PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 1st December, 2020
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
ERROR ON THE ORDER PAPER
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I wish to draw the attention of the Senate to an error on today’s Order Paper in terms of numbering of items such as Order of the Day, Number 7 should be Number 6 with the subsequent items being renumbered accordingly; if you may check your Order Papers.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: Thank you Madam President. I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 4 be stood over until all the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. SHUMBA: Thank you Madam President for giving me this opportunity to debate on the Presidential Speech. Before I debate, I would like to thank the atmosphere which prevailed the day the President came. Previously when the President was around, there used to be a lot of noise but this time around, I want to thank God that there was peace and everyone listened to the President speaking.
I also want to thank him for his speech. He spoke very well about the COVID-19 Pandemic. He also spoke well that we managed to protect our lives and the lives of the people of Zimbabwe and very few people died because of the pandemic. Although the numbers are now beginning to rise, at the beginning of the pandemic, the numbers were few. The President showed that he was dedicated to fight the pandemic and the people were well protected and we want to thank him for that.
The President said that he took the decision that school children should go back to school and learn, which is a very good thing. We must thank him for that because it is a very good deed which was done by our President. He also spoke about the issue of our country Zimbabwe. The beautiful thing about it Madam President is that he spoke about what he is currently doing in terms of development, especially the rehabilitation of roads. Everyone can see that there is a lot of work which is being done in terms of rehabilitation of roads. The President said that ‘we are trying our level best to ensure that the roads which were dilapidated must be refurbished especially the Beitbridge – Chirundu Road.’
I remember when I spoke to the Minister concerning the issue of roads where I said it was better for me to get an aeroplane because of the state of the road. Right now I want to say that the same road Madam President is now in a very good state. It is now not only the best road in Masvingo but a world-class road. When they complete the refurbishment of the road, the Harare-Beitbridge Road, it will be a near-distance. I want to thank the President very much. He promised that he was going to move ahead with the projects of refurbishing roads and buildings and I believe that he will succeed. Even in our rural areas like Mwenezi, the Minister responsible must go and see if there are some roads which were not properly done and they should come and refurbish them as promised by the President. Everyone is going to enjoy travelling around with our cars. These are some of the things that the President highlighted when he presented the State of the Nation Address.
The President also spoke about the issue of agriculture and hunger. In the past years, there was hunger in the country but we want to thank the President through the Pfumvudza Programme. It involves painful labour, digging and the like but we are expecting a bumper harvest. The painful labour involved is nothing compared to the fact that we will get a bumper harvest. We want to thank the President for this; he has done very well even to us as the elderly. He also promoted the agricultural sector by bringing tractors from Belarus. He must also bring these tractors to our rural areas to help villagers including Members of Parliament. Those who have money will buy fuel and use the tractors to farm.
He also spoke about the issue of introducing small grains and vegetables like cabbages, pumpkins and vegetables. Most people used to produce these but did not have the market. His Excellency the President said that we have Command Agriculture right now; and went on to say that we are going to have Command Agriculture for small grains. If farmers market their produce they will get foreign currency and because of this, I want to thank the President.
On the issue of agriculture, he also spoke about the issue of refurbishment of the existing dams and increasing the number of dams in the country so that we have many irrigation infrastructures targeted to prevent hunger. By 2030, everyone in the country will be having enough food and foreign currency. Farmers will sell their produce and come 2030, there will be progress and development in the country.
I want to thank the mover of the motion for bringing such an important motion. Everyone must be given the chance to debate the State of the Nation address so that the President can hear what the Senators are saying. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: Madam President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. SHUMBA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 2nd December, 2020.
MOTION
REPORT ON THE VIRTUAL EXTRAORDINARY SESSION OF THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION (IPU)
Sixth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report on the Extraordinary Session of the Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: Madam President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 2nd December, 2020.
MOTION
PREVALENCE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Seventh Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence.
Question again proposed.
+HON. SEN. N. KHUMALO: Thank you Madam President for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this debate. God created everything in the universe then he created a man. He admired him and felt pity for him because he was lonely. He made him fall into deep sleep and then he took his rib and created a woman. When he woke up he admired God’s creation that was given to him, that is the woman to give him company. What surprises me is, why does someone take a very big knobkerrie to beat up someone created from his rib? Do you feel the pain for beating up a person who was created to assist you by God? That is a bad and difficult thing that unsettles women. I agree that men are also harassed but God created it that way, that the man is the head of the family and the man has more power than a woman. So, I wonder what happens to those men who are beaten or overpowered by women. What type of men are those? That is why perhaps some of the men who are overpowered by their women or harassed do not come forward but that does not mean that men should have power to beat up women.
We were created by God to be soft, be loved and taken care of. What could be the problem? Is it because lobola is paid for us, but that is culture. If you pay lobola for a woman, that does not mean that she is your slave; she is your helper. If a married man gets home and does not find his wife, he just walks into the kitchen as if he is mentally disturbed. He may walk out of the kitchen and go into the bedroom but he will not even know where to start from or what to do. The man feels disturbed because the partner would have left the house. So I appeal to men to go back to that yester year culture where women are not beaten but should be respected. Yes, I agree that sometimes because of lack of employment and hunger it leads to quarrels in a household but that does not mean that you should relieve your stress by beating up your wife or woman.
The other thing that is not good at all is that we tend to prioritise culture. There are women who are suffering yet they were created by God and given enough limbs, but there are some men who tend to take away such limbs so that the men will regard that person as a toy. That woman loses feeling because that very important part that is sensitive is mutilated. That is genital mutilation. That really troubles the woman. She is harassed emotionally. Sometimes we see women’s front teeth being removed. Why do they not do that to men? What really happens there? Why do they take away the front teeth, taking a stone to take away the front teeth of a woman?
Yes, we can preserve good culture, but when it comes to bad practices, let us do away with them. Sometimes we see them with tattoos on the face. How do you expect that to make her beautiful, all those tattoos? Let us do away with bad cultural practices and preserve good ones. Violence against women is like violence against girls. Sometimes some of the girls do not have access to sanitary wear. They end up using things that are not good for their health. These young girls should be given access to sanitary wear because menstruation is a natural thing. With these few words I thank you Mr. President.
++HON. SEN. MALULEKE: Thank you Madam President for giving me this opportunity to debate on this important issue. This issue of gender based violence is a very big matter in our lives and even in terms of the development of our country and our families and how we live in our societies. It needs us as individuals to be united in every aspect without looking at the cultural differences or in terms of languages. We must be united without looking at the culture of Venda, Shangani or whatever, but we must be united in fighting gender based violence. We must be united and eliminate gender based violence and remove fighting and the issue of selection amongst ourselves so that we must have development in the country.
So if we are focusing on the issues of fighting it means that there is no development in that particular area because everyone is being hurt by the issue of gender based violence - your friends, your neighbour, even your sisters and cousins because they will not be treating you very well. So the issues of fighting, conflicts and the issue of not being united in the different aspect does not bring development. The family is a family with a mother. A family can only be successful with unity between the husband and a wife. Even as men and women we must not trouble women, even to sell young girls or to use that cultural norm that children were being born and married off whilst they are younger to their aunties or their sisters. These issues are very troublesome. The issues of fighting is not good. We must stay in peace and harmony. I remember Mr. President when we were in the Commission of Human Rights and we went to Chikurubi with the Committee. Mr. President they said that every person must talk with his or her own language and I said this is the opportunity. When I got into another cell I was surprised to hear voices, people speaking with my language Shangani and I heard another man saying I am Chauke. I asked him the crime he had committed to find himself there, the man said he was convicted of rape. He was sentenced to 65 years in jail. I asked him if he was going to go out of jail and he asked me to plead with the President for amnesty.
I went to another cell where I found another man by the name Maluleke. I asked him why he was there and he told me that when he came from the beer hall he had a conflict with a woman and he beat her and she died. He was convicted for a whole life in prison. He was pleading to be released so that he could go back to his family and stay at his homestead. I asked him how people were going to react even the society as a whole and he said he wanted to be released and ask the Police to accompany him to his home. Mr. President, this is something that bothers us as women. The majority of men are troubling their wives and the girl child.
We must work together and end gender based violence. As neighbours and community members, we must condemn evil and we must let the people speak out about these issues to do with gender based violence not to silence the victims. Right now there is no rainfall because people are now silencing the victims and there are many injustices which are being done. Incidences of gender based violence are many in our rural areas, yet the President of Zimbabwe encourages unity and peace.
The Constitution speaks about this issue. There is a law which protects women and girls. It is not a crime to be a woman or being a girl child in the family. We must be united and fight gender based violence. I thank you and I want to thank those who raised the motion because it came at the right time. In the rural areas, people do farming activities and when they harvest and it is time to get paid, women are being abused physically and men normally take the money and go on a drinking spree with the money. It is painful for the women who would have been working hard for example in the cotton field. The woman ends up committing suicide.
Mr. President, it is our duty to go and teach women so that they must not commit suicide but speak out about gender based violence. They must go and report to the village heads and all other traditional leaders and we should inform them that if they do not report the issue to the chief, they can be reported to the police. Chiefs are dealing with those issues in a professional way. As husbands and wives, we must sit down and listen to each other. We must be united for the development of the country. Families should be united and they must work hard. We must reprimand them if they do wrong things so that they can do all the house duties according to our laws, working together for the prosperity of our country. We must not expect the comeback of white people to give us jobs. We have our farms, so we must work in our farms for us to get everything which we want even though there is no enough rains. We are expecting more rains so that we can farm and get enough food. As the numbers of dams are going to be increased, we must work together and encourage people to be united and end gender based violence in the country. Thank you Mr. President – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.]
**HON. SEN. NYATHI: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this debate. I want to thank the Hon. Senator for raising this motion that speaks about violence against women. I would like to say a woman is very important in this country. If only men knew what a woman is, they would not be doing that. There is a lot that has been said, sometimes women are also accused of harassing or beating up men, yes, I hear that, it happens but for women, I do not know what you can do about it. If only they would know that anyone who walks on this universe it because of a woman. If only they would know how painful the nine months period is. I wish no man would beat up a woman especially using weapons. Labour is a very difficult thing. No man has ever experienced this but they have the audacity to beat up a woman not knowing that his mother is as good as any woman that they may be beating. Therefore, they do not know the pain that they went through in giving birth to that person. We should respect each other. That argument that women are also doing bad things, those are being perpetrated by men but people should consider what brings up that. Even when children play around, they know that someone may be provocative but they stop that there and there. Women tend to be very tolerant most of the time. If they commit a crime once, it becomes a problem yet men have small houses all over. They have extra marital affairs but when a woman commits one mistake, it is blown out of proportion yet all of us were created in God’s image. That is what we should consider. Trying to argue that women also perpetrate violence is not good. Let us try to find the origin of that violence. Some argue that women should be submissive because they are married. Let us consider that marriage is sacred and was made by God so that people may help each other. Whilst they assist each other, there will be a leader but being a leader does not mean that you should harass your subordinate. You should respect each other.
I have not seen even in social media, a woman beating a man. Instead, it is the other way round. Women are the ones who are being beaten by men. Men have the audacity to beat women even in front of children. That is also violence against children. They will not grow up well. As women, we do not want all that. We do not want to be harassed. We also have the right to existence. If it is that I made a mistake, that does not warrant that I should be beaten in front of my children. What wrong have I committed to warrant being beaten up in front of children every day? Does it mean that the men do not commit any crime or mistake? If we are to count the number of women who are being beaten – we cannot stop this violence. Let us consider the facts so that we try to address this. Men are harassing us in the home even here in the Senate, we are mature people but for those who are younger out there, there is a lot that is going on. Most of the affected women will not speak out. That is why we end up hearing that somebody committed suicide. It is because of that and they do not know who to tell their problems. They keep these problems until they think of committing suicide.
As Senate, if we speak and say we no longer want this – as mature people, let us enact laws that bring an end to violence in this country. Let us make one united resolution that acknowledges that men have rights but at the same time, women also have rights so that as children grow up, they will know. Right now we say our children are doing all sorts of things but sometimes it is because they learn from our mistakes. If they would know that such a thing must never be done, they will learn it the hard way. Because nothing is happening, that is why they are perpetrating violence. If this motion is raised and we agree that we bring an end to violence against women in this country – it will indeed succeed. Deterrent sentences to stop violence should be brought up. As women, we have suffered for a long time yet we are the ones who dominate society, be it in politics or at churches. If you handle us properly, you will find that all those things will go very well.
As mature people and as Hon. Senators, let us come up with resolutions to bring an end to violence against women, otherwise we will go all the way to 2030 trying to address one problem. With these few words, I thank you Mr. President.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF NGEZI: Thank you very much Mr. President for affording me this opportunity to debate this important motion that is affecting most women day and night. I am of a different view in my own opinion on this matter. Women are really affected but as we were growing up, we would fight whilst herding cattle when someone destroyed my mum’s ‘breast’ which was made on the ground using sand. This shows that women were highly esteemed and were respected. If one would form his mother’s breast and someone would come and destroy that, it was a born of contention. We really respected anything that was owned by our mothers, whether it was a goat or a cow. Our fathers would tell us not to play around with our mother’s property. For that reason, I think it is important to look into it because on the same matter, my father had seven homes. This was caused by my mother who would say that she was not happy with what is happening here because your relatives do not like me. My father would then relocate to another area because he was trying to protect his wife. We ended up settling in Gokwe because he wanted to protect my mother because she had been threatened by a neighbour that she wanted to murder her.
The challenge is that for other mothers, to be honest – it is both sides hence we need to look at both sides. There are people whom we know of who will go to the beer hall and when the beer hall closes, they look for another one because they dread going home because of the violence by the wife. As men, we are very brave. We agree that women are very brave in the sense that they gave birth to us but they suffer in silence. It is rare for a man to talk badly about his wife. He tries to cover up. So this matter needs to be considered on both sides. It is true women are speaking out a lot on GBV. If you are beaten, you should go and report. Men hardly go but when they remain silent, they are increasing the number of men who are violated.
During the debate, I also heard that if it was possible, the traditional leaders in this House should also consist of women chiefs. We want to consider whether our culture allows the women to be chiefs. We also need to look at the Bible. I think the Bible has not been amended and likewise, we need to also maintain our culture and not alter our traditional roles and leadership style.
*HON. SEN. MURONZI: Thank you Mr. President for affording me the opportunity to add a few words on this motion. Secondly, I would like to thank the mover of the motion Hon. Sen. Dube and her seconder.
I would want to state that in terms of gender based violence with regards to ages of people, when we were growing up, we were told that if your husband assaults you, you should not fight back. As time went by, that was left behind. There are those that lived during this time and believed that a husband should not be fought back.
My husband is a village head. There are issues concerning women that my husband deals with. There is a man in my village who is being abused by his wife but in the majority of cases, it is the women that are being assaulted. A certain woman was assaulted and she lost two teeth. When she made a report to a member of the neighbourhood watch committee and then he went to the police. A letter was given by the police that he should hand him to the police. The member of the Neighbourhood Watch Committee allowed the culprit to disappear for some time. The matter was not heard until the woman was abused again. She approached the village head and narrated her predicament to the village head. She did state that the member of the neighbourhood called Mike made a report to the police but the police did not come to arrest the perpetrator that day.
There is also another incidence where there was a woman whose arm was broken as a result of assault. The case was reported at Bindura Police Station. The husband told her to withdraw the charge and that if she did not withdraw she would not stay with him. I have risen to categorically state that as much as men may want to defend that they are abused by women, in the majority of cases it is the women who are abused by men. There are no laws that protect us as women. I rise to say that there must be laws that protect us as women. I feel bad about the scenario where a woman whose arm was broken was forced to withdraw charges against her husband. For fear that her marriage would breakdown if she did not withdraw the charges and because of the love for her marriage and children, she had to withdraw.
Deaf and dump children are also abused. There was a dump child in our village who was raped. The matter went to court and they were told that there was no sign language interpreter. Imagine how painful it is; the police did say that they did not have sign language interpreters and secondly, they did not have transport to visit areas where the culprits committed offences. They would give you a letter to handover to the victim. So the problem is on us as Government for failing to solve these problems.
Mr. President, we may sing and after singing about gender based violence and abuse of women, it is common knowledge that domestic violence is very prevalent in our country. I once told a nephew’s wife; the husband had three wives and always assaulted the senior wife. I asked him why he did that. I then told the senior wife that next time he assaults her, she must retaliate so that he will think twice when he wants to assault her again. When she was assaulted, she took a hook used to hook bales, and severely assaulted him. Up until he died, the husband never laid his hand on her again. In as much as we do not encourage domestic violence, once in a while if you retaliate using a pot or something, he will feel the pain and he will think twice when he wants to fight you. He will know that you will retaliate.
Men may want to say whatever they want but the women and children are being abused severely in the community. My husband is a village head and I hear of these reports of assaults or domestic violence against women and the girl child now and again. Gone are the days when women would not retaliate. As Government, we have porous laws that do not address the issue of domestic violence and nothing much is being done. If someone reports nothing is done and in future women will just stay at home because they know if they report nothing is done. I thank you so much Hon. President.
*HON. SEN. GWESHE: Thank you Mr. President, I also want to add my voice to this debate. The truth of the matter is that women are being abused in their homes and men are also being abused. The issue that I want to raise on why there is an increase in domestic violence is because of cell phones. As an elderly woman, I think it is good that the man and woman have access to the cell phones but you find that a grey haired man does not want his wife to touch his cell phone.
About five marriages have broken down over the issue of cell phones. Cases where for example, the man would be in the dining room, the wife’s cell phone rings and she rushes to the kitchen to answer - this ended the marriage partnership. Men do not want their phones to be touched by their spouses but it hurts to learn that your husband answers his phone in private and always hides the phone. At times a wife will ask who he was talking to and this creates a fight. A lot of marriages are breaking up as a result of these cell phones and I do not know how best we can solve this issue.
Last week on Friday, I was at Glen Norah Police Station filing a report concerning a certain issue. Many people arrived there a young woman who was bleeding got in and I asked what had happened. She said she had been injured by the husband with a knife on her thighs. I asked her the cause and she said she was on the cell phone.
Again, I asked her why she had been assaulted so severely and she said because she was having a good conversation on the cell phone thus she was then badly cut on the thigh by the husband using a knife. The police said that if he was no longer interested in the woman he should have simply divorced her. There are a few that can still hold or behave themselves once there is an issue involving cell phones. With those few words, I thank you Hon. President.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF. NTABENI: Thank you Mr. President for affording me this opportunity. I would want to add a few words to the debate on behalf of the chiefs. I observed that women believe that chiefs are letting them down and we are at peace when they are being assaulted. It is true that they approach our courts after an assault. If we come up with a law here and say that any man who assaults a woman, chiefs should deal with him, we will deal with him or they can come after an assault and then we would want to hear the matter. We tell them to come with the husband because we want to amicably resolve the issue, but in most cases it is a police case which should be dealt with by the police. So it is not because we are turning a blind eye for our culture allows women to be beaten.
A woman came to make a report and said that she had been forewarned the previous week that she had stayed for a long time without being assaulted. We have daughters. We do not want our daughters to be assaulted by whoever they are going to get married to. As chiefs, we abhor the practice of assault on women for women were created using the man’s ribs.
There was a man who had assaulted a woman and people wanted to deal with him. They handcuffed him and apparently the same lady who was a complainant felt pity on the accused person. So given such a scenario, how best can you deal with the issue even if you were to be a judge? There was also a dispute between a woman and a man. The woman was getting assaulted at home and when the husband was about to be assaulted, the woman looked at him, got up and said ‘No, you cannot do that chief, you cannot do that.’
We listen to you and your concerns are also our concerns. In our culture we also abhor domestic violence. If there is a law that empowers chiefs to deal with a man who perpetrates domestic violence, the chiefs can do that or maybe people can leave the urban centres and come to the communal lands and we will be able to resolve their issues so that they can live happily. I thank you Mr. President.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF MAKUMBE: Thank you Mr. President. I would want to add my voice to the motion on gender based violence. Our country should understand that it is not right for normal people to be constantly fighting one another. If my daughter were to be married in the Charumbira family and I have never assaulted my daughter from the time that she was at a preschool until she is now at university, why should her husband assault her? Assaulting someone does not lead them to behave differently. They are not like vehicles where you can go and correct mistakes.
I look at this issue from two perspectives. In marriages, we meet people who do not have the same customs. Secondly, the way people are being raised in this country, a lot of domestic violence is occurring in the urban areas because there is no law. There are no longer bedrooms for both girls and boys and also traditional meeting places where they would meet and learn life matters. They grew up without going to the meeting place, the dare. They did not even appreciate why a woman is married and what purposes they are married for.
As Members of this august House, it is our duty to ensure that we teach our children or people about the roles of a father and the roles of the mother. The father’s duty is to support the family and he should do so. The woman should also know the manner in which they address the husbands. Weapons used for assaulting women like a knife, from what we have just heard, why should they be used? Why should you be using a knife on your wife? A wife should be loved. We should teach people that they should love one another. If they are in love things would be better.
Some talked about the issue of the cell phone, but they did not say what exactly it was that is wrong about cell phones. They use cell phones for entertaining girlfriends. We talk of marriages where it limits one man to one woman. As black people or as Africans, why do we not go and say that we practice our culture that allows polygamous marriages. If one is involved in a monogamous marriage and then engages in extramarital affairs, you will be cheating; there is bound to be friction and it causes disharmony. As Africans, we have our way of living and our way of life. Not even one Hon. Member in this House can testify that they are not aware of the issue of polygamous relationships if truth be told. So we cannot then castigate polygamy. Why do we not look at our laws in the context that we are Africans?
Let it be understood that as Africans we should look at our history and where we are going. Women should teach their girls and men should teach boys on how to have successful relationships. It is a shame for one to get married and the next day we hear the wife has gone back to their family in Gokwe. I have an issue involving a child that came from Binga from Chief Siansali’s area. She has been constantly assaulted in our area in Buhera and she does not have anywhere to run to. On a daily basis she is assaulted. I do not know why the majority of men feel that whenever they are not there, the wife is up to no good. You should appetite the woman that you have and you should not bite more than you can chew. Women should be loved and should not be assaulted with an open hand. You should not be in the habit of wanting to eat food whose origins you do not know. You must support your family. A wife is not a punching bag. Most of those men who abuse women cannot stand the ground against other men, they are the punching bags of other men.
Mr. Speaker Sir, as an august House, we should look into the issue of our culture and we should also come up with means and ways to encourage the Government to enlighten people on what it is to be a husband and what it is to be a wife. As Chiefs, we also assist our subject on the roles of being a man and the roles of a woman. We want to thank the First Lady because she is going around the country teaching people on how to behave in these relationships. The issue is the ignorance of children that became parents overnight without knowing what their roles and functions are.
I just thought of adding my voice and say that we have our courts as Chiefs and if that person is given serious penalties, he can become a good man. The problem is after penalising someone, it is the woman that then feels sympathy for the husband. If the woman is assaulted, by sympathising with the husband, she encourages the husband to continue assaulting her. Run away from an abusive husband and make a report to the police! We have our institutions as Government and the person should be arrested. Once a case has been reported, the Police are in place so that they can deal with that issue. We should not behave as animals, a man was given a woman that is fit for him so we should not be assaulting our womenfolk. I thank you Mr. President.
HON. SEN. A. DUBE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIEF CHUNDU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 2nd December, 2020.
MOTION
CONDOLENCES ON THE DEATH OF HON. SEN. AIR CHIEF MARSHALL RTD. PERRANCE SHIRI
Eighth Order Read: Adjourned debate on motion on the death of Hon. Sen. Air. Chief Marshal (Rtd) Perence Shiri.
Question again proposed.
^HON. SEN. MALULEKE: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to speak about our hero, Air Chief Marshal (Rtd) Shiri who passed on. I knew the late during the time he was promoted to be the Minister of Agriculture to enable us to get enough food in the country. People from Mashonaland Central lost a very brave man. I want to thank the mover of this motion so that we can remember the work which was done by the late Hon. Minister. He was an upright man. I do not forget the day he came to our area, Chiredzi in Masvingo. He began to greet us in our language because he knew that he had arrived in a different area and he was wearing a green work suit. That day we had a great conference. We began to sing the songs about unity and he danced with us. He was a cheerful person and he really wanted to work with everyone.
Mr. President, I only heard that he passed on when the pandemic reached this country. I was at home and I was very disheartened that we have lost a very hardworking person in the country. He was a dedicated person for the development of the country and he was a fearless person. He was a very hardworking man. He was not a person to show off, regardless of his position and he interacted with people very well.
When we arrived at the venue, I had carried many women in my car. When we got to the venue, many people started asking where the Minister was seated because they could not recognise him, he was a very humble man. I want to thank Hon. Sen. Tongogara who raised this motion about the late Hon. Minister. We are very disheartened and the whole country is disheartened by the death of our hero. Yes, we are saying all these things but we are touched by the death of a hero, a hero who was very dedicated for the development of this country, including our area.
When he visited our area, he spoke with owners of Tongaat Hulett. Our area is a very hot area which falls under Region 5. Therefore, he also came and encouraged us to continue to work hard. I am disheartened by the death Hon. Shir. Thank you Mr. President.
^^HON. SEN. MOHADI: Thank you for giving me this opportunity to talk about the death of Hon. Sen. P. Shiri. I want to thank Senator Tongogara. Talking about the late Shiri, I will be talking about someone who was hardworking, who would talk to an ordinary person. I could not even believe my eyes when I saw a Minister wearing overrall. I was emphasising my…
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Hon. Sen. Mohadi, may you stick to one language.
^^HON. SEN. MOHADI: I was emphasising a point in Venda.
Hon. Shiri was brave and kind to almost everyone. He was a hardworking person. He would not just sit in the office. I still remember one of the days when he visited Beitbridge when he wanted to know about cattle ranching. We went to a particular field and spent the whole day with him. He asked a lot about cattle ranching. He wanted to know what was happening in Matabeleland South Region. This included the diseases which affected those cattle. He talked of what the Beitbridge community would do in order to curb the disease.
If you look at the Beitbridge community, most of the farmers go to their fields and make sure that they are ploughing cereals for the cattle in order to curb the diseases which are prevalent in Matabeleland South province. Heifers need proper management but now when you are looking at the area, it is affected by lack of water and all those diseases which are found in that area but the late Hon. Sen. Shiri was always urging all the farmers in that province to take care of all the cattle and to learn more about curbing he diseases and the like.
He even urged the communities to keep on cultivating or practising irrigation programmes in the area. All the farmers in that area were urged to plant trees in each and every area. It is very sad when we still thinking about what he used to do for the province. We noticed that he did not look at the face of the person. He used to help everyone. He was a hero of the heroes. May his soul rest in peace.
+HON. SEN. GUMBO: Thank you Mr. President for giving me the opportunity to debate on this special motion regarding the death of Hon. Sen. Shiri.
Considering the liberation struggle, I do not know how many people will be or were debated about in this House, but if I am not mistaken – Perrance Shiri is the first one. That shows that he was a very important person. Firstly, we mourn with the family and the whole country because his death was a sad thing to the whole country. I got to hear about his death whilst I was in Mutare. I got the message through Hon. Sen. Mohadi and I was shocked.
We were with Perrance Shiri in this Senate but after a few days, he passed on. That was very disturbing. The most important thing is that the whole country knew the work that he was doing as the Minister of Agriculture and as a hardworking person. That is exactly why his life is being debated in this Senate. This is because of the role he played in this country. Most of the time we could see him on television – be it in Maphisa or Mutare; he used to traverse the whole country day and night without rest. Before he was Minister, he had worked hard to liberate this country. He never said he wanted to rest after liberating the country, but he saw it fit to serve the nation.
I do not understand Venda but I heard about overalls and work suits when Hon. Sen. Mohadi was speaking. One day when we were coming from Bulawayo from a Budget meeting, we were at Joshua Nkomo International Airport seated and amongst us was Vice President Dr. Chiwenga, we saw Hon. Sen. Shiri disembarking from an aeroplane. I think it was a DDF Chartered aeroplane – we were surprised to see the Senator-Minister dressed in an overall or work suit. We were surprised because all of us were seated there wearing suits. That showed his dedication to the country and his commitment to the development of this country.
We would like to thank Hon. Sen. Tongogara for bringing this motion in this august House that we should mourn together with the Shiri family. I thank you Mr. President Sir.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Mr. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 1st December, 2020.
On the motion of HON. SEN. MUZENDA seconded by HON. SEN. MOHADI, the Senate adjourned at Three Minutes Past Four o’clock p.m. until Tuesday 8th December, 2020.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 1st December, 2020
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. TOGAREPI: Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that Orders of the Day, numbers 1 to 10 on today’s Order Paper be stood over until Order of the Day number 11 has been disposed of.
HON. MPARIWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
CONDOLENCES ON THE DEATH OF HON. MIRIAM MUSHAYI
HON. I NYONI: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I move the motion standing in my name that this House expresses its profound sorrow on the untimely passing on after a short illness on Monday, 7 September, 2020 of the late Member of Parliament for Kuwadzana Constituency, Hon. Miriam Mushayi;
Places on record its appreciation for the services which the late Hon. Member rendered to Parliament and the nation at large;
Resolves that its profound sympathies be conveyed to the Mushayi family, relatives and the entire Kuwadzana Constituency.
HON. TOFFA: I second.
HON. I. NYONI: Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir. It was unbelievable and saddening to learn of the untimely passing on of the Late Hon. Miriam Mushayi on 7th September, 2020 after a short illness. I recall two days earlier, I and other Hon. Members of Parliament had gone to check on Hon. Mushayi while admitted at a private hospital. Her condition appeared to be improving, only for the situation to worsen. Her passing on was a huge blow to her family, Parliament, Kuwadzana constituency and the nation at large.
Hon. Mushayi was a friendly and cheerful character who got on very well with most Members of Parliament across the political divide. In a nutshell, I can say she was a true embodiment of wisdom, hard work, honesty and reliability. This leads me to ask who Hon. Miriam Mushayi was. In brief, I can say she was the daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Mangwende of Buhera in Manicaland. She was the wife to Mr. Mushayi of Magunje in Hurungwe, Mashonaland West. She was a loving mother to two beautiful daughters. She was an aunt and she also played many other roles within the family with friends and communities.
She will also be clearly remembered as a principled woman and true patriot who worked hard to improve the lives of ordinary citizens out there. Indeed, she was a true Hon. Member of Parliament who had not taken this as a form of employment but to do service to the community. I recall clearly on 25th August, 2020, about two weeks before she passed on, Hon. Mushayi donated 1000 by 10kg bags of mealie-meal to her Kuwadzana constituency - to the elderly, that is, those over 65 years, people with disability, widows and orphans; to mention just a few of her programmes. There were other programmes that were also running at her constituency.
Hon. Mushayi was a good communicator who was physically active on the ground, on Facebook, Twitter and other forms of modern communication. The late Hon. Mushayi will also be remembered for her passion in articulating gender equality issues and the girl child. Her approach was tactical and non-confrontational, winning her many friends and volunteers along the way. I am positive most women MPs in this House worked tirelessly with the late Hon. Mushayi in that area and the gap she has left will be difficult to fill. One of the things I am sure Hon. Mushayi would appreciate is to have her former Kuwadzana constituency occupied by another woman Member of Parliament. However, this is going to depend on political parties that will contest at the by-elections.
In conclusion Mr. Speaker Sir, I again convey my sincere condolences to her husband Mr. Mushayi, her two daughters, the entire Mushayi family and the entire Mangwende family, friends and Kuwadzana Constituency. Hon. Miriam Mushayi will be greatly missed in Parliament and may her soul rest in peace. Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. TOFFA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir for affording me this opportunity to contribute towards the motion on the late Hon. Miriam Mushayi. Hon. Speaker Sir, myself and many other Hon. Members in the House were totally shocked by the passing on of Hon. Mushayi as we had only heard of the illness a few days before she passed on. Fortunately or unfortunately, I was one of the privileged few who were able to visit her at the private hospital in which she was. When I visited her, she was in a comma and I did not get an opportunity to speak to her.
Hon. Mushayi was a friend to me, confidant and a very good advisor. Hon. Mushayi leaves behind her husband and two daughters as Hon. Nyoni said and I would like to thank him for raising the motion. I would like to pass my condolences to the family and I would like to thank them too for lending her to us because as a politician you give a lot of time to politics and your family seems to suffer. I would like to pass my condolences to the family, in particular her two daughters. I pray that they take solace in the Lord.
Hon. Speaker Sir, Hon. Mushayi was a believer in devolution. She really wanted to see devolution come to play. I say this not only because she spoke about devolution many times but Hon. Mushayi’s status or profile always had devolution, the new revolution for many years until the day she died. So, it would really please her and many others to see devolution being implemented to its fullest.
Hon. Mushayi was also a very good gender activist in particular for women, young girls and the youths. I should actually state that Hon. Mushayi was also the Secretary General in the MDC led by Prof. W. Ncube before we became the Alliance. Hon. Mushayi made sure that there was equal participation for women, youth and everyone. She always had her door open and we found it easy to always approach her. She was very approachable.
Mr. Speaker Sir, without saying too much, Hon Mushayi is a big loss. We will miss her dearly and her shoes will not be easy to replace. I thank you.
*HON. CHIKUKWA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I want to support this motion on the death of Hon. Mushayi. I worked with Hon. Mushayi in the Committee on Local Government, Public Works and National Housing. She was a person who could work with anyone and was non-partisan. She would deal with the issue at hand. When it comes to the issue of devolution, she was someone who had a passion in devolution. It is sad that she passed away before the Bill on devolution came to Parliament. I know she was one of those who were going to contribute a lot on this Bill and I believe she was going to be one of those who was going to stand up strongly for devolution to pass.
I also learnt something from Hon. Mushayi. She was a reserved person, not that she was dull but she would talk where necessary. As a Committee on Local Government and National Housing we have lost a strong member especially that we are very few female Members. We hope that more women will be added to our Committee.
I also support the issue that we create a fund meant for condolences to our fellow Hon. Member. We should not start collecting money for condolences when one of us passes on. When one of us dies, we all want to go to the funeral but at times we fail to go because we feel we cannot go empty handed. Let us unite on this issue so that we at least leave something for the family after their parent dies. I thank you.
^^HON. MABOYI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I am going back to airing my voice in chi Venda. I was saying my condolences to the Mushayi’s. I was saying most probably if I am to use English, I would say Hon. Mushayi was a fundi, someone very learned. In all her duties that she was taking care of, she would show that she is an educated somebody. In every motion or debate that she contributed, she would also portray some gender sensitivity especially when she contributed on issues relating to children or the girl child. Hon. Mushayi would indicate that a girl child should be accorded an opportunity in everything.
In our Committee, we have lost an Hon. Member who knew what she was here for. Whenever Hon. Mushayi chaired meetings, you would see either a teacher or a lecturer in herself from the way she would chair, she was well versed in the aspect of leading meetings. Hon. Mushayi was a hard worker, therefore, we continue to send our condolences to the Mushayi family and there is no replacement for this lady.
I heard that Hon. Mushayi left behind her two daughters and a husband, may her soul rest in peace. Her family lost a mother who is very difficult to replace. She is one Member of Parliament who knew what her constituency needed. In most cases, she would indicate that if there are some things that are lacking within her constituency, she would make sure that she does her best to make sure that all the things are available.
The late Hon. Member showed much interest in children’s issues especially making sure that there is gender balance in educating our children. Therefore, I would like to say we have lost a hard worker in Hon. Mushayi. I failed to be part of the crew that went for her burial but all I can say is that we worked very well with her and had wished to be part of the team that went for her burial.
Because of financial challenges, at times we fail to go and bury one of our own which is what has been happening in most of the cases in this House. However, in a few words, I would like to say rest in peace to Hon. Mushayi. I thank you.
*HON. KANKUNI: Thank you Madam Speaker. I want to add my voice to the debate following the passing on of Hon. Mushayi. I knew her and have worked with her here in Parliament.
Hon. Mushayi was dedicated to her constituency. She loved her job. We served together in the Committee on Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and she contributed immensely in that Committee. She worked very well with others even though as women, we do not agree on a lot of issues but she was not of that calibre.
I want to support that Hon. Mushayi was always cheerful and worked well with others. She did not look down upon other people and was well educated. She would contribute in line with the nation and was spearheading national programmes. We were shocked when we learnt about her death because we never heard about her being indisposed. We are saddened by the fact that it is a woman who passed on. As a House, we are really saddened by her departure. My condolences go to the constituency, family and the National Assembly – we are not going to see her. So, I say Hon. Mushayi, may your soul rest in peace until we meet again. I thank you.
*HON. MAVETERA: Thank you very much Madam Speaker Ma’am, for this opportunity. I thought I should also add my voice on Hon. Mushayi’s debate.
Madam Speaker Ma’am, we cannot afford not to talk about the women of this Parliament. Let me say that truly that in Hon. Mushayi, we lost a heroine because when we talk about women who contribute in Parliament, we would point at Hon. Mushayi. Without mincing my words, Hon. Mushayi was a woman who spoke on issues of magnitude. She was eloquent in English and was one of the women who we know would speak fluently in English. We really lost when it comes to Hon. Mushayi. Whenever we talk about women in Parliament, we talk of women who can stand up and debate eloquently and she was such a woman.
Madam Speaker, let me also say that truly her constituency and immediate family have lost a great person. Hon. Mushayi was a great woman. As you are aware that we have different parties but when we talk about Hon. Mushayi – she overlooked all that. She respected everyone and let me say that as women, I do not want to be partisan because I know that what brings us together is the fact that we are Zimbabweans. What brings us together when we talk about women and referring to men and women – what brings us together is the fact that we are either men or women.
Madam Speaker, let me say that I remember last year during this same time of 16 Days of Activism; she was one woman who would contribute against gender based violence. Truly, as women, we encounter gender based violence and it is causing women not to live well as women because gender based violence is upon us. Let me say that gender based violence is not only physical but even those who are married as well are being sexually abused. Gender based violence is when you find that women of men who are promiscuous are constantly being forced to sleep with their husbands without any protection. That is the type of violence that women encounter.
When we talk about gender based violence Madam Speaker, as women, we really uphold such issues because we know that when we are faced with such situations, there are women who would stand their ground like Hon. Mushayi. When we are talking about addressing women issues, we do not address them on partisan basis but we talk because we are women. Let me say Madam Speaker, I look forward that when we get a replacement for that constituency, we pray that it will be a woman. So, in her constituency, we are looking forward for another woman to replace her because if they choose a man, then it means we remain with fewer women in Parliament. Let me just say may her spirit rest in peace. Death is death slow, I wish her family well and may she be blessed wherever she is. Thank you.
HON. R. MPOFU: First and foremost I want to appreciate the motion which was moved by Hon. Nyoni, seconded by Hon. Toffa. Madam Speaker, my heart is pained a lot by the departure of Hon. Mushayi. She is one of the ladies who was full of motherly love. She loved everyone regardless of the party she was coming from. As I speak, I know in this House there is no one who hates me. Even if I am disabled, people normally refer to me as a disabled person but I know all of you love me.
Hon. Mushayi is one of the ladies who used to love me. If I had something that I wanted to share with her, she would ask what it was that was troubling me. She would ask out of love, regardless of the party where she was coming from. It really pains me a lot the way Hon. Members are passing on. We therefore need God’s intervention so that we can pass condolences to each other. We all have children and if I look at this, I realise that it is a lady who has left behind children.
When we pass on – to each and every woman in the world regardless of our parties, we should learn to have a separate pocket that we can use especially when it is a lady who has passed on. As a family, when you see a mother coming to pay condolences, it really gives hope and even to a husband, when you see another woman coming to console you it gives you hope. When a mother passes on in any family it leaves a very big gap that cannot be filled by anyone.
It is my prayer that God will intervene and it is my prayer that God will make her rest in peace. To the children that she left behind, I believe it is our responsibility and God will take care of them. I think those who have debated before me – it is my prayer whoever departs, we should all stand together and pass condolences. For example if it is a male MP who departed we should all speak with one voice and pass condolences.
Madam Speaker Ma’am, it is my wish that if only I could be able to see, I wish we could all go and pass condolences to the family. Let us not combine death and politics. Death will come, regardless of which party you are coming from. We will all go through the same process and when your time is up, you cannot escape it. The onus is with us who are left behind to be a team and pray together to conquer such things.
As I stand, I am not even sure when I am going to die. We should all take into consideration that anyone can pass on regardless of time. I therefore join everyone who has passed condolence messages. It is my prayer that all the children that she has left behind will hold on and God will take care of them. Thank you.
HON. B. DUBE: Thank you for giving me this opportunity to debate on the death of Hon. Mushayi. One thing that her death reminds us of is that this is the world of today because we are all going to die. The best that we can do in the remainder of our natural life is to try to do the best that we can. She fought for her life and all that is left for us is to pursue our dreams and pursue the things that we believe in honesty. Also what this tells us is that we as parliamentarians are just ordinary human beings who are also going to die one day.
So we should love each other and do everything with love and passion. I always see chaos and hatred exhibited in the House. It is done by those people who forget that they are not here to stay and they are just here for a while. My request and the lesson that I think we must take in the death of Hon. Mushayi is that we are all going to die and we must do our best and now change the way we see each other and the way we do business. We should try to do our best so that we can leave a legacy.
There are many of us MPs who when a motion of this kind comes think of what to say about it. So, it is also time that we interrogate ourselves and see what it is that we have done in our time, what is it that we have moved in that Parliament and what are people going to say about you. Hon. Mushayi was a balanced, sophisticated and loving MP. She was a very good sister, mother and good to all of us. She was the kind of person who would show us how things can be done. It is my prayer that we always remember to do well and this motion is starting at the right time Madam Speaker where we are also celebrating 16 Days of Activism, which is a reminder to us to deal with the issues of gender based violence. It is disheartening that in the day that we are remembering a female MP, who did so well, we are also doing it at a time where Zimbabwe as a country is experiencing an increase in cases of gender based violence. I just want this in commemoration of the likes of Hon. Mushayi to remind us that we need to do so much to end gender based violence, especially against women and girls.
For MPs, this must also remind us that we have to respect our mothers, female colleagues, our daughters and we have to do everything to give value to the other gender, which I believe is the best thing that can exhibit or reflect that we are a civilised community. Madam Speaker, I will end by just saying, there is a lot that we learn and need to continue to learn from death. The best lesson that we can ever have is a reminder that our day is also going to come and that we must never make it very difficult for those who will mourn us and those who will move motions for us by failing to actually find anything good to say about ourselves. I would say to Hon. Mushayi, rest in power. You are the true hero of Zimbabwe. You fought a good fight for democracy. You were inspired to finish the unfinished business of the liberation struggle, which is to transform, industrialized Zimbabwe and continue to unite Zimbabwe as a country. I will say, rest in power my sister. Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am.
*HON. MAKONYA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to thank Hon. Nyoni for moving the motion in honour of Hon. Mushayi. I have known Hon. Mushayi for quite a long time in the political arena, but at first I did not know much about her. When she became a Member of this august House, I began to know her better. Hon. Mushayi was quiet, cheerful and approachable. Madam Speaker, most women are not approachable, even on social aspects of life. Hon. Mushayi would greet you always. There are some people who can never greet others because they think they are special. Hon. Mushayi would always greet me and give me a compliment for being smart. To all female MPs, I say let us be like the Late Hon. Mushayi. Let us be approachable and let us be reminded that one day we shall also die. No one knew that this day Hon. Mushayi would no longer be with us. Let us be united as Hon. Members in this august House. We should cherish every moment.
There was a time that we experienced some wrangles in our political party but Hon. Mushayi was never involved in the issues. I am saying to my colleague MPs, politics is for this world and we shall leave it one day. Madam Speaker, I would also want to speak about the Women’s Caucus. I know there are some MPs who attended the funeral, but my plea is that we should be united and stand by each other in difficult times. Currently, due to COVID regulations, we cannot gather in large numbers, but we should put our heads together and grieve with families of our departed MPs. Some of the MPs are dying, leaving families who are in need of assistance. There are MPs who died before receiving their vehicles. If possible, their families should be given the vehicles. That is the only thing that he or she would have worked for. Hon. Mushayi did not have a pension because it was her first term in Parliament. If Hon. Members depart from their families due to death or any other means, the families should not be seen struggling to survive. People out there do not understand the policies of Parliament and they would wonder why families of former Members of Parliament suddenly become poor after the Hon. Member ceases to be a Member of Parliament. I thank you.
HON. P. ZHOU: Thank you Madam Speaker Maam. I also want to add my voice to the motion in the House. I was also deeply saddened by the passing on of Hon. M. Mushayi on 7th September, 2020. I was taken aback by her death but as I came to terms with it, I look back and see a woman who was confident, educated and motivated in whatever she was doing; a woman with a unique way of dressing - I was impressed by the way she dressed. Her flowing braids and clothes made her very African, which I really appreciate of African women.
I learnt something from her. She was humble, collected, intelligent and accommodating. She used to participate actively in debate here in the august House and where we met during workshops and meetings. Her death should teach us that life is short; life is a gift from God. Let us respect each other, work together in harmony and be just simple and not complicated. Hon. Mushayi was simple and humble until her death. I thank you.
HON. MOLOKELE: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to add my voice in support of this motion and say that I was deeply saddened and felt a personal loss at the passing away of Hon. Mushayi. I worked closely with her, mostly in the Portfolio Committee on Higher and Tertiary Education. She was a very committed member and a leader of that Committee. She was dedicated and we learnt a lot from her. She was an educated woman but was very humble and carried herself as an African. As Hon. Zhou has noted, she had her own unique way of dressing that emphasised the African identity.
Hon. Members might not be aware but she spent many years in Europe, I think she was in the UK. She is someone who had been exposed to other cultures but still remained true to African identity. I was very saddened when she passed on because a lot of progress has been made regarding the Portfolio on Higher and Tertiary Education and she was part of that commitment and effort that the Committee has put.
When we visited Verify Engineering in Mkwasine and in Mutare, I have some quotes that keep me reminded of the commitment and zeal. She is such a big loss to our Committee. I also worked closely with her in the political party that I belong to. She was in the national committee as the Deputy Secretary for Policy and Research. She also did well in her constituency and was down to earth; grassroots oriented. She worked with people on the ground. Even though she was a very educated person, she was able to freely mix with people in her constituency.
As we continue to fight for 50/50 representation for women in political positions such as Parliament, her death is a big loss in the fight to increase the representation of women. She is such a big loss that we will not be able to replace her. I would like to extend my condolences and sympathies to her family members especially her husband and two children. We will always remember her, love her, salute and honour her. She is so sadly missed already. I thank you Madam Speaker.
*HON. CHIKUNI: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to add my voice to the motion that was raised by Hon. Nyoni on the passing on of Hon. Miriam Mushayi. We were in the same Committee on Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare with Hon. Mushayi. She was approachable and free when she had a point to make. Our Committee has lost a strong Member who would attend a meeting and come out without speaking. She encouraged us to also contribute because she would say, ‘I cannot come out of my Committee without contributing’.
She was an advisor. If you do not know what to say she would help you. She was friendly to everyone. When we are in Committee you would not notice which party she belonged to. We have some people who when they are in a Committee meeting, if you want advice you would not dare ask them but she would unite us all. We are deeply saddened by her death. May her soul rest in peace. I thank you.
*HON. CHITURA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I would like to add my voice on the motion of the departure of Hon. Mushayi. She was a very good woman who did not look down upon anyone. I first met her when we were outside and asked her whether she came from Rusape but she said she came from Karoi. Hon. Mushayi was a very humble person. I am just encouraging that if a woman passes on we should be given a bus so that we go in our numbers to mourn our colleague and it will be known that one of us has left us.
It could be that during her time of departure she was looking after children or grandchildren and we do not know what is happening to the children that she left behind. May her spirit and all the spirits of the departed, in Christ, rest in peace. I thank you.
HON. CHIKWINYA: Thank you Hon. Speaker for allowing me to add my voice over this somber motion. I deliberately chose this microphone because that is where Hon. Mushayi would stand as she debated in Parliament. First, let me express my profound sorrow to the family of Hon. Mushayi, the husband and children in particular, the people of Kuwadzana Constituency as the motion dictates. At the same time, let me express my gratitude to the Hon. Members of Parliament who managed to make their way to the funeral of Hon. Mushayi both in Harare, Ashdown Park and in Hurungwe. As I say that, I want to pay particular respect to the Chairperson of the Women’s Caucus, Hon. Kwaramba. I mentioned her in singular respect because I have seen her attending funerals of Members of Parliament across the political divide and I think such type of leadership that is blind to any political division must be applauded –[HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –
Madam Speaker, this motion as other Members have highlighted comes at a time when we are commemorating 16 days of activism against gender based violence. I know Hon. Mushayi was one of the key champions of that gender who wanted to see the emancipation, empowerment and freedom of women including their independence so that they can at least occupy spaces which predominately were occupied by men. However, women cannot achieve that occupation or that desire to equally be represented in those spaces if they are continuously being subjected to all forms of violence especially emotional violence.
Madam Speaker, Hon. Mushayi died a bitter woman and I think because we are Parliament and we are expected to be providing leadership, at times it is also proper to be candid amongst ourselves, to tell each other the truth. Hon. Mushayi fell sick as she was attending court of one of our Hon. Members of Parliament who is Hon. Sikhala here present facing persecution by prosecution. In my submissions, I think it is very unfair…
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Chikwinya, I think if we are debating about motions to do with death of a Member of Parliament, we are supposed to debate in such a way that should unite us at the end of the day. We are supposed to talk in such a way that peace prevails in this House. I thank you.
HON. CHIKWINYA: Violence – violence of the physic is emotional violence. It disturbs the flow of thinking of an individual. Therefore, I have said in my opening remarks that an Hon. Member of Parliament must concentrate upon serving their constituency but if they are continuously exposed to issues which we have advised must not be spoken, I do not think we will be telling each other the truth as leadership in Parliament. This Parliament is an assembly of people who are expected to provide leadership. Leadership entails at other times that you must be candid and frank to each other. How do I continuously and successfully be able to proffer service to my constituency if I am under persecution and prosecution like another Hon. Member? This is what was going through Hon. Mushayi’s mindset.
Before 2018 General Elections, seven political parties came to form what was known as the MDC Alliance. Hon. Mushayi was Secretary General of the then MDC led by Professor Welshman Ncube. I was the Secretary General of a very small party called the People’s Democratic Party. So we would meet in meetings called the Secretary Generals meetings together with Hon. Sen. Mwonzora. We went to several countries trying to get exposure on how to manage our electoral processes.
Hon. Mushayi was keen to see a fair electoral field, an environment where the winner would be congratulated by the loser and the loser congratulating the winner. Hon. Mushayi gave us immense contributions as we were building up the reforms towards our electoral laws. Hon. Mushayi then became a member of a political party called the MDC Alliance. So she died, a bitter woman because earlier on she witnessed her fellow Members of Parliament elected on an MDC Alliance ticket being decimated by Section 129 (k) in this House. I do not think if we were going to wake her up today she would be happy with the provisions of Section 129 (k), a very unfair, draconian piece of legislation that rewards those who lost what they did not get and so I think she died a bitter woman.
Madam Speaker, I think when we gather here in Parliament, we must also be able to think and legislate in posterity. An Hon. Member rose here and said she was touched by the fact that Members of Parliament, some of them would pass away before they get their benefits. If we do not speak for ourselves; none but ourselves will speak for us. I thought Parliamentary rules and the chief whips are here present, we are in a budgeting time; Parliamentary rules must entail that and I will propose at a relevant time, that a Member of Parliament who passes away because it is not a choice to pass away, automatically benefits in terms of their children being taken care of by the pension scheme. A Member of Parliament who passes away before they receive their dues, they must be given to their family including their vehicle. We should have gotten these vehicles on the first day of attending Parliament but because of administrative delay which includes non-payment of funds, it is not our choice that other Members of Parliament still do not have their vehicles. So if one passes away by an act of God, why should their families be punished? Why should we all celebrate that we have saved money when this Member served for two years and serving Parliament without their vehicles coming on board? Madam Speaker, I think whilst you are seeing all these Hon. Members greeting you nicely and respecting you as you walk in this aisle, they will be actually saying in their hearts that these people are letting us down and if they could have powers, one day they are going to revenge. I am not very sure how.
As I windup Madam Speaker, I would want to say that I hope the women who are in this Parliament will take a cue from an individual like Hon. Mushayi who was free to express herself. In this Parliament, the space is not donated, so if you sit as a woman and say, ‘It is intimidatory in Parliament’, you are doing a disservice to your constituency. Rise up, pick yourself up, put your thinking process to the table and the leadership of Parliament and Government is going to hear your contributions. This is what was motivating Hon. Mushayi, she was saying her issues and putting them to the table. Her motto to say, ‘Devolution the only revolution’, is beginning to gain traction and we were pursuing court issues which we did and have won. We are still pursuing legislative processes that we are still doing and one day, we are going to see a Bill that is going to enable devolution to be fully realised in this country. With these words Madam Speaker, I will say that may the soul of Hon. Mushayi rest in peace. I thank you.
*HON. KWARAMBA: Thank you Madam Speaker I stand to add my voice on the motion that was tabled by Hon. Nyoni and seconded by Hon. Toffa. I want to talk about Hon. Mushayi.
I first met Miriam Mushayi in Bulawayo during a meeting of the Liaison Committee when she was talking representing her party. She was dark in complexion and loved her African authenticity and bore beautiful dreadlocks. She always said that she would never bleach her skin or apply makeup. She would were bangles. I remember one day when we were in Kadoma and I was asking her that, what is with the bangles that you wear on both arms? She told me that whenever she travelled, those were the things that she first bought and she used to dress well. She was a free woman who was approachable and interacted well with all people. She was not partisan and would speak to everyone. She was forever cheerful.
I also remember the other day whilst in Kadoma when I was sitting next to her. She would always be our representative during group work. She was someone whom we could send and she would comply. She always gave all her attention during meetings and would contribute accordingly. I was really pained by her death. When we were travelling from Kadoma was when I learnt of her passing on. The person that I thought about was Hon. Toffa and I called her. We never learnt about her sickness but we just accepted it because it was God’s will. She would advocate for women because she was for women’s empowerment and was well educated. Even when she was contributing, it was coming from a well-informed person.
When I attended her burial ceremony in Magunje, I learnt that she had started a Trust in her Kuwadzana Constituency. I pray that the Trust would move forward. When I first met her, I just assumed that she was single and later learnt that she was married. I met her husband and two beautiful girls. What really pained me was the fact that the girls arrived after their mother’s burial.
The issue that has been raised here is good that if one of us passes on, we should be availed a bus by Parliament. I went to Magunje and was the only Member of Parliament in attendance and did not know why others had abstained but it was due to transport issues. So, I think that it is good that we go as a family and mourn one of us. Another issue that was raised is that there are benefits that we get from Parliament and I think that the benefits should be awarded to the families so that they know that their mother worked for Parliament and that Parliament has remembered them, even if our mother did not get her full entitlement, at least we got something and they would be consoled. In short I say, may her soul rest in peace.
*HON. TOGAREPI: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. I stand to add my voice to this motion that was tabled by Hon. Nyoni concerning the late Hon. Mushayi. We all knew her and she was a free person who would debate freely. She would speak with expertise so it was painful to hear that she was no longer with us.
Some of us never got to learn about her sickness since she looked well and full of life but the Lord knew when he wanted to take her. All the Hon. Members here, I think the death of all the Hon. Members who have passed on should be a lesson to all of us on how best to prepare for that day. What will we have set aside? What has Parliament put aside so that our families that we are all working for are well looked after when we are no longer there? Let me talk about what happens when a bread winner passes on. How can we prepare as Members of Parliament?
I think our pension as it is today, we have a good opportunity that we are discussing the budget. I think as Hon. Members, we should raise these issues during this period so that when one is elected into Parliament, they should be put on pension after their first term – not only pension. With the little knowledge that I have, we should also be given a Group Life Scheme. I think here in Parliament, it is us who make laws even the Insurance Act. We should also look at our side as well because we need all those services as well. We will need them when death knocks on our doors. It is important that as Members of Parliament, we should not just look up to Parliament but Parliament does what we would have come up with because we are the ones who pass the budget and we are the ones who decides what goes into the budget.
The Speaker cannot do that for us. We should spearhead that because this time will come to anyone. We should be prepared for times like that. I have heard a lot about Hon. Mushayi that she worked well with other Members. In Shona, we say that vakanaka havararame. The good do not live long and those people who do good things are patriotic and they die when we still need them for the good of our country.
I interacted with her and I could see a person who was well behaved. She did not hate anyone and would seek information and use it well. All Hon. Members should emulate her and we should learn from what she did. If we look at all the people who have departed, you will see that they were good people and they wanted to unite others. It is very good as citizens of Zimbabwe and as legislators here in Parliament, that we should know that we were send to represent the people and we work for them so that in the days that I will be in Parliament for the five years, I have done something that makes our country move forward.
Hon. Mushayi is gone but we have testimony that she worked well for her country to go forward. As Hon. Members, what are you here for? Are you serious as Member of Parliament? When you come here, are you spearheading the policies of this country? That thing should be engrained in our minds as Members of Parliament. We should unite on everything that we do so that our country moves forward and our country will only go forward if we debate with the aim of building it and not to outdo one another. What you bring in this Parliament should be well informed.
The people that have sent us want us to work for our country. It is only 350 of us who got the chance but there are 14/15 million people out there who could have been here as Members of Parliament, but we have been given a chance by people, God and by our ancestors. What have you done so that the 14 million out there should benefit? I am urging the Members of Parliament that this time, referring to the cars that Members should get, it is an issue that we have taken up to the Speaker through the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders.
The two chief whips raised that issue and they are looking into it that if a Member of Parliament dies, whatever was due to them should be given to them because not having them is because of the process which is taking long. So, no one should be punished for that. I think if we approach our Government, I do not think they will refuse because it is in black and white that when we join Parliament, it is one of the benefits that we are supposed to be given, but before we see the bad about it, have we taken it up?
The ball is in our court as legislators. When we are looking at the welfare of Hon. Members, we should also look at the context of the economy of the country. So, Hon. Nyoni, the motion that you have brought in this House is very important. Looking back at what used to happen, there was a document which used to be signed. It was a document on the motion and the document should be taken to the family of the departed. We are saying Parliament should retain that, that after debating, we should take that document to the family so that the family would hang it in their house, and that they will remember that their mother once worked for Parliament.
We are starting from Hon. Mushayi and others who have departed. I think we will come up with that document which should be taken to their families to show that we worked with the departed well. In closing, I say we should unite and continue to work united as a family. When we face any challenges like this, we should go together as a family and pay our condolences.
Lastly, I would want to say that if you do not behave well in this House, we will have problems on debating about you when you have gone because we will not know what to say. I wanted to mention someone to say what will we say the day that we debate about him. I think I am the only one who will debate because I come from the same village with him. So, I am saying we should build one another. Our desire is that when we come in Parliament to represent people, we should respect them and they should also respect themselves. Thank you.
*HON. MUTOMBA: Firstly, I want to thank you Madam Speaker for according me this opportunity so that I add my voice on this painful motion on the death of Hon. Mushayi. I have a question to this House because I have heard each and every speaker who contributed was talking about the good works which were being done by Hon. Mushayi. Let me say to you all, what did we learn when we were with the late? What have we learnt on this debate? Let me quote Mathew 23:12. It says, ‘whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted’. These words were said by our Lord Jesus Christ.
Looking at the works that Hon. Mushayi was doing, if we want to be truthful Hon. Members, let us be people who learn. If you are lagging behind and you did not know about this Hon. Member, I think you should learn from what other MPs are saying who worked with her. Let me say, when I am sitting in that Chair, you stand up so that I can recognise you. I would contemplate on whether to recognise some of you because we do not want to disturb the flow of the debate. You find that in some cases, some Hon. MPs would come and disturb the flow of the debate. What I am saying is, when Hon. Mushayi would stand up, I would not hesitate to recognise her because I knew what she would debate. She was a straightforward woman; she was not partisan and she would debate on policy.
When we come here, it is not about political parties but it is about government. So, that is the lesson that we got from Hon. Mushayi. Hon. Members from both sides should learn from what has been debated that it should be a culture that we will start doing from henceforth.
I would also say I am happy with what is happening in this House with the coming in of Hon. Khupe. When she stands to debate, I do not hesitate to recognise her because when she wants to debate, she debates on policy. Hon. Khupe has come to unite this House. We should look at each other as Zimbabwean MPs. Out there, there may be violence but let us look at what is coming from this House when we are debating. The wars that emanate, at times you do not know what will happen. That is the culture we will be teaching people out there. You do not want people out there to be violent but here you find that there is a lot of fighting.
Let us move together as one House and speak with one voice. This is our country, we do not have an alternative. We will die here and we will be buried here in Zimbabwe. Let us learn from Hon. Mushayi. We really lost as a House - if you are lagging behind I think you have learnt something. So let us start working together emulating what Hon. Khupe has brought that we can solve the challenges that we are facing today. We should come together as the ruling party, together with the opposition parties and say that these sanctions are killing us. We should unite and go out there and speak with one voice.
I want to speak on a point which really touched me. I also want to talk about the benefits that we get from Parliament and I would like to thank Hon. Togarepi for bringing that issue. The clothes that we wear can deceive people. We dress very well but what we are hiding behind these clothes is hard. MPs are not well. Look at how people are dying. We just hear that they have died. I think we should look at our medical aid. Is it really helping us as Members of Parliament? The work that we do is so stressful. We have stress from home because things are not working out well. We have stress coming from the constituency and stress here because people are fighting each other. You are not well and you visit the doctor and you are told that there is a shortfall. You are given a prescription and there is a shortfall. The work that we are doing is not commensurate with the medical aid that we have. The Chief Whip talked about the group insurance and said there is no one who can stand for us. It is us who should speak for ourselves. We should thank our President, Hon. Mnangagwa because he is a very good listener. What happens is that we talk out there but we have not approached him. So we should talk about the medical scheme for Members of Parliament, we know that our job is difficult and stressful. We do not have enough money to go for medical examination unless we are sick, yet we are supposed to go regularly for medical check-ups. We are not doing this because we are supposed to pay shortfalls, which we do not have. The point raised by the Chief Whip should supported by everyone and it should be in black and white. If we do not write it down, we will not go anywhere, but the fact is we are dying Hon. Members. Right now we are not aware who is next among ourselves.
Therefore, let us unite for a purpose so that we lobby for benefits we are supposed to get while we are still Members of Parliament, because our job is stressful, that is why people die suddenly. The former Deputy Chief Whip left this House going to the clinic and was referred to Westend, where he did not even spend two hours. He was no more. It means we are all sick here but I will be with you while inside me I am not well. I cannot go to the hospital because I am required to pay shortfall. If we are honest on what we say about Hon. Mushayi that she was a unifier of this House, let us unite and lobby for our medical benefits. Our President says he is a listening President and he is going to listen to us.
In conclusion, let me say, Hon. Mushayi, we appreciate how you worked. Our Lord Jesus Christ you said it yourself that we give testimonies for our loved ones – you have heard the testimonies for Hon. Mushayi, you have taken her from us. It is also the way of life. My friends and relatives, let us not spoil this motion and let us unite in moving forward her works so that when we pass on we can also get testimonies. Go well Hon. Mushayi. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, may Hon. Mushayi’s soul rest in eternal peace.
AANONCEMENT BY THE HON DEPUTY SPEAKER
NON ADVERSE REPORT FROM PARLIAMENTARY LEGAL COMMITTEE
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have received a non-adverse report from the Parliamentary Legal Committee on the Manpower Development and Planning Amendment Bill [H. B. 2, 2020].
*HON. MPARIWA: Thank you Madam Speaker for affording me the opportunity to add my voice on the motion under discussion. I would like to thank Hon. Nyoni who raised this motion, seconded by Hon. Toffa, who gave us an opportunity to speak in memory of Hon. Mushayi from Kuwadzana Constituency who passed on in September, 2020. I would also like to thank all the speakers who debated before me. I feel deeply pained when people talk about the good personality of Hon. Mushayi. We are being taught to learn from the fig tree so that people will not fall short of words when you are no more. Hon. Mutomba also alluded to the same that one should think of what people will say when you pass on, what they will say about you. It is a lesson we are getting from the life of the late Hon. Mushayi.
I did not meet Hon. Mushayi on the road nor did we meet in the party, I knew Hon. Mushayi while we were in Chinhoyi. We were still in college and we were both from Mashonaland West. When we heard of the formation of the MDC political party; we were together, that is how I came to know Hon. Mushayi. I did not meet her here or when she became a Member of Parliament. When the party was formed, Hon. Mushayi was in the province in Chinhoyi and she was finally in the National Executive. She was once a Secretary for Welfare before she was Secretary for Policy. I have never seen anyone so dedicated to work for people. I was not ashamed to campaign for her because I knew she would not let me down. It was within her that she felt compelled to visit sick people in hospital or in prison. If you do not meet her at court, she will be somewhere on duty. If there is a funeral and you do not find her at the funeral; she will be somewhere again, on duty. If you do not meet her for two or three days - when you meet her, she will greet you with respect. She had a low tone but sweet voice and she would smile and say ‘how are you my sister’. I used to call her ever smiling but I told her that the day you will become angry, you will be the most difficult to calm down. I am saying all this because I knew her before we met in Parliament.
In 2018, we went to Sweden together with Miriam. When we disembarked the aeroplane, we boarded a train and when we disembarked the train, it started raining. I am allergic to wetness, so when we reached the hotel, I was already feeling unwell and I was taken to hospital in an ambulance. I have never witnessed such love, she was always at my bedside, she was with me through out and she would ask why my temperature had gone up. I would tell her that whenever I feel cold, I will be in that state. I am saying this so that you understand that she was someone that I travelled with along the way. In 2019, we went to the political parties’ dialogue for the three parties that are represented in Parliament; she was part and parcel of that delegation.
Whatever type of java material that I would want to buy, she would ensure that I would first do my shopping and thereafter we choose her own clothes. Others would be busy going their way and doing their own businesses and we would meet on tax issues but she was so loving and caring. She would even offer to carry my hand luggage even though she was holding hers.
In Kuwadzana Constituency, she had developed the constituency to the extent that the entire groups of women that she worked with were also united. Hon. Mushayi had women whom she was working with. I call her Miriam because that is how I used to refer to her. She loved the people who worked with her. It was a constituency that had exchanged hands such that all people who worked in that constituency became united, even those who campaigned for other political parties.
I remember six months after a councillor in her constituency died, Hon. Mushayi worked hard to ensure that a new councillor was elected. She would campaign; one day sitting at a borehole she asked me if it was going to work. She would ask me to go out with her for lunch after having gone to help her with campaigns. Hon. Mushayi was so loving and uniting. I am based in Harare and maybe I would have had my meals but she would still invite me for lunch.
Hon. Speaker, I believe that a lot of things have been said in terms of motor vehicles and benefits. The week Hon. Mushayi passed on is the same week our vehicles came. I would recommend that the vehicle be given to her family. Sometimes when we do not have enough resources to use we end up having high blood pressure or getting strokes due to the meager salaries that we earn. We would want to be treated with respect even after we have departed.
Hon. Speaker, I am seeing a lot of men seeking for election in Hon. Mushayi’s constituency. We have heard about it and I feel that ZEC should assist us, that if a constituency once belonged to a woman it should be contested for by women so that a woman replaces another woman. I am referring this to both sides of the House. Hon. Sikhala, I want you to bear this in mind, that a constituency that belonged to the late Mushayi should be taken over by a woman so that women who worked with her continue to work with a woman. Failure to do so will be regarded as gender based violence. Why are you moving around with your CVs in that constituency? What do you want?
The other issue of diseases such as cancer, hypertension, and high blood pressure – can we be quickly attended to. We have a clinic here. We were tested for COVID-19 and we should constantly be checked in terms of our health to find out if there are any ailments because our medical aid does not cover much. We must have specialist doctors who look into issues of breast cancer and other diseases. October was a breast cancer month. Breast cancer affects even men, so everyone should be screened for breast cancer. The former leader of the opposition, Hon. G. Sibanda died from breast cancer. There is also prostate cancer that affects men; they say early detection serves life. So it is my plea that we should be attended to earlier. A few days ago, the clinic did not have medication to treat Hon. Members and what if someone has high blood pressure. I suffer from low blood pressure and I am worse off.
The other day I left my purse in a Committee room; Hon. Mushayi found it and gave it to me. I want you to see the type of love that Mushayi had. I had never met such a kind person in my life, she loved everyone. I also had never seen the unity of purpose that has been exhibited in this House over the death of the late Hon. Mushayi. Everyone contributed towards her funeral. If all us could behave in an exemplary manner that has been set by the late Mushayi; she was not very old that we may fail to emulate her. Let us emulate the good things that she did and throw away the bad that she did. As a people, let us learn to copy good things. You lose nothing by just smiling and speaking softly. She was always smiling. It takes a few muscles to smile and you live longer as opposed to frowning.
Lastly, I first came to Parliament in 2000. However, this Ninth Parliament has broken a record on the number of Members of Parliament who have passed on. I wish there could be a roll of honour for those who have passed away in the Ninth Parliament, whether it would be in the form of a book or what-a-view but there should be a record of who they are and what exactly it was about them. We have heroes and heroines but we also have champions like Mushayi who fought for gender based violence awareness campaigns. If a medal was to be awarded; she was going to receive one. In life Hon. Speaker, let us appreciate that when one is a champion in whatever discipline, honour that person whilst they are alive rather than to give these medals post humously and this is on a lighter note.
Lastly, let me say that blessed are those who can live harmoniously with others both at work and at home. The husband of the late Hon. Mushayi was based in the United Kingdom and he declared that she was not going to be buried before his arrival. If the marriage had challenges, he would have advised people to bury her body in his absence. She remained a Mrs. Mushayi and died a Mrs. Mushayi. To the Mushayi family, Kuwadzana Constituency, Zimbabwe at large, the Parliament of Zimbabwe, relatives and friends, remember that it is God’s will that people die. I believe that the Lord’s grace will be with her as she was prayerful, a christian who loved people and there is no way that one who loves people can fail to love the people that she stayed with. When you love God whom you do not see then you cannot fail to love those whom you see. I thank you for this opportunity that you have given me and to those who have already contributed. May her spirit rest in eternal peace. We will meet as we also pass on. I thank you.
*HON. T. MOYO: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I am not going to say much because what I wanted to say has already been said. I stand to say one or two words that Hon. Mushayi was a good woman. She is someone who I used to move around with in political circles. May her spirit rest in peace.
The issue of pension that was mentioned here is an important one which Hon. Members of Parliament should continue talking about and take action. When need to act upon this issue and reach a conclusion on it. Once you have worked for five years, you should be given a pension and your children should be able to sustain a living.
Secondly Hon. Speaker, the issue of by-elections after someone has passed on for whatever reason does not help this country – it is money that is being spent for nothing. The party that has had a Member passing on should replace its dead Member because nothing will change apart from just wasting resources through by-elections. We should come up with a law, fast track it so that the party can just nominate a member to take over the vacant position because by-elections by their nature take us back, cause friction and quarrelsome amongst us, they change nothing. We should concentrate on general elections. With those words Hon. Speaker, I thank you.
HON. MAPHOSA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, I rise to add my voice to the motion that was tabled by Hon. Nyoni seconded by Hon. Toffa on the passing on of Hon. Mushayi.
When I received the news, we were coming from home and were seated for dinner with Hon. Toffa and Hon. Mahlangu. It was such a shock to me Mr. Speaker Sir because we had not heard of her sickness or hospitalisation. It was a shock to me that Hon. Mushayi was gone. In fact, it hit me so hard that I fell sick on that day and even thought that I had been attacked by the Coronavirus because those days it was on the peak.
Mr. Speaker Sir, what pained me most was the knowledge that I would not be able to attend Hon. Mushayi’s funeral. Hon. Mushayi was a sister to me. She would advise me on a lot of things because when I first came to Parliament, I was coming straight from the youth assembly in our party and being a youth is being radical. So there were some things that I did not understand, that being an activist is very different from being an Hon. Member of Parliament. The responsibility that comes with being an Hon. Member of Parliament, I did not understand and could not differentiate between the two. So she took herself to be the sister that I looked for in this House and would tell me, ‘Ayiwa hawudaro’. She had this tone that she would say, ‘Hon. Maphosa, stop doing that!’, and you would know what she was talking about.
Even when we were travelling across the country on public hearings or whatever business that we had in the Committee on Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, she was a sister and friend that I would sit and talk to all through. I want to assure Hon. Members that Hon. Mushayi was very close to her daughters. She would talk to them on daily basis and would even tell you, ‘this evening I will not be having chit-chats from this time to that time because I would be having long distance calls with my children and husband’. That was the person she was. She valued family time with her husband and daughters. We saw the love that she gave to us in Parliament but did not know about the love that she shared with her family. I had the privilege of knowing that because she would always tell me, ‘I am going to make those calls’. She would not miss the time and I think they had agreed at a particular time that they would call each other at the set time.
The other thing that I raised Mr. Speaker Sir was that I knew that I would not be able to attend Hon. Mushayi’s funeral. I think that it is an eye opener and has to come into our minds that funerals are not a political field. Even if we differ politically but kana pafiwa, pafiwa. Kana tasvika parufu tinoita zverufu –[HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – Funerals are not places for settling political scores and if we adapt to that as Zimbabweans and as politicians, tinosvika kwakawanda. It is very painful to know that because I have chosen the party that I want then I am deprived to go and mourn my sibling because unonzi watengesa. Chii chinotengeswa ko nhai? It is my choice because it is voluntary for me to join a political party – hapana pano potewa nema cards kunzi huyai, huyai muzojoina tinokupai mari! I joined voluntarily. If I decide to leave, I leave voluntarily and it must be respected – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] - So I want to stress that in this House, I do not know how we can fix our mindset as Zimbabweans that funerals are for families to mourn their beloved ones. Haisiri nhandare for settling scores that we may have. So in future, I urge all political parties to work together. What surprises me is that if a ZANU PF member dies, the party that we are opposing in this House, I can freely go to that funeral because no one boos me, no one hits me and no one calls me names, but when a fellow opposition leader, someone that I have a relationship with that dates back maybe to 10 years, I cannot go to their funeral because once you get there, you are either beaten up or shouted at. That must stop.
Having said that, I was so saddened on that day because a sister that I was always with in this Parliament - she would see me seated back there. During the first days because I was new, I would sit on those seats there and this House at times is so cold. She always had a scarf with her and she would say Lindiwe, come here, take this scarf, I do not want you to die of cold in this House. So every day I would use Hon. Mushayi’s scarf to warm myself, but when she died, I could not attend her funeral.
So it is one thing that hit me hard and up to today, I have not forgiven myself and I have not forgiven those that made me not to attend her funeral. I concur with all of you who said that we should look at the welfare of Members of Parliament even after their death and it has to be looked into Hon. Speaker Sir. With those few words, I say Hon. Mushayi, may your soul rest in peace and may God console her husband and children on their loss.
HON. SIKHALA: Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to contribute for just a second. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. TSUNGA: I am here Hon. Speaker. Can I be given an opportunity.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Tsunga, the attire that you are wearing does not allow me to recognise you. I think that you are very much aware that you are supposed to come prepared in the House as an Hon. Member, not the way you are dressed.
Hon. Tsunga having wanted to participate virtually.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Tsunga, the attire that you are putting on is not appropriate for me to recognise you. I think you are very much aware that you are supposed to come prepared in the House as an Hon. Member not the way you are dressed.
HON. TSUNGA: May I proceed Mr. Speaker Sir.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: No, I have given the floor to somebody already.
HON. SIKHALA: Mr. Speaker Sir, thank you very much. I just would like to give a very brief condolence message to Hon. Mushayi who passed on during the period when I was in prison.
Mr. Speaker Sir, it is with a heavy heart that I pass this condolence message to the late Hon. Member of Parliament for she became extremely sick during the period when she was attending my court session at Rotten Row Magistrate Court and it was unfortunate that I was given the message after five days that Hon. Mushayi is no more. She has never missed one court attendance of myself when I was going through the proceedings of bail application at Rotten Row and it was very unfortunate that I was not able to mourn her and also attend her funeral on the basis of my absence not through willful absenteeism, but through what we call a vis majeure et lieu, where you are not able to attend because of unforeseen circumstances.
I would like to say that on behalf of my family, the Zengeza West Constituency and myself, we say rest in peace Hon. Mushayi and may your soul rest in peace. I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
Mr. Speaker Sir, the mover of the motion wanted to wind up the motion so that no one with debate it tomorrow. Would there be a problem?
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Sorry it would appear that we have got other Hon. Members who would like to debate. This is the reason why he is actually adjourning the debate.
HON. TOGAREPI: Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. MPARIWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 8th December, 2020.
On the motion of HON. TOGAREPI seconded by HON. MPARIWA, the House adjourned at Eight Minutes to Five o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 8th December, 2020.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday 26th November, 2020
The Senate met at Half-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE
PRESENTATION OF THE 2021 NATIONAL BUDGET
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I have to inform the Senate that the Hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Development will present the 2021 National Budget in the National Assembly at 1445 hours. Hon. Senators can follow proceedings on monitors in the Senate after we adjourn the Senate.
POST-BUDGET BRIEFING SEMINAR
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I would like to advise the Senate that all Members of Parliament are invited to a Post-Budget Briefing Seminar on Monday, 3rd December, 2020 at the Rainbow Towers Hotel. The programme will start at 0830 hours. Only Presiding Officers, Members of the Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance and Economic Development, Members of the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders (CSRO) and Members of the expanded Committee on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will participate physically at the meeting while the rest of the Members will participate virtually from wherever they are able to establish connectivity.
The Post-Budget Seminar will be followed by Post-Budget consultation meetings which will be convened by Portfolio Committees from Tuesday, 1st December to Friday, 4th December, 2020. Hon. Senators are advised that they can attend Portfolio Committee meetings of their own choice.
On the Motion of HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA, seconded by HON. SEN. MOHADI, the Senate adjourned at Twenty Five Minutes to Three o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 1st December, 2020.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 25th November, 2020
The Senate met at Half-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE
SWITCHING OFF OF CELLPHONES
THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Let me remind Hon. Members that you should put your phones on silent or better still, switch them off.
LINKING TO THE VIRTUAL PLATFORM
THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Those who are going to rise and make contributions, ensure that you switch on your tablet and use your tablet for the address to enable Hon. Senators who are not in this Chamber to follow your contribution.
I notice that today is the beginning of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence and that is the reason why we have got some colourful dressing in the Chamber. We will be reminded of this very important period as we come to the close of the year every year.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR MASHONALAND EAST PROVINCE (HON. SEN. MUNZVERENGWI): Mr. President Sir, I move that Orders of the Day, Nos. 1 to 4 be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to support this motion which was moved by Hon. Sen. Dube and seconded…
THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: The Presidential Speech.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I am sorry Mr. President, I thought it was the gender-based violence.
THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Alright.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: Mr. President Sir, I move for the adjournment of the debate.
HON. SEN. SIPANI-HUNGWE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 26th November, 2020.
MOTION
REPORT ON THE VIRTUAL EXTRAORDINARY SESSION OF THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION (IPU)
Sixth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Extraordinary Session of the Governing Council of the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU).
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. CHIEF MTSHANE-KHUMALO: Thank you Mr. President for this opportunity to debate the report on the virtual Extraordinary Session of the Governing Council of the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) which was held between the 1st to the 3rd of November, 2020.
Mr. President Sir, allow me to go straight to the brief report on the outcome of the virtual segment of the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament…
An Hon. Senator having passed between the Hon. Senator Speaking and the Chair.
THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Order. Hon. Chief, you may not cross the line of sight.
HON. SEN. CHIEF MTSHANE-KHUMALO: Thank you Sir. Sorry for the interference Mr. President Sir. I was saying, allow me Mr. President to go straight to the brief report of the outcome of the virtual segment of the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament and the 13th Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament.
Hon. Advocate Hon. Mudenda, a key member of the preparatory process for the virtual segment of the Fifth World Conference on Speakers of Parliament briefed the Governing Council on the deliberation and positive outcomes of the conference which was attended by 115 top parliamentarians. In his presentation, the Hon. Speaker highlighted the following among others; that the conference discovered a wide range of topics spanning specific multilateralism, robust parliamentary diplomacy, climate change, sustainable development, health, youth and gender, democracy, human mobility, countering terrorism as well as science and technology.
The Conference affirmed the need to generate a strong message on parliamentary leadership and solidarity so as to learn from the lessons of today and join forces to tackle the daunting challenges facing our world at so many levels, not least in terms of global health, environmental and economic vicissitudes predicated on the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; that the Conference was also a seminal platform in deepening our ties with the United Nations and the IPU’s other partners, in consonant with the theme of more effective multilateralism; participants pledged to reinforce the role of Parliaments in global governance underpinned by enhanced multilateralism and international solidarity anchored on the equality of sovereign nations and invited all parliamentarians around the world to study the Conference publication and reflect on the key outcome messages which should spur us towards working together for a better world.
The Governing Council elected members into the Preparatory Committee of the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in person meeting scheduled for July 2021 in Vienna, Austria. The SADC Group put forward Hon. Catherine Gotani Hara of Malawi to replace Hon. Margaret Mensah Williams who is no longer Speaker. Hon. Gotani Hara was duly elected into the Preparatory Committee.
The Governing Council adopted the Report of the Committee on Human Rights of Parliamentarians. Of note, is the case involving Hon. Joana Mamombe on the following alleged Human Rights violations: - abduction; torture; ill treatment and other acts of violence; arbitrary arrest and detention; violation of freedom of opinion and expression; violation of freedom of assembly and association.
The report acknowledged Parliament of Zimbabwe’s response through the Hon. Speaker which elucidated the principle of sub judice which restrains intervention in Hon. Mamombe’s alleged criminal charges which are before the courts. In the spirit of transparency and parliamentary diplomacy, the Hon. Speaker responded to issues raised in the report emphasizing that, in line with the country’s Constitution which enshrines the doctrine of separation of powers, Parliament cannot interfere with the court’s due process. However, Parliament will be on the look-out for any unwarranted violations of Hon. Mamombe’s rights. Furthermore, Parliament will continue engaging the Committee on Human Rights for Parliamentarians on the status of the court case. Furthermore, the Hon. Speaker briefed the Governing Council on the status of the court case highlighting that Hon. Mamombe is out on bail and receiving appropriate treatment after being confirmed mentally unfit to stand trial.
On recommendations Mr. President Sir, it was recommended that the Parliament of Zimbabwe should continue to engage the Committee on Human Rights for Parliamentarians through provision of updates on the status of the case that I have just referred to for Hon. Mamombe; the Parliament of Zimbabwe is to continue engaging Treasury to ensure that subscriptions to the IPU are timeously paid to avoid accruing arrears and the Parliament of Zimbabwe is to continue participating in virtual statutory and ad hoc meetings of the IPU. With those few words Mr. President, thank you Sir.
Mr. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 26th November, 2020.
MOTION
PREVALENCE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Seventh Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President for according me this opportunity to add my voice to this important debate, which marks the beginning of the 16 Days of activism so that it maps the way forward on how to deal with Gender Based Violence (GBV). We were fortunate to be part of the launch, that is why we are dressed in orange today which is called, ‘Orange the world’, in trying to map the way forward in eradicating violence so that people live in peace wherever they are. This violence includes beating each other up, fist fighting, some are using axes which causes some people to end up being hospitalised. When someone has been injured like that and hospitalised, you will find that it is the relatives who suffer since hospitals want money. The Government is also jeopardised because their workers are now incapacitated and our economy is run down. Mr. President, this violence is most commonly among women but there are some men who are abused by their wives. However, at the end of the day, children suffer because a violent home is not good for these little ones.
In my constituency, there was a woman who used to abuse her mother in-law. Whenever the mother in law visited, she would be housed in the servant’s quarters and was served food in unpleasant dishes. However, the children in this house one of them, a boy grew up witnessing this kind of treatment her grandmother. When this child got married, he relocated to the low density areas where her mother would visit them. This man gave instructions to his wife on how to treat her mother in the same manner her grandmother was treated.
However, one day when this man came back from work her mother complained to him that she was being ill treated by her wife, but the man replied that he was actually the one who had instructed her to do that because that is what he had grown up seeing. So he thought that was the normal way to treat grandmothers.
So, my point is that the violence that is happening in the homes, the children will be watching, so at the end of the day they do not know what is good and what is wrong. They will grow up with a mentality that violence is the way to settle differences. Married couples should learn to communicate properly and iron out their differences and find a common ground. Communication is the starting point and it will solve a lot of issues.
Mr. President, I have observed that violence is mainly caused by poverty, if there is no food in the house, people will fight. I encourage women that it is now past the time that you just sit and wait for the husband to provide food. As a woman, if you have a proper mind and are able bodied, you should find something else to supplement your husband’s earnings. We are very fortunate that this new dispensation is endeavouring to uplift the lives of women through projects and this is being spearheaded through the Ministry of Women Affairs.
A Women’s Development Bank was also opened to that effect, providing loans for those women who want to start income generating projects. One of the requirements for women to be eligible for a loan in this bank is a project proposal. However, there are people who can help facilitate that. Some women are illiterate but that does not mean that they are dull and cannot work. Therefore, it is my plea that we should help and encourage each other to work as women.
Mr. President, we should feel for our children who are growing up in our homes. We should make it a point to bring up our children well. In the rural areas where we come from, our chiefs and headmen are there and they know how we were raised in the past. There is this individualism, the extended family is no longer being recognised, we grew up knowing that if an uncle is no more, the young brother would take over and look after the family but now it is no longer there that is why we are facing all these challenges. Powers should be bestowed back to the chiefs so that they help us in molding our families.
I was very happy when I saw the programme that the First Lady is engaging in, whereby she is working with the chief’s wives. We have chiefs - behind every successful man there is a woman. So if that programme succeeds, it is going to help in curbing violence. Young girls will get good and constructive teachings from elder women and this will lessen the chances of child marriages. We want to encourage our chiefs’ wives with the work that they have been given that they will help us so that our young girls will grow up to be admired. They will get married when they are of age. The chiefs should take us back to our own culture and also teach the people of Zimbabwe so that they respect their traditions. We should shun this idea of importing foreign cultures into our country. This will help us as a nation.
I want to thank the organisers of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence. There are a lot of things that are in place so that we end this GBV. There are One-Stop-Centres which are dotted all over the country so that people would be assisted. Our children will get help and teaching from those centres on how to grow up to become good citizens of Zimbabwe. Mr. President, I want to thank you for the time you gave me, wishing that these 16 days of activism will make a difference in our lives in trying to end GBV in our homes.
+HON. SEN. M. NDLOVU: I would like to thank you Mr. President for according me this opportunity to debate. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Dube for raising issues to do with gender based violence. Sometimes I wonder why violence is being perpetrated against women. For men to exist is because women gave birth to them. Women were in existence even in the past, now we fail to understand why violence is being perpetrated against women. Women are traditionally a weaker vessel which should be treated well. Also at times we say men abuse us women, yet we abuse one another because for a woman to be abused in a homestead, it is because another woman is perpetrating and perpetuating abuse to another woman.
Sometimes women abuse their men. You will discover that at times a man might be in front of a Traditional Court, then the wife would demean the husband by saying keep quiet and allow other men to speak. I notice that there is a lot of violence that is happening almost everywhere. There is domestic abuse or gender based violence that happens in the work place where women are forced into sexual relationships with their bosses. This is an abomination and this must not be accepted in our society.
Sexual abuse of women – gender based violence in the work place is cascading down to young girls who are taken advantage of by their managers. If we take note of that as Government – our Government has a President who listens. So it is important as Government to listen to the plight of women, particularly considering gender based violence. We know men can also be abused – let me say that a girl child has reached a stage of vulnerability; a stage where they are being abused. You will discover that the father would say, when a girl is being married off, the mother is not allowed to participate in discussions. Women are expected to go to the kitchen. However , it is important to note that as women, we help in raising up these girls and we know better than their fathers. So let us respect each other as a nation. The man is the head of the household and the woman is a helper, not a slave. We need to correct that. If we correct that as a nation, we will discover that our children will copy from us and there will be no abuses in future.
Right now there are a number of issues, particularly disciplining young girls. For instance a 12 year old girl should be molded to be a responsible citizen. So I would like to ask our chiefs to instill good moral values where young children are molded to be responsible citizens because if there are no moral standards in the home, you will discover that our children will be irresponsible. Mr. President, as a nation we want to have responsible children. Right now we are putting on regalia that we got from the Gender Based Violence Workshop – this is what we expect to benefit the nation. My request is that the President, the Head of State of Zimbabwe should consider the plight of women so that women are protected from all forms of abuse. For a woman to be intimate with a man, there must consent. We need to agree as a Black nation with customs that should be respected. The husband is the head of the family and the mother is the deputy. With these few words Mr. President, I thank you.
^^HON. SEN. MOHADI: Thank you Mr. President. In a few words, I would like to speak about gender based violence. Gender based violence figures are increasing every day. This is cascading down to young girls. Let me thank Hon. Sen. Dube for moving this motion, seconded by Hon. Sen. Mpofu. The Hon. Senator considered this motion to be important to move such an issue. Zimbabwean laws are there; we have a Constitution which guides us, which is supported by a number of statutes that ensure that a woman is protected. We have laws and acts of Parliament which guide us so that we see that a woman is protected. We also have some statutes which are found under the auspices of other status with the purpose of protecting women.
Mr. President Sir, the challenge that we face is that there are some gaps that are found and which will be covered so that Gender Based Violence (GBV) is eliminated and so that such issues are corrected. The gaps that are found are that there are inequalities, that is, the gender disparities that are there. This means that at times the interpretation of the law and its application should be done in a proper manner. Sometimes there are question marks in some gaps like these. So, it is important that such issues are put into the hands of the law.
Mr. President Sir, the other gap that I have noted is that these laws that were passed by Parliament as acts are in existence but what lacks is the implementation of these laws. At times these laws are not being implemented. There is a bit of a challenge. It is important to have monitoring to ensure that these laws and the clauses that are found in these laws are implemented. Also there is need for evaluation.
Mr. President Sir, let me end by saying that looking at these gaps, there is injustice that emanates from the fact that there are some who at times sweep issues under the carpet despite the fact that they might be officers of the law. Mr. President Sir, as we talk about Gender Based Violence, disseminating information to the communities might be a challenge. Information in rural areas might not be found permeating into the peripheral areas. Some people do not have access to information. For example, victims may not be able to go and report within 72 hours after that abuse has been perpetrated. In other instances, time would lapse before they go and make that report. Crimes are perpetrated and victims do not have transport to move from their homes to Government offices and responsible authorities to report these crimes. As a result, they might be disadvantaged.
The other problem is that there is a lot of corruption. There are some people who after reporting their cases, do not get the justice that they want. At times, officers of the law are found disadvantaging victims and at the end of the day, such crimes are swept under the carpet. These cases at times, just die a natural death even after being reported.
Mr. President Sir, we know that when we talk about Gender Based Violence, it is important to also talk about its effects like trauma and diseases. Some people become stressed and some end up getting injured; some with permanent injuries and disabilities. Mr. President Sir, at times we may see that people lose their lives as a result of Gender Based Violence. Some die as a result of being abused. We need to take stern measures and we need to be serious as a Government. When people are affected in their lives, they end up losing their sanity and their mental stability because of the trauma that they have failed to handle. At the end of the day, this affects their psychological well-being. As we talk about Gender Based Violence, it is important that we understand its severity which at times leads to death. People end up suffering because of that. It is important that after experiencing violence, we report these cases.
Mr. President Sir, forgive me because I am talking about a very emotional issue. Let me end by saying our chiefs and our traditional leadership have ways of containing and ending Gender Based Violence because we need to understand that sometimes people might not take it as a criminal case. It is not right that they should be sidelined but they should be engaged and involved in fighting Gender Based Violence. Some issues might be dealt with within that system without going to the courts. Mr. President Sir, thank you very much.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA: Thank you Hon. President. I would like to thank those who came up with this motion and all those who contributed to this issue. I stood up to say as chiefs and traditional leaders; we look at the issue of culture, traditions and dignity as a people in our community and look at our Constitution which the people voted for to say, those are the duties and roles of a chief. However, there is this issue; when we are talking about gender and violence, looking at the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, we are together in this struggle.
As chiefs, we do not support violence against men or women, that is gender-based violence. Everywhere you go, please emphasise that as traditional leaders this is what we support and in the House of Senate, we agree. Let us work to end violence between men and women. I stand up to make emphasis on all that you were saying because as chiefs we just want to indicate that we are together in this. Let us not forget those people who are in this House. When the Constitution was being written, there was the issue of 50:50 equality on all positions that were chosen. If you remember very well, as chiefs we stood up and supported this. Whenever we are presented with an opportunity for us to uphold women, we do support them.
Does culture allow women to be abused? I have never met someone who can interpret that very well. Where does culture allow women to be beaten up? It is not there in our culture. If someone goes to drink opaque beer, comes back and threaten a woman, then goes on to beat her and people say it is culture; that is not culture. I would like to emphasise that culture is what people agree upon as a people as they live amongst themselves. If you go to that part of the country, you find people with their own norms and values whilst others have their own norms and values too. If you are to ask any chief on this gender-based violence, you will never find a tradition or culture that women should be beaten up.
There are men who fight when they are drunk and even when they are not drunk. Misunderstanding and shouting is there but for us to dismiss the violence amongst people to say it is culture, it is not true. It is not culture. If you are to look at that particular issue, you find that domestic violence is worldwide. People fight in their homes and what they fight for might differ. The number of people involved in violence differs but for us to say gender-based violence is as a result of culture – we may need a workshop that actually gives us or highlights exactly where this notion came from, to say culture allows to beat up men or women. No one can stand in front of us and lecture us to say culture allows the beating of women. Even in our culture, we condemn such acts of women who beat up men. We do not condone such behaviour. We are not supporting those acts; we are actually making them pay fines traditionally for such acts in our communities.
Others are fugitives in the country because their behaviour is wayward. So people continue to behave awkwardly, hence gender based violence. Let us unite as a people. That is my word and message to this House today as we commemorate 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. Together when we are done with business in this House; Parliamentary Women’s Caucus let us meet after all these events, gather and discuss the exact truth on what is causing this chaos and what we can do as Senators to help end this problem. That way we can win on this issue. What this issue does not want is for us to be pointing fingers at people who have nothing to do with this issue. Truly speaking, with all these ties and beautiful suits we cannot come looking smart like that to promote gender based violence.
Hon. President, as chiefs representing culture and traditional values, we support the activism against gender based violence and to put an end to that madness. There are very few men who are beaten by women; it was mentioned yesterday by one of the participants. Others were given the opportunity to contribute on gender based violence in the homes. It was a situation where a man was afraid to contribute because he was afraid of being beaten up at home by his wife.
When we talk of development, we are not talking about just eating sadza. In development we are looking at the state of mind of people and having peace wherever they are, waking up in the morning without many worries to say what will I eat today or where will I spend the better part of the day? Where you sleep or live is a life space - the food you eat but your mind is not troubled. There is no development if you are worried all the time to say, what will happen today now that he has gone to drink outside of the home?
Having a good state of mind actually helps a lot and that is development. Even if you buy beautiful cars, if a man is afraid of going home and getting beaten up by the wife or either way – there is no development. Let us come together as traditional and political leaders, in fact leaders everywhere, let us work together to end gender based violence.
*HON. SEN. MOEKETSI: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to say one or two words in response to the motion that was tabled by Hon. Sen. Dube. Firstly, I would like to say that if there is no woman in the homestead of a traditional leader then it is not a home and if a village head has no wife in his homestead then it is not a home and even in a President’s house. All men who are sitting in this House were born of a woman.
I would like to talk about violence against women. Allow me Mr. President, to say that violence against women in communities that we live in is a very painful situation. I would like to mention where I grew up. We were a family of five girls and five boys. My father was not gifted in farming like other men and my mother was the head of the homestead. I want to explain that way back, as I speak I lived in such a homestead. My father was a drunkard and would walk on foot despite the distance in search of beer. I am not speaking evil about my father because he is now late but during that period when he was alive, people thought that an aggressive husband was good for a strong homestead.
Whenever he returned from the beer binges, he would hold one of his daughter’s hands and press aggressively on her finger and in the process ask – what did you eat in my absence? He wanted to establish what meals we ate during his absence, so we grew up in such a scenario. As children, we knew that whenever we went looking for mice, we would prepare the mice and leave some for our father. Sometimes chickens would disappear after being snatched by eagles from the homestead. Initially, we were not aware of the fact that our father would count all the chickens in the homestead before travelling and we would explain to him that the chickens had been snatched by eagles. He did not take that lightly and our mother would be beaten up for eating chicken during his absence.
Mr. President, what I am saying is still happening in some homesteads and some communities. Women are still being abused in these communities. In some instances, other women do not report and end up giving other reasons different from what would have actually transpired – they hide such information. At times when they go to their parents to report, the parents turn back their daughters to their homesteads saying that they should return to their husbands since the parents received lobola for their daughters.
Another time Hon. President, my mother sent my sister to buy some provisions and the women whom she went with delayed coming back. That very day and because of the darkness, my sister could not return home but our father returned on the very day. He was in the habit of calling out all the girls names one by one to establish whether we were all there. This was how he established that my sister was not there but upon my mother mentioning that she was not there, my father just kept quiet. Our mother knew that because when he is quiet, things were not all right and since we were still young we did not know that our mother was being abused.
My sister came back the next day and my mother told her that trouble was brewing, she was going to be beaten up by father. My mother planned together with my sister that the moment she opens the door, my sister would immediately run away. However, my father tried chasing her and failed because he was drunk but instead he caught my mother and glued his hands on her throat.
I had grown up a bit and saw that my mother was dying and had to intervene. I am telling the House what I did myself; it was not done from next door. I hit my father with a big pounding stick so that he would let my mother go because he had his hands glued her throat.
In an effort to catch me, he ran after me, unfortunately there was a trench in the field and he fell inside the trench and I was able to jump over it. My mother managed to gain strength and again took the pounding stick and hit my father. So that was the very last day that we witnessed my father’s violent actions against my mother.
My father was well known for his violent behavior even where he went to drink opaque beer. Many people in the community were so scared of him; they would gather money whenever they saw him in sight so that they could buy him beer and avoid his violent actions.
My mother would only have peace when my father had gone out a distance away from the homestead to drink bear. However, we still have such people in this country abusing women to this extent.
It is my plea hon. President to say we still have a lot of work - women are threatened in their homesteads. Others cannot listen to any good news because of the people they live with. People cannot report such issues even to the police for help.
We kindly ask Mr. President that we still have a lot of work in this country on the ground. I know this campaign against gender based violence is being flighted everywhere, even on the radios but how many people have radios and how many are listening to these debates in this august House? If it is a man who understood that it is referring to him and reprimanding him, they would rather ask you to switch it off. So we still have a lot of work.
Long ago women were forced to go to the fields and were given the most difficult task in ploughing with cattle, a task known to be very dangerous that one can actually die when using cattle for farming for the first time (kupingudza mombe). A chief’s or president’s homestead without a wife is not a homestead - so women are very important and should not be abused.
The term prostitute is the most degrading or heavy word used against women, yet a woman cannot do prostitution without a man. We cannot continue to have the term being used to say women are prostitutes. Mr. President, we still have a lot of work to do for women to be respected in this country.
Thank you Mr. President for saying that traditional leaders are in support of this action, it is very true. We have graves of women who committed suicide because of being abused. With these few words, I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIFAMBA: Thank you Mr. President for giving me the opportunity to add my voice to what was said by my fellow Senators. What really touches me is that during the COVID-19 lockdown, a lot of women have been beaten up by men. The figure is quite big and it was recorded by Musasa Project because most women were reporting their cases. However, there are others who did not report abuse and suffered in silence. We need to pray that COVID-19 does not come back to Zimbabwe again because during the lockdown a lot of domestic violence cases were recorded, which we sometimes fail to understand whether it was because men did not have money to buy cigarettes or beer.
So my desire is that this disease should not come for the second time because violence statistics will go up. Those who release statistics say that every day and every hour there is death as a result of gender based violence. Every hour there is a case of rape and there is case of gender based violence against women and girls. The beating up of women is a problem and the social abuse of women and girls needs urgent attention. At times you will find that a 15 year old girl going to school can be raped, why? Even a woman who is innocent can be raped and when they get home they are abused again by their husbands who want to know what caused that man to rape her.
I would like to urge people to love each other because they promised to love each other. At times there are women who feel uncomfortable when their husbands are coming back because of the abuse they get. Even children suffer abuse in the homes at times. I would like to say men, please love your wives as they love you. You need to understand that as a man, your life is in the hands of your wife because she is the one who cooks for you. You should appreciate that women are longsuffering, they are very patient. They even wash and cook for you after you have beaten them up.
I really feel moved to see women being beaten up accused of being prostitutes but there are promiscuous men who are not being beaten up. This pains me because a woman will be going out with a man but you find out that only the woman will be beaten. They should be both beaten up if that is the case. In homes at times when the man is being promiscuous they vent out their anger on their wives. Most women are infected with STIs, this is another form of abuse that affects us as women. At times I will be aware that my man is not behaving well but because as a woman you are not empowered, you do not have the power to address that. Men should love their wives because wives end up suffering psychologically. Some even die and some suffer different forms of depression.
For those who live with disabilities, some men rape them, even those who are mentally ill – our men are heartless. What I know is that it is not possible for men to live without women. At times you find a man bringing a woman to places where they are not allowed because they cannot live alone. Even in camps where single men live, you will find them with women. You will be surprised when you find women being beaten up; what do you really want? My question is why this is happening yet you love women so much? Maybe the wife has offended you, you need to engage her and discuss instead of beating her up.
It is sad when you marry while you have a daughter. After she grew up, your husband falls in love with her or takes advantage of her. Sometimes you wonder how men behave, why they behave the way they behave and how they want to live upon this earth. This results in women seeking revenge, so as a woman it pains to be beaten up. After beating me up, you do not even comfort me, instead I go to my maternal home to seek solace, is this love? All women need to be respected, whether they are single or married. All the men who beat up their wives during the COVID -19 lockdown should love their wives. With these few words Mr. President I would like to thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHIKWAKA: Thank you Mr. President for allowing me to add a few words to this debate regarding gender based violence. Let me take a different angle. Our elders have an adage which might be difficult to explain to people who are in this august House. In English the adage goes, nobody is perfect or in Shona, kumuzinda hakuna weko. I am not supporting domestic violence but I would like to criticize strongly some behaviour.
In this august House we heard Hon. Sen. Moeketsi debating about how some men are errant. This cuts both ways Mr. President. Abuse is not just about men but women also abuse men. Let me give you an example, there were two girls who grew up together. One had a boyfriend who was in Harare and the other had a rural boyfriend. The rural girl and her boyfriend exchanged clothes as a promise to marry each other. This boyfriend who was in Harare was selling brooms. When the boyfriend was hungry he went to get some food and he decided to go to Highfield to take his friend so that they would go together to their rural home. He left his girlfriend and her friend at his home. They did all the household chores. The boyfriend came back late around 8 p.m. They told the girls that we are very sorry it is late, let us go and look for private cars to go home. They knew that they could not find any transport at that time. They had to return to the boyfriend’s place and they asked the girls to sleep over so that they would accompany them the following day. Now this girl had made vows with her rural boyfriend. This man who had his girlfriend went to sleep in a different room but this girl who had a rural boyfriend ended up sleeping with the other man and was impregnated. When she went back to the rural areas, she was pregnant and she informed her aunt. She was asked who was responsible for the pregnancy and she explained. She told the aunt that she did not know the man’s name and the aunt played her role Mr. President Sir.
I want you to understand my point that women can be abusers. The girl went to her boyfriend and informed him that she was impregnated by another man who was in Harare. She took back the clothes that they have exchanged as vows. The boyfriend pleaded with the girl not to tell people that the pregnancy was not his because he loved her. This man married that lady and they gave the child the surname of this rural boyfriend.
The first born son went to the liberation struggle and came back after the war. He was given a high position at the Airforce of Zimbabwe. When the father passed away, he bought a casket and met all the costs for the funeral. During the tombstone unveiling, some relatives told the siblings that the first born was not their father’s child. They did so because of issues surrounding inheritance of the late father. They prepared some beer as is a custom in Shona tradition.
The first born son who was working at the Airforce came back to his rural area and he was surprised to find that people were performing that ritual yet he was not informed. He questioned that and his young brother told him to go and confront her mother. That is when he was told that he was not their father’s son. He said I went to the liberation struggle and I am now 45; how can you tell me that? This young man went to the barracks and took an AK47 and went to Murewa centre. He looked for those who run butcheries and said if you want beef you can come with me because I want to slaughter all our cattle. When people were still celebrating, he just went to the kraal and shot all his 14 cows. He told people to take the meat. He told his sibling to destroy the houses that he built. He fired warning shots so that they destroy the houses.
He went and confronted his mother so that she tells him who his father was. He had married five women and they were all leaving him because he was not able to conceive. So, he said I am being told that I do not belong to this family and yet you know who my father is. If you do not tell me then I am going to make sure that this is the end of us all; you, myself and my siblings. After noting all the things that had happened, the mother then informed the son who the father was. This man comes from where I come from and he started looking for his father at 48 years of age. Then he went to his father’s home and all his father’s features were similar to the son’s features since the father also had a long neck. This is when the man discovered his father’s identity but he had suffered for a long time. The mother was hiding this information from him by not disclosing his father’s identity to him.
This is happening Mr. President Sir and even in our contemporary society, we have women who are not disclosing their children’s father’s identities. Sometimes women swear that they brought up their children alone without the fathers. We see cases of abuse with mothers abusing their children. Mr. President, there was a different case that came to my court and I handled it. The woman eventually informed the court that she had a relationship with her brother and conceived. So abuse is not exclusive to men who are said to be beating up women but we also have cases of women who beat up men.
We also have cases of women who abuse children. Step mothers are often found to be abusing their step children. Some children do not even go to school because of abuse. Mr. President, when some girls reach puberty, they do not have support from their step mothers – this is abuse and is a big form of abuse that is being perpetrated by both men and women. So, as a nation, let us not just point fingers at men but let us unite and work together since this issue is an eye opener that we have been tasked to educate people on gender based violence.
Even cases concerning the abuse of children, I witnessed a 48 year old man who was facing different challenges. He could not procreate or keep a marriage and unfortunately passed away last year. Mr. President, I just wanted to explain the fact that domestic violence or gender based violence is not about women only but also men are being abused. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: Thank you very much Mr. President. I just want to say a few words and contribute a few words to this motion. The issue of violence as mentioned by the previous speaker, I just want to echo the same sentiments and say that this House should put an end to such acts of violence as elderly men and women.
The Chief mentioned our tradition and to all chiefs in the House, let me explain that in our tradition, there is nowhere where it was explained to an extent that it would have helped this country. It means that when we were growing up Hon. President, we were taught on the tradition of how to do things – such things as, what is a woman, were taught about our culture. I would like to testify as I stand in this House.
The issue Mr. President, when I wanted to marry, I informed my grandfathers who brought me up. They informed me that there was a particular day that they were going to listen to my story and they looked for five men. Women were informed to prepare and fill up a basket of food for us. I carried my own basket up the mountain and we spent the whole day with me being taught on the virtues of marriage now that I had expressed my desire to marry. It was an opportunity for me to be taught all about marriage and an opportunity to highlight on issues of marriage. Was that your final option – was the main question. Is she the one that you have chosen?
When you say that you want a woman, she is your helper and if you have found a woman, she is not yours only but for the whole family. Whatever she does as a woman, she will be helping the family – that is what I was taught the whole day. All this had to do with marriage and looking after a woman. They highlighted the importance of a woman to me. Even at churches, the same lesson is there – such values are there. It is an important vow. So, I want to come back to the vow because a lot of people are failing this vow.
As Hon. Senators and as grown ups, we no longer have time to teach our own children about marriage. There was a couple that had divorced for 12 years and after we had highlighted to them on the importance of marriage and giving them advice – they came back together. Hon. President, as elderly people, let us teach our children and give them wisdom on these issues. When our children want to marry, the question should be, is this the person that you have chosen? Our culture states that the bride to be should take money proffered by the groom to indicate truly that this is the partner of her choice – that is our culture. We take time to advice and teach our children on everything to do with marriage that if anything happens to your marriage, it is your fault and not anyone else – that will be the teaching.
We also take opportunity to educate our young boys on the importance of a woman – home needs order. Mr. President, please allow me to tell our women that we love you a lot as men. The violence that you witness is not supposed to be happening – it is actually an accident and nothing else. It is just as a result of failing or misunderstanding. Even in the word of God, we learnt when we were growing up that women should submit themselves to their husbands, your husband is the head of the family but he does not lead the home alone, you work together. You unite to achieve all things by putting together ideas and help each other.
Mr. President, nowadays, a slight mistake then everything erupts into chaos. We were taught on the importance of what happens in the bedroom that it is between two people. Those two people are the ones who looked for each other because of the love they shared for each other. Traditional chiefs are well versed with these issues and are in a better position to teach and counsel these youngsters. Where I come from, traditional chiefs will call me to their traditional courts just to hear their court cases. My question was - what were the problems brought to his court and he said cases of disputes between a daughter in-law and mother in-law.
The main problem lies with the women; they do not play their role correctly. They deny their daughters in-law some of the things that they are supposed to either benefit or have as a woman. Those are some of the experiences I gained from chiefs as I attended their court cases. On the contrary, there is nothing you can also do without a mother in the home. Our children should learn the importance of their marriages; learn to look after each other without violence.
I do not look down upon women but it is my opinion on how I understood equality that our salaries used to differ against those of women. A woman’s salary would not equate with that of a man and it was not supposed to be like that. However, when we drafted the new Constitution it was changed and now emphasis is on equality.
Women in this House are no longer playing their role of advising their daughters in law and children on the right things to do. There is no more respect in homes. As chiefs, you will find that some of the cases are very small issues such that children need advice.
Let me finish by saying the rise in divorce cases is not pleasing. A lot of couples are divorcing and as parents, we should educate them. We have seen a lot as elderly men. We should work together, both men and women to bring sanity amongst our children. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. MATIIRIRA: Thank you Mr. President for according me this opportunity to add my voice on this motion which was raised by Hon. Sen. Dube and her seconder in connection with gender based violence which is rampant amongst women, men and children.
Mr. President, we can spend the whole day talking about violence which is caused by a lot of things. If we look at the four corners of the world, you will see that it is violence all over every day and it is very painful. I think some of the violent activities emanate from poverty but we have other families who are well up yet each and every day there is violence.
I am saying as we have started the 16 days in trying to end the gender based violence, I think we should come up with a very concrete thing so that we end this violence within these 16 days.
Mr. President, we can hold workshops and ideas are coming from this House but my point is that we should start from our homes as husbands and wives. We should have time with our families, even one day a week so that we engage our families. This will help us because words of peace come from the mother and father. Where there is a father and a mother in a family, let us be aware that there is a boy who is going to be a father in future and a girl who is going to be a mother. So when violence emanates from these homes which have destroyed families every day. I think that one of the things that helps us, is if a child comes from a home where people are living together in peace, that child has good moral values. When such children go out and meet with others they can spread peace to their counterparts, which will also help us a nation.
Secondly, we have heard about one stop centres. I wish Government, if it was possible, more of these should be opened in all the structures in our rural areas where we come from. Some of this behaviour is caused by lack of information but if we have these one stop centres, information will be available to everyone even in rural areas. We have Musasa Project which helps us. They cannot cover all areas but with one stop centres even some of the remotest areas will get the information.
As this august House, we should take it upon ourselves to spread this word, helping each other so that we put an end to violence in homes. What pains most Mr. President, is that violence is more on women yet women are the bearers of children. I think men need to understand this for them to stop such behaviours. We also have our headmen and chiefs; those structures will help us to get back to our culture. Long back, the aunt will be with the girl child and the uncle will be with the boy child but today it is not happening. It is now the opposite; the aunt can even cause violence in my home, which shows that women do not support each other. We want to live in peace because peace is healthy. Wherever there are structures, this word of GBV should be preached because some lack knowledge or they grew up in such a family set up.
One Hon. Member alluded to the fact that some people are shy to open up and tell their violent experience in the homes. This does not end violence. What we are saying is, this violence should stop forthwith but we are looking for ways of how to end it because it is doing more harm to our nation than good. Therefore, all of us have got work to do in order to end this violence. Violence does not bring peace to our country.
We know that our President is doing all he can – we have widows and orphans, people living with disabilities and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs are trying their level best. Looking at the projects that are lined up for women so that they can improve their livelihoods, it shows that our Government has got people at heart especially women. However, all this is not bringing violence to an end until we find a solution.
It is very painful Mr. President to find that whatever is women driven will die a natural death. People are dying and mostly it is women this is not a good thing; it shows that homes are not at peace. What this entails is that a woman suffers at the end when homes are not in peace. Children end up not behaving well because of violence. Some will marry early due to violence. Therefore, we should work together wholeheartedly so that we end this GBV. We should talk against it strongly at these one stop centres. They should be found everywhere for people to gain knowledge closer home. With these few words, I thank you Mr. President.
*HON. SEN. FEMAI: Thank you Mr. President. I would like to add my voice to the motion that was moved by Hon. Sen. Dube, seconded by Hon. Sen. Mpofu. Firstly, I would like to say if war has been declared, say for example Zimbabwe against Russia, it will go to the Round Table towards the end. When it goes to the Round Table, they find a mediator, then Russia and Zimbabwe will come to the table and then war is brought to an end.
What do I mean with these words? When we talk about abuse of women, let us also mention men. Let us not only mention women as if they are the only ones who are abused because even men are being abused. Let me tell you that even myself, I might be abused but for me to reveal it to you I am ashamed because you will laugh at me. If you go for a workshop to discuss this issue about what is happening in homes, men will come out to say they are being abused. Some women in the rural communities may not be able to reveal that they are being abused by men but if it is during a workshop, some information can be revealed. They will know where their protection lies. Even chiefs know that there are homesteads where the Chiheras are well known. Homesteads are known to say this homestead is that of “chihera’s”, and not the husband’s surname. That is another form of abuse. There has to be understanding amongst people, including organisations coming as mediators. We saw hats that are being worn in this House. The logo is for women but we are talking of gender. There is no logo that represents men on those hats. We are talking of gender, men and women abusing each other but a workshop is conducted with emphasis on women being abused, nothing is being said about men being abused. If we look closely, amongst all those who participated at the workshop as speakers, there was no man. That is why I am saying let us have a cease fire.
I am one of those men who do not beat their wives. I have never been violent to my wife. I have never beaten my wife and I do not want to hear such issues that a woman has been beaten. I know these issues of women and men being violated. Let me give an example of a truck driver who wanted to go to his rural home. He asked his family what they wanted and he indicated to his wife that he wanted her to prepare him food to eat on his way. He came back the very same day around 11p.m. The information he had was that at Lake Chivero, there was a show from various artists. He knew very well that his wife enjoyed the music of Jah Prayzah and the likes of Aleck Macheso.
When he arrived home around 11p.m, he found the children alone and he went straight to the lake. The wife was busy dancing on the stage and she had a pint of beer glued to her hand. He managed to get close to the woman just to indicate that he had seen her. When she realised that she had been seen by her husband, she ran backstage and disappeared. The husband tried to contact his wife but he failed.
The following day, the husband was called to the police station. The police informed the husband that his crime was that of intimidating his wife with intentions of killing her and a docket was opened. The wife was advised by her friends to pack her things and go as the husband was held in the police cells. Luckily, her relatives advised her to bring back all the stuff that she had taken from the husband’s house. There are many issues of men being arrested when they are not wrong, for example, after catching their wives with other men. Let this issue be put for discussion and both parties should be present.
We are talking about gender and gender does not refer to women only but men also. Let us have both parties into the discussion. We have women who beat up men and vice versa. Even homesteads that are said to belong to the “chihera’s” instead of the family name, let us bring both parties together. Let us not be one sided. Those who will hear such issues will think in Zimbabwe only men are the perpetrators of violence. The difference might be that when women are abused they make a lot of noise, but men do not scream as much as men do.
I have a friend who also had a bad experience. When he got his pension, he surrendered all the money to his wife. He wanted to buy a truck but instead the wife grabbed all the money. The woman went to buy bricks and put a durawall on their home and all the money was finished. Right now as we speak, my friend is glued at home. He is being asked to go and fetch water using a wheel barrow. If he had bought a truck, right now he would be buying food stuffs for the family instead of fetching water every day. Let us put this issue into discussion. Bring both parties involved, men and women. It is not a one-sided issue. Everyone should come together - not only women but men as well. The discussions should not give voice to women only. Just like we are in this House, both men and women are against gender based violence. We should stand together as people. The world will see that this thing is now moving because we have come together. I would like to thank you Hon. President for this opportunity that you have given me.
HON. SEN. A. DUBE: Mr. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 26th November, 2020.
MOTION
CONDOLENCES ON THE DEATH OF HON. SEN. AIR CHIEF MARSHALL RTD. PERRANCE SHIRI
Eighth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the death of Hon. Sen. Air. Chief Marshal (Rtd) Perence Shiri.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Mr. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I second.
On the motion of HON. SEN. MOHADI, seconded by HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI, the Senate adjourned at Six minutes to Five o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday 24th November, 2020
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
INVITATION TO A DIALOGUE ON THE COMMEMORATION OF THE 16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM AGAINST GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I have to inform the Senate that the Zimbabwe Women Parliamentary Caucus, together with the Portfolio Committee on Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development and the Thematic Committee on Gender and Development, is inviting all Hon. Senators to a dialogue on the commemoration of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. The commemoration will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, 25 November, 2020 at Rainbow Towers from 0800 hours to 1300 hours. Hon. Senators who are not able to attend physically can join the dialogue virtually on a link that will be provided by the Information and Communication Technology Department (ICT).
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: Madam President Ma’am, I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 2 be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I second.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Third Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: Thank you Madam President. I seek authority to read through my speech which coincidentally is my maiden speech in this House.
I rise to add my voice to the State of the Nation Address by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe. Firstly, allow me to thank you Madam President for the time you have given me. Secondly, I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Chirongoma for coming up with the motion that was seconded by Hon. Sen. Dube. Allow me to also thank Hon. Members who thoroughly debated before me, a sign of the desire to move the country forward. Madam President, I want to thank the Almighty God for affording me this very rare opportunity to serve in this Upper House as a Member of the Senate.
Madam President, His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Hon. E. D. Mnangagwa raised an issue with regard to the deadly COVID-19 pandemic which has affected all countries, Zimbabwe included. In this regard, I would like to thank the President for all the effort and all the steps taken to contain the pandemic, hence the low figures in our country when compared to other countries. I am glad Madam President that there was unity and co-operation among all Zimbabweans in fighting COVID-19. On this note, allow me Madam President to pay my condolences to all those who lost their loved ones as a result of COVID-19. It is very disturbing to learn that the figures are beginning to rise again at a time we expected them to fall. What is most worrisome is that the pandemic has started to affect school children at a time when schools opened countrywide. An example of what is disheartening is that of John Tallach Secondary School in Bulawayo, where 100 school children tested positive to COVID-19. As I speak, the school has been closed. I would like to advise everyone that this calls for a strict adherence to safety regulations prescribed by World Health Organisation (WHO), to put on masks, exercise social distancing, wash hands and sanitise.
Madam President, His Excellency spoke about issues to do with development, referring to, among other things, the basic needs which are food, shelter, health, education, water and sanitation, energy and jobs. This is a clear sign of the President’s love for this country and its citizens. Madam President, Food Security as defined by the United Nations Committee on World Food Security means that all people, at all times have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life. This is the President’s thrust Madam President and the same goes for all the basic needs I mentioned. So, I shall not lecture this House on all that His Excellency endeavours to do. We need to unite as a country, work together with His Excellency and ensure that we push the President’s development agenda that ensures every Zimbabwean has a better life.
Madam President, His Excellency spoke about Agriculture in general and at some point Pfumvudza in particular in relation to food security in the country. Access to quality, nutritious and sufficient food in the country is fundamental to human existence and necessary to every Zimbabwean’s happiness. Secure access to food produces wide ranging impacts, including economic growth and job creation. Madam President, Agriculture used to be the backbone of this country, providing employment to over 60% of Zimbabweans. It produced raw materials for our industries contributing about 40% of export earnings but all that was put off rail by the illegal economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe.
At this juncture, allow me to thank His Excellency for coming up with various initiatives to breach these sanctions; the Pfumvudza concept which he talked about, the Command Agriculture, Farm Mechanisation and establishment and revival of Irrigation Schemes to ensure food sufficiency and reclaim our tag as the breadbasket of Africa.
Madam President, His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Hon. E.D. Mnangagwa strongly spoke against corruption, a cancer which has become an enemy of the economy and development. There is need to reduce corruption by ensuring speedy prosecution and resolution of all corruption cases. We should all embrace the zero-tolerance to corruption mantra as stressed by the President. I also want to commend His Excellency for stressing the need to capacitate further, institutions of transparency and accountability such as ZACC, National Prosecuting Authority and Zimbabwe Republic Police as well as the Judiciary to ensure uncompromised implementation of justice. Madam President, we should all as Zimbabweans collectively unite and gang up to strongly fight corruption. It should be everybody’s role, Government included to ensure we dismantle and eradicate all signs of corruption whenever found. I would like to thank His Excellency the President for clearly spelling it out that no one will be spared and deterrent sentences shall be given to those found guilty.
His Excellency spoke about devolution. In 2020 which is this current year, Government approved the Devolution and Decentralisation Policy which will guide the implementation of devolution and decentralisation process. The President spoke about devolving power to sub-national structures to enable a faster, efficient and effective response to challenges of the delivery of public services, development, democracy as well as the imperative of sustaining national unity and peace.
Madam President, devolution will not only involve the transfer of political power but will also be augmented by the delivery of fiscal powers which will enable provincial, metropolitan councils and local authorities to spearhead economic and social development in their respective jurisdictions using leveraged local revenues which will be enhanced by mandatory transfers of national fiscal resources to devolved entities. Madam President, devolution allows equal development in all provinces; it also enhances community participation and decision making. This then calls for a speedy passing of Bills to allow provincial councils the opportunity to start functioning.
His Excellency also talked about improving the working conditions for Government workers. I am quite happy and would like to thank His Excellency the President for assuring the nation that Government acknowledges calls for better working conditions for all civil servants, a call being made loudly by teachers and health workers, in particular the public service in general. His Excellency also stressed that the Government would do what is practically possible to ameliorate the workers concerns. Madam President, true to his words we have seen civil servants salaries this year 2020 only raised by over 1000%, a clear sign of care and respect for the workers. Allow me to thank His Excellency for such a gesture.
Madam President, I want to thank His Excellency for coming up and adhering to the Transitional Stabilization Programme (TSP). The TSP (October, 2018 to December, 2020) was implemented as a first step of a three phase process to attain His Excellency the President’s Vision 2030 outcomes. Through the Transitional Stabilisation Programme, the President sought to strengthen key priorities that form the foundation for the implementation of medium term plans. It was aimed at stabilising the macro economy and financial sector, introducing necessary policy and institutional reforms to transform the economy to a private sector led economy as well as launching quick wins to stimulate growth.
Madam President, the TSP was crafted to deal with distortions and challenges that would retard the growth of the economy in the long run. Examples are persistent and unsustainable budget deficits, inflationary pressures, uncontrolled domestic borrowing and unsustainable debt levels. It is quite clear Madam President that the TSP period was very painful although very necessary but has come to pass. I also want to applaud the President for announcing that the country is now moving into the First Five Year National Development Strategy (2021-2025).
Madam President, as I round off my maiden speech, I did not touch on all that the President spoke about. I omitted other issues that I felt Hon. Senators who spoke before me did justice by having adequately dealt with them. Madam President and Hon. Members, I want to end by acknowledging that our President, His Excellency Cde. E. D. Mnangagwa has people of this country at heart as evidenced by a series of measures taken by his Government in an endevour to improve everybody’s and every Zimbabwean’s life. Thank you Madam President, thank you Hon. Members.
HON. SEN. N. KHUMALO: Thank you Madam President Ma’am, for according me this opportunity to add my voice to the Presidential Speech. I hail from Matabeleland South and want to thank the people from my province for giving me another chance to represent them in Parliament. I was in Parliament in the past years and it shows that the people from Matabeleland South appreciate the sterling job that I did on their behalf, hence the reason why they saw it fit that I come back and continue serving them. Last time I was serving in the Lower House and voted Deputy Speaker and remained in that position from 2010 to 2013.
Madam President, I would now want to venture into the Presidential Speech. In his speech, the President talked about COVID-19, that this pandemic has retarded the growth of the economy since the country had come to a standstill. Companies were closed and people could not go to work as businesses were shut down. Children had to remain at home and this affected their learning very much. Up to now, children have remained at home and are missing out on their education. Only a few children are attending classes. It will now be very difficult for children to write their examinations and proceed to the next classes since they have not completed their syllabi. Teachers were also affected as some of them became victims of this deadly pandemic. COVID-19 has affected all our sectors and is a big setback.
Even the health sector has been highly affected as it could not cope with the outbreak. Government must enforce the COVID-19 regulations, be very strict and punish all the offenders. Government must give all Government schools, hospitals and clinics sanitisers, face masks and supply hospitals with ventilators. These measures will help curb the surge of the pandemic and all businesses must also follow suit. COVID-19 is real and it kills. Social Services Department must also be resuscitated to help the poor families with food and essentials to curb infections.
Madam President, the President also expressed zero tolerance to corruption. Despite the fact that the President has stated that there must be zero tolerance to corruption, there are individuals who have been arrested for corruption, brought before the courts of law but were never charged. They have gone scot-free. In order to end corruption anyone found guilty despite their positions in society must be brought before the courts and charged.
The Government wants to compensate white farmers who lost their farms during the land invasion, whilst this is a noble idea, current priority must be given to urgent matters like the teachers and nurse’ salaries. Teachers have been on strike for a long time and children are not learning because they say their salaries are not enough. Compensating the farmers must come later after the issue of salaries has been resolved.
Whilst Government farm input is a noble idea, my concern is on the Pfumvudza/Intwasa scheme. The way the woman and children till the land is too labour intense. Imagine a pregnant woman with a baby strapped to her back digging holes and adding manure or fertilizers to those holes then putting seeds, that is just too much for a pregnant women, even if she is not pregnant, that is just too much for a women. After a long day of hard labour the women goes back home to fetch water and firewood, starts cooking for the family and do other chores. The worst part is that most men do not till the land neither does they help the woman who also has to look after the children. Whilst the women labour like this some men would be drinking beer or just relaxing. Come night time, men will go to bed earlier leaving the women to wash plates and pots.
The woman retires to bed very exhausted yet once in her bedroom she has another duty to fulfill. The moment she complains about exhaustion all hell will break lose. We are saying no to this barbaric treatment of our women, after all, they are men’s better halves. I ask the Government to intervene, buy tractors and plow for communities so that the women may use these and stop working like slaves.
Madam President, the resuscitation of irrigation schemes is plausible. The irrigation can help people avert hunger as they will have food on their table and be able to sell part of their produce to cater for essentials like buying clothes and paying schools fees for their children.
The Government must fulfill its promises of building more dams so as to harvest water for irrigation. Currently, our major dams are full of siltation and needs scooping so as to preserve water. The amount of water in our dams is not real because of siltation. We need water for our domestic use, livestock and wild animals need water. Water is life. Government has to take charge and clean all our major dams before the onset of each rain season especially where water would have gone down.
Our roads are in a sorry state. The Bulawayo-Beitbridge and Bulawayo-Victoria Falls roads need to be urgently repaired. These two roads bring a lot of money into the Government coffers yet they are neglected and do not get adequate attention. Some of our major roads are being dualised and repaired. I must applaud the Government for this even though the pace is rather slow.
Madam President, gender representation in some of the sectors is very poor. The case in point is that of our chiefs, only male chiefs are represented in Senators whilst there is not even one female chief represented here. Government has done very well in the lower House where there is proportional representation even in Senate we have women who came through an easy system. As long as there is no mechanism to help female chiefs to be represented the current situation will always prevail. The male chiefs will always vote for each other as they dominate their field living their counterparts out. Government has to intervene and put a quarter systems to assist the female chiefs so that they are also represented.
I also agree with the Government that children should not be abused, there is too much abuse of our children, and they are being raped and murdered. The ill treatment of children is very bad and painful. We do not support that. We also say no to early child marriages. Children must be really protected as they cannot protect themselves. All culprits must be put in jail and keys thrown into the sea so that no one would find those keys. We cannot have fathers and uncles who see wives in their Keith and keen. When a father or an uncle looks at a baby and see a wife – that is very bad.
Our laws say women cannot be hanged which is fine but I think there must be exceptional cases. Those women who murder their children must be hanged so that they stop this bad habit. I thank you.
HON. SEN. C. NDLOVU: I thank you for granting me this opportunity. This being my maiden speech, I would ask that you allow me to read through.
I do realise that my name has caused a bit of confusion, as I came into this august House, I realised that there are a lot of Hon. Senators who are chiefs. Chief is my name not my title.
Madam President I come from Matabeleland North Province that is in the Western Zimbabwe. Matabeleland North is an area of 75 025 square kilometers with 7 administrative districts, that is Binga, Bubi, Hwange, Nkayi, Lupane, Tsholotsho and Umguza. There are 10 local authorities as well as 193 wards. The province boarders Midlands, Mashonaland West, Bulawayo Metropolitan and Matabeleland South and two international boarders that is Zambia, Botswana to the north and west respectively. Matabeleland North has a population of about 749 017 as at the 2012 population census.
Madam President, I would like to take this opportunity to also thank my party, the MDC T under the capable leadership of Dr. T. Khupe which has made it possible that I give a voice representing the people of Matabeleland North this day and contribute to the State of the Nation Address (SONA) debate. My debate derives and hinges on the address to our nation by His Excellency the President E. D. Mnangagwa. I found it speaking to a lot of issues which affects Matabeleland North, therefore giving me among others, the opportunity to contribute to a meaningful debate. At the risk of mentioning and pointing out issues that have been spoken about and pointed out by others who came before me, allow me to repeat these issues and as I repeat them, if it is a repetition, it is because these issues have not been resolved and I would like to appeal that the plight and cry of the people of Matabeleland North be looked into and brought to a logical conclusion.
Mr. President Sir, His Excellency President E. D. Mnangagwa, mentioned in his SONA a wide range of issue covering resources, energy, education, infrastructure and devolution among others. Matabeleland North is endowed with various natural resources. Timber that comes from Lupane, Tsholotsho and Nkayi is of high quality and is highly sought after nationally and internationally, yet there is not a single major furniture company in that area. There is not a single processing plant in that area. The few that have established themselves before in that province have long gone; they have closed shop. The forestry Commission estimates that in 2019 alone, the value of timber harvested in Matabeleland North Forestry Concessions is worthy about US$146 million, yet communities in these concessions have nothing to show of it. Job opportunities that could have been created in Tsholotsho, Nkayi and Lupane are being exported to other province and even out of the country.
Mr. President Sir, we have coal in Hwange, yet very little economic activity is happening compared to other countries like South Africa who have established cities like Emalahleni, a vibrant mining city, creating jobs and economies for those local communities. Zimbabwe is producing nearly 3 million tonnes of coal per annum and yet communities around Hwange remain underdeveloped. Hwange has the largest thermal station in the country, yet schools and clinics in that district do not have electricity.
We have the Mighty Zambezi River, running through the province, as well as Hwange National Parks Wild Life Sanctuaries attracting international tourists, yet our people have got very little to show. I may sound as if I am complaining; I need to draw the attention of the plight of the people of Matabeleland because at this stage, I am representing their interests and I would be happy if they are looked into. The Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project has to come to life. It has been years since this was touted and it now sounds like a fork tale. Research has shown that there are more benefits than disadvantages in the Zambezi Water Project. It boggles the mind why such a project has taken so long to commence.
We have numerous other resources like Methane Gas in Lupane. My understanding is that there is about 40 trillion cubic feet of gas in that area spanning to Lubimbi. This could easily be the biggest natural gas reserve in Southern Africa, which can benefit the people of that region and our country as a whole. However, nothing has materialised so far commercially in terms of trying to use those reserves for extraction. As a country, we need to try and find suitable investors to harvest the gas. Is it our policies that are hindering investment? Is it the corruption that is spoken so many times? Is it the sanctions that we have in our country?
Mr. President, I propose that we have a National Gas Policy. A National Gas Policy is very fundamental for any serious investors and for as long as we do not have one, we will not be considered to be serious about developing the gas industry in Zimbabwe. The CBM (Coal Bed Methane) Industry needs hundreds of millions of dollars in investment and to attract such huge investments, we need to come up with proper policies and incentives. We are hoping that Government can quickly resolve the issue of exorbitant ground rentals which we inherited from the previous Government so as to attract huge investment that is needed in this industry.
Matabeleland is a dry province and it is disheartening to note that Government has not made any efforts to drill boreholes in that region. People share water with cattle and donkeys. In 2018 after the elections, I had a personal experience when I needed to fetch water; we are still fetching water from the river. I found a donkey drinking water where we needed to get water and this is the reality we are living through, people of Lupane are living through and this cannot be accepted 40 years into our independence. There is water underground, I know of an area called Nkuba where people have successfully drilled boreholes for themselves. If there is will on the part of Government, all villagers can have access to clean water and this is a fundamental right. We appeal that Government looks into this issue.
Over the last 40 years, Central Government has not made any efforts to provide clean and safe water in Matabeleland North region as far as we are concerned. The Second Republic should live according to its new narrative and work towards changing the lives of the people in my region. I am happy that we have got a listening President and I am sure he will listen to the plight of the people of Matabeleland North.
Mr. President Sir, if the province of Matabeleland North is to develop, the poverty in that region must be addressed. There is an urgent need for local communities to benefit from natural resources extracted from their areas. One good example in this region of Southern Africa is Bakwena tribe in South Africa, which is arguably one of the richest tribes in Africa because of how the economy and investments have been structured to benefit that community. We have the Marange diamond, if we had the policy structure to benefit the community, those communities would have had opportunities to benefit from their natural resources.
This brings me to the issue of devolution, I grew up in Matabeleland North. As a young boy, everything looked bigger than what it in fact is and looked glamorous than what it was, but those memories always make me smile and believe that we make Zimbabwe and Matabeleland North great considering the resources we have, they can benefit the region and the country at large. We used to be called the Breadbasket of Africa and we can easily get back to that. I specifically come from an area 200 km from Bulawayo. The road that I use is the Bulawayo-Nkayi –Gokwe road. That road is increasingly looking like a death trap. There has been an attempt to tar the road; it is a 160 km stretch and for the last 40 years, only 38 km have been tarred, making an average of 1 km per annum over the last 40 years. I think there is no seriousness in terms of rehabilitating the road. We are still using a strip that was left by the Smith regime and it is not really showing any seriousness on the part of Government. Mr. President, those that are plying the route are charging exorbitant prices and we would want to appeal that if there is any growth that has to happen in the region, can we have proper infrastructure in place and at least those people would benefit from what the Government has called the Second Republic.
Mr. President, the underdevelopment in Matabeleland North has even created a notion or perception that people from that region are backward and do not want to go to school. Nothing could be further from the truth. The region is so forgotten that over the last 40 years, it has seen an influx of primary school teachers who come from other provinces and cannot speak the local language. Up to now, the issue has not been resolved and no plausible explanation or proper analysis of the problem has been given. The question is why Matabeleland North cannot produce its own teachers.
As far as history is concerned, before independence, we had United College of Education in Bulawayo that was training teachers for that particular region. It no longer has teachers and no one is really prepared to look into why we no longer have teachers who come from that region training at that particular college. We have got teachers that are coming from all over the country and it is depriving children of Matabeleland. Our understanding is that a child benefits immensely at lower grades, that is, ECD up to Grade four.
Mr. President, I come from a painful past, the past that includes the Gukurahundi era. I am a survivor; I lost my brother. My father is 96 years old and Government has embarked on a process where it is trying to address these issues. Our plight is that Government is not speaking to those that are most affected. We cannot have people representing our interests when they do not know what we have gone through and how we feel. However, as a nation, we need closure. I think my father who is now 96 years old would rest well if he knew where his child has been lying all along. I think he will rest well if there is closure and he is told that this is what happened to him. We appeal to Government to have a national register and register all the relatives of those that claim that they are survivors. If there is indeed exhumation of graves, let it be compared to those that are survivors so that we bring closure. We cannot have people who were not affected speaking on our behalf. They do not know what we have gone through. We need to heal as a nation and this can only happen if we have a sincere effort to address the past wrongs that were committed. I thank you Mr. President.
THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: May I remind Hon. Senators that if you are going to contribute, you should use your device so that those who are outside can benefit from your contributions. I am aware that some of the new Members might not have the tablets which they are supposed to have but the older Members, use your devices. We have got IT people here and they will set it up for you so that our colleague Senators who are outside can see and hear you contribute.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 25th November, 2020.
MOTION
REPORT ON THE VIRTUAL EXTRAORDINARY SESSION OF THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION (IPU)
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I move the motion standing in my name that this House takes note of the Report on the Virtual Extraordinary Session of the Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) conducted from 1 to 3 November, 2020.
HON. SEN. CHIEF MTSHANE: I second.
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: Thank you Mr. President Sir.
1.0 Introduction
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) convened a virtual session of the Governing Council from 1st to 3rd November 2020 to discuss and take decisions on pressing issues relating to the functioning of the organisation, including the adoption of the IPU budget and programme of work for 2021 and the election of the IPU President. The decision to meet virtually was made in light of the constraints imposed by the COVID-19 global pandemic.
This decision was in line with Article 17.2 of the IPU Statutes, which provides that “The Governing Council shall be convened in extraordinary session by the President if the latter or the Executive Committee deems this necessary, or a quarter of the Governing Council’s members so request”.
Parliament of Zimbabwe’s delegation to the Governing Council comprised of three Governing Council Members led by Hon. Advocate Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda, Speaker of the National Assembly. The other Governing Council Members in attendance are as indicated below:-
Hon. Tsitsi Veronica Muzenda and Hon. Vincent Tsvangirai.
The Meeting was chaired by the Acting President, Hon. G. Chen of the People’s Republic of China. At the recommendation of the IPU Secretariat, Hon. Advocate Mudenda chaired the Session in instances of technical challenges with Hon. Chen’s connectivity from China.
2.0 Election of the President of the IPU
The IPU received four candidatures as follows:
- M.S. Sanjrani (Pakistan, Asia- Pacific Geopolitical Group)
- D. Pacheco (Portugal, Twelve-Plus Geopolitical Group)
- A. Saidov (Uzbekistan, Eurasia Geopolitical Group)
- S. Ataullahjan (Canada, Twelve Plus Group)
Parliament of Zimbabwe supported the candidature of Mr. Pacheco of Portugal. This was in keeping with the motion adopted by the SADC PF to rally behind Mr. Pacheco given his extensive experience in the operations and functions of the IPU. It is imperative to note that Hon. Advocate Mudenda moved the motion which was adopted unanimously by the 47th Plenary Assembly of the SADC PF held from 9 to 11 October 2020.
In an unprecedented online vote with a voter turnout of 97%, Hon. Duarte Pacheco of Portugal was overwhelmingly elected President of the IPU for a three year period. In this regard, Parliament of Zimbabwe wishes him a successful tenure in office and pledges its full support during his term.
3.0 IPU’s Honourary President’s Report
In her report, Hon. Gabriella Cuevas Baron, former President of the IPU articulated activities undertaken during her three year tenure as President of the Assembly. The outgoing President’s main thrust was to engage in Parliamentary diplomacy and build strong synergies for the IPU.
Under her Presidency, the IPU strengthened relations with the United Nations, implemented a robust Strategic Plan and introduced positive initiatives such as the Leadership Training Programme for Young Parliamentarians.
Hon. Gabriella urged the IPU to continue on this trajectory to ensure that the voice of Parliaments is heard in collective solutions for global challenges.
Members extended their appreciation for her energetic and visionary leadership throughout her tenure as President of the IPU. More importantly, they observed her unwavering commitment which ensured that the IPU continued executing its mandate even with the advent of COVID 19 pandemic.
4.0 Financial Results for 2019
The Governing Council approved the accounts for 2019 after consideration of the reports of the findings of the External Auditors from the Swiss Federal Audit Office and Internal Auditor which noted that IPU statements were in compliance with International Sector Accounting Standards and that the IPU is in sound financial health.
5.0 2021 Draft Consolidated Budget
The Governing Council approved the 2021 Draft Consolidated Budget. Of note is that the assessed contributions by Member Parliaments will be maintained at the current levels. Accordingly Member Parliaments were encouraged to pay their assessed contributions to enable the IPU to implement its programmes.
The Secretariat will continue to source for voluntary funding from traditional partners (International Organisations and Member Parliaments) as well as engaging new partners. Member Parliaments were called upon to consider providing voluntary funding towards specific areas of interest.
6.0 Elections to the Executive Committee
Ms. Laurence Fehlmann Rielle of Switzerland, representing the Twelve Plus Geopolitical Group as well as Ms. Beatriz Argimon of Uruguay, representing the GRULAC Geopolitical Group were duly elected into the Executive Committee.
7.0 Brief Report on the Outcome of the Virtual Segment of the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament and the 13th Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament
Hon. Advocate Mudenda, a key member of the preparatory process for the virtual segment of the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament briefed the Governing Council on the deliberations and the positive outcomes of the Conference which was attended by 115 top Legislators. In his presentation, he highlighted the following:-
- That the Conference discussed a wide range of topics spanning effective multilateralism, robust parliamentary diplomacy, climate change, sustainable development, health, youth and gender, democracy, human mobility, countering terrorism, as well as science and technology.
- That the Conference affirmed the need to generate a strong message of parliamentary leadership and solidarity so as to learn from the lessons of today and join forces to tackle the daunting challenges facing our world at so many levels not least in terms of global health, environmental and economic vicissitudes predicated on the unprecedented impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
- That the Conference was also a seminal platform in deepening our ties with the United Nations and the IPU’s other partners, in consonant with our theme of more effective multilateralism.
- Participants pledged to reinforce the role of parliaments in global governance underpinned by enhanced multilateralism and international solidarity anchored on the equality of sovereign nations.
- Invited all Parliamentarians around the world to study the Conference publication and reflect on the key outcome messages which should spur us towards working together for a better world.
The Governing Council elected members into the Preparatory Committee of the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in person Meeting scheduled for July 2021 in Vienna, Austria. The SADC Group put forward, Hon. Catherine Gotani Hara of Malawi to replace Hon. Margaret Mensah Williams who is no longer Speaker. Hon. Gotani was duly elected into the Preparatory Committee.
8.0 Brief Report on the Committee on Human Rights of Parliamentarians
The Governing Council adopted the Report of the Committee on Human Rights of Parliamentarians.
Of note is the case involving Hon. Joana Mamombe on the following alleged human rights violations:
- Abduction
- Torture,
- ill-treatment and other acts of violence
- Arbitrary arrest and detention
- Violation of freedom of opinion and expression
- Violation of freedom of assembly and association
The Report acknowledges Parliament of Zimbabwe’s response through the Hon. Speaker which elucidates that the principle of sub judice limits Parliament’s possibilities of engaging for the resolution of this case.
In the spirit of transparency and Parliamentary diplomacy, the Hon Speaker responded to issues raised in the report emphasising that, in line with the country’s Constitution which enshrines the doctrine of separation of powers, Parliament cannot interfere with due process. However, Parliament will be on the lookout for any violations of Hon. Mamombe’s rights. Furthermore, Parliament will continue engaging the Committee on Human Rights of Parliamentarians on the status of the court case.
The Hon. Speaker briefed the Governing Council on the status of the court case highlighting that Hon. Mamombe is out on bail and receiving appropriate treatment after being confirmed mentally unfit to stand trial.
9.0 Future Meetings of the IPU
The Governing Council approved the schedule of Future Meetings of the IPU. Of particular note is that the 142nd Assembly is scheduled for May 2021 in Geneva, Switzerland while the October Assembly is scheduled for Kigali, Rwanda.
10.0 Questions Relating to the IPU Membership: The Specific Situation in Mali
On 18 August 2020, a group of Officers staged a coup d’état and proceeded to arrest the main political leaders, namely President Keïta, his son and Parliamentarian Karim Keïta, his Prime Minister Boubou Cissé, and the President of the National Assembly Moussa Timbiné. The putschists, acting under the banner of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), claimed they planned a three-year transfer of power period to review the foundations of the Malian State. During the night of 18 August, President Keïta resigned.
Following ECOWAS sponsored negotiations, the process of normalisation has been initiated and should result in the reinstatement of the constitutional order as recommended by the entire international community.
In this context, the Governing Council approved the proposal from the Executive Committee to take note of the ongoing progress, give its support to the initiatives aimed at reinstating the constitutional order and recommend the provision of technical assistance to the Transition National Council.
The Secretary General is expected to take steps to this effect and set a roadmap with the transitional authorities.
11.0 Recommendations
The Parliament of Zimbabwe should continue to engage the Committee on Human Rights of Parliamentarians through provision of updates on the status of the case of Hon. Mamombe.
The Parliament of Zimbabwe to continue engaging Treasury to ensure that subscriptions to the IPU are timeously paid to avoid accruing arrears.
The Parliament of Zimbabwe to continue participating in virtual statutory and ad hoc Meetings of the IPU. Mr. President Sir, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 25th November, 2020.
MOTION
PREVALENCE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. SHUMBA: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to speak to this motion that has been tabled in this august House during this COVID-19 pandemic pertaining to violence in homes. I would like to thank those who seconded the motion and condemn violence in homes since there is nothing good about it.
I would like to encourage peace in homes because if there is always violence in homes, it will disturb children a lot. I am of the view that the issue of violence in homes is an important issue and as Members of Parliament, we should rise and educate our constituents on this matter. Violence does not resolve issues and having people fighting in their homes because of misunderstandings. A lot of people fight in their homes but all it needs is for us to educate people so that we highlight the fact that there is nothing good about violence as it only leaves them in very bad situations.
I would want to talk about these 16 Days of Activism, which means that tomorrow the 25th, we should sit down and talk about these issues seriously since this is a serious matter. A lot of people are killing each other unnecessarily as we have witnessed cases of people stabbing each other. The question is; what exactly is causing this? When I looked at this situation, misunderstandings in homes like what was being shared in this House – men may not want to work but the wife does not acknowledge it or the other way. Those are some of the causes that bring about the problems in homes.
It is not only women who are being violated – even men also are being abused. The challenge we have in this scenario is that when people are violated, some are afraid or ashamed to go and report. Even when we look at men, some men are afraid to go and report. They are ashamed that the community will laugh at them and say, ‘you were beaten by your own wife or a woman’. People will view him as a coward. So the particular woman will continue to beat him up and abuse him. It is time for men to stand up, rise and report such cases so that there is intervention. If people are ashamed of being laughed at then they should be able to confide in someone amongst the police officers. There are police officers who actually deal with such cases and so people should request for them – that is another issue.
The other issue is that for women, they are ashamed or afraid to report their husbands for some men rape their own daughters. The women are afraid to report because the husband would be the breadwinner and if he is jailed, they will starve to death. When I look at that issue of women thinking they will suffer or wallow in poverty instead of reporting cases, it is a very disturbing issue. Women should be empowered to do projects and go to school in order to empower themselves so that they can sustain themselves when they get rid of criminals in their lives. This is the reason why women are engaging in a lot of projects, for example baking projects.
I was looking at a certain situation where women were giving each other pots. When you are empowered, it is easy for you to leave such a situation and when you are empowered you can find courage to report such cases of abuses. Tomorrow on the 25th, let us stand together as men and women to discuss this issue extensively. Let us unite against the issue of violence. A lot of people are dying and killing their children for rituals purposes. Recently, there was the Tapiwa Makore killing just because of money. There is yet another story of a woman who murdered her own children because she had suffered abuse from her husband for a long time. To her, it was better to kill her own children but violence does not resolve problems. The solution is to sit down, discuss and come to an understanding through seeking assistance from well trained people on sustainable solutions.
We have organisations like the Msasa Project. Let us encourage people visit organisations like Musasa Project and if they are ashamed, they can go to the police. My word of advice is that people should not be ashamed to go and report abuse cases. Let us make use of the law in order to curb this issue.
I rose to emphasize and encourage ourselves that tomorrow the 25th November - the 16 Days against Gender Based Violence starts tomorrow. Let us all go and talk about this issue. From here, let us preach the gospel of peace in homes, let us not fight over money, and let us encourage men and women not to commit suicide or be ashamed to report such cases. Let us go the victim friendly unit within the police; they are there to help us. There are also organisations that are willing to assist people in such situations.
Even amongst ourselves, we might be having people who are ashamed to report themselves. When Parliament is on recess, some are even finding it difficult to go back home in the rural areas where they are being abused – let us not be afraid to report such cases. Let us stand up together as Parliamentarians and see to it that the violence in homes has been brought to an end. Men and women, let us find ourselves occupied with activities to help stop this violence. Even girls in schools, let them be empowered and be in a position to know what to do.
We went to Hatcliffe to assess the water situation, we were troubled a lot, girls are the ones who go to fetch water and there is only one borehole in Hatcliffe. When they get there, there are a lot of men and boys who say if you have not fallen in love with me, you will not get water but because they want access to water, they are only left with the option of succumbing to the demand of these men. Let us teach men to help women in the home to respect children’s rights. When they come to the borehole, let the children get water and not take that as an opportunity to abuse young girls or boys. Let us teach others about gender based violence. That is my opinion of this debate; tomorrow let us all stand up.
HON. SEN. DUBE: I move that this debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MPOFU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 25th November 2020.
MOTION
CONDOLENCES ON THE DEATH OF HON. SEN. AIR CHIEF MARSHALL RTD. PERRANCE SHIRI
Sixth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the death of Hon. Sen. Rtd. Air Chief Marshal Perrence Shiri.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. HUNGWE: Thank you Mr. President for affording me the opportunity to add my voice on the motion of the late Hon. Sen. P. Shiri who was the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement.
Some of us here know who he was from his background that he fought for this country and he came back alive. He came back and lived with us for quite a time and worked with us. He was a well known person and had a very good personality.
We had other Ministers before him who did not contribute meaningfully to the agriculture sector but Hon. Sen. P. Shiri engaged in training people in how to grow food crops. He was a Minister but also worked as an agriculture extension officer (mudhumeni). He would teach and encourage people on how to farm in order for the majority of Zimbabweans to get food on their tables.
Someone talked about Pfumvudza/Intwasa; the idea behind this programme is that we should engage more in farming so that families get access to food. Pfumvudza/Intwasa is for a period, it resembles spring time so if crops are grown like that, it is so attractive. So, we should encourage people who have ideas on how we can farm. What makes us talk about these issues is that we cannot continue to go and ask for food from other countries. It is a shameful thing because we are able bodied people. Some people think that we do not deserve to live on Planet Earth when they see us begging for food year in year out. So we should help each other on how to farm and produce enough food, that is why we have the Ministry of Agriculture. I have made an appointment with the new Minister of Agriculture so that I can assess him against Rtd Air Marshall Perrance Shiri, whether he will be able to do what Rtd Air Marshall Perrance Shiri did, because Hon. Shiri was a farmer before he joined Parliament. He was a well known farmer and a successful one. He left us while we still wanted to know what his plans were for us to have enough food in this country.
Many of us were shocked because we just heard about his death and not his illness. He was someone who had put a mark in our nation so that we would not go hungry. Hunger is not good, it makes someone behave like a mad person. I remember my mother used to go and beg for food, but she would sing and dance (singing), so that she could be given food. She did not want to steal – to those who are listening it is a shame but she would do it because of hunger in the home. If I was in the justice system, I would lessen the penalty of those who steal because of hunger. I think that is why the Lord put people with a sound mind to be Judges and not me. We should understand that our time is limited here on earth, but the most important thing is that we should get food in our country. That is what makes us remember Rtd Air Marshall Perrance Shiri. I thank you.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 25th November, 2020.
On the motion of HON. SEN. MUZENDA seconded by HON. SEN. S. MPOFU, the House adjourned at Five Minutes to Four O’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 18th November, 2020
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT
ZIMBABWE NATIONAL HUMAN SETTLEMENTS POLICY
THE MINISTER OF NATIONAL HOUSING AND SOCIAL
AMENITIES (HON. GARWE): Thank you Madam President. I stand before you this afternoon to present a Ministerial Statement on to the Upper House on the Zimbabwe National Human Settlements Policy (ZNHSP).
Background
I would like to announce to this august House that the Zimbabwe National Human Settlements Policy, a policy that will guide human settlements development in the country going forward, is now approved by Government as of Tuesday, 3rd instant.
The NHSP is a culmination of wide consultations with stakeholders across the country’s ten (10) provinces which began in May, 2018. The consultations were conducted with a view to address the shortfalls inherent in the National Housing Policy of 2012.
A national validation process was conducted after production of a zero draft with participants who attended the initial consultations being part of the engagement feedback nexus to same. This policy is therefore a result of the synthesised inputs as agreed by all stakeholders at the national validation fora. The policy had to undergo thorough internal validation processes before subjecting it to the Cabinet examination and subsequent approval.
The Policy Highlights
Let me hasten to highlight to the House salient issues contained in the policy. The ZNHSP’s vision speaks to “well-planned and governed Zimbabwe settlements”. Senate is therefore being informed that besides the huge housing and social amenities backlog, the human settlements sector is laden with a plethora of other challenges that include, but are not limited to obsolete and inadequate off-site and on-site services, informal settlements, widening disparities between rural and urban areas, and high cost of building materials and housing finance.
The policy highlights are as follows:
LAND ACCESS AND TENURE – Under the policy, all state land earmarked for human settlements development shall be managed through the Ministry responsible for human settlements development and the respective local authorities, for ease of co-ordination and accountability. Clear and defensible tenure rights will be defined for all land categories nationally, and mechanisms for guaranteeing security of tenure shall be set-up. The Ministries of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement, Local Government and Public Works and National Housing and Social Amenities ought to collaborate on management and disposal and allocation of State land.
Madam President, we are all aware of the existence of informal settlements that have almost encircled all urban areas throughout the country. They are now even in the rural areas and Mutoko is a case in point. I know Madam President you come from there and you are aware of what I am talking about.
SPATIAL PLANNING – With regard to spatial planning or physical planning, all settlements shall be planned by registered planners and mining companies shall be expected to submit Settlement Plans and Development Concepts to the local authority. There will be no allocation of un-serviced and unplanned land to housing co-operatives or individuals.
Madam President, we are all aware of what exists in the mining areas. Before this policy, any miner or any investor in the mining industry would come to the country, get to the site, start mining, build whatever they build and when the economic life of that mine is no longer there, they pack their bags and go, leaving people with nothing. There will be unplanned settlement and there is no economic activity and people will become destitute on the instant. We are now saying every mining company that is coming into Zimbabwe must conform to the Human Settlement Policy guidelines. When they plan, they must plan together with the local authority of the area where they are mining. A case in point is what is happening with ZIMPLATS, they are planning that mining activity together with the Rural District Council in that community.
ON-SITE AND OFF-SITE INFRASTRUCTURE – The provision of bulk services ought to be the responsibility of both the Central Government and local authorities in both the rural and urban areas. Even if there is on-site and off-site infrastructure, there is no bulk services infrastructure to service the new settlement and we are saying that responsibility must never be delegated to anyone else. It must be the responsibility of Central Government and the respective local authorities.
DENSIFICATION – Since land is a finite resource, all productive agricultural land will be preserved as such. Change of use will only be permitted on designated land while safeguarding all prime agricultural land. In order to curb settlement sprawl induced by the desire for personal ownership, it will be instructive that at least 40% of the land for human settlements development must be reserved for developments such as high-rise buildings and flats. Mixed use vertical space utilisation will be promoted.
Madam President, Zimbabwe has got adequate land for agriculture as we speak right now but if we continue to take agricultural land and give it to developers for housing, we are going to have a situation where we have got all the housing that we require but without food because we would have taken agricultural land and given it to developers for housing development. We are therefore saying that we must utilise our vertical spaces. Instead of building a lot of single storey houses, let us focus on building vertically. Let us focus on using our vertical spaces. They are so empty and are not interrupted by anything. What is only of concern is sometimes shortage of electricity.
As we plan to grow towards Vision 2030, we are saying before end of 2025, Zimbabwe will be in a position to export electricity. With that development, we are now saying in the Town and Country Planning Act, which says 10% of land should be set aside for vertical construction, we are revising that policy to move to 40%. Any development that is going to take place from now going forward must allow for a 40% inclusion of flats and high rise buildings.
Subdivision of low density stands will be permissible and encouraged where there is a possibility to reticulate sewer. The notion of densification in the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act (RTCPA) must be amended to suit the above- mentioned threshold from 10% to 40 %. Densification will also be expanded to include workspaces for micro and small to medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Seventy five to eighty percent of our economy is in the hands of our SMEs. Their work spaces must be given attention. This is what we are talking about in this new policy, that Government must make it a policy that we provide settlement as work spaces for all SMEs. It does not manner whether they are in the urban areas or in the RDCs. It is a policy thrust that we working with.
Rental Housing
The policy institutes measures to resuscitate and prioritise rental housing market. The private sector is encouraged to venture into rental housing markets.
Those that are of my generation are aware that when you came from colleges and universities, you would get into rent accommodation be it a one, two or three bed roomed flat. You then graduate as you prepare to marry to a much bigger space but still rental accommodation until economic activities around your life or well being allow you to raise money to get a mortgage to buy a house. The tragedy or blessing that we have in Zimbabwe is that we are all affected with the spirit of ownership. We want to own. This is the reason why we now have a huge backlog of housing because everybody wants to own a house. Even a child that has left high school wants to own a house tomorrow. We are saying that model is not sustainable. We must re-introduce rental housing. We are speaking to pension funds, insurance companies and building societies to come back and invest in housing.
In terms of their Constitution, they must provide at least 20% of their proceeds to housing. Pension Funds and Insurance companies are funds that are not owned by the owner of the pension funds but they are funds that are owned by pensioners. The majority of pensioners given our circumstances have either passed on or their money was chewed by inflation. There is nothing that they are getting in terms of direct benefits but we are saying their benefits must be enjoyed by future generations through buildings or flats that are funded by the pension funds and the insurance companies. It is enshrined in the Constitution and the pension funds must be motivated to come to the housing sector to provide housing for school, college and university leavers.
Rural Regularisation
All informal settlements will be regularized and sanitised through the use of a standardised protocol and development of a compensation and relocation framework where alternative land use warranting displacement is contemplated.
This is an issue Madam President. Zimbabwe is now seized with a major health disaster borne out of the existence of informal settlement or irregular settlements that are around every city and town and even in the rural areas. We cannot allow that to continue if we are to achieve the dictates of Vision 2030. Caledonia is a critical example of what I am talking about. If you live in Caledonia and you want to invite anyone to come to your house, you cannot give that person an address because there is none. You have to meet that person at a specific point where you then navigate following each other to your house. Every house for example where I am standing here, on my right is my ablution facility. To be more clear, a pit latrine and on the left there is a well. My neighbour has got his pit latrine here and on the other side a well. The chemistry of water underground is so devastating. It is affecting not only people that are living in Caledonia, Solomio or Harare South. For Caledonia, it is affecting people that are living in Greendale, Chisipite and Borrowdale Brooke because they are drilling boreholes and the streams that are bringing water to Borrowdale are coming upstream from Caledonia.
As we shine and say I have a borehole at home, we are drinking fecal water or we are drinking water with human feaces, a case that might not affect our health right now but will have a huge impact on the generations to come. We might not be able to contain cholera, dysentery and other diseases – Hon. Sen. Parirenyatwa is a doctor and he is on record in Mashonaland East talking about these diseases. One of the ways we can deal with this is for the regularisation programme supported by everybody; we put a stop to the use of pit latrines and open wells in urban areas and come up with programmed development agendas; invite investors, banks and building societies and present a business case in these areas to them.
What is happening right now is a situation where there is a land baron or a trust of land barons maybe up to 10; the 60 000 plus residents in Caledonia are paying to ten people who are operating like a local authority – ndivo vave vana katsekera vacho. Saka vanhu 60 000 vari kubhadhara kwavari. The land baron got land from the Government free of charge. He or she did not pay a cent towards that land but they are collecting money in US$, an average of about US$50 per household per month. This is the money that they are collecting and it is true.
Government had a beautiful programme in 2004. Government wanted to provide accommodation for everybody. There was a conscious decision to invite private developers and cooperatives to join Government in the development agenda. Government said we do not have the financial resources but we have got the land. We will sell the land to you at an intrinsic value, go and provide water, sewer and roads and develop stands on a planned settlement arrangement; sell that developed stand to home seekers and then they will then build their housing. That is what is in the development permit which people were given but as people we want to pursue that which is illegal. People started selling land which is not developed to desperate home seekers.
As the tragedy on that sale arrangement is, one stand is sold to three or more people. Unfortunately also in the development permit, the paper trail relationship is between the Department of State Land in Government and the individual or the cooperative. The trail of people behind the land baron has no relationship with the paper trail. If the person who is in the arrangement is the parent and passes on, the family that is left is at the exposure of the land baron who will invariably come back and say your parent did not pay for this stand. You were living there at my pleasure, I now need my land back – either you pay or you move out. This is the tragedy that is there and this is what this policy wants to address.
When you hear us talking about regularisation, these are the issues that we are looking at. These are the issues which His Excellency said within this dispensation; by the year 2030, we must have dealt with these issues. They cannot be dealt with within a year or five years but have to be spread over a period of time. Ten years is the first period that we are looking at.
We have other settlements that need sanitisation. Sanitisation refers to areas where cooperatives or developers had done the necessary - producing the physical planning layout plans, the local layout plans but then sold the land to desperate home seekers and advised them where the road, sewer and water would be and implored them not to build on those areas. In such instances it is much easier because it is just a question of identifying some contractors who will come and provide water, sewer and roads. The set up is different from what we are experiencing in Gimboki in Mutare or in Caledonia. So there is sanitisation on one hand and regularisation on the other, but they are both ills - nothing is better and we need to deal with them Madam President.
Rural settlements – we are developing model homesteads that will be accessed by citizens and planned. Rural settlements will be piloted in settlement areas while the gap between social amenities in both the rural and urban areas will be bridged. We want to take advantage of the Pfumvudza programme and ride under the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture where there is a Pfumvudza farmer who must be given at least an opportunity to build a modern house with running water, sewer and road. We are now working with the Ministry of Lands to ensure that the programme is effective starting next year.
We also have at least 18 000 A2 farmers and about 23 000 A1 farmers. This is the time to move in now and provide them with proper laid out plans where we have an area for human settlements or houses, an area for cropping and grazing respectively. What it is right now for lack of a better word is mumbo jumbo. You see Garwe building a house right in the middle of a field and his neighbour does the same. It kills the whole thinking behind A1 and A2 farmers. Those are some of the programmes that we are working on. Those of my age and beyond, in 1980 when we attained independence, all roads led to urban areas because we had that colonial thinking that if you go and live in urban areas you will bath with soda water and you will become light in complexion. So we all followed that mindset and as we were doing that we were leaving huge gaps in the rural areas but we were unknowingly congesting the urban areas, congestion in terms of the services, water, sewer and roads. Now we are seized with numerous pipe bursts for both water and sewer and there are a lot of potholes on our roads. The reason we have got pipe bursts mostly is because the designs were there for at most two million people for Harare but right now Harare has got more than five million people still being serviced by that infrastructure that was designed for two million people.
We are now saying we cannot think of building a new Harare. Yes, we have the new Parliament building where we will build a city but it cannot accommodate the whole of Harare. So, we are saying let us have a conscious policy that influences migration of people from urban to rural areas. How do we do that? Provide the same services or the same enablers that are being enjoyed in urban areas in the rural areas. If you have got running water through boreholes, if you have got sewer through septic tanks and soccer ways, land is in abundance in the rural areas so there is no fear of what we fear from Caledonia. If we provide serviced roads that will service our farmers in the rural areas and in the farming areas to markets there will be no need for people to want to continue to come to Harare where the air is polluted, the water is polluted and everything is polluted. We want to have an influence of urban to rural migration by providing the same services that are being enjoyed in urban areas in the rural areas, as well as by inviting investors to invest in the economies of the small areas out there.
I will talk about Melfort and Figtree. Melfort is 40km from Harare and 34km from Marondera. It is a suitable dormitory city in terms of providing labour for the two cities I have mentioned. It can create its own economy given that it is around an agricultural zone. What are the industries that we can promote or invest on in those areas. It is ICT, software and agro processing plants. We will then develop that area along that. You pick another point and go to Mudzi – what is it that drives the economy of Mudzi? It is gold and instead of having makorokoza from all over the country going to bhemba people in Mudzi, let us develop the processing of gold in Mudzi. This was mentioned last Saturday in Mashonaland East to those who come from there. We develop Mudzi accordingly then the economy of Mudzi will start to grow. There will then be no need for people to want to drive from Mudzi to come to Harare for work. They will be employed there. We will invite big retailers to those areas like right now if you travel to Murehwa or Mutoko all you need to do is to put Pick & Pay in Mutoko and nobody will want to come to Harare for groceries. They will buy in Mutoko and Murehwa. These are some of the strategies that we have under the rural settlement programme Madam President.
So, for this to be effective we need to come up with the necessary legal and regulatory framework. We need the statutory instruments that ensure that whoever builds a house on a wetland must face the full wrath of the law. We must have an instrument that can allow us to call back the development permits given to an individual or land baron because we are seized with a situation where without mentioning names, we have individuals that have more land than the government itself in urban areas and they did not pay a single cent for that land. It is not acceptable and this policy is meant to correct those wrongs.
Urban regeneration and urban renewal – Government in conjuction with local authorities will resuscitate the urban regeneration programme and we are basically looking at Mbare, Mufakose, Sakubva in Mutare and Matapi in Mbare. Those are very old suburbs that need urban regeneration. We must as a matter of policy provide alternative accommodation for anyone who is going to be removed from houses that are irregularly constructed. However, we have got a tragedy that is created by some of our councillors in Harare who because we had announced the regularisation process and said we were not going to demolish the houses, they sold the land for their own benefit to desperate home seekers and said build houses as quickly as you can because government is not going to come and demolish those houses. There was a cut off date for that and this answers why we are seeing some demolitions taking place now. These are houses that were quickly built irregularly to try and fit into the programme where houses would not be demolished so let us build and wait. We cannot do that otherwise we will be going nowhere, we will be orbiting at the same space.
On institutional framework, Government will also establish a statutory board agency that will undertake all works with domain of human settlement. We have the urban development corporation which primarily focuses on the provision of off-site and onsite infrastructure. We are saying we now need another board parallel to Urban Development Corporation that deals with the super structure that monitors the quality and standards that are being built because in terms of the functions and mandate we have, we are supposed to promote and facilitate the provision of human settlements that are sustainable, affordable and that are of quality, that speak to Vision 2030. So we need a whole agency to be dealing with that given the number of irregular and informal settlements that we have in the country.
On environment, climate change and new building technology; the policy ensures that the planning, development and management of settlement will be consistent with national and international disaster risk frameworks and with environment and climate change policies, laws and standards. Thus construction of housing and social amenities on wetlands will be prohibited and where possible, reclamation of the same will be instituted, this is now work in progress. It is instructive to note that the policy is banning the sale of Government pool properties and other institutional houses.
Let me elaborate Madam President on this. In 1985, in a way to capacitate civil servants, Government came up with a policy to sell houses to sitting tenants. What happened was 75% of Government houses were sold to sitting tenants. Government was left with 25%. Those sitting tenants either retired or were deceased. Now Government is seized with a backlog of at least 1.5 million people on the waiting list. The majority of the 1.5 million people are civil servants. The 25% housing that is there is not adequate to cover the civil servants and the Senators that are in here. So, the policy is now saying Government must put a lead to selling Government houses. If somebody is appointed to be a Senate President, Government must provide accommodation for the Senate President. Government must provide accommodation to Senators, Government must provide accommodation to civil servants but not for free at least for a fee.
Right now those are not there because Government had sold 75%. So the new policy now is saying we are no longer selling Government properties. I am raising this so that I am not inundated from now going forward with the request to buy Government houses because there is a huge demand for that for Members of Parliament who want to buy Government houses particularly those that are sitting tenants. Obviously there is need for us to talk about funding; where are we going to be getting funds to construct all this, it is a huge responsibility.
Social houses for civil servants will be funded through Treasury and other instruments that are Government related. Financial institutions and private sector players, pension funds and provident funds, insurance companies, regional and international investors shall be invited to participate on public private partnerships on the building of houses and social amenities throughout the country. Any other appropriate human settlement delivery models will be welcome. If there is anybody who has got a model whom he or she thinks it can be of use to the housing delivery initiative, you are welcome and the doors of the Ministry are open to suggestions, new ideas and innovations, please bring them forward.
Madam President, we have already spoken to the financial institutions. We have spoken to all members of the banking community, those that are members of the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe, we have spoken to building societies, we have spoken to the pension funds insurance companies, and they are on board. There is a lot of goodwill that we are riding on; the goodwill from His Excellency, the goodwill that we have generated as a new Ministry. So we are riding on that goodwill. We have international and regional organisations that have also come on board. What we are not doing is to sit down and discuss with ZIDA to come up with proper PPPs to ensure that the whole programme comes to fruition; we are looking at the year 2021 as the year of building. You will be seeing buildings in Mudzi, Binga, Chimanini, Chiredzi et cetera anywhere in the country. This is your policy Madam President, I thank you.
THE HON PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you Minister I know there may be other members who need some clarification after this ministerial statement.
*HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: Thank you Madam President. The Minister has come up with a very important policy. The Minister must have a plan to solve these things before he comes to this august Senate because the laws are already there. If people build on illegal land, you have the power to stop them from doing that. I went to Domboshava, I saw unbelievable things happening. People in the rural areas sell land to each other and they build very beautiful houses but there are no proper roads. You are the Ministers who are supposed to solve all this. Any Minister who is found guilty of corruption during his term of office, his assets must be confiscated and be used to pay for what happened during his term of office?
*THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you Hon. Senator. I think this is what the Minister said he is doing unless if you just want to comment. If you were listening properly, that is what he was saying.
HON. SEN. DR. MAVETERA: Thank you Madam President. Allow me to thank the Hon. Minister for bringing to this august Senate such a comprehensive and progressive policy. My prayer is I wish if we could have started yesterday not today. My question or areas of clarification Madam President, first of all from the Minister, I think the issue of uncoordinated development is all over the country like what the Minister has alluded to. What are the current solutions to those land barons who still control the land around any urban area? We assume that there is some form of permit which they were given and one of it is to make sure that the roads are serviced, there is sewer and water. Is there a programme where the Ministry or Government will make sure that those land barons who still exist are given a time line to make sure that those developments are there? That will actually show us that we are even also very serious and we cannot allow, as a Government, these people to continue to benefit and we regularise and they are left as they are. We need to make them pay penalties.
Also the issue on going up rather than horizontally; do we have a policy or are you considering a policy where you would give the minimum amount of story buildings because if they are two, you will still continue to do that so that we get serious investors who will come in, not every Tom and Dick. I think it is important that we actually say five storeys for our residential will be the minimum that we encourage and attract the real people who should actually be offering this service.
The other issue is the legal framework. I think we have got a lot of legal instruments in Zimbabwe. I think we are not short of that but the issue is implementation. Unfortunately, we are almost encroaching to 2023 where people will want votes. I just pray that this progressive policy is not going to be influenced by that because we have actually seen it, it is not new. We have seen houses being demolished but when we go to elections, we do not know where these land barons come from, they start again rebuilding. It is actually abuse of the citizenry and I just hope the Minister will stand his ground because it is not going to be easy. He is going to face human rights people trying to attack such a progressive policy. I hope we will be able to withstand that pressure and make sure that by 2030 our vision as a nation will be realised.
On disposal of Government property, I think it was a policy which was done wrongly. That is why I am happy the Minister is saying we need not dispose Government properties. If anyone, they should develop new and not dispose what we already have. I think he touched on resettlements around mining areas. What is the Government policy on current mining companies who are still extracting our minerals but there is no definable resettlement. The most painful Madam President is the Chiadzwa. We could have developed a modern city if we had actually implemented but there are not even dust roads and you cannot even access.
I would propose if it is not there within the policy for Government to make it that all mining companies, serious investors regularise and make sure that they put notable and regulated settlements around their mines. If they are going to be given concessions, that is okay because the cost of all this haphazard resettlement, I do not want to touch on it because the Minister has over-emphasized it. The health implications and right now we are actually having a crisis in health which we think is not due to water but is a result of these haphazard resettlement programmes.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Hon. Members, I am appealing to you that there should be no debate or comments because we just need to seek clarification on a point you could not understand during the Minister’s presentation of his statement so we can give others a chance and go into other business.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Madam for affording me this opportunity to seek clarity. I am aware you do not require comments but once one has taken the floor, one tends to speak. I would want to thank the Hon. Minister for saying the future looks bright because the Government and local authorities seem to be working hand-in-glove. It seems to be where our challenge was because the local authorities appeared to be doing as they pleased. In 1980, when one acquired a stand to build a house, building inspectors would come and inspect all the necessary stages during the construction of the house so that we have well built houses that do not collapse.
Maybe these are the comments that you do not require but I am prudent that as I had indicated that I wanted to contribute, I would then have to speak. Be that as it may, high-rise buildings are a good innovation because our land is infinite, by so doing, everyone will have a chance to have accommodation.
HON. SEN. ENG. MUDZURI: I want to thank the Minister for his genius report or policy statement. However, I want clarification around where you say water within the northern suburbs is likely to have been infected by water coming from the high density areas when in actual fact the science there is that all those houses have got septic tanks. So they use septic tanks, not the normal sewer. My suggestion to add on what you have said is that all high density areas must have proper reticulation as per world health standards.
The second point we have to clarify is around your high-rise. We have a terrible situation in Harare for instance, there is no water. How does water go up? First we need to address the situation of water. If we do not have water in any city, there is no way we can have a high-rise building. People will be carrying buckets up and down. Let us address that and then the programme on high-rise will work and also there is a limit to what you can take because you need the height. If you are using borehole water, you still need the height to be able to feed the water into the house.
Thirdly, how are you going to overcome transactional politics because transactional politics has dominated this country to the extent that politicians survive on transactions? Why are these barons not being arrested? We have talked of barons for many years and we are still talking about them. Actually you said they did not even buy a piece of land and nothing is happening. Are we going to wait for another ten years to plan that land barons will be able to pay for that land? I am saying when the election comes as my colleague has said, people want to transact and make sure they win and then we will end up having people being given pieces of land. People must be taken to account. This is why we are where we are because we are not asking our institutions to work.
Fourthly, I am looking at your brilliant idea on housing. What is your policy on doctors, nurses and magistrates? These people honestly are civil servants earning almost a pittance. They must have certain allocations where they can live so that they are not going to be corrupt. Can you add in your plan or you can tell us what your plans are on civil servants especially those coming from college as you said they could get into a flat but right now, all Government flats which were used by doctors or nurses are no longer there. Can we brilliantly, as you said, have something for the graduating civil servants?
Finally, I want to say your policy towards anti-corruption must be much harder than what it is. Without dealing with corruption, we are not going anywhere in terms of your policy which is brilliant. We want to encourage that it be done away with yesterday but we need to make sure that our institutions are not corrupt coming from the council officials to the ministry that gives land.
*HON. CHIEF. NTABENI: Madam President, the Minister spoke well but I do not know how he is going to implement this because people are staying in wetlands and waterways and it is confusing. We are in the new dispensation. In the old dispensation, we spoke about it and nothing happened. I do not know what the Minister is doing because people have settled randomly without order. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. SIPANI-HUNGWE: Thank you Madam President. I do not know whether I should ask it as a question. I heard you saying we should ask for clarifications only. Minister, we know there are land barons but I know the Ministry of Housing was under the Ministry of Local Government. The Ministry went around constructing houses and I would like to give you an example; in Dzivarasekwa they constructed Phase 1 and Phase 2. There are challenges in the Ministry whereby workers made double allocations of the houses and now people are fighting and sending each other to court, especially towards the festive season. How is the Minister going to handle this issue because the allocations were not made by the land barons but by the Ministry of Local Government which is the Ministry that is responsible for housing? Is the Minister aware that there are double allocation fights among the people caused by the Government? That is what I want to understand. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. MOEKETSI: Thank you Madam President for affording me this opportunity. I rise to thank the Minister who said they are going to construct houses for Senators because after five years we will end up being street kids when the term of Parliament expires. Secondly, when you begin your programme of constructing houses you must set aside land for teachers and police officers so that the Government employees are able to discharge their duties. There are police details that stay in the communities that are failing to conduct their duties well because they are afraid to arrest the perpetrators of crime since they are their landlords’ children. That is a very good programme Hon. Minister. Some of the Government employees like teachers do not have accommodation. I thank you.
*THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you. I hope the Minister understands that when he presented the Ministerial Statement, there is something that we did not understand well.
*HON. SEN. FEMAI: Thank you Madam President. It is unfortunate that I am only required to seek clarification only but I just wanted to thank the Hon. Minister for coming up with such a programme. I cannot just thank him alone but also the New Dispensation. In the past, a single stand would be sold to three different people by the same Ministry. When you go to court you would find a different person with dark glasses and with a pistol telling you to withdraw the case. I have a child who bought a stand in Solomio. He was threatened with pistol to withdraw the case.
*THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Inenge iri payi Honourable?
*HON. SEN. FEMAI: It is a firearm that will be brandished on the waist. They will show it to you to instil fear. The following morning, I advised my child to go to our lawyer and he said it is better to look for another stand instead of the threats. These were the problems we were facing then. You need to be committed. Once you start this you should know that you have taken the bull by its horns. I thank the new dispensation for providing us with you and other energetic ministers. You will see that we now have the Pfumvudza Programme that is being conducted countrywide. Be stead fast, do not fear anyone and do not look at anyone’s face or their political affiliation because these barons are political animals.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF MAKUMBE: Thank you Madam President. That was a good statement by the Minister. People in Manicaland lost their lives because they are living in areas not suitable for human settlements. This new policy encourages the settling of people in areas that are accessible. I know that it takes two to tango when land is being sold. The land barons are stealing from the people by selling land that does not belong to them. What does the law intend to do about that? That is fraud and we want it clearly stated out, what measures are going to be taken against land barons. If they sell land illegally, what documents should land barons have because we represent people in the communal lands and we should be able to advise them that they need to have certain documents when they buy land so that people are knowledgeable. In the communal land where they intend to construct houses, it will be better for us to have model houses because that is where the majority of the people are residing. Are we going to be given materials in terms of the proposed model houses?
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Hon. Senators, please put your cellophanes on silent or just switch off. I thought this subject is touching every Senator but I can see others on their phones. Let us respect this House and let us be serious.
*HON. SEN. MUPFUMIRA: Thank you Madam President for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the Ministerial Statement. The issue of housing, land barons and illegal construction has become a problem. I am happy that you are trying to restore sanity in that sector. I just want to comment that as these issues are being resolved, I have observed that in some areas, recreational areas have now been taken, houses have been built which belong to a company that was given a piece of land.
In Harare, the City of Harare will ask if people are agreeable with the change of use and all the people will oppose that. We have children and workers but we see houses being built in recreational areas. We are aware that there is a problem with access to water in certain areas and the Environmental Management Agency will not have permitted the construction of such houses. Madam President, overnight several houses will be constructed. There are areas that you are even aware of where construction is taking place in wetlands. It is my appeal to the Hon. Minister that the law should not be selective by demolishing houses in high density suburbs yet low density houses are not demolished. You should not just target the poor and the vulnerable ones. I thank you.
*HON. SEN CHIEF NGEZI: Thank you Madam President for allowing me this opportunity to seek clarity. I heard the Minister talking about the good things as regards to people that are building in areas that are arable. That one is a problem. There is the issue of a mine which has about 50 000 hectares of land that is meant for farming. Are there no ways that can be used so that the miners can extract their minerals and then the farming community can continue farming on the surface so that they are not relocated? I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF NEMBIRE: I want to seek clarification from the Minister on the issue of natural disasters. We want to know what has been done, for instance for Chimanimani and other areas where houses were destroyed. How does the Minister intend to deal with that issue? Is the Ministry going to construct houses for these people?
*THE MINISTER OF NATIONAL HOUSING AND SOCIAL AMENITIES (HON. GARWE): Let me start by responding to the first question from Hon. Sen. Chirongoma. Madam President, I believe you have adequately answered him and I am not making any additions.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: You can answer him.
*HON. GARWE: On the issue of regularisation, we are saying, what went wrong in the past is wrong but we cannot dwell in the past forever. We must now come up with measures to correct the imbalances that occurred in the past. As Government, we are saying everyone should be settled in an area where there is sanitation, water reticulation and roads. In the past when letters were still to be written, a letter would reach your home not that we could have a situation where if I visit you, we would meet at a shopping centre and then go together to your house because there are no house numbers. I am talking about what is occurring in the communal lands.
I am happy this is coming from you as the leadership. When you go back to the communal lands, tell your communities especially the village heads because they are the ones that are parceling out land illegally. Tell them that Government is saying that what they are doing, for example in Domboshava is illegal. Last week I was with Chief Chikwaka, I wanted to meet with Chief Chinamhora and Chief Rusike as well and tell them to call all their village heads so that no one would point a figure to anyone. I wanted them to understand that if you construct a house illegally, it does not mean that your house is now legal. What you have done is illegal, you need to appreciate that there is a law and your house has to be demolished.
Hon. Mavetera supported what we talked about that policy stops uncoordinated development. A land baron called Chimuti is on an island and there is a council next to him doing as he pleases and the three are disjointed. There should be a master plan to the development that is going to take place as regards the three settlements even in terms of the sewer and road networks, sewer and water reticulation. This is what we are correcting.
Development permits were given by the Government. It is only the Government that can revoke these development permits. It is just as good as a contract. If one does not meet their end of the bargain in terms of the contract, the aggrieved party can cancel the contracts because it is contrary to what the parties agreed to. That is what we are going to do and this is what policy says. We are going to remove that which we no longer want.
I can confidently say that we had a meeting with a development company called Destiny of Africa in Chinhoyi. We sat down with them and said we were not going to wield the axe but we would simply tell them the terms or conditions with regards their contract. We gave them three months period in which they would carry out their end of the bargain and that failure to do so in three months time, we would repossess the land. We are not just meting out punishments or chasing away land barons. We engage them and after meeting with the Provincial Ministers and say if it is Mashonaland West – we talk to Hon. Mary Mliswa and tell her that we have land barons in your area and we want the local leaders to meet so that we can explain to the people the ills that are associated with current settlement and its ills and tell them what we want to do. Most of the people were given permits in 2004 and were unable to do that in three months so Government is repossessing those pieces of land.
I have already answered those that said there were people that were given land but nothing has been said about it. The truth shall set you free. In our culture we say that it might take a while because an egg does not become a chicken overnight. We are going to sit down and ensure that we remove all the obstacles as we go. What is most important is to state that we work with Provincial Ministers. They are the custodians of the land barons. They stay in the same areas with land barons and they assist us to ensure that we carry out a clean-up exercise.
If you have constructed a two storey building, you have done vertical construction. We are looking at a flat with a minimum of five storeys.
The legal framework is that we work with other Government agents. We do not operate independently. We work with other line ministries such as the Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Environment and even ZACC. ZACC is the one that go on the ground where we are unable to go. It is an inter agency approach and not a single Ministry approach.
About mining companies, as we speak, we now have an applicable because it was adopted by Government. We came here to just give a statement because this is already operational as Government policy. I was speaking to the Minister of Mines and his officials highlighting that all miners should be sensitised that as the mines develop, they should develop together with the local community and the local authority so that after the end of the mining life cycle, other activities then become self sustaining to the local people in that environment. We do not want a repeat of the Kamativi Mhangura scenario where the miners left people where abandoned. Government now has a problem dealing with these towns so that they become proper human settlements.
Hon. Tongogara spoke very well about the standards. We have Acts that we administer which talk of standards. We have been giving councillors money so that they would come and approve. All of us here including me are guilty of this. We are the law makers. We should ensure that the laws that we enact are being implemented and protected than us being the first offenders.
Hon. Mudzuri is gone. He talked about contaminated underground water situation. I did not appreciate what he said since he is an engineer. In the low density or northern suburbs, there are no sewer lines. It was designed in a way that they would have septic tanks. The stands are 2000 sq metres and above. The water has streams that bring water and that water emanates from Caledonia where water is contaminated. This is what I was making reference to.
I did not understand when he said transactional policy. As Ministers, we do not look at anyone’s political affiliation. I would want him to enlighten me on what this is. Be that as it may that land barons are not going to be arrested because we are going to be having an election; from the Mayor to the Councillor, they are all on bail. The Council now needs to be run by a Commission. When we arrest them, should we then parade them after arresting them so that you appreciate the work that we are doing? They are being arrested.
Hon. Sen. Chief Makumbe, in the communal lands, we have developmental programmes and we want them to be developed as the urban centres. We come to you as Chiefs with modern houses to encourage people to construct such houses. We are not saying the Government is going to construct houses for people for free. Government does not have such resources. I did not say that Government is going to construct houses for free for Senators or civil servants. Government is going to bring in investors such as banks, investors and other such companies. Priority will be given to civil servants – teachers, doctors and nurses are part of the civil service. We also have a programme specifically for teachers, nurses and doctors. For doctors and nurses for example for Parirenyatwa Hospital, we can build flats starting next year that would be used to accommodate doctors and nurses. We would have eliminated transport problems but they will pay rents so that we can be able to do that programme from provincial level to district level so that when resident ministers do their programmes they have money to do programmes for their nurses and doctors. The programme for communal teachers should be high rise buildings for their accommodation. They should have running water, septic tanks and talk about water being able to go up a high rise building. As an engineer, I was expecting him to give a different perspective. If three boreholes and three mega tanks of water can be pumped from the tanks to the high rise. I was a contractor and if you go to Shawasha Hills, I built those tanks in Shawasha. The water comes from the boreholes and it goes to these tanks and then it is distributed to the houses. It is possible.
Hon. Sen. Mupfumira – it is true that there is disorder through the issues that if the programme has been put in place it will start - maybe in the high density suburbs. Wetlands are in high density and low density suburbs and there is disorder in both suburbs. We are going to look into a cleaning up exercise of both housing areas. Hon. Sen. Chief Ngezi you spoke about agriculture but I have no response and I will defer to the Ministers of Lands and Mines so that they can put their heads together and they will incorporate Ministry of Housing to come up with solutions, but that is not my area of competence. Be that as it may, I will send word to the two Ministers.
Hon. Sen. Chief Nembire talked about disasters in Chimanimani. Government has already started building houses for those that were displaced by cyclone Idai in Chimanimani. The houses were being constructed under Local Government but when my Ministry was created, the project is now under my Ministry. We will continue with the construction and ensure that these people are allocated houses. It is not only Chimanimani - in Binga about 40 families were displaced by the cyclone so we need to construct houses for them.
Hon. Sen. Femai was supporting what I had explained. Hon. Sen. Hungwe is correct that the programme that we gave as Dzivaresekwa started in the Local Government and my Ministry was now a department. It is now a fully fledged Ministry and we are busy doing our hand over take over. In January next year you are going to see the things start happening in that area. The problems in that area – we already have reports that have been written - maybe it was your committee who wrote the report. We are aware of such programmes and we are working on them as we speak.
Hon. Sen. Moeketsi, let me restate that we are not constructing houses for Senators for free but we are saying that on our waiting lists let us also have Senators, MPs and civil servants as priority because we are the frontline workers of Government but these should not be for free. I decided to clarify the position. You were calling a dog with a whip in hand. Hon. Sen. Femai, I thank you for the words of support. Please continue preaching that gospel where you are coming from in your constituency so that everyone knows that the Government of His Excellency Cde. E. D. Mnangagwa is development oriented and this is where our focus is. We are not going to leave anyone behind as our theme suggests – leave no one behind. It is the right of everyone to have a house, even a person who is a street kid who no one wants to look after have a right to have decent accommodation. Even those that are ill should have houses. The elderly who do not have children to look after them have a right to be in old people’s homes where they are looked after. So, no one is being left behind. Let us all preach this gospel that has been preached by Hon. Sen. Femai so that as Zimbabweans we can build our own country. There will be no one who will come to build your own homestead to then marvel at the beauty of the home. We are the custodians and the owners of Zimbabwe. We spend most of our time building our Zimbabwe because no one will come and build it unless you want us to be recolonised because we are too lazy to build and develop our own country. I thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you Hon. Minister for sharing with the Senate, the National Housing Policy and clarifying issues which were raised by the Hon. Senators.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR MASHONALAND CENTRAL (HON. SEN. MAVHUNGA): I move that Orders of the Day Number 1 and 2 be stood over until all the other Orders have been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Third Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
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: Thursday 19th November, 2020.
MOTION
PREVALENCE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I move the motion standing in my name that this House;
COGNISANT that the Republic of Zimbabwe is signatory to the Beijing +25 Declaration, the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
RECOGNISING that Sections 17, 56, 78, 79, 80 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provide for gender equality and other rights of women.
NOTING the commemoration of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence Campaign from 25 November – 10 December 2020 under the theme “Orange the world: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect”
MINDFUL that domestic violence and sexual abuse in our communities constitutes a scourge that has caused devastating social ills on womenfolk, among them, trauma, murders and suicide;
ALSO MINDFUL that the prevalence of domestic violence results in grievous physical, emotional, psychological among women and the girl child, leading to untold sufferings to minors;
COGNISANT that cases of domestic violence are contributory to high incidents of rape, incest, child marriages, depravation of love and financial support and other anti-social practices;
AWARE that failure to deal with this cancerous pandemic of gender-based violence is a serious indictment on the part of our nation;
DESIROUS to curb challenges of domestic violence;
NOW, THEREFORE, calls upon;
- a) Law enforcement agents to strictly enforce law on domestic
violence and bring all culprits to book.
- b) Parliament to legislate for stiffer penalties to deal with
domestic violence.
HON SEN. S. MPOFU: I second.
+HON. SEN. A. DUBE: Thank you Senate President for giving me the opportunity to add my voice to the debate. Domestic violence is abominable. As a nation we have laws and there are also international laws which are against domestic violence. I fully support the Beijing 25 Declaration. The different forms of abuse and the CEDAW, the SADC Protocol on Gender Mainstreaming and Gender Balance and also our Constitution as Zimbabwe. There are days that mark and recognise gender based violence that is 25th November to 10th December.
This is done because domestic violence is something that is not palatable. Women are abused because they are not strong enough to fight for themselves. Yes, there are also men who are being abused but it is mostly women who are abused. Women are enslaved, they are treated as aliens or people who are just lesser beings in a family. Women work hard, they go to the field, cook for children whilst the husbands spend the day at bars drinking beer then after that they pass through their concubines places who are called ‘small houses’. After that they will bath before coming home so that the wife will not know he has passed through the concubines.
He will then start singing and shouting at the wife so that the wife will not question him. This is the abuse that is being perpetrated against women. Some end up beating up their wives at night and even children also suffer the same abuse and this results in children crying. The wife also suffers because of this abuse; this is a daily event which is perpetrated to women. Looking at statistics, you will discover that a lot of women are dying as a result of physical, emotional and other forms of abuse, despite the fact that the woman gives birth to children who will look after the husband in future. Men who do this are not responsible and they take money from children and give to their concubines.
When a man has another woman, that man becomes something else as he does not value his wife. This results in women suffering and some end up taking their own lives. Some women also end up cutting short their lives because of that abuse. Some end up suffering from chronic diseases as a result of this abuse. Women are being abused every day in different forms. Some are being verbally abused. The Bible says that a man is given a helper but it is surprising that at times you find the man insulting his wife in front of the children. This is really painful. It is painful to see a parent being abused in front of their children, and this affects children’s performance at school. Some do not perform well at school because of that. Some end up exhibiting the same behaviour at school. Some end up insulting other children at school because they see it as a good thing because they are used to such behaviour at home.
There are also some women who abuse their children as a way of taking off stress after being abused by their husbands. Some children end up envying their neighbours for what they see happening in their houses, yet in their families, there is violence. I remember at one point in time in a certain homestead, when a robber attacked that family and they beat up their mother, the children did not intervene because they were used to being beaten up by their mother so they enjoyed what was happening because of the abuse that they had suffered from their mother. So we must not abuse other people.
Abuse is being perpetrated to children by families especially girls. There are some girls who are abused by their uncles and other trusted relatives. At times such abused children end up exhibiting such behaviour. It is surprising that relatives are the ones that are abuse young girls and the girls end up not feeling comfortable to disclose this abuse to anyone. The ones that are supposed to be trusted are the ones that take advantage of girls. This results in children contemplating suicide or even staying on streets. Some end up indulging in alcohol and drug abuse. Some end up engaging in irresponsible sexual relationship and some also contract sexual transmitted diseases.
There is also this form of abuse which involves ritual killings. I want to refer to what happened on the 17th September, 2020 in Zimbabwe where a young child who was send on an errand was taken by his uncle. Tapiwa Makore of Murehwa is one child who suffered abuse which is a bad behaviour that is now happening in Zimbabwe. When he was taken by another child of his own age, he thought that they were going to play and when taken to his uncle’s place, he thought that he was going for a good cause yet he was going to be slaughtered and beheaded like a chicken. This is a bad and dispeakable behaviour that is not expected. So you end up asking what will become of this country. This incident is not the only one. Even the Chivhu incident where a woman mutilated her four children, these things are dispeakable. You end up wondering why and what is happening. These are bad events that are happening. After suffering abuse, a woman ends up performing such dispeakable acts.
At times you find some children engaging in child labour. I remember during the first days of COVID 19, there was an incident that was reported by Musasa Project that in 13 days, there were 782 cases of abuse yet in another case there were 500 cases in a month. However, during the first days of lockdown, the statistics were reflecting that there was a lot of domestic abuse. Women are facing a lot of challenges and are vulnerable. I remember a certain case that was mentioned yesterday about a man who was abusing his wife and he immersed his wife in a bucket of water and continued beating that woman then he covered her head with a plastic bag full of with water trying to suffocate her. Their children were begging that he should stop that. This is a bad incident.
Domestic violence is a bad thing. People have adopted bad things. In Zimbabwe, we need to adhere to our norms and values. When a woman misbehaves, as a man you know what to do. You are supposed to engage the in-laws or adults so that they deal with the case instead of taking the case into your own hands and abusing a woman. The mother of your children and a woman who brings food into the home whilst you are doing nothing. Yes, I know there are a number of women who also abuse their husbands. They must be punished and prosecuted but the ratio of men to women indicates that more men abuse women than women.
You read newspapers and there are stories that a woman was abused and killed. People no longer value human life. At times some claim that they are abusing their women because they paid lobola yet that lobola might be insignificant. This is a despicable act which is not tolerable. So my request is that Government should make sure that there are stiffer penalties for perpetrators of domestic violence. As Zimbabwe, we are a proud nation. We do not have the death penalty but we prefer that an offender should spend life in jail because he/she might be a menace to society and needs to be incarcerated.
I would like to talk about those who sexually abuse children. This is a bad act. My desire is that these people be castrated so that they feel pain because being in jail is not punishment enough but if they are castrated, it will teach them a lesson because this is a bad thing which disturbs children and affects their performance at school. Some children no longer know what to do. Some also are afraid of people because of that. At the end of the day, children end up behaving as if they are in a war situation because of this abuse. Government should take sterner measures to punish offenders.
Children should be taught at school about issues of abuse so that they understand what abuse is. Teachers have that task because at home it is very difficult to teach children because most people who abuse children are known to them and are relatives. At times parents end up protecting their relatives who abuse their children. It is important that children are taught about abuse so that they know and understand that when abused, they must engage their teachers and report all forms of abuse so that offenders are prosecuted because this has resulted in children suffering psychologically.
For women who are abused, it is important that they must not feel for perpetrators of violence but it is important that offenders are arrested and prosecuted instead of killing their wives. This at times results in the man living the wife and going to their concubine or small house. So, during the 16 Days of Activism as women, we are really concerned and we cry everyday lamenting that these men should stop beating women or despising women. Women are commodified because lobola was paid for them. The Bible says that Adam was given Eve as a helper so your wife is a helper. Public education should be done so that people understand these issues.
If one reads a newspaper, you see that these cases are in the print media every day. Men beat up women who are the weaker sex and need to be protected. During the 16 Days of Activism, I would request that we love each other. Men should not abuse us. I would also request that Parliament should advocate for stiffer penalties for abusers of women. As women, we are saying that enough is enough, men should stop killing, abusing and beating up their women. This is a bad thing.
The ratio of women who are being abused is rising every day. This was a taboo in the old days. It was something which was an abomination and killing someone was not tolerated in the old days but it is surprising that this is happening now. When the community was looking for a man who had killed his wife, they all ostrasised such a man. There is a case which is 25 years old where a man killed his wife. As a member of the family, this really affected me but at times you wonder what people are saying about such cases even when a man is arrested and spends all those years in jail. What will be the community saying? So we need stiffer penalties so that the man is incarcerated until he understands and shows remorse for his actions. A man is someone who is supposed to care for his family as a provider but you find a man spending the whole day in beer halls drinking beer and end up beating up their wives.
Madam President, I would like to thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak and express my view points and also to advocate against gender based violence. I would like to say violence against women should stop forthwith. Let me start the 16 Days of Activism Campaign by saying enough is enough, let us love our women. I thank you.
+HON. SEN. S. MPOFU: Thank you Madam President for giving me this opportunity to support this motion raised by Hon. Senator Dube that is supporting women against abuse as well as girls. The Constitution of this country talks a lot about the rights of women. Section 17 of the Constitution states that women should be given equal rights as men, that is 50:50 in all posts. Women should be given equal opportunities. Section 56 of the Constitution says women have equal opportunities just as good as everyone according to law. They should not be prejudiced. They should have equal access to law just like everyone regardless of race, gender, religion or age. Section 78 of the Constitution states that a person is allowed to have a family but in this country it is common practice that women are just allocated spouses. Women are given away in marriage. That is an abuse of their rights because they are just given to people that they may not know. That becomes an addition to their suffering of losing a loved one. All those things come as harassment to women.
I am glad that the Constitution of the country addresses all those issues but there are many other sections of law such as CIDA and the SADC Protocol that look at protecting women from harassment. These days we are looking the 16 days of activism against gender based violence. We are expected especially as senators to campaign so that women know their rights and that they are not supposed to be abused or beaten. The 16 days of activism looks at the budget allocation to bring relief to anyone who may be abused and prevent the actual abuse because it is better to prevent abuse than to let someone go through the abuse. T
Domestic violence comes in various forms. Some of it is when a husband prevents a woman from attending a meeting. When a woman says they want to attend a meeting, it becomes a crime and she would be beaten for attending the meeting or going to church. That is another form of violence. Even insulting, when painful words are used it is a form of violence as well as threatening. That is another form of violence because you will harass that person emotionally. Even criticising or teasing a woman especially with respect to her physical features brings low self esteem. The most common form of violence is that when it comes to sex, when a woman is not ready for sex she is forced and beaten by the husband. They should be protected so that they have the power to deny when they are not ready for sex. That leads to a woman not being tolerant to the abuse and violence. Sometimes she may take the law into her own hands and use boiled water onto her husband leading her to being arrested.
Violence against women or girls causes a lot of things. Sometimes they get injured or crippled resulting from violence. Other times because of the violence, they prefer to commit suicide and that may lead to mental disturbance. In other instances, there are children who grow up in such abusive families where a woman is always beaten up and abused. That psychologically affects the children who may end up abusing drugs or finding any form of escape to such forms of violence. They may also become abusive and be bullied by other children at school because they take it as normal due to the violent environment in which they grew up in. Sometimes children run away from their homes because there is always violence, parents are always fighting. We must stop that. Let us campaign and tell people that it is not good at all.
I would also like to appeal to the law enforcement agencies especially the police to act because, when a woman is beaten at home and goes to report to the police, they are asked to bring the perpetrator of violence. How can you bring someone who has beaten you? How can you take them to the police station? That becomes difficult and it also shows that even the police are unable to help when faced with domestic violence cases. How can you be told to bring the perpetrator of violence against you to the police station? They will not agree to that. As parliamentarians, let us enact strong laws with deterrent sentences so that violence against women and the girl child is stopped. We should realise that laws do not contradict each other and should be effective in order to prevent domestic violence. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: Thank you Madam President. I want to thank the mover and the seconder of this motion. The motion involves women, men and children. It is important for us as an august House to closely examine this motion so that we can live harmoniously as families like the type of lives that our parents used to live. Violence was unknown; they were living as united families. It is now different from the modern life and I believe that domestic violence is now caused by the state of the economy where people now have the means of wealth which our parents did not have. Things that we now have were not available during that time. We are experiencing violence because of the competition which has disrupted family lines.
Madam President, the majority of abusive cases are not common with women alone, men are also being abused by women. There are a lot of women that are very talkative to the extent that the husband does not respond, in fact he is outgunned when it comes to talking. The woman will be running the affairs of the home. So that is an abuse and in the end the community looks at it and start saying that man cannot run his homestead and that is not good.
Madam President, on the other side, women are abused in several ways. Right now women are busy with Pfumvunda project. They are preparing to grow maize but when they send that maize to GMB, that woman will not receive a reward and itt causes domestic violence. The woman will be saying, I have worked hard and I am not benefitting at all. Children will never grow up to live an exemplary life because of the bad relationship that has existed between their own parents. They will look upon domestic violence as a good thing because they would have been brought up in an abusive relationship. Domestic violence causes death either through hanging or taking poison. It is bad to practice domestic violence.
Neighbours can also cause domestic violence and the next generation might look upon it as a good practice. It is our wish as this august House and as a country that we should speak against domestic violence. We should put in place laws that are deterrent to would-be offenders so that families can live harmoniously.
In Mount Darwin, a certain woman fell ill, she became sick for a long time and her husband then fell in love with a neighbour. The ailing woman got to know about the affair and she became extremely ill. She was taken to hospital and detained for two to three days. The husband decided to follow the wife and he was accompanied by his girlfriend. When they got to the hospital, the wife looked at her husband but she was now unable to speak. Tears started streaming down her face and she passed on. She died because she was disturbed by the relationship that the husband had gone into. Domestic violence led to her death. We must educate the nation to stop domestic violence.
We should be exemplary as parents when our children also have their own families. Our children should thrive by exuding exemplary behaviour as they run their own families and show that they have been brought up in a proper manner. If a child gets married an abusive husband, she is bound to show these trends. The conventions whether they are from African Union or United Nations should help us to live better as families.
Madam President, let us give our chiefs powers to deal with issues of domestic violence. Our chiefs are capable of ensuring that there is peace in their areas of jurisdiction. Once domestic violence matters come up, they can amicably resolve them and ensure that the subjects live harmoniously.
Let us advise the Government and the country on how bad domestic violence is and that it causes death and retards development and even causes people to be crippled when they were born with full limbs. I thank you Madam President.
HON. SEN. A. DUBE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. S. MPOFU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 24th November, 2020.
MOTION
CONDOLENCES ON THE DEATH OF HON. SEN. AIR CHIEF MARSHALL RTD. PERRANCE SHIRI
Fifth Order Read: Adjourned debate on motion on the death of Hon. Sen. Air Marshall Perrance Shiri.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHIKWAKA: Thank you Madam President for giving me an opportunity to say a few words regarding the late hero Hon. Sen. Perrance Shiri. As chiefs or traditional leaders, if we do not give testimony, it will not be proper as we are the custodians of the land.
I would like to recap a few words that were said by Hon. Tongogara in 1978 at Inamenga Base Operation in Mozambique. That base was open with a view to train the young ones. There were gadgets they called ‘matekenya’. You could step on the food which was inadequate using this ‘matekenya’ gadget. It felt pitiful. Hon. Tongogara said the young ones shall be happy when they got back home. The whites have now surrendered. The country is now going forward because of your bravery. The freedom fighters are now grown up – they are now men with pot bellies and are now husbands.
After Cde Shiri came back home after fighting a good fight during the war of liberation as has already been alluded to, he became one of the first black Air marshal. When he was tired of doing that and he had fought a good fight, he was then given a chance to move from being a soldier to work as a Minister of Lands. There was a programme named Zimbabwe Founder Age with Production (ZIMFEM) that was initiated by these men. Cde Shiri went further and said we must lay down our arms and take our land and ensure that we plough and become self sufficient. It is true we never used to see him as a Minister who dressed in suits and neckties. He always used to adorn work suits. God has blessed us as chiefs and we want to testify that the chiefs were given their inheritance. He came up with a programme that all commercial farms that used to belong to whites should be under the jurisdiction of the chiefs. If we do not mention that as chiefs we were happy but God disposes. He does things in his own time. We are happy that our inheritance was returned to us by the late Hon. Shiri and the majority of the chiefs were happy we now have our land.
The traditional leadership from the chiefs to the villagers were given the power to be the custodians of our heritage. As a chief, today I would like to thank him for the good work that he did from the time of waging the liberation struggle, he did not show that he was only going to be involved in the fight alone but was also involved in the development of the country and ensuring that people are self sustained. He also came up with the issue of smart agriculture and today we talk of Pfumvudza, a programme that he initiated.
This year it is our prayer as chiefs that God hears our prayer and that we should have sufficient rains because of the Pfumvudza programme and the influence that it has had on people we are going to become self sufficient. Our silos are going to be filled to the brim and our economy is going to be developed through agriculture, through these programmes that have come about and all the programmes that were done in the commercial farms such as mechanisation where people got tractors. These are programmes that the late Shiri initiated. There are some people that are now supervising and ensuring his vision will be achieved. I hope he is happy wherever he is.
I have stood up as a chief to support all those that have talked about the good work that he did from sacrificing and dodging bullets. He even went further to fight against the whites that did not want to give the heritage sites and our land. We know there are some pockets of resistance in returning the heritage to the people but this first step is a step in the right direction. There will be no other child in this land that will say otherwise. The President is on record as saying the land is an irreversible subject and the land will never be returned to the whites.
I have stood up to thank and support all those who spoke truly and honestly because we all know that when someone passes on and all things are said, a lot of people would want to lie and say he was a good man so as to please those that are alive. We are giving true testimonies which will go down in history that living heroes would want to be heavy in the nyati fashion because the death in the last minute which led to a lot of mass graves in Mozambique where innocent blood was shed. I want to believe that all Ministers would want to take the nyati example. I want to believe that all of them are following in the footsteps of the late Shiri who fought a good fight and did a good job. Now he is being praised by those of us who are still living. I thank you Madam President.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. S. MPOFU: I second.
Motion put and agreed.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 19th November, 2020.
On the motion of HON. MATHUTHU, seconded by HON. SEN. S. MPOFU, the House adjourned at Five o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 24th November, 2020.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 17th November, 2020
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
INVITATION TO A PRESENTATION OF THE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY NUMBER 1
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I have to inform the Senate that all Senators are invited to a Presentation of the National Development Strategy No. 1 (NDS1) on Wednesday, 18th November, 2020, at Rainbow Towers in Harare, beginning at 0830 hours.
ANNUAL PRE-BUDGET SEMINAR
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I wish to remind Hon. Senators that the Annual Pre-Budget Seminar is scheduled for 19 to 21 November, 2020 at the Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare.
Please note that for both activities, only Presiding Officers, Ministers, Members of the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders, Chairpersons of Portfolio and Thematic Committees, Members of the Expanded SDGs Committee and Members of the Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance and Economic Development will participate physically in the Jacaranda Rooms. The rest of the Members of Parliament will participate virtually from the Main Auditorium. A zoom link will be shared with Members in due course.
HON. A. DUBE: Thank you Madam President. I seek leave of the Senate to withdraw Notice of Motion Number 5, on today’s Order Paper which is in my name.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR MASHONALAND CENTRAL PROVINCE (HON. SEN. MAVHUNGA): I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 and 2 be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Third Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. CHIMUTENGWENDE: Thank you Madam President for allowing me to endorse the Presidential Address to Parliament. I endorse the Presidential Address to Parliament because I see it as a record and a guide which will help us to do our part in the economic transformation of this country. The motion moved by Hon. Sen. Chirongoma and seconded by Hon. Sen. Dube is a very important one because without this guide and record, our contribution to the transformation would be very confused and disorderly. Not only is it a guide and a record, it is also a point of reference for the Members of Parliament (MP). In fact, each MP should have a copy combined with the speech or address of the previous session because together, these show how serious the Government is about transformation of the economy of this country.
They show that this country is on the right path as explained by His Excellency the President Cde. E. D. Mnangagwa. For a country whose economy had got into serious problems like this country had reached, there are only two things that can happen to transform the economy. One is a marshal plan or a huge loan from somewhere but we cannot get that. We have to depend on our own resources and we need the guidelines or point of reference as given by the President.
I think the President has done a wonderful job in presenting a clear message of what our role is because to transform an economy or society, each section has to make its own contribution and our own contribution is now very clear as to what it is; where it starts and how it goes. It is to pass these laws as quickly as possible. All the issues that we need to pass the laws on are not strange to us. Our President and our Government have these two speeches as a guide plus the National Development Strategies or plans, one of which is going to be explained to us tomorrow at the meeting. At this meeting, it will be clarified as to what the development strategy would work and what the role of the MP would be because as I said earlier, each sector of the population has its own role to play.
For the transformation of the society and the economy in particular to succeed, national unity is also very important and to solve all the other problems that affect the transformation negatively, they need to be solved. In solving those problems, national unity is important and the President has explained that.
We also need to thank the President for reacting very timely when it was shown by WHO that the world was going to enter into COVID 19. As a result, how it has affected us has not been as bad as it would have been. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. MATIIRIRA: Thank you Mr. President for affording me to debate on this motion which was raised by Hon. Sen. Chirongoma and seconded by Hon. Sen. Dube on the Presidential Speech by the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, Cde. E. D. Mnangagwa.
We want to thank the President for the State of the Nation Address to the 3rd Session of the 9th Parliament. His speech was pregnant with the development of this country. The Presidents’ Speech is important for us as a country. Therefore, it needs us to work together. The President began by thanking us as Zimbabweans on the issue of COVID-19 that we were compliant. We want to thank him for working very hard so that the people of Zimbabwe could be protected from the COVID-19 issue and for the reduced numbers of infections. Mr. President, the President spoke on the development of the country as well as on the number of Bills which were passed and the remaining ones. We want to thank him for that because if the country does not have rules, there is nothing that will move forward. Among the Bills, there is the children’s Bill which must come to this House and be debated because I foresee the problem where the whole country has been shaken by what happened to Tapiwa Makore. We believe if the Bill comes to this House it will help us as a country. Women are facing a lot of challenges.
The President also spoke about agriculture and Pfumvudza. If we in this current rain season receive adequate rainfall, Zimbabwe is going to experience a bumper harvest. Many women from different parts of the country are busy preparing for Pfumvudza and the inputs have already been distributed, thereby showing the President’s commitment to adequate food security in the country. Let me end by saying that we acknowledge the speech made by His Excellency, the President which spoke to the prosperity of the country. From his manifesto, he is still focused on the development of the country. We support very much the SONA by the President. I want to encourage my fellow Members to be united and focus on the SONA so that we can work together for the prosperity of the country. Thank you Mr. President.
+HON. SEN. S. MPOFU: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to debate on the SONA as presented by His Excellency, Cde E.D. Mnangagwa. I would also like to thank the mover Hon. Sen. Chirongoma, seconded by Hon. Sen. Dube. The problem that we have which the President mentioned is of COVID-19. It seems most of the people are not complying with the regulations that are in line with COVID-19 so as to curtail the spread of this disease. Right now, schools have been opened and students are seen walking along the roads without social distancing at all. That leads to the spread of the disease. There are schools in Matebeleland North where five students have been diagonised with COVID-19.
We were thinking the figures were going down but it looks like they are spiking, especially among students in Form 4, Grade 7 and Form 6. Where ever there are students failing to comply with regulations to control COVID-19, I implore parents to ensure that their children comply with the regulations. If we are not compliant to the WHO regulations – the First Lady has conscientised the public on this COVID -19 all over the country, but it seems people do not understand. Now it seems it is again on the spike.
We were not expecting a second lockdown but people should comply with the relevant regulations which have to do with COVID-19 so that they do not spread the diseases. It is sad that in Victoria Falls there are such people from Zambia who have been allowed to go and that will enhance the spread of COVID-19. People should be arrested and given deterrent sentences because they want to infect other people.
His Excellency further spoke about Pfumvudza which is very good because most of our people in the rural areas cannot afford to buy diesel. It is better because those who engaged in pfumvudza have already put seed down and they expect high yield. Inputs have been received by the rural communities and they have been encouraged to work with traditional grains. Even if we do not get enough rains, the traditional grains can survive and people can get food from those. They are very nutritious.
The President also mentioned Bills that are supposed to come into this House. It seems we are behind time with those Bills. I wish Ministers could quickly bring the Bills to the House so that we urgently attend to them. The Youth Bill - which is a 1986 thing and is no longer in align with what is happening today. Bills should be timeously brought here at Parliament and we should urgently attend to them. In the last session some of the Bills elapsed and they have to be restored on the Order Paper. I think I have said enough and want to thank you for the opportunity you afforded me.
*+HON. SEN. MALULEKE:Thank you Mr. President for affording me the opportunity to speak on the SONA as presented by His Excellency, Cde E .D. Mnangagwa. I also thank Hon. Sen Chirongoma seconded by Hon. Dube on the motion raised on the SONA in this House. He mentioned a lot of things especially on COVID-19 regulations compliance during the first phase but right now signs are that some people are forgetting but the President encouraged us to continue following the COVID-10 rules and regulations so that we can live together. He also talked about the Sugar Act Bill. He says in the past we were using the 1964 Act, an Act which was brought when I was in standard 5. Right now I am an old lady but they were using that old Act, many things which were hidden in the old Act was for people who colonised us. When the President announced the review of the Sugar Act, I now expect that things will move well because this is our natural resource and this will help us in the development of our country. Many things were being taken from this country and exported to other countries.
He also spoke about the issue of Bills that when Bills are brought into the Senate, we must look into them and make sure that we pass them. We are pleading with you Mr. President that the Bills that were talked about by His Excellency the President, sometimes the Ministers delay in coming up with the Bills into the Senate. We are pleading that the Ministers must come very fast with these Bills in time so that we work together and our country will move forward.
Many things which we discussed in this Senate are things that support the development of the country. Therefore, Ministers must attend to these things. Mr. President, His Excellency the President of Zimbabwe also talked about the issue of farming. If we do not farm, there is nothing for us. He was talking about farming and this includes cattle ranching, goats, poultry and crops. Our country produces more food and in my area which falls under natural region 5, which is the area of Chikombedzi. There are more wild animals and cattle. We are pleading that Ministers responsible to come to this Senate and address us because the wild animals and cattle are dying but there is no explanation. We want the Ministers to come and address us.
His Excellency the President also spoke about the Child Bill. The Bill will be explaining the definition of a child and the expectations of what the children must get from their parents or guardians. Mr. President, I thank those who talked about the issue of maize seed distribution. Seed and fertilisers are already in the process of being distributed and we are now waiting for the rains; that is the only thing which is delaying us. His Excellency the President also spoke about the girl child and women that they must benefit from this programme.
When women decide to do projects, they show dedication in doing whatever they can for the prosperity of the country. Therefore, His Excellency the President really encouraged us as women to continue standing and work properly for the country and its prosperity for our future generation. Where there is no woman, there is no family. The speech by the President encourages us to work very hard. I thank you for giving me this opportunity to talk about the motion raised by Hon. Sen. Chirongoma and seconded by Hon. Sen. Dube.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: Mr. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. ENG. MUDZURI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 18th November, 2020.
MOTION
CONDOLENCES ON THE DEATH OF HON. SEN. AIR CHIEF MARSHALL RTD. PERRANCE SHIRI
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA : Mr. President Sir, I move the motion standing in my name that this Senate expresses its profound sorrow on the sudden and untimely death on Wednesday, 29th July, 2020 of Hon. Senator for Mashonaland Central, Air Chief Marshal (Rtd), Perrence Shiri.
PLACES on record its appreciation of the services which the late Member of Parliament rendered to Parliament and the nation; and
RESOLVES that its deepest sympathy be conveyed to the Shiri family and the Mashonaland Central province.
HON. SEN. CHIMUTENGWENDE: I second.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Hon. President. I am seeking your permission to read my motion because it is long and it has got some technical words.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Hon. Sen. are you asking for permission to have your motion stood over?
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I am seeking your permission that I read my speech.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I could not hearing you property Hon. Sen. Tongogara, it is because of this COVID-19 issue and masks. I understand you are seeking permission to read; you can.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President. I thank you for the opportunity that you have given me to move the motion standing in my name which draws attention of this august Senate to Wednesday, 29th July, 2020; the day in which an Hon. Member of the Senate Big Boy Benjamin Samson Chikerema popularly known as Hon. Sen. Rtd. Air Chief Marshall Perrence Shiri passed on.
When the sad news of his death became known on the fateful morning, the entire nation was shocked. Hon. Sen. Rtd. Air Chief Marshall Perrence Shiri, our untiring Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement was no more, plucked from our midst by the all pervasive inevitable global enemy number one, the Coronavirus.
Mr. President, indeed, not many of us were even aware that he had been taken ill because on the days preceding his untimely death, he went about discharging his ministerial duties with vigor and energy he always displayed on many a field-day when addressing our farmers about our agrarian reforms and the boundless possibilities and opportunities that existed in this sector to position Zimbabwe as a food self-sufficient country, and better still, to become the net exporter of food in the sub-region and beyond. Hon. Members will agree with me that the late Hon. Member had become a household name inspiring hope among our people and that our country would regain its position as the breadbasket of the sub-region and beyond.
Mr. President, the late Air Chief Marshal (Rtd) Perrance Shiri had impeccable credentials which could not be challenged or doubted by anyone. He was a product of the colonial era during which many Africans were displaced from their homes, their land taken away from them and dispatched to inhospitable regions by the white settler regime who prided themselves as our colonial masters in the service of their majesty in Great Britain. The suffering of our dear departed Hon. Member witnessed among his clansmen and women including the numerous sacrifices his own parents made to enable him to acquire an education inspired him to abandon studies and join the armed struggle for our independence when he was just over 18 years of age. The desire for national freedom and independence became deep rooted in his heart, soul and body.
In 1973, Cde Shiri, in the company of the a fellow school and classmate, our Hon. Vice President, General (Rtd) Constatino Dominic Guvheya Nyikadzino Chiwenga found his way to Botswana on his way to Zambia where many young men and women were swelling the ranks of recruits destined for military training in order to re-launch the armed struggled by our two main liberation movements, the Zimbabwe People’s Revoluntionary Army (ZIPRA) and the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA). Cde Shiri received initial military training in Zambia and later on in Tanzania at the famed Mgagao Camp which was the bastion of the military national liberation movements.
After receiving his military training and posted to the war front, Cde Shiri rose through the ZANLA ranks to end up commanding the Tete Province during which many daring missions against the Rhodesian forces were carried out, including the 1978 blasting of the fuel tanks in the then Salisbury. Hon. Members may recall that in the build up to this year’s Heroes Day, the late Perrance Shiri narrated on our television how that military action was meticulously conceived and executed by a specialised ZANLA unit which he was instrumental in the selection of its members. The incident became a turning point in the history of the liberation struggle as it sent a strong message to the Rhodesians during the 1979 Lancaster House Talks on Zimbabwe that there was no turning back on the armed struggle. Until then, the war had been fought mostly in the rural areas where the majority of Africans lived, but now the tables had been turned against the whites as the war had now come to their doorstep in the cities under the title ZANLA Comes to Town.
After the liberation struggle, Cde Shiri continued to serve his country in the military including the role he played in the integration process of the erstwhile warring armies which needed to be re-oriented into a cohesive national army. He would himself later on be deployed to the Air Force of Zimbabwe where he became our second indigenous Air Force of Zimbabwe Commander after the late Josiah Tungamirai. He passed the baton on to his successor, Air Marshal Moyo at the inception of the Second Republic.
Mr. President, thereafter, Hon. Members will recall his appointment as Minister of Government responsible for Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement, a portfolio he carried with honour and dignity until his untimely death. He distinguished himself as a farmer before his appointment to the ministerial portfolio. No wonder the late Cde. Shiri became hands-on Minister of Government who was easily identifiable by his dress code of the blue overalls which he donned in the fields. His vocation was to ensure that Zimbabwe became food secure and to achieve that he will be remembered for championing three key interventions namely; mechanisation of our agriculture; modernisation of our agriculture; and the climate proofing of our agriculture. The Pfumvunza/Intwasa Programme our farmers are running with was his brainchild to ensure food security at household levels, and surplus for commercial marketing. That is the vision he has left for us and we are challenged to carry that vision forward as a lasting tribute to him.
Mr. President, the late Chief Air Marshal (Rtd) Perrance Shiri was not only a decorated soldier; he was also a philanthropist who had a soft spot for the poor and underprivileged members of the society. Before his appointment to the ministerial portfolio, Hon. Sen. Shiri retraced his footsteps to communities which had hosted him during the liberation struggle, to build schools and clinics for them. Through the Commander Air Force of Zimbabwe Charity Fund which he founded in 2011, he was able to raise funds for the construction of Murongwe Primary and Secondary schools in Dande including a clinic. In recognition of his contribution to the liberation of Zimbabwe and humanitarian work, the late Hon. Member was awarded the following medals for his dedication, selfless and exemplary service to the nation;
- Liberation medal for his gallantry and selfless dedication to the liberation of Zimbabwe;
- Independence medal for his contribution towards the independence Zimbabwe;
- Service medal for his immense contribution to the integration, formation and development of the Zimbabwe National Army during the first ten years of its existence;
- Long and exemplary service medal for his exemplary service for continuous fifteen years;
- Mozambique campaign medal for his contribution in the restoration of peace and stability in Mozambique;
- Democratic Republic of Congo campaign medal for his contribution towards peace and the regard of humanity in the Democratic Republic of Congo during operation Sovereign Legitimacy; and
- Grant Officer of the Zimbabwe Order of Merit Award for his eminent achievements and distinguished service to Zimbabwe and humanity at large.
Mr. President of the Senate, in the late Hon. Sen. Shiri, our country has lost a stalwart of our liberation struggle, a gallant son of the soil and an exemplary leader who was a true servant of the people. It is prudent and befitting that this august House takes note of the services that the late Hon. Member of Parliament rendered to Parliament and the nation during his tenure and to express our deepest sympathies to the Chikerema (Shiri) family and to the Mashonaland Central Province following his passing on. May his soul rest in peace. I thank you Mr. President of the Senate.
*HON. SEN. CHIMUTENGWENDE: Thank you Mr. President of the Senate for affording me this opportunity to support the motion presented very well by Hon. Sen. Tongogara. I knew the late Hon. Sen. Shiri for a long time since early 80s. We would always meet and discuss different issues. His history has already been spoken about and I am going to speak on his political career and his behaviour, ubuntu. Hon. Sen. Perrance Shiri was a hard working person. Every work that you could assign him to do or was assigned to do by the leaders of the country, he would do it very well. Hon. Sen. Perrance Shiri was a loving person to everyone and he had a zeal to do his work he would have been assigned to do.
This is witnessed by the way he worked as the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement that he was a person dedicated to his work. Moreover, what makes him best at his work is that he was very approachable and was a very loving person to everyone. He could meet people and discuss with them and assist in solving different problems affecting people. Even here at Parliament, he conducted his work very well. He was assigned as the Leader of the House in the Senate, which shows his commitment thast he was someone who could work with others.
When we spoke about politics, the whole of Africa and all the black people from the whole world have what we call potential and also the natural resources which are in Africa compared to other continents.
Mr. President for this potential to be successfully achieved, it needs unity and have what some people call United States of Africa. If we are not united, Africa will remain the same as it is right now. It a continent which is marveled by other continents yet they laugh at us. The black people who are outside Africa are being treated unfairly like what is happening in America where they are being shot and they have now formed an organisation called Black Lives Matter.
Mr. President, Africa which is supposed to be the global base is not yet a global base. Africa is divided and it has about 55 countries in one continent with same people, same history, similar problems but they are divided. If we talk about the whole world, Africa is not counted. Some small countries like France, there are Security Council Members but we are not part of that because we are small countries. Big countries like South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt are not properly counted because they come from Africa. We are not regarded as fit to be given a seat in that organisation, so we are not included.
The idea of uniting Africa; we are not the first to talk about it. The founding fathers of Africa or the founding fathers of Pan Africanism, the likes of Marcus Garvey from Jamaica, Kwame Nkrumah from Ghana and Sekou Toure from Guinea and others were the first to talk about this. They said we must do what we call Pan Africanism which must be able to unite us as Africans and up to today we are still uniting and nothing else.
Mr. President, when the Organisation of African Union (OAU) was formed, many did not want that organisation to be formed but they were sort of forced and even today some of them do not want. Some are just there in the organisation but not participating vigorously.
On the issue of development, we used to speak with the late Hon. Sen. Shiri, that people do not understand that development does not end. Some think that if we do one or two things then development ends, yes we can do that but it takes time. It needs a lot of money, training, dedication and many other things. If you go to developed countries, even today they are still building new schools because the population will be increasing. What they built in the past have now become old, therefore those buildings need to be rehabilitated. So development is not something which you can say, we have developed and we are done but you continue developing.
When we entered the New Dispensation, some people thought that problems were going to end there and then. It is not like that, it will not end in the timeframe which you think as an individual. It is not bad to wish that things must fast track to end but it takes time to solve economic issues. If you look at case studies of other countries which had economies that had gone down and reached our level before the Second Republic, we see that when they took the decision to revive their economies it took time. I am not saying the economic recovery path must not take time but the nitty-gritties which we need to put attention to takes a long time and many people are needed so that there will be development.
Unity is also needed. These things also need money and money does not come overnight. Money is earned bit by bit. The late Hon. Shiri could articulate all those issues very well. In our province, we worked with him. He was one of the great leaders in our area. He even nominated me to become a Senator, it could have gone the other way. He supported me to become a Senator for me to be in this House and I also supported him to remain in his position, so we were helping each other.
Therefore, I support this motion. The role played by the late Hon. Sen. Shiri and the work which he did in Parliament, Government, province and the whole country and all the different positions which he held showed that he was a dedicated person and was a good performer. Thank you Mr. President.
*HON. SEN. FEMAI: Thank you Mr. President. I also rise to add a few words in testimonial as well as to appreciate the work that was done by the late Hon. Comrade Shiri. First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to the mover of the motion Hon. Sen. Tongogara seconded by Hon. Sen. Chimutengwende. I thank you for moving the motion.
I once rose in this august House thanking him during his lifetime. Today I now posthumously thank him. I proposed that we should thank each other whilst we are still alive. We mentioned the good attributes that each and every one of us has and not to only say it after the person has passed on because we do not know whether the deceased can hear what I will be able to say because no one has ever risen from the dead to then tell us of their experiences. If the expression of gratitude is done during the presence of the member, they will do much better and continue doing good because they will have been praised for doing good. That is what I initially said during his presence in his lifetime.
Today I now want to thank him by expressing my condolences. For me to first come to know the late Hon. Sen. Shiri, it was through the Dynamos Football club. I was with Comrade Zvoma who was the Secretary of the club and I was the Chairperson. We were coming from Mutare after having played a match. We were very happy because we had won the match. When we got to Rusape, we got into a hotel near the bridge and had a meal there. I did not know Cde Shiri then. Cde Zvoma got out of the car and ran to hug Cde Shiri. He was not dressed in military attire but in civilian clothes. He appeared like an ordinary man. Cde Zvoma introduced me to Cde Shiri and I was shocked that the man we read in the newspapers had hugged Cde Zvoma. I then reckoned that he must be a man of the people. We greeted each other and from there on, we would pass perfunctory greetings.
When this country was hit by Cyclone Idai, we were moving around with a Committee. We met him in Mutare; I greeted him and I did not notice that it was him. I noticed that he was dressed for the occasion. He was wearing overalls, suitable hats and gumboots. This attire befitted the terrain and the Cyclone which had hit the area. Some leaders who were there were not properly dressed. If there was need to pull people trapped by the mud, he would pull them without any difficulty. That is when I realised that we should have given him his recognition and praise. If we could find four Ministers who are in the same mould as Hon. Sen. Shiri, our country would have developed but alas, he is no more. If a replacement in the same mode could be found, things will work out well for us.
I would want to thank the new dispensation for recognising that he was one of the Commanders of the Army for a long time and he had been there and there had been peace and respect; he had to retire because he had worked very well. Unlike others, there would have been an uprising after leading for a few years. I would like to thank the new dispensation for his vision and realisation that the late Shiri was the man of the people and would work for the people. He was a servant of the people and we should emulate him.
As we were growing up and we were playing plastic balls, I would call myself Duster King – because he was a good football player and a good role model. We should have models like the late Hon. Sen. Shiri who should rise and step up in our society so that our country can be developed. May his Soul rest in peace.
HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: Thank you Mr President for affording me this opportunity to support the motion moved by Hon. Sen. Tongogara and seconded by Hon. Sen. Chimutengwende. The history of the late Chief Air Marshal has been well chronicled by those who spoke before me. He has a rich chequered career, in terms of the duties that he discharged during his life-time. Let me say that the late Hon. Sen. Shiri would visit us in our constituencies in Mt Darwin. As has already been mentioned by the majority of the speakers, he was down to earth and humble, and he would never show off either as a Minister or a senior party official. He was a man of the people who easily mingled with the ordinary citizenry. As far as he was concerned, he was not the leader who enjoyed food from the high table but rejoiced in sharing any available meal without any protocol being observed. I would want to thank him for being an exemplary servant leader.
As has been already alluded to by Hon. Sen. Chimutengwende, the late Air Chief Marshal was one of the most senior ranking party officials in Mashonaland Central Province. At provincial level, he discharged his duties very well. He was a dedicated leader whose ambition was to see the development of Mashonaland Central. He led by example, I remember one incident when he challenged us by donating 20 herd of cattle to the cause of Mashonaland Central. He was an honest person who abhorred lying, ill disciplined and disrespectful people. He never brooked from remonstrating with them, there and then. Thereafter he would exchange handshakes with you to signify that the matter was now water under the bridge.
The late Hon. Sen. Shiri built Murongwe Primary and Secondary schools in Mt Darwin North as a token of appreciation for the support that he received when he waged the liberation struggle in the Tete province. These schools rank among the best constructed in Mt Darwin North. The late Hon. Shiri was raised up by well mannered parents, and this showed through his own good behaviour. Dande in Mashonaland Central were quite saddened when they learnt of the untimely death of the late Hon. Shiri. The people in Mt Darwin North, in remembrance of the memory of the late Shiri now want to rename Murongwe Primary and Secondary schools to Perrance Shiri Primary and Secondary schools. To that end, the community has already approached Pfura Rural District Council with this request. He received several medals in recognition of the good work that he conducted during his life time. Medals are never awarded to lazy people. I would like to express my heartfelt condolences to the parents of the late Shiri, his family and his clan on the loss of such a gallant son. We are together as we mourn his untimely death. As an august House, I would want to believe that we have learnt a lot from his servant leadership. In his last days he was appointed the leader of this House, but he never spent a lot of time in that position as he untimely passed on. I urge the children in Mt Darwin North to utilise the schools that he constructed to make Mashonaland Central a better place. I thank you.
+HON. SEN. M. NDLOVU: I would like to thank you Mr. President for giving me the opportunity to deliberate on the current motion. I would also like to thank Hon. Sen. Tongogara for honouring our fellow Hon. Member after his untimely death. It is important that after the departure of a fellow Hon. Member we note his contributions to the development of our country. We need to appreciate his good deeds as a nation. Hon. Shiri was a humble man. You could not tell he was a Minister. We were close and every time he came to Bulawayo he would address me as a soldier. He would say soldier jump and I would say how high and he used to laugh. His death was really sad. It affected us that he just passed on without falling sick for a long time.
There is a common adage that says the good deeds that you do whilst on earth will follow you. This means that Hon. Shiri had a good relationship with Zimbabwean citizens. I would also like to thank his Excellency for appointing Hon. Shiri as a Cabinet Minister. This was a humble man who rarely put on a suit like other Ministers. He was always dressed in a humble manner. He used to attend funerals which reflects that he was a soldier at heart. Hon. Shiri was a caring person, a true patriot who knew what he fought for during the liberation struggle.
People might take it lightly but being a soldier is not easy. He went to different countries on duty representing Zimbabwe. Even though we did not recognise his contributions then Sen. Tongogara did a good job by honouring the late Hon. Shiri. I remember at one time when he visited Bulawayo and asked us whether we had tractors and we told him we did not have tractors then. Hon. Shiri then requested that we compile a list and submit it to his office so that he could assist us. Unfortunately, before he achieved that he passed on.
When Hon. Shiri was appointed the leader of this House, I almost walked from Bulawayo to Harare. I had missed a sitting then he called me so that I could come and deliberate on a Bill. He said that he wanted me in Harare and it did not matter which mode of transport I was going to use but he just wanted me in Harare. This shows he was a perfectionist who wanted to complete every task to his family, a family which gave us a national hero - and to His Excellency who recognised him as a national hero, a courageous and brave hero. I would also like to thank his family, Hon. Sen. Tongogara and all our elders who recognised him as a national hero. We are together with his family in remembering his good deeds and we will continue remembering him. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. SEKERAMAYI: Thank you Mr. President. I rise to support the motion raised by Hon. Sen. Tongogara about the Late Hon. Sen. Rtd. Air Chief Marshall Perrance Shiri. It is not easy to talk about the Late Hon. Sen. if you have not known him for a life time. The Late Hon. Senator is among our heroes, he left school as a young man to pursue the liberation of Zimbabwe after we had reached a stage where we agreed that we are our own liberators.
As has already been mentioned, he left the country and went through Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania and later went to the front where he was operating from Mozambique. The Hon. Senator was one of the leaders who had a commitment to the liberation of this country, who wanted to see the children of Zimbabwe be molded as young students that they should leave their education and be taught how to use firearms and that was our intention as we were fighting.
He would do so in a humble manner. He never bragged about the power he yielded. He had the dignity that made people listen to him. He went through difficult times but as you all know, there were some who would abandon the liberation struggle as the going got tougher. He is one of the trusted leaders of the war veterans that were entrusted to ensure that things are right. He was a man of action, he was reliable in that in difficult situations, he would be send anywhere.
When we got our independence, he went and joined the Air Force and others joined the army. The majority of people in Air Force that time were whites and there were a few blacks who were serving tea and no black person occupied the position of a pilot. For us to have Zimbabwean pilots, men and women that could do operations, this was brought about by the Late Hon. Senator. As a country, we lost a dedicated cadre because of the death of the Late Hon. Senator.
As Zimbabwe, we must be self reliant in terms of food security. We want to move away from the begging tag because if you are constantly receiving food relief from others, you present yourself as a poor person. The Late Hon. Senator committed himself to ensuring that the agriculture sector is revived and that we will be able to grow our own food and be self sufficient. We will also be able to sell surplus to other countries and we will become the bread basked of Southern Africa. We will be a country that will be reckoned with in terms of being self sufficient. No one was amazed that the late Hon. Senator was declared a national hero because everyone else knew. What surprised a lot of people is that no one was aware that he was ill; it came as a shock and to a complete surprise that he had passed on; that is how he passed on. You are all aware that we worked with the Hon. Senator for a very long time; I am not going to be too personal about it. He is one of our commanders. There will be a Zimbabwe Defence Forces delegation that will be going to Ethiopia, Egypt and West Africa. If the late Hon. Senator was present, one would know that Zimbabwe was represented by a strong man who speaks the truth about Zimbabwe; an honest man who stood for his country but when the Lord creates us, he also knows when we will pass on. The manner in which the Hon. Senator passed on hurts a lot of people. I want to say with these few words Hon. Sen. Rtd Air Chief Marshall Perrance Shiri, wherever you are, remember that the majority of people that you left on this planet, especially Zimbabwe, still love you and respect the work that you did and commend the efforts that you did as Minister of Agriculture. Wherever you are, rest in eternal peace, I thank you.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Hon. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday 18th November, 2020.
On the motion of the MINISTER OF STATE FOR MASHONALAND CENTRAL PROVINCE (HON. MAVHUNGA), the Senate adjourned at Ten Minutes past Four o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday 5th November, 2020
The Senate met at Half-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE
APOLOGIES RECEIVED FROM MINISTERS
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I have a list of Ministers who have sent in their apologies. The Hon. Vice President, Hon. K. C. D. Mohadi; Hon. Vice President and Acting President, Hon. C. G. Chiwenga; Hon. J. B. Matiza, Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development; Hon. N. M. Ndhlovu, Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Hospitality Industry; Hon. K. Kazembe, Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage; Hon. C. Mathema, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education; Hon. S. B. Moyo, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
I think from now onwards, we are going to have a list of those Ministers who would have attended in this House to answer questions because we have Ministers who have not yet come into Senate to answer questions. Take note, Clerks-at-the-Table that we should have a record.
We have Ministers present here, Hon. Prof. A. Murwira who has always been in this House every Thursday, Hon. M. Mutsvangwa is Leader of the House, Hon. Marapira and the Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
HON. MWONZORA: Thank you very much Madam President. My question goes to the Leader of the House, Hon. Minister Mutsvangwa. Recently we saw the Government signing an agreement for the compensation of white farmers in respect of improvements of land expropriated during the Land Reform Programme. What are the arrangements, if any, regarding the compensation of black farm owners who lost their land during the Land Reform Programme? For example, the late Rev. Ndabaningi Sithole lost Churu Farm.
What is the arrangement, if any, for the compensation of the predominately black workers who lost their employment as a result of the Land Reform Programme?
THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION, PUBLICITY AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. M. MUTSVANGWA): I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Mwonzora for his question. I would like to say yes the global compensation deed was signed and this is a closure to land ownership in this country. The Second Republic is very much concerned about the issue of making sure that land is utilised, that agriculture is done as a business and the issues of ownership. This is the last pin to close those ownership quarrels.
The Global Compensation Deed deals with all those issues which you have just talked about, black farmers who lost their farms. It is part of that and they are going to be compensated. The Ministry of Agriculture together with the Ministry of Finance, are looking at how these can be compensated. I hope you are talking about Matenganyika, those black farmers who had their farms before the Land Reform and had paid for what they owned will be compensated either by getting their farms back if the farm is available or maybe a lot of people have been resettled on the farm. Then Government will be looking at other alternative ways of compensating them either by giving them land or money.
Talking about the African workers who were working on the farms Madam President, I have always said this. Most of those of my generation went to secondary schools before independence and I clearly remember that we never found a child who was coming from the farms attending schools. Since the attainment of independence, we now see a lot more of schools in those farming areas and you also see a lot more of those children attending school. What has happened to the black workers on the farms is, yes they had been disrupted in one way or the other but a lot of them have land of their own and engaging in farming now. A lot of them got farms; those black farmers are working on our farms and we are making sure that we provide jobs. – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.] – So we continue to look at their welfare.
These are Zimbabweans and at one time there was an issue of citizenship because most of them were Mozambican and Malawian descendants. The Government of Zimbabwe has said that these are Zimbabweans and as such, their welfare is very close to Government and they will continue looking at that. I thank you.
HON. SEN. MWONZORA: Hon. Madam President Ma’am, I would like to thank the Hon. Minister for her answer. However, I do understand that when the agreement was signed, those people who were involved in the agreement were represented with the exception of the workers. So my supplementary question is - is Government open to discussion on the issue of compensation with representatives of labour?
HON. SEN. MUTSVANGWA: Thank you Madam President, I want to thank Hon. Sen. Mwonzora for the supplementary question. We are talking here about land owners – those who were on the land, former land owners. The Global Compensation Deed is addressing the issue of land owners and when it comes to issues of the workers, Government will certainly – yes. They are very much concerned like I said. They will be talking to those and some of them have actually been empowered.
They now own land and are working hard. We see more of empowerment coming from the farming communities. So I think that the Hon. Senator should actually appreciate the work and improvements that have been done as regards the farm workers. I thank you.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I had recognised Hon. Sen. Chinake and Hon. Tongogara.
*HON. SEN. CHINAKE: Thank you Madam President, my question is directed to the Leader of the House…
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Sorry, before you pose your question, in the House we have Hon. Minister Zhemu, the Minister of Energy and Power Development. Welcome Hon. Minister, we have never had a Cabinet Minister who has held your portfolio in this House. Thank you. – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.] –
THE MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. ZHEMU): Thank you very much Madam President Ma’am.
*HON. SEN. CHINAKE: Madam President, my question is directed to the Minister of Energy and Power Development. Every time we face power outages where I stay and at times we end up spending two to three months without restoration of electricity. My second question is that in all places that are covered by ZESA, why does ZESA not use its own equipment? They are just hiring equipment.
*THE MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. ZHEMU): Thank you Madam President Ma’am. The first question on why it takes time for ZESA to attend to faults, let me say that we regret that but if there is a specific area, please notify us so that we rectify. It is not Government position to delay rectifying faults because people need electricity in different areas like rural areas, hospitals and industries. It is not Government’s position to delay.
The second question was not necessarily a question but it is the Hon. Senator’s suggestion that ZESA should have other cars that will be used to service different areas that have faults. This is correct - there is a fleet that we look forward to receiving, a fleet that amounts to 140 trucks that are going to be used by ZESA workers in rectifying electrical faults. Government has started procuring such cars. We are going to announce later as to how the cars are going to be distributed so that people have electricity on time. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Madam President Ma’am. My question is directed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs but in his absence, I will redirect the question to the Leader of Government Business.
There are ambassadors like Brian Nichols who is arrogant and speaks negatively about Zimbabwe…
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Order, order Hon. Senator, please may you lift up your voice a bit?
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you. My question is directed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs but in his absence, I will redirect the question to the Leader of Government Business.
There are a number of ambassadors like Brian Nichols who is arrogant and speaks negatively about Zimbabwe as if he is a chief who presides over Zimbabwe, an independent State. They use their proxies to denigrate and criticise our Government and its programmes that are aimed at emancipating Zimbabweans. What measures are in place to prohibit diplomats from engaging in such activities?
*THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION, PUBLICITY AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. MUTSVANGWA): Madam President, I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Tongogara for asking such a pertinent question. Let me say that she is referring to a portfolio that I once held for several decades, representing Zimbabwe in different countries. In 1980 we were in Belgium; New York in 1985; Namibia then eventually later went to China.
Let me explain that as a diplomat of one country to another country, we pay homage to the President of that country. This is all about creating and maintaining bilateral relations between the countries. As Zimbabwe we need to continuously engage with other countries. We have our own ambassadors in different countries, which means if there are bi-lateral or multilateral discussions that we need to have, that is why we have ambassadors so that they engage each other. This should be discussed, not that ambassadors denigrate our country like what Hon. Sen. Tongogara is saying.
Zimbabwe is an independent country; it has its own Constitution which is a people driven Constitution. A Constitution that is followed by Government and law does not allow any diplomat or ambassador to denigrate the host country and its programmes. There are laws and channels that we need to be used on engagements like these. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: If there is no such law that allows that kind of behaviour, is there any Government initiative that has been done to redress this behaviour?
*HON. SEN. MUTSVANGWA: Thank you Madam President. Let me also thank Sen. Tongogara for such a supplementary question. I believe there are a number of issues that happened. Every time when such an occurrence happens then our Ministry of Foreign Affairs addresses such errant diplomats who would have denigrated Zimbabwe. We are not a country that denigrates other countries but we are a country which desires to move with other countries and have good relations with other countries. So, it is important that verify that ambassadors according to Article 41 of the Vienna Convention it enjoins diplomats to respect the laws of the host State and not to interfere in its internal affairs.
*HON. SEN. MOEKETSI: Thank you Madam President. My question is directed to the Leader of Government Business in the House. When we experienced COVID – 19, the President encouraged people to wash hands thoroughly with running water. We do not have enough water in areas we live, people walk long distances to get water. How long will this continue happening? Is this disease still with us?
THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION, PUBLICITY AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. MUTSVANGWA): Thank you Madam President. I would also like to thank Hon. Sen. Moeketsi for her question. The Hon. Sen. explained the importance in the country. When we started experiencing COVID – 19 and before, water was a priority to Government because water is life. Diseases like cholera and other water borne diseases normally appear when there is not enough water. So when we started experiencing COVID – 19, Government prioritised washing of hands using running water, not stagnant water, which means that water is critical in the prevention of the spread of COVID – 19.
Our Government through the leadership of President E. D. Mnangagwa, in March when the World Health Organisation (WHO) proclaimed that this is a global pandemic, then our President declared it a national disaster. He quickly appointed an inter-ministerial taskforce on COVID – 19 and he imposed a lockdown. This was painful to people but it was a good move because it restricted people from place to place risking the spread of COVID – 19. In this taskforce there were a number of committees. One critical committee is the one which ensures that there is enough water; DDF and ZINWA are capacitated so that they sink enough boreholes.
Those who listen to our Cabinet briefings, we have announced that every week we are sinking boreholes around the country because we prioritise water, especially hospitals and communities which do not have alternative sources of water. Government has funded the sinking of boreholes, we know that as a nation we have issues of sanctions and other problems, so this is work in progress which needs to reach to all corners of the country. We will continue sinking until we have permanent water solution around the country. Thank you.
*HON. SEN. KOMICHI: Thank you Madam President. My question is directed to the Minister of Social Welfare. My question concerns teachers and school children. Teachers are not reporting for work because of poor remuneration and children are there in schools but they are not learning. This has taken a lot of time; this is tarnishing our image as a country. Is there no solution to ensure that the teachers get better salaries so that children receive education?
*THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. PROF. MAVIMA): Thank you Madam President. Yes, there is a challenge in schools. Teachers are not reporting for work. Most of the children are not learning and we have seen the bad behaviour of children because of the absence of teachers.
I agree with the Senator’s concern, but let me go back a bit, Madam President. In January, the Government gave 140% as cost of living adjustment and in June the Government added another 50% cost of living adjustment. In the same month in June, Madam President, the Government gave US$75 nostro as COVID allowance which was supposed to go for three months. At the end of three months, the Government added another 40% and extended the US$75 nostro to December. The teachers refused to go back to school. This week on Tuesday, the Government added another 20% and it said to the teachers, we are adding another 10% which is directed to you because of the risk that you are going to come across when teaching the children. This one for COVID is there. The US$75 will remain until December but I do not see it as an allowance which is going to be removed when we get to December. I think it is going to remain.
If you look at all that has happened, it will mean that the least paid civil servant will earn around $15 000 which means teachers will be getting between $18 000 and $19 000. This is what the Government has done. What I was thinking is that the Government has shown sincerity, it has shown concern for teachers. I think they should go back to schools and we will still continue engaging whilst they are imparting education on our children so that we do not go back, but they are saying they want US$540 as minimum for teachers.
Madam President, our country had reached stability when it comes to the economy. Our country had become stable on prices. We were out of the trench and things were becoming normal. There is no way we can give teachers US$540 or its equivalent without offsetting that stability. We will go back into inflation. So what is needed are dedicated teachers, Zimbabweans who are patriotic, who see where our economy is going so that they go back to work and the Government will continue negotiating with them and we will increase their salaries as we go on. Where we have reached that a teacher will get between $18 000 and $19 000, they are now on the poverty datum lime.
We know that teachers are supposed to be above the poverty datum line but teachers should understand that we are fixing our economy and we should help each other henceforth so that our country will go on. I do not think there is anyone in Zimbabwe who does not want us to get to be upper middle class by 2030. We should not shoot ourselves in the foot. How can we move forward? That is my appeal to the Senators that I think that you should be voices that bring reason that the Government has done a lot. The teachers should go back to work then we will continue reviewing their salaries within our ability. As long as we get something from Treasury, we will review our teacher’s conditions. We are not saying the conditions are good but we are looking at our economy side, our fiscas. If we pay US$500, we will go to 97% going to salaries and things like roads will not be maintained, clinics will not be built, even the COVID response or even importing maize will discontinue if we channel 97% of our revenue to salaries. Also it could cause serious inflation and it will upset the balance that we currently have. I thank you Madam President.
*HON. SEN. KOMICHI: Thank you Minister. The $18 000, according to the schedule that circulated, is for seniour management. The teacher who is teaching students will be getting $15 000. The belief that across the civil servants, those who are in Grade D1, if they are in the teaching service, they are not getting the same as those who will be in D1 in the army or in nursing. If it is true, it means it has an impact on the motivation of teachers because they think that they are not valued and respected whilst they are the ones who produce all of us. I do not know whether it is true, if there is that discrepancy. Do you think you can handle it because that is the one which is causing demotivation amongst teachers?
*HON. PROF. MAVIMA: Madam President, I thank you for the question. I want to wear a hat that I do not know because what happens to the soldiers in the army or the nurses is not under my purview. If that discrepancy is there, it is good for the teachers because it is not sustainable. We used to say that if we give the teachers, the nurses will be happy because they will know that tomorrow they will also get. If we give the army, that discrepancy is not sustainable, it can be worked out.
The rumours that I am getting, I do not want to rely on rumours but if we add the 20% and the 10% which were talked about, they are targeted for civil service only. They are not directed to other different commissions. So I do not know what others are getting, but discrepancy in a public service system is not sustainable and our history tells us that. There was a time when the civil servants would be given first and other Commissions will be given. That is the situation at hand. If there is a discrepancy, it is good for the teachers because it is not sustainable and it can be rectified and I think that is the beginning. Thank you Hon. President.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: Thank you Madam President. My question is directed to the Minister of Women Affairs. In line with the rise of gender based violence cases, not all cases of perpetrators of violence face jail. As Government, what measures are in place to help and rehabilitate perpetrators not to have a recurrence of the crimes they would have committed before? Thank you Madam President.
THE MINISTER OF WOMEN’S AFFFAIRS COMMUNITY, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES DEVELOPMENT (HON. NYONI): Thank you Madam President. I would like to thank Sen. Mathuthu for a very pertinent question. Gender based violence is one of the most serious crimes that anybody can commit against another because they do not only manifest in what you see. They go deeper than that. When a man beats a woman or a man rapes a woman or someone rapes a child, that person is damaged for life. They go through trauma and they have psychological impact that sometimes they are untold.
Therefore, it is very important for us as a nation to take this very seriously and the policy of Government is that this should not be done and when it is done, serious steps should take place. As a Ministry therefore, we encourage people to report and to facilitate victims and to encourage them to report. The Ministry has One-Stop-Centres in most provinces near a big hospital. In that One-Stop-Centre, you will find a Victim Friendly Office of the police, a legal person, a doctor and someone to counsel the victim.
If someone reports, the police will take the case up and make sure that the perpetrator is followed up and justice is done. So, if anyone knows of a perpetrator that is scot-free, please let the law enforcement agents know. Those are men that my Ministry would like to see hunted even with dogs to ensure that they do not do it again because it is one of the major violations of women’s rights which becomes a human right. I thank you Madam President.
HON. SEN. A. DUBE Thank you Madam President. I will direct my question to the Leader of the House since the Minister of Health is not in the House. Hon. Minister, aspiring student nurses from rural set ups are finding it difficult to express their interest in nurses’ training through the online application process due to poor or non-existent internet infrastructure. What is the Ministry doing to ensure that there is equal opportunity to all for it to be accessible to everyone especially in rural areas? Thank you.
MINISTER OF INFORMATION, PUBLICITY AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. M. MUTSVANGWA): Thank you very much Madam President. I want to thank Sen. Dube for that very important question. I think this is a question which would get a better answer and right to the point if you can put it in writing because the policy of the Ministry is to make sure that they give equal access to all Zimbabweans, aspiring candidates who want to join nursing. Thank you.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: So, I think Hon. Senator. you are going to put that one in writing so that they research and give us a truthful answer.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF NHEMA: Thank you Madam President. My question goes to the Leader of the House. All of us are happy that the country is now stable but Hon. Minister, the manner in which prices have shot up, the percentages have risen. I do not know how you want us to survive because electricity and basic commodities have gone up. What exactly is happening and we need closure on that particular issue. We do not know what has caused things to go that direction. Nothing is moving. What exactly is going on to have prices going that direction?
*MINISTER OF INFORMATION, PUBLICITY AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. MUTSVANGWA): Thank you very much Madam President. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Chief Nhema for the question that he has asked. It is very difficult to say where I should start. As much as I know, if the Minister who has spoken before has explained thoroughly that Government did hard work do bring currency stability. Now we are starting to see change but things cannot be fixed over night. We are starting to see positive change in terms of pricing. Here in Harare and if you go to Mutare or Bulawayo, we are having the same prices and that is the...
*THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: The auction that was done recently showed that the dollar had not gone down. What has happened is like a disguise because he has not seen the fall in prices recently.
HON. SEN. M. MUTSVANGWA: Madam President, I understand very well his question. The Ministry of Finance is working on this issue. They are looking into this issue to say they want prices to come down. Inflation had gone up to 800/900 percent and now we are talking of 400/500 percent. What I want to say is that we want everything to stabilise not in the public sector only but also in the private sector. We want business people to have reasonable prices. We are looking at the buildup cost of products that is both in the public and private sector. That is my response Madam President.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF MAKUMBE: If you go to Government institutions, CVR for example, is charging in USD but Zimbabwe does not get USD. This is where the disparity of the law is and that is where we want to understand what is really happening. The other side is killing you and the other side also is pressing you. That is what the chief was saying that in Government Institutions, we are paying a lot of money. The rates we used to pay and the rates that we are paying now if the money has not gone down on the auction system, there is a mismatch then.
HON. SEN. M. MUTSVANGWA: Thank you Madam President. I would also like to thank Sen. Chief Makumbe for his supplementary question. This issue of saying CVR has rising prices; these figures I do not have them at hand. We are supposed to be using Zimbabwean currency but there is that provision to say those who have free funds can use the American dollar. However, there is no law which stipulates that someone who wants to pay RTGs should be stopped.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF NHEMA: My supplementary question to the Minister is - we did an auction and there was no change. Why have things gone up? Beef was $200 and the price has gone up and electricity has also gone up. For example, yesterday I bought electricity for $10 000 and I got 1000kilowatts. What has gone up? Why have things gone up? Tollgate was $45 for light vehicles and it is now $145. Why have things gone up Hon. Minister?
*HON. SEN. MUTSVANGWA: Thank you very much Hon. Sen. Chief Nhema. He is very passionate about this issue because it affects everyone in the country. I will not respond to the issue of electricity because the Hon. Minister of Energy and Power Development is here. I am sure he will respond to those questions. Inflation is not caused only by the result of foreign currency. There are a lot of things that cause inflation. Those are the things that Government is looking at. We are working at ways of fixing those issues.
*THE MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. ZHEMU): Thank you Madam President. Electricity had not gone up since March. When we reached September this year, what we can call loss of value to the value of money for the tariffs, it had fallen by 337%. That was the loss in value percentage. When we looked at that, in its wisdom the Government saw that much was not done because of the lockdown. People were not earning much because of the lockdown. The energy company lost a total of $4.5 billion. It was very difficult to rectify or fix anomalies within the power company because of lack of funds. This led to non-payments to companies that are into coal mining. Some of the electricity being used is imported from outside Zimbabwe. As we speak, the energy company owes countries like Mozambique; they are in debt amounting to more than $100 million. Much was not being done because of the lockdown but Government made it a point that people get electricity even during the lockdown. Now due to the rise in electricity tariffs, 337% that was the loss in value of the tariffs, in March the tariff was valued at US$0.10c. The rise in the tariffs as at the 1st of November for domestic use is now on US$6.03.
As I have mentioned before, electricity is imported from outside the country. It is very expensive because it costs us 9 cents and during peak periods, it can reach 24 cents. There are other companies that we call independent energy producers that are selling electricity to ZETDC at a cost of 9 cents. For those who are using electricity for domestic use, the difference is being taken as a subsidy from Government so that people do not pay all the money as expected from the electricity that is imported from other countries. There are also transmission costs to cover the cost of getting electricity to this country as well as distribution costs, including labour for the workers who are working in the energy industry. They will reach 1l or 12 cents but Government has the objective of not burdening consumers.
It might look like a coincidence that there is a rise in electricity, but we need to reflect on the cost and all the modalities involved in an effort to have electricity reach people. We are looking at all the costs so that people and the company are able to pay for the costs. We have the organisation ZERA, which acts as a regulator, their objective is to regulate and look at the cost of production and to look at the justification to say if they want to raise electricity theirs is have an oversight role. Our main objective is to maintain the supply of electricity for domestic use to the people. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: My question is directed to Prof. Hon. Murwira. What does Government policy say with focus on up-liftment of women in State Universities on the post of Vice Chancellor?
THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Thank you very much Madam President. Our Constitution says where it is possible we should allow women to have their quota within positions. They should be allowed to occupy a certain percentage which is equal to that of men.
As we speak, looking at universities, I would like to give you statistics:- at the University of Zimbabwe, we have a Vice Chancellor who is a male and the pro-Vice Chancellor is a woman. At Gwanda State University, we have a Vice Chancellor who is a woman and we are happy that His Excellency the President is the Second Vice Chancellor from that one who was at ZOU.
These things have a history and history says for the past few years, the women who were in the higher education sector were few but for now I am happy to inform you that 54% of women are in universities. This was brought about through the law to uplift and empower women and we will continue to do that.
Our principals in colleges; 70% of them are women. If you go to Mary Mount Teachers College, Mutare Teachers College, Nyadire, the principals are women. At Mogenster, Mkoba, Joshou Nkabuko Nkomo, you will also find women there as principals – this is what is happening in colleges. This does not happen overnight or in one day. I am sorry to announce that the one we had appointed in Gwanda has resigned this year but we have replaced her with Dr. Nomathemba Ndiweni though she was appointed as Vice Chairperson for the Public Service Commission, but she was the one appointed as the principal. We will continue to uplift women. We have not yet reached where we intend to but we promise to continue working hard to see to it that women are uplifted.
Questions Without Notice were interrupted by THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE in terms of Standing Order Number 62.
HON. SEN. CHIEF MAKOMBE: Madam President, may we have 15 more minutes for Questions Without Notice.
HON. SEN. CHIEF NHEMA: I second.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF MAKOMBE: My question goes to the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education. Our curriculum should be given out in our languages. We have seen this happening in other countries, so is there a way of patenting our curriculum so that it will not be stolen by other countries? I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Let me thank the Hon. Sen. for asking the question. We have two things that we are currently doing. There is an issue of protecting intellectual property which is done in innovation hubs.
Innovation hubs have three mandates; the conceptual issues that come from people which are protected by notary publics or lawyers who patent. For example, the Midlands State University invented some bitumen that is used on our roads using coal. Midlands State University got its patent this year. So we will continue telling them that we now have a mechanism to protect intellectual property so that we can get revenue from our intellectual property. Whatever we import, the manufacturing of bottles and anything else is intellectual property. So we have such a law which protects intellectual property.
Secondly, your question speaks about indigenous languages or our local languages. I am happy that our new curriculum is called the heritage based curriculum, which means that before we start learning we need to identify your identity, what you are learning and what you have. So because of that, we said that the other heritage that we have is our culture, our way of life, minerals, water, vegetation; so we said that we need to have a National Language Institute and we will start with this at the Midlands State University. The National Language Research Institute translated our Constitution into 16 languages. They have also translated our COVID-19 material into 16 languages. We are taking measures - however, it is still in infancy stage, it takes time to implement these things. Since we are still starting, it may seem as if it is a challenge but even in the next 20 years, this will be easier.
The length and breadth of the country is due to people’s wisdom and intellectual property. So we always say that when you want to see the future of a country, you need to look at their learning. When students are learning things that do not have any value, then there will not be any value in that country but when they are learning important things, then the same happens. So our Education Bill championed by Hon. E. D. Mnangagwa is going to excel. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA: Thank you Madam President Ma’am. Let me ask for forgiveness but my phone disappointed me and I did not understand what was happening because my phone was ringing. So I did not understand nor locate where I was supposed to turn off the phone.
The Hon. Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development came into the House bearing good news. My supplementary question regarding this issue is that at one point we requested, as parliamentarians, what we needed and gave the Minister our recommendations which were supposed to be looked into. As the Chief’s Council, we would like to request the institution to speak about this model
*HON. PROF. MURWIRA: Thank you Hon. President, let me applaud such wise words from Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira. When the Hon. Senator spoke about that issue, we tried to organise and I even engaged the Clerk of Parliament, Mr. Chokuda. We were supposed to do this on 25th March at Rainbow Towers but unfortunately COVID-19 disrupted our plans.
We listened to the recommendations and wanted to implement them. We started speaking about this in January so on 25th March, we were affected by COVID-19. So it is in the pipeline, we will embrace the wisdom that you have imparted to us to engage the Chief’s Council and it will work because this issue is about the emancipation of the nation - emancipation through intellectual property. This is an issue that we view as those who were looking at us in a different way. We said that after all the fights then we were going to bring emancipation in Zimbabwe.
We will continue doing that. We embrace the guidance by our Chiefs and this is critical. We thank you and we are going to do that.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Order, order! I inherited a list here and the list is Hon. Sen. Gumpo.
HON. SEN. GUMPO: Thank you Mr. President, my question is directed to a number of ministers for the reason that it deals with SMEs and every other Minister has SMEs in their charge. We have the Minister of Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, the Leader of Government Business and the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development as well.
The question is to do with the standards in the informal sector. We are told that the informal sector is commanding a very substantial level of our industries. At one stage, we were told that about $7 billion is circulating in the SMEs and that is very substantial. The biggest worry is on the standards, if standards are not prevailing in SMEs then it means that we are not going to achieve, because the goods that are going to be produced cannot be exported. I thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Order, order! Hon. Sen. Gumpo, what is your question?
HON. SEN. GUMPO: The question is what is Government policy in terms of establishing standards and regulating them?
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you that is a question and not what you said previously.
THE MINISTER OF WOMEN’S AFFAIRS, COMMUNITY, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES DEVELOPMENT (HON. S. NYONI): Thank you Mr. President Sir, I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Gumpo for a very pertinent question.
Indeed, he is correct that the informal sector occupies a very important role in our economy and also in our society as a whole. This is a sector, Hon. Senators that jerks our economy, enhances livelihoods, prevents our women and children from going into the streets to steal, where entrepreneurship and indigenization begins and where our people express themselves economically. Therefore, it is very important for us to give them all the pillars necessary to make sure that they go where they want to go. It is a sector where people show their own initiative. So the Hon. Senator is correct, we need to support them holistically and it is not just one ministry.
First, we need to support them technologically if they are to grow and that is where the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development comes in. I am glad to say that we are now linking with Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development and universities to ensure that our SMEs that are in technology or in making machines are attached to universities.
Let me give you an example, when we started with the COVID-19, people were to produce masks and let me take NUST as an example. NUST contracted SMEs in Bulawayo to make 20 000 masks and they were responsible for standards. Thereafter, some of those SMEs have come to the ministry to say they want to establish their own companies because of these linkages. Secondly, SMEs need to be supported with workspace and for me, this is the biggest challenge – that is where now we need the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, the Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities to make sure that all local authorities make workspace available for SMEs. When they make workspace available, that space should be serviced. There should be water, toilets, space for children and place for food courts. That way, as a nation, we will be showing respect for our people who are full of initiatives on their own businesses. Thirdly, we need to support SMEs with education and training. This is where again, our schools right from the beginning, my Ministry links with all the education institutions even with primary education. There has to be entrepreneurship at that level, so that children grow up knowing they are not to be employees but employers. Then we meet with higher and tertiary education, they also have to teach our students, especially those that are in technical education, that you do not go out there to be employed but to create your own employment.
Fourthly, we need to support SMEs with finance. This is why I am grateful for our President who has allowed us to start a Women’s Bank where we are supporting women and everybody who is in the SMEs. Also we have $500 million to the SMEs and finance is not the only thing that is needed. If you do not have all these other pillars in place, the money goes to waste. Lastly is the market, where do the SMEs market their goods? This pillar is important and it may become redundant now, this is why we are working with the Ministry of ICT so that we have e-commerce, e-marketing and this will enable the SMEs also to be trained.
The question was how do we make the SMEs produce quality goods. This also lies with the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises helping the SMEs that are in the productive sector to link with those that can train them. Seriously, people do not realise that unless and until we plan for them and give them the dignity of a work space, their goods will always be sub-standard because if you want to produce quality goods you need an atmosphere where you do that. You need electricity, space, machinery and technology. I would like to appreciate Hon. Members for supporting my Ministry in this pillar of providing quality workspace for SMEs and also the Standards Association to work with us so that they supervise and make sure that the goods that are produced are put in the market according to the Standards of Zimbabwe and International Standard. I thank you.
Questions Without Notice were interrupted by the Hon. Deputy President of Senate in terms of Standing Order Number 62.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that Order of the Day, Number 1 on today’s Order Paper, be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
RATIFICATION OF THE SADC PROTOCOL ON TRADE IN SERVICES
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI) on behalf of THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. S. B. MOYO): Thank you Mr. President. I move the motion in my name that:
WHEREAS in terms of section 327(2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that an international treaty which has been concluded or executed by or under the authority of the President does not bind Zimbabwe until it has been approved by Parliament;
WHEREAS the Southern African Development Committee (SADC) has developed a protocol on Trade in Services in line with Article 21 of the SADC Treaty on conclusion of area on agreed cooperation, for the liberalisation of intra-regional trade in services on the basis of fair, equitable and beneficial trade arrangements, complemented by and consistency with Annexures in specific sectors;
AND WHEREAS Zimbabwe, together with other Member States are progressively adopting policies and implementing measures in accordance with their obligations in terms of the WTO’s General Agreements on Trade In Services (GATS) an Zimbabwe having signed the SADC Protocol on Trade In Services at the 33rd Ordinary Summit of Heads and State and Government held in Lilongwe, Malawi in August 2013;
NOW, THEREFORE, in terms of section 327(2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, this House resolves that the aforesaid amendment be and is hereby approved for ratification.
I will start by giving a background for the Hon. Senators so that they can appreciate why they have to ratify it and benefits. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade seeks the approval of Parliament of Zimbabwe to ratify the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on trade in services. The protocol was developed in line with Article 21 of the SADC Treaty, which provides for conclusion of protocols necessary in agreed areas of cooperation. The protocol on trade in services was developed and concluded for the liberalisation of intra-regional trade in services on the basis of fair, mutually equitable and beneficial trade arrangements, complemented by and consistent with annexures in specific service sector.
Zimbabwe, together with SADC Member States would want to progressively adopt policies and implement measures in accordance with their obligations in terms of WTO’s general agreement on trade in services. The SADC goal of integration of the national economy together with industrialisation rights require integrated regional markets for services, complemented by cooperative mechanism which will create new opportunities for the dynamic business sector. This goal is culminated in the negotiation and conclusion of the protocol on trade in services which was first presented for signature at the 32nd Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government in Maputo, Mozambique.
To date Mr. President Sir, 11 countries have signed the protocol with Zimbabwe having signed at the 33rd Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of held in Lilongwe, Malawi in August 2013. Member States that have signed are now in the process of ratifying the protocol as is required in Article 22 of the SADC Treaty. Accordingly, Zimbabwean Constitution in Section 327 (3) also provides that an agreement which is not an international treaty but which has been concluded or executed by the President or under the President’s authority with one or more foreign states or organisations and imposes fiscal obligations on Zimbabwe does not bind Zimbabwe until it has been approved by Parliament.
It is against this background, Mr. President Sir, that this mandatory requirement, the process of ratification of this protocol has been commenced and brought to this august House.
Hon. President Sir, the Protocol on Trade and Services recognises the diverse SADC economies and endeavors to achieve progress and the well being of the people of Southern Africa. It further recognises the need to promote deeper regional integration and sustainable growth and development. The objectives of the protocol include the liberalisation of intra-regional trade and services, elimination of substantially all discrimination between State parties, raising the standard and quality of life, enhancing economic development, diversification, capacity and competitiveness of the services in the region.
The service provision could be either through Model 1, that is cross border supply where the service supplier does not necessarily have to visit the country of the consumer, Model 2, consumption abroad where the consumer has to visit the country of the supplier to get the services, Model 3, commercial presence where the service provider sets up operations in a foreign country, or Model 4, presence of natural persons, that is where a service provider in his or her personal capacity visits another country on a temporary basis to provide a service.
The removal of obstacles will be on a most favoured nation basis, that is, it will benefit all SADC member states. Hon. President Sir, the protocol does not in any way preclude member states to regulate services and service supplier within its territory as long as this does not impair any rights and obligations under the protocol. A member state is also afforded the right to adopt and enforce measures necessary to protect public morals and to maintain public order and essential security interests to protect human, animal and plant life and health.
Measures can also be adopted to prevent fraudulent practices, protect privacy of individuals in relation to personal data dissemination and protection of confidentiality of personal records and accounts. In the case that there is an emergency the protocol provides that a member state can apply to the SADC Committee of Ministers of Trade for a waiver of the obligations under the protocol. The member state will be required to set out the circumstances justifying the granting of the waver.
In case a member state wishes to be party to this protocol for any reason whatsoever, it has a withdrawal clause. There are some advantages Hon. President, that I have listed before. Despite the economic challenges that the country has been and is still facing, Zimbabwe has seen many of its locals, that is companies and individuals established and establishing across the region. The trade in service negotiations are one avenue the countries should use to negotiate a conducive environment for its locals operating beyond our borders.
Ratifying the protocol, Hon. President Sir, will ensure that Zimbabwe’s interests in the region are defended, advanced and that the country will have access to regional markets. It is however critical to strategically engage in these negotiations by identifying the country’s offensive and defensive interest. By this, we will be able to attract foreign investment in the areas where it is needed and block competition in the areas we have adequate capacity.
Hon. President, services are a critical component in the production of goods and services and therefore an efficient and competitive services industry leads to the efficient production of goods at competitive prices. This will also help us to overcome the supply side challenges that we are currently experiencing. It is against this background, Mr. President Sir, that this protocol is recommended for ratification.
Now therefore, Hon. President, in terms of Section 327 (2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, I now move that this House resolves that the aforesaid agreement be and is hereby approved for ratification by Senate. I thank you Mr. President.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
RATIFICATION OF THE CONVENTION RELATING TO INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI) on behalf of THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. DR. S. B. MOYO): I move the motion standing in my name that;
WHEREAS of section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that an international treaty which has been concluded or executed by or under the authority of the President does not bind Zimbabwe until it has been approved by Parliament;
AND WHEREAS the Convention relating to International Exhibitions was signed in Paris, France on November 22, 1928 as a legal instrument establishing rights, responsibilities and procedures of International Expo organisers and participants creating a Bureau of International Exhibitions (B.I.E);
WHEREAS the convention has been subsequently amended three times since 1928 and updated to suit economic, social and political trends, the progress of the world and the emerger of new countries, Members remain restricted to Governments of Contracting Parties and Governments of those countries who have accede to or ratified the Convention;
AND WHEREAS Zimbabwe has in the past participated in international, World expos held under B.I.E through a reprieve extended to non-members, the reprieve now no longer applies for all future exhibitions, it is prudent that Zimbabwe becomes a member of the B.I.E through acceding to the Convention of 1928, revised by the Protocol of 1972;
NOW, THEREFORE, in terms of section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, this House resolves that the aforesaid Convention and Protocol be and is hereby approved.
Hon. President I will just give a background of this Bureau of Convention on Paris relating to Bureau of International Convention. Hon. President, on 22nd November, 1928, the convention relating to International Exhibitions was signed in Paris, France. This convention is a legal instrument that establishes the rights, responsibilities and procedures of international expo organisers and participants. The convention further created the Bureau of International Exhibitions which is an inter-governmental organisation which supervises the exhibitions falling under the jurisdiction of the Convention relating to International Exhibitions.
The Bureau oversees the calendar, the bidding, the selection and organisation of world and international expos. Under this convention, the role of the Bureau is to ensure the procedural application of the regulatory framework provided in the convention. Hon. President, since 1928, the convention has been subsequently amended by three protocols - one on 10th May, 1948, another on 16th November, 1966 and finally the 1972 amendment.
The Bureau has updated the convention on three occasions in order to account for the shift in economic, social and political trends, the progress of the world and the emergence of new countries. Membership to the Bureau is open to any Government through ratification or by accession to the 1928 Paris Convention on International Exhibitions as per Article 35. Currently the membership is at 175 of which 42 of these are African countries. Membership is restricted to the Governments of the contracting parties and Governments of those countries who have acceded to or ratified the convention.
Hon. President, I now turn to Zimbabwe’s participation at these exhibitions. Zimbabwe has participated in world expos held under the Bureau in recent years through a reprieve extended to non-members. This reprieve will no longer be applicable for future exhibitions. The exhibitions who have participated are namely; the Hannover Germany Expo in the year 2000, the Aichi Japan Expo in 2005, the Shangai China Expo in 2010, and the Milan Italy Expo in 2015. It is prudent that Zimbabwe accedes to the Conventions of 1928, revised by the protocol in 1972, and become a member of the Bureau of International Exhibitions to continue to participate in these international exhibitions.
Benefits of Membership to the B.I.E.
It is the interests of governments of countries who may eventually host or organise international exhibitions or those who are concerned with participating in these international exhibitions of longer periods to accede to the Convention for the following but not exhaustive reasons. The member States participate from the outset in discussions with the organisers of exhibitions and give their views and concerns relating to exhibitions. Membership to the Bureau officers, a certain number of material advantages, for example, preference and priority is given to a member country wishing to organise an exhibition on certain dates if that application is also received with that of a non-member country.
When applying for registration of an exhibition, a member country of the B.I.E. is required to pay only half the regular cost of having an application examined. The B.I.E. is an international inter-governmental organisation which enables governments of member countries to cut costs due to very strict controls imposed upon on non-member countries by organisers. The more members the B.I.E. has, the more effective their authority and the greater the possibilities of reducing the costs to its members during exhibitions.
Membership will also enable Zimbabwe to participate in the bidding to host mega international fairs promoting tourism and marketing our country’s tourism sector. By becoming a member, Zimbabwe would be eligible to participate in the bidding to host mega international fairs and exhibitions in future which would benefit the country immensely in every sector and membership provides a country with voting rights and opportunities to strengthen diplomatic ties by paying in kind, that is voting for a nation to host World Expo, for example Japan has approached Zimbabwe soliciting for a vote to host 2025 Exhibition.
Financial Obligations:
The B.I.E. is financed by membership fees of the member States and by the Gate money from hosted Expos through royalties received on entry fee charges. The annual contribution of a member is determined by the General Assembly of the B.I.E. in agreement with the applicant government.
Observations:
Recommendation is also given that Zimbabwe accedes to the Protocol with reservations to Article 34 (3) and (4) on dispute resolution on the basis that Article 34 (5) of the Protocol amending the Convention signed at Paris in 1928 states that;
“Any State may, at the time of signing or ratifying of this Convention, or acceding to it, declare itself not bound by the provisions of the above paragraphs 3 and 4. Other Contracting parties will not be bound as regards those provisions towards any State which has so reserved its position”.
It is upon this basis indeed that recommendation is given for Zimbabwe to accede to the Protocol with reservations to Article 34 (3) and (4) on dispute resolutions and declare itself not bound by these paragraphs. In light of the above, Mr. President Sir, I move that in terms of Section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, this House resolves that the aforesaid Agreement is hereby approved for ratification. I so move Hon. President Sir.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
RATIFICATION OF THE AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING A TRIPARTITE FREE TRADE AREA AMONG COMESA, EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY AND SADC
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI) on behalf of THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. DR. S. B. MOYO): Thank you Hon. President. I rise to present a motion in the name of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade seeking approval for ratification on the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade (TFTA) Agreement.
As a way of introduction, I will give a background. During the 3rd Tripartite Summit which was held in June 2015 in Egypt, Zimbabwe signed the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade (TFTA) Agreement. At the 8th meeting of the Tripartite Sectoral Ministerial Committee (TSMC) held in June 2019 in Ethiopia, Zimbabwe reported that the country will ratify the Agreement by August 2019.
Background:
To address the challenges of multiple membership among COMESA, EAC and SADC and to boost intra-regional trade and economic development, the Heads of State and Government of the Member/partner States of the three Regional Economic Communities (RECs) met in Kampala, Uganda on 22 October, 2008 and agreed to establish a single Free Trade Area (FTA) covering the combined membership of the three RECSs.
Subsequently, the Heads of State and Government launched negotiations for the establishment of the grand FTA on 12th June, 2011 at their second Tripartite Summit in South Africa. The negotiations were to be conducted over two phases, namely Phase I on trade in goods (to last 24 to 36 months) and Phase II on trade in services (to commence after Phase I is completed). There was a preparatory period of six months during which negotiators exchanged trade data, tariff information and other measures affecting intra-REC trade.
Negotiations by the Tripartite Trade Negotiations Forum (TTNF) began in December 2011 and were scheduled to end in 2014, according to the roadmap adopted by the second Tripartite Summit. However, due to the complex nature of the negotiations and a number of outstanding issues, the deadline of 2014 was missed. Negotiations on the legal text of the main TFTA Agreement continued in 2015 and were concluded in June of the same year.
Subsequently, the agreement was signed by 15 Member States during the 3rd Tripartite Summit held in Egypt in June 2015. The countries that signed the agreement are Zimbabwe, Egypt, Namibia, Malawi, Seychelles, Mozambique, Tanzania, Sudan, Kenya, Comoros, Burundi, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda and Lybia. To date, 23 countries out of 29 have signed the TFTA Agreement except Mozambique, Eritrea, Lesotho, Tunisia, Somalia and South Sudan. The agreement will come into force once ratified by 14 Member States. Thus far, Egypt, Uganda, Kenya and South Africa have ratified the TFTA Agreement.
Objectives of the TFTA Agreement
The objectives of the TFTA Agreement are, to:
- promote economic and social development of the tripartite region;
- create a large single market with free movement of goods and services to promote intra-regional trade;
- enhance the regional and continental integration processes; and
- build a strong tripartite FTA for the benefit of the people of the region.
The TFTA brings together countries that are already in FTAs. They therefore have the benefit of building on the gains achieved in their respective RECs but on a much larger and more dynamic market space.
The TFTA is based on a development integration approach that combines market integration, industrial development and infrastructure development. This is borne out of the realisation of the complementary existing between trade liberalisation, competitive industrial production and infrastructure development.
TFTA Market and Trade Statistics
The TFTA will bring together 29 African countries with a combined population of more than 632 million people and a combined GDP of $1.3 trillion. The tripartite makes up half of the African Union (AU) in terms of membership, just over 58% GDP contribution and 57% of the total population of the AU. Such a market creates opportunities for economies of scale for producers of various goods in the tripartite region.
Update on the Negotiations
Negotiations by the Tripartite Trade Negotiations Forum (TTNF) began in December 2011 and were scheduled to end in 2014, according to the roadmap adopted by the second Tripartite Summit. However, negotiations are still ongoing specifically on exchange of tariff offers and list rules of origin.
Significant work has been achieved by the Tripartite Trade Negotiating Forum (TTNF) where the TFTA Agreement and ten annexes which are an integral part of the TFTA Agreement have been concluded and subjected to legal scrubbing. The annexes are: Annex I on elimination of import duties, Annex II trade remedies, Annex III on non-tariff barriers, Annex IV on rules of origin, Annex V on customs cooperation, Annex VI on trade facilitation, Annex VII on transit trade and trade facilitation, Annex VIII on technical barriers to trade (TBT), Annex IX on sanitary and phyto sanitary (SPS) measures and Annex X on dispute settlement.
Exchange of Tariff Offers
Currently, 20 Member States have their tariff offers ready including five EAC Partner States. Bilateral meetings between Egypt/EAC and Egypt/SACU are ongoing. SACU/EAC recently reported that they have concluded their bi-lateral negotiations on tariff offers.
In the case of Zimbabwe, the country will maintain its acquis (building on existing commitments) in SADC and COMESA.
A team of officials from the International Trade Department together with officials from Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) and Competition and Tariff Commission (CTC) carried out an exercise to develop the country’s tariff offer from 30 October to 03 November, 2017. The offer was based on SADC and COMESA tariff liberalisation commitments. Three options were identified and the team recommended option 3 where there will be a differentiated offer; one for South Africa and another for the rest of the Member States. This is due to different levels of development between South Africa and the rest of the Member States. The same principle was used when Zimbabwe submitted its offer under the SADC FTA. This therefore means that the country will have to negotiate with South Africa on tariff phase down and the rest of the Member States will enjoy 100% tariff liberalisation.
Rules of Origin
Annex IV on Rules of Origin was legally scrubbed and was adopted by the 6th meeting of the Tripartite Sectoral Ministerial Committee (TSMC) in July 2017 in Uganda.
On list rules, 91.55% (4932 of the 5387 tariff lines, HS 2017 version) of the rules of origin have been agreed and are ready for use. Negotiations on the remaining chapters and tariff lines are still on-going.
Phase II issues: Phase II issues (Trade in Services, Cross Border Investment, Intellectual Property Rights and Competition Policy) will be discussed in the near future, taking into account comments submitted by the Member States including Zimbabwe, on the studies which were done by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on how to approach these issues in terms of negotiations.
Draft Agreement on Movement of Business Persons: Negotiations on the Movement of Business Persons Agreement were running parallel with Trade in Goods (Phase I). The Agreement was adopted by the 8th meeting of the Tripartite Sectoral Ministerial Committee (TSMC) which was held in June 2019 in Ethiopia. The Agreement is now ready for signature and ratification by Member States.
Industrial Pillar
The following projects are on-going where studies have been undertaken:
- Infrastructure for Software Development for Industrial Statistics; and
- Industrial Capacity Development and Support for Regional Value Chains.
The 7th TSMC meeting held in June 2018 decided that the TTF should scale up the resource mobilisation effort for implementation of this pillar. The TSMC further recommended the establishment of the Tripartite Industrial Development Coordination Unit (TIDCU).
Infrastructure Development Pillar
The inaugural meeting of the Ministers responsible for Infrastructure was held in October 2017 and agreed on the programme of work.
Outstanding Issue
Ratification of the TFTA Agreement
To date, 24 Member States have signed the TFTA Agreement including Zimbabwe.
The agreement requires 14 ratifications to enter into force. So far, Egypt, Kenya, Uganda and South Africa have both signed and ratified the agreement. Most Member States including Zimbabwe indicated that they would ratify the TFTA Agreement once annex on Elimination of Import Duties is finalised and legally scrubbed and there is significant progress on negotiations on list rules of origin.
Now that the Annex on Elimination of Import Duties has been legally scrubbed and that 92% of the list rules have been agreed, it is therefore recommended that the agreement is ratified. Furthermore, considering that the AfCFTA Agreement has been ratified which is a bigger market, there is no longer a point not to ratify the TFTA which entails opening up to a smaller market.
Building on the acquis principle, the country is already implementing the FTA with 23 countries which will be part of the TFTA. As for the remaining six non-FTA countries (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Angola, South Sudan, Tunisia, Somalia), there is need to negotiate tariff offers with them. However, it is important to note that most of these countries are already negotiating joining their respective FTAs and as such, it will be prudent for Zimbabwe to wait for these countries to join these FTAs and offer the same on a reciprocal basis.
Potential Benefits of the TFTA to Zimbabwe
The TFTA will serve as an impetus for investment in Zimbabwe and the tripartite region’s cross-border infrastructure. Building infrastructure will also create additional jobs and foster the development of engineering services. The prospects for the larger market and supporting infrastructure will spur industrial development. This will not only create jobs but it will also have the added advantage of diversifying Zimbabwe’s economy which is largely dependent on raw materials. The associated technological development will lead to the creation of new industries.
The signal of a larger market will also help to stimulate trade in services. The first beneficiary is likely to be the financial sector, which will be able to lend to larger industrialists seeking to benefit from economies of scale. Such financial services will reinforce the increase in cross-border investments by emerging African firms that are serving as regional champions of industrial development.
By being part of larger markets, Zimbabwe will no longer be restricted to producing traditional products. With its open for business mantra and efforts to improve ease of doing business and human resources, Zimbabwe can become the locus of new manufacturing operations that serve wider markets. By providing a single economic space with harmonised trade policies and a regulatory framework, the TFTA solves the problem of multiple memberships, rationalises trade negotiations, reduces the cost of doing business, supports industrialisation and stimulates cross-border infrastructure projects.
Hon. President Sir, having said this, I now move in terms of Section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution, that this House resolves that the aforesaid agreement be and is hereby approved by Senate. I so submit Hon. President Sir.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that the debate do now adjourn.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: 17th November, 2020.
MOTION
LEAVE TO MOVE RESTORATION OF THE MARRIAGES BILL [H. B. 7A, 2019] ON THE ORDER PAPER
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Mr. President, I seek leave of the House that the Marriages Bill, [H. B. 7A, 2019] which was superseded by the prorogation of the Second Session of the Ninth Parliament be restored on the Order Paper at the stage that it had reached during the Second Session of the Ninth Parliament.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
RESTORATION OF THE MARRIAGES BILL [H. B. 7A, 2019] ON THE ORDER PAPER
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that the Marriages Bill, [H. B. 7A, 2019] which was superseded by the prorogation of the Second Session of the Ninth Parliament be restored on the Order Paper at the stage that it had reached during the Second Session of the Ninth Parliament.
Motion put and agreed to.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE
BILL RECEIVED FROM THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE (HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA): I have to inform the Senate that I have received the Zimbabwe Media Commission Bill [H. B. 8, 2019] from the National Assembly.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI), the Senate adjourned at Twenty Five minutes to Five o’clock p.m. until the 17th November, 2020.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 5th November, 2020
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
DEATH OF HON. KENNEDY DINAR
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I wish to inform the House of the untimely death of Hon. Kennedy Dinar of Glen View North Harare, today in Chitungwiza. I therefore call upon members to rise and observe a minute of silence in respect of the Hon. Member. May his soul rest in peace.
All Hon. Members observed a minute of silence.
NOMINATON TO STATUTORY DELEGATIONS
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have to inform the House that – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Order please Hon. Members. I have to inform the House that the MDC-T party has nominated members to serve on statutory delegations as follows: ACP-EU - Joint Parliamentary Assembly, Hon. P. Misihairabwi-Mushonga; APU - African Parliamentary Union, Hon. J. Makonya who has been moved from the SADC PF; SADC PF - Hon. P. Mpariwa and Hon. A. Ndebele; PAP – Pan-African Parliament, Hon. Dr. T. Mashakada; IPU - Inter-Parliamentary Union, Hon. V. Tsvangirai.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT
ZIMBABWE NATIONAL HUMAN SETTLEMENTS POLICY
THE MINISTER OF NATIONAL HOUSING AND SOCIAL
AMENITIES (HON. GARWE): Madam Speaker, last week I gave a promise that we would come and present a Ministerial Statement on the Human Settlement Policy approved by Cabinet. I rise to do exactly that. I would like to announce to this august House that the Zimbabwe National Human Settlements Policy (ZNHSP), a policy that will guide human settlements development in the country going forward, is now approved by Government as of Tuesday, 3rd instant.
The NHSP is a culmination of wide consultations with stakeholders across the country’s ten (10) provinces which began in May, 2018. The consultations were conducted with a view to address the shortfalls inherent in the National Housing Policy of 2012.
A national validation process was conducted after production of a zero draft with participants who attended the initial consultations being part of the engagement feedback nexus to same. This policy is therefore a result of the synthesized inputs as agreed by all stakeholders at the national validation fora. The policy had to undergo thorough internal validation processes before subjecting it to the Cabinet examination and subsequent approval.
The Policy Highlights
Let me hasten to highlight to the House salient issues contained in the policy. The ZNHSP’s vision speaks to “well-planned and governed Zimbabwe settlements”. Parliament is being informed that besides the huge housing and social amenities backlog, the human settlements sector is laden with a plethora of other challenges that include, but are not limited to obsolete and inadequate off-site and on-site services, informal settlements, widening disparities between rural and urban areas, and high cost of building materials and housing finance.
The policy highlights are as follows:
Land access and tenure – under the policy, all state land earmarked for human settlements development shall be managed through the Ministry responsible for human settlements development and the respective local authorities, for ease of co-ordination and accountability. Clear and defensible tenure rights will be defined for all land categories nationally, and mechanisms for guaranteeing security of tenure shall be set-up. The Ministries of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement, Local Government and Public Works and National Housing and Social Amenities ought to collaborate on management and disposal/ allocation of State land.
Spatial planning – with regard to spatial planning, all settlements shall be planned by registered planners and mining companies shall be expected to submit Settlement Plans and Development Concepts to the local authority. There will be no allocation of un-serviced and unplanned land to housing co-operations or individuals.
On-site and off-site infrastructure – According to the policy, the provision of bulk services ought to be the responsibility of both the Central Government and local authorities in both the rural and urban areas.
Densification – since land is a finite resource, all productive agricultural land will be preserved as such. Change of use will only be permitted on designated land while safeguarding all prime agricultural land. In order to curb settlement sprawl induced by the desire for personal ownership, it will be instructive that at least 40% of the land for human settlements development must be reserved for development such as high-rise buildings and flats. Mixed use vertical space utilisation will be promoted. Sub-division of low density stands will be permissible and encouraged, where there is a possibility to reticulate sewer. The notion of densification in the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act (RTCPA) must be amended to suit the above-mentioned threshold from 10% to 40%. Densification will also be expanded to include workspaces for Micro and Small to Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
Rental housing – the policy institutes measures to resuscitate and prioritise the rental market. The private sector is encouraged to venture into rental housing markets together with Government.
Regularisation – Madam Speaker, we are all aware of the ugly sites that we are experiencing in all our urban centres. Every town and city in the country is surrounded by unplanned or informal settlements or settlements that are being serviced with pit latrines and open wells, something that does not speak to vision 2030. The regularisation policy on all informal settlements will be regularised and sanitised through the use of a standardised protocol and development of a compensation and relocation framework where alternative land use warranting displacements is contemplated.
Rural settlements – Model settlements will be accessed by citizens
and planned rural settlements will be piloted in resettlements areas, while the gap between the social amenities facilities in both the rural and urban areas will be bridged. Madam Speaker, we are all aware of what is happening in our country. The development that is in urban areas is not taking place in rural areas. There is a massive migration of people from rural to urban areas in pursuit of the infrastructure that is in the urban areas. The policy seeks to close that gap. We want to influence a migration of Zimbabweans from urban to rural areas by providing the facilities that are in urban areas in the rural settlement areas.
Legal and regulatory framework
New legislation to govern human settlements development and management will be promulgated and a wholesale review of model building by-laws instituted.
Urban regeneration and renewal
Government in conjunction with local authorities will resuscitate the urban regeneration programme.
Institutional framework
Government will establish a statutory body/agency that will undertake all works within the domain of human settlements development. We intend to come up with a new parastatal that parallels what urban development cooperation is doing. We are now in the process of coming up with a suitable name for that – a parastatal that will focus primarily on housing and human settlement issues.
Environment, climate change and new building technology
Policy ensures that planning, development and management of settlements will be consistent with national and international disaster risk frameworks and with environmental and climate change policies, laws and standards. Thus, construction of housing and social amenities on wetlands will be prohibited and where possible, reclamation of the same will be instituted.
Starting from now, all settlements on wetland will be a criminal offence and the relevant Government agencies will be working on that.
It is instructive to note that the policy is banning the sale of Government pool properties (houses) and other institutional housing types.
Funding
The financing of housing and social amenities projects shall be done through the following routes:
- a) Social housing for civil servants shall be funded through Treasury.
- b) Financial institutions, the private sector, pensions and provident funds, insurance companies and regional and international investors shall be invited to participate on public/private partnerships or any other appropriate human settlements delivery model (s).
Conclusion
Now that the policy has been approved, my Ministry shall embark on the crafting of an implementation strategy with a view to operationalise the same policy. I thank you.
*HON. PETER MOYO: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to thank the Hon. Minister for bring in a Ministerial Statement with regard to Government policy on housing settlements. I think the Minister should have emphasised on the issue of people who bought land in full from the council …
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: May you please ask the question?
*HON. PETER MOYO: I would like him to have a background of my question, otherwise he will not understand what I would like to ask. We had requested that the Ministerial Statement include that but it has not been incorporated.
Local authorities sell land to people who pay the cost in full and they sign agreements of sale. Council is then supposed to service the land but they are not doing that. The people who bought land end up constructing houses on unserviced land. After that, council will then bring bulldozers to destroy the houses. That is not sensible at all in this country.
Minister Garwe is regarded as an honourable and mature person in Africa because he is now a vice chairman of Afrique Shelter. He should be able to protect people who are being conned by the council. The council should not act like land barons. The Minister should just service the land and not destroy properties. People are prepared to service the areas that they stay in. The Minister should ensure that everything is in order. The President should not invoke Murambatsvina in order to stop this corruption yet the Minister was given that responsibility. This happened in Glen Lorne when I was a councilor and we made the people to pay a fine to regularise. It was not ideal to go and destroy those houses. You should just make people pay fines to regularise because where will these people go? Right now you are saying Joshua Mqabuko is illegal – are you going to destroy all these houses? Look at Hopley, are you also going to destroy those houses? Where are you going to resettle all these people?
The Minister should put a stop to all this. He should do away with the regulation from court which says the local authority consents to destroying illegal housing structures. There is no court from Mars – these are our courts. Why should we stick to the Smith regime regulation which says there should be open spaces yet the population is growing? Long Chen was built up to completion on a wetland and it is functional now. The same should happen to all housing structures on wetlands. Let us start on a new page and let us regularise. I thank you.
HON. MADZIMURE: My first issue with the Minister is that I was of the opinion that the Minister should have brought the policy as a motion to Parliament so that we can debate that policy than us seeking clarification because all the defects that are there, we cannot correct them now since they have gone through the processes already.
The second thing is that the policy should speak to the Urban Councils Act and also the City Bye-laws. That relationship must be very clear and must be there.
The other issue which I want the Minister to clarify on is that for a policy to be effective, you must have a benchmark first. Has the Minister carried out an audit of all the State land that is there so that we know which the State land is and then we make decisions as to what we propose the State land to be used for? As far as I am concerned, I would expect that the State land is used for development, building infrastructure like industrial parks so that we keep on developing the economy rather than continuously building houses where you have no infrastructure for doing business. We then wonder why do we have even towns like Chivhu growing with so many houses without a single industrial park.
The other issue is that we must have a map of the wetland. It appears we do not have those things. Whenever you move into Kambuzuma, it must be clear. In other countries, they even have boards where the map of that particular constituency is and where the wetlands are clearly demarcated. It becomes so easy to implement and monitor what is taking place if you have got a map.
We also have situations as I refer to issues of audit. There are people who claimed to own some land like the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Cooperative where even the change of use was written by a ballpoint, simply cancelling industrial use to residential. Right now we have got more than 2 500 houses and they are constantly under threat. Can the Minister also make sure that such issues which are so topical which we have brought to Parliament are also investigated as he tries to regularise the issue of land. I think that one must be a priority because we are talking of more than 10 000 people in that particular settlement that needs attention.
I also want to talk about the issue of alternative resettlement. When an agreement is made between the council and a developer who might be found to have been disadvantaged, if an agreement is made by the Ministry, it must be binding. Right now we have got issues referring to the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Cooperative. In 2016, the Minister of Local Government went there and they agreed that despite the fact that they had not proved who the owner of that particular land is because there are no title deeds that points to the fact that the current person who came to own that land has title to that land. Apparently, they had agreed to offer him land somewhere and that agreement is still standing and again the developer is coming back claiming the same land which he was offered alternative land by Government. Those are the things that are not clear.
Lastly Madam Speaker, we cannot allow developments to continue in areas that are not developed. It does not make sense at all. It becomes so expensive to regularise and start providing services. The Ministry must ensure that no development, no construction can be undertaken before the services are provided. I think we are now in a more modern century than previously...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Madzimure, ask your question not to debate.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Madam Speaker. Just as a rider on the suggestion by Hon. Madzimure, I will not seek that the Minister brings in a motion. It is my thinking that the separation of powers, the Minister’s Statement will deal with it like that and I propose that I will bring in a motion that deals with human settlement development so that the Minister within 21 days, can respond to that one which we can debate here...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Nduna please, ask your question.
HON. NDUNA: Madam Speaker, the first issue that I want to – [HON. SIKHALA: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Sikhala, order please!
HON. NDUNA: Madam Speaker, the first issue that I need to touch on is the issue the Minister has spoken about, the coordination and collaboration between his Ministry and the Local Government Ministry as it relates to human urban development settlement, the issue of corruption by town clerks and housing directors that has hampered the development, expansion of our urban settlement. I will touch in particular Chegutu West municipality. What is the Minister going to do as it relates to the placement of these people who would have hampered these urban settlements development so that we see their back and he can expeditiously conduct his urban settlement operation.
The second one is the existing land for urban settlement development that has not been developed and I will zero in on Chegutu. The Government has given 500ha Hintonville Extension to Chegutu for urban expansion and development. Government has further given to Chegutu Municipality 500ha Reseborrow land, which means there is now 1 030ha but there is a backlog of housing of 25000 houses. The 1 030ha can take care of the backlog of 25 000 households and can also have another 25 000, which means 50 000 can be taken care of. What is the Minister going to do with that existing land that has been given for urban expansion but that is being held back by the corruption, the collusion and nepotism of the town clerks and housing directors much to the chagrin and to the dismay of the electorate?
The third one is the issue of title deeds to those...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Nduna, please ask your question.
HON. NDUNA: What is the Minister going to do with the issue of title to the houses that have been with the owners for the past more than 25 years where councils have continued to hold back to the titles of those houses that were home ownership and they have finished paying off so that they are known to having title and they can use those houses as collateral. Today if a white man dies, they will leave title deeds to their children but if a black man dies in Chegutu, they will not have title deeds.
The fourth one Madam Speaker, is the hospitals and amenities in the urban settlement areas and development that he has spoken to and about …
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Ask your question Hon. Nduna, please!
HON. NDUNA: Madam Speaker, houses that have been built where there has not been any master plan or where there has not been any plan, what is the Minister going to do? What is the Minister going to do where the clinics and hospitals far outstrip the electorate or the number of people in that municipality or in that town? A good example will be Chegutu District Hospital. What is it that the Minister is going to do relating to establishment of hospitals and clinics before any further expansion of the human settlement development is adhered to so that there is supporting services when there is human settlement development. The fourth one is – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – these are questions that I seek clarity on. I have requested the Minister with my other colleague to give us a Ministerial Statement when we asked questions the other time. It will be fair and prudent for me to be given the opportunity to ask the question.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Asking a question does not mean debating Hon. Nduna, please.
HON. NDUNA: The issue of condonation on houses that have been built where there has not been any master plan or any plan, what is the Minister going to do in order that they do not demolish the existing infrastructure? What is he going to do in terms of giving condonation for the councils that have given, with impunity, authority for human settlement development to take route without master plans? The second route, there is expansion on productive agricultural land where a municipality or the urban setup is surrounded by productive agricultural land. What is the Minister going to do in such a scenario?
The last one, I asked that when I bring in a motion for human settlement development, the Minister must come to this House to respond to that motion in 21 days thereafter. Madam Speaker, I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to seek for clarity.
HON. T. MLISWA: Madam Speaker, I stand guided by you. The Minister is the Minister of National Housing but there is also the Minister of Local Government. Some of the questions which I am hearing here relate to the Ministry of Local Government. The Minister in his Statement talked about a number of Ministries which are part of this. These are Environment, Local Government and so forth. I do not know in terms of most of the questions of Local Government whether he is able to handle that. For example, the Department of Physical Planning, is it under him? The Surveyor General Department, is it under him? More, importantly, we also want to understand if there is a budget for this because there is no point in having all these issues without resources. So, it is critical that we seek your guidance in those three issues.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I will ask the Hon. Minister to respond if all those Departments are under his Ministry.
*THE MINISTER OF NATIONAL HOUSING AND SOCIAL AMENITIES (HON. GARWE): Thank you Madam Speaker. Let me first start with the issue raised by Hon. Peter Moyo. He spoke very well that the local authorities are corrupt together with the people whom people call land barons who are giving land to build houses where there are no roads, water, sewer and electricity. This is now coming under framework and policy regularisation. There are people who went to stay at these places long back like Harare South, Caledonia and so on. There are no houses which are going to be destroyed in these areas. That is when we come in and say let us look for experts so that we construct roads, sewer, water and electricity using what is already there.
Madam Speaker, some houses are going to be destroyed….
HON. CHIKWINYA: On a point of order Madam Speaker. Hon. Speaker, this is a new Ministry and by his admission, the Hon. Minister said they are only nine months old. We do not know his role. So, can he first of all answer the point of order raised by Hon. Mliswa, in summary, to us as Parliament on his role as a Ministry so that at least we can intervene correctly.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Minister, may you continue.
*HON. GARWE: Let me proceed answering the question and then I will answer Hon. Chikwinya’s question at the end. Onsite and offsite infrastructure, it is the job of Government and councils. It is not the job of the people who stay in those areas. Those are some of the things which we are busy solving but we are facing a very big problem.
When we started introducing the regularisation programme in January, many councils rushed to give people houses which is unlawful especially on wetlands. Those are the areas where houses are being demolished. Those who stayed in those areas long back, those houses are not being demolished. For example, if you are in Caledonia, we cannot do another master plan which is outside Caledonia but we are now developing a master plan which suits the Caledonia area working together with Government, Public Works, Environment and Finance because regularisation needs finance. People who are staying in those areas must be paying to Government to develop those places and provide infrastructure. If the roads, sewer and water had been dealt with, people would have bought their stands at a price inclusive of the above. That is what is meant by regularisation. Still on that issue let me also talk about sanitisation which is a place with master plans and lay out plans and people were given stands in a formal way. The stands are numbered but if the roads have not been serviced, people will walk but knowing where the road is supposed to be. In such areas that is where we want to do the sanitisation because it is not much of a problem.
Hon. Madzimure spoke on by-laws and standards. When I spoke about the ministerial statement I said it was our duty to ensure that by-laws are reviewed because we are still using by-laws which were developed in 1943 and revised in 1971. So they are archaic and they speak to British standards. We are Zimbabwe and we do not conform to British standards but to Zimbabwe standards. So, together with local authorities, we are going to be revising by-laws and building standards.
Wetlands are a no go area. Unscrupulous local authority officials and councillors have been parcelling out land in wetland areas for their personal needs. We are demolishing those and we are removing people from being settled on wetlands. There are no apologies to make on that Madam Speaker. Audit of state land – urban state land is administered through the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works and they are responsible for the auditing. All other state land falls under the Ministry of Agriculture and they are responsible for auditing of that land.
The issue of corruption needs not be over emphasised. We must be a collective in dealing with corruption as Zimbabweans. Those that are in a position of authority, those that are influencing corruption, the corrupters and corruptees are all responsible and we must not apologise for dealing with them effectively.
Hon. Nduna raised a number of issues, some of which I have already answered. On existing land, you were specific to Chegutu so it would make sense if he can favour us with a document that details what exactly is happening in Chegutu so that we will be able to competently respond to that. The issue of title deeds is one that involves other agencies of State such as the Surveyor General, department of Physical Planning under Local Government, ourselves too as interested parties in terms of urban State land. So it needs all other players to be involved. I am sure the document that he is going to present will also speak to that so that we can consult others.
Hon Nduna also referred to social amenities and hospitals. Now that there is an exponential growth in human settlements, that growth is not matched with social amenities like schools, clinics and hospitals. It is a matter that Government is seized with and in the current budget all that is covered. I am sure we will be able to get more information about it but as a Ministry, it is our responsibility to ensure that in every area where there are human settlements, there must be attendant social amenities as well: schools, clinics, community halls and community centres for youths for sport and art.
Withe regards to expansion on productive land – I have made reference to the value of agricultural land and that we are not going to be building expansively. We have changed the direction and we are going to be encouraging building vertically. We want to utilise our vertical spaces that are so open hence the policy on densification.
Hon. Mliswa raised the issue on budget for housing. I made reference to a different finance model. Social housing with respect to houses for civil service will be financed by Treasury. We are also encouraging the private sector. We have spoken to the banking community, pension funds and even corporates driving them to join in developing the country in terms of human settlement and all of them in principle have agreed. What we are now seized with is that we have got the policy we want to approach ZIDA and come up with partnership agreements or joint ventures so that we go ahead in providing human settlements for Zimbabweans. I thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order Madam Speaker. Some of us take this job quite seriously, especially on a Thursday we should be out on the farms, but we decide to be here. We want to assist the Minister and that is the reason why I asked these questions. In which Ministry does Physical Planning and the Surveyor General’s Office come under? The reason I am saying this is it would be very difficult for him to implement anything if these things are with other Ministries because it has to be a one-stop-shop. As national housing, fine, you are building but where is the title deed, physical planning who gives you the subdivision permit – the Surveyor General and if they are in different ministries how does it become national housing without that? These are complementary of what we want to achieve.
I say so because Hon. July Moyo is responsible for physical planning and if he decides not to give the state land that belongs to him, where is the national housing plan going to go to? These are the pertinent questions I am asking that while he has a vision for national housing but are there complementary departments to deal with that? Physical planning must agree that he should go ahead. If it is in another Ministry how will he do that? So, it is important because we hear his vision and national housing has been here for quite a while and has also been under local government where the only houses that we have today are the ones which were built by the late Enos Chikoore – may his soul rest in peace. After that we never saw anything like national housing from Local Government. The President saw it fit for it to stand alone but it must have legs. Right now it has no legs and that is why I really need clarity on that.
HON. GARWE: The department of Physical planning is under the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works. The Surveyor General department is under the Ministry of Lands, however government works as a team and we collaborate. Whenever we require land for housing we approach the relevant agency and it is done. That is how government operates. I thank you.
HON. DR. MASHAKADA: First of all I agree with Hon. Mliswa that his issue requires the whole of Government approach because it is eclectic and integrated so you need the whole of Government approach. I hope the Minister can take that very seriously.
Coming to my questions, Minister you know that Zimbabwe is known for haphazard settlements - be it rural, peri-urban or urban. There is a haphazard trend that has emerged. I just want to know from you whether your policy is informed by other human settlement models as provided by UN Habitat and other international models for proper human settlement because that is very important. Kugara nhaka kuona dzevamwe. I just want your reaction on that, especially in terms of the UN habitat models on shelter and human settlement because it is universal.
The second question is how necessary is it to establish another parastatal purely to superintend settlement issues, given the lack of fiscal space? Why should we create yet another parastatal just to look into settlement, especially given the issue raised that we have Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Lands and they have parastatals?
What are you doing to deal with immediate settlement crisis in the country? When this policy is going to be rolled out, you are faced with immediate issues like the Chingwizi case where people were displaced from Tokwe Murkosi Dam and they were just dumped. The victims of Cyclone Idai, those are settlement cases that need to be looked at. The issue of refugees at Tongogara Camp in Mazowe Bridge, those are issues that I think you need to look at.
The final question is that there is world controversy on the use of tents as a method of settlement, what is the policy of Zimbabwe on the use of tents in resettling people?
HON. TOGAREPI: What we have seen already in the planned and unplanned settlement is that our people have the capacity to build their own houses which Government would want to see everyone having a roof over their heads. Together with your colleagues from Local Government have you thought of providing such people with land that they can pay over a long time and they get that land whether they are local people who are staying in Zimbabwe today or they are in the diaspora who would want to build houses but not going through land barons, middlemen who are very expensive but they get land and build.
This will give Government money because they will be paying over a certain period but we will have more developments. The reason why we have challenges with land barons is because land is not made available to the people of Zimbabwe as easy as it should be. I thank you.
HON. CHIKWINYA: My question is a follow up to what was discussed in this House on 28 October during Question Time. On that day Hon. Nduna asked the Minister what is Government’s policy in relationship to downsizing the national backlog in terms of National Housing Delivery Service. In his answer and in his direction the Hon Speaker on that day said the last part of your question verges on the Minister coming up with proper numerical numbers which would have been a written question but I will indulge you.
The Hon Minister was given an opportunity to come up with numerical evidence on how their Ministry is mitigating the crisis of national housing in the country. In his statement I did not hear any such numerical evidence. I therefore relate my first question again to the speech by the President on 22 March 2019 when he was addressing victims of Cyclone Idai in Chimanimani whereupon he says, Government promises to construct 1.5 million housing units translating to 300 000 houses per year or 25 000 houses per month or 6250 per week or 822 per day. I thought the Hon Minister was going to merge this vision as announced by Government and Head of State with the question by Hon Nduna and the direction given by the Hon Speaker on 28 October to come and give us numerical evidence to the extent that since their inception as a new Ministry, what have they done to fulfill this 1.5 million housing targets which is going to satisfy or satiate the need by the civil servants, those in informal settlements and everyone who has been finding themselves either illegally or legally settling themselves in whatever manner but in an attempt to find a roof over their head?
The other issue may the Hon Minister explain or demonstrate to us what Statutory Instrument in terms of an Act do they use to administer their ministerial activities because in the absence of such I see them as a powerless department in the Local Government Ministry. This is why you are finding the Minister is failing to locate himself between the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Agriculture. Therefore he depends on the benevolence of other Ministries for him to executive his mandate. What Act is he currently administering which then gives him the power to be able to direct and obviously to attack the needs of his mission as mandated as a Cabinet Minister.
*HON. CHIKUKWA: Thank you Madam President, I want to thank the Minister for the policy he has brought to this House. You said you are going to legalise illegal settlers and come up with a plan. As you do your planning it is going to affect some residents because some might be resident where there are to be roads, clinics, schools and they will be affected. Did you put in place measures to see that people who are displaced because of the new planning will be helped? I thank you – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] -
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members.
HON. MOKONE: Thank you Madam Speaker and I thank you for protecting me from these men – [Laughter.]– Hon. Minister, what are you going to do about the people that were allocated stands and have already build houses in unserviced areas in the Spitzcop area in Gwanda? This place does not have ablution facilities and let alone water pipes. I thank you.
HON. SACCO: Thank you Madam Speaker. My question goes to the Minister of National Housing and is in connection with construction of houses for people who were affected by Cyclone Idai. We still have people living in tents more than one year after the event. Can you please give clarity on progress made so far? I thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is your point of order?
HON T. MLISWA: The questions which are coming are important and in my point of order, I had raised the issue of the budget resource. Does the new Ministry have money? I do not remember passing a budget for National Housing, may be somebody did. These questions which are being asked have a lot to do with the money the Ministry has for that. If there is no money and he was very clear that we are only nine months old and being nine months old we tend to be asking too much, that is why your guidance is sought. Is there a budget? No, there is no budget.
We also spoke about the Act, which Act governs the Ministry; they are still putting that in order. You will see that there are so many ministries involved. Without a budget, how does he implement all this that people are asking for? So Madam Speaker, your indulgence is sought so that you assist the Minister on that unless there is some budget being given because the Hon. Minister of Finance has a tendency of giving money before coming to Parliament. May be there is an allocation that he was given, we do not know. From what we know, he cannot do anything without resources. So, to ask him questions about what the Ministry would do when he has no money is not fair. As we speak, maybe there is no office furniture in his office. I think you can help us so that we make a bit of progress on this but without money it will be difficult for him to ask...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Did the Minister say that he does not have office furniture in the office?
HON. T. MLISWA: I said it is my speculation since there is no budget. There might not be office furniture but it is a very important point for us to really make progress because we will fire questions but where there is no money we must understand. I do not know if that can be clarified by the Minister.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Minister, please can you respond to Hon. T. Mliswa’s question not now but I will ask you to respond later.
HON. GABBUZA: Madam Speaker, I listened to the Minister present his policy and to me the policy makes the Ministry look like a department of other ministries because clearly the issues that are raised, the Town and Country Planning Act which is housed in the Public Works and Local Government, issues on agriculture and land; all those are housed in other ministries. Is the Minister confirming that he is likely going to administer the Country Urban and Town Planning Act?
Secondly, when the first Minister of Housing was appointed by the current President; in this House when he was asked what his mandate was going to be, he clearly said that he was going to develop a model rural housing for rural areas because urban set ups already have standard houses. We have housing plans like F14 and all those...
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, what is your question Hon. Gabbuza?
HON. GABBUZA: How far has the Ministry gone in developing a standard rural house plan? Secondly, when Cyclone Idai devastated houses, Government promised that one of the reasons why the housing was falling apart and the disaster that rural people experienced was mainly because of the quality of the houses that were being built. Part of the mitigatory measures that the Government promised was that they were going to build a standard housing plan which will be affordable and resistant to effects of climate. How far have you gone with that because that is what we were expecting in the policy? We have developed such a house and if you want to build a cheap house, this is how it must look like if it is to be weather resistant. It does not come out clearly in that policy. Where is it within the policy or when are we expecting it?
HON. TSUNGA: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. Zimbabwe is a signatory to the Kampala Declaration which speaks to the rights of internally displaced persons (IDPS). I am not sure of course whether that treaty has been ratified. Nonetheless, we are a signatory. I just wanted to understand from the Minister whether the policy also speaks to the plight of internally displaced persons in terms of their right to housing? For example, in my constituency we have some people who have been evicted from lodgings and have pitched tents in some public places within the City of Mutare. I just wanted to understand whether the policy that the Minister has spoken about also addresses the plight of internally displaced persons in terms of their right to Housing?
HON. GARWE: Thank you very much for your contributions. Hon. Tsunga, I am not well-versed with the Kampala Declaration. I would want more information if you could furnish me with that. Responding to housing needs, that is the reason why this Ministry was created to specifically respond to housing needs for all Zimbabweans regardless of their persuasion or whether they are disabled or not disabled. To respond to all housing needs for all Zimbabweans, that is the sole mandate of this Ministry.
Hon. Gabuzza, you raised very fundamental issues which speak to the functions and mandate of the Ministry. One of the key mandates of the Ministry is to promote and facilitate the provision of housing or houses that speak to sustainability, modernity and affordability. Some of those model houses that you are requesting have already been developed. In Chimanimani, those that were displaced under Cyclone Idai, we have a model house that was developed and as we speak, the Department of Public Works is on site in Manicaland, Chimanimani building houses. I am sure Hon. Sacco can bear testimony to that. It is in his constituency and he is fully in sync with what we are talking about here.
Madam Speaker, this is a Ministry born out of a rib from another Ministry. It was a department of housing under the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works and National Housing was then created and developed into a fully fledged ministry. There are issues of handover takeover, developing the policy like what we have done now and many other issues that we need to look at. The issue of budget that Hon. Mliswa has spoken about, the Ministry was created when the budget for 2020 was already established. So, we had to make do with what was existing but on the 2020/2021 Budget, it is a standalone Ministry with a standalone budget.
Funding is going to be there, not only from Treasury but like I said earlier on, we have spoken to investors intentionally and domestically, including banks, pension funds and insurance companies and other corporate leaders who are so keen to participate on the housing delivery initiative. What is outstanding right now is to develop the partnership agreements through the Joint Venture Act through ZIDA. That is what is outstanding but we have already done that but funding yes, is going to be there from Treasury and other private sector players.
I want to come back to Hon. Gabbuza on the Acts. We have about four Acts that we are administering; the City of Harare Housing Act, the Housing and Building Act, Quantity Surveyor Act and the Building Standards Act. So, there are Acts that we are supervising or administering.
Let me come to Hon. Togarepi. The reason why we have problems with land barons and problems with cooperatives is exactly why we are not going to be giving land to individuals for housing. If I may take you back to 2002, Government, in its desire to want to provide housing for all, invited private developers and cooperatives to participate in the housing initiatives by giving them land at intrinsic value for them to provide water, sewer and roads or on-site infrastructure for onward selling to home seekers.
Unfortunately, what happened is not what was expected, the home seekers turned themselves into land barons and started parcelling and selling out un-serviced land to desperate home seekers. That is the reason why we have the issue of informal settlements, irregular settlements and land barons now. However, we are correcting those wrongs by sanitising and regularising the areas. We are not going to be giving land. What Zimbabweans are very good at is to build his/her own home but to provide onsite infrastructure, he is not interested.
Hon. Chikwinya asked very fundamental questions. Unfortunately I was presenting a Ministerial Statement. I was not responding to a question that was asked by Hon. Nduna. Hon. Nduna then said he is going to resubmit his question then we will deal with it as it comes. It is a motion.
*Hon. Chikukwa you spoke of replacements and relocations, it still relates to the issue of regularisation. There are people who are going to have their homes demolished because their houses are on top of sewer pipes. They will be given alternative land to go and build. We are encouraging the building of high rise buildings so we will relocate them there. We are not going to demolish homes without having alternative accommodation. We will provide alternative accommodation before we remove them from the land that they will have occupied.
Hon. Sacco, as you are coming from Chimanimani which is your constituency you will know that we are building houses for those who were affected by Cyclone Idai. Hon. Sacco is aware of this programme.
Hon. Mashakada, you said there are haphazard settlements in Zimbabwe. That is your opinion; it is not a statement of fact. Haphazard settlements were in the rural areas which used to be called Tribal Trust Lands then and were created by our erstwhile colonisers. We now have new settlements under the A1 and A2 farming systems. Those are the ones that we are now developing some models so that we have got a place for human settlements, cropping and grazing. All these are being planned and developed as a team.
We are going to work with Ministry of Lands because they are responsible for agriculture to ensure that their farmers are properly settled. We are also speaking to Pfumvudza Programme. Farmers like Hon. Mliswa are fully aware and are participating in the Pfumvudza Programme. We are saying a Pfumvudza farmer deserves a modern house and so we are working closely with the Minister on that. You also made mention to why create another agency when we have urban development cooperation. Urban Development Cooperation’s key mandate is to provide off site and on site infrastructure. The new agency mandate will be the superstructure – the actual housing. Those are two distinct functions which we must understand.
You made mention to the immediate settlement crisis with respect to Chimanimani and Chingwizi and other areas which I have already answered. The Gwanda question speaks to regularisation – I think I have spent a sizeable amount of minutes talking about regularisation and Gwanda is included in that. It is not only Gwanda – in every urban area including RDCs, we are seized with informal settlements that need regularisation. We are going to be religious in ensuring that regularisation is achieved before 2030.
Human housing is not an isolated case and Zimbabwe does not live in isolation. We are in the family of communities through SADC, African Union and United Nations hence we adhere to the human settlement protocols within those stations that I have made mention to. So it is covered. I thank you.
HON. NDUNA: On a point of order. Seeing that this one is a newly constituted Ministry which used to fall under the Ministry of Local Government, it is my thinking that you mirror your Portfolio Committees relating to the ministries. I propose that there be a Portfolio Committee for this Ministry. You have got about 20 Portfolio Committees and seven Thematic including the SDGs expanded Committee. It is my humble hope and view that there be a composition of a Portfolio Committee in your Parliament that speaks to the issue of capacitation and playing oversight on the Ministry that has been newly established.
Relating to the issue of Chairmanship, some of us feel very underutilised. We are technocrats in that regards and we can use this pedestal and platform in Parliament to augment and complement the efforts of the current Ministry. I thank you.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. KHUMALO): That issue is for the Standing Rules and Orders Committee. We cannot attend to it here.
*HON. MBONDIAH: My question is; why does council wait until houses have been built and completed and then they demolish them yet they inspect at every stage?
*HON. ZEMURA: As Members of Parliament, we were shown stands along Enterprise Road by the last Parliament. We want to be allocated our stands officially so that we occupy them.
HON. T. MLISWA: I have a point of order. Mr. Speaker Sir, you spoke about the National Housing Policy but in this august House, we have got plots that were given and there is no construction of houses taking place. How do they fit into your plan? It seems that in this country, a National Housing Plan is being given land and not a house. How do you intend to ensure and give confidence to the nation by starting implementing with the august House, proper housing which is a model. When are you going to start on our housing project?
HON. GARWE: Mr. Speaker Sir, Hon. Mbondiah asked an issue which lies directly under the purview of Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and its local authorities and I will not waste your time attempting to answer that. Hon. Zemura, you were allocated stands through this august House but you do not know where the stands are and whether they are genuine stands or not. It is an administrative issue. You need to approach your Parliament Employer and they will tell you where those stands are, not us.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Hon. Mliswa said charity begins at home - this august House. Hon. Mliswa made reference to housing for Members of Parliament but through the same scheme that Hon. Zemura had made reference to earlier on. As a new Ministry we are not officially aware of such housing scheme. We would be however very glad if we can be favoured, through Parliament, with the details of those schemes so that we can run with it together with Members of Parliament. I thank you.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. TOGAREPI: Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that Orders of the Day, Nos. 1 to 6 be stood over until Order of the Day, No. 7 has been disposed of.
HON. MPARIWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Seventh Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
HON. T. MLISWA: Mr. Speaker Sir, it is not a secret that SONA has come and gone but what is also obvious is that there has never been a review of any SONA. We have a tendency of writing and not implementing. At no point are we ever told the achievements of the last SONA and the challenges, which is critical. For a very long time, we have listened to the SONA and equally what needs to be done to enhance the debate is to also invite the President to the House and take some questions which is a provision in the Constitution and the Standing Orders which I implore you as the Chair to make that happen. For as long as we have the President announcing SONA, we also want him to come and tell us of the success while he is in office and the challenges. It gives that opportunity because by reading and us asking questions, we do not comprehend neither are we representing the people in the context that it should. It is important that we take it a step further. I would therefore implore the ruling party which is the governing party to caucus on this need to invite the President and not be seen to be undermining him but to also be adhering to the Constitution. We are adhering to the Constitution in terms of the global fund for the farmers but why are we not adhering to the Constitution in terms of inviting the President to answer to the State of the Nation Address and other challenges and successes which are there. It is important that we align ourselves to that.
The issues the President brought up are many. The issue on corruption, we really are losing the fight. We have lost the fight and it is important for us to admit. When you have lost, it is important to say we are losing and we have lost. There is no point in us talking about something which is growing and has become cancerous at the end of the day and has affected our lives. It has affected the people’s lives. Sanctions are no longer a talk of the day but corruption has overtaken sanctions. What are we doing to arrest that situation? We have a situation where institutions are no longer complying with any regulation whatsoever. The institutions run by individuals and the Second Republic had the goodwill which even Nelson Mandela never had in ensuring that we give a chance to this nation in the support people had for His Excellency, E. D. Mnangagwa. His Excellency, E. D. Mnangagwa comes from a background of a system which had destroyed this country but at the same time, there was faith and there is still faith. We will make the necessary turn at the right time. What we do not know is when we will make that turn.
It is also important to understand that the Second Republic was born out of people’s march where Zimbabweans decided that for once, we want new leadership, we want a new era. In talking about a new era, it was a people’s march which involved everybody, white, black, Indian and all political parties involved. Even the late Morgan Tsvangirai, may his soul rest in peace I think spiritually, in his last days, he wanted this country to be united and in his state, he still managed to get out meeting the people in his ailing condition. Like I said, it only shows the love he had for this country and the peace he wanted to ensure this country moves forward with. What was critical at that time was to put a team Zimbabwe which would be building on the same State of the Nation Address which the President is talking about. Without us being team Zimbabwe, it becomes very difficult for us to be moving forward.
There are many incidences which happened which we do not want to bring to the fore but in moving forward we must be able to give His Excellency an opportunity. Not only do we give him an opportunity but he must also give an opportunity to every Zimbabwean to see whether we are able to work together. The whole idea of monopolising Zimbabwe, thinking that I can do it, will never work but we can do, it will work. That is what the SONA, the challenges and success which he mentioned are premised on.
I challenge the Second Republic to go back, being November and 17th November coming, is a very important time for us. May this month be a moth where we introspect, where we circumspect and where we equally review and come up with a way forward because it is very important. 2017 November meant a lot to us because the change that we wanted had come. We must also be honest as leaders and say is this where we are? Is this where we are supposed to be? What are we supposed to do to get to the next point? In doing so, we must review the budgets. We must review every blue print document which comes to the fore. A country’s economy is based on its blue print document economically. We have had ESAP. Was there a review on ESAP, what was the good and the bad of ESAP. We had ZIMASSET, it came and there was never a review. I do not recall us reviewing the success and the failures of ESAP. We then move to the 10 Point Plan. The Ten Point Plan came without us even reviewing; now we are at the TSP. I am going to the TSP because we really need to be honest about the TSP austerity measures. We must look at the austerity measures which were mentioned, the steps taken and action taken on the austerity measure is where we are in terms of austerity measures. Were these austerity measures for the good or they were bad? The Americans did austerity measures with Barak Obama being President. The austerity measures were to come up with a stimulus package to give money to industry so that the industry grows.
Mr. Speaker Sir, we seem to think an austerity must make people suffer and when they suffer more we think we are doing well. We cannot be lying to the nation that the rate at which it is right now was not where it is by the time we had austerity measures. What has gone wrong? The Minister of Finance and Economic Development is critical in responding to this. We are here saying that the rate has stabilised but how can you say the rate has stabilised when you are not paying people what they are supposed to be paid according to auction rate. Teachers were being paid US$510 and we were being paid US$2 000 plus but when it comes to the auction rate we were not giving that.
The auction rate determines the buying power of the dollar. So, if you are not being given your US dollar at auction rate, there is no buying power. We cannot be excited by an increment of 255% to the civil servants when inflation is hitting 680% to 700%. If we are going to ever match the buying power of anybody in this country especially the civil servants, we must also align ourselves to the inflation rate. Madam Speaker, you cannot have an inflation of 700 and at the same time you are saying no, we are doing them a favour we are increasing it to 245. Can you also bear in mind that behind there is also a lot that they have suffered? They have never been value for this money whatever. When you go and borrow money, you are borrowing money at US dollar, when you pay back it is either US dollar or bank rate. You have an economy where people are not being paid in US dollars but they are expected to pay in US dollars. You have an economy where people are expected to pay at auction rate but you are not being paid at auction rate. So, it is a bubble that is waiting to burst.
Mr. Speaker, for us we cannot talk about the unemployment rate at this point in time because there is no employment. May we understand from a figure’s point of view, the employment which was promised to the people, where has it gone? This is where I support Hon. Khupe in saying we are in this House to tell each other the truth. We are in this House not to patronise anybody. We are in dialogue and we work with the President because he is the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe. In working with the President, we shall not shy away from equally being constructive in saying that the Manifesto that you promised the people of Zimbabwe is not coming to fruition – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – that is not a crime. That requires are to be able to say that and say all these issues that you say you give to the people, where are they today?
It takes us to be doing that and that is the reason why I applaud the stance taken by Hon. Khupe to say I will talk to him but when I talk to him it is about the nation, at the end of the day – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear .] - I will be here to argue and I am glad that Hon. Members on this side you are now performing. You are actually more effective than the majority who were there because there is now substance. We are now building the country by talking about real issues.
This is what we need, at the end of the day - not walking away when the Head of State is here and you are appearing before Privileges Committee, you are making your families suffer by not getting allowances for five months yet your own party is not compensating the five months you are not on duty, then you want to blame anybody. Those games must stop and you must learn lessons by being in this House to represent the people on what you came for. May we now behave like the Government in waiting where you are showing people that indeed we are a Government in waiting by critiquing what needs to be critiqued at the end of the day.
This SONA has come about the right time when the new spirit - when we have an Opposition Leader who wants to build this country by ensuring that the ruling party responds to its promises. We have got to be very clear on that. On the corruption issues, the ruling party has failed, what do we do? Unemployment it has failed, stabilising the economy has failed but we are prioritising the globalisation fund yet Constitutional provisions of the war veterans we have not done anything about it. Again on disabled and health we have not done anything about these issues.
Mr. Speaker Sir, going to the global fund compensation, what was really intrigue, what was exciting about it when we have millions who must be given certain services which they have a right to. For example health, education et cetera. We went on to please the world to be seen to be constitutional and come up with a 3.5 if I am not mistaken global fund to compensate the white farmers. May I be honest, the white farmers have moved on, some of them have died and they are actually part of this country now in leasing some farms, in being part of the agricultural turnaround of this country. So the priority is equally important.
Mr. President, I go to the issues of priority from a constitutional point of view where money should go. If we had 3.6 billion would you put it to the compensation of the farmers or we put it into the productive sector, produce money, be able to raise money and ultimately compensate the farmers. I am not against compensating farmers but was this the time to do it yet we have got so much that is waiting on us to be able solved. We have a lot of issues which are before us which I believe are more important to address. I think it is equally important for a priority list to be put together.
The SONA was very clear in terms of agriculture where we are going and I think production is what we need at the end of the day. We have got the Pfumvudza which is the much talked about programme. Let me be very blunt about the Pfumvunza, being a farmer. We have got Command Agriculture, I am glad Command Agriculture has been reduced to a situation where it is not politicized. Unfortunately, Pfumvudza is politicised. In being politicised, Agritex must be involved in making sure that whichever farmer is given inputs, they can see where they are farming. It is only now where you see a lot of fertilizer shops coming up. Hon. Nduna will agree that in Chegutu and Norton there are more fertilizer shops now, where is this fertilizer coming from? It is coming from people, they are selling it. May I also say it is a case before the courts which Hon. Nduna knows of. There is a Councilor in Chegutu and other people who are before the courts on allegation of misappropriating and mismanaging inputs.
So, when you look at Pfumvudza, we are excited Hon. Speaker when we say 1.8 million people are benefiting. I want to look at the cost and the economists are here that 1.8 million worth of inputs, you are giving them inputs where there is uncertainty in terms of the weather pattern. So if there is a drought, 1.8 million worth of inputs is gone. What I would do, I will take that money, take it to farms, rehabilitate the irrigation infrastructure and mechanisation. From a food security point of view, we must be able to have farms which we are guaranteed will give us food security because there is irrigation. From an economic point of view 1.8 million worth of inputs targeting each province 20 farms, where you do this and those 20 farms meeting the target and surpassing the target of that province in terms of the food security, be it wheat, soya beans and maize and we are done. Why can that money not find itself there because we are not guaranteed of a bumper harvest with $1.8 million worth of inputs that have gone to Pfumvudza. Like I said politically it makes sense but economically, it does not make sense though we are excited about the number growing. Next year it will be 2.2 million but in assessing that of the 1.8 million who have been given those inputs, what was the yield? There is no report of the yield but once again, we say it is a good programme. In agriculture, we have to talk about figures and in talking about figures, we need to understand. There is Tokwe-Murkosi - put those inputs into that place where you can put irrigation because water is there and you are guaranteed a bumper harvest. Why are we not putting our resources into water bodies which we know will be able to sustain the food security and the agriculture sector that we need in this country.
GDP – there was supposed to be a review on the mining sector which is supposed to be contributing $12 billion to the GDP. How much of it now has come in – we are over halfway? We are talking about a $12 billion mining sector. Can we point out to it? We have more MOUs than the money coming in.
ZIDA has come in and it must play a role of doing due diligence on every investor or else we are prone to just speculation where people come here with nice suits and see high powered people and are given a concession. Why can we not equally be given a concession because once you have a concession, the only thing people want is the mineral? They do not care who owns it but all they want is the mineral. They are looking at the claim that you have the mineral under and they will buy it. We have failed to empower our people. We are not proud of seeing our people rich. We are consistently doing ourselves down.
We must look at South Africa, T. Skwale, the current President C, Ramaphosa, ANC – and this is a lesson that the political parties must understand shows certain people that they would make rich. Each time they are coming to the ZANU-PF congress, they would use one of the private jets belonging to one of them. You must deliberately choose people who you can make rich so that they become models for the country so young people believe in the country. When you have a country with one billionaire, people target that one billionaire, but if you have a country with many billionaires no one targets them. Look at Nigeria and America, how many billionaires are there? You never hear of anyone being attacked but when we have a few rich people, they are prone to be attacked. We have Strive Masiyiwa who is here in terms of his business and it is not a secret that his business worldwide has grown because of Zimbabwe but he is not staying here.
Why do we not, in this Second Republic, get those business people who have been helping to come back here and enjoy the peace and the weather and do the right thing at the end of the day. To me, I think it is more critical for us from a business point of view to be able to look at whose success and build more millionaires in women, youths, men, war veterans and in the disabled fraternity and from there we are a nation to reckon with. So, whoever is a millionaire and is disabled will certainly assist those who are disabled. Whoever is a millionaire who is youthful will assist those who are youths. Whoever is a millionaire who is a woman will assist the women. Whoever is a millionaire who is a war veteran will assist those who are war veterans. May we build that culture.
As I conclude, His Excellency must equally understand that he needs to have a team that will pump. There has got to be reflection and this House must be able to hold the Ministers accountable. For a very long time, the Ministers have been coming here and I said the last time he seems to be more loyal to them than them being loyal to the President. They must be able to perform. There has got to be a performance. The Office of the President and Cabinet must be able to have Ministers valuate them and monitor what is happening. We have got the worst calibre of Ministers. They do not come, they are arrogant, economically and politically, they are weak and they have no orientation.
I wish that these Ministers could be sent to the Herbert Chitepo Ideological College so that they are able to defend their party. They cannot defend their party. If you compare them to the Cabinet of the late R. G. Mugabe, they could steal and face you while they are stealing but they kept the President in power. These ones steal and they do not keep the President in power. If there is anything, they are a liability. It is about time we understand that in SONA, we must have people who are willing to perform. ZANU-PF has got a lot of educated people where it can pick from. Some of the Ministers who are picked have never spoken in Parliament but you hear he has become a Minister. How will he present? I want to thank you.
HON. M. M. MPOFU: I rise to add my voice to the motion on the national address by His Excellency. I want to thank His Excellency on the vision especially on the road infrastructure development across the country. This has improved the road network throughout the country and it also attracts investments given to rural business centres. I hereby call upon the Minister in charge to speed up some of the projects like Kwekwe-Silobela Road which has been idle for the past 12 years since 1984. That road should be speeded up so that we get to benefit as a country through that road. We also want to thank the President for the irrigation scheme which has been created but we still have some irrigation scheme which needs to be done especially in Silobela, we have got Malenga, Khunyana which still needs to be rehabilitated.
Then on the issue of dam construction, we thank the President for promising that all the dams will be constructed. We also want to put it across that in Silobela, we have a number of projects which were earmarked and pegged sometime ago. We have a dam which was pegged a long time ago at the confluence of Shangani and Vungu River. It has never taken place since many years ago. So we are asking the Minister to help us get that done so that we get help in water harvesting. We also have a dam along Gweru River near Jairosi Jiri in Silobela also which was pegged many years ago which needs to be reconstructed.
I would also like to thank the President for the energy supply. In my constituency in Silobela, we have almost eleven institutions which include schools, clinics and business centres which were connected to the national grid but we still have some which are still lagging behind which we think the Minister of Energy can help us since we heard that there is a lot of power coming in, so that we can connect to individual households in the constituency. This will enable our rural businesses to thrive and employment will be created if we have the electricity connected in our rural constituencies. It will also reduce rural to urban migration. I would not want to over emphasise the benefits of solar power because Zimbabwe has abundant sunlight which we could utilise to harness solar energy and then it could also help us to revive our economy. On the horticulture schemes, I would like to congratulate His Excellency, that there is a huge economic boom in this sector especially when you are looking at the rural populace who rely heavily on horticulture for their livelihood. What is needed is to put in a robust plan supported by input schemes for the production of high value for farmers to realise and improve the economic benefit. Horticulture is a good foreign currency earner, hence if it is done properly farmers may be rewarded with foreign earnings as well as Government through taxes. There is a huge potential of agricultural production in rural areas especially when water has been made available through the construction of dams coupled with solar powered water pumping. Therefore, this is an excellent initiative especially for the hard working rural population of Zimbabwe who are capable of championing their own development.
I would like to thank the President on the issue of food distribution. It is common knowledge that people in rural areas have been faced with crippling hunger due to poor harvest caused by El Nino in previous two consecutive farming seasons. However, the Second Republic of Zimbabwe has made serious efforts to ensure that no one dies of hunger through provision of maize by Social Welfare. This is highly commendable and it shows the traits of a tried and tested leadership. When it comes to Pfumvudza Programme, this programme is a proven and tested approach for climate smart agriculture to boost output during these years of uncertainty in terms of rainfall due to climate change. Our rural farmers have managed to prepare their land in readiness to resume planting once the country receives effective rains.
I would want to thank the Second Republic for breaking the records in availing inputs for this programme very early – as early as October, the inputs were already with farmers. It is my hope that if the country receives much rains as we anticipate normal to above normal rainfall, the country will be poised for a bumper harvest which will ensure sufficient food for the entire country. I urge farmers to use new user friendly, non toxic technologies; this is because some chemicals are detrimental to human beings. Through ratification of Minamata Convention by our Government, it will help in a big way to safeguard the lives of many of our artisanal miners who are exposed to the mercury poisoning everyday.
Before I end my debate, I want to commend His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe for his efforts in curbing the spread of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic through enforcement of lockdown measures in accordance with WHO protocols. We managed to contain the disease and drastically reduce the fatalities to manageable levels compared to developed countries which suffered a lot of losses in human life. At the same time, I would like to thank His Excellency and the SADC region as a whole for standing against the sanctions. Sanctions must go because they are impeding development in our country.
*HON. CHIBAGU: I want to talk about our President concerning what we are experiencing in our lives. I am happy with what the President has done for us as people of Guruve/Mbire. I want to thank the President for what he was able to assist us with. He has done well for us. He told us to put on masks so that we may live and not die of COVID. Had we not listened to his advice we could have perished because there are borders in our area. In my area no one has died or fallen sick. When the President tells you something you must follow and you cascade it to the communities that we serve.
We see our people moving around with their masks but those people who live along border areas are the ones who are moving around without masks. I want to thank the President for the advice and the good counsel that he gave us. I want to thank him for the kind of livelihood that we have in Mbire. In terms of COVID, we have not lost a life yet we are along the border with Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania. All people from there come through Mbire but no one has died because we religiously put on our masks.
I also want to proceed by saying that I want to thank the President concerning the good that he has done for us. We did not know anything about irrigation schemes but if you go to Zambezi Valley, there is an irrigation scheme that is thriving and we are having good food. It has become a business venture and people are getting money and so it has improved the lives of the people and our children. So we need to thank our President for such initiatives.
The other centres that were closed our now functional. The area where I come from which is Mashumbi, there is Arda. If you go there the vegetation is lush and green. There is a lot of food in the area. I also want to say people should not blame the President for the negative things. You need to reconsider before you say negative things about the President. I want to thank the President and I thank him 100%. As I speak, the irrigation schemes have created employment and improved the livelihood of our people. Ever since I was born we never had a road network in Kanyemba because the roads were bad. As I was coming from lower Zambezi, I used to cross the river and from Guruve there is a short road coming to Harare.
Now if you are to visit that area, the roads are being rehabilitated and the road is about to be rehabilitated to Mushumbi Pools. They have not yet reached Zambezi but it is work in progress. So we need to thank the His Excellency the President. We will not belittle our President because he is a visionary man and has his people at heart. I want to proceed by saying that we must thank the President as women and youth because we are now counted as people. Eversince we got independent women were never considered in decision making positions. We used to have men only on leadership positions and what women did was just to applaud the men. The President has given us a green light to be well aware of our rights and contribute to our country’s development. As women we bear children, look after them and help them engage in productive things. We never used to have such knowledge, of leading our children to success. Most of our children used to engage in alcohol abuse but now they are able to look after themselves because they have been economically empowered.
People refer to my area as bushmen area. At ZBC, we have someone by the name Kanyemba Bhonzo; he is a product of my area and was taught by my husband at Chitsungo Mission. People degraded him due to the fact that he was a Doma but when you talk of the Doma and the bushmen, they are people just like me. Whatever they do is the same things we do. So what the Doma people needed was education to empower them. They are now empowered, everyone has been empowered.
I want to thank the President 100% concerning what he is doing for us in lower Zambezi valley. Even our road network from Guruve is being addressed and also dams are being built. If you go to Chikafa and looking at Maputo and Zambia on the other side, the roads are being constructed. We are working hard. We will continue to unite as one. I do not have much to say but I just want to thank the President for what he has done for us and I urge him to continue doing this good work. I thank you.
*HON. SHAVA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I want to thank His Excellency the President, for a well articulated SONA address he delivered in this august House. I have stood up to support this motion. The President talked about Pfumvudza project inputs. We want to thank His Excellency the President for the work that he has done for Zimbabweans because he has his people at heart and he came up with the Pfumvudza project.
I want to thank him for his vision in Zimbabwe regarding the Pfumvudza project. I want to mention a bit about this project and show my appreciation. The President realised that for us to deal with the issue of hunger and food security, we need Pfumvudza. We want to thank him for that. In the rural areas where we come from these inputs are everywhere and people are being given these inputs. They are happy, they thank the President for his vision and it shows that he knows what he is doing.
Our request is that the President must increase those inputs because when the Pfumvudza project was taken to the people and they welcomed it. To those who are distributing inputs, I see there is a delay in the distribution of fertilizer and seed yet those things are at the GMB. So, they are people who want to derail the President’s progress.
I also want to look at the issue of war veterans. We want to thank the President for his acknowledgement of veterans of the liberation struggle. We want to thank him for he remembers the work that they did; they used to stay in the bush with all the hardships of the forests. The President has a vision and the war veterans children are assisted even after their parents have died.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to talk about electricity. What we knew concerning electricity was that it comes from Kariba. We did not have electricity in our rural homes but the President addressed this through the rural electrification programme and so, we want to thank him for his vision forwe now have electricity. This reflects a caring leader who has his people at heart.
On the issue of mining Mr. Speaker Sir, the President talked about minerals in Zimbabwe. We want to thank him because currently even the youngest child knows that they can engage in mining and it has become a source of economic empowerment. The President has advised people to go and get the necessary paper work to ensure that their mining activities are legal. We want to thank the President for such an initiative.
I also want to thank the President for ensuring that all the branches concerned with agriculture are assisted. The Pfumvudza and then the A2 scheme farmers are being given loans from the banks to enable them to engage in farming. It is because of his vision that food security should come from Pfumvudza and also from those who can access loans to ensure that the issue of food security is guaranteed.
I also want to thank the President for the peace that prevails in Zimbabwe. He is a good leader who knows and has focus. On the death of Tapiwa Makore in Murehwa, we said a lot of things and we even said if we were judges like me for example, I would ensure that the perpetrators would get a death penalty. Our President through the courts ensured that the perpetrators were brought to book. So I want to thank him that he has worked through his security to ensure that justice was done.
We want to thank the President because he has eyes all over and can see what we are doing. I want to thank the presence of us Members of Parliament, even the Province because for me to be there, it is because of the President, Cde. Mnangagwa. He is focused and has a vision so that we do not have a situation whereby the country is not at peace. The President is also fighting corruption. Even if you are closely related to the President, when it comes to corruption, the law will catch up with you. So I urge the President to continue with this initiative to ensure that corruption is dealt with. I want to say to the President, may the Lord bless you abundantly. I thank you.
*HON. MASIIWA: Thank you Madam Speaker for giving me this opportunity to add my voice in support of the motion on the Presidential Address in this august House. I want to thank the President of Zimbabwe for the way he handled the problems we face as a country including Cyclone Idai and COVID-19. I believe that he managed to handle those situations very well. We see that in this country COVID-19 is very subsidised because of the way he responded to this disease.
In his words, the President emphasised on the issue of corruption and therefore, I want to dwell more on corruption because this animal, if it is not nipped in the bud, will disturb the development of the country as Zimbabweans. If it was possible, as Members of Parliament, we must be united and speak with one voice against corruption because corruption derails issues to do with development. The money which gets to improve the roads and other amenities ends up in individuals’ pockets. Therefore, I encourage everyone that we must speak with one voice on the issue of corruption. Corruption is very bad and disturbs every aspect of life. For example, in the police, if there is corruption, it means there is no proper progress and we will be derailing the country in terms of progress and development. For example, a kombi starts from Mbare going to Mutoko. The kombi does not have a baggage carrier but you can see the same kombi carrying sofas or a bed. It goes through the police without being issued a ticket because the driver and assistant will be paying a lot of money at roadblocks.
This corruption affects everyone and might even kill people in the process as that bed might fall from that kombi. If you are following behind and try to avoid it, you might end up being involved in an accident. Therefore, we must fight corruption as Members of Parliament and support our President, Cde. E.D. Mnangagwa. We are fighting corruption in councils and even the newspapers mention that there is corruption in many areas. Where we come from in Mutoko, there are stands being sold by people whom we call agents but those people sell stands but that money is not remitted to council. Therefore, it means in all areas where we are, we must stand up and fight corruption. As Members of Parliament, we must stand with our President and fight corruption.
The other issue mentioned by the President is the issue of sanctions which are disturbing the development of the country. We must speak with one voice against sanctions and denounce them. If it is possible, we must have a day set aside called “Anti-Sanctions Day” to fight or denounce these sanctions so that they might be removed but we have a problem that some of us in this House support the idea that we be under sanctions. These sanctions impact on everyone including those in the rural areas. Some say there are no sanctions but sanctions are there. If you Google on your phone “Standard Chartered Bank fined $18 million”. You will see that Standard Chartered was requested to pay a fine of $18 million because it is working together with Zimbabwe. Banks are no longer able to work with other countries because of sanctions. Even other companies are no longer able to operate in Zimbabwe because they fear that if they work with Zimbabwe, they will be put under sanctions. Therefore, this derails the progress of the economy.
We must speak with one voice denouncing sanctions and stand with our President so that anyone who goes and encourages for Zimbabwe to be under sanctions, there must be a law to charge that person. Our country Zimbabwe is being tarnished and put in a bad state because there are some people who write and speak ill of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is being labeled as a bad country, not other people but us Zimbabweans. Therefore, those who badmouth or speak ill of Zimbabwe must be charged harshly because that person is causing a lot of suffering in the country.
There are some people who visit our country and they give testimonies that they hear bad things about Zimbabwe but Zimbabwe is labeled as one of the countries which is peaceful in the world. This peace and the rule of law, even if you have a breakdown, you can sleep there without any problems, which is not feasible in other countries because if you stop by the roadside, you might be killed or robbed. Here in Zimbabwe we have peace and we must maintain that so that our country is seen as a good country by other countries.
There are others Madam Speaker, who taint the name of the country. For example, there is a day when the President came to address Parliament. Some Members of Parliament went outside and one woman went outside walking properly but as soon as she got outside, she slipped and started limping. She was being taken pictures by media houses and she was trying to paint a bad picture about Zimbabwe. Therefore, we are saying as Zimbabweans we must have Zimbabwe at heart and support it. People who do bad things like Magombeyi who lied that they were kidnapped, if it is proven that he lied, they must be judged harshly because they are the ones who taint the name of Zimbabwe badly.
If we are united as Zimbabweans, we can be able to raise the economy of our country. We must be united and support our President so that Zimbabwe can be a country which is prosperous. The President is also trying to let the people have enough resources in the country. For example, electricity, fuel and all these things that we see like Pfumvudza and different programmes. If we have enough rainfall this year, we are going to have a bumper harvest.
Therefore as Zimbabweans, we must support our country and have our country at heart and be united so that our country can be prosperous. I thank you Madam Speaker for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to the State of the Nation Address.
HON. SVUURE: I would like to thank you Madam Speaker for recognising me and thus giving me an opportunity to also speak on the State of the Nation Address (SONA) which His Excellence the President Cde Mnangagwa gave in this House recently.
I would like to start by appreciating the peace and stability that the country is enjoying. Peace and stability for any nation is key for the development of the same and I am glad to note that the 2nd Republic under His Excellency the President, Cde E.D. Mnangagwa has maintained this.
Madam Speaker, I would like to applaud the Government on the provision of food to the nation through the Ministry of Social Welfare. We continue to witness this department reaching out to the needy in earnest and vigorously making sure that no one dies of hunger in Zimbabwe like His Excellency the President has continuously assured the nation. I, however appeal that the food volumes be increased. The current supplies only cover about 30% of the need of households.
His Excellency the President spoke on the need to increase on the hectarage that we plant our crops on and adapt to farming methods that are consistent with the climatic change Pfumvudza is one such method. I would like to thank the President for the inputs that are currently being distributed across the country.
His Excellency the President also spoke on the need to increase on the irrigation front. I am happy to note that the province that I come from - Masvingo, constitutes about 41% of the total water bodies in this country and as such, I would like to call for a bias toward such areas with abundant water on resource allocation and make sure that irrigation schemes are supported to the full.
I have two major irrigation schemes in my constituency which are running at between 15 to 30% owing to a plethora of challenges ranging from lack of Government support with particular inputs. Fube/Pangani Irrigation Scheme has up to 300 hectares of irrigable land which if properly supported, can produce +-3000 metric tonnes of grain per each harvest. We also have Nyatare Irrigation Scheme with 250 hectares irrigable land but here the farmers use electric pumps, the power for which they are charged at commercial rates and they cannot afford it.
I would like to applaud His Excellency the President Cde. E. D. Mnangagwa on the mitigatory measures he steadfastly adopted, which resulted in a tremendous reduction in casualties as compared to the region and indeed globally. Zimbabwe is one of the countries where casualty figures remained comparatively low.
On the economy Madam Speaker, I would like to appreciate the measures that His Excellency the President has taken to bring normalcy in the economy. It is an indisputable truth that our economy has seen stability in a manner which we have not seen in a long time. Our exchange is at its best in a long time as His Excellency the President put in measures to arrest indiscipline and economic terrorism that we have seen in the past two years or so. This is notwithstanding the economic sanctions which we continue to reel under as a nation.
I would like to take this opportunity to join His Excellency the President on the call for the unconditional end to the illegal sanction which have stifled the potential for Zimbabwe’s economy to grow. I call upon every right thinking Zimbabwean to come over and as one voice, call for an end to sanctions. Thank you.
HON. MASENDA: Thank you Madam Speaker for according me the opportunity to contribute to the State of the Nation Address by the His Excellency, President E. D. Mnangagwa. I would like to first thank the President for guiding the country through the most difficult times of COVID-19. We have seen situations across the globe with people dying and hospitals overwhelmed by sick people suffering from the COVID pandemic. I would rightly want to thank the President for giving us guidance, leadership which minimised the effects of COVID 19 pandemic. I would like to urge people to adhere to the presidential guidelines on mitigation of COVID. Let us adopt and accept the new normal and prevent ourselves from the spread of the pandemic. I would also want us to adhere to the guidelines provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO) so that we minimise the spread of the disease and as a result save lives. Madam Speaker, I would like to applaud His Excellency, the President E. D. Mnangagwa for reopening the skies for the domestic and international flights. It brings about global integration of different economies. This will bring about economic activities such as trade between nations in order to revive the economy. It also enables us to import and export our products and services so that we can increase our productive capacity in order to increase our export capacity. It will also bring tourists to boost our tourism industry who will bring in the much needed foreign currency.
Madam Speaker, the reopening of schools, colleges and universities is a welcome development. It will ensure that no academic year has been lost due to COVID-19. I urge teachers and lecturers to ensure that students are not left roaming the school grounds despite the challenges being faced by teachers and lecturers. I urge all of them to continue performing their duties effectively whilst issues relating to their salaries and welfare are being addressed. Madam Speaker, it is encouraging to note that despite the negative impact of COVID-19 on our economy, our exports increased by 4.9% to US$1.96 billion during the first quarter of 2020, compared to US1.86 billion in the same period in 2019. At the same time, our imports declined which is an indication that there was an increase in local consumption and that our companies were able to substitute imports – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Yes, you have grown up you people.
Thank you very much indeed. Local production has increased, if this trend continues Madam Speaker, there is no doubt that our economy will continue to grow with the spillover effect on the creation of employment. The vision 2030 is achievable Madam Speaker under these circumstances.
Madam Speaker, His Excellency the President identified corruption as a hindrance to our economic growth and development. Indeed, corruption is a cancer which must be exorcised; it is a demon which we all must deal with. Those involved in corrupt activities must be dealt with expeditiously, they should face the music. It does not matter their status in society, corruption is corruption. As a result, they must be dealt with very severely. There should be no one who is untouchable. There is no one who is above the law, the President has said so, we must support him in his endevour to eradicate corruption. Madam Speaker, productivity is His Excellency, President’s call to all citizens of Zimbabwe to eradicate poverty and hunger. Preparedness ensures a successful agricultural season. The timeous distribution of the Presidential inputs to support the Pfumvunza Programme is highly commendable. I appeal to those entrusted to distribute the inputs to be fair in their distribution and to shun corruption in the process to ensure food security for every household at the end of the season.
Madam Speaker, I need to applaud the President for coming up with a very exciting Presidential Horticulture Scheme which will benefit the majority of our small scale farmers. Madam Speaker, the resuscitation and development of irrigation schemes is a great thing that the President is doing to our nation. It will further strengthen the thrust on the upcoming Presidential Horticulture Scheme. It will improve the nutritional level of our people.
Madam Speaker His Excellency the President E. D. Mnangagwa’s, thrust on road construction modernisation and rehabilitation is highly commendable. I however wish to quickly add that the road making and maintenance department in the rural areas namely the District Development Fund needs capacitation and retooling urgently to enable it to execute its mandate effectively. The roads in the rural areas are in urgent need of repair to ensure connectivity with the food markets in both the rural and urban centres.
Madam Speaker, the Presidential engagement and reengagement effort is fully supported. It brings Zimbabwe closer to its allies, whist it establishes economic relationships with the new ones. Madam Speaker, I support fully the call by His Excellency the President for the unconditional removal of the illegal sanctions imposed by the West and European Union. Madam Speaker, Zimbabwe is at war in the form of economic sanctions. It is the worst war that we can fight because it is an invisible and the perpetrators of such a war, great nations which will be difficult to defeat.
I wish to put it on record that these sanctions are a regime change agenda engineered by the Opposition. We are aware Madam Speaker of the creation and implementation of the 3D strategy engineered by the West using the Opposition as a conduit to remove a democratically elected Government and replace it with a puppet government.
Madam Speaker, of the 3D strategy, the first D was realised when there was a denial in accepting the outcome of the Presidential Elections in 2018. The Opposition denied that the President had won the elections. This is reflected from what we see now in the United States of America. There is already a denial that elections were not free and fair and that the Opposition is not winning the elections from the President who guided the implementation of these 3D strategies. The second D was meant to delay the inauguration of the President by going through this Supreme Court process which the Opposition was aware would not win. This is a reflection indeed of one of the 3D strategies.
The last and most damaging D strategy is to destabilise Government by the Opposition and calling for violent demonstrations to also destabilise the economy. We saw demonstrations with shops and economic units being burnt – [AN HON. MEMBER: He is reading.] –Yes I am allowed to read, I have eyes to read, there is not restriction to that.] – Madam Speaker, I support the President’s call for unity of purpose. We are one nation, we are one Zimbabwe, we need not to go abroad to demonise our Government and bring suffering to the people.
There are misconceptions Madam Speaker, that these sanctions are targeted but if you google, ZIDERA there are economic sanctions against Zimbabwe not against an individual. You will be surprised Madam Speaker that if you google now, Robert Mugabe our former President is still on ZIDERA sanctions, it is unfortunate that that means that there is no target, the target is the country of Zimbabwe.
Madam Speaker, I support the President’s call for a unity of purpose. Let us join hands, we are one nation, we are one people it will not help anyone. No one will benefit from the existence of sanctions because they are hurting the old mbuya and sekuru in the rural areas. Madam Speaker, I would urge people some of whom are seated right here with us to go back to the originators of sanctions and beg them again to remove the sanctions because it will help bring about development in our country.
I applaud Madam Speaker Ma’am the enactment of the Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Bill. I would hasten to say that there is need for the provisions of this Bill to be quickly implemented so that beneficiaries start to benefit from the provisions of this Act. Madam Speaker, this Act came into existence 40 years after independence. The majority of the beneficiaries are old and have so many ailments such as diabetes, high blood pressure and the majority of them are dying. So, it is better that we speedily implement the provisions of this Act so that people start to benefit. I wish to thank you Madam Speaker for giving me the opportunity to add my voice to this debate. God bless the august House. God bless His Excellency the President. God bless Zimbabwe.
+HON. M. NKOMO: Thank you Madam Speaker for affording me the opportunity to add my voice to the motion moved by Hon. Togarepi and seconded by Hon. Mhona. I want to talk about what was said by His Excellency when he said COVID-19 was the one which was destroying the economy at the beginning of this year. However, business did not stop in Zimbabwe during this time. The President took the necessary measures and ensured that schools were closed, there was a lockdown and people were not moving around. That helped a lot to ensure people did not contract this disease. His Excellency the President and his subordinates continued to do business.
I take note that the Beitbridge to Harare Road was busy during that period and business did not stop. People were asked to sanitise, wash their hands and maintain social distancing. During that time, there was drilling of boreholes in different places so that people could easily access water. His Excellency also helped the nurses and doctors by providing them with proper PPEs. He also continued with the construction of clinics and hospitals so people could access treatment easily. Though the economy is poor, His Excellency also assisted with the provision of food to the elderly. He also introduced the Intwasa Programme and he gave people inputs for farming. Through this programme, I believe people will have a good harvest.
Then on the issue of sanctions, the President said that sanctions must go. I believe the sanctions work hand-in-hand with corruption. Corruption will never end as long as we do not work together as Zimbabweans. Both the sanctions and corruption must go so that people get enough food. I thank you.
*HON. SAMSON: Thank you Madam Speaker. I want to take this opportunity to explain in short some issues presented in the SONA by His Excellency Cde E. D Mnangagwa. Let me start by thanking all the people of Chiredzi who gave me the opportunity to come to this august House representing our party ZANU-PF which is the ruling party. I want to speak about what the President said pertaining to unity. He said as Zimbabweans we must be united. He emphasised the aspect of unity, that if we are not united as Zimbabweans we are not going anywhere because the country cannot be built by one person, but if people put their minds together they can bring out something good for the development of the country.
I want to thank the President for the development being done in districts and rural areas through the Devolution Fund. The money is being used to rehabilitate roads, clinics and schools. I want to specifically thank the President on behalf of the people who were resettled. These areas did not have roads or clinics but through the Devolution Fund the money is being used for the development of all this.
I also want to thank our President for construction of dams. In Masvingo where I come from, is Tokwe-Murkosi dam. I want to thank the President for his vision. This dam is going to be used for irrigation purposes so as to avert hunger. When there is irrigation you can farm three times a year if it is the maize crop. Therefore, I want to express my gratitude to the President for the irrigation scheme which will help the locals.
I also want to thank the President for seeing it fit during the COVID-19 pandemic which just came, to allow Christians to continue praying in small groups. Therefore, people went ahead praying but following the WHO guidelines. We know that when we are alone we know that there is someone who can manage to help and avert the problem. He encouraged people to pray.
I also want to thank the President of Zimbabwe, Cde Mnangagwa and his security forces. His security is a very powerful security force and it works properly especially when you look at the issue of what happened in Chivu when an army officer was gunned down. I am happy that the perpetrators were apprehended and I am very thankful that the security protects people. I want to thank the President for that.
In areas where we come from, people are bringing development to areas they stay in. Rural councils are developing the areas they preside over and we see that devolution funds are being utilised properly, where Members of Parliament and councillors agree on what must be done.
I also want to thank what the President said on the State of the Nation Address, that as Zimbabweans, we must desist from the habit of bad-mouthing and tainting the country in a bad way. Although there are some things which might not be well in the country, people must be able to sit down and dialogue properly and come up with a better solution rather than go to other countries and speak ill about their own country. This habit must stop.
I want to thank the President about the road construction works on the Beitbridge-Harare Highway. It has been talked about before but I cannot sit down before talking about this road which passes through Masvingo. There were many accidents due to the narrowness of the road but now the road is wider. If the drivers do not drive properly they may end up speeding because now the road is in a good state. Even if you are travelling during the night you do not fear or hesitate to travel because you are able to give enough leeway since the road is now wider. When the reconstruction of the road is finally over we will have a very good tarred road which meets world class standards.
Madam Speaker, as a mother, I was disheartened by the murder of a young boy in Murewa but because our President was once convicted and given a death sentence, he did not allow the perpetrator to be killed. As an individual, I had already given my verdict that this person must be killed because he killed a child. I am not happy about this issue. People must stay in harmony and not kill each other. I want to thank our President for taking a very good decision. With these few words I want to thank you for affording me this opportunity.
HON. MASANGO: First of all, I would like to thank the mover of the motion, Hon Togarepi. Secondly, I would like to thank the President on the Pfumvudza Programme which if done properly will make our country realise a bumper harvest. The Pfumvudza concept is a very noble idea. I was happy with what the President said in connection with corruption. The President said that there are no sacred cows when it comes to corruption. I still feel that there are some people who are letting our President down as they continue to engage in corrupt activities.
HON. TOGAREPI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON MPARIWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 17th November, 2020
On the motion of HON TOGAREPI seconded by HON MPARIWA, the House adjourned at Sixteen Minutes to Six o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 17th November 2020.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday 5th November, 2020
The Senate met at Half-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE
APOLOGIES RECEIVED FROM MINISTERS
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I have a list of Ministers who have sent in their apologies. The Hon. Vice President, Hon. K. C. D. Mohadi; Hon. Vice President and Acting President, Hon. C. G. Chiwenga; Hon. J. B. Matiza, Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development; Hon. N. M. Ndhlovu, Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Hospitality Industry; Hon. K. Kazembe, Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage; Hon. C. Mathema, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education; Hon. S. B. Moyo, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
I think from now onwards, we are going to have a list of those Ministers who would have attended in this House to answer questions because we have Ministers who have not yet come into Senate to answer questions. Take note, Clerks-at-the-Table that we should have a record.
We have Ministers present here, Hon. Prof. A. Murwira who has always been in this House every Thursday, Hon. M. Mutsvangwa is Leader of the House, Hon. Marapira and the Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
HON. MWONZORA: Thank you very much Madam President. My question goes to the Leader of the House, Hon. Minister Mutsvangwa. Recently we saw the Government signing an agreement for the compensation of white farmers in respect of improvements of land expropriated during the Land Reform Programme. What are the arrangements, if any, regarding the compensation of black farm owners who lost their land during the Land Reform Programme? For example, the late Rev. Ndabaningi Sithole lost Churu Farm.
What is the arrangement, if any, for the compensation of the predominately black workers who lost their employment as a result of the Land Reform Programme?
THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION, PUBLICITY AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. M. MUTSVANGWA): I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Mwonzora for his question. I would like to say yes the global compensation deed was signed and this is a closure to land ownership in this country. The Second Republic is very much concerned about the issue of making sure that land is utilised, that agriculture is done as a business and the issues of ownership. This is the last pin to close those ownership quarrels.
The Global Compensation Deed deals with all those issues which you have just talked about, black farmers who lost their farms. It is part of that and they are going to be compensated. The Ministry of Agriculture together with the Ministry of Finance, are looking at how these can be compensated. I hope you are talking about Matenganyika, those black farmers who had their farms before the Land Reform and had paid for what they owned will be compensated either by getting their farms back if the farm is available or maybe a lot of people have been resettled on the farm. Then Government will be looking at other alternative ways of compensating them either by giving them land or money.
Talking about the African workers who were working on the farms Madam President, I have always said this. Most of those of my generation went to secondary schools before independence and I clearly remember that we never found a child who was coming from the farms attending schools. Since the attainment of independence, we now see a lot more of schools in those farming areas and you also see a lot more of those children attending school. What has happened to the black workers on the farms is, yes they had been disrupted in one way or the other but a lot of them have land of their own and engaging in farming now. A lot of them got farms; those black farmers are working on our farms and we are making sure that we provide jobs. – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.] – So we continue to look at their welfare.
These are Zimbabweans and at one time there was an issue of citizenship because most of them were Mozambican and Malawian descendants. The Government of Zimbabwe has said that these are Zimbabweans and as such, their welfare is very close to Government and they will continue looking at that. I thank you.
HON. SEN. MWONZORA: Hon. Madam President Ma’am, I would like to thank the Hon. Minister for her answer. However, I do understand that when the agreement was signed, those people who were involved in the agreement were represented with the exception of the workers. So my supplementary question is - is Government open to discussion on the issue of compensation with representatives of labour?
HON. SEN. MUTSVANGWA: Thank you Madam President, I want to thank Hon. Sen. Mwonzora for the supplementary question. We are talking here about land owners – those who were on the land, former land owners. The Global Compensation Deed is addressing the issue of land owners and when it comes to issues of the workers, Government will certainly – yes. They are very much concerned like I said. They will be talking to those and some of them have actually been empowered.
They now own land and are working hard. We see more of empowerment coming from the farming communities. So I think that the Hon. Senator should actually appreciate the work and improvements that have been done as regards the farm workers. I thank you.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I had recognised Hon. Sen. Chinake and Hon. Tongogara.
*HON. SEN. CHINAKE: Thank you Madam President, my question is directed to the Leader of the House…
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Sorry, before you pose your question, in the House we have Hon. Minister Zhemu, the Minister of Energy and Power Development. Welcome Hon. Minister, we have never had a Cabinet Minister who has held your portfolio in this House. Thank you. – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.] –
THE MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. ZHEMU): Thank you very much Madam President Ma’am.
*HON. SEN. CHINAKE: Madam President, my question is directed to the Minister of Energy and Power Development. Every time we face power outages where I stay and at times we end up spending two to three months without restoration of electricity. My second question is that in all places that are covered by ZESA, why does ZESA not use its own equipment? They are just hiring equipment.
*THE MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. ZHEMU): Thank you Madam President Ma’am. The first question on why it takes time for ZESA to attend to faults, let me say that we regret that but if there is a specific area, please notify us so that we rectify. It is not Government position to delay rectifying faults because people need electricity in different areas like rural areas, hospitals and industries. It is not Government’s position to delay.
The second question was not necessarily a question but it is the Hon. Senator’s suggestion that ZESA should have other cars that will be used to service different areas that have faults. This is correct - there is a fleet that we look forward to receiving, a fleet that amounts to 140 trucks that are going to be used by ZESA workers in rectifying electrical faults. Government has started procuring such cars. We are going to announce later as to how the cars are going to be distributed so that people have electricity on time. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Madam President Ma’am. My question is directed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs but in his absence, I will redirect the question to the Leader of Government Business.
There are ambassadors like Brian Nichols who is arrogant and speaks negatively about Zimbabwe…
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Order, order Hon. Senator, please may you lift up your voice a bit?
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you. My question is directed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs but in his absence, I will redirect the question to the Leader of Government Business.
There are a number of ambassadors like Brian Nichols who is arrogant and speaks negatively about Zimbabwe as if he is a chief who presides over Zimbabwe, an independent State. They use their proxies to denigrate and criticise our Government and its programmes that are aimed at emancipating Zimbabweans. What measures are in place to prohibit diplomats from engaging in such activities?
*THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION, PUBLICITY AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. MUTSVANGWA): Madam President, I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Tongogara for asking such a pertinent question. Let me say that she is referring to a portfolio that I once held for several decades, representing Zimbabwe in different countries. In 1980 we were in Belgium; New York in 1985; Namibia then eventually later went to China.
Let me explain that as a diplomat of one country to another country, we pay homage to the President of that country. This is all about creating and maintaining bilateral relations between the countries. As Zimbabwe we need to continuously engage with other countries. We have our own ambassadors in different countries, which means if there are bi-lateral or multilateral discussions that we need to have, that is why we have ambassadors so that they engage each other. This should be discussed, not that ambassadors denigrate our country like what Hon. Sen. Tongogara is saying.
Zimbabwe is an independent country; it has its own Constitution which is a people driven Constitution. A Constitution that is followed by Government and law does not allow any diplomat or ambassador to denigrate the host country and its programmes. There are laws and channels that we need to be used on engagements like these. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: If there is no such law that allows that kind of behaviour, is there any Government initiative that has been done to redress this behaviour?
*HON. SEN. MUTSVANGWA: Thank you Madam President. Let me also thank Sen. Tongogara for such a supplementary question. I believe there are a number of issues that happened. Every time when such an occurrence happens then our Ministry of Foreign Affairs addresses such errant diplomats who would have denigrated Zimbabwe. We are not a country that denigrates other countries but we are a country which desires to move with other countries and have good relations with other countries. So, it is important that verify that ambassadors according to Article 41 of the Vienna Convention it enjoins diplomats to respect the laws of the host State and not to interfere in its internal affairs.
*HON. SEN. MOEKETSI: Thank you Madam President. My question is directed to the Leader of Government Business in the House. When we experienced COVID – 19, the President encouraged people to wash hands thoroughly with running water. We do not have enough water in areas we live, people walk long distances to get water. How long will this continue happening? Is this disease still with us?
THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION, PUBLICITY AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. MUTSVANGWA): Thank you Madam President. I would also like to thank Hon. Sen. Moeketsi for her question. The Hon. Sen. explained the importance in the country. When we started experiencing COVID – 19 and before, water was a priority to Government because water is life. Diseases like cholera and other water borne diseases normally appear when there is not enough water. So when we started experiencing COVID – 19, Government prioritised washing of hands using running water, not stagnant water, which means that water is critical in the prevention of the spread of COVID – 19.
Our Government through the leadership of President E. D. Mnangagwa, in March when the World Health Organisation (WHO) proclaimed that this is a global pandemic, then our President declared it a national disaster. He quickly appointed an inter-ministerial taskforce on COVID – 19 and he imposed a lockdown. This was painful to people but it was a good move because it restricted people from place to place risking the spread of COVID – 19. In this taskforce there were a number of committees. One critical committee is the one which ensures that there is enough water; DDF and ZINWA are capacitated so that they sink enough boreholes.
Those who listen to our Cabinet briefings, we have announced that every week we are sinking boreholes around the country because we prioritise water, especially hospitals and communities which do not have alternative sources of water. Government has funded the sinking of boreholes, we know that as a nation we have issues of sanctions and other problems, so this is work in progress which needs to reach to all corners of the country. We will continue sinking until we have permanent water solution around the country. Thank you.
*HON. SEN. KOMICHI: Thank you Madam President. My question is directed to the Minister of Social Welfare. My question concerns teachers and school children. Teachers are not reporting for work because of poor remuneration and children are there in schools but they are not learning. This has taken a lot of time; this is tarnishing our image as a country. Is there no solution to ensure that the teachers get better salaries so that children receive education?
*THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. PROF. MAVIMA): Thank you Madam President. Yes, there is a challenge in schools. Teachers are not reporting for work. Most of the children are not learning and we have seen the bad behaviour of children because of the absence of teachers.
I agree with the Senator’s concern, but let me go back a bit, Madam President. In January, the Government gave 140% as cost of living adjustment and in June the Government added another 50% cost of living adjustment. In the same month in June, Madam President, the Government gave US$75 nostro as COVID allowance which was supposed to go for three months. At the end of three months, the Government added another 40% and extended the US$75 nostro to December. The teachers refused to go back to school. This week on Tuesday, the Government added another 20% and it said to the teachers, we are adding another 10% which is directed to you because of the risk that you are going to come across when teaching the children. This one for COVID is there. The US$75 will remain until December but I do not see it as an allowance which is going to be removed when we get to December. I think it is going to remain.
If you look at all that has happened, it will mean that the least paid civil servant will earn around $15 000 which means teachers will be getting between $18 000 and $19 000. This is what the Government has done. What I was thinking is that the Government has shown sincerity, it has shown concern for teachers. I think they should go back to schools and we will still continue engaging whilst they are imparting education on our children so that we do not go back, but they are saying they want US$540 as minimum for teachers.
Madam President, our country had reached stability when it comes to the economy. Our country had become stable on prices. We were out of the trench and things were becoming normal. There is no way we can give teachers US$540 or its equivalent without offsetting that stability. We will go back into inflation. So what is needed are dedicated teachers, Zimbabweans who are patriotic, who see where our economy is going so that they go back to work and the Government will continue negotiating with them and we will increase their salaries as we go on. Where we have reached that a teacher will get between $18 000 and $19 000, they are now on the poverty datum lime.
We know that teachers are supposed to be above the poverty datum line but teachers should understand that we are fixing our economy and we should help each other henceforth so that our country will go on. I do not think there is anyone in Zimbabwe who does not want us to get to be upper middle class by 2030. We should not shoot ourselves in the foot. How can we move forward? That is my appeal to the Senators that I think that you should be voices that bring reason that the Government has done a lot. The teachers should go back to work then we will continue reviewing their salaries within our ability. As long as we get something from Treasury, we will review our teacher’s conditions. We are not saying the conditions are good but we are looking at our economy side, our fiscas. If we pay US$500, we will go to 97% going to salaries and things like roads will not be maintained, clinics will not be built, even the COVID response or even importing maize will discontinue if we channel 97% of our revenue to salaries. Also it could cause serious inflation and it will upset the balance that we currently have. I thank you Madam President.
*HON. SEN. KOMICHI: Thank you Minister. The $18 000, according to the schedule that circulated, is for seniour management. The teacher who is teaching students will be getting $15 000. The belief that across the civil servants, those who are in Grade D1, if they are in the teaching service, they are not getting the same as those who will be in D1 in the army or in nursing. If it is true, it means it has an impact on the motivation of teachers because they think that they are not valued and respected whilst they are the ones who produce all of us. I do not know whether it is true, if there is that discrepancy. Do you think you can handle it because that is the one which is causing demotivation amongst teachers?
*HON. PROF. MAVIMA: Madam President, I thank you for the question. I want to wear a hat that I do not know because what happens to the soldiers in the army or the nurses is not under my purview. If that discrepancy is there, it is good for the teachers because it is not sustainable. We used to say that if we give the teachers, the nurses will be happy because they will know that tomorrow they will also get. If we give the army, that discrepancy is not sustainable, it can be worked out.
The rumours that I am getting, I do not want to rely on rumours but if we add the 20% and the 10% which were talked about, they are targeted for civil service only. They are not directed to other different commissions. So I do not know what others are getting, but discrepancy in a public service system is not sustainable and our history tells us that. There was a time when the civil servants would be given first and other Commissions will be given. That is the situation at hand. If there is a discrepancy, it is good for the teachers because it is not sustainable and it can be rectified and I think that is the beginning. Thank you Hon. President.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: Thank you Madam President. My question is directed to the Minister of Women Affairs. In line with the rise of gender based violence cases, not all cases of perpetrators of violence face jail. As Government, what measures are in place to help and rehabilitate perpetrators not to have a recurrence of the crimes they would have committed before? Thank you Madam President.
THE MINISTER OF WOMEN’S AFFFAIRS COMMUNITY, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES DEVELOPMENT (HON. NYONI): Thank you Madam President. I would like to thank Sen. Mathuthu for a very pertinent question. Gender based violence is one of the most serious crimes that anybody can commit against another because they do not only manifest in what you see. They go deeper than that. When a man beats a woman or a man rapes a woman or someone rapes a child, that person is damaged for life. They go through trauma and they have psychological impact that sometimes they are untold.
Therefore, it is very important for us as a nation to take this very seriously and the policy of Government is that this should not be done and when it is done, serious steps should take place. As a Ministry therefore, we encourage people to report and to facilitate victims and to encourage them to report. The Ministry has One-Stop-Centres in most provinces near a big hospital. In that One-Stop-Centre, you will find a Victim Friendly Office of the police, a legal person, a doctor and someone to counsel the victim.
If someone reports, the police will take the case up and make sure that the perpetrator is followed up and justice is done. So, if anyone knows of a perpetrator that is scot-free, please let the law enforcement agents know. Those are men that my Ministry would like to see hunted even with dogs to ensure that they do not do it again because it is one of the major violations of women’s rights which becomes a human right. I thank you Madam President.
HON. SEN. A. DUBE Thank you Madam President. I will direct my question to the Leader of the House since the Minister of Health is not in the House. Hon. Minister, aspiring student nurses from rural set ups are finding it difficult to express their interest in nurses’ training through the online application process due to poor or non-existent internet infrastructure. What is the Ministry doing to ensure that there is equal opportunity to all for it to be accessible to everyone especially in rural areas? Thank you.
MINISTER OF INFORMATION, PUBLICITY AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. M. MUTSVANGWA): Thank you very much Madam President. I want to thank Sen. Dube for that very important question. I think this is a question which would get a better answer and right to the point if you can put it in writing because the policy of the Ministry is to make sure that they give equal access to all Zimbabweans, aspiring candidates who want to join nursing. Thank you.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: So, I think Hon. Senator. you are going to put that one in writing so that they research and give us a truthful answer.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF NHEMA: Thank you Madam President. My question goes to the Leader of the House. All of us are happy that the country is now stable but Hon. Minister, the manner in which prices have shot up, the percentages have risen. I do not know how you want us to survive because electricity and basic commodities have gone up. What exactly is happening and we need closure on that particular issue. We do not know what has caused things to go that direction. Nothing is moving. What exactly is going on to have prices going that direction?
*MINISTER OF INFORMATION, PUBLICITY AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. MUTSVANGWA): Thank you very much Madam President. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Chief Nhema for the question that he has asked. It is very difficult to say where I should start. As much as I know, if the Minister who has spoken before has explained thoroughly that Government did hard work do bring currency stability. Now we are starting to see change but things cannot be fixed over night. We are starting to see positive change in terms of pricing. Here in Harare and if you go to Mutare or Bulawayo, we are having the same prices and that is the...
*THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: The auction that was done recently showed that the dollar had not gone down. What has happened is like a disguise because he has not seen the fall in prices recently.
HON. SEN. M. MUTSVANGWA: Madam President, I understand very well his question. The Ministry of Finance is working on this issue. They are looking into this issue to say they want prices to come down. Inflation had gone up to 800/900 percent and now we are talking of 400/500 percent. What I want to say is that we want everything to stabilise not in the public sector only but also in the private sector. We want business people to have reasonable prices. We are looking at the buildup cost of products that is both in the public and private sector. That is my response Madam President.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF MAKUMBE: If you go to Government institutions, CVR for example, is charging in USD but Zimbabwe does not get USD. This is where the disparity of the law is and that is where we want to understand what is really happening. The other side is killing you and the other side also is pressing you. That is what the chief was saying that in Government Institutions, we are paying a lot of money. The rates we used to pay and the rates that we are paying now if the money has not gone down on the auction system, there is a mismatch then.
HON. SEN. M. MUTSVANGWA: Thank you Madam President. I would also like to thank Sen. Chief Makumbe for his supplementary question. This issue of saying CVR has rising prices; these figures I do not have them at hand. We are supposed to be using Zimbabwean currency but there is that provision to say those who have free funds can use the American dollar. However, there is no law which stipulates that someone who wants to pay RTGs should be stopped.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF NHEMA: My supplementary question to the Minister is - we did an auction and there was no change. Why have things gone up? Beef was $200 and the price has gone up and electricity has also gone up. For example, yesterday I bought electricity for $10 000 and I got 1000kilowatts. What has gone up? Why have things gone up? Tollgate was $45 for light vehicles and it is now $145. Why have things gone up Hon. Minister?
*HON. SEN. MUTSVANGWA: Thank you very much Hon. Sen. Chief Nhema. He is very passionate about this issue because it affects everyone in the country. I will not respond to the issue of electricity because the Hon. Minister of Energy and Power Development is here. I am sure he will respond to those questions. Inflation is not caused only by the result of foreign currency. There are a lot of things that cause inflation. Those are the things that Government is looking at. We are working at ways of fixing those issues.
*THE MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. ZHEMU): Thank you Madam President. Electricity had not gone up since March. When we reached September this year, what we can call loss of value to the value of money for the tariffs, it had fallen by 337%. That was the loss in value percentage. When we looked at that, in its wisdom the Government saw that much was not done because of the lockdown. People were not earning much because of the lockdown. The energy company lost a total of $4.5 billion. It was very difficult to rectify or fix anomalies within the power company because of lack of funds. This led to non-payments to companies that are into coal mining. Some of the electricity being used is imported from outside Zimbabwe. As we speak, the energy company owes countries like Mozambique; they are in debt amounting to more than $100 million. Much was not being done because of the lockdown but Government made it a point that people get electricity even during the lockdown. Now due to the rise in electricity tariffs, 337% that was the loss in value of the tariffs, in March the tariff was valued at US$0.10c. The rise in the tariffs as at the 1st of November for domestic use is now on US$6.03.
As I have mentioned before, electricity is imported from outside the country. It is very expensive because it costs us 9 cents and during peak periods, it can reach 24 cents. There are other companies that we call independent energy producers that are selling electricity to ZETDC at a cost of 9 cents. For those who are using electricity for domestic use, the difference is being taken as a subsidy from Government so that people do not pay all the money as expected from the electricity that is imported from other countries. There are also transmission costs to cover the cost of getting electricity to this country as well as distribution costs, including labour for the workers who are working in the energy industry. They will reach 1l or 12 cents but Government has the objective of not burdening consumers.
It might look like a coincidence that there is a rise in electricity, but we need to reflect on the cost and all the modalities involved in an effort to have electricity reach people. We are looking at all the costs so that people and the company are able to pay for the costs. We have the organisation ZERA, which acts as a regulator, their objective is to regulate and look at the cost of production and to look at the justification to say if they want to raise electricity theirs is have an oversight role. Our main objective is to maintain the supply of electricity for domestic use to the people. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: My question is directed to Prof. Hon. Murwira. What does Government policy say with focus on up-liftment of women in State Universities on the post of Vice Chancellor?
THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Thank you very much Madam President. Our Constitution says where it is possible we should allow women to have their quota within positions. They should be allowed to occupy a certain percentage which is equal to that of men.
As we speak, looking at universities, I would like to give you statistics:- at the University of Zimbabwe, we have a Vice Chancellor who is a male and the pro-Vice Chancellor is a woman. At Gwanda State University, we have a Vice Chancellor who is a woman and we are happy that His Excellency the President is the Second Vice Chancellor from that one who was at ZOU.
These things have a history and history says for the past few years, the women who were in the higher education sector were few but for now I am happy to inform you that 54% of women are in universities. This was brought about through the law to uplift and empower women and we will continue to do that.
Our principals in colleges; 70% of them are women. If you go to Mary Mount Teachers College, Mutare Teachers College, Nyadire, the principals are women. At Mogenster, Mkoba, Joshou Nkabuko Nkomo, you will also find women there as principals – this is what is happening in colleges. This does not happen overnight or in one day. I am sorry to announce that the one we had appointed in Gwanda has resigned this year but we have replaced her with Dr. Nomathemba Ndiweni though she was appointed as Vice Chairperson for the Public Service Commission, but she was the one appointed as the principal. We will continue to uplift women. We have not yet reached where we intend to but we promise to continue working hard to see to it that women are uplifted.
Questions Without Notice were interrupted by THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE in terms of Standing Order Number 62.
HON. SEN. CHIEF MAKOMBE: Madam President, may we have 15 more minutes for Questions Without Notice.
HON. SEN. CHIEF NHEMA: I second.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF MAKOMBE: My question goes to the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education. Our curriculum should be given out in our languages. We have seen this happening in other countries, so is there a way of patenting our curriculum so that it will not be stolen by other countries? I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Let me thank the Hon. Sen. for asking the question. We have two things that we are currently doing. There is an issue of protecting intellectual property which is done in innovation hubs.
Innovation hubs have three mandates; the conceptual issues that come from people which are protected by notary publics or lawyers who patent. For example, the Midlands State University invented some bitumen that is used on our roads using coal. Midlands State University got its patent this year. So we will continue telling them that we now have a mechanism to protect intellectual property so that we can get revenue from our intellectual property. Whatever we import, the manufacturing of bottles and anything else is intellectual property. So we have such a law which protects intellectual property.
Secondly, your question speaks about indigenous languages or our local languages. I am happy that our new curriculum is called the heritage based curriculum, which means that before we start learning we need to identify your identity, what you are learning and what you have. So because of that, we said that the other heritage that we have is our culture, our way of life, minerals, water, vegetation; so we said that we need to have a National Language Institute and we will start with this at the Midlands State University. The National Language Research Institute translated our Constitution into 16 languages. They have also translated our COVID-19 material into 16 languages. We are taking measures - however, it is still in infancy stage, it takes time to implement these things. Since we are still starting, it may seem as if it is a challenge but even in the next 20 years, this will be easier.
The length and breadth of the country is due to people’s wisdom and intellectual property. So we always say that when you want to see the future of a country, you need to look at their learning. When students are learning things that do not have any value, then there will not be any value in that country but when they are learning important things, then the same happens. So our Education Bill championed by Hon. E. D. Mnangagwa is going to excel. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA: Thank you Madam President Ma’am. Let me ask for forgiveness but my phone disappointed me and I did not understand what was happening because my phone was ringing. So I did not understand nor locate where I was supposed to turn off the phone.
The Hon. Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development came into the House bearing good news. My supplementary question regarding this issue is that at one point we requested, as parliamentarians, what we needed and gave the Minister our recommendations which were supposed to be looked into. As the Chief’s Council, we would like to request the institution to speak about this model
*HON. PROF. MURWIRA: Thank you Hon. President, let me applaud such wise words from Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira. When the Hon. Senator spoke about that issue, we tried to organise and I even engaged the Clerk of Parliament, Mr. Chokuda. We were supposed to do this on 25th March at Rainbow Towers but unfortunately COVID-19 disrupted our plans.
We listened to the recommendations and wanted to implement them. We started speaking about this in January so on 25th March, we were affected by COVID-19. So it is in the pipeline, we will embrace the wisdom that you have imparted to us to engage the Chief’s Council and it will work because this issue is about the emancipation of the nation - emancipation through intellectual property. This is an issue that we view as those who were looking at us in a different way. We said that after all the fights then we were going to bring emancipation in Zimbabwe.
We will continue doing that. We embrace the guidance by our Chiefs and this is critical. We thank you and we are going to do that.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Order, order! I inherited a list here and the list is Hon. Sen. Gumpo.
HON. SEN. GUMPO: Thank you Mr. President, my question is directed to a number of ministers for the reason that it deals with SMEs and every other Minister has SMEs in their charge. We have the Minister of Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, the Leader of Government Business and the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development as well.
The question is to do with the standards in the informal sector. We are told that the informal sector is commanding a very substantial level of our industries. At one stage, we were told that about $7 billion is circulating in the SMEs and that is very substantial. The biggest worry is on the standards, if standards are not prevailing in SMEs then it means that we are not going to achieve, because the goods that are going to be produced cannot be exported. I thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Order, order! Hon. Sen. Gumpo, what is your question?
HON. SEN. GUMPO: The question is what is Government policy in terms of establishing standards and regulating them?
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you that is a question and not what you said previously.
THE MINISTER OF WOMEN’S AFFAIRS, COMMUNITY, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES DEVELOPMENT (HON. S. NYONI): Thank you Mr. President Sir, I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Gumpo for a very pertinent question.
Indeed, he is correct that the informal sector occupies a very important role in our economy and also in our society as a whole. This is a sector, Hon. Senators that jerks our economy, enhances livelihoods, prevents our women and children from going into the streets to steal, where entrepreneurship and indigenization begins and where our people express themselves economically. Therefore, it is very important for us to give them all the pillars necessary to make sure that they go where they want to go. It is a sector where people show their own initiative. So the Hon. Senator is correct, we need to support them holistically and it is not just one ministry.
First, we need to support them technologically if they are to grow and that is where the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development comes in. I am glad to say that we are now linking with Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development and universities to ensure that our SMEs that are in technology or in making machines are attached to universities.
Let me give you an example, when we started with the COVID-19, people were to produce masks and let me take NUST as an example. NUST contracted SMEs in Bulawayo to make 20 000 masks and they were responsible for standards. Thereafter, some of those SMEs have come to the ministry to say they want to establish their own companies because of these linkages. Secondly, SMEs need to be supported with workspace and for me, this is the biggest challenge – that is where now we need the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, the Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities to make sure that all local authorities make workspace available for SMEs. When they make workspace available, that space should be serviced. There should be water, toilets, space for children and place for food courts. That way, as a nation, we will be showing respect for our people who are full of initiatives on their own businesses. Thirdly, we need to support SMEs with education and training. This is where again, our schools right from the beginning, my Ministry links with all the education institutions even with primary education. There has to be entrepreneurship at that level, so that children grow up knowing they are not to be employees but employers. Then we meet with higher and tertiary education, they also have to teach our students, especially those that are in technical education, that you do not go out there to be employed but to create your own employment.
Fourthly, we need to support SMEs with finance. This is why I am grateful for our President who has allowed us to start a Women’s Bank where we are supporting women and everybody who is in the SMEs. Also we have $500 million to the SMEs and finance is not the only thing that is needed. If you do not have all these other pillars in place, the money goes to waste. Lastly is the market, where do the SMEs market their goods? This pillar is important and it may become redundant now, this is why we are working with the Ministry of ICT so that we have e-commerce, e-marketing and this will enable the SMEs also to be trained.
The question was how do we make the SMEs produce quality goods. This also lies with the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises helping the SMEs that are in the productive sector to link with those that can train them. Seriously, people do not realise that unless and until we plan for them and give them the dignity of a work space, their goods will always be sub-standard because if you want to produce quality goods you need an atmosphere where you do that. You need electricity, space, machinery and technology. I would like to appreciate Hon. Members for supporting my Ministry in this pillar of providing quality workspace for SMEs and also the Standards Association to work with us so that they supervise and make sure that the goods that are produced are put in the market according to the Standards of Zimbabwe and International Standard. I thank you.
Questions Without Notice were interrupted by the Hon. Deputy President of Senate in terms of Standing Order Number 62.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that Order of the Day, Number 1 on today’s Order Paper, be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
RATIFICATION OF THE SADC PROTOCOL ON TRADE IN SERVICES
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI) on behalf of THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. S. B. MOYO): Thank you Mr. President. I move the motion in my name that:
WHEREAS in terms of section 327(2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that an international treaty which has been concluded or executed by or under the authority of the President does not bind Zimbabwe until it has been approved by Parliament;
WHEREAS the Southern African Development Committee (SADC) has developed a protocol on Trade in Services in line with Article 21 of the SADC Treaty on conclusion of area on agreed cooperation, for the liberalisation of intra-regional trade in services on the basis of fair, equitable and beneficial trade arrangements, complemented by and consistency with Annexures in specific sectors;
AND WHEREAS Zimbabwe, together with other Member States are progressively adopting policies and implementing measures in accordance with their obligations in terms of the WTO’s General Agreements on Trade In Services (GATS) an Zimbabwe having signed the SADC Protocol on Trade In Services at the 33rd Ordinary Summit of Heads and State and Government held in Lilongwe, Malawi in August 2013;
NOW, THEREFORE, in terms of section 327(2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, this House resolves that the aforesaid amendment be and is hereby approved for ratification.
I will start by giving a background for the Hon. Senators so that they can appreciate why they have to ratify it and benefits. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade seeks the approval of Parliament of Zimbabwe to ratify the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on trade in services. The protocol was developed in line with Article 21 of the SADC Treaty, which provides for conclusion of protocols necessary in agreed areas of cooperation. The protocol on trade in services was developed and concluded for the liberalisation of intra-regional trade in services on the basis of fair, mutually equitable and beneficial trade arrangements, complemented by and consistent with annexures in specific service sector.
Zimbabwe, together with SADC Member States would want to progressively adopt policies and implement measures in accordance with their obligations in terms of WTO’s general agreement on trade in services. The SADC goal of integration of the national economy together with industrialisation rights require integrated regional markets for services, complemented by cooperative mechanism which will create new opportunities for the dynamic business sector. This goal is culminated in the negotiation and conclusion of the protocol on trade in services which was first presented for signature at the 32nd Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government in Maputo, Mozambique.
To date Mr. President Sir, 11 countries have signed the protocol with Zimbabwe having signed at the 33rd Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of held in Lilongwe, Malawi in August 2013. Member States that have signed are now in the process of ratifying the protocol as is required in Article 22 of the SADC Treaty. Accordingly, Zimbabwean Constitution in Section 327 (3) also provides that an agreement which is not an international treaty but which has been concluded or executed by the President or under the President’s authority with one or more foreign states or organisations and imposes fiscal obligations on Zimbabwe does not bind Zimbabwe until it has been approved by Parliament.
It is against this background, Mr. President Sir, that this mandatory requirement, the process of ratification of this protocol has been commenced and brought to this august House.
Hon. President Sir, the Protocol on Trade and Services recognises the diverse SADC economies and endeavors to achieve progress and the well being of the people of Southern Africa. It further recognises the need to promote deeper regional integration and sustainable growth and development. The objectives of the protocol include the liberalisation of intra-regional trade and services, elimination of substantially all discrimination between State parties, raising the standard and quality of life, enhancing economic development, diversification, capacity and competitiveness of the services in the region.
The service provision could be either through Model 1, that is cross border supply where the service supplier does not necessarily have to visit the country of the consumer, Model 2, consumption abroad where the consumer has to visit the country of the supplier to get the services, Model 3, commercial presence where the service provider sets up operations in a foreign country, or Model 4, presence of natural persons, that is where a service provider in his or her personal capacity visits another country on a temporary basis to provide a service.
The removal of obstacles will be on a most favoured nation basis, that is, it will benefit all SADC member states. Hon. President Sir, the protocol does not in any way preclude member states to regulate services and service supplier within its territory as long as this does not impair any rights and obligations under the protocol. A member state is also afforded the right to adopt and enforce measures necessary to protect public morals and to maintain public order and essential security interests to protect human, animal and plant life and health.
Measures can also be adopted to prevent fraudulent practices, protect privacy of individuals in relation to personal data dissemination and protection of confidentiality of personal records and accounts. In the case that there is an emergency the protocol provides that a member state can apply to the SADC Committee of Ministers of Trade for a waiver of the obligations under the protocol. The member state will be required to set out the circumstances justifying the granting of the waver.
In case a member state wishes to be party to this protocol for any reason whatsoever, it has a withdrawal clause. There are some advantages Hon. President, that I have listed before. Despite the economic challenges that the country has been and is still facing, Zimbabwe has seen many of its locals, that is companies and individuals established and establishing across the region. The trade in service negotiations are one avenue the countries should use to negotiate a conducive environment for its locals operating beyond our borders.
Ratifying the protocol, Hon. President Sir, will ensure that Zimbabwe’s interests in the region are defended, advanced and that the country will have access to regional markets. It is however critical to strategically engage in these negotiations by identifying the country’s offensive and defensive interest. By this, we will be able to attract foreign investment in the areas where it is needed and block competition in the areas we have adequate capacity.
Hon. President, services are a critical component in the production of goods and services and therefore an efficient and competitive services industry leads to the efficient production of goods at competitive prices. This will also help us to overcome the supply side challenges that we are currently experiencing. It is against this background, Mr. President Sir, that this protocol is recommended for ratification.
Now therefore, Hon. President, in terms of Section 327 (2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, I now move that this House resolves that the aforesaid agreement be and is hereby approved for ratification by Senate. I thank you Mr. President.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
RATIFICATION OF THE CONVENTION RELATING TO INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI) on behalf of THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. DR. S. B. MOYO): I move the motion standing in my name that;
WHEREAS of section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that an international treaty which has been concluded or executed by or under the authority of the President does not bind Zimbabwe until it has been approved by Parliament;
AND WHEREAS the Convention relating to International Exhibitions was signed in Paris, France on November 22, 1928 as a legal instrument establishing rights, responsibilities and procedures of International Expo organisers and participants creating a Bureau of International Exhibitions (B.I.E);
WHEREAS the convention has been subsequently amended three times since 1928 and updated to suit economic, social and political trends, the progress of the world and the emerger of new countries, Members remain restricted to Governments of Contracting Parties and Governments of those countries who have accede to or ratified the Convention;
AND WHEREAS Zimbabwe has in the past participated in international, World expos held under B.I.E through a reprieve extended to non-members, the reprieve now no longer applies for all future exhibitions, it is prudent that Zimbabwe becomes a member of the B.I.E through acceding to the Convention of 1928, revised by the Protocol of 1972;
NOW, THEREFORE, in terms of section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, this House resolves that the aforesaid Convention and Protocol be and is hereby approved.
Hon. President I will just give a background of this Bureau of Convention on Paris relating to Bureau of International Convention. Hon. President, on 22nd November, 1928, the convention relating to International Exhibitions was signed in Paris, France. This convention is a legal instrument that establishes the rights, responsibilities and procedures of international expo organisers and participants. The convention further created the Bureau of International Exhibitions which is an inter-governmental organisation which supervises the exhibitions falling under the jurisdiction of the Convention relating to International Exhibitions.
The Bureau oversees the calendar, the bidding, the selection and organisation of world and international expos. Under this convention, the role of the Bureau is to ensure the procedural application of the regulatory framework provided in the convention. Hon. President, since 1928, the convention has been subsequently amended by three protocols - one on 10th May, 1948, another on 16th November, 1966 and finally the 1972 amendment.
The Bureau has updated the convention on three occasions in order to account for the shift in economic, social and political trends, the progress of the world and the emergence of new countries. Membership to the Bureau is open to any Government through ratification or by accession to the 1928 Paris Convention on International Exhibitions as per Article 35. Currently the membership is at 175 of which 42 of these are African countries. Membership is restricted to the Governments of the contracting parties and Governments of those countries who have acceded to or ratified the convention.
Hon. President, I now turn to Zimbabwe’s participation at these exhibitions. Zimbabwe has participated in world expos held under the Bureau in recent years through a reprieve extended to non-members. This reprieve will no longer be applicable for future exhibitions. The exhibitions who have participated are namely; the Hannover Germany Expo in the year 2000, the Aichi Japan Expo in 2005, the Shangai China Expo in 2010, and the Milan Italy Expo in 2015. It is prudent that Zimbabwe accedes to the Conventions of 1928, revised by the protocol in 1972, and become a member of the Bureau of International Exhibitions to continue to participate in these international exhibitions.
Benefits of Membership to the B.I.E.
It is the interests of governments of countries who may eventually host or organise international exhibitions or those who are concerned with participating in these international exhibitions of longer periods to accede to the Convention for the following but not exhaustive reasons. The member States participate from the outset in discussions with the organisers of exhibitions and give their views and concerns relating to exhibitions. Membership to the Bureau officers, a certain number of material advantages, for example, preference and priority is given to a member country wishing to organise an exhibition on certain dates if that application is also received with that of a non-member country.
When applying for registration of an exhibition, a member country of the B.I.E. is required to pay only half the regular cost of having an application examined. The B.I.E. is an international inter-governmental organisation which enables governments of member countries to cut costs due to very strict controls imposed upon on non-member countries by organisers. The more members the B.I.E. has, the more effective their authority and the greater the possibilities of reducing the costs to its members during exhibitions.
Membership will also enable Zimbabwe to participate in the bidding to host mega international fairs promoting tourism and marketing our country’s tourism sector. By becoming a member, Zimbabwe would be eligible to participate in the bidding to host mega international fairs and exhibitions in future which would benefit the country immensely in every sector and membership provides a country with voting rights and opportunities to strengthen diplomatic ties by paying in kind, that is voting for a nation to host World Expo, for example Japan has approached Zimbabwe soliciting for a vote to host 2025 Exhibition.
Financial Obligations:
The B.I.E. is financed by membership fees of the member States and by the Gate money from hosted Expos through royalties received on entry fee charges. The annual contribution of a member is determined by the General Assembly of the B.I.E. in agreement with the applicant government.
Observations:
Recommendation is also given that Zimbabwe accedes to the Protocol with reservations to Article 34 (3) and (4) on dispute resolution on the basis that Article 34 (5) of the Protocol amending the Convention signed at Paris in 1928 states that;
“Any State may, at the time of signing or ratifying of this Convention, or acceding to it, declare itself not bound by the provisions of the above paragraphs 3 and 4. Other Contracting parties will not be bound as regards those provisions towards any State which has so reserved its position”.
It is upon this basis indeed that recommendation is given for Zimbabwe to accede to the Protocol with reservations to Article 34 (3) and (4) on dispute resolutions and declare itself not bound by these paragraphs. In light of the above, Mr. President Sir, I move that in terms of Section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, this House resolves that the aforesaid Agreement is hereby approved for ratification. I so move Hon. President Sir.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
RATIFICATION OF THE AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING A TRIPARTITE FREE TRADE AREA AMONG COMESA, EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY AND SADC
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI) on behalf of THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. DR. S. B. MOYO): Thank you Hon. President. I rise to present a motion in the name of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade seeking approval for ratification on the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade (TFTA) Agreement.
As a way of introduction, I will give a background. During the 3rd Tripartite Summit which was held in June 2015 in Egypt, Zimbabwe signed the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade (TFTA) Agreement. At the 8th meeting of the Tripartite Sectoral Ministerial Committee (TSMC) held in June 2019 in Ethiopia, Zimbabwe reported that the country will ratify the Agreement by August 2019.
Background:
To address the challenges of multiple membership among COMESA, EAC and SADC and to boost intra-regional trade and economic development, the Heads of State and Government of the Member/partner States of the three Regional Economic Communities (RECs) met in Kampala, Uganda on 22 October, 2008 and agreed to establish a single Free Trade Area (FTA) covering the combined membership of the three RECSs.
Subsequently, the Heads of State and Government launched negotiations for the establishment of the grand FTA on 12th June, 2011 at their second Tripartite Summit in South Africa. The negotiations were to be conducted over two phases, namely Phase I on trade in goods (to last 24 to 36 months) and Phase II on trade in services (to commence after Phase I is completed). There was a preparatory period of six months during which negotiators exchanged trade data, tariff information and other measures affecting intra-REC trade.
Negotiations by the Tripartite Trade Negotiations Forum (TTNF) began in December 2011 and were scheduled to end in 2014, according to the roadmap adopted by the second Tripartite Summit. However, due to the complex nature of the negotiations and a number of outstanding issues, the deadline of 2014 was missed. Negotiations on the legal text of the main TFTA Agreement continued in 2015 and were concluded in June of the same year.
Subsequently, the agreement was signed by 15 Member States during the 3rd Tripartite Summit held in Egypt in June 2015. The countries that signed the agreement are Zimbabwe, Egypt, Namibia, Malawi, Seychelles, Mozambique, Tanzania, Sudan, Kenya, Comoros, Burundi, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda and Lybia. To date, 23 countries out of 29 have signed the TFTA Agreement except Mozambique, Eritrea, Lesotho, Tunisia, Somalia and South Sudan. The agreement will come into force once ratified by 14 Member States. Thus far, Egypt, Uganda, Kenya and South Africa have ratified the TFTA Agreement.
Objectives of the TFTA Agreement
The objectives of the TFTA Agreement are, to:
- promote economic and social development of the tripartite region;
- create a large single market with free movement of goods and services to promote intra-regional trade;
- enhance the regional and continental integration processes; and
- build a strong tripartite FTA for the benefit of the people of the region.
The TFTA brings together countries that are already in FTAs. They therefore have the benefit of building on the gains achieved in their respective RECs but on a much larger and more dynamic market space.
The TFTA is based on a development integration approach that combines market integration, industrial development and infrastructure development. This is borne out of the realisation of the complementary existing between trade liberalisation, competitive industrial production and infrastructure development.
TFTA Market and Trade Statistics
The TFTA will bring together 29 African countries with a combined population of more than 632 million people and a combined GDP of $1.3 trillion. The tripartite makes up half of the African Union (AU) in terms of membership, just over 58% GDP contribution and 57% of the total population of the AU. Such a market creates opportunities for economies of scale for producers of various goods in the tripartite region.
Update on the Negotiations
Negotiations by the Tripartite Trade Negotiations Forum (TTNF) began in December 2011 and were scheduled to end in 2014, according to the roadmap adopted by the second Tripartite Summit. However, negotiations are still ongoing specifically on exchange of tariff offers and list rules of origin.
Significant work has been achieved by the Tripartite Trade Negotiating Forum (TTNF) where the TFTA Agreement and ten annexes which are an integral part of the TFTA Agreement have been concluded and subjected to legal scrubbing. The annexes are: Annex I on elimination of import duties, Annex II trade remedies, Annex III on non-tariff barriers, Annex IV on rules of origin, Annex V on customs cooperation, Annex VI on trade facilitation, Annex VII on transit trade and trade facilitation, Annex VIII on technical barriers to trade (TBT), Annex IX on sanitary and phyto sanitary (SPS) measures and Annex X on dispute settlement.
Exchange of Tariff Offers
Currently, 20 Member States have their tariff offers ready including five EAC Partner States. Bilateral meetings between Egypt/EAC and Egypt/SACU are ongoing. SACU/EAC recently reported that they have concluded their bi-lateral negotiations on tariff offers.
In the case of Zimbabwe, the country will maintain its acquis (building on existing commitments) in SADC and COMESA.
A team of officials from the International Trade Department together with officials from Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) and Competition and Tariff Commission (CTC) carried out an exercise to develop the country’s tariff offer from 30 October to 03 November, 2017. The offer was based on SADC and COMESA tariff liberalisation commitments. Three options were identified and the team recommended option 3 where there will be a differentiated offer; one for South Africa and another for the rest of the Member States. This is due to different levels of development between South Africa and the rest of the Member States. The same principle was used when Zimbabwe submitted its offer under the SADC FTA. This therefore means that the country will have to negotiate with South Africa on tariff phase down and the rest of the Member States will enjoy 100% tariff liberalisation.
Rules of Origin
Annex IV on Rules of Origin was legally scrubbed and was adopted by the 6th meeting of the Tripartite Sectoral Ministerial Committee (TSMC) in July 2017 in Uganda.
On list rules, 91.55% (4932 of the 5387 tariff lines, HS 2017 version) of the rules of origin have been agreed and are ready for use. Negotiations on the remaining chapters and tariff lines are still on-going.
Phase II issues: Phase II issues (Trade in Services, Cross Border Investment, Intellectual Property Rights and Competition Policy) will be discussed in the near future, taking into account comments submitted by the Member States including Zimbabwe, on the studies which were done by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on how to approach these issues in terms of negotiations.
Draft Agreement on Movement of Business Persons: Negotiations on the Movement of Business Persons Agreement were running parallel with Trade in Goods (Phase I). The Agreement was adopted by the 8th meeting of the Tripartite Sectoral Ministerial Committee (TSMC) which was held in June 2019 in Ethiopia. The Agreement is now ready for signature and ratification by Member States.
Industrial Pillar
The following projects are on-going where studies have been undertaken:
- Infrastructure for Software Development for Industrial Statistics; and
- Industrial Capacity Development and Support for Regional Value Chains.
The 7th TSMC meeting held in June 2018 decided that the TTF should scale up the resource mobilisation effort for implementation of this pillar. The TSMC further recommended the establishment of the Tripartite Industrial Development Coordination Unit (TIDCU).
Infrastructure Development Pillar
The inaugural meeting of the Ministers responsible for Infrastructure was held in October 2017 and agreed on the programme of work.
Outstanding Issue
Ratification of the TFTA Agreement
To date, 24 Member States have signed the TFTA Agreement including Zimbabwe.
The agreement requires 14 ratifications to enter into force. So far, Egypt, Kenya, Uganda and South Africa have both signed and ratified the agreement. Most Member States including Zimbabwe indicated that they would ratify the TFTA Agreement once annex on Elimination of Import Duties is finalised and legally scrubbed and there is significant progress on negotiations on list rules of origin.
Now that the Annex on Elimination of Import Duties has been legally scrubbed and that 92% of the list rules have been agreed, it is therefore recommended that the agreement is ratified. Furthermore, considering that the AfCFTA Agreement has been ratified which is a bigger market, there is no longer a point not to ratify the TFTA which entails opening up to a smaller market.
Building on the acquis principle, the country is already implementing the FTA with 23 countries which will be part of the TFTA. As for the remaining six non-FTA countries (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Angola, South Sudan, Tunisia, Somalia), there is need to negotiate tariff offers with them. However, it is important to note that most of these countries are already negotiating joining their respective FTAs and as such, it will be prudent for Zimbabwe to wait for these countries to join these FTAs and offer the same on a reciprocal basis.
Potential Benefits of the TFTA to Zimbabwe
The TFTA will serve as an impetus for investment in Zimbabwe and the tripartite region’s cross-border infrastructure. Building infrastructure will also create additional jobs and foster the development of engineering services. The prospects for the larger market and supporting infrastructure will spur industrial development. This will not only create jobs but it will also have the added advantage of diversifying Zimbabwe’s economy which is largely dependent on raw materials. The associated technological development will lead to the creation of new industries.
The signal of a larger market will also help to stimulate trade in services. The first beneficiary is likely to be the financial sector, which will be able to lend to larger industrialists seeking to benefit from economies of scale. Such financial services will reinforce the increase in cross-border investments by emerging African firms that are serving as regional champions of industrial development.
By being part of larger markets, Zimbabwe will no longer be restricted to producing traditional products. With its open for business mantra and efforts to improve ease of doing business and human resources, Zimbabwe can become the locus of new manufacturing operations that serve wider markets. By providing a single economic space with harmonised trade policies and a regulatory framework, the TFTA solves the problem of multiple memberships, rationalises trade negotiations, reduces the cost of doing business, supports industrialisation and stimulates cross-border infrastructure projects.
Hon. President Sir, having said this, I now move in terms of Section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution, that this House resolves that the aforesaid agreement be and is hereby approved by Senate. I so submit Hon. President Sir.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that the debate do now adjourn.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: 17th November, 2020.
MOTION
LEAVE TO MOVE RESTORATION OF THE MARRIAGES BILL [H. B. 7A, 2019] ON THE ORDER PAPER
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Mr. President, I seek leave of the House that the Marriages Bill, [H. B. 7A, 2019] which was superseded by the prorogation of the Second Session of the Ninth Parliament be restored on the Order Paper at the stage that it had reached during the Second Session of the Ninth Parliament.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
RESTORATION OF THE MARRIAGES BILL [H. B. 7A, 2019] ON THE ORDER PAPER
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that the Marriages Bill, [H. B. 7A, 2019] which was superseded by the prorogation of the Second Session of the Ninth Parliament be restored on the Order Paper at the stage that it had reached during the Second Session of the Ninth Parliament.
Motion put and agreed to.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE
BILL RECEIVED FROM THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE (HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA): I have to inform the Senate that I have received the Zimbabwe Media Commission Bill [H. B. 8, 2019] from the National Assembly.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI), the Senate adjourned at Twenty Five minutes to Five o’clock p.m. until the 17th November, 2020.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 5th November, 2020
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
DEATH OF HON. KENNEDY DINAR
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I wish to inform the House of the untimely death of Hon. Kennedy Dinar of Glen View North Harare, today in Chitungwiza. I therefore call upon members to rise and observe a minute of silence in respect of the Hon. Member. May his soul rest in peace.
All Hon. Members observed a minute of silence.
NOMINATON TO STATUTORY DELEGATIONS
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have to inform the House that – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Order please Hon. Members. I have to inform the House that the MDC-T party has nominated members to serve on statutory delegations as follows: ACP-EU - Joint Parliamentary Assembly, Hon. P. Misihairabwi-Mushonga; APU - African Parliamentary Union, Hon. J. Makonya who has been moved from the SADC PF; SADC PF - Hon. P. Mpariwa and Hon. A. Ndebele; PAP – Pan-African Parliament, Hon. Dr. T. Mashakada; IPU - Inter-Parliamentary Union, Hon. V. Tsvangirai.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT
ZIMBABWE NATIONAL HUMAN SETTLEMENTS POLICY
THE MINISTER OF NATIONAL HOUSING AND SOCIAL
AMENITIES (HON. GARWE): Madam Speaker, last week I gave a promise that we would come and present a Ministerial Statement on the Human Settlement Policy approved by Cabinet. I rise to do exactly that. I would like to announce to this august House that the Zimbabwe National Human Settlements Policy (ZNHSP), a policy that will guide human settlements development in the country going forward, is now approved by Government as of Tuesday, 3rd instant.
The NHSP is a culmination of wide consultations with stakeholders across the country’s ten (10) provinces which began in May, 2018. The consultations were conducted with a view to address the shortfalls inherent in the National Housing Policy of 2012.
A national validation process was conducted after production of a zero draft with participants who attended the initial consultations being part of the engagement feedback nexus to same. This policy is therefore a result of the synthesized inputs as agreed by all stakeholders at the national validation fora. The policy had to undergo thorough internal validation processes before subjecting it to the Cabinet examination and subsequent approval.
The Policy Highlights
Let me hasten to highlight to the House salient issues contained in the policy. The ZNHSP’s vision speaks to “well-planned and governed Zimbabwe settlements”. Parliament is being informed that besides the huge housing and social amenities backlog, the human settlements sector is laden with a plethora of other challenges that include, but are not limited to obsolete and inadequate off-site and on-site services, informal settlements, widening disparities between rural and urban areas, and high cost of building materials and housing finance.
The policy highlights are as follows:
Land access and tenure – under the policy, all state land earmarked for human settlements development shall be managed through the Ministry responsible for human settlements development and the respective local authorities, for ease of co-ordination and accountability. Clear and defensible tenure rights will be defined for all land categories nationally, and mechanisms for guaranteeing security of tenure shall be set-up. The Ministries of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement, Local Government and Public Works and National Housing and Social Amenities ought to collaborate on management and disposal/ allocation of State land.
Spatial planning – with regard to spatial planning, all settlements shall be planned by registered planners and mining companies shall be expected to submit Settlement Plans and Development Concepts to the local authority. There will be no allocation of un-serviced and unplanned land to housing co-operations or individuals.
On-site and off-site infrastructure – According to the policy, the provision of bulk services ought to be the responsibility of both the Central Government and local authorities in both the rural and urban areas.
Densification – since land is a finite resource, all productive agricultural land will be preserved as such. Change of use will only be permitted on designated land while safeguarding all prime agricultural land. In order to curb settlement sprawl induced by the desire for personal ownership, it will be instructive that at least 40% of the land for human settlements development must be reserved for development such as high-rise buildings and flats. Mixed use vertical space utilisation will be promoted. Sub-division of low density stands will be permissible and encouraged, where there is a possibility to reticulate sewer. The notion of densification in the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act (RTCPA) must be amended to suit the above-mentioned threshold from 10% to 40%. Densification will also be expanded to include workspaces for Micro and Small to Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
Rental housing – the policy institutes measures to resuscitate and prioritise the rental market. The private sector is encouraged to venture into rental housing markets together with Government.
Regularisation – Madam Speaker, we are all aware of the ugly sites that we are experiencing in all our urban centres. Every town and city in the country is surrounded by unplanned or informal settlements or settlements that are being serviced with pit latrines and open wells, something that does not speak to vision 2030. The regularisation policy on all informal settlements will be regularised and sanitised through the use of a standardised protocol and development of a compensation and relocation framework where alternative land use warranting displacements is contemplated.
Rural settlements – Model settlements will be accessed by citizens
and planned rural settlements will be piloted in resettlements areas, while the gap between the social amenities facilities in both the rural and urban areas will be bridged. Madam Speaker, we are all aware of what is happening in our country. The development that is in urban areas is not taking place in rural areas. There is a massive migration of people from rural to urban areas in pursuit of the infrastructure that is in the urban areas. The policy seeks to close that gap. We want to influence a migration of Zimbabweans from urban to rural areas by providing the facilities that are in urban areas in the rural settlement areas.
Legal and regulatory framework
New legislation to govern human settlements development and management will be promulgated and a wholesale review of model building by-laws instituted.
Urban regeneration and renewal
Government in conjunction with local authorities will resuscitate the urban regeneration programme.
Institutional framework
Government will establish a statutory body/agency that will undertake all works within the domain of human settlements development. We intend to come up with a new parastatal that parallels what urban development cooperation is doing. We are now in the process of coming up with a suitable name for that – a parastatal that will focus primarily on housing and human settlement issues.
Environment, climate change and new building technology
Policy ensures that planning, development and management of settlements will be consistent with national and international disaster risk frameworks and with environmental and climate change policies, laws and standards. Thus, construction of housing and social amenities on wetlands will be prohibited and where possible, reclamation of the same will be instituted.
Starting from now, all settlements on wetland will be a criminal offence and the relevant Government agencies will be working on that.
It is instructive to note that the policy is banning the sale of Government pool properties (houses) and other institutional housing types.
Funding
The financing of housing and social amenities projects shall be done through the following routes:
- a) Social housing for civil servants shall be funded through Treasury.
- b) Financial institutions, the private sector, pensions and provident funds, insurance companies and regional and international investors shall be invited to participate on public/private partnerships or any other appropriate human settlements delivery model (s).
Conclusion
Now that the policy has been approved, my Ministry shall embark on the crafting of an implementation strategy with a view to operationalise the same policy. I thank you.
*HON. PETER MOYO: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to thank the Hon. Minister for bring in a Ministerial Statement with regard to Government policy on housing settlements. I think the Minister should have emphasised on the issue of people who bought land in full from the council …
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: May you please ask the question?
*HON. PETER MOYO: I would like him to have a background of my question, otherwise he will not understand what I would like to ask. We had requested that the Ministerial Statement include that but it has not been incorporated.
Local authorities sell land to people who pay the cost in full and they sign agreements of sale. Council is then supposed to service the land but they are not doing that. The people who bought land end up constructing houses on unserviced land. After that, council will then bring bulldozers to destroy the houses. That is not sensible at all in this country.
Minister Garwe is regarded as an honourable and mature person in Africa because he is now a vice chairman of Afrique Shelter. He should be able to protect people who are being conned by the council. The council should not act like land barons. The Minister should just service the land and not destroy properties. People are prepared to service the areas that they stay in. The Minister should ensure that everything is in order. The President should not invoke Murambatsvina in order to stop this corruption yet the Minister was given that responsibility. This happened in Glen Lorne when I was a councilor and we made the people to pay a fine to regularise. It was not ideal to go and destroy those houses. You should just make people pay fines to regularise because where will these people go? Right now you are saying Joshua Mqabuko is illegal – are you going to destroy all these houses? Look at Hopley, are you also going to destroy those houses? Where are you going to resettle all these people?
The Minister should put a stop to all this. He should do away with the regulation from court which says the local authority consents to destroying illegal housing structures. There is no court from Mars – these are our courts. Why should we stick to the Smith regime regulation which says there should be open spaces yet the population is growing? Long Chen was built up to completion on a wetland and it is functional now. The same should happen to all housing structures on wetlands. Let us start on a new page and let us regularise. I thank you.
HON. MADZIMURE: My first issue with the Minister is that I was of the opinion that the Minister should have brought the policy as a motion to Parliament so that we can debate that policy than us seeking clarification because all the defects that are there, we cannot correct them now since they have gone through the processes already.
The second thing is that the policy should speak to the Urban Councils Act and also the City Bye-laws. That relationship must be very clear and must be there.
The other issue which I want the Minister to clarify on is that for a policy to be effective, you must have a benchmark first. Has the Minister carried out an audit of all the State land that is there so that we know which the State land is and then we make decisions as to what we propose the State land to be used for? As far as I am concerned, I would expect that the State land is used for development, building infrastructure like industrial parks so that we keep on developing the economy rather than continuously building houses where you have no infrastructure for doing business. We then wonder why do we have even towns like Chivhu growing with so many houses without a single industrial park.
The other issue is that we must have a map of the wetland. It appears we do not have those things. Whenever you move into Kambuzuma, it must be clear. In other countries, they even have boards where the map of that particular constituency is and where the wetlands are clearly demarcated. It becomes so easy to implement and monitor what is taking place if you have got a map.
We also have situations as I refer to issues of audit. There are people who claimed to own some land like the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Cooperative where even the change of use was written by a ballpoint, simply cancelling industrial use to residential. Right now we have got more than 2 500 houses and they are constantly under threat. Can the Minister also make sure that such issues which are so topical which we have brought to Parliament are also investigated as he tries to regularise the issue of land. I think that one must be a priority because we are talking of more than 10 000 people in that particular settlement that needs attention.
I also want to talk about the issue of alternative resettlement. When an agreement is made between the council and a developer who might be found to have been disadvantaged, if an agreement is made by the Ministry, it must be binding. Right now we have got issues referring to the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Cooperative. In 2016, the Minister of Local Government went there and they agreed that despite the fact that they had not proved who the owner of that particular land is because there are no title deeds that points to the fact that the current person who came to own that land has title to that land. Apparently, they had agreed to offer him land somewhere and that agreement is still standing and again the developer is coming back claiming the same land which he was offered alternative land by Government. Those are the things that are not clear.
Lastly Madam Speaker, we cannot allow developments to continue in areas that are not developed. It does not make sense at all. It becomes so expensive to regularise and start providing services. The Ministry must ensure that no development, no construction can be undertaken before the services are provided. I think we are now in a more modern century than previously...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Madzimure, ask your question not to debate.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Madam Speaker. Just as a rider on the suggestion by Hon. Madzimure, I will not seek that the Minister brings in a motion. It is my thinking that the separation of powers, the Minister’s Statement will deal with it like that and I propose that I will bring in a motion that deals with human settlement development so that the Minister within 21 days, can respond to that one which we can debate here...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Nduna please, ask your question.
HON. NDUNA: Madam Speaker, the first issue that I want to – [HON. SIKHALA: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Sikhala, order please!
HON. NDUNA: Madam Speaker, the first issue that I need to touch on is the issue the Minister has spoken about, the coordination and collaboration between his Ministry and the Local Government Ministry as it relates to human urban development settlement, the issue of corruption by town clerks and housing directors that has hampered the development, expansion of our urban settlement. I will touch in particular Chegutu West municipality. What is the Minister going to do as it relates to the placement of these people who would have hampered these urban settlements development so that we see their back and he can expeditiously conduct his urban settlement operation.
The second one is the existing land for urban settlement development that has not been developed and I will zero in on Chegutu. The Government has given 500ha Hintonville Extension to Chegutu for urban expansion and development. Government has further given to Chegutu Municipality 500ha Reseborrow land, which means there is now 1 030ha but there is a backlog of housing of 25000 houses. The 1 030ha can take care of the backlog of 25 000 households and can also have another 25 000, which means 50 000 can be taken care of. What is the Minister going to do with that existing land that has been given for urban expansion but that is being held back by the corruption, the collusion and nepotism of the town clerks and housing directors much to the chagrin and to the dismay of the electorate?
The third one is the issue of title deeds to those...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Nduna, please ask your question.
HON. NDUNA: What is the Minister going to do with the issue of title to the houses that have been with the owners for the past more than 25 years where councils have continued to hold back to the titles of those houses that were home ownership and they have finished paying off so that they are known to having title and they can use those houses as collateral. Today if a white man dies, they will leave title deeds to their children but if a black man dies in Chegutu, they will not have title deeds.
The fourth one Madam Speaker, is the hospitals and amenities in the urban settlement areas and development that he has spoken to and about …
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Ask your question Hon. Nduna, please!
HON. NDUNA: Madam Speaker, houses that have been built where there has not been any master plan or where there has not been any plan, what is the Minister going to do? What is the Minister going to do where the clinics and hospitals far outstrip the electorate or the number of people in that municipality or in that town? A good example will be Chegutu District Hospital. What is it that the Minister is going to do relating to establishment of hospitals and clinics before any further expansion of the human settlement development is adhered to so that there is supporting services when there is human settlement development. The fourth one is – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – these are questions that I seek clarity on. I have requested the Minister with my other colleague to give us a Ministerial Statement when we asked questions the other time. It will be fair and prudent for me to be given the opportunity to ask the question.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Asking a question does not mean debating Hon. Nduna, please.
HON. NDUNA: The issue of condonation on houses that have been built where there has not been any master plan or any plan, what is the Minister going to do in order that they do not demolish the existing infrastructure? What is he going to do in terms of giving condonation for the councils that have given, with impunity, authority for human settlement development to take route without master plans? The second route, there is expansion on productive agricultural land where a municipality or the urban setup is surrounded by productive agricultural land. What is the Minister going to do in such a scenario?
The last one, I asked that when I bring in a motion for human settlement development, the Minister must come to this House to respond to that motion in 21 days thereafter. Madam Speaker, I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to seek for clarity.
HON. T. MLISWA: Madam Speaker, I stand guided by you. The Minister is the Minister of National Housing but there is also the Minister of Local Government. Some of the questions which I am hearing here relate to the Ministry of Local Government. The Minister in his Statement talked about a number of Ministries which are part of this. These are Environment, Local Government and so forth. I do not know in terms of most of the questions of Local Government whether he is able to handle that. For example, the Department of Physical Planning, is it under him? The Surveyor General Department, is it under him? More, importantly, we also want to understand if there is a budget for this because there is no point in having all these issues without resources. So, it is critical that we seek your guidance in those three issues.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I will ask the Hon. Minister to respond if all those Departments are under his Ministry.
*THE MINISTER OF NATIONAL HOUSING AND SOCIAL AMENITIES (HON. GARWE): Thank you Madam Speaker. Let me first start with the issue raised by Hon. Peter Moyo. He spoke very well that the local authorities are corrupt together with the people whom people call land barons who are giving land to build houses where there are no roads, water, sewer and electricity. This is now coming under framework and policy regularisation. There are people who went to stay at these places long back like Harare South, Caledonia and so on. There are no houses which are going to be destroyed in these areas. That is when we come in and say let us look for experts so that we construct roads, sewer, water and electricity using what is already there.
Madam Speaker, some houses are going to be destroyed….
HON. CHIKWINYA: On a point of order Madam Speaker. Hon. Speaker, this is a new Ministry and by his admission, the Hon. Minister said they are only nine months old. We do not know his role. So, can he first of all answer the point of order raised by Hon. Mliswa, in summary, to us as Parliament on his role as a Ministry so that at least we can intervene correctly.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Minister, may you continue.
*HON. GARWE: Let me proceed answering the question and then I will answer Hon. Chikwinya’s question at the end. Onsite and offsite infrastructure, it is the job of Government and councils. It is not the job of the people who stay in those areas. Those are some of the things which we are busy solving but we are facing a very big problem.
When we started introducing the regularisation programme in January, many councils rushed to give people houses which is unlawful especially on wetlands. Those are the areas where houses are being demolished. Those who stayed in those areas long back, those houses are not being demolished. For example, if you are in Caledonia, we cannot do another master plan which is outside Caledonia but we are now developing a master plan which suits the Caledonia area working together with Government, Public Works, Environment and Finance because regularisation needs finance. People who are staying in those areas must be paying to Government to develop those places and provide infrastructure. If the roads, sewer and water had been dealt with, people would have bought their stands at a price inclusive of the above. That is what is meant by regularisation. Still on that issue let me also talk about sanitisation which is a place with master plans and lay out plans and people were given stands in a formal way. The stands are numbered but if the roads have not been serviced, people will walk but knowing where the road is supposed to be. In such areas that is where we want to do the sanitisation because it is not much of a problem.
Hon. Madzimure spoke on by-laws and standards. When I spoke about the ministerial statement I said it was our duty to ensure that by-laws are reviewed because we are still using by-laws which were developed in 1943 and revised in 1971. So they are archaic and they speak to British standards. We are Zimbabwe and we do not conform to British standards but to Zimbabwe standards. So, together with local authorities, we are going to be revising by-laws and building standards.
Wetlands are a no go area. Unscrupulous local authority officials and councillors have been parcelling out land in wetland areas for their personal needs. We are demolishing those and we are removing people from being settled on wetlands. There are no apologies to make on that Madam Speaker. Audit of state land – urban state land is administered through the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works and they are responsible for the auditing. All other state land falls under the Ministry of Agriculture and they are responsible for auditing of that land.
The issue of corruption needs not be over emphasised. We must be a collective in dealing with corruption as Zimbabweans. Those that are in a position of authority, those that are influencing corruption, the corrupters and corruptees are all responsible and we must not apologise for dealing with them effectively.
Hon. Nduna raised a number of issues, some of which I have already answered. On existing land, you were specific to Chegutu so it would make sense if he can favour us with a document that details what exactly is happening in Chegutu so that we will be able to competently respond to that. The issue of title deeds is one that involves other agencies of State such as the Surveyor General, department of Physical Planning under Local Government, ourselves too as interested parties in terms of urban State land. So it needs all other players to be involved. I am sure the document that he is going to present will also speak to that so that we can consult others.
Hon Nduna also referred to social amenities and hospitals. Now that there is an exponential growth in human settlements, that growth is not matched with social amenities like schools, clinics and hospitals. It is a matter that Government is seized with and in the current budget all that is covered. I am sure we will be able to get more information about it but as a Ministry, it is our responsibility to ensure that in every area where there are human settlements, there must be attendant social amenities as well: schools, clinics, community halls and community centres for youths for sport and art.
Withe regards to expansion on productive land – I have made reference to the value of agricultural land and that we are not going to be building expansively. We have changed the direction and we are going to be encouraging building vertically. We want to utilise our vertical spaces that are so open hence the policy on densification.
Hon. Mliswa raised the issue on budget for housing. I made reference to a different finance model. Social housing with respect to houses for civil service will be financed by Treasury. We are also encouraging the private sector. We have spoken to the banking community, pension funds and even corporates driving them to join in developing the country in terms of human settlement and all of them in principle have agreed. What we are now seized with is that we have got the policy we want to approach ZIDA and come up with partnership agreements or joint ventures so that we go ahead in providing human settlements for Zimbabweans. I thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order Madam Speaker. Some of us take this job quite seriously, especially on a Thursday we should be out on the farms, but we decide to be here. We want to assist the Minister and that is the reason why I asked these questions. In which Ministry does Physical Planning and the Surveyor General’s Office come under? The reason I am saying this is it would be very difficult for him to implement anything if these things are with other Ministries because it has to be a one-stop-shop. As national housing, fine, you are building but where is the title deed, physical planning who gives you the subdivision permit – the Surveyor General and if they are in different ministries how does it become national housing without that? These are complementary of what we want to achieve.
I say so because Hon. July Moyo is responsible for physical planning and if he decides not to give the state land that belongs to him, where is the national housing plan going to go to? These are the pertinent questions I am asking that while he has a vision for national housing but are there complementary departments to deal with that? Physical planning must agree that he should go ahead. If it is in another Ministry how will he do that? So, it is important because we hear his vision and national housing has been here for quite a while and has also been under local government where the only houses that we have today are the ones which were built by the late Enos Chikoore – may his soul rest in peace. After that we never saw anything like national housing from Local Government. The President saw it fit for it to stand alone but it must have legs. Right now it has no legs and that is why I really need clarity on that.
HON. GARWE: The department of Physical planning is under the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works. The Surveyor General department is under the Ministry of Lands, however government works as a team and we collaborate. Whenever we require land for housing we approach the relevant agency and it is done. That is how government operates. I thank you.
HON. DR. MASHAKADA: First of all I agree with Hon. Mliswa that his issue requires the whole of Government approach because it is eclectic and integrated so you need the whole of Government approach. I hope the Minister can take that very seriously.
Coming to my questions, Minister you know that Zimbabwe is known for haphazard settlements - be it rural, peri-urban or urban. There is a haphazard trend that has emerged. I just want to know from you whether your policy is informed by other human settlement models as provided by UN Habitat and other international models for proper human settlement because that is very important. Kugara nhaka kuona dzevamwe. I just want your reaction on that, especially in terms of the UN habitat models on shelter and human settlement because it is universal.
The second question is how necessary is it to establish another parastatal purely to superintend settlement issues, given the lack of fiscal space? Why should we create yet another parastatal just to look into settlement, especially given the issue raised that we have Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Lands and they have parastatals?
What are you doing to deal with immediate settlement crisis in the country? When this policy is going to be rolled out, you are faced with immediate issues like the Chingwizi case where people were displaced from Tokwe Murkosi Dam and they were just dumped. The victims of Cyclone Idai, those are settlement cases that need to be looked at. The issue of refugees at Tongogara Camp in Mazowe Bridge, those are issues that I think you need to look at.
The final question is that there is world controversy on the use of tents as a method of settlement, what is the policy of Zimbabwe on the use of tents in resettling people?
HON. TOGAREPI: What we have seen already in the planned and unplanned settlement is that our people have the capacity to build their own houses which Government would want to see everyone having a roof over their heads. Together with your colleagues from Local Government have you thought of providing such people with land that they can pay over a long time and they get that land whether they are local people who are staying in Zimbabwe today or they are in the diaspora who would want to build houses but not going through land barons, middlemen who are very expensive but they get land and build.
This will give Government money because they will be paying over a certain period but we will have more developments. The reason why we have challenges with land barons is because land is not made available to the people of Zimbabwe as easy as it should be. I thank you.
HON. CHIKWINYA: My question is a follow up to what was discussed in this House on 28 October during Question Time. On that day Hon. Nduna asked the Minister what is Government’s policy in relationship to downsizing the national backlog in terms of National Housing Delivery Service. In his answer and in his direction the Hon Speaker on that day said the last part of your question verges on the Minister coming up with proper numerical numbers which would have been a written question but I will indulge you.
The Hon Minister was given an opportunity to come up with numerical evidence on how their Ministry is mitigating the crisis of national housing in the country. In his statement I did not hear any such numerical evidence. I therefore relate my first question again to the speech by the President on 22 March 2019 when he was addressing victims of Cyclone Idai in Chimanimani whereupon he says, Government promises to construct 1.5 million housing units translating to 300 000 houses per year or 25 000 houses per month or 6250 per week or 822 per day. I thought the Hon Minister was going to merge this vision as announced by Government and Head of State with the question by Hon Nduna and the direction given by the Hon Speaker on 28 October to come and give us numerical evidence to the extent that since their inception as a new Ministry, what have they done to fulfill this 1.5 million housing targets which is going to satisfy or satiate the need by the civil servants, those in informal settlements and everyone who has been finding themselves either illegally or legally settling themselves in whatever manner but in an attempt to find a roof over their head?
The other issue may the Hon Minister explain or demonstrate to us what Statutory Instrument in terms of an Act do they use to administer their ministerial activities because in the absence of such I see them as a powerless department in the Local Government Ministry. This is why you are finding the Minister is failing to locate himself between the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Agriculture. Therefore he depends on the benevolence of other Ministries for him to executive his mandate. What Act is he currently administering which then gives him the power to be able to direct and obviously to attack the needs of his mission as mandated as a Cabinet Minister.
*HON. CHIKUKWA: Thank you Madam President, I want to thank the Minister for the policy he has brought to this House. You said you are going to legalise illegal settlers and come up with a plan. As you do your planning it is going to affect some residents because some might be resident where there are to be roads, clinics, schools and they will be affected. Did you put in place measures to see that people who are displaced because of the new planning will be helped? I thank you – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] -
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members.
HON. MOKONE: Thank you Madam Speaker and I thank you for protecting me from these men – [Laughter.]– Hon. Minister, what are you going to do about the people that were allocated stands and have already build houses in unserviced areas in the Spitzcop area in Gwanda? This place does not have ablution facilities and let alone water pipes. I thank you.
HON. SACCO: Thank you Madam Speaker. My question goes to the Minister of National Housing and is in connection with construction of houses for people who were affected by Cyclone Idai. We still have people living in tents more than one year after the event. Can you please give clarity on progress made so far? I thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is your point of order?
HON T. MLISWA: The questions which are coming are important and in my point of order, I had raised the issue of the budget resource. Does the new Ministry have money? I do not remember passing a budget for National Housing, may be somebody did. These questions which are being asked have a lot to do with the money the Ministry has for that. If there is no money and he was very clear that we are only nine months old and being nine months old we tend to be asking too much, that is why your guidance is sought. Is there a budget? No, there is no budget.
We also spoke about the Act, which Act governs the Ministry; they are still putting that in order. You will see that there are so many ministries involved. Without a budget, how does he implement all this that people are asking for? So Madam Speaker, your indulgence is sought so that you assist the Minister on that unless there is some budget being given because the Hon. Minister of Finance has a tendency of giving money before coming to Parliament. May be there is an allocation that he was given, we do not know. From what we know, he cannot do anything without resources. So, to ask him questions about what the Ministry would do when he has no money is not fair. As we speak, maybe there is no office furniture in his office. I think you can help us so that we make a bit of progress on this but without money it will be difficult for him to ask...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Did the Minister say that he does not have office furniture in the office?
HON. T. MLISWA: I said it is my speculation since there is no budget. There might not be office furniture but it is a very important point for us to really make progress because we will fire questions but where there is no money we must understand. I do not know if that can be clarified by the Minister.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Minister, please can you respond to Hon. T. Mliswa’s question not now but I will ask you to respond later.
HON. GABBUZA: Madam Speaker, I listened to the Minister present his policy and to me the policy makes the Ministry look like a department of other ministries because clearly the issues that are raised, the Town and Country Planning Act which is housed in the Public Works and Local Government, issues on agriculture and land; all those are housed in other ministries. Is the Minister confirming that he is likely going to administer the Country Urban and Town Planning Act?
Secondly, when the first Minister of Housing was appointed by the current President; in this House when he was asked what his mandate was going to be, he clearly said that he was going to develop a model rural housing for rural areas because urban set ups already have standard houses. We have housing plans like F14 and all those...
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, what is your question Hon. Gabbuza?
HON. GABBUZA: How far has the Ministry gone in developing a standard rural house plan? Secondly, when Cyclone Idai devastated houses, Government promised that one of the reasons why the housing was falling apart and the disaster that rural people experienced was mainly because of the quality of the houses that were being built. Part of the mitigatory measures that the Government promised was that they were going to build a standard housing plan which will be affordable and resistant to effects of climate. How far have you gone with that because that is what we were expecting in the policy? We have developed such a house and if you want to build a cheap house, this is how it must look like if it is to be weather resistant. It does not come out clearly in that policy. Where is it within the policy or when are we expecting it?
HON. TSUNGA: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. Zimbabwe is a signatory to the Kampala Declaration which speaks to the rights of internally displaced persons (IDPS). I am not sure of course whether that treaty has been ratified. Nonetheless, we are a signatory. I just wanted to understand from the Minister whether the policy also speaks to the plight of internally displaced persons in terms of their right to housing? For example, in my constituency we have some people who have been evicted from lodgings and have pitched tents in some public places within the City of Mutare. I just wanted to understand whether the policy that the Minister has spoken about also addresses the plight of internally displaced persons in terms of their right to Housing?
HON. GARWE: Thank you very much for your contributions. Hon. Tsunga, I am not well-versed with the Kampala Declaration. I would want more information if you could furnish me with that. Responding to housing needs, that is the reason why this Ministry was created to specifically respond to housing needs for all Zimbabweans regardless of their persuasion or whether they are disabled or not disabled. To respond to all housing needs for all Zimbabweans, that is the sole mandate of this Ministry.
Hon. Gabuzza, you raised very fundamental issues which speak to the functions and mandate of the Ministry. One of the key mandates of the Ministry is to promote and facilitate the provision of housing or houses that speak to sustainability, modernity and affordability. Some of those model houses that you are requesting have already been developed. In Chimanimani, those that were displaced under Cyclone Idai, we have a model house that was developed and as we speak, the Department of Public Works is on site in Manicaland, Chimanimani building houses. I am sure Hon. Sacco can bear testimony to that. It is in his constituency and he is fully in sync with what we are talking about here.
Madam Speaker, this is a Ministry born out of a rib from another Ministry. It was a department of housing under the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works and National Housing was then created and developed into a fully fledged ministry. There are issues of handover takeover, developing the policy like what we have done now and many other issues that we need to look at. The issue of budget that Hon. Mliswa has spoken about, the Ministry was created when the budget for 2020 was already established. So, we had to make do with what was existing but on the 2020/2021 Budget, it is a standalone Ministry with a standalone budget.
Funding is going to be there, not only from Treasury but like I said earlier on, we have spoken to investors intentionally and domestically, including banks, pension funds and insurance companies and other corporate leaders who are so keen to participate on the housing delivery initiative. What is outstanding right now is to develop the partnership agreements through the Joint Venture Act through ZIDA. That is what is outstanding but we have already done that but funding yes, is going to be there from Treasury and other private sector players.
I want to come back to Hon. Gabbuza on the Acts. We have about four Acts that we are administering; the City of Harare Housing Act, the Housing and Building Act, Quantity Surveyor Act and the Building Standards Act. So, there are Acts that we are supervising or administering.
Let me come to Hon. Togarepi. The reason why we have problems with land barons and problems with cooperatives is exactly why we are not going to be giving land to individuals for housing. If I may take you back to 2002, Government, in its desire to want to provide housing for all, invited private developers and cooperatives to participate in the housing initiatives by giving them land at intrinsic value for them to provide water, sewer and roads or on-site infrastructure for onward selling to home seekers.
Unfortunately, what happened is not what was expected, the home seekers turned themselves into land barons and started parcelling and selling out un-serviced land to desperate home seekers. That is the reason why we have the issue of informal settlements, irregular settlements and land barons now. However, we are correcting those wrongs by sanitising and regularising the areas. We are not going to be giving land. What Zimbabweans are very good at is to build his/her own home but to provide onsite infrastructure, he is not interested.
Hon. Chikwinya asked very fundamental questions. Unfortunately I was presenting a Ministerial Statement. I was not responding to a question that was asked by Hon. Nduna. Hon. Nduna then said he is going to resubmit his question then we will deal with it as it comes. It is a motion.
*Hon. Chikukwa you spoke of replacements and relocations, it still relates to the issue of regularisation. There are people who are going to have their homes demolished because their houses are on top of sewer pipes. They will be given alternative land to go and build. We are encouraging the building of high rise buildings so we will relocate them there. We are not going to demolish homes without having alternative accommodation. We will provide alternative accommodation before we remove them from the land that they will have occupied.
Hon. Sacco, as you are coming from Chimanimani which is your constituency you will know that we are building houses for those who were affected by Cyclone Idai. Hon. Sacco is aware of this programme.
Hon. Mashakada, you said there are haphazard settlements in Zimbabwe. That is your opinion; it is not a statement of fact. Haphazard settlements were in the rural areas which used to be called Tribal Trust Lands then and were created by our erstwhile colonisers. We now have new settlements under the A1 and A2 farming systems. Those are the ones that we are now developing some models so that we have got a place for human settlements, cropping and grazing. All these are being planned and developed as a team.
We are going to work with Ministry of Lands because they are responsible for agriculture to ensure that their farmers are properly settled. We are also speaking to Pfumvudza Programme. Farmers like Hon. Mliswa are fully aware and are participating in the Pfumvudza Programme. We are saying a Pfumvudza farmer deserves a modern house and so we are working closely with the Minister on that. You also made mention to why create another agency when we have urban development cooperation. Urban Development Cooperation’s key mandate is to provide off site and on site infrastructure. The new agency mandate will be the superstructure – the actual housing. Those are two distinct functions which we must understand.
You made mention to the immediate settlement crisis with respect to Chimanimani and Chingwizi and other areas which I have already answered. The Gwanda question speaks to regularisation – I think I have spent a sizeable amount of minutes talking about regularisation and Gwanda is included in that. It is not only Gwanda – in every urban area including RDCs, we are seized with informal settlements that need regularisation. We are going to be religious in ensuring that regularisation is achieved before 2030.
Human housing is not an isolated case and Zimbabwe does not live in isolation. We are in the family of communities through SADC, African Union and United Nations hence we adhere to the human settlement protocols within those stations that I have made mention to. So it is covered. I thank you.
HON. NDUNA: On a point of order. Seeing that this one is a newly constituted Ministry which used to fall under the Ministry of Local Government, it is my thinking that you mirror your Portfolio Committees relating to the ministries. I propose that there be a Portfolio Committee for this Ministry. You have got about 20 Portfolio Committees and seven Thematic including the SDGs expanded Committee. It is my humble hope and view that there be a composition of a Portfolio Committee in your Parliament that speaks to the issue of capacitation and playing oversight on the Ministry that has been newly established.
Relating to the issue of Chairmanship, some of us feel very underutilised. We are technocrats in that regards and we can use this pedestal and platform in Parliament to augment and complement the efforts of the current Ministry. I thank you.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. KHUMALO): That issue is for the Standing Rules and Orders Committee. We cannot attend to it here.
*HON. MBONDIAH: My question is; why does council wait until houses have been built and completed and then they demolish them yet they inspect at every stage?
*HON. ZEMURA: As Members of Parliament, we were shown stands along Enterprise Road by the last Parliament. We want to be allocated our stands officially so that we occupy them.
HON. T. MLISWA: I have a point of order. Mr. Speaker Sir, you spoke about the National Housing Policy but in this august House, we have got plots that were given and there is no construction of houses taking place. How do they fit into your plan? It seems that in this country, a National Housing Plan is being given land and not a house. How do you intend to ensure and give confidence to the nation by starting implementing with the august House, proper housing which is a model. When are you going to start on our housing project?
HON. GARWE: Mr. Speaker Sir, Hon. Mbondiah asked an issue which lies directly under the purview of Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and its local authorities and I will not waste your time attempting to answer that. Hon. Zemura, you were allocated stands through this august House but you do not know where the stands are and whether they are genuine stands or not. It is an administrative issue. You need to approach your Parliament Employer and they will tell you where those stands are, not us.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Hon. Mliswa said charity begins at home - this august House. Hon. Mliswa made reference to housing for Members of Parliament but through the same scheme that Hon. Zemura had made reference to earlier on. As a new Ministry we are not officially aware of such housing scheme. We would be however very glad if we can be favoured, through Parliament, with the details of those schemes so that we can run with it together with Members of Parliament. I thank you.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. TOGAREPI: Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that Orders of the Day, Nos. 1 to 6 be stood over until Order of the Day, No. 7 has been disposed of.
HON. MPARIWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Seventh Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
HON. T. MLISWA: Mr. Speaker Sir, it is not a secret that SONA has come and gone but what is also obvious is that there has never been a review of any SONA. We have a tendency of writing and not implementing. At no point are we ever told the achievements of the last SONA and the challenges, which is critical. For a very long time, we have listened to the SONA and equally what needs to be done to enhance the debate is to also invite the President to the House and take some questions which is a provision in the Constitution and the Standing Orders which I implore you as the Chair to make that happen. For as long as we have the President announcing SONA, we also want him to come and tell us of the success while he is in office and the challenges. It gives that opportunity because by reading and us asking questions, we do not comprehend neither are we representing the people in the context that it should. It is important that we take it a step further. I would therefore implore the ruling party which is the governing party to caucus on this need to invite the President and not be seen to be undermining him but to also be adhering to the Constitution. We are adhering to the Constitution in terms of the global fund for the farmers but why are we not adhering to the Constitution in terms of inviting the President to answer to the State of the Nation Address and other challenges and successes which are there. It is important that we align ourselves to that.
The issues the President brought up are many. The issue on corruption, we really are losing the fight. We have lost the fight and it is important for us to admit. When you have lost, it is important to say we are losing and we have lost. There is no point in us talking about something which is growing and has become cancerous at the end of the day and has affected our lives. It has affected the people’s lives. Sanctions are no longer a talk of the day but corruption has overtaken sanctions. What are we doing to arrest that situation? We have a situation where institutions are no longer complying with any regulation whatsoever. The institutions run by individuals and the Second Republic had the goodwill which even Nelson Mandela never had in ensuring that we give a chance to this nation in the support people had for His Excellency, E. D. Mnangagwa. His Excellency, E. D. Mnangagwa comes from a background of a system which had destroyed this country but at the same time, there was faith and there is still faith. We will make the necessary turn at the right time. What we do not know is when we will make that turn.
It is also important to understand that the Second Republic was born out of people’s march where Zimbabweans decided that for once, we want new leadership, we want a new era. In talking about a new era, it was a people’s march which involved everybody, white, black, Indian and all political parties involved. Even the late Morgan Tsvangirai, may his soul rest in peace I think spiritually, in his last days, he wanted this country to be united and in his state, he still managed to get out meeting the people in his ailing condition. Like I said, it only shows the love he had for this country and the peace he wanted to ensure this country moves forward with. What was critical at that time was to put a team Zimbabwe which would be building on the same State of the Nation Address which the President is talking about. Without us being team Zimbabwe, it becomes very difficult for us to be moving forward.
There are many incidences which happened which we do not want to bring to the fore but in moving forward we must be able to give His Excellency an opportunity. Not only do we give him an opportunity but he must also give an opportunity to every Zimbabwean to see whether we are able to work together. The whole idea of monopolising Zimbabwe, thinking that I can do it, will never work but we can do, it will work. That is what the SONA, the challenges and success which he mentioned are premised on.
I challenge the Second Republic to go back, being November and 17th November coming, is a very important time for us. May this month be a moth where we introspect, where we circumspect and where we equally review and come up with a way forward because it is very important. 2017 November meant a lot to us because the change that we wanted had come. We must also be honest as leaders and say is this where we are? Is this where we are supposed to be? What are we supposed to do to get to the next point? In doing so, we must review the budgets. We must review every blue print document which comes to the fore. A country’s economy is based on its blue print document economically. We have had ESAP. Was there a review on ESAP, what was the good and the bad of ESAP. We had ZIMASSET, it came and there was never a review. I do not recall us reviewing the success and the failures of ESAP. We then move to the 10 Point Plan. The Ten Point Plan came without us even reviewing; now we are at the TSP. I am going to the TSP because we really need to be honest about the TSP austerity measures. We must look at the austerity measures which were mentioned, the steps taken and action taken on the austerity measure is where we are in terms of austerity measures. Were these austerity measures for the good or they were bad? The Americans did austerity measures with Barak Obama being President. The austerity measures were to come up with a stimulus package to give money to industry so that the industry grows.
Mr. Speaker Sir, we seem to think an austerity must make people suffer and when they suffer more we think we are doing well. We cannot be lying to the nation that the rate at which it is right now was not where it is by the time we had austerity measures. What has gone wrong? The Minister of Finance and Economic Development is critical in responding to this. We are here saying that the rate has stabilised but how can you say the rate has stabilised when you are not paying people what they are supposed to be paid according to auction rate. Teachers were being paid US$510 and we were being paid US$2 000 plus but when it comes to the auction rate we were not giving that.
The auction rate determines the buying power of the dollar. So, if you are not being given your US dollar at auction rate, there is no buying power. We cannot be excited by an increment of 255% to the civil servants when inflation is hitting 680% to 700%. If we are going to ever match the buying power of anybody in this country especially the civil servants, we must also align ourselves to the inflation rate. Madam Speaker, you cannot have an inflation of 700 and at the same time you are saying no, we are doing them a favour we are increasing it to 245. Can you also bear in mind that behind there is also a lot that they have suffered? They have never been value for this money whatever. When you go and borrow money, you are borrowing money at US dollar, when you pay back it is either US dollar or bank rate. You have an economy where people are not being paid in US dollars but they are expected to pay in US dollars. You have an economy where people are expected to pay at auction rate but you are not being paid at auction rate. So, it is a bubble that is waiting to burst.
Mr. Speaker, for us we cannot talk about the unemployment rate at this point in time because there is no employment. May we understand from a figure’s point of view, the employment which was promised to the people, where has it gone? This is where I support Hon. Khupe in saying we are in this House to tell each other the truth. We are in this House not to patronise anybody. We are in dialogue and we work with the President because he is the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe. In working with the President, we shall not shy away from equally being constructive in saying that the Manifesto that you promised the people of Zimbabwe is not coming to fruition – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – that is not a crime. That requires are to be able to say that and say all these issues that you say you give to the people, where are they today?
It takes us to be doing that and that is the reason why I applaud the stance taken by Hon. Khupe to say I will talk to him but when I talk to him it is about the nation, at the end of the day – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear .] - I will be here to argue and I am glad that Hon. Members on this side you are now performing. You are actually more effective than the majority who were there because there is now substance. We are now building the country by talking about real issues.
This is what we need, at the end of the day - not walking away when the Head of State is here and you are appearing before Privileges Committee, you are making your families suffer by not getting allowances for five months yet your own party is not compensating the five months you are not on duty, then you want to blame anybody. Those games must stop and you must learn lessons by being in this House to represent the people on what you came for. May we now behave like the Government in waiting where you are showing people that indeed we are a Government in waiting by critiquing what needs to be critiqued at the end of the day.
This SONA has come about the right time when the new spirit - when we have an Opposition Leader who wants to build this country by ensuring that the ruling party responds to its promises. We have got to be very clear on that. On the corruption issues, the ruling party has failed, what do we do? Unemployment it has failed, stabilising the economy has failed but we are prioritising the globalisation fund yet Constitutional provisions of the war veterans we have not done anything about it. Again on disabled and health we have not done anything about these issues.
Mr. Speaker Sir, going to the global fund compensation, what was really intrigue, what was exciting about it when we have millions who must be given certain services which they have a right to. For example health, education et cetera. We went on to please the world to be seen to be constitutional and come up with a 3.5 if I am not mistaken global fund to compensate the white farmers. May I be honest, the white farmers have moved on, some of them have died and they are actually part of this country now in leasing some farms, in being part of the agricultural turnaround of this country. So the priority is equally important.
Mr. President, I go to the issues of priority from a constitutional point of view where money should go. If we had 3.6 billion would you put it to the compensation of the farmers or we put it into the productive sector, produce money, be able to raise money and ultimately compensate the farmers. I am not against compensating farmers but was this the time to do it yet we have got so much that is waiting on us to be able solved. We have a lot of issues which are before us which I believe are more important to address. I think it is equally important for a priority list to be put together.
The SONA was very clear in terms of agriculture where we are going and I think production is what we need at the end of the day. We have got the Pfumvudza which is the much talked about programme. Let me be very blunt about the Pfumvunza, being a farmer. We have got Command Agriculture, I am glad Command Agriculture has been reduced to a situation where it is not politicized. Unfortunately, Pfumvudza is politicised. In being politicised, Agritex must be involved in making sure that whichever farmer is given inputs, they can see where they are farming. It is only now where you see a lot of fertilizer shops coming up. Hon. Nduna will agree that in Chegutu and Norton there are more fertilizer shops now, where is this fertilizer coming from? It is coming from people, they are selling it. May I also say it is a case before the courts which Hon. Nduna knows of. There is a Councilor in Chegutu and other people who are before the courts on allegation of misappropriating and mismanaging inputs.
So, when you look at Pfumvudza, we are excited Hon. Speaker when we say 1.8 million people are benefiting. I want to look at the cost and the economists are here that 1.8 million worth of inputs, you are giving them inputs where there is uncertainty in terms of the weather pattern. So if there is a drought, 1.8 million worth of inputs is gone. What I would do, I will take that money, take it to farms, rehabilitate the irrigation infrastructure and mechanisation. From a food security point of view, we must be able to have farms which we are guaranteed will give us food security because there is irrigation. From an economic point of view 1.8 million worth of inputs targeting each province 20 farms, where you do this and those 20 farms meeting the target and surpassing the target of that province in terms of the food security, be it wheat, soya beans and maize and we are done. Why can that money not find itself there because we are not guaranteed of a bumper harvest with $1.8 million worth of inputs that have gone to Pfumvudza. Like I said politically it makes sense but economically, it does not make sense though we are excited about the number growing. Next year it will be 2.2 million but in assessing that of the 1.8 million who have been given those inputs, what was the yield? There is no report of the yield but once again, we say it is a good programme. In agriculture, we have to talk about figures and in talking about figures, we need to understand. There is Tokwe-Murkosi - put those inputs into that place where you can put irrigation because water is there and you are guaranteed a bumper harvest. Why are we not putting our resources into water bodies which we know will be able to sustain the food security and the agriculture sector that we need in this country.
GDP – there was supposed to be a review on the mining sector which is supposed to be contributing $12 billion to the GDP. How much of it now has come in – we are over halfway? We are talking about a $12 billion mining sector. Can we point out to it? We have more MOUs than the money coming in.
ZIDA has come in and it must play a role of doing due diligence on every investor or else we are prone to just speculation where people come here with nice suits and see high powered people and are given a concession. Why can we not equally be given a concession because once you have a concession, the only thing people want is the mineral? They do not care who owns it but all they want is the mineral. They are looking at the claim that you have the mineral under and they will buy it. We have failed to empower our people. We are not proud of seeing our people rich. We are consistently doing ourselves down.
We must look at South Africa, T. Skwale, the current President C, Ramaphosa, ANC – and this is a lesson that the political parties must understand shows certain people that they would make rich. Each time they are coming to the ZANU-PF congress, they would use one of the private jets belonging to one of them. You must deliberately choose people who you can make rich so that they become models for the country so young people believe in the country. When you have a country with one billionaire, people target that one billionaire, but if you have a country with many billionaires no one targets them. Look at Nigeria and America, how many billionaires are there? You never hear of anyone being attacked but when we have a few rich people, they are prone to be attacked. We have Strive Masiyiwa who is here in terms of his business and it is not a secret that his business worldwide has grown because of Zimbabwe but he is not staying here.
Why do we not, in this Second Republic, get those business people who have been helping to come back here and enjoy the peace and the weather and do the right thing at the end of the day. To me, I think it is more critical for us from a business point of view to be able to look at whose success and build more millionaires in women, youths, men, war veterans and in the disabled fraternity and from there we are a nation to reckon with. So, whoever is a millionaire and is disabled will certainly assist those who are disabled. Whoever is a millionaire who is youthful will assist those who are youths. Whoever is a millionaire who is a woman will assist the women. Whoever is a millionaire who is a war veteran will assist those who are war veterans. May we build that culture.
As I conclude, His Excellency must equally understand that he needs to have a team that will pump. There has got to be reflection and this House must be able to hold the Ministers accountable. For a very long time, the Ministers have been coming here and I said the last time he seems to be more loyal to them than them being loyal to the President. They must be able to perform. There has got to be a performance. The Office of the President and Cabinet must be able to have Ministers valuate them and monitor what is happening. We have got the worst calibre of Ministers. They do not come, they are arrogant, economically and politically, they are weak and they have no orientation.
I wish that these Ministers could be sent to the Herbert Chitepo Ideological College so that they are able to defend their party. They cannot defend their party. If you compare them to the Cabinet of the late R. G. Mugabe, they could steal and face you while they are stealing but they kept the President in power. These ones steal and they do not keep the President in power. If there is anything, they are a liability. It is about time we understand that in SONA, we must have people who are willing to perform. ZANU-PF has got a lot of educated people where it can pick from. Some of the Ministers who are picked have never spoken in Parliament but you hear he has become a Minister. How will he present? I want to thank you.
HON. M. M. MPOFU: I rise to add my voice to the motion on the national address by His Excellency. I want to thank His Excellency on the vision especially on the road infrastructure development across the country. This has improved the road network throughout the country and it also attracts investments given to rural business centres. I hereby call upon the Minister in charge to speed up some of the projects like Kwekwe-Silobela Road which has been idle for the past 12 years since 1984. That road should be speeded up so that we get to benefit as a country through that road. We also want to thank the President for the irrigation scheme which has been created but we still have some irrigation scheme which needs to be done especially in Silobela, we have got Malenga, Khunyana which still needs to be rehabilitated.
Then on the issue of dam construction, we thank the President for promising that all the dams will be constructed. We also want to put it across that in Silobela, we have a number of projects which were earmarked and pegged sometime ago. We have a dam which was pegged a long time ago at the confluence of Shangani and Vungu River. It has never taken place since many years ago. So we are asking the Minister to help us get that done so that we get help in water harvesting. We also have a dam along Gweru River near Jairosi Jiri in Silobela also which was pegged many years ago which needs to be reconstructed.
I would also like to thank the President for the energy supply. In my constituency in Silobela, we have almost eleven institutions which include schools, clinics and business centres which were connected to the national grid but we still have some which are still lagging behind which we think the Minister of Energy can help us since we heard that there is a lot of power coming in, so that we can connect to individual households in the constituency. This will enable our rural businesses to thrive and employment will be created if we have the electricity connected in our rural constituencies. It will also reduce rural to urban migration. I would not want to over emphasise the benefits of solar power because Zimbabwe has abundant sunlight which we could utilise to harness solar energy and then it could also help us to revive our economy. On the horticulture schemes, I would like to congratulate His Excellency, that there is a huge economic boom in this sector especially when you are looking at the rural populace who rely heavily on horticulture for their livelihood. What is needed is to put in a robust plan supported by input schemes for the production of high value for farmers to realise and improve the economic benefit. Horticulture is a good foreign currency earner, hence if it is done properly farmers may be rewarded with foreign earnings as well as Government through taxes. There is a huge potential of agricultural production in rural areas especially when water has been made available through the construction of dams coupled with solar powered water pumping. Therefore, this is an excellent initiative especially for the hard working rural population of Zimbabwe who are capable of championing their own development.
I would like to thank the President on the issue of food distribution. It is common knowledge that people in rural areas have been faced with crippling hunger due to poor harvest caused by El Nino in previous two consecutive farming seasons. However, the Second Republic of Zimbabwe has made serious efforts to ensure that no one dies of hunger through provision of maize by Social Welfare. This is highly commendable and it shows the traits of a tried and tested leadership. When it comes to Pfumvudza Programme, this programme is a proven and tested approach for climate smart agriculture to boost output during these years of uncertainty in terms of rainfall due to climate change. Our rural farmers have managed to prepare their land in readiness to resume planting once the country receives effective rains.
I would want to thank the Second Republic for breaking the records in availing inputs for this programme very early – as early as October, the inputs were already with farmers. It is my hope that if the country receives much rains as we anticipate normal to above normal rainfall, the country will be poised for a bumper harvest which will ensure sufficient food for the entire country. I urge farmers to use new user friendly, non toxic technologies; this is because some chemicals are detrimental to human beings. Through ratification of Minamata Convention by our Government, it will help in a big way to safeguard the lives of many of our artisanal miners who are exposed to the mercury poisoning everyday.
Before I end my debate, I want to commend His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe for his efforts in curbing the spread of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic through enforcement of lockdown measures in accordance with WHO protocols. We managed to contain the disease and drastically reduce the fatalities to manageable levels compared to developed countries which suffered a lot of losses in human life. At the same time, I would like to thank His Excellency and the SADC region as a whole for standing against the sanctions. Sanctions must go because they are impeding development in our country.
*HON. CHIBAGU: I want to talk about our President concerning what we are experiencing in our lives. I am happy with what the President has done for us as people of Guruve/Mbire. I want to thank the President for what he was able to assist us with. He has done well for us. He told us to put on masks so that we may live and not die of COVID. Had we not listened to his advice we could have perished because there are borders in our area. In my area no one has died or fallen sick. When the President tells you something you must follow and you cascade it to the communities that we serve.
We see our people moving around with their masks but those people who live along border areas are the ones who are moving around without masks. I want to thank the President for the advice and the good counsel that he gave us. I want to thank him for the kind of livelihood that we have in Mbire. In terms of COVID, we have not lost a life yet we are along the border with Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania. All people from there come through Mbire but no one has died because we religiously put on our masks.
I also want to proceed by saying that I want to thank the President concerning the good that he has done for us. We did not know anything about irrigation schemes but if you go to Zambezi Valley, there is an irrigation scheme that is thriving and we are having good food. It has become a business venture and people are getting money and so it has improved the lives of the people and our children. So we need to thank our President for such initiatives.
The other centres that were closed our now functional. The area where I come from which is Mashumbi, there is Arda. If you go there the vegetation is lush and green. There is a lot of food in the area. I also want to say people should not blame the President for the negative things. You need to reconsider before you say negative things about the President. I want to thank the President and I thank him 100%. As I speak, the irrigation schemes have created employment and improved the livelihood of our people. Ever since I was born we never had a road network in Kanyemba because the roads were bad. As I was coming from lower Zambezi, I used to cross the river and from Guruve there is a short road coming to Harare.
Now if you are to visit that area, the roads are being rehabilitated and the road is about to be rehabilitated to Mushumbi Pools. They have not yet reached Zambezi but it is work in progress. So we need to thank the His Excellency the President. We will not belittle our President because he is a visionary man and has his people at heart. I want to proceed by saying that we must thank the President as women and youth because we are now counted as people. Eversince we got independent women were never considered in decision making positions. We used to have men only on leadership positions and what women did was just to applaud the men. The President has given us a green light to be well aware of our rights and contribute to our country’s development. As women we bear children, look after them and help them engage in productive things. We never used to have such knowledge, of leading our children to success. Most of our children used to engage in alcohol abuse but now they are able to look after themselves because they have been economically empowered.
People refer to my area as bushmen area. At ZBC, we have someone by the name Kanyemba Bhonzo; he is a product of my area and was taught by my husband at Chitsungo Mission. People degraded him due to the fact that he was a Doma but when you talk of the Doma and the bushmen, they are people just like me. Whatever they do is the same things we do. So what the Doma people needed was education to empower them. They are now empowered, everyone has been empowered.
I want to thank the President 100% concerning what he is doing for us in lower Zambezi valley. Even our road network from Guruve is being addressed and also dams are being built. If you go to Chikafa and looking at Maputo and Zambia on the other side, the roads are being constructed. We are working hard. We will continue to unite as one. I do not have much to say but I just want to thank the President for what he has done for us and I urge him to continue doing this good work. I thank you.
*HON. SHAVA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I want to thank His Excellency the President, for a well articulated SONA address he delivered in this august House. I have stood up to support this motion. The President talked about Pfumvudza project inputs. We want to thank His Excellency the President for the work that he has done for Zimbabweans because he has his people at heart and he came up with the Pfumvudza project.
I want to thank him for his vision in Zimbabwe regarding the Pfumvudza project. I want to mention a bit about this project and show my appreciation. The President realised that for us to deal with the issue of hunger and food security, we need Pfumvudza. We want to thank him for that. In the rural areas where we come from these inputs are everywhere and people are being given these inputs. They are happy, they thank the President for his vision and it shows that he knows what he is doing.
Our request is that the President must increase those inputs because when the Pfumvudza project was taken to the people and they welcomed it. To those who are distributing inputs, I see there is a delay in the distribution of fertilizer and seed yet those things are at the GMB. So, they are people who want to derail the President’s progress.
I also want to look at the issue of war veterans. We want to thank the President for his acknowledgement of veterans of the liberation struggle. We want to thank him for he remembers the work that they did; they used to stay in the bush with all the hardships of the forests. The President has a vision and the war veterans children are assisted even after their parents have died.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to talk about electricity. What we knew concerning electricity was that it comes from Kariba. We did not have electricity in our rural homes but the President addressed this through the rural electrification programme and so, we want to thank him for his vision forwe now have electricity. This reflects a caring leader who has his people at heart.
On the issue of mining Mr. Speaker Sir, the President talked about minerals in Zimbabwe. We want to thank him because currently even the youngest child knows that they can engage in mining and it has become a source of economic empowerment. The President has advised people to go and get the necessary paper work to ensure that their mining activities are legal. We want to thank the President for such an initiative.
I also want to thank the President for ensuring that all the branches concerned with agriculture are assisted. The Pfumvudza and then the A2 scheme farmers are being given loans from the banks to enable them to engage in farming. It is because of his vision that food security should come from Pfumvudza and also from those who can access loans to ensure that the issue of food security is guaranteed.
I also want to thank the President for the peace that prevails in Zimbabwe. He is a good leader who knows and has focus. On the death of Tapiwa Makore in Murehwa, we said a lot of things and we even said if we were judges like me for example, I would ensure that the perpetrators would get a death penalty. Our President through the courts ensured that the perpetrators were brought to book. So I want to thank him that he has worked through his security to ensure that justice was done.
We want to thank the President because he has eyes all over and can see what we are doing. I want to thank the presence of us Members of Parliament, even the Province because for me to be there, it is because of the President, Cde. Mnangagwa. He is focused and has a vision so that we do not have a situation whereby the country is not at peace. The President is also fighting corruption. Even if you are closely related to the President, when it comes to corruption, the law will catch up with you. So I urge the President to continue with this initiative to ensure that corruption is dealt with. I want to say to the President, may the Lord bless you abundantly. I thank you.
*HON. MASIIWA: Thank you Madam Speaker for giving me this opportunity to add my voice in support of the motion on the Presidential Address in this august House. I want to thank the President of Zimbabwe for the way he handled the problems we face as a country including Cyclone Idai and COVID-19. I believe that he managed to handle those situations very well. We see that in this country COVID-19 is very subsidised because of the way he responded to this disease.
In his words, the President emphasised on the issue of corruption and therefore, I want to dwell more on corruption because this animal, if it is not nipped in the bud, will disturb the development of the country as Zimbabweans. If it was possible, as Members of Parliament, we must be united and speak with one voice against corruption because corruption derails issues to do with development. The money which gets to improve the roads and other amenities ends up in individuals’ pockets. Therefore, I encourage everyone that we must speak with one voice on the issue of corruption. Corruption is very bad and disturbs every aspect of life. For example, in the police, if there is corruption, it means there is no proper progress and we will be derailing the country in terms of progress and development. For example, a kombi starts from Mbare going to Mutoko. The kombi does not have a baggage carrier but you can see the same kombi carrying sofas or a bed. It goes through the police without being issued a ticket because the driver and assistant will be paying a lot of money at roadblocks.
This corruption affects everyone and might even kill people in the process as that bed might fall from that kombi. If you are following behind and try to avoid it, you might end up being involved in an accident. Therefore, we must fight corruption as Members of Parliament and support our President, Cde. E.D. Mnangagwa. We are fighting corruption in councils and even the newspapers mention that there is corruption in many areas. Where we come from in Mutoko, there are stands being sold by people whom we call agents but those people sell stands but that money is not remitted to council. Therefore, it means in all areas where we are, we must stand up and fight corruption. As Members of Parliament, we must stand with our President and fight corruption.
The other issue mentioned by the President is the issue of sanctions which are disturbing the development of the country. We must speak with one voice against sanctions and denounce them. If it is possible, we must have a day set aside called “Anti-Sanctions Day” to fight or denounce these sanctions so that they might be removed but we have a problem that some of us in this House support the idea that we be under sanctions. These sanctions impact on everyone including those in the rural areas. Some say there are no sanctions but sanctions are there. If you Google on your phone “Standard Chartered Bank fined $18 million”. You will see that Standard Chartered was requested to pay a fine of $18 million because it is working together with Zimbabwe. Banks are no longer able to work with other countries because of sanctions. Even other companies are no longer able to operate in Zimbabwe because they fear that if they work with Zimbabwe, they will be put under sanctions. Therefore, this derails the progress of the economy.
We must speak with one voice denouncing sanctions and stand with our President so that anyone who goes and encourages for Zimbabwe to be under sanctions, there must be a law to charge that person. Our country Zimbabwe is being tarnished and put in a bad state because there are some people who write and speak ill of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is being labeled as a bad country, not other people but us Zimbabweans. Therefore, those who badmouth or speak ill of Zimbabwe must be charged harshly because that person is causing a lot of suffering in the country.
There are some people who visit our country and they give testimonies that they hear bad things about Zimbabwe but Zimbabwe is labeled as one of the countries which is peaceful in the world. This peace and the rule of law, even if you have a breakdown, you can sleep there without any problems, which is not feasible in other countries because if you stop by the roadside, you might be killed or robbed. Here in Zimbabwe we have peace and we must maintain that so that our country is seen as a good country by other countries.
There are others Madam Speaker, who taint the name of the country. For example, there is a day when the President came to address Parliament. Some Members of Parliament went outside and one woman went outside walking properly but as soon as she got outside, she slipped and started limping. She was being taken pictures by media houses and she was trying to paint a bad picture about Zimbabwe. Therefore, we are saying as Zimbabweans we must have Zimbabwe at heart and support it. People who do bad things like Magombeyi who lied that they were kidnapped, if it is proven that he lied, they must be judged harshly because they are the ones who taint the name of Zimbabwe badly.
If we are united as Zimbabweans, we can be able to raise the economy of our country. We must be united and support our President so that Zimbabwe can be a country which is prosperous. The President is also trying to let the people have enough resources in the country. For example, electricity, fuel and all these things that we see like Pfumvudza and different programmes. If we have enough rainfall this year, we are going to have a bumper harvest.
Therefore as Zimbabweans, we must support our country and have our country at heart and be united so that our country can be prosperous. I thank you Madam Speaker for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to the State of the Nation Address.
HON. SVUURE: I would like to thank you Madam Speaker for recognising me and thus giving me an opportunity to also speak on the State of the Nation Address (SONA) which His Excellence the President Cde Mnangagwa gave in this House recently.
I would like to start by appreciating the peace and stability that the country is enjoying. Peace and stability for any nation is key for the development of the same and I am glad to note that the 2nd Republic under His Excellency the President, Cde E.D. Mnangagwa has maintained this.
Madam Speaker, I would like to applaud the Government on the provision of food to the nation through the Ministry of Social Welfare. We continue to witness this department reaching out to the needy in earnest and vigorously making sure that no one dies of hunger in Zimbabwe like His Excellency the President has continuously assured the nation. I, however appeal that the food volumes be increased. The current supplies only cover about 30% of the need of households.
His Excellency the President spoke on the need to increase on the hectarage that we plant our crops on and adapt to farming methods that are consistent with the climatic change Pfumvudza is one such method. I would like to thank the President for the inputs that are currently being distributed across the country.
His Excellency the President also spoke on the need to increase on the irrigation front. I am happy to note that the province that I come from - Masvingo, constitutes about 41% of the total water bodies in this country and as such, I would like to call for a bias toward such areas with abundant water on resource allocation and make sure that irrigation schemes are supported to the full.
I have two major irrigation schemes in my constituency which are running at between 15 to 30% owing to a plethora of challenges ranging from lack of Government support with particular inputs. Fube/Pangani Irrigation Scheme has up to 300 hectares of irrigable land which if properly supported, can produce +-3000 metric tonnes of grain per each harvest. We also have Nyatare Irrigation Scheme with 250 hectares irrigable land but here the farmers use electric pumps, the power for which they are charged at commercial rates and they cannot afford it.
I would like to applaud His Excellency the President Cde. E. D. Mnangagwa on the mitigatory measures he steadfastly adopted, which resulted in a tremendous reduction in casualties as compared to the region and indeed globally. Zimbabwe is one of the countries where casualty figures remained comparatively low.
On the economy Madam Speaker, I would like to appreciate the measures that His Excellency the President has taken to bring normalcy in the economy. It is an indisputable truth that our economy has seen stability in a manner which we have not seen in a long time. Our exchange is at its best in a long time as His Excellency the President put in measures to arrest indiscipline and economic terrorism that we have seen in the past two years or so. This is notwithstanding the economic sanctions which we continue to reel under as a nation.
I would like to take this opportunity to join His Excellency the President on the call for the unconditional end to the illegal sanction which have stifled the potential for Zimbabwe’s economy to grow. I call upon every right thinking Zimbabwean to come over and as one voice, call for an end to sanctions. Thank you.
HON. MASENDA: Thank you Madam Speaker for according me the opportunity to contribute to the State of the Nation Address by the His Excellency, President E. D. Mnangagwa. I would like to first thank the President for guiding the country through the most difficult times of COVID-19. We have seen situations across the globe with people dying and hospitals overwhelmed by sick people suffering from the COVID pandemic. I would rightly want to thank the President for giving us guidance, leadership which minimised the effects of COVID 19 pandemic. I would like to urge people to adhere to the presidential guidelines on mitigation of COVID. Let us adopt and accept the new normal and prevent ourselves from the spread of the pandemic. I would also want us to adhere to the guidelines provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO) so that we minimise the spread of the disease and as a result save lives. Madam Speaker, I would like to applaud His Excellency, the President E. D. Mnangagwa for reopening the skies for the domestic and international flights. It brings about global integration of different economies. This will bring about economic activities such as trade between nations in order to revive the economy. It also enables us to import and export our products and services so that we can increase our productive capacity in order to increase our export capacity. It will also bring tourists to boost our tourism industry who will bring in the much needed foreign currency.
Madam Speaker, the reopening of schools, colleges and universities is a welcome development. It will ensure that no academic year has been lost due to COVID-19. I urge teachers and lecturers to ensure that students are not left roaming the school grounds despite the challenges being faced by teachers and lecturers. I urge all of them to continue performing their duties effectively whilst issues relating to their salaries and welfare are being addressed. Madam Speaker, it is encouraging to note that despite the negative impact of COVID-19 on our economy, our exports increased by 4.9% to US$1.96 billion during the first quarter of 2020, compared to US1.86 billion in the same period in 2019. At the same time, our imports declined which is an indication that there was an increase in local consumption and that our companies were able to substitute imports – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Yes, you have grown up you people.
Thank you very much indeed. Local production has increased, if this trend continues Madam Speaker, there is no doubt that our economy will continue to grow with the spillover effect on the creation of employment. The vision 2030 is achievable Madam Speaker under these circumstances.
Madam Speaker, His Excellency the President identified corruption as a hindrance to our economic growth and development. Indeed, corruption is a cancer which must be exorcised; it is a demon which we all must deal with. Those involved in corrupt activities must be dealt with expeditiously, they should face the music. It does not matter their status in society, corruption is corruption. As a result, they must be dealt with very severely. There should be no one who is untouchable. There is no one who is above the law, the President has said so, we must support him in his endevour to eradicate corruption. Madam Speaker, productivity is His Excellency, President’s call to all citizens of Zimbabwe to eradicate poverty and hunger. Preparedness ensures a successful agricultural season. The timeous distribution of the Presidential inputs to support the Pfumvunza Programme is highly commendable. I appeal to those entrusted to distribute the inputs to be fair in their distribution and to shun corruption in the process to ensure food security for every household at the end of the season.
Madam Speaker, I need to applaud the President for coming up with a very exciting Presidential Horticulture Scheme which will benefit the majority of our small scale farmers. Madam Speaker, the resuscitation and development of irrigation schemes is a great thing that the President is doing to our nation. It will further strengthen the thrust on the upcoming Presidential Horticulture Scheme. It will improve the nutritional level of our people.
Madam Speaker His Excellency the President E. D. Mnangagwa’s, thrust on road construction modernisation and rehabilitation is highly commendable. I however wish to quickly add that the road making and maintenance department in the rural areas namely the District Development Fund needs capacitation and retooling urgently to enable it to execute its mandate effectively. The roads in the rural areas are in urgent need of repair to ensure connectivity with the food markets in both the rural and urban centres.
Madam Speaker, the Presidential engagement and reengagement effort is fully supported. It brings Zimbabwe closer to its allies, whist it establishes economic relationships with the new ones. Madam Speaker, I support fully the call by His Excellency the President for the unconditional removal of the illegal sanctions imposed by the West and European Union. Madam Speaker, Zimbabwe is at war in the form of economic sanctions. It is the worst war that we can fight because it is an invisible and the perpetrators of such a war, great nations which will be difficult to defeat.
I wish to put it on record that these sanctions are a regime change agenda engineered by the Opposition. We are aware Madam Speaker of the creation and implementation of the 3D strategy engineered by the West using the Opposition as a conduit to remove a democratically elected Government and replace it with a puppet government.
Madam Speaker, of the 3D strategy, the first D was realised when there was a denial in accepting the outcome of the Presidential Elections in 2018. The Opposition denied that the President had won the elections. This is reflected from what we see now in the United States of America. There is already a denial that elections were not free and fair and that the Opposition is not winning the elections from the President who guided the implementation of these 3D strategies. The second D was meant to delay the inauguration of the President by going through this Supreme Court process which the Opposition was aware would not win. This is a reflection indeed of one of the 3D strategies.
The last and most damaging D strategy is to destabilise Government by the Opposition and calling for violent demonstrations to also destabilise the economy. We saw demonstrations with shops and economic units being burnt – [AN HON. MEMBER: He is reading.] –Yes I am allowed to read, I have eyes to read, there is not restriction to that.] – Madam Speaker, I support the President’s call for unity of purpose. We are one nation, we are one Zimbabwe, we need not to go abroad to demonise our Government and bring suffering to the people.
There are misconceptions Madam Speaker, that these sanctions are targeted but if you google, ZIDERA there are economic sanctions against Zimbabwe not against an individual. You will be surprised Madam Speaker that if you google now, Robert Mugabe our former President is still on ZIDERA sanctions, it is unfortunate that that means that there is no target, the target is the country of Zimbabwe.
Madam Speaker, I support the President’s call for a unity of purpose. Let us join hands, we are one nation, we are one people it will not help anyone. No one will benefit from the existence of sanctions because they are hurting the old mbuya and sekuru in the rural areas. Madam Speaker, I would urge people some of whom are seated right here with us to go back to the originators of sanctions and beg them again to remove the sanctions because it will help bring about development in our country.
I applaud Madam Speaker Ma’am the enactment of the Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Bill. I would hasten to say that there is need for the provisions of this Bill to be quickly implemented so that beneficiaries start to benefit from the provisions of this Act. Madam Speaker, this Act came into existence 40 years after independence. The majority of the beneficiaries are old and have so many ailments such as diabetes, high blood pressure and the majority of them are dying. So, it is better that we speedily implement the provisions of this Act so that people start to benefit. I wish to thank you Madam Speaker for giving me the opportunity to add my voice to this debate. God bless the august House. God bless His Excellency the President. God bless Zimbabwe.
+HON. M. NKOMO: Thank you Madam Speaker for affording me the opportunity to add my voice to the motion moved by Hon. Togarepi and seconded by Hon. Mhona. I want to talk about what was said by His Excellency when he said COVID-19 was the one which was destroying the economy at the beginning of this year. However, business did not stop in Zimbabwe during this time. The President took the necessary measures and ensured that schools were closed, there was a lockdown and people were not moving around. That helped a lot to ensure people did not contract this disease. His Excellency the President and his subordinates continued to do business.
I take note that the Beitbridge to Harare Road was busy during that period and business did not stop. People were asked to sanitise, wash their hands and maintain social distancing. During that time, there was drilling of boreholes in different places so that people could easily access water. His Excellency also helped the nurses and doctors by providing them with proper PPEs. He also continued with the construction of clinics and hospitals so people could access treatment easily. Though the economy is poor, His Excellency also assisted with the provision of food to the elderly. He also introduced the Intwasa Programme and he gave people inputs for farming. Through this programme, I believe people will have a good harvest.
Then on the issue of sanctions, the President said that sanctions must go. I believe the sanctions work hand-in-hand with corruption. Corruption will never end as long as we do not work together as Zimbabweans. Both the sanctions and corruption must go so that people get enough food. I thank you.
*HON. SAMSON: Thank you Madam Speaker. I want to take this opportunity to explain in short some issues presented in the SONA by His Excellency Cde E. D Mnangagwa. Let me start by thanking all the people of Chiredzi who gave me the opportunity to come to this august House representing our party ZANU-PF which is the ruling party. I want to speak about what the President said pertaining to unity. He said as Zimbabweans we must be united. He emphasised the aspect of unity, that if we are not united as Zimbabweans we are not going anywhere because the country cannot be built by one person, but if people put their minds together they can bring out something good for the development of the country.
I want to thank the President for the development being done in districts and rural areas through the Devolution Fund. The money is being used to rehabilitate roads, clinics and schools. I want to specifically thank the President on behalf of the people who were resettled. These areas did not have roads or clinics but through the Devolution Fund the money is being used for the development of all this.
I also want to thank our President for construction of dams. In Masvingo where I come from, is Tokwe-Murkosi dam. I want to thank the President for his vision. This dam is going to be used for irrigation purposes so as to avert hunger. When there is irrigation you can farm three times a year if it is the maize crop. Therefore, I want to express my gratitude to the President for the irrigation scheme which will help the locals.
I also want to thank the President for seeing it fit during the COVID-19 pandemic which just came, to allow Christians to continue praying in small groups. Therefore, people went ahead praying but following the WHO guidelines. We know that when we are alone we know that there is someone who can manage to help and avert the problem. He encouraged people to pray.
I also want to thank the President of Zimbabwe, Cde Mnangagwa and his security forces. His security is a very powerful security force and it works properly especially when you look at the issue of what happened in Chivu when an army officer was gunned down. I am happy that the perpetrators were apprehended and I am very thankful that the security protects people. I want to thank the President for that.
In areas where we come from, people are bringing development to areas they stay in. Rural councils are developing the areas they preside over and we see that devolution funds are being utilised properly, where Members of Parliament and councillors agree on what must be done.
I also want to thank what the President said on the State of the Nation Address, that as Zimbabweans, we must desist from the habit of bad-mouthing and tainting the country in a bad way. Although there are some things which might not be well in the country, people must be able to sit down and dialogue properly and come up with a better solution rather than go to other countries and speak ill about their own country. This habit must stop.
I want to thank the President about the road construction works on the Beitbridge-Harare Highway. It has been talked about before but I cannot sit down before talking about this road which passes through Masvingo. There were many accidents due to the narrowness of the road but now the road is wider. If the drivers do not drive properly they may end up speeding because now the road is in a good state. Even if you are travelling during the night you do not fear or hesitate to travel because you are able to give enough leeway since the road is now wider. When the reconstruction of the road is finally over we will have a very good tarred road which meets world class standards.
Madam Speaker, as a mother, I was disheartened by the murder of a young boy in Murewa but because our President was once convicted and given a death sentence, he did not allow the perpetrator to be killed. As an individual, I had already given my verdict that this person must be killed because he killed a child. I am not happy about this issue. People must stay in harmony and not kill each other. I want to thank our President for taking a very good decision. With these few words I want to thank you for affording me this opportunity.
HON. MASANGO: First of all, I would like to thank the mover of the motion, Hon Togarepi. Secondly, I would like to thank the President on the Pfumvudza Programme which if done properly will make our country realise a bumper harvest. The Pfumvudza concept is a very noble idea. I was happy with what the President said in connection with corruption. The President said that there are no sacred cows when it comes to corruption. I still feel that there are some people who are letting our President down as they continue to engage in corrupt activities.
HON. TOGAREPI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON MPARIWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 17th November, 2020
On the motion of HON TOGAREPI seconded by HON MPARIWA, the House adjourned at Sixteen Minutes to Six o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 17th November 2020.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday 4th, November, 2020
The Senate met at Half-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE
POSTPONEMNT OF THE 2021 PRE-BUDGET SEMINAR
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: : I regret to inform the House of the postponement of the 2021 Pre-Budget Seminar initially scheduled for the 5th to the 7th of November 2020. It will now be held from the 19th to the 21st of November, 2020. The difficult decision to postpone the seminar has been made after considering the need to allow finalisation of the process of drafting the first National Development Strategy 2020 to 2025 for which the 2021 budget is an implementation tool. We apologise for the inconvenience, if any, that might result from this change of dates.
MOTION
CITY STATUS FOR MUNICIPALITY OF VICTORIA FALLS
THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. J. MOYO): I move the motion standing in my name that:
WHEREAS in terms of Subsection (1) of Section 14 of the Urban Councils Act [Chapter 29:15] a Municipal Council may apply to the Minister for the municipality concerned to be accorded City Status if the municipality is the dominant centre of influence for a significant area; and
WHEREAS on receipt of the application, the Minister appoints a Commission which shall call upon any person who wishes to make representations to submit them to the Commission; and
WHEREAS in considering the matter the Commission is guided by matters set out in the Executive Summary of the Report in addition to any other matters which are considered to be relevant and shall thereafter submit its report to the Minister; and the Municipality of Victoria Falls, applied to be accorded City status on 21st July 2017; and
WHEREAS the Commission submitted its report recommending the City Status to Victoria Falls, to the Minister on 19th January 2018;
NOW THEREFORE, in terms of subsection (6) of section 14 of the Urban Councils Act [Chapter 29:15] Parliament resolves that an address be presented to His Excellency, the President, requesting him to accord City Status to the Municipality of Victoria Falls.
In terms of Section 4 (1) of the Urban Councils Act, [Chapter 29:15], whenever the President considers it desirable he may subject to this Act, by proclamation in the Gazette after any Local Authority concerned has been consulted, established a municipality or town and
- Establish a municipal council or a town council as the case may be therefore;
- Fix the area of the municipality or town;
- Assign a name to the municipality or town; and
- After consultation with the Commission, divide the council into a number of wards.
Statutory Instrument 49 of 1997, Urban Councils (Municipal Status) Regulations, 1997 provides that an application made by a Council for a change of its status shall be made to the Minister after a resolution is passed by majority votes cast in an ordinary meeting of the council. Upon receipt of an application in which a council applies for municipal status, the Minister shall:-
- Appoint at the expense of the Council concerned, a commission consisting of such number of persons as the Minister may determine to consider the matter and make recommendations to him, provided that no member of the Commission shall be a Councillor or employee of the Council;
- After the appointment of the Commission given notice in three issues of a newspaper of the appointment of the Commission and calling upon any person who wished to make representations to submit them to the Commission before a date specified in that notice being not less than thirty days after the date of the first publication of the notice in the newspaper.
Following receipt of an application by Victoria Falls Municipality for upgrading to City status in terms of Section 14 (1) of the Urban Councils Act [Chapter 29:15], I appointed a Commission to investigate the suitability of the Council to be elevated to a city.
Upon my receipt of the report from the Commission in December 2017, I studied the recommendations contained therein and am now satisfied that the fast-growing local authority and tourist epicenter of Zimbabwe should be awarded city status.
Growth is inevitable. Victoria Falls Municipality started off as a railway station in the colonial era with Livingstone as the town (under the federation), and then achieved town status in 1971 before being proclaimed a Municipality in 1999. It is therefore befitting that they progress to the next level.
It is imperative to stress that the Municipality is up to date with audited accounts and has also crafted a robust redevelopment concept for the coveted city. Areas envisioned for regeneration have been identified and mapped. These include the Chinotimba area, Government houses (CBD), Council office site (CBD), NRZ land (CBD) and the Golf Course (Elephant Hills Hotel). This is based on a thrust towards improved land utilisation and modernisation which is expected to go a long way in unlocking land for new investment.
The city title emboldens the impression of credibility and attracts development and potential investment from both local and international investors while simultaneously embracing the element of prestige, which is what any local authority envisages. Potential visitors, to any country especially on the worldwide web look up to cities rather than towns or municipalities; hence the title itself augments the image that Victoria Falls will have. Looking at world tourist cities, Victoria Falls regrettably is not featuring at present. The local authority together with the Ministry has therefore, initiated the process of upgrading the municipality to a city status so that it can be among many tourist attracting cities.
Victoria Falls Municipality has hosted many international events. Among such notable ones are the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation General Assembly; hence the conferment of city status would attract more of such events and thus benefit the fiscus and the country. If city status is conferred, Victoria Falls will be the first city based on tourism industry and it will be the first city in Matabeleland North province.
The planning and designing of a mixed use development for Victoria Falls mixed commercial use project has started. Victoria Falls Municipality has since awarded a Design and Construct Commercial contract on a Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis to Cardinal Corporation Private Limited for a project to upgrade the present municipal offices and the chalets that they run near the City Hall.
In venturing in the investment programmes, constant consultations with the Zimbabwe Investment Development Authority (ZIDA) and ministries of Finance and Economic Development; Environment, Climate Change, Tourism and Hospitality Industry as well as my Ministry are being done, so are the consultations between the other local authorities that are adjacent to Victoria Falls.
On the other hand, the town is host to significant Government real estate which unfortunately is not in a good state of repair. To this end, 35 houses around the city centre have been identified for redevelopment. The houses are sitting on approximately 3.5 hectares and we now need to redevelop these so that the municipality which is to become a city, once approval is given can look better. Victoria Falls Municipality is the core of the recently approved special economic zone corridor that comprises such areas as Masuwe Statelan; Batoka area where they were going to build power generation; Mlibizi which is on the Kariba-Binga Centre which is now also being redrawn; Sijarira which is one of the longest places where we have a beach and hot springs; Hwange hinterland where there are many coal companies – at least six of them that are also developing either coke ovens or they are going to go into power generation. Then there is the Gwayi-Shangani Dam that is being built – all these together with Victoria Falls as the epicenter will consist of the corridor of Zimbabwe that becomes the most attractive area for tourism.
Within the municipality area, in order to increase the real estate for the municipality and release more land for investment, land adjacent to the municipality affectionately known as Masuwe Stateland has been identified for high value tourism investment, so that we move away from the mighty Victoria Falls, since we will be building towards the airport. The initiative dovetails with the recently launched initiative dubbed ‘Victoria Falls Area Tourism Development Plan’ that seeks to boost tourism in and around Victoria Falls and support the recovery of the local tourism sector in the whole country.
Victoria Falls being the second city most populated with hotels in southern Africa only after Cape Town, due care must be given and taken in order to safeguard the ‘World Heritage Status’ that was conferred on Victoria Falls by UNESCO
Madam President, I therefore, now call upon this august Senate to resolve and recommend to the President, to proclaim the Municipality of Victoria Falls as a city and thereby, Victoria Falls assumes the status of an eminent tourism city in the world. Madam President, I so move for the adoption of this so that the President can, by proclamation, declare Victoria Falls a new city. I submit.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: Thank you Madam President. I want to thank the Minister of Local Government and Public Works who brought this motion to this august House and without much ado Madam President, I think the application for the Municipality of Victoria Falls is long overdue. It was supposed to have that status long back as they submitted their application in 2017. By saying so, I think when we consider those who have been to Victoria Falls; I do not think that they have any negative attitude towards Victoria Falls being given the new city status.
Madam President, I so support the motion that has been brought to this august House. With these few words, I thank you.
HON. SEN. S. MPOFU: Thank you Madam President. I would like to thank the Hon. Minister for bringing this noble idea to the House. We all know Victoria Falls is the epicentre of tourism and this upgrading to a city will make people, especially of Matabeleland happy because they have been wanting this status accorded to Victoria Falls. We note that Victoria Falls has held so many important events but all this was happening in a municipality. Now when such events happen in future, it will be the best for us; it will be the best for Zimbabwe, especially the people from Matabeleland region.
We also have the best airport in Victoria Falls, so for it to be upgraded to a city that would make everything in the tourism sector acceptable. I do not have much to say, I just want to say I support the motion by the Minister that Victoria Falls municipality be granted the city status. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Madam President. I would like to thank the Hon. Minister for moving the motion in this House. If Victoria Falls gets city status this will actually boost incoming of tourists into our country, hence our economy will improve. A lot of people will be coming into the country, because it is a city, it will attract quite a number of people. I would like to thank you Hon. Minister. This application for Victoria Falls to be upgraded to a city was done in 2017 and it was passed in 2018, now we are in 2020 – finally, it has been made a dream come true. They say it is better to be late than to miss totally. I support this motion that Victoria Falls gets city status. Thank you.
*HON. SEN. KOMICHI: Thank you Madam President for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this very important motion. I would like to thank the Hon. Minister for bringing it to this House. I would like to support the sentiments of the previous speaker. Victoria Falls is known worldwide, if we were to do a survey, we would still come to the point that Victoria Falls is known worldwide. It is one of the Seven Wonders of the world and it was not proper to have it in a place where there is no city status. This move was actually too late and we would like to express our joy on the attainment of city status for Victoria Falls.
One of the best airports in Africa is found in Victoria Falls and one of the best hotels is found in Victoria Falls. In Southern Africa, Victoria Falls is one of the best places which hosts very big meetings in the region. We are happy that towns have increased because there was only Hwange and Lupane in that region, but these are very small places. Now that Matabeleland North is going to get a city, this is going to bring joy to the people who dwell in that particular region. This will also bring unity to the people that Government does not favour one region over the other. I strongly support this motion. Thank you Madam President.
*HON. SEN. SHUMBA: Thank you Madam President. I stood up to support the motion brought into this House by the Minister. I was actually surprised to note that Victoria Falls was not a city. All along I thought I was going to a place that has city status already. I would like to thank the Government for coming up with such a plan because the place is well built. There are many individuals and countries who come to see the Victoria Falls. We continue to pray that even the President will approve when he sees that we are in support of this motion. I thank you.
HON. SEN. ENG. MUDZURI: Thank you Madam President. I stand to support the motion that was brought by the Minister of Local Government on Victoria Falls. What I did not pick was something around the land which was acquired around the golf course. I think if the golf course is still necessary, we should then put it under some known corporates which are entities to maintain because they are quite expensive. If we need the golf course, we might need another piece of land which will be manned by a commercial entity to ensure that people have somewhere to relax, because we will have international tourists.
I would also want to add that Victoria Falls has become the hub - we have competition with Livingstone and the international airport has made it easier for people to come here. We must add every other entity within the Victoria Falls environment that makes the place more attractive and that makes all the people come. Those who come for trophies can come and have their resorts there.
We must also improve the boating exercise and the rest and maintain the animals that are there. There seems to be a deflation of animals within and around Victoria Falls where we could see elephants and the rest. We need to maintain that and I ask the Minister to say you must liaise with the Minister of Tourism to ensure that we do everything that is possible and other cities that attract visitors and tourists. With that, I expect the President to sign the request and ensure that we do it as fast as possible.
+HON. SEN. M. NDLOVU: Thank you Madam President. We have no doubt at all that our listening President, if he has heard that we are in support of the motion of the Minister, he would actually listen to it properly and append his signature for this place to attain a city status. I thank our Minister for bringing this important news in the region. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHIKWAKA: I would like to support all the speakers following the motion that Victoria Falls has attained city status. I just want to add a small thing as a chief. Yesterday, we had questions as chiefs to say until when should these places of national security and of importance to the country still have colonial names? Yesterday we decided that King George should be recognised in England. Here in Zimbabwe we also have people like Tongogara. Also Cranebone was named Kaguvi.
Today, we are changing these roads and naming them after our war heroes to respect our heroes. Till when shall we continue to praise the Queen? Way back we used to call it Queen Victoria. We kindly ask the Minister that we change Victoria Falls to a local name to remove the colonial names attached to the place of Victoria Falls. Why can we not give it a name that reflects our culture, that reflects what we do culturally as Zimbabweans? Allow us as a House to accept that. We could call it Mosi-oa-Tunya, something that is different from the colonialists. Thank you very much.
HON. SEN. CHIEF NGUNGUMBANE: Thank you Madam President for affording me this time to support the motion that has been brought by the Minister. I feel this motion is long overdue. Nonetheless, thank you. I wanted to pose a question to the Minister to say now that Victoria Falls is going to gain the city status, is this in any way going to affect the administration of the district and the province? I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. J. MOYO): Thank you Madam President. Let me from the outset thank all the Hon. Senators, including Hon. Sen. Chiefs who have made their contribution in support of the motion. However, let me try to reply to issues that have been raised. For Hon. Sen. Mohadi, while thanking you, I recognise that you are worried that this is overdue. Once we get a report from a Commission, we go through all the requirements to see whether they have been met - whether there are areas where the municipality is lacking, but we do not say you have completely failed. We give them time to correct whatever will have been analysed as a weakness. You will see in the report that has been laid before you that at the time this was done, which is end of 2017, the municipality was behind in audited accounts.
They were still having unaudited accounts from 2014 to 2017 and as Minister; I thought it would be irresponsible to come before this august House and present unaudited accounts of a place where we want to upgrade as a city. That now has been done. The area that also was worrying is that this is a world heritage place and it has not had uplift for a long time - no master plan and not even a concept plan. We made sure that Victoria Falls comes up with a concept plan and this concept plan has since been approved by Cabinet. That is why I can now talk about the regeneration of Chinotimba and the linkage between Victoria Falls and the influence it is going to have on the hinder land.
It will affect not just Victoria Falls itself. It will affect the areas when you come from the airport, the areas between the airport and the river. We need to do something. That is the area we call Masuwe and we now have a concept plan approved by Cabinet about what we are going to do in that area. As you move along the Zambezi going to Kariba, this Victoria Falls must affect such that as an epicenter of tourism, a tourist does not just come and go into the national parks. They also want to view other areas along the Zambezi so that we have nodal points. That is why I can talk about Mulibizi, Binga, Batoka, Sijalila on the other side.
As you go towards Hwange, all those developments that are taking place in terms of mining, coal but also having coking plants as well as new generations of power. You have heard the President saying by year 2025, this country will have a surplus of electricity generation so that we will be able to export but you cannot have electricity generation of that magnitude without creating towns and those towns must be planned with a view to making sure that they complement the attractiveness that is in Victoria Falls. That Victoria Falls and the other local authorities, Hwange Rural District Council, Binga, Matabeleland North as a whole, they have now come with a concept plan that we can now say for sure, this city is going to be a city of influence, not just to itself but to other areas.
That is why we take time. For instance, we have had an application from Chinhoyi where the Leader of the House comes from. We have sat with them and we have given them again a menu of what they have to correct. The sooner they correct, we can have a relook. We are happy that Victoria Falls in terms of Schedule (1) of the Urban Councils Act has now complied with the majority of issues that they were supposed to address. We are very happy about that. That is why it takes a little bit more time – it is not that somebody was just sitting on it. They have been working, we have been working together with them so that we deliver a city that everybody can be proud of and we are sure that it will be done.
We also look at the corporate governance of the area. When you are having upheavals and there is so much change over in terms of the administration from the Town Clerk downwards and the councillors – we look at all that and say is there stability and that stability is very crucial for us to move forward. We are also happy that there seems to be some stability in the corporate governance of Victoria Falls for now. The vision which they give us, I must say, since I have been in Government, this is the first time that our President allowed a mayor to address Cabinet. When they presented their vision and where they want to go, not about their city status, just to convince us that you are now going somewhere where you will take us as a country – not just as a new city but as a country in the tourism industry; Mayor Dhlamini, after all the technical presentations that were made by planners, economists, the Mayor was able to be given an opportunity by the President. He had grabbed the city by himself but anyway the President said please address us if you so wish and he did that. We are satisfied that they will accomplish what they have set to do.
Hon. Sen. Mpofu, yes it is the epicentre and I have already described it. The airport is one of the best but we think that the planning both by ZIRDA, by the Ministry of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, the tourist centres that we want to build in Masuwe area certainly will enhance the tourism attraction that is going to be in Victoria Falls. Coupled with the airport which you have described very well, we think we will compete with Livingstone and maybe even outcompete them.
Hon. Sen. Tongogara again I thank you. I have explained the delay from 2017 to 2020. It was not without work being done. Hon. Sen. Komichi, the hotels we can confirm that some new hotels have come up and few weeks ago, you saw the President going to open one of the best hotels in Victoria Falls. It is built in such a manner that it did not destroy the ecosystem. It is living within the ecosystem; the trees, the animal corridors and everything that you require of a tourist attraction. More than anything else, it was built by a woman who decided I will not only compete with men; I will compete with both internationally built hotels, as well as locally built hotels. So it goes a long way to enhance the qualities that we desire in Victoria Falls.
In Matabeleland North, the capital is Lupane and we are still grappling with how to develop Lupane. We have gone to the Lupane University and say you are the first university town that we are going to have in Matabeleland North and do not let the people who are planning Lupane to plan it without knowing that the centre piece is the university. We have challenged the university to say you must be in the forefront of the planning of Lupane town and we think that given that mandate, Lupane University, which after all the best planners that we have right now in the country have been doing GIS at Lupane University; we think that they will enhance it but it will take a long time to move from being a town to a municipality, let alone to become a city. So, Victoria Falls in my view, will remain the only city for a long time.
We still have a town board status in Hwange. It is not even a town yet. You move from a business centre to a rural service centre to a growth point, to a town board, to a town council, to a municipality until you become a city. So, you can see the road which Hwange has to travel. It can be quickened because of the developments that are taking place but this Victoria Falls will remain the major city in Matabeleland North. So we salute your support for this. Yes, it will make everybody feel we have a city and we are one people and national healing will definitely take place.
Hon. Sen. Shumba, you are surprised that it was not a city. A lot of people did not even recognise it. It is only when you google and you were looking for cities that have major tourist attractions and Livingstone will pop up and Victoria Falls does not. That is when you will start to realise that even status of a city can attract more visitors in the way you are marketing yourself. We are happy we are doing it and we are doing it with your total support. I am sure that given this total support, the President can sign without hesitation.
Hon. Sen. Mudzuri, yes the competition with Livingstone, I have already said we have to outdo Livingstone in a friendly manner because we are neighbours. Our boats sometimes stray into their territory and sometimes the territory also changes. Remember, whatever is the deepest part of the Zambezi River is the border and you will see that in some parts of Victoria Falls area. We are in a narrow area because the deeper side is on our side. If we were not very good neighbours, we could fight for those little islands because sometimes the islands are in Zambia and depending on the level of the water, they are in our country. So, we have to be cool headed because we are neighbours but we have to compete with them. When Sulzner went and build across the Zambezi into Livingstone, most of the people were now coming into Livingstone because Sulzner had a powerful and attractive marketing. After all, he is the one who was running most of the tourist attractions in South Africa and he has gone as far as America and New Jersey. So, we were losing out and you would see people crossing from Zambia because on our part, the Victoria Falls is mightier looking at it from our side, yet what you will be looking at is actually Zambia. It is better to come and look at Zambia from the Zimbabwe side, so they would go to Zambia, come and look at Zambia from our side. Sometimes they do not pay anything other than just paying into the forest area and they do not live in our hotels. We have to change this scenario and we can only change it by enhancing the tourist attraction systems. Fortunately, it is not very easy to see an elephant on the other side of Zambia but it is easier to see it from our side and so people still have to come.
In terms of the golf course, you know when you move from a town status to a municipality, this is the time when we, as Government must give land to the municipality. We only give land to a town under special circumstances, otherwise growth points which used to be run by central rates funds are now put under urban State land. Therefore, the land remains central government. The towns; the land belongs to central government. We only under certain circumstances, allow ourselves to say this land which used to be urban State land can now be used and allocate it.
However, when you now move to municipal status, Government must give up their land. So, once we decided the municipality in 1999, it took longer to say the golf course area which belongs to Government must now go to the municipality. Therefore, the municipality having been given that, they advertise for the redevelopment of that area not that they will run it themselves but they want an investor.
Elephant Hills Hotel was offered to say we want to re-develop this area and they started working with some organisations that were willing to invest but later on these two parted ways and the municipality fields cannot have that very good piece of land just lying fallow when there are people who want to develop it. So, the Ministry of Environment is involved and we think what they have brought before Government is doable. It is an investment which ZIDA is now looking at and it is not that we are taking it to run it as either the municipality or ourselves.
Hon. Sen. M. Ndhlovu, we thank you again for supporting that it becomes a city and that the President who listens will definitely listen and I have no doubt that once he gets the approval from Parliament he will support.
Renaming – it has been put before and I have not seen a motion from Parliament which says let us change Victoria Falls and call it Mosi a Tunya or another name. However, certainly the debate is on whether we keep it as Victoria Falls or we want it differently. If this august House so wishes to propose to the President, I think it is your duty to do so.
In Government, we have an Act on changing of place names or changing any buildings and we have a Cabinet Committee which is chaired by Vice President Mohadi. Once motions come up so that they can be processed in Cabinet, the process is very simple. It comes before the Cabinet Committee and it goes to Cabinet and then it is passed, I gazette because I administer the Act and that is the end of the story but the debate must start somewhere. If you want to start it, we will be listening.
Hon. Sen. Chief Ngungumbane, it is definitely affecting the status of the Hwange area; it is affecting the status of other areas but it does not change the responsibilities of Hwange Rural District Council. Right now, in order to develop Masuwe area, it is physically in the Hwange Rural District Council area. In order to make sure that when we develop Masuwe area, we do not disconnect it from Victoria Falls in terms of the Urban Councils Act as well as in the Rural District Councils Act. We are allowed to create a joint committee of those two councils by statute and we have promulgated that statute that creates a joint committee and that committee becomes a planning authority. So when they plan for sewerage or roads and everything else, they can link with existing Victoria Falls.
To that extend it is affecting Hwange Rural District Council but it does not deprive it of the right to run that Masuwe area. Once they have finished the planning and the buildings are there, we can actually make a decision or they will recommend a decision - does it join Victoria Falls, that means we are affecting Hwange Rural District Council or does it stand alone as a new city because Masuwe in our view, Victoria Falls is sitting on 2900 hectares and Masuwe is 1200 hectares. You could create a separate city called Masuwe or a separate town called Masuwe but it will still be in the greater Hwange District like Victoria Falls is.
Those decisions will guide using the law. We will tell them the options but it is up to them whether they want to de-couple. The same with Batoka; we have already affected it by the Batoka area. We have already affected Hwange by excision; we have an excision where you take away Batoka area where the power generation is going to be. We know for sure it is going to be towns, so do not let it remain in the communal areas such that you can start doing what you want. At the same time when you have planned it well, do your cadastral survey for title so that an investor who comes, when they put up a building that building has title deeds. We have already done that and it can only be done by the President in consultation with the chieftainships in the area as well as the rural District Council in the area. Those effects are going to be there but it does not change the boundaries of the local authorities until ZEC does that delimitation.
Madam President, if there are no further debates, may I move for the adoption of the motion by the Senate to give effect for the President to have a proclamation making Victoria Falls Municipality become a city in this country.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Second Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: Thank you Madam President for giving me this opportunity to speak on the speech that was delivered by His Excellency the President to this House. I would like to applaud His Excellency the President, Cde. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa for his important speech.
Firstly, he thanked everyone explaining the reason why he was delivering his speech from State House, that it was due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. President, the Head of the State spoke about the economy of the country and all the hindrances to this economy, i.e. issues to do with climate change and also sanctions that were imposed by western countries. You are aware Mr. President, that Government makes its plans with the future in mind but due to natural disasters, all that had been planed came to naught as the country cannot go on but to look at the prevailing situation that would have affected it. We would like to applaud His Excellency for mentioning this to the nation so that everyone is aware of the situation on the challenges that the country will be facing.
I would like to applaud His Excellency the President again when he said that we should unite as Zimbabweans to fight corruption. We all know as Zimbabweans that this issue of corruption is a derailment to the development of the country. Therefore, in his speech, His Excellency promised and highlighted the fact that no one is above the law in this country. The law should be applied to anyone who is involved in corruption. We should root out corruption in this country and if people come together, that is the only way to win the war against corruption.
I would like to applaud again the Head of State and Government, those who are in the security sector for defending the country by maintaining peace and stability within the country so that we enjoy peace. We support that also, that when a country does not have peace then there is no development in that particular place. In order for us to enjoy peace, we should have no violence at all. I would like to thank His Excellency for acknowledging those who defend this country for doing their job well.
His Excellency also mentioned the Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Act. Veterans of the liberation struggle consist of people from different sectors, i.e. veterans, collaborators and ex-detainees. This never existed and is a new phenomenon. The intention is for it to be one organisation and will aide in bringing to light issues to do with the up- keep of their families and also their well-being. Veterans did a great job in the lives of many Zimbabweans in bringing about independence to this country. We would like to thank His Excellency the President for addressing this particular issue in memory of the liberation war heroes, bringing them together and highlighting the issue of their well being.
In conclusion, His Excellency reminded us as a nation to stay together, emphasis being put on unity as a country. I would like to also highlight that we should come together, speak with one voice, emphasis being on unity as a nation. On the issue of sanctions Hon. President, sanctions did not hit Zimbabwe only. SADC gave the date of 25th October, 2020 to say it should be a day to call out for sanctions to be removed from this country. It means these sanctions are not only affecting Zimbabwe, but they are affecting the whole of SADC region. We are thankful that other countries in Africa are coming together calling out for the removal of sanctions on Zimbabwe. They are a hindrance to the development of countries. I thank you Hon. President for this opportunity.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I would like to remind Hon. Senators to wear your masks properly.
+HON. SEN. M. NDLOVU: I would like to thank the President of the Senate for giving me the opportunity to debate on the Address by His Excellency the President. The President is of the view that children should go back to school and learn but what we have observed as parents is that teachers are not at the schools. If they go to the school they just sit in and no one would be supervising the children. Before schools opened teachers were receiving their salaries but now schools are open they do not want to work. As professionals who are failing to do what they are expected to do, that is part of corruption. It is therefore quite clear that teachers are there to soil our country. We appeal to the President to take stringent measures against teachers because we are not happy at all with them. Children are now becoming unruly. I thank you.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: Thank you Mr. President. I also want to add my voice on the SONA. I want to acknowledge the mover of this motion, Hon. Sen. Chirongoma, seconded by Hon. Sen. A. Dube. Mr. President, the President of Zimbabwe, His Excellency E. D. Mnangagwa, presented SONA to the joint sitting, just a week ago. He talked about many issues that have taken place or that are taking place within the country. He also talked about COVID – 19, he was thanking Zimbabweans for adhering to the World Health Organisation (WHO) regulations which ensured that there was a little bit of stabilisation of the COVID – 19 but he also emphasised that we must not relax. We should continue observing those rules because it is not yet over, we still have COVID within the country. If we do not observe them, there might be a second attack within the country.
The President also talked about re-opening of schools, of which it was done. The teachers are said not to be attending to schoolchildren. They have already opened classes at their homes whereby they are charging parents in foreign currency in order to teach schoolchildren. They know that schoolchildren are going to write examinations at the end of the year and parents worried about their children have no choice but to pay teachers in foreign currency. That is the main reason why they are reluctant to go back to school. In certain instances, a teacher can have a class of 40 children paying about 100 rand per head, how much is that teacher making? Do you think they can go back to school and earn RTGs? They are now saying that they do not want RTGs anymore, they want foreign currency because that is what they are getting for private classes. I think this also entails the issue of corruption and something has to be done about these teachers. The law has to take its course.
The President also alluded on production and productivity, looking at agriculture – I think it is a Declaration which encourages all SADC countries whenever we make budgets to set aside 10% of our budgets to agriculture. If we do so, we will then increase our productivity in the country. The President went on to talk about Pfumvunza/Intwasa, whereby even those who do not have draught power can also plant their fields because it does not need anyone to have cattle or donkeys for pulling a plough. It is just done by horses so that everyone should get food within the country. Apart from that, the Government was prepared to give people inputs for that programme.
Mr. President, the President also talked about irrigation schemes on our land. You find that due to climate change, water is becoming scarce because it needs to be harnessed and so we can only harness the little water that we have through irrigation schemes. There should be construction of new dams as well as rehabilitation of the old dams. Our old dams now have a lot of siltation and there is need for rehabilitation by removing the sand or the alluvial soil that has gone into the dams so that everything becomes normal.
On agriculture, the President also encouraged the nation to grow the small grains. If we can look back, you will find that even long back in the history of our country, these traditional small grains have been there and they are nutritional and the good part of these small grains as nutritious as they are, even if you have surplus, if you want to take them to GMB, they fetch the same price as maize. So, it is of advantage to our people to grow the traditional grains. These grains if we talk about them, they do not need much rain.
You will find that if you have little rain, the traditional grains will mature better as compared to our maize especially those who are in Region 5, I think it is a good gesture for them to engage into the production of small grains. He also talked about energy. We find that our energy is there but it has become very expensive. I think we should try by all means to opt for alternative energy which is solar. For most of us in the country – sunshine is there all over and we can live without electricity energy. For those who do not even have that electricity - because there are some areas which do not have electricity, we encourage them to turn to solar.
If they turnto solar, it will assist them in many ways. We are talking about virtual learning whereby children have to learn online but if they do not have the electricity – if you take some places like Chikwarakwara down there where they do not even have that electricity, it can be of much use for them to use solar energy in order for them to access learning.
The President talked much about water and sanitation. There should be enough water because water is life and also sanitation should be taken heed of because we cannot talk about a healthy nation without considering sanitation within the country. The President touched on social work saying that no one in the country will die of hunger. As a listening President, we all know that he meant it and he will make sure that everyone gets food in order to sustain hunger.
I can go on and on, but I think what I have just touched on is enough for today so that I leave a space whereby others can also take it from there and debate on the SONA. Lastly, the President talked on unity in the country and unity of purpose because if we are not united, there will be no peace in the country. We need peace and stability for us to run the country peacefully, we have to unite. With these few words Mr. President, I thank you.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: Thank you Mr. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 5th November, 2020
On the motion of THE MNISTER OF STATE FOR MASHONALAND CENTRAL PROVINCE (HON. SEN. MAVHUNGA) the Senate adjourned at Four O’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 4th November, 2020
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
POSTPONMENT OF THE 2021 PRE-BUDGET SEMINAR
THE HON. SPEAKER: I regret to inform the House of the postponement of the 2021 Pre-Budget Seminar initially scheduled for the 5th to the 7th November 2020. It will now be held from the 19th to the 21st November, 2020. The difficult decision to postpone the seminar has been made after considering the need to allow finalisation of the process of drafting the first National Development Strategy 2020 to 2025 for which the 2021 Budget is an implementation tool. We apologise for the inconvenience if any that might result from this change of dates.
Hon. K. Paradza having stood up to give a notice of motion.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Before you give a notice of motion, I have some apologies. My apologies Hon. K. Paradza – [AN HON. MEMBER: Inaudible interjection.] – I do not mind a shadow assistance from time to time.
APOLOGIES RECEIVED FROM MINISTERS
THE HON. SPEAKER: The following have sought leave of absence;
Hon. K. C. D. Mohadi, the Vice President;
Hon. Rtd. Gen. Dr. C. G. D. N. Chiwenga, the Vice President;
Hon. J. B. Matiza, Transport and Infrastructural Development; Hon. K. Kazembe, Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage;
Hon. C. Mathema, Primary and Secondary Education;
Hon. M. Ndlovu, Environment, Climate Change, Tourism and Hospitality Industry;
Hon. D. Marapira, Minister of State in Hon. Vice President K. C. D Mohadi’s Office;
Hon. Rtd. Lt. Gen. Dr. S. B. Moyo – The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade;
Hon. M. Madiro, Deputy Minister – Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage;
Hon. D. Musabayana – Deputy Minister, Foreign Affairs and International Trade; and
Hon. C. Chiduwa, the Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Development.
HON. CHIKWINYA: Hon. Speaker, my point of order arises from an order which you gave on the 29th October, in this House where you mentioned that Members of Parliament should be seated in the House between 1400 and 1415 hours. Any member who enters the House thereafter is out of order. Hon. Speaker, Hon. Garwe, the Minister responsible for Housing; Hon. July Moyo, the Minister responsible for Local Government, Hon. Miriam Chombo, the Deputy Minister of Local Government and Hon. Stars Mathe disobeyed your order. So I am not quite sure and need guidance from yourself if your order still stands – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, your quote from my order is not accurate. You will have to check the Hansard properly and come back with a reminder.
Hon. Members having stood up on points of privilege
THE HON. SPEAKER: Now, here you want to break my order which you agreed to that on Wednesdays there are no requests for points on privilege. So we stick to that.
After Hon. Ziyambi, Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs walked in -
THE HON. SPEAKER: Yes, I revert to Hon. Chikwinya, particularly for Members of the Cabinet. Please be in the House before 1410 hours. As you keep time in Cabinet, you do not come in Cabinet ten minutes after Cabinet has started – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.]
HON. T. MLISWA: Mr. Speaker, I think whilst the Ministers are here, yesterday you did rule that the letter written to the Secretary of the President and Cabinet about the cut-off time. I think it will be nice and important if, with your indulgence for us to know the cut off time - if the letter has been written so that they know the cut off time for the apologies that they make is this time, not midnight or as and when they feel like it. I do not know with your indulgence if it is possible for us to know whether it was sent and also know the contents of that letter so that we are all in the picture.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Members, can you wear your masks and ensure that your noses are covered as well as the mouth.
The Hon. Ministers cut off time for leave of absence is 12 o’clock. A letter has been written to the Chief Secretary. I am sure he is going to advise in the next Cabinet meeting but since you are here, the time is 12 o’clock for letters of leave of absence.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
*HON. SHAVA: My question is directed to the Minister of Local Government and Public Works. What is Government policy with regards to council rates which are being pegged at one is to one with the US dollar? For example, if you owe RTGS 2000, they are demanding US$2000.
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. CHOMBO): I would like to inform you that rates are paid in bond notes but if someone is able to pay rates in US dollars they are also free to do so.
HON. SHAVA: Supplementary, supplementary!
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order. Hon. Deputy Minister, the issue is – is it Government policy to pay in foreign currency on one to one rate?
*HON. CHOMBO: Thank you Mr. Speaker. Right now rates are paid at the auction rates. That rate of one is to one is something of the past.
HON. T. MLISWA: I have a supplementary question Hon. Speaker. This is where the inconsistency of the monetary policy is. People are not being paid at auction rate and this is a serious issue. It is a serious inconsistency for Government to say that they can pay at auction rate but they are not paying salaries at auction rates. How do you expect people to sustain a living out of that? It remains a bone of contention and for as long we do not discuss that honestly and they do not answer, then we will continuously have this problem. With your indulgence, I do not know what sort of ways we must come up with for there to be clarity…
THE HON. SPEAKER: What is your supplementary question?
HON. T. MLISWA: The supplementary question is; how can people afford to pay at auction rate when they are not being paid at auction rate?
*HON. CHOMBO: If a person wants to pay rates in the local currency, he or she is free to do so. If the person wants to pay rates using foreign currency, it will be converted using the auction rate. We encourage people to use our local currency.
HON. GONESE: On a point of order – there is one aspect which has not been responded to.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Why do you not ask your supplementary question?
HON. GONESE: My supplementary question is that there are debts which were in existence before the auction rate and those were not denominated in Zimbabwean dollars and from your response ….
THE HON. SPEAKER: My response? Did you say my response? – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
HON. GONESE: Mr. Speaker, the original question had two aspects; one…
THE HON. SPEAKER: You mean the Hon. Minister’s response?
HON. GONESE: Can the Hon. Minister clarify what is the position regarding those amounts which were owing in RTGS dollar before the adoption of the auction system. From the original question, it has been asked that local authorities are asking that those debts be paid at the rate of 1:1 which becomes unsustainable and I think it is unfair to pay in US dollar what was in RTGS.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Gonese. Please refer to the Hon. Minister as ‘the Hon. Minister’ not ‘she’.
*HON. CHOMBO: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I thank Hon. Gonese for the question he asked. We know that if the debt is in local currency of RTGS, you have to pay in RTGS. If there are local authorities that are using 1:1 rate, please forward to us such cases so that we look into that? I thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Will Hon. Members mute your microphones please. You will only switch it on when you have been give leave to speak.
HON. P. ZHOU: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My question goes to the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement. What measures did the Government put in place in light of the fact that our rains always come with lightning destroying homes, schools and other infrastructure or livestock especially in the rural areas. What intervention does the Government have in place to reduce such occurrence especially in the rural areas?
THE HON. SPEAKER: Are you saying the occurrence of lightning or the impact of the lightning?
HON. P. ZHOU: The impact of lightning not the occurrence of the lightning.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you.
THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, WATER, CLIMATE AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA): Mr. Speaker Sir, I thank the Hon. Member for the question. The question relates to the early rains that are occasionally accompanied by thunder and lightning causing destruction. This perhaps is not a question that my Ministry directly can answer to. However, there are many mitigatory measures that have been put in place and the public and the rural households have been urged on several occasions that because of climate change, the heat generated will always result in early rains being accompanied by violent thunder and lightning. Therefore, precautionary measures ought to be taken for livestock and people in order to reduce damage. I urge the Hon. Member to adhere to those to minimise damage. If the damage occurs, then the agronomy side of our Ministry principally Agritex, will be able to give location specific interventions to ensure that crops and livestock may be saved. Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
*HON. P. ZHOU: Mr. Speaker Sir, I am saying what is the Government doing to prevent this situation? Many times we have witnessed schools and homes stuck by lighting and destroyed by storm. How is the Government educating the communities to be alert for such disasters so that the communities are protected?
*THE HON. SPEAKER: Put the question in writing and redirect it to the Minister of Energy. Thank you.
HON. H. MGUNI: Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs. In her absence, I direct the question to the Leader of the House. What is the Government policy on the welfare of the war veterans’ children – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order. The answer is in the War Veterans Act.
HON. MAPHOSA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My question goes to the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education. What is Government policy on issuance of degree certificates and transcripts to students upon their graduation? Thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Can you repeat your question?
HON. MAPHOSA: What is Government policy on issuance of degree certificates and transcripts to students upon their graduation – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
*THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order. Maintain social distancing especially Hon. Sikhala. Please stretch out.
HON. TOGAREPI: On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, can you help us. That Hon. Member is not wearing his face mask – [HON. SIKHALA: Inaudible interjection.] –
THE HON. SPEAKER: Uuuh, uuuh. You are a source of danger Hon. Sikhala.
THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Thank you Mr. Speaker. I wish to thank the Hon. Member for the question. The question is on what is our policy on issuance of certificates and transcripts after graduation. Mr. Speaker, the essence of graduation is a certificate and a transcript which is actually the epitome of one’s journey through the Higher and Tertiary Education system. So that is exactly what our policy is when it comes to after graduation.
HON. MAPHOSA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Is the Minister aware that institutions have made students to graduate without issuing those certificates and transcripts. This question emanates from the outcry from students who see that they are being disadvantaged because the opportunities of employment arise and those without certificates and transcripts will be at a disadvantage. We know that those certificates should be given upon graduation but now they are being withheld, we need an explanation. Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. PROF. MURWIRA: The policy is as I stated. Deviations from that policy, I cannot speculate but if you can allow me to speculate what can cause those things. The first one is it can be caused by students who would not have finished paying their fees. On number, two, during COVID at this moment, logistically, we are only allowing first distinction masters, MPhil and PhD to come physically for the graduation. It therefore means that most of the students upon graduation will be doing so virtually online. It basically means that they will not be present on campus. However, it is our policy to facilitate to the best of our ability the access to these certificates and transcripts by our students. Mr. Speaker, some inefficiency can kick in but if there are specific cases, we will be able to deal with those specific cases.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My supplementary is, are there other ways and means that higher institutions can get their outstanding fees from students other than withholding the transcripts and certificates as ransom for the need to extinguish the fees, is there any other means?
HON. PROF. MURWIRA: Hon. Speaker, it is important to note that we run our education based on resources. It is so important that we use all peaceful means to make those resources available. So, the issue of where students are indigent and they cannot access their certificates, their cases are treated specifically. We have a lot of indigent students who will then prove that they have no means to pay. Normally we help those but those are then specific cases. That is why I am saying it is important that each case is treated on its own merits.
So, it is not our intention to graduate students and then deny them access to the certificates but it is also very important for the general citizenry to know that we have to make our education world class international based practice by making sure that fees are paid. We have always made those fees always very reasonable in terms of their levels. The issue basically is when there are specific students with specific explainable problems in worst case scenario, we have actually given students copies of their transcripts but not original to make sure they pay. This is a very peaceful way of saying but please pay. Thank you.
HON. MAPHOSA: Hon. Speaker, I have a particular case.
THE HON. SPEAKER: You have a particular case, if you have a particular case the Hon. Minister has said you can approach him.
HON. MADZIMURE: Is the Minister saying that at each and every graduation, the transcripts and the certificates, will be available so that we know that every student who would want the transcript and the certificate it will be available. From the question, it appears those things are not readily available apart from the fact that someone might not have paid the fees. May I know if transcripts are always available at graduation?
THE HON. SPEAKER: I was tempted to stand down that question but the Hon. Minister can indulge with an answer.
HON. PROF. MURWIRA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I wish to thank Hon. Madzimure for the supplementary question. By the time that students are graduating, they graduate because the results are available. Results are the ones that make the students graduate. All the results will be in soft copy or in hard copy. The actual issuance of a paper is an action of printing and putting on the seal, that is the process. Just for the benefit of the Hon. Member, the graduation day is a formal day with a lot of activities. During my days at the University, students would collect their transcripts soon after the graduation but this was also found to be very hectic so the issue is just graduate and we will sort out the issue of the transcripts and the certificate later. So, it can be the issue of time and specific in terms of what is implemented.
What is for sure is that we print and seal certificates at universities and they are available at universities. Graduation means the certificate is available on demand. I thank you.
HON. NDEBELE: Hon. Speaker, I presume, the Hon. Minister Murwira is the Leader of Government Business. So, I will direct my question to him. Is it Government policy that education is now a privilege and not a right considering that only those students in private schools are ready for examinations and those in public schools are not, owing to the industrial action by their teachers and the COVID-19 lockdown.
HON. PROF. MURWIRA: I wish to thank Hon. Ndebele for the question on whether access to education is now a privilege or a right. He is asking specifically on the issue of primary and secondary education and the said industrial action by members of staff, especially in the public sector. The policy is very clear. Government policy is non discriminatory when it comes to access to education. However, there are certain circumstances that militate against access to this right, but when it comes to government policy, it is very clear. That is why government is trying its best to make sure that there is harmony in that sector that people begin to negotiate and begin to put the interests of the students upfront when it comes to access to education. I think it is a matter of making sure that we put the interests of our pupils upfront and ensure they have access to that education, but it is a process and we believe that process is taking place. I thank you.
HON. NDEBELE: I appreciate the Hon. Minister’s response. Is government’s stance to proceed with examinations when they are fully aware that students in public schools are not prepared and have not been going to school not confirmation of the position that education is now a privilege for the rich and not a right? I thank you.
HON. PROF. MURWIRA: Hon. Speaker, a nation is its people. It is not you, you and you but us. So when it comes to the education of our children, it is the responsibility of all and sundry, especially the adults, professionals and all the citizens who are responsible for the education of its children. It is from that point of view that we are saying we are asserting the importance of access to free education and progressively so. Also, that we know there are exams that have to be written. I had the privilege today to visit the ZIMSEC factory where they are doing their best now to prepare for the examination period. It is important that steps are being made to make sure that the examinations are written, but also steps are being made to make sure that they are not written in a compromising environment. I really trust the men and women who are working on this issue to make sure that our students are given appropriate education. So, it is a matter of us as a country and us as a people giving access and preparing our students for examinations in different ways, but also being reasonable in the process. I believe reasonability is going to prevail as a means to make sure that examinations are written without compromising anything. I thank you.
HON. NDEBELE: Hon. Speaker, I want you to take note of the fact that my supplementary question was not answered at all, just for the record. That is all.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Would you want to repeat it for the Minister?
HON. NDEBELE: I could easily do that Hon. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, sometimes the problem might be lack of the listener trying to conceptualise the philosophy. Please proceed Hon. Member.
HON. NDEBELE: I was checking with the Minister if government’s stance or their insistence to proceed with examinations when they are fully aware that students in public schools are not prepared and have not been going to school not confirmation of the position that education is now a privilege for the rich and not a right? I thank you.
HON. PROF. MURWIRA: Mr. Speaker, I seek protection from Hon Sikhala who wants to bash me if I do not answer. Thank you Hon. Speaker. It is very important for us to realise that our intention is never to punish our pupils. The intention is to make sure that they are on time and they lose less time because of the COVID-19 problems that we had. So, all steps are being taken to make sure that we do not compromise their right to access to education. When it comes to how prepared and how less prepared they are, I think this is a very technical question because there are several means that are being deployed to teach our students. There are radio lessons, there is internet and reading. I am sure that when it comes to access to education, the intention is the most important, the intention is never to deny our students access to primary and secondary education. When COVID came in, nobody invited it but it is a malady that befell upon everybody, so we are faced with a situation where flexibility and rewiring of the strategy has to happen. However, our students still should have that access to education. Given this, as I say, it is important to know that there are no ill intentions. The intentions are to make sure that our pupils have access to education but we have to be flexible. It is not like yesterday because yesterday there was no COVID. Today there is COVID. We will be able to succeed by changing the way we reach that goal. I thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, may I inform the House that some Ministers have rushed to the Senate. They are still around.
HON. MAVETERA: My supplementary question to the Minister is in connection with what he said. He said that Government is putting reasonable measures to make sure that examinations happen in all sectors and people that are involved. What measures has Government put in place in terms of the rural population to make sure that they are prepared for the examination during this season?
HON PROF. MURWIRA: It is very important that we realise that we are swimming in unchartered waters, but still we have to swim. So we cannot expect the normalcy that we had in 2019 with students sitting in class, teachers being there and teaching them. We were visited by COVID-19 and it is during this time that the whole nation has to work together to make sure that we still meet our goal, but using different strategies.
What are the strategies - we have talked about the issue of access to the internet. We are trying and you know that some base stations are being commissioned as we speak today. We have tried the issue of using radio. We are aware that some places do not have access to radio, but we are still nevertheless reaching a certain population. At the same time there is a stepped opening that is happening. The stepped opening, we know that the Form 2s and 5s are starting next week on Monday. All these are strategies that we are using. We are not saying it is 100% - 100% cannot happen during a crisis. What is happening is what is possible to happen during this time but still our goal is to make sure that there is access education. I thank you.
HON. SIKHALA: My supplementary question to the Minister is, students are being asked to go to school. Parents are paying school fees there. There are no teachers at schools and no lessons are taking place as we speak since other who have already opened school are at school. Why are you persisting with having students to sit for examinations when there are no preparations at all that have taken place for the past month up to present? For the sake of the goodness of the education of our children why don’t you defer the examinations by another period until our children are well prepared?
HON. PROF MURWIRA: I wish to thank Hon Sikhala for asking that question where he is saying why do we not delay. Mr. Speaker Sir there have already been delays which we have adopted due to COVID-19. As I say the third terms for Form 2s and 5s is actually going to start on Monday next week. That is a delay. The other issue is that we are in an era where we have to live with COVID and we have to be able – because there is a do nothing situation and wait for Godot who does not come or do something about the situation where you might not be doing things as perfect as they should be, but you are on the move. We choose the latter. I thank you.
HON. MADZIMURE: On a point of order Mr. Speaker Sir. On 28 October 2020 I asked for a Ministerial Statement regarding the issue of the preparedness of our children to write examinations and also for them to be attended to at school by teachers. You ruled that the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education was going to come to the House and issue a Ministerial Statement detailing the strategies and measures that he was going to take to prepare our children.
THE HON. SPEAKER: The point is taken. I will ask Hon Prof. Murwira to remind the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education to come up with concrete strategies to present to the House next week.
HON SIKHALA: What day next week?
THE HON SPEAKER: While I accept advice, it should not be extended towards abuse. So wait for next week.
HON NDUNA: There is marked migration to private schools and what measures are in place by Government in order that there is avoidance, eradication and complete annihilation of parental abuse by private schools - in particular there are private schools like Lilifordia and other schools. What safety measures have been put in place by Government to monitor these private institutions in order to avoid abuse of students and parents that would have gone to those institutions to make sure that the education system continues to be the same education system as that which obtains in public schools?
THE HON. SPEAKERS: What measures?
HON. NDUNA: Monitoring measures.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, I thought the Hon. Minister gave a very comprehensive response and admitted that there are areas of challenge, particularly in the rural areas where specific strategies are being worked out in order to balance access to education. The Hon. Minister was very clear on that one.
HON. NDUNA: It is not about rural schools Mr. Speaker Sir, it is the migration that is now obtained to private schools which are operating with impunity now abusing those who would have come from public schools. What measures is the Government taking to monitor those private schools.
THE HON. SPEAKER: That is a specific issue because the Hon. Minister needs to know the degree of migration from him to be more pointed in his response.
*HON. MATANGIRA: Thank you Mr. Speaker for giving me this opportunity. My question is directed to the Minister of Agriculture. What is the Government policy on Command Agriculture contractual; how many hectares are allowed to be contracted for the small farmers? – [HON. T. MLISWA: Inaudible interjection.] –
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order Hon. T. Mliswa, can we hear from the Hon. Minister.
*THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, WATER, CLIMATE AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir and I thank the Hon. Member for his question. Let me say Command Agriculture is the policy but the hectarage depends on the people who are getting into the contractual obligation of the parties…
THE HON. SPEAKER: Zvechibvumirano. –
HON. DR. MASUKA: Zvechibvumirano. The Government wishes that this country be able to farm and produce enough food and therefore we have two programmes. We continually experience climate changes and so those in rural areas can do Pfumvudza but those who can manage to go to banks can go there and join Command Agriculture which we now call National Enhanced Productivity Programme. Last year, the fewer hectares which they were taking was five hectares but this year they are going forward taking people because the number of hectarage which they are looking for is 350 000 hectares; 290 000 for maize and 60 000 for soya beans. Therefore the bank which does this is CBZ and it is the one that is going to state the hectares they are taking. I thank you Mr. Speaker.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order Mr. Speaker Sir.
THE HON. SPEAKER: What is your point of order?
HON. T. MLISWA: Mr. Speaker Sir, I was sitting here and this is what happened. Can this be attended to? – [Laughter.] -
Hon. T. Mliswa lifted two broken arm rests and showed to the Hon. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: When you have an old lady, very old, you must take care of that old lady. Do not expect the old lady to carry drums of water as if she was still young. So, be more careful as you sit, we shall try to repair the weak ones.
*HON. MATANGIRA: My supplementary Mr. Speaker is on the rural people in the whole country who are saying they are the ones who suffered during the liberation struggle and going to the bank to borrow money depends on ability or collateral to pay back the money. They are now pleading if they can also be given loans because they have finished paying for the loans given to them last year.
*THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Member, you did not ask a question but you only pleaded.
*HON. MATANGIRA: I am asking if they can be allowed....
HON. MADHUKU: My question is directed to the Hon. Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement. What is Government policy with regard to the resuscitation and resumption of maize milling at the various GMB depots in many districts which have not been in use for quite some time and also in the spirit of devolution?
THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, WATER, CLIMATE AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA): Mr. Speaker, I thank the Hon. Member for the question and the question relates to when GMB is going to commence milling at its depots in connection with devolution. As Members would know, the GMB has been split into two. The old GMB is just focusing on the strategic grain aspects and GMB as currently configured is merely a logistics, moving grain from outside the country to various GMB depots for onward transfer to the department of Social Welfare for the 753 000 families that are benefitting monthly from that. SILO foods, starting from April last year is now a distinct corporatised company operating what used to be the commercial side of GMB that focuses on milling. SILO is in the process of purchasing additional milling plants that will then be distributed to the various GMB depots from where it will lease in order to mill. Currently, it is predominantly operating from Norton and SILO as members would know also, is into toll milling so that it enhances its capacity.
HON. MUSARURWA: My question is directed to the Minister of Justice or the Leader of Government Business today. What is the Government policy on appeals and bail pending appeals especially that the Appeals Court take too long to process appeals and inmates end up finishing or serving their sentences without their appeals being heard before the Appeals Court.
THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Thank you Hon. Speaker. Hon. Speaker, I wish to thank the Hon. Member for the question. The State is divided into three arms; the Judiciary, Legislature and Executive. The Judiciary is independent. I thank you.
HON. MUSARURWA: Hon. Speaker, my question is not answered and according to our Constitution, Section 70 is clear on this issue that I am asking the Hon. Minister.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Minister, would you want to clarify your answer?
HON. PROF. MURWIRA: Hon. Speaker, the Hon. Member assumes I did not answer the question and I will attempt again. Hon. Speaker, the rules of bail and everything are enshrined in our Constitution. Government policy cannot be ultravires to the Constitution. We follow the Constitution and the laws of this country as they are made through this Parliament. That is Government policy. Thank you.
HON. MUSARURWA: According to our Constitution Mr. Speaker, there is a section that clearly states when one has to make an appeal but there is nothing that clearly states when appeals must be heard – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Section 70 of the Constitution, just open it. That is where my question is directed to Mr. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: What does Section 70 say? – [HON. T. MLISWA: It talks about appeals and timeframes; that appeals must be disposed of within a certain period of time.] –
HON. MUSARURWA: Rights of accused persons – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, what section exactly of Section 70?
HON. MUSARURWA: Section 70 (1) (b).
THE HON. SPEAKER: No, 1 (b) does not apply to your question. Let me rule on that one. In any case, the court processes are under the purview of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) and therefore, that question cannot be answered by the Minister in terms of the court processes. It is the role of the JSC to find out whether a judge or magistrate has been postponing cases unreasonably and the JSC then can take appropriate action to correct the situation.
HON. T. MLISWA: Mr. Speaker, I think your guidance is sought in these issues of the independence of various issues, especially the Judiciary. We do not know and I do not know at what point we do have oversight over the Judiciary. We need to be educated because most of the issues and there is so much happening in the Judiciary right now; it is like taboo not to talk about them but yet our role in the Constitution is of oversight and oversight does not limit us to any organ of the state at any level; the judiciary being one. It is important for us to understand the difficulties and the challenges the judiciary is facing right now. How do we tackle the problem because easily you are told that you cannot talk about it because it is in the courts but from a general perspective, even if a matter is not in the courts, how as Parliament can we raise it because I see that the Portfolio Committee on Justice is not pro-active again but right now to be honest, the issue of judiciary independence, which I would call judiciary prudence is no longer there.
When there is a lack of judicial prudence, as Parliament, what do we do Mr. Speaker Sir? We seek you indulgence in that so that at the same time we are not seen to be interfering with the independence that the judiciary has and so forth.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you. Well, the question is very simple. There must be a mischief that is totally out of the race. The Constitution and the appropriate Portfolio Committee can engage with the appropriate authorities accordingly. But to speculate that there is a problem without actually coming up with clear empirical evidence – then speculation cannot be entertained by Parliament.
HON. MPARIWA: Supplementary Mr. Speaker Sir.
Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir. Precisely, what I wanted to stand up for is that you may realise that Hon. Musarurwa is a new Member of Parliament in this august House and you could hear the attacks and ululations and interjections when she was presenting. As a young person, new parliamentarian and a lady....
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – That is why I gave the Hon. Member a second chance to ask her question. Thank you.
*HON. MADZIVA: My question is directed to the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. What is Government policy with regards to children who are drinking alcohol whilst other children are watching?
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – I think we must allow the new Hon. Members to gain confidence. Basically the question is, what is Government policy on children who imbibe alcohol when they are under age?
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I would like to thank the Hon. Member for this important and exciting question. Our laws do not allow children under the age of 18 to drink alcohol. That is the short and full answer that I can give.
HON. TSUNGA: My question is directed to the Minister of Energy and Power Development. Substantially increased ZESA tariffs have taken effect this month much to the disappointment and pain of consumers both individuals and cooperates - what policy measures are in place to ensure that the retail cost of energy is contained within manageable and sustainable levels so that electricity remains affordable to citizens taking into account the obtaining subdued levels of households income that the generality of our citizens have to endure and also noting the knock-on effect of such effects on the productive sector in this country; mining, agriculture, manufacturing and the economy in general.
THE MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. ZHEMU): In terms of policy, there is an authority which is called Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA). Its mandate is to ensure that ZESA tariffs, together with other tariffs that are energy related, are regulated and the regulation is done by ZERA just as good as what happens with the prices for petroleum products. ZERA regulates. Coming specifically to the question to do with tariffs, Madam Speaker, the Government has also another policy to ensure that domestic consumers are subsidised on electricity tariffs. For instance, there is a stepping structure that is used to ensure that electricity is subsidised especially for domestic consumption. Madam Speaker, what is happening with the increases that are obtaining currently is the tariff had become very unsustainable. The last increase which was effected was in March. By March, the tariff which was obtaining was equal to about US$0.10 cents but over the time that tariff had become very much eroded. The level of by September had reached 337%. That was the level by which the tariff had become eroded. The increases that are being effected currently is a way to try to restore the tariff to levels by which ZESA can continue to operate as a going concern and also the tariff becomes cost reflective.
Let me try to be specific on this question Madam Speaker. You will notice that the first 50kwh that are sold to domestic consumers is sold at US$0.2 cents. The next step which is between 51 and 200 is going for US$0.4 cents up to about 300, the other bracket is sold for US$0.12 cents. Overally if you are...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Minister, please may you unmute your gadget?
HON. ZHEMU: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. I was just giving the subsidy component which is available to domestic consumers. You will notice that for 300kwh, the average cost per unit is around US$6.33 whereas the optimum level that is supposed to be achieved is around US$0.10 cents if we are to restore the tariff to where it was in March. I will also indicate that the country is importing power at an average of US$0.9 cents and for independent power producers who are also feeding onto the grid, the payment that is being done is US$0.9 cents. So you will realise that there is a subsidy because the average cost per unit is US$0.6 cents whereas the country is importing power at US$0.9 cents. In terms of policy, the policy is domestic consumers are subsidised. For agriculture, there is also a subsidy and the tariff which is currently obtaining for agriculture is US$0.4 cents per kilowatts per hour. For industry, mining activities and some other commercial activities, it is at US$0.10 cents. I think it is not a question of being exorbitant but the power utility has to be viable in terms of the cost that it is incurring in order to generate, transmit and distribute power. I thank you Madam Speaker.
HON. TSUNGA: Thank you Madam Speaker. The bottom line is there is no correlation between the pricing of energy and the incomes that the generality of people in this country are earning. What can be done by the Ministry of Energy to ensure that electricity is subsided so that it is affordable? Generally when you look at pricing models in Government, they are divorced out rightly from what the workers are getting...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Tsunga, please may you unmute your gadget?
HON. TSUNGA: I was saying Madam Speaker, there is no correlation between the pricing of electricity and the income levels of the general population in this country. What effort is the Ministry making to ensure that electricity remains affordable to the generality of our population especially looking at the pricing models that they employ and the average incomes of our population? The price of electricity must come down.
HON. ZHEMU: Thank you Madam Speaker. Like I said Madam, there is a policy which is there already to ensure that the general public is afforded to pay for electricity. I have spoken about the subsidy. There is a subsidy. Like I indicated, electricity is being imported at US$0.9 cents and those that are producing electricity and feed onto the grid are selling the electricity at US$0.9 cents as well. So if electricity is being imported or produced at US$0.9 cents and given to the domestic consumers at US$0.6 cents, already there is a subsidy. In terms of policy and the efforts that the Ministry is doing through its parastatals like ZESA Holdings, there is a subsidy which is being passed on to the domestic consumers together with agriculture. There is that subsidy. I thank you Madam Speaker.
*HON. MANGORA: Thank you Madam Speaker. My supplementary question goes to the Minister of Energy. Is it Government policy that if there are ZESA faults, the public consumers must supply the staff of ZESA with fuel so that they come and attend to the faults? For example, at Marondera ZESA deport, the community is queuing with jerry cans of fuel so that ZESA staff are ferried to attend to faults.
*HON. ZHEMU: It is not Government’s policy.
HON. CHIKWINYA: First allow me Madam Speaker, with your indulgence. If you listened to the first part of the Minister’s answer, it was elaborate and did not have time. I therefore seek, with your indulgence that the Hon. Minister due to the importance of this matter brings in a Ministerial Statement outlying the cost structure of our power tariffs so that at least we can have more time to engage with him.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think the Minister has taken note of that.
HON. CHIKWINYA: Thank you. The supplementary then follows as power has increased three times in the past six weeks at a rate of 50% per each time of increase. May you relate to this House the rhythm that justifies such an increment, considering a stable auction rate of our RTGs as it trades with the US dollar? How come you are saying the US dollar is being affected by inflation yet we are having a stable auction rate which has been around $81 for the past one and a half months?
HON. ZHEMU: In terms of the increases that are being effected you might have noticed that the last increase which was done before the three successive increases of 50% was done in March, 2020. By March, the current auction rate was not yet in effect and by then it was a 1:25 exchange rate. So there was an erosion of the tariffs to the levels that ZESA was failing to pay for its liabilities and we were having some challenges in ensuring that the power utility survives. By March the tariff was at an equivalence of US10 cents per unit but by September it had reached a very unsustainable level of US2.33 cents per unit and ZESA was now failing to execute its mandate.
Madam Speaker, one of the questions indicated that there are times when ZESA employees would request for support from the community or consumers to afford some repairs. This is what we want to avoid. ZESA must be able to pay for its running costs…
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Members, those who are not on the floor please may you please mute your gadgets. You may proceed Hon. Minister.
HON. ZHEMU: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. What ZESA is attempting to achieve is to get to sustainable levels. As we speak, like I indicated for domestic, the tariff is at US6.33 cents per unit. The level that is supposed to be achieved is around US10 cents. Like I indicated, there are a number of varieties of costs that are incurred by ZESA in order to bring electricity to our houses. For instance, there is importation and there is also internal generation by independent power producers who are being paid. In all fairness, if ZESA is supposed to be running without loses like everybody here would want to see happening then the cost must be absorbed through the tariff and the tariff as we speak is still very low, it is at US6 cents when it is supposed to get to US10 cents, that is the optimum tariff that is supposed to be arrived it.
So, currently consumers must be happy because Government is subsidising both on domestic consumption and agriculture. Even on industrial consumption, there is still the aspect of a subsidy because it is still below the cost of generation, transmission together with distribution. So, I submit Hon. Madam Speaker.
HON. T. MLISWA: My question is directed to the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement. Madam Speaker, the Ministry is rampant with corruption of lands officers for example in Chegutu, the Lands Officer Mrs. Kunonga, who presided over illegal settlement, what is your Ministry doing to ensure that corruption comes to an end by making sure that these officers rotate, take her to Guruve or somewhere else.
Being the new Minister if you have an opportunity, open a file of my letters to the late Minister Hon. Shiri, he had said he would rotate them. So Hon. Minister, what action are you going to take to ensure that the Land Reform remains on track and it is not being destabilised by your own people who are so corrupt? A new broom sweeps clean. What guarantee can you give us on that?
THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, WATER, CLIMATE AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA): Thank you Madam Speaker. I thank the Hon. Member for the question but I note that that question is also the one that I am to answer for Questions with Notice that is relating to corruption of lands officers. Do I answer it now or I wait for the next session. I am seeking you guidance.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: You can answer it when we get to the Questions with Notice.
HON. CHIKWINYA: On a point of order Madam Speaker, the Hon. Member who asked that question may not be in the House which may force the Minister to handover the answer without reading it and yet there will be points of clarification. I thought if the answer is the same and the Member who can seek clarification is here, why can that not be answered now. Thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: The rules do not allow us to answer the question twice so the Minister will answer the question which has already been asked.
Questions Without Notice were interrupted by THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER in terms of Standing Order No.64.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE
DISTRIBUTION OF VACANT PIECES OF FARMING LAND
- HON. PRISCILLA MOYO asked the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement to inform the House:
- a) what government policy is regarding the distribution of vacant pieces of farming land;
- b) what measures are being taken by the Ministry to curb rampant corrupt tendencies in the distribution of vacant pieces of farming land, considering that there are allegations that some District Land Officers prioritise government officials such as the Police officers and non-locals, leading to protests by local communities of the respective areas; and
- d) whether the Ministry has any plans to reserve a quota of vacant pieces of land for local communities.
THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, WATER, CLIMATE AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKU): Thank you Madam Speaker. In response to the first question the government policy relating to allocation of vacant land has been recently updated and the update is as follows”
Government has identified five categories of land,
- Multiple farm ownerships
- Abandoned farms
- Derelict farms
- Under-utilised farms
- Productive farms but that are above the maximum farm size.
Government has also now issued revised guidelines to provincial and district land committees to ensure that the first four categories be the priority categories for identification of vacant land and for the allocation of land.
Regarding the second aspect of the question to do with corruption in the distribution of land – corruption is a cancer and cancer ought to be treated as expeditiously as is humanly possible when it is detected. Therefore it is incumbent upon all of us to report corruption. Not reporting corruption to the authorities that are mandated to deal with it is tantamount to connivance. So regarding the specific measures to fight corruption, we have undertaken the unsavoury reshuffling of officers at provincial level. During the past two weeks we have redeployed all the provincial land officers. However, reports continue of corrupt district land officers. We must highlight at this stage that reshuffling them does not solve the problem but delays the manifestation of the problem at the next post and in time, I think that we need to look at dealing with the issue as it occurs where there is enough evidence.
For the district lands committees, last week we issued a directive for the new enlarged composition of the district lands committee and also an enlarged composition of the provincial land committee, hoping that it would perhaps deter corruption. However, wherever it occurs I urge Members to report this to the law enforcement agents. The composition of the enlarged committee is as follows: the District Lands Officer, District Development Coordinator Chairperson, The Rural District Council Chairperson, Veterans of the Liberation Struggle, District Head, District Lands Officer as Secretary and Advisor, District Agricultural Extension Officers, DDF, District Coordinator, EMMA District Head, Woman Affairs District Head, All Traditional Chiefs in the District, ZRP, ZNA, Zimbabwe Prisons Services, and President’s Department. This committee ensures that the local committees are considered and their interests are taken on board.
The third part of the question is to do with reservation of a quota for local communities. The A1 model is a decongestion model for the rural areas. So, local communities are given priority. However, with the A2 model, this is a commercial model where applicants have to lodge the applications with the provincial lands committees. The district lands committees in this updated guidance only recommend names to the provincial lands committees which in turn recommend to the Minister but someone has to apply in the first instance. Thank you Madam Speaker.
HON. BONDIYA: I just need some clarification from the Minister on how long it actually takes before someone is allocated land from the time of application. I thank you.
HON. DR. MASUKU: Thank you Madam Speaker. Zimbabwe is a geographic space so is its land, very finite. The rate at which applicants get allocated depends on the availability of land. As you will appreciate, most of the land has been redistributed, which is why we have issued new guidance on the next stages of identifying land that could be made available for reallocation and that process will depend on the province, the pace and rate at which they identify vacant land. I thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: I see and hope that is the case but the Minister will respond. I see your new Lands Committee does not have ZANU PF anymore. When I was the Provincial Chairman of Mashonaland West, I was the Vice Chairman and when I was the DCC Chairman, I was the Vice Chairman. I see that you did not mention. Does that mean that they are no longer part of this?
The Minister spoke about rotating corrupt Lands Officers but is there no disciplinary action that can be taken so that if they are truly corrupt they are out of the system? You seem to be rotating criminals and certainly it is not helping in curtailing corruption. Why do you not set up a disciplinary committee?
Finally, I want the Minister to understand this one. You talk about under utilisation of land and at the same time you say we have suffered because of sanctions. Do you blame the beneficiary or sanctions because you blame it on the farmer for under utilisation but you say sanctions have been the cause? Have you empowered the farmer with enough inputs for them to be said unproductive? That is the question for you Minister.
HON. DR. MASUKA: I thank the Hon Member for those additional three questions. The first one relating to the rotation of corrupt Lands Officers, in fact was the suggestion by the Hon Member and I proffered an alternative view that it does not solve the problem. Corruption is a criminal offence and therefore, I do not think that internal disciplinary processes perhaps are the best way to deal with them. It starts with reporting the corrupt or suspected corrupt cases. If those are brought to our attention as has happened in a few cases, we will take action. I urge the Hon member to provide information - that information has been provided before I think because the issue is so burning but it does not hurt to provide the duplicate information which will enable us to act.
The composition of the Lands Committee was as provided. At this stage, the third aspect relates to under-utilisation of land and now that we are taking land from these beneficiaries whom might have been impacted negatively by sanctions; the principle has been that the Lands Committee will be guided as it proceeds to identify under utilisation and then delve deeper to try and unpack the reasons for the under utilisation. On the basis of that and as an example, if someone has been allocated 20 hectares and they farm half a hectare, it might be indicative of either their lack of capacity to do so or simply that they have been impacted by something. I think it will be approached on a case by case basis. What we have directed the District and Provincial Lands Committees to do, is to ensure that whoever is affected in terms of the rationalisation and reorgansation that takes place are not actually displaced. We are not talking about displacement of the incumbents but we are talking about right sizing for their potential.
HON. T. MLISWA: Hon Minister, if you go through your files and if you do not have, I will furnish you with at least three letters that I wrote pertaining to the Chegutu Lands Officer, Mrs Kunonga. If you do not find them, let me know but I believe you belong to an institution which has records. You and I do communicate – you can say Hon they are not here and I will deliver them to you. There seems to be an inconsistency on the policy pertaining to downsizing. The clarity is that the downsizing is 500ha and it seems there are white farmers who seem to be the lucky ones who are not affected yet people need land.
In Norton for example, the Drummonds are there and they have 2000ha. There seems to be a black person who is a front who says that he bought shares into the company but he also has got his own land.
THE HON DEPUTY SPEAKER: That question is specific Hon Mliswa.
HON. T. MLISWA: It is about policy, whether it is also affecting the white farmers on the ground; that is the question. I am also giving an example as well. The example is what I was giving, of the Drummonds who I have said most of these white farmers also use black people as fronts to say they bought the farms when they did not and that they are shareholders. Here is another farm in Zvimba again; he bought this farm but he has not even spent a million dollars which he says he spent on this farm. What are you doing about the white with more than 500ha but who remains productive because the blacks who are not productive you are taking away from them and the whites seem to be protected. Is that the new policy?
THE HON DEPUTY SPEAKER: The other thing Hon Mliswa; it is wrong to name people who cannot defend themselves here. It is wrong. I am referring to the District Lands Officer whom you are referring to.
HON. T. MLISWA: She is a Lands Officer and it is true. There are allegations that she is corrupt and I wrote a letter. The Minister was very clear that these are burning issues, why do you not give us names? How can we curb corruption if we do not name and shame? If I am wrong at that point in time, I will be the first to apologise but the only way we can curb corruption is to name and shame. She is the District Lands Officer for Chegutu and the Minister is desirous to deal with these culprits.
THE HON DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think it is also proper for you to report her to ZACC.
HON. T. MLISWA: We have done everything but it is a cartel. Corruption is cartel. We have done everything Madam Speaker. The war veterans have marched and they have done everything but she is not going. Kuti akatsika papi hatizive ndosaka tayiunza kuParliament kudai kuti itaurwe mumba muno chaizvo. That is the only place which does not segregate according to positions. Her husband used to be a Lands Officer in Chegutu and he left when she came in. It runs in the family that they protect each other.
HON. DR. MASUKA: I thank the Hon Member for volunteering for the fourth time to avail us with the paper work that will enable us to do the needful. I thank the Hon Member for that. Regarding the policy on downsizing, I thought I clearly indicated the five categories and for the sake of emphasis, I will highlight the fifth category relating to maximum farm sizes. In terms of the new policy guidance, although the Statutory Instrument 41 of 2020 which gives the updated farm sizes, that policy guidance will only be implemented when the first four categories of land; that is multiple farm ownership, abandoned farms, underutilised and derelict have been attended to. Irrespective of the colour of the farmer on the farm, as long as the farm is productive S.I 41 relating to maximum farm sizes will be waived for now. So that is the clarity. Thank you Madam Speaker.
HON. NDEBELE: Madam Speaker, I am inspired by our President in his numerous public statements that we are first of all Zimbabweans before anything else. It is common cause that land distribution in the First Republic was so toxic to the extent of deliberately closing out members of the opposition and their perceived supporters. So, I need to check with the Minister who by all means I regard as an excellent Minister if he has remembered in this ongoing redistribution phase, to deliberately ensure that those who were previously disadvantaged like all of us here are then catered for in the new phase. If we let it like that, the land question will continue to persist. Secondly, in places where I come from in Matabeleland …
HON. RTD. MAJOR GEN. S. KHUMALO: I have a point of order Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is your point of order Hon. Member?
HON. RTD. MAJOR GEN. S. KHUMALO: The point of order is when the Hon. Member says during the Land Reform Programme, there was a deliberate exemption of members of the opposition. That is incorrect Madam Speaker – [HON. A. NDEBELE: That is why Mliswa mentioned in his wisdom, that the ruling party has someone representing them.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Ndebele! – [HON. A. NDEBELE: That is a fact. ZANU PF had representatives in those lands committees. I have sent ten applications and they have never been honoured.] –
+HON. RTD. MAJOR GEN. S. KHUMALO: Madam Speaker, that is not correct. When it comes to the issue of the land reform in this country, it depends on who wants land and who does not. At that time, those who were not in sync with the Government did not want land. There was nothing he could have done. He was allocating land to those who wanted it. Mliswa is here, he got land because he wanted it. He can be my witness. Those who wanted land got land and those who did not want land did not get it because the whole country where there are millions of people, hundreds of thousands of people were resettled in this country. No one was going about touring his party or what. It is not that people were being discriminated according to their political parties. It is not true Madam Speaker.
+HON. NDEBELE: You told us that the new dispensation is a true Government. Why then do you continue lying?
+HON. TSUNGA: Madam Speaker, I would also want to say a few words on this issue. What is there is that the land allocation …
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: May you please allow the Hon. Minister to respond to Hon. Ndebele’s question.
HON. MPARIWA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I thought maybe Hon. Ndebele’s point was to do with the correction of whatever went wrong so that as a people we are harmonised and move forward as a country.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: That is why I am calling the Hon. Minister to respond.
HON. NDEBELE: On a point of order.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Ndebele, you cannot ask a point of order.
HON. NDEBELE: Yes, I had two prompt questions and I was interrupted as I was still asking my question. I had done A, “kwasara B chete.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: It is okay, go ahead - [HON. TOGAREPI: Inaudible interjection.] -
HON. NDEBELE: Please protect me from the Chief Whip.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Go ahead. Ask your question Hon. Ndebele.
HON. NDEBELE: Thank you. One other quick check I needed to do with the Minister is, I have seen the composition of the Provincial Lands Committee. What does he make of the possibility that in the absence of a war veteran who obviously will be local and a chief, the same Lands Committee will still be able to form a quorum and make decisions on behalf of the locals? Thank you Madam Speaker.
HON. DR. MASUKA: Madam Speaker, I thank the Hon. Member for the two questions. The applications do not indicate party affiliation and if they used to, the policy guidance is that the only affiliation that ought to be indicated is being a Zimbabwean and also your National ID. The second aspect relates to the composition of the Provincial Lands Committee. Madam Speaker, with all due respect we are talking about the District Lands Committee which also includes a war veteran. Thank you Madam Speaker.
HON. T. MLISWA: I have a point of order although on a lighter note. My message to my colleagues - Ndebele, Ndebele ...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Mliswa, please go ahead and ask your question.
HON. T. MLISWA: Hon. Ndebele, this is for you before you go. Hold on.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Mliswa, go ahead and ask your question.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a lighter note, my contribution and point of clarity and before I do, my advice to my colleagues on the right, just the same way you believed that Hon. Khupe was not the leader of the MDC, you also refused the land reform. May you learn to accept what God has given you; a leader, land and so forth and never ever politicize. May you also learn your lesson. When Government programmes come, take them and do not politicise. When the court says the leader is Hon. Khupe, do not fight it again. Work with her because you will suffer in the process.
More importantly, on a point of clarity and Hon. Members, we are always left out. How come Members of Parliament are not on the committee? You always give us people who would trouble us and we have oversight. As ex-officio members, why do you not give us - these are our constituencies. Why are we always left out? The chiefs are there. Members of Parliament are not there, the war veterans are there and may the Vice Chairperson of the Lands Committee at District and Provincial level be a war veteran. May I propose that - I do not know, the secretariat you said it was lands and the chairperson of course is the DDC at District Lands Committee and at provincial level it is Provincial Minister of State, but let us also understand who is the Vice Chairperson because the war veterans freedom fighters, we trust but the rest we do not trust. The civil servants are also marky in their ways. So by way Members of Parliament are not there, we pass the laws, we do everything but we are not trusted why?
HON. DR. MASUKA: Hon. Speaker, I thank the member for the supplementary question, the Executive is tasked to implement...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: The second question was that he was asking why Members of Parliament are not included in the Lands Committees.
HON. DR. MASUKA: The Executive implements the Acts of this House and in doing so, they choose what in their view the best administrative mechanisms are. The Land Act’s administration is my responsibility and I have looked through the representation that I see will be able to assist me to administer the land issues. At this stage, I thought that they would not be reasonable to confound your supervisory with oversight roles with your being on these Committees – [HON. T. MLISWA: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. T. Mliswa, I think the Hon. Minister has done justice with this question.
HON. T. MLISWA: How come the youth and disabled people are not represented, it is a serious question.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Members of Parliament must make an oversight role.
HON. T. MLISWA: I have had on our party, Madam Speaker, I concede to that one, I want to talk about the youth because the Ministry of Youth comes and represents the youth and the disabled, why are they not represented?
HON. DR. MASUKA: Thank you Madam Speaker, I think this is discretionary to the Minister and at this stage, I think it is advisable; it is something that I will look into. I thank you.
ALLOCATION OF LAND AT ARDA ESTATE IN KAIREZI
- HON. SARUWAKA asked the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement to inform the House:
- a)what Government policy is regarding the allocation of land at the Agricultural Rural and Development Authority (ARDA) Estate in Kairezi;
- b)why some Ministry officials are attempting to dispossess Ms Beauty Nyakurimwa (ID:75-053034 J-50, DOB: 21/10/58) of Plot Number 6 on the Estate which was allocated to her under the Land Reform Programme, Reference L/183 dated 17 December 2001, in favour of Luckson Gotosa whose offer letter indicates that he was allocated Plot Number 8 on the same Estate;
- c)when the Ministry will implement the determination by the Zimbabwe Land Commission issued on 17 December 2017 in Beauty Nyakurimwa`s favour and to further explain why there were delays in this regard; and
- d)what guarantee will the Ministry provide to her in respect of her ownership of Plot Number 6 on the Estate considering that she is a widow and to further elaborate how other women experiencing similar challenges should be treated.
THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, WATER, CLIMATE AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA): Madam Speaker, I only received the questions this morning and all my staff are out doing a workshop so we could not get the detail but I can submit this letter.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: You mean question No. 2? We are deferring question No. 2 to next week Wednesday, 11th November, 2020.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is your point of order?
HON. T. MLISWA: Madam Speaker, I think it is important that when we are having these sessions, my message to the Chief Whips is those who raise questions must be present. We are always attacking Ministers for not being here but this also becomes a waste of time if members who raise these questions are not here too. We are wasting time at the end of the day and we cannot continue like this. You will end up saying Hon. T. Mliswa is the only one who talks when you do not bring these issues up ndakuita basa rekuvhara magap.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Point taken, I thank you
HON. MPARIWA: On a point of order Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is your point of order?
HON. MPARIWA: If you look around the House, you will see that there are no Ministers even if you were to try and defer some of the questions, there is no taker including the Leader of Government Business, can I be corrected if I am wrong, I thank you Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Mpariwa we are deferring question number 3 to 8 to next week on Wednesday, 11th November, 2020.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. TOGAREPI: Madam Speaker, I move that Order of the Day No. 1 on today’s Order Paper be stood over until Order No. 2 has been disposed of.
HON. MPARIWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
RECAPITALISATION OF DDF
Second Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the recapitalization of the District Development Fund.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SHAVA: Thank you Madam Speaker I want to speak about the motion raised by Hon. Chingosho. The issue of DDF is a very painful one. DDF is a department which must be given enough money so that all the programmes and expectations of DDF may go smoothly. Roads were rehabilitated by DDF in the rural areas. Nowadays Madam Speaker, because DDF does not have anything, it really needs help. I think that we must look closely on the issue of DDF. I am hoping that Government will put its vision on DDF because nowadays if you go to DDF, the roads especially in rural areas are in a devastating state, there are many potholes in the roads.
In the past, the roads were smooth because DDF was rehabilitating the roads, they had enough money. That is when you see the Members of Parliament complaining that their cars are damaged especially us women, we find it difficult to go into the rural areas because of the state of things. In the past, DDF used to intervene.
Nowadays, the money being given to DDF is not meaningful. Women travel long distances to access health facilities like clinics and hospitals because women are core in this country. For these men to be seen and look properly is because of the women. Some women give birth before they get to the health facility because of the poor state of the roads. I am in pain because of the challenges faced by women, especially the rural women. They are facing many difficulties. The office which we used to go with our problems is DDF but if you go these days, they say they do not have enough resources. Thank you Madam Speaker.
HON. TSUNGA: Madam Speaker, let me also contribute to this very important motion as raised by Hon. Chingosho. The DDF as we all know is a quasi-Government department and I am sure it is under the OPC to signify its importance in the development matrix of this country.
The DDF is one department which is multi-tasked. It is tasked with the development and maintenance of infrastructure, particularly in rural and resettlement areas, and generally outlying areas outside major centres. The DDF is also tasked with the development and maintenance of water supplies in the identified areas. It is also tasked with the maintenance and development of roads. Over and above that Madam Speaker, the DDF is tasked with tillage services for both small and large scale farmers. It is therefore critical in ensuring or contributing to food security and nutrition in this country.
Its vision of course is to become a dominant agency for infrastructural development in resettlement and other rural areas and also in the upliftment of disadvantaged communities in this country. This vision and the tasks of DDF that I have outlined require that there is active community or people participation in the prioritisation of projects in the various communities. What we have seen happening is that DDF by and large, has parachuted its programmes and projects on to the people without active participation of the communities affected by those programmes and projects. So, one would implore that in any programmes or projects and in the implementation of any policies by DDF, the communities that are going to be impacted by those interventions must, of necessity be consulted so that there is buy-in and desire by the local communities to take care of whatever developments or infrastructure is brought to those communities and therefore, avert vandalisation and underutilisation of same.
Madam Speaker, this also calls for the involvement of people’s representatives in project prioritisation. People’s representatives include but are not limited to the traditional leadership in the area, the local Members of Parliament, local councillors, local religious leaders and opinion leaders generally in the areas where these interventions have to be done. Needless to say Madam Speaker, the need for adequate funding for DDF programmes is paramount. You cannot be able to have DDF realise its mission, vision and purpose if there are scarcely or inadequately funding so there is this great need.
Recapitalisation and retooling of DDF is also key in ensuring that DDF achieves its vision and mission. Many a time, DDF has relied on antiquated or archival equipment that is no longer serving its purpose and therefore, it defeats the whole mission, vision or purpose of DDF if such tools or machines continue to be used. In the case of vehicles, graders, rigs and such other equipment, you realise that these spend more time in the garage than at work, which means there is low efficiency levels for such equipment and it becomes very expensive. We cannot continue to have such institutions as DDF Madam Speaker, using yesterday’s tools for today’s job and expect to remain in business tomorrow. It cannot, if it were in maths at elementary level. So, we implore Government to ensure that DDF is adequately resourced, retooled and new modern equipment procured and mechanisation being a priority for DDF.
DDF must also Madam Speaker, embark on low cost but high impact projects and programmes in the communities. For example, there is need to be looking at the construction of small dams in every ward in the rural areas so that there can be irrigation activities for the local communities that will help in ensuring that we achieve food self-sufficiency and also food security and nutrition for our people. There is need for small projects that have high impact such as access to roads to points of service delivery like clinics and schools. There is need for such small high impact projects such as crossing points for school children to be able to access schools, clinics and recreation facilities. Funding for such programmes have to be prioritised Madam Speaker. Our communities need access to safe livelihood activities, markets, recreation and this can only happen if DDF is capacitated and adequately funded to be able to provide for this.
The DDF staff welfare is also critical for consideration because the staff at DDF have to be motivated because many at times staff at DDF spend their time out of station and their T and S sometimes is not forthcoming, so they are demoralised and do not carry out their mission to satisfaction. So allowances when due must be paid adequately.
Then comes the issue of tendering which must be above board. Corruption has become a cancer across sectors in this country and DDF cannot be an exception. There are traces of corruption in DDF and that has to be dealt with decisively. There has to be zero tolerance to corruption and tendering must be above board but even with tendering, there must not be undue red tape and bottlenecks that slow down the process of programmes/projects and policy implementation at the various communities.
In conclusion Madam Speaker, I wish to speak to the issue of devolution and the place of DDF in that schemata of things. As devolution is rolled out, it is unfortunate at the moment that there is no accountability structure for devolution funds that has already been disbursed to local authorities. Once that is done, I think by March, we should be having a Bill that gives effect in the devolution clause in the Constitution. Once that is done, I think there must be a niche for DDF. There must be a place for DDF in that whole schemata of things. The place of DDF under devolution must be appropriately located so that in the greater schemata of things as I have indicated, there is operational efficiency and effectiveness in the way DDF does its work. I thank you Madam Speaker Maam.
*HON. MASHONGANYIKA: Thank you Madam Speaker Maam for giving me the opportunity to speak in this august House. I will also add my voice to the debate in the House concerning DDF. When Government allocated finances to DDF, it had a big vision for rural areas to assist in different districts. Government saw it fit that those rural areas must get help. There are leaders there like Chiefs, Councillors and coordinators who will be working in these areas. We also see that Government’s vision was not as deep because the issue of DDF to continue to be looked into on its operational basis. We see that every year in rural areas, rivers flood during the rainy season. Small bridges are washed away.
Government saw that all small roads that are used by people in rural areas must be different from those big roads which are maintained by the Ministry. Many people were facing problems on using these roads. Buses that were brought in by Government cannot move on these roads because of the deplorable state of the road. The bridges are washed away and there is no rehabilitation of these roads to properly function. School children, like what the other speaker highlighted; are washed away by water because these bridges are no longer functioning. The roads continue to be in a deplorable state because of the rain but they are not being rehabilitated.
In order to assist our communities in different districts, we must fully support the issue of funding to DDF. DDF must be allocated more funds because this funding needs to develop and rehabilitate areas where a lot of people reside. Some people used to use scotch carts to ferry children to school. We also have small bridges which were also used by school children to cross the rivers to go to schools but DDF is not able to rehabilitate these.
DDF was also given the role of providing water to the people. There is climatic change, people are not accessing water easily. DDF was given the opportunity to drill boreholes and see to it that people in the rural areas have enough water so that the elderly and young will be able to access water from those boreholes drilled by DDF. DDF was trying its level best to raise their funding by hiring the few equipment they have but we saw that during the course of hiring that equipment, there was no one who checked how the machinery was working and how the community was benefiting and whether the money from hiring was assisting the community. There was no monitoring on that. That is why DDF resources are being used for individuals – for corruption. That equipment is now being used to plough their land and doing all sorts of things. If you travel to different areas you will see that the DDF have enough resources but the strength of the equipment is in its servicing and proper protection so that it will work properly. You will see that the DDF equipment like the graders are on the roads but they are not properly being managed. If that equipment is properly maintained, they will be used very well. I am saying funding must be increased because DDF helps people. What we call people in this country of Zimbabwe are the rural people. That is where many people reside. That is where many retiring people go and they are many in the rural areas, therefore they will be in need of help in different areas such as construction and maintenance of roads and provision of water.
We expect that when allocating resources to DDF – such as the graders, tractors and cars, they must consider the number of districts and allocate enough equipment which is equivalent to the number of roads and people in that particular area. We also expect that the employees of DDF must be well remunerated so that they are motivated in carrying out their duties and they will not abuse the equipment of DDF by taking machinery for hire and pocketing the funds. We must look at their welfare properly.
We must also look at how they travel to the rural areas and how they are operating and what form of transport they are using. We see that at DDF, their cars are in a deplorable state and many things are not functioning properly, including the machinery. We are saying they must get enough funding to take care of their workers and equipment. They must look at how the worker has to travel from one point to another in the discharge of their duties. They must look at how the employees are living, do they have proper shelter and accommodation so that they carry out their duties diligently? With these words, I thank you Madam Speaker.
*HON. MUCHIMWE: Thank you Mr. Speaker for the time that you have given me to explain the importance of DDF. Firstly, if DDF is given the power and authority and funds to execute its mandate, it will assist in containing the covid-19 pandemic because people can get jobs within the communities. There is a saying that water is life – DDF used to construct dams using the earthmovers to ensure that people have access to water. Now the dams are no longer viable due to siltation because DDF does not have the earthmoving equipment to engage in de-siltation. So the employees do not have anything to do and the dams dried up. With the covid-19 pandemic if we capacitate DDF, it can contain the pandemic. The DDF is a Government entity that should be funded by the Executive but for it to succeed people should be in categories to ensure that they get enough funding. DDF consists of people at district level and when things go wrong, they are answerable in a district so people can access and deal with DDF easily as well as the councils for assistance, especially in terms of roads network during the rainy season.
DDF should be given power to construct the roads. Motorists are having difficulties in accessing communities where people live. For people to get fertilizers it is difficult because the road network is bad. People travel long distances to access inputs and take them to their farms. Even when it comes to marketing, the road network is bad and they face difficulties in taking goods the market. There are people with produce that need to be sold in urban centres but there is no transport because the road network is bad. Those with transport do not want to travel on such roads. With these few words, DDF should be given the power and authority to operate. I thank you.
*HON. SHAMU: Thank you Madam Speaker. I want to thank you for the opportunity you have given me to contribute to this motion on the DDF, moved by Hon. Chingosho and seconded by Hon. Chikukwa. Madam Speaker, from all the Hon. Members who have debated since the day this motion was brought into the House, people are concurring that the work being done by DDF is important in terms of road construction, construction of dams, borehole drilling and maintenance. It was agreed that this is the mandate of DDF. In my opinion, I think we need to thank the foot soldiers, the director General Mr. Jongo, Mr. Toriro and others for the work that they are doing in terms of the equipment that is functional. Equipment would not be working if there was no one to manage.
Madam Speaker, the debate thus far has unequivocally portrayed DDF as a department that is at the nerve centre of infrastructural development. DDF, through its public works programmes alleviates hunger among villagers. Madam Speaker, public works is a developmental strategy for employment creation. People can earn a living. We heard yesterday during debate, of the over 32 000 kms of rural roads that the department has to maintain. Let us bring back the glorious days of DDF through recapitalisation. Let us rehabilitate the rural roads so that these roads are accessible and 70% of people live in rural areas. There is need for tippers, front loaders and so on. It is very important because if we are talking today about the issue of Pfumvudza, the seeds and inputs to reach to the people, vehicles which transport the seeds and inputs to the people need proper roads. Many roads in Mashonaland West are in bad state. There are very long distances going to areas like Chambara, Neuso and Sanyati.
From Kadoma to Sanyati, there is a very long distance. I emphasise that the job being done by DDF supports very well the welfare and upliftment of the country. They will have enough food and have bumper harvest, thereby uplifting the standard of living of the people. We will be able to fulfill the vision of the Government through His Excellency Cde E. D Mnangagwa, and we will achieve Vision 2030.
I might not have spoken properly if I omit that DDF used to have aeroplanes they bought from France but these planes were no longer working because of lack of spare parts. Madam Speaker, because of sanctions, America and Britain were refusing to give us spare parts so that these planes can be used. This means that sanctions against Zimbabwe does not affect the few top officials only but it affects everyone including those in the rural areas. Today, if my grandmother in the rural area falls sick, for me to go and get her and send her to the hospital, I need a car but if the roads are in bad shape my grandmother will suffer.
I want to support the motion which was moved by Hon. Chingosho, that DDF must be revived because it bought the last equipment in 1985 through a Japanese owned company. DDF used to have three groups in every province for various roles. What other Hon. Members and myself have said will be taken up and that DDF will be given a substantial amount. They should also benefit from the Belarus Programme on tractors in order to execute their mandate. I thank you for the time you have given me.
HON. CHARLES MOYO: Thank you Madam Speaker for affording me this opportunity to add my voice to a motion which was moved by Hon. Chingosho and seconded by Hon. Chikukwa. It is a Fund without funds; District Development Fund but regrettably, there are no funds. Allow me to touch on the mandate of this department. The first one is for development and maintenance of infrastructure. The second one is for road services. The third one is tillage services and lastly for water supply. Surely, we cannot talk of development when these things are not there.
Allow me also to point out that everyone has a home. It is important that we debate on this important motion holistically and everyone has to add a voice to this important motion. Madam Speaker, allow me also to link with Sustainable Development Goals. If we look at Goal Number 1 that is end to poverty, if we capacitate DDF, the result is end to poverty. Secondly, if tillage services are provided in our rural communities, that will result in zero hunger which is SDG Goal Number 2.
Madam Speaker, clean water and sanitation SDG, that is Goal Number 5 - if we capacitate our DDF, the end result is clean water and sanitation. On Goal Number 8, surely we will have employment created if we capacitate financially our DDF. The end result is decent work and economic goals. SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities; this is Budget time, let us make sure that we put more funds to this empty Fund. DDF will result in attaining almost 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 if I am looking at our Sustainable Development Goals. Let us make sure that we capacitate, we put more funds to DDF for the development of our country and also most importantly, so that we can then attain the National Development Strategy one which is there from 2021, that is next year up to 2025.
Madam Speaker, I think that is what I have with more emphasis on making sure that we give more resources to DDF so that we can then address SDG Goals which are very important and which shape the growth and development of every country. Thank you Madam Speaker.
*HON. CHITURA: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. I would like to contribute towards this issue on DDF. My suggestion is that DDF gets a lot of funding because it does a lot of work in the rural communities. It does a lot of work in farming as well as fixing roads. If DDF gets a lot of funding, it helps a lot with the development of this country. A good example is the lack of rains this season. A lot of people do not have cattle for farming. If DDF gets a lot of money, it means they can acquire tractors to assist with farming.
As we speak right now, DDF has a lot of equipment lying idle but if they get funding that equipment can be fixed and work can be done. Also, if they get fuel it can make their work very easy. Right now, we have a lot of unemployed youths but I strongly believe if DDF is up and running we can create jobs for the youths. DDF workers should be treated just like other government workers. Their accommodation should be improved. It should be decent accommodation. DDF is what we rely on in the rural areas for development and also job creation amongst the youths. I thank you.
HON. JOSIAH SITHOLE: I would also want to air my voice to this motion moved by Hon. Chingosho. The idea of having DDF in our communities was a form of devolution undefined in the sense that we were bringing closer the services to our people and making sure that we were surviving on what we have within our communities. However, where you find DDF has been incapacitated and for a very long time now this has had a very negative result in terms of trying to promote good livelihood in our communities and also to do away with hunger and communication. This has resulted from the fact that our DDF department is ill equipped. In my constituency, I have two DDF camps but they are just ghost camps with completely nothing that is mobile in the two camps. You just find that the original plans and the structures were very good and were going to ensure empowerment of our communities.
I want to touch a bit on CDF and DDF because if we have inadequate money in our CDF accounts, DDF could easily come to our rescue and at times give us tractors at very low cost where they would just ask for diesel and they would give us the tractor and we could do our projects using DDF equipment. The type of dilapidated infrastructure in DDF needs immediate replacement and I think it is most appropriate and well timed that we are talking about recapitalising DDF at a time when we are talking about budgets within our different committees and our nation. It is a time that we should talk and give more impetus to the need for recapitalisation of DDF. The state of DDF as it is corresponds to what we are seeing in terms of broken bridges which have not been repaired for a long time. We have dams and boreholes that have broken for a long time because there is nothing to capacitate our DDF. If we want to see the revitalisation of our infrastructure we need to make sure we also capacitate DDF.
In conclusion, I want to say it is good that DDF be given enough funding so that we can also buy the modern equipment that we need such as computers. The old DDF we have been working with does not have adequate computers and they also need to have rehabilitated houses so that they stay better lives just like everybody else. In most cases you find that the dilapidated equipment is very disastrous. We lost life in my constituency where a driver of a very old tractor was trying to tow tyres. He was using an old tractor. The driver fell and was crushed to death. So, you can actually see that there is disaster in our communities. I thank you.
+HON. S. KHUMALO: Thank you for allowing me to add my voice as we debate the motion moved by Hon. Chingosho and seconded by Hon. Chikukwa on the issue of recapitalisation of DDF. Allow me to venture into my native language. DDF is an important department of government which helps maintain infrastructure in the rural areas so that people in the rural areas have an easy life and upbringing. That is why we have development goals and as we are talking right now, DDF is in bad condition so much that on its own, where its employees keep the little material that it has, maybe the equipments will not be working at all because they no longer have equipment for use and the reason being they are not being supplied with new equipment for use. I would not know as of today whether at their offices they have any plans to help those who are working for them. lf I am to visit their offices, I would not find any young person who works there. lt is very important at first that DDF be furnished with equipment for use because they are constructing roads, dams and farms for irrigation at different places hence this cannot be fulfilled if they do not have the equipment for use and this must be done at all districts.
I will then look at Tsholotsho where I come from and I would not know how other districts are operating but if you look how Tsholotsho district was constructed when our elder people where being chased away from plots which were being taken away by white people; there were dams which were dug which had water all the time but with time because of DDF which had constructed those dams, it was not given time to maintain those dams. Hence DDF should be given capital to keep on its maintenance so that what would have been constructed would give good service. If roads are not properly maintained, the people will suffer because the roads will not be in good condition and it becomes difficult for people to carry their goods because the roads would be bad especially during this rainy season. If DDF intervenes by constructing the roads, it becomes safe to travel.
It does not only mean those who stay in rural settlement face some challenges when travelling. It also involves those who are in clinics. Although the medicine would be there in clinics, they will also need further checkups to hospitals which will be in their districts. Hence they would have to travel. Like where I stay, a sick person would have to go to Mpilo Hospital. DDF needs funding or capital so that they reconstruct their workplaces because these are no longer in good condition. DDF now looks like a small parastatal, hence it does not boost the employees confidence to work there for it to develop the country Madam Speaker.
The other issue is that there should be clean water for drinking. That water should be safe for people and domestic animals and for that to happen it is DDF. DDF would assist more people to farm in different places. Yes indeed there are some other people who are corrupt but management should manage its employees. There might be bad people who want to loot and in this country we know that there are thieves and that can be resolved by simply prosecuting those people. The President said that we should shun corruption and we can curb it through sending people who are corrupt to jail and not to shut down DDF. Before I go further on the issue of water, the dams should be fixed and the roads should be reconstructed. I have mentioned it earlier on that some time ago they used to have water until the next rain season, this is what is supposed to be done. From where there are irrigation schemes DDF should do that. As we speak Madam Speaker Ma’am, let us not forget that our country is faced with sanctions and these sanctions in our country continue to make DDF suffer in their operations.
Let me stop using my language because I want people to understand what these sanctions are doing to our country. Because of the sanctions that are imposed on our country, our country is suffering a lot. We are debating about DDF having been incapacitated because of lack of financing but our country has got all the systems of powerful countries of the West ready to intercept any money that is meant for our country. If you check with the office of the international finance that is being administered in Washington, you would find that we have a lot of our money that is confiscated into that system. We cannot get that money in our country because perhaps amongst us, our fellow colleagues felt that this country was supposed to be punished in that manner which I consider as evil. If we are together, we drink water together and you feel like we must not drink the same water whilst people in the rural areas suffer like they are suffering now because DDF is not there. You believe it is better to have those sanctions for a political programme, I do not think it is supposed to happen that way.
I want to believe that everyone one day will put Zimbabwe first so that no one asks for evil things for our country so that we can work together and see our country move forward.
*HON. JAJA: I also want to thank the mover of this motion. As I speak, DDF does not have anything. The vehicles that it has are just tractors. If you want to see that this is DDF, you will see the depleted and non-functional equipment. When we went to rural areas, if there was no transport, you would get a lift from DDF but nowadays you travel up to 50 km without even a DDF vehicle in sight.
DDF is experiencing challenges and should be allocated a lot of money for it to recapitalise but once money is availed for recapitalization, there should be good management of the resources, both financial and physical resources. The DDF machines are never serviced. There is need for machines to be serviced to enable them to function properly. They do not have parts for their vehicles.
If you come across a tin house, you realise that it is for DDF. So when availed the money to recapitalize, it should be used to ensure that it executes its mandate. DDF has been assisting the communities with ploughing at a minimum rate and everyone could afford. Right now people no longer have livestock to do their ploughing so there is need to recapitalise DDF. For our roads to be accessible in rural areas, it was all because of DDF. So, DDF should be given money in order to recapitalise. I thank you.
HON. MURIRE: Thank you Madam Speaker. I also want to add my voice to the debate that was raised by Hon. Chingosho seconded by Hon. Chikukwa. From my own perspective, the debates were dwelling on the importance of DDF to our national development projects. From my own point of view, the whole thrust of DDF is development. I am viewing DDF in relation to devolution funds, these are funds that were allocated by Treasury and whose focus is concentrated on development.
Madam Speaker, to me, DDF is doing a splendid job in our rural development. Right now, we have a lot of equipment that is lying idle in some of the councils. With the funds that have been allocated towards devolution, local authorities are busy buying equipment in order to attend to development projects which are not clearly defined yet DDF has got many defined responsibilities
In terms of road maintenance, DDF has got a lot of long stretch of roads to look after, whereas if you look at local authorities, they have got very short roads mainly…
There having been noise from unmated phones.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, Hon. Members who are not contributing may you kindly mute your gadgets.
HON. MURIRE: The roads stretch for kilometers but roads attended to by rural district councils are very short compared to DDF. As we speak, Rural District Councils are not attending to DDF administered roads because of the improvisation. If funds that were allocated to devolution funds were to be given to DDF, I am sure a lot of work in terms of road rehabilitation would have been done.
In my view, whenever the new law of devolution is going to be made, it must be reconciled with the DDF Act so that we reconcile responsibilities in terms of development between DDF and the devolution fund. The wider aspect of devolution is within DDF, as DDF covers a lot of development in the rural areas as opposed to that which is covered by Devolution Fund. So in my view, I am saying legislation making should consider that when we are coming up with the Devolution Act.
I am also foreseeing that DDF does not attend to urban areas – it actually concentrates on rural areas whereas the Devolution Fund is allocated to both urban and rural areas. I believe that the Devolution Fund utilisation should also consider that rural areas have got DDF that has a responsibility and is funded. My argument is actually on responsibilities that are attended to by DDF and Devolution – there is need to reconcile that. DDF had engineers - actually my father was an engineer working for DDF, but all those engineers have since left because of frustration. Their equipment is there but was not being repaired and we are channeling funds towards buying new equipment. I thank you.
++HON. SINGO: Thank you Madame Speaker Ma’am, I would also want to add my voice on the motion that was moved by Hon. Chingosho. I do not know if you will allow me to use my home language?
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, you may Hon. Member.
++HON. SINGO: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am, I want to add my voice on the DDF issue by saying that it should be capacitated so that it can perform appropriately with special focus to the rural areas where gravel roads are not being maintained, boreholes are not fully functional and people in rural areas are encountering water challenges.
Currently, our President augmented the ZUPCO fleet, but these buses are not found in rural areas because of the bad state of the roads. When growing up, DDF used to do land tillage for farmers, but right now most of their tractors are not fully functional. They cannot continue to do tillage and looking at last year, most people had their livestock dying because of drought. So people are unable to till their land because they do not have draught power. Therefore, if DDF could be given enough money, it will be able to assist farmers.
Currently, the other issue of concern is with regards to water shortages. Dams need to be resuscitated and desilted so that they can carry more water. With regards to the boreholes issue, most boreholes would have required new repairs but because DDF is not fully capacitated, it is failing to do those minor repairs for people to keep getting water.
Looking at the Pfumvudza programme, it is a challenge for it to be a success when there is not sufficient water. If only we had functional boreholes, then people would do this programme from places that are nearer to boreholes in order for it to be a success. With these few words, I thank you.
HON. GABBUZA: Thank you Madam Speaker for giving me the opportunity. I just have a few words to add to the motion as raised by Hon. Chingosho.
I listened to the report and I think that the major thing that has been bemoaned by this report is lack of funding, but I think that it is important Madam Speaker, to understand the historical perspective of DDF. Before it was DDF, how did it become DDF? I think that once we have that understanding, we will understand why we have problems in DDF right now. DDF was African Development Fund – it only became DDF in 1981, but before then it was run under the District Commissioner who literally ran the whole programme with a decentralized fund from Central Government doing the mandate as outlined by the former speaker.
Now, when you look at the history of DDF when it was African Development Fund - the District Commissioner had to be an engineer and if you trace through the history of Rhodesia or before Zimbabwe, all District Commissioners had to be technical people because they were supposed to coordinate development in the district. Madam Speaker, development is about doing, it is not about chairing RDC meetings like what we see now as the DA is doing. This is where we have had a change in the thrust of DDF because the District Commissioner had to engineer to make sure things are done – he had to be technical.
I remember one of the greatest District Commissioners of Binga was a Mr. Cocroft. He actually built the road from Binga to link up with the railway line in Dete using the African Development Fund the current DDF. He had to build the bridges himself with a team of people from the surrounding community, but using the decentralized funds. He had to dig the boreholes, relocate people during the operation Noah when people were moved from Lake Kariba off the shores during the closure of Kariba Dam.
The problem that we have now is we get somebody like a political science student from the university who becomes a coordinator of development. You cannot coordinate that which you cannot do – I think this is where we have a problem. You will find that ever since we started moving away from that thrust of having technical people doing the development, DDF started falling down. I remember very well that after Cocroft left Binga, he was posted to Plumtree and he started building the roads all the way to Tsholotsho and all the roads that you find in Plumtree. His history is clearly defined. I think if we can relook at that thrust, do we really need these political DAs to be coordinating development?
The other problem that we must realise as to why DDF has problems – I do not think that capitalising DDF would work much because right now DDF has enough equipment. One of the speakers indicated that you see DDF by the level of dilapidated equipment. They use the equipment and once it is broken then it is thrown away because the capacity is no longer there. There are no technical people who are able to repair all those things and put them back on the road. How do you explain a situation where you find 20 trailers, all without tyres at a DDF depot? Is it so difficult to replace tyres? Those are some of the key questions that we must be asking ourselves.
I think the major problems we have in the districts is we have so much scattered capacity. DDF does roads, Ministry of Local Government and Public Works also does development, CMED also has its portion, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development is also doing something, Rural Council is also doing something and somebody mentioned CDF – it is also an agency of development. So many small scattered development agencies, if all those resources could be pooled together and run under one umbrella capable development coordinator with some engineering and technical skills – who will know that if the borehole has got a problem you need to have A, B and C?
Last week I went to my constituency and about four Wards had no water. What is the problem? There are no rubber shoes or rubber cups – something that costs about $10.00 but even when they are there, nobody is able to fit them and the community runs without water for months. It is the technical capacity that is no longer resident in one place in the whole district. So many scattered agencies, Council does roads – we know that and they will do their one to two kilometers up the school. In most cases, just bringing some soil together and not even gravelling and they say, ‘we have been given money from ZINARA that is enough’.
When you go to the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development, they do their own portion and not even patching potholes. If they are going to do pothole patching, it will be with some more soil, instead of some more tar on the tarred road. I think the way we are organised in DDF is not the best. Right now DDF is under Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC). Office of President and Cabinet is resident in Harare, running OPC; the Director of DDF lives in Harare. He does not understand what is happening in the communal areas yet DDF is so wide spread. If they need some tyres, central buying is done in Harare, no decentralisation. The OPC in the district has no link with OPC at DDF, it is like a separate office, President’s office, DDFoffice, all operating differently. They are not related but they are all linked up at the Head office in Harare.
I think the model that we are using is not the best. Let us have a DDF which can manage its own funds at district level like what the African Development Fund used to do. That is why they never have big issues and we inherited that in 1980. It worked very well in the 80s, then after the 90s, things started collapsing because all things were run from Harare and then what DDF was good at, it started spreading – NGOs are also digging boreholes, DDF is digging boreholes, council is digging boreholes, so in the end there is so much scattered capacity all over, which becomes very inefficient, not properly coordinated.
I want to believe that if all the resources, already existing in DDF – if they get proper coordination and proper management, we have enough equipment. We have enough capital; capital is not new money. Those old tractors, we always buy them here. They are all auctioned in Harare. It just takes about US$1 000 for somebody to bring back the Renault which was failing in the rural areas. Maybe it simply needs – I can give an example, if you go and ask for a tractor for tillage at DDF now, they will tell you we do not have a disk. Just a disk which is about US$50 and the tractor will be auctioned because it does not have a disk. It is auctioned for a pittance then someone simply buys a disk and fits and it becomes private property. I do not think we can afford to be asking for more money to destroy more of the new equipment. Let us concentrate on the old equipment, put it back on the road; get proper people who can put all those things on the road. Then thereafter capitalise gradually. I want to conclude by saying this is what I think would be the best for this country. Thank you Hon. Speaker.
+HON. MAHLANGU: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I also want to add my voice to the motion on DDF. Since DDF is being given capital, may they employ technocrats who can construct and repair some boreholes because there is no water, especially when I look at where I come from my constituency. The roads are not passable and if you look at the roads from Khami Prison, everyday there are some haulage trucks which pass through those roads, hence they destroy the roads. No one is taking care of those roads. May the DDF take note of constructing mainly the roads at district level, especially when we are coming close to Pre-budget – will they take note of purchasing the equipment suitable for constructing roads and drilling boreholes at all levels? I thank you.
HON. TOGAREPI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 5th November, 2020.
On the motion of HON. TOGAREPI seconded by HON. S. SITHOLE, the House adjourned at Twenty-Two Minutes past Six o’clock p. m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 3rd November, 2020
The Senate met at Half-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE
APPOINTMENT AS CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Let me inform the Senate that Hon. Sen. Chief Ndhlovu has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Thematic Committee on Gender and Development.
THEMATIC COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I also have to inform the Senate that the MDC-T party has appointed the following Members to serve in Thematic Committees as follows:- Hon. Sen. P. Denga, HIV/AIDS and Peace and Security; Hon. Sen. G. Moyo, HIV/AIDS and Peace and Security; Hon. Sen. T. Chisorochengwe, HIV/AIDS and Peace and Security; Hon. K. Phugeni, Indigenisation and Empowerment and HIV/AIDS; Hon. Sen. C. Ndhlovu, Gender and Development and Indigenisation and Empowerment; Hon. Sen. T. Moyo, Human Rights and Indigenisation and Empowerment; Hon. Sen. D. Ndhlovu, Indigenisation, Empowerment and Human Rights; Hon. Sen. E. Kambizi, HIV/AIDS and Peace and Security; Hon. Sen. A. Khumalo, Peace and Security and Human Rights.
DECLARATION OF ASSEST BY MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thirdly and lastly, I would like to advise the newly sworn in Senators that they must register their assets in terms of Section 8 of the Code of Conduct and Ethics for Members of Parliament as read with Standing Order Number 49 of the Standing Rules and Orders of the Senate. Standing Order Number 49, states that it is a statutory requirement that every Member registers his or her proprietary interest within 60 days of opening of a new Parliament. Where a Member is appointed after the opening of Parliament, the disclosure is to be done within 60 days after his/her appointment as a Member.
I would also like to remind Hon. Senators who had previously declared their assets before and have since such declaration attained new properties, to register them in the declaration register, Hon. Members are advised to attend to their asset declaration as soon as possible at the Counsel to Parliament’s office which is office number 306 on the 3rd floor Parliament Building.
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE
SWITCHING OFF OF CELLPHONES
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I would like to remind Hon. Senators on two issues. First your phones, you are reminded to put your phones on silent or better still, switch them off.
PROPER WEARING OF MASKS
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Secondly, I would like to remind you to wear your masks properly and that means covering your noses as well. It is uncomfortable but necessary. You have heard about the possibility of a second COVID-19 wave hitting Zimbabwe and nobody would like that to happen. So, wear your masks properly at all times, both here and outside.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I move the motion standing in my name;
That a respectful address be presented to the President of Zimbabwe as follows: –
May it please you, your Excellency the President:
We, the Members of Parliament of Zimbabwe desire to express our loyalty to Zimbabwe and beg leave to offer our respectful thanks for the speech which you have been pleased to address to Parliament.
HON. SEN. A. DUBE: I second.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: With your permission Mr. President, I request to read my motion.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: You may proceed.
HON. CHIRONGOMA: May if please you your Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, that we, the Members of Parliament of Zimbabwe desire to express our loyalty to Zimbabwe and beg leave to offer our respectful thanks for the speech which you have been pleased to address to Parliament.
Mr. President Sir, I am exhilarated this afternoon at this sole opportunity to lead the debate on the Presidential Speech enunciated to mark the opening of the Third Session of the Ninth Parliament by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Hon. E. D. Mnangagwa.
At the outset, I would like to thank His Excellency for his eloquent and pragmatic speech that ushers us into a new session of Parliament with much enthusiasm. Despite the initial COVID-19 setback, it is clear from the speech that Zimbabwe is on the right trajectory towards not only overcoming the scourge but realisation of its vision of becoming a Prosperous Upper Middle Income Nation by 2030.
Mr. President Sir, it was refreshing during this battering pandemic to hear that Zimbabwe managed to stabilise the runaway devaluation of the local currency since the onset of the foreign exchange auction system in June, 2020. As highlighted in the address, let me thank His Excellency, Hon. E. D. Mnangagwa for his apt responses, demonstrated leadership and the resolve of the people of Zimbabwe, that the country did not suffer massive loss and recession as earlier anticipated. Through it all, we realised commodity prices stabilisation including that of fuel; an 18% appreciation of foreign currency receipts (as at August, 2020); more registration of locally produced goods; massive infrastructure restoration and expansion in the transport, energy and mining sectors. It is indeed no coincidence that while COVID-19 seems to be re-emerging elsewhere, that Zimbabwe has begun reopening her borders to tourists and investors; schools and the entire business sector at large, but the work of the grace of God and able leadership to a responsive and loyal people.
Mr. President Sir, before I give opportunity to other Hon. Senators, allow me to debate on some few issues raised in the Presidential Speech. If there is one area that our country has struggled with over the years, it is that of adequate and sustained financing to social protection schemes. As a developing country currently facing economic challenges, Zimbabwe has many vulnerable groups of people who would quickly succumb to any socio-economic shock on their livelihoods. It is now common knowledge that the COVID-19 pandemic brought significant shock to many households especially those engaged in low-wage informal employment.
Staying at home and social distancing measures curtailed economic activity especially in cities. It is the responsibility of a Government to provide social security and safety nets to its vulnerable societies. The availing of ZW$18 billion Stimulus Package for the productive sectors, vulnerable social groups and provision of public services especially health, water and sanitation is a commendable move in the right direction. Let us all ensure that these funds reach the intended beneficiaries promptly. I implore the Government to endeavour to resuscitate all social protection schemes like BEAM and medical assistance and ensure that the 2021 Budget addresses this worsening need.
Mr. President Sir, the impending full reopening of schools is an encouraging development announced by Government and upheld by His Excellency in the State of the Nation Address. I would want to call upon all responsible authorities and parents to continue with the same care and alertness to arresting COVID-19 spread so that the mixing and mingling of children will not reverse what we gained this far. May the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development ensure adequate allocation of buses to ferry school children safely and augment all the measures that schools are employing.
Mr. President, I want to fully support His Excellency and also call upon this august House to unreservedly declare war on corruption and inefficiencies of the public sector and parastatals. We have a very exciting Vision 2030 blue-print to be backed up by two Five Year National Development Strategies (NDS1and 2): 2021to 2025 and 2026- 2030, which will build on the successes of the Transitional Stabilisation Programme. If we are to achieve, or at least make meaningful traction on the 5 strategic pillars, namely Governance, Macro-economic Stability and Financial Re-engagement; Inclusive Growth, Infrastructure and Utilities and Social Development - Corruption has to die. Corruption is the mole that has dealt the most severe blows to the development of this country and needs serious political will to solve it. In the words of the late Vice President Hon. John Landa Nkomo, ending corruption start with me, it starts with you and it starts with all of us….
Cellphone rang
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Order, order! I will ask you to leave the House if you continue disregarding what I have told you. Switch off your phones or put them on silent, I will not entertain any more of the interferences which we are getting. This is not a joke at all. This is serious, this is Parliament Business
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: My biggest apology Mr. President. Let me conclude by addressing the integral aspect of the Presidential Address, which defines the mandate of Parliament that is law making. On this aspect, we need great improvement. In the last Session as much as the Executive may delay drafting and gazetting Bills, we as Parliament are equally to blame for not enforcing those processes and also expeditiously dealing with the Bills before us. I am sure His Excellency, before he outlined about 30 pieces of law which are to come before the Legislature within the next 12 months, deliberately referred to the previous Session’s Bills statistics to give us an impetus to be more diligent in passing as many Bills as are defined on the legislative calendar. To buttress my point, we can look at the Marriages Bill: 2019’s progress, among other important Bills before this House, which carries matters that affect the entire population and therefore need to be passed into law without delay.
Mr. President, massive impending Bills have been highlighted to us in this Speech. These laws are critical for the success, development and protection of our country, ranging from governance, devolution and decentralisation; mining, agriculture, industry and production; media and child protection. I implore upon your high office and this august House to adequately prepare for ‘business unusual’ as we stretch efforts in representing our communities towards the realisation of their needs and aspirations. I thank you.
HON. SEN. DUBE: Thank you Mr. President for affording me this opportunity. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Chirongoma for moving this motion. Firstly, I would like to thank His Excellency, in particular for containing COVID – 19 pandemic in the country. The cooperation and stance displayed by Zimbabweans was because of the Government’s proper guidance and swift handling of the situation at hand.
Through the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines as encouraged by His Excellency, the President of Zimbabwe, we hope we will be able to trend over the pandemic. Our President spoke of re-opening of our skies for domestic and international flights. We welcome the decision by the President as this is of major importance to our economy. The President also mentioned the re-opening of schools. I believe this is of importance as it facilitates the completion of laid rules of learners. I also thank the President for his concern to improve teachers’ working conditions and other civil servants in general.
Mr. President, His Excellency also advised of the stabilisation that has been made in the energy sector. I strongly believe this will ensure productivity in our industries. The coal mining projects in Hwange have the potential to make Zimbabwe a net exporter of energy as this will have a positive, significant impact in our economy. Again, I would like to thank His Excellency for supporting the communities with the Presidential Input Support Scheme, which is called Pfumvudza/Intwasa Programme, which is already operational as the President has already referred in His SONA Address.
We hope that this programme will ensure stable food security in Zimbabwe. We thank His Excellency, the President of Zimbabwe, Hon. E. D. Mnangagwa. Lastly, I would like to appreciate the President’s concern about the Children’s Bill as we are witnessing a high rate of abuse and violence against children. We note with disbelief the brutal, gruesome and heinous act done to children. Mr. President, for example, the ritual killing of Tapiwa Makore, (7 years) in Murehwa. As a nation we are very much concerned. We hope this Bill will be passed as soon as possible. We thank His Excellency for his State of the Nation Address. Thank you.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. A. DUBE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 4th November, 2020.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR MASHONALAND CENTRAL PROVINCE (HON. MAVHUNGA), the Senate adjourned at One Minute past Three o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 3rd November, 2020
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. SPEAKER
REQUEST FOR EXTENSION OF REPORTING PERIOD BY THE
PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEDGES COMMITTEE
THE HON. SPEAKER: I have to inform the House that the Privileges Committee investigating the alleged misconduct by MDC members has sort an extension of its reporting period which has been duly granted to the 30th November 2020.
HON. MISIHAIRABWI-MUSHONGA: On a point of order
Mr. Speaker Sir.
THE HON. SPEAKER: What is your point of order?
HON. MISIHAIRABWI-MUSHONGA: Thank you very
much Mr. Speaker Sir. I stand on a matter of national interest. Last week there was issuance of Statutory Instrument 261 of 2020. I am concerned with two issues that arise within that Statutory Instrument. It is a Statutory Instrument that is supposed to be looking at issues to do with benefits and pensions for former First Ladies. Whilst in principle, I am in total agreement; I think that I would want to ask, through you, to request that the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs comes to this House and explain the thinking and the criteria behind the Statutory Instrument. Largely for two issues Mr. Speaker Sir...
THE HON. SPEAKER: Is it for two issues or two reasons?
HON. MISIHAIRABWI-MUSHONGA: For two reasons Mr.
Speaker Sir. The first one being that the Statutory Instrument refers to spouses of former Presidents. However, in the same Statutory Instrument, it then says only as of 1987. That creates major problems because it actually means that one of the founder First Ladies, Mrs. Banana, would therefore be excluded from those pensions and those benefits. It is of concern and one would want to understand where that thinking is coming from.
The second one is to speak about some of those who are also in the leadership of the State and I know I will not ask you to rule on this one but I have to speak to it because you may find it difficult to rule on it. Your own spouse is not reflected in that Statutory Instrument. I think particularly if we are looking at heads of institutions, I think it will be unfortunate if we are looking at spouses and we do not necessarily address also spouses that are to do with Speakers’ spouses – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – I would therefore, request that we have the Minister coming to the House to explain in detail firstly on the time, why we are speaking to 1987 and not 1980 and also why we are picking particularly spouses of former presidents. I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. MPARIWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I want to thank
Hon. Misihairabwi-Mushonga for the proposal but perhaps also Hon. Speaker, to mention that when you talk of leadership, it actually includes those that have been occupying space in Government at national level. You would not also have done justice if you were to leave even the former Prime Ministers and Deputy Prime Ministers.
What then happens because those offices in terms of that Statutory Instrument have got to be considered?
THE HON. SPEAKER: I supposed unintended or omission,
you have three organs of State. That is the Executive, Parliament and
Judiciary and I thought Hon. Mpariwa was standing up to include the
Judiciary and the Chief Justice. We will convey the matter to the Leader of Government Business to make a statement on that.
HON. MBONDIAH: My point of privilege arises from the issue of the young boy Tapiwa Makore who up to now has not been buried. I would like to appeal to your office Mr. Speaker Sir and the powers that be, that can the matter of Tapiwa Makore be dealt with and put to an end so that the mother and father can get closure because as you well know, when your relative dies and you still have not buried that person, you do not find closure. I am sure by now Mr. Speaker Sir, the body of Tapiwa Makore is in a state of decomposition. So I would like to appeal to your good office Mr.
Speaker that this matter be put to an end.
THE HON. SPEAKER: We will advice, I think the Hon.
Minister of Home Affairs to make closure to the issue because it is the police who are engaged with investigations on the matter and it could be quite a trauma for the parents and relatives when you have such a long period of waiting to bury your child who lost his life under some gruesome circumstances. I shall convey the message Hon. Mbondiah, accordingly.
HON. T. MLISWA: My point of national interest is the legislative agenda set by His Excellency, Cde E.D. Mnangagwa on the State of the Nation Address requires Ministers to be present in Parliament and as such, I want to read out the Ministers who were absent on the 28th October, 2020. Mr. Speaker, you are aware that there is no legislative agenda which can be achieved without Ministers being here. It being the 9th Parliament, Third Session we must set the tone as Parliament - allow me to name the Ministers who were absent. Absent on the 28th October, 2020 was Hon. A. Masuka,
Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement; Hon.
Nzenza, Minister of Industry and Commerce; -
HON. TOGAREPI: My point of order, with all due respect of
the issue being raised by Hon. Mliswa. Is the list that he is reading out a correct list that really reflects that these Ministers were absent or we then find ourselves with a list that wrongly informs us or is read out to then discover that the Minister had taken all due process to advice this House? Is this list correct? Has it been authenticated either by our Parliament administration first? So I think by reading this list without such type of concurrence would be like jumping the gun. I thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Mliswa, was that list
authenticated by administration of Parliament?
HON. T. MLISWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I think the Chief
Whip brings about a pertinent point. I will respond to him and say just a few minutes ago I was in the Papers’ Office and this would not have been the only thing that I did not explain if I had finished, was to say as per register. That was part of my summation of what I wanted to do just that I had not finished, but I am a very thorough person you know that and I would never come with a list which is not within Clerk or Papers Office of Parliament. So it is indeed that list Hon. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Does this refer to Wednesday last
week.
HON. T. MLISWA: Yes.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Did you see the Clerk of Parliament?
HON. T. MLISWA: Mr. Speaker Sir, allow me. I have been on this mission for a month now and you know, I have been told this or that. I have come to you. The Clerk knows. I have seen the Clerk and he has exactly told me, I thought it would be a motion. I have gone through every other office so that I do not make a mistake and if indeed there is a mistake, things can be verified.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Yes, you are quite right Hon. Mliswa because when I read the list here I recalled clearly that Hon. S. Nyoni - and I hope she is not in your list and several other Ministers had actually written and the letters came through my office. I asked the Clerk of Parliament why those Ministers who had sought leave of absence were not in and the Clerk, Mr. Prince Daniel after I had asked him, he admitted that he had not checked properly on the written letters asking for leave of absence, if that list came from the record as submitted and read out on that particular day is inaccurate. That I can vouch.
Secondly, the Clerk of Parliament had been informed by Cabinet Office that ministers were going out on a Strategic Plan process – the whole cabinet. I did ask him whether that message was communicated to Mr. Prince Daniel. It would appear it was not communicated. There was a breakdown in communication.
Hon. Mliswa, this is not to muzzle your proposed motion. I think you will need to sit down with the Clerk and clean up that list which may result in one or two Hon. Ministers only who were away without leave of absence. It thought I should bring this to your attention.
HON. T. MLISWA: Sir, thank you very much and as head of Parliament, you certainly have more information than I do. We just wish that information could be communicated earlier. This is one of the issues where you said there was a workshop for all Cabinet ministers. Why were others here and not there? There is inconsistence and there seems to be a lot more lies which the administration of Government is constantly bringing to you. There must be rules and we must at least know at what point should be letters of apology be with Parliament. There should be a cut-off point. You cannot be at your house 12 mid-night and you forget to seek leave of absence and then call – that is what has been happening.
I say this with your understanding, that there has got to be a cutoff point to which these must come through. Government is a serious department and as such, it has people who are paid to do this. What are they doing in those offices? I cannot comprehend how they miss that when they have technocrats with them, full time to be able to ensure that their office has some credibility and integrity and respects another institution. At times when you go and ask for the papers, they still say we are still waiting for a list to come. So, at what point do we then say this is the cut off?
Secondly, I thought this would be a start. Let the list be read and let us see who was absent. One or two might be absent but my point is that some Cabinet ministers were here whilst others were at a workshop. Was the Cabinet now split, I do not know. They said they were going for a workshop.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you very much Hon. Mliswa.
You have some good points. You may take a seat.
HON. T. MLISWA: Thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: I will explain. First, I agree with you totally that the Clerk of Parliament should write through the Chief Secretary the cut-off point so that we do not have apologies coming after the event. That is one.
Secondly, on the question of ministers who were here, I was informed that there was a question of venues being unavailable. Some ministers started their strategic workshops on Thursday and others on Friday as a result of failure to get venues. For example at
Kariba, there were two ministries there who came one after the other; Ministry of Tourism was the first. They had started on a Monday and then Ministry of Information and Publicity came after on a Thursday.
It was a question of those who could not get appropriate venues. That is why those ministers were here. Otherwise, all of them were supposed to be out there doing their strategic planning.
HON. T. MLISWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. As such, I will rest my case. What we have established today which I look forward to, is a cut-off time being written if possible tomorrow. I know you do not suffer from inertia, so I am hoping that the letter will be with the office of the President and Cabinet so that this becomes the way of doing things because as Parliament, we are eager to drive home the legislative agenda set by the President in the State of the Nation Address. I thank you for that Mr. Speaker Sir and moving forward, I think it will certainly help us.
The last one is welfare of Members of Parliament (MPs). Schools have opened; the primary, secondary and tertiary and the issue still hangs. They absolutely have nothing; their children are being sent home and it is embarrassing for the MP. Fees are not being paid because of the situation. Let me say that you have been extremely considerate about our plight despite us again passing a
Budget which does not look after us but the Chief Whips must – I have no official position to fight for them but what I do is to just lobby for my fellow MPs. I can only do so much and through God I pray to – at least he can tick me off and say I tried to help my colleagues but the Chief Whips and I must say this; I am the only person who can say you are not doing your fellow colleagues a favour. I speak this from a hearty point of view. It is wrong for you to sit well and your MPs who you work with are not well. It is totally unfair and it is ungodly.
Part of being a Chief Whip is for you to look after members. That is the reason why they never perform. That is why they are always quiet. You are good at whipping them but you are not good at improving their welfare. I am emotional about this. You cannot just do that. They can only perform if their welfare is intact. They do not even know how they get home. They do not have shopping but their families are looking up to them.
Can you put yourself in their shoes and see how they are performing. This ungodly punishment must stop because it cannot continue like this. I was good enough to say, can we have a joint caucus and thank you to the Administration of Parliament. Hon. Mthuli Ncube came together with the Permanent Secretary and that is a first. There are a number of issues which they tabled before which must be considered by all Parliamentarians. I cannot tell them, I do not represent them. They must also hear what Hon. Mthuli Ncube proposed; we discuss it; we agree and move forward.
This can no longer continue. The Chief Whips, I am now whiping you – get your act in place and represent your MPs so that they can be effective. We are tired of this.
THE HON. SPEAKER: I was not sure whether the Hon. Member Mliswa was now assuming the title of Chief Whip extraordinary – [Laughter.]- I do not wish to defend the whips. I think there was a breakdown in communication at the appointed time, both the Government Chief Whip and the Chief Whip from the opposition. When the meeting was held, I was there and Hon. Mliswa was there by invitation and agreement between the two Chief Whips of the governing party and opposition. I must put it on record that the Hon.
Minister of Finance and his permanent secretary were quite accommodative in many ways and the issues that were concluded on that particular day after very passionate contribution by Hon. Mliswa as Chief Whip extraordinary. His views were taken on board and during the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders, those issues were summarised. I am surprised that the whips did not report back to their caucuses because they attended the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders meeting where the Hon. Minister was there with clearly summarised report reporting to the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders. I am sure the Hon. – [HON. TOGAREPI: But who said we did not report back to our causes?] – I had not finished. I was saying if Hon. Mliswa’s position is correct, I am simply saying the matter of that meeting where the two chief whips were unavailable because of circumstances beyond their control which they explained to me, the matters were discussed during the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders. My question is they were supposed to have reported and Hon. Chief Whip of the governing party said it was reported. I am not sure of Hon. Mpariwa whether the report was given to your caucus – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Order, order. My question is very simple Hon. Togarepi. Did you report to your caucus as agreed at the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders?
HON. TOGAREPI: Yes, we did and we had a meeting Mr. Speaker between ourselves. Mliswa and yourself. We cannot be called to caucus by Hon. Mliswa – [HON. MLISWA: Inaudible
interjections.]
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order – [HON. MEMBERS:
Inaudible interjections.] – Order. Hon. Mliswa, can you withdraw that aspect.
HON. T. MLISWA: I withdraw that aspect that in future may Chief Whips be elected not picked by the Politburo. That is all I can say. There was no election of a ZANU PF Chief Whip. It was an order from the Party.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order Hon. Mliswa.
HON. T. MLISWA: I am sorry again. I withdraw again –
[Laughter. –
HON. MPARIWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. As you may know that the work of the caucuses is work in progress, I thought maybe by the time we convene our own caucus as Opposition, we would have had more from the Minister of Finance as heard in the last Standing Rules and Orders meeting where myself and Hon. Togarepi were present. However, I am glad to say that we are to convene our caucus. You know we were overwhelmed. We had the SONA and the appointment of the Leader of Opposition from this side. In all this I have been briefing the Leader of the Opposition but I am happy to say that we will have our own caucus next week. We were supposed to have held it last week but we will have our caucus next week. Why not this week? It is because we are also overwhelmed with the work of Parliament Mr. Speaker Sir. I thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Plus the Budget consultations. Thank you very much.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of clarity Mr. Speaker Sir.
THE HON. SPEAKER: On what?
HON. T. MLISWA: Mr. Speaker Sir, if Hon. Togarepi thought that I was asking for a ZANU PF caucus, I did not. You heard me saying a joint caucus which is within our Standing Rules. The reason why I said that is I honestly know that I have been playing on their side and for them to have their different caucus without even involving me who has been working with them so that there is clarity on issues is unfair. Let me say this is the last time I will ever talk about the Members of Parliament’s welfare with a heavy heart. I like to be appreciated, I am human. A joint caucus allows us to hear all sides and to tell them the truth. My whole point of a joint caucus was they have not been there and I have represented them and I thought in so doing, I would help them but God forbid me. I am no longer going to talk about the welfare of Members of Parliament. I am okay. God is taking care of me. It was the interest of us making sure the information is correct. What you did not pick up from Hon. Mthuli Ncube, I am able to tell you, this is the direction. I am sorry Chief Whip if I have insulted you but at the same time, I will never in this
Parliament talk about the welfare of any Member of Parliament.
Thank you.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. TOGAREPI: Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that Orders of the Day, Nos. 1 to 4 be stood over until Order the Day, No. 5 has been disposed of.
HON. MPARIWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
HON. TOFFA: On a point of order Mr. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: We cannot have points of order when nothing has been spoken.
HON. TOGAREPI: Thank you Mr. Speaker. Point of
correction Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 6 on today’s Order Paper be stood over until Order of the Day No.
7 has been disposed of.
HON. TOFFA: On a point of order Mr. Speaker. Thank you
Mr. Speaker Sir, I am sorry to have to bring you back but I just thought the issue had not been completed.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Which one?
HON. TOFFA: The one that was raised by Hon. T. Mliswa.
THE HON. SPEAKER: No, no! That is not how we debate, it is unprocedural. I have made a ruling and you cannot open debate
after that.
HON. TOFFA: Okay, Hon. Speaker Sir, I just want to say that as Members of Parliament we support and appreciate what Hon.
Mliswa has done and we would like him to continue. Thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: You know, ladies have got a soft spot
I hope you do not support that you will not speak again about the welfare [HON. TOFFA: No, no!] – Not that aspect, all right?
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Seventh Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the
Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
HON. MUSIKAVANHU: Thank you Madam Speaker for
giving me the opportunity to contribute to this very important debate. May I start off by appreciating the decision taken by His Excellency President E. D. Mnangagwa to hold a virtual SONA in recognition of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. That move by the President is indicative of his caring nature as a leader of the nation.
Madam Speaker, let me proceed to comment on the fact that the President saw it fit during the period when Covid-19 was at its peak to recognise that it was important sooner rather than later to allow churches to be reopened. Zimbabwe is a Christian country and we believe that whilst science can be deployed to deal with COVID, we also need to be prayerful in the process and that in itself is something that we need to be appreciative of.
Secondly, the President has also seen it fit as the Covid-19 pandemic has been monitored, to see it necessary to reopen our schools because the future of our country lies in the continued education of our children. Let me proceed Hon. Speaker to comment on the fact that whilst the prophets of doom were settling and thinking that Zimbabwe was going to sink, the President of this nation His Excellency Hon. E. F. Mnangagwa instituted a Transitional Stabilisation Programme which has indeed yielded results. This is evidenced by the fact that the introduction of the foreign currency auction system in June 2020 led to a stabilisation of the price escalation which had gone haywire. For that, we are eternally grateful.
Hon. Speaker, I would like to comment also on the observation by the President that the 18 billion Zimbabwe dollar stimulus package for the productive sector contributed immensely to stabilising the negative vagaries imposed on the vulnerable social groups including public services especially health, water and sanitation delivery. I want to thank His Excellency for that provision.
Hon. Speaker, the Transitional Stabilisation Programme has also yielded tangible results in that exports for the first half of 2020 actually went up by 4.9%. At the same time, we experienced a reduction of 5.9% in our import bill. This is a highly commendable development given that most economies in other nations have actually tumbled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
I also like to observe that our foreign currency receipts for the period August 2020, went up by 18%. Again this is a highly commendable development. The State of the Nation Address by His Excellency, President E. D. Mnangagwa reassured the nation also that the first stage of the National Development Strategy which covers the period 2021 to 2025 is indeed on track as evidenced by the tangible deliverables from the TSP. As a result I have no doubt whatsoever that as stated by the President in his SONA address Vision 2030 is indeed on track.
I would also like to acknowledge the observation made by His
Excellency Cde. E. D. Mnangagwa on the historic signing of the Global Compensation Agreement, which has been a bone of contention with the previous commercial white farmers. The signing of that agreement has indeed brought stability to the agricultural sector which is a cornerstone of our economy. I would want to thank His Excellency President E. D. Mnangagwa for ensuring that we got beyond that historic watershed point. As a result of that agreement we are in a better position as a nation to take advantage of the promised good or favourable rainfall season 2020 to 2021. Also, it creates a stable environment for us to start turning around the corner on ensuring that we are food secure as a nation. I would want to thank His Excellency President E. D. Mnangagwa for that development.
May I proceed to also acknowledge the fact that notwithstanding the fact that the country is still experiencing illegal sanctions and we are reeling under the effects of COVID-19 and we did not have a good rainfall season last year, we have a programme that has been instituted by Government –Pfumvunza for climate proofing 1.8 million households which are generally in the marginal rural communities. I want to acknowledge His Excellency President E. D. Mnangagwa for that observation in his SONA. May I proceed to comment on the constituency that I represent Chiredzi West is in the forefront of contributing to measures to improve food security through the process of reengagement where the private sector as we are talking has contributed 4500 ha that are under irrigation to
produce maize on 3000 ha and 1500 ha on indigenous grains. That also is testament to the fact that His Excellency, President E. D.
Mnangagwa is walking the talk.
May I proceed to comment further and say the commitment by His Excellency President E. D. Mnangagwa in his SONA address to accelerate resuscitation and development of irrigation schemes is exactly what the country needs in realisation of the fact that climate change is resulting in less and less reliable rainfall patterns.
Zimbabwe is the most damed country in the SADC region and the province I come from of Masvingo holds 54% of the dams that we have in this country. The recognition by His Excellency President E.
- Mnangagwa that we identify key areas with good soils and climate for us to remove dependence on rain fed irrigation and start relying more on irrigation talks to the situation that I represent in that the south eastern lowveld of Zimbabwe, which includes Chiredzi West Constituency together with Bulawayo kraal in Matebeleland North and Muzarabani area in Mashonaland Central has been designated areas for irrigated crop production. I am convinced, given the address by His Excellency President E. D. Mnangagwa, that there is no reason why those three areas should not be able to produce 1.9 million tonnes of maize that we require as a nation. That will release money that currently is being used to import food which can go towards improving the health sector, education sector and generally the socioeconomic status of our country.
Let me move on to comment on the social welfare deliverables that His Excellency President E. D. Mnangagwa and his Government have been able to put on the table, notwithstanding the challenges that we are currently under. Seven hundred thousand households are receiving grain per month and I am proud to say in the constituency that I represent 53% of the communities in the rural wards are getting grain every month. That is something I want to commend the President for and those are the most vulnerable. I also want to commend the President in that in his SONA he has gone a step further and not limiting himself to providing grain or food assistance for vulnerable communities in the rural areas he has gone into, the urban areas as well and instituted the cash for grain urban feeding programme. In Chiredzi West constituency where we have got a population of 90 000 people, 40% of whom are in Chiredzi town I am in a position to communicate to the House that 33% of the households are actually benefitting from the urban grain feeding programme on the basis of US$12 to 14 per person in a household and I want to thank the President for being a caring father in that regard.
May I move onto the legislative agenda that the President elaborated in respect of the Third Session of the Ninth Parliament. I represent the only constituency where we have the two sugar mills that produce sugar for the country. The fact that His Excellency saw it fit to state that the Sugar Industry Act will amend the Sugar Industry Production Act of 1964 at the top of the Bills that he alluded to, speaks volumes about the fact that he realises the strategic importance of this industry which is only currently found in the lowveld. I thank you President for that. May I also acknowledge His Excellency President E. D. Mnangagwa for emphasising the need for the Economic Empowerment Act to come in and repeal the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act so as to accelerate availability of economic empowerment instruments to the average man on the ground. That is highly commendable and it talks to attainment of Vision 2030. The Savings and Credit Cooperatives Society Act is going to be targeting the SMEs which are the bedrock of our economy. More than 80% of the economy of the country is now in SMEs mode and I want to thank His Excellency President E. D. Mnangagwa for urging Parliament to ensure that we expedite implementation of the economic empowerment of the Savings and Credit Cooperatives Society Act. May I also acknowledge the recognition by His Excellency President E. D. Mnangagwa for us to have a Children’s Amendment Bill. Just now we heard one of the Hon. Members talking of the brutal murder of the young boy in Murewa. Given the challenges that His Excellency has and workload on him, his recognition on the need to have that Bill again speaks volumes about his caring and the onus is on us as Members of Parliament to act and walk the talk in respect of accelerating the process to ensuring that the children of Zimbabwe are protected from gruesome evil people who took the young child’s life.
May I conclude by recognising that amongst all the Bills that the President put in place, with where we are coming from the drought, COVID-19 and the sanctions have got a bias towards social economic translation of our economy, is indeed the right way to go. If we do
not have a stable socio-economic environment, it is not possible to deliver on Vision 2030. The fact that the President is urging Parliament to focus on Bills that give light to the process of devolution speaks to the fact that indeed we have a caring President committed to ensuring that by 2030, Zimbabwe will be an upper middle income economy. Thank you very much Madam Speaker
Ma’am for allowing me this opportunity to contribute to this debate. May God bless Zimbabwe.
HON. MOKONE: Thank you very much Madam Speaker for
according me this opportunity to stand before you in this august House for the first time. I would like to thank the Lord Almighty for giving me this rare opportunity to be part of the Ninth Parliament. My name is Hon Sipho Mokone and not Makone. That is a Sotho surname and I represent Matabeleland South Province. I would like to thank the Matabeleland South populace for bestowing me with such an honour to represent them here. Let me also thank my party MDC-T for the recent appointment as the Chairperson of the Committee on Media, Information and Broadcasting Services. Indeed, the young people are the leaders of tomorrow.
To commence my contribution to the State of the Nation Address that was delivered by the President of Zimbabwe in relation to Matabeleland South Province, I would like to give an overview, or rather a background of what Matabeleland South looks like. It is a province that has five border posts. There is Beitbridge, Plumtree, Maitengwe, Mphoengs and Mlambapeli that was opened recently. It is a province that is very rich in mineral resources with gold being the core mineral in the province. For example, gold is being mined at Blanket, Vumba and Farvick Mines, just to mention but a few. There are so many mines in Matabeleland South.
One of the major plants of cement is also found in Matabeleland South that is at Colleen Bawn Mine. Different ethnic groups are found in Matabeleland South Province. These are Sotho that is where I come from originally, Vendas, Kalangas and Ndebeles et cetera. Matabeleland South has 168 wards in total. Having highlighted the above and having given you the history of Matabeleland South, devolution therefore is very key. Amendment No. 20 of the Zimbabwe Constitution talks of devolution that can be achieved through setting up of Provincial Councils. Let me hasten to say that I am rather disappointed because from 2013 these councils are not functional. They are only there theoretically, but practically they are not there. I remember sometime in 2013, one of my friends was also part of the provincial councilors and she is a Member of Parliament, in this Ninth Parliament, Lindiwe Maphosa. I therefore call for the provincial councils to be set up with speed and to fully function. This will enable the province to use its own resources for the betterment of its own people and development.
The number of primary and secondary schools in Matabeleland South does not match the number of wards that are found in that province. As I alluded to earlier on, Matabeleland South has 168 wards, but if you go on the ground you will discover that there is only one school serving four wards. That is not fair. It means that the children have to walk long distances in search of education which is a constitutional right. Having said that, due to covid-19 the Ministry of Education has actually revised the teacher-pupil ratio in schools, meaning to say that the classes that had 60 pupils are going to be broken into two. It is going to be two classes that used to be one. That is very key in the sense that we need more schools in Matabeleland South both primary and secondary schools.
Some of the schools in Matabeleland South are in a sorry state. I have some visuals that I brought to this House which I wanted to show you so that by the time I am giving my maiden speech, you could appreciate what I am talking about. The school is really bad. It is an ECD primary school. I therefore challenge the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to have an audit at all the schools in Matabeleland South so that they upgrade the ones that need to be upgraded and build the ones that need to be built for the betterment of the children.
Currently the teachers are on strike. I call upon the Government to give the teachers a decent salary so that they may execute their duties wholeheartedly. I am a former teacher myself, but I left the profession because of the peanuts that we used to get. It is high time that the Government actually acts upon the welfare of the teachers because they will keep on losing resourceful teachers like myself.
Right now teachers have resorted to gold panning. In almost all the mines in Matabeleland South, you will discover that there are teachers and children. Surely is that a normal set up in a country? We cannot have a country like that. It is high time Government looked at the plight of teachers.
At one time the teachers went on strike in Gwanda town and children, including my own son who is a grade 1 pupil, would come home and say today we were playing with baboons. We are really exposing our kids to danger because Government is not paying the teachers the salaries that they want. Education has become a preserve for the elite. The kids who go to school are those whose parents can afford to pay the incentives to the teachers. What about those whose parents cannot afford an extra fee? Are we now saying that because of the situation in the education sector we are now creating a disparity between the rich and the poor? What about the constitutional rights of education to our children?
Madam Speaker Ma’am, as I alluded to in my introductory remarks, I said Matabeleland South has 168 wards. We need clinics in each and every ward so that someone with a minor ailment can go to the clinic, get paracetamol or ibuprofen tablets and if it is a major ailment, they are referred to Gwanda Provincial Hospital. Since
Matabeleland South is a protracted province, I therefore challenge the Minister of Home Affairs to come up with District Passport Offices that will in turn take the documents to the provincial or the capital city which is Gwanda for processing. The capital city of Matabeleland South is Gwanda.
It is rather impossible for someone from Madhlambuzi in
Plumtree or Tokwana in Plumtree or someone from Luthumba in Beitbridge to come to Gwanda, only for a passport considering the high cost of living in Zimbabwe. People do not have money to travel that far. The provincial capital of Gwanda has a problem of dual ownership of the water plant between Gwanda Municipality and
ZINWA. This wrangle has taken too long. I therefore challenge the Minister of Local Government to fix the issue because many times the residents are on the receiving end because ZINWA at times closes water and people will go for a week without water.
In Gwanda, Spitzkop North, it is a very good example where people can even go for two weeks without water because if you go to council, they will tell you that it is a problem between ZINWA and the Municipality of Gwanda. There is a tank that they started building long back that should service this township of Spitzkop North. I think it is ten years if not fifteen but up to now, the tank is not yet completed. I therefore call the Minister of Local Government to ensure that the tank is complete.
As the new Chairperson of the Media Portfolio Committee, I welcome the call by the President for the enactment of the
Zimbabwean Commission Bill, the Broadcasting Services Bill, the
Cyber Security Bill, the Protection of Information Bill and the Freedom Bill. However, the Act should ensure a smooth process for the licencing of media people in order to promote, not only pluralism but media diversity. It is saddening to note that 40 years after independence Zimbabwe is one of the few countries in Africa that do not have licenced community radios.
The recent call by the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe for community radio applicants should provide for a transparent and accountable process that will allow for genuine community broadcasters to be licenced. Madam Speaker, journalists must not be intimidated as they execute their job as long as they execute them in a proper manner. Many times we have seen journalists being criminalised because they would have unearthed a serious scandal in the top Government echeleon. So, journalists must be left out to carry out their mandates as they will do that in line with the Constitution of Zimbabwe and with the media ethics in Zimbabwe.
There are some parts of Zimbabwe, for instance in Gwanda
South where I come from, areas such as Kafusi where there is Mulambaperi Border Post that are forced to listen to Botswana or rather they are forced to live in Botswana and yet living in Zimbabwe. Why am I saying they are forced to live in Botswana yet living in Zimbabwe – it is because they are listening to the Botswana FM yet they are living in Zimbabwe? So as Zimbabweans, we need to make sure that we put signals in those areas so that they listen to our own
Zimbabwean produce.
We need an independent broadcaster. Since the days when I was young, we only had ZTV and up to now there are no new players in the broadcasting industry, it is only ZTV. Let us open the airwaves and have competition that will in turn enhance quality because as more players come into the field of media, it will mean that the Media houses would have to pull up their socks. Madam Speaker, we need an improvement in as far as programming is concerned in ZTV because there is a vast difference in the programmes being shown by SABC, CNN, REUTERS, ALJAZEERA and other foreign stations with ZBC. If you compare the foreign stations with ZBC, you will see that there is great disparity in terms of picture quality and programming as well.
ZBC turns to cover certain areas much at the expense of others.
You will discover that some areas like where I come from in Matabeleland South, they only get two slots per week but other provinces are always being covered by ZTV. We call upon ZBC to be even in their coverage of stories.
The Leader of the Opposition last week as she was also delivering her maiden speech, spoke about the need for a genuine dialogue in Zimbabwe. Madam Speaker, Zimbabwe now needs an integrative approach. Where we are as Zimbabweans, we need to sit down and talk because people are really suffering. I am also buttressing on what she said; I am for the idea, I support the idea and what she said when she spoke about the need for dialogue for the people of Zimbabwe...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Member, you are left
with five minutes.
Hon. Sikhala and Hon. Mpariwa having stood up to extend her
time.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think the procedure is that
you wait until the five minutes expires. You can proceed Hon.
Member.
HON. MOKONE: In Zimbabwe, if you go to the police right now and you take their statistics regarding the gender based violence in Zimbabwe, you will discover that gender based violence statistics are going up on daily basis. We therefore challenge the Government to have stiffer penalties on those men who inflict pain on innocent women. Having said that Madam Speaker Ma’am, I think I have to rest my case. I thank you.
HON. T. MOYO: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am for
giving me this opportunity to express my views as I contribute to this very important motion that was raised by Hon. Togarepi and supported by Hon. Mhona. I wish to thank His Excellency the President, Dr. E.D. Mnangagwa for a very insightful and comprehensive report that he gave when he was making his State of the Nation Address. His Excellency the President spoke about reopening of our skies to domestic and international flights. This is very important and indispensable Madam Speaker Ma’am. When we open our skies, it will bring about stimulation to the economy. It will bring about forward and backward linkages, downward and upstream connections in terms of our economic stimulation.
The President, in his speech, spoke about the Government’s deliberate decision to open schools. It was not haphazardly done Madam Speaker Ma’am. It was calculated using different phases. The first phase in the opening of schools was designed for those candidates sitting for final examinations; Grade 7, Form 4 and Form 6. Before those schools were opened, the Government set aside millions of dollars to ensure that the schools were quarantined before students went to those schools. A deliberate effort was done to spray those schools as a mitigatory measure against the spread of Covid 19
Madam Speaker Ma’am.
Regrettably, most of the teachers who are participating in withdrawing their labour, to me they are so unpatriotic. By withdrawing labour, it is a violation of rights to education for our students. Whilst I appreciate that those teachers have genuine concerns, it is very unfair for those teachers to withdraw their labour. They should look at what is happening and obtaining in our universities. Lecturers in our universities are working but negotiating. I happen to be a senior lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe where my colleagues are working; they are not withdrawing their labour. They are not violating access to education by our students. I want to urge educational practitioners to go to work while the Ministry is also trying to make efforts to ensure that their salaries have been increased. The Tripartite Negotiating Forum should be expedited in terms of negotiation so that the teachers will be accorded decent salaries. Withdrawal of labour is tantamount to abuse of our children to their rights to education.
I want to talk about the Transitional Stabilisation Programme
(TSP) that was one of the key objectives by His Excellency the President. The TSP has helped the Government to stabilise our economy. We have seen the introduction of the auction system in trying to stabilize the foreign exchange rate and that has brought about stability in prices of basic goods and services. We need to commend the Government for a job well done.
HON. HAMAUSWA: I have a point of order.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Moyo. What
is your point of order?
*HON. HAMAUSWA: Thank you Madam Speaker. My point
of order is, is it procedural to discuss the issue of teachers’ salaries, while negotiations are underway? - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Can I be protected Madam Speaker Ma’am? It is an important issue. The issue of the welfare of teachers is important. As Parliamentarians, we should not be seen to be criticising them. The Hon. Member debating was a lecturer and we used to go on strike together in protest against low salaries.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Member.
The Hon. Member is not criticising teachers. He is encouraging teachers to return to work while negotiations are taking place.
HON. T. MOYO: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. His
Excellency the President spoke about import substitution industrialisation. Import substitution industrialisation is a situation that happens when there is a barrier to trade. Covid 19 brought about obstacles in terms of importation of goods into the country, just like what obtained during the First World War and the Second World War where shipment of goods was problematic and that created infant industries or industries that emerged to produce what was needed on the market. We are saying that the Government of Zimbabwe, after realising that the pandemic was disturbing importation of goods, encouraged local industries to manufacture goods in large quantities. This has witnessed the amount of exports increasing by 4.9% to $1.96 billion during the first half of 2020 from $1.86 billion in 2019. Also, imports declined dramatically because of the emphasis on local industry. That was very important especially in addressing balance of payment problems. Balance of payment problems arise because of two variables. When value of exports is less than the value of imports we have balance of payment problems. Also, when the Government fails to get balance of payment support from credit lines – I will discuss that in detail when I address the issue of sanctions. The President talked about the need to condemn in all strongest words, the issue of illegal sanctions. You will realise that as Zimbabwe, we have Zimbabweans who believe that there are no sanctions. We have Zimbabweans who support the imposition of sanctions and those Zimbabweans are so unpatriotic.
As Parliament, we need to come up with a Bill which should be enacted as a law which criminalises those people who are Zimbabweans who go to South Africa, Washington DC, Belgium et cetera to call for imposition of sanctions on our Government.
Sanctions are evil, devilish, and ungodly and need to be condemned.
There is an organisation called OFFAC (Office of Foreign Assets
Control). That organisation punished the Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe. It was fined to the tune of US$8bn for giving credit lines to ZB Bank. That shows that sanctions are hurting not just people in authority but the ordinary people. So, they need to be condemned and we need to commend SADC and the African Union for being vociferous in calling upon the Western world and USA to remove these sanctions. Sanctions are bad because Zimbabwe’s economy is being negatively affected.
We cannot afford balance of payment support; we cannot afford credit lines which we are supposed to get from the Bretton Woods Institutions. Here we are talking about the multilateral corporation or institutions like the World Bank and the IMF. We cannot have access to those credit lines and the issue of sanctions should be condemned using the strongest words that you can find in the dictionary.
On the issue of vulnerable communities that received a lot of support from the Government led by His Excellency Dr. E. D.
Mnangagwa; there is a programme which is being championed in Zimbabwe where urban and rural farmers are receiving inputs in the form of fertiliser and seed. As I am speaking, in my constituency Gokwe-Chireya, we have already completed the exercise of distributing inputs. We do not look at someone’s political affiliation, we give everybody who has dug the holes for Pfumvudza and that is what the President did to Zimbabweans so that we have food security. Inputs are being availed to everybody who has the capacity to work for Zimbabwe. From the meteorological predictions that have been done, we are going to experience the La Nina phenomenon where we anticipate normal to above normal rainfall pattern and where we want to encourage farmers throughout Zimbabwe to ensure that they produce a lot on a very small piece of land. The Pfumvudza programme is very important. In the event of climate change where we will experience La Nina, one should be able to irrigate a small piece of land using a bucket and that is highly commendable. We need to appreciate and applaud the President for such a good programme.
I will now talk about corruption, it is a vice, is bad, is ungodly, is unnatural and we need to commend our President for speaking against corruption. The President is known for being somebody who says no, no, no to corruption. We have seen high profile people being arrested for being corrupt. We have seen Ministers who got arrested and we have seen people who are in authority being arrested and some of them have lost their Cabinet positions and this shows that the President is a man of his word. He is a man who first researches and thinks carefully in whatever he says and we need to commend him for that. As Parliament of Zimbabwe, we need to come up with pieces of legislation that would protect whistleblowers and I think this is missing in our Constitution. We need to protect people who give out information. Whistleblowers need to be protected so that they are not harassed as they appear in court or as they give information to law enforcement agencies.
The Government of Zimbabwe that assumed office in November, 2017, is known for undertaking massive projects, capital projects. In this case, I am talking about construction of roads and bridges. These are being constructed in rural and urban areas, like the Harare/Beitbridge Road. That is an engine for economic growth. We have seen roads being constructed in my constituency. As you drive from Kadoma going to Gokwe, there is a road which is being tarred and dust roads are being habilitated. In my constituency, I will talk about the road between Galiver going to Chireya, Zumba up to Nembudziya growth point which we rehabilitated and we want to thank His Excellency the President for allowing DDF to do the rehabilitation process. That is very important to the economy in that we can move goods fast and also people can move from one point to the other and that brings about economic growth and economic development.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. T. Moyo, you are left
with five minutes only.
HON. T. MOYO: Thank you Madam Speaker, I am almost
done. I think I will need to consider the last issue. So, I was saying that the former regime used to spend 95% of what was collected as revenue on salaries. The current regime spends 50% on salaries and the other 50% goes towards investment in the construction of roads.
However, we need to do more especially in trying to construct some bridges. We have some bridges that would need some repairs. We want to encourage the Ministry of Finance, especially as we discuss the 2021 Budget, the Ministry of Finance should capacitate the Ministry of Transport. Even DDF needs to be given a lot of money so that the process of road construction, repairing or rehabilitating our railway lines is expedited and that will be very important particularly in economic development and growth. On that note Madam Speaker
Ma’am, I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to air my views. I thank you.
HON. DR. MASHAKADA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I
wish to first start by thanking the Leader of the Opposition, Dr. Khupe who set the record and raised the bar as she delivered her maiden speech in response to the State of the Nation Address. I think she raised very pertinent issues, some of which I will not touch on because I might messy the good work that she did especially her clear statement on sanctions and other policy measures.
Madam Speaker, I want to touch on a few issues by way of complementing Government and these issues came out clearly when the SONA was being presented. I come from Masvingo and I am pleased to also acknowledge that a lot of developments are happening on the Chirundu – Beitbridge Road. I think that is a positive development given the role infrastructure plays in the economy.
Madam Speaker, a road is an economy. This road carries Zimbabwe. This road supports the north to south corridor. It takes volumes of imports and exports, bound not only for Zimbabwe, but for Zambia, Tanzania, DRC, Kenya and so on and so forth. It is a very critical road which needs to be fixed. The state of the Masvingo highway has been pathetic for many years and has been a death trap. So when resources are used to develop the country and to build the roads, especially our trade route, we must appreciate that very honestly.
I also note that there are a lot of developments taking place in the energy sector. This country is moving towards energy self sufficiency. If you listen to the SONA report, I think there are possibilities that we might be a net exporter of energy in the near distant future. This has taken the right direction if we achieve the 6 000 mega watts from our power stations. I thought I should highlight those two things which emerged from the SONA.
I also want to touch on the Global Compensation Deed. It is common cause that Government has finally realised the importance of compensating erstwhile commercial farmers for the developments that they made on the land. This is not compensating for the soil but but for the developments that were made on the land. This is what we have been saying all along as the opposition that land must not be compensated but the development must be compensated. We fought very hard during the Constitution making process to make sure that compensation is included in the new Constitution.
I am happy that the 2013 Constitution recognises this issue of compensation but one thing which compensation does now is sending a great message to the Government of Zimbabwe. A message of respecting rights, whether they are property rights as in this case with this Global Compensation Deed, labour rights, human rights or political rights. Those must be respected by the State. Rights are indivisible. Here, we are talking about property rights but let us extend these rights that must be protected across the divide. A right must be protected and upheld in all their dimensions.
Properties that were covered by BIPPAS had been appropriated. Land that was covered by international treaties had been appropriated but I am happy that this has now been recognised. My message is that whilst you are recognising the sanctity of property rights, let us also uphold all other rights in their entirety, including the right to demonstrate, organised by trade unions and to strike. Those are fundamental rights that should be upheld in this country. We cannot be seen as a country which does not recognise rights in their entirety.
Madam Speaker, I now come to the Transitional Stabilisation Programme and I must explain this very clear and explain what stabilisation means because a lot of people are saying things are now stable but we have to ensure it is a qualified stability. If I was an auditor I would issue a qualified opinion on the economic stability.
Why am I saying we must qualify the stability that is often founded about? When we talk of macro-economic stability, we are looking at four things; budget deficit, inflation, GDP growth and the exchange rate.
Now, we are celebrating stability because Government managed to reduce the budget deficit, fair and fine. We need to balance our books but like I said, we have to qualify this balance. You cannot celebrate a surplus amidst poverty, joblessness, when hospitals have no drugs, nurses are on strike, doctors are not adequately paid, teachers are not going to work and the children are out of school. These are qualitative socio-economic issues that you have to balance, not just the matrix because development is not about just matrix or number crunching.
It is also about what is behind those numbers in terms of the quality of life of the people. So, whereas the books have been balanced, it has happened at a very huge socio-economic and humanitarian cost. I think in the development discourse, we must place the people at the centre of our development trajectory, not numbers and figures. When we talk of stability and referring to the surplus, let us qualify it and take into account these other issues.
The second indicator of stability in the TSP is the inflation. I hear everyone saying prices have stabilised and so on. Madam
Speaker, I must put it on record that Zimbabwe’s inflation is hyperinflation. So, we cannot celebrate stabilising at a hyper-inflationary level and what do I mean by hyper-inflation? According to international financial statistics and definitions, any rate of inflation which is above 50% is called hyper inflation. So, when our inflation is still in the region of 400/430%, we are over and above 50%. We are just in a hyper-inflationary mode. So, yes we can celebrate that prices have stabilised but we are still in a hyper- inflation situation. We need to work hard to make sure that we reduce inflation to a single digit figure from the 400s and so on. That is when we can celebrate the stability of prices when we reign in hyper- inflation to below 50% and we eradicate hyper inflation.
The other measure of stability and I am talking of stability because it has been referred to in the SONA. The other measure of stability is growth. You cannot have stability when the economy is registering a negative growth rate. If there is no productivity in agriculture, mining, manufacturing and even tourism, it means you are not able to grow the cake. The cake is growing a negative rate. Therefore, it is compromising your ability to provide for the nation because you cannot collect enough revenue from a shrinking economic base. Whereas you can say the deficit is alright or inflation is stabilised, but the economy is not growing and growth is the basis for sustainable macro-economic stability. Let us grow the economy. Let us attract FDI. Let us promote domestic investment. Let us do everything in our power to make sure that the economy is ticking – it grows.
If you go to Bulawayo now, you will see that factories are still closed. If you go to the Midlands, ZISCO Steel is still closed. Mutare, Harare – Coventry, Birmingham area; factories are still closed. The day these factories are going to be open, that is the day we are said to be working on our growth, production and productivity. That will give us a sustainable stability in the economy. So far this stability is shaky or hazy because it is not backed by production or productivity.
The other objective of the TSP was to eradicate the trade deficit. The trade deficit arises between the ratio of exports and imports, and I must say the gap is narrowing. Our exports are catching up with our imports gradually and that is a positive trajectory. I hope we can continue to implement policies that will promote more exports into the region and beyond so that we can maximise on the opportunities presented by the African continental free trade area by way of developing our markets and exploiting the supply value chains in the trade sector.
The balance of payment is also very critical when we talk of stability and in this relation, the current account balance is improving quite gradually and that is positive. You know that when you talk about the external sector, you are not only talking about the current account balance; you are also talking about the capital account. The capital account is very sensitive to political stability and confidence issues. Capital inflows are erratic at the present moment because we are still considered an unsafe destination. Our sovereign risk is still very high. We need to work on our sovereign risk so that we can have capital flowing back into the Southern African country. If we do not work on our perceived sovereign risk, we are not going to get enough capital flows.
In other countries in the region, they do ratings. They take standards and pull ratings. They take Moody’s as ratings for their economy and investors take those ratings very seriously. In our case, we are not subjected to ratings. It is only our sovereign risk which is at stake. If we improve our sovereign rate, we can be able to improve on portfolio investments, FDI investments and other inflows that come into the country; that will boost our capacity to ratchet up economic activity to stimulate economic activity.
In the SONA, the President also touched on the economic stimulus package; the 18.3 billion economic stimulus package. We must see the results of that economic stimulus package on the ground.
So far, there is nothing to show for that economic stimulus package.
The results are not yet tangible for us to see the post COVID stimulation package that was put in place by the Minister. I do not know the implementation mechanism, but I have not seen the impact of the stimulus package. There is no supply response in the manufacturing sector or other sectors. We are yet to see the impact of the 18.3 billion stimulus package and I urge the Minister to work hard to make sure that the package gets traction and gets results.
Having said that, we in the Opposition are worried by the fact that these economic policies are being formulated and implemented without the participation of stakeholders. The Ministry of Finance is just sitting on its own. I sit in the Budget Committee. Yesterday we were actually complaining that we do not know anything about the formulation of the TSP. We were not consulted on the formulation of the successor programme which is the National Development Strategy...
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. KHUMALO): Hon.
Member, you are left with five minutes.
HON. DR. MASHAKADA: If policies are made and the stakeholders are not consulted, it is not good for the country because these policies are made for the people. The trade unions were not consulted. We are a labour backed party which is pro-poor. We get concerned if the trade unions are not consulted when these policies are being formulated. We get concerned when the civil society is not consulted. We get concerned as an official Opposition Party if we are not consulted; when the NDS and the TSP are pronounced and developed because we will have no option but to attack those policies because we have not been part and parcel of their formulation.
I want to urge the Minister of Finance and Government as a whole to adopt a participatory and consultative approach so that all stakeholders are consulted in the formulation of economic policies for Zimbabwe. That is the only way to make sure that even the forth coming Budget will be pro-poor and development oriented.
I will not say much today. I would like to thank you for the opportunity that you have given me.
*HON. E. NCUBE: Thank you Mr. Speaker for giving me the opportunity to debate – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]
–
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order please Hon. Members! Hon. Paradza, order please. – [HON. SIKHALA: Inaudible interjection.] – Hon. Sikhala, the Hon. Member wants to contribute. Order please. You may proceed Hon. Member.
*HON. E. NCUBE: Thank you Mr. Speaker for affording me the opportunity to debate on the motion which was raised by Hon.
Togarepi and seconded by Hon. Mhona on the Presidential Speech by
His Excellency Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa as he set out the agenda for
Parliament of Zimbabwe as well as the vision for the country Zimbabwe. In a few words, I would like to debate about the issue of the road infrastructure.
First and foremost, I would like to thank the President for constructing the Beitbridge-Chirundu road. It had a nickname because of the accidents that were occurring on that road. It had become so bad that it was now referred to as a death passage. Today, if one were to travel along that road, you would find that the road is now properly tar macadamised and well constructed. I would want to thank His Excellency profusely for walking the talk in as far as road infrastructure development is concerned so that there can be easy passage by the travellers. It will also enable the heavy vehicles or trucks that transport goods from countries within the region to travel well. This will lessen the burden on the railway infrastructure which has not fully returned to normal. In light of that I would like to thank His Excellency the President.
Furthermore, we request that there be more roads that branch from the main Beitbridge-Chirundu but there is a road that leads from Turn P to Neshuro Growth Point - there is a hospital where most of the people that would have been involved in accidents along that road are treated. It is a 17km road and it is our request that when the major road is being tarred, the 17km minor road should be constructed and tarred. The Chibi turn off to Mhandamahwe turn off, the one that joints the Bulawayo-Masvingo has been reconstructed but we request that the remaining 10km be tarred so that there is easy passage. It will help farmers to help people in that area and members of the community in the area as they sell their produce. We know that Mwenezi is a cattle rearing area and a lot of beef is produced in that area and is sold either in Harare or outside the country. Therefore once the road has been tarred and well maintained, people would easily transport their products on that road.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to talk about the issue of water. His Excellency also mentioned that many dams are going to be constructed in Masvingo, in my constituency Chivi, Mwenezi. There is a dam called Tete-Runde whose construction should start very soon. I thank the President for ensuring that we have adequate water since water is life. Tete-Runde Dam is being constructed in a dry region. As a result, farmers may not be able to grow a lot of crops but because of the construction of this dam, there is going to be irrigation and the standard of living will be improved. This will lessen the burden on Government as it will no longer be supplying food aid to the people because they will be self-sustained. I want to thank the President for such an excellent vision and ensuring that we continuously receive water as well as reduction of drought and starvation in the country.
Mr. Speaker Sir, on the issue of health, His Excellency mentioned a lot of things but I am mostly grateful about the health sector. We are all aware that the nurses and doctors had gone on industrial action after their grievances had not been heard and that they have no equipment and sufficient PPEs to protect them from covid-19. After discussions with the President and Vice Presidents, they were able to convince doctors and the nurses to go back to work despite the fact that there were few drugs in the hospitals. Should one fall ill and go to the hospital, they will be able to receive medical attention from doctors and nurses. This will help to cure or heal the person that is ill because psychologically, they would have seen the doctor and the nurse and would belief that help has come. Mutual agreement was reached as well as the need to improve their conditions of service and the equipment that they use.
Lastly, I would like to end by commenting on the issue of corruption. The President strongly condemned corruption and said that there would be no sacred cows and that it does not matter whether it is his relative or a member of his own family or any senior Government official. Anyone who is going to fall foul of the law would be dealt with accordingly. This is a cancer that has spread. He said he will never support corrupt individuals. Corruption is one of the social ills that has destroyed Zimbabwe. Law should be put in place to ensure that whoever would be found guilty of corrupt activities or bribery, their cases should be quickly tried by courts of law and once the person has been convicted, they should be sentenced to jail term. Corruption has destroyed this country. Once we eradicate corruption, our country’s economy is going to grow and become a better nation. I want to thank the President for listening to us as sugar farmers that the 1964 legislation is going to be amendment and a new law will come on board. The problem that sugarcane farmers face is that they were growing sugarcane without appreciating that the price of the sugarcane is determined by someone else. The bi-product that is going to come from the sugarcane was unknown. Most of the bi-products were taken by the miller. So that was a bad law as it tended to look at sugarcane as not a strategic crop just like the case is with soya beans, maize crop, tobacco and other crops. If we look at the way people are surviving in Zimbabwe, everything that you prepare, you require sugar, for drinks, tea, fuel, alcohol et cetera. Sugar is an integral component of products manufacturing, hence it is needed to be treated as a strategic crop unlike what it used to be in the past. Thank you so much Mr. Speaker for giving me the opportunity to add a few words. I thank you.
*HON. MUNOCHINZWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir for giving me the opportunity to add my voice on the motion on debate on the State of the Nation Address by His Excellency the President. First of all, I want to thank my political party, the MDC-T that found it prudent for me to represent Masvingo Province in this august House. I am going to deal first and foremost with the issue of the education sector with special reference to the teachers. I was a teacher for a long time. I appreciate how difficulties it is for one to be a teacher. Mr. Speaker Sir, teachers require decent food for them to be able to perform their duties well. They want to be smartly dressed as this befits their status. You cannot in front of the classroom when you are not properly dressed.
Teachers would also want to receive meaningful pensions so that they live in their own houses which they will have constructed for themselves. There are a lot of things that are required Hon. Speaker
Sir by teachers. It is my plea that the Government should do something in terms of alleviating the plight of the teachers’ salaries so that they can go to work and be able to perform their duties properly. If you are to look at what is happening these days, children are going to school but teachers are not teaching. Children are not learning and during lunchtime children go back to their homes, a day wasted for they will not have been taught anything. I earlier on pointed out that I was a teacher for a long time; it pains me to witness this new trend of events.
It is not easy for a teacher to be found teaching children at a beautiful school when their own children are not learning at those beautiful schools. It is good for a teacher to have their children at a good school where the parent is also teaching. That will encourage the teachers to do well because their children will be part and parcel of the student complement at that school.
I also want to talk about the long distances that the students are covering in order to access education. They are walking long distances, several kilometres such that upon arriving in the classrooms, children fall asleep and they will not be able to pay attention to what the teacher will be teaching. It is our plea Hon. Speaker that since they get to the classroom already tired because of the long distances covered, we urge the Government to construct more schools so that the distance that will be covered by pupils becomes shorter. Schools should be within stone’s throw away from the pupils’ homes. By so doing, we eradicate the issue of people getting to schools already tired and falling asleep in the classrooms.
With those few words, I thank you.
*HON. JAJA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I want also to thank the Leader of the Opposition for allowing us to debate the SONA. We also want to thank the President for the Pfumvunza Project. It allows the poor to be able to do some farming, even those without draught power in the form of cattle can also dig holes, access free fertilizers and all other inputs in order to grow crops and sustain themselves.
I want to thank the President for reminding us that no one is above the law and that corrupt elements within the society should be weeded out. Anyone who commits an offence should be arrested. I thank you Hon. Speaker.
HON. TOGAREPI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. MPARIWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 4th November, 2020.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. TOGAREPI: Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker Sir,
I move that the rest of the Orders of the Day on today’s Order Paper
be stood over until Order of the Day, No. 9 has been disposed of.
HON. MPARIWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
RECAPITALISATION OF DDF
HON. CHINGOSHO: I move the motion standing in my name
that this House:
MINDFUL that the District Development Fund provides services to a wide range of clientele which includes among others Non-Governmental Organisations and private individuals all over
Zimbabwe;
ALSO MINDFUL that DDF is mandated to facilitate rapid and equitable sustainable rural development and assisting in ensuring adequate food security;
DISTURBED that DDF has been incapacitated in fulfilling its mandate due to dwindling financial resources, obsolete equipment and dilapidated infrastructure;
CONCERNED that the lack of resources at DDF further disadvantages vulnerable communities in terms of development, maintenance of infrastructure, water supplies, tillage services, equipment for hire during rehabilitation and construction of roads thereby impacting negatively on service delivery;
NOW, THEREFORE, calls upon the Executive to:
- Recapitalise all sections of the District Development Fund so that the department fulfills its mandate and enhance service delivery to its clientele.
- That adequate funds be availed for the sustenance of DDF operations county-wide by year end.
HON. CHIKUKWA: I second.
HON. CHINGOSHO: My motion is on the recapitalisation of the District Development Fund (DDF). The District Development Fund is the quasi Government under the Office of the President. It is tasked with the development and maintenance of infrastructure, water supplies, roads, services, hire of plant and equipment and a tillage services. Mr. Speaker Sir, the department was established at independence to facilitate rapid and equitable sustainable rural development and to help ensuring household food security in the remote areas of Zimbabwe. Additionally, its mission is to provide and maintain sustainable rural development infrastructure, resettlement, tillage, transport and other related services so as to ameliorate the standard of living of the disadvantaged communities who are the majority in the country. DDF has six main departments all of which exist in each of the country’s 66 administrative districts, namely:
- Roads
- Water supplies
- Tillage
- Plant equipment and hire
- Aircraft hire and
- Finance and administration
In terms of roads maintenance, DDF is mandated to maintain around 32000 of rural roads which are gravelled. The department’s mission is to construct and maintain technically and complete rural feeder roads with a view to improving rural communication linkages and so provide access to various service centres based on people’s priorities as decided through their local instutionalised government structures. The process would be implemented guided by the fundamental principles that everyone in communal and resettlement areas should have access to a DDF road within 10kms of every homestead in flat terrain and 3km in hilly terrain. Mr. Speaker Sir, over the years, there has been dwindling financial support directed towards the department, resultantly the rural road network where the majority of the people are in a deplorable state and in need of urgent attention.
It is important to note that of the approximately 53000km gravelled roads that service Zimbabwe, 32 000km which is 60% are under the administration of the department. Over 70% of these roads are not trafficable. The department has a depleted plant and equipment complement and this militates against the efficiency of the department in road maintenance. The department’s water division has the mandate to provide and maintain sustainable rural water supply. This is done through a range of services offered by the department. These include inter-alia prospecting and drilling, operations and maintenance, dam and irrigation services.
Over the years, rural water supplies have been steadily increasing from 70% in 1990 to 98% in 2020 due to the interventions of DDF and strategic partners. In contradiction, rural sanitation has been on a gradual decline, from 35% in 1980 at independence to less than 30% in 2020. The large sanitation coverage deficit has been attributed to the shrinking capital expenditure in increased sanitation facilities in the rural areas of Zimbabwe. The department added to the equally depleted equipment to carry out these functions also has a depleted human capital complement. This points to an urgent need for increased investment in improved water and sanitation (WASH) facilities in the rural areas. Ultimately, DDF has been generally invisible in the rural development efforts due to a range of factors which include;
- Lack of adequate funding to support its national development
initiatives.
- Lack of a modern plant and equipment resource complement.
- Lack of adequate human resource complement.
- Lack of capital expenditure to recapitalise the department which has sub offices in all the 66 districts in the country.
It is therefore of paramount importance that government provides adequate financial support for the recapitalisation of the DDF. The recapitalisation programme will be pivotal in ensuring that DDF meets its set goals and objectives of bridging the gap between the urban and rural areas of Zimbabwe.
I want to conclude by acknowledging with thanks the presence
of all the Hon. Members who are here to listen to this important motion which is to do with our lives, especially with those in the rural areas. Many thanks go to the President who in his national address also alluded to this support. I would like to thank you Mr Speaker Sir for giving me this important time. I so move the motion.
*HON. CHIKUKWA: I want to second the motion on DDF raised by Hon Chingosho. DDF is a Government department which helps a lot in road construction in rural areas because there are some roads which need attention. These roads are not being repaired by the
Roads Administration but DDF sometimes repairs these roads.
Nowadays it is very difficult for DDF to repair these roads because they have obsolete equipment. I therefore call upon Government to allocate some funds to DDF so that they acquire new equipment so that they can attend to these roads. Furthermore, if you look at places like Harare, there is no running water and DDF is the one that drilled some boreholes in major cities and towns so that people may have potable water. I plead with the Ministry of Finance that in the coming budget, some funds must be set aside to allow DDF to purchase new rigs for borehole drilling.
DDF also plays an important role in the agricultural sector because they assist the small farmers with equipment. A lot of farmers are being charged US$50 per hectare for tillage and a lot of farmers cannot afford this amount. DDF sometimes only charges for fuel and this really helps the small scale farmers. I urge all Hon Members in this House to support this motion so that DDF can be assisted with funds in order for them to acquire new equipment. I thank you.
HON. NDUNA: Mr Speaker, I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to the motion moved by Hon. Chingosho and seconded by Hon. Chikukwa. The issue at hand and the motion is pregnant with a lot of good in terms of capacitation of
DDF. I want to show you how serious the Second Republic is about
DDF. DDF currently resides in the Office of the President and Cabinet and it is chaired by a Chief Secretary in that department. It really shows that it is at the core, heart and pith of the Second Republic in terms of development in the rural district sector. It is my hope and fervent view that in the same vein and scenario that it has been taken under the armpit of the President’s Office, it is going to be capacitated in the same way to enhance its operational positive capacity.
DDF is one of the three road authorities which is given monies both periodic and routine maintenance funds from ZINARA. However this is just but a pittance in terms of the magnitude, nature and extent of which the road network needs to be rehabilitated, maintained and reconstructed in particular the 70% of road network in the rural areas that Hon Chingosho speaks to and about which is part of the 56 000 km taking a large chunk of 33 000 km, it speaks of the 70% of the gravel road network.
My point exactly speaks to the history of DDF, the road network that it takes care of. How was it taken care of in the past? It was taken care of by the road network that criss-crosses the width and breath of our country. It was taken care of by the farmers in those areas. Yes, Government was at the core and pith of capacitation of DDF but it is primarily the farmers in those areas that were sprucing up their road network so that they could take their produce to the market. The former and erstwhile colonisers did this because there used to be an Agricultural Finance Company but when we took over our land, all these companies went underground. So, now Government is saddled with trying to resuscitate and revamp the equipment of DDF because there is a lacuna that has been created by the lack of capacitation, financing in the agricultural sector.
I want to applaud the Second Republic because of Command Agriculture that has come into place and I implore the farmers in those areas to take some of that money and plough it back on to the road network. The road rehabilitation maintenance and reconstruction backlog stands; in terms of amount, at 20 billion USD. There are three departments, Road Authorities, District Development Fund, the Department of Roads, the RDC and all the local authorities. They all get money from ZINARA or from the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development which speak to and about the routine and periodic maintenance. That money is not enough to cover the deficit of the road network rehabilitation that I have spoken to and about of 20 billion USD. So, it is incumbent upon these three road authorities to think outside the box in order to both capacitate themselves and capacitate the road network for the good order of our people in Zimbabwe. How can we do it Mr. Speaker Sir? First and foremost, by making sure that the land that we have been given, we produce. For as long as we produce, not only for our subsistence but also for the external market, there is going to be money left over for us to rehabilitate and maintain our road network especially in the farming community.
As the formally marginalised black majority, we need to take on board the culture of ploughing back in the community that we are currently getting our agricultural produce. As long as we do not plough back, we cannot capacitate DDF in the manner that is so required. The amount of money that is received by the Zimbabwe National Road Authority is just but a little. So we need to make sure that we have a holistic approach and make sure we rehabilitate and maintain our own roads.
It should go further than just maintenance of the gravel roads, we should tar those roads. If you see the road that is called Old Victoria Falls Road in particular at Gwayi River, you can see it is a strip road that is tarred on both sides and it has gravel in between. You can see that there was something happening before we started either mining or conducting agriculture in those areas. Before the main road to Victoria Falls was constructed, there was some little strip road, let us now get that culture in order to create our small little tarred strip roads in our farming community in order that we augment, complement the efforts of DDF. None but us can liberate ourselves in terms of infrastructure development. There is a deficit that far outstrips what it is ZINARA is getting in order to periodically and routinelly maintain our roads.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I am your former Chairperson of Transport in the Eighth Parliament. I speak so because at one time we went to Charles Prince Airport where Hon. Musanhi also has his aircraft. Charles Prince Airport has got some aircrafts that belonged to DDF that were given to DDF and we need to find out what happened to them that they became so dilapidated, deplorable and disused. So, we need to put our money where our mouth is. When we have equipment, it should not just lie idle without being utilised. We need to put square plugs in square holes not square plugs in round holes. So, we need the right people to man these offices in order that we enhance the operational capability of DDF.
It means that DDF did not only have aircraft, DDF owned some airstrips in the country. Today, I come here to compliment the motion just on gravel roads. We need to think much bigger than this. We need to maintain including the airstrips that obtained during the time before our Agrarian Reform Programme so that our agricultural produce can be effectively transported to the market and to the buyers. It is only fair, good and just that we maintain and protect that which was always there using the right officials in the right places.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I come from Chegutu West Constituency where there is a deficit in terms of water supply. I want to say how we got 48 boreholes drilled by DDF to augment the meagre supplies of our water in Chegutu Municipality. Chegutu has residents that number more than 40 000. It has an infrastructure deficit of more than 25 000 households. We are receiving 3 mega liters when we are supposed to be receiving 22 mega litres. We use 22 mega litres but we are receiving treated water of 3 mega litres yet we are treating 10 mega litres. It then goes through dilapidated, deplorable and disused pipes and we receive it at the end, about 3 mega litres.
My point is that; then enters DDF, they came to Chegutu Municipality and I fostered barter trade. They wanted land to build houses for their workers and here was Chegutu Municipality which was endowed with humongous and gigantic tracts of land and they needed water. So, I fostered that joint partnership where there was barter trade. They have got the land and they gave us 48 boreholes.
So, my point is that we managed to augment the meagre supplies of treated, portable drinking water in Chegutu through a barter trade with DDF. So, I am proffering such a solution to other municipality areas because DDF has got the capacity, the manpower to drill water and they also have requirements in terms of land and housing infrastructure. So, it is only prudent, good and just for the municipality to be engaged in barter trade so that they can augment their water supply.
So it is my thinking that instead of depending only on Government handouts and benevolence, DDF should go out there, emancipate themselves and get a lot of money instead because DDF in its nature is structured, it has engineers both water and civil engineers. It can utilise the efficiency and effectiveness of its workmanship and manpower in order to even declare a dividend to Government. They can utilise those civil engineers, their manpower and water engineers, outsource their labour and workmanship in order to get what they can from what they have – get what they can, can what they get and make sure that they surprise Government and declare a dividend where they want to get money to be capacitated.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I speak like this because on the Beitbridge to
Chirundu highway, the current President Cde. E. D. Mnangagwa was Vice President when the engineers of this country were clamouring just for 40% inclusion of infrastructure development on the Beitbridge to Chirundu highway. When he came into power in the Second
Republic, he actually got our road infrastructure development on the Beitbridge to Chirundu highway to be 100% locally based because our raw materials in terms of chimbomirai, construction and infrastructure development is 80% based here in Zimbabwe. I speak like this because DDF’s raw materials for all their needs in terms of road rehabilitation reside here in Zimbabwe and …
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. KHUMALO):
Order, order Hon. Member, you are left with Five minutes.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, ndambozvitaura,
as I conclude because of that leeway that has been opened by the Second Republic, they can get employed in infrastructure development projects and get income that they can plough back into their operations. Also as I have said, declare a dividend to Government. The issue of road rehabilitation and reconstruction should be augmented and complemented by all.
The mines and the people who are mining in those areas and farming areas as well should plough back in order to rehabilitate these roads. On that score, I call for the Mines and Minerals Act of 1951 to come in here and we need to actually shred it into pieces and make sure that we repeal it so that it includes not only the corporate socioresponsibility for the rehabilitation of these roads but includes the construction of macadamized roads in all these places so that the dust and earth roads become a thing of the past and DDF becomes a big giant that is in sync and moving with the times in a coordinated, collaborated and networked manner.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to thank you for this opportunity of vociferously, effectively and eloquently representing the people of Chegutu West Constituency on this motion. I thank you.
HON. I. NYONI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this very important motion tabled by
Hon. Chingosho and seconded by Hon. Chikukwa.
The responsibility of DDF - we are all quite aware that it is a maintenance and rehabilitation Department of infrastructure. They are also a water supplier, road services, hire equipment and tillage services. We are quite aware that roads in rural areas are in a dilapidated state, particularly feeder roads used by our rural communities. These roads, of course, are used for transport purposes to transport materials and people.
The other challenge was of roads which were facing major repair challenges and what we were spending on those potholes. We are aware that our country has been facing a major drought and water is a necessity, of which DDF has not been able to carry out their duties fully because they are incapacitated. In brief, it is important that DDF is capacitated. We are now in the budget period and we are all aware that from 5th to 7th November there will be the Pre-Budget Seminar. This is the time for us to lobby for DDF to be capacitated with enough resources so that they can fulfill their mandate. This will go a long way in terms of capacitating DDF with new equipment. Here I am talking about new borehole drilling rigs, caterpillars for maintenance of rural roads and other relevant equipment such as tractors for ploughing. The new budget increase will also go a long way into helping DDF to carryout repairs on all the equipment and boreholes that are not functioning at the moment.
I further suggest that part of the Devolution Funds that are being allocated to various provinces, substantial chunk of the Devolution Fund should accordingly go to DDF. The ZINARA allocation is also a pittance and I am sure the money that is being raised by ZINARA, quite a substantial amount should also be allocated to DDF so that they are able to do their road maintenance and renew feeder roads in our rural areas.
In brief Mr. Speaker Sir, the issue here lies in re-equipping DDF and capacitating them in terms of enough resources. I thank you.
*HON. SVUURE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I want to thank you for affording me this opportunity to add my voice to the motion on DDF. I want to talk about the District Development Fund (DDF) department and propose that it should fall under the President’s office. DDF is an important entity, a lot needs to be done in terms of how it operates. They should be allocated a substantial amount of money because of its mandate. If you look at the development that is taking place in rural areas, it is because of DDF. Even when you look at the road network and borehole drilling in rural areas, they all fall under DDF.
However, when looking at the resources that they currently have, that should enable them to perform their work, it is not adequate and most of the time they tell us that they do not have enough resources to implement the projects. If tools of trade are not availed to DDF, it means they are handicapped in terms of offering required service. So, DDF should be well capacitated and should get adequate funding, especially from the Devolution Fund. I will give myself as an example, I have the worst roads – I requested that rehabilitation of these roads be done but since August, 2020, I am still waiting for this to take place. I also await the drilling of boreholes in the area.
Looking at the challenges faced by DDF – in our province we
only have one rig that is used for drilling boreholes. It is used to drill in Gutu, then Mwenezi and other areas. In Masvingo province, there is nothing that they can do to expedite the drilling of boreholes because there is only one rig. So, what we request is that when the budget is presented, which we are expecting in three days’ time, this issue should be seriously considered and allocate a substantial amount of money to DDF. DDF is an important entity and has a lot of work but is incapacitated in terms of tools of trade. For us to engage in irrigation schemes it is because of DDF. I thank you.
HON. MASENDA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I want to
support that DDF gets enough funding to develop the rural areas where the majority of our population is. They need to be capacitated with caterpillars and other relevant equipment that they need in discharging their duties. They should also be capacitated with resources to rehabilitate and maintain major roads in rural areas. Most roads in rural areas are owned by Rural District Councils, but they have no capacity as well to maintain them and becomes DDF’s obligation yet they are not capacitated. Bridges are broken down and it is DDF’s mandate to rehabilitate those bridges so that rivers are passable.
In my area, we do not have dams, hence we rely on boreholes, of which most of them are broken down. Villagers, school children and animals scramble at few functional boreholes to get water. We do not seem to appreciate the importance of DDF, especially in rural areas, but they are key in the day to day living of rural people. We know there is the Devolution Fund, in my area there is no project which was done by that Fund. So DDF should be capacitated through Devolution Fund so that they are capacitated. I thank you.
*HON. PRISCILLA MOYO: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I
want to support the motion that was raised by Hon. Chingosho about DDF. It is true DDF is a very important entity especially in rural areas where we come from. We have water challenges currently and there are no rigs to drill the boreholes. If you request DDF to drill boreholes, they only have one rig which is not even working such that with the drought and the dry season that we have, it becomes very difficult. For that reason we request that DDF should be given the tools of trade to enable them to perform their mandate.
We also realise that road networks are not being completed, especially in Mwenezi West Constituency we have roads that were only done halfway and have a lot of potholes. Council is getting devolution funds and rehabilitating their sections of the road but DDF is incapacitated to address the issue of road networks. So it is my request that we resuscitate DDF so that it can assist different areas to develop. If you look at the current period we are in, it is the farming season. If you seek tractors from DDF they do not have them. If they are available they are not functional. So we are requesting that since we are in the budget season where the National Budget will be presented, DDF should be allocated a reasonable amount to enable it to perform its mandate.
In Mwenezi, we no longer have cattle because of the drought. We do not have any animals for draught power and those who are most incapacitated are those with large farms. If they go to DDF they are unable to assist. My request is that with the forthcoming budget, DDF should be allocated a substantial amount to enable it to perform its mandate. The minor roads in the rural areas are now difficult to maneuver because you cannot see the road. You want to travel to different parts of the rural community but you cannot because the road network has not been attended to due to potholes and the trenches. I therefore implore the Government to avail a substantial amount of money to DDF.
We also have roads that are undergoing rehabilitation. I thank the Government for the rehabilitation of the Beitbridge to Chirundu Highway. That is what the Government should be doing to allocate money from ZINARA to DDF to assist in road networks within communities. When you are travelling along the highway, the roads are good but the moment you leave the highway and go into the rural areas it is difficult to maneuver.
These are my few words to add to the motion that was raised by Hon. Chingosho to capacitate DDF. We have boreholes awaiting drilling; people are dying because of shortage of water and even our domestic animals. You go to DDF, there is nothing. I want to repeat this because it is a painful situation. If only the Government could assist to ensure that we have the tools of trade that will develop this nation. We want to thank the Government for all the programmes that they are carrying out in the rural areas. I have travelled to different areas and have seen some of the work that is being done. It is the major highways that are being addressed. We want our minor roads in the rural communities to be rehabilitated as well. So I want to thank him for the motion as it will reflects to the nation that there is a department lagging behind and is being ignored.
The DDF workers are found in beer halls in the communities because they do not have tools of trade. So why are they being remunerated because you meet them now and again but they are not doing anything? What are we doing as a Government when we are letting DDF lie idle without the workers doing anything? The employees should be able to perform their work because that is the reason why they are employed. You cannot blame them because they do not have the tools of trade. The tractors, graders and rigs are not functional. I want to thank you Mr. Speaker for giving me this short time.
HON. TOGAREPI: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the mover of the motion, Hon. Chingosho. This is a very crucial motion indeed because it touches on the majority of our people. DDF is really a catalyst for rural development. It provides infrastructure that is needed in rural areas for them to see development and quicken that development. If you have good roads in rural areas, it means they will create accessibility to services. You would see that members of our rural communities do a lot of work, a lot of production in rural areas but their produce do not go to the market.
I will tell you Mr. Speaker Sir, this past weekend I was in Gutu
South near Chief Mukaro’s homestead. There are women there who are producing some of the finest horticultural products, but they have nowhere to sell. The market is there but the roads are not accessible. People who would want to buy from Masvingo and surrounding urban centres cannot get there but these are hard working people with a well capitalised DDF. Roads could be okay and these people could go to these women and buy their produce. It is very critical.
So DDF needs recapitalisation, they need new tractors and they need enough road equipment so that they deal with roads that are damaged. Especially now that we are getting into the rain season, roads will be damaged and DDF would come in handy if they have got equipment to come and then deal with those affected roads.
We also need dam construction. If we look at the President’s Vision of 2030, we can only get there if everyone in Zimbabwe participates. Rural communities can also contribute to the development of this country. We need irrigation infrastructure so that our agricultural production is modernised and is also facilitated so that we contribute to the development of the country and the Vision 2030 is achieved inclusive of rural communities.
We need equipment in the rural areas given to DDF so that they can construct bridges. With a lot of rain, we are expecting a bumper harvest this season and many bridges are going to be destroyed. DDF in its present state will not be able to assist. It is critical that DDF is equipped and I hope Hon. Members including the Minister of Finance and Economic Development will all support recapitalisation of DDF. We need qualified personnel and many of them have already left because of inactivity at DDF. We should be advocating that DDF gets more of these engineers, surveyors and qualified people so that rural infrastructure is enhanced.
Mr. Speaker Sir, what we are trying to achieve as a country is development. We have devolution to support that concept that we would want all our communities to develop. If we do not have Government institutions like DDF to support that, we will see development in major roads like some Hon. Members have said. We will see development in urban centres, mining areas but we will not see development in rural areas because these are simple things but they really play a big role in the development of rural areas. DDF will assist so much in the construction of schools. It will also access service centres, the construction of hospitals and it will play a big role if they are recapitalised.
So it is very critical that we help recapitalise DDF. As I have told you, women at Mapanje Horticultural Garden need somebody to go and buy their produce but those who have the means cannot reach that place because there is no good road that will take them there. As we advocate for more funding and recapitalisation of DDF, we should ask ourselves why DDF failed given that it used to have top of the range equipment at one point. Is it because of abuse of resources which were given to them and how do we address that? I think part of the address is already there since it now falls under the President’s Office, meaning that the President and his office will ensure that corruption that was happening in DDF is eliminated and DDF will function again.
We need to ensure that all equipment given or bought for DDF is deployed to work for jobs that it was designed or bought for because we have seen people using tractors for their own income corruptly. We have seen some of the equipment not serviced on time and ending up getting destroyed. We need these checks and balance so that whatever is going to be given to DDF should be looked after professionally and help develop. DDF as it will be doing all this work and if we recapitalise it, we will foresee a situation that employment in the rural areas will go up. We expect them to employ rural youth, people from the same areas are doing business and this will give them income. All our citizens will have access to Government resources and income given to them by DDF for their own livelihoods.
We expect DDF to partner rural communities and their chiefs – whatever they will be doing, let them take on board communities so that whatever it will be doing will be very effective. They would know which roads are critical for those communities. Seeing them just coming to do a road without consulting local people, they may misfire and go to roads that are not very critical. We have needs, we need dams in the rural areas to promote agriculture and also for us to get water. We need those boreholes, we need to know where to put them and we need community development.
We need to know which roads should be constructed and when. We need all that but the major beneficiaries of whatever DDF will be doing will be the communities and having communities involved and protecting against abuse of the assets of the State. So it is very important, I am for the motion and agree that it is pertinent. It is very strategic for this country to have DDF running again and fully equipped to do its work which is critical for the development of our country. It will help rural areas to develop together with urban centres, farming areas and rural areas must not be left behind. The catalyst would be DDF because it will provide infrastructure. I thank you.
*HON. TEKESHE: I would like to add my voice to the motion that was raised by Hon. Chingosho. For those who have rural constituencies, this is a good motion. When we look at the contributions made by others, it is a difficult situation. In rural areas, for a 30 km distance, you pay more than a person who travels 200 kms because of the poor road network. The people experiencing the most challenges and difficulties are in rural areas. We only want them when it is conducive for us.
It is important that we have the dams so that people can farm. If people can farm two hactres in 12 months only, it will change the lives of the people. The issue of mechanisation, in my opinion farm mechanisation should be given at ward level under the supervision of DDF ensuring that everyone benefits from the mechanisation programme. Farmers can know that their cattle are just for meat and milk and DDF can ensure that everyone gets service. Most people have lost their livestock and when implements are given to individuals, they only benefit the individual, hence my call that implements should be given to DDF. The money that is charged for tillage by DDF should be affordable. Farm mechanisation that is taking place these days is not right. If it was put under DDF, it would change the lives of the majority of people instead of just changing the life of an individual.
All the other issues have been mentioned already. I think DDF should be given a certain percentage of the money collected at tollgates to develop the rural areas. We are so happy with the rehabilitation of Masvingo Road but Masvingo Road cannot be accessed by everyone. So, the money for tollgates should be channeled towards DDF to rehabilitate roads in the rural areas. Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
*HON. NYABANI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I want to debate the motion that was raised on DDF. When we talk of DDF, it is the engine of the country. It is the one that leads to development but it is incapacitated. If the engine is not powerful, it means the car cannot move. In my opinion, especially in Rushinga, I see DDF as being easily accessible to construct the roads and bridges and the provision of clean water. In rural areas, they have the greatest challenges. Some of the roads are no longer accessible because they have been neglected for years.
On the issue of access to water, people are failing to get water. Some of them sleep at boreholes and others drink water from unprotected sources. The engine needs to be in good working condition to enable the car to move. Funding should be availed to ensure that this entity becomes operational. Most of the development in rural areas is there because of DDF. If we talk of water, roads, tillage, these are some of the things that are done by DDF. We do not want to just have DDF in theory with an entity without tools of trade but we need it to be functional. For those roads that are inaccessible, those with vehicles charge exorbitant fares. If bridges are not constructed, what it means is that people cannot access certain areas. In my opinion, DDF is just like the breath that we take for us to live. If there is no breath, it means a person is dead. DDF should be given the breath which is the money to enable it to carry out its mandate.
We want to thank the Government for the devolution funds but these funds differ. If I give an example of Rushinga, I want to thank the council for using the money wisely. As an MP, I do the oversight to ensure that Government funds are used to develop the area. Therefore, I want to thank the President for the devolution fund because the money is being used to the last cent to make the lives of people better. The fund should be increased so that schools and clinics are built.
Countrywide, there is a challenge of water and road network. In Mt Darwin, they no longer have cattle due to drought. We now want DDF to be given tractors. In the forthcoming budget, we should push and lobby for DDF to be given a substantial amount to capacitate it so that we get clean water. With these few words, I thank you.
HON. BUSHU: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, for allowing me to contribute to this very important motion brought by Hon. Chingosho regarding the re-capitalisation of DDF. When you look at DDF, it is present in every district in this country which means the structure of
DDF is such that it can touch almost every part of this country. DDF has many years of experience in working on the issues that have been debated by Hon. Members of Parliament here, particularly relating to roads, water, water from boreholes, dams and relating to tillage. DDF also has got within it resident skills, both management and technical.
It is unfortunate that DDF has come to become what it is, a shell.
When you go to any DDF depot, you see broken down tractors, lorries, graders, farming implements and DDF is a sad story. In the past, DDF used to be a flagship of development. Now, when you look at what DDF has, you can see an organisation that can respond very quickly to the core to stimulate both rural and urban development but mainly so rural development. If then DDF is funded because it appears that it has not been funded for a long time, if it is funded it can then rejuvenate itself and assist the rural communities.
We are experiencing very bad roads that used to be maintained by DDF. We are experiencing silted in land dams that were dug by DDF and we are also coming across situations where small dams and boreholes could easily be dug by DDF because of their experience from the past. Now, because DDF has got a problem of funding, it is unable to provide those services that are so essential for the development of our communities and our country.
Now because DDF which is such a critical part of the backbone of economic development had been forgotten, it is one of the reasons why our roads are bad. Some rural areas in particular have got difficult in accessing water. Now, what we are saying is Hon. Chingosho brought in the idea that DDF must be funded because we have given so much support as Members of Parliament to DDF’s funding again. If they are listening now, they should present to us their capacity and capability to come up with a budget and their funding requirements so that we support them again in ensuring that funding comes through.
I lament the idea that we are coming to the end of the year and we are looking at budgets now. The one thing that we know very much is that most of the ox-drawn power is going. I am talking about cattle, most of these have died and most people in the rural areas are now depending on Pfumvudza. What it means is that the hectarage which is going under tillage is going to be much smaller. If there was a way of ensuring that DDF gets funding between now and the middle of December, it would stimulate at least the tillage activity as a start and then into the future we can look at roads and water.
If all those are going to be done by DDF, what is devolution going to do? My argument is very simple that devolution for me is going to give us results in the medium to long term. DDF funding can actually give us results immediately because the infrastructure, manpower, skills is there but what is lacking is the funding. As devolution goes on, there can be a meeting of the activities of both DDF and the local governing bodies. The bodies can also benefit a lot from DDF because in my view the skills based at DDF are much better, sharper and the rural district councils and other Local Government arms require skills development to the level that DDF is at the moment.
So, Mr. Speaker Sir, my plea is that funding for DDF has not been done for a long time and DDF is almost derelict but funding for DDF is urgent and it can cause development in the short term. It can solve a lot of our problems in the short term. Let us allow it to influence the medium and long term but funding is urgent Mr.
Speaker Sir. I thank you.
HON. MUSANHI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, I would like to thank the mover of this motion Hon. Chingosho for moving such an important motion. DDF is a very important organisation in the development of our country. DDF owns tourism facilities and they are the people who do most of our rural roads. They also have a lot of infrastructure in terms of earth moving equipment, tractors, ploughs, drilling rigs for water et cetera. What worries me is DDF has planes that are brand new that are lying idle for years at Charles Prince Airport.
At one time I was advocating to the head of DDF that why not sell these aeroplanes instead of keeping them to be in the deplorable state they are and actually diversify the money that you are going to get from these planes tractors and earthmoving equipment. There was no action from them at all. You know if a plane is not serviceable and not flying for a long time, it will lose its value and it depreciates quicker than one that is flying. These planes have been sitting there for more than 10 years and I think the value has been lost.
For what reason DDF keeps holding on to them when they can actually buy earth moving equipment that can cover the whole country from the sale of those planes. I fail to understand the logic behind it and I also fail to understand what decision stops them from doing that. Also they have camping sites which are out there. Some of these are almost deserted and there is nothing to talk about. If you get there you can actually see that the camping site has been run to nothing but those were assets which were very expensive. Instead of them partnering with the private sector or asking someone else to lease them and get a fair rental from them, they just left them like that. You know, if a building is not being used for a long time it just becomes deplorable.
The airstrips that they were maintaining, I have been in Kanyemba where we tried to land for several times and failed because there were some bushes that had grown on the landing strip. Some of these activities that DDF was actually doing I would recommend
them to diversity to their core business of getting drill rigs, tractors for our farmers, earthmoving equipment, bulldozers and graders to do our roads. In my constituency, DDF has not been visible for a very long time. For what reason, I do not know. I have been trying to hire equipment most of the time to do the roads on my own. The roads are in a very deplorable state. Bindura North constituency is partly urban and rural set up. You cannot believe that Bindura being the provincial capital of Mashonaland Central, the roads are in such a poor state.
I think Mr. Speaker Sir, I would urge - yes, for funding and capitalisation to DDF but I think it is important to look at what they have first and possibly be able to salvage something out of what they have so that the Government can top on the capitalisation of it. I think Government will actually top up and it will not be a substantial amount if they can dispose some of the things which they have with them right now which they are not using.
Mr. Speaker, it is a good motion and i would like to support the funding of DDF so that they can have equipment which is in sound condition. I would also want to urge them to spruce up their workshops so that their maintenance can be up-to-date. Equipment can be bought but if your maintenance is department is not up-to-date you lose a lot of equipment within a short time. So I would urge that please, if it can be a priority to look at DDF and recapitalise them.
Thank you.
*HON. NYOKANHETE: I want to add my voice to the motion that was moved by Hon. Chingosho on DDF. It is very critical motion that I feel I should add one or two words. DDF is an important entity. I am going to talk from experience as I worked for DDF for some years as the District Accountant in Mwenezi. There was a lot of work that was been done by DDF. There are department for vehicle maintenance and infrastructure development. These departments were pertinent in bring about development.
If you go to Mwenezi, there are schools such as Viriviri and Mucheni School, and a number of dams that were constructed by
DDF. It also has the department of roads. If you go to Mwenezi and Masvingo, there is a department of roads. Someone alluded to the fact that there is a road that goes to Neshuro hospital which is not passable. When I left DDF, there was no more funding such that the employees spent their days idle because DDF no longer had funding to perform its mandate. What is very important in my opinion is that DDF should be given a substantial amount of money to rehabilitate roads to address the water challenges being faced.
I have an urban constituency but we need water. In rural areas there is no water. If you go to Mwenezi where I worked, there is
Denhe bridge which was built by DDF. A very good job was done by DDF because they were been given funding but when I left DDF there was no more funding and most workers would spend their days idle and playing different games at the shops. When the salaries came, people would get paid without doing any work and this actually destroyed the career of the employees because they would spend their days idle.
This is something that is even affecting the workers because say, you are a water technician, but because you are not using your skills you become redundant. You are a district accountant but you also become redundant. Even those in the Department of Roads, they become redundant.
There was a Department for Tillage, what is very important is that DDF should be functional after getting funding. The time I worked for DDF, politicians got to a point of abusing DDF. You would find the equipment would literally be packed at the politicians’ house and there was so much abuse. They manipulated DDF equipment for their personal gains and advantage and this affected the community. I am sure you know some of the politicians who benefited from DDF and they contributed to the non-functional DDF we have today. They diverted the functions of DDF for their personal gain.
DDF management needs to be re-constituted and be professional. If we do not resuscitate DDF, it will become extinct. I want to support this motion but I think DDF needs to be well funded and not abused for personal gains by politicians to work on their farms but for development in communities. We should ensure that DDF restores its mandate and does work professionally. If we recapitalise DDF, we need experienced workers. The workers should be well remunerated.
DDF employees are lowly paid. In Masvingo Province, if you go to the provincial office – it is idle. There is no life, it is just a dilapidated building and there is nothing going on. For DDF to operate, we need to resuscitate all these.
In short, DDF should be availed funds in order for it to be functional.
I thank you Mr. Speaker.
HON. S. SITHOLE: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir for giving me this opportunity to debate a very important motion moved by Hon. Chingosho and seconded by Hon. Chikukwa.
As all of know, DDF is supposed to play a very important role in our community like roads, bridges for movements, tillage and ploughing by the communities for food, dams and boreholes for water. All dams in the community are silted. There is not a single scooper in a District. I am from Matabeleland South, which is a drought prone area, regions 5 which has a shortfall of rain. We only have one rigger in our province. As I speak, that rigger is now in Harare for service.
That is caused by sanctions. Sanctions also add on to corruption.
As Hon. Togarepi said, you can find corruption when you go out. DDF workers go to till the land outside. They can just record that they tilled one acre a day but they can till 100 hectares. The cost for tilling these 100 hectares goes into their pockets; that is corruption. We can say talk and say DDF must be capacitated with a huge lump sum but corruption is there. They talk about broken tractors and whatsoever – when spare parts are coming, they just polish the old ones and those new parts go somewhere. That is corruption.
I support other Hon. Members when they say let us look at the management at DDF per District and provincially because there is much corruption there. I am also supporting that when the time of Budget comes, as Hon. Members, we should speak with one voice to make DDF to be capacitated but let us look into corruption around the organisation. I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. KARUMAZONDO: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I want to add my voice on the motion that was raised by Hon.
Chingosho. Mr. Speaker Sir, DDF is very important in our lives as
Zimbabweans. Looking at the constituency that I come from, Maramba-Pfungwe has critical shortage of water. I was thinking that the DDF should be availed resources. Most of the Region 5, the boreholes that are in the area are between 40 and 60 metres and they have now ran dry. My opinion is that if funding is availed to DDF they can drill boreholes in these areas to enable people living in
Regions 4 and 5 to have a better livelihood. Dams are needed in Regions 4 and 5. If dams are constructed they will assist communities to engage in horticultural activities in order to sustain themselves. I think we need to harvest as much water as we can in light of climate change.
The DDF’s mandate is broader than we think because they have
to rehabilitate the roads that lead to schools, clinics and also villages. There are other small bridges that are there that when heavy rains fall children cannot have access to their schools because of flooding and if DDF is capacitated, they will construct better bridges. In MarambaPfungwe Constituency, DDF does not have vehicles and if they have to drill boreholes they have to hire vehicles. I think the Government needs to give DDF a substantial amount as they did before. With these few words, I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
+HON. S. K MGUNI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir for affording me this opportunity to debate the motion that was brought by Hon. Chingosho seconded by Hon. Chikukwa, which talks about
DDF. I would like to talk about what the President said about Vision
2030 looking at the DDF and the SDGs. The DDF is a branch of the Government that can assist us like what has already been said by other Hon. Members. The DDF helps us a lot in our rural areas when it comes to drilling of boreholes for drinking water, construction of wares; and construction and repair of roads.
Most of the roads in the rural areas are under the DDF. If DDF can get assistance and equipment, I think a lot of districts can develop. I know that DDF is also into construction of schools, construction of bridges and irrigation schemes. If we construct dams and wares, we can harvest the little water that we get from the rainfall.
I would like to commend the Hon. Member who brought this motion and what other Hon. Members have already said. This is a very important branch of the Government and I am saying they should get assistance. The Vision 2030 and all the Government programmes can be achieved if DDF gets funding. I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. TOGAREPI: Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. S. SITHOLE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
On the motion of HON. TOGAREPI, seconded by HON. S. SITHOLE, the House adjourned at Twenty-Seven Minutes to Seven o’clock p.m.