PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday 19th December, 2017
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE
SENATE
STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: I wish to inform
the Senate that His Excellency Hon. E. D. Mnangagwa will tomorrow, Wednesday, 20th December, 2017, deliver the State of the Nation
Address at a Joint Sitting of the Senate and the National Assembly at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC) at 1430 hours. Lunch will be served at 1230 hours. May I remind Hon. Senators that the lunch will be served at the HICC, not here.
RE-APPOINTMENT OF THEMATIC COMMITTEE
CHAIRPERSONS
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: I also wish to
inform the Senate that the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders has made changes to the Chairpersons of Portfolio and Thematic
Committees. Hon. Sen. Shiri has replaced Hon. Sen. Makore as
Chairperson of the Thematic Committee on Gender and Development.
POST-BUDGET SEMINAR
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: Furthermore, I
wish to inform the Senate that the Post-Budget Seminar will be held on
Monday, 22nd of January, 2018. The venue will be communicated to all
Senators in due course. As usual, Senators are expected to attend the
Seminar and Post Budget Consultations which will be convened by
Portfolio Committees from Tuesday, the 23rd to Friday, the 26th of January, 2018. The Senate will then resume its sittings on Tuesday, 13th
February, 2018.
DRIILLING OF BOREHOLES UNDER COMMAND RAIN
WATER HARVESTING PROGRAMME
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: Lastly, I wish to
draw the attention of Hon. Senators to a letter that came from the Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate, requesting you to identify four sites in each Constituency where they can drill boreholes under the Command Rain Water Harvesting Programme.
You are advised to sit as the Constituency Development Committees to identify such sites and advise the Ministry and Parliament. The letter from the Ministry has been distributed in your pigeon holes.
Remember, I did indicate that if we have four constituencies under our jurisdiction, we must be members on each one of those four constituencies. So, this also refers to that, please let us be seen to be representing our constituencies as Senators.
HON. SEN. MARAVA: I just want it recorded that the changes that affects Hon. Sen. Makore were not communicated in the correct way to the leaders of this House and the Party leadership. So, I just wanted it to be put on record. None of us was consulted. Thank you.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: I do not think
that is business of the House; that is the business of the Standing Rules and Orders Committee. I would like to believe as the Standing Rules and Orders Committee; we were made to believe that consultations were carried out. Anyway, that is not a point for debate in this Chamber. Thank you.
Hon. Minister Sekeramayi, can you please stand over notice of motion number 1.
HON. SEN. SEKERAMAYI: Thank you Madam President, I am
a former Minister.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: Okay, sorry
about that.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. TAWENGWA: Madam President, I move that Order
of the Day Number 1 be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day are disposed of.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE SENATE
HON. SEN. TAWENGWA: I move that Order of the Day,
Number 2 on today’s Order Paper be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of. HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I second
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON GENDER
AND DEVELOPMENT ON ACCESS TO SAFE AND CLEAN WATER IN RURAL AREAS
Third Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the First Report of the Thematic Committee on Gender and Development on Access to Safe Water in Rural Areas.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MAKORE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MARAVA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 20th December, 2017.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON
INDIGENISATION AND EMPOWERMENT ON THE
CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING THE NON-ESTABLISHMENT
OF THE COMMUNITY SHARE OWNERSHIP TRUSTS
Fourth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the First Report of the Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment on the Circumstances surrounding the non-establishment of Community Share Ownership Trusts in Mudzi and Mutoko districts.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. TAWENGWA: I move that the debate do now
adjourn.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 20th December 2017.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS ON SDG NO. 3
Fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the First Report of the Thematic Committee on Sustainable Development Goals on SDG Number 3.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. CHIEF MTSHANE: I move that the debate do now
adjourn.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 20th December, 2017.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON PEACE
AND SECURITY ON THE PREPAREDNESS OF THE GRAIN
MARKETING BOARD TO HANDLE THE 2016/2017 CROP
DELIVERIES AND THE SUCCESS OF THE COMMAND
AGRICULTURE PROGRAMME
Sixth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the First Report of the Thematic Committee on Peace and Security on the preparedness of the Grain Marketing Board to handle the 2016/2017 crop deliveries and the success of the Command Agriculture Programme.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MUMVURI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIEF MUSARURWA: I second.
Motion put at agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 20th December, 2017.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE ZIMBABWE DELAGATION TO THE
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PROMOTING
STAKEHOLDER AND PARLIAMENTARY DIALOGUE ON THE
ARMS TRADE TREATY
Seventh Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report of the Zimbabwe delegation to the International Conference on Promoting Stakeholder and Parliamentary Dialogue on Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) held at Pullnam Teranga Hotel in Dakar, Senegal from 13th to 14th June, 2017.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. TAWENGWA: I move that the debate do now
adjourn.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 20th December, 2017.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE SEVENTH RETREAT OF THE ASSOCIATION
OF SENATES, SHOORA AND EQUIVALENT COUNCILS IN
AFRICA AND THE ARAB WORLD
Eighth order read: Adjourned debate on the Report of the Seventh
Retreat of the Association of Senates, Shoora and equivalent Councils in
Africa and the Arab World (ASSECAA), held from 26th to 27th November, 2016 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MAKORE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIMHINI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 20th December, 2017.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE DELEGATION
TO THE EIGHTH RETREAT OF THE ASSOCIATION OF
SENATES, SHOORA AND EQUIVALENT COUNCILS IN AFRICA
AND THE ARAB WORLD
Ninth order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report of the Parliament of Zimbabwe Delegation to the Eighth Retreat of the Association of Senates, Shoora and Equivalent Councils in Africa and the Arab World (ASSECAA), held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 20th to 21st May, 2017.
Question again proposed.
HON. TAWENGWA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. MOHADI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 20th December, 2017.
On the motion of HON. SEN. TAWENGWA, seconded by HON. SEN. MOHADI, the Senate adjourned at Three Minutes to Three o’clock until, Tuesday, 13th February 2018.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 7th December, 2017
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
STATUS OF SENATORS AND PROPORTIONAL
REPRESENTATION MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY IN THE CONSTITUENCY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEES.
THE HON. SPEAKER: I wish to clarify a misunderstanding that has come to our attention on the status of Senators and Proportional
Representation Members of the National Assembly in the Constituency Development Committees. Senators and PR Members of Parliament are ex-officio members to the Constituency Development Committees. By virtue of being Members of Parliament elected under a party list system of proportional representation; in other words, they hold membership to such Committees by right of their offices and positions. Senators and
PR Members are therefore members of all Constituency Development Committees falling under their jurisdiction in terms of Article 92 and 3 of the CDF Constitution. They have full voting rights as members and are accorded the same participatory rights as any other members of CDF.
PRESENTATION OF THE 2018 NATIONAL BUDGET
THE HON. SPEAKER: I have to inform the House that the Minister of Finance and Economic Development will present the 2018 National Budget today, at 1500 hours.
CUT-OFF DATE FOR THE CONSTITUENCY DEVELOPMENT
FUND APPLICATIONS
THE HON. SPEAKER: I also have to remind Hon. Members that the cut-off date for the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) applications is 15 December, 2017.
HON. HOLDER: On a point of order Mr. Speaker.
I rise on a point of order under privileges and immunities. Mr. Speaker Sir, we as Members of Parliament are approaching the 15th, I do not want to disturb the smooth flow of the proceedings today. My point of order is to remind you on the commitment that has been made before the 15th December, 2017 of the remaining outstanding allowances. We want surety that we will receive our outstanding allowances – [HON.
MEMBERS: Hear, hear.]
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order, I want to assure you as I have done in the past and I do not know why you want to begin to doubt now. The 15th is still far away – [Laughter.] – Order, order, on a more serious note, I want to thank you Hon. Holder and the reminder is taken seriously so that due process is taken care of and that we meet the deadline –[HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear].
HON. MUTSEYAMI: On a point of order. Mr. Speaker Sir. We have been advised through your office that the cut-off date with regards to setting up CDF committees, opening of bank accounts and submission of papers to Parliament is the 15th December, 2017. Kindly note that on the 15th December, 2017 most of our rural Members of Parliament including myself, the chances of them holding meetings to set up the committees and to open bank accounts will be done between Friday, Saturday and Monday thereabouts. When they are done by then, Parliament would have adjourned to pave way for the congress of the other side.
In that case, Members of Parliament as obedient as we are and as committed as we are to have our CDF put in place, how are we going to manage the submission of the hard copies to Harare all the way from Chipinge? For the good of the nation, if you can look into that seriously so that you see how the travelling will be done since Parliament will be adjourned to submit those papers. I thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Parliament respects the vicissitudes that may arise as explained by yourself Hon. Mutseyami. Parliament also respects the congress of the other side as you put it but rest assured that we are coming back on the 19th up to 21st December, 2017. So you have ample time to bring the papers –[HON. ZWIZWAI: So the deadline is no longer the 15th]. The deadline stands and we will deal with each case on an individual basis because other Members of Parliament are here in Harare. They are in town, so there should not be a problem. We will have to deal with special cases individually.
HON. MLISWA: I want to thank you for affording me this opportunity to contribute. My point of order stems out of the fact that there are numerous promises which were made to Members of Parliament. It was not only the outstanding allowances – we had the former Minister of Finance who was very clear that we will all get duty free certificates. We had the former Minister of Local Government and National Housing also promising us residential stands. A lot of promises have been made. There was also the fact that there is inflation – that they would find ways of mitigating that inflation. How, we do not know but we had said it would be better for us to get it in foreign currency because having it in terms of the rate on the black market will not be good for Government. It would be like admitting there is a black market. The hard currency makes sense and that a lot can be achieved.
So with this, we now come here and we have to contribute to this
Budget and you certainly have done us good by having to lead us. We are also players who require to be motivated. We cannot be like kids who are promised ice cream when things are bad - we are told here is a lolly pop you must keep quiet. We are treated like kids all the time. The role of Parliament cannot be ignored. Parliament cannot be under funded. There mere fact that Parliament is underfunded, this really makes us being compromised at the end of the day.
The issue of us having diplomatic passports – I am glad with the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, I had a tete-a-tete with him today at a certain office where we met and I asked him - do you have any issues giving us diplomatic passports? He did not see any reason why we should not get and he said, why not but if you stop being Members of Parliament you should not be able to get. I am hoping that he carries that spirit with him. We are quite excited that we have a Major General as Minister of Foreign Affairs. People of such ranking do not usually lie and never go against their word and so forth.
The other issue Mr. Speaker is the issue of my ejection from Parliament yesterday. I say this with a heavy heart. I might be wrong at times.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, you do not debate on that one. No, no you cannot debate that.
HON. MLISWA: But I have written a letter to you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: That will be dealt with accordingly.
HON. MLISWA: Thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, Hon Mliswa thank you for your point of order but be advised that the Hon. Speaker does not run an ice cream factory or lolly pops to promise Members of Parliament. When we deal with the welfare of Members of Parliament, we do so with the seriousness it deserves. Therefore, on the issue that you raised in terms of being paid in foreign currency which is an accepted currency of the US as things stand now, I do not see any change. I have not received any change from the Minister of Finance. At the same time, let us trickle memories; you know the events that have taken place and the disruptions that have taken in terms of continuity of issues that we raised in Victoria Falls. I think that must be taken into account again. I can assure you that all the issues have been brought to rail and the current Minister of
Finance is seized with the matter. Not only that I have written to His Excellency the President just three days ago, to raise these issues so that Members of Parliament are not despondent. We are together in terms of ensuring that your welfare is taken care of.
As for crucifying the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs was very clear at Victoria Falls when he said the diplomatic passport will be a matter to be addressed in the Ninth Parliament. When he said that nobody stood from the floor to oppose that suggestion. I want to say, your silence at Victoria Falls was acquiescence to the fact that the diplomatic passport will be issued to all Members of Parliament in the Ninth Parliament.
Business was suspended at Twenty-five Minutes to Three O’clock
p.m. and resumed at Three o’clock.
His Excellency, the President E. D. Mnangagwa in attendance.
2018 NATIONAL BUDGET STATEMENT
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. CHINAMASA): Mr. Speaker Sir, I move
that leave be granted to present a statement of the Estimated Revenues and Expenditures of the Government for the 2018 financial year and to make provisions for matters ancillary and incidental to this purpose.
This is a requirement, Mr. Speaker Sir, of Subsections 1 and 2 of Section 305 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe as read together with
Section 28 (1) (a) of the Public Finance Management Act. Mr. Speaker Sir, allow me also to first aknowledge the presence of His Excellency the President Cde E. D. Mnangagwa who is coming back to the Chamber for the first time in his new capacity as President of the country.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I am presenting the Budget speech which is a summary of the full Budget Statement. The other elements of this budget package comprise the full Budget Statement which I table, the Estimates of Expenditure which I also table and there will be a national budget highlight.
Mr. Speaker Sir, this 2018 National Budget has been formulated mindful of the urgent need to address the challenges facing Zimbabwe. Our country suffers from low business and investor confidence that has been making it difficult for us to attract inward investment flows and therefore unable to generate adequate foreign exchange necessary for supporting economic activity.
Our economy has not been performing to its potential and to the expectations of the citizenry, as demonstrated by low production and export levels, and the resultant prevailing high levels of unemployment, and a continuing deterioration in macro-economic stability.
This is notwithstanding our various economic blue prints for the economy to realise sustainable growth, development and poverty eradication.
The unsatisfactory performance of the economy is being underpinned by declining domestic and foreign investor confidence levels, against the background of policy inconsistencies in an uncertain and uncompetitive business environment.
Furthermore, entrenched weaknesses and indiscipline in the management of public finances are exacerbating the situation, which in turn, transmit vulnerabilities in foreign exchange generation and availability.
The gravity of fiscal indiscipline is reflected in failure to adhere to approved Budgets, with significant expenditures being incurred arbitrarily outside Budgeted Votes, and failure to follow laid down systems, at times involving quasi-fiscal expenditures.
The above has resulted in persistent fiscal imbalances and consequently, a breakdown of Budgetary systems, laid out processes, and a major fiscal and monetary policy disconnect.
Moreso, the fiscal imbalances are being financed, through issuance of Treasury bills and overdrafts with the Reserve Bank, with destabilising consequences on overall macro-economic instability.
Our quest for reversing economic decline and eradicating unemployment and poverty can only become reality if we walk the talk with regard to adoption of a paradigm shift in the way we do business and manage our economy, public enterprises and finances.
In this regard, the 2018 National Budget presents an opportunity to contribute to a Comprehensive and Coherent Phased Strategy for addressing the widening macro-economic imbalances, guided by the policy direction given by His Excellency, President E. D. Mnangagwa, during his widely acclaimed Inaugural Address on 24 November 2017.
His Excellency, the President, made it clear that Government’s economic policy will be predicated on creating conditions for an increased production led economic recovery, targeting attracting Foreign Direct Investment, as a way of tackling the prevailing high levels of unemployment.
Furthermore, the new system of economic organisation and management will incorporate elements of market economy in which enterprise is encouraged, while industrialising our economy.
As we focus on recovery of our economy, we must shed mis-behaviours and acts of indiscipline which have characterised the past, while we address and reduce the high country risk perception among existing and prospective investors.
Above all, the President pledged that all foreign investment will be safe in the country, and that Government will fully abide by the terms of Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreements Zimbabwe has already acceded to.
The President also underscored that Government will, henceforth, ensure that servicing and re-scheduling of domestic and external public debt obligations is consistent with agreements with lenders and creditors, under the auspices of definitive steps towards re-engagement and strengthening of cooperation with the international community.
The above commitments by His Excellency, the President mark a paradigm shift that represents movement towards a ‘New Economic
Order’.
This is consistent with advancing the objectives of the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim Asset), as well as the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP) for 20162018.
Our development aspirations are also aligned with Agenda 2063, which is Africa’s strategic framework for the socio-economic transformation of the Continent.
Hence, the formulation of the 2018 Budget benefited from the above guidance by His Excellency, the President.
Drawing from the paradigm shift, the 2018 Budget contains Expenditure management measures to re-orient the Budget towards support for developmental programmes and projects, as well as those centred on poverty alleviation.
Furthermore, drawing from the macro-economic framework, the 2018 Budget also calls for adherence to fiscal anchors for the containment of the Budget deficit to sustainable levels.
Complementary measures aimed at transforming the business environment and stimulating production, as well as curbing corruption, and addressing rampant rent-seeking behaviours, and market indiscipline, are also part of the Budget.
In crafting the 2018 Budget, Treasury also benefitted from submissions of various stakeholders calling for policy interventions and measures that target promoting high investment, production and increased foreign exchange generation.
As part of these consultations, Parliament hosted the Annual Pre-Budget
Seminar over 8-12 November 2017 at the Elephant Hills Hotel in Victoria Falls.
Under the theme, ‘Consolidating Economic Development and
Transformation through Domestic Resource Mobilisation and Utilisation’, submissions from the various Portfolio Committees of
Parliament also richly benefitted the formulation of the 2018 Budget.
CHAPTER 1: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS & PROSPECTS
- The formulation of the 2018 Budget is against the background of projected positive GDP growth of 3.7% for 2017, against a target of
1.7%, and up from 0.7% during 2016.
- Notwithstanding the growth being experienced, the economy faces some strong headwinds and challenges.
Global and Regional Markets
- The global upswing in economic activity, which started in the second half of 2016 is strengthening, and is projected to rise to 3.6% in 2017 and to 3.7 % in 2018.
Global Economic Growth & Outlook (%)
2016 Estimate 2017 Projection |
2018 Projection |
||
World Output |
3.2 |
3.6 |
3.7 |
Advanced Economies |
1.7 |
2.2 |
2 |
United States |
1.5 |
2.2 |
2.3 |
Euro Area |
1.8 |
2.1 |
1.9 |
Japan |
1 |
1.5 |
0.7 |
Emerging Market & Developing Economies |
4.3 |
4.6 |
4.9 |
China |
6.7 |
6.8 |
6.5 |
India |
7.1 |
6.7 |
7.4 |
Sub-Saharan Africa |
1.4 |
2.6 |
3.4 |
Zimbabwe[1] |
0.7 |
3.7 |
3 |
Latin America & the Caribbean |
-0.9 |
1.2 |
1.9 |
Source: IMF/World Bank Outlook (October 2017)
- Economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is projected at an average of 2.6% in 2017, up from 1.4% recorded in 2016. Growth is expected to further increase to 3.4% in 2018, with sizable differences across countries.
- Fiscal deficits are stabilising, and current account deficits are narrowing in most Sub-Saharan African countries, partly reflecting a slight rebound in commodity prices.
- There are, however, mounting vulnerabilities in the region, notably, rising public debt, financial sector strains and low external buffers. Public debt is high, not only in oil exporting countries, but in many fast-growing economies as well.
Commodity Prices
- While efforts are underway to diversify the economy away from overreliance on commodity exports in the medium to long term, our current reality places significant reliance on unprocessed and semiprocessed raw commodities such as gold, tobacco and platinum as the country's foreign exchange lifelines.
- In this regard, global developments in commodity prices have a major bearing on our economy’s foreign exchange liquidity position.
Commodity Price Indices (2010=100)
Source: World Bank
- While developments this year indicate some recovery in prices of international commodities, from the rock-bottom levels that were reached at the beginning of 2016, prices remain depressed compared to the levels that were attained in 2012.
- Gold prices, which since January 2017 had been rallying on account of safe haven demand and heightened geo-political tensions, rose by 10% in September 2017 to reach US$1 316 per ounce.
- Volatile prices then retreated to $1 280 per ounce in October 2017, on a strengthening US dollar and expectations of higher interest rates in the United States.
- Platinum prices largely traded unchanged during the period January to September 2017, amid weak investment demand.
Domestic Developments
- On the domestic front, the 3.7% growth estimate for 2017 is underpinned by agriculture, mining, electricity generation and services sectors, mainly tourism and communication.
- In the outlook, growth is anticipated to remain above[2]5%, premised on Government charting a new way forward with economic and investment recovery measures towards a ‘New Economic Order’, underpinned by strengthening of cooperation with global partners.
Agriculture
- Agriculture is estimated to grow by 14.6% in 2017[3], on the back of Government coordinated interventions in partnership with the private sector.
- In addition, the expanded “Command Agriculture” Programme, to include soya beans and livestock production, is expected to sustain growth of the sector.
Mining
- Mining is expected to grow by 8.5%[4] in 2017, with most minerals anticipated to record output gains in the medium term.
- This is being supported by modest recovery in international mineral prices for most minerals, including nickel, platinum, chrome and granite.
- As a result, mineral export receipts of US$2.5 billion are projected for 2018, up from US$2.3 billion in 2017.
International Commodity Price Indices
Source: International Monetary Fund
- The consolidation of the diamond industry, together with the capitalisation of the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company, saw marked improvement in output.
- As at end of September, diamond output stood at 1.8 million carats, up from 1.3 million recorded during the whole of 2016.
- With regards to coal, management changes at Hwange Colliery, together with the company’s recapitalisation, led to considerable recovery in production.
- Coal output rose from as little as 30 000 tonnes per month in the first quarter of 2017, to about 300 000 tonnes per month.
- This translates to cumulative coal output of 2.4 million tonnes by the third quarter, from 363 000 tonnes of the first quarter.
- As at end of October 2017, overall mineral export receipts were around US$2 billion, against US$1.6 billion during the same period in
2016, representing 25.2% of the country’s total exports.
Gold Deliveries
- Gold deliveries to Fidelity Refiners have benefitted from interventions targeting support to small scale miners by Government, as well as plugging of leakages through joint compliance monitoring.
- This is a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, Ministry of Home Affairs and Culture, and the Reserve Bank.
- Through these efforts, gold purchases by Fidelity Refiners stood at 17 163 kgs during the period January to September 2017. This is 12% higher than purchases of the corresponding period in 2016. Small scale producers accounted for 51% of the delivered 17.2 tonnes.
2017 Gold Purchases by Fidelity Refiners (kgs)
Source: Fidelity Printers and Refiners
- On the back of performance displayed during this period, the country remains on course to meet the target of 24.5 tonnes of gold deliveries through Fidelity for the entire 2017.
Industry
- This year, growth in manufacturing is estimated at 1%, with projections of 2.1% in 2018[5], benefitting from improved agro processing value chains in foodstuffs, drinks, and ginning, also amid supportive import management measures.
External Sector
- Notwithstanding signs of improvement in exports, the overall balance of payments situation remains under pressure, with foreign exchange availability to support domestic production constrained.
- The economy’s import bill is still relatively high, with imports estimated to rise to US$6.8 billion, from US$6.4 billion in 2016. This is despite a sharp drop in food imports.
- Growth in imports is driven by increased demand for raw materials and equipment for the productive sectors of the economy, consistent with the pick-up in economic activity in 2017.
- Such high levels of import dependency, relative to estimated exports of US$4.6 billion for the year, imply continued foreign exchange imbalances, though trade statistics indicate narrowing of the trade balance.
- The country's current account deficit, estimated at US$1 billion, hence, remains unsustainable, and is financed mostly by debt creating
flows in the form of loans being contracted by both the private and public sectors.
Financial Sector
- Cognisant of the critical role of the banking sector in promoting Zim Asset economic recovery initiatives, the Reserve Bank continued to employ measures aimed at ensuring safety and soundness of the banking sector.
- Against this background, for the nine months ending September 2017, the banking sector remained stable on the back of adequate capitalisation, improved earnings and satisfactory asset quality.
- To this end, as at 30 September 2017, all banking institutions were adequately capitalised and in compliance with minimum capital requirements.
- The major challenge, however, has remained and continued experiences of underlying shortages of physical cash, on the back of structural challenges in the economy.
- In this regard, the Reserve Bank will continue to promote a ‘cash-lite’ society by encouraging increased digital banking platforms, and use of plastic money.
Interest Rates
- The provision of affordable banking services and access to credit is an integral component of Zim Asset initiatives to promote financial inclusion and boost productive capacity.
- In this regard, banking institutions are progressively reviewing the level of their lending rates and bank charges.
- The structure of interest rates as at 30 September 2017 was as follows:
- Average banking sector interest rates spread,10.38%;
- Average maximum effective lending rates, 12.52%, compared to 15.7 % as at December 2016; and
- Deposit rates, 0.5- 6%.
- The Reserve Bank is continuing collaborative engagements with banking institutions to enhance credit to the productive sectors of the economy and ensure availability of affordable banking services and products.
Financial Inclusion
- In this regard, the Reserve Bank has been making efforts to ensure that a large proportion of the population is financially literate and able to access financial services on offer within the country, which include banking services and mobile money.
- The success rate of the use of plastic and electronic money has seen more than 75% of retail transactions now being done electronically.
- Furthermore, Government financial inclusion initiatives have also targeted broadening access and provision of vulnerable groups with financial services, critical for sustainable economic growth and development.
- Such groups include the youth, women and micro, small and medium enterprises.
- This has seen the Reserve Bank intervene to :
Licence the Zimbabwe Women's Micro-Finance Bank Limited (a deposit taking micro-finance institution targeting women) on
14 September 2017; and
Initiate licencing of the Youth Empower Bank Limited, a deposit-taking micro-finance institution, targeting the youth.
Banking Sector Liquidity
- Banking sector deposits maintained an upward trajectory, increasing by 17.1%, from US$6.51 billion as at end December 2016, to US$7.62 billion as at end of September 2017.
- However, in the challenging macro-economic operating environment, lending has remained subdued, with total banking sector loans and advances increasing only marginally, from US$3.64 billion to US$3.73 billion as at end September 2017.
- Lending to the productive sectors of the economy constituted 70% of total sector loans as at 30 September 2017.
Asset Quality
- The quality of the banking sector loan book has gradually improved over the years, from a peak ratio of non-performing loans (NPLs) to total loans of 20.45% in September 2014, to 8.63% as at end September 2017.
- Banks have continued to strengthen their credit risk management systems, to complement the reduction of NPLs arising from the disposal of their toxic assets to ZAMCO.
Credit Infrastructure
- The Reserve Bank has made significant progress in enhancing the credit infrastructure through the establishment of a Credit Registry and Collateral Registry.
- This initiative is improving the quality of loans in the banking sector, through removal of information asymmetry, and broadening collateral required by banks.
- Going forward, the Reserve Bank will continue to intensify consumer awareness programmes, and introduce value added products that will
enrich stakeholder experience, including convenient access by consumers to their credit reports via mobile platforms.
Access to Cash
- The prevailing cash shortages continue to impose untold hardships on the generality of the population, particularly among the poor and rural areas.
- Government, through the Reserve Bank, continues to institute measures to ensure that the public is able to access their earnings and savings as and when they need them.
- However, sustained success will benefit from improvement in confidence, through addressing the primary drivers of the problem.
- Central is mismatch between stock of foreign currency available, as represented by hard currency and nostro balances, and electronic RTGS money balances in banks, largely being fueled by borrowing requirements to finance the Budget deficit.
- It is also for this reason that the New Economic Order is targeting to enhance production and exports by adopting investor friendly
policies, re-engaging with the world, easing the way we do business, addressing corruption and indiscipline.
- Meanwhile, Government is appreciative of the response of the general public in embracing use of plastic money and mobile transactions, with more than 75% of retail transactions now being done through electronic transfers.
Inflation Outlook
- Price developments in the economy have now reversed, from previous experiences of deflation to onset of rising prices.
- In September 2017, monthly prices rose by 0.4%. On an annual basis, this translated into inflation of 0.8% for the twelve months to September.
Inflation Developments
Source: ZIMSTAT
- In the outlook, the biggest threat emanates from inflationary pressures that the economy faces from potential general price hikes driven by speculative tendencies, arising from the mis-match between electronic bank balances and available foreign exchange.
Annual Headline, Food and Non-Food Inflation
Source: ZimStat
- The emergence of foreign exchange rate premiums on the back of foreign currency shortages is, thus, symptomatic of the above mismatches that remain the key driver of inflation.
Foreign Exchange Prioritisation
- Reserve Bank interventions to prioritise foreign currency allocations to producers of essential goods and services should partly assist overcome such premiums.
- This should be complemented by Government exercising flexibility in the issuance of import licences to those with free funds, in order to ensure that the market is adequately supplied with essential goods not produced locally.
- This is moreso, given the increased demand towards the festive season.
- However, overall, the above initiatives merely address the symptoms, and require to be buttressed by measures which address fundamental issues related to fiscal imbalances and low production.
Administrative Levies
- On the domestic front, the new Statutory Instrument 129 of 2017 that introduced a levy on cattle slaughters, day old chick and raw milk sales, also has potential to increase food inflation through cost-push channels.
External Factors
- From the external side, the recent increase in international oil prices, if sustained, is expected to increase inflationary pressures going forward.
- However, the weakening in the South African rand would dampen inflation in Zimbabwe, through trade and economic linkages between the two neighbouring countries.
CHAPTER 2: TOWARDS A NEW ECONOMIC ORDER
- The challenges facing the economy demand well thought-out, and focused, Government interventions for a much more rapid and sustained recovery path that delivers on jobs as envisaged and outlined in His Excellency President E.D. Mnangagwa’s Inaugural Address.
New Economic Order
- The Recovery Measures towards a ‘New Economic Order’ usher a break away from policy inconsistencies, reversals and hesitations of the past, and signal a strong Business Unusual Approach.
- Over the years, corrective measures to address the apparent fiscal indiscipline have constantly been proffered and, in a number of cases, Cabinet has embraced recommendations made, only for these to be arbitrarily reversed or ignored, reflective of lack of political will.
- Restoration of confidence in the economy, promotive of investment, production, employment creation and sustainable growth, development and poverty reduction will not be realised in such an environment.
- The ‘New Economic Order’, therefore, gears towards restoring discipline, fostering a stronger culture of implementation, supported by political will in dealing with the following:
- Correcting the Fiscal Imbalances and Financial Sector
Vulnerabilities;
- Public Enterprises and Local Authorities Reform;
- Improving the unconducive Investment Environment;
- Dealing with Corruption in the Economy;
- Re-engagement with the International Community;
- Stimulating Production, and Exporting; as well as
- Creation of Jobs.
- The overriding aspiration is upliftment of social-economic conditions of the populace, through making short-term sacrifices that allow the
Budget to play its rightful role in addressing production, job creation, and poverty reduction.
- Central is addressing the high prevalence of unemployment, against the background of vulnerabilities adversely affecting the sustainability of production, with the major one being the mounting demand pressures for foreign exchange.
- We must be bold to set annual targets for creation of decent jobs and strive to spread these across the various sectors of the economy.
- This requires that Government collectively acknowledges the risks and costs brought about by directing a dis-proportionate share of Budget expenditures towards salaries, allowances and other consumptive expenditures, such as condition of service vehicles and travel, among others.
- Accordingly, the Budget theme“Towards a New Economic Order” is drawn from this recognition and acknowledgement.
CHAPTER 3: FISCAL IMBALANCES & ANCHORS
Fiscal Imbalances
- At the heart of the economy’s fundamental economic challenges is an unsustainable Budget deficit, whose financing through issuance of Treasury bills and recourse to the overdraft with the Reserve Bank is untenable.
- This is also at the core of factors driving the demand for foreign exchange, as well as creation of excess money supply, which is largely in the form of electronic RTGS[6] and mobile money balances.
- These money balances are accessible through RTGS transactions, card swipes, as well as such mobile platforms as Eco-Cash, OneMoney and Tele-Cash. Physical cash is a small proportion of the economy’s overall financial sector liquidity.
- Money creation, through domestic money market instruments which do not match with available foreign currency, only serves to weaken the value of the same instruments, translating into rapid build-up in inflationary pressures, to the detriment of financial and macroeconomic stability.
- This has seen growing mis-matches between electronic money balances and the stock of real foreign exchange balances, as reflected by cash holdings and nostro balances of banks.
- The mis-match between the supply and demand for foreign exchange, has also led to the emergence of foreign exchange premiums in the market.
- Higher demand from imported feedstock required in the domestic manufacture of goods, in line with the promulgation of Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016, is also exerting pressure on foreign exchange requirements.
- Hence, while the panic buying of 22-23 September 2017 was largely driven by speculative tendencies, it was also an indication of the diminished confidence and underlying vulnerability that arises from the disparity between electronic money balances, and available foreign exchange.
- In addition, the growth in money supply witnessed in the past few months, emanating from the purchase of agricultural produce by the GMB, and the domestic financing of the Presidential and Command
Agricultural programmes, coupled with heightened inflation
expectations, have a great potential to adversely affect the inflation outlook.
- This calls for the Reserve Bank to put in place policy measures to sterilise the impact on the stock of money supply/RTGS balances within the economy.
- The 2018 National Budget, therefore, focusses on consolidating the fiscus in order to restore and maintain macro-economic stability, as well as financial sector resilience, that way re-building the necessary confidence for promoting economic activity.
- The room for domestic financing of the large fiscal deficit has now been fully depleted, and additional monetary financing of the deficit can only lead to inflation and further economic deterioration.
Fiscal Anchors
- Consequently, it is paramount that the‘New Economic Order’ judiciously adopts Fiscal Anchors, in order to instil and strengthen fiscal discipline for effectively improving Budget management and enhancing co-ordination of fiscal and monetary policies.
- The Fiscal Anchors for the Budget relate to:
- Fiscal Deficit Targeting, under which the Budget deficit for 2018 is halved to below 4% of GDP, and subsequently capping Budget deficits below 3%, in line with best practices and financing capacity of the economy;
- Sustainable level of Public Debt to GDP, consistent with Section 11(2) of the Public Debt Management Act [Chapter 22:21] which requires that the total outstanding Public and Publicly Guaranteed Debt as a ratio of GDP should not exceed 70% at the end of any fiscal year;
- Ceiling of Government Borrowing from the Central Bank,in line with Section 11(1) of the Reserve Bank Act [Chapter
22:15],which requires that Reserve Bank lending to the State at any time shall not exceed 20% of the previous year’s Government revenues; and
- Minimum Spending on Infrastructure, by re-directing substantial resources towards capital development priorities, through increasing the capital Budget thresholds from the current 11% to 15% in 2018 and 25% by 2020.
- Progressive reduction of the share of Employment Costs in the Budget to initially 70% in 2018, 65% in 2019, and below 60% of total revenue by 2020, to create fiscal space to accommodate financing of the development Budget and operations of Government.
- Central to adherence to the above Fiscal Anchors will be discipline and the political will to implement the necessary measures, avoiding arbitrary reversals to agreed Cabinet policy positions that entail pain and sacrifice.
- Already, Cabinet, has over the past, made several resolutions for implementation of measures that re-orient Budget expenditures towards priority development programmes.
- In this regard, Cabinet took specific decisions over measures to reduce the wage bill from consuming over 85% of Budget revenues.
- The most recent relate to decisions made during the 18thCabinet Meeting of 13 June 2017directing Treasury to engage line Ministries on expenditure reduction and revenue raising measures, as well as the 34thMeeting of 24 October 2017.
- Regrettably, no meaningful follow up on the implementation of the above resolutions was undertaken.
- Hence, the 2018 National Budget’s main objective is to, first and foremost, correct fiscal imbalances in order to build the necessary confidence and also eliminate vulnerabilities to the financial sector, that way creating a conducive environment for investment, growth and employment creation.
CHAPTER 4: EXPENDITURE MANAGEMENT
- The thrust of the 2018 Budget, consistent with the ‘New Economic Order’, calls for the implementation of a phased but Comprehensive and Coherent Expenditure Management Strategy that allows for reorientation of resources towards development programmes that benefit the generality of our population.
- Central is the implementation of decisions Cabinet has already taken, realising the unsustainability of our public finances, but on which Government prevaricated when the political will to implement was called for.
- Accordingly, and taking account of some of the critical measures which were approved but were not implemented, the following specific expenditure management measures are being proposed in line with the Fiscal Anchors highlighted above.
Wage Bill
- Measures towards reduction of the wage bill centre on the following:
Freeze on Recruitment
- The policy on the freezing of vacant posts in the public service has greatly assisted in containing the wage bill, thus assisting towards efforts to re-orient Budget expenditures.
- Notwithstanding this Government policy stance, Treasury continues to receive requests to fill vacant posts across the board, which would impose unbudgeted additional requirements to the wage bill.
- In this regard, the freeze on recruitment is maintained across the board, save for critical posts, as determined by Treasury in conjunction with Service Commissions.
Retirements
- A number of public officials continue to be engaged in the public service well beyond their retirement age.
- In this regard, from January 2018, Government will, through the Service Commissions, retire staff above the age of 65.
- Staff that retire will be assisted with access to capital, to facilitate their meaningful contribution towards economic development, including taking advantage of allocated land, for those who are beneficiaries of the land reform programme.
- Furthermore, Government will also introduce a voluntary retirement scheme that serves to rationalise the public service wage bill, whilst providing financial incentives to beneficiaries to engage in economic activities in such areas as farming, and start-up of small business enterprises.
Duplication of Functions
- The Cabinet decision to abolish the Youth Officer posts under the
Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation & Empowerment and transfer the
roles and function to the Ward Development Coordinators in the Ministry of Women, Gender and Community Development is being implemented with immediate effect.
- This will rationalise the total Youth Officers and Ward Development Coordinators establishment down by 3 739 from 7 269 to 3 530, translating to savings of US$1.6 million per month and US$19.3 million per annum.
- Furthermore, 528 members of the Public Service without the requisite qualifications in terms of Section 18(4) e (ii) of the Public Service Regulations are being retired.
- The retirement of the above members will entail payment of a severance package estimated at US$8.7 million.
Size of Executive
- Already, His Excellency, the President has taken the first steps towards a lean Government structure by beginning to reduce the size of Government by trimming down the number of Ministries from 27 to 21.
- In this regard, savings will be realised progressively through identification of redundant staff, as Ministries are combined and rationalised.
Fuel Benefit Levels
- Pursuant to observations by the Auditor-General which highlighted inconsistencies in the setting of fuel allocation levels in Ministries, the Office of the President and Cabinet and Treasury reviewed and standardised fuel benefit levels as communicated through Cabinet
Circular, Number 12 of 2017 and Treasury Circular, Number 5 of 2016 respectively.
- Within the context of rationalising public expenditures, Treasury will strengthen its monitoring over adherence to the stipulated limits.
Personal Issue Vehicles
- Currently, too many grades in the Public Services are provided with vehicles as a Condition of Service every five years, with the vehicles being licenced, insured, serviced and repaired at Government expense.
- The total outstanding request for Condition of Service vehicles is now close to US$140 million, which the economy in its state cannot afford.
- Government, therefore, has reviewed the vehicle Scheme as follows:
- Permanent Secretaries and equivalent grades, one personal issue vehicle;
- Commissioners and equivalent grades, one vehicle; and
- Principal Directors, Directors and Deputy Directors and their equivalents, vehicle loan scheme.
Foreign Business Travel
- Measures to contain Budget expenditures, and conserve scarce foreign currency, will extend to review of foreign business travel practices.
Size of Delegations
- Experience has shown that Zimbabwe delegations to regional and international fora being among the largest from the region at such gatherings.
- In this regard, the following requirements now apply:
- Strict reduction in the size of delegations to levels that are absolutely necessary; and
- Where there is Diplomatic presence, taking advantage of this to realise representation in outside meetings.
- Therefore, as part of approval of Cabinet Authorities for external travel, the Office of the President and Cabinet, and Treasury will be enforcing rationalisation of the size of delegations, in compliance with this new requirement, without exception.
Class of Travel
- As directed by His Excellency, the President, Government will also be enforcing restrictions on the Class of travel on the basis of grade, as communicated through periodic Treasury Circulars to Heads of Ministries.
- In this regard, Business class travel will, with immediate effect, be restricted to the following categories:
- Ministers;
- Heads of Ministries and equivalent grades;
- Parastatals’ Chief Executive Officers;
- Local Authorities’ Mayors, Town Clerks, Chief Executive
Officers; and
- Constitutional Commissioners.
- All those below the above stipulated grades will be restricted to Economy class travel regardless of flight duration, with immediate effect.
- Accordingly, all the respective Heads of Ministries, Government Agencies, Local Authorities, State enterprises, and all institutions that have potential to make a charge on the Exchequer are being directed to abide by this policy directive with immediate effect.
- This policy directive should be communicated to all staff.
- It should also be noted that the above directive does not do away with other expenditure reduction initiatives which could have been adopted by some entities, but complements them.
- For the avoidance of doubt, the entities that are covered under this policy position are tabulated in Annexure
- Disciplinary measures will be instituted against anyone in violation of this directive and the cost incurred on such travel will be recovered directly from the individual involved.
Foreign Service Missions
- Currently, Zimbabwe has Diplomatic presence at 46 Embassies and
Consulates, manned by both home based and locally recruited staff.
- The above Diplomatic presence is imposing annual Budget support levels of around US$65 million, which is far above available capacity.
- Pursuant to this, His Excellency, the President has approved the downsizing of our Diplomatic Missions, taking account of our current economic environment and affordability principles.
- Rationalisation of Diplomatic Missions will balance the cost of maintaining Missions, and the business value being realised.
Rentals at Foreign Missions
- With regards to residential rentals at Foreign Missions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in the process of determining rental ceilings for officials at various Missions.
- The rental ceilings will be based on the officials’ grade, as well as the expected Diplomatic zones that they are expected to reside, and will be country specific.
Conditions of Service for Locally Recruited Staff
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in consultation with the Public Service Commission, has initiated the process to rationalise establishments for locally recruited staff, as well as adjusting their pay structure.
- The monthly wage bill for Locally Recruited Staff currently stands at US$355 000, which translates into an annual bill of US$4.3 million.
- It is important that this process be expedited in order to realise savings in 2018.
Cost of Governance
Provincial and Metropolitan Structures
- Funding of the Provincial and Metropolitan structures, as set out in
Chapter 14, Section 264 of the Constitution, is not sustainable and Political Parties represented in Parliament should, in the future, give consideration to amending the Constitution to lessen the burden on the fiscus.
Constitutional Commissions
- The good intentions over improving Governance, deriving from our Constitution impose some fiscal over-heads through establishment of various Constitutional Commissions.
- Currently, the majority of Commissions are set up on an executive basis, and hence, imposing an annual wage bill of around US$11.6 million, inclusive of US$3.8 million for Commissioners.
- In this regard, Government will, with effect from 2018, be reviewing this provision to allow for only the Chairperson to be engaged on a permanent basis, leaving the rest of the Commissioners being part time, and remunerated with modest allowances, that way devolving responsibility for day to day operations to Secretariat staff.
- This should be complemented by rationalisation and restructuring of organisational structures, with a view of containing costs.
Vehicles for Commissioners
- Currently, Commissionsare also required to provide condition of service vehicles, to Commissioners, which the National Budget has been struggling to finance.
- Condition of service vehicle requests for Commissioners alone would require an amount of close to US$10 million, which the 2018 Budget has no capacity to provide for.
- In line with the need to reduce the cost of our governance, Government is, therefore, reviewing this position to allow the provision of one vehicle to those that are full time, as deemed necessary.
Sub-Contracted Security Services
- The current arrangement where Government buildings and facilities countrywide are secured through sub-contracted security services is expensive, resulting in an annual bill of US$15.3 million.
- Government is, therefore, migrating away from labour-intensive to ICT based security systems that entail, among other interventions, installation of biometric access systems, use of cameras and sensors in securing premises and facilities and solar security lighting.
Implementation of Public Sector Projects
- In line with the thrust towards a “New Economic Order” by His Excellency President E.D. Mnangagwa, Government is also moving in to improve accountability and monitoring over implementation of Public Sector Investment Projects.
Execution of Projects
- This is against the background of risks and weaknesses that have often delayed project completion, increased cost and time over runs, as well as lower the quality of completed works, requiring additional Budget outlays towards costly rehabilitation works.
- Project implementation during 2017 saw stalling of execution on some Budget priority projects, against the background of limited accountability and absence of unity of purpose, with disagreements between key players compromising implementation and completion across various sectors.
- Furthermore, failure to adequately maintain the existing infrastructure has reduced the benefits accruing from public investments.
Coordination
- In some instances, Treasury has had to intervene in order to enforce coordination between Ministries and departments to ensure smooth project implementation.
- The 2018 Budget, will, therefore, implement measures that improve the way we plan, finance and deliver infrastructure projects, including better coordination between Government Ministries and departments, in order to get value from such investments.
Public Investment Management Guidelines
- Going forward, all new projects will be subject to governance procedures, as provided for in the Public Investment Management Guidelines and Manuals.
- The Zimbabwe Public Investment Management Guidelines, which Treasury is unveiling, will enhance the quality of public investment preparation, appraisal, and selection, as well as provide line Ministries and implementing Agencies with best practices in project implementation.
- Key among the requirements are the following:
- Projects submitted for funding through the Budget should have prior rigorous detailed appraisal and formal approval by Treasury, and should be aligned to National/Ministry strategic objectives;
- Sustainable funding options should have been clearly determined, including detailed costing of works to be undertaken, which should be validated by Treasury prior to commencement of works;
- Establishment of formal Project Committees within Ministries and implementing agencies, to ensure that all key steps in the project management process are followed, comprising of strategic guidance and appraisal, project selection and budgeting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, as well as audit;
- Commitment management for each project will be strengthened to ensure we avoid accruing liabilities that are not covered by the available Budget; and
- Any variations to scope and cost of above 10% of the total project cost shall not be effected without prior approval of the responsible authority and Treasury.
- The above measures will be complemented by measures to capacitate implementing agencies through training of technical staff for effective project management.
- The Zimbabwe Public Investment Management Guidelines will apply to projects implemented by central Government Ministries, Local Authorities, State Enterprises and Parastatals, as well as Development Partner funded projects that impose a cost on the Budget.
- In support of the utilisation of the Guidelines by stakeholders, training sessions will be conducted for all implementing agencies across the various sectors of Government.
- The Guidelines will be effective starting 1 January 2018, and in preparation for their dissemination and engagement with stakeholders, Treasury is availing copies of the Guidelines, as well as uploading the same on the Treasury website zimtreasury.gov.zw from December 8, 2017.
Public Enterprises & Local Authorities
- Treasury has also been inundated with requests for direct Budget support for recapitalisation by State Owned Enterprises and, in most cases, such requests lack adequate justification and hence, only pose further fiscal risks.
- Fiscal balance under the ‘New Economic Order,’however, necessitates that public enterprises, including Local Authorities, cease to exist just to pay salaries and wages, and incur financial deficits.
- Hence, Government is, beginning 2018, putting a stop to unabated flow of Budget resources to Public Enterprises and Local Authorities without any returns, either through dividends or meaningful public service delivery.
- I, therefore, emphasise that Government support to public entities will, strictly be conditional on credible and bankable turn-around strategies, complemented stringent cost containment measures.
- State Enterprises that exhibit potential will be reformed, while those which cannot be rehabilitated will be privatised or face outright closure.
Public Enterprise Reform
- Our public enterprises remain a draw back through their inefficiencies, with their contribution to the economy down from around 60% to current levels of about 2%.
- Their inefficient operations are a drain on the Budget, over and above serving to worsen the high cost of doing business in the economy.
- Last year’s financial audits indicate that 38 out of 93 public enterprises incurred a combined US$270 million loss, as a result of weak corporate governance practices and ineffective control mechanisms.
- In addition, 70% of these entities are technically insolvent, representing an actual or potential drain on the fiscus.
- Further, fiscal risks also arise from debts assumption, re-capitalisation requirements and called-up guarantees.
- Despite the under-performance of these entities, management at most parastatals continues to enjoy huge salaries and benefits, which breach Cabinet’s directive of packages not to exceed 30% of total revenues.
- Hence, Government, in pursuit of improving corporate governance in state enterprises has since developed the Public Entities Corporate Governance Bill which, together with the respective Regulations, is being finalised.
Resuscitation of Cold Storage Company
- The sub-sector will benefit from efforts being taken by Government to ensure resuscitation of Cold Storage Company.
- This draws from the decision already taken by Cabinet that Government cedes 80% of its shareholding in CSC to the National Social Security Authority (NSSA).
- In turn, NSSA will direct the resources towards resuscitation of the operations of CSC, in particular the resuscitation of the cattle scheme which is critical for increased beef production for domestic and export markets.
CHAPTER 5: PUBLIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
Improved Public Accountability
Alignment of the PFM Act
- The PFM Act of 2010, is being realigned to the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No. 20 of 2013.
- This is to allow the PFM Act to:
- Incorporate Constitutional principles relating to public finance management;
- Align the Act to relevant international agreements;
- Cross-reference the Act with the Procurement Act, the Public Debt Management Act, as well as other relevant statutes; and
- Embrace the principle of gender responsive budgeting and elimination of discrimination against women.
- The amendment of the PFM Act will also provide for the allocation of the not less than 5% of national revenues raised in any financial year to Provincial and Local Authorities as is required in terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, Section 301 (3).
- Furthermore, the amendment will also broaden the scope of institutions subject to audit by the Auditor-General.
Migration to Accrual Accounting
- Public Financial Statements are currently prepared on the principle of Cash Accounting.
- Consistent with the requirements of the Public Accountants and
Auditors Board for adoption of International Public Sector
Accounting Standards Framework, Government is migrating from 1 January 2018, to Accrual Accounting, also to boost transparency and accountability as well as ensure uniformity in reporting.
Chart of Accounts
- Treasury has developed a new Chart of Accounts for central Government effective 1 January 2018. The old one is derived from financial classifications.
- The new Chart of Accounts will embrace all economic classifications for the purposes of enhancing consolidation, preparation and presentation of timely, accurate and reliable financial and fiscal reports.
Accounting & Internal Control
- Treasury Instructions and PFM Regulations are in the process of being rolled out to line Ministries to ensure compliance and adherence to accounting and internal control provisions.
- The awareness campaigns over the strengthening of Accounting and Internal Control Systems are currently being undertaken across all Provinces.
Accounting Manual
- Treasury is in the process of drafting an Accounting Manual that sets out the standards, frameworks, policies and procedures to be followed in accounting for various transactions and aspects of public funds.
- The effective date for the new Accounting Manual for use by accountants across Government is 1 January, 2018.
Accounting Officers Instructions
- Accounting Officers are being required to review their Accounting
Officers Instructions to their staff in line with the new Treasury
Instructions, Public Finance Management Regulations and the Accounting Manual all drawing from the PFM Act.
Internal Audit Manual & Audit Committees
- An Internal Audit Manual has just been completed, and is meant to improve controls, enhance risk management, governance and promote ethical behaviour and guide Internal Auditors.
- Furthermore, the PFM Act requires all line Ministries to constitute Audit Committees, with such committees now established in most Ministries.
- The few remaining Ministries are being required to establish their Audit Committees by end of December 2017.
Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability Assessment
- Government, working with the World Bank, has just completed a Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) assessment that focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of the PFM.
- A PEFA assessment helps to achieve sustainable improvements in PFM practices by providing a means to measure and monitor performance against a set of indicators across the range of important public financial management institutions, systems and processes.
- The 2017 PEFA assessment report, jointly produced by the Government and the World Bank, is expected to be published during the first quarter of 2018.
Professionalisation of Public Accountants & Auditors
- Government is currently involved in a process of professionalising Public Accountants and Audit personnel to attain internationally recognised qualifications and certifications.
- The professionalisation project is funded by Department for
International Development (DFID) who are working with the Institute of Chartered Accountants Zimbabwe and Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in Zimbabwe.
- To date, over 30 professional accountants and auditors, whose training was funded by the Africa Development Bank, have attained various professional qualifications.
Modernisation of Government Telephone System
- The telephone system that is currently in place across Government has been in place for some time, such that the technology is not available to aid control costs.
- Hence, Government is working towards replacing its outdated telephone network with an internet based network that will help reduce operational costs by an estimated 30%.
Borrowing Procedures
- Under the ‘New Economic Order’, it is imperative that Government Ministries and Departments strictly follow borrowing procedures laid down in the Debt Management Act, in order to avoid committing the country to unsustainable and unproductive loans.
- In addition, all loan commitments and agreements will be required to go through the normal Government approval processes.
- Outside commitments will not be tolerated and constitute indiscipline attracting penal measures.
Payroll and Pension Administration
- Section 203 of the Constitution Amendment (No. 20), Act 2013 and Section 8 of the Public Service Act [16:04] outlines the functions of the Public Service Commission around the regulation of Conditions of Service of members of the Civil Service.
- Over and above fixing and regulating Conditions of Service, the
Public Service Commission also administers the Payroll and
Pensions, through the Salary Service Bureau (SSB) and the Pension Office, respectively.
- However, in most jurisdictions, Payroll and Pensions payment systems are part of the overall Government financial system, aTreasury responsibility, which is critical for fiscal management and prudence.
- Consistent with this, the administration of Payroll and Pensions becomes a direct Treasury responsibility, with effect from 1 January, 2018.
CHAPTER 6: SUPPORTIVE MEASURES
- The economy’s challenges are being compounded by the prevailing low foreign and domestic investor confidence, at a time when arrears on external debts continue to impact on foreign capital inflows into the economy.
- Budget measures to restore fiscal balance and enhance the developmental impact of budgets will require complementary measures that focus on stimulating production and exporting, underpinned by recognition of the reality that Zimbabwe competes for global capital flows with many other countries.
- In line with this, and consistent with the undertaking by His Excellency, President E. D. Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe is now open for business, and is putting in place supportive measures that seek to rebuild confidence and compete for investment, and enhance the economy’s competitiveness.
- These measures focus on the following areas:
- Removal of policy uncertainty and inconsistency, guaranteeing safety of investments;
- Amendment of the Indigenisation policy;
- Lowering cost of doing business;
- Re-engaging with the international community;
- Security of land tenure, and introduction of bankable land leases;
- Enhancing foreign exchange generation, including tapping into the diaspora;
- Concrete, and time-framed public enterprises reforms; and
- Dealing with corruption, rent-seeking, and other business malpractices.
Investment & Business Environment
- The investment drive under the ‘New Economic Order’ will be anchored by adoption of consistent and transparent policies that make our economy a conducive and competitive investment destination, cognisant of the need for the participation of foreign private investment in the domestic economy.
- Zimbabwe’s readiness to compete for investment, under the new economic dispensation, is underscored by assurances by His Excellency, the President, guaranteeing security of investments coming into the country.
- Policy consistency and credibility is also essential for mitigating against risk, underpinning investment and business planning.
Policy Consistency and Credibility
- Accordingly, nurturing investor confidence will also benefit from consistency and coherence of Zimbabwe’s business and investment landscape as insisted by His Excellency, the President.
- Therefore, strengthening of policy co-ordination and oversight will be undertaken with the leadership of the Office of the President and Cabinet.
- In this regard, previous omissions and commissions signalling policy reversals and conflicting policy pronouncements by different agencies of the same Government will no longer be allowed.
Investor Protection
- Consistent with best practices, institutional, legal and regulatory standards that affirm investor protection and undergird foreign direct investment are being adopted with the support of development partners.
- The benefits to local firms and suppliers include potential development of linkages and their incorporation into global value chains.
Indigenisation & Economic Empowerment Act
- Government is, through the Finance Bill, being submitted to this august House for the 2018 financial year, amending the
Indigenisation and Empowerment Act, to bring the following into effect from April 2018:
Extractive Sector
- Diamonds and platinum are the only sub-sectors designated as‘extractive.’
- Accordingly, the proposed Amendments will confine the 51/49 Indigenisation threshold to only the two minerals, namely diamonds and platinum, in the extractive sector.
- The 51/49 threshold will not apply to the rest of the extractive sector, nor will it apply to the other sectors of the economy, which will be open to any investor regardless of nationality.
Reserved Sector
- The Reserved sector is only for Zimbabwean citizens, and for nonZimbabweans, entry into the Reserved sector will only be by special dispensation granted by Government, if the proposed business:
- Creates employment;
- Affords the opportunity for the transfers of skills and technology for the benefit of the people of Zimbabwe;
- promotes the creation of sustainable value chains; and
- Meets the prescribed socially and economically desirable objectives.
- As we seek to attract both local and foreign investments, existing and potential investors become fully guided by the Amendments we seek to effect through the Finance Bill that is being brought to this august House.
- Those already in the Reserved sector, except gold panning, will be required to register and comply with our laws.
Ease of Doing Business Reforms
- Zimbabwe’s ranking with regards to the ease of doing business remains unacceptably poor, with its ranking only moving from 161 out of 190 countries in 2016 to 159 in 2017.
- Government is, therefore, seized with the need to implement a much broader array of Ease of Doing Business Reforms.
- His Excellency, the President, has also pronounced himself over measures to address the ease and cost of doing business.
- Hence, the thrust of Government will be to make Ease of Doing Business reforms more practical and administratively accessible for actual day to day transaction processes to the ordinary Zimbabwean and foreigner intending to undertake business or investment.
- Achievements to date, however, include:
- Reduction in the number of days for getting construction Permits, from 448 days to 120 days;
- Reduction in the period for property registration, from the previous 36 days to 14 days, and decentralisation to Local Authorities; and
- Investment in such enabling infrastructure as ICT, utilities, and roads rehabilitation.
- A number of Bills that seek to address some of the ease of doing business concerns that are before Parliament, will therefore, be fast tracked.
- These include:
- Insolvency Bill;
- Estate Administrators Bill;
- Deeds Amendment Bill;
- Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Bill;
- Shop Licensing Amendment Bill; and
- Public Sector Governance Bill.
Border Delays
- As part of measures to improve the doing business conditions, Government is expediting the establishment of a Ports Authority that will immediately address the challenges faced by businesses, with regards to red tape and delays at border posts.
- The creation of the Ports Authority is also critical as the country embarks on setting up Special Economic Zones which require efficient clearance of imported raw materials, machinery and equipment for their operations.
- Given that our borders are porous, and hence susceptible to leakages through entry of smuggled goods, a range of measures to address this are being instituted to mitigate impact on competitiveness of local industry.
Re-organisation of Vendors
- The current economic challenges, which have seen many rendered jobless, including a high number of graduates, is forcing many of the working population into vending to sustain livelihoods.
- Government is, therefore, working in partnership with the respective vendor organisations and Local Authorities in the designation of vending sites, as well as ensure the provision of proper public amenities and sanitary facilities.
- This should ensure that all vendors are operating in the designated sites, that way, also overcoming recent disruptions to public movement and operations of formal businesses, which undermines their sustainability.
Business Cost Structures
- Over and above challenges businesses experience over the ease of doing business environment, businesses are also contend with a high domestic cost structure.
- In the SADC region, Zimbabwe’s business cost structures are ranked high, with some of the cost lines well in excess of 20% above regional comparatives.
- This is contributing to the lack of competitiveness of Zimbabwe’s exports in the region and beyond.
- The sources of Zimbabwe’s high costs of business are many, including but not limited to:
- High utility tariffs, for power, water, municipal charges, etc;
- Multiplicity of other fees and charges by such agencies as EMA, other Government departments, and Local Authorities;
- High wage structure, relative to productivity, when compared to such other countries as Ethiopia;
- High interest rates and bank charges, given the US dollar environment and experiences of other countries during the global financial crisis; and
- High transport costs, given heavy reliance on road haulage, in the absence of reliable cheaper railway transport.
- To enhance business competiveness, Government will unpack the underlying causes of the above costs, with a view to aligning them to regional standards.
One Stop Shop Investment Centre
- Other countries have successfully introduced one stop shops, wherein all foreign direct investments are approved under one roof, with the objective of expediting the processing time.
- In pursuit of this and in view of intense competition for foreign direct investment, implementing of a functional one stop shop is paramount.
- In line with technological developments, Zimbabwe’s One Stop Shop Investment Centre is also being required to take advantage of online services, that way removing the requirement for seconding staff by various Ministries and Departments, which has been delaying the operationalisation of this initiative.
Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements
- Zimbabwe, being a signatory to a number of international conventions on protection of property rights, reiterates its commitment to honouring obligations under various Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPAs).
- His Excellency, the President, has already made the commitment that all foreign investments will be safe in Zimbabwe.
Compensation for BIPPA Violations & Acquired Land
- Where violations of Zimbabwe’s obligations under BIPPAs have been made, including over land acquisition, Government will be engaging the respective parties to reach amicable settlement arrangements.
- Accordingly, Government will be making appropriate compensation in relation to land acquired under BIPPA arrangements.
- Furthermore, His Excellency, the President, has undertaken
Government’s commitment to compensate all farmers from whom land was taken as part of the Land Reform Programme, in accordance with the country’s Constitution.
Local Content Policy
- Zimbabwe should create an environment for accelerated economic growth anchored on the agricultural, extractive and industrial sectors, while remaining competitive in international markets.
- This will ensure the rapid creation of employment, and the broadening and deepening of forward and backward linkages for the
local procurement and supply of goods and services, leading to the development of new industries and increased capacity utilisation in existing industries, and resultantly spurring increased consumption of local goods and services, and a reduction in imports and increased exports.
- To achieve this, a local content policy framework is currently under preparation with the broad participation of Government, industry and consumers.
- The local content policy is expected to stimulate the use of local factors of production, such as labour, capital, supplies of goods and services, technology, and research and development, to create value in the domestic economy.
- In doing so, legislative, regulatory, institutional and reporting, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms will be established, while being cognisant of the internal systemic and political realities, as well as exogenous contextual factors, such as the cyclical behaviour of commodity prices, demand and supply dynamics and technological changes and world trade rules.
Promoting Domestic Goods
- Government, through the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and
Enterprise Development, is drafting a Local Content Requirements Framework to buttress the Import Management Programme.
- Promotion of locally produced goods should offer transitional stimulation and development of opportunities for domestic local industry value and supply chains, already beginning to benefit from investment into new production and product lines.
- Government is working on an incentive framework that strengthens the backward and forward linkages between manufacturing and other sectors, such as agriculture.
- These business linkages include contract farming for soya beans, cotton, and maize.
- The production of raw materials locally will help alleviate shortages of inputs being experienced industry wide, and also exerting pressure on the import bill.
Labour Market Flexibility
- Following submissions regarding the recent amendments to the Labour Act, Government, social partners and other relevant stakeholders are in the process of finalising holistic amendments to the Act.
- The proposed amendment of the Act seeks to strike a balance between creating a conducive environment for investment and protecting the fundamental rights of employees.
- In particular, the proposed amendments to the Act will relate to processes of termination of contract, retrenchments, and collective bargaining and provide for a more efficient and effective dispute settlement system.
Diaspora Participation
- Government appreciates and acknowledges the critical role that our diasporans play towards contributing to the economy’s foreign currency generation capacity, mainly in the form of remittances.
- The ‘New Economic Order’ undertakes to ensure that the diaspora plays an active role in the broader economy, particularly through investments in the domestic economy, as well as knowledge and technology transfer.
- This is consistent with the commitment by His Excellency, the President calling for the creation of conditions for an investment-led economic recovery that is underpinned by the active participation of our diaspora into the broad economic calculus.
- Government will, therefore, be strengthening platforms for engaging the Zimbabwean diaspora with a view to coming up with a policy framework that provides incentives and guaranteed security for diaspora investments.
Re-Engagement & International Cooperation
Political Relations
- Zimbabwe remains committed to the values of SADC, the African Union,the United Nations and other international fora where it retains membership, as well as all its bilateral cooperation obligations with various Nations, groupings and institutions.
- Under His Excellency President E.D Mnangagwa’s new dispensation, Zimbabwe sets out to strengthen its re-engagement and cooperation with the international community, central to quickly normalising political relations.
- This should also create a basis for re-establishing external relations and potential support for our agenda for development and socioeconomic transformation.
- Central to enhancing cooperation is the commitment by His Excellency, the President, that Zimbabwe now fully embraces the culture of honouring all its obligations.
- His Excellency the President is, therefore, initiating moves to resuscitate the political re-engagement process with the international community, as well as all our bilateral partners.
Re-Engagement with International Financial Institutions
- Our quest towards a ‘New Economic Order’will also require complementary support from development partners, access to external borrowings, as well as resource inflows into the economy.
- Hence, pursuing the re-engagement process with international financial institutions, in particular the World Bank and the African Development Bank, and the European Investment Bank, will be enhanced in order to unlock external new financing required by productive sectors.
- The loss of long standing correspondent banking relationships, or
“de-risking” by leading global banks was also beginning to pose significant risks to the country's efforts to finance international trade and access to foreign lines of credit.
- In this context, strengthening of re-engagement initiatives and processes with multi-lateral financial institutions and cooperating partners minimises the continuation of de-risking, reduce country risk and improve financial relations.
Corruption & Indiscipline
- Over the years, corruption had been threatening to spread unchecked, negatively affecting the social and moral fabric of the Nation.
- Corruption and market indiscipline also increase the cost of doing business, and encourage rent seeking behaviour, thereby increasing hardships for the general public.
- His Excellency, the President, in his Inauguration Speech, underscored that this syndrome will be decisively dealt with.
- In this regard, the cleansing has begun, targeting unlawful and illegitimate deals and transactions, money laundering practices, externalisation of foreign currency and under-ground foreign exchange transactions, among other corrupt conducts.
- Digitalisation of financial services needs to be speeded up,to make it difficult for people to engage in dishonest and corrupt practices.
- Further intensification of Government interventions to curb incidences of corruption, plug revenue leakages, as well as arrest market indiscipline will also buttress the successful implementation of the 2018 Budget.
Corrupt Practices
- Across all Government agencies, the quality of service offered will be required to become more facilitative and devoid of corrupt practices. This is moreso as Zimbabwe competes with its regional neighbours for investment, business and tourism.
- Appeals from stakeholders also make it necessary that such Government agencies as the Police, ZIMRA, EMA, VID, etc revisit their mandates and Service Charters to avoid “kusweravakamirapama roadblocks in large numbers” extorting money from the public.
- Public perceptions to the effect that “ukangowonaMupurisa, ZIMRA, EMA, VID etc wotoziva kuti mari yavekubuda” are not conducive to a country’s development.
Abuse of Authority to Retain Funds
- Treasury Authority has been granted to various agencies of Government to retain for their own utilisation, earnings, fees and fines that would ordinarily be surrendered to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
- Regrettably, this dispensation is increasingly also being abused as agencies depart from their core mandates and focus on revenue
raising, also with corrupt practices and extortionist tendencies permeating in.
- Consequently, over and above the transparency arrangements for retentions being ushered in by the 2018 Budget, Treasury will not hesitate to withdraw Retention Authority where the above practices are reported.
Anonymous Tip-offs
- The Independent Complaints Mechanism established in terms of Section 210 of the Constitution deals with complaints arising out of the misconduct of a member of the security services.
- However, for the purposes of encouraging the coming forward of whistle-blowers who may possess vital information which could aid in combating corruption in the public sector, the 2018 Budget proposes that dedicated facilities or hotlines be established specifically for this purpose, with the necessary checks to protect the identity of members of the public.
Transparency & Openness
- State institutions charged with tackling corruption will be required to demonstrate a higher degree of transparencyin order to monitor the progress each respective institution is registering in combating corruption.
- As such, State institutions set up to combat corruption and crime, such as the National Prosecuting Authority, the Zimbabwe AntiCorruption Commission and the Zimbabwe Republic Police will be required to publish reports once every quarter giving statistics on the:
- Number of arrests made;
- Number of successful prosecutions or convictions; and
- Value of money or property recovered, as a result of their interventions.
- Furthermore, demonstrable efforts to recover proceeds of criminal activities, through the institution of Civil process against the offenders, in terms of section 4 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act [Chapter 9:07], will be called for.
- Easy and ready access to information by the public will also enhance accountability of public institutions.
- Given the high correlation between the incidence of corruption and the extent of bureaucratic red tape, under the auspices of the Ease of Doing Business, needless regulations will continue to be eliminated, while safeguarding the essential regulatory functions of the State.
Public Entities Corporate Governance and Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Acts
- It is envisaged that the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act, which Act seeks to tighten, reorganize and improve our procurement system, will become effective 1 January 2018.
- In these circumstances, traditional private partners and bank funders of agriculture also become hesitant to develop fully supportive facilities for the new farmer, necessitating adoption of collaborative financing models by Government and the private sector.
Farmer Obligations
- The individual farmer remains responsible and accountable for honouring repayment of obligations arising under such financing facilities.
Financing Model
- Government envisaged the impact of the financing model for the
‘Command Agriculture’, cognisant that this transitional intervention with short-term cost implications on the Budget would anchor improved agricultural production.
- As we move forward, private sector and commercial bank finance will be required to fully take up its rightful role of adequately underpinning agriculture, particularly, A2 commercial farmers.
- Accordingly, the 2018 Budget also supports interventions in agriculture. This will progressively and gradually scale down from 2019, leaving Government financial support targeted at needy vulnerable households.
Government Facilitation
- On the other hand, Government will continue with its facilitative role in the areas of extension services, disease and pest control, provision of bankable leases and security of tenure, development of irrigation, farm mechanisation and other infrastructure facilities.
Horticulture
- Government plans to coordinate extension of support towards expanded horticulture production from 2018, focusing on providing support towards identified farmers.
- Some of these farmers would be requiring rehabilitation and expansion of irrigation infrastructure, access to handling technologies, market access, financial services and capacity building.
- Participating farmers will largely be drawn from both the commercial and smallholder farming communities, with the programme anchored on commercial farmers with expertise in horticulture production.
- Smallholder farmers will, therefore, participate as out growers.
- This intervention will provide us with new opportunities to economically empower farmers, particularly smallholder ones, create employment opportunities, as well as earn foreign currency.
Monitoring of Agriculture Inputs
- Government has instituted measures to ensure effective delivery of the Command Agriculture programme, and accountability of inputs[7] utilised by farmers.
- These measures include among others, strengthening of the inputs control and distribution systems, as well as programme monitoring mechanisms, at every stage of the supply and distribution of inputs, that way assisting plug potential leakages of agriculture inputs.
- Reports of abuse and sale of inputs by some beneficiaries,under both Command and Presidential Agricultural Programmes, are being followed up with the support of Agritex officers, and the culprits will be quickly brought to book.
- Furthermore, the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement is validating expenditure commitments of Sakunda under the Programme, as well as values of inputs supplied and those collected by farmers. This is being undertaken with the support of the Accountant General and the Debt Management Office.
Electronic Management Systems
- Use of manual capture systems at district and provincial levels does not provide adequate monitoring of collection of inputs by farmers, hence, scope for double dipping by some farmers, with more than 20 hectares and above, who are required to collect inputs directly from input suppliers.
- Experiences of missing details of some farmers have been registered with reliance on manual capture systems for inputs disbursements.
- Hence, arrangements are underway to have all data relating to participating farmers captured in an electronic data collection system, which is expected to ride on the back of the PFMS system.
- In this regard, the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture and Rural
Resettlement is implementing the electronic data management system as a matter of urgency.
- To contain side marketing by farmers, from the 2017/18 season grain intake, the GMB is being required to decentralise cost recovery Stop Order forms to depot level, as well as consolidate data on participating farmers.
Control over Access to Supplies
- Absence of effective control and distribution mechanisms had meant that bogus farmers could access inputs through unscrupulous suppliers.
- This also results in abuse of fuel coupons, through issuance of fuel coupons that would not be commensurate to farmer requirements.
- Some of the potential risk areas have since been rectified which has seen the logistics committee, in consultation with private financing partners, tightening the distribution and collection mechanisms for both fuel and other inputs.
- All participating farmers are now required to have their contract papers and release orders for inputs collection to be processed at district level.
- For those farmers required to collect inputs directly from inputs suppliers, Government officials have been stationed at inputs suppliers’ depots to clear and monitor collection of inputs by farmers.
- Other potential leakages being plugged relate to:
- Absence of validation processes over use of tillage vouchers and combine harvesters repairs; and
- Collusion between district Command Centre officials and some farmers, that could result in inputs collections in excess of requirements determined by Agritex ward officers.
Stop Orders
- Some farmers who would have benefitted from Command
Agriculture inputs supplies were being paid in full for grain delivered to GMB despite having loan obligations under the Programme.
- Government has, thus, moved in to plug potential leakages that could arise. In this regard, participating farmers are also required to complete the cost recovery Stop Order forms at the point of inputs collection.
- Furthermore, plugging of potential leakages is extended to prevent some Ward extension officers recommending farmers without farm/land offer letter to collect inputs, resulting in no recoveries.
Validation & Monitoring
- Other potential areas of leakages being plugged at supply level includerequirements for:
- Enforcement of validation processes over quantities of inputs delivered against quantities of inputs contracted;
- Tighter monitoring mechanisms relating to delivery of inputs to GMB depots by suppliers such that current expenditure commitments are based on Command Centre reports on inputs collected by farmers;
- Procurement authorisations over such inputs as chemicals for the control of Fall Armyworm and Quelea birds within the
Financial Agreements; and
- Strengthened Government oversight over input prices negotiations prior to procurement.
Capacitation of Agritex & Command Centres
- Command Agriculture programme monitoring will be strengthened through the capacitation of Agritex officers and Command Centre Officers at district and provincial level to enable them to undertake routine monitoring of the programme at every stage of the crop production cycle.
- In addition, National Task Force monitoring teams will be required to monitor and evaluate the programme on a quarterly basis.
- Treasury undertakes to support the monitoring exercise at every stage of the cycle.
Loan Recoveries from Farmers
- A positive culture of honouring loan obligations is emerging among farmers benefitting from empowerment support under the Command Agriculture Programme.
Recoveries from Maize Farmers
- In this regard, Command Agriculture loan recoveries are running at 66%, with the Command Agriculture Revolving Fund registering repayment receipts of US$47.4 million in loan recoveries from farmers. This is against an anticipated repayment target of US$72 million.
- Out of the 50 000 farmers contracted to produce maize under
Command Agriculture, 33% fully paid their loan obligations, with 22% having partially paid their obligations, while recoveries from others are being made as they deliver to GMB.
- To encourage our farmers to continue paying back their debt obligations, all fully paid farmers are being prioritised in accessing inputs under the 2017/18 Command Agriculture programme.
- With regards to those farmers who have partially paid, as well as the new farmers, consideration to be contracted is based on a tight criteria, which includes, among others, the need for a farmer to demonstrate capability to produce.
- However, as at 23 November 2017, about 10 053 contracted farmers had not made any maize deliveries to GMB, an indication that these were already defaulting on their 2017 debt obligations.
- Government has, therefore, instituted measures to ensure recoveries from these farmers, with monitoring teams already deployed to follow up on such farmers who are being made to acknowledge their debts for repayment next season.
Recoveries from Wheat Farmers
- Loan recoveries from wheat farmers are already underway, with recoveries standing at US$3.6 million, against a target of US$8.8 million, as at 23 November 2017.
- Further recoveries are being experienced as farmers harvest and deliver their wheat produce to the GMB.
Anchor Companies
- Agricultural production enhancement will benefit from cooperation between anchor and new companies.
- This linkage in the sector facilitates access to capital and markets, sharing of best practices, farming knowledge and transfer of expertise, mutually beneficial to both parties.
- More specifically, the identified anchor companies have the critical roles of providing access to capital, training the small scale farmers and coordinating marketing, including exporting.
- As proposed in the past, Government will consider putting in place appropriate incentives in support of these arrangements.
Farm Rental & Development Levies
- In an effort to ensure efficiency in the collection and compliance of farm rentals and land development levies, the 2018 Budget proposes to re-assign local authorities as the collecting agent for land fees.
- The funds derived from rental levies will be for use by the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement, while local authorities will utilise funds raised from the Development Levy.
CHAPTER 8: FISCAL PERFORMANCE
- The economic growth in 2017 also had a positive impact on the performance of Budget revenues.
- Tax revenue collections by ZIMRA have, therefore, been running at levels above 2017 Budget targets, with total receipts to November 9% higher than envisaged.
Revenue Performance
- Cumulative tax and non-tax revenue collections for the period January to September 2017 amounted to US$2.812 billion, against a target of US$2.741 billion, resulting in a positive performance of US$70.8 million or 2.6% of projected revenues.
- This tax and non-tax revenue performance represents an increase of
8.6% on prior year collections of US$2.599 billion.
- The Table below shows the cumulative revenue performance for the period January to September 2017.
Revenue Performance: Jan-Sept 2017
|
Actual (US$m) |
Target (US$m) |
Variance (US$m) |
Variance (%) |
Total Revenue |
2 812.0 |
2 741.2 |
70.8 |
2.6 |
Tax Revenue |
2 643.9 |
2 519.7 |
124.2 |
4.9 |
Non-tax Revenue |
168.1 |
221.6 |
(53.4) |
(24.1) |
- Notably, Tax Revenue recorded a positive variance of 4.9%, whilst Non-tax Revenue underperformed by 24.1%.
- Preliminary receipts for November 2017 indicate tax collections of US$335.4 million, against a target of US$269.8 million, reflecting a positive performance of US$65.5 million, or 24% of projected revenue.
- This would raise cumulative tax collections for the eleven months to November 2017 to US$3.325 billion, against a target of US$3.057 billion.
Administrative Measures
- Tax administrative measures instituted in the recent past are also facilitating improved revenue collection in 2017.
- These included:
Automation
- This entailed full automation of the VAT system, through the usage of fiscalised devices, and other ICT based innovative solutions.
Tax Base
- The coverage of the tax system was widened to include unregistered businesses, particularly small to medium enterprises that continue to operate in the informal sector.
Border Efficiencies
- Initiatives to enhance administrative efficiencies at Border Posts included securing unofficial points of entry.
Electronic Cargo Tracking
- Curtailing of transit fraud is benefitting from the use of the Electronic Cargo Tracking System and alignment of excise duty on paraffin and diesel.
Single Window Facility
- Implementation of the Electronic Single Window Facilityat ports of entry, should assist minimise congestion, thereby reducing opportunities for fraud.
Temporary Import Permits
- To minimise abuse, the maximum period under which Temporary Import Permits for motor vehicles imported by visitors are valid was reduced from twelve to three months.
Authorised Economic Operators
- The Authorised Economic Operator system, which facilitates simple customs clearance procedures and less stringent physical examinations, was introduced, thereby enhancing clearance of commercial goods.
Advance Passenger & Cargo Manifest
- The system of Advance Passenger and Cargo Manifest was extended to road and rail transport carriers, in order to reduce clearance time, and also minimise incidences of under or non-declaration of goods.
Operating Hours
- In order to enhance flow of commercial traffic, ZIMRA operating hours at Kazungula Border Post were extended from 17:00 hours to 20:00 hours, consistent with operating times on the Botswana side.
Whistle Blower & Life Style Audits
- The Budget thrust to fight incidences of corruption should benefit from instituting of investigations on whistle blower information, and life style audits on ZIMRA personnel.
Revenue Heads’ Contribution
- As a proportion of total revenue, tax revenue accounted for 94%, while non-tax revenue contributed 6%, in line with prior year trends.
Performance of Revenue Heads, Jan-Sept 2017
Source: Ministry of Finance & Economic Development
- The major contributors to revenue collections were VAT, at 28.6%, followed by Personal Income Tax and Excise Duty at 19.2% and
18.2%, respectively.
- Corporate Income Tax accounted for 11.6% of revenue contributions over the nine months to September 2017, while Customs Duty raised
7.9%.
- Non-tax revenue, which, contributed 6% to total revenue, continued to under-perform.
- The Chart below summarises the contribution of individual revenue heads to total revenue.
Revenue Contributions: Jan-Sept 2017
Source: Ministry of Finance & Economic Development
- The positive performance of revenues to September 2017 necessitates a review of the 2017 Budget Estimate, from US$3.7 billion to US$3.850 billion in the outlook period to December 2017.
- This would also represent an 11.4% increase from 2016 collections of US$3.502 billion.
- Tax and Non-tax revenue are expected to contribute US$3.630 billion and US$220 million, respectively, to the projected revised revenue outturn to December 2017.
Non-Tax Revenue
- Non-tax revenue, which amounted to $168.1 million for the period January to September, against a target of $221.6 million, is comprised of revenue collected by ministries and departments from fees, fines, rentals, interest, dividends, Government sales, business licences and pension contributions, among others.
- The 24.1% under-performance of Non-tax revenue represents a negative variance of $53.5 million.
- The non-performance of this revenue head is mainly due to partial remittance of pension contributions, non-payment of anticipated telecoms licence fees by Telecel and Net One, that were due on 30June 2017, and lower than anticipated dividends from parastatals.
- The Table below shows the performance of selected Non-tax revenue sub-heads over the period January to September 2017.
Non-tax Revenue
Sub Head |
Actual |
Target |
Variance |
%Variance |
Government Property Rent, |
8 755 865 |
39 975 000 |
(31 219 134) |
(78.1%) |
Interest and Dividends etc. |
|
|
|
|
Of which Dividends |
0 |
30,000,000 |
(30,000,000) |
(100) |
Pension Contribution |
83 543 177 |
103 977 000 |
(20 433 822) |
(19.7%) |
Fees |
61 149 167 |
70 518 000 |
(9 368 832) |
(13.3%) |
Of which Telecoms |
0 |
7 500 000 |
7 500 000 |
(100) |
Other |
14 694 556 |
7 092 000 |
7 602 556 |
107.2% |
TOTAL |
168 142 767 |
221 562 000 |
(53 419 232) |
(24.1%) |
Source: Ministry of Finance & Economic Development
Development Partners Support
- During the period January to September 2017, a total of US$491 million was disbursed by development partners.
- Of this amount, bilateral partners provided US$364.4 million, with the balance of US$126.5 million coming from multilateral partners.
- Programmes and projects benefiting from development partnerssupport during 2017 are as shown below.
Sectoral Disbursements (US$)
Sector |
2017 Disbursements |
Agriculture |
37 921 387 |
Transport |
6 547 381 |
Power/Energy |
500 000 |
Water Supply & Sanitation |
20 050 249 |
Health |
278 927 468 |
Education |
17 878 239 |
Humanitarian Interventions |
70 624 579 |
Governance |
22 939 757 |
Multi-Sector/Cross Cutting |
3 301 137 |
Capacity Building |
23 879 262 |
Other Basic Social Services |
8 420 760 |
Total |
490 992 220 |
Source: Ministry of Finance & Economic Development
Expenditure Performance
- Notwithstanding the gains we are making with regards to improved revenue collections, continued significant mis-matches between revenue collections and expenditure obligations call for urgent fiscal consolidation.
- On the other hand, Budget expenditures over the same period amounted to US$4.65 billion, against planned expenditures of US$3.1 billion.
- Resultantly, expenditure overruns of US$1.55 billion were realised during the first nine months of 2017, much higher than the US$70.8 million revenue collections over-performance.
Expenditure: Jan – Sept 2017
|
Actual (US$ mil) |
Target (US$ mil) |
Variance (US$ mil) |
Total Expenditure |
4 653.0 |
3 101.1 |
(1 551.9) |
Employment Costs |
2 567.1 |
2 263.3 |
(303.8) |
Operations and Maintenance |
543 |
295.5 |
(247.0) |
Interest |
150.1 |
133.5 |
(16.6) |
Capital |
1 392.7 |
408.8 |
(983) |
- The expenditure overrun of US$1.55 billion is accounted for by the following developments that imposed a financing obligation on the 2017 Budget.
Employment Costs
- Expenditure outlay on employment costs for January to September 2017 amounted to US$2.57 billion, against a target of US$2.26 billion, resulting in an overrun of US$304 million.
|
Actual (US$ mil) |
Target (US$ mil) |
Variance (US$ mil) |
Total Employment Costs |
2 567.1 |
2 263.3 |
(303.8) |
Civil Service |
1 589.4 |
1 452.6 |
(136.8) |
Grant Aided Institutions |
359.5 |
335.1 |
(24.4) |
Pension |
358.2 |
358.2 |
0 |
PSMAS |
67.1 |
90.9 |
23.8 |
NSSA |
192.5 |
26.1 |
(166.4) |
Funeral Expenses |
0.4 |
0.4 |
0 |
- The payment of an unbudgeted 2016, 13th cheque award of US$171.3 million,staggered over the period April to August 2017, accounts for the excess expenditures of US$136.8 million and US$24.4 million related to the wage bills for the Public Service and Grant Aided Institutions, respectively.
- The Grant Aided Institutions wage bill outturn of US$359.5 million is inclusive of US$152.8 million relating to remuneration for around 8 890 staff at the State Universities.
- Over the period September 2013 to December 2016, the Budget had accumulated US$180.9 million payment arrears related to
Government’s employer contributions to the National Social Security Authority.
- Accordingly, the 2017 Budget embraced this outstanding Statutory obligation, through issuance of Treasury bills amounting to US$180.9 million, thus resulting in the expenditure overrun.
Operations and Maintenance
- The 2017 Budget incurred expenditures amounting to US$543 million over the nine months to September, against planned expenditures of US$295.5 million, exceeding the Budget target by US$247.6 million.
Legacy Debt
- The continued weak state of our public finances has progressively undermined the Budget’s capacity to settle bills for services rendered to line ministries and departments by both private and public institutions.
- Consequently, line ministries have, over the years, been accumulating domestic payment arrears.
- In this regard, reduction of domestic payments arrears of US$224.5 million, through issuance of Treasury bills was made to several targeted private and public institutions, as part of a broader strategy to resuscitate public institutions and promote economic growth.
- ZESA, US$137.6 million;
- ZINWA, US$49.4 million;
- NetOne, US$11.5 million; and
- Natpharm, US$26 million.
- In addition, Government issued Treasury bills worthUS$60 million to finance critical Government programmes and projects during the course of the year.
Recapitalisation of Public Institutions
- Government also had to intervene in the recapitalisation of Hwange Colliery Company Limited and CAPS Holdings in order to enhance their operational capacity.
- Resultantly, the 2017 Budget embraced additional expenditures of US$58.3 million and US$6.8 million, respectively, which were backed by issuance of Treasury bills.
Voter Registration
- In line with Section 155(1) of the Constitution and Section 38 of the Electoral Act, a General Election will be held in 2018.
- In preparation, US$13.7 million was incurred by the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission towards theprocurement of Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits, field equipment, vehicles, computer software and hardware, as well as training and deployment of voter registration personnel.
- In addition, expenditures worth US$5.4 million were incurred towards the issuance of birth certificates and national identity documents by the Registrar General’s Department, in preparation for the Biometric Voter Registration Exercise.
Capital Expenditures
- Cumulative Capital expenditures to September 2017 amounted to US$1 392.7 million, against a target of US$408.8 million, resulting in over expenditure of US$983.9 million.
- Overall expenditures towards the agricultural sector of US$1 027.9 million, accounted for the bulk of the capital expenditures.
- Expenditures related to procurement for the Strategic Grain Reserve amounted to US$552.2 million, comprising of grain procurement, US$540 million, rehabilitation of GMB Silos, US$5.2 million, and setting up of grain collection depot points, US$7 million.
- Crop input support facilities, comprising of the Command Maize Programme and the Presidential Input Support Programme, accounted for US$347.5 million and US$113.6 million, respectively, whilst US$3.9 million was channelled towards rehabilitation and construction of communal irrigation schemes.
- Resources towards infrastructure development, at US$156.9 million, were minimal, resulting in a number of planned on-going projects failing to progress as envisaged.
- Capital expenditures channelled towards the transport sector amounted to US$28.3 million, targeting funding for the:
Emergency Roads Rehabilitation Programme, US$16.8 million;
- Dualisation of the Harare-Mutare road section, between Goromonzi turnoff and Jamaica Inn Toll Plaza, and the Harare-
Bulawayo road section, between Norton Service Centre and
Norton Toll Plaza, US$5.5 million; and
- Construction of outstanding sections on the Bindura-Shamva road, and upgrading of a 3.5km section on the MvurwiKanyemba road, as well as the Kanyemba Pontoon, US$5 million.
- Expenditures of US$68.4 million were incurred on water and sanitation projects, mainly for the ongoing dam construction projects at:
- Causeway dam, US$8.8 million, which allowed completion of outlet excavations and the two saddle dams, as well as spillway and dam foundations, now at 90% and 60%, respectively;
- Gwayi-Shangani dam,US$27.2 million, enabling completion of excavations of the riverbed as well as pouring of concrete for the same, with the contractor now working on the dam wall up to the river bed; and
- Marovanyati dam, US$7.2 million, allowing completion of main dam foundations excavations, and progress on spillway and outlet works.
- In addition, US$14.1 million was channelled towards liquidation of outstanding certificates for the Mtshabezi pipeline and Semwa dam.
- The Beitbridge water supply project, and preparatory works for the Kunzvi Water Project, incurred expenditures of US$1.5 million and US$1 million, respectively.
- With regards to institutional housing projects, an amount of US$43.5 million was spent, of which US$30 million was availed to the Urban Development Corporation as capitalisation, to enable the parastatal to undertake housing development projects across the country.
- Other projects that were supported included:
- Completion of two flats at the ZRP Tomlison Depot, US$3 million;
- CID headquarters, US$0.8 million;
- Upgrading of ZIMRA facilities and ICT systems at border posts, US$3.3 million; and
- Rehabilitation works at State Residences, US$2.1 million.
- Funding to the tune of US$5.2 million was channelled towards the ICT sector, with ZIMRA automation accounting for US$2.3 million, whilst US$2.6 million was spent on e-Government flagship projects.
- Social sector infrastructure accounted for US$5.4 million, with expenditure on health institutions amounting to US$1.2 million, mainly towards rehabilitation of facilities.
- Expenditure on education infrastructure of US$4.2 million was mainly for construction works at institutions of higher learning, as well as schools infrastructure.
- Government also availed resources amounting to US$164.5 million towards capitalisation of strategic institutions, as indicated in the Table below:
INSTITUTION |
AMOUNT US$ (million) |
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe |
29.4 |
Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company |
40.6 |
Caps Holdings |
16.0 |
COTTCO |
51.8 |
Deposit Protection Corporation |
10.0 |
Air Zimbabwe |
4.2 |
Women Micro-Finance Bank |
10.0 |
Youth Empower Bank |
2.5 |
TOTAL |
164.5 |
Constituency Development Funds
- The 2017 Budget had a provision of US$10 million for the Constituency Development Fund. However disbursements had been held up by the finalisation of requirements precedent to disbursements.
- While Treasury has set aside the requisite resources, Parliament is now establishing the necessary disbursement and accounting mechanisms.
Financing
- In the absence of access to external development finance, the 2017 Budget borrowing requirements have mainly been funded from the domestic market, through issuance of Treasury bills and recourse to the Reserve Bank overdraft.
- During the period January to September 2017, Treasury issued Government instruments worth US$1.75 billion in the form of both Treasury bills and bonds.
Treasury Bill Issuances
Purpose |
Amount (US$ m) |
Budget Financing |
386.45 |
Government Debt |
1 070.82 |
Capitalisation (Agribank, IDBZ,SMEDCO) |
61.06 |
RBZ Debt |
103.73 |
ZAMCO |
130.04 |
Total |
1 752.08 |
Source: Ministry of Finance & Economic Development, Reserve Bank
- Of the $1.75 billion Treasury bills issued to September 2017,
US$386.45 million financed Government programmes, whilst
US$1.07 billion was channelled towards servicing legacy debts.
- Budget deficit financing through direct borrowing from the Reserve Bank amounted to US$393.4 million.
- The increasing mismatch between Revenues and Expenditures will necessitate further borrowing of US$940million during the last quarter of 2017.
Risks Arising from Over-Issuance of Treasury Bills
- The current trend and manner of issuance of Treasury bills is unsustainable, and has not only led to mounting interest payment obligations, but now also poses significant risk of resurgence of macro-economic instability.
- The level of Treasury bills has created a situation whereby, there is a disparity between high levels of virtual money against available United States dollars and bond notes.
- The scarcity is translating into exchange premiums that stoke the rising prices of goods and services.
- This has been worsened by cases where some market players have ended up discounting Treasury bills and directing proceeds towards buying the scarce foreign currency, without directly promoting production and exports.
- The situation is exacerbated by vendors, unable to sell such items as vehicles in the market, offering Government to take up unsold wares in exchange for Treasury bills, which they immediately discount in the market in search of foreign exchange.
- Of recent concern is the tendency by quasi-Government institutions, local authorities and parastatals to also turn to Government for bailouts through Treasury bill issuances, negating their obligation of making the necessary follow ups to recover amounts owed by debtors.
- All this necessitates that Treasury tightens on consideration of new requests for Treasury bill funding as this has proved to be one source of pressure for foreign currency and Nostro bank balances.
CHAPTER 9: FISCAL OUTLOOK
Prospects for Revenues
Overall Revenue
- In line with the envisaged growth in the economy, total revenue[8] collections in support of Government operations, programmes and projects, excluding Statutory Funds,are estimated at US$5.071 billion for the coming 2018 fiscal year.
- This is the level of revenue resources available for Appropriation by Parliament under the 2018 Budget.
- Tax revenue collections continue to underpin anticipated Revenues for the coming fiscal year, and are estimated to account for US$4.3 billion of Revenue inflows.
- Non-tax revenue for 2018 are estimated at US$237 million, and hence, also remain a critical component complementing tax revenue.
- In this regard, taking account of Statutory Funds,which are not available or Appropriation, will result in overall revenues for the public sector in 2018 of US$5.533 billion.
Retention Funds
- Revenue prospects for 2018 indicate that Government programmes and projects will also benefit from the mobilisation of resources through non-tax collections related to Retention Funds by various Government ministries and departments.
- Retention Funds are established in line with Section 18 of the Public Finance Management Act with the objective of incentivising and empowering line ministries and departments to enhance non-tax revenue collection to supplement their Budget allocations.
- While the Retention Funds have contributed significantly towards complementing Budget resources, the accountability arrangements for the resources exhibited fundamental weaknesses which undermined the efficient application of the Funds’ resources towards Government priority areas as enshrined in the Constitution.
- From 2018 Budget, the approved income and expenditure of each
Fund will be managed through the Public Finance Management
System, currently in use across Government and will be ring-fenced to defray expenditures consistent with the objectives of each Fund, as well as allow for easier consolidation with other Government Financial Statements.
- The Fund resources will be subjected to the same scrutiny with respect to prioritisation as other Voted expenditures, and integrated into the Budget Estimates approved by Parliament through the Appropriation Act.
- During the 2018 fiscal year, collections from Retention Funds across all ministries are estimated at US$434 million.
- In line with the new framework and to facilitate effective monitoring, the disbursement of the above resources will be linked to individual
Funds’ revenue performance, which is conditional on submission to the Treasury of satisfactory monthly and quarterly Receipts and Expenditure Statements.
Statutory Funds
- Statutory Funds are established through specific Acts of Parliament in line with Section 302 of the Constitution.
- The Public Finance Management Amendment Act, therefore, empowers respective Accounting Officers to ensure that appropriate systems are in place to ensure effective utilisation of Statutory Fund resources in line with each such Fund’s core mandate.
- For the 2018 fiscal year, an amount of US$462 million will be mobilised through Statutory Funds as follows:
- Zimbabwe National Roads Authority, US$300 million, accounting for 60.7%;
- Rural Electrification Fund, US$47 million;
- Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund, US$39 million;
- Aids Levy, US$37 million;
- Universal Services Fund, US$14.8 million; as well as
- Environment Fund, US$14.5 million, amongst others.
- Consistent with the need for enhancing transparency and accountability over public resources, estimates of both revenue and expenditure of Statutory Funds is incorporated into the 2018 Budget Estimates for information and appreciation by stakeholders, and the anticipated flow of resources is reflected under the Revenue estimates.
Supportive Measures
- The growth in revenues is anchored on measures aimed at raising revenue, enhancing administrative efficiency and providing support to industry through various tax concessions which reduce the cost of doing business, thereby growing the taxbase.
- Smuggling and under-invoicing, of both exports and imports, remains a huge challenge for tax administration.
- Increased focus on initiatives to plug leakages at ports of entry, securing unofficial points of entry, and curbing incidences of corruption, will benefit collections of customs duty and also spur growth in corporate income tax collections.
Development Partner Support
- Inflows of development partner support, complementary to Budget efforts in the implementation of Government programmes and
projects, have, over the years, been constrained by continued souring of relations.
- Hence, the thrust of the 2018 Budget is also to ensure the economy benefits from re-engagement processes to normalise political and development cooperation.
- Normalisation of relations will also extend to embrace strengthening of cooperation with the international financial community, central of which is the arrear clearance process with the World Bank, and the African Development Bank.
- Already, tentative consultations with cooperating partners indicate scope for scaling up of support to complement Budget efforts in the implementation of Government programmes and projects from 2018.
- Strengthening of cooperating partner support would also be supportive of the policy thrust for the 2018 Budget to re-orient the Budget away from consumptive recurrent expenditures towards development projects.
- In the interim, cooperating partner support of only US$100 million is programmed towards Zim Asset programmes and projects, including social protection interventions.
- To improve implementation, Government will continue to work with development partners to overcome challenges impacting rapid results initiatives, and implementation of supportedprogrammes, such as Harmonised Cash and electronic-transfer-based payments.
- As relations with cooperating partners improve, Government recognises the need for addressing potential delays to implementation of co-partnered projects, including facilitation of external payments for the importation of equipment, payment of works and services rendered by external contractors.
- Furthermore, in line with capacity, Government will upscale its contributions in programmes and projects co-financed with development partners.
- As part of normalising relations, the 2018 Budget will also have provisions towards further compensation for land acquired under the land reform programme.
- The 2018 Budget will also contain administrative measures to improve administration of taxexemptionfor development partners funded projects.
Expenditure Framework& Deficit
- The above fiscal outlook for Revenues for the 2018 fiscal year, coupled with the Budget thrust towards a sustainable budget deficit, limit the Expenditure framework to US$5.743 billion, inclusive of Retention Funds.
- Current expenditures are proposed to account for US$4.5 billion, while capital expenditures will amount to US$1.2 billion.
- The Budget deficit for 2018, given total revenues available for Appropriation by Parliament of US$5.071 billion, and total expenditure and net lending of US$5.743 billion, translate to a fiscal deficit of US$672 million.
- This proposed Budget deficit for 2018 is against a projected deficit outturn to December 2017, of US$1.707 billion.
CHPATER 10: BUDGET ALLOCATIONS
- The 2018 National Budget will have to contend with provisions for the Wage bill, 2018 Harmonised Elections and expanded agricultural programmes, among others.
- The Budget will also need to continue availing support towards the ongoing Emergency Roads Rehabilitation Programme across the Nation and other infrastructure projects under the Zim Asset.
- Furthermore, the 2018 National Budget will also prioritise quick win projects and programmes contained in the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy (I-PRSP) relating to social services and poverty reduction initiatives.
Employment Costs
- The 2018 Budget is appropriating US$3.3 billion for Employment Costs, with US$2.6 billion being set aside for the Public Service wage bill, inclusive of Grant Aided Institutions.
- In support of the provision of educational services at the basic (primary and secondary) and tertiary levels, the 2018 Budget is appropriating US$1.1 billion towards the salaries and allowances for around 136 000 teaching and non-teaching staff in this sector, accounting for 42.3% of the Public Service wage bill provision.
- The pie chart below summarises the distribution of the Public Sector Wage bill by sector.
- An amount of US$297.4 million or 11% of the Public Service wage bill provision, has been appropriated for the remuneration of around 37 300 public health care personnel, inclusive of those at the nonprofit and church affiliated health facilities, as well as local authority owned rural health facilities.
- For the maintenance of law and order, as well as the security of the
Nation, the Budget is appropriating US$548.1 million for the
remuneration of uniformed forces, accounting for 21% of the wage bill provision.
- To support the provision of agricultural extension services, the 2018 Budget is appropriating US$79.6 million mainly towards the remuneration of around 8 000 extension workers.
13th Cheque
- A provision of US$176 million has been set aside for the payment of the 2017 13th Cheque awards.
- Treasury will, therefore, honour the commitment already made to pay the 2017 13th Cheque, but in a staggered manner.
- The programming of the above commitment during the first half of 2018 will be guided by revenue inflows, taking account of cash flow requirements of other national programmes, such as the General Elections.
General Elections
- The 2018 Budget will provide resources amounting to US$132.2 million in support of the 2018 Harmonised Elections budget.
- This is over and above resources provided for Voter Registration under the 2017 Budget.
Agriculture Season Preparations
- Adequate preparations are key for a successful agricultural season.
Accordingly, and in collaboration with the private sector,
Government support will see the 2018 Budget allocate 9% of the total Budget to agriculture, up from 7% in 2017.
- Building on the success and lessons from the first phase of the special maize and wheat programmes, Government has already mobilised the resources for the second phase of the programme to the tune of US$266.4 million for maize and soya beans production.
Maize
- Under the ‘Maize Command Programme’, the target is to plant an area of 220 000 hectares under maize, with 60 000 under irrigation, while the remainder will be dry farming.
- This is expected to cost US$213.5 million, broken down as US$59.8 million for irrigated farming, and US$153.7 million for dry land.
- As at 1 December 2017, over 46 404 farmers had been contracted to plant 219 000 hectares, with 52 330 hectares under irrigation and the remainder under dry land.
- The following inputs had been delivered to farmers:
Farming Inputs
Item |
Quantity Delivered (tons) |
Seed |
4 109 |
Basal Fertilizer |
29 489 |
Top Dressing |
1 229 |
Lime |
8 640 |
Fuel (ltrs) |
2 541 500 |
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development
- It is important to point out that the sustainability of this noble programme depends on beneficiary farmers honouring their obligations. Extension workers are, therefore, being required to highlight this key aspect in interactions with farmers.
Soya Beans
- In view of the importance of soya beansas input into agro-processing of cooking oils, as well as stock feeds, US$52.9 million has been set aside to support soya beans production under the programme, targeting 60 000 hectares.
- Already, 22 276 farmers have registered, offering 65 233 hectares as at 28 November 2017.
- This programme is expected to go a long way in reducing the cooking oil import bill.
Cotton
- Revival of cotton production stands to resuscitate the cotton to clothing value chain. This is over and above improving livelihoods of rural cotton farmers, most of who live in dry rural areas.
- In view of the above benefits, Government has scaled up its support for cotton production with free inputs valued at US$60 million, up from about US$40 million, disbursed in the previous season.
- The above resources are expected to produce at least 130 000 tons of seed cotton.
- However, incidences of side marketing of the crop to neighbouring countries and smuggling remain a threat, and Cottco will work closely with relevant authorities to improve monitoring.
Livestock and Dairy
- Government is in the process of extending the ‘Command
Programme’ to include livestock and fisheries.
- Already, the fishing industry is receiving fingerlings for breeding purposes.
- On livestock, the programme will focus on the dairy revitalisation programme, aquaculture, and livestock disease control to enhance the quality and size of the national herd, in order to guarantee selfsufficiency and secure export markets.
- Budget interventions will, therefore, reinforce livestock and poultry pest control, as well as disease surveillance, to reduce incidences of Foot and Mouth, Anthrax, Avian Flu and Newcastle diseases outbreaks.
- To support the revival of the livestock and poultry industries, the 2018 Budget is appropriating US$9.4 million, inclusive of US$5.5 million income from dipping fees, towards dipping and vaccination services, movement control and surveillance programmes.
Presidential Input Scheme
- Under the Presidential Input Scheme, Government has doubled input support towards 1.8 million vulnerable households, at a cost of US$153 million.
- Household sare being provided with input packs, comprising of 10 kgs of maize seed or 5 kgs of sorghum, 50 kgs of basal and top dressing fertilizers, as well as 10 kgs of soya bean seed.
- Already, inputs valued at US$70 million have been acquired and are being distributed.
Availability of Inputs
- The country has enough maize seed to meet national requirements for the coming agriculture season, with 42 250 tonnes available.
- However, there is a critical shortage of soya beans seeds, for which only 2 750 tonnes are available, against a requirement of 6 000 tonnes for soya beans production under the Command Agriculture programme.
- With regards to availability of fertilizers, indications are that the fertilizer industry is currently sitting on 120 000 tonnes of fertilizer, ready for disposal to the market.
- The industry has capacity to produce an additional 160 000 tonnes between November 2017 and January 2018.
- The necessary raw materials are available in bonded houses within the country, but would require US$61.32 million in foreign currency.
Preparations for GMB Grain Intake
- The Grain Marketing Board will continue to rehabilitate and upgrade both silo and bagged depots to ensure safe storage of our strategic grain reserves, as well as ensure adequate preparations for the 2018/19 Intake.
- In this regard, the rehabilitation and upgrading works will focus on mechanical works, installation of generators and driers at silo depots, as well as construction of sheds, and hard stands at bagged depots.
- Arrangements will also be considered to dispose part of the strategic grain reserves around February 2018 in order to create space for the next intake.
Tsetse Control
- Over the recent years, the country has registered gains in eradicating tsetse flies, with the resultant reduction in the area infested from 80
000km2 to current area 29 500km2 in districts such as Kariba,
Hurungwe, Guruve, Mhangura and Mbire as shown in the map below.
- The eradication of tsetse in the areas shown above has potential to enhance tourism activities as well as improve socio economic development within the corridor.
- To support tsetse control programmes, the 2018 Budget is appropriating US$1.6 million.
- This should also be complemented by fencing off of all National Parks, to avoid the spread of diseases from wild animals.
Irrigation Rehabilitation and Development
- The gains we have achieved in attaining food security under the Special Maize Production Programme will need to be consolidated through increased agricultural production and productivity by harnessing our irrigation potential and optimal utilisation of existing idle water bodies.
- In this regard, resources will be channelled towards irrigation rehabilitation and development, with at least 200 hectares per district targeted to be implemented annually for the next 10 years.
- In addition, development partners are also supporting rehabilitation and development of a number of irrigation projects under various facilities.
Extension and Advisory Services
- According to the Second Round Crop and Livestock Assessment Report for the 2016/2017 Agricultural Season, average maize yields by farming sector ranged from a low of 0.68 metric tonnes per hectare in communal areas to a high of 3.78 metric tonnes per hectare in A2 farming areas.
- The above diversity in maize yields calls for enhanced support for advisory and extension services to farmers, among other considerations.
- In this regard, I propose to allocate US$38.1 million for extension services, inclusive of remuneration for extension workers and the procurement of vehicles and motorcycles.
Private Sector Farming Initiatives
- The Dairy Revitalisation Programme is one of the successful private sector initiatives that has managed to restore the dairy industry that had almost collapsed without direct Government support.
- Drawing lessons from such initiatives, the 2018 National Budget will promote continuous engagement with the private sector with a view of identifying other areas where such initiatives can be replicated, taking cognisant of the current fiscal constraints.
- Against this background, Government has already removed import restrictions to allow private players with free funds to import such inputs as fertilizers and agro-chemicals in order to ensure adequate supply of inputs on the market.
Climate Change
- The adverse impact of climate change on Sub-Saharan African countries, inclusive of Zimbabwe, has manifested itself through frequent recurrence of heat waves, droughts and floods leading to, among other consequences, poor yields and food insecurity at both the household and national levels.
- In line with the National Climate Policy and Strategy, as well as international convention provisions, the 2018 Budget targets strengthening responses to the threat of Climate Change through:
- Scaling up adaptation capacity and strategies to build community resilience;
- Strengthening early warning systems to reduce incidences of climate related disasters and loss and damage to human life, biodiversity, infrastructure, property and economic losses;
- Strengthening the institutional framework for climate change governance; and
- Enhancing the capacity of stakeholders to mainstream climate change in local development frameworks.
Cloud Seeding
- Based on the weather forecast for 2017/2018 summer cropping season, the country will experience some dry spell before normal to above rainfall.
- In this regard, I propose to allocate US$500 000 for cloud seeding.
Agricultural Research and Technology Development
- Enhanced support for research and development becomes critical for the development of seed and crop varieties which are tolerant to multiple stress conditions of pests, diseases, drought and heat as well as high yielding and early to mature.
- Furthermore, the development of bio-fortified varieties contributes to the food and nutrition security strategy that aims to reduce malnutrition in children under the age of five years.
- In this regard, our agricultural research institutes have progressively been researching and developing seed and crop varieties with the above characteristics, with some being released into the market as shown below.
Guinea Fowl groundnuts Dendera groundnuts
NUA45, a Bio fortified bean variety CBC4, a Large seeded Cowpea variety
ZS265 Drought tolerant High Yielding Maize Variety
- To support on-going and future research and development initiatives, I propose to allocate US$22 million towards crop and livestock research and technology development, inclusive of remuneration for research staff.
Social Services Delivery
Health
- Governmentis currently implementing high impact measures whose key focus is strengthening service delivery, including primary care and hospital services,with the support of development partners.
- Under this, the public health sector has witnessed recent significant progress on key health outcomes.
- These include:
- A reduction in maternal mortality from 960 deaths per 100 000 live births to 614 per 100 000 live births;
- A reduction in neonatal mortality from 29 deaths per 1 000 live births to 23 per 1 000 live births; and
- A decline in the HIV prevalence for adults (15 - 49 years) from
20.6% to 15%.
- Despite these commendable improvements, progress falls short of the anticipated milestones towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
Maternal Mortality
Source: Ministry of Health & Child Care
- In furtherance to improving coverage and quality of public health care services, total health expenditures during 2018 amount to US$729.4 million, with Budget appropriations and Levy Funds contributing US$489.8 millionto this, and development partners,US$239.6 million.
Budget Appropriations
- The US$486.6 million Government resources proposed for the continued provision of healthcare under the 2018 Budget includes:
- Employment costs,US$297.4 million;
- Operations and maintenance, US$119.6 million; and
- Capital expenditure, US$37 million.
- This follows disbursements of US$248.6 million towards the provision of public health care services from rural health centres to central hospitals over the period January to September 2017, inclusive of US$215.1 million for employment costs for health care personnel.
Levy Funds
- Levy Funds are inclusive of US$35.8 million from the AIDS Levy, and US$30 million from the Health Fund Levy, whose income is ring–fenced for the purchase of medicines and medical equipment at all levels of care.
- This year, the Health Fund receipted revenue amounting to US$21.9 million during the ten months to October 2017.
Development Partners
- The US$239.6 million resource envelope from development partners to complement 2018 Budget appropriations is supported by the:
- Global Fund,US$173.8 million;
- Health Development Fund, US$58.1 million; and
- Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation,US$7.7 million.
Rehabilitation ofHospitals
- The capital expenditure provision of US$26.7 million, will focus on rehabilitating central, provincial and district hospitals as well as the construction of six rural health centres, namely MbuyaMaswa and Chiromo in Zaka, Chibila in Binga, Siyabuwa in Gokwe, Dongamuzi in Lupane and Munemo inNyanga.
- Furthermore, a provision of US$8.2 million is being appropriated for the procurement of medical equipment at district hospitals
- NATPHARM will be allocated US$1 million for the construction of medicine warehouses in Bulawayo, Masvingo and Mutare to increase its capacity for cost effective bulk procurement, storage and distribution
Communicable Diseases
- Heightened efforts will be pursued to reduce the incidence of malaria and new infections of HIV, improving early detection of outbreaks
and reducing TB related illnesses and deaths, amongst other interventions targeting communicable diseases.
- In this regard, the Global Fund resources of US$173.8 million will be directed towards the various HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria interventions.
Non Communicable Diseases
- Key strategies to address Non Communicable Diseases, inclusive of cancers, will embrace strengthening primary prevention activities, early detection, diagnosis and treatment as well as palliative care and rehabilitation.
- Accordingly, the 2018 Budget proposes to appropriate US$2.6 million for the purpose.
Maternal and Child Health Care
- The recent turnaround in the improvement of key maternal, neonatal and child health indicators is largely on account of the
implementation of innovative financing mechanisms such as ResultsBased Financing which focuses on the:
- Results-based contracting of health services;
- Management and capacity building; and
- Monitoring and documentation at the health facility level.
- Resultantly, this has led to a sustained improvement in the availability, accessibility, and utilisation of quality health care services.
- To sustain and consolidate these gains, the 2018 Budget proposes to allocate US$10.2 million which will be complemented by US$58.1 million from the Health Development Fund.
Basic Education
- The policy thrust in the provision of Basic Education services remains focused on expanding access to quality and relevant education for all children thus enhancing literacy levels and skills development.
- Owing to strong investment in basic education by the National Budget, households and development partners, there has been progressive improvement in our education indicators.
- The above notwithstanding, there is still room to improve on enrolment at the ECD and secondary levels, transition from Form 4 to
‘A’ Level and reduce the drop-out rate through interventions such as BEAM, supplementary school feeding and improving access to educational infrastructure.
- In furtherance to improving education outcomes, total basic education expenditures during 2018 amount to US$973.4 million, as follows:
- Budget appropriations and Levy Funds, US$935.8 million;
- Development Partners, US$18 million; and
- Loan Financing, US$19.6 million.
Budget Appropriations
- In support of the provision of basic education services, the 2018 Budget is setting aside US$935.8 million, as follows:
- Employment costs, US$848.8 million;
- Operations and maintenance, US$69.6 million; and
- Capital expenditures, US$17.4 million.
- For 2017, Budget support over the period to end September amounted to US$647.4 million,inclusive of U$639.5 million for employment costs for an education labour force of around 120 000.
Development Partners
- On their part, Development Partners will pool resources, through UNICEF, to complement efforts by the Government and communities, focusing on school improvement grants, teaching and learning materials inclusive of learners with disabilities.
- In this regard, the Global Partnership for Education has pledged US$8.2 million whilst the Education Development Fund will contribute US$9.8 million.
Loan Financing
- Infrastructure development will benefit from the planned draw-down of US$19.6 million from the OPEC Fund for International Development which will target the construction of:
- Eleven primary schools at an estimated cost of US$12.8 million and;
- Six secondary schools at an estimated cost of US$6.8 million.
Infant Education
- Infant Education supports the implementation of Early Childhood Development (ECD), which lays the foundation for children to develop intelligence, social behaviour and capacity to learn.
- To support the construction of age appropriate infrastructure as well as rehabilitation of existing infrastructure, prioritising that in underprivileged communities, the Budget is appropriating US$3.8 million, thus improving access and quality of ECD services.
- Taking account of the progressive roll out of the updated curricula, which entails procurement of the attendant teaching and learning materials, US$3.9 million is therefore being allocated for this purpose.
Junior Education
- According to the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council, the Grade 7 pass rate, a key learning outcome, has significantly improved from 25% in 2010 to 42.9% in 2016.
- As part of sustained efforts to improve learning outcomes, through investing in additional infrastructure, teaching and learning materials, with emphasis on indigenous languages, agriculture and ICTs, the
2018 Budget proposes to allocate US$18.4 millionas follows: -
- US$12.1 million towards the procurement of teaching and learning materials, taking account of the new learning areas; and
- US$6.3 milliontowards the rehabilitation and construction of schools in newly resettled areas and new urban settlements, so as to improve equitable access to junior education.
Secondary Education
- Enrolment in secondary schools is yet to reach its full potential. The enrolment rate stood at 56.4% in 2016, whilst the transition rate from Grade 7 to Form One has averaged 75% over the recent past.
- Accordingly, the 2018 Budget is appropriating US$27.5 million for the procurement of teaching and learning materials as well as science kits to promote STEM.
- In addition, the 2018 Budget proposes to allocate US$5.8 milliontowards rehabilitation of existing infrastructure as well as construction of classrooms and specialist rooms for technical and vocational subjects.
Schools Supervision and Monitoring
[1] Zimbabwe growth rates are from Treasury, Reserve Bank, ZimStat projections
[2] Sectoral Growth Rates are as contained in Annexure 1
[3] Growth projections in Agriculture are as contained in Annexure 2
[4] Growth projections in Mining are as contained in Annexure 3
[5] Manufacturing Sector indices are as contained in Annexure 4
[6] Real Time Gross Settlement
[7] Guidelines for Farmers Identification under the Command Agriculture Programme for the 2017/18 season are contained in Annexure 10
[8] Fiscal Framework is as contained in Annexure 5
[9] Bindura, Chivi, Goromonzi, Kariba Rural & Urban, Makoni, Mangwe, Plumtree, Rusape, Umguza and Zvishavane
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 6th December, 2017
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
PETITION RECEIVED FROM HABAKKUK TRUST OF
ZIMBABWE
THE HON. SPEAKER: I have to advise the House that on the 6th November, 2017, Parliament of Zimbabwe received a petition from the Habakkuk Trust of Zimbabwe petitioning Parliament to protect the entitlement of Zimbabwean nationals to birth certificates and identity documents and oversee measures the Registrar-General’s Office has put in place to effect the right to obtain these documents. The petition has since been referred to the Portfolio Committee on Defence, Home
Affairs and Security Services – [HON. CHIBAYA: Hon. Mandiwanzira, unonamata, kungorarama wega uri G40.] - Hon. Chibaya, you are a very seasoned Parliamentarian, I do not expect that from you.
HON. GONESE: Hon. Speaker, I rise on a matter of privilege.
Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir. I will begin by saying that Zimbabwe is a constitutional democracy. My matter of privilege is related to the provisions of our Constitution and in particular, I am referring to the provisions of Section 119 on the role of Parliament as read with the provisions of Section 213. Mr. Speaker, I am sure that you are familiar with the provisions of that Section but for the benefit of all Hon. Members, I will just highlight what the Section provides.
In terms of Section 119 of our Constitution, Parliament is obligated to protect this Constitution and promote democratic governance in Zimbabwe. Further to that, Parliament also has the power to ensure that the provisions of this Constitution are upheld and that the State and all institutions and agencies of Government at every level act constitutionally and in the national interest.
Having read the general provisions Mr. Speaker Sir, I will now revert to the matter which is of concern and that is in terms of Section 213; in respect of the deployment of the Defence Forces. It is clear in terms of that provision that the President as the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces has the power to authorise the deployment of the
Defence Forces or the power to determine the operational use of the Defence Forces.
Further to that, with the authority of the President, the Defence
Forces may be deployed in Zimbabwe as follows;
- In defence of the country
- In support of the Police Service in the maintenance of public order or
- In support of the Police Service and other civilian authorities in the event of an emergency or a disaster.
Mr. Speaker, the reason why I am raising this matter is because whilst the President has the authority to deploy the Defence Forces, I believe that when this happens, there is an obligation by the President, as Commander-in-Chief to inform the nation and from my recollection we have not been informed by the President himself of the need for the deployment of the Defence Forces. I have no problem Mr. Speaker Sir, if that is done in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. My worry is that at this point in time, and because that deployment specifically must be authorised by the Head of State. I believe Mr. Speaker Sir, that this is not something which must be done willy-nilly – it is something which must be done after due consideration. In that regard, the nation should be informed from the highest office in the land and this does not seem to have happened. What we have had Mr. Speaker, there are pronouncements which have been made by members of the Defence Forces and members of the Police Force jointly but I believe that, if we are to follow the dictates of our Constitution, it is imperative that the Head of State informs the nation of the need to have the Police Force to be assisted by the Defence Forces.
That is the reason why I am rising Mr. Speaker, that as Parliament, it is our duty and obligation to ensure that at all times as a nation; we follow the dictates and the provisions of our Constitution. Where there is an element of doubt and where there is lack of clarity, it is important for us as Parliament to ascertain, verify and clarify so that all of us are in the picture as to whether we have indeed followed the provisions of the
Constitution. That is my concern Mr. Speaker and that is the reason why I have reason with this matter of privilege, to have this clarified for us as to whether in fact it was the Head of State who gave that authority because it does not appear to have been done in accordance with the Constitution. I thank you Mr. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: While you are upstanding, can you
clarify which deployment you are talking about.
HON. GONESE: The deployment in the country Mr. Speaker. We have members of the Defence Forces – they are assisting the police as I have already pointed out. The Constitution allows for that, but only in the circumstances where the Head of State has authorised that course of action. I am saying that as Parliament, we have not been officially informed by the Head of State, and the nation at large has not received any notification. I believe that if that happens, due process must be followed. The Head of State could have addressed the nation in that regard or a Statutory Instrument could have been gazetted or a general notice to inform the nation at large – that does not seem to have happened and that is what is the gravamen of the matter. Because, when that happens Mr. Speaker, I would like to assume that things must be done transparently and openly. For it to be done transparently and openly, the public must be notified in some way which I am not aware of
Mr. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order. You have not contextualised your observation Hon. Member. Can you be more specific?
HON. GONESE: I will do so Mr. Speaker. – [HON. MEMBERS:
Inaudible interjections.] -
HON. GONESE: Let me go back to the provisions of the
Constitution.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order. I am very clear of the provisions of 213.
HON. GONESE: Thank you Mr. Speaker. So, in view of those provisions which are very clear, my submission is that when you have members of the Defence Forces performing the duties that they are performing, that amounts to a deployment.
THE HON. SPEAKER: You mean now?
HON. GONESE: Yes, I mean now Mr. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Okay.
HON. GONESE: I mean now Mr. Speaker. We have a Head of
State who was inaugurated; His Excellency the Hon. Emmerson
Dambudzo Mnangagwa, who is the Head of State and Commander-inChief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces in this country. I am saying Mr. Speaker, that in terms of the provisions which I have adverted to, it is my respectful submission.
THE HON. SPEAKER: I am very clear, I am very clear now.
HON. GONESE: You are very clear, yes. So I am saying, at this point in time Mr. Speaker, we have members of the Defence Forces who have been deployed and in my understanding, they are definitely assisting the Police Service. We obviously have the Police Service whose primary responsibility is to maintain law and order. There are circumstances …
THE HON. SPEAKER: I thought you have made your point.
HON. GONESE: Yes, thank you. I thought you wanted me to
clarify.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order. I have two observations. Hon. Chinotimba, I had not recognised you; that is one. Hon. Members at the back there, yes, can you stop your tete-a-tete please. The second thing is that you cannot rise before the Chair has responded to the point of privilege.
Yes, I hear you Hon. Gonese – I will engage His Excellency the President and I should be informed accordingly and will advise accordingly.
*HON. CHINOTIMBA: On a point of order Mr. Speaker. My
point of order is on privilege. If you can see on your left and on your right, you can see that it is a bright day. We want to congratulate the Ministers. We usually had challenges pleading with the Ministers that they come to Parliament to answer our questions but today, you have just seen yourself that we should thank them and it should continue like
this.
We want to congratulate people like Hon. Perrance Shiri, Hon. Moyo for the new appointments and I wish them well in their new deployments. Even people are saying what is not proper in this House but the truth of the matter is that our President, Hon. Mnanagwa did a sterling job as you can see. So I stood up to thank His Excellency Hon. Dambudzo Mnangagwa that whatever he has done, we should be thankful. We usually have problems with Ministers who do not attend
Parliament on Wednesdays to answer questions but today all the
Ministers are here. Thank you Mr. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order! Thank you Hon. Chinotimba. However, the coming of the Hon. Ministers also implies that the Hon. Members of Parliament must attend and not disappear, leaving out certain motions undebated. Thank you.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
*HON. PARADZA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is
directed to the newly appointed Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement, Hon. Rtd. Air Marshall Shiri. Our farmers in both commercial and rural areas would like to know how far the Command Agricultural Programme is because up to now they do not have access to fertilizers and seed. They also want to know about the Presidential Input Scheme, because those inputs are not readily available.
HON. MUNENGAMI: On a point of order Hon. Speaker. We
have got new Ministers, some of them have been recycled and others are new - would it not be better, with due respect, when they answer the questions just to introduce themselves so that at least it becomes easier on our side as well, to know them. – [ HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order! Hon. Munengami, I
thought you are so experienced in Parliamentary Procedures. When a question is raised, the questioner directs that question to the specific Minister and I shall call upon the Minister myself.
HON. MUNENGAMI: We might be in a position to know who…
THE HON. SPEAKER: I will take care of that.
*HON. RTD. AIR MARSHALL SHIRI: Hon. Member,
everything that is possible is being done for fertilizers and seed to get to where the farmers are. Coming to things like fertilizers….
*HON. CHIBAYA: Mr. Speaker, the question that has been asked by….
THE HON. SPEAKER: I did not recognise you. Hon. Chibaya,
I repeat once again, as an experienced Member, please can we have procedure? – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Order!
Ndichakudzingayi manje.
Hon. Chibaya approached the Chair.
THE HON. SPEAKER: His small point of order has got some sense of humour, he says that he got frightened by the deep voice of –
[Laughter.] –
*HON. RTD. AIR MARSHALL SHIRI: Thank you Mr. Speaker
and Hon. Member. The issue of inputs such as seed and fertilizers is under considerations. When it comes to seed, there are some challenges with regards to long season varieties such as seven and six series. The seed that was produced last year is not enough to meet the demand because most probably it was affected by the incessant rains. Varieties like five series going down are available. Our seed companies are looking for funds so that they can buy the six and seven series varieties.
Fertilizer is being availed though not in adequate quantities. Some of it is being manufactured locally and we are importing some. The smooth availability of fertilizers is being affected by the challenges associated with the availability of limited nostro facilities. People who want to farm are many; therefore there is a little challenge, especially on that one which is being imported that when it comes because of our Nostro support, they delay and they cause the delays of fertilizers to reach farmers in time. Thank you.
*HON. ZWIZWAI: Thank you Mr. Speaker. My supplementary question to the Hon. Minister is that during President Mugabe’s days and G40 – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order! Hon. Chinotimba! When I call the House to order, Hon. Chinotimba, please obey. I will not entertain any innuendos or any discussion on factional politics. As Members of Parliament here, we must debate issues that affect the nation on the basis of national interests and not factional matters. If that is repeated, I will not hesitate to send a Member outside the House. So please, carry on.
*HON. ZWIZWAI: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I will try to do what you have said - to run away from the truth, so that I will please you. It is very difficult because it is in the people. We lived it, but I will try to please you.
My question to the Hon. Minister is that before Operation Restore Legacy we were not being given inputs, that is us in the opposition and you can hear from other people that some people who did not give us are in here. So we want to know, now that we are in the new era, the issue of having all the people of Zimbabwe getting access to inputs, can we not come up with a register so that all people would register, because it was closed? You were not inside, but that is the challenge that we came across. So, we want to know whether you are going to open it to all the people, especially those who were not in the ZANU-PF party, but the people of Zimbabwe. I think I have pleased you Mr. Speaker and crafted my question very well, looking at this issue of agriculture.
*THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE AND
RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. RTD. AIR MARSHALL
SHIRI): Mr. Speaker Sir and Hon. Members, every farmer who is in
Zimbabwe is entitled to have inputs. Whether it is Command Agriculture, as long as they meet the criteria which is wanted, they get access. If it is the Presidential Scheme, everyone is given. It is not given on partisan basis. There is no law to that. I thank you.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Hon. Speaker, mine is a point of clarity because I believe the Hon. Minister did not attend to the question by the Hon. Member. The question was, this has been in existence - what is the new policy that he is going to introduce, or what are the new measures that he is going to introduce? – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]- So what are the new measures that are going to be introduced by the Hon. Minister and Ministry to ensure that the distribution of inputs in this country is no longer on partisan basis, but is inclusive of all citizens of this country? I think that is the gist of the question Hon. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Minister, perhaps you could also
clarify the issue of criteria.
HON. RTD. AIR MARSHALL SHIRI: Hon. Member, I happen to have been very much involved with Command Agriculture at national level. I was actually in charge of the implementation team so I am not going to respond based on hear - say information, but on actual facts -[ HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.]- At no stage were field officers ever instructed to distribute inputs on partisan basis. So, there was no issue of distribution based on partisan basis. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order! I think the best way forward, Hon. Members as representatives of the people, where such practices of partisan allocation do arise, can you put them into record and bring them back here so that the Hon. Minister can then be confronted with actual facts.
HON. ZWIZWAI: Mr. Speaker, you had requested him to give
us the criteria but he did not.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Minister, the issue of criteria, just
briefly.
HON. RTD. AIR MARSHALL SHIRI: Hon. Speaker Sir, the
criteria at the moment is based on those who have honoured their obligations for last season. People were given inputs and they were supposed to pay back. Those who did that are eligible for registration again and for entering into contracts. For new entrants, they get confirmation from the Arex officers in their various districts based on their competence and the fact that the member should actually be in possession of a title deed for commercial farms, an offer letter for A2 farm, a permit for A1 farm and obviously known communal farmer with a known piece of land. Basically that is the criteria.
*HON. MAHOKA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement. What plans do you have Minister when it comes to how Command Agriculture is being directed? I have seen that people have geared up their gear. What do you have in place when it comes to harvesting because there are districts which do not have combine harvesters? What plans have you put in place so that we have combine harvesters in place for harvesting the grains?
HON. RTD. AIR MARSHALL SHIRI: Thank you Hon.
Speaker. The plan that we have for the harvesting of those grains that need combine harvesters; firstly, there is a fund that has been set aside to help those who have combine harvesters, that they will be maintained and would also help others. Secondly, we are looking at buying new combined harvesters. We think they will be in place before harvest time.
HON. MANGAMI: My question is directed to the Minister of Labour and Social Welfare. What is government policy...
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order, the rule says you address Ministers the same way you address yourself. They are honourable.
HON. MANGAMI: Hon. Minister, what is Government policy
regarding assistance to institutions that take care of children such as children’s homes and orphanages.
THE MINISTER OF LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE
(HON. KAGONYE): The question was not clear, I did not understand what she wants to ask. Can she repeat the question?
THE HON. SPEAKER: The question is, what is Government
policy as far as assisting children’s homes and orphanages is concerned.
HON. KAGONYE: It is one of the core business of the Ministry. We look after children in various capacities in terms of provision of their basic education, food and all social network security pertaining to children.
HON. CHAKONA: My question is directed to Hon. Minister Mandiwanzira. Yesterday the country experienced a black out on internet connectivity from about midday to 5.00p.m. The major problem was experienced in foreign countries. What is Government policy in terms of safeguarding and ensuring that the country is continuously connected to internet given the constraints that we saw yesterday?
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, Hon. Mkandla and your
colleagues, can you be attentive.
THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION COMMUNICATION
TECHNOLOGY AND CYBER SECURITY (HON.
MANDIWANZIRA): It is true that the country suffered a major internet blackout yesterday, which was caused by the disruption of services, particularly on the fibre optic cable bringing in bandwidth via South Africa into Zimbabwe. So, 17.5km from Beitbridge into South Africa, the fibre optic cable was cut off by a tractor that was working on the side of the road. Coincidentally, on the same day, City of Harare workers who were working in Kuwadzana, we understand they were putting sewage pipes underground, also cut off the fibre optic cable belonging to TelOne and also disrupted services. This brings to the fore the most important thing that we must recognise as Zimbabweans that internet is such an important enabler to anything and everything that we do. Therefore, I think it is important that the operators are encouraged to have redundancy which does not necessarily follow the same route. It is our understanding that Liquid Telcom only brings their bandwidth via the cable from Beitbridge and their redundancy is also on the same route. Thankfully, TelOne, which is owned by Government, brings bandwidth via Beitbridge and also brings bandwidth via Plumtree through Botswana and via Forbes Border Post from the undersea cables on the Mozambique side. It is our view that as a result of the lessons learnt yesterday, Government will insist on – especially Government owned companies expanding their redundancy capacity beyond the two or three lines that are available to Government owned companies. I think what happened yesterday should never be repeated because the country lost quite a significant amount of money in terms of opportunities and businesses.
HON. MLILO: Hon. Minister Sir, it is a basic rule of thumb in Telecommunications and ICT that when you create a redundancy link or alternatively when you create alternative reaction pathways, your points should not traverse in the same area. Your points should not traverse in the same route or same ISP or IAP. What then happened in this case was – at some point in time, I remember that Government, through the Ministry had plans to create an alternative pathway which was meant to be the super-gateway that was going to go through Botswana. What really has happened with the super-gateway because I believe the Botswana gateway could have alleviated us from the problem that we had yesterday. Does the Ministry in any way have a disaster recovery policy that has been tried and tested seeing that we were left exposed yesterday?
HON. MANDIWANZIRA: It is true that the rule of thumb is that redundancy must not be on the same route and I must say that this is the case with TelOne. I did mention that TelOne, out of the disaster that we had yesterday, was the only network that was still offering service although at a reduced capacity because they were now bringing bandwidth via Botswana and Mozambique. However, they also suffered the same fate that affected Liquid Telcoms on the Beitbridge route. So, in terms of TelOne, they were adequately prepared and it is Liquid Telcoms that was not adequately prepared. It is a licensing expectation that you must have redundancy that is not following the same route. I have asked the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority to investigate how come the redundancy by Liquid Telecoms was again on the Beitbridge route and both of those routes were affected yesterday. I do not have the report yet but when we get it, we will be very happy to share it with Parliament.
In terms of the super-gateway, I think this more or less deals with channelling traffic through one route and that would not have been helpful in the circumstances yesterday. It is done in terms of monitoring the traffic that is coming in and leaving the country for revenue assurance purposes and that would not have been helpful yesterday. But I think alternatives are definitely required and this means that we may need to open up the space for more investment by other operators. However, more importantly, Government must strengthen its investment in fibre optic cables particularly in building a national network that guarantees we will never fall as what happened yesterday.
*HON. MACHINGAUTA: My question is directed to Hon. Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi. In this country, people are registering to vote and the population of people living with disability is 1,4 million. So, I want to hear from the Hon. Minister what plans are in place so that those living with disability get help when it comes to registering to vote.
*THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Hon.
Speaker. I want to request the Hon. Member to put his question in writing so that I can go and consult with the ZEC officials and find out what plans they have put in place so that it will go well – [HON.
MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] -
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order! I will indulge the Hon.
Member, if you can put the question in writing – [AN HON. MEMBER: Inaudible interjection.] – Okay, I get you. Hon. Minister, this is an urgent matter. I am sure you could have some indications.
HON. ZIYAMBI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I will hazard to answer and say the Constitution provides that every citizen is allowed to register. It is their right but the modalities that have been put in place; those are the ones that I want to ask ZEC as an independent body mandated by the Constitution to carry out that function. It is not a direct line Ministry of Justice. So, my appeal to the Hon. Member was if he can put the question in writing then I can follow up to find out what measures have been put in place to ensure that the constitutional requirement and that right has been realised – [HON. MEMBER:
Inaudible interjection.] –. I thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, I think in view of the fact that we are likely to adjourn and the matter is burning, can I suggest to the Hon.
Minister to get information from ZEC and on Thursday you make a Ministerial Statement – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – [HON. MUNENGAMI: Inaudible interjection.] – Order, order! I have not recognised you. Hon. Munengami, you do not start speaking before you are recognised. Take your seat. I believe you wanted to supplement the information that the Hon. Minister should bring. Is that correct? – [HON. MUNENGAMI: Yes.] – I will give you the indulgency but next time follow procedure.
*HON. MUNENGAMI: I want to add that the Minister should help us with the issue which was brought before the High Court concerning aliens that people can register if they bring a long birth certificate and identity card but the elderly only have identity cards.
They do not have long birth certificates, which is another requirement.
So, I am pleading with him that if he can engage ZEC to find out the way forward because most people only have I.Ds.
*HON. MURAI: Still on BVR, the process is going very well but we have a challenge that because we have so many national events that have affected –
*THE HON. SPEAKER: I think you should just tell the Hon.
Minister what he is supposed to do.
*HON. MURAI: I am asking Hon. Minister that you extend the time for BVR registration. Add more days please.
*HON. MUTSEYAMI: My addition to the Minister is that on the BVR, we agreed with the Hon. Minister during the last session that when people are being issued I.Ds in the rural areas, there are wards which they reached and the people who issue out I.Ds came later. Up to date, the people have not returned and because of this programme now, there are some areas where ZEC is now giving two days extension but while the Registrar General officials are going in January and the other officials are going back in December, yet in this House we had said they would be an engagement between ZEC and Ministry so that those issuing I.Ds start and then those for voter registration would follow immediately.
*HON. MUDARIKWA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. My question is directed to Hon. Minister Mupfumira. What plans do you have when it comes to domestic tourism because many hotels are out of the reach of many people? Most of the hotels are very pricy just to sleep one night. For you to have breakfast, it costs a lot of money and you cannot even afford to give a tip. What plans do you have so that our people can travel freely in Zimbabwe?
THE MINISTER OF TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY
INDUSTRY (HON. MUPFUMIRA): I want to thank the Hon. Member for his pertinent question. I want to assure him and as he knows, I have just taken the reins. We were looking at our tourism strategy the past few days and those are some of the things that we were talking about that the cost of doing business is very expensive. We will try and find ways that can encourage domestic tourism. I know that if you visit our areas, the money that is charged, especially Victoria Falls is too high. So, we are going to look into that as we are looking at our strategy on marketing tourism. Thank you.
*HON. ADV. CHAMISA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. My
question is directed to the Minister of Home Affairs and Culture, Hon. O. Mpofu. My question is, as the new Minister who is coming in the new era, are you seeing yourself revamping or changing the Government policy on how the Police Force are interacting with people. Firstly, when it comes to road blocks, are you going to remove them because they were a menace? As we were inaugurating the President, people were complaining about road blocks because they are affecting business and people. Is there going to be a change?
Also on demonstrations, if people want to demonstrate because we now have our country, people are looking forward to be escorted by Police when they are handing in their petitions or complaints, whether to the President or to you. It is there in the Constitution. Should we look forward to that because we know that when a new day is coming, it brings a new thing? Are we going to have those new things or we are going to meet the same challenges that we were facing during President Mugabe’s era?
+THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURE
(HON. DR. MPOFU): Thank you Hon. Member. I want to thank the Hon. Speaker for giving me this opportunity and also thanking Hon.
Adv. Chamisa for such an important question. I once spoke about what Hon. Adv. Chamisa had said, that the job of the police is to maintain peace and order. Everything that is outside that, we will not tolerate. The main job of the policemen is to maintain peace and they are there to assist all the citizens. However, there are also ways to catch those who commit crimes. Issues to do with road blocks, I will realise so many citizens have lodged complaints about it. Road blocks are not bad but it appeared as a bad way because of the way it was being implemented. The first thing that I am going to deal with, I am going to meet with all the police officers in all the Commands and I will lay out how I want them to do their operations.
Issues to do with demonstrations Mr. Speaker Sir, there are rules that are supposed to be followed every time there is a demonstration by any organisation or anyone. We want to urge all citizens to follow the procedures. There are times whereby even if there are certain agreements that have been made, people go against the agreements and we see the police officers taking action, especially when there is something bad that has been done. All that I can say is, police officers are supposed to respect all the citizens and citizens are supposed to respect the police officers as well. It is not good when we do finger pointing at each other. We are supposed to have police officers who are there to put order in the country. I thank you.
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I really want to thank the Hon. Minister for such a very comprehensive answer but also a very responsible answer. This is the kind of dispensation we want. We respect our Ministers when they respect us. We really want to appreciate it Hon. Minister, and we hope that the approach is going to continue. My supplementary question Hon. Speaker Sir, if you look at the police insignia or the police latin saying, “pro lege pro populi pro patria”, it is for the law, for the people and for the country. If our police is for the people and for the country and indeed for the law, I saw that in the courts there were some police officers who were taken to court because now the Constitution does empower a citizen. If you feel offended by the conduct of an individual police officer, you can take them to court. There was a very successful case in the courts, several police officers were taken to court.
What are you also going to do as you meet them tomorrow in terms of equipping them with the correct peace mindset because they have to move from being a Police Force to being a Police Service? Are you also going to emphasise this because a lot of police officers think that policing is about rioting and beating up people? Are you also going to tell them that policing is not just force, it is also to interact with citizens in a proper manner because the public relations aspect of our police is a very important aspect? Are you also going to touch on that from a policy point of view because it is very important so that people really know that it is a new dispensation in the context of the politics of the day?
HON. DR. MPOFU: I do not want to preempt what I am going to tell the police tomorrow. I think I have got a plateful of issues that I want to give direction on. However, I think the fundamental role of our National Police Force is to ensure that there is law and order and it will be in that context that I will be dealing with this issue. It is a very emotive issue as you all know and I want to address it head-on to ensure that they maintain their national status as a people’s force without really having to compromise their responsibility.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Minister, do we say Police Force
or Service?
HON. DR. MPOFU: Police Service – [Laughter.] – Mr. Speaker Sir, thank you very much. Whatever we do, the guidance we give, the road map we adhere to will not compromise the efficiency of our Police Service. That is what I can say now Mr. Speaker Sir. The rest you will actually get to know about it after my meeting. Thank you so much.
Hon. Zwizwai having stood up on a point of order.
THE HON. SPEAKER: There is no point of clarification because the Hon. Minister said he will not want to be preemptive of what is going to be discussed tomorrow. So, there are certain details that he cannot discuss here. Let the Hon. Minister meet the Commanders of the Police Service tomorrow and I am sure that he is going to come up with new directions which he will share with Parliament in due course.
Hon. Members having stood up to pose supplementary questions.
THE HON. SPEAKER: If the question is about the police, I am not accepting that. I am not accepting and I have ruled. Please sit down Hon. Members. I have ruled already that you allow the Hon. Minister of Home Affairs and Culture to meet the Commanders.
HON. MHLANGA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My question is
directed to the Hon. Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural
Resettlement. We were almost running out of maize storage facilities in the last season. If indeed this year becomes another bumper harvest, can the Minister inform the nation what measures have been taken or what measures are under consideration to mitigate against this? Thank you.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE
AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. MARAPIRA): I thank you
Hon. Speaker and I thank the Hon. Member. As Government, we are busy moving stock...
HON. MUTSEYAMI: On a point of order Mr. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: What is your point of order?
HON. MUTSEYAMI: Mr. Speaker, how can we have the
response from a Deputy Minister when we have the substantive Minister who sits in the Cabinet? What is happening and what is the problem here? Is that a coup Mr. Speaker? We have a substantive Minister who is there. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]-
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order. Hon. Deputy Minister, in terms of procedure, you cannot answer on behalf of the Hon. Minister when he is there.
THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. RTD. AIR MARSHALL SHIRI): Mr.
Speaker Sir, Hon. Members, we have to take note of the fact that we are consuming the grain which was harvested last season. So, by the time we harvest, come next harvesting season, we expect the stocks to have gone down significantly. Currently, we are also moving grain from over congested depots to the less congested depots.
If indications are that the current facilities will not be enough in the next harvesting season, we can always come up with contingent plans. Mind you, it is not all our Grain Marketing Depots which are made up of silos. The bulk of them use tarpaulins to protect the grain from the vagaries of the weather. So, we can immediately resort to that approach whilst we are looking at the possibility of constructing proper silos. –
[HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.]-
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order. Ah! Chief Whip. I had recognised Hon. Holder and Hon. Zwizwai. Please proceed.
HON. HOLDER: Thank you Hon. Speaker. Let me first congratulate the Ministers that have been recently appointed. My question is directed to the Minister of Mines and Mining Development. Hon. Minister, I have a lot of faith in you but I need to ask you a question. My question is, you are aware that in Midlands, in the chrome mining fields, there is a lot of bureaucracy that has been taking place. What mechanism or Government policy are you putting in place in order to regularise the chrome claims that were unfairly distributed in the Midlands Province?
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MARUMAHOKO):
Order, order Hon. Munengami.
THE MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING
DEVELOPMENT (HON. CHITANDO): Thank you Hon. Member. It
is a pertinent question. The reality is that today is my first day in office. I request that you put your question in writing, then I can give you a comprehensive and valid answer next week. Thank you.
HON. MLISWA: On a point of order Mr. Speaker.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Point of order or
supplementary question?
HON. MLISWA: Mr. Speaker Sir, this Cabinet has been chosen by the President who said he has hit the ground running. It is totally unacceptable for a Minister to come and say I am still studying when the economy has been suffering. The Minister must respond to the question given to him. They are there on duty and we are not wasting time.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, Order Hon. Members. Hon. Mliswa, can you take your seat? Order Hon. Members. I mean Order Hon. Chamisa. Do I need to mention your name? – [HON. MLISWA: Inaudible interjections.] - Hon. Mliswa, if you persist, I may send you out. Order, order! If I say order, I mean order. I am saying order you obey when I say order. Can you sit down Hon. Mliswa? Order please. I am calling for order and you are laughing like you are in a pub.
HON. MLISWA: On a point of order, on a point of order.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Mliswa I will chuck you
out. I will send you out; I am not taking that point of order.
HON. MLISWA: Why not, why not?
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: I am not taking that point of order – [HON. MLISWA: Inaudible interjections.] –
You go out now.
Hon. Mliswa was escorted out of the House by the Sergeant-at-
Arms.
HON. NYAMUPINGA: Mr. Speaker Sir, with your indulgence I approached the Chair before you got to the Chair. I was asking for his indulgence that during these 16 days of gender based violence activism, will I be allowed to ask two relevant questions, but being addressed by two different Ministers and I had got a nod from the Speaker.
THE TEMPORATY SPEAKER: I am aware. Order please, I
have recognised you to ask a question.
HON. MYAMUPINGA: Thank you, I did not know. My
question is going to the Minister of Labour and Social Welfare. Considering the high rate of gender based violence in this country, we have safe-houses that are packed with victims of gender based violence. I want to know Government policy or the women of Zimbabwe would want to know Government policy on social services that are provided to the safe-houses in terms of food and clothing. Mr. Speaker, sometimes when a victim is physically abused, they run to the safe-houses naked and sometimes they remain naked for a week because there would be no funding to buy clothes for them. So, we would want to understand the
Government policy on that aspect?
Also, during these 16 days of gender based violence, a lot of children are being married when they are under the age of 16. We want to know from the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs when they are going to bring the alignment….
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order please. The first question was directed to which Minister?
HON. NYAMUPINGA: To the Minister of Labour and Social
Welfare, Hon. Minister Kagonye…
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: That is enough, let her answer
first.
THE MINISTER OF LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE
(HON. KAGONYE): Thank you Mr. Speaker. It is Government policy to provide social safety networks to victims of gender based violence – not only those victims but anyone who is vulnerable. So, the
Government has a policy to look after them in terms of accommodation, Government grants, food and any other relevant assistance that they may require. I thank you.
*HON. ADV. CHAMISA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. The issue of the importance of women which has been raised by Hon.
Nyamupinga is very important. You know that the backbone of a home is the mother and the backbone of the nation is the man. There is no nation without homes. Minister, do you foresee the revamping of this issue of revenge in gender based violence – that of pornography. Are you adding those things, and also of people who have small houses, that it be criminalised for someone to have a girlfriend.
*THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order Hon. Members.
Hon. Advocate Chamisa, I think you are lost there.
*HON. ADV. CHAMISA: No Mr. Speaker.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: I have made a ruling; it has nothing to do with zvamave kupindura pano.
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: With all due respect, you know that it is in terms of the Standing Orders. In terms of the Standing Orders, you have every right to make a ruling but the question that I addressed is an arising question. It is to do with the offences that are related to gender based violence and I am not lost in all fairness. I will not challenge your ruling but I also reserve the dignity and right of honour within this
House. May I be answered by the Minister because …
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Adv. Chamisa
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: Hon. Speaker, you know that I am respectful to your Chair because when you cast aspersions to say that I am lost, I represent this alternative.
*THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Can you just take your seat please? Hon. Chamisa, you are an advocate, so when you are asking your questions, you should direct them - because you are now adding the issue of small houses. That is not what was being referred to. So, I will give you the benefit of the doubt but be in line.
*HON. ADV. CHAMISA: Mr. Speaker, I ask for your forgiveness because I have added small houses, because probably it is affecting a lot of people and I am withdrawing that. I am sorry because it has offended you. I am just saying, is there a law coming from Government so that we would amend our law for things that are really affecting women because, as a lawyer, I represent women because there are many which affect the rights of women. So, are you going to add a lot of crimes because gender is not only affecting men, but it is affecting men and women as well? So, are you going to add more criminal charges when it comes to that? Thank you.
*HON. KAGONYE: Thank you Mr. Speaker. The way I
understand, I think that this issue should be directed to the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and not the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order please. Can you take your seats Hon. Members?
Questions Without Notice were interrupted by THE
TEMPORARY SPEAKER in terms of Standing Order No. 64.
HON. CHIBAYA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I move that time for
Questions Without Notice be extended.
HON. CHINOTIMBA: I object.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE
EMPLOYMENT OF EX-CONVICTS
- HON. F. PHIRI asked the Minister of Labour and Social
Welfare what the Ministry is doing to promote employment to ex-convicts since prisons are providing correctional services?
THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE LABOUR AND
SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. KAGONYE): Thank you Mr. Speaker.
Thank you Hon. Phiri for the question. Mr. Speaker the Government regards Prisons as a rehabilitation institute. Naturally, all things being equal, the rehabilitated persons are expected to re-integrate into society and be active participants in all areas including equal opportunity in terms of employment services.
However, we take cognisant of the unfavourable conditions in the Labour Market, which not only affect the released person but the generality of all citizens. They all have to compete for the limited jobs and obviously those without any prison record have a better chance of getting the only available jobs, while those from the prison battle to clear their image and stigma.
We are also aware that every employer requires disclosure in terms of convictions. It is against this background that we acknowledge the need for a policy that will support mechanisms to cater for those released from prison. Currently there is no such policy for both private and public sector. Since unemployment is a national concern a holistic approach on employment creation and a fund is also recommended to avoid appearing to be rewarding those from prison.
FIRING OF COACHES AFTER LOSS OF A MATCH
- HON. KANHANGA asked the Minister of Sport, Arts and Recreation to explain whether it is government policy to fire national team coaches whenever they lose a match, be it soccer, cricket or volleyball as was the case with Mr. Calisto Pasuwa.
THE MINISTER OF SPORT, ARTS AND RECREATION
(HON. KAZEMBE): Thank you Mr. Speaker. Firstly, there is need for clarity as to whether the matter relates to Mr. Calisto Pasuwa. This is because Pasuwa was not fired. Instead, his exit as coach of the warriors followed the expiry of his contract on 28th February, 2017. However, for the benefit of the House, there is no Government policy which justifies or criminalises the firing of a coach on the basis of their team’s bad performance in a particular match or tournament.
The hiring and discharge of a coach solely rests on the coaches’ contractual terms as given by their respective associations and Government respects the discretion and integrity of national sport associations in this regard. However, Government holds no reservations of intervention if a coach has been prejudiced by an association. This is part of the National Sports and Recreation’s policy ennunciation on Government’s dispute resolution and arbitration mechanism.
On the other hand, globally, most coaches enter into performance based contractual terms. Probably in the Zimbabwean context, the question which we should be asking is whether the global trend should be embraced or not. I thank you.
RE-OPENING OF THE RIMUKA POST OFFICE
- HON. PHIRI asked the Minister of Information
Communication Technology and Cyber Security what plans are in place to re-open the Kadoma Rimuka Post Office which closed down several years ago.
THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION COMMUNICATION
TECHNOLOGY AND CYBER SECURITY (HON.
MANDIWANZIRA): Mr. Speaker Sir, Rimuka Post Office is actually operating as an off-counter for the Kadoma Post Office. The Rimuka Post Office is currently operational and is offering a full range of postal services to the public.
There was an incident however, when the clerk manning the post office counter was unavailable and his replacement delayed in rendering services resulting in the post office not offering services for three days and that was in August. When we heard about this, Mr. Speaker Sir, we asked what disciplinary action had been taken because this is unacceptable to Government because services must always be delivered and people must go to post offices and get services as is expected on a daily basis. So, we have been told that the person concerned was charged for withholding information that is pertinent to the discharge of another member’s duties and also was charged for conducting oneself or behaving in a manner that brings or likely to bring the name of the company and in this case ZIMPOST, into disrepute or to tarnish the image of the company.
He was also charged with gross disregard of standing procedures and rules resulting in potential financial loss or prejudice to the company and this matter was heard by a hearing committee in Kadoma on 17th November, 2017. The outcome was that the Postal Manager, a Mr. Madi, was found guilty and the penalty was a final written warning valid for 12 months.
ESTABLISHMENT OF A COMMUNITY INFORMATION CENTRE
IN KADOMA
- HON. PHIRI asked the Minister of Information
Communication Technology and Cyber Security when the Ministry is going to establish a Community Information Centre in Kadoma.
HON. PHIRI: Mr. Speaker, question number 34 has been overtaken by events. Thank you.
POLICY ON LOCALS BENEFITING FROM TERTIARY
INSTITUTIONS
- HON. MASUKU asked the Minister of Higher and Tertiary
Education, Science and Technology Development what the Government policy is in terms of ensuring that the locals benefit from tertiary institutions within them.
THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY
EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
(HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Thank you Hon. Masuku for the
question. Government policy is that institutions of higher learning are by nature, national. Local communities benefit as follows;
- These institutions stimulate research around the areas where they are, thereby providing the evidence base for decision making.
- By nature, these institutions employ people. Maybe some of them are local especially in terms of jobs that are there.
So, employment is created for sure and also, they tend to help inclusivity in the nation. The nation has the ability to mix up. Somebody comes from another region and learns a lot of things which lead to national inclusion and stability.
POLICY ON STUDENTS FAILURE TO PAY OUTSTANDING FEES
- HON. MASUKU asked the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development to inform the House what the Government policy is as far as students who fail to pay their outstanding fees are concerned and to further clarify whether or not they can be employed when they do not have their results.
THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY
EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
(HON. PROF MURWIRA): The Ministry wishes to state that at State Universities students are expected to pay tuition fees at registration or before writing their examinations. However, between registration and the writing of examinations, parents/guardians can make mutually agreed payment plans which they must honour to avoid inconveniences and ensure that they will get their diplomas and degrees.
In State Polytechnics and Teachers’ Colleges, payment of fees is governed by Statutory Instrument 81 of 1999, which stipulates that payment of such fees should be made before opening of each term or within seven days after opening. Government has since instructed that students are not turned away from colleges and polytechnics for late payment of tuition fees.
However, it is mandatory that boarding fees be paid within seven days of opening of each term, at the latest. Where necessary, at the discretion of the institution, the owing student/parent/guardian and the institution can enter into mutually agreed payment plans. The student/parents/guardians are urged to honour their payment plans to avoid inconveniences.
Whilst the Government is meeting salaries for the employees for the institutions of higher and tertiary education, it is of paramount importance that parents/guardians pay fees for the students so as not to compromise teaching and learning activities at the institutions.
However, the Ministry directed all institutions to allow students to write their examinations. Institutions may withhold results until all outstanding fees are paid. Students are given certified copies of the results and as such they can apply for employment using those copies. Students however, might not be able to get employment outside the country as these certified copies might not be allowed but anyway, they can get employment using the certified copies and they will get the originals when they are able to pay their fees, assuming that the job will allow them to get some money and then pay the fees. I thank you Mr. Speaker.
WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE
- DATE OF BIRTH FOR MR. TOBAIWA MUDEDE
HON. MAJOME asked the Minister of Labour and Social
Welfare to inform the House when the Registrar, Tobaiwa Mudede was born: and further explain if he is above 65 years and why he has not retired from the Civil Service?
THE MINISTER OF LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE
(HON. KAGONYE): Thank you Madam Speaker. Thank you Hon. Majome for the question. May I humbly implore the House against personalizing enquiries and rather interrogate policy issues.
Mr. Speaker, ageing is an inevitable consequence of life which must be embraced rather than shunned. According to Betty Friedan (1921-2006), “aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength”. Biblically, it is recognised as a crown of glory only from God.
The African Union has been advocating for the retirement age to be moved forward due to the rising life expectancy rate witnessed globally. For example, British Government announced the possibility of raising retirement age to 67 or 68 to match the trend. Article 8 of the African Union Protocol on Older Persons requires us to respect older persons Right to Employment. It provides that: “States Parties shall:
- Take measures to eliminate discrimination against Older
Persons with regard to employment opportunities;
- Ensure that Older Person enjoy decent working conditions”
Resolution 106 African Union bears in mind the rapid rate at which the population of older person is increasing throughout the world and that the most rapid increase is taking place in the developing world, with Africa alone projected to have between 204 and 210 million older person by 2050. This resolution therefore, calls upon all African
Government to review policies on Older Persons.
My Ministry is currently initiating ratification of this new Protocol which Parliament is expected to debate and endorse. It is important for us to consider social trends and keep abreast with global and continental trends. Our laws must remain relevant and devoid of discrimination against age in this particular context, otherwise we perish for want of vision.
In direct response to the question from my learned colleague, allow me Mr. Speaker, to say that Mr. Tobaiwa Mudede was appointed as the Registrar in terms of Section 201 (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe as read with Statutory Instrument 1 of 2000 (Public Service Regulations) as amended.
In terms of Section 21 (1) of the Public Service Act, the Commission can engage persons on contract or such conditions as may be fixed from time to time. The Commission is empowered by the
Public Service Regulations to engage retirement age. Such persons will not contribute again towards a pension as they would have already done so, hence their placement on annually renewable contract.
May I also inform the House that my Ministry has proposed amendments to increase NSSA retirement from 60 to 65 years? These proposals are under consideration by the Minister of Finance and
Economic Development as required by the NSSA Act. I thank you.
WHEAT SEED FOR THE 2017-2018 SEASON
- GEZI asked the Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement to inform the House the measures the Ministry has put in place to ensure that winter farmers have adequate wheat seed for the 2017-2018 season as a way of averting the current situation where farmers end up resorting to planting unknown wheat variety.
THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. AIR MARSHALL SHIRI): Hon.
Member, over the last five years wheat production has averaged 12 500 hectares and wheat seed produced has been adequate for that hectarage. However, with the advent of Command Agriculture, the requirement trebled, hence the shortages. Seed hoses have since been encouraged to produce more wheat seed to meet the expansion in wheat production.
TOBACCO LEVY COLLECTIONS FOR THE AFFORESTATION
FUND
- NDUNA asked the Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement to inform the House:
- How much has been collected from tobacco levy to date towards
the Afforestation Fund, and
- Whether TIMB has made any progress in the establishment of woodlots from the Afforestation Fund?
THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. AIR MARSHALL SHIRI): Hon.
Member: (a) the funds are collected and retained by ZIMRA. The levy in 2015 was $8 011 579.49 into TIMB account.
(b) No progress has been made because the Constitution of the
Afforestation Fund is yet to be presented to and registered with
Parliament as per the requirements of the Public Finance Management
Act, [Chapter 22 (19) by the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning.
On the motion of HON. RUNGANI seconded by HON. MKWANGWARIWA the House adjourned at Ten Minutes past Four
o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 5th December, 2017
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
NON-ADVERSE REPORT RECEIVED FROM THE
PARLIAMENTARY LEGAL COMMITTEE
THE HON. SPEAKER: I have received a Non-Adverse report from the Parliamentary Legal Committee on the Electoral Amendment
Bill [H. B. 6, 2017.]
INVITATION TO A CATHOLIC CHURCH SERVICE
THE HON. SPEAKER: I wish to inform the House that there will be a Roman Catholic Church service tomorrow, Wednesday, 6th December, 2017 at 1230 hours in the Senate Chamber. All catholic and non-catholic members are invited.
CONSTITUENCY DEVELOPMENT FUND APPLICATIONS CUT-
OFF DATE
THE HON. SPEAKER: All Members are hereby reminded that the cut off date for the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) applications is 15th December, 2017 that is the deadline. To enable efficient processing of applications, Members are again reminded to ensure that all requirements as stated in Article 9 (2) and (3) of the CDF
Constitution and the Operational Manual are adhered to. These include:
- Names of members of the CDF Committee set up in compliance with Article 9 (2) and (3) of the CDF Constitution. If you do not comply with that you do not qualify.
- Minutes of the first meeting on the establishment of the CDF Committee. In other words, we do not want names; we want proof that there was a meeting that resolved that there should be a CDF Committee.
- CVs of the members of the CDF Committee.
- An independent bank account into which funds will be deposited. In other words, your personal bank account will not be accepted, it should be independent of the Members of
Parliament.
- Names of the three signatories to the CDF bank account chosen from the members of the CDF Constituency Committee.
Please comply with those five provisions.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. RUNGANI: Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that Orders of the
Day, Numbers 1 to 22 be stood over until Order of the Day Number 23 has been disposed of.
HON. MANDIPAKA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND CHILD CARE ON THE FACT FINDING MISSION TO
ZAMBIA ON CANCER MANAGEMENT AND BLOOD SERVICES
HON. MAHIYA: I move the motion standing in my name that
this House takes note of the First Report of the Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care on the Fact Finding Mission to Zambia on Cancer
Management and Blood Services.
HON. MUNENGAMI: I second.
HON. MAHIYA: The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Mabel Chinomona led a delegation that travelled to Zambia on a fact-finding mission on cancer management and provision of blood services from 25th June to 1st July 2017.
2.0 OBJECTIVES OF THE VISITS.
The objectives of the fact-finding mission were:
- To establish the involvement of the Health and Finance
Ministers in mobilising and prioritizing resources towards cancer awareness, research, treatment, control, training and cancer treatment equipment, as well as provision of blood services; ii. To study the role of Parliamentarians in cancer control and blood services through the budget processes and during the execution of their oversight and representative roles; iii. To assess initiatives by technical staff, health sector stakeholders, civil society and health institutions in awareness campaigns in waging a formidable fight against the cancer scourge; and iv. To recommend replication of the best practices learnt in
Zambia for improved health service delivery in Zimbabwe’s health institutions.
3.0 METHODOLOGY AND OPERATIONAL STRATEGY
The delegation held meetings with the Zambian Parliamentary
Committee on Health, Community Development and Social Services, Ministry of Health Officials in Zambia and representatives of the selected institutions that it toured during the visit.
4.0 BACKGROUND
4.1 The Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Advocate Jacob
Francis Mudenda led a delegation to the 9th Stop Cervical, Breast and Prostate Cancer in Africa Conference (SCCA). The Conference was convened at Kenyatta Convention Centre, Nairobi in Kenya from 19th to 21st of July 2015. The Conference sought to achieve advocacy among high profile individuals and the general populace whilst creating a platform to share lessons learned among the participants and mobilizing both corporate and political will and resources towards the campaign against cancer. The 9th SCCA focused on strengthening the role of Public-Private-Partnerships to alleviate the burden and high mortality rate from Breast, Cervical and Prostate cancers, notably the biggest killers in Africa today. Accordingly, the conference was held under the theme “Investing to Save Lives: The Role of Public and Private Sector
Partnerships”.
The following were the key issues raised during the Conference:
4.1. 1 That globally, there are 14 million new cancer cases accounting for 8.2 million deaths, constituting close to 13% of the total deaths worldwide.
4.1.2 That 70% of cancer deaths occur in low and middle income countries, the majority of which are in Africa.
4.1.3 That despite the growing cancer burden, cancer continues to receive a relatively low public health priority in Africa, largely because of limited resources and other pressing public health problems, including communicable diseases such as acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (AIDS), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection, malaria, and tuberculosis. It was added that it may also be in part, because of a general lack of awareness among policy makers, the general public and international private or public health agencies concerning the magnitude of the current and future cancer burden and its economic impact.
4.1.4 That there is hope for cancer prevention and treatment in Africa if it is put on the political agenda and supported by Public-Private partnerships.
4.1.5 That every effort must be made to expand the capacity of health care delivery systems to provide timely and effective treatment to patients diagnosed with early stage disease for increased awareness initiatives to result in improved patient outcomes.
4.1.6 That Parliaments have a critical role to play in cancer control by creating awareness of the burden of cancer and the benefits of early diagnosis in their constituencies.
4.1.7 That Parliamentarians should actively lobby for funding for the control of cancer and help put cancer on political agenda through parliamentary portfolio committees that exercise oversight function over the executive.
4.1.8 That Zambia, inspite of the ever-competing health priorities and limited resources to meet the demands of the same, has taken effective action to reduce the number of lives who succumb to cancer each year.
4.1.9 To demonstrate their commitment to cancer control in Africa, the First Ladies, Parliamentarians and Ministers made a declaration to intensify awareness and efforts towards halting and reducing the burden of cancer by 2030.”
4.1.10 In light of the above key issues, the Zimbabwe delegation, in its report recommended that a fact-finding Parliamentary mission be sent to Zambia to learn about how they were managing cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment with a view to replicate the same in Zimbabwe. To this end, the Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care resolved to undertake a study visit to Zambia to learn the best practices in cancer control.
4.2 Access to Blood Services in Zimbabwe
4.2.1 The Committee also conducted an enquiry into the access to blood services in Zimbabwe. To gather information on the subject matter, the Committee held an oral evidence meeting with the National Blood Service of Zimbabwe on the 20th of May, 2014 and toured its facilities on the 22nd of June, 2016, with a view to understanding the institution’s operations and blood banking system in Zimbabwe.
4.2.2 The enquiry revealed that access to blood and blood products in
Zimbabwe is beyond what is practically manageable for an average citizen with a pint of blood going for between US$120.00-US$140.00 as at June 2016. The high cost of blood in Zimbabwe was attributed to the costs incurred during the preparation of the blood to ensure it is free from HIV 1 and 2, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and Syphilis. During the enquiry, it was revealed that in Zambia, a pint of blood costs U$50.00.
Again, this motivated the Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care to seize the opportunity of the study visit in Zambia on cancer management to also learn about how Zambia is managing blood provision services for its citizens. Thus, pursuant to its oversight role over the executive, the Committee resolved to conduct the two (2) study visits on cancer and blood services management in Zambia from the 25th
June to the 1st of July, 2017.
5.0 FINDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE
5.1 Cancer Management and Treatment in Zambia
5.1.1 The burden of cancer in Zambia has been on the increase over the past years. The most prevalent are cancers of the cervix, breast, liver and prostate. The rise in the number of cases of cancer is due to but not limited to the risk behavior such as: consumption of unhealthy diets, lack of physical exercise, harmful use of alcohol and tobacco use. In Zambia, Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is the leading cause of cervical cancer in women.
5.2 Cancer Disease Hospital
Due to the rapid increase in the number of cancer patients, there has been significant scaling up of capacities and support in cancer management and treatment in Zambia. The Government of Zambia opened a Cancer Disease Hospital (CDH) in Lusaka, in July 2007 after a Presidential Declaration for free cancer treatment to all Zambians, and a progressive incremental budget allocation that followed. The CDH offers cancer patients state-of-the-art radiation and chemotherapy services as well as palliative care for cancer patients within Zambia and the surrounding region. The CDH has 252 beds, a chemotherapy unity with 80 beds and a nuclear medicine unit with eight (8) beds. To complement the services offered at CDH, the Government of Zambia planned to establish satellite cancer treatment centres at provincial level. To this end, the Government of Zambia has mobilised resources to fund the construction of two satellite cancer centres in Ndola and Livingstone in 2017. Other health facilities throughout the country offer cervical cancer screening and Loop Electro-surgical Excision Procedure (LEEP).
5.3 Capacity Building
In terms of capacity building, Zambia has accomplished the following:
- Dedicated office at Ministry of Health for cancer prevention;
- Creation of cancer focal point person at provincial level;
- National Reference training manual for cervical cancer screening; and
- Regional Training Programme of over 300 health professions from 15 countries in cervical cancer screening and early treatment.
5.4 Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination
Zambia successfully conducted a pilot programme on HPV vaccination with the support from Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) and has targeted 2018 for the national roll out of the programme. Major challenges encountered during the implementation of the programme include resistance from some religious women and girls; inadequate coordination between health centers and schools in planning the visits and competing priorities.
5.5 Surgery
In terms of surgery services in cancer treatment, Zambia has done the following:
5.5.1 Gynaecological Unit
Gynecological Oncology Unit has been established at the University Teaching Hospital which is dedicated to management of gynecological cancer. The most common cancer operated on is cervical cancer.
5.5.2 Chemoradiation
More machines were available for treatment while training of Radiotherapy Technologists had started. Plans were said to be at an advanced stage for training Clinical Oncologists and Oncology Nurses in Zambia. In addition, Zambia has availability of over 80% chemotherapy essential drugs for cancer patients.
5.6 Political Will
5.6.1 To demonstrate its political will, the Government of Zambia has taken a step further to ensure the streamlining of cancer management in all its Ministries. This move compels each ministry to contribute through policies and programmes towards the fight against cancer.
5.6.2 At the highest level, the First Lady of Zambia, through awareness campaigns and getting screened for cancer, champions the fight against cancer diseases, a clear demonstration of political will to combat cancer. 5.6.3 At a community level, Zambia has successfully engaged the traditional leaders in the fight against cancer diseases. Traditional leaders are sensitised on the importance of having their communities diagonised and treated for cancer, as well as cancer prevention measures that need to be embraced by their communities.
5.7 Financing of Cancer Services
The Government of Zambia, through its Finance Ministry, is very much committed to financing cancer management and treatment. Parliament appropriates money for running costs of cancer medicines and supplies on a yearly basis. Overally, Parliament appropriates 9% of the national budget to the Ministry of Health in Zambia. Such financial support has enabled Zambia to build a state-of-art Cancer Disease Hospital where its citizens get all the required cancer services and where other regional countries seek cancer treatment. The delegation had the opportunity to tour the Cancer Disease Hospital which was fully equipped with state-of-art equipment. To reckon with here, is that
Zambian citizens receive cancer services for free as the government of Zambia provides the cost of providing the service. The delegation was informed that the Government of Zambia has plans to replicate Cancer Disease Hospital in all its ten (10) provinces to further improve on cancer management and treatment. Before 2006, the Government of Zambia used to send cancer patients abroad for treatment at a cost of
US$10 000 per patient.
5.8 Management of cancer within the Zambian Defence Force
(ZDF) Medical Services
5.8.1 Zambia’s Defence Force Medical Services has successfully provided cervical cancer services for women. Its implementation plan is as follows:
- Trained Peer Educators create demand for the service through one- on-one and group health education;
- Mobile HIV and STI screening services are offered (Using the Opt out) to Men and women (Integrated Service delivery);
- Cervical Cancer Screening is provided to consenting women inside the health facility; and
- The target for Cervical Cancer Screening is as follows:
30 – 49 years for HIV negative women
25 – 49 years for HIV positive
5.8.2 The ZDF flagship Cervical Cancer Prevention programme has been able to scale up because of the following reasons:
- The ZDF incorporates a strong community awareness component, uses a low cost prevention approach and Nurse-Led approach at the point of care as well as linking screening with treatment or referral; and
- Maintains efficiency in quality control which allows for review by experts; strong collaboration with the local health authorities; and gets strong financial support from the American
Embassy.
5.9 Research Services
5.9.1 The Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) which was established in 2001 is the largest independent, non-profit healthcare research organization in Zambia. This organization is one of the state-of-the-art medical and research diagnostic laboratories in SubSaharan Africa with a testing volume of over one-million routine and safety HIV care and treatment patient laboratory tests run per year. By working closely with the Government of Zambia through the Ministry of
Health and other line Ministries, CIDRZ helps Zambia research on healthcare milestones and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets. Its technical expertise and operational infrastructure enables clinical, research and professional development training and local ownership of high-quality, complementary and integrated healthcare services within the Zambian public health system.
5.9.2 The organization boasts of the sustainability of its work because of the support it gets from the Government of Zambia by using the existing government infrastructure and human resources. In terms of finance, the organization receives support from the United States National Institutes of Health, European Union, United Kingdom Department for International Development among others and is also supported by the
Government of Zambia.
5.10 Challenges in cancer prevention and treatment
The following were highlighted as challenges faced by Zambia in its efforts to combat the cancer diseases:
- Chemotherapy and radiotherapy services are centralized;
- Lack of training programs for clinical oncologists;
- Lack of high technology radiotherapy delivery mechanisms;
- Late presentation of cancer patients;
- Inadequate public sensitisation/awareness on the risk factors, causes, prevention, the need for early diagnosis and treatment of cancer related conditions;
- Shortages of cancer specialists;
- Inadequate capacities for cancer screening, treatment and care at health facilities;
- Limited community support to the chronically ill cancer patients; and
- Weaknesses in the policy, legal and institutional frameworks for control of the key determinants of cancer.
5.11 Provision of Blood Services in Zambia
5.11.1 The University Teaching Hospital (UTH) Blood Bank has responsibilities for providing a 24 hour service for compatibility testing and supply of blood to patients. The Blood Bank is located at the
University Teaching Hospital.
5.11.2 The Zambia National Blood Transfusion Service (ZNBTS)
has responsibilities for:
- Blood donor recruitment, selection and blood collection; ii.Care for blood donors including counselling; iii. Screening for infectious agents, serological blood grouping
and storage of units of donated blood;
- The preparation of blood components; and
- Supplying blood and blood components to hospital blood banks, including UTH.
5.11.3 Donors who wish to donate Blood freely go to the Blood
Bank. The Blood Bank also goes into schools and the communities and those willing donate freely. All units of blood are screened for mandatory transfusion transmissible infections. The delegation was informed that the production cost of one pint of blood in Zambia is US$89.00 but Zambians get blood services for free. The delegation also had the opportunity to tour the blood bank facility.
5.12 Financing of Blood Services
Zambia National Blood Service (ZNBTS received external funding support from the European Union from 1988-2003. The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFA) also offered the ZNBTS financial support from 2004-2016, while the Government of Zambia provided supplementary budgets. The funds were used for infrastructural development, trainings and purchasing of some critical commodities. At the time of the visit, the Government of Zambia had taken over and had full ownership and financing of the ZNBTS. This has resulted in the easy access to blood services by the generality of Zambians.
5.13 Cancer Treatment and Blood Processing Equipment
The equipment that Zambia uses for cancer treatment and blood processing is acquired through Medical Equipment Service Contracts.
The Hospitals then buy reagents from the suppliers of the equipment. The servicing, repair and upgrading of the equipment is done by the suppliers of the equipment. This reduces the expenses of purchasing, servicing, repairing and upgrading of the equipment from the
Government of Zambia’s coffers.
6.0 LESSONS LEARNT
The following are the lessons leant from the fact- finding mission in Zambia:
6.1 When government takes charge of its citizens health, healthcare systems are strengthened and services are affordable and accessible to the generality of the population in the country;
6.2 Spreading the responsibility to combat cancer diseases across all government ministries pulls both human and financial resources together, while creating many champions in this cause;
6.3 Reasonable budgetary allocations to the Ministry of Health are key to quality health service delivery system;
6.4 Collaboration and concerted effort from the following is of paramount importance: All government ministries, key stakeholders, civil society, communities, traditional leaders and even the uniformed forces. This smoothens and improves provision of cancer services as everyone wedges a war against cancer diseases.
6.5 Medical Equipment Services Contracts are good in ensuring availability of critical equipment in hospitals that government may, sometimes, find it difficult to purchase, service, repair and upgrade when they are due for such attention. This also improves the quality of health that is provided to the citizens;
6.6 A dedicated cancer diseases hospital provides the quality medical attention that is much needed by the patients; and decentralisation of cancer services is also vital;
6.7 Research is critical in coming up with evidence based solutions to ending cancer;
6.8 Political will at all levels is key as it determines the outcome of the war against cancer diseases…..
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order Hon. Mutseyami, this is my
last warning before I ask you to leave this House.
HON. MAHIYA:
7.0 RECOMMENDATIONS
Flowing from the above experiences and lessons, the Committee recommends:
7.1 That the Government of Zimbabwe must fully fund and own the
National Blood Services of Zimbabwe to enable citizens easy access to blood services by end of 2018;
7.2 That the Government of Zimbabwe must exert efforts to provide free treatment for cancer and provision of blood services just as much as it did on HIV/AIDS as a matter of urgency;
7.3 That the Ministry of Finance must allocate the Ministry of Health and Child Care not less than 9% of the 2018 national budget;
7.4 That the Government of Zimbabwe should also streamline cancer management in all its ministries by the end of 2018;
7.5 That the Government of Zimbabwe should seriously consider putting in place the Medical Equipment Service Contracts by June 2018;
7.6 That the Government of Zimbabwe must continue to support research services in the health sector;
7.7 That our First Lady be requested to consider joining other African
First Ladies in waging war against cancer diseases through awareness campaigns and other innovative approaches; and
7.8 That all Parliamentarians must begin to seriously fight cancer diseases through awareness campaigns, oversight over the executive and lobbying for an improved budget allocation of the Ministry of Health and Child Care to be in line with the 15% Abuja Declaration during the Pre-budget Seminar for the 2018 national budget and during the 2018 national budget debate in Parliament.
7.9 The Committee should conduct further investigations into the operations of the National Blood Service of Zimbabwe.
8.0 CONCLUSION
The Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care applauds the
Government of Zambia for taking giant commitments and dedication in the provision of cancer and blood services, and calls upon the Government of Zimbabwe to emulate the same. The Government of
Zimbabwe must take full charge of its citizens’ health and wean itself from the current donor dependency. The Committee would also like to thank the Speaker of the National Assembly for availing the much needed funds to undertake the study visit.
HON. MUTSEYAMI: On a point of order Mr. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: You want to disturb the flow of the debate. I want to allow the seconder first.
HON. MUTSEYAMI: My point of order is of national importance.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Yes, I know but procedure first. Hon.
Munengami please.
HON. MUNENGAMI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. It is an honour for me to contribute to the debate or report which our Committee undertook in Zimbabwe. Because of the new dispensation which has just happened here in our country, we have got a new First Lady, Hon. Amai
Mnangagwa. I think if you heard from what Hon. Mahiya has just said in as far as what other First Ladies in Africa are doing in as far as combating the cancer disease, I hope that she is listening very carefully.
It is unfortunate that Hon. Matangaidze is sort of disturbing her – [HON.
MEMBERS: Aah!] – [Laughter] – [HON. ENG. MATANGAIDZE: I
am only apologising.] – but this is very serious. I know you might be apologising to her but I hope you could give her sometime so that at least if she can listen attentively because our aim as Parliament or Zimbabweans is for her to take a leading role in as far as this issue is concerned, and I think she has heard about it.
Hon. Speaker, it is very unfortunate that when we grew up around 1980, the disease which we were very much aware OF was AIDS and it was a leading disease in as far as affecting the generality of our Zimbabweans was concerned, but now cancer has taken over. If you check the percentage of AIDS versus cancer, I think cancer is now more in terms of deaths as far as this disease is concerned. The reason being because of the awareness of what our Government has done in as far as AIDS is concerned, the issues to do with publicity and advocacy in making sure that people become very much aware of the AIDS disease.
Unfortunately, that is not what is happening with regard to cancer. People are dying silently and some of are them not because they are aware that cancer is the disease which is killing them but they are dying because they are not even aware of the cause of the death which is affecting them. So, there is that political will which is needed, probably not only from the Government, but also from us as parliamentarians that when we go out to our constituencies to make sure that we advertise, publicise, advocate and do whatever we can in as far as the issue of cancer is concerned.
We were given the example of this Zambian trip which was undertaken by the Committee and Hon. Mahiya pointed out quite a lot of similarities, not only similarities but I think what the Zambians have done in as far as combating the disease of cancer is concerned, developing their infrastructure and facilities to enable the Zambian people to get treatment, but which is not actually happening in our country. Like what she also said, we have got the Abuja Declaration which stipulates that 15% of the National Budget needs to go to the health sector. If you compare here in Zimbabwe, you will see that our priorities for example, at number one, you might have the Office of the President and Cabinet; number two, you might have the Ministry of Education, number three, it might be Defence. The Ministry of Health, we usually find it around number six or seven yet we are not in any war. It is very unfortunate that I saw the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, he might have gone somewhere or he might have some other commitments. I hope when he presents his budget, health will be either number one or two. The reason being that we need to fulfill as a country the requirements which we agreed upon in as far as our continent is concerned, the issue of the Abuja Declaration, the 15%.
Coming back to the issue of publicity, there is another issue which happened here in Zimbabwe; the involvement of traditional leaders. I was speaking to Hon. Maondera just now when he was telling me that the child marriages issue, I think the traditional leaders were involved in the campaign to make sure that we stop this issue of child marriages. This is another issue which I also feel that as a country we also need to involve them so that at least they go there and teach their people; they publicise. The issue is publicise, publicise. Let us try to advocate as far as the issue of cancer is concerned.
Coming to the issue of blood, it really pains me Hon. Speaker that here in Zimbabwe, we have got a company called the National Blood Transfusion Services. Many of us might not be aware that this company is not a Government company nor has it got any link to do with the Government. It is a private company which gets money from the ordinary people. Remember, people donate blood freely but at the end of the day, the blood which they are donating freely is now being sold by a private company – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – It does not make any sense at all to say that such a national important issue which we know affects the generality of our people, we give it to a private company to manage and at the end of the day they get profit out of it. That is the reason why you see our blood is very expensive here in Zimbabwe. A pint now I think costs, maybe Dr. Chimedza might help, I think it costs around $100 – [AN HON. MEMBER: $120.] – You can just imagine but if you go to Zambia, it is for free. The reason why the blood in Zimbabwe is expensive is because we have given it to a private company; it is now business and it is no longer a national issue. Those are some of the issues which I think just in my brief contribution, is to say that maybe we need to re-look, we need to think, we need to change the way we do our things. With those few words, I think I might have said enough. Thank you very much Hon. Speaker.
HON. MUTSEYAMI: I have a point of order.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Can I hear his point of order.
HON. MUTSEYAMI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My point of
order is with reference to Chapter 5, Section 5.17 and my specific issue is with regards to Part 3 of the National Constitution of Zimbabwe.
THE HON. SPEAKER: What does it say?
HON. MUTSEYAMI: “Ministers and Deputy Ministers are
appointed from among Senators or Members of the National Assembly but up to five chosen for their professional skills and competence may be appointed from outside Parliament.” As a Member of Parliament representing Musikavanhu Constituency, I am very worried Mr. Speaker Sir, bearing in mind the history that we had when we had some situations whereby an advisor to the former President, R.G. Mugabe gave him a wrong speech. We had a time when he came here and presented a very wrong speech. Now, we have a pool of advisors to the President and we have the Constitution here, which everyone in this country had access to during the COPAC time but now we have a situation whereby the advisors again would advise the President to go to an extent of appointing about ten non-constituency citizens of Zimbabwe as Ministers. That was announced when it is contrary to the
Constitution. The Constitution is very clear.
My appeal as a Member of Parliament and citizen of this country is for our President of this country to have a thorough and polished team of advisors who are sincere with concerns of this country, who are sincere with responsibilities, who are not there to jeopardize or sabotage the President by giving him falsehoods. My appeal is for the President to look thoroughly to the house of advisors that he has now because on the first port of call, they did a wrong pot and it was so bad. My appeal is for the President to look seriously and get rid of these people who used to give a wrong speech to the former President. I thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Your point of order is noted Hon.
Mutseyami.
HON. DR. CHIMEDZA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I rise to debate on the report of the Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Sorry, would you allow me to interrupt
you.
HON. DR. CHIMEDZA: Yes, Mr. Speaker Sir.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. SPEAKER
VISITORS IN THE SPEAKER’S GALLERY
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you. I should have made a short announcement before you spoke. I have to acknowledge the presence in the Speaker’s Gallery, students and teachers from Munyirs High School in Buhera. You are most welcome – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – My honoured guests, the practice is that you should stand up and acknowledge the announcement.
Guests reciprocated by standing up.
HON. DR. CHIMEDZA: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker
Sir. I rise to debate on the report by the Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care on the fact finding visit to Zambia on cancer and blood transfusion services in that country. Mr. Speaker Sir, we are in a period where blood and blood services have become unaffordable in this country. The range or the cost of blood and blood products is between $120 and $280 for different products per pint. You know Mr. Speaker Sir, with the situation that we have in this country this is totally out of reach of the majority of citizens of this country. The reasons advanced and which are quite genuine, are that we have the rawest kind of service of blood transfusion in this country, some of the best in the world. The screening that we do of different diseases, the machines that we use, the different products that we produce are really of the highest calibre but all this comes to nought when these products are not affordable to the majority of the people of this country.
One of the reasons we went to Zambia is that we had been informed that blood in Zambia is only $50 a pint. Some of the people in this country, especially those that are staying in the areas bordering Zambia were said to be crossing Zambia, buying blood and coming to transfuse their relatives in this country.
Obviously, for blood transfusion it is more complicated than that. When we went to Zambia they said if anyone is said to be buying blood from Zambia and coming back to Zimbabwe, they are probably buying monkeys’ blood. This is because the processes of buying blood is that you need to have that person cross-matched and you need to have the blood of the patient you have left in Zimbabwe being the same with the blood that you are buying in Zambia. You need to carry the blood, transport it in certain conditions that make sure that it will be compatible with the patient when it eventually arrives in Zimbabwe.
So, it is important just for information and education that it is almost impossible to cross the border and be sold blood. Even those that are selling you blood will not be doing you justice by so doing because there are a lot of stages that one goes through to buy blood. Coming to Zimbabwe, it is our responsibility as Government to make sure that every Zimbabwean gets blood as and when they require it. Unfortunately, for Blood Transfusion, it is required mostly in dire emergencies when mothers are giving birth and they have lost a lot of blood and are about to die, you need to transfuse blood among others.
When patients have had road traffic accidents and they have lost blood, you need to give them blood. This is because of the acuteness of the situation, it means there is no time to look and consult relatives, look for money and mobilise resources to buy the necessary quantities of blood, and the time is not there. It is important for us as Parliamentarians and Government to make sure that blood is available to every citizen of this country. It is a responsibility of Government to do that. We have to take that responsibility seriously.
The reason that we think as a Committee this is not happening is that Blood Transfusion Services while they are excellent, they are in private hands. Even for Government to come and mobilise resources from Treasury and give a private entity to effect the services that we want might not be proper. So, I think it is very important for the
Ministry of Health right now to consider either setting up a Blood Transfusion Service or taking over the Blood Transfusion Services that are there right now so that Zimbabweans do not have to crack heads to get transfusion.
When we went to Zambia for this fact finding mission, the
Zambians were surprised and they said they could not believe that Zimbabweans were coming to see how they do business in Zambia. This is because most of the people that we met had been trained in Zimbabwe and they knew that Zimbabwe was one of the best in the provision of services. The only problem that we had now is that the high quality blood services that we have are no longer affordable to the majority of Zimbabweans. So we said we wanted to see how they were doing it. Blood Transfusion Services in Zambia, as has been mentioned is free and all Zambian citizens are getting blood for free, and we wanted to know how they afford it.
There are some of the reasons that I will say, but they said the cost of production of getting a pint of blood from the time the blood is donated to the time the blood is screened for all the infectious diseases and the time the blood is cross-matched to match it with that of the patient, all these stages cost about $80. So, the cost of producing a pint of blood is about $80, but they are absorbing that cost and giving their patients free blood services. Some of the things that they have done is that most of the companies that have machines from fractionation and screening, the machines that are used in blood transfusion services, the Government of Zambia is leasing from the companies.
The contract only requires them to buy reagents. So their money is not locked in big hardware. All they need to do is provide reagents and they buy the reagents from the companies that have leased the machines to them. This also cuts down a lot of corruption because our people might want in other departments to say let us buy the machines. The prices are highly inflated, macuts oitwa ipapo kuti kana ndatenga kwauri, 10%/20%, and this costs the country a lot of money. At the end of the day, some of the machines that you are sold in those kinds of conditions are not functional. So, you buy expensive machines that are not functional, you probably are not able to get the reagents at all and you have redundant machines that are not benefitting the people of this country.
It is important for the Ministry of Health and the Minister to also look into leasing machines when he sets up this Blood Transfusion Centre because I think it is imperative on the Ministry of Health to provide free blood to the people of this country. In terms of blood transfusion, our Committee is very clear Mr. Speaker Sir. The Ministry of Health should be given money. We cannot run away from a commitment like this because for Blood Transfusion Services. It is a life and death issue. There is no Government in the world that likes to watch its people dying because they have failed to provide an essential product like blood.
We have had NGOs in the past donating coupons where pregnant mothers would get coupons for two/three pints so that should anything happen when they are delivering, they can get blood from donations. We can no longer afford to have our people’s lives being buttressed by donations from other people. This is our responsibility and we need to take it head on.
The other issue that we looked at was the issue of cancer. Cancer has overtaken HIV/AIDs in morbidity and mortality. In simple language, the number of deaths and the number of disabilities that are caused by cancer now is way ahead of HIV. So, cancer has taken centre stage in the number of people that are being disabled and killed. As this has taken centre stage in the health sector in killing people, maiming and disabling people, we as Government should also deal with it like it is the elephant in the house. Our resources, strategies and planning should be focused on how we can defeat cancer.
Treatment for cancer is extremely expensive, from the radio therapy to the chemotherapy and to the surgery. It is way out of reach of people. You are talking of $15 000. Even most parliamentarians will not be able to afford the courses for cancer treatment. So, a lot of people will die and are dying now because of unaffordability of cancer treatment even in our public hospitals. It is important Mr. Speaker Sir, that we really consider putting money into cancer prevention, diagnoses and into cancer treatment.
We have done very well in the Ministry of Health in screening cervical cancer, screening breast cancer and awareness campaigns but for those that have passed this stage that then need surgery treatment with chemotherapy, radiotherapy; that is where the story ends, because it is totally unaffordable for the people of this country. So we need to do something.
I am glad that the Speaker has taken cancer very seriously. I had the privilege of travelling with him to Kenya on Stop Cervical Cancer which is championed by the First Ladies of Africa. I am glad our First Lady is here. I know that she can run with this very well – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – Unfortunately, we had failed to get through to the former First Lady and the Committee had resolved to go to State House to talk to her about this – because we had gone to Namibia and Kenya, all the other First Ladies were there and she was not there. They are doing great work on cancer. If you go to Zambia, when we went there, the person who was on the forefront promoting the issue was the First Lady of Zambia. In succession, the previous First Lady was also very active and the new First Lady is also very active. They have done wonders in Zambia, they have a whole department from Directors to Deputy Directors in the Ministry, they have a stand-alone Department for cancer. They have built referral hospitals in Lusaka and they are building cancer hospitals in each district. They are providing cancer services from radiotherapy, diagnosis, treatment free of charge.
Mr. Speaker Sir, when we talked to the Parliamentarians there, they are very clear on what they are doing on cancer. That is one of the highest killer diseases in that country and they have mobilised their resources and directed them towards that threat. We are seeing that happening in this country. Cancer is killing people like flies but we have not focused like we did when we focused on HIV and we became a celebrated model. People are coming from Uganda and all countries to see how we established the National Aids Fund and how it is now best practice in the region. We can still do that with cancer and blood transfusion.
I know that the Minister of Finance has just walked out but it is important that when we allocate the budget of the Ministry of Health and Child Care, we put into cognisance the need to establish the blood transfusion centre and cancer services provision that are free. Right now we are giving HIV drugs free of charge and we have managed to drop the infection rates from 33% to 14% prevalence rate.
In conclusion, I want to appeal to the Minister of Finance for clarity, planning and focusing on these two issues to the Ministry of Health and Child Care so that we combat and nip this problem in the bud. It is a big issue, we have seen big people affected by cancer for example Parliamentarians and Ministers. We know that anyone can be a victim of this disease. We have lost money when people travel to India and South Africa to get treated for cancer when most of these things can be done here. Most of the foreign currency that we use for the patient, the person who will be taking care of the patient and other relatives accompanying the patient; that money can be used for other things when we treat these people here – if we provide the machines, the drugs and the machines that are required. We also have the expertise here for people to treat cancer and blood. We are actually one of the leading trainers of oncologists in the region. We are training cancer doctors in this country – but after we train them, they have nowhere to work, they go in the private sector and they make their money there, because in the public sector, the machines are not there.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to conclude by saying, we need to focus on these two issues. I thank you.
HON. DR. KHUPE: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker. I want
to add my voice to the report of the Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care on their Fact Finding Mission to Zambia on Cancer
Management and Blood Services. I would like to begin by saying that in 1980 when we attained our Independence, the majority of Zimbabweans ululated and they were very happy that finally, we now have the black majority rule. During that period, Government said health for all by the year, 2000. Mr. Speaker Sir, from 2000 to 2017, it is about 17 years and I do not think that it is health for all now. I think it is death for many people in this country.
Mr. Speaker Sir, in 2001 Heads of States met in Abuja and they all declared that out of their budgets, they will make sure that 15% goes towards health. If we look from 2001 to date, very few countries including my country have implemented that. I became a Member of Parliament in 2000 and I do not remember a single year where health
was allocated 15%. Health is very important and every Government is supposed to prioritise health because a healthy nation produces and an unhealthy nation does not produce.
Mr. Speaker Sir, investors will not come to a country which has got a high disease burden. This is why it is important for Government to take health issues seriously, because they have got so many implications in terms of production and investors who want to come into their countries and invest.
Mr. Speaker Sir, coming to what the Committee found out, in regards to blood, when you look at blood, it is donated by school children and many other adults. When they donate that blood, I think they are given a drink and biscuits, they are not paid anything to donate that blood but when a woman is going to give birth – as you know when women are giving birth, they lose a lot of blood and in majority of cases they need that blood urgently and they are made to pay for that blood. This is why our maternal mortality is 960 out of every 100 000 live births – meaning that 15 women die every day while giving birth, this is unacceptable. When women are giving birth, they are giving birth to future Presidents of this country, to future Speakers of Parliament, to all of us in this House. Therefore, women should not be punished for giving that life by making them pay for the blood which they so need after giving birth. There are emergencies where people are involved in accidents, they need blood for free but they are asked to buy that blood, where are they expected to get the money to buy that blood from?
Money is not available.
Coming to cancer issues Mr. Speaker Sir, cancer like what other
Hon. Members have said, it has become more fatal than HIV. In Zimbabwe, very few people used to talk about cancer. It was taboo to talk about ‘I have cancer’. I think for the first time when - if the truth was to be told, as a country we started talking about cancer is in 2011 when I was diagonised with breast cancer and I decided to tell the nation that I had been diagnosed with breast cancer because what I experienced in terms of treatment and emotional stress, what I went through, I realised that keeping quite will not help. I felt that it is better we start talking about it so that our country can also prioritise health issues and take cancer treatment as a priority.
People in the villages are dying in agony, especially women because they do not know that there is this thing called cancer. – [HON.
MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MARUMAHOKO):
Order, order! Hon. ladies there, there is a lady giving a testimony and you are busy making noise. How do you feel?
HON. DR. KHUPE: Mr. Speaker Sir, it is so sad because we are talking about very important issues to do with health and everybody must listen attentively to what the other is talking about. If they have got issues, they must also stand up and debate.
Mr. Speaker Sir, this is a very important issue. I was talking about cancer, to say very few people were talking about cancer. People are dying in the villages, they do not know that there is this thing called breast cancer, cervical or prostate cancer because there are no awareness programmes and screening facilities. This is why even Hon. Dr.
Chimedza raised it, that we need cancer screening facilities. Cancer treatment must be accessible, available and it must be affordable. If we look at Zimbabwe, we have got two cancer treatment centres, Mpilo and
Parirenyatwa which are supposed to cater for 13 million Zimbabweans.
You expect a person to come all the way from Binga to Mpilo, from Beitbridge or Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe to Parirenyatwa, it is not feasible. They cannot afford that because there are transport costs involved, accommodation and they are supposed to pay for cancer screening and treatment. Cancer treatment is very expensive. This is why we are saying Government must prioritise health so that 15% is given to health. Once 15% is given to health, I think they will be able to deal with all these issues.
With HIV, it is better because so many NGOs are donating towards HIV but no one is donating towards cancer. People are supposed to find money so that they are treated. Mr. Speaker, early detection of cancer saves life. Once cancer is detected early, it can be treated and life can be served but majority of cancers in Africa are only discovered when they are in their late stages, which are stages three and four. These stages, you will be very lucky to be treated. People die when their cancers are on stage three and four.
I would like to appeal to our Government to say this is a dawn of a new era and we want to see what this new era is going to bring to us. That new era must start doing things differently. They must start implementing the kind of things that as Heads of State have agreed to; they committed themselves to. They committed that 15% was going to go towards health. That must be implemented to the letter and spirit in which these declarations were made because if it does not happen we will perish. We will all die. People are dying not because they were supposed to die but they are dying because they are unable to access that treatment.
Like I said, awareness is also important. We must go to the rural areas to talk about issues to do with cancer, HIV; you name it. People must know about these issues, but very little is being done. Government must start looking into those issues. The First Lady is here, they said so.
I hope and trust that she will do what the other First Ladies are doing.
I was with Hon. Dr. Chimedza when we went to Kenya and we saw what other First Ladies were doing in regard to cancer treatment. They take it as a priority. They have got mobile clinics whereby those mobile clinics go to the rural areas where women are screened. We do not only have to screen them for cancer; we screen them for everything, high blood pressure, sugar and so forth. These things can be done, they are not difficult. All you need to do is to sit down and plan on how to do them. Zimbabwe is a very rich country. We are endowed with numerous resources; gold, diamond, platinum, you name it but the sad reality is that when you look at every Zimbabwean, you are supposed to see diamond glittering in their eyes but what do you see these days? You only see poverty in all our eyes. We hope that this is going to be changed.
For some of us, all we want is a better life. I, as Thokozani Khupe, it is not about power. It is about the better life of the 13 million Zimbabweans in this country. If Government can change their ways of doing things and start implementing the things that they said they were going to do so that every Zimbabwean has a better life, they have food on their tables, so that they can walk into a hospital and be treated; so that if they require blood, they can walk into a hospital and be given that blood free of charge - for me, I will be satisfied. They must not pay anything, I will be satisfied because that is what I want as a
Zimbabwean.
I decided to join politics because I wanted to make a difference. I wanted every Zimbabwean to have a better life, which is why we are here all of us. When we stand up to talk about these issues to say, please cancer is killing people, can you make sure that cancer treatment is available and is for free. We are saying it because we want everybody out there to also benefit. All Zimbabweans must get a fair share of their cake and they can only get a fair share of their cake when they have access to health facilities. That is how they will benefit. They will never see a diamond even one day. They will never see gold, I have never seen gold myself but at least I have seen diamond when I went to Chiadzwa. I have never seen platinum, but they must see those resources through facilities like health facilities.
I come from Bulawayo where we have got Mpilo Hospital. It is called Mpilo because the moment you got in, those days you felt that relief that I am now well because of the smell of methylated spirit, injections and so on. The minute a person walked into a hospital, they were well even before nurses touched them because it is psychological. If you walk into a hospital these days and see what I saw during my tenure as Deputy Prime Minister, no one will ever be well; where there was water running in the toilets and everywhere else. I realised the environment contributes to a patient getting well. Once the environment is not good, there is no way you can be well.
This is why I would like to emphasise the point that 15% of the budget must go towards health so that health becomes a priority in this country because a healthy nation produces. A healthy nation will make sure that we are all happy in our country. Investors will come in their thousands and bring the much needed foreign currency that we need so that everyone has got a job and food on their tables. I rest my case.
*HON. DUTIRO: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I would like to add
my voice on this issue of cancer. The challenge of cancer is there in our areas. To some extent, people are now knowledgeable of cancer as a disease. What makes people seem to be doing nothing with cancer patients is that you just come across a cancer person in the last stages of the disease, when people are gathered; when they are not aware of what the disease is because cancer is a slow killer.
The challenge that we have as Africans is that when someone is affected by cancer, many people prefer visiting faith healers and witchdoctors. Relatives are informed when it is at its last stage. The challenges we also have in our hospitals that makes people spend a lot of time visiting prophets and witch doctors is that when we go to the hospitals from 7.00 a.m to 12.00 p.m, there will be a lot of people and only one or two nurses attending to the sick. For example, the district where I come from, we have about 200 000 people but we only have two doctors and you can tell that they are being overwhelmed. Even if you look at privacy, there is no privacy because when people are there, there is no confidentiality, you just say out what you are suffering from. If you visit the witch doctors and the prophets, there will be confidentiality and as a result, people now trust visiting witch doctors and prophets.
We have heard from Dr. Chimedza that specialists for cancer are being trained, but there are no jobs because there is no money to pay those people and if you look back at these specialists, they are only found in Harare. We have so many hospitals, for example Chinhoyi hospital. Yesterday, I was at Parirenyatwa Hospital. I was shocked to see a person coming from Chinhoyi being referred to Harare Hospital. Chinhoyi hospital is very big, but you find that there are no specialists sand those specialists do not want to go to smaller towns. They want to spend most of their time in towns where they have their private practices. It is good for them to do that.
Since 1980, we have had a Minister of Health and Child Care who has been a doctor. I think the Ministers who are doctors are sympathetic to their colleagues who are in the Ministry of Health and Child Care. It is better that if a person goes to the private sector they stay there in the private sector. If you say that someone has come to work for the Government, they should stay there and you should give them their proper dues which go with the job that they are doing. You find that these specialist doctors do not do a lot. They just visit these referral hospitals and ask what is happening there for about three hours, but you find that junior doctors are the ones who spend more than 10 hours working. They just visit the hospital for three hours and are paid more than the junior doctors.
So, I am just urging the Ministry of Health and Child Care that they should increase the number of their workers and should also train nursing doctors because we now have a new disease in terms of cancer. We should train nursing doctors who have experience in dealing with cancer cases. Why should we train doctors when we have nurses who are there waiting to do work although they are paid less salaries.
We also heard that the cancer patients should be treated for free. It is not that it is not a good idea, but I am saying we should also look at our diet which we are feeding on in the urban and rural areas so that we do not allow our people to eat food that propagates the spread of cancer.
With these few words, I want to thank you Mr. Speaker.
*HON. CHINOTIMBA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I want to
thank the First Lady in absentia. I wanted to tell her that she should listen attentively to what the MPs are saying because for you to earn respect in this country, you should listen to people. I also wanted to give her a scripture, Jeremiah 1:5-10, which talks about the respect of people. I wanted her to read that together with the President so that they know that for one to get respect, it comes from the Lord. Even where you are, Mr. Speaker, it is because of God for you to be in that chair.
So, I wanted to tell her that she should listen attentively and also that it should be record. I know she is going to read that. For someone to be called a First Lady she should be a person full of respect, not for people to go about grumbling. As Hon. Members have said, in other countries the First Ladies are the ones who are spearheading this. Yes, she went out early, but I wanted her to know this issue is serious in terms of her as the First Lady.
Going further, I want to say that as Hon. Members, we are agreeing that this issue of cancer and blood is very important. In the past, I have been involved in more than five accidents and was given blood. I think Parliament should come up with a resolution of what we should do with this issue, that the Government should not sell blood. Parliament is a big institution in this country and if we come up with these resolutions, no one will go against it. If Parliament comes up with a resolution that 15% of the budget should be directed towards cancer, I do not think this is impossible because if you see Parliament as it is, it led to the former President resigning when we were about to impeach him. So, there is nothing that stops us from giving a directive that 15% of the budget be directed to cancer patients.
We can spend the whole day but what we need here is what
Parliament is saying, that we have come up with a resolution that cancer is killing and that blood should be under the custody of Government. It is very painful, Mr. Speaker, that you donate your blood and you are given mahewu so that you return the blood and then when you get sick or you are involved in an accident, you are required to pay $350 for your blood that you have donated. It is like you are paying for your own sweat.
The issue before us, Mr. Speaker, is a tall order. We stood up to raise a motion and we agree that the Government should channel 15% of the budget to cancer treatment. If it is not like that, the budget will not pass. That is why I stood up. I think all of us should agree that this is a killer disease and secondly, people donate blood and blood that is under the purview of private entities should be returned to the Government so that Government should look after its people. Secondly, Mr. Speaker Sir, there is an issue which is very painful because we cannot get drugs, blood and other things, when we say that our country is rich and we see people building huge houses, yet people do not have injections. I think what the newly elected President said concerning externalisation of money that all those who stole should return the money, so that we all survive should be obeyed. We do not want enemies of the country. If we now have enemies the President should find out how many enemies, we have.
We have been told that there are land barons but the same person who was saying that is the one who is a land baron. So because of what has been debated in this House, it resulted in people travelling to
Zambia. If you compare Zambia and Zimbabwe and find us going to Zambia looking for the Kwacha – that is not proper. We should think twice and I say pasi nemhandu! We should come together so that the enemies that used to steal our money and those who used to squander the diamonds as well as those taking out our minerals should bring back our money so that we can channel it towards cancer patients to enable our people to survive.
The problem that we have is that we do not debate things that we are able to implement. I think whatever is debated in this House, the Executive should look at it and implement. We talk a lot here in Parliament but there is no implementation. Probably implementation will be done by the third generation after we have died and then we will be referred to as former MPs who once talked about this. That is very sad. You have heard the Vice President of the opposition party Hon. Dr. Khupe saying that during her tenure as Prime Minister, she was diagnosed with cancer. You can see she is talking publicly and declaring that she had cancer and she suffered and I do not think that is
right.
Surely, what we are debating here should be taken seriously and we should get the benefits that we have talked about. If we are not implementing things there is no development. Whatever we talk about should be taken seriously. If you say one should be prosecuted, that should be done and if we say people should return things, the things should be returned. We do not want people who go against what we say because that is nonsense. If a person is caught, let the courts deal with that person. We need to be a country free from corruption.
I have added a little bit of English because people think that I do not speak in English. So with those few words – I am being given money here for speaking in English but that is corruption.
[Laughter as Hon. Chinotimba received money from Hon.
Wadyajena]
HON. MLISWA: I want to thank you Mr. Speaker for recognising me to debate on this important matter. I think there are certain things that bring us together and health is one of those issues – especially cancer. In this regard, I want to commend Hon. Dr. Khupe for being consistent with this issue. I think Members of Parliament will agree with me that we were not that serious or aware of what was going on and true to a point, it does require time. I think it shows that there needs to be an awareness campaign on these matters. This matter has just excited everyone and all people are contributing because of the visit to Zambia. So, if they had not gone to Zambia we would not be as serious as this. I then asked myself what we are doing as a country if we are not able to conscientise our own people with our own problems
when we had a fellow colleague in Parliament highlighting these issues. You could see that on any cancer day, she would be first to dress in appropriate gear and first to also talk about it, but we have been deaf to that message. It is important that when we are in this House, we pay attention to detail. It is not every issue that will be brought to this House after visiting another country. Let this be a lesson to all Hon. Members that when we are here, we must listen and be able to contribute to serious issues.
The aspect of cancer has nothing to do with anybody’s political party or totem. I can tell you of numerous high profile people who suffered and died as a result of this. Our own former First Lady Sally Mugabe was a victim of this. Today, we have the President of the opposition MDC-T Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai suffering from the same. I can name a whole lot of people who died as a result of cancer and we should be seen to be attending to this with the seriousness it deserves.
How then do we apply our minds to this from a practical point of view?
I am glad that Hon. Chinotimba did talk about this House being critical in bringing issues and recommendations for implementation.
Unfortunately we do not implement, it is the Executive that implements. How serious is the Executive in implementing these issues? I am sorry to say but we have the Minister of Health and Child Care who has been there for a while. He is an expert and he has done well but if we are seen wanting in this, can we say he has done well, though he is back in office? This is just food for thought.
As for me, I really want to talk about those who implement, how serious are they because we can make all the noise here, debating and wearing summer suits but that is not the issue. Those who are supposed to be listening to this and who implement are not here. The Minister of Health and Child Care is not here to listen to this and yet he is the person who is supposed to implement. Once again, a waste of tax payers’ money. While the President has just appointed a new Cabinet which is supposed to deal with the problems, on the first day it has failed. So who are we talking to when we are here? We are talking to ourselves, they do not read the Hansard and have no time for it. Now, we are talking about addressing a matter where the person who is supposed to be implementing is not here. I am hoping that the President will get this message that this aspect of cancer is serious, where Members of Parliament are lobbying for a 15%. It is not negotiable. It has got to be implemented – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.]-
We had an issue of the AIDS levy. Why can we not have the cancer levy? You have got cervical cancer today which is serious and you have got a system which does not priorities any disease until you come to the hospital, then they know you have it. The aspect of health if I am not mistaken, the two doctors who are here, prevention is better than cure. So, why are we allowing people to come to the hospital for this screening instead of us having outreach programmes that go and screen people in the rural areas? The people in the rural areas are shortchanged in terms of finance. They have no money to come to any town.
Not only that, the hospitals and the clinics which are there do not even have the capacity to attend to anything. They cannot even attend to a minor issue let alone this cancer situation which needs a deeper thinking or person to be able to comprehend this. You know the situation where people – it is true because I have some of my people - workers on the farms that prefer to get treated in Zambia. It is cheaper and better.
So, now we are having to even export the little foreign currency that we have because if they are going to Zambia you have to give them foreign currency whether you like it or not. As a person who is an employer to these people, you cannot allow them to suffer. If there is any one time where one releases money, is when one is in dire need of saving their life. We all put whatever we have together, the little savings that we have to ensure that they survive. So, Zambia not only is it helping people but it is also generating an income and while generating an income, it is sustaining its economy and its health.
Let us talk about the human resource capital that this country has in terms of medical doctors. The doctors in Zambia come to the University of Zimbabwe and go back. We are endowed with human capital. We have the best doctors and engineers, yet we do not have the best facilities. You have got to comprehend capacity with state of the art machinery, because there is no point for us to ask Zimbabwean doctors to come back home when there are no hospitals that can deal with the situation. When they are in South Africa or the UK, they are dealing with state of the art machines. So now you are asking them to come and deal with a situation where first of all there is no electricity in the hospital, ambulance or food.
Before we bring people to this country, the President must understand that we must put our house in order. That is the reason why I support the ‘Operation Restore Legacy’. Operation Restore Legacy is about us going to the Zimbabwe that we know, if you went to
Parirenyatwa or Mpilo - you got treated. There are five central hospitals in this country. So, you cannot say that as a Government you are doing your job by having two hospitals, Mpilo and Parirenyatwa with facilities and the rest do not have. Are they not Zimbabweans?
So, Parirenyatwa and Mpilo are better Zimbabweans than the three. We are already dividing our people because people talk. When they put a Government in place, they are saying this Government should serve all of us. So you have people from Masvingo going to Bulawayo, yet we talk of decentralisation. What does decentralisation mean when people are going to another province when a facility like that should be in that province? That is failure to manage. It must cascade down from a national hospital to a provincial; then to a district hospital to a constituency clinic, and then a ward clinic.
All these facilities are facilities which must not at all be asked for but must be there for the people. This is when you can say a nation is prospering. A nation that does not prosper is a nation that does not have basic facilities like health and education which really are free, but for us when they get these treatments they are grateful, yet they are not supposed to be grateful for something that is their right. So as we have a new dispensation, it is important that - and I like what the President said, he has hit the ground running. The Ministers must hit the ground sprinting to catch up to a man who started running before they were in office. They cannot run, they must sprint.
The Ministers must be ahead of the President in being ahead of the President then we are able to deal with this situation. No wonder why in a way you see the despondency in this country and that is the truth, after everybody was happy that the President was in place, people were a bit not confident of the Cabinet and that has a lot to do with the confidence of the people and investors. We must be very clear when we come to Parliament on such issues and lie to the President and say the Cabinet that you have truly people have confidence in it. Those leaders will be lying to him to say that, because they have the positions they say no, I am okay I can handle it. On the ground people are despondent.
The aspect of corruption is critical. Any Minister who has allegations of corruption, if it is myself Temba Mliswa, I must be mature and Zimbabwean enough to say I do not want the position Mr. President I think Zimbabwe is first more than me. They keep on being greedy and greedy, being given the very same position yet people are saying Mliswa, there are allegations you were in diamond mining and you stole diamonds. Why should Mliswa go ahead? Mliswa must be able to say with due respect Your Excellency, I appreciate the appointment but for the good of the country I want these allegations to be investigated first and when they are cleared, I will take up the job but meanwhile let somebody do it.
Why can Zimbabweans not be so honourable at this time when we need to move forward? – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – Why should we always be demonstrating and marching? Why should we be a marching and demonstrating nation for action to be taken? We are getting tired of this. We expect that as honourable Members of Parliament, where there is an outcry from the people, especially now people are sensitive. Once a red flag is up, go and talk to the referee and check. No wonder why in a soccer or rugby match, when you see the linesman lifting the flag, the referee comes and talks to the linesman to ask what is going on. The President must realise that the people remain the linesmen of this country and when they raise the red flag, he must come, talk to them and ask why is the flag up – [HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear.] – and an answer must be given. We must be very clear in ourselves and assertive in what we do.
Let me give an example of the role of the First Lady. The former
First Lady has absolutely nothing that we can attribute to but I will give an example of the former First Lady, Sally Mugabe – [HON. BHEBHE: Gushungo Dairy.] – Unfortunately, Gushungo Dairy is just a bankrupt institution that is overdrawn so we will not talk about that. I want to talk about the success of Sally Mugabe. The SOS Villages that you see of schools, it was her – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – I took my own child to that school when it started. I want to show you something that a First Lady did. Today she is no more but we attribute that success of education to the SOS Village.
Those are key and good institutions which were meant for the under privileged, the orphans but they have now incorporated even those who are rich. So, from an institution which was meant for the poor, it has become an institution for everyone. This is how you can even turn the fortunes of those who are poor by incorporating those who are rich.
Those institutions are now sustaining themselves but it was out of an initiative to look after the orphans so that they get education.
It is equally important that the First Lady Amai Mnangagwa embarks on initiatives like these. She must talk to people who have the passion and have studied this. People like Hon Dr. Khupe, Hon. Dr. Labode and Hon. Dr. Chimedza and say, you have been travelling how do other first ladies operate on this? It is important that you also do not operate on this and it is important you also do not shy away, go to her, have a meeting with her and give her the direction on how things should happen. If she does not take the advice, that is up to her but you are armed with so much information. You know where the money is, these are entities which do not require money; money is there already. It is about setting up something which is known for advancing cancer in terms of what it would do and the money will come through and so
forth.
So, I want to see decentralisation happening, the same thing with the National Blood Transfusion Services. How can you have a Reserve Bank that you do not control? There is no way you can have a Reserve Bank that you cannot control. A Reserve Bank cannot be a private entity. It is the same thing as the blood bank. It cannot be owned by private people. Government was sleeping on duty to allow such to happen where the blood we give is for free but if your own relative is sick, you must pay for it. How does that happen? We must now have institutions in the whole country where we know if anything happens, there is blood that will be given for free and there are no ways that people should pay and so forth. Whoever has been taking our blood and selling it, that is fraud.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, Hon. Member. You
may wind up your speech. You are left with three minutes now.
HON. MLISWA: That is fraud Mr. Speaker, because at times people are innocent and are quiet, it does not mean you must take advantage of them. You also have a situation where if you look at health, look at the UK system, there is the NHS which is there. The beauty about that system is that regardless, the health care is first class, the NHS in England. We must be following such models in this country so that we are able to also give our people what they deserve in terms of health.
There are three things that my late father told me I must always have in life as friends. He said my son, your first friend must be a cop, your second friend must be a doctor and your third friend must be a lawyer. In him telling me a doctor, it showed how important health is amongst all of us. So for you and I, make sure you have a friend who is a doctor so that when you are sick you get treated but not only that. Let us also make sure that the people that we represent have access to such facilities and so forth. Without that, we are a nation which is doomed. Issues of cancer are quite chronic now. They can attack anybody at any time and this issue deserves the attention and it is not negotiable from Government to really put in the money where it is necessary.
Government must have a priority list in terms of the Ministry of Health that we have now dealt with AIDS - which is the next other chronic disease? It is cancer. So, let us now deal with cancer.
Let us rally behind this initiative and make sure that Zimbabwe becomes a first class facility for cancer; people come and get treated here. We have got the best nurses, doctors, facilities and climate and we have got this new dispensation which is there hoping that all this can be factored in there. I want to thank you Mr. Speaker for giving me this time to contribute to this. Thank you.
HON. DR. LABODE: Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to thank the mover of the motion, Hon. Mahiya and the seconder Hon. Munengami for a good presentation and for the passion that has been shown by the team that actually visited Zambia from the Committee led by Hon. M. Chinomona. We have discussed this issue in the Committee for over two months now just trying to figure out what to bring to Parliament, so I am really touched personally.
Mr. Speaker Sir, cancer has two strategic anchor programme ways of doing it. The control of cancer literally leans on early detection, which means that you should be able to be tested at the nearest place to your home. Now, let us talk about villages because in towns we are covered. We are talking about villages which are 50 to 60 km away so the nearest health centre should be able to test you for cancer, more so for the cervical cancer.
The Committee Mr. Speaker Sir, also visited Silobela because we wanted to know what was happening in Zimbabwe before the team went to Zambia. Silobela is actually a cancer detecting and treatment centre. With cervical cancer, if it is detected on time, there is what is called cryopath which we use to burn the cancer. Without even bringing them to the district hospital, you can end it there, so it is very important.
I want to agree with Hon. Khupe and others who spoke about mobile clinics. For areas like Matabeleland North during its hay days, the whole system was anchored on mobile clinics. Mobile clinics left every Monday to go nearer to the villagers. All that can be done and we saw that in Kenya. I was in the team that went with the Speaker of the National Assembly to Kenya. Kenya has beautiful mobile clinics because of the Masai community; they are sparsely populated like some of these provinces. So it is very important and also to be able to treat.
On this regard, there is something also that we learnt when we were at Silobela, that the cost of equipment to detect and treat is less than $10 000. So, I am standing here to urge all the parliamentarians who will access the CDF to say commit $10 000 to a health facility of your own and set up this equipment – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – and I am also saying, you know very well that there is a fund called the health levy which is coming from your airtime, just in case you have forgotten. We have since been informed that the health levy is bringing to the Ministry almost $4 million a month. So, why cannot we commit at least 50% of that to cancer treatment? Maybe this House actually should say to the Minister of Health commit that money to cancer because we know we have the Global Fund for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. Let us find a fund from somewhere for cancer. We do have it and we can do it.
Also, I am not going to talk much on the blood services. A lot has been said and I know there is a colleague who is just dying to say a lot of things but there is one point I want the Minister of Health to do. Now that the company has been privatised, I do not know whether he can do it. There is very poor corporate governance at the Blood Transfusion Centre. Do you know that the Chairperson of that board has been there as long as the former President, Cde. Robert Mugabe has been running this country? Justice Smith has been there since, so surely there is nothing new you can bring into the system. That alone should be looked
into.
The other thing I am seriously buying into the Zambian situation is saying why can we not get UZ to start a new blood transfusion services entity because you cannot grab that one; it is a private entity. Government can start its own. We do exactly what the Zambians have done and we use the universities.
The other issue that came out from Zambia is access to health services. Our people do not have access to health services mainly because of user fees. Now, you heard about Chitungwiza, where because of Private Public Partnerships (PPPs), the local community of Chitungwiza cannot access their own facility. The nurses have taken upon themselves and demonstrated. Some of you probably saw it in the newspapers; they demonstrated a day ago on behalf of the patients because they felt it is unfair.
So some of those things, I think the Minister needs to abolish like yesterday. This is a new dispensation; we need to do things differently. We know there is money we can save somewhere if we do away with things like the Health Services Board, do away with CEOs at institutions that are non-profit generating. Why do we have a CEO and a board for Mpilo? What business is it that we need a board and a CEO? Let us do away with that and I am sure we will make a lot of saving over $30 million and put it to the drugs. Bring drugs into the institutions. We need to do things differently. There is money lying around being misused and we go back to the old good system of medical superintendants.
The medical superintendant was running those things. I think we really need in the new Zimbabwe to be serious. Let us just change the way we do things. Thank you very much.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Thank you Hon. Speaker for giving me
this opportunity to also add my voice to an issue that I am highly passionate about. I am highly passionate about health. Therefore, whenever I speak, I speak with emotion. Like my colleagues indicated, this is a new dispensation. This is a great opportunity for us to correct the ways that we have been doing things in the health sector. We have been known more for health tourism rather than for investing in our health sector.
Hon. Speaker, statistics indicate that 35% of our monies that are externalised out of this country, are externalised through channels of health tourism. That is a significant amount of money that we should try to save. The other opportunity that we have is to try and stop the situation where health has now become a right of only the few who are rich and the poor no longer have a right. I think we need to stop that and correct it.
My colleagues have spoken at length about cancer but let me just dwell on blood. Let me give a background to how the trip to Zambia and other trips came about. There has been an outcry of availability and affordability of blood and blood products in this country to such an extent that our citizens who are resident especially in border towns, have to go to our neighbouring countries to look for blood and blood products. We all know that blood is mostly used on victims of accidents and on mothers when they are giving birth after having lost a lot of blood.
The outcry that has been there on the affordability of blood which goes for something like $130 a pint in this country, is that people have not been able to access the blood either because it is in short supply or because they cannot afford the amount of money that they are being charged to pay for the blood. That being the case, we know that the rate of accidents in our country especially during holidays will be going up and therefore, we get a lot of victims of accidents during holidays.
As we speak, we are heading towards a major holiday where we expect as usual that accidents will be more profound than during the other periods of the month. What is the current situation of our blood stocks? Hon. Speaker, as has been indicated by my colleagues, I think we heard about a few weeks ago, the Hon. Minister of Health coming out in the Press indicating that they were reducing the price of blood to $80. I heard a lot of people ululating and very happy. I was very sad and what saddened me most is that here is a full Hon. Minister who runs a Ministry and who is responsible for setting the price of an essential critical product, coming out as if he is doing a favour to the people to say I am reducing blood to $80, as if $80 is a good sum of money.
The question that disappointed me was, where was the Hon. Minister all along to only come three weeks ago to reduce blood when we wanted blood to be reduced from 1980? We wanted blood to be reduced from 1980 and not yesterday. Let us compare the prices of blood in this country and in our neighbouring countries. I am reliably informed that in Zambia blood goes for nothing, the same applies to Botswana and South Africa, people get blood for free.
The blood that is used in these neighbouring countries is the same human blood that is drawn from the same citizens that we are selling it at a highly affordable price. Even as I am speaking right now that the Hon. Minister reduced the price three/four weeks ago, let me state that I am highly informed that the so – called Justice Smith has already written a letter to the Hon. Minister to tell him that they are increasing back the price to $130 a pint in the next two to three weeks. As we speak, the
Hon. Minister of Health is in possession of a letter that comes from the Zimbabwe National Blood Service saying that they are not going to reduce the blood because they do not have the money to subsidise the blood to $80.
Where is that blood coming from? It is coming from the same poor Zimbabweans that are not able to access that blood and when as a country Hon. Speaker, we invest such a critical project and product into the hands of a private sector, is that not serious risk taking? To me, that is serious risk taking because a private limited company has got only one motive, and that is to make profit for its shareholders, and who are those shareholders? The shareholders are not the blood donors. The shareholders are a few people that gather at that house and make decisions on behalf of the 13 or so million Zimbabweans. As a
Government, we entrust that responsibility in the hands of few capitalists who want to make money out of blood that they are taking for free from Zimbabweans.
Hon. Speaker, I am highly informed that blood stocks at ZNBS are so low that they cannot even meet the operating costs. There is a donor fatigue of bringing blood to ZNBS because the blood donors have heard that the blood that they are donating is going to give a profit to some individuals and because of that, they have stayed put. What are we doing as a nation? Allow me to blame this House Hon. Speaker. We have put in so strict rules at times that it becomes very difficult to navigate towards coming up with solutions to emergencies.
I have been talking to my Chairperson of the Health Committee for the last four weeks that we need to summon the Minister of Health, ZNBS and blood donors as a Committee of Parliament so that we try to find a solution that can at least keep the security and availability of blood stable in this country, even as we are heading towards a holiday.
What we have been told is that the Chairperson of a Committee cannot on his/her own initiatives say, can you summon such an organisation or such individuals because what is needed is a Committee consensus.
In proper corporate management, I do not see any problem for a Chairperson who has witnessed an emergency to direct that a letter be written to summon certain people to appear before the Committee, and then the Committee makes ratification at a later stage. Because we are strict to those rules Hon. Speaker, right now we are stark with a scenario where we can run out of blood stalks in this country. We might have to go and import blood again in Zambia and Botswana with the little foreign currency that we do not have.
As has been indicated, this is a good opportunity for us as a country to begin to run things in a proper way and here are my recommendations. On cancer, I believe that we need to set up hospitals to specifically deal with cancer and cancer related ailments. It is high time we wake up and do not run things as if it is business as usual.
Cancer has literally overtaken HIVand AIDS in killing people. So, we cannot keep on thinking that it is business as usual, we need to get into a mode where we say we need to do something. Hon. Speaker, on the issue of ZNBS, let me be honest; I think we need to abolish that organisation. They have got no ingredients of their own that they have, they are relying on the blood that is coming from the public. Today if we say we are stopping everyone from going to give blood to ZNBS, we are setting our own as a State. I am assuring you Hon. Speaker that we might be able to collect blood and blood that will be assessable and affordable to Zimbabweans at a lower price.
So, my concern Hon. Speaker on the ZNBS is this, they are using public money that is coming from NAC (National AIDS Council of Zimbabwe), it is donating money ZNBS. ZNBS is also receiving donations from other entities and organisation inside and outside the country and then what are they doing, they are getting blood for free from Zimbabweans and exporting that blood at a premium to other countries. So we do not need that organisation anymore, this country does not need that organisation anymore - unless if we can turn that organisation into a State owned enterprise where the State has got a claim into it and where the State can control how blood and blood products are being gotten from, from wherever they are coming.
We need to commit money to blood services we need to commit money to that Hon. Speaker. Honestly, I think there is a colleague of mine who indicated about disappointment in the appointment of some of the Ministers that came into so called new Government which is not very new, if you ask me. The disappointment, like I indicated, I am really disappointed with a scenario where I am told that the Ministry of Health and Childcare, a public institution is the one that is responsible for setting prices. It sets prices of blood at a level where it knows that the general public cannot afford. Right now as we speak, in terms of maternity, I think our blood is being funded by a development partner, EU. EU is funding the blood that is used in the maternity wards of this country and if they were going to decide to pull out, what would happen to maternal mortality rate? There would spike and all the time what are we doing, we are just seated and think everything is normal.
Hon. Speaker, I implore this House to take positive pragmatic steps to ensure that especially this issue of blood is addressed and addressed urgently. Today, as we are speaking the date being 5th December, the Christmas holidays are actually beginning in the next two to three weeks and there is no blood at ZNBS. So, Hon. Speaker, I encourage that we take a decisive measure to ensure that we redress that situation.
HON. D. TSHUMA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, for affording me this opportunity to add my voice on this topical and sensitive subject with regard to the fact finding we happen to take part in. I happen to be part of the entourage that visited Zambia on a fact finding visit about the cost of blood as well as the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer vis s vis what is happening in Zimbabwe. We are very elated in the way my colleague Hon. Dr. Chimedza actually led the discussions and the team in terms of data assimilation, in terms of digestion as well as dissemination as it is happening today. It was a very lucrative tour while we benefited a lot. I would like to say that with regard to the issue of cancer, it has become one of the most 9 curable diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure but cancer comes atop. Why we say saw is because of the casualties that we experienced as a nation and country. We learnt a lot from our counterpart Zambia, the way they actually treat cancer, and the way they do their diagnosis and the way they lead their campaigns in the fight against cancer. Hon. Speaker Sir, we realise that it is very imperative for the Government to actually maybe revert to the early 80s when prioritization became the order of the day and took the toll. This is where budgetary allocations were basically benchmarked on the issues of prioritisation, where education and health took the best cake of the day.
Why that happening was is because the Government actually that time realised the need for a healthy nation, growing the cake and having a better future for everyone was through a healthy nation which was looked after well. However, we have lost that taste today because of the loss in the direction in terms of budgetary allocation. That is why you have seen the 15% by Abuja declaration being watered down because prioritization has now come atop for defence as if we are in a state of war at the expense of a health of a nation, therefore, the rise of cancer.
Hon. Speaker Sir, I will also weigh in, in terms of human capital, Zimbabwe as a country or nation has managed to actually come up with a greater number of people who are highly qualified in the expertise of health, engineering and other sectors. In Zambia, we were opportune to actually talk to some personnel who were manning the equipment in the cancer hospital, only to be shocked that these people were actually trained at NUST here in Zimbabwe. these are the people who were trained in Zimbabwe manning the state of the art machinery in Zambia but here in Zimbabwe we are failing to come up to the game because of our skewed approach to the health sector. We are failing to attract a number of civic organisations, a number of partners who can give us assistance in terms of boosting our health sector in terms of bringing equipment that is a state of the art, which fits the modern technology we have today.
Hon. Speaker Sir, this is because of corruption in our country which is very rife, especially in the tendering system. We have seen that for example during the inclusive Government, we have seen the introduction of the targeted approach funds which were availed by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development to the Ministry of Health and Child Care. In the distribution and disbursement of that money, we realised that there was lack of some monetary mechanisms to control that money so that it is used effectively. As such, it was exposed to misuse. The tendering system was watered down, it was a free for all, obsolete machine were purchased at the expense of the health of a nation. Therefore, what I learnt in Zambia Hon. Speaker Sir, was quite awesome in the sense that their systems are well managed. Their systems are well fueled and the health of a nation therefore gains a lot.
I will advocate and propagate for a stand-alone hospital in the likes of what we saw in Zambia, this will enable the country as Zimbabwe to actually treat cancer from the root causes, for example at ward level and then refer to the district level and refer to the provincial level-looking at the state of the patient. It will also bring on board a lot of investors as they will be able to actually see that our commitment as a country in terms of fighting this horrible disease which is cancer.
I will sum up my debate by saying it is very imperative for the leadership to take a leading role in the fight against cancer, for example, when we were in Zambia through our engagement, we realised that the First Lady was a pivotal player in the fight against cancer. Therefore, we are urging our incoming First Lady to follow suit and be a leading example and a leading fighter against cancer so that more funding will be availed by the private sector and the Government.
I also urge the Government on its budget to channel more money on health so that we are in a position to fight this scourge which has destroyed innocent souls and our populace as a country so that we are able to have a long lifespan and cherish our nation. We are endowed with a lot of resources which can be utilised to better the lives of this society and increase our life expectancy. I end my debate by saying, we have a lot to accomplish and our Minister of Health and Child Care has a big chunk and fight to make this fight winnable. As a Committee, we are ready to give the necessary assistance in terms of advocacy and campaigning for this disease to be reduced at all cost. I thank you.
HON. BHEBHE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I will be very short, precise and to the point. I am not a Member of the Health Committee but I am a firm believer that the success of a human being is measured by his or her health. Any human being who has poor health is always underprivileged in terms of producing for our nation or his family. Mr. Speaker Sir, I remember when I was young and energetic way back in the 1980s, we started seeing signs of people who were suffering from HIV/AIDS related diseases.
I still remember very well as a young man, we used to believe that the diseases were transmitted by nations which have gone through World War 1 and 2. As time went by Mr. Speaker, after tests by doctors and scientists, we discovered that it was a deadly disease called HIVand AIDS. Scientists and professors applied their minds, broadened their knowledge and came up with medication that can deal with or fight the virus of HIV/AIDS.
Mr. Speaker Sir, when all that was happening, little did we anticipate that there was going to be another deadly disease more than HIV/AIDS. That disease is none other than cancer. I am very worried if we are not serious about dealing with issues of cancer because statistics will show that in human life, the greatest sufferers of cancer are women. When we do not quickly deal with issues to do with cancer, we will be like a business person who wants to see his business grow but without the machinery to produce for his business to grow. It is high time that we should realise and accept that cancer is not only deadly but it is going to wipe out, particularly our females in this country.
Currently, they are 52% of the population, if statistics can be taken down from now onwards and we do not deal with the issues of cancer, we will find that the percentage rate of women in this country might end up going down. Once that happens, as a nation, we will have a serious problem in future for generations to come, because our reproductive system will have been affected through negligence without dealing with the issues that we have to deal with whilst there is still time – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – It is therefore necessary Mr. Speaker that if we are talking of decentralisation on whatever aspect, it has to deal with the health of a nation.
I get worried today Mr. Speaker if the Government says we cannot have enough money to employ nurses that should be deployed in deep rural clinics. We have got deep rural clinics which still have no medical staff because the Government says they cannot employ, meaning that the issues of health priority are not in actual fact a priority in this country Mr. Speaker Sir.
We need to make sure, as mentioned by Hon. Dr. Labode earlier on that we decentralise and prioritise the issues of cancer detection at an early stage so that at least in the rural areas, where there are serious issues of people dying of cancer; because they cannot afford to go to the rural district centres that are still up to date, charging a fee for someone to be admitted in a rural district hospital. It therefore means that we are subjecting all the poor people of this country to death. We have actually forgotten that they are part of our communities.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, some of my colleagues spoke very strongly about the migration of our qualified staff to other countries, they spoke very strongly that those medical staff can only come back if we have the right equipment and facilities. I beg to differ Mr. Speaker Sir. I do not think detecting cancer needs sophistication; it only needs a qualified nurse in a rural clinic to be able to deal with those issues. However, I am not seeing the Government giving priority to those types of programmes.
Just to touch on the issue of blood transfusion – I do not want to be controversial Mr. Speaker Sir but at least, I need to be very factual. A lot of my colleagues, when they debated they were insinuating blame on the National Blood Services Department and the privatisation of blood. I strongly believe that it is not the case of just blaming those who are providing. We have a set up in this country; in particular, our policies provide that we should have private facilities as well as Government facilities. We cannot blame those who are providing blood at a cost, we should blame ourselves as Government for failing to provide the facilities that are supposed to provide that blood. The sooner we accept that the Government is at fault by failing to provide blood that is donated by its own citizens, the better. To continue complaining about those who are providing services is like complaining about the doctor who has got a surgery somewhere operating and saving life. We cannot blame a doctor who is operating a surgery and saving life. We should blame the
Government which is failing to give facilities at Government Central
Hospitals.
In this case, I just want to draw you to the issue why the
Government is failing to provide those services. Mr. Speaker, here in Zimbabwe corruption is endemic, not only in the citizens of this country but in Government itself. It is so endemic that at times we do other things and people celebrate that a wrong thing has actually resulted in a good thing like the instance that happened recently in Zimbabwe, which is according to our Constitution unconstitutional but people were celebrating because we have failed to manage and maintain things according to our own Constitution and that results in corruption Mr.
Speaker.
The biggest problem that we have in this country for us to fail to provide services that are supposed to go with human life is all about corruption. I am imagining, the former Head of State came on television and radio even in newspapers declaring that we have lost US$15 billion from a Government that he was in charge of; with Ministers that were in charge; with people that were licenced by Government. Then, how do you lose that kind of an amount of US$15 billion? You cannot even account for it or trace it. It therefore means it is corruption. You know yourself that declaring US$15 billion is missing, you know because your hands might actually be dirty also.
Therefore, if we cannot account for those kind of monies, how then do we set up those blood transfusion facilities that are Government owned? It therefore means the entire Government does not know how to prioritise their things. Their priority is not only in making sure that our Government prospers. Their priority is bend on making sure that they perpetuate corruption to fatten their pockets; to have houses that have got 27 bedrooms. I wonder whether those 27 bedrooms; you have only two daughters and two sons but you have got 27 bedrooms. I am surprised. Otherwise, if I think like an African I will think ezindu zilalandofa, that is what I would conclude.
The priority of Government in terms of taxation, whatever proceeds that Government should get from taxation, the priorities in any healthy nation are supposed to be three. For a nation to be healthy they are supposed to be three. One - you have got an educated nation that will understand issues particularly including issues of health. The second one - you have got to have health which provides that every citizen who is supposed to work and be productive is supposed to be healthy. The third one is water and sanitation. For every citizen to be a normal person that can manage to cook his food, bath himself and water the food that one can eat, you need water. Not only water but clean water, hence water and sanitation.
What surprises me Mr. Speaker, when it comes to budgeting in this country, we seem to forget that those are the three priorities that we should see our Government doing. For any investor to be able to come in Zimbabwe – I am not sure that a serious investor will come and invest in a nation that has got sick people, neither am I sure that an investor will come and invest in a nation where people are failing to provide these basic services because for any investor to come into this country, he needs enlightened people through education, healthy people who have got proper health facilities, water and sanitation facilities so that he sets up his business properly. Those are key basically across the globe Mr. Speaker, but we seem not to prioritise those things as a nation. We seem to be more bending on making sure that we revive and continue having corrupt systems in Government. We seem to enjoy having systems that are anti-people as a Government because anything that is pro-people should always be centred on people’s health.
I want to end by saying; the recently constitutionally appointed
President has got a lot of work to do. The six months that is left for him is to prove to the people of Zimbabwe that the constitutional provision that gave him the authority to be the President of this country is not only to be saluted as His Excellency but to make sure that there is a paradigm shift in terms of Government operations.
I am equally surprised if I look at the list of Ministers, some of them new and others recycled that are they up to the task of making sure we are going to see a complete paradigm shift? I get worried on behalf of the recently constitutionally appointed President, when after all these weeks that have gone past, we have not felt the impact of driving towards people-centred policies.
The issues of health - any President that comes into the country should declare the health of the people that he leads; declare that that is priority number one because we need a healthy nation. We should see the President of this country declaring that the freeze of employment, particularly the health staff should be lifted for now.
We should have a situation where we virement from other ministries, particularly the issues to do with the Vote that goes to the security sector. Why I am saying we should virement from the security sector is because I witnessed a period where the police have been disarmed. They were out of operation but during that period when there were no police officers; when there were few security officers, we saw the least number of crimes in Zimbabwe which actually qualifies that, that Vote that could go towards the security sector is actually the Vote that is wasted. At times it is the Vote that is being abused to carry out operations that are not constitutional. We can be glad if on Thursday, through the powers vested in the President, directing the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning to come with a budget that stipulates that the health sector should get not less than 15% of the total budget that is going to be presented on Thursday. With those few words because I am a politician, few to me means two hours. I thank you.
HON. RUNGANI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. MPARIWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 6th December, 2017.
On the motion of HON. RUNGANI seconded by HON.
MPARIWA, the House adjourned at Five Minutes past Five o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 30th November, 2017
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER
BODY OF THE LATE DR. MUSIIWA
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I wish to inform the House
that the body of the late Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr. A Musiiwa will be arriving tomorrow Friday, 1st December, 2017 at 5
p.m. From the Airport, the body will be taken to Nyaradzo Funeral Parlour. A church service will be held on Saturday, 2nd December at Nyaradzo at 1100 hours. Thereafter, the body will be taken to C. C. Molina Farm, about 35km out of Kadoma. Burial will take place on
Sunday morning.
Hon. Tshinga and Hon. Nduna having passed between the Speaker and the Member on the floor.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Tshinga. Order
Hon. Nduna. Can you please go back?
HON. NDUNA: Ndandichiuya kuzokumhorosai.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Mliswa – [HON.
ZINDI: Ngaambobuda.] –
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. RUNGANI: I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 23, be stood over until Order of the Day, Number 24 has been disposed
HON. MUKWANGWARIWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
SECOND REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON LANDS,
AGRICULTURE, MECHANISATION AND IRRIGATION
DEVELOPMENT ON AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES AND
COMMAND AGRICULTURE
HON. CHITINDI: I move the motion standing in my name that this House takes note of the Report of the Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development on
Agricultural Colleges and Command Agriculture.
HON. MUSVAIRE: I second.
HON. CHITINDI: 1.0 Introduction
Agricultural education and training plays an important role in providing the much-needed human resources in the agricultural sector. Education is often the most valuable asset for rural people wishing to engage in jobs in the agricultural value chain where they need both technical knowledge and business skills. Innovation, often regarded as a pre-condition for successful entrepreneurship, is positively related to the level of education in most developed countries. Against this background, the Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture, Mechanisation and
Irrigation Development resolved to inquire into the functional status of Agricultural Colleges in Zimbabwe. In addition, the Committee took advantage of the visit to agricultural colleges to conduct an assessment of the Command Agriculture throughout the provinces. The Committee was prompted to conduct an enquiry into Command Agriculture against a backdrop of a substantial budgetary allocation, the high rainfall experienced in the 2016/2017 summer-cropping season as well as negative media reports regarding the management of the programme.
2.0 Objectives of the Inquiry
2.1 The Committee was guided by the following objectives
- To assess the state of agricultural colleges
- To identify the policy gaps in the implementation of Command
Agriculture.
- To assess the crop under Command Agriculture; and
- Appreciate the challenges faced by farmers under Command
Agriculture.
3.0 Methodology
The Committee invited Mr. J. Chitsiko, the Permanent Secretary for Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development for an oral evidence session on the 7th of February 2017. In addition, the Committee conducted a fact finding mission to agricultural colleges and selected beneficiaries of the Command Agriculture from the 13th – 19th of March
4.0 Committee Findings
4.1 Agricultural Colleges: Ministry of Agriculture,
Mechanisation and Irrigation Development
4.1.1 The Permanent Secretary highlighted that agricultural education in Zimbabwe began in the early 1950s when the first Agricultural College, Gwebi College was established 27km North West of the capital, then Salisbury. Thereafter in 1961, another agricultural college, (Chibero College) was established 25 km South-East of Norton, a town located 41 km from the capital.
4.1.2 The purpose of these colleges was to provide trained human resources for the agricultural sector. Most of the graduates from these colleges went to become farm managers on the commercial farms while others joined the extension services and agro-industry, i.e. companies that produce chemicals, fertilizers and farming equipment.
4.1.3 Soon after the independence of Zimbabwe in 1980, the number of agricultural colleges increased, with four more colleges being added to the original two. Thus came into existence Esigodini, Mlezu and Kushinga Phikelela Agricultural Colleges. A few years later, Mazowe Veterinary College was established and was mandated to train students in veterinary skills at both certificate and diploma levels. Recently in 2011, another college Shamva Agricultural College came into existence in one of the northern provinces, i.e. Mashonaland Central. This brought the total number of colleges under Ministry of Agriculture to eight.
4.1.4 In 2005, the Department of Agricultural Education and Farmer Training was established under a Director to oversee the operations of the agricultural colleges and this is the current situation. Note that the name of the department indicates the added role of the agricultural colleges to train farmers through short courses, particularly during shutdown periods. The main function of the Department of Agricultural Education and Farmer Training still remains the same, i.e. to provide training for the agricultural sector, the main clientele being students and farmers. Eight colleges are operating under the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development have a combined enrolment of 1971 students as at 30 January 2017.
4.2 Student Training at Diploma Level
4.2.1 Currently, 1791 students are enrolled under the conventional diploma training programme. The course is a residential course, i.e. it is run while the students are at the college. In looking after the students, colleges have to provide basic necessities such as food, accommodation, and transport for educational visits, stationery and other facilities. In addition, the hostels have to be cleaned thus demanding further costs in cleaning materials such as soaps and detergents. The majority of the colleges have associate linkages with local universities. This assists in monitoring of academic standards and creates development of career paths.
4.2.2 Upgrading of National Certificate cadres to Diploma Level through modular training, between 2005 and 2011, the Department working with Ministry of Youth Training Centres, produced over 10 000 graduates at certificate level who were targeted for service in the newly resettled areas (A1 and A2). After the conclusion of this programme, it was noted that generally the certificate graduates were deficient in certain skills and knowledge which affected their service delivery. It was therefore decided to further train these certificate cadres to diploma level in order to address the shortcomings.
4.2.3 The Permanent Secretary highlighted that the method of upgrading is through training modules which were produced mainly by college lecturers. The cadres visit their respective colleges of enrolment during the normal shutdown periods during which time they attend lectures, tutorials and practical sessions. Currently, there are about 330 students who are enrolled in the colleges under this upgrading programme at the following colleges: Chibero, Esigodini, Gwebi, Mlezu and Rio Tinto.
4.2.4 The Permanent Secretary emphasised that these students also to be catered for while on college during the normal shutdown periods. Young Commercial Farmer Training is at Kushinga Phikelela National Farmer Training College. This programme is run at Kushinga Phikelela National Farmer Training College. It is designed to train students who leave the college with hands on skills in agriculture. The support to practical training in this programme is therefore critical. There are 180 students in this programme.
4.3 Farmer Training
4.3.1 All colleges are expected as part of their mandate to carry out farmer training according to needs assessment with respect to the farmers. The training courses are run on short-term basis, i.e. a day to a week or more depending on the situation. Kushinga Phikelela (which is located outside Marondera) is the National Farmer Training Centre and plays a coordinating role in farmer training. In this first quarter of 2017, the agricultural colleges are aiming to train at least 500 farmers in various agricultural activities which include agronomy of crops; poultry and pig production; beef cattle management; bee keeping and honey production; mushroom production; tractor operation and maintenance; farm machinery; farm records and budgeting; horticulture and management of the environment.
4.3.2 In view of budgetary constraints, there is need to cooperate with other farmer training organisations in the agricultural sector such as Farmers Unions, Seed Companies, NGOs and private institutions who may have funding for the development of farmers.
4.4 Major challenges facing agricultural colleges
- Inadequate budgets; for 2017, the total annual budget for all the eight colleges is US$703 000. This translates to less than US$
100 000 per college or less than US$ 10 000 per month per college. This is too low and has a negative impact on operating capacity and quality of delivery of services.
- The current financial management system is centralised and takes too long to react to the requirements of an agricultural institution.
- Inadequate training materials such as computers, text books, periodicals, office equipment, photocopiers and projectors.
- Inadequate farm equipment for student training and farm production. This includes tractors, tillage implements and other related equipment. The current equipment is old and unserviceable; there is need for replacement in order to achieve the desired quality of delivery of training.
- Staff development; many members of staff would wish to upgrade themselves but are constrained by inadequate financial resources.
4.4 Tour of Agricultural Colleges
3.4.1 Agricultural education allows students to learn and experience the importance of agriculture in the economy. In Zimbabwe, this is critical given that the economy is agro-based and following the land-reform programme of 2000, most of the arable land is in the hands of indigenous people. Graduands and agricultural colleges have a responsibility to provide knowledge and information to farmers in order to boost productivity of the sector. These colleges have the mandate to train students in various agricultural activities which include; agronomy of crops, poultry and pig production, beef cattle management, farm machinery, farm records and budgeting among other topics. However the colleges are facing a number of challenges which are detailed below:
4.5 Funding for Colleges
4.5.1 Since 2015, the financial system has been centralised and colleges no longer retain fees paid by students. The new system entails applying and collecting the money at head office in Harare. The Committee was told that the process was cumbersome and affected productivity at the college. For instance, the colleges highlighted that whenever there was a crisis like an animal disease outbreak, they had to wait for a minimum of three weeks before they received the money to contain the problem. For colleges such as Esigodini, its accountant has to travel more than 800 kilometres to and from Harare to get the financial resources. The Committee was also informed that it was difficult for the lecturers to conduct assessment visits of students due to lack of vehicles. Furthermore, students were not benefitting from the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (ZIMDEF) despite the fact that agricultural companies such as seed and stock feed manufacturers contribute to this fund. As a result, students were struggling to make ends meet whilst on attachment, because some of them were not getting any stipends from the employers.
4.6 Calibre of Students
4.6.1 The colleges admitted to the Committee that they were producing half-baked students. This was due to lack of adequate teaching and learning materials. The Committee was told that most students were exposed to the latest technologies and modern farming machinery or equipment during attachment or when they got employed. The colleges had outdated and obsolete equipment. Furthermore, after completion of studies, students fail to access land to enable them to utilise their skills and to be productive.
4.7 Land Use and Management at the Colleges
4.7.1 Most of the colleges save for Rinto Tinto has vast tracks of land ranging over a thousand hectares. However, most of the land is lying idle due to lack of investment. Effort has been made to secure public-private partnerships, triple ‘Ps’ at Kushinga Phikelela and Gwebi for crop production such as tobacco and maize. These partnership arrangements were hailed by the colleges for enabling students to get exposed to modern technologies and practices in farming. At Gwebi, concern was raised that the partnership arrangement had shortfalls in that the Chinese were not willing to disclose the profits made in the arrangement. As a result, the college was at the mercy of the other partner.
The failure to effectively utilise the land has led to Gwebi losing 200 hectares which was acquired by the Ministry of Lands and Rural
Settlement and allocated to others. In the same vein, Rio Tinto also lost 1 000 hectares of land under Sherwood block which it had been allocated in 2004. The land was acquired by the Ministry of Lands and given to other beneficiaries, hence the college does not have adequate land for learning and practising for the benefit of its students. Currently, the college has 100 hectares which is occupied by college buildings and other infrastructure. The Committee learnt that all the agricultural colleges do not have an advisory boards, an organ which is critical in mapping out policies for the college, such as sourcing of investment partners.
4.7.2 The colleges highlighted that they cannot pay farm labourers the rates that are stipulated by the Civil Service Commission. The rates are too high and they need to be reviewed in line with General
Agricultural and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ) and the National Employment Council for the agricultural industry. The Committee was also told that Esigodini College is without a substantive Principal since 2014. This makes it difficult for the Acting Principal to make substantive decisions on the operations of the college.
4.8 Command Agriculture and Food Security
4.8.1 The recipients of the Command programme told the Committee that it was a noble programme in view of limited financial support given to farmers by financial institutions. Hence, Command Agriculture was viewed as a positive development that would enable farmers to be productive, promote food security at household level and for the nation at large in line with Cluster 1of the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation.
4.8.2 The Command Agriculture is a three year programme that supports farmers in different parts of the country. According to Dr Chitsiko, the targeted hectarage for maize production is 400 000 hectares. The programme focuses on three groups of people namely; farmers with irrigation facilities and adequate farming equipment, farmers that were not fully equipped with irrigation and farming machinery, and farmers that rely on rain-fed agriculture and have minimal resources for farming. The recipients would receive the following; seed, fuel coupons, fertilizers, chemicals and tillage services and these would be collected at the recipients’ nearest Grain Marketing Board depots (GMB).
4.8.3 The programme is managed through a contract system between the farmer and the Government. The loan is serviced partly in kind where the farmer surrenders an agreed portion of his or her grain to GMB. The Permanent Secretary highlighted that abuse of the inputs was a criminal offence. The offences and penalties are highlighted in a
Statutory Instrument (SI) of 2017 known as the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime (Declaration of a Serious Offence: Misappropriation of Agricultural Inputs) Regulation. The SI highlights that any misappropriation of agricultural inputs issued under Command agriculture will lead to a fine of level 14 or imprisonment not exceeding five years or both fine and imprisonment. The offender can also lose his or her piece of land if it was gotten through the land reform programme.
Misappropriation is identified as the intentional trading, donating or barter trade of the inputs without the written approval by a Government agency. The Committee was informed that there are some offenders that have since been imprisoned for diverting the inputs to the black market.
The major issues that arose during the Committee’s enquiry include:
4.9 Co-ordination Committee
4.9.1 The Committee was informed that the Command programme has Co-ordinating committees at national, provincial and at district level.
It includes persons from the Ministry of Agriculture, especially the
Agricultural Extension (Agritex) officers and Ministry of Defence. Officials from the Ministry of Defence are the team leaders especially in co-ordinating the distribution of inputs. Agritex officers assist in monitoring and advising farmers.
4.10 Distribution of Inputs
4.10.1 In all the provinces that were visited by the Committee, the recipients had the following complaints: They did not get the inputs on time. In one case, at Chibero College, they received their Ammonium Nitrate (AN) fertiliser on the 9th of March 2017 and this was of no use because the crop had been badly affected by lack of nutrients in the soil.
The college highlighted that they would store the fertilisers for use in the next season.
4.10.2 Some of the farmers did not get an entire package and had to use their own resources to buy the rest of the inputs. A case in point, is a farmer in Norton, Mr Chikonzo who had to buy chicken manure as a substitute for compound D and the Committee was impressed by his crop and the initiative he made. However, another farmer Mr Maponga of Kwekwe district, did not get the same joy when he tried to be innovative by making a concoction to contain the fall armyworm. The homemade concoction that comprised of surf and other chemicals managed to contain the pest but destroyed the crop.
4.10.3 Farmers expressed concern that they were not collecting their inputs at the nearest GMB depots. For instance, farmers in Norton collected their inputs in Chegutu, that is on average 100 kilometres away, Farmers in Umzingwane collected at two distribution points for different inputs at either Filabusi or Gwanda depots that is on average between 50 to 100 kilometres away from the district. The commercial farm in Masvingo collected its inputs from Harare because that seemed to be the most convenient location. The farmers complained of time losses and cost implications on production and this was also exacerbated by the poor road infrastructure especially in rural areas.
4.10.4 The Committee was informed by the farmers that the documentation process at the collection points took a greater part of the farmers’ time, hence reducing productivity at the farms. This was attributed to the lack of computers for speedy processing. Farmers complained that some of the Government officials, especially from the Ministry of Agriculture were arrogant and unhelpful. A case in point is a widow in Umzingwane district, Mrs Ncube, who complained of illtreatment by officials who were coordinating the Command programme.
She attributed this to gender discrimination.
4.10.5 The Committee was told by some farmers that they faced challenges in getting farming equipment for tillage and for pumping water. Farmers in Insiza who had planted early maize crop over 35 hectares lost the entire crop because the Mechanisation Department took more than six weeks to respond to their request for assistance. A farmer in Umzingwane had to plant manually because she failed to get a planter from the department of mechanisation. Farmers told the Committee that packaging of the inputs in some cases was not suitable for small hectarage. For instance, Mr. Maponga wanted 25kg for his hectarage but was forced to get 30 kg and furthermore, he could not acquire Carbaryl for the fall armyworm because the quantities were not suitable for smallholder farmers. Seed varieties were being distributed without regard of the ecological region. Most farmers under Command Agriculture received varieties that take the longest to mature. This presented a challenge especially for farmers who depend on rain fed agriculture.
4.11 Information Dissemination
4.11.1 Most of the farmers who interacted with the Committee learnt of Command Agriculture through secondary sources such as neighbours and not from the official channels. This is due to the fact that most smallholder farmers do not belong to farming associations and
Agritex officers are not mobile due to lack of vehicles.
4.12 Perceptions on Command Agriculture
4.12.1 The Committee encountered both negative and positive perceptions about Command agriculture. In Kwekwe District, in one ward, only three farmers were courageous to participate in the programme. The rest of the farmers shied away because of fear of the word ‘Command’. The perception was that this is a military programme and if one does not live up to the expectations, the consequences will be meted out in military style. In Norton, the farmers expressed displeasure that some people who did not have land or had small hectarage received inputs which they went to sell on the black market. Furthermore, while waiting to collect their inputs at Chegutu depot, various trucks received first preference and the army were at the forefront in initiating the speedy collection of these inputs. One farmer in Norton refused to collect his inputs after being told he would only get seed and was not given assurance of when he would receive the rest of the inputs. His fear was that he would experience total disaster given that he did not have resources to acquire other inputs such as fertilisers and chemicals.
4.13 Crop Yields
4.13.1 Most of the farmers told the Committee that they were expecting yields of between 5 tonnes to 10 tonnes per hectare. The variations were attributed to pests, lack of adequate inputs and excessive rainfall which caused leaching. Irrespective of these challenges, the farmers were content that they were going to harvest something to feed their families and the nation at large, especially given that the previous season was a difficult one due to the El Nino induced drought.
5.0 Committee Observations
5.1 AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES
- Funding of Colleges - Centralising funds is constraining the ability of colleges to make decisions that directly affect their operations.
- Calibre of Students -the Ministry of Agriculture should ensure that its colleges receive agricultural machinery that it sources for some of its programmes. There were so many missed opportunities such as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Mechanisation programme and the More Food for Africa programme. It is not proper that students are behind in terms of technology and modern farming equipment. This will constrain the graduands to advise farmers on the best
type of machinery and farming methods. The curriculum at these colleges need to be reviewed so that it is in line with modern trends.
- Land Use and Management of Colleges - the Ministry of Agriculture needs to come up with a policy to enable the colleges to enter into partnership agreements. This will enable the colleges to be productive and for students to be exposed to best farming practices and machinery. The Committee noted with concern that most of the colleges were not engaging in meaningful production and had to scale down their operations, in livestock and crop production due to limited funding from the fiscus. Hence, land and infrastructure such as cattle pens, fowl runs were either empty or underutilised. The colleges have niche markets for their produce particularly from the surrounding communities.
- The Ministry of Lands has unprocedurally acquired land that belongs to the colleges and allocated it to beneficiaries of the land reform programme for example Gwebi Agricultural Colleges.
- Agricultural college students are not benefiting from ZIMDEF yet agricultural companies are contributing to this fund.
- The colleges cannot afford to pay farm labourers the rates that are stipulated by the Civil Service Commission. A policy shift is required so that the colleges are able to utilise their land effectively.
5.2 Command Agriculture
- It has brought hope to many farmers, given the tight liquidity crunch that is affecting the country. The farmers showed determination and a desire to participate in improving food security at both household and national level. However, the programme was too ambitious as it sought to accommodate as many farmers as possible without aggregating it with the financial resources and capacity of personnel to manage the programme. Furthermore, the programme will be implemented in three seasons that is too short to have made an impact in terms of boosting food security and productivity on farms. Government through its different agencies was slow in signing supply contracts with the various manufacturers in the country. The summer-crop is seasonal hence distribution of inputs should be time-based if the sector is to achieve high returns.
- Co-ordination Committees - there is lack of coordination between Committees at Head Office and those at district level.
- Distribution of Inputs - a lot of work needs to be done to improve on the distribution of inputs. Farmers travel long distances to get inputs and yet there are GMB depots or other community centres that are used for distribution of things like the Presidential Input Scheme and food assistance.
- Information Dissemination - there is inadequate information that has been disseminated to farmers on Command agriculture. Government departments are not giving timely information to farmers on the programme. This is also attributed to the fact that Agritex officers are immobile due to lack of vehicles to meet farmers on a regular basis.
- Perceptions on Command Agriculture - negative perceptions about this programme need to be addressed in order to recruit deserving
and capable farmers in all the provinces of the country. Farmers may have observed abuse of inputs by others but there was no mechanism or adequate information on whistle blowers.
- Crop Yields for the 2016/2017 - crop yields could have done better if farmers had received all the inputs on time and at the same time. The farmers under Command agriculture, especially for the long season varieties would have harvested at least 10 tonnes per hectare.
- Post Harvesting - given that the country is expecting a bumper harvest, the Ministry of Agriculture has not disseminated adequate information to farmers on the availability of grain bags, transport and payment modalities in order to motivate farmers to continue participating in this programme.
- Climate Change - the Committee is concerned that in light of climate change, budget allocation for irrigation development for this current year was reduced by 10% when compared with the previous year’s allocation. There is no guarantee that the country will have another high rainfall season in the next two seasons
under Command Agriculture and therefore, there is need to rehabilitate existing irrigation schemes and to construct new schemes in areas with high potential in crop production.
- Expansion of Command Agriculture -Command Agriculture should be expanded to include other sectors such as livestock, soya beans, small grains sugarcane and horticulture. The programme needs to be sensitive to the productivity status of the different ecological regions of the country.
- The Contract System - the contract should clearly lay out the cost of inputs and the market price of the maize. Secondly, breach of contract should not be criminalised but civil charges should be exerted in order to recover the lost inputs.
5. Recommendations
5.1 Command Agriculture
Recommendation | Action | Timeline | |
5.1.1 | Timeous distribution of a complete package of inputs | Government to sign the supply contracts with manufactures on time and the Command Coordination Committees to ensure farmers acquire their inputs as a complete package by farmers. | Summer Crop
Inputs should be ready by July and for Wheat end of February each year |
5.1.2 | There is need to computerise the | The Co-ordination Committee and the Ministry of Agriculture should | Before September 2017 |
processing and management of input scheme. | be adequately equipped with computers and other information communication technologies
(ICTs), for effective communication with farmers and easier management and processing of the inputs. This will also ensure less congestion at collection points and save farmers’ time and energy in queuing for the inputs. |
||
5.1.3 | Farmers should access
inputs at the nearest GMB depot or community designated points. |
The Command Co-ordination Committee should ensure that inputs are accessible to farmers in a cost beneficial manner. | Suitable and accessible Distribution Points to be identified before
September 2017 |
5.1.4 | Investment for irrigation and mechanisation is needed in light of the impacts of climate change and variation | Government through the Ministry of Agriculture should source more equipment and machinery for the development of irrigation and to assist small holder farmers that rely on rain-fed agriculture. | On-going. |
5.1.5 | Command agriculture needs to be diversified. | The Ministry of Agriculture should develop a policy to expand Command agriculture to include livestock and other crops based on the ecological regions of the country. | Policy Position should be in place before September 2017. |
5.1.6 | Packaging of inputs and seed varieties should be designed to meet the different categories and ecological regions of farmers and hectarage under Command. | The Command Coordination Committee to make logistical arrangements to ensure that packaging of inputs and seed varieties meet the needs of the farmers. | Corrective action to be taken before July 2017. |
5.1.7 | Post harvesting program to be announced to enable farmers to
effectively deliver the maize to GMB |
The Ministry of Agriculture should announce policy position on collection of maize from farmers under Command in terms of:
availability of grain bags, combine harvesters, storage facilities, grain dryers’ collection points and payment for modalities for maize deliveries. |
Position should be announced by end of April each year. |
5.1.8 | Women farmers should be respected and | The Co-ordination Committee and Ministry of Agriculture should be | Before September 2017. |
encouraged to
participate in Command Agriculture |
gender sensitive in the implementation of Command Agriculture. An assessment should be made on the number of women that benefitted from this programme, given that women account for 80% of labour in agriculture. | ||
5.1.9 | There should be a cutoff period for the distribution of inputs. | The Co-ordination Committee and the Ministry of Agriculture should distribute inputs in line with the agricultural season. Inputs should not be distributed way after the recommended periods of farming. | The Policy position to be developed before August 2017. |
5.1.10 | The Input Scheme for winter wheat should be clearly laid out before the Season commences. | The Ministry of Agriculture need to announce the preparations that have been made for the winter wheat season before its commencement. | Before end of February each year. |
5.1.11 | Command Agriculture should receive adequate budgetary support from Government. | Parliament should ensure that the Command program receives adequate budgetary support from the fiscus in order to promote food security, reduce the import bill, create employment and reduce poverty. | On-going. |
5.1.12 | Agritex officers need to be mobile in order to monitor and evaluate programmes of this nature. | Parliament needs to ensure that adequate resources from the National budget are channelled for the purchase of vehicles and for travel and subsistence to enable Agritex officers to do their work effectively. | On-going |
5.1.13 | The lifespan of
Command Agriculture should be reviewed to a longer period |
The Ministry of Agriculture needs to consider extending the lifespan of the programme to 10 years, in light of huge investment required for irrigation and acquisition of farming machinery and equipment, which have longer repayment periods. Furthermore, the first year had teething problems, some of which need long term solutions | The policy position should be announced before December 2017. |
5.1.14 | Government officials should improve their communication skills as | Some officers in the Ministry of Agriculture need to undergo communication skills programmes | On-going. |
they relate with farmers. | to enable the Ministry to timeously and effectively respond to the needs of farmers. |
5.2 Agricultural Colleges
5.2.1 | Agricultural Colleges should retain 100% of tuition fees. | The Ministry of Agriculture should decentralise the funding mechanism for colleges. | Before end of 2017 |
5.2.2 | Agricultural Colleges should benefit from Government sponsored programmes on
Mechanisation and Irrigation development. |
The Ministry of Agriculture should
prioritise agricultural colleges, whenever mechanisation programmes, like the RBZ one are being implemented. |
On-going |
5.2.3 | Students in agricultural colleges should benefit from ZIMDEF. | The Ministry of Agriculture should liaise with the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education on policy reform that will enable agricultural colleges to benefit from Zimdef. | Before end of 2017 |
5.2.4 | A substantive Head should be appointed for
Esigodini College. |
The Ministry of Agriculture to liaise with the Ministry of Public Service to speed up the process of appointing the Principal for Esigodini College. | Before end of 2017 |
5.2.5 | Land taken from agricultural colleges should be returned. | The Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement should return the land it expropriated from agricultural colleges. | Before end of 2017 |
5.2.6 | Agricultural College students should be given preference in land allocations. | Ministry of Lands and Rural
Resettlement should reserve a quota for land allocations to grandaunts from agricultural colleges. |
On-going. |
5.2.7 | Advisory boards should be appointed for all the colleges. | The Ministry of Agriculture should ensure that Advisory boards are appointed for all the colleges in order to spearhead policy and developmental programmes for the Colleges such as triple ‘P’s. | Appointment before end of
2017 |
5.2.8 | Rates for farm labourers’ wages should be based
on the rates agreed between Government and the NEC for the Agricultural Industry. |
A policy shift is needed by the Ministry of Agriculture to ensure that farm labour rates are in line with prevailing rates of the industry, to enable the colleges to contract affordable labour | Review to be made by end of
December2017. |
6. Conclusion
The Government should be commended for introducing the Special Maize programme as it will go a long way in addressing the issue of food security in the country. It will reduce poverty and create sustainable livelihoods for the majority of the people in the rural areas. On agricultural education, investment is needed to enable these colleges to be viable and to churn out students with requisite skills and knowledge to impart to the farming community. I thank you. HON. MLISWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to
commend the Chairman of the Portfolio Committee for this report. It is a very important report in that agriculture does play a key role in terms of the GDP of the country and Zimbabwe has always been known to be the bread-basket of Africa, so such a report certainly helps us put everything in its proper place.
Let me hasten to say Mr. Speaker Sir, Command agriculture was certainly a great programme. It remains a noble idea pertaining to food security. The purpose of Command agriculture was to reduce on the importation of grain and as a result to also save on the foreign currency. That certainly was achieved. We also must be able to look at the areas which affected this programme so that it can really be said to be excellent. We always thrive for the best in whatever we do. It was good and very good but we want it to be excellent. In being excellent, the distribution was very poor, the time farmers were given inputs was very poor as a result it certainly affected our production.
What is critical for the agronomists in this country is not to look at what we harvested but rather to look at what is being harvested per hectare. The contract for Command agriculture was very clear that you at least have to get five tonnes per hectare – how many people got five tonnes per hectare? I am one of those people who did not get adequate inputs despite getting a contract and Government is not responding to this – in how they are going to deal with people who did not get adequate inputs and are supposed to be given 10 tonnes. They have been very quiet on this, and I think it is very important that those who failed to – because the inputs came late. They cannot be told that they cannot get inputs yet it was the fault of the Government not to give them inputs. They are now using it as a way of having to choose who should get inputs yet if they were given the inputs on time, they could have achieved that tonnage that is needed.
So, it is important for people to be given a fair chance, to be given inputs on time and so forth. The worrying part is that there are tertiary institutions which are sitting on over 1 000 hectares and these institutions are agricultural institutions, which means the expertise is there but they got nothing at the end of the day yet they have the expertise, water and so forth. Why were they not given enough inputs for the 1 000 hectares? I thought this Command Agriculture Programme was about us getting enough maize but it ended up being politicised at the end of the day. The whole idea was to identify farmers who have irrigation, that in the event that there is not enough rainfall, they can supplement that with irrigation but that was not the case. That not being the case, they then gave everyone, whoever wanted inputs were being given on top of the Presidential Input Scheme that was there.
So, you have got two programmes which are running which farmers must benefit from. You have got Command Agriculture which people from the Presidential Input Scheme are also benefiting from; you have the Presidential Input Scheme which people from Command Agriculture do not benefit. So, as a result, we were not able to get as much and those inputs which were meant for those targeted farmers were not enough.
It is therefore important for Government that when they are embarking on a programme, they are very clear that the programme is not politicised at the end of the day. Any party has a right to give its members inputs. ZANU PF– has a right to even give out bags to their people written ZANU PF munhu wese kuna amai, whatever they want. The MDC too have a right to go and get inputs and also have them written va Tsvangirai chete chete. That is up to them.
However, a Government programme must be respected and must
not be politicised at the end of the day. You saw this happening; it disturbs the entire flow and from an economic point of view some of these issues were not budgeted for and as a result, we were affected by the production.
I want to say these tertiary institutions which the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee spoke about, are underfunded. While they are underfunded how are we sure that the people that are being trained know what they are doing? If you go to a medical school, you must get every support, everything needed for you to be a doctor but we are getting people who are leaving these graduate colleges without proper training because of underfunding. So, how can we sustain our agriculture when these people are not well trained? So basically, we are getting half baked cakes which means nothing at the end of the day; a half baked cake is as –[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]-
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MARUMAHOKO):
Order, order! I cannot hear what the Hon. Member is debating now. Let us lower our voices when we are discussing.
HON. MLISWA: A half baked cake is as good as not having a cake. So, we are now having all these graduates from all the agricultural colleges going out to support agriculture yet they are underfunded. There is no mechanisation there. When they are coming to our farms or to anybody’s farm, there is a tractor which they do not know how to use. So, how do they manage a farm? The Government had this programme called the Brazilian Equipment. For heaven’s sake, you do not just know how they did not benefit these tertiary institutions yet they are key to that. These institutions could also have assisted the surrounding farmers around those areas and so forth. So, you wonder who really benefited from this equipment when the tertiary institutions have no equipment for the training that they are undergoing under mechanisation and so forth.
So, you have a situation where this has to be corrected at the end of the day. If we are talking about these tertiary institutions and Zimbabwe returning to be the bread basket that we used to be, we need them to be properly funded. There are the triple P’s which they were also supposed to also get involved in but you are talking about people who are academics and do not understand business at all. You have got somebody who has been a principal for 20 years. The only thing they know is to just lecture. When you tell them to go into an agreement of triple P – they do not even know how to do business. So, to me some of these triple P’s do not work because some of these principals do not understand business. As a result, it did not yield the results that were expected and so forth.
Mr. Speaker Sir, it is important that in terms of the Advisory Board, how can you have institutions without an Advisory Board. This is the reason why I am quite grateful for the new dispensation which is there because Government had become dysfunctional. How do you run these institutions without a board? You have got a principal and no one is responsible for oversight. So, whatever they are doing is of their own.
However, you have a Minister who is full time, by then it was Dr. Made.
So you ask what was the Minister doing. What was he superintending? He spent more time at the Gushungo farm instead of him spending time doing his main mandate and so forth. We know that he is an agriculture expert but first, he was supposed to do his job. I am saying this because if he was applying his time to his job, certainly we would have yielded results but he never applied time to his job. All we saw him doing was going to Gushungo farm with foreigners with the former First Lady. We never saw him going to a tertiary institution to see whether there is a board. So, he was really working for the former First Family rather than working for the Government of Zimbabwe. These tendencies must stop moving forward.
I think the coming in Ministers must be able to discharge their duties professionally according to the Constitution and so forth. The Agricultural Committee even recommended for him to go but he was the farm manager for His Excellency then. So how can you be fired by the same boss who you are making money for. So, really it is important that Ministers cease being farm managers and concentrate on managing the agriculture in the country and so forth.
I would also want to reiterate the point of irrigation. It is important that irrigation really takes centre stage because the rainfall pattern that we had last season will not be the same this season. As you can see, it is a bit doubtful and so forth and this is where we now need irrigation. This is where Command Agriculture should target farmers with enough equipment irrigation. What we want at the end of the day is maize, whether it is grown by Mr. Brown who is white, Mr. Jack who is Indian and so on, is not the issue. People want food. So, we must also take advantage of the white farmers who are in this country and get them to grow maize. They have the land, the expertise and so forth. All we want is for them to grow maize for us so that the aspect of food security is actually tackled.
So, it is important Mr. Speaker Sir, that we do not discriminate. We are Zimbabweans. This new dispensation that we have must also ensure that the remaining white farmers must also benefit from
Command Agriculture because whatever they are doing is good for Zimbabwe at the end of the day. These are farmers that achieved 10 tonnes. I am a Member of Parliament. Yes, I have a farm and so forth but I do not have time to manage – that is the truth. They have the time, they are full time. The issue of transfer of skills is important, the land is ours, it is not going anywhere but what we want is to make money and to make sure that there is production in the country and this new dispensation must identify. I do not think that any of these white farmers would want to make a mistake of owning land again, but they want to be part of the new Zimbabwe that is growing and playing their role in the expertise that there is and so forth.
So, it is important that we also embrace people with that knowledge so that Zimbabwe goes back to being the bread basket of Africa. We produce, we make foreign currency and we export more and so forth. Right now, we are importing tomatoes and every other food stuffs yet these are the issues we used to produce for other countries. If you go to Marks and Spencer – when I was in the UK doing my university, you were proud to go into Marks & Spencer stores. You were proud to go into Sainsbury supermarket. I do not know if any MPs are aware of these supermarkets, but they are very good supermarkets in England. You will be able to see Zimbabwean products and you would be proud that here is Zimbabwe producing at the end of the day. We need to go back to that point. I could see that they do not appreciate Sainsbury, Marks & Spencer and so forth. They are used to OK Bazaars and TM.
The issue of investing into climate change is critical in terms of cloud seeding. There is no way that you can move into this world and plan without you being part of what is happening in the world. All these countries that benefit from water are able to invest a lot into climate change. Cloud seeding is critical in that point and I think it is important that Government is able to deal with these issues.
As we speak right now, while we recommended as Parliament and I want to thank the Chairman for talking about this recommendation that inputs were supposed to be given on time. As we speak, inputs have not been given on time. I do not know whether the Chairman of Command
Agriculture has now become the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, and no one is chairing that. There is a vacuum and farmers have not been given inputs on time. It is quite disturbing because it is a recommendation from the Committee that inputs must be given on time.
Equally, there is no Minister of Agriculture right now who can take upon these recommendations.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members. I
thought most of us are farmers. It is an interesting debate going on – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections] – It is only the two of you but the rest are farmers.
HON. MLISWA: Mr. Speaker Sir, this is why Hon. Chamisa’s point emphasized that there cannot be a vacuum. Right now, who are we talking to and who is the Minister of Agriculture? The Minister of Agriculture is not here and yet Parliament is discharging its duties. We are hoping that His Excellency the President, Cde. E. D. Mnangagwa is sorting out that. We cannot continue talking to ourselves without an Executive which is there which is supposed to implement. I had hoped that in appointing Acting Ministers, the most important portfolio right now was the Acting Minister of Agriculture because this is the agriculture season. I am hoping that he hears this so that he must put an
Acting Minister of Agriculture. This is the season Mr. Speaker Sir.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Wind up, you are left with four
minutes.
HON. MLISWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. This is the season that we are facing, it is an agriculture season and time is going. Agriculture is seasonal at the end of the day and you cannot reverse anything. A minute lost, you cannot recover and a second lost, you cannot recover, etc. So, it is important that it is taken seriously and by it being taken seriously, there must be an Acting Minister of Agriculture who can tell us the way forward pertaining to this season.
In terms of the inputs being given from a decentralisation point of view, it is critical. Our farmers do not have money and for example, I am in Norton. They were picking up their inputs from Chegutu and yet there is a GMB depot in Norton. Why should farmers go that far? They were spending more time on the road than on the field which is really not something that would benefit any farmer. They lost a lot of money in the process by hiring 30 tonne trucks and being told that we are now coming to get your inputs. When they get there, there are no inputs.
So, if an agriculture programme which is run by Government is not being honest, which other programme would be honest? You are having people going there and being told to come and get these inputs. It is important that people respect the ordinary person. It seems there was a lot of corruption in the process. The high ranking officials were being given inputs and you were told of a 30 tonne truck which is meant for the depot. It will be diverted to go to somebody’s farm because there is a Minister waiting to divert that truck and so forth. These are situations which I think cannot help us in any way. If there is a farmer, let them be treated equally but there must be a system.
Government must not promise what it cannot do. They must plan with what they have in terms of inputs and maximise on that and focus on yield more than anything else. I want to say notwithstanding all that, the programme remains a good programme and the Committee certainly did a lot in getting to the ground seeing exactly what is happening. There are some of the farmers who also lost their crops because...
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Zwizwai, there
was peace before you came in.
HON. MLISWA: Mr. Speaker Sir, I think what is critical for us is to be able to give out what we have. Let us eat what we kill and let us not eat what we do not kill, speculate and excite people. Right now, we have got a whole of maize that we have and I think we have dealt with that but the success of Command Agriculture will show that the money saved from buying maize has gone into another industry. I am told there are fertilizers at the Beira Port waiting to come here and it is already end of November and December people are planting.
We are seeing a situation where inputs are going to get late to the farmers and there is going to be plenty of rainfall. They will not be able to harvest anything. The issue and tendency of giving farming inputs in bits and pieces cannot happen. Let a farmer be given his entire package; the fuel, seed, Compound D and Ammonium Nitrate so that they go and manage. They cannot be coming up and down trying to scrounge for inputs and yet there is a contract. Government must be able to honour the contract that it signs with its people because we do not want a
Government that does not honour a contract with the people.
When people are being forced to pay, the Government is saying no, you have to pay and yet they did not give that person adequate inputs. That is an issue that needs to be addressed seriously because it has affected a lot of farmers from now going back to doing what they were doing...
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, it a very interesting
debate but your time is up.
HON. MLISWA: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. I want to
thank you for giving me this opportunity and hopefully, the recommendations will be taken on board and inputs will be given on time.
HON. MAKWARIMBA On a point of order Mr. Speaker, may I
ask that his time be extended? Thank you.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Unfortunately, he had already
concluded his debate.
HON. CHIMANIKIRE: When I grew up, we used to hear
hurumende yevarimi vefodya, mabhunu. That used to be very synonymous of the farming culture that was there which was being promoted by the white people. However, 60% of the maize production in the GMB was coming from the rural areas and it is something that we must take note of. So, we should look at our policies and say, what happened to the rural areas and what are we going to do to promote the same level of production. Mr. Speaker, I remember my grandmother used to select seed maize, ground nuts, rapoko and so forth. Let us not lose our cultural approach to the way we used to produce agricultural produce.
I would like to appreciate the report that has been presented by the Committee. However, it is lacking in terms of detail and statistics. How much was invested in Command Agriculture in terms of maize production, sorghum and other various grains that were produced? How much was misappropriated? Is there any audit? I think that is what
Parliament wants to know. If we have had more maize at the GMB, that is nice and fine but they referred to generally the misappropriation of seed received, fertilizers but we need to know whether we have an audit system in this so-called Command Agriculture.
It involves various structures of the State including the army but we need to know. I would like to appreciate the fact that they were able to come up with a report. Mr. Speaker Sir, I will start with the issue of farmer training. There is no way we can have farmers occupying 100 hectares of land and begin to utilise it without training. That is why we see what we refer to as loan-farming, one just till the area around their homestead, the rest of the farm is characterised by the cutting of firewood or burning of grass. I think we need to train farmers so that they appreciate how the ecology can be disturbed if trees are cut or grass is burnt. I think it is very important.
So I appreciate the recommendations coming from the Committee that there should be farmer training. The figure of 500 000 farmers to be trained annually is a very comfortable figure which we need to follow and ensure that we have production from well-informed farmers. The various types of training that they have referred to; being trained to manage machinery at the farm because hiring mechanical engineers from somewhere else will attract exorbitant charges and we need to manage our own machinery. It is the issue of machinery that is also affecting agricultural production. I have visited farmers who are relatives and seen brand new tractors parked in a shed, it has not been used and yet it is the time when it is supposed to be used to cultivate. Somebody will be keeping it there for hire and when somebody comes along to hire it, the charges are too high such that even the owner of the tractor does not know how to cultivate with the tractor.
I think there should be qualifications that are considered to say, ‘do you have a driver.’ I have heard the former Speaker saying, ‘I am an MP and I cannot manage the farm.’ You hire a manager; you do not have to be actually getting out there. It is important that you hire someone who looks after the farm so that there is maximum production.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to appreciate what the previous speaker spoke about, the issue of discrimination. We have had in the past, cultural approach in terms of politics, Presidential inputs. Presidential inputs are Presidential inputs and they are from the National Budget. However, what has been happening in the past is that MDC-T supporters and other opposition supporters have not been getting that. They have not been able to access the fertilizers and yet they live in the rural areas. They have no other means of acquiring that fertilizer or seed, yet some of our MPs sitting here have been promoting the idea of not issuing those inputs to Zimbabweans who belong to the opposition parties and I think that must stop with the new culture that we have in Zimbabwe. That selectiveness should never exist in a civilized country like this one where people have been to school.
Mr. Speaker Sir, the issue of perceptions that there are other people in this country who do not deserve certain things; that must be stopped.
I do not believe that a village head should sit there and say, ‘you are from the MDC and you cannot receive fertilizer or seed. Mr. Speaker, I hope that this message goes across not only to the village heads but also to some MPs who have been promoting that. For example, the MP from my own area in Guruve South…
HON. NDUNA: On a point of order Mr. Speaker.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: What is your point of order?
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I am listening attentively to Hon. Chimanikire talking about MPs who are prohibiting members of the opposition from accessing inputs. I come from a predominantly MDC-‘infested’ area in Chegutu – [Laughter] – and there is no time that I had prohibited anybody from getting Presidential input support. Mr. Speaker Sir, going forward, he should desist from going to the village heads and talk with impunity about how they are prohibiting members of the opposition from accessing inputs. The former President and the current Executive said, ‘this is for everybody,’ and I have taken it upon myself that I am going to give out irrespective of party affiliation, and so have all other MPs, who come from predominantly opposition strongholds or former opposition strongholds. So I am
asking Mr. Speaker that you protect MPs such as these in my mold, from such progressive antagonism that I am getting from Hon. Chimanikire…
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Nduna, you are
now debating. There is no point of order, he is generalising, and he never mentioned any particular constituency or Member of Parliament.
We do not take that seriously.
HON. CHIMANIKIRE: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I will not refer to the point of order because there was no point of order. However, what I said stands. I would also like to appreciate the point of view of this Committee to say Command Agriculture should be extended for 10 years, I do not agree with that. Mr. Speaker, I believe we should have a progressive approach, where we empower and then allow those that have been empowered to carry on with an established system after they have received training. We cannot have a Government of handouts. I think the three-year period that was proposed for Command Agriculture is reasonable. You cannot keep on loaning to agriculture; people have to go to banks. Our banks are not operating viably because they are not being allowed to lend for agricultural purposes. Agribank is an extension of a bank that used to exist prior to independence. It used to give loans to farmers. We have to make sure that our banks become viable by engaging. We need agriculture to progress in terms of training that is going to be given to the farmers.
Mr. Speaker Sir, we have also had problems with extension officers being competitors in the agricultural industry. Instead of imparting their own expertise on farmers, they have this problem where they compete and stand in the same queue with the farmers to try and get inputs. They should actually be engaging their expertise and what they have been trained for is to be agricultural extension officers and not competitors against other farmers.
The issue of irrigation Mr. Speaker, that area needs a lot of development. I agree with the previous Speaker, the Hon. Member from Norton. A lot of dams are lying idle and instead of loaning equipment, I would want to support an idea where there will be more of loans for irrigation equipment so that people are able to utilise the water resource that we have in this country, which is plenty but underutilised. So, Mr. Speaker, I believe that the report is an eye-opener yes, and I would like to appeal to the Committee that in future, if they can put more statistics and data on what is actually happening on the ground, that would assist the debate in this House. However, thank you very much for the report you presented to us. I thank you Mr. Speaker.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I want to add my voice to the report by Hon. Chairperson of the Committee, Hon. Chitindi, seconded by Hon. Mliswa. Mr. Speaker Sir, the first thing that I want to do is to draw parallels to this one and then say, if it can be replicated in the mining sector, that would certainly go a long way in terms of harnessing all our mineral resources, in particular at the point of departure or at the milling point where we station some command so that we can get all our mineral resources from the milling centres. However, Mr. Speaker Sir, going back to the Command agriculture, I would want to also applaud Hon. Chimanikire in terms of embracing all the water bodies, all the water that would have been harvested, aware that in a place such as Chegutu West Constituency – there is more than 7 water bodies, John Binya, Masterpiece, Mupfure River, Mupfure Dam, Surisuri River and Surisuri Dam, just to mention but a few. If all these can be harnessed or utilised for irrigation purpose, we will certainly augment, complement, revitalize, rejuvenate and make sure that this programme of Command agriculture far surpasses the targets that would have been set Mr. Speaker Sir.
The issue of being moribund, antiquated, archaic, rudimental – [Laughter] – is certainly not okay for this day and age. We need to embrace technology in order that we go away from this rain fed agriculture means of producing in the agricultural land. Mr. Speaker Sir, having said that, I want to applaud the command in this agriculture and then go further to say all the agricultural colleges need to be resourced so that the output – those people that are churned out of these agricultural colleges do not only come out expecting to be employee but also to be agricultural experts in the land whose amount we are endowed with ubiquitous amount of – but it is in the wrong hands of those people who have not been schooled in that area.
These graduates, it is my clarion call and fervent hope that they get to be given farms during this time of downsizing from so much hectarage to 400 hectares so that they also become employers not employees. Mr. Speaker Sir as a conclude I want to say the issues that we speak to and about in particular the mineral resources are a finite resource, if we do not engage in command resource, extraction and utilisation in particular in Chegutu where there is more than 40 gold mines in a 20 km radius area. If we do not embrace the issues of command mining in that area, we will have a lot of elicit outflows in terms of our minerals resources.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Member, we are
debating agriculture here not mining, please.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you for your guidance Mr. Speaker Sir. I did not want to be regimented and to be a narrow minded in the manner to the extent of just concentrating on the green side of the brown bird minerals. I wanted also to show how endowed our country is in terms of its natural resources which also speak to...
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Member, if you have
exhausted your debate, please just take your seat and we allow another member to debate.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you for the guidance Mr. Speaker Sir. As
I conclude, I hope this can be an example to other sectors to copy the same – because certainly this has been a milestone and there has been a good development which other Government and quasi-Government departments in other sectors that speak to other issues except agriculture – like mines, energy and other sectors. They can take a cue from what has occurred in the agricultural sector in order to enhance our economic development so that we use what we have to get what we want and we get what we can and can what we get. I thank you.
*HON. MATANGIRA: Thank you Mr. Speaker for affording me
the opportunity to add my voice to members that have spoken before me. I would want to thank the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture and Irrigation Development and Rural Resettlement. I would want to thank this Parliament because I thought that we would just debate and it ends there, based on our different political affiliations. I am grateful that in 2014 in this National Assembly, we mentioned that because of Zimbabwe’s inadequacy in food production, we needed to have Command agriculture.
Government looked into the issue in 2015 and in 2016 the programme was adopted. I want to thank this august House for being effective, which is for the benefit of the majority Zimbabweans. In truth the Committee on Agriculture went around and observed what was happening on the ARDA farms and what was supposed to be done and the mistakes that were made. With the current dispensation that we now have in Zimbabwe, we should stop categorizing ourselves as members of ZANU PF, NDU or MDC party. We should work together and ensure that our country gets back its correct position as has been said by His Excellency the President. Hunger is not choosy when it comes to political affiliation. I am surprised that today we have looked upon one another on issues that were long since done.
Instead of advising one another on the merits or demerits of some aspects of our behaviour; Zimbabwe experienced starvation in 2000. In 2016 to 2017 season, we have Command agriculture but we looked down upon the programme – whose children are we? Mr. Speaker Sir, I would want to talk about what you also observed in the Committee that we have outside countries, we have organisations like More Food for African Programme from Brazil, they are giving us equipment.
The distribution of this equipment is not transparent, the correct recipients are not getting the equipment so, at the end of the day the equipment ends up in the hands of people who do not work. You end up having to hire the same equipment so that the country can be self sufficient. You are told that if you want to hire the equipment you should pay in US dollars. We then asked who is making such a requirement and we hear that it is the Ministry of Agriculture,
Mechanisation and Irrigation Development. It has three Ministers, a Minister and two Deputy Ministers which is the majority in the last Government. We have a Minister and a Deputy Minister who is responsible for Cropping and the other one is responsible for Livestock. The three Ministers, i.e. the Minister, his two deputies and Permanent- Secretary have the four of them ever had a meeting where they have shared ideas to see what they can do that is best for this country?
Zimbabwe has been experiencing hunger throughout the years before the advent of the Command Agriculture. We have a 60 tonnes and even wheat being declined by GMB because of weevils. If you were to deliver your maize with 12.6% moisture content, they would turn you back because they expect your maize to be at 12.5%. Maybe, this is due to the issue of inadequate silos.
*THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order Hon. Member,
if you have chosen to speak in Shona please stick to that language. Do not vacillate from one language to the other.
*HON. MATANGIRA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, I will
confine myself to one language. Let me state what I have observed as to why we have starvation in this country. It is because our country does not have an agricultural policy. I am saying this because when you hear that banks have been given $670 million and at the end of year, it is not money that was given for production but loans that were advanced to farmers and were rolled over – is that not permissible? It is the laws that are being rolled over. How can this person be expected to produce something when he has not been given money? We want such malpractice to be investigated.
People have had their monies taken, their houses have been sold and they have lost their properties because the banks have been repossessing their property when in fact, they have not been given any money. We urge this Government to come up with an agricultural policy. The manner in which inputs were being distributed was not right. Last year, it was done well and may I also repeat that ZANU PF and MDC are at each other’s throats over the distribution of Command agriculture. Soldiers should not be distributing inputs and diesel but this should be done by the Ministry. The same Ministry however failed and it is returned to the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and
Irrigation Development. There will not be anything on the ground. This year there is nothing on the ground – the 180 million Presidential seed packs are being properly distributed.
Why am I surprised? I wonder why it is being said that ZANU PF people are distributing. A Member of Parliament is apolitical and does not represent people from his political affiliation. The Bible says, if you are a shepherd and you lose one sheep out of a hundred, you should go and look for the single sheep and find it. In my constituency, ZANU PF members are not the first ones to receive inputs. I first give to members of the opposition so that they can vote for me and my party becomes victorious in future.
Having said so, we are hopeful that they should not given the command agriculture project to the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development. Right now, there is no fertilizer when one requires it, as well as diesel for tilling the land. It has not been there because they are failures. They failed and we are saying that because of this report. We are coming to the end of the year and will be having new things next year.
Unity was used during the Command Agriculture and through singleness of purpose, people shown the right direction. They were advised to use herbicides to weed their crops and not use the hoe. They need to be taught on how best they can put agricultural practice to their advantage. If that were to be done, we would be successful.
The Lord is going to be with us once we remain united and everything will be achieved. We should not be partisan when we come to this august House. As we come here, I should represent people in Binga if they are growing sorghum and if the people in Bulawayo are rearing goats then it is alright. All Hon. Members should talk about the beauty of the things that should be done in my constituency.
Mr. Speaker, as regards the Committee of Agriculture, the contour regions are no longer being put in place and as a result of this climate change, a lot of soil erosion is taking place. There are severe river and dam siltations. We need to have graders that do the contour ridges for our fields in our areas so that we can farm better. Should there be a glut of rains, there will not be any soil erosion and our crops will not be flooded.
We also want to add the issue of veld fires. These should not be confined to the inhabitants of an area to deal with the issue. We should have in place provincial structures and equipment used to deal with veld fires as is the case with other countries. It is unfortunate that Zimbabwe has been sanctioned, but we hear that the United States of American and the United Kingdom said that sanctions were going to come to an end. Maybe, we could have a plane dousing flames in each province once there is a veld fire.
A lot of trees are being affected by worms – the mupfuti and mazhanje trees. The army worm is causing a lot of disaster to our own flora. If this was to happen for two years, we would run the risk of having a desert in Zimbabwe. We were asking through this august House to have such issues addressed so that these forests could be sprayed using herbicides to control these army worms that are attacking our own trees. With those words, Mr. Speaker, I urge that there be unity of purpose in this country and that we should advise one another so that we can win. A hungry nation is an angry nation. If you are a beggar, you do not have any dignity. I thank you.
HON. MUDARIKWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Mr. Speaker
Sir, I want to thank Hon. Chitindi, the Chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture but in the process, I want to highlight certain fundamentals which the Committee must look at.
We must have a National Agricultural policy that controls the costs of inputs at all our farms. Our fertilizer is very expensive Mr. Speaker Sir. There is duty on herbicides, our diesel is too expensive, our engine oil is also too expensive and tractors are also very expensive. So, you are faced with a situation whereby you are developing agriculture wanting to produce something which you cannot export because of this cost of inputs.
Now, in some instances, you have got even EMA coming to the farm demanding that you should have a hazardous licence which then makes everything very expensive. We need to see how we can contain farms, how to control the cost of inputs because as long as our inputs are where they are, yes we can only produce for local consumption. We will not be able to produce for exports. If we are not producing for exports, how then do we replace these tractors when they get old? It is a nasty situation which must be addressed, we must identify why our fertilizer is expensive. Why should we be charging duty on herbicides? We want our people to be always weeding with badza so that they get old yet we want to protect the farmers. We want to modernise our agricultural production. How do we modernise with all these expensive things on our farms.
Mr. Speaker Sir, communal lands like Hon. Chimanikire has mentioned used to produce more maize than commercial farms but it you go to communal lands now, it is a sorry state. The production in communal lands has gone down mostly because there is no agricultural finance system in place for farmers in the communal lands. There used to be AFC where there was group landing. Those things must come back. We must allow our farmers to be able to borrow independently then other inputs can then come. We have got people who have capacity to borrow and pay. On an average, there are five million cattle in the communal lands, if you mortgage them, it is a lot of money, almost $2, 5 billion available in communal lands.
So, the people have the cattle which we can use for mortgage but we are denying them this and trying to create certain situations where we will end up in a very difficult situation.
Cotton production; it is important that we revive cotton production because it affects ecological regions 4 and 5. That is where most of these cotton producers are. These are our communal land and this is where most of our people live. How do we improve the quality of life of our people if they are not producing? We must give them inputs to produce. Economics is different from soccer. In soccer, you would have 30 people in the stadium playing; 70 000 people watching in the stadium, five million people watching on the television at home – that is soccer. However, in economics if we have too many spectators, few workers, the end result is that the nation will not grow, the economy will not grow. People are not contributing; individuals must contribute everyday. If we generate US$1 a day, what does that translate to? It is a lot of money. So, this is our situation, this is our tragedy, this is what the Committee must look at. Why is it that agricultural activities in communal lands have gone down?
Mr. Speaker Sir, the issue of importation of vegetables, people can say whatever they want to say but this must never be allowed. Farms in South Africa, once you give them an order, they pay you. If you go there and say you want to buy 1 000 cabbages valued at a certain price, they give you 10% commission as long as it is coming to Zimbabwe.
The simple reason is that their cost of production down there is cheaper. They do not have all these other costs where you will be paying various items until you get to the market. There are no police road blocks, they just come overnight. Our farmers suffer to get vegetables for you to eat and yet if they do not produce them, as a nation we will start importing.
So, we have a capacity in this country. All supermarkets who want vegetables must go to the communal lands and contract people in Mutoko, Seke, UMP and Murehwa; they have the capacity to produce. The tragedy is that it is the same Ministry of Agriculture that issues permits for importation of vegetables. They must issue permits for importing new Ministers and we get rid of them because they have no capacity to run agriculture. Why should they be issuing out permits to import cabbages and carrots which we can produce. The only thing they must do is that the Committee must allow them to import a Minister.
There is no point for allowing these things to happen because the tragedy is that we have destroyed all our communal lands. The
Chairperson of the Committee must look at this and protect our farmers. Our farmers are selling their goats to produce vegetables. Our farmers are selling cattle to produce vegetables and they come to Mbare Musika to find vegetables produced in South Africa, some of them GMO, nicely packed and we compete and say it is fair. When there is democracy in any society, there must also be economic democracy and that can only be achieved when we allow for a fair playing field for all agricultural productions.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I have mentioned the issue of loans. Micro finance must never be allowed to be used by farmers because the interest rates are too expensive. Zimbabwe is the only country where we now have more micro finance institutions than the whole of Africa has got. The way micro finance is done is criminal. These people are robbing people overnight and we must not allow farmers to use micro finance because they will go down. Command Agriculture was a great success, it must be supported. However, we must have Command Agriculture on small grains which are drought resistant. When we have Command Agriculture for small grains, we must then look at the value chain. We have produced rapoko, what is the next product – we meal the rapoko, we brew seven days beer. Instead, our youths are dying because of musombodhiya. We are losing a whole generation because of musombodhiya. We must be encouraging seven days to be produced in communal lands. It must be is brewed on a Monday and on Friday, it would be ready to drink. We will never have grandchildren – once they take musombodhiya, they are gone and the system is washed out. It is an unfortunate situation Mr. Speaker Sir and we must never allow this to happen.
Command Livestock, artificial insemination is very critical for us to develop the quality of the cattle that is available. If you go to the communal lands, there is no difference. If somebody is flying in a helicopter, he sees the cattle on the ground, just like goats; they are so small. If you want to slaughter them, you just hold with one hand, it is unbelievable the size of the cattle we have which is all because of inbreeding. There has not been proper management and the Committee must take the responsible Government departments and Ministers to task why this is happening in this county. The tragedy is that last week I went to Botswana; the moment you cross Ramakwabane River, the size of the cattle is big and when you come to the Zimbabwean side, the size is very small and they will be making a lot of noise, which is just unheard of. We need to improve on the quality of the cattle in our communal lands.
We must also move into Command Tobacco, because it gives this country foreign currency. As long as we do not have foreign currency, we would be wasting our time. We must be a nation of exporters. If we take 500 million and put it into tobacco and export, next year things will not be same. The production of tobacco must go up every year. We can easily have a US$2/3 billion tobacco industry if we support it. We need to support tobacco starting from the training of the farmers and protecting the tobacco farmers from crooks that are always there at the tobacco floors. If you go there, you find all the makoronyeras. They moved from Mbare and they are now based at the tobacco floors.
So, tobacco farmers must be protected. The last thing that I had missed is that I need the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on SMEs to go to Mbare Musika any day and see the conditions our farmers are living when they sleep overnight to sell their vegetables tomorrow in the morning. It is unacceptable in this world. There is no security and they are now advised that you must sleep on top of your products for them not to be stolen. It is something that we must continue doing. We were elected by these people, but we are forgetting them because we are here in Harare.
On agriculture colleges, it is very good that we have got all these colleges, but the tragedy of our colleges is that they are training people to work as fertilizer salesmen and not as farmers. They are training our sons to be employees. We must start training farmers and for you to train the farmers, the syllabus must change. If you enroll today, you go straight on a farm for a year and then you come back to the school. You are training to be a farmer and not to be an employee. The last thing is that the Ministry of Education has now made it compulsory and agriculture is now being taught at Grade 7 and secondary schools.
Most of these primary schools teach agriculture but they cannot produce a single bundle of vegetables. They teach agriculture and they cannot produce a bag of maize. They have got everything and they are passing, harvesting in the exercise books and textbooks but there is nothing real that is being harvested. How do you have agriculture where you just harvest in the textbooks and exercise books? This person passes everything with 1st grade? Where is the 1st grade on the ground? The Committee of Agriculture must also visit schools and identify what is happening there.
Some secondary schools buy milk from Dairibord, but I think all secondary schools must have their own cattle to produce. They must have their own dairy cows to produce their own milk for their own consumption so that there is something that is there where we will say these people are able to produce something on their own. I want to thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I want to thank Hon. Chitindi and all the Committee Members of Agriculture. It is a job well-done but you need to continue doing more, because agriculture is the backbone of our economy. Thank you.
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir. I want to appreciate this important report. This is a very important report because agriculture defines who we are as a people. You may recall that since time immemorial, we would have most of the Members of Parliament who were agriculturalists. They would first go to the farm and then they would sit at two because they would have finished farming. You would find that in other Parliaments, Parliament commences in the morning but in this country, we have maintained the tradition that we commence Parliament in the afternoon consistent with the tradition that was there during the Rhodesian era and framework.
This was also to place emphasis on the importance of agriculture as the mainstay of the economy. Going forward, it is my view that we made a mistake when we finished the liberation struggle. People were not supposed to be demobilised. We were supposed to continue in terms of the national mobilisation in the national side, because when you are talking about agriculture, you are talking about a culture. When you are talking about a culture, you are talking about deportment and a mindset of the people. For us to be able to move forward, look at Japan. After the World War, they did not demobilise. This is why they have managed to also have an anchor and oomph in terms of the direction of economic revival.
For us, what we now need, if we are to deal with poverty and hunger - is to consider them to be things that can be confronted in a war like mindset so that we mobilise the entire nation, particularly those in the rural areas and even in urban areas. What we need is not just a term called Command Agriculture. I was checking from the Committee Report - for anything to be called a programme, it must have objectives, timelines, standards and targets, but if you look at the Command
Agriculture, the targets keep on moving.
There are no clear and set out objectives and there is no document that would say we are able to juxtapose between the intended and the real. That is a problem and I think it dovetails into the issue of policy raised by Hon. Matangira. We do not have a defined agricultural policy and with it, we need an agricultural revolution so that apart from just the issue of a land reform, we are moving into an agrarian reform. What are the aspects of an agrarian reform? We must first be clear in terms of the vision. By what time do we need to be clear about what we are achieving? How do we move our people from subsistence agriculture to commercial agriculture and from Command Agriculture to demand agriculture? How do we make sure that our people in the rural areas are not just focusing on food security but they are focusing on good surplus?
This will transform our peasant approach to a pleasant commercial agriculture approach so that we make agriculture a business not only in the communal areas but also in the commercial areas. Right now, agriculture is not taken as a business because we were at fault in our commercial models, especially the issue of pricing. You cannot tell me that you buy through GMB at US$390 per tonne, but when you are selling to millers, Government is selling at US$270 per tonne. It tells you that we are trying to subsidise at an output level. That kind of a model is wrong.
Let us go and subsidise at an input level. If we are to deal with our fertilizer producing companies to make sure that they are productive and are also commercially competitive, let us have arrangements with other countries or with other companies elsewhere so that we have technology transfer. We are then able to quicken and cheapen our capacity to produce in terms of our inputs. That must also change. We cannot subsidise at output level without focusing on the inputs and also having the necessary financing models that are then going to help this process. Together with that, we need to have an agrarian reform, to move at targeting the yield per hectare.
If you look at our average yield per hectare, it is about 0.8 tonnes per hectare; the lowest probably in the region. In Malawi it is almost 10 to 12 tonnes per hectare. It is because of a careful deployment of strategies. It is a careful deployment of the vision that they want. We must all know, in this Parliament, what is our target in the next five years. We must have a five year agricultural plan and that plan is supposed to carry everyone on board, those in the country side and also those who are commercially farming and we must make sure that we go into the rural areas, do away with ox drawn ploughs so that we also raise the standard of living of our people.
At village level why do we not have tractors and mechanised agriculture which is targeted at our communal farmers, moving communal farmers from a communal farming model to a commercial farming model. It is possible. It has happened in Brazil, it is happening in other countries, in the Philippines. I have looked at the model in the Philippines. Let us go there, have a radical revolution in the country - side in terms of giving our people the capacity. Let us give the capacity to our people in the country side.
I am sure the chairperson would agree with me that what we need is to make sure that we move this nation from being a consuming nation to being a producing nation. We cannot be a nation of consumers. We need to be a nation of producers for the region, for the whole world. In Israel there, they have a desert. In the European Union they want organic food. We could actually become a source of that organic food once we deal with our pricing model, once we deal with our financing models, but more importantly, we must also deal with the markets.
The Command Agriculture Project is being conceived without the market in sight. We first produce and then we say, where do we sell. The first thing is to say, where is the market. We then arrange marketing models and the markets, have to be understood. Once we have the markets then we come back to look at the value chain and we say, in terms of producing how do we produce for that market, what kind of surplus do we need, what is the food security requirement? That way, we are able then to move forward.
I would say the last two points I want to mention is, let us also introduce fundamental technology in our agriculture. We are not just an island, other countries are already moving with speed. Smith did something positive. He had a plan of dams. I have gone to the archives and I have looked at his plan – over 14 000 dams. Right now we are sitting at about 10 001 dams. We could actually have more dams so that Zimbabwe is green throughout the whole year. It is possible to make sure that we are a green belt, we have very good soils, we have very hard working people, we have a very good climate, but what we need is to make sure that we have consistent and continuous rain so that we are also able to upgrade our irrigation equipment programmes and also our capacities, but one point I am also very clear about which is the penultimate point, is the issue of resettling our people. I do not believe that we are not going to have fundamental reforms in this country until we have resettled our people.
In the villages we cannot have development if we have haphazard type of settlements. Let us go back to our rural areas, have organised linear settlements so that we are able to provide infrastructure where people are settled properly. We have areas where people are supposed to graze their animals within their local areas. We will never be able to get electricity to each and everyone with this kind of settlement patterns and agriculture would also not be meaningful without a proper settlement pattern. This is a revolution we must enter into, to say how do we go into the rural areas, get our chiefs, get our kraal heads to also understand planning.
Right now, you go to a rural area; a kraal head or a chief will just go there and peg even in a swampy area, even in a marsh land. That is going to affect us in the long run. We need to rope in our traditional institutions, have proper planning of our rural areas so that agriculture becomes a fundamental point, but on the basis of reorganised rural areas and communal areas.
I would also want to say let us reintroduce the commodity stock exchange with published prices almost every day. Let us have a commodity stock exchange. Why do we not have a commodity stock exchange so that we have pumpkins, peanuts, everything. People know that it is now business unusual. Let it be business and business in agriculture. With those contributions, Hon. Speaker Sir, I want to say this is a good drive. Yes, we need to tweak the Command Agriculture. Let it not be command because you are talking military. It is good to have our military involved, but let it be a civilian national, inclusive programme so that you are not just limiting it by way of nomenclature that is quite exclusive. Thank you very much.
HON. P.D. SIBANDA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. Hon. Speaker I have never contributed to any debate on agriculture. This is my first time and that is why I was so much burning to make my contribution. Agriculture is a critical sector in our economy and I just want to say that in terms of contribution in this country, agriculture contributes between
11% and 14% of our GDP - with room to grow beyond that level, Hon.
Speaker.
I basically want to speak on three things that pertain to the problems that we have had of agriculture historically and at present. Hon. Speaker, historically the challenge of Agriculture in this country has been a problem of discrimination. Hon. Speaker, I am going to speak about discrimination in four areas. Historically agriculture was premised on racial discrimination. The funding of agriculture was mainly based on race rather than on capability or anything of that sort.
That was the pre-independence era.
The current era is characterised by three forms of discrimination.
Two of them have been touched slightly by my colleagues and I am going to just add to what they have said. The first one is on inputs. I think in this new dispensation, Hon. Speaker, we have a great opportunity for rebuilding our country and ensuring that we move together as one people. It is true that discrimination in the distribution of inputs of agriculture is taking place. How is it taking place Hon. Speaker? When inputs move from the central point to the districts and wards of this country, the problem that we are encountering is that we are allowing political activists to be the ones who are responsible for distribution of inputs to the final recipients.
I think that is a challenge because, let me say that it is natural and it is inherent that when you give me a responsibility to distribute something, as a politician, I will tend to favour those that are of the same political inclination. My suggestion to that, Hon. Speaker, is that let the GMB staff and civil servants be the ones that are involved in the distribution of inputs to the final recipients rather than us taking people that occupy political positions who are not employed by the State. That compromises and it leads to that first level of discrimination that I talked about.
The second level of discrimination, Hon. Speaker that we have in this country is based on regions. We have all come to know that Zimbabwe is divided into five regions; and some of the regions are not good for crop agriculture. That is what we have come to learn and that is what we have come to accept, but I want to show you two things that show that belief is actually not a correct position. Firstly, in Israel agriculture is a highly developed industry, despite the fact that the geography of Israel is not naturally conducive to agriculture, but right now Israel is one of the biggest exporters of agricultural products ,regardless of that fact.
Number two, let me show you this Hon. Speaker. Binga is regarded as one of those areas that is in region 4 or 5, which is generally regarded as an area which is not suitable for crop agriculture. As a result, when it comes to agricultural funding, such areas are discriminated.
However, let me show you, there is a new irrigation scheme which was introduced in my constituency called Bulawayo Kraal Irrigation Scheme. Hon. Speaker, that irrigation scheme, as I speak right now has got a good crop of seed maize that is being grown in an area that is generally regarded as not good for crop agriculture. Why is this place producing a good crop? It is because of investment in technology. Why is Israel doing very well in terms of agriculture? It is because it has invested so much in technology to ensure that they are able to produce crops anywhere within the country. Therefore, Hon. Speaker, it is my call upon not only this House but the Government, that instead of us continuing to discriminate areas on the basis of knowledge that was acquired in the 1950s and 60s, let us adapt to the new knowledge that is there and invest in technology so that we may be able to distribute our agricultural resources equitably to all areas. That is going to help in terms of our total output as a country. Therefore, Hon. Speaker, that is my call that I am making.
The final area of discrimination in agriculture is found in areas of marketing. Hon. Chamisa slightly touched on that. Rural areas have a problem with markets of agricultural products. Rural areas have poor road infrastructure and as a result, to get their crops to the markets which are usually based in urban areas takes a lot of costs. Therefore, it is important that as a country we come up with a measure to ensure that the markets become available, especially to the rural farmer. Hon. Speaker, that was my only first ever contribution to the agricultural debate.
Thank you Hon. Speaker.
HON. RUNGANI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. MATSUNGA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 5th December, 2017.
On the motion of HON. RUNGANI seconded by HON.
MATSUNGA, the House adjourned at Eighteen Minutes past Four o’clock p.m until Tuesday, 5th December, 2017.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 29th November, 2017
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER
CIRCULATION OF CDF, OFFICER’S INSTRUCTIONS AND
OPERATIONAL MODALITIES COPIES
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I wish to inform the House that copies of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), the accounting officer’s instructions and the operational modalities have been circulated through the pigeonholes for your information – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Hon. Members, can we have order in the House. Honestly, I do not want to send people outside and maybe you will call me names; but I am going to do it if you keep on doing what you are doing. Hon. Mliswa!
Hon. Muderedzwa having read a notice of motion already on the
Order Paper.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Muderedzwa, I am
being advised that your motion is already on the Order Paper, motion number 7, on page 269.
HON. MUDEREDZWA: Is it confirmed Madam Chair, that it is now ready for debate?
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members.
HON. MUDEREDZWA: I have seen it Madam Speaker, but I was wondering whether it is there for the purpose of continuation of debate or restoration.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I was asking for notices of motions Hon. Member. That means we are talking of new notices of motions. Can you take your seat please?
HON. MUDEREDZWA: Okay, thank you – [HON. MEMBERS:
Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Members, do not have
your meetings there. Hon. Mawere and Hon. – is it Kadoma or what?
You are having a meeting there. I do not want to send you out.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER
VISITORS IN THE SPEAKER’S GALLERY
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have to acknowledge the
presence in the Speaker’s Gallery students and teachers from Sacred Heart Primary School in Matabeleland South Province. You are most welcome [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear] –
*HON. CHINOTIMBA: On a point of order Madam Speaker. Since we have a new President, I am aware that the Cabinet was dissolved but you are there to represent our Ministers. Our wish is that you take the request that we gave to you, that Members of Parliament should be treated like other Members of Parliament on diplomatic passports. Now that we have a new dispensation and you are also new, my point is all these Members of Parliament that you see, myself included, we would want to do things that will make us the pride of the region. Everyone should marvel at the way we do things. We still want future Members of Parliament to be given diplomatic passports and that should start with us. The Acting Minister in charge of this matter should give us diplomatic passports. That is my request. I thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Can we have order Hon. Members. Hon. Chinotimba, first and foremost, I am not new and you yourself are not new just because we have a new President. In response to your question, I still remember the Speaker of the National Assembly saying that, as the Standing Rules and Orders Committee, they made a request that all Hon. Members should have diplomatic passports. That is going to be our first request to the incoming Minister of Foreign Affairs. The passports are not issued by the Presiding Officer or anyone else. It is done by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. This is what we are going to ask the substantive Minister of Foreign Affairs about our request as a Legislature.
HON. MLISWA: On a point of order. My point of order is on the welfare of Members of Parliament. You know that when we were in
Victoria Falls with the then Minister of Finance Hon. Dr. Chombo, there were a lot of promises which were made infront of his Permanent
Secretary. His Excellency, the President, Cde Mnangagwa met all the Permanent Secretaries yesterday and issued a statement that they must continue working. So, whatever he says cannot stop. We would want to know pertaining to our welfare what has happened because there not being a minister is not the issue. The Permanent Secretary is the Chief
Executive Officer, so we want to know all the promises he made to us.
When are they going to be implemented. It is only a matter of Parliament getting in touch with the Permanent Secretaries to see, first of all the duty free certificates for the cars, our allowances that were supposed to be given and so forth.
I am hoping that whatever has happened has not disturbed and cannot disturb what is due to us because the Permanent Secretaries are there and are the Chief Executive Officers. I would like us to know what Parliament has done to pursue the promises that were made.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Even if everything was promised
during the Pre Budget Seminar in Victoria Falls, it was not going to be done in a week or so. Even those Permanent Secretaries were still waiting to know whether they would remain in those ministries or not. It is up until yesterday when they were told that they are going to continue with their duties. Can we be patient enough for a week or so, but as
Presiding Officers we are going to pursue whatever was promised.
HON. ZINDI: On a point of order. Madam Speaker, I am rising to request through you that we all as Members of Parliament, perhaps we could rise and say congratulations to His Excellency the President, Cde E. D. Mnangagwa. I thought perhaps you were going to do that yesterday. So, I noticed that it did not happen. I thought perhaps as Members of Parliament we could do that.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think we can bring in a proper motion which is tabled in the House where every Member will be accorded a chance to debate.
HON. ZINDI: I take note of that Madam Speaker, and I will move the motion.
HON. ADV.CHAMISA: Madam Speaker, I wish to draw your attention to Section 62 of the Constitution of the Republic of Zimbabwe in particular (1). Are you there Madam Speaker because I want to walk with you. It reads as follows:-
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Member, you
keep on talking and you are not even looking at the section which is being mentioned.
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: Thank you Madam Speaker. “Every Zimbabwean citizen or permanent resident including juristic persons in the Zimbabwean media has the right of access to any information held by the State of by any institution or agency of Government at every level in so far as information is required in the interest of public accountability. I draw your attention to this clause on behalf of other
Members of Parliament in the context of the appointment of Cabinet.
There has not been an official position from the Government and President of when this Cabinet is going to be announced. This is running contrary to the interest of public accountability. We are not saying we want him to appoint today or now, but there has to be a modicum and semblance of predictability and knowledge and information on the part of Members of Parliament, to say that there is going to be an appointment of Cabinet by such and such a time. I know that some of the members, particularly those who are expecting to be members of Cabinet from the other side are not sleeping – [Laughter] – I can assure your Hon. Speaker Maam, I know that – [HON. MEMBERS:
Inaudible interjections] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order.
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: I know that some are sleeping with one
eye open, some are jumping fires in the bundu there – [Laughter] – without clothing - trying to make it possible for them in terms of enhancement of their chances but that is their own effort. The key point is the constitutional infraction in terms of access and availability of information. My point is that is it not possible of us as Parliament, to send a message to the Government in line with the Constitution - that may we be availed with when the Cabinet is going to be announced, possibly the dates and hours, but there has to be a timeframe within which Parliament is going to be given who is who in the Cabinet.
This is so, because it is a requirement of the Constitution. This is information within the State and information by the Government because right now we have come and it is most likely that we are going to postpone this session because without Ministers there is no way we are going to obviously continue going to continue with this programme. So yes, there has to be clarity, I know that some may want to differ with this but this is a very clear position, it is a provision of the Constitution and clarity has to come from Government. My plea which is the plea of Members of Parliament, is that let there be clarity in terms of when Government is going to be constituted for purpose of planning within the corridors of Parliament. I thank you Hon. Speaker.
Hon. Samukange having stood up [HON. MEMBERS: Gara pasi,
she wants to make a ruling] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Samukange.
HON. SAMUKANGE: I want to make a submission but you
must hear me as well...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Samukange – [HON.
MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections] –
HON. SAMUKANGE: She is about to make a wrong ruling.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Can we have order Hon.
Members. Hon. Samukange, I think you wanted to help the Chair but I think that questions was referred to the Chair, I have to answer. If you have your own point of order I will give you a chance to do that.
Hon. Adv. Chamisa, your point of order is noted. I think it is very important but, I think after you have said so and since we were expecting Ministers in the House, your message or the message from Parliament will be sent to the President so that we will be in a position to get a proper announcement of whatever is taking place. Thank you very much.
MOTION
BUSINES OF THE HOUSE
HON. RUNGANI: Madam Speaker Ma’am, I move that since we
have no Ministers for questions and answers, we move to the Orders of the Day.
HON. MUKWANGWARIWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
SECOND REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
ON TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL
DEVELOPMENT ON THE INQUIRY INTO THE
TURNAROUND STRATEGY FOR THE CENTRAL
MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT DEPARTMENT
HON. NDUNA: I move the motion standing in my name;
That this House takes note of the Second Report of the Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructural Development on the Inquiry into the Turnaround Strategy for the Central Mechanical Equipment
Department.
HON. MAONDERA: I second.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. This is the
First Report of the Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructure Development on the strategic planning of the Central Mechanical Equipment Department (CMED). I will start with the introduction and then I will give the full report, including the other parts to Hansard for publication
1. Introduction
1.1 The Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructural
Development conducted an inquiry into the turnaround strategy for the Central Mechanical and Equipment Department (CMED). The enquiry was motivated by the realisation that most state owned enterprises in general and CMED in particular, which were created to be self- financing cash cows for Government under the Commercialisation Act of 2000, were dismally failing in this regard. As a result, instead of assisting the Government in raising revenue and delivering quality service, they were repeatedly turning to Government for bailouts and thus becoming heavy liabilities on the fiscus while service delivery continued to plummet to an all- time low.
1.2 For CMED in particular, the Committee was even more concerned with the inordinate delay in the conclusion of the botched fuel deal which had cost both the organization and the country a staggering
USD 2.7 million in taxpayers’ funds. The fact that such a serious case had taken over 3 years to finalise was a matter of grave concern for the Committee. In addition, the Committee noted that CMED was failing to effectively perform its mandate of providing transport and equipment hire services, procurement of vehicles on behalf of Government and fuel supply to Government. The Committee thus sought to establish how the Board and Management planned to revitalise CMED going forward through its strategic plan.
2.0 Submissions by the Board: Current State of CMED The Committee received the following submissions on the current state of CMED from the Board Members and Senior Management of
CMED.
2.1 The Fuel Business Unit
- The Fuel Business Unit was still to recover the USD 2.7million lost in the botched fuel deal. The matter was still before the courts.
- 21 service stations had been re-opened and were operational. However, the entity was finding it difficult to supply fuel consistently due to the prevailing economic challenges. This had resulted in most government departments withdrawing from CMED in terms of fuel procurement, especially in the face of stiff competition from other private suppliers such as Puma, Total and Engen.
- Attracting private partnerships in fuel importation was also proving difficult due to the prevailing cash constraints. Foreign investors were keen to invest in CMED but were being held back by uncertainty over whether they would be able to access their money from Zimbabwe.
2.2 Transport and Equipment Hire Unit
- CMED was owed over USD 24 million by Government through its various user Ministries.
- CMED was still owed USD 768 000 by ZEC for vehicles procured for use during the 2013 harmonised elections.
HON. MUDARIKWA: Point of order Hon. Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is the point of order?
HON. MUDARIKWA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I think
something must be done. This is a very important report but it is not there in our pigeon holes, it is there on his ipad. Can it be posted to our e-mail addresses because yesterday the same thing happened. How then do we debate when we are not informed?
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think usually after tabling
the report it is circulated in the pigeon holes. You should have downloaded it.
HON. MUDARIKWA: I checked, there is nothing.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think you can get it on the
Parliament website.
HON. MUDARIKWA: It is not there on the Parliament website, I have my tablet here.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: It is alright, we are going to
talk to the Chairperson so that it is circulated as soon as possible.
- HON. NDUNA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. During the
2013 harmonised elections, ZEC procured CMED vehicles worth US$768 000 and to date, that money has still not been paid. Thirdly, the department owned road construction equipment amongst them bulldozers. However, most of the equipment is rudimental, archaic, antiquated and obsolete and requires urgent replacement.
2.3 EasyGo Car Hire and Driver Training Unit
- EasyGo has established itself in the driver training business and attained ISO certification in 2014.
- The Unit operates a fleet of 98 driver training vehicles comprising of 2 buses, 22 lorries and 74 light vehicles and also has a private hire arm that provides transport logistics for all major government programmes and conferences.
- The Committee was informed that this unit was performing very well.
2.4 CMED Workshops
- CMED has workshops throughout the country where reconditioning of engines and repairs to vehicles are done.
- The workshops require urgent refurbishment and retooling if CMED is to continue delivering on its mandate.
3.0 Key Strategies to Improve Operational and Financial Performances
In order to enable CMED to effectively achieve its mandate in
2017 and beyond, which is about to come to an end Madam Speaker Ma’am; your report has far been overtaken by events and time. The following strategic initiatives would be undertaken:
3.1. Actively pursue public- private partnerships in the importation of 20 million litres of fuel in order to ensure that the 21 service stations are fully operational. The long-term objective was to open fully operational service stations throughout the country.
Hon. Maondera having been speaking to Hon. Chamisa
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Maondera. If you
want to talk to Hon. Chamisa, come close to him.
HON. NDUNA:
3.2. Engaging the RBZ and the Ministry of Finance to assure potential investors of a hassle- free return on investment.
3.3. Actively pursuing the recovery of the US$ 2.7 million that was lost through a botched fuel deal through legal channels and regaining confidence in the organisation by ensuring that anyone found guilty is brought to book without fear or favour immediately, because justice delayed is justice denied.
3.4. Continued engagement with Government over payment of the USD 24 million debt, including set- offs against CMED’s tax obligations.
3.5. Recovering outstanding debts through a vigorous debt collection exercise by 31 December, 2017.
3.6. Insisting on advance payment for repairs and servicing of motor vehicles, in particular, Government vehicles and road construction services in order to generate revenue for CMED
3.7. Mobilising funds for recapitalisation of vehicles and equipment through mortgage loans by the end of 2017.
3.8. Streamlining the organisation in line with the current operating environment.
3.9. Enhancing the corporate governance index through openness and transparency.
4.0 Committee’s Observations
4.1 The Committee observed, with satisfaction, that despite being owed huge amounts of money by Government, the current board has proactively resolved to pursue other revenue generating initiatives such as vehicle service and repairs of private organisations’ vehicles instead of just Government institutions, cars and equipment hire.
4.2 The engagement of the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance needed to be expedited if CMED was to guarantee safe investment and policy consistency to foreign investors who are desirous to partner the organization in fuel importation.
4.3 The Committee also noted with concern that the matter of the botched fuel deal was taking too long to conclude. In addition, the fact that some of the officials involved in the fuel scam were still very much an integral part of the company’s structures did not augur well for the integrity and credibility of the organisation and was likely to put off potential investors.
4.4 While the Committee acknowledged the prevailing budgetary constraints, the payment of the debt owed to CMED by Government using the set-offs meant that no cash was accruing to CMED to fund strategic operational issues.
5.0 Recommendations
5.1 The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the Ministry of Finance and
Economic Development must be urgently engaged before the end of June 2017, to guarantee protection of investors willing to partner CMED in fuel importation. I say this because your report was supposed to have been tabled way before June 2017. However, it is thought that it should be done almost immediately, expeditiously – that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development be engaged in order that they ameliorate the issues that currently bedevil the economic development of CMED and Government in general.
5.2 Government must, as much as is possible and within the limits of the prevailing resource constraints, stagger payments of the debt to CMED per quarter to ensure that the organisation is liquid enough to fund critical operations.
5.3 The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development must grant CMED a stake, like other indigenous companies, in major infrastructural development projects such as the dualisation of the
Beitbridge- Chirundu highway.
5.4 The Committee reiterates its clarion call for the ‘Fuelgate Scandal’ to be urgently concluded and for the culprits to be brought to book. It would have been prudent for all those fingered in the matter to be suspended from duty pending finalisation of the case.
5.5 In view of the competitive nature of the fuel industry, CMED must benchmark itself against private suppliers such as Puma and Total and adopt best practices from the same if their operations are to be sustainable.
5.6 As a commercial entity, CMED must actively pursue strategic alliances with successful players in the industry if it is to remain viable by end of September 2017.
5.7 The employment contracts of CMED top official must not be open ended, it should be limited at most to five years and must be renewed based on performance.
5.8 The ZEC Electoral body who are responsible for conducting elections in 2018, should expeditiously liquidate their $768 000 debt with CMED in order to open further lines of assistance from CMED.
5.9 A Forensic audit is required on fuel business unit before any funds to the tune of USD24 million can be injected into the unit.
5.10 Modernize and computerise the equipment in the CMED workshops in order to address the issue of rudimental and antiquated pieces of machinery by end of December 2017.
5.0 Conclusion
5.1 The Committee remains convinced that the CMED provides a viable means of consistent revenue generation to the government and people of Zimbabwe. The proactive initiatives taken by the organisation in a bid to remain viable such as Easy Go car hire and driving school, have proven to be strategic masterstrokes which must be applauded. However, the Committee remains unconvinced that sufficient structural and organisational controls have been put in place to prevent the recurrence of revenue leakages exemplified by the yet to be concluded fuel scam. These internal controls need to be urgently instituted if the current leadership is to succeed in increasing the corporate governance index as envisaged in their strategic plan and successfully attracting both local and foreign investors. I thank you Madam Speaker ma’am and I
table this strategic report.
HON. ENG. MUDZURI: Thank you Madam Speaker ma’am. I
rise to second the report by the Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructural Development. It is unfortunate that we are making this debate in the Minister’s absence who should take note of the report and probably be able to implement the recommendations that have been given forthwith.
From what was said by the Committee Chairperson, it is clear that the CMED is a necessary section of Government that should be doing its mandate of repairing cars for Government. It has had several anomalies where some of the money has not been paid and that money is outstanding to CMED. We hope that Government takes expeditious steps to pay CMED to ensure that it operates efficiently and ensure that all its operations are above board. However, it is important to note that it has taken more than three years to – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: You may proceed Hon.
Member – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Yes, this is what happens every day.
HON. ENG. MUDZURI: Thank you Madam Speaker ma’am...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order Hon. Members,
may we please listen to the debate?
HON. ENG. MUDZURI: Thank you Madam Speaker ma’am. I
think that I cannot even hear myself from the noise, so I am asking you to put your House in order.
The time that has been spent by CMED and Government to resolve the almost $3 million fuel deal that ended up with money going into individuals pockets has never been resolved and it is a worry to our
Committee that, why is Government not pushing for the resolution of that $3 million deal and probably ensure that all the culprits who have been found as being the cooperative entities in stealing the money are removed from Government. We are looking up to Government to ensure that they clear that anomaly. We have had people being thrown out of office for having given evidence to this Committee and I do not remember the situation being resolved where certain members or an individual who gave the Committee most of the evidence having been removed from office. I think it is not fair for Parliament to keep quiet when a member who comes to give evidence to Parliament is not protected. I want to appeal to my Chairman to ensure that we ask the Speaker of Parliament to look into this issue where one member has been sacked for giving evidence. This also helps Parliament to ensure that all the people who come from outside to give evidence in
Parliament are sure that they are protected by Parliament.
Without much ado, I propose that we take all the recommendations from our Committee and the Minister makes sure that he delivers on these recommendations and ensures that CMED works as efficiently as expected, especially with the new Government that is coming. I thank you.
HON. GABBUZA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I just want to add
my voice in support of the report but particularly, I want to look at the recommendations put forward by the Committee.
Mr. Speaker, CMED is a private company and being a private company, if you look at the Committee’s recommendations clearly, the problems of CMED boarder on mismanagement by management and
Government on the parastatal, abuse of the parastatal by Government. If you look at the various recommendations, literally the Committee is saying, we would rather manage CMED because the managers are failing. How do you tell the accountant that you must be able to collect money in advance instead of repairing vehicles then you are paid later? That is purely an administrative issue which CMED must be able to make recommendations and come up with money, but if they have to wait for the Committee Chairperson to recognise that some of the things are purely moving the company into loss, it means there is no management at CMED.
When you look at the way Government abuses CMED, there is no way CMED can make money. Ministers service their vehicles and do not pay; Ministers hire buses for political rallies through the small fleet that CMED runs and nobody pays, Government gets pays and abuses the fuels yet Ministers are given coupons to redeem to CMED but they do not redeem; they just use the fuel and get away. I think in summary, it is either we have CMED as a private company and have Government to back off, then that company must compete with all other companies. It is not the Committee’s business to go and make recommendations about administration but clearly, they had to do it because there is no administration system in place. I think Mr. Speaker; it is either that we make a bold decision since there is a new Government in place or CMED should be disbanded because it is serving no purpose at all other than assisting some people to abuse the system within the CMED.
CMED is supposed to be a private company, there are private players. Ordinary people can take their vehicles to be repaired at CMED and charged economic rates. If they do private jobs then the money goes into their pockets. Why should we have an entity which is supposed to assist Government but assisting management and special members?
CMED is supposed to be assisting Government but it is assisting individuals within Government and individuals outside Government who have nothing to do with State duties. Now, CMED has a branch which runs the driving schools but if you look at the rates that they are charging – an ordinary driving lesson on the street or any other private company is about $5 per 30 minutes yet CMED would charge about $3 per 30 minutes. When you are buying the fuel at the same market for the same suppliers and you charge those ridiculous rates, there is no way you can make profit at all.
Now, there is the loss control within CMED. Why should it take
Parliament to recommend for the chasing up of debts yet there is a Loss
Control department within CMED which must be chasing out debtors day in and day out. So, Mr. Speaker, I think issues about CMED, it is one good entity where it is just providing a feeding trough for various well connected people within Government and outside Government.
I think this is a report that we must support. If possible, let us put all other parastatals together with CMED and have a thorough investigation of what needs to be done because they are just an unnecessary burden to the tax payers.
HON. MUDARIKWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I would like to
basically deal with the issue of fuel first. Our problem as a country is that we have too many parastatals. How can we have a Government department running 20 service stations and we say this is a parastatal and then there is also another Government department called Petro Trade which is also involved in the selling of fuel. Why can we not have Petro Trade and CMED establish one unit? At least they will get a fair share of the market rather than having Petrol Trade standing there and CMED is there with its 20 service stations?
Mr. Speaker Sir, the issue of $2, 7 million which have been mentioned, that thing has gone for years. It is now more than three years; people are talking about that money. Technically, if you owe somebody for more than three years, the money is prescribed. Once you exceed three years, you cannot claim the money. So, why should we waste time talking about this $2, 7 million; it is no longer there. The people who committed the crimes are there and walking freely in the streets of Harare. Now, if you want to take legal action to recover the money, they will just tell you the money is prescribed because it is now over three years.
Mr. Speaker Sir, the issue of fuel, there is too much smuggling of fuel in this country and we have to look at it as Parliament to see how we can stop it. If you go to Mutare, you get fuel being sold at less than a dollar per litre because it is smuggled across the border from
Mozambique. The other day I went to Mutare, they were selling diesel at 50 cents a litre because they just wanted to recover money to go and buy diesel in Mozambique.
I am glad that Hon. Members raised this at the Budget consultations in Victoria Falls - why is it that our fuel is too expensive?
If the price was good, nobody would want to go and buy smuggled fuel.
Our fuel is very expensive. Comparing the distances between Beira to Harare, Beira to Lusaka and to Lubumbashi, you find there is cheaper fuel in Lubumbashi which is over 700km away yet we are only 300 km from Beira. Our fuel is still very expensive.
The idea of raising money using fuel is wrong because then, every businessman will end up adding the costs and the viability of the mining sector, of the farmers the transport industry is affected because of the cost of fuel. I can see Hon. Mupfumi is smiling because he is one of the people in the transport business.
Finally, CMED’s issue of maintaining Government vehicles, they have top of the range motor mechanics. They need to import modern diagnosis machine where you just plug in and it will tell you the problem is there. They now need the support of the Reserve Bank to import that modern equipment.
The issue of driving school is very good because there is now an improvement on our roads. At one time Government was number one leading in accidents. However, this time around there is an improvement. So, the CMED must continue with the driving school. The vehicle hire - they have got the most efficient vehicle hire and they must continue with that issue.
The CMED buses are also very efficient when hired. So, it is an area which our Government must support. Reserve Bank must give them all the support so that they manage an area they know, not to the extent they have gone of service stations.
CMED must also decentralise. We need them in our provincial areas with full equipment. There are some workers who were retrenched in CMED. It is important that those workers are given their terminal benefits and they continue assisting other transporters in maintaining their vehicles. I thank you.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER
VISITORS IN THE SPEAKER’S GALLERY
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MUTOMBA): I have
to acknowledge the presence in the Speakers Gallery, students and teachers from Coghlan Primary School in Bulawayo Province –[HON.
MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – You are most welcome. I thank you.
HON. RUNGANI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. MUKWANGWARIWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 30th November, 2017.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON WOMEN
AFFAIRS, GENDER AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ON THE
WOMEN DEVELOPMENT FUND (WDF) PROJECTS HON. NYAMUPINGA: I move the motion standing in my name
that this House takes note of the Report of the Portfolio Committee on Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development on the Women
Development Fund (WDF) projects.
HON. CHIRISA: I second.
HON. NYAMUPINGA:
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development, since 2010, has been disbursing loans earmarked for women projects in all provinces of the country. In line with its oversight function, the Portfolio Committee on Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development, conducted provincial field visits to verify the existence and viability of the projects funded by the Women Development Fund (WDF). The visits were conducted from 7 to 11 May 2017.This report provides the Committees' major observations, submissions, findings, conclusions and recommendations.
2.0 OBJECTIVES OF THE VISITS
During the inquiry, the Committee was guided by the following objectives:
- To verify the existence of the projects funded by the WDF since
2010;
- To assess the viability of the projects, their impact on beneficiaries' livelihoods, and challenges being experienced in running the projects; and
- To find out the loan repayment status from the beneficiary groups, and challenges being experienced by both the Ministry and the women groups.
3.0 METHODOLOGY
The Committee held meetings with the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development and reference was made to the Women Development Fund. On 19 July 2016, the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community
Development submitted its First and Second Quarter Budget Performance reports. On 22 February 2017, the ministry made another presentation to the Committee on other initiatives they had put in place for women empowerment over and above the WDF such as the establishment of Mambokadzi, a private company for women. To gather information on the state of the projects, the Committee visited six provinces. The following provinces, districts and women projects were visited: Midlands,
Gweru District (Tsungai Group – bee keeping; Splash Touch
Group – horticulture; Zvinoita chete group – sewing; EC
Headmaster Group – produces hats); Bulawayo Metropolitan
Province (Mzilikazi District - Passionate Alms of Children
ECD); Matebeleland North Province, (Umguza District -Tshiya
So Group – General Dealer); Matabeleland South Province
(Umguza District – Nyamas Group – Poultry); Masvingo
Province (Mwanyisa Dorothy-Peanut Butter Production); Manicaland Province (Chimanimani District – Safari Group – uniform and garment making; Mutare District -Great Ladies
Group – Timber Production; Anenyasha Women's Diamond –
Tying and Dying); Mashonaland East Province (Marondera District -Sunrise Group – Rabbit Production; Little Angels –
ECD).
4.0 BACKGROUND
Gender equality and the economic empowerment of women are crucial components of sustainable and socially equitable development. Development of a revolving fund for women has always been at the core of women economic empowerment programmes. Even the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) which was established in 1976 in conjunction with the United Nations Decade for Women (1976 – 85), was aimed at giving financial and technical assistance in critical areas, including reducing women’s poverty. Affirmative actions, such as gender budgeting initiatives and women development fund, are critical in promoting women economic empowerment and financial inclusion. WDF, among other things, increases women’s access to economic resources, job opportunities, financial services, property and other productive assets.
The National Gender Policy (2013 – 2017) stipulates that Zimbabwe recognises that economic growth programmes should target women. As such, the economic empowerment of women has become a key priority for the Government of Zimbabwe to achieve sustainable economic growth. Further to that, the policy stresses that notable progress towards women’s economic empowerment include among others, establishment of a
Women’s Fund, launched in 2010, and supported by Treasury .
Although the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and
Community Development’s budget allocation has been always less than 1% of the National Budget, the ministry has made attempts to empower women. It has disbursed more than US$2 million of funds to women group projects in the ten provinces:
US$ 245 000 was disbursed in 2013; US$350 000 in 2014; and
US$300 000 was allocated but not disbursed in 2016. In 2017 the Treasury allocated US$ 600 000 to the revolving fund under WDF and has not been released.
Micro-finance, including micro-credits, which women development fund facility provides, is considered an instrument that promotes effective women empowerment. Experience, according to UNDP, however, has shown that giving women micro-finance credits is not a silver bullet. Whilst it can stabilise livelihoods, broaden choices, provide start-up funds for productive investment, help poor people send children to school, it can also lead to indebtedness and increased exclusion, unless programmes are well-designed. Providing supplementary services, such as training, working through groups rather than individuals, or alongside other investments, has been shown to increase women’s direct control over resource. To graduate women’s income-generating activities from survival level into strong and viable businesses, women need access to the full range of credit, banking and financial services and facilities, essential to fully develop their productive assets.
5.0 FINDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE
5.1 The State of Women Development Fund (WDF) (2010
to 2017).
Your Committee, was pleased to note that despite receiving less than 1% of national budget annually, the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community development has disbursed funds to various women group projects under the WDF facility as highlighted below.
PROVINCE | NUMBER OF
PROJECTS |
YEAR | AMOUNT
($) |
Midlands | 46 | 2010 | 52 600 |
54 | 2012 | 100 600 | |
56 | 2013 | 87 400 | |
53 | 2014 | 61 000 | |
Masvingo | 42 | 2010 | 58 100 |
48 | 2012 | 110 700 | |
51 | 2013 | 62 000 | |
38 | 2014 | 39 447.09 | |
8 | 2015 | 7 707.45 | |
Mat North | 45 | 2010 | 56 890 |
31 | 2012 | 87 787 | |
29 | 2013 | 51 500 | |
45 | 2014 | 81 117 |
Your Committee is however concerned that there were many women groups that applied and qualified to get funding but could not get the loan due to funds shortages. The Committee also observed cases of poor or inequitable distribution of the available funds. A case in point is in Masvingo province where one group into mining project, got funding to the tune of US$12 000. The project was no longer viable and they were failing to repay loan. The amount, if fairly distributed could have benefited many deserving groups rather than one group.
In addition, the Committee was concerned that WDF provision and disbursement was rather little and erratic, respectively. The Committee was informed that for 2016 the fund was allocated (US$300 000) but not released by the Treasury. As of February 2017 the US$600 000 earmarked for the revolving fund had not been disbursed as well. This left many women groups, especially those in rural areas without access to credit facilities.
5.2 Women Development Fund Awareness and
Information Dissemination
Your Committee was concerned about the methodologies used by the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development to disseminate information about the WDF facility to women. The Committee was informed that the Ministry uses its Ward Development Coordinators, yet there is critical shortage of these officers on the ground. The Committee was further informed that the Ministry also makes use of public meetings and gatherings, such as the 16 Days of Activism, to announce information about the WDF availability and disbursement. The Committee is of the opinion that the medium of communication used to communicate WDF facility to women cannot fully reach out to the majority of deserving women in both rural and urban areas. This was confirmed during fact finding public meetings in
Bulawayo Metropolitan Province, Nkulumane Township and Manicaland Province in the city of Mutare.
In both provinces, women expressed ignorance and lack of information about the WDF in terms of where to get information and where to submit their applications for the loans. It is the view of the Committee that the state of WDF communication has been and will continue to benefit the few well connected groups of women while the majority marginalized women will continue to be excluded from benefiting from the fund. This is totally against the letter and spirit of the National Gender Policy (2013 – 2017) recognition of the need for broad inclusion of women and participation of women in the economy - the Womenomics.
5.3 Women Development Fund Beneficiary Selection
Criteria and Transparency
The Committee made the observation that the processing and selection of WDF beneficiaries lack basic principles of openness and transparency. The submissions made to the
Committee by the Ministry officials was that the selection of
WDF beneficiaries involve the following: (i) Ward Development
Coordinators; (ii) the Ward Loans Committee (WLC); (iii) District Loans Committee; (iv) Loans Technical Committee ; (v) representatives from different sections of the community.
However, submissions made to the Committee in Bulawayo
Metropolitan Province; Masvingo Province; Manicaland Province in Mutare; and Mashonaland East in Marondera indicated that all the processing is done at the Head Office without involving local ward coordinators of women representatives. In Masvingo, at Rodger Howman Training Center, the Committe was informed that the provincial office was directed to recommend specific group of women which was later to be awarded a loan of US$12 000 - a loan which they are now failing to repay.
In Mashonaland East Province, Marondera town, Government Complex, the Committee was informed that there were women groups which were approved and given WDF loans at the Head Office in Harare without making applications through ward coordinators. In Matebeleland South Province, Matobo District, the Committee was informed that even the ministry officials, were not immediately aware of who is selected by the Head Office, until Post Office communicates with the members of the selected group. In fact, the Committee was informed that there were cases, in Matobo District, in which groups fail to collect loans given to them, as Post Office fails to contact them due to communication challenges in the district. At the same time, the Ministry officials could not assist since they also did not have information. The view of the Committee is that the selection process is too opaque, centralized and dominated by the Head Office, and also excludes both representatives of women at local levels as well as the ward coordinators.
5.4 Women Development Fund Projects Viability
The basis on which WDF beneficiaries selection criteria remains very unclear to the Committee considering the high number of projects that were found to be non-viable and nonfunctional for one reason or the other. A list of projects given to the Committee in Mashonaland East Province; Bulawayo
Metropolitan for Mbizo District, Reigate District, and Khami District; as well as for Mutare District in Manicaland Province, reflected that most projects were no longer functional. Most of these projects were also failing to pay back the loans. The reasons highlighted in the Ministry documents as the cause of the collapse of the groups include but not limited to the following: group members after getting the loan share the fund and separate; internal squabbles and disintegration of the group; the project proved non-viable due to lack of competence of members and market related challenges; passing on of members or getting out of the country.
It is the view of the Committee that the Ministry does not carry out adequate project proposal vetting before beneficiary selection and WDF disbursement. As a result, a lot of beneficiaries whose project proposals do not qualify to be given loan end up getting the funds. In fact, it appeared apparent to the Committee that groups are just formed for the purpose of getting funds and nothing is pursued after getting the cash. This unfortunate scenario seems to go unchecked due to gross inadequate or complete lack of project monitoring and evaluation by the Ministry.
5.5 WDF Repayment Status
The Committee was further dismayed that the WDF repayment status in most provinces is critically low, except in
Masvingo and Midlands Province. Documents submitted to the Committee as well as submissions made during the fact finding exercise reveal the following WDF repayment rate in the following provinces: Masvingo 80%; Midlands Province 60%; Mashonaland East was 45%; Matebeleland North 29%; and Matebeland South Province 24%. The Committee was further concerned that the Ministry was not doing enough to recover the loan from the women groups, except receiving payment plan and rescheduling of the repayment plans as reported to the
Committee in Chimanimani and Marondera districts.
In Chimanimani, the Committee was informed by one group that it was no longer able to repay its loan, because it was also owed US$8 000-00 by Wattle Company, which had also folded up its operations. It is the concern of the Committee that the
Ministry is not fully engaging the Wattle Company to assist the women project to recover this huge amount it is owed by the company.
5.6 Ministry Capacity to Monitor and Evaluate
Women Projects
Your Committee observed that the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development is severely incapacitated to effectively monitor women’s projects at grass roots level by the shortage of ward development coordinators’. In Manicaland, Mutare, the Committee was informed that regulations were that Ward Coordinators should visit WDF projects monthly, and the District and Provincial
Development Officers should visit the projects quarterly. However, the Committee was further informed that this was not feasible due to shortage of personnel. Mutare with 55 districts had only 34 ward development coordinators and reported that it had been advised to downsize to 29. The Committee was informed that Umguza District, with 19 wards had not even one ward development coordinator until April 2017 when it was given 5 officers transferred from Bulawayo Metropolitan Province. The Committee was further told that the number of Ward Development Coordinators is being reduced in most districts as part and parcel of the rationalization process currently going on in the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development.
5.7 Availability of Transport for Monitoring and Evaluation
All the provinces and districts visited by the Committee, it was reported that there were no vehicles or cycles for WDF projects. In Umguza District, Matebeleland South, the Committee was told that the district relies for its mobility on one vehicle from the Public Service Commission. In fact, in most if not all projects visited, the Committee had to use its on vehicle to transport both Ministry officials and project members. The Committee is of the view that with the shortage of Ward Development Coordinators being experienced, and the total lack of vehicles for the project, the Ministry does not have the capacity to fully monitor its projects. This means that the WDF is likely to continue to be abused until measures are put in place to rectify the anomaly.
5.8 WDF Interest Rates
The Committee observed that most projects were struggling with the interests that were charged on the loans that they borrowed. The Committee was informed by Peoples Own Savings Bank (P.O.S.B) authorities which administers the fund on behalf of the Ministry, that the interest rate charged on WDF loan is 10% per annum. However, the Committee noted with dismay that a considerable number of projects failing to repay loans now owe the Ministry more than the funds that they were originally given. This is against the duplum rule which is a common law rule that provides that arrear interest ceases to accrue once the sum of the unpaid (accrued) interest equals the amount of capital outstanding at the time (and not the amount of capital originally advanced). "In duplum" directly translates to "double the amount". The Committee was again worried about the level of poor record keeping and communication pertaining loan repayments. This was reflected by the differences between records on outstanding balances as reported by
Ministry officials, and the payment receipts held by project members.
The Committee was further concerned about many cases of project accounts which continue to accrue interests when the repayment of the loan has been finalised.
6.0 CONCLUSION
In view of the evidence that your Committee gathered the following were the major conclusions made. Firstly, the Ministry's information dissemination does not reach out the majority of women in both rural and urban centres. As a result, the WDF will continue to benefit only the few well connected groups of women, who are already empowered in their own right, while the majority marginalized women will remain excluded from the fund. Second, the processing and selection of WDF beneficiaries is too centralized and opaque as it seems to exclude key stakeholders listed in the procedure, which are: Ward Loans Committee (WLC) which should include special groups; District Loans Committee (DLC); and the Provincial Loans Committee (PLC). Third, considering that most WDF are reported non-functional, and that their repayment status is critically low in some provinces, compounded by shortages personnel and vehicles, the fund is most likely to fail to produce any meaningful impact on the livelihoods of women in communities.
However, your Committee was pleased to note that despite receiving less than 1% of national budget, the Ministry, since 2010 has made effort to disburse loans worth more than US$ 2 million under the WDF. Be that as it may, the conclusion of the Committee was that the fund is still very little and thin on the ground, since a lot of women projects did not get a chance to get funding since 2010.
7.0 COMMITTEE OBSERVATIONS
- The Committee noted that there is critical shortage of Ward Development Coordinators.
- That the processing and selection of WDF beneficiaries lacked basic principles of openness and transparency.
- That the WDF beneficiary selection process is too opaque, centralized and dominated by the Head Office.
- That the Ministry does not carry out adequate project proposal vetting before beneficiary selection and WDF disbursement resulting in undeserving applicants qualifying.
- That the Ministry does not have capacity to fully monitor its projects.
- That there is poor record keeping and communication pertaining to loan repayments.
8.0 RECOMMENDATIONS
- That the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development should overhaul its WDF communication and information delivery strategy to ensure that all communities get full information about the loan availability and how and where to make their applications for loans. Ward Development Coordinators should be visible on the ground and effectively deliver information on WDF to all women in all communities in a non-partisan manner. Ward Development Coordinators should have adequate and accurate information about WDF application, processing, and selection of approved projects proposals, to avoid non-collection of loans by selected women groups due to lack of information by September 2017.
- That the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development with immediate effect should improve the openness and transparency in the selection of WDF beneficiaries through strictly adherence to its procedure of selection criteria which fully involves the participation of the following stakeholders: Ward
Loans Committee (WLC) which should include special groups;
District Loans Committee (DLC); and the Provincial Loans Committee (PLC).
- That the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development should with immediate effect stop disbursing funds under WDF and immediately carry out an audit and evaluation of all projects funded under WDF since 2010 to ascertain their viability status. WDF is a revolving fund, it is critical that the Ministry ensures that all the projects owing it should be made to make their payments urgently. This will enable other groups,
which have been waiting for financial assistance, to benefit from the same fund.
- That the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development and P.O.S.B authorities should enforce the duplum rule while at the same time meet and review the interests that are charged WDF beneficiaries before disbursement of funds for 2017. Given that the aim of the WDF, which is a government facility, is to empower the economically marginalized women in communities, the interest rates should be revised downwards and should immediately seize on completion of loan repayment. This will give the Ministry guarantee that the WDF facility will not end up taking more from the marginalized women it is supposed to empower.
- That the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development should urgently boost its resources allocation towards the WDF, especially increased provisions of personnel (ward development coordinators) and vehicles, among other things. This will go a long way in ensuring that the projects are properly monitored and evaluated, make these projects succeed, ensure the loans are repaid, and so more and more women groups will benefit in the medium to long term.
- To graduate WDF projects from survival level into strong and viable businesses, the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development and P.O.S.B should jointly provide full range of financial services and facilities, including training and capacity building of project members, essential to fully develop their competences and project productive assets by December 2017. I thank you.
HON. CHIRISA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I just want to debate on the report on Women Development Fund managed by the
Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development. Women represent plus or minus 70% of the world’s poor and this is due to unequal access to economic opportunities. There is a link between poverty alleviation and the development of a country.
Although economic progress can improve the status of women, it is also true that a country cannot sustainably develop if its women are left behind. Focusing on women in the provision of credit assistance can achieve more economic growth than gender neutral policies. Investing in women and girls in their education, health and access to assets and jobs has a multiplier effect on productivity, efficiency and sustained economic growth.
Mr. Speaker Sir, the commitment by the Government to empower women and end gender inequalities is explicit in Sustainable
Development Goals, especially Goal Number 5 (formerly MDG 3). The gender dimension of poverty focuses on the dilemma of women, their numerous roles as women and their role in dealing with poverty. In many developing countries, Zimbabwe included, women are discriminated upon in terms of their access to capital means of production; basic needs support, employment opportunities and access to
credit facilities.
In Zimbabwe, like in many developing countries, empowering women through micro-credit finance is viewed as a means of reducing women’s poverty, empowering them, reducing their vulnerability and improving their well-being especially in the rural areas. The MWAGCD has two major programmes under the Women Empowerment Project and these are the Women Micro Finance and the Women Development Bank
(WDF). Women and girls constitute plus or minus 52% of the country’s population, and their poverty level is worse than that of men as clear gender disparities in education, employing opportunities and decisionmaking power exist. Women are the poorest of the poor since poverty war first recognised.
The Government of Zimbabwe, through the Ministry of WAGCD set up a Women Development Fund. This fund was set up to assist women who were already entrepreneurs and those who wanted to start income generating projects. The objective of the fund has been highlighted by my Chairperson and this is to empower and capacitate disadvantaged women by providing collateral free loans.
The provision of such credit schemes by the Government of Zimbabwe is in line with the global practice. There are many examples of micro credit finance globally, however, the most prominent ones include; Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, discussion of micro credit schemes borrows much from the success of the Grameen Bank and the success of the same bank which is based in Bangladesh.
This model has been replicated not only in Bangladesh, but in many countries across the globe including Zimbabwe. However, the major handicap with WDF is that the amount of money given is small and that it was employed in isolation hence the need to have complementary initiatives such as capacity building and market networking among others.
My Chairperson has alluded to the amount that was given to the Ministry between January and April – about US$200 000 and we do not know as a Committee whether this amount was disbursed or it was just an amount on paper. If you look at our country, the 10 provinces and the amount that was allocated to Women Development Fund, it is just a drop in the ocean.
Micro credit schemes come as a reaction strategy to the failure by many development intervention strategies to include women in planning and implementation. The aim of this approach is to enable women to earn direct income thereby giving them a voice in the community and enabling them to participate in the public sphere and in decision making processes. The micro financing is an attempt to improve access to small deposits and loans for poor households especially women neglected by the banks and other formal financial institutions.
The problem, Mr. Speaker Sir, is that WDF allocation is just a mockery to the women of Zimbabwe. While the micro credit scheme has become one of the recognised tools of addressing women’s poverty in Zimbabwe, its successes hinges on the following:-
- There is need to increase the allocation of the fund by the
Treasury.
- There is also need to make sure of the viability of the project that women are embarking on.
- There is also need to increase on the amount of loans for meaningful projects to happen.
- There is need for capacity building in project planning and management and also marketing skills training for beneficiaries. Some of the beneficiaries were given the loans before any training was done and this resulted in these projects failing.
- The repayment of loans by beneficiaries as this is also a revolving fund.
When the women repay the loans, the money is supposed to be passed on to the next group of women but this is not happening because the repayment is done haphazardly or it is not done at all.
The challenges that this fund is facing is that the women who are given the small amounts are then coming across expensive inputs and equipment to run their projects. The small amounts given to beneficiaries not enough and they end up diverting those funds to other activities even buying basic needs in the home. There is lack of training to run and manage projects. In some cases where they use electricity, there is shortage of electricity and in the urban areas, there is also problems of water because there are water cuts by the city councils without informing the women.
The other challenge is the distance to market and the transport costs involved. The losses due to competition with other marketers and also the sustainability of projects due to the challenges that I have raised above. This also affects the loan repayments. There is also pressure to the recipients resulting in added social costs causing the poor women to be indebted rather than helping them out of poverty. The project also has even driven the poor women to take loans from local shark money lenders just to be able to pay back the micro-finance loans.
Mr. Speaker Sir, in conclusion, I would like to say assessing the effectiveness of the Women Development Fund and in the empowerment of women and the alleviation of poverty, in some cases it caused the poor women to be indebted rather than helping them out of poverty. Some beneficiaries are failing to repay the fund due to lack of profit and savings from the income generating projects and in some instances, it has even driven the poor women to take loans and borrowing from other local loan lenders and local shark money lenders just to be able to pay back the micro-finance loans and to repay the Woman Development Fund.
The Ward Coordinators from the Ministry of Women’s Affairs were of the view that most groups failed to repay the loans because the money was too much to repay since some groups dissolved as soon as the projects experienced problems.
It can be concluded that WDF is less effective in empowering women and there are changes that need to be effected to improve its impacts. One such is to train people on how to run businesses. I think the Ministry should not do things haphazardly; they should sit down, plan, implement, monitor and evaluate. I thank you.
HON. MANGAMI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, may I also thank
the Committee on coming up with this brilliant report on their findings on the enquiry on the use of the monies allocated to womens groups. May I first of all look at the importance of giving women money with low interest rates? The women’s projects are very small such that if the interest is high, they will definitely fail to repay, so it is important that for those small projects, low interest rates are charged to women in order for them to be successful. The idea that is coming up with our micro-finances and all those who are lending money to women, the group lending idea, whilst it is good for the lenders, it is very bad for women because monitoring each other is every difficult hence it becomes difficult for them to repay the loans. Whenever they make such group lendings, it is better that each person, since the project will be different – that one gets her own monies that are specifically to yourself, rather than monitoring other women which is a very difficult scenario.
Mr. Speaker Sir, apart from these monies that are being given to women through the current WDF that has given money to women, banks are also supposed to give loans to women with very low interest rates.
In reference to the latest Act that was passed through this Parliament, the Act on Movable Property Security Interest Bill. It is not assisting women much because properties that women have are not registered under their names. Hence it cannot be used as collateral to secure loans – so I think money coming from Government should largely be given to women and then conditions should be loosened so that each project for the different types of groups of women is allocated some funds.
Then let us look at the actual projects that some of these women are being given i.e. the peanut butter project for example. Where the peanut butter costs a dollar or five Rand and one is expected to make miracles within a short period of time. It is important that they are given a grace period in order for them to accumulate profit rather than having just two months before one is asked to repay – where will one have got the profit to pay back? As a result, it is merely planning to fail, they are being made to plan to fail. Why is it not that they are given adequate time for them to realise profit before paying back because their projects are very small. Then we also have the issue of those who would want to venture into business for the first time. They are asked to satisfy the bank that they are able, they are left with very little option rather than to sit back and say we are not able. So I think that there must be a different strategy when we are looking to the women groups. They are already disadvantaged in an environment where their male counterparts have been accumulating then these women are now in the same group and are expected to behave in the same way. So, it is important that these women are treated differently.
Later on when these people fail to pay, they are asked to pay back even for those who were able to pay within the group. I feel Mr. Speaker Sir, by so doing we are disempowering those who might prosper in terms of the profits that they might have accumulated.
In conclusion, I have two suggestions that can be made to improve womens groups, especially when they get bank loans. Currently, we have two ministries, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development is not being given much for on-lending. We are very much aware that SMEDCO as part of Government can give cheap money to women but is not capacitated to do so. As a result, there is not much money left for women and in order for Government to improve on the funding, it must be monitored. Currently, we have got this $90 million that came through the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Co-operative Development.
Again all the takings that women are making, very little progress has been made. More information should be availed through all those Government ministries such that when the information is given, women are able to access and make use of such information. Currently, it is expected that they will listen from the radios mostly and read newspapers which is a privilege of the few who reside in urban areas. At home, newspapers do not get there very easily and as a result there is not much information concerning funds that are being given to women. So I appeal to Government to look at women within the rural areas who have been disadvantaged and are not even getting some of these monies so that they can also access this money when they are informed. I thank you.
HON. RUNGANI: Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. MPARIWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 30th November, 2017.
On the motion of HON. RUNGANI seconded by HON.
MPARIWA, the House adjourned at Five Minutes past Four o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 21st November, 2017
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. SPEAKER
NOTICE OF MOTION FOR REMOVAL OF THE PRESIDENT
FROM OFFICE
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Honourable Members,
The Chair wishes to inform the House that today, 21 November 2017, Presiding Officers received a notice of motion to remove the
President from Office as prescribed in Section 97 of the Constitution of
Zimbabwe. The mover of the motion is Hon. Senator Mutsvangwa, seconded by Hon Maridadi. In terms of both substantive and procedural compliance, I have found the motion to be admissible. As you may all be aware, this motion is unprecedented in the history of post-Independence Zimbabwe. In this regard, therefore, and pursuant to the need to guide the proceedings accordingly, the Chair shall outline the fundamental rules of procedure that will be used in dealing with the motion.
2.0 REMOVAL OF THE PRESIDENT FROM OFFICE
The Constitution of Zimbabwe, as the supreme law of the Republic of Zimbabwe as enunciated in Section 2 of the same, provides as follows:
- This Constitution is the supreme law of Zimbabwe and any law, practice, custom or conduct inconsistent with it is invalid to the extent of the inconsistency.
- The obligations imposed by this Constitution are binding on every person, natural or juristic, including the State and all Executive, Legislative and Judicial institutions and agencies of Government at every level, and must be fulfilled by them.
In view of the above, the President of the Senate and myself have agreed that all processes shall be done in a manner which recognises the values of constitutional supremacy, legality and the rule of law. As such, the Chair shall proceed to outline what the law enumerates before outlining the rules of procedure for this Joint Sitting of the Senate and the National Assembly and the next series of Joint Sittings on the motion to remove the President from Office.
Section 97 of the Constitution highlights the linear process which must be followed in the removal of the President from Office. Under Section 97 of the Constitution, the process of removing the President from Office can be conveniently split into three distinct phases.
3.0 STAGE 1: ADOPTION OF THE MOTION STAGE TO
REMOVE THE PRESDIENT FROM OFFICE
Section 97(1) of the Constitution provides that:
“The Senate and the National Assembly, by a joint resolution passed by at least one-half of their total membership may resolve that the question
whether or not the President or a Vice-President should be removed from office for— | |
(a) serious misconduct;
(b) failure to obey, uphold or defend this Constitution; (c) willful violation of this Constitution; or (d) inability to perform the functions of the office because of physical or mental incapacity; |
|
should be investigated in terms of this section”. |
At this point, it is important to note that the afore-stated grounds of removal of the President from office can be singularly or severally/jointly pursued. In addition, at least 174 Members of
Parliament of both Houses in the Joint Sitting of Parliament must vote in the affirmative to pass the motion to institute proceedings for the removal of the President from office. Currently, the total Membership of Parliament is 347. The Senate has 78 Members, meaning there are two vacancies. The National Assembly has 269 Members, meaning there is one vacancy.
The calculation of a required threshold of numbers has been guided by Section 344(4) of the Constitution which provides that “Any reference to the total membership of Parliament is a reference to the total number of persons who for the time being are Members of
Parliament”.
4.0 STAGE 2: APPOINTMENT OF A JOINT
COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE THE CHARGES AGAINST
THE PRESIDENT
In the event that the procedure outlined in Stage 1 has been satisfied and passed in the affirmative, the Committee of Standing Rules and Orders takes the process further. Section 97(2) of the Constitution provides that:
(2) Upon the passing of a resolution in terms of Subsection (1), the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders must appoint a joint committee of the Senate and the National Assembly consisting of nine members reflecting the political composition of Parliament, to investigate the removal from office of the President or Vice-President, as the case may be.
As outlined in Section 151 of the Constitution, the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders enjoys exclusive jurisdiction and supremacy
in:
- supervising the Administration of Parliament;
- formulating Standing Orders;
- considering and deciding all matters concerning Parliament; and (d) exercising any other functions that may be conferred or imposed on the committee by this Constitution or by Standing Orders or any other law.
5.0 STAGE 3: APPOINTMENT OF THE INVESTIGATING COMMITTEE
Accordingly, the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders shall immediately proceed to appoint a Nine Member Joint Committee and give it its terms of reference to investigate the removal of the President. The Chair shall announce the names of the Joint Committee which shall immediately start its work.
6.0 Stage 3: REPORTING AND FINAL VOTING STAGE
Section 97(3) of the Constitution provides that
“If— (a) the joint committee appointed in terms of Subsection (2) recommends the removal from office of the President or Vice-President; and (b) the Senate and the National Assembly, by a joint resolution passed by at least two-thirds of their total membership, resolve that the President or Vice-President, as the case may be, should be removed from office; the President or Vice-President thereupon ceases to hold office”. Two thirds of the current members require at least 232 Members of Parliament to vote in the affirmative. |
7.0 RULES TO BE APPLIED ON THE MOTION TO
REMOVE THE PRESIDENT FROM OFFICE
PART I
JOINT SITTINGS
1. Application
These rules shall apply to this Joint Sitting and the next series of Joint Sittings until the motion on the removal of the President from Office has been disposed of.
2. Calling of joint sittings
- A joint sitting of the National Assembly and the Senate may be held for the purposes mentioned in Section 97 of the Constitution.
- The Speaker and the President of the Senate must make the necessary arrangements for such a joint sitting.
3. Presiding officer
The Speaker, or in his absence the President of the Senate, must preside at any joint sitting of the National Assembly and the Senate.
4. Relief of presiding officer
An elected presiding officer of either House must take the Chair whenever requested to do so by the Speaker or the President of the
Senate.
5. Venue
Joint sittings shall be held at any place taking into account public interest, security or convenience.
6. Quorum
The quorum of the joint sitting shall be at least one half of the total membership of Parliament.
PART II
CONDUCT AND DEBATE GENERAL RULES
7. Members in House
Unless otherwise stated in these Interim Joint Standing Orders, Rules relating to Order in the House, Rules of Debate, Divisions and any other relevant provisions in the National Assembly and Senate shall mutatis mutandis apply in the joint sitting.
8. Limitation of speech
A Member must not exceed ten (10) minutes in speaking to any question before the House, except in the case of a Vice-President, Ministers and Members in moving a motion and in replying to the debate thereon:
9. Disorderly conduct in Joint Sitting
- If the Presiding Officer is of the opinion that a member is deliberately contravening a provision of these rules, or that a member is in contempt of or is disregarding the authority of the Chair, or that a member’s conduct is grossly disorderly, he or she may order the member to withdraw immediately from the Chamber for the remainder of the
sitting.
- The Sergeant-at-Arms must act on such orders as he or she may receive from the Chair in pursuance of this Standing Order.
- Members ordered to withdraw in pursuance of this Standing Order, or who are suspended in pursuance of Standing Order 109, must immediately withdraw from the precincts of the House.
10. Power to name Member
If on any occasion the Chair deems that the powers conferred under
Standing Order No. 109 and Standing Order No. 107 of the National Assembly and Senate respectively, are inadequate to deal with the offence, he or she may name such Member.
11. Temporary suspension from service of House
- Any Member who disregards the authority of the Chair or persistently and wilfully disrupts the business of the House commits an offence for which he or she may be suspended from the service of the
House.
- Any Member may move a motion in respect of which no amendment, adjournment or debate must be allowed, for the temporary suspension from the service of the House of any Member who has been named by the Chair in terms of Standing Order No. 109 and Standing Order No. 107 of the National Assembly and Senate respectively.
- When the motion referred to in Sub Order (2) has been moved, the Speaker must immediately put the question that such Member shall be suspended from the service of the House.
- If any Member is suspended in terms of this Standing Order, his or her suspension must continue on the
- first occasion for one sitting day;
- second occasion for two sitting days;
- third or any subsequent occasion for three sitting days
- In the event of
- a Member being suspended from the service of the House in terms of this Standing Order he or she may submit to the Presiding Officer, a written expression of regret which must be entered in the journal of the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament and laid before the
House;
- a written expression of regret referred to in paragraph (a) being laid before the joint sitting, any Member may move a motion, in respect of which no amendment, adjournment or debate shall be allowed, for a discharge of the order of suspension;
- a motion referred to in paragraph (b) has been moved, the Presiding Officer must immediately put the question that such Member be re-admitted to the service of the joint sitting of both Houses;
- the question put in paragraph (c) passing in the affirmative, the suspension order must be discharged and the Member re-admitted.
- A Member who has been suspended from the joint sitting in terms of this Standing Order must immediately withdraw from the Chamber and or the precincts of Parliament until such time as the period of suspension has expired or he or she has been re-admitted in terms of
Sub-Order (6).
12. Member withdraws while conduct under debate
Every Member against whom any charge by way of motion has been made and whose conduct is under debate, having been heard in his or her place, must withdraw while such charge is under debate and must take no further part in the proceedings.
PART III
GENERAL MATTERS
13 General
Upon entering the Chamber, Members shall register their attendance with the Sergeant-at-Arms by signing in the Joint Sitting
Register.
14 Voting
In addition to the provisions of Section 138 of the Constitution, when voting, Members shall for the purposes of transparency and accountability, produce their Parliament Identity Cards or a valid National Identification Document to the tellers prior to signing against the name and vote on the Division List.
Honourable Members, what I have outlined above are the rules that shall bind us during proceedings on this motion. I am appealing for tolerance, calmness and recognition of the respect for the inherent dignity and worthy of every member.
After consultation with the President of the Senate, we have agreed to convene the Joint Sittings of Parliament at the Harare International
Conference Centre at 1630 hours today, Tuesday, 21st November 2017. Ordinary Sitting times for both Houses of Parliament shall not apply in respect of a motion to remove the President from Office.
Members shall now proceed to the Harare International Conference
Centre. All Members must be seated by 1630hrs.
I thank you.
MOTION
ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF CYBER SECURITY, THREAT
DETECTION AND MITIGATION (HON. CHINAMASA):This
House is adjourning to Tuesday, 28th November 2017, but we are going to a Joint Sitting this afternoon at 1630 hours. The joint sitting of both Houses is different from the proceedings of this Hon. House.
The House adjourned at Twelve Minutes to Three o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 28th November, 2017.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 21st November, 2017
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. SPEAKER
NOTICE OF MOTION FOR REMOVAL OF THE PRESIDENT
FROM OFFICE
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Honourable Members,
The Chair wishes to inform the House that today, 21 November 2017, Presiding Officers received a notice of motion to remove the
President from Office as prescribed in Section 97 of the Constitution of
Zimbabwe. The mover of the motion is Hon. Senator Mutsvangwa, seconded by Hon Maridadi. In terms of both substantive and procedural compliance, I have found the motion to be admissible. As you may all be aware, this motion is unprecedented in the history of post-Independence Zimbabwe. In this regard, therefore, and pursuant to the need to guide the proceedings accordingly, the Chair shall outline the fundamental rules of procedure that will be used in dealing with the motion.
2.0 REMOVAL OF THE PRESIDENT FROM OFFICE
The Constitution of Zimbabwe, as the supreme law of the Republic of Zimbabwe as enunciated in Section 2 of the same, provides as follows:
- This Constitution is the supreme law of Zimbabwe and any law, practice, custom or conduct inconsistent with it is invalid to the extent of the inconsistency.
- The obligations imposed by this Constitution are binding on every person, natural or juristic, including the State and all Executive, Legislative and Judicial institutions and agencies of Government at every level, and must be fulfilled by them.
In view of the above, the President of the Senate and myself have agreed that all processes shall be done in a manner which recognises the values of constitutional supremacy, legality and the rule of law. As such, the Chair shall proceed to outline what the law enumerates before outlining the rules of procedure for this Joint Sitting of the Senate and the National Assembly and the next series of Joint Sittings on the motion to remove the President from Office.
Section 97 of the Constitution highlights the linear process which must be followed in the removal of the President from Office. Under Section 97 of the Constitution, the process of removing the President from Office can be conveniently split into three distinct phases.
3.0 STAGE 1: ADOPTION OF THE MOTION STAGE TO
REMOVE THE PRESDIENT FROM OFFICE
Section 97(1) of the Constitution provides that:
“The Senate and the National Assembly, by a joint resolution passed by at least one-half of their total membership may resolve that the question
whether or not the President or a Vice-President should be removed from office for— |
|
|
(a) serious misconduct; (b) failure to obey, uphold or defend this Constitution; (c) willful violation of this Constitution; or (d) inability to perform the functions of the office because of physical or mental incapacity; |
should be investigated in terms of this section”. |
At this point, it is important to note that the afore-stated grounds of removal of the President from office can be singularly or severally/jointly pursued. In addition, at least 174 Members of
Parliament of both Houses in the Joint Sitting of Parliament must vote in the affirmative to pass the motion to institute proceedings for the removal of the President from office. Currently, the total Membership of Parliament is 347. The Senate has 78 Members, meaning there are two vacancies. The National Assembly has 269 Members, meaning there is one vacancy.
The calculation of a required threshold of numbers has been guided by Section 344(4) of the Constitution which provides that “Any reference to the total membership of Parliament is a reference to the total number of persons who for the time being are Members of
Parliament”.
4.0 STAGE 2: APPOINTMENT OF A JOINT
COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE THE CHARGES AGAINST
THE PRESIDENT
In the event that the procedure outlined in Stage 1 has been satisfied and passed in the affirmative, the Committee of Standing Rules and Orders takes the process further. Section 97(2) of the Constitution provides that:
(2) Upon the passing of a resolution in terms of Subsection (1), the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders must appoint a joint committee of the Senate and the National Assembly consisting of nine members reflecting the political composition of Parliament, to investigate the removal from office of the President or Vice-President, as the case may be.
As outlined in Section 151 of the Constitution, the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders enjoys exclusive jurisdiction and supremacy
in:
- supervising the Administration of Parliament;
- formulating Standing Orders;
- considering and deciding all matters concerning Parliament; and (d) exercising any other functions that may be conferred or imposed on the committee by this Constitution or by Standing Orders or any other law.
5.0 STAGE 3: APPOINTMENT OF THE INVESTIGATING COMMITTEE
Accordingly, the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders shall immediately proceed to appoint a Nine Member Joint Committee and give it its terms of reference to investigate the removal of the President. The Chair shall announce the names of the Joint Committee which shall immediately start its work.
6.0 Stage 3: REPORTING AND FINAL VOTING STAGE
Section 97(3) of the Constitution provides that “If— (a) the joint committee appointed in terms of Subsection (2) recommends the removal from office of the President or Vice-President; and (b) the Senate and the National Assembly, by a joint resolution passed by at least two-thirds of their total membership, resolve that the President or Vice-President, as the case may be, should be removed from office; the President or Vice-President thereupon ceases to hold office”. Two thirds of the current members require at least 232 Members of Parliament to vote in the affirmative. |
7.0 RULES TO BE APPLIED ON THE MOTION TO
REMOVE THE PRESIDENT FROM OFFICE
PART I
JOINT SITTINGS
1. Application
These rules shall apply to this Joint Sitting and the next series of Joint Sittings until the motion on the removal of the President from Office has been disposed of.
2. Calling of joint sittings
- A joint sitting of the National Assembly and the Senate may be held for the purposes mentioned in Section 97 of the Constitution.
- The Speaker and the President of the Senate must make the necessary arrangements for such a joint sitting.
3. Presiding officer
The Speaker, or in his absence the President of the Senate, must preside at any joint sitting of the National Assembly and the Senate.
4. Relief of presiding officer
An elected presiding officer of either House must take the Chair whenever requested to do so by the Speaker or the President of the
Senate.
5. Venue
Joint sittings shall be held at any place taking into account public interest, security or convenience.
6. Quorum
The quorum of the joint sitting shall be at least one half of the total membership of Parliament.
PART II
CONDUCT AND DEBATE GENERAL RULES
7. Members in House
Unless otherwise stated in these Interim Joint Standing Orders, Rules relating to Order in the House, Rules of Debate, Divisions and any other relevant provisions in the National Assembly and Senate shall mutatis mutandis apply in the joint sitting.
8. Limitation of speech
A Member must not exceed ten (10) minutes in speaking to any question before the House, except in the case of a Vice-President, Ministers and Members in moving a motion and in replying to the debate thereon:
9. Disorderly conduct in Joint Sitting
- If the Presiding Officer is of the opinion that a member is deliberately contravening a provision of these rules, or that a member is in contempt of or is disregarding the authority of the Chair, or that a member’s conduct is grossly disorderly, he or she may order the member to withdraw immediately from the Chamber for the remainder of the
sitting.
- The Sergeant-at-Arms must act on such orders as he or she may receive from the Chair in pursuance of this Standing Order.
- Members ordered to withdraw in pursuance of this Standing Order, or who are suspended in pursuance of Standing Order 109, must immediately withdraw from the precincts of the House.
10. Power to name Member
If on any occasion the Chair deems that the powers conferred under
Standing Order No. 109 and Standing Order No. 107 of the National Assembly and Senate respectively, are inadequate to deal with the offence, he or she may name such Member.
11. Temporary suspension from service of House
- Any Member who disregards the authority of the Chair or persistently and wilfully disrupts the business of the House commits an offence for which he or she may be suspended from the service of the
House.
- Any Member may move a motion in respect of which no amendment, adjournment or debate must be allowed, for the temporary suspension from the service of the House of any Member who has been named by the Chair in terms of Standing Order No. 109 and Standing Order No. 107 of the National Assembly and Senate respectively.
- When the motion referred to in Sub Order (2) has been moved, the Speaker must immediately put the question that such Member shall be suspended from the service of the House.
- If any Member is suspended in terms of this Standing Order, his or her suspension must continue on the
- first occasion for one sitting day;
- second occasion for two sitting days;
- third or any subsequent occasion for three sitting days
- In the event of
- a Member being suspended from the service of the House in terms of this Standing Order he or she may submit to the Presiding Officer, a written expression of regret which must be entered in the journal of the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament and laid before the
House;
- a written expression of regret referred to in paragraph (a) being laid before the joint sitting, any Member may move a motion, in respect of which no amendment, adjournment or debate shall be allowed, for a discharge of the order of suspension;
- a motion referred to in paragraph (b) has been moved, the Presiding Officer must immediately put the question that such Member be re-admitted to the service of the joint sitting of both Houses;
- the question put in paragraph (c) passing in the affirmative, the suspension order must be discharged and the Member re-admitted.
- A Member who has been suspended from the joint sitting in terms of this Standing Order must immediately withdraw from the Chamber and or the precincts of Parliament until such time as the period of suspension has expired or he or she has been re-admitted in terms of
Sub-Order (6).
12. Member withdraws while conduct under debate
Every Member against whom any charge by way of motion has been made and whose conduct is under debate, having been heard in his or her place, must withdraw while such charge is under debate and must take no further part in the proceedings.
PART III
GENERAL MATTERS
13 General
Upon entering the Chamber, Members shall register their attendance with the Sergeant-at-Arms by signing in the Joint Sitting
Register.
14 Voting
In addition to the provisions of Section 138 of the Constitution, when voting, Members shall for the purposes of transparency and accountability, produce their Parliament Identity Cards or a valid National Identification Document to the tellers prior to signing against the name and vote on the Division List.
Honourable Members, what I have outlined above are the rules that shall bind us during proceedings on this motion. I am appealing for tolerance, calmness and recognition of the respect for the inherent dignity and worthy of every member.
After consultation with the President of the Senate, we have agreed to convene the Joint Sittings of Parliament at the Harare International
Conference Centre at 1630 hours today, Tuesday, 21st November 2017. Ordinary Sitting times for both Houses of Parliament shall not apply in respect of a motion to remove the President from Office.
Members shall now proceed to the Harare International Conference
Centre. All Members must be seated by 1630hrs.
I thank you.
MOTION
ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF CYBER SECURITY, THREAT
DETECTION AND MITIGATION (HON. CHINAMASA):This
House is adjourning to Tuesday, 28th November 2017, but we are going to a Joint Sitting this afternoon at 1630 hours. The joint sitting of both Houses is different from the proceedings of this Hon. House.
The House adjourned at Twelve Minutes to Three o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 28th November, 2017.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday 1st November, 2017
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE
SENATE
COMPLETION OF BIO-DATA FORMS
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: I have to advise
all Hon. Senators that they are required to complete and submit their biodata forms by Thursday, 9th November, 2017. The forms can be collected and returned to the office of the Director Public Relations,
Office No. 312, Third Floor, Parliament Building or Office No. 4, Third
Floor, PAX House. The bio-data is required for applauding on the
Parliament website and the mobile App.
Before we go to Notice of Motion No. 1, I am advised that it was not given in accordance with the provisions of Standing Orders. So, may Hon. Sen. Makore please give the notice afresh after making the necessary consultations with the Clerks at the Table?
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. MAKORE: I move that Order of the Day, Number 2 be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
HON. SEN. MLOTSHWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. MLOTSHWA: I move that Order of the Day, Number 3 be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
HON. SEN. MAKORE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. MAKORE: I move that Order of the Day, Number 4 be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
HON. SEN. CHIMHINI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS ON SDG NO. 3
Fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the First Report of the Thematic Committee on Sustainable Development Goals on SDG No. 3.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. CHIEF MTSHANE: I move that the debate do now
adjourn.
HON. SEN. TAWENGWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 2nd November, 2017.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Sixth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the
Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. MAVHUNGA: Thank you Madam President for
giving me the opportunity to make my contribution on the Presidential Address by His Excellency on 12th September, 2017 when he addressed both Houses, the Senate and the National Assembly. I am very grateful to Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira and Hon. Sen. Chief Mtshane who brought this motion which gives us a chance to make a contribution on the Presidential Speech.
In his statement, His Excellency gave us an agenda which we have to follow as the Fifth Session of the Eighth Parliament of Zimbabwe. Most importantly, he was very grateful for what we had done especially in the alignment of laws where there were 206 which had to be aligned, but what is only left is that we have a few which still have to be aligned and that means we were so hard working. We should be proud of what we did and this is no self praising but it shows that we are hard working, we are diligent.
In his address, His Excellency said in the remaining laws which need to be aligned we need to look at the Bill on marriages. As we are all aware, there are different laws pertaining to marriages. We also know there is Section 511; there is the traditional or cultural marriage law and we also have another type of marriage of which the law allowed polygamy. We are now saying when we look at all these laws on marriages, there were some sections which go against the Constitution.
We know the Constitution is the supreme law of the country.
In one of the laws which we were supposed to align, there is a clause which allowed a man to marry a girl aged 16 years as long as the child consented to the marriage. We now need to realign and say the only consent to marriage should be by someone who is 18 and above. His Excellency said we need to have a look at the Marriages Act which combines all the different forms of marriages we had in the past.
I know that in the past this House or maybe both Houses had problems with early marriages especially on young girls. Most of them would drop out of school and just go and sit at home. They are immature and as a result, they are abused at home and cannot defend themselves. They cannot be self sustaining because they are young. They have shallow minds. We can also look at the advent of some none communicable diseases such as cancer. These also attack them.
When we look at some of the things that happen when there is intercourse with somebody who is younger, there is going to be damage of the sexual organs. Again, there is fistula which happens because someone has given birth before they are mature. At times what is worrisome is that there are very few clinics help these children whose reproductive organs will have been damaged. We need to craft laws which will compel people to marry when they are mature, prepared for the marriage life. So, it is up to us as Hon. Members to align these laws so that there is progress.
His Excellency, in opening up the Fifth Session of the Eighth Parliament, talked about the mandatory sentence especially when we look at rapists, the pedophiles and even domestic rape. These people should be given mandatory sentence because rape is not only by outsiders. Not only are women being raped, but even men and this also happens in the home whereby the woman will be sexually hyperactive and the man is dormant. Consequently, the man is forced to indulge in sexual intercourse with the woman. This is rape and whenever such cases happen, especially when the man is the victim, evidence is needed but this evidence is searched for after three days of the incident. As a result, all the evidence which may lead to the commission of crime would have been erased and therefore, there is no conviction of the rapist. We notice that some of these people would have raped children as young as three years because of the belief that if they have sexual intercourse with a child under three years old, they will not contract HIV or that they will become rich. So, it is up to us to enact this law. Men, men, men, please come out into the open and report if you are raped by your wife in the home. When assaulted or raped by your women do not just keep quiet because of pride. It is our wish that this should come to an end. Mr. President of the Senate, the President, Cde. R. G Mugabe also spoke of thorough investigation and research regarding the trafficking of persons. This was passed and it is now an Act. He did say this is still a prevalent problem and we realise that a few months back, some of our girls had to be rescued from Kuwait. We know people are seeking employment so they are very gullible and if anybody comes offering employment in whatever country, they feel they are going to strike gold, yet when they get to those places these people live like slaves and are forced to do any job. Some of them are used as sex slaves and at times they are sexually assaulted by their employers.
We have heard that some of these people are told there are scholarships in some countries and they end up going to countries like Cyprus. We hope that now that we have a Minister who is going to look into the on scholarships outside the country, we will have thorough investigations and research on some of these scholarships. As
Zimbabwe, we train a lot of nurses and teachers. What would be ideal is that if we train some of those people we look for jobs as a Government just like what happens with countries like Cuba. They export labour and to avoid trafficking in persons we need to persuade the Government to have Government to Government agreements so that we have people who are employed under a Government scheme, because they may go to countries like South Africa where there is xenophobia; but if there has been a thorough research and there is Government intervention there will not be any of these problems. So as people of Zimbabwe and as Members of this august House, let us put our heads together for the development of our country and alignment of laws. I thank you.
HON. SEN. MUSAKA: Thank you Mr President for allowing me
to also contribute to the debate on the Presidential Speech. I wish to thank Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira and the seconder Hon. Sen. Chief
Mtshane. The President touched on a wide range of issues - in depth but I want to zero in on those I think have been very successful and are being implemented. I will start with Command Agriculture – I think I wish to thank the President, the Government and all those partaking in this project as well as those who responded to the clarion call to join the free Command Agriculture. It was not forced and those who did not want to do it had the right not to do it.
However, those who responded to the call have proved everybody else wrong because they were right in the sense that the scheme was very successful and in that regard, we wish to congratulate the leadership, the President and all those who are taking part in it, job well done. However, there may have been cases where there were excesses.
Perhaps some people did not access the inputs properly and some feel they were left out while some feel they were dispossessed. In my other speech I appealed to the Chairman of the Committee on Peace and Security to consider investigating those who were saying some communities were disadvantaged by Command Agriculture in particular. So, perhaps it is up to the chairman of that committee to make a decision.
The President also touched on corruption. Measures are being taken by Government to correct this anomaly and there are a lot of cases where people are being arrested and some of them being taken to court. However, we should all condemn corruption in the strongest terms.
Whatever the case may be, it is not justifiable. Inefficiency too - to me, I consider it some form of corruption because some ministries were acting in a manner that is very inefficient and incompetent. We cannot be a nation that is seen on television everywhere with people being dragged at bus stops and some people even dying there.
There is chaos in our cities and kombis stopping wherever they want to stop. I think we all should rise up and object to this kind of incompetence. Whichever ministry is involved, I think this is just unacceptable. There should be some order and respect for human life and human rights which is not the case now. The good thing however, is that the President recently made some reshuffles and we hope this is intended to correct this kind of anomaly, ineptitude and violation of people’s rights. I think we also should congratulate the President for that. We do hope that those who were put in the new ministries will actually do their job correctly so that we do not see the kind of chaos that had been happening.
There is also the issue of early marriages. We have debated this issue on several occasions. All the various committees have tackled this issue. We would like to commend the Government for committing to aligning the laws and it is up to the legislators that this should be implemented. However, there is a bit of an anomaly here. The actual age in some cases right now is not clear, especially on what age one can have sex with consent. The age of getting married is 18 years but you can indulge in sex even at 13 years.
It then becomes very difficult and recently there was a case where they said you cannot send someone to prison for having sex with a minor. So, it is because of the inconsistencies in legislation that all these should be corrected. So we think that when this Bill comes in, it should be thought through, debated and enacted correctly to reflect the issue of bringing about justice and fairness. With those few words Mr President, I thank you.
HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA: I move that the debate do now adjourn
HON. SEN. TAWENGWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 2nd November, 2017.
MOTION
REPORT ON THE PREPAREDNESS OF THE GRAIN MARKETING
BOARD TO HANDLE THE 2016/2017 CROP DELIVERIES AND
THE SUCCESS OF THE COMMAND AGRICULTURE
PROGRAMME
Seventh Order read: Adjourned debate on the First Report of the
Thematic Committee on Peace and Security on the preparedness of the Grain Marketing Board to handle the 2016/2017 Crop Deliveries and the success of the Command Agriculture Programme.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. CHIEF GAMPU: Thank you Mr. President. I also
want to add my voice on the motion that was brought into this House by Hon. Sen. Mumvuri, as the Chairperson of the Thematic Committee on
Peace and Security, which I am also a member. Peace and Security Committee looks at issues to do with peace, which covers food security in the country. We want to thank the Government for bringing such a noble idea of the Command Agriculture. This programme came at a good and perfect time, most people welcomed the idea.
We travelled to different places as a Committee, although we were not able to get to Matabeleland but we managed to go to other provinces like Mashonaland West, Mashonaland East, Masvingo and Mashonaland Central. Throughout our journey, we recognised that most people accepted this programme of Command Agriculture and they were able to plough different types of crops. What we noted is people of
Mashonaland West were able to utilise the programme very well and we want to thank the Government for supporting people from that province.
Whilst we are thanking the Government for such a programme, we
would like also to take note of the fact that as long as we are able to fight drought, that means we can be able to improve the economy of this country. Therefore, I want to applaud the Government for doing such a good job. My request is for Matabeleland - when this programme was introduced especially in Tsholotsho, people did not welcome the idea very well because they did not understand exactly what it meant.
First of all, it was introduced late. As we speak now, some have joined but we realise that up to now they have not been given the seed.
By now we should be preparing for the next planting season. Most of the members have welcomed the idea and they have joined the scheme. We want to thank the Government however, if there are fouls that we have done before, I want to apologise on behalf of everyone and promise that we will join and take up the idea like what other provinces did. This has assisted in fighting the drought this year. I thank you.
HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA: I move that the debate do
now adjourn.
HON. SEN TAWENGWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 2nd November, 2017.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE ZIMBABWE DELEGATION TO THE
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PROMOTING
STAKEHOLDER AND PARLIAMENTARY DIALOGUE ON ARMS
TRADE TREATY (ATT)
Eighth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report of the Zimbabwe Delegation to the International Conference on Promoting Stakeholder and Parliamentary Dialogue on Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA: I move that the debate do
now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TAWENGWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 2nd November, 2017.
On the motion of HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA, seconded by HON. SEN. TAWENGWA, the Senate adjourned at Seven Minutes past Three o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 2nd November, 2017
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE
SENATE
THE CHARTER FLIGHT TO VICTORIA FALLS FOR THE PRE-
BUDGET SEMINAR
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: I have to inform
the House that the Charter Flight to Victoria Falls for the Pre-Budget Seminar will leave Harare on the 8th November, 2017 at 0700 am.
Members will be picked up from respective hotels and Parliament Cark
Park at 0500 am – [HON. SENATORS: Inaudible interjections.] – Ndozviripo. The flight is at 0700; you will be picked up at 0500 am.
CHANGES TO THEMATIC COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: I have to inform
the Senate of changes to the membership of Thematic Committees where Hon. Sen. Mupfumira has been nominated to serve on the following Committees;
- The Indigenisation and Empowerment
- Gender and Development
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA: My question is directed
to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development. Hon.
Minister, when will the construction of the road from Beitbridge to Chirundu going to commence.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND
INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. GUMBO):
Thank you Madam President. I want to thank Hon. Sen. Charumbira for the question on the progress of this road. I want to inform the Senate on the position of Beitbridge-Chirundu Road. We signed a Memorandum of Understanding and a ground breaking ceremony was held on the 18th May, 2017 and we started negotiations towards the implementation of this programme. When there are such agreements, there are some agreements which you need to follow up before you implement. This has taken us two months of negotiations where we were talking about the modalities with the company which won the tender. The company has subcontracted a company called CHEC from China to implement the construction of the road. This company is going to construct the road from Harare to Chirundu. There is going to be another company to be subcontracted to construct the road from Harare to Beitbridge. They had another discussion and agreed with a Chinese company, Bion International, hence when we held our ground breaking, they held this diamond company. After that they will have to do some physical checks, designs and quantity surveying on the road before they can start working on the road. They started working on the Harare to Beitbridge road on 4th July.
These people are now working on this road and they have divided this road into six segments from Harare to Beitbridge for the sake of implementing the programme. What has been a bone of contention is that the protocols in Government were delaying the founding of a company which is going to implement this job. What happens according to the protocols, when a company has been awarded a tender, it should have a local company which opens banking accounts and other businesses to be carried out.
The other problem which they faced is the sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe, also limited the amount of money that is supposed to move from Europe to Zimbabwe, but the companies which won the tender have had some ways of getting hold of the money from outside. Now, what they await is the project national status because they had problems in importing heavy earth moving equipment for the construction of the road. I am glad to report that the machines have since started trickling into the country.
Whilst all of this is going on, the people who are working on the ground; the designers, surveyors and quantity surveyors are on the ground looking at the logistics necessary. We agreed with multinationals that the next Sunday, officials in the Road Department will hold in loco inspection of the areas to be worked on. As a result, when we see people starting to construct the road, there are a lot of things which have to be worked upon. As I talk to you now, the construction of the Chirundu – Beitbrigde road is now work in progress. I am very grateful for having been asked such a question because we have had told the nation that the construction of the road is in progress.
I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIPANGA: Thank you Madam President. Minister, may you please inform us how far you have gone in the construction of this road. Do you have a set time whereby you can tell us that by this date the construction of the road will be completed?
*HON. DR. GUMBO: Thank you for the supplementary question raised by Hon. Chipanga. I will add on some information on to this and say, we awarded this tender to Geiger of China and this agreement states that the construction of this road should not exceed three years. So what this means is that as soon as they start the construction of the road, it should not take more than three years and I can safely say that is the time limit that the job of constructing this road should be. That is why they divided this road into six parts.
Let me take a good example – from Skyline on the way to Masvingo up to Beatrice, it was cut by 65 km, which means there is one company which is going to work on those 65km, but if they realise that the company which has won the tender has failed to implement what it had promised, it means they will be forced to subcontract another company to work on this 65km. In order for uniformity in the construction of the road, there is supposed to be quality control and checks and balances so that there is not going to be any difference in the different companies which constructed the roads. There should be uniformity and the reason why it was divided into segments is so that we have many companies working on it. It was to avoid the delays and therefore, each company will handle its own part of the road and we are going to have some inspections which will be taken out by the companies that are in Zimbabwe. They will visit the places where these companies have evidence that they constructed some road and the quality of the road will be examined before this can be finalised.
Hon. Chipanga, we agreed that this Beitbridge-Chirundu Road should be completed in three years, but what we know is that amongst these companies, we awarded the tender to construct this road; some may be faster than others and this is why we have said we wanted many people to be contracted. I am glad to inform you that we have had the Zimbabwean companies being awarded 40% of this road. I am saying, of the total amount budgeted for this road it means 40% of that amount will be paid to Zimbabweans who will be subcontracted in the construction of this road. As Zimbabweans, we need to benefit. We will also quickly construct this road and utilise it. I thank you. This was a difficult question, but I am sure I have managed to respond.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: I would like to
advise the House that we have additional Ministers. We have the
Minister of Mines and Mining Development, the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and the Minister of Lands and Rural Development.
+HON. SEN. KHUMALO: My question is directed to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure. There is this road which links Bulawayo and Nkayi. It has been under construction in bits and pieces.
When is this road going to be constructed and is it only 65km long? Construction started in 1990, but the job is not yet complete. Can you give us a time line on the completion of the construction of this road?
+THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND
INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. GUMBO):
Thank you Madam President for giving me the opportunity to respond to this question. I would like to inform Hon. Khumalo that in the year 1990, I was not the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural
Development. I was a Chief Whip but now I am the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development and I will try my best to respond to your question.
Hon. Sen. Khumalo, the truth of the matter is that Nkayi -
Bulawayo Road, Kwekwe – Nkayi to Lupane Road have been put on our priority list of refurbishing and construction. The problem we have is that we have no money to construct them.
What we are talking about is that we will ask for permission to circumvent the idea of the procuring process in the construction of this road so that we do not go through the tendering system. We will just say whosoever can do the road, they will do it without going through the tendering system, but what you know is that Government has no money to construct the road. However, I can assure you Nkayi – Bulawayo Road is our major road which we want to construct. We have had some constructors from even South Africa saying they want to do the job for us, but as Zimbabweans we are not allowed to call outsiders to come and carry out some construction job in the country without going through tender but we are saying we would like to waiver this tender requirement from the State Procurement Board so that whichever companies can come and construct without going through tender. We have NkayiLupane, Nkayi-Bulawayo and then Harare-Nyamapanda roads which have to be constructed and they are on our priority list. The only problem we face is that we have no money but we are asking for the waiver of tender so that these outside companies which have enough money to come and construct roads can come and do so without going through the tender board.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: My question goes to the Minister of
Transport and Infrastructure Development. It is on the 5km road which is within Beitbridge town going to the border which was started many years ago but has not been completed. What are your plans for that road and if all goes well, who is going to pay that company which works on a 5km road and never get to finish it for more than two years?
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND
INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. GUMBO):
Thank you Hon. Senator Mohadi for the question. Yes, I am aware of the section of road that you are talking about. The history to that section is that it was awarded during the time of our Zim dollar. Then there was a problem after the change in currency and they could not continue. The company was asked to finish the work but there was the problem of the exchange rate, how much had been paid and how much should be paid.
That is where the problems started.
Most or the Zimbabwean companies we give work to do tend to have a problem of getting finances. Now the award of the whole road has been given to a new company and also the feasibility study that we are doing includes that section going along the Bulawayo road which is also going to be dualised. We have agreed that the company that had been paid for some time – it would have been better if this was a written question and I would have given you the facts on how much was paid to them in Zim dollars and now with the US dollars so you can see where the problem is.
So the Zimbabwean company is having a problem to continue with the project because they are saying you are not giving us enough. What you think you gave us in those millions during the bearers era is not what we can use now. It is the issue in the change of currency which affected that project. As we are now doing the whole road, we are taking it up as we plan to do the One-Stop-Border Post at
Beitbridge,which we should start doing before the month of February next year, as was agreed between our Presidents Cde R. G Mugabe and President J Zuma of South Africa. So, we are pushing to do the whole road at once. I am happy that the Senator is very much aware but this is just for others to know because I already promised her that we will be coming to Beitbridge and show her exactly what we are going to be doing. However, it is good that the whole nation knows what we are planning to do. I thank you.
HON. SEN. MAKORE: My question is also directed to the
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development. My question has much to do with the policy regarding progress relating to international routes in our airways. May you explain to the House where you are with that issue?
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND
INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. GUMBO): I will try my best to answer that question. I will start with the information about what we are doing, if that can assist clarify what you want to ask. First and foremost, Air Zimbabwe itself is ailing, it is not doing very well as we are all aware. This is why I requested Cabinet to allow us to go into partnership with any other airline to make sure that we remain in the skies. Having done that, we also discovered that our books were not in good order and so we have started inviting our own indigenous people who might be interested in aviation to come and join us or come with whoever they may partner to ply our routes. As I speak, the aircraft that we have at Air Zimbabwe are old and cannot fly into Europe. Some are even banned from flying into South Africa because they make a lot of noise and that is a fact. So, we are allowing other players, particularly Zimbabweans who are interested in aviation to partner us or to bring in their own equipment and ply our routes. Then regarding the
London/Harare route and other international routes, there is a company called Zimbabwe Aviation Leasing Company which is a company that has taken off from where I had left when I was trying to negotiate for a partnership with other airlines. I tried with Ethiopian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Malaysian Airlines – many, 12 of them where I have been given permission by Cabinet and colleagues are here, they can witness that. So, what has happened is that some enterprising Zimbabweans have taken off from the negotiations that I had already started and are now ready to take over or to bring in some aircraft, for which they have now applied for licence to fly to London, Dubai, the Far East, Nigeria and some long distant places like Cape Town within Africa. Their plans are also to fly to Sao Paulo; I think it is in Brazil.
So we have those plans; we have those applications and that is what is actually in the pipeline for now. What I can say is that as a Ministry and as Government we have not abandoned using international routes. If all goes well, one or two airlines which are airlines run by our own people, might be in the skies before we go for Christmas. If all goes well also there might be one route that can be opened, particularly between Harare and London; but these are still plans that are there but I must say they are at a very advanced stage. As policy, we have not abandoned international routes. We are on course. Thank you.
*HON. SEN. MAWIRE: Thank you Madam President. My
question is directed to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural
Development. Minister, the road which goes to Kazungula, there is a Houseboat which is traveling along that road. It is so big that we have never seen one like it. The movement of this boat is being said that it is being denied entry into the border of Botswana to Namibia. So, what is the story surrounding this houseboat? Some people are complaining that this Houseboat is so big and our roads are narrow and in the process of moving it, there were some small accidents which were happening.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: Thank you Hon.
Senator, the question you asked, you seem to be referring to the importation of goods and this does not concern him. Importation or immigration, this is not within his jurisdiction.
*THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND
INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. GUMBO):
Thank you Madam President. To tell the truth, this question is not within my jurisdiction but I am going to talk about what I know about this Houseboat which is moving from Zimbabwe to Botswana and Namibia. This has nothing to do with my Ministry because I am responsible for the construction of the roads but we know that there are some things whereby we may inform each other on what is happening in the country.
This boat is going to Namibia, it is being exported to Namibia for business there. Let me inform the Hon. Senator that in order for me to give her a clear answer, may she put this question in writing so that we can give her a clear answer after consulting the Minister of Industry and
Commerce. This Houseboat shows the expertise which exists in Zimbabwe and we may need to expound on that, but this question definitely has got nothing to do with my Ministry.
HON. SEN. MLOTSHWA: Thank you Madam President. My
question is directed to the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. Minister, we received letters stating our owed allowances yesterday, dated 31st July, 2017 and we received other letters dated 2nd
November, 2017 stating different parliamentary affairs. I want to know exactly what is it that department of your Ministry is doing towards the Members of Parliament (MPs) stands. We no longer want assurances; we want exactly the deadlines of what will happen, when.
We also want to know whether the parliamentary affairs is the one that is lagging behind in this issue or the Local Government, Public Works and National Housing. On that same note we want to know whether our Parliament staff, when we talk of MPs allowances, are they also looked after because for us to be efficient we need to know whether the staff also is looked after so that at least we do our work.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN.
BONYONGWE): Thank you Madam President. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Mlotshwa for that question. I preface my other remarks by observing that, that issue and question related to the allowances and other issues pertaining to Members of Parliament is something which occupied the National Assembly yesterday, as you are aware. The position which I took was that we would make consultations on the issue because it so happens that it is not a matter confined just to the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. It so happens that it is a matter which affects, I think the Speaker of the National Assembly; my
Ministry, including the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.
Some of the issues like the one related to the stands pertain to the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing. However, we have made consultations on that issue, starting from – I think the consultations go back quite some time, hence the first circular which was done by the Clerk of Parliament. That was followed up after consultations yesterday with the circular of 2nd November, 2017 which has been circulated today.
That circular when you compare it to the previous one, it is clearly indicative of the fact that some progress is being made on the matter. Indeed there has been progress. However, I think the most important issue perhaps relates to the matter of the allowances and so forth. The person who is most qualified to answer on those specific issues would be the Minister of Finance and Economic Development and we are fortunate enough to have the Acting Minister of Finance and Economic Development who is to my right. But, I want to make the undertaking that as Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, we will do our part to ensure that what has to be done by Government and by each relevant department is done. This is because we have the Parliamentary Portfolio and we will be working to follow on those issues.
I realise that I have not addressed specifically the matter of the stands which is quite a burning issue and even in that Circular; it has not been addressed properly. Therefore, I would want to beg your indulgence on that particular issue and be able to bring you a very informed answer, maybe without taking a very long period of time from today to address that issue of stands. Madam President, that would be my answer. Thank you.
HON. SEN. MLOTSHWA: I wanted also the Minister to address
the issue because for us to work efficiently in this Parliament, we need a staff that is interested in our work. So, I did not hear anything about the staff because it comes under Parliamentary Affairs and at times we encounter problems because the staff is not adequately catered for.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: Hon. Senator, I
thought that was addressed. He did not specifically mention the staff or honourables but, the welfare issue was addressed and that is not conclusive yet. They are still working on it as an inter-Ministerial arrangement.
HON. SEN. MLOTSHWA: Coming from the Presiding Officer, I
will take that.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: I was keenly
listening to the answers because it affects all of us.
*HON. SEN. MOEKETSI: Thank you Madam President for
giving me the opportunity. I am directing my question to the Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Hon. Chidhakwa. Minister, are you aware of what is going on at the Elvington Gold Mine because as I talk to you now, the artisanal miners have now entered into the boundaries of this mine? We also have some other groups within that Elvington Mine and they are saying they have been contracted to operate in that area. My question is, Minister, are you reopening Elvington Mine? When you are opening up, is it going to benefit the workers who were retrenched from that mine or the only beneficiaries are the people who are saying they have been contracted to work on that mine. I thank you.
*THE MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING
DEVELOPMENT (HON. W. CHIDHAKWA): Thank you Madam
President and I am very grateful for the Hon. Senator who has asked this question on Elvington Mine. Let me explain to this House that
Elvington is one of the Government companies that are under the
Minerals Marketing Development Corporation (ZMDC). We have Elvington, Sabi, Jena and Golden Kopjie – these mines are the assets of the Government which produce gold. We had problems in these companies until all these four companies closed down but we then launched a new programme which is aimed at resuscitating these programmes. As we speak, Sabi is operating and it is producing an average of 28 kilograms per month and we expect that as time goes on, this mine could be producing 41 kilograms of gold per month.
Looking at Elvington, we received a report that was produced by our engineers and they are saying that the shaft at Elvington Mine has had a problem because there was some shifting of soil when the shaft was sunk. So consequently, it is no longer safe to use that shaft because of that shifting of the soil. So we now need to sink another shaft leading us to where we can get gold and we were given some quantity surveying which said that the amount that we needed was $30 million for sinking this new shaft. We are glad to inform you that the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development has agreed that we should sign an agreement following the discussion between a company from outside the country and the ZMDC for the operation of raising an amount of $150 million for the revival of these mines that I have talked about.
I will now turn to Jena – let me clarify. We were given $7 million by the Reserve Bank so that we can also resuscitate and revive Jena Mine. We are in the process of sourcing for the foreign currency because the engineers gave us on a point by point of the requirements needed in resuscitating this mine. I will say, out of all the companies which I have mentioned is that we have put Elvington at the bottom of our list. We are saying, if there is a Government company which is not operating especially in the mines, we have these artisanal miners coming in to operate on this mine. Some of them even write letters so that they can go and operate legally but, we will inform them that as Government, we cannot just privatise Government property. We need to be given permission by the State so that we can privatise it but, as you know; artisanal miners will operate wherever they want.
Whenever you send law enforcement agents to fight them off, these people are of no fixed aboard or assets, so when the police arrive, they quickly move out of the area and lie low. When the law enforcement agents have gone, they come back and start operating illegally even during the night. We are saying if we can get this money which we are looking for, we will be able to operate fully and even budget for the security of the areas. Let me inform you that, we have not given up on the Elvington Mine but we know that part of our plans also include the recruitment of workers who were retrenched or dismissed from work. I thank you.
+HON. SEN. CHIEF GAMPU: Thank you Madam President.
My policy question is directed to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development but he has gone out.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Usehambile.
HON. SEN. CHIEF NTABENI: Thank you Madam President.
Also, I wanted to ask the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development. I do not know whether there is somebody who can answer on his behalf.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: “Hayi, akula.” –
[Laughter.] -
*HON. SEN. MAVHUNGA: Thank you Madam President. I am
directing my question to the Minister of Youth Development,
Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment. May you please explain to this august House on the Empowerment Bank which was recently launched? Where is this bank located? What services does it offer?
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT,
INDIGENISATION AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT (HON.
TONGOFA): Thank you Madam President. I am very grateful to Hon.
Sen. Mavhunga for such a question. We all know that the Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment is responsible for giving direction to the youths of this country so that they can make contribution to the development of the economy of the country. Consequently, the Government came up with a plan. There should be a bank which is aimed at working hand in hand with the youths where they can go and get loans and get some backing facilities.
When this bank was launched, we held talks with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and we were told that to launch this bank, we needed an amount of $5 million. The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development gave us an amount of $2.4 million. This is not enough to launch the Youth Bank so that it can borrow and lend money. As a result, we have said we now need to talk of a micro-finance scheme because with the scheme, we will only disburse. This is still on the drawing board; it has not been on the implementation stage. What you saw Hon. Member was we were only launching the project but it is not yet operational; youths cannot access money from this bank.
We have had some promises from the Reserve Bank through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development because they were present when we launched our project. They promised to give us $10 million so that this bank can be launched and be of some assistance to the youths so that they may take part in the development of the economy of the country because they are part of the system. Let me inform this
House that this is work in progress and it is in the implementation stage. We are going to inform this House on the modus operandi of such a bank. I thank you Madam President.
*HON. SEN. SHIRI: Thank you Madam President. My question is directed to the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs,
Hon. Rtd. Maj. Gen. Bonyongwe. May I start by congratulating you for your elevation to this position. Hon. Minister, what is the Government policy regarding people living with disability. We have noticed that most people in Zimbabwe are receiving public education on the voter registration, the BVR. Unfortunately, people living with disability such as the visually impaired or the deaf and dumb are not receiving that information. We believe we need to get that information because it is their right to vote. I thank you.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Did you pose your
question because we want him to give a clear answer?
*HON. SEN. SHIRI: I will repeat my question. What is the Government policy regarding people living with disability, especially the deaf and dumb and the visually impaired? Are they going to be taught on how they can register in the BVR? What we noticed is that in all the campaigns being carried out by ZEC, there are no people who provide sign language.
*THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN.
BONYONGWE): Thank you Madam President. Thank you for that question regarding the Biometric Voter Registration process. This is a very important question. This programme is being carried out throughout the country from Zambezi to Limpopo. As the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, we are responsible for administering the Electoral Act because the Act discusses all the facets of elections. The department which is responsible for the registration of voters in preparation for the 2018 elections is the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC). At the moment, there is a programme which is aimed at getting the people of Zimbabwe to register throughout the country. What is being done is the BVR kits. These machines we are using are new; they have never been used in this country. As a result, we have noticed that they capture the biographical data of an individual, their date of birth, age, finger prints are captured by this machine. It also captures the facial features of an individual.
The way ZEC is promoting this programme is that they have a voter education programme. It is a very important programme because most of the people in Zimbabwe should be taught about the requirements needed to be a registered voter. It has to be carried out throughout the country. There are so many ways which are being used in this campaign. They have written some documents which are being used by ZEC. What we know is that it is not only ZEC which is carrying out this public education on the voters but we have other organisations like political, civic and other social organisations. All those organisations which are interested in public education on voter registration were given information by ZEC. What we know is that nobody should just go with their own personal or organizational documents – all the information which is used in voter education should emanate from ZEC so that there is uniformity. If this is not controlled, we may have some misguided elements, misguiding people in this process.
I may seem to be meandering in responding to this question but I feel it is important that I take this step so that when I make the explanation, you will be able to get me. That is why we noticed that the officials from ZEC have a programme on electronic media and on ZTV on Thursdays. They are also taking these campaigns to the print media. The ZEC officials are aware that amongst the people of Zimbabwe, we also have some people living with disability. Some of them are not highly mobile and we have some district centres which are static. There are also 4 918 mobile centres which will go to all those places to register people so that people do not have to travel long distances, especially when we take into account the aged and the people living with disability because nobody should be left out in this programme.
We also have some people who are living with disability such as physical impairment or those who are dump. We have these machines which were manufactured in such a way that they can even register these people who are living with disability. Some people may not have the limbs or whatever, the machine will enable them to move to the next stage. This machine is sophisticated that it will capture that data which makes it possible to identify a voter so that when they come to the voters’ registration, they will be included.
I will not turn to braille. ZEC officers are now in the process of compiling documents on braille. It is still in the pipeline and may be concluded soon. When we talk of the Constitution, we are saying any official communication should include all the 16 languages in Zimbabwe including sign language. At the moment, we have managed to work on eight languages and the braille part was done working in conjunction with institutions of higher learning. It is our wish that these people be able to access voter education so that they are able to read for themselves instead of getting interpreters or people reading for them.
I thank you for giving me this time to explain on this voter education programme. It has to be inclusive. It is a Zimbabwean’s right to access information and they also should be registered as voters and take part in elections. We should help our colleagues but ZEC is in the forefront of leading this voter education. Thank you Madam President.
*THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: I thank you for
the explanation because as people’s representatives, we are going to tell our constituents the information that you have given to us.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: Thank you Madam President. I move that we extend questions without notice by ten minutes.
HON. SEN. MARAVA: I second.
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: Thank you Madam President and how are you?
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: I am fine, thank
you.
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: I am directing my question to the Minister of Mines Hon. Chidhakwa. What is Government policy regarding imparting information amongst the artisanal miners because these individuals are vicious. They fight using machetes, axes or whatever weapon they have. How are you educating them on good living?
*THE MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING
DEVELOPMENT (HON. W. CHIDHAKWA): Thank you Madam
President and thank you Hon. Chimbudzi for this question. It is a very important question. I had discussions with traditional leaders last week especially chiefs like Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira. You have said we need to hold talks with these artisanal miners because they are so violent and are slashing each other using machetes and axes. I was shown pictures of people who had been assaulted with the intention to do grievous bodily harm. As Zimbabweans, we wonder where this culture of violence is coming from.
I am appealing to this House that whenever as representatives of the people we hold public meetings, let us talk about peace and show them that whenever there is a misunderstanding amongst people, let us talk it over and not fight. If need be, let us look for arbitrators who are going to bring peace amongst people in disagreement. This is one of the ways which we are using. What is really worrying is that these artisanal miners behave like thugs and vagabonds. Regardless of the level of education, whenever there is a misunderstanding over gold, they become vicious, vagabonds, murderers and we have seen that whenever there is gold rush in those places, these people rush to those places and at times when they meet underground and get whatever it is they want, they fight.
One of these artisanal miners was telling me that whenever you are digging and you find that precious stone underground, do not tell your colleagues that you have found some piece of gold because you may be murdered or injured. We are saying let us live in peace. I am pleading with Hon. Senators and I have also talked the same to the chiefs that when addressing members of the public, they should talk about these issues including cases of rape. This violence in mining is prevalent in Mashonaland West such as Kadoma and Chakari.
We also have areas in the Midlands, Kwekwe and Mberengwa where there is a lot of fighting and assault with the intention to do grievous bodily harm. In some places, we have peace especially in Manicaland. There may be misunderstandings, but they are solved amicably. In Mashonaland Central, there was some violence to a limited extent but this is unlike what is happening in the Midlands Province and
Mashonaland West.
As leaders of the people, let us talk peace to our people and to our youth. As the Ministry, we are giving them lessons and educating them on mining. We have asked the School of Mines to approach these artisanal miners and teach them on the best ways of mining. We are saying the School of Mines, yes is in Bulawayo but we encourage that they establish campuses in different provinces. The Mutare one will be responsible for diamonds, Mashonaland West and Mashonaland East will be looking at other minerals. We are saying these artisanal miners should be taught about mining and the ethics which are necessary in mining and how people can cooperate in this mining programme. So, we have handed this over to the School of Mines. I thank you.
HON. SEN. B. SIBANDA: My question to the Acting Minister of Finance and Economic Development is, could he clarify the Government policy with regard to no currency involved payments now that the phenomena has been researched in view of the shortage of foreign currency. What is payable externally and what is payable in Zimbabwe in an import that does not involve foreign currency transmitted from Zimbabwe which has originated elsewhere? I am saying this because I went to look for a quotation which upon receipt seemed to be unreasonable to me and I asked, does this include the purchase price or it includes the purchase price and the profit? The answer was - it included both and I found it awkward that people who are paying in no currency involved are also paying the profit outside. I am saying what is our policy as a nation?
THE ACTING MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT (HON. W. CHIDHAKWA): I am grateful to Hon.
Sibanda for this question and it is a very important question. I understood what he asked. He is talking about the pricing system in Zimbabwe, what is obtaining in the market, and some of the anomalies whereby we have different rates from the RTGs, US, and the bond. I would be very grateful if Hon. Sibanda could put that question in writing so that we can make a thorough response after we have had discussions with the RBZ and Ministry of Finance. Yes, I may have some idea on how this one operates but I am not the substantive Minister of Finance.
Therefore, I will not respond to such a question since I am not very much knowledgeable on the subject and may end up distorting information. When I respond to your question, I will not be responding to you personally but I will be talking to the people of Zimbabwe at large. I ask you to put your question in writing and we will respond after making the necessary consultations.
HON. SEN. MARAVA: My question is directed to the Minister of Mines and Mining Development. Minister, what is the mining policy concerning extraction of minerals that are discovered at private places like a farm that is owned by somebody? Also, in the rural areas where we are finding that there is no consideration of traditional leaders when a person with a permit to mine comes along, is there a way you can improve that because of the disputes that are occurring? It will be a way of shooting four birds with one stone. Is there a way you can come in and help? What is your policy anyway?
*THE MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING
DEVELOPMENT (HON. W. CHIDHAKWA): Thank you Hon.
Senator for your question. The farmer and miner disputes – the disputes that have anything to do with miners are covered within the Mines and Minerals Act which says that all minerals are under the custody of the President. This means that if we are on a farm and someone else comes and registers through the Ministry that they want to prospect for gold on a certain farm, that person is allowed if there is no residential place within a radius of 450 metres. So, they are not allowed to prospect within 450 metres of your residence.
The challenge that we have is that the definition of a residence is that it is a homestead of bricks under corrugated roofing material. If you construct a thatched house, with the law that we have considering the 450 metres, it will fail to qualify. But, we have said this is a colonial law which wanted to protect the whites who were on the farms. Our homesteads are also residence although they are built of mud and are under thatch. This is when this issue of saying that if you own a farm and do not apply for a certificate of mining; if someone applies for a certificate, he/she is issued with that certificate but that does not affect your homestead. We are not the only ones who are facing that challenge. Even in America and Australia they have that challenge as well. They also demonstrate that they do not want people in their homesteads.
The Mines and Minerals Act has to be amended on the definition of homestead like I have said. What it says now is that if there is a dispute between the miner and the owner, the farmer, the miner is more superior than the farmer, but we want to create a situation that if gold is found on a farm, the person who finds that gold, if he wants to mine it, should enter into a discussion with a farmer and then they agree whether it is a compensation and the value of the compensation, but there should be an administrative court in place which looks on whether the compensations are reasonable. We also want to put other amendments like the code of conduct which will say that if you have been issued with a mining certificate you do not just get into a farm where people are resident and you do not approach the leadership of that homestead and introduce yourself.
I am talking about the chiefs. You should introduce yourselves to the chiefs and then they welcome you. If it is a big mining company the Minister of Environment, Water and Climate, Hon. Minister Muchinguri knows that the environmental assessment knows that it does not pass if the local leadership has not signed on those papers in agreement that they have welcomed the miners. What I plead with you is that we should not make it very difficult that we do not get investors in our areas because we would have made it very difficult. So, a code of conduct will help us to iron out some of these issues that when you get into a place you should recognise the traditional leadership which you should engage even the district administrators who you need to engage.
So, I am very confident that when we pass the Mines and Minerals Act, it is going to iron out these issues. If it is a homestead it is not allowed, but if we find oil at your homestead with the challenges that we have as Zimbabwe, we would really engage you that at least you would get full compensation just like with diamonds. I think in diamonds we should have done that. We should have given people full compensation and I am confident that in future we are going to give full compensation to all the people that we displaced because we want our country to develop further. Thank you.
*HON. SEN. DANDAWA: Thank you Madam President. My
question is directed to the Minister of Climate Change and Environment. In Shamva North, in Mashonaland Central we have a dam which had been pegged long back between ward 4 and ward 1, Mfure River. I want to find out when the dam is going to be constructed. That is what people in my constituency are asking me.
THE MINISTER OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND
ENVIRONMENT (HON. MUCHINGURI): Thank you Mr. President
Sir. I want to thank the Hon. Member for the question concerning the dam which they want to be constructed. I do not know the name of the dam. Is it Semwa? If it is Semwa there was an agreement and funds have been set aside. It is on our priority list.
Our law says that if we had money we could construct a dam in each and every district, but because of lack of resources we are not able to do that. If I can ask you to put it in writing so that I can investigate and find out the name of the dam so that I will give you a full answer, but I am saying if it is a small project like the construction of weirs, the Government through ZINWA our parastatal, we have money, $3 million which has been set aside which we said it should help the MPs who have constituencies. Going further from here, even the Senators and the MPs in your areas, if you come together and you work with our ZINWA engineers they will help you to design weirs because we want to harness all the water and construct small dams.
So we are saying all the MPs in the rural areas, you can get two tonnes so that you work with the community and our engineers so that you build small dams. So that programme is there and we have the money for that. We are pleading with you that if it is a small dam you can put it on our programme of 1200 for an MP who has a constituency. So, we have a lot of cement which can go a long way. So that is the only answer I can give, but I am not very sure which dam it is. I thank you.
WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE
- HON. TIMVEOS asked the Minister of Justice, Legal and
Parliamentary
- Why Justice Rita Makarau plays a triple role as judge of the supreme court Secretary for Judicial Services Commission and
Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC);
- To further explain what role she would play in the event election results are contested.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN.
BONYONGWE): Hon. Sen. Timveos raised very salient issues. Firstly, the Hon. Senator has inquired why Justice Makarau plays a triple role as judge of the Supreme Court, head of the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission (ZEC) and the Secretary for the Judicial Services
Commission (JSC).
Madam President, let me start by highlighting that Justice Makarau is a Supreme Court Judge who has risen to this post through her vast experience on the bench, as well as immense dedication and diligence to the legal fraternity. This is indeed very commendable. I will now turn on the question why she is also the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. By virtue of section 238(2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission must be a Judge or a former Judge or person qualified for appointment as a Judge.
Madam President, there is therefore nothing wrong with the appointment of a sitting Judge as the Chairperson of ZEC as this is in line with the Constitution. Where the President exercises his prerogative to appoint a judge to head ZEC, the dual roles of Judge and head of ZEC cannot be avoided nor faulted. It may also be important to note that from the time Justice Makarau was appointed Chairperson of ZEC in 2013, she has not sat in court to preside over any matter. In essence therefore, the issue of conflict of roles is unfounded and an unnecessary baseless argument.
Madam President, now turning to the third role that Justice
Makarau plays as the Secretary of the JSC; it is to be noted that the
Judicial Services Commission’s structure has not yet been concurred by
Treasury, as a result, the JSC Secretariat does not have permanent staff. Justice Makarau is merely on secondment as the Acting Secretary for the purposes of assisting with the running of the Commission’s activities. In view of the level of responsibility required of the office of the Secretary, the JSC made a decision that the Secretary should be at the equivalent level of a Supreme Court Judge.
Madam President, currently all members of staff at the JSC are on secondment from various departments. I sincerely hope that it has become clear on the roles that Justice Makarau plays, which is in my view do not conflict in any way. She is a Judge of the Supreme Court because this is the post she holds due to her experience and hard work. She is Chairperson of ZEC appointed by the President in fulfilment of the Constitution whereby the chairperson must be a Judge and lastly
Justice Makarau is the Acting Secretary seconded to the Judicial Services Commission.
The second part of Hon. Sen. Timveos’s question refers to the role that Justice Makarau plays in the event of election results being challenged. If elections were to be contested in court, there is only one role which Justice Makarau will play. She will be litigant. Since the coming into force of the 2013 Constitution and the appointment of Justice Makarau as head of ZEC in the same year, numerous election petitions and challenges have been filled in the Magistrates’ Courts,
High Court, Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court. The issue of Justice Makarau being Secretary of the JSC and head of ZEC has not interfered with the decisional independence of judicial officers seized with such matters and neither have appointments of contact or conflict been created.
Madam President, it is also important to note that despite being a
Judge, Justice Makarau does not sit in court. She has been sued in a lot of cases in the courts, in both her capacity as Acting Secretary of the JSC and Head of the ZEC. A distinction between the JSC and the Judiciary must clearly be spelt out. The JSC is an administrative body which does not give instructions to judges in relation to cases before the courts. Is simply provides support to the courts to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. The Judiciary is not answerable to the JSC but to the Chief Justice of Zimbabwe. Judges have security of tenure and have no basis to owe allegiance in any form to the Secretary of the Judicial Services Commission. I hope I have clarified these roles.
- HON. SEN. TIMVEOS asked the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs to explain to the House why the AntiCorruption Commission had no arresting power.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN.
BONYONGWE): I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Timveos for posing such a pertinent question which perhaps speaks to the everyday challenges that the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) faces. The Hon. Senator asked me to explain to the House why the ZACC does not have arresting powers.
Madam President, allow me to start off by highlighting the core functions and powers of ZACC as spelt out in the Constitution and the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission Act. Section 255 of the Constitution sets out the Commission as being an institution that should combat corruption and crime in Zimbabwe. It has a clear mandate to combat corruption and crime through investigating and exposing cases of corruption which involves but is not limited to theft, misappropriation of funds, abuse of power and dishonestly in both the public and private sector. The Commission also has power to direct the Commissioner – General of Police to investigate cases of suspected corruption, to refer to the Prosecutor General matters for prosecution as well as to require assistance from members of the police.
Madam President, from the foregoing it is therefore clear that the
Commission does not have powers to arrest. This does not however, preclude the Commission from carrying out its mandate as provided in the Constitution for one or more of the following reasons;
Firstly, by virtue of section 255 (2) where the Commission directs the Commissioner General of Police to carry out investigations, the Commissioner General must comply with the directive. When interpreting statues, the word must have a peremptory effect, hence the Commissioner General of Police has a constitutional obligation to comply. Failure by the Commissioner General of Police to act upon a directive from ZACC would be tantamount to a violation of the Constitution.
Madam President, secondly, following such an investigation, the Commissioner General of Police would proceed to arrest if he or she is satisfied that a crime has been committed.
Madam President, I might also add that the Commission is currently comprised of seconded police officers as part of its establishment. These police officers have powers to arrest, conferred by
Section 25 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act. In this regard, I make reference to a recent Constitutional Court Judgement of Jonathan N. Moyo versus Sergeant Chacha and three others CCZ19/17 wherein the apex court confirmed that where a police officer is on secondment, he or she does not cease the exercise of his or her office nor remove his or her arresting powers. Therefore any arrest made by such a police officer is deemed lawful. In essence, ZACC can make use of second police officers in order to effect lawful arrests.
In summary, the Constitution does not bestow arresting powers to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission as such; however, the Commission can act in cooperation with arresting authorities. Unlike other countries such as Zambia and Malawi, the Zimbabwe legal system does not provide for a multiplicity of units with arresting powers. I thank you.
PURCHASE OF SCHOOL BUSES BY SCHOOLS
- HON. SEN. KHUMALO asked the Minister of Primary and
Secondary Education to explain why schools have been instructed to purchase school buses from one supplier instead of choosing suppliers of their own choice?
THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
EDUCATION (HON. DR. DOKORA): Madam President, in the
recent years, the Ministry has witnessed an influx of buses which were purchased by our schools. While this was a positive move for the sector, there were also attendant irregularities in terms of prices and sizes of the buses. As the Hon. Members might be aware, there were some outcries from parent communities and some stakeholders with regards to the prices of some of the buses. For this reason, authority was then sought from the State Procurement Board with the view to regularise the purchase of the buses. The State Procurement Board directed the Ministry to abide by the provisions of the Cabinet Circular 11 of 2016 in which schools are instructed to procure buses from Deven Engineering, FAW Zimbabwe and AVM Africa.
FEE STRUCTURES IN GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS
- HON. SEN. KHUMALO asked the Minister of Primary and secondary School Education to explain why there exist two types of fee structures in Government schools as is the case in some schools where they charge $10,00 while others charge $20.
THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
SCHOOL EDUCATION (HON. DR. DOKORA): The Hon. Member
has rightly pointed out that we have different fee structures in relation to our schools. The nature of school fees structure is determined by the location of the school and the circumstances of the parents or guardians; hence the following table is indicative of the type of school and the fees payable.
Type | P1 | P2 | P3 |
Fees | $10 | $5 | $3 |
Type | S1 | S2 | S3 |
Fees | $20 | $10 | $5 |
P2 and S2 are schools that have parents who are gainfully employed. These parents afford to pay this fee. This was done to cater for all children of school going age to access education such that no child would be left out of school.
P3 and S3 are less privileged primary and secondary schools that have poor backgrounds and are located in rural areas, mostly where parents are peasant farmers. They sell their crops to pay fees for their children.
POLICY TO ENSURE GRADE SEVEN PUPILS ARE
PRODUCTIVELY ENGAGED AFTER WRITING
EXAMINATIONS
- HON. SEN. CHIMHINI asked the Minister of Primary and
Secondary Education to explain to the House:-
- What policy is in place to ensure that Grade Seven pupils are productively engaged after writing their Grade Seven examinations in October until schools close in December?
- What steps the Ministry intends to take against schools that allow Grade Seven pupils to either stay at home after their examinations or go to schools to play the whole day as has been observed in some instances.
THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
EDUCATION (HON. DR. DOKORA): According to Policy Circular
No. 62 of 1987, Grade 7 classes continue after examinations. The circular provides for pupils to remain at school until the normal closing date of term. This period of time should be used productively by providing remedial work for pupils who may need it and, for example, to reinforce work in subjects that may not have been given full attention in the period of intensive preparation for the Grade 7 examinations. In addition, the Grade 7 teachers do prepare schemes of work for the post Grade Seven examination activities which they follow so that the learners are productively engaged. For example, working in the school garden, being engaged in sporting activities, visiting local industries and other activities planned by their teachers.
- b) As a Ministry, we have always made it public that the
attendance of lessons by learners is compulsory. Teachers in charge of Grade 7 classes are obliged to mark registers on daily basis and to ensure necessary measures are taken so that learners attend lessons. The Provincial Education Directors and District school inspectors monitor attendance and activities after Grade Seven examinations.
MANAGING ACRIMONIOUS DISCORD THAT COMPROMISE
THE SECURITY OF THE NATION
- HON. SEN. CHIMHINI asked the Minister of Defence to explain to the House the point at which the Ministry intervenes when managing acrimonious discord that may compromise the security of the nation particularly, from threat statements by War Veterans, the Army and Youths.
THE MINISTER OF DEFENCE (HON. DR. SEKERAMAYI):
There is no real threat to national security at the moment from the groups mentioned by Hon. Chimhini. However, threats to national security, if any, are managed through the Joint operations Command system (JOC), which brings together all national security agents to progressively review the security situation in the country. When a determination is made by the JOC that a security situation has arisen where appropriate, security measures need to be taken and a collective informed position is adopted to guide appropriate action to be taken by assigned national security agents.
Action to be taken may be in the form of a joint statement by the Security Forces as was in the case of recent clashes between elements of the Army and the Police. Such statements indicate a common position of the Security Forces on the development and appropriate action they will take to resolve the situation
Questions Without Notice were interrupted by THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE (HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA)
in terms of Standing Order No. 62.
MOTION
LEAVE TO MOVE RESTORATION OF THE MOTION ON THE
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON INDIGENISATION AND EMPOWERMENT ON THE
CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING THE NON-
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COMMUNITY SHARE OWNERSHIP
TRUSTS IN MUTOKO AND MUDZI DISTRICTS ON THE
ORDER PAPER
HON. SEN. MAVHUNGA: Mr. President of the Senate, I seek leave of the House to move the restoration of the motion on the First Report of the Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment on the circumstances surrounding the non-establishment of the Community Share Ownership trusts in Mutoko and Mudzi districts on the Order Paper.
HON. SEN. MARAVA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
RESTORATION OF THE MOTION ON THE FIRST REPORT OF
THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON INDIGENISATION AND
EMPOWERMENT ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING
THE NON-ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COMMUNITY SHARE
OWNERSHIP TRUSTS IN MUTOKO AND MUDZI DISTRICTS
ON THE ORDER PAPER
HON. SEN. MAVHUNGA: Your Thematic Committee on
Indigenisation and Empowerment investigated circumstances surrounding the non-establishment of the Community Share Ownership Trusts in Mutoko and Mudzi districts. Oral evidence was collected and fact finding visits conducted. A report to that effect was tabled in this august House during the Fourth Session of this Eighth Parliament. However, the motion was superseded by the end of the Fourth Session before its conclusion. The motion has therefore been restored on the Order Paper to allow debating by the rest of the Senators and to get a response from the line Ministry as well as being adopted by this august House. I had already debated on this one so I will now call upon other Members who had not debated to do so. I thank you.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON
GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT ON ACCESS TO SAFE AND
CLEAN WATER IN RURAL AREAS
HON. SEN. MAKORE: I move that this House takes note of the First Report of the Thematic Committee on Gender and Development on Access to Safe and Clean Water in Rural Areas.
HON. SEN. BUKA: I second.
HON. SEN. MAKORE: In terms of Standing Order No 18,
at the commencement of every session, there shall be as many committees to be designated according to such Government policy areas as the Standing Rules and Orders Committee may deem fit. Each Select Committee shall be known by the theme determined for it by the Standing Rules and Orders Committee.
On Thursday, 6th October 2016, the President of the Senate announced that the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders had nominated the following Members to serve on the Thematic Committee on Gender and Development.
Hon. Sen. Bhobho | Hon. Sen. Buka | |
Hon. Sen. Chief Chiduku | Hon. Sen. Goto | |
Hon. Sen.Chief Masendu | Hon. Sen. Jadagu | |
Hon. Sen. Chief Musarurwa | Hon. Sen. Mavhunga | |
Hon. Sen. Chief Nembire | Hon. Sen. Matiirira | |
Hon. Sen. Mabugu | Hon. Sen. Mugabe | |
Hon. Sen. Mutsvangwa | Hon. Sen. Shiri | |
Hon. Sen. Khumalo D.T | Hon. Sen. Moeketsi |
Hon. Sen. Makore (Chairperson)
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Inadequate access to safe, hygienic and private sanitation facilities is a source of shame, physical discomfort and insecurity for citizens, particularly women in rural communities. Women end up spending much of their valuable time fetching water from distant sources. Access to safe and clean drinking water is a basic human right and is essential for achieving gender equality, sustainable development and poverty alleviation. Adequate and safe water is important for human health and well-being, economic production and sustainable development. Failure to ensure the safety of drinking water may expose the community to the risk of outbreaks of waterborne and infectious diseases. There are limited sources of water available to provide clean drinking water to the entire population in rural communities in Africa, including Zimbabwe. Surface water sources are often highly polluted and infrastructure to pipe water from fresh, clean sources to arid areas is too costly. Against this background, the Thematic Committee on Gender and Development resolved to conduct an inquiry into access to clean and safe water in rural areas.
2.0 Objectives
2.1 The Committee was motivated to achieve the following objectives:
2.1.1 to appreciate the programmes put in place by relevant officials in facilitating easy access to clean and safe water in rural communities;
2.1.2 to assess maintenance of water infrastructure in rural areas;
2.1.3 to appreciate challenges being faced by rural District
Councils in providing safe and clean water to communities and
2.1.4 to offer policy recommendations for improvements.
3.0 Methodology
3.1 On the 9th of May 2016, the Committee invited Dr. Chitepo, the Permanent Secretary for Rural Development, Preservation and promotion of Cultural Heritage for an oral evidence session, with the objective of briefing the Committee on the government’s policies and programs in facilitating easy access to clean and safe water in rural areas. In addition, the Committee conducted fact finding missions to selected districts (Zimunya, Gutu, Mberengwa, Umzingwane, Bubi and Gokwe – nembudziya) from the 26th of February to 2nd march 2017, to appreciate the programmes put in place by relevant officials in facilitating easy access to clean and safe water in rural communities.
The Committee met the Districts Sub Committees on Water and Sanitation.
4.0 Committee’s Findings: Oral evidence session: Ministry of
Rural Development, Preservation and Promotion of Cultural Heritage.
4.1 In her presentation, the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Chitepo highlighted that Government gives top priority to rural Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and has made significant progress in the water and sanitation front since attaining independence in 1980. However, the ongoing economic difficulties have resulted in the widespread collapse of rural water supply and sanitation infrastructure. Rural areas reflect worst indicators for both water and sanitation coverage where at least 35% of boreholes are non-functional at any given time. Inevitably, low water supply coverage in rural areas negatively impacts on the vulnerable, particularly women and girl children.
4.1.1 Regarding the legal policy, the Permanent Secretary indicated that there is a robust policy and legal framework providing for management, distribution and protection of water resources in the country. The said framework also establishes an elaborate institutional mechanism vis-a-vis both rural and urban water supply. The following are some of the key policy and legal instruments on water supply in the country.
4.1.2 Regarding the Water Policy, the Permanent Secretary indicated that the Government of Zimbabwe, in 2013, adopted the National Water Policy to guide all efforts to address challenges related to the provision of water in the country. The overall goal of policy is to achieve sustainable utilisation of water resources that in turn will, among others, improve Rural Development Policy and Strategy. The Ministry of Rural Development, Promotion and Preservation of National Culture and Heritage is developing a comprehensive policy and strategy that seeks to give detailed and stipulated standards vis-a-vis provision of key services such as water to rural communities.
4.1.3 On Institutional arrangement, the Water and Sanitation sector’s roles are subdivided amongst the following agencies. The Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate leads the entire water sector and chairs a redesigned National Action Committee on Water
Sanitation and Hygiene that is responsible for sector coordination. This Ministry has the responsibility for water resource management policy and development and houses the Zimbabwe National Water Authority
(ZINWA), which is currently both a regulator and service provider. The Ministry also houses the Environmental Management Agency whose responsibility is to enforce water pollution control. The Ministry of Health and Child Care has the responsibility for rural sanitation, environmental health education and public health. The Ministry of
Rural Development, Promotion and Preservation of National Culture and Heritage superintends over Rural District Councils (RDCs), which in terms of the water policy are categorised as Water Service Authorities. The District Development Fund (DDF) is responsible for development and maintenance of rural water supply infrastructure and chairs the rural
WASH sub-sector at all levels. Sub-national structures which
coordinate the various WASH activities are the Provincial Water Sanitation Sub-Committee and the District Water and Sanitation SubCommittee which are chaired by DDF.
4.1.4 Regarding the role of Rural Local Authorities in water supply, the Permanent Secretary stressed that in line with the principles of decentralisation, the responsibility of providing safe and clean water is developed to Rural District Councils with Central Government providing leadership and oversight. The RDCs are designated as Rural Water Authorities whose duty is to ensure efficient, affordable and sustainable access to water services to all communities under their jurisdiction. Accordingly, local authorities are accountable to their communities for WASH services at local levels. They therefore, own and manage public rural water and sanitation assets whether developed by Central Government or Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). They are also required to carry out maintenance of these assets and establish new WASH facilities from their own annual budgets.
The Government, through the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP), has provided funds to Rural Local Authorities to maintain and upgrade water reticulation system at rural service centres. However, both Central Government and rural local authorities have faced serious challenges vis-a-vis financing of the rehabilitation and development of new WASH infrastructure due to the prevailing harsh economic environment. This has resulted in reduction of water supply coverage in several districts.
4.1.5 Furthermore, the Permanent Secretary informed the Committee of the role being played by communities on water resource management by highlighting that the Government has adopted the Community Based Management (CBM) as a strategy to empower communities to effectively manage their respective water points. Accordingly, water point management communities have been established and trained towards ensuring that boreholes are timeously rehabilitated and maintained after breaking down.
The said communities have drafted constitutions which guide the operations of their respective water points. Furthermore, village pump mechanics have been trained in borehole rehabilitation and maintenance and provided with tool kits. This strategy has significantly reduced down –time following borehole breakdowns in all areas where CBM has been operationalised. Each borehole and deep well is supposed to supply at most 150 to 250 people, respectively at an average distance of 500 metres. However, this has not yet been achieved in most rural areas across the country with the new resettlement areas being the worst affected. The Ministry of Health and Child Care is mandated to monitor water quality of each water point twice a year to verify sustainability of water for human consumption. This has not been happening consistently due to resource limitation. Water quality testing is also conducted after the drilling of each new borehole to determine the sustainability of the water for human consumption.
4.1.6 Current Programmes in Supporting the Provision of
Clean and Safe Water in Rural Areas.
4.1.6.1 Rural WASH Project
The Zimbabwe Rural WASH project co-funded to the tune of $55 million by the Department of International Development (DFID) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is a four year project stretching from June, 2012 to June 2016. The project is being implemented in 33 districts in five provinces of Mashonaland West,
Masvingo, Midlands, Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South. Negotiations are underway towards extending project coverage to the remaining three rural provinces of Mashonaland East, Mashonaland Central and Manicaland. The project is implemented by the
Government of Zimbabwe through the National Action Committee for Water Sanitation and Hygiene. UNICEF is a fund manager and technical advisor. The ultimate beneficiary and Service Authority is the
RDCs which get technical advice and support from the various sectors.
The overall objective of the project is to contribute towards the reduction in the morbidity and mortality due to WASH related diseases and to reduce the burden of water collection on women and girls. The immediate objective is to increase equitable and sustainable access to and use of safe water supply and improved sanitation and hygiene practices among the rural population.
4.1.6.2 Growth Points WASH (WORLD BANK FUNDED
PROJECT)
The World Bank is supporting ZINWA and local authorities to the tune of US$20 million for the rehabilitation and upgrading of water works at the following growth points: Gutu (Mupandawana), Gokwe (Nembudziya), Guruve (Guruve Business Centre), Mberengwa (Mataga), Mutare (Zimunya) and Shamva (Madziva). Implementing of the project has commenced.
Further to the above, UNICEF and Government of Zimbabwe have signed a five-year programme (2016-2020) towards supporting water supply efforts at 30 Growth Points across the country. This will be a complete WASH package intervention consisting of hardware, software and institutional capacity building. Thus, the scope of the project focuses on rehabilitation of water and sewer plants, hygiene promotion, billing system; water safety planning and promotion of school WASH at the said centres. The project promotes the use of solar technology which is not only environmentally friendly but also financially sustainable.
The project targets will start from three growth points namely: Inyathi in Bubi district, Nkayi and Esigodini in Umzingwane District before spreading to other selected growth points.
4.2 Rural WASH Information Management Systems
(RWIMS)
This is a mobile automated village based consultative inventory for WASH infrastructure (VBICI). It is the agreed sector strategy for mobilisation of Rural WASH sector data. The approach makes use of Government extension workers for data collection and was developed from a paper based data collection tool and desktop based database.
RWIMS was specifically designed and developed to meet the
Government’s information needs and requirements.
4.3 Fact Finding Mission.
4.3.1. Lack of Access to Clean Water in the RDCs
It was mentioned in the Committee that in Zimunya District, 36 wards with a total of 1 330 water points, has some areas without boreholes at all. This includes Ward 27, 31 and 33.
4.3. 2. Gutu RDC has 1 500 boreholes and the Committee was told that, on average, rural residents still walk more than a kilometer to the nearest water source. As a result, most residents resort to using water from unprotected sources. It was reported in Gutu RDC that, overally
30% have access to clean water, and only two chiefs’ homesteads have been provided with clean water.
4.3.3 It was presented to the Committee that Bubi District’s 502 boreholes are concentrated in the minority nine (9) wards, which constitute the old resettlements and old communal areas. The rest of the 14 wards comprised of new resettlement areas established in 2000 and residents in those areas walk between five and seven kilometers to the nearest source of water, hence they resort to use of water from unprotected sources.
4.3.4 The Committee was informed in Umzingwane district that, out of a total of 319 boreholes, only 242 were functional. Of the 316 deep wells, only 220 are functional and of the 16 piped water schemes, only four were functional because sources dried up. There are 80 dams and 65 have water and 15 dam walls were washed away during floods in 2017. Three wards wholly depend on deep wells since the boreholes could not penertrate the granite underground. The Committee was also told that the Mtshabezi’s seven water outlet projects with huge potential to supply water for domestic consumption and irrigation, had been on the drawing board for too long.
4.3.5 The Committee was informed that Gokwe North, with a population of 252 612, had the following statistics on walking distance to water sources. Forty percent were walking less than 500 metres; Twenty eight percent were walking more than 500 metres but less than 1 km and 32% were walking 1 km and above. The Committee was concerned to note that at least 60% of residents in Gokwe North walk over 500 metres to the nearest water sources with above 30% walking for over 1 km. to get water.
The statistics for the main source providing water for the households in the district are as follows: 432 boreholes supply about 108 000 residents; 61 deep wells supply about 61 000 residents; 303 shallow wells supply about 15 150 residents and 44 springs supply 2 202 residents. The Committee observed that many residents of Gokwe North are still getting water from sources such as deep wells, shallow wells and springs – which have high risk of being contaminated and run dry during the dry seasons of the year. This exposes households, residents and those of public institutions to water borne diseases and after the rainy season, the majority of these residents have to walk long distances beyond the standard of 500 metres to fetch water for domestic consumption.
The Committee was informed that there was an outbreak of diarrhea at Gandavaroyi Clinic in October 2016 and at Msadzi Clinic in January 2017 due to use of unsafe water in terms of water provision to public institutions. Ninety-eight boreholes supply water to public institutions of which only 68 are functional, exposing institutions to use of unrealiable and unsafe water.
4.4 Sanitation
4.4.1 The Committee was further informed that in Mutare RDC, during the month of February 2017, 1 614 cases of diarrhea were recorded due to use of unsafe water. In Mberengwa RDCs, officials informed the Committee that in the month of January 2017, there were 682 and 125 cases of diarrhea and dysentery cases, respectively.
4.4.2 In Gokwe-Nembudziya, with regards to sanitation, out of 195 communities, only 24 villages have been certified open defecation free (ODF), giving us a 12% coverage. Of the 42 102 households in the district, only 8 753 have latrine toilets, which is a coverage of 21%. The district has 22 health facilities and seven out of these do not have water supply.
4.5 INWA supplies water to RDCs
4.5.1 The Committee was informed that ZINWA is responsible for supplying water to residents at growth points while the RDCs lay out the water and sewer pipes. ZINWA supplies water to Gutu and Mberengwa RDCs, yet it is based in Masvingo. This to a greater extent compromised the expected standard of service delivery, especially the attendance to burst pipes which take a long time to be fixed by ZINWA technicians who have to travel from Masvingo.
In Umzingwane the Committee was informed that ZINWA which operates from Bulawayo, supplies water to Esigodini with 8 000 residents and that supply is at best erratic. ZINWA was also said to have no requisite spare parts to repair water and pipes that as a result aresidential location called Garikai had been without water for a long period. Umzingwane RDCs officials communicated to the Committee that ZINWA had advised the RDC to stop expansions of residential locations at Esigodini since ZINWA has no capacity to deliver water.
The Committee was further informed that Umzingwane RDC has four dams which are Umzingwane, Nyankuni, Mtshabezi and UpperNcema; yet, the RDC does not have reliable sources of water to supply to its residents. Bulawayo City Council gets water from the dams, treat it and sell it to ZINWA, which in turn sells the same water to Umzingwane RDC residents at exorbitant rates at a fixed charge of $7 for domestic consumption.
4.6 State of roads
4.6.1 Mberengwa RDCs officials informed the Committee that three main bridges in the district had been destroyed by floods, making it difficult to move across wards to repair boreholes that had been flooded and contaminated by floods. The bad state of roads in Gokwe North District, especially after the 2017 floods, make it impossible for pump minders and technicians to maintain water infrastructure, thus breakdowns take weeks or even longer before being repaired. Due to bad state of roads to Mberengwa (Mataga) and Gokwe-Nembudziya the
Committee conducted its meeting with a sub-Committee on Water and
Sanitation at Mberengwa District Administrator’s office and at Gokwe Centre RDC offices respectively.
5.0 Committee Observations
The Committee found out that in most districts, a huge number of boreholes are dysfunctional, and/or their distribution is skewed in favour of some regions. The new resettlements do not have adequate boreholes. In the resettlement areas, residents still walk more than a kilometre to get to the nearest water source.
The Committee found out that in almost all the districts, residents and institutions were struggling to comply with ZINWA’s water tariffs structure: for domestic users - $7 fixed charge and 40 cents for the first 10 000 units. For commercial rates, it is $10 fixed charge and 96 cents per unit for the first 25 000 units. As a result, residents were failing to pay their water rates, with Gokwe North reporting a default rate of at least 50%. At the same time, submissions made to the Committee by ZINWA officials indicated that the tariffs that are being charged to water consumers are not commercial rates and cannot be used for capital investment but are barely meant for ZINWA to break even and carry out repairs and maintenance.
ZINWA official revealed to the Committee that residents are being prejudiced as they are required to continue paying fixed charges even during a period when water is not being delivered due to breakdowns, as immediate stoppage or deductions of water payments are not done after breakdown of water supply.
RDCs WASH programmes in almost all the districts do not have special provisions targeting water delivery to the disabled residents and chiefs. This is a major shortfall in water provision in the rural areas by the RDCs and ZINWA. Chiefs require adequate clean water to maintain standard sanitation and hygiene and prevent outbreak of diseases as they always conduct meetings and tribunal meetings attended by many residents who should have access to clean water and ablution facilities. Disabled residents cannot get water on their own from sources that are far away and in most cases, cannot pump water using boreholes, some 150 meters deep.
In all the RDCs visited by the Committee, there is an overlap and duplication of roles and responsibilities with regards to water delivery.
As a result, the RDCs have been somewhat pushed to the periphery as far as clean water delivery to residents at growth points and public institutions and collecting tariffs for the service is rendered. The RDCs are responsible first, for laying the required water pipes and sewer system infrastructure and hand over to ZINWA to use. There are overlaps of the roles and responsibilities of the two authorities related to maintenance work and custody of the master plan of the water system at growth points. Secondly, the RDCs are also responsible for sinking, repairing and maintenance of boreholes in rural areas, in conjunction with Water Points Management Committees (WPMC) and village mechanics comprised of local village residents.
In all the districts visited by the Committee, the major challenge highlighted relate to the following:
- Inadequate funding for WASH programmes;
- Lack of spare parts to repair boreholes and that in some districts, revenue collected from rural residents is not enough to purchase the expensive spare parts kits;
- Shortage of funds to drill boreholes, some of which are as deep as
250 metres or above;
- Inadequate water testing kits;
- Shortage of funds to acquire material to construct latrine toilets in rural areas.
The Committee found out that RDCs used to receive the Public Sector Investment Fund (PSIF) from Government. The facility was critical in the development of water and sanitation infrastructure for
RDCs. Its suspension, to a greater extent has compromised the RDCs’ capacity to deliver water and sanitation services to RDCs residents in rural areas and at growth points.
Water reticulation infrastructure at most RDCs is old and outdated.
6.0 Committee Recommendations
There is need to increase funding for WASH projects by
Government in rural districts, especially in resettlement areas where the majority of residents are still walking more than one kilometre to their nearest water sources, most of which are unprotected sources by 31 December, 2017.
The country still faces enormous challenges in improving rural sanitation. In that regard, RDCs should ensure that all households in all villages, in all rural communities should have latrines and be certified open defecation free (ODF) by December, 2017.
RDCs should employ deliberate policy initiatives to deliver piped water system to public institutions including schools, clinics, hospitals, district administrative offices and at the residence of chiefs and homesteads of disabled persons to guarantee proper sanitation by November, 2017.
At all growth points where residential areas are expanding rapidly due to migration from outlying rural areas, RDCs should introduce expanded piped water by December, 2017. Sewer systems, septic tanks and blair toilets which are currently being used at most growth points should be abandoned. This will improve the sanitation and hygiene standards to a great deal in rural areas and ultimately curb the outbreaks of diarrhea, typhoid and dysentery diseases.
There is need to review the dual management of water systems in RDCs, harmonise and redefine the roles and responsibilities of RDCs and ZINWA in the provision of clean water to rural communities and at growth points by December, 2017.
Water tariff structures, both for domestic consumers and commercial rates should be reviewed downwards by December, 2017.
There is need to shed off ZINWA roles in distributing water to residents at growth points, a duty that should be handed over to local RDCs by December, 2017. It is envisaged that this will greatly improve levels of payment compliance and revenue generation from rural communities.
Rural communities, especially those in regions four and five could be better served by installation of solar powered boreholes and piped water systems that distribute water to households through taps by
December, 2017.
All RDCs should engage technical engineers who should draft master plans for the residential areas, water and sewer pipes at growth points, and avoid situations where building structures end up being constructed on top of water pipes by December 2017. The road network in rural areas should be improved in most, if not all rural districts in the country by December 2017. Solar powered water pumps should be installed as they are friendly to the disabled women and girls.
ZINWA should only charge residents for water used and avoid fleecing residents of their hard - earned money by January 2018. Treasury should avail sufficient budgets targeting development of water infrastructure, ultimately working towards the reintroduction of PSIP by December, 2017.
Water reticulation infrastructure at most RDCs should be revamped to avoid future disasters as most of the equipment are old and outdated. I thank you Mr. President.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: The
seconder of this motion will have to come in on the 21st of November, 2017 when we resume sitting.
HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA: Mr. President, I move that
the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 21st November, 2017.
On the motion of HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA, seconded by HON. SEN. MOHADI, the Senate adjourned at Seventeen Minutes to Four o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday 29th November 2017
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE
SENATE
CIRCULATION OF CDF, OFFICER’S INSTRUCTIONS AND
OPERATIONAL MODALITIES COPIES
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: I wish to inform
the Senate that copies of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), the accounting officer’s instructions and the operational modalities have been circulated through Senators pigeon holes for your information.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. MAKONE: Madam President, I move that Order of
the Day, Number 1 be stood over, until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed.
HON. SEN. SHOKO: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON
GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT ON ACCESS TO SAFE AND
CLEAN WATER IN RURAL AREAS
Second Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the First Report of the Thematic Committee on Gender and Development on access to safe and clean water in rural areas.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. MACHINGAIFA: Thank Madam President and
how are you.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: I am fine, thank
you and how are you.
*HON. SEN. MACHINGAIFA: Thank you for giving me this opportunity to make my contribution on this motion. I want to thank Hon. Sen. Makore and the whole Committee. We are very grateful to the Committee which moved around the country and all the Hon.
Senators who have debated before me. We are grateful to the Committee which moved around looking at problems faced by people in accessing water.
Madam President, this is a very important motion. Water is not readily available in many places. Our wish is that in rural areas, especially health technicians, they will be sitting in offices without carrying out their duties of monitoring water situation in their areas. They should be busy moving around looking at the problems faced by people. When we look at water problems, the main sufferers are women simply because at times they travel long distances to get water. As a result, some people will end up drinking unhygienic water.
I have noticed that people are refusing to give people water because the water will be dirty; it is not that they do now want to give a passerby water. You get surprise at whether they would have any water to drink. When they have this water which is unhygienic and they want you to help them that is when they give you that water so that you will be in a position to assess their situation and look for ways of helping them.
I remember there was a time when we were in Chinhoi and the former Governor was saying, when we talk of borehole water, we may say people have clean water but we can only beat our chest and be proud of ourselves as a nation, if all the people can access water coming from piped systems. Such water is not easily contaminated. It is high time whereby these technicians should impart knowledge on the digging of the blair toilets. Some people have no idea as to how the underground systems of water operate. The toilet system may be put on the upper end while the water will be on the lower side. We must have piped water especially in Mahororo area of Magunje.
When we were growing up, we used to know that in our parks in the cities, there were some pipes which were clearly labeled that it was not drinking water coming from that pipe, it was sewage water which was supposed to be used for watering the gardens. We also used to have water for cleaning but because of the vandalism which is in-built in human beings, we have removed those labels. As a result, people are now drinking water from the sewage because there are no labels. Now, it is our priority as a nation that people should access water especially in rural areas; people should access clean, hygienic and sanitary systems in their localities. Thank you.
*HON. SEN. MARAVA: Thank you Madam President. I feel
obliged to make a contribution on this motion on water and sanitation. What compels me to make a contribution on this motion is that we are talking of life; water is life. People should access clean water for both drinking and any other business. When we look at the people in rural areas, they are the people we call the voiceless. As Members of
Parliament, in our portfolios as representatives, we are supposed to talk about the problems they are facing. That is why we have the traditional leaders in those areas. Therefore, we need to persuade the traditional leaders to talk about the problems faced by people in accessing safe water because the water which is used by the residents in the rural areas is the same water source which is used by the traditional leaders.
When water borne diseases attack, they start attacking that individual who is more vulnerable. When a mother is pregnant, the unborn child is most affected. That is why as a Government we should take it as a priority to take preventive measures against water borne diseases by supplying clean and hygienic water in rural areas. At the moment, getting treatment is very expensive. If people get clean and safe water diseases will be less and we will cut expenses. I am pleading with these local authorities to consider prioritising provision of safe and clean water to people.
We have also noticed that the boreholes which were sunk in rural areas, some of them have broken down. Therefore we cannot talk of increasing them at this point. There is need to invest more money in installing water systems in the rural areas. The Committee led by Hon.
Sen. Mumvuri is very essential especially in the access of water.
Remember, there is this adage – ‘water is life’ and if we do not have
water we have more diseases.
There is an Hon. Member who made a contribution on this motion that there are many people in Zimbabwe who are getting water from the rivers. They dig wells on the river beds. This water is flowing underground streams and upstream somebody will be using some chemicals from soap yet there is no thorough filtration of this water. So, whoever drinks that water will be drinking dirty water.
We have realised that most of the people in our country live in the rural areas, not only that we all come from rural areas. As Hon. Members, we should go and talk to the District Administrators or local leaders so that they invest more money and manpower in getting people access safe and clean water in rural areas. This issue should not be put aside because we have some other motions which are being raised. We are the authorities; we are the representatives of the people; we are the people who live within those communities which are suffering from water borne diseases. During our campaigns, we told people that we were going to stand by them in terms of their problems.
My wish is that each and every one of us, when we go to our areas should check whether we buy water to drink, shunning our own water sources which our people drink. As Hon. Members, we can afford to buy water but what about the people who elected us, can they afford that? The normal thing will be to drink from the same well where the electorate drinks so that we see that we are one and the same people. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: Thank you Madam President. I would like to add my voice on this very important motion on accessing clean water and sanitation. I would like to thank the mover and seconder of this motion. I would also like to thank the Chairman, Hon. Sen. Makore and your Committee for moving around the country holding public hearings on the importance of supplying clean water to the population of Zimbabwe.
When we look at what was happening in the resettlement areas where most of the people have moved from the high density areas to these resettlement areas, we realise that people were drinking water from the dams while the white person who owned that farm would access clean water. Workers were drinking from dams where pigs and other animals also drink, even passing in that water. To date, we still have the same situation whereby people still drink water from dams, sharing the dam with wild and domestic animals.
We know that Government introduced a water and sanitation programme which aimed at making people access clean and hygienic water. In my constituency especially on the border with Mozambique, there is no river which flows throughout the year. So, we had introduced a programme of de-siltation of rivers but you will realise that water is only retained during the rainy season. In winter, there is no water. Government had introduced a programme whereby pipes were laid underground to draw water but that did not move well. Unfortunately, by nature human beings are vandals so they vandalised the equipment and people can no longer access water using those pipes. So, I think it is up to us as Hon. Members to teach our own people and inculcate a culture of maintenance and retention of what we all use even if it is public property. When that equipment is destroyed, the cost of repairing or installing new equipment is very expensive and we cannot afford it.
People need to be educated and have the value of communal ownership inculcated in them. We realise that people who face the most challenges are the women who have to fetch water from long distances.
At times I am worried about the men folk for not being gender sensitive. When they want to construct houses they do so in areas which are on top of mountains and yet the woman is the one who carries water from the valley up the mountain. So, how can someone build a house on top of Mavuradonha and then get water from the valley? Let us teach our people that water is very essential. Water is an element which we cannot do without. It has to do with our welfare. Water prevents water borne diseases, especially if you access it from the dams.
I moved around in my constituency and went to a dam where people had water pipes installed. When I opened that tap the water which came out was green, showing that there was some fungus in that water and it was being pumped straight from the dam to the people’s homes. So, in this new Zimbabwe let us take care of our people and ensure that they access clean water, because under the prevailing conditions people are drinking dirty water which has fungus and algae will cause diseases.
Thank you Hon. Makore and your committee for moving around. We also noticed that our councillors and councils do not have the capacity of completing any water projects which they will have launched. If you visit some other growth points and townships, there is no clean water and yet there is a local authority which is operating within that area. So, what we need to look at is to empower our local authorities through supervision and follow up, especially in the area of water provision. Growth points have high population and they need to have clean water. We also have people who will be travelling in buses and when they get down to get water at a growth point, there is nothing. That is why there is need for us to play an oversight role on the local authorities, mayors, councillors and the Chief Executive Officers.
We know water is essential and when we look at our wild animals they also need water but when looking at the current situation, the people share water with wild animals. At times even pigs, donkeys and cattle also use the same water holes but you know what the pigs do, they also pass urine and dung where they will be drinking. If we had more money, as MPs we should be funded to visit some other countries and see how they are supplying water to the people. After the study tour we may try and indigenise that idea and localise it so that we have clean water and better sanitation. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. MALULEKE: I also stand up to add my voice to this very important motion, especially with regards to us women. Water coming out in most areas is dirty and has not been treated. I support the Hon. Member who said that Parliament needs to be well funded so that
MPs can go on study tours in other countries. We notice that even from last year the climatic conditions changed and we experienced heat waves. When we look at Chiredzi, in areas like Gezani to Malipati you will realise that women face a lot of problems. People drink water from the same places with wild animals and domestic animals. A pregnant woman with a baby on her back and two other toddlers will be tailing the mother to go and fetch water. That is why we are saying put more money on sanitation and water so that we ease the burden of the women folk.
Hon. Muchinguri advised MPs to look at the progress which has been done by the district administrator’s office or the councils with the main idea of looking at areas where boreholes could be sunk. I personally held meetings with the councillors and also with the DDF. We know there is no progress there because from discussions with them it shows there is nothing they can do. I spent the whole day moving from one office to another but to no avail. The last office I went in to get information on boreholes was the DA’s office. I asked him whether he was still employed or serving his notice and his response was that is how we operate. When I asked him whether I should give Hon. Muchinguri his response he asked me to wait so he could go and find more information from his officers and that was the last I saw of him until I gave up waiting for him. I even went into the CEO’s office to get information on the boreholes and water situation, but there was no documented evidence on the water situation and supply in the area. The CEO said it was the function of DDF and there was a lady who was in charge but nothing to take to the Minister. However, I am glad that the DA has been moved and maybe there is going to be a change in the way they do business.
There are people who are accessing their own water but it is expensive to go it alone. At times you may dig up to 60metres and still fail to get water. There was a time when I asked some people to come and dig boreholes in my area and they had charged me $3000 to drill a borehole. They said we are going to charge you up to $5000 because we get water at a deeper level than that. Now, do we plead with the Lord to be merciful on us because in our constituency which is in the Lowveld, our water is also very low, we cannot easily access it?
When you come to our areas, our animals are so healthy that you think there is water. What happens is, our women are so energetic. They will be pumping water in the boreholes for these cattle. You may find that a farmer has up to 600 cattle and the women will be doing the pumping of the water because men will be somewhere; maybe working in urban areas or mines. We have to keep on working because it is our country and we are proud of it, but we need to have easy access to clean water and sanitation.
*HON. SEN. CHIFAMBA: Thank you Madam President. I
would like to thank Hon. Sen. Makore for bringing in this report, together with the committee members looking at the challenges people are facing in the rural areas when it comes to accessing clean water. Let me go back to the girl child. In the morning she has to fetch water first, bath and go to school. After school, she has to come back because she is living with her grandmother. She has to come back from school and
also will go and fetch water because she has to prepare the meals. Even pregnant women are travelling a lot of kilometers to fetch water to prepare meals for the whole family, all who are looking up to her.
The boreholes that were drilled are not functioning. For example, at St Johns Manhinga School; children live behind the mountains, so they have to climb the mountains to fetch water. So, they will leave their tins there, then from school they will have to carry the tins up the mountains as well and mainly it is the girl child who does that. Boys normally do not carry the buckets. If you have a sick person at home, it is very difficult. Maybe it is the father and it means it is me who should go and fetch water for him to bath and also to prepare meals. It is very difficult for women.
I think we are now being given the $50 000 and I think we should go and drill boreholes for the people in the rural areas. That should be the first priority for people to get boreholes, because people are really having a lot of challenges. It is very difficult, moreso if you have a person who is not feeling well, because you are the woman who is supposed to go to the fields and also prepare meals. Men cannot fetch water for women to bath. Even if a child is sick at home, the challenge is faced by the woman. You know that if our children get sick wherever they are, they are brought to the rural areas. If you do not have water, you find that the challenge is just too huge. I want to thank the Lord. I know a lot of Senators have debated a lot on this and I know that the $50 000 is going to be channeled to this. I thank you.
HON. SEN. D.T. KHUMALO: Thank you Madam President for
letting me put a few words into this motion. I am one of the members of this committee which has produced this nice report. When we were travelling in the rural areas, we were shown some of the boreholes which were there which were not working. It meant that women are going to travel the distance. They were already far from their homes, now the nearest borehole is broken. They were saying they travel between five to ten kilometers looking for water. You can imagine how much of that water is going to last within the home, because it will just be a bucket. It is not a scotch cart; they are going to be carrying the water on their heads.
We know the importance of water; water is life. I understand that if there is poor water supply within an area, sometimes there are diseases such as diarrhea. Diarrhea, among children is a very serious disease. I looked at the report from the Multiple Cluster Survey which showed that about 30% of children were dying because of diarrhea. They were saying that also 3.3% of the children were wasted. Wasting is malnutrition which comes quickly because of something which has happened to the children. It is different from stunting, because for stunting you will say maybe there has not been any food, it has lasted for a long time but wasting shows that there is a serious thing which has happened within the environment where these children are. As Members of Parliament, as well as being members, we have our chiefs here. We have to work together to ensure that the water is available because once it is available, it reduces the diseases which are among the communities and the most sensitive are the children and the pregnant woman who is going to look for water.
This survey says 30% of the children were found to be of low birth weight. Why - because the mother has no time to sit down after she has eaten so that the child can grow. Therefore, as chiefs and Members of Parliament, we have to advocate for the availability of water within the rural areas. When we look at this survey, it gives the drop outs of girls from schools. If this girl is going to be late every time because she has to go and look for water before going to school, at the end she is just going to say let me sit down so that I can carry this water and not go to school. Let us work together and ensure that water is available within the rural areas so that our girl child can be advantaged as well, go to school and reach a level where she has chosen, not because of the water which is eight or ten kilometers away. She will be tired and if she goes to school, she comes back home and she runs to fetch some water and cook. Together, I think we can achieve a lot to help the children.
Our Constitution says water is a right. Now, if it is eight or ten kilometers away, it is no more a right. These women who are suffering looking for water have no rights. Their rights have been violated by lack of water. Can we work together not to violate the women’s rights by making the water unavailable and therefore, they will not have time to cook for us men and the aged like us because they will be busy looking for water. At the end, we will be sick and these young women will stop going to school. They cannot even advance themselves even if they get married are settled and still want to go to school. How can they advance themselves when they are going to be walking 10 km away? Even if there is electricity at the schools which are near them, they cannot read because they will be going to school to look for water which is far away.
Therefore, women will be less educated than men, which is not right. Can we have equal opportunities so that the girls/women can also advance themselves like men?
Madam President, I think I have said enough. I hope we all see that we have to improve on the nutritional status of the children so that they are not wasted or stunted because water is available. Mothers can wash their hands to prevent diarhoea which is going to waste the children. I thank you.
HON. SEN. MAKONE: Thank you Madam President. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Makore and his Committee for bringing to us this report as a result of their visits to the rural areas on this very important topic. Madam President, I do not have too many words to say. I just have two issues that I just wanted to bring to the attention of the House.
Let us say the provision of water was customarily the duty of men, would we be talking about this issue today? They would have made sure that water is easily available and is right inside the yard. They would have done that a long time ago and all you had to do was to take your bucket, go outside, get the water and go back inside. But, because it is the duty of women to make sure that there is water for cooking, washing and looking after the domestic animals, they will not do anything. So, let us not think that this is something which is insurmountable. This is something which is very easily done and which could be done, all that is needed is the will to do it. The will to do it is what is missing.
The second thing which I was going to raise Madam President, is about the Constitution. Our Constitution says that there shall be devolution. If we had since 2013 started implementing the Constitution, by now we would have provincial councils running their own affairs and all the things that worry them there. The topic we are discussing now is not a national thing but is a local one that should be looked after by people responsible at that level. Because we are not implementing our own Constitution, we are still bothering about elementary things which are none of our business.
Madam President, it is my hope that the new dispensation that we have will ensure that the Constitution is implemented as is – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] - so that the new President can be given accolades for things that can happen in a short time. One of them is just saying to people, ‘guys we do not have money for salaries but this is what the Constitution says. You have nominated people who are already at ZEC, because we are not going to look for people – they are already there by name, go and do what you have to do at the local level’. The problem that Senator Maluleke was raising of DAs who do not do their jobs, who are missing and just disappear will go away overnight because they will have local supervision of a local parliament at the provincial level and things will start happening. We cannot micro-manage this Government from a Senate in Harare, it is not possible. Let us do what the people said they wanted done in 2013 – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – Thank you Madam President.
*HON. SEN. MASHAVAKURE: I am also grateful to the Hon. Member who introduced this motion and the one who seconded it. This is a very important motion and I know all the Hon. Members in this august House are listening to my contribution. The most important aspect of our discussion is that we need to plan our projects because in most cases, we observe that whenever we want to implement a project we do not make thorough planning. When we look at countries which have scarce water such as the Middle East, they have done detailed planning to enable them to access clean water. We need to also change our culture. We have an organisation called the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) and I would have expected this organisation to make a detailed and well researched plan so that people can access clean water.
I once attended some Committees in the Senate and some of the people we talked to especially on issues to do with farming told us that ZINWA was bad at giving people water but excellent in levying the farmers so that they could collect more money. The farmers were saying, even if you are asked to pay some cash upfront for ZINWA to come and repair your water equipment, they will not come and as a result, irrigation suffers. We expect ZINWA to work hard so that people can access water. Even in towns, people should access clean and hygienic water.
When we talk of planning, we should also talk about the removal of duplication of roles and I will refer to what has been said by somebody. Someone said in rural areas we have the CEO of the council, the head of the District Development Fund (DDF) and also head of the
DA’s office but because of the duplication of assignments, nobody among these people takes ownership of the problem of water in the rural areas and that is why there is this adage. What belongs to everybody belongs to nobody because at the planning stage, the CEO of the council will say the DA will carry out remedial measures while the DA will also say DDF has the responsibility to supply water.
Instead of having people crossing each other’s parts with no progress, we need to look at the duplication of services and also avoid having many people attending to one problem. We need to assign such programmes to an individual, organisation or authority and Government to channel monies to that selected body and not give piece-meals to the many organisations.
I am saying, even if we have these three authorities running the water programme, they need to co-ordinate; they need to put their heads together. They should not look at themselves as individual entities that will be responsible of carrying out maintenance programmes and installations in a particular area, but if they work hand in hand and share information, facilities and utilities, there is going to be a supply of water to the people. That is why I am calling for unity in action between the district administrator’s office, the Chief Executive Officer’s office and the DDF. If we do that, we will avoid duplication of services.
We also have other organisations which come - these nongovernmental organisations and also embassies. They come into the areas with the intention of installing water bodies in those areas and there can be enough benefit to the intended beneficiaries if the three authorities work together.
We also have the other problem which has just crept in, that of artisanal miners. What they do is, they go and dig for alluvial gold in the rivers and because of what they do; they use chemicals such as mercury and as a result, the water bodies are polluted. The water bodies suffer from siltation because they dig wherever they think there should be gold which they take to Fidelity. That is why I am calling for unity in action between the three authorities responsible for the welfare of people regarding the water and also the mining because these miners dig for gold near rivers. The mining problems lead to the siltation of the rivers creating problems for the common people.
We may think that the water problem is only in rural areas, but we have noticed that even in urban areas we have councillors who are now sinking boreholes in those areas, but unfortunately when they look for sites to sink these wells, at times they do not look at the distance from the sewage pipes because what they have said is the recommended distance between a sewage pipe or a sewer pond and the drinking water body is 30 metres. However, there is a problem with such distances because of the underground streams.
We are calling for piped water systems in rural areas and yet in urban areas people are not accessing this piped water. At times even if they are accessing the piped water, it is dirty, rusty, full of algae and fungi and we are saying, if we are working together as a team, we will be able to attract investors who will want to work and help people with the supply of water in rural areas and in the cities. There should be unity in action. I thank you.
HON. SEN. TIMVEOS: Thank you Madam President for giving me this opportunity. I want to thank Hon. Sen. Makore for bringing this report in Parliament. Like what others have said, water is a constitutional right and everyone should have clean water. It is up to the Government to make sure that its people have clean water. So, I am happy that this Committee went around.
As a Senator for Midlands, I went around in the Midlands in Mberengwa, Zvishavane rural and Chiundura. There is definitely need for boreholes. The boreholes are few and placed far away such that our people are really suffering. Like you heard every Hon. Member say, it all rests on a woman; it all rests on a girl. It is while they are looking for water that all the rape cases happen. They go to fetch water and on coming back, somebody is waiting for them. So, we really have to be considerate. This water issue is really critical. We need more boreholes in rural areas and Government has to see to it.
I am thinking that in the last Parliament that we had, we were talking of boreholes and it was as if there was a company that was actually meant to go around sinking these boreholes. I did not see it in the Midlands, so I wonder where they went to because I remember we got telephone numbers to say please phone them as Hon. Members. They promised they would come but they never came. I wonder where they went to sink boreholes.
So, the Committee and Hon. Makore, you really did a lot of work. Like others have alluded to, it is not only in the rural areas. I was speaking to quite a few people from De Beer in Zvishavane, who were saying, ‘we feel as if the Government threw us somewhere and forgot us because of how we are suffering’. There are no roads, water or clinics. There is nothing there. So, the new administration really has to look at this - 37 years down the line we have to, all of us. It is not only the incoming President who has to really look at what has gone wrong in this country. It is also us here in Parliament. It is time we looked at each other as Zimbabweans – not as MDC, not as ZANU-PF, but as Zimbabweans.
We have to make sure that we have corrected every mistake that was made because the truth of the matter is that when the boss is sleeping, definitely the children will play. So, now we hopefully have a new boss who has promised to work. Let us do the right thing and let us agree that we have a problem. When I say we have a problem, I am not saying this part has a problem. I am saying in Zimbabwe we have a problem 37 years down the line and it has to be fixed. So, let us look at it like that and then we fix these problems.
The other thing is corruption and I am hoping that the new administration is going to look at that. Like I said earlier on, there are people and I am sure these people were paid to sink these boreholes but they did not go anywhere. Maybe they went to a few or to one or two provinces, but already the money is in the bank. You see where I am coming from. The money has not benefited the people but already it has gone into your account. So, we really have to look at changing things here in Zimbabwe. We are here in Parliament to do things that benefit our people that we represent. We are here for the people and not for ourselves.
So, when I talk, I am talking as a Zimbabwean and as a Senator for Midlands; I am talking about the problems that I have seen there because that is where I have jurisdiction. So, please let us look at the problems as they are. Two days ago, I went to get my son a passport. The passport was to come out in two days because my son is going out of the country for basketball. When I was going to collect it, some boys approached me and said Mom, if you want it fast, just give me a bit of money and I will get it fast. Where is it happening? Corruption is everywhere. Hon. Sen. Maluleke said it. You go to the D. A. and he is nowhere to be seen. So, who is answering to whom?
I once went to the other resettlement area and people are stealing land and double dipping. Others have no numbers and others do not have the numbers. Others pay $15 and others do not pay. Who do they answer to and they just say it is there in the province – [HON. SEN.
CHIPANGA: Inaudible interjections] –
Hon. Sen. Chipanga, I am protected and I am talking about water that we do not have. I am talking about boreholes that we do not have. If you really look at this, you will see corruption and I have a right to say that. It is time that we should fix the country, 37 years down the line. The current President has promised to fix this country and we have to help him. Saka hamheno zvandataura zviri out of order?
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDNT OF THE SENATE: Order,
can we give the Senator time to speak to the motion.
HON. SEN. TIMVEOS: Thank you Hon. President. So, as a country, let us look at the problems as they are and when that problem arises, do not look at yourself and say she is talking about me. I am not talking about you, but I am talking about things that benefit the people of Zimbabwe. I thank you Mr. President.
*HON. SEN. MAKWARIMBA: Thank you President for
according me this opportunity. I want to thank the Chairman Sen.
Makore with his Committee after their tour when they discovered this challenge of water in the growth points and rural areas. What they saw is the truth, but the challenge is that we can talk and if we think that councils can solve this problem, I do not think so. This is because these councils are surviving on $2 which they are getting from the poor people in the rural areas. For them to use that $5 for people to get piped water, I do not see it happening.
What we should be talking about is that there are other Ministries that we see. If the Government put those councils in place and they want them to give services, they should protect them so that they should collect money so that they will be able to do their work well. What we see is that Ministries are taking money from the councils and they take it to the Headquarters. I can give an example of the Ministry of Lands. They take money from resettlement areas and bring the money here but it does not go back. It will be squandered here in Harare. People are saying that for councils to do such things, where do they get their resources?
I can talk about liquor licences. They were taken by ZINARA and they were centralised and councils do not have anything. How do we expect them to perform their duties when the Government is not protecting them? Mr. President, we should review some of our policies which say that money should be taken. I want to ask, the money that is taken from lands, who has seen where it has worked? But we are going back to the same people to whom they should provide the service and we are saying they do not know what they are doing and that they are not competent.
I think we should look at our policies. I have heard some people referring to provincial councils. Even if they are in place and if they do not have the budget, what can they do? We should look at our institutions that we establish. Do they have budgets which support the activities that they, have rather than us coming here and say councils are not performing? We do not even know where they get their money from, except from the dollar collected from the poor.
I think we should look closely because some Ministers were just taking money for themselves and they were just there to enrich themselves. They were just looking at places where they can grab land. They want to just go and get money from people in the resettlements. I think we should be serious. We should not look at symptoms, but let us look at the root problems so that we could be able to solve these challenges. Thank you Mr. President.
*HON. SEN. CHIMHINI: Thank you Mr. President. I want to add a few voices on the motion which was raised by Hon. Sen. Makore on behalf of his Committee. Firstly, the councils that we are referring to collect development levy as Sen. Makwarimba articulated and the money that is collected is very little. With that little money, are we not able to make people get clean water? This means our priorities are not right. If we talk about water, I think we should live by our priorities. I
know that we came up with Development levy, Aids levy and Rural Electrification and all those are levies which are being paid by people because it was discovered that there is need.
My question is why did we not have water levy so that we could get clean water? This means that there is something that we can do for us to get clean water, but what I see here is that our priorities are not right because if we are a Government who knows that we have people in the rural areas who need clean water, there is something that we should do. The challenge that we have as Zimbabweans is that we wait for donors that PLAN, USAID and CONCERN will come, but us as Zimbabweans, what have we done as the Government of Zimbabwe for people to get access to clean water?
I do not want to talk about corruption. What is important is that as Government, it is our responsibility and duty to see to it that people get access to clean water and not to wait for donors from other countries. I also want to say that in ZIM ASSET where others referred to, they talk about infrastructure development. It is a cluster that they have. I ask that after five years, did they not see that in that cluster we need clean water, which means that we did not put that as a priority.
So, this motion is encouraging us to look for ways that people get access to clean water. There is no way we can come up with a growth point where people do not get access to clean water or proper ablution blocks, which means that we are doing our things without proper planning. Mr. President, I see that if we put our heads together we will be able to give people clean water. I thank you.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE SEVENTH RETREAT OF THE ASSOCIATION
OF SENATES, SHOORA AND EQUIVALENT COUNCILS IN
AFRICA AND THE ARAB WORLD
Third Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Seventh Report of the Association of Senates, Shoora and Equivalent Councils in Africa and the Arab World (ASSECAA).
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MAKORE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TIMVEOS: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 30th November, 2017.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE DELEGATION
TO THE EIGHTH RETREAT OF THE ASSOCIATION OF
SENATES, SHOORA AND EQUIVALENT COUNCILS IN AFRICA
AND THE ARAB WORLD
Fourth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the report of the Parliament of Zimbabwe Delegation to the Eighth Retreat of the Association of Senates, Shoora and Equivalent Councils in Africa and the Arab World (ASSECAA).
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. MAWIRE: Thank you Mr. President. I rise to add a few words on this motion on the retreat we made to Addis Ababa from 20th to 21st May, 2017. The delegation was headed by the Hon.
President of the Senate. We met councils from different countries in the SADC region. We started our programme well although there were three countries which failed to attend but this did not affect the programme.
The theme of this retreat was to look into the future generation’s well-being with regards to the problems they are facing; issues like technology, unemployment, development of the youngsters; how they were going to stand for themselves. All countries were focusing on the future of the next generations, how they were preparing the future leaders in terms of inheritance and wealth. All countries were in agreement that there is need for us to protect and safeguard national wealth for generations to come. Leaders of delegations had reports of how they were safeguarding wealth for generations to come in their countries.
We were very proud of our leader Hon. Madzongwe because when she presented her report which was well researched and detailed, delegates were all attentive; only thunderous applause could be heard. Some were presenting but their reports were not clear as to how they were setting the programmes for the future generations. I would like to thank our leader of the delegation because the report touched the hearts of many and we urge all those who will go next time to raise our flag higher as we did. Thank you.
HON. SEN. MASUKU: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MARAVA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 30th November, 2017.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON
INDIGENISATION AND EMPOWERMENT ON THE
CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING THE NON-
ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMUNITY SHARE OWNERSHIP IN
MUDZI AND MUTOKO DISTRICTS
Fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the First Report of the Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment on the Circumstances Surrounding the Non- Establishment of Community Share Ownership in Mudzi and Mutoko Districts.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN MASUKU: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 30th November, 2017.
On the motion of HON. SEN. MASUKU, seconded by HON.
SEN. MARAVA, the Senate adjourned at Ten Minutes to Four o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 30th November 2017
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE
SENATE
BODY OF THE LATE DR. MUSIIWA
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: I wish to inform
the Senate that the body of the late Deputy Minister of Health and Child
Care, Dr. A. Musiiwa, will be arriving tomorrow, Friday 1st December, 2017, at 1700 hours.
From the Airport, the body will be taken to Nyaradzo Funeral
Parlour. A church service will be held on Saturday, 2nd December at Nyaradzo at 1100 hours. Thereafter, the body will be taken to C. C.
Molina Farm about 35 kilometres out of Kadoma. Burial will take place on Sunday morning.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. TAWENGWA: Madam President, I move that Order
of the Day, Number 1 be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
HON. SEN. MAKORE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON
GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT ON ACCESS TO SAFE AND
CLEAN WATER IN RURAL AREAS
Second Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the First Report of the Thematic Committee on Gender and Development on access to safe and clean water in rural areas.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHIDUKU: Thank you Madam President
for giving me this opportunity to make my contribution to this motion brought to this House by Hon. Sen. Makore concerning dirty water in rural areas. In rural areas, we are being asked to drink water from dams and rivers. The majority of the people live in rural areas but people forget about us. All Ministers have their roots in the rural areas. Once they are promoted to ministerial positions, they do not care about the rural folks but when they die, they want to be buried in the rural areas.
Madam President, if possible every household should have piped water. Each and every village should have at least five boreholes. You find that in a village, there is only one borehole or none at all. In some of the areas, there are no rivers. There are only dams where they share the water with animals and then after that we talk about health. Where do we get the health from if we do not have access to clean water? If possible, we should put our heads together. For example, the CDF of US$50 000, I think you should give the money to the chiefs; ask how many villages a chief has and how many boreholes they want. We can then channel the CDF to that area because that is where we get our votes from.
Madam President, the MPs come to rural areas with their bottled water in cars. If you offer them water, they will tell you that they have their bottled water because they do not want that dirty water but come election time, they will ask for votes from people who are sick. My plea is that next time when you come back and Ministers are in attendance, we want to ask them what they are thinking about this issue so that they can give us a response in this House. Come election, we will then ask them how many boreholes they will have drilled and we will also ask the Minister of Finance how much he will have given to the MPs to drill boreholes because people are dying.
Here in Harare there is typhoid but in the rural areas there is cholera and it only takes 24hrs to die but if you surpass 24 hrs then you know you have survived. If we drink dirty water we suffer from cholera. Let me give you an example, if you are home and there is a toilet and someone is sick and there are people who are assisting, everyone will need to wash their hands thereafter. However, water is fetched from very far away, so they will not have water to wash their hands because people have to travel very far to fetch water. I think we should take the water issue seriously because that is where the health of people is.
Thank you Madam President.
*THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: Thank you
Chief Chiduku for articulating the challenges being faced by people in the rural areas pertaining to accessibility of water.
*HON. SEN. MABUGU: I also stand to add my voice to this motion. This is a very important motion because we are all aware of how important water is in our lives. Without water there is no life. Even animals and plants also need water. As a member of that Committee, what we saw was a sorry state. We went to Gutu and the area where the water is reticulated, we found out that the pipes were rusty. Water is very important and we should look after it with care. In some areas, we would be told that water is there in the area but ZINWA is in charge and the money that they charge is not affordable. So, it is very difficult that you have resources in your area but you cannot access them because of the exorbitant prices. So in the rural areas, that is where the biggest challenge is.
We should also think of the disabled who are forced to also travel 10kms in search of water and come up with ways of helping people so that they get access to water close to them. There are also the aged who they look after young grand children of school going age. The grandmother can only fetch a little water at a time and so, she has to travel those long distances in search of water to and fro. That makes it very cumbersome for her. So these issues should be rectified. If you say water is important, then it is seen by how you treat it. Everyone should get access to clean water which is a basic right. I think we should seriously look at that because we have failed before. We should relook at the issue.
Our country is beautiful but for us to make things work, we need to talk less and work on implementation. I think it should start with us, to show others that it can be done. I went to South Africa, in the rural areas they have tap water and electricity. The only way you can tell that you are in the rural areas is because of the presence of cows. So, why can we not do the same in this country? I think we should look into that.
Thank you Madam President.
*HON. SEN. MURWIRA: As a woman, I am very happy with
this motion because we are the ones faced with the challenge of fetching water. When he gave us the report, he said when they went around in those areas, people were facing challenges of fetching water from long distances and only a few boreholes were working. I want to say that even when women are pregnant, they still have to go and fetch water from very far away places. That is very painful and that is why people get sick because of walking long distances. We also have child headed families who come back from school late in the evening but still have to travel those long distances to go and fetch water. That is tantamount to child abuse.
I once heard someone saying they went to all the district council offices but they could not get any information pertaining to the availability of water in the areas. So, I was thinking that as Senators we should also go back to our rural areas and attend DA meetings where they are coming up with committees and find ways to alleviate this challenge. When the CDF is disbursed, I think some of the money should be channelled towards the drilling of boreholes because water is life. Once we visited ZOWA and we would fetch water from the river where people were doing their laundry. Animals were also drinking from the same place. It is a big challenge because it causes people to be sick.
I just want to mention that at the growth points where it is over populated because of lack of proper planning, I think that should be looked into because boreholes and toilets are situated next to each other and people get sick. I think our planners should plan afresh and all those people who are involved, the planners I think they should take a leading role and locate where boreholes should be and where toilets should be. We are really troubled by this Madam President. If we do not drink water, we do not live but if we get water we will be happy. What I am saying is that even that Ministry which deals with water issues, when we talk in this House we just implore them to implement those things. When we do our budget, I think that should be looked into and more money should be channeled towards people getting access to clean water. Everyone will be healthy.
I also want to go back to our chiefs. I think what Hon. Sen. Chief Chiduku has said that in those constituency committees, chiefs should be included because they are the ones who know where people are facing challenges of water. If we consult them, they will tell us where to place the boreholes and you find that we will have boreholes everywhere in our areas. With this Madam President I would want to thank you. *HON. SEN. MAWIRE: Thank you Madam President. I stand to add a few words on this motion because I am one of the persons who are affected. Yesterday I was surprised to find two men who debated in support of the motion. Yesterday as I was watching TV, I saw women fetching water from a river, dirty water full of algae to use in their homes. It is very difficult because of the diseases which have been articulated before; typhoid, cholera, diarrhea, et cetera. Long back, we thought that only in rural areas is where you would find challenges of water but even in urban areas. Even in the hotels that we stay, you find that the water is dirty, so what more the water you find in Budiriro or Kuwadzana. It is very painful.
I think there is a lot of programme duplication because when I look at water, you find that DDF is also looking into water. Ministry of
Environment, Water and Climate is also looking into issues of water. We also have people coming from outside who want to help us in issues of water. I think there should only be one structure which looks at the issues of water, whether in the rural areas or urban areas so that we know that it is only one organisation. I think people are becoming complacent because they know that no one has really taken responsibility. They will think that someone will bring donors.
When I was engaging the rural council from our area, they were saying that donors such as Plan and World Vision also come talking about water but they are also corrupt. They sink a few meters and they lie that they have drilled so many meters. So there is a lot of monitoring which is required from our Ministries. Our Ministers should not just sit down and say someone is doing the work. I think the civil servants from our districts should be monitored to see whether work is being done because most of these people are not working. They are just getting into offices to sit. I think the issue of water in the rural areas should be fully investigated and those boreholes which are not functioning, funds should be channeled towards that, whether it is DDF which repairs the boreholes. The boreholes are there in the rural areas but most of them are not functioning.
There is need to educate our people that they should look after the property well and guard against vandalism. At times, you just see children playing with the boreholes, wasting water. Our people in the rural areas should be taught how important water is and how important these boreholes are in their areas. Someone said prevention is better than cure – because most of the time, we will not get the medication and it will be heavy on the Government. Out there, life is very hard for the people, whether you are in the urban area or rural areas. I think a thorough investigation should be done and see whether we should just come up with one organisation which concentrates on water. Some of the boreholes which are being drilled in urban areas, you find that the places are not conducive.
I think the people from the Physical Planning Department are not doing their work properly. They should visit all the growth points and see where people are located and where commercial stands are located. You find that with vendors, there will not be any toilets or water nearby and it is very difficult for people at the market to get access to water to wash their hands. People end up selling their wares in unhygienic places because they do not have water to wash their hands. That will be a challenge to the Ministry of Health and Child Care. The growth points that we are talking about, there are people who cook food. The people who buy the food do not wash their hands. Some are sick, they just buy the food and start eating it without washing their hands. As Government we should put our heads together and see how we can solve this challenge. With these words Madam President I thank you. A lot was talked about yesterday.
*THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: Thank you Hon.
Sen. Mawire. I see you have realised that a lot has been talked about yesterday. I know that you are aware of the Standing Orders that we should not repeat, so if you are aware that what you want to debate has been debated before, let us leave it and continue with other motions, because we have a lot of motions before us. Thank you.
HON. SEN. MAKORE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MARAVA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 5th December, 2017.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE 7TH RETREAT OF THE ASSOCIATION OF
SENATES, SHOORA AND EQUIVALENT COUNCILS IN AFRICA
AND THE ARAB WORLD (ASSECAA)
Third Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report of the 7th Retreat of the Association of Senates, Shoora and equivalent Councils in Africa and the Arab World, (ASSECAA).
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHIDUKU: Thank you Madam President. I
am one of those who attended the Retreat with you. Firstly, I want to show my appreciation for being selected to be part of that team that went to Addis Ababa. Secondly, I want to thank Senator Makore and Senator Bhebe who spoke before me. You advised us not to repeat what has already been said and Senator Makore articulated the issue very well but as a rule we also want people to know that we also attended. It was a very important day when we met as Members representing fourteen countries in that meeting on climate change.
The Retreat was attended by professional people but we were all speaking with one voice saying that climate change is affecting us in Africa because developed countries are releasing gases and oils that are affecting our countries and as a result we are affected by droughts. That was the main issue there. Besides that, we also agreed that we would go back to our countries, talk about these issues in all the forums that the countries that are causing this should pay, because they are making innocent people to suffer. Why they do it is because if we suffer here then they will be happy and wait to see how we fight each other, causing animosity between our countries as we will think that someone is not doing their duty well, and then we end up having wars. We agreed that we should talk about it and that those countries should stop useing those gases. If they continue they will have to pay.
I think Senator Makore did not talk about that and that is why I stood up for people to know. Thank you Madam President.
HON. SEN. MAKORE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MARAVA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 5th December, 2017.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
DELEGATION TO THE EIGHTH RETREAT OF THE ASSOCIATION
OF SENATES, SHOORA AND EQUIVALENT COUNCILS IN
AFRICA AND THE ARAB WORLD
Fourth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report of the Parliament of Zimbabwe Delegation to the Eighth Retreat of the Association of Senates, Shoora and Equivalent Councils in Africa and the Arab World (ASSECAA).
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TAWENGWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 5th December, 2017.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON
INDIGENISATION AND EMPOWERMENT ON THE
CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING THE NON-ESTABLISHMENT
OF THE COMMUNITY SHARE OWNERSHIP TRUSTS
Fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the First Report of the Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment on the Circumstances Surrounding the Non-Establishment of Community Share
Ownership Trusts in Mudzi and Mutoko Districts (S.C.10, 2017).
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. MACHINGAIFA: I rise to add my voice on the motion which was tabled by Sen. Tawengwa. Mr. President, this issue is a very hard nut to crack. I heard one of these past days a woman on the radio saying this stone started being mined in 1972 but up to now there is nothing for us to show that there is mining taking place. I do not know what is happening for them not to have a Community Share Ownership Trust. There are chairpersons who monitor this and there are chairpersons from the community trust who will just be seated, not knowing what is happening on the ground. Looking at this issue, I want to liken it so something that happened in Mashonaland West in Hurungwe in Mashuma. There were people who came there and they said they wanted to mine tantalite. Many would come, do a few workmanship and then go back without giving any report that they were buying it at $20 and selling it at $15. So, they were the ones who were being short changed. Now, for them to come back and give a report that they did not get anything, they did not come back to say that it was not profitable.
Then, there were some who constructed some infrastructure to resuscitate it, making investigations looking at the market, studying the market, but we saw those people leaving the place and saying there was nothing there. So, we are saying this black granite, is there anyone who has made a follow up that when they bring it to Harare, being sold wherever it is being used – is there money that is being realised or is there profit that they are realising because if there is no profit, for them to come up with an ownership trust, it is very difficult. There is research and development that should be done to make a follow up and see where the stone had been used and those who bought it, how much they buy it for and those who are mining it, how much they are making and the people who are doing the mining, how much they are being paid.
I cannot point a finger on this issue but I do not know how we can move forward. Yes, the Committee went there and did a great job but I think if it was possible, this Committee should make a follow up on where all the stones were delivered then they would go to where the mining is taking place. I think we can get the way forward. Thank you Mr. President.
HON. SEN. CHIEF NYAMUKOHO: I was born in Mutoko
myself and have really seen the beginnings of the extraction of the granite that comes from Mutoko. Up to date, it has caused deaths – well that part of it is not my business. That is for the police to get into and find out. It is surprising that the truth of what is happening in Mutoko is what I, as a business man, would call a loss. I know of some people who have gone to Beira and they told me, it could have been fiction that if you get to Beira and you look at the pile of stones, the black granite that is being piled there, it gets up to the height of the clouds. I do not want to doubt it. The Hon. Senator who spoke before me put it that mining has been going on since1970. Did he say that? I really cannot remember but said it somewhere around about there.
If I look back to find out what according to the Government has been said about black granite, not only black granite but all equipment or something that would bring in money to the Government, it looks to me as if the Government has not been fair with us and that I must say again, the Government has not been fair with us because let us look at schools that are in Mutoko, they are the lowest types of schools that are all over Mutoko District and yet the Government has advertised that we will benefit with the extraction of granite that comes from Mutoko. Up to now, somebody put it at 1970 as having been removing granite from Mutoko. It has gone well over that because I know a man who has been doing that business, who has been transporting granite that comes from Mutoko. He started in 1970 and to date, there is nothing in Mutoko that has been created by Government to show appreciation of granite that is coming from Mutoko.
I will also have to learn and find out more if definitely it is worth it to buy granite at 1cent. I have been told, though I may not be correct that the cost of granite is 1cent per tonne – I want to repeat that 1 cent per tonne is what costs whoever is making use of granite. I have seen granite exposed in Harare here. I had a chance at least one time when I went to China and tried to find out what it is they use it for. I have also visited some factories that are in Harare that are doing some work on granite and definitely, there is quite a lot of materials that can be produced from granite stone besides making them as grave stones where they put stones on a grave and call it ‘special’.
My mother passed away and we used that very stone and it cost me so much money. To think that if that was the cost of granite, surely it should bring much more to this country. Anyway, the fact and truth is that surely with the cost of granite and the work it does, like what I saw in China, it should definitely be more than that. I am not exaggerating. Let me say it again that it should benefit our country Zimbabwe in a bigger way than the current position.
I am glad that at one time we heard our former Chairperson saying the price of granite must be wrong because the value of my mother’s grave that I put a stone is not worth her life. I am glad that the then Chairperson of our Committee mentioned that even the cost of properties that come out of granite was lowered up to this moment.
Unfortunately, it is creating more death in Mutoko than sustaining people’s lives. People are dying because of the big lorries that carry the granite to come and laugh at the people in Mutoko and say that is what we have used granite for. Granite is killing people in Mutoko; we are dead ourselves.
Mr. President, I want to thank you for allowing this motion to be brought into this House by the then Chairperson of the Thematic Committee on Indigenisation. Thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA: Thank you Mr.
President. I want to thank Senator Tawengwa and his Committee who brought this report into this House. This has been debated for a number of days. I think I should also add my voice on none establishment of Community Share Ownership Trust in Mudzi and Mutoko. A lot has been touched on but the way I see it, if we want to rectify this problem, the Committee should also look at other trusts in the country, whether it is Mutoko only or it is affecting the whole country so that we come up with a legal institutional framework which rectifies these issues.
Mr. President, this thing called Community Share Ownership
Trust, it says that the chief is the Chairperson; the council in that area is the Secretary and other members from certain ministries in that district. The chief is supposed to chair. You should go and investigate and see whether chiefs are chairing or it is just an assumption that they are chairing. For one to be called a Chairperson, it is a big post but who is driving these things? Also, we should investigate the issue that the
Community Share Ownership Trusts are controlled by the National Indigenisation Empowerment Board (NIEEB). There is no chief who sits in the NIEEB. So, if we are the ones who are the chairperson, why is it that there is no single Chairperson in the NIEEB? NIB is working alone; it does not meet with the chiefs.
This NIEEB – may be now that we are in the new era, probably it will be rectified with the ministries that are coming. What used to happen is that NIEEB was under the Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment. That Ministry does not have any relationship with the chiefs who are supposed to chair these things.
There is no meeting that takes place; you just meet the Minister and we say as community trusts, why are we not meeting even with the local authorities, can we come together and discuss? There is no institutional framework which enables us to have a voice in the board so that we have a common approach. This is like an institutional arrangement which is fragmented. So, there is no progress. I think this is going to be rectified. We should keep on crying because you find that in Mutoko, this programme is there but people are not getting anything yet there are other trusts which are functioning very well. I think we have about three and these are Mhondoro-Ngezi. It has made strides, I think they got 10 million. They have engaged in a lot of projects and bought many cars. There is another one in Gwanda. On this one, I think the whites there agreed to and it have given out money but some refused to put money into these trusts. I think this is going to be rectified soon because we cannot have some are benefiting and others not benefiting in certain areas.
If you go to Chiadzwa, there is no community share ownership trust on diamonds. I think as we move forward, these issues should be looked into. People in Manicaland are crying that they did not benefit from diamonds and the roads are still in bad conditions. I think in the new era, you will allow us to say the truth so that things will be rectified. I drive from Masvingo to Mutare and have noticed that where diamonds are mined, that is the only area which is electrified. On the left, it will be dark up to Mutare. So, electricity is only found in the mining area. Next to the mining area is Mutare, there is poverty. You cannot believe that it is a diamond mining area. I think we should tell this truthfully from here henceforth, because people really want to do something. Let us say the truth, things are not being handled properly. Let us tell each other the truth so we can ensure these things are sorted out. The people are angry and that does not augur well for the country. Even the rains are not falling as they should because people are angry be it in their sleep, in the afternoon or whatever time. They are just angry and that will make us lose the blessings that we are supposed to get. You even find that our plants are now affected by a variety of pests which we have never seen before because people are angry. So to appease the people we have to make sure these issues are resolved. Thank you Mr.
President.
HON. SEN. TAWENGWA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MASUKU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 5th December 2017.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS ON SDG NO. 3
Sixth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the First Report of The Thematic Committee on Sustainable Development Goals on SDG No. 3.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA: Thank you Mr.
President. I would like to thank Senator Mtshane for raising this motion.
I need to debate because the person who is most knowledgeable about this issue is here, Dr. Parirenyatwa. You are a Zimbabwean, so you will advise us on such issues. This SDG cuts across all ages but we need our things to support each other perfectly. As a doctor, you would appreciate that when one becomes older, one becomes more prone to diseases. The aged should be properly looked after because this last weekend a lot of people approached me complaining about their pensions that they are failing to access. Amongst those not disbursing these pensions the chief culprit is the Local Authorities Pension Fund where the majority of the beneficiaries were pensioned two years ago, but to date have not received anything. Some of the pensioners are now deceased.
The main thrust of this report should concentrate on the aged, especially the pensioners who are dying without accessing their pension benefits. We are aware that the Ministry says that the elderly are entitled to free health care, this is compounded by the need for them to pay for drugs since the hospitals do not have these in stock and they rely on giving these poor pensioners prescriptions, so that they can go and buy the drugs from pharmacies. This further compounds their problem since they do not have the money due to the reasons that I have earlier on stated. They end up approaching the poor chiefs and as chiefs, we end up buying them these drugs and paying their children’s school fees. The chiefs will have become the Ministry by default.
We urge the relevant Ministry to have a fund that helps the aged as well as the provision of free health care with adequate medication being provided. The Ministry should also do away with the requirement that the elderly should pay cash upfront for their treatment. The urban population is lucky that it can use plastic money. The same cannot be said about the elderly because they cannot afford to pay even a dollar to have their maize processed into mealie-meal. They really need the government’s intervention. I thank you Mr. President.
*HON. SEN. PARIRENYATWA: Thank you Deputy President
of the Senate. I am debating as a Senator and appreciate what Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira has said. This SDG 3 articulates health issues very well. I implore all Senators here present to read about these SDGs and note how SDG 3, which is specifically about health has been presented. When this SDG is talking about all ages, this is from a newly born baby where from birth, we assess whether the baby has been delivered well, breathing properly, the size of the baby’s head, any deformities, having all fingers – all that is checked on the infant.
The baby is then infected to immunise against T.B, all the required vaccines and immunisations are administered. So when we say all ages, these are the things that they check. So, we ensure that for mothers throughout the nation, all babies are immunised.
I am thankful that there is no religion that is against immunisation of children. All religions are immunising their children. From there, we look out if the children are feeding well in our country. I think as senators we all agree that when our children are born, they should be breastfed exclusively for six months without getting water or solid foods. That is what we call healthy lifestyle of a child growing up.
Some wean their children at 18 months and some at two years but from 18 months to five years, that is when we come across many children suffering from malnutrition because they will no longer be breastfeeding.
Then we come now to adolescence, that is when both the boy and the girl child get a lot of diseases because they are adventurous. We are looking at their lifestyle. We should discourage them from drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes or even drugs. What is very important is looking at women, especially pregnant women. Are they going for prenatal care? When they discover that they are pregnant, they should start visiting the clinics. Scans are taken to see whether the baby is growing well and that the mother is well.
We come to the aged. We are no longer looking at adolescence and pregnant mothers but we are looking at the elderly as well like what Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira has articulated; looking at the aged with their pensions. Looking at lifestyle as well, we should look at how we are eating. Are you having fruits and vegetables or you are having a lot of meat and sadza. That has to be balanced. We are also looking at the issue of exercising. How many of us do exercises. We want to see how many wake up and exercise. We want to encourage senators to exercise.
We also want to see whether you are sleeping properly. Some want to sleep for three hours; it is not good. As you grow up, you should have more hours of sleep, so you should sleep for six to seven hours for you to be healthy. We also look at whether you are drinking a lot of beer. We know that some of you when you grow up, you will say you now want to drink whiskey only. It is not good for you because it affects your liver and kidneys. I think we should help each other. I am not answering as a Minister but I am debating as a senator for that debate to go well. Thank you.
*HON. SEN. MAKORE: Thank you Mr. President for affording me this opportunity to debate on this issue which was raised by Hon.
Sen. Mtshane, this issue of health for all. It is a very important issue. As the former Minister said, it shows that we have confined health to getting medication but I want to thank the former Minister that he has articulated other things that help us to achieve good health. One of the issue is that of healthy food. Breastfeeding mothers should have proper food for the children to get healthy milk. I have a dog called Tim. She gave birth to six puppies. Before getting pregnant, I used to give it few good foods but now because it has given birth, I give it a lot of food, not only sadza but dog food.
This is a good motion but it also challenges us in terms of our economy which shows that about 90 to 94% are vendors or cross border traders. This means that it is difficult for someone to get a balanced diet and that we are now in a health for all era and we are meeting people who are only feeding on sadza, there is no nutrition there. Those who work, we have councils where people are not getting their salaries. It shows that people are having a hard time. I really want to agree with all that has been said but there are reasons why people get sick. Some engage in being drunkards because of certain circumstances. We are now faced with that when youths after completing Ordinary level start drinking or smoking due to frustration. There is a lot of indiscipline because they are bringing out attributes of character which we are not used to. This is because they think that they would get confidence after drinking beer or that they would forget their sorrows.
I think we should come up with targets that envision that as a country we should say we want health for all by such and such a year. We should work in trying to close gaps so that we work towards health for all. I heard the President saying that probably that we are in the new era, we are looking at what is going to be brought by the new era. We should create employment and we should end corruption. We should also come up with budgets that fund even in our hospitals. What is happening now is that a person gets in a hospital and pays $10 consultation fee. You see a doctor and then he prescribes the drugs. It now depends on whether you have the money to buy the drugs. This means hospitals are now being subsidised by the sick person who does not have money. We have people who are not visiting hospitals because they do not have the money. They say we cannot go to the hospital because we do not have the money. This is something which we could have curbed a long time ago. There are some reasons or challenges but the vision is very good to say ‘health for all’, but steps to attain that are brought about by our discipline and also people are capable of doing
that.
The other issue is for us to educate people on the need to grow enough nutritious food like vegetables. I really want to thank you Dr.
Parirenyatwa. We have a nutritionist who is not here today Senator D.T. Khumalo. What she says about nutritious food is not bad but people are now taking it as a joke because she talks about it every time. She is always referring to small grains. People should be educated on how to live a healthy life. That is our duty as Members of Parliament to educate people on policy issues and such other matters. I do not want to take a lot of your time. I just wanted to add a few words because this is a very pertinent question. Thank you.
HON. SEN. CHIEF MTSHANE KHUMALO: I move that
debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MASUKU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 5th December, 2017.
On the motion of HON. SEN. TAWENGWA seconded by HON. SEN. MASUKU, the Senate adjourned at Eight Minutes to Four o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 5th December, 2017.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 21st November, 2017
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE
SENATE
MOTION ON THE REMOVAL OF PRESIDENT FROM OFFICE THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE:
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Honourable Senators,
The Chair wishes to inform the House that today, 21st November, 2017, Presiding Officers received a notice of motion to remove the
President from Office as prescribed in Section 97 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. The mover of the motion is Hon. Senator Mutsvangwa, seconded by Hon Maridadi. In terms of both substantive and procedural compliance, I have found the motion to be admissible. As you may all be aware, this motion is unprecedented in the history of post-independent Zimbabwe. In this regard, therefore, and pursuant to the need to guide the proceedings accordingly, the Chair shall outline the fundamental Rules of Procedure that will be used in dealing with the motion.
2.0 REMOVAL OF THE PRESIDENT FROM OFFICE
The Constitution of Zimbabwe, as the supreme law of the Republic of Zimbabwe as enunciated in Section 2 of the same, provides as follows:
- This Constitution is the supreme law of Zimbabwe and any law, practice, custom or conduct inconsistent with it is invalid to the extent of the inconsistency.
- The obligations imposed by this Constitution are binding on every person, natural or juristic, including the State and all executive, legislative and judicial institutions and agencies of Government at every level, and must be fulfilled by them.
In view of the above, the Speaker and I have agreed that all processes shall be done in a manner which recognises the values of constitutional supremacy, legality and the rule of law. As such, the Chair shall proceed to outline what the law enumerates before outlining the
Rules of Procedure for the Joint Sitting of the Senate and the National Assembly and the next series of Joint Sittings on the motion to remove the President from Office.
Section 97 of the Constitution highlights the linear process which must be followed in the removal of the President from Office. Under Section 97 of the Constitution, the process of removing the President from Office can be conveniently split into three distinct phases.
3.0 STAGE 1: ADOPTION OF THE MOTION STAGE TO
REMOVE THE PRESDIENT FROM OFFICE
Section 97(1) of the Constitution provides that:
“The Senate and the National Assembly, by a joint resolution passed by at least one-half of their total membership may resolve that the question
whether or not the President or a Vice-President should be removed from office for— | |
(a) serious misconduct;
(b) failure to obey, uphold or defend this Constitution; (c) wilful violation of this Constitution; or (d) inability to perform the functions of the office because of physical or mental incapacity; |
|
should be investigated in terms of this section”. |
At this point, it is important to note that the afore-stated grounds of removal of the President from office can be singularly or severally/jointly pursued. In addition, at least 174 Members of
Parliament of both Houses in the Joint Sitting of Parliament must vote in the affirmative to pass the motion to institute proceedings for the removal of the President from office. Currently, the total Membership of Parliament is 347. The Senate has 78 Members, meaning there are two vacancies. The National Assembly has 269 Members, meaning there is one vacancy.
The calculation of a required threshold of numbers has been guided by Section 344 (4) of the Constitution which provides that “Any reference to the total membership of Parliament is a reference to the total number of persons who for the time being are Members of
Parliament”.
4.0 STAGE 2: APPOINTMENT OF A JOINT
COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE THE CHARGES AGAINST
THE PRESIDENT
In the event that the procedure outlined in Stage 1 has been satisfied and passed in the affirmative, the Committee of Standing Rules and Orders takes the process further. Section 97(2) of the Constitution provides that:
(2) Upon the passing of a resolution in terms of Subsection (1), the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders must appoint a joint committee of the Senate and the National Assembly consisting of nine members reflecting the political composition of Parliament, to investigate the removal from office of the President or Vice-President, as the case may be.
As outlined in Section 151 of the Constitution, the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders enjoys exclusive jurisdiction and supremacy
in:
- supervising the administration of Parliament;
- formulating Standing Orders;
- considering and deciding all matters concerning Parliament; and
- exercising any other functions that may be conferred or imposed on the committee by this Constitution or by Standing Orders or any other law.
5.0 STAGE 3: APPOINTMENT OF THE INVESTIGATING COMMITTEE
Accordingly, the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders shall immediately proceed to appoint a Nine Member Joint Committee and give it its terms of reference to investigate the removal of the President. The Chair shall announce the names of the Joint Committee which shall immediately start its work.
6.0 Stage 3: REPORTING AND FINAL VOTING STAGE
Section 97(3) of the Constitution provides that
“If— (a) the joint committee appointed in terms of subsection (2) recommends the removal from office of the President or Vice-President; and (b) the Senate and the National Assembly, by a joint resolution passed by at least two-thirds of their total membership, resolve that the President or Vice-President, as the case may be, should be removed from office; the President or Vice-President thereupon ceases to hold office”. |
Two thirds of the current members requires at least 232 Members of Parliament to vote in the affirmative.
7.0 RULES TO BE APPLIED ON THE MOTION TO
REMOVE THE PRESIDENT FROM OFFICE
PART I
JOINT SITTINGS
1. Application
These rules shall apply to this Joint Sitting and the next series of Joint Sittings until the motion on the removal of the President from office has been disposed of.
2. Calling of joint sittings
- A joint sitting of the National Assembly and the Senate may be held for the purposes mentioned in Section 97 of the Constitution.
- The Speaker and the President of the Senate must make the necessary arrangements for such a joint sitting.
3. Presiding officer
The Speaker, or in his absence - the President of the Senate, must preside at any joint sitting of the National Assembly and the Senate.
4. Relief of Presiding Officer
An elected presiding officer of either House must take the Chair whenever requested to do so by the Speaker or the President of the
Senate.
5. Venue
Joint sittings shall be held at any place taking into account public interest, security or convenience. After consultation with the Hon.
Speaker of the National Assembly, we have agreed to convene the Joint Sittings at the Harare International Conference Centre at 1600 hrs today,
Tuesday, 21st November, 2017.
6. Quorum
The quorum of the joint sitting shall be at least one half of the total membership of Parliament. When we say Parliament, we are referring to all the Hon. Members of the National Assembly and the Senate.
PART II
CONDUCT AND DEBATE GENERAL RULES
7. Members in House
Unless otherwise stated in these Interim Joint Standing Orders, Rules relating to Order in the House, Rules of Debate, Divisions and any other relevant provisions in the National Assembly and Senate shall, mutatis mutandis apply in the joint sitting.
8. Limitation of speech
A Member must not exceed ten (10) minutes in speaking to any question before the House, except in the case of a Vice-President, Ministers and Members in moving a motion and in replying to the debate thereon: Provided that on motion moved at the expiration of the time limit, a Member may be permitted to speak. So 10 minutes is the limit – there is no extension.
9. Disorderly conduct in Joint Sitting
- If the Presiding Officer is of the opinion that a member is deliberately contravening a provision of these Rules, or that a member is in contempt of or is disregarding the authority of the Chair, or that a member’s conduct is grossly disorderly, he or she may order the member to withdraw immediately from the Chamber for the remainder of the
sitting.
- The Sergeant-at-Arms must act on such orders as he or she may receive from the Chair in pursuance of this Standing Order.
- Members ordered to withdraw in pursuance of this Standing Order, or who are suspended in pursuance of Standing Order 109, must immediately withdraw from the precincts of the House.
11. Power to name Member
If on any occasion the Chair deems that the powers conferred under Standing Order No. 109 and Standing Order No. 107 of the National Assembly and Senate respectively, are inadequate to deal with the offence, he or she may name such Member.
12. Temporary suspension from service of House
- Any Member who disregards the authority of the Chair or persistently and wilfully disrupts the business of the House commits an offence for which he or she may be suspended from the service of the House.
- Any Member may move a motion in respect of which no amendment, adjournment or debate must be allowed, for the temporary suspension from the service of the House of any Member who has been named by the Chair in terms of Standing Order No. 109 and Standing Order No. 107 of the National Assembly and Senate respectively.
- When the motion referred to in suborder (2) has been moved, the Speaker must immediately put the question that such Member shall be suspended from the service of the House.
- If any Member is suspended in terms of this Standing Order, his or her suspension must continue on the
- first occasion for one sitting day;
- second occasion for two sitting days;
- third or any subsequent occasion for three sitting days
(6) In the event of
- a Member being suspended from the service of the House in terms of this Standing Order he or she may submit to the Presiding Officer a written expression of regret which must be entered in the Journal of the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament and laid before the House;
- a written expression of regret referred to in paragraph (a) being
laid before the joint sitting, any Member may move a motion, in respect of which no amendment, adjournment or debate shall be allowed, for a discharge of the order of suspension;
- a motion referred to in paragraph (b) has been moved, the Presiding Officer must immediately put the question that such Member be readmitted to the service of the joint sitting of both Houses;
- the question put in paragraph (c) passing in the affirmative, the suspension order must be discharged and the Member readmitted.
(7) A Member who has been suspended from the joint sitting in terms of this Standing Order must immediately withdraw from the Chamber and or the precincts of Parliament until such time as the period of suspension has expired, or he or she has been readmitted in terms of suborder (6).
13. Member withdraws while conduct under debate
Every Member against whom any charge by way of motion has been made and whose conduct is under debate, having been heard in his or her place, must withdraw while such charge is under debate and must take no further part in the proceedings.
PART III
GENERAL MATTERS
14 General
Upon entering the Chamber, Members shall register their attendance with the Sergeant-at-Arms by signing in the Joint Sitting
Register and showing his or her Parliament Identity card.
15 Voting
In addition to the provisions of Section 138 of the Constitution, when voting, Members shall for the purposes of transparency and accountability produce their Parliament Identity Cards or a valid National Identification Document to the tellers prior to signing against the name and vote on the Division List.
Honourable Members, what I have outlined above are the Rules that shall bind us during proceedings on this motion. I am appealing for tolerance, calmness and recognition of the respect for the inherent dignity worthy of every Member of Parliament. I am urging all the Hon.
Members of Parliament to now proceed to the Harare International Conference Centre for the Joint Sitting of the House which will commence around 1600 hrs.
Ordinary Sitting times for both Houses of Parliament shall not apply in respect of a motion to remove the President from Office. Members shall now proceed to the Harare International Conference
Centre. All Members must be seated by 1630hrs.
I thank you.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF MEDIA,
INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON
SENATOR S.K. MOYO), the Senate adjourned at Three o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 28th November, 2017.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 23rd March, 2017
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE
SENATE
APOLOGIES RECEIVED FROM MINISTERS
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: I have to inform
the House that the following Ministers have tendered their absence with leave; -
- The Deputy Minister of Tourism and Hospitality;
- The Deputy Minister of Women’s Affairs, Gender and
Community Development;
- The Minister of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community
Development;
- The Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructural
Development;
- The Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development; and
- The Minister of Mines and Mining Development,
respectively.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
*HON. SEN. CHIEF MUSARURWA: Thank you Madam
President. My question is directed to the Deputy Minister of Energy and Power Development, Hon. Sen. Muzenda. Minister, what is Government policy regarding areas which were vandalised since 2008 now that we are getting into the winter planting season? What is Government policy in remedying this situation?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER
DEVELOPMENT (HON. SEN. MUZENDA): Thank you Madam
President. I am also grateful for the question asked by Hon. Sen. Chief Musarurwa. As a Ministry, we are aware that there are electricity facilities which were vandalised since 2000. We are working hard in carrying out repairs or replacement of equipment that was vandalised, be it transformers, lines or oil. We try our best but at the moment, the Ministry has problems because there are very few transformers as most of them were vandalised. We are also aware that some of the spare parts needed to repair these transformers should be sourced from abroad. In this case, we need foreign currency and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is trying to allocate funds to our department which is responsible for repairing transformers - this is at ZETDC. We also have our company ZENT which is supposed to give assistance in repairing some of these broken down transformers. I tell you, whenever we are given ample warning that there is a problem of vandalism, we try our best to remedy the situation.
HON. SEN. CHIMHINI: Thank you Madam President. My question is directed to the Deputy Minister of Energy and Power Development. What is the criteria you use to prioritise REA projects so that we cover all provinces equally? I thank you.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER
DEVELOPMENT (HON. SEN. MUZENDA ): Thank you Madam
President. The criteria used by the Ministry is that the places which REA covers should be less than twenty kilometers from the national grid. If the places are further than that, then the other programmes like solar energy would be used. That is the criteria used but we also concentrate mostly on places where schools and clinics are not covered.
*HON. SEN. MAWIRE: My question is directed to the Minister of Energy and Power Development. If you have noticed, we have a lot of properties especially houses which are being burnt down because of electrical faults. As a Ministry, have you investigated the causes of such destructive acts which are occurring in the country?
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER
DEVELOPMENT (HON. SEN. MUZENDA): Thank you Madam
President for giving me the opportunity to respond to Hon. Mawire’s question regarding the destruction of houses due to electrical faults.
I agree that we have properties that have been destroyed. As a Ministry, we are supposed to educate people on the use and installation of electrical power in houses. This is more so when we talk of houses which were built a long time ago; the wiring was different from what is currently prevailing. I saw a house on television which had been burnt down because of electrical faults. As a Ministry, we will work hard to try and avoid re-occurrence of such destructive acts.
*HON. SEN. MOEKETSI: Are these electrical faults not caused by the recent introduction of prepaid meters?
*HON. SEN. MUZENDA: As far as I am concerned, prepaid
meters are not the cause of electrical faults that are destroying properties. I know that wiring in these houses is different. Electrical faults are caused by naked wires. We have never had any electrical faults caused by prepaid meters.
HON. SEN. MUMVURI: I would like to premise my question by starting to thank the Ministry for pioneering what they call ZTV – Pioneers of local content. That is a very welcome move on the local channel.
However, my question is, whenever a programme comes to an end, it takes a long time for another one to come and fill the gap. We have got a lot of talent. What measures is the Ministry putting in place to encourage the tapping of this local talent at affordable costs and mostly in the rural areas as well?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MEDIA, INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. MATHUTHU): I
would like to thank the Hon. Senator for such a pertinent question. He rightfully puts it when he says we are championing or pioneering development of local content. Once we have local content, we will have enough programmes to fill our broadcasting hours such that there will be minimal gaps unless if they are technical between programmes. That is the idea behind development of local content.
*HON. SEN. MALULEKE: My question is directed to the
Deputy Minister of Energy and Power Development. What is Government policy when you are allocating us solar energy because in my constituency, REA may have problems in installing electricity? How long does that programme take to implement?
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER
DEVELOPMENT (HON. SEN. MUZENDA): Thank you Madam President. As I stated in my earlier response, when you have problems in accessing electricity from the national grid, there will be alternative ways of supplying power. What I can only say is that the policy says, in every province, we have a team that is looking at the supply of electricity and the different sources to be used.
At the moment, I am not able to tell whether the plans are in 2017, 2018 or 2019 because as a Ministry, we have laid out a programme which is based on annual planning. If the Hon. Senator had told me of a particular area, I would go and investigate and give her the response.
HON. SEN. TIMVEOS: My question is directed to the Deputy Minister of Media, Information, Broadcasting and Services. I would like to understand the policy that you use in picking up Zimbabweans that are applying for licences to open radio stations in certain areas. There was an outcry by some people saying it is not fair. Others who had applied were not allowed to have these radio licences.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MEDIA, INFORMATION
AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. MATHUTHU):
We have been flighting advertisements through print and electronic media for individuals who are interested in operating radio stations countrywide to come on board. What happens is that we have the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe which is our licencing arm. They receive the applications, go through them and then award licences depending on the capability of that individual. I am not sure if there is a specific aspiring broadcaster whom the Hon. Member would like to refer to who was ignored in the process.
*HON. SEN. MAKORE: Thank you Madam President. I am directing my question to the Deputy Minister of Energy and Power Development. May you please give us Government policy regarding the amount of electricity we have in the country. My observation is that there is a cycle of load shedding in some areas like Chitungwiza. We feel load shedding is slowly creeping in. I thank you.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER
DEVELOPMENT (HON. SEN. MUZENDA): Thank you Madam
President. I would want to thank Hon. Sen. Makore for such a pertinent question regarding load shedding. The response is, definitely no to load shedding. My feeling is that what could be happening when there is no power, especially in areas like Chitungwiza, there could be some electrical fault somewhere and in some areas, equipment such as cables or transformers could have been vandalized. However, I am saying we are no longer implementing load shedding for quite some time. Can you please make a written question and our Engineers will definitely go and look at why we have that problem, because there is no load shedding in Zimbabwe.
HON. SEN. B. SIBANDA: Could I ask the Deputy Minister of Lands and Rural Resettlement what the current policy is with regards to resettled areas, particularly in the A2 programme which are heavily underutilized by the current owners.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LANDS AND RURAL
RESETTLEMENT (HON. CHIKWAMA): Thank you Madam
President. I would like to thank the Hon. Member for asking the question. The current resettlement policy for those people who are not utilizing the land is not yet on the line but we are waiting for the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development to go into the areas and identify those people who are not utilizing the land. We are also in the process of downsizing the land. Some of our farmers have vast land and we are going to downsize according to areas. In region one, a person is supposed to have a maximum of 250 hectares. So, we are going to downsize whenever a person has vast land. On whether a farmer is fully utilizing the land properly, the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development is going to do an assessment of those things. I thank you.
+HON. SEN. KHUMALO: Thank you Madam President. My
question is directed to the Minister of Media, Information and Broadcasting Services. Are there any measures being taken so that we can look into the archives to see some of the traditional programmes which you used to broadcast long back? This is what used to obtain.
+THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MEDIA, INFORMATION
AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. MATHUTHU):
Thank you Madam President. I thank Hon. Sen. Khumalo for the good question. Yes, it is there but what is happening is some of the things which are library archives are too old such that they need experts who know how those traditions were being conducted. As a Ministry, we are having a programme on digitalisation so that when we have enough channels, such traditional dances which you are referring to where such materials have been gathered, should have its own channel. We will take such materials from the archives then we will engage experts on traditional matters from districts to bring in programmes from such archives so that they can be broadcast them. The public in general can learn on their tradition on whether there is any progress or any dynamism at all since we had used to have such traditions.
It should be a programme that should be acceptable to that particular district. For example, there may be someone who may bring in a tradition which belongs to the Khumalos, which the Khumalos can dispute. When the Khumalos are not in agreement with that, they will dispute to say that does not belong to us, so there is need for experts to come in to examine those materials in the archives so that they can bring to the broadcasters what is acceptable to the districts. I thank you Madam President.
+HON. SEN. KHUMALO: Hon. Minister, you are delaying. People may die and you will pick up the wrong experts.
+HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: Of course, the grandparents and elders are dying and what you are saying Hon. Sen. Khumalo is true. It is our desire that those who should come up with such programmes should do so quickly. If you looked at our programmes this week on ZTV, there were announcements on content producers to go to their provinces to submit project proposals. This is a document which is indicative of what is to be done and the course. The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe will thereafter take that document and ensure that it is broadcast. BAZ will bear the costs and not the producer of the content, transport and subsistence, artists working without individuals – we are trying to cushion the process so that we do not lose the experts who are available now. I thank you Madam President.
HON. SEN. MARAVA: My question is directed to the Deputy Minister of Power and Energy Development. Whilst most of our rural population is desirous to install electricity in their houses, the major stumbling block which we have discovered so far is that the transformers are so exorbitant compared to transformer prices in countries around Zimbabwe. Can you tell the nation why transformers in Harare are so exorbitant and beyond the reach of many in this country. Is it landed cost or what? I thank you.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER
DEVELOPMENT (HON. SEN. MUZENDA): I want to thank the
Hon. Senator for the question. I appreciate that our transformers are a bit on the expensive side because at the moment our local company ZENT, is not in a position to be manufacturing our own. However, one would have wanted a situation where ZENT is properly financed so that it can produce as many transformers as possible for consumers.
However, what other communities have been doing and you specifically referred to the rural folk who do not have money but sometimes if it is possible one might want to encourage communities to come together and buy the transformer. Once that is done the cost can be deducted later when they have been electrified. That is one way. As a Ministry we are very eager that ZENT be fully capacitated so that there will be as many transformers as possible in the country.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF DANDAWA: My question is directed
to the Deputy Minister of Media, Information and Broadcasting Services. In Hurungwe in Mashonaland West, people cannot tune in to ZTV and National FM. Can the Minister explain why it is like that?
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MEDIA, INFORMATION
AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. MATHUTHU): I
am not sure which language to use because I am not very fluent in Shona but I will try. We are in the process of erecting towers so that the frequencies will reach everywhere, including Hurungwe so that every Zimbabwean like what is written in our Constitution has access to information by tuning in to the television to see what other people are doing in the country. This programme is called digitalization and we envisage to reach all the people in Zimbabwe.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF MAROZVA: My question is similar to the one asked by Hon. Sen. Marava. What steps can one take if you want assistance or sponsorship from organisations in our area to repair malfunction transformers. How long does ZESA take to approve such an arrangement?
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MEDIA, INFORMATION
AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. MATHUTHU):
Thank you Madam President for giving me the opportunity to respond to the question raised. What the Hon. Senator has stated, this would be a very good way of solving our problems because some of these organisations operating within our environs have that community obligation to carry out. Some time it is difficult to source for spare parts to repair a transformer which has been vandalised. If we can get some of these organisations in their social service scheme can help in the purchase of these spare parts. As an organisation we will gladly oblige and give that permission in no time so that the transformer can be repaired.
*HON. SEN. CHIPANGA: My question is directed to the Deputy Minister of Labour, Public Service and Social Services. We have had some of our professionals who went into the diaspora because the environment here was not conducive. Now that these professionals have come back what steps are you taking in readmitting them into the Public Service? What are the requirements?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LABOUR, PUBLIC SERVICE AND SOCIAL SERVICES (HON. ENG. MATANGAIDZE): I want
to thank the Hon. Senator for asking such a pertinent question. There are people who left for diaspora and what it means is that when they want to rejoin the Public Service they will have to join the queue just like anybody else. The problem which we are currently facing is that recruitment is currently being affected by Treasury because as a country, we are spending more than 90% of our fiscus paying these salaries. Although we are aware of that, there are some schools which have a shortage of teachers. Even the pupil to teacher ratio is very high but we are saying we need to look at the wage bill. When all the assessments have been made on the need to employ these new teachers, we then have to look at where we can get the extra funds to pay these new teachers who may be employed. Hence, it is not easy for us to re-employ the people coming from the diaspora. As soon as the economy and fiscus has improved, and we can afford to pay these salaries, we will definitely employ these teachers. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIFAMBA: My question is directed to the Deputy Minister of Energy and Power Development. Some time back, there was an electricity installation programme on the street lights in the city of Marondera but all that activity has since been stopped. What plans do you have of resuscitating this programme?
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER
DEVELOPMENT (HON. SEN. MUZENDA): Thank you Hon.
Senator for such a pertinent question regarding the lightening programme. In response to that, I would like to ask for an opportunity to go and make my own investigations as to what led to the noncompletion of this programme. As of now, since it relates to a particular programme, I do not have the details as to why the programme was not completed. I would like to ask the Hon. Member to put the question in writing and give me the details of the programme. As ZESA, we have various offices in the area that may have the explanation as to what is happening to this programme and why it was stopped. If the Hon. Member can put her question in writing, I may be able to get the response by tomorrow as to why this electrification programme was stopped. I thank you.
*THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: Hon. Member,
can you put your question in writing please.
*HON. SEN. MACHINGAIFA: My question is directed to the
Deputy Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Services, Hon. Eng. Matangaidze. My policy question is in this country of Zimbabwe, do we have a law which says whosoever has enough finances can organise a programme where he may hold a party for street people. During that party, that person will say I have wanted to hold this party for you. My question is will such a party remove these children from the streets?
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE,
LABOUR AND SOCIAL SERVICES (HON. ENG.
MATANGAIDZE): When we look at the children who are staying in the streets whom we call street kids, they are our children. We have children who may not be orphans now but in the near future, their parents might pass on. Those children may live like orphans and as a result, stray into the streets and become street kids. Any child of Zimbabwe is vulnerable and can be a street kid depending on the prevailing conditions. Any children from Zimbabwe, regardless of where they are, are protected by the rules and regulations. So, when you employ these street children and exploit them, you are committing an offence. Hence, if you are taking these children and holding a party for them yet you have some other ulterior motives, let me say this is a criminal offence.
As a Ministry, we are saying, we have children’s orphanages which are run by the State through the Ministry and others run by independent people. What we would like to see happening is that, we need to see these children being taken off the streets and go into established homes so that they can have the values of humanity inculcated in them. We are not encouraging these people to hold parties for these children whilst they are in the streets, but if you have such monies, please divert the funds to the cause of establishing a home for these people. Therefore, do not come and take advantage of these children and their situation, and indoctrinate them. However, it is fine if these children are given this party because it is a special occasion like a Christmas party but let us know that these children, like any other child, are the future of Zimbabwe. They are the doctors, teachers and hence, as a nation, let us work towards the improvement of the lives of these children. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIMHINI: I am directing my question to the Deputy Minister of Energy and Power Development. You told this House that there is no load shedding in the country. Can you vouch that we are no longer load shedding because we now have our own power stations in the country or is it because we are still importing power from the neighbouring countries, that is why we do not have load shedding.
What has stopped load shedding in Zimbabwe?
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER
DEVELOPMENT (HON. SEN. MUZENDA): Thank you Hon. Sen.
Chimhini for posing such a pertinent question. At the moment, we have had a situation whereby we have our own power stations which may supply the electricity to run our country. As of now, it is not enough to sustain all our needs and hence, we are importing power from neighbouring countries. We pay for that power according to the agreement that we will have done so that we can keep acquiring this electricity. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHISUNGA: My question is directed to Hon. Minister Eng. Matangaidze. We want to look at the pensioners who are retired and in the rural areas. As a Ministry, what steps have you taken to alleviate the problems faced by these elderly people who are retired because at the moment, these people spend most of their money travelling up and down to collect these pensions. So what steps have you done to alleviate this problem?
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE,
LABOUR AND SOCIAL SERVICES (HON. ENG.
MATANGAIDZE: Thank you Madam President and thank you Hon. Chief Chisunga. This is a very pertinent question and as a Ministry, we are seized with this programme and we are encouraging these beneficiaries to use mobile banking or plastic money. What we are saying is that this money is deposited directly into their accounts in their mobile phones or they can put it on their swipe. When the money has been put in their account, they can access their cash through swiping facilities because we have tried our best to introduce these points of sale machines in these rural areas. The Ministry of Economic Development is also advising the people of Zimbabwe to avoid using cash and instead, use electrical gadgets and plastic money so that we move with the times. Using plastic money and mobile phones will avoid these up and downs which spends a lot of money for these pensioneers.
*HON. SEN. MANYERUKE: My question is directed to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Hon. Dr. Dokora. I am saying how far have you gone in the distribution of stationery and literature regarding the new curriculum because as far as my constituency is concerned, it is on the peripheral of Zimbabwe. The teachers and other authorities are saying they have not had access to such literature?
*THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
EDUCATION (HON. DR. DOKORA): Thank you very much Hon.
President of the Senate for giving me the time and Hon. Sen. Manyeruke for asking such a pertinent question on what steps are being taken in the introduction of the new curriculum in the schools. Zimbabwe has a number of schools which total up to 4 200 and we are saying, we need 4 500 to be used in the few days coming to facilitate this programme. The money will be used in sourcing for literature and other materials needed in the new curriculum.
This programme is called the School Improvement Grand, and that is the first step. The second step is that those who publish text books and other equipment needed for the education of the children need to look at the equipment which is going to be used by the teachers who will be working on the new curriculum. As a Ministry, we are now implementing a programme which is about US$11 to US$12 million which we are setting aside. We are advising teachers in these institutions to give us their budget so that we will give them the money and they will acquire the learning materials which they will need for the new curriculum.
I am sure that before we get into the month of April, the heads of these schools will have given us the budget so that we give the amounts to service providers who will give us the learning materials and other literature. As of now, I will say the teachers who are in the new curriculum have two items which they use. The first one is that these are the books which they have been using such as the history, geography and mathematics text books. We are saying these books are still functional and good because when we look at them, they have some sections and chapters which are found in them which can still be used in the new curriculum.
If you hear these teachers talking that the books which were being used have since been thrown away and are now useless, we are saying these books are still useful and they are still used in education. We believe in that the teachers in these schools have what is called a
Teacher’s Handbook or a Teacher’s Manual which will go hand in hand with the new curriculum because this manual was taken down and compiled according to the syllabus because this is the equipment and literature used by the teachers in the new curriculum.
*HON. SEN. MANYERUKE: Hon. Minister, you have told us of
all the literature you are talking about, so your answer should be yes or no. Is this literature available in the rural areas, yes or no?
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: I think he said
they are there.
*HON. SEN. KOMICHI: Thank you Madam President. My
question is directed to the Deputy Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services regarding giving equal opportunities so that people of all political parties may have access to the public media and to both electronic and print, so that even MDC and other parties may appear in these media, both electronic and print. We do not need to appear in these media just because we have committed a crime or we are being blamed for some misfortune. What is the policy regarding equal access to media?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF INFORMATION, MEDIA
AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. MATHUTHU):
Thank you Madam President. Everyone in Zimbabwe has the right to access our broadcast services, whether print or electronic media. What is required is for whoever has something to broadcast or who would like something to be publicised to approach the relevant departments whether it is the print, electronic or the other media houses to invite them to whatever programme they might have which they want covered. There is no discrimination clause. Thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIMANIKIRE: My question is directed to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Hon. Dr. Dokora. You held a workshop for us and you said children start from nursery and go to zero grade. The children who do that will be more open to accept the new learning system. My wish is that we used to have pre-schools under the local authorities and these have since closed down and as far as we are concerned, these used to assist those parents who could not afford to pay the expensive fees for their children. They would then access that education because the crèches were cheap but these have since closed down. What has since happened is that we now have expensive early learning centres and the children from poor backgrounds are unable to access that education. When they go to zero grade, they will be dull, hence the poor will stay poor even in education and those who can afford to pay the expensive fees will go and still benefit from the education. My request therefore is for you to assist us by pushing the local authorities to facilitate the opening of crèches and pre-schools so that the poor in our communities can also access cheap education.
THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. DR. DOKORA): I am sure the Hon. Member attended the workshop meant for Members of Parliament where we explained that we do not have any class called zero grade but an infant school consisting of ECD ‘A’ and ECD ‘B’. Thereafter we have grade one and two. Then we have the junior school which is from grade three to grade seven. Government policy is that all children aged four years should start going to school. As a Ministry, we look at the institution which is being attended, especially if it is an area supposed to be an ECD, to establish whether the place can be improved for the establishment of early learning centres. We will be working hand in hand with the primary school which is nearby. There will be a teacherin-charge who will be responsible for the nearby school and the head of that institution will be reporting to that deputy head. Whatever activities are done will be done in conjunction with the main school. So, children from zero to three years are the ones who may attend these pre-schools or nursery schools.
Let me emphasise that this is a private sector facility which is outside the education system but officials from my Ministry will go and examine these pre-schools to ensure that the environment is suitable for the children. Nobody will suffer because they are coming from ECD
‘A’, because as far as we know, Government institutions have very low fees. This is different from private schools which charge very high fees.
HON. SEN. MUMVURI: I propose that we extend the time for
Questions Without Notice by ten minutes.
HON. SEN. TIMVEOS: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
*HON. SEN. MURWIRA: I am directing my question to the Deputy Minister of Lands. In the past, local authorities used to collect rates but these are now being collected by the Ministry of Lands. The problem is, they are paying $15 but they also need bus fares to go and pay that amount to provincial authorities. As a Ministry, what are you going to do to alleviate the problem faced by the people who travel long distances to go and pay this amount?
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LANDS AND RURAL
RESETTLEMENT (HON. CHIKWAMA): We have a development
levy which used to be paid to local authorities especially in rural areas. However, currently this $15 levy is being collected by the Ministry of Lands. Ten dollars is given to the Ministry of Lands and five dollars goes to the local authorities which is disbursed through the Ministry of Rural Development and when the amount has been paid, there is authentification of these figures. In the past, when this programme was launched, we had a problem whereby there were no accounts. Now that we have solved the problem, people should pay at financial institutions in their areas. We are also now training youngsters who will be moving around the country assisting the villagers to collect these monies. It was realised that in the past, when these money were being collected by local authorities, they were not being ploughed back to provide services needed, hence the agreement for the levy to be collected by the Ministry of Lands. Some of these finances are used in managing the land or they are given to the local authorities and the Ministry.
*HON. SEN. MABUGU: My question is directed to the Deputy Minister of Lands. I need to know what Government policy is regarding the prevention of soil erosion. Now that cyclone Dineo brought in A lot of rain, this has resulted in siltation of dams and rivers. What steps are you taking to prevent that?
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LANDS AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. CHIKWAMA): This is a very good
question but the issue of soil erosion should be directed to the Ministry of Environment who should be able to respond accordingly.
+HON. SEN. NCUBE: My question is directed to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. Parents are asking for an extension of days to pay ordinary and advanced level examination fees. We would like to know if you have approved extension of time to pay examination fees to 21 April.
+THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
EDUCATION (HON. DR. DOKORA): Thank you very much Madam
President. I have heard what has been said by the Hon. Senator. As a Ministry, ZIMSEC has seen the problem that is amongst the parents and so, we have extended the time to pay examination fees to 21 April.
I would like the nation to know that examination fees can be paid in two years. Children who are in grade six can pay their grade seven examination for next year this year. Children in form three can pay an installment for next year and finish paying next year when they are now in form four.
*HON. SEN. TIMVEOS: My question is directed to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. We understand that the colleges that train nursing, teaching and so forth require students who have five ordinary level subjects obtained in not more than two sittings but you have highlighted that parents can pay the examination fees bit by bit. Some students are then disadvantaged because they acquired the five ordinary level subjects in more than one or two sittings. Can you assist these parents because they cannot have their children sitting for all the subjects at once?
* HON. DR. DOKORA: I thought that the Hon. Senator would start by congratulating my Ministry for giving children enough time to retake their examinations if they failed in the first instance.
When they obtain the qualification and they go and seek places in training such as in the Ministry of Health and Child Care or Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, this is no longer my baby. My job is to facilitate them to get enough ordinary level subjects and the other institutions have to take care of training. I think you should direct that question to the responsible authorities.
Questions Without Notice were interrupted by THE HON.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE in terms of Standing Order No. 62.
HON. SEN. B. SIBANDA: On a point of order, I have noticed that my question has remained on the Order Paper for close to six months. It is either some sections of the question have become redundant and therefore, I seek to withdraw it and resubmit it with current deadlines.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE
MEASURES TO CURB THE RAMPANT ILLEGAL SELLING
OF FUEL IN MUTARE
- HON. SEN. MAWIRE asked the Minister of Energy and Power Development to explain to the House what measures are in place to curb the rampant illegal selling of fuel in Mutare and the surrounding areas.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER
DEVELOPMENT (HON. SEN. MUZENDA): Thank you Mr.
President Sir. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Mawire for asking the question to do with the rampant illegal selling of fuel in Mutare and other surrounding areas.
The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) conducted fuel retail sites inspections in Mutare as part of its mandate of monitoring and enforcing compliance of oil companies to Petroleum Sector Licensing Regulations.
ZERA noted an increase in illegal fuel retailing activities in Mutare town which was brought to the attention of the Ministry of Energy and Power Development. The proximity of the town to the Mozambican border where relatively cheaper fuel is smuggled into the country through illegal points of entry is a key driver of the illegal activities. In order to curb these illegal activities, ZERA in conjunction with ZRP Manicaland, carries out routine site inspections. ZERA site inspections in 2016 showed that 35% of the fuel retail sites operating in Mutare were unlicenced and unlicencable. Most of these operators were operating from former commercial and industrial sites with no clearance from Mutare City Council, Fire Brigade or EMA. ZERA inspections also showed that none of the sites were manned by suitably trained operators.
The sites were given compliance orders to regularise their operations.
From April 2016 to January 2017, ZERA carried out several licence enforcement blitzes against illegal fuel operators in Mutare. By the end of 2016, ZERA had closed 14 unlicenced and illegal fuel sites and 24 illegal fuel operators had been sent for prosecution for operating without ZERA licences. Despite these enforcement efforts, the situation of illegal fuel retailing in Mutare continued to worsen as most of the illegal fuel dealers resort to removing their equipment and temporarily deserting the sites only to return later and continue operating after breaking ZERA seals.
In October 2016, the Ministry requested the intervention of the
Ministry for Home Affairs to assist through its ZRP border control and ZRP Manicaland. The urgent intervention of the Mutare City Council through strong enforcement of city by-laws and the clamping down of operators setting up illegal fuel retail sites in undesignated areas was also sought by the Ministry through the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing.
The Ministry also engaged the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development for their intervention through the speedy implementation of the cargo tracking system which will help in preventing the illegal offloading of fuel in Mutare. We are happy to note that this was implemented in January 2017.
ZERA in consultation with the Ministry of Energy and Power and Development is drafting Petroleum (Liquid Fuels Licensing, Inspections and Compliance) Regulations, 2017 which will go a long way in providing for dealing with illegal fuel vendors. The regulations also propose stiffer penalties for illegal fuel dealing.
My Ministry and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development have developed a Fuel Marking Programme, which is designed to curtail fuel smuggling and adulteration. Under the programme, all legitimately procured fuel will be marked before it is sold to the end users. Once the programme is launched in 2017, ZERA will monitor fuel at all retail sites and points of consumption for marking and will prosecute fuel found unmarked or with diluted marker which will be evidence of smuggling or adulteration. Operators caught will be referred to ZIMRA for assessment and payment of relevant duties and attendant penalties.
The Fuel Marking Regulations have been drafted and the Fuel Marking Tender has been approved by the State Procurement Board. It is planned that a fuel marking contractor will be appointed in the second quarter of 2017.
The Ministry of Energy and Power Development, through ZERA has been conducting nationwide training workshops for players and operators in the petroleum industry. The training is based on petroleum industry operation and infrastructural standards of quality, safety and the environment. Where education and awareness fails to yield compliance, the Authority moves in to prosecute and shut down offending operators’ premises to protect consumers. ZERA works and depends on the activities of other enforcement agencies including local authorities, EMA and the Zimbabwe Republic Police.
It is necessary to note that the fight against illegal fuel vending requires various Government arms working as a team. It is therefore necessary to point out that ZRP, EMA and Local Authority and ZIMRA are all involved in fighting that menace as it involves management of borders and local authority by-laws on vending. ZERA and other State Agencies will continue to work together to ensure minimization of these illegal activities. Mr. President, I wish to thank Hon. Sen. Mawire for raising this important question. Thank you very much.
MOTION
ENFORCEMENT OF LAWS TO PROTECT DOMESTIC
ANIMALS
First Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on stray dogs and other domestic animals.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. MAVHUNGA: Thank you Mr. President for giving me the chance to make my contribution on a motion raised by Hon. Sen. Mawire where people are being encouraged to look after the welfare of their domestic animals and pets and also prevent the biting of ordinary people by these animals. We have had some stray animals such as cattle and dogs and this has disturbed the livelihood of people in Zimbabwe.
Many people are dying because of the carelessness and recklessness caused by these stray dogs. When they stray into the roads, there is bound to be some accidents when cars try to avoid these stray animals. We should buy dog leashes and harnesses which are sold on the streets and markets. People should chain their dogs and harnesses them so that they do not stray onto the streets. Again, when these die on the streets and rot, there is bound to be some environmental degradation caused by this. We have some people who own cattle and let them stray and yet we believe in that if you have an oversight of your cattle, you should ask your neighbours and friends on whether they could have come across those missing cattle.
As a result, when these cattle stray into the roads, we have people dying on the streets. We have people like the late Cde. Karakadzayi who died in an accident on the streets caused by these stray animals and some of these people are really high ranking officials and professionals. Let me now look at the dogs, if you are attacked by a dog, some of these dogs may not have received rabies vaccine and it means that person may get sick and at times these people may die. When the victim goes for treatment, the treatment is very expensive, hence people should look after their dogs because that is where they get the virus which causes rabies.
In terms of cleanliness of the environment in the neighbourhood, when you have your dogs and you let them stray into the neighbour’s yard, they go and leave dirt into the neighbour’s yard and I think as a good neighbour please protect your neighbour from your dogs. If you let your dogs stray, that is tantamount to cruelty to animals. These people who let animals stray should be prosecuted. We are also calling for the Veterinary Department and the SPCA to be given enough funds to move around the country looking at these dogs in order to curb diseases.
If you are a farmer who owns a farm which is near the highway, be responsible and fence off your property so that animals do not stray. I have Hon. Chitsinde in my community who is fencing off his property so that animals do not stray into the roads and cause unnecessary accidents. What I believe in is that if an individual farmer has erected his own fence, he will guard it jealously because it is his property. This is unlike fences which are erected by Government where people are reckless because they think it is Government’s property and it has nothing to do with them. Let us protect these animals because they have their rights just like us human beings we have our own rights. I am pleading with the people of Zimbabwe to look after our domestic animals and pets. I thank you.
HON. SEN. MAWIRE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MARAVA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 28th March, 2017.
MOTION
ALIGNMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS BY
ZIMBABWE ELECTORAL COMMISSION (ZEC)
Second Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on alignment of the Electoral Act to the Constitution.
Question again proposed.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MEDIA, INFORMATION
AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. MATHUTHU): I
move that the debate do now adjourn.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 28th March, 2017.
MOTION
SADC MODEL LAW ON ERADICATING EARLY CHILD
MARRIAGES
Third Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the SADC
Model law on eradicating Child Marriages.
Question again proposed.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MEDIA, INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. MATHUTHU): I
move that the debate do now adjourn.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 28th March, 2017.
MOTION
SUPPORT FOR THE NATIONAL SCHOOL PLEDGE
Fourth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on advocating for unequivocal support for the National School Pledge by all Members of
Parliament.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MARAVA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 28th March, 2017.
MOTION
MEASURES TO CURB VIOLENCE PERPETRATED BY
POLITICAL PARTIES
Fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on violence that had become a socio-political way of life among the people of Zimbabwe.
Question again proposed.
+HON. SEN. A. SIBANDA: I thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to debate in brief on this motion which was moved Hon. Sen. B. Sibanda. Many Hon. Senators have debated on this matter before. Political violence amongst Zimbabweans is not a good way of life which we should commit ourselves to. We have observed that violence amongst political parties is a problem. It causes people not to be in agreement and fail to respect views and ideologies. Differences in views and ideologies should not separate us and cause us to fight each other as Zimbabweans.
As adults we should not invite the youths to spearhead that violence when in actual fact it is us who are behind them. The youths will be given drugs and dangerous substances. After being given such substances, they cannot behave appropriately to stop that violence. The youths will drink beer, smoke drugs and go and fight because they will have been instructed that a particular party is not allowed. We have observed this happening since we got independent. In 1983, it became so bad in Matebeleland with people being beaten for no apparent reason. Women were beaten and it is a painful thing to see happening. When men fight, women are also beaten.
At the present moment, I think we are aware that youths are being used to beat up members of the opposition parties. If as adults we teach our youths to beat up people, it is wrong because they do not just beat up people of their age. They beat adults like us, their parents and grandparents under our instructions. When we are gone, what kind of legacy will we have left for the nation of Zimbabwe? A legacy of violence where people fail to tolerate each other and allow other people to be aligned to a party of their own choice. I request that should come to an end Mr. President.
It has been said here, now and again that we are a Christian nation. We are a people who believe in Christ. Christ was a peaceful person. He was not a violent person. Even at the time when he was being beaten, he was not violent. Where then as a Christian people do we take this? We want to protect ourselves by retaliating or beating up those who are not in agreement with us. If you are proposing love to a girl, you do not do that by beating up that little girl, no. This Mr. President is a bad thing from my observation.
Violence is even worse than sanctions.imposed by other countries for us to have good relations with them when we have everything in our country. This thing which I am referring to here is very bad. It causes the country to be a nation which is looked down by other countries. You find that this violence which will be perpetrated by the youth without someone controlling them makes them do a lot of bad things such that the world will be in shock and flabbergasted. As Zimbabweans, we have neighbours and are in a global village as well, we also want people to invest in our country but if there is political violence, I do not see us getting any investors.
I am requesting that women Members of Parliament, there should not be any political violence in your constituencies. Let us emulate Botswana where they have one platform where all the political parties come to address the people. It does not matter which party you are coming from. They will tell people about their manifestos, developmental programmes and expectations at that same platform. You will not hear that in Botswana there was any political violence. There is nothing like that. If it has been there, it is rare.
Let us learn as a nation that leaders are chosen by God. Let us stop this habit of fighting each other. Thank you Hon. Sibanda for bringing this motion in this august House of Senate. As adults here, let us learn to control and denounce those violent behaviours. We do not fight here but we push the youth to fight their parents and grandparents. That behaviour should come to a stop. It is us here who are responsible for that and we should stop it in our constituencies. It is a shameful thing to hear that certain people were beaten up in your constituency. Most of the times it is the women who are beaten and you hear that a neighbour’s child will have done that. When you hear another woman being beaten by the youth, it is shameful indeed.
I request that the traditional leaders take steps that if there is any political violence in their areas of jurisdiction, you should not allow yourselves to be used by political parties to force people to attend the political rallies, campaigns or for voting. Those people are undermining the powers of the traditional leaders. Traditional leaders, you belong to everyone and do not segregate. If in your area of jurisdiction chief, you find that people are being beaten and you ululate for that, please know that they will be beating you. In short, those people will have beaten the traditional leader through his people.
We are therefore requesting that such shameful things should not take place. The people in this country are very educated. People are religious and go to church. When it comes to politics, for instance next year we will be campaigning and we will hear of reports of people being beaten. We are the ones as politicians who are doing that. Let us stop that. In conclusion, I am saying women, let us stand up in our constituencies and denounce political violence. I thank you Mr.
President.
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: Thank you Mr. President. I was very angry because people had said there was not going to be a debate on this important motion. Hon. B. Sibanda really worked hard in raising this motion and we need to support it because it is a very pertinent issue. Hon. B. Sibanda, thank you very much for this motion which you introduced. It is a very important motion and I am going to deal with the issue where it says, ‘to admonish political parties so that they desist from the use of violence in order to impose their will on the people of
Zimbabwe.’
You gave clear examples of the kind of violence which can be perpetrated on people. We have domestic violence where we have married people fighting each other because they may not have agreed on some certain aspects of life. This is the tobacco selling season and this is a project undertaken by the family. In some instances, men sale the tobacco and abuse the funds and this creates violence within the family. We are saying this is an important House which is made up of the elderly. Let us look for ways of bringing peace and tranquility in this life because when we look at the tobacco, the women work hard towards this venture. They are farmers in their own right.
When the tobacco is sold, and the man abuses the funds through marrying other women or buying useless trinkets, the woman suffers or may even collapse. I remember going with the Committee on Peace and Reconciliation and The Chronicle ran a story about a well trained teacher who killed two of his nieces. One died at home and the other one died at the hospital. The wife survived because she managed to run away. This was caused by drugs. When this person was arrested and they were brought to court, the man could not be properly tried because he had been so destroyed by the drugs in such a way that he was not aware of the environment where he was being tried. He had to be taken for psychiatric examination because of the drug abuse.
As Hon. Members of this Senate, we need to talk strongly against the abuse of drugs in this country. If these are prevalent, people will die, killed and when people indulge in these drugs, somebody’s vision is distorted. When they see a human being, they see somebody who is about to attack them. When they see even a dog or whatever it is, they have that vision which is distorted and may lead to violence. As Zimbabweans, let us guide our nation against the trafficking of drugs into this country.
Let me now turn to politics. As politicians, we should be mature. We should not use violence to attract voters on our side. We need to get voters to support us in peaceful ways. If we have a Councillor who is advocating for violence in his constituency, we should stop that Councillor from contesting the elections because he will cause death of other people so that he can aspire to that stand. If this Councillor is denied the right to contest in election, this will be a lesson to other potential violent causers. This way, they will know that if they cause any violence, they will not contest on behalf of any political party because you have led to injury and death of people, and destruction of property.
As Members of this august House, we need to get a way of fighting off this violence using that Act which we may have set down and people will follow these rules. This is because rules are meant to stop people from taking laws into their own hands. I remember watching on television a certain lady who appeared and she was crying. This old lady had her donkeys stolen. When they were stolen, two of them were pierced to death and dumped into her kitchen. To make matters worse, this old lady was a widow, but we had somebody who is cruel enough to kill those donkeys for whatever reason and dumped them into her kitchen.
We should praise the Lord because this person may have wanted to avenge his/her pain on this old lady and could have killed her. This lady was crying saying how will I survive? I was depending on these donkeys for my livelihood and what will I do because people have killed the donkeys and so they have killed me. As the people of Zimbabwe, we have a culture of peace. We should bring peace into our country and we need to inculcate the values of peace and the values of ubuntu into our families because there is nobody who will come from abroad to teach the people of Zimbabwe to be peaceful and avoid stealing and killing other people’s domestic animals. All the people of Zimbabwe want peace. Nobody wants to get people dying or being injured because I did not get anything especially towards elections.
People of Zimbabwe need to inculcate the values of peace and this motion should make us to introspect as a country so that Zimbabwe becomes a peaceful country. When we are carrying out our farming activities, we need to carry them in peace. Women and children will be moving peacefully wherever they want. Even our men folk, when they are at a beer garden, they should drink peacefully and this can only be done by the people of Zimbabwe as the saying goes, none other than ourselves, and we need to debate this issue and we should get a solution because we should end political violence.
We should cut away domestic violence and all the forms of violence should be eliminated from Zimbabwe. How will you be proud of being a Member of Parliament, Senator or a Councillor and yet you have won that position through intimidation and people have died. We need to avoid holding these unnecessary grudges. The President of Zimbabwe denounces violence whenever he gets a chance to talk to the people of Zimbabwe. Peace begins with me, with you and with all of us. I would like to say thank you Hon. Sibanda for introducing this motion which is very essential to the people of Zimbabwe and say, why should we encourage each other to embark on violence and yet we are one of the countries with the most educated population. Thank you Hon.
Sibanda for your foresight. We should not take a long time talking about some of these things, but I say it is essential that we enact laws to create peace in Zimbabwe and avoid violence.
HON. SEN. B. SIBANDA: Thank you Mr. President. I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIMHINI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
On the motion of THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF
INFORMATION, MEDIA AND BROADCASTING SERVICES
(HON. MATHUTHU), the Senate adjourned at Half Past Four o’clock
p.m. until Tuesday, 28th March, 2017.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 2nd November, 2017
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two o’clock p. m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER
THE CHARTER FLIGHT TO VICTORIA FALLS FOR THE
PRE-BUDGET SEMINAR
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have to inform the House
that the charter flight to Victoria Falls for the pre-budget seminar will leave Harare on the 8th of November, 2017 at 0700 hours. Hon.
Members will be picked up from their respective hotels and the Parliament car park at 0500 hours.
HON. MLISWA: On a point of order Madam Speaker. Good
afternoon to you. First of all, I want to acknowledge the letter that I got in terms of the update on the sitting allowances and other pertinent issues. Thank you very much for responding to that. First, we have to clarify and I want to say this as a Member of Parliament and I am sure other Members of Parliament will also support me. We seemingly are being seen as people who are selfish, who want to use public funds and yet there is no one out there, even Parliament, saying that we have a right to our money and we have not been paid. I wish that the
Parliament of Zimbabwe can issue a statement to say that what the Members of Parliament are pushing for something within their right. It is a constitutional obligation which is there – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] - As a result, people believe that we are cry-babies. We would like to put it on record that we are not paid as much as they think we are. We are only paid US$2 000 per month. We pay for the school fees for our children, we do not have a package – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible
interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members, I think
Hon Mliswa is presenting an issue which affects everybody here. I thought it was wise for us to keep quiet so that we are heard. We have to understand what he is saying. When you make a lot of noise you will not hear what is being said. Can you please proceed Hon. Mliswa.
HON. MLISWA: Hon. Speaker, you know everybody has a package before they start work. It includes holiday, school fees, medical allowances, education allowances; one of the issues that you push for as Parliament was to ensure that people further their education. All these packages we do not have. We are supposed to be paid a salary on top of a package which we are entitled to but we do not have a proper package or any package to talk about. This US$2 000 we are talking about includes us paying school fees for our children. – [HON. MEMBERS:
US$1 000.] - I am just putting it to the nearest.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Seremwe, would you
please listen to what is being said here. I can hear your voice from here.
HON. MLISWA: So, at no point are we abusing State resources at all. In terms of fuel coupons, Members of Parliament at times go without. There is an outstanding amount in fuel coupons and so forth.
So, it is important that we set the record straight and the media is told exactly what is happening. If you keep quiet as Parliament, it seems as if it is true what is happening. You represent us and I think the truth must be said about the packages of Members of Parliament.
What I can say to the people of Zimbabwe, understand that all the Members of Parliament here are the only ones who are serving. They are servants of the people because they are under paid. Parliament is underfunded. For them to get to the constituencies is a miracle and we must thank God. It only shows the passion that they have for their people. – [HON. Members: Hear, hear.] – Some of them are failing. Madam Speaker, in other countries, with the situation we have as Parliament, this country would not be governed at all. We must thank these Members of Parliament for being disciplined, patriotic and nationalistic. Otherwise, you see in other Parliaments how they behave pertaining to this. Even those that are well funded, they still create havoc. These Hon. Members have never created havoc. There has always been peace under very stringent conditions. When we have recommended for the Executive to cut down on costs, the Executive costs are always high. They have two cars. They get everything, incuding fuel coupons but we have oversight over the Executive. The Executive has never, despite us telling the Minister of Finance to cut down on the Executive expenditure so that we are able to be funded, that has never happened. Instead the Executive expenditure has gone high to the detriment of Members of Parliament who are supposed to be working. That has made Members of Parliament to be compromised.
*Some Members of Parliament are not here; they are busy trying to raise resources so that they can survive. When you hear that an MP has done something wrong, it is disturbing. We want to thank these Hon. Members because they restrain themselves. We could all be involved in deals but we are not doing that. If a Member of Parliament is reported in the media that he has done something wrong, it denigrates that Member of Parliament. All these Members of Parliament here are not getting anything and visiting their constituencies and doing all that, they are using their own resources not CDF and that should be appreciated.
I would also want to state Madam Speaker that this document here is quite good but you should understand that there is inflation. I asked yesterday as to in what currency are we going to be given the outstanding money because our country says one USD is equal to one bond note but what is happening on the ground is the opposite. The prices of commodities are sky-rocketing. Today, I went into town to buy some iron sheets for roofing. Yesterday they were pegged at $11 per sheet and today they are pegged at $24. This is why I am saying that the value of $50 000 has been reduced to $25 000. If only we had been given this money four months ago, we would have done a lot with it.
The story of Members of Parliament getting their CDF will be all over in the papers but the people out there will not realise that the money is worthless. We want the Government to disburse this money in US dollars and not in RTGS or bond notes which requires one to top up with a certain percentage. The rate of depreciation of the US dollar is far much better compared to bond notes. We want this consideration to be taken on board that this CDF be disbursed in foreign currency.
Hon. Chamisa should expedite his motion on CDF constitution so that funds are disbursed as soon as possible. I urge all Members of Parliament to abide by the rules, to open bank accounts and set up the required committees because if we do not do that the funds will not be disbursed at all. I thank you.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Mliswa, you have
requested that Parliament issues a statement regarding the welfare of Members of Parliament. We are going to sit down with the Administration of Parliament and prepare a statement which will be presented in the House in due course. We are very much concerned with all that you have said. I thank you.
*HON. MANDIPAKA: I rise to add my voice to the statement made by Hon. Mliswa. I realise that when matters are written in the media, a lot of questions are raised particularly when you are talking about our welfare. There appears to be some differences amongst our people who seem to think that we are here to look for money. No, that is not the case. We want to represent them. We are not greedy at all but we are dedicated so that we can come here and raise the concerns of the people to the Government. We do that here in this House.
What has been transpiring is that we were using our own resources to cater for the constituents because we are dedicated to represent them. What we are requesting shall not be misconstrued to mean that we are a greedy lot. That is not the truth and it should be clear to the people of Zimbabwe.
I would like to thank you Madam Speaker that when we raise a concern, your Chair or office responds swiftly as it has done to this matter. A government that runs around to address the concerns of the people is a responsible Government. I want to applaud the Government for running around and addressing the concerns of the people. That is a hallmark of a good Government. We are happy about that.
I would like to thank your office, the Government and all the running around that was done which was not in my sight. We are now aware that there is something which is in the pipeline. I thank you.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, I think as Hon. Members
we should applaud and appreciate what is good. If we see that there is something good happening, I think we should appreciate. I would like to believe that the Acting Minister of Finance is here and he understands what is transpiring. The Acting Minister of Finance is Hon. Chidhakwa. I would like to thank you Hon. Members because for the past week until today you have been fighting seriously to be where we are. If we are a people who understand, for the sake of progress and as responsible Hon Members, I will accept the issues that you have raised and that it be done.
*HON. CHINOTIMBA: Madam Speaker, when you are in a church and when a sermon has been preached, everyone will be touched by that sermon. You cannot suppress yourself when the word has touched you. Yesterday we were shouting at the Minister saying, when are you going to come? I want to thank the Minister if he is the one who went to the President and briefed him about the concerns of the Hon. Members.
Referring to the issue which has been raised by Hon. Mandipaka, we should not be seen as though we want to derail the Government like what some sections of the media and other people were saying. Even amongst us as Members of Parliament, when someone raises a concern, they then misconstrue it into some other thing. We are fighting for a noble cause here. Hon. Bonyongwe, if at all you attended to that we heartily thank you. The Minister of Justice was sweating the other day and I said to myself, this is baptism of fire and welcome to Parliament.
In our constituencies, people will be saying the MP has everything and so on. I have just stood up to say to my fellow Hon. Members that we should be serious. We do not want people who hijack other people’s agenda in order for them to be promoted. Some Hon. Members were discouraging us from pushing our welfare to the fore. I was told that I cannot be promoted. If the Hon. Members have their own degrees, let them be promoted. I have my degree from God so that I can be voted into office. I would like to thank the Government for attending to our welfare but we should not take the issue of our welfare as a launch pad for other people to be promoted. I thank you.
*HON. MATUKE: Mr. Speaker, I stand to add my voice in support of those who spoke before me in appreciation of the efforts by the Acting Minister of Finance and Economic Development and the
Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Hon. Bonyongwe that you have heard our concerns and it makes our work easier as Whips.
Even though it is not enough but it is indicative of the fact that
Government is concerned about the welfare of Hon. Members of
Parliament. They have conceded to the fact that Hon. Members of Parliament have difficulties in their lives, particularly when they are not receiving their due entitlements by right.
I would like to thank you that overnight we have realised almost half of our overdue entitlements are coming and that the next batch will be disbursed in a short period of time. We therefore request that as per their undertaking, our Hon. Members are disciplined and will wait until the next disbursement. Going forward, we request that the Acting Minister of Finance and Economic Development also addresses the issues that were raised by Hon. Members for duty free certificates on vehicles because most of their vehicles are dilapidated. Kindly look into that matter as well and address it towards assisting Hon. Members of
Parliament. We thank you very much because whatever is coming to
Hon. Members of Parliament will help. Failure to comply will result in the money being eroded by inflation. I am also standing on behalf of my other Chief Whip, Hon. Gonese.
We moved around raising our concerns. When I spoke to you Hon. Minister, you undertook to have a response for me by tomorrow. I thank you. Let us applaud the Minister for his efforts. – [HON MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] - We know and I would like to urge my fellow Hon. Members of Parliament to appreciate that our ministers are working hard. We would like to thank you. – [HON
MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MARUMAHOKO):
Order, order at the back. Hon. Members, order. I am calling for order and you continue talking, if I pick you up then I will have no option but to send you out of the House. Order Hon. Members here, Hon. Mliswa, you were standing up.
HON. MLISWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker, I just want to correct one thing. I said that we are paid US$2 000.00 a month, that is not correct, we are paid $1 207.00 as a basic salary. So, I would like to correct that it is not $2 000.00 but $1 207.00 as a basic salary – [HON
MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order Hon. Members at
the back.
HON. MLISWA: So it is important that the media which is sitting up there does make that correction- that it is $1 207.00 per month basic salary.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order Hon. Member,
you do not speak to the media - you speak to the Chair.
HON. MLISWA: Mr. Speaker, I thought that should be taken note of but I also thought that the Acting Minister of Finance and
Economic Development would respond to this but I see that he has gone
– [HON MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] - I am waiting for the Acting Minister of Finance and Economic Development; I do not know where he has gone to.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Yes, you have made your
statement Hon. Member.
HON. MLISWA: Yes, I was hoping that the Acting Minister of Finance and Economic Development would respond to this, since he is the one who will be disbursing the money. I see that he has gone. So how can we have an undertaking that he is going to do it because papers are written all the time and we are promised? It is true but we were hoping that he acknowledges that what has been written is true and the money will be paid because writing is not new. All these promises have been made before in black and white and the aspect of the US$ was important for him to respond, whether we are going to get hard currency because of the inflation.
So without him responding to that, it further puts us into more problems, because the money will be eroded by inflation if we are paid in December. So the Acting Minister of Finance and Economic
Development was supposed to respond as to whether we are going to be paid in hard currency according to the inflation rate on the day. So I do not know how we are going to tackle this Hon. Speaker?
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order Hon. Members.
Hon. Mliswa – [HON MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Order, order please. Hon. Mliswa, I am sure the Minister of Finance and Economic Development will read the Hansard and probably come up with a response to your worries. – [HON MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] - Order Hon. Members!
*HON. MAHOKA: I do not want to repeat what has already been said. Those who have appreciated have done so on our behalf. My concern is that the money, yes, we have seen the document. I have stood up on the issuance of duty free certificates.
Some of our vehicles are down and dilapidated. May the Minister stand in for us so that we may have those duty free certificates? Some Hon. Members are farmers and others are in business and would like to buy their personal vehicles. We are requesting for duty free certificates. I thank you for understanding us and we hope our plea will be addressed farvourably just as this one. I thank you. – [HON MEMBERS:
Inaudible interjections.] -
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order please Hon.
Mahoka the issue that you raised is still under consideration and it is not very long that you will receive a very farvourable consideration to that. –
[HON. MEMBERS: Chamisa, tinoda kuti Constitution ipase nhasi!] -
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. Maybe if you
give me a couple of minutes so that we are able to deal with whatever is next on the agenda as I sort out my papers. You are rest assured, we have done our bit and is going to be tabled now and today. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. MATUKE: Mr. Speaker, I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 10 be stood over until Order of the Day, Number 11 has been disposed of.
HON. D. SIBANDA: I second.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Eleventh Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the
Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
HON. KARORO: Thank you Mr. Speaker for giving me this opportunity to join other Hon. Members who spoke before me in pledging my loyalty to Zimbabwe. In the same vein, may I offer my respectful thanks for the speech His Excellency, the President of the
Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde. Robert Gabriel Mugabe, Commander-inChief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces was pleased to deliver to Parliament.
Mr. Speaker Sir, my name is Douglas Karoro. I represent Mbire
Constituency in this august House. Mbire District has a population of 82
380 comprising of 40 604 males and 41 776 females. The constituency has 17 administrative wards. The district falls within the Region 4 and 5 on weather pattern. Mbire is situated in semi-arid Zambezi Valley, a low altitude zone, characterised by frequent droughts and occasional floods. The area is suited to cultivation of drought tolerant crops supported by livestock production. Drought resistant crops fairly do well with fishing along the Zambezi Valley providing a source of income for a number of families. The potential contribution of livestock, a source of draught power, manure, meat and milk towards household income and food security is huge, but farmers have not been realising full benefits from their livestock due to the problems they encounter in raising livestock. For instance, recurrent droughts resulting in loss of grazing pastures have led to continued decrease in both crop and livestock productivity. Farmers have realised relatively low returns on the sale of their livestock because of poor condition of the animals.
Mr. Speaker Sir, the state of roads in Mbire has reached a dire situation and needs urgent attention. Accessibility to health facilities, water points and to other villages has become a nightmare to many residents. The following dust roads need urgent rehabilitation; Chidodo
– Mahuwe; Mahuwe – Mushumbi; Mahuwe – Chitsungo; and
Mushumbi – Kanyemba. Coupled to the deterioration of the road links is the destruction of the bridges, Hambe, Sapa and Dande. The Dande bridge although being used, the bridge partially collapsed 10 years ago and poses a danger to the public. Furthermore, I want to draw the attention of Hon. Members here present that the Republic of Zambia and Zimbabwe signed a bilateral agreement establishing an arrangement to link our countries with a tarred road to the border zone. Zimbabwe’s commitment is to construct a tarred road from Guruve to the border zone. Zimbabwe’s commitment is to construct a tarred road from Guruve to the Border. However, we are still to build the said road whilst our counterpart, the Zambians have already built theirs. I therefore, call the responsible Ministry of Transport to coordinate and fulfil the requirement of the bilateral arrangements by instituting processes to construct the road.
Mr. Speaker Sir, inadequacy or lack of infrastructure poses a great challenge to Mbire Constituency. Health facilities are generally inadequate as some villager walk more than 30 km to access health facilities. As I alluded to earlier on, Mbire district is prone to floods - as such, water borne diseases are such a challenge that require sufficient medical facilities to be installed. Mr. Speaker Sir, Mbire Rural District
Council has applied for a Special Economic Zone status for Kanyemba. I wish to bring to your attention that if the status is granted, Mbire stands a huge chance of revamping its economic fortunes through increased trade volume between Zambia and Zimbabwe at the border zone.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Wards 3 (Madzomba), 7 (Hambe), 13 (Sapa), 16 (Monozi) and 17 (Majongwe) have no clinics and the villagers walk more than 30km to the nearest clinic. Considering the bad state of the roads, most of the sick patients have to endure long hours before being treated. Access to health facilities or medication is one of the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to which as a country we are a signatory. Hence I would want to bring to the attention of the responsible Minister of Health and Child Care to institute processes to construct clinics in these wards.
Mr. Speaker Sir, linked to this matter is access to clean and safe water. Access to clean and safe water remain a big challenge to most communities who have been forced to rely on unsafe water sources. Water is not only inaccessible to humans but also to livestock. Whilst the Government policy stipulates that water sources should be 500 metres apart, Mbire district residents have been forced to walk more than 2 kilometres to the nearest water sources. Water is a human right and critical component for human survival. I want to call upon the responsible Minister for Rural Development and other stakeholders to also consider sinking boreholes in the district to achieve universal access to clean and safe water in Mbire district.
Mr. Speaker Sir, lastly I want to draw the attention of the Hon. Members that Mbire district also suffers from inadequate school infrastructure. The district is predominantly communal settlement and most people have to endure long hours of walking to the nearest schools.
Others walk more than 9 km to nearest schools against the Government Policy. Education is the key to development. As a country, we are well known for a high literacy rate. However, in Mbire, we are still grappling with high school drop outs and child marriages which can be attributed to inadequate education materials and school infrastructure. Child marriage is a scourge that has affected Africa and Zimbabwe at large. I therefore recommend to the Minister of Education to institute proceedings towards construction of schools. In addition, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development to conduct awareness programmes regarding the increase in child marriages to eliminate the challenges and ensure that our boys and girls remain at school.
Mr. Speaker Sir, let me take this opportunity once again to thank you for affording me this opportunity to present my speech. I intend to serve the people of Mbire with dignity, respect and to forever be propoor and patriotic. I thank you.
HON. MLISWA: On a point of order Mr. Speaker. Hon. Chamisa is now ready with the documents.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: It is good that he did.
HON. MLISWA: I thought that takes precedence – [Laughter.] –
*HON. CHIKUNI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Let me also
contribute to the debate on the Presidential Speech to this august House. He thanked us for working very hard in unity as one Parliament in an impartial manner. I also want to thank him for his speech on Command Agriculture. This programme is very good to all farmers, particularly to women who are short of resources. This programme equipped women and men alike who have farms, are capable and have the energy to work.
Command Agriculture brought development especially to our communal areas where many people participated. Some were able to deliver their grain to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB), some have stored grain for their own consumption in their silos until we reach to the next harvesting season. The farmers were given inputs at the right time and we insist that this season, inputs should be distributed in time. We are also requesting that this programme be brought into our rural homes with inputs such as tractors, planters and also carry out awareness programmes to our farmers to use herbicides because sometimes weeds disturb the growth of plants in a devastating way during the planting season.
Irrigation schemes should also be introduced and implemented and we request that those who are responsible for that programme liaise with Agricultural Extension Officers in order to get information on areas which are viable in terms of irrigation. This will encourage the youths and also women to engage in agricultural activities. Women are very energetic when it comes to farming and they work very hard. This will extend the level of expertise amongst farmers on agriculture and agricultural seasons. There is also need to open up a lot of markets from where farmers can sell their products from horticulture such as butternuts, water melons and so on.
There is an issue on Command Agriculture where people were farming haphazardly and illegal settlers or those who plough in undesignated areas were all over the place. This is being caused by village heads and chiefs who allocate land for farming in wetlands or settling them in areas which are not allowed at law. So, we are requesting that the Government conduct awareness programmes on village heads and chiefs on the issue of allocating land haphazardly.
The Head of State and Government also spoke about education. Education is spread around the country and our children are encouraged to go to school. The President indicated that there will be a Bill which shall be introduced to ensure that children are not abused. There is an issue of abuse of children where other children are even failing to go to school. This is also caused by some parents who are negligent and unable to send their children to school. So, if a law is enacted, that compels parents to send their children to school, this will ensure that all the children will be able to go to school.
There are some disabled children who are kept in homes and unable to go to school. If a law is enacted, this will ensure that all those children who are kept at home will be able to go to school. There is also need to upgrade the schools of the disabled children in rural areas so that the infrastructure and equipment is adequate to support the disabled and also encourage enrolment of many children. Some parents will not send their disabled children to these schools because the facilities and infrastructure will not be adequate to encourage them to go to school and learn.
I am also requesting the financing of BEAM programme and make it a priority programme in terms of paying the fees and increasing the allocation. When the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education makes a presentation, he should emphasise the issue of prioritising BEAM. In our rural areas, there are many children and when one is send home for nonpayment of school fees, they will not be able to go back because parents sometimes fail to get the money to pay for school fees. So, BEAM may be there as a symbol and yet the money towards its sustainability is not being paid by the Government. I am therefore requesting that this money be paid to BEAM. I am also requesting for the renewal of the feeding scheme in schools. This will encourage children to go to school where they will go and eat.
The President also spoke about the rape of children where he indicated that a Bill should be brought in to curb the abuse of children through rape. He indicated that stiffer penalties than are currently obtaining should be brought against rape offenders. For example in my Constituency, Chimanimani, last month, four children were raped by people who were putting on masks so that they could not be identified. Police officers would only come to the scene of the incident after about four days, long after the perpetrators would have committed the crime and when it would be difficult to trace them or make a follow up. So, it is important to come up with penalties that are stiff so that those perpetrators are brought to book. Police officers should also be encouraged to do their work in time. Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir for giving me this opportunity to debate in this House. Sometimes you must recognise people who do not debate and encourage them to debate –
[HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] -
*HON. THEMBANI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I stood up to
contribute to the Presidential Speech done on the 12th September, 2017, marking the last Session of the Eighth Parliament of Zimbabwe. The President said the time has now come to do a lot of work, to realign our laws so that they are aligned to the Constitution. He went further to say that laws should be realigned. There are about 206 pieces of legislation of which most have been done and only 30 need to be aligned, a job that is expected to be finished before the end of this Session.
A lot has been said Mr. Speaker Sir and I will only say a few things. There is an issue which His Excellency raised about reckless driving. Our people are dying because of accidents. It seems people do not know that there is the Highway Code and they are just driving anyhow. This is caused by the fact that whenever they appear in court for reckless driving, they are not being given stiffer sentences. I remember after independence in 1980, there were a lot of accidents involving soldiers but when the army tightened their penalties for reckless driving, right now we no longer hear of army vehicles being involved in accidents. Our people are not being given deterrent sentences so that they avoid accidents.
I also want to speak on the issue of rape. I might be repeating but this is difficult especially for us women. Men are raping their own daughters and if fathers fail to look after their daughters, they are not fathers they must be eliminated because mothers do not do that. I am urging Government that these people must be given stiffer sentences. I am aware there is one of our sisters who was raped and killed.
Perpetrators of such crimes cannot go unpunished. His Excellency also thanked the Zimbabwe Defence Forces because for us to be in this Parliament, it is because of the peace that is prevailing in this country. If the country is not peaceful, no matter the amount of money you have you cannot enjoy it because there will be war and you will not be free to move around even to go to church or other activities as this can only happen in a peaceful country.
In Foliejones, mountains are being destroyed and people are building homes. You cannot stay in homes if there is a war. Zimbabwe is a peaceful country, visitors like the peace that is prevailing in Zimbabwe and we must thank the Defence Forces for that. If you go to other countries, be it in meetings, seminars et cetera, the moment you mention that you are from Zimbabwe, you will be treated with a lot of respect.
Mr. Speaker Sir, before I take my seat, I would like to thank His
Excellency the President for what he did for women. He led us out of Egypt, the house of slavery. He once said those men who impregnate other people’s daughters, we do not like bulls, and we want these men to be punished. What is happening is these men are facing the axe because of maintenance and the reality is that they must look after their children. This law is good and women are happy because these men were impregnating school children and after that they go and further their education and the girl’s future will be ruined. So I want to thank His Excellency for this.
Secondly, women were being looked down upon; in the past we did not know that if we were given the chance, we will perform better.
Now we have women pilots, women train drivers and women in every profession because we were empowered. On the issue of inheritance, if your spouse dies, you were not given the chance to mourn your spouse as the relatives will be asking for bank books and the like as if they were waiting for him to die to claim the bank book. We were being abused and now it is a thing of the past. So I want to thank the President on behalf of women of Zimbabwe. We were not allowed to open bank accounts; we were refused the right to be employed because we were seen as minors. These men were looking down upon us, even when they talk they refer to weaker men as women. Now this is a thing of the past, we are equal, our salaries, positions and everything is the same - [Laughter.] – I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MARUMAHOKO):
Vehicle ABY 4196 Mercedes Benz is blocking other vehicles, if the owner is in this House may he/she please go and remove that vehicle.
HON. RUNGANI: Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. MUKWANGWARIWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 14th November, 2017.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. RUNGANI: I move that Orders of the Day, Nos. 12 to 30 be stood over until Order of the Day, No. 31 has been disposed of.
HON. MUKWANGWARIWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
CONSTITUTION OF THE CONSTITUENCY DEVELOPMENT
FUND
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: Mr. Speaker Sir, I move the motion standing in my name that this House adopts the Constitution of the
Constituency Development Fund.
HON. ZIYAMBI: I second.
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir, I wish to
just state that pursuant to the instruction by the Parliament of Zimbabwe and also the request by Members of Parliament, we have since drafted the very important Constituency Development Fund Constitution. This constitution is accompanied by what is called the Accounting Manual which is simply to articulate in greater detail what the important constitution is going to define.
I may give you as I advance this motion, the reason why we are supposed to have this constitution. You are aware that Government indicated that part of the reason why they failed to allocate resources or disburse resources to the constituency development purposes was on account of abuse of the fund, lack of the legislative and legal framework for the fund. So, the constitution is basically to try and allay the fears of the Executive when it comes to unprecedented abuse of the fund in previous circumstances.
The process has been that the Standing Rules and Orders Committee, through the legal procedural and Constitutional Affairs of the Committee, issued out an initial draft which was circulated to all the Members. Like I said in previous times, that report was then supported by a few members, most members did not submit their contributions in writing. I remember that we had other Members who contributed their submissions in writing and we have since incorporated those especially the views in this final draft.
The final draft has been approved by the Standing Rules and
Orders Committee and now awaits adoption by this august and respected House. In terms of the summary of the provisions, we have Section 1 that deals with the fund in terms of setting it here-in. Section 2, deals with the objectives of the fund; section 3 deals with the types of the projects that can be undertaken. So, we have now prescribed the type of projects that we are supposed to then undertake because in previous circumstances, we would have Members of Parliament even paying lobola using CDF or doing other things that are supposed to be done elsewhere using the CDF Fund.
So, we have now given parameters, the province that has to be respected in terms of boundaries. Section 4 deals with the administration of the fund; sections 5, 6, 7 and 8 are about what we have called the Constituency Management Committee, its powers and also the conduct of meetings. Section 9 deals with the CDF committee which is a constituency based to be chaired by the Member of Parliament. Section 10 deals with the accounting officer and his mandate being the Clerk of Parliament just for administrative functions in terms of administering and managing the funds from the Ministry to Parliament, from Parliament to the various constituency fund portfolios.
There is also the aspect on Sections 11, 12 and 13 in terms of the income and expenditure and assets for accountability purposes. Section 14 requires the CDF to keep proper books that are accounted for and also audited in terms of transactions that are undertaken. There is also an obligation and responsibility to have an annual report that has to be submitted by Members of Parliament Sections 16 and 17 deal with the amendment of the CDF constitution.
Hon. Speaker Sir, let me delve into specific details without really wasting a lot of time because I know that Members of Parliament are agitated, they want to hear what this fund is going to be all about. I just hope Hon. Speaker, those who are making a lot of noise may help me, I do not think clearly when there is a lot of noise. So, I seek your indulgence and protection as the Chair for those who may want to have their discussion to just give me the opportunity to present this CDF constitution.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: I hear your concerns Hon.
Chamisa. Hon. Members, you have been clamouring and have been waiting for this. Now, he is presenting the debate and you start making noise again. How are you going to debate when you do not listen to the facts that he is giving to us. Hon. Members, let us take our work seriously.
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I am going to
rush into basically the objectives of the fund. The fund shall be to allocate money equitably to constituencies for purposes of development and poverty alleviation.
However, the types of projects and it is very important - section 3, is going to be dealing with that but it is not limited to those. If you want to do any other projects that are outside this remit, you then need to seek permission from the Management Committee as a CDF so that there is some kind of controls and mechanisms of accountability.
The first one is construction, repairs and maintenance of boreholes and wells for rural areas. The second one is repairing, construction and maintenance of schools, clinics, dip tanks, particularly in the rural areas. The third one is construction, repairing maintenance of market stalls and related infrastructure. The fourth one is electric generators for use in schools. We had to prescribe where, because some would then buy generators but use them in other houses which is not consistent with where they are supposed to be used. So, we are very clear; it has to be in schools, clinics and other related institutions that benefit the constituency.
Number 5, community income generating projects that are defined by the CDF committee as chaired by the Member of Parliament. Six – construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of constituency infrastructure of public importance and of public use. Eight - repairing and maintenance of roads. We had extensive debate on this to say how much are we going to get - is it going to be significant but we just said it is important to keep it open, to say where there is need be, you may need to do a bridge, a foot bridge for purposes of ameliorating the situation in a particular constituency.
We also highlighted the issue of libraries, maintenance and establishment, then any other project as may be approved by the CDF committee. So, the CDF committee like I indicated, that is the committee within the constituency chaired by the Member of
Parliament. I will also touch on the composition.
So, the Chairperson of the Committees, at all material times - the Member of Parliament who shall be the steering authority in terms of the priorities. In terms of accountability, it has to be the Member of Parliament who is then supposed to account to the Ministry, to Parliament and also to the constituency itself in general. So, that is basically in terms of the types of projects.
In terms of the fund, there are two important committees that are there. The first one is called the Management committee, it is an administrative Committee. This Committee shall have the Deputy Clerk, the Clerk and the Principal Finance Director, Counsel to Parliament and Director of Research within Parliament. Their duty is basically to manage the transaction of the fund from the Ministry to the account of the constituency. So, they are they are playing the role that was being played in yester year dispensation by the Permanent
Secretary. If you remember, the CDF was being managed by the
Permanent Secretary of the Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs
Ministry. Now, it is being managed by the Clerk of Parliament and this team which has been broadened on behalf of Government and the Executive, but also just making sure that the fund is being used to the purpose and remit that is so prescribed in the Act and also in the constitution.
So, we must be very clear. This is a clerical and administrative committee to make sure that it is a pipeline, a conduit to the passage of I want to welcome the Hon. Vice President. Authority submits to another authority. So I - [Laughter.] – I cannot just ignore authority. It is not proper. Hon. Speaker Sir, I seek your indulgence.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MARUMAHOKO): I
have appreciated you.
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: Thank you very much. That is protocol because next time I will also be there, so I have to be respected -
[Laughter.] –
I was just indicating and narrating the composition of our Management Committee. That Management Committee shall report from time to time to the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders Committee (CSRO) on a quarterly basis. Basically, it is the CSRO that is managing the fund on behalf of Parliament and the Parliamentarians.
We have defined the functions of this Committee in the Operations Manual which I will also touch upon.
There is also what we call the Constituency Development Committee. This CDF Committee shall be in every constituency. It shall be responsible for the management, disbursement and allocation of constituency funds in line with the determined priorities in that constituency. It shall consist of the following; the elected Member of Parliament who shall be the Chairperson of that Committee; the Senator of that constituency shall be an ex-officio member. I would like to explain this point. You find that the Senator will probably be covering five constituencies. So, the Senator cannot be directly responsible for any of the funds because the remit of the Senator is bigger and is an umbrella. What he or she has to do is to go to each and every meeting where they feel that they just want to hear what is happening in that particular constituency but they are ex-officio members. We could not exclude them but we could not include them to be co-pilots. Otherwise we would have too many centres of power. We want one centre of power - [Laughter.] – I think it is very important to have one centre of power so that there is no problem in terms of the management of the CDF.
We also have the proportional representative Member of Parliament who shall also be an ex-officio member. As you also know, proportional members do not have a particular constituency but they are roving in their constituency. We could not exclude them. We have also included them as ex-officio members so that at all material times, the left hand knows what the right hand is doing. There is no conjecture or any under the carpet dealings but there is inclusivity in terms of how the fund has to be managed.
There is also an additional – the chiefs in the constituency where applicable. We could not just give all the chiefs but it is a representative of the chiefs who maybe chosen by the chiefs. Chiefs are very important and they are custodians of our culture. We must make sure that we involve them in the articulation of the agenda for the constituency. There is also the issue of three co-opted members because we realise that if we were to just proceed with the restrictive prescription on the members that are going to sit on that Committee, we will have problems because we need expertise. We are going to give an allowance of three members who are by expertise, chosen and co-opted on the recommendation of the Member of Parliament to say so and so is an accountant or chairperson of a very important and crucial organ not in the party but in the constituency – may be they need to be roped in for purposes of making sure that we are roping in and importing skill, expertise and experience where necessary. So we are going to have three members who are going to constitute the CDF Committee as a way of strengthening it.
That Committee shall be outlined in the manual which I have indicated in terms of meetings. There is also the issue of subcommittees that are going to be created. For example, the Procurement
Committee – there is need for a Procurement Committee in that Committee to deal with requisitions because in the Accounting Officers Instructions, we need to follow strict rules in terms of three various quotations and these have to be kept as records. Statements of accounts have to be kept and this is where you then need people who have expertise.
Members of Parliament are good with figures but I think they are good with figures when it comes to electoral outcomes and the Xs that have been deposited in the box. When it comes to figures to do with money, they need assistance. An Hon. Member cannot be said to be dishonorable. So, you need assistance from those who are experienced and those who have expertise. That is the reason why there is that window to allow for the importation of those with expertise to help Members of Parliament (MPs).
There is also an obligation to have what is called a constituency consultative process because we have realised that in the past, an MP would then come in and rail-road his or her wishes; which is alright but we are just placing a legislative and statutory obligation to also consult your people. It is not obligatory but just to say this is what is supposed to be there. It is preferable. I was going to use legal terms but I am trying to run away from them.
In terms of the financial control of the account or the fund, it is going to be the CDF that opens a CDF bank account at a bank of your own choice but you have to send the details to the Management Committee through the Accounting Officer so that we know where the account of the constituency resides for purposes of accountability. Where there is a change, there are obviously things that have to be dealt with.
There is also the issue of income and expenditure of the fund which is supposed to define assets of the funds. Again, I am going to touch on that in the Operations Manual. In terms of the books of the fund again, CDF is going to be responsible for that. Annual reports are going to be made as I have already indicated before the 31st of October every year. This shall be done annually to also account to the stakeholders in the constituencies in terms of all the projects and activities relating to that constituency.
No amendment to this Constitution shall be done without the approval of Parliament. If we are to do any amendment to this constitution, we have to come back to this Parliament. Not a single power or authority is mandated or given the power to undermine the prescription that has been defined in this constitution. This manual is simply to assist in the disbursement of what I have said as a general gourmet of the CDF framework. What is important is the issue that the Management Committee again is not to exercise any executive functions.
I realise that some have got a document that has not been cleaned up. The cleaned up document is going to be circulated. Unfortunately, the Counsel to Parliament is not in the country. She is in Uganda together with some members of the team. So, I just had to use this document because there was pressure from MPs to have this passed and being brought before this Parliament.
The issue of the composition of the CDF Committee, I have already indicated. You will see that councillors are no longer going to be active unlike in the previous circumstances. We realise that it becomes unwieldy and there is also likely to be a clash of civilisation and visions when it comes to delineation and demarcation of what has to be the priorities in a particular constituency. Yes, councillors have got a budget that they are running but if there are also other projects where there is need for the council to be involved, they will have to give way to the CDF because this is adding on to what is already obtaining locally.
That has also to be taken note of.
The duties of the fund, identifying projects, appraising and selecting projects that is in the Committee; planning and approving projects implemented after getting allocations from the accounting officer, endorsing or disallowing payments – this is all under the chairmanship of the MP. Monitoring and implementation of projects, evaluating projects and producing reports of those evaluations and also ensuring that the CDF Finance and Procurement Committee is maintaining the necessary books for accountability and the necessary returns are being made to Parliament and to those who are supposed to officially manage.
The Constituency Development Committee shall also hold scheduled meetings to enable the discharge of duties outlined in the instructions but subject to a minimum of four meetings per year. But again, we will also have issues to do with the quorum. I will not belabour the point by going into those. It is already catered for. The CDF Committee shall keep minutes of the meetings. All minutes shall be signed by the chairman to be the official record. There is also the subcommittee on CDF and I do not want to waste a lot of time. The quorum of the committee, particularly the Finance and Procurement Committee is 75%, so that you do not have a committee of one approving things to say I have agreed – me myself, and I. We want to run away from a committee of one. We do not have the trinity in these committees where you say I, myself on behalf of my wife and the other wife. No, we do not want that. It has to be mandatory the 75% threshold for accountability purposes.
Basis of accounting and receipting, these are mundane issues and I may not need to waste a lot of time of those. This is basically the document. I do not know if Members have serious issues that they need clarification on or additions, amendments; we are all free to contribute. Once we have this, the next thing is that the money is already with Parliament but it awaits this framework. Once the framework is there, we open the taps for the water to irrigate the constituencies. The pipe is loaded. The money has been pumped from the Ministry of Finance and it is within the precincts of Parliament. We have to push for the previous allocation and the allocation to come so that we also have benefit to our constituencies for purposes of development.
I want to thank you for your patience. It is not very easy to agree on such things but I do not foresee any fundamental points of disagreements or departure. In terms of signatories it is already in the manual – it is the chairperson and two others who shall be alternating - the chairperson being a mandatory signature and the other one. It is already in the manual. You are going to be the chief signatory so that you account for everything. At no point in time will you say as a Member of Parliament the money disappeared or the money was signed out for by a particular person. There are people who also even if they are chief signatories, if they encounter a partner of the opposite sex who excites them, they surrender signing powers. It is very important to be very careful that you cannot outsource such powers. I thank you.
HON. ZIYAMBI: I would like to second and applaud Hon Adv. Chamisa for the presentation on CDF constitution which was long overdue. The absence of the constitution has been cited as the reason why the disbursement was not coming. Now that we have had it presented here, it is a very good document which I urge Hon. Members to pass, so that we get the CDF and we start doing what we are supposed to do. I do not believe that there is too much debate that we can do on this document, suffice to say that let us support it. I thank you.
HON. MAJOME: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, for this
opportunity to just give my two cents worth on CDF constitution. I thank Hon. Adv. Chamisa who is the Vice President of my party for bringing this important constitution. I would want to seek initially clarification. I hear from his address that there is another version that has edited one or two things. I am hoping that possibly it does address what is appearing on Clause 9 on the composition of CDF committee. It is my hope that the editing looks at Clause 9, particularly the composition of the CDF committee because in Clause 9 (2) (b) where it talks about “the Senator” that among the members there is “the Senator” and it seems to mirror the previous constitutional dispensation when Senators were elected by direct representation. You would know that in this constituency the
Senator is so and so. I do hope that it does that.
Also “the proportional” on (c) it says “the proportional representative member”. It is my hope that they have addressed the selection of those proportional representation members, because where I am in Harare West Constituency, in Harare Province there are six female Members of Parliament who are proportional representation members, so I trust they have sorted out the modalities of selecting which one as well as the chiefs. If there are two or so who live in the same area, I am sure they have worked out the mechanics.
I would also just respect in the interest of transparency and for the avoidance of problems, I do appreciate that he has said that the accounting manual will indicate who the signatories are. I would want to propose if it is possible for it to be specified in the constitution who the signatories are – to indicate in the committee that there shall be a treasurer and who shall be a particular person. I think it might assist to avoid problems and certain things if it is possible at all.
I want to salute very much so the thinking and wisdom behind Clause 11 (e) that makes provision for the fund to expend on an expenditure incurred in the pursuance of the objectives of the fund. I want to most sincerely thank the crafters of this constitution for thinking about this because I want to believe possibly it is most important clause in a situation where Members of Parliament in Zimbabwe are distinguished in the world for being some of the very few who do not have any administrative support whatsoever to conduct their business.
We do not have offices either here at Parliament or even in our constituencies. We do not have provision for staff. We do not have provision for even simple rudimentary things such as telecommunications, stationery, printers and wifi that we make on parliamentary business. I am most grateful that the fund is going to authorise bona fide expenditure on behalf of the business of CDF because I think Hon. Members will agree with me that it will lighten the burden that we that we fund a lot of work for this arm of Government from our purses. This will really go a long way.
There might need in the instruction manual to indicate certain guidelines of how far we go with expenses. Maybe can we go to hold a meeting or a retreat of CDF committee in Honolulu and so on? I am just saying that by way of exaggeration. I am particularly grateful because this fund makes a very big difference. I am looking forward to getting CDF because the one time that it was ever disbursed, I am glad that I was able to make impact in my constituency. For example, I electrified a school that was built in Westlea by council in 2004. Up to 2010 there was no electricity at all and the CDF enabled me to electrify the school. I am really grateful that I furnished council clinics, drilled certain boreholes as well as provide water to clinics. I thank you and I do hope that Hon. Members will pass it.
Beyond that, it is my hope that the Minister of Finance and Economic Development will indeed fund this fund so that it does not become a fund that is on paper and never gets disbursed because constituents might start thinking that MPs have done something that we did not even have. I thank you.
*HON. MLISWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker for giving me the opportunity to add my voice to this debate.I am going to add a few words. I would want to thank all Hon. Members of Parliament that they are in agreement that there is need for accountability. It is a good document and it makes us blameless in the public eye. We are not out to get money to line our pockets, it is money that is going to used by our constituents and it involves everyone in the community – proportional constitutional representatives, Members of Parliament and Senators are all involved in the management committee.
I believe that, in the past, there were some problems and outcry as regards the abuse of this fund by Members of Parliament. This document, the constitution, will enable Members of Parliament to perform their duties in a proper manner. It sort of helps to cut the hands of those who would want to put their hands in the till or the cookie jar. The money is not meant to sink a borehole or build a bridge at your own home. Let us go and serve the people and let there be transparency even when you have the power, you need not to abuse this power. This one center of power is very problematic and causes problems in the governance of any system. People need to be involved and there is need for discussions. The funding that is going to be given to Members or Parliament, at times we do not listen but wake up later.
The $50 000.00 I alluded to earlier has been highly eroded by inflation. The $50 000.00 is on paper alone and will not be able to deliver its worth due to inflation. I believe Hon. Chinamasa is being greeted and I also want to greet Hon. Chinamasa because this is an issue that you started. We would want to thank you because if you had not allowed for CDF to be granted, we would not have received it. We thank you for a job well done.
We do not want to come back here as Hon. Members of Parliament saying that the money did not fulfill our desires. The $50 000.00 we should be careful that aspersions are going to be cast because it has been eroded by inflation. We should receive this money once and for all and use it. We should not be receiving this money in drib and drabs but should be a once off payment and if possible such arrangements should be made with the banks. The quotations that we are being issued should be paid through a banking system.
I do not know how Parliament can be involved to ensure that this money is not going to be misused. I am saying so because I am alive to the inflation that is affecting because we are being hard hit by inflation. We may clap our hands here but may find that the $50 000.00 is worth sinking a single borehole that is worth $5 000.00. That should be looked into and I thank Hon. Adv. Chamisa where they sat and came up with such an arrangement. They came up with this document but inflation
has overtaken them. I hope that there will be measures that are going to be put in place to address the issue of inflation.
This is a good document and it helps us as Members of Parliament to ensure that we do our things in a transparent manner. Those who are going to come after us will give us a pat on the back for having done a good job. I thank you; even those who may even be returning to Parliament will thank you. I thank you.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: I will have you speak in the
order from the list and then Hon. Nduna – in that order please. Sorry I meant to say Hon. Madondo, I beg your pardon.
*HON. CHIRISA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, I was a bit angry yesterday because my name was not recorded on the list people who debated. I submitted my input at the Counsel to Parliament’s office.
I want to say that Members of Parliament who are here – both the elected ones and those who came on proportional representation. There is no one with something written on their forehead that one owns a constituency and the other does not - we are all Members of Parliament.
I know that the next thing is they are going to say that we have no constituencies. Proportional representation has the biggest proportion as we go round the entire province. The important constituents of proportional representation are Zimbabwean women.
If we look at the needs of women in a community, our needs are different as women are involved with the requirements of the homestead and how things stand. We say that we agitate for the women because we want women to be at the same level with men because we have not been treated equally – we are not at the same level. When we talk of gender, most men think it refers to women issues only and they say, women issues are Beijing issues and so forth.
I need to tell you Mr. Speaker Sir that the proportional representative constituency is made of women was put in place to ensure that the areas that are being left behind in development are identified. If you leave us out in accessing the CDF, you would have left out a large chunk – [HON. MLISWA: Hamuna kuvhoterwa, hamuna ma
constituency!] –
*THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Mliswa should leave
this House.
*HON. CHIRISA: Thank you for your protection, my plea to this august House is that when the final document is being done; please seriously consider women Members of Parliament who are on proportional representation or quota system. I thank you.
HON. MADONDO: I really want to thank the people who actually came up with such a good document but mine is purely an observation. Hon. Chamisa spoke about Clause 14 but from the papers that we have, there is no Clause 14 – [HON. MUKWANGWARIWA:
You will be given!] – Okay, thank you.
HON. M. KHUMALO: Thank you Mr. Chairman. I want to seek
clarification on the fund as one Member of Parliament who also received the previous CDF – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order Hon. Members,
let us hear the Hon. Member in silence please.
HON. M. KHUMALO: I want to find out on the budget that we have $50 000.00 for this year and the country is budgeting now, will the fund require us to approve the budget for 2017?
We are also preparing for the 2018 budget so will Parliament require us to bring that budget? The former Minister of Finance and
Economic Development, Hon. Chinamasa had promised us $100 000.00. Hence my question is, Hon. Minister, when we budget for 2018, should we use $100 000.00 or what? I thank you.
+HON. L. SIBANDA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. We decided to put our words to the motion before us. If you look at it, there is no differentiation between Proportional Representation in as far as Members of Parliament are concerned. We are equally the same, hence we make the request Mr. Speaker Sir, that as women representatives, we should be included in this budget so that we are able to deal with the issues that affect women so that next year, we can come back to Parliament. Mr. Speaker Sir, the majority of our population is made up of women. They are the mainstay of the country. As female Members of Parliament, we should also be able to access the CDF so that we are able to develop our country because mothers are the mainstay of the country. All Members of Parliament that are on Proportional
Representation in the National Assembly as well as in the Senate should be given a chance to access the CDF funds.
+HON. D. M. NDLOVU: Thank you Mr. Speaker for the opportunity. What I need clarity on is, proportional representation started since 1980 when it was put into practice without people contesting specific constituencies. This is what proportional representation is all about. Those that say PR is not a Member, they are missing the point because when we got independence in 1980, the voting, electoral system was proportional representation based. The Party only filled the names of candidates and these were decided on the number of votes the Party garnered in a specific province. This is not a new phenomenon and it does not necessarily mean that one is no longer a Member of Parliament. What we are saying is that we have bigger constituencies, when I say I am a Member of Parliament for Bulawayo Metropolitan, I am invited by all women in all the metropolitan province and deal with their issues. So these women are important and they should be seen accessing the CDF. We did not come here on baccossi as they say. We are equally important, if not more than those that have constituencies. I thank you.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: What we are looking for is
just clarification, no debate please. You support, you seek clarification and nothing else. We need only comments and clarifications, that is all.
HON. NDUNA: Mr. Speaker, I want to applaud Hon. Chamisa for bringing this motion and the composition and ultimately, the constitution of this animal called the Constituency Development Fund. In its present state Mr. Speaker, without adding any more, I think it is quite effective. What I need to make a clarion call on though is that the Committee should have the power to sue and be sued, seeing that they will be handling monies which, if they then procure or are engaged in a procurement process, there might be a draw back in terms of either litigation or sub-standard material that would have been supplied. It would be prudent that the Committee is also mandated with the power that comes with tender processes or procurement processes which is to sue and to be sued on issues where there is no good service that has been offered.
That as it might be Mr. Speaker Sir, I ask that the same account that has been opened for utilisation of the CDF be also open to local donors who would want to have their benevolence in that constituency so that they can deposit into that fund for the management in the same manner of that fund. Aware that, this $50 thousand or $25 thousand that we are talking about, is just but a pittance when it is compared to the amount of work that needs to be done in those areas. So it is the issue that the account should be open for donors to deposits into it without opening another parallel account so that it can effectively and efficiently be utilised in the same manner Mr. Speaker Sir. I so submit, otherwise I congratulate you for bringing this composition, Constitution and ultimately the amount of the Constituency Development Fund. I thank you.
*HON. CHAPFIKA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Let me echo what my colleagues said. Let me thank Hon. Chamisa for such a good motion that he has brought. I rise to support him but in my support, I would also want to place it on record that we had had a discussion with the Minister. He had said the money was going to be raised from $50 thousand to $100 thousand. We were comparing this with best practices. For example, in Ghana, they give a million dollars per constituency per year, in Kenya, they give a million per year per constituency for development. This is done to ensure that the Members also do developmental work. The $50 thousand is a paltry 5% of what is in best practice in Africa. It would appear as if the Government is not appreciating the work that needs to be done in uplifting the work that is being done in the constituencies. Five percent is too little; we require that we get at least 40% or even a maximum of 50%. In 2018, we suggest that the figure be increased. We also want to come up with achievements that are being done in other countries. We should envisage a situation where we have one million dollars per year per constituency. I thank you.
*HON. MANGWENDE: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I would want to thank Hon. Chamisa for the motion that he has raised. As women in proportional representation, we have women that are in the Standing
Rules and Orders Committee, it does not help us to speak in here. Our Members in that board should have spoken on our behalf. If we speak in here, it will not help us. Many women on proportional representation are there, may be one or two women have constituencies; they should have raised case. If we make presentations here, we are wasting our time. I thank you.
HON. MANDIPAKA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I just want to congratulate Hon. Chamisa’s Committee for a job well done and move that we adopt this wonderful Constitution, get our money and work in our constituencies. Thank you.
HON. DR. KHUPE: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker. The
Hon. Member raised the point that there are women who sit in the Standing Rules and Orders Committee, who should have raised this issue. In the Standing Rules and Orders, it is clear that a Member of Parliament is a Member of Parliament regardless of them being
Proportional Representatives (PR) or whatever. We are all Members of Parliament – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – so this should be known clearly. So, when this money is distributed, it must be given to all the 350 Members of Parliament including the Senate. I thank you.
HON. DZIVA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I want to thank Hon. Adv. Chamisa for bringing this motion to Parliament. Thank you very much, we have waited for the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to be availed and bringing in the Constitutional provision to make sure that the money is disbursed to all constituencies is a very good move.
I am also appealing that all the 350 Members of Parliament, including the Proportional Representative Parliamentarians must also get the CDF [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – because they are representing a Constituency which is marginalised. So, for them to be able to work effectively and efficiently in their constituencies, they should get that CDF. This Constitutional provision has it that we are
Members of Parliament and we should be able to get all our benefits just like other Members of Parliament. So, we are appealing that Members of Parliament representing the Women’s quota must get the CDF for them to be very effective on the ground. That will make them grow and it will also make the women’s environment workable. I thank you.
HON. K. SIBANDA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I want to add
my voice on this subject. First of all…
Hon. Members having been making noise.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members.
HON. K. SIBANDA: I would like to thank the mover of this motion. However, I just want to highlight one thing; what happens is that this situation emanates from the budget and the budget was created on the basis of 210 constituencies. So, you cannot come and virement it here in Parliament after the budget has been done, you cannot. You should have raised that during the budget process. Again, the other issue is – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Members, can you give
the Hon. Member a chance to debate. If you want to air your views, I will give you the floor.
HON. K. SIBANDA: The other issue Mr. Speaker is that; the cost centre is Constituency Development Fund, it is just for the constituency, it is not for me as Hon. Member, it goes to the constituency. Hence, it was divided according to constituencies. So, that money goes to constituencies and not to individual Members of Parliament. I think our Members of Parliament are misplaced on this one. So, we have to accept that the budget was done, they should have argued that. They should have argued on changing the cost centre, but it cannot change now and we cannot virement the budget here. I thank you Mr. Speaker
Sir.
HON. DR. SHUMBA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I will be very
direct in my intervention. With the greatest respect to my colleague Members of Parliament, let us not misinterpret the Constitution. It is very clear in terms of the tenets invested therein that we have 210 constituencies. Understand something here, this CDF fund is not for the benefit of the MP and therefore it is not a benefit to the Constituency MP and therefore, MPs who are not Constituency MPs are not prejudiced in any way. After all, we have made provision in the
Constitution that they be included in the Constituency Development
Fund Committee. They will sit with the Constituency MP to deliberate on the issues. It is not an issue of profit or loss; it is an issue that we are directing this resource to the constituency. There is no need for us to heckle. Thank you very much.
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: Hon. Speaker Sir, I want to thank Hon.
Members for overwhelmingly supporting the adoption of the
Constitution. However, I think it will be very important for me to start on a very important point to clarify so that we are all clear. This Constitution does not seek to debate who is an MP or who is not, that is settled in the Constitution. MPs in this country are proportionally elected, elected via senate and also in individual constituencies. So, the debate is not about MPs Hon. Speaker Sir. MPs are known and there are no lesser MPs or higher MPs than others, all MPs are equal.
However, the debate on this one is not to do with who is an MP or who is not because what we have is not an ‘MP’s Development Fund,’ it is a Constituency Development Fund. If it is an ‘MP’s Development
Fund,’ we must then go back to the Constitution and say, how do we define support to each and every MP. However, this is a Constituency
Development Fund. If you go to Section 124, it is very clear, it says;
“The National Assembly in Zimbabwe, shall consist of -
- two hundred and ten members elected by secret ballot from the two hundred and ten constituencies into which Zimbabwe is divided; and ;
- for the life of the first two Parliaments after the effective date, an additional sixty women members, six from each of the provinces into which Zimbabwe is divided…” – [HON. MEMBERS:
Inaudible interjections.] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members.
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: Let me underline, “…elected under a
party-list system of proportional representation based on the votes cast for candidates representing political parties in a general election for constituency members in the provinces” – [HON. MEMBERS:
Inaudible interjections.] – Hon. Speaker Sir, the lawyer in me is now speaking – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order Hon. Members.
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: Hon. Speaker, the - [HON.
MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] -
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER : Hon. Members!
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: In fact, this is not an issue of
interpretation, it is very clear. What is clear is that those 60 members are chosen on the basis that they are elected, and when you are elected you are chosen – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Members please, please
teererai nenzeve.
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: They are chosen and they are elected on
the basis of the vote that has been cast in the 210 constituencies. So, Hon. Speaker, I hope that answers it. What we then debated was to say, how do we include proportional representation Members of Parliament and Senators who are elected, no matter how so elected so that they are also part of the process. This is why we say they are ex-officio members. It answers what Hon. Majome then said, this is why we said
‘the’, the is to take into consideration...
Hon. Adv. Chamisa having debating facing the members.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Address the Chair.
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: Sorry Hon. Speaker. It is to address the fundamental issue to do with - how are you Hon. Minister I have not realised that the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs is here. The issue to be addressed on this one Mr. Speaker is to do with the aspect of Members of the Senate and Members of proportional representation who reside in a particular constituency. So, it is on the basis of residence so that they are then able to be active in that community. It would be amiss for a Member of the Senate or a member of the proportional representation to then reside in a particular constituency and not be involved somehow through an ex-officio status in a particular issue of defining constituency development. That is the reasoning, and that is why it is ‘the’. If there is any debate which is constitutional, it has to be addressed constitutionally but the Constitution is very clear, we have 210 constituencies and that is where we are going to have our resources disbursed. That is very clear – [HON.
MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –
Then I think there are certain issues, Hon. Madondo, Clause 14 is very clear, it is just the accountability. Hon. Khumalo, thank you also just for supporting, I think no addition. Hon. L. Sibanda - [AH HON. MEMBER: She is not around.] – She is not around; she made good mention of the difference between elected and not elected. I think the debate is not about that. I also said that this is not to weigh Members of Parliament on a scale to say a proportional representing Member of
Parliament is lesser. No, no, we are all Members of Parliament equally elected through the laws of our land. That is not the debate; the debate is to say how do we get these constituencies dealt with.
There is also the issue raised by Hon. Nduna in terms of the legal persona - that one is already resident in the Operating Manual. So, it is catered for in terms of how we are going to proceed, to sue or not to sue. Hon. Majome, thank you very much for the additions especially on the issue of the signatories. We are going to take note of that so that we import it from the manual into – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible
interjections.] –
An Hon. Member having stood at the door.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Member at the door
there, if you want to go out please can you do that right away than for you to debate. We want to listen to the Hon. Member that I have given the floor to contribute – [AN HON. MEMBER: Pane chembere iripo padoor.]
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: Hon Speaker, let me just round up by
saying, Hon. Chirisa, I want to thank you just like a point raised by Hon.
Chapfika. Thank you for raising that point, and I am also sorry for not mentioning your name. We had other members who we did not mention names because a lot of members contributed, but thank for your contributions; they were also incorporated, I am sure you have seen that. So, that is not a big issue.
On the issue of teas and administration - the fund is not designed to deal with the administrative issues, otherwise we will end up with Members giving one another allowances in that particular CDF, so that the CDF will all go to sitting allowances and the CDF committee can sit from Monday to Friday. It is voluntary and the money is not supposed to go to teas or administrative issues of costs; it is supposed to go to development purposes because this is a Constituency Development Fund, not a Member of Parliament development fund. So, we do not want this resource to be abused to develop the Member of Parliament and not develop the constituency. You can see the Member of Parliament developing without developing the constituency. So, this is very clear and I hope that it will be understood as such.
Hon. Members, I want to thank you all for contributing even those whom I did not mention by name. Hon. Mliswa and Hon. Mandipaka, you were totally in agreement, I thank you very much [AN HON. MEMBER: Hon. Khumalo.] – I have already mentioned Hon. Khumalo and Hon. Sibanda, thank you very much for supporting. I think it does it for this and I so move that the constitution be adopted. Thank you very much Hon. Speaker.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Members of the
Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development are kindly requested to pass through Pax House after adjournment of the House and collect their parcels from their Committee Clerk.
HON. DR. KHUPE: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir. We
are not against supporting this Bill, it is very important but what I want noted is that as women, we are saying as much as it is going to be adopted we have reservation because what we are saying is that there are
210 constituencies and within those 210 constituencies they are 60 women and 80 Senators. So, that must be noted that as women we have reservations – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Khupe. The Chair
has already moved for the adoption of the motion. I have actually closed the debate, I am sorry about that – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Order in the House Hon. Members!
Motion put and adopted.
FIRST READING
ELECTORAL AMENDMENT BILL [H.B. 6, 2017]
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. RTD MAJ. GEN.
BONYONGWE): presented the Electoral Amendment Bill [H.B. 6, 2017].
Bill read the first time.
Bill referred to the Parliamentary Legal Committee.
HON. NDUNA: On a point of order Mr. Speaker Sir.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: What is your point of order?
HON. NDUNA: Mr. Speaker, earlier the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs was not in but now that he is in, I rise to add my voice and congratulate him on an expeditious, efficient and effective way of managing parliamentary affairs issues, in particular on the issue that was being debated here yesterday. I had no doubt in my mind when he stood up and spoke so eloquently, ventilating the issue of the
Members’ concerns and welfare that he was going to come back with a positive answer, much to the enlightenment of the Members of
Parliament. I want to then say congratulations to the Minister of Justice,
Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. On my own behalf and on behalf of the Members of Parliament, I congratulate him on his first but very important port of call. I thank you.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN.
BONYONGWE), the House adjourned at Twenty Five Minutes past
Five o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 21st November, 2017.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 19th October, 2017
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
NON-ADVERSE REPORTS RECEIVED FROM THE
PARLIAMENTARY LEGAL COMMITTEE
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have to inform the House
that I have received Non-Adverse Reports from the Parliamentary Legal
Committee on the following;
-General Notices 442 to 483 published in the Gazette during the month of August, 2017.
-General Notices 484 to 498 published in the Gazette during the month of September, 2017.
-Statutory Instrument Numbers 98 to 109, 111, 116, 118 to 122 and 123 to 124.
ADVERSE REPORT RECEIVED FROM THE PARLIAMENTARY
LEGAL COMMITTEE
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I also have to inform the
House that I have received an Adverse Report on Statutory Instrument Number 79 of 2017.
REMINDER TO ATTEND PRE-BUDGET SEMINAR BRIEFING
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have to remind the House
that the 2018 Pre-Budget Seminar Briefing will be held tomorrow, Friday, 19th October, 2017. Buses will leave the Nelson Mandela Avenue entrance for Pandhari Lodge at 0745 hours in the morning and returning after 1600 hours in the afternoon – [HON. MEMBERS:
Inaudible interjections.] –
HON. NDUNA: I rise on a point of privilege. Madam Speaker, your Committee on Transport and Infrastructure has done quite well over the past to the effect that there is infrastructure development at Victoria Falls Airport which has seen a rise of tourists to that resort town. Be that as it may, what has now occurred in the past four months, there have been about 100 robberies to tourists in Victoria Falls in the hotel rooms. If this is not attended to, it has an effect of reversing the gains of your infrastructure development. This is why I stand to ask that relevant authorities look at this scourge that is about to turn around the gains that your Committee has brought to this country.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Member, we want to thank you
for that information. I think you should bring the issue as a motion. I cannot give a ruling to that point of order because we are not the ones responsible for implementing security for infrastructures. Can you bring the issue as a motion so that the Minister is able to reply?
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Madam Speaker, I brought it as a matter of privilege because according to Section 141 of the
Constitution….
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, I have advised you to
bring the issue as a motion.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Madam Speaker.
HON. ENG. MUDZURI: On a point of order, I want to appreciate your announcement today that tomorrow we have a PreBudget Seminar Briefing. However, I wanted your office to recognise that Fridays are a bit difficult; the first thing is that it is constituency day and the second issue is that there is registration which has been giving people difficulties. MPs are helping their constituents to ensure that the last few days left, in terms of the six days on the glitch need to be attended to.
So, you might not find enough MPs on this Pre-Budget Seminar because they are rushing to their constituencies. If you could choose another day, which is not necessarily Friday, when there is this glitch on certain constituencies. I thank you.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: I understand what you are saying, those with constituencies may need to go and attend their constituencies on Fridays but I have spent the whole week announcing this. Now, we will be having this seminar tomorrow and you start suggesting that we change the date. Also the Pre-Budget Seminar briefing is equally important to what is happening in the constituencies. We do not do it every Friday, it is only this Friday where we are going to have this PreBudget Seminar, once and for all, then we go to the constituencies. You have to represent your Constituency at that Pre-Budget Seminar. I thank you.
HON. MLISWA: On a point of order Madam Speaker. I think this Pre-Budget Seminar briefing is important. Are you aware that other Members of Parliament are already on an outreach? They are doing Parliamentary duty right now, consulting people. So we are already in sixes and sevens, the Agriculture Committee is in Masvingo and the Mines Committee as well yet we are supposed to do this all of us at once. How are they going to give feed back to their constituencies when we are in sixes and sevens?
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: It is the same, we are sitting here in Parliament whilst the other Hon. Members are conducting outreach programmes. For your own information, Friday is a sitting day. According to the Standing Rules and Orders of this House, Friday is a sitting day.
HON. MLISWA: Madam Speaker, I totally agree with what you are saying but we are saying is that this whole Budget is what drives the economy of the country. Some of the sessions here, they can miss but not the Budget of the country, they have to represent their constituencies. It is with due respect that you reconsider this decision because we will not have another Pre-Budget again, how are they going to report back to their constituencies.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Mliswa, I
hear what you are saying. I am appealing to Hon. Members in this
House to attend tomorrow’s Pre-Budget Seminar briefing and also bring out what you are saying on behalf of your colleagues who are out there.
Thank you very much.
*HON. MUTSEYAMI: Thank you Madam Speaker for giving me
time to make my contributions. Last week, Hon. Mandipaka raised a point of order when he was talking about the welfare of Members of Parliament. We are now faced with the budget which you introduced last year and we were promised a lot of things in the previous budget but none of them was implemented. When we are looking at this national duty at hand, especially when I look at my responsibility as a Committee Member of the Welfare of Parliamentarians, we were told that you were going to respond to our questions but today is Thursday; tomorrow we are going to a seminar and then we go away. You have not responded to the issue on the welfare of Parliamentarians.
The Speaker also told us last year when we were going for Christmas that, each Member was going to get an Ipad and we are now facing the 2017 Christmas and no one has received these promised items. We raise these issues which are related to the welfare of the Members of Parliament and we also said that those members who are responsible for writing these Hansards, the Hansard Reporters are in crowded offices. Their offices are stuffy; they are unhealthy. The Speaker promised us that he was going to look into the welfare of the office space of Hansard officers and the offices were going to be air conditioned or aerated but nothing to date has been done. Definitely, when we go to our offices and we see the great things done by these workers, they are in unhealthy and unhygienic conditions. Please sympathise with them. Please respond to our requests.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Member.
We know you have a lot of issues which you want to be looked into and these were raised by the Committees in previous Parliaments. I only hope – some of you read the stories which appeared in our newspapers today. There was a column which was discussing the welfare of the Members of Parliament. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Order, order Hon. Members.
When we look at the issues which we promised, the Ipads and those other things, they are being looked into by Parliament
Administration. Let us not give to reporters some of these things which are not supposed to be for public consumption. This is just for the sake of the Caucus.
HON. MLISWA: Madam Speaker, the issue….
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Bring it as a motion Hon.
Mliswa. I have recognised the Chief Whip.
HON. MLISWA: Chief Whip chimbogarai pasi, hatina mari.
Welfare yedu iri important.
*HON. HOLDER: We now realise that the Minister of Finance and Economic Development has been changed, when the new one comes and we tell him about the issues, he will tell us that he has no information on what was discussed in the past. – [HON. MEMBERS:
Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, Hon. Mliswa, please
can we have silence in the House.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. MATUKE: Thank you Madam Speaker. I move that
Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 8 be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
HON. RUNGANI: I second. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible
interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Munengami, we have to
behave ourselves please.
HON. MUNENGAMI: What did I do?
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Why are you shouting?
HON. MUNENGAMI: I am just sitting here, what have I done.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, no tinofanira kuita zvinhu
sema Hon. Members. Ndiani? Hausiriwe? I am sorry. I am sorry Hon.
Munengami because you are used to… [HON. MEMBERS: Mari, mari,
mari!] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: The ruling party is also doing that? Hon. Mandipaka and Hon. Mashayamombe, we do not expect that to come from the right side of the House – [HON. MEMBERS:
Inaudible interjections.] – Yes!
Hon. Mashayamombe having wanted to raise a point of order.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Handina kukurecogoniza.
Can you take your seat?
HON. MASHAYAMOMBE: I point of order ka nhai Madam
Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: You do not know what I want
to say. You stand up, then I recognise you, not to just start talking. That is the procedure of the House.
HON. HOLDER: Thank you Madam Speaker. I am rising on a
point of privilege. The reason I am rising on a point of privileges is that we do not need to sweep issues under the carpet. The reason being that, this question was asked and time was given for an explanation to come.
Now there is a new Minister of Finance and Economic Development and that new Minister might come with his own ideology to say that I am not paying you.
Hon. Members have not received Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and their allowances. We need to go and secure our victories to come back to this august House. The problem is that we are under siege where when we speak, we are told to sit down or be sent out. I am feeling as Hon. Members of Parliament, if this matter can be brought straight to our attention that why is it that we need to go and do certain things in order for us to get what belongs to us. What I know is what is for us that is not with us is against us. Thank you Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Member. I
go along with what you are saying because once you have this CDF and whatever welfare of the Members of Parliament, we will also benefit. What I am saying is those are some of the issues we were supposed to bring in while the Ministers were here. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible
interjections.] – So what do you want me to do now?
HON. MLISWA: Madam Speaker, with due respect, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Adv. Jacob Mudenda and the President of the Senate are on annual leave paid by Parliament at this point in time. So, they are getting their welfare taken care of going on holiday, but we are here. So what are you to say about that? There are packages they are getting. On annual leave, the Speaker goes on holiday spending money, but we are here suffering. So, why then should our leader go on annual leave while his children are suffering? How can a father be eating well and the children are suffering? To me, he must be fighting for us, which means we are standing up like this because no one is fighting for us. We have got to a point where if we do not fight, no one will fight for us and that is what we are doing right now and we are going to fight for ourselves.
We cannot go to our constituencies because we are being accused of not doing our job when we have no funding. MPs are selling fuel coupons in order to get money. Our dignity and integrity is no longer there and therefore, we cannot go back to our constituencies. Ministers are being given coupons, pay and new cars, but we have nothing.
Madam Speaker, there is no CDF and so, this issue should be taken to our leaders that we are tired. Tomorrow, there is the pre-budget where we will be just given food and we stay in hotels. We are tired of just eating and staying in hotels. We want our money and our Ipads so that we can see what we can do.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: On the issue of those who are
on holidays, I do not have anything to debate about that one, but what I want to tell you is that all those issues are being looked into – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Yes, we will come and report to you when there is any outcome, not to just promise you.
*HON. MASHAYAMOMBE: Thank you Madam Speaker. I
understand that you saw me discussing with my colleagues and we were talking about the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). We know that if the President was to hear that I was mourning for CDF, the President would be very much worried. Since I came into this
Parliament in 2013, I have never received anything and it pains us a lot.
We promised our constituencies that we were going to carry out some developmental projects, but to date I have not been able to carry out any developmental projects. We need these CDF so that we develop our constituencies.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Mashayamombe,
thank you very much for your contribution. We are saying this is going to be of benefit to all Members of Parliament who have constituencies when we get the CDF which is going to be allocated to us. That is why I am urging you Members of Parliament to attend the pre-budget where we are going to hold discussions – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – You are not going? Hon. Mandipaka, you may ignore me but I hear what you are saying. The Minister of Finance is going to attend the meeting tomorrow whereby all these issues will be discussed.
So, our wish is that all Hon. Members get what is due to them.
HON. GUZAH: On a point of order Madam Speaker. I arise on a point of order with regards to the comments you made when you said Members of Parliament on this side of the divide cannot raise issues the way they were raising.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, that is not what I said.
HON. GUZAH: Why am I saying this Madam Speaker, you must understand that the welfare of Members of Parliament cuts across the political divide – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – You must understand that clearly. We do not want to be gagged by the Speaker of Parliament when we speak of issues that are key to our welfare here. You must understand, when we go back to our constituencies back there, people are looking at us. We are using resources from our pockets to sustain our constituents. We should not be barred from speaking our hearts and minds out. Whether we are the ruling party or not, we must be able to speak our minds. I thank you.
*HON. MATANGIRA: Thank you Madam Speaker for giving me the opportunity to make my contribution – [HON. MEMBERS:
Inaudible interjections.] –May you please give me time to make my contribution – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members. I
think we should listen to what other Members of Parliament are saying.
*HON. MATANGIRA: Madam Speaker, you made a prayer
when you opened this session and in that prayer you said we are appointed by the Lord above that we reign over his people. We all know that the Lord is looking at us and the Lord is saying, “you Member of Parliament when you were campaigning you promised people that you were going to carry out developmental projects and you mentioned all those projects.” When we made those promises, we hoped that there would be the CDF whereby we were going to get that money to carry out projects. You said you will not come back if you do not carry out any developmental projects that you promised people. What did you say? – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –
What we want is, to carry out and fulfil all the promises we made to our constituents. We have the zeal.
An Hon. Member having passed between the Chair and the Hon.
Member speaking.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Member, can you please take your seat – [AN HON. MEMBER: She is a Minister.] - Yes, even the Minister is a Member of Parliament. Respect the procedures in the House and sit down.
*HON. MATANGIRA: Now Madam Speaker, if you tell us to wait, munoziva mimba haivharwi nokuti rinemanyanga hariputirwe. Right now, we are going to campaign in our constituencies telling our people lies. Give us our allowances and CDF so that we can fulfil our promises. If a Member misuses the funds, then they should be arrested.
We want money today and we do not want any excuses – [HON.
MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –
*HON. ZINDI: Thank you Madam Speaker. I am not going to repeat what has been said by the previous speakers, but I will just make a clear explanation on the life of a Member of Parliament. I know you can feel it because you are a Member of Parliament and you also visit your constituency.
When we go to these constituencies, we are using monies from our own pockets. In our constituencies if anybody passes on, as a Member of Parliament you are supposed to make a contribution. You cannot just go and sympathise with the bereaved, but you find that you have to buy some items such as coffins, drinks, food and whatever should be consumed at that funeral. That is what is expected of you. When we are going to visit constituencies, you are supposed to fuel your car and take it for service.
I took my car for service and they want $6 00. I am only paid $1 000 per month, so where do I get that money from? Please, listen to my contribution. I want you to pay attention to what I am saying - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] - I had kept quiet because I want you to pay attention to my contribution.
I am saying, as Hon. Members of Parliament, we earn $1 000.00 per month. When people die in our constituencies, the bereaved families expect you to sympathise and mourn with them and not only that, when parents have no money to pay school fees for their children, they expect you to assist with payment of fees and the list is endless.
At our party, whenever a meeting is called, as Hon. Members of Parliament, we are expected to ferry our respective supporters to and from the meeting venue. When there is a march being held in Harare, we are expected to hire buses and fuel them to ferry our constituents to and from Harare to attend the march. As Hon. Members of Parliament, we are also expected to cater for the welfare of all the people whom you will have brought. Should you fail in carrying out that duty of ferrying and feeding your constituents, they will not vote for you in the next election.
Some of us are now paupers because in order to sustain the lifestyle of being a Member of Parliament, we end up selling our livestock and other properties hence all our funds are depleted. We are now paupers. When you compare yourself to Hon. Ministers, they have ministries, they are given fuel coupons in Parliament and fuel allowances by both their respective ministries and parastatals they also have drivers who are paid by the State. Their cars are serviced by the State but Hon. Members of Parliament have to service their own vehicles because it will break down if you do not do so and you will not be able to conduct your parliamentary duties.
Hon. Members of Parliament are now acting as the cushions or shock absorbers between the people and the State. As a result, the shock absorber will ensure Government safety and you always do this with the mindset of being re-elected. What is really intriguing about this whole parliamentary business is that when people are not content with what you are doing, they will send a competitor to compete with you yet now the Administration of Parliament is telling us to wait patiently. For how long have you been talking about our welfare issue?
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I will respond to the
concerns that were raised by the Hon. Member and pick on two to three issues. Firstly, Hon. Ministers do not receive fuel coupons from
Parliament. Now, we have to form a caucus that will look at both sides and then invite the Presiding Officers including the Hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Development so that we air our grievances. All of us want to benefit in all these issues you raised.
*HON. PARADZA: Madam Speaker, you are proposing a caucus
to discuss our welfare but there is no caucus that is greater than what we already are doing in this House. – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order there is a
higher caucus to this one because we are writing down all your concerns and we will present them to higher offices for action. We are discussing about the welfare of all Members of Parliament and this is for the benefit of all parliamentarians whether in the National Assembly or Senate and we will take it up, but we cannot speculate how long it will take for them to respond. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – This is why
I am proposing that we have a special caucus where we will have all the
Presiding Officers and the Minister of Finance and Economic Development so that we come up with something. At the moment, we may call each other names but as a Presiding Officer, I am not responsible for the disbursement of funds. I am only proposing a way forward in resolving issues pertaining to our welfare.
*HON. R. N. S. MAWERE: Thank you Madam Speaker. There
is no partisan approach as far as the welfare of Members of Parliament is concerned. Whatever it is, we are saying playing games with our welfare takes time. We only want to hear whether or not there is money that is set aside for Members of Parliament. If the money is there, where is it? Please give us. We cannot hire Wellcash because we opposed it in here. So, who then can we hire?
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I cannot confirm whether
funds are available or not because I am not in a position to do so.
*HON. ZIYAMBI: The issue at hand is on the welfare of Members of Parliament and it is not enough that you have advised us to hold a caucus because we know that the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development will say they have no money and will advise us to wait for some time.
I am proposing that we enact a law that focuses on all the parliamentary concerns that we have been discussing here, highlighting how our funds should be disbursed and allowances as well. Once that law is enacted, whosoever breaks it is liable for punishment because if we do not have that clearly laid out, we will keep on debating this issue annually.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: All I am asking from you Hon. Members, is to register your concerns and come up with proposals other than to keep complaining and raise emotions. – [HON.
MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Order, order, let us have order in the House and understand each other.
*HON. CHINOTIMBA: Madam Speaker, I am not sure when we
have such problems for the Clerk of Parliament or you as the Speaker to invite the Minister of Finance and Economic Development to come and explain the position to the House. I am saying this because we are supposed to be debating other parliamentary business yet we are here debating on our welfare.
If this was happening at the trade unions, we would summon the managing director of a company because he knows that there is no progress from aggrieved workers. Why are we not summoning the respective Minister who is responsible for this portfolio to come and address this issue once and for all? Both Hon. Speaker and Chief Whips are here and yet we have the correct officials who are there. In our case, we even have the Chief Whips who can whip us into line. So what we do not want is for us as Members of Parliament to go on an illegal strike or job action and refuse to go to the committee tomorrow. That is why I am saying you should summon both the current and the former Minister of Finance and Economic Development to come and tell us where the money is and when it will be disbursed. I thank you.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members. You
have brought up a very noble idea that we have to invite the Minister but the Minister may tell us that he has some other commitments. What I would propose is instead of summoning him now, let us give him a date to come and respond to our grievances.
HON. MATUKE: Before I propose the adjournment of the
House, I think the Members are complaining because they are owed by Parliament. They are not greedy because they also need to get their money that is owed to them by Parliament. Furthermore they are entitled to Constituency Development Funds, they deserve it because it is their right. So, because of the tempers that are in this House I do not think we can proceed with the debate. I move that the debate do now adjourn.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Friday, 20th October, 2017.
On the motion of HON. MATUKE seconded by HON.
MAHOKA, the House adjourned at Two Minutes to Three o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 31st October, 2017.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 18th October, 2017
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
VISITORS IN THE SPEAKER’S GALLERY
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have to acknowledge the
presence in the Speaker’s Gallery of students and teachers from Marchwood Senior School, Mashonaland West Province. You are most welcome – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE MOBILE APP LAUNCH
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: The Parliament of Zimbabwe
has launched a mobile app for accessing Parliament news and documents on your mobile phones for your convenience. The application is available for free on google app store or applestore. The app is compatible with android, apple and windows phones. Download your Parliament APP, for free and receive your Hansard and other Parliament documents on the go. For further information, please visit our website, www.parlzim.gov.zw or email clerk@parlzim.gov.zw.
*HON. MATANGIRA: Thank you Madam Speaker. My
question is directed to the Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and
Irrigation Development. We used to get 20% from Grain Marketing
Board (GMB) especially those who borrowed from Command Agricultural Inputs. This was helping us to maintain our pumps and other implements. We have started delivering wheat to GMB, we would like to know whether we are going to maintain the status quo since the people who delivered earlier have not yet received the 20% share.
*THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, MECHANISATION AND IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. MADE): I am
very grateful for this question Madam Speaker. I would like to thank the Hon. Member. His question needs some technical explanation but on the portion regarding the fact that he collected inputs for Command
Agricuture, he is well aware of the obligations which are due to him.
The contract has not changed. I must emphasise that whatever it is you agreed upon, still stands. If you want to get some technical explanation, you can approach me on a personal capacity or put your question in writing so that we may respond after thorough research. Thank you.
HON. BEREMAURO: Thank you Madam Speaker. My question
is directed to the Minister of Energy and Power Development. Hon. Minister, what is the Government policy on fuel pricing bearing in mind that Zimbabwe’s fuel is more expensive, compared to our neighbours like Zambia, Botswana and South Africa. Thank you.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER
DEVELOPMENT (HON. SEN. MUZENDA): Thank you Madam
Speaker. I would like to thank the Hon. Member for the question. It is true, our fuel is a bit more expensive compared to others in the region because we have several taxes we add to the fuel when it reaches here.
Thank you.
HON. MAJOME: Thank you Madam Speaker. Since the Hon.
Minister said that our fuel is higher because of taxes which I assume are levied by the Government; my question to the Hon. Minister is, is the energy sector and your Ministry not also committed to improving the ease of doing business in the country because surely if the single factor that causes exorbitant fuel prices is the Government itself through its taxes, is it not that the Ministry is falling afoul of the general policy of improving ease of doing business and making it easier to do business, instead of the Government being a cost and a pain to producers and industries?
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would
like to thank the Hon. Member for the question. Yes, Government tries to alleviate the taxes but at the moment it is not possible. However, when the climate is conducive, that will be looked into.
*HON. CHINOTIMBA: Madam Speaker, fuel that we use in
Zimbabwe and Zambia is procured from the same place in Mozambique.
It is procured from the same area. Zambian fuel passes through
Zimbabwe and goes through Chirundu Border Post and when it is there, it costs 80 cents per litre. Mozambique sells fuel at 50 cents per litre.
We need to understand. The Minister should explain to us. If they are failing to manage, they should give the Minister of Finance and Economic Development because they regulated this.
It is not proper to say it is taxes because Zambia that passes through our place when transporting their fuel sells their fuel at 80 cents, yet we are paying $1.36 per litre. A liberated country like us, we should be enlightened as to why our fuel is so expensive. We are in a liberated zone and country and we also have liberated Ministers. They are not in Rhodesia. The question that was asked by the Hon. Member was that why is it that our goods in Zimbabwe are expensive? Are we in
Rhodesia? Thank you. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members!
*HON. SEN. MUZENDA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would
like to thank Hon. Chinotimba. It is true that fuel that goes to Zambia, that comes here and that which is taken to other nations is procured at the same place. Like I said, the issue of Government taxes is not for my Ministry. That is a mandate of the Ministry of Finance and Economic
Development. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Can we have order! Hon.
Chinotimba, tipewo vamwe mukana vabvunzewo.
HON. GONESE: My supplementary question to the Hon. Deputy
Minister is that in light of the high levels of poverty; the high levels of impoverishment which the people of Zimbabwe are going through, is it not time for the Government perhaps to reconsider their policy. She has already explained that the cost of fuel is high because of taxes, is it not time for a review so that those taxes are reduced or removed altogether to alleviate the suffering of the people of Zimbabwe. The cost of fuel has a ripple effect; it also affects the cost of other commodities. Is it not time for her and her Ministry to consider it appropriate to review and reduce those taxes. Perhaps she can also explain what those taxes and their purposes are.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Member, this one is a
supplementary question but I heard the Deputy Minister saying it is not their Ministry which pegs the taxes. If you can direct your question to the Ministry which pegs the taxes, I think it will be very appropriate so that we get the answer.
HON. GONESE: Since the Hon. Minister of Finance and
Economic Development is in the august House...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: But if it comes as a
supplementary question, it goes through the Minister.
HON. GONESE: I hear you Madam Speaker. Perhaps, it would then give me an opportunity to pose the question to the Minister of Finance and Economic Development.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I can give you the
opportunity. You can do it now?
HON. GONESE: Thank you very much Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Can you please take your seat
Hon. Chinotimba.
HON. GONESE: I will now direct the question to the Hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Development. I know that he is new in the job and he may not have had time to acquaint himself, but I would like to find out from the Hon. Minister of Finance and Economic
Development, I think he has understood the question but I will repeat it. The Hon. Deputy Minister has explained that our fuel is more expensive because of the...
HON. ZINDI: On a point of order, Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is your point of order?
HON. ZINDI: My point of order is, if you allow Hon. Gonese to direct his question which is arising as a result of Deputy Minister of Energy, would I still have an opportunity to raise a supplementary question...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, I did allow him to do
that because everyone is waiting for that answer on the taxes.
HON. ZINDI: Okay thank you.
HON. GONESE: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Perhaps, if the Hon. Minister can explain to us in view of the suffering that the majority of the populace...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Just shorten it because we want the answer.
HON. GONESE: Is it not appropriate for the Government to review the high taxes which are resulting in the fuel being exorbitant?
*THE HON. MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. CHOMBO): Thank you very much
Madam Speaker. I want to thank the Hon. Member for his question that - why can we not review downward the taxes and the levies that we charge to ensure that the ordinary person in the street is able to access it. The issue of raising taxes is done annually and is done by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, but the proposals are brought into this House and are deliberated on.
On what he has said, I think he has brought this up at the right time. It is the time to craft the budget right now. All what he has said will be taken on board, considered during the process and we will see how we are going to address the issue. Thank you.
HON. MUNENGAMI: We have had a very good working relationship with the Hon. Vice President, Hon. Mnangagwa, when he was still the Leader of the House and now that we have got a new Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, could we be furnished to know whether the Vice President is still the Leader of the House or we now have – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]-
so that at least we...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order! Order Hon. Members. Can we have order? The Hon. Member has a right to ask what he wants to know and understand in this House. So, we do not have to waste time. Hon. Member, I know it is going to be announced, but you will know that another duty of the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs is being the Leader of the House. That is automatic.
HON. MUNENGAMI: So, whom are we going to ask our
questions today? Are we going to direct our questions to the Vice President or what?
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: If you have any questions
pertaining to the Leader of the House, you can direct them to him.
HON. MUNENGAMI: Is he the Leader of the House, Madam Speaker? – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]- Yes, it is our right to know because there is no point for us to waste our time and to waste the Vice President’s time asking him questions which he is not supposed to answer. Can we know the Leader of the House?
THE HON DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Member, order.
HON. MUNENGAMI: It is the duty of the Government Chief
Whip through you Hon. Speaker, to tell us who is the Leader of the
House [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]-
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order Hon. Members.
HON. MUNENGAMI: We do not want to be confused. It is simple, we want to know who is the Leader of the House. Is that a very big issue? It is not a big issue, honestly – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]- thank you Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Can we have order in the House. Can we have order please? Hon. Munengami, you had a point of order you wanted to know. I answered you by saying Government is going to announce, then why are you worrying. Where is your worry from – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]- Can you please
wait for that.
HON. ZINDI: Thank you Hon. Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, following the question raised by Hon. Chinotimba to do with taxes, I know Government has got a pipeline and Government has also said that it is cheaper for fuel dealers to use the pipeline. May we know from a policy point of view why fuel dealers have continued to use truckers on the roads other than using the fuel pipeline which resultantly will reduce the cost of whatever goods and what have you because fuel has got a chain reaction. I thank you.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. SEN. MUZENDA): Yes, some of our fuel
comes through the pipeline. Most of it, but it is not sufficient for all the retailers. That is why sometimes some prefer to use their trucks to get the fuel from Mozambique. I thank you.
HON. HOLDER: My question is directed to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. What policy has Government put in place to protect hyper inflation now that all the commodities in the shops have gone up by almost 100%? – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible
interjections.]-
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order. Hon. Members can
we be serious with what we are doing here. The Ministers would like to understand what the question is. Hon. Minister, did you hear the question or should he ask again? Please Hon. Member, can you come again.
HON. HOLDER: Thank you Madam Speaker. I said my question is directed to the Ministry of Finance and Economic
Development. What policy has Government put in place to protect hyper inflation since most of the commodities in the shops have gone up by almost 100%?
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. CHOMBO): Thank you Madam
Speaker. I wish to thank the Hon. Member for his question, but I think he should direct it to the Minister of Industry and Commerce. I thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Member, may you
redirect your question to the appropriate Ministry.
HON. HOLDER: Thank you Madam Speaker, I will redirect my question to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce..
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order, Hon. Chapfika
please bear with us. The Hon. Ministers will need to understand the questions.
HON. HOLDER: I redirect my question to the Ministry of
Industry and Commerce.
THE MINISTER OF INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE (HON.
- BIMHA): Thank you Madam Speaker, I also want to thank the
Hon.
Member for raising that question. I would probably preface my response just to bring to the attention of the Hon. Member that on the 22nd September this year, we experienced a crisis arising from unsubstantiated reports through the social media that there was a looming price hike; that there was going to be a widespread shortage of basic commodities and that the Central Bank was in the process of mopping up the United States Dollar.
At the same time, we were also experiencing shortages in terms of forex supplied to manufacturers for them to be able to procure the much needed raw materials for their production. As a result of these unsubstantiated reports or information, there was panic buying and this panic buying also had an effect of causing shortages. In the confusion, we also had other unscrupulous wholesalers, retailers and manufacturers also taking advantage of this.
Now, what Government has done in order to address this issue is in two-fold. Firstly, Cabinet has put together a task force which is chaired by my Ministry to look into the issue of price escalations as well as the availability of basic commodities. This Inter-Ministerial Task Force is guided by very comprehensive terms of reference going further than issues of price or availability of products, going into the whole issue of the availability of forex, issues to do with the cost of money; others also looking through the Competition and Tariff Commission, and collusive and anti-competitive tendencies by suppliers. There is a whole breath of issues that this committee is looking into.
A number of meetings have now been held and tomorrow, the Hon. Ministers will meet to consider the report from the committee of officials. Therefore, tomorrow there will be a meeting of the Hon.
Ministers to consider …
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: On a point of order Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order, no, no, may you please wait – [AN HON. MEMBER: Ipoint of order ka!] – No, no, there is no need because he will come in and we have a supplementary question. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Hon. Chamisa, can you not wait so that he finishes then you raise your point of order?
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: It is a point of order and the rules are
clear. I have a point of order.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is the point of order?
*HON. ADV. CHAMISA: Thank you Madam Speaker. The Hon.
Minister is going on and on in elucidating the policies of this country. May he please be brief or may be issue a Ministerial Statement on the matter and allow us to raise questions. At the moment, he is touching on a lot issues that have to do with other Hon. Members of Parliament. I thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order. As far as I am
concerned, the Hon. Minister was on the right path of giving a clear explanation. So, I will allow him to proceed.
HON. DR. BIMHA: Thank you Madam Speaker. The report of
the committee of officials is now ready and will be subjected to scrutiny by the committee of Ministers. Once that report is clear then Government will be directed accordingly. I thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: The issue of a Ministerial
Statement Hon. Minister, I think like what the Hon. Member was saying is also appropriate so that Hon. Members of Parliament will seek clarification and you explain - point taken Hon. Members. Hon. Mliswa!
HON. HOLDER: Supplementary question Madam Speaker, but ndini ndabvunza mubvunzo wacho!
HON. MLISWA: Madam Speaker, thank you very much. I hope…
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order may you please
wait Hon. Mliswa. Hon. Holder has a supplementary question.
HON. MLISWA: Oh sorry Madam Speaker.
HON. HOLDER: Thank you Madam Speaker. The reason why I
called for a supplementary question is, I understood what the Hon. Minister said but here we are living on reality and the reality is that the prices of any commodity in any shop has gone up –[HON. MEMBERS: Yes!] - Currently, as I speak, all vegetables and other stuff have been banned from importation.
I am saying, what mechanism has he put in place? What are they going to do now because it is affecting everybody here? I thank you.
HON. DR. BIMHA: Thank you Madam Speaker, there are two
aspects to this issue. First of all, there is no ban and I want to repeat that when we came up with Statutory Instruments to regulate the importation of certain goods, we indicated that this is not a ban and that when there are issues to do with the supply and demand, we will facilitate the importation of those products because as Government, we do not want to witness shortages. So, if we are in a position where our local producers are not in a position to meet demand, we will allow importation.
However in the interim, while this exercise that I have explained earlier on is taking place, my Ministry has been having inspectors around all the provinces in the country who have been monitoring the price escalations from the 24th September to date to ensure that we have facts when we approach the producers. So, we now have information of what has been happening as regards prices and issues that we will have to engage the retailers, producers and wholesalers. We can only do that when we have information and that information is now available. I thank you.
HON. MLISWA: Madam Speaker, thank you very much. I hope
that the Hon. Minister realises that by accepting that there is hyperinflation which is caused by political instability and inflation is due to mere economics. So, it is clear that he has admitted that there is political instability. With that in mind, how does he intend to address this situation because hyper-inflation is a result of political instability? How then is he going to respond to the political instability which is there so that there is no hyper-inflation?
HON. DR. BIMHA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to thank the Hon. Member for raising that question. Madam Speaker, the issue of economic stability is the responsibility of all us. I thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order, Hon. Members. Those who need to bring in supplementary questions - I think we agreed that the Minister is bringing a Ministerial Statement, so if we continue asking the same Minister - we have the whole bench of Ministers and so many questions to ask. The last supplementary question I am giving to Hon. Ziyambi and you can bring in your question as an original question and not a supplementary question.
*HON. ZIYAMBI: Thank you Madam Speaker. My question to
the Minister of Industry and Commerce is that the Minister has informed the House that he is going to make a thorough research on the programme targeting the farmers, but fertiliser has gone up. AN is now
$50 and yet at GMB we are selling the maize at $390 per tonne and this is the highest in the region. If we are to go to the Minister and call for a rise in the price of maize, what are we going to do? The farmers are now faced with price hikes in fertilizer and seed. We know that the Minister has a Ministerial Committee which has to work at its own pace but as representatives of the people, what are we going to tell our people who are faced with the planting season?
*HON. BIMHA: The Hon. Member asked a very pertinent issue
in our agricultural encountered economy. Cabinet is seized with the issue of the price increases. As far as we are concerned the fertilizer which we produce here in Zimbabwe is very expensive. So, if we want to have cheaper fertilizer, we have to look at the inputs which make the fertilizer to be more expensive than what is obtaining in the region. We also have other programmes which are to be put in place. The Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of Industry and Commerce are holding a meeting to look at ways to solve the problem regarding the increase in prices of the inputs. Our target was to produce a report this week but we had some hurdles and were not able to produce the report. However, I can promise this august House that next week we will issue a statement which will include the price of agricultural inputs including fertilizer.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members, can I
urge you to ask new questions.
*HON. CHINOTIMBA: On a point of order Madam Speaker, when we are in this august House and even when we have only one
Minister we should not be directed to take our question to a particular Minister. It is our choice to address any Minister we feel like addressing. If we feel we want to exhaust our questions on one Minister allow us to do so. Let me tell you now that we are going for elections and we do not want people to say ZANU PF destroyed the country. You know that agriculture is the backbone of our economy hence the Minister should respond to our questions, so do not protect Ministers or direct us to ask questions to a particular Minister. – [HON. MEMBERS:
Inaudible interjections.] –
What I am saying Madam Speaker is that you should allow us to ask the Minister what we want in this august House. Allow us to pose questions that we want to the Ministers and not to tell us that you can ask other Ministers other questions. What if our questions are directed to that particular Minister? We want to ask the Minister. Thank you.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, Hon. Members. I
want to respond to Hon. Chinotimba on the issue that each time we have question time, we have a number of supplementary questions which are permissible. So, we cannot spend the whole afternoon posing questions to one Minister - but if you have another question which is new, you are allowed to pose the question, not as a supplementary question. Am I
understood? Thank you.
*HON. MASHONGANYIKA: Thank you Madam Speaker, my
question is directed to the Deputy Minister of Mines. We have a number of concerns relating to artisanal miners. We do not know what the Government means when it gives assistance to people involved in bus accidents but when it comes to artisanal miners - are you also not supposed to assist them and when do you assist them because a mine will have collapsed? What is the policy concerning artisanal miners, because some lose their lives and in most cases it is a whole family?
What assistance do you give them?
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINES (HON. F. MOYO):
The issue of road carnage and artisanal mining, I did not understand where the link is.
*THE HON DEPUTY SPEAKER: Let me assist you. The Hon.
Member is saying if there is a national road traffic disaster the
Government comes in to assist but if there is an accident where artisanal miners are trapped in a mine shaft, what do you do about that?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINES (HON. F. MOYO): I
am sure we all know that currently, Government is in the process of coming up with regulations on how artisanal miners are supposed to work. Currently, we said that we do not know how the artisanal miners are working, where they come from, their ages and gender. We are not clear. So we want to find out all that information. If there are some who will have got into the mine and are trapped, the policy is that we have rescue teams that are found at the big mines such as Shamva, Zimplats and Mimosa. If there is a disaster, we expect the police to get those rescue teams from those mines. The brigades who go there are rescue teams with specialised skills. They are the ones who assist and they give reports. All is done and this is under the Chamber of Mines. I thank you.
*HON. ZINDI: Supplementary. I want to thank the Deputy Minister for the response that he gave but if I have understood the question posed earlier on, she is saying that if people are maimed or die in a road accident, the victims are assisted through the Civil Protection Department with the Disaster Fund. That is what the question requires that in your Ministry what is your policy that is similar to this one that we have mentioned, especially pertaining to artisanal miners who are contributing to the growth of the economy. What measures are you putting in place besides what is already there to ensure that they are assisted in cases of disaster?
*HON. F. MOYO: I think the small scale miners are in two categories. There are migrant artisanal miners who are not known their whereabouts, age and gender. If a person is maimed or dies and is found on the side of the road, that is not a disaster. It is not about miners. I will answer for the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development. If there are small scale miners who are working and were given permits, they are all insured and are covered. But if they are migrant, we assist as the Ministry of Mines in retrieving them from the trap and we take them to the mortuary. In terms of burial and other issues, that is the duty of the Government through the Civil Protection Unit since it is a civil disaster.
I thank you.
*HON. NDUNA: The issue of artisanal miners has become quite topical. The reason why they are known as artisanal miners is because the legislation to decriminalise this activity has not yet come here.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Member we are talking
about Government rendering assistance to those people who will have met a disaster.
*HON. NDUNA: My question is that the ones you mentioned of Chamber of Mines as well as the big mines you talked about, have you ever considered how they work in line with what you said that they are there to assist the artisanal miners trapped in a mine?
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you very much. Would
you please take your seat?
*HON. NDUNA: Madam Speaker, I think you need to indulge me.
If it is not the way you believe it to be, you need to guide me accordingly because I have got a supplementary.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, you have a
supplementary question but you are failing to craft it properly. HON. NDUNA: May I be given an opportunity to put it across Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Can you do that please. *HON. NDUNA: How do the rescue teams operate? Do you embark on an audit to assess whether they are working according to how they are expected in terms of rescuing the artisanal miners from the collapsed mine?
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: There is no supplementary
question. If you have another question regarding this, please bring it to the attention of the Minister of Mines and Mining Development. +HON. P. D. SIBANDA: The Hon. Member having addressed the newly appointed Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary
Affairs as Director General CIO in Tonga.
HON. MASHAYAMOMBE: On a point of order! On a point of order! On a point of order! – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible
interjections.] -
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Mashayamombe, take
your seat. Hon. Sibanda, I did not hear what you said. What did you say?
*HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Ndati.. The Hon. Member having repeated his question in Tonga.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: There is no Director General
CIO. Can you please take your seat?
HON. MASHAYAMOMBE: On a point of order! On a point of order! – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] -
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Ndati.. Okay let me translate in English.
My question is directed to the Honourable…
HON. MASHAYAMOMBE: On a point of order! Mira titaure mhani - [HON MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] -
THE VICE PRESIDENT (HON. E.D. MNANGAGWA):
Madam Speaker, may I appeal to Hon. Members of this august House that in the composition of this House, we do not have the Director of
CIO. If there is any need to direct a question relating to the Office of the
President, there is no need for the Hon. Member to do so in terms of our Rules. Our Rules provide that we cannot ask questions on individuals or officers of State who are not Members of the House. So, if there is a particular question that the Hon. Member is pleased to make, he could put it in writing and refer it to the Office of the President and there will be a member from the Office of the President to deal with the issue appropriately. - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Members, I think what
the Leader of the House is saying, we have to respect. You should not make noise because once you make noise; we waste our time for nothing. So, this is what we were supposed to hear from the beginning.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: On a point of order Hon. Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: You have been answered. I would like to recognise Hon. Khupe.
HON. DR. KHUPE: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. I
am also appealing to the Hon. Members because today we have school children – they have come to listen to what Hon. Members are asking Ministers so that Ministers respond to issues affecting this country. So, I am appealing to Hon. Members at least to be quiet.
I would have loved to direct my question to the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Services but now that he is not around, I am going to direct my question to the Leader of the House. According to the ZIMVAC Rural Livelihoods Assessment Report of July 2017; 1.1 million people are going to be food insecure during the months of January to March 2018. What is Government doing to make sure that every Zimbabwean is food secure, looking at the fact that we had a bumper harvest and we had good rains. I thank you.
THE VICE PRESIDENT (HON. E.D. MNANGAGWA):
Madam Speaker, I am glad that the Hon. Member, the Leader of the Opposition has asked that question which will give an opportunity to Government to clarify the position.
Correctly, she has stated that the report that she is referring to is the report of July when the projections at the time were very conservative as to the yields that would come. But currently, we already have excess food supply in the country which will enable Government without any importation to support the needs of the vulnerable groups in our country during that period – January to March next year. So, may I assure the House as well as the country that as a result of our bumper harvest, we have an excess of 700 000 metric tonnes of grain in surplus of our national needs. I thank you.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: On a point of order Madam Speaker.
Honestly speaking Hon. Speaker, with due respect to the office of the Speaker and the Orders of this House, I believe that your ruling did not address whatever issues that the Chair thinks I did not properly address when I was asking my question. So, I believe as a Member, Hon.
Speaker, I am entitled to know the rationale behind your decision not to allow me to ask my question because you had given me the floor and just as I was addressing my question in Tonga, which I believe you do not understand - firstly you do not understand Tonga Hon. Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Exactly, I do not understand Tonga.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: So, what was the rationale behind you stopping me from asking my question?
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Member, I told you that
we do not have Director of CIO in this House; but you insisted that you want to ask him. You did and this is why I stopped you.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Hon. Speaker, I only spoke once and you
asked me to sit down but I think I am entitled to be corrected and then to be given an opportunity to ask my question – [HON. MEMBERS:
Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Where is your problem now
– because you did not want to take my ruling, this is why I made you to sit down.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: I never rejected your ruling Hon.
Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: You did Hon. Member.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: No, I never. I have a genuine question to the Hon. Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: You insisted that you want to
talk to the Director of CIO.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Hon. Speaker, I did not find it offensive.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Now that I had recognised
others, I think you will come later Hon. Member.
*HON. MAHOKA: Thank you Madam Speaker. My question is
directed to the Minister of Home Affairs, Hon. O. Mpofu. Minister, what is Government policy regarding your Ministry on young children who are raped in rural areas? At times, these police office come to the scene and take these youngsters for investigations after two days whereby the evidence would have been erased because these children would have been bathed. So, what are you going to do to supply the police with the cars so that they can respond quickly when reports are made?
+THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS (HON. O. MPOFU):
I thank you Madam Speaker and I want to thank the Hon. Member, Mahoka for the question. Concerning the issue on what is being done specifically to the children who would have been victims of rape and at the end of the day, we realise that there is no mode of transport that can take them to courts or any other incident that might have happened.
I got into office today and the whole day, we were doing handover takeover with Minister Chombo. It will be taking this House for granted for me to act as if I know everything that is happening in this Ministry.
My request to this House and also a request that I am putting to Madam Speaker is that you give me time to research so that I can bring an answer to this question.
HON. MLISWA: On a point of order Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is your point of order?
HON. MLISWA: The point of order is on Section 107 of the
Constitution. Minister, it is very clear that every Vice President,
Minister, Deputy Minister must attend Parliament and Parliamentary Committees in order to answer questions concerning matters for which he or she is collectively and individually responsible. The Minister has just been appointed the Minister of Home Affairs and he must respond to issues of home affairs. Handover takeover has got nothing to do with children who are suffering, who are being raped. I think they must discharge their duties honourably. By the President appointing him the Minister of Home Affairs, he bestowed the power in him to respond to questions because it is going to take too long for handover. There could be another Cabinet reshuffle where they will do another handover again.
He must answer questions according to this – [HON. MEMBERS:
Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members.
Before you come in Hon. Member, there is a point of order here. Hon. Members, we are people, this is not the first time we have Ministers being reshuffled. There is need for taking over and handing over to the Ministers. So now, – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – No, no, no. Order Hon. Members. I think he appealed to the House that he is going to answer you next time, once he gets himself acquainted. Is there a problem?
HON. NYAMUPINGA: Thank you Madam Speaker. The
supplementary question is that, as he brings the response next time to the House, we also want to know what the Government is doing in terms of giving awareness to the victims of rape and those who are likely to be victims, for example women; on how to look after themselves after they have been raped. No one has ever gone out there to tell them that do not bathe, do not do this and do not do the other. In the end, all the evidence is gone by the time they get to court. So it is the issue of awareness that
I am talking about. We want to know what the Ministry of Home Affairs is doing through mapurisa, shamwari dzevanhu, giving awareness to the people.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think it is the same that the Minister is still being acquainted to the Ministry. He cannot talk of the programmes in the Ministry at the moment. We want to hear the answers next time Hon. Minister.
*HON. MURAI: Thank you Madam Speaker. I am directing my policy question to the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Hon. Bonyongwe. We are in the process of registering people through the BVR so that we prepare for the 2018 elections but there is a lot of confusion in our constituencies. People would want to know the required documents for anybody to be registered. The reason why there is this confusion is that the ZBC adverts being broadcast, most of them are done in English. I suggest that we hold more advertisements in our sixteen languages so that the people who are the beneficiaries will understand. We have a lot of confusion among our constituents.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Member, are you
asking your question in English or Shona?
*HON. MURAI: Madam Speaker, the Minister has understood what I have asked.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: It is my duty to ask you to use one language when you are speaking.
*HON. MURAI: That is why I am responding to your questions
Madam Speaker.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Please do not codeswitch, use one language.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN.
BONYONGWE): Thank you Madam Speaker. I want to thank the
Hon. Member for – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Honourable Minister, just
proceed with your answer, do not listen to them.
*HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN. BONYONGWE: Madam Speaker, I
want to thank the Hon. Member for the question regarding the voter registration exercise for the 2018 elections. This is a very important issue – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order Hon. Members.
*HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN. BONYONGWE: The question was
asked in Shona but with some English phrases included.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Minister, because of
Hansard, we encourage Hon. Members to concentrate on one language.
*HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN. BONYONGWE: Let me continue
responding to the question. I am saying, I am grateful for the question that was asked by the Member. The Hon. Member talked about the registration of people to be in the voters’ roll in preparation for the elections to be held in 2018. I understand that ZEC is putting out advertisements to educate people throughout the country. People should be educated in the languages that they understand. It could be an advantage if the advertisements are done using all the sixteen languages in the country. I believe that as we are talking and responding to the question, the ZEC officials will take advice of what we are saying because they have to educate people so that they know what is good for them and what is required of them when they go for registration. I hope that ZEC will improve on their advertisements so that when people are educated, they will make decisions based on the knowledge given to them.
HON. BHEBHE: Madam Speaker, I happened to be in Chitungwiza from this morning to this afternoon – if I rewind, going back to the previous elections that we have conducted, we have always had voter education process by ZEC itself, a week or two before the exercise. What we find now, there are no people that are educating people prior to them going to register – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order. Can we have order
Hon. Members?
HON. BHEBHE: Remember Madam Speaker, BVR is a new
registration process, is it now a new Government policy that you introduce a new policy without informing or educating people about what they are supposed to do?
HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN. BONYONGWE: Thank you very
much to the Hon. Member for that supplementary question. The issue is one of voter education for the undergoing voter registration process that is underway. From my understanding and also as someone who follows issues as they are articulated through the Press, there is a voter awareness programme, a voter education programme which is currently under way. That is a fact. With regards to the process which is ongoing, that information is going out day in and day out in the print and the electronic media to cover the process to ensure that Zimbabweans go out there and register to vote. Thank you.
HON. BHEBHE: On a point of clarification, I said previously they would do it a week or two before the registration starts. I am saying, has the policy changed now because that did not happen?
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: That was the answer from the
Minister, Hon. Member.
*HON. ENG. MUDZURI: Thank you Madam Speaker. Hon.
Minister, we plead with you to move around in your capacity and also take the Minister of Home Affairs. Can you move around Chitungwiza and listen to what people are saying. You will notice that people are not aware of the pending registration exercise, they are in the dark. My question regarding the campaign on the registration exercise by ZEC –
[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members!
*HON. ENG. MUDZURI: The Hon. Members always want me
to ask a question outside your question but I cannot be directed by other people. I should formulate my question the way I want and it is my privilege which I have to use. My question to the Hon. Minister is that when we are talking about the awareness campaigns on the voter registration in preparation for the elections next year, I advise the Ministers to go to areas like Chitungwiza and hear what the people say about the registration exercise.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Please, let us not hold
lengthy discussions but be to the point and ask your question.
*HON. ENG. MUDZURI: My point is, whatever is happening in Chitungwiza, the evidence on the ground shows that people are not aware of the registration process. My question is, are you going to extend the period for the voter registration exercise so that they go and register and be included in the Voters Roll. In these areas, we have people such as Commissioners of Oaths. Some of the people lack the necessary documents like identity cards and we need to have more officials from the Registrar General’s office.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Member, please ask
your question. Yes, you were in Chitungwiza. What is your question?
Please get to the point.
*HON. ENG. MUDZURI: My question is, are they going to
extend the time for registration of people because there is a misunderstanding? People do not understand what is required of them. I appeal to you Hon. Speaker, when we are asking questions, at times we have to give a background to the question.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Member, it is not your
first time having those questions. I guide you on how to bring the questions. Can I bring in the Minister to answer you?
*HON. ENG. MUDZURI: The Minister has to give us
Government policy as to what they are going to do in taking officers to areas, especially mobile offices so that they go to people who need identity documents because most of them are told to visit the Registrar General’s office.
*HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN. BONYONGWE: Madam Speaker, I
realise that there are two questions. One question refers to the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and the other one refers to the Ministry of Home Affairs. Let me turn to the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. The people who are responsible for the registration of voters, we have the organ called Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC). As I responded before, as we are talking now, we have people who are listening to what we are saying and the ZEC officials are going to take corrective measures so that whoever has a misunderstanding on the registration process will take corrective measures. What I know is that the ZEC officials are aware that they should register all capable Zimbabweans. It is their priority and they have taken all the measures to register the people of Zimbabwe.
This current voter registration was launched on 14th September and it is still new. We are still launching this programme and we are in phase one. This is going to wind up on 25th October. After the closure of the first phase, there is going to be an analysis or post mortem of the process which has been done and corrective measures taken for the next phase. This is because we know that all eligible voters should be registered and we are going to take the necessary measures. It is not my duty as a Minister to go and make observations in Chitungwiza but it is the duty of ZEC to do that. I thank you.
HON. MLISWA: First of all Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate the new Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. It is pretty clear that a new broom sweeps clean rather than those who are being re-cycled. You are truly a new broom with the way you have articulated yourself. I want to say to the Minister, voter education is continuous. However, we have 16 languages including sign language. I do not see them benefiting from it and you are saying every Zimbabwean must be registered to vote. What about those who you are not talking to their language, those living with disability in terms of the sign language. We are not seeing that happening. How are you going to address that because they are part of Zimbabwe and the exercise has started? Are you going to come back again with all these languages or what?
HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN. BONYONGWE: Thank you very
much Madam Speaker. I want to thank the Hon. Member for the kind words he said and at the time for that quite searching question which he raised. It so happens that in the questions which are to follow, there are a number of questions which were raised by Hon. Chirisa which speak to that very issue. That is the voter education which is necessary for those of disabilities, the blind and so on. I would want to assure the Hon. Member that the current biometric voter registration system as configured has taken into account all those issues. There is no one who is going to be disadvantaged because they are disabled or because of some other reason. In fact, as you do the voter registration process where even someone does not have a limp or fingers, you can then skip that stage and move on to the next stage. The machines cater for that. So, it is something which was thought of and it is incorporated into the systems which are being used. Thank you very much – [HON.
MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] -
*HON. MACHINGAUTA: My supplementary to the Minister is
that when we go out especially to the rural areas, we have village heads who take note of the serial numbers of those people who will have registered to vote. I would like to know from the Minister if this is allowed and if it is not, what action is the Minister going to take so that the other village heads are warned? – Mhindura mutsime dzinoita zvakadaro.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: What language is that? Would
you please withdraw that word?
*HON. MACHINGAUTA: It is a Shona word which is found in Shona books.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, no. Not in Parliament.
Withdraw that word.
*HON. MACHINGAUTA: Let me withdraw the word mhindura
mutsime but the Minister can proceed to answer my question without that word.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: We have got to respect
ourselves Hon. Members.
HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN. BONYONGWE: Madam Speaker, to
that question which has been posed, I believe that the correct people to answer it would probably be the Registrar General’s Department. As far as the Ministry of Justice is concerned; the voter registration process - I do not see how the issues which he has raised come into play. Thank you very much.
HON. ENG. MUDZURI: On a point of order. While we come to
Parliament, we have to institute justice to our people and justice which is not begotten to people is justice denied. The question we are asking here should be answered by both Ministers on what he is asking to say, what do you do? Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Justice are two ministries where he should say he might have to consider with his colleague other than to just say it is a story for the Commission. The Commission, while it is independent has to operate in a just environment. What is happening today is that we are denying our citizens their birth right of being registered to vote and we are simply washing away questions. When I asked my question Madam Speaker, I also said the Minister of Home Affairs must answer on the failure of people getting registered to vote.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Are you saying your
supplementary question was not answered?
HON. ENG. MUDZURI: It was not and you did not correct that.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Member, we are not
fighting. Can you please clarify yourself clearly? We are not fighting but I have to understand you – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] - Order!
HON. MLISWA: I would like to extend by another 30 minutes
since the Ministers are hardly here, so that they are grilled properly –
[HON. MEMBERS: We object.] -
*HON. MACHINGAUTA: On a point of order. When I asked
my question Madam Speaker, I talked about the communities in rural areas where people are supposed to be registering. What is happening is, we have traditional leaders like village heads who ask a member after registering to come and tell them their serial number. I am asking the Minister to look at some of the problems which I have just raised. I thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: The next time, I am going to
give you a chance to ask your question and the Minister will respond.
Questions Without Notice were interrupted by THE HON.
DEPUTY SPEAKER in terms of Standing Order No. 64
HON. GONESE: I did not want to disturb the flow of questions but in terms of Standing Order No. 63 Madam Speaker, those Ministers who are not able to come to Parliament should seek leave of absence and I believe that today that was not read out. I was going to raise the issue but I did not want to disturb the flow of questions.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Even myself, I did not want to
disturb. We have a list here of the Ministers.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER
PRE-BUDGET SEMINAR BRIEFING
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have to remind Hon.
Members that there will be a pre-Budget Seminar briefing on Friday 20th
October, 2017 at Pandhari Lodge. Buses will leave from Nelson Mandela Avenue entrance to Pandhari Lodge at 0745 hours on Friday up to 1630 hours.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE
DATE OF BIRTH FOR MR. TOBAIWA MUDEDE
HON. MAJOME asked the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to inform the House when the Registrar General, Mr. Tobaiwa Mudede was born and further explain if he is above 65 years and why he has not retired from the Civil Service.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: The Minister of Public
Service, Labour and Social Welfare is not here.
HON. MAJOME: Hon. Madam Speaker, I think this is about the fourth time that I am raising this issue. This august House is fast turning into a circus because clearly again, the Hon. Ministers of Public Service,
Labour and Social Welfare as well as …
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: We are deferring it and it will be on number one again.
HON. MAJOME: Hon. Madam Speaker, I am concerned that this House is not using the powers that it has. It is almost as if we are treating the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare with kid gloves on such an important issue. Last week, there was the excuse that the Minister was new and he needed to be handed over power but his Deputy was there. The other week, the Minister who was reshuffled claimed that she was not ready for the question but her Deputy was there. Previously again, the Ministry of Home Affairs avoided this question.
Hon. Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of privilege. I have a right to receive an answer to this question. I move a motion Madam Speaker that you find the Hon. Ministers in contempt because this is a critical national issue. If this question is deferred again, it will give the very regrettable impression that the Speaker is protecting Hon. Ministers from answering questions. Surely, this House should show the utmost disgust and should not tolerate behaviour such as this. This is a serious question and it should be answered.
I think the Ministers must be held in contempt. This cannot go on. The reason why we put questions on notice is for Ministers to see them and answer them. They cannot continue playing ball with us like this. If I may ask, why the Ministers are not here today?
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I hear you Hon. Member and
also go along with what you are saying. The office of the Speaker has tried to invite the Minister so that he is answerable to what is happening, but because of these changes I think some other people are taking advantage as well; but we are together, the office of the Speaker and the
Hon. Members but we are going to continue trying to call the Hon.
Minister to our office.
HON. MAJOME: On a point of order Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is your point of order?
HON. MAJOME: Hon. Madam Speaker, my point of order is that the Hon. Minister and the Deputy Minister be held in contempt of Parliament - because inviting them to your office, I believe is unwarranted. I do not see any reason why Ministers should continue to be treated with kid gloves. I am not aware and I deserve an explanation as to why both the Hon. Minister and the Deputy Minister are not here in Parliament today. I move that they be held in contempt of Parliament ,that will be the only way that they can know that they must take their responsibility in terms of Section 108 of the Constitution Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: The Minister who was called
to our office is no longer a Minister. Now, we have to call the one who was appointed as a Minister to come to our office so that we discuss about this issue.
HON. MAJOME: Hon. Speaker, the Deputy Minister is still the same Deputy Minister – [HON. J. TSHUMA: Usaite nharo.] – no ndinoita nharo, this is what I came to this Parliament for. Hon. Speaker I am sorry I am unable to understand that, the Deputy Minister of that Ministry is still in the same Ministry. It is a simple question, how old is the Registrar General? Is he over the age of 65? If he is over the age of 65 why has he not retired? Surely Madam Speaker that is what the question says. Surely it is a fact that can be established by anyone. There is a whole ministry, surely the age of the Registrar General is not a matter that requires rocket science, the Deputy Minister has not been reshuffled. By now Hon. Speaker an answer must have been written. All the Minister needs to do is to come here and simply read the question.
THE HON. DEPUTY MINISTER: Can we now close this
question Hon. Majome, I have answered you. I have tried to answer you. We called Hon. Mupfumira to this office, but now there is a new person, we can also invite him and explain to him the problem.
HON. MAJOME: But the rules do not say that you invite them to your office, it says a Minister who absconds can be charged with contempt of Parliament. Why are we not doing that?
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Because there is a problem of
them not attending to this question. This is why we are calling him to the office. I hear your complaint.
HON. MAJOME: Madam Speaker, why are we treating them
with kid gloves?
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Can we proceed to question
number 2.
THE MINISTER OF SPORT, RECREATION, ARTS AND
CULTURE (HON. HLONGWANE): On a point of order Madam
Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is your point of order?
HON. HLONGWANE: There is a requirement and it is in writing to some Ministers that Ministers should attend Parliament without fail on Wednesdays. Ministers do come, often they do not get asked any question and when we get to this moment of questions with notice,
Members of Parliament leave the House. Ministers remain but we are not seeing equal treatment on either side. I think it is a matter that you need to attend to Hon. Speaker. I thank you – [HON. MEMBERS:
Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: We get to a point where the
questioner is not in the House whilst the Minister will be there, I do not think this is good to this House.
POLICY ON INFORMAL SECTOR WORKERS SOCIAL WELFARE
- HON. MAHOKA on behalf of HON. MANGWENDE asked
the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to state the policy in place to cater for the Social Welfare of workers in the informal sector.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Is there any written
confirmation that you are going to stand in her place, because you must have a written confirmation, where is it? The written note should come to the Chair so that the Chair knows you are going to stand on her behalf. We defer the question to next week.
DISTRICT VOTER REGISTRATION CENTRES
11 HON. CHIRISA asked the Minister of Justice, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs to inform the House the exact location of District Voter Registration Centres and if they would be permanent as required by Section 17A of the Electoral Act.
THE MINISTER JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN.
BONYONGWE): Madam Speaker, let me start by thanking Hon.
Chirisa for posing very pertinent questions pertaining to the registration of voters – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
Hon. Deputy Speaker having left the Chair and replaced by Hon.
Marumahoko.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MARUMAHOKO):
Order Hon. Members. You may proceed.
HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN. BONYONGWE: Mr. Speaker Sir, let
me start by thanking Hon. Chirisa for posing very pertinent questions pertaining to the registration of voters, which process is indeed important as we prepare for the 2018 harmonised elections. I shall endeavor to respond to the questions which were raised in chronological order as they appear on the Order Paper.
Firstly, the Hon. Member asked for the exact location of district voter registration centres and whether they shall be permanent as required by Section 17(a) of the Electoral Act. Mr. Speaker Sir, the district voter registration centres are situation at ZEC, 63 district offices. The addresses of these offices can be found on ZECs website. I also have a hard copy of the aforementioned document which I shall furnish to the Clerk of Parliament. These centres shall remain open as static registration centres to register voters on a continuous basis in line with provisions of the law as you are aware.
Secondly, the Hon. Member enquired about the measures that ZEC has taken to ensure accessibility of registration offices to elderly persons and persons with disabilities. He further asked me to clarify the registration procedures for people who are visually impaired and also those who have no limps or fingers.
Mr. Speaker Sir, with regards to this question ZEC embarked on a nationwide voter registration blitz from the 14th September 2017 with an initial 63 static registration centres and nine 9 800...
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: You answered number 11 and
therefore you had to pose until I ask – [AN HON. MEMBER: Supplementary Mr. Speaker.] – One question at a time, when we are through then I will allow you to proceed to the next question. For now we are dealing with number 11. Is your supplementary on question 11?
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: My supplementary question to the Hon.
Minister is that the voter registration blitz was preceded by the issuance of identification documents by the Registrar General’s Office. However, in some areas that have been classified as phase one, voter registration has preceded identity documents issuance and also in some instances, the identity documents issuance process started with some bit of confusion, because people were made to pay money. So they did not access identity documents. What is ZEC going to do to ensure that the constituencies and wards that have been prejudiced by the process of phase one get an opportunity to properly register after getting identity documents?
HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN. BONYONGWE: I take note of that
question. Voter registrations is continuous and as a result, if anyone was omitted under phase one, they will be catered for. The objective is not to leave anyone behind, but it could be done in this way that even as we speak, there are 63 static centres but when we finish phase one, for any points which were not covered, those machines will return to do the exercise from my understanding. Thank you.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Hon. Minister, static centres are far away from where people live. I am sure that the blitz was meant... iwe shamwari chirega kudisturbha Minister.
Hon. Mukwangwariwa having been talking to the Minister.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MARUMAHOKO):
Order Hon. Member.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Minister ndiye anofanira kuteerera haikona...
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MARUMAHOKO):
Order Hon. Sibanda, continue with your question.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: The static centres are far away from where people live. The blitz, the polling based registration was made to ensure that even the poor of the poor can exercise their right of registering to be a voter in this country. This static one, people do not have money to travel to access those centres so that they get registered. The identity card issuance, the ordinary one requires that people pay at least $10 for either a new identity document. or a replacement and people do not have that money. Do you not see Hon. Minister that that process might disenfranchise some potential voters?
HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN. BONYONGWE: Mr. Speaker Sir, there
are two separate issues, the issue of the identity cards and so on. That is an issue which was dealt with and from my understanding, even those fees which were being charged were scrapped. Therefore, that matter has fallen away. The second point is to do with the completion of phase one and if there are any people who were left out, I believe that ZEC have got something like 3 000 machines which are in the country carrying out this exercise.
Once they have completed phase one, the point I am making is that those machines cannot be left to lie idle. Voter registration is continuous and as a consequence, anyone who is left out will be attended to. There will be some redeployment if necessary and an assessment will be done on the ground to determine those who might have been left out where and so on. The process will continue to capture anyone left out and that is the assurance which we are getting. Thank you Mr. Speaker.
HON. ZINDI: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I need to bring this information to the attention of the Minister. Someone sent me a message on my phone...
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MARUMAHOKO): Is
it a supplementary question related to what is being said?
HON. ZINDI: Yes, it is a supplementary in terms of payment for the documents to do with voter registration and birth certificates. So, I just want to read the question and bring it to his attention because the Minister has already responded on the issue of people being charged in order to access birth certificates and identity documents which are the requisite documents in order for one to be registered as a voter. This message says people are being charged $60.00 for a birth certificate in Mutawatawa in Murehwa when they are trying to get documents so that they register as voters. I do not know why this could be happening? Could the Minister carry out an investigation in order to establish if this is happening because that could be sabotaging the programme of
Government in as far as voter registration is concerned? Thank you.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MARUMAHOKO):
Thank you. It is pretty clear... –[HON. SIBANDA: Inaudible interjection]- Order Hon. Sibanda. It is pretty clear to the whole country that all charges were withdrawn. If anything of that nature is happening, it is up to the Minister to make an investigation but it is common knowledge.
*HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Hon. Speaker, what we are saying is that when the programme of issuing birth certificates started, people were made to pay...
*THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MARUMAHOKO):
Can you please stick to one language?
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: I think I am failing to express myself in
English. If you can understand me in Tonga, then I will explain it.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MARUMAHOKO):
No, no. why Tonga, speak in English.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: What I was saying Hon. Speaker is that when the programme of issuing of identity documents started, people were made to pay for identity documents. It only took over 7 to 8 days for the Ministry to intervene. By then, the phase of issuing of identity documents ward by ward was almost over. So, in those areas where phase one of voter registration is being implemented, people did not get an opportunity to get identity documents and birth certificates for free because that process had started with some kind of payment of money. Right now as we speak, phase one voter registration is coming to its conclusion and it is ending next week on Thursday, and people do not have identity documents and because of that they are failing to register.
People on the ground want to know what Government is going to do to ensure that those people who fail to get free identity documents and who as a result of that failed to register to vote can get an opportunity to register. We cannot talk of the static centres because going to a static centre, it is about $10 to $15 one way and then getting the identity document again will be around $10 and people in the rural areas do not have that kind of money. What is Government going to do to ensure that every Zimbabwean enjoys that right to register as a voter?
That is the clarity that we want from the Hon. Minister.
*HON. MUKWANGWARIWA: Hon. Speaker, we should take it seriously when Parliament arranges for ZEC to come. The ZEC Chairperson, Justice Makarau came to this august House to address Hon. Members, and she was here for four hours. All the questions that are being raised here should have been raised at that forum. It was mentioned that in areas where there are such challenges, they should report to ZEC so that they can go back, not for us to continue asking questions relating to the operations of BVR and ZEC – [HON.
MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order please. I think the Hon.
Minister in his response, had alluded to the fact that there will be a redeployment if it is necessary. What else do you want? That was quite clear when he answered.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Hon. Speaker, mine was a point of
clarity, it was not a point of order or a supplementary, it was - [AN HON. MEMBER: Ipaiwo madzimai mukana, hapana mudzimai aita supplementary.] –
HON. D. SIBANDA: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir. My point of order is to remind the Hon. Member – I do not remember from which constituency because I have never heard him participate. The ruling comes from the Speaker only and not from another Hon. Member. THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: That is alright, point taken.
*HON. MAJAYA: I had a very important issue. I am concerned because no female Hon. Member has been given an opportunity to raise their concerns.
Hon. Chimanikire having been speaking at the top of his voice.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Chimanikire, please –
[HON. CHIMANIKIRE: Uyu arikundidenha munhu weZANU PF.] - No,
no, when I call for order, please respect the Chair.
*HON. MAJAYA: I was saying, you said the supplementary questions are enough, I thought they were supposed to be four.
ACCESSIBILITY OF REGISTRATION OFFICES TO THE
VULNERABLE PEOPLE
- HON. CHIRISA asked he Minister of Justice, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs to inform the House what measures the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has taken to ensure accessibility of registration offices to elderly persons and persons with disabilities; and to further state the registration procedures for people who are visually impaired or have no limbs or fingers.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN.
BONYONGWE): With regards to this question, ZEC embarked on a nationwide voter registration blitz from 14 September, 2017, with an initial 63 static registration centres and 9 819 mobile registration centres throughout the country. These voter registration centres are located closer to the people and are also accessible to the elderly and people with disabilities.
I must underscore that ZEC is giving priority to the elderly and people with disabilities in order to ensure that they are served or assisted first such that they do not spend too much time queuing for registration. The registration procedures for people who are visually impaired are similar to those of persons without such impairment.
However, where a registrant has no limbs or fingers, the system has been designed to move on to the next registration step of capturing the registrant’s facial features. A record will be made in the kit explaining why the fingerprints of the registrant were not captured.
Therefore, the points which you raised are being taken care of Hon.
Member.
HON. MAJAYA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. There are citizens with identification certificates written ‘alien.’ These have not been rectified, when will they have an opportunity to register because at the centres, they are being turned back because of that reason?
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: This is not a supplementary
question but I have just given you the opportunity because you raised a point of order.
HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN. BONYONGWE: In fact, it is one of the
questions which arise later and I am going to address it. Thank you.
ROLE OF THE POLICE DURING THE VOTER REGISTRATION
EXERCISE
- HON. CHIRISA asked the Minister of Justice, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs to inform the House:-
- the role of the Police during voter registration exercises and to clearly state whether there would be no conflict of interest if police are engaged in voter registration;
- whether it would be possible for police to respect the limit in their roles in the maintenance of law and order and to further state whether this would be observed during elections.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN.
BONYONGWE): Mr. Speaker Sir, Hon. Chirisa would like to know the role of the police during voter registration and whether there will be no conflict of interest if police are engaged in voter registration…
HON. NDUNA: Sorry Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. According to the Standing Rules and Orders, a Member is only allowed about four questions to a Minister. I see that on this Order Paper, there is more than four. Hon. Speaker, we are all creatures of the Constitution and our rule of thumb in this august House is guided by what is enshrined in the Standing Rules and Orders. That is our ‘bible,’ without which we are at sea and we would not have any direction. The issue of progress is not all about speed and expediency; it is about direction, which direction we are given by our ‘bible’ Mr. Speaker Sir. That is my point of order and I seek your response.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: You are spot on but you
missed out the point somehow. If you look closely at your Order Paper, there are those questions with a star, that means she would ask those questions but those without a star, the Minister will just hand on his response.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Mr. Speaker, I am glad that I have provoked that response; otherwise we were going to go all through Mr.
Speaker.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: It is all in order Hon. Member.
HON. MLISWA: Mr. Speaker, these issues of voter registration are important and I see that after the cameras left, we are not enough.
According to Standing Order Number 56, pursuant to the provisions, the quorum is not enough. Members of Parliament must discharge their duties professionally and not be here for television. The aspect of ZEC is important as Members of Parliament. As such, the quorum is not enough and I would like you to be guided by that. Thank you.
[Bells rung.]
[Quorum formed].
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, Hon. Members, I am
very disappointed. Every Wednesday, Hon. Gonese in particular and Hon. Chamisa, you come in and complain that Ministers are not here to answer questions. Today the full bench of Ministers is here and you find that most of the Hon. Members are not in the chambers including yourselves; you have just come in because bells have been rung. So, this is not fair on the part of the Ministers. We should equally respect the
House both sides, Ministers and Members of Parliament equally.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN.
BONYONGWE): Hon. Chirisa…
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order! Hon. Members to
my right, if you have not yet finished your discussions, may you walk out to the lobby please. We need silence here, we need to hear what the
Minister is saying – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]- Order, I am talking and you are talking again.
HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN. BONYONGWE: Mr. Speaker, the role
of the police is to provide security to ZEC as well as to maintain law and order at the registration centres so that all citizens freely exercise their right to register as voters. It must be noted that no police officer is appointed as a registration officer nor are they operatives in the registration process.
Section 10, of the Electoral Act gives ZEC guidelines as to who can be recruited as electoral officers and the Section expressly excludes
Members of the disciplined forces from that category.
Mr. Speaker Sir, with regards to the second part of that question which relates to the role of the police as outlined in Section 55 Sub Section 7, paragraph A of the Electoral Act, may I reiterate that the police officers have the sole function of maintaining law and order.
Thank you.
HON. MAJOME: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, I thank the Hon.
Minister for the response and may I also just take the opportunity to also congratulate him for being appointed as Minister. I had the priviledge of being at the University of Zimbabwe at the same time as him in the law faculty in the 1990’s.
My question to him therefore is, I thank him for the answer and we would want to know if the Hon. Minister will take measures to ensure in the same spirit that at election time, that those who require to be assisted to vote will also enjoy their right to vote freely without undue interference and undue pressure from police officers and others who have power so that they may freely choose whoever it is that they would want to choose.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: I am sure Hon. Majome the
Minister has already spoken about it and maybe you have a reason to say that but that has been overtaken by events.
HON. MLISWA: Mr. Speaker Sir, there is a recommendation from the Human Rights Commission that the police must undergo some training before elections. I want to know from the Minister whether the police have undergone training before the election. It is a very strong point which they recommended in their report that they must undergo training before election so that they are quite familiar with a lot of things and so forth. Has that been taken on board?
HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN. BONYONGWE: Well, Mr. Speaker
Sir, that question would appropriately be addressed by the Ministry of Home Affairs in my view.
HON. MLISWA: On a point of clarification! It is to do with elections and the Human Rights Commission report was very clear that when we are approaching elections, police officers must undergo training. Elections fall under the Ministry of Justice; they do not fall under the Ministry of Home Affairs. So as such, it is incumbent upon that Ministry to ensure that that recommendation is taken on board. Have they undergone the training under elections because the police do not run the elections in this country? It is under the Ministry of Justice through ZEC.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: I am sure the Minister was
correct to say that the Ministry of Home Affairs will look into that –
[HON. MLISWA: Inaudible interjection.] -
He has answered you. He said the Ministry of Home Affairs will look into that.
HON. MLISWA: I think this must be very clear. ZEC is under the Ministry of Justice. ZEC is responsible for running elections in this country. As such, anybody who falls under them is ZEC and it is ZEC that hires the police. It is not for the police to train. The police do not run elections. Home Affairs does not run elections. It is the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs that runs elections. As such, it is only proper that the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs that runs elections – because it is the role of the Ministry of
Justice; ZEC to ensure that there are free, fair and credible elections. This is ZEC. The police have nothing to do with the elections being free, fair and credible. I think we must be clear on that – [HON.
MUTSEYAMI: Inaudible interjection.] -
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon Mutseyami, are you the
interpreter now? Please, let us respect this Chamber. Hon. Mliswa, the Minister is right to say that the Ministry of Home Affairs will look into that. I do not know what clarity you need. What you may do is to put it in writing to the Ministry of Home Affairs and ask if they have done the training for the police.
HON. MLISWA: With all due respect, this was a recommendation from the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission under Section 242, where they said that ZEC must train the police officers so that …
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: I hear you. Let it go that way.
The Ministry of Home Affairs will answer you on that.
HON. MLISWA: But, it is not Home Affairs that run elections. It is ZEC.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Mliswa, please.
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: I have a supplementary question. I am
just looking at this question to do with roles, particularly the role of the police. I think you have been very clear and we appreciate that clarity. When it comes to the delineation of roles, what is the role of chiefs and kraalheads particularly in terms of this process of voter registration? This is about role clarity. You have been very clear about the police as an arising. What is the role of chiefs and kraalheads?
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Is there anything to do with
chiefs on the question?
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: Yes, I am glad that I am speaking to the Hon. Minister who is an Hon. learned colleague. He appreciates that an arising question is a question that has to do with role clarity. This was the role of the police that was …
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Where is the chief and kraal head?
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: You do not need to see the chief. You need to see the role clarity Hon. Speaker – [HON. MEMBERS:
Inaudible interjections.] – Unless if you just want to protect the
Minister, but the Minister is very clear and is ready to answer –
[Laughter.] -
FACILITATION OF EASE OF REGISTRATION OF ZIMBABWEAN
CITIZENS BY ZEC
- HON. CHIRISA asked the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs to inform the House how ZEC can facilitate the ease of registration of citizens of Zimbabwe, formerly deemed aliens as per the provisions of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. RTD MAJ. GEN.
BONYONGWE): Mr. Speaker Sir, ZEC does not confer or deny citizenship as this is done by the office of the Registrar-General of Citizens. However, ZEC advises all persons who, before the promulgation of the 2013 Constitution, were issued with identity documents describing them as “aliens” to forthwith proceed to the offices of the Registrar-General to have their citizenship regularised and confirmed. ZEC will not, on the under-going biometric voter registration exercise, register any person whose citizenship is not confirmed by the national identity or other identity document lawfully issued by the Registrar General.
Hon. Nduna having stood up to ask a supplementary question.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Nduna, I am not
recognising you. I was going to make a comment on your earlier question. The Hon. Minister will submit question numbers 15 to 18 without reading them. May you submit to the front desk?
HON. NDUNA: Mr. Speaker, I still have a supplementary question on question number 14.
HON. CHIRISA: I would like to find out whether the Minister has with him the answers for these other questions.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Yes.
HON. CHIRISA: Are you sure?
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: I am positive. That is why I
said he should submit the questions to the front desk.
HON. NDUNA: I heard clearly the Minister saying that he advises that members of the community who have had their citizenship revoked before the 2013 Constitution to go and have – he advises. He just goes as far as advising but my arising question to him as the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs is; there was a proclamation – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, this is quite a pertinent question for us who have got constituencies.
HON. NDUNA: There was a proclamation Mr. Speaker that said if a person has got an identity card written ‘alien’ but have a parent who was born to a Zimbabwean who is married to somebody who is exotic or external, they can have their alienship revoked and have citizenship.
Will he let the Constitution and the justice delivery system be assassinated in that manner in that in Section 38 (2), it clearly says; anyone who has been born in Zimbabwe and has been resident for ten years can become a citizen. Would he not go further than just advising and also informing the Minister of Home Affairs that they have assassinated the Constitution? They need to align their statements to the Constitution.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Nduna, you had a very
important question but you are messing it up now.
HON. NDUNA: I need to hear your advice Mr. Speaker.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: I am saying you had a very
important question when you started elaborating but at the end, you seem to be mixing it now.
HON. NDUNA: Mr. Speaker, I ask that he disregards the tail end and concentrates on trying to get the citizenship according to Section 38
(2) of the Constitution.
Hon. Adv. Chamisa having stood up.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Your time will come Hon.
Chamisa. not now.
HON. RTD. MAJ. GEN. BONYONGWE: The question which
the Hon. Member is raising really goes to the heart of the citizenship debate. I would advise the member to put his question in writing and submit it to the Ministry of Home Affairs for the attention of the
Registrar-General.
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: Hon. Speaker, my intervention has to
do with your directive that you gave as regards questions 15 to 18. They are so important to the extent that it would have been very beneficial and quite profitable for the questions to be pronounced to the Members of Parliament because we also have issues arising out of that. I know you may say that we need to read the Hansard, I am very conscious of Rule Number 64 (7) which speaks to that. It does not necessarily proscribe when we make a request, the availing of that opportunity through you
Speaker that we may ask for those questions to be given orally.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Are you talking about the
question that has been handed over?
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: Yes, I was specifically requesting
because they are very important; they are of national importance. May they be read by the Hon. Minister if that is okay with the Hon. Minister?
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: The regulation does not allow
you but all the same Hon. Chamisa, you have been in Parliament for quite some time. You are quite a senior person in this. Every Member is free to go through the Hansard. If you have got questions to ask, you can still come back and raise questions from the Hansard.
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I was just
saying it does not necessarily prohibit upon request the granting of that in terms of the rules. So, I was helping the Speaker to interpret.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: The Speaker is saying, not for
today but another time I will consider that.
HON. ADV. CHAMISA: Well, I am in your hands Hon. Speaker.
Thank you.
WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE
OVERSIGHT ROLE OF LOCAL, REGIONAL AND
INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS
- HON. CHIRISA asked the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs to inform the House on the role of local, regional and international observers and election agents as provided by Statutory Instrument (S.I.) 85 of 2017.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. RTD MAJ. GEN.
BONYONGWE): Mr. Speaker Sir, let me at the outset correct Hon. Chirisa by highlighting that Statutory Instrument 85 of 2017 provides only for the registration of voters and not the accreditation of observers or role of observers. This is provided for elsewhere under Part IXB of the Electoral Act.
However, ZEC has called for applications from all prospective observers to apply for accreditation as per the provisions of the law. The role of observers is to observe and bring to the attention of the Commission any irregularities they may observe. Observers should not interfere with the process in any way.
USE OF INFORMATION FROM VOTER REGISTERS FOR
CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES
- HON. CHIRISA asked the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs to explain to the House whether or not information obtained from voter registers by members of the public during inspection may not be used for campaign activities of political parties or police investigations, commercial or other purposes.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. RTD MAJ. GEN.
BONYONGWE): Hon. Chirisa’s concern is noted. However, the law
provides in Section 21 (9) (b) of the Electoral Act that the Voters Roll shall not be used for any commercial or other purposes unconnected to an election. It is thus a criminal offence punishable with a fine not exceeding level ten or imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years or both such fine and imprisonment for one to use the Voters Roll for purposes unconnected with an election.
ZEC ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSES WHEN COMPILING VOTER
REGISTERS
- HON. CHIRISA asked the Minister of Justice, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs to explain to the House:
- what the ZEC administrative processes when compiling voter’s registers and the measures put in place to ensure the accuracy of the
Voters Roll;
- whether ZEC cleaning processes and compilation are open for stakeholder scrutiny in view of the fact that regulations are not clear when it comes to the involvement of citizen observers, political parties and the media where issues of transparency need to be enhanced during compilation of the Voters Roll;
- whether ZEC can facilitate the process of registration of citizens of Zimbabwe in cases of involving those formerly deemed aliens;
- whether ZEC acceptance of former ‘aliens’ to register is in
accordance with the Constitution of Zimbabwe which already recognises such people as citizens.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. RTD MAJ. GEN.
BONYONGWE): Allow me Mr. Speaker Sir, to briefly outline the administrative processes as follows:
- Firstly, there is the registration and allocation of voters to specific polling stations as done at various registration centres (both static and mobile).
- Secondly, a consolidation of data at national level is carried out.
- Thirdly, is the duplication and cleaning of the Roll (this procedure entails verifying whether a registrant is not registered more than once).
- Fourthly, production of a provisional Voters Roll is done.
- Fifthly, is the inspection of the Voters Roll.
- The sixth step is the compilation of corrections (effecting of corrections or eradication of errors following the inspection of the
Voters’ Roll.
- and lastly, is the continuous voter registration.
The Voters Roll will be closed for purposes of an election 12 days after the sitting of the nomination court as per the provisions of the law.
As regards to the second part of the question which relates to the need to ensure accuracy to the process, let me highlight the following measures which are undertaken; the use of the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS). This system deletes any duplication of a fingerprint, in other words, as soon as the system reads an identical fingerprint, it deletes it. This is positive in light of the fact that no two individuals no matter how closely related can share the same fingerprint.
Everyone has their own peculiar identity in the pattern of their fingerprint. Another measure is to ensure the removal from the roll on disqualification caused by death or absence of the individual as per the provisions of Section 33 of the Electoral Act.
Lastly, general inspection of the Voters Roll by stakeholders will assist ZEC to ensure accuracy of the same.
On whether ZEC’s cleaning processes and compilation are open for stakeholder scrutiny – let me underscore that all front end processes which include registration of voters and inspection processes are open to stakeholders’ scrutiny. However, for security reasons, all back-end
processes will not be open to scrutiny.
On whether ZEC can facilitate the process of registration of citizens of Zimbabwe in cases of involving those formerly deemed aliens and if ZEC will to register former aliens in accordance with the Constitution of Zimbabwe; with regards to the issue of aliens, I have already addressed this in my earlier response. I will reiterate by saying that ZEC does not confer or deny citizenship as this is done by the office of the Registrar-General of Citizens.
However, ZEC advises all persons who, before the promulgation of the 2013 Constitution were issued with identity documents describing them as “aliens” to forthwith proceed to the offices of the RegistrarGeneral to have their citizenship regularised and confirmed. ZEC will not, on the dates of the biometric voter registration exercise, register any person whose citizenship is not confirmed by the national identification or other identity document lawfully issued by the Registrar-General.
INVOLVEMENT OF LOCAL, REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL
OBSERVERS AS AGENTS IN ZEC ELECTORAL PROCESSES
- HON. CHIRISA asked the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs to inform the House whether or not local, regional and international observers and election agents can be involved as agents in ZEC electoral processes.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. RTD MAJ. GEN.
BONYONGWE): Mr. Speaker Sir, concerning this issue, a distinction should be made between observers and election agents. Observers represent their organisations either locally, regionally or internationally. Agents on the other hand represent political parties and candidates during an election. Observers may apply to the Commission to be accredited as such upon payment of a prescribed fee.
Election agents on the other hand are appointed by their political parties and/or candidates to represent the party/candidate at the polling stations. There is no requirement for the payment of accreditation fees for this category of persons. I will hasten to remind the Hon. Member that we are currently not in an election period, hence there will not be an election agent for the registration process but only observers. I thank you.
Questions With Notice were interrupted by THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER in terms of Standing Order Number 64.
HON. MARIDADI: Mr. Speaker Sir, I think it is in order that I would like to proffer my thanks to the newly appointed Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, that he has shown a lot diligence in the way that he has handled the questions. I would like to congratulate the Minister that he has actually shown a lot of diligence. Thank you so much in the way that you have answered questions. I wish if your colleagues could take a leaf from you. Thank you.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (RTD. MAJ. GEN.
BONYONGWE), the House adjourned at Twelve Minutes to Five o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 5th October, 2017
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE
SENATE
INVITATION TO ATTEND AN URGENT MEETING OF THE
ZIMBABWE WOMEN’S PARLIAMENTARY CAUCUS MEETING
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: I have to inform
the Senate that all members of the Zimbabwe Women’s Parliamentary Caucus are invited to attend an urgent meeting on Tuesday, 10th
October, 2017, at 12 noon in the Senate Chamber. The meeting is to discuss the women’s manifesto - [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.]
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
*HON. SEN. NCUBE: My question is directed to the Deputy
Minister of Home Affairs, Hon. Mguni. I want to find if a circular which states that children born outside the country should not pay to get birth certificates has been distributed to all responsible authorities.
People are being requested to pay US$50 dollars. I thank you.
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS (HON.
MGUNI): Thank you Madam President, it is true that the circular from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development left out a waiver that those born outside the country should not pay. In fact, there are two things that are not paid for, issuing of birth certificates for a children, death certificates and Identification Cards (IDs). It left out those born outside the country that they should be issued without paying a fee, but if one of the parents is here and the other one is outside, they should be issued with birth certificates for free. This waiver should come from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and distributed to all offices. I thank you.
HON. SEN. TIMVEOS: My question is directed to the Hon. Minister of Defence. I have just seen a circular on WhatsApp that has been written by the Zimbabwean Army that says we are worried about the escalating tension between the Ruling Party and the Opposition and they will not be allowing any demonstrations until further notice. Is this true? Are we having problems in this country, do we have something going on, are we in a state of emergency or what is going on. Is this real but the message has the Zimbabwean Army logo.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: I want to urge
Hon. Senators to stick to the rules and ask questions that are related to Ministries’ policies and not what we come across in newspapers or whatever. Having ruled that, may be the Minister would like to respond to the question but let us observe our Standing Rules and Regulations.
THE MINISTER OF DEFENCE (HON. SEN. DR.
SEKERAMAYI): Madam President and all Hon. Senators, the Zimbabwe National Army and in fact the Zimbabwe Defence Forces have got official spokespersons and when a statement has been issued by an official spokesperson, I am then able to reply to that but I cannot be expected to reply to statements made by those who are not official spokespersons of the Defence Forces.
I also want to say, let us be very careful about what is written on Facebook and other social media. There are people and organisations who would be quite happy, who would want to celebrate if there is turmoil in this country. They spread this and that rumour to get the population agitated; to get the people in a state of uncertainty about their own security and the security of the country. So, we must be very, very careful about taking at face value some of the statements that are being circulated. As I have said, the Zimbabwe Defence Forces have official spokespersons and when a statement has come from the spokesperson, then you know that it is an authentic statement. Thank you.
*HON. SEN. MAKONE: My question is directed to the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs. I think that it has been two weeks now when it was said that people who were known as aliens can now go to get IDs close to where they reside. But, when these aliens get to the district offices in the areas where they reside, they are told that they do not have a written instruction from the Minister. So, they are unable to get their IDs.
My request is that, you enlighten us on when this information will be decentralised to the districts since the registration blitz will commence on the 10th yet people do not have the necessary documents.
They are Zimbabweans and are still referred to as aliens. Thank you Madam President.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS (HON.
MGUNI): Thank you Madam President of the Senate. The alien issue is very sensitive. Firstly, if a refugee comes to Zimbabwe and stays for ten years and then has children, according to the Constitution under Section 38 (2), we have to allow that child to get citizenship yet within the African Union (AU) and within our indigenisation policy, we are still saying that we need to indicate that the person is not a Zimbabwean.
They have no equal benefit with a person who is really of Zimbabwean origin. So, there should be something showing that, that person was born by a foreign person.
Now to the people who came as miners or as farm workers, they will also work for more than ten years and have children. When they are registered, their birth certificates are written alien. It is those people who come now to probably vote during this time. So, the Act says that the person or that child must come when he reaches 18 years to denounce the origin status whether his/her parents where from Malawi. When he/she reaches 18 years, he/she approaches the Registry and say, I do not want to be a Malawian. There is a form that person completes in order to acquire the Zimbabwean citizenship. So, there is no exemption now during this process but we still need them to come and complete those forms in our Registry Office because there are a lot of check ups that are done, not only by the Ministry of Home Affairs but also by other Ministries. I thank you Madam President.
*HON. SEN. MAKONE: Hon. Minister, I am talking of
provisions that are in the Constitution of Zimbabwe. I am not talking about aliens who come in through refugee status but I am talking about someone of my age who was born in Zimbabwe and now has daughters and sons-in-law whose grand children are here in Zimbabwe. That person with the children and grandchildren are covered in the
Constitution that they are Zimbabweans. If they go to the Embassy of Malawi, they are told that they are not Malawian citizens because they are not known. They are asked about their chief who they do not know. So for that reason, they are not known in Malawi, they have nothing to renounce and they are taken as Zimbabwean citizens.
Then, we come here again and say you are Malawians, go and renounce your citizenship. Minister, we are making people stateless and it is a crime in Zimbabwe. The Government is causing statelessness of its citizens. I am talking of people who were born here and that person might be above 60 years but was born in Zimbabwe. The parents probably came through the construction of the railways for example. I have a child who was born in England, myself and the father are
Zimbabweans but just because he was born in Birmingham, he is British.
Those people that I am talking about were born in Mbare, they are Zimbabweans and have no other place that they call home. Their parents passed on long ago and if you put them on the bus to go to Malawi, they do not even know where to go. So now, if you ask them to come and renounce something that they do not have, you are causing statelessness and it is contrary to the Constitution. So, do you want us to be found wanting that we are not acknowledging our citizens?
*THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: Hon. Senator,
you did not pose a question but you gave a statement.
*HON. SEN. MAKONE: My apologies Madam President. My
question is, we have people who were born and have grown old here in Zimbabwe. They have never left or gone out of Zimbabwe to go to other countries like Malawi, Zambia or Mozambique. They know one country Zimbabwe, one flag and one President – what are we going to do about those people because the Constitution says that they are
Zimbabweans? That is my question Madam President of the Senate.
HON. MGUNI: Thank you Madam President of the Senate. I
think that is what I illustrated by saying, the children that are born in Zimbabwe will be Zimbabweans, but there will be an indication to show that they are from the foreign parents by the word ‘alien’. I said that person is allowed when he/she reaches 18 years of age to approach our office to become a full Zimbabwean citizen but there are processes that need to be followed. It cannot be used on this system of 90 days because they have to approach our Registry offices. I thank you Madam Speaker.
HON. SEN. MUTSVANGWA: Thank you Madam President.
My question is directed to the Minister of Sport and Recreation Hon. Hlongwane. I must commend the work we are seeing. There is a lot of activity happening in that Ministry and we have seen the champions of sport coming into the country. What I would want to ask is what policy the Ministry has to make sure that they identify talent from all the provinces, even the rural areas because we have seen there are children with talent there. What is the Ministry doing to ensure that they bring those children on board?
THE MINISTER OF SPORT AND RECREATION (HON.
HLONGWANE): Thank you Hon. Mutsvangwa for the question. Last year in the month of August, Cabinet adopted the National Sport and Recreation Policy which deals with, as one of its foremost priority areas, a whole issue around mass participation in sport as well as Community Sport and Recreation Development. On 2nd May 2017, Cabinet further adopted the operationalisation of that thematic area through a blueprint we call the Community Sport and Recreation Club System. Immediately thereafter the Ministry of Sport and Recreation started to implement the blueprint under the competition structure of the revised National Youth Games Strategy.
We sought this year to start the competition structure of the national youth games at the world level across the country. Members would attest to the fact that they saw quite some palpable presence of activity in the communities during the months of May, June, July into August throughout the country. Government was seeking to identify those youths that are talented in different sporting disciplines. An added advantage to that process has been that we have also tried to broaden the number of sport disciplines that are participated in, in the rural areas. We have not quite achieved that process because of resource constraints especially at the level of National Sport Associations as well as resource constraints within Government.
However, for the first time since the inception of the National Youth Games in 2001, this year in Hwange, Matabeleland North, we were able to host a National Youth Games Strategy that had 21 different sports codes. As for us, we were only one short of the 22 that are enunciated in the Sport and Recreation Club System. We think that we did very well but for the one sport discipline. Now, the competition structure of the revised National Youth Games Strategy which starts at the ward level has a very clear selection process of the talented youths.
It is a select based model starting from the ward.
When there is a competition that happens at the ward level, what comes out is a team that would have won. In order to get to the next tier of the pyramid we only accept a Select Based Model, in other words the ward must have a ward team which is made up of the best athletes drawn from various clubs. If it is football, it must be representative of the ward and so forth. That kind of structure cascades upwards to the district level, provincial level and all the way to the National Youth Games.
At the National Youth Games, I will give you examples of netball – the President of the Netball Association of Zimbabwe was there and only out of the athletes that came from various parts of the country and participated at the national games, was she able to change her entire under 20 netball team and built a new team out of new talent that came from youths across the country. The same happened for volleyball under 20. So, we think that area is being taken care of.
What is now left for us is - post national youth games, how to feed these identified athletes at national youth games into a high performance programmes to assist as far as participation in the Olympic games is concerned and also to make sure that they are kept active in some form of an academy process that then enables them to participate in elite sport. I thank you Hon. President.
HON. SEN. CHIMHINI: My question is directed to the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing. Can I be educated Minister, where does Caledonia fall, is it Mashonaland East or Harare? Secondly, when can we expect proper service delivery given that it is now a big location and the service delivery is questionable?
Thank you Hon. President.
THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC
WORKS AND NATIONAL HOUSING (HON. KASUKUWERE):
I would like to thank the Hon. Senator for a very important question. Caledonia lies in Zimbabwe but I agree with you, part of it is in Harare and the other part is in Mashonaland East, Goromonzi. It was brought into Harare through a Presidential Proclamation and this is why we have had challenges in terms of its administration. However, we are working very hard now. I visited Caledonia just a few days ago. It is a sprawling suburb with almost over 100,000 households lacking in terms of basics such as water and infrastructure.
We have asked the Urban Development Corporation to become the authority in terms of spear heading development in that particular area. So far they have worked on the 6 km road and they are going to be continuing with the works after our meeting with the residents a few days ago. However, the rest still has to be done, bridges have been built and we are concerned mainly with regards to schools and hospitals. These are very important amenities that are required to give at least all those people an opportunity to send their children to school as well as to hospitals. So far so good, we are on course and we continue to interact with the community. We are also looking at how best we can bring
Caledonia under a kind of township. I have tasked our lawyers in the
Ministry to see how best we can integrate the portions of Harare and Goromonzi and create some form of authority, area committees per-se, which can then work at least to listen to the residents from the 21 blocks that have been resettled right now. I thank you Madam President.
HON. SEN. MAVHUNGA: I would like to find out from the
Minister of Welfare Services for War Veterans, War Collaborators,
Former Political Detainees and Restrictees. The War Veterans Act Chapter 11:15 revised edition of 1996, Section 11 provides for the establishment of a War Veterans Board. The board that was established before vanished long back. When are we likely to have another War Veterans Board?
THE MINISTER OF WELFARE SERVICES FOR WAR
VETERANS, WAR COLLABORATORS, FORMER POLITICAL
DETAINEES AND RESTRICTEES (HON. DUBE): Thank you
Senator Mavhunga for your question. This question has been asked many times. As a matter of fact, it has been overtaken by the new Constitution. As you rightly said, this was first integrated in 1996, which is quite some time ago – but the new Constitution is only three years old. This issue is included in the new Constitution. We are now in the process of aligning the laws to the Constitution, which is at a very high stage. It is at the Cabinet stage now. It will soon be coming to this House for further debate, that is the issue of the board is one of the issues which are covered in this Act. So, very soon you will be able to deliberate on this.
HON. D. KHUMALO: My question goes to the Minister of Sports and Recreation. What policy do you have on children who have neither the mother nor the father but are good sportsmen, and when others are travelling they do not get to go anywhere, but they are in the teams.
THE MINISTER OF SPORT AND RECREATION (HON. HLONGWANE): Thank you Hon. Khumalo. We have developed a policy in the Ministry that we call ‘The Team Zimbabwe Selection
Policy’ and in that selection policy the central thematic area in that document is that selection of athletes across the board should be based on merit. In other words, meritocracy is at the centre of any selection.
What we have tried to do in that document is to get it to affect, not just Team Zimbabwe selection, in other words national teams but also to affect provincial, club and district team selection all down to the ward.
Now, team selection or participation by athletes, especially at the base of the pyramid is riddled with a lot of malpractice, corruption, cheating including age cheating and so forth. It is a scourge that we are busy trying to fight. It is one of the key reasons why we brought in this policy to address those matters. In instances where we get to know that an athlete has been left behind, which athlete had qualified on the basis of merit because corruption has happened, we immediately take action against the selection panel and blacklist them so that they do not participate in selection ever again in sport. I thank you.
+HON. SIBANDA: Minister, may I know since there is a programme running of command, livestock in agriculture. May we know Minister when the programme will be coming on board because people are waiting for it so that they can start working on their livestock?
THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC WORKS AND NATIONAL HOUSING (HON. KASUKUWERE) on behalf of THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE,
MECHANISATION AND IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT (HON.
- MADE): Allow me Madam President to defer this question to the Minister, otherwise I will end up responding – I am only acting for a few days. The Minister will be back and I am sure we can have patience till he comes back. I thank you.
*HON. CHIMANIKIRE: My question is directed to Hon. Minister Kasukuwere. Minister, my question is on maladministration within the Chitungwiza Town Council. Council officers are not being paid and yet the Town Clerk is abusing funds even the current Town Clerk. The former Town Clerk is said to have embezzled $60 million and yet officers are not getting salaries. What are you as a ministry doing about it and to ensure that officers get their remuneration?
* THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC WORKS AND NATIONAL HOUSING (HON. KASUKUWERE): I
would like to thank the Hon. Member for the question. It is a pertinent question. The area of Chitungwiza is giving us problems as Government. We have challenges that you mentioned that there are people who held positions and even those who are there now. There was Mr. Makunde who was in office and the challenge is that they were giving each other very high T and Ss and it was about $60 000 in a year. When we considered the matter, we suspended the council and also the officers. Right now we have a Committee that is led by Mr. Pawadyira which is looking and considering how business is being done by the council of Chitungwiza. It is true that Chitungwiza historically, has had a challenge and in terms of service delivery things were not working out well. We hope that Mr. Pawadyira will assist us in coming up with a good local government in Chitungwiza. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: My question is directed to the
Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. Minister, what is
Government’s policy in terms of schools getting swipe machines to ensure parents are able to pay school fees without facing challenges? I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
EDUCATION (HON. DR. DOKORA): I want to thank Hon. Sen.
Chimbudzi for such a pertinent question that will assist us to explain to this House that we took into concern the challenges people were facing in terms of paying fees in cash. We were facing challenges with the bursars who receipt money in schools but now each and every school should have a swipe machine. Having a swipe machine does not require one to have ZESA but as long as there is network, that is what enables one to make payment. So, we instructed that all schools should make an effort to get swipe machines. We also had discussions with the Reserve Bank and the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Hon. Chinamasa and we agreed that we will be able to get these machines in batches and these will be distributed in schools to ensure that parents are able to pay their fees. It also makes it easier for us as a Ministry because when we plan on expenditures, that money will be coming from the accounts. I thank you.
HON. SEN. MAKORE: My question is directed to the Minister
of Home Affairs in relation to birth certificates. Often, it is a problem that single mothers and single fathers sometimes put the task for providing what we call evidence. Some are asked to go and look for their former husbands or look for other parents and some are already grand mothers who are in charge of those children. What would you advise as a correct or exact method that could be used to sort of simplify this difficult task that is being experienced by parents who are single?
Thank you very much.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS (HON.
MGUNI): Thank you Hon. Madam President of the Senate. The policy is that the mother with birth records and the mother with correct identy documents does not need any witness. That is the policy. If the mother is carrying her own birth certificate, I.D. and has got a child that is having a birth record, there is no need for any other witness. If the mother does not have all the documents and the child does not have the birth record that is where we need one relative from the mother’s side to come and witness that the child was born by the sister or the daughter.
If it is the grandmother, she is allowed as long as she comes from the mother’s side. Home Affairs does not allow the father to come with the child alone. If the father comes alone, we will beg the father to go and look for the relatives of his wife to state where you gave birth to this child. So, the father should go and consult the in-laws so that a witness comes from his in-laws. That is the policy of Home Affairs. Thank you Madam President.
+HON. SEN. NCUBE: Thank you Madam President. We hear
him and he is talking about the birth record but there are people without birth records who were born at home. They were not born in the hospital. The birth record is issued from the hospitals but those people are old and mature. They are now over 50 years and they do not have birth certificates. What is done with such people? I thank you.
THE HON. MGUNI: Thank you Madam President. She is talking about a rural set up where birth can be given outside the hospital. We can use two alternatives, for example, the village head of that area can be used as a witness by stamping a letter or an affidavit testifying that the man or the woman was born outside the hospital. We also have health village workers that we use who help those mothers at home to give birth, they can be witnesses. Thank you Madam President.
HON. SEN. MUTSVANGWA: Thank you Madam President. My
question is directed to the Minister of Education Hon. Dr. Dokora. We were quite enlightened and happy to know that the Ministry is now going to bring back some of the teachers who were trained and never got jobs. What is the policy? Are they taking those who qualified earlier or are they just taking randomly? What is the policy because this is what we keep on being questioned everywhere we go? How are the teachers engaged?
THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. DR. DOKORA): Thank you Madam President
and I thank the Hon. Senator for asking that question. I must start by indicating that I did speak on the floor of this House early in the year when we indicated that we require a minimum of 7 000 teachers just to enable me to hold the system in a manner that enables kids to get benefit out of the learning experiences. Sometime in April, conversations between the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and the employer Ministry through the Public Service Commission led to the granting of authority to recruit 2 300 teachers. So, the process has been under way and by the beginning of August or mid-August, the process had been concluded by my Ministry working in collaboration with the employer Commission, the Public Service.
Two thousand three hundred teachers were recruited in terms of their specialisation. You will recall that we have defined areas of learning to say did the teacher study mathematics as the main area of study, what is called in the colleges as the curriculum depth study or the main subject or where they did the area of study that they carried out research in. So, was it mathematics, science, RME for religious education or was it any of these disciplines? It is on the basis of these disciplines that they were recruited but their distribution was also controlled by another factor. Remember I want 7 000 but the first installment is that of 2 300.
So, we have to group the schools into what are called clusters and we say in each cluster, we must at least recruit one or two mathematics majors, science and tech-voc major, just to enable those four or five that are deployed to the group of ten to be the nucleus of assisting the other teachers to manage in that cluster. So, we distribute the 2 300 in those terms, of course there is still a gap. I am expecting 4 600 but on the market, there is more than 19 000 qualified teachers. So, what the secretariat of my Ministry was doing was to say, let us start with those that graduated in 2013 – can we pick up any of the teachers there. If we do not find the maths graduates or we have exhausted the maths graduates, the science graduates and language graduates, then we go to 2014, to 2015 and up to the most recent graduants. The truth of the matter of course is that, the authorised recruitment falls far short of what I need and the market still has an oversupply of teachers who are still awaiting recruitment. Thank you.
*HON. SENATOR BUKA: Thank you Madam President of the
Senate. My question is directed to the Hon. Minister of Local
Government, Public Works and National Housing, Hon. Kasukuwere.
What measures have you put in place to assist the Harare City
Council to enable them to keep our City clean? As we are move around the City, we find heaps and heaps of garbage and with the rainy season approaching, we are likely to face challenges. Thank you Madam President.
*THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC
WORKS AND NATIONAL HOUSING (HON. KASUKUWERE):
Thank you Madam President and I want to thank Hon. Sen. Buka for the question which is about looking at the service delivery in Harare.
Yes, I agree that there are quite a number of challenges that are affecting the residents of Harare. With your indulgence Madam President, firstly, it is an issue that we have kept within the City centre where commuter omnibuses were supposed to operate. All the informal traders selling different wares are now within the CBD. So we sat down with the Council and advised them to ensure that they set up areas for different commuters, for example those going to Beitbridge.
So, they should find conducive areas to build market stalls for people going to different areas such as Beitbridge or Mashonaland West,
Mashonaland Central and all the different areas in order to decongest the CBD. Secondly, we need to deal with the rampant behaviour of the kombi drivers and touts. So, areas such as Fourth Street, Copacabana and Market Square, those are areas that are congested and if you go maybe a kilometer or two from those areas. Even vehicles cannot freely move because of the congestion.
So, we want the commuter omnibuses to operate from outside the CBDs and we have advised our Council here in Harare to look for taxes with meters and are known that if a person accidentally loses his money, the taxi driver can be easily followed up. Those are the measures that we have engaged because without such measures, it causes a lot of confusion and also a lot of dirt and garbage. So, the City of Harare has managed to get lorries in order to dispose garbage.
We are going to give them $100 million for them to construct and address some of the areas that need decongestion. I think it is an issue that if we work together, we will bring cleanliness into the city. Along First Street, a person comes to sell tomatoes – we know that there are economic hardships but for you to bring a box of tomatoes and put your stall along First Street, that should not be the case at all. Even selling offals within First Street, that is not what we want. We want to keep our city clean and that is what we are doing Madam President. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHABUKA: Thank you Madam President. I think my question has been answered by the Minister. What I am now saying is a request – Minister we thank you for what you have done with the council by taking buses to Coca-cola for those who will be going to Manicaland. But, my issue is that you need to look into the issue of shelters because we are nearing the rainy season and also you should ensure that there is security because there is a lot of violence that is taking place. People are being murdered and raped: I think you know what the Coca-cola area is like. So, it is a request that I am putting across to you Minister.
*THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: Thank you for
your statement.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF MUSARURWA: Thank you Madam
President. My question is directed to the Acting Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Hon. Kasukuwere. We want to find out …..
*THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: Hon. Chief
Musarurwa, you heard him say that he is Acting Minister of Agriculture,
Mechanisation and Irrigation Development for a few days and that the Minister will come back but you are continuing posing questions to him when he said that he cannot respond to some of these questions. So, I think you can ask other questions because he cannot respond to questions on agriculture.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF MUSARURWA: Thank you Madam
President, I withdraw my question.
*THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: Thank you for
your understanding Hon. Chief Musarurwa.
*HON. SEN. MACHINGAIFA: Thank you Madam President,
how are you today? My question is directed to the Minister of Sport and Recreation Hon. Hlongwane. My question is each and every day, radio stations are broadcasting on soccer from outside the country and also most stores are selling clothes of soccer stars from outside the country. Within our country, is there anything that is assisting our nation in terms of sport from such behaviours?
*THE MINISTER OF SPORT AND RECREATION (HON.
HLONGWANE): I did not understand the question. I understood what he explained but I did not understand the question and how it relates to his explanation.
*HON. SEN. MACHINGAIFA: Hon. Minister, my question is,
the way that they broadcast and promote soccer teams from outside the country and also selling clothes of soccer players outside the nation. My question is, are the radio stations getting something from this publicity that they are making for foreign soccer stars? Thank you Madam President of the Senate.
*HON. HLONGWANE: Thank you Madam President of the
Senate. Firstly, the issue of reporting of sport, we did a survey last year and looked at how our sport was being reported. What you have said
Hon. Senator is very true. When journalists report, they say very little about local sport and they jump over to English sport. What we also discovered is that locally, what they call sport is football. So, if the
President of Chess comes they highlight the match between CAPS and other teams. Therefore, we need to address that issue of sport reporting. We are going to have a workshop as a Ministry to look into the issues that you have mentioned.
Secondly, you also wanted to find out if it was beneficial to the sport here in Zimbabwe - looking at those who sell replica jerseys of soccer stars outside the country. Currently, there is no benefit. People who have shops and who sell those jerseys work and operate under the legislation of the country. We are in the process of looking into how we can come up with a fund to support our sport. We are looking at ways the sport betting companies can contribute towards sport. That is what is done in Kenya. The State gets 50 cents on every dollar bet placed. We however do not see ourselves getting to such an extent but we also hope that with the establishment of this fund, the issue of selling replica jerseys from other countries is an opportunity for us as a Ministry. Our Ministry does not have any income generating services, so we are hoping to do that. Thank you for your question.
HON. SENATOR MOHADI: Madam President, I move that the
time for Questions Without Notice be extended by 15 minutes.
HON. SEN. GOTO: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
HON. SEN. CHIEF NYANGAZONKE: My question is directed
to the Minister of Local Government. As a Ministry, how do you protect the communal farmers, whereas we take note that most of their animals are being sold as stray animals whilst they have ear tags and have been branded? In most cases, our rural folks do not have access to information be it newspapers or radios. Thank you.
THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC
WORKS AND NATIONAL HOUSING (HON. KASUKUWERE):
Thank you Madam President. I want to thank the esteemed Senator for his question. Your question will be best answered by my colleague, Minister Ncube who is in charge of rural development.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: My question is to the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs. Minister, my question pertains to people who were born outside the country and have birth records. These are mainly people in South Africa. When they come here for registration at the moment, it seems as though it is a problem and is being said that there is an amount which is supposed to be paid. Can you just clarify that issue so that people who were born in South Africa can be assisted?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS (HON.
MGUNI): Most of our people especially in Matabeleland South and Bulawayo province work in South Africa or Botswana. So, they send their children back home to the grandmothers with birth records. When they are now going to get birth-certificates – remember the policy that I explained, we need the mother and the child to be present to register. In this instance, it will be the grandmother without the mother. In most cases, these children are not brought through the border post because they do not have passports. According to the United Nations law, we are not allowed to register people whom we are not sure are Zimbabwean nationals otherwise the country can fall into a black zone from the
United Nations. Therefore, we need the mother to come back from South Africa or Botswana to witness that the child is theirs. The names on the card should also correspond with the mother’s name because some of the parents change their names when they reach those countries.
One becomes John Maluleke yet here he is known as Willie Musarurwa. It becomes a problem now to register that child because the card is saying John Maluluke but they want to use Musarurwa when they are in Zimbabwe. So, automatically there are discrepancies there and what we are doing now as I stand here today, is that we have written a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to allow Home Affairs to send its teams to go and register those people who are there. They must be allowed to complete birth registration for their children who are this side so that we bring those files and help those children. The cases in Matabeleland South are that half of the schools do not have birth-certificates. I thank you Madam President.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE
PAYMENT OF TAXES BY CO-OPERATIVES
- HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI asked the Minister of Small and
Medium Enterprises to inform the House:-
- whether or not members of co-operatives pay taxes to the fiscus
- whether co-operative businesses are insured
THE MINISTER OF SMALL AND MEDIUM
ENTERPRISES (HON. NYONI): I want to thank the Hon. Senator for asking the question on cooperatives. A cooperative is an association of natural persons with a common bond, interest who have voluntarily joined together to achieve a common end through the formation of a democratically controlled organisation, making equitable contributions to the capital required and accepting a fair share of the risk and benefits of the undertaking in which the members actively participate.
A cooperative is a form of business which is member based and
member driven and they are paying taxes in different and various forms which include PAYE for its employees, VAT, custom duty when importing goods and services and so on. Cooperatives also pay a statutory contribution which is 5% of its surplus raised from their operations annually to the Government through the Central Cooperatives Fund as stipulated in the Cooperatives Societies Act Chapter 24 (5), meaning if they failed to yield surplus during their financial year they have nothing to pay.
The question Mr. President, is about whether cooperative businesses are insured? Cooperatives are independent and autonomous entities whose supreme decision making body is vexed in the general membership. It is their responsibility to make decisions that enhance and promote members’ interests which include insurance and any other such benefits for their members. My Ministry only has the function of raising the level of general and technical knowledge of members and staff of societies through training, supply of any information they may need and educational materials that we provide for them. Having said that Mr.
President Sir, there are some cooperative businesses which are insured especially those in transport, manufacturing and agriculture. I thank you.
Questions with Notice were interrupted by THE TEMPORARY
PRESIDENT in terms of Standing Order No. 62.
MOTION
CODE OF CONDUCT AND ETHICS AND IMPLEMENTATION
REGISTER
First Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Code of
Conduct and Ethics.
Question again proposed.
THE MINISTER OF SMALL AND MEDIUM
ENTERPRISES AND CO-OPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT (HON.
NYONI): I move that the debate do now adjourn.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 10th October, 2017.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON PEACE
AND SECURITY ON THE PREPAREDNESS OF THE GRAIN MARKETING BOARD TO HANDLE THE 2016/2017 CROP
DELIVERIES AND THE SUCCESS OF THE COMMAND
AGRICULTURE PROGRAMME
Second Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the First
Report of the Thematic Committee on Peace and Security on the
Preparedness of the Grain Marketing Board to handle the 2016/2017
Crop Deliveries and the Success of the Command Agriculture Programme.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MUSAKA: I wish to thank the Chairman of the
Thematic Committee on Peace and Security, Hon. Mumvuri and the seconder of the motion. Indeed Mr. President, the trip was taken to do the job, to see whether all was complied with and well and good. Indeed, it was found out that it was all well and good. This issue was debated at length. Many Hon. Members who went on the trip indicated that all that was supposed to be done was done. Of course, more could be done and it could be better but members were all satisfied with what has taken place.
Mr. President, the silos are full. The depots are not full which makes it very clear – there is a difference that there is no space to put the grain; it is not well understood. The depots are still receiving. I think the strategy here Mr. President, the day the depots are full - I think those who understand economics; the system of offloading starts, that is when we start exporting but we are not yet there. It needs to be made very clear that there are some mathematical calculations which are made that you reach a certain optimum to a maximum of three years in reserve then you start offloading.
However, what I said in my other speech Mr. President, I think I used the military language, that you needed the charismatic generals to command. Indeed, I think the charismatic general was found maybe in the name of the Vice President. He did a commendable job. He has done very well and that is what we need – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –
Again, we want to make it clear and point out that those commanding certain sectors who cannot perform should be recalled back to commanding headquarters then reassigned and given less demanding jobs. So far, as far as Command Agriculture is concerned - brilliant staff and that is where we are; we should continue that way. There are also plans to go to command cattle and sheep as you all know. I for one Mr. President, am confident with that particular general commanding the situation; we will succeed.
Mr. President, there was an honourable member of this House who raised concern about Command Agriculture, that in certain areas in our country Command Agriculture, disadvantaged people and/or societies. Mr. President, this was never the idea or aim of command agriculture to disadvantage any member of the Zimbabwean society. I call upon the Chairman of the Thematic Committee on Peace and Security to ensure that the issue is investigated and thoroughly dealt with. Command Agriculture was never intended to disadvantage anybody. With these few words, I thank you Mr. President.
HON. SEN. RTD GEN. NYAMBUYA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN CHIEF MUSARURWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 10th October, 2017.
HON. SEN. RTG. GEN. NYAMBUYA: Mr. President, I move
that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIMHINI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 10th October, 2017.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE ZIMBABWE DELEGATION TO THE
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PROMOTING
STAKEHOLDER AND PARLIAMENTARY DIALOGUE ON THE
ARMS TRADE TREATY (ATT)
Third Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report of the
Zimbabwe delegation to the International Conference on Promoting Stakeholder and Parliamentary Dialogue on Arms Trade Treaty.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. TIMVEOS: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIMHINI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 10th October, 2017.
On the motion of HON. SEN. MOHADI, seconded by HON. SEN. CHIMHINI, the Senate adjourned at Eight Minutes to Four o’clock p.m.