We look at the current accounts. Our current account even for the first four months is in surplus. So the fundamentals are in place and what is important is for us now to look at who is sabotaging the currency and this is where we are. In terms of our response, we mentioned that on Thursday next week, we will come up with a ministerial statement and that is what we are going to do. Thank you.
HON. CHIKWINYA: At the beginning of this session, we did not have substantive ministers and an apology was given that they were supposed to be travelling from their point of Cabinet meeting to this House. Now I see some of them and my question is, does the ruling of the Speaker still hold that the struggling interim Leader of Government Business is still continuing or we are changing to another Leader of Government Business?
HON. BITI: Thank you Madam Speaker. My question is directed to my friend the Minister of Finance. We banned the use of foreign currency in two laws; Statutory Instrument 33 of 2019 and Statutory Instrument 142 of 2019. In Statutory Instrument 127 of 2021 which is now incorporated in the Finance Act, we were protecting the ZD to make sure that every trader uses the Zim dollar and to penalise traders who refuse to accept the Zim dollar such as OK Bazaars and others who are refusing to accept the local currency for the US dollar. So, there is no dual pricing system in Zimbabwe legally. My question is, why is the Minister misrepresenting the facts that number 1, we have a dual pricing system and Number 2, the use of foreign currency by traders including Ok Bazaars is an acknowledgement of the failure of the de-dollarization process. We ask once more why the Government is not simply dollarizing? I thank you.
*HON. TEKESHE: On a point of order Madam Speaker. My point of order is that we should find a solution by telling the truth. I buy from Ok and TM, they accept swipe.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Tekeshe.
HON. CHIDUWA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I think the Hon. Member is the one who is misrepresenting the facts. The fact is that when COVID-19 pandemic started, as part of the convenience measures that we put as a Government, we allowed the US dollar to move together with the Zim dollar but the use of the US dollar and the Zim dollar in terms of pricing, we do not say the Statutory Instrument 127 which is now part of the Finance Bill allows the display of both prices, that is the Zim dollar price and the US dollar price; this is what is there, we have not changed from that.
Madam Speaker, with regards to the usage of the US dollar, we have said this thing many times, you cannot run a country without the monetary policy leg. What the Hon. Member is advocating for does not work – [HON. BITI: It works, it worked during the GNU] – It does not work for us - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order.
HON. CHIDUWA: We are going to use the Zim dollar, how this happened during the GNU, I am sure people know that there was no investment in infrastructure. I think I have answered the Hon. Member. We have got a clear path in terms of where we are going. We cannot run a country with a currency which is not ours. We are going to ensure that we move from the usage of the US dollar to the Zimbabwe dollar, so this is where we are going.
HON. T. MLISWA: My question is directed to the Minister of Finance. I attended ZINARA AGM today which was quite successful. My question is, why do you not tax parastatals, they are in the business of making money and why are they not taxed? Will that not add a bit to your revenue? There are so many of them, some doing nothing yet they are not taxed. Why are parastatals not taxed?
HON. CHIDUWA: I want to thank you Hon. Mliswa for the question. I think I would need further guidance on this one because my understanding is, we do not have a taxation moratorium on parastatals, all parastatals are taxed. If there is any dispensation, it is clearly stated in Statutory Instruments and we are taxing all the parastatals.
HON. BITI: On a point of order Madam Speaker. Parastatals are not taxed because they are part of Government and the Government does not tax itself. That is the law.
HON. T. MLISWA: My supplementary is, can we get a clear position from the Minister in terms of the taxation procedure in Government enterprises which are there? If indeed they do not pay tax, can they start paying tax? Madam Speaker, may the Minister come back with the response in terms of the law and all that.
HON. CHIDUWA: Madam Speaker, parastatals do not pay corporate tax but any other taxes they pay. What was needed was to be specific. If it is the value added tax, they pay.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Madam Speaker. My supplementary question to the Hon. Minister is premised on the fact that there is no taxation in terms of the corporate tax. It is common cause that when you think the law is ultra vires the purpose of what you need to get to, you change the law. My question to the Hon. Minister is to find out if there is any looking forward in terms of changing the law in order to charge corporate tax on Government institutions.
HON. CHIDUWA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am and thank you Hon. Nduna for the question to say are we likely to have a policy in future where we are going to amend and charge corporate tax on Government entities. I know the language I want to use here is only known by Hon. Biti.
HON. PHULU: On a point of order. May the Deputy Minister withdraw that statement because he is assuming that we do not have capacity to be here?
HON. CHIDUWA: I withdraw. With regards to the possibility of Government levying corporate tax, what I wanted to submit is that this will create allocated inefficiencies. I do not foresee a situation where we are going to levy corporate tax on parastatals. The situation is going to remain as is. The other taxes they will pay but with regards to corporate tax, they are not a corporate entity. Sometimes they are there to provide a service. I do not foresee a situation where we are going to change the law and levy corporate tax.
HON. T. MLISWA: The whole reasoning behind this - and I am glad that Hon. Nduna buttressed the point. There is no other better explanation than a second year law student at the University of Zimbabwe to do that. The point is that parastatals are not making money. They are expected to pay dividends to Government. Firstly, they are not paying dividends and secondly they are not paying tax, which means they are basically a leaking pot. What do we need them for? Why would Government want to continue to be putting money into parastatals where money is not being made?
With that point of clarity, it is important the Minister understands they are there to make business. We cannot, as Parliament, be passing money yet we do not even have money ourselves which is leaking. It is either we stop giving money to parastatals or we give money to parastatals that perform and pay dividends. The dividends that they pay are supposed to go into the Consolidated Revenue Fund and it is not going there. I am sure the Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Development understood where I am coming from. We cannot keep on resourcing entities which are dysfunctional and where there is corruption. Government seems to be an agent of corruption if you continue doing that.
HON. CHIDUWA: The question by the Hon Member is very clear. When we levy corporate tax, we levy it on a company that would have made profit, which then means if what the Hon. Member said is true that they are making losses, there is nothing to tax because they are making losses. If they are making profit, surely they will declare a dividend. I would want to give an example of parastatals that have declared dividends. We have Telone and Kuvimba. I am sure when the state companies are making profit, they will declare a dividend and that is the position.
+HON. MATHE: How many ambulances should be allocated to a district hospital for it to function well?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. DR. MUSABAYANA): This is a very important policy issue but the general understanding is that every district hospital should at least have ambulances. In terms of the numbers it would depend on the catchment area or the population that is supposed to be covered. It will depend on the number of residents in that community where the ambulances are provided for. It is the aspiration of Government that the ambulances should be sufficient at any one point when there is a need for an ambulance, there should be an ambulance. Of late, we have distributed a few more ambulances even in the rural areas. Every district should have a number of ambulances that should be able to cover the needs of that area. I submit.
+HON. MATHE: Thank you for giving me an opportunity to pose a supplementary question. Madam Speaker, I am referring to some of the hospitals in the rural areas which do not even have a single ambulance which are only assisted by other health partners.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Mathe, you are not connected.
HON. MATHE: I am referring to the challenges with regards to ambulances, especially in rural hospitals. To mention a few, there is Nkayi Rural District Hospital. They end up getting help from other partners that work with the Ministry of Health. What is the Ministry saying about such hospitals? In his response, the Minister indicated that the ambulance is allocated depending on how many people it should serve. Why is it that we have a challenge of ambulances that are not sufficient, especially in rural hospitals? Thank you.
HON. DR. MUSABAYANA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I hear the Hon. Member’s very important concerns. Health is a priority for our citizenry. Indeed, it is sad that there could be some district hospitals without ambulances. Most of the district hospitals that we have are under the purview of the Rural District Councils (RDCs). It is the expectation of this Government that the RDCs have permutations of the health requirements of their communities. In the spirit of devolution, the Government has devolved most of its functions, meaning that if there is an area where there are no ambulances, they can use part of the devolution funds. It is the expectation of Government that the RDCs will use part of the devolution funds to purchase the ambulances that may be required. As Central Government, we also look forward to submissions for those areas where there are no ambulances so that the Central Government can also do some interventions to ensure that there are ambulances in all districts. Health is a constitutional requirement for our citizenry. Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am.
(v)HON. GABBUZA: Thank you Madam Speaker. Can the Hon. Minister indicate to this House what happened to the 100 ambulances that were set aside in the 2020 Budget?
HON. DR. MUSABAYANA: May the Hon. Member please repeat the question. I could not hear the question.
(v)HON. GABBUZA: My question is in the 2020 Budget …
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think we lost the Hon. Member.
HON. R. R. NYATHI: Thank you Hon. Speaker Ma’am. My question goes to the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare. How far has the Ministry gone in preparation for the distribution of food hand-outs or support for our people that they have now? Have their stores or granaries beenemptied? When are they planning to start the programme? I thank you.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. MATUKE): Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir. The distribution of cereals to vulnerable members of the community is still in progress. The only policy change was to first finish the small grains, which we believe very soon will be emptying from our granaries. Registration for new beneficiaries has kicked off. We have started registering the new beneficiaries for this year. We hope to complete the exercise before end of June. However, it will not stop the normal process of distribution. This exercise is only going to aid in making the assessment for this year, to ascertain whether we have more beneficiaries or less for this year. We did not stop the distribution which was in place for last year and the first quarter of this year. Thank you.
HON. CHIKWINYA: Thank you Madam Speaker. My supplementary question is that with regards to food distribution to vulnerable members of our society, I noticed that within the rural areas, there is a deliberate policy by Government to involve Members of Parliament and councilors.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: You are not connected Hon. Chikwinya.
HON. CHIKWINYA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I noticed that with rural areas, there is a deliberate policy by Government to involve Members of Parliament and Councillors on the distribution of food supplements to vulnerable groups. There is a policy shift however when it comes to urban areas where Members of Parliament and Councillors are not involved in the data capture and distribution of food to vulnerable communities within urban areas. Can we understand from the Minister of Public Service why there is disparity between the rural and urban areas? Thank you.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. MATUKE): Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. It is not Government policy for Members of Parliament (MPs) or councillors to distribute food. What we do as a Ministry is that we go to a ward, then come up with a committee that is responsible for the distribution of the food. In cases where you find the councillor or MP involved in the distribution, it means the committee would have chosen the two to do that. There is no policy to say councillors or MPs should distribute.
HON. PHULU: Thank you Madam Speaker. My supplementary is that as for us, councillors or MPs represent the people. Those committees that you choose, what is the criteria for choosing those committees? Why do you allow a situation where discretion is left to those committees, whether to incorporate or to involve the MP or the councillor? Is the Government not going to change that policy and have a more deliberate policy that ensures that there is proper oversight by those who represent the people?
HON. MATUKE: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to thank the Hon. Member for asking a very important question. He is asking whether we can change the policy or not. I am talking about the current policy. The Member is suggesting whether we can improve on that. That is a different thing and I have no objection to your request but the current policy is what we are using as we distribute until we get a new policy.
*HON. TEKESHE: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. My question is directed to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. My question is on the number of days children are supposed to attend classes. Those who had actually asked for two days per week were teachers who had pointed out that they were incapacitated. Now, we heard the Government saying they are now going to attend classes for five days a week, are they now capacitated? Thank you.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. E. MOYO): Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I would like to thank the Hon. Member for the question. The current policy that we have come up with is that teachers teach for five days and students come to school for five days. The issue of incapacitation is not what we are dealing with. Teachers were assisted, an agreement was reached and they are going to work. Using that, we are saying we will continue teaching every day. The issue of incapacitation has not come to us and I may not comment on that. Thank you.
HON. TOBAIWA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. My question is directed to the Minister of Mines. What is Government policy on safety in mines considering the number of deaths in mines in our communities, for example there were many deaths at Globe and Phoenix, Gwanda, Kadoma and Chegutu?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING DEVELOPMENT (HON. KAMBAMURA): Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to thank the Hon. Member for the question. As Government, we urge all our miners to be conversant with the Mines and Minerals Act which governs the mining industry. We have sections to do with safety measures where we encourage miners to work safely on areas of their operations. Also, we work with the Ministry of Environment because we have noticed that some people work in areas that are not safe enough, like waterways or areas that are not supported.
As a Ministry, we are on an awareness campaign to educate miners on safer mining standards and on cases where such accidents would have happened, we urge miners to report to the police and also report to the Ministry of Mines Provincial Officers in our provinces. Also, allow me to take this opportunity to advise that it is a criminal offence for people to go underground in open pits which are not supported. Perpetrators of such acts will be arrested if found. I thank you.
HON. CHIKWINYA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. My supplementary question arises from the Hon. Minister’s answer on awareness of safety measures within our mining entities. Some time back, the Hon. Minister came to Parliament and advised Parliament that there were going to be mining officers stationed within districts who were going to be responsible for enhancing mining activities in a safe manner and in a more productive manner, the same model which we use for Agricultural Extension Officers. My question now will be - have those officers been recruited? If they are recruited, what has been the impact with regards to safety and production within the mining areas? Thank you.
HON. KAMBAMURA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. The issue to do with mining extension was attended to, we advertised for the post and did interviews. What is left now is for Public Service to finalise the matter before we deploy them to all our mining districts. For now, they are not yet on the ground but as Ministry, with our provincial mining inspectors, together with environmental inspectorate department - we are going around on awareness campaigns to all our mining districts. I thank you.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Madam Speaker, the current Mines and Minerals Act is quite archaic, moribund, rudimental, antiquated and medieval, to say the least. When is the...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Nduna, time for Questions Without Notice has expired.
HON. NDUNA: Madam Speaker, I move that Question Time be extended by a further 10 minutes.
Motion put and negatived.
Questions Without Notice were interrupted by the THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER in terms of Standing Order No. 68.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE
REVIEW OF ALLOWANCES FOR TRADITIONAL LEADERS
- HON. BRIG. GEN. (RTD) MAYIHLOME asked the Minister of Local Government and Public Works to explain to the House when the Ministry will review allowances of traditional leaders.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. CHOMBO): Thank you Hon. Speaker. Madam Speaker, it may please this august House to note that Section 284 (1) of the Constitution states that an Act of Parliament must provide for the remuneration and benefits of traditional leaders to be fixed with the approval of His Excellency the President given on the recommendation of the Minister responsible for Finance and after consultation with the Minister responsible for traditional leaders. As we speak, we await the finalisation of the alignment of the Act. Be that as it may, it has been the practice that traditional leaders’ allowances get reviewed at the same time when salaries of civil servants are reviewed. I thank you.
TRADITIONAL LEADERSHIP WRANGLES OF VILLAGE HEADS
- HON. BRIG. GEN. (RTD) MAYIHLOME asked the Minister of Local Government and Public Works to inform the House when the Ministry will resolve the traditional leadership wrangles of village heads that were caused by unprocedural appointments by Chiefs in Umzingwane District.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. CHOMBO): Thank you Madam Speaker. Let me start by thanking the Hon. Member for asking the question which touches on the appointment of traditional leaders. However, let me inform this august House that it is not the responsibility of Chiefs to appoint village heads but they only nominate for appointment by the Secretary of Local Government and Public Works. In addition, the question of how depends on how urgently the appointments disputes have been lodged.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Madam Speaker, we have witnessed incessant attack on the institution of traditional leaders through political interference, not only in Mzingwane, it also applies even in Binga where we have seen traditional leaders and headmen being removed from their positions by Chiefs on the instruction of the District Development Coordinator for only one wrong that they are not supporting the ruling party. Is that Government policy that headmen and other traditional leaders are supposed now to support ZANU PF?
HON. CHOMBO: Thank you Madam Speaker and I want to thank Hon. P. D. Sibanda for the follow up question. Traditional leaders are apolitical and we do not look at the party the person belongs to when doing appointments. So if you have complaints especially with the DDC that you have mentioned, please can you bring them to my office but as Government policy, we do not entertain that kind of behaviour.
HON. T. MLISWA: Madam Speaker, it is not a secret that the Minister of Local Government Hon. J. G. Moyo and Deputy Minister Hon. Chombo are violating the Traditional Act. They are constantly appointing themselves ignoring family trees, no wonder why there are so many cases in the courts. They are using that for political expediency, some of them have ambitions to be presidents. They believe that by politically appointing them, they are creating a power base, if you look at it - why is it that there are so many challenges? Not only that, when you go and appoint these traditional leaders, you even ignore the chief’s provincial council which is responsible for making sure that they are present to recognise the ceremony – they are not there.
Therefore, many of these situations happening are a result of political influence in a bid to appease His Excellency but destroying the tradition and heritage of this country. You are part of this and I do not know why the good Lord and ancestors of this country have not done something proper to remove you from those positions.
Hon. July Moyo is an ambitious person who wants to be a president and I say it on record. As a result, he is using traditional leaders. You have also been incorporated in the corruption of these chiefs. You must answer why you are interfering.
I have got an example of Mashayamombe clan in Mhondoro where the family chose somebody but you went and put somebody who the family did not choose. Do you have the right to choose on behalf of the family? Where in the Constitution does it say you must choose on behalf of the family? Kana dzinza rekwa Mliswa vati ini ndinopinda, where does the Minister come in to pick somebody?
You are part of that rot at Mashayamombe chieftainship in Mhondoro Deputy Minister and you have been skirting but today I have decided to tell you – it must go on record, stop abusing that office for political expediency and damaging the reputation of the President. Tell us why you were involved in Mashayamombe chieftainship by appointing somebody whom they did not want?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC WORKS AND NATIONAL HOUSING (HON. CHOMBO): Thank you Madam Speaker Maam and thank you Hon. Mliswa for that contribution. I do not know if it is a question or it is a contribution. However, just to set the record straight, we have a procedure that we follow, be it resuscitation of chieftainship or it is after the death of a chief. We have a selection committee and in that selection committee we look at the family tree. All the families are given two weeks’ notice to call each other and gather.
The person who will be present at that selection committee taking the notes is the provincial secretary and also the District Development Coordinator of that area. After that we get the minutes and the name is submitted to the provincial assembly. If there are any complaints or whatsoever, they also contact our office and we advise the provincial assembly and if they need to go back to do the selection, it is done. After that if it passes through the provincial assembly, it goes to the provincial council and after that we take all the recommendations which go through the AG’s office and then to the President.
Nowhere within that process is Local Government involved in the selection of the chief to be appointed. If there are any complains whatsoever, before the installation, they go to court and the process takes its course.
I just want to say that issue which has been raised by Hon. Mliswa where he talked about the Mashayamombe case; nowhere has my Minister, my Ministry appointed a chief, only that we get the one who has been selected by the family and we go by the family tree. I thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of clarity! Madam Speaker, the Hon. Deputy Minister is correct. I want to thank you Madam Speaker for giving this topical issue its time because we are a nation of tradition, culture and heritage which is being destroyed. By nature, the traditional leaders must not be appointed by anybody, not even a Minister.
The District Development Coordinator and the Provincial Development Coordinator reports to the Minister of Local Government, a good example is Shurugwi; the DDC for Shurgwi, Cde Mupete, a war veteran was changed from Shurugwi to Spolilo, Guruve because they differed with the Minister. He has got a tendency of changing DDC’s and PDC’s who do not work on his instructions. So, to me there is a clear violation.
Therefore, my point of clarity is, what assurance can you give this House that they do not report to you? Local Government is a very critical part of this country in terms of politics, that is why it has always been given to the likes of the former Vice President, Joseph Musika; he was mature, John Nkomo - these young ones are ambitious. If the DDC’s and PDC’s report to you, how then can you say they are independent?
HON. CHOMBO: Thank you Hon. Member for that follow-up question. Point of correction, the PDC’s who are now the Permanent Secretaries now report to Office of the President. Hiring and firing of DDC’s is done by the Public Service Commission. Nowhere are we the ones who recruit them. I thank you.
CURRENT STATE OF GOVERNMENT INDEBTEDNESS
- HON. MUSHORIWA asked the Minister of Finance and Economic Development to inform the House the state of the level of Zimbabwe’s indebtedness as at December 31, 2021 specifically segregated in the following: Treasury Bills, Government overdraft at RBZ, Ordinary loans, Government External Debt, State enterprises debt. Local Authorities debt.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: On a point of order Madam Speaker Ma’am.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is your point of order Hon. Sibanda?
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: My point of order is that the Hon. Minister of Finance is in and why would the Deputy answer in the presence of the Hon. Minister?
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: The Hon. Minister has just arrived. Hon. Minister of Finance respond to Question No. 10. Hon. Deputy Minister, you can go ahead and answer.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Hon. Speaker, Wednesday is set in terms of our Standing Rules and Orders that it is a day for answering of questions by Hon. Ministers. The Hon. Minister is aware of the list of questions that are there. I think this is a contemptuous behaviour by the Hon. Minister to come and say he is not prepared to answer questions when it is a standing rule that today it is the duty of the Minister to answer to questions.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: It is also the duty of the Deputy Minister to answer the questions Hon. Sibanda.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: In the absence of the Minister.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Read the Constitution. It is not said in the absence of the Minister.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: No, Hon. Speaker. If we look at our Standing Rules and Orders, it is only in the absence of the Hon. Minister that the Deputy Minister can then attend to those questions, not when he is there. So what message is he sending to Parliament? He is telling Parliament that ‘I do not care’.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: You are wasting your time Hon. Sibanda, please take your seat?
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I had an opportunity to respond to the questions. The Order Paper had a mix up a little bit. We thought that was question No.7 instead of Question No. 10. That question pertains to the issue of the state of indebtedness’ of the country so that for the record, the state of Treasury Bills, Government overdraft to the Reserve Bank, ordinary loans, Government external debt, the State enterprise debt and local authorities debt. First of all, there is this document here which is the statement of the public debt which I present dutifully to Parliament. It was presented to Parliament and everyone has a copy. So all the answers to those questions are in this document.
It is possible that the Member of Parliament was not sitting in Parliament during the time that this was presented? May be that is what is going on but everyone has a copy and I urge you to read it if you want to know the state of indebtedness of this country. I will proceed to answer the question as well.
Let me start with the issue of the Treasury Bills. As of December, 2021 the total amount of Treasury Bills that this Government had issued amounted to ZD28.8 billion.
In terms of Government overdrafts with RBZ, there is no Government with RBZ whatsoever. This was banished on the 1st of January, 2019 where I have made it clear to this House and in subsequent budget presentation that we will not have an overdraft with the RBZ. As Central Government, RBZ is not a cash box for Central Government but it is a Central Bank. So what was happening in the past, we have banished that and there will never be an overdraft and there should never be an overdraft.
On ordinary loans, currently our ordinary loans amount to USD8.397 billion. This includes both public and publicly guaranteed external debt. This is in Annex 2 of this document which was presented by myself dutifully in this august House. I now turn to Government External Debt Madam Speaker. This amount includes the Government’s non-guaranteed external loans amounting to USD7 billion.
On enterprise debt, this amount includes external guaranteed debt to State enterprises amounting to USD1.394 billion. Local Authority Debt – Local authorities currently do not have external debt as far as we know and as far as we can check. The Public Debt Management Act prohibits local authorities to borrow externally on their own accounts. I thank you.
CURRENT GOVERNMENT INDEBTEDNESS ON CONTINGENT LIABILITIES
- HON. MUSHORIWA asked the Minister of Finance and Economic Development to inform the House the state of the level of Zimbabwe indebtedness in respect of Government Contingent Liabilities as at December 31, 2021 specifically segregated in the following—
(a) Government External Guarantees;
(b) Government Guarantees to State entities, state the entity, amount and beneficiary;
(c) Government Guarantees given to local authorities, state the local authority, amount and beneficiary;
(d) Government Guarantees given to private entities such as local banks, state the organisation, amount and beneficiary;
(e) Government Guarantees given to individuals, state the amount and beneficiary.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. This question is related to the previous question. The level of Government External Guarantees - the Government currently does not have active external guarantees as these are now called up loans. These called up loans amount to USD1.394 billion which is the State Enterprise - that figure that I mentioned in the answer to the earlier question.
I now turn to the Government guarantees to State entities. The Government currently does not have any active external guarantees to these as these are now called up loans. These called up loans amount to USD1.394 billion as I have already mentioned.
I now turn to Government guarantees given to private entities such as local banks and state the organisation, amount and beneficiary. Local authorities currently do not have external debt that was guaranteed by the Government. The Public Debt Management Act prohibits local authorities from borrowing externally on their own account in this way.
I now turn to Government guarantees to individuals and state the amount and beneficiary. There are currently no Government guarantees issued to private individuals. I thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am.
(v)HON. MUSHORIWA: Can the Minister clarify when he says that there is no Government guarantee to private players, yet we know that Government guarantees for instance CBZ and other banks in terms of the agriculture programmes?
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: I thought the question by Hon. Mushoriwa that he had posed initially that is under (e) specifically says Government guarantees given to individuals not to private corporate or private entities. Madam Speaker, to individuals, we have no Government guarantee extended to individuals. If he is asking about guarantees to corporates such as CBZ to support our agriculture, then that is a different question. There are guarantees that we have extended to entities such as CBZ to support our programmes, for example and guarantees under the COVID support programmes to industry. There are guarantees to that as well and these guarantees are in Zimbabwe dollars but we have no guarantees for individuals.
LIST OF DEBTORS ON THE ZIMBABWE ASSET MANAGEMENT CORPORATION LOAN
- HON. MARKHAM asked the Minister of Finance and Economic Development to explain to the House—
(a) when will the Ministry provide a list of debtors both individuals and companies on the Zimbabwe Asset Management Corporation (ZAMCO) loan;
(b) list of debts that were presented in the 2022 Budget to the tune of 3.3 billion dollars;
(c) List of companies and individuals that had their funds accounts blocked by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Treasury guaranteed that for the itemised beneficiaries, these we can refer to the RBZ, we have clearly identified beneficiaries in terms of that guarantee. I must hasten to say that the ZAMCO institution has really done a wonderful job in delivering that it was set up to do which is to basically warehouse some of the debts from the banks, they do a debt workout and a lot of companies have recovered as a result of that structure.
I now turn to the list of debts that were presented in 2022 Budget to the tune of 3.3 billion dollars. The amount to the tune of 3.3 billion dollars is for blocked funds and these are itemised in annexture three column entitled amount received as at 25 September, 2021. These are again in the report and I am happy to table this for further analysis. This was approved by this Parliament when I presented the Finance Bill which has authorised to use the budget this year, every nature of blocked fund was included there totaling $3.3b.
On (c), this is now the list of companies and the individuals that had their funds and accounts blocked by the Reserve Bank. This is now in actual names and again these are included in annexure 3 of that report. There are also in the Finance Act that we approved before this House, 2022 in annexure 1 and 2.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. The question from the Hon. Member is very clear, when will the Ministry provide a list of debtors for both individuals and companies on the ZAMCO. The Hon. Minister has not responded to that question may be to prefix Hon. Speaker. The importance of why these people should be known is because this has become a public debt in which there are glaring allegations that the beneficiaries of this debt are most individuals and companies that are connected to ZANU PF Party and therefore the public has got a right to scrutinise who those beneficiaries are? The Hon. Minister should give us a list of who those people and companies are but currently he has evaded that question. May the Hon. Minister please attend to the question fully?
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: I thank the Hon. Member for the question. Again I urge him very strongly and clearly to read this statement of public debt. The lists of beneficiaries are all in this document. It is a very, very long list. We have started communicating with them, we are happy to give him a private copy should he wish to have a copy but this is a public document, it is not a private document. It is already there and it was presented to this august House, it was also presented through the Finance Bill that was approved, unfortunately during his absence.
(v)HON. MUSHORIWA: On a point of order, I think the Hon. Minister is confusing the question of the RBZ Assumption Bill with ZAMCO. We need the list of debtors of ZAMCO, that one Hon. Minister it was not presented when we did the Budget that was passed in Parliament in December. The list that we are asking for is the ZAMCO list, that list was never published including this document that you are referring to. I have got a copy here, it is not in there.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: I want to thank Hon. Mushoriwa for that follow up clarification question. The list of debtors in the ZAMCO of beneficiaries is in the annual report that ZAMCO produces under the guidance of the Central Bank. Again this is a public document but should the Hon. Members want to receive a copy from me specifically, I will go find it and present to them. These are public documents which can be accessed by anyone and can interrogate to find out who these beneficiaries are. There is nothing hidden, these are public documents with names and amounts. As I said, as Government, we are satisfied with how ZAMCO had conducted its mandate and a lot of companies have recovered due to that effort of debt restitution and debt resolution, I thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: My supplementary question to the Hon. Minister is that, is it not part of Government policy to capacitate farmers with various interventions like equipment, subsidies to inputs and all that? Was Government wrong to empower the recently resettled farmers through the Land Reform Programme with equipment? I would want to know if that was wrong or Government can at any given time come up with interventions that complement its policies. The Land Reform Programme is a good one. At that point in time, the white farmers had moved off with all their equipment and the law did not allow Government to take equipment from the white farmers. They were to sell it and they took it to Zambia and various countries. Was it not the duty of Government to empower the farmers with mechanization so that we remain a force from an agricultural point of view?
May I declare that I am one of the beneficiaries of the Land Reform Programme and many Government programmes, including the beneficiation of this; it was within the Government policy mandate of empowering. My question to the Minister is - can the Government not come in and do that? Did the Finance Bill not come through this House where all Members were here from the opposition and it sailed through with them debating and all that? Unfortunately, the majority had their way and the minority had their say. Did it not come through this House? The reason why it is important for you to say that is that those beneficiaries out there are seeing people who stole and if they did steal, can you clarify to this House that as a beneficiary, did I steal anything? Was I not entitled to Government policy and interventions? I thank you.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you Hon. Mliswa for that intervention and seeking clarification from myself. I confirm that it is Government policy to support farmers for them to succeed. We need to ensure food security. After having given land to indigenous Zimbabweans as we did, we capacitated them with machinery. This had to do with irrigation equipment, tractors, harrows, combine harvesters and other implements. That was done at the beginning and we have continued with the John Deere Programme and the acquisition of equipment from Belarus.
In addition to that, we have created a financial institution to deepen that work and further capacitate that effort through the AFC Leasing Company and insurance company because what is missing beyond what the Hon. Mliswa mentioned about equipment not being available, there is also the collapse of leasing companies for leasing equipment. There is a missing financial institution called a leasing company. That is also what is needed where this company would then acquire equipment then lease it to farmers for a leasing fee but making sure equipment is available to farmers in order to support them. Of course our support goes way beyond the equipment under the Pfumvudza/Intwasa Programme, we will also support farmers through seed, fertilizer and other inputs because we are determined that we should be food secure even more-so now with challenges with fertilizer prices and supply. We will intervene and make sure that we can acquire fertilizer as a country and be self sufficient with those inputs in order to be self sufficient in food. I thank you.
(v)HON S. BANDA: I want to find out from the Hon. Minister to say, to what extent would people who were resettled and have A1 and A2 letters of occupation, to what extent are those bankable with AFC?
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: As Government, we have put in a lot of effort in making sure our 99 Year Leases and eventually offer letters become bankable documents. The reason being we are trying to crowd in the private sector in financing agriculture and us coming up with a sustainable financial model for financing agriculture and do it in a sustainable way. We have been busy perfecting our 99 Year Leases so that it is bankable and valorisable and that there is an ability to transfer value within the indigenous owners of that land. We are looking into that to make sure that it is bankable and acceptable to our financial sector. This is doable.
What we have also found out when the lawyers were advising me is that in Zimbabwe any lease arrangement that is longer than 10 years is actually transferable and can be valorisable. You can register it. There is a firmer title to it. Surely a 99 Year Lease is even better. That is where we are going in making sure this is a bankable document and offer letters going forward. I do not want to over reach in my answer because there is a Minister of Agriculture who knows the details of these issues more than me. This is all I can say at the moment. I thank you.
REVIEW OF SALARIES FOR CIVIL SERVANTS AND PENSIONERS
- HON G. SITHOLE asked the Minister of Finance and Economic Development to inform the House when Government will review the salaries of civil servants and pensioners in line with the poverty datum line.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Madam Speaker Ma’am, we reviewed the salaries of civil servants. Last month, we added an additional amount of US$100 on their current salary, which is payable in hard currency. We have done that review. In addition to that, we added some emoluments, especially for the teachers - non-monetary benefits in the form of school fees allowances for up to three children. Also, we are committed to building institutional houses. For the nurses, we have a similar arrangement, including increasing allowances for overtime, duty call. For the teachers as well, we have introduced duty free importation of vehicles for transportation purposes. So, we have done something already and we believe that we have done a lot.
In fact, when we calculate what we have done so far and this is the last time we did the calculation Madam Speaker Ma’am, it came close to what was being paid effectively in August, 2018 because the effective exchange rate was about 1:2. So, if you work out the package as of now, it basically matches. We have covered a lot of ground and we continue to engage but we have moved mountains in trying to cushion our civil servants who work so hard. Thank you.
HON. CHINYANGANYA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I do not know in which universe our Minister is staying. Basic commodities and services have sky rocketed, school fees have gone up more than ten times in schools. The amount of money that the Minister is saying have given to civil servants, there is no tally with the rate at which things have gone up. For the Minister to say that the amounts that civil servants are getting is closer to what they were getting prior to the use of the US dollar as the official rate is far from the truth Madam Speaker Ma’am. What is the Ministry doing to make sure that civil servants get salaries which are in tandem with the rate at which basic commodities are going up?
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE. I thank the Hon. Member for the supplementary question. As Government, we have already acted. I said we acted last month and adjusted the salaries of civil servants. We have also added some emoluments which are non-monetary. I have outlined those benefits in the form of school fees for teachers’ children, transportation in terms of zero duty on imported vehicles and so forth including institutional accommodation. I have been very clear and that is being implemented.
Of course we cannot review salaries every week. There is a process and we have to be very careful. It is driven by Government revenues and we have to balance recurrent expenditure, especially around salaries against capital expenditure like investing in roads and other external commitments. We have to take care of a lot through a limited pace, so we cannot review salaries every week or too frequently. There is a process and we follow that process very carefully. We have been very consistent. Each time we say we will review, we do that and we acted last month. Thank you.
HON. CHIKWINYA: My supplementary question Madam Speaker arises from the commitments that have been stated by the Minister of Finance with regards to addressing conditions of service for the civil servants. Perhaps the Hon. Minister was not in the House during Questions without Notice. A question around the payment of education fees for children of the teachers where you have seconded that three of them are now going to be catered for by Government at a Government school was asked. The Hon. Minister of Public Service who was here present stated that they are still collecting data as to who has which children and where. Secondly, the commitment was not made into any Statutory Instrument and therefore it has got no legal standing, to quote what the Hon. Speaker said, to say the commitment has got no legal standing and therefore cannot be followed up.
Time is moving and it is of essence. Inflation is running away. Therefore, the need for the civil servants to be assisted continues to increase. When are these commitments made by Government going to be met? So, the suggestion which had come from Members of Parliament at least for the benefit of the Minister who was not there was that, can there not be a memorandum from the Minister of Finance that if there is a teacher who can produce proof of parentage to a particular child who is at a Government school, can you exempt them from payment of school fees? I think it will have an immediate effect and reduce the pressure from the teachers who are already bearing the brunt of inflation. The request was for you to give that memorandum to all Government schools.
Secondly, the Hon. Minister of Finance has a history of committing but not doing. The quantum of money which he says almost equals what was being given to civil servants as of September, 2017 which is around US$540, he has committed but is not paying. For example, he has committed to paying these Members of Parliament in this House a quantum nearer to what we were getting in September but nothing is being done. We understand your commitment but please do something. Can we have your commitment in those two regards? Firstly to address the teachers. Secondly, when are you going to actualise your own commitments which you do publicly? Thank you.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: I thank Hon. Chikwinya for the two follow up questions. The first question was dealt with from what I understand that the Deputy Minister of Public Service stood up and accepted the excellent recommendation. So, they are working on it. I do not think there is any difficulty there, that is really appreciated. If that will quicken the process, so much the better. As Government, we are committed to that. We made that commitment last month when we pledged to the teachers.
We have never said as Government we are going to pay US$540. What I was explaining is just a formula. If you work out the effective exchange rate back then, it was about 1:2 to the US dollar. So it is actually not US$540. It was not buying a basket of goods worth US$540. It was buying half of that. Right now, in terms of what we have extended so far, this I calculated that last month because I knew there was a question that was being asked around that. We had been matching half of the US$540 already. Clearly, the US$540 being referred to back then was not buying a basket of goods in terms of inflation then and the exchange rate of US$540. I thank you.
HON. T. MOYO: Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that Time for Questions with Notice be extended by 10 minutes.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
(v)HON. MASHONGANYIKA: My question to the Minister of Finance is: our people are very worried about the currency in our country. Do you have any plan for the stability of our currency as Government?
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. In yesterday’s session, I was requested to present a Ministerial Statement on the question that has just been posed. I committed to doing that on Thursday next week. So I will come back to this august House and give a very clear outline of our plan of action. It is wide ranging and we are currently fine tuning that. So I will come over to present next week on Thursday. I thank you.
CONSTRUCTION OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN BUDIRIRO
- HON. MACHINGAUTA asked the Minister of Primary and
Secondary Education to explain to the House when the Ministry will construct at least a primary and secondary school in Ward 33, 43, and
CABS area in Budiriro 3, 4 and 5 respectively.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. E. MOYO): Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you Hon. Member for notifying us of the need for public schools in the above named areas. The Ministry is seized with the task of constructing more than 3000 schools countrywide. This year a budget has been availed for the construction of 35 schools and our teams are working on identifying such sites. However, on the specific areas you have mentioned, we have not budgeted to construct schools there this year. We however take not of your request and would also appreciate other partners such as local authorities to partner us. We would also appreciate use of devolution and CDF funds in assisting the Ministry in constructing those schools. We will nevertheless indeed attend to your request Hon. Machingauta.
HON. CHIKWINYA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. My supplementary question is what informs the Ministry on where to construct a school? Secondly, do they appreciate to work with private developers where they would have perhaps managed to get ground and then private developers want to partner with the Ministry in constructing that school on a private-public partnership arrangement?
HON. E. MOYO: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I would like to thank the Hon. Member for the supplementary question. For the first question on how we prioritise where to locate a school, the issues that we will look at initially are in priority order of the need of a school. In some areas, the issues are around decongesting existing schools and in other areas, there are no schools completely. So, given the two scenarios, we ordinarily would choose and give priority to areas without a school completely.
Then on the issue of partners, they are very much welcome in the construction of schools. In fact, in Zimbabwe purely, Government schools are much less than local authority schools. The largest number of schools in Zimbabwe is owned by local authorities, followed by churches and then we have Government, then private bidders. So everyone is welcome as long as they abide by the laws of the country in the provision of education. I thank you.
(v) *HON. MACHINGAUTA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. Hon. Minister, Section 355 in our Constitution talks of right to education. Budiriro has more than 30 000 houses - accordingly, we are supposed to have 30 primary schools and 20 secondary schools but right now there are only two schools. In Budiriro 3, there are no schools at all. Private schools which are in the area charge US$160 and if you check on learners who attend those schools, there are no children from Budiriro but we are saying there is a right to education for children. Children from Budiriro walk very long distances to Mufakose and Glenview. There is a high risk of accidents and also we are burdening parents by commuting children. What efforts are you putting as a Ministry in order to do as what the Constitution is saying? The school fees are too high in those private schools, even my salary as a Member of Parliament is not enough to pay school fees in those private schools. Thank you.
HON. E. MOYO: Thank you Hon. Chair. Thank you Hon. Member for the supplementary question. I want to thank the Member for giving us those graphic details which might not have been contained in the question. I therefore recommend that the Hon. Member visits our offices, planning department or even my office for a deeper discussion and appreciation of that need. We also need to check if authority to establish and construct a school from different sources has already been processed or not. We would need really to go deeper into that matter than we have attempted to respond. I thank you.
PLANS TO CONSTRUCT ADDITIONAL SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN GWANDA
- HON. MOKONE asked the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education to inform the House what plans are available to construct additional secondary schools in Gwanda Town.
THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. E NDLOVU): The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is well aware of the need to construct additional secondary schools in Gwanda Town. In fact, the town is scheduled on our programme of constructing more than 3000 schools in the country. In this particular year 2022, we have a budget to construct 35 schools and our teams are on the ground to identify such sites that need schools. I cannot however confirm that Gwanda Town will benefit from this year’s budget but going forward, we are seized with the matter of constructing secondary schools in Gwanda.
WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE
APPOINTMENT OF SUBSTANTIVE SENIOR EMPLOYEES AT HARARE CITY COUNCIL
- HON. HAMAUSWA asked the Minister of Local Government and Public Works to inform the House when the appointment of substantive senior employees at Harare City Council is going to be done.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT PUBLIC WORKS AND NATIONAL HOUSING (HON. CHOMBO): Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform this august House that the appointment of some senior council has been held in abeyance due to some cases of directors who have pending cases with the council.
Similarly, some directors and those in acting capacities at City of Harare have been placed on forced leave owing to their arrest by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC). The matters are still being dealt with by the courts.
The latter category of posts are now awaiting approval of the Local Government Board, in terms of Section 123 of the Urban Councils Act [Chapter 29:15] after going through all the council’s processes.
UPGRADING OF PREVIOUS SCHOOL CENTRES TO ECD CENTRES IN RURAL AREAS
- HON. RTD. GEN. (RTD) MAYIHLOME asked the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education to explain to the House if the Ministry is considering upgrading previous Pre–school centres to ECD centres to avoid long distances being walked by ECD learners in rural schools.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. E MOYO): Thank you Hon. Mayihlome for the information on existing pre-schools which the Ministry would gladly change to accommodate the ECD classes. This is indeed a noble suggestion in terms of decongesting our already existing ECD centres and the Ministry will take the proposal into consideration as this will also help in reducing distance travelled by ECD learners who are still too young to walk long distances.
Questions with Notice were interrupted by THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER in terms of Standing Order No. 68
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT
RESPONSES TO ISSUES RAISED BY THE REPORT OF THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE ON THE ANALYSIS OF VOTE NO. 8
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Mr. Speaker Sir, I would like to give a Ministerial Statement pertaining to the issues raised by the report of the Public Accounts Committee pertaining to Vote No. 8 of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water, Fisheries, and Rural Development and also on Command Agriculture. That report was approved by this august House yesterday. So, I want to make sure that we respond as quickly as possible as this august House expects us to do that. Below are the responses on the various issues pertaining to Vote No.8 of the year 2017 pertaining to the Command Agriculture issues.
In that report, there is Item 5.6 which pertains to query as to why the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development must be an allocating Ministry, should make disbursements to line ministries, must stop making direct payments and purchases on behalf of line ministries with immediate effect.
We respond as follows; that the direct payments only apply to payments in foreign currency, it was just to hand the foreign currency element to suppliers upon the line Ministry’s request that is Ministry of Agriculture. The same amount in local currency is accounted for through the disbursements to the Ministry, so we match that foreign currency amount that would have been paid directly on behalf of the Ministry with the Zimbabwe dollar equivalent which would be coming out of their budget allocation.
The second item is 5.7, the query from the report of the Public Accounts Committee is that the Public Finance Management must be amended to empower the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development to take disciplinary measures against accounting officers of ministries and State bodies that continuously fail to respond and address issues raised by the Auditor General’s Report or persistently fail to produce audited statements.
Here I respond as follows: Treasury is currently working on the amendment of the Public Finance Management Act to address these issues. The fact that the Public Accounts Committee has raised this issue, I am now working with the Accounting Generals. The Bill for this amendment has already gone through First Reading and we will be taking it through the stages, I am sure there will be a very robust and constructive debate. There are items 5.8.1, 6.8.2, 5.8.4, 6.8.6, which I will relate to and they pertain again to the issue of direct payments. Here I am responding as follows, that Treasury has since suspended direct payments and set offs and therefore, there will be no further anomalies in the future. Going forward, we have suspended this and this is a thing of the past. This was in 2017 before we put in the new rules as the new dispensation.
The direct payments, as I said earlier on, pertain to handling of foreign currency to suppliers at the request of ministries and the equivalent amount is debited to the Ministry’s equivalent amount in Zimbabwean dollars. This is in line with Public Finance Management Act and so forth. Of course, sometimes we do face delays in disbursing the cash because we try to live within the cash flows without support from outside. I think that really covers the responses to those series of questions because they are all inter-related and pertain to direct payments in foreign currency which we were doing at the request of the Ministry and no direct payments in Zimbabwe dollars.
The next item is item 6.9.1, which pertains to expenditure in the acquisition of fixed assets, it also pertains to assets amounting to $18.2m dollars during the financial year under review and this was caused by improper accounting treatment or capital transfers to the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe - that is what the report has noted.
On 6.9.2, the Finance Director indicated that the variance was a result of an accounting treatment and also what happened in terms of 6.9.4 query that Treasury transferred money to a third party which is IDBZ without the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Resettlement’s knowledge and this leaves room for misappropriation by a third party. Going forward, the report recommends that the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development desist from transferring funds to third parties but should transfer and allocate funds to the line ministries.
Here I respond as follows; that Treasury suspended disbursements of resources in support of the Irrigation Development Programme through IDBZ in 2018 when I started my mandate, we suspended this. This was in 2017 and this issue has been resolved.
I now turn to items 6.12.1, 6.12.2, 6.12.3, 6.12.4, 6.12.5, 6.12.7, let me quickly run through those items so that you hear what they are all about starting with 6.12.1. The Auditor General noted that the Department of Lands, Management and Rural Resettlement planned to allocate the other 4 000 hectares to 400 land beneficiaries, but there was no evidence of any land allocated during the year ended December 31st, 2018. The Ministry also planned to issue twenty 99 year leases but only managed to issue eight leases, 1 500 A1 permits and 270 permits, 200 A2 farms have been targeted for mapping but only 57 farms were mapped, the output of three targets was 40%, 18% and 29% respectively.
I now turn to item 6.12.2, in responding to the general question on monitoring and evaluation of activities of the Ministry’s programme. The Permanent Secretary informed the Committee that the Ministry was divided into departments with each department headed by a director, each director was responsible for monitoring and evaluation of activities in the department to ensure that the results were achieved.
In item 6.12.3, in relation to the missed targets, he argued that the 99-year land leases required that land be surveyed. He noted that this area was a challenge in terms of quantity surveyors. He explained to the Committee that when performance targets were set, there was no consideration of exogenous factors such as the fees charged by land surveyors. High fees had left the Ministry with a few surveyors to choose from.
I now turn to query 6.12.4 where the Permanent Secretary indicated that eligibility for a 99-year lease takes the level of production into account and that the recommendation for the lease is therefore based on the level of production.
I now turn to item 6.12.5 that there was no monitoring and evaluation to access whether the set targets will be met.
On 6.12.6, that there was a shortage of manpower and equipment for land surveyors. Then 6.12.7 that the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development should set realistic targets and seek Treasury concurrence for additional funding to engage land surveyors or alternatively sign MOU’s with institutions of higher learning that train land surveyors within 90 days of tabling this report.
Here I respond as follows Mr. Speaker Sir, that Treasury is yet to receive a request for budget support from the Ministry of Lands for recruitment of additional manpower and equipment requirements and we welcome such a request. Treasury stands ready to support the request and is waiting for the report.
6.13 is a request for us to provide Treasury Bill minutes in terms of the issuances; these will be provided. This ends my Ministerial Statement as a response to the Public Accounts Committee on Command Agriculture and also Vote Number 8, pertaining to the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development for the year 2017. I thank you.
HON. MPARIWA: Thank You Hon. Speaker Sir. Mine is not a question but it is really to do with an appreciation on the responses by the Minister to both the two reports from the Public Accounts Committee. We have heard commitments that he has actually ensured that they will be put in place. We have heard of systems being established and we hope and trust that we will be able to follow suit and see the changes in terms of the way things have been going. When there is a correction in terms of what the Minister has said, then we stand to see the change.
I want to appreciate Hon. Minister that at least you have done it in the shortest possible time and due to COVID, we could not persistently sit but I want to believe and trust that something will be done and we will be working together with the Public Accounts Committee. So, when systems have been put in place, we now monitor on whether they have been implemented.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Just to appreciate the comment from Hon. Mpariwa. Yes, indeed that we will follow through these commitments. We have already started to act, I have mentioned things that we have already stopped to make sure those things are done properly and enough information is given. There is transparency as required by the dictates of the Public Accounts Committee which actually is a partner Committee to what we do as Treasury and as Government.
(v)HON. SANSOLE: I just want to say I appreciate the Minister’s response to query number 5.6 regarding direct payments and that these only apply to foreign currency payments made on behalf of ministries.
I would want to say to the Minister, it would be appreciated if those payments are accompanied by supporting documentation in order to enable the Ministry to properly account for that expenditure. I thank you.
(v)HON. RAIDZA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I just want to commend the Minister for coming to respond to our observation of the Public Accounts Committee. I am grateful to the Minister for his commitment that he has shown to Parliament that there are a number of issues that need to be addressed.
Indeed, he has admitted that there were some transgressions between 2017 and 2018; however, there is a commitment from him as a Minister to make sure that some of these transgressions are dealt with so that at least the operations at the Ministry are in compliance with the Public Finance Management Act; we are grateful for that.
(v)HON. NDUNA: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker. I have just got one point to make to applaud the Minister for responding expeditiously. The Standing Rules and Orders actually empower and implore the Minister to respond within 22 days after the tabling of the report in Parliament. I think the Hon. Minister has done that in record time and it is applaudible. I also want to go further and say Hon. Speaker Sir the period that he is responding to, 2017 and 2018, the economy and indeed our dollar and its power and such like it gave him the power and the leeway to use Treasury Bills and also to deal with direct payments even though the law did not allow for continued usage of the same.
Hon. Speaker Sir, I appreciate the acknowledgement that whatever occurred was digressing…
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Nduna, please no debates can you just raise issues that you need clarification or questions.
(v)HON. NDUNA: Mr. Speaker Sir, I just want to harp on the issue of acknowledgement that there was some digression from the Public Finance Management Act and that whatever occurred then is not going to occur in the future. I am applauding the Minister for that Hon. Speaker Sir. It gives credibility to the report of the public Finance Management Act and I say kudos to the Minister of Finance and Economic Development. I ask that all the other Ministers follow suit in terms of timelines.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Thank you very much for that Hon. Nduna.
MOTION
BUS.INESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. MUSABAYANA: Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 5 be stood over until Order of the Day Number 6 on today’s Order Paper has been disposed of.
HON. RAIDZA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE JOINT PORTFOLIO COMMITTEES ON HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND WOMEN AFFAIRS, COMMUNITY AND SMALL TO MEDIUM ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT ON AN ENQUIRY INTO THE PREVALENCE OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
HON. MAPHOSA: I move the motion standing in my name that this House takes note of the Report of the joint Portfolio Committees on Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development and Women Affairs, Community and Small to Medium Enterprise Development on an Enquiry into the Prevalence of Sexual Harassment in Higher and Tertiary Education Institutions.
HON. T. MOYO: I second.
HON. MAPHOSA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Joint Portfolio Committee on Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development (PPCHTEISTD), and Women Affairs, Community and Small to Medium Enterprise Development (PPCWACSMED) conducted an inquiry into the prevalence of sexual harassment in the institutions of higher and tertiary learning. Enjoined by Section 141 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe and Standing Order No. 23, the Committees resolved to conduct fact-finding visits to Higher and Tertiary Education Institutions so as to have an appreciation of the prevalence of sexual harassment in these institutions. This was with a view towards influencing policy and legislative development surrounding this topic in most of Zimbabwe’s institutions as espoused by Sections 13 and 141 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the enquiry were:
2.1 To ascertain the prevalence of Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) and Sexual Harassment (SH) in institutions of higher and tertiary learning;
2.2 To assess the challenges institutions of higher and tertiary education are facing in curbing SGBV and sexual harassment; and
2.3 To gather input from the students on the sexual harassment challenges they face and the proposed remedial measures.
3.0 METHODOLOGY
3.1 The Joint Committee was divided into two teams and visited 15 HTEIs altogether.
Universities |
Polytechnics |
Teacher Training Colleges |
University of Zimbabwe |
Harare Polytechnic |
Hillside Teachers’ College |
Midlands State University |
Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Polytechnic |
Mkoba Teachers College |
Great Zimbabwe University |
Kwekwe Polytechnic |
Belvedere Technical Teachers College |
National University of Science and Technology |
|
Mutare Teachers College |
Chinhoyi University of Technology |
|
|
Bindura University of Science |
|
|
Education |
|
|
Africa University |
|
|
Harare Institute of Technology |
|
|
4.0 COMMITTEE’S FINDINGS
4.1 UNIVERSITIES
4.1.1 Most of the Universities did not have stand-alone sexual harassment policies. In the majority of the institutions, issues of sexual harassment were incorporated in the broader policy on harassment as was the case at Lupane State University and at the University of Zimbabwe where sexual harassment is addressed in the Student Charter, Life Skills Manual and Student Advisory Committee.
4.1.2 In most institutions, the majority staff members and students professed ignorance about the existence of the sexual harassment policies and their contents. For example, at Lupane State University, the staff highlighted that the sexual harassment policy was formulated by the administration of the institution without the input and buy-in of the other staff members. Similarly, at the University of Zimbabwe, one staff member opined that he was unaware of the existence of the policy and he would have wished to have been informed about its existence upon joining the institution.
4.1.3 More so, it was highlighted by both students and staff that sexual harassment was highly prevalent in the institutions of higher learning. Between the students, the most pervasive form of sexual harassment was verbal while physical sexual harassment was more prevalent between the staff and students. One Dean of Students of a particular University brought in another dimension of sexual harassment perpetrated by students against other fellow students whereby a first-year student brought her boyfriend in the room which she was sharing with another female student and they proceeded to be intimate in the presence of her roommate. The Dean received the report on the following day and the institution was yet to address that case of sexual harassment.
4.1.4 The high prevalence of sexual harassment in institutions of higher learning was attributed to the rising poverty level and substance abuse among students. Additionally, because there was inadequate on-campus accommodation, most students were staying off-campus and this exposed them to sexual harassment from their landlords and guardians as well as the community in general. One student at one of the Universities visited recounted an event when a lecturer requested to meet her very early in the morning to give her learning materials. She pointed out that during the meeting the lecturer proposed love to her but she turned him down and the lecturer threatened to make her fail the module he was teaching.
4.1.5 The staff in most institutions, particularly at Solusi University further attributed the high prevalence of sexual harassment in universities to the degradation of the socio-cultural and moral fabric as well as the increased exposure to media content such as pornography. For example, it was highlighted that some students deliberately sat in a provocative manner during the face-to-face lectures. Other lecturers submitted that students were sending pornographic content in the WhatsApp chat groups that were being used by lecturers to deliver their education-related content and information. They also reiterated that some of the lecturers did not view students as mwana wechikoro but as consenting adult capable of making rational decisions despite other factors that may compromise their ability to decide and act rationally and this had contributed to the prevalence of sexual harassment. Essentially, it was highlighted that these lecturers and staff members deliberately disregarded the in loco parentis principle as far as students are concerned. These sentiments were also buttressed at Solusi University where it was opined that institutions did not make deliberate efforts, through the Students’ Affairs Department to understand the background of a student. The University staff pointed out that it was difficult to get evidence of cases of sexual harassment as most students reported these cases upon graduation.
4.1.6 Most of the students, particularly the female staff and students were apprehensive in reporting these cases. In instances where reports where received the male students would report on behalf of the female students and the female students were reluctant to follow-up on the case. Most of the staff and students feared victimisation and stigmatisation that usually followed issues of sexual harassment. It was also pointed out that the reporting structures espoused in the sexual harassment policies were not clear and did not protect the student. Furthermore, in most of the policies, the student was supposed to report to the Chairman or Dean who might be the perpetrator or a colleague of the perpetrator. Some of the staff and students observed that they were unaware of the reporting standards and procedures such that it was difficult for them to seek recourse.
4.1.7 Some institutions, such as the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) had taken steps to raise awareness on sexual harassment issues. These interventions included online surveys to gauge the awareness on sexual harassment and the deliberate engagement of the civil society to support awareness campaigns. However, the non-academic Dean’s office did not qualify to receive funds and therefore they could not continue to carry out the research and awareness campaigns on sexual harassment.
4.2 TEACHER-TRAINING COLLEGES
4.2.1 It was highlighted from the submissions received from both the staff and students that while there were no official reports on cases of sexual harassment, rumours around the institutions pointed to the fact that sexual harassment was rife.
4.2.2 It was further highlighted that this prevalence was higher between students and lecturers particularly during the supervision of the Curriculum Depth Study (CDS) projects. It was alleged that most lecturers would suggest what was colloquially referred to as “thigh for a mark” if the student wanted to pass and graduate with their diploma. The students opined that due to the power dynamics that are between the staff member and the student, the students were apprehensive to report such cases. As in universities, the students opined that they feared victimisation and stigmatisation that came with reports of sexual harassment. The students also highlighted that the reporting structures did not protect the students and did not offer a guarantee of reprieve after reporting such cases. It was noted that in most cases, the perpetrators of the sexual harassment were the ones who sat in the disciplinary committees.
4.2.3 The administration of the institutions pointed out that they had made deliberate efforts to empower the students to report such cases. This included the production and distribution of the sexual harassment policy to both staff and students during the orientation week. Further, it was pointed out that the institutions implemented other interventions such as counseling sessions, incorporation of sexual harassment into curricula and have suggested that the students record their conversations with the harasser to get evidence. Other institutions such as Mkoba Teachers College had a strict policy against sexual harassment and this had led to the dismissal of several staff members who had been found guilty of the vice. However, in most institutions, most staff and students pointed out that they were unaware of the existence and contents of the sexual harassment policies.
4.2.4 Additionally, the submissions also revealed that there was limited or no sensitisation and implementation of the sexual harassment policy, the reporting standards and procedures were unclear, most institutions were guided by S.I 1 of 2000 but the staff at the institutions were not trained to handle cases of sexual harassment. Moreover, our culture which is largely patriarchal did not allow women to report cases of sexual harassment and this was worsened by the fact that sexual harassment is treated as a civil and not a criminal case. Lastly, it was highlighted that the lack of an institutional sexual harassment policy from the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development (MHTEISTD) had militated against the fight against sexual harassment in institutions of higher and tertiary learning.
4.3 POLYTECHNICS
4.3.1 Team A visited Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo and Harare Polytechnics for the purposes of obtaining views on the prevalence of sexual harassment.
4.3.2 As in the Universities and Teacher-training Colleges, it was widely agreed by both staff and students that sexual harassment was prevalent. It was also widely agreed that between students, verbal sexual harassment was more prevalent while between staff and students, physical sexual harassment was prevalent.
4.3.3 It was also highlighted that there were very few or no cases of sexual harassment at the institutions visited. This was attributed to the under-reporting of cases due to fear of victimisation and stigmatisation. The students pointed out that they were unaware of the existence of sexual harassment policies and the reporting standards and procedures thereof. One lecturer at one of the polytechnics visited pointed out that while there were sexual harassment policies within the institutions, the policies were not being implemented. He argued that these policies were there to ensure compliance with the directives from the Ministry rather than as tools to eradicate the rampant sexual harassment. Other students expressed their mistrust in the reporting structures noting that the disciplinary committees were comprised of the perpetrators or colleagues of the perpetrators of sexual harassment.
4.3.4 At Harare Polytechnic, the students pointed out that they were afraid of reporting sexual harassment cases because of fear of failure. They reiterated that 60% of their overall assessment marks comes from the continuous assessment tests which are marked by the lecturer and hence they cannot possibly open cases of sexual harassment against their lecturers. Another student pointed out that during supervision of their projects some lecturers ask for money so that they can give the student a rewrite or a higher mark.
4.3.5 Other students highlighted that they were sexually harassed by the security personnel at the institution in the name of verifying the institution’s identity card. They revealed to the Committee that some security officers call the students by pet names such as baby or they call them by describing their physical appearances. The students bemoaned the lack of a Student Representative Council (SRC) which they pointed out was dissolved by the school’s administration following their petition to Parliament against fees increases to Parliament. They further bemoaned the lack of a counselor at the institution and hence they have no avenues to seek reprieve when they are faced with such Situations.
5.1 COMMITTEE’S OBSERVATIONS
5.1 The non-physical form of sexual harassment experienced by students in Universities and Colleges are:
- a) sexual comments, jokes, songs, whistles about body and dressing, threats and intimidations about failing the course, pressure for sex, cyber bullying, sexual advances, sexual gifts and spreading sexual rumours or lies. The physical forms are; sexual touching, hugging and kissing; physical assault; and attempted rape.
- There is a lack of a clear and universal definition of sexual harassment both nationally and internationally.
- The narrow understanding of sexual harassment is compounded by Legislative gaps, particularly the unclear definition of sexual harassment in Zimbabwe’s Constitution No. 20: 2013, the Labour Act 28:01 and the S.I 1 of 2000, resulting in ignorance about what sexual harassment really is.
- The Committee noted the constricted interpretation of the Labour Act 28:01 which describes sexual harassment as an unfair labour practice, and does not apply to students in non-employment contexts, particularly higher and tertiary education institutions.
- I 1 of 2000 is not specific regarding student-to-student sexual harassment, lecturer– to-student and non-lecturing staff-to-students sexual harassment at higher and tertiary education institutions. This is because the in loco parentis role in the S.1 1 of 2000 refers to teachers at primary and secondary schools as employees in charge of minors. I submit Hon. Speaker Sir.
HON. T. MOYO: Hon. Speaker Sir, I wish to add my voice to this very important motion that has been tabled by my Hon. Chairperson Maphosa on this very important issue on sexual harassment.
I want to start by informing the House that in Zimbabwe, we do not have a national policy on sexual harassment, and it is quite sad that most of the universities, teachers’ colleges and polytechnics are operating without a national policy on sexual harassment, and that prompted the move by the Joint Committee on Women Affairs and Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development to find information from universities. It is also important to note that some universities did not even have a Sexual Harassment Policy. I will give an example of the University of Zimbabwe.
When we went to the University of Zimbabwe, we were surprised, astounded and perplexed to find that they do not have a Sexual Harassment Policy. What they have are Ordinances, for example Ordinance 30, which used to be operational during our time in the early 90s when we were students at the University of Zimbabwe – that is what is being used by the Dean of Students. Mr. Speaker Sir, students are not informed of their rights, hence the prevalence of sexual harassment. As a Committee, our expectations were that when students go through the orientation exercise, they are supposed to be informed that sexual harassment exists in various forms in universities.
In universities where we found that there were Sexual Harassment Policies, for example, at Lupane State University, the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) – we found those documents in place. Surprisingly Mr. Speaker Sir, the students at NUST and Lupane State University were not even given those documents. They were not even informed about their rights to resist sexual harassment in the form of advances by professors or lecturers. So as a Committee, we are encouraging all institutions of higher learning to ensure that as soon as students enroll at a given university or college, they are supposed to be oriented in the form of ways to protect or safeguard against the vice of sexual harassment.
In addition Mr. Speaker Sir, indeed sexual harassment is prevalent in universities. Students who are disabled are not spared; they are also affected by sexual harassment. For example, the Dean of Students at the University of Zimbabwe informed us that one lecturer at the university was a perpetrator of sexual harassment on a disabled student – one who is blind. Fortunately, the lecturer was fired by the university Administration.
Sexual harassment takes different forms, manifests in different ways, nature, and character. We discovered that there is sexual harassment between students or among students themselves – sexual harassment exists. There is sexual harassment between administrators or office holders and their secretaries – that is another form of sexual harassment but the most common form of sexual harassment is that of a lecturer preying on a student, which is a disgrace and vice that should be curbed without much ado. It can also take forms of verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. There are several forms, and facets of sexual abuse.
What are the causes of this sexual abuse? From our study, we noticed that there is a multiplicity of causes of sexual harassment. One - the rise in poverty levels, these are also forcing students to engage, some of the female students also would trap lecturers to engage in sexual harassment. Whether it is a student harassing a male lecturer or vice versa but these things are prevalent in our universities. The majority of universities and colleges do not have adequate accommodation Mr. Speaker Sir, and students would have to find accommodation elsewhere in the vicinity of universities and colleges. As a result, because of poverty, some of those students may fall prey to ‘blessers’. I will call them ‘blessers or NABs’, we used to call them ‘non-academic bachelors’ – something like that. Those who have the money may end up paying accommodation fees for a particular student or may even provide pocket money to those students as blessers, and that is a way of perpetuating sexual harassment in our colleges.
Another cause of sexual harassment is the issue of socio-cultural values that are degrading the moral fabric of society. Students are exposed to pornography to an extent that it may also be a reason why some of the lecturers or even students engage in sexual harassment. Then there is this very important or funny issue of ‘a thigh for a mark’ - it was highly prevalent in Teachers’ Colleges. Lecturers in Teachers’ Colleges had the habit of abusing their students that if they failed to satisfy those lecturers sexually, they were going to fail and their careers would be doomed.
One intervention that was done by the University of Zimbabwe was to centralise the setting of examinations, and also external examinations whereby all Teachers’ Colleges examinations in Zimbabwe are set by University of Zimbabwe, Department of Teacher Education – that was a way to eradicate sexual harassment. Even when students go on attachment or Teaching Practice, some of them were also sexually abused. Students were sexually abused from what we found when they were conducting in-depth studies or dissertations. The lecturer would go to an extent of ensuring that the student would spend five weeks to approve a given topic. To progress to the second phase of chapter one would spend two months and that is a way of influencing that student to accept or agree to be used by a particular lecturer. So, all those tendencies are very bad and as a Committee, we deplore and condemn such acts of harassment. No-one in his or her right mind would absolve such tendencies.
Now the issue of stigma Mr. Speaker is very important. A number of students who are subjected to harassment are afraid to report for two reasons; they do not trust those Chairpersons of the departments and neither do they trust Deans of Faculties or of Students. The fear is, if they report to a Chairperson of department, that person may not want to put a fellow workmate into trouble and as a result students will be afraid of reporting. Some women or students are married and if a married student is approached by a lecturer, she may not want to go and report for fear that the husband will also be aware and maybe subjected to sexual harassment.
This can only end when we come up with a national policy on sexual harassment. Information dissemination should be prioritised so that we also encourage the civil society organisations to ensure that they write documents which deplore acts of sexual harassment and abuse of women. This sexual harassment should not be confined to universities. Even in high schools, it is also happening.
In my conclusion Mr. Speaker, it is high time that the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development should quickly produce a national document which will be used by all universities and colleges in Zimbabwe as a way of eradicating the vice of harassing female students. An independent body should also be instituted that looks into issues of sexual harassment. It will not be fair for a student to report perpetrators of sexual harassment who happen to be lecturers to their fellow workmates. That will not stop the vices but if they are going to institute independent bodies, these are people who will come from outside who are going to ensure that those students whose rights are violated are given fair trial and those perpetrators will be dismissed or discharged. Such an important intervention is needed.
We also want to encourage all colleges to ensure that there is information dissemination. Students must be taught on the dangers of sexual harassment as soon as they enroll for a particular discipline or programme in the university and in the process, that will lead to eradication of sexual harassment. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker.
(v)HON. S. BANDA: Thank you Mr. Speaker for recognising me. I want to thank Hon. Maphosa our Chair for the Higher Education Committee. I also want to thank Hon. Dr. Moyo for seconding the motion. Both of them chair the respective Education Parliamentary Portfolio Committees. We really have seasoned educationists who have discussed and moved this motion.
We need to protect our schools and our education environments from sexual harassments. Mr. Speaker, I am also a member of both these Committees that I have referred to; that of Primary and Secondary Education and that of Higher and Tertiary Education. When this trip was made, I was also among the members who partook in it. I am only going to focus on three issues that have been touched by the two members who have already spoken before me.
First, I will speak about Harare Polytechnic. I do not see why students should be punished and not allowed to express how they feel when fees rise. Is it a problem to petition Parliament? Harare Polytechnic is now working against Parliament Mr. Speaker Sir. So, we want them to desist from doing that.
The second issue pertains to Gweru Teacher’s College. When we went there we found that students had been drilled to speak in a certain way. We do not want that as that undermines parliamentary oversight. We want to be told the ‘truth and nothing else but the truth so help us God’ so that when we come to report back to the nation we do not come with half backed information. We want them to desist from such kind of information.
I will also go to Lupane University. I was very disappointed Mr. Speaker to find out that the very person who was convening the meeting there on sexual harassment, there was commotion when we said the meeting should start. We had to move from one hall to the other so that the meeting could be held. Why, because one of the suspected or alleged perpetrators was among those who were supposed to be leading this issue. That is a matter of concern. Actually, after we left Lupane University, newspapers in less than a week, carried on stories showing what was happening at Lupane University through some lecturers. That is despicable and should not be tolerated.
Let me go to what Hon. Maphosa was speaking about on the issue of a National Sexual Harassment Policy. I think it is almost there now and all we need is to have it launched. Let us go that extra mile and finish because it is not something that does not exist. It already exists in a certain nature and all it needs is just the final touches Mr. Speaker. Let us go ahead and finish it. Once we do that we promulgate a law against sexual harassment. So, I want to support this motion by Hon. Maphosa.
As I wind up my debate, according to rape statistics by country which were conducted in 2020, Zimbabwe has a rape rate of 25.587 per 100 000 people. Botswana had the highest rape rate in the whole world at 92.93 per 100 000 cases reported. Lesotho was second at 82.68 and South Africa was third at 72.10. Our own Zimbabwe was fourth. This is extremely disturbing and this tendency is not just remaining in the bushes or streets of Zimbabwe, it is also finding its way into our own schools or education fraternities and that is something that we should stop with the policies and the law that have been proposed through this motion.
We cannot have a SADC which has the top four countries known for rape activities or incidents. That is something that we should stop. We do not want to be found having root causes of sexual harassment in our institutions. We need to solve sexual harassment in corridors of learning as well as in bushes and in the streets. With this Mr. Speaker Sir, I also lend my voice to support the motion which has been raised by Hon. Maphosa and seconded by Hon. Dr. Moyo. I thank you.
(v)HON. NDUNA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. A lot has been said by the mover of the motion, Hon. Maphosa and the seconder Hon. Moyo. I also want to thank Hon. Banda for bringing up pertinent issues. I will not delve into the – [Technical glitch] – resources policy, the solid waste management policy and a plethora of policies Mr. Speaker Sir. Once we concentrate on the Public Finance Management Act in order to interrogate the manner the local authorities carry out their mandate, nine times out of ten we would miss the point in making sure that there is criminal abuse seeing that there is criminal abuse of office in those areas. Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to bring in once there is the crafting of the ethos, the values and the principles of the policy on sexual harassment or the harassment of the other gender which is the ladies in the areas of higher and tertiary education. There is need to interrogate what is already occurring in those institutions of higher learning using a number of statutes that are going to criminalise the conduct of those lecturers and students who would be engaged in such activities because they are adults. We are engaged currently with the Child Justice Bill that seeks to make sure that there is an Act that adjudicates the children in so far as crime is concerned and child courts and otherwise. We are talking of people that sometimes are over 18 years of age and they should face the full wrath of the law.
As I conclude on the policy and the values, I want to say amongst the plethora of statutes, there is need to include the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act. It is explicit in part III where it says sexual crimes and crimes against morality. It is Sections 61 to 76 where it says complicity in sexual crimes. These are sexual crimes and there are levels of sentence that are mentioned in the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act. This is just but one of the statutes that I think is strongly inclined to make sure that the criminal intention of the perpetrators of this heinous crime can be brought to book expeditiously and that criminology rot to a screeching halt..
Mr. Speaker Sir, the second issue that I want to touch on is the orientation. I am now in my second part of the first semester, in the orientation at the University of Zimbabwe, I heard with my ears, I saw with my eyes and I spoke with my mouth, I saw Prof. Mapfumo giving a speech during orientation saying that the students who had now gotten into the institutions needed first and foremost to take care of their health the same way they got to that institutions. They needed to go back even as a better people as opposed to inheriting the cultures and values of other students in the institution.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I think the orientation at the University of Zimbabwe is second to none in terms of inculcating the values of the issues of principles and good order within the human dignity. It is my thinking that orientation in all other institutions should mirror what happens at the University of Zimbabwe because nothing was left to chance. Everything was espoused during the time of orientation.
As we talk about the domestic law in terms of sexual harassment, it ceases to be an issue of the Universities. It is now a national issue. We need to see how it dovetails with the continental agenda. Mr. Speaker Sir, there is aspirations of the African Union that speak to the Article 14 (2) (c). It speaks about the women and girls rights in particular. It zeros in on sexual harassment. We are not working in isolation. We need to make sure that we are in sync with what happens continentally. I want to give an example of the UNHCR as a board. They have a policy within their work ethic that speaks to and about harassment and sexual harassment and abuse of authority which was crafted in April of 2005. Mr. Speaker Sir, it also touches on Articles 1 to 3. Their code of conduct within their working group in the United Nations cannot go any higher than that. We need to see that we are not working in isolation.
Finally, as I conclude, Hon. Banda spoke of harassment and intimidation at Harare Polytechnic where students were not allowed to verbally express themselves. It is allowed according to Section 149 of the Constitution to petition Parliament as a last resort and anyone is allowed to petition Parliament including the representatives of those students as legislators in our representative role. It is incumbent upon the principles of these institutions to let the students express themselves in the manner that they would want to express themselves without any form of intimidation, harassment or otherwise. There is no death in terms of curtailing such a delinquent behaviour by principals and lecturers in these institutions. There is no death in the form of the law. We have a plethora, as I have said, of laws and like I said this afternoon when I was in the House that assuming we think the law is not right and does not serve the interest of what we want it to serve, we need to change the law. Currently, there is no need to change the law but there is need to apply the existing law of the 10th of June, in 1891 of the Cape of Good Hope, which law is the Roman Dutch Law infused with the English Law Mr. Speaker Sir.
We need to take the perpetrators of injustice before the courts that are mandated with interpretations of the statutes and legal ethics. I want to thank you Mr. Speaker for giving me this opportunity to vociferously, effectively and efficiently voice my concern on this very noble motion that has been brought by the Committee on Higher and Tertiary Education in the manner that the people of Chegutu West Constituency would have me debate. I thank you.
*HON. KWARAMBA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I would like to contribute on the motion raised by Hon. Maphosa. We travelled to a lot of schools and discovered that when we were discussing with teachers and lecturers, they could not clearly explain to us the effects of sexual harassment. We also faced the same problem with students and they would choose students who they have elected as their Committees to tell us. As individuals, they were not open to us.
A lot of schools do not have sexual harassment policy or what it talks about and I discovered that they created the sexual harassment policies when they heard that the Committees are moving around in schools. Teachers and lecturers do not know the policies in the sexual harassment policy and they do not have places to report to because they are afraid that they will be banned from school premises.
We met a student who said the lecturer gave him an instruction to come early morning to take notes and when the student went, he found out that the lecturer was with someone and he ordered him to come later. Another one was selling groundnuts and the lecturer was not paying and she ended up telling her husband to deal with the lecturer. So we discovered that a lot of students are facing sexual harassment but they have nowhere to report to because they open their legs when sitting. Lecturers are saying the students have problems of not sitting properly and they end up sitting at the back of the classrooms so as to avoid that.
Student teachers when they are on teaching practices, seduce the teachers. So sexual harassment is found everywhere. Long ago when we were going to school, there were funds or grants which were being paid by Government and they would help us when we were on Teaching Practice. I am urging the Government to return those grants for students’ loans so that our children will not be tempted or be victims of sexual harassment.
Some of them come from poor backgrounds where they will not be having enough food. Some are lodgers and some stay outside the campus and they end up doing bad things so as to have a good living at the campus. I would like to urge the Government to intervene in students’ welfare. Some of them are using alcoholic substances and others are into drugs. Some are even getting mental illnesses.
There must be laws in colleges so that they know what they are going to do at the colleges. I also talked about the issue of lecturers being victims and ending up teaching at the back of the classrooms. I would like to urge the Government to have a dress code for secondary schools especially on the length of their skirts. I noticed very well in universities – it is very hard and they are having problems but in teachers’ colleges, it is better because some of them are still kids especially at Mkoba Teachers’ College. It is well behaved and their dress code is better compared to other colleges and the student leader is also good. The Government must have a Sexual Harassment Policy which covers all tertiary schools so that our children will be successful when they are at schools. Thank you.
+HON. L. SIBANDA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I would like to thank Hon. Maphosa for the report presented in this august House and Hon. Moyo who seconded her. I would like to mention two colleges, the first one being Hillside Teachers’ College. In our visit, the students are not even aware of the Sexual Harassment Policy which stipulates that they need to report any cases of sexual harassment.
The teachers we spoke to regarding sexual harassment indicated that at Hillside Teachers College they have no cases of sexual harassment but in our discussion with the students, they indicated that there were quite a number of sexual harassment cases which are perpetrated by teachers. Mr. Speaker Sir, it was highlighted that when students are writing examinations, they are told that to pass their examinations, they need to agree to sexual advances from teachers.
Mr. Speaker Sir, we also encountered issues regarding the increase in school fees whereby students end up getting into sexual harassment issues due to the fact that they need to raise school fees. The other issue that was encountered at Hillside Teachers College was that the Sexual Harassment Policy was not known by the students. They indicated that each time they go and report lecturers to the Principal - nothing is done to these teachers because they will be friends of the Principal. Sexual harassment in these institutions is taking place. Some students are not even aware of how to tackle these issues if ever they encounter them. We then realised that there is need for a board to be there for students to go and report than for them to go to the Principals because they do not take up those issues. Each time they go and report these lecturers, in most cases, they are then made to fail their examinations.
Mr. Speaker, most of these sexual harassment cases go unreported. Therefore it was indicated that they are not even aware of how to handle those issues. I therefore implore that if only the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education would listen to this report brought to this House by the Chairperson of Higher and Tertiary Education. The Minister should put in place measures that will protect these children.
Let me also touch on issues that were brought up by those at Lupane State University. Students were being harassed by lecturers’ wives and in most cases, they did not even know where to report those cases. It was indicated that these sexual harassment issues were prevalent at Lupane State University. I therefore encourage Government to put a policy that will protect the students. This also applies to parents with university students as they need to be taught that each times such sexual harassment cases are perpetrated, how best should they address them. If this is to be left to continue, it will really disturb the students.
Mr. Speaker Sir, we encourage these recommendations to be taken up and be implemented, thank you.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. MUSABAYANA): I move that the debate do now adjourn.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 5th May, 2022.
On the motion of THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. MUSABAYANA), the House adjourned at Nine Minutes to Seven o’clock pm.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 3rd May, 2022
The National Assembly Met at a Quarter-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. SPEAKER
SYNCHRONISATION OF WATCHES
THE HON. SPEAKER: I have the following announcement. You may have noticed that our time is not very accurate. These big watches need to be synchronised or tuned up and the gentleman who was responsible for that unfortunately has passed on. So we are going to go by our wrist watches so that we maintain time until we get someone to adjust them.
ERROR ON THE ORDER PAPER
THE HON. SPEAKER: I wish to draw your attention to an error by the printer on the Order Paper where Order of the Day No. 18 inadvertently appears as Order of the Day No. 19. Kindly take note Hon. Members of this correction so that the rest of the orders are renumbered accordingly.
Hon. P. D Sibanda having said something contemptuous to an Hon. Minister
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, Order Hon. Members. This is an Hon. House and you know how to address Hon. Ministers. I cannot accept that type of contemptuous behaviour. Can you leave the House? Standing Orders are very clear. Thank you.
Hon. P. D. Sibanda walked out of the House and was escorted by the Sergeant-at-Arms
THE HON. SPEAKER: I have got some request here for statements of national importance. I hope they are of national importance. I do not want any political posturing to be used for these statements. It should be truly national and please know that it is one minute.
HON. CHIKWINYA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. My question of national importance arises from the state of the transport sector after the Zimbabwe Republic Police has launched an operation to flush out what they deem illegal transporters at the height of Level 2 of our lockdown in terms of COVID. The Government of Zimbabwe introduced the ZUPCO transport model wherein every transporter was removed or were forced to join the ZUPCO transport model so that the Government would promote safe travel arrangements for the public. Now, the lockdown regulations have been eased and it is my plea Hon. Speaker that ZUPCO has demonstrated incapacity to be able to carry every passenger. Therefore, I move that the transporters who then operated outside ZUPCO because the ZUPCO model was no longer viable, what would happen is that ZUPCO would delay in payments and paying in RTGs form which was losing value by day. Now that we have eased lockdown regulations, I move that perhaps the Hon. Minister of Local Government who is in charge of the ZUPCO transport system come to Parliament. He should bring a Ministerial Statement so that at least we interrogate on a Ministerial Statement where we allow these other private transporters to be able to satisfy three conditions: one -availability of transport, two - affordability and three- safe travel.
Hon. Speaker, as it is, people are delaying to go to their houses up to around 11 pm. People are delaying to come to work up to around 0900 to 1000 hours in the morning. Therefore, it is causing loss of production time and loss of quality time within people’s homes. Therefore, I move that the Hon. Minister of Local Government comes to Parliament with a Ministerial Statement where Members of Parliament bring issues from their constituents as we interrogate on the viability of ZUPCO and see how best we can assist our transporting public.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Very important observation, I think His Excellency the President made that observation and indicated that the Minister of Local Government must ensure that ZUPCO buses do keep their times and so on. We will transmit your request accordingly.
*HON. MUNENGAMI: Thank you Mr. Speaker. My issue Hon. Speaker is on inflation. As I am speaking Hon. Speaker, inflation is 500 dollars against the US dollar, which means that our livelihood as Zimbabwe, all things will go up. There is nothing valuable that we can buy for our livelihoods. Our cry is that if we can have a statement from the Minister of Finance and Economic Development on the way forward to alleviate our situation so that our dollar will not continue to be devalued.
As I am speaking Hon. Speaker, if you want to buy a loaf of bread it is now costing 400 dollars [HON. BITI: It is now costing 500] – Hon. Biti is saying it is now costing 500 dollars, which means I was lagging behind. So it is very difficult to survive. Mr. Speaker, even boarding a kombi to get into town, it is very difficult. If this trend continues, we do not know what it will be in weeks to come - probably it will be at 1 000 dollars. My plea is; may the Hon. Minister of Finance come and give a statement on how we can stabilise our dollar before it gets worse. Thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: The Hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Development is here. The issue Hon. Minister is that the runaway exchange rate, particularly in the illegal market is a cause for concern and the request is if you could make a Ministerial Statement. A statement to indicate to the Hon. House what measures Government is putting in place to arrest the situation. So Hon. Minister, the ball is in your court, when do you think you can be ready?
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I thank the Hon. Member, I will give the Ministerial Statement next week Thursday.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Okay, Hon. Minister, next Thursday, agreed to.
HON. BITI: Mr. Speaker, you run the House.
THE HON. SPEAKER: I do not have to be told that, do I have to?
HON. BITI: It is a polite reminder.
THE HON. SPEAKER: It is an impolite reminder.
*HON. MADZIMURE: The governing of a country starts with the running of local authorities. The success of good governance in the local authorities cascades to the whole country. You find that most local authorities are not being led very well. For example, at City of Harare, there are seven directors but only one is permanent. The Town Clerk and Mayor of the city are acting. Therefore, I am requesting the Minister of Local Government, Hon. July Moyo, that he should come to this House and give us a Ministerial Statement on why the local councils are not staffed by professional personnel because devolution funds are channeled to local councils and there are no people who are capable of overseeing those funds.
We want the Minister to explain why there are no professional employees in local councils and why the local councils are not able to provide clean water and good infrastructure to residents. I thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: You can ask that question tomorrow during Question Time.
HON. BITI: I rise on a matter of national interest in terms of Standing Order 68. Yesterday schools opened but the challenge that parents are facing is that the cost of school fees has gone up dramatically.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Biti, you have been advised by security to remove your tie. You did so and now you have put it back again.
HON. BITI: This is not yellow.
THE HON. SPEAKER: You were advised by security outside.
HON. BITI: This one, I borrowed it here.
THE HON. SPEAKER: No, comply with what we agreed last time. You are an Hon Member.
HON. BITI: Can I take it off?
THE HON. SPEAKER: Go and put on a nice one.
Hon. Biti having tried to take off his neck tie.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Not in the House. This is not a dressing room – [Laughter.]-
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. NCUBE): I rise to move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 13 and 15 to 17 on today’s Order Paper be stood over until Orders of the Day, Numbers 14 and 18 have been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
SECOND READING
INSURANCE AND PENSIONS COMMISSION AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 6, 2021]
HON. DR. NYASHANU:
- Introduction
- The Insurance and Pensions Commission plays a pivotal role in monitoring and regulating the insurance and pensions industry. This role is essential as it protects consumers and service providers in markets where competitive forces are weak and close the information asymmetry gap within the sector. On the other hand, stakeholders in the pension and insurance industry have been calling upon the Government to revamp the sector through undertaking legislative and policy reforms so that it becomes competitive nationally, regionally and internationally. Indeed, the Justice Smith Commission of Inquiry pointed to regulatory failure as one of the major challenges impacting on the industry.
1.2 Hence, the Insurance and Pensions Commission (Amendment) Bill was gazetted on 10 September 2021, as the Government seeks to align the law with the Constitution, and to implement the recommendations as outlined by the Justice Smith Commission of Inquiry of 2017. The Bill also seeks to modernise and strengthen the regulation and supervision of the insurance industry by the Insurance and Pension Commission (IPEC) in line with international practice.
- Background to the Bill
2.1 Legislative reforms in the pension and insurance sector have been on the drawing board for quite some time and were further buttressed by the Justice Smith Commission of Inquiry Report, which recommended that certain deficiencies, particularly legislation, under the ambit of the sector be strengthened. Among the various pieces of legislation recommended for amendment in the sector is the Insurance and Pensions Commission Act [Chapter 24:21] and the Insurance Act [Chapter 24:07]. The review of these envisaged laws governing insurance, public and private occupational pension funds was viewed as vital in reorganising the industry to become competitive.
2.2 It is against this backdrop that the Insurance Pensions Commission (IPEC) Amendment Bill was gazetted, with the aim of aligning the law with the Constitution, comply with the Justice Smith Commission of Inquiry and modernising, as well as, strengthening the regulation and supervision of the insurance industry in line with international practice.
- Methodology
3.1 Once a Bill is published in the Gazette, Section 141 of the Constitution requires Parliament to engage the general members of the public in its legislative processes and consult them on any Bills being considered in the august House. Therefore, in fulfilment of this constitutional obligation, Parliament, through the Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance and Economic Development conducted public hearings on the IPEC Amendment Bill to gather the views of the key stakeholders and the people of Zimbabwe.
3.2 Given the technical nature of the Bills, the Committee resolved to invite Insurance and Pension Commission (IPEC) to unpack the Bill prior to conducting public hearing in selected provinces in the country. In view of that, the Committee participated at a two-day workshop in Leopard Rock Hotel, Mutare where the Bill was unpacked by IPEC. This workshop was critical in aiding the Committee Members to better understand the provisions of both Bills before embarking on public hearings.
3.3 Public hearings were then conducted from 13 to 16 March 2022 in Bulawayo, Mutare and Harare. Generally, attendance by the people of Zimbabwe was very poor as only a total of 25 people attended the 3 consultative meetings, as follows, Bulawayo (17), Mutare (1) and Harare (7).
3.4 The Committee then deliberated on the submissions received together with the views raised by the Committee and IPEC during the capacity building workshop leading to the development of this report.
- Summary of Submissions Received on the Bill
4.1 Clause 2: The members of the public raised concern over the missing definition of ‘asset’ in the Bill and the principal act. It was recommended that under this clause, the definition of ‘asset’ be included so that it does not refer to treasury bills or any other assets that may be specified in the Bill. The members of the public argued that the failure to define “asset” and to distinguish between capital assets, investment assets, policyholder assets or shareholder assets left a lot of vagueness on the provisions of the Bill. Therefore, there is need to qualify the word “Asset” in the bill in order to avoid vagueness as to actual meaning of the word.
4.2 Clause 3: Members of the public supported the inclusion of this provision under clause 3 as it seeks to strengthen the IPEC, a provision which is missing in the principal act. Under this new provision, additional and clear roles of IPEC are defined. This will enable IPEC to exercise its mandate effectively. However, the Committee felt that subsection (c) and (d) must be removed since they are more administrative in nature than a legislative issue.
- Clause 4: Members of the public supported the submissions to the effect that ‘National Social Security Authority (NSSA) and medical aid societies should be regulated by the Commission and this has been long overdue. This provision whereby NSSA and medical aid societies are added into the basket of institutions that must be monitored and regulated by IPEC is in line with best practices. Currently NSSA is monitored and regulated under the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare while medical aid societies are regulated by the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
However, it was noted that although Clause 4 of the Bill proposes for the expansion of the functions of the Commission to include the accreditation of actuaries, auditors, asset managers, credit rating agencies “and other service providers”, it nonetheless fails to set out the procedure by which auditors and actuaries should apply for accreditation, and the duration of the accreditation. It was therefore emphasised that either the bill or a delegated legislation must be put in place to incorporate these important provisions under this clause.
Members of the public also raised concern over a provision for regulating and accrediting asset managers, auditors and actuaries arguing that it was unnecessary. It was highlighted that professions such as asset managers are already regulated under the Asset Management Act, Auditors are regulated by Public Accountants and Auditors Board, among others, hence the involvement of IPEC would be double regulation.
Furthermore, submissions were made that a provision to accredit “other service providers” in this clause was vague as it is an open check to IPEC to do as it pleases. Therefore, there is need for clarity on who the “other service providers” are in the Bill.
- Clause 5: The provision amends Section 5 of the Act by increasing the number of the board members that the Minister responsible may appoint from ‘five (5)’ to ‘seven (7).’ The people welcomed this new proposal, particularly, the inclusion of their qualifications thereof, in addition to knowledge and expertise in the industry. This provision is welcome as it will ensure diversification in terms of representation of the board members as well as enhancing its capacity to exercise its mandate. The provision ensures that it addresses the need for adequacy and diversity of skills within the Commission.
However, it was further suggested that it was absolutely necessary to review the composition of the board. The people urged provide for the reservation of at least one seat on the board of Commissioners for a “pensioner,” who will then ensure that the interests of other pensioners are represented in the Board.
- Clause 6: This provision seeks to address issues of conflict of interest by disqualifying anyone who is directly or indirectly involved in the sector. A new insertion is also added, which defines ‘conflict of interest’ in the sector. This provision was welcomed by the Committee as it seeks to enhance good corporate governance in the industry.
- Clause 7 amends Section 7 of the principal act to increase the number of years an appointed member may serve the board from the current ‘three’ to ‘four’ years and to specify the eligibility criteria for re-appointment in line with the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act Chapter 10:31). Subsection 4 of the principal Act is also amended to comply with the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act which provides that allows a Board Member can only serve for 4 years and be eligible for re-appointment only one more term. Thus, the Committee welcomes these new provisions which strengthen corporate governance practices in the pension and insurance industry for the benefit of the sector.
- Clause 8 amends section 13 of the principal act by deleting ‘two members’ and substitute with ‘two thirds of members’ in line with the increased number from five to seven members. The Committee and members of the public welcomed this provision as it allows a wider consultation of members of the Board, especially in terms of representation.
- Clause 9 amends Section 14 of the Act by increasing the number of committees the board may establish from ‘one or more’ to ‘two or more.’ However, the people noted with concern the provision of compelling the Board to appoint at least two committees but highlighted that the clause failed to specify the roles and duties of these two appointed committees. It was therefore recommended that, for the avoidance of doubt, the functions of the two Committees should be made clear in the Bill.
- Clause 11 was welcomed by the people as it empowers the Commission to co-operate with other regulatory authorities, both local and foreign, in enforcing laws, carrying out investigations and exchanging information. The provision is fundamental in building strong synergies of mutual cooperation between insurance companies and pension funds operating across national boundaries.
However, reservations were made on a provision that amends Section 23(C) of the Principal Act on sharing privileged information with other authorities. The provision allows the Commission to pass on “privileged information” to other authorities, while it will not have to disclose “privileged information” received from the same authorities. Members of the public noted that this provision was unclear and vague. Reference was made to the Civil Evidence Act which underlines that legal privileged information is information that the holder cannot be obliged to disclose. It was therefore submitted that the Bill needs to be amended so that the principle suggested under the clause is clear and straight forward, especially as to the kind of information the Commission will be able to disclose and not disclose in line with the provisions of the Civil Evidence Act on the conferment of the privilege on information.
The public had reservations on the proposed amendment of Clause 11 which outlines the payment of unclaimed benefits of more than five years from the insurers and pensions to a proposed Pensions and Provident Fund Protection Fund. The public noted the need for clarity on where the liability will be transferred to once the unclaimed benefits are transferred to the Fund.
The people also welcomed the provision in clause 11 of the Bill on the establishment of the Policyholder and Pensions and Provident Fund Members Protection Fund to compensate holders of insurance policies and members of pension and provident funds who suffer loss in the event of their insurance companies or funds being insolvent. It was noted that this fund will enhance confidence in the insurance and pension industry.
Nonetheless the participants proffered the following recommendations, that;
- The Fund should be administered by a separate board comprising the Commissioner of Insurance [the CEO of the Commission] and up to seven other members appointed by the Minister and should be financed primarily from contributions by insurers and pension and provident funds.
- The insurers must have a say in the selection and appointment of fund management Board. Reference was made to the appointment of Board members of the Deposit Protection Corporation Board where contributory institutions have a role to play in appointments.
- There is need to reduce the limit on expenditure on staff remuneration and allowances from the proposed 30 % of the Fund’s annual income to 10%. The 10% should also cover the sitting allowances of the Board members.
- Clause 13 provides for exemption of members of the Board and staff of the Commission from liability for loss or damage they may cause, unless they acted deliberately or recklessly or with gross negligence. The Public raised concern that the effect of this provision is to place all liability on the Commission rather than the individual who actually caused the loss. Placing liability for loss or damage on the Commission was deemed to imply that the Commission’s board and staff are above the law thus violating the rule of law as enshrined in Section 56 (1) of the Constitution.
The public also raised concern on a provision under Clause 13 amending Section 32 (B) of the Principal Act requiring the Commission to keep asset registers for insurers, insurance brokers, funds and other entities, and prohibits those entities from disposing of assets unless the Commission has been given 14 days’ advance notice of the disposal. The provision was deemed as unduly restrictive, warranting the delay of decisions which sometimes need to be made quickly – for example, the selling of stocks and shares. This was highlighted to be potentially damaging to the operations of insurers if they have to give 14 days-notice at every turn, particularly for cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities (money market instruments and listed shares). The public recommended that 3 working days would suffice in this provision instead of the 14 days proposed by the Bill.
The public welcomed the provision in Clause 13 on appeals where insurers and other people who are aggrieved by decisions of the Commission are allowed to appeal to the responsible Minister. The public however noted that the provision failed to specify what the Minister will do when faced with such an appeal. Reference was made to section 73 of the Banking Act, which gives banks the right of appeal to the Minister against decisions of the Reserve Bank and, if they are dissatisfied with the Minister’s decision, they can appeal to the Administrative Court and from there to the Supreme Court. The public was of the opinion that the same extended right of appeal should be given to persons aggrieved by the Commission’s decisions.
Further concern over clause 13 of the bill was raised citing that the provision for determining when an insurer or pension fund becomes insolvent [and thereby entitling policy holders or members to seek compensation] needs to be clarified. The public observed that there was no provision in the insurance act or the pension and provident funds act for entities to be “declared to be of unsound financial position”, as stated in the amendment bill.
- Committee Observations
- That the strengthening of the mandate of IPEC would contribute to the stabilisation of the pension and insurance industry.
- That the term ‘asset’ was not defined in the main act and the bill. In the insurance and pension industry, asset refers to capital assets, investment assets, policyholder assets or shareholder assets among other assets within the sector.
- That the inclusion of NSSA in the basket of institutions to be monitored and regulated by IPEC is a welcome development, given the many challenges facing NSSA under the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and medical aid societies under the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
- That the establishment of the Policyholder and Pensions and Provident Fund Members Protection Fund is a welcome move critical in bringing sanity in the Insurance Industry, particularly when some companies become insolvent and members lose their benefits.
- The Bill fails to give the key stakeholders in the industry the right to give opinion in the selection and appointment of fund board members.
- That pensioners make the majority of the contributions into the Policyholder and Pensions and Provident Fund Protection Fund, hence the need to review the composition of the board to also include a “pensioner,” who will then ensure that the interests of other pensioners are represented in the Board.
- That the proposed 30% allocation of the Policyholders and Pensions and Provident Fund Protection Fund yearly income to the Board’s expenditure was rather exorbitant and possibly detrimental to the Fund’s effective execution of its mandate.
- That the role of the responsible Minister after receiving appeals from insurers were not provided for in the Bill. This would give rise to vagueness, inconsistencies in the processing of the appeals impacting on the credibility of the appeals process.
- That the roles and duties of the two standing Committees that the Board may appoint were not elaborated in the Bill, hence the need to make sure that the duties are clearly articulated for the avoidance of doubt.
- Committee Recommendations
- That the definition of terms section in the Bill be exhaustive of all the words that can create confusion in the implementation of the Act, such as that of ‘asset.’
- That the Policyholder and Pensions and Provident Fund should be administered by a separate board comprising the Commissioner of IPEC and up to seven other members appointed by the Minister and the Fund should be financed primarily from contributions by insurers and pension and provident funds.
- There is need to reduce the limit on expenditure on staff remuneration and allowances from the proposed 30 % of the Fund’s annual income to 10%. The 10% should also cover the sitting allowances of the Board members.
- The insurers must have a say in the selection and appointment of the Pensions and Provident Fund Protection Fund Management Board since they will be making the bulk of the contributions. Reference can be made to the appointment of Board members of the Deposit Protection Corporation Board where contributory institutions have a role to play in appointments.
- The reduction of the limit on expenditure on staff remuneration and allowances from the proposed 30% of the Fund’s annual income to 10% is of utmost importance to reduce the fund’s expenditure. The 10% should also cover the sitting allowances of the Board members.
- The Minister’s responsibilities once receiving appeals from insurers aggrieved by the Commission’s decisions have to be spelt out in the bill or delegated legislation to avoid any doubts in handling the appeals process.
- The two standing Committees to be set up by the Board should have clearly defined responsibilities and duties.
- Conclusion
- The Insurance Bill is a good law which seeks to address some of the major discrepancies arising from the policy and legislative gap which have not kept pace with regional and international practice. The sector is a high risk sector which must be adequately regulated to ensure that policyholders and insurers do not encounter losses unnecessarily, especially, due to events that can be protected by the law.
- Therefore, the Committee fully supports the passage of the Insurance Bill together with the proposed amendments as highlighted in this report. I thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. This Parliament is an institution that represents people, that is the reason why we have public hearings, to have an input from stakeholders in the laws that we make. I am totally against this Bill because the Chairperson of the Committee, Hon. Nyashanu was very clear on the numbers that attended the hearings. He said 17, 7 and 1- if I am not mistaken. He said 17 one meeting, 7 another meeting and 1, I do not know how we can call a meeting with one person, that was in Mutare.
So, for me we cannot say the stakeholders had an input and as Parliament, we must be seen to come up with laws which involve stakeholders. Our debate then arises from that, it becomes extremely difficult to debate on such a Bill when people are not involved. We would rather do something properly. My proposal would be to re-do it and give people enough time, notice, so that we are able to maximise on people’s input and do it professionally. The country is watching and we will be accused as Parliament of passing Bills which have nothing to do with the people.
- therefore, Mr. Speaker Sir, am pushing and proposing that the Committee - the communication of Parliament broke down somewhere. The amount of money spent is a lot and we must leave a legacy as being a Parliament that worked with the people and not against the people. This Bill is very important for the people of Zimbabwe, especially with inflation. The pensioners, not only that, the banking sector itself, if I am not mistaken is very important in terms of ensuring that things are put in the right perspective.
Mr. Speaker Sir, the Committee Chairperson is competent and he cannot be equally blamed because the Members of Parliament (MPs) are not responsible for communication in terms of dissemination of information. So, it becomes very difficult to then point a finger at the chairman of the Committee. Most Members of Parliament of that respective area must be notified but they also need to be resourced. The MPs at this point in time are incapacitated, they do not have money, fuel, bundles and airtime to call and mobilise people. So, it is from this point where we must be able to revisit and that is why Mr. Speaker we have been insisting on the information centres. I am happy that the Minister of Finance is here.
Minister of Finance, information centres that you talked about in the budget would help in this situation, the dissemination of information to relevant people and people know that any information that is happening in the constituency; any activities, we have an office that they can see on the notice-board. The community then said that any event happening in the constituency will be put on the notice board but that would happen at the information centre, and without that being in place, it is difficult. While the Members of Parliament are equally responsible for that, it requires resources and time to enable them to mobilise people.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I see that at times when we go for these public hearings, Members of Parliament for these constituencies, some of them do not know that there is a hearing. If the Member of Parliament for the constituency does not know, it becomes difficult for you to expect the ordinary person to know when one of our colleague Hon. Members is in the dark. So, communication must improve by ensuring that the Member of Parliament knows that there is an activity and an awareness programme done in terms of that.
So Mr. Speaker Sir, without saying much, I would really appreciate your indulgence and I know you are a stickler at doing the right things. We have a reputation to protect the legacy to live as Parliamentarians, as a Ninth Parliament and I think what has not been done must be done well. As a former teacher and headmaster, there was nothing wrong with somebody repeating when they failed. I would like this Committee to repeat, I do not want to say they failed but there was communication breakdown and that I think could give us some dignity and respect in terms of the Bills and the laws that we pass in this House. They will be taken seriously because the public saw this and they are aware of it.
It was on social media and the Chairman, if I am not mistaken, was interviewed and it was very difficult for him to say anything beyond what has been before him. I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, that is my contribution on this Bill.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. T. Mliswa. You have made a request for re-engagement with the public. Now, advertisements were made in all our media papers, social media was used to which Members of Parliament here present and those outside were privy and are privy to the website, the Parliamentary website to the group platform and every Member, whether you have a constituency or no constituency, you are obligated to ensure that the public attends. That is your representative role and your constitutional representative role. In this case, is it not Mutare where only one person attended? – [AN. HON. MEMBER: Mutare] – Mutare - where were the Members of Parliament from Mutare? PR members, where were they? So, Members of Parliament, in their representative role should encourage civil society organisations, those people in the pensions sector, people that pay pensions, mobilise them to attend; that is your representative role but you did not do this. So, there are so many channels in which the advertisement was done to invite the public to contribute and civil society organisations are very prone to disparaging Government when it comes to law making process, they are not there. We cannot drag them by the nerves and say come and contribute. Veritas is an exception because they publicise the times, venues and dates very eloquently and they even go as far as telling the public that they are attending. They should desist from wearing regalia, they should observe the health protocol and so on; Veritas does that apart from the efforts of Parliament itself. Justice Gubbay says the law cannot protect the lackadaisical; you have to accept the law as it is. If you wake up tomorrow and you find out the issues about the law, then you can petition Parliament in terms of Section 149 and make your suggestions and the law will be amended accordingly if need be.
HON. BITI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
THE HON. SPEAKER: You do not seem to be connected.
HON. BITI: I am connected.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Why do you always want to argue with the Chair? I see it from my screen – [HON. T. MLISWA: I think each time the Hon. Speaker intervenes, he will always think of his yellow tie.] –
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon Biti, take that with a grain of salt.
HON. BITI: Thank you Sir.
THE HON. SPEAKER: You can proceed.
HON. BITI: Mr. Speaker Sir, the issue of pensions is very important in our country and it is important because of the loss of value that pensioners have suffered in this country over two main periods. The first period was the period associated with the economic meltdown years leading up to 2008. So, for 11 years between 1997 and 2008, pensioners’ monies lost value. Mr. Speaker Sir, from the Justice Smith Commission of Inquiry Report which was tabled before this august House in March of 2017, that US5.68 billion worth of pensions was lost as a result of three main factors that were identified in the Justice Commission Report. The first one which caused loss of value was the macro-economic environment or rather, the mismanagement of the economy manifested primarily through the hyper inflation that we experienced during those years. So you could say that the macro-economic environment is a baby of the Government and the Justice Smith Commission of Enquiry placed 46% of the blame of the loss of values on Government, 46% of the blame. The second cause was the behaviour, the predatory behaviour of insurance companies and insurance houses and the Justice Smith Commission Report placed 22% blame to insurance companies. Two insurance companies were singled out for terrible behaviour; one was Old Mutual and the second one was First Mutual, then the 12 or 14% blame was passed on to the regulator, The Insurance Pension Commission that we are debating today. So, 46%, 22% and 12% was the breakdown of the loss.
With that background, Mr. Speaker, the Government has gazetted three Bills that are dealing with the Insurance sector, the first one which we are debating today; amendments to the Insurance and Pension Commission Bill. The second one which we will be debating perhaps this week will be a new Insurance Bill. The third one which was gazetted in September is amendments to the Pensions and Provident Fund Bill.
Now the challenge with all these three amendments is that they do not address the causes of the loss of value to pensioners and insured persons that was identified in the Justice Smith Commission of Inquiry Report. So, I agree with Hon. Mliswa that we need to go back to the drawing board but for different reasons. My different reasons being that the three Bills that the Government has presented in response to the Justice Commission Bill, namely Amendment to the Insurance Pension Commission Act, the regulator, Brand new insurance law and Amendments to the Pensions and Provident Fund Bill, do not attack the grave man, the cause of the pension crisis which we have in this country.
We need a second commission of inquiry, the Justice Smith Commission of inquiry dealt with loss of value up to 2008 and the conversion of asserts by insurance houses in or around March 2009. However, we have a second loss after 2009, workers regrouped, employers regrouped and started making contributions in USD but after the passage of SI 33 of 2019, insurance houses, in particular the same old culprits, Old Mutual, First Mutual Life, are now paying out benefits in RTGS yet contributions from 2009 to February 2019 were being paid in USD.
Now, I have no idea of the loss of value between 2009 and 2019 but my rough calculations put it around 3 billion. So, if you add 3 billion to USD5, 68, it means pensioners have lost close to USD9 billion in a space of 8 years. Mr. Speaker, that is not good enough because the pensioner is my grandfather, my father, you and I Mr. Speaker, so we cannot afford an economy to lose pension value. One of the reasons we cannot afford to lose pension values, pensions represent forced savings and all over the world, the biggest assets holders are pension houses, they hold huge amounts of money in their banks which other people borrow to kick start the economy. So when you do not have pension, it also means that you do not have savings. A normal, decent country requires at least savings which are at least 25% of GDP to have a sustained GDP growth rate.
China which is now the second largest economy in the word have savings ratio to GDP of 50%, that is why we cannot mess around with pensions and that is why with great respect, we need to go back to the drawing board both as the Executive and as the Committee so that we consult citizens.
I heard the Chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee saying we consulted the insurance companies but they are the culprits. Let us consult trade unions, workers, employers too because employers also lost. So, I do not think there was adequate consultation that meets the test in Section 141 of the Constitution which requires adequate consultation.
Let me now move to the merits of this current Bill. The first challenge I have with it is that the Bill allows IPEC to register insurance houses and I am using the word insurance in the broad spectrum of all the companies that they allowed and the entire sector that they are allowed to supervise. Mr. Speaker, once you are given the role and responsibility of registration, it means you are creating. You cannot create and then regulate your own baby; it is the problem which we are having in the banking sector. The RBZ registers banks in terms of the Banking Act and then supervises the same. In the past, there was a registrar of banks housed in the Ministry of Finance, physically used to be called Mr. Chidavaenzi, I think he is still there. Then you have the RBZ as the regulator, I submit there must be a registrar of insurance and pension funds who is not IPEC because you cannot regulate your own baby. So, I submit that that is a fundamental weakness of this Bill.
The second fundamental weakness is that board members of IPEC are also insurance players, some of them own insurance houses, and some of them are employees of insurance houses. I submit that this incest must be done away with. If you work for an insurance company, if you own an insurance company, you cannot sit on the board of IPEC, you cannot regulate yourself. So, if you look at the current board, you will find that there are some actors who are actually running insurance companies. So, I would like to see a situation, with great respect, that there is a total proscription of board members who are also players because you cannot be a referee and a player at the same time.
The third aspect which was also touched by the Committee is the vague definition of assets in the Bill and I think that was deliberate. Part of the problem with these insurance houses is that they hedge insurance losses and values through assets, they buy assets, buildings and so forth then they create separate companies that own the assets that they would have created. If you look at First Mutual life, I think it has a company that owns buildings. So, the companies are now de-linked, yet the assets are insurance assets because they were bought for proceeds of pensions and pension contributions but IPEC the regulator cannot regulate the new company that has been created that owns buildings and shares on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. In my submission, the regulator must regulate anything owned and create from insurance assets and values. Secondly, the aspect of creating shelf companies that then own assets like land, if you look at ZB, First Mutual Life and the Old Mutual, that should not happen without the approval of IPEC but IPEC should continue regulating those assets because they are essentially insurance assets. So, I support the Committee that there must be a clearer definition of assets, so that we cover everything because these people hide everything in different companies as was confirmed by the Justice Smith Commission Report.
Fourth, the biggest Insurance House in Zimbabwe is NSSA, it collects over 40 million USD a month but it is not regulated by anyone. The Minister of Labour and Social Services my good friend Prof. Mavhima cannot be a regulator equally, the Minister of Health, the esteemed Vice President of the country cannot regulate medical aid schemes too, so it is a lacuna that NSSA is not regulated by IPEC. I submit that NSSA should be regulated by IPEC and NSSA is one of those notorious companies whose asset base, other than contributions, is now bigger than the contributions and the board of NSSA has now forgotten the core business of NSSA which is to look after workers; they are now looking after the profits and the companies and the shares that they are busy acquiring on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, and in the economy. The issue of regulation, the issue of IPEC having regulatory insight and oversight over NSSA is very important.
The next issue is the creation of the fund. The Act creates a policy holder fund. On the face of it, that is a good thing but you read the small print and you will see the problem. This fund is only protecting policy holders against one omission, which is the insolvency of the company. If you look at the challenge that has caused pensioners to earn RTGs$60 - it has nothing to do with the collapse of pension houses. The Old Mutual is there, we found it there and we are going to leave it there because it is a colonial company representing white monopoly capital.
So the mischief is not the closure and the insolvency. The mischief are those factors which were identified in the Justice Smith Report which was the macro-economic environment and hyper inflation, the greediness and predatory behaviour of insurance companies, the lack of proper supervision by IPEC. Therefore, the fund will not help the majority of pensioners who have suffered from these factors, not insolvency. If the fund is to properly cushion and protect workers in Zimbabwe, it must cushion us against hyperinflation and macro-economic disequilibrium; it must cushion us against predatory insurance companies.
If you read the Justice Smith Report, there were some companies mentioned by name in the report which were receiving about $10 but they were paying themselves $130. It is not enough to take a pensioner’s money. They overspent that which they do not have and that is the problem with errant people. They stay in Borrowdale, they stay in Highlands and they drive fancy cars. They shop at Sammy Levy’s Village and at Sandton and that is what the Act needs to deal with.
The fund is inadequate because it is only protecting against insolvency. It is not protecting against hyper-inflation. The Hon. Member raised the issue of the rate going to ZD450. When the rate goes to ZD450, it means pensioners are suffering. How does the pensioner get protected under those circumstances? I respectfully submit that we need to go back to the drawing board. I respectfully submit that the ILO which is a tripartite UN Organisation consisting of workers, employers - governments and trade unions has got massive expertise to deal with the situation that we faced as a country.
One of the case models that they used was Russia in the mid-1990s. The Ruble collapsed in 1985/89 after Gorbachev introduced Perestroika and the ILO moved in to assist the Russian Government in how to rebuild pensions and how to compensate workers in that phase. I submit that let us go back to the drawing board and let us get the help of the ILO and let us fully implement the recommendations of the Justice Smith Commission Report because the three Bills, the proposed amendments to the Insurance Pension Commission Bill, the proposed new insurance law and the proposed amendments to the Pensions and Provident Fund do not meet the expectations of the Justice Smith Commission Report. I thank you Hon. Speaker.
(v)HON. TOGAREPI: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I would like to contribute to this debate. Those who debated before me started on very important areas of the IPEC Act which has been amended. I would like to add my voice specifically on NSSA regulations. NSSA, unless it is regulated, has a potential to open insurance industry policy of its size that a contribution that goes to NSSA is not solicited, but they are statutory, meaning that they have free money that comes to them and whatever they do in terms of investment and pay out to members, they are free to do it and whatever they do, in my observation, if we want laws in the insurance industry, it is like they are a law unto themselves and without regulation, we are faced with a situation where there is social security system that includes insurance industry. I really support the issue that...
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order Hon. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Please Hon. Mliswa, why do you not allow the Hon. Member to debate?
HON. T. MLISWA: It is quite important Hon. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order please, he is on line and I do not want to miss him.
HON. T. MLISWA: He is wearing a polo-neck, does he have a tie underneath and that is my simple point of order. Is he well dressed to be a parliamentarian at this point in time?
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Togarepi, we do not see your tie, what is happening?
HON. T. MLISWA: He has no tie and he must show us the tie. We have rules in this House. He is a Chief Whip and he should live by example.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Mliswa, you do not have a tie as well.
HON. T. MLISWA: Mine is African wear.
THE HON. SPEAKER: He is on African wear. Hon. Togarepi, please proceed.
(v)HON. TOGAREPI: So my recommendation in my debate is that NSSA must be regulated, whether it is regulated by IPEC or a competent financial regulator, not a Ministry. In view of what decision has been made by NSSA in the past, for example investing in collapsing banks and so forth, it is a sign of failure within their decision making processes. These would only be avoided, engineer regulated and given direction on how they have to invest public funds. So, I really recommend that NSSA must be regulated and IPEC has got the capacity to regulate NSSA including the medical aid societies. They are all insurances and they are entitled to the stability of the financial service sector. They cause a lot of distortion in the financial system. So, I really support the issue that NSSA must be regulated. The insurance industry works hand-in-hand with the banking sector. If there is no relationship, there are meetings between the insurance industry and the banking sector. Much of the premium contributions are deposited with banks before they are invested with any other investment in the country. If there is failure in the banking system, there is bound to be failure in the performance of the insurance industry. There is nothing Government can do, whatever we intend to do as Government unless monies that go to the banks are protected, then the insurance industry is bound to fail. In this law, I do not know how the Minister can come up with something that can link the two. If you look at the failure which we are talking about, which caused the Justice Smith Investigation, most of the financial assets were destroyed when zeros were lost. The decision was not done by the insurance industry, but it was done by the banking sector and the regulators. So, people lost the value of their pensions. How do we recover that value, and how do the insurance companies come to meet what they had promised their policy holders? So, there should be a clear reform in terms of the banking sector, regulations and also linking with the insurance sector so that the insurance sector is not destroyed by the failures in the banking sector.
The powers that have been given to IPEC are very important and applauded. They are going to help in dealing with the arrogance in the insurance industry. The other thing that the other Hon. Members were raising as culprits in this industry, normally it is powerful individuals in these insurance companies who should be barred from the insurance industry if they tamper around with people’s monies. The person has been suffering, paying pension contributions for many years and after 50 years, he is told that all you worked for is gone. You will be told that the decision was made by this insurance guru in the insurance sector. IPEC should be given powers to ban all these people from working in the insurance industry.
If you look at the failures that were identified by Justice Smith, these insurance companies are still operating as we speak. They are very rich but they will be saying we were affected by inflation, Government did not do this; these effects were only felt by policy holders’ investments yet they will be having assets. They are hypocrites, they transferred policy holders’ money to their allies, they must be arrested and go to jail. Some people are now poor because the insurance industry was not being honest. They stole people’s monies. After passing this law, I agree that we must come up with another investigation so that those who stole the monies go to jail. These insurance companies convert people’s assets to their own assets. They must be made to pay, otherwise the insurance is only to make those who are rich very rich at the expense of the poor people, those who dedicate their incomes to their investments.
Hon. Speaker, I want to support this Bill so that IPEC is given more powers and we expect IPEC to then perform and protect policy holders from those insurance companies who are abusing policy holders’ funds. Insurance companies are so rich yet they claim that people’s monies were eroded by inflation. Asset managers are very rich; they are doing very well on those assets yet only policy holders are affected. Hon. Minister, it is critical that you engage and ask IPEC to protect contributions by policy holders. It is very bad that we see people who have worked for this country in abject poverty having put a lot of monies to guaranteed safe retirement but the same insurance company asset managers are there, rich and driving beautiful cars. Where did they get the monies from when the monies were eroded by inflation?
Mr. Speaker, I also want to comment on the issue of poor attendance during these public hearings. I do not see how people failed to attend these public hearings. I blame my fellow colleagues; it was not too technical for the public to raise these issues that were affecting them under the insurance industries and what had happened to their pensions. I think it was because people were scared, people think insurance issues are very technical, but in my view, it is not. It is very simple, that is why millions of our people contribute to the insurance industry. These insurance companies must be very transparent. We need serious insurance companies and pension reforms so that they speak to the interests of our people. I thank you.
*HON. DUTIRO: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to this debate. Indeed, it is true inflation is very high and it is eroding and affecting pensioners’ benefits although they contribute to insurance companies including NSSA so that they get returns after their retirement. It is meant to cushion them against hardships when they are aged but that did not happen because insurance and pension companies are only taking people’s money and failing to give them their benefits. For example, today they get your money and buy 100 bricks but when you get your benefits, the money you get cannot buy you even half a brick but they will be keeping those 100 bricks. So the suffering of people is not justified because it is caused by some insurance persons who fail to invest wisely.
Insurance companies invested in land and properties but when they pay you back your benefits they do not consider all those contributions you made towards the assets they accrued as a result of your contributions. These insurance companies should be evaluated. People’s contributions should be considered and equated into shares considering how much they have contributed. They end up burdening Government yet in actual fact, they have contributed to pensions. The problem we have realised with these insurance companies is that they get a lot of money from people and they are the same people who buy money from the illegal market and cause the rise of the illegal markets. Their contributions must be equated to shares so that when they need the benefits, they can easily access them and reduce the burden on Government since their contributions equate to savings for a long term. The other problem we noticed about these insurance companies is that they are the ones manipulating the parallel market and determining exchange rates because they get a lot of money from their contributors around the same time. They deliberately raise the rates at the same time raising premiums to ensure the contributors do not get value for their money.
There was Old Mutual index that was fixed by these people meant to erode the value of contributions. I remember there was a former teacher who contributed almost half of his salary to insurance companies. After contributing for more than 8 years, he was told that the premium he could get was US$7. So we are saying insurance companies and pension funds must be evaluated to ascertain their real value so that their actual value can be spread to contributors. If you look at NSSA for instance, they have constructed mansions in Borrowdale that are not being used at all. Those houses are constructed by proceeds from contributors who reside in Glen Norah, Glen View and Mbare, yet the contributors are not getting anything and do not have houses and they are stuck in high density suburbs.
What we are saying is that we are taking the US dollar as an asset. The US dollar is not our money and it will never be our money. We should look for a competitor to the US dollar. For example, something like gold because you can easily access it if you dig wherever you stay. Right now Fidelity is the only one allowed to buy gold but how many people benefit from it. Fidelity is only found in a few pockets of this country. Gold must be bankable. Gold must be bankable at any bank or financial institution. It must also be transferable. This is what has led to these insurance companies and pension funds to compete on the parallel market yet we have gold and everyone knows it and we have all touched it. If we allow gold to be bankable, anyone can use it for banking. If I were to get it today after 5 years, I can go and sell it outside the country and buy a bicycle and pay lobola.
*HON CHIKWAMA: Thank you Mr. Speaker for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this debate raised by Hon. Nyashanu about pensions. The issue of pensions is a very painful one because we need to come up with policies that bring together pension associations because some of the things that they do are not helpful at all to people. I spent 31 years on Unified Association of Councils but what you earn after that is just ZW$300. The benefits you get after all those years of contribution cannot help you at all to survive.
At some point workers were given statements that showed that you had nil contributions yet they acquire assets and conceal those assets. Their statements only reflect money as in cash yet they are supposed to start all over again to contribute after 15 years or so. That is very painful. If you look at NSSA, it has acquired assets here and there and it has buildings such as Joina City and has also built a hospital in Bulawayo on land which is not theirs yet they do not give adequate benefits to people. There should be a law that really scrutinises how pension funds and insurance companies use contributors’ monies.
There are some people who are not able to claim their money from NSSA because they have relocated to rural areas. Most of the people are not able to claim those funds because of the age stipulations. By the time they are eligible to get the benefits, they will not be able to travel to process the benefits. As Parliament, we need to come up with legislation that regularises insurance companies from time to time because there is no progress. Funds belonging to people are disappearing and there is no progress. There are a lot of insurance and pension funds which are not giving back to the contributors. Most people struggle to claim their benefits because of the bureaucracy. NSSA gets funds from contributors and acquire assets whilst the intended beneficiaries get nothing out of it. They are the ones owning the parallel market because they get a lot of money every month from contributions.
My appeal is we need to enact legislation to cover all pensioners so that the Government can monitor their intended benefits from their declared assets and values. Right now with this high inflation, you will see in future people statements and bank cards will show zeros although the pension funds and insurance companies own most of these assets we see. For example Old Mutual owns a lot of assets. As Parliament, we need to come up with laws that regulate them and stop the impunity they are currently operating under. I thank you.
HON. MUSHORIWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir for recognizing me to debate on this particular Bill. First and foremost, I would want to state that like the Chairperson of the Budget and Finance Committee indicated, we have got to understand that this Bill was drafted sometime around 2015. When it was drafted, it took longer than necessary for it to be brought to this House. The Bill was supposed to answer to the issues that have been raised by the Justice Smith Commission. The other thing that we also noted Mr. Speaker Sir is that the text of the Bill, the Attorney General officials who participated in our workshop actually queried that the text of the Bill has changed midstream.
Secondly Mr. Speaker Sir, the other problem that we also noted from this Bill, if you go to other stakeholders who wanted to contribute, there are actually two different texts. If you go to Government Printers today to buy this Bill and you compare it with the other, the texts are different. That is a challenge which many stakeholders who wanted to contribute to the Bill faced.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Just a point of clarification. Is the Hon. Member saying the Bill gazetted in 2015 and the one now gazetted in 2021, the texts are different?
HON. MUSHORIWA: No, I did not say that Mr. Speaker. I said the drafting part of the Bill was done in 2015 but the process, going through the Cabinet Legislative Committee and the other processes took longer than necessary. What I then said which is different is that if you go to the Government Printers today to get this Bill and you then check with the other one, even the one we have on our emails, there are certain clauses which are very different. Stakeholders were complaining to say, which one is the authentic Bill if these bills are actually different.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you for the explanation. I am sure the Hon. Minister has noted that.
HON. MUSHORIWA: Mr. Speaker Sir, before I delve into the technical issues, I am not going to repeat the misdemeanors of the insurance and pension companies. However, I think there is one issue which is critical which is the Government - you know Mr. Speaker Sir that pension and insurance funds are prescribed by law that some of their assets, they should invest in Government stock, Treasury Bills, Government bonds, et cetera. What has happened is that when the Zimbabwe dollar was losing value, an insurance company goes using insurance money or pensioners’ funds to buy Treasury Bills when they were worth $200 million, for example. With time, the money loses value and by the time they get back their money, it will be worthless. The problem is not only the insurance company or the pension company that is suffering. The people that are suffering are the pensioners and the insurance contributors. This is the reason why I agree with Hon. Biti to simply say that we needed to make sure that the Justice Smith Commission Report pertaining to the mistakes of Government need to be sorted out.
Mr. Speaker Sir, if you look into this Bill, there are a number of issues which I think the Minister need to deal with. I think some of them have been raised by the Chairperson of the Budget and Finance Committee. This Bill was badly drafted or was drafted in a hurry. If you look and start from Clause 2, maybe the only clause which in my view was properly done was Clause 1, which is the Short Title. Any other clause Mr. Speaker Sir has got a lot of things that need to be explained. Maybe the reason is because there was a passage of time before the Bill was brought to Parliament and there are a number of things that the Ministry did not consider.
The Chairperson of the Committee has raised some of the amendments that we feel strongly need to be brought in. Most importantly, one of the chief culprits in terms of the different texts, one text says NSSA and the medical insurance companies are excluded from this Bill but another text of the Bill is saying that NSSA and medical insurance companies are now under this Bill. I think the Hon. Minister needs to clarify which one is the correct position. If NSSA and the medical aid societies are now part of this Bill, it will be a very important development because that is what we need to happen. We cannot have a Ministry of Labour supervising or superintending the NSSA. We need a competent board like IPEC.
Hon. Speaker, talking of IPEC, some of the powers that IPEC seeks - are probably too excessive. It is important that IPEC needs to be fully powered but when they want to usurp powers that have been invested in other bodies, then we will have a problem. We have got the Public Accounting Auditors Board and the Asset Management Board and we need to make sure that IPEC runs in its own lane rather than to try to criss-cross.
I am going to raise two issues to just emphasise before I sit down Mr. Speaker Sir. One of it pertains to the establishment of a Policyholder and Pension Provident Fund Members’ Protection Fund board. The manner in which the clause was crafted, we would have loved the Hon. Minister to copy and paste what is found pertaining to the Depositor Protection Fund. You know the one which the banks contribute to, this is the one that we would have wanted to be copied and pasted into this Bill. As far as we are concerned, the provision which is in the Deposit Protection Corporation Board is actually better to us.
The last one which I also feel needs to be looked into is Clause 32, the one on appeals. Again Mr. Speaker Sir, we would be happy if the Minister could go and copy Section 73 of the Banking Act and replace 32 (c) there with the provision. That provision under the Banking Act does justice in terms of the appeal process, rather than which we have in this Bill. Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to thank you. We will be submitting more when we come to the Committee Stage. Thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: At least I am happy even if the public did not attend. The level of debate seems to be quite high.
HON. B. DUBE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. The contention before us of the Bill, the mischief of the law is not being clearly addressed. There is no clear provision relating to the issues that have been the serious problems in the insurance sector. The first issue being that there has been serious losses before which had not been recovered; which Hon. Biti estimated to be around $9 billion. So, the mischief of the law must then clearly say, what do we do to that? Going forward, how do we prevent the future happenings? So, this is what the law must be addressing because every law must have a specific intention and a specific mischief that it must address once and for all.
Where we come from, you are now able to tell a pensioner by just looking at them. They look much neglected and they look very depressed. What we then must remember and take into account is that all of us here, by the passage of a day, we are getting closer to that class. If we do not make right these laws, we are exactly going to see also ourselves in that same situation.
Mr. Speaker Sir, this law must also be able, in some way, to address to us what we should do to those rogue insurance companies; majority of them, actually it is good that you have mentioned these companies that are still around but which are actually eating on our savings. However, the worst part relates to those that have actually relocated. A lot of our pensioners are going to some insurance companies where the addresses are now flea markets because the company has just looted the pensioners’ monies and went away. This is the situation that is on the ground. You go to a company where you contributed and the company is no longer there or they are now only at the head office in Harare. This is the regulatory framework’s duty to put in place to say what the value of insurance is. The value of insurance, is it supposed to be the money that you have invested or the money that the insurer decides to give you at the time of giving you the money?
I believe that Minister, you must actually come up with a breakeven point of this situation where actually in as much as they are there for business and for them to sustain business, they need to make profit but they must also be fair in terms of the contributors’ value because I do not believe that the reason for non-payment of the adequate pensions is as a result of inadequate funding because these insurance companies are the richest in terms of what they own. I think they own about two-thirds of the CBD buildings. They cannot be sincere to just say you contributed US$, for 20 years you were contributing that much, which enabled us to buy big buildings and now we are compensating you this much.
This Government, if it is sincere, must actually make sure that the law that is being promulgated now must address all these things and make sure that we mitigate on the prejudice being suffered by our people. I understand there are people who are holding on to those cheques of 2009. I think they were $5 or $6 of value for pensions back dated to possibly 1980 up to 2009. For now, also we still have the pensioners who do not even know what the value of their contributions is. So, my point is in our law, let there be clarity relating to what is the mechanism, especially relating to that fund, relating to risk. Our main risk has never been the insolvency issue because none of them have actually applied to be declared as such. Our main problem is actually the issues of inflation as well as the issues of unfair compensation of the workers.
Like indicated before by Hon. Mliswa, there was no adequate consultation but where we are now, we still have an opportunity, the Ministry of Finance may not be able to have all the answers although they are the classers of this Bill but ILO is well positioned to actually partner with us in terms of how to address that issue relating to other risks apart from the risk of insolvency that has been decided to be covered. I believe it is not for Zimbabwe, the fundamental challenge that we have had has been absence of proper security to the pensioners and the workers at the time that the monies are required.
As I conclude, let there be a consultation with ILO, especially on how we manage this other risk as Russia did some years back when they were in the situation where we are in, so that we mitigate on the losses that are inherently being suffered by our people. Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
Hon. Nduna having been pushing to be recognised.
THE HON. SPEAKER: I am following the list given by your Whip. You have been recognised by the Acting Chief Whip and you are there in the list.
HON. DR. MURIRE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I also rise to support the Insurance and Pension Fund Bill for it to be implemented. I rise to share my experiences as a person who actually drafted the blueprint for the NSSA investment policy back in 1992. I think the Bill must address two issues, one of compliance and that of governance within the insurance industry. I believe those are the chief problems that we face.
NSSA was created to address workers’ challenges in terms of pensions. Initially, it was the private sector that was on the background of Government pension which was regarded as the most secure pension scheme at that time. Going to NSSA, in terms of governance, you will see that the initial thrust was based on actuarial direction in terms of investment but as we went ahead with the implementation of the NSSA blueprint and changes in management, NSSA lost its direction. Instead of investing funds in assets that will actually protect the funds for the workers, it became a gambling game where funds were actually directed to risk areas. NSSA started getting into banking. It invested in First Mutual. Itself being an insurance entity, it was investing in another insurance entity and yet itself is not a reinsurance company.
Further to that, instead of being guided like I said by the actuarial direction, actuary is a science which I think if complied with, insurance companies will never fail unlike private business. You will see that most insurance companies right now are focused on profit rather than the provision of security to employees who have to retire at the end of their working life, for they are now focused on profit and edged by business interests in their operations, they lose direction. If the Bill is implemented with those safeguards to ensure that there is strict compliance, then we would avoid a lot of risks and losses that the insurance industry is experiencing. If we look at Government, contributions are based on percentages of one’s salary. NSSA contributions are also based on one’s salary, of course with a cap.
There is no reason why even if we are experiencing inflation, why an insurance company if pensions are collected on the basis of percentages, would fail to pay its obligations but that happens. If you go back in terms of losses that NSSA suffered over the years, it was purely because of speculative investments which are not the underlined mode of operation for insurance companies. Mr. Speaker Sir, a lot has been said. In my short presentation, I would urge that the Bill focuses mainly on compliance issues and corporate governance issues and ensure that those are observed so that we will also avoid a situation where a general manager of an insurance company for example NSSA, is hired today, tomorrow he is fired and he is given a golden handshake from the contributors’ funds.
The next thing another one resigns, tomorrow he is given a golden handshake; that is a true reflection of lack of corporate governance and I am very happy that the Bill is coming at a right time, where all these previous weakness can actually be avoided and all loopholes closed. I so submit Mr. Speaker Sir.
(v)HON. NDUNA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, I will go straight to my points. There are about four points about this Bill that I want to present to you. The first one is about the credibility of the Commissioners in the board of IPEC. This has been touched on but it borders on issues to do with pecuniary interest where the Commissioners should not be involved in the insurance sector as business players. I say this because the current Commissioner, the Chairperson of IPEC is also an owner of an insurance company which ensures vehicles and other automobile with ZINARA and the nation at large. There is need to separate the issues, there is need before the Minister amends this Act. There is need to weed out the square plug from the round holes. Otherwise we keep having the same thing over and over again and expect a different result and that is not possible.
Having said that, the issue of insurance in particular where the Bill now seeks to harmonise or also to include medical insurance; just this yesterday, you received a petition that speaks to and about road insurance or health insurance fund that seeks to compensate those that would have been involved in road traffic accident. If this sector was being holistically, effectively, efficiently maintained and conducted, there would not be any such petitions that seek to compensate those that would have been involved in road accidents.
I ask that this board becomes robust and resilient first and foremost in order to look at the line insurance portfolios that existed before the inclusion of this Health Insurance Portfolio - that is my clarion call and fervent view.
I now want to touch on the issue of third party insurance. It has become a cash cow for insurance companies without any compensation, not ability but without any need for compensation or appetite for compensation from the insurance players Mr. Speaker, to those that would have been involved in road accidents. I will give you a little brief on what third party insurance is. It is money paid quarterly which is about US$35 converted into bonds per quarter and it is paid three times or quarterly per year. What it means is before you pay monies for your licence, you will have to have third party insurance and the vehicle population currently stands at 2 million automobiles. Everybody pays third party insurance but with a view of getting compensated if they are involved in road accidents, especially if there is third parties involved. This is what third party insurance is and according to calculation using the vehicle population, there is about US$200m going to insurance players annually because of third party insurance.
By any stroke of imagination, this is not a pittance, this is humongous, gigantic, copious amounts of monies and this needs to be dealt with at an intellectually gifted manner and also in a manner which is faithful by people with a good standing background and who are credible Mr. Speaker. You know yourself that the Statutory Instrument of 45/2005 which gives some of this money which is 121/2 percent to Traffic Safety Council and now Traffic Safety Council having gotten that 12 ½ percent annually now receives about US$10m annually. You were the champion of making that carbon note electronic in the Eighth Parliament and you asked the then Minister of Transport to come in to Parliament and to get away from the moribund, rudimentary, antiquated and medieval and manual ways of receiving that remittance and you have made sure it is electronic and to that end, we now have these monies that are now being given to Traffic Safety Council to the tune of US$10m.
My point exactly Mr. Speaker Sir, the board and the Commissioners need not only to take care of themselves according to one of the clauses that says 10% is what is meant to curb the expenses of the commissioners’ remuneration, allowance and expenses. The commissioners need to expand their horizon in terms of their capacity. So, this is where I then said there is adjudication and taking care of this third party insurance but more so, they need to make sure that the unsuspecting innocent motorists and citizens are also taken care of using that third party insurance in the event that they are involved in road traffic accident.
On passenger insurance - it is supposed to take care of those that are in public transport at a rate of $15 per seat that is paid by the operators or the owners of passenger insurance, for instance a 75 seater bus will pay about USD1500 to 4000. What is a look forward from those that are involved in accidents; those that are injured are supposed to get about USD 1500 to 2000 because of that passenger insurance. Those that are bereaved, the families are supposed to get about USD3 000 to 4000. That is currently not happening. As soon as a bus is involved in an accident, you will see the passengers going to the owner of the automobile or the passenger transport. It is not supposed to be like that but it is like that because the insurance sectors has turned themselves into cash cows and are using the money that is supposed to be used for compensation to those that are involved in accidents. The money is already there, you do not get a licence as a public service passenger vehicle operator if you have not paid passenger insurance.
So, my clarion call is that these commissioners and this board have to look into the boards, the legacy issues involving the buses that are involved in accidents. There are a lot of people out there who are dying because of injuries incurred during an accident whilst they were criss- crossing the width and breadth of this country in insured public service vehicles. It is incumbent upon those that are coming in the amendment of this Act, the Insurance and Providence Act that should see the compensation in retrospect, current and futuristic.
As I conclude, the issue of the threshold, NSSA for argument’s sake and all the other pension houses where at retirement the pension is paid after the age 45, I ask that this Act and amendment takes care of the life expectancy which is 45 for men and women it is now 36 because of the economic hardships, not only in Zimbabwe but in the continent in Africa. Once the life expectancy goes up to 60, 70 as the Bible says in Psalms 90:10 “where man is appointed to 3 score and 10”, three score is 60 and ten is 10, that is 70.
Then at that time we will raise the bar again for pensioners to get all their money at maybe 60 but for now, I ask that the aged be given their full pension at 45 so that the pensioners enjoy their gratuity and enjoy their pensions that they have lived for whilst they are still alive. A lot of pensions get to be fought for once there is what is called estate management with the Master of High Court once those who were working for those pensions have passed on. It is time to make them enjoy the fruits of their labour and give them all their monies at once.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I have spoken about the insurance sector, I have spoken about the pecuniary interest and lastly, I have spoken about the issue that touches on the pith, the core, the heart of my constituency Chegutu West because we have got David Whitehead pensioners, Government pensioners and the ultimately led by Mr. Green who would want to access his pension in full. It is still there and it was paid when the money still had value but the monies that is now receiving are just but a pittance
I ask that because of the strength of this debate that I have put across, there should be the repeal of the law in order that it takes care of the people of Chegutu West Constituency and also to take care of all the people that are involved in RTA; mind you, there is 43 that are injured each day and there are five that die each day. More die in the future because of injuries that had been sustained during an RTA way before. We need to take care of these people in a robust, resilient, effective and efficient manner.
As I conclude, the Minister should not put new wine in old skins but he should first and foremost remove the commissioners that are currently there because they have got pecuniary interests. He should put in new people that are of a credible nature. I thank you.
(v)HON. S. BANDA: Firstly, allow me to thank Hon. Dr. Nyashanu who is the Chairperson of the Committee representing the report and Hon. Mushoriwa, I believe he was the one who was supposed to second the motion.
This Bill, for me there is the good, there is the not so good, there is the inconclusive and there is the indeterminate. When I look at the report, I cannot help but think of the Justice Smith Report. The Justice Smith Report among other things, sought to attend to the losses and conversion of insurance and pension values from ZWL to USD at that point when it was made.
This Bill, this proposed amendment, there is really little to show for me that this report is adhering to that aspect of the report. The H.B. seeks the Insurance and Pension Bill, and it will just have two parts in my presentation, the first one is directly to the Bill and the second one is broad.
The first part Mr. Speaker Sir, firstly I want to support Clause 5 which proposes movement from 5 to 7 members in the board of the Commission. There is Clause 7 which seeks to move from indefinite periods for board members to maximum clear terms of 8 years and I support that. I also support Hon. Dr. Nyashanu where he said a retired pensioner must be among the board members.
Clause 4, attempts to accredit actuaries, auditors, asset managers, credit rating agencies and I put inverted commas on ‘other service providers’. I see no need for auditors and asset managers to be included among those who are going to be regulated because these two are only regulated under the Public Accounts and Auditors Act and the Asset Management Act respectively. So, there is no need for them to be further regulated. I am worried by the term or words like ‘service providers’. Surely, the words ‘service provider’ is too broad and I believe that it should give no room for doubt. Let it be referred to the insurers, actuaries, asset managers, credit rating agencies, and reinsurers, those who do life insurers, funeral insurers, non-life insurers, composite insurers, reinsurers, insurance brokers and non-life reinsurers, not just to say service providers. I think that should not be there.
Whilst some information may be seen to be confidential and has to be kept so, the Civil Evidence Act refers to privilege of divulging or loading information to only four circumstances which are privilege against self incrimination, loyal crime privilege and these two are so clear. The other two privileges that the Civil Evidence Act speaks about are privilege to confidential information and privilege in the public interest. These are confessed by the order of a court only. This Bill, through Clause 11, seeks to perform a nullity and must not be seen to be fighting what already exists or else it is fighting the court system.
I now go to the second part of my debate. It starts with the issue of this Bill which for reference sake, is the Insurance and Pensions Commission Amendment Bill vis-à-vis the Pensions and Provident Funds Act. These Acts are trying to solve one issue and I see no reason why they should be separated. If they are separated, they bring about gaps. For instance, studies have shown that the main issues that the industry faces are what the insurance and pensions industry faces.
Studies have shown that there are 12 major issues which this industry faces. There is poor corporate governance, liquidity challenges, poor internal controls, real capital levels, poor information systems, high premium debtors, currency risk, low confidence, outdated legislation, low financial retro-levels, group wide exposures and shareholders. These are the 12 challenges that are faced but this Bill does not necessarily try to resolve the issues that are here. These two Bills among themselves were supposed to combine and be able to solve these issues that are based in industry. Any Bill or any Act that is promulgated but does not solve challenges that I have heard or that will be seen in the foreseeable future, does not seem to do what it is supposed to do. Therefore, I seek amendments rather than total throwing away of this worthy Bill. It has to go back to the drawing board for further enrichment. There is no proposal on how pension funds would be structurally and systematically safeguarded. The proposal that is there is only academic and organisational. It protects the IPEC Commission and board but not the pensioners. The Commission members and staff can get away with murder and be untouchable through Clause 13 of this Bill which exempts the board and staff of the Commission from liability for loss or damage that may arise that they may cause in their personal capacities.
There is a tendency for them to be protected. Instead of protecting the pensioner, it is now the staff and the board who are being protected. I think that needs to be amended. There is no attempt to cushion contributing and non-contributing pensioners. Currently, there are not many jobs in Zimbabwe and so not many people are able to contribute pension during their working lives. It is not out of their choice but out of the economic circumstance that we are living in now.
Mr. Speaker Sir, there is need therefore to cushion both the contributory and the non-contributory pensioners. A study in South Africa showed that 11% of families receiving pension are less likely to become poor due to the pension availability and even the amount of pension that they are given in South Africa. That is the kind of system that we want to have here not just a system which is there on paper, but that which does not go into the pensioner’s pockets. Social pressures are high and this amendment does nothing to change that status quo.
Instead of Zimbabwe pensioners becoming self reliant, they become extremely poor as to require immediate remedy not an incompetent Amendment Bill. Let us go all the way in producing a Bill which changes the current behaviour being exhibited in the insurance and pensions industry.
In conclusion, we need to raise national savings and not to steal people’s funds. We need to invest internationally and we need international diversification of pensions and insurance funds so that when the domestic market is not producing a profit for the pensioner, some of the funds can be invested in other nations along the globe thereby pensioners will not lose their pensions. We need local financial market development in infrastructure as it has the most pension promising revenues and avenues of pensions fund investment.
Investment is at a stand-still. When did we last see a public gigantic investment being made in Zimbabwe since the Joina City Building was built about 20 years ago? We have not seen any other public investment infrastructure. Where is NSSA and other insurances investing their money? We need to see new buildings and we cannot just wait for China to come here and assist us in building infrastructure like the airport and Parliament. It is a very good initiative and we appreciate what China is doing, but we also need our local money to circulate in our country and to develop our infrastructure. So that is what we want our Pensions Funds to be used for and not to be just eaten by Ask Plus insurers. I thank you so much Mr. Speaker Sir.
*HON. PRISCILLA MOYO: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I stand up to support the report raised by Hon. Nyashanu on pensions. Like what most of the Hon. Members alluded to, most of the contributors to pensions are not getting their due benefits. Indeed, it is a very sad story and we saw that when we moved around, although we met just a few people most of them were lamenting the poor benefits they get after contributing for so many years. Many of the issues have been raised but what I would like to say is the insurance companies should be scrutinised to ascertain whether they are genuine because most of them just take away peoples contributions but do not return the necessary benefits after they retire.
In most cases, some of the people in the rural areas just contribute to these pensions yet they will not have the knowledge on how to claim the benefits. There should be mechanisms to ensure that even if someone may have misplaced their contribution documents, he should be able to get his benefits even when they are not able to actively move or travel to process the benefits. In most cases, people contribute whilst they are still fit but when they are due to get those benefits, they will be unfit and retired so they will not be in position to move and process the benefits. Insurance companies must just give their contributors their due benefits because they will have invested using those funds. They should cushion against inflation and all these other things. Some of these organisations like Old Mutual have a lot of assets yet they do not give meaningful benefits to the contributors.
We would also like to consider vehicle insurances. Some of the people who contribute for full cover scheme are not able to get the benefits because the conditions are so stringent so all those things should be looked into. I would like to also turn to IPEC that is supposed to monitor the operations of insurance companies. They should also consider all those issues of whether beneficiaries actually realise the benefits according to contributions or not because if we insure property, you should be able to get the benefits but people struggle to get the benefits. The law should help people who contribute after their retirement or after they leave employment. I thank you.
(v)HON. CHIBAYA: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to the debate. I want to thank all the Hon. Members who have debated before me. I want to state that as Parliament, we make laws for the citizens of this country and it is important that we consult them adequately. As a veteran trade unionist Hon. Speaker, the issue of pensioners pains me. Pensioners in my Constituency Mkoba are crying. I am sure that is the situation the whole country. Pensioners are struggling Hon. Speaker.
I have been listening to the report by our Chairperson of the Committee. Hon. Speaker, I am quite sure that you have heard of the number of people who attended consultation meetings. It is a clear indication that as Parliament, we did not do enough in terms of awareness campaigns, in terms of disseminating information about these meetings. Therefore issues presented here by Hon. Members, I kindly submit that it will be good if we can give the Committee another opportunity to go back and consult stakeholders. We have got trade unionists and pensioners, where there are committees of pensioners, let us go and consult them so that when we pass this Bill, we would have consulted widely.
Hon. Speaker, we need to do justice to this Bill and the only way to do justice as alluded by Hon. Biti and Hon. T. Mliswa, let us go back and consult the people. With these few words, I want to thank you Hon. Speaker.
(v)HON. MARKHAM: Good afternoon Hon. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a brief contribution to this Bill. I would like to thank my Chairperson Hon. Dr. Nyashanu. I would like to bring to the attention of this House the issue of attendance. Firstly, the issue of attendance is a problem, I believe there is lack of effort to discuss the Bill, particularly by pensioners who have lost everything. It is very difficult to motivate them and particularly when you look at the length of time this Bill and its amendment have taken to come to this stage.
Secondly, we have to be very aware of the current economic status and the movement of the currency. I am uncomfortable with the Bill because I am not 100% sure that it stops the insurance companies playing the same game and doing the same issues should we face another massive currency run for devaluation. We have two insurance companies which are being named Old Mutual and First Mutual on one hand and on the other hand we also have NSSA. On Old Mutual and First Mutual, in the Justice Smith Report, the issue of self monetary policies to the detriment of the pensioner is blatant but on the other hand, we have NSSA which is Government run and the pension contributions were meant to cushion workers. NSSA on the other side, there is bad management and corrupt management destroying the pension house and it was the pensioner who suffered.
Speaker after speaker mentioned the issue of pensioners who worked for many years and got nothing and they are currently getting nothing. We must ensure that this Bill covers all those issues. If we look at the issue of Old Mutual, it is a problem, all these issues I am very uncomfortable if they are covered correctly to prevent the pensioner from being a loser when the currency runs again to devaluation. I would like to also just mention that I am uncomfortable with the single currency use. There is a facility and probability amongst all the people that the currency denomination might be sectored. We are not covering electronic monies. This must be covered in the Bill because that is the way things are going to go in future. I thank you so much.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): I think the Hon. Members were very robust, thorough and sometimes passionate debate ensued on this IPEC Bill. I really thank them for that. First of all, let me thank the Chair of the Portfolio Committee, Hon. Dr. Nyashanu for the Committee’s hard work.
On the issue of attendance, colleagues will accept that this is quite a technical Bill. It is not the type of the Bill that you can discuss in rural areas. What you tend to see is that the discussions will be confined to the public residing in urban areas. The bottom of the story is that this is a technical Bill and only attracts very few people who feel they are competent enough to discuss the technical intricacies of such a Bill.
I also listened carefully to what Hon. Markham said that some of the pensioners who would have been interested to attend and discuss maybe felt discouraged. I see no further value in us going back to the field to further consult. I think we will get the same results which is poor attendance. I am very happy with the quality of the debate here. The Members of Parliament are representing the public very well in their contributions. They have done a very good job. Therefore, I do not think there will be any need for further public consultations. They have done a good job themselves. Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, there.
Let me turn to the report by the Chair, Hon. Dr. Nyashanu. He delved into the recommendations and I will agree with him and the report that the definition of asset be clearer and expanded to make companies that acquire assets on the back of assets that are owned by some of these insurance companies be included in this definition so that there is no leakage of asset value for the benefit of pensioners. I support this very strongly.
On the issue of reducing expenses to below the 30% of total income, again this is a very good point which we take on board recommending 10%. Ten percent maybe a bit too low, maybe there is a midpoint somewhere but the principle of reducing 30% is a good one. We will come up with a good figure after further consultations. On the responsibilities of the two Standing Committees of the board that they should be clearer, I agree with this absolutely. There are obviously many other recommendations that the Committee has put forward and I really see in the main we agree with the proposals of the Committee. We certainly take into account the recommendations.
The issues such as the conflict of interest issues which were amplified by the Hon. Member, including conflict from current board members who are still active in the insurance field ought not to be on the board because of that potential conflict. The Bill is dealing with that now. It is dealing with this conflict of interest in Clause 6. It is an issue of compliance and enforcement which we will certainly deal with.
The issue of NSSA has been raised by many contributors. Colleagues, initially we had included the issue of NSSA and the medical aid societies principles in the Bill but after a thorough debate in Cabinet, it was felt that perhaps at this stage IPEC may not be equipped as yet to regulate an organisation that is as complex and as strategic as NSSA. They themselves as IPEC need to build a bit more capacity to be able to do that. As we see in Clause 4, it allows for IPEC to expand its functions and reach in terms of regulations. In the future, this is something that is still open to debate and we might include NSSA after thorough analysis.
The issue of medical aid societies which was also raised by many Hon. Members as a critical one, a separate Bill is being crafted by the Ministry of Health because they have the feeling that this kind of regulatory body from medical aid societies, need specialists in the medical field. Again, it was felt that IPEC as it is structured does not have such specialists who could be effective in regulating medical aid societies. A stand alone regulatory body should be put in place to regulate something as specialised as a medical aid society entity. There will be a regulator but that regulator is not IPEC but some other regulator that will be staffed by specialists in the medical profession. There will be some finance people because at the end of the day you are managing money but there will be some medical people who are competent in medical issues. That pretty much covers broadly the key issues, maybe one or two issues that I need to highlight but I think I have covered those.
I will now turn to some of the points raised by Hon. Mliswa. That was the issue of consultation. I think I have dispensed with that. Let me turn to Hon. Biti who raised the issue of the Smith Commission, highlighting the three reasons why the losses on pensions came about. That is, macro-economic issues and there is predatory behaviour from the players in the industry and public sector and the quality of regulation by the regulator IPEC back then. These three were highlighted by the Smith Commission Report.
Hon. Biti posited that this Bill does not address all the causes of losses for pension funds as identified by the Smith Commission Report. I beg to differ because this IPEC Bill is actually addressing the issue of the regulator, quality of regulation, which is the third reason identified by the Smith Commission. It is going to the heart of the Smith Commission in identifying that issue and dealing with it by strengthening the powers of the regulator and the quality of the regulatory process. It is also dealing with the predatory behaviour of the insurance companies or companies that are providing life cover to our hardworking citizens.
However, the Bill never sought and is not seeking to deal with the issue of the macro-economic environment losses because that is a different matter altogether. What do I mean by that? I will also proceed to explain how we as Government have tried to assist pensioners there. I say that because in an environment where investment managers or pension fund managers feel that inflation is going up, they should tweak their asset allocation. It is an investment science to play around with the asset allocation as the macro-economic environment changes. So, when you think inflation has gone up, you will tilt a portfolio away from the money market because you move into a negative interest rate environment very quickly, you move your portfolio towards the equity market. That is how you do investments. When the opposite happens, you tilt the bag. When interest rates are rising, which means that the equity market has to be punished a little bit, you move back into the fixed income market. At the same time, when you notice inflation rising, you tilt the portfolio towards the property sector as well. That is an inflation protector. Wherever you see a currency depreciating, you tilt your portfolio towards currency stocks in the equity market. So there is an investment science around managing macro-economic trends. It is called the asset allocation investment science. This Bill does not seek to mitigate that. All it will say is that the science should be managed to best effort for the benefit of the pensioner. That is what it will say. It can never prescribe what I am just explaining. I used to be a professional investment manager when I was much younger. So, it does not do that and ought not to do that. I want to be clear.
On the issue of S.I 33 and the compensation around that, that is exactly what Government has dealt with Mr. Speaker Sir. We are compensating and we started the compensation process for depositors and now I am addressing something else. Also, there is going to be compensation process for pensioners. So far, we have a database that we are working with. We have published names of the pension funds and the names of the beneficiaries for this initial round of compensation. So, we set aside US$400.000 for this first round of compensation. This is a perpetual compensation fund we have set up, which is funded through dividends which so far are after Government’s investments in Ngunduma Mining House that is yielding dividends. That is what is being used for the compensation process and we will set up a compensation fund through the S.I 33 amendments or rather the adoption of the local currency as the accounting currency for the country. We are dealing with it. This has never been done before. We are a responsible Government and we are acting responsibly. I must say though Mr. Speaker Sir, I am really disappointed that the numbers on the depositors’ compensation in terms of uptake has been rather too low and we are hoping that we will find people to pay. I even said to the Deposit Protection Corporation that you have got the names of those who need to be compensated and you have got the database of the Reserve Bank and their I.D numbers, please publish these in social media, newspapers telling them to come forward to be paid and the same thing applies to the pensioners because we have got the database. We are very systematic about these. We have begun compensating and we are a responsible Government.
On the issue of savings that these are contractual savings, that is what Hon. Biti raised, I think here I will be a bit harsh and say, he is getting his mathematics wrong. The savings ratio is a ratio. In a ratio we have a numerator and a denominator. In an economy, we also find that things that affect a numerator such as savings are also affecting denominators, which is your GDP. So, if your savings are going up in nominal terms because of inflation, your GDP will also go up because of inflation in a similar way. Your savings ratio does not change much. The quantum may change but not the ratio because they move in a similar direction. I thought I should correct you there in the mathematics.
On the issue about perhaps separating the register of these insurance companies and life companies from the regulator, in some countries there is separation but the global trend and what is considered best practice, now is to keep them together. There is no conflict of interest here. You do not say because I registered a company and therefore I will not regulate them well. No, you do not do that. Currently, the Central Bank is issuing licences and regulating insurance companies, so does IPEC but I do not think they are doing any favours in terms of regulation. They are regulating banks properly. Central banks are also regulated by others through BAZ requirements, Switzerland and so forth. There are regulators and so forth. There is no slack here at all. There is no need to worry about the fact that these two are conjoined. Definitely, the regulator is doing their job.
He also mentioned the issue of conflict of interest that there should not be players in the market. I agree with this. The issue of definition of an asset to be expanded properly, I agree with it. I have dealt with the issue of NSSA and medical aid. This was also raised by Hon. Mushoriwa that this should perhaps be similar to the depositor protection fund and we should cut and paste, certainly there is much we can cut and paste from the DPC. We will do that. I think this is a good suggestion actually, so we will take that on board.
Another issue raised was that IPEC should speak to ILO, making use of the Russia example to see how compensation ought to be down and so forth. They are already doing this. IPEC is consulting ILO and other international institutions that have done this elsewhere and I believe that what they have come up with now as a methodology is a good start.
Hon. Togarepi spoke on the issue of NSSA which I have dealt with, the macro-economic issues and that companies should be part of the compensation scheme. I agree with that and they will be in terms of the framework. Hon. Dutiro, I think he raised that NSSA, the issue of gold that they should be able to bank it and so forth. Look, these are ideas that are welcome to say we can increase the spread of our asset classes in terms of investment to include gold, why not, in its derivative forms. I must say that at the moment, if we have a small scale miner who sends his gold to Fidelity, which he should get paid in US dollars, you can bank those US dollars. US dollars are as good as the gold; the gold is as good as US dollars. So, they should be antagonistic to what you are receiving but if it is about that, we need other additional asset class for others to buy into, that is a good point. We will see how we can improve it to make that happen.
Hon. Mushoriwa, the Bill drafted in a hurry, I am not so sure. I think it was drafted properly and not in a hurry. It went through several stages, through the draft of the principles, which went to Cabinet for approval, then went to the Legal Committee of Cabinet draft Bill, which then came back to Cabinet for further discussion and then consultations with the public after gazetting by Parliament. I think it has gone through a lot in terms of the normal stages of a Bill. I do not think it was done in a hurry at all.
You also raised the issue of medical aid and of NSSA. Of course there is an issue that was raised about ever-rich in terms regulation by IPEC in other areas. Again we take a close look at this and then the areas where may be in one of the paragraphs they were stepped into the PAB while indeed the asset management space, I think this was also raised by the Chairman, Hon. Dr. Nyashanu. We will work at that and tie it up, we do not want that over rich. It is unnecessary.
Hon. B. Dube, you wanted the Bill to be specific and deal with the issue of mischief, absolutely and then again consulting ILO, this is happening. Also you said some of the companies looted funds and so forth and this whole issue of the insurance holders impose holders’ compensation fund in rushing the set up in a similar way as DPC and not just cut and paste in terms of how it should be set up but with separate management and so forth. We consider this but may be the cost of setting up these institutions is quite high and yet there is urgency. That is why you find that in the Bill, we have taken a kind of walk per hundred model where we expect this fund to be supported administratively by IPEC and Ministry of Finance as it goes about with its operations, rather than having a heavy burdensome structure and yet it will not add any value to that serious corporatisation because here we are now asking for a corporatisation of this fund and we feel that it is unnecessary as long as the administration can be handled adequately by IPEC working with the Ministry of Finance.
Hon. Murire, he basically raised the issue that he was involved in the drafting of the NSSA blueprint and focuses on two principle pillars; one compliance and the other is governance. His view is that this IPEC Bill, given that experience, he feels that that Bill must be clear on these two principles. So far on governance of the regulating should be clear and should be enforced and I believe that this Bill is certainly going in that direction. He also went on to explain what is happening at NSSA, I could only listen I cannot confirm or deny. He was highlighting a point, which I think is worth emphasising that if you go into a typical insurance life company or NSSA, you will find that there are two sources of income. The first one is what we call premium income, the second one is investment income.
So these insurance pension fund entities tend to be two companies in one. That is what they are. So the point he was highlighting is that over time, they tend to focus on the investment income side and they are chasing investments and might even forget about the welfare of their beneficiaries, who are policy holders. It is a correct observation and this is what in the public interest ought to be supervised or regulated. The regulator must make sure that they go back onto why they were created, which is for the benefit of the insured and not spend their time chasing either investing income or premium income.
From Hon. Nduna, he spoke about bulled regulators, I think this is an issue of point of interest and I agree with him as I did before with others that we will make sure that industry players are not part of the bulled of the regulators. Of course he went to town about certain products where he spends a lot of time explain for example the third part insurance issue and so forth. I think some of this is just operational detail on a specific product and welcome that contribution. You know he is someone who knows this subject well and I think as we go about making certain adjustments, we will listen to his advice but this is not necessarily a core regulatory issue, it is a specific product that a source is ought to be used in a specific way.
Hon. Priscilla Moyo, linking inflation to payouts, she is right about this. That is what I explained earlier that we would want the asset manager or the insurance company whoever, to invest according to macro-economic trends. So they ought to link the balance of the portfolio with inflationary trends so that they are able to increase the payouts to the beneficiaries as inflation goes up. That is why we put the portfolio so that we can support higher and higher levels of pension payout because they can afford it because they would have chosen assets that have higher rates of return as the economy dictates.
Hon. Chibaya, going back to consult again – I do not think we will get much from the public. They might be the same people coming and most of them may not even show as they have attended before, so you would have no one coming. I think the MPs here have done a thorough job to the Committee in highlighting issues that are critical to strengthen this Bill.
Hon. Markham, you talked about attendance and that the Bill does not stop insurance companies from playing similar games. I think now that they are being told that they ought to contribute towards the compensation framework, they know that playing similar games will result in losses, will not be easy to succeed because at the end of the day, you will be asked to contribute to the compensation fund. This is what is going to happen in the future. I think the rules of the game are being stricter now and they will cough up what is due in terms of their contribution here. She also raised the issue of recognising electronic money and so forth but you see electronic money is also reference to fiat money. So for instance, if you recall what we did with SI 33, we said we have the RTGs dollar but really is one to one with the Zimbabwe dollar and later we say it is all Zimbabwe dollar. You can see what we were doing - there is referencing electronic money to fiat money which is your national accounting currency. I do not think we have difficulty here, but if there is need to tighten the line which will make it obvious, there is no harm in really saying what he is suggesting here. It is a good suggestion.
Let me see if I missed something here. One thing to emphasize that cuts across many comments is that when there is currency movements and currency changes, the Bill is suggesting that and also the Pension and Provident Fund Bill has already gone through this House proposing that there should be a proper actuarial evaluation that will try to seek fair value as you translate from one currency to another, this is normaland that is what we do. This is fair valuation of both assets and liabilities just to make sure that the solvency position of the fund could be established and that the fund is able to proceed to meet its obligation in terms of its liabilities given its solvency position. That is what actuaries do and that is what the Bill says, it cannot say anymore. So it is covering this by saying that competent persons should be employed to deal with that fair valuation to make sure there is no prejudice or undue loss to the pensioner. I am just checking if there may be other points that I missed in this very important debate Hon. Chair. I think I have covered quite a bit. With this, I move that the debate be now adjourned
(v)HON. MUSHORIWA: On a point of order?
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: What is your point of order?
(v)HON. MUSHORIWA: My point or order relates to the presentation by the Hon. Prof. Ncube. When the Committee considered this Bill, we were using a different text of the Bill which is different from the Bill which the Minister has been referring to. The Minister said that the Bill that they had does not include NSSA and the medical societies but the one that we used as a Committee and which we thought was authentic was the one which has actually had the NSSA and the medical funds included. Consequently Mr. Speaker, what it means is that your Committee and indeed the whole House was in a way misled, I do not know whether knowingly or unknowingly and to that extent there is actually a technical challenge for this Bill to even be considered for second reading because I think there are things that need to be tidied up for this process to go forward. I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): I thank the Hon. Member for that observation, assuming that was Hon. Mushoriwa from his voice, I recognised him. What I was referring to in terms of NSSA and medical aid was the principles to the Bill not the Bill itself. If the Bill has that, then that is the wrong Bill. The right Bill which we are considering today is Bill without that reference to NSSA and medical aid society as being related to IPEC, that is for the record. With that Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that the Bill be read a second time.
Motion put and agreed to
Bill read a second time.
Committee Stage: Wednesday, 3rd March, 2022.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE ON THE FACT FINDING VISITS TO SABLE CHEMICAL, LANCASHIRE STEEL AND ZISCO STEEL
HON. S. K. MGUNI: Mr. Speaker Sir, I move the motion in my name that this House takes note of the Report of the Portfolio Committee on Industry and Commerce on the fact-finding visits to Sable Chemical, Lancashire Steel and ZISCO Steel.
HON. T. MOYO: I second.
HON. S. K. MGUNI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir for giving me this opportunity to read my report on Sable Chemicals.
INTRODUCTION
The Portfolio Committee on Industry and Commerce undertook fact finding visits to companies that received funds from the 2019 National Budget to date under the Industrialization Programme from the 18th to the 21st of October 2021. The visited companies are Chemplex Corporation, Olivine Industries, Sable Chemicals and Radar Investments. The funds were disbursed through the Industrial Development Corporation’s lending facility. The activity was funded by the African Development Bank (AFDB) under the Tax and Accountability Enhancement Project (TAEP) in collaboration with the Government of Zimbabwe.
OBJECTIVES
- To ascertain how the ZWL20 million loan received by Sable Chemicals, ZWL 170 million by Chemplex Corporation, ZWL 5 million by Olivine Industries and ZWL 20 million by Radar Investments were utilised;
- To get a detailed breakdown of the projects that were implemented by loans extended to these companies by IDC in 2019, 2020 and 2021 including but not limited to, projects that were completed, projects that are still in progress, the envisaged benefits of the projects in resuscitating industry and contributing to the attainment of Vision 2030;
- To appreciate the challenges faced in implementing the projects; and
- To appreciate challenges being faced by Willowvale Motor Industries, if any and proffer palatable recommendations.
METHODOLOGY
The Committee held oral evidence sessions with the Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe and undertook fact finding visits to Chemplex Corporation, Olivine Industries, Sable Chemicals and Radar Investments. It held meetings with management of all the aforementioned companies and toured the projects that were implemented as a result of the loans granted to them by the IDCZ. The Committee took the opportunity of the said visits and visited Willowvale Motor Industries where it met with management and briefly toured the company’s premises.
COMMITTEE FINDINGS
BRIEF ANATOMY OF THE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION OF ZIMBABWE: Shareholding Structures
The investment shareholding structures for the IDCZ range from 100% like Chemplex to 17% at Modzone, with Foreign Direct Investment partners like Italians in dimension stone mining and processing, Indians and Singaporeans in Surface Wilmar Investments and Olivine Holdings, Chinese in cement as at SINO Zimbabwe Cement Company and, Iranians at Modzone and Motira, and local conglomerates TA Holdings at Sable chemicals and ZFC.
Group Investments and Sector Clusters
The group investments comprise, large, medium and small, created, acquired or rescued, subsidiary and associate. The acquired or rescued are mostly capital-intensive industries with old and obsolete plant and equipment (Chemplex, Olivine, Willowvale Motor Industries, Deven Engineering, Modzone Enterprises, Ginhole Investments), being mainly subsidiaries except for Modzone Enterprises which is an associate. The relatively newly created regional and export oriented and automated strategic industries are Surface-Wilmar Investments, Sunway City, Sino Zimbabwe Cement Company, Motira (Private Limited) being mostly associates.
Sector coverage-The group covers a wide cross section of sectors, in Argo Industries, Motor and Transport, Glass, Textiles, Packaging, Metal extrusion, Industrial minerals, Animal and health, furniture, chemical and fertiliser, dimension stone, insurance and real estate.
Statutory Objectives of IDCZ:
With the approval of the Minister, to establish and conduct new industries and industrial undertakings;
To facilitate, promote, guide and assist in the financing of: (i) new industries and industrial undertakings (ii) schemes for the expansion, better organisation and modernisation of and the more efficient carrying out of operations in existing industries and industrial undertakings.
Without prejudice to the function and powers conferred upon other relevant agencies or institutions of the Government - and so far, as maybe practicable, to assist and support the development of small scale or medium scale industries and industrial undertakings;
Within the scope of its functions and powers, to implement policies of the Government in regard to decentralisation of industry, choice of technology and such other matters connected with industrial development as the Minister may specify for that purpose.
To undertake the development of management and technical expertise in the carrying out of operations in industries and industrial undertakings, including the development of expertise in project analysis, evaluation of investment opportunities and the provision of consultancy services;
To take such measures as maybe necessary or expedient to enable the corporation to exercise direct and effective control over enterprises in which it has made an investment; to the end that the economic requirements of Zimbabwe maybe met and industrial development within maybe planned, expedited and conducted on sound business principles.
Mandate, Vision and Mission
The IDCZ is mandated to establish and conduct new industries and industrial undertakings. Its Vision is to contribute to the transformation of Zimbabwe to a value adding and beneficiating middle income economy. Lastly, the IDCZ’s mission is to identify, develop, mobilise resources and finance industrial project opportunities into commercially viable ventures in partnership with local, regional and international investors, and technology and market access partners.
The Industrial Development Fund
The corporation is allocated funds through the National Budget under Programme 2 of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce’s Budget known as the Industrialization programme. The Corporation commenced lending activities in 2019, after receiving seed capital from the government as its sole shareholder. It opened a special bank account where all the lending fund movements are being tracked for easier control and transparency. The fund is in local currency (RTGS) and is managed as a revolving facility, meaning that as other beneficiaries repay, the reserve being built becomes available to others. Total funds received from government by IDCZ from 2019 up to 31 October 2021 are as follows, July and December 2019, ZWL$64 000 000, 2020 April to end of year, ZWL$ 60 000 000 and in 2021 from July to end of October ZWL$ 100 000 000. This gives a sum of ZWL $ 224 000 000 as at 31 October 2021.
The fund targets corporates who are either existing or new who are into manufacturing and value adding activities across the country and priority is given to those who are able to exploit our local currency to export or have the potential to do so or to import substitute.
Disbursement summary -The total amount disbursed by IDCZ as at 19 September 2021 was ZWL$289 522 580 to fifteen companies and out of these, six managed to pay off their loan obligations while the remainder were still running.
Interest Rates & Charges- At inception, the corporation started at 15% per annum, then reviewed to 25% per annum up to the time of the visit where it was charging 35% per annum. The interest rates are guided by the RBZ rates for the productive sector. The corporation also charges an administration fee of 2% of the total amount disbursed to cater for visits related to monitoring to ensure that funds are being used for the approved purpose.
DISBURSEMENTS SUMMARY FOR THE VISITED COMPANIES
The Acting General Manager for the Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe, Mr Tranos Mutingwende presented before the Committee the funds that were disbursed by the corporation to the four visited companies from 2019 to end of October 2021 as illustrated in the table below.
Name of Company |
Capital Expenditure (ZW$) |
Working Capital (ZW$) |
Total (ZW$) |
Chemplex Corporation |
68 000 000 |
102 000 000 |
170 000 000 |
Olivine Industries |
- |
5 000 000 |
5 000 000 |
Sable Chemicals |
- |
20 000 000 |
20 000 000 |
Radar Investments |
10 000 000 |
10 000 000 |
20 000 000 |
Total |
78 000 000 |
77 000 000 |
215 000 000 |
The corporation submitted a document before the Committee that summarizes the general purpose of the funds disbursed to the above companies as well as the utilization of the same funds which was in line with their business proposals. Having been equipped with this information, the Committee conducted field visits to Chemplex Corporation, Olivine Industries, Sable Chemicals and Radar investments to verify the above, assess the progress made in the implementation of the projects and appreciate the challenges faced if any, as illustrated in the subsequent paragraphs.
Chemplex Corporation
The Committee visited Chemplex Corporation on the 18th of October 2021. It was briefed by the Acting CEO, Mr J. Chigwende that the group received ZWL$60 million in 2020 and ZWL$110 million in 2021 from IDCZ. This sums up to ZWL$170 million received as at 31 October 2021, a confirmation of the submissions from the IDCZ. The ZWL$110 million was for capital projects and working capital to enhance capacities and efficiencies in the fertilizer value chain and traded chemicals. The funds were split as follows ZWL$68m (US$0.8m) for fertilizer plants capital projects and ZW$32m (US$0.4m) for working capital for traded chemicals and veterinary remedies. The division was categorised as essential services under COVID-19 as its products which range from sanitizers, water chemicals, cattle dips and fertilizers were key in surviving the scourge as well as curing the January disease that ravaged livestock at the beginning of 2021. It is important to note that, the loan was repaid fully and that it was part bailout for defaulted account by City of Harare then of ZWL $370 million for the supplied water treatment chemicals. The subsequent paragraphs give a detailed breakdown of the utilization of the ZWL$170 million that was granted to Chemplex and its impact.
ZIMPHOS
The company was granted ZWL$ 34 million from the ZWL $ 60 million that was received by Chemplex Corporation in 2020. ZWL$ 23.4 million was used to procure raw materials for water chemicals production namely bauxite, sulphuric acid and coal whilst the balance of ZWL $10.6million was used to service the water treatment production plant, (boilers, compressors and other spares) to enhance increased production.
In 2021, Chemplex Corporation allocated ZWL$60 million to ZIMPHOS for the purchase of a new Granulation Plant and a new Blending plant. ZWL $42.5million was utilized for purchasing the former and ZWL $25.5million the later. At the time of the visit the two plants were not yet delivered at ZIMPHOS, however the procurement process was in motion and delivery and commissioning was expected to take place in January 2022 which was 12-15 weeks from the time of the visit. The selection process of a Civil Works supplier was in motion, running parallel with the equipment manufacture and delivery.
The loan improved the supply of water chemicals by almost double especially to City of Harare where an average of 4 truckloads were done daily from the previous two resulting in improved provision of clean water supply to the City of Harare. It contributed to the improvement of capacity utilization from 45% to 75%. Plant efficiencies also increased which resulted in price reduction of over 30% in 2021 supplies to the customers. However, the City of Harare debt skyrocketed to ZWL$400 million and as at 31 October 2021 it was at ZWL $90 million as required deliveries were being met but with default payments.
G & W Industrial Minerals
Mr Chigwende briefed the Committee that, there was growing demand of agricultural lime for both commercial customers and Government input schemes and stock feeds for various customers. These products were in short supply but G&W has vast limestone resources to be exploited for these products. The company operations had been suspended over the years. Recently, an amount of US$500 000 was injected from own resources to resume operations for the production of affordable agricultural lime and the ZWL$ 10 million from the government. The later was spent on spares and repairs on the equipment that was at the time of the visit close to 90% available for full production of 3500 tonnes per month to 5000 tonnes per month. The plant was producing 1000 tonnes per month.
Production has already started at one of the mines in Concession Area and refurbishment work being completed at a mine in Rushinga. At the time of the visit, production of 3500 tonnes per month of agricultural lime was projected to be mined in the fourth quarter of 2021 and it was projected to increase to 5000tpm from 2022 onwards. The plant was also to produce stock feeds. It was highlighted that an additional amount to the tune of ZWL$7million working capital was needed for purchasing of spares and packaging material to ensure production and supply of at least 3000tpm.
Chemplex Animal and Public Health (CAPH)
Chemplex Corporation commands a market share of around 55% on animal and public health chemicals through its division, Chemplex Animal and Public Health (CAPH) and has a potential to grow the market share to more than 70%. The division manufactures cattle dips, tick grease, worm remedies, antibiotics and wound remedies. It also manufactures Malaria vector control chemicals, tsetse fly control chemicals, grain protectants, poultry flea dust, rodenticide and sanitizers. Strategic raw materials for cattle dips and public health chemicals are imported from China, India, and South Africa. Adequately financed, CAPH has the potential to supply dipping chemicals and tick grease requirements for the Department of Veterinary Services. The division also has a potential to manufacture and supply grain protectants to protect the bumper harvest from the Pfumvudza initiative thus enhancing the country’s food security.
CAPH got ZWL$17million from the ZWL$110 million disbursed to Chemplex Corporation by the government through the IDCZ. At the time of the visit, ZWL$7 million worth of raw materials had an allocation at the RBZ auction system queuing for foreign currency release. The balance of ZWL $ 10 million was yet to get foreign currency allocation. In 2020 the division was given ZWL$10 million from the ZWL$ 60 million that was received by Chemplex Corporation from IDCZ. The money was used to procure raw materials for the production of an equivalent of 4 000 litres of sanitisers, raw materials for the production of cattle dips and packaging materials. Part of the money was also used to modify the existing dips plant for the production of sanitizers. At the time of the visit, production and supply of sanitisers was still ongoing. The division also produced cattle dips and these were supplied to the Department of Veterinary Services and other customers. The dips helped to mitigate the impact of the January disease and the program was still ongoing. As a result of the loan, capacity utilization increased by 5% from 25%.
Chemplex Marketing
The Committee was briefed by the Acting CEO, Mr Chigwende that Chemplex Corporation has a market share in traded chemicals of around 15% through its operating division Chemplex Marketing. It has the potential to increase to 60% from its strong brand and a huge order book which it fails to fulfil due to working capital funding challenges. Cognisant that the ballooning of the import bill is precipitated by the importation of industrial chemicals for mining, food industries, water treatment chemicals for local authorities which can be produced locally, this gives a huge potential for Chemplex Marketing to exploit the market opportunity through production of water treatment chemicals.
The division got ZWL$ 16 million from the ZWL$ 60 million that was granted to Chemplex in 2020. The money was used for importation of raw materials for the manufacture of water treatment chemicals. These are sulphuric acid, hydrated lime and aluminum sulphate for portable water and Power Station water purification chemicals. The loan resulted in improved supply of clean water through provision of adequate water treatment chemicals to the City of Harare and other customers, also, to the uninterrupted supply of power station water, chemicals at ZPC Hwange for national power generation.
The division got ZWL$15 million from the ZWL$110 million that was granted to Chemplex Corporation in 2021. At the time of the visit, ZWL$7 million worth of raw materials had allocation at the Auction Market waiting for foreign currency release. The balance of ZWL $ 8 million was yet to get foreign currency allocation.
Challenges at Chemplex Corporation
The Acting CEO outlined to the Committee, the challenges bedevilling the group. He said that although the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe promised to support on forex allocation, not enough forex has been allocated to the corporation as at 31 October 2021. Compounding the financial challenges was that, the Government through its fertilizer programmes owes Chemplex group (ZFC, ZimPhos, Dorowa) US$11.6m (approximately ZW$1billion) for winter fertilizer supply, thereby holding back funding for summer preparedness. The financial situation was worsened further by the City of Harare’s debt of over ZWL $90 million and the slow payment of the debt was choking the supply chain. The non-payment of the VAT debt by the City of Harare has been a burden on the group.
Electricity charges at Dorowa Mine are at 60% in United States Dollars and 40% in local currency (RTGS$) whilst 70% of the group’s products are supplied to local markets in Zimbabwean dollars. Hence, he appealed for the electricity charges to either be wholly levied in local currency or for the 60% to be in local currency and the 40% to be in foreign currency.
Assistance Required by Chemplex Corporation
Mr Chigwende briefed the Committee on a number of projects that needs funding assistance from the IDCZ. These are, Dorowa magnetite project for US$2.5m, Dorowa Phosphates project for US$13m in tranches, ZimPhos sulphuric acid plant for US$9m, CAPH projects for US$1m and GMP plant for US$3m-US$6m, Bauxite Mine purchase for approximate US$2.5m and Phosphoric acid plant refurbishment for US$30m (medium term). He also highlighted the need and importance of government support for the projects to get some momentum. Also, that, Government fertilizer orders should be released early in the year for ample time to prepare and collections to happen early and avoid congestion. Ideally the ZW$ funding for fertilizer should be put in place as working capital and cash covers for forex.
Further to the above, he appealed to the government through the Committee for the enactment and operationalization of a Statutory Instrument that awards all government tenders to Chemplex Corporation for water treatment chemicals, cattle dipping chemicals, grain pesticides, fertilizers and Agricultural lime. Also, a Statutory Instrument that increases procurement threshold for buying locally from US$300 000 to US$1 million to be operationalised and raw materials for the production of cattle dips and water chemicals to be duty exempted in support of the restocking programme and clean water supply.
Lastly, he appealed for the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to continue prioritising allocation of forex to capital projects and project funding. At the time of the visit, this has started happening and should just be followed through.
OLIVINE INDUSTRIES
Olivine Industries manufacture a wide range of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) like margarine, baked beans, bathing and washing soaps, cooking oil among others. The company accessed ZW$ 5 million from IDCZ for working capital to procure raw materials for soap and margarine production lines. The raw materials procured are palm stearin for soaps, I.E fats for margarine, caustic soda, butter flavour and fragrances for making Jade soap.
Challenges and Impact of the Loan.
The CEO, Mr S. Mangani briefed the Committee that, Olivine industries require around US$ 5million to US$ 6million per month to operate optimally on its various product lines. At the time of the visit, the company was operating at 30% capacity due to limitations precipitated by the lack of access to adequate foreign currency from the Auction System. Hence, the ZW$5m which at that time translated to around US$ 60 000 was utilised to purchase ancillary items which had no significant impact on the overall company performance with reference to job creation, import substitution, and exports.
RADAR INVESTMENTS (PVT) LTD T/A MACDONALD BRICKS
The company operates two brick making plants in Bulawayo under a brand name Macdonald Bricks at Willsgrove and Montgomery plants. The two plants operate within clay mining claims with a combined resource that is expected to last for another 80 years. Their clay deposits produce high quality Standards Association of Zimbabwe certified bricks that meet both local and export standards. The two plants complement each other as Montgomery focuses on face bricks while Willsgrove focuses on the high volume non face bricks. All Macdonald Brick products are clay based and range as, Face Bricks mainly used for aesthetic reasons, Industrial Bricks commonly used for load bearing structures and Common Bricks used for building walls.
Radar Investments (Pvt) Ltd was granted ZWL $20million loan funding for the purchase of raw materials and for working capital to enhance capacity and efficiencies in the construction value chain. The company split the funding as follows, ZWL $10million for plant and equipment for its Willsgrove Brick Factory, ZWL$5 million for the purchase of raw materials and ZW$5 million for working capital.
The Committee toured the Willsgrove plant and witnessed the factory sheds/structures that were built with some of the loan funds to house the new brick making equipment that was imported by the company from China. The sheds were made of new steel beams and roofed with Inverted Box Rib (IBR) Zinc roofing sheets.
Impact of Loan
As a result of the upgrading of the plant and equipment at Willsgrove, the company has a combined annual output of 100 million bricks per annum. Prior to accessing the loan, the company was operating at 40% capacity due to financial constraints however, at the time of the visit it was operating at +/- 80% capacity due to the positive impact of the loan received from IDCZ. The introduction of new technology at the new Willsgrove plant resulted in low production cost which was being cascaded down to the customers through reduced prices by 3% per pallet of bricks. The company, directly and indirectly created employment for +/-300 people. This is through direct and downstream employment in transport, packaging and other plant spares cluster industries.
SABLE CHEMICALS
Sable Chemicals manufactures Ammonium Nitrate fertilizers from ammonia gas imported from South Africa using railway tankers. The importation follows the impairment of its electrolysis plant which sucked ammonia gas from the air using the electrolysis process which was using a disproportionate amount of electricity. For every tonne of imported ammonia gas, the company produces 2.1 tonnes of fertilizer. It commenced its operations in 1960 and is the sole producer of nitrogenous fertilizer in Zimbabwe with a capacity to produce 240,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate (AN) fertilizers per year which can supply the entire market.
The General Manager, Mr B. Nyajeka briefed the Committee that the company was granted ZWL$ 20million loan for the purchase of ammonia gas, a key raw material in the manufacture of Ammonium Nitrate fertilisers. The company initially applied for ZW$40million on 25 February 2020 when the exchange was at US$1:18 ZWL$ which at that time was equivalent to US$2.2m which was enough to purchase 4000 tons of Ammonia gas for the manufacture of 8 000 tons of AN. However, on 28 July 2020 an amount of ZWL$ 19.45 million net of charges was disbursed to Sable Chemicals. On 7th August 2020 the company went to the RBZ auction and got the foreign currency at a rate of 1:85, equivalent to US$229 000. The company paid for ammonia equivalent of 407 tons and produced 814 tons of AN. The fertilizer was sold to ZFC, Omnia & National Tested Seeds. The company paid back the loan on the 30th of June 2021. Hence, when the Committee toured the plant there were traces of manufacturing of fertilizer taking place at Sables Chemicals but the fertilizer that was produced as a result of the loan was long sold.
Impact of Loan and appeals by the company
Mr Nyajeka, reiterated the importance of the loan received from the IDCZ as it improved the capacity utilization of Sable Chemicals from 15% in 2020 to 80% in 2021. It also contributed to downstream employment in the agricultural sector, import substitution as well as foreign currency savings.
The General Manager requested for the timely release of ZWL$ funding by the Treasury to local fertilizer manufacturers to allow for perennial production of Ammonium Nitrate fertilizers as this increases the availability of ammonia gas. He also reiterated the need for capacitation of the Land Bank (AFC) and continuation of the IDCZ’s finance facility to fully implement the Import Substitution Program.
WILLOWVALE MOTOR INDUSTRIES
The Committee visited WMI and it was briefed by the Acting General Manager Mr. Matanhire that the company was established in 1961 and IDCZ bought the company in 1967 and opened it for contractual assembly. The company was restructured into an automotive group called Motec Holdings under a joint venture partnership between Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe (IDCZ), Mazda Corporation of Japan and Itochu Corporation (C Itoh & Co then) of Japan. This agreement was signed in 1989 and expired in 2014. WMI, a subsidiary of Motec Holdings (as it was then), started to concentrate on assembling the Mazda Brand, achieving significant gains in productivity. Over the years the partnership contributed to the enhancement of production capacity, quality and skills development to enable the company to produce world class vehicles for Zimbabwe and the region. The assembly line is one of the most flexible in the world as it is capable of producing any automotive products that include passenger vehicles, light and heavy commercial vehicles, bus chassis and tractors. The company was operating on contract assembly basis and from 2017 to 2020 has assembled BAIC picks-ups from SKD kits. Below are vehicle brands (Baic and Mazda) assembled at WMI.
Challenges and Assistance needed at the company
The Committee was informed by Mr. Matanhire that WMI was bedeviled by a plethora challenges and chief among them was a debt of US$ 2.1 million owed to suppliers of vehicle kits in China. The debt antagonized the relationship between the company and the suppliers resulting in the later not sending the kits to WMI. Further to the above, some of the equipment was obsolete. It was backdated to 1920,1961 and 1999. This is exemplified by the second-hand painting facilities that were purchased in 1961. Having said this, the Acting General Manager appealed for an overhaul retooling of WMI.
Further to the above, the Acting General Manager said that, the company needs an injection of approximately US$ 15 million to produce 150 cars per month and US$5-8milllion for the overall retooling exercise. He proposed that, there was need for the government to buy a minimum of 4000 units/cars per annum to keep the company viable as was before.
COMMITTEE OBSERVATIONS
- The loans were used for the intended purposes.
- The loans contributed to increased capacity utilisation and employment creation.
- There is need to adequately fund the Industrial Development Fund so as to contribute substantially to the re-industrialization of the country.
- Erratic disbursement of the Industrial Fund by the Treasury affects the planned projects of beneficiaries as the money loses value through inflation due to prolonged periods between the date of approval of the loan and the date of disbursement.
- Most equipment at Willowvale Motor Industries was obsolete and the entire factory roof needs to be refurbished.
- Electricity charges in foreign currency at Dorowa Mine are too high.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
- The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development should timeous disburse the budgeted Industrial Fund to the IDCZ for forward lending so as to circumvent waning of the value of the fund through inflation in particular and for it to contribute substantially to the re-industrialization of the Zimbabwean economy in general. Hence, Treasury should make sure that by August 2022, all the budgeted funds for Industrialization are released to the IDCZ.
- The government, through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development should proactively support the local Motor Manufacturing Industry by providing a facility which guarantees loans to civil servants for the purchase of locally produced cars a situation prevailing in South Africa and Botswana by the end of 2023.
- The Ministry of Energy and Power Development should engage the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) by the end of July 2022, to lower electricity rates in foreign currency (USD) at Dorowa Mine from 60% to at least 40% so as to improve the viability of the Chemplex group, as 70% of products produced by the group are consumed locally where payments are made in local currency.
- The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe through its Auction System should immediately prioritize allocating foreign currency to project funding, particularly the beneficiaries/companies that receive loans from the Industrial Fund for capital projects or import substitution.
- The Government, through the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, by 31 November 2022, should enact a Statutory Instrument that bans the importation of phosphate which is produced in abundance at Dorowa Mine.
The Committee is in support of the enactment and operationalization of the enactment and operationalization of a Statutory Instrument that awards all government tenders to Chemplex Corporation for water treatment chemicals, cattle dipping chemicals, grain pesticides, fertilizers and Agricultural lime. In this regard, the Government should come up with this Statutory Instrument by the end of December 2023.
CONCLUSION
In reiteration, the Committee commends the above beneficiaries of the Industrialization programme for positively utilizing the loans extended to them by the IDCZ. However, the Committee appeals to the government of Zimbabwe to continue support the reindustrialization program by allocating more funds to the Industrialization programme. I thank you Hon. Speaker Ma’am.
(v)HON. S. BANDA: Thank you so much Madam Speaker Ma’am for giving me this opportunity to be able to contribute to this debate. I want to first of all thank my brother Hon. Mguni for bringing up this very important subject of industry in particular. I was once a Member of Industry and Commerce, so I do understand where the Hon. Member is coming from.
Madam Speaker Ma’am, the report was done in 2019 and as it were, I think a number of fundamental things have happened and changed. So, I may also call upon the same Committee and other aligned Committees to do another report that captures what is happening on the ground now. At that time, industrial capacity was at 27% and we are told that Sables was operating at 30% capacity, which is almost slightly above what was transpiring at that time. As we speak, we hear that industrial capacity utilisation has gone up and it is close to 60% in those companies. In terms of research Madam Speaker Ma’am, that will be the best point because we really know where we were at that point in time, and we will be comparing with what we have now.
I want to go to the issue of ZISCO Steel, we now hear that there is a new status for ZISCO Steel. Do we still have the same things that we had at that time or we have a different scenario right now? We need to know where we are right now Madam Speaker Ma’am. I will now proceed to Unified Engineering; we heard that most of the ammonium nitrate was being imported from outside Zimbabwe particularly from South Africa. We have Verified Engineering who is now producing gas around the Mkwasini area. What change has that brought to Sable Chemicals? Locally, once we have a reliable manufacturer like Verified Engineering supplying to Sable Chemicals, we expect the cost of chemicals, and fertilizers to go down. This has a ripple effect on many industries Madam Speaker Ma’am since we are an agro-based country. So we really need to find out whether the changes that have been brought forward by Verified Engineering have spilled to Sable Chemicals, and the lowering of fertilizer cost so that we become more visible on the international market.
Madam Speaker Ma’am, just recently, CZI was saying that the Zimbabwe Dollar is no longer very viable to use as a currency, and it almost reflects the situation that was prevailing in 2019. Is the Government learning something from there? Are we moving forwards or backwards? We really want something to be done so that the challenge that was faced by Sable Chemicals at that time does not recur. We were now on a development trajectory, and we do not want to go back and see the fights between the Reserve Bank, the Ministry, CZI, and business. We really want to move in one accord.
Madam Speaker Ma’am, we are tired of importing raw material such as Ammonium Nitrate which we can now produce on our own. We are tired Madam Speaker Ma’am of importing powdered milk. How many cows do we have in Zimbabwe? Recently, there was the launch of the insemination programme in Chinhoyi. Has it not yet started bearing fruit? We want Dairiboard and other companies to start using local raw materials that have an effect of lowering prices. When we lower our prices, we are more competitive on an international basis when it comes to our exports so that we have more export regions that we can supply. We need to be self-sufficient in this local and global supply chains.
Why are we reneging on improving and financially supporting local manufacturers? We have the Industrial Development Corporation Madam Speaker Ma’am. They are delaying in offering credit to local firms such that by the time they give them such funds, raw materials on semi-manufactured goods, the amount received would have shrunk by more than half in USD$ terms. So our competitiveness is lost Madam Speaker Ma’am. I am urging the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development to give more money to organisations like the IDC so that they can supply resources timeously to industry.
We heard about what was happening at Lancashire Steel and it is a cause for concern because those figures were relevant at that point in time but if you go to Lancashire Steel today, you may find almost the same situation prevailing. So Madam Speaker Ma’am, we need to change. As I conclude, I want to thank Hon. Mguni and the Committee for tabling the report, and also want to say that some of these reports – this is now 2022. The report was written in 2019, where is the cutting point when we say a visit was made and a report should have been tabled by such a time? I think that portfolio committees need to improve in that aspect so that we do not work on things that are no longer functional or relevant. We do not want to be seen to be reactive or passive, we need to be progressive.
Strategic companies like ZISCO Steel and Lancashire, really need those to be there. Where is ZIDA? What is it doing now? Where is the One Stop Investment Centre? What is it doing now? The Ease of Doing Business while it has slightly changed, it has slightly improved. It has not reached a situation whereby companies can freely come to Zimbabwe. So Madam Speaker Ma’am, we are facing two big elephants. The first elephant is corruption and the second elephant is of sanctions, and if we do not resolve these two ghosts and enemies of the country then we will not go very far.
I propose and add my voice to the call for dialogue so that we dialogue and move away from corruption and sanctions – we unite. Let us create the Zimbabwe we want, whether we are from CCC, MDC, ZANU PF, business, churches, students, labour, civil sector organisations or whoever. Let us combine, sit down and build the Zimbabwe we want, without that; we will remain a pale shadow of a country that had the potential or propensity to be. We need ZISCO Steel, I am responding to the report, to say let us just focus on ZISCO Steel. I say yes, it is good to concentrate on ZISCO Steel but we should not stop. We are already in another gear on the Mvuma-Chivhu Iron and Ore Project – we should not go back. Let us do both and become the steel giant that we used to be. With that Madam Speaker, I also call for the adoption of the report in its current state. I thank you.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MAVETERA): Thank you very much. You are not the one who is supposed to call for that because you are not the mover of the motion. The mover of the motion is the one who calls for the adoption of that report.
(v)HON. NDUNA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am and good afternoon Madam Speaker Ma’am. The three-in-one report that has been tabled by the Industry Committee by Hon. Mguni is applauded by the people of Chegutu West Constituency and me. I debate as follows.
Madam Speaker Ma’am in the Eighth Parliament, when yours truly was a member of the Transport Committee, and chaired the Committee, Hon. Temba Mliswa was the Chairperson of the Committee on Mines and Minerals Development, which also went around ZISCO Steel in particular and ended up in Hwange at Hwange Colliery. The reason I talk about this is that the issue was eloquently and elaborately debated – the issue of the coke oven batteries and the issue of the resuscitation of ZISCO Steel. The report was tabled in Parliament and to date; nothing came out of the revitalisation of ZISCO Steel.
I remember when Hon. Muzenda who is now Chairperson of the Board at MMCZ was also a member of that Committee which sought to see how we could leverage on the ubiquitous amount of resources that we have, that is iron ore and coal. The reason I say this is so that those in the Ninth Parliament and indeed those who are coming in 2023 do not continue to bark on an old tree. When a report is tabled, it is incumbent upon those who are in the Parliament of that time, the Ninth Parliament in particular, to read into history informs us where we are, and informs the future. This is so that whatever we needed to be done, as long as it has not been done, is just duplication and waste of resources to conduct another Fact Finding Visit – it is the same as flogging a dead horse if I can say.
I remember when Hon. Wadyajena was the Chairperson of Agriculture; he also went to Sable Chemicals and sought to see the level of production and a report was tabled. I encourage joint Committee sessions if there is any requirement for interrogating the operations of Sable. Another committee like the one on Agriculture was interrogating that operation if there is need to conduct joint Committees, I ask that there be joint.
Be that as it may, it is my thinking that the reports are quite elaborate and they speak to and about the issue of production first and foremost. I am alive to the fact that we have a railway system which can be revitalized by production of iron, steel and its products. The NRZ and the railway were established for goods that are very heavy. As long as we do not have a robust and resilient NRZ, we definitely are going to get our roads dilapidated and in a deplorable state because we are carrying bulk goods which are supposed to be on rail.
The reason I speak like that is, as long as we do not have the resuscitation of places like ZISCO Steel, it is not easy to resuscitate NRZ. I ask that at the present state, all mining houses use NRZ including Sable Chemicals and Lancaster Steel in order to revitalize it to transport at least 15% of their goods. If all the mining houses transport 15% of their produce and products, we will revitalize, rejuvenate, resuscitate and rehabilitate NRZ second to none. It is my view that in the present status quo, we need to get some of our goods on to rail in order to have some longevity on our road network.
When I was Chairperson of the Transport Committee, the maintenance and resuscitation of our road network needed US$20 billion and thanks to the Second Republic led by His Excellency, Cde. E.D Mnangagwa, we are now using what we can to get what we want. For what resources that we have that are local, I remember when he was Vice President, the clarion call from the contractors was that they needed 40% involvement in roads and infrastructure development. When he became President, he gave them 100% and he has also brought the mantra - nyika inovakwa nevene vayo. It is prudent, just, right and applaudable. Be that as it may, we need to resuscitate the railway using resuscitation of such entities like Lancaster Steel, Sable Chemicals and indeed but not limited to ZISCO Steel.
When yours truly was still Chairperson, I got institutional memory of transport. There was need to elongate and to have a railway system coming from Lion’s Den to Kafue which is about 600 km. At today’s rate, it will then cost about US$2 million to put in a rail link. At that time, there was need to harmonise our rail line gauges with the global trend, the European global trends. Our gauge is about 1,5 and I think the gauge for the European side is 1,6. Be that as it may, there was also need to go from Harare to Mowatise which is in Zambia and about 1000km. The reason I bring up this point is that the railway system was always going to be rejuvenated and establish new lines because we needed to link ourselves with the ports; Zambia and the SADC region. I see now that there is a new Chivhu Steel plant coming up because of Afroxim and there is going to be a link between Chivhu and Nakala Port in Mozambique. All this I mention because there is increased appetite for infrastructure development which is a backbone for any nation.
So, not only looking at resuscitation of ZISCO Steel, Sable Chemicals and Lancaster Steel, there is need to resuscitate other industries and other mineral extraction companies that are going to see us using the rail links that I am talking about. The report and the recommendations spoke to the issue of security on our ZISCO Steel so that there is no further plundering of the limited resources that still remain at ZISCO Steel.
We had a Dabuka line 300 km from Gweru to Harare during my time as the Chairperson of the Committee and the copper lines were plundered. To date, there are no more copper lines on that 300 km network. The issue that the report speaks to and about is the issue curtailing the sale and licencing of products such as copper when Mhangura Copper Mine is still not open. We are living these copper deals to relying on our railway system and continue to plunder, steal and buy nocturnally the copper lines on our rail system for free. As I speak, Dabuka marshalling yard is now a white elephant. So, the issue of security to secure what we still have is very key and I applaud Hon. Mguni for an elaborate report that speaks to the issue of security.
Madam Speaker, I can wind up by applauding the Second Republic on the issue of making sure that we get what we can from what we have especially on the establishment of the Chivhu Steel Plant which is going to be the biggest in the whole of Africa. A nation and infrastructure development which is robust is judged by how much steel that country utilizes. We are not only going to be having enough steel for ourselves as a nation but we are going to have steel enough for the SADC region. As I have said, we are most probably going to be the largest steel producer in the whole continent. Ask Hon. Amb. Mutsvangwa, he is going to eloquently tell you about the establishment of that place. I can only make a clarion call for the establishment of a special economic zone in that area which is a special geographical location whose taxes and conditions are meant to attract investment in that area in order that we can increase the inflows of investment and production that we have.
I once spoke about the resuscitation of the three entities that the report refers to. I also want to applaud the Second Republic on Hwange 7 and 8 which has also seen more than 250 pylons that have been established on the route to getting the electricity on to the grid from Hwange. I was in Bulawayo at the Trade Fair and I saw brand sparkling new pylons which are directing their efforts to Kwekwe substation that is going to feed into the national grid. I really applaud the Second Republic for coming out all guns blazing. I want to applaud the debate by Hon. S. Banda and there is no reason whatsoever that if the consumptions are lifted we cannot takeoff. We are primed for takeoff as a nation to great heights and we have got ubiquitous amounts of mineral wealth which can see both our industry and our economy taking off. I want to give a suggestion to the Minister of Finance, seeing he is in the House that there is no need to sell our gold to countries in exchange for paper which is the US dollar. We can and we must, it is just and it is right to turn our gold into gold refinite, turn it into gold coins, into 5 cents, dollar coins and what a view according to its weight. We can distribute it to our gogos in the rural areas and the people outside this country are going to start running to us to try and buy the 5 cents coins at usurious and big rates. Madam Speaker, we need to try that because we can have platinum dollar, we can have gold dollar, gold coin. We can have our diamond dollar. There is no reason why we should continue to suffer because we want to exchange our minerals into worthless paper which is called the US dollar. I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to eloquently, vociferously, effectively and efficiently debate in the manner that the people of Chegutu West Constituency would have debated. I thank you.
HON. T. MOYO: Madam Speaker, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. L. SIBANDA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 4th May, 2022.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. T. MOYO: Madam Speaker, I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 19 to 26 be stood over until Order of the Day, Number 27 has been disposed of.
HON. L. SIBANDA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE ON CHALLENGES FACED BY THE AUDITOR GENERAL
Twenty-seventy Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report of the Public Accounts Committee on challenges faced by the Auditor General.
Question again proposed.
HON. B. DUBE: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. I move that the motion be adopted.
Motion that this House considers and adopts the Report of the Public Accounts Committee on Challenges faced by the Auditor General.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. T. MOYO: Madam Speaker, I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 28 to 30 be stood over until Order of the Day, Number 31 has been disposed of.
HON. L. SIBANDA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
THIRD REPORT OF THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE ON THE SPECIAL MAIZE PROGRAMME/COMMAND AGRICULTURE
Thirty-first Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Third Report of the Public Accounts Committee on Special Maize Programme/Command Agriculture.
Question again proposed.
HON. B. DUBE: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. I move that the motion be adopted.
Motion that this House considers and adopts the Report of the Public Accounts Committee on Special Maize Programme/Command Agriculture.
Motion put and agreed to.
HON. B. DUBE: Madam Speaker, with your indulgence, only one aspect outstanding. We seek your indulgence that we have Treasury minutes the Ministry Finance has undertaken so that as the House we may get to know the areas that they intend to implement and the areas that they do not and the challenges thereof. I am sure the Minister has undertaken. Maybe the Chief Whips or the Leader of Government Business will liaise with the Ministry of Finance on that. The Speaker is also insisting on that aspect. Thank you Madam Speaker.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Thank you. Noted, I am sure the Clerk will be able to take note of that.
On the motion of HON. T. MOYO, seconded by HON. L. SIBANDA, the House adjourned at Twenty-Seven minutes to Seven o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 3rd May, 2022
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE
PHYSICAL ATTENDANCE OF HON. SENATORS
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Afternoon Hon. Members. I am appealing to all Hon. Senators to attend physically tomorrow as we are expecting a delegation from the Malawi Parliament. I think it is not the first time to complain about the attendance of Senators. Hon. Senators are not attending the House, but since we are going to have visitors tomorrow, we are expecting Senators to attend. You can see right now that the House is almost empty. With visitors in the gallery, what are they going to say? We should learn to respect ourselves. Thank you.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: Madam President I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 5 be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day on today’s Order Paper have been disposed of.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I second Madam President.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. MOHADI: Thank you Madam President I move that Order of the Day, Number 6 be stood over until the rest of the orders on today’s Order Paper have been disposed of.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
MEASURES TO RESUSCITATE THE ECONOMY
Seventh Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the need to come up with measures to resuscitate the economy.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. KHUPE: Thank you Hon. President for this important motion. I want to start by expressing my gratitude to the mover of this important motion, Hon. Sen. A. Dube. As long as the economy is not working properly, everything goes so bad. The economy is the determinant of good health; the economy is the determinant of employment creation. A good economy, a functioning economy determines how we perform, how we interact in our social gatherings. Even in our religious groupings, if the economy is not in order, if the economy is not functioning properly, everything becomes very difficult. So the call for resuscitating or coming up with concrete measures, measurable measures which we can say this year we did this or this month we did this, we need to have a road map as to how long and how we can move to resuscitate our economy. If those measures are queer and not clear, we will not go anywhere. So that is why it is very important that since our economy has not been performing well for the past few years, the motion by Hon. Dube came at the right time.
Having said that, each of us in Zimbabwe is aware of how the New Dispensation, how His Excellency has been committing himself and determined to make sure that the economy is put in good order and we really want to pray that the energy and determination brings about the desired results.
However, as all African proverbs including Shona, Ndebele or Kalanga provides, for example in Shona they say, chara chimwe hachitswanyi inda. In other words, we should not do like the offspring of a dove. In Kalanga, we say the Mjindala where they only wait for the mother to bring everything. We should support His Excellency, come up with ideas and make sure that our support is measurable. This blame game which is now becoming a song cannot lead us anywhere. Therefore, let us unite, put our heads together and come up with ideas. Even the smallest idea you might feel, ‘can I really bring this to the table?’ You will be surprised that it can also contribute to the concrete sustainable measures. So in this contribution, I want to say let us ask ourselves wherever we are going and have less complaints and say, ‘in all these negative things taking place, do I contribute, what percentage is my contribution?’ If there is also success in whatever we are doing and the economy is growing, we should also bow our heads in shame and say, ‘His Excellency today is actually launching this project, today he was in Matebeleland for a water project, Midlands, next week in Binga for the fish.’ You can see it every day, it is not a secret. We should also ask ourselves to say, in all this, are we sabotaging or supporting? If the answer is that we are supporting, then I can tell you that in a few years, Zimbabwe will really reach the middle income economy by 2030. Hon. President, I want to thank you and thank those who contributed to this debate.
*HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I would like to thank you so much Madam President for giving me the opportunity to add my voice on the motion which was raised by Hon. Sen. Dube and the seconder. I do not know how we take it as Hon. Senators concerning our Zimbabwean currency in comparison with the United States Dollar currency because rates are fluctuating day by day. If you take a look in the SADC Region, we are the only ones who think that our currency does not have value. With my little knowledge, I know that if you want your currency to have value as a country, you must have gold bullions which look like bars. Forgive me, I do not know what to call it in Shona. These gold backed dollars must be checked by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. We have a lot of gold in Zimbabwe. Yesterday I bought bread at a cost of ZW$400 where some are charging ZW$350 but if you are lucky, you can buy bread at ZW$300.
If you live alone, you can manage the cost but if you have a family, how many loaves of bread do you buy when the cost is that high? I personally think that it is good for the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and the Minister of Finance and Economic Development and also us as Hon. Senators to take a close look at…
An Hon. Senator’s gadget having been producing high feedback.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Please, can you reduce the volume of your gadget; we want to hear from the Hon. Senator contributing and not from your gadget.
*HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I was saying if you agree, the financial experts and non-experts, it will help us a lot. We cannot be the only ones in the SADC region with a troubled currency because we have resources that can help us as compared to other countries like Malawi. I hope this will help us as a country and it will help our currency to be stabilised. Thank you Madam President.
*HON. SEN. DR. MAVETERA: Thank you Mr. President for awarding me this opportunity to add my voice on the motion tabled by Hon. Sen. Dube. This motion is very pertinent on how best, as a country, we can work towards the revival of our economy.
Mr. President, as the Upper House, I wish that we treat this motion with the utmost respect that it deserves. We must look at the cause of why our economy is going down as currently prevailing. Everyone knows what is happening, things are difficult for everyone in Zimbabwe – many people have lost hope. Two weeks ago, we heard the Minister of Finance and Economic Development saying that the revival of the economy requires all the resources that are within the country. In other countries, when they have resources like what we have, you will find that their economies are stable, and the standard of living of citizens is uplifted but the situation is different from Zimbabwe.
When the Minister of Finance and Economic Development raised this issue, many people did not take their time to discuss or try to understand what he was trying to say. Three days ago, His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, said that resources and money for the resuscitation of the economy is available. Other international organisations like IMF when they come to visit the country, they also highlight the fact that resources are there. These organisations also seem not to understand why the country has the prevailing economy. Let us take our time as Zimbabweans to think about this issue so that we come up with a solution Mr. President. In the chiShona culture we would be asking ourselves if this has something to do with avenging spirits, if it involves avenging spirits then we should appease them.
Mr. President, we know that in a family set up where children fight each other every day, nothing good comes out of that family – this is the problem that we have in our country. Even if we avoid looking or pointing at the trouble causer, it will not help us as a country. The trouble causer of the prevailing economy is us Zimbabweans. We do not fight for a common cause; we do not have national pride, and patriotism. Right now, many people say Government must retain the United States Dollar; no country survives on currencies of other countries.
I was recently listening to captains of industries but they always have negative comments about the economy. They are the ones on the forefront to refuse the local currency and one cannot help but wonder if these businesses are for Zimbabweans. How are we going to have business confidence whilst owners of the local currency are refusing and negating it? There is no other country that I know of, the world over, that has built its economy using foreign currencies. Why do we feel the need to use the United States Dollars whilst we have our own currency? We want to use United States Dollars as Zimbabweans, we do not fight for a common cause as a country, we are not proud of our country - we are the instigators of the problems that we are facing today.
The other day I was thinking about the people who want to rule Zimbabwe and felt pity for them. As an individual, I want to rule Zimbabwe when the current citizenry has changed, as long as the current mindset prevails in us, before we are proud of our country and do not fight for a common cause – we are not going anywhere. Even if as a country we have the best Ministers with the best economy, if we take that Minister and put him in this country, nothing good will come out because of the existing mindset.
Mr. President, as Zimbabweans, we must start doing simple things such as not politicizing everything and give due credit where it deserves. The prevailing economic situation does not affect individuals from a particular party but affects everyone irrespective of their political affiliation, i.e. ZANU PF, MDC or CCC. Hence we must sit down as Zimbabweans and find solutions to the problem.
I saw a post, during the independence celebrations in Barbour Fields, the post was written, ‘Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo.’ This phrase explains everything, as Zimbabweans, we are wasting our time inviting organisations like the IMF. We end up putting our country forward as a security risk; we end up being dependent and not independent or fail to think on our own. We will end up taking wrong advice. We have already taken the wrong advice and that is why many people want the United States Dollars to be used in the country instead of our own currency. The remedy for our economic situation is in this country. We must know where politics starts and ends so that our country functions well. Politics is leading to the decline of our Zimbabwean currency.
I do not want to go deep into other stories that are going on but during the weekend, I met someone who said 2023 is around the corner and those problems are now coming. I asked her what problems she was talking about. She said about elections. You will see that a lot of us as citizens of Zimbabwe will fight each other and our economy will decline. You as politicians will start quarrelling amongst yourselves saying the elections were not fair. This will give enemies an opportunity to destroy our economy. I looked at her and she said this is what you voted for in the Constitution. She said so you want to remain with the Constitution but you do not know what it stipulates and what it demands.
I would like you to think deeply. There is no one who will change our Constitution apart from us who are inside this House. If you make laws that will destroy us as citizens, why can we not just, if there are spirits that are surrounding us, pay the spirits so that we move as a country. This is a very important motion raised by Sen. Alice Dube which will help us as a country. The citizens out there do not want to know who the President is but they want to know how the economy is being treated. Out there, they are saying the economy but others are saying they want to be the President. If you say to me, we are going to make you the President for a week. I will not agree because if I am to lead Zimbabweans, I do not want to sound blasphemous to the citizens but if you bring even the Son of God, He would nod his head and say where these people come from, the citizens of Zimbabwe are not proud of their country and cannot even identify their problems.
Mr. President, we must look at the origins of this problem so that we move together as a country. As Senators in this Parliament, who are responsible for advising the Government, let us advise it so that we build our country well. With this Mr. President, I would like to thank you as I cry for the citizens of Zimbabwe who are not well. We are the witches of our own country dear Zimbabwean citizens. I would like to urge us to pray so that we do not fall on our way. As Zimbabweans, we build our own country. Our minerals are being looted out but it is not their problem because we are the ones who opened our doors to them to steal from us.
I would like to urge Zimbabweans to open their eyes and think wisely. If I had powers Mr. President, you would cry and cry but I would remove the USD because it is not a panacea for our economic survival. Thank you Mr. President.
*HON. SEN. MBOHWA: Thank you Mr. President for giving me the opportunity to add my voice to the motion raised by Hon. Sen. Alice Dube. The motion is a tear-jerking one because if you think deeply about it, you end up saying – ndomene haichemedze. If we take a close look at the riches of Zimbabwe, we have a very big leak on our economic status which we are not able to mend. As long as those leaks are not closed, we will continuously cry as Zimbabwean citizens.
Someone indicated earlier that we have a lot of riches but we cannot exactly point where our riches are. I was in Djibouti Mr. President – even if I go in the furthest place in Binga, I have never seen ugly cars like the ones I saw there. They manage their economic survival and their resources are manageable. I remember that in Zimbabwe, you cannot cross in Harare because of classy cars. We have money in Zimbabwe but we do not know who is keeping the finances.
As we move away from the classy cars, people are building double storey houses. Youths buy food at Chicken Inn day in day out. This means that we have riches as Zimbabweans but we do not know where those finances are kept. We need to collect those finances so that they benefit our country. I am talking about the riches that we have but we are not able to utilise. Hon. Sen. Mavetera indicated that in Zimbabwe, there is no one who can conquer the economic challenges because our minds are already thinking about corruption each and every time we have a situation at hand. This will make our country to remain poor.
Who has the machine that talks about rate fluctuations in Zimbabwe? What changed in Zimbabwe? A black person is now an enemy of a black person because all they think about is profit in whatever they do. We used to survive with a profit of 2% in the 1980s. I was still young but sugar was written 2%. Five per cent was also on foods we used to buy but nowadays, a black person charges a profit of 120% or more. Both the young ones and the old now only think of corruption. Vendors in the streets are also charging a lot of profit. As long as we have those thoughts as a country, we are not going to move forward. Police officers on the road are now known for their corruption. Nurses are now taking medication from surgeries. Teachers are no longer teaching at school but at home doing extra lessons. It is corruption everywhere. Everyone is corrupt.
If we do not remove the spirit of corruption, no one will be able to raise Zimbabwe to its former glory. I would like to thank His Excellency the President, Dr. E.D. Mnangagwa. He is a man who will never be shaken. I still remember that in 2008, if you got into a shop, you would smell only maputi but our President managed to stabilise prices of goods in the country. He did not put price control teams so that people will not have goods in the shops but citizens are suffering because of corrupt people in the country. Everyone is corrupt. In ZANU PF, MDC and CCC they are corrupt.
Let us change the mindset of our children because they are also corrupt. As elders, we are the ones influencing the children to be corrupt. Fuel prices are increasing. One of my children was crying saying that it is 24 hours’ service so that one can have food on the table. Some are saying there are no sanctions but I am saying sanctions are there but the President is trying his level best. As legislators, let us help him to curb corruption. I do not know what Hon. Sen. Dube had thought about when she raised the motion because when you are debating this motion, you must be able to point what one is thinking about.
I suggest that we arrange workshops and campaigns so that we teach our children to have positive minds in order to build their country. As His Excellency the President says, nyika inovakwa nevene vayo. If we argue as Zimbabwean citizens, we allow people from foreign countries to do whatever they want in the country. We must help each other to stabilise the economy. As I second the motion raised by the Hon. Senator, I want to say, if I was the President, I would make laws so that the US$ would disappear tomorrow. The problem is, we are comparing price hikes in US$ and not in RTGs. The US$ must be removed so that we do not have challenges in Zimbabwe. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: Thank you Mr. President for giving me the opportunity to support the motion raised by Hon. Sen. Dube which is a crucial motion. A lot of issues have been raised. The motion is painful as indicated earlier on by other Senators. Mr. President Sir, this motion shows us as citizens of Zimbabwe how we look at our country. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Mavetera for his contribution. Mr. President, the motion by Hon. Sen. Dube touched on the drought. I would not want to repeat points that have been made by other senators but we all know that drought will just come whether we are aware or not. Government will be prepared to help people with fertilizers, seed and other implements. If drought comes, all the efforts will be in vain. If Government is responsible for all that, it will eventually stop and start looking on ways to provide for the people who will be experiencing drought. Government will be doing that so that citizens survive. Drought affects industrial processes.
Hon. Sen. Dube also touched on COVID-19. We all know that we experienced this disease in Zimbabwe but we would like to thank the Government of His Excellency E. D. Mnangagwa. The Government of Zimbabwe managed to stabilise the cases and rates how COVID-19 was prevailing at. We would like to thank the Government because nowadays the disease is no longer spreading at a faster rate like it used to. COVID-19 also contributed to the economic challenges we are facing. Some of the economic gurus also died due to COVID-19 which is tear-jerking.
We would like to thank His Excellency, President E. D. Mnangagwa for bringing us this programme. Hon. Sen. Mavetera clearly said that if he was the President, he would ban US dollar currency in this country. He calls the mindset of Zimbabwean citizens. Nowadays, as citizens we act like we represent countries worldwide because if there are challenges they are facing, we act like we are the ones responsible for bringing solutions to them.
Last week as I was walking in Mt. Darwin town, I met a young boy acting like he was drunk. I do not know if it is mutoriro or what. He said to me ‘we do not want the ZUPCO buses you are bringing to us’. I asked him who he was talking to and he said he was talking to me. I realised that it is now in the youngsters to tarnish the Government’s image and they are now used to the Wish vehicles for mushikashika. They no longer care about the ZUPCO buses. Instead of thanking the Government for bringing the ZUPCO buses, they are criticizing Government for that. If we all perish and we leave our children with that barbaric behaviour, Zimbabwe will be destroyed. We are Zimbabweans but we do not accept that.
You talked about rate Hon. As I was in my room, I got into another group which was talking about rate. I asked them what is their main purpose or aim for raising the rate to $420. They said mother you are mixing your thoughts. I asked him to just reply me. You end up discovering that we have a lot of work to do so that our country will function well. People are now greedy and people are suffering in the country. Hon. Sen. Dube also indicated that Government must have a task to find out where we are going wrong in terms of our economy so that the economy functions well. Even on the issue of natural resources.
In Mt. Darwin, we have a Mupfure River which is very rich in gold and if you look at the state of roads in Mt. Darwin, they have potholes. We do not have good schools but we have gold in our town. All those things must be given a closer look. People in the rural areas must be considered in whatever they do. If we leave those things the way they are, they will remain like that because we must first love our country. The people we are supporting have their own countries, and Zimbabweans are running away from their own country. We are not leaving this to the Government but as Hon. Members, we must submit our reports to Government to enable it to take action. Hon. Members from other countries are given allowances. MPs from countries like Kenya are given US$15000 and that shows they are protecting their economy. So we should also protect our economy in order for us to also get adequate salaries. We need to work hard to ensure Government policies on natural resources and our economy are adhered to so we adjust accordingly. If we keep quiet as Hon. Members, we will always suffer as citizens of Zimbabwe. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Dube for raising such a pertinent motion. I thank you Mr. President.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF NGEZI: I want to thank you Hon. President for affording me the opportunity to contribute to this important motion. I was very happy when this motion was raised. I am a chief and it is very important to support the motion. I stay in a place where gold panning is taking place and gold is always available. We also have good soils. I think our economy is suffering because we do not know where our resources end up in. Government gave everyone a piece of land to produce their own food, which is good. However, when it comes to gold, you find there are only three people who own those gold mines. If you go to the Ministry of Mines offices, you find that the offices are not well furnished and there are torn chairs. So we need to first find out where this gold is going.
In terms of food, we are stable because of the introduction of Pfumvudza and command agriculture programmes. If you go to areas that produce gold that is where price increases are rife and that is causing inflation. It is very difficult for people to survive in an inflationary environment but it can be stabilised if we look for solutions.
The other problem we have is love for the US$. In Zambia, inflation went to the extent where they carried wheel barrow full of notes to buy bread but they recovered and they do not accept the US$ but use their own currency. You cannot go to Zambia and use the US$ to buy but you have to change it into their currency first in order for you to buy whatever you want. So if laws are put in place, our currency will work and our economy will improve. However, in Zimbabwe, there is too much corruption. Money is being sold on the black market. A person will be having a bag of new ZW$ notes but the limit is $1000. So the problem is starting from the RBZ. You did mention police officers but you must get used to how the police officers are operating nowadays. Even if we recruit new police officers today and deploy them on our roads, all they now know is corruption. They no longer care about their laws and how they operate. You find there will be a lot of cars lining up on the roads causing traffic jams due to various problems like unlicenced drivers but at their offices, there is nothing in their records for the crimes committed on roads.
I think those responsible for putting in place legislation for the country must also take chiefs into consideration because they have been ruling the country since long ago. We must put our thoughts together so that we look at where the problems we are facing are coming from. Children who are getting drunk are coming from us. They now have bad behaviour. We are no longer able to control them because some laws are coming from the Government. We are no longer allowed to beat our children because of Government laws. People get upset when a teacher beats their children. The Government must put laws to remind people of the problems that will develop if we do not put laws against bad behaviour. They must be reminded of such laws like if you kill a person, you will be arrested and this might also lead to avenging spirits haunting you.
So I think cases like economic cases need all members and parties to meet together and find a solution or a way forward. We must be like soccer players. They support each other in good or bad times. We must support our country like the soccer stars. The Dynamos Stars support Dynamos Stars, the Caps Stars support CAPS Stars. We must be responsible for the problems we are facing as a country. The Government, the Hon. Members, the church members and everyone must have a say in how the economic challenges we are facing can be rectified.
Long back, all opposition members were not allowed to stand up in support of motions raised by another party but nowadays it is no longer like that. We have something in common. If you give birth to your children and raise them eating porridge with no sugar, the day they will eat the one with sugar there will be problems. They will not accept that.
We are comparing our currency with the United States dollars. You have to seek for guidance and stop comparing our Zimbabwean dollars with United States dollars because we will be going nowhere since it is not our currency. I am kindly asking all the parties and everyone so that we come up together and make solutions for the economic challenges in our country. You must love your own country as the soccer stars love themselves in their teams. Thank you Mr. President.
*HON. SEN. J. HUNGWE: President of the Senate as well as the Senators here in the Senate, I stand up to add one or two words concerning the matter that is before the House, moved by the mover, Hon. Sen. Dube.
Mr. President, in the Bible there is a statement that says there were 700 left-handed men, meaning that most people were people with disability, left-handed men and we are looking at the number of 700 which is a big number of people with disability. So that statement applies to us today.
I heard at first Senators debating with passion on the issue of the United States dollar and how its use is not good for us but people did not say the Senate has taken a stand that we do not want United States dollars. I did not hear that commitment. The first person is the one who said do not forget us, we no longer want United States dollars. We want our currency to be used and we want to leave this place and those people with the statement that we do not want the United States dollars. The Senate is the Upper House. Once an issue is taken to the Senate, it is an issue that is brought to finality and it has become very important. That is not what is happening in this House.
You are here in this House. I gave you a statement that there were 700 left-handed men, meaning people with disability. People just talk and they go home. Our Chamber must not only be a debating chamber because it loses value. It is better for us to return home. We should come up with resolutions that should be in the media such as The Daily News saying that the Senators have said no to the United States dollar. Is that not what is supposed to happen?
Traditional leaders, I am also talking to you, but you are saying that it is a statement but that should be a commitment coming from the Senate Chamber. It is the United States dollar that has destroyed our economy, not just to debate on the issue raised by Hon. Sen. Dube.
The Senator who debated what I really agreed to was Hon. Sen. Mavetera. He strongly made his point through, he is not left-handed but is right-handed. Most of us have disabilities. We want to hear that the Senate has said this or that. We should not be like people who have come for a food bail out, but we should commit ourselves on what we would have agreed on.
As Senate, we are saying we do not want the use of the US dollar. You see Mr. President, there are no people opposing the US dollar because they have it at home and in their pockets. I am the only one without US dollar, that is why I am saying this because it is difficult to get it. We must say no to the use of the US dollar. Avail us the ZW$, the local currency as we want to promote the use of our currency. When you walk into shops, we should be able to use the local currency. That is what we are saying as Senate and that should be addressed.
Mr. President, as you go and see the high officers, you must advise them that the Hon. Senators have rejected the US$, we do not want it. Applaud me if you are in agreement – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.] – I told you that in the Bible, where we read God’s word, there is a statement that says, ‘there were 700 left-handed men,’ and these were people with disabilities. Hon. Senator Chiefs, do you understand what I am talking about? Imagine eating using your left hand, you cannot quench your hunger, try it and you will see what I mean. Let us agree to abandon the use of US$. This is not what Hon. Sen. Hungwe said but the Senate as a whole. We should not promote the currency that is not ours because our currency has become irrelevant when we continue promoting foreign currency. We do not want to be back-tracking but we want to move forward.
Those who are selling in shops and engaging in business should make use of the Zimbabwean dollar. You can clap because you are allowed. Mr. President, there were 700 left-handed men, meaning that people with disabilities were many. In Parliament, we do not want people with disability because people vote for you from the constituencies that you come from and they will say, Hon. Sen. Shumba, yes you said this and we agree with you, Hon. Sen. Chief Nhema, yes we agree with you.
It is known that when you go to the people you are going to talk about important issues. There is a book that was written by one of the late cadres, Chitepo which was titled, ‘Shoko risina musoro.’ You should go and read that book and find out what he meant when he said that it was a word without sense. So it is something that you need to learn so that we understand where it is coming from and find out what it is that does not make sense. The chiefs who preside over issues in courts will tell those who have no sense to go and slaughter goats.
What pains me the most as I speak in this House is that – this is the Upper House and what should go out there and in the media is what the Senate has said, that we do not want the use of the US$. We do not want it to gain prominence over our local currency. Our currency should be prominent and the US$ should follow. That is what we are saying in this Upper House where there are Hon. Senators supported by chiefs or traditional leaders. Mr. President, in this House we can beat on top of our tables if we agree with the issues that have been said that make sense – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.] – I thank you my colleagues for supporting me.
Furthermore, before I take my seat, I know there are others who want to debate more sensible issues than mine but I am saying as we debate, let us look into the issue that we will agree on. We should support these important issues, for example – it is Hon. Sen. Dube who brought this motion, is that not so? The motion that was raised by Hon. Sen. Dube is the one we are standing with that we need to ensure that our currency gains prominence more than the foreign currency. When you engage those at a high level, advise them that Senate has said no with the support of the traditional chiefs. Once the chiefs have spoken, who can say no?
Mr. President, the issue that we have brought in should be taken forward. We cannot let foreign currency take precedence, ours should gain prominence and the foreign currency follows. It is also difficult for us to access the US$. Are you able to get it Hon. Sen. Sekeramayi? So why do you want us to use it? Our chiefs, are you able to get the foreign currency? No, Mr. President, we cannot access the United States Dollar – it is difficult to get it, and that is why corruption has increased. People are hungry, and for that reason the use of foreign currency has increased corruption.
Mr. President, corruption, as educated as you are, started in heaven. Even the Lord battled with corruption. What is needed in addressing corruption is to continue denouncing it but the truth is, we can never eradicate it, but continue denouncing it. The moment we keep quiet, it will become worse. So this august House should also denounce corruption, and ensure that those who engage in corrupt activities are brought to book. You know the people who are engaging in corruption. Why are you not naming and shaming them? In the newspapers it should be there, we should read about this in the media. Mr. President, please assist us.
You do not want to mention them by name – why? Because you are afraid of being arrested but corruption should be denounced because it is not something that should be valued. At family level, at national level and at global level, we should denounce corruption. We will speak and denounce corruption on your behalf Mr. President because we do not want it. Those engaging in corruption must be arrested, and once arrested; this should be publicised so that the nation knows who has been arrested on issues of corruption.
In Chivi, we are famous for the murder of a policeman called Ruka. The Chivi people burnt that policeman. Once someone does something that the community does not want, we make sure that we deal with them as Chivi because we will be assisting the Government. If you are found engaging in corruption in Chivi, you will be brought to book…
THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT (HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA): Hon. Sen. Hungwe, your time for debate is up.
*HON. SEN. J. HUNGWE: Thank you Mr. President.
HON. SEN. MWONZORA: Thank you very much Mr. President for this opportunity. I would like to thank the Hon. Sen. who tabled this very important motion. This motion is to the effect of asking this House to interrogate ways in which we can improve our economy as Zimbabweans.
The first and foremost important thing Mr. President for any country to meaningfully develop is for it to develop a common shared vision. A country must have a vision. People can differ on how to fulfill that vision that is the purpose of election campaigns but the vision must be the same, and it must be shared. I propose that the vision that we must have of Zimbabwe is that of a peaceful, democratic, prosperous, united, and inclusive nation that should leave no one behind. In other words, the first important thing in the vision is that Zimbabwe must be a country of peace.
The second thing Mr. President is that this country must take concrete steps towards poverty reduction and then eradication. You cannot have a developed economy where there are high levels of poverty. So we must eradicate poverty first. Then I agree with Hon. Sen. Hungwe when he says that we must deal with corruption. Mr. President, if you go to other countries that have developed especially the Asian tigers. You will see a common way in which they have dealt with corruption. If you go to Singapore for example, their famous Prime Minister was very strict on corruption, and harshly punished people for corruption. The Chinese and the Japanese are doing the same. The cost of corruption is so high that nobody wants to engage in it.
Similarly, in this country, we must be seen to punish corruption. The treatment of corruption must be in such a way that there is equality before the law. In other words, it must not matter who you are, whose son/daughter you are or whose father you are – as long as you are corrupt, you must be punished just like any other common criminal. There must be no holy cows in dealing with corruption. We must increase the punishment for corruption – number one, and make it a classless issue. We must also depoliticise it.
I remember Mr. President under the late President Mugabe, there were I think, five ministers who were fingered in corruption. When the Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) got there, they were met with AK rifles – in this country. An institution that is supposed to deal with corruption goes to a Cabinet Minister and is met with arms of war – we must punish that kind of behaviour.
Then Mr. President, there must be equal access to resources in this country. There are instances, in this country Mr. President, where people are given access to land, mines, and credit on the basis of their political affiliation. The ability to carry business, and have entrepreneurial skills transcends political divisions. Therefore, people must have equal access irrespective of their political persuasion, and in this regard Mr. President, there must be equal access to resources in this country. There are instances in this country where people are given access to land, mines and credit on the basis of their political affiliation. The ability to carry business and have entrepreneurial skills transcends political divisions. Therefore, people must have equal access irrespective of their political persuasion. In this regard, people from all political parties must have access to land, credit and mineral wealth.
Mr. President, there cannot be development of the economy without relevant education and therefore, one of the most important things is that there must be equal access to education. It has now been proven and there are educationists here that the type of education that the colonialists emphasised on was sometimes education not relevant to economic development. Most of us here were taught about the prairies of Canada in Geography and the history of Europe. We were even taught about locus, thorax, abdomen and something else. Up to now, we do not know why we were learning that but there was little emphasis on how to be an entrepreneur and how to create wealth.
So we had a lot of educated people academically that is and very uneducated when it came to finance. That is one of the reasons why relatively there are uneducated whites in this country than very educated black people. Not only because of the historical imbalances but because of the sheer training or instruction that people get. Therefore, there is need for a change in our education system. Of course, for there to be economic development, there must be equal access to health. Our workforce must have access to health.
Mr. President, the people of Zimbabwe in various locations in this country must have a say in the development priorities of their region and this brings us to the issue of devolution. If you go to Masvingo Province for example, and ask them what their number one priority is, you may actually discover that it might be different from what priorities may be in Manicaland. If you go to Nyanga and ask their priorities, it may be different from people in Matebeleland South. For example, in Nyanga, access to water is not an issue. There is water everywhere but if you go to Matabeleland South, you may find water being an issue. Therefore, the local people must have a say in the development priorities of their areas.
Of course Mr. President, you can never have economic development without democracy. It has been said by others that dictatorship is very expensive to maintain. A dictatorial system requires a lot of resources to use. You have to have enough ammunition, train police in brutality and invest so much in intelligence. Therefore, dictatorship is expensive. There must be democracy. If there is political democracy, there will be economic democracy and it permeates through all facets of our society. That means therefore that there must be good governance in our country. If there is good governance and respect for institutions, then we will have a developed system.
One of the reasons why some countries like Sweden say they do not invest in Zimbabwe Mr. President, is because in Zimbabwe, they say there is no adequate punishment for corruption. I was with the Speaker and other Members of Parliament when we visited Sweden sometime ago on a re-engagement mission. I posed a question to their Minister of Foreign Affairs on why they were investing in Rwanda and not in Zimbabwe yet on the Democracy Index, I think the Rwandans at that point in time were actually below us. We were better than them or at most we were at par.
The Minister said one of the things that distinguishes Rwanda from you is how you punish corruption. So we must be seen not only to be talking about corruption but doing something about it. High profile people who engage in corruption must be punished without fear or favour. The institutions that deal with corruption must be capacitated and they must be respected and protected by this country, the Executive and this Parliament. We must be seen to be protecting ZEC, Anti-Corruption Commission and National Peace and Reconciliation Commission against abuse by those who have power.
Historically, our women did not have equal access to resources and education. We cannot develop our country without empowering our women or raising the woman to the level sufficient to make her productive. If you look at the mathematics that goes into the ordering and selling of tomatoes Mr. President and if you look at the person doing the mathematics; I have to travel to Mutoko, board a kombi, get a bucket or two buckets of tomatoes, come and sell at this price and make a profit. That is a lot of mathematics that goes there. The person possessing that brain can actually run a supermarket because they are doing that maths without computers, calculators and so on. So our women, through hardship, have been made even more proficient and they have demonstrated that they can do it. Therefore, we need to give them more resources now. We need our women in positions of authority and decision making.
Similarly, it is an old thinking or archaic thinking, not old thinking because my friend Senator Hungwe will be on my throat. I am not talking about age but about the type of thinking that it is archaic thinking to say the youths are leaders of tomorrow. If you go to politics, business, et cetera, the youths are said to be leaders of tomorrow. We need to jettison that thinking. The youths are not leaders of tomorrow but of today. Therefore, there must be empowerment of youths irrespective of their political affiliation. Youths must be given access to credit on merit.
Similarly, Mr. President, people who are living with disabilities, we know that disability is not inability. They have proficiency sometimes in their areas of expertise. One of the best lecturers in law at the University of Zimbabwe was Pearson Nherera and he came from somewhere in Bikita. He was visually impaired and could not see at all but he was probably the best law lecturer who ever lived. I had a personal experience with him when I tried to cheat him in a tutorial. I had not prepared for that tutorial, so I went with a textbook.
He asked me a question and I just flipped on the page that had the answer and he embarrassed me by saying ‘Mr. Mwonzora, you are reading page 15 paragraph two (2) of Professor Christy’s book, Contract Law in Zimbabwe’ and this was a visually impaired person saying this to me. This shows you how gifted he was. Therefore, people living with disabilities should have resources to develop themselves so that they can contribute to the development of our economy. Of course, we must have a functioning judicial system as well as a well-developed infrastructure.
Now Mr. President, if you look at the road network of Zimbabwe, it is probably one of the best networks. Therefore, we must improve our infrastructure in Zimbabwe. Mr. President, with these words, I wish to thank Hon. Sen. Dube who raised this hon. motion in this House. I thank you.
^^HON. SEN. MOHADI: Thank you Hon President for giving me the time to debate the motion raised by Hon. Sen. Dube on the motion that people have migrated from using our local currency to using foreign currency. Our President, His Excellency said that nyika inovakwa nevene vayo. This also implies that the home is developed by its owners. These are very important words. If as Zimbabweans we are not united and fight corruption, no one will come and fix our country for us. It is painful and disheartening that we are failing to manage our country because of a small issue which has now risen to the level of cancer – corruption. Once cancer has started, it is possible to cure. Corruption has destroyed our state. No-one is working for this country. Everyone is working for his pocket such that they fullfill their needs. As for us from the border areas, United States dollars are brought in 50kg bags and they will be exchanged. You ask yourself where these people are getting this kind of cash because even the banks in Zimbabwe do not have such amounts of money but the black market has such amount of money.
If we look at our border, we use rands. There is no one who is transacting using the Zimbabwean dollars. Most of our children have left their jobs in this country and went to South Africa to look for rands. They are struggling and being abused in the foreign land. Some of them are being burnt alive in pursuit of greener pastures. What can we do so that our currency has value?
Corruption has destroyed our nation. If you leave this place and want to leave this country for South Africa, either you have a passport or not – you can go and come back with a truck full of goods. If you want either to bring it through the border or illegal porous points, these trucks can pass and come to this country through the effects of corruption. You just pay the person at the post so that your truck can pass through the border and reach its destination.
I travel a lot and use public transport most of the time. Things that are happening on these roads are not complimented. From one point to another, you will pay a certain amount; to get to the other point you also pay another amount and proceed until a 30 tonne truck load reaches its destination without even paying its duty. The whole amount that would have been paid will get into someone’s pockets and not to the State coffers. We can say a lot but where we are going, things are not well.
A home without a woman is not a home. A wife is the pillar of the home. If the woman is not empowered, there is no progress. Let us empower women because they are the ones that are supporting our families and they are not corrupt. When children or big men cry, they say ‘mum’ and not dad. Let us respect women.
This motion has been debated for two or three weeks. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Dube for this motion that he has brought in this House on what we are saying on corruption. Lastly, I would request that if these debates are being wound up, the Ministers responsible are supposed to respond and are supposed to give conclusion on the motion, are supposed to come here so that we have a way forward. We can debate and debate but as long as they do not come to the House and give us direction of where we are going and where we are coming from, to say the truth we will be going nowhere. I have spent some time here, I have never seen Ministers that come and respond to motions that would have been raised in this august House. I was kindly requesting that the Ministers come and support us and make sure that our motions and debates that we are having here have a way forward, not just to debate here and spend three months and the motion dies a natural death without going anywhere. With these few words, I thank you Mr. President. Have a good day.
HON. SEN. A. DUBE: Mr. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 4th May, 2022.
MOTION
EFFORTS TO CURB CORRUPTION
Eighth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion to introduce deterrent services for those engaging in corrupt activities.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Mr. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIEF MAKUMBE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 4th May, 2022.
On the motion of HON. SEN. MUZENDA, seconded by HON. SEN MATHUTHU, the House adjourned at Twenty-Six minutes to Five o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 15th March, 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
SWITCHING OFF OF CELLPHONES
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I want to remind Hon. Senators to put their cellphones on silent or better still, switch them off,
SECOND READING
PENSIONS AND PROVIDENT FUNDS BILL [H. B. 17A, 2019]
First Order read: Second Reading: Pension and Provident Funds Bill [H. B 17A, 2019].
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. CHIDUWA): Thank you Mr. President. I hereby present the Second Reading of the Pensions and Provident Fund Bill [H.B. 17A, 2019]. Hon. Senators, the Pensions and Provident Fund Bill is aimed at repealing and replacing the Pensions and Provident Fund Act [Chapter 24:09] to address the identified regulatory inadequacies and weaknesses. The principal objective of the Bill is to enhance the integrity of the pensions industry by addressing vulnerabilities which threaten the stability and sustainability of this sector. It lays the foundation of an effective regulatory framework and provident funds that is anchored on
- core principles of effective pension regulation, supervision as espoused by the International Organisation of Supervisors of which Zimbabwe is a member;
- Findings and recommendations of the Justice Smith-led Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Convention of Insurance and Pensions Values, whose report was considered by this august Senate after its publication in 2018;
- Regional experiences of non-bank financial sector regulators under the auspices of the SADC Committee of Insurance, Securities and Non-Bank Financial Authorities (CISNA); and
- Zimbabwe’s peculiarities, including the structural reforms experienced in the economy over the last two decades. As Hon. Senators are aware it is incumbent upon the State to take reasonable legislative and other measures within the limits of the resources available to it to achieve the progressive realisation of ensuring the protection of the pension scheme members and beneficiaries’ interests, the security and Pensions and Provident Fund and the sustainability of the pension sector. It is therefore in this context that I present the proposed holistic review of the Pension and Provident Funds Act [Chapter 24:09] to address indentified regulatory inadequacies and weaknesses.
Focus on the proposed amendment is on the following main areas:
- Corporate governance in pension funds,
- Consumer protection,
- Resolution of troubled pension fund,
- Provisions to reduce the high incidents of pension contribution arrears,
- Requirements of Pension Fund service providers,
- Pension Fund’s Assets and Investments;
- Contribution to Pensions Protection Fund,
- Enhancing Regulatory and Supervisory Powers of IPEC and Currency
Mr. President Sir, allow me to briefly underscore the critical importance of the pensions industry before I delve into the salient features of the proposed Bill. I am sure it will assist Honourable Senators to appreciate the importance that we should place on this Bill and the industry it intends to regulate.
Hon. Senators will agree with me that the retirement or pensions industry plays both primary and secondary roles in an economy with the primary reason for setting up pension funds being to meet our financial needs at old age and get death benefits to dependents of deceased members. Therefore, retirement income allows smoothening of consumption in the twilight stage of our lifecycle and the need for us to ensure provision of decent lifestyles at an advanced age. Pensions should therefore help us to reduce old age poverty and ensure social security protection, notwithstanding the loss of values suffered by pensioners during the last two decades. The country’s pension industry has remained resilient therefore we should do everything in our capacity to restore confidence in the sector including ensuring its relevance and sustainability.
Mr. President, the secondary benefits of pension schemes or retirement income includes long term savings mobilisation for financial intermediation and deployment into the real sector of the economy, infrastructure development, the broadening and deepening of capital markets. It is important to note that over 80% of commercial real estates in Zimbabwe are financed by insurance and pension funds and the industry has traditionally been the major institutional investor on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange as well as one of the biggest sources of time deposits. I have no doubt in my mind, Hon, Senators, that the sector can be refocused to play its traditional role in the economy of providing the much needed long term capital. I also appreciate that there is a symbiotic relationship between the performance of this unique industry and that of the real sectors of the economy.
Mr. President, the role of retirement service plans has been growing over time. Indeed, you will note that in some countries the contribution of pension to GDP is immense, with assets of the pension industry exceeding GDPs of most countries. In South Africa pension assets account for 95% of the country’s GDP, as such current efforts under the NDS1 are meant to ensure economic growth that is expected to unleash the potential of this industry and its contribution to the economy.
Hon. Senators you will agree with me that one of the primary enablers to unleash the potential of the pension industry is to have a robust and adequate regulatory system that responds to changes in the microeconomic environment empowering the regulator to intervene in real time and giving direction to the stability and sustainability of the industry. We are also looking at the promotion of the requirements of risk based supervision resulting in efficient allocation and utilisation of resources as well as eliminating unnecessary regulatory burden on pension and providence funds. It should also respond adequately to emerging risks within the operating environment hence restoring and maintaining the confidence of all stakeholders in pension value chains.
Let me transition to deficiencies in the current Act. The current Pensions and Provident Funds Act provides a framework lacking in many aspects to meet the aforesaid requirements for an enabling regulatory framework. The Act is outdated as the legal framework has not kept pace with the dynamic changes currently being experienced in the financial markets as observed by the Justice Smith Inquiry.
The current Act inhibits the Insurance and Pensions Commission as the regulator to effectively supervise the industry to the extent that it contributed to the malpractices that resulted in the loss of value suffered by fund members. The Commission of Inquiry’s main recommendation was the need to review the pensions legislation.
Insurance and Pensions Commission
Mr. President, it is imperative that regulatory bodies be equipped with appropriate regulatory and supervisory powers that enable them to respond appropriately and adequately to a given circumstance. Cognisant to this principle, the Justice Smith Commission of Inquiry recommended the enrichment of the functions of IPEC through legislative amendments to ensure smooth execution of its function. The aim being to close the gaps in regulation that were identified as promoting the malpractices observed in the pensions industry. The Bill has addressed this concern by giving the Commission additional functions and powers.
In line with the principle of risk-based supervision which requires application of regulatory requirements on risk sensitive basis the Bill proposes to give IPEC some discretionary powers to enable the determination of appropriate and efficient supervisory action depending on the peculiarities of each regulated entity. Cognisant of the inherent risk relating to possible abuse of discretionary powers the Bill clearly sets the limits within which such powers shall be exercised while clause 7 subserviates the exercise of this power to section 194 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
In addition, the Bill seeks to enhance IPEC’s powers to cooperate with other relevant authorities for the purposes of enhancing proper discharge of its functions. The Commission will have powers to issue guidelines, directives and standards for prudent management of pension funds.
Powers to issue Regulations
Hon. Members I wish to highlight that the Bill empowers IPEC to make regulation in consultation with the Minister. As the industry regulator IPEC is an expert in the field of pensions and in line with its advisory role to Government the Commission is being empowered to come up with regulations for approval by the Minister.
Mr. President you will note that this provision is not unique to IPEC. There are statutory bodies and constitutional entities within Zimbabwe that have delegated powers to make subsidiary legislation subject to the Ministers approval. As you may be aware, local authorities and rural district councils make their own by laws and submit to the Minister for approval. The Chief Justice also has the power to make court rules in terms of Section 56 of the High court Act and Section 34 of the Supreme Court Act. All these are acknowledged for their expertise in their respective field hence their empowerment to make regulations.
Regulations to be issued by IPEC would include.
- Record-keeping and preservation of records by pension funds and administrators,
- Standards and requirements of expenses, capital adequacy, solvency and risk management,
- Principles relating to emergence, treatment and utilisation of actuarial surplus,
- Minimum qualifications for officers of pension funds and administrators and
- Standards of corporate governance to be observed by boards of funds and administrators.
As you will appreciate, Hon. Senators, certain breaches of the law may be minor and may not cause prejudice to the administration of justice or to the society if administrative penalties are imposed.
I wish to acknowledge that the current Act does not provide for an adequate framework of imposing administrative penalties for acts of non-compliance by IPEC’s regulated top entities. This is notwithstanding the fact that administrative penalties are easy to an oath and not time consuming, unlike the criminal court processes which is associated lengthy, costly and complex procedures.
The absence of adequate administrative power in the current pension legislation has therefore resulted in continued malpractices within the pensions industry. Therefore, the Bill before you, seeks to provide a framework for administrative civil penalties that can be imposed by IPEC to deter and penalise such malpractices. The provision for administrative penalties is key as not all businesses breaches need to be criminalised, since it may have an effect of scaring away investors.
In addition, the threats of incurring penalties encourage compliance. It is also important to acknowledge that provisions of criminal penalties in the current Act will be retained.
Consumer protection
I wish to reiterate that market contact regulation which is also commonly referred to as treating customers fairly has become an important part of regulation and supervision in recent years. This has become particularly important in our Zimbabwean context, given the loss of value associated with structural changes in the economy during the last two decades. The current Act falls short in improving market contact regulation for the protection and promotion of the rights of pension fund members and their beneficiaries. Thus, there is need for provisions that encourage transparency and accountability of giving fund members and a market participants a clear picture of the fund’s business activities, performance and financial position.
The Bill incorporates universally accepted principles for adequate financial consumer protection to ensure protection of the rights and benefits of fund members and their beneficiaries in line with the treating customers fairly principles.
In addition, the Bill incorporates provisions that:-
- Require funds to publish their financial statements and this will be done on a risk- sensitive basis;
- Provide for stakeholders’ right to obtain copies of or to inspect records and to obtain information of the fund and
- Deter transfer of value from policy holders to shareholders through the misappropriation of fund assets
Actuarial Matters
I wish to acknowledge that issue of an actuarial nature can be highly technical and subjective even among the subject matter experts themselves.
Globally, literature indicates that some of the actuarial aspects may be interpreted differently if not defined in law. It is against this realisation that the Bill contains 28 definitions of the actuarial terms. Which includes actuarial surplus, contingency reserve account and minimum individual member reserve, among others.
The Bill also contains provisions on frequency of actuarial valuations and ways to deal with incidence of and treatment of actuarial surplus, which is one of the controversial subjects.
Corporate Governance
The Pension and Provident Funds Act does not comprehensively anticipate the underlying thereat to good corporate governance resulting from poor corporate governance and risk management practices. Such corporate governance deficiencies include improperly constituted Boards inadequate skills, conflicted Boards and senior management, inadequate regulatory/monitoring if service providers and poor internal controls.
In addition, the Act does not provide a framework to effectively deal with excessive administrative and other expenses at institutional level, which are contributing to the depletion of fund’s asset to the prejudice of pension fund members. It is against this background that best practice principles relating to corporate governance and risk management have incorporated into the Bill to ensure sound corporate governance and risk management practices.
The Bill makes it mandatory for every Fund to appoint to its Board at least one independent expert member. Te proposed amendment will improve skill mix on the Board. The Bill also provides an exhaustive framework for assessing fitness and probity of Board members, principle officer and service providers within the pension industry covering the criteria to be applied in assessing qualifications and disqualifications.
Statutory obligations are also placed on Board members of the regulated entities to act in good faith, honesty and reasonably to exercise due care and diligence, to act in the best interest of the pension fund and pensions fund members and avoid abuse of positions to gain undue personal advantage, among other things.
The Bill further provides liability of directors/trustees who fail to perform their fiduciary roles by imposing civil and criminal penalties that are deterrent in nature.
Resolution of Troubled Pension Funds
I wish to underscore that one of the mischief identified by Justice Smith Inquiry is the absence of an adequate framework for the resolution of troubled institutions that are registered in the Pension and Provident Act. If enacted into law the Bill will close this gap through providing an effective framework for resolution of troubled funds, including the requirement to submit a recovery plan and penalising willful failure to submit the recovery plan.
Contribution to a Pension Protection Fund
Mr. President Sir, the Bill also contains provisions that make is mandatory for every fund to contribute to a Pension Protection Scheme established in terms of the Insurance and Pensions Commission Act [Chapter 24:2]. Currently there is no fund that is set up to compensate pension/provident funds’ members if a fund becomes insolvent and fails to meet its obligations, hence pension scheme members are experiencing loss after collapse of an insurer or troubled pension fund.
It is important to note Hon Members that the banking sector has the Deposit Protection Corporation while the securities market has an Investor Protection Fund established in terms of the Securities and Exchange Act [Chapter 24:25]. The Bill therefore, obligates every fund to contribute to the Pension Protection Fund unless exempted by the Commission. The fund will be established in terms of the Insurance and Pensions Commission Act [Chapter 24:]. The exemption will, among other factors, consider the design and administration model of the pension scheme as well as its financial soundness.
Offshore Investments
The current Act as read with Exchange Control regulations does not allow offshore investments by Pensions Funds. Therefore, the Bill seeks to liberalise pension fund investment by allowing a fund to invest all or part of its assets in foreign markets, subject to such terms and conditions as the Commission may fix. However, I propose changing the current wording of Clause 35 of the Bill to reflect that the Commission will fix the share of total assets to be invested offshore in consultation with Exchange Control Authorities and the Minister of Finance and Economic Development
To support the proposal for offshore investments, allow me to share a case in point of NRZ Pension Fund which is the only fund with offshore investments in the United Kingdom. The National Railways of Zimbabwe used to be one of the largest employers in the country offering employment to migrant workers from the region and beyond. At Independence in 1980, most British nationals, who used to work for NRZ returned to their home country and an agreement was made to transfer their pension savings to the United Kingdom.
The investment grew and outperformed the UK liabilities of the defined benefit pension fund, resulting in a surplus of about 10 000 British Pounds which needed to be repatriated to Zimbabwe. However, instead of repatriating the funds, a decision was made to keep the investment in UK for the benefit of the local NRZ Contributory Pension Fund members.
The size of the UK investment for NRZ Pension Fund today is equivalent to US$115 million. This is notwithstanding the repatriations that were being made to Zimbabwe during the last 40 years, with about US$40 million having been repatriated for the benefit of local NRZ pensioners in the last 5 years.
To this end, the point I am making is that allowing offshore investments by pension funds would help stabilise their portfolios to withstand sovereign risk and smoothen investment returns in instances where business cycles are being experienced in the home country. If all pensions’ funds had some exposure of offshore investments, this could have gone a long way in mitigating the impact of loss of value relating to the operating environment.
To allay concerns of possible risk of capital flight, the level of offshore investments will be determined through policy guidance from Government. IPEC will also be empowered to cooperate with exchange control authorities and cross border regulators to ensure effective supervision of those offshore investments.
Separation of Assets
The Bill is also aimed at enhancing disclosures on the extent and nature of assets held by a life insurer regarding its pension fund business. The life insurer will be required to clearly show in the statement of financial position of that insurer being regarded as assets of the Pension Fund. These statements are required to be published. The requirement is aimed at addressing the observed challenge in the industry where life insurers have not been clearly separating pension fund business from insurance business.
Pension Contribution Arrears
I wish to bring to the attention of Hon. Members that the problem of pension contribution arrears has been in our pensions industry since the late 1990s. It is a practice, which involves sponsoring employers of a pension fund making paper deductions on pay slips but not remitting the pension contribution to the pension fund.
The Justice Smith Commission of Inquiry established that arrears that had accumulated since the mid-90s were written off in 2009 on currency conversion owing to the lack of policy and regulatory direction on how they should be treated.
In the post dollarisation period of 2009 to 2019, pension contribution arrears accumulated to the tune of US$610 million, with over 70% of it being attributed to parastatal-related pension funds. In 2019, these arrears were converted to the local currency at a parity exchange rate of US$1: ZW$1 in line with the legal instrument on treatment of legacy debt. Therefore, pension contribution arrears have been one of the major sources of loss of value to pension scheme members.
In this regard, the Bill enhances penalties for non remittance of pension contribution which are currently in regulation. The Bill places personal liability on the director or executive offer who is regularly involved in the management of the participating employer’s overall financial affairs. The Bill also provides for civil penalties against defaulters.
Pension Fund Service Providers
The Bill places obligations to pension fund service providers such as administrators and asset managers to transfer records on termination of service contracts within specified timeframes. Currently, the termination of service is governed by Service Level Agreement and has been resulting in loss of vital records.
The Bill sets the maximum timeframes within which records, assets and liabilities should be transferred. This places the responsibility on the service provider, thus giving IPEC a definite subject to hold accountable.
Currency Conversion
The currency reforms implemented in Zimbabwe since 2006 have taught us the need to issue sector specific guidance to the insurance and pensions industry as the contracts are of a long term nature and may straddle different currency regimes.
The Justice Smith Inquiry pointed out that the legislation was inadequate to guide the industry on currency reforms that were implemented in 2009. Whilst I applaud IPEC for issuing a guidance paper in response to the 2019 currency reforms, the Commission was supported by Statutory Instrument 69 of 2020, which empowers them to issue standards and guidelines to the industry.
However, given the huge impact of currency reforms on the insurance and pensions industry, the Bill contains provisions on processes to be observed by pension funds in conversion of assets and liabilities from one currency to another. Boards of the funds will also be charged with the responsibility of ensuring compliance with the provisions on currency reforms.
Consequential Amendments to other Acts
I wish to acknowledge that if the Bill is passed into law, it will have consequential amendments to other enactments on pension or provident funds that are regulated by IPEC. Clause 3 (3) of the Bill has this provision which highlights that “this Act shall prevail over any other enhancement inconsistent with it”.
As such, funds that are set up through other statues would have to be guided by this Act in the event of inconsistencies between the laws. A case in point would be the Labour Act [Chapter 28:01] particularly pension funds that are set up by way of collective bargaining agreements.
Concluding Remarks
This Bill recognises that the current Pension and Provident Act is lagging behind market developments and internationally recognised regulatory standards. Most of the Bill’s provisions reflect best practices in pensions industry.
It is my hope that Members of this august House will grant their approval to this Bill, which seeks to repeal and replace the Pensions and Provident Funds Act and lay a solid foundation for minimum regulatory standards that are necessary for the effective regulation of the pensions industry.
Mr. President Sir, I therefore submit the Pension and Provident Funds Bill 2019 for second reading by the House.
HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA: I want to thank the Minister for this Bill. I was trying to look for a rule but I am still researching. I want to propose that this is a Bill which we cannot pass in one afternoon. The issue of pensioners in this country is a very serious issue. We need to do thorough research as parliamentarians and see if the provisions or amendments are adequate to address the problems that people are facing.
Let us not rush to pass this Bill. We have to be given the Bill so that we can study and read it in the Hansard only then can we debate it. I thank you.
HON. SEN. KOMICHI: I would like to support what Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira has just said. We need time to research so that we can contribute technically and professionally on this particular Bill. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President. I stand to support what was suggested by Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira. The issue regarding pensions is very important. We need to analyse the situation so that we understand what pensioners are getting because what they are getting is insignificant. So we need time to go through the Bill so that we would be well informed the next time we debate in this august House.
*HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: Thank you Mr. President. I support the words that were said by Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira that this issue regarding pensions is very critical. It is not clear what exactly is happening. You find that people are given $10 and insignificant amounts. It is difficult to understand what exactly is happening. There is need for us to sit down and analyse this issue. I thank you Mr. President.
*HON. SEN. CHINAKE: I would like to say a few words Mr. President. The issue that was raised by Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira is very clear and we support the issue but most of us in this august House are pensioners, no one is happy with what is happening. For us to support what we are not happy with is really painful. We need to sit down and consider the Bill so that we understand it. When we are asked, we need to be able to answer clearly. I thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I just want to warn you on some technicalities when we get to the Committee Stage. Normally, Bills are submitted well in advance and Hon. Senators are encouraged always to read your Bills. I am sure you have it on your gadgets. Secondly, if you support what Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira has said, it is advisable not to contribute any further because you risk not being able to debate when it comes to the real debate.
THE DEPUTY MINSITER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. CHIDUWA): Thank you Mr. President. Given the submissions by Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira that this Bill is very critical and there is need for us to be able to integrate it, I do not have any objections for us to look at what is contained in the Bill and because of that, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 15th March, 2022.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON HIV AND AIDS ON THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC LOCKDOWN RESTRICTIONS ON HIV AND AIDS SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM IN ZIMBABWE
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: Thank you Mr. President. I move the motion standing in my name that this House take note of the First Report of the Thematic Committee on HIV and AIDS on the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown Restrictions on HIV and AIDS Service Delivery System in Zimbabwe.
HON. SEN. DUBE: I second.
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI:
INTRODUCTION:
In the last quarter of 2018, Zimbabwe started experiencing acute shortages of medicines and drugs as well as other essential products in public health institutions. The situation was dire as it rendered the general public at the mercy of the private sector who introduced a three- tier pricing system which was beyond the reach of an average citizen in Zimbabwe. The supply of the antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), also became erratic in the public health institutions, leading to the outcry from the People Living with HIV. Consequently, the Thematic Committee on HIV and AIDS was prompted to visit the National Pharmaceutical Company (Natpharm) in June 2019 to assess the availability, management and distribution system of the ARVs by Natpharm.
Thus, in light of this situation and in accordance with its oversight function and work plan, the Thematic Committee on HIV and AIDS resolved to enquire into the implementation of the Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) –Roll-Out Programme for the prevention and treatment of HIV in Zimbabwe.
OBJECTIVES OF THE ENQUIRY.
The objectives of the enquiry were:
- To assess the progress in the implementation of the ART Roll-Out Programme in Zimbabwe;
- To understand the ARVs supply chain in health institutions;
- To appreciate challenges, if any, being encountered in the implementation of the ART Roll-Out Programme; and
- To recommend possible solutions for improved implementation of the ART Roll-Out Programme.
METHODOLOGY:
The Committee held physical oral evidence meetings with the following:
The National AIDS Council of Zimbabwe on 11th February 2019 on its programmes and activities for HIV and AIDS.
The then Minister of Health and Child Care, Hon. Obadiah Moyo on 10th June 2019 on policy measures that the Ministry had put in place to ensure consistent allocation of foreign currency for the procurement of ARVs and other strategies to finance HIV and AIDS programme.
The Committee conducted fact-finding visit to Natpharm on 10th June 2019 on ARV drugs procurement and distribution system.
The Committee also undertook fact-finding visits to selected health institutions in the seven provinces of the country (see Table 1). The Committee intended to undertake the visits in November 2019, however, due to disruptions of Committee business, the activity was deferred to the first quarter of 2020. The activity again failed to take place due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. The Committee only managed to undertake the activity in May 2021. Due to limited resources, the Committee visited 14 health institutions in seven selected provinces of the country.
Table 1: Selected Health Institutions that were visited by the Thematic Committee on HIV and AIDS
PROVINCE |
HEALTH INSTITUTION |
Mashonaland Central |
|
Mashonaland East |
|
Manicaland |
|
Midlands |
|
Matebeleland South |
|
Bulawayo |
|
Harare |
|
FINDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE
Situational Analysis of HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe
Table 2: HIV and AIDS Situational Analysis for Zimbabwe as at December 2019
People Living with HIV |
Adult HIV Prevalence (ages 15-49) |
New Infections |
AIDS Related Deaths |
Adults on Antiretroviral Treatment |
Children on Antiretroviral Treatment |
1.4 million |
12.8% |
40,000 |
20,000 |
86% |
71% |
Source: UNAIDS Data 2020.
Table 2 depicts that in 2019, Zimbabwe had 1.4 million People Living with HIV; 12.8% adult prevalence rate among the ages between 15-49; 40 000 new infections; 20 000 AIDS related deaths, 86% of adults were on antiretroviral treatment and 71% of children were on antiretroviral treatment.
Table 3: 2019 Analysis for the Achievement of the 90/90/90 targets by 2030 for Zimbabwe
UN Target |
Indicator |
90 Cascade |
|
Estimated number of people living with HIV—1.4 million |
- |
The First 90 |
People Living with HIV who know their status |
90% |
The Second 90 |
People on ART |
87.36% |
The Third 90 |
Virally suppressed among those tested for Viral Load.
|
73% |
Data Source: Zimbabwe 2019 Global AIDS Monitoring Report
Table 3 shows that by 2019, Zimbabwe was very close to achieving the UN targets of 90/90/90. This means that for the first 90 that aims at having 90% of people living with HIV knowing their status by 2020, Zimbabwe was standing at 90% by December 2019. For the second 90 that aims at having 90% of people who test positive to be enrolled on care and treatment, Zimbabwe was standing at 87.36% by December 2019. For the third 90 that aims at ensuring that all those on treatment achieve viral load suppression, Zimbabwe was standing at 73% by December 2019.
National AIDS Council of Zimbabwe (NAC) Programmes and Activities
In order to decisively respond to HIV and AIDS pandemic, Zimbabwe enacted the National AIDS Council of Zimbabwe Act [Chapter 15]. The Act is meant to facilitate management, coordination and implementation of programmes related to HIV. NAC is therefore, mandated to provide for management; coordination and implementation of HIV and AIDS programmes based on the Act. In addition, NAC is mandated to manage and administer the National Aids Trust Fund which is commonly referred to as the AIDS levy, among other functions. For the purposes of this report, only a few key programmes and activities of NAC will be highlighted.
During the oral evidence meeting, the then Acting Chief Executive Officer of NAC, Mr. Raymond Yekeye presented the following as some of the programmes and activities of NAC:
- Provision of monitoring and evaluation of the HIV response in the country; facilitating strategic planning and implementation of the National Aids Strategic Plans for the country; establishing and realising appropriate HIV and AIDS mechanism structures at various levels; promoting advocacy for action to fight HIV and AIDS as well as encouraging and supporting documentation and sharing of best practices and lessons learnt to facilitate the expansion of the response.
- Providing HIV treatment through provision of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and also providing nutritional support wherever possible; creating an enabling environment for the implementation of HIV programmes and by ensuring meaningful involvement of people living with HIV in the response.
- In terms of management of the AIDS Levy, Mr. Yekeye informed the Committee that the biggest chunk of the resources that NAC receives, which is 50% of the resources was meant to support the antiretroviral therapy (ART) programme in Zimbabwe. He also stated that NAC was supposed to buy medicines, laboratory equipment, and reagents and support the Tuberculosis (T.B) programme using 50% of the resources.
Challenges:
Mr. Yekeye, highlighted the following as challenges NAC was facing in executing its mandate:
- NAC was failing to access foreign currency to procure ARVs. The AIDS Levy was collected in RTGS and securing foreign currency to buy ARVs from foreign suppliers remained a challenge. However, according to the Reserve Bank, NAC was under priority number one, and as a result would get remittances from time to time.
- There was over reliance on donors as about 85% of HIV funding was coming from donors. Once donors change their priorities, funding for the HIV response also dwindles.
- The formal sector employment was shrinking resulting in reduced revenue source of the National Aids Trust Fund. So NAC was able to tax those in formal employment but it was very difficult to collect tax from the 80% of the people who are in informal settings.
- NAC was having challenges in finding newly HIV infected people. Those who knew their HIV status for the first time were becoming fewer and fewer due to challenges in accessing testing and counselling services due to religious backgrounds. There were also challenges in accessing services by some emerging key populations such as sex workers, men having sex with men, small scale miners (makorokoza), vulnerable groups such as adolescent girls and men who have poor health seeking behavior. It was comforting to note that NAC at the time of the enquiry, was already working on programmes that were aimed at encouraging these populations to get tested and know their status.
- State of the Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) Programme in the selected health institutions:
Antiretroviral (ARV) Drug Supply:
A visit to the National Pharmaceutical Company (Natpharm) in June 2019 revealed that the institution had in stock, the First Line ARVs wholly funded by the Global Fund, and was expected to last up to the first quarter of 2020. However, there was shortage on the Second Line ARVs which were wholly funded by Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ).
The Committee learnt that there was also an outcry of the shortage of the First Line drug at some health facilities, while Natpharm was overstocked with this drug instead of delivering it to health facilities. Natpharm indicated that it used demand system in its distribution system whereby it received orders from health institutions to deliver ARVs. It further explained that sometimes the medicines would be out of stock in health facilities while at national level there would be adequate stock. Shortages of First Line ARVs could be due to delays by health institutions to restock or distribution inefficiencies within the health value chain system.
Institutions such as Kuwadzana and Mabvuku Polyclinics in Harare, Wedza Rural Hospital, Mukamba in Wedza, Mazowe Clinic in Mazowe and Habane Clinic in Gwanda, reported that they had shortages of ARVs particularly, the Second Line drugs and cotrimoxazole which are wholly funded by the GoZ through the AIDS Levy. Some institutions, such as Mazowe Clinic also reported shortages of pediatric ARVs. Nyanyadzi Rural Hospital reported on stock-outs of HIV testing kits. The shortage of cotrimoxazole was said to have retrogressive side effects as clients suffered from many opportunistic infections which were preventable and manageable.
In some situations, the shortage of the Second Line drug had resulted in corruption at some health institutions. People Living with HIV and AIDS at Kuwadzana Polyclinic alleged that corruption was thriving at Wilkins Hospital as clients had to pay bribe to some health staff US$2.00 for a 3-months’ supply and US$5.00 for 6 months’ supply.
Shelf-Life Extension of Expired ARVs:
The Committee learnt that the Ministry of Health and Child Care
authorised the extension of shelf life of ARVs among other drugs and
medicines. This revelation was quite disheartening to the Committee
which sought to understand the rationale behind this development. A
representative, from the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe.
Mr. Wekwete, presented the genesis of this practice which he said dates back to 2008 when the country experienced sharp economic decline and was struggling to supply new stocks of medicines and drugs in its health facilities.
Although Mr. Wekwete went to town explaining how rigorous the process for the shelf life extension was, the Committee questioned the ethical considerations that were made before making such a resolution. It was further explained that there was a dilemma where two undesirable options had to be weighed: whether to test and allow the patient to take an ‘expired’ product that has been deemed suitable for use by laboratory testing or allow the patient to default treatment if there is no new stock available at that time. This scenario compelled the then Ministry of Health and Child Welfare to resolve to extent the shelf life of some medicines and drugs.
Be that as it may, the Committee expressed concern on the therapeutic benefits and whether clients do not experience more side effects than when taking the ARVs within its shelf life. However, the Committee learnt that there were no indications of any follow up on clients to ascertain the efficacy of the expired ARVs with shelf life extension.
Management of Expired drugs
During the fact-finding visits, institutions revealed that drugs expire because of either over supply by Natpharm that or short-dated drugs. At the time of the visit, Mpilo Central Hospital reported that 200 patients had been administered with shelf-life extended ARV drugs and they had done the same in 2019 and 2020. Filabusi District Hospital and Habane Clinic reported that there had never dispensed expired drugs while Concession District Hospital reported that there were no expiries from 2020 to the first quarter of 2021.
When drugs expire, a body of survey would be conducted and papers are send to headquarter to get approval to dispose of them. However, institutions were faced with challenges of transportation of the expired drugs to the place of incineration. It was reported that monthly reports on expired drugs were sent to the provincial pharmacists.
Integration and Decentralization of Services:
The Committee was informed that the MoHCC had put in place a policy that allowed for integration of health services. This means that clients no longer have to see different nurses in different rooms or locations to access HIV services. Several services such as Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid and Cervicography (VIAC) screening services, Tuberculosis (T.B) screening and Family planning services among others were now being provided under one roof. The institutions visited applauded the MoHCC for such a good initiative of a “one stop shop” as it provided convenience to clients.
The institutions also applauded the MoHCC for decentralizing HIV and AIDS services to the clinic level. At clinic level, nurses can now test and treat clients and only do referrals to higher levels of care for those who require further management. However, it was suggested that these lower levels of care should have CD4 Count and Viral Load machines for the convenience of clients.
Prevention of Mother -To - Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV:
PMTCT is defined as the most common way young children contract the virus, and happens when HIV is passed from a mother to her unborn baby during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding .PMTCT services were being offered in all the institutions that were visited by the Committee and focused mainly on: Preventing unintended pregnancies among women living with HIV; Preventing HIV transmission from a woman living with HIV to her infant; and Treatment, care, and support to women living with HIV, their children, and families.
The Committee was informed that viral load is done on all HIV positive pregnant women who are on ART at first ANC visit and repeated 6 months throughout the breastfeeding period. Pregnant women not yet on ART or those newly diagnosed to be HIV positive on the first ANC booking should be initiated on ART on the same day of first booking and should get a viral load after 3 months of enrolling on ART.
HIV Testing and Preventive Services:
HIV Testing and Counselling was offered to all willing clients in all the institutions that the Committee visited. Concession District Hospital informed the Committee that it also offered HIV Testing services in schools and children in schools were more than willing to get the service. However, consent should be sought from parents and guardians for children under 16 years.
During the visit, the Committee was informed that there are some populations that are difficult to get for HIV Testing services and these include men, small-scale miners (makorokoza), sex workers, men who have sex with men. Institutions that attested to having challenges in providing services to mobile populations or small-scale miners included: Umzingwane Clinic, Mbizo 1 Clinic, Mazowe Clinic and Nyanyadzi Clinic. The Committee was informed that NAC came up with programmes such as moonlight services, roadshows in order to encourage uptake of HIV Testing services among these populations.
Most of the institutions reported that they also provide HIV self-testing kits to clients, however, Nyanyadzi Clinic reported that it had stock-outs at the time of the visit. In terms of HIV preventive services, some institutions reported that they had ran out of condoms for example, Mazowe clinic indicated that their catchment area had high consumption of condoms. Other preventive services that were stated include Pre-Exposure-Prophylaxis (PreP) which is mainly used by sex workers.
Laboratory Services and Equipment:
Most of the health facilities reported either lack of CD4 Count or Viral Load or non-functioning machines due to technical faults or lack accessories. For instance, Mabvuku Polyclinic reported that it had the capacity to conduct CD4, Viral Load and other advanced tests but the machines were not functioning. At clinic level, the Ridders collected viral load specimen on specific days of the week and sent them to a district hospital where the turnaround time was said to be 2-3 weeks. However, for those who come outside the stipulated days, a system called Dried Blood Spot (DBS) was used and the specimen were sent to Harare where the turnaround time was up to a month as the laboratories were busy. In cases, where some district hospitals did not have CD4 Count and Viral Load machines, the institutions, would send their samples to other nearby district/provincial hospitals offering the services or to Harare.
Mpilo Central Hospital reported that the Opportunistic Infections (O.I) Clinic did not have the relevant equipment to conduct a test on alternative drugs to administer to patients that would have failed to respond positively to the 2nd line ARV drugs. At the time of the visit, the Committee was informed that the test costed about US$700.
Patients pay for laboratory services such as urea and electrolytes, liver, kidney function test and full blood count. These services cost US$3 each. It was reported that the clinic did not have a CD4 machine but conducts the tests using rapid test reagent
Human Resources:
The staff establishment of 1981 has not been reviewed despite the growth in the population and increase in disease burden. Although all the health institutions reported that they had well trained and qualified health personnel stationed at their O.I Clinics, they lamented that there was an increase in the catchment population size hence, the need for more dedicated human resources. The health workers applauded the GoZ for the efforts made in addressing their conditions of service and salaries, especially payment of Covid-19 risk allowances. However, they recommended that more should be done in order to retain human resources in the health sector.
Infrastructure:
The infrastructure in some institutions was dilapidated with other institutions experiencing limited space. For example, the O.I Clinics at Concession District Hospital and Mpilo Central Hospital were so small that the officials had to use open areas to provide services to HIV and AIDS clients.
Kuwadzana Polyclinic had dilapidated buildings and its ablution facility was not functioning. Nyanyadzi Rural Hospital also needed expansion and facelift. At Filabusi District Hospital, the buildings were falling apart, rendering it grossly inadequate for its function. Mpilo Central Hospital officials reported that the roof in the pharmacy was leaking during rainy season and this affected the state of drugs in stock.
Challenges:
The challenges below were highlighted in most of the health centres visited by the Committee.
- All the health centres reported that they were understaffed especially when taking into consideration the increasing number of primary health care services as well as the increasing population in their respective areas.
- Most health centres reported that they were in urgent need of a Sister-In-Charge and/or substantive staff at the health centres. In most cases, most health centres had staff that were in acting positions.
There was a widespread shortage of 1st and 2nd line drugs. In all the health centres, it was also reported that Cotrimoxazole was in short supply with some health centres having last received a consignment in 2018. This has resulted in an upsurge in opportunistic infections. Third line drugs were only available at provincial health centres.
All health centres did not have functional testing equipment and were thus unable to provide VLM, VIAC, and other related tests and services to their clients. Additionally, the supply of accessories for testing machines was erratic leading to inefficiencies in the provision of these critical testing services.
All health centres highlighted that they did not have the capacity to transport their specimens to the testing centres. Moreover, it was highlighted that the health centres did not have fully equipped ambulances to provide efficient emergency response.
It was again highlighted that most of the clients were willing to pay for services using the United States Dollars. However, due to the Government policy, the health centres could not accept the USD denominated payments.
It was further highlighted that the lack of a national integrated patient monitoring database had negatively affected patient monitoring and increased the defaulting rate.
COMMITTEE’S OBSERVATIONS:
From the above findings, the Committee made the following observations:
Lack of CD4 Count and Viral Load machines affected consistent monitoring of clients rendering the service delivery system inefficient in some institutions.
Shortages of pediatric, 2nd Line ARVs and cotrimoxazole can lead to an increase in opportunistic infections and in some cases, corruption and bribery at health facilities thereby short-changing HIV and AIDS patients.
Deplorable infrastructure and limited office space and service provision lead to overcrowding in the health facilities.
Challenges in following up the defaulters for example, makorokoza and other mobile populations may derail the target of ending AIDS by 2030.
Security issues on drug storage facilities are in a dire state especially at Filabusi District Hospital.
One sample is used to confirm the therapeutic value of expired drugs yet these are stored in different environments across the country.
Shortages of ambulances and service vehicles affect the smooth running of the referral system and cripple general operations at the institutions. Delays by some institutions to place orders led to overstock of the First Line ARV drug at Natpharm.
Restrictive policy on use of foreign currency were affecting the institutions especially when they wanted to purchase fuel which is mainly sold in United States of America Dollars while they charge user fees in Zimbabwean Dollars.
Over-dependency on donor funding could be catastrophic to the health service delivery system in the country should the donors pull out at any given time.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
In light of the above observations, the Committee made the following recommendations:
MoHCC must ensure that all levels of care are equipped with CD4 Count and Viral Load machines by August 2022.
MoHCC should come up with innovative strategies to mobilise resources for the purchase of pediatric ARVs, 2nd Line ARVs and cotrimoxazole. Furthermore, the MoHCC should put in place whistle blower mechanism such as a hotline for people to report cases of corruption and bribery by June 2022.
MoHCC should prioritise the refurbishment and renovation of some health institutions as well as the expansion of other institutions in the 2022 Ministry’s budget.
MoHCC should put in place more effective mechanisms for follow-ups on hard to reach populations, for example, intensive awareness programmes and the use of Health Centre Committees at health facilities by June 2022.
Going forward, MCAZ should consider having samples of the expired drugs from each health facility as opposed to using one sample whose environment may be different from the rest with immediate effect.
MoHCC should provide ambulances and motorbikes for small centres in the 2023 national budget.
MoHCC at all times, should ensure institutions have adequate stocks for ARVs and consider 6 months’ supply to clients as opposed to 3 months’ supply.
Ministry of Finance and Economic Development should ensure that the MoHCC is allocated the 15% in line with the Abuja Declaration and that funds are disbursed on time and in full annually.
The Minister of State and Devolution in Matebeleland North should consider setting aside part of the Devolution Funds for the facelift of Filabusi District Hospital and other institutions in the Province in the 2022 Devolution Fund budget allocation.
CONCLUSION:
The Committee’s overall assessment on this enquiry is that the country is on the right track in terms of the implementation of ART-Roll-Out programme. The Committee applauds the MoHCC and government in general for ensuring that People Living with HIV access services to have prolonged health lives. However, a few areas need to be attended to as recommended by the Committee. That way, Zimbabwe would be able to end AIDS by 2030. I thank you.
I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 16th March, 2022
MOTION
SECOND REPORT OF THE THEMATIC ON HIV AND AIDS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY (ART) ROLL-OUT PROGRAMME
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: I move the motion in my name that this House takes note of the Second Report of the Thematic Committee on HIV and AIDS on the Implementation of the Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) - Roll – Out Programme in the selected Health Institutions in Zimbabwe (S.C.5, 2022).
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: Mr. President, the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) was first reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020, and a pandemic on 11 March 2020. There was further international spread of the virus to many parts of the world and Zimbabwe was not spared as it recorded its first case on 20th March 2020 and first death on 23rd March 2020.
1.2 Shortly after the first death and as the number of infections
increased, His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, declared a 21-day national lockdown which commenced on 30th March 2020. In spite of that, the country continued to record an increase in the number of infections from imported cases and later from local cases. This compelled the President to extend the lockdown measures by a further 14 days and on 17 May 2020, he declared an indefinite shutdown, with restrictions subject to review every fortnight.
1.3 In light of the foregoing and pursuant to its oversight function, the Thematic Committee on HIV and AIDS resolved to enquire into the HIV and AIDS service delivery during the Covid-19 lockdown period in Zimbabwe. Thus, this report is a summary of key findings of the enquiry that took place between February 2021 and June 2021. Hence, the report should be read with the afore-mentioned period in mind as changes in the management of Covid-19 pandemic may have occurred thereafter.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the enquiry were:
- To determine the extent of the HIV and AIDS service provision in the context of Covid-19 pandemic;
- To appreciate challenges faced by HIV and AIDS service providers and recipients of care during the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions;
- To assess the impact of Covid-19 lockdown on HIV and AIDS service delivery; and
- To recommend strategies for improved HIV and AIDS service delivery in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.
3.0 METHODOLOGY
3.1 The Committee held virtual oral evidence meeting with the Acting Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Dr. Owen Mugurungi and the Chief Executive Officer of the National AIDs Council, Dr. Bernard Madzima on the 1st of March 2021. The purpose of the meeting was for the Committee to get firsthand information on the status of HIV and AIDS service delivery system in the context of Covid-19 pandemic.
3.2 The Committee also held physical oral evidence meetings with the following:
3.2.1 The Zimbabwe AIDS Network and Zimbabwe Network of People Living with HIV presented on access to HIV and AIDS Treatment and Services during the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions in Zimbabwe on 29th March 2021;
3.2.2 The Pharmaceutical Society of Zimbabwe briefed the Committee on the status of Antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) manufacturing in Zimbabwe on 3rd May 2021;
Varichem Pharmaceutical Company highlighted the factors that caused the entity to stop the production of ARVs;
3.2.3 The Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) representative, Mr. Wekwete presented on the registration process of medicines and drugs in Zimbabwe and the entity’s role in the revamping the production of ARVs in Zimbabwe on 24th May 2021
3.6 The Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Dr. Mavis Sibanda, briefed the Committee on measures put in place to promote the local manufacturing of ARVs on 14th June 2021; and
3.7 A representative from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Mr. Masendu explained issues relating to the non-awarding of the full value of the nine bids that NAC won between the months of July and November 2021.
3.8 Furthermore, the fact-finding visits were conducted from 17-20 May 2021 to ART-Roll-Out institutions, to gather more evidence on HIV and AIDS service delivery in the context of Covid-19 pandemic.
4.0 FINDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE
4.1 Disruptions in services supply chains at Facilities Level and Uptake of HIV and AIDS Services
4.1.1 Evidence gathered by the Committee revealed that the Covid-19 restrictions resulted in stoppage of non-emergency medical care at health institutions as attention was shifted to Covid-19 related care and emergency preparedness capacity building. Such a situation led to disruptions in supply chains of consumables for medical care in general and HIV and AIDS in particular. Representatives of People Living with HIV (PLWHI) confirmed that Covid-19 lockdown restrictions disrupted access to HIV and T.B services in terms of: prevention services; testing and counselling services; treatment; and supply chain of medical commodities.
4.1.2 During the fact-finding visits the Committee learnt that schedules for prescription refills and routine laboratory monitoring tests were also disrupted in some institutions, resulting in either a shortened or prolonged supply. For instance, Nkulumane Clinic reported that it was giving two weeks’ supply of ARVs due to stock-outs and Concession District Hospital gave 6 months’ supply. Consequently, its stock depleted at central level. Mazowe Clinic reported that it had stock-outs of pediatric ARVs. There were also reports that the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions further worsened the shortages of Cotrimoxazole and 2nd line ARV drugs in most institutions. In worst cases, institutions were forced to close. Mabvuku Polyclinic closed twice during the period under review due to the exigencies of COVID-19 pandemic that affected the staff.
4.1.3 The Acting Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Dr. Mugurungi, informed the Committee learnt that
resources for HIV and AIDS were channeled towards the fight against Covid-19 pandemic. In support, the representatives of People Living with HIV also informed the Committee that Covid-19 pandemic was prioritised ahead of HIV and Tuberculosis (T.B) programmes as most non-governmental organisations had to redirect resources towards the fight against Covid-19 pandemic. Thus, they attributed shortages of HIV self-testing kits and condoms to the diversion of resources.4.1.4 It was also reported that there was reduced number of staff at Outpatient at some health facilities since more staff were assigned to COVID-19 related duties.
4.1.5 Dr. Mugurungi informed the Committee that there was a sharp decline in HIV Testing between January and June 2020 compared to the same period 2019 as the COvid-19 induced lockdown restricted movement of people. Some HIV and AIDS prevention programmes such as Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision and road shows were curtailed consequently, due to reduced number of people tested, the number of people initiated on treatment was reduced. The number of follow ups was also reduced.
4.1.6 Dr. Mugurungi further informed the Committee that the number of pregnant women booked for Antenatal Care (ANC) visits declined by during the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions in 2020. However, most sites continued to offer ANC services during the lockdown period and ANC service significantly improved.
4.2. Interventions by the Ministry of Health and Child Care and other stakeholders
4.2.1 Dr. Mugurungi informed the Committee that although the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) had made significant progress in responding to HIV epidemic, the recent Covid-19 pandemic became one of the most significant threats in HIV programming in the country. He however, stated that in spite of the threat posed by Covid-19 pandemic, the MoHCC instituted various innovations to ensure that communities continue to access essential HIV services by:
- The Ministry Disseminated Comprehensive HIV Communications Strategy
- It provided guidance on provision of essential health service with the following Guiding principles:
- -Protect & Maintain gains achieved in fight against HIV;
- -Adapt service delivery to assure safety of Healthcare Workers;
- -Reduce risk of transmission of Covid-19 among recipients of care; and
- -Maintain social distancing
- It developed and coordinated Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials on COVID-19 pandemic and HIV.
4.2.2 The Ministry introduced multi months dispensing (clients to get minimum 3 months- max 6 months ARVs). However, Dr. Mugurungi pointed out that some of the ARVs were not available and the Ministry was forced to rationalise to less than the intended minimum of 3 months’ supply. There were challenges in sourcing the medicines from the source countries due to lock down restrictions. More so, when the lockdown restrictions were lifted, there were limited flights to bring the medicines into country. Representatives of PLWHI reported that prior to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, shortages of ARVs especially the 2nd line medicines were a perennial problem which got worsened by Covid-19 induced restrictions. They also reported that there were no pediatric ARVs at some facilities such as Makoni District, where some health facilities were forced to improvise for the pediatric ARVs. In other instances, people ended up sharing the ARVs in communities.
4.2.3 The Ministry also introduced Differentiated Service Delivery (DSD), that is, tailor made to the needs of the client and decentralised treatment to allow patients to collect medicines from the lowest and nearest health facility. It also supported and facilitated the Community ART Refill Groups (CARGs) to ensure that clients get their ARVs.
4.2.4 The Ministry scaled down on some prevention activities like VMMC while increasing access to HIV self-Testing and PrEP. However, the Committee was informed that self-testing kits were not available in some remote or rural areas with the exception of Mazowe and Mberengwa.
4.2.5 The Ministry used the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to book and follow up clients especially adolescents and young people.
4.2.6 The Zimbabwe Technical Assistance Training and Education Centre for Health (ZimTech) provided outreach programmes to dispense ARVs at health facilities in Harare during the Covid-19 lockdown period to ensure continuity in the uptake of the drugs. Some institutions visited by the Committee reported that they also had outreach teams to provide integrated services that included HIV and AIDS services and these included Wedza Rural Hospital, Concession District Hospital and Nkulumane Clinic.
4.3 Communication and Participation Deficit
4.3.1 Representative of PLWHI reported that tardy official communication of policy promotes disinformation and misinformation. They stated that there was noticeable confusion and misunderstanding among PLWHI in terms of how Covid-19 virus will affect them and what they were supposed to do. Generally, there was lack of knowledge on the nexus between HIV and AIDs and Covid-19 virus.
4.3.2 A Rapid Assessment that was conducted by the NAC, ZNNP+ and UNAIDS in April 2020 revealed the following issues:
- There was stigma and discrimination at health facilities as healthcare workers were also not clear on how Covid-19 virus could be spread and contained, hence, patients were made to stand 100 metres away from the facility or outside the gate.
- Privacy and confidentiality were no longer observed as the health worker would come out and request PLWHI to identify themselves in the presence of other patients. Moreso, at police roadblocks, PLWHI were forced to disclose their status as letters granting them permission to travel were required at roadblocks.
- There were mental health issues due to depression and anxiety among PLWHI.
4.3.3 Representatives of PLWHI also expressed concern over their exclusion in the Covid-19 vaccination programme as they have a vital role to play especially in assisting with information dissemination to their members.
4.4 Economic Effects on the Livelihoods of PLWHI
4.4.1 Representatives of PLWHI reported that most of PLWH were economically disempowered because their source of income had been eroded. They stated that this increased the levels of vulnerability among PLWHI and resulted in the rise of Gender Based Violence (GBV) cases.
4.5 Local Manufacturing of ARVs
4.5.1 Varichem, a local company was among the first companies in Africa to manufacture fixed dose combination ARVs in 2003/2004. It was among the three (3) companies to achieve the WHO pre-qualification for ARVs in Africa. The Committee also learnt that historically, some HIV medicines were procured locally. However, changes in treatment regiments and increase in donor activity reduced demand for locally manufactured medicines. Verbal pronouncements on local manufacturing support were not backed by clear written policies and signed contracts. As a result, almost all ARVs were being imported because local manufacturers had dis-invested in ARV drug. Treatment guidelines were also changing approximately every two years thus, return on investment in ARVs was not guaranteed.
4.5.4 The conditions of donor procurement through international tenders were not easy to meet thus, blocking out local manufacturers and discouraging investment in ARVs. Donor procurement accounted for approximately 80% of consumption in the country.
4.6 Challenges in the local production of ARV drugs
4.6.1 WHO pre-qualification is required to achieve economies of scale and be competitive, which is an additional cost. This will also allow participation in the donor funded procurements.
4.6.3 Erratic the supply of electricity and water and the quality of water does not meet the standards for ARV manufacturing.
4.6.4 Lack of financial support into scientific research of new formulas made it difficult for manufacturers to produce internationally acceptable new ARV regiments.
4.6.5 The lead time for the registration of drugs and medicines of 12-24 months is too long and does not allow the manufacturers to be able to recoup the costs of manufacturing ARV drugs.
5.0 Initiatives by the Government of Zimbabwe to resuscitate the Pharmaceutical Sector
5.1 The Permanent Secretary for Industry and Commerce briefed the Committee on the various initiatives by the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) aimed at promoting the local production of pharmaceutical products. One such initiative was the implementation of Pharmaceutical Strategy for Zimbabwe (2021-2025) which was launched in the first week of June 2021 and was aimed at achieving the following:
- Increased market share of local pharmaceutical products from 12% to 35% by 2025;
- Increased local production of essential medicines from 30% to 60% by 2025;
- Increased sales revenue of local production from US$31.5 million to USD150 million by 2025;
- Increased new product registration from 5% to 20% by 2025;
- Improved compliance to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) for at least four (4) companies by 2025; and
- Improved export of pharmaceutical products from 10% to 25 by 2025.
5.2 The Permanent Secretary informed the Committee that the above targets will be achieved through implementation of the following strategies:
- Product diversification;
- Market expansion;
- Upgrading of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) quality to international standards;
- Mobilisation of the required financial resources;
- Import Management;
- Rebate of duty on imported equipment
- Engagement with Varichem Pharmaceuticals on local production of ARVs—the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce informed the Committee that GoZ had engaged Varichem Pharmaceuticals with the view to resuscitate local manufacturing of ARVs and that Hon. V.P Gen. (Rtd.) Dr. C.D.G.N Chiwenga had visited the company on the 10th of June 2021 on the subject matter.
5.3 The Permanent Secretary further informed the Committee that Varichem indicated that the following will need to take place before they can start production of ARVs:
- Research and Development and Bio-Equivalence test at a cost of US100 000.00;
- Expediting the process of registration of medicines by MCAZ; and
- A Signed Offtake Agreement with the GoZ to be able to recoup their investment.
6.0 COMMITTEE’S OBSERVATIONS
6.1 The Committee noted that shortages of ARVs during the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions worsened because of lack of local production of the ARVs. It applauds the Government of Zimbabwe for taking some initiatives to resuscitate ARV drugs local production.
6.2 There was apparently lack of financial support for the local production of ARV drugs.
6.3 The local market size for the consumption of ARV drugs was considered to be small or not known and this compelled local pharmaceutical companies to disinvest in ARV drug production.
6.4 There was a poor or lack of dissemination of the correct information on Covdi-19 vaccine to people living with chronic health conditions and lack of psychosocial support in communities.
6.5 Certain rights of patients were infringed on, for example, the right to privacy and confidentiality as police requested disclosure of information regarding patients’ movement during the lockdown and health service providers were asking patients to que for services in accordance with their health conditions.
6.6 The lead time for the registration of ARV drugs is too long (12-24 months) and discourages local pharmaceutical companies from investing in view of the fact that the drug regiment changes very often (from 2-5 years) such that by the time it gets registered, the drug may be considered to be outdated on the market. This would lead to losses by the manufacturing company as it would fail to recoup the costs it incurred during production of the drug.
6.7 Apart from costs, erratic supply of water and electricity also affected production of ARV drugs by local companies.
7.0 RECOMMENDATIONS
7.1 Ministries of Finance, Health and Industry should support local pharmaceutical companies to ensure predictable supply of ARV drugs in the country by July 2022.
7.2 The Ministry of Industry and Commerce should facilitate partnership between local pharmaceutical companies with Indian and other potential companies in the manufacturing of ARV drugs by September 2022.
7.3 The Ministry of Industry and Commerce should consider making it mandatory for local health institutions to procure ARVs from local manufacturers in order to create the market for the product in support of local manufacturing of ARVs by December 2022.
7.4 Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) should put in place measures to ensure continuous provision of adequate and appropriate information on Covid-19 virus to communities particularly people living with chronic health conditions. These measures should include continuous training of Village Health Workers to provide such services to the communities. In addition, NAC should also continue to vigorously use all its structures to disseminate the information on Covid-19 virus and HIV and AIDS.
7.5 Ministries of Health and Home Affairs should institute training programmes to ensure rights of patients are not violated during the restrictions on movement and gathering of people by June 2022.
7.6 MCAZ should consider shortening the lead time of registering ARV drug from 24 months to 3-6 months by June 2022.
7.7 Companies can as well come up with own arrangements to ensure cheap supply of water and electricity by investing in solar and drilling of boreholes.
8.0 CONCLUSION
It is evident from the findings of this enquiry that Covid-19 pandemic had short-changed HIV and AIDS patients in various ways in terms of receiving their normal services. The Committee applauds the MoHCC for making efforts to secure interventions that helped in sustaining the service delivery during this pandemic. Be that as it may, the Committee encourages the Government of Zimbabwe to prepare itself adequately for such pandemics in future. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Madam President. I want to thank Hon. Kambizi for presenting the report that we just heard which is very clear and demonstrates that ARVs are not being distributed fairly. I would like to thank the Committee on HIV/AIDS for the good job that they did, moving around different hospitals and taking note of the challenges. They also visited NatPharm to see the state of affairs there. The visit gave us knowledge that we still have a lot of things to be fixed. We noted that first line ARV drugs are being received as donations. We cannot rely on donor funding in case one day they might just wake up and decide to withdraw their donations, then we will face a big challenge as a nation.
Our clients who are beneficiaries of ARVs who are HIV positive might be facing some challenges. The second line drugs are in short supply at NatPharm and different centres because our Government did not procure these ARVs. The ARVs that are in stock are being sold to clients, some are being sold for US$3 and they are receiving their three months supply and some are going for US$6 for a six month supply. This is a challenge because it is difficult to raise such monies. People who are living with HIV are the ones who are suffering because ARVs are being sold yet they are supposed to be given for free. This implies that there is corruption in the distribution of ARVs. People are forced to buy drugs that are meant to be given for free and this is corruption. At the end of the day, if one needs these drugs, they do not have an option but to buy so that they survive because we know that everyone is concerned about their health and no one wants to die.
We also noted that other hospitals are not in a good state for example Filabusi District Hospital is dilapidated. The roof cannot be repaired because it is beyond repair. People go to this hospital but it is not safe for the staff and patients. The report mentioned that the devolution funds should cater for that district so that this issue is pursued. If patients are admitted or attended to in a hospital without proper infrastructure, the condition of the patient might be worsened. I would also like to thank the Ministry of Health for the good job that they are doing. If the decentralisation that is obtaining right now...
THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: You are not connected. You can continue.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Should I start from the beginning.
THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: No, you can continue from where you left.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I was saying that I would like to thank the Minister of Health and Child Care because we heard that services were decentralised, it is no longer necessary to go to places far to get assistance, everything is central and all service are obtained at one place. This is quite beneficial in that you go to one hospital and you are attended there. People need confidentiality and when people are ill, they need confidential consultation between the health staff and the patients. People will be free to seek medical assistance knowing that they will not be heard by other people.
There is shortage of CD4 counting machines, so I would like to urge the Ministry of Health and Child Care to look into the issue so that the medical equipment is replaced or new machinery bought. Nurses and doctors need to diagnose their patients using diagnostic sets which assist them in discharging their duties correctly. They must be confident that what they are doing is the right thing because they will be having the right machines.
Madam President, I would also like to end by saying that the report is a good report. We appreciate and believe that the recommendations should be taken to the relevant Ministry so that the different challenges are fixed so that our hospitals would function properly. This is going to help also in assuring that the funds from the Abuja Declaration will be allocated to the Ministry so that things go well. Our patients should receive good quality health care because there will be proper funding for all the necessary drugs and equipment. I thank you Madam President for giving me this opportunity.
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 16th March, 2022.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 4 to 7 be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day on today’s Order Paper have been disposed of.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
CONSTRUCTION, UPGRADING AND REHABILITATION OF THE ROAD NETWORK IN THE COUNTRY
Eighth Order read: Adjourn debate on motion on the importance of a sound road network.
Question again proposed.
(v)HON. SEN. MABIKA: Thank you Madam President. I rise to thank all those who contributed on this, motion. I now move for the adoption of the motion.
Motion that this House;
COGNIZANT that a sound road network is the nerve centre of economic development;
NOTING with concern that the Chipinge Mt. Selinda road right up to Espungabeira Border Post has not been attended to, resulting in its current state of disrepair;
ANTICIPATING the huge benefits that can be accrued to the country if this road and other similar roads country wide could be given a facelift;
ALSO NOTING that the Border post at Mt. Selinda has the potential of being developed as an investment centre and the shortest route to the port of Beira from Zimbabwe thereby enhancing the ease of doing business in the country;
NOW, THEREFORE this House,
CALLS upon the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development to avail through the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development adequate funding for the construction, upgrading and rehabilitation of the road network in the country,
APPLAUDS the Second Republic for the commendable efforts taken to fulfil the aspirations of the people by embarking on tangible developmental programmes that have become the order of the day country wide, put and adopted.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Fourth Order read: Adjourned debate in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 16th March, 2022.
MOTION
CONDOLENCES ON THE DEATH OF HON. SEN. SIMON KHAYA MOYO
Fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the untimely passing on of the late Senator for Matabeleland South, Hon. Senator Simon Khaya Moyo.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 16th March, 2022.
MOTION
PREVALENCE OF DRUG ABUSE BY YOUTHS
Sixth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the devastating effects of drug abuse by youths.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. SIPANI-HUNGWE: Thank you Madam President for affording me this opportunity. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Dube for a very pertinent motion of our children who are being affected by drug abuse. Our children are abusing drugs and as parents and citizens of Zimbabwe, we should come up with ways so that our children leave drugs. The challenge we have is that the drugs that the children are abusing are being sold by people who are known but they are not prosecuted. In light of this, we urge our Government to be really involved and craft laws which can nail all those who are selling those drugs. They should be given stiff penalties.
We are looking up to that generation as tomorrow’s leaders. They are the ones who are going to take up from where we would have left. This means that children should be monitored closely. Parents who do not monitor what their children are drinking, the law will take its course on them. You will find the girl child being abused because they have been drugged. We just wonder what this country is going to be. We expect those girls to be tomorrow’s mothers. It means our nation is being destroyed.
As leaders, we should vigorously educate our communities, campaign in churches for stoppage of drug abuse. We should even talk negatively about this even in our political parties. Our communities should be well engaged until our children stop abusing drugs.
The Government should come up with rehabilitation centres where these children will be taken for rehabilitation purposes and counselling. Our country is now shattered. They now even abuse cough syrup which they are using as a drug. May be it is due to technology which they are so much exposed to.
As Parliament together, let us go and engage the communities where we come from so that we educate the children against the dangers of drug abuse. Some say that engaging in drug abuse affects the fertility of the youths. We are saying all that should be investigated. The Ministry of Health should be involved and investigate so that our children are healthy.
The youths who are taking drugs are not healthy at all. As leaders let us go out there and engage our communities by doing awareness campaigns so that we teach children not to take drugs. I thank you.
(v)*HON. SEN. CHISOROCHENGWE: I would like to thank the mover and the seconder of this motion. Surely drugs have destroyed young people - a lot of them are now depending on drugs. If you look at our communities where we come from, if you see five or six youths getting into the forest, they are going there to take drugs. There is no life to them because their health has been destroyed. They end up being affected by AIDS because of this drug abuse.
Government should come up with stiffer penalties for those who are peddling drugs to our youths. There are some drugs which are being smuggled into our country through illegal entry points, that should be investigated. For those who are doing drug trafficking, stiffer penalties should be given to them. Some drugs like Crystal Meth are being smuggled into the country and these things should be investigated because it is affecting our children mentally. We are now afraid of our children because they no longer have respect to anyone even to us parents.
A you walk into the streets there you find a lot of kids saying a lot of obscenities. These days our children are so intelligent and we do not know whether it is being caused by drugs. We do not know how we are going to end this as parents. We should put our heads together and help each other in order to come up with solutions. At times if you report to the police and when the police come to pick the drug traffickers, you find that nothing will happen to those people. They will come back and we do not know whether they are paying bribes so that they are not prosecuted.
We should unite as Zimbabweans so that we protect our children. As women in Zimbabwe we were very happy with the introduction of disposable diapers but you find that our youths now are taking those disposable diapers and extracting dangerous substances from those disposable diapers. Due to their knowledge in chemistry they take different things and put them together and they come up with drugs. Long back children would smoke marijuana but now they are no longer smoking that, they are taking substances which will drug them quickly.
I strongly recommend that people who peddle drugs should be prosecuted. The police should not receive bribes in order not to prosecute perpetrators. The issue at stake is that we are supposed to unite and come up with solutions because they are mixing different things to come up with drugs. If it were possible the youth should be given projects to do because by just sitting they will end up being involved in drugs. I urge our Government to find projects for our youth to be engaged in so that they will not be idle. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. MATIIRA: I would like to add a few words and I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Dube for moving this crucial motion. Madam President, this issue of drug and substance abuse is quite a challenge. In the past when this issue was new it was prevalent in urban areas but now it is proliferating to the rural areas where you find people selling drugs even in rural areas. This is really painful.
Looking at the situation where we find that we have old women who are looking after orphans, you find orphans taking drugs and misbehaving in front of old grandmothers who looked after them and this affects the relationships in families and in the nation. When drug abuse started in Zimbabwe it was lower in girls but nowadays you find young girls also partaking in drug and substance abuse.
You find in a homestead a boy and a girl having the same behaviour of abusing drugs and this affects their behaviour. This is really disturbing peace in the homestead and nation. My advice is that Government should take stern measures because this is alien culture which we are seeing but there are no stern measures that are being taken to curb this. For the reason that we do not have punitive laws to punish offenders, these are young people who are supposed to be leaders of tomorrow, some are destroying their livelihood, some are committing suicide and some are even drowning themselves in pools because they do not know what to do because of drug abuse. I felt that I should share a few words because indeed, this motion is very important.
Government should take stern measures so that perpetrators of illicit drug selling should be prosecuted and even being given live sentences because they are destroying young people’s lives. We are saying that these are young people who are supposed to be procreating and to be found to be creating future generations. Thank you Madam President and I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Dube for moving the motion.
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: Thank you Madam President for giving me this opportunity to support this motion which was moved by Hon. Sen. Dube. I would also like to thank Hon. Sen. Dube for moving this crucial motion and thanking those who seconded it. I stood up to support this motion because this is an important motion which speaks to people’s live styles in Zimbabwe. Drug issue is a problem in Zimbabwe. I would like to support the previous speakers who mentioned that there should be punitive laws which will punish offenders because the police cannot arrest offenders when there are no punitive laws.
The Government should promulgate laws that the people of Zimbabwe should know that there are laws. If someone commits a crime, they should know and understand the law. So, they observe and note that nothing is happening to those who take the drugs. There is a fellow Senator who spoke about rural areas. However, let me also mention that in universities and colleges, drug abuse is prevalent. This means that there is no safe place which has no drugs.
Let me say that drugs are dangerous and because of the influence of drugs, a young person can kill his/her mother, brother, sister or friend after having beer together. This is really a challenge to the nation. Parents should look after their children. They should mould the moral values of their children before they go out and end up partaking drugs. We must not leave this to Government only because these are young people who are coming into society from families where there is father and mother.
We want young people to go to school to learn and to choose their professions. Now they no longer value that. Peer pressure is bad. It was not our culture in Zimbabwe to have drugs but because of copying global culture, you find people now peddling in drugs. Even young girls are falling pregnant at a tender age. Sometimes after abusing drugs, you find some getting pregnant. This should not be expected from our young people.
The other thing that we have seen is that it is important to have laws. The Hon. Minister responsible for this debate should come and respond to issues that are being raised so that we understand where he is coming from and how he understands the issue because now it is important that people know the Government position regarding this issue. The other issue which is affecting us is seeing that young people are now populating urban areas like Bulawayo, Harare and Gweru. There are a lot of young people and they will be deceiving each other.
I do not know what the law says regarding urban migration because a lot of people are now found in urban areas. I believe that Government should solve that because we cannot have development if young people are abusing drugs. This affects their future because we are talking to young people who are intoxicated with drugs. Even if they are not working, this cannot solve problems.
If there is someone who wants to make money through drug peddling, they should be arrested and incarcerated. Offenders should be given punitive sentences so that they understand that drug peddling is not right. They will be making money yet destroying other people’s children and like what was said by other Hon. Senators, Government should do something about this because it is affecting this nation. I thank you.
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 16th March, 2022.
On the motion of HON. SEN. MUZENDA, seconded by HON. SEN. MATHUTHU the Senate adjourned at Five o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 13th April, 2022.
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Ministers and your deputies, may you ensure that you are here in the House before the Speakers’ Procession so that we can start together, pray together before we start the Business of the House.
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. SPEAKER
ADJOURNMENT OF BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE AND COMMITTEES
THE HON. SPEAKER: I wish to inform the House that the business of the House and its Committees will be adjourned today until Tuesday 3rd May 2022; in light of the Easter, Independence and Workers Day Holidays as well as the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair. We also of course, normally break in April to allow Hon. Members to be with their families, especially their children or their grandchildren.
APOLOGIES RECEIVED FROM MINISTERS
THE HON. SPEAKER: I have the following apologies from the Hon. Minister and Vice President: Hon. C.D.G. N. Chiwenga, Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care; Hon. Dr. F. M. Shava, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Hon. O.C.Z. Muchinguri-Kashiri, Minister of Defence and War Veterans; Hon. D. Karoro, Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement; Hon. Haritatos, Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement; Hon. J. G. Moyo, Minister of Local Government and Public Works; Hon. Dr. Masuka, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement; Hon. Sen. M. Mutsvangwa, Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services – family bereavement and Hon. Prof. M. Ncube, Minister of Finance and Economic Development.
May I bring this to the attention of the Leader of Government Business; where you have an Hon. Minister deputised by two deputies, I think it is expected that at least one of the deputies is in the House. You cannot have the whole Ministry – the substantive Minister and the two deputies absent here in the House unless there are circumstances beyond their control. We expect at least one of them to be here.
HON. T. MLISWA: Mr. Speaker Sir, the Speaker’s Procession today was late by four minutes. I am sure the Speaker was late somehow. It is the first time that I saw that the procession was late by four minutes. I do not think the Speaker was late but he was delayed. I do not know what made him to delay but it is unbecoming of the Speaker’s procession in many ways.
THE HON. SPEAKER: While you are still up standing, before you have heard me, you conclude by saying ‘unbecoming’. I think you need to withdraw that.
HON. T. MLISWA: It is rare that the Speaker’s Procession is late. I do not know......
THE HON. SPEAKER: Can you withdraw the ‘unbecoming’ part?
HON. T. MLISWA: I withdraw unbecoming with the word rare. Usually the Speaker is on time but it is rare that he is not on time.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you for your observation Hon. Mliswa which is quite accurate. I must admit to you and to Hon. Members, I should have tendered my apology for that because normally we keep time. That is why I was emphasising the same for the Hon. Ministers that they should be here before the Speaker’s procession. The reason is because I was on an international call which I could not cut as a member of an international Executive. They wanted one or two things cleared from my side as a member of the Executive. Thank you very much Hon. Mliswa.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
HON. T. MOYO: My question is directed to the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage. We have observed the blitz that is going on in terms of acquiring identity cards; what penalties are in place to ensure that those people who are defying national policy as enunciated by His Excellency the President that everyone should have access to birth certificates and identity cards are punished?. There are a number of officials who are defying that order. We would like to know what measures have been put in place to punish those who are defying this directive.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I would like to thank Hon. Moyo for his observation. If there are officials who are defying a presidential directive, this must be brought to the Minister of Home Affairs so that he can take appropriate action. Indeed, it was a Cabinet decision that people be allowed to get birth certificates and national identity documents and that a blanket waiver be given so that people will not be unnecessarily asked questions and documents that they cannot provide. If that is still happening, I think Hon. Members must be able to go and conscientise the members of the community so that they report such incidences and appropriate action will be taken.
HON. MUTSEYAMI: My supplementary question with regard to the waiver by the Cabinet is, why do we not have a Statutory Instrument so that we manage this whole thing once and for all? We should bear in mind that this is a Cabinet decision and it is there to help the Zimbabweans.
HON. ZIYAMBI: That is a good suggestion. I will transmit that and if it finds favour, it will be done.
HON. T. MLISWA: Are there enough resources like cameras and so on because your people are being deployed but resources are not there. At the end of the day, we end up blaming the civil servants yet there are not enough resources. Are there enough resources to undertake that programme?
HON. ZIYAMBI: Thank you Mr. Speaker. The original question was about officials who are still sticking to the requirements that are needed for somebody to obtain a birth certificate and national identity card. The second question is purely administrative and I would not be able to detail the resources that the Registrar’s Department has in order to undertake that exercise. Perhaps if you want to find out from them, you can go to the Minister to find out whether he has availed sufficient resources but from a policy position, that is the position, that we want everyone to get I.Ds and birth certificates and we have a registration blitz in terms of getting I.Ds and voter registration.
THE HON. SPEAKER: I am sure Hon. Mliswa will agree that your supplementary question was quantitative and that requires research and perhaps it should come under Written Questions.
HON. GONESE: On a point of order. My point of order is in relation to the response because I believe that the measures to be put in place to implement that policy to facilitate the people of Zimbabwe...
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, when the Chair has ruled, you cannot then come up with a point of order which seems to castigate the Chair’s response and the questioner in this case was Hon. Mliswa. He has agreed to put his question in writing so that the details are given accordingly.
HON. GONESE: I was not debating the Speaker’s ruling. I was simply raising a matter which I think is important to the people of Zimbabwe...
THE HON. SPEAKER: Ndataura, that will be covered under the Written Question.
(v) *HON. NYABANI: My question goes to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education to say, what measures are they putting in place as a Ministry to ensure that children in rural areas where there is no connectivity are able to learn especially those in Grade 7 and Form 4 since the Ministry banned holiday or vacation lessons?
*THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I want to thank Hon. Nyabani for the question. Hon. Speaker, the practice that was happening was to charge learners extra so that they can come to school. The policy position that was taken was that our school terms are sufficient to cover material required for an examination. What was now happening was, teachers were now concentrating on holiday lessons and charging an extra and therefore, a policy position was taken that the school calendar must be sufficient to ensure that learners are taught and are able to write exams. Should it be found that the school term is too short, I think it is another issue that can be discussed and adjusted accordingly. I thank you.
(v)*HON. NYABANI: Mr. Speaker Sir, students in rural areas have a disadvantage when it comes to learning materials and resources compared to those in urban areas. There are teachers who are willing to go the extra mile and assist students so that they catch up with their learning. My supplementary to the Minister is; why does the Ministry not allow those teachers willing to assist students in rural areas to have extra lessons instead of banning them completely?
*HON. ZIYAMBI: I do not think the statement coming from the Ministry of Education is to ban those who want to help the learners without asking for extra payment. If there are people who are teaching learners for free and are being questioned why they are doing so, I think they should approach the Ministry to have that resolved.
*HON. TEKESHE: It has been said the school term is sufficient but we are saying in the rural areas, children are learning only two days per week compared to the five days in urban areas. How can they be compensated?
*HON. ZIYAMBI: If teachers are only teaching two days per week during their normal working period, why is it they are now able to teach for the whole week during the holidays? Is that reasonable to say during the normal term, they are not able to teach for five days but when it comes to holiday lessons, they are able to? I think something amiss is happening that we are not aware of and that is why Government is saying for our normal term, they should be able to teach for five days per week until the term comes to an end.
#HON. L. SIBANDA: What is Government policy on the issue regarding learners attending class only two days per week instead of the five?
#THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. E. NDLOVU): Our policy says children should be taught for five days. That is the Government policy – [AN HON. MEMBER: Inaudible interjection.] –
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order. Hon. Sibanda, do not overstretch my ruling. Thank you.
+THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. E. NDLOVU): Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. The Government policy is that learners should learn for five days per week, whether in urban or rural areas. However, since I joined the Ministry last in October, I have observed that there are teachers who want to teach for few days because of COVID. Of late, we used to have hot sitting but they deliberately went on to use their own mode which they are in now. I thank you Mr. Speaker.
Hon. Tekeshe having stood up on a point of clarification
THE HON. SPEAKER: I prefer a supplementary question and you are the last one.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: On a point of order Mr. Speaker. It is in relation to your recognition. It is on record Mr. Speaker that you have not allowed points of clarity unless it is a Ministerial Statement. Now that you appear...
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Member, please sit down - because I rejected a point of clarity and I said to Hon. Tekeshe there is no point of clarity. If you want to speak, ask your supplementary question and he will be the last one.
*HON. TEKESHE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I concur with the Hon. Minister that five days should suffice but the point that our children are only learning for two instead of five days, how are you going to make up for the lost time for rural learners?
HON. E. NDLOVU: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. We have a programme with our development partners where when we saw that there was a challenge because of COVID-19, we revised our syllabus to the shortest time that we can possibly have. We relooked at the syllabus and shortened it. We crushed it so that at least children can catch up faster than the usual teaching period. Secondly, we introduced ICTs even in rural areas. We are now busy introducing ICTs, working with the Ministry of ICT. I think you have seen the Hon. Minister of ICT launching ICT centres in schools. It is only that our pocket is shallow. Otherwise, if we had known, we would have gone to all schools and put up computers.
Just yesterday, I had a meeting with UNICEF discussing the issue of computers in schools and that we want to make sure that where there is no electricity, we come up with a programme to fit in solar power in rural areas so that children can have access to computers. Also where there are no computers, we have got radios. Where there are no radios, we have flash disks where we record the lesson and give the teacher so that children can continue to learn like those in town. Mr. Speaker Sir, this is the effort that Government is doing, together with the partners. We are glad that some partners are very helpful.
Hon. Members having stood up on points of order
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order. We allow a maximum of three supplementary questions.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My question is directed to the Hon. Minister of Finance in so far as it relates to NDS1 and NDS2. What is Government policy as it relates to presentation of progress made quarterly, monthly or annually on the NDS1 programme that started in 2021 to 2025 so that we can get to know what it is that is enshrined in that document as it relates to the economic development of this country?
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Nduna. That question is subsumed in the Standing Orders and the Public Finance Management Act which requires the Committees to interrogate Ministers requesting them for monthly, quarterly and annual reports on the performance of policy issues and their budgets.
HON. NDUNA: Allow me to ask as to how and when...
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, go through your Committee and follow Standing Orders and the Public Finance Management Act.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. My question would have gone to the Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade but in his absence …
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Member, you are taking your time – straight to the point – that is my job.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Thank you Hon. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: That is my job to delegate who should answer.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. My question is, we have witnessed gruesome attacks on some of our citizens who are economic and political refugees in South Africa. We have not heard an official statement from the Government of Zimbabwe…
THE HON. SPEAKER: Ask your question Hon. Member.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: What is Government policy towards protecting those citizens who are under constant attack? We witnessed the death of one of the citizens, Elvis Nyathi a few days ago. What is Government policy to protect citizens from those gruesome attacks? I thank you Hon. Speaker?
THE HON. SPEAKER: Who was saying, wakavhiringwa nekudzingwa? – [HON. MEMBERS: Paradza! Paradza!] – Ndiani? – [HON. MEMBERS: Paradza!] - Hon. Paradza! Hon. Paradza, withdraw your statement.
HON. PARADZA: I withdraw Mr. Speaker Sir.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. DR. MUSABAYANA): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I also want to thank Hon. Sibanda for the very important question that he raised. The foreign policy of Zimbabwe as enunciated in Section 12 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe where we at any one point we are particularly focused and interested in protecting the interests of our citizenry beyond our borders, is not only do we promote their interests but also we protect their interests.
Indeed, it is sad that we lost a dear life in South Africa and we continue to lose lives in South Africa. We enjoy very cordial bilateral relations, and if you checked in the media, the President of South Africa issued a Press Statement where he distanced the people and nationals of South Africa from the gruesome murder, and said that it was not a representation of the South African culture, neither was it a reflection of the cordial relationship that we enjoy between Zimbabwe and South Africa. So in terms of protecting those interests, we have our Missions in South Africa – our consular services are all over, and in assisting the whole process, our Mission was involved.
We continue to support, protect, and also to offer services whenever we think the interests of our nationals in other countries are compromised. So we continue to assist those people in terms of evacuations, and whatever assistance we can render. Whatever happened in South Africa was a criminal matter and the Government of South Africa is handling it. We continue to support our citizenry out there, and as you see, our economy is also improving. Going forward, we will see less and less of our people moving away to seek better opportunities. We registered the highest growth in Africa over last year, thus pointing to the improvement in our economy and that is how we are dealing with issues of avoiding further movement of people outside the country. I submit Hon. Speaker Sir.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir. I am glad that the Hon. Deputy Minister has highlighted that in their view, they are experiencing an economic growth.
However, as I indicated in my question earlier on Hon. Speaker, some of these citizens are there as political refugees. What Government policy is being implemented to ensure that the rate of political refugees in South Africa and other countries is reduced? I thank you.
HON. MUSABAYANA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I want to thank the Hon. Member for raising an important question. Why it is important is because this is the narrative that has been created on the international platform but Zimbabwe has been violating human rights and other Bill of Rights of our citizenry, which is not true.
So what we have done is, through our engagement and re-engagement process, we have a matrix that we have worked out, and through that matrix, we have been having meetings at local level through POLAD, where we have implemented and ensured that our policies are informed. The policies that were seen as push factors or contributing to the push factors were policies like POSA - that has been repealed and replaced with a very progressive Bill, MOPA that we all participated in passing it. We engaged in that progressive piece of legislation, even Hon. Biti was in this House, and he acknowledged that this was the best debate that we had gone through as we worked together to fashion that piece of legislation.
So we have done legislative reforms and all these legislative reforms are improving the ambiance, ecosystem of doing business, and also in terms of the environment where our nationals are living. We have also come up with a slew of economic reforms like the Hon. Ncube calls them. These reforms have also improved the standards of living and way of doing business in our country. This is why we now see that we registered a surplus in our balance of payments. We also registered a surplus on our fiscal budget – that goes to show that there is tremendous improvement in the economy, and we see the way in which our roads are improving – that also goes a long way in ensuring that our citizenry will find comfort in living in their own country. I submit Hon. Chair.
THE HON. SPEAKER: It is Hon. Speaker.
HON. MUSABAYANA: I am sorry Mr. Speaker Sir.
(v)HON. SIKHALA: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir. My supplementary question to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade is, among the various available options for the protection of our citizens living in foreign lands, specifically in South Africa, to prevent the recurrence of such issues - is the Government considering a diplomatic protection?
HON. MUSABAYANA: Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to thank the Hon. Member for raising such an important question. Mr. Speaker Sir, like I alluded much earlier on, we enjoy very cordial bilateral relations with South Africa. In terms of that bilateral protection, all our citizenry are naturally protected but we cannot say where we find individuals attacking a Zimbabwean citizen in there would be taken to be a violation of our diplomatic relations with South Africa. If it was a case where the South African Government had in any way caused or motivated such a case or incident, then we will make sense to invoke diplomatic protection. However, in this regard, it is a mere criminal matter; we have seen it happening here in Zimbabwe where a Zimbabwean criminal attacks a tourist or any other individual who is in this country. As a Government, we cannot be held accountable for such an offence. In this respect, we are saying the Chief Diplomat of South Africa, who is the President, Hon. Cyril Ramaphosa, has issued a statement distancing himself from such inhuman cases of murder. I do not think at this material time; it is important or necessary to invoke such diplomatic protection. All the same, that mandate is for our Chief Diplomat who is the President, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa, if he sees it fit that he invokes diplomatic rights, we will be directed accordingly but as of now, we have not done anything along that and we do not see its necessity at the moment. I humbly submit Hon. Speaker Sir.
HON. MATEWU: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I think this is not the first time that we have seen such xenophobic attacks in South Africa. So I think when you try to isolate this incident as a criminal…
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Member, please do not proceed with common cause issues, ask your question.
HON. MATEWU: Yes. So my question to the Minister of Foreign Affairs is that, when is the Government going to have a compulsory approach and maybe approach SADC to deal with cases of xenophobia and afrophobia in South Africa? I thank you.
HON. MUSABAYANA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. As SADC, we are one family and as such, we engage on a number of platforms and we are one. South Africa is on the forefront of actually saying whoever touches any Member State or State Party of SADC would have also violated the rights of all other SADC Member States. So in terms of xenophobia, yes this is not the first time it has happened and xenophobia is not only for South Africans, it is all over the world. This is why you see nations, I will not mention them from a diplomatic perspective, building walls, we see nations refusing migrants from other nations in the West or the world-over. I cannot give you a list in here. So that is a form of xenophobia and by nature, every human being is xenophobic and that is why we have tribalism – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – yes, that is why we have tribalism all over but it is inhuman and as SADC, we have not accepted it and it is not within South African policy to aggravate or promote xenophobia.
We cannot hold South Africa to account for the issues of xenophobia. They are also speaking against it. These are individuals who are xenophobic but it is not the policy of South Africa. As SADC, we denounce any form of xenophobic attack and any such attack has also to do with any form of tribalism. This is why we have had countries where there has been genocide, that is a form of xenophobia. However, we are saying the 21st century will not condone or support any form of xenophobic attack or behaviour because we are now one global village. So, we cannot hold South Africa in terms of xenophobia. I am really sorry, I might not be right, but this is the position of our Government, to say we stand with SADC and AU to say, no to xenophobia. I submit Hon. Speaker Sir.
*HON. MUCHENJE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My question is directed to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Hon. Mhona. How far have they gone in translating the Highway Code so that it will be found in all the 16 official languages of Zimbabwe? Most people who use different languages are buying cars and during the holidays like we are approaching now, they end up driving their cars without licences because they are not well-versed with the English language. Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
THE HON. SPEAKER: There are 14 official languages Hon. Member, not 16.
*THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Thank you Hon. Muchenje for asking this pertinent question. After the Second Republic, we discovered that a lot of things changed. We have high class schools and universities which we are working with hand-in-hand. We have universities like Midlands State University which we gave the Highway Code so that they will translate into all other official languages in Zimbabwe which they are currently doing. I would like to thank Hon. Muchenje for the important question which will help our children to answer the Highway Code questions without missing anything. They will also be able to use other languages of their choice, apart from English. This programme is ongoing and at a fast pace so that we will be having the Highway Code in all the languages. I thank you.
*THE HON. SPEAKER: I think the Hon. Minister has explained well.
*HON. MUCHENJE: Hon. Minister, this is the 5th or 6th time asking the same question in Parliament and the Ministry is always saying we are in the process of preparing the Highway Code. May the Hon. Minister give the House timelines as to when the Highway Code will be in all the official languages?
HON. MHONA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I would like to thank Hon. Muchenje for the pertinent question raised. I would like to say this is my first time answering this question though the Hon. Member clarified that from the Ministry of Transport. Yes, it is true that what is going on in the Second Republic is different from what transpired in the First Republic. In the First Republic,some of the promises were not being fulfilled but if you take note of the Second Republic, promises are being fulfilled. We do not leave issues unattended, that is why we have decided to give Midlands State University the opportunity to translate the Highway Code. I thank you.
*THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Minister, whilst you are still standing, may you give the House timelines as to when this Highway Code will be ready.
*HON. MHONA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. If you could please allow me to ask my fellow Minister colleague whom we work hand-in-hand with, with regards to the Midlands State University project.
*THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCTION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. MURWIRA): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I would like to thank those who have asked the question and those who have seconded. I would also like to thank the Hon. Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development for being aware of the process going on at Midlands State University which is the institute in-charge of all our processes of translating our Highway Code.
They are done with the National Constitution and the COVID-19 documents and Government programmes. Now they are currently seized with the Highway Code project.
On the issue of timelines, I would like to say this year, the Highway Code will be written in all the 16 official languages.
*HON. MAVETERA: My supplementary question is after the Highway Code has been completed in all the 16 official languages, what language is going to be used for the national provisional tests?
*HON. MHONA: After translating the Highway Code in all the languages, when attempting their tests, they will use their language of choice. If you learnt in English, you will also write the test in English, nothing will change. Those who are illiterate in the SADC region, we are going to use the pictorial form for road signs – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]-
*THE HON. SPEAKR: Order, order! When we are in this august House, Hon. Members must listen to what the Speaker is saying and not fidget
Hon. Member, you are not connected.
*HON. ZWIZWAI: I am a new Parliamentarian, I have not yet been given a tablet. Thank you Hon. Mliswa for borrowing me your gadget…
THE HON. SPEAKRER: We do not want petty issues here Hon. Zwizwai, the tablet you had before was not taken.
HON. ZWIZWAI: Residents in the rural areas have no access to computers and they do not know how to use them. The test is now done electronically and you get your mark there and then. What is Government doing so that these people who do not have ICT gadgets are able to write their provisional licence test?
*THE HON. SPEAKER: It is not only Binga that does not have computers – even Mutoko or Chiredzi they do not have computers.
*THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): It is true that provincial licence examination is now being done electronically. We have not completely done away with writing the examination manually. If Hon. Sibanda gives us an opportunity to come to Binga, we will come and people will be examined manually since there is no access to both ZESA and computers. We are going around with my VID team to make sure that everyone has access to provincial test in his or her constituency and in their mother language.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Members, please take note that recording of proceedings is done by the transcribers. It is none of your business. Accordingly, Hon. Mutseyami, can you stop the recording please.
HON. MUTSEYAMI: What recording are you talking about Mr. Speaker Sir?
THE HON. SPEAKER: The one in plain English. Thank you.
HON. NDUNA: My supplementary question to the Minister is – seeing that this was about harmonisation of our SADC of our provincial licencing system, would it also be in tandem with the SADC signage, carriageway markings and all other issues that relate – [AN HON. MEMBER: Inaudible interjection.]- Imbonyarara iwe wekuuya...
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Nduna, you are not the Chair.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Would it also relate to harmonisation of the SADC standard of signage and carriageway markings?
THE HON. SPEAKER: The original question was translation of the Highway Code.
HON. NDUNA: Indulge me Mr. Speaker Sir, to harmonise the signage and carriageway markings – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]-
*THE HON. SPEAKER: No, let us focus on the Highway Code.
HON. NDUNA: The Highway Code embarrasses the signage carriageway markings, danger warning signs and all that – would it harmonise ours with the one in the SADC region – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]-
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order!
HON. MHONA: It is true that we are also partaking in the exercise of harmonising our road signage in terms of being compliant to the SADC protocol. As we speak, there is a Committee known as Transit Transport Facilitation Programme (TTFP) that is underway which is superintending over the issues to do with harmonisation of road signs. I am happy to say that my team is participating in the exercise. There is a technical team which is engaged in trying to come up with acceptable standards – whether it is the Highway Code or drivers’ licence. This is on-going work. In the near future, first or second week of May, we will be demonstrating those road signages in one of Harare roads. I will invite Hon. Members to see what a role and real model of a SADC road will be like with all the signages that we are talking about.
HON. T. MLISWA: My question is directed to the Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. There has been a lot of controversy pertaining some Chinese companies violating human rights on our people and also not complying with the laws of this country, for example Sunny Yi Feng in my constituency...
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, we do not debate. Can you ask a policy question?
HON. T. MLISWA: What is Government policy towards foreign investors who violate Zimbabweans’ rights and who do not comply with the laws of the country?
THE HON. MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. DR. SHAVA): We do not make laws for companies that come to operate here in violation of those laws. We make laws that protect companies and people. Those laws are governed by our own statutes. If there is any particular violation that has occurred, I think the courts are available to deal with such violation. I want to persuade Hon. Mliswa to say if there is anything that he has seen being violated, may he please bring this to the appropriate Minister and it will be dealt with.
HON. T. MLISWA: My supplementary question to the Minister is, it seems that certain powerful nations like the Chinese have a monopoly over Zimbabwe because of their veto at the United Nations. The result is, they have made our own people become second class citizens. The issue of the Chinese violating human rights is well-known and it has made our people become weaker. Sunny Yi Feng (Pvt) Limited is a good example and I would even invite the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade to visit that factory to see how people are being treated. The Minister of Labour was there and he also issued a report pertaining to the labour laws which do not protect our own citizens.
So with that, I would indulge the Minister with other Ministers of Industry or probably a team to visit Sunny Yi Feng and hear from the workers what is going on. I would like to talk about a situation which is in my constituency, which I relate to. Not only that, they are also selling in foreign currency, not remitting to the banks as well. I would also want the Minister to interrogate further that the foreign currency that they are earning in this country, where is it going because we do not see them paying our own people in foreign currency. I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. DR. SHAVA): Mr. Speaker, I welcome the invitation by the Hon. Member to visit the company which he has cited but I also welcome the inclusion of appropriate Ministers who supervise the labour laws of this country. I am not so sure whether the Hon. Member would want to make such an appointment or he would want to wait for us to visit at our own time. I want to thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: Mr. Speaker, I want to appreciate the Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade for accepting the invitation and I will write to his office to visit Sunny Yi Feng in Norton and in writing to his office, I am sure he will be capable of putting together line ministries that have to do with what is going on there. Thank you.
HON. MAPHOSA: My question is directed to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. We have seen a very low pass rate in recent years, especially from schools in rural and resettlement areas. What is Government’s policy or what has Government done, especially issues that lead to the recruitment of teachers and infrastructure development?
THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. E. NDLOVU): I thank the Hon. Member for asking that question. Last week Hon. Members, I had a tour of the country’s 10 provinces to try and evaluate the level of development in our provinces, especially resettlement and rural areas but we also touched towns like Marondera to check also on the schools there. What we discovered is that most of our resettlement area schools have one or two blocks. Some do not even have a block like in the Midlands Province and are using the houses that were used by workers before we took over the farms. We count from the time we took over the farms. Those people who were resettled there, there is totally no infrastructure in most of those areas. This morning we sat down with my staff to come up with a programme that we will recommend to Government for us to construct schools in those resettlement areas because the people we took over the farms from do not want to assist us. So, we have to do it ourselves and build those schools for our children.
We have to build 3 000 from 2022 to 2025. This year we are supposed to build 35 schools but up to now, we have not received any disbursements from the Ministry of Finance. We are still pushing for the release of funds so that at least we build schools in those particular areas because we were asked to put at least one primary boarding school and one secondary school in each district but the shortfall is more than 5 000. We are saying in those schools that are in existence, those that are in the rural areas are not developed, so we better develop those that are in existence but are underdeveloped before we can start new schools. That is the policy that we are going to seek clarity from Cabinet very soon so that at least Cabinet allows us to concentrate on the resettlement and rural areas that have no school blocks.
HON. MAPHOSA: My supplementary question is for the Minister to confirm that we cannot be blaming teachers because the Government itself has failed, because even in her answer, she is saying she is not getting money for infrastructural development and does not know when they will start doing that. I just want her to confirm that it is not the teachers’ fault or others but it is the Government which is failing to provide an essential service that they should provide to the country.
HON. E. NDLOVU: Mr. Speaker, I am developmental-minded. Government has not failed. It is the budget and the availability of resources that has failed us. The resources are limited. Secondly, the issue of recruitment of teachers lies directly within the Public Service Commission (PSC). I just send a list to the Public Service Commission so that they can give me the teachers. I only identify gaps and send to the PSC for recruitment. We are currently working on recruitment and very soon, we are going to publish the list of those that we are recruiting to make sure that our children have got teachers. I thank you.
HON. BITI: Mr. Speaker Sir, my question to the Hon. Minister is that the results are showing that there is now a growing divide between rural schools and urban schools. There is now growing inequality with children in rural areas suffering more and failing more. Can the Minister undertake to provide a paper on how the Government is going to address this growing inequality between rural areas and urban areas? I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. E. NDLOVU): Mr. Speaker Sir, I would like to thank Hon. Biti for the recommendation that I come up with a paper. I have recruited a chief director to make sure that she comes up with a paper which will give me a roadmap on how to address the zero pass rates in Matebeleland provinces and Mashonaland Central province. I have identified the provinces that are not doing very well to make sure that the whole country is attended to, so that we have good quality results that match the towns. We can do that if we have a roadmap and we are going to come up with that roadmap. Thank you.
HON. S. MAHLANGU: Thank you Mr. Speaker. My supplementary question is as I am looking at what is happening now, you are talking about ‘trying by all means to do’ A, B, C, D. Let us look at especially rural areas and the peri-urban areas whereby CALA is being downloaded and printed. The challenge now is CALA is now part of the syllabus. What are you doing as the Ministry to equip those pupils who do not have the gadgets? That is the reason why the pass rate is zero because there is no one to provide them with the laptops to print CALA and file them. What are you doing as the Ministry?
HON. E. NDLOVU: Mr. Speaker Sir, I would like to thank the Member for raising issues of logistics. We have a department at the University of Zimbabwe that is taking care of that. We have got partners like UNICEF who are assisting us with some computers but we are also having the Ministry of ICT to assist us. I think I spoke about that. We are working closely with the Minister of ICT to make sure that we have got laptops in schools. The laptops are not given to children only but they are also given to teachers. This is what we are doing. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker.
(v)HON. MUSARURWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Health and Child Care. What measures have Government put in place considering that they have scratched the COVID PCR test for those who will be visiting Zimbabwe yet there are some countries which are on lockdown?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. DR. MANGWIRO): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. The question is quite pertinent. She is saying that we have removed PCR as a requirement for entry into the country. I am sure she is referring to COVID-19 problems and there are other countries that are on lockdown. We are saying for anyone to come in to Zimbabwe, they must be vaccinated more than two dosses and above. This is a sure thing that if they are vaccinated, we are protected but if the person has not been vaccinated or they have been vaccinated once, we do the PCR by the airport to screen them, so we are safe in that regard. I thank you.
(v)HON. MUSARURWA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. From the knowledge that I managed to pick from councils like Catania, there are people and residents who have already been vaccinated, and received booster shots but have still tested positive. My question therefore is, what if someone has already received a COVID booster and we do not request for PCR, will we not be putting our people in danger because there is no measurement that can prove to us that someone will be negative?
HON. DR. MANGWIRO: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to thank the Hon. Member for the supplementary question. What she is basically saying is correct in that if a person has been vaccinated, it does not prevent the virus from entering their nostrils or sinuses – it does. We are saying that if they are vaccinated, they are unlikely to harbour the disease to the extent that they can get the disease and spread it.
We are also saying to ourselves, our population is well vaccinated, especially those around the airports. So this is very important in that vaccination is not to say a person will not harbor the virus either in their hands or nostrils. We are saying if a person is vaccinated, these people are unlikely to get the disease. They may carry the virus in their nostrils but it does not follow to say that they have the disease. I thank you.
HON. BRIG. GEN. (RTD.) MAYIHLOME: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My question is directed to the Hon. Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development. It relates to the issuance of certificates to students graduating from tertiary institutions around the country. When is the issuance of certificates going to be decentralised to vocational training centres and tertiary institutions instead of students being asked to come to Harare to collect them? I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Thank you Hon. Speaker. I wish to thank Hon. (Rtd) Gen. Mayihlome for his question.
Hon. Speaker, it is in our interest that our students conveniently get their certificates. I can promise that we will look into the issue because it is a matter of policy that we should be able to have our students access their certificates at the point where they have been studying, especially so for polytechnic students and others because for the universities, they go back there. I think the Hon. Member is referring to the polytechnics and teachers colleges, especially polytechnics. We will make sure that happens because it is not policy that everybody has to travel to Harare to get a certificate. I thank you.
*HON. MATSUNGA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My question is directed to the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Hon. Minister Ncube. I understand the Government had said that it will purchase radiotherapy machines that will help those who are living with cancer. As you all know, cancer knows no age; infants in hospitals are being diagnosed with cancer. How far has the Government gone with purchasing those radiotherapy machines that will help Zimbabwean citizens together with those that I lead in Mufakose Constituency?
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir. I thank the Hon. Member for that very important question regarding the purchase of machines for assisting our cancer patients.
We stand ready, with resources to purchase the equipment. What is going on in the Ministry of Health and Child Care is that they are scoping the kind of demand for this equipment but we stand ready. We have adequate resources to equip our critical hospitals. For example, if you go to Harare South where we just completed the development of a new medium sized hospital, we are determined to keep equipping our hospitals and to build new hospitals. So the issue really is not one of resources but just planning and we are working with the Ministry of Health and Child Care to roll-out the acquisition of this cancer equipment. Thank you.
*HON. MATSUNGA: My question was not concerning Harare Hospital because it is not functioning well due to shortage of nurses. I am asking concerning radiotherapy machines that will help those who are suffering from cancer. Our economy is in a bad state that it cannot allow people to access health facilities from other countries. I am asking about machines so that we do not have to look for health facilities in other countries for radiotherapy treatment.
I am not asking about hospitals in Harare, there are a lot of hospitals. I am specifically on radiotherapy machines.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir. I thank the Hon. Member for that impassioned question once again. As I said earlier, we have the resources to purchase the equipment. We are going through a scoping exercise with the Ministry of Health and Child Care to purchase such equipment. We will update the Hon. Member as we progress with the programme of purchasing that equipment. I thank you.
HON. MARKHAM: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Mr. Speaker on the supplementary question, the issue is not only the machines. The issue is running the machines - simple blood tests for cancer cannot be done in this country at the moment. There are a lot of people who are sending their blood samples to South Africa for diagnosis. Can the Hon. Minister assure the House that something concrete will happen in the next couple of months?
Mr. Speaker, with your indulgence on a point of order, the Hon. Minister a month ago, in answer to my question on the Global Settlement Deed in Agriculture promised me the documents and I am still waiting for them – I have not received them. A similar situation arises on my second question which is the loan to this Government by the Netherlands Government…
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Markham, you are not connected.
HON. MARKHAM: My apology. Can the Minister please ensure that those documents are sent or I can come and collect them? I thank you.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you Hon. Markham, you asked three questions. I can assure you that as Government, we stand ready to support whatever is required in terms of testing for blood services. As I said, we always wait for line ministries to make requests and we have the resources for such services and it is not difficult in terms of resources.
In terms of the documents that he asked for, again we will forward these documents to him with a bit of delay but they are ready and we will forward them both for the Global Compensation Agreement and the Loan Agreement, it is not difficult. I thank you.
HON. BITI: Hon. Speaker Sir, my question is to the esteemed Minister of Finance. The Dutch Auction System is costing around US$40 million a week, so the RBZ is disbursing around US$40 million a week to finance and support the Dutch Auction System. If you multiply that by 52 weeks in a year, that brings you to around US$2 billion, which money the RBZ does not have.
Hon. Speaker Sir, only in December, this House approved the Assumption of Debt from the RBZ, of around US$3.5 billion. My specific question to the Minister is that, why are we maintaining a Dutch Auction System that the country cannot afford and is creating indebtedness to the ordinary average Zimbabwean? Why not simply float the Zimbabwean dollar so that there is an open market and the market will settle at a price? As I am talking to you right now, yesterday the Dutch Auction System was $150 but in the supermarkets, it is now $320 and by June, the parallel rate will be 1:500. Why not simply float the Zimbabwean dollar? I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you Hon. Member for the question. The gist of this question is that we cannot afford the Dutch Auction System and therefore, it ought to be replaced by something else, a floating exchange rate. We can afford the Dutch Auction System. If you have noticed in the last few weeks, what happened to the auction yesterday; we sold foreign currency to the tune of about US$32 million. We have adequate resources to basically follow through with the provision of foreign currency to those who were successful in bidding for the foreign currency. However, it is also correct that in the past, we have had a gap, a lag in the disbursements and that gap is being closed; it will be closed.
What we have done in terms of the price discovery process, we have been fine-tuning it, we have noticed that – the first thing we did as the first step was to introduce the SME window. We then followed that up last week by introducing a window through the banks on a willing-buyer-willing-seller basis up to US$1000 through the normal banking system. Again, this is meant to improve our price discovery process.
The auction was designed and set up to deal with the price discovery process as well as to supply the much needed foreign currency. The resources that the Hon. Member refers to per annum that the Central Bank is able to outlay in terms of the foreign currency is what this economy needs and this is what is also driving this economy in terms of foreign currency requirements. You will notice the amount of goods that are on our shelves which are domestic, companies have been able to manufacture substitutes and import critical raw materials. All this has gone a long way in improving our economic performance. So the auction has really delivered in the supply of critical foreign currency to this economy. I thank you.
HON. BITI: Hon. Speaker Sir, any importer and any person dealing with the auction will tell you that there is a time lag of nearly two months, an average of two months or eight weeks between the time when your bid is accepted on a Tuesday and the time that an actual disbursement of foreign currency is made by the RBZ. That means that the system is not coping, there is no sufficient foreign currency. We also know that there is no sufficient foreign currency because according to the RBZ itself, the auction system is only meeting 26% of the demand. So most business persons, including you and I Hon. Speaker, are sourcing our foreign currency on the streets at 4th Street, that is why as a result of supply and demand, the rate on the market is shooting. Today, it was $320; official shops are trading at $280. That means that the Dutch Auction System is not working. Why are you maintaining something that is not working? Just allow the floating of the exchange rate so that those who have money will get the foreign currency in the system and those who want to buy will purchase and the Zimbabwean dollar will find a fixed open market rate. Why are you maintaining something that is broken? I thank you very much Hon. Speaker Sir.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you Hon. Biti for that follow up question. He implies that the auction was designed to supply all the foreign currency that the economy needs, that is not true. The auction was never designed to supply all the foreign currency that the economy needs. It was designed to supply a part of the demand for foreign currency. So, its main design was to make sure that we can improve the price discovery process for the exchange rate and supply some foreign currency. Other sources of foreign currency include own sources. For example, there are companies such as Delta Corporation which is basically able to raise enough foreign currency from the sale of its products in US$ and is able to fund its own import requirements from its foreign currency.
We have own sources of foreign currency from the companies’ sales. Other companies are also working with their banks to source foreign currency on a bilateral basis. So, there are several sources of foreign currency apart from the auction. The auction is only supplying a part of the foreign currency required and so far it has done a fantastic job in making sure that foreign currency is available to those who are unable to find it. It acts as an aggregator, aggregating the foreign currency and channeling it through one channel so that it can be accessed and the results have been phenomenal. That explains why the economy is doing so well as a result of that auction among other policies that we have introduced.
HON. MARKHAM: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Can the Minister explain if the auction rate is working? Why are we eight weeks behind because eight weeks at $40 million a week is $320 million. Can the Minister guarantee us or explain to us how they can clear the backlog? Secondly, can the Minister also guarantee that we will not have another RBZ debt acquisition at the end of this financial year? Thank you.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir. I thank Hon. Markham for that question. Basically, the backlog that you referred to will be cleared in 3 steps. I can also assure you that we will not be accumulating any debt from the auction within the next 3 months. I thank you.
Questions without Notice were interrupted by THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER in terms of Standing Order No. 68. .
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT
FEES LEVELS AND REQUIREMENTS OF STATE UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES
THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Hon. Speaker, allow me to start by premising my presentation again on Section 13 of the national Constitution which talks about national development that our institutions are central to national development and therefore, they must be supported as such. His Excellency, the President of the Republic Dr. E.D Mnangagwa pronounced a national vision in response to this national Constitutional requirement of Vision 2030 of becoming an upper middle income economy.
In response, the Higher and Tertiary Education sector made sure that capabilities to meet this requirement are done through reconfiguring the education from Education 3.0 to Education 5.0. In other words, our education has to answer to our human needs and produce industry. Our grant plan is to look at how human capital is developed and how innovation is promoted. It therefore, makes education central and we contribute by all means to make sure that the education is of value.
In the race between education and technology, education must dominate. This takes us to the question of the institutional fees needs analysis. This paper serves to shed light on the fees approval process for higher and tertiary education institutions, financial state of higher and tertiary education institutions and what it takes to run universities and colleges which are the institutions of higher and tertiary education. The paper also explains the rationale behind the current fees levels in state universities, colleges, polytechnics and industrial training colleges since 2 years ago.
Section 27 of the national Constitution states that “the State must take all practical measures to promote access to higher and tertiary education, the State must take measures to ensure that girls are afforded the same opportunities as boys to obtain the education at all levels”. These are Sections that referred to higher and tertiary education.
The recently approved fees levels…
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order! Mr. Speaker Sir, you can see that Hon. Members are not in this House to listen to a very important issue which involves students in their constituencies. On that left side of the House, we have the ruling party which is good at heckling, they are not here to listen to what the Minister will say. These Ministerial Statements are well thought, well prepared and they have detail and this is the information that they must be taking to their constituencies.
The Government chief whip and the whip for ZANU PF, Hon. Togarepi is only good at encouraging Members of the ruling party to heckle when Hon. Biti stands up but he is not able to mobilise them to listen on issues which are critical to this country.
It is sad that the Minister of Finance, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education are here and yet the Hon. Members of Parliament not here. It is an absolute waste of tax payers’ money. Mr. Speaker always wants everybody to be here in attendance.
I implore you Mr. Speaker Sir, to get the Government Chief Whip, to get all the Members of Parliament here. They are staying in hotels using tax payer’s money. What are they doing not being here? That is his job to whip them to come here. So, it is important that these issues be dealt with because we cannot be blamed by the people. I must say as a legislator, I am ashamed of colleague Members of Parliament. So may you please call out the Government Chief Whip to get all his Members here because this is an embarrassment.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Thank you very much Hon. Mliswa. I remember very well that you raised this point of order last week and that was addressed to the chief whips of both sides. So, your point is noted.
HON. PROF. MURWIRA: The recently approved fee levels are meant as a step towards achieving SDG 4 which is ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning for all.
Maintaining 2021 tuition fees per semester would threaten the achievement of SDG 4. In fact, it would result in education and training institutions cutting down on essential budget lines such as internet bandwidth e-library subscriptions, workshop practice for engineering, practical sessions for life sciences, outdoor field trips seeking supervision of students on attachment would be totally removed. This would be death of the credibility of our education system.
My Ministry has created safety nets to protect vulnerable students currently pursuing their studies in various education and training institutions by the Government backed student loan facility and university student vacation part time employment which we call work for fees programme to facilitate learners to work for their fees. University of Zimbabwe and Midlands State universities are doing well in this regard.
Fees changes procedure at university, when it is spoken in general terms it would seem like it is the Minister who charges fees at universities. This is not true. I will explain what the procedure is. Fees adjustments are proposed by the university based on the financial needs of both the student and the university. The Bursar compiles the needs based on what is presented by different departments and faculties. The Bursar submits the compiled information to the Dean of Students. The Dean of Students convenes a meeting with the students to discuss the fees adjustments. After that the matter is taken to the Student Affairs and Fees Revision Committee. The composition of this committee includes a member of the University Council, the Vice Chancellor, Pro Vice Chancellor, Registrar, Bursar, Dean of Students, Senior Chaplain, President of the SRC, a member of the Senate, dean’s representative and Director of Campus Life and Student Development Programmes. This is where the origin of the fees comes from.
The Ministry is not part of the student affairs or Fees Revision Committee. The committee’s terms of reference include reviewing fees charged by the university and to submit recommendations through the Finance Committee to Council. All the views of the students are considered and taken into account at the dean’s meeting and at the committee meeting. Council will adopt the recommendations of the committee with or without changes. I have all the minutes of the Fees Revision Committees of the universities with the evidence of the involvement of students. I have a copy of the signed minutes which shows that all the fees that have been charged and approved had student approval. If there is a problem from a certain person then it would be outside the procedure and people have to return to procedure.
I have explained the Fees Revision Committee which is basically an independent body that has got students and university staff at the university. Now comes the Ministerial approval. The university then compiles a draft application in the form of draft statutes or evidence which it will send to the Minister for approval, the reason being that as already alluded to earlier in terms of the above cited provisions of the University Act, the statutes are made by Council with the approval of the Minister. The mischief that the legislature intended to remedy by including the Minister as the ultimate approval of the fees is to safeguard decisions which may frustrate the constitutional obligations explained earlier. The state must take practical measures to promote the right to education. If the universities are allowed to charge exorbitant fees beyond the reach of many, it will be tantamount to frustrating the right to education as provided for in the Constitution.
Having satisfied ourselves that the students were consulted and I have all the minutes of all state universities with students available. So if there is a student who is complaining outside of this mechanism, the student has to go back to the mechanism and make sure that if there is any revision it starts from there. However, we have satisfied ourselves that students were consulted and once we see that we approve. This is the procedure of fees revision. There is nothing like the ‘Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education has charged’ - the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education does not charge fees.
The rationale behind the change in fees after we have seen that it is reasonable -the newly introduced fees levels will improve access to quality education. It is important to state from the outset that tuition fees in state universities were about $450 from 2015 onwards. The current tuition fees today are between $33000 for arts to $42000 for sciences. These are the tuition fees. If you do a calculation by dividing by 145, it will show you that the fees that we are charging have not increased. In terms of equivalent value the fees have not gone up. This is purely based on fact and mathematics. Hence, it is correct to say the fees have not increased from what they were before.
With regard to tertiary institutions, the fees structure that was agreed in 2020 has never changed except for catering and practical fees that are determined by market forces. Specifically, tuition fees in tertiary education institutions have not changed since 2020. In order to answer the question on what are the appropriate fees to be charged at state universities and colleges, one has to first look at what it costs to run these institutions and the grants that the state provides to these institutions, that this august House provides to the universities. I will be able to demonstrate what was approved, what is required, what is the gap. I would introduce an equation here. A very simple one, if I say institutional needs are satisfied by Government support, student fees and other income - the institutions need money for their daily operations to pay salaries, to buy teaching and learning consumables, to pay for bandwidth, to licence computer software, e-library subscriptions, insurance, maintenance of grounds and buildings, affiliation fees, external audit fees and examination processes, purchase, repair and maintenance of vehicles and for construction of buildings and other utilities. This will either come from Government support which is voted by this august House or students fees or any other income. I will demonstrate what other activities we are doing to ensure that our education remains competitive and affordable.
Whilst universities get a Government grant to pay salaries they normally have to meet all other costs from fees and externally generated resources if available. However, the student fees and other income are generally inadequate to meet all other costs because we always have to moderate them. This is because the income source and student fees are generally inadequate as I have said. It is this deficit that is generally the cause of hardships in our state universities and colleges. To ensure institutions operate on a balanced budget, universities and colleges should receive more support or charge more fees instead but normally we say do not charge more fees, we will ask for more support.
Strategic Development Goal 4 speaks to promoting three main critical educational elements which is access, quality, inclusivity and sustainability. These all have to be attained without compromising any of the three. As highlighted earlier Section 27 of the Constitution states that Government must take all practical measures to promote access to higher and tertiary education. It is clear from the Constitutional provision, that higher and tertiary education in Zimbabwe shall not be free. It is in fact, a fact that my Ministry and institutions have no control over what happens on the market place, specifically the cost of learning and teaching consumables, internet bandwidth, software licencing, infrastructure, maintenance and expansion, laboratory and workshop equipment. However, my Ministry and its institutions have to devise strategies to ensure that there is an institutional probability in State Universities to meet the market needs.
Hon. Speaker, I want to basically talk about universities. At this moment, our populations according to submissions of universities show that universities require 1.7 billion per semester. The ideal student fees considering what was given by this august House would be around 17.6 billion, which means each university will be charging an average of 320 000 per semester. These are facts. What the universities had proposed as their fees was around 68 000 tuition on average which was going to come to 7.1 billion Zimbabwe dollars which will still mean than 19 minus 7, they will still have a deficit of 12 billion. This gap would either be filled through Government support, which is basically this august House. So, if today this august House would give me as a Ministry 19 billion, I will say thank you, nobody is paying anything but because we moderated this thing, we said 68 000 is too much, can we really discuss again. After the discussions, we charged 33 000 and 42 000 instead of 68 000 to 73 000.
Mr. Speaker, the fees as we speak that have been charged to universities were amounting to 4.5 billion and if I round up, it is five billion. It means from 19 billion, we have a deficit of 14 billion. This is very important to know that if we need quality education and make sure that our education is not about cheating but teaching, this is what it requires. When I come to polytechnics, they need about almost one billion per term. The ideal student fees, if they are charged according to a support of one million or so, it would be 965 million which basically means every student must be charged about 35 000 but we have moderated this so that instead of 965 million, we have 715 million.
Hon. Speaker, deliberate efforts have been made by the Ministry to meet institutional needs and ensure inclusive and equitable quality education in promoting lifelong learning opportunities. We are doing this by availing Government funds for operations which the Ministry of Finance, through this House, has been increasing over the years although we know that national demands are many and it cannot always be enough.
A Government backed student loan support scheme has been put in place which has an amount of 105 million. What has been disappointing about this student loan support scheme which has been agreed and granted by Treasury is that the uptake is very low. We are still looking at why the uptake is very low. I would rather have a discussion about how to access this loan than a harsh tag which says fees must flow, from where to where?
On reconsideration of our education system and training model, Education 3.0 to Education 5.0, in order to cause industrialisation and production of goods and services, it is set to alleviate the burden of student fees. So far as we speak, about 150 students at MSU are being supported through our industrialisation drive because they are working in our construction projects and so forth. The Ministry has also established a Study in Zimbabwe Programme where we believe that we can attract foreign students, thereby alleviating the problems of high fees in this country. As I have proven Hon. Speaker, universities have not increased fees but mathematically speaking, they have actually decreased in real terms.
Hon. Speaker, in 2019, we did not review fees at all because in 2019, we were having austerity measures but what we received when we went online, we discovered that they were now telling us that there is poor food, this and that and we kept quiet. We were resilient because we knew we were trying to serve the national economy and we knew that we were under austerity. To that effect, the State Universities continue to charge tuition fees between 350 to 450 Zimbabwean dollars at that time. This time the 33 000 to 42 000Zimbabwean dollars is still lower than that figure. Towards the end of 2019 when fees were now 350 Zimbabwean dollars to 450 Zimbabwean dollars, reports from Higher and Tertiary Education institutions actually were coming to say, the conditions have gone very bad but we had stood our grounds. Now, when we look at the approved fees, let me run down them; Medicine and Veterinary Sciences - in 2019, the fees were an equivalent of US$450; 2021, they were an equivalent of US$185 and in 2022, there was an equivalence of US$219 which basically means that our fees are lower than the baseline that we have been talking about.
In terms of sciences and technology, they fall from US$400 to US$267. Hon. Speaker, what I am basically saying is that although we know we have to strive to make sure that students are at school by making sure that we have payment plans, we cannot compromise it to the extent that we become a laughing stock in terms of the conditions at our institutions. We have to balance because in any ways, problems will come and as soon as we begin to compromise the quality of our learning environment, people will start saying the quality of education has gone done. So, we have to make sure that we remain resilient and maintain the quality of education or even make it higher in Zimbabwe.
Mr. Speaker, when I compare our fees country by country, South Africa is US$4077 per semester, Botswana is US$3242 per semester, Zambia it is US$1 728 per semester. Zimbabwe is US$290.00 per semester.
I have talked about the current cost drivers in the institutions; e-learning subscriptions, examination expenses, internet subscriptions, work related costs and so forth. Our assumption is that universities and polytechnics are offering engineering and technology as well as applied sciences. We know when they do this they incur massive costs in laboratories.
In terms of infrastructural development, the State universities and college infrastructure gap is still very big. The State universities infrastructure gap is at US$3,8 billion, so we have to build our universities. Over 66% of higher and tertiary education students are enrolled in the country’s universities. On average, each university has the capacity to accommodate less than 20% of the students’ population which results in significant gaps in available beds compared to the required student beds and related infrastructure. There is thus, an acute shortage of university accommodation that we have to take care of.
We cannot require one thing and then require another. If we require quality education that is based on Education 5.0 then we still have to do many activities. Let me just say Hon. Speaker, our strategy is like this. Today we had an AGM for Harare Institute of Technology. It is not a mass university. It has 2 000 students. We said maintain the 2 000 students. What we want to do through Education 5.0 is for these universities to acquire an industrial base. Once they have acquired an industrial base, it might not happen during our time. When I say ‘during our time’, I mean when I am a Minister but we have to start it.
Now, it then means universities will switch from demanding fees to giving scholarships because the students will be working in their industrial establishment. We have seen this at MSU and University of Zimbabwe, and it is working. It is important to note that, for example in the year which is the baseline year 2018-2019, fees ordinances inherited the US$ figures and 2020 was the first ordinance level using our local currency ZW$, so we adjusted the fees since then. The Ministry did not increase tuition fees for the 2022 ordinance. It is a fact that we did not increase any fees. I have all the ordinances with me for inspection.
Hon. Speaker, we believe that we have demonstrated how fees are determined. They are not determined by the Minister but they are moderated by the Minister. Students are involved all along. So, if somebody is saying students are saying this, we want to know which students are these? Are they part of the SRC because their president was there or is it another group and from where? Although we allow them to be very free and speak, it is allowed to speak but it is not allowed to lie.
In order to answer the question of affordability, sustainability and reasonability of our fees based on what the public can afford, it is important to note that the past decade, low income civil servants for example which people talk about, nobody even myself can pay fees with one salary. It is not true. We save for students’ fees payments. So, trying to compare directly to say it is because my salary is this or is below that, we plan for our children and if we cannot, we have to help them somehow. That is why the Ministry is helping a lot of students who cannot afford. That is the reason why students have to come individually and state their case. All students that have come individually and stated their cases went away with help.
The Ministry has also increased access to higher education by 10% through this process. It can safely be concluded that all State universities and colleges are currently having an operational budget deficit of $14 billion due to the low student fees and Government support. Annually, the operational deficit for universities is around, as I said $15 billion and it is very important that we know this for any discussion that we make. I look forward to this Hon. House to approve the budgets to the extent that is possible that we would have asked for. We also have to take into consideration that if all of us collectively are asking for these fees, it is not a Minister. It is the country that is asking for the fees according to the Act which was passed through this House and it is this House that voted for the budget that is leading us to a deficit of $15 billion. Sometimes it is very ironic that question comes from here again.
Hon. Speaker, it should be noted that students are already paying the fees. After one week of announcement, we have a total of 113 693 students who have paid of which 56 000 paid within four days, which constitutes 50% of the students. Thirty-five percent (35%) of the students applied for payment plans and have been granted. Zero point three percent (0.3%) of the students are on work for fees programme and we granted them work for fees programme so that we can run our universities.
Hon. Speaker, I believe I have been able, to the best of my ability and humbly, to demonstrate how the fees making process takes place so that in any near future nobody can say the Minister charged fees. The Minister does not charge fees. The fees are decided upon by institutions that include students and I have evidence that the students were there. After we satisfy ourselves we then charge what we think is affordable. Even when we adjusted fees, I even increased the deficit to $15 billion because if what the universities had asked for had been granted we were going to have a deficit of $11 billion but we said no, people might not be able to afford what you are asking for. So, we moderated it. I really humbly submit Hon. Speaker.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: When we are talking about higher education we are talking about the immediate citizens of this country that are supposed to run this country into the future. So we are talking about posterity and therefore, it is important that we speak about it. What is saddening is to hear not only a ZANU PF Cabinet Minister coming to Parliament and seeming as if he wants to blame Parliament for allocating whatever it allocated to the Ministry when he was…
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Sibanda, in this House you are not supposed to talk about party names. He is a Minister for the Government not for ZANU PF.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Yes, the Government that is currently ruling is ZANU PF Party Mr. Speaker.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: I am here to guide you. Can you withdraw that?
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: That is a ZANU PF Member.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: If we are in the august House, he is a Government Minister.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: I withdraw Mr. Speaker. One wishes that the speech that the Hon. Minister was giving here...
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Sibanda, the time that I have given you is to raise questions where you would want to understand more or to raise points of clarification, not to debate.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Hon. Speaker, it is okay. Thank you.
HON. MAPHOSA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. You will allow me to give a brief background on the fees issue. Hon. Minister you recall that we had a petition from the students about the fees raise. As a Committee we tabled a Report in this House after having called you as the Ministry and the petitioners which were students. As a Committee, we gave recommendations. Mr. Speaker, we cannot have semester after semester, the same problem rising and the same Minister giving Ministerial Statements. It cannot happen. The first recommendation was when you came to the Committee you brought the same report that you tabled. If it is not the same, it is almost the same with everything because I have the report here.
We said whilst in your papers, despite stating that students are part of the fees meetings that happen in institutions, we established that some students will not be there in those meetings. If they are there, they are not given enough space to air their views. So we recommended that there should be a deliberate effort by the Ministry to consult and understand the students’ issues. The students were not against the fees raise per se but they had their issues. First it was the issue of timing. The timing of the fees raise vis-a-vis the economic hardships that we have was always a problem. For example, students are about to sit for their examinations and fees are raised. It means that the student…
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Member!
HON. MAPHOSA: Mr. Chair, I do not want to disrespect you but every time you are in the Chair, you do not give me time to speak. I do not know why?
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Honourable, I am guided by the rules of this House...
HON. MAPHOSA: But as the Chairperson of the Committee, you should exercise lenience for me to express myself.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: This is the time for questions and raising areas of clarification.
HON. MAPHOSA: That is exactly what I am doing Mr. Speaker.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: You asked me to give you time to give a little bit of your background, where you are coming from but it would appear now you are extending. We have got a lot of other Hon. Members who would want to ask questions. It is not just you Hon. Member.
HON. T. MOYO: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. May I thank the Hon. Minister for a comprehensive presentation and also to thank him for the procedure in terms of fees adjustment that students are indeed consulted? My clarification is on the issue regarding scholarships for students in Zimbabwe. In the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, we have seen the Government introducing grant-in-aide where the Government is paying fees for students especially in the most rural and marginalised districts. As a Ministry when can we expect Government to introduce some form of funding for university students? Some of the students come from poor backgrounds. I am aware there are Government scholarships when you are studying in India, China, Russia, et cetera but I am looking at a student who wants to study in Zimbabwe and may want to be assisted by the Government. At what stage can we expect that to happen? What measures have been put in place by the Ministry to ensure that those students who come from poor backgrounds are not disadvantaged in accessing tertiary education? I thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: I would want to thank the Minister for such a detailed elegant response. I think $290 per semester is the cheapest education in the entire world with the greatest environment, greatest whether, a great country and a great academia. It is known that Zimbabwean education is the best. The issue of the school fees is a bit interesting because first of all, there is economic hardship which is there. We also talk about disposable income and I think this is where Government needs to move in and subsidise. Where the citizens are having a problem, Government comes in and subsidise. Even the farmers when they do well, the price is high, the Government comes and subsidise at the end of the day.
The real issue here is you have got the students who are there. Primary and secondary education, from a point of clarity has got BEAM. I do not see BEAM at tertiary level. Why is it not there because it is the very same child who is suffering at primary and secondary? What guarantee do you have that they are not suffering when they get to tertiary? Can we see the BEAM going all the way? Yes, there is Presidential Scholarships for people going overseas. Are we not promoting other countries? Why does that money not be used in supporting our own local students who do well? The Presidential has got to be quite specific. I would like to urge and from the point of clarity, why do we not also look at it assisting.
Yes, the Minister is correct that this House passes the budget at the end of the day and I think you articulate it well. I think we need to just meet half way so that education continuous at the end of the day. With the COVID pandemic which was there, we need to react to it positively not negatively. That would be my contribution; otherwise I think the Minister spoke a lot of sense. Thank you.
(v)HON. CHARLES MOYO: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. How is the Minister going to manage operational needs? I heard the Minister saying our fees have remained constant but there is a problem with operational needs from our institution. What would be the measures by the Hon. Minister as he moderates as a structure to make sure that we manage the operational needs or demands of the institute?
Hon. Minister mentioned about SDGs. As he moderates the fees structure, how do we achieve SDG Number 1 in terms of eliminating poverty and SDG 10, in terms of reducing inequality and SDG 12 in making sure that inclusivity is attained? There is general perception that future and current students that university fees are very expensive and they may not think of attending university. How is the Hon. Minister going to work so that we achieve those SDGs?
Then last one Hon. Speaker, the Hon. Minister compared fees paid in South Africa, Botswana as well as Zambia – mind you Hon. Speaker Sir, I think all these countries that he mentioned use one currency. Is the Hon. Minister also lobbying, as he is part of Cabinet, to make sure that we use one strong currency? I can assure you Hon. Speaker Sir that one currency would be United States Dollars. I thank you.
(v)HON. MOKONE: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker Sir. I would like to thank the Hon. Minister for a well detailed Ministerial Statement. I have about three issues for clarity from the Hon. Minister.
The Hon. Minister mentioned that there is the Fees Revision Committee. I would like to know from the Hon. Minister what measures are in place to make sure that there are no loopholes in this because many a times we hear that students have agreed for fees to be hiked but that is not what will be happening on the ground. The students would not have agreed to that. We see a few people sitting down and agreeing to that.
The second issue is the issue of e-learning. What measures are in place to make sure that students access gadgets for e-learning such as laptops and cellphones? We know that these gadgets are very expensive and beyond the reach of many, and again, data is very expensive. What measures has the Ministry taken to ensure that this is made possible, especially as we are faced with COVID-19 when everything has gone digital?
Still on the issue of e-learning, I would like to know what measures has the Ministry come up with to address the plight of the girl child because as we see data, and these gadgets being expensive the girl child comes at the receiving end and at times end up engaging in immoral behaviour to get some of these gadgets.
Then my last issue would be, the Hon. Minister in his last statement actually said that some students have paid the new fees structure. Yes, they have paid the new fees structure and the parents had no choice. So I would like to know from the Hon. Minister, what measures are there to assist the under-privileged students or rather the orphans because these students who have paid are students who have parents who are still alive whilst the orphaned students do not have anyone to pay for them. What measures has the Ministry come up with to help these students to pay their fees?
*HON. DUTIRO: I would like to thank the Hon. Minister for the detailed statement that he has rendered which clarifies a lot that covers a lot and he came prepared so that we understand clearly. I have a complaint that you mentioned about funds not yet paid to the universities which the students owe due to failure to pay fees on time. This means that the institutions are suffering and might end up closing due to lack of funds.
What are you going to do as Government to help those institutions so that they get back to normal, and function as well as they used to do since in Zimbabwe, we value education? This is my only concern Hon. Minister.
+HON. M. NCUBE: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to direct my question to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. What is Government policy regarding the awarding of scholarships or bursaries to deserving students whether local or international? For instance, the Presidential Scholarship Scheme, you will find some students who are able to pay benefiting from such schemes whilst deserving ones are prejudiced.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MAVETERA): May you please use one language Hon. Member, it is either you use SiNdebele or English.
+HON. M. NCUBE: Sorry Madam Speaker. Should I repeat my question?
HON. MAVETERA: Yes, you may.
+HON. M. NCUBE: My question then is what avenues are available to deserving students who are in need of such Government schemes. I thank you.
HON. TEKESHE: Thank you Hon. Speaker Ma’am. I would like to ask the Hon. Minister the issue of student loans. In rural areas, students are not aware of the loans. We have many cases of students asking for help with school fees. They are not aware of the loan schemes. Are you telling all students about the loans? I would like to know the terms and conditions of the loans. How will they repay? Do they repay whilst they are still in school or not? I thank you.
*HON. MUDARIKWA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to thank the Hon. Minister for coming to clarify the issue of school fees. The Hon. Minister is in charge of tertiary education but he did not explain how private universities and teachers’ colleges are going to pay the fees. Is there any difference with universities? Are the fees different?
In primary and secondary education, private schools apply to the Ministry for permission to increase fees. Are the private universities and teachers’ colleges also applying to the Ministry because they are too expensive for one to afford? If you are selling cattle, you need to sell 10 for every term. It is difficult for students to complete their studies. There is a university in Bindura called the Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University. If you look at Ezekiel Guti University, it is very expensive and yet the Constitution provides that people have the right to have education. If it becomes difficult to pay for school fees, go back to Parliament and Parliament will prepare a supplementary budget to allow our children to go to school and they will be able to pay after they graduate. Most of the Hon. Members here who are degreed, I have a diploma from the Communist country – those degreed who are in here got free education as they received pay-outs from the Government. Let us go back to that era because our economy has skilled people but they are unable to continue with their education because of poverty. Some people even sang the song to say Hurombo hunodzamira, poverty will restrain you from progressing forward. That is my question. I thank you.
HON. MOLOKELA-TSIYE: Thank you so much Madam Speaker Ma’am. I just have one or two questions for the Hon. Minister; I wanted to know if the Ministry has a clear strategy of engaging students who are not attending lectures at the moment protesting against the fees? Is there a clear strategy from the Minister to come up with a solution? Secondly, I want the Minister to highlight – he highlighted the fees in other countries in the region but the Minister must also highlight the income disparity between those countries like South Africa and Zimbabwe because you cannot compare apples to oranges. So the Minister must also highlight how much Zimbabwean civil servants in Zambia, South Africa and Botswana are earning compared to those in Zimbabwe because that is where the problem is. The income is low in Zimbabwe, it is not just about the fees but the income. Thank you so much.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: On your second question, the Hon. Minister is not in a position to respond to that one. That will be related to the Hon. Minister of Public Service. So that one is not going to be answered but the first one will be answered.
(v)HON. HAMAUSWA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. My point of clarity to the Minister is that; since this is now a repeat of what has happened before, are there no plans to enhance the way in which the universities increase fees without jeopardising the process of learning for the disadvantaged students?
(v)HON. S. BANDA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. My point of clarity concerns people with disabilities. I just want to find out from the Hon. Minister; do you have statistics of people with disabilities who have failed to pay fees? I thank you so much Madam Speaker Ma’am.
(v)HON. S. NDLOVU: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I want to seek clarity from the Minister; does he know that there are children who dropped from school because of these fees after they have gone up? Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am.
HON. BRIG. GEN. (RTD.) MAYIHLOME: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. The point of clarity is on industrial attachment Hon. Minister Sir. The burden now lies on the individual students to look for industrial attachment. Why is it that tertiary institutions do not make efforts to seek industrial attachments for students at institutions of higher learning? Thank you.
HON. PROF. MURWIRA: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker. I really want to thank Hon. Members for asking very important questions that in my view lead to the improvement of policy and make sure that we run our higher education system properly. So all questions no matter what their character is, are welcome. I think it is very important that we debate this issue in a very important way.
Hon. Speaker, there has been a question which has been like, ‘why are you giving us the same answer that you gave us last year and a year before?’ It is because I was being asked the same question. If I begin to answer differently, I might be lying. I have to be as truthful as I can and I normally do it under oath like now. So, I will give the same answer if it is the same question – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –
On the issue of scholarships, Hon. Speaker, it is very important that we look into this matter very seriously. I think it will be in good order if we have a scholarship fund that is funded through this House. Any Minister of Higher Education would enjoy such a privilege. I really thank Hon. Moyo for asking this question about the possibility of scholarships. It will be very necessary because we have to run our institutions properly and it will be very nice if we can have a scholarship fund especially for students who deserve that fund.
It is related to a question by Hon. Mliswa about subsidies; when I revealed the deficit that we have as a Ministry for Higher Education of about $15 billion – I am basically humbly asking this Hon. House to take note of that and therefore help in the budget making process. What I was trying to say is not like trying to give the burden to Parliament and say, it is you who charged the fees, no. It is to highlight that, let us take our national things as collective and never start pointing fingers at each other when we have a problem in the House. Let us face it and let us also know that whoever is speaking is also responsible. That was the basic point.
How do we manage operational issues at universities? You would now know that we have gone to Education 5.0, and this is our attempt to make sure that universities are able to raise their fees. In the very near future, universities might begin to offer scholarships because they are trying to look for the brightest students to work in their industrial parks. This is our real aim and I think we will be able to achieve it.
Hon. Speaker, I have talked about the issue of helping students that are disadvantaged. We have talked about having students who are on Work-For-Fees Programme at Midlands State University and at the University of Zimbabwe. It is my humble plea to all our students that if you have problems, do not go toy-toying in the streets because there is no office in the street. Go to the Students’ Affairs office and be open enough to talk about your plight and it will be addressed. All students who approached these offices are helped. I am aware of students and there are a lot of messages that come to me which are almost like an attack to say ‘fees must fall, fees must fall!’ We know those students but we know very well that it is important – that is their age, they do that at that age, so I am not bothered.
The most important thing is that we still have to pay fees and make sure that our universities run. I can tell you, because I was going to make a Ministerial Statement today, they have been sending messages saying at least the fees must fall. That is not the way we run a country. However it is allowed at that age to be excitable but not too much.
It is very important that we are open, we cannot have universities where we do not want students - we want them but at the same time we are teaching them leadership. That is why we are saying, come let us talk about it and see what is going on, not specialising in insults. It does not help anyone.
On the issue Hon. Moyo talked about, are you saying that we should charge in US$, no, the only basis of comparison between countries is on international convertible currency. So, in South Africa, they charge in Rands, Botswana in Pula, Zambia in Kwacha, so we had to standardise them and see what the differences are. That was the basis of our comparison. There was also a question about the submissions of the fees revision committee. I have been able to try humbly to say the fees revision committee submits to the Ministry, where they are trying to make assigning auditors and from the $7 billion that they wanted, we ended up making sure that it is only $4.5 billion.
Therefore, taking into consideration the problems that our economy might have and our students might have, there is no student who goes to the students’ affairs office and plead that they do not have money and they are chucked away from the university. It is only those – we have been observing some students who were toy-toying at the University of Zimbabwe and we discovered that they were not students anywhere. They are coming from an address, somewhere in Baines Avenue. There is no university there. So, it is also important to this House to know that it is not good to destabilise our own education sector. It does not help anyone. It does not help anyone to use our students as fodder for their political whims. It is not correct.
On the plight of the girl child - we are in the process of building hostels. Every hostel that we build we start with female students. We have just completed a 750 student hostel in Bindura. It is all for girls. All what we are trying to do is to make sure that we alleviate these problems. I want to thank this House for continually reviewing the budget of the Ministry. I can say since my humble tenure from 2017 up to now, this august House has been giving universities, for the first time some operation fees. This has not been happening before. So we are very happy that this is the direction that we are taking. I also wish to thank you within the constraints of the resources that we have.
On the issue of Presidential Scholarships, I want to say that, that office is no longer in the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development but it has a specific department under the OPC, where it is run. So I may not be able to competently answer this question.
Now, when the loan is there, Hon. Tekeshe asked, how is it published? We try by all means, also through this means that the Hon. Members have asked me to make a Ministerial Statement to make it public that again there is a loan. I am hoping that this then cascades to the people that need that information. You know sometimes our students are under so much pressure that they do not want to say that they are poor. It is not a problem to say you are poor. Some of us also went to school through the mercy of other people but by actually telling those people that ‘you know, I cannot afford this, can you help me.’ It is very important for this society to confront its poverty and not try to say they are ‘cool’ when you do not have fees. Just say I do not have and go to the appropriate office. Do not be told to go and make noise and destroy property because you cannot pay fees because that will put the whole system into much bigger problems.
I would also want to answer a question on private universities. Private universities and colleges are by nature private. Therefore, they charge fees according to their privacy. What I can talk about competently is our public universities, which are funded through this august House and we are saying we are trying by all means to make them affordable and attractive at the same time. Our education quality in this country is improving and is improving very well. If somebody says education standards are falling down. I would say no, we are actually going up very well because that higher education has been able to produce in the past five years is showing improvement. Now we have oxygen, sanitiser, masks, we are building new hospitals et cetera. It shows that movement is taking place.
Hon. Molokela talked about the strategy of engaging students. When we talk about our students, it is like we are always accessible to our students any time but we are talking about the rule of law. We are in the House of Law as we speak today – there are procedures that people use. Students have got a Dean of students, they have got faculties, they have got a council et cetera. All these are procedures that they can follow. If students are to be helped and they are genuine, they will always be helped. If students are used by some people as political fodder – they are mature people, what can we do? They are adults, they can go and engage in those circles but if they want to engage in education, they can always engage and be helped. There is no problem.
I want to say we are open to discuss with our students, every time, any time. I had had sometime a meeting with students’ leaders, as a way to make sure that we know where we want to go with our education. It is not a problem, we are accessible but it is very important that if people are advocating for the rule of law, they must not shy away from that very same law which they are saying the rule of law.
Coming to people with disabilities, I want to report very clearly that all students with disabilities, especially at institutions that can involve them, that can handle this issue, like University of Zimbabwe, they pay nothing. They pay no fees, no accommodation, nothing. They are completely sponsored by Government. All students with disabilities at the University of Zimbabwe, I think you can go and prove that now. –[HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –
Do you know that there are some students who dropped from school? There is no student that should drop from school. I am saying let us face our poverty. It is not a problem to tell people that I cannot afford, I am poor. If you can do that, you can always be helped. As I said if you want to be known to be ‘cool’ and pretend that you can afford and try to prevent people from knowing that by toy-toying in the street, it does not help. You still are not going to school. If you ask for help you will be helped. There is no student that should drop from school but if we say now, go and work in these grounds so that we can get your fees, do not be too big to work in the grounds for your own fees. That is the humbleness that we need in our students. No student should drop from school. No student should drop from college. They present their case and we will always help them. All those that have asked for help have been helped. All those people that we helped tried to exercise their democratic right of shouting, they have been allowed to shout but the most important thing is go to school and follow the procedure. We allow our students to be free to talk, free speech, free to associate and so forth but still you have to go to school and have a degree. It is very important that we go back to this centre and say it is not about how much noise you make, it is not about how you call me Mr. Murwira when I am a professor when you are at university. It does not help. Go and read for the degree that you applied for and pass. That is the most important thing. That is the message that I want to give. It does not help to be used by people who are old in a wrong way. Go to school and read. If you have a problem with fees, talk to us and we will see how we can make you remain in class. However, the price of bread does not change and it is not being changed by the Minister of Higher Education. It changes and bread still has to be bought, so we have to understand that.
Hon. Speaker, the last issue is about industrial attachment. I think it is a very good suggestion that our students find places for industrial attachment. One of the things that we are doing is to make sure that with our industrial parks, for example if you go to Gweru where we have done the MSU industrial park, it is interesting how many students you find there. It is interesting to see that we are building a state of the art diagnostic centre at the MSU. It is interesting to see how all the students are involved in putting the lawn there so that they can pay their own fees. As I said, it is not bad to review your plight to say I think I will be able to help. This is how people build their country. We do not build our country through confusion.
Once again, I want to say if we are truthful and we ask the question and if I am truthful, I should be giving you the answer during the morning, afternoon and evening, same answer. Next month and next year, I will give you the same answer. Thank you.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MAVETERA): Thank you very much Hon. Prof. Murwira. I would like to thank you for the Ministerial Statement and for the responses that you had to go on to give.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT
RESPONSE TO THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE ON THE REPORT OF A VIRTUAL MEETING HELD WITH THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL PEOPLE’S CONGRESS OF CHINA
THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. DR. SHAVA): First and foremost Madam Speaker, I would like to thank Parliament for complementing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in enhancing the country’s relations not only with the people’s Republic of China but with other countries as well.
Madam Speaker, we welcome the close co-operation between Zimbabwe and China and I am pleased to say that relations between Zimbabwe and China continue to grow from strength to strength each year. As you may be aware, Zimbabwe-China relations were elevated from “all weather friends” to “comprehensive strategic partnership.”
Madam Speaker, recently, we attended the eighth edition of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Dakar, Senegal which was held under the theme “Deepening the Sino-Africa Partnership and Promoting Sustainable Development” to build a China-Africa Community with a shared future in the new era.
The conference sought to elevate the implementation of the follow up actions of the 2018 Beijing Summit and the situation of China-Africa solidarity against COVID-19. The conference also sought to map out the direction of the China-Africa relations in the next three years. The conference provided a platform to review progress in the strategic partnership between Zimbabwe and China in the areas of mutual interest.
On the sidelines of the FOCAC meeting, I am pleased to highlight that I had the opportunity to meet with the State Councillor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Honourable Wang Yi and we discussed the state of bilateral relations between China and Zimbabwe, which we both acknowledged were very strong, characterised by regular communication between our two Heads of State and Government. We agreed to continue working together to further strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation.
Through cooperation between Zimbabwe and the People’s Republic of China, already our country has benefited from several projects which include;
- Construction of the new Parliament building in Mount Hampden;
- Rehabilitation and upgrading of the R.G. Mugabe International Airport in Harare;
- Rehabilitation of Victoria Falls Airport;
- Dualisation of Beitbridge-Harare-Chirundu Road;
- Expansion of Hwange 7 and 8 Thermal Power Stations;
- Expansion of the NetOne broadband;
- Government approved Dinson Iron and Steel Company, a subsidiary of Tsingshan Group Holdings to establish a steel plant in Mvuma. The plant is expected to become the largest steel plant on the continent; and
- Zimbabwe is cooperating with China in the agricultural sector at Gwebi Demonstration Centre.
Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to note that China has remained a strategic partner for Zimbabwe in the health sector through donation of vaccines and rehabilitation of Mahusekwa Clinic. Currently, there is close cooperation between Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals and Hunan Provincial Hospital, a partnership that promotes medical institutional capacity.
The Chinese business community through the Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe, have also donated PPEs and other medical supplies to the Government to assist national efforts in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.
Zimbabwe has benefitted immensely from the Chinese investments and assistance in the areas of energy, agriculture, health, ICT and infrastructure development as I have alluded to. With regards to energy, the Chinese investors have assisted the country to address power deficit in the country through power generation, namely the Kariba South Project which contributes 300 megawatts to the national power grid, and the Hwange 7 and 8 Thermal Power Project, which when completed will add another 600 megawatts to the national grid. Once these projects are completed, there will be steady power supplies which will assist in the recovery of the country’s industries which in turn will create jobs for the people of Zimbabwe.
With respect to agriculture, the Chinese have facilitated irrigation development and provision of inputs through contract tobacco farming. This helps in improving livelihood of citizens and guarantee food security.
With regards to ICT, there has been corporation in the NetOne broad band expansion phase project. You will be aware of the Government programmes to be inclusive in terms of access to technology. It is true that Government will be able to facilitate greater access to ICT which is now critical in all sections of the economy. Madam Speaker, China has also assisted Zimbabwe with human resources development through provision of scholarships to Zimbabwean students to study in China and on the job training to local companies like the Chinese Factory in Norton which has been talked about earlier on in this House today.
The Chinese business community has transferred technical expertise and created employment for thousands of our people. The Chinese investment has helped to increase the country’s GDP and volume of exports, particularly in the tobacco sector. I am also pleased to highlight that through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, on various occasions we have written to the Government of the People’s Republic of China expressing our gratitude for the support that Government has extended to Zimbabwe. In February 2021, His Excellency the President, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa wrote to his counterpart expressing gratitude for the donation of a total of 400 000 COVID-19 vaccines availed to us in two batches in the true spirit of friendship and fraternal corporation. I so submit Madam Speaker.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. TOGAREPI: Madam Speaker, I move that Order of the Day, Nos. 1 to 30 be stood over until Order of the Day, No. 31 has been disposed of.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
COMMITTEE STAGE
AMENDMENT OF STATE UNIVERSITIES STATUTES BILL [H. B. 13, 2021]
Thirty First Order read: Committee Stage: Amendment of State Universities Statutes Bill [H. B. 13, 2021]
House in Committee.
Clauses 1and 2 put and agreed to.
Schedule put and agreed to.
House resumed.
Bill reported without amendments.
Third Reading: With leave, forthwith.
THIRD READING
AMENDMENT OF STATE UNIVERSITIES STATUTES BILL [H. B. 13, 2021]
THE MINISTER OF HIGHTER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Madam Speaker, 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
HON. TOGAREPI: Madam Speaker, I move that we revert to Order of the Day Number 1 on today’s Order Paper.
HON. MPARIWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE 50TH PLENARY ASSEMBLY OF THE SADC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM HOSTED VIRTUALLY BY THE UNITED KINGDOM OF LESOTHO
HON. MPARIWA: I move the motion standing in my name that this House takes note of the report of 50th Plenary Assembly of the SADC Parliamentary Forum hosted virtually by the Kingdom of Lesotho from 10 to 12 December 2021.
HON. MUDARIKWA: I second.
HON. MPARIWA: 1.0 INTRODUCTION
- The 50th Plenary Assembly Session of the SADC
Parliamentary Forum was hosted virtually from the 10th to 12th December 2021 under the theme, “Celebrating a new era of democracy towards consolidating the vibrant voices of SADC Parliamentarians.” The theme of the 50th Plenary Assembly which resonated with commemorations of the Golden Jubilee of Plenary Assembly sessions, was aimed at celebrating the achievements of the SADC PF since its inception, including but not limited to the landmark decision of the 41st SADC Summit meeting held in Lilongwe, Malawi, from the 17th-18th August 2021, which approved the Transformation of the Forum into a SADC Regional Parliament, with the accomplishment of other formalities such as the amendment to the SADC Treaty and the incorporation of the Protocol to establish the SADC Parliament commencing immediately.
1.2 Hon. Advocate Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda,
Speaker of the Parliament of Zimbabwe, led the delegation which comprised the following Members of Parliament:
Hon. Tambudzani Mohadi, Member of the Standing Committee on Food, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Infrastructure;
Hon. Goodluck Kwaramba, Member of the Standing Committee on Gender Equality, Women Advancement and Youth Development and Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Women’s Parliamentary Caucus (ZWPC);
Hon. Dought Ndiweni, Executive Committee Member and Member of the Standing Committee on Democratization, Governance and Human Rights;
Hon. Anele Ndebele, Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment; and
Hon. Paurina Mpariwa, Member of the Standing Committee on Human and Social Development and Special Programmes.
2.0 OFFICIAL OPENING CEREMONY
2.1 In delivering the keynote address, the Guest of Honour, Rt
Hon. Dr. Moeketsi Majoro, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho, recognized SADC PF as a key cog of SADC and paid tribute to the Strategic Lobby Team of Hon. Speakers for its unwavering commitment to the Transformation Agenda. The Premier acknowledged that as a late convert to the Transformation Agenda, he had since become a fervent advocate for the speedy amendment of the Treaty to ensure that the Regional Parliament becomes a reality in accordance with the laid down roadmap.
2.2 In their congratulatory remarks, the East Africa Legislative
Assembly (EALA) applauded the model law-making initiatives at the SADC PF and indicated that they stand ready to share their experiences and also assist the institution in the transformation process agenda.
2.3 The Regional Women’s Parliamentary Caucus (RWPC),
called for the active consultations of women in all decision–making processes.
2.4 Hon. Christophe MBOSO N’KODIA PWANGA, President
of the SADC PF and Speaker of the National Assembly of the
Democratic Republic of Congo, profiled the achievements made by the
Forum since its inception and applauded Member Parliaments for their
resilience in the endeavour to see the birth of a SADC Regional
Parliament.
2.5 In proposing a vote of thanks, the Speaker of the Parliament
of Malawi, Rt. Hon. Catherine Gotani Hara, graciously thanked the
Kingdom of Lesotho for unpacking a well-choreographed 50th
Anniversary Plenary Assembly and reminded the meeting of the
significant socio-economic contributions of the Kingdom of Lesotho to
the region.
3.0 STATEMENT BY THE SPEAKER OF THE
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF ZIMBABWE, HON. ADVOCATE JACOB FRANCIS NZWIDAMILIMO MUDENDA ON THE SYMPOSIUM AND THE KEY DELIVERABLES
3.1 Hon. Advocate Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda was
part of the team that reflected on the Symposium topic, “The Windhoek Initiative and the Birth of the SADC Parliamentary Forum: Celebrating the Emergence of the Voice of Parliaments in SADC Regional Integration”. In his delivery, the Hon. Speaker urged the Region to activate an enduring consultative framework between the Executives and the Legislatures within SADC to keep the momentum going on the Transformation Agenda.
3.2 He indicated that this could only be achieved by ensuring that key structures such as the Joint Task Team led by the Secretary-General and the SADC Executive Secretary working under the stewardship of the Strategic Lobby Team of Hon. Speakers continue to collaborate as guardians and custodians of the Transformation Agenda. The Strategic Lobby Team has to guide the Technical Working Group at the political level in order to keep the Transformative Agenda within the SADC Summit decision radar.
3.2.1 The Symposium Statement recommended that all SADC PF
Members should studiously read the Proposed Protocol on the Transformation Process once it is submitted by their respective Ministers of Foreign Affairs so as to make incisive input that will accelerate the transformation process to take place before 2023.
3.3 The Symposium noted the persistent impediments to regional
integration due to the prevailing visa regimes and artificial barriers in the mould of borders which continue to act contrary to the spirit of total regional hegemony. To this end, the spirit and letter envisaged in regional integration and cooperation by SADC founding fathers should be foisted to achieve total regional harmony.
3.4 The 50th Plenary Assembly Meeting also took time to
celebrate the life of Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, a luminary and founding patriarch of African independence who died on 17 June 2021. The glowing tributes acknowledged the work of the illustrious son of Africa who contributed immensely to the liberation of many African countries in the region including Zimbabwe. The participants acknowledged that the life of Dr. Kaunda ably demonstrates the sacrificial servant leadership principle of putting others first before considering one’s own situation.
3.4.1 It is important to note that the Speaker of the Parliament of
Zimbabwe spearheaded the publication of a Condolence Booklet commemorating the life of the late President of Zambia which has been shared with the Zambian Embassy in Zimbabwe for distribution to the National Assembly of Zambia and Dr. Kenneth Kaunda’s family, among others.
5.0 ADOPTION OF THE REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE AND THE TREASURER’S REPORT
5.1 The Executive Committee tabled its report for consideration
and adoption during the 50th Plenary Assembly meeting.
5.2 The Report acknowledged the work of the Strategic Lobby
Team of Hon. Speakers and the consequential approval of the Transformation of the SADC PF into a Regional Parliament and pledged to chart the way forward in terms of amendments to the SADC Treaty and the finalisation of the Protocol establishing the SADC Parliament.
5.3 The Plenary Assembly adopted the proposed salary reviews
for SADC Secretariat Staff and the recommendations for Member Parliaments to second staff as a stop-gap measure to mitigate the prevailing manpower shortage.
5.4 The Plenary Assembly deliberated on and adopted the SADC
Model Law on Gender-Based Violence. The Model Law was interrogated clause by clause after undergoing the same processes in the Joint Standing Committee Meetings.
5.5 The 50th Plenary Assembly meeting adopted the Trust Deed
and urged the host Speaker, Hon. Professor Peter Katjavivi, to finalize the process of registration and the deposit of the first pledge. The meeting was advised that a number of donors were waiting in the wings to see this initiative through, which will naturally improve the finances of the Forum.
5.6 The 50th Plenary Assembly expressed profound appreciation
to the Parliament of Lesotho through Hon. Speaker Sephiri Motanyane,
for hosting the 50th Plenary Assembly Session. Though Speaker after
Speaker yearned for the alternate in-person Plenary Assembly, the
region appreciated the demonstrated heightened magnitude of
preparations by the Basotho which reverberated throughout the Plenary
Assembly.
6.0 MOTIONS ADOPTED DURING THE 50th PLENARY
ASSEMBLY MEETINGS
6.1 Consideration of the Report of the Standing Committee
on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment
6.1.1 The Plenary Assembly Session adopted a motion on the
establishment of one-stop investment shops to provide both local and foreign investors with fast, efficient and business-friendly services. In this regard, the work of the Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency (ZIDA) needs to be enhanced in view of the Second Republic’s operative mantra. “Zimbabwe is open for business.”
6.1.2 The Report also stressed the need to promulgate
comprehensive laws to fend off the ills of illicit financial flows.
6.2 Report of the Standing Committee on Food, Agriculture
and Natural Resources
6.2.1 The Report encouraged Member Parliaments to push for the
implementation of policies that encourage water harvesting in their countries and legislate for deliberate trans-boundary water sharing measures. This will help mitigate the effects of climate change and the prevalent droughts in the region.
6.2.2 The Report also urged Parliaments in the region to leverage
on the power of the purse to increase budgetary allocations towards the water sector to promote investments that can guarantee a water-secure region.
6.3 Report of the Standing Committee on Democratisation,
Governance and Human Rights
6.3.1 The motion adopted encouraged virtual election observation
missions as an alternate yet effective substitute to in-person missions.
6.3. The report applauded SADC for deploying its Standby Force –
the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) – to quell the terrorism threats in Cabo Delgado and for deploying the Force Intervention Brigade (FIB), in support of the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission (MONUSCO), to counter the negative forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In that regard, the Plenary Assembly commended SADC for implementing various initiatives aimed at ensuring that the region continued to enjoy sustained peace and security and that Member States remain politically stable.
7.0 RECOMMENDATIONS AND WAY FORWARD
7.1 Parliament of Zimbabwe to hold an All-Stakeholder
Workshop spearheaded by the Zimbabwe Women’s Parliamentary Caucus (ZWPC), Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, and the Portfolio Committee on Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development and other relevant stakeholders to provide a common platform to deliberate on the domestication of the Model Law on Gender-Based Violence. This initiative is to commence by 15 March 2022.
7.2 The Plenary Assembly noted the inequalities emerging in the
education sector due to COVID-19 related school closures which saw over 1.6 billion learners in more than 190 countries out of school. In this regard, deliberate efforts should be made by the relevant Portfolio Committees to assess the impact of the pandemic on school-going pupils and the effectiveness of policies implemented to rectify the situation, especially in Zimbabwe. The Portfolio Committees on Health and Child Care and the Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education to initiate Fact-finding Missions and virtual submissions on the impact of COVID-19 on the education sector. This should enhance the already tabled reports on the matter and should consider the trans-mutative nature of the pandemic. The initiatives are to commence on 15 March 2022.
7.3 Urgent action is needed to streamline visa and immigration
procedures to ensure the smooth movement of goods and people in the
region. There is need for Member States to formulate policies that open
up borders for the movement of people and even animals inter-
territorially. This should be the beginning of the collapse of artificial
borders created by colonialists in their endeavour to divide and rule. The
Portfolio Committee on Defence Home Affairs and Security Services to
call for submissions from its stakeholders on the need to streamline inter-
regional cooperation through removal of stringent border controls. This
initiative is to commence by 01April 2022.
7.4 Member Parliaments were encouraged to continue making efforts to domesticate the Model Laws developed thus far to enable the general populace to benefit through sound policies envisaged at the regional level. In this regard, the SADC PF Secretariat will be engaged to present the modalities for the implementation of the scorecard on Model Laws as an appropriate tool to measure the domestication of Model Laws into the national legislative agenda. Parliament of Zimbabwe to engage Secretariat to give a briefing to SADC PF delegates on the proposed scorecard by 31 March 2022.
7.5 There is need for Parliaments across the region to continue raising
concern on the negative effects of destabilizing forces such as the insurgency in Cabo Delgado Province of Mozambique. Parliament of Zimbabwe to monitor closely developments at the SADC Summitry to ensure that it pitches appropriately its contributions during the forthcoming Plenary Assembly and related meetings.
8.0 CONCLUSION
8.1 The Plenary Assembly concluded by calling Member
Parliaments to continue programming towards the celebrations of the 50th Golden Jubilee celebrations aware that the decision of the Summit is only but the beginning of a long and arduous process inclusive of the adoption of the protocol and the consequential amendment of the SADC Treaty.
8.2 Parliament of Zimbabwe continues to play a highly effective
leading role in the Transformation Agenda in its role as the holders of the Chairpersonship of the Strategic Lobby Team of Hon. Speakers on the Transformation of the Forum into a SADC Regional Parliament. This role naturally mutates into a Strategic imprimatur apparatus for the Transformation Agenda.
8.3 Parliament of Zimbabwe commits itself to the full
implementation of the resolutions of the Plenary Assembly which have been shared among all Members of Parliament to facilitate action by different Portfolio Committees of Member Parliaments.
8.4 Parliament of Zimbabwe also stands ready to ensure that all
mechanisms towards the operationalisation of the SADC PF Trust are fulfilled.
8.5 The 51st Plenary Assembly of the SADC PF will be hosted by
the Republic of Malawi in a format to be agreed upon in view of the exigencies of the highly mutative COVID-19 pandemic.
8.6 Notably, the Speaker of the Parliament of Zimbabwe, Hon.
Advocate Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda, was unanimously elected Chair of the 50th Plenary Assembly Session with Hon. Dought Ndiweni presenting the Executive Committee Report. Members of Parliament from Zimbabwe were also incisive and pointed in their contributions to the Plenary Assembly.
RESOLUTIONS
PREAMBLE
The SADC Parliamentary Forum 50th Plenary Assembly Session was held from 10th to 12th December 2021, virtually, under the theme “Celebrating a New Era of Democracy towards Consolidating the Vibrant Voices of SADC Parliamentarians.”
In accordance with its constitutive mandate, the 50th Plenary Assembly deliberated and made resolutions on various issues of regional importance and concern which were contained in various reports tabled by respective organs, namely the Executive Committee (EXCO), Standing Committees, Regional Women’s Parliamentary Caucus (RWPC) and the Regional Parliamentary Model Laws Oversight Committee (RPMLOC), as well as statements delivered during the Plenary Assembly.
SADC PF has five Standing Committees which focus on SADC sectoral areas as follows:
i) Democratisation, Governance and Human Rights; ii) Human and Social Development and Special Programmes; iii) Gender Equality, Women Advancement and Youth Development; iv) Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment; and v) Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Pursuant to Rule 6 (3) of the SADC PF Rules of Procedure, Plenary Assembly resolutions are to be “submitted to the SADC Secretariat and to relevant National Ministries through National Parliaments.”
RESOLUTIONS ON THE SYMPOSIUM ON THE THEME: “CELEBRATING A NEW ERA OF DEMOCRACY TOWARDS CONSOLIDATING THE VIBRANT VOICES OF SADC PARLIAMENTARIANS” (SADCPF50PA-Res 001/12/2021)
The SADC Parliamentary Forum,
REITERATING the critical role of Parliamentarians in building vibrant and sustainable democracies in Southern Africa and the need for sustained capacity building programmes for SADC Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff in order to enhance the work of the Parliaments.
DEEPLY CONCERNED by the failure by some SADC Members States to attain the 50:50 gender parity in political decision-making positions, specifically the diminishing numbers of women in national Parliaments.
STRESSING that SADC countries need to take affirmative action to promote the equal representation and participation of women in decision-making structures in the region.
CONCERNED by the perpetual failure by the SADC PF to deploy election observation missions to observe inter alia, the performance of Member States on gender equality in elections on a consistent basis.
The SADC Parliamentary Forum therefore calls upon SADC Members States to devise measures to promote the inclusion of more women in decision-making positions in order to reach the 50:50 gender parity;
CALLS on National Parliaments of Members States to enact legislation to compel political parties to have gender quotas for parliamentary seats and to allocate funds in national budgets for women empowerment;
IMPLORES National Parliaments to continue prioritising the provision of tailor-made capacity development programmes for Members of Parliament and staff of Parliaments.
URGES Member Parliaments to ensure mobilisation of adequate financial resources for the participation of their Members in SADC PF Election Observation Missions in order to enhance democracy and good governance in the SADC region;
COMMENDS the SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government for the decision to transform SADC PF into a SADC Parliament and urges all SADC Members States to continue to offer unwavering support to the transformation process.
RESOLUTIONS ON THE ADOPTION OF THE SADC MODEL LAW ON GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE SADCPF50PA-Res 002/12/21)
The SADC PF Plenary Assembly,
ALARMED by the prevalence of gender-based violence (GBV) across the SADC region which disproportionately affects women and children;
CONCERNED by the lack of harmonised legislation on preventing and mitigating GBV in SADC Member States;
WELCOMING the various efforts by SADC to deal with GBV, including initiatives such as the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development (1997, 2016); the Regional Strategy and Framework of Action for Addressing GBV (2018-2030); the Regional Strategy on Women, Peace and Security (2018-2022); the SADC SRHR Strategy for 2030, and the SDG targets related to SDG 5.1;
REITERATING the need to evaluate the effectiveness of current regional and national strategies on combating GBV with a view to improve GBV prevention and mitigation interventions;
ACKNOWLEDGING the importance of developing the SADC Model Law on Gender-Based Violence in order to provide effective and efficacious legislative and institutional frameworks for preventing and mitigating GBV in SADC Member States;
REITERATING the importance of the SADC GBV Model Law as a non-binding tool, in providing general principles for adoption and adaptation by Member States based on their specific contexts.
The SADC PF Plenary Assembly therefore:
URGES all Member States to adopt and adapt the SADC Model Law on Gender Based Violence to ensure harmonised legal frameworks and integrated approaches to the prevention and mitigation of GBV and speedy domestication of the principles espoused in this Model Law.
CALLS on Member States to enact and ensure enforcement of legislation that prohibits all forms of GBV.
CALLS UPON Members States to review and reform national criminal laws and procedures applicable to cases of sexual offences and GBV.
APPEALS to SADC Member States to enact and adopt specific legislative provisions to prevent human trafficking and provide holistic services to victims, with the aim of re-integrating them into society.
RESOLUTIONS ON ENHANCING THE ROLE OF PARLIAMENT IN PROMOTING DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (SADCPF50PA-Res 003/12/21)
The SADC Parliamentary Forum,
COGNISANT that the Standing Committee on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (TIFI) had received and considered presentations from subject experts from the SADC Secretariat, Investment Promotion Agencies of selected SADC Member States and independent experts;
AWARE that the measures that most countries had employed to contain the COVID-19 pandemic had regressed investment and disrupted economic activities;
COGNISANT that the SADC Vision 2050 was built on a firm foundation of peace, security and good governance;
ACKNOWLEDGING that the SADC Protocol on Finance and Investment (as amended on 31st August 2016) constituted an important instrument that governed investment in the region, alongside the SADC Regional Development Fund (RDF), whose overall purpose was to create a regional financing mechanism for economic development and sustainable growth in SADC;
ALARMED that no SADC Member State had ratified and deposited instruments of ratification of the Agreement to operationalise the Regional Development Fund with the SADC Secretariat, despite a total of nine Member States having signed the Agreement;
SERIOUSLY CONCERNED that the slow implementation of the regional investment policy framework by Member States, among others, was among the major obstacles to achieving greater levels of investment at regional level;
WELCOMING the critical role of the SADC Secretariat in providing technical support to national Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) to domesticate the investment framework;
ALARMED by the shocking prevalence of corruption and the massive rate at which the SADC Region was losing resources due to illicit financial flows;
STRESSING that while Special Economic Zones (SEZ) were an enabler of investment returns, domestic investors were not benefitting from equal opportunities with foreign investors in these enclaves;
OBSERVING that governments tended to sign investment agreements and contracts in the absence of public scrutiny and without due diligence;
NOTING that non-tariff barriers, high transportation costs, a mismatch between the available skills and industry requirements, policy inconsistency and limited land access were the major obstacles to attracting and enhancing investment in the region.
The SADC Parliamentary Forum Plenary Assembly therefore:
CALLS on Members States to work vigorously to contain the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and implement investment policy responses in order to register meaningful investment returns.
ENCOURAGES SADC Parliamentarians to familiarise themselves with investment policies, regulatory and institutional frameworks as well as various incentives available in the region and at national level in order to adequately provide oversight on matters of domestic investment and FDI.
URGES SADC Member States to domesticate international investment agreements and the SADC Investment Policy Framework and to harmonise international and regional frameworks with the national investment framework in order to enhance the flow of FDI, especially intra-SADC FDI.
URGES SADC Members States to participate in global investment promotion events in order to promote the SADC region as a preferred investment destination.
URGES National Parliaments to play an active role in facilitating the ratification process of the Agreement on the Operationalisation of the SADC Regional Development Fund, and Member States to deposit the instruments of ratification in order for the Fund to facilitate mobilisation of meaningful resources to support regional value chains, mineral beneficiation and other industrial projects in the Region.
CALLS on SADC countries to leverage on available opportunities through trade agreements to which the region is party and strengthen diplomatic relations among SADC countries to boost intra-regional investment and optimise the potential benefits of intra-regional investment.
ENCOURAGES Member States to eliminate non-tariff barriers to trade in order to facilitate free movement of goods and services, in addition to movement of individuals, especially within the region.
STRONGLY URGES SADC Parliamentarians, in collaboration with the civil society, to advocate for foreign investment that prioritises the interests of the people and recognized participation of the local investors.
RECOMMENDS a collaborative approach among SADC Parliamentarians, the civil society and the media in scrutinising investment agreements in order to ensure that contract terms were designed to create opportunities for sustainable and pro-people development.
URGES SADC governments to take drastic measures to eradicate corruption, which has a corrosive impact on business operations and investment in order to provide a fair environment for competition by all investors and boost investor confidence.
URGES Parliamentarians to probe governments to put in place investment incentives for local investors to stimulate domestic investments, especially in the tourism and energy sectors.
RESOLVES to collaborate with national Parliaments, to facilitate capacity building programmes to strengthen the capacity of Parliamentarians on issues relating to trade and investment and the SADC investment framework.
URGES Member States to establish one-stop investment shops to provide both local and foreign investors with fast, efficient and business friendly services, especially at start up stage.
URGES Member States to embrace SEZs as a key investment promotion tool in a bid to accelerate diversification and export expansion and to regularly assess their performance and economic impact so as to ensure that they remained relevant to both local and international investors. I thank you.
(v)HON. NDIWENI: I rise to second the report that has been presented by Hon Mpariwa on the historic 50th Plenary Assembly Meeting of the SADC PF. Hon. Members, it has been a coincidence of history that the meeting that foresaw the need to establish a SADC PF took place in Malawi back then in 1997 and it so then happened that the meeting that agreed to the transformation process into a regional Parliament also took place in Malawi in August 2021.
Let me say that the final drive to achieve the transformation journey, we applaud our Speaker, Hon Advocate Mudenda for having spearheaded the whole process and he was the chair of the Strategic Committee. You will realise that among other issues they highlighted in the report, there was a deliberate move by the Forum which met on model laws, to figure domestic laws, we know that model laws are not binding, but it is up to individuals of a country to then pick these model laws and then domesticate them according to the needs of the individual countries. If we are to transform successfully to a SADC Parliament, then we are going to be a Parliament that is capable of coming up with laws that are binding.
It is in this regard that the report has called for the Zimbabwe Women Parliamentary Caucus, the Portfolio Committee for Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and the Portfolio Committee on Women Affairs, Community Small and Medium Enterprises Development and other relative stakeholders to work on all stakeholders’ meeting to provide a common platform to deliberate on the domestication of the model law on gender based violence. I am sure that such a law, if incorporated into our already existing laws on gender based violence, will be a very good intervention.
Madam Speaker Ma’am, amongst other resolutions that were presented, you realise that the call for the Portfolio Committees on Health and Child Care, Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education to initiate outreach programmes and virtual submission on the promotion of sound education, good health and wellbeing of all adolescents and young people; this will see the young people being equipped with information and skills to save and help in making decisions about their health, lifestyles and the future.
COVID-19 has seen innovative ways of doing business. In this regard, we urge the Portfolio Committees mentioned above to work hard in ensuring that the different situations can be used to sustain in our rapid digitalisation and eventually become a middle income class and prosperous economy by the year 2030.
It is also worth mentioning that during the same plenary session, true to the adage or the motto that says an injury to one is an injury to all; we saw and applauded the SADC States for coming together when one of their own was under attack by terrorists in Mozambique. All the SADC member States, organised the SADC standby force. It was then deployed to Mozambique and to this day, we know that the violence that was in Mozambique has drastically reduced. The unfortunate thing that the plenary was informed of was the late deployment of such is unfortunately due to the member State affected. SADC has to wait for an invitation of the member State. Without the invitation, SADC Forces cannot be deployed. So the delay that might have been experienced was because the member States were waiting for the affected country to invite the deployment of the force.
Finally, I would like to urge Members to read through this report and the attached resolutions and then use them in their various Committees that they belong to. Our colleagues as well in the SADC PF delegation who were mentioned in the report will be contributing to this report to ensure that there is feedback at the ongoing SADC Parliamentary Forum especially at this stage when it is transforming to a fully fledged SADC Parliament. I thank you.
HON. MUDARIKWA: Thank you very much. My contribution to the presentation by Hon. Mpariwa is that I think we need to hold a workshop where people understand what is actually happening within our region. SADC region was a creation of what was then known as the Frontline States. Frontline States were a creation of a desire by the Pan-Africanist countries that felt that we are independent but our independence meant nothing when any part of Africa remained colonised. SADC is a creation of the late, Samora Moises Machel, Julius Nyerere and Kenneth Kaunda. They put a lot of effort to make this thing happen and we must also salute them for the job well done.
On the issue of Women’s Forum in SADC - they must also move forward and encourage SADC member countries to put legislation in their Banking Act. They should say every country within the SADC region, if there are portfolios of loans, at least a minimum of 25% of the loans must be given to women. Women constitute 52% of the population and yet if you see the books of all banks, the loans given to women constitute just about 1%. What does this mean? It means that we are following what our colonisers wanted. The British, when they came to Zimbabwe, realised that an African woman was not a person. If Hon. Mpariwa wanted to open an account in Rhodesia, she would need to invite the son of her brother. The whole thing was male dominated. The desire of the colonisers was that they make sure that women are not given the legal entity. If we are working doing the same job, women would be paid less. It is within this framework that the SADC Women Parliamentary Forum must push forward for the banks to give loans to women because once you are given a loan, it is a process of economic development. When women are developing, you are developing a nation. So, these are some of the critical issues which we need to highlight.
The issue of trade, there are cross border traders that exist in many countries in Africa but mostly going to South Africa to do shopping and coming back. Those people must be protected, those people must also be given a chance to explain and get funding so that their business continues to grow. The issue of free trade in SADC is very critical. At the present moment, one country which is South Africa has modernised its production levels and everything and the cost of production is very low because of modernisation. It is my humble submission that SADC must develop industries.
If you go to South Africa, my daughter works for the South African Government. She tells me that Zimbabwe now needs to build a pipeline from South Africa to pump cooking oil to Zimbabwe because the amount of cooking oil coming from South Africa to Zimbabwe does not require the use of roads. It now requires a pipeline to pump cooking oil into Zimbabwe. Obviously, sometimes our cooking is wrong. We use a lot of cooking oil but as SADC we also need to realise that we need to develop industries in other countries so that there is no influx of people to South Africa.
Most SADC countries have now been turned to consumers. They do not produce anything. Everything comes from South Africa. I was into the milling industry. I used to produce an average of 7 000 tonnes of maize meal per month but I stopped the day when South Africa was allowed to bring GMO maize into Zimbabwe. It was like a quote of my price. So all those things must be looked into. The issue of genetically modified food must also be looked into by SADC because it disadvantages other people.
In conclusion Madam Speaker, the issue of Cabo Delgado, a national and SADC’s responsibility to protect Mozambique because Mozambique is our all weather friend. They supported us during the most difficult times of our lives. We need to support them. We need to defeat those people who are creating wars in Africa. Religious fanatics are all over and it is unfortunate that they are in SADC. It is my humble plea that we need to get updates of what is happening.
I want to thank you Madam Speaker for allowing me to make my contribution and also thank the Hon. Speaker of the House of Assembly for spearheading the unity of the region. SADC people are one group of people but they have just moved from one place to another. We moved from Tanzania to Mwenezi, from Mwenezi to Bikita to Wedza to Chishawasha. That is us and also the Ngunis moved from KwaZulu Natal to Zimbabwe. Zwangendaba moved from KwaZulu Natal, Chipinge to Malawi. Some moved from KwaZulu Natal to Zambia. We are one group of people but because of ignorance and also admiring colonialists - some of our people’s DNA, they admire.
These borders were created by the Berlin Conference. The Berlin Conference realised that if you want to rule Africans you must divide them. They created the Kingdom of Lesotho, a small island. They created this and that country. If you look at the borders, like our border with Mozambique, it was designed by Major Forbes. There is that Forbes Border post there. Major Forbes was here after he had been defeated by General Mjana Khumalo. He moved into Mozambique and said this is the British’s position. With all this education, I do not understand why we still celebrate these colonialist and Berlin Conference given borders. We must be out of these Berlin given borders. We must move an inch ahead.
The Hon. Chief Whip moved a motion which I thought many people would contribute to and explain why we are where we are at this stage. We are where we are because the British or Europeans and the Berlin Conference decided that this corner must be for you. Let me thank you very much Madam Speaker but there is a need to have a workshop where the Speaker, Hon. Mpariwa and Hon. Ndiweni would educate other Hon. Members not to take ownership of imperialism and say this is my product. You know, the day when you know you are ignorant, that is the day when you start learning.
HON. MPARIWA: Let me begin by thanking the seconder of the motion, Hon. Ndiweni who is also a member of the Executive of the SADC PF and also thank Hon. Mudarikwa for actually speaking to the motion. He speaks with wisdom and knowledge in terms of uniting people of the SADC region. Yes Madam Speaker, the artificial boundaries are the ones that even the African Union is battling with in terms of having them removed because of the travels, visas, the treatments when people arrive in the various countries and so on can actually hinder development where one wants to tap from the other brother.
The accents and names Hon. Speaker, if you see them in the vernacular languages of say Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi or Zambia, You will see that we are all one and the same. I think truly speaking this actually gives us lessons and food for thought that we need to move with speed, unite, formulate and transform the SADC PF into a legislative assembly. I want to thank the Speaker of the Parliament of Zimbabwe once again. He has been busy on this agenda of transformation of the SADC PF into a legislative assembly.
Having said that Madam Speaker, like I highlighted that some of the dates of commencement in terms of activities are actually far behind in terms of beginning, may I kindly persuade and move that the House adopts this report so that we can begin some kind of work in operationalisation of the moves in terms of what has been recommended in the seventeen recommendations. I therefore move for the adoption of this particular report.
Motion put and agreed to
On the motion of HON. TOGAREPI, seconded by HON. TEKESHE, the House adjourned at Twenty-Two Minutes to Seven o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 3rd May, 2022.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 13th April, 2022
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE
SWITCHING OFF OF CELLPHONES
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: May I remind Hon. Senators to put their cellphones on silent or better still switch off their gadgets.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: Thank you Mr. President. I move that Order of the Day, Number One be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
.
MOTION
MEASURES TO RESUSCITATE THE ECONOMY
Second Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the need to come up with measures to resuscitate the economy.
Question again proposed.
HON. MUZENDA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. DENGA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 14th April, 2022.
MOTION
EFFORTS TO CURB CORRUPTION
Third Order read: Adjourned debate on motion to introduce deterrent sentences for those engaging in corrupt activities.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President. I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHISOROCHENGWE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 14th April, 2022.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON HIV AND AIDS ON THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC LOCKDOWN RESTRICTIONS ON HIV AND AIDS SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM IN ZIMBABWE
Fourth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions on HIV and AIDS service delivery system.
Question again proposed.
^^HON. SEN. MOHADI: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to say a few words on the motion raised by Hon. Sen. Kambizi on the impact of COVID-19 on HIV/AIDS patients. These two diseases are deadly even though they are not the same. What we have figured out is that if one is affected by both diseases, it becomes a challenge.
The Ministry of Health has always been indicating that when one has HIV/AIDS, they are supposed to visit health institutions to make sure that they are checked. For those that have other health issues like HIV/AIDS, COVID-19 becomes a challenge to treat. Therefore, let us see to it that our people visit hospitals each time they are affected by any of these diseases.
Mr. President, each time we talk of HIV or COVID-19, especially regarding rural communities where most of them stay far away from health institutions, they face challenges of getting health treatment. In most cases, their treatment is unavailable. We have also realised that at times they fail to get money to access drugs that they need at any particular time. Looking at their health needs, we realise that besides transport and being far away from health institutions, the road network is in a sorry state. Our plea is that if only we could get our roads rehabilitated so that people get to hospitals quickly and through better means.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to encourage people to go and get vaccinated. We also realised that people who are visiting health institutions for vaccinations are increasing. When we talk of the booster vaccine, we realise that people are no longer interested in going to health institutions for the booster drug because they are saying up until when will people continue visiting health institutions for these vaccination? COVID-19 is still within us and therefore, we need to make sure that we follow all the health guidelines like putting on masks and washing our hands frequently.
If we tend to relax on following these guidelines, we will find that infections will keep increasing. Today, one of us or someone who is not part of us here, their child or one of those they stay with maybe found to be COVID positive. We therefore need to ensure that we take this pandemic seriously. Let us continue to put on our masks and promote social distancing so that we are not infected.
Speaking of HIV/AIDS, some people are reluctant to visit health institutions when they are supposed to go for their ART drugs. Each time they go there and are feeling a little better, they stop visiting health institutions, yet it is supposed to be a lifelong treatment that they are supposed to be taking. The moment you stop taking medication thinking that all is well, you are only lying to yourself. If one defaults, it will be a challenge to recover.
Looking at those that take a lot of alcohol, we urge them to drink reasonably and know that drinking too much can lead to one’s death. Even those that smoke, we encourage them to reduce the number of cigarettes that they take because they affect us health-wise, especially with regards to other health problems like tuberculosis.
With these few words, I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Kambizi who moved this motion. We support the move that this would help reduce the impact of these two diseases. We need to make sure that we follow the stated health guidelines so as to survive. Talking of HIV/AIDS, we have realised that quite a number of people can go up to 30 years whilst they are positive if they take their drugs accordingly. Let us try and see to it that we support each other in taking these drugs continuously because most people have children that are still young who need support. Mr. President, thank you very much.
*HON. SEN. CHIFAMBA: Thank you Mr. President. I thank Hon. Sen. Kambizi for raising this pertinent motion on HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 and how COVID-19 disrupted a lot of things including those who are taking ARVs.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Order, order. You are not connected Hon. Member.
*HON. SEN. CHIFAMBA: Thank you Mr. President, I want to thank Hon. Sen. Kambizi for raising this pertinent motion on those living with HIV in this COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic disrupted the efficient supply of ARVs to patients because most of the people were failing to go to hospital to take their medication. The health facilities are far away and some failed because of restricted movement during the pandemic. Some failed to obtain letters to enable them to travel to their health centres. This affected the efficient supply of drugs and many people defaulted during the pandemic, which led to the suffering of HIV patients.
When they eventually did, they also faced problems since most of the hospitals were in short supply of the second line drugs. When we visited hospitals, we found out that many hospitals do not have Cotrimoxazole drugs. If it is possible, it is my wish that certain drugs be manufactured in this country because trade and transportation of goods were disrupted during the pandemic, hence the shortage of drugs in the country. If we as Zimbabwe were able to manufacture our own drugs then we would not go out of stock of any vital drugs. Many people’s health has been affected because of the COVID-19 restrictions. People are no longer receiving six months supply, they reduced this to three months and some hospitals were charging US$5 in order for patients to be given a six months supply. This compromised the health of the poor. Some patients travelled long distances and cannot afford to come to the centre monthly, these are the patients that benefited a lot from the six months supply. If they fail to go then they will have defaulted.
Health facilities must desist from corruption, so may this issue of corruption be investigated so that it can be addressed. The perpetrators must be apprehended. My plea is that our country must be able to manufacture some of the vital drugs so that we desist from depending on other countries. Those countries which we are relying from, if one day they decide not to help us, it means that many people will suffer. Yes, we might need help but we must also work very hard on improving our health sector. As a country, I do not think we can fail to manufacture Cotrimoxazole as our country is well endowed with minerals.
I am also encouraging that hospitals must have CD4 machines and other machines that can help people so that everything will be done under one roof. In some areas CD4 is done at one facility and for results the patient is referred to the other district. Some patients will fail to go there because they do not have money for transport. Some patients are requested to come back after some weeks and some die during the waiting period. It is my plea to the Government that at least each centre must have one CD4 machine so that everything can be done under one roof.
We have our youths who are illegal gold panners, they move from one place to another in search of gold. This becomes very difficult for the health officers to follow them up to see if they are taking their medication well or why they stopped. When they visit the addresses they would have been supplied with, that person will no longer be at that address and this becomes a problem yet they will continue to infect others with the disease. Some of our youths who take drugs like marijuana and mutoriro, when they are drunk they forget to take their medication or even fail to use protection when they engage in casual sex because they will be under the influence of drugs and they will end up spreading the disease wherever they go. With these few words, I thank you Mr. President.
+HON. SEN. G. MOYO: Thank you Mr. President for affording me this opportunity. I want to debate on the motion raised by Hon. Sen. Kambizi. I had the opportunity to be amongst the people who visited hospitals with the Thematic Committee on HIV and AIDS. We found that some hospitals did not have CD4 count machines; they said they take samples and send to other health facilities. Sometimes the results take three to four months and sometimes the results are lost or sent to the wrongplace. We encourage the Ministry of Health and Government to look into this issue so that all hospitals have the CD4 machines. People are being given dates to come back for the results but when the day comes, sometimes the results will not be available and yet they would have travelled long distances to go to the centres. During this COVID-19 pandemic, they find it very difficult to travel to get their results. I felt very sad when health workers told the Committee what they go through - there is no medical equipment, no drugs and this makes it difficult for them to carry their duties efficiently. With these few words, I would like to thank you Mr. President for affording me this opportunity to debate.
*HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: Thank you Mr. President for affording me the opportunity to add my voice to the motion moved by Hon. Sen. Kambizi. This motion is very pertinent. COVID-19, when it started, was a small thing but the laws which were stipulated by the authorities for example lockdowns - many people failed to understand what that meant. This led to the interruption of the smooth flow of many things. Some people lacked food and those who are into vending failed to get food because they were not allowed to sell during that period. All the people stayed at home and nothing was happening that brought food on the table. As time moved on, many people began to die from COVID-19 and more lockdowns were imposed in order to protect the people. It became difficult for people to go and collect their anti-retroviral drugs from health facilities because of the lockdowns. Some of the health facilities were very far and transport became a challenge also. Some of the people tried going on foot but some of the health facilities were closed. Our country’s laws say you are not compelled to reveal your HIV/AIDS status but during that period, the regulations demanded that if you wanted to go and collect drugs, a letter had to be written for you stating the reason for travelling and this ended up exposing people’s privacy. This led to the violation of people’s rights.
Even schools were closed as COVID-19 wreaked havoc in the country. Schoolchildren were at home and boys and girls started spending a lot of time together and it ended up with a lot of pregnancies. COVID-19 caused a lot of harm to schoolchildren whom we look up to as the future leaders. Also for parents to stay together at home day in day out caused a lot of gender based violence, lack of food and lack of money. As fathers, we agree that the wives cater for the father and the children and it became difficult for them to find food to cook but the husband expected to see food on the table - hence the violence as there was no food on the table. Lockdowns resulted in increased pregnancies even in married families because women failed to go and collect their family planning tablets.
I want to thank our health workers who worked very hard during the pandemic. Many people who got COVID-19 went to health facilities and the health workers were always there to assist despite being exposed to COVID. They worked very hard to help the sick. I would also like to thank the doctors for working very hard and saving people’s lives as they struggled with COVID. We got to a very painful period during COVID when many Government officials succumbed to COVID. Our Government officials died painful deaths and we could not all go and lay our loved ones to rest because of the restrictions on numbers. Only a few people or family members were allowed to attend funerals.
In rural areas, our culture was violated due to COVID-19 because all people come together to commiserate with the bereaved but funerals became COVID super spreaders and many people contracted COVID and died. We tried to educate people to understand that only a few people had to attend funerals but it was difficult to reduce the numbers in the rural areas due to cultural beliefs. You cannot prevent someone from coming to a funeral, hence people continued to go to funerals in their numbers and the virus spread quickly. COVID-19 also caused many diseases which I am not able to mention. Some people died because of lack of drugs because one drug would be found at this facility while the other would be found at another facility. I want to thank the Ministry of Health for putting in place measures to ensure COVID-19 treatment was provided everywhere and they were working at ensuring that at each hospital, all the machinery would be there. We encourage the Ministry to continue to work hard so we continue to achieve better health facilities in the country. I thank you Mr. President.
*HON SEN. CHINAKE: Thank you Mr. President for affording me this opportunity to debate. I also want to thank Hon. Sen. Kambizi for raising this pertinent motion because it touches everyone in the country. Many of the things have been raised but I want to say at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies in the country downsized their operations and some of them closed. This development was not only in this country but the world-over. When these companies closed, many people lost their jobs, which means that their families suffered a lot because what they used to get, they were no longer getting. Many countries suffered a lot especially those which were not prepared for the pandemic. Many people who died did not get the right for a decent burial.
This disease brought many problems to many people of all age groups. Some people divorced because of COVID-19. Some died due to hunger and lack of food. Some people who died failed to get proper burial space. Some countries had death tolls reaching one thousand per year. Some people who died were not buried according to their cultural wishes. Some were buried in mass graves. COVID-19 disrupted the way people used to live. Some of the Senators mentioned that some girl children were impregnated and they suffered a lot during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some natural calamities like these happen without proper preparation. When pandemics like these come, we must get prepared that if we face something similar to this in the future, we must have a proper way of solving this. We heard that there is another wave which is coming from Botswana. When you listen to the news on radio, you hear that one person has died today and a certain number are not feeling well. We must follow all the COVID-19 regulations and guidelines in order to overcome the disease. Yes, we have been vaccinated but there are other people who are not vaccinated. Let us protect ourselves by wearing our face masks. Let us get vaccinated because we do not know who has the virus or not. It is very important to protect ourselves, especially us the older people who are mostly affected by the pandemic. We must listen to WHO COVID-19 protocols so that we can be protected. We must follow all the procedures because COVID-19 is still with us and it has not ended. The former Minister of Health and Child Care, Hon Sen. Dr. Parirenyatwa also mentioned that we must follow what is required of us so that we can protect ourselves. I thank you.
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 14th April 2022.
MOTION
SECOND REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON HIV AND AIDS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY (ART) ROLL-OUT PROGRAMME
Fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the implementation of the anti retroviral therapy (ART) roll out programme in the selected health institutions in Zimbabwe.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 14th April 2022.
MOTION
CONDOLENCES ON THE DEATH OF HON. SEN. SIMON KHAYA MOYO
Sixth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the untimely passing on of the late Senator for Matabeleland South, Hon. Sen. Simon Khaya Moyo.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MALULEKE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 14th April, 2022.
MOTION
PREVALANCE OF DRUG ABUSE BY YOUTHS
Seventh Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the devastating effects of drug abuse by youths.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President for affording me an opportunity to add my voice on this pertinent question. It is painful that our children whom we expect to be the future leaders end up being drug abusers without meaningful life. We need to find a solution on how best we can help our youths because some of the drugs are imported illegally through our borders. So it is very pertinent to see that the law enforcement agents look into the issue. We must eradicate corruption. Wherever you go you come across people who are demanding money in exchange of services. This issue must be looked into to see how best we can be able to help people as a country. We should curb smuggling of drugs.
Mr. President, not all drugs are imported in the country but here in this country, there is something which is happening where youths are doing experiments, for example they use diapers. They go to the dumping site and collect those diapers and start making drugs and end up drinking those drugs. In the end they abuse their parents and kill them because they will be under the influence of drugs. They must also see that as a country there is what we call peer pressure. These children play together and end up imitating each other. Even in schools, there are school children who are using drugs. Parents will think that a child has gone to school but they do not get to school, they begin to use the drug after getting them using illegal means.
I want to thank the Government for working towards the eradication of this problem. The Government has opened a youth bank - may that bank begin to function so that the youths can access loans to start doing their own projects so that they can get empowered through the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises. This will enable them to get proper help and stop abusing drugs. Some of them come from decent homes but because of peer pressure, they end up into drug abuse. We must see how best we can help our youths through the programmes being put by Government. How best as Senate can we help our kids to improve their livelihoods so that they can desist from drug abuse?
Mr. President, right now there is a programme for Young People for Economic Development. We must make sure that this programme reaches all areas of the country so that our children get occupied rather than focusing on drugs. I want to thank the Government because our President noticed that we have a problem of drug abuse in the country. It is no longer a small problem, the whole nation is affected, and there is now need for collective responsibility. The President formed the Inter-Ministerial Committee which is responsible in seeing how best we can work as a nation to eradicate drug abuse. When the problem of drug abuse began, many youths started to take these drugs and the President set a Committee to look into the issues and how children can be helped. I am appealing to the Inter-Ministerial Committee to come and inform this House on what they have done since its inception and how to eradicate the problem of drug abuse. These youths and kids are the future leaders. Thank you Mr. President. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIFAMBA: Thank you Mr. President Sir, for affording me this opportunity. I want to thank Hon. Sen. Dube for raising this pertinent motion that our kids have been destroyed because of drugs. Many parents are crying because our kids are indulging in very indecent activities due to influence of drugs. If you hear that there is someone who has been beaten or killed, during investigations, you will find out that the perpetrator is a drug abuser. There are also rising cases of rape due to drug abuse.
It is very painful; many people are being killed and raped by drug abusers. Our kids use drugs, they are experimenting using those drugs. They take a substance from those globes which we use for light. If you see these kids when they are high on drugs, they will be laughing and talking to themselves. You will see that this kid cannot control himself at all. After they are affected by these drugs, they do not even check the road when crossing roads, the motorists will have to avoid hitting them. When they are affected by these drugs, they will not be functioning properly. Our kids are doing much of the bad behaviour because of drug abuse.
There is another girl who was broadcast on social media, saying that I can leave prostitution but I cannot stop taking drugs because it is difficult to live without taking them. When we look at the issue of rehabilitation facilities for drug abusers, it is very expensive to take your child to those facilities. Sometimes these kids really need those facilities so that they can be helped to stop drug abuse but they cannot afford them. These facilities are very expensive, hence kids end up continuing abusing drugs because they cannot just stop on their own. They have nothing to do, so in the morning they just go out and sit on the bridges and start taking drugs because they will be stressed due to idleness.
Right now we know about diapers and globes but they also know about tablets which they can take for them to be drunk. There are also some people who are well established. They import drugs into the country and these people are not apprehended by the law of the country. Those who are caught by the law are the abusers only, those young people in the streets. It means that there is corruption at the border post where these drugs get into the country. These people import the drugs and distribute the drugs to our youths but they are not being caught by the police officers.
If you walk during the night and see some of the activities being done by the youths, you will be hurt because they will be under the influence of the drugs. Some of them will be sleeping in the open, whether it is raining or it is sunny. They do not feel anything because they will be under the influence of drugs. Drugs are one of the problems slowly taking over the country. Those who are importing drugs into the country must be arrested and be jailed because they are destroying the future of this country. These kids, under the influence of drugs end up raping, killing and doing all sorts of bad things. When they are in jail, they will not be aware how they committed these crimes because they were under the influence of drugs.
We have got a man called Zhandale who is abusing drugs. He is raping and killing people. I do not think a normal human being who is not under the influence of drugs can kill more than 20 people for nothing. This person is being encouraged to perform those heinous crimes because of drugs. There are some other illicit beers, coming from countries like Zambia and Mozambique, they must not be allowed in the country. These beers and drugs are being taken by the kids and they end up in crimes under the influence of these substances. Some school going children are being involved in drugs.
There is a school in Zimbabwe, which has got school children who are abusing drugs. They are encouraged to smoke or taste a little bit and then they do not know what they are doing. They can do anything under the influence of these drugs. Even girls are also involved in these drug abuses. It is very painful because these girls are the future mothers of the country. I do not know how best we can do to solve the issue of illicit drugs being imported into the country. The problem is when these people approach the border post, they bribe relevant authorities on their way to cross the border. Sometimes a person carrying drugs worth US$100 000, can bribe by giving the authorities US$5 000 and they will be released. Those who are selling drugs must be given stiffer penalties.
Our children and even other men are performing different crimes under the influence of drugs. Their behaviours in homes, schools and everywhere is uncalled for because they will be influenced by drugs. In homesteads, gender based violence is being perpetuated by the use of drugs. Sometimes as parents or as a couple, you can fail to communicate properly because the other partner will be under the influence of drugs. Most of the times women end up killing husbands as a way of defence or the husband can kill his wife under the influence of drugs.
We used to hear the issues of drug abuse happening in European countries but right now the issues have escalated to Africa and our country. Many women are going to die because of drug abuse. May Government intervene and help to fight the issue of drug abuse. Many women are suffering because of drug abuse because they end up at the receiving end. They are raped and killed as well. Thank you Mr. President.
^ HON. SEN. MALULEKE: Thank you Mr. President for awarding me this opportunity to add my voice on this pertinent motion raised by Hon. Sen. Dube. This motion is very important because it is a motion on drug abuse. The issue of drug abuse is something which is discussed by other countries as a weapon to destroy Zimbabwe. They saw it fit to use drugs on youths because these youths are the future leaders and parents of tomorrow. The issue started in other countries where they were singing and planning how best they can destroy our country. It is very painful to the Head of State the President, the whole nation and us parents.
The issue of drug abuse is affecting the whole country and our future. Today many youths are being eroded by the drugs. As elders, we are working for the future of our country and we must hand over this future to the youths. Most of the youths in the country are involved in drug abuse activities. Today at Rainbow, I saw some youths who were under the influence of drugs. These youths were showing signs that they do not know anything because they were under the influence of drugs. In Chiredzi, there is a spot were youths used to go and take drugs there. As Government, we must work to eradicate the use of drugs in our youths. The future of our country is in the hands of our youths.
His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe saw it fit to put in place an Inter-ministerial Committee to deal with the issue of drug abuse because it is something which is affecting the whole country. These youths are no longer respectful to their elders. They commit crimes and do not respect each other. They speak vulgar language and they are not respectful to their elders and fellow youths.
I want to thank the committee members who dedicated themselves to work on this issue of drugs. May this Committee work with people from all provinces and districts, teaching them on the negative effects of drug abuse. I also encourage the Committee to come up with income generating projects aimed at assisting the youths to desist from drug abuse. The Committee must also teach us how best we can educate our constituents when we get back to our homes.
One day I was listening to a South African radio station and there is someone who was found with drugs. When the law enforcement agencies apprehend perpetrators of drug abuse, they must ask them who send them. This will help in solving the issue of drug supplies. Drug abuse is killing our country’s future. Drugs came hand in hand with sanctions; those who imposed sanctions on our country are trying to destroy our youths so that they do not talk about these issues.
Mr. President, a country is called a country because of the youths who are there. The youths must inherit and lead in the future. These youths are the ones who are involved in drug abuse. I thank the President of the country for intervening. Let us all unite and fight the drug abuse and let us help the school children and the rest of the people to fight drug abuse. Thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF MAKUMBE: Thank you Mr. President for according me this opportunity to debate on the issue of drug abuse by the youths. It is very true, what is being articulated in this House. It is a problem to us parents that you raise a child with the intentions that he will grow up and raise the family name but to no avail. I want to say this is bad as we are losing a lot of our future leaders because of drugs. It can be a boy or girl child. Whatever is happening is not good. We have parents who are being murdered by their children because of drugs.
We have grandparents who are being murdered by their grandchildren under the influence of drugs. Those who read newspapers, in Buhera last year, a boy murdered six people. He confessed in court that he killed these people and admitted that he is addicted to drugs. He murdered the people after coming from the beer hall. Drugs lead to teenage pregnancies. We passed the Marriages Bill and we are happy as this will encourage parents witnessing their children getting married so that they get lobola. If a child is under the influence of drugs they do not know the one who would have impregnated them. As I stand here, there are three women who came to me asking for assistance to get birth certificates. They said they went to parties and drank beer, now they do not know the fathers of the babies because they were under the influence of drugs.
As leaders, we must encourage children to behave and not take drugs. As politicians, sometimes we use youths to campaign for us and give them money. When they receive that money they go and buy drugs to carry out our instructions. There is nothing bad in buying them beer but we must make sure that they do not take drugs, especially during election times. Another sad story is that you now find those who are called ‘jersymen’ close to schools and universities selling marijuana to school children.
Last week I lost my brother. We bought some light bulbs so that there will be light. The boys who helped us to take lounge suits and other things outside stole the light bulbs so that they extract mutoriro from the lights. It is very painful, as elders we might work hard to develop our country but we will not have anyone to leave this country to if we do not teach our future generations that drugs are dangerous. When parents die, if their children are into drugs they will sell everything that would have been left by the parents and buy drugs. We must enact a law that bans the use of drugs and the sentences must be stiff.
We know that we are living in a global village and we know that we must align our laws to match that of our neighbourhood but we must remember that we are Zimbabweans. If a person misbehaves, the rod must be used, it is very difficult to discipline a person that claims to know their rights. We are here Hon. Senators because our parents used the rod to discipline us. We cannot say we should not discipline our children now - everyone in this Senate is well behaved because our parents used the rod to discipline us and we are all alive, no one died from being beaten. Disciplined children will be afraid to commit any acts of indiscipline because they fear the rod. The other thing is that our country is under sanctions and there are no jobs. Most of our children just roam the streets because they do not have anything to do and they engage in all sorts of illegal activities. As parents, we are also obliged to know the friends of our children. There is a Shona saying that says rooranai vematongo, meaning to say that if you go and marry someone far away from you, you do not know their traits. This is done because we will be coming from different backgrounds and towns, you will find that our culture differs as well. What is more important is that children must be taught our cultural values.
In jails, it is not a good place to be because when youths are convicted and imprisoned you will find that instead of them reforming, they will come out hard core criminals because they will meet other hard core criminals there who will teach them to be even harder. Drugs are being sold everywhere, in police stations, and even teachers are conducting lessons under the influence of drugs. As legislators, we must look at these drugs to see if there are any that are legal.
I come from Mutare where they brew beer called ‘one day’, and when you drink it, you will become unaware of who you are. You lose consciousness and some even burn down houses because of this brew. Drugs also weaken the immune system of a person and leads to heath disorders. If you look at their teeth, they are decaying because of ‘bronco’, this is a flue drug; I think Hon. Sen. Dr. Parirenyatwa is aware of it. They take it like tablets morning, afternoon and evening. When they take that drug they lose consciousness, they cannot even do anything.
You cannot help them, even by giving them piece jobs because when you give them piece jobs, and when they take drugs, they will not be able to do anything. They sometimes even steal the tools they will be using to go and buy drugs. At the end of day, it is useless even in trying to help them. Stiffer penalties should be put in place especially on those that sell the drugs. If we deal with these drug sellers then the youths will have nowhere to buy these drugs.
As we were growing up, there were places where marijuana was being sold, the police were always there trying to stop this. These days it is like it is no longer a crime because it is being sold everywhere. Our elders used to take it once in a while for them to become intelligent; not often but here and there, they used it as medicine. People nowadays take it anytime. Even the way our children are dressing these days, their clothes look tattered and their eyes are red. A few weeks ago we met boys and girls fighting for a loaf of bread because of drugs. We are losing respect because of drugs. In our constituencies, if we know of any cases of drug abuse, I think the law enforcement agencies must be informed about this. They must be arrested and if they appear in court they must not be given short sentences so that this will deter would-be victims. I think this is our biggest challenge because most of our children are engaging in drugs. So, as parents, it is our responsibility to put our heads together and deal with the issue of drugs once and for all. Drugs will destroy our history, heritage and country. Thank you Mr. President.
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR MASHONALAND CENTRAL PROVINCE (HON. SEN. MAVHUNGA): I move that the debate do now adjourn.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday 3rd May, 2022.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE
ADJOURNMENT OF BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE AND COMMITTEES
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Hon. Senators, I would like to inform you all that the Senate is going to adjourn today. What it means is that all Committee business will stand suspended until Monday 2nd May, 2022.
On the motion of the MINISTER OF STATE FOR MASHONALAND CENTRAL PROVINCE (HON. SEN. MAVHUNGA) the Senate adjourned at Five Minutes Past Four o’clock p.m. until Tuesday 3rd May, 2022.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 12th April, 2022
The Senate met at Half-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNONCEMENTS BY THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE
ERROR ON THE ORDER PAPER
THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE (HON. SEN. MOHADI): I wish to draw the attention of the Senate to an inadvertent error on today’s Order Paper, where the Printer retained Order of the Day, Number 7, which related to the Committee Stage of the Pension and Provident Funds Bill [H. B. 17A: 2019], which was passed last Thursday.
Consequently, Order of the Day, Number 8 which is adjourned debate on motion on the reply of the Presidential Speech would now be re-numbered as Order of the Day Number 7.
BILL RECEIVED FROM THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I also wish to inform the Senate that I have received the Zimbabwe Independent Complaints Commission Bill [H. B. 5A: 2020] from the National Assembly.
MOTION
MEASURES TO RESUSCITATE THE ECONOMY
First Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the need to come up with measures to resuscitate the economy.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. A. DUBE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 13th April, 2022.
MOTION
EFFORTS TO CURB CORRUPTION
Second Order read: Adjourned debate on motion to introduce deterrent sentences for those engaging in corrupt activities.
Question again proposed.
+HON. SEN. A. DUBE: Thank you Madam President for affording me this opportunity to add my voice on the motion which was raised by Hon. Sen. Tongogara. This is a very important motion which deals with corruption. Corruption has destroyed our country. If we look closely, corruption is not done by only one person but it is done by two people. You will find that someone at work will be given whatever he or she is given as a bribe by some people around there. Then the person who will be at work receives this bribe because he/she needs the money, so he or she accepts the bribe.
Corruption is destroying our country because everywhere, we find that there are a lot of devious things which are taking place which destroy our State. The President provides aid to assist the people but this aid is being diverted and is sold on different platforms. It is now surprising that the things that are issued by Government so that they could assist members of the public are being sold, which is not a good thing.
Aid from the Government is not supposed to be paid for. There are a lot of ways in which corruption is taking place. Corruption is destroying our development in most of the places and you cannot see the development which is taking place. This corruption is perpetuated by the citizens of this country and other citizens are not exposed so they are not arrested for being corrupt. We thank the President for putting a Commission in place that handles and deals with issues of corruption. We see that the President is interested in ending corruption in this country of Zimbabwe. Corruption has taken a grand stand. Even at food courts, there is corruption. The prices are just altered and lowered if someone they are afraid enters. This shows that corruption is almost in every place and corner. In the queues at the banks, there is corruption. There are now people who go and queue at the banks early and sell their positions to people who arrive late. There are people that even force people to board buses that they do not want so that they get money.
Madam President, there is corruption everywhere. I do not know which step the State can take to curb corruption. The responsible commission that looks into issues of corruption should be supported. Also as citizens, we are supposed to support the Government in fighting against corruption but it is the other way round, we are protecting corruption and increasing it.
Corruption is like a disease that is destroying the country. Every evil thing that has happened in this State is caused by corruption. Everyone is now self-centred. People just want to fill their pockets without thinking about the other person. People think that it is now the norm that life is supposed to be conducted. This is a very important motion that needs all of us to get united and end corruption.
If you see someone getting involved in corrupt activities, we should report them to the authorities for them to be punished. It is supposed to be a sentence that is set aside which will serve as an important measure and deter people from engaging in corrupt activities. If people are scared of exposing corrupt activities, there are suggestion boxes that can be used at post offices. These can aid in reporting corruption cases. If anyone has seen something of a corrupt nature, they can also write a paper and deposit it in these suggestion boxes. Some people are afraid of being whistleblowers for fear that they can be harmed. If there are suggestion boxes for people to report violence and corrupt activities, this could also assist us as a nation.
Corruption has clenched its jaws even to the young people. If you ask a child to do a task, they ask how much you are going to give them. For now, to send a child without giving him money, they will refuse to do the task. The generation that we have now is filled with violence and corruption.
With these few words, I would want to say this is a very important motion, especially to us leaders who represent the people. It is important that we assist people and if we see any corrupt activity, we should report it. The Government should also create awareness platforms so that if people see corrupt activities, they should report them. The practice that people are asked to pay for them to get aid from the Government is not the proper channel. People will blame the Government that it is giving them food and they ask them to pay. I support the motion that was raised by Hon. Sen. Tongogara. Thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHISOROCHENGWE: Thank you Madam President for according me this opportunity to add my voice to this motion that was moved by Hon. Sen. Tongogara. I would want to thank all those that debated on this motion. Indeed, this is a good motion. Corruption has destroyed the country. It has now become a cancer. Be that as it may, people speak against corruption but are involved in corruption. For one to acquire a national identity card, one has to pay their way on to the line. As a result, those that do not have the money and cannot pay those that work there, especially people who travel from the communal lands to urban centres, are unable to obtain passports and national registration cards.
The President is on record saying this country can be built by its owners. It is my observation that as owners, we are also destroying our own country. A lot of corrupt issues are being reported in the newspapers but we never get to hear the end of the corruption case. As a result, it is not acting as deterrent. Corruption must be dealt with and it must be uprooted. You can go to hospitals and you cannot access drugs. However, you find a person who is employed at that particular hospital administering drugs and also injecting people. Where would they have acquired the drugs and medicines from? The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Home Affairs should ensure that our practices are corrupt free and that all those that are involved in corrupt tendencies are dismissed.
During the time of COVID, people were not allowed to move around but you would see a vehicle passing through a road block where they were supposed to deny the same vehicle access. They simply pay their way through. These corrupt tendencies permeated every one of us in Zimbabwe. We need to put an end to corrupt tendencies because there is no Government Ministry that is not involved in corrupt tendencies. A lot of people are making their living out of corruption.
In our communities, children are being raped and reports made at the police stations but nothing comes out of that because the accused will pay their way throughout and it is the poor man that suffers. If a rich man commits offences against the poor, they will not get justice. Everyone has a duty to ensure that we fight corruption.
Corruption is now a problem. The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission must be properly remunerated so that they cannot be bribed and that they will not prosecute corrupt accused persons. Let us fight this cancer together, I thank you.
+HON. SEN. D. M. NDLOVU: Thank you Madam President for the opportunity given. Corruption is a very painful issue. The issue of corruption is difficult because it strikes at the epicentre and for us to get over this, I do not know what to do because we have a challenge where people in the law-making process are the ones who are pushing it more. If you are to go to hospital to seek for medical attention, doctors are also involved in corrupt tendencies and this ends up complicating the health of our patients. In most cases when a doctor is supposed to make a certain procedure, they always make it a point that they push time until the patient gives up. Once money is involved, the procedure is not followed accordingly because the one who pays money will always jump the queue. Hon. Senators also have a problem with service stations because if you go to fuel stations, those that pay money are attended to first. In the end you will be told that there is no fuel yet those that come when you were in the queue are served whilst you follow the queue.
This is what we call corruption, and it is one of the major challenges that we are encountering as a country. It is indeed painful like what the previous Hon. Senator said that if you send your child to buy something they are not given enough change, they will pocket the rest. This is why we say corruption should be nipped straight in the bud. In most cases you hear quite a number of people who have been arrested due to corruption but if one is to find out what happened to the arrested people, the cases just die a natural death. At the end of the day there is no trace to the cases. My plea is that our Government needs to make it a point that they arrest everyone who is found to be involved in corruption despite their position in society. In other instances, when the communities are supposed to pay a very minimum amount for receiving Presidential aid - the figure is sometimes exaggerated to some people and those corrupt people cause deliberate delays so that people continue to pay more money. Therefore, it is very difficult to deal with corruption because the epicentre is the one that is worsening things.
If you do not pay anything you will not get the services you want and that has to be addressed. In criminal cases, quite a number have gone scot-free and there is no trace on the disappearance of certain documents. The same happens to lawyers and these are the worst corrupt people because they charge exorbitant figures for legal consultations. Some people are not able to stand for themselves in courts and not because they have enough money. They claim to be diverting their duties or create time for you so that they charge more and this is a major challenge for our country.
Madam President, even when armed robberies and housebreaking cases are reported and the criminals are apprehended, funny enough those cases just die a natural death because of corruption. Different Government institutions including the political environment, quite a number of issues are not addressed accordingly because of corruption. Are we saying corruption is good as a country forgetting that it does us no good? It is a challenge for our country because corruption cases are rising. This ends up having people saying our Government is failing to deal with issues of corruption. These are the few submissions that I wanted to add regarding this motion. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. MOEKETSI: Thank you Madam President for giving me the opportunity to debate this motion. I want to go into the merits of the motion that was raised by Hon. Sen. Tongogara on the subject of corruption in the country. In truth, corruption has destroyed our country. Corruption is likened to a clay pot that has a crack. If the crack is not stopped, it will lead to the destruction of that particular clay pot. It is akin to the corner that has a crack on the wall of a house. If it is not attended to, the house will collapse. That is how our country has collapsed. Corruption started as an insignificant thing started by two or so people. Can we say Madam President that we have graves of people who died because of illegal mining which is done in a corrupt manner? If they bring $10, they are given a pit to mine. They enter the pit today and the following day they will be dead. As we speak, the President said land should be allocated to people but there are some people that have now become wealthy as a result of land. When you go there and say I have observed that this piece of land is not being farmed, may I be allocated, they will tell you it is already occupied. But if you go behind the back with $20, you will get the piece of land. Corruption has destroyed the country.
If I go to a school with my child who requires a place for form 1 and I do not have a bribe, the child will not secure a place. It started as something very small but it has grown to large proportions. This is similar to the crack on the clay pot which needed to be attended to in time. A stitch in time saves nine. The poor are being taken advantage of by the rich. When you go to a market where tomatoes are being sold and you do not bribe them, the farmer who will have brought the tomatoes has no power over the tomatoes she/he will have brought to the market. At the market place, you will be surrounded by animals that are bent on surviving. I urge those that are looking into putting an end to these corrupt tendencies to put their heads together. I also wish that the President could hear our dissatisfaction and plea concerning corruption. The people that are involved in cracking down corrupt tendencies should be well paid so that they are not tempted to look aside by the perpetrators of these offences because they will have been given a bribe. Corruption has killed this country Madam President. Fraudulent and dishonest activities are destroying this country. There is nothing that we are capable of doing today without paying a bribe in this country. If the truth be told, when people tell you that there has been a death next door, that is the only time they will be telling the truth, though at times they will be lying. I urge all of us to put our heads together as Zimbabweans, as a country. As an august House, let us put our heads together. We have a Commission but as an august House, I urge us to put our heads together. Wherever there is corruption, we should accept that there have been corrupt activities and not ask for evidence and just end the enquiry. We need to put our heads together to build our country. We need to say the truth and once we start saying the truth, our children will also tell the truth. If we desist from criminal activities, our children will also not be criminals. It does not end where I will have committed a corrupt activity but even at home, my children will also hear me talking about corrupt activities and they will also want to follow my footsteps.
There is also the issue of RTGs and the US$ rate which is a serious challenge. Anyone is free to name their price because they will be having sacks full of money. They demand whatever they want because they will see the desperation. However, we are destroying our country and making each other suffer. We look at our money like a newspaper but other countries are proud of their currencies. The South African Rand at one time was less powerful than our Zimbabwe dollar. We are no longer paying much credence to the value of our dollar because of corrupt activities. The council of elders is urging us to put our House together. The elders of this august House which exudes wisdom should work together to end corruption. I thank you.
*HON SEN. DENGA: I want to thank Hon. Sen. Tongogara for the motion that she has moved on the subject of corruption. Corruption is now the order of the day. It is becoming a way of life for people of this country. If you look at all our ministries, there is a lot of corrupt activities taking place such that the Anti-Corruption Commission is a small unit. It needs to be enlarged and expanded to be able to deal with corruption in Zimbabwe because everyone is now corrupt.
Yesterday as I was listening to the radio, I heard that at Parirenyatwa Hospital and Sally Mugabe Hospital where women are supposed to receive free maternity services, they are supposed to get beds when it is delivery time. It is very difficult for one to get such a bed because of corrupt tendencies. There is a nurse that I spoke to and they said that they require US$20 for one to be able to receive a bed so that they are able to get assistance when they go into labour. If you do not pay the US$20, you sleep on the floor until delivery days. It shows that there is rampant corruption in the Ministry of Health.
If you look at the recruitment of soldiers and police officers in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Defence, corruption is rampant in the recruitment process. People are being made to pay US$50 in order to be recruited. In my home area of Chikomba District, this was revealed when there was recruitment of soldiers recently.
On major highways in our country there are now soldiers and police officers manning the roadblocks. When mushikashika passes by, both the soldiers and police officers go there. If an Hon Member’s vehicle passes by, they turn a blind eye. If you drive along Chinhoyi Road, you may come across four roadblocks. One wonders as to whether there is no communication that the roadblocks are too close to each other. You cannot have a motorist being stopped just outside Harare and at Nyabira. Before one gets to Chinhoyi there will be another roadblock. Some are illegally operating these small roadblocks in the middle of the night. One day I witnessed a roadblock which was mounted in the middle of the night when it was raining. It would appear as if they are making a living out of that. Maybe we may need to look at their remuneration.
On the issue of rehabilitation of roads, there are contractors that are being given these contracts to rehabilitate roads but you find that some of these contractors do not even have a grader or caterpillar. They have no equipment. All they have is just their vehicles but they are given a tender to construct a road. I once witnessed a contractor complaining about 200 litres of diesel which had covered 40 kilometres. The contractor showed that he had no knowledge of road construction but got the contract corruptly because they are known to the ones that are awarding tenders.
If you look at Grain Marketing Board, one brings their maize and they are told that there is too much moisture which is at 12.7%. But when one brings their maize with moisture content at 13% they are accepted. This is all because of corruption. If you go to ZIMRA, the couriers of this world like malayitsha are bringing in goods into the country without the owners of the goods presence. Household goods such as beds and television are able to cross the border without any duty paid because corruption will have taken place. That is why some people are using short-cuts, going through bushes and others will be found in possession of firearms.
There is also the issue of child trafficking. A bus leaves Harare and picks people in Rusape and children without passports go through Zaka area and pick up people from as far afield as Chiredzi and they are able to do these hot deals because there is a lot of money behind it. However, are they able to go past the border through the security of soldiers, police and ZIMRA? They go past because they will have paid bribes to be able to access their entrances. Drugs are passing through these borders because people are paying bribes. Firearms also pass through the same borders and these arms are a threat to our national security.
It is my appeal to the President that if there are people who are involved in corrupt tendencies, they should be called to order and be told that it must end now; we should open up a new chapter. Those that are now involved in corruption should be arrested and dismissed from work. That way, our country may go forward. I thank you Madam President.
*HON. SEN. KOMICHI: Thank you Madam President for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to this debate in terms of corruption. I want to thank Hon. Sen. Tongogara the mover of the motion. What I have observed Madam President, is that in 2021, there was a survey about corrupt countries where 180 countries were assessed in terms of corruption level. The country with the highest level of corruption was Syria followed by Somalia. In Syria there is war, there is no stable Government, people do as they please, there are no strong institutions, the same applies to Somalia, and there has been no Government for quite a number of years. It has been difficult to come up with a strong Government. Those are the findings in terms of corruption the world-over. Out of 180 countries, Zimbabwe was 157 as a corrupt country.
We see that it is in terms of established Government and institutions; it is in the same bracket with Somalia and Syria. Denmark and Singapore have very strong governance systems, they have very strong economies, poverty is not rife in those countries, and they live well. Those countries that I earlier on mentioned, life is difficult in Syria and Somalia as we speak right now. Madam President, corruption is rife in our country. It is everywhere, everywhere you go there is corruption. I see that Government has engaged police officers and ZACC, it is akin to drawing water with a tin that has a hole, it will never be full. It is akin to say the fish that is in the water should not drink water. They are in the water, hence they drink the water.
Madam President, Zimbabweans are in a corrupt environment, an environment that is conducive for corruption. For us not to be involved in corrupt activities we may speak against it the whole day, from morning to sunset but as long as the environment that is conducive to corruption is not eliminated, the corruption will continue to rise. Extreme poverty is the driver of corruption; 49% of Zimbabweans live in abject poverty, 70% of Zimbabweans are poor because of unemployment. Our children go to school but mothers who are vendors are finding it difficult to survive because the economy has gone down. Can we say we are capable of putting corruption to an end -what measures would you have put in place?
Members of Parliament have given several examples of Home Affairs, Immigration and so forth that there is corruption. I say they are corrupt because of the salaries that they are receiving. If civil servants are poorly paid, corruption will be rife as a result of them wanting to live. Our economy has gone down, corruption will be difficult to deal with because people are suffering, if you want a place at school, you must pay to secure the place. There is need for one to pay wherever you go. I believe even today Members of Parliament are even ashamed of producing our pay slips. If you are going to come across corrupt tendencies, you are going to be involved in corruption because the little money that you are earning does not allow you to buy groceries for two weeks. Once afforded an opportunity, you will also be involved in corrupt tendencies. Corruption will never come to an end no matter how we cry.
Madam President, one day I gave a lift to a police officer. He asked me why he was going to work and I said you are going to work to earn a living, it was raining and he showed me 18 000 as part of his pay which appeared on his pay slip. He said once given an opportunity to be corrupt you will accept the bribe. We should take this task and place it squarely on the shoulders of Government. It is their duty to ensure that corruption ends. If Government fails to solve the economy of this country, corruption will not end. It is in Government where we are facing the highest challenge of corrupt tendencies. Government should take its responsibilities, if you are ruling you must ensure that you do things that enable people to live. Corruption also deters investments to the country. A lot of rich people will think twice about coming to invest in Zimbabwe when we are rated number157 out of 180 countries in terms of corruption.
Madam President, Government can come up with the budget but because of corrupt tendencies they will come up with several supplementary budgets. Corruption will ensure that this country does not develop no matter what we do. The President might run, work and sweat; he is very energetic, he is in Chivi, Victoria Falls, Singapore, he is all over, he does not rest. Hardworking as he is and the First Lady as well; she is hard working, she is all over the show to ensure that there is a turnaround for the better. For as long as we remain without meaningful answers, our country will remain struggling. We may mourn or groan but we must come up with an everlasting solution in terms of the economy of this country. We may go to elections, removing one another from power but corruption will not end. We may shout at one another or arrest each other but corruption may not end. There is need for solutions for this country to go ahead and develop. The solution that I have in mind is that Government should take its leadership role in calling for a national dialogue. National dialogue will bring in a solution that is wholly owned by Zimbabweans and we do away with this idea of fighting or insulting one another and start building the economy of this country. We must be focused and give one another ideas in terms of how best we can deal with our economy. Once people are paid properly in our local currency, the currency will become strong and jobs will be abundant, commodities will be affordable, surely you will see corruption going down. Zimbabwe will move from number 157 up to 130 or 140 instead of the 157 we are currently at in terms of corrupt countries. The solution of the economy lies in the revival of our economy. We need to sit down together, have a political dialogue; come up with a solution, united as one family. Then we can approach anyone for investment and they will come and work with us as a united family. I give this task to the President and Ministers who are here that they should take ownership of this problem and be able to turnaround the fortunes of this country.
We may arrest one another and jails will become full. In those jails, there is also corruption.I was once arrested and I was asked to pay US$60 so that I get a blanket. These are difficult situations. So my appeal to the Ministers here present and the President of the country is to take charge. If we are united, even investors will come and invest with us and the solution of the country is there. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. SHUMBA: Thank you Madam President for affording me the opportunity to add my voice on this motion moved by Hon. Sen. Tongogara. This is not the first time that there has been debate on this particular motion. I remember there was also a report last year that was tabled in this House, which was also talking about the same issue of corruption.
As has already been said by others, Hon. President, corruption is rife in Zimbabwe countrywide. The Hon. Member who spoke before me said it is the responsibility of the Government, through its Ministers to ensure that there is common purpose and that there is national dialogue but I tend to disagree with him because there are some people who want to see people suffering. There are some people who befriend Whites so that they can see their own people suffering. They do so inherently on the fact that it is the Government that suffers. However those who suffer are our relatives. This is what has led to corruption.
That is why it is said that people suffer because of poor salaries. Even us Senators, we are poorly remunerated. Why are we in this situation? Is it not because of the sanctions that were called for by some of us? Why do we not simply deal with the issue of sanctions, let those who called for them go back to their Whites who have imposed these sanctions on all of us. Will this not lead to a reduction in corruption because once it is done, the sanctions are removed everything will be good. I hear some people saying that there are no sanctions and the like. They believe these sanctions are self proposed but it is the causative agent of the suffering by the people of Zimbabwe. This is what has led to Zimbabwe having a poor economy and this has fueled corruption.
I do not believe that it started a long time ago. This country was enjoying a good economy but when we all wanted to become rulers of this country, we then brought Whites on board so that they can impose these sanctions on us. We need to be united and once we are united, we go and say to our Whites, we do not want the sanctions anymore. We start from there and then we can see how best we can grow. The country is now affected, there is no money; there is no good economy. Others would be smiling while others are suffering. This is where corruption started.
We may debate the whole day but my considered view is that we need to be united. We need to forget the past and forget about the appetite to want to rule because we do not know if corruption will be eradicated once one becomes President. We have to be united. We need to first remove the sanctions. Once the sanctions have been removed, we need to then look and see where we were lost. Whites are no longer with us here, we are inviting them to make us suffer.
I was listening, processing what was being said and realised that there is something which is controlling our economy, which is sanctions. It might please us but we are not all pleased with those sanctions. I do not know how corruption can be put to an end. I was thinking that we need to have strong prayers so that we can become united. There is only one being who is capable of doing that and that is God. Corruption is rife and it will continue being there because of the sanctions. The sanctions are hurting, God help us so that we can live in harmony and think about re-building our country. I thank you Madam President.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Madam President. I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 13th April, 2022.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON HIV AND AIDS ON THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC LOCKDOWN RESTRICTIONS ON HIV AND AIDS SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM IN ZIMBABWE
Third Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions and HIV/AIDS service delivery system.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. DR. PARIRENYATWA: Thank you Madam President for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to the motion that was raised by Hon. Sen. Kambizi. The motion is very good. It remained on the Order Paper and it is a good thing for people to continue debating about it. The motion speaks to the impact of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on HIV/AIDS service delivery system. There is need to carry out an investigation as a country so that we can draw some lessons for posterity.
Madam President, COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS are in existence. We still have COVID today. We hear that there are some new variants detected in Botswana. In Europe and China, it is still there. We are now getting into our winter in June and July. There will be a lot of colds and flu, so we should continue wearing our masks properly. Those that have not received the first and second doses of vaccination should get vaccinated. There are some who have not received the third jab, they should go and receive it. We urge Zimbabweans to get vaccinated because prevention is better than cure.
On the issue of HIV, we urge people to be faithful to a single partner and should there be challenges, they should use protection. Condoms are easily accessible and should be used. If you are HIV positive, you should continue taking your medication so that your viral load would not increase. The same applies to pregnant women so that they do not pass infection to the child. COVID and HIV are both stigmatised. If one contracts COVID, the entire family will be placed in isolation. There was caution but there was a lot of stigma. This is what happened to people who were first infected with HIV. These two conditions suffer from stigmatisation. However, both conditions are getting better because there is now treatment and people are no longer required to disclose their status.
I have observed that if you are HIV positive and you contract COVID, it appears that your medical condition worsens. That is where there is a link between HIV and COVID. It is a co-morbidity that affects you when you are HIV positive, especially if you are no longer taking medication. We have encountered cases where HIV patients refused to get vaccinated. We are saying there are vulnerable groups and they ought to be vaccinated. Also, diabetes and tuberculosis patients should be vaccinated against COVID as well as the elderly. This is because our immunity is now low due to our advancing ages.
We have observed that during lockdown, those that are on HIV treatment had difficulties in accessing their medication. That is how COVID impacted on HIV. It was difficult to visit laboratories to get their viral load checked. It was said there was a danger of contracting COVID at health institutions. Children were not going to school. This increased teenage pregnancies, contraction of STIs and HIV. We should investigate our children to find out what happened because a lot of things happened during that period. If you are HIV positive and get COVID infection, your mental status gets compromised. That is where there is a smash between HIV and COVID-19 morbidity, especially when you are no longer taking medication, you will have serious challenges. People must be vaccinated for COVID-19, especially the vulnerable groups like people with tuberculosis and diabetes should be immunized from COVID-19 as well as elders in this august Senate, our immune system is no longer strong because of our ages.
We observed that during lock down, those that were on HIV treatment had difficulties in accessing their medication because of COVID-19 restrictions. It was difficult for people to go to the clinic to be tested for viral load despite the fact that people with HIV had greater risks of contracting COVID-19. School children have a higher risk of contracting the disease also, especially those in boarding schools.
There were also cases of gender based violence and teenage pregnancies. A lot of things happened during the COVID-19 lockdown period Madam President. Mental status will be compromised if you are HIV positive and can also contract COVID-19. We were in a difficult situation. It is whereby you can knock at the door and you will fail to remember why you knocked at that door. After sitting down then you recall what you were doing, it is because of being HIV positive and contracting COVID-19 at the same time. We also surveyed other countries on issues to do with drug abuse; we saw that they were almost similar to Zimbabwe.
What is the magnitude of this drug abuse? As a country, what are we doing? There is an inter-ministerial task force on drug abuse but as Members of Parliament, as usual we must be engaging. There should be a board in Parliament that looks at such issues so that when Hon. Senators go to their constituencies they will teach people about drug abuse.
On domestic violence, we noticed that people that used to spend less time at home like the husbands, because of COVID-19, they had to spend more time at home. Some couples were engaged in conflicts; instead of getting together and loving each other, they resorted to violence. Those that were in love found ample time to love one another, and those that did not love each other ended up fighting. We experienced gender based violence on both sides; men and women. The lockdown impacted on social interactions, diabetes patients, COVID-19 patients and HIV patients.
This also impacted on commercial sex workers as men were locked indoors by their wives, so they did not get money during the lockdown period: is this positive or negative to the country? If they are no longer having income then how do they look after their children?
Lastly, I plead with this august Senate that COVID-19 and HIV are still in existence, our health sector remains threatened and we must allocate more funds to the health sector. The money that was going to COVID-19 must continue to be channeled to the health sector despite the fact that COVID-19 is now on the decline. I thought I would add my voice on this motion and I thank you.
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: Madam President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 12th April, 2022.
MOTION
SECOND REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON HIV AND AIDS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY (ART) ROLL-OUT PROGRAMME
Fourth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the implementation of the Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) Roll-Out Programme.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: Madam President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 13th April, 2022.
MOTION
CONDOLENCES ON THE DEATH OF HON. SEN. SIMON KHAYA MOYO
Fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the untimely passing on of the late Senator for Matabeleland South, Hon. Sen. Simon Khaya Moyo.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: Madam President, thank you very much for affording me the opportunity to debate a special motion that talks about somebody special and I am talking of none other than the late Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo, a national hero. What makes this man very special is his contribution towards the liberation of this country and the sacrifices he made for this country to get independence. I also want to thank Hon. Sen. Mathuthu for coming up with this motion. Fellow members of this House debated at length, but I feel I would like to add some flesh and a few other things that I feel were left out; his contribution to Zimbabwe after 1980, the appointments that he got in both the ruling party and in Government.
The Late Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo was born on 1st October 1945. The late gallant son of the soil skipped the border of this country in 1968 headed for Lusaka in Zambia. Upon arrival in Lusaka, he was directed by ZAPU leadership to take up studies with the University of Zambia and he did that and studied for a Diploma in Social Sciences. Immediately after that in 1973, he enrolled with the University of Makerere in Uganda where he studied for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Sciences, which he passed with an Upper Second Class Honours and is testimony of his intelligence. Accordingly, that same year in 1973, he was appointed ZAPU representative in Uganda. In 1975 on his return to Lusaka, probably as payback time for what he had been doing, he was appointed Secretary and Special Assistant to yet another gallant son of the soil the late Dr. J. M Nkomo.
He then went for military and intelligence training in Germany and had refresher military courses in Cuba and Russia. On his return, he was appointed to serve in the ZAPU Revolutionary Council. Madam President, because of the intelligence, education and military training that he got in various countries, he had to travel with the late Dr. J. M Nkomo to attend the Geneva, Malta and Lancaster House conferences as a Special Advisor. In 1980 when we attained independence, he was duly appointed Assistant Secretary to the Ministry of Home Affairs. In 1983, he served as Undersecretary in the Ministry of Justice. In 1984, he was appointed Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health. Accordingly, in 1989 he was awarded the Liberation Decoration Medals for his role in the liberation of Zimbabwe (Gold and silver). In the same year 1989, he was chosen to be head of Corporate Affairs of Zimbabwe Development Trust, a trust that had been founded by Dr. J. M. Nkomo and he was also elected Member of the Central Committee in the same year. In March 1990, he was elected Member of Parliament for Bulilimamangwe South Constituency. As an MP, he served in the Public Accounts Committee and the Indigenisation of the National Economy Committee. In 1992, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce. In 1994, he was re-elected Member of the ZANU-PF Central Committee and thereafter appointed Deputy Secretary for Administration in the ZANU-PF Politburo. In 1995, he was appointed Minister of Transport and Energy and in 1997 to July 2000, he was appointed Minister of Mines, Environment and Tourism. In 1997, he was also appointed Deputy Secretary for Legal Affairs in the Politburo and in 2001, he was appointed to go and serve as High Commissioner to the Republic of South Africa and to the Kingdom of Lesotho, a post that he served with distinction. I just want you to see the type of person this gallant son of the soil was.
The late Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo was an adept writer. His first book was “Mr Speaker Sir” a compilation of his speeches in Parliament and beyond. His second book was “Service to my Country”. Between the period 2011 and 2014, he was the National Chairman of the ZANU-PF party. In 2017, he was appointed the Minister of Media Information Broadcasting Services. The late national hero and gallant son of the soil was instrumental in the independent sovereignty of this country and its Land Reform Programme. When the late national hero passed on, he had worked tirelessly for this country. The national hero status was befitting for such a gallant son of the soil. May his soul rest in eternal peace.
THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Just a point of correction. Hon Senator S. K. Moyo was never a Speaker in the august House. He contested as Speaker in 2008 in a rerun of the post and he lost to Hon. Lovemore Moyo. It is just a point of correction.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Madam President for affording me this opportunity to support the motion which was raised by Hon. Sen. Mathuthu on the death of Hon. Sen. S. K. Moyo on 14th November 2021.
Firstly, I would want to thank the parents of Ambassador Simon Khaya Moyo for being able to send him to school because those days, very few blacks were able to go to school during the colonial era. After he was sent to school, I want to thank him for remaining a true patriot by not looking down upon other people. I want to thank the likes of Ambassador Moyo because of the education which he attained and the opportunities that he got during those difficult times. There are very few who remain humble after getting educated that they would work for their country and uphold their kinsmen.
We have heard about his history that he went and joined the liberation struggle when he was a young man. Because of his education, he had a choice not to join the liberation struggle, but could have looked for a job. As I have alluded to before, he had his country at heart. He loved his people so much that he wanted to bring change to the country.
We heard from the chiefs that he respected the chiefs because he was a well mannered child. He was brought up well and he knew that he was human. We know that in our country, our chiefs are community leaders, so he respected the chiefs. We missed a lot during his illness and when I am standing here, I can visualise him sitting on his chair. Despite being ill, he would attend all sittings and he would be cheerful. He did not show that he was sick and could not come to work. He was always here, being cheerful and participating in everything that took place in this House.
People like Ambassador Moyo are not very common. These are people who love their country. These days, very few people love their own people. I want to thank him for the works that he did. We have heard about his history that he was once an Ambassador outside the country and he performed his duty well, making sure that people from Zimbabwe are living well. When he was an Ambassador in South Africa, he did all his best to enable our people living in South Africa to live well. A person like that should be honoured and respected, especially for the work that he did.
As Senate, we really lost a good person of the likes of Ambassador Simon Khaya Moyo because of his experience and keenness to ask. We learnt a lot from him. I want to say may his soul rest in peace and may the Lord continue to look after his family because he is the one who can only do that.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 13th April 2022,
MOTION
PREVALENCE OF DRUG ABUSE BY YOUTHS
Sixth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the devastating effects of drug abuse by youths.
Question again proposed.
(v)HON. SEN. S. MPOFU: I want to thank the mover of the motion. I have noted that what caused people to use drugs most of the time are the elders; they point in a direction that people are supposed to drink alcohol and smoke dagga and being engaged in other various illicit activities. In the end, children think that taking a lot of alcohol and smoking of dagga and substance abuse is something to be adored. As adults, we are supposed to protect the children and not to allow them to be involved in drug activities and even show them that we drink in public spaces before their eyes.
Hon. President, the other thing that caused this is the places that we come from and our backgrounds. There are people that are mentally disturbed. This disturbance of mentality is caused by substance abuse and it ends up even being transferred to the children. This bad habit is taken by children even at schools, to imitate adults in substance abuse be it in the form of smoking or drinking. We should as adults make it a point that we know the whereabouts of our children. If as adults we are not concerned about where our children are going, this freedom that we give them end up bringing other friends and start doing unscrupulous things as if it is the proper way of living.
Mr. President, whilst if the parent knows where the child has headed out to, and upon return questions him or her about his trip, it can help and protect in stopping drug abuse. What also causes drug abuse is that these substances are being sold in the streets. I am surprised, where are the law enforcement agencies at such times when people are selling illicit substances like drugs on the streets? Even in rural areas, there are now people that are selling these drugs. It is worrisome - we need to encourage the law enforcement agencies that they should arrest those that sell drugs in the streets so that they can be incarcerated.
The other thing that causes drug abuse is stress and poverty. When people see that they do not have groceries, they end up abusing drugs or they think that drinking could assist them in their sorrow. There should be an awareness that once one tastes drugs you get addicted and will have to live with it for the rest of your life. Long back, elders would have time with children and educate them about their future. As for now, it is no longer being done in that way. You witness that when people get to their homes, everyone is preoccupied by his or her own activity. Elders will be busy watching television. There is no longer that set-up that parents and children meet on around table and try to advise each other on matters of life.
Mr. President, my opinion on how to end drug abuse is that we could educate these youngsters that are still going to school and show them that drugs are not good at all. Also monitor their movements to get to know who they are with and know their friends whom they play with. This is done so that you know that if your child has gone out you will know the character of the person he has gone out with and his interests. As a parent, if you feel that your child is not playing with good company, advise the parents of your child’s friend that the child is practicing bad habits and he or she can end up influencing my child.
Mr. President, children are now abusing even bronco which is cough medication but they are now using it for drugs. Pharmacists are not supposed to allow youngsters to purchase medicines without a doctor’s prescription because they end up using these medicines as drugs. Both parents and guardians should lead as an example and be role models before their children. They should not take beer or get drunk before the eyes of their own children because this will end up portraying bad image in front of the children. I have noticed that most countries have places known as rehabilitation centres. These are places where children who have been heavily affected or addicted to drugs are taken to so that they withdraw from taking drugs. It is now important that here in Zimbabwe we have such centres so that children and youngsters who are now addicted to drugs can be rehabilitated through education on the disadvantages of drug abuse.
We are appealing to the Minister that such places be set up so that our children addicted to drugs can be taken to these places. Even in schools, children should be educated on the dangers of substance abuse. This should be part of their curriculum, from a tender age, they should be educated on drug abuse until they reach university level.
Our police officers should be visible in each and every ward the whole country. There should be a police station in each and every ward so that children are taken there if they do not listen to their elders on the issue of drug abuse. Children should learn to respect and fear the police officers. Even the village heads and traditional leaders should be given powers to arrest people who sell drugs to children. Even in rural areas, the issue of drugs is now dangerous. Selling of any substance that leads someone to be drunk should be a crime and should stopped with immediate effect. Our children are now at risk in this country because of drug abuse. They cannot even dress properly. You will see their trousers on their knees. I thank Hon. Sen. Dube for raising such a salient motion because it helps our country to develop. I thank you.
HON. SEN. A. DUBE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 13th April, 2022.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Seventh Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MKWEBU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 13th April, 2022.
On the motion of HON. SEN. MUZENDA, seconded by HON. SEN. CHIEF MAKUMBE, the Senate adjourned at Twenty-one Minutes to Five o’clock.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 12th April, 2022.
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. SPEAKER
NOMINATIONS TO PORTFOLIO COMMITTEES MEMBERSHIP
THE HON. SPEAKER: I have to inform the House that the following Members have been nominated to serve on the following Committees: - Hon. Munyaradzi Zizhou- Portfolio Committees on Energy and Power Development and the Public Accounts Committee; Hon. Master Makope - Portfolio Committees on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development; Hon Davison Masvisvi- Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and the Public Accounts Committee; Hon Tasara Hungwe- Portfolio Committees on Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development and Industry and Commerce; Hon. Jeremiah Chiwetu- Portfolio Committees on Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development and Youth, Sports, Arts and Recreation; Hon Nyasha Masoka- Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade and Public Accounts Committee; Hon Musa Ncube - Portfolio Committees on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises; Hon Zalera Makari- Portfolio Committees on Foreign affairs and International Trade and Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services; Hon. Misheck Mugadza- Portfolio Committees on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and Information Communication Technology.
NON-ADVERSE REPORT RECEIVED FROM THE PARLIAMENTARY LEGAL COMMITTEE
THE HON. SPEAKER: I also have to inform the House that I have received from the Parliamentary Legal Committee, a Non-Adverse Report on the Labour Amendment Bill [H. B. 14, 2021[.
PETITIONS RECEIVED FROM THE WOMEN’S COALITION OF ZIMBABWE, COMMUNITY YOUTH DEVELOPMENT TRUST AND MEDIA INSTITUTE OF SOUTHERN AFRICA
THE HON. SPEAKER: Furthermore, Parliament received the following petitions from the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe of Milton Park, Harare, beseeching Parliament to take the necessary steps to ensure the implementation of the recommendations made by the Committee on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. The petition has since been referred to the Portfolio Committee on Women Affairs, Small and Medium Enterprise Development.
The second petition is from the Community Youth Development Trust of Gwanda, beseeching Parliament to exercise its oversight and legislative roles by institutionalising the informal traders and legislating for their protection. The petition has since been referred to the Portfolio Committee on Women Affairs, Small and Medium Enterprise Development.
The third petition is from the Media Institute of Southern Africa, beseeching Parliament to conduct an enquiry into the cost of mobile data in Zimbabwe. The petition has since been referred to the Portfolio Committee on Information, Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services.
HON. TOGAREPI: Mr. Speaker - [HON. ZWIZWAI: Inaudible interjection.] –
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Zwizwai, you are a very senior and seasoned Member of Parliament. Please respect the procedures.
HON. TOGAREPI: My point of privilege relates to the unfortunate events that are taking place in South Africa where some of our people have been killed. Some have called this xenophobia and Afro-phobia or whatever it is called. Many people are in deep pain as to how our fellow Zimbabwean was killed in South Africa by the so-called vigilantes. We are deeply pained and it is our hope that the people of South Africa, especially those criminals who are perpetrating this heinous activity stop it and allow for co-existence which will see them doing their work, and Zimbabweans or any other African live in peace. We are however confident that the South African Government has the capacity to deal with these criminals. We hope that this xenophobia or whatever it is called is arrested and no further spilling of blood is seen in South Africa.
Elvis Nyathi was killed in a barbaric way that I have never seen where people beat someone, pour him whether it was, paraffin or petrol – a human being cannot just do that to another human being. What a painful way of dying, may his soul rest in peace. It is our hope that we see peace and those who are perpetrating this violence are dealt with according to the laws of South Africa.
(v)HON. NDUNA: Hon. Speaker Sir, would you not want to make a comment on the issue of national interest if it pleases you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: I am not so directed.
HON. PETER MOYO: My heart bleeds Mr. Speaker Sir as we face Uhuru next week. Crimes being committed by members of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) show us that there is something very wrong in the ZDF. If we do not handle this issue as a matter of urgency…
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, did you say committed by ZDF?
HON. PETER MOYO: Some members of the ZDF and not all of them Mr. Speaker Sir.
Some of the members of the ZDF were arrested and incarcerated for 15 years each. This shows us that there is a very big issue in the ZDF. These people are not properly remunerated. We enjoy the independence that we have today because of these men and women who are protecting us on a daily basis during the day and night. The breakdown of aeroplanes tells you that there is something terribly wrong in the ZDF.
The ZDF is inadequately funded. I take this back to the Minister of Finance. He is responsible for not properly paying the ZDF members. These members of the ZDF …
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order. There is a point of order.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): My point of order is with regard to the way the Hon. Member is speaking. He is speaking with authority that there is a co-relationship between the committal of crimes and conditions of service. I think he is uttering words that are discouraging the whole defence forces. He should concentrate on issues that he has full knowledge of as opposed to coming here to proffer an opinion that has not been proven.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order. Hon. Member, can you restrict yourself to quantifiable evidence.
HON. PETER MOYO: Mr. Speaker Sir, I think it is also appropriate that you protect me when other people are saying point of order when there is no order. Mr. Speaker, what I am saying is of national interest...
THE HON. SPEAKER: You are saying the Chair has been unprocedural. Please sit down.
HON. PETER MOYO: No, I am not saying that.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Can you sit down.
HON. BITI: Hon. Speaker, I rise on a point of national interest and I hope that you may direct the Minister of Finance to issue a Ministerial Statement. I rise on my feet on the issue of the importance of gold in our economy. Gold is a stower of value but most importantly, in a country that is struggling with its currency, gold reserves and the gold bullion becomes the backer of the national currency because gold stows value traditionally.
Mr. Speaker, I am concerned about the disposal of 60% of our refinery owned by a Reserve Bank subsidiary, Fidelity Printers and Refineries. My question to the ...
HON. MATHE: I rise on my feet on a point of order against what the Hon. Member has already said; to call the Minister to explain what in this country when he is the one with clips of evidence calling for sanctions – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – What does the Hon. Member want the Minister to say honestly? That is my concern. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – What is it that he expects the Minister to say at the expense of sanctions that are draining this country? He has to withdraw what he said to the Americans – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – the costs of sanctions on the economy of this country. We are all suffering in this country because of the sanctions that he requested and this is backed by evidence of the clips. I thank you Mr. Speaker – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order Hon. Members – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Hon. Biti, can you please proceed – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Hon. Members, please sit down. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – [HON. MUNENGAMI: He is scolding us saying a lot of words. Mr. Speaker, it is not fair.] – Hon. Munengami, do not take the floor when you are not recognised. I had recognised Hon. Biti, so can you please sit down.
HON. MUNENGAMI: Thank you Hon. Speaker but the Hon. Member is saying a lot of things.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Biti, can you please wind up.
HON. BITI: Thank you Mr. Speaker – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Hon. Speaker, I would like the Minister to explain in his statement the rationale of the disposal of the shares in our gold refinery. Secondly, why Parliament approval was not sought –[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – before the disposal was made. Thirdly, whether or not due diligence was done. Fourth, point of order is that why the country’s procurement laws were not followed and lastly, what was the purchase price – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order! You are not connected – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Order!
HON. ZWIZWAI: Mr. Speaker, do you want us to collapse this Parliament? We can equally do that and nobody will speak here. Your role as Chair there is to make sure that Members are heard in silence but if you allow ZANU PF to heckle one of our own when you have recognised him to raise points of national interest, we will not allow that.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you. I heard you. Can you sit down – [HON. ZWIZWAI: Maybe they are not respecting you because you are coming from a minority tribe yekuMatonga. Maybe if you were Shona or Zezuru, they would have respected you. It is important for you vanhu veZANU to respect the minorities. Eeeh the Speaker of Parliament comes from the minority tribe yeMatonga and we know kuti muri kuda kuvabvisa pahuSpeaker ipapo.] – Hon. Zwizwai! Can you sit down? Can you switch off your microphone there?
We have now wasted 20 minutes, I am closing the points of order and also the issues of national interest. We have wasted 25 minutes saying nothing – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Order!
Hon. Mathe having laughed.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Mathe!
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order! Next person to make noise, you are out of this House. Can the Minister be heard in silence – [HON. ZWIZWAI: Inaudible interjections.] – Order, order. Hon. Zwizwai, out of the House – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
Hon. Zwizwai left the Chamber.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Mr. Speaker, I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 11 be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
Hon. Munengami having stood up on a point of order.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Sit down. I said sit down. Can you get out of this Chamber? I have been very indulgent with you. Get out of this Chamber now.
Hon. Munengami left the Chamber
SECOND READING
PRIVATE VOLUNTARYO RGANISATIONS AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 10, 2021]
Twelfth Order read: Second Reading: Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Bill [H. B. 10, 2021].
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I rise to deliver my Second Reading Speech on the Private Voluntary Organisation Amendment Bill. Mr. Speaker Sir, the Bill before you today is a very necessary measure to improve the administration, accountability and transparency of charities in our country. The legal word for charity in our country Mr. Speaker is Private Voluntary Organisation (PVO). Under our law, every charity that uses money collected from the public or donated from the foreign Government or foreign agency is required to be registered as a PVO in terms of the Private Voluntary Organisation Act which the Bill before you seeks to amend.
Let me say Mr. Speaker, from the outset that our country benefits very much from the work of those PVOs which operate lawfully within our borders. PVOs provide support for communities in a wide range of areas where the national or local Government for want of resources or expertise has been deficient for any reason. I am speaking Mr. Speaker of support and assistance in the form of programmes, projects, services, goods and money in such sectors as health and education provision, assistance to widows and orphans, the relief of poverty and hunger and the empowerment of women, youth and disabled.
We, as Government are very grateful for the help given by the PVOs. The best PVOs have access to resources, experience and expertise solely needed by the people they benefit. Mr. Speaker Sir, therefore, from the bottom of my heart, I say to them, on behalf of the Government, “Thank you for the good work you are doing and please keep it up!”
Accordingly Mr. Speaker, this Bill does not speak to those law-abiding PVOs I have just mentioned, but to the few who may be tempted to use the guise of charity to carry out undesirable, harmful and even criminal activities. For instance Mr. Speaker, we have received communication from the Financial Action Task Force (which is the world’s policemen against money laundering) that some charitable trusts are being misused as a means for channeling funds to fund terrorism and other criminal activities, or to launder the proceeds of criminal activities by, for instance, buying up properties in Zimbabwe and other countries.
Mr. Speaker Sir, we are also as the Government, aware that some so-called charities act in a politically partisan manner by directing money to favoured political parties or candidates at the expense of other political parties or candidates. Partisan assistance using foreign money or money collected from the public under the guise of charity must never be allowed to influence the outcome of national or local elections. In many developed countries Mr. Speaker, this kind of behaviour is understood to be harmful to the very idea of charity. In the United States for example, you cannot register any organisation as a non-profit organisation for tax purposes if that organisation campaigns or canvasses for any political candidate or party.
Mr. Speaker Sir, it is in this context that this Bill seeks to clean up the space within which PVOs may operate. For some time now, the Government has noticed that some so-called charities have completely by-passed the Private Voluntary Organisations Act by forming “trusts” sanctioned by the High Court. This is a devise that is specifically permitted by the Act because originally Mr. Speaker, the Government did not want to discourage families or individuals from forming family or private trusts to benefit family members or members of the public using their own wealth. It is still not our intention Mr. Speaker to impose registration on these kinds of private trusts. However, if it appears that any trust is using for “charity purposes” foreign money not generated by their own activities or investments, or using money collected from members of the public at large, then they must be required somehow to register as a PVO under the Private Voluntary Organisations Act. We want such trusts to be accountable in the eyes of the public on the sources of their funds and the use to which they are put.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I realise that the procedures for registration under the Act need to be streamlined and expedited. This is why some of these charities have chosen the route of forming trusts sanctioned by the High Court. We cannot run the risk of charities of a public character being used as a cover for theft, embezzlement, tax evasion, money laundering or partisan political activity.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I will not at this stage, undertake a clause-by-clause analysis of this Bill. The Explanatory Memorandum to the Bill admirably suits that purpose, I encourage Hon. Members to read it carefully. However, we have taken suggestions from stakeholders on how to improve its provisions.
Just yesterday, the Government through me - I personally undertook consultations with Civil Society organisations (CSOs) to improve this Bill. The CSOs indicated their willingness to co-operate with us to improve the Bill in certain key respects. In particular Mr. Speaker Sir, they suggested improvements to the composition of the PVO Board to ensure a fair representation of a cross-section of PVOs and CSOs, from a list of nominees supplied to the Minister by an umbrella organisation of PVOs and CSOs. Mr. Speaker Sir, we are willing to seriously consider their suggestions in that regard. Also, they undertook to explore Committee Stage amendments to the Bill to better refine the Minister’s powers to intervene in the operations of PVOs in a manner more consistent with rights bestowed by our Constitution, especially the freedom of association.
Mr. Speaker Sir, more importantly, the CSOs agreed to assist us with the reformation of Clause 6 of the Bill, which seeks to criminalise the politicization of charitable activities. We do not want our PVOs to operate in a climate of fear in which they feel they may be subjected to criminal prosecution because they might unwittingly involve themselves in partisan political activities. For example Mr. Speaker, we do not wish to punish a PVO for assisting women to become candidates in national and local elections. However, we do look with extreme disfavour upon PVOs that abuse their resources by acting in a partisan manner, for instance by favouring communities on the basis of their supposed or expected political affiliation. Mr. Speaker Sir, we look forward as the Government, to CSOs helping us to frame an appropriate criminal offence in this regard.
With these words, I urge Hon. Members to support this Bill, which is intended to promote a better, safer and more conducive environment for the operation of PVOs in our country. I move that the Bill be now read a second time Mr. Speaker Sir. I thank you.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I understand that the report is not ready. I move for the adjournment of debate so that the Committee can first present their report.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 13th April, 2022.
THE HON. SPEAKER: The responsible Committee, make sure your report is ready.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS: I move that we revert to Orders of the Day, Nos. 8 and 9 on today’s Order Paper.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order Mr. Speaker Sir. My point of order concerns how the Ministers come for a Second Reading. After the submission, he then says ‘is there any debate?’ The Minister says no, it must be moved to the Committee. I think there is a communication breakdown between the Minister and the Committees. What is supposed to happen is; the Minister is supposed to communicate with the Committee first because the mere fact of saying, ‘is there any debate,’ cannot go back to the Minister; we must debate. So the ministers must understand that they must liaise with the Committees so that when you call if there is any debate, the Committee is ready. This happens all the time and I need to be guided by you because I wanted to debate but then it has to go to the Committee. So why do the ministers not talk to the Committees first to say, here is the Second Reading – we are here to debate because the Committee would be ready to debate. This is a culture which I have seen happening but it shows that there is no communication whatsoever. I think through your Office, may that be stopped because it is really disturbing the processes of Parliament at the end of the day.
THE HON. SPEAKER: The Committee was not ready and that is why I urged the Committee to make sure that the report is ready because we start with the Committee before any other person can debate.
SECOND READING
INSURANCE BILL [H. B. 1, 2021]
Eighth Order read: Second Reading: Insurance Bill [H. B. 1, 2021].
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. CHIDUWA): Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir. I rise to present the second reading for the Insurance Bill [H. B. 1, 2021].
HON. MUSHORIWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. The Hon. Minister wants to present the Insurance Bill and it is under consideration by the Budget and Finance Committee. We wanted to seek the indulgence of the Hon. Minister that, can it be moved forward so that we can be in a position to have sufficient time for Members to debate after the Committee has submitted this report.
THE HON. SPEAKER: When will the Committee be ready?
HON. MUSHORIWA: It will be ready by tomorrow.
THE HON. SPEAKER: You present tomorrow?
HON. MUSHORIWA: Yes, the Committee is finalising tomorrow and by Thursday, it will be ready. So I am seeking the approval of the Hon. Minister to move the debate to Thursday.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Well, allow the Hon. Minister to make the statement and will adjourn the debate until your Committee presents tomorrow.
HON. CHIDUWA: Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir. I allow the Portfolio Committee to finalise their report so that we can do the Second Reading on Thursday as proposed. I thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Minister, I said proceed to speak on the Bill. We will adjourn so that tomorrow the Committee can make their presentation. So, proceed.
HON. CHIDUWA: Let me proceed with the Second Reading of the Insurance Bill [H. B. 1, 2021]. Mr. Speaker Sir, I hereby present the Insurance Bill for consideration by this House. Hon. Members, the Insurance Bill is aimed at repealing the Insurance Act [Chapter 24:07], to strengthen regulatory supervision and policy holder protection.
The Insurance and Pensions Commission was established in 2006 following the promulgation of the Insurance and Pensions Commission Act [Chapter 24:21]. The operational Acts namely the Insurance Act and the Pensions and Providence Funds Act [Chapter 24:09], have provisions which are outdated and hence, the need to have provisions that conform to both the regional and international best practices.
The March 2017 Justice Commission led a Commission of Inquiry into the conversions of insurance and pensions values, highlighted the need to review the legislation in order to strengthen the effectiveness of IPEC’s regulatory and monitoring mechanisms to protect policy holders. It is against this background that the Insurance Act is being amended. Mr. Speaker Sir, the Bill covers a range of amendments which are, in terms of the Insurance core principles. I will therefore, with your indulgence, make emphasis on some of the major amendments.
The Bill requires all insurers to engage in only one class of insurance business which therefore means that composite insurance companies writing both short term and life business will no longer be registered as such.
Mr. Speaker Sir, it is imperative that financially unsound institutions engage expect assistance for recovery. The current Act does not provide for this, hence the Bill is proposing that registered entities showing signs of distress should be placed under the administration of a curator. The Bill outlines the curator’s powers and duties. The Bill now allows the commission to apply to the High Court for winding up of any registered person with solvents issues who is unable to meet liabilities and continue with the insurance business. The Bill also confers the right to oppose any application by any other person. Provisional liquidators are to be appointed after recommendation from the Commission and Sections 42 to 47 and 49 of the Insolvency Act to apply to liquidators. The clause also provides for IPEC to recommend the appointment of a provisional judicial manager, liquidator or judicial manager for the registered person. The claims of policy holder and IPEC in relation to any fees or expenses incurred in the exercise of its duties in terms of the Act against the person whose estate is being sequestrated or wound up shall enjoy such priority as may be prescribed.
The Bill leavers room for voluntary winding up of a registered person which is to be done upon written approval of the Commission.
Mr. Speaker Sir, another method or change in the Bill is that the Commission will now be able to prescribe minimum and maximum premiums payable in any class of policies. IPEC has experienced situations where a number of insurers charge inadequate premiums to meet claims and other obligations. Indeed, some Government bodies have found themselves doing business with an insurer charging uneconomic premiums only for that insurer to fail to honour its claims. The Bill will now allow IPEC to prescribe payment of minimum premiums after consultations with industry associations.
Prescription of premiums in accordance with the Bill will not affect premiums payable on policies issued before the date on which the minimum and maximum premiums was prescribed.
Mr. Speaker Sir, the Bill also provides that the Commission shall maintain or cause to be maintained, a register of each registered person covering insurers, insurance brokers, risk consultancy, loss adjusters, insurance surveyors and any other person required or permitted to be registered or under this Bill.
The Bill also strengthens the regulatory power of the Commission by stating that if a memorandum, articles, constitution or any constitutive document of a board corporate contains a provision that is inconsistency with the Bill, the provision shall be void to the extent of the inconsistency.
The Bill also provides that a person who is not registered and holds himself to be registered or conducts any insurance or insurance related business and a registered person who deals with any unregistered company shall all be guilty and liable to a fine not exceeding level 14 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 20 years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
The Bill also provides that a juristic person shall be liable to pay a fine for contravening the Act provided that a director or employee of such a juristic person who mainly contravenes this Act shall also be liable to a fine and to an imprison term where the relevant provisions so provide and the commissioner may serve upon the defaulter a civil penalty order of the appropriate category.
The current Act provides that inspection should be done by individuals. This limits the scope of work as bodies such as but not limited to auditors and actuaries may not be engaged as inspectors. The Bill therefore extends the appointments of inspectors to include corporates, firms or associations.
The Bill also seeks to provide for the setting aside by registered persons in a manner satisfactory to the commission, an amount equal to a prescribed percentage of its paid up capital to be deposited to policy holders and pensions and provident and fund members’ protection fund established in terms of the Insurance and Pensions Commission Act.
The Bill has proposed amendments which empower IPEC to ensure that insurers disclose relevant comprehensive and adequate information on a timely basis in order to give policy holders and market participants a clear view of their business activities performance and financial position. This will assist the commission to fulfill its mandate of prudential and market conduct whilst enhancing market discipline. The market will also have access to information on the risks an insurer is exposed to and the manner in which those risks are managed.
With the approval of the Minister, and subsequent publication in the Government Gazette, the Bill also empowers IPEC to come up with regulations covering the following:_ registration of persons carrying on insurance business outside Zimbabwe; requirements to comply with international and regional best practice; requirements such as capital adequacy, risk based supervision, solvency, risk management and corporate governance; accreditation of actuaries; the inclusivity of insurance to low income segments of the population in terms of cost, scope, coverage and delivery through micro insurance.
In conclusion, Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that the Bill be now read for a second time. I thank you. - [HON. MLISWA: Inaudible interjection.] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MUTOMBA): I think I am so much respecting you. We need to have a triangular relationship in this august House.
HON. T. MLISWA: I do not know if you could hear my voice from this side.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: You are supposed to be quiet and take your seat so that other Hon. Members listen to the debate attentively.
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, 14th April, 2022.
SECOND READING
INSURANCE AND PENSIONS COMMISSION AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 6, 2021]
Ninth Order read: Second Reading: Insurance and Pensions Commission Amendment Bill [H. B. 6, 2021].
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. CHIDUWA): Mr. Speaker Sir, I hereby present the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) Bill for consideration by this House.
Hon. Members, the IPEC Bill seeks to amend the IPEC Act [Chapter 24:21]. Regulatory reforms in the insurance and pensions industry have not kept pace with the dynamic changes being experienced in both the domestic and global financial markets, driven mainly by technological innovation and the development of new financial instruments. These changes have resulted in new ways of doing business that call for legislative amendments to align with market developments, minimise regulatory gaps and arbitrage.
The current legislative framework cannot address observed weaknesses in the insurance and pensions industry. In recent years, we have witnessed poor corporate governance practices and failure by insurers and pension funds to meet policy holder and member expectations. Regulatory inadequacies were also identified through the 2012 assessment done by experts from the SADC Secretariat on the level of compliance of the country’s insurance and pension legislation to the regulatory standards set by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and the International Organisation of Pension Funds (IOPS). Therefore, benchmarking Zimbabwe’s legislation to these standards forms part of the basis of the proposed amendments.
The Bill covers a range of amendments. I will therefore, with your indulgence, make emphasis on some of the major proposals. The Bill under Section 4 was amended to provide for the functions of the Commission. This is done to provide the Commission with additional powers in its mandate of supervising, regulating and monitoring the industry.
Another notable change in the Bill is that IPEC will now have the power of accreditation of certain service providers in the insurance and pensions industry such as actuaries, auditors and asset managers.
The Commission was in the past faced with the challenge of having inadequate board members to fulfil the Commission’s mandate and there was therefore the need to increase the number of board members and the need to also provide for adequate and diverse skills in line with Section 11 (7) of the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act [Chapter 10:31]. The Bill proposes to amend the Act by increasing the number of maximum members from five to seven.
The board will have a balance of skills mix which should at a minimum include insurance and pension industry expertise, actuarial, legal, finance, regulatory background, human resources management, information technology and any other expertise as may be required.
The current IPEC Act does not define what amounts to conflict of interest. The Bill proposes to remedy that by amending the Act through adding disqualifying criteria for persons who can be appointed as members of the Commission’s board to include persons who are under the employment of any other such body or organisation under the supervision and regulation of the Commission or any organisation associated with an entity under the supervision and regulation of the Commission or a person with significant conflict of interest to perform his or her duties independently. Conflict of interest is now defined in the Bill to include the following situations:
A member of a board of a regulated entity or employee of a regulated entity;
Direct or indirect ownership of more than five per centum of shareholding in the regulated entity or
Close relations to any person employed in the regulated entity or a controlling stake in the regulated entity.
There was need to amend the IPEC Act to make it explicit that all non-executive board members must be independent. Individuals with significant conflict of interests should not be appointed as board members. The Bill further provides instances which may result in vested interests such as being a member of the holding or subsidiary of the insurance company and/or pension fund.
Mr. Speaker, the current Act provides the term of office of board members to be three years only and is not in line with Section 11 of the Public Entities and Corporate Governance Act [Chapter 10:31] in terms of the tenure of office. The Bill proposes that a board member can serve for up to four years and be eligible for renewal for only one term, in line with the Public Entities and Corporate Governance Act.
The Bill also removes the requirement of a board seat to be reserved for the Secretary of the respective Ministry, to comply with Section 11 (5) of the Public Entities and Corporate Governance Act.
Mr. Speaker, another notable change in the Bill is that the Bill now makes it mandatory to establish certain committees such as the Audit Committee. It is critical that the regulator has the requisite committees to enable effective supervision. The responsibility of each sub-committee will clearly be stipulated in the regulations which the Minister can prescribe from time to time.
The Bill has also removed the current reference to the Commissioner in his/her individual capacity and now makes reference to the Commission as an entity. The Bill also now provides for insurance brokers which were previously covered and extends the scope to include new types of entities that may fall under IPEC.
Mr. Speaker, the Bill proposes an insertion of a new Part 11A which provides for provisions relating to the Commission’s cooperation with other authorities, treatment of records obtained from foreign law enforcement authorities, sharing of privileged information provided to the Commission. This provides for agreements to be put in place which will allow for cooperation in investigations, enforcement, and harmonisation of laws, exchanging information and handling of such information, including privileged information.
Another notable proposal that the Bill brings, is the introduction of a Policy holder and Pensions and Provident Fund Members Protection Fund. The new provision creates the parameters of setting up and administering a Policy holder Protection Fund. The purpose of the fund is to compensate policy holders and fund members for losses directly incurred by them in the event of a contributor becoming insolvent.
The Policy holder Protection Fund will consist of, amongst other sources, contributions from insurers registered in terms of the Insurance Act, pension funds registered in terms of the Pensions and Provident Fund Act and other sources such as donations.
Mr. Speaker, the Bill introduces a new section 32A whose purpose is to remove personal liability for the actions of IPEC Board, management, staff, and inspectors appointed in terms of the Insurance Act and/or Pensions and Provident Fund Act unless such acts are done intentionally and are grossly negligent.
The Bill also ushers in the introduction of Section 32B. This section gives the Commission the responsibility to maintain a register of assets of its regulated entities. Disposal of these assets will require written notification of the Commission and supporting documentation (valuations and reasons for disposal).
With the coming in of the Bill, the Commission will have powers to stay any disposal where disposal is considered to not be in the interests of the policyholders. In conclusion Mr. Speaker, I move that the debate do not adjourn.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 14th April, 2022.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. TOGAREPI: I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 10 be stood over until Order of the Day, Number 11 has been disposed of.
HON. L. SIBANDA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
SECOND READING
AMENDMENT OF STATE UNIVERSITIES STATUTES BILL [H. B.13, 2021]
Eleventh Order read: Second reading: Amendment of State Universities Statutes Bill [H. B.13, 2021].
HON. MAPHOSA:
INTRODUCTION
Following the publication of The Amendment of State Universities Statutes Bill [H. B.13, 2021] was gazetted on 7 January 2022, the Portfolio Committee on Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development considered the Bill in terms of Standing Order 20(b) which enjoins the Committee to consider and deal with Bills or and Statutory Instruments or other matters which are referred to it by or under a resolution of the House or by the Speaker. After that, the Committee conducted public hearings on the said Bill. The Bill seeks to amend the thirteen State Universities Acts. In its memorandum, the Bill states it aims to align the university statutes with the Constitution to bring uniformity and harmonisation to all State universities.
METHODOLOGY
In compliance with Section 141 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the Committee conducted Public Hearings on the Bill from 14 to 18 March 2022. Six universities, namely; Lupane State University, the National University of Science and Technology, Midlands State University, Great Zimbabwe University, Manicaland University of Applied Sciences, and the University of Zimbabwe, were physically visited for the public consultations. In partnership with the Youth Empowerment and Transformation Trust, the Committee held a consultative workshop on 6 April 2022 at Crowne Plaza Hotel. This workshop targeted representatives from the universities that were left out in the public hearings.
SPECIFIC SUBMISSIONS ON THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS
Clause 1 of Masvingo State University
This clause applies only to Masvingo State University Act as it seeks to change the name of the University from Masvingo State University to Great Zimbabwe University. There was no objection to the clause.
Clause 2 of Masvingo State University which is Similar to Clause 1 of NUST, 1 of Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU), 1 of Marondera University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (MUAST), 1 of Lupane State University (LSU), 1 of Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE), 1 of Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT), 1 of Gwanda State University (GSU), 1 of Harare Institute of Technology (HIT)
The clause provides for the objects of the university to include the five pillars of Education 5.0 most of the submissions suggested that the clause should be expanded to include how innovation was going to be funded.
Clause 3 of Masvingo State University which is similar to Clause 2 of NUST, 2 of ZOU, 2 of MSU, 2of MUAST, 2 of LSU, 2 of BUSE 2 of CUT, 2 of GSU and 2 of HIT.
Tt provides for the University Council which shall consist of not less than ten (10) and not more than twenty (20) members. Most respondents welcomed this amendment as a step in the right direction as it promotes efficiency, however, representatives of student movements expressed disappointment that the clause provides for the inclusion of the President of the Student Union only to represent all students. Students opined that this was a typical case of underrepresentation. Students, therefore, submitted that there is need to increase the number of students who sit in the council to at least three, that is, the President, the Secretary General and/ the Gender Secretary.
Several submissions highlighted that the number of Council Members appointed by the Minister should be reduced from 10 appointees to five inclusive of the Ministry’s representative. Further, it was suggested that the title of the student representative under the amendment of section 10 should clearly read, “President of the Student Representative Council,” instead of “President of the Student Union” as highlighted in the Bill. Students noted that the Bill talks about “fair regional representation” however, they submitted that the conceptualisation of the phrase was not clear hence the phrase should be expanded to clearly conceptualise its meaning or be removed from the Bill completely.
Some submissions voiced concern over the overemphasis on the University Council and its silence when it comes to other important organs like the University Senate. Those of this opinion submitted that the Ministry should also address how the Senate was going to be aligned to the new philosophy of Education 5.0.
Under the amendment of Section 10, the public emphasised that the attendance of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor should not be at the mercy of the Vice-Chancellor but the former must be obliged to attend. It was therefore recommended to delete the word “may” under the amended Section 10 (1) (a) with “should” to make it obligatory for the Pro-Vice Chancellor to attend Council meetings.
The Committee heard that there should be an intersection of the Senate and the Council by appointing at least eight members of the Council from the Senate. It was submitted that Senate was an integral pillar of the university and its members should be included in the Council. Further, the public opined that in the spirit of inclusivity, the appointment of the Council members should take into consideration appointment of people with disabilities.
Clause 4 and 5 of Masvingo State University which is similar to Clauses 3 & 4 of NUST, 3& 4 of ZOU, 1&2 of PAMUST, 3&4 of MSU, 3 of MUAST, 3&4 of MSUAS, 3&4 of LSU, 3&4 of BUSE, 3&4 of CUT, 3&4 of GSU and 3&4 of HIT; provides for the appointment of the Bursar and Librarian by the Council with the approval of the Minister. Some members of the public expressed concern that the approval of appointments by the Ministry was tantamount to excessive Government control of the institutions thereby striking at the institutions’ autonomy. Those aligned to the foregoing argument submitted that the Council alone should have the sole right to select and appoint qualified persons through “competitive procedures.”
Some respondents suggested that the Minister must not be given any power to disapprove or approve the appointments of any executive post, rather the University Councils should have full authority to appoint top university officers and notify the Minister in writing of their decisions. The public submitted that allowing the Minister to approve or disapprove appointment of the executive officer would cripple impartiality, transparency, and meritocracy as the decisions of the Minister might be influenced by political or other interests. Further, the public observed that Minister’s approval or disapproval of executive posts appointment was ultra vires the current Public Entities Act [Cap 20: 07] Section 18 (2) which stipulates that where the board of a public entity appoints a senior staff, it shall cause written notice of the appointment to be sent to the line minister without delay. The public submitted that similarly the Universities Council should have the right to appoint to officers and then send a letter of notification to the Minister.
The public also picked some inconsistencies and discrepancies where the Bill gave differing provisions on supposedly similar issues which should be homogeneous. Cases in point were that Clauses 2 and 3 of the Harare Institute of Technology respectively talk about an Institute Board and a Financial Director. This is in contradistinction to the rest of other universities where the terms used are Council instead of Institute Board and Bursar instead of Financial Director. The public opined that such variations defeated any semblance of uniformity projected by the Ministry. It was suggested that for uniformity’s sake, the terms should be uniform across all the universities, if the intention of the Ministry was to harmonise and bring uniformity to the terminology used in the institutions.
Some submissions received voiced the logic of having 13 different statutes if the purpose of the Bill was to bring uniformity to all 13 institutions. The public opined that the ministry should come up with a consolidated and composite Universities Statutes Bill which does not fragment but seeks to amalgamate the miscellaneous independent statutes.
The public also criticised what they called archaic and simplistic nomenclatures used to refer to some posts as failing to capture the dynamic nature of the posts in the modern era. It was suggested that titles; ‘Librarian and Bursar’ were now out of step with modernity and do not capture the essence of those posts. Some suggested Chief Finance Officer or Financial Director should replace Bursar while the title Librarian should be replaced by Chief Director of Information Management. Some submissions highlighted that the title ‘Vice-Chancellor’ should be replaced by ‘Chief Executive Officer’ and going down the ladder Chairpersons of Departments should be called Departmental Managers. Such change of names, submitted the public, was the new thinking enshrined in the New Management Theory which states that if you want to enhance performance at a public institution, you must undertake the quasi privatisation of key aspects of public entity operations.
Clause 6 of Masvingo State University which is similar to clause 6 of ZOU, 3 of PAMUST, 5 of MSU, 5 of MUAST, 5 of MSUAS, 5 of LSU, 5 of BUSE, 5 of CUT, 5 of GSU, and 5 of HIT;
The amendment provides that the conditions of service are as stipulated in the Labour Act [Chapter 28:01]. There was no objection to this amendment.
Clause 7 of Masvingo State University which is similar to Clause 5 of NUST, 8 of ZOU, 4 of PAMUST, 7 of MSU, 7 of MUAST, 7 of MSUAS, 7 of LSU, 7 of BUSE, 7 of CUT, 7 of GSU and 6 HIT; provides for the Student Disciplinary Committee to include a registered Legal Practitioner. At NUST the public picked an inconsistency where the summary to clause 5 highlighted the inclusion of a Legal Practitioner in the Student Disciplinary Committee, however, in the actual amendment of Section 25 of the NUST Act, there is no mention of the Legal Practitioner. The public hence submitted that the Legal Practitioner should be expressly included under the amended Section 25 of the parent Act.
The public also further, quizzed if the Legal Practitioner was going to be an external or internal practitioner. Most of the views opined that an external legal practitioner is likely to be impartial and hence the appointment should be informed by the need to preserve impartiality and objectivity. The public also submitted that an external Legal Practitioner would reduce costs since he or she would be engaged on a need-basis not as a permanent employee of the institution. In addition, the public submitted that state universities must provide for legal practitioners to represent students in disciplinary hearings or facilitate a fund for such arrangements. Moreover, it was highlighted student representatives must be present at student disciplinary hearings so that they can assess if the students have been given a fair and just chance to present their cases.
It was also suggested that the Disciplinary Committee must include all 16 officially recognised languages as working languages of the Committee and the provision must be stated explicitly in the Amendment Bill.
Other members of the public noted minor errors which have the negative impact on the gender lenses of the Bill. It was observed that the amendment of Section 26 on the Staff Disciplinary Committee of several universities continuously referred to a “Chairman” instead of the more ungendered title, ‘Chairperson.’ The public, therefore, called for the deletion of the word Chairman and be replaced with Chairperson.
Clause 8 of Masvingo State University which is similar to 6 of NUST, 9 of ZOU, 5 of PAMUST, 8 of MSU, 8 of MUAST, 8 of MSUAS, 8 of LSU, 8 of BUSE, 8 of CUT, 8 of GSU and 7 of HIT; provides for the removal of the Chairperson of Council and the Vice Chancellor from the Finance Committee. Submissions, notably from Vice-Chancellors, suggested that the amendment was problematic. As such, the Vice-Chancellor should retain his or her Finance Committee since he or she is held accountable to any financial consequences to which he was not part and parcel. However, some members of the public welcomed this amendment as they said it brought with it transparency and objectivity in universities financial matters. In the same vein, other submissions noted that the Vice Chancellor and Chairperson of Council must remain in the Finance Committee of the University Council as they have a crucial role to play in the financial management of the university.
Clause 9 of Masvingo State University which is similar to 7 of NUST, 10 of ZOU, 6 of PAMUST, 5 of UZ, 9 of MSU, 9 MUAST, 9 of MSUAS, 9 of LSU, 9 of BUSE, 9 of CUT, 9 of GSU and HIT; provides for the four-year term limit for external members of Council. The public welcomed this amendment.
Clause 7 of ZOU, 6 of MSU, 6 of MUAST, 6 of MSUAS, 6 of LSU, 6 of BUSE, 6 of CUT, 6 of GSU; provides for appointment of the Staff Disciplinary Committee and disciplinary action procedures. It was recommended that the Staff Disciplinary Procedures should be synchronised with the procedures laid down in the Labour Act. The public further suggested that the Chairperson should not be someone appointed internally by the Vice-Chancellor as there were fears that he or she would be ‘captured.’ Rather, the public suggested, the Chairperson should be someone appointed from outside the rank and file of the university. Some suggested that a Retired Judge who is neutral could make an ideal candidate for the post. Further, it was suggested that most of the committee members should be people versed in law.
The public submitted that the following should constitute the Staff Disciplinary Committee; the Pro-Vice Chancellor, representative from the Workers' Committee/Associations, a registered legal practitioner to act as an arbitrator and a representative from the human resources section. Other submissions submitted that the quorum of the Committee should be increased from two to three.
Clause 5 of ZOU; provides for the removal of the post of the Information Technologist from the ZOU Statute. The public underscored that the move was flawed and was not in sync with the spirit of Education 5.0. It was submitted that Information Communication Technology Systems (ICTs) had become an integral part particularly for the internationalisation and survival of higher and tertiary education institutions as such the ICT Governance should be reflected in all statutes. The public bemoaned the failure, by the Ministry, to realise that universities are increasingly becoming digitalised. The public submitted that it was paradoxical that the Ministry was pushing innovation on the one hand and then seek to undo appointment of a post which epitomises the embrace of the digitalised 4th Industrial Revolution by the institutions. The public opined that ZOU as the premier university for Long Distance eLearning, therefore, relies heavily in ICTs to deliver and the position of the Information Technologist is of paramount importance. It was from this backdrop that the public concluded that the post of Information Technologist should be designated a principal post and should be left intact.
The public applauded the 1998 ZOU Act which introduced the post of Information Technology and argued that the drafters had the virtue of farsightedness. Respondents that supported this move opined that undoing such a positive gesture 24 years latter was anachronistic and defies logic. The public, therefore, submitted that the post of Information Technologist should be introduced at the executive level in all other state universities. The public queried the essence of maintaining the position of librarian, a position which they alleged to be outmoded given the shift from the traditional concept and space of library, and at the same time downplaying the import of the Information Technologist post, a post which they argued was speaking to the modern way of learning and the general modus operandi of the institutions worldwide.
General Observations by the Public
Some members of the public opined that the Bill purports to bring uniformity to university statutes, however, the very same universities have different niches and bringing homogeneity to such universities will defeat the peculiar nature of the institutions.
Other submissions criticised the move to create uniformity on the number of designate posts across all institutions, a move they described as retrogressive and devoid of any empirical basis to warrant such a proposition. Supporters of this view submitted that it was wrong to force universities to have similar executive structure and the Ministry should move away from the traditional executive structure of the; Vice Chancellor, pro-vice chancellor(s), bursar, librarian and registrar. It was submitted that universities should be allowed the flexibility of coming up with their executive structures which take into consideration their unique natures.
The students noted the absence of any reference to academic freedom in all clauses and that it was an indictment on the utility of academic freedom in the everyday running of universities. They opined that academic freedom was at the centre of higher learning hence one of the clauses should address how universities and the Government were going to guarantee academic freedom.
The public bemoaned the lack of clarity on who was the actual employer of the university staff. The staff submitted that there was confusion on whether the staff was employed by the Council or the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development. This, the staff submitted, negatively impacted on the establishment of a negotiating forum between the employer and the employees. The staff, therefore, recommended that the Bill should unequivocally state who the employer of university staff was to avoid this ambiguity.
The public felt that the Bill was silent about awarding individuals who excel in the fields of innovation and research. Such awards, the Committee heard, were critical in encouraging staff to be innovative.
COMMITTEE’S OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The Committee observed that the Bill still seeks to maintain the same university governance structures of the universities which have existed since independence. This does not take into consideration the disjuncture in the operations of the universities since the establishment of the universities and the nexus between Education 5.0 and the use of ICTs.
RECOMMENDATION:
The Committee recommends, to the Ministry, that there is no harm in including an ICT post under the designated posts. The Committee feels that ICT should be part of the Government’s broader policy given the digitalised learning environment, including such a post under designated executive posts in all state universities will be a step in the right direction. Such a move will catapult State Universities towards embracing modern learning methodologies. Hence, the Information Technologist can give strategic advice and direction on how universities can grow with digitalisation in mind (digital mainstreaming of policy and decision making).
It was noted that the Bill is silent on issues of academic freedom which is enjoyed by both students and university staff. The Committee further observed that academic freedom is the bedrock of disruptive innovations and research and failure to clearly articulate this in the parent act governing the institutions would be a failure on the part of the Ministry. Section 61 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe protects academic freedom as a fundamental human right and academic freedom broadly means the freedom of members of universities and similar academic communities to research, study and teach what they consider to be appropriate. Academic freedom includes (a) freedom of the academic community to express themselves as enquirers after knowledge and truth in a manner consistent with professional standards of enquiry. It includes freedom to teach, to conduct research and to publish their views, (b) institutional autonomy of the university, which entails a corresponding right and obligation on the university to protect the freedom of its academic staff. While universities are entitled to determine teaching standards, they must protect their staff against external pressures that seek to limit their freedom, and (c) an obligation on the State to respect and protect academic freedom in both the other two aspects.
RECOMMENDATION:
The Committee recommends the inclusion of a clause which expressly provides and guarantees academic freedom. Such important provision should be included in the parent Act and not necessarily wait to find its way in individual university rules and regulations documents.
The Committee concurs with the public that streamlining the Universities Council was commendable and a positive step towards good corporate governance system. Having noted this, the Committee shared the same sentiments that, with only the president of the SRC in the Council, students are heavily underrepresented given the utility of the Council in the decision-making process of resolutions which affects the generality of the students.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Recalling the accusations, from the students, of how the voice of the students are not usually heard in key decisions the Committee underscores the need for the Bill to increase the number of students in the University Councils to be at least three members. The Committee reiterates that the students are an integral stakeholder of the university body politic hence inclusivity can assure the smooth governance of the institutions.
The Committee observes that the Bill is silent on how the Councils or the Senate will achieve 50/50 gender representation in line with the constitutional provisions.
RECOMMENDATION:
The committee recommends the Bill should state clearly that council composition will be 50/50 in terms of gender representation in line with Section 17 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
The Committee notes that most submissions called for the inclusion of a Retired Judge to preside over staff and students’ disciplinary proceedings. The Committee understands the utility of such legal people in disciplinary hearings. However, the Committee is also cognizant of how it can be difficult to have Retired Judges readily available to preside over the disciplinary proceedings.
RECOMMENDATION:
The Committee recommends that beyond Retired Judges, the institutions should also work with Retired Magistrates who are relatively in abundance as compared to Judges. This will widen the pool of legal persons.
CONCLUSION
The idea to align the statutes governing universities is highly commended especially if such amendments bring the need to transform the governance system, promote inclusivity and revolutionise innovation and industrialisation. The Committee is emphatically convinced that such aspirations can only be achieved when there is a general and mutual consensus from the stakeholders and parties which will be directly affected by the amendments, hence it calls for the Ministry to look diligently into the suggestions made by the public. I so submit Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. T. MOYO: Hon. Speaker Sir, I want to add my voice to the Report that has been presented in the House by Hon. Lindiwe Maphosa on Amendment of the State Universities Statutes Bill [H. B. 13, 2021]. I will start with Clause 1. Clause 1 provides for the objects of the universities to include pillars of Education 5.0. The pillars include teaching, research and service to the community, innovation and industrialisation.
I find this Bill very important because when it is enacted into an Act of Parliament or law, we are likely to see a lot of fast tracking in terms of innovation happening in the already existing innovation hubs that have been established in universities. There is going to be a lot of research in those innovation hubs and laboratories which will prompt, lead to or pave way to industrialisation and modernisation of Zimbabwe.
I will also talk about the titles given to Vice Chancellors, Pro-Vice Chancellors, librarians, Registrar, Bursar and so on. From the visits that we conducted throughout Zimbabwe, there is a general feeling by the public that these titles are now old, so they want new titles to be given. For example, Vice Chancellor should be given the title Chief Executive Officer because he is the one who will be directing and presiding over most of the activities at the university. The Bursar can be given a title like Director of Finance and so on. We found that to be prudent and important that we should move with time. Just like the Dean of faculties, for example the Dean of the Faculty of Education or of Science, those titles have been there for many years and we need to move with time. So name suggestions could be a manager of a particular faculty, Faculty Manager in terms of Law, Social Science, Education and so on. Those suggestions were given by the public.
I will talk about Clause 2, ‘University Council shall consist of not less than 10 members and not more than 20 members.’ Mr. Speaker Sir, in the past, University Councils could consist of 40 to 50 members and that was found to be retrogressive. If we compress the numbers to 10, between 10 and 20, it means there is going to be efficiency in the execution of duties in those particular councils. So, I also want to support the Bill in that we need to restrict the figures to between 10 and 20 to bring about efficiency and effectiveness in the council.
On Clause 8, which provides for the removal of the Chairperson of Council and the Vice Chancellor from the Finance Committee, I think that is not a good clause because the Vice Chancellor is like a Chief Executive Officer who has a mandate to ensure that the day to day business of universities progresses smoothly. I suggest that the role of the Chief Executive Officer and the Chairperson of Council should be retained in the Finance Committee because they have a lot of responsibilities. The vision of the university is driven by those two members to ensure that business of the university is conducted in a very good way. I will go on to talk about Section 61, which protects academic freedom in our universities and which is fundamental to the running of universities. The public felt that academic freedom is not explicitly stated in the Bill but when we talk of academic freedom, we are saying that faculties should decide their research activities and should also have the autonomy to consider bodies of knowledge. Whatever is taught in universities will be determined by those faculties.
However, the Bill is not against academic freedom. The Bill should support academic freedom which should happen in universities, students, professors are free to decide whatever they want to teach, research on, field trips and so on.
I will now talk about the issue regarding who should preside over disciplinary hearings. According to the Bill, if there are any misdemeanors by members of staff, the Vice Chancellor will appoint a pro-vice chancellor to preside over disciplinary hearings. So, from the universities that we visited especially at Manicaland State University there was an outcry that people felt that the pro-vice chancellor is a senior position, so if he or she is given the mandate to preside over disciplinary hearings, they felt threatened by the boss. So, suggestions given were that the Bill should include the chairperson of the disciplinary hearing to be a retired judge or a magistrate because there are so many magistrates who have retired from service.
Then the Bill is silent about rewarding individuals who excel in terms of research and innovation. We want the Bill to be specific and to be explicit, it should state exactly those who carry out those important studies and who are going to publish their findings. There must be some form of rewards which should be given to professors and students who do very well in their field of study. So, they need to be rewarded as a way of encouraging hard work and innovation among university students and professors.
Finally, I find this Bill to be very important because it is going to pave way to innovation industrialisation and modernisation which is the expectation and mission of the Second Republic. The Second Republic’s mandate and vision according to His Excellency, the President is to bring about reforms which will see Zimbabwe quickly industrialising. For industrialisation to take place, there has to be a lot of innovations, a lot of hard work which should take place in the innovation hubs. Industrialisation will also lead to employment of graduates, semi-skilled, unskilled people and that will contribute to the economic development of Zimbabwe.
(v)HON. S. BANDA: Thank you for giving me this opportunity to also add my voice to the voices that have been raised by the mover of the motion, Hon. Maphosa who is a student herself at a university so she is speaking from the heart.
Firstly, I want to discuss the issue of people with disabilities. I note that whilst the Bill makes an effort to say 50/50 on gender, while the Bill seeks to remove marginalisation of regions by disabled representation, there is very little to do on people with disabilities. Statistics show that about 50% of the world is people with disabilities. So, I was also hoping that the Hon. Minister would also consider stating in the Bill directly that a portion of whatever positions could be available, set aside for people with disabilities.
I also want to support the motion which was brought up by the Hon. Chairperson, Hon. Maphosa which stated that the numbers of students who are in the councils are also key effective. These universities and colleges are there specifically for students. So, I also support that there should be an increase to at least 3 members of the council from the students themselves so that they can decide on their own future.
Globalisation and internationalisation of higher education, I note with concern that there is an attempt to make more state universities. If you go to other countries, you find that there are international, local and regional universities. So, we really need the Bill to state transparent platforms so that we identify which universities are national, international and regional. The University of Zimbabwe and NUST among others used to be among the top 50 universities in the world but now they are not even counted because they have made all universities to be the same. So, I am imploring on the Minister to make sure that while we are talking of innovation, technology, let us not make all things equal. Let us have global universities with global standards. So, this Bill must also have that platform whereby we do not make all oranges, oranges but we make oranges we make apples and we differentiate depending on what they provide.
HON. T. MLISWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Let me commend the mover of the motion for a job well done on this critical issue which is the hub of the country in terms of moving forward. Let me repeat Hon. Prof Murwira’s adage that development today’s technology is quite critical in a lot of things that we do. Education dominates technology and that is critical because the world that we are living in today is about technology. I am glad that the Minister puts that as a very critical issue in terms of moving forward. That is the world that we are in.
It is important that resources are accounted for. Tertiary institutions must be well resourced. They must be allocated resources which most of the institutions that have benefited from these resources such as mining and farms have under-utilised them. I think this whole research and development resides. There is no nation that can develop without research and development. I propose that in our National Budget, can there be a percentage that goes to research and development the same way we talk about a certain percentage going to health. May there be a certain percentage that goes to research and development.
We also need to uphold our heritage culture and tradition. Heritage, culture and tradition are quite important. He has spoken about rapid industrialisation which is true in terms of what we have seen on the ground and what universities are able to do in terms of Education 5.0. It has been exciting to see a lot of new things happening, which we never saw before. We wonder what the other ministers were doing when they were in office because clearly, there has been an education revolution where people are able to create jobs for themselves rather than waiting for the job.
Education 3.0 moved to Education 5.0. I am going to do this for other members who are not as gifted intellectually like others – Education 1.0 is teaching; Education 2.0 is research; Education 3.0 is community service; Education 4.0 is innovation and Education 5.0 is industrialisation. I hope that with so much knowledge that I have today, if there was a quiz, probably only three people would get this right but at times you wonder when Hon. Members are heckling – is it a noise of brilliance or of some lack of certain things. This is where we must be focussing on – Education 5.0 which requires a lot. In terms of uniforms, there are a lot of issues which need to be considered at the end of the day.
On appointment of board members, it must be based on merit. I commend the Minister because he is the first Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education who has not participated in student politics. Most of them went there to do student politics; ZICOSU, ZINASU and so on. For the first time, there is no student politics which is associated with the Minister. He is an academic. I must applaud the President for all that. I always joke with him and say I never want you to win a constituency. I am one of the people who pray that you lose so that you focus on this portfolio. If he had a constituency and was running this Ministry, he would not have the time to do that. That is why we say those five non-constituency positions be given to technocrats – here is a true technocrat. I wish many more would be like that. I want to once again commend the President for that and also congratulate the Hon. Minister Prof. Murwira for his discipline and dedication to ensure that this country is taken to another level.
I think merit has got to be used when appointing board members and that is important. What I do not see in most of these institutions which has to be done is career guidance. The reason why most children leave and go overseas is because those universities advertise themselves. Why are our universities not having career guidance through going to various high schools in the country and tell children what they offer. We are known to be an education hub.
There is education and health tourism. People go to India where they are treated and that is health tourism where they are treated. Zimbabwe must be making money and charging overseas students foreign currency which these institutions need to be able to run certain things. You can ask anybody from the University of Zimbabwe the education reputation we have as a nation – why are we not riding on that in terms of us marketing ourselves? The South African, Zambian and Mozambican education is nowhere near Zimbabwe education. We must be able to speak to other SADC countries encouraging them to come and learn here and pay us in foreign currency because what you get is a good product.
If you look at the captains of industry in South Africa, they are Zimbabweans – Old Mutual, MTN; these are conglomerates which are listed on many stock exchanges but they are run by Zimbabweans. Just recently, the Vice Chairperson of Google is Zimbabwean – James Manyika and was in partnership with Mackenzie. He went to Prince Edward School and University of Zimbabwe. Prof. Mutambara is also an academic. He has been through the University of Zimbabwe and Oxford University. One of the people involved with the vaccine Pfizer is Zimbabwean.
That is why I am saying there should be a certain amount of money on the budget which must go towards research and development – be it agriculture or civil engineering. We must be on top of the situation. People must be coming here to see. I propose that at least one percent of the total budget must go to research and development because we all need it in every sector; be it health, transport, agriculture and all that.
On the gender balance issue, Section 17 is very clear but the problem is that the laws are there to support women to be in power and they are not being complied with. There is no enforcement. When laws are there to empower them, who else should be pushing for that? There is a total of 55% of women in the country but they do not vote for each other. It is their choice – so democracy speaks. Women should be in the corridors of power and boards detecting the future because they are the majority at the end of the day.
Hon. Banda spoke about the disabled, 10-15%; why are they not sitting on these boards? Why are they being left out? We must come up with an institution for the disabled, a university for the disabled with amenities that suit them and not to tailor-make and so forth. It does not work.
HON. MAPHOSA: On a point of order Mr. Speaker Sir, the terminology, they are now particular with being called disabled or living with disabilities. The correct terminology is ‘persons with disability’.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Okay, may you stand guided Hon. Mliswa.
HON. T. MLISWA: I am the patron for the National Council for the Disabled Persons and they actually do not like me using ‘living with disability’, you are right. They want to be called they are disabled. I am the patron, so I cannot make a mistake on that. They do not want any excuses. They are disabled. I am the patron Honourable, I do not know if you knew that. So, I would not be insensitive about that – [HON. MAPHOSA: I am also in the Steering Committee kana takuudzana zvema lokhuzeni, Steering Committee of people with disabilities, so the terminology is ‘persons with disability’]...
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Maphosa, I did not give you the floor. You cannot dialogue with the contributor.
HON. MAPHOSA: Sorry Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. T. MLISWA: The disabled must be given an opportunity to sit on these boards so that there is also that balance. The SRCs, I like the fact that there must be students in the boards. Students must be represented. There is no way we can have a council without students and what I propose is that if there are elections, numbers one and two sit there so that there is a checking system. We do not want a situation where ZICOSU or ZINASU wins and it is always ZICOSU and ZINASU. If there are elections, if number one is ZICOSU and ZINASU number two, then they sit. If number one is ZINASU, number two is ZICOSU they sit. If YARD is number one and number two is ZICOSU, then we have all that. It is important that there is representation of the students at the end of the day in what goes on.
I want to also zero-in on the tenure of Vice Chancellors. The President is the Chancellor and enjoys two terms. Why should the Chancellors not enjoy two terms too? There is no continuity there. If we believe that the President of a country must have two terms, why are we limiting the terms of the Vice Chancellors? There is no logic there. You Members of Parliament do not have terms, whether you lose or not, whether you are developing or not, you keep going on. Why do you want to give a shorter term to the academia which requires planning and futuristic approach? The President’s terms must also be in compliance with the terms of the Vice Chancellors and that is very important as that is continuity because the prerogative to appoint lies in the President’s Office. The President has the prerogative to appoint or disappoint. I do not think we really want a situation where - because there are a lot of things and research can take a lot of time, you know that. It is not about five years. You can be at something for years until it comes out. So, I believe the two terms are quite important at the end of the day.
Then the Vice Chancellor, the report which was tabled spoke about the Vice Chancellor not sitting on the Finance Committee. I would say the Vice Chancellors must be ex-officio members of each committee. They must know what is going on. They might not chair but they must be ex-officio members so that they contribute and know what is going on. Yes, chairing I totally agree but being an ex-officio member is important because you cannot have somebody chairing again and at the same time they are Vice Chancellor, then how does oversight work? It becomes difficult in that regard. I believe that they must be ex-officio members of every committee so that they know what is going on and all that.
I will go now to the controversial term before I close. I googled the word ‘Chairman’ and the definition of chairman by Google search is “a chairman is the leader of business meeting or group. The chairman oftenly opens a meeting by addressing the group and explains what the agenda would be. Charities, clubs and boards or companies have a chairman who acts as the President or leader.” Then I went a step further to say why is it called chairman. My sister provoked me to go deeper and Google search says when the word “chairman” showed up in the mid-17th Century, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, it referred to occupier of a chair of authority.
You know, it is great when you research. To me, that is what it means. It does not talk about gender. It talks about authority and that is why I am saying we need to educate the public there, that being a chairperson whether you are a woman or not, you occupy a chair of authority. So now when you say because it is a woman you must say chairperson is wrong; if it is a woman chairing, we might as well say chairwoman. You cannot bring that in. I think we need to educate the public on that. I am glad it came from the public but it does not make any sense at all. Chairman is good and we want to see women in the chair and chairing men. That is what I like about it. If you look at the provincial elections which were held in Mashonaland West Province for example, the Hon. Minister of State is the chairman of the province. In the political parties we belong to, whether it is a woman or not, it is still the chairman of the province. So, I propose that it remains chairman and I think it makes sense.
I want to conclude by saying that the contributions or submissions by the Chairperson were quite thorough, diligent and thought-provoking, and certainly require people to pay attention. The problem Madam Speaker is that we have a Parliament which is known for heckling and not for debating. This is where we expect them to debate. Those who were heckling, this is your time to debate and not to heckle. The Chief Whip tells them to heckle like dogs, bark and they bark. I hope he can also tell you to debate. We must be in this Parliament to debate and not to continue heckling each other as if we are baboons. I think baboons are the ones that heckle each other. As human beings, we must respect each other. I would like to urge members to debate positives towards this because this is where the future of the country is in terms of higher and tertiary institutions, which really are critical for any nation to grow. I thank you.
(v) HON. MOLOKELA-TSIYE: I would like to start by congratulating the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education for yet another Bill that has been presented before the National Assembly. In 2018 and 2019 when I used to chair the Committee, one of our major concern was that the Ministry was struggling to bring in Bills to address some of the issues that were affecting that particular sector but I am so happy that in the last two years, we have seen several Bills being introduced in Parliament, including this latest one. I am excited and happy for the Ministry.
Let me comment on some specific clauses. I personally welcome the new Amendment Bill. I was part of the public hearings and also part of the Committee. I am aware that most of what the Chairperson has presented and other colleagues have seconded is exactly what I am also supporting. I would like to be more specific to avoid repetition. The Ministry has introduced Education 5.0 and this particular Amendment Bill would have been an important opportunity to further give more guidance and specific leadership in terms of the institutions of higher learning implementing the aspirations of Education 5. 0.
This is an opportunity that the Bill is presenting, especially in terms of adding more flesh to the policy framework around innovation. For example, we know that one of the key issues is that under Education 5.0, we are not just producing graduates. We want to link the graduates with the mainstream economy, with the industrialisation of the country. So one of the key guidelines around the innovation in line with Education 5.0 that needs to come out clearly is around the proposal to make sure that institutions for higher learning start setting up companies and commercial ventures on their own and also ensure that students who are studying at these institutions for higher learning start also to have practical studies; not to just have lectures at lecture halls but also do practical lectures in a very technical and vocational way to enable them to make sure that once they graduate from university, they are not just looking for employment but they are ready to work on the factory and industrial floors. It is important that there be clear guidance and leadership through this Bill to the institutions for higher learning, giving them opportunity to give practical implementation of Education 5.0.
I would also want to comment on Clause 3 which talks about the University Council. I am happy I am a former University of Zimbabwe Council member. I served at the University of Zimbabwe Council between 1995 and 1999 and I used to represent students in the University Council. One of my major concerns that time has been addressed through this Bill. We had a bloated University Council, most of the members were not very active and useful. I welcome the proposal to reduce the number of councillors to about 20 members. My main concern is that in the process of reducing numbers, there has not been any balance between the university community stakeholders and the ministerial appointees.
At this moment in time, the Bill as it stands, gives unfair advantage to the ministerial appointments which are almost 50% if not 60% of the councillors. This then will reduce the university councils into an extension of the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education. I would move that there be a reduction on the number of direct ministerial appointees from about 10 that we have at the moment to about five to increase the independence of the university councils from the Ministry.
It is also a major concern that if you go through the Bill, you will realise that the Executive arm of the State is too involved in the administration of institutions for higher learning. The Minister in particular, is almost appearing everywhere in the Bill. I think it is something we must be alert to and something which must strongly be opposed to. I think if the Minister of Higher Education is so involved the way he is at the moment, it then reduces the independence or autonomy of the institutions for higher learning. I would want to discourage those clauses where the Minister of Education is directly involved like an operations officer which is the job that should be done by the Vice Chancellor or the Chief Executive Officer of the institution of Higher learning. Let us try to reduce the direct involvement of the Ministry in the day today running of institutions of higher learning, especially in the appointment of structures in the institution like the university council and the university Senate.
There should be a specific clause giving guidance in the appointment of council members that speaks to the special interest groups. One special interest group I feel should be clearly articulated in the Bill should be the disability sector. We need to make sure that the disability sector is clearly represented. Right now if you go across institutions of higher learning across Zimbabwe, you will see that the disability community is being excluded in terms of student intake, in terms of staff intake both teaching and non-teaching staff. I think it is important especially in the university council, that we have people from the disability community to push the agenda of disability inclusion.
We need to make sure that the Bill is more specific around gender inclusivity. We need more women to be represented in the university organs like the university council, the university Senate and so on. In my time at the University of Zimbabwe, the majority of the university councillors and the majority of the university senators were not women. They were men and that situation has been like that for many years. This Bill presents to us an opportunity to fulfil the aspirations of the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe that seeks to promote 50:50 gender representations and in particular Section 17 of the national Constitution.
I would want a specific clause to be inserted to say that not just in the university council but in all offices or committees affecting the institutions of higher learning, whether it is the student disciplinary committee, staff disciplinary committee, the senate or the student affairs committee. All such offices or committees must have 50% gender inclusivity in terms of women. So we need to make sure that such clause is put.
I forgot to mention earlier Madam Speaker, that even for the disability sector, we must also make sure that they are included together in the other structures apart from the university council, the student affairs committee and also the Senate. Also appointment of positions and employment opportunities, special regards must be given to historically and presently marginalised interest groups such as women, youth and disabled persons.
On academic freedom, as a former student leader, I am aware how important the University of Zimbabwe Amendment Act of 1990 was to a lot of student leaders in terms of how it reduced the Vice Chancellor from being chief academic to a chief disciplinarian. One of the issues that happened after the UZ Amendment Act of 1990 is that we have a lot of student leaders being victimised and expelled from university arbitrarily. Not only just student leaders but we had a lot of workers’ representatives being victimised by the Vice Chancellor or the University Administration because of the stripping powers that the UZ Amendment Act of 1990 gave. We lost a lot of experienced lecturers, academic staff who left Zimbabwe in protest and went to other countries.
Up to date, almost 30 years later, we see that the issue of academic freedom is still strong throughout the public hearings consultations. There was a strong voice around lack of academic freedom in institutions of higher learning in Zimbabwe. This is a strong concern coming not just from the students but also from the staff, both teaching and non-teaching. We need to make sure that in this Bill, there is a specific clause that speaks to institutions of higher learning promoting academic freedom. This is very important especially in line with Education 5.0 where we are trying to encourage institutions of higher learning to improve or increase their focus on innovation. Creativity and innovation are directly linked to academic freedom. It is important that in this Bill, we have a specific clause that seeks to promote academic freedom in all institutions of higher learning so that we may promote innovation and creativity and free thought in institutions of higher learning.
I also wanted to comment around the issue of committees that are chaired like the disciplinary hearings committee that are chaired by legal practitioners. My strong view is that the legal practitioner should be someone who is not a full time employee of the institution of higher learning because they will be subject to manipulation and victimisation by their seniors. It is also expensive to employ a full time lawyer. So I think the universities should have a pool of lawyers who apply that they accredit to be available on call, on standby to take up opportunities to play the role of the legal practitioners. These lawyers must be registered with the Law Society of Zimbabwe but there must be a pool of lawyers on standby that the university can call upon to chair some of these committees. The universities must not have a full-time who would be subjected to manipulating and would lack independence because they would be subjected to the authority of their superiors.
I also wanted to emphasize that the Bill as it stands right now, does not speak directly in terms of legal representation in both the Students and Staff Disciplinary Hearings. I think as it stands, it speaks only to Students Disciplinary Hearings. It must also include Staff Disciplinary Hearings; there must be an opportunity for someone to be represented by legal practitioners.
I also wanted to speak around Clause 5, on the Zimbabwe Open University that seeks to remove the post of the ICT specialist in the top management of the institution for higher learning. I think this is a very retrogressive measure and is marking the trend because since the advent of Covid …
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MAVETERA): You are left with five minutes Hon. Molokela.
(v)HON. MOLOKELA-TSIYE: Thank you Madam Speaker. Since the advent of COVID-19, we have seen more institutions of higher learning migrating towards virtual education, use of technologies for their students.
Zimbabwe Open University by its very nature was established to emphasize learning through ICT – virtual education. So it is a generation ahead of other institutions of higher learning. So this clause should actually be made to be written upside down. We should say, ‘all institutions for higher learning in Zimbabwe should have an ICT specialist in their top management so that all institutions of higher learning migrate towards virtual education in line with the impact of COVID-19 which has made it easier for institutions of higher learning to start using information technology to increase access to education in Zimbabwe’. Education should be made more accessible through the use of ICT. So I am strongly opposed to the removing of the ICT Specialist from the top management of the Zimbabwe Open University. Instead, I recommend that the position be equally put in all other institutions for higher learning in Zimbabwe.
Last but not least Madam Speaker, I think this Bill should also include a specific clause around the appointment of the Chancellor in institutions for higher learning. In the 1980s, we only had one university in Zimbabwe which was the University of Zimbabwe. There was no real harm having the President of the Republic doubling up as the Chancellor of the university but today, we have about 13 institutions for higher learning that are universities in Zimbabwe. I do not think that the President of Zimbabwe should be laboured with the responsibility of being Chancellor of each and every one of the universities in the country.
So I am proposing that there be a clause that gives flexibility in the appointment of chancellors to say that the chancellor of the university can be the President of the Republic or someone else who the University Council may deem fit. This is in line with other institutions for higher learning across the world even public institutions for higher learning. For example in South Africa, the President of the Republic of South Africa is not the chancellor of each and every State university. The university councils are given the flexibility to appoint another eminent person in society to be a chancellor. So I am recommending that we include a clause in this amendment Bill that says, University Council should have an option of appointing another chancellor, apart from the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe because we now have a lot of universities and there is no need to burden the President to officiate.
You have seen graduation ceremonies being postponed because the President is unavailable, the President is busy. Yes, that is normal because the universities are now many. So let us include a new clause that says that the chancellor can be the President of the Republic or any other eminent Zimbabwean citizen who the council may choose. Otherwise I am happy. Thank you so much Madam Speaker.
THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Thank you Madam Speaker. I wish to thank the Hon. Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development and the Committee members for always supporting the Ministry and doing everything that is objectively necessary to make sure that we advance our education in such a way that this country develops and that this country has dignity in knowledge, and innovation for industrialisation, and making sure that we use our knowledge, and heritage to give dignity to our people.
So the object of this Bill is basically to make our universities comply with Section 13 of the National Constitution which states that, ‘Every institution of Government must lead to rapid and equitable development.’, so this is the main basis. The other basis is basically that we need efficient administration and efficient administration as captured in Section 194 of the Constitution. At the same time, this Bill wants to comply to the spirit and letter of the Constitution including Section 61 (1) (c) which talks about academic freedom – that is why, it is very important Madam Speaker that the Bill, in its founding statement, is to bring aforementioned Acts into conformity with the Constitution in totality. This is why it is very important to note that in formulating this Bill, we made sure that academic freedom is not violated.
I would be very happy for any Hon. Member to tell me where this Bill is violating academic freedom because that is not what it intends to do. It actually intends to strengthen academic freedom. In my opening statement, I said so. If it pleases the House therefore, it might then say, section this, this, this of the Constitution but then another one would say, why did you not mention one? It means it is the Constitution in totality. So this is very important, just to make it very clear that this Bill review was mainly for compliance with the Constitution.
I will also try to comment to the best of my ability on the very useful and important insights that we got from the Public Hearings as it was stated by our Chairperson. Hon. Speaker, there are two things at universities. There is overall general governance of the university which is the responsibility of Government. This overall governance is represented by about five officers. One the Librarian, we may want to change terms but what if it changes tomorrow? Universities by nature are conservative in order to be stable. So the word ‘Librarian’, even in the computer, there are libraries in the computer. They actually say Library A, Library B, et cetera. So I would not reduce this debate to semantics.
So I said Librarian, there is Registrar, Bursar, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Vice Chancellor. This is for the overall Administration Financial of the institution. However, there is what we call Academic Administration of the university. In the Academic Administration of the university which talks about generation of knowledge and innovations, and how people teach what they teach, and what time they teach, this is the realm of academic freedom, and Government does not interfere in that and there is nowhere it is mentioned that the Government will appoint a Dean. The Government cannot appoint a Dean because that is an academic post. Therefore, once you start to appoint a Dean, it means that the Government is interfering and that is where academic freedom begins to be violated. If the Government appoints, for example a Chairperson of a Department to say with the approval of the Minister, it cannot be so, that is the academic side. So when we are talking about the appointment of principal officers, these are by any definition and one can search anytime, to know that the principal officers of a university anywhere in the world are appointed by the Government.
An Act of Parliament is administered on behalf of Parliament and the President by a Minister. That is why we brought this thing here. However, it does not mean that the Minister is going to run the university on a day to day basis. Ceremonially, it is important that an Act provides that ‘the Minister shall…’ Several mentions of the Minister are normally on issues of procedure rather than issues of substance of academic freedom of the university.
Hon. Speaker, the Bursar is the Finance Officer of the university who accounts for Government resources at the university. We might talk about their alternative names and so on but if we do that, we are not focusing on the main point. The main point is; we want universities to constitute cogs of the development of this country. In the past, universities were doing teaching, research and workshops and we are saying; innovation and industrialisation because where else will we get innovation and industrialisation? In the past, the university is in the metropole of countries which had colonised us and had all the five items, including innovation and industrialisation. Here we were only taught to do three things for the purposes of becoming managers in their innovation industries. So, we are breaking a barrier that is very important and I am very pleased that the Committee and Hon. Members are emphasising on the importance of this shift.
I want to thank this Hon. House for making sure that they passed the Manpower, Planning and Development Act which is the principal Act of planning and is telling us about the mechanisms by which innovation is going to be managed at all institutions including universities and it talks about the establishment of the innovation fund. When we say innovation, it is already mentioned in the principal Act, what it means and in detail. This august House also passed the Centre for Education, Innovation, Research and Development Bill, which belongs to the same universities and state exactly the establishment of an innovation fund and what they should do with that fund.
So these Acts should not be read in isolation, they are a part of a cocktail of remedies that this august House has put in place to make sure that this Higher and Tertiary Education has a meaning to this country, gives dignity, food, health, connection, sleep and water to this country. Hon. Speaker, academic governance is entirely the purpose of the university and the highest academic authority in a university is the Senate and we do not interfere with it. It is very important to create an environment where they make their decisions regarding degrees and how to learn what; we only provide them with the environment in which they can do so. So there is no interference there.
However, the Government has a purpose to see whether public funds are being appropriately used when they are sent there and it is primarily in the Constitution that we should do so. So, we will continue to appoint the principal officers of the university; that is not interference, but it is facilitation.
On the issue of council, it is clearly stated; maybe some Hon. Members might have lost that in terms of gender. I will just give an example of the Zimbabwe Open University Act. On Section 10 (2) (a), on Council; ‘ensure both genders are equally represented and for the avoidance of doubt, that women constitute half of the membership of council.’ So, maybe some comments are due to the fact that maybe some terms are hidden and people are not seeing them, but it is very clear that we are not in violation of that constitutional requirement. We actually stated it for the avoidance of doubt.
There was an issue also on the issue of information technologist. An information technologist is like a Dean; these are operatives of a university. It is important that the university chooses whom they think is an information technologist in their university because they are directors of ICT. There are two things; at some point, people want us to make sure we impose another person but at some point they say, your hands off. So, on this one, we are saying ‘hands off.’ It is important that this academic post – because the head of Computer Science and Computer Centre is normally an academic, so let them do it, let the Senate deal with it, it is their business. However, when it comes to our monies and where our money is going, we will follow it, it is in line with the Constitution.
There are other issues like student representation, which is enshrined in the university ordinances. We are saying, the President of the Student Representative Council or the President of the Student Union sits in Council. Just like a nation, I do not know when we will go to the United Nations and we say the President must go with other people - what is he a President of? If the president is truly a president of the Student Representative Council, he/she must be representative of the students’ concerns. If the students are not happy with that president in Council, they must vote down the person, we do not interfere with that. We will not decide the president of the Student Representative Council (SRC).
We want to make sure that we have a lean and efficient administration. For every department at a university, they have a student representative at level 1 to 4 and then they have faculty representatives and then they have an SRC. Student representation at universities is the core business of the university and academic freedom is guaranteed because nobody will tell – Government cannot tell a person how to think and what to think when they are in a faculty. Most of the times there is confusion between freedom of speech and academic freedom. Academic freedom is a specialised type of freedom that is enjoyed by students and faculty members only. It is like a privilege. Academia is like a little cult; it is a specialised group where people think. Lawyers call themselves; I think they say, ‘we are the learned people.’
In academia, we do not interfere with how they do their business because we want them to think freely so that they can provide solutions for us. So academic freedom is not under threat; if it was, that was then but not now, now it is completely guaranteed. Academic freedom does not mean shouting at a parent, it does not mean running around the street and destroying property, that is not academic freedom. It is a preserve of those people in faculties who think freely and do things freely without interference or fear. They might actually say, ‘I want to describe Prof. Amon Murwira as a ghost when they are in class. There is nothing that I can do to them. It is because they want to take me as a ghost and they can talk about it as long as they are in class. As soon as they get out of class and they are in the streets and they call me a ghost, I will sue them. I think it is very important that we understand what academic freedom is all about. It is not violation of laws of a country. It is a special preserve of faculty whereby people can criticize freely. That is why you can see that some academics are even heads of political parties but they are not chased from institutions because at university they are doing what they are supposed to do in the academic.
This country respects academic freedom but the main object of this Bill is developmental. Secondly, it is just to make sure that the administration of the university is efficient. Thirdly, is to make sure that representation does not violate the Constitution and to make sure that students are represented.
When it comes to the Chancellor, it is not a new introduction that we are making here. The Chancellor is already known and is the President of the Republic. We are not making any amendment about the Chancellor at all. In my tenure, with the privilege of being in this tenure, we have never delayed any graduation. It is on time. The Chancellor is a ceremonial post with the most prominent person in that nation. We take our first citizen proudly as our most prominent person. It is in the statutes and we do not have any problems with that.
It is also very important that in our boards we do not violate sections of the Constitution that include the sections on disability and women, which basically means in our council we must observe Section 17 and 18 of the Constitution. If it is not clear, we can just insert, observe Section 17 and 18 of the Constitution but I thought it was there. It is not in our intention to violate the Constitution at all.
Madam Speaker Ma’am, I thank the Hon. Members for such a robust debate and the involvement of communities in giving input to how we run our universities. In other things, we can include the details in the ordinances because if we are too detailed in the Act, it might be difficult to make flexible ordinances. The universities must be able to look at their ordinances so that we increase the amount of academic freedom that they must have. Madam Speaker Ma’am I move that the Bill be now read a second time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read a second time.
Committee Stage: Wednesday, 13th April, 2022.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. T. MOYO: I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 34 be stood over until Order of the Day Number 35 has been disposed of.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED LOSS CONTROL MANAGEMENT BILL
Thirty-Fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion that leave be granted to bring in a Private Member’s Bill.
HON. MUNETSI: Thank you very much Madam Speaker for giving me this chance to air my views from this Institute of Chartered Loss Control Management Bill. I found it very interesting when I was going through the Bill and I decided I should air my views as well so that we have a solid act to control loss in this country. When I was reading through, I decided to thank Hon. Dr. Murire for bringing up this Bill so that we can assist in controlling loss. The whole idea about this Bill is to plug some gaps that are found in losses that are incurred in this country; loss of property, damage of property, injury of persons, loss through negligence, accidental loss or loss by breach of law. All these losses need to be controlled somehow.
Loss control management is to ensure that there is safety and security, there is also protection and prevention of items, whether they be for companies or the State. A lot has been done in this country to try and prevent loss quite a number of mitigatory measures have been tried so that loss is not incurred. Loss starts from planning. If you do not plan well, you lose a lot. It proceeds to when you do the manufacturing, if you do not manufacture and if you are under manufacturing, you incur a loss. It proceeds to the time when you want to gain some profits; you will discover that it has been a trail of losses. Loss Management has been tried in this country in several ways. You will discover certain systems that have been put in place, all have been designed everywhere to control loss. There is some hiring of guards, it is a measure to control loss in a country, you have CCTVs, cameras all over, there are some designs of cyber software, private investigators in companies and everywhere. All those are put to try and control as a measure of loss management.
You will discover that whatever method is used, the idea at the end of it all is to try and consolidate what one wants to gain. I was also looking at some of the sophisticated methods, technological advancements methods that have been used but they were all manufactured by a human being who makes it. If it is human manufactured, it can also be attacked by a human and loss can be incurred. This Bill seeks to bring in some ideas of how many loss management systems have been put; how then can they be put together to come up and go under oversight of Government. You will discover that all these loss management systems that are there, some are personal, whatever one thinks can control loss is what you do. All these systems have no Government oversight. They need to be put under some stringent measures, be they private as they may be. They should have some regulatory factor in them.
If they are not regulated, then they stand a chance to lose anyhow. There are several issues on control measures that have been put in place, some human and others machinery. Now, if you look at some video surveillance camera which we put, or some close circuit television, biometric security processors and even some drones, all those were put to try and mitigate loss in any company. You will discover at the end of the day, clever as we are, we always come up with a method to counter whatever methods...
Hon. Col. (Rtd) Dr. Murire having passed in between the Member holding the floor and the Speaker.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Member, you do not use that way of crossing between the Speaker and the member. You can proceed Hon. Member.
HON. MUNETSI: Thank you Madam Speaker. I was saying all those methods are put to try and control loss in any situation. The whole system that we have in this country, some institutions, some universities that teach about loss control, we have Chartered Institute of Management Accountancy, Association of Certified Chartered Accountants, Institute of Chartered Accountancy and all those institutions. All those are meant to try and put some measures to control loss in companies and elsewhere. You will discover at the end of the day, many as they are, you still incur shrinkage and you wonder why? There has to be somehow some regulatory measures which have a Government insight to control loss in the country.
If we do not make or put an Act that has measures to control loss, the loss remains on individuals, just like for example you can have debt collectors, it is a loss control measure but there is no way in the statutes of Zimbabwe where debt collectors are allowed to do that. It is just a measure that people come up with. So, as a recommendation, Parliament must come up with occupational activities and h measures that allow loss control to have regulator effects and Government oversight. I thank you.
(v)HON. BRG. GEN. (RTD) MAYIHLOME: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to this very important motion raised by Hon. Col. (Rtd) Dr. Murire concerning security organisations in the country. It is very alarming that 42 years after independence, this country has never thought of regulating this sector that is private security organisations operating loosely although they get licenced by the Ministry of Home Affairs but they are operating loosely without strict oversight, strict control and observance of what they do. It is indeed a security threat or a serious security breach that such things can happen for 42 years in a country with the advent of so many disturbances around the world.
We talking of insurgency, terrorism, civil disobediences and as a country somehow, somewhere, who is carrying what weapons and for what purposes? Who is carrying what gadgets and for what purpose? Where did they source them, how do they use them and how do they dispose of them? Will those gadgets not end up with a subversive element in the country? It is important that there is an Act that oversees and regulates the way they operate. The events that we see in the rest of Africa, we talk of Born of Africa, the Sahel Region, Nigeria; the Great Lakes and very close to our border in Mozambique here. These look remote but one day they might visit us as a country. We do not want such situations to arise and we do not know who is who. We know we have private armies. We have this dyke group that goes out of the country to intervene or to assist other legitimate Governments in the region like in Mozambique. That group means it is a force. How is it regulated, which law covers their operations, not just to go and operate in Mozambique but the law that regulate even their carrying of arms, what sort of weapons do they have and how do they get them. Weapons in the world are procured on the strength of an end user certificate. So, how are they procuring their weapons? We do not want such loopholes to remain. Such loopholes should be closed and regulated so that the nation is never put to risk.
We also need to understand the level of training that they get. We do not want to have a situation whereby private security organisations and private armies destabilise the region. We need to know what force is where and how they can assist. As long as they are not regulated we do not know. As it is their strength and capabilities are not easily quantified because no law regulates how they procure and operate. I really strongly feel that this Bill is long overdue. We need an Act that will ensure that everything that has to do with security is monitored and known so that when the need arises those security forces and those that need to react have sufficient information. I strongly recommend that the Ministry of Home Affairs crafts this Bill and brings it to Parliament. I thank you.
HON. DR. MURIRE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 13th April 2022.
On the motion of HON. TOGAREPI seconded by HON. TEKESHE the House adjourned at Twenty-one Minutes to Six o’clock p.m.