PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 3rd October, 2023
(OFFICIAL REPORT)
MEETING OF PARLIAMENT
The National Assembly met pursuant to Proclamation, in the Chamber of the National Assembly.
(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)
THE HON. SPEAKER: The Clerk of Parliament will read the Proclamation by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe summoning Parliament to meet on this day.
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa;
WHEREAS it is provided by section 145 (1) of the Constitution that the First Session of Parliament after a general election must take place at a time and place determined by the President, being a date no later than thirty days after the President elect assumes office:
NOW, THEREFORE, under and by virtue of the powers vested in me as aforesaid, I do, by this my Proclamation, fix—
- the New Parliament Building, Mt Hampden, as the place in which the First Session of the Tenth Parliament of Zimbabwe shall be held;
- twelve o’clock noon on Tuesday, the 3rd October, 2023, as the time and date on which the First Session of the Tenth Parliament shall begin.
Given under my hand and the Public Seal of Zimbabwe at Harare this 27th day of September in the year of Our Lord two thousand and twenty-three, E. D. Mnangagwa, President.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. SPEAKER
OFFICIAL OPENNING OF THE 1ST SESSION OF THE 10TH PARLIAMENT
THE HON. SPEAKER: I have to inform the House that at 12 o’clock noon today, His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa will address a joint sitting of the National Assembly and Senate on the State of the Nation Address to mark the Official Opening of the First Session of the Tenth Parliament of Zimbabwe.
Business of the House was suspended at Twenty Six Minutes past Eleven o’clock a.m.
THE HON. SPEAKER left the Chair.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE and some Hon. Senators in attendance.
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH
THE HON. SPEAKER: Allow me to welcome His Excellency, the President and the First Lady, Dr. A. Mnangagwa. In terms of section 104 (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, I now invite the President and Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa to address a joint sitting of the National Assembly and Senate on the occasion to mark the Official Opening of the First Session of the Tenth Parliament. Your Excellency Sir.
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZIMBABWE, being seated in the Chair, was pleased to address the Senate and the National Assembly as follows:
Vice President, Hon. Gen. (Rtd.) Dr. C. G. D. N. Chiwenga;
Vice President, Hon. Col. (Rtd.) K. C. D. Mohadi;
Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Advocate J. F. N. Mudenda;
President of Senate, Hon. M. M. Chinomona;
Chief Justice, Hon. L. Malaba;
Honourable Ministers of Government;
President of the Chief’s Council, Chief M. Khumalo, and other Traditional Leaders here present;
Honourable Members of Parliament and the Senate;
Senior Government Officials;
Service Chiefs;
Fellow Zimbabweans here at home and in the Diaspora;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Comrades and Friends.
It is my singular honour to address this august House as we open the First Session of the Tenth Parliament of Zimbabwe. The Session comes shortly after we successfully conducted our credible, free, fair and peaceful Harmonised General Elections, in accordance with our democratic traditions and practices.
Honourable Members of Parliament, may I take this opportunity to congratulate you all for having secured the mandate to serve the people of our great motherland, Zimbabwe, in your respective constituencies for the next five years.
I challenge you to accelerate the completion of the matters outstanding from the legislative agenda of the Ninth Parliament. Much work lies ahead.
As you are aware, our economy has been on an upward trajectory, recording positive growth rates across sectors, notwithstanding the illegal sanctions imposed on us by our detractors.
The robust measures put in place by Government to enhance and guarantee agricultural productivity, including irrigation development and climate-proofing, saw us realise national food security. Zimbabwe is now wheat self-sufficient. The Second Republic has begun the drilling of 35 000 boreholes and establishing Village Agro-Business Units. This is set to consolidate national agriculture productivity and food self-sufficiency.
Our mining sector grew from US$2.8 billion in 2017 to the present US$12 billion, and is propelling socioeconomic development and growth. To enhance the participation of small-scale and artisanal miners, Government established the US$10 million Mining Industry Loan Fund, while the rolling out of more gold centres will be prioritised.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Madame President of Senate:
The Second Republic will increase resources disbursed towards the Devolution and Decentralisation Programme. Priority is being given to projects which improve access and quality of education, health, roads, water and sanitation.
My Administration is committed to industrialising and modernising the economy as well as transforming our infrastructure in order to improve incomes and the livelihoods of our citizens.
Power supply has significantly improved following the commissioning of Hwange Power Station Units 7 and 8, while arrangements have been made to guarantee stable supply from existing power stations. Deliberate investments are ongoing for increased power generation capacity, including removing entry barriers for Independent Power Producers.
To enhance connectivity, we continue to upgrade the road network across the country through domestic resources. Similar initiatives are being implemented with regards to rail infrastructure, with focus on recapitalisation, rehabilitation and refurbishment.
The tourism sector is on a growth trajectory, registering an increase of 62% in international tourist arrivals during the first half of 2023.
My Government continues to accelerate implementation of the Heritage Based Education 5.0 Model, aimed at producing goods and services for our country’s socio-economic needs. This Science, Technology and Innovation thrust has scaled up science-based education from the primary level up to institutions of higher education. More of our young talented boys and girls are registering patents and running viable start-ups.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Madame President of Senate;
The fiscal consolidation measures and reforms have ensured positive fiscal outcomes that are critical for budget sustainability and lasting macro-economic stability. Complementary fiscal and monetary policies have positively impacted the attainment of the prevailing stable macro-economic environment.
Going forward, the Second Republic remains resolute in implementing measures that ensure confidence in our domestic currency.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Madame President of Senate;
May I now turn to the legislative agenda which must occupy the Parliamentary schedule during this first Session of the Tenth Parliament.
The Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill; Public Finance Management Amendment Bill; Medical Services Amendment Bill; Insurance Bill and the Private Voluntary Organisation Bill, which were outstanding from the Ninth Parliament, must be concluded during the First Session of this Parliament.
Obsolete laws such as the Fredrick Clayton Trust Act; the Service of Documents Act; Settled Estates Leasing Act and the War Marriages Validation Act should be repealed under the Repeal of Laws (General Amendment) Bill.
New Bills which will constitute the business of the First Session include the Persons with Disabilities Bill and the Administration of Estates Amendment Bill.
The Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Bill, 2023 seeks to streamline the registration process for foreign legal practitioners. Also on the agenda will be the Inheritance and Succession Laws (General Amendment) Bill, 2023, which aligns inheritance and succession laws to the Constitution and international best practice.
To give impetus to matters related to climate change adaptation and resilience, the Tenth Parliament is called upon to review the Water Act; the Zimbabwe National Water Authority Act and the Plant Breeders Act.
The much-anticipated Climate Change Bill seeking to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and facilitate low carbon development technologies should be thoroughly debated towards strengthening appropriate institutions and funding mechanisms.
The Parks and Wildlife Act is being amended whilst a Human Wildlife Conflict Relief Fund is being set up to offer monetary benefits to victims of human wildlife conflict in communities.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Madame President of Senate;
The Second Republic aims to fully exploit, value add and beneficiate the country’s abundant natural resources.
In this regard, as industrialisation gathers momentum, Parliament must expedite the consideration of the Competition Amendment Bill; Economic Empowerment Bill; Standards Bill; Sugar Production Amendment Bill and the Technical Regulations Bill. Ratification will also be required in respect of the SADC Protocol on Industry and the Inter-African Coffee Agreement.
Through the Electronic Transactions and Electronic Commerce Bill, Parliament will assist in the establishment of a framework promoting fair, accessible, responsible and sustainable online transactions. The long outstanding Postal and Telecommunications Amendment Bill must be concluded.
Government is committed to providing modern and affordable human settlements for all Zimbabweans. In this regard, the Zimbabwe Construction Contractors Council Bill seeks to establish an authority that will bring sanity in the built environment. Parliament is expected to consider the alignment of the Housing Standards Control Act and the Housing and Buildings Act.
Government has made strides towards decentralisation of service delivery, including deployment of medical specialists to provincial and district hospitals. The Medical Aid Societies Regulatory Authority, Health Professions Act; Family Planning Council Act and the Medicines and Allied Substances Control Act will be brought before this august House.
The enactment of the National Health Insurance Bill must be expedited to accelerate the establishment of the National Health Insurance Scheme towards Universal Health Coverage.
The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare is expected to bring the National Productivity Institute Bill; Pensions Amendment Bill; Occupational Safety and Health Amendment Bill as well as the Human Resources Practitioners Bill for consideration.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Madame President of Senate;
Government is deeply concerned about the increase in drug and substance abuse, especially among the youth. Measures to tame the scourge by strengthening relevant institutions for effective coordination and programming of activities, will be instituted.
Over and above this, Government is developing the National Youth Bill, which will be considered during this Session. The Bill will provide for mechanisms to facilitate mainstreaming of the youth in social, economic and political spaces, as well as the sustenance of Vocational Training Centres as hubs for local community development. I challenge the private sector to play a part in support of our ongoing initiatives for youth development and empowerment.
Meanwhile, women play a critical role in nation building and their contribution to economic growth should never be overlooked.
Equally, viable and profitable Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises have a far-reaching impact on our economy as a whole.
The Small and Medium Enterprises Act will be reviewed. Additionally, Parliament is expected to approve the Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies Bill to provide for the administration and management of Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies.
The mainstreaming of Community Radio Stations attests to the Second Republic’s commitment towards accelerating media reforms. In an endeavour to further open up the airwaves, the Broadcasting Services Amendment Bill should be finalised and amendments to the Zimbabwe Media Commission Act passed.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Madame President of Senate;
Sport is integral to job creation as well as the promotion of healthy lifestyles. In this regard, the Second Republic is currently developing the Sport, Leisure and Recreation Bill to create an enabling environment for sport and recreation delivery. Through the Sports Integrity Bill, Parliament is expected to assist in the creation of a regulated and fair sporting environment.
Parliament should also consider amending the Lotteries and Gaming Act for the purpose of its alignment to the Constitution and the incorporation of corporate governance measures, as provided for in the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Madame President of Senate;
Our political independence came about through the support and solidarity of progressive nations in the region and beyond. Hence, the Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Act will be amended to include Botswana as one of the countries that had transit camps during our Liberation Struggle. “Non-Combatant Cadre” will be redefined to acknowledge those who played a part in the Struggle, under this category.
Similarly, the National Heroes Act will be amended to redefine categories of heroes, namely: National Hero; Liberation War Hero; and Liberation Hero. Amendments to the War Victims Compensation Act will now include recommendations from the Chidyausiku Commission of Inquiry Report.
As Zimbabwe strengthens its cooperation with the international community, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which seeks to complement the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, is expected to be tabled for ratification. Furthermore, radiation safety will be strengthened through the Radiation Protection Amendment Bill.
Biological weapons, which were used by the minority racist white settler regime during our Liberation Struggle, harmed both combatants and civilians alike. The Biological Warfare Bill will criminalise the use of such weapons by giving effect to the Convention on Biological Warfare.
To date, Government has launched a National Plan of Action against Trafficking in Persons. To operationalise the Plan, this august House must amend the Trafficking in Persons Act.
Other pending amendments include those that relate to the Immigration Act; Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act; National Archives of Zimbabwe Act; Private Investigators and Security Guards (Control) Act; Official Secrets Act; Unlawful Organisations Act; Censorship and Entertainments Control Act and the Births and Deaths Registration Act.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Madame President of Senate;
In concluding my address, I wish to commend both the National Assembly and Senate for championing the diligent discharge of business in the last Parliament.
Let me once again take this opportunity to urge all Parliamentarians to wholeheartedly participate in the enactment of laws that will improve the quality of life of our people. ‘Nyika inovakwa, inotongwa, inonamatigwa nevene vayo, Ilizwe lakhiwa, libuswe, likhulekelwe ngabanikazi balo’.
This august House should ensure that law is an instrument for development. Further, Parliament is encouraged to be an institution of peace building, hope, national development and the entrenchment of constitutionalism and deepening democratic practices in our country. In all our activities, let us safeguard our values and traditions as the unique people of Zimbabwe.
With continued unity of purpose, we can accelerate our ongoing quest to build, modernise and industrialise our great motherland, Zimbabwe. This weighty obligation is on our shoulders. We must deliver and lift more of our people out of poverty and into prosperity.
With these remarks, it in my distinct honour and privilege to wish the First Session of the Tenth Parliament of Zimbabwe success and hereby declare the First Session of the Tenth Parliament of Zimbabwe officially open.
God bless you.
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZIMBABWE, having caused a copy of the Presidential Speech to be delivered to the Hon. Speaker, was pleased to retire.
THE HON PRESIDENT OF SENATE and Hon. Senators withdrew from the Chamber.
THE HON. SPEAKER resumed the Chair at Twenty-Six Minutes to One o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. SPEAKER in the chair)
MOTION
APPOINTMENT OF COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): I move that a Committee of Supply be appointed in terms of Standing Order Number 123.
Motion put and agreed to.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. SPEAKER
ABSENCE OF OPPOSITION MEMBERS
THE HON. SPEAKER: Before I move for the adjournment of the House, it is recognised that this session in which His Excellency the President addressed the nation and officially opened the First Session of the Tenth Parliament, Members of the CCC Party were not in attendance. In terms of our Standing Orders in the National Assembly, Standing Order Number 88 when read together with Standing Order Number 114 of the National Assembly and Standing Order Number 89 when read together with Standing Order number 114 of the Senate Standing Orders; it is therefore clear that there has been some violation of those Standing Orders.
Members of the CCC Party have come to Harare after Parliament was summoned by His Excellency the President and they have stayed in hotels, and have been given and facilitated their travel to Harare and accordingly therefore are in violation of these Standing Orders and in terms of the powers vested in me as Speaker and under Standing Order Number 215, I instruct the Clerk of Parliament to ensure that; (1) the CCC Party members will not receive their coupons to go back home [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear], and (2) their stay in hotels at the taxpayers’ generosity and commitment, this will be deducted [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear]. I further request the Leader of Government Business to look into the Political Party Finances Act to find out whether or not further sanctions cannot be attached.
THE HON. SPEAKER adjourned House to Tuesday, 10th October, 2023 without putting any question in terms of Standing Order Number 13 (2) (b).
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Friday, 8th September, 2023
OFFICIAL REPORT
NEW MEMBERS SWORN
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: Whereas Section 128 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that before a Member of Parliament takes his/her seat in Parliament in the form set out in the Third Schedule and whereas Section 128 (2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that the Oath referred to in Section 128 (1) must be taken before the Clerk of Parliament. Yesterday we had Hon. Gabuza Gabbuza, Hon. Obert Mpofu and Hon. Christopher Mutsvangwa who were not sworn in.
Now therefore, I Kennedy Mugove Chokuda, Clerk of Parliament of the Republic of Zimbabwe, by virtue of the powers vested in me in terms of Section 128 (2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, do hereby administer the Oath of a Member of Parliament. I, therefore, call upon the Hon. Sen. Gabuza Gabbuza who is here present to subscribe to the Oath or Affirmation of Loyalty as required by Section 128 of the Constitution and Standing Order Number 2.
HON. SEN. GABUZA JOEL GABBUZA subscribed to the Oath of Loyalty as required by Law and took his seat – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.] –
ELECTION OF PRESIDENT OF SENATE
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: Section 126 (1) of the Constitution and Standing Order Number 3 require that when the Senate first meets after a General Election before it proceeds to the dispatch of any other business, it shall elect a Presiding Officer, not being a Vice President, Minister or a Deputy Minister to be known as the President of the Senate. The President of Senate shall be elected in accordance with Standing Orders from among persons who are or have been Members of Parliament or are qualified for election as Members of the Senate. I therefore, call for nominations of candidates for the President of Senate.
HON. SEN. SHOKO: I nominate Hon. Sen. Sibanda Felix Magalela to the position of the Deputy President of the Senate.
HON. SEN. KATUMBA: I second.
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: Any further nominations?
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I nominate Hon. Marble Chinomona to the position of the President of Senate.
HON. TONGOGARA: I second.
ELECTION OF DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: Section 127 of the Constitution and Standing Order Number 8, require that when the Senate first meets after a General Election, and as soon as practicable after the election of the President of Senate, it shall elect a Member of the Senate not being a Vice President, Minister or Deputy Minister to be the Deputy President of Senate. I therefore, call for nominations of candidates for election of the Deputy President of Senate.
HON. SEN. SIPANI-HUNGWE: I rise to nominate Hon. Sen. Nyambuya to the position of the Deputy President of Senate.
HON. SEN. CHIKWINYA: I second.
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: Are there any further nominations?
HON. SEN. TOME: I nominate Hon. Sen. Chakabuda Magie to the position of the Deputy President of Senate.
HON. SEN. MATAMISA: I second.
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: Thank you very much Hon. Senators. We have more than one nomination for both the position of President of Senate and Deputy President of Senate. In terms of Standing Order Number 6, the election shall be conducted by secret ballot by the Clerk of Parliament under the supervision of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.
I need to outline to you the rules that we are going to use for the elections. Any violations of these rules will automatically disqualify a Member from voting, so you need to listen to the rules attentively.
The rules for the conduct of the election were produced in consultation with ZEC. I urge Hon. Senators to familiarise themselves with the rules. Voting will take place in the foyer. Printing of ballots will be done in the presence of the candidates’ designated agents.
Hon. Senators, once printing of ballot papers has been completed, bells will be rung for seven minutes to summon Members to the Chamber to prepare to vote. Voting will be conducted for one and half hours or until every Member in the Chamber or on the line has voted. Senators will enter the polling station in batches where they will be issued with the ballot papers after their identification has been confirmed. Only Hon. Senators with National Identity Cards or passports will be allowed to vote.
Hon. Senators shall then proceed to cast their votes in the ballot box. Whilst in the ballot booths, Members shall fold their ballot papers in such a way that their votes are not exposed. Members shall proceed to deposit their ballot papers in the ballot box and proceed to leave the polling station. Any Member who exposes how they have voted will have their vote disqualified and the ballot paper shall not be deposited into the ballot box.
When voting has been completed, tallying, verification and counting of ballot papers shall be done in the presence of the election agents. On completion of counting, I shall proceed to the Senate Chamber, accompanied by the election agents. Hon. Senators will be invited to the Senate Chamber for the announcement of the results.
To avoid disqualification of their vote, Members are urged to strictly observe the rules which have been circulated and announced. Members are reminded that they can only vote for one candidate of their choice by marking an X against the name of the candidate. Where the Member puts an X against more than one candidate, such ballot papers shall be deemed spoilt.
The candidate who receives the highest number of votes will be declared duly elected President of Senate. I now invite the candidates and their agents to the printing of the ballot papers in the Foyer Lounge. Commencement of voting will be announced once printing has been completed. So, we are now proceeding to the printing of ballot papers in the presence of the candidates and their agents. I thank you.
THE DEPUTY CLERK OF PARLIAMENT (MS. H. B. DINGANI): Hon. Senators, on the Second Floor, we are taking photos for your ID cards and whilst we are voting, you can do that process. Some can do that now. Ushers in the foyer will show you where to go. I think it is better to use the exit to my right.
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: Hon. Senators, I think we are ready now and please take with you your national identity card or valid passport. Let us do it in alphabetical order. Like I indicated earlier on, please put an X in the box against the candidate that you are voting for. Kindly read the names so that you are clear that you are voting for the right candidate. You can proceed so that we finish early. Firstly, we are going to vote for the President of Senate and we will do for the Deputy President of Senate after. That is what the Constitution says. If you had said I should do it together, I can do it like that but the Constitution will take me to court. So, I will follow the Constitution, one after the other.
HON. SEN. DR. SHAVA: I suggest that you use the same list that we used yesterday so that we are less chaotic.
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: Our supervisors have said if we do that, there is a possibility of me knowing who voted for what. So, it must be chaotic like you said.
THE DEPUTY CLERK OF PARLIAMENT (MS. H. B. DINGANI): May the last batch to cast their votes please proceed.
House resumed at 1635 Hours
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: Good Afternoon once again Hon. Senators. I, Kennedy Mugove Chokuda, being the Presiding Officer for the election of the President of the Senate, do hereby declare that I have, in accordance to the Constitution and the regulations made there under, ascertain the results of the poll for the said position that they have been given to 1. Chinomona Mabel Memory 50 votes; 2. Sibanda Felix Magalela 25; and that I therefore, declare the said Mabel Memory Chinomona this 8th day of September, 2023 to be duly elected the President of Senate.
[Ululations]
Business resumed at 1727 p.m.
ELECTION OF THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE
Results of the Election of the Deputy President of the Senate
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: Good afternoon Hon. Members. I, Kennedy Mugove Chokuda, being the presiding officer for the election of the Deputy President of the Senate, do hereby declare that I have, in accordance with the Constitution and regulations made there under, ascertain results of the poll for the said position that they have been given to: 1) Chakabuda Maggie – 26; Nyambuya Michael Rueben – 49 -[HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.]-
I hereby declare the said Nyambuya Michael Rueben, this 8th day of September, 2023, duly elected to the position of Deputy President of Senate. - [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.]
I therefore invite Hon. Mabel Chinomona to take the Oath of Office and Oath of Affirmation before the Chief Justice as required by the Constitution.
While we await that, may I advise Hon. Members that in terms of Section 198 of the Constitution, as read together with Standing Order Number 50 of the Senate, all Members must register all financial interests in a book to be kept and maintained by the Clerk under the
direction of the Speaker. Members are required to register their financial interests within 60 days of taking of the oath of office. The 60 days will expire on the 6th of November 2023 for those sworn in yesterday and 7th of November for those sworn in today. Members who fail to comply with this requirement will be in contempt of Parliament.
Hon. Chinomona having walked into the Senate Chamber.
[Ululations.]
All members are to visit the Office of Counsel to Parliament in office 306, Third Floor, Parliament building to get the forms and will be assisted on how to complete them.
We also now invite the Chief Justice to come and swear in the President of the Senate.
HON. SEN. F.M. SIBANDA: Order Mr. Chairman…
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: Order Hon. Magalela Sibanda, my duty is simply to conduct an election. I do not take any point of orders and so forth. Your agents and everyone else were following the process and agreed to it.
HON. SEN. F.M. SIBANDA: I just wanted to know if the Chief Justice is available.
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: Yes, he is available.
HON. SEN. F.M. SIBANDA: Thank you. I was satisfied but I just wanted to know if the Chief Justice is here.
CHIEF JUSTICE LUKE MALABA: WHEREAS Section 122 (1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that at its first sitting after a general election and before proceeding to any other business, the Senate must elect a presiding officer to be known as the President of the Senate and,
WHEREAS Section 122 (5) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that before commencing his/her duties, the President of the Senate must take before the Chief Justice or the next most senior judge available, the oath of loyalty and office in the forms set out in the Third Schedule and,
WHEREAS you Mabel Memory Chinomona, having been duly elected President of the Senate in terms of Section 122 (1) of the Constitution,
NOW THEREFORE, I Luke Malaba, Chief Justice of the Republic of Zimbabwe, by virtue of the powers vested in me in terms of Section 122 (5) of the Constitution, do call upon you Mabel Memory Chinomona, to take the oaths of loyalty and office.
Hon. Mabel Memory Chinomona subscribed to the oaths of Loyalty and Office as required by law.
CHIEF JUSTICE LUKE MALABA: WHEREAS Section 122 (1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that as soon as it is practicable after a electing the President of the Senate following a general election, the Senate must elect a Senator to be known as the Deputy President of the Senate and,
WHEREAS Section 123 (4) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that before commencing his/her duties, the Deputy President of the Senate must take, before the Chief Justice or the next most senior judge available, the oath of loyalty and office in the forms set out in the Third Schedule and,
WHEREAS you Lieutenant General (Retired) Michael Rueben Nyambuya, having been duly elected as the Deputy President of the Senate in terms of Section 123 (1) of the Constitution,
NOW THEREFORE, I Luke Malaba, Chief Justice of the Republic of Zimbabwe, by virtue of the powers vested in me in terms of Section 123 (4) of the Constitution, do call upon you Lieutenant General (Retired) Michael Rueben Nyambuya, to take the oaths of loyalty and office.
Hon. Sen Lieutenant General (Retired) Michael Rueben Nyambuya subscribed to the oaths of Loyalty and Office - [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.]
The Hon. President of the Senate accordingly assumed the Chair.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Hon. Senators, I am deeply humbled by the honour that you have installed upon me again by reelecting me to be the President of your Senate. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all members of this august House for continuing to have trust in my capabilities in presiding over the business of the Senate. I would like to promise that all my strengths and abilities will continue to be channeled towards efficient and effective execution of my mandate during the 10th Parliament.
As we migrate to this new Parliament Building, a world-class building, one which, in my humble view, is the most well-constructed and befitting Parliament Building in the world. Our work as legislators should significantly improve to match this magnificent building. I implore you all to hold your work in the highest regards to strive for the complete representation of the people who voted for you and with your abilities, make laws that have a real bearing on the improvement of people’s lives and the development of our legislation.
Those who were members in the 9th Parliament will agree that our working relationship is founded on a mutual respect between Presiding Officers, Senators and members of staff. May we continue to respect each other beyond political affiliations and any other differences that may exist between us. My door is always open to all. The people have great expectations of us. They expect us to solve the problems that are part of their day to day lives.
Therefore, let us not be destructed from this duty by pettiness and triviality. Let us be committed to our work. Let us continue to uphold the Constitution and promote democratic governance in Zimbabwe. I say thank you and God Bless you all.
HON. SEN. BIMHA: Thank you Madam President. I would like to, on behalf of the Members of the Senate, heartily congratulate you on being reelected the President of this august House, and also for your acceptance of this election. I would like to also at the same time, congratulate Hon. Sen. Michael Reuben Nyambuya for also being reelected as the Deputy President of the Senate. On behalf of the Hon. Senators, I would like to say that we want to join you in serving the interest of this beloved and wonderful country Zimbabwe. Wish you the best in this new role. I thank you.
HON. SEN. DR. F. M. SIBANDA: My name is Felix Magalela Sibanda who was also contesting this crucial election in this august House. On behalf of Hon. Senators who are here present, we salute the process. – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.]- If the national elections had been done this way, we will be indebted as a nation. We therefore thank the officials of Parliament for their judicious and unbiased operations of the law and interpretation of the law. We are so grateful that this should be exemplary and I, as the contender, am grateful. However, we will, together for the benefit of the proletarian, the weak, the vulnerable, the sick and those without means. Thank you very much.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you Hon. Sen. Dr. Sibanda. I do not think there is any further debate. I have to inform the House that in terms of Standing Order No. 12, I have to present myself and Hon. Sen. Nyambuya to His Excellency, the President and shall inform him that the choice of this House has fallen upon me to be your President of the Senate and upon Hon. Sen. Nyambuya, to be Deputy President of the Senate as well as Chairperson of the Committees. In presenting myself to the President, I shall, in your name and approval lay claim to be undoubted rights and privileges of Parliament by law and customs established which are to be enjoyed by the Parliament of Zimbabwe.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Constitution and the law, I invite my proposal and the seconder to accompany me together with as many Hon. Senators as may desire to do so, to the ceremony that will take place at the State House at a date to be announced later. The business of the day is concluded. I thank you.
Proceedings ended at Five Minutes to Six o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Friday, 8th September, 2023
OFFICIAL REPORT
NEW MEMBERS SWORN
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: Whereas Section 128 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that before a Member of Parliament takes his/her seat in Parliament in the form set out in the Third Schedule and whereas Section 128 (2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that the Oath referred to in Section 128 (1) must be taken before the Clerk of Parliament. Yesterday we had a few members who were not sworn in. If there are any Members who were not present yesterday, may you kindly come forward so that we begin the proceedings.
Now, therefore, I Kennedy Mugove Chokuda, Clerk of Parliament of the Republic of Zimbabwe, by virtue of the powers vested in me in terms of Section 128 (2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, do hereby administer the Oath of a Member of Parliament. I therefore, call upon the following Hon. Members to subscribe to the Oath or Affirmation of Loyalty as required by Section 128 of the Constitution and Standing Order Number 2. I call upon Hon. Chido Sanyatwe and Hon. Supa Collins Mandiwanzira.
HON. CHIDO SANYATWE and HON. SUPA COLLINS MANDIWANZIRA subscribed to the Oath of Loyalty as required by the Law and took their seats – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –
ELECTION OF SPEAKER
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: Section 126 (1) of the Constitution and Standing Order Number 3 require that when the National Assembly first meets after a General Election before it proceeds to the dispatch of any other business, it shall elect a Presiding Officer, not being a Vice President, Minister or a Deputy Minister to be known as the Speaker. The Speaker shall be elected in accordance with Standing Orders from among persons who are or have been Members of Parliament or are qualified for election as Members of the National Assembly. I am satisfied that we have a quorum of 70 Members - I have noted that we have more than 70 Members in the Chamber and I therefore, call for nominations of candidates for the position of Speaker of the National Assembly.
HON. TOGAREPI: I nominate Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda of ZANU PF to the position of Speaker of Parliament.
HON. DR. MAVETERA: I second.
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: Any further nominations? There being no further nominations, I therefore declare Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda duly elected to the Office of Speaker.
ELECTION OF DEPUTY SPEAKER
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: Order, order, Section 127 of the Constitution and Standing Order Number 8, require that when the National Assembly first meets after a General Election, and as soon as practicable after the election of Speaker, it shall elect a Member of the National Assembly not being a Vice President, Minister or Deputy Minister to be the Deputy Speaker and Chairperson of Committees. I therefore, call for nominations of candidates for election of the Deputy Speaker.
HON. SIMBANEGAVI: I rise to nominate Tsitsi Gezi to the position of Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.
HON. PHUTI: I second.
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: Are there any further nominations? There being no further nominations, I therefore declare Tsitsi Gezi duly elected to the Office of Deputy Speaker.
REGISTRATION OF FINANCIAL INTERESTS
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: I would like to inform Hon. Members that in terms of Section 198 of the Constitution as read together with Standing Order 51 of the National Assembly, all Members must register all financial interests in a book to be kept and maintained by the Clerk under the direction of the Speaker. Members are required to register their financial interests within 60 days of taking of the oath of office. We calculate the days from yesterday. The 60 days will expire on the 14th of November 2023 for those sworn in yesterday and 15th of November for those sworn in today. Those who fail to comply with the requirement of the Standing Order and the Constitution will be in contempt of Parliament.
For this registration, all Members are to visit the Office of Counsel to Parliament in office 306, Third Floor, Old Parliament building. We will make available the forms and you will be assisted on how to complete them. Please note the due dates, 14th November 2023 for those sworn in yesterday and 15th November 2023 for those sworn in today.
HON. TOGAREPI: May I advise Members not to play around with microphones. What we are seeing there is not good. It will destruct other people from following proceedings.
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: Thank you very much Hon. Togarepi. We expect the Chief Justice to be here by 10.30 am. He will be here shortly and we will proceed.
Hon. Members singing.
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: Hon. Members, Hon. Members, can I appeal to you to be calm. There will be time for that. The Standing Orders do not allow us to sing. Please, can you bear with us. We just want to maintain the decorum of the House and proceedings. Thank you very much for your understanding.
The House was suspended at 1016 hours and resumed at 1150 hours
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: I now call upon Advocate Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda, to come and take the Oath of Loyalty and Office.
CHIEF JUSTICE LUKE MALABA: WHEREAS Section 126 (1) of the Constitution provides that on this first sitting after the general elections and before proceeding to any other business, the National Assembly must elect a presiding officer known as the Speaker.
AND WHEREAS Section 126 (5) of the Constitution provides that before commencing his or her duties, the Speaker must take before the Chief Justice or the next most senior Judge available, the Oath of Loyalty and Office as set out in the Third Schedule.
AND WHEREAS you Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda, having been duly elected as Speaker of the National Assembly in terms of Section 126 (1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
NOW, THEREFORE, I Luke Malaba, Chief Justice of the Republic of Zimbabwe, by virtue of the powers vested in me in terms of Section 126 (5) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, do call upon you Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda to take the Oath of Loyalty and Office.
Hon. Advocate Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda subscribed to the oaths of Loyalty and Office.
Singing.
The Hon. Speaker accordingly assumed the Chair.
CHIEF JUSTICE MALABA: WHEREAS Section 127 (1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that as soon as practicable after electing a Speaker following a general election, the National Assembly must elect one of its members to be the Deputy Speaker;
AND WHEREAS Section 127 (4) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that before commencing his or her duties, the Deputy Speaker must take before the Chief Justice or the next most senior judge available, the Oaths of Loyalty and Office in the forms set out in the Third Schedule;
AND WHEREAS you Tsitsi Gezi having been duly elected as Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly in terms of Section 127 (1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe;
NOW, THEREFORE, I Luke Malaba, Chief Justice of the Republic of Zimbabwe, by virtue of the powers vested in me in terms of Section 127 (4) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, do call upon Tsitsi Gezi to take the Oaths of Loyalty and Office.
Hon. Tsitsi Gezi subscribed to the Oath of Loyalty and Office.
The Hon. Deputy Speaker accordingly assumed the Chair.
Singing!
THE HON. SPEAKER: May I have the privilege to address the august House and the distinguished Hon. Members by first of all congratulating all Members of Parliament here present in the National Assembly for the manner in which you conducted yourselves yesterday as I followed the proceedings very intently. It was a pleasure to see a lot of new faces, more so, young faces for that matter – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – For that, thank you. Your election and efforts for this process to take place, and I am grateful that I have been sworn in as the Speaker of the National Assembly and also as the Speaker of Parliament, in the context that I should have the privilege and honour of being head of this revered institution.
Hon. Members, I take the Oath as a very significant happening in one’s time. The Oath is an affirmation that we are receptive. The responsibility to act in our various stations, constituencies as Members of Parliament and Presiding Officers. When you read very carefully, the Oath, right at the beginning, it does indicate that we have to express our loyalty to the sovereign state of Zimbabwe. Our loyalty to Zimbabwe is not to the coordinates of the geography of Zimbabwe, it is a loyalty to the sovereign state of Zimbabwe. It is permanent and will not change even when we are gone in the future. It is therefore important that as we affirm that loyalty to our motherland, we must be conscious of our lives as we perform our duties as Members of Parliament and as Presiding Officers that we are indebted to our motherland – our motherland from which dust we came from and from which dust we shall return, because the final blanket that will be above us will be the soil of our motherland.
In that respect therein lies our desire to remain loyal under one flag and under one national anthem. We committed ourselves in our Oaths to uphold our Constitution. Let us walk together in that responsibility in trying to measure up to the dictates of the provisions of the Constitution. Hon Members, we cannot uphold that which we do not understand or know. It is therefore my plea that the Constitution be read thoroughly by all of us so that we are able to uphold it as something that is fully understood by us. Not only that, we have a responsibility in terms of Article 7 of the Constitution to disseminate that Constitution which has been translated to all the 14 indigenous languages. It is therefore, peremptory that we should be seen to be the apostles in the dissemination of that Constitution. Side by side, our Constitution demands that we must uphold all the laws of Zimbabwe and in doing so, we are going to be continually guided by the supreme law so that there is no deviation in that direction.
Our Oath says we should perform our duties to the best of our abilities, now biblically, let us imitate the first two stewards – one was given five talents. The other two the other one. The first two multiplied their talents. In the performance of our responsibilities as Members of Parliament, let us be alive that we are going to be called upon to exercise those abilities at all times and it is not a walk in the garden. As older Members of Parliament will indicate and affirm that you will be called upon to do certain things beyond the constitutional mandate for which you have been elected like going to funerals, attending to schools, the problems of school children without fees, without uniforms, you will be expected to go to weddings. The electorate will expect you, this is a very costly exercise and it is not easy. I pray therefore, that as you apply to the best of your abilities and energies, we have hope that the people will understand that you are not miracle workers.
I therefore conclude by saying let us commit ourselves through a unity of purpose, particularly as we exercise the tripartite roles and constitutional roles given to us by the Constitution of legislation. Sometimes we underestimate ourselves as legislators. No country in this world can stand without the authority of the law and that law comes from Members of Parliament. This is how critical we are in this legislative process. Furthermore, we are of course required to represent our people effectively. Let us not experience in the Tenth Parliament, a situation where some Members will start as you have started now, the parliamentary process and not even open their mouths, to say something from the constituencies which they represent. That will be a serious indictment against us. You cannot debate say a motion or ask oral questions, but you can ask a written question so that you will truly represent the people in all respects. Let us not have dump Members of Parliament. Let us have Members of Parliament who will speak for the voiceless electorate because you are the ones representing the electorate here. They cannot be in this institution, but they are through your presence here.
Finally, yes of course, critical oversight over the Executive is very important and this comes to the committee system and the committee system is a path to parliamentary processes. One expects that a Member who is assigned to a particular committee, that Member will be able to contribute as much as possible in the committee system representing the people or exercising oversight over the Executive or indeed carry out the legislative process through public interviews.
I conclude by saying, I wish all of us all the prosperity in the Tenth Parliament and we can only achieve that prosperity and make a difference in our parliamentary processes if we remain committed and continue to share a unity of purpose, that will be an indelible mark in our next five years as we conclude that in 2028.
Hon. Members, I have to inform the House that in terms of Standing Order Number 11 – I am sorry you will forgive me. In my conclusion, I should have apologised for the late start of the proceedings. You have been waiting for a long time for certain exigencies. So, my apologies for that. I hope it will not happen in the 11th Parliament.
I have to present myself and Hon. Tsitsi Gezi to His Excellency the President and shall inform him that the choice of this House has fallen upon me to be your Speaker and upon Hon. Tsitsi Gezi to be Deputy Speaker as well as Chairperson of Committees.
In presenting myself to the President, I shall in your name and approval, lay claim to the undoubted rights and privileges of Parliament by law and customs established which are enjoyed by the Parliament of Zimbabwe pursuant to the requirements of the Constitution and the laws.
I now invite my proposer and seconder to accompany me together with as many Hon. Members as they desire to do so to the ceremony that will take place at State House at a date to be announced later.
Accordingly, I declare this Session adjourned until Parliament is officially opened by His Excellency the President on a date to be pronounced through some gazette. I thank you.
Proceedings ended at Twenty-Five Minutes past Twelve o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 7th September, 2023
(OFFICIAL REPORT)
MEETING OF PARLIAMENT
The Senate met pursuant to notification by the Clerk of Parliament, at half past two o’clock p.m. in the Senate Chamber, Kennedy Mugove Chokuda, Clerk of Parliament of Zimbabwe; Helen B. Dingani, Deputy Clerk; Nomasonto A. Sunga, Deputy Clerk, and Mr. P. Daniel, Assistant Clerk attending.
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: In terms of section 128 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, before a Member of Parliament takes his or her seat in Parliament, the Member must take the Oath of a Member of Parliament before the Clerk of Parliament.
In order to expedite the swearing-in of Hon. Members, the procedure to be followed will entail simultaneous swearing-in of Members in small groups of ten, giving us a total of eight such groups. Hon. Members will be called upon in alphabetical order to come and take Oath. Hon. Members being sworn in must hold the Bible in their right hand and when I have given the signal, they shall proceed to read the Oath or Affirmation of Loyalty.
I, therefore, call upon the following Hon. Members to subscribe to the oath of loyalty or affirmation of loyalty as required by section 128 of the Constitution and Standing Order No. 2.
NEW MEMBERS SWORN
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT thereupon administered the oath or affirmation of loyalty to Members present as required by law:
Bimha Michael Chakanaka; Bungu Witness M; Bwawanda Ranganai; Chabuka Keresencia; Chakabuda Magie; Charumbira Fortune Zephania; Chauke Felani; Chengeta Shepherd Gundu; Chidzivo Henry; Chikukwa Langton; Chimhini David Anton; Chinhenza Chigwadzara; Chitsamba Jane; Dube Alice; Dube Siandalizwe; Garwe Bertha Chinyanga; Gotora Conrad Jericho; Gumpo Sikelela James; Gwature Marry Grace; Hungwe Omega Sipani; Kadungure Dorothy; Kambizi Eleven; Katumba Miriam; Madzikanda Godfrey Mativenga; Magunje Tawanda Ralph; Makamba James Chafunga; Maluleke Ottillia Muhlava; Mandlakazulu Khumalo; Manyepa Try; Maondera Webster; Mapungwana Annias; Matamisa Editor Eremenziah; Matuke Lovemore; Mavenyengwa Robson; Mavhunga Monicah; Mbohwa Maybe; Mkwananzi Zama Nthua; Mlothshwa Nonhlanhla; Mohadi Tambudzani Bhudagi; Moyo Anastasia; Moyo Solani; Mutshane Lucas Khumalo; Munzverengi Aplonia;
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: Hon. Senators that have been sworn in, can I kindly ask you, in groups of 10, to go through the foyer. There are administrative forms for you to sign in. They help us in terms of communication with you. They help us in terms of facilitating for salaries, in terms of facilitating everything else for your stay in Parliament. So I ask you in small groups of 10, to go through the foyer and you will be ushered to the relevant offices for your details to be taken. Thank you.
[Swearing Ceremony Resumes]
Mupfumira Priscah; Mutsvangwa Monica; Muzenda Tsitsi Veronica; Muzoda Tapfumanei Wunganayi;
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: Hon. Senators who are eligible to vote, kindly ensure that you bring your national identity cards or valid passports to be used as identity for voting tomorrow. An expired passport cannot be used. Transport arrangements are the same as this morning. Thank you very much.
[Swearing Ceremony Resumes]
Ncube Daniel Mackenzie; Ncube Siphiwe; Ndebele; Sisasenkosi; Ndiweni Vuyani; Ndlovu Molly; Ndlovu Richard; Ndlovu Ritta; Ngwena Maggie; Nkatazo Siatabwa; Nyambuya Michael Reuben; Nyathi Esther; Pasipamire Peter; Phuthi Meliwe; Fanuel Rebecca; Rungani Annah; Shava Frederick Makamure; Shiri Annah; Shoko Gideon; Sibanda Felix Magalela; Sibanda Tendai; Tawengwa Charles Zvidzayi; Timba Jameson Zvidzai, Tivaringe Munyaradzi; Tome Vongai; Tongogara Angeline Kumbirai; Tsomondo Bybit Lydia; Zindi Irene; Zivira Hellen; Zvidzai Sesel.
Swearing in ceremony ended at 1510 hours
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 7th September, 2023
(OFFICIAL REPORT)
MEETING OF PARLIAMENT
The Parliament met, pursuant to notification by the Clerk of Parliament, at ten o’clock a.m. in the National Assembly, Kennedy Mugove Chokuda, Clerk of Parliament of Zimbabwe; Helen B. Dingani, Deputy Clerk; and Nomasonto A. Sunga, Deputy Clerk, attending in Parliament.
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: In terms of section 128 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, before a Member of Parliament takes his or her seat in Parliament, the Member must take the Oath of a Member of Parliament before the Clerk of Parliament.
In order to expedite the swearing-in of Hon. Members, the procedure to be followed will entail simultaneous swearing-in of Members in small groups of ten giving us a total of 27 such groups. Hon. Members will be called upon in alphabetical order to come and take oath. I will just make an exception of two that I will start with for reasons that have been given to me. The rest, we will do it in alphabetical order. Hon. Members being sworn in must hold the Bible in their right hand and when I have given the signal, they shall proceed to read the Oath or Affirmation of Loyalty.
I, therefore, call upon the following Hon. Members; Mpofu Rossy and Tshuma Spencer to come and take oath and I will do the rest in groups of ten.
NEW MEMBERS SWORN
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT thereupon administered the oath or affirmation of loyalty to Members present as required by law: Mpofu Rossy; Tshuma Spencer; Bajila Collins Discent; Batau Dzidzai; Benza Innocent Dambudzo; Bhila Royi; Bonda Joseph; Buka Flora; Butau David; Bvute Obey; Bvute Ozias; Chagwiza Stephen; Chaimvura Nomsa; Chakukura Univencia Amanda; Chari Ruth; Chibagu Getrude; Chibaya Amos; Chiduwa Clemence; Chidziva Happymore; Chigumbu Darlington Dzikamai; Chihota Constance; Chikombo Wellington; Chikomo Sheillah; Chikomo Traswell; Chikwinya Nyasha Eunice Grace; Chimbaira Goodrich; Chinodakufa Isaac; Chitando Winston; Chinanzvavana Consilia; Chivero Addmore; Chiwa Darlington; Chiwanza Chamunorwa; Chokururama Jacob; Chombo Marian; Cumanzala Fanuel; Dhanzi Auxcilia; Dhliwayo Lincoln; Dinha Mercy Maruva; Dube Janeth; Dube Prince; Dumbarimwe Tawanda; Ganyiwa Benjamin; Garwe Daniel; Gata Angeline; Gava Abygail; Gezi Tsitsi; Gono Ereck; Gumbo Agency; Gumede Minehle Ntandoyenkosi; Gutsa Delphine; Guyo Phillip; Gwangwaba Shine; Hadebe Jabulani; Hakata Grandmore; Hamauswa Shakespear; Haritatos Vangelis Peter; Hlatshwayo Clifford; Hungwe Tasara; Hwende Chalton; Jaravaza Meeky; Jere Farai; Jesaya Emily; Jimu Lovemore; Jona Nyevera; Jonga Witness; Kabikira Benjamin; Kademaunga Maureen; Kaitano Knowledge; Kambamura Polite; Kambuzuma Chenjerai; Kangausaru Chenjerai; Kanupula Trymore; Kapoikilu Surrender; Karenyi Lynette; Karikoga Tawanda; Karimatsenga Nyamupinga Biatah; Karumazondo Tichawona Makuwi; Kazembe Kazembe; Khupe Thokozani; Kudhlande Patricia; Kufahakutizwi Munyaradzi Febion; Kuka John; Kwidini Sleiman Timios; Linyane Memory; Maburutse Saul; Machakarika Tinoda; Machingura Raymore; Madzimbamuto Willard Tapfumanei.
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: Hon. Members that have been sworn in, can I kindly ask you in small numbers of 10 to go through the foyer. There are administrative forms for you to sign in. They help us in terms of communication with you. They help us in terms of facilitating for salaries, in terms of facilitating everything else for your stay in Parliament. So I ask you in small groups of 10, to go through the foyer and you will be ushered to the relevant offices for your details to be taken. That will help us expedite the process of ensuring that we serve you appropriately. Thank you.
[Swearing Ceremony Resumes]
Madzivanyika Corban; Magomo Christopher; Mahachi Admire; Mahere Fadzwai; Mahlangu Sichelesile; Majaya Bacillia; Makaza Desmond; Makaza Faith; Makombe Josiah; Makope Master; Makumbe Tsungai; Makumire Ropafadzo; Makumire Ropafadzo; Makuvire Juliana; Makwiranzou Caleb; Mambiripiri Gift; Mamombe Joana; Manduna Obert; Mangondo Noah Takawota Joni; Maoneke Exevila; Mapfumo Farai Walter; Mapiki Joseph; Maposa Wilson; Marange Nyasha; Marapira Davis; Marashe Sekai; Marupi Omphile; Maseko Samukeliso; Mashonganyika Dorothy; Masuku Elizabeth; Masvisvi Davison; Matambo Johnson; Matangira Toendepi Remigious; Matara Tendeukai; Matema Samson; Matewu Caston; Matinenga Miriam; Matinyanya Sunungukai Martin; Matiza Madron; Matsunga Susan; Maunganidze Naledi Lindarose; Maunganiso Taurai Dexter; Mavetera Tatenda A.; Mavhima Paul; Mavhudzi Donald; Mavhunga Maxwell; Mayihlome Levi; Mazhindu Brighton; Mazingaidzo Linnet; Mhangwa Leslie Everman; Mhetu Togarepi; Mhlanga Jennifer Nomsa; Mhona Felix Tapiwa; Mhuri Wilson; Mkwanda Judith; Mlilo Stabile; Mnangagwa Kudakwashe David; Mnangagwa Tongai Mafidi; Molokela-Tsiye Fortune Daniel; Mombeshora Douglas Tendai; Monga Super; Moyo Desire; Moyo Edgar; Moyo Fisani; Moyo Fred; Moyo July; Moyo Priscilla; Moyo Richard; Moyo Sithabisiwe; Moyo Torerai; Moyo Vusumuzi; Mpasi Joseph; Mpofu Adionah Rutendo; Muchemwa Wiriranai; Mudekunye Ngonidzashe; Mudowo Tawanda Titus; Mudumi Brian; Mudzingwa Lucia; Mugadza Misheck; Mugidho Machirairwa; Mogomo Mercy; Mugwadi Tafadzwa; Mukomberi Tanatsiwa; Mukuhlani Tavengwa; Mukungunugwa Huruva Godfrey; Mukwada Monica; Mundungehama Siyaki; Munemo Labbany; Mungani Sekai; Mupanhanga Kudakwashe; Murambiwa Ophias; Mureri Martin; Muringazuva Pax; Murombedzi Mutsa Fransisca; Murwira Tabeth; Musanhi Kenneth Shupikai; Mushipe Tinashe Tafadzwa; Mushoriwa Edwin; Musiyiwa Richard; Muswere Jenfan; Musweweshiri Benjamin; Mutandi Getrude; Mutasa Oliver; Mutodi Energy; Mutokonyi Vimbayi; Mutseyami Chapfiwa Prosper; Muwodezeri Thomas; Muwombi Joseph; Muzondiwa Emma Shanziwe; Mazungunye Nobert Tichaona; Natiso Daniel; Ncube Francisca; Ncube Morgan; Ncube Musa; Ncube Owen; Ndebele Madalaboy; Ndebele Sethulo; Ndlovu Brown; Ndlovu Evelyn; Ndlovu Nomatemba; Ndudzo Itayi; Ndudzo Patricia Diana; Ngadziore Takudzwa Godfrey; Nguluvhe Albert; Ngwenya Steven; Nhari Vairet; Njanji Maxmore; Nkala Desire; Nkani Andrew; Nkomo Mail; Nkomo Velisiwe; Nyabani Tendai; Nyakuedzwa Albert; Nyamuronda Rewayi; Nyandoro Bridget; Nyelele Lusyomo; Nyoni Sithembiso G; Phuti Dingumuzi; Pindukai Tendai; Raradza Emmerson; Ruvai Ezra; Rwodzi Barbara; Sacco Joshua Kurt; Sagandira Patrick; Sakupwanya Stanley; Samambwa Edmore; Samson Aliginia; Samukange Jonathan; Shamu Webster Kotiwani; Shiriyedenga Ellen; Shongedza Elizabeth; Shumba Tinashe; Sibanda Dubeko Prince; Sibanda Libion; Sibanda Lovejoy; Sibanda Mxolisi Charles; Sibanda Pashor Raphael; Sibanda Simelisizwe; Sihlabo Vincent; Simbanegavi Yeukai; Sithole Godfrey Karakadzayi; Sithole Joel; Sithole Spare; Siziva Gift; Soda Zhemu; Taedzwa Honour Mbofana; Taruvinga Farai; Tasikani Isaac; Tavaziva Godwin; Thompson Barbra Tinotenda; Tobaiwa Judith; Togarepi Pupurai; Tsvangirai Richard; Vanya Moyo Bright; Watson Nicola Jane; Zana Sivina Evidence; Zemura Lilian; Zevezai Court; Zhou Perseviarance; Zhou Tafanana; Zhou Tsitsi; Ziki Richard; Ziyambi Mutsawashe Carl; Ziyambi Simbarashe; Zvaipa Innocent; Zvobgo Eddison Mudiwa N; Bonda Joseph; Chihota Constance; Mundungehama Siyaki.
THE CLERK OF PARLIAMENT: To Hon Members that are still here, tomorrow we will proceed to elect the Presiding Officers for the National Assembly starting at exactly 10 a.m. We are going to use the register of Hon Members who were sworn in today. That is the register that we are going to be using. For Hon. Members who are eligible to vote, kindly ensure that you bring your national identity cards or valid passports to authenticate your person. We will immediately proceed after 10 a.m. Transport arrangements are the same as this morning. Thank you very much.
Swearing-in ceremony ended at Three Minutes past Twelve o’clock noon.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 22nd August, 2023.
The Senate met at a Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Order! Hon. Sen. Chinake, can you go and dress properly.
Hon. Sen. Chinake left the Senate Chamber.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE
DISSOLUTION OF THE 9TH PARLIAMENT
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE:
Hon. Members of Parliament;
Members of the Fourth Estate;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
The 2023 harmonised general elections which take place tomorrow, have in tandem beckoned the dissolution of the 9th Parliament midnight today. It is in this context that we pay hearty and sincere tribute to all of you Hon. Members and staff of Parliament for having contributed to the efficient and effective functioning of the 9th Parliament.
Hon. Senators, Ladies and Gentlemen;
As we reflect on the 9th Parliament’s accomplishments and challenges, we must always acknowledge that our journey was a collaborative effort, one driven by the constitutional aspirations and expectations of the people of Zimbabwe, without whose steadfast trust and unwavering belief in our ability to effect positive change, our existence as the 9th Parliament would be without purpose or meaning. It is to the people that we owe our allegiance. It is from them that we drew our strength and determination to excel in the 21st century as the institution of Parliament, with a central role in the overall governance matrix of Zimbabwe, in making laws for peace, order and good governance. As we contemplate this reality, the profound observations of Professor S. Adejumobi, the Director of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), resolutely affirm that "…Parliament plays a crucial role in gauging, collating and presenting the views and needs of the people, articulating their expectations and aspirations in determining the National Development Agenda." As you will recall, the 9th Parliament was urged upon to contribute towards the realisation of the National Development Strategy by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde. Dr. E.D. Mnangagwa, who opined during the inaugural State of the Nation Address that: "United by our vision to be a Middle-Income Economy with a per capita income of USD3 500, increased investment, decent jobs, broad-based empowerment, free from poverty and corruption by 2030." Thus, the 9th Parliament was undergirded by this onerous responsibility to align Government development goals and the legislative landscape with National Development Strategy 1 (2021-2025). That became the bedrock of achieving vision 2030 through Parliament’s fulfilment of its legislative, representation and oversight roles.
Honourable Senators;
You will all agree that the 9th Parliament rose to the challenge of contributing towards achieving an empowered and prosperous upper-middle-income society as evidenced by the crafting of a robust Institutional Strategic Plan (ISP) (2018-2023) at its inception. The ISP (2018-23) was a bold statement of strategic intent towards making a quantum leap in the evolutionary reform process by enhancing parliamentary and participatory democracy whilst recognising the indispensable role of the institution in the national governance matrix and the national development agenda architecture. Drawing its strength from the national Constitution and the NDS, the ISP’s mission crystallised as: “To protect the Constitution, make laws for good governance, effectively represent the people and hold the Executive and public institutions to account”. This mission inspired our Parliament to work in unison, underpinned by our common vision of “a strong, independent, people-driven, world-class Parliament” for a better Zimbabwe within the world polity.
Despite the two-year disruptive challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the other negative exigencies, the 9th Parliament excelled in fulfilling its constitutional mandate. Consequently, the 9th Parliament recorded a remarkable increase of 38% in the number of Bills passed, that is from 50 in the 8th Parliament to 69 in the current Parliament. Of historic note was the Constitution Amendment Number 2 Bill which, among other things, reinforced the national commitment to mainstreaming gender equality and youth representation in the decision-making processes of the nation. This palpable milestone was achieved through the extension of the women’s quota in the National Assembly by an additional term to 2033, the allocation of 30% local authority seats to female councillors as well as the inclusion of a youth quota of 10 Members in Parliament in the National Assembly. Furthermore, a plethora of laws were enacted, including the Marriages Act, the amendment to the Health Services Act and the Education Amendment Act which, inter alia, promoted access to education for pregnant school children, in pursuit of leaving no place and no one behind as well as giving impetus to the heritage-based education philosophy. It is also noteworthy to acknowledge that this Parliament recorded a first when both Houses of Parliament passed the Institute of Chartered Loss Control and Private Security Management Bill, a private Member’s Bill piloted by Hon. Joshua Murire. This Bill now awaits Presidential assent and signature.
In the same context, the 9th Parliament recorded considerable improvement in the quality of debates in both Houses, thus contributing to the qualitative legislative agenda. The improved quality of debates assured the nation of the enactment of qualitative and robust laws which the citizens of Zimbabwe will always be proud of.
Honourable Senators;
Turning to its oversight function, our 9th Parliament the 9th Parliament was indeed defined by its countless Committee enquiries, meticulously crafted oral evidence sessions and incisive questions posed both with and without notice in fulfilment of its oversight role. Consequently, Parliament observed an increase in compliance by the Executive in the submission of peremptory statutory returns to Parliament. The compliance rate rose to 78% up from a paltry 3% recorded at the beginning of the 9th Parliament. Furthermore, our impact in following up on the Auditor-General’s Reports resulted in the establishment of the Central Internal Audit Unit in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development which was tasked with the mandate to produce Treasury Minutes that are essential in providing an effective tracking and response mechanism on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) recommendations. I am also delighted to inform you that the 9th Parliament performed extremely well in pursuit of its succinct representative function as evidenced by the number of Committee recommendations adopted by the Executive. Additionally, mention should be made of the remarkable feat achieved in the employment of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). I commend the Members for their excellent project implementation that met the needs of the people. The CDF had an almost full utilisation with a commendable accountability rate that passed audit scrutiny. I trust that the 10th Parliament will maintain this momentum and ensure the sustainability of the CDF under a legal framework yet to be promulgated.
Honourable Senators;
It is with great pride and satisfaction that I report on the stellar performance of the 9th Parliament in the realm of parliamentary diplomacy. The dynamic engagement with the international community yielded indelible outcomes that elevated the status and influence of Zimbabwe on the global political stage. Among these achievements are the following:
- The President of the Senate, Honourable Mabel M. Chinomona, assumed the Presidency of the African Parliamentary Union (APU) uncontested. The APU is a prestigious continental organisation that promotes parliamentary cooperation and integration in Africa.
- Chief Fortune Charumbira was elected to the iconic position of the Presidency of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), a deliberative body of the African Union that propagates the political aspirations and economic interests of the African people.
- Your Speaker had the distinct honour of being in the Executive Committee of both the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the global organisation of 178 national parliaments that foster peace and democracy for all, and the SADC Parliamentary Forum, a regional inter-parliamentary body that facilitates political cooperation and integrated economic development in Southern Africa.
- Your Speaker also stands as the sole nominee candidate from the Africa Geo-Political Group due to receive the prestigious IPU Cremer-Passy Award. The Cremer Passy Award is given to a Member who has excelled in advancing the mission and vision of the IPU. This is a testament to the Speaker’s unwavering commitment to Parliament processes internationally.
- Acknowledgement is pronounced towards the contribution of Members and Staff of Parliament who served diligently and with integrity in various Parliamentary bodies such as the IPU, SADC-PF, APU, Pan African Parliament (PAP), Africa Caribbean Pacific (ACP-EU), Association of Senates, the Shoora and Equivalent Councils in Africa and Arab World (ASSECAA.
- Our staff has been recognised and occupy key roles in organisations such as the Association of Parliamentary Libraries in Eastern and Southern Africa (APLESA) where Doctor Munyoro is the current President and the Africa Colloquium of Legal Officers where Mrs Hove, the Deputy Counsel, is also the President of the organisation. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed.
In international diplomacy, the 9th Parliament successfully hosted the 78th Session of the Executive Committee and the 44th Conference of Presidents of National Parliamentary Assemblies which was held in Victoria Falls from 5th to 11th November 2022. The hosting of these meetings received high commendations from the foreign delegates who expressed their admiration for our infectious hospitality.
In the same vein, the 9th Parliament recorded high levels of international diplomats who paid courtesy calls to the Parliament of Zimbabwe. This is in consonant with the engagement and the re-engagement mantra of the Head of State, His Excellency the President, Dr E.D. Mnangagwa. Some of the courtesy calls have resulted in the arrangement of bilateral exchange benchmarking visits with sister Parliaments.
Honourable Senators;
At this juncture, I would like to take the opportunity to offer a special thanks to the leaders of all the political parties in the 9th Parliament, their Deputies, the Party Whips and their Deputies and Committee Chairpersons who also constitute the Liaison and Coordination Committee (LCC). These were the heartbeat of our Parliamentary processes as guided by the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders (CSRO). Furthermore, the 9th Parliament could not have functioned effectively without the tireless and dedicated service of the Administration of Parliament whose professionalism is a credit to the leadership of the Clerk of Parliament, Mr. Kennedy Mugove Chokuda. The performance of the 9th Parliament Administration underpinned by the adherence to Quality Management System (QMS) standard and the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO 9001:2015), was beyond reproach. To date, the Parliament of Zimbabwe prides itself as the only ISO 9001:2015 certified Parliament in the world. To be also noted, is the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders (CSRO) whose constitutional mandate is aptly provided in Section 151 of the Constitution, has diligently presided over welfare issues of both Members and Staff of Parliament as well as ensuring that vacant posts in all Constitutional Independent Commissions were timeously filled. Remarkably, the CSRO has already approved the establishment of the Parliament Training Academy (PTA) which is envisaged to play a critical role in the capacity development of Officers and Members of Parliament. Already prior to its full functioning, the PTA has developed modules that are integral to the effective performance of Members. Additionally, the Committee approved the integration of the Parliament Programmes Unit into the structures of Parliament in order to guarantee sustainability and the continued harnessing of resources for the optimal performance of the institution.
Honourable Senators;
As I conclude, I know you are all anxious to leave and get ready to exercise your democratic right to vote tomorrow. I, therefore, have the honour and privilege to wish you well in your future endeavours in life, whether or not you will make it into the 10th Parliament. Zimbabwe needs each one of us in whatever station we may find ourselves.
I THANK YOU!! TATENDA!! TWALUMBA!! SIYABONGA!!!
I would like to call upon Hon. Sen. Hungwe for some validation remarks.
HON. SEN. SIPANI-HUNGWE: Thank you Mr. President. I would like to give this to Hon. Sen. Kambizi from our party. It is not me.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you Hon. Sen. Hungwe.
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: Thank you Mr. President. I rise this afternoon to say a few words of appreciation to the 9th Parliament, especially in this House. Mr. President, I would like to mention very clearly that Members of this House participated wholeheartedly in the past five years. Mr. President, debate in this House was lively, enjoyable and of high quality. All Members endeavoured to fulfil their mandate that is bestowed upon them in this House, that is of making laws, new ones inclusive.
Mr. President, it is true, besides the COVID-19 pandemic, this House remained hard working as witnessed by the number of Bills that were passed, 69 as compared to 50 of the Eighth Parliament. It is true again Mr. President, besides many challenges that befell the Parliament, Senators remained resolute and hardworking and a number of achievements were witnessed as you clearly highlighted in your speech. To mention just a few, the rise of our own Madam President, Hon. Sen. Chinomona and the rise of our own Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira, is worth mentioning in this House.
Mr. President, if I do not thank the Hon. President of this House and yourself as our Chair, I would not have done justice. You led us well to be our torch bearer, that is why I am standing in front of you right now. Mr. President, I would also not have done enough justice if I do not make mention of the Administration of Parliament. It is true things were tough but they also put 150% effort in all they did to ensure that we come to this day today. It was never easy. They endured travelling rough roads. They even had sleepless nights and some other times I would see them here as late as 9.00 p.m. So, it is worth mentioning and it is worth clapping hands for them.
Lastly, Mr. President, I would like to appreciate all the Members of the Senate, the leadership of the Senate and the Administration and I also want to wish them well tomorrow that they go back to their areas and demonstrate democracy as they cast their votes. I thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you Hon. Sen. Kambizi.
HON. SEN. MWONZORA: Thank you Mr. President Sir. I want to join my colleagues in paying tribute to the Ninth Parliament. The work of this Parliament was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic but we fought this battle against this pandemic together. For the first time, programmes in this country, of an important nature, were completely depoliticised. The fight against COVID-19 was depoliticised and we fought that battle well. We hope that the success of the Tenth Parliament will carry on in this spirit. Parliament represents the hope of the people of Zimbabwe. We carry the political, social and economic responsibilities of our people. We must always be dedicated to the political, social and economic well-being of all Zimbabweans irrespective of their political persuasion.
Mr. President Sir, in this Senate in particular, there was exemplary engagement and co-operation during debates. We acted as brothers and sisters. We differed with respect, amity and camaraderie. This is an example for people to follow.
I would like, in this brief address Mr. President Sir, to pay tribute to my fellow Senators from the MDC. They acted like true men and women of integrity. The debate was of high value, constructive and it was people oriented. Of course, most of the MDC Senators you see today are unlikely to come back. This is because of the unfair disqualification of 87 of our Parliamentary candidates. That is a debate for another day but I just want to pay tribute to the MDC people. We changed the narrative of the opposition. The opposition is not just there simply to oppose everything for the sake of it. Where people do well, we must acknowledge it and where people do wrong, we must chastise them. That is why we preached the politics of rational disputation and I am proud that you lived up to it.
Mr. President Sir, it is my hope that the forthcoming Parliament will also have a shared common vision. This country must always have a shared common vision. It must not matter whether you are this party or that party. The vision for Zimbabwe must be the same. The difference of political parties must be how to get to fulfill the vision and never argument about the vision itself. Of course, everyone wants Zimbabwe to be a land of democracy, a land that is going to be the economic and commercial hub of the African continent, a land of opportunity and most importantly, a land of peace. It is possible Mr. President Sir, to achieve the greatness that Zimbabwe is destined to have. We are blessed with rich mineral resources, we are rich in flora and fauna, we have a very good climate and most importantly, we have a hard working, educated populace. Our hope for the Tenth Parliament is to make sure that they take over from where we left.
This country is in need of reform. We must make sure that there are political, social and economic reforms in this country. More importantly, as I close my remarks, I would like to suggest to the Tenth Parliament or whoever is going to come in tomorrow that Zimbabwe needs electoral reforms. Right in this election alone, we have seen an unprecedented number of lawsuits. In fact, after the delimitation, we saw 100 lawsuits before the election. That is an indication that our system needs to be improved. So, we need social, political and economic reforms. We need electoral reforms; we need the complete enfranchisement of all the people of Zimbabwe and there must never be a situation where some Zimbabweans are disenfranchised. Zimbabweans are all equal and they were endowed by their God with this country. It is our country together.
May I take this opportunity to wish those who are contesting in tomorrow’s elections, the best of luck and may I also wish that we have a peaceful election. It is my wish that we have a dispute free election. This is our land together.
Lastly, Mr. President Sir, allow me to pay tribute to a person who is not from my party but who has fought well for this country. As a young man, I was full of admiration for that person for the role that he played in the liberation struggle and the very humble way in which he carried his cross. It is my hope that one day I will be like him. Mr. President Sir, allow me to pay tribute to Senator Dr. Sydney Sekeramayi. He is exemplary to many people and I wish him very well in his future endeavours. Thank you, Mr. President Sir.
HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA: Thank You Mr. President Sir. I want to avoid repeating the very good sounding sweet statements about the Ninth Parliament. It is very clear that it was a successful Parliament and it reminds me of a statement that to succeed, you need good leadership. There is one Harvard Professor who was also my professor at Harvard, Manfred Kets de Vries who said ‘an organisation can have all the advantages in terms of finance, human, ICT and everything but if leadership is not there, that organisation will still collapse and go down like a car without brakes despite all those advantages’. So, I want to say thank you for the good leadership of this Parliament of the two Chambers, the Senate President and his Deputy as well as the staff who performed very well. That is why we all stand here today to give our complementary remarks.
There have been few issues and I remember in 2021, some even said - are we going to end the term after five years or they will extend by another two years because we lost time because of COVID-19? I am saying this to show that we also had some dark years in those five years. We could not perform until we had to be innovative and introduced virtual sittings across the whole world even at the Pan-African Parliament. It was not easy and even today, some are not in this Chamber but they are part of the proceedings. This means when times are difficult that is when we become more innovative and virtual sittings will remain forever.
As traditional leaders, as Chiefs in this Parliament, I think we had two critical issues. This is the Chamber where we have chiefs. In the other Chamber, we do not have chiefs. For a purpose, chiefs are only in the Upper House. I know some do not want to call it Upper but just to call it Senate. There was a reason why we have 18 chiefs sitting in this House. This House is meant to exhibit a lot of wisdom and I believe we passed that test in the last five years as mentioned by others. There is a difference because if there was no difference between this House and the National Assembly, there would be no justification for this Senate’s existence. We are different in the way we do things. If you go back to the Marriages Act, I think it reminds us of the need to have a Senate because there are certain issues which slip through and people do not see it properly in the other House. We amended the Marriage Act to fit and syncronise with the values of the people of Zimbabwe. Some things which did not speak to our values as a country had passed through the other House but as the Senate, we did justice to them and that justifies why we should have an Upper House and why the Bills should be reviewed at a higher level. The general discipline of this House is remarkable.
Then on the issue of alignment, Mr. President and the staff of Parliament are listening; His Excellency the President, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa, each time he officially opens a Parliament, during that ceremony, he gives a speech and he also gives a calendar of Bills to be expected. The Traditional Leaders Act, I remember if you go back and research, it was at three different sessions by the President where he said this session will see the alignment of the Traditional Leaders Act and that was in 2019, 2020 and 2021. For some reason, it did not come to Parliament during those years. I believe that when we convene, that Act should be one of the first to be considered. Why are we running away from aligning the Traditional Leaders Act? For some reason, others that came much later went through and then other Bills that need to be aligned with the Constitution are still outstanding.
Finally, I want to make a very different point which is coming from Pan-African Parliament where we sit; I am aware our Deputy Clerk here worked there and we deal with 54 countries which are different constituencies. I would like to make a proposal for the future. This culture of saying we have dissolved Parliament to such a date; I think this is for further debate. In other countries, the moment the President announces the date for elections, they dissolve. So, we could have dissolved in May and we have realised it means since May there would be no Parliament because it would have been dissolved. In our case, we dissolve on the eve before the elections but there are countries that say that until new Members are sworn in, that is when you dissolve Parliament. For instance, in the case of Namibia, they had elections in November and people won but they remain Parliamentarians until the following year in March planning for the new MPs to come. I see a lot of wisdom in that approach. We should not be in a hurry to dissolved Parliament but let us do what other countries are doing, that is, stay until the new MPs are sworn in. As Zimbabwe, we should think about it. But I am saying all these things when we are very excited that the Senate also lives to the same expectations. Generally, we will get there but we have lived to the expectations of our public. I thank our leadership and I thank the staff for all your effort. Thank you very much.
The Hon. President of the Senate adjourned the House at 1512 Hours.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 22nd August 2023
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
DISSOLUTION OF THE 9TH PARLIAMENT
THE HON. SPEAKER:
Hon. Members of Parliament;
Members of the Fourth Estate;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
The 2023 harmonised general elections which take place tomorrow, have in tandem beckoned the dissolution of the 9th Parliament midnight today. It is in this context that we pay hearty and sincere tribute to all of you Hon. Members and staff of Parliament for having contributed to the efficient and effective functioning of the 9th Parliament.
Hon. Members, Ladies and Gentlemen;
As we reflect on the 9th Parliament’s accomplishments and challenges, we must always acknowledge that our journey was a collaborative effort, one driven by the constitutional aspirations and expectations of the people of Zimbabwe, without whose steadfast trust and unwavering belief in our ability to make the 9th Parliament vibrant during its Parliamentary processes. It is to the people that we owe our allegiance. It is from them that we drew our strength and determination to excel in the 21st century as the institution of Parliament with a central role in the overall governance matrix of Zimbabwe in making laws for peace, order and good governance. As we contemplate this reality, the profound observations of Professor S. Adejumobi, the Director of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), resolutely affirm that "…parliament plays a crucial role in gauging, collating and presenting the views and needs of the people, articulating their expectations and aspirations in determining the national development agenda." As you will recall, the 9th Parliament was urged upon to contribute towards the realisation of the National Development Strategy by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde. Dr. E.D. Mnangagwa, who opined during the inaugural State of the Nation Address that: "United by our vision to be a Middle-Income Economy with a per capita income of USD3 500, increased investment, decent jobs, broad-based empowerment, free from poverty and corruption by 2030." Thus, the 9th Parliament was undergirded by this onerous responsibility to align Government development goals and the legislative landscape with National Development Strategy 1 (2021-2025). That became the bedrock of achieving vision 2030 through Parliament’s fulfilment of its legislative, representation and oversight roles.
Honourable Members of Parliament;
You will all agree that the 9th Parliament rose to the challenge of contributing towards achieving an empowered and prosperous upper-middle-income society as evidenced by the crafting of a robust Institutional Strategic Plan (ISP) (2018-2023) at its inception. The ISP (2018-23) was a bold statement of strategic intent towards making a quantum leap in the evolutionary reform process by enhancing parliamentary and participatory democracy whilst recognising the indispensable role of the institution in the national governance matrix and the national development agenda architecture. Drawing its strength from the national Constitution and the NDS, the ISP’s mission crystallised as: “To protect the Constitution, make laws for good governance, effectively represent the people and hold the Executive and public institutions to account”. This mission inspired our Parliament to work in unison underpinned by our common vision of “a strong, independent, people-driven, world-class Parliament” for a better Zimbabwe within the world polity.
Despite the two-year disruptive challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the other negative exigencies, the 9th Parliament excelled in fulfilling its constitutional mandate. Consequently, the 9th Parliament recorded a remarkable increase of 38% in the number of Bills passed, that is from 50 in the 8th Parliament to 69 in the current Parliament. Of historic note was the Constitution Amendment Number 2 Bill which, among other things, reinforced the national commitment to mainstreaming of gender equality and youth representation in the decision-making processes of the nation. This palpable milestone was achieved through the extension of the women’s quota in the National Assembly by an additional term to 2033, the allocation of 30% local authority seats to female councillors as well as the inclusion of a youth quota of 10 members in Parliament in the National Assembly. Furthermore, a plethora of laws were enacted, including the Marriages Act, the amendment to the Health Services Act and the Education Amendment Act which, inter alia, promoted access to education for pregnant school children, in pursuit of leaving no place and no one behind as well as giving impetus to the heritage-based education philosophy. It is also noteworthy to acknowledge that this Parliament recorded a first when both Houses of Parliament passed the Institute of Chartered Loss Control and Private Security Management Bill, a private Member’s Bill piloted by Hon. Joshua Murire. This Bill now awaits Presidential assent and signature.
In the same context, the 9th Parliament recorded considerable improvement in the quality of debates in both Houses, thus contributing to the qualitative legislative agenda. The improved quality of debates assured the nation of the enactment of qualitative and robust laws which the citizens of Zimbabwe will always be proud of.
Honourable Members;
Turning to its oversight function, our 9th Parliament was indeed defined by its countless Committee enquiries, meticulously crafted oral evidence sessions and incisive questions posed both with and without notice in fulfilment of its oversight role. Consequently, Parliament observed an increase in compliance by the Executive in the submission of peremptory statutory returns to Parliament. The compliance rate rose to 78% up from a paltry 3% recorded at the beginning of the 9th Parliament. Furthermore, our impact in following up on the Auditor-General’s Reports resulted in the establishment of the Central Internal Audit Unit in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development which was tasked with the mandate to produce Treasury Minutes that are essential in providing an effective tracking and response mechanism on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) recommendations. I am also delighted to inform you that the 9th Parliament performed extremely well in pursuit of its succinct representative role as evidenced by the number of Committee recommendations adopted by the Executive. Additionally, mention should be made of the remarkable feat achieved in the employment of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) by Members of Parliament. I commend the Members for their excellent project implementation rate that met the needs of the people. The CDF had an almost full utilisation with a commendable accountability rate that passed audit scrutiny. I trust that the 10th Parliament will maintain this momentum and ensure the sustainability of the CDF under a legal framework yet to be promulgated.
Honourable Members;
It is with great pride and satisfaction that I report on the stellar performance of the 9th Parliament in the realm of parliamentary diplomacy. The dynamic engagement with the international community yielded indelible outcomes that elevated the status and influence of Zimbabwe on the global political stage. Among these achievements are the following:
- The President of the Senate, Honourable Mabel M. Chinomona, assumed the Presidency of the African Parliamentary Union (APU) uncontested. The APU is a prestigious continental organisation that promotes parliamentary cooperation and integration in Africa.
- Chief Fortune Charumbira was elected to the iconic position of the Presidency of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), a deliberative body of the African Union that propagates the political aspirations and economic interests of the African people.
- Your Speaker had the distinct honour of being in the Executive Committee of both the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the global organisation of 178 national parliaments that foster peace and democracy for all, and the SADC Parliamentary Forum, a regional inter-parliamentary body that facilitates political cooperation and integrated economic development in Southern Africa.
- Your Speaker also stands as the sole nominee candidate from the Africa Geo-Political Group due to receive the prestigious IPU Cremer-Passy Award. The Cremer Passy Award is given to a Member who has excelled in advancing the mission and vision of the IPU. This is a testament to the Speaker’s unwavering commitment to Parliament processes internationally.
- Acknowledgement is pronounced towards the contribution of Members and Staff of Parliament who served diligently and with integrity in various Parliamentary bodies such as the IPU, SADC-PF, APU, Pan-African Parliament (PAP), Africa Caribbean Pacific (ACP-EU), Association of Senates, the Shoora and Equivalent Councils in Africa and Arab World (ASSECAA.
- Our staff has been recognised and occupy key roles in organisations such as the Association of Parliamentary Libraries in Eastern and Southern Africa (APLESA) where Doctor Munyoro is the current President and the Africa Colloquium of Legal Officers where Mrs Hove, the Deputy Counsel, is also the President of the organisation. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed.
In international diplomacy, the 9th Parliament successfully hosted the 78th Session of the Executive Committee and the 44th Conference of Presidents of National Parliamentary Assemblies which was held in Victoria Falls from 5th to 11th November 2022. The hosting of these meetings received high commendations from the foreign delegates who expressed their admiration for our infectious hospitality.
In the same vein, the 9th Parliament recorded high levels of international diplomats who paid courtesy calls to the Parliament of Zimbabwe. This is in consonant with the engagement and the re-engagement mantra of the Head of State, His Excellency, the President, Dr. E.D. Mnangagwa. Some of the courtesy calls have resulted in the arrangement of bilateral exchange benchmarking visits with sister Parliaments.
Honourable Members;
At this juncture, I would like to take the opportunity to offer a special thanks to the leaders of all the political Parties in the 9th Parliament, their Deputies, the Party Whips and their Deputies and Committee Chairpersons who also constitute the Liaison and Coordination Committee (LCC). These were the heartbeat of our Parliamentary processes as guided by the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders (CSRO). Furthermore, the 9th Parliament could not have functioned effectively without the tireless and dedicated service of the Administration of Parliament whose professionalism is a credit to the leadership of the Clerk of Parliament, Mr. Kennedy Mugove Chokuda. The performance of the 9th Parliament Administration, underpinned by the adherence to Quality Management System (QMS) standard and the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO 9001:2015), was beyond reproach. To date, the Parliament of Zimbabwe prides itself as the only ISO 9001:2015 certified Parliament in the world. To be also noted, is the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders (CSRO) whose constitutional mandate is aptly provided in Section 151 of the Constitution, has diligently presided over welfare issues of both Members and Staff of Parliament as well as ensuring that vacant posts in all Constitutional Independent Commissions were timeously filled. Remarkably, the CSRO has already approved the establishment of the Parliament Training Academy (PTA) which is envisaged to play a critical role in the capacity development of Officers and Members of Parliament. Already prior to its full functioning, the PTA has developed modules that are integral to the effective performance of Members. Additionally, the Committee approved the integration of the Parliament Programmes Unit into the structures of Parliament in order to guarantee sustainability and the continued harnessing of resources for the optimal performance of the institution.
Honourable Members;
As I conclude, I know you are all anxious to leave and get ready to exercise your democratic right to vote tomorrow. I, therefore, have the honour and privilege to wish you well in your future endeavours in life whether or not you will make it into 10th Parliament. Zimbabwe needs each one of us in whatever station we may find ourselves.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!
GOD BLESS ZIMBABWE!!
I THANK YOU!!
TATENDA!!
TWALUMBA!!
SIYABONGA!!
The Hon. Speaker adjourned the House at Twenty Minutes to Three o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 15th June, 2023
The Senate met at Half –past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE
SWITCHING OFF OF CELLPHONES
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I have to inform Hon. Senators to switch off their Cellphones before business commences.
SUSPENSION OF COMMITTEE BUSINESS
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I wish to inform the Senate that Committee meetings and any other Committee activities will be suspended with effect from today, the 15th of June, 2023.
Five years has been like five days, it has been nice being in this Chamber and I wish all of you good health. I thank you.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. SODA): I move that Orders of the Day Numbers 1 to 6 on today’s Order Paper be stood over until Order of the Day Number 7 has been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
FORMATION OF A GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL UNITY
HON. SEN. KOMICHI: I move for the withdrawal of the motion from the Order Paper:
That this House— COGNISANT of the weaknesses of the current governance system, in particular the Electoral System, which is endemic in Africa and fervently practised in Zimbabwe;
ACKNOWLEDGING that the Electoral System is quintessentially Eurocentric as it is modelled upon exogenous practices as opposed to traditional African governance systems which prevailed during precolonial epoch and were anchored on humanism, solidarism, or pluralism, and had deep social cohesion;
CONCERNED that the alien system is problematic when applied to Africa as it spawns dissensions and tears down the moral and social fabric of political solidarity in societies;
MINDFUL that since 1980, Zimbabwe’s economic growth has been on a downward trajectory with significant political and economic developments when there was the 1987 Unity Accord and the Government of National Unity (GNU) during the period 2009–2013;
DESIROUS to see a prosperous Zimbabwe, which rises above the divisive and conflictual Western Electoral Systems which created a dualised political landscape:
NOW, THEREFORE— (a) calls upon the three arms of Government to recommend a Government of National Unity before the 2023 election; (b) calls upon Parliament to introduce far reaching reforms in our governance system as a matter of urgency so that political and economic injustices are addressed.
HON. SEN. PHUGENI: I second.
Motion with leave, withdrawn.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. SODA), the Senate adjourned at Twenty-One minutes to Three o’clock p. m. until Tuesday, 22nd August, 2023.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 15th June, 2023
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE ACTING SPEAKER in the Chair)
*HON. CHIDZIVA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. My point of national interest is that we are about to experience hunger as a nation. A lot of farmers sold their produce and were paid in RTGS. Due to this high inflation, the amounts they were paid lost value. We are now faced with hunger. Even in urban areas, people are living under the poverty datum line because of inflation. I am requesting that the Hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Development be called and explain to the House how he is going to solve this issue of inflation before the House adjourns for elections.
*THE ACTING SPEAKER (HON. MUTOMBA): I thank you Hon. Chidziva. I want to advise you that the same issue that you raised was raised again last week. I talked to the Hon. Minister of Finance about this high inflationary environment. We are waiting for the Hon. Minister to come. You however alluded to the fact that we are nearing the end of this session, I want to assure the House that the session will not end before he gives his speech.
*HON. NKANI: Thank you Mr. Speaker. My point of national interest is that Home Affairs ministry’s office is issuing paper national identity cards. If you visit the passport office, they require a plastic or metal national identity card. I am pleading that the material to procure plastic be sourced so that people will not be turned away at the passport office. Another solution is that the Government must intervene so that paper national identity documents must be accepted at the passport office. I thank you
*THE ACTING SPEAKER: The Minister will be informed accordingly because this is a very important issue that you have raised.
*HON. MUDARIKWA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. My point of national interest is on cotton farmers. They do not have the bales to bale their cotton and those who have managed to sell their cotton have not been given their money. We are now asking the Hon. Minister of Agriculture to come and explain to this House regarding this issue as we are preparing for the next season. The Hon. Minister must come to the House on Tuesday to explain.
*THE ACTING SPEAKER: We will try by all means to alert the Hon. Minister about this issue. Lastly, you said that you want the Hon. Minister to come on Tuesday, I find it easier that he comes on Wednesday so that he can answer to this question during question time. If he does not come, the Chief Whip is here, he will pass on the message to him so that he can come.
HON. I. NYONI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My point of national interest is on the fees paid for private boreholes collected by ZINWA. Of late, we have seen ZINWA enforcing Statutory Instrument No. 206 of 2001. They have been moving around many suburbs particularly in my constituency. We are looking at Waterford, Riverside, Hillside and other suburbs. They have been collecting US$50 for boreholes, some which were drilled more than 40 years ago. We know that as per the Statutory Instrument, it is within their right to enforce that kind of legislation.
However, we are also aware that there are current water challenges in most areas including Harare, rural areas and other towns. The boreholes that are drilled by these individuals play a major role in reducing the problems of water shortages. When there is no water or there is dirty water, we know that there are challenges of diseases such as cholera and other diseases. It is therefore my prayer Mr. Speaker Sir, that the relevant Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement relook at this Statutory Instrument with a view of doing away with these fines and the annual fees of US$50. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Thank you very much Hon. Nyoni. Like I said to Hon. Mudarikwa, the point that you have actually raised is very important. I would suggest that you direct a live question to the Minister on Wednesday so that he can respond. That is my suggestion but Hon. Chief Whip, you have heard the issue.
HON. MADZIMURE: On a point of order Mr. Speaker.
HON. TOGAREPI: We have had the required number.
HON. MADZIMURE: It is not about the number of people but it is the time that determines.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Yes, Hon. Togarepi, you can go ahead. Hon. Madzimure, I did not recognise you, may you switch off your microphone, please.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. TOGAREPI: I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 9 be stood over until Order of the Day, Number 10 has been disposed of.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Tenth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
HON. MADZIMURE: On a point of order Mr. Speaker.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: No interruption when the Speaker is actually addressing the House. Hon. Togarepi, you have the floor.
HON. TOGAREPI: Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to thank Members of this House who debated on the motion on SONA. I would like to appreciate issues that were raised by Members regarding the Presidential Speech. I would also want to thank the Ministers who came to answer to issues that were raised by Members of this House. I therefore Mr. Speaker, move for the adoption of this motion.
Motion that a respectful address be presented to the President of Zimbabwe as follows:—
May it please you, your Excellency the President: We, the Members of Parliament of Zimbabwe, desire to express our loyalty to Zimbabwe and beg leave to offer our respectful thanks for the speech, which you have been pleased to address to Parliament, put and adopted.
HON. MADZIMURE: On a point of order Mr. Speaker. As we all grow up, we need protection by the State and we need the State to take care of us. As I am speaking today, our pensioners are getting 40 000 and they are actually dying. The issue that I am raising here Mr. Speaker is a point of order. I just want you to take note of this one. Our people are travelling more than 50 kilometers to go and get their pensions which is now around RTGS20 000 to RTGS50 000. It is the responsibility of the people of Zimbabwe to look after the old.
Mr. Speaker, if we do not take action as soon as today to protect the old, to respect the work that they did to build this nation, our children are going to spit on our graves. We must ensure that we have a fixed amount in US dollars for our people so that they can survive…
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Order, Hon. Madzimure, that is not a point of order, that issue was supposed to have been raised as a point of national interest.
HON. MADZIMURE: Marambaka Mr. Speaker?
THE ACTING SPEAKER: No, handina kuramba Hon. Madzimure, time yanga yakwana. Ndizvo zvangoitika chete. Ndingagokurambirai kuti zvaita sei Hon.? If you take it that way, I am sorry about that.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. TOGAREPI: Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that all other Orders of the Day be stood over until Order of the Day, No. 17 has been disposed of.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
HON. HWENDE: Hon. Speaker, yesterday we raised the issue that caused this House to suspend the rule that we suspended so that we can deal with urgent government business, and correctly, you ruled that we failed to raise the matter at the point when the other orders were suspended. So, I am standing up today to raise an objection that we need to deal with urgent government business that caused us to suspend the rules. As you might be aware, yesterday was supposed to be Question Time. We did not get an opportunity to question the Executive because we agreed that we must suspend everything and deal with government business. I would want us to deal with government business Hon. Speaker Sir. Thank you.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Thank you. As you can see, we do not have Ministers on our right. So, for us to get into government business with no Minister, it means it is not workable. That suspension was done not to stop Parliament from doing other Parliament business. We only did that to accommodate government business as long as the Ministers are present, but since there is not even one Minister in the House, I plead with you Hon, to let the business of the House go ahead.
HON. MADZIMURE: Mr. Speaker, when you plan and make decisions to suspend the rules on the understanding that we have got government business, it is respectful for those who will have caused the suspension to ensure that urgent government business is brought to the House. You do not just suspend business assuming that you are going to bring urgent government business. It is poor planning and for us Members of Parliament, we come here purely because we understood the importance of suspending business is because there is urgent government business. So, when you suspend and you do not come, there is not a single Minister, even to come and present ministerial statements that they have been bringing and banking and there is none of them, it is not proper. That is not respecting you the Chair. They are behaving like there is no order in Parliament. It is very wrong for us to continually say we suspend rules because we have got urgent government business when there is no urgent government business. It means it is simply disrupting the smooth running of the House. Can the Leader of the House from the Government side explain why they are continuously suspending rules when there is no business?
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Madzimure. The point that you have raised, I think it is becoming too academic. We are facing a desk which is supposed to be occupied by Ministers. There is not even one Minister. We are now appealing to the Leader of Government business to respond. The Leader of Government business is not here. I do not think you would want me to leave my chair now to go and hunt for the Ministers to come. So, it is becoming too academic. Could you allow the House to move ahead with Parliament business?
Hon. Gonese having stood up
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Hon. Gonese, I did not recognise you and I am not aware you are here.
HON. GONESE: I have not said anything, I am just standing.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: No, I did not recognise you. Hon. Members, we have come here to do Parliament business. Yesterday I think it took us more than an hour heckling and there was a lot of commotion and nothing was done. Would you want us to continue in that spirit? We are here like you are rightly saying that we are here to do business. I think the motion that was moved earlier on, that is government business and now because we do not have any Minister here, how can we continue with government business where there are no Ministers? What are you implying? – [AN. HON. MEMBER: Where are the Ministers?]- This is why I said it is now too academic. We are seeing that the Ministers are not here. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections]-
HON. GONESE: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir. I appreciate your position and that you are in an invidious position but having said that, I think that first and foremost, the Hon. Minister who moved for the suspension of various Standing Orders in order to accommodate government business should have the courtesy to come to the august House to indicate whether that government business which they deemed to be urgent has already been concluded. The way we are operating does not do justice. Firstly, to the people of Zimbabwe in the sense that we sit and have Bills being rushed through at the last minute when in fact we have all the time in the world. If you look at the Electoral Amendment Bill, which is a Bill which could have been passed timeously, but the Hon. Minister had been playing a game of hide and seek. It also applies to the Mines and Minerals Bill. We are dealing with some Acts of Parliament which are there.
At this point in time, I believe that it cannot be business as usual. The Government Chief Whip can move a motion that the suspension be lifted so that if it comes to Wednesday, we can then have our question time so that Members of Parliament who represent various constituencies are in a position to articulate issues and to ask questions on matters which are very important to our country.
We can also have Members of Parliament who have got motions which are still outstanding to prepare adequately because all of us have been under the impression that we are coming here until such time when urgent Government business for which the Standing Orders were suspended has been disposed of. Members of Parliament prepared meticulously for the debate on the Bills which are already before the House, only to find that the Ministers are AWOL.
I propose that – we do not want this House to be a talk shop. We want a situation where when we have made suggestions, we implement them so that henceforth, Members of Parliament are aware that we have our normal order of business. If it is a Wednesday, Question Time and Private Members Business taking precedence and Hon Members prepare adequately.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: I have heard you loud and clear. The most unfortunate thing about the point that you have raised and suggested is that your suggestion is becoming so procedural to ask our Chief Whip to suspend an order that was placed by the Minister. –[HON. GONESE: No, no,]- I have ruled Hon Gonese. We cannot debate. I have already ruled.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE JOINT PORTFOLIO COMMITEES ON ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENT, CLIMATE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY ON THE BENCHMARK VISIT TO SWEDEN
HON. MUSARURWA: I move the motion standing in my name that this House takes note of the Report of the Joint Portfolio Committees on Energy and Power Development; and Environment, Climate and Tourism on the Benchmark visit to Stockholm, Sweden held from 18th to 25th February,2023.
HON. GABBUZA: I second.
HON. MUSARURWA:
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The joint Portfolio Committees on Energy and Power Development and Environment, Climate and Tourism embarked on a benchmark visit to Stockholm, Sweden from 18th to 25th February, 2023. The delegation comprised Hon. G. Gabbuza, Chairperson of the Energy and Power Development Committee and leader of the delegation,
- E Musakwa, Energy and Power Development Committee Member,
- S. Dzuma, Energy and Power Development Committee Member,
- N. Tsuura, Energy and Power Development Committee Member,
- W. Y. Musarurwa, Chairperson of the Environment, Climate and Tourism Committee,
- E. Shirichena, Environment, Climate and Tourism Committee Member,
- J. Munetsi, Environment, Climate and Tourism Committee Member,
- C. Maronge, Environment, Climate and Tourism Committee Member,
- N. Samu, Chief Director, Parliamentary Programmes;
- T. Makunike-Kanjanda, Committee Clerk and
- J. Mazani- Committee Clerk.
African Development Bank under the Institutional Support for Governance and Public Finance Management Project funded the benchmark visit to Sweden. Her Excellency, the Ambassador of Sweden, Hon. Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga played a pivotal role in facilitating the meetings and tours with all the Swedish institutions visited by the Parliamentary delegation.
2.0 OBJECTIVES OF THE BENCHMARK VISIT
The main objective of the visit was to benchmark on the measures that the Swedish Government adopted to promote and develop its renewable energy mix with a long-term view of a net-zero carbon emission by 2050.Understanding the renewable energy mix initiatives helps Members of Parliament to enact laws and make regulations that require public investment and incentivise private investment in green infrastructure. More specifically, the delegation sought to;
- Understand the strategies that were used by Swedish energy players to increase energy supply and contribute to access to modern energy,
- Appreciate how the Swedish Government collaborated with its research and development institutions with respect to sustainable consumption and production in addition to waste energy initiatives,
- Learn Swedish best practices in lithium battery manufacturing and
- Take advantage of the Swedish model of creating co-working space for entrepreneurs trying to solve social problems such as pollution and climate change.
3.0 METHODOLOGY
In order to get an in-depth understanding of the issues under discussion, the delegation held short briefing meetings with the management of the institutions. After the meetings, the delegation would embark on guided tours of the premises visited. During these meetings and tours, the delegation shared their experiences and sought further clarifications in order to conceptualise the issues.
Places Visited by the Delegation to Achieve its Objectives
The delegation held meetings and toured the premises of the following institutions in Sweden;
- Absolicon, the delegation learnt about a Robotised Production Line for solar collectors,
- Riksdag (Swedish Parliament), the delegation met their counter-parts in the Industry and Commerce Committee and the Environment Committee,
- Swedish Environment Research Institute called IVL to understand the energy and environmental research initiatives including the collaborations between the institute and its major stakeholders,
- The Stockholm Royal Seaport, the delegation learnt a lot about the concept of sustainable cities using five strategies to develop a vibrant city,
- Northvolt, the delegation learnt about lithium battery manufacturing and sought partnership opportunities on the production of lithium batteries,
- Norrsken Foundation, to learn about the Swedish model of creating a co-working space for entrepreneurs,
- EKOGAS, the delegation tour the biogas plant that uses food waste to produce methane gas and biogas fuel, and
- Gastrike atervinnare, a recycling company that specialises in green business and sustainable waste management turning waste into value.
4.0 FINDINGS
4.1 Strategies Used by Swedish Energy Players to Increase Supply and Access to Energy
The delegation learnt that Europe and China were competing for the available limited Liquid Petroleum Gas. As a result, United States of America was becoming the world’s leading gas supplier of liquid natural gas as Europe lacked Liquid Petroleum Gas regasification facilities. The European Union was depended on gas import from Russia which constituted around 45% of its gas requirements. However, the Russian-Ukraine crisis had affected the supply chain and tremendously pushed the gas prices up. Thus, the adoption of renewable energy became a viable alternative in Sweden to solve such an energy crisis. The delegation was informed that the Swedish energy sector was supported by public and private financing. The production and transmission of power in Sweden was both owned and run by separate companies.
The delegation found out that after Germany, Sweden was the second country in the world to be fossil fuel free country and was one of the leading countries with effective climate laws. The delegation realised that it had taken between 10-15 years for Sweden to transition completely from fossil to clean energy solutions. Sweden’s energy mix consists of 50% hydro, 25% nuclear and 25% biomass, solar and wind. The country produces around 160-170 terabytes of power annually. Sweden mainly relied on the use of an integrated energy system approach and exports excess power to neighboring countries such as Finland, Norway and the Baltic Islands which make up its power pool.
Absolicon is a private energy player in Sweden that invented a solar thermal collector which is used to produce heat directly from the sun that can be used by industries and other consumers instead of using electricity for heat production.
The following were found to be advantages of using solar thermal collectors;
- If the robotised production line is installed in Zimbabwe, the solar collectors would easily promote local industries,
- The solar collectors could relieve pressure from the main power grid,
- Absence of electrical power instability problems,
- Solar collectors withstand all weather conditions, and
- They can be installed easily.
The Committee learnt that the gas crisis triggered by the Russian-Ukraine war had forced most European countries to revert to the use of thermal power plants for heat production as their cold weather compelled them to rely heavily on energy.
4.2 Sustainable Waste Management and Waste-to-Energy Initiatives in Sweden
Sweden implemented what it termed a “climate stop” government funding to promote fossil fuel free projects around the country. The delegation found out that most European Union countries preferred to reduce, recover and recycle waste to the use of engineered landfills. The delegation also found out that there was a company called ECOGAS that specialised in the production of energy from organic waste. The company produced about 2 200 gigabytes of thermal electricity from biogas. It operated twelve recycling yards and had forty vehicles used for waste collection. The company collected sorted organic waste from households in compliance with the law introduced in 2005 that banned the mixture of waste in one disposal bag. Residents were fined for failing to sort out their waste. The delegation learn that the company had an effective customer service center which was responsible for tracking waste collection from residents as well as refuse collection fees. The main responsibilities of the company included;
- Collection and treatment of household waste;
- Regional waste management planning;
- Dissemination of information to the public; and
- Development of local regulations and refuse collection fees.
4.3 Collaboration between Swedish Government and Research and Development Institutions
The delegation found out that the Swedish government works with the Swedish Environmental Research Institute called IVL. The Institute deals with the research for all the sustainable development goals and was founded in 1966. The delegation learnt that funding for sustainable waste management and energy efficient research projects came from the European Union rather than the Swedish Government. As a result of these research initiative, Sweden was leading in the adoption of renewable energy mainly due to the investment in issues such as behavioral change and effective legislation.
The following were some of the steps taken by the Swedish government to encourage the adoption of renewable energy;
YEAR |
LEGISLATION INTRODUCED IN SWEDEN |
1991 |
Municipal waste planning became compulsory |
1994 |
Introduction and enforcement of Producer responsibility |
1999 |
Introduction of Landfill tax |
2002 |
Ban on landfills for combustible waste |
2005 |
Ban on landfill for organic waste |
2009 |
National target the recycling of food waste. |
Through their current waste management system, Sweden had an energy recovery potential of 90% from its waste. 65% of this is meant for heat produced, 25% is electricity while only 10% constitutes energy loss. Sweden incorporated a curriculum on waste management in its education system starting from kindergarten stage, as a way to cultivate a positive behavioral change. The curriculum included the use of colour coded waste disposal bins to ensure the sorting of waste from source to the final disposal.
4.4 Sustainable Cities and Communities
The delegation found out that the development of Stockholm Royal Seaport in Sweden was primarily based on SDG 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities, although it worked actively across all the goals. The Stockholm Royal Seaport contributed locally to achieving the SDGs and create synergies and leverage effects between economic, environmental, and social sustainability. It was managed by five municipalities in collaboration with land developers. The delegation learnt about the concept of sustainable cities using five strategies to develop a vibrant city and this concept was first launched in 2009. These strategies were participation, consultation, letting nature do the work, accessibility and proximity. The delegation learnt that the city was built with vacuum waste inlets for waste collection as a mechanism for waste management. The waste was being used to generate heat which caters for 130 000 households in the area.
4.5 Swedish Best Practices in Lithium Battery Manufacturing
The delegation visited the biggest battery manufacturing company in Sweden called Northvolt. Northvolt was founded to enable the transition to a decarbonized future by supplying sustainable lithium-ion batteries. The delegation found out that the Company specialized in battery manufacturing and focused mainly on the automotive sector, industrial sector as well as energy storage and portables. It was the first European based company to manufacture clean energy batteries that promote low carbon footprint. The delegation learnt that the company used fossil fuel free materials to manufacture its batteries. Although the company targeted to use 50% of recycled materials by 2030 as part of promoting a circular production in the country, the delegation found out that the key focus areas it used to sustain the strategy to produce greenest batteries were anchored on sustainability, manufacturing, supply chains and emission reduction. The delegation learnt that the company purchased its raw materials such as lithium, magnesium, nickel and other compounds from countries that had sustainable mining practices as well as compliance to ethical standards. It also learnt that the company manufactures 300KV batteries with a lifespan that averages around eight to ten years because of the rich quality of the raw materials used in the production.
4.6 Swedish Model of Creating Co-working Space for Entrepreneurs
The delegation visited a start-up hub in Stockholm that houses more than 300 entrepreneurs called Norrsken. Sweden’s Norrsken Foundation had helped social tech entrepreneurs in Africa and elsewhere to solve societal and environmental challenges by investing in their ideas financially. Start-up hubs played an important role in the development of the tech ecosystem. They foster innovation for tech start-ups. They help the businesses scale and achieve their goals by offering them with working spaces, electricity, internet connectivity, and other infrastructure, incubation programs, business advisory and legal services as well as other forms of assistance. The delegation learnt that the start-up hub was founded in 2016 in Stockholm. It had developed two other sites in Barcelona and Kigali. The hub offers offices for the upcoming entrepreneurs to use for one and half years before being released into the world to implement and grow their innovative ideas. The company has an open-door policy to potential entrepreneurs and often work on environmental sustainability issues.
4.7 Zimbabwe Sweden Relations
The delegation learnt that under the engagement and re-engagement policy, relations between Zimbabwe and Sweden had improved immensely. As a result, Sweden had already presented an opportunity for Zimbabwe to learn the best practices relating to energy transition from fossil fuels to green energy. The visit by the delegation from Parliament would help the re-engaging process through shaping the two countries perceptions.
4.8 Challenges Observed at the Embassy
The delegation noted the main priority issues to be addressed at the Embassy as follows:
- Zimbabwe to Sweden Embassy has only five employees. Given the Embassy’s territory, the delegation observed that the Embassy was short-staffed and the current employees would end up performing certain duties outside their designated roles. It was noted that there were no security officers manning the Embassy residence in Sweden.
- The Chancellery had been housed at its current location since 2002, but it was working on relocating to a more spacious location by the 31st October 2023.
- The delegation noted that at the Embassy, the Swedish local employees at the residence were remunerated higher than the Zimbabwean employees, for instance, the chauffer was being paid an equivalent of US$4500 per month.
- Sweden is generally a very expensive country and the budget allocations were not adequate to cover most of the expenses incurred by the Embassy. For example, hosting of delegations and the payment of services of consultancies at the Embassy.
5.0 OBSERVATIONS
The following were the observations of the Committee;
- Sweden industrial sector was the primary consumer of electricity required for heat production. Similarly, Zimbabwe’s industrial sector consumes approximately 58% of electricity for heat production.
- Sweden does not have abundant sunshine as most of its winter months are cloudy and snowy. Zimbabwe, despite its vast solar energy potential, is one of the countries that utilises thermal electricity for its industrial heating requirements. Zimbabwe has a huge potential to invest into the production of black metal sheets that were used to manufacture solar collectors in Sweden.
- The solar collectors could be an immediate win for the Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector through tobacco curing if the Forestry Commission as well as the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board could embrace the solar thermal collector project.
- It was encouraging that, Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) had started negotiations with Absolicon for the supply of a robotized solar collector production line. Although this is the first time Absolicon has ventured into such an engagement with any government power company. ZESA, Absolicon had embarked on a pre-feasibility study program where Absolicon would provide skills transfer for the robotized solar thermal collector production line.
- Sweden’s concept of sustainable consumption and production and waste management through sorting of waste could be very beneficial if implemented together with the devolution thrust. Sustainable consumption and production dovetails neatly with the concept of urban renewal as the national gears towards the new city in Mount Hampden. Private land developers would be invited to bring tenders for their sustainable land development plan.
- The delegation observed that Northvolt purchased its raw materials such as lithium, magnesium, nickel and other compounds from countries that had sustainable mining practices. Zimbabwe could take advantage of this benchmarking visit and establish partnerships, through the Zimbabwean Embassy and the Sweden diaspora community, for lithium battery manufacturing in line with what was observed at the North Volt Company. A fully fledged delegation from the Executive could be established to engage Northvolt to open a lithium battery manufacturing plant in Zimbabwe.
6.0 RECOMMENDATIONS
The delegation recommended the following;
- The Ministry of Energy and Power Development should develop policy initiatives that promote solar thermal solutions to ensure energy security for industries, reduce CO2 emissions and fossil fuel dependency by December 2025. Investment start-up capital should be granted to the private sector in order to revive the energy sector.
- The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development working with the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) should ensure compliance to policies that attract and promote foreign investments and business opportunities to develop partnerships with companies such as Northvolt by December 2025.
- The Ministries of Mines and Mining Development and Industry and Commerce should collaborate, value add, integrate lithium-ion battery value chain and recycling in their operations by December 2025.
- The Ministry of Industry and Commerce should engage technocrats to support the innovative capacity within the research and academic fields to come up with ideas that promote sustainable waste management strategies and circular production by December 2025.
- The Ministry of Small to Medium Enterprises should organise a benchmarking visit to Kigali, Rwanda to learn about the Norrsken incubation hubs for potential entrepreneurs by December 2025.
- The Ministries of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry should review the existing legislation and identify gaps for amendments using the Swedish environmental law as a model by December 2025.
- The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works should formulate a masterplan that supports the development, construction and implementation of sustainable cities concept by December 2025.
- The Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry should begin awareness campaigns on the sorting of waste, establishing points of refuse collection and disposal and implementing a legally binding extended producer responsibility by December 2024.
- Ministry of Finance and Economic Development should continue to mobilise and disbursement of necessary resources the support the work of Zimbabwe Embassies by January 2024.
- Treasury should increase the budget allocation for the embassy to cover all the expenditure requirements. The salaries of the Embassy staff should be increased to above the Swedish poverty datum line and payed timeously. There was need to increase the staff compliment at the Embassy to include a trade attaché and consular by January 2024.
7.0 CONCLUSION
The benchmarking visit helped the delegation to realise numerous approaches that could be adopted to improve our renewable energy mix and waste management practices in the country. It has also opened avenues of Parliamentary partnerships in the various sectors visited. Thus, a series of inquiries into the concepts of solar thermal, sustainable cities, sustainable consumption and production, circular production and the manufacturing of lithium batteries have to be embarked on. These inquiries, among others will assist in finding lasting measures that not only encourage industries to adopt more sustainable production practices but make producers responsible for the disposal of post-consumer products after the end of their useful life.
HON. GABBUZA: Thank you Mr. Speaker, I am going to touch on what I feel are interesting points and I want to thank the presenter of the motion. In one meeting Hon. Speaker, with the Swedish Parliament and the Portfolio Committees on Energy and Environment - because this country is so modernized that almost everything including doors are operated by electricity, you do not use hands for operating many things, no cash is used, it is all swiping - one of our members said, how come our country is very much into electricity, so what happens when there is load shedding?
The Chairperson of that Committee had to ask what load shedding was. The Chairman said I saw that in South African when I was a tourist, that is the time when there was no electricity. Every one of the them asked what would have happened to the electricity, where will it have gone? The other Hon. Members said, in this country, ever since I was born, electricity is always there; what does this tell us? This is a country where they have excess energy and I think it is something worth learning. They have all sources of energy, solar, wind power, to the extend that they are even extending to other parts of Europe, they do not know load shedding. So, these are very interesting issues that as a country, we need to really learn and that it is possible to have no load shedding. Their debate now is about destroying large hydro electricity power stations. The argument is mainly being pushed by the environmentalists. They are saying when you put a dam to generate electricity, you are disturbing the ecosystem for the fish since they are not used to too much water. So, the argument now is, instead of producing electricity from large water bodies they are saying small water bodies undisturbed will generate electricity on the flowing as is without putting too much disturbance, and putting up big dams.
We said in our country we are busy struggling with very big dams, Tokwe-Mukorsi and others and here is a country that is telling us that it is not good for the environment, let us have several small hydro power stations. It is possible because if you go to Honde Valley, a similar project was done about four small power stations generating about eight megawatts, it is a possibility and most of our rivers, it is a possibility that we can generate little energy but on several positions without disturbing the environment. So, this was something that was eye opening to us and quite clearly as we move forward in development, this is the next debate where people will now be saying, away with big dams. Let us have small dams and generate from small dams.
This also helps when there is a problem, instead of switching 700 megawatts or 750 at Kariba, when there is a problem, you simply switch off 20 megawatts at one position without disturbing the whole grid. So, those are issues that as a country I think we must look at.
Another interesting thing is the way they have separated electricity for powering and heat energy. What do we do in many jurisdictions? We generate electricity at Hwange and Kariba and that same electricity, we use it to produce heat, hot water for bathing, cooking, et cetera. In that country they have tried to separate the two. Heat is generated on its own. We were actually privileged to manufacture one of the solar concentrators. They manufacture concentrators which will concentrate all the heat and heat up water for schools so that a boarding school or a big hospital does not have to depend on electricity for heating, they just use that solar concentrator. This is what ZESA had encouraged them to visit and buy that technology because it is possible.
It will remove a lot of heat plants from the national grid, electricity is generated for light and other straight things that need electricity but for heat, they use solar. There are many institutions even cities, water hot water for is generated and then piped straight to all households without having to waste electricity. The way they manage refuse, there is money in refuse - that is what we learnt.
We wondered how we are so stupid not to utilize these basic things. There is nothing very special and Sweden, it is just basic technology that they are taking advantage of. We actually have more refuse at Mbare than they have in their cities and how do they make use of the refuse? They separate it into four, plastics are put separately, digestible things from food and food outlets, anything that is left over food is what they ferment and produce energy like petrol, methane which they use to power all their public transport. Buses there run with fuel from refuse. So, the refuse that we are throwing around can actually be converted into petrol or diesel which they use for buses.
If you go to Nandos, how much food has been thrown out, all that food can be converted to fuel to run buses. The plastics, we have a lot of plastics thrown around, scuds and coke bottles, all that could be recycled and used to produce these poly pipes. We have companies in this country that are producing poly pipes. There is Horizon in Ruwa and two more in Graniteside. When they want to produce the poly pipes which we need for irrigation, what do they do? They import the recycled plastics from South Africa instead of making use of the locally available; it is simply taking used plastics.
So, these are opportunities that we are throwing and one other interesting thing, many of us have a lot of timber, chairs that we no longer need even in this Parliament. So what they do there, they are very organized. When you do not need these antics, they are taken to that refuse point and NGOs where new people who come into town and have no furniture get that for free. When they no longer need these things they also return. That is very basic and simple but most of us keep these old chairs in the backyard or it is thrown away. We need that kind of system. The way they sort plastic or refuse is to the advantage of their country and it is really helping them.
The other thing about how they manage refuse, here we have a principle through EMA that the polluter pays but people are polluting and nobody pays for the pollution. What they do there, it is the duty of the manufacturer of a container, if for example Delta manufactures those scuds and the super containers, they are asked what are you going to do to make sure that your plastic containers do not pollute the environment? They have programmes where at every station you take that plastic, go and sell it and it is big business for unemployed people. You take the plastics and go and sell and the companies that produce the plastics have to write on the container that if you return this, it is a dollar or cent and people make a living out of that. That is one thing that we must be doing in this country instead of allowing these big companies to produce plastics and throw all over. You have to come up with a programme on how you will make sure your container which you are manufacturing, to carry whatever product you have, how it will be disposed without polluting the environment. I think these are very interesting take homes which do not need a lot of money, low hanging fruits which if we were serious as a country, we will not only cleanup Mbare but Mbare will be clean and other surrounding cities.
The combustible refuse, that which burns, goes to a power station to generate about seven to eight megawatts of energy which can run the whole of Harare. You can imagine a power station using thrown away litter, things that burn. You are not only cleaning the environment but you are also taking advantage of that dirty to produce energy. This does not need a lot of money Mr. Speaker. The refuse we have just needs a bit of shrinking and commitment. These are the things that I thought I will bring to your attention and hopefully those who are listening and have the powers to do these things must seriously look at this role model.
Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Speaker for facilitating this trip. I think the tour was almost a flop, she will agree with me but they had to run around and the development partners then assisted and the Zimbabwean Embassy in Sweden. It is led by one of us Her Excellency Misihairabwi-Mushonga. She is really doing a wonderful job. All the delegations, I think we were about three coming from Parliament, they were all being exposed to all over, things happening, Education Committee and she does not rest. Her five staff members were assigned to run around and make sure trips are organised, people are exposed because she was equally worried that let us learn from basic things which do not even require a lot of money. With those few words, I would like to thank you very much.
HON. MUSAKWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I would like to add my voice on the motion raised by Hon. Musarurwa on the benchmark visit on renewable energy and the Swedish system. I think it was a big eye-opener and thanks to the support of Parliament and its leadership that this was realised. Mr. Speaker Sir, you learn a lot from others, especially the separation of heating energy from known other uses of energy such as light and other industrial uses. There is a big saving and what is important is that Zimbabwe is…..
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Order, Hon. Musakwa, may you connect your gadget please.
HON. MUSAKWA: Yes, I think the network is playing up here Mr. Speaker, maybe let me come to the front. Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I was just mentioning that it is important to learn from others as far as energy uses are concerned and using them in the most beneficial and profitable way. From Sweden, you can see that there was a serious attention to separate heating energy from the other energy uses such as lighting and the other industrial uses. There will be a big saving in that. You find that they are struggling to collect heat and we have an abundance of all the ingredients necessary such as the abundance of sunshine and the abundance of lithium. They are setting up the biggest lithium energy battery plants there and yet they have very little or no lithium at all and we have got both.
Mr. Speaker, I think our leadership was very positive in letting Parliament appreciate what is going on because even Sweden, their Parliament had to go on a programme of legislating a lot, starting from the year 2000 coming upwards. They were legislating a lot like the use of responsibility of the producer on their own recyclable waste. It was made into law and also the economic use of energy heating and the other forms. It was made into law. There is a lot of cooperation between the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Energy where we believe we can also learn a lot from that experience. I think, Mr. Speaker Sir, it is very important and we must take this initiative very seriously. Despite our abundance of coal reserves and all that, if we maximise on the energy we get from the sun, we can also prolong the life of our thermal energy and have a healthy blend where we control emission but at the same time maximising the use of our resources.
Once again, I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, for this opportunity which I greatly appreciate. Thank you.
HON. MUNETSI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, for giving me this chance to add my voice to this trip which we undertook to Sweden. I just want to make a few remarks and probably first of all, add on to what Hon. Gabbuza said about electricity and load shedding. Like he said, there is no load shedding in Sweden, not at all. The duty instead, for those who work in the electricity industry, is to regulate overloading to certain companies. They regulate that they do not get too much electricity because it is in abundance.
Also, what he has left out is that the small dams that he spoke of, the explanation was we use the same water to generate electricity more than ten times. It generates electricity here, it goes to another small dam, it generates electricity, the water flows to the other dam and it continuously generates electricity just like that more than ten times. Small dams in one river can be 15 and the small amount of electricity that is produced is fed into the grid. So, you will discover that the same amount of water produces electricity several times and that power is fed into the grid. It was something that I began to think of rivers in my country where water is flowing and going to the ocean for nothing. Several volumes of water are flowing. On the point of refuse collection like what Hon. Gabbuza was saying, it is so fascinating when you get to the company. It produces fuel for all buses in the city and it produces methane gas, fertilizer - both liquid and solid from the refuse that we throw away; bananas and whatever garbage you throw away. They just collect it and bring it there. When you get into the factory where it is being processed, it is so smelly and it is hot and several things happen there which we cannot explain.
When you see where they load the garbage and where it comes out, it is a shock. It is something different when it is coming out there. It is liquid and solid fertilizer, methane gas, fuel and nothing is lost. The remainder is just manure which they sell. You rarely see a piece of paper along the roads in Sweden. If you throw litter and you are caught, the penalty is heavy and you will not like it. If you do not send litter to the company on a prescribed day which you said you are going to send litter there, they make a follow-up to say where is your litter. If you mix plastic and food stuff, they will take the litter back to your place and you pay a heavy penalty and they ask you to sort it and bring it back.
There is a lot that happens in Sweden. When you take litter to those companies like what Her Excellency, the Ambassador was saying, she said all the money that they use for breakfast is from litter. They sell litter and they get money and that is the money they use to buy bread and everything for their breakfast. So litter there makes one money when here we are busy throwing it away. It is quite an eye opener. If you would visit Absolicon, that company which they are talking about, one thing that I discovered which they do not use much and which they have no use of in that country is snow. They have plenty of snow and it is all over.
The sun is so far away and they use those heat collectors from the sun which is very far away. You just see the sun going and it goes like that, but they collect that small amount of heat and use it in big factories to warm up everything. They do not use electricity. That is the reason why they have plenty of electricity and they also export electricity to neighbouring countries. You rarely come across any place which is being polluted from cars, not in industries or factories. It is just clean and very smart.
I want to talk about this lithium battery company. The way we discussed with them, we mentioned there is plenty of lithium in Zimbabwe and they said it is one place where we can open a big factory to manufacture lithium batteries and also buy lithium from our country to their country. We said to them, if you can probably come up to some other companies in the country which make batteries, and then you form an association with them and find out how you can start to make lithium batteries. They do not have lithium in Sweden but they import it. If you get to the company where they do lithium batteries, it is a wonder as if it is just being got from behind the building and coming into the factory when we have so much of it here, but is not being used. That is one area which needs to be explored.
Sweden makes a lot of sales from the batteries that they pack in their country. They make a lot of sales from planting the heat collectors in other countries. Like they said, they would want to do that here in Zimbabwe. They are already doing a plant in the two countries in Africa where they are doing some plant of that sort. When we mentioned that it is rare in Zimbabwe not to see the sun – the sun is always there and to them it is a wonder. For the days we went there, we saw the sun maybe two, three days only. It was just cloudy.
Having those people coming to Zimbabwe and putting up some industry of that sort would be quite beneficial to this country. Let me end by saying, the startup hub which the Hon. Chair spoke about, I do not know how many offices are there. Startup hub is meant for someone to go there and get information on how to start a business, a company or whatever you want, you get that information there. You meet a group there and another group there discussing on what to do, how do we start that et cetera. When you have the information, you get there and they can associate you with people of that nature and from there, you start up your business.
It is also an information centre for jobs. There are several areas where they need some people. You get that information from that start up hub. It is a building with several offices and it is very interesting. I would not want to speak about the Embassy. It has already been spoken about that we need to increase staff and pay them well and probably change the offices because their offices are very small. I want to thank the Chair and the seconder of this motion. Thank you.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I just want to add my voice in practical terms on the report by Hon. Musarurwa on the benchmark visit, seconded by Hon. Gabbuza and indeed, Hon. Munesti and the other Hon. Members. I want to bring the report closer home. In terms of implementation of benchmarking, because the whole purpose of benchmarking is to use that as a platform to enhance our own visibility or aptitude in the same field that is being spoken to and about.
First and foremost, I should make it very clear that the countries we are talking about, Sweden included, are not endowed with the ubiquitous amount of mineral wealth such as the wealth that we are endowed with. They just beneficiate and value add to what we have. We have a copious amount of water, even though we are land-linked and we do not have a sea to our name. We have things minerals like uranium - if we beneficiated just a ball of uranium, we could kiss our problems of energy and electricity goodbye.
I have a table Mr. Speaker Sir that talks about the fuels that we have as a country. We have fossil fuels 39.9% and nuclear power 0%. This is where we can have nuclear power en masse if we value added just a ball of uranium. Solar energy we have 0.1%. We have nearly 365 days of exposure to sunlight here. I hear Sweden has frozen weather conditions whereas here we have solar energy which is not being utilised. Wind power, we have 0%. Water power 65.3%, tidal power 0%, geometrics 0%, and biomass 1.7%. There is a lot that is being said about biomass and a lot of emissions from garbage that we could tap into. It is my thinking that we can use the advantage that we have to make sure that we use what we have to get what we want.
We have a deficit of energy. However, the Second Republic has gotten us to more than 1 700 kilowatts whereas in winter we have about 2200 kilowatts peak period. This is what we require as energy but currently we have no deficit, assuming there is no winter period. We have no deficit in terms of average usage or need of power. You will attest to that. The past few days you have seen that we have no noticeable deficit. We use energy even to boil mazondo. It is the only country south of the Sahara that uses electricity to cook mazondo or trotters. Everybody else has migrated to gas. It is because of the Second Republic which has made sure that we have Hwange 7 and 8 which have come on stream. Our all-weather friends have made sure that we use our fossil fuels for thermal power stations in Hwange. We applaud that. Further to that, we can utilise – Harare City Council has the other party CCC, MDC - otherwise they have refused that Pomona dumpsite be used as a landfill that can produce energy. Land fills are a panacea or antidote to some of the deficit that we have in terms of energy generation. It is a clarion call that I make now vociferously that let us embrace land fills and make sure that the issue of Pomona dumpsite comes to its conclusive determination in terms of both utilisation and also production of energy. There is energy that can be produced from garbage.
The mover and the seconder of the motion spoke so eloquently about that. When it comes to issues to do with effective and efficient utilisation of the resources that we have to get energy, my ear is on the right side. I am quite alive to the suggestion and recommendations that was specifically the reason why they went to Sweden. By any stroke of imagination, you cannot go to Sweden by bus. They had to fly on a visa and it is not a pittance but a lot of money that was utilised for such a visit.
Coming back home, how then can we mirror this visit to our present circumstances. How can we use Sweden as a pedestal to enhance our ability and visibility using what we have? Here is an opportunity now to embrace one another and get the CCC and MDC to come also into Vision 2030 and see what we can utilise from the visit in order to complement and augment vision of His Excellency the President, Cde E. D. Mnangagwa. We have seen now that using the fossil fuels and using what we have – Hon. Gabbuza spoke about Batoka Gorge which is a joint operation between Zambia and Zimbabwe. He just spoke of us but we have the World Bank and African Development Bank wanting to fund the Inga Dam which is going to produce 10 000MW indeed for Zimbabwe and also for the rest of Africa. Here is a visit that has shown us that there is no reason to continuously have dams everywhere but to utilise small little hydro enterprises in order to produce energy en masse.
There is a reason why they went to Sweden. The reason I want to say it here and now. It is in Isiah 6:1, ‘In the year King Uzziah died I saw the Lord…’ Here is an opportunity to use that visit to enhance our aptitude and ability as a nation to get what we can from what we have; to have what we want from what we have.
As I conclude, I also want to say the issue of energy should not be underestimated. We have Southern Africa Power Pool in Mazowe and as long as we have copious amounts of energy, we can also put it into that pool so that we can serve other countries such as South Africa. Who ever thought one day we will be giving energy to South Africa? Here is an opportunity and I see from the table that I have that we export about 51MW of our power and here is an opportunity because of what we have as resources to then also help the countries around us, in particular the frontline States, Mozambique included.
I want to harp on the point that our resources need to be beneficiated. I applaud His Excellency for putting a screeching halt to the exportation of raw materials, or rather raw minerals without beneficiation and value addition - our PGMS, that is the platinum group of metals. There is no reason why we should continue to export the same. We can produce what we want from there, especially platinum. These catalytic converters, Mr. Speaker Sir, every automobile uses catalytic converters. It is used to most probably have the environment cleaned. The fuel goes through the catalytic converter. By the time it comes out of the exhaust, it has been cleaned. Every automobile, as long as we are using fossil fuels, needs a catalytic converter.
Coming back home to the issue to do with lithium. Who does not know Elon Musk? He is busy producing electric vehicles. We heard the report, he is pregnant with a lot of issues to do with the modern day technology of lithium batteries that are going to see us move with the times in terms of electric vehicles. Everyone is born of a woman Mr. Speaker Sir. When we hold our clenched fists like this, it is called potential. When we unleash that potential, it is called kinetic energy. Here is an opportunity to kinetise our energy by utilising what we have. We should not export lithium in its raw form, but have a factory like the innovation incubation hubs that they spoke to.
Go to the University of Zimbabwe. As we speak, there is an innovation hub in tandem, in sync, in collaboration, in coordination and network with education 5.0 which has been enunciated by His Excellency, Cde Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa. Here is an opportunity to use our minerals, particularly lithium. They spoke so vociferously about lithium but we are calling upon the Elon Musk of our time, if he is listening to this, I know he is going to download this debate and hear that this Hon. Member from Chegutu West Constituency, close to Patricia Nyamadzawo, Sarah Chikukwa, Marjory Ruzha and Million Daniel, was talking about the lack of exportation of lithium in its raw form. He needs to come here and establish a factory so that we can export the batteries in their huge amounts, in their value added form.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to vociferously, effectively and efficiently put across and help amplify the contents of the report by Hon. Musarurwa, of the bench marking visit to Sweden. I can picture myself having been in Sweden but the issue that was embedded in this report was tutelage, value addition and beneficiation and His Excellency has seen all through this thin veil of political machination of exportation of raw material and has brought it to a screeching halt and I want to thank him. I want to thank you also Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. TOGAREPI: Mr. Speaker, I did not come here to debate but definitely to appreciate. Hon. Members, the way you articulated what you met in Sweden, I really feel we need as Parliament to encourage these Hon. Members to produce a report, invite the Ministry of Energy and Power Development, ZESA and any other stakeholders to meet with these people. The information they have is critical for our country and most of the things that they witnessed in Sweden can be done in Zimbabwe. I think this is one of the best study visits or reports that we have seen since the beginning of this Parliament.
You really need to take this report seriously because it answers to the challenges that we have in terms of energy in this country. Answers are there and we have the resources. I never imagined that we can use waste from bananas to come up with fuel. My thinking was, we need to dig a hole, get oil down there and start getting some form of fuel to run, either it can be a factory or a car and so forth. What you have done is, you have opened my mind. Mr. Speaker, this is critical. I think this is a report that should not just go. It needs more interrogation together with stakeholders like the Ministry of Energy and Power Development and institutions that are run by Government that deal with energy issues so that we can run as a country and reduce our exposure to unnecessary costs when we can use valuable resources to improve our energy needs.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: I just want to add on top of what you have just said Chief Whip. Thank you very much to the Committee that went to Sweden. This is something that is alive. What you have come up with, what you have brought from Sweden is real. I am just asking you that you should not put a full stop on this.
I would suggest, like what Hon. Munetsi said that you got quite a lot of assistance from Mr. Speaker, I think this must be your first port of call. Of course, we will also do our own duty, Chief Whip, to highlight the report. This is pregnant with real, simple and practicable issues that can be implemented with not a lot of money.
Thank you very much. I am pleading with you Hon. Munetsi, Hon. Chair, Hon. Gabbuza that do not put a full stop on this. You need to meet outside this House with the Chief Whip so that you can arrange a programme to visit the Hon. Speaker and the Minister because some of these things that you have actually said in this House will end up in the Hansard with no action whatsoever, but if you can actually go there to ask for these people from the Ministry of Energy and Power Development so that they can second people to Sweden to go and learn some of these easy things to implement, Zimbabwe can move. I just want to complement and to add on top of what our Chief Whip has actually said. Let us not put a full stop but a comma. I would appreciate. Thank you very much Hon. Chief Whip. I hope that what we have said will be articulated accordingly. Thank you.
HON. TOGAREPI: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. MUNETSI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 22nd June, 2023.
MOTION
ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE
HON. TOGAREPI: I move that the House do now adjourn to the 22nd of August, 2023.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE ACTING SPEAKER
SUSPENSION OF COMMITTEE BUSINESS
THE ACTING SPEAKER: I have got an announcement to make. Following the adjournment of the House to 22nd August, 2023, all Committee Business is accordingly suspended, effective 15th June, 2023.
The House accordingly adjourned at Six Minutes past Four o’clock p.m. until, Tuesday, 22nd August, 2023.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 14th June, 2023
The Senate met at Half past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE
SWITCHING OFF OF CELLPHONES
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I have to inform Hon. Senators to switch off their cellphones before business commences.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I move that Orders of the Day Numbers 1 to 6, be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
MOTION
SUSTAINABLE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
Seventh Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on sustainable healthcare system in Zimbabwe.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you very much, Mr. President. First of all, I would like to thank Hon. Senators who made their contributions whilst debating this motion which was focusing on health issues making sure that everyone has access to health and access to affordable and accessible healthcare. I would like to thank the Government and His Excellency, the President Dr. E.D Mnangagwa through the Minister of Health and Child Care and the Vice President of this country, for the good work that they are doing. This is an effort to make sure that everyone has access to affordable health. There are a lot of hospitals and a lot of clinics that are being built around the country, hence I would like to thank them in that regard.
I would also want to implore the Minister of Finance to try by all means to fulfill the Abuja Declaration. If we do that, we will make sure that the money that is being allocated to the Ministry of Health and Child Care is adequate so that we are able to fulfill all the requirements of that Ministry, including allowances for staff.
It is my belief that the Minister of Health and Child Care will adopt the ideas that we discussed in motion to say how can we obtain funding for the Ministry of Health and Child Care so that everyone has access to affordable health in the country. I now move for the adoption of my motion
Motion that:
MINDFUL that creating a sustainable health care system is essential in Zimbabwe;
NOTING that the Government of Zimbabwe has emphatically declared its desire and aspiration to achieve universal health coverage;
CONCERNED that health services are not accessible by many people, particularly in the rural areas, due to inadequate funds that are allocated to the health sector;
COGNISANT that Zimbabwe made a commitment to honour the Abuja Declaration of allocating 15% of the national budget to public health;
NOW, THEREFORE, this House calls upon the Government;
(a) through the Ministry of Finance to honour the Abuja Declaration;
(b) to focus more on preventive public health intervention; and
(c) to disburse funds allocated to Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, in particular the Ministry of Health and Child Care, expeditiously, put and agreed to.
MOTION
PROTECTION OF VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING
Eighth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on measures to combat human trafficking.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: Thank you Mr. President. I want to debate on the motion that was tabled by Hon. Sen. A. Dube on human trafficking. Mr. President Sir, the issue of human trafficking is quite a difficult issue which affects a lot of people and is of much concern that a person is forcibly taken despite the fact that the person would have been coerced with job promises.
We find people being taken out of the country and end up being sexually exploited without their consent, which is in contravention of different laws the world-over. This is very bad. We have seen our children being taken advantage of with some testifying that this also happened to them. We know Mr. President that because of sanctions, jobs are not enough for every young people but when they are promised jobs in greener pastures outside the country, they are sometimes forced to compromise but this is in violation of human rights.
In the past, I saw some people being repatriated to Zimbabwe. We have people who are here Mr. President and I would like to implore the Government to enact punitive laws and ways of ensuring that when emigrating, there should be proof that there really is a job for you. If the emigration of our people is done through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, after due diligence has been done, to ascertain proper accommodation, proof of a job and proof that the person has secured a job with documentary evidence being filed here. So, there is need for enacting laws that protect our people. With these few words, I thank you Mr. President.
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: Mr. President Sir, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. GIJIMA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 15th June, 2023.
On the motion of HON. SEN. MUZENDA, seconded by HON. SEN. GIJIMA, the Senate adjourned at Quarter to Three o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 14th June, 2023
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE ACTING SPEAKER in the Chair)
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. TOGAREPI: Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that Orders of the Day Nos. 1 to 17, be stood over until Order of the Day No. 18 has been disposed of.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
HON. MADZIMURE: Mr. Speaker, is there a guarantee that we are going to deal with the issue of the Gazetted S.I. 144 of 2022 that was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court and referred to Parliament because we seem to be running against the clock.
THE ACTING SPEAKER (HON. MUTOMBA): I am saying that the matter of S.I. 5:1 has actually concluded and the Non-adverse report was actually reported here in Parliament yesterday.
HON. GONESE: Mr. Speaker Sir, the reason why I have risen is because we must look at the matter in context. This is not an ordinary report of the PLC. If you look at the Constitutional Court Judgement, the decision of the Constitutional Court was premised on two grounds. Parliament and not a Committee of Parliament. If you look at the ruling, it refers to Parliament as an institution and as Parliament, we are required to look at new issues.
The first one is where there are constitutional issues as to whether that particular Statutory Instrument 144/22 is constitutional and that was the first aspect which the Parliamentary Legal Committee was required to look into. Secondly, because the court referred the matter to Parliament because it is Parliament which is responsible for – I just want the Chair to clarify these issues because if the Parliamentary Legal Committee sat and came up with their report, that is not the end of the matter in the particular context of what we are talking about. The second issue, when we are looking at the role of Parliament, we are also required to look at the issue of whether a particular instrument is intra vires the enabling Act because the enabling Act gives certain powers, the Electoral Act itself will give certain parameters of how certain things have to be done and that is another aspect which we need to be appraised of.
If the Parliamentary Legal Committee has issued a report, in this particular instance because this matter was referred by the Constitutional Court, that report must be properly tabled, notwithstanding that it is a non-adverse report and as a result Mr. Speaker Sir, we demand that the Parliamentary Legal Committee tables their report and give reasons and explain why they came to whatever decision they arrived at. As far as I understand Mr. Speaker, even if it is a non-adverse report, the fact that this was communicated to the Hon. Speaker does not mean that the representatives of the people who are the men and women seated on your right and on your left have a responsibility and that responsibility is to examine that. This is a matter which has got very serious repercussions on the rights of the people of Zimbabwe in terms of Section 67 where every Zimbabwean citizen has a right to vote and a right to be voted for and it is this right to be voted for which is being infringed by the Statutory Instrument in question.
Mr. Speaker Sir, you must be aware that in this august House, I moved an amendment to the Electoral Amendment Bill in terms of a clause to the effect that nomination fees must neither be exorbitant nor inhibitive and prevent citizens of Zimbabwe from participating in the elections. The Hon. Minister accepted that amendment, I know that it is not law and it is not going to be law because of the provisions of Section 157(V) of the Constitution. Notwithstanding that, it is not incumbent upon this august House to deliberate and pronounce upon the constitutionality of Statutory Instrument 144 of 2022. Those will be my submissions and this is where we need yourself as the Speaker to exercise your rights.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Thank you very much Hon. Gonese. With all due respect, the legal Committee that I am talking about has been constituted legally by this august House and their final report which is non other than the non-adverse report came into this House coming from the Parliamentary Legal Committee. I do not know if you are alleging that these people did not do their job that well. As far as I am concerned, all the procedures that are supposed to be taken by Parliament have been dully followed. Thank you.
HON. GONESE: Mr. Speaker Sir, your sister Speaker who was seated in the Chair yesterday, indicated that the report was going to be brought to the Parliamentarians. I was listening on virtual, I was not physically in the House. Your sister Speaker who was in the Chair at the time indicated that this was going to be presented to the august House. I have already indicated to you Mr. Speaker Sir that this is a matter which is different from all other reports which the Parliamentary Legal Committee has had to issue.
This is a matter which was specifically referred to us as an institution by the highest court in the land which deals with all Constitutional matters and the wording was ‘Parliament’, and a Committee of Parliament is not Parliament. It is a sub-Committee constituted by this House but has got to report to us. If it was delegated to look into this issue, it was just doing so on our behalf. Those five Hon. Members are not Parliament. They are just a sub-Committee of this august House and because they are a Committee of this august House, they are not the House. This is the reason why in this instance the report should have been presented to us with the reasons so that as Parliament, we can interrogate those reasons.
I remember yesterday, the Hon. Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Hon. Minister Ziyambi was interviewed on Studio 7 and he indicated that yes, Members were going to vote on the issue of the report, that is exactly what he said on Studio 7 which I was listening to yesterday. We do not want to have a shifting of the goal post Mr. Speaker Sir. I think those are the issues which you have got to address. The fact that the PLC is not Parliament, that is the issue which I believe Mr. Speaker Sir you would be abdicating in your duties and in your responsibility if you then rule that a decision has already been made. They cannot make a final decision on our behalf on a matter which has been specifically referred to us as an institution by the Constitutional Court. So, on those grounds Mr. Speaker Sir, I submit that it is not appropriate for the Chair to rule that the matter has already been concluded because it has not been concluded.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: What I have actually said earlier on still stands because the Constitutional Court said the decision has to be made by the 16th June, 2023. Our PLC here met before the 16th and they brought their Non-Adverse Report yesterday which I as the Chair who was sitting here yesterday – I was the one who actually wrote that report, so it actually closes the matter. I am sorry about that – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – We cannot debate on this issue.
Some Members from both sides of the House stood up and started arguing about the issue without being given the floor.
HON. MATARANYIKA: On a point of order Mr. Speaker Sir…-[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections]-
THE ACTING SPEAKER (HON. MUTOMBA): Order, order! (1) It is declared that in respect of Statutory Instrument 14 of 2022, which was published in the Gazette dated 19th August, 2022, the respondent failed to fulfill its constitutional obligation under Section 152 of the Constitution.
(2) The respondent is ordered to comply with the constitutional obligation under Section 152 of the Constitution by not later than close of business on the 16th June, 2023.
(3) There shall be no order as to cause reasons for the order to follow in due course. By Order of the Court.
HON. MARKHAM: On a point of clarity Mr. Speaker.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: No, there is no point of clarification here. I am still continuing and I have not finished Hon. Markham.
*HON. HWENDE: Nyaya ya Chokuda takamboitaura muno umu. Every time he is misleading you. He is not supposed to be sitting here. We raised this thing; he misleads you daily paanouya pese.
Nyaya irikutaurwa muno umu ndeye ma US$1000. Iwewe hauna US$1000 – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections] [HON CHINOTIMBA: Munoda kutora Markham who is white muchisiya Biti who is a black man] - [HON MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] -
HON. MARKHAM: On a point of order. I consider that statement totally racial. You as the Speaker had no intention of calling the man to order. In this inflammatory position that we are in now, it is quite clear to me that there is no reconciliation from the Hon. Member and the party he represents. Unfortunately, he is not the first to refer to me because of my colour. I was given my skin by my parents as they were and yours. It is not that I selected it. One can almost say the God or whoever your God is gave it to you. I am sick and tired of being referred to as white.
In the Constitution, it states categorically that you cannot separate us by religion, sex, gender, you name it and yet you tolerate that. Mr. Speaker. I would like to announce to this House that I am absolutely disgusted by the racism that comes from that side and is also endemic in my own. I take leave of this House. Good afternoon.
Hon. Markham immediately left the House. - [HON MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections].
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Order! It is just unfortunate that Hon. Markham – I gave the opportunity to Hon. Markham to raise his concerns and it is unfortunate that he went out before I responded. I thought he was reporting to me for me to give a response. What I wanted to say I did not hear what Hon. Chinotimba said because of the commotion – [HON MEMBERS: Ahhhhh]- How can you say Ah! I did not hear that. I wanted to confirm so that I could actually ask Hon. Chinotimba to reply and he walked away from me – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections]-
HON. T. MLISWA: Hon. Sibanda, you are a man of honour and very much respected in the Binga area. May we just exercise that in this House.
Mr. Speaker Sir, the truth of the matter is that there was an exchange of words between the left and the right. There was an exchange which we were not privy to. You were busy attending to issues and indeed you did not hear what was going on but the truth of the matter which I think is important for us to address is that – I will end up attacking you one by one, physically. We are tired of this rubbish. We did not come here for this. I train too hard. It is important that you allow me to speak.
Hon. Matsunga and Hon. Murai having stood up and exchanged words with Hon T. Mliswa. - [HON MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] -
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Hon. Mliswa address the Chair.
HON. T. MLISWA: Mr. Speaker Sir, to cut a long story short, the issue at hand which is important and that needs to be addressed is that indeed there was an exchange which you were not preview to. Hon. Chinotimba’s remarks on Hon. Markham in terms of white and black was wrong and he must withdraw that. I heard that and I think that is the import of this issue that he had no right to talk about white and black. He must withdraw those remarks because it does not sit well with the country, with what we stand for and all that.
I actually heard it, that is why I am standing up to say that. So, it is only proper that he withdraws those remarks, but you did not hear them and unfortunately Hon. Markham left before you made a decision. It is important therefore for Hon. Chinotimba to withdraw those remarks. Thank you Mr. Speaker, Sir.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Like I said earlier on, it was unfortunate that Hon. Markham decided to go out. What I actually wanted was confirmation of what Hon. Mliswa has just said because there was a lot of commotion. Words were being exchanged. I was here concentrating on the main issue. What was actually transpiring there, I was not preview to. So is Hon. Chinotimba around so that he can apologise - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Order Hon. Members! I will have to ask Hon. Chinotimba to withdraw the statement that he has actually said to Hon. Markham the moment he comes into the House. So, this issue has been concluded.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: On a point of order Mr. Speaker Sir.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: What is your point of order Honourable?
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I have listened to my colleagues and I have also listened to you reading the order of the Constitutional Court. While my colleagues want to indicate that the order was directed to the PLC, I want to say I disagree with that. The order says the ‘respondent’ and the respondent in that matter was not the PLC. The respondent in that matter was Parliament and Parliament was enjoined by the Constitutional Court to comply with the provisions of Section 152.
Complying with the provisions of Section 152 does not mean that the report of the PLC should not be tabled before the House. Let us disabuse ourselves from that kind of understanding. That is not what that order means. It simply says let Parliament carry out its duty. If we look at Section 152 (3) and the proviso to that says ‘after scruitnising, must report to Parliament, Vice President, Minister or authority as the case may be’. So the issue of reporting to this House was not ousted by the order of the court. Now, I appreciate that by tradition, this House has not been debating non-adverse reports. I totally agree, but that is just a practice. It is not a provision of the law that non-adverse reports must not be tabled in the House. Can we be bound by tradition on such an important matter of public interest? I disagree Hon. Speaker.
This matter is of critical importance. Five Members of this House cannot bind the whole House and say this is the position that Parliament has taken. The five Members were simply delegated a duty to scrutinize. After scrutinizing that Statutory Instrument (SI), this House is empowered to demand that that non-adverse report be presented here. Why, because the public is watching, they want to know why this committee concluded that the fees that were gazetted are alright. The only way that the public can get access to that – remember this House is enjoined to be as transparent as possible in conducting its business.
Now, you smuggled a report and hid it somewhere. Nobody in this House, nobody outside knows the reason, the justification behind the finding of that committee. As a result, it is in the public interest, and as we demand, we hereby do as a House that let the report be tabled. Once that report is tabled, then we will know if the House agrees with the findings of its committee. Why are we hiding it? What is it that we are hiding? Indeed, you have been misled by the Clerk. There is no law that says a non-adverse report must not be debated here. It is just tradition and practice, the law allows presentation. It says, ‘it must report to Parliament, Vice President, Minister or authority as the case may be, whether it considers any provision in the Bill, SI, or draft, contravenes or if enacted will contravene any provision of this Constitution’.
It does not say that if it finds that it complies with the Constitution, then it should not be debated, there is no such law. Therefore, it is my submission that it is in the interest and in the integrity of this House that the report be publicized here, be tabled so that everyone else has it and we also debate it. I so submit Hon. Speaker.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Hon. Sibanda, thank you very much for your submission. I do understand where your arguments are actually coming from. You talked about a tradition; we have been used a lot to tradition that a non-adverse report is not supposed to be debated. The responsibility of passing any report, with due respect is this House, not the Parliamentary Legal Committee (PLC). However, I also would want to inform you that the PLC is constituted by Members of this House. It is a leg of Parliament, a Committee that has been chosen from the learned lawyers, who know the law of this country. So, if they came up with their findings and they reported to this Parliament, now we are saying the House is not happy with that. I think it is very important that with all due respect, you can actually approach the court because the Parliamentary Legal Committee was instituted by this Parliament. We are not all lawyers. Those Members who form the Parliamentary Legal Committee are lawyers. So whatever they bring to this Parliament, we actually feel that it is coming from competent lawyers of this nation.
Before I conclude, let me just read out to you Part 3 of the Constitution, that is Section 9. Report of Parliamentary Legal Committee on Statutory Instrument (SI), “before the Senate or the National Assembly considers a report of the PLC that a provision of a SI contravenes this Constitution or its enabling Act, the Committee may withdraw the report if the Committee is satisfied that the provision has been repealed or amended in such a way as to remove the contravention. (ii) if after considering a report of the PLC, that a provision of a SI contravenes, the Senate or the National Assembly resolves that does contravenes the Constitution, the Clerk of Parliament must report the resolution to the authority which enacted the instrument. That authority must, within 21 days after being so notified, either (a) apply to the Constitutional Court for a declaration that the SI is in accordance with this Constitution or repeal the SI”
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Hon. Speaker, I did not hear the section you were citing but I am informed that it is the Fifth Schedule. What I got when you were reading, you intimated that when the Senate or the National Assembly is not happy with an SI, the PLC must withdraw that report. Mr. Speaker, that should be the remedy, of course I appreciate you are saying lawyers, we are also lawyers here. Those that sit in that Committee are not the most competent and remember Mr. Speaker, the decision of – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Togarepi, kana usinganzwe chirunguka, tsvaka interpretation.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Let us give him the floor. Can you finish up we want to proceed?
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: There were five Members of that Committee. The decision was not unanimous. Now, the report comes to this House, I am a Member and I enjoy certain privileges as a Member. The people of Binga North and the rest of this country, want to know the rationale behind the decision that was arrived at. Possibly, we might agree with the Committee or we might disagree with it but I am saying where Members are showing that they are in disagreement with the findings of the PLC, there is a remedy. The remedy is either it is withdrawn or it is tabled because the law does not ban a non-adverse report from being debated. That is my position Mr. Speaker. It cannot stand when I am objecting it. I am a Member here and I am objecting to the adoption of that PLC report. How do you treat me? Will you tell me because I am one who has stood up and I know many others here who are not in agreement with that report. So, you will say you can go to hell just because that report has just come from the PLC. There is no way five Members can then make a decision on behalf of the rest of this House. I rest my case Mr. Speaker.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Thank you very much. I think Section 39 actually explains the way forward and we are talking about Mr. Clerk, who is also mentioned in this section. Mr. Clerk has got 21 days which he is supposed to act accordingly, if ever there is disagreement on the PLC report. So, we need to move forward. May I say again, we have taken much of our time debating on this issue. It is no longer important because it is eating a lot into our business of the day. Any other Member who is going to raise this, that will be so much disrespecting the orders of Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Twenty-one days is just the maximum.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: It is clearly stated that Mr. Clerk has got 21 days where he is supposed to act, not now.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: No, no, Mr. Speaker….
THE ACTING SPEAKER: I told you that any other Member who is going to stand up not in compliance or listening to my orders, that would be so much showing disrespect to the Chair.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: I do not intend Mr. Speaker, to show disrespect to your office. I do not intend at all. My desire is to represent those that are voiceless who are outside there. I am not standing because of my own personal ego. I am standing because there are so many people outside there who are crying for what I am saying. The 21 days that are being mentioned is not the minimum. It is the maximum period that is provided. So, the Clerk cannot only act within a day or within two days. It is not a requirement that we should act after 21 days.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Okay Hon. Sibanda. My decision at the moment is final. May I give Hon. Mayihlome the floor to continue – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order Mr. Speaker Sir. I think with due respect, I hear your response. What I am not sure about is, the Constitutional Court is the highest court of the land and they equally got Parliament to act. Maybe it is the aspect of procedure which I am probably questioning. I just want to make sure that the procedure was followed. If indeed the Constitutional Court ordered Parliament to act, was it not proper for it to be announced in this august House that the Constitutional Court has ordered Parliament to do this, as a result, it is now referred to the appropriate Committee? The appropriate committee must report back. I am just asking on the aspect of procedure because we were not informed that the Constitutional Court order was done.
People are trying to question why was this not done transparently. There is also the aspect of procedure. Many times there are issues that come before this House, announcements are made and it is referred to a certain Committee. That Committee’s task is to report back to us. It cannot report directly to the Speaker or Clerk. It has to report to us, table the report of its findings and then that report is adopted. So, I just want to understand from a procedural point of view - was that not supposed to be done? If it was not supposed to be done, then what is it that will really give credibility to this because the Constitutional Court is the highest court? As Members of Parliament, we do not want a situation where we are seen to be going against the Constitutional Court. Procedure is what I am asking. If there is no need for such a procedure, then I do not have issues. We do not want Parliament to be sued tomorrow because they did not follow procedure and all that. That is all I would want to know.
If the process and the procedure I am talking about is not important and we do not have to do it, then let it be on record. Not only that, can we also be told the proper procedure? At times we lack information and we do not have the knowledge. We are always eager to learn. We can then be told of the procedure which is to be used. Tradition, as you admitted is said. I am the one who said I have never been in this House and seen a non-adverse report being debated. It is tradition but is it supposed to be debated? All these things, I think we need to be schooled about them so that we are better representatives of the people. Thank you.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: To answer the issue you have raised Hon. Mliswa, the procedure was actually followed. The way the Parliamentary Legal Committee reports to Parliament is that it produces a report which is supposed to come to this House and it is read to the Hon. Members. That is the time when Hon. Members heard about the report, they were suppose to raise a non-adverse report or adverse report. That is the time when you are supposed to raise your concerns. Now, this issue is already passed. It was reported yesterday – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – No, I am not opening because I have already responded.
HON. T. MLISWA: The question Mr. Speaker Sir, from a procedural point of view, was there an announcement in this august House that we have received an order from the Constitutional Court and the Legal Committee has been mandated, it is seized with the matter and they will report back? I do not even know when the Legal Committee reported this in this House, maybe I was not there. I would like to know when it was reported in this House. Hon. Members, do you remember when it was reported in this House? When was it reported in this House Mhofu? Ndipo pane nyaya – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
HON. MATARANYIKA: Mr. Speaker Sir, thank you for affording me the opportunity to elucidate the import of the judgement by the High Court. To begin with, Statutory Instruments are referred to the Parliamentary Legal Committee every month and –[AN HON. MEMBER: Inaudible interjectiobs] - but I am still explaining myself Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of Order Mr. Speaker. I asked for the procedure which is in the interest of everybody here. Was the procedure followed? Mr. Speaker, I can come there but it must be on record.
MOTION
THIRD REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON DEFENCE, HOME AFFAIRS AND SECURITY SERVICES ON PARLIAMENTARY ENGAGEMENT TO THE UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF COUNTER-TERRORISM HIGH LEVEL PARLIAMENTARY CONFERENCE HELD IN DOHA
HON. BRIG. GEN. (RTD) MAYIHLOME: I move the motion in my name that this House takes note of the Third Report of the Portfolio Committee on Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services on Parliamentary Engagement to the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism High Level Parliamentary Conference held in Doha.
HON. HWENDE: On a point of Order Mr. Speaker. According to the rules, if I have a point of Order, I should be given audience.
THE ACTING SPEAKER (HON. MUTOMBA): You are not referring to this issue Hon. Hwende.
HON. HWENDE: Which one, but it is important.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: No, no, I have made a ruling. I do respect you Hon. Hwende and do not force me to do what I do not enjoy doing.
HON. HWENDE: No. no, I want you to clarify.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: I have already made a ruling on that issue.
HON. HWENDE: No. no, you did not respond to Hon. Mliswa’s question. He asked a very simple question which was, if something is referred by the Court to Parliament, did you announce it in Parliament that you were directed by the Constitutional Court to reconsider this. You did not announce and you must accept it. There is no way that a court order can fly from the court straight to a committee. So, we just want you to clarify on that simple matter. If Parliament has been directed by the court, does it go straight to the PLC or the Speaker announces that we have been ordered by the court to consider this matter. If that can be clarified, then we will be happy to proceed.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Hon. Hwende, the procedures were followed. I think that is my final answer pertaining to this issue. Thank you very much.
HON. BRIG. GEN. (RTD.) MAYIHLOME: I rise to present a report of the Delegation that attended the United Nations Office of Counter Terrorism High-Level Parliamentary Conference on Parliamentary Engagement, in Partnership with the African Parliamentary Union (APU) and the Shura Council of the State of Qatar on “Understanding the Terrorist Threat in Africa: New Challenges and Necessary Measures” held at La Cigale Hotel In Doha, the State of Qatar From 30 to 31 March 2022.
HON. T. MOYO: I second.
HON BRIG. GEN. (RTD.) MAYIHLOME:
1.0 Introduction
The United Nations Office of Counter Terrorism (UNOCT) Programme Office on Parliamentary Engagement, in partnership with the African Parliamentary Union (APU) and the Shura Council of the State of Qatar, organized a high level Parliamentary conference to discuss the threat posed by terrorism and violent extremism on African states. The theme of the Conference was “Understanding the terrorist threat in Africa: new challenges and necessary measures.” The Conference took place at La Cigale Hotel in Doha, the State of Qatar from 30 to 31 March 2022. Hon. Brig Gen (Rtd) Levi Mayihlome, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services (DHASS), Hon Tafanana Zhou Member of the African Parliamentary Union (APU) Executive and Mr. Pensel Marunga, Committee Clerk to the Portfolio Committee on Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services, attended the Conference. The Conference sought to engage members of Parliaments in Africa and the region’s member states in a meaningful discussion on the existing and emerging terrorist threats and the development of adequate measures to address and mitigate terrorism, considering the crucial role of parliaments as the key legislative body with the function of oversight. The importance of engaging parliamentarians in counter-terrorism efforts is well recognised under resolution A/RES/60/288 of the United Nations Global Counter Terrorism Strategy, under which member states resolved to undertake necessary measures to prevent and counter terrorism by strengthening the coordinated efforts and measures of prevention of violent extremism.
2.0 Brief Background to the Threat of Terrorism.
The threat posed by the rapidly growing presence and activity of terrorist organisations in the continent in the recent years has become one of the most critical international concerns. According to the Terrorist Index, African states such as Nigeria, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Tanzania, Libya and Egypt are among the world’s most affected countries by terrorism. Militant Islamic fundamentalist groups such as Da’esh and Al ’Qaeda, that are particularly active in Syria and Iraq, have been able to extend their influence in several African states where local terrorist groups such as Boko Haram, Al Shabaab and Al Qaeda pledged allegiance to them. The influence of these local affiliates has continued to rise in Africa. In West Africa, particularly the
Sahel region, those groups have successfully exploited local grievances and weak governance to command growing numbers of followers and resources, notwithstanding internal divisions and rivalries. Since 1963, the international community has elaborated nineteen international legal instruments to prevent terrorist acts. The instruments were developed under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and are open to participation by all Member States. The instruments include but are not limited to instruments regarding civil aviation, nuclear material, maritime navigation, explosive materials, terrorist bombings, financing of terrorism and nuclear terrorism.
HON. T. MLISWA: My point of order is, I thought all business was suspended to accommodate Government Business and Government Business is mainly the Bills. I do not know whether this is a Bill or not. In my listening to it, it is a report not a Bill? I think it is important for us to be informed properly because we have been misinformed. Question Time was suspended which is critical. We want the Minister of Finance to be here to respond to issues which they brought up. The Bills are not being tabled here, now we have a report.
I am not trying to disrespect Hon. Mayihlome, but that is what was said we will be doing. I now want to know what has changed everything. We need some explanation because if there are no Bills, we must as well just go because we have a lot of things to do. There were Ministers who were here. Hon. Mhona was here and now they have gone, and this is what we are now being exposed to. Is this what was supposed to be the order of the day?
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. DR. MAVETERA): Thank you for the point of order Hon. Mliswa. I am being advised that Hon. Togarepi moved and there was no objection that we continue with the Business of the Day. The Ministers who were here, indeed by that time, the business which was urgent is the one which was then happening. If there were Ministers in here, we could have continued with that but there are no Ministers.
We are now doing business which is there as what Hon. Togarepi has requested and no one objected – [AN HON. MEMBER: Inaudible interjection.] – Hon. Togarepi requested for that and you did not object. We are going to proceed with business because that is exactly what Hon. Togarepi asked for. If you had any reservations, you could have objected and so we are proceeding – [AN HON. MEMBER: Inaudible interjection.] – No, he requested for us to go to Order Number 18 which no objection was moved. So, the procedure is we will continue with that.
HON. BRIG. GEN. (RTD) MAYIHLOME:
3.0 The Aim of the Conference
The major aim of the conference was to discuss the main existing and emerging terrorist threats in the African continent in order to develop a set of measures aimed at mitigating
and addressing these threats.
3.1 Expected Outcomes
The high-level parliamentary conference had the following specific outcomes:
- Identifying and discussing the main current and emerging terrorist threats in Africa, including the nature, root-causes, key actors, and drivers of these threats.
- Developing and discussing a set of the relevant immediate measures that contribute to mitigation, prevention of these threats.
iii. Discussing the role of the parliaments in Africa in prevention, mitigation and addressing the existing and emerging terrorist threats.
- Identifying the needs of the parliaments in Africa for technical assistance and capacity building in specific areas of Counter Terrorism and Prevention of Violent Extremism (CT and PVE), including the development or revision of the national CT and PVE strategies and action plans; and
2. Discussing the need and possibility of establishing a CT and PVE network of African parliamentarians.
4.0 Keynote Speeches
4.1 H.E. Mr. Hassan bin Abdulla Al-Ghanim, Speaker, Shura Council of the State of Qatar
The welcome remarks affirmed the strong support of the State of Qatar to all national and international efforts to combating, eliminating terrorism and preventing the spread of violent extremism, especially the benevolent efforts of the United Nations. The State of Qatar has committed great material and moral support to UNOCT, which is embodied in many memoranda of understanding and agreements concluded between the two parties. The memorandum of understanding signed between UNOCT and the Shura Council, frames the cooperation between the two and approved the opening of the UNOCT Programme Office on Parliamentary Engagement in Preventing and Countering Terrorism in Doha. It was highlighted that UNOCT had so far made great strides in fighting terrorism and prevention of violent extremism through organizing and hosting high level conferences for various parliamentary unions and organisations interested in combating terrorism. The Office would also provide technical support, build the capacity of parliaments, and assist in developing policies and legislation to prevent and address terrorism, as well as working to increase the participation of women parliamentarians and youth in efforts to prevent, combat and eliminate terrorism and its causes.
4.2 Mr. Vladimir Voronkov, Under-Secretary-General, United Nations Office of Counter Terrorism (UNOCT).
In his opening remarks, the Under-Secretary General, highlighted the following:
That the threat posed by the growing presence and activity of terrorist organisations in parts of Africa in recent years had become one of the most pressing international concerns.
- That the threats from Da’esh, Al-Qaeda and their affiliates had increased in terms of frequency and lethality of attacks, especially in the Sahel, the Lake Chad Basin, Mozambique, Somalia, and other parts of Africa.
- That the Conference was key and part of a broader initiative to give new momentum to inter-parliamentary cooperation among national parliaments in Africa and relevant parliamentary assemblies to collectively address the evolving threat of terrorism and violent extremism.
- The Conference demonstrated the importance of African-led and African-owned counter terrorism efforts that were strengthened by the solidarity among African parliaments and the collective responsibility they hold towards their respective peoples.
- That UNOCT had enhanced the delivery of more impactful, cost-efficient, and sustainable capacity building support through new global programmes on National Inter-Agency Coordination Mechanism or Fusion Cells”, Protection of Vulnerable Targets and Youth Engagement and Empowerment.
- That Parliamentarians play an essential role in supporting governments to fulfill international counter-terrorism obligations with respect for the rule of law and the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism.
- He emphasized that more needs to be done to address the threats plaguing the region, especially with regard to enhancing regional cooperation and sharing of information, expertise, and best practices to prevent and counter terrorism.
4.3 H.E. Mr. Mohamed Ali Houmed, President, Executive Committee, African Parliamentary Union.
The narrative alluded to the fact that the scourge of terrorism on the continent was at an unprecedented scale and which, coupled with the resurgence of unconstitutional changes
of government, calls for a new approach in addressing security on the continent, especially in light of “new destabilizing factors” in Africa. It was reiterated that the spread of Da’esh in Africa has been the most alarming development in 2021, with spillover from Mali into Burkina Faso and Niger, incursions from Nigeria into Niger, Chad and Cameroon, and from Mozambique into Tanzania. The expansion of Da’esh in Central Africa, and
especially in northern Mozambique, could have far-reaching implications for peace and security in the region and needed to be addressed through a coherent, regional approach as a matter of priority. It was forewarned that the situation in the wider region could be aggravated by the relocation of terrorists and other foreign fighters from Libya.
5.0 Session 1: Main current and emerging terrorist threats in the African Continent: Interventions by National Parliaments present.
It was highlighted that certain regions in Africa had become serious incubators of transnationally organized crime which quite often was associated with terrorism. Terrorism was no longer faith based as it was perceived in the recent past. In the modern day era, it was seen to be influenced by a plethora of factors which included lack of internal political stability, conflicts over natural resources, climate change, the ravaging effects of COVID 19, smuggling and human trafficking among others. The use of online media for propaganda, recruitment, radicalisation and unemployment of the youth, religious intolerance and the continued exclusion and alienation of marginalized groups of society from the mainstream political and economic agenda created conflicts and divisions which led to violent extremism. It was stressed that the major aim of terrorists was to dismantle the African fabric of brotherhood in order to cause total destabilisation through the despoliation of natural resources. In addition, it became apparent that some unscrupulous non-state actors and nongovernmental organisations were responsible for financing acts of terror and influenced recruitment of child soldiers in war torn and highly conflicted countries.
Despite being a mammoth task, ending terrorism was achievable through collaborative efforts at local, regional and international level. Emphasis was made on the need for political freedom, respect for human rights, equitable distribution of resources, transparency and accountability and a commitment towards the adoption, ratification and domestication of international and regional legal instruments on counter-terrorism and the prevention of violent extremism. Maintaining peace, justice and harmony among communities in a multiethnic society such as Mauritius was quite complex yet possible through addressing challenges on structural development and using a holistic approach on countering terrorism and preventing extremism. To this end, countries expressed the need for capacitation and training on counter terrorism intelligence and multilateral cooperation and coordination at local level.
Parliamentarians were implored to be proactive in coming up with robust and implementable laws and policies on counter terrorism.
6.0 Common issues that were raised during the plenary sessions
Root causes of terrorism and ways of mitigating terrorist threats and violent extremism were discussed. The following were topical and common throughout the two-day conference:
- Ideological and cultural differences, lack of resources and weak governing systems exposed most African states to threats of terrorism; Terrorists use illegal transnational boundaries to finance illicit activities in Africa; Poverty and high unemployment rates among the youth are exploited by terrorists in recruiting the youth into their illicit and heinous operations;
- Illicit extraction of and trade in precious minerals is very common in countries where acts of terrorism and violent extremism are high;
- Lack of transparency in the distribution of resources causes serious divisions among citizens which usually culminate in the aggrieved parties resorting to violence in order to settle their scores. In worse scenarios, terrorist groups take advantage of these deep-rooted animosities to finance civil wars and violent mob uprisings against the state;
- Corruption by both state and non-state actors will continue to foment strife and conflicts in a country if it is not addressed, and terror groups take advantage of this challenge to loot public resources;
- Weak criminal justice systems enable terror groups to operate in a country without fear or respect of the law;
- Bandits penetrate state institutions, including state security, using very sophisticated mechanisms that are very difficult to detect and usually do so to destabilise national elections;
- Terrorists have also invaded the cyber space to spread their influence;
- Some non-state actors (civic society organisations) divert from their sanctioned mandates to finance terrorism. They do so by taking advantage of weak governing systems and the prevalence of poverty among African states;
- Regime change agenda has been used to destabilise African governments;
- The media is often times used to propel divisions among citizens and terrorists exploit such civil conflicts to penetrate societies and communities by financing those that fall prey to them.
7.0 Session 2: Measures aimed at mitigating terrorist threats and violent extremism suggested by the participating parliamentarians.
7.1 Transparent and Equitable distribution of resources
It was noted that corruption was an evil that had left many African countries poorer. The economic gap between the rich and the poor has reached alarming levels, thereby causing
strife between and among several African communities. It was therefore suggested that legislation that ensured transparency and equitable distribution of resources was essential
in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism.
7.2 Adoption of programmes that promote tolerance and respect for human dignity as well as coopting traditional leaders in state institutions;
Governments were encouraged to promote and implement programs that were acceptable and culturally viable for the targeted communities. Development programs which
deliberately left out traditional leadership were most likely bound to fail. National governments were advised to engage community leaders who understood the needs of their
communities at grassroots level.
7.3 Political and Economic Cooperation at regional level
Regional bodies such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) were vehemently advised to
strengthen political cooperation in addition to the existing economic ties. This also included the strengthening of military and security structures at national and regional levels;
7.4 Sharing of information
Increased and strengthened information sharing at national and regional levels for concerted collaborative efforts in curbing terrorism is critical. State institutions should keep up-to-date data and statics regarding the movement of people within and across its borders. Migration management is very essential and information pertaining to the same must be availed to all connected institutions as a counter-terrorist strategy aimed at detecting terrorist threats. Neighbouring countries sharing borders were encouraged to collaborate through sharing vital information on mitigating terrorist threats and violent extremism.
7.4 The Media
Positive reporting void of hate speech is very crucial in the prevention against violent extremism. The Media was seen to be a key player in countering terrorism violent extremism by complementing government efforts of peace building and nation building. Media Houses were encouraged to make a commitment to resort to constructive reporting
rather fueling divisions through negative broadcasting.
7.5 Citizen engagement and empowerment
Fighting terrorism and violent extremism should involve all state institutions, private entities and every citizen in the country. The State must come up with programmes that are
progressive and people centered. Citizens must not be divorced from the State. National governments must adopt programs aimed at empowering vulnerable groups of society
including the youth, women, people living with disability and minority groups. The total engagement of citizens in developmental projects gives them a sense of ownership and
belonging and this is an essential strategy for curtailing violent extremism and terrorism.
7.6 Demobilisation of child soldiers, rehabilitation and reintegration into the society.
In countries torn apart by civil wars and mob uprisings, demobilisation of child soldiers was said to be very vital. Young children who were forced into joining military groups should be rehabilitated in special institutions that would prepare them for reintegration into society.
7.7 Sport and Sport legends
It was noted that sports can be very instrumental in educating, reconciling and uniting communities in conflict. Well organized sporting events can be effectively utilized in settling scores between or among conflicting and warring parties. More so, sport legions can be very influential in settling differences and educating communities and societies on the need to unite against any terrorist threats.
7.8 Parliaments were encouraged to be more proactive by adopting robust legislation and strengthening oversight of its implementation (legislation aimed at mitigating threats to
terrorism). Parliamentarians and State Security should regularly be capacitated in order to keep abreast with evolving terrorist threats.
7.9 Relevant security and law enforcement organs of Member States should engage in a dialogue on the development of effective solutions and robust measures, including the
harmonisation of national legislation and regulations on PVE and counter-terrorism (CT) in line with the relevant resolutions and recommendations of the UN Security Council and General Assembly as well as the international standards and best practices.
8.0 Session 3: International technical assistance programmes and projects Counter Terrorism and Prevention of Violent Extremism.
8.1 Rabat Programme Office
The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism Program Office for Counter-Terrorism and Training in Africa, based in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco, was officially inaugurated on June
23, 2021. The Program Office was tasked with developing and implementing key counter terrorism training programs and initiatives to support requesting Member States and their
Security sector and Law Enforcement agencies, with a particular focus on the Sahel and West Africa region.
The Office supports and host already existing and ongoing short-term programs and projects on Counter-Terrorism investigations, border management, prison management, prevention, disengagement and reintegration and countering financing of terrorism that are being carried out by different branches of UNOCT.
8.2 Border Security and Management
The global Border and Security Management programme aims to prevent the cross-border movement of terrorists and stem the flow of foreign terrorist fighters through improved border security and management and cross-border cooperation among beneficiary countries. It seeks to increase and strengthen awareness, knowledge and capacity of Member states. Biometric data is shared and used responsibly to enhance border control and security in the counter terrorism context [Security Council Resolution 2396 (2017)]. UNOCT's targeted capacity-building training, based on established best practices for border
security management, is being delivered through an “All of UN” approach with key Global Compact partners including IOM and INTERPOL.
8.3 Cyber Security and New Technologies
The Programme on Cyber security and New Technologies was adopted in April 2020 with the aim to enhance the capacities of Member States, international and regional organisations and UN entities to raise awareness of the terrorist cyber-threat. It also sought to enhance technical capacities required to prevent, mitigate and respond to terrorist and violent extremist groups misusing new technologies like the internet and Artificial Intelligence. The programme also intends to enhance capacities of Member States to counter and investigate terrorist activities by gathering digital forensic evidence and through the use of new technologies. Ideally, the intention would be that of building a collective understanding on the threat of malicious uses of new technologies by terrorists.
8.4 Countering Terrorist Travel
The Programme assists beneficiary Member States in building their capabilities to detect and counter terrorists and serious criminals. This is done by using Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) to improve the use of international databases with known and suspected terrorists and criminals, such as with INTERPOL, and enhance international information exchange, in accordance with Security Council resolutions and relevant privacy laws. The programme targets. The courses on offer are open for registration to all Counter Terrorism Travel Beneficiary Member States, law enforcement agencies, national counter-terrorism agencies, and any official institutions dealing with potential terrorist travel.
The Secretary-General officially launched the Programme on 7 May 2019. Since then, 47 Member States officially joined the Programme, with approximately 40 more Member States indicating strong interest to do so.
8.5 Global Programme on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE)
UNOCT's Global Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE) Programme was launched in January 2021 and its main objective is to enhance the capacity of Member States, UN entities, regional organisation, and civil society in areas such as strategic communications, youth engagement and empowerment, policy assistance, mental health and psychosocial support, gender, and human rights. Member states would benefit from capacity-building initiatives designed using a human rights, evidence based, co-design approach, which is
specially tailored to the needs and existing capacities of beneficiaries, within the local context in which they operate.
8.6 Fusion Cells
The Global Fusion Cells Programme is funded by the United Nations Peace and Development Trust Fund (China). The programme is being implemented by UNOCT in cooperation with Interpol and various other organisations. The focuses on strengthening existing national counter-terrorism structures (Fusion Cells or Centres) that engage in collecting, all – source, all – threat, reporting and provide support through specialist technical assistance. It also seeks to improve Member States’ production of strategic and operational level outputs, such as the strategic threat assessments, and where possible, support Member States’ capacity to develop and maintain “terrorist watch lists”. The current programme beneficiaries include Ghana, Botswana, Uganda, Togo, and the regional body SADC.
9.0 Session 4: Needs of Parliaments in Africa for technical assistance and capacity building
It was noted that African Parliaments required technical assistance and capacity building in specific areas of counterterrorism and prevention of violent extremism. A call was made to establish an effective and dedicated counterterrorism and prevention of violent extremism network of African Parliamentarians. This would provide a conducive platform for Parliamentarians to share experiences and information on counterterrorism and extremism.
10 Key outcomes and Resolutions
- Establishment of an online network for Parliamentarians from African States on Counter Terrorism and Prevention of Violent Extremism- This will facilitate continual engagements of Parliament through direct sharing of information and experiences relating to mitigating threats to terrorism.
- Establishment of a working group on Africa to design concrete plans of actions for future engagements;
- Setting up parliamentary advocates on Counter-Terrorism and Prevention of Violent Extremism at national level to sensitize the population;
- Where necessary, review of legislation on Counter Terrorism at national level;
- Supporting sporting engagements and Youth Education programmes;
- Consolidating and expanding technical assistance and capacity building programmes to member states in thematic areas such as Border Security and Management, Counter Terrorism Investigations, Prison Management, Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE) and Prosecution, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (PRR).
10.0 Observations
10.1 Noting that Zimbabwe is currently not directly and overtly experiencing terrorist threats in particular, it is worth knowing that terrorism is increasingly becoming ubiquitous. The Cabo Delgado case is an eye opener and should serve as a lesson that terrorism knows no boundaries and the threat posed by the same is imminent hence the call for a proactive as opposed to a reactive approach to terrorism.
10.2 Political instability, corruption, unfair distribution of resources, weak conflict and resolution strategies and polices, lawlessness, weak justice delivery system, poverty, gender imbalances, unemployment of the youth and exclusion of minority groups from national development programs are among the common sources of extremism and drivers of terrorism
10.3 Fighting terrorism calls for strong bilateral and regional collaboration and international cooperation. Information intelligence is critical and countries which share borders are
encouraged to share vital information that is critical in countering terrorism.
10.4 The porosity of the border remains a cause for concern. It is reported that there are more than thirty-three undesignated crossing points countrywide. Thus, the unregulated cross
border movement of people through undesignated crossing points is a threat to the internal security of a country.
10.5 The State, media and civil society organisations must operate in a harmonious environment where the media and civil society organisations should be independent in their operations
yet positively complementing government efforts of nation building and development as opposed to fueling divisions and conflicts at all levels.
10.6 There is need to capacitate academic and security sector research institutions in order to enhance the State’s preparedness to prevent and counter terrorism and violent extremism.
10.7 The State must also take advantage of UNOCT programmes aimed at capacitating State Security agencies as well as Parliamentarians on their legislative and oversight function.
11.0 Recommendations
11.1 Starting with the 2023 national budget going forward, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development should increase its budgetary allocations on all programs and projects aimed at strengthening the capacity of the State in preventing social unrest which has the potential of fueling violent extremism and threats of terrorism;
11.2 The State must take stern measures to arrest corruption, address gender imbalances, ensure transparent and equitable distribution of resources, implement conflict and resolution
strategies and polices and strengthen the capacity of law enforcement agencies and the judiciary system in order to guard against violent extremism and terrorism;
11.3 Bilateral agreements on integrated border management and sharing of immigration data with neighbouring countries must be prioritised to cope with ever-changing trends in technology which have a large bearing on terrorism;
11.4 By the end of 2023, the Government must ensure that all designated ports of entry and exit are upgraded with enhanced physical and electronic security systems while increased
physical patrols supported by adequate tools of trade must be prioritised in order to curb illegal crossing along the borderline;
11.5 By end of July 2023, local media practitioners should be sensitized and capacitated on positive and constructive journalism that resonates well with national ethos, interests and
aspirations;
11.6 The government must invest in capacitating and strengthening academic and security sector research institutions with a view to increasing knowledge on drivers of violent extremism and terrorism and possible ways of curbing these ills of society that threaten the security of the nation.
12.0 Conclusion
The pervasive nature of violent extremism and the threat of terrorism are inevitable. No single country is purely safe from the scourge of terrorism. Political instability, weak judicial systems, economic collapse and social decay, cyber bullying, corruption, transnational crimes, severely porous borders, increased human trafficking, increased irregular migration, soaring unemployment rates, exclusion and alienation of minority groups and the marginalized groups of society, hunger and the perils of natural disasters due to climate change, pandemics, religious intolerance and ethnic conflicts among others are all drivers of extremism and terrorism, individually or collectively. Indeed, Africa is under siege! A whole-of-government or whole-of-society approach is very critical in addressing violent extremism and terrorism. Regional cooperation and integration in countering terrorism is the way to go. Preparedness is significant. Zimbabwe needs to stay awake and be on the guard. I thank you.
HON. T. MOYO: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I wish to add my voice to the report that has been moved by Hon. Mayihlome mainly concerning the causes, manifestations and impact of terrorism. In my presentation and articulation, I will mainly focus on the underlining causes of terrorism. There are different types of terrorists which I can mention as Al Shabaab, which is an example, Boko Haram, different types of al-Quaeda, ISIS and several terrorist groups. What causes terrorism is a multiplicity of factors.
Some of them are as follows;balkanisation of countries especially African countries and Asian countries. It is a global challenge. Another cause of terrorism is the issue of ethnicities as having contributed to the upsurge of terrorism like poverty, tribalism and several other causes which include inequitable distribution of resources. There are two types of terrorism. Extreme terrorism or extremism in terms of terrorism and moderate forms of terrorism and the impact is prodigious. The impact is quite huge and some of the effects of terrorism include kidnappings, bloodshed, destabilisation, poverty, suicidal bombings, assassinations to mention just a few. What is important is the issue of engaging in counter terrorism and we want to encourage the African Union to have a peace keeping force that deals with counter terrorist attacks.
We have seen that terrorism is funded sometimes by NGOs and sometimes by legitimate governments with the intention of causing regime change and those efforts must be avoided and African governments must be on the alert to deal decisively with terrorist attempts. We have seen a lot of terrorist attacks happening in our neighbouring country Mozambique where people have been beheaded and we need to commend the SADC for having provided troops that dealt decisively with those terrorist forces especially in the Cabo Delgado region of Mozambique.
We have seen children being kidnapped in schools. A case in point is the activities of Boko Haram in Nigeria where girls were kidnapped for more than two years. By the time they were released, some of them were already mothers and that violated their fundamental rights to education and some families had to lose their daughters because of the impact of terrorism. One key recommendation I am going to proffer is the issue of having a counter-terrorist force; that all the regional groupings like COMESA, SADC, East African Community and ECOWAS should have troops on standby to deal and ensure that terrorism which is a threat must be brought to an end.
As policy makers, we need to come up with pieces of legislation which discourage terrorism. The punishment for terrorist attacks will be prolonged incarceration. Those leaders of terrorist groups, when they are arrested, must face the music. For example, having life imprisonment. With those few remarks, I need to thank you for giving me this opportunity. I will not say it vociferously like Hon. Nduna, but I need to thank you so much for this opportunity and also to thank the mover of this motion Gen. Mayihlome.
HON. BRIG. GEN. (RTD.) MAYIHLOME: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. MUTSEYAMI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 15th June, 2023.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. TOGAREPI: Thank you Madam Speaker. I move that we revert to Order of the Day No. 11.
HON. MUTSEYAMI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ON THE LEARNING AND EXCHANGE VISIT ON FINNISH EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE MODEL
HON. T. MOYO: I move the motion standing in my name,
that this House takes note of the Report on the Learning and Exchange visit on Finnish Early Childhood Education and Care Model by the Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education.
HON. MURAMBIWA: I second.
HON. T. MOYO:
1.0 Introduction
The Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education, together with the officials from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, participated in a learning and exchange visit on Early Childhood Education and Care in Finland and Sweden from 18 February to 3 March 2023. The delegation was led by Hon. T. Moyo, the Chairperson of the Committee and was accompanied by the following:
- 4 Committee Members – namely; Hon. C. Mutambisi, Hon. S. Budha-Masara, Hon. O. Murambiwa and Hon. G. Chanda;
- 3 Ministry officials – namely; Mrs. O. Kaira, Ms E. Mangezi and Mr. M. Danga, and
- 1 staff of Parliament, Mrs. P. S. Mtetwa (Secretary to the delegation).
The learning and exchange visit was facilitated by the Ambassador of Sweden, Her Excellency Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, who extended an invitation on behalf of Sahwira Africa International.
2.0 Objectives
The objectives of the visit were to:
2.1 Learn about Finland Early Childhood Education and Care Model that has been rated the best in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit (2021),
2.2 Understand the Education Financing Model in Finland,
2.3 Discuss best ways of collaborations between Zimbabwe Government and Zimbabweans in the Diaspora, particularly, Sahwira International Africa,
2.4 Visit the UNICEF Innovation Hub in Sweden, and
2.5 Engage the Zimbabwean Ambassador in Sweden and discuss best ways to collaborate with Finland and Sweden in the education sector.
3.0 Background to the Learning and Exchange Visit
The Ambassador of Sweden, Her Excellency Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga has had several engagements with Zimbabweans in the Diaspora in the different countries she is accredited to. One of her engagements was with Dr. Faith Mkwesha, the founder of Sahwira Africa International, a Non-Governmental Organisation based in Finland, with special interest in working and advancing the education system Africa. Thus, Sahwira Africa International working with its Partners, Fun Academy and Helsinki Education Consultancy seeks to have a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education particularly, to support Early Childhood Education and Care in Zimbabwe. The Ministry is expected to benefit from the Finnish Model, which will be tailor-made for the Zimbabwean context.
4.0 Summary of the Visit to Finland and Sweden
The delegation had meetings and workshops with the following organisations and individuals in Finland from 20 – 24 February 2023;
- Helsinki Education Hub Consultant to discuss the Finnish education System,
- Fun Academy Founder to discuss fun learning and early childhood education and care in Finland, particularly, the private sector perspective,
- Minister of Education and Culture and discussed the Finnish Early Childhood
Education and Care (ECEC), and possibilities for partnerships,
- Finnish National Agency for Education
- The Finnish Centre of Expertise in Education and Development,
- Chairperson of Education and Culture Committee – Finland Parliament,
- Member of Parliament responsible for Finland and Africa Relationships,
- Technology Industries of Finland
- Sahwira Africa International to discuss decolonising Early Education – From Zimbabwe to Finland
- Helsinki University
- Director of the UNICEF Learning Innovation Hub at Aalto University Toolo Campus, Helsinki
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department for Africa and the Middle East to discuss Development Aid and collaborations between Finland and Africa.
The delegation also toured the following institutions in Finland;
- The Helsinki Central Library Oodi, the biggest national library in Finland.
- International Centre for Early Education (ICEC), which is a private led Kindergarten School, and
- The City of Espoo Kindergarten preschool owned by the City of Espoo Municipality.
In Sweden from 27 February – 1 March, the delegation participated in the following;
- Tour and meeting with officials from the UNICEF Innovation Hub Head Office, and
- Tour of the Zimbabwe Embassy offices and round up meeting with Her Excellency, the Ambassador of Sweden, Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga.
5.0 Committee Findings 5.1 Overview of the Finnish Education Model
In 1921, Finland introduced new laws aimed at transforming the education sector, which has since evolved over time to ensure equal access for all children irrespective of background, origins, age or economic status. Firstly, the Finnish Government made school attendance compulsory for all Finnish children, and secondly, introduced free education for all children starting basic education to university level. However, Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is not free but heavily subsidised. According to the regulations, no one should derive profit from providing basic education in Finland.
The Finnish basic education system consists of (a) early childhood education and care, (b) preprimary education, (c) primary and lower secondary education and (d) upper secondary education. (See Figure 1). The stipulated teacher pupil ratio for ECEC is 1:4 for children under three years, 1:12 for children between 3 and 6, and 1:21 for children older than 6 years. The education system has developed to the extent that there are no glaring disparities in schools. This has resulted in ‘no best school’ rankings in Finland as all schools equally provide the same quality of services.
5.2 Early Childhood Education and Care (ECCE)
Every child has a right to attend early childhood education at the end of parental leave, from 10 months to six years. The Finnish ECEC model believes that playing is the best way of learning for this age group. Therefore, teachers ensure that children develop skills, knowledge and capabilities from different learning areas in accordance with their age, abilities and areas of interest. The planning stages involves the children too, who are the major stakeholder in all the school activities. The teachers do respect the children’s areas of interest and design the curriculum in line with that. Teachers utilises various learning methods which are (a) Individual learning, (b) small group learning activities, (c) whole group learning and (d) project-based learning.
The delegation had the opportunity to visit two ECEC centres, namely;
- Espoo Pre-school operated by the government through the City of Espoo municipality, and
- International Child Care Education Centre (ICCEC) operated by the private sector.
What was striking to note was that both centres were equally good with almost similar infrastructure and services despite being operated by different entities. Both pre-schools are furnished with state-of-the-art equipment to support early learning for the children, such as books, toys, gadgets, bunk beds and mattresses, among others. The centres also offer carpentry and painting facilities. The government provides grants to support and maintain all the pre-schools, regardless of ownership as measures to ensure equality and equity. Parents have the option to take their children to any of the pre-schools. Pre-school fees ranges between 0 – 280 Euros depending on the family’s size and income. Those who opt for private day care centres receive a private day care support from the Finland Government to cushion them so that no child is excluded from school.
5.3 Comprehensive Basic Education
Comprehensive basic education starts when the child turns seven (7) and is compulsory. This stage comprises of nine grades. Grades 1 – 6 teachers specialise in pedagogy, while grade 7 – 9 (lower secondary) teachers, specialise in the different subject areas. The children have the same teacher for the first six years, which allows the teacher to get to know the students well. In turn, the teacher is able to develop the class curricula which suits the learners’ needs. Assessments are done by the class teacher on a regular basis using the written down set standards in the curriculum. There are no national examinations or standardised tests for children in primary and lower secondary school. The class teacher is the one responsible for evaluating the students’ progress over time. The final certificate given at the end of ninth grade are given by the school teachers and the learners are selected for further studies based on these school assessments.
5.4 Matriculation System
Matriculation examination is the first important standardised tests taken by students as they transition to either university or university of applied sciences or vocational colleges. These examinations are taken at the end of Upper Secondary School. The learners are tested on the following 5 subjects; mother tongue and, according to the choice of each candidate, 4 of the following; second national language, a foreign language, mathematics or one subject in general studies such as humanities and natural science. Students are also free to include optional examinations.
5.5 Teacher Professionalisation
Teaching is an attractive career choice in Finland given that the teachers are valued, well paid and trusted people in Finland. In the early 1990s, Finland decentralised the education system and abolished the school inspectorate system. This has given the teachers autonomy to run the national education curriculum without any supervision. The teachers are at liberty to plan their teaching material independently based on the national and local school curricula. The teaching profession is governed by the 1994 legislation, which introduced a master's level as the minimum qualification for all basic education teachers and a Bachelor’s degree for ECEC. In terms of remuneration, a teacher earns on average 3 570 Euros (US$3900) with the lowest earning as little as 1 750 Euros (US$1900) per month. However, teacher salaries vary significantly based on years of experience, skills and location. Of importance to note is that the Finnish and Swedish language teachers are paid lucratively as measures to preserve and encourage teachers to specialise in the indigenous languages.
5.6 School Administrators
The School Heads or Principals are the school administrators responsible for day-to-day operation of the school including budget management, acquisitions and recruitment of teachers. The School Heads or Principals must have a master’s degree in any teaching qualification, a certificate in educational administration or equivalent and an appropriate work experience. The Municipalities are responsible for the recruitment of school administrators. The schools have the right to provide educational services according to their own administrative arrangements and visions, as long as the basic functions, defined by law, are carried out.
5.7 Education Financing Model
Education in Finland is free of charge, with all learners receiving financial and educational support from the government. The education system is mostly state and municipal funded, with the State providing approximately 25% while municipalities about 75% of the resources. The State spends between 11% and 12% of its budget on education. The Finnish people are highly taxed in order to raise enough budgetary resources to finance education. The statutory government transfer to local authorities is based on the number of 0-15 years living in the municipality and the special conditions of the municipality. The municipalities do decide independently how the funds are allocated and utilised within the school. It is the responsibilities of local authorities to provide free textbooks, meals and transportation for all learners. The municipalities are also responsible for paying the teachers’ salaries.
5.8 Special Needs Education
Children who require special attention are assisted and provided by the school through the Special Needs Education model, provided within the mainstream education system. There are basically three levels of support that learners get from their school designed as follows;
- General Support whereby every pupil has the right to sufficient support for learning and attending school as soon as problems emerge. Support is usually through remedial instruction as part of everyday activities of the school.
- Intensified Support whereby pedagogical assessment and plan for support is made in the pupil welfare group of the school. Intensified support is more robust and consistent than general support. It aims at preventing problems from accumulating and becoming more serious or complex.
- Special Support is given where intensified support is not adequate. The school in cooperation with the teachers and the school welfare group draws up an individual education plan which will be used together with other support measures.
The Finnish education has developed over time such that there is no private tutoring of children in Finland. The main purpose of special needs education is to provide pupils broad based and systematic help so that they can continue to upper secondary school level.
5.9 School Meals
Free school meals have played an important part in strengthening economic growth and transforming Finland into a knowledge-based society. Finland was the first country in the world to introduce a legislation on free school meals in 1943, and has been doing this since then. Free school meals have been provided with the aim of supporting children’s learning, nutrition, and health. All pupils from pre-primary to upper secondary schools get a free of charge, nutritious meal each day. The Finnish school feeding system is a joint responsibility, steered nationally while implemented locally by municipal education authorities.
5.10 Role of Helsinki Education Hub
The City of Helsinki funds the Helsinki Education Hub project, which seeks to promote growth of the education and technology (EduTech) entrepreneurship and new businesses. The concept was developed based on the need to address market concerns through development of science and engineering skills through education. The Hub connects funding, researchers and corporations through encouraging students to be innovative. Innovation Hubs creates opportunities for pre-incubation, co-creation, research acceleration and collaboration space and events. Most municipalities funds most of these innovation hubs.
5.11 Role of Technologies Industries (TI) of Finland
Technologies Industries is a consortium of more than 1800 technology companies of which 70% are privately owned. Technology Industries have committed to developing future schools through supporting innovations, research and development in schools. Focus is on different critical sub-sectors such as mechanical engineering, information technology, electronics and electro-technical industries, science and technology among others. Finland is having an aging population hence the need to address the technological gap in future schools. It is estimated that in 10 years’ time, three quarters of new employees must have studied technology or ICT. Therefore, TI works closely with schools, especially the young learners so as to help develop their skills in their early years. Technology Industry hosts a programme titled, ‘technology programmes for 1st graders’ which supports children to be innovative in their early years. The focus is mainly on development of technology, innovations and creativity among the ECD learners and how to solve life problems. TI funds the school activities and the technology to support new innovations by the learners.
5.12 Collaborations between Ministry, Sahwira Africa International, Fun Academy and Helsinki Education Hub Consultancy Group
Sahwira Africa International, Fun Academy and the Helsinki Education Consultancy Group have expressed interest in partnering and collaborating with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education in supporting Early Childhood Education in Zimbabwe. It is believed that Zimbabwe can benefit from Finnish Early Childhood Education model through contextualising it to the Zimbabwean environment. Given that Finland and Zimbabwe are two extreme worlds apart, it was highlighted that the early childhood content development must take into account the Zimbabwean context of culture and heritage. Thus, Sahwira Africa International together with its partners, would like to work with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education on advancing ECD education in Zimbabwe through engaging in the following activities;
- Training of ECD teachers on the latest pedagogy, particularly in the use of digital and electronic tools in innovative teaching and learning trajectories; and
- Up-skilling/Professional Development of Early Childhood policy makers, infant supervisors and administrators in digital and electronic monitoring and supervision of the Fun learning packages.
- Train primary and secondary school teachers and heads on phenomenon based methodology that supports solution based thinking in students using the Finland case study model that can be contextualised to the Zimbabwean situation.
5.13 Visit to UNICEF Innovation Hub
The delegation had the privilege to visit and meet with the Directors at both UNICEF Innovation Hubs in Finland and Sweden. Sweden hosts the headquarters of UNICEF Innovation Centre while Helsinki University in Finland hosts the Learning Innovation Hub and the Innovative Finance Hub. The Innovation Centre facilitates the discovering, co-creating and scaling up of bold solution and technologies for children today. The hub brings together a team of experts who helps in identifying latest innovations and experimentations happening in academia that could be a game changer in the development world, particularly for the children around the world. In addition, UNICEF Innovative Finance Hub hosts the Venture Fund which finances and supports early-stage, open source technology solutions in the global south to improve children’s lives and amplify local talent to global markets.
To date, many innovative solutions have been identified for scaling up and 5 are already reaching over 1 million children in multiple countries. These innovations include among others, the Giga, Water More Life, Oky (World’s First Period Tracker App Designed by Girls for Girls) and Bebbo (mobile parenting app designed to support Early Childhood Development). The Hub is also implementing a project called UPSHIFT, which is an opportunity to support youth and adolescents to become a force for positive social and economic change, contributing to a competitive labour force, sustained economic growth, improved governance, and vibrant civil societies.
5.14 Round Up Meeting with the Zimbabwean Ambassador to Sweden
The delegation concluded its benchmark visit with a round up meeting with the Zimbabwean Ambassador to Sweden, Her Excellency Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga. The following key points were highlighted;
- That the development of the Education Financing Model is the panacea for the sector as the Government adopts ‘free education for all’ The Finnish people are highly taxed contributing significantly to the national budget.
- That the ‘school hot meal’ or school feeding program provided by the Government of Finland has gone a long way in promoting equality in education as well as increasing school completion rates. There is need to rethink the school feeding model in Zimbabwe to ensure effectiveness and efficiency.
- That Zimbabwe must continue its re-engagement program so as to unlock more business opportunities in Finland and Sweden, particularly in revamping the education sector,
- That there is need for ECD teachers to participate in capacity development and training, either online or physical exchange programmes with Helsinki University through the Sahwira Africa International Initiative. The signing of the MOU between the Ministry and Sahwira Africa International is recommended.
- That digitalisation is the way to go for the education sector so learners are exposed to the latest technology. The role of the private sector must not be underestimated.
That the Committee engages and give feedback to the following stakeholders; Finland Ambassador based in Mozambique, Swedish Ambassador in Harare and UNICEF given their interest in the benchmark visit and exchange program.
6.0 Committee Observations
6.1 Finland education system has excellent learning outcomes which have been witnessed over time due to its research-based pedagogy and innovative approach to teaching and learning. This has been strengthened by the system which allows one teacher to teach pupils from grade 1 to 6. In Zimbabwe, the children are subjected to new teachers every year, which makes it difficult for a teacher to fully understand the needs of his or her learners.
6.2 Finland considers ECEC as the foundation of education and the Government ensures that it meets all the educational requirements for all schools to facilitate proper and equal learning in class and schools. In Zimbabwe, the Government has very little role to play in ECD financing as witnessed by limited budgetary funding of less than 1% of the budget. Nevertheless, significant progress has been made in formalising the introduction of ECD A and B facilities in all public and private schools.
6.3 Finland has the best and top quality teachers, including for ECEC who do enjoy professional freedom and trust from the government, hence the abandonment of the school inspectorate system. Teacher professionalisation has been central to the successful development of the education sector. In Zimbabwe, the Teachers Professional Council has been on the drawing board for too long and there is need to resuscitate this proposal as measures to transform the welfare of the teachers in Zimbabwe.
6.4 Finland pays its language teachers lucratively as measures to promote and motivate and the teaching of such languages in Finland. In Zimbabwe, while progress has been made in training of language teachers, challenges relating to the recruitment process continues to impact negatively on schools. Some schools, especially in remote and rural areas have no or limited language teachers.
6.5 Finland hosts great innovative teaching methods and strong ICT sector, which has contributed in creating favorable conditions for developing cutting-edge digital learning solutions that make learning fun. The private sector industries play a pivotal role in ploughing back to schools and encourage development of innovative solutions by the young generation. In Zimbabwe, access to ICT has been a major challenge especially in rural schools, where ICT services are not available.
6.6 The Finland government has been consistent in providing school meals since 1947 and this has greatly improved school completion rates as well as promoted equity in schools. Zimbabwe has adopted the concept but implementation has been constrained by limited financial resources. In Finland, the school feeding program is a national program, which is implemented through the Municipalities. Therefore, Zimbabwe can take advantage of the devolution agenda to manage the school feeding program through decentralizing implementation of the program to local authorities.
6.7 Matriculation Examination in Finland is only done at the end of upper secondary school, which reduces the burden on the government of running examinations at various intervals of basic education. In Zimbabwe, the first standardised tests are written at the end of primary school in grade 7. The Zimbabwe School Examination Council has been overburdened by the limited resources to run such national examinations at grade 7, form 4 and form 6, which require huge funding. This has resulted in a huge burden on the government and parents.
6.8 In Zimbabwe, the education system provides for inspectors who monitor schools’ performance. However, this inspectorate system has not been functional due to limited resources.
6.9 The Technologies Industries in Finland is making significant progress in the formation of future schools that are ICT compliant through working with relevant schools to support use of technology and development of innovative ideas. This model is also ideal for Zimbabwe and can be contextualised to suit the Zimbabwe economic environment.
6.10 UNICEF Innovation Hub is central to development of innovations that can transform the lives of children across the globe. The Jotters Innovation was a case in point recommended for UNICEF to take over and support since it can benefit many children in Zimbabwe.
7.0 Committee Recommendations
Early Childhood Education and Care
7.1 That the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education signs a Memorandum of Understanding with Sahwira Africa International to capacitate ECD teachers by 31 December 2023.
7.2 That the Government develops, through legislation, the education financing model suitable for ECD in Zimbabwe by 31 December 2023.
7.3 That the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education be supported with subsidies to upscale the school feeding program to all schools (On-going).
7.4 That the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education working with the Ministry of Energy and Power Development be supported to electrify and power all schools so that the ECD departments also benefit from modern digital technologies (On-going).
7.5 That the Government invest in recruitment of local language teachers, which is central to ECD education as provided for in the Education Amendment Act (31 December 2023).
7.6 That the Government prioritise funding ECD education and increase budgetary resources to 5% of the national budget (On-going).
Primary and Secondary Education
7.7 That Zimbabwe School Examination Council focuses on writing of ‘O’ and ‘A’ Levels examinations only and restructure grade 7 examinations to allow children to focus on the Continuous and Learning Assessment (CALA) and other school assessments, as measures to reduce the examination burden on both parents and government by 31 December 2023.
7.8 The Ministry of Primary and Secondary education be capacitated to fully operationalise the inspectorate system so that schools are adequately monitored.
7.9 The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education must continuously liaise with the UNICEF country office for incubation and development of home-grown solutions that can benefit the education system (On-going).
Other Key Recommendations
7.10 That the Government urgently improves remuneration and conditions of service for all teaching personnel in Zimbabwe (On-going).
7.11 That teacher professionalisation through the establishment of the Teacher Professional Council will go a long way in addressing the current challenges facing the education sector by 31 December 2023.
7.12 That the Portfolio Committees on Primary and Secondary Education and that on Higher Education, Science and Technology in collaboration with its line Ministries host an ‘All Stakeholder Conference’ that involves the private, intergovernmental organisations, civil society and the public sectors to discuss ‘future schools’ by 31 December 2023.
7.13 That the Committee engages the Finland Ambassador based in Mozambique, Swedish Ambassador in Harare and UNICEF and update them on the Committee’s key findings by 30 June 2023.
8.0 Conclusion
The Committee fully believes that investment in the education sector, particularly, improving the conditions of service for teachers and creation of an education fund will also go a long way in addressing some of the current challenges bedeviling the sector. The sector is central to national development through the development of human capital essential for economic growth. Therefore, the Committee calls upon the House to take note of its report which proffers some recommendations aimed at transforming the education sector, particularly Early Childhood Development. It is critical for the Government to remodel its early childhood education and care using the Finnish model and adopt what is applicable for the Zimbabwe situation.
*HON. MURAMBIWA: Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I have stood up to support the report that has been presented by Hon. Moyo, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education.
Madam Speaker, the visit that we went to Finland as a Portfolio Committee was a very important one because we observed and learnt a lot of things with regards to education. Firstly, I was impressed with their curriculum. The Curriculum from ECD is of good standard, which gives children skills to do a lot of things. In one of the classes, I saw children skillfully painting, a child aged three years, painting a rocket.
However, when I compared it with our education system in Zimbabwe, I observed that we rush to have exams at the end of the year and the child is said not to be good at school because the child would have failed either English or Mathematics but in Finland, they advocate that whoever teaches the Finnish Language must be paid more because they place a lot of value and importance on the person who teaches Finnish contrary to what Zimbabwe does. We do not appreciate our languages when teachers, nurses, and every other job are being recruited, the recruitment requires English, Mathematics, and Science, and there is no mention of local languages such as Tonga, Chewa, and Shangani or it means that a child who is good at Shona, when they are at school, they are not respected. This will cause a lot of our children not to want to attend school because of the type of education that we have. One may be good at crafts like woodwork and may not be good at English; others may be sports people, good at playing football, whilst others may be good at carpentry. So the skills should be identified from a tender age.
I was impressed by the education system in Finland. If as Zimbabweans, we were to expand our curriculum and ensure that talents are identified at a young age, that will help us. It will even instil an attitude of liking school by our children when they are in school.
The other issue that I was impressed with was the issue of teachers, as already stated by the Hon. Chairperson. Teachers are well respected in Finland. In what way are they respected? Teachers are consulted in the formulation of the curriculum and they are also respected by their remuneration. Upon qualification, they are given a car and a house. We are also trying to look into the welfare of our teachers here, their children’s fees should be paid for. Upon comparison, I realised that when I visited a particular school, the headmaster said that the teachers were paid and the money that was meant to be paid for teachers was paid. It was USD $25.00 and Government had allocated RTGS3 500.00 per child. I do not know its USD equivalence – that was the money that was paid to schools. How much is it? Maybe $0.50c, this is what was paid to schools and then the teacher is then asked to pay the difference from $25.00 – this demoralises teachers. We should walk the talk. When we undertake to pay fees for teachers’ children, then we should pay it in full. If a school requires $25.00, then its equivalence should be paid. This will encourage our teachers to work harder.
In Finland, I observed that teachers are respected but in Zimbabwe, when you meet the majority of teachers, they are no longer proud to be associated with their teaching profession. Their work is now being looked down upon because of their remuneration. Hon. Speaker, you are in that Chair because you went to school. We have doctors and pilots because they went to school. When we then look at what they now earn, they have high paying jobs but they do not forget to adequately compensate or remunerate their teachers - €3750.00 is their salary. It will be more than USD5000 although there may be deductions but that is a reasonable amount and a teacher will be comfortable with paying fees for his or her children.
In order for a teacher to send their child to boarding school, now no teacher can afford to do so from their salary unless they have additional income earning capacities. The teacher is there at the boarding school, teaching children of those who are capable of paying school fees. Let us try to implement what we learnt in Finland. Maybe our teachers may enjoy their work. There is nothing that they miss, starting from the classrooms, they are state of the art in terms of the provision of furniture, books and computers. There is no school that does not have computers. We are in the right direction, trying as much as we can but we are still lagging behind. I urge those who are seized or responsible with ICT power in schools to make sure that our schools have the power and are fully resourced if we said that ICT should be taught in schools.
In addition, the teacher to pupil ratio is something that impressed me and the Hon. Chairperson mentioned it. ECD, the teacher to pupil ratio was one to four – there is no way the children can fail. There is no way a teacher would not want to teach because he or she will only have four books to mark. Here, we talk of one is to 60 in ECD or one is to 90 so that when the teacher comes from home, they will be stressed already when they think of the workload that they have to deal with, that is, 60 books to be marked. It is difficult.
We should also adjust this teacher to pupil ratio. It will help our Government if we could reduce it to one is to 40 or 25 in lower grades. It will also reduce the rate of unemployment to qualified teachers who are unemployed. This will help in employment creation as a lot of people are sitting at home and crying for employment will be absorbed into the teaching sector. We have schools and a lot of pupils. I have decided to talk about it so that possibly, our Government would look into that issue with a view to correct it.
I will deal with the issue of the school feeding programme. In Finland, I was quite happy and impressed that there is a feeding programme and they implement it very well. It will help us, in our country, because we have families that leave home without having had any meal or food. So, if there is a school feeding programme, it will help to reduce the dropout figures. Teachers also like their work because they will be teaching well fed children and by so doing, education will be improved because the children will focus on their studies; unless it is a child who goes to school on an empty stomach; who may simply get there and sleep because they will be hungry.
Our Government should take a leaf from the Finnish example. I am alive to the fact that we also have a feeding programme in our schools. Schools used to get maize only and the school heads would be stressed about where they would get the relish and cooking oil. In Finland, school children have tea, sausages and bread for breakfast, sadza with chicken and various other dishes. Juxtapositioning that with the Zimbabwean scenario, one child would bring dried vegetables, beans, mopani worms et cetera. We should mean it when we talk of school feeding programmes for our schools.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. DR. MAVETERA): Order, order, you are left with Five Minutes Hon. Murambiwa.
*HON. MURAMBIWA: Those in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare with the responsibility of distributing food to our schools should also adequately resource the schools so that the responsible authorities such as the headmasters, teachers-in-charge and the parents who do the cooking are not stressed and do not have headaches over where they will get the relish from.
Lastly Hon. Speaker, in conclusion, I am saying that if we say that we want our Zimbabwean education to be developed, it is only when the teachers are free; once the teachers are free, then we will never talk of a zero percent pass rate. We will not get 30 to 40 schools with zero pass rates, if the teachers are free because in Finland, teachers are not inspected. They do their work diligently at their own pace.
Let us ensure that our teachers are adequately resourced so that they will love and enjoy their work unlike a scenario where a teacher who is in the classroom is busy stressing over where she will get relish and their child who is supposed to be in boarding school has unpaid fees. Their children cannot go to school and eat when they have unpaid fees. Who do the children expect to pay their fees? The children will be at home instead of in school.
The issue of BEAM has set a lot of schools backwards. Yes, we are being assisted by the Government but the Government is also assisting the vulnerable children. Those who are responsible for disbursing that money should do so timeously so that schools get their money on time and use it while the rate is still reasonable. This will enable teachers to love their jobs because they will be at work. This will be the same thing as they did with lawyers. We should try and put our heads together to ensure that we advance the welfare of our teachers so that our education can improve. I thank you.
HON. JOSIAH SITHOLE: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I also want to add my voice to this very important report that was tabled by Hon. Torerai Moyo, as Chairperson of the Committee on Primary and Secondary Education, seconded by Hon. Murambiwa.
Madam Speaker Ma’am, the visit was very crucial in terms of trying to bring us closer to what we would also expect in our country for the benefit of enshrining quality education. Zimbabwe made a very bold stance to harness early childhood education into the formal education system. It used to be a stand-alone programme and as it was, it was not providing the necessary quality education that we were expecting. Now that it is there in the formal sector and with such a report as we have just received, we find that we benefit a lot from this report. Our education system tries to ensure that we incorporate the concept of living no-one behind and also trying to catch our children while they are still young.
Mr. Speaker Sir, we have certain challenges in our country and some of them have been alluded to. I would like to look at the issue of distances that our children have to travel - those who are doing early childhood, especially in the rural areas. You will find that they have to travel 5 to 10 km going to the nearest school. This exposes them to certain dangers, for example during the rainy season, we experience the challenge of flooded rivers. In some cases, they are also crossing thick forests and that is a disaster to our young children. As a result, some of the children will end up going for early childhood at the age of seven instead of going at the age of five. That would be stealing their time which they should be using to the maximum at school level.
When we talk about lack of resources, we also have to look at the types of teachers in our country who are teaching ECD. Most of the teachers teaching ECD are not qualified to teach ECD. They have not trained to teach ECD and in some cases, you find a teacher who actually trained to teach the juniors is found teaching ECD or a teacher whom they call a paraprofessional, someone who has not even gone to do the actual training at a college or a university. That person is made to teach ECD classes. In that case, we cannot expect the quality that we expect from that lower grade because it needs highly qualified persons.
We have just been informed from the report that in Finland, you have to have a degree in order for you to teach early childhood development. In Zimbabwe, we can just emulate someone who has got a simple diploma to teach because we do not have the relevant staff and I call upon our Government to continue teaching and churning out more teachers who can teach these lower grades.
We also have the issue poor accommodation for our teachers. In most cases, our teachers get to schools but where they stay, you can hardly have a visitor coming to your school to interact with you because there will be no accommodation. It is difficult especially in the resettlement areas. Some of the teachers actually teach from other neighbours’ homes. That is where they get accommodation from.
We are also a country that is trying to make sure that we provide good quality education as enshrined in our New Education Amendment Act of 2020. This visit can enable us to see where we are with our endeavours to provide quality education. You will also find that from ECD, it is the starting point for Education 5. 0. We have seen from the report that in Finland, if you get there, you will find people are churning their children and training them towards practical lessons or practical skills which will improve their competence. When they go up the ladder, they will be going through the required system.
Madam Speaker Ma’am, the issue of feeding has been touched on and feeding in schools is important in terms of luring some of the children that may not go to school because of hunger. Our schools develop some agricultural projects which can enhance food for the schools. They can grow crops. They can keep poultry or other forms of livestock so that our children will benefit locally rather than waiting for Government to ensure that there is feeding for those children. What Government provides might not suffice and might not be nutritious enough. So, I submit Madam Speaker, and I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 15th June, 2023.
On the motion of HON. T. MOYO, seconded by HON. TEKESHE, the House adjourned at Twelve Minutes past Five o’clock p. m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 13th June, 2023
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE ACTING SPEAKER in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE ACTING SPEAKER
INVITATION TO A ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH SERVICE
THE ACTING SPEAKER (HON. DR. MAVETERA): I wish to inform the House that there will be a Catholic Church Service tomorrow on the 14th of June, 2023 at 1200 noon in the Senate Chamber. All Members are invited and non-Catholic members are also invited.
HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Hon. Speaker, allow me to defer to Hon. Biti on my slot.
HON. BITI: Madam Speaker, I thank you very much. Last week the Constitutional Court issued a very important ruling on the legality of the Statutory Instrument in respect of which the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission levied nomination fees of at least US$1000 per member of the National Assembly and US$20 000 for a Presidential candidate. The net effect of that judgement is that the Parliamentary Legal Committee must examine that Statutory Instrument from two points of view: whether it is constitutional or whether it does not infringe Section 67 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe which allows free participation.
Secondly, whether the Electoral Act gives and clothes the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission with powers of imposing such a levy? I want to seek clarification from you as the head of the House whether in fact the Parliamentary Legal Committee has actually sat to determine whether that Statutory Instrument is ultra vires the Constitution and ultra vires the Electoral Act and that PLC report must be brought to this House so that we have a final say on it. So I need clarification Hon. Speaker Ma’am. Given the fact that the Nomination Court is sitting next week, the decision has to be made this week. I thank you very much – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Order, order Hon. Members. I think this is a very important point of privilege and it is important for you to know what is at stake. So for us to make noise, I think is a bit unfair for others – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – The PLC sat yesterday and we are going to publish the report between today and tomorrow. We can wait for that and then all those answers will then be responded to.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am, good afternoon. My point of national interest borders on a number of transgressions on our highways by motorists, both public and private transport. Madam Speaker Ma’am, whilst we are having a lot of accidents happening on our roads, we have not been able to utilise optimally the toll plazas and the tollgates. My issue here borders on the issue of the utilisation of our resilient infrastructure that we have which is quite robust, which is efficient and can be effective if utilised well.
The toll plazas and the other 17 or so tollgates around the country – the toll plazas, 10 of them on the 821 kilometres Plumtree-Mutare Highway which can be utilised to gauge the speed of the mass transport systems; distance over time taken will give us the speed that mass transport has been moving on, especially as they hit the first tollgate and they go to the next one.
Madam Speaker Ma’am, I request that there be an immediate utilisation of these toll plazas and tollgates and also to ascertain, adjudicate and make sure that the vehicles that pass through the tollgates have vehicle fitness. The vehicles should be capable of carrying passengers because they satisfy five issues, mass transport system, there should be licenced driver above 25 years of age, five years of experience, defensive driver’s licence and should have the right type of vehicle. These are certified, satisfied at the tollgates by just making sure we equip those tollgates with the relevant manpower from the Vehicle Inspection Department and a plethora of our police officers to police those vehicles at the toll plazas. This is my prayer Madam Speaker Ma’am from the people of Chegutu West Constituency, otherwise we are needlessly losing lives on our roads whilst we are holding on to infrastructure which can be utilised, second to none. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Nduna. I think that is a recommendation you are also giving to the Hon. Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development. I am sure that will be communicated accordingly so that he can be able to consider that.
*HON. SARUWAKA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to inform you that in our area D. C. Mutasa, a person called A. Manhiri was stabbed on Saturday by the National Parks guards whilst driving along Nyanga-Troutbeck Road.
*THE ACTING SPEAKER: Order, Hon. Member, you are saying he was stabbed by a gun?
*HON. SARUWAKA: I think Shona is different, I am saying he was shot by the National Parks guards whilst driving along Nyanga-Troutbeck Road. The whole community was disturbed by the incident. You know very well that according to our Constitution, Chapter 4 speaks about the rights of the people. The first right is the right to life. The death of Mr. Manhiri who was shot by Government guards is very painful to all of us. Madam Speaker, you know that we have death sentence in our Constitution but it is stipulated in Section 48 (2) that this can only be applied if someone kills a person through aggravated circumstances or conditions. Up to now, we are yet to hear the reason why the National Parks guards decided to shoot and kill Mr. Manhiri.
I urge you through this House to make sure that the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, when the matter of the late Manhiri who was killed by National Parks guards is before the courts, it must be set as an example that we uphold the rights of the people of Zimbabwe. We did not expect this incident to happen in our family. This shows that those officers who use guns during their duties are not well informed and are not aware of the Constitution that they are infringing on people’s rights. He was a family man who has left behind a wife and two kids.
*THE ACTING SPEAKER: I am sorry about the loss, may his soul rest in peace. You mentioned that the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs should intervene, we must know that we always talk about three arms of State, so that is going to be handled by the Judiciary and I want to believe that the Judiciary is going to do its job in a professional way. We usually talk about separation of powers, so we must respect that so that the Judiciary plays its role, and the same applies to the Minister regarding this matter but we cannot interfere with other people’s roles.
*HON. HWENDE: Thank you Madam Speaker. I rise over an issue that we deliberated on last week and there was a ruling. We appealed that the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Prof. M. Ncube should come and explain the salaries of civil servants and the price rise that are in the shops. When we talked about it, civil servants have not been paid. Soldiers and teachers were paid and they were paid same amounts that they were paid last month when the rate was ZW$900.00. The exchange rate has gone up.
The majority of them are being affected by Nyaradzo. They charge their subscriptions in USD. So, they are saying USD20 times ZW$6 000 which is the interbank rate of ZW$5 000 and PSMAS collects its money.
The Serjeant that I was talking to in Kuwadzana 2 said he was given ZWL68 994.90. In OK Kuwadzana it buys one full chicken and a kilogram of meat. He is expected to live for a month. I also met another police officer in Kuwadzana 3, who was paid ZWL62 115.31. That is what he was paid. This other one was given ZWL25 549.84 and that is what he was paid. As we requested last week, this is what people are being paid in this country. It is our plea…
*THE ACTING SPEAKER: Order Hon. Hwende. You once spoke about it and he said he would give evidence today. Thank you very much we have heard you.
*HON. HWENDE: You may not bar me from talking on behalf of the people. I am not yet through.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Give those papers to the Hansard so that we see the pay slips. Why are you muzzling me? I do not know whether that is authentic or it is something that you created. You must bring authentic things.
*HON. HWENDE: Give me a chance Hon. Speaker so that I finish up.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: I will not give you a chance because you may mislead the House without adequate evidence. Give it to the Hansard and we will verify. We are not debating this issue and I do not want to argue with you.
*HON. HWENDE: My plea is that the Minister of Finance and Economic Development should come. He is busy in Cowdry Park instead of coming here to answer issues. Last week on Tuesday, the Hon. Speaker said the Hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Prof. M. Ncube would come to give a State of the Economy Address. I want to move an order that we suspend the business of the day until the Minister appears before this House. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections]-
*HON. TOGAREPI: Hon. M. Ncube was here last week, why did you not say what you are saying today? –[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections]-
*THE ACTING SPEAKER: Order, Hon. Molekela and Hon. Munengami, you were the ones who were supposed to say that – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections]- What I wanted to say is, Hon. Hwende we have given you a chance. You once raised that issue. When you bring issues to this House, you bring authentic documents. This is just a message that was sent through the phone. I can easily write out such a message and sent it to you. Bring authentic evidence when you come here and not these papers that you have brought to us.
HON. MADZIMURE: On a point of order Madam Speaker. We have a privilege of requesting the Executive to come and respond to issues of national interest. This is now the third week since the issue of asking Hon. M. Ncube to come and make a ministerial statement…
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Order Hon. Mudzimure. Last week on Tuesday, Hon. M. Ncube was here.
HON. MADZIMURE: Madam Speaker, the procedure of Parliament is this, when you ask for a ministerial statement, when the Minister comes here, he asks for permission to present a ministerial statement. I was here last week and Hon. M. Ncube did not do that. If you do not do that, it means you are nowhere in a position to respond.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: I hear you and I am not speaking to myself. I am saying he will bring it.
HON. MADZIMURE: We are Hon. Members and we need the protection from your Chair and what you are now doing is, you are now debating with us Members - how do we respect you? Even if you chase all of us out, you will have set a dangerous C.V. for yourself. There is no civil servant today who can send his or her child to hospital on the pay slip that they are getting. This is a serious matter. They need to be comforted. We are sitting on a time bomb. If you defend them like this, you will not be able to defend them next time. Thank you.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Hon. Madzimure, I said we are going to ask the Clerk to remind the Hon. Minister on that and he will come and give a ministerial statement. Thank you. That is the last point of interest.
HON. T. MLISWA: Madam Speaker, thank you very much for this opportunity. My point of national interest concerns Members of Parliament. While we approve the budget here and there are matters in the Bluebook, for example, the one which Hon. Members were entitled to US$80 000 car then they got US$50 000 and the balance was US$30 000. This was something that was in the Bluebook and it is yet to be implemented but yet the Judiciary of the country – if I am not mistaken and I seek clarity – was given US$400 000 to buy houses. The Executive was given US$350 000 and we were given US$40 000. What is important from an aspect of national interest is that we need to give confidence to the Zimbabweans so that they do not think that we are busy plundering.
Where and how did the US$400 000 come about. Was it in the Bluebook? The US$350 000 for the Executive was it in the Bluebook. I can stand and say the one for Members of Parliament was in the Bluebook. So, people now believe that we are on a plundering exercise. It is therefore important for the Minister of Finance to come to this House and explain to this House which is the House for the people where the US$400 000, US$350 000 and US$40 000 came from so that this institution maintains its integrity and dignity. Otherwise it is really a shame that we who pass the budget can approve US$40 000 for ourselves. We will never do that because our role of oversight requires us to be well capacitated. If there is anything, we must be paid more than the Judiciary and Executive because we are that institution that provides oversight. If these other institutions are being given more money than us, then how are we going to conduct our role of oversight when we are poor. That is why now the aspect of corruption is in the Portfolio Committees which are there, for example the agriculture one where Hon. Members are now working with other institutions to make money.
The nation needs to know and that is the reason why I have said even our US$40 000 must be explained and I know that was in the Bluebook. What is now happening is that we are owed US$30 000 from the money which was in the Bluebook. When is that money going to come and I do not want to pretend as if I am begging for it? It is our right to have that money because it was approved by this august House. When are we going to get that money? US$80 000 was approved and we got US$50 000 and there is US$30 000 which is remaining. They were given duty free certificates for a second car which is US$60 000 and how are they going to buy that car if they do not have the US$30 000. The companies that we want vehicles from are prepared to give us a car for US$30 000 as a down payment and the rest they can structure it.
I am then appealing to you to explain to this House, how we are not being given what belongs to us. Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. We cannot be on our knees all the time on petty issues. This was a matter this House approved. Therefore, the Minister of Finance must come and explain the US$400 000, US$350 000 and our US$30 000 which is outstanding, which by right we should have by now. We cannot have Members of Parliament, leaving the eighth sitting of Parliament without getting what belongs to them. The stands that we have are a mere bush, they have not been serviced and so forth. Where do we go from here? That US$40 000, we still have it and we want to put it into our properties but yet those areas have not been serviced. What does it make of us at the end of the day?
Government cannot lie to this institution. Let them lie to everybody but not this institution which is there for the people. We are the poorest cousins yet we have the most powerful of all the cousins and so forth. That must stop. We must get what we want. The credibility of this country will be lost if we do not do what we agreed. This is a simple matter. The US$400 000 for the judges must be explained. The US$350 000 must be explained and where is it in the Bluebook. The US$50 000 we got is in the Bluebook. I can stand here as a legislator to say it was approved but the rest are not being approved. We cannot go into this election when people are being given US$400 000. They are entitled to loans but the process and procedure must be understood. We cannot be quiet on that or else the Government will be known to be a Government that wants to capture the judiciary. The judiciary must remain independent and they are entitled to loans but where did this money come from.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: I think the Hon. Minister will come and respond to that.
HON. DR. LABODE: On a point of order. I am really sorry I have to say this. I was at Mpilo Hospital yesterday and I noticed in Bulawayo a lot of people were wearing masks and I asked. They said doctor can you go to Mpilo. I went to Mpilo and a doctor took me to an isolation centre which was supposed to be for cardiac diseases and it has been converted to isolate children with COVID. When a child who is 3 years has COVID, how many people have been infected who were looking after that child. He then said to me even pregnant mothers, because COVID is on the increase. If you do not trigger an alarm now, you will go to elections under lockdown.
The Minister must declare now that start wearing masks because COVID is back. For sure COVID is back and it does not want elections.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE GENDER COMMISSION FOR THE YEAR 2022
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF WOMEN’S AFFAIRS, COMMUNITY, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHLANGA): I move the motion standing in my name that this House takes note of the Report of the Zimbabwe Gender Commission for the year 2022, presented in terms of Section 323(1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) is one of the independent commissions established in terms of Section 245 (1) of the Constitution and operationalised by the Zimbabwe Gender Commission Act Chapter 10:31. The Commission discharges its mandate in the spirit of the objectives provided in Section 233 of the Constitution which are:
- To support and entrench human rights and democracy.
- To protect the sovereignty and interests of the people of Zimbabwe.
- To promote constitutionalism.
- To promote transparency and accountability in public institutions.
- To ensure observance of democratic values and principles by the state and all institutions and agencies of Government and all Government controlled entities
- To ensure that injustices are remedied.
Mandate of the Zimbabwe Gender Commission
The Commission has an obligation to promote, protect and advance gender equality and equity in all spheres to ensure the enjoyment of fundamental rights as enshrined in various instruments of the State constitution as subscribed in Section 246. Specifically, the mandates of the Commission are:
- To monitor issues concerning gender equality.
- To investigate possible violations of rights.
- To receive and consider complaints from the public.
- Conduct research into issues related to gender and sexual justice and to recommend changes to those practices which lead to discrimination based on gender.
- To advise public and private institutions on steps to be taken to ensure gender equality.
- To recommend affirmative action programmes to achieve gender equality.
- To recommend prosecution for criminal violation of rights relating to gender.
- To secure appropriate redress where rights relating to gender have been violated.
- Do everything necessary to promote gender equality.
MAJOR MILESTONES OF THE 2022 ANNUAL REPORT:
Investigation
In accordance with Section 246(h) and also (c), carrying out investigation of possible violations of rights relating to gender equality is one of the key functions of the Commission. Further, the Zimbabwe Gender Commission Act also mandates the Commission to initiate public enquiries on possible gender violations buttressing its investigative role. Key investigations pursued under the year in review include:
- Conducted a multisectoral stakeholder’s enquiry in child marriages and sexual exploitation of young girls.
- Received and investigated over 500 cases of child marriages and sexual exploitation.
- Received and considered complaints which varied from sexual and gender-based violence, property rights, land and labour disputes among others.
- Offered legal advice through its toll-free number and assisted walk in clients who visited the exhibition stand at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair as well as the Harare Agricultural Show.
Monitoring
Pursuant to its oversight role to monitor issues concerning gender equality with a view to ensure compliance with gender equality provisions in the Constitution and other regional and international instruments on gender equality and equity which the country subscribes to the Commission managed to;
- Observe and monitor the 26th March by elections in all the provinces.
- Issued several advisory notes that implored agents of public institutions to mainstream gender equality in their processes.
- Issued recommendation letters to various duty bearers for compliance with constitutional gender equality principles in appointment of boards of State enterprises and mainstreaming gender equality in their institutions.
- Dissemination to key stakeholders of the Zimbabwe Gender Commission monitoring and evaluation framework and sectoral questionnaires on the monitoring and evaluation system.
- Implemented phase 2 of the Women Arise in Politics in four electoral districts, namely Chipinge, Bikita, Lupane and Gokwe.
- Convened the National Gender Fora as per statutory obligation provided in the Zimbabwe Gender Commission Act on Chapter 81. The fora were presided by those in the provincial gender fora and ran under the theme Gender and Economic Empowerment for Inclusive Economic Growth.
- Participated at the 6th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women which took place in New York, United States of America.
Research Management on Gender
The following activities were conducted around research and knowledge management on gender.
- The development of observation report on 26th March by elections.
- Development of 2022 National Gender Forum Report.
Public Education and Information
In order to increase awareness and educate the public on gender issues while strengthening public understanding on the role of the Commission, the following activities were presented that include:
- Conducted pubic lectures on sexual harassment at the work place and at tertiary institutions.
- Carried out publicity campaigns in the form of media appearances on various platforms including social media – [ AN HON. MEMBER: Inaudible interjection] - Council we normally respect you.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon Minister, may you address the Chair please.
HON. MHLANGA: Mr. Speaker Sir, I need your protection because when men are presenting, we pay 100% attention – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjection] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members! Order please. Order Hon. Biti. Go ahead Hon. Minister. – [HON. HWENDE: Inaudible interjection]- Hon. Hwende, please.
HON. MHLANGA: Finance, Human Resources and Administration – the department is responsible for ensuring good corporate governance principles in discharging the mandate of the Commission.
Key Challenges – Some of the key challenges that we have faced during the year include investigated cases. Some of the challenges encountered included complainants developing cold feet and abandoning their cases.
The second key challenge, ordinarily the Legal and Investigations unit must have a computerised case management system – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MUTOMBA): Hon. Members on my left please, lower your voices.
HON. MHLANGA: The third challenge was lack of decentralised structure leading to delays in dealing with reported cases.
The fourth challenge is inconsistent disbursements from Treasury, negatively affecting planned activities and procurement of resources.
The fifth challenge was the absence of a commissioner with legal background to provide technical guidance, which affected the work of the legal and investigation section.
The sixth one was a continuous increase in office space rentals, making the need for own premises a priority.
Recommendations:- Informed by our work during the period under reporting, the Zimbabwe Gender Commission recommends that Parliament of Zimbabwe do the following: there is need to promulgate a Sexual Harassment Act or to amend the Criminal Code to define and unpack the offence and criminalise sexual harassment.
Second is alignment of laws to include passing of a Gender Equality Act with roles and powers of the Commission spelled out and detailed offences, section on violation and discrimination based on gender.
Third is to ensure the alignment of the Electoral Act in line with gender balance as provided for in Section 17 in the gender equality clause, Section 56 (2) of the Constitution.
Fourth is to consider the adoption of four Proportional Representation as a sole electoral system shifting from the current hybrid system, where there is a first past the post.
Fifth is to strengthen oversight of implementation of gender responsive budgeting.
Sixth is filling the two vacant posts arisen among the commissioners, with one to have a legal background.
Seventh is to consider legislation for the regulation of activities of faith based organisations to eradicate child marriages and sexual exploitation and abuse of women amongst other harmful cultural and religious practices.
Finally, the eighth one is to prioritise increased budgetary allocation for the Commission’s programmes and procurement of office building. I thank you.
HON. MPARIWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Let me begin by thanking the Deputy Minister of Women’s Affairs in the presentation on the report by the Gender Commission. I want to appreciate that at least something had been done in terms of commissions bringing reports to this Parliament, especially with doable recommendations that have been highlighted at the end.
Really to add baggage to her presentation, I would want to buttress the point on sexual harassment, which has affected our nation. This has not spared even the private sector. I am on record, I think this is the fourth time in this Parliament, for me standing up asking the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare on what has actually stopped us from ratifying Convention 190, which deals specifically with sexual harassment. I worry of promises that will not be implemented in terms of things that we can do as a nation. We are a signatory to ILO Conventions and each year, I think the Minister of Labour as we speak, is in Geneva as a delegation. I worry on what report they are going to give in terms of ILO Convention 190. The Minister has been promising me - perhaps through the Ministry of Women Affairs and the Gender Commission, if we can put pressure on the Minister to ratify Convention 190 because it is a scourge that has affected both sectors, the Government and the private sector. Also, I am on record saying even in our own homes, men are committing sexual harassments to our domestic workers. I thank you.
HON. NDEBELE: I see Hon. Mliswa was going to take to the floor but with all due respect, I wanted to request that if possible, we be given time to look at the report and possibly debate it on Thursday.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: I understand Honourable, but the other Hon. Members are eager to debate, so we cannot block them from debating.
HON. T. MLISWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. The report definitely talks about gender but gender seems to be just aligned to women and not men, even the boy child is equally left out. The abuse which women have faced, especially sexual abuse allegations, have not been seen to be taken seriously. The ZIFA Executive members, I want to give an example of ZIFA in that, I am even suing the Minister of Sport for $300 000 stating that they were defamed yet the Minister’s statements were made in Parliament pertaining the abuse of women in sport. Basically, once you speak in Parliament you are protected by the Standing Orders and the officials themselves are bitter that they have been exposed. Being exposed is one of the reasons why they are not fit enough to represent this country because they have records of sexual abuse.
The FIFA delegation even visited Zimbabwe on a fact-finding mission and the Sports and Recreation Commission was also part of it so that they could be able to establish the facts of that. FIFA came up with a report which seems not to support what happened. I say so because FIFA itself is renounced for sexual abuse; it is a cartel. So, you wonder if these people are sports administrators or they are in sport to sexually abuse women. That is the question which is there. Are they sexual abusers or they are sports administrators because they seem to have forgone their role of running football and now sexually abusing women which becomes difficult?
No wonder why you see that even as parents, we are scared to send our children, the girl child to these hyenas because they will be eaten up. No wonder why there is no participation of the girl child in this country in terms of sport because of these people. So, the issue of sexual abuse in sport is quite serious and what is important is that FIFA itself was supposed to stand for the women of Zimbabwe and it was about time that the sexual harassment was discussed because where there is no justice, a lot of people suffer.
You know the hash tag was “Stand with the Zim women” and FIFA must be for equality. Where there is no equality in gender, it becomes a problem. FIFA knew about these sexual scandals of Zimbabwe two years ago and that is the reason why besides the misappropriation of funds which these administrators are alleged to have had, the aspect of sexual abuse is serious. To me, they have not been held accountable. I do not know why the Gender Commission has not at all mentioned that. Why is the Gender Commission not bringing it up?
ZIFA has done it, it has been swept under the carpet. FIFA has come, it has been swept under the carpet. The Gender Commission which is supposed to be outstanding has also swept it under the carpet. So what role are they playing if they are not able to bring these issues to the fore? It is the duty of the Gender Commission to create an environment which is safe for women to participate. That is why they are there and why this august House in its wisdom supporting what they are doing so that they are able to do things properly and so forth.
When these things happen, global solidarity is important in doing this. So, globally, we would expect FIFA to do it. The Gender Commission has not, they have presented their report here but it is not really coming up with solutions in terms of how they are going to deal with this. Today is a dark day for women in sport because they were looking up to the Gender Commission to be able to expose this, mention it and to also give what measures have been put in place to ensure that this will not happen again.
Madam Speaker, the issue…
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MUTOMBA): Hon. Mliswa, that is Mr. Speaker.
HON. T. MLISWA: It shows I am talking of a women’s issue. I am sorry, I am very passionate about that. I am sorry I keep addressing you as Madam Speaker.
So, now that the report is out and the recommendations did not indicate at all how the cartel occurred, the sexual harassment will go on and so forth. That environment that I was talking about is quite important. The most difficult thing about this is the lives of the people in sexual harassment. They are as good as dead. Self-esteem has gone. If you meet women who have been raped before and they narrate their story, it is no longer life anymore. It is like they are half dead. Not only that, what measures are being put in place for that healing to happen?
Sexually harassing a woman is more damaging to a society and we must see recommendations which are punitive instead of us coming up with recommendations to a Patriotic Bill for people to go to jail. These sexual abusers must go to jail. They are the ones that we were supposed to be pushing to go to jail, not this stupid Patriotic Bill and punitive measures to be able to punish people. Where are we as legislators here to ensure that you protect women from being sexually abused?
I am looking to the men and saying, where are you? Are you also part of the team that sexually abuses women? Where were the men, the gender champions? Why were you quiet if you the fathers do not speak and remember these are your children and relatives? Why have you not done that? I speak about this because it is a very strong issue. We need more gender champions and the only way we can also deal with this is the more gender champions that we have this situation will not be as much.
I want to appreciate the Hon. Minister for Sport for bringing this issue up here, standing firm for the rights of women. I might not agree with her with the way she runs sport but on this issue, I totally support her because it is an issue of national concern which requires all of us to be part of it. The Gender Commission itself must well be capacitated. They must also look at the boy-child. Today because of the absence of some men in the House, the young boys now become the sexual partners.
I noticed the report did not talk about the other gender in terms of the boy-child. What is the Gender Commission doing to protect the boy-child? Not only that, men are equally being sexually abused by being forced by their wives to exercise conjugal rights. Some of them are beaten up not to leave the House – [HON. BITI: How is that sexual abuse?] – until they are able to conduct the act – [HON. BITI: But that is why you married her.] – No, but I am not married, I am talking about those who are married. – [HON. BITI: But how is that sexual abuse? Kana wakaroora ita basa ka.] –
The problem is, why are you also taking a load which is not yours? Why are you having so many women when you cannot satisfy the one in the house? If you decide to do that, be single like me so that you are not questioned. You are not there in time for dinner because when you decide to get into this game, be faithful. Do not be unfaithful. So, men again are also in a way being abused because when they get home, they are tired and they do not act accordingly. The conjugal rights of the women are important and you know what I am talking about. Those who are married, may you also ensure that you are able to balance your games 50/50 and not that one is skilled to the small house and the big house is not getting enough. That is not acceptable. No wonder why they are now locking you inside and taking the keys and you end up beating them up because you cannot go anywhere.
The Gender Commission must also be able to refrain women from being emotional and beating men and telling them not to go to work until the exercise has been conducted. I would like to thank the Gender Commission for submitting a report. It is also one of those conditions which really does try. It does submit its reports on time and they are all over. They must continue having gender champions especially the men so that we are able to protect the girl child and women so that sexual harassment does not happen.
Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this very important report from the Gender Commission.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I just want to add my voice and seek some clarity on the Gender Commission report. I want to applaud the Hon. Minister for bringing up that report. It is constitutional and was supposed to come into this House and be debated in this matter.
The other issues have been ventilated on by my hon. brother Temba Mliswa. I just want to applaud the Hon. Minister of Sport for taking a stance even in the face of adversity in that where the fairer sex is abused, there is need for their protection because everybody is borne of a woman. I am yet to see somebody who is born of a man. I am a He-for-She advocate. I am a gender champion. I will speak in the same mould and voice like Hon. Mliswa has spoken in terms of chastising what happened in the previous executive of the ZIFA board. If they had stolen money or otherwise, maybe that would have been condoned because they were first time offenders but the issue of women’s rights abuse is definitely unforgivable especially in this country where we have women that are more than men in terms of numbers. There is no reason why you should abuse women who are in close proximity to you. It is certainly unjustifiable and unforgiveable.
I just want to say that the Gender Commission should also cast its net wide in terms of conducting both their inquiry and also their business in terms of protection of women’s rights. The issues to do with poverty take the face of a woman. You find that a lot of women are in the vending business. I say this because where I come from in Chegutu West Constituency, with impunity, the Council there – Chegutu Municipality, will take the wares of the vendors without returning them because they have said the women are selling their wares at undesignated points. If you look at the human rights as enshrined in the Constitution, what they are doing is ultra vires the Constitution.
My proposal to the Gender Commission is to look further afield and make sure that they probe the business of local authorities as far as it relates to their handling vendors. Luckily, I have an order of the High Court that says Chegutu Municipality should give back the wares of the vendors predominantly and maybe 100% of them are women. It is my hope that the Gender Commission should take interest in such court interdicts and orders that have been given by the High Court so that they can see the implementation and carrying out of that order that would have been handed down by the High Court so that the women feel protected by the Gender Commission.
Going to the next issue that brings about the issue of an infested approach to women by abusive men and the environment – the issue of housing. N23A houses three families of ten each, in a three roomed house and most of the family members are women and in particular the girl child ages. Here is an opportunity for girls to be abused by a housing set up with its deficient of robust, resilient, effective and efficient infrastructure development. The Gender Commission should take interest in interrogating the housing delivery system of the municipalities and the local authorities.
Where I come from, three quarters of the houses or the properties are owned by one person because of corruption and systems that are archaic, moribund, rudimentary and antiquated. It is time that we root out this corruption using the Gender Commission. I am alive to the issue of the Land Commission which is criss-crossing the width and breadth of this country looking at the ownership of the farms and also the title deeds for the properties. I request that deliberately, the Gender Commission interrogates the issue of expansion and ownership of housing to avert, avoid and completely annihilate the scourge of the girl child abuse and women abuse. Where there is ten people in one room, there is both no copulation, conjugal rights like my Hon. T. Mliswa has said and procreation that cannot be undertaken in such circumstances. Here is an opportunity to completely remove this issue, the scourge of women abuses.
Mr. Speaker Sir, where there are so many people living in one room, the woman is tasked with going to the well. In my case where there is no tap water, I have managed, however, with the help of the Second Republic His Excellency the President, to drill a plethora of boreholes in my constituency. I started with 43, on a barter-trade with Mr. Jonga, the late - may his soul rest in peace. He was in DDF and the local authority where I forced them to cede stands in return for drilling of boreholes, 43 first and then 63 later on, were championed by His Excellency the President through DDF again. My point is the women are charged with bringing the water from either the borehole or the well. As long as there is so many people in one place, there is bound to be a woman and girl child abuse.
Mr. Speaker Sir, it brings me to the last point that I want to talk about. There is need, I am glad the Minister of Mines and Mining Development and indeed his Deputy are both here. Where I come from, the Great Dyke, the width is at its highest, 11 kilometres in my district, Mashonaland West. It is my hope and fervent view that the Gender Commission can also tape the opportunity to have an interest in the mines and the mineral laws and indeed practically kumakomba ikoko in terms of women in mining and small-scale mining and artisanal mining. This is because the women are the fairer sex, they are pushed out of the business in those places.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I say this because we have a Mines and Minerals Act which is quite medieval. I am quite sure when it comes here, we can make sure that it does not have the power to reverse the gains of our independence in terms of the land redistribution and the Mines and Agrarian Reform Act of 2000 where we think that Agrarian Reform Act can protect our women that are in mining. Section 368 currently outlaws prospecting without a licence but whereas the A2 and A1 farmer, the woman is busy digging her backyard and she finds a piece of gold and Section 3 of the Gold Act says, you will be incarcerated without an option of a fine if you are found in possession of gold.
Mr. Speaker, it is my thinking that the Gender Commission should also, in tandem with the Ministry of Mines, try and repudiate some laws that are medieval and make sure that we create a safe haven for our women wherever possible. There is need to capacitate their extractive industry, the women especially in mining because as a nation, we are endowed with ubiquitous amounts of mineral wealth and here is an opportunity to capacitate the woman and annihilate the scourge of women abuse through the Commission. Those will be my submissions Hon. Speaker Sir. I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to ventilate some of the issues that have been given to me by the women from Chegutu West Constituency, like Sarah Chikukwa, Marjory Ruzha, Patricia Nyamadzawo and a lot of others including L. Chipuriro. Thank you.
HON. TOGAREPI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. TORERAYI MOYO: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 14th June, 2023.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. TOGAREPI: I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 2 to 5 be stood over until Order of the Day Number 6 has been disposed of.
HON. MPARIWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
COMMITTEE STAGE
RESUMPTION OF CONSIDERATION OF AN ADVERSE REPORT BY THE PARLIAMENTARY LEGAL COMMITTEE ON THE MINES AND MINERALS AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 10. 2022]
Sixth Order read: Committee to resume on the Adverse Report by the Parliamentary Legal Committee on the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill [H. B. 10, 2022].
House in Committee.
HON. MARKHAM: I have a point of order. As Chairman, who can he report to when we finish the Committee Stage?
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON (HON. MUTOMBA): She is coming back anytime from now.
HON. MARKHAM: Thank you.
HON. BITI: We thought the PLC would come and present.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: I am being informed it was presented on the 10th of May, 2023.
THE MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING DEVELOPMENT (HON. CHITANDO): Good afternoon Hon. Members. I wish to respond to the Adverse Report of the Parliamentary Legal Committee on the amendments to the Mines and Minerals Act and I will go straight to respond point by point to the issues which were raised. The first point which was raised is that the benchmark of ZWL100 million for one to mine strategic minerals is too high. It discriminates on the basis of economic status and allows for monopoly by foreign companies. That is the first point which I wish to respond to.
Hon. Chair, it must be taken note of the fact that there is provision to reduce or increase the amounts in certain specific cases relating to certain specified strategic assets. Also, to note that when classifying assets as strategic, these are imported assets which require a lot of capital and are meant to be exploited on a large-scale basis. Therefore, it is important that there is requisite investor who has sufficient capital to enable ideal exploitation of the said assets.
However, we wish to put in a provision to the effect that notwithstanding the minimum investment figure for exploiting a strategic asset, if following a report by the geological survey that the particular strategic mineral in a certain area can or is suitable for exploitation on a small scale basis without sterilising the greater exploitation of the resource in the whole area, then the Minister shall permit any such small scale miner or group of miners to exploit these deposits subject to the other provisions of strategic minerals being complied with.
I wish to respond to the second item raised which is in Clauses 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 and I sum up the issue raised. The issue raised is that the members of the board must not be appointed for an indefinite period and that the composition of the board is biased towards Ministry officials yet some stakeholders are not represented. The response is as follows, it is important to note that this is a quasi-judicial board whose main function is to assist the Ministry in the administration of the bigger forms of mining and exploration titles such as exclusive exploration licenses, mining leases and special grants. Ministry officials are important members due to their expertise in the various technical fields of the mining value chain and knowledge of the mining titles.
However, it is proposed that the term office for Ministry officials as observed by the committee be fixed at a maximum of four years just like any other members of the board who are outside the Ministry. We also concede that there must be balance on the board and accordingly, we propose to reduce the number of Ministry officials to five with the Permanent Secretary being the sixth.
We also wish to put in a provision to the effect that to constitute a quorum wherever the board sits, at least three of the members present must be from outside the Ministry and three must be from the Ministry.
The next point which I wish to respond to is that the question of law should not be referred to the Supreme Court as it is not a court of first instance. We concede and propose that this be amended accordingly.
On Clause 35 (4), the issue which has been raised was observed and that the land holder who withholds consent to peg must not be penalized for not being allowed to peg for mining title over the same land for 10 years. That consent of the land holder must be sought at the stage of applying for exclusive prospecting license and that there must be compensation to the land holder for the damage that occurs due to mining activities. The sub stall resource as opposed to the surface resource does not belong according to the law and to the President. This is the law now and has been so far.
We also would want that the first discoverer of the mineral to have the right to be able to work on the discovery. There is nothing which stops any farmer from securing mining rights on his farm if he has knowledge through his own unaided efforts of the existence of the minerals. The proposals that the consent of the land holder must be sought at the stage of applying for an EPL is not practical because when one applies for an exclusive prospecting license, they do not have any specific area that they want to prospect on. It is difficult to anticipate a discovery which might not exist. Also take note that here we will be dealing with land which is open to prospecting and pegging.
On the issue of compensation to the land holder for the damage to the land, this is covered since there are provisions relating to the rehabilitation of the environment in the Bill. There is also provision for payment to the land holders on the provision of the right which must reserve 1% of his fund for this purpose.
The registration of land for cultivation and grazing of animals disadvantages the communities and that the clause allows the PMD to usurp the powers of the Ministry of Lands. Our response is that on the contrary, this clause actually benefits the communities by allowing them to reserve land against pegging and prospecting. Without this clause, the land would remain open to pegging and prospecting by anyone and this actually helps the communities. In pursuing this process, the PMD is not exercising any powers belonging to the Ministry of Lands. The purpose of the application is to register land for cultivation and grazing purposes so that no mining title maybe issued on it.
The next item is Clause 59 and the concern is that the decision on whether there was deception on the part of a mining title holder regarding the number of blocks registered should be made by the board to avoid abuse of power by the PMD. The response is that one needs to take note that the PMD is responsible issuing mining blocks of claims and there is no reason why he should not be allowed to administer them. It must also be noted that the decision on whether there was deception or not is only reached after all due process is done, the surveyor having gone to the ground and carried out investigations and the title holder is then also given an opportunity to make representations.
On Clause 72 (8) and Clause 111, these clauses state that the decision of the board and the Minister are final. It is considered that no-one should be denied the right of appeal. To make things clearer, we will state in the Bill that finality in this context does not exclude judicial review of the board or the Minister’s decision.
On Clauses 130 and 131, it states that the concern that the cancellation of mining location situated in an area covered by mining lease affect the rights of those that already had mining titles and that the prohibition against impeachment of title once mining lease is granted also affects the rights of those who already have certificates of registration in the area. The response is that we should take note that a mining lease in simple terms is just a consolidation of contiguous mining blocks belonging to one applicant. One does not include mining blocks belonging to someone else when applying for a mining lease. The certificates of registration that are deemed to have been cancelled are therefore those belonging to the mining lease applicant as one cannot hold both the certificate and a mining lease over the same area. The cancellation is just an acknowledgement that the individual blocks are no longer valid as they would have been fused into one title. This makes it administratively easier.
As regards the title, it must be noted that before a mining lease is granted, all interested parties are given a chance to raise objections. This is done to ensure that no land that is not open to prospecting is included within the mining lease area. It would hinder progress in the mining industry for one to wait until the lease is granted and then object the issuance of the lease where there would have been ample time to do so. Ample opportunity is afforded to all parties to ensure that their mining titles are accurately reflected on their rise. In any case, a mining lease, once again, is a consolidation of current claims, hence the question why the objections arise now when claims were not challenged before.
The next observation Chair is Clause 246 which states that the expropriated mining location should be transferred to the State and not the Minister and our response is as follows Chair. The provision of the Constitution quoted refers to land. However, under this clause, what is expropriated is a mining location not land. So the Constitutional provision quoted, we are of the view that does not apply. The transfer to the Minister is justifiable under the circumstances since the mining location would then be transferred to another person.
Chair, the next observation is Clause 259.6, ‘Officials undergoing disciplinary proceedings must not bear the burden of proof’. On this Clause, Chair, we concede and the provision will be amended accordingly. The next observation is that a person who discovers precious stones and does not give notification to the Ministry must only be penalised if they have the requisite intention to benefit from that discovery to the prejudice of the State. Chair, if a person has knowledge of the existence of precious stones and it is proven that they had such knowledge and they failed to give a notice, we believe they should be penalised if they had the knowledge and they intentionally withheld it.
The last point which was raised is that there are several drafting errors and omissions and that is acknowledged and that has since been corrected. So I submit Hon. Chair.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Hon. Chair. The issue of the minimum investment on strategic minerals, the Hon. Minister has said he has an obligation to actually have a variation of the US$100 million in particular for domestic investors or those that will be deemed small scale. That needs to be put in writing, to say this is how we respond to this Bill. Irrespective of that, there is what is called subsidiary legislation which is the Statutory Instrument and otherwise all policy makers are empowered to make subsidiary laws, that is Statutory Instrument. However, in this main Act, for us to go through that clause, there has to be a clause that states that irrespective of the US$100 million ceiling, the Minister will be empowered to look at. The drafting is another issue. I will leave it to those that went before me, however it needs to be explicit.
Then there is the last issue that the Hon. Minister spoke to and about, which is the discovery of precious minerals. The people that are out there are rudimentary. They are not experts. They cannot be charged for concealing knowledge that there is a mineral that they have discovered. Firstly, for a mineral to be called a mineral, it has to go through assay and there has to be quantification or otherwise and adjudication to say this is a diamond, it is not gold, this is platinum it is not one of the PGMs or what have you. So it definitely will be unfair to be open ended like that to say certainly someone will be criminalised on assertion. I think that needs to be repudiated. One cannot be criminalised even if they have been told that, what you are holding is a diamond and you have been holding it for five years. It sounds as though they would have had knowledge that it is a diamond because of its value.
So my prayer is that needs to be expunged and no one should be criminalised for that because they are not experts. They are not mining engineers. They are farmers who are being criminalised because of Section 368 trying to till their land. It is my thinking on those two aspects. The other Clauses 8 and 9, I am quite sure the colleagues can deal with it. If they do not, I will come back again.
HON. BITI: Thank you Madam Speaker. This Mines and Minerals Act is a dangerous one and we should support the report of the Parliamentary Legal Committee (PLC). The Minister must go back to the drawing board and start afresh. The problem with this Bill is captured primarily by the PLCs comment on Section 34 which they rejected.
The underlying philosophy of this Bill is to retain the colonial mentality, the imperial mentality, the post-colonial mentality that the holder of a mining right has superior rights to every other right that exists. So the holder of a mining right, Chair, can do anything. In terms of this Act, he is even allowed to start building within 50 or 100 metres from your main house if you own a farm.
The holder of a mining right, even if the mining right is discovered on your farm, can take away your land and when you ask for compensation, you can only be compensated for the value of the improvements and the buildings but not for the value of the wealth that is underground that would have been discovered whether it is diamonds, oil or gold. So as long as that philosophy exists which permeates in this Bill, then we have a problem because it is a Bill that reinforces the capture of rich African resources by the colonial white master and to allow that, Chair, would be criminal.
Those land rights must supersede everything that is found underneath. If someone explores and finds that, let us talk business, let us go into a joint venture but you cannot displace my rights. So the cavalier response to Clause 34 by the Minister that says that is the law, rights vest in the President, is not good enough. We see it reproduced in Section 4 of the Communal Lands Act - Black people own this country. The White person came into this country in 1890: through various concessions; the Rudd Concessions, the Order and Council of 1890; they took over this land and its minerals. That colonial subjugation is still being reproduced in this Act in its entirety, so we should reject. The Minister must go back to the drawing board and come up with a Bill that recognises that land belongs to the owner and land includes anything below it.
We support the Parliamentary Legal Committee (PLC)’s rejection of the draft provisions of the Bill in Section 8, 9, 11 and 12, the composition of the board. It is skewed in favour of the Minister and is skewed in favour of the Executive. The Minister has got the final word, yet even as he was giving his response, the Minister concedes that it is performing a quasi-judicial function. If it is performing a quasi-judicial, function, the more independent it should be. The more the reason it should be staffed by functionaries other than officers of the Ministry. So to have these whole board staffed, three quarters by staff from the Ministry is doing injustice to transparency; to openness.
Right now, the Ministry of Mines is seen as a conveyor belt of Zimbabwe’s valuable commodities to sharks and right now our country – look at the way that the Chinese and Russians have taken over our lithium resources. Chrome resources are taken over. We are a rich country, with 64 minerals but we have nothing to show for it. This country is poor, look at the state of the roads, even Nelson Mandela. We cannot pay for paracetamol in hospitals because our minerals are being drained by an oppressive piece of legislation which does not recognise beneficiation; which recognises extraction only; no value to the country. So we should reject the Minister’s response to this report. We should stick to the findings of the PLC.
We should ask the Minister to go back to the drawing board. When he drafted this Bill, quite clearly, the Minister is oblivious to developments that have been made towards a new homogenous mining law that has been crafted at the African Union (AU). There is a new Mining Charter there that recognises that Blacks are the owners of these minerals and those minerals should benefit those that are the owners of the land. Take for instance the Minister’s cavalier response to the issue of the – yes, the AU has massive literature and model legislation on mining law which seeks to de-colonise the current ethos in mining laws in African, based on extraction. This law has not followed those African model laws and must be rejected.
I want to come to the USD100 million, when you say strategic minerals can only be mined by someone with USD100 million, you are basically saying, no local Black person can mine the minerals because there is no local Black person with USD100m. Kana variko matsotsi acho handimazivi zvangu. How can you pass a law like that in a country like this – how can you do that? You are basically saying, we as Africans, Zimbabwean indigenous people, cannot have the best of our minerals, aiwa. If you had said that and like Cde. Mugabe then said, we have got indigenisation and empowerment, you bring your USD100 million but in the USD100m, Mr. John Chibadura, Shumba Mutasa, Shumba Nyamuzihwa, Shoko Murehwa, Wezhira, must have a say, then we can talk, but to say you can only mine strategic minerals when you have got USD100 million, you are basically saying no Black person must mine. What are you talking about Mr. Winston Chitando, because we are poor Black people…
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON (HON. DR. MAVETERA): Address the Hon. Minister as Honourable, not Mr.
HON. BITI: The esteemed Hon. Minister, so you are saying our minerals should only be mined by foreigners who are rich. The Zimplats of this world, the Unki mines of this world, the Mimosas of this world. It is an insult to our black skin. It is an insult to Black people, that clause does not make sense. If you want to say these are high resource minerals that should be mined, because they require investment, say so. Then in your next clause, incorporate, how we the poor Black people of Zimbabwe are going to mine those minerals. Perhaps create a State company which must be a shareholder in those companies but to come with a law to Parliament that is worse than Sir Coglan’s Mining law of 1923, 44 years after independence, is unacceptable; completely unacceptable.
The Minister must do three things. Go to the African Union, get their model law on responsible mining and we have many people who are going to the African Parliament, including our own Chief Charumbira, go to them, get them to get that law on responsible mining. Go to the Extractive Industry Transparency Association, get their model law. Go to SADC, get their model law. Constitute a committee of Zimbabwean intellectuals; either appointed by this mine, who then do benchmarking; what is the model mining law in Australia, Ghana, Venezuela, Colombia, South Africa? Then, spend six months drafting the model law, then come back to Parliament. You cannot come with a law that will make Cecil John Rhodes embarrassed; embarrassed by the way you are opening us up for further exploitation. You cannot do that 44 years after independence. So, we should reject, if we are Zimbabweans; if we are patriots; if we are nationalists, we should reject this horrible piece of legislation. I thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: Thank you very much Madam Speaker for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to this controversial Bill. I say controversial because from what we have seen from the public, certainly there has been a lot of issues which have been picked. What is critical before anything happens is to quantify what you have. Unfortunately, when I chaired the Mines Committee, I learnt that in 1963, Rhodesia had set up an exploration company. For as long as you do not know what you have, you will always be short changed. You will not know the value. What has happened to the establishment of that exploration company, that should explore all our minerals and quantify them because what we are basically doing is, we are going to war without knowing the exit. Everybody who goes to war must understand where the exit is; in case the war is too hot, you run to the exit and get out but we are not able to derive the value of our minerals. The scary part is, Zimbabwe is so fortunate that it seems every year there is a mineral that is needed by the world. Most of our minerals are within the top five - we are in the top five of being the biggest producer but that has not transformed the welfare and lifestyle of the people of Zimbabwe.
We talk about production which is quite critical; the Minister is an accounts person, a finance person by profession. He will definitely understand the aspect of accountability more than anybody else. I think where you cannot account, it becomes a problem at the end of the day but what are we doing to protect our minerals? How can we protect something that we do not understand? You are a farmer, you have got 300 herd of cattle, you can longer go and take muzukuru arikumusha kuti auye kuzochengeta, anochengeta asi pane vet doctor who comes to monitor every weekend.
The Minister must come up with a law that will empower the people of this country. Section 13 (4) and Section 14 talk about the empowerment of local communities. It is pretty clear that the State must ensure that local communities benefit from the resources in their area. So, what has been done to ensure that we comply with the Constitution? When local communities benefit, there is some transformation and not only that, Section 14 talks about the empowerment and employment creation that the State and all institutions at every level must endeavour to facilitate and take measures to empower. What measures have been taken by this Bill to empower - through appropriate, transparent, fair and just affirmative action. All marginalized persons, groups, and communities in Zimbabwe, at all times the State and all institutions of Government at every level must ensure that appropriate and adequate measures are undertaken to create employment.
So just Sections 13 and 14 are good enough for Zimbabwe to be what it is. We are not seeing that in the Act. Madam Chair, Nigeria, no matter what you say about them, they gave their biggest resources or the refinery to one of their own, Dangote. This is the chance for the Hon. Minister to shine for the people of this country and we must see more billionaires with their resources. The only thing that they can do is bring the money here and not take it anywhere else because this is their home. Dangote has the biggest refinery, where would that money go? The people of Nigeria will benefit too.
We must also be able to come up with Bills that talk to the Constitution because if we now do not talk to the Constitution, it becomes very difficult for us to be a serious country in terms of quite a lot.
To me, at what point will we stop the export of raw materials? We have spoken about beneficiation and why again are we just allowing people to mine when they have not given us money? The Minister is African, so are all of us; unotoroora mwana wevaridzi usati waita mwana naye, ko ivo vacho vanotora ma resources vanodii kubhadharawo zvavawana chete, zvekuti haiite mwana zvinozoonekwa mberi as mari yauya kumhuri.
The minerals that we have are just going for free and then the people say to you, we will give you money when you start making money yet we need money right now with the resources we have. Whether they do not make money from the resources that they have been given is a different issue but we now must have something for ourselves. I am not seeing that a certain percentage will be paid by whoever wants resources prior to their mining. Once we do that then we will have serious players coming in without the Indigenization Act; they are taking everything.
Hon. Ziyambi, we have given you this concession, the only people who should be given these concessions over time are the Zimbabweans themselves but those who are coming have got the money already, they must leave money.
I think to just close my contribution to this debate, we seem not to appreciate that Zimbabwe is on sanctions but the minerals are not on sanctions, so if there is any way of blasting sanctions, use legal, not illegal. The sanctions on Zimbabwe has today are not on trade, it is not on minerals. The very same countries that have lobbied for Zimbabwe to be on sanctions still want these minerals.
I have friends of mine from America who have arrived today, they want lithium. When you have got something good, no matter what it is, people will look for it and for us to blast sanctions, we must be trading with those who pact us on sanctions. You keep your enemy close because what we want is money. We cannot be emotional to the point where we now no longer do business with them because we believe we must close them out.
We have the minerals, and all these countries want the minerals as a result. I will end by still emphasizing my number one point that have we done exploration of all our minerals? The Minister can choose a company that can come into a joint venture with Government and anybody who wants to do exploration here, the Government is responsible for the exploration so that they also have the right information. Every area is being explored in this country but may Government take responsibility of exploration and be in charge, find a partner and you will see that we shall be a nation where we quantify things; we are able to understand the industry that we have, the worth of it. You know, if you do not know the worth of what you have, we will be going round and round in circles. May this Bill talk to that.
I want to thank the Committee on Mines and Mining Development. It has not been easy, certainly going through this. The issue of the farmer and miner – which is first? Food or resources? I thought the miner eats food and does not eat resources. If you look at Zimbabwe, it is all minerals. Wherever you go, it is minerals. In Kwekwe, it is a town built but below, it is minerals. So, at what point will we be able to then say, we also must be able to have food and have that self-sustenance. Which one comes first?
Can the miner be an agriculturist - no? Can the agriculturist be a miner - yes? You see, this is where the issue is. So, what you want is the mining of these resources, better the person who is already on the ground. An agriculturist or farmer can be a miner but 50%, a miner cannot be a farmer; a farmer can also go into that. This helps the farmers to be able to have their own working capital because with the Land Reform that happened, they have no other ways of getting money from financial institutions because collateral is required.
Yes, let them be given the first right of refusal, let them be told and then if they do not want to mine, it is a different thing all together. Some are very religious and do not want to mine. Then a joint venture can be done so that we utilise the resources that we have. If you look at the map of Rhodesia Madam Chair, Shamva, the Hon. Minister is a good example of what Mimosa, ZIMPLATS and Unkie did. The areas for both agriculture and mining were reserved but today, the areas for agriculture are also mining yet enough food was still produced at the end of the day. So, we have a situation where the mapping of the country itself, Shamva is where you see the great roads, if you go to Shurugwi-Unkie Road, it is great; MIMOSA, the Unkie Road, ZIMPLATS, the Unkie Road is great. If you now go back to the mining, Kamativu and all the road network done by Rhodesia ages back, it is still strong because those were designated areas for mining and there were designated areas for agriculture.
My dear Hon. friend here, Hon. Kashiri, will tell you that Hurungwe was an agricultural area and that is why if you go to Magunje, Karoi, Lion’s Den and Banket there are silos. So, it was mapped in a way that here we do mining, and there we do agriculture. So, that mapping is very important and we do not have to reinvent the wheel. We just have to revert to the mapping that Rhodesia had and so forth.
Ultimately, the small-scale miners, I know my Hon. Brother, Hon. Nduna is very much in the small-scale miners but the environment has been destroyed and if we were to bring in the big boys who are easier in terms of accountability, because there is no accountability with small-scale miners, yes as politicians, we get excited because we think they will vote but I do not know how many of them have identification documents. Anyway, that is a chat for another day but we have been made to believe that the small-scale miners have contributed the most yet the commercial and big scale mining companies pay tax. It is the very same tax that goes to empower the small-scale miners. So, let us not make a mishap to be what we wanted out of mining.
Let us not make a mishap because there is also the aspect of Intellectual Property Rights which, at the end of the day, must be respected. If you look at companies like ZIMPLATS, the exploration that they did, areas like GDI, Unkie did the Todal Mine which was given to Billy Rautenbach and I must state that I helped him to get it though he did not give me anything. He never mined but sold it for over $400million. So, why can we not give Hon. Ziyambi or Hon. Kashiri that to sell and get $400 million? – [HON. MATARANYIKA: So, how much did he give you?] – He never gave me anything sekuru but I facilitated for that when the late Hon. Midzi was the Minister but did not get my facilitation fee. People say that I was extorting yet I was just doing a genuine facilitation business.
It was in The Herald, the very same people who wrote in The Herald went and said, ‘Playing with Billy helicopter, Jonathan Moyo…’ they are the ones who got my money but then, they did not talk about trying to extort. So, it is an example I am giving. It was not mined but was sold to other people. We are taking all these areas from reputable companies who have brought in money. GDI came through an area that was explored by ZIMPLATS; there is nothing happening; five thousand jobs were supposed to be created and all that…
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: You are left with five minutes Hon. Mliswa.
HON. T. MLISWA: I hear they are now trying to bring back ZIMPLATS again. So, imagine if all these areas had been mined by the people who initially explored them. Where would we be today? GDI under ZIMPLATS would be producing and what the Hon. Minister is talking about is producing. There is no production, the $12billion income that he is talking about becomes short-changed.
So, it is also important Hon. Minister, in this Bill, to also be able to review that, have we achieved what we wanted by giving some of these claims to other people and if not, may they go back to the original owners so that they keep putting in money. What we want is production at the end of the day. There need to be a review, a revisit on that because it was speculation when people got them. They did not do anything but opened a few holes, we were excited and all that. Then the next thing, the company was no longer there. It affects the growth of the economy because you would have budgeted for that.
Thank you very much Madam Chair for giving me this opportunity. We do not have to rush Hon. Minister with this Bill. We would rather do it properly, if we have to do it in the other term when others are not here, what is important is to come up with laws that are sustainable and will take us forward. I know you have tried, there is pressure to do it but we did not also do much with even the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Bill. We were overtaken by events but let us do this properly. Let us make the people happy. So, I really want to thank you for being here presenting this Bill.
The Parliamentary Legal Committee must also be applauded for having done a good work of it. I think it is important that we also support them. This is the committee that has got the legal minded people who put their legal minds to it and realised that there were certain issues that were not proper and had to be corrected. We may be out of time but it can still be done at some point. I thank you.
HON. KASHIRI: Thank you Madam Chair. I feel a bit touched that Hon. Mliswa did not give us a comment or his view on special stones. He has a farm in Hurungwe. There is Kazangarare and there are many special stones there. I just want to hear his thinking on the legislation as to special stones. If you would allow him five minutes Madam Chair.
HON. T. MOYO: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: You want his time to be extended with five minutes.
HON. T. MLISWA: Thank you very much Hon. Kashiri. Madam Chair, the issue of semi-precious stones is critical. I am pleased to say that Hurungwe is a very much spacious area. What I believe at the end of the day, the semi-precious stones are bigger than even lithium at the end of the day. The late General Manager of the MMCZ, Sekuru Tongayi Muzenda, may his soul rest in peace, was very passionate about semi-precious stones. He had already started making sure that areas like Hurungwe – the same way you pick gold in these areas like Chakari and so forth, is what you also see in Hurungwe. What has the Bill done to protect and to grow that industry of the semi-precious stones which really do not even harm the environment that much because already they are on the surface. What is important is to create a market. If I am not mistaken, the Chinese are quite big in that and there is already a market. There is nothing as great as coming up with a law in terms of minerals where there is a ready market. To me, I believe that is one of the biggest opportunities which I think had to be incorporated and the people of Hurungwe in particular, benefit a lot from that.
On my farm, you will pick up semi-precious stones left right and centre. They are all over and at some point, I probably thought I should get my entire farm pegged so that I protect that. It is also a very important one Minister. If there is anything that we must do to remember the late Sekuru Tongayi Muzenda, it is to fulfill this semi-precious stone issue. It was close to his heart and he wanted it done. He had worked tirelessly and had put all the systems in place and I hope it sees the light of the day because the passion and the work that he put in cannot go to waste. I believe through a law; it will certainly add value to our people at the end of the day. That will be my contribution in terms of the semi-precious stones. I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING DEVELOPMENT (HON. CHITANDO): Madam Chair, I move that you report progress and seek leave for us to sit again. I thank you Madam Chair.
Motion put and agreed to.
House resumed.
Progress reported.
Committee to resume: Wednesday, 14 June, 2023.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MUTOMBA)
NON-ADVERSE REPORT RECEIVED FROM THE PARLIAMENTARY LEGAL COMMITTEE
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: I have to inform the House that I have received a Non-Adverse Report from the Parliamentary Legal Committee on Statutory Instrument 144, published in the Government Gazette during the month of August, 2022.
The Parliamentary Legal Committee met on the 12th June, 2023 and considered Statutory Instrument 144 of 2022 gazetted in the month of August, 2022. The Committee is of the opinion that Statutory Instrument 144 of 2022, gazetted in the month of August is not in contravention of the Declaration of Rights of any other provision of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI), the House adjourned at Five o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 13th June, 2023
The Senate met at Half–past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE
SWITCHING OFF OF CELLPHONES
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I have to inform Hon. Senators to switch off their cellphones before business commences.
INVITATION TO A ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH SERVICE
THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I wish to inform the House that there will be a Catholic Church Service tomorrow on the 14th of June, 2023 at 1200 noon in the Senate Chamber. All Members are invited and non-Catholic members are also invited.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 6, on today’s Order Paper be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
SUSTAINABLE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
Seventh Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the sustainable management of waste.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. CHIFAMBA: Thank you, Mr. President. We are very thankful for the motion which was raised by Hon. Sen. Tongogara with regard to the issue of health. This is a very important aspect of our country. We are touched a lot because there are other remote areas that have hospital facilities away from their homesteads. People get sick and they have nothing to take them to these hospitals. Some end up going to prophets and even traditional healers. It is allowed but because people would have failed to rich hospitals, they then resort to these faith healers. We are thankful to those hospitals that are being built within the proximity of homesteads because we do not want people to travel long distances to access health.
We wish to find these hospitals all around the country so that people can access health services in less than 10 kilometers. Even pregnant women end up giving birth in their homes because hospitals are a distance away. It is our wish that the Government makes sure that we find hospitals within the proximity of settlements all around the country. There are others who are skipping collecting their anti-retroviral tablets because hospitals are very far away. If hospitals are close to people, then it becomes easy for them.
There are other roads that are inaccessible, others actually are using donkey carts which are not as efficient, they are actually dangerous. If a scotch cart is involved in an accident, people can get worse than the problem they will be having whilst going to the hospital.
We anticipate a lot of hospitals around rural areas. We kindly ask also attention to be given to roads so that there may be smooth movement of patients and people to and from hospitals which enables easy access to healthcare.
*HON. SEN. MALULEKE: Thank you very much Mr. President. We are very thankful for the motion that was raised by Hon. Sen. Tongogara. This is a very good motion that came in at the right time to say we should have access to healthcare in all the provinces and districts in the country. We can see that it is now different from back in the day. Now it is very easy for us to go to the hospital. Way back, it was very difficult for women to access healthcare services. Usually, it was difficult because we would take the whole day to reach the hospital. We are thankful to our Government that is helping us access hospitals in rural areas. We now have got a lot of hospitals in the rural area. The situation has improved very well. Even if you get sick, in the hospital, the situation has improved.
We are also grateful to Cabinet Ministers for all they are doing to assist the nation. Reflecting back to the COVID-19 scourge, people survived, a few people succumbed to COVID-19 but the majority survived because of the availability of medication.
With the desire and effort being exerted by our Government, people have been told to go to the hospital, we do not even consider going to faith healers for help. Despite being old Senators, we should continue going to school so that we understand these things to say what is needed exactly in a particular situation. We will be working together to help each other especially women in rural areas. We should work together to achieve easy access to healthcare so that we have our own hospitals.
We have not yet gotten rid of all diseases, right now we hear of Cholera, as leaders, it is our responsibility. We should work together with headmen and chiefs so that we lessen the burden on the Government.
Firstly, we were given cement to construct hospital toilets but others were very resistant to the idea. We were learning, it was a process but if you are not learned, you do not even know the benefits.
Thank you very much Mr. President. The Government is doing all it can to assist us. We also thank His Excellency the President, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa, for the efforts that he is doing to assist us so that we have good health as Zimbabweans. I thank you.
+HON. SEN. S. MPOFU: Thank you Mr. President of Senate for giving me this opportunity to talk about this motion which was tabled by Hon. Sen. Tongogara and which is quite pertinent on the good health of Zimbabwe at large. The importance of the healthcare sector is that in the rural areas there are a few clinics. So, there is need for Government to increase clinics in different constituencies so that people can access healthcare facilities.
I will talk about Matabeleland North where I come from. The clinics are interspaced and quite a distance from communities. This makes people desperate for healthcare facilities because they end up staying at home because of the distance. My desire therefore, is that Government ensures that devolution funds are channelled towards the construction of clinics so as to bring clinics closer to villagers.
I also want to appreciate the fact that there are village health workers who are doing their best but they travel long distances to assist people with tablets and other medication. It is my view that if clinics are nearby then it would be easy for people in different communities to access the healthcare services from health workers.
I also appreciate the efforts that are being made by the Ministry of Health and Child Care in ensuring that people receive requisite medical attention. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of people were confined in their homes and could not access hospitals. Government ensured that everyone received vaccinations against COVID-19. Both doctors and nurses were deployed under harsh working conditions, without enough tools of trade but despite all that, they continued discharging their duties with fortitude. Government should consider allocating funds to the rural clinics and hospitals during difficult times. With these few words Mr. President, I thank you.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President. I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 14th June, 2023.
MOTION
PROMOTION OF DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAMMES FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT
Eighth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the
sustainable management of waste.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. S. MPOFU: Thank you Mr. President Sir. I would like to take the opportunity to wind up my motion. Firstly, I would like to thank the Hon. Senators who debated to the motion and raised valid points. I wish that the Hon. Minister of Environment, Climate Change, Tourism and Hospitality Industry was here to respond to some of the points that were raised by Hon. Senators. With those few words Mr. President, I move that this motion be adopted. I thank you.
Motion That this House -
MINDFUL that every person has the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being;
FURTHER MINDFUL that every person has a Constitutional right to have the environment protected for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that prevent ecological degradation and pollution;
DISTURBED by the filthy garbage that has become an eyesore in all our towns and cities countrywide as a result of rampant and unabated littering which seems to have become a way of life;
CONCERNED that the littering of our urban centres has been further exacerbated by industrial waste pollution which is surely a time bomb that will explode anytime if this is not expeditiously brought under firm control:
NOW, THEREFORE, calls upon the Government to— (a) come up with secure ecologically sustainable developmental programmes; (b) rigorously promote conservation; (c) introduce stiff penalties for all those willy-nilly littering and polluting our environment; and (d) secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while at the same time promoting economic and social development, put and agreed to.
MOTION
PROTECTION OF VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING
Ninth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on measures to
combat human trafficking.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. GIJIMA: Thank you Mr. President Sir for affording me the opportunity to contribute to the motion regarding human trafficking which was brought to this House. This is an issue of concer which is retrogressive to the development of our nation. Most of our people are taken after being promised jobs outside the country because they see greener pastures. People end up enslaved, performing jobs that have nothing to do with what was promised. Most young people are emigrating. You would find that now adults monitor where children are and how they are playing, they fear for their children because of child and human trafficking. This is really retrogressive. In that regard, this issue needs to be investigated in relation to the processes that are done by human traffickers. I thank you Mr. President.
*HON. SEN. CHIFAMBA: Thank you Mr. President Sir. I want to appreciate the motion that was raised by Hon. Sen. Dube which is quite a painful motion. It is really painful. Human trafficking is sad because you hear that children go to school and are kidnapped on their way to school or from school and eventually sold or mutilated for ritual purposes, leaving the body behind. This is painful to parents because sometimes parents are found burying some parts of the body whilst others have been mutilated. There are people who are so evil who are doing these activities, even sometimes killing women. Some promise people greener pastures outside the country. People are promised jobs. When you see what is happening in the media, you would see that girls and young people are being abused by people who lure them offering jobs.
Those who advertise for such bogus jobs luring people should be arrested and prosecuted because these people are part of such cartels and they know the processes of human trafficking. They tell people who are trafficked that the moment you arrive at the destination airport the relationship is no longer there. I implore the responsible authority that those who advertise such should be arrested and there should be punitive laws to curb human trafficking which is enslaving our people. It is better to work hard in your country and one would rather walk from Mbare to Chitungwiza than to go outside the country only to be taken as a slave and one’s passport to be held for a number of years and there is nothing one can do about it. When you hear testimonies of people who have been through that, it is really painful and sad that there are people who do that.
Sometimes you find that a woman or child has gone outside the country even without communicating with other people, there are young boys and girls who are taken and exploited sexually. They are forced to perform commercial sex work and at the end of the day they are found to be coming back with different diseases. The girl child is disadvantaged. She can come back pregnant or with a baby without any accountability on the perpetrators. Human trafficking is really sad and painful. It is not easy for people to go through that, even those who entice people with good perks, luring people who believe that they would work hard and support their families. It is sad that the victims come back after getting assistance from Zimbabwean embassies and authorities. I would like to implore embassies to continue assisting victims of human trafficking. Some come back with diseases; children and even the families that you are working for sometimes do not accept you as a victim of human trafficking.
Human trafficking is bad. I do not know how to explain the pain but it is indeed really painful. Even the crossing border points in the country should be monitored. Our security departments should monitor them for human trafficking. The sad part is that sometimes people go through the borders trafficking. If they overwork people, it is much better than abusing them sexually and in different ways. My prayer is that our economy should improve so that we are able to support our children and urge our people to stay in Zimbabwe instead of going outside the country. It is better to suffer in your country than anywhere else where you are taken advantage of. Sometimes you find people falling to peer pressure being influenced to go. I thank you Mr. President Sir.
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: Mr. President Sir, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. GIJIMA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 14th June, 2023.
On the Motion of THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR MASHONALAND CENTRAL PROVINCE (HON. SEN. MAVHUNGA), the Senate adjourned at One Minute past Three o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 8th June, 2023
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)
*HON. PRISCILA MOYO: I rise on a point of privilege Mr. Speaker. I wanted to commend the gowns. We are happy and thankful that the Government has noted that we should not continue putting on colonially designed gowns yet we are in a new dispensation. We thank the Government for that. thank you Hon. Speaker.
*HON. HWENDE: My point of privilege concerns the ruling that you made three weeks ago in this august House regarding the Minister of Finance and Economic Development. From that time, there are developments that have taken place, the rate is now too high. When you made the ruling, the rate was around 1:2000 but today, the rate is around 1:7000. Mr. Speaker, you insist that Ministers should come to Parliament but Ministers do not come to Parliament because they are not worried about salaries. They have per diems of $10 000 and other amounts when they go out of the country. I came across an army sergeant with a pay slip showing RTGs86 000 Mr. Speaker Sir, you always urge Ministers to attend and answer questions but you find that Ministers do not come to the House. I request that the Minister of Finance and Economic Development should come to this august House, if it is possible, he should come today. If he cannot come, we can sit tomorrow Friday.
HON. R. R. NYATHI: On a point of order Hon. Speaker Sir. I just want to say the Hon. Member (HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections) – No, he says a Sergeant Major is earning RTGs86 000 in the army, that is not true – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, every Member has a right to speak. The Hon. Member has raised a point of order that is permissible, please refer to the standing orders.
HON. R. R. NYATHI: Hon. Speaker Sir, my point of order is on the fact that the Hon. Member, when he expressed his facts, he was right on other facts but when he said a sergeant major in the army is earning RTGs86 000, that is not true. There is not even a Private in the army who is earning that much. Everyone is now earning far much more than that. I am not here to disclose other peoples’ salaries but that is not true.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order, when I say order, I expect order, otherwise I will order you out - that is unpalatable. Thank you. We did not see that pay slip.
HON. HWENDE: I have it.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Let us have a look.
HON. HWENDE: No, it is in my bag and it has a name.
THE HON. SPEAKER: No, no, I just want confirmation.
HON. HWENDE: Okay Hon. Speaker, I will come to your office.
THE HON. SPEAKER: No, no, just now – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – Order, order, - [AN HON. MEMBER: I have a pay slip here, Hon. Hwende, you can give the Hon. Speaker this one, not that one it has a name] – [HON. MADZIMURE: Iyo yaenda.] –
Hon. Hwende approached the Chair. [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections] –
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Hwende, where is the slip? Can you sit down while you look for the information? - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections] – Order. Hon. Hwende, part of your point of privilege is not accurate when you say people who go out bring back USD10 000.00, that is not correct – [HON. HWENDE: It is correct.] – No, it is not. I am in the administration.
HON. HWENDE: Hon. Speaker, maybe you can give us an example of what you are paid when you go out. How much do you get?
THE HON. SPEAKER: That is not correct because you are given according to the destination rate for payment and each country is categorised so much per day which enables one to pay for hotel accommodation accordingly – [HON. HWENDE: How much is it?] – You want me to tabulate for all the countries? Please do not ask for that. – [HON. HWENDE: Inaudible interjection.] – Please sit down. The gist of the matter you have requested is for the Minister to come and address the House on the issue of inflation, that is the most fundamental. The Minister has travelled and I think he is back now. We will ensure that if he cannot make it tomorrow, then next week when we meet – [HON. HWENDE: Yesterday he was in Gweru addressing ZANU PF candidates on the state of the economy which is the same thing that he is running away from.] – He was addressing people where? – [HON. HWENDE: In Gweru, he was addressing winning ZANU PF candidates on the state of the economy.] – He has to come here. I agree with you.
HON. PRISCILLA MOYO: I would like to add to the fact that there is also the US component on the soldiers’ salary advice – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order. There is a US component, she is right– [HON. HWENDE: It is a COVID allowance. Why are you doing this to the soldier] –My friend, you are not a general – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. NDUNA: I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 24 be stood over until Order of the Day, Number 25 has been disposed of.
Hon. Nduna having answered back to what Hon. Madzimure had said.
THE HON. SPEAKER: When you have addressed the Chair, do not entertain side-lines please.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION TO EGYPT ON A BILATERAL VISIT
Twenty-fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report of the Parliamentary Delegation to Egypt on a bilateral visit.
HON. MADZIMURE: On a point of order, yesterday the Government had its business that was left unattended and…
THE HON. SPEAKER: Please, speak to me so that I can hear you.
HON. MADZIMURE: I am sorry Mr. Speaker Sir. The starting point is that Standing Orders were suspended in preference to Government business. We have a report that was tabled here that you promised that we were going to debate today, which is Government business. So, I humbly submit that we go to the Government first, dispose of that business and go on to do other business.
THE HON. SPEAKER: The issue is that I think Hon. Nduna would like to second the motion. That is all.
HON. NDUNA: I wish to send the report of the bilateral visit to Egypt which Hon. Speaker, the delegation you headed yourself...
THE HON. SPEAKER: Sorry, Hon. Nduna. I needed to put the question.
Question again proposed.
HON. NDUNA: Mr. Speaker…
THE HON. SPEAKER: Can I clarify, there is a difference between prioritisation of Government business, that does not mean that is exclusive. We can debate other motions as well. Thank you.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Mr. Speaker for a well-rounded tutelage. I wish to second the report of the delegation that you led to Egypt, this report was presented in this House by Hon. Brig. Gen. Rtd. Gwanetsa. There are three issues that he touched on in that report that are very key; the issue of business integration, in particular the exchanges for business with Egypt, aware that the Egyptians hosted our liberation war heroes during the protracted liberation struggle with our erstwhile colonisers, the British.
I want to say one airline that I am alive to is the Egyptian airline which has about 68 aircrafts and going to more than 81 destinations. We can learn a lot from such an airline Mr. Speaker. Looking at the African Day theme of 2023, it speaks to and about the expeditious implementation of the Intra-Africa Trade and in particular, the Africa Free Trade area. Here is an opportunity for Zimbabwe to have bilateral relations with Egypt to enhance and expeditiously implement the Africa Free Trade Area and the Intra-Africa Trade, in particular in aviation.
Having seen that air Egypt goes to more than 81 destinations, it is key that because it goes to all these destinations and it is in an alliance with other airlines, in particular one alliance which has a number of airlines in it, Air Zimbabwe and indeed other airlines that criss-cross the width and breadth of Zimbabwe, can definitely together with the national airlines of the Egyptian Airways, make robust, resilient, effective and efficient air travel that speaks to the Yamoussoukro Declaration, which is the open skies policies. I have spoken about the African Day theme, especially for 2023 which in my view speaks to the delegation that you led and what came out of it in terms of bilateral relations on business.
Touching now on the liberation status that we got through Egypt which hosted our liberation war cadres who include the President, H.E Dr. E.D Mnangagwa who was also trained in Egypt, Egypt has continued to be a friend to Zimbabwe. If they could be our friend during the liberation struggle, it is key that the relationships that are going to come out of this delegation or visit are going to see us making sure we learn a lot in terms of the Pan Africa Liberation Museum that is being established in Warren Park that we can learn and get a lot from Egypt in terms of capacitating our Pan Africa Liberation Museum. This came out of your report and it is applaudable.
Coming now to health issues that were spoken to and about by Hon. Rtd Brig. Gen. Gwanetsa, we have seen recently a delegation led by the Hon. Vice President, Rtd. Dr. C.G.N Chiwenga in terms of health. Health is wealth and the Egyptians definitely can inculcate in our doctors a lot of knowledge in terms of the healthcare delivery system. So, your delegation in terms of bilateral relations bordering on health, was very key in that regard.
Immediately after your visit, we then saw a high-powered delegation which was led by the Hon. Vice President visit Egypt on a health expo. We believe out of such a visit, there is going to come out a lot of health practitioners and in particular, medication. We have just seen and have heard here when the Vice President came to this House to talk about the capacitation and the copious amount of medication and medicine that is there in the warehouses of NATPHARM and this also came out as a result of the relationship that we have with Egypt.
The report also touched on issues to do with Tanzania and Egypt, the relations that are sour for now because of a dam wall – [HON. R. NYATHI: Ethiopia] – Ethiopia, I beg your pardon, that needs to be built by Ethiopia on the Nile River or at a confluence or right in the middle of the Nile River, to which you urged both parties to show restraint and actually go for arbitration if they have to, so that there is harmonious relationship, cordial to say the least, in order that there is continued peace unmatched because Africa is now totally independent from colonial rule.
That advice from your delegation and in particular yourself Mr. Speaker, was quite applaudable in terms of countries showing restraint. You can see the intra- fighting that is currently obtaining in Sudan does not do anyone any better. Because Africa is now in totality, independent of any colonial involvement, it is now time for Africa to be economically independent and what a better way to be independent economically than to have cordial relations with one another.
As I end, Egypt has robust, resilient, effective and very efficient infrastructure development. We can learn a lot. Zimbabwe is a nation that is growing in terms of infrastructure development. We are growing in terms of our transport sector, in particular the railway and also the issue of energy delivery. We have the Batoka which is a joint energy project between Zambia and Zimbabwe and we can learn a lot in terms of hydro-power generation from the likes of Egypt and also Mr. Speaker Sir, whilst I talk of the power generation, I am alive to the fact that there is the establishment of the Inga Dam that is still on the cards. It is going to generate more than 10000 megawatts and is going to see Africa and indeed Zimbabwe also having optimum power generation. So, there is a lot that we can learn in terms of power generation from Egypt.
As I conclude, the issue of infrastructure development, road network rehabilitation, reconstruction, rejuvenation- I could not say anything more than to look at the infrastructure of Egypt and ensure that we mirror the same here in Zimbabwe because in 2010, our engineers are the ones that built stadia in South Africa for the world cup, second to none. We have expertise, resources and 90% of the materials used in road construction is locally available. You have seen what the Second Republic has done on the pencil thin highway of death which is the Masvingo-Beitbridge-Harare highway. It has now been reconstructed second to none in a way that is unmatched globally. So, we can learn a lot from Egypt and reconstruct a lot of our dilapidated, deplorable and disused road network to mirror the infrastructure and road network in particular in Egypt.
I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to vociferously, effectively and efficiently second the report on your delegation to Egypt in February 2023 in the manner that the people of Chegutu West Constituency would have me debate, in particular, Chairman Lameck Nyamarango, Charles Makoni, Sarah Chikukwa, Patricia Nyamadzawo, Daniel Million and indeed Mufundisi Chasauka. I thank you.
HON. R. R. NYATHI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I would also want to add a few facts that I learnt from the report tabled by Hon. Gwanetsa and seconded by Hon. Nduna. I learnt that Zimbabwe has got a lot to learn in matters of solar energy and what we are now terming the renewal green energy. As much as you know that because of climate change, it is important for us now to shift from the old types of providing energy to the most modern ones which are also good for us in terms of health. The other thing I want to mention was the issue that Egypt was at the center of standing with Zimbabwe in terms of imposition of illegal sanctions. They also supported us during the liberation struggle and they still stand as our co-partners in making sure that Zimbabwe is successful. I also want to congratulate Egypt because it is in Africa and you are aware that most people were complaining they could not have COP-27 in Africa, but Egypt came out fine and did a wonderful job. We are very happy as Africans that we showed the world that we are capable of doing greater things. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to add a few words.
HON. NDUNA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. MAHLANGU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday 13th June, 2023.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. NDUNA: I move that we revert to Order of the Day Number 17.
HON. MPARIWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE 61ST SESSION OF THE OACPS PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY AND THE 4TH SESSION OF THE ACP-EU JOINT PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY HELD IN MAPUTO
Seventeenth Order read: Report of the 61St Session of the OACPS Parliamentary Assembly and the 4th Session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly held in Maputo.
HON. PRISCILLA MOYO: I move the motion in my name: That this House takes note of the Report of the 61St Session of the OACPS Parliamentary Assembly and the 4th Session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly held in Maputo Mozambique on 25th October to 2nd November, 2022.
HON. R. R. NYATHI: I second.
HON. PRISCILLA MOYO:
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 The meetings of the 61st Session of the OACPS Parliamentary Assembly and the 42nd ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly were held at the Joachim Chissano Conference Centre, Maputo, Mozambique from 25th to 28th October 2022.
1.2 The delegation from Parliament of Zimbabwe comprised the following:
Hon. Ltd General (Rtd) M. R. Nyambuya, Deputy President of the Senate and Head of Delegation,
Hon. P. Moyo, Member of Parliament,
Hon. E. Mudzuri, Member of Parliament,
Ms. G. Pise, Counsel to Parliament,
Ms. B. Sibanda, Principal Research Officer,
Mr. O Muchenu, Security Aide to the Deputy President of the Senate,
1.3 Also in attendance were officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International trade comprising:
Mr. M. Mukura,
Mr. Nzombe
2.0 OACPS PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY SPECIAL SESSION
2.1 The president of the OACPS Parliamentary Assembly, Honorable Peter Kenilorea informed Members that preparations for the 10th summit of Heads of State and Government to be hosted by Angola, were at an advanced stage. Members were encouraged to sensitize their respective leaders to attend the upcoming summit as well as advocate for women, youths and the diaspora attendance at the summit.
2.2 Members were further informed that the Luanda summit will explore the need for having more new strategic partners and enhancing trade among OACPS states.
2.3 Parliaments were urged to play a role in inputting into the discussions as well as attend the 10th summit meetings.
2.4 Members expressed hope that the 10th Summit will strengthen the relationship within the OACPS. They emphasised the need to strengthen trade within OACPS countries and that the summit should provide hope for the challenges being encountered in signing of the new agreement.
2.5 Parliaments were urged to make laws to promote trade amongst OACPS.
2.6 The OACPS are against balkanization of the region and expressed dismay with the new shape. They are also not happy with governance structure of breaking up the ACP-EU JPA, and that it does not recognize the oversight committees, swap of EDF with a new fund which has current stringent conditions
2.7 Members were informed that South Africa left the OACPS and expressed regret over the development.
3.0 MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE ON POLITICAL AFFAIRS
3.1 The OACPS members of the Committee on Political Affairs held a meeting on 26 October 2022 to discuss the topic; ‘Challenges in Maritime Security’, during which Members were urged to advance common efforts in addressing maritime threats. These threats include illegal and unregulated fishing, attacks at sea, terrorism, piracy among others.
3.2 Members emphasized the need to save oceans from increasing exogenous pressure, by promoting resilience and sustainable use of the oceans in order to achieve SDG 14, and to address issues of maritime security as per the commitment in the new OACPS EU Agreement.
3.3 Hon. Ltd General (Rtd) Nyambuya added his voice that though Zimbabwe is a landlocked country, it appreciates the challenges which countries with oceans face. He emphasized the need to assist each other with necessary information and intelligence to enable recovery to those that are incurring losses as a result of poaching.
3.4 The Mauritius delegation supported the maritime security report, and noted that as an island country, the blue economy is a driver for its future growth.
3.5 Delegates from Guinea weighed in that as a coastal country, it is a maritime economy drawing economic activity from the Atlantic Ocean. They noted that the use of maritime space can lead to conflict in terms of maintenance and sharing of borders.
3.6 Cote d’Ivoire emphasised the need to address contamination of seas by exhaust and waste which is dumped into the waters and negatively impact on tourism.
3.7 The Committee further discussed the topic; ‘Peace and Security in the World” and the political situation in member countries.
3.8 The delegation from Togo informed members that the political situation in Togo is stable, after undergoing 3 major crises namely COVID 19, the War in Ukraine and terrorist attacks at its Northern border. They indicated that Togo is implementing proposed recommendations and extended its state of emergency on the 6th of September by another 6 months. The delegation indicated that the country is facing high cost of living challenges. Terrorist attack on troops on the Northern border-l7 soldiers died and 4 injured.
3.9 Delegates from Cote d’Ivoire informed delegates of the passing on of former Deputy Speaker on 7th October 202. They indicated that there had been an improvement in the security situation since May 2022 due to strategies implemented. They informed delegates that there is a crisis emanating from 49 Ivorian soldiers that were detained in Mali after being arrested on 10th June 2022 on accusation of attempting on the state of Mali. They requested the OACPS to attend to the issue and contribute to resolving the situation. Members were informed that Togo is mediating and is expected to come up with a beneficial outcome.
3.10 Kenya reported that it held peaceful elections which were won based on an economic agenda as opposed to a tribal agenda.
3.11 Chad informed members that it held a dialogue which resulted in resolution for an extension of the transitional government.
3.12 Zambia informed members that it is peaceful and very stable after general elections in 2021 and peaceful hand over of power and that its currency is performing well.
3.13 Uganda informed the meeting of the passing on of the Uganda Parliament Speaker in March 2021, who was then replaced by a female Speaker. Members of the delegation highlighted that Uganda is doing well in terms of women recognition as it has its1st and 2nd prime ministers being female as well as a female Vice President.
3.14 Tanzania reported that it is carrying out peaceful preparations for its local government elections in 2 years’ time, and is making efforts towards healing political wounds and creating harmony.
3.15 Guinea Bissau reported that it is stable and fortunate to not have encountered any terrorism.
3.16 Vanuatu informed members that it is going through political transition which has resulted in the dissolution of its Parliament. The delegation highlighted that the country is facing a global climate emergency which is impacting on vulnerable communities. The delegation informed members that the country passed a resolution in parliament to present an opinion to the UN General Assembly for the ICC to intervene for legal action on the Global North on climate change action. The delegation requested for the support of the OACPS to vote for the resolution.
3.17 Cameroon informed delegates that it is facing security challenges from Boko Haram and other armed groups attacks on civilians. The country is engaging in national dialogue ongoing to resolve conflict.
3.18 Mauritius informed members that all election challenges by opposition were won in favor of the ruling party.
3.19 The DRC delegates reported that the country is stable, but has challenges with security situation. They indicated that the country has been dealing with war for decades and its situation is deteriorating daily. The delegates thanked all countries that are providing support to the DRC.
3.20 Liberia reported that the country is calm and has political stability as a result of its conducting free, fair and credible elections. They informed delegates that the country will be going for elections in October 2023, and is amending its electoral laws to recognize dual citizens to participate in electoral processes. They reported that they introduced biometric voter registration.
3.21 Guinea reported that its political situation has improved following the transition process led by 3 women political mediators appointed by the President working with the ECOWAS mediators. The country agreed to a 24 months transition and has ongoing trials for crimes committed in Guinea. The country is implementing recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
3.22 In conclusion, the Chairperson emphasized the need for parliaments to push their respective governments to pay up contributions. He informed members that Europe who has been funding Head of Delegations is facing financial challenges and therefore parliaments should be ready to take over the expenses. He made a call for a declaration in the Assembly to thank Mozambique for hosting the 61st Session of the OACPS and the 42nd ACP-EU JPA.
3.23 Members were informed that the OACPS is now an institution according to the Georgetown Agreement and should consider self-financing should the EU be unable to finance the organization.
4.0 LUNCHSIDE EVENT HOSTED BY VANUATU
4.1 Delegates to the OACPS joint parliamentary session in Maputo, Mozambique, were invited to a special event organised by Vanuatu about an initiative to bring climate change to the UN’s International Court of Justice.
4.2 The initiative recognises that the planet is facing an existential climate crisis and that International Law already contains obligations to prevent harm to the environment and protect human rights.
4.3 The UN’s International Court of Justice is the only principal organ of the UN System that has not yet been given an opportunity to help address the climate crisis.
4.4 A growing coalition of more than 80 nations is calling for a non-binding Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice to gain clarity how existing International Laws can be applied to strengthen action on climate change, protect people and the environment and save the Paris Agreement.
4.5 Vanuatu is leading a core group of nations on the drafting of a question to ask the Court, including Antigua & Barbuda, Costa Rica, Sierra Leone, Angola, Germany, Mozambique, Liechtenstein, Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Bangladesh, Morocco, Singapore, Uganda, New Zealand, Vietnam, Romania and Portugal.
4.6 The ICJ climate Resolution will be tabled during the 77th session of the UN General Assembly requesting the International Court of Justice to provide an advisory opinion on the obligations of States under international law to protect the rights of present and future generations against the adverse effects of climate change.
5.0 COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, FINANCE AND TRADE
5.1 Members noted the need to diversify economies.
5.2 Tax avoidance and money laundering were noted as a cause for concern in the region.
5.3 Members were encouraged to enact laws to counteract terrorist funding and money laundering. OACPS members called for engagement and transparency rather than unilateral black or grey listing by the EU. Members were informed that the list was updated on the 4th October and of the countries on the list, 6 are OACPS members.
5.4 Delegates noted that blacklisting has an adverse effect for countries on the list, as investors hesitate to invest and the cost of transacting goes up.
5.5 Some OACPS countries have their embassies shut down because they could not operate when their bank accounts were closed.
5.6 OACPS members that all of its members are potential candidates for the list hence the need to for dialogue.
5.7 Members noted that unilateralism should not occur in a partnership and that there is need for respect for each other.
6.0 COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL AFFAIRS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
6.1 Members for the Social and Environmental Affairs Committee of the OACPS parliamentarians met and among several issues, discussed a motion on road safety.
6.2 The parliamentarians called for rigorous implementation of road safety laws; better maintenance of the roads; introduction of better technology with the law-enforcement agencies.
6.3 Reckless driving was noted to be a major cause of road traffic accidents (RTAs), hence the need to design policies to protect citizens.
6.4 Delegates from Cameroon noted that RTAs are a serious concern due to inadequate public transport in the country. The country ratified the African Charter for Road Safety and put in place regulations on importation of second-hand vehicles that ensure safety.
6.5 The Mozambique delegation supported the motion and noted that fatalities on roads are a public health issue in Mozambique.
6.6 The delegation from Sierra Leone emphasized the need for strong legislation on road safety and its enforcement. They further noted the need for ratification and domestication of international agreements on road safety.
6.7 Mauritius added its voice and submitted that there is need for access to finance to improve road infrastructure. The delegation further noted that drug abuse also contributes to RTAs.
6.8 The delegation from Surinam opined the need for a holistic approach to the matter. They noted that rising sea levels are presenting a challenge to small island countries, hence need for funding to construct new roads and connecting routes.
6.7 Cote d'Ivoire suggested the need to promote electric vehicles which will address both climate change and RTAs due to speed limits on electric vehicles.
6.8 The delegation from the Gambia noted that poor road network in their country is causing RTAs.
6.9 Hon. Ltd. General (Rtd) Nyambuya added his voice by emphasizing the need for legislation to make it mandatory for police and public officials to wear body cameras to reduce corruption.
6.10 Hon. Nyambuya further emphasized the need for regulation of importation of second-hand vehicles that have a short life span or that are unroadworthy. He noted the need to improve rural and urban planning for proper traffic flow, as well as planning ahead rather than reacting to traffic jam crisis. He called for the availing of soft loans by the international finance institutions to enable building of infrastructure in ACP countries.
6.11 The delegation from Ghana noted that three major contributors to RTA are the state of road, the driver and the state of vehicle
6.12 On the motion on ‘Climate change and availability of water’ members noted the need to improve distribution of portable water even in rural areas.
6.13 The delegation from the DRC urged members to focus on investing more in water subsectors and the ratification of international instruments.
6.14 Cote D'Ivoire noted that illegal gold panning is polluting water sources, and hence there is need for strategies to fight illegal gold panning.
7.0 61st SESSION OF THE OACPS PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY
7.1 The 61st Session of the OACPS PA was chaired by the President of the OACPS Parliamentary Assembly, Hon. Peter Kenilorea Jr of the Republic of Solomon Islands. He welcomed delegates and new Members who had been assigned for the 1st time, from Angola, Bahamas, Comoros, DRC, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Uganda.
7.2 He noted the need for induction of new Members to enable them to understand procedures and allow smooth running of meetings. A proposal for an online session for orientation of new Members was made.
7.3 He thanked co-rapporteurs for coming up with the draft resolution and requested Members to enrich the resolution by submitting amendments by 22nd November.
7.4 The President urged Members of Bureau to coordinate within the regions they represent.
7.5 Assistant Secretary General responsible for political affairs and human development, Dr Ibrahim Nobert Richard informed members of the withdrawal of South Africa from the OACPS.
7.6 He informed the meeting that South Africa wrote the letter in September 2022 stating the reason that they are redeploying their foreign policy efforts to other regional groupings. Efforts were ongoing to engage South Africa to reconsider its decision, while taking note and respecting its sovereignty.
7.7 The delegation from Mali recommended for the Southern Region to send a delegation to engage South Africa to ascertain the reason for leaving and urge the country to rejoin the organization. Other Members weighed in that all diplomatic efforts should be made to engage South Africa to reconsider its position.
7.8 The Assistant Secretary General emphasized the need for Members to pay up their contributions in order to strengthen the Parliamentary dimension of the ACP-EU relations. There was a proposal for availing of the list of status of contributions for all members.
7.9 The OACPS called for peace between Ukraine and Russia.
7.10 Members emphasized the need for action now, by developed countries, to address climate change.
7.11 Members noted with concern that the unilateral blacklisting of financial institutions by the EU negatively impacts on vulnerable economies.
7.12 During the sitting of the 42nd ACP-EU JPA, a resumption meeting of the 61st OACPS Parliamentary Assembly was held. The purpose of the meeting to exchange views on the voting position of resolutions.
7.13 On the withdrawal of South Africa, members were informed that the bureau would constitute a small team to visit South Africa and engage. Members from Southern Africa in the bureau will play a key role. Members from other regions were to be part of the delegation.
7.14 Members were notified that Malawi had put its motion on hold.
7.15 Members were informed of the unanimous support for the motion- 'Ensuring Market Access for OACPS Commodity Producing Countries Through Enhancing Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns'. There were minor amendments meant to enrich the text with no fundamental changes to the meaning.
7.16 On the motion 'Global Challenges on Climate Change Cooperation for Adaptation and Mitigation in the Wake of COP 27' members were informed that the Russia-Ukraine war had caused counties to renege on their commitments hence there is need for more time for consultation.
7.17 Members were informed that co-President Kenilorea would guide OACPS members on the voting patterns.
MEETINGS OF THE ACP-EU JOINT PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY
8.0 ACP-EU JPA WOMEN'S FORUM
8.1 During the meeting, delegates noted that early marriages have a negative impact on economies and infringe on children's rights. It was noted that child marriages are not only a challenge in ACP countries, but also in India, France and Germany and that the Covid 19 pandemic worsened the situation.
8.2 The AU is making efforts to end child marriages, especially in Mozambique and the DRC where there are high incidences
8.3 Countries were urged to enact laws to curb violation of children’s rights and punish those who force children into early forced marriages.
8.4 To achieve SDG5 and women's empowerment, there is need for concerted efforts by everyone to sensitize against early marriages.
8.5 Members noted that young men are also victims of forced marriages, and hence there is need to protect the youths’ future.
8.6 Participants emphasized that the JPA resolution of 2010 for equal representation of women and men must be implemented. There is need to put incentives for women to take up positions traditionally reserved for men.
8.7 Delegates were informed that Mozambique implemented various programs to end Early Forced Marriages, gender Based Violence and discrimination against women, and the participation of women in leadership positions is increasing in Mozambique.
8.8 Participants were informed that moments of conflict subject women to gender-based violence. A presenter from Human Rights Watch explained the plight of women in Cabo Delgado who experience Gender Based Violence, rape, mental health challenges of raising children in difficult situation. She emphasized the need to provide social, and health care to survivors.
8.9 The need to combat cross border women trafficking, bring perpetrators to book, provide funding to support survivors, and place women at the center of dialogue on ending conflict was emphasized.
8.10 Hon Moyo shared how Zimbabwe is promoting gender equality by empowering women. She highlighted that Section 17 of the Zimbabwean Constitution has mandatory gender equality and that Ministry of Women Affairs and the Zimbabwe Gender Commission are specifically established to ensure gender equality.
8.11 Hon Moyo further highlighted that the Zimbabwe Marriages Act bans child marriages and the Children's Act criminalizes facilitating child marriage, with the Education Act amended to give a chance to girls who fall pregnant at school to return and continue with their education after giving birth.
8.12 Participants proposed to come up with a Maputo Convention with resolutions whose implementation would be tracked during each sitting.
9.0 ACP-EU Youth Forum
9.1 During the Youth Forum meeting, participants noted that education is key to youth empowerment.
9.2 Participants noted that the youths should be given a chance to get into positions of authority.
9.3 Delegates further noted that the use of technology should improve youths' lives.
9.4 The need to raise awareness on the risks of free access to technology was emphasised.
10.0 ACP-EU COMMITTEE ON POLITICAL AFFAIRS
10.1 Members of the Committee discussed the topic ‘Challenges in Maritime Security’. During its presentation, the UN Office dedicated to support countries to ensure legal framework to support maritime security, that is, illegal fishing, pirating, human trafficking and other crimes).
10.2 Maritime crimes are evolving and becoming more dangerous with the modus operandi of perpetrators becoming more complicated. Therefore, the 1982 Convention on Maritime crimes need to be interpreted in the current context.
10.3 There is need for strong checks and balances since maritime crimes are transnational, multidimensional and multifaceted through enhancing multilateral cooperation, international law of the sea (UNCLEAS) and the need for joint effort to resolve the challenge.
10.4 The need to safeguard livelihoods of families that depend on fisheries and aquaculture was emphasised, as well as the need to ensure safety and security on the seas.
10.5 The EU explained how it is supporting maritime security globally, for example, it extended its provision of security in the Gulf of Guinea.
10.6 Ambassador Martin Kimani, Kenya Permanent Representative to the UN Security Council made a presentation on the ‘State of Peace and Security in the World’.
10.7 He emphasised the need for revitalisation of multilateralism and noted that African countries are facing instability, unconstitutional change of governments and terrorism.
10.8 He highlighted the security threats in the various African regions and the need for mitigation and adaptation to the effects of climate change.
10.9 he noted that the Russia-Ukraine conflict is a sign of weakness of peace and security stability systems in Europe and therefore, Europe must work towards stabilising itself.
10.10 Members of the EU condemned Russia for waging war in Ukraine and thanked Kenya and other few countries for voting in support of territorial integrity.
10.11 The OACPS countries called for peace between Russia and Ukraine and condemned those countries that are supplying guns which is worsening the situation. They compared the situation to those supplying weapons to terrorists in the DRC.
10.12 Members noted that the ‘Political Dialogue in Article 8 of the Cotonou Agreement’ provides a unique platform to discuss a wide range of issues with 52 countries from the OACPS. It provides dialogue on issues of terrorism and extremism, maritime security, among others as well as current issues on the international agenda, for example, COVID-19, climate change, which are issues on the UN security agenda.
10.13 The Post Cotonou framework will include new separate regional Parliamentary Assemblies, for the Caribbean, Pacific and Africa as well as the joint OACPS-EU Parliamentary Assembly. Its aim is to exchange mutual understanding, cooperate and coordinate on issues of common interest.
11.0 ACP-EU COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, FINANCE AND TRADE
11.1 The joint meeting considered the topic ‘Money laundering practices and terrorism financing’, and both sides agreed that states need to do everything possible to stop money laundering and tax avoidance to ensure stability and integrity to the financial system.
11.2 The OACPS is highly dependent on international finance system and is willing to cooperate with the EU.
11.3 The OACPS condemned the unilateral blacklisting of OACPS and called for dialogue and cooperation between parties and bring transparency to the issue. Some OACP countries are struggling to get off the EU blacklist which is unfair to OACPS.
11.4 The members from the EU indicated that the FAFT and the blacklisting is a measure to cope with illicit financial activities and is not meant to punish countries. They indicated that steps are underway to simplify the EU blacklisting process.
11.3 The EU was urged to provide technical capacity to vulnerable economies due to climate change and other challenges.
11.4 On the ‘Impact of the food and energy crisis on OACPS countries’ the meeting noted that the Sub-Saharan has the largest deficit on energy, the Caribbean highly dependent on tourism revenue and that the Pacific region is reliant on fossil fuel.
11.5 The EU promised to accelerate use of green energy and technical support to use of green energy and to accelerate access to financing.
11.6 The members emphasised the need to find sustainable solution to this challenge and move from fossil fuels which are in the hands of a few and boost the use of renewable and cleaner energies.
12.0 OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE 42ND SESSION OF THE ACP-EU JOINT PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY
12.1 The President of the Republic of Mozambique, President Nyusi, welcomed delegates and acknowledged the importance of the OACPS-EU platform in discussing various issues concerning the OACPS and the EU.
12.2 He noted that the platform represents about 900 million people and gave an account of the history of the OACPS-EU partnership.
12.3 He expressed hope that the platform would allow Members to share experiences and come up with solutions to the world challenges which include terrorism, climate change among others.
12.4 The President acknowledged the support it is getting from Rwanda, the EU and SADC in fighting terrorism in Cabo Delgado.
12.5 He informed delegates that Mozambique is intensifying its efforts to fight illicit financial flows (IFFs) and money laundering. He further explained that the country is reforming its intelligence efforts in order to counter IFFs and money laundering.
12.6 He expressed gratitude for the election of Mozambique to be President of OACPS and co-president of the OACPS-EU JPA.
SITTING OF THE 42ND SESSION OF THE OACPS-EU JOINT PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY
13.0 STATEMENT BY HON. PETER KENILOREA JR, OACPS CO-PRESIDENT OF THE ACP-EU JOINT PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY
13.1 Hon Kenilorea, President of the OACPS and Co-president of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly thanked Mozambique for hosting the 61st session of the OACPS and the 42nd session of the OACPS-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly. He announced that he had reached the end of his tenure thanked and members for the support rendered to him during his tenure as president of OACPS countries and co-president of the JPA.
13.2 He noted that Russia-Ukraine conflict was negatively impacting on the global food supply chain, and called for a peaceful solution to the crisis.
13.3 He urged unity of purpose in order to overcome the enormous challenges currently at hand.
13.4 He congratulated Hon. Anna Rita Sithole, of Mozambique who was elected the new president of the OACPS president and co-president of the JPA beginning January 2023.
14.0 SPEECH BY CARLOS ZORRINHO, EU CO-PRESIDENT OF THE ACP-EU JOINT PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY
14.1 Hon. Zorrinho thanked the Mayor of Maputo and Hon. Ana Rita Sithole and their team for their cooperation in the preparation and delivery of the Assembly.
14.2 He noted that there had been a rise in the challenges and threats around the world in the form of the COVID pandemic which continues to stifle its effects on the world economy. He further noted that war and confrontation are spreading and that climate change is increasingly causing droughts, floods and other destruction phenomena that affect people.
14.3 He emphasized the need to regain multilateral solidarity, from which the United Nations, the ACP-EU partnership and the African, Caribbean and Pacific-European Union Joint Parliamentary Assembly are supports forming a foundation for starting a new cycle of trust and cooperation.
14.4 He condemned Russia-Ukraine war for causing destruction, suffering and food shortages.
14.5 He thanked Hon. Kenilorea for working with him well during his tenure.
15.0 STATEMENT BY DUBRAVKA ŠUICA, VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR DEMOCRACY AND DEMOGRAPHY
15.1 The Vice President of the European Commission noted that realizing the need to improve access to education, they came up with the Global Gateway Investment Package. He emphasized that education is a fundamental right whose access should not be compromised.
15.2 He further noted the need for active participation of children and the youth, as well as the need to improve political participation for young people.
15.3 He highlighted that the EU is focusing on improving access to vaccines and is providing financial support in different countries.
15.4 He urged Member countries to draw lessons from experiences, and improve agricultural production in to address food insecurity.
15.5 He further emphasised the need to conclude and sign the Cotonou agreement and urged parties to conclude their respective internal processes.
15.6 The Vice President of the European Commission noted the need to harness available resources in agriculture as a response to the Russia -Ukraine crisis induced food shortages.
15.7 During debate, the delegation from Kenya thanked the assembly for adopting the Maputo declaration on gender equality and stressed the need for gender equality in the bureau.
15.8 Burundi reported the lifting of sanctions on Burundi by EU following improvement in various sectors and the rule of law.
15.9 The delegation from Trinidad and Tobago queried why some members of the OACPS had their accounts terminated by the EU with no explanation or alternative options to which the Vice President of the European Commission responded that it is a business decision by individual banks and the matter does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Vienna Convention.
16.0 ACTION TAKEN BY THE COMMISSION ON THE RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED AT THE 41ST SESSION OF THE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY
16.1 Members were informed that the EU committed 30% of the European Development Fund towards addressing climate change and introduced the EU pacific green blue alliance.
17.0 CONSEQUENCES OF THE RUSSIAN WAR IN UKRAINE ON FOOD SUPPLIES IN OACPS COUNTRIES AND BEYOND
17.1 Members were informed that the EU is making efforts to get food supplies from Ukraine and distribute to the world.
17.2 Members noted that many OACPS countries are dependent on Russia and Ukraine for food and fertilizer imports.
17.3 Members of the European Parliament implored members of the OACPS to condemn Russia for the war in Ukraine as it will destabilize food supplies to the world.
17.4 Delegates were informed that the EU is supporting members of the OACPS through the European Development Fund. They noted the need to support local food systems and respect dietary sovereignty of states.
17.5 Members from the OACPS called for a peaceful solution to the Russia Ukraine conflict.
17.6 The OACPS members noted the need to improve food and energy production models by embarking on natural farming methods and moving away from dependency on fossil fuels in the food production chain. Countries were urged to produce their own food.
17.7 Members were informed that the EU channeled 600 million euro towards food mobilization.
17.8 Hon. Nyambuya added his voice to the debate and emphasized that the food crisis is an indictment on Africa which has 60% of the world’s arable land. He urged member countries to invest in promoting agriculture and fertilizer production.
18.0 DRAFT RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR THE ASSEMBLIES UNDER THE POST-COTONOU AGREEMENT EXCHANGE OF VIEWS ON THE FOUR DRAFT TEXTS SUBMITTED BY THE JPA DRAFTING COMMITTEE
18.1 Members of the OACPS proposed the retention of the Committees for the OACPS.
18.2 They bemoaned the splitting of Africa, Caribbean and Pacific regions as it weakens the OACPS grouping. They queried why the EU was maintained as one grouping while the OACPS was broken into three sub-groupings.
18.3 Members were informed that the post-Cotonou agreement initially had no Parliamentary dimension but negotiations were done to maintain the Parliamentary dimension, which then came with the three regional parliaments.
18.4 Members from the OACPS reiterated that the reason in coming up with OACPS was for a common good, that is, to have strength in numbers and unity of purpose, hence viewed the divide and rule as not desirable.
18.5 Members from the OACPS expressed disappointment with the Executive for accepting the balkanized agreement, and resolved to review the decision in line with article 7 and 18(2) of the rules of procedure.
18.6 Co-President Kenilorea noted the concerns of Parliamentarians and informed them that a special OACPS session will be held in March 2023 where respective ambassadors will be invited for exchange of views and voting on the matter.
18.9 A proposal was made to institutionalize the Women and Youth Forums by appointing women and young Parliamentarians to become members and champions of the forum.
19.0 THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
19.1 Members agreed on the need to counter terrorism in order to allow citizens to live without fear.
19.2 Members condemned countries who supply and organize channels of weapons, drugs and money laundering.
19.3 Members from the EU expressed their commitment to assist in fighting terrorism.
19.4 Members from the OACPS noted with concern that Africa has few industries that manufacture weapons, and suggested that conspiracies that bring weapons to Africa must be addressed. They noted with concern that some terrorists are more armed than national armies in some African states.
19.5 The delegation from Mali narrated how terrorism is negatively affecting communities and called for genuine solidarity from everyone to end terrorism.
19.6 Members noted that there is need to address factors that influence people to enter into terrorism, for example, poverty, inequality, poor governance, displacement among other. They noted the need to engage communities involved in terrorism to find solutions.
19.7 Members noted the need to cut off terrorists’ source of funding and source of weapons and to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation to fight terrorism.
19.8 Hon Nyambuya added that there is need for a coordinated global approach in fighting terrorism and noted the successful efforts being made by SAMIM and Rwanda in helping to fight terrorism in Cabo Delgado. He further noted that international military and intelligence sharing is necessary in order to fight terrorism.
19.9 He emphasized the need to eradicate poverty and for states to adopt sustainable development policies and equitable distribution of resources.
19.10 Members from the EU offered to partner OACPS countries in fighting terrorism.
19.11 The delegation from the DRC informed the meeting of the occupation of its Northern region by M23, who have sophisticated weapons, and emphasised the need for solidarity in ending the proliferation of weapons. They urged neighboring countries to desist from supporting terrorist groups.
20.0 GLOBAL CHALLENGES OF CLIMATE CHANGE COOPERATION FOR ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION IN THE WAKE OF COP 27
20.1 Members noted that climate change is threatening to reverse the progress in development made in the last 40 years.
20.2 Members noted the need to empower communities by ensuring water availability and self-sustenance in food production.
20.3 OACPS members called upon the developed countries to honor their pledge on climate change financing.
20.4 Members noted the need for countries to raise ambitions so as to reduce emissions and to reduce deforestation and move away from fossil fuels.
20.5 OACPS members noted that they are the least emitters but are facing most consequences and urged developed countries to reduce emissions and honor their pledges.
20.6 Pacific countries expressed concern on their increased vulnerability due to the rising sea levels and called for urgent support towards mitigation and adaptation measures.
20.7 The Zimbabwe delegation added its voice on the need for developed countries to honor their pledge to finance investment in renewable energy.
21.0 ENSURING MARKET ACCESS FOR OACPS COMMODITY PRODUCING COUNTRIES THROUGH ENHANCING SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION PATTERNS
21.1 Members noted that trade is a major contributor to economic growth and the EU is a major trading partner to OACPS countries.
21.2 The delegation from Cote D’Ivoire noted that Cocoa producers in Cote D'Ivoire and Ghana have made efforts to comply with requirements for cocoa production but their efforts were not recognized by the EU.
21.3 Members noted that free trade has improved living standards globally and that Economic Partnership Agreements are contributing to trade diversification.
21.4 The OACPS were urged to increase trade amongst themselves.
21.5 Members noted that bananas in Africa are being produced in the most sustainable way but producers suffer from competitiveness challenge and require support for them to be able to compete fairly.
21.6 The need for capacitation in areas of power generation and transportation in order to support production was emphasized.
21.7 Members of the OACPS reiterated that they need assistance in commercial agriculture and not subsistence farming.
21.8 Members noted that many OACPS countries are facing challenges in exporting to the EU, despite healthier and sustainable farming methods and called for support to OACPS farmers to enable them to meet the required standards.
22.0 A NEW FRAMEWORK TO ADDRESS BIODIVERSITY CRISIS: LEVERAGING ACP-EU PARTNERSHIP IN SHAPING THE NEW FRAMEWORK TO HALT THE LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY AND PROMOTE ITS SUSTAINABLE USE AND CONSERVATION IN THE WAKE OF COP15’
22.1 Members noted that biodiversity underpins economic growth and sustainability and that food security depends on healthy biodiversity systems.
22.2 Members were informed that the EU is taking various measures to promote biodiversity, including doubling its funding for biodiversity to its partners. The EU is assisting partners to tackle biodiversity loss.
22.3 Members were informed that population growth, economic growth, climate change, among others, are contributing to biodiversity loss, hence the need for a collective global response to the challenge.
22.4 Delegates learnt that there are about 1 million endangered species and that 7 billion Euros were allocated by the EU towards promoting biodiversity.
22.5 Members stressed the need for tailor made solutions for each region.
22.6 Members from the OACPS expressed concern that some harmful pesticides that are banned in the EU are still being manufactured in the EU and exported to other countries. These pesticides are putting the biodiversity systems under threat.
22.7 A call was made to put in place sustainable food production models by providing education, financing for institutional capacity building and to push for a post 2020 global biodiversity action plan.
22.8 Members noted that plastic pollution is a threat to biodiversity, hence need to reduce use of plastic packaging.
22.9 A call was made for sustainable fishing methods.
23.0 REPORT OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL PARTNERS
23.1 The inclusion of civic society in the post Cotonou agreement was welcomed and a request was made for formal recognition of CSOs.
23.2 Members were informed that the ACP-EU follow up Committee deals with various social sector issues and that climate change has had a negative impact on social and economic stability.
23.3 Delegates were informed that droughts were causing severe hunger and that the Russia -Ukraine war furthering food security challenges.
23.4 Members called upon the EU to take measures to provide humanitarian assistance and for governments to make use of local expertise on resilience to support sustainable food systems.
24.0 STATEMENT BY DR AMERY BROWNE, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AND CARICOM AFFAIRS (TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO), PRESIDENT-IN-OFFICE OF THE OACPS COUNCIL
24.1 The President-in-office of the OACPS Council of Ministers thanked Mozambique for hosting the meeting and highlighted the milestones made by the Council. He urged members to continue with their commitment in leaving no-one behind.
24.2 He noted that the OACPS can leverage on numerical strength and need to remain united in the fight against climate change, COVID 19 among other global challenges.
24.3 The OACPS council of ministers approved the new agreement and implored the Assembly to support it.
24.4 The President-in-office of the OACPS Council of Ministers informed delegates that the Joint OACPS-EU Council of Ministers will meet on 29 November 2022 to exchange views on several critical and topical outstanding matters, including the Russia-Ukraine war as well as mechanisms for propelling international cooperation between OACPS and the EU.
25.0 STATEMENT BY TOMÁŠ ULIČNÝ, SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC, PRESIDENT-IN-OFFICE OF THE EU COUNCIL
25.1 The President-in-office of the EU Council noted that the ACP EU JPA is an important partnership where members share common interests. He added that it is a platform to build a common future.
25.2 He condemned Russia for the war against Ukraine, which has created a world crisis. He reiterated that the EU is committed to help Ukraine fight off Russia.
25.3 He noted that the Cotonou Agreement has been a foundation for OACPS-EU relationship for over 20 years and that the post Cotonou should strengthen this relationship. He noted that the partnership constitutes more than half of votes at the UN General Assembly and therefore there is need to work more on resilience to overcome challenges.
25.4 He echoed that the EU is committed to support OACPS countries in ensuring peace and security, migration and mobility, and address the specific needs of the various regions.
26.0 DEBATE WITH THE COUNCIL
26.1 Members noted the need for the EU to reconcile their priorities with OACPS countries’ needs and that complementarity key in the relationship.
26.2 The OACPS expressed concern with delays in the signing of the new agreement and urged the EU Parliamentarians to play their role in ensuring that the agreement is concluded.
26.3 Members emphasised the need for unity in the face of the various global challenges.
26.4 The President of the EU Council stressed the importance of the agreement for the partnership and informed the meeting that the Council is working flat out to ensure conclusion of the signing of agreement. He emphasised that the Parliamentary dimension has been strengthened in the new agreement.
26.5 The delegation from Mauritius expressed concern over selective application of human rights law for Mauritius.
26.6 Members noted the need to improve access to climate finance for island countries.
26.7 Members noted that in view of permanent stakeholder envisaged in the new there is need to add the CSO Forum in addition to the Women and Youth Forums.
27.0 VOTE ON THE URGENT MOTIONS FOR RESOLUTION
27.1 The following resolutions were adopted;
‘The Global Challenges of Climate Change Cooperation for Adaptation and Mitigation in the Wake of COP 27’ and
‘Ensuring Market Access for OACPS Commodity-producing Countries by Enhancing Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns’
27.2 Voting for the four draft rules of procedure was postponed to a later date.
28.0 SUMMARY REPORTS FROM THE WORKSHOPS
28.1 Delegates were informed that the Women's Forum met on 29 October and discussed the topic ‘Early Marital Relationship and Gender Based Violence’ and noted that early marriages an impediment to development and recommended upscaling education of the girl child, empowerment of rural women, establishment of safe out of school places, and instituting harsh penalties to perpetrators of gender-based violence.
28.2 The Youth Forum recommended creation of jobs, provision of education to the youth, and stopping the spread of fake news in order to combat human trafficking.
29.0 DATE AND PLACE OF THE 43RD SESSION OF THE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY
29.1 The next meeting will be held in Sweden in March 2023. I thank you.
HON. NDUNA: I want to thank Hon. Moyo for a well-rounded OACPs report on the visit that they conducted. I just want to give a brief perspective on OACPs. It is an organisation of African Caribbean and Pacific nations. It is a group of countries in Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific that was created by the Georgetown Agreement of 1975, formerly known as the Africa Caribbean Pacific Group of States, ACP. The organisations’ main objectives are sustainable development and poverty reduction within its member states as well as greater integration into the Welsh economy. All the member states, except Cuba, are signatories to the Cotonou Agreement with the European Union that Hon. Moyo spoke to and about.
The Cotonou Agreement signed in Cotonou, Benin in 2000, is the successor of the Lome Convention. One of the major differences from the Lome Convention is that the partnership is extended to new actors such as the civil society, private sector, trade unions and the local authorities. These will be involved in the consultation and planning of the NDS1 provided with access to financial resources and involved in implementation of programmes.
Many small island developing states are ACP states. The fourth Lome Convention was revised in 1995 in Mauritius as stated by Hon. Moyo and gives special attention to island countries in this agreement combined. The EU and the Members of the OACPS represent over 1.5 billion people and more than half of the seats at the UN. In Africa, the Africa OACPS countries negotiate in five economic Partnership Agreement groups which are; West Africa, CEMAC, Southern Africa Development Community, East Africa Community, East and Southern Africa with the EU Mr. Speaker Sir, in the Caribbean, the countries of the Carribean Community plus the Domican Republic group negotiate in the Cariforum Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU.
Having said that I want to take you back again to the founding principles of the OACPS. I can say this is an organisation of Africa, Carribean and Pacific States evolved from the ACP group founded via the George Town Agreement of 1975 and comprises 79 African, Carribean and Pacific States. The remaining goals of the OACPS centers around the sustainable development of its membership and their gradual integration into the global economy with the ultimate objective of reducing and eventually eradicating poverty. Coordination of the OACPS activities is in the framework of the implementation of the existing Partnership Agreement with the EU, and consolidation of unity and solidarity among the Members of the OACPS. The promotion of multilateralism and the establishment and strengthening of peace security, sustainability, stability, free democratic societies and the empowerment of youths and women as a spouse as enunciated by Hon. Moyo, in particular, in Section 17 of our Constitution and indeed Section 20 and 26 of our Constitution which is sui-generis.
I also want to touch on a few issues that she spoke about in terms of the states that lamented the issue of Road Traffic Accidents (RTA). They lamented lack of resilient and robust public transport systems. Indeed, it was in one particular year when the mayor of Bogota said the issue of robust and resilient mass transport system was not measured by how the poor go onto the mass transport system but how the rich used the mass transport system. That measured the effectiveness and indeed also how that mass transport system was safe for use.
Mr. Speaker Sir, we, as Zimbabwe, can be an example of infrastructure development that is measured by the way we reduce RTA. Globally, there are three deaths per day that occur due to RTA and in Zimbabwe currently, the deaths are five per day and we have 43 people that are injured due to RTA daily. Eventually they get disabled. Some then pass on due to RTA that they will have been involved in. However, we now have more than ten toll plazas on the 821km Plumtree- Mutare highway – state of the art toll plazas, which in my view, can be an envy of other African states if optimally and effectively utilised to reduce road carnage in our nation. How can this be done? We find that a lot of our mass transport system is what is involved in road carnage. Here is an example of how these toll plazas can be utilised. They are not more than 100km between them and what is called distance is speed multiplied by time, and speed is distance divided by time. It is my thinking that as the bus leaves Plumtree and as it gets to Bulawayo, there is a toll plaza. My thinking is to forget about placing the police along that highway but look at the time the bus will have taken to get to a toll plaza which is 100kms away after having left at a certain time. If you do not ticket them at the first 100km, when they get to the next 100kms before Gweru, it is at that point that we can issue tickets and chastise the driver of that mass transport system. Even to avert RTA, a bus does not need to be involved in an RTA for us to know that he was moving at a horrendous speed. So, these toll plazas can be used to arrest the issue of RTA and also to cancel the licences’ of the bus drivers if they are moving at great speed.
Having said that, it was just yesterday that the Rtd. Gen. Hon. C. D. G. N Chiwenga was presenting a ministerial statement on the state of our health where he spoke about the helicopters that are now used as casualty evacuation where there is involvement of vehicles in an RTA. He also talked about the placing of ambulances with resuscitation and stabilisation equipment on our toll plazas. I just spoke of more than 10 plazas on the Plumtree-Mutare highway but there are more than 17 tollgates on the other highways other than the Plumtree-Mutare highway. So, the placement of these ambulances will definitely create a great deal in terms of saving lives. What we need to do is to save or stabilise the people that would have been involved in RTA within the golden hour. This is what the Hon. Minister spoke about because 70% of our people are dying because they have not been attended to within the golden hour after the RTA. So this is a cure that the likes of the nations that Hon. Moyo spoke about can take from Zimbabwe as work that has been implemented by the Second Republic and indeed in our healthcare delivery system, utilising what we have to get what we want, thus save the lives of our people through the establishment of those ambulances and indeed also utilising the space that is there. There is so much space in those tall plazas and we can utilise a room as a resuscitation centre or to attend to RTA victims before they are sent for onward transmission and onward attendance at other healthcare institutions. Mr. Speaker Sir, this is what I believe other nations can learn from Zimbabwe but after we, as a nation, have utilised what we have to get what we want.
Having said that Mr. Speaker Sir, at Road Motor Transport (RMT), this is a place that takes care of the licencing of mass transport operators or buses and combis that are licenced. There are five issues that need to be adhered to in the licencing of those mass transport systems. It is the issue of that the driver is licenced first and foremost, that the driver is about 25 years of age, that the driver has got a defensive drivers licence, that the driver has a medical certificate and that the driver has the requisite licence which is the right class Mr. Speaker Sir.
So it is my thinking that, that can be exported to other nations to say what is obtaining at RMT if followed to the letter and spirit, can also save the lives of our people in these other African states who are members of the OACPS in order to avert, avoid and reduce road carnage in total and completely maybe annihilate the scourge of RTA so that we can preserve the GDP of our nations Mr. Speaker Sir. Luckily, Zimbabwe is not part of the lowly developed countries. We are just land locked or land linked but we are not in the LDCs which are part of the OACPS countries but which have lower GDPs than ours. It is my thinking that we can use the OACPS involvement to actually have it as a pedestal and a platform for our economic benefit and also help other nations reduce road carnage.
As I conclude Mr. Speaker Sir, the issue that she spoke to of drug abuse also actually increases road carnage and we, the Second Republic, has formed a ministerial task force to reduce the scourge of the drug abuse. So other nations can learn from Zimbabwe. I want to applaud the Second Republic on that and also on the road rehabilitation and reconstruction and transformation using the ERRP 1 to 4 Mr. Speaker Sir, and also the issue that she laments of gold panning regulation. We are actually involved in the reconstruction of the archaic, moribund, rudimentary and antiquated Mines and Minerals Act in order that the gold panners can be regulated using a new form of our law.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to second the report by Hon. Moyo in the quest that we can help other nations in that grouping and I want to urge South Africa to be persuaded to join back the OACPS as opposed to what Britain did to remove itself from the EU States in the mould of Brexit. The more the merrier so I ask that South Africa be persuaded as one of our frontline states in the war of liberation. Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to thank you. I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday 13th June, 2023.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. NDUNA: I move that we revert back to Order of the Day, number 14 on today’s Order Paper.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT ON ELECTORAL LAWS GOVERNING ELECTION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITY HELD IN UGANDA
HON. E. NCUBE: I move the motion standing in my name;
That this House takes note of the Delegation Report to Uganda on the Electoral Laws that govern the election of persons with disability Parliamentarians and Political Duty Bearers which was conducted from 17th–24th September, 2022.
HON. CHIKUNI: I second.
HON. E. NCUBE:
1.0 Introduction
Hon. E. Ncube, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare went for a study visit to Uganda as part of the Ministry of Public Service, Labor and Social Welfare’s delegation. She was accompanied by Ms. Macheza, the Committee Clerk. The study visit was undertaken from 19 to 23 September 2023. The main purpose of the visit was to understand the electoral systems and electoral laws that govern the election of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) Parliamentarians and political duty bearers in Uganda. The delegation was hosted by the Ugandan Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development.
The rest of the delegation comprised of the following:
Mr. Nyeperayi, the Deputy Director – Disability Affairs Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare,
Mr. Banda, Visually Impaired Assistant – Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare,
Ms. Manzini, Legal Officer - Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare,
Mr. Chirinzepi, Director – Disability Desk, Office of the President and Cabinet,
Ms. Chahuruva, Director – Legal Affairs, Zimbabwe Electoral Commission,
Mr. Dzwowa, Training Officer - Zimbabwe Electoral Commission,
Mr. Machava, Voter Education Coordinator - Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and
Mr. Tsvangira, Visually Impaired Assistant - Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.
2.0 Background
The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare has a mandate to ensure that the political rights of persons with disabilities are fully realised. The disability constituency requested the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare’s Disability Affairs Department to ensure that persons with disabilities have a right to choose their political leaders and also be office bearers in making decision bodies. The right to vote and participate in political and social life is provided for in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which Zimbabwe ratified in 2013.
The right to participate fully in a country’s political and electoral processes are basic human rights recognized in an extensive body of international and regional legal instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR, 1948), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR, 1966) and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights. The principle of universal and equal suffrage, guarantee that every person who has the right to vote is able to exercise this right without distinction of any kind, and by definition extends to persons with disabilities. Article 29 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to which Zimbabwe is a party, enjoins State parties to guarantee to persons with disabilities political rights and the opportunity to enjoy them on an equal basis with others and undertake to ensure that they can effectively and fully participate in political and public life, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare’s Department did a research on how other state parties to the Convention were implementing provisions relating to persons with disabilities and decided that the system in Uganda was the best model to learn from.
3.0 Institutions Visited
To get an understanding of the Ugandan model, the delegation interacted with officials from the following establishments:
- Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development,
- Parliament of Uganda (Committee on Gender, Labour and Social Development),
- Electoral Commission of Uganda,
- National Council for the Disabled Persons,
- Solicitor General (Equivalent of Attorney General in Zimbabwe)
- National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU), and Home of Hope (a beneficiary of government grants).
3.0 Objectives
The delegation had the following specific objectives:
3.1 To learn how the law provides for reasonable accommodation for the visually impaired voters.
3.2 To learn how persons with disabilities are represented in the political sphere to ensure meaningful representation and inclusion.
3.3 To get an understanding of the legal framework in Uganda in relation to the electoral rights of persons with disabilities, how best and to what extent can it be adopted in Zimbabwe.
4.0 Current Electoral System in Zimbabwe on Persons with Disability
Section 120 (1) (d) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides for the election of two Senators to represent persons with disabilities in the manner provided for in the Electoral Act in Section 45. Seventh Schedule (Section 45A) of the Electoral Act also provides for election of the two Senators to represent persons with disabilities. Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No. 2 Section 268 (1) also states that ten women shall be elected by a system of proportional representation. The Constitution of Zimbabwe No.2 further states that election to provincial and metropolitan councils must be conducted in accordance with the Electoral Law, which must ensure that the women elected under party list system of proportional representation should include women with disabilities.
These are the laws that provide for the election of persons with disability in Zimbabwe.
The 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe has significantly expanded human rights protections for vulnerable groups such as children, women, PWDs and veterans of the liberation struggle. While Section 67 of the Constitution generally affords every Zimbabwean the right to participate in elections, either as voters or candidates, section 22 of the Constitution specifically admonishes the State and all institutions and agencies of government to recognize the rights of persons with disabilities and assist them to achieve their full potential and minimize the disadvantages suffered by them.
In pursuance of this provision which aims at elevating the rights of PWDs in order to achieve equality of outcomes, the Constitution of Zimbabwe introduced some form of affirmative action where two (2) seats are reserved in the Senate for persons representing persons with disabilities. These Senators are elected through an Electoral College constituted by organisations and institutions of persons with disabilities and from the National Disability Board.
4.1 Shortfalls with the current situation
Persons with disabilities are currently represented by two Senators and no reserved seats for Persons with Disabilities in the National Assembly. While PWDs are not prevented from contesting in the general elections for the 210 constituencies in the National Assembly, they face a myriad of challenges in doing so. It can be argued that they face similar challenges with women and the youth, with the added challenge of accessibility challenges to be able to effectively compete against persons without similar challenges on the campaign trail. Thus, there may be need to consider reservation of some seats for PWDs in the National Assembly.
4.2 Protection of the secrecy of the ballot for visually impaired voters
In Zimbabwe visual impaired persons are assisted in voting. There is no braille ballot paper provision for use by persons who are able to read braille thus compromising the secrecy of their vote.
5.0 The Uganda Model
The following legal framework governs the election of Parliamentarians and Councillors in Uganda:
- Constitution of Uganda 1995 as Amended section 78
- Electoral Commission Act
- Parliamentary Elections Statute 1996
- Persons with Disabilities Act
- The Local Government Act 1997
5.1 Representation of PWDs in Parliament
Section 78 of the Uganda Constitution reserves 5 seats for persons with disabilities in Parliament. However, the 5 seats for PWDS are justified taking into consideration the Ugandan population of 48 million and the total number of 529 MPs compared to
Zimbabwe’s figures. These 5 representatives of PWDs in Parliament are elected to represent the whole country. They have no particular geographical constituency. The fifth representative must be female. However, PWDs can contest in general elections and currently there are three (3) MPs who were elected to represent constituencies via the general elections bringing the total number of PWDs in Parliament to eight (8).
5.2 Representation of PWDs in Local Government Uganda is divided into Local Governments at each of the following
levels:
- District/City
- Municipality/City Division
- Sub-county/Town Council/Municipal Division.
There are two representatives (councillors), one male and one female in each Local Government Council. Further, an electoral structure comprising a committee of five members is elected in each District at the following levels:
- Village/Cell/Zone PWD Electoral structure/Committee
- Parish/ward PWD Electoral Structure/Committee
- Sub-county/Town/Municipal Division PWD Electoral Structure/Committee
- Municipality/City Division PWD Electoral Structure/Committee District/City PWD Electoral Structure/Committee.
The PWD Electoral Structure/Council at the village/cell/zone is the grass roots level comprising all PWDs in the village/cell/zone who are 18 years of age and above, residents in the area and registered as voters for national elections, who elect a committee of five from among their number.
The PWD Electoral Structure is then elected progressively from Village to District level through Councils and Committees. Members of Parliament representing PWDs are elected by the electoral structure at District/City of five members convening at a single venue where five representatives (one must be female) are elected by secret ballot from among candidates whose nomination papers have been accepted by the Electoral Commission.
5.3 Challenges faced by Uganda
Uganda faces challenges in ensuring the secrecy of the ballot of visually impaired voters is upheld via the use of braille or tactile ballots. In 1996 the Uganda Electoral Commission provided braille ballot papers for the visually impaired voters. This was not successful since a large number of the visually impaired voters who turned up were not braille literate and therefore could not use the ballots.
The Uganda Electoral Commission also faced a challenge whereby it could not ascertain the total number of visually impaired voters in an area in need of the ballots because of lack of disaggregated information. For the exercise to be successful, the Commission needs to know the number of citizens who are visually impaired in a constituency and the number of braille literate voters.
Further, the Commission faces a challenge in the provision of sign language interpretation for all its electoral processes as there are shortages of interpreters and there is no information on which sign language the majority of voters need for voter awareness.
6.0 Lessons learnt
There is need for Zimbabwe to review its electoral system and come up with a robust electoral system that cater for the needs of the PWDs by affording them an equal opportunity to participate in the election from the grassroots level. To enable representation from the grassroots, Uganda embarked on a journey and first amended their Constitution in 1995, amended the Disabled Persons Act and the Parliamentary Elections Act. The legal provisions were not set up in a short period but over a long period of time. Prior to the amendments to various pieces of legislation, the position at law in Uganda was similar to the one currently obtaining in Zimbabwe where Senators representing PWDs are chosen through the electoral college constituted by registered PWD organizations and institutions. This was challenged in Court as it left out those not affiliated to either entity thereby violating the right to associate and to disassociate.
Representation of persons with disabilities from the grassroots allows meaningful and effective representation since they will be aware of issues. Effective and meaningful representation from the villages is possible mainly because the electoral system depends heavily on the use of the local structures for persons with disabilities’ register which is necessary if one is to contest under the persons with disabilities banner.
Disaggregated figures are required for the Electoral Commission to plan and reasonably accommodate persons with disability. There is need to have the statistics of PWDs and their disabilities.
Uganda undertook an awareness campaign exercise on the rights of PWDs through different platforms to sensitise the citizens of their rights to participate in politics. In Uganda and Zimbabwe PWDs are free to join any political party and to contest for a seat as a Member of Parliament or any position. The challenge is that the PWDs find it difficult to compete with able bodied candidates in terms of finances and mobility and due to stigmatisation.
7.0 Recommendations by the Delegation
The delegation, therefore recommends the following:
7.1 Going forward, the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe should be amended to allow for PWDs representation in the National Assembly and also to allow for gradual affirmative action in the representation of PWDs in all sectors of governance.
7.2 The Electoral Act [Chapter 2:13] must be amended to do away with an Electoral College constituted by associations and Private Voluntary Organizations which may, in some instances only be found at national level leaving out a large number of constituency members at grassroots level by March 2023.
7.3 The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission should through voter education, encourage the participation of PWDs in the electoral process from registering as voters to running for office.
7.4 Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency should avail disaggregated figures on persons with disability and the nature of disability to Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to plan and reasonably accommodate persons with disability.
7.5 Political parties should financially support their respective PWDs Political Flag Duty Bearers who might intend to contest as Members of Parliament of Councillors since most of these PWDS will need political mentorship.
7.8 Disability Movements in Zimbabwe should unite under one council preferably the National Disability Council so that there can champion for electoral systems and electoral laws that are disability inclusive by March 2023.
8.0 Conclusion
8.1 The government should ensure a just and fair society where persons with disabilities live a prosperous and dignified livelihood. Therefore, there is need to strengthen the capacity of PWDs from grassroots level to national level to ensure that their needs are represented. I thank you.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I want to thank Hon. Ncube for a well-rounded report. I think it really does voluminously speak to a section of our community, which we as a country, have taken seriously. I am aware of the Amendment Number 2 of the Constitution that also touched on representation of women first and foremost, in local authorities, 30% that have now been put in place. Also, one youth per each province is now put into the Constitution. It also elongated the period that the Proportional Representatives, that is the Women Quota, coming from 2023 for another further 10 years, to 2033.
I want to thank Hon. Ncube for the recommendations that there is need to also take into account 15% of the section of our population which are differently abled, those that are disabled. I call them differently abled, that have to be represented by one of their own. We have two representatives that are not in the National Assembly - who are in the Senate, that is not enough. If they can be a move to deliberately advocate for those that are differently abled to also have representatives here in the National Assembly.
I am alive to the fact that we have my sister, Hon. Rose Mpofu, who is here but she is not here under that banner. She is here because of proportional representation of women. So, a deliberate approach to embrace those that are differently abled in this House is quite applaudable and is a key recommendation that I picked up in this well-rounded report. Having said that, there is no way we can leave out 15% of our population, which is about 1.5 million people living with disability out there without any representative here in the National Assembly to make laws for the good governance of those 15% people that are differently abled. If you get up to 1.5 million, I remember to get a threshold of winning vote for the President, you should have first past-the-post of 2 million people. So, 1.5 million is half a million shy of getting a clear majority. These people cannot be ignored ad infinitum. Here is an opportunity, according to Isaiah 6 (1) “the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord”. We should use this report as a pedestal or as a platform to embrace the people who are differently abled; people living with disability to have a mainstream involvement in the electoral system of our country. Thank you for giving me this report to second the report which is well rounded.
(v) HON. MAGO: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Hon. Ncube, for the report on the Electoral Reform that govern the elections of the PWD parliamentarians and political duty bearers. PWDs, cannot fight for seats with men and women who are able bodied, with physical and financial stamina to fight it out. We also think that they are only needed when it is voting time and it is their vote which is needed and no other contribution. It is wrong that they are not involved in many decision-making positions as if their minds are probably considered to be disabled too.
The Disabled Persons Bill, which seeks to repeal the Disabled Persons Act, Chapter 17:01 needs to be speeded up and hope all sections have been closely scruitnised, so that it includes their electoral rights as well as wealth. We have heard that in Uganda, there are five seats reserved for PWDs. Uganda went on to say of the five, one should be a female. This was in a bid to be all inclusive and they did the same at council level. As a country, we should emulate good practice from other countries and effect them. It would be a waste of time and resources, visiting other countries to get ideas on how they are running their affairs but not implementing any of the good things that we learn.
In the upcoming general elections, it is my request that at least money for the needs of PWDs is set aside because if we continue lip-syncing the needs, it will never come to fruition. I thank you.
HON. NDUNA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 13th June, 2023.
On the motion of HON. NDUNA seconded by HON. TEKESHE, the House adjourned at Five Minutes to Five o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 13th June, 2023.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 8th June, 2023.
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE
SWITCHING OFF OF CELLPHONES
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Good afternoon Hon. Senators. Can I remind the Hon. Senators once again to put your phones on silent or switch them off?
SECOND READING
ELECTORAL AMENDMENT BILL [H. B.11A, 2022]
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Mr. President Sir and good afternoon. Allow me to present the Second Reading Speech for the Electoral Amendment Bill. The Bill seeks to align our electoral Act with international norms and standards and the Constitution of Zimbabwe (2013), as amended by Constitution Amendment Act No. 2 of 2021.
The Bill shall amend the definition section of the Electoral Act to include the following:
It is proposed that the definition section (Section 4) of the Electoral Act be amended so that it includes what is termed as a disqualifying offence. A disqualifying offence is where one is convicted in Zimbabwe of an offence of which breach of trust, dishonesty or physical violence is an essential element. Additionally, if outside of Zimbabwe, it is when one is convicted of a conduct which, if committed in Zimbabwe, would be an offence of which breach of trust, dishonesty or physical violence is an essential element. The Constitution, in Section 129 (1) (i) requires a sitting Member of Parliament to vacate his or her seat if they have been convicted of these offences. For the sake of consistency, the amendment proposes that persons who would be disqualified from continuing as MPs and those aspiring would have committed such an offence should also not be allowed to stand as candidates for election.
The Bill seeks to align Sections 49 and 126 with Section 107 of the Electoral Act so that they include the withdrawal of parliamentary local authority candidature within 21 days before elections. While the law is clear on the timeframe regarding withdrawal of candidature for a presidential election, it is however silent with regards to parliamentary and local authority elections.
Section 107 (1) of the Electoral Act provides that a presidential candidate can withdraw their candidature twenty-one days before polling in order to afford sufficient time for the Electoral Commission to make changes to the design of the ballot and to advise the electorate of any changes to the candidature of that election. Thus, the Bill seeks to apply the same law to the parliamentary and local authorities.
The Bill also seeks to expand the role of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to include promotional research into electoral matters, development of expertise and use of technology. This will enable the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to play a coordination role between Government, political parties and civil society organisations in regards to elections as well as ensuring gender mainstreaming in electoral processes.
The Bill seeks to align the Electoral Legal Framework with the Constitution of Zimbabwe (2013) which provides for 30% women representation both in Parliament and in local authorities. This is also in line with the SADC Protocol on gender and development of 2008. The current Electoral Act has not made provisions on how the women’s quota should be filled.
The Bill further seeks to encompass the additional 10% youth quota as introduced by Constitution Amendment (No. 2) of 2021. This will allow the youths to be fully represented in both, Parliament and in local authorities.
Mr. President, Section 67 of the Constitution confers political rights on every Zimbabwean which extends to the right to stand for elections for public office. The Bill seeks to remove constraints on this right by being explicit in that nomination fees should not be exorbitant nor inhibitive but reasonable enough to allow any eligible citizen to stand for election for public office.
The Bill is progressive in respect of age and gender inclusivity and also in giving guarantees to political rights. I therefore urge Hon. Senators to support and pass the Bill. I so submit and move that the Bill be now read a second time. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. KOMICHI: Thank you Mr. President for affording me the opportunity to also contribute to the Electoral Amendment Bill. First and foremost, I would want to thank him for saying the nomination fees should not be prohibitive. It should allow people to open up and be able to participate. You are expected to have money as a Member of Parliament but the role of a parliamentarian can only be done by someone who knows what they are doing as long as they meet the three requirements of oversight, representation and making of laws.
The fees that are doing the rounds on social media are very exorbitant in that a lot of aspiring candidates would fail to raise them. Such figures are out of reach for the majority of Zimbabweans bearing in mind the challenges that we are currently facing. It also gives a wrong impression in that our country would be painted black because of such fees. I am happy with the figures that the Minister has suggested that these be reduced to affordable levels.
I would like to raise my perception of the electoral system. Our electoral system which we currently have needs interrogation and reviewing. The electoral system forms the foundation of our governance system as a country. It also contributes negatively to how we are ruling this country or our everyday life, especially with the challenges that we have of sanctions and abject poverty. The present law that is operational in Zimbabwe was adopted from the whites but today we are feeling the pinch. It has hurt us more because it is causing people not to live harmoniously. It talks about democracy but there are fights and people are abusing one another and that is why there was the passing of the patriotic Bill because the electoral system that we have is a lose-lose situation. If one were to lose, one becomes cruel. We should interrogate the system and see if it is adequate for us as Zimbabweans and Africans. I believe it is not adequate for us because it does not unite us after every election.
If you look at the history of Zimbabwe after every election, we go into a fighting mode and forget to focus on the economy, which is our main job. Our main job is not power or the retention of it but the economy. We lose track once an election occurs. The Americans who are said to be the best in terms of democracy have also failed. If you look at the fight between Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, for the past four years they are not focusing on the economy. They are at each other’s throats because of this winner take all situation. This winner takes all system should be disbanded because it does not help us. Let us come up with systems that have an Afrocentric view. It has no African identity. It is foreign based. It is being used by foreigners to enhance their political views over us. They set a standard over a process that we would not understand and as Zimbabwe, we will not pass.
After the liberation struggle, we defeated the whites and we repossessed our land. The whites are concerned that Zimbabwe will never pass any form of election because of those two measures. Therefore, winner take all aspect of election will not help us. We have an active civil war in DRC, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan - it is because of this policy of winner take all and the retention of power because the losers will not get anything. In the end, we give our detractors a chance to punish us because of the electoral system that we have. The whites are proud of it. They come and monitor our elections every five years but we do not go there to monitor their elections. They oppress us and as a result of that, we suffer.
Winner take all form of election Mr. President and Minister please kindly listen, it is like Newton’s law of motion which states that there is an equal and opposite reaction for every action. I am saying that these forces should not act in opposite direction. It is not true that you need a very strong opposition. No growth takes place when forces are equal. This is what is prevailing in Africa as a whole and as a result, there is poverty because of this opposition since it is being used to remove certain leaders out of power for they are no longer wanted by certain people in the western world.
It is now 32 years since Zambia changed power and they have had eight Presidents in that period, meaning to say each of them has ruled for four years. Can there be a President who successfully run a vision in four years and be successful? It will only create instability. The system will not work in Zambia and here in Zimbabwe. Africa is under poverty because it has left the systems which were used in the past.
The chiefs used to rule this country very well, no one would starve. They used to do what they call idala, in Ndebele they call it Ilima, the Shona people call it nhimbe/humwe. It was a co-operative way where we could spend a day in someone’s field but when the whites colonised us, we abandoned that system. Instead of using that system to develop it to the modern technology of today, we abandoned it and borrowed theirs. Comrade Nyambuya, think of it during the war – I call you Cde Nyambuya because of your contribution during the liberation struggle. You said you were not fighting the colour of the skin of the person but you were fighting the system that was oppressing the black majority. Then they realised that the black man was now clever. Immediately, they brought the Lancaster House Conference, we took Cde. Mugabe straight from Mozambique into leading the Government of the new independent Zimbabwe, using the same systems of Ian Smith. We later removed Cde. Mugabe and replaced him with Cde. Mnangagwa but we still use the same oppressive systems. It was working very well for the white man because it was designed for them – a few people. That system did not have anything Afro-centric about it but we forgot about us. It is not only in Zimbabwe where we forgot, but all over Africa.
What is in Nhimbe/idala/ilima, the three principles I talked about there is unity, peace and a shared vision. Any society that runs on those three principles succeed, whether it is marriage, burial society, business or what. If you maintain those three principles you will succeed. As Africans, we must go back to those principles and say how can we have unity, peace and a shared vision as a governing system of our nation. Nhimbe, I recommend it with the help of traditional leaders; with the help of the social scientists; with the help of our President, we can develop a system that can suit us to run this country, once and for all and can develop our economies, zvokuti zvinonakidza zvokuti bhee.
The fact that our traditional leaders long back used to stock food for its people and no-one would starve, they had Zunde raMambo. Zunde raMambo enabled the vulnerable communities to be assisted so that they also have food. Those who would run out of food could dwell on the chief’s reserve. They had an Afro-centric strategy that worked very well. Why are we failing to feed our people when we have black people on the helm, RBZ, gold, lithium, diamond, soil, everything, water is under us? We are failing simply because we are using a system that was designed to oppress us. We will remain oppressed. Let us remove this system and put an Afro-centric system that is ours.
In Zimbabwe, we have got a problem of finger pointing that the problem is caused by Cde. Ziyambi, Cde. Komichi, Cde. Nyambuya and the like. The elephant in the room is not individuals. Poverty is the elephant in the room. If we destroy poverty, we would not blame each other. If we destroy poverty, we would not even kill each other. If we destroy poverty, there would be no enormity in Zimbabwe and Africa at large. There is nothing like that, poverty is the thing we must destroy.
Through principles of nhimbe, which is unity, peace and a shared vision, we can actually destroy poverty. We did this before, remember Hon. President when we came from war, you were so bitter nevarungu. You did not want to see Smith at all, UANC (Madzakutsaku), at least ZAPU and ZANU had some common relationship but we formed a Nhimbe Government in 1980 in which we brought all the powers that were there. ZANU, ZAPU, UANC, RF yaSmith and we achieved unity. We achieved peace and we achieved shared vision. We had our own internal problems, which we had between the Matabeleland area and the Government by then. In 1987, again we formed a Nhimbe Government in which Cde. Nkomo became the Deputy President to President Mugabe.
In 2008, we had another internal conflict, where people killed each other. We formed a Nhimbe Government again, in which we achieved peace, unity and shared vision. On those three instances, our economies grew but because we were doing it in a dishonest manner, we had some challenges. If we are to do it voluntarily, plan it properly and implement it properly, we can have a boom in the economy in Zimbabwe and Africa at large. Therefore, I call upon His Excellency, Hon. E. D. Mnangagwa to take up this challenge and implement the Nhimbe Government in Zimbabwe. Go further outside Zimbabwe and persuade SADC and go further out of SADC and persuade Africa because that is how Africans live. Africans do not unnecessarily fight for things; we live in harmony.
What I believe is, if we apply the Nhimbe Government, even ruling of the country becomes easy. The problems that we are having now in running the country, number one is poverty and it will go; number two sanctions will be removed because there will be no purpose for the sanctions. Sanctions could be there to serve certain interests but when we are now operating in a Nhimbe set up, what will be the reason for the sanctions? They will go. Number three, Africa would realise its hugeness. It is a gigantic economy yakavata. If we go back to the principles of Murmur Gadhafi and Kwame Nkrumah, you could see that the economy of Africa is a giant, if what is being said about Lybia is correct that anyone who marries would get a house and aita mwana opihwa mari, opihwa imba. We are the greatest continent in the world but poorest continent in the world. Why, it is because we are using a borrowed governing system which must be changed with immediate effect. We proved that this is feasible
So again, let me repeat the call. Our traditional leaders stood up, to educate us. If Zimbabweans are to unite right now, there are immediate benefits. If we are to unite today, the exchange rate would drop from its escalating levels of 7 000 because through unity, peace and shared vision, it will give people the confidence.
If politicians would share power today, everything would stabilise. Corruption would go down. Corruption rises as a result of abject poverty but if we can share power today – we are brothers, we are interlinked, instead of fighting, we must unite and build our own country. If we unite today, the Zimbabwean citizens will enjoy the development and growth. If we unite today, the university students would be very happy because they would be able to get grants. The education system which is in shambles with teachers conducting extra lessons, there will be no need of extra lessons because you will be able to pay your teachers enough money to have books and everything else. The education system would work. The youth will definitely benefit. There will be employment because the moment we unite, we will be able to negotiate with the western and eastern world at an equal footing. We will not be inferior to the east or west. We will be an equal partner in the global political sphere. So, they will not be able to oppress us because we will be standing with our own resource.
While they have technology in Europe, we have got resources in Africa; so we cannot play second fiddle. In hospitals we will have medicine. We tried it in 2008 and we got those things. Civil society will benefit from the safe working environment. There will be no need for the Patriotic Bill, Mr. President. There will be no need for the PVO Bill if we unite today because we will be living in harmony. The business economy will flourish and even the clarion call by the President that a nation can only be built by its children will be realised. As the children of Zimbabwe, we will work towards the development of the nation because we will be united and having a shared vision. Right now, the nation will be build by ZANU PF and not its citizens.
Therefore, if we share a vision, we will build the nation together. Even the 2030 vision will be a reality if we get united today and the goals of the country will be achieved because we will be working together. Civil servant’s salaries would be strong. We will do all this if people work together and fight corruption. As I said before, corruption will definitely disappear. The prices of commodities will go down and Zimbabwe will definitely be open for business which is the clarion call by the President. Many things will happen Mr. President.
Let me take this time to thank you Mr. President for giving me the opportunity to air my views and to share what I think Zimbabwe should adopt. If possible, more details can be provided if the Minister is interested outside Parliament. Thank you,
HON. SEN. MOHADHI: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to just add a few points that I think are very important. I would also like to thank the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs who brought this Bill to this august House.
I want to touch on one issue, which l want to thank the Minister for; when you talked about the 30% quota for women. We really appreciate because the numbers of women are ever deteriorating just because the first past-the-post is not assisting us as women. We have often tried to be there but we are often defeated by men just because of the strength that we have and the lack of resources as women. So I do think this 30% for the quota for women, both in the Parliament as well as in the councils, is a welcome development, but Minister, I have a question on the quota for women in the councils. I do not understand properly if you could just assist by elaborating how it will look like and how it is going to work because to me, I do not have enough information on this one.
Secondly Minister, there is an issue; I do not know whether it should be in this Electoral Bill. As we are going for elections now, there is an element of hate speech. I do not know where it should fall exactly but I feel it is an issue because we will be pulling each other down and there will be nothing that will stop this hate speech. As a result, at the end of the day, maybe that is why our elections are always disputed most of the time. I think there is a need for this issue to be also included. If it is included fair and fine.
It is unfortunate because we did not have enough time to read this Bill, because it was posted very late and as women, always, we have other duties to do and as a result, we fall short of time to read it through, but for now Mr. President, I thought I should just add my voice before I support this Bill which is good for us as women. I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Mr. President. I want to thank the Hon. Senators who have contributed to the debate, starting with Hon. Sen. Komichi who was lamenting the borrowed electoral system that we have. How it leaves us a divided nation and it being a product of our colonisers, without any Afrocentric character in it. He also was very happy that the Bill is addressing the issue of nomination fees so that it spells out that they have to be affordable so that the political rights as enshrined in the Constitution are realised by all Zimbabweans.
I want to come to his point on our electoral system, Mr. President, and say I agree that we are using an electoral system that is alien to us as Africans and I do not think I can put it any better. In fact, our electoral system, like he rightly put, divides us more than it unites us. It does not give us any advantage save that, what it does is it allow us to be under the scrutiny and supervision of those that colonised us. At each and every election, we hear them say we want to come and observe your elections and then when they have observed the elections, they will say these are our recommendations. In fact, they will be saying recommendation but it is not a recommendation. They will say it is mandatory, you must take them because we have given you. So it is like they are our commanders, so to speak, who tell us you must turn right there, and you cannot turn left there, just go straight. That is exactly what they do and I am very thankful that he brought out another issue that they will never be happy for as long as an election is not won by the person they want. They will always say it is disputed or they will create a contestation so that they say the playing field was not level.
I agree that as Africans, I have not heard anyone talk about Eswatini where there is a King. They do not even give them all those issues to say you must do this to enhance democracy or it is not there. They have maintained their culture and system of governance. I believe if I am to add to what he was saying, it is a conversation that we need going forward, to say how do we govern ourselves as Africans so that when they come, we will tell them no, in our culture this is how we choose leaders and so you cannot tell us.
We will never come to your country and dictate how you choose your leaders, in our culture, this is how we do it. The way it was done in our culture, there was no contestation, save for minor squabbles. I agree with him, he put it in a manner that I am persuaded to adopt everything, even the example that he gave of Zambia. If you hear our colonisers speak about Zambia, you may think it is now a second Garden of Eden, but they have been changing like he rightly said, Presidents every four years and nobody can do anything in four years.
By the time you are in motion in terms of your developmental strategy, you are out. Somebody comes and that is what has been happening. I agree with him that elections divide us, not only do they divide us, they are also very expensive and they leave no unity, no shared development like he rightly put it and I agree with that. I think it is a conversation Hon. Sen. Komichi, that is needed for our country.
Hon. Mohadi was thankful about the women’s quota, the 30%. The thrust is His Excellency wants more women to participate in politics, hence he heeded to the call from women councillors that can we not have a women’s quota. The way it is going to be done – it is 30% of the total number of councillors that are in council. If we have 100 councillors, it means through proportional representation 30 will be elected. If we have two parties for instance, MDC and CCC, and MDC gets 70% of the total votes combined for councillors and CCC gets 30%, it means out of this 30, you then calculate and you say 70% of 30, which is 21. It means MDC will get 21 and CCC will get 9, that is how it is done.
This is how it is going to be done even for this election. In this election, this Electoral Bill will not be used but because provisions for the youth quota and the women’s quota for council is there in the Constitution, the Constitution is the Supreme Law and the drafters of the Constitution were very clever and said interpreting any legislation including the Electoral Act, you must give effect to what is in the Constitution. I hear that there are people who are saying that some of these issues may be late. So, what will happen to the election - ZEC is supposed to take the Electoral Act and the Constitution.
The Constitution says they must be 30% and they give effect to it and ensure that it happens. That is what is going to happen but after this election, the Electoral Amendment Bill will work as soon as we get another by-election, it will become part of the Electoral Act. You also spoke about hate speech that it is not there. We developed a code of conduct. Under normal circumstances, even if we are going to an election, the general laws of the country must apply.
You must not assault someone but we also decided that over and above that, parties will sign an agreement that this is the conduct that they use when they are campaigning. Sometimes when you are campaigning, I can say Hon. Phugeni is not very clear or you use other words. Sometimes in that scenario, you must tolerate because it is campaign period and vice-versa but when it gets to an extreme where the hate speech may cause disharmony, I think our general laws must apply as well as the code which we have put in.
The last time when this Electoral Amendment Bill was made, both Houses agonised as to whether we must give ZEC powers to punish candidates. We tried to do it but we feel that it will be giving ZEC too much powers in that the campaign period and the time for elections is so limited to the extent that arbitrary decisions will be made. An allegation will just be made to say Ziyambi was saying 1, 2, 3 and 4. There is no time to call evidence, to adjudicate the evidence and give a fair and appropriate judgement.
We believe that any informal agreement as to the conduct of the parties per the Electoral Act is ideal as opposed to severe sanctions where candidates can be withdrawn by the electoral body. Having said that, allow me also to add that during debate in the National Assembly, we reached consensus on a lot of issues that were being raised by our colleagues from both sides particularly from the Opposition. Issues to do with the conduct of elections, what they viewed as critical issues in terms of electoral reforms.
I can mention some of them because we agreed and we removed them. They spoke about issues of having a transitional authority headed by the Chief Secretary and we had a debate on it and indicated to them that a President will remain the President of the country until the next President is sworn in. That is what the Constitution says. So in between, if you try to create another authority, you are usurping the powers of that President because you will not have handed over power and we agreed. There were issues also to do with diaspora vote. We debated but, in the end, we agreed and we did not vote over it. It was through consensus that it was withdrawn and we removed it from the Order Paper. We also agreed to leave the driver’s licence there and we also had other issues to do with voters, prisoners and those in hospital voting, again we agreed that we remove it. By and large, I am saying this because we are going for an election. The majority of issues that were being alleged as electoral reforms, in the end we agreed that these issues do not affect our elections, so let us drop them.
What remains here are issues that we agreed are necessary for now for us to go forward.Largely, our electoral laws are very adequate. They can render our elections free, fair and credible. So, we took on board all those issues. Having said that, I move that the Bill be now read a second time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read a second time.
Committee Stage: With leave, forthwith.
COMMITTEE STAGE
ELECTORAL AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 11A, 2022]
House in Committee.
Short Title put and agreed to.
Clauses 1 to 15 put and agreed to.
House resumed.
Bill reported without amendments.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): There was an error on consolidating the Bill when it came from the National Assembly. I will seek recommittal so that we take note of the error and the drafters will correct it. On Clause 8, on Nomination of Party Lists Candidates on Youth – there is no party list for youths. It is only one youth who is below 35. So, here it says lists, names, addresses and national identity numbers of one female and one male. There will be a list with females at the top and males at number 2, which means, how it has been captured there all the youths will be females.
The correct position from the National Assembly was - each party will submit one youth between the ages of 21 and 35 and no issues of gender. I submit and propose that the correction be made on Clause 8 so that it is captured appropriately. In case somebody will pick it and say why was it corrected by drafters.
Third Reading: With leave, forthwith.
THIRD READING
ELECTORAL AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 11A, 2022]
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that the Bill be now read the third time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read the third time.
MOTION
ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I want to thank Hon. Senators; this week has been very busy indeed and for the dedication that was shown by the Senators and yourself Mr. President Sir, it was amazing. I want to thank everyone involved. Having said that, we had a busy week, I do not think anyone would mind if I move that the House do now adjourn.
Motion put and agreed to.
The House accordingly adjourned at Twenty-Six Minutes to Four o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 13th June, 2023.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 7th June, 2023
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)
MOTION
RATIFICATION OF THE BI-LATERAL AIR SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH OTHER STATE PARTIES
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI) on behalf of THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, I move the motion in my name that:
WHEREAS section 327 (2) (a)……
Hon. Biti having entered the House wearing a cap.
*THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Biti, I feel embarrassed to see you, a seasoned Member of Parliament, you cannot come to the House wearing a cap. You should respect yourself. Thank you.
*HON. ZWIZWAI: You have the same hairstyle Mr. Speaker.
*THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Zwizwai, withdraw that statement.
HON. ZWIZWAI: I withdraw.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Yes, you cannot say we have the same hairstyle, misoro yacho yakasiyana – [Laughter.]
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI) on behalf of THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): WHEREAS section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that any convention, treaty or agreement acceded to, concluded or executed by or under the authority of the President with one or more foreign states or governments or international organisations shall be subject to approval by Parliament;
WHEREAS the Republic of Zimbabwe, through the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development concluded Bi-Lateral Air Services Agreements with Qatar: Saudi Arabia; South Africa; Mozambique; Jordan; Turkey; Sri Lanka; Singapore; Gambia; Rwanda; Seychelles; Ethiopia; and Iran;
WHEREAS the entry into force of these agreements is subject to the respective State Parties notifying each other through diplomatic channels that their respective internal legal requirements for entry into force of the agreement have been fulfilled;
AND WHEREAS the Republic of Zimbabwe is desirous of ratifying the said Agreements:
NOW, THEREFORE, in terms of section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, this House resolves that the afore-said Bi-Lateral Air Services Agreements are hereby approved for ratification. I so move Mr. Speaker.
HON. NDUNA: Good afternoon Mr. Speaker Sir. I just want to applaud the Hon. Minister for engaging in that bi-lateral Air Service Agreement. I want to say what it does in particular with Qatar and other regional players. It increases our export markets and its foothold in those markets because of that availability and engagement of air services. In particular with Qatar, it belongs to an alliance of more than 1500 airlines and aircrafts. It is my hope and view that to engage with such airlines is definitely going to increase our foothold in those destinations. I once again want to applaud the Hon. Minister for having such an agreement and engagement and also taking into account the Constitution which is sui generis in terms of adherence to the ethos and values of putting ink onto paper in such agreements. I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that this Air Service Agreement be ratified.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 2 and 3 be stood over until Order of the Day, Number 4 has been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
CONSIDERATION STAGE
ELECTORAL AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 11A, 2022]
Fourth Order read: Consideration Stage: Electoral Amendment Bill [H.B. 11A, 2022].
Amendments to Clauses 2, 3 now 5 and 4 now 6, new Clause 8 now 3, Clause 8 now 11, new Clause 18 now 10, new Clause 35 now 14 put and agreed to.
Bill, as amended, adopted.
Third Reading: With leave, forthwith.
THIRD READING
ELECTORAL AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 11A, 2022]
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that the Bill be read the third time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read the third time.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that we revert to Order of the Day, Number 2 on the Order Paper.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE JUDICIAL SERVICE COMMISSION FOR THE YEAR 2022
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I rise that this House takes note of the Report of the Judicial Service Commission for the year 2022 presented to this House of Parliament in terms of Section 323 (1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE ZIMBABWE ELECTORAL COMMISSION FOR THE YEAR 2022
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that this House takes note of the Report of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission for the year 2022, presented to this House of Parliament in terms of section 323 (1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe
HON. MADZIMURE: I just want to get a few issues relating to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission report which I think should have come earlier because of the importance that it has. I thought it was going to deal with a number of issues that are also critical in the running of elections. The first one is that ZEC was supposed to have addressed issues that impacts on its budget. The first one is the issue of computerization by ZEC. ZEC should have …
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Member, can you kindly address yourself to the report as presented in the House. The report of the Commission of the year 2022, in other words, what arises from that report. I give you time to quickly go through that report and your notes. Hon. Markham, do you want to debate.
HON. MARKHAM: Mr. Speaker, may you defer the debate. I know you will defer. I thank you.
HON. TOGAREPI: Mr. Speaker, I move that we adjourn debate.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Madzimure, you will be the first one to address the issue tomorrow.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. TOGAREPI: Mr. Speaker, I move that Order Number 5 to 14 be stood over until Order Numbers 15 and 22 have been disposed of.
HON. TEKESHE: I second
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON DEFENCE, HOME AFFAIRS AND SECURITY SERVICES ON THE SECURITY OF MINERALS, ILLICIT TRADING AND MINERAL LEAKAGES
HON. BRID. GEN. (RTD.) MAYIHLOME: I move the motion standing in my name that this House takes note of the Report of the Portfolio Committee on Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services on the security of minerals: Illicit trading in minerals and mineral leakages.
HON. NGULUVHE: I second
HON. BRID. GEN. (RTD.) MAYIHLOME: Mr. Speaker Sir,
1.0 Introduction
Zimbabwe is endowed with over forty different types of minerals and the mining sector has become the anchor of the economy. According to the National Development Strategy One (2021 to 2025), the mining sector accounts for sixty percent of the country’s export revenues. However, the mining industry has been experiencing mineral leakages thereby negatively affecting the sector’s potential contribution to the socio-economic transformation of the country. In 2021, there was an attempt to smuggle gold through the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport (RGM). In the same year, a Zimbabwean gold smuggler was apprehended at O.R Tambo International Airport in South Africa. Such acts of mischief potentially create disquiet and discontentment amongst the citizens of this country. Indeed, illicit trading in the extractive industry, is crippling the country’s economy, creating anarchy in communities and has the potential of bringing untold suffering to ordinary citizens and may threaten national security. It is against this background that the Committee undertook an inquiry into the security of minerals in order to establish the possible causes of mineral leakages in the country and recommend ways of curbing them.
2.0 Objectives of the Fact-Finding Visits
- assess the current state of security infrastructure and equipment as well as security systems at ports of entry and established mining companies;
- identify challenges faced by law enforcement agencies and players in the mining industry in curbing leakages;
- establish causes of mineral leakages and recommend possible ways of mitigating them.
3.0 Methodology
In order to get information, the Committee did the following:
- a) Oral Evidence
- Received oral evidence from the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP)- Flora and Fauna Unit
on the role of the police in securing minerals and the challenges they face in curbing leakages;
ii Received oral evidence on security measures put in place to curb mineral leakages from the following:
- Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA)
- Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)
- Fidelity Gold Refiners (FGR)
- Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ)
- Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ);
- Airports Authority of Zimbabwe (AAZ);
- b) Capacity Building
In 2021 the Committee held a capacity building program on Mineral leakages and Illicit Financial Flows in the extractive sector organized by Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA). ii In 2022 the Committee attended another capacity building program on mineral leakages organized by the Southern Africa Parliamentary Support Trust (SAPST)
- c) Fact Finding Visits (3-11 July 2022)
The Committee visited the following mines as well as ports of entry;
- Mimosa Platinum Mine,
- Renco Gold Mine
- Anjin Investments in the diamond sector;
- Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC)
- Anjin
- Beitbridge Border Post,
- Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport(RGM)
- d) Public Hearings (7-8 July 2022) i
i Conducted public hearing sessions with mining communities in Chiadzwa.
Marange area where diamond mining takes place;
ii Second public hearing session was held at Redwing Mine Hall in Penhalonga were gold mining takes place;
iii The third public hearing session, conducted at Odzi country club, was attended by small scale gold miners.
3.0 Committee Findings
3.1 Mineral Leakages
There was an acknowledgement by most of the stakeholders that interacted with the Committee that there are leakages of minerals, both precious and base minerals. The quantum could not be ascertained but estimates indicate that this runs into millions of American dollars. The leakages were prevalent across all minerals, with the gold sector at the top, because there are many players involved that include artisanal and small-scale miners, millers, gold buyers and large-scale producers. At the same time, gold can easily be extracted from the ground using rudimentary methods.
3.2 Gold Leakages
The Government of Zimbabwe set a target of USD4 billion worth of revenue to be generated by the gold sector by 2023. Whilst the country remains focused on achieving its goal, a lot of gold is allegedly being smuggled out of the country due to a number of factors which include but not limited to the following:
3.2.1 Delays in Payment to Gold Producers
The Committee was informed by small-scale producers that Fidelity Gold Refiners, the sole buyer of gold, takes more than one week to pay producers after surrendering of gold. This is not amenable to the economic well-being of the small-scale producers, because they require their money in the shortest possible period. As a result, the small-scale producers were selling their gold to unregistered buyers who offer cash upon delivery of the gold. Gold smugglers prefer to sell gold in external markets where they are guaranteed cash payments and not bank transfers. Therefore, buyers would then smuggle the gold out of the country using undesignated exit points and thus robbing the country of thousands of dollars.
3.2.2 Porous Land Borders
When the Committee visited Beitbridge Border post, it was informed by ZIMRA officials that there was a stretch of 230 kilometres of the borderline encompassing Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa, which was poorly manned by law enforcement agencies in Zimbabwe. Along that borderline there were over fifteen well-known unregistered exit and entry points between the three countries. Smuggling was rife at these points and was a source of gold leakages among other commodities. The law enforcement agencies, which include the ZRP and Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA), were unable to control these illegal crossing points because they do not have vehicles and the roads are impassible. In addition, there was no network coverage in these border lying areas, which made it difficult for law enforcement authorities to coordinate their efforts effectively along the border. The security forces requested for vehicles, tents, drones, testing and communication devices and the establishment of a reaction team to arrest would-be smugglers.
3.2.3 Inadequate Equipment and Personnel at the Ports of Entry and Exit
At the official ports of entry, the Committee was informed by border officials that they did not have modern scanners to detect gold, diamonds and other minerals that may be smuggled out of the country. Officials at ports of entry have limited knowledge of the characteristics of minerals such as gold and diamonds. ZIMRA outlined that it was in the process of recruiting a metallurgist and a geologist, so that they could be stationed at the land borders to assist in the identification and verification of minerals being exported or those confiscated for attempted smuggling.
At RGM International Airport, two attempts were made to smuggle gold out of the country. In the first case, the gold was intercepted before leaving the country and in the second case the gold was recovered at O. R. Tambo International Airport in South Africa. The major cause of the leakage was due to collusion by airport officials. Following the two incidents, the Committee was informed that security measures had been tightened to reduce attempts of smuggling. These included the purchase of modern scanners and instituting stringent access measures by airport officials to various parts of the airport. In the absence of insider threat (collusion), the security system at the airport was robust.
3.2.4 Illegal Milling and Mining Operations
The Committee noted with concern that another source of gold leakages was at mining companies that have ownership wrangles. A case in point was Redwing Mine in Penhalonga which experienced an influx of illegal miners following a prolonged ownership wrangle. The Committee had an opportunity to meet former workers, management of Redwing Mine and Better Brands. The former workers highlighted that a lot of gold leakages were happening through artisanal mining at the tributary granted to Better Brands. The Committee was told by the workers that there were over eight hundred pits and four hundred hammer mills operating in Penhalonga. In addition, there were many gold buyers, both registered and unregistered, operating in the area. Furthermore, there were over thirteen illegal crossing points into Mozambique and it was believed that those routes were being used to smuggle gold out of the country.
The Committee was informed by the workers that, the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, ZRP and Environment Management Agency (EMA) were struggling to handle the illegal mining, milling and trading activities happening in the Penhalonga area. The local police station has no vehicle for patrols and effective enforcement of the law. Fidelity Gold Refiners were not stationed at the mining site to facilitate the buying of gold. There were high chances of under declaration of gold produced and finally sold through formal channels. Better Brands told the Committee that its operations were above board and had declared 46,67kg to Fidelity Gold Refiners for the eight months it had been in operation since July 2021. They asserted that illegal hammer mills that had mushroomed near its mining tribute posed serious operational challenges and were a source of massive gold leakages.
Besides the loss of revenue through smuggling of gold from Penhalonga, the Committee learnt that there were environmental challenges which have resulted in the loss of both people and livestock. It was reported by some aggrieved community members that rivers and streams in the vicinity had been contaminated by cyanide which is a very hazardous mining chemical.
3.2.5 Formal Gold Mining Operations
The Committee visited Renco Gold Mine which is under RioZim and was informed that the company has always been able to account for all its gold, from the extraction of the ore up to elution point, where gold was extracted. In terms securing the precious mineral, the Committee noted that the company had adequate security systems in place which included a perimeter fence, Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) and well equipped security guards. It also emerged that gold production at the mine was on the decline due to a number of factors which included poor ore grade and power outages among others. However, the security management at the mine appealed to the Committee to assist the company to acquire authorisation to use drones to augment existing security systems. Nevertheless, the Committee queried the absence of State security or government officials at the mining site to verify whether production statistics on site were not tempered with. Hon. Zwizwai having removed Hon. Chinotimba’s tie saying that it was yellow in colour.[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MUTOMBA): Is that yellow? – [HON. ZWIZWAI: It is yellow.] – Hon Zwizwai, can you hand over that tie to Hon. Chinotimba. Hon Zwizwai!
Hon. Zwizwai hands over the tie to Hon. Chinotimba.
HON. CHINOTIMBA: I do not want it. Waisa mushonga. Uri muroyi iwe. Speaker, how can you leave such a person here in Parliament. Haagone kubvisa hembe yangu yandakapfeka momuregera arimuno. Why?
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Zwizwai, I do not expect you to behave the way you are doing. You are a veteran in this House.
HON. CHINOTIMBA: This is just like beating me – [HON. ZWIZWAI: Gara pasi iwe wakatuka Mnangagwa.] – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] - otogara mu Parliament ndichibviswa hembe so. Either he goes out or I go out.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Zwizwai, may you apologise to Hon. Chinotimba.
HON. ZWIZWAI: I apologise to Hon. Chinotimba for….
HON. CHINOTIMBA: Aaah no…
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: There is no need for you to give a qualification. Hon. Zwizwai, Hon. Zwizwai! You are not respecting the Chair.
HON. ZWIZWAI: I did apologise.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: May you repeat with no qualification.
HON. ZWIZWAI: I am sorry Mr. Speaker. I apologise to you Hon. Chinotimba – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]- [HON. CHINOTIMBA: Handei panze Zwizwai.] – [AN HON. MEMBER: Vanonorovana ava]-
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Vanonopedzerana ikoko. Hon. Chinotimba, it is done. May I have order in the House please.
HON. BRID. GEN. (RTD.) MAYIHLOME: The Committee could not rule out the possibility of under declaration of gold because there were no government officials at any of the privately owned gold mines in the country to verify or monitor production statistics at the source. It was observed that the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development receives and accepts production statistics sent by gold mining companies in good faith.
3.3 Diamond Leakages
The Committee toured ZCDC and Anjin Investments in Marange and interacted with management and employees, particularly those in the security sector. The Committee noted that the companies had robust security systems at their diamond concessions. Security mechanisms put in place included; CCTVs, drones, perimeter fence and armed security guards with a canine unit. It was also established that the security standards were in line with the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) requirements so that no diamonds could be smuggled from Zimbabwe.
However, the presence of artisanal diamond miners in the Marange diamond concessions pointed to the prevalence of incidents of smuggling happening outside the diamond concession owned by the two companies. Representatives of Anjin Investments, ZCDC and ZRP informed the Committee that the major perpetrators of smuggling of diamonds were the mining communities who provided shelter to the illegal miners. Spokespersons for the local community casually admitted that they offered shelter to illegal miners to cushion themselves against the unbearable economic hardships. Some even openly expressed their disgruntlement over their debilitating socioeconomic status and pledged to continue harbouring illicit diamond mining and trading activities until the State and all responsible authorities took action to improve their wellbeing through community development and related empowerment programmes. It was noted by the Committee that all diamonds recovered by unlicensed miners and traders ultimately evaded the formal diamond value chain, possibly finding their way into Mozambique en-route to Europe and the Arab world. The Community further alleged that there were cases of connivance between private mine guards and either licenced miners or underpaid mine employees leading to diamond leakages. Furthermore, the Committee observed that full exploration of the Marange area had not been done, as a result, the area remained vulnerable to incidents of smuggling of diamonds. MMCZ highlighted that there was a legislative gap to integrate artisanal diamond miners so that all diamonds could be channelled through the formal system.
In addition to the above loopholes, Civil Society Organisations in the Marange Diamond Community cited the following as contributing to diamond leakages:
- Failure by mining companies to relocate villagers living in diamond concessions;
- Failure to fence off all the mined areas to inhibit access by livestock and unlicenced miners;
- Security agents were involved in organizing syndicates with unlicenced miners and traders especially in the green zones (Green Zones are low risk areas that occupied communities and are accessible to all and sundry);
- Acts of collusion between law enforcement agencies and illegal diamond miners and buyers at roadblocks;
- Non-rotation of state security personnel in protected areas and at entry and exit points;
- Delays in operationalising the Community Diamond Concession and the five percent equity granted to the Community by the Zimbabwe Diamond Policy. This has created dissatisfaction amongst villagers, hence were not willing to assist in curbing diamond leakages.
- Failure to implement recommendations emanating from several past visits conducted in Marange by Parliamentary Portfolio Committees, such as the Chindori-Chininga report of 2013.
3.4 Platinum Leakages
The Committee visited Mimosa Mine which is one of the major platinum producers in the country. Platinum is one of the major sources of foreign currency for the country. The platinum sector is expected to generate USD3 billion worth of revenues by 2023 and it is anticipated that the industry will surpass that target. Platinum companies in Zimbabwe export platinum concentrate to South Africa because the country does not have a Precious Metal Refinery. There are ten minerals that are extracted from the concentrate that include; platinum, palladium, rhodium, gold and silver among others. The Committee explored the company’s laboratory where assaying of the concentrate was done before it was exported out of the country. It was observed that all the vehicles used to export the concentrate were on satellite tracking and the company had not experienced any attempts of theft. However, the Committee was concerned about the knowledge gap between company and government officials on the actual quantum and value of minerals in the concentrate before it was exported out of the country. It was noted that the accounting system, called Meta Accounting, used by the companies is very complex and Government does not always have skilled personnel and laboratories to verify the assays done by platinum companies in the country.
3.5 Leakages of Base Minerals
The Committee was informed by the General Manager of MMCZ, Mr. T. Muzenda that a truck with a consignment of 130 tons of chrome was impounded and the suspects attempted to smuggle the mineral using fake export documents purportedly issued by MMCZ. Chrome is one of the major minerals on global demand and is being mined in various parts of the country by both large scale and small-scale producers. MMCZ indicated that leakage of base minerals was being exacerbated by the fact that the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) was not fully operational. Road transportation has a higher risk of smuggling of base minerals, Companies can under declare the weight of some of their cargo because the country does not have a lot of weighbridges. Furthermore, it was easy for chrome producers to smuggle the mineral out of the country through unofficial routes.
3.6 Leakages of Semi-Precious Stones
MMCZ informed the Committee that there was high prevalence of smuggling of semi-precious stones in the country due to the fact that the producers are failing to secure markets close to their operations. These semi-precious stones are being smuggled to countries such as Zambia. At the same time there was no legislation to regulate the production of semi-precious stones in the country.
3.7 Aerodromes Scattered in the Country
The Committee was informed by the Airports Authority of Zimbabwe that Government’s presence at aerodromes is restricted to eight commercial airports. At some private aerodromes located in different parts of the country, there is minimal direct involvement. This was an area of concern for the Committee as it can be a source of mineral leakages.
3.8 Law Enforcement Agencies
It was highlighted that law enforcement agencies play a critical role in securing minerals. It is their duty to enforce the law without fear or favour. Their presence at ports of entry, along the border line, in and around mining communities and along major roads serves as a deterrent against illegal traders of precious stones such as gold and diamonds. In as much as their role is appreciated, it was reported by mining communities that some deployed law enforcers collude with illegal gold and diamond miners and traders at mining sites, at designated and undesignated entry and exit points. People in Chiadzwa openly stated that state security had the habit of allowing illegal diamond miners and buyers passage into diamonds zones in exchange for kickbacks. At some gold sites, it was reported that members of the State security had their own pits mined on their behalf by illegal miners and the gold produced would never find its way to Fidelity Printers and Refiners.
Inadequate tools of trade, lack of all-terrain patrol vehicles, poor remuneration and public intolerance of state security among others have been cited as some of the most common challenges faced by law enforcement agencies during the course of their duty. These challenges hamper effectiveness in the fight against smuggling of minerals.
4.0 Committee Observations
- It is difficult to penetrate the security systems at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in the absence of insider threats, that is, without the planned involvement of rogue elements among the employees;
- There is suspicion of massive under declaration of gold produce at elution plants. The absence of Fidelity Gold Refiners and State security agencies such as the Flora and Fauna Unit of the Zimbabwe Republic Police, compromises the security of minerals at processing or cyanidation points;
- Fidelity Gold Refiners lacks visibility and is not always adequately capacitated financially and therefore has limited competitive advantage over the other players in the gold buying field in terms of the price they offer and reliability on payment. Its absence in places occupied by artisanal miners provides room for illegal dealers to buy gold which is then smuggled out of the country;
- The country’s porous borderline remains a major cause for concern. It provides easy pathways for mineral leakages, particularly gold and diamonds, which can easily be smuggled out through undesignated exit points.
- Unregistered milling plants in areas crowded by artisanal miners are a source of gold leakages. Urgent action by government is required to register all the milling plants;
- The absence of a platinum refinery plant in the country remains a major cause for concern and it has the potential of creating leakages considering that processing of platinum (and the other ten minerals) is done in Rustenburg in South Africa in the absence of security personnel from Zimbabwe. There is a possibility of understating of the actual statistics and value of minerals after processing in foreign environments;
- Massive exploitation of minerals, coupled with lack of substantial community development and economic empowerment programmes for local mining communities, is a major source of disgruntlement which quite often degenerates into anarchy;
- There is limited or no sense of ownership of minerals by local mining communities due to a sheer feeling of insecurity, hopelessness and lack of meaningful, robust and sustainable corporate social responsibility projects that guarantee continuity after the depletion of the minerals. In the process, the communities would display an ‘I don’t care’ attitude on curbing mineral leakages because they feel that these minerals are not benefiting them directly;
- Mineral leakages were being exacerbated by a plethora of factors, chief among them being the absence of a stringent legal framework in the mining industry, delay in regularising and integrating artisanal diamond and gold miners into the mainstream economy, weak enforcement mechanisms and alleged laxity by some members of law enforcement agencies;
- The country has the capacity to curb mineral leakages, because the chief perpetrators are citizens, starting with those at grassroots level, up to those holding positions of influence in the country;
- It’s beneficial for Government to move with speed to plug mineral leakages from smuggling through enhancing traceability mechanisms in line with international best practice such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines on Due Diligence for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains;
- Illegal mining and illicit trade in minerals are a cause for concern which have the potential of being a security threat as has happened in West Africa and in neighbouring Mozambique;
- There is a knowledge gap in the public domain on the significance of securing minerals and cultivation of a true sense of ownership of mineral resources as means of curbing leakages;
- There is an outcry from mining communities, especially in diamond mining areas, about state security engaging in acts of corruption and thereby fuelling illegal mining and trading of precious minerals.
5.0 Committee Recommendations
- By 31 December 2022, the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development:
- Should review and amend the diamond policy and legislation on mining and trading of gold in order to integrate artisanal diamond and gold miners in the mainstream mining industry;
- together with Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe and Fidelity Gold Refiners, should deploy officials at regular intervals to conduct inspections and verifications of the operations of big mining companies of precious minerals to ensure that under declaration of minerals at elution plants is curtailed;
- come up with a policy to regulate semi-precious stones produced in the country, in order to curb leakages in that sector;
- Beginning 1 January 2023, Fidelity Printers and Refiners should reduce its time lag in the payment of gold deliveries made by small-scale miners so that more gold finds its way into the formal system. Payment on delivery should be prioritised and a bonus or premiums should be paid for higher quantities so as to encourage trading of gold through formal channels;
- By 31 October 2023, Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe and Fidelity Gold Refiners should assist in providing technical skills training law enforcement agencies and Zimbabwe Revenue Authority personnel at ports of entry on mineral identification and detection in order to enhance their capabilities of identifying minerals on the spot;
- By 31 October 2023, all unlicensed hammer mills that are scattered around the country must be registered by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development and steep fines must be imposed on any illegal operations of unlicensed hammer mills;
- By 30 June 2023, the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development should review the mining model at Redwing Mine in order to adopt a sustainable mining model that integrates former mine workers and the surrounding community so that leakages are minimised;
- In the 2023 budget, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development should allocate adequate financial resources which must be released on time to the security sector, the ZRP in particular, for the purchase of surveillance equipment, detection devices, all-terrain patrol vehicles and motorbikes, heavy duty weighing scales, computers (laptops), communication devices and other accessories required in manning the country’s ports of entry including the long stretch of the country’s borderline;
- By December 2023, Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Companies and Anjin Investments should ensure that families currently residing in designated diamond concessions or Special Grant Areas are properly relocated in well-established resettlement sites that can sustain the affected families;
- By 2027 the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, in collaboration with platinum mining companies, should construct a platinum refinery plant to allow for processing of platinum locally as a means of enhancing beneficiation as well as curbing leakages.
- The Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage and all the other ministries providing security in gold and diamond fields, must ensure that deployment of law enforcement personnel in those sites is strictly on a rotational basis to avoid the same officers overstaying in those areas. This will contribute to curbing alleged collusion and corruption involving state security in gold and diamond fields.
6.0 Conclusion
Minerals are a major contributor to the country’s socioeconomic development. All forms of illicit activities in the mining, processing and marketing of minerals risk plunging our country into economic, social and political turmoil. When the economy bleeds, political mischief and social unrest become imminent thereby threatening national security. Indeed, safeguarding minerals is not for law enforcement agencies alone; rather, it is everyone’s responsibility. State institutions, private entities, civil society organisations and the general public have the responsibility to jealously guard the country’s mineral wealth. A whole-of-society approach on plugging mineral leakages is critical now than ever before in order to promote sustainable development, peace and security. Let us all work together to stop mineral leakages.
HON. NGULUVHE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I just want to add my voice to the report which was tabled by our Chairperson. I want to bring to the attention of this House that minerals, as alluded to in the report, are dug and you cannot replant them. So, it is very important for the nation to understand that these minerals, as we dig them, must be put to good use for our future generations. It is very important therefore, that we ensure they are safely guarded and properly used.
We discovered that some of the personnel being deployed at the border posts or the airports are not very familiar with the type of minerals they will be looking for. Therefore, I would encourage that those responsible should train these personnel so that they are in a position to identify the type of minerals because they are not familiar with the types of minerals they will be looking for.
The report indicates that our borders are porous and indeed they are. I would encourage the equipping of our security forces along the borders and airports and besides equipping them, I think it is proper that we pay them adequately so they are not involved in inside jobs. They see that there is a lot of money which is being made in these mines but they are not getting anything. Also, for the people to support security, they must benefit. We were at Chiadzwa but those people did not benefit anything yet a lot of diamonds went out of that area. What have we done for that community around Chiadzwa to show that atleast they benefitted something? I also encourage those responsible to make sure that the people are part and parcel of the mining people. We should also encourage employment of the locals in those areas as they also need employment. How can you take a person from BeitBridge to go and work in Chiadzwa whilst the people around Chiadzwa are not employed? That is my appeal to the miners.
The other thing is the issue of semi-precious stones. It was brought to our attention that there is no law which regulates the mining of semi-precious stones. I urge this House to take note of that and we should quickly move in and regulate the mining of semi-precious stones. I think that as a country, we should also insist on those mining, especially the artisanal miners, to rehabilitate places where they dig holes. This is because if you go to some areas, they just dig and leave holes which become a danger to the community and their livestock. A lot of people have lost their livestock because the mined areas are not rehabilitated but they just dig, get their minerals and leave huge holes. I believe we should be strict and once a miner gets a licence, EMA must be involved and ensure that after mining, the land is rehabilitated by the miner. Those holes must be closed especially those who dig using metal detectors, otherwise if we look after our minerals, I do not think that as a country we will be suffering.
Last but not least, let us also ensure that those who are doing mining especially in areas around Penhalonga do not pour cynide in water being used by people. We were told that they are using cynide which ends up in the water that is used by people. That water becomes dangerous to human beings and livestock. Because there is a lot of smuggling, they just rush to put a plant next to the river, wash their minerals using cyanide which becomes poison. Those in Mutare are drinking very dangerous water because the water there is normally red. I thank you Hon. Speaker.
*HON. ZWIZWAI: Thank you Hon Speaker. I just want to add a few words to the report presented by Hon. Gen. Rtd. Mayihlome pertaining to the thievery of our mineral wealth. The late Oliver Mutukudzi sang a song which said ongororai chikonzero chaita musoro uteme. Even the Bible forbids one to see a twig in a brother’s eye without taking note of the log in one ‘s own eye. I was expecting to hear more in the report but it has been omitted. For instance, the current United Nations report has names of people implicated in the theft of diamonds during the DRC war. It is actually very scary. S. Moyo has his name written in that report for going and stealing diamonds. The soldiers were being paid from the tax payers money….
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MUTOMBA): Order Hon Zwizwai.
*HON. ZWIZWAI: It is on record.
*THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER : Order, Hon Zwizwai, you are supposed to be contributing to the report. You are out of context.
*HON. ZWIZWAI: No, Mr. Speaker, we are broadening the scope. Even the late President Mugabe spoke about $15 billion dollars proceeds from diamonds which was stolen until there was a coup to remove Robert Mugabe. Hon Nguluvhe used to travel with him.
*THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Zwizwai, withdraw what you just said. Do not force me to do things that I do not enjoy.
*HON. ZWIZWAI: It is alright, I withdraw.
*HON. TOGAREPI: What is it that you withdrew?
*HON. ZWIZWAI: What he wanted me to withdraw.
Are you the Speaker? I withdrew all that he wanted me to withdraw. Your son killed someone in Masvingo and was given bail and he is out but Job Sikhala just spoke on television but he is being refused bail as we speak..
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Zwizwai.
*HON. ZWIZWAI: I withdraw my words about S. B. Moyo.
HON. TOGAREPI: On a point of order Mr. Speaker.
*HON. ZWIZWAI: As for you Hon. Togarepi, are you the Speaker, what do you want? Your son killed someone in Masvingo and he got bail but Hon. Sikhala is inside jail and they are denying him bail, he is being denied freedom.
*THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Your behaviour today is uncalled for. If you continue like this Hon. Zwizwai, I will throw you out.
*HON. ZWIZWAI: I have removed S. B. Moyo’s name in my debate. The problem in Zimbabwe is that corruption is now being done everywhere. When was the last time you saw the Minister of Mines coming into this House? He never comes to the House. We just hear of him signing mineral deals, nothing more. Queen B, had a concession in Mberengwa to mine emeralds, surprisingly they discovered lithium and asked the army to chase away those who were mining in the surrounding areas.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Please use one language, use our mother language.
*HON. ZWIZWAI: I stand guided Hon. Speaker. Queen B had a licence to mine emeralds which were being mined by the late Chigumba. We have a lot of stories on social media to say His Excellency’s brother was caught with five trucks full of lithium in Bulawayo. He was asked to park them at a police station but instead, he bribed police. The trucks were redirected to Beitbridge Border Post and they were apprehended again. This is everywhere, if you do not have WhatsApp, it is not my issue.
HON. TOGAREPI: On a point of order Mr. Speaker. I think we know very well that you cannot talk about people who will not be able to answer you in this House. We talk about people who are in a position to answer. This should stop.
*HON. TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Zwizwai, in this House, we do not want people who use anger when debating.
*HON. ZWIZWAI: I can see that the country is being put to waste by those in authority.
*THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Withdraw that statement, can you approach the Chair – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] -
*HON. ZWIZWAI: It is my wish and prayer that president Chamisa will get into power so that our country will move smoothly.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Zwizwai, get out of the House.
Hon. Zwizwai left the House.
HON. HWENDE: On a point of order Mr. Speaker.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: There is no point of order on this one, may you resume your seat. What is your point of order Hon. Hwende?
*HON. HWENDE: Mr. Speaker Sir, the ruling that you have made to say that we should not talk about people who are not in this House, I do not think your ruling is proper. Members of this House know their rights and privileges and they have come to represent the electorate. Part of their job includes talking about what is happening at the borders. You were not supposed to ask the Hon. Member to leave the House. We want clarity on how we are supposed to debate from now onwards.
*THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: I hear what you are saying but point of order overruled.
*HON. GWANETSA: I rise to add my voice on the report brought to this House by Hon. Mayihlome concerning the illicit flow of our minerals. We were blessed with minerals by the Lord and this can improve the standard of living of the citizens. It is a very important report to our nation. We always say that Zimbabwean economy is agro-based but we now have the issue of climate change. Climate change can cause drought, so for our economy to be anchored on agriculture is problematic. We are endowed with different types of minerals; we are blessed with all that were given to us by the Lord Almighty, minerals that can change our economy and fix the standard of living of the people of the Republic of Zimbabwe. It is a very important report to this country. We always say that the Zimbabwe economy is agro-based but when we did our research, we saw that it cannot remain like that because right now we are talking about climate change. Within that climate change, if we do not receive adequate rain, we suffer from hunger. If we continue to say our economy is anchored in agriculture, we would have left out an important aspect. There is something that is important that is found in the soil. A lot of minerals are embedded in this soil. They give us light as a people of Zimbabwe. We should be able to fix our economy and have sustainable livelihood. We discovered that we are losing a lot of minerals because we do not have a legislative approach. If we work on that as a nation and come up with deterrent laws, this will work out for us.
When we look at neighbouring borders Botswana, South Africa, Zambia and Mozambique – the borders are porous and there is a lot of mineral leakage. As a country, the structures that are supposed to pay for the minerals take a lot of time. Lebanon and Botswana would rather take minerals to these countries where they are paid faster as compared to Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe should pay those who are into mining these minerals on time.
When we are in agriculture, all of us are farmers because that is where we get sustainable livelihoods. Our minerals are second to none in terms of the status of our economy. We kindly ask legislation that will enable our children to learn about mining at primary school level. I was listening to the speaker who said that police and security personnel at borders should be taught about minerals. You cannot teach an old dog new tricks. It should start at primary school with those youngsters and teach them all the fundamentals of mining so that they know what a mineral is. Some of us in here do not know what gold, chrome or diamond looks like.
We are number 2 from DRC in terms of mining but we do not know our minerals. The Bible says I put you in the vineyard but you do not feel it. We were given this country by God – these were the grapes that we were given. We should start at grassroot level and come up with an educational curriculum that includes mining.
Thank you very much. I just wanted to add these few words to what Hon. Rtd. Brig General presented. I thank you.
HON. MADZIMURE: I would like to thank Hon. Rtd. Brig. Gen. Mayihlome for a very good report which demystifies the fact that our economy is anchored on agriculture. If we agree that our minerals contribute 60% in foreign currency, then it means it is the biggest contributor to our economy. What does that mean Mr. Speaker? It means we have to take it seriously and put in place measures to ensure that we get the best out of our minerals. Hon. Mayihlome pointed out the fact that because of that, we must ensure that every effort is made to protect our minerals.
Hon. Rtd. Gen. Gwanetsa also pointed to the fact that the minerals that we have can cushion us very well when it comes to climate change and this is a fact because we already have those minerals underground. What we simply have to do is to extract them. As we extract them, we must remember that they will not be there forever. As a result, we must make sure that we also keep something for the future generations, not only to keep but to also ensure that we build infrastructure that will stay for long, for use by future generations.
If you go to the streets in London, Washington, New York and Amsterdam today, they are still using the infrastructure that was built a long time ago but they concentrated on making sure that whatever structure they put in place, it will last. This is contrary to what we are doing here in Zimbabwe. Even a road that is made today, the Harare- Mutare road for instance, our colleagues are still celebrating but it is already in a state where it needs to be resurfaced right now. We are doing shoddy jobs, giving contractors…
HON. MATANGIRA: My point of order is that the Hon. Member is speaking so well and has talked about streets of London, Amsterdam and Washington. He is leaving out that the infrastructure built in the streets of London, Washington and Amsterdam were built by work plundered from Africa, including Zimbabwe.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Overruled, please continue.
HON. MADZIMURE: Mr. Speaker, it only takes a wise man to use whatever you have …
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Madzimure, do not be distracted, please can you continue. I have already controlled that.
HON. MADZIMURE: What I am trying to say is not in response to Hon. Matangira, I am going forward. I am saying a wise man would use whatever resources he or she gets irrespective of how he or she gets it to build a future for his or her children. The same should apply to us here. We have our resources, let us build the future for our children.
Mr. Speaker, we have heard reports and some went through courts; the issue of Henrietta Rushwaya that was mentioned by Hon. Zwizwai in this House is not a secret. It is a fact that she was caught at the R.G. Mugabe Airport with six kilograms of gold trying to smuggle that gold but she is not the only one. We have heard of several people smuggling gold. Even if you are going to ask the security at the airport today, they might even have intercepted another attempt to smuggle gold.
If you look at the amount of gold that we extract per year in Zimbabwe, we are talking of around 40 – 45 tonnes of gold and a gram costing US$40. If you then multiply 42 tonnes by 1 000 times 10 000 times 40, how many billions do we get in a year? Then you go to Treasury and make your calculations, what is the contribution of those minerals to our fiscus or budget? Is there any mention of money coming from gold? There is nothing, zero.
Any serious Member of Parliament who has been in this House purporting to represent his or her own people should have that information on his or her fingertips because we always debate the budget and on the income side, it is very clear where our income comes from. The VAT that we get as our income and the duty, is there anywhere where it talks of duty on gold or VAT on gold, nothing. Who is benefitting from these minerals? Where is that money going? In which bank is that money being kept? There is virtually nowhere. You go to all the accounts at RBZ or the various banks.
I then come to the issue of why we are underdeveloped or failing to develop our own country with all the resources that we have and the concessions that we have given to Chinese and local looters. The most unfortunate thing Mr. Speaker is that those who claim to be patriots are exactly the same saboteurs. Those are the people who are sabotaging Zimbabwe. They have got mines but do you have their accounts where you go and see the money. Do they pay anything? They destroy mountains in Chishawasha building castles and they pay nothing. There is no evidence whatsoever, even the roads that lead to Chishawasha are so dilapidated. They do not even care but they have big cars and no-one bothers to ask them.
Only in 2017, a government that had been legitimately elected was removed because it was claimed there were criminals around the President - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections] – Mr. Speaker, can you please protect me from Hon. Matangira. He might have succeeded with FAZ but he cannot FAZ us here in Parliament.
What I am talking about is the illicit financial flows in Zimbabwe …
HON. R. R. NYATHI: Hon. Speaker, I just want to put it on record. Hon. Madzimure talked very well but the price of gold per gram as of today is not US$40 but it is ranging from US$59 to $60. I receive those reports. It is actually more but I want it to be on record that it is $59 and the least is about $56. I thank you.
HON. MADZIMURE: I want to thank Hon. Nyathi for giving me the correct figures. Effectively what it means is, I have been underestimating what we lose as Zimbabwe. It is much more than what I thought and I am happy he is from a mining area and is fully aware of what is happening in Shurugwi where we are mining a lot of gold. There is no evidence even in Shurugwi itself that we are mining.
Who is facilitating the smuggling of our gold? It is the system that is facilitating that to happen. I once spoke to one worker at the airport whose responsibility includes scanning of bags as they leave for the plane. You are aware that our hand luggage is scanned when you get in as an individual but our parcels are scanned later when they are being loaded. They discovered that they were gold bars and that luggage was taken to where it was to be examined. What followed was, the guy just made a phone call and immediately some people came in and those guys who had discovered the gold started disappearing one after the other because of the office that had visited them. So, we have that problem where we also undermine the responsibility of the people who are supposed to protect our minerals.
The other issue is, when someone is caught what then happens? I was shocked when Rushwaya was caught, went through the court processes and it does not matter what the verdict was, but it was a fact. You then promote the same person. You are protecting and encouraging the smuggling of our minerals. We also have unrealised social and economic rights for our country’s population. We must benefit from our resources. Our people and those people who are around the mining areas must benefit from our resources.
What we are now doing is to disenfranchise those people by removing them from their agricultural land and allocating it to miners, especially the Chinese. The Chinese are ruthless and work 24 hours making sure they take everything that they can take. You then ask yourselves, how much have we received from those miners of the Chinese origin who are mining in Zimbabwe - nothing. No-one concentrates on making sure that we recover the area that we will have mined. They are just leaving pits.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Madzimure, you are left with five minutes.
HON. MADZIMURE: So, the area that we have to address as Parliament is to be open and make sure that we expose those people who are looting our resources. What happens when you are smuggling is you do not get the actual value of the minerals. You get probably a quarter of the value of the minerals. So, we are losing a lot of minerals. Our borders are too porous. How can you then say you have someone at the border preventing smuggling when you do not have the equipment that is required to detect diamonds or gold? What do we have the border for? Even the marvelous border that is now at Beitbridge, minerals are just flowing like water because you do not have equipment to detect. So, what are we doing? Are we failing to purchase that equipment and equip the people working at the border? This is all done deliberately to facilitate as much smuggling as possible. Because of that, it takes away the confidence that the people have in the Government. We now do not have confidence in the Government in protecting our minerals and the consequences will be seen as we get to August 2023. I thank you.
(v) HON. MUDARIKWA: I want to thank Hon. Mayihlome and the Committee on Defence and Home Affairs but I think there was also a need for them to have a joint meeting with the Committee on Mines so that we can move forward as a team. There are issues that have been raised on the report, the issue of patrolling the borders from Victoria Falls, Nyamapanda, Machipanda and Beitbridge; that is impossible. Can you bring all the security to guard that area. It is impossible. What we need to do is create an environment that will encourage our people to sell gold. What we must do as an immediate measure is for Fidelity to pay cash. They must also incorporate rural district councils which have offices all over so that the RDCs can lure gold buyers.
The other shortcoming in the report which is common knowledge in every Zimbabwean’s mind, there is a relationship between licenced gold buyers and car dealers. All the cars that you see in Harare are a product of your gold which is actually smuggled out of Zimbabwe. So the whole idea of giving individuals licences as buyers must fall out. Let us capacitate Rural District Councils to buy gold. However, this whole system where they want to split to say we give you a dollar, we give you RTGs does not happen when they sell gold. Everything is in US dollars. So, that is the other area that is very critical.
Mr. Speaker Sir, we must also amend the Gold Trade Act because it criminalises people for panning. If I see gold in my garden, it is a criminal offence because I am not licenced. Munhumutapa Kingdom, per year, they produced more gold than what we are producing with all this mechanisation. That alone tells you a story that there is something very wrong in the gold buying system of this country. It must be revamped.
Then on the issue of diamonds, we must legalise diamond panning. This whole idea of just waking up and say illegal diamond panners - havasi illegal, vana veZimbabwe vari kusevenza munyika mavo. Ngatitsvagei nzira yekuti tivatengere madiamonds iwayo. I was in Mutare when there was that Chiadzwa rush. Everything was moving, everybody had money that time. But now go to Mutare, there is no money, there are no diamonds. So, where are the diamonds going. So, this whole idea of revenue leakages, institutions that continue to take money out of the country and also institutions that continue to harass and embarrass our villagers in the name of stopping diamond panning is wrong. Those are natural resources given to the people of Zimbabwe by God. I also do not believe in the so called borders. Borders were created by the Berlin Conference and it is an imperialist, colonialist mentality where you continue talking about borders. Why do we not create an enabling environment for somebody with diamonds, to sell to us. Why does somebody have to go to buy and sell his gold if all the conditions are set in Zimbabwe? Let us set the conditions of buying diamonds in Zimbabwe. Let us have a conference, the Committee must organise a conference and then we can explain and make comparisons. What we pay to our gold miners, if you compare to what is paid in South Africa, there is a difference of 20%. We are paying our miners 20% less. So, we create disadvantages, munhu akafunga kuti uri kumuomesera, anotsvaga dzimwe nzira. So, the whole issue of smuggling, we cannot contain it.
The other issue that the report missed out, there is now what is called drones smuggling. They load diamonds, they load gold on drones, they switch it on and it flies across the border. Everybody is fast asleep. So the whole idea of having the capacity to contain this is impossible. We must maintain an environment that is conduicive, an environment that is attractive. Ngazvinakidze kumunhu we Zimbabwe. Ko tirikudii kusmuggler matomati? Nekuti ndikaenda kuMbare ndinopiwa mari yakanaka yematomatisi iwayo. Tinoati mapuno, toisa mari yedu muhomwe, tonotengera mhuri chikafu. Kwete kuti warima wonzi apa hatizikuzviona zvakanaka, imwe mari kana ndavakukubhadhara, ndichazokupa shuga ne sauti. Let us stop all these things zvisingabatsire vanhu vedu. Ngatigarei tichiziva kuti hapana mari inonaka seyekuAmerica. Inonaka saka munhu wese anoida. Ngatipei vanhu vedu mari yekuAmerica.
*In conclusion, I want to thank the Committee for the good job that they did but you need experts like us who are well versed in mining activities so that we assist you in getting to the bottom of these things, so that you get to the truth. Police officers, soldiers, government officials - gold mines that are in Zimbabwe are almost 7500. So, should we deploy 7500 Government officers to be stationed at all mines? The end result is they will resort to what they call mbudzi inodya payakasungirirwa. They will turn themselves into a government wherever they are stationed. So, we need to put our house in order.
Our banks should be able to buy gold, building societies must be able to buy gold. We must decriminalise gold and diamonds panning. I want to thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. MUDARIKWA (SPEAKING)…Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I just want to add my voice on the report by Hon. Mayihlome and I want to thank him for the report. The first thing that I want to talk about is the immigration of our minerals now being termed illicit outflows but it starts Mr. Speaker Sir, with the erstwhile colonisers trying to get through the back door what they failed to get through the front door to have this country. Mr. Speaker Sir, our liberation war heroes fought a protracted war of liberation against the colonialists who were the British. We debate here our Bills Mr. Speaker Sir. I say this because some of these issues move through the realm of the spirit.
Mr. Speaker Sir, we debate our issues here and they should end here. It is not for the House of Commons or the UK Parliament to debate how we debate our Patriotic Bill because we fought for a protracted liberation struggle and annihilated them. If it pleases you Mr. Speaker Sir, there are three legislators in the UK Parliament who stood up to denigrate our laws that we would have passed here. If it pleases you, if you may be the neutral referee and bring in those three legislators and we also bring in our three legislators so that we can beat them to a pulp Mr. Speaker Sir and we get this case closed completely. We won during the war, we win now a boxing match so that they do not talk about the laws that we deal with here in this House.
Mr. Speaker Sir, as I continue, the issue that I saw in Belgium in particular close to Antwerp and also some greater parts of Brussels, was an issue of beneficiation and value addition of our diamonds in particular because we value-add them and we sell them at Antwerp. It is key to value-add our minerals but with archaic, moribund, rudimental and antiquated laws. We prohibit the issue of country ownership of our mineral resources. People are busy thinking of how to circumvent the law because the law does not speak to their needs as it relates to minerals.
Mr. Speaker, as long as we continue to have this medieval piece of legislation of 1951 which is the Mines and Minerals Act, we will not progress. This law was only designed for the people of the other race and large-scale miners and never black majority who were formerly marginalised. We will continue to have illicit outflows, there will not be any beneficiation and value addition. What then happens is Brussels and Belgium buy our mineral in raw form. I want to thank the Second Republic and indeed His. Excellency the President for completely barring the exportation of raw minerals. These will somehow give some semblance and impetus of beneficiation and value addition in particular also bringing up the issue of our local agenda Vision 2030 which can become amalgamated with Africa Agenda 2063 which speaks to the issue of value addition and beneficiation of our mineral resources, robust and resilient infrastructure development only through our minerals. I want to thank His Excellency for banishing – I remember there was 30 million tonnes of raw chrome that was stopped. It also stops illicit outflows.
Mr. Speaker, we had more than 30 tonnes of platinum ore, living the country each day before this proclamation was made of banishing raw platinum and raw minerals. Platinum is in the platinum group of metals. What we call illicit outflows could be legitimate illicit outflows through the exportation of our minerals. When they get refund, we do not get to get the export receipts of exactly what was imbedded in the platinum. There is the gold, the palladium and there is platinum itself. But we get to know that it was maybe only platinum that was in there in the ore that came from ZIMPLATS. That should come to a halt because this aids impetus in terms of illicit outflows. This is how we can curtail the issue of illicit outflows.
Mr. Speaker Sir, the Gold Act Section 3, speaks to the possession of gold without a gold licence and it is a crime that anyone miner would not want to be part to. I think this is a bit on the draconian side, in the advent of the agrarian reform programme where if somebody gets a stone loaded with gold from his or her farm, they should not be criminalised. If they think the law is against them, they are able to circumvent the law which causes illicit outflows. So, some laws need to be repealed using the report that has been presented here today. Isaiah Chapter 6 verse 1, says the year King Uzziah died, I saw heaven. Let us use this report as a pedestal and as a platform to repeal some of the laws that inhibit or prohibit our farmers to carryout their duty without circumventing the law which causes illicit outflows.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Section 368 of the Mines and Minerals Act, speaks about prospecting without a licence. It is very difficult to be said to be prospecting Mr. Speaker Sir, if you are tendering your garden or your farm. Where I come from, it is in the Great Dyke. I come from Chegutu West Constituency and my Constituency is the largest part in terms of diameter, 11 kilometers of the Great Dyke. So all the farms are in EPO, 68 including Chegutu the town, there are minerals everywhere. You cannot go down two metres and not find gold. It is time to repeal even before the Mines and Minerals Act comes to this House. Let this report be used to repeal such antiquated laws like Section 368 of the Mines and Minerals Act so that we reduce illicit outflows.
The Agrarian Reform Act of 2000, empowers these farmers to till their land but without empowerment from this Mines and Minerals Act which actually supersedes all other Acts Mr. Speaker Sir. There is bound to be people trying to circumvent it by going in other ways to try and avoid and avert arrest because they would have found some mineral within their farm. There is need to harmonise the Agrarian Reform Act of 2000 and the Mines and Minerals Act so that our people have no phobia of the law otherwise we continue to have illicit outflows. As I conclude, I want to say that we have now seen the gold coin. There is need to see the platinum and diamond dollar so that instead of selling the gold to Fidelity Printers, there is need to use it as is. Then we did not have dollars here but our ancestors used to have ubiquitous amounts of mineral wealth. There was barter trade – it is time to have a platinum and diamond dollar to augment and complement the gold coin so that we stop these illicit outflows chasing after this paper USD which is now infesting our space in the country because they are chasing after our copious amounts of minerals and also to stop further hemorrhage, there is need to beneficiate and value add our uranium. Just to beneficiate one little ball of uranium and our energy crisis will be a thing of the past. Let us not just look at our minerals, let us utilise them for the good and benefit of the people of Zimbabwe in order to stop the illicit outflows.
I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir for giving me this opportunity to vociferously, effectively and efficiently put across the concerns of the people of Chegutu West Constituency, that is Chairman Lameck Nyamarango, Sarah Chikukwa, Patricia Nyamadzawo, Tatenda Tapfumaneyi, Tendai Chitashu, Makoni and Million Daniel. I thank you.
HON. BITI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir for allowing me to add my voice to this important issue of mineral smuggling and illicit financial flows in our country.
Illicit financial flows are costing Africa around USD90 billion annually. The report we are dealing with is talking about minerals and I will restrict myself to minerals but it is also important to draw to the attention of the House the amount of resources and illicit flows which is actually taking place through wildlife. Seventy five thousand elephants are killed every year because of their task. The trade in rhino horn is a 29-billion-dollar annual trade. Zimbabwe possesses all those resources – minerals, animals, flora and fauna. We are paying a price. It is a crime that we are a resource rich country with 64 minerals yet 79% of our people are living in extreme poverty because we have failed to manage our minerals. The mismanagement of the minerals does not come with independence. It comes with colonialism.
Colonialists moved into this country expecting that they will find another rand north of the Limpopo. Of course, they did not find the rand and they turned their attention to land and acquired massive pieces of land – another debate on its own. The Mines and Minerals Act of 1923 gives all and makes mining rights superior to any other right. I regret to say that even the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill which we have not debated, brings the same iniquity that mining rights are superior to any other rights. That is why the holder of a mining right can come to your farm and build under your house – you are not allowed and you have no control over the mines under your house. It is sad that the current Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill reproduces the same iniquity.
Let me begin to deal with leakages in the gold sector. The estimates of USD1 billion that is being smuggled out of Zimbabwe is a tiny estimate. Experts estimate that 70% of the gold that is being refined at Rand Gold Refinery is Zimbabwean gold. We are mining around 40-45 tonnes of gold per year but what is being accounted for is only 15-18 tonnes per year. What is happening to the 20 tonnes that we are mining? It is being smuggled. We have professional smugglers that have made Zimbabwe their permanent domicile and our border posts as the report of the Committee confirms are leaking, particularly Beitbridge. Beitbridge is the grand capital of all looting in Zimbabwe – I submitted that in Southern Africa. Massive gold is leaking along the long stretch of Zimbabwe’s border – some of the problems are self-induced. There is no reason why Fidelity Gold Printers should have a monopoly of buying gold in this country.
There is no reason why Fidelity Gold Printers should pay gold miners a value which is less than the international price of gold. The difference between the international price of gold and what Fidelity is paying at any given time is about 20%. Twenty per cent is a lot. A person would rather sell to a koronyera coming from South Africa and taking the gold to South Africa than sell to Fidelity.
The third issue is the delay in payment. It takes at least a week before Fidelity pays. I propose major amendments to the way we deal with gold in Zimbabwe. We should amend the Gold Act and allow gold licences to be given to banks for instance. Banks should be allowed to buy gold. More importantly, we should have value addition of gold in this country so that what we sell are not gold bars but gold products. More importantly, we should use the gold as a reserve for our currency. Look at the Zimbabwean dollar Mr. Speaker Sir, it has taken a battering in the last two weeks alone; it has lost 4000%. As I am speaking to you right now, the exchange rate is 1:7000 and part of the problem is that it is not a currency that is backed. It is a fictitious currency. It is as good as the leaves that are populating the park next door – Africa Unity Square. Why not use our gold as reserves and to form part of the world, why not put our gold in the sovereign wealth fund? We are losing gold because our mindset is still extractive. We are still selling gold in 2023 the way Ian Smith and Cabal were selling gold in 1898. The accumulation model has not changed. It is still based on extraction yet we need to move and graduate to value addition.
I come to PGMs; the Great Dyke is the source of our PGMs and the great Dyke is 575 kilometres in length. It cuts across the length and breath of Zimbabwe. It has platinum. Platinum or PGMs are ten minerals that are mined. These include lithium, nickel, rhodium, palladium – we have got world class standards of platinum. We are Africa’s second biggest producer of platinum but we have nothing to show for it. The principal reason is because we do not have a PGM refinery in this country. In fact, that is not true, we do have a refinery at Bindura. The Bindura Nickel Refinery can in fact refine the platinum from ZIMPLATS, Unki and Mimosa but those huge multinationals that are mining there do not want to take their platinum to Bindura because they will be caught, so they are accounting for a tiny fraction of what they ought to be accounting. So, ZIMPLATS represents the biggest sources of illicit financial flows in post-independent Zimbabwe.
In around 2009/10, the RBZ under Governor Gono, audited ZIMPLATS and they used a clever method where you look at the chemical processing minerals that are being used. The chemicals will be able to tell you what would have been extracted. The auditors were able to obtain what ZIMPLATS was mining. The net result was that ZIMRA then levied a tax bill of US$400 million that ZIMPLATS had not paid. So, unless we put a refinery in Zimbabwe, we will continue to lose value, that is on PGMS.
I want to come to the new gold, lithium. Lithium is the future and allows us to pursue the decarbonization agenda with great energy and gusto. We are all agreed that climate change and global warming is affecting us because of our own carbon emissions. So, coal is not the future. Alternative energy and renewables are the future but we have been endowed with one mineral, lithium which is capable of fast-tracking our agenda for decarbonization. With lithium, we can build an entire lithium battery industry which can release the pressure off the grid.
With our lithium, we can build a lithium value chain based on the production of mobile device instruments. The modern phone as you see it, 50% of it is lithium from the cover to what, so we can manufacture mobile phones using our lithium but most importantly, vehicles. The vehicles are a product of PGMs and lithium, so we can have an electric motor industry in Zimbabwe fueled by our lithium but who is now dominating our lithium industries? The Chinese are taking our lithium without value addition. That is massive – I was being told by a whistleblower that at least 160 trucks per month are going through Forbes Border Post to Beira smuggling our lithium notwithstanding the Executive’s ban and the export of raw lithium.
Do you know what they do Mr. Speaker? They use the Nyamapanda Road and go towards Mutoko. At Murewa turnoff, they go into the dust road of Macheke about 58 km. you see these huge trucks that are damaging that 68 km of dust road between Murewa and Macheke. The police and security authorities know that but they cannot arrest those trucks because the trucks are the who is who of Zimbabwe. They are the elites of Zimbabwe. You have top people in this country who are selling our country for a song because of the few pennies that they get paid.
For a million dollars, they get excited and buy Lamborghinis and some useless trinkets, and they think they have made it when people continue extracting and looting this country with the same gusto and energy that Cecil Rhodes and company did in 1892. At least Cecil Rhodes and company had the decency of saying no, our looting is too much and in 1895, they formed a loot committee to regulate their own stealing. Maybe it is time that Zimbabwe’s elites have their own loot committee and I know who the chairperson will be. Mr. Speaker, we are failing to understand what we have in our lithium. By the time we wake up, the product will have disappeared just like diamonds.
I will move on to the next mineral diamonds. At one stage, we had 25% of the diamond deposits in the entire world but the beauty about our deposits was that they were alluvial deposits. With alluvial deposits, you can mine them with the soles of your feet, man’a ako aya anogona ku miner ma alluvial diamonds because they can be picked up like pebbles. That is why we saw the rush that we saw in Bocha and Marange.
The alluvial deposits were supposed to last us 25 years but they lasted us for less than five years. Now, it is only Anjin that is mining – [AN HON. MEMBER: Five years?] – Yes, five years and that is why President Mugabe in 2012 said we had lost US$15 billion in Government. I was a Minister in Government and Hon. Mashakada will tell you here that I used to sound like a broken record to say to Minister Obert Mpofu, account for diamond mine. There was only one year when we got US$274 million, that was in 2010 and thereafter, we were getting $5 or $4 million. When Patrick Chinamasa came, he also sounded like a broken record, $2 million because matsotsi matsotsi and it did not make a difference that there had been a change of the Finance Minister.
So, we have a problem that diamonds where extracted from this country but the whole country has nothing to show for it. If you go to Bocha and Marange, the communities are poor and have nothing to show for it. If you go to Mutare, they have nothing to show for it. I once visited Gujarati in India in 2012 when I was in Government. I went to an entire town which was employing 76 000 women to polish our diamonds. Can you imagine, 76 000 women in Gujarati, India, polishing Zimbabwe’s diamonds. Antwerp which Hon. Nduna spoke of, there are no diamonds in Brussels but Antwerp is the biggest market of diamonds in the world.
We have a problem Mr. Speaker, of leadership and I want to come to leadership. If you look at the Mines and Minerals Act that is pending, it is actually worse than Rhodes’ Mines and Minerals Act of 1923. This one even allows you once you get a mining license to cut all the trees, have water rights and makes it very clear that the owner of the piece of land where the mines are being found has no right absolutely whatsoever but it takes great leadership to understand that mines can transform this economy.
This economy is limping around $18 billion but this is not an $18 billion economy. This is a $400 billion economy. I always give the example of Kenya. Kenya in 1980 when we got independence, was a $7 billion economy like Zimbabwe. Kenya is now $264 billion and we are still one $7 billion. I submit Mr. Speaker that our minerals can transform this country and the answer lies in value addition and transparent distribution of mining rights. The Chinese in Manhize have been given mining rights and the right to mine iron ore that is 40 billion metric tonnes, the world’s highest, for nothing.
Those rights could have been sold through an international auction, how much would we have got? Unless we understand that these mines are valuable and that being paid $2/3 million when people are suffering, stealing from the people, we will not move. So I propose the following:- 1) we have a brand new Mines Act that deals with the allocation of these rights, 2) that recognises that the owner of the land has right over what is in his land. You cannot come to my village in Chiendambuya wosvikotora ivhu iroro woti urikumakuva edu, hazviite. The owner of the land must have rights over that land. 3) We must revisit all the special grants, all the mining concessions that have been given in the last 20 years. Let us revisit them. 4) We must audit all these multi-national companies, ZIMPLATS in particular, Unki, Rio Tinto, let us audit them, what have they been doing? 5) Value addition, value addition, value addition 6) We need refineries in this country 7) Because we are such an important producer, why should we take our diamonds to Antwerp? Let us create a market, we did it during the GNU. We actually used to have an auction of diamonds at the Harare International Airport. So, for all our minerals that are high value, let us sell them here, the surplus. Let us sell our gold here, they will come because we have world class gold and remember gold has DNA. Zimbabwe’s DNA of gold is world class, it is superior, it is umnandi, it is beautiful. So, let us sell it here, platinum, et cetera, let us sell them here. So, I am urging a brand new paradigm shift with regards to our minerals. They can make this country a $US400 billion economy. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. PROF. MASHAKADA: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker Sir. I want to join my colleagues to thank the Hon. Gen. Mayihlome and the Committee on Defence for tabling such a brilliant report which is quite telling.
Mr. Speaker Sir, we all know that mining can be a game changer in any economy and in any country. Indeed, for Zimbabwe, mining should have been a game changer. We cannot show anything for the mineral revenues that we have been extracting because of illicit outflows, corruption and smuggling. We can hardly show for the value of our minerals. I will tell you that there are tonnes which roll on the basis of mining or mineral revenues. We have Shabani-Mashava Mines, part of the result of proper utilisation of mining revenues; we have Shamva Gold Mine, the town; we have Mhangura which is now a ghost town, Gweru, Kwe Kwe, Kadoma, you name it, Chegutu, towns that sprouted because mineral revenues were properly applied. The diamond fines, by now we should expect Marange to be a modern city. We should expect Mutare to be a mega city out of diamond revenues but we have nothing to show for it.
Hon. Biti was talking about lithium. Bikita Minerals has been a home of lithium production for many years but if you go to Bikita, it is just a dusty, rocky rural area. There is nothing to show; the community is not benefitting from the mineral revenues. We tried to introduce share ownership schemes but that collapsed. Nobody ever collected anything from these huge mining houses. So, mines or minerals become a curse for African countries including Zimbabwe, a curse in the sense that we are touted as rich in natural resources implying to mineral resources but we are poor. That is the same case with countries like DRC. DRC is the richest country in terms of mineral wealth but they cannot even mine their wealth because of insurgence, wars, smuggling and corruption; they cannot even mine. Sierra Leone is highly rich in minerals but still it is a low developing country. Its per capita income is less than $50.
That is the scourge, the problem of the natural resource case and Zimbabwe has been visited by this natural resource case. This now manifests itself in two forms. The first form is the transfer pricing by and under-invoicing by multinational companies. What they declare to the Reserve Bank is almost a quarter of the revenues they get through transfer pricing, under-invoicing and so on. So, they are stealing yet the royalties they are paying are a pittance, they do not add anything to the fiscus. The tax collected from multinational companies does not even have an impact on the fiscus. So, we have on the one hand, multinational companies being at the forefront of looting our mineral resources and also, because they do not want to value-add. Hon. Biti was talking about the Platinum Group of Minerals where we are shipping platinum but six more minerals come out of that. So, we are exporting jobs because we are not adding value.
We must not forget that when we talk about the plunders of this economy, multinational corporations are also at the centre of the plunder of this economy. Unfortunately, multinational corporations constitute a very strong lobby, that is why we cannot even have a new Minerals Act because they lobby against it. They have the money and resources, so they lobby against any legislation that will water down their capacity to steal. So, that is one level of looting by multinational companies.
The other level of looting is what we call unintended consequences of liberalising the mineral sector. We have liberalised the mining sector and there are a lot of artisanal miners now participating, which is not a bad idea but the impact is that, because there is a policy which is called ‘no questions asked’, you can mine anywhere in Zimbabwe, bring your gold, no questions asked. This no questions asked policy by the Reserve Bank is very dangerous because people can then steal and loot without any questions being asked, or even keep some of the gold, retain some of the gold because it is an official policy that ‘no questions asked’. We do not ask you – how much did you mine and why are you bringing 1kg instead of 5kg, there is record. So that policy of no questions asked has promoted smuggling and corruption in the mining sector.
Mr. Speaker Sir, because of these problems where mineral revenues cannot have an impact on the fiscus or on the Treasury, you find that most countries have formed what they call sovereign wealth funds, at least to harness mineral revenues so that they can see where the value of their gold or lithium is going. The biggest sovereign wealth fund, I think is a Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund from their oil resources. The second largest is the Abu Dhabi Sovereign Wealth Fund. They actually warehouse the profits and the revenues from their sub resources. Now in Zimbabwe, Minister Chinamasa introduced a Sovereign Wealth Fund here in this House. We passed the Act and created a Sovereign Wealth Fund but you and me know that it is an empty fund, there is nothing, inhava izere mhepo. What is happening, why is our Sovereign Wealth Fund empty if we have got all these resources that my colleagues have been talking about but there is zero deposit in the Sovereign Wealth Fund. We are losing revenue from our minerals and that has to be corrected.
We know what the problem is but we cannot take any action why? That is my worry Mr. Speaker Sir. If we know that there is smuggling at the border post, what are we doing about it? If we know that we must create refineries, value addition and we do not do it, what is the problem? If we know the list of people who are smuggling minerals and we are not taking any action, who do we blame? We can only blame ourselves for the situation that we find ourselves in because we cannot walk the talk. This is the time to walk the talk, identify the problems and take concrete measures and swift action to save our country.
Mr. Speaker Sir, when we talk of minerals, we are talking about the posterity, we are not just talking about this current generation. Minerals are there to benefit our children, our grandchildren and future generations but if we stand arms akimbo whilst our resources are being depleted, what will happen of the future of this country? I shudder to think that at the end of the day, we are just seeing holes, dumps everywhere but no value or beneficial development to the country.
Mr. Speake Sir, this is food for thought that this House must take concrete measures to reverse the illicit outflows, corruption, smuggling and save our country. I thank you.
HON. R. R. NYATHI: Hon. Speaker Sir, I now move that this debate be adjourned.
HON. MUNETSI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 8th June, 2023.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. R. R. NYATHI: I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 21 be stood over, until Order of the Day No. 22 has been disposed of.
HON. NDUNA: I second.
Motion put and agreed.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION’S BILATERAL VISIT TO EGYPT
HON. RTD. MAJOR GENERAL GWANETSA: Thank you Mr. Speaker, I move the motion in my name that this House takes note of the Report by the Parliamentary Delegation to Egypt on a Bilateral Visit from 15th to 24th February, 2023.
HON. NDUNA: I second.
HON. RTD. MAJOR GENERAL GWANETSA:
- INTRODUCTION
1.1 Hon. Advocate Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda,
Speaker of Parliament, undertook an official visit to Egypt from 15 to 24 February, 2023, at the invitation of his counterpart, His Excellency, Dr. Hanfy Ali El Gebaly, Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Hon Speaker was accompanied by the following Members of Parliament who are also members of the Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, namely:
- Brig Gen (Rtd) Kalisto Killian Gwanetsa, Member of Parliament and Acting Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade;
- Tawanda Karikoga, Member of Parliament;
- Constance Chihururu, Member of Parliament; and
- Support staff.
- The Parliamentary delegation was received at the Airport,
Cairo, by the Ambassador of the Republic of Zimbabwe to Egypt, H.E. Air Marshall (Rtd) S. Shumbayaonda and Mr. Ahmed Ezzat Manna, Secretary General of the House of Representatives.
1.3 The delegation expresses its gratitude to the Egyptian House of Representatives for the special hospitality and logistical arrangements accorded to the delegation during the visit.
1.4 The delegation extends its appreciation to H.E. Air Marshall (Rtd) Shumbayaonda and his able staff for facilitating the attendant logistical and administrative arrangements during the visit.
2.0 TOUR OF THE COPTIC MUSEUM AND THE
HANGING CHURCH
2.1 The delegation’s first engagement on 17 February 2023, was
the tour of the Coptic Museum and the Hanging Church.
2.2 These are two historical sites of quintessential historical heritage which anchor the foundation of the Coptic Church in Egypt dating back to the 5th century, as a centre of Christian worship. The Coptic Museum was officially inaugurated in 1910 having been established through the sterling efforts of Marcus Simaisha Poaha, a very prominent Coptic figure who was committed to the preservation of the Coptic heritage.
2.3 The delegation was impressed by the large array of Coptic artefacts, including magnificently decorated manuscripts, delicately carved woodwork that defy historical imagination in terms of significance and careful presentation over centuries. The Coptic heritage as displayed in the Coptic museum defines the origins of the Egyptian Christian Orthodox Church which was the largest Christian body in Egypt since time immemorial.
2.4 The delegation had the opportunity to proceed on a tour of the Coptic Church commonly referred to as the ‘Hanging Church” located in Old Cairo, adjacent to the Coptic museum. The Coptic Church has been known by its full title, ‘St Virgin Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church,’ which was built 1600 years ago. The Hanging Church is dedicated to the reverence for the Virgin Mary and houses sanctuaries to her as well as to Saints John the Baptist and George. Within the Church, the delegation was privileged to admire the mosaics of Virgin Mary, the birth of Jesus Christ, his crucifixion as well as the resurrection which are ensconced within the temple. The architectural drawings and the pillars of the church are massive structures whose designers remain anonymous out of their humility not to be publicised.
2.5 What struck the delegation is the imposing structure built along the Basilica style of Rome. The tour guide explained that the massive eight columns represented the biblical creation story, in Genesis wherein in six days God created the universe, resting on the seventh day, commencing work on the eighth day, therefore the eighth column represents the beginning of a new week and the structural cycle of the eighth column are understood to symbolise eternity.
3.0 VISIT TO BENBAN SOLAR CITY, ASWAN CITY
3.1 On 18th February 2023, the delegation undertook a tour of the
Ben Ban Solar Park in Aswan City. The solar project is a result of collaborative efforts between Egyptian companies. The companies benefitted immensely from technology and skills transfer from the Chinese and Germans who provided technical and infrastructure support.
3.2 Egypt invested USD 3.5bn in the project through
international financing. The scope of work includes 32 individual plants producing a combined total of 1045MW per day. Of note, is that this is a green project which is effective in reducing carbon footprint through the use of renewable energy. Additionally, the project has also created
20 000 jobs.
3.3 The Honorable Speaker and his delegation were informed that
the return on investment was attractive as the company had already recouped initial investment after only four years of operating. Effectively for the next 20 years, the company will be making profits. The lifespan of such a project is 25 years.
3.4 Hon. Speaker Mudenda noted that there is scope to partner
with the Egyptians in this endeavour of renewable energy through the executive intervention.
3.5 The Hon. Speaker of Parliament also highlighted how a solar project of this magnitude would have downstream effects including employment creation at a major scale.
4.0 MEETING WITH HIS EXCELLENCY DR HANFY ALI
EL GEBALY, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
4.1 On the third day of the visit, the Speaker’s delegation visited the
Parliament of Egypt. The first port of call was a meeting with His Excellency, Dr. Hanfy Ali El Gebaly, Speaker of the House of Representatives who was accompanied by Hon. Mohamed M. Abou El Enein, Deputy Speaker, Dr Sherief Mostafa Al-Gabadi, Chairperson of the Committee on African Cooperation, Ambassador Salah Abdel-Sadek, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs responsible for Parliamentary Affairs and Mr. Ahmed Manaa, Secretary General of the House of Representatives.
4.2 In his welcome remarks, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives acknowledged the existing strong bilateral relations between Egypt and Zimbabwe anchored on Egypt’s support of Zimbabwe’s struggle for independence since the 1960s where Egypt was a training ground for early freedom fighters, including notably, His Excellency, the President Dr. E.D. Mnangagwa.
4.3 The host Speaker observed that there is, therefore, opportunity
to further strengthen the relations through increasing trade and exploring cooperation in areas that include energy, health, agriculture, construction and housing development for the less privileged. Egypt has a wealth of experience in these areas and is keen to share practices and embark on technology transfer with the rest of Africa, including Zimbabwe. Accordingly, both parties committed to strengthening economic cooperation for the mutual benefit of the citizenry of Egypt and Zimbabwe. This requires a commitment to implement Memoranda of Understanding that have been signed between the two countries since 1986.
4.4 Within the context of the established relations, Egypt supported
the candidature of Hon Chief F.Z. Charumbira during his campaign for the Presidency of the Pan African Parliament. In so doing, Egypt also canvassed for support within the Northern Regional PAP Caucus and in some countries North of the Equator.
4.5 The Speaker of the House of Representatives congratulated the Parliament of Zimbabwe on the Official Opening of the Fifth Session of the 9th Parliament on 23 November 2023 as well as the successful hosting of the 78th Executive Committee and the 44th Conference of the African Parliamentary Union (APU) held in Victoria Falls in November 2023. Egypt was ably represented at the meetings by Dr. Al-Gabadi who is also the Chairperson of the Egyptian Committee on Africa.
4.6 The Speaker of the House of Representatives wanted to know when Zimbabwe would hold elections this year and then sought clarification as to whether Egypt and other African countries would be invited to observe the elections.
4.7 Furthermore, His Excellency El Gebaly highlighted the dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia regarding the construction of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile. He informed the delegation that it was critical that an agreement be reached between the two contending countries over the construction of the dam in terms of application of international law in the management of the common resource. Resultantly, he appealed to the Zimbabwe delegation for support towards the amicable resolution of the dispute between the two countries.
4.8 The Host Speaker appealed to the Zimbabwe delegation to support Egypt’s offer to host Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Regional Offices in Cairo because Egypt is an African country on the African continent. In that regard, he disabused the notion that Egypt would be hosting that Regional Office on behalf of the Arab League. As an African country, the Host Speaker indicated that Egypt would support African countries on all common issues at the regional and international fora. That support should not be doubted by fellow African countries.
4.9 The Deputy Speaker buttressed the need for political
cooperation between Zimbabwe and Egypt. He opined that economic development between the two sister Republics would be accelerated through the development of reliable transport infrastructure. That is why the construction of the Cairo-Cape Town road is essential in expediting the movement of goods and services. This should be augmented by improvement in the maritime transportation systems among African countries.
4.10 In support of strengthening bilateral relations, Dr. Al-Gabadi indicated that Egypt would stand by Zimbabwe, especially in the call for lifting of illegal sanctions against Zimbabwe. He had raised the issue in Brussels on the occasion of the European Parliament- Pan African Parliament Inter-Parliamentary Meeting in December 2022.
4.11 The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs who is also responsible for Parliamentary Affairs made a commitment to strengthen economic ties between Zimbabwe and Egypt as well as to stimulate investment opportunities particularly in the area of construction. To demonstrate Egypt’s willingness to collaborate with African countries, Egypt had built the Julius Nyerere dam in Tanzania.
4.12 In the same vein of the need for effective collaboration between Egypt and Zimbabwe, the Secretary General of the House of Representatives informed the Zimbabwe delegation that the Egypt-Zimbabwe Friendship Association had been established and that would go a long way in solidifying the bilateral relations.
4.13 In response, the Zimbabwe Speaker of Parliament acknowledged the cordial relations that have existed between Egypt and Zimbabwe before and after independence and that these relations should be continually cemented through such bilateral visits. In that context, the Hon. Speaker Mudenda expressed gratitude to the host Speaker for inviting the delegation to visit Egypt and lauded the excellent hospitality and logistics put in place for the delegation.
4.14 The Hon. Speaker Mudenda pledged to support Egypt in its quest to host the proposed IPU Regional Office in Cairo. This will be a welcome development for Africa despite some misgivings that the office will be primarily shared also with the Arab League. In that context, the Hon Speaker reminded his host that his delegation’s visit to the Africa Culture Museum was a testimony of the fundamental fact that Egypt was an African state as demonstrated by the artefacts that were displayed in that museum covering the 54 states of the African Union.
4.15 On the dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia, the Hon. Speaker of Zimbabwe appealed to his counterpart to come up with a strategy of finding some peace broker between the two countries in the mould of retired statesmen such as His Excellency Olusegun Obasanjo and His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya who would work with other designated sitting Presidents to resolve the matter in terms of international law.
4.16 Regarding the strengthening of economic ties between Egypt and Zimbabwe, the two Parliaments are obligated through their oversight roles to ensure that the unimplemented Memoranda of Understanding be implemented expeditiously.
4.17 The Hon. Speaker also expressed gratitude for Egypt’s positive response to His Excellency, the President, Dr. E.D. Mnangagwa’s request for collaboration in the design and construction of the smart city at Mt Hampden and that Egypt had acceded to cooperating with Zimbabwe in the construction the Museum of African Liberation.
4.18 With reference to the need for peace and security as a condition precedent for development, the Hon. Speaker bemoaned the current Russia-Ukraine conflict which continues to destabilise the world economy. He opined that it was necessary for the conflict to be resolved sooner than later through concerted diplomatic dialogue because no war can end a war. In response to the destabilised world economy, especially supply chain of fertilizer and wheat from Ukraine and Russia, Zimbabwe through the direct intervention of His Excellency the President, Dr. E.D. Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe has managed to achieve a wheat bumper harvest for the first time in 50 years. Efforts are being made to ensure that Zimbabwe is self-sufficient in the fertiliser supply chain.
4.19 The Hon. Speaker informed his host delegation that the Parliamentary Friendship Association has been established in Zimbabwe. It was therefore critical that the two Parliamentary Friendship Associations begin to interface vigorously as a way of cementing the two countries Parliamentary processes. The operalisation would be effective if the Secretary Generals of the two Parliaments played an effective pro-active role.
4.20 To expedite trade investment between Egypt and Zimbabwe, the Government has established the Zimbabwe Investment Development Authority (ZIDA) as a ONE STOP SHOP in order to achieve the ease of doing business. It is believed that the ease of doing business will also be facilitated by the vibrant Ambassadors of Egypt and Zimbabwe who are expected to work closely with the business communities in both countries.
4.21 The Hon. Speaker applauded the suggested improvement of the transportation infrastructure among African States as they strive to implement of the African Free Continental Trade Area and the Africa Agenda 2063.
4.22 Hon Speaker Mudenda congratulated Egypt on the Benban Solar project which the delegation had been privileged to tour. The massive green project was indeed impressive and was of particular interest as Zimbabwe is currently experiencing electricity deficiency arising from low water levels at the Kariba Dam. Accordingly, Zimbabwe can benefit from Egypt’s vast experience in this area of renewable energy development.
4.23 In conclusion, the Hon. Speaker of Zimbabwe congratulated Egypt for successfully hosting COP27 in November last year. He commended the establishment of a Loss and Damage Fund as a positive outcome of the Conference and applauded the formation of the Steering Committee which would meet in March 2023 to somehow enforce the implementation of the Loss and Damage Fund before COP 28 that will be hosted by the United Arab Emirates.
5.0 MEETING WITH BAA EL-DIN ABOU SHOKA, FIRST DEPUTY SPEAKER OF THE EGYPTIAN SENATE
5.1 Subsequently on the same day, the Zimbabwe delegation met with Hon. Baa El-Din Abou Shoka, First Deputy Speaker of the Senate who was accompanied by a coterie of Senators.
5.2 The Deputy Speaker of the Senate emphasised, in the same vein with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the need to strengthen bilateral relations between Egypt and Zimbabwe which relations date back before Zimbabwe’s Independence. He also reiterated that Egypt was an integral part of Africa and cannot afford to isolate itself from the challenges that face the African Continent. He accented the need for strengthened economic relations between Zimbabwe and Egypt, especially in the agricultural sector. Like the Hon. Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Deputy Speaker of the Senate bemoaned the dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia regarding the construction of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam over the Nile in the absence of an international agreement as guided by international law. He called upon the Zimbabwe delegation to assist in finding a lasting solution to the impasse.
5.3 The Speaker agreed with the observations made by the Deputy Speaker of the Senate and assured the Deputy Speaker that the two Parliaments will work together to resolve the common challenges that face the two countries in particular and Africa at large.
6.0 VISIT TO THE INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CENTRE
6.1 On 20th February 2023, the delegation undertook a tour of the International Medical Centre, located in Cairo. The state-of-the-art medical centre provides citizens with access to cutting edge technology and treatment by world renowned experts. It is at the heart of Egypt’s medical tourism as it offers specialist medical care to patients from the African continent, Middle East and the rest of the world.
6.2 The International Medical Centre boasts of 800 hospital beds, latest equipment in diagnostics and treatment manned by a highly qualified staff of 250 doctors and 600 nurses. It has a capacity to treat up to 300 patients per day. The hospital specialises in among others, heart surgeries, liver transplants, bone marrow transplants. Accordingly, the hospital has a fully equipped oncology department to treat various types of cancers. Additionally, the International Medical Centre also has a fully equipped laboratory, pharmacy, paediatric unit, dental unit, nuclear medicine department, radiology department, among others. Support services for patients and their families are also readily available within the complex. To cater for its foreign patients, the hospital operates a hotel within its vast premises to accommodate accompanying relatives.
7.0 VISIT TO THE NEW PARLIAMENT BUILDING HOUSED AT THE NEW ADMINISTRATIVE BLOCK
7.1 On 21st February 2023, the delegation embarked on a guided tour of the new Parliament Building housed within the new sprawling Administrative Complex. The massive and modern complex measuring 430 acres, houses 34 ministerial buildings with a capacity to accommodate fifty-one thousand five hundred employees (51 500). The Senate Building is also within this complex.
7.2 The imposing Parliament Building sits a maximum of 750 Members with future plans to increase this capacity to 1000 Members. Similar to the Zimbabwe New Parliament Building, the building features impressive architectural designs which pay homage to the country’s rich cultural heritage. Several specific artworks depict the representation role of Parliament.
8.0 VISIT TO THE GERMAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO
8.1 On the same day, the delegation toured the German University in Cairo (GUC) where the Hon. Speaker was privileged to deliver a public lecture on the topic “Enhancing University Education through Private Initiative- An Experience to Emulate”.
8.2 The GUC is an Egyptian Private University established through a Presidential decree in 2022. It is an independent, non-profit oriented Egyptian private institution, managed by a consortium of Germans and Egyptians with the vision of “building a leading centre of excellence in teaching and research that will effectively contribute to the general welfare nationally and internationally and endeavour the scientific, technical, economic and cultural cooperation between Egypt and Germany”.
8.3 The impressive university houses state of the art lecture rooms, laboratories, research facilities, an industrial park fully equipped with latest machinery and producing commercial products, expansive library and solar park has an intake of 12 600 students, 10 000 of whom are undergraduate students. Construction of a teaching hospital and medical school are at an advanced stage.
8.4 The delegation was particularly inspired by the industrial park which dovetails with Zimbabwe’s own education 5.0 policy as adopted by all institutions of higher learning. The scope of research in the field of robotics was also of interest to the delegation, particularly GUCnoid 1.0, a robot wholly designed by GUC students in 2022. Within the context of the technological advances as witnessed at the GUC, opportunities exist for collaborative synergies with Zimbabwean Universities.
8.5 The Honorable Speaker delivered a well-received public lecture to a blend of about 60 academics, incorporating the President of the university, student representatives as well as lecturers at the university. The departure point for the Honorable Speaker was to situate GCU within the greater context of Egypt as a center of civilization to the world. To that an extent, GCU occupies a unique position in the education sector in Africa, where it should be an incandescent light to all and sundry, he posited.
8.6 The Hon Speaker appreciated the great strides GCU had made in the field of science and research, drawing parallels and the symbiotic relationship between the GCU thrust and the remodeling of tertiary education in Zimbabwe under the auspices of Education 5.0 Model.
8.7 Honorable Mudenda praised GCU for morphing out into a truly Afrocentric university, in a context where Africans had for a very long time continued to bear the brunt of Eurocentric knowledge systems, which were deliberately designed to downplay Africa's intellectual potential and capabilities. This phenomenon having started during colonialism, he intimated. The presentation by the Honorable Speaker touched on integral history of the education system in Zimbabwe, which is making strides buoyed by a conducive atmosphere created by the Second Republic, which is following in letter and spirit of the constitutional provisions which mandate the State to provide platforms for private players to develop the education sector. Consequently, this has resulted in universities establishing innovation and industrial hubs, incubating some of the sharpest ideas in the country courtesy of the Education 5.0 Model. In epitomising, the Hon Speaker of Parliament dangled a prospect in which Zimbabwe could also found a similar university of such a magnitude.
8.8 At the end of the public lecture, students and lecturers made interventions and posed questions, appreciating the clarity of thought and congruency of presentation exhibited by the Honorable Speaker’s public lecture delivery.
8.9 Responding to a question related to whether Zimbabwe still relies on Cambridge for examinations, Speaker Mudenda indicated that the country has made great strides in establishing its own examination bodies which are truly Zimbabwean in the mould of Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (ZIMSEC) and Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education (ZIMCHE).
9.0 Visit to Solag Decent Housing Project
9.1 The Honourable Speaker and his delegation wound up their bilateral visit to Egypt by touring a Decent Housing project model in Solag, one of the poorest districts in the country, which is being transformed by the Egyptian Government in a bid to improve the livelihoods of its citizens. The delegation had an opportunity to meet with the Governor for Solag General Tarek Elfeki and his Deputy Ahmed Sami, who briefed the delegation on the implementation of the project, with Mr Sami subsequently leading a guided tour of the integrated service delivery model.
The model identified 11 Governorates with most vulnerable citizens and to date 7 of these have been remodelled. It is anticipated that in next three years, work on all 11 models would be completed. The interventions of infrastructure development encompassing provision of clean water, sewer reticulation, health, education, and affordable housing are wholly funded by the national fiscus as a special project to uplift the poor. As a trickle-down effect, massive employment creation has accrued in the district.
A standard model features a municipal office providing all Government services, a post office, fire station, police post, a hospital and a multi-purpose recreational complex for use by all members of society regardless of age. Having decentralised services across the country significantly reduces the burden of citizens travelling long distances to acquire services, it was observed. This particular initiative was of interest to the delegation as it is in line with His Excellency Dr E.D Mnangagwa’s mantra of leaving no one and no place behind.
It is the delegation’s considered view that if Egypt’s integrated service delivery approach can be adopted in Zimbabwe, it would pointedly accelerate the realisation of decent housing for all by 2030, thereby significantly ameliorating the living standards of the less privileged.
10.0 RECOMMENDATIONS
10.1 The delegation recommends the immediate operalisation of the Egypt-Zimbabwe Friendship Association. As agreed in the meetings with the Presiding Officers of the Egyptian legislature, it is imperative to strengthen parliamentary relations and share best Parliamentary practices within an established framework. This would cascade to the Clerks who are responsible for formulating policies. This process to be spearheaded by the Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
10.2 The delegation recommends that the Minister of Energy and Power Development, Hon. Zhemu Soda visits Egypt at the earliest convenience to benchmark on the power development, particularly renewable energy with a particular focus on solar which Egypt has successfully implemented. Synergies between the Government and the private sector have seen the energy sector thriving in Egypt.
10.3 The Ministry of Home Affairs in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade should fulfil the delegation’s commitment to the African Museum and ensure that Zimbabwean artefacts and books are expeditiously transmitted to the Museum in Aswan.
10.4 The delegation recommends that Parliament, through the Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs and international Trade, ensures that all signed memoranda between the two sister republics be implemented expeditiously through the aegis is of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. This will stimulate increased economic relations between the two countries.
10.5 The Ministry of Local Government. is encouraged to undertake a Visit to Egypt to benchmark and explore possible opportunities for collaboration on construction of smart cities. Similarly, the Ministries of Health and Child Care as well as Higher and Tertiary Education can benefit from undertaking benchmarking visits and emulating some of the best practices in health and higher education.
11.6 Egypt has a rich historical cultural heritage that has been well preserved through its government’s efforts. These sites have attracted both local and international tourism. Accordingly, the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry should spruce up cultural heritage site with the view of encouraging both local and international tourism.
The Parliament of Zimbabwe, together with the Government of Zimbabwe, must strive to promote historical and cultural heritage of Zimbabwe in the mould of Pan-African Liberation Movement currently under construction. Personally, I had invaluable insight of the visit. The visit could be a precursor to developmental issues some of which are of importance to the Zimbabwe scenario. This is land reincarnation; we can reclaim for the betterment of our country, for example, Egypt desert now very profitable. Secondly, the new city concept and importation of technology.
What was so impressive from your Hon. Rtd Brig. General, most of these developmental issues were headed by generals and I can take it as an adage. Every state and nationhood are as strong as its generals. I thank you.
11.6 Parliament of Zimbabwe, together with the Government of Zimbabwe, must strive to promote historical and cultural heritage of Zimbabwe in the mould of the Pan – African Liberation Museum currently under construction near the National Sports Stadium.
11.0 CONCLUSION
11.1 The delegation extends its appreciation to the Parliament of Zimbabwe and Government for affording it the opportunity to undertake the high-level bilateral exchange visit. In line with the Second Republic’s policy thrust of leaving no-one and no place behind, the delegation calls for sustained economic cooperation with Egypt in order to achieve the aspirations of the people of Zimbabwe. Furthermore, the delegation calls on Parliament and relevant ministries to timeously implement recommendations as articulated in this report.
HON. R.R. NYATHI: I move that debate do now adjourn.
HON. MUTSEYAMI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday 8th June, 2023.
On the motion of HON. R. R. NYATHI, seconded by HON. NDUNA, the House adjourned at Twenty-four Minutes to Six o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 7th June, 2023.
The Senate met at Half-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE
SWITCHING OFF OF CELLPHONES
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I would like to remind Hon. Senators to put your gadgets, your phones in particular, on silent or better still, switch them off.
I also recommend that Hon. Members wind up their motions or withdraw them as appropriate since we are going towards the sunset of this particular session of the 9th Parliament.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: Mr. President Sir, I move that Orders of the Day, Nos. 1 to 8 be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been taken care of.
HON. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE ZIMBABWE ELECTORAL COMMISSION FOR THE 7TH MAY 2022 BY-ELECTION
Ninth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission for the 7th May, 2023 by-elections.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: Mr. President Sir, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. GIJIMA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 8th June, 2023
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I move that Order of the Day, No. 10 be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
HON. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
CONDITIONS OF SERVICE FOR DOCTORS AND NURSES DURING COVID-19
Tenth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the self-sacrifice by doctors and nurses during COVID-19 scourge.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHUNDU: I want to thank all those who debated on the motion on the health workers who managed to persevere and work hard to conquer the COVID-19 pandemic even when it was difficult. I would like to urge Government to review their welfare because of such tremendous work they did.
I move that the motion be adopted.
Motion that: —
ACKNOWLEDGING with appreciation the selfless sacrifice by our doctors and nurses at a time when the COVID-19 scourge wreaked havoc;
IMPRESSED by the whole-hearted dedication of such men and women despite poor conditions of service in their operational environment as evinced by uncompetitive remuneration, inadequate medical supplies and equipment, shortages of accommodation and transport, among other challenges;
APPLAUDING noble initiatives by Government in expeditiously introducing tangible measures that mitigated and addressed COVID-19 challenges and also strengthened the healthcare system at a time when the outbreak ravaged most countries in the world:
NOW, THEREFORE, calls upon Government to—
(a) urgently improve doctors and nurses’ conditions of service, through the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare;
(b) provide decent accommodation for doctors and nurses as a reward and appreciation for their sterling efforts in combating COVID-19 at the expense of their lives;
(c) ensure that adequate funds are mobilised and availed to enable the Ministry of Health and Child Care to fulfil its obligations on health service delivery without any hinderances, especially in times of communicable diseases like COVID-19;
(d) remunerate medical practitioners with competitive salaries as a way of addressing challenges associated with brain drain and skills flight in our health sector, put and adopted.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE 52ND PLENARY ASSEMBLY SESSION OF THE SADC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM HELD IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Twelfth order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report of Delegation to the 52nd Plenary Assembly Session of the SADC-Parliamentary Forum.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to debate. I want to thank those who contributed on this motion. It was a very good motion which was presented to this House and I would like to say those who are seen going for the SADC PF must keep on the spirit of togetherness and unite for a purpose so that whatever they contribute there should be for the benefit of Zimbabwe and not for an individual. We thank them so much.
I would like to thank those who contributed to the motion. Without further ado, I move for the adoption of the motion;
Motion that this House takes note of the Report of Delegation to the 52nd Plenary Assembly Session of the SADC-Parliamentary Forum held in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 3rd to 11th December, 2022 put and agreed to.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that we revert to Order of the Day, Number 1 on today’s Order Paper.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
SUSPENSION OF PROVISIONS OF STANDING ORDERS NOS. 54, 67, 134 AND 137
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I rise that provisions of Standing Orders No. 54, 67, 134, and 137 regarding the automatic adjournment of the House at five minutes to seven o’clock p.m. on sitting days other than a Friday and at twenty-five minutes past one o’clock p.m. on Fridays, Questions and Private Members Motions taking precedent on Thursdays after Question Time, procedure in connection with Parliamentary Legal Committee and stages of Bills, respectively be suspended with effect from today, Wednesday, 7th June 2023 for the next series of sittings in respect of Government business. I so move.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 2 to 5 on today’s Order Paper be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
SECOND READING
CHILDREN’S AMENDMENT BILL [H. B.12, 2021]
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Allow me to deliver my Second Reading speech on the Children’s Amendment Bill. The Bill before you today, seeks to enhance the welfare and protection of children in the country as well as enable the creation of a safe and secure environment for child growth and development taking into cognisance the best interests of a child at all given times and circumstances. It aligns the Children’s Act to the Constitution, strengthens child protection and closes gaps that would give room to child abuse. The Bill also considers our cultural values as Zimbabweans and I am convinced this Bill best provides for a child in our land.
First and foremost, the Bill redefines a child as person under the age of 18 years as provided for in the supreme law of the land. Previously, it would be defined as someone under the age of 16 years. The Bill seeks to thwart child abuse in all manner possible. It widens and criminalises instances of child abuse, for example commercial sex, sexual exploitation of children and child grooming. The provision seeks to protect children from pervert adults and also protects them from getting access to drugs. Drug use is on the increase and we believe this provision has an effect of lowering drug abuse among our children.
The Bill also seeks to protect the identity and information of all children in need of protection in terms of Section 5 of the Children’s Act. Instead of only those who have gone through the courts, circulation of pictures and children’s information on social media has been on the increase jeopardising children’s safety online. Section 81 of the Constitution protects children from “neglect or any abuse”. The reference to a child in need of care has been realised to be discriminatory as it excludes those children who need protection. It is a narrow terminology. The Bill therefore proposes the repeal of ‘child in need of care’ to simply ‘child in need’. The proposed phraseology should adequately cover all children in different circumstances.
Under the same section Mr. President, it is proposed that the child in need should incorporate the following categories:-
- Unaccompanied children;
- Child marriage and pregnancy;
- Sexually abused children
- children exposed to cruel circumstances and lastly
(e) an umbrella definition of cruelty to be provided without placing a limit to the circumstances constituting such cruelty.
The Bill also endeavours to promote the child’s right to life, concerned by cases of parents denying their child access to medical treatment. There is a section in the Act, criminalising child abuse through the denial of medical treatment. The Bill expands the responsibility of professionals who may suspect that a child is being abused. A duty is now placed on professional person, who becomes aware or suspects on reasonable grounds that a child is being abused, to report that person to a police officer or a probation officer. It takes a village to raise a child. Therefore, we believe everyone should have the responsibility to protect the child.
We understand that the international best practices provide that institutions that receive children must accommodate them in family type environment. In that light, we have a clause in the Bill, providing for the same. The Bill also provides for early intervention and family preservation programmes that may be provided either by the State or through private organisations. The adoption process provided in the Act, does not give the concerned children an opportunity to air their views. We have learnt that children also need to be heard and therefore the Bill has a clause providing for children who are to be adopted to be consulted depending on their age and maturity.
The current legal provisions stipulate circumstances which constitute neglect. Many a time, some parents or guardians simply ignore birth registration of a child until compelling circumstances like school arise. In spite of Government efforts to reach out via mobile registration units, most children remain unregistered. This also hampers our efforts to provide the relevant social services to the child. Therefore, this constitutional right to registration at birth must be adhered to. Section 81 of the Constitution guarantees a child’s right to a name and family name. This Bill, therefore, proposes addition to the existing circumstances which constitute child neglect by a parent or guardian to register a child’s birth. It also seeks to compile administrative measures for birth registration.
Juveniles that offend the law are often treated as if they are adults. The many differences and complexities of juvenile justice, require that a separate piece of legislation be enacted and administered by the relevant Ministry responsible for justice. This is in line with regional and best practices which ensure that we accord children their proper rights in the spirit of the UN Minimum Standards and Norms on Juvenile Justice, adopted by the General Assembly on 29th November, 1985. A separate criminal statute for juveniles will safeguard children who are in conflict with the law as they still need protection and proper rehabilitation.
The proposals of juvenile justice system will include crime prevention by interventions throughout the process with the aim of curbing the recurrence of offences. This will involve a variety of Government bodies, agencies, departments, organisations and institutions such as the police, prosecutors, lawyers, the judiciary, probation officers and detention and after care facilities. The Committee on the Rights of the Child encourages State parties to put into practice the Riyadh Guidelines found in the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency of 1990. In this regard, this Bill proposes enactment of child justice legislation to adequately safeguard rights of the child in conflict with, and as provided through international best practices and this Bill was before this august House and was passed and we are thankful to Hon. Senators for that.
Due to economic challenges, society has witnessed a sharp rise in the employment of children. This is usually done to supplement parental support, which is never enough. In line with Section 19, 3 (a) and (b) of the Constitution, it is required that the State should put in place measures which ensure that children are not obliged or permitted to perform work or provide services that are inappropriate for their age. This principle seeks to syncronise the minimum age for admission of employment in line with the Labour Act. The age at which a child can enter into employment to be set at 16 years for non-hazardous work. This is also in-sync with Section 81 (1) (e) of the Constitution which requires children to be protected from economic exploitation and child labour.
There has been an upsurge in child marriage which necessitate deterrent measures. Marriage of children perpetrated mostly by parents or close relatives has paralised the social sphere, testimony to the famous African Union Campaign against child marriage outcry, girls not fright. The practice can only be reduced by enacting stringent or no mercy laws with painfully lengthy custodial sentences and no option of a fine. This Bill proposes the insertion of a separate section on child marriage. It further seeks to criminalise child marriage. It also proposes consequential amendments to the Marriage Act and the Customary Marriages Act in line with the Constitution. This has been superseded already as we have included them in the Marriages Act.
The Bill expands the definition of earnings for purposes of child maintenance to provide for parents who may not be formally employed. They will be required to financially maintain their child from their earnings. We are confident that this Bill will usher the child in Zimbabwe into enjoying their best interest. With these words, I urge Hon. Senators to support and pass this Bill. I now move that the Bill be read a second time. I submit and I so thank you Mr. President.
HON. SEN. DR. PARIRENYATWA: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to also contribute to this debate. I would like to congratulate the Minister for bringing this Bill to us here. I must say that this is one of the most progressive Bills that has gone through Parliament and we want really to congratulate you because the whole world will say Zimbabwe has done well on children particularly. So any country that looks after its children is a country that is doing the right thing and I think that Minster, you are doing the right thing to address the issue of children in this Bill, but also you have changed the name of the Bill from the original. From the Child Welfare it was called Child Welfare Council, now this has changed to Child Welfare Protection Council and that is significant.
It is not just the welfare of children but it is now looking at protecting children, particularly the children who have got disabilities and other vulnerable children. I think that is very important. For example, it now removes the issue of an illegitimate child and that is also very important. In the past, there were children in this country described as illegitimate, literary meaning that they are illegal children and that is not progressive. I do not know now with the rise in divorce cases, you find divorce happening and then the mother becomes a divorcee and the father becomes a divorcee. Sometimes the mother becomes a small house and then children are produced there and they are supposed to be illegitimate especially if the mother is not married or the father is not married and that really is not right. Therefore, this Bill removes that because it was discriminatory. It also defines what a parent is. A parent is no longer just the biological parent, it is the guardian, whoever is looking after the children properly. So you can not get it more progressive than that.
This Bill will also give extra function of the council to provide for children to actually directly complain. They now have the right to actually articulate and raise complaints and this, I think again, gives them what I would say is really in the best interest of the child and this is what the United Nations and UNICEF as well is talking about. They are talking about what is the right of the child, what is in the best interest of the child and I think this Bill is providing that. It provides again the creation of protecting children from child abuse, particularly child abuse material which we are now seeing in our social media and in a lot of our television.
It also looks at those who want to recruit children into prostitution, which is child abuse. This Bill protects that and if it is done to the letter, it goes a long way to actually protect our children. More importantly for some of us, it actually talks about; if you deny a child access to medical treatment, then you are liable and this has been happening. Children have been dying in homes. Parents are hiding the graves. They tell the children because I am a particular type of person, I do not want you to go to medical care and you find diseases like measles are now high. Children are not being vaccinated.
I think this is a very progressive Bill, it actually says if you deny a child access to medical treatment, medical care, then you are liable and I think that it is very much in line with the Committee on the Rights of the Child of UN. I want to applaud the Minister for this Bill and I want to support this Bill whole heartedly. Thank you Mr. President.
HON. SEN. ZHOU: Thank you very much Mr. President Sir, for giving me the opportunity to say a few remarks concerning the Children’s Bill that has been brought by the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. I want to thank the Minister for the progressive Bill that he has brought. However, most of the things already have been said by the speaker before me, but I wanted to go back to the issue of categories of the children that have been mentioned by the Bill. There is no mention of children with disabilities. There may also be no mention of orphaned children and things like that.
To me that creates a bit of inclusivity challenges. The second republic is well known for being inclusive and we have seen that drive in practice and we think that there may be need for us to then look at the indicator and the description for the children that these people are being referred to.
Mr. President Sir, I come from a background where many people ask those parents with children with disabilities how many children they have and they will say I have four children but the fifth one is blind. So this is what we are going to come to if we leave this Bill like this where children with disabilities will be an afterthought. I strongly feel that the executive summary of the Bill is very good and I will support it but I will also want to support some inclusion as an indicator for this Bill so that at least the children that we are talking about, we are also talking about children with disabilities and also maybe orphaned children. Thank you.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Mr. President Sir. I want to thank the Hon. Senators for lending their support to the Bill. I thank Hon. Parirenyatwa for his comments and his emphasis that now this Bill looks at all children in the same light, not having others being called illegitimate and he spoke a lot about some of the issues that the Bill is trying to cover.
Hon. Sen. Zhou, thank you very much for your comments indicating that the Bill is very progressive. Your concern being that it does not cover children with disability. Actually, it does. The reason why is in my speech, I indicated that we are changing the definition to say a child in need of care or protection or both and under that definition, we then include children with disability. So if you look at the definition of a child now in need of care or protection or both, it is all inclusive. It includes all those children with physical or mental disability or otherwise. So, the whole purpose of this Bill is to take care of all the needs of children inclusive of those that might have any disability.
I agree with you that we are now coming up with a Bill that will cover all the facets that are required to ensure that we take care of the best interest of our children. Having said that Mr. President Sir, I now move that the Bill be read a second time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read a second time.
Committee Stage: With leave, forthwith.
COMMITTEE STAGE
CHILDRENS AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 12, 2021]
House in Committee.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON (HON. MOHADI): Order, before we get into the Bill, you find that those who have copies of the Bill, there is a correction of numbering from No. 10. You find that No. 10 was omitted and we have No. 11. So we will be going in that order, not following what is in the Bill because some of the numbers were omitted. Without much ado, we will go to our Bill now.
Clauses 1 to 20 put and agreed to.
Schedule put and agreed to.
Bill reported without amendments.
Third Reading: With leave, forthwith.
THIRD READING
CHILDREN’S AMENDEMENT BILL [H. B. 12, 2021]
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that the Bill be now read the third time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read the third time.
SECOND READING
LABOUR AMENDMENT BILL [H. B.14A, 2021]
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Mr. President. I stand to deliver my Second Reading Speech on the Labour Amendment Bill.
The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare has been seized with the process of reviewing labour laws in Zimbabwe since 2010 with the aim of aligning them with the Constitution of Zimbabwe and ratified International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions. The review seeks to promote the ease of doing business in the labour market through streamlining and promotion of timely conclusion of processes.
I will confidently say that the Labour Amendment Bill, is a product of extensive stakeholder consultations over a number of years and contains the main various provisions. I will not mention all clauses in the Bill but will take the House to the main provisions.
The current provisions in the Act suggest that forced labour may be permissible under certain enactments and the Bill seeks to clarify the position by providing an unambiguous description of what does not constitute forced labour in an attempt to provide clarity for effective prohibition of forced labour in compliance with Section 55 of the Constitution and Conventions 29 and 105 of the ILO.
I am happy to say that the Bill also provides for protection to employees against discrimination by entrenching the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. The Constitution, in Section 65 (6), provides that “women and men have the right to equal remuneration for equal work”. However, the current provisions in the Labour Act provide a restrictive conceptual understanding of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. This is also aligning with I.L.O Convention 100 on Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100).
We have a mandate to ensure that all gaps in the law are provided for through law reform. Our law did not provide for protection against violence and harassment at the workplace, including violence and harassment of a sexual based nature or gender-based nature and unfair labour practices. The Bill closes the gap by providing the protection.
We have noted with concern that employers in Zimbabwe are adopting a situation whereby they keep extending fixed contracts. This is not desirable in labour law and the Bill has a clause providing that a fixed term contract cannot be for a period that is less than 12 months, unless the employment is for seasonal or casual work or for the performance of a specific service.
The Bill also seeks to award employees protection regarding retrenchment packages. It provides for an employer’s obligation to pay retrenchment package to his or her employees and also ensures that employees are free to make representations to the Retrenchment Board where they allege that an employer has the capacity to pay a better retrenchment package than that offered.
I am happy to say that we have taken cognisance of the national duty that women undertake in child birth and have provided for a balance in the Bill, of their roles as mothers and as working women through an alignment of the Labour Act with Section 65 of the Constitution on maternity leave. Women employees will have the right to fully paid maternity leave for a period of at least three months. This amendment also removes the qualifying period, prescribed intervals for maternity and a maximum number of times for enjoying the right to maternity leave.
The Bill also brings clarity to the registration of trade unions. The Bill provides specific predetermined criteria to be considered by the registrar in considering registration and application of a trade union, streamline registration procedures, provide clear requirements and reasons for registration and deregistration.
The Bill also considers the positions given by various courts of law in interpreting section 51 of the Act in light of International Labour Organisations Conventions. The Bill is addressing various concerns raised and seeks to repeal section 51 on supervision of election of officers. This is to provide enjoyment of the right to freedom of association to enable unions to elect their leadership in accordance with their constitution without interference from administrative authorities.
I am pleased to mention that the Bill spells out the right in section 65 (4) of the Constitution, to secure just, equitable and satisfactory conditions to work through a system of collective bargaining established by law. The clause also obligates every worker and employer within that industry to be bound by the collective bargaining agreement.
Considering the Supreme Court Judgement of Isoquant vs Darikwa on the role of labour officers on conciliation proceedings, the Bill provides for expanded powers of labour officers to conciliate or refer to arbitration matters referred to him or her and to issue certificates of settlement which can be registered as civil judgements.
Clause 32 provides for the liability and sanction for workers’ committees and trade unions and employers’ organisations, federations of registered trade unions that organises, recommends, encourages, incites or engages in unlawful and prohibited collective job action.
Clause 33 repeals Section 111, which provided for cessation of collective job action. Having said this, I urge Hon. Senators to support this Bill which is intended to promote fair labour practices, give employees their rights as provided for in the supreme law of the land and maintain a good labour market. With that, I move that the Bill be now read a second time. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. KOMICHI: Thank you Mr. President for affording me this opportunity to add my voice to this Bill. I thank the Hon. Minister for the effort to amend this Bill. This is a long overdue Bill because workers have so many requests which were supposed to be addressed timeously. The nature of every employer is that they wish to exploit people or have them work for them for free. We have the history of slave trade that took place 401 years ago. They forcibly took over a million Africans to work for them. We also recall that costs that constitute profit or loss calculation, the biggest factor is labour that determines the margin of profit. So employers ensure that they reduce labour costs by all means. Sometimes, someone may not pay their domestic worker at home for two or three months. Employees earn peanuts although they are determined to work all the time and this is where we talk of the right to trade unionism or workers’ committee issues.
Most employers do not want strong trade unionism. You will realise that most of the workers’ representatives do not have adequate protection. Many employers always find loopholes to victmise them because they tend to conscientise their fellow employees, so they are subject to victimisation. It is Government’s duty to ensure that – according to this law, be protected securely. If you look at the statistics of victimized workers’ representatives, it is too high.
This law must deter employers and get to the extent where they will regard workers representatives as equal partners. Right now, the feeling by the employers is that these are our workers, although the law says they are supposed to be regarded as equal partners. That is according to the labour laws. If you go to any negotiation, whilst the workers’ representatives feel inferior, there is no equality. Like I said, employers want to ensure that they get maximum profits without spending anything on labour, so the employees now have a weapon that they can use. They can now down the tools until their demands are met, hence the process of getting to down tools must not have a lot of hindrances. I know that the concern is that this may disturb production but in my view, production must be disturbed until the demand of the workers are met. The right to strike must be very easy, employees must be given the right to strike if their employers do not agree. If we do not do that, it means we are reverting to slavery days.
One of the good things about this country that we are agreed is that as blacks we are independent and live freely. To me, it does not make sense that in an independent country, we hinder laws that ensure that the process of workers get to down tools are not hindered so that they can do it freely without anything that stops them. I think that is what we need to do.
The harmonisation of laws must be there. We should have federations of trade union congresses that covers private sector employees as well as civil servants. So what is stopping Government from harmonising the labour laws in this country? We should ensure that those laws are harmonised. That will give them strength to negotiate and that way, they will get benefits that will assist in the livelihoods of their families.
Right now, workers are quiet but they are suffering. Their salaries are worse than what they were three months ago yet they are quiet. It does not mean that they are happy but they are not given that opportunity to express themselves. They also hope for a better exchange rate and we should not implement laws that make even their plight worse. What used to be done by Ian Douglas Smith must not be implemented by our fellow native brothers.
If employees are well catered for, it means production will also increase. They will work hard because they are motivated by the prospect of a good salary. Right now, there are a lot of factors that need to be considered. So any hanging aspect must be addressed to the fullest because when the employees elect us from their rural constituencies, they expect us to make laws that favour them. So, if they speak and we do not include their needs in the laws, they will question why they even elected us. That will be a bad thing for us.
If I am not mistaken, I think the gender issue is addressed because women are catered for when they need maternity leave benefits. It is natural. Taking care of children or babies must not disturb sources of income to the employee. These days we have new employers, especially the Chinese. If this law is implemented, it must be applied strongly to the Chinese because if we do not do it, we will realise that there will be a lot of labour abuse because sometimes they avoid paying workers the expected minimum wages. So this law must apply to every employer.
Harmonisation of the law will also ensure that even Government should not be found wanting. Government must pay professionals what they earn even in the private sector. By not harmonising, Government wants to take advantage of that situation and segregate professionals. We do not want such segregation to take place in our motherland. That is not good. If you employ, pay what is due.
I hereby request that the Minister regards all my contributions to the fullest in order to adopt that. I am sure the whole nation will be happy and to a great extent, that is a good sign of unity. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. GIJIMA: I thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to debate on this amendment Bill brought to this House by the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. We are expected to align our labour laws to the Constitution of this country according to this Bill.
From what I heard from the outline of the Bill, it is supposed to ensure equal rights for the employees and secondly, the issue of collective bargaining which is a problematic issue especially for Government employees. All the disharmony must be brought to an end during the collective bargaining process. People must be able to negotiate during that process. That will ensure that as a country, we will have peace and as a country, we will not have more factors that contribute to that. Mr. President, I am glad that such a Bill has been brought to this House. I support it and I want it to go forward. I thank you.
HON. SEN. PHUGENI: Thank you Mr. President for the opportunity to add my two-cent words to the debate. I want to thank the Hon. Minister for bringing this amendment to the Bill. We must agree Mr. President, that workers in Zimbabwe are workers regardless of whether they are in the public or private sector. If we carry on in this trajectory of classifying our workers as public sector workers and private sector workers, we run the risk of running a two tier country where we have class A and class B of our people and this Parliament will then be seized with creating laws for a certain class of people which goes against the letter and spirit of the Constitution that we are all equal, that there is no difference based on gender, ethnicity or even class in society. I hope that the Minister will take this to heart, the issue of harmonisation because it is not fair that as a country, we pass a law that says certain workers cannot strike. If they withdraw their labour because they have not been rewarded adequately or the conditions are not befitting, we are taking away their rights.
They have a right to give labour, withdraw it on the basis that they are adequately paid for services rendered. I think the issue of harmonisation has been supported that let us harmonise so that workers are workers. The issue of fair pay – it has already been said that if people are not adequately paid, production goes down and one of the issues that has contributed to this run-away inflation is that our production as a country is low and so my submission is that if we do not seriously look at the issue of wages, we are going to constantly have to deal with this low production in this country.
Tied to this issue of wages and salaries is the currency in which we pay our workers. I think it is irresponsibility of the highest degree to bury our heads in the sand and say in this country we have a currency - we are going to stick to that currency and we are going to pay you with that currency. When it comes to expenditure, everyone else sells their goods and services in USD. If it is not in USD, they denominate and they say it will cost USD so much and they tell you the equivalent.
When it comes to workers, we pay them in the local currency and we also say we have paid equivalent of so much USD using the official rate, when in reality their expenditure is not in the official rate but at a parallel rate. It becomes very important that we face reality and do good to our people. It has already been said this country is going to elections right now and we will have to face our people and tell them if their voice was heard through us in this august House, that it is not fair and it is not right that we continue to pay our people in a currency that we do not use and do not want but continue to believe that they are fairly paid.
I must admit that I did not get the advance copy of the Bill and so I will raise this issue because we know that after the Zuva Judgement, employers by and large, have made sure that they avoid the retrenchment or the disciplinary processes when they are dismissing workers. So they simply give you a three months’ notice and off you go. I do not think a caring country, in the face of such evil, can just look the other way. That law is unjust, unfair and against the Constitution.
I hope that the Minister has taken cognizance of that and has made sure that it is rectified. We at least go back to where we were always before that Zuva Judgement where if a worker is to be dismissed, they must be taken through due process, not this issue that I am going to give you three months’ notice and you are gone. You would not like it done to you and you would not like it done to your children or to any one of your family. So why do we want to think that Zimbabweans must feel represented in this House when we ignore such issues?
Before I sit down Mr. President, we must encourage collective bargaining because there is strength in numbers. Even as a country fighting against huge western powers. We have gone around the region and asked SADC and the AU to put our issues always in these multinational bodies. We must also allow our workers unionisation so that there is collective bargaining so that their voice is much stronger. The Constitution envisages a situation where the law is always on the side of the weaker person. The law, if it is a just law, must not be seen to be siding with the employer because the employer is too powerful against a weak employee. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHINAKE: Thank you Mr. President. I want to thank the Minister who has brought such a good Bill. A lot has already been said by the previous speakers but I do have a few additions. When we talk about labour issues, we are talking about human beings regardless of their colour, whether black or white. These companies that we have, the first asset of a company is a human being. If an employer were to buy machinery worth millions without the human being to start the machine, it will not work. This person who presses the button to ensure that the machine functions is being ill treated or he is not being recognised.
As we speak, we are talking of people that work in the industries, in the towns where we are as well as the farms where we do our agriculture. We have these human beings, but they have different unions. People are complaining about the laws that we are passing in this Parliament because what we debate in this august House is published in newspapers and it is broadcast from radios but no one is making a follow up to find out if anything has been done about this worker over the good work that they will have done. The majority of cases, there are a lot of silent things that are occurring in the industrial areas. The majority of cases the bosses of workers committees are being chased away from work for representing the workers. No-one is doing anything about it and in the end, they go home and stay there. The remaining workers would be afraid to represent the interests of the workers because they fear that they would be dismissed.
This is a major issue that is happening in the industrial areas but no-one is resolving that issue that the leaders of the workers committees are being dismissed from work. We do not see the solution, where their cases are properly handled. At the time when we had the Land Reform Programme, all of us were happy that the land was being returned to us the original owners but we did not see the benefit that the farm workers got. Up until now, they are still suffering. I do not know in this regard whether there is a law that is catering for these people to see how best the issues can be resolved. They were not compensated when they left. They did not even get the land that was taken from the white farmers. This is something that is quite sad. As leaders, they ask us and put us to task as to what had become of their issue on where they are going to live and when are they going to be compensated. There are still those outstanding issues.
For a country to develop, workers should be properly looked after. If you were to go home and find your house in order, it is because you have found your worker in a happy mood. It is my plea that the laws that we pass in this House, there should be a follow up on what will have become of the Act and see whether these laws are being implemented.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President for according me the opportunity to add a few words on this Labour Bill brought by the Hon. Minister. First and foremost, I would like to thank our Government for the good work that they are doing to ensure that the workers are adequately remunerated.
If I were to look back upon our return from the war of liberation, a worker would get rations. They would sign for these rations which would consist of a bag of mealie meal, kapenta and other things. The conditions of workers were gradually improved by our Government. His Excellency the President always talks about production because if we relate well with workers, sit down and come to an agreement and iron out differences that you may have, there is production. Before a worker comes to work, they would want to take a bath, take some food and adequately provide for their families. So collective bargaining is very important Mr. President because if you are an employer, you should know what you are going to get from your enterprise. Upon realising what you are getting from the enterprise, you do not need to be greedy. You share the cake with your workers because they are the ones who are assisting you as they work for you. That would be your starting point
The spirit that was there in the past that if one is a worker an employer would just do as he pleases, that law was scraped upon our country realising its Independence. I would like to say that the Minister did well. There is an old adage that Rome was not built in a day. This is what is now happening. We are sharpening and developing our laws up until where we get to a stage where we know everything is going well for us.
Furthermore, there is talk of some non-monetary perks that can be given to workers depending on the agreement between the employer and employee. If such arrangement were to be put in place, it would be very useful to the peace that will forever prevail in the country. A hungry village is not inhibitable. The stomach has to be full in order for peace to prevail. Once the country has peace prevailing like what His Excellency always talks about, there is harmony. There is no peace when people are hungry.
I just want to say that the Minister did well by bringing such a Bill. Let us put our heads together and see to it that the relationship between the employer and the employee is harmonious so that everyone will stay peacefully because they will be collaborating. That will make everyone happy and there will be no accusations and counter accusation between the employer and employee. We should sit down and put our heads together and come up with modalities so that you do good for your company and someone also does the same for their employers.
In the Civil Service, the workers are getting non-monetary remuneration. Workers are importing vehicles duty free. Such schemes give confidence to the workers and by so doing, it will translate into good work that will lead to the development of our country. I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Mr. President. I would like to thank the Hon. Senators for the debate. The encouraging thing is, all Senators commended the Bill and the need to ensure that our workers are protected, starting with Hon. Sen. Komichi who was very passionate that the rights of workers must be protected and I agree with him.
The reason why we have labour laws is because in a contract of employment, one part is more powerful than the other, like he alluded to. Therefore, our labour laws try to harmonise and ensure that the weaker part is protected and thus the basis for even bringing this. The whole range of amendments are trying to ensure that we harmonise and we give our employees the rights that they are accorded to in the Constitution. I agree with him in that regard.
My Bill is bringing certain amendments. It is not looking at all the provisions as regards the labour law. Hon. Sen. Komichi was also of the view that workers must be given the same rights. Generally, that is the case but there are certain workers, even though it is not part of the Bill, I am obliged to respond to that. There are certain workers that we deem to be within an essential service and because of the nature of their job, you cannot group them together. They are supposed to be accorded certain special circumstances. Also, as workers in critical sectors, they have to acknowledge that by the very nature of the work that they are doing, they cannot be equated to others in terms of the rights that must accrue to them. Hence, I do not believe that we can then generally say let us just have a blanket law that is applicable to everyone because we have workers that are within the essential service.
Hon. Sen. Phugeni and Hon. Sen. Gijima are also supporting the Bill. Generally, Hon. Sen. Phugeni was worried about wages. It is not part of the Bill. The Bill is laying a foundation upon which employees and employers must engage and remunerate each other but the issues that he was speaking are not part of the Bill. He was of the view that we must ensure that we do not stick to our currency. It is not again part of the discussion in this. However, I believe that the issue of the currency that workers are paid in, is a negotiation between the two parties. Our Government is giving an allowance in USD but we cannot then say let us abandon our currency. We need to ensure that measures are put. No country will develop using another country’s currency and that we must be very clear all of us. Even though we may clamour that let us pay 100% but no country – we need to ensure that everything is normalised and we can pay in our currency a salary that will ensure that our workers are comfortable. It is something that is negotiated between two parties and again, it is not part of the Bill.
He spoke about the Zuva Judgement, I think we have removed that part that employers can just give you notice and then you are discharged. In fact, what most employers were now doing, instead of going through the processes of disciplinary hearings and all that, they will simply write you a letter and say we are giving you notice that after three months we are terminating your employment. It was legal. They were now avoiding the processes of disciplinary hearing and they could just dispose of workers as and when they wanted. We have removed that provision that came about because of the Zuva Judgement and we believe that employers can negotiate if they are under distress. If they want to downsize, they pay retrenchment package as opposed to doing that.
Hon. Sen. Chinake was worried about farm workers, again it is not part of the Bill. The Bill is not looking at what happened in the past but we are trying to take corrective action that will ensure we harmonise the relationship between employees and employers.
I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Tongogara for supporting the Bill and raising issues that are pertinent that used to happen before. In fact, when we got our independence, we harmonised labour laws and ensured that workers are paid equal pay for equal work. We harmised so that there is no discrimination. During the liberation struggle, like she alluded to, a black employee was paid less money when they were doing the same work with his white counterpart. We have abolished that.
With that, I want to thank the Hon. Senators for supporting the Bill and raising some pertinent issues that we need to have conversation around as we improve our laws. The law-making process is not something that is ending. We always refine our laws and make sure that we improve them for the better governance of our people. Having said that, I move that the Bill be now read a second time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read the second time.
Committee Stage: With leave, forthwith.
COMMITTEE STAGE
LABOUR AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 14, 2021]
House in Committee.
Clauses 1 to 37 put and agreed to.
House resumed.
Bill reported without amendments.
Third Reading: With leave, forthwith.
THIRD READING
LABOUR AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 14, 2021]
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I now move that the Bill be now read the third time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read the third time.
SECOND READING
CRIMINAL LAW (CODIFICATION AND REFORM) AMENDMENT BILL [H.B.15A, 2022]
Eighth Order read: Second Reading: Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Amendment Bill (H.B. 15A, 2022).
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Mr. President, it is an honour to bring before you this Bill to amend the Criminal Law Code in certain important aspects. I speak mainly to the new crime proposed to be created and I quote ‘willful injuring the sovereignty or national interest of Zimbabwe’, set forth in Clause 2 of the Bill and mention other amendments.
The proposed new Section 22(a) is a measure of national protection to criminalise behaviour on the part of our citizens and other residents that would, in more developed countries, be rightly regarded as unpatriotic and even treasonous.
The offence is divided in two parts and the first part deals with misconduct of a very grave nature, and consists of two separate sub-offences partly referred elsewhere in the Code in the shape of partaking in any meeting with the object of inviting military or armed intervention in Zimbabwe by a foreign Government or any of its agents, proxies or entities.
The second is partaking in any meeting with the objective of subverting, upsetting, overthrowing or overturning the constitutional Government of Zimbabwe in contravention of Section 22 of the Code.
Madam President, I have heard people say, why is there a need to legislate for these crimes if they are already mentioned in the Code. In reply, let me point out that good public policy may sometimes require us to identify particular behaviours that from our experience, need to be singled out for special mention because the danger of their occurrence is very real.
There is nothing wrong in practice or in principle with framing an indictment in which the same criminal act is referenced generically and specifically in different parts of the Code. For instance, a person who meets an agent of a foreign country in order to influence that country to militarily attack us will be charged with violation of Section 20 as read with Section 22 (a) of the Code.
The second part of Section 22 (a) criminalises encouraging sanctions or trade boycotts against our country for which the penalty is less severe than for the sub-offences in the earlier part. Even so, it is hoped that the sanctions for this offence are deterrent enough to discourage the kind of behaviour it describes.
Let me now address the general purpose and motivation behind this measure. Is it not clear to us as Africans what we are dealing with here? The story of interference by outsiders in our continent, let alone our country is a very sorry one indeed. We are weak politically, therefore, we are weak economically. History is our witness that our political fragmentation, our weak and divided allegiances to our own countries, people, and to our continent makes us an easy prey for colonial and neo-colonial exploitation. We are yet to recover from that legacy today for all our talk of political independence because the neo-colonial powers use smarter and friendly guises to advance their interest at the expense of our own in some ways; we make that legacy worse because of our blindness to their tricks.
Mr. President, applying the old imperialists principle of ‘divide and rule’, they look to see where they can drive wedges between us. The easier for them to interfere in our politics and plunder our resources, they become strong and wealthy at the expense of our weaknesses and of our wealth of human and material endowments.
I do not wish to discourage anyone, inside and outside our country who in good faith and hopefully in a constructive spirit, criticizes us where we fall short, whether in the sphere of human rights or otherwise. We question the moral standing of certain State actors and their agents who, while pleading respect of human rights as an excuse to interfere in our internal affairs, would view it as an act of hostility by us or any one of our fellow countries in the developing world if we were to urge sanctions against or finance political initiatives by political opponents of their government in power or help litigants to pass criminal or civil suits against their governments in their own or in foreign or international courts over matters that are of domestic concern to them only and have nothing to do with interstate relations.
Mr. President, will they not accuse us of interference in their own internal affairs? Of course, they would and they would not hesitate to punish us in some way for doing so.
Hon Senators, let us not be naïve, this is not a world where the theoretical equality of sovereign states has become a reality. In fact, far from it, neither are we powerless to do something about protecting our own interest and national sovereignty. We did not become political independent to tolerate what would in more developed countries be rightly regarded as treasonous and unpatriotic behaviour. Who is our patron or our keeper now that we are free? We recognize as higher than ourselves only God and those institutions such as the African Union and the United Nations to which we are freely and collectively agreed to seed some of our sovereignty as a people. It is not for any individual or some groups of individuals among us to choose for us some country or another what they think should be an arbiter of what is right or wrong as if that country is flawless and can give us instructions on these matters.
To reiterate, our constitutional order affords aggrieved citizens to vent their grievances against the State. This is a measure to encourage respect for our Constitution by our citizens and everyone who lawfully choose to live amongst us.
I will now briefly refer to the other amendments to the Criminal Law Code sought to be made by this Bill. The amendment of Section 65 of the code seeks to enact harsher penalties for the crime of rape in response to an epidemic of rape in our country and in the region. Other countries in the SADC facing a similar problem have responded by importing mandatory imprisonment. We propose to follow their lead.
Where rape is committed in aggravating circumstances, the new penalty is imprisonment for life or imprisonment for at least 15 years. Where it is shown that the crime was committed without aggravating circumstances, the penalty is a period of not less than five years.
I must, in this connection, single out a special mention on the role of women’s party list delegation in the National Assembly in bringing the problem of violence against women to the forefront of our national policy making.
The amendment of Section 155 of the code excludes industrial herb from the scope of what is defined as dangerous as defined by the Criminal Law Code. This measure is needed to strengthen the implementation of Statutory Instrument 62 of 2018 which made it legal to farm industrial herb and export it. It was still however a crime to be in possession of it because of the broad definition of cannabis, hence this amendment.
Finally, the Bill seeks to amend Section 174 of the code relating to the crime of criminal abuse of office. In its present expression, Section 174 (1) is too broad in that public officers were exposed to prosecution for honest mistakes made during the course of their duties. The amendment now requires proof of the additional element of knowledge of acting abusively on the part of the public official in question.
I would like to urge Hon Senators to support and pass this important Bill and with leave of the House, I now move that the Bill be read a second time. I thank you.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: Thank you Mr. President for affording me a chance to add my voice to this Bill which is very important especially for us women who were being abused right, left and center whilst the penalty of offenders was very minimal. Let me say that I heard the Minister saying that it was debated especially on gender-based violence where the perpetrators sometimes would go scot free without anything happening to them. They are arrested today and they leave that place smiling and having nothing done to them. After that you do not hear how it ended.
I am so pleased to hear that the sentence is not going to be less than five years, especially for rape. A lot of our girl child are being raped wherever they go because they are vulnerable either at school or at work. I want to urge Government to put into use what has been put in that Bill so that there should be supervision of this Bill to see to it that it is really being put into use. Without much ado, I so support this Bill. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Hon. President for affording me the opportunity to add my voice to this Bill that was brought by the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. This Bill is good for us because if we were to look at what was happening in this country, you will realise that foreigners will just come here and do as they please, knowing that there will be no repercussions. They would do things to destabilise us as Zimbabwean people.
They do that well aware that Zimbabwe is a third world country, and there is nothing we can do to retaliate. This is a good law - we are aware of our colonisers’ behaviour. They come in sheep’s skin when in fact they are wolves. They will mislead us that they will do such and such things but their intentions would be to destabilise our country. They will allege that there are no human rights in Zimbabwe and as a result, they want to ensure that human rights are respected. As a result of the so-called human rights that are being abused, they will come and appeal to us as if we are small children that can be encouraged through bribery of sweets. Zimbabwe is a sovereign country. It has its own resources and everything, hence it should not be disturbed by foreigners.
I just want to thank the Minister for the penalties that have been imposed. Five years would be less. They should spend life in prison so that they would know that Zimbabwe has its own owners. We do not go to their countries. We are always in our country, so they should leave us and our Zimbabwe alone and not want to use their rules of abuse of human rights here. We have been well with our chiefs and our traditional laws that were governing us well as Zimbabwean people. This law has come at the right time. People should be arrested. Those that offend against us should face the law. Everything that we do belongs to us. So, no-one should come here and tell us what to do. We have a proven record of how we have lived. This law is going to give us respect that we deserve as a country and as a people. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. KOMICHI: Thank you Mr. President for affording me this opportunity. I also want to thank the Minister for this Bill. I see as if, in an attempt to try and want to correct anomalies, we might bring things that will hurt the citizens of the country. For one to come up with such an offence, we need to interrogate and say why would one be talking to strangers because in English, they say it takes two to tango. What it means is that, that person and the State have equal responsibilities to ensure that there is no disagreement, injury to the country; the sanctions that were imposed to this country is a bad thing but what caused the imposition of such sanctions? The people of Zimbabwe and the State are to blame or were responsible because the State should not expect that if one is assaulted they should keep quiet.
A person by nature, once assaulted, they will express pain. When pain is being expressed, it has no boundary. You cannot then cry out loudly to a certain extend. You can do anything because you have been hurt. There is someone who told me that if you assault your wife in your home, she will cry out loudly; if neighbours hear the cry, when they come to help your wife, they will not knock at your door. They will budge in to serve the life of your wife. The person who is going to rescue your wife will be embraced by your wife. It does not mean that they are in love but your wife is only seeking protection because as a husband or as a wife, you would have wronged your spouse.
There are things that we know, whether it is a black, white or light skinned person, human rights issues have always been there. Even in our culture, we always have human rights. We have always had fair and just manner of dealing with cases. A chief would be described as being cruel, or humane or a good chief, depending on how he handles issues. There are such qualities of which people appreciate how issues are dealt with. If those that are in power are now dispensing justice in a different manner from the one that is expected by the citizens, then people will cry out loud. Therefore, leaders should know how to dispense justice.
Once every five years we go for elections. I do not believe that we would ululate if people were to assault each other; if homesteads were to be burnt and people are going to be assaulted. We will not ululate for that. This law that we should not fight against each other, did not come from the whites. It is part and parcel of African culture. We live in harmony as Africans. Even in our communities, we value and respect lives of human beings. We respect peace and all those rights are within our cultures as black people. We should not do what is contrary to what we are talking about here because that is when we give those that you blame for taking measures against our country, the whites take advantage of what will be happening between us. Let us make sure that when we go for an election – because our elections are a centre of conflict, we conduct these elections freely and fairly and that they are credible. We must treat each other in the manner that you would also want to be treated.
Let us take the forthcoming plebiscites in August as an example, that no-one is going to assault anyone. No-one is going to insult anyone as we go into this election. We would want to see if those that talk about these laws that are infringed upon us will do it.
This law seeks to remove the rights to freedom of speech that is enshrined in our Constitution as well as our freedom of association. We are in a global village, we have exchange relationships. This law is oppressive. The right of expression is important to a person that if you think of something and you do not say it out, you can do anything. The things that we are trying to control or suppress; you end up doing that.
A few days ago, there was a case that emerged from the courts. A person wrote on twitter that people should go and demonstrate against corruption. It was an expression of opinion but the courts said he was in the wrong and he was sentenced to three years in prison. How then are the people going to express themselves, more so if you come up with this law, the people will be smiling at you but they would be afraid. They would not be free.
The problem however, is what causes people to get to this point of asking for interference or supervision from foreigners. It is because we are using their systems. The systems that they put in place. They are the ones that came up with elections and set up their standards. So they want to check their standards. The solution lies in that we should come up with our own Afrocentric way of doing things. Let us develop our local systems which have nothing to do with them like what China did. So once every 10 years when there is a change of guards, no one interferes.
With ours, there is interference because we are using their standards, and their systems. As Africans and Zimbabweans, we also encourage that we sit down and put our heads together so that we attend to these issues. The system that we have when we go for elections is the scotched-earth policy. If I lose out, then you will see what will happen to you, but yet there are other means that we can use to come up with that are Afrocentric. This system of no win-win solution should not be encouraged at all. This is the system that causes evil.
Let us come out with things that are suitable for Africa. No one will want sanctions. No one can survive when we have sanctions. Let us have laws that are friendly, laws that do not infringe on us, laws that will enable people that are going to elections to be free and not laws that induce fear into the people. That is my request.
This is not necessary 40 years down the line after the war of liberation. We should be at a stage where we should be happy, but we are now enemies, children of one father, one person. We may have diverse political persuasions but we are one as Zimbabweans and Zimbabwe is the only country that we have. Let us sit down and collectively come up with ways to ensure that this country succeeds or develops.
It is hurting us today. Are we, as blacks, failing to sit down and come up with solutions? This law that we want to put in place shows that we have failed. It shows that enmity amongst us has grown to greater heights because the ones that you are talking about feel threatened and once this person has been threatened, what are they supposed to say? They will say we are about to die here. We no longer have freedom of speech and freedom of association. Whatever it is that we will be trying to solve will not be solved. The State should be responsible.
That is my clarion call so that the citizens also become responsible. If the State is irresponsible, the citizens are also going to be irresponsible. Human nature by itself tends to feel oppressed and the nature of the human being will always react one way or the other. So we need to be careful and the State together with citizens should be responsible. I thank you.
HON. SEN. PHUGENI: Thank you Mr. President for the opportunity to debate these amendments brought forth by the Hon. Minister. I want to thank him for bringing them forward.
I must say at the onset, part of this Bill, drugs are a scourge in our communities Mr. President. The problems they create are beyond expression. Some crimes are committed as a result of intoxication by drugs. We have an uncontrollable rate of teenage pregnancies that takes place because of drugs and some of these come with STIs which last forever. We know that we have not found a cure for HIV and we are struggling as a country trying to reach our goals but we are not able to because the drugs create all these problems that I have already said. They rob the youth of their future and destroys their lives. I have to commend you Minister for acting strongly to try and confront this challenge and get rid of drugs in our communities.
I also have to commend you on the issue of rape. It is said that you judge a nation by how it treats its women and children or its vulnerable. It is painful Mr. President, that in our societies where we live, we have abuse directed mostly at women and sadly so now even children. I know of a case in Bulawayo which was brought to my attention. A child was raped and the child identified the person. Told the mother that she was raped and taken to a doctor. The doctor confirmed that but because our court systems are so slow, by the time the case went to court, the prosecutor was compromised. There was no strong case put and the person walked free and the child is there having to deal with this for the rest of their life.
I do not know what can be done Minister. I do not claim to have all the solutions but can something be done specifically to look at these prosecutors who prosecute rape cases, mostly that involve children because to demand a child to perform at a level where a mature person can be able especially on presentation of evidence, I do not know, but I live with that pain of this parent. We had a child raped, phoned right away and said Hon. Sen., here is the problem, directed her on what to do, but after the case was done, it was already compromised. The sentences, as I looked in the Bill, suggest that if there are aggravating circumstances, the minimum sentence must be 15 years or life imprisonment. That is commendable. It might deter others and the minimum sentence of five years even if there are no aggravating circumstances. I am proud today to call you my Hon. Minister on this one.
I am however, not proud Hon. Minister on the Patriotic Bill. I call it unpatriotic Bill. This is because we did go through this yesterday and I do not want to debate what we did yesterday, but there is a danger here of penalising political speech. My colleague here has just taken us to an instance where a very known figure in this country tweeted ‘let us go and protest’, and he has been taken to prison for three years, for a tweet that says let us go and protest.
Part of the clauses in the Bill said even if it is proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the speech or the contribution of the accused person did not cause sanctions in this country, it says that is not defence enough or that does not constitute a defence. What type of a law is that? What type of a law that shifts the burden of proof to an accused person? The burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt must always rest with the accuser. If it is proven beyond reasonable doubt that whatever I say did not bring sanctions to anyone or the country, how can that not be defence?
This Bill is not sensible. I would think that we want to stop foreigners interfering in a manner that punishes the country and its developmental goals. After you presented this Bill in the National Assembly, the House of Commons had already discussed the Bill and they had already challenged their foreign secretary to do something and not only with regards to Zimbabwe but to put pressure to our neighbouring states to do something about Zimbabwe.
I am saying this Bill is having a complete opposite of what we want to achieve. We are trying to be part of the Commonwealth, we are trying to be part of the International Community of Nations but this is not the way to go about it. In case there is any doubt, I am against sanctions. I think they do not work because the people who are sanctioned seem to live their lives largely. If you go out here and look, there is only one party which has got cars leading up to this election. The Opposition does not have cars and largely because there are sanctions in this country.
The people who are sanctioned are able to go on with their lives, accessing medical health outside the country and can be involved in economic activities. The ones who are supposedly calling for the sanctions are the ones who are sanctioned. No doubt, I do not support it. I have travelled around embassies telling them that these sanctions take them away because if anything now, they are an excuse for the ruling elite not to perform.
This Bill is no way to go about it – we will not remove sanctions by this Bill. If anything, we are making our lives difficult. Of course, I have already said that the ruling elite are not affected by the sanctions, but if this action brings more sanctions to us, brings isolation, the very people who are unfairly carrying the blunt of sanctions now are going to be worse off. I thank you Mr. President.
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: I want to thank the Hon. Minister who has brought this Bill. I am happy about Clause 3 that deals with rape cases. The issue of rape cases has been bothering the people. Relatives have been raping these girls. Immediate members of the family like brothers in law, cousins and so forth, are the ones that are the major culprits. They would leave their own children but go and rape their relatives’ own children because they found out that the law was very relaxed in that regard.
I thank the Hon. Minister for coming up with a sentence of 15 years. All those that hear us will think twice about committing this offence because of this impeding legislation. I want to thank you Hon. Minister because 15 years is going to make us very happy because it will protect our children and they will reach maturity. As a mother of only girls, I used to fear every time my girl child would go to school, whether they were going to be safe. So, because of this law, our children are now safe.
There is a ward that we have where we had a child raped. She was working very well, in good health and she would perform her duties every day. Upon her child being wrapped, the mother lost health and she could no longer walk and it hurt her badly because she was distressed by this. It distresses people to have their children raped. You have done very well by coming with this legislation.
Drug abuse has now become a menace. Our children do not want to work and they do not want to carry out heavy duties. They are reluctant to be send on errands but they want to relax using drugs. This law will also give the police officers work because there is now a law. Let me thank you Hon. Minister for what you have done. A lot has been said and we want a country with its laws. Each and every country has its own laws and it is a culture.
It is not surprising that Zimbabwe has come up with its own laws to protect its country. Laws should be used to protect a country. The issue of foreigners, we do not want them. The SADC and AU are sufficient for us and we do not want these foreigners, leave them out. Thank you for the work that you have done Hon. Minister.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Mr. President. I want to thank the Hon. Senators for the debate. I am very pleased with the debate and the general support. Hon. Sen. Mohadi supporting the Bill in terms of the provisions of mandatory sentencing, the same with Hon. Sen. Tongogara and Hon. Sen. Komichi mentions part of it and Hon. Sen. Phugeni mentioned it. The Bill does not speak to the issues of drug abuse per se, but it is speaking about trying to ensure that since we now have a law that allows farmers to cultivate industrial hemp, it contains a certain percentage of cannabis which may be found in the ordinary cannabis that is smoked.
What the law is trying to do is to say industrial hemp with a certain percentage, below a certain percentage of cannabis, you can be found with it because you are cultivating it. Other laws, we have a ministerial committee that is looking at our drug laws so that we see how we can revamp to speak to issues that Hon Senators were speaking about in terms of drug abuse but it is not part of this law.
Having said that, again Hon. Sen. Komichi spoke about Clause 2 which pertains willful injury to the sovereignty of our nation. He said that he is disturbed by trying to come up with measures to convince the people. If you beat your wife people will budge into your house to try and ensure that the wife will not be assaulted. No-one is going to be hurt by these measures. The issue that is going to be included into our Constitution are crimes against the State when one goes out of the country – I am glad that all of you are saying that sanctions are evil; you go and see leaders of certain countries. If you meet your friend in a bar and say what is happening in Zimbabwe is not good, there is nothing wrong with that but to go there and meet leaders of certain countries and say that there should be measures not to trade with our country so that those that are in power are removed or there is regime change. If one asks for trade boycott from leaders of countries outside Zimbabwe, you should have mens rea, your mind should know that what I am doing is wrong. The State should prove that where you were there were discussions that there be sanctions against the country, and you were supportive. Once the prosecutors prove that then you are guilty. This is now what it says.
We are doing it so that sanctions that are imposed do not work. The sanctions are hurting the person in the communal lands more than those in Parliament. It may kill innocent people. You are not different from a murderer. We have spruced up this law so that if you were to go and sit down with leaders of certain countries that there be trade boycotts against Zimbabwe, it is us who suffer. Once the prosecutor proves beyond doubt that this is what the accused person did, it is an offence. It is not about the issue of a husband and wife fighting and you run and interfere.
We have adopted a lot of things that are foreign to an extent that they give us barometers to say if you are doing elections, do 1, 2, 3 and 4. As Africans I agree. It is a conversation that we should have. Why should we have imposed standards and systems of governance? We should have our own and, in that regard, I agree that perhaps he is spot-on on that one.
On the issue of this Bill, there is nothing to do with issues of somebody tweeting, being arrested and convicted. It is a separate statute and it is something that I cannot discuss in here because the circumstances of what happened, I do not know. This Bill is totally different from that. We are looking at somebody who goes out there in a meeting with a foreign government and their proxies and discuss trade boycott. We are not talking about the issues whereby our laws stifle freedom of speech here in Zimbabwe. It is a debate for another day to say how we liberalise our speech. I believe that our laws are adequate in that regard.
I want to say that the debate in the House of Commons was totally misplaced. In fact, I am actually puzzled that they called themselves Lords and Ladies in that House and they debate provisions that are not in the Bill – that if you say something bad about the President, you will be sent to jail. There is no reference to the President in this Bill. I was actually puzzled when I saw the clip of that debate. How ignorant and sometimes stupid that those individuals in that House can be to the extent of debating and agreeing on something that is not even there when you can actually get this Bill online. Look at it, no reference whatsoever to the President and they say that if you say something about the President there is no reference to that. I was actually ashamed that they could go that far.
By and large, I want to thank the Hon Senators for the robust debate that was enriching. I want to thank Hon. Sen. Phugeni for heaping some praises on me, I gladly receive for bringing the Bill on mandatory sentencing. I move that the Bill be now read a second time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read a second time.
Committee Stage: With leave, forthwith.
COMMITTEE STAGE
CRIMINAL LAW (CODIFICATION AND REFORM) AMENDMENT BILL [H. B.15A, 2022]
House in Committee.
Clauses 1 to 5 put and agreed to.
House resumed.
Bill reported without amendments.
Third Reading: With leave, forthwith.
THIRD READING
CRIMINAL LAW (CODIFICATION AND REFORM) AMENDMENT BILL [H.B.15A, 2022]
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE. LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that the Bill be now read a third time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read the third time.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE
BILL RECEIVED FROM THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I have received the Electoral Amendment Bill [H. B. 11A, 2022] from the National Assembly. Parliament staff are going to transmit this document on your gadgets tonight so that you may go through it.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI), the Senate adjourned at Twenty Minutes to Six o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 6th June, 2023
The Senate met at Half –past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE
BILLS RECEIVED FROM THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: I would like to inform the House that I have received the following Bills from the National Assembly: The Children’s Amendment Bill, H. B. 12. 2021 and The Labour Amendment Bill, H. B. 14, 2021.
MOTION
RATIFICATION OF THE BI-LATERAL AIR SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH OTHER STATE PARTIES
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI) on behalf of THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Mr. President Sir. I rise to note that:
WHEREAS Section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that any Convention, Treaty or Agreements acceded to, concluded or executed by and under the authority of the President with other foreign States or Governments or international organisations shall be subject to approval by Parliament.
WHEREAS the Republic of Zimbabwe, through the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development concluded bilateral air service agreements with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Mozambique, Jordan, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Gabon, Rwanda, Seychelles, Ethiopia and Iraq;
AND WHEREAS to add into force of this agreement, the SADC should respect State parties notifying each other through diplomatic channels that their respective internal legal requirements could add into force of the agreements have been fulfilled;
WHEREAS the Republic of Zimbabwe is desirous to ratifying the said agreements, now therefore, in terms of Section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, this House resolves that the aforesaid bilateral air trade agreements are hereby approved for ratification. Thank you.
*HON. SEN. KOMICHI: Thank you Hon. President for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this motion which was brought by the Hon. Minister. I would like to thank you Hon. Minister for the good work that you have done. It is true that Zimbabwe is a country which used to be very busy. I remember when I was young and going to the airport, we were sitting on the stairs seeing the aeroplanes, it was interesting to see them because our country had a lot of friends that were using our airports as Zimbabwe. Then came a time when we missed seeing aeroplanes that would come from outside the country using our airspace. It took a lot of time and it even hurt us, which meant that Zimbabwe did not have friends that would come and do business in Zimbabwe. The country did not have foreign visitors and tourists who would visit our tourist attractions such as Victoria Falls. This went on for quite a long time.
The relationship that is being built is that we now have air traffic at our airport. The numbers have also increased and by connection, it means that the country has friends. We hope that out of this tourism, our economy will grow for the benefit of the Zimbabweans. It is disheartening that our economy has gone down. Anything that is there to improve the economy of the country should be accepted with both hands. There is nothing wrong that this august House approves this ratification that is being asked for by the Minister of Transport so as to enhance the livelihoods of Zimbabweans and the economic development. I am grateful as I put my weight behind this motion. I thank you Mr. President.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA: I am in support that Zimbabwe ratifies this agreement through this Parliament because this is in line with the operations of airlines. We have a major issue in the region in that for one to travel to other countries, you do not find airlines that fly direct to that country. Most of the time you fly from Harare to Johannesburg and fly past Zimbabwean airspace to North Africa. At times when you are going to Guinea which is in West Africa, you fly from Harare to Paris which is outside Africa so that you will be able to come back to Africa to be able to connect to Guinea. It means the journey is going to be expensive in terms of airfares and a lot of time is going to be wasted on travelling.
We support this agreement because it is going to be cheaper and less time is going to be used. You will no longer wait for 6 to 7 hours for a connecting flight. I add my voice to this motion. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. SIPANI-HUNGWE: I rise to add my voice to the debate on the ratification of this agreement. I once travelled with Senator Parirenyatwa and we had to fly via South Africa although we could have used a direct route which is nearby. We observe that it is a good thing that the Minister has done well by bringing in this ratification. It was long overdue and it should not take time to pass. I agree with you that this agreement be ratified. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President for according me this opportunity to support the motion brought by the Hon. Minister. A lot of things have been said by the previous Senators but the point I want to make is that I am very grateful that the Bill has come at an opportune time. Our airport is almost ready. It is now a word class airport and it competes favourably with other international airports. We are now able as Zimbabwe to handle the huge traffic flow of airlines as is the case with other developed countries.
I strongly support the ratification of this agreement which will be beneficial to Zimbabwe as we grow from strength to strength and improve our economy. I thank you.
THE HON DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I just want to remind Hon Senators that this is not a Bill but an agreement.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I want to thank you Mr. President for the correction and Hon Senators for the support. It is true, indeed we want to attract several airlines to Zimbabwe and this is part of the work that our Minister of Transport is doing to ensure that we are connected. I agree with Hon. Senators that this is a welcome development which we are integrating with other countries. I move that this House approves the ratification of this bilateral air service agreement. I so move.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE SENATE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that Order of the Day, Number two be stood over until Order of the Day, Number three has been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
ELECTRICITY AMENDMENT BILL [ H. B. 7, 2022]
Third Order read: Second Reading: Electricity Amendment Bill [H.B. 7, 2022].
THE MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. SODA): Thank you Mr. President. I rise to give a statement on the Second Reading of the Electricity Amendment Bill. The purpose of the Bill is to impose stiffer penalties for vandalism of equipment that is used in the generation of transmission and distribution of electricity. There are acts of abstraction and sometimes divergence of electricity that unscrupulous customers from time to time engage themselves. So the purpose is to ensure that such activities do not happen, especially by way imposing stiffer penalties. This is a very small Bill. You might also have noticed that in the past, there were some loopholes where one is found in possession of some equipment, especially the cables that are used for transmission of electricity but the vandals would be exonerated because we did not have a clause that would speak, especially on transportation of equipment that is used by ZESA in their activities.
This Bill speaks on imposing stiffer penalties and also to create alignment with the Copper Act, which this House sometime also considered to impose stiffer penalties, especially when one is found in possession and also transporting copper materials. There was no such an alignment and this is what I put forward to this House that the alignment be considered. I move that the Bill be now read a second time.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President for giving me the opportunity. I would like to thank the Hon. Minister for bringing such a noble Bill because this country’s development was derailed due to vandalism. People were without electricity most of the times because electrical equipment was either stolen or vandalised. There was no law in place which states that what will happen if one is found in possession of electric cables. With this Bill in place, I think everything will fall into place. Farmers will now produce high yields because there will be no electricity outages caused by vandalism of electrical equipment. I support this Bill and it was long overdue Minister. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. KOMICHI: Thank you Mr. President for affording me the opportunity to add my voice to this Bill on the protection of ZESA equipment from vandalism. Vandalism deprives the country of development to its economy. The non-availability of electricity is equal to the lack of blood in the human body. Without blood, a human being cannot fully function, the same happens when there is a power outage. In fact, electricity is so important to our communities such that just after load shedding when electricity is now available, people ululate and make noise to signify that electricity is now available in their homes.
I am very pleased that the Hon. Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs has come up with stiffer sentences for offenders and these sentences will act as a deterrent to like-minded offenders. The development of a modern society cannot be divorced from power provision and as such, the Minister is on the right path in safeguarding ZESA Holdings equipment for power generation and distribution. With those few words, I thank you.
*HON. SEN. PHUGENI: Thank you Mr. President Sir, for giving me this opportunity. This issue of vandalism and theft of electrical supply equipment is troubling. It is impossible for us to exclude the use of electricity in our daily lives. In the area I reside in, there are always power cuts and hence network is affected. At times we miss out on critical information because we do not receive messages on time. We might receive messages after seven days. That is when the electricity would have been reconnected. This is due to the fact that even the ICT gadgets run out of power and we do not have anywhere to recharge them. If you go to hospitals, you will find out that most of the machinery and equipment which are needed to support lives in intensive care need electricity for them to function. Most of the times these machines will not be functioning due to cable theft and transformer vandalism.
I support this Bill because it comes at a critical time when we need to punish those who vandalise and steal ZESA equipment. If we do not have electricity, it is impossible for us to utilise ICT technology. I do not know if the Minister has taken this into consideration that the people that are responsible for vandalising electricity are a syndicate from ZESA Holdings. We hear that a lot of them have been arrested from as far as Beitbridge but when they get to South Africa, we just hear that it is a catch and release game.
I do not know Minister, are we going to go back to the first instance of catch and release or we are going to implement this law and people are going to be arrested, but you will find out that the problem keeps on going on because our laws are not being enforced. It is just a catch and release game. People are just being told that if you are caught stealing you are going to be arrested, but they are not told of the consequences that follow the arrest.
We thank the Ministry for this net metering programme that if you are able to generate electricity from solar or other sources of energy, you can also supply our national grid so that this reverses your meter. This is actually helpful because you are no longer wasting a lot of money on batteries and buying panels and invertors and now the grid is functioning as the battery, but due to this issue which is troublesome of the stealing and vandalism of electricity equipment, we spend about two weeks without electricity then this issue of net metering becomes useless because of this vandalism.
I hope the Minister will look into this deeply in relation with the law enforcement agencies so that these culprits that are found vandalising and stealing electric equipment, it is not just that the foot prints are left there, but they are actually arrested and tried before the courts. This is the only way that we can end this problem. We are now heading to the winter season. We have got winter crops which are very important. Now we do not have wheat and other food supplies from Ukraine as we used to do. It is really important that our farmers have assurance that we have enough electricity to support their winter cropping because if the farmers are not assured that, when they put their inputs into winter farming and they do not have enough electricity, it is actually going to be a loss on their side.
It is really important that after this Bill has been passed, as they say the proof of a pudding is in the eating, we want to see the people that vandalise electrical equipment and other resources that relate to the generation of electricity are arrested. Thank you for this opportunity that you have given me.
^^HON. SEN. MOHADHI: Thank you Mr. President. I stand in support of this Bill that there is need for people that vandalise electrical equipment which are transformers and electrical cables to be sentenced or given heavy penalties. I agree with this a thousand times that this is supposed to be implemented as soon as possible.
In my concurrence, I look at this in this Bill that even if the President engages the amnesty of pardoning prisoners, those who are caught or penalised in relation to crimes to do with the vandalism of electricity, are not supposed to benefit any privileges that relate to amnesty. This has caused a lot of problems for the country especially the fact that our children do not have electricity at schools because of greedy people that are always looking into the need of money but they do not have the concern of looking into the future of the children and the economy of the nation at large. They do not even mind about what the children are going to put in their stomach. All they mind about is their pockets only that if they steal these cables and transformers, they will be able to sell these beyond the rivers, in countries like South Africa and they put the money in their pockets while children and the entire nation are suffering due to these actions.
I also stand up supporting this Bill to pass and to be held with due diligence that no one who is caught on the wrong side of the law pertaining to these issues should be let go. They should be penalised and any means or chances that there are bribes or any corrupt activities that might lead to these accused persons being released from prison or being exonerated from such crimes are supposed to be cut. We do not need any connections and we do not need the courts to have any leniency to such offenders. With these few words, I say thank you Mr. President Sir.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I did not understand much. All I got from you was that you are supporting this Bill 100%.
HON. SEN. NKOMO: Thank you Mr. President for this opportunity that you are giving me to add a few words in supporting this Bill from the Minister of Energy and Power Development which has been presented before this House.
Mr. President, I support this Bill very much because what is currently taking place in this country is very painful. It is even more painful than the sanctions that we are facing in this country. The Government of Zimbabwe, working through the Ministry of Energy and Power Development, has tried a lot of ways to put our country on a grand stand and at a better position.
Most of the energy that we use might be for lighting and cooking. We also saw that there is a lot of desertification that is taking place. A lot of trees are being cut. In other areas, the people do not even have a forest where they can go and fetch firewood from. We are now looking into REA so that when the rural areas are being electrified, they are going to get a lot of assistance in terms of fuel. There will not be a lot of need for firewood but they will be using electricity.
The issue of the vandalism of electrical is very painful. This has been a rampant problem. I will say this in support of the other words said by my fellow colleagues in this House. Some of the people were found electrocuted by these cables in an attempt to steal those cables. My question is have we failed to identify the areas where these cables are being taken to. If these cables are being carried outside the country, this person is a saboteur. We need to make a follow up even if it means joining our borders, we need to work with our fellow foreign governments where these cables are being taken to. If these cables are being stolen and they are sold within the country, we need to make follow-ups and use State organs and law enforcement agents to see where these cables are being taken to.
The Government is busy trying by all means to develop the country. As we are aware, we are in the midst of developing our country. We are now struggling even the Hon. Senators here; we are attending the Senate proceedings physically. We are facing challenges due to shortage of network. We can only be able to have a network if the infrastructure is in order, but if the infrastructure is destroyed, we cannot be able to connect to the Senate proceedings.
I am encouraging that this Bill that has been brought by the Minister of Energy, we need to support it fully and have a sound law that really punishes people that vandalise electrical equipment. This law also protects even the thieves and hooligans that vandalise this equipment because they will not be able to go and steal these cables because some of them are electrocuted whilst in an attempt to steal these cables. With these few words, I say thank you Hon. President of the Senate.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA: Thank you Mr. President. I came a bit late and I had not gotten the gist of the matter. I want to say to the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, when something has been troublesome and we are told that if something has troubled us and we say that there is no longer a fine being paid for such an offence, we have got lawyers also in sight. This is what is being said that anyone who is found stealing electricity or diverting power from electricity or to transport electrical equipment, we were no longer seeing that there is no fine. We just want a person to be punished and sent to jail. With these laws that we have made earlier that I find someone have stolen even a cow or wild animals or even rapists, I just want to know how successful have these measures that we have implemented on the previous laws have been implement or we need other extra measures?
There are some people that no longer feel the pain of the prison even though they are arrested. We also want to talk about the workers. Other people that are responsible for stealing these cables are ZESA employees. These are the ones who have the knowhow hence they go and take advantage of the infrastructure and they are doing it even in broad daylight. When they take it in broad daylight, everyone assumes that ZESA workers are taking the transformer back to the office. There should be stiff penalties for ZESA workers who are found on the wrong side of the law. Thank you.
+HON. SEN. D. M. NDLOVU: Thank you President of the Senate for giving me this opportunity. I thank the Minister who brought this Bill. It is of concern to the people that those people who vandalise or use electricity illegally be punished. First of all, what I am going to say is that usually the learned and even the laymen say that there is nothing called 100%, but pertaining to this law, I am saying that the proposed Bill should be supported 100%. I am saying this in relation with the issue that electricity especially to us the women, I will give an example with reference to the previous speaker who mentioned that someone is at the hospital at the theatre and he/she is waiting for an operation maybe for delivering a child, and then electricity is cut off. The time that is going to be taken for the reconnection either to solar or to another optional power supply, that is on standby after electricity has been cut off, it will take time.
If it is a woman who is delivering, a lot would have happened and the mother’s life will be at risk even the child’s life would be at risk. They are prone to die after such a mishap. I wish that the proposed laws that these people be arrested when electrical equipment is vandalised or even the oil that is being used in these transformers. I support the Hon. Sen. who said that the major culprits are ZESA workers because these people are the ones that know that after stealing this oil, what is its purpose and what are its uses.
We need to make sure that Zimbabweans assist each other because no one can do something on his own and succeed. We have ministers who have other subordinates and we need to assist each other and make sure that we follow up on what is happening.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Order! We are all adults and are very much mature people. I do not think that there is anyone who wishes to be ejected from the Chamber. I advised you before to put your phones on silence or switch them off. We do not want to disrupt the business of the House.
+HON. SEN. D. M. NDLOVU: I was saying that we need to assist each because there is no-one who can lift a heavy burden alone. I can give an example that when women are going to fetch firewood they go in groups. Someone may be able to pick up firewood as quickly as possible before others can do so. After fetching this firewood she looks for other women to help her carry this firewood, hence through this way it is true that we need each other’s assistance so that we can be able to go through any process in life. We need to make sure that we convey this message to our family members and other colleagues so that we give them information that if you are caught on the wrong side of the law pertaining to any vandalism of ZESA property you are going to face the full wrath of the law.
In my neighbourhood, a lot of cables have been stolen and it shows that these people are experts who know that if they cut the cables they are not going to be electrocuted. We spend around three months before we are connected to the electricity grid and this now promotes theft because when it is dark these thieves gain more confidence because they act like witches who do not want to be seen. Through darkness they know that no-one can identify them. This is not possible if there is electricity because you can be able to identify the person who would have intruded into your place of residence.
Electricity is a very important component in our lives. Electricity is now equivalent to water because there is no more firewood in the forests. Our forests are dwindling rapidly due to deforestation. Electricity is now assisting us in our lives. For us to have water, we need electricity to pump water. Our industries all depend on electricity because without enough power in our industries, it leads to loss of employment on the part of workers.
This Bill was long overdue because there is no industry that can function without electricity. There is no-one who can survive in hospitals without electricity.
THE HON DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Please kindly stick to one language.
+HON. SEN. D. M. NDLOVU: Thank you Mr. President, I am learning Shona as a third language. I wish this Bill was brought three years back because we are no longer using electricity for cooking. We suffer a lot because we cannot afford the luxury of bathing warm water. There is no-one who is against this Bill. I thank you for this Bill that you have brought to this House.
*HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: Thank you Mr. President for affording me this opportunity to support the Bill brought by the Minister of Energy and Power Development which is a very important Bill. A lot of things have already been mentioned but I just want to say a few words that electricity is life. The life of everyone depends on electricity. Development of the country is dependent upon electricity. Without electricity, a lot of things are destroyed.
We once had an electricity line from Dabuka to Harare but all the cables were stolen by thieves. We just wonder where the electricity providers were when these acts of vandalism were happening. We are happy for this motion because it is going to secure or safeguard equipment. The people that can steal or vandalise cables and equipment are qualified workers. The infrastructure on electricity has a danger warning sign that is written in Ndebele, Shona and English to say that electricity is dangerous. A transformer cannot be simply taken away by an ordinary man or woman in the streets. This is done by experts. Even the time that they do it, they do it when a certain line has been switched off.
Amateurs have lost their lives in an attempt to steal transformers or tamper with electricity cables. Transformers are stolen at the height of winter wheat growing period and farmers are suffering. I appeal to you Hon. Minister to come with ways to ensure that each transformer is protected and that should anyone try and tamper with it, it must report back to the center. In Harare, there was a time when equipment would inform or report back that an accident has occurred at a certain place.
I strongly support that Bill, that you have come up with by ensuring that stiffer penalties are brought against the culprits as has been said by others. With those few words, I commend the Bill. I thank you.
*HON SEN. CHIMBUDZI: Thank you Mr. President for granting me the opportunity to add a few words. I express my gratitude to the Minister of Energy and Power Development for the Bill before the Senate. A lot of the pros for this Bill have already been enunciated by Senators who spoke before me. The Minister mentioned two things principally that are in line with this Bill, that is the imposition of stiffer sentences. What exactly are you referring to as stiffer penalties, what is the range? We are very happy that you have brought the Bill.
Issues to do with electricity are a thorn in the flesh of many people. A lot of people say that there is no rule of law; people do as they please. We are grateful Hon. Minister that we now have a Bill. We want our Government to be respected. We always use the Bible - people should be arrested and sent to prison. I would want to seek clarity from the Hon. Ministers as to how many years he has in mind when he says the penalty should be stiffer. I strongly support this Bill. I thank you.
*THE MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. SODA): Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to respond to what was raised by Hon. Senators, especially for supporting this Bill. Many Senators were in support of the Bill and they feel it was long overdue to come to this House. I would like to thank all those who contributed towards this Bill. Senator Tongogara reiterated that the Bill is good because it will protect the equipment used by ZESA to generate, transmit and distribute electricity. I would like to thank her for the support.
Hon. Sen. Komichi explained the goodness of this Bill which is before this Senate. He said that availability of electricity in the country will enable development to move forward. He gave an example of a person’s body, that it cannot function without blood. Hence a country cannot also function properly without electricity. This is true, because there are a lot of things which cannot function properly if there is no electricity.
Hon. Sen. Komichi also explained that when there was load shedding - when electricity comes back, people will be very happy. This shows that electricity cannot be divorced from today’s people. Therefore, if we see people who vandalise electricity equipment, it is the same as those who kill. They are also overloading the Government because they end up buying all that equipment which is a drawback instead of us going forward. If it is a transformer, the public will be looking to Government for it to be replaced. The money which was supposed to be used to extend electricity to other places without electricity is instead used to buy that transformer. This seems like sabotage to the country by such people.
He further said that we would want to work together to come up with such stiffer penalty so that we move forward. This issue is very important because it really shows that it is sabotage which is done by some citizens who do not want development in this country. If we work hand in glove in support of development, I think we will achieve our goal.
Some of the things that were raised, it comes to the point that the official languages which are used here in Parliament should have devices to interpret them simultaneously so that we all hear what is being interpreted. Those who expressed themselves in a language I do not understand should not be offended. I just assume that you were also in support of the Bill. There is one Hon. Senator who supported the Bill but was worried that some people are arrested but they are suddenly released. This was caused by gaps in our legislation. People will use that gap as scapegoat for them to be released. This is why this Bill is being amended so that we close those gaps.
If you remember, a person could be arrested while transporting electricity equipment but because the law was silent on that issue, that even the transported should be arrested and be sentenced the same way as the one who vandalised, the transporter was left out. However, this Bill closed that gap, now the one who vandalise and the transporter are both sentenced the same way.
There is also the issue of net-metering which is supposed to be done by ZESA Holdings supported by Government so that those who use solar electricity, for it to be easier for one to generate electricity using solar, they can choose not to buy batteries to store power. So net metering facility is when people install their solar panels, they send to grid. When they want to use their electricity, they will take it from the grid. The burden of buying batteries will be removed by this. This is happening but the Hon. Senator went on to say when there is vandalism the equipment would not be there, so even those using solar will be affected. All this was in support of the Bill that those who vandalise should be heavily penalised so that electricity equipment is protected.
Our economy is affected by lack of electricity in many ways. There is wheat farming, as we speak, Zimbabwe is one of the countries which is lauded to have grown enough wheat for its people and has no need to import. With the problems happening in Ukraine and Russia, if we did not have enough wheat, it was going to be difficult for this country. Now, we have managed to produce enough wheat for the nation. We will not be affected by the instability in Ukraine and Russia but then there are some people that then commit acts of vandalism once the winter wheat is still in the field. That tends to have problems and it hinders the development of the country. Taking for instance a person that is in the intensive care unit then someone steals equipment and there will not be electricity to your relative who is in hospital and your relative them passes on; it will then affect you and you will see that this Bill is very important and this vandalism being committed is just as good as killing,
Hon. Sen. Mohadi also supported this particular Bill and in her opinion, she said that when people are being granted Presidential pardon, those that commit acts of vandalism against power generation and power distribution equipment should not benefit from presidential pardon. All that points to fact that people should be given stiffer sentences and that stiffer sentences should act as deterrents.
The issue of agriculture being sustained by the provision of electricity, school children are also being assisted in utilising modern technology. This is because of the provision of electricity and it shows how important electricity is to our country and that people should not destroy or vandalise power generation, power creating and power distribution infrastructure.
Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira supported that there be stiffer sentences. He posed a question that in the past, there has been evidence to show the reduction in the number of those that commit rape, stock theft and such other offences. I may not have the statistics to give to what extent has stiffer penalties lessened the commission of these offences, but the stiffer the penalty, the more deterrent it would be to the offender and the more reason one would refrain from committing an offence. Hence our clarion call that we have stiffer penalties as opposed to being sentenced to a commission of a fine because someone might have sold transformers before and would be in a position now to pay a fine, but once we scrape off the option of a fine and imprisonment is called for, then that will act as a deterrent and offenders will shy away from committing offences.
ZESA employees that are suspected to be the ones that are committing these vandalism acts as transformers are stolen and other equipment is being vandalised – your school of thought is on all fours with the people who were consulted. It is contained in the report and they were advocating that should ZESA officials be found to have committed these acts of vandalism, they should be given stiffer sentences, but when laws are being crafted, they should not discriminate for or against a particular group of people. The law should be universal and the punishment should be universal. That discrimination may not be called for although this is a good idea that they had come up with.
Hon. Sen. Chirongoma also supported and said this Bill was long overdue. The Senator also touched on the issue of workers from ZESA and also inquired into what other ways could be used to ensure that vandalism is curtailed. Let me say that apart from coming up with stiffer sentences through the passage of this Bill, a lot of things are also being done by ZESA in order to protect the equipment. They now have drones. The drones are sent to areas where vandalism has occurred. They are able to take images as soon as a report is received so as to aid those that will be investigating in unearthing evidence. Cameras are also used but as people that benefit from the proper upkeep of ZESA equipment it is our duty, all of us, to safeguard Government equipment that is in our areas. Look at the loss that would occur to a farmer when a transformer has been stolen, in that there cannot be any immediate replacement of a transformer and he has several thousands of hectares of wheat under irrigation. They will run a loss. I further urge us all to ensure that we have people that look after transformers because it would be cheaper to have a guard stationed at a transformer rather than to lose your wheat crop because of non-provision of power due to vandalism.
Hon. Sen. Chimbudzi also inquired about the stiffness of the sentences. We are talking about the years that a person can be sentenced or incarcerated in prison without the option of a fine. A person with money may commit an offence well knowing that should they be fined, they would easily be able to pay it but if they are going to be incarcerated, that will act as a deterrence for him.
I now move that the Bill be now read a second time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read a second time.
Committee Stage: With leave, forthwith.
COMMITTEE STAGE
ELECTRICITY AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 7, 2022]
House in Committee.
Clauses 1 to 3 put and agreed to.
House resumed.
Bill reported without amendments.
Third reading: With leave, forthwith.
THIRD READING
ELECTRICITY AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 7, 2022]
THE MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER
DEVELOPMENT (HON. SODA): I move that the Bill be now read the third time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read the third time.
SECOND READING
PRISONS AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES BILL [H. B. 6A, 2022]
Second Order read: Second reading: Prisons and Correctional Services Bill [H. B. 6A, 2022].
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Allow me Mr. President, to present my Second Reading speech for the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service Bill. This Bill seeks to repeal the Prisons Act and enact a new legislative framework. The recommendation to repeal and enact the new Prisons Act was borne out of the realisation that the current legislation is inadequate and out of sync with the current international norms and standards relating to prisons administration.
This Bill seeks to align the existing Prisons Act with the Constitution of Zimbabwe 2013. The Constitution of Zimbabwe created, in its Part 5 of Chapter 11, the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS). The Constitution elevated the status of this institution to be a constitutional entity with a broadened mandate. The broadening of the scope of the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service’s mandate has necessitated the review of the governing Act to ensure that the legislation is in sync with the constitutional provisions.
The increased scope of the role of the ZPCS now includes an express provision on rehabilitation and correctional services which was neither categorically provided for in the previous Constitution nor in the Act of Parliament.
The proposed new Act, therefore, seeks to modernise the prisons legislation with a view to ensuring that it meets the international norms and standards regarding prisons administration including the way prisoners should be treated. This includes focusing more on restorative justice through rehabilitation rather than incarceration of offenders.
The proposed legislation will also ensure that the prison system caters for the needs of the vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, juvenile offenders as well as persons with disabilities and other special categories in society that have special needs. The current system lacks a supporting legislative framework to ensure that these values are entrenched within the prisons service.
The Bill seeks to broaden the scope of the parole system. Under the current legislations, parole is very limited in scope as it only applies to that category of prisoners who are serving extended sentences. The proposed legislation seeks to provide for the eligibility of every prisoner to apply for parole regardless of the nature of sentences they are serving. This would mean that all categories of prisoners would be eligible to be considered for parole at some point whilst serving their sentences.
The current legislation does not provide re-integration plans for prisoners after serving their prison terms and this generally affects their smooth integration back into their communities thereby increasing chances of recidivism.
The proposed legislation seeks to promote community involvement in Prisons and Correctional Services in order to ensure that prisoners will not face difficulties and hostilities in being accepted back into their communities and within their families.
The proposed legislation will also provide for the establishment of correctional community centres throughout the country which essentially will be open prisons. These will be used for providing the prisoners with the necessary life skills through training and rehabilitation as well as ensuring their re-integration back into society. These centres will also ensure the decongestions of prisons as certain prisoners would be released from standard prisons to reside in such community centres. They will serve the purpose of easing the transition of inmates from incarceration life to community life.
The new law will extensively provide for health care services for inmates by guiding principles on health care of inmates. This is in compliance with Section 48 as read with Section 50 of the Constitution on the right to life and rights of arrested or detained persons. The proposed legislation goes on further to extend an inmate’s right to consult with a medical practitioner of their choice at their own expense.
The Constitution states that every person has a right to legal representation. Section 50 of the Constitution spells out that any person who is arrested must be permitted, without delay, to access a private lawyer. In tandem with this Constitutional provision, the proposed law affords inmates access to their lawyers before and during their trials.
Further to that, the new law provides for a paralegal system in prisons and institutions, in order to assist inmates who cannot afford legal fees. Unconvicted prisoners have a constitutional right to be tried within a reasonable period of time. As a way to ease prison congestion and avoid lengthy remands, the new legislation proposes that a list of unconvicted prisoners be submitted to the Registrar of the High Court regularly, giving details as to when they were admitted to prison.
I therefore urge Hon. Senators to support and pass this Bill. I so submit and move that the Bill be read a second time.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I would like to start by applauding the Hon Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs for doing a good job to ensure that the Prison Act is in alignment with the Constitution. You are aware that the Constitution is the supreme law of the country and once the Acts are not aligned with the Constitution, there will be challenges with the proper administration of justice.
I want to express my gratitude to the Minister. This Bill came at the right time. It is difficult when people are in prison and even if they were incarcerated and have completed serving their sentences, when they go back to the community, they will be stigmatised as prisoners and will not be well received. He mentioned that the prisoners acquire some skills so that when they are released from prison, they will be able to fend for themselves. They can be self-employed as they put their acquired skills into use.
Mr. President, you know that legal fees are expensive and you may not get good legal advice and may be convicted. I am glad that an offender is going to have a legal practitioner assigned to him and the legal fees will be paid by the State. That shows that our country is now developing. It shows that our country still respects the rights of an accused person and that they are still human despite the fact that they are arrested and may be incarcerated. This will put our prisoners in a better state as they are treated in a humane fashion. I thank the Minister for bringing this Bill. Thank you, Mr. President.
HON. SEN. PHUGENI: Thank you Mr. President for the opportunity to say a word or two on this matter, which the Minister is bringing especially with regards to parole. It is being brought down even to those sentenced to six months and below. I know that our legal system is built in such a way that if you think you did not get justice at the lower court you can always go higher. But that is not always possible because sometimes it is the issue of money and not being able to get the best lawyer available. At times the whole court system takes a lot of time for matters to be resolved. That time can weigh you down and really bring you down. As a result, some people find themselves incarcerated not because they committed the crime but some people are incarcerated for crimes which in comparison to other people really, they should not be in prison. So, the opportunity to ask for parole regardless of the time that you are sentenced is welcome now that most of our folks will be able to take advantage of this.
The heart of the Bill, I think the Minister is trying to solve the issue of overcrowded prisons. Some of the ways you can deal with this is, if you have the capacity to put metals that can be tracked on people’s ankles for those awaiting trial. If we are filling our prisons with people that are awaiting trial yet our Constitution says everyone is innocent until proven guilty by a court of law, we are really taking away the right of presumed innocence until due process has taken place and a competent court has found the person guilty. So, I welcome this initiative Minister but I will go further and say, let us do our best to ensure that people who are awaiting trial, unless there are compelling reasons that one is a danger to society they are not incarcerated.
As I sit down, I think the beneficiaries of this initiative of not incarcerating people who have not been convicted will mostly be us politicians, especially from the opposition. We have seen in most cases where we just differ. If I differ with the Minister, then he might just throw me in and I stay there for a year. It is happening right now and I am in there, I have not been convicted. The processes are still on while I am stuck there in prison. I come out after a year and now there are elections. I lose out to get my name and I do not participate. So many of my rights are violated. Minister, I am moved by this initiative - I think it will go a long way. Consider us, we are also Zimbabweans. Give us a way and allow us to differ politically but do not throw us in. Yes, you can take us to court and let the due processes play themselves out but there should not be laws that are designed for political individuals who happen to be in the opposition. I thank you Mr. President.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA: Thank you Mr. President of the Senate. The Bill that the Minister brings before this august House that intends to deal with the welfare of prisoners, I have gone through it and am very grateful for it. It is a voluminous Bill and it is dealing with the arrest of a pregnant woman. This is a sad story. We are black people and the tragedy is that we did not have prisons as black people until colonization. In our justice system, we never had prisons and no-one could be arrested. We had other ways that we would use. For the reason that we are now in a modernised state, we were then told that the prison in London was said to be equal to a prison in Salisbury. That was a mistake. When we attained our independence in 1980 as black people, we took it hook line and sinker. A pregnant woman is very important in our African culture. They might commit certain offences because of their condition of being pregnant and then you incarcerate them.
Pregnant women should not be incarcerated. Let us look for means and ways that will save them from being incarcerated in prison. Let us keep them in an open prison so that their mental health state will not be the same as the one that is in Chikurubi. A child who is on the mother’s back is also being welcomed to Chikurubi because the mother has committed an offence. This Bill is being fast tracked. We should have been given an opportunity to come up with positions so that those with children should not be incarcerated. Why should a pregnant woman be incarcerated? We should look for other sentences. They should automatically qualify for community service. In fact, it should not be community service. It should be read as open correctional prisons. Such people should not be candidates for open prisons such as Khami, Whawha, Mutimurefu and other prisons.
I have also observed that they may get home leave after four years. It is a good idea if that can be done. However, when they go there for the last time, there is need for re-integration with the community. That is a problematic area because there is stigmatization on those that would have been released from prison. Even if they were to mix with others, people run away from them and the community will shun them. Let us look for experts to look into this so that they can be re-integrated into the community.
We have metropolitan cities and they have their own way of doing things. In the communal lands, we have a way of doing things. You will not talk of communities without community leaders. Community leaders are important. Anything that refers to the community should also make reference to the community leaders. We have village heads, headmen, chiefs and councillors as well as church leaders. There was need for a committee to be set up led by a traditional leader and the church to lead the issue of reintegration of convicted prisoners as they are released and re-integrated with the community.
They may be sentenced to community service at a school but it only serves the schools that are nearby. If it is community service, it should also involve the leadership of the community. If something is for the community and the community is leaderless, it will not go down well. I have observed that there is a commission that deals with the correctional services. The majority of these people and commissioners should be people that would understand. The commission of such prisoners should have churches and traditional leadership as part and parcel of it. It should be prescribed that these be members of the commission.
Lastly, we are grateful that you are thinking of improving the issue of welfare of prisoners. Incarceration is not the end of life. One may reform in prison and after leaving prison they become good preachers, they are converting many of these people and they will go to heaven. I thank you.
HON. SEN. J. HUNGWE: Thank you Mr. President Sir. I still cannot stand for long but I want to contribute on what is being discussed here. What I think is we should concentrate on matters of this nature and when you are talking about this issue, it is a reformative aspect that should be directed to the mind of the people than the subject. I am suggesting that it is good to bring matters of this nature to our discussion but I think we must discuss this in the sense of the fact that we have seen wrong things being done before and today, we are wiser that we should now opt to say what can be done before such things happen.
I think what is important is that we must direct our reformation to the mind of those who implement. We want to have the correctness of saying we are dealing with people who also think like us, but who need further help to know that they are dealing with human beings. I have been in this Parliament for a very long time. When I met this clerk seated here, it was in 1986 when I set in this Parliament to make laws. Do not just accept that just because I have been here for a long time and you take what I say here to hold water, no. I also need to be educated.
Hon. President, it is a difficult time, we can go to heaven and be sent back again because of the hell we have been seeing on earth. Let us try to make good laws. My point is please assist us to make the good laws for the people. This is the point I want to make and I do not want to go further than that because there are others who would want to contribute. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: Thank you Mr. President for affording me this opportunity. First and foremost, I would want to express my gratitude for the Bill brought by our Hon. Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs that deals with the Prison and Correctional Services and the welfare of prisoners. The majority of the things that I wanted to say have been spoken about and this has shown that the country is slowly but surely amending some of these things but there is one issue that has been left behind.
I was wondering if we could tackle it. A woman who is arrested and incarcerated in prison for a long time and they have a two-year-old child, they just provide food and clothes for the mother and they do nothing about the baby. They forget about the baby but the baby should have food and clothes and their welfare in prison should be budgeted for. As the child grows up, he or she should also interact with others. Children of today are very much clever and what they see on television makes them very smart.
It is as if we are now incarcerating the child instead of just incarcerating the mother. If it were possible, such children whose mothers have committed an offence, if they have no one that they can leave their baby with, then the State should intervene because people would refuse to have the child in their custody whilst the mother is being incarcerated. Something should be done to redress this anomaly as regards innocent children that are now being incarcerated as a result of their mothers having committed an offence. We know of creches and pre-schools where they spend their time playing with other children. This is the issue that I want addressed without wasting much of your time. The mother is the one that committed the offence. How best can the children’s welfare be looked into? Can a law not be crafted specifically for such children? I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Mr. President and I want to thank Hon. Senators for the debate. Senators were largely in support of the Bill starting with Hon Tongogara, she supported it. Hon. Sen. Phugeni supported the Bill and spoke about the parole system which he said is a good thing. We are not largely focusing on decongesting the prisons per se, but because of the new constitutional provisions and the new thrust in terms of how prisoners are being treated the world over, we are not condemning our prisoners. There is an acknowledgement that somebody may make a mistake today but the whole process of putting somebody in prison is to take you away from society, work on you and then reintegrate you into society a changed person. This is the process.
This Bill may solve some of our problems of decongestion but the thrust really is to say, we no longer want to condemn our people. Like what Hon. Sen. Hungwe said that we should walk this journey together. We want to rid society of undesirable elements and hand them over to prisons and correctional officers who will be able to work on this particular individual so that at the time that the individual is about to be released, the processes of reintegration will start. I am sure you have seen the programme on ZTV called “Another Chance” where they even go with you to your people in the communities and they try to have a conversation so that when that particular individual is released, he is accepted. We no longer want a situation where someone is labeled a bandit by the community. That particular individual belongs to the community.
Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira spoke about pregnant women who are sent to prison. For these vulnerable prisoners: the pregnant women, juveniles and those accompanied by children and in the instance of children, it is not always that you find somebody to remain behind with a child. The Bill is saying when it is not possible, facilities must be provided for the children. We do not want the children to be imprisoned with their mothers but the Bill speaks to the need for the State to provide facilities that will give the children a soft landing while in prison like toys and everything that they need. The mothers may go to an open prison that will allow them to be accommodated. Where it is possible that somebody will not be found to remain with the child, that is the first option.
Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira spoke about community leaders and community sentence – what we are trying to do is to engage the community and the Bill speaks to the need to speak to the community leaders. I spoke about reformative aspect that perhaps we need to have a paradigm shift in the way that we have viewed prisons. That is the reason why the Constitution speaks of prisons and correctional services. I have also spoken about children accompanying their mothers that perhaps it is not always that we will be able to find someone to remain behind with the children but the Bill speaks to the State being obligated to provide facilities for those particular children.
Having said that Mr. President, I move that the Bill be now read a second time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read a second time.
Committee Stage: With leave, forthwith.
COMMITTEE STAGE
PRISONS AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICE BILL [H. B. 6A, 2022]
House in Committee.
Short Title put and agreed to.
Clauses 1 to 187 put and agreed to.
First, Second and Third Schedules, put and agreed to.
House resumed.
Bill reported without amendments.
Third Reading: With leave, forthwith.
THIRD READING
PRISONS AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES BILL [H. B. 6A, 2022]
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that the
Bill be now read the third time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read the third time
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that all the Orders of the Day be stood over, until Order Number 11 has been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE 145TH ASSEMBLY OF THE INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION AND RELATED MEETINGS
Eleventh Order read: Adjourned debate on the Report of the 145th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and Related Meetings held in Kigali, Rwanda.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: Mr. President Sir, I rise to thank all the Members who contributed to this very important report of different meetings which were held in Kigali, which mainly were concerning human rights, SDGs and governance. I would like to particularly thank Hon. Sen. Chimbudzi and Hon. Sen. Tongogara for debating this report. With that, I move that the motion be adopted:
Motion that this House takes note of the Report of the 145th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and Related Meetings held from 11 to 15 October, 2022, in Kigali, Rwanda, put and agreed to.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS: I would like to thank Hon. Senators for passing two Bills today and for dedicating their time to be here.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS, the Senate adjourned at a Quarter past Five o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 6th June, 2023
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE ACTING SPEAKER in the Chair)
*HON. MADZIMURE: Thank you Hon. Speaker. This Parliament is now coming to an end but the Minister has not updated us on the whereabouts of one of our journalists, Itai Dzamara.
*HON. CHINOTIMBA: On a point of order Mr. Speaker. The Hon. Member is saying my journalist so we want to know whether he is his personal journalist or is a State journalist?
*THE ACTING SPEAKER (HON. MUTOMBA): Hon. Madzimure, please rephrase your statement.
*HON. MADZIMURE: My actual words Mr. Speaker were ‘our’ journalist. A journalist called Itai Dzamara, a Zimbabwean went missing after being picked up by certain people. The Minister responsible for the maintenance of order in our country promised that he would come and update us on their findings on the whereabouts of Mr. Itai. Dzamara who is a Zimbabwean family man and the family is still troubled. If the investigations show that he is nowhere to be found, I think they should alert the family so that they have closure culturally and enable his estate will be distributed. The Minister has been asked three times and even your Chair has been addressed and you promised that the Minister would come but he has not come. The same happened to Edson Sithole, up to now there is no closure.
*THE ACTING SPEAKER: We will alert the Minister so that he brings a Ministerial Statement.
*HON. MLAMBO: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My point of national interest is that I represent Chipinge East. We faced a challenge a few days ago when soldiers were brought to our area at Chikaide School. They left that place and went to Glass Flats, they camped behind the shops there but yesterday, people were phoning saying what has happened because the President has proclaimed the election date. There is training of soldiers going on targeting Chipinge East and Chipinge South. This is what is happening. We want to know whether soldiers have been deployed already?
*THE ACTING SPEAKER: They are just doing their duties, I thought you were complaining that they are beating people.
HON. MUNENGAMI: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I want you to help us on this issue. Every day we come here as MPs; posing questions on matters of national interest, questions are asked from both sides. If I remember, we have not had any response from Ministers. Why am I saying that Hon. Speaker? I want to give you one example: we have three or five MPs who raised an issue about our currency. Today as we speak, our rate is now ZWL6 000 against US$1. Many Hon. Members have asked the Minister but he has not yet responded. I do not know about you Hon. Speaker, are you happy when the children of Zimbabwe are suffering when they have representatives who come here so that they debate for the betterment of their lives? This time I was thinking that because of elections, maybe the Minister would come and lie to us so that he can win elections but he is unable to come.
*THE ACTING SPEAKER: Hon. Member, please withdraw that statement.
*HON. MUNENGAMI: I withdraw. This issue is very important I cannot ask the Leader of the House - maybe it is you, Hon. Speaker who can help us...
*THE ACTING SPEAKER: Order, order, it seems you have lost connectivity.
*HON. MUNENGAMI: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I withdraw my words. The issue that I have spoken about is very important. I cannot ask the Leader of the House because he is not in, but I am asking you Mr. Speaker to assist…
*THE ACTING SPEAKER (HON. MUTOMBA): Hon. Munengami, you are not connected.
*HON. MUNENGAMI: I will repeat the issue which has to do with Ministers who do not come to Parliament. We ask questions and no-one answers. No Minister has come to give us a Ministerial Statement with regards to issues of national interest. I gave an example of the Minister of Finance, Hon. Ncube – we raised the issue of our currency which has been hit hard by inflation. As of today, the rate is ZWL6000 against USD1. We have asked what the Minister is doing about this issue because Zimbabweans are suffering but he has not yet come to this House to explain. We are about to go for elections and no one Minister has come to Parliament. Have they gone short of plans? May you give us direction Hon. Speaker, on how we should convey these issues to the Minister so that they come to Parliament and give us Ministerial Statements.
*THE ACTING SPEAKER: You have asked two questions. I will start with the one on points of national interest – a lot of national interests have been responded to by the Hon. Speaker who will be chairing and he or she will advise the Hon. Member to ask the question on Wednesday. There are some that have not been responded to like the one you have highlighted. I will be in contact with the Leader of Government Business so that action is taken with regards to points of national interest that were not responded to.
On the one to do with the Minister of Finance and Economic Development with regards to the rate (ZWL6000 to USD1) – I remember that it was requested here in the House that the Minister should bring a Ministerial Statement with regards to inflation. The same issue on inflation had been raised again. We will inform the Minister to come and give us a Ministerial Statement.
*HON. MUNENGAMI: Hon. Speaker, will the Minister be able to make it as he is busy drilling boreholes where he is campaigning?
*THE ACTING SPEAKER: He will come. – [HON. MUNETSI: Akadhakwa here uyu?] – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] -
*HON. MUNENGAMI: The Hon. Member should withdraw his words. If he does not, he should put me on a breathalyser and see if I am drunk. My constituents are listening – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
HON. GONESE: On a point of order. My point of order relates to the remarks by Hon. Munetsi – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Order. Less noise in the House Hon. Members!
HON. GONESE: My point of order relates to….
HON. MUNETSI: I withdraw.
*HON. CHINOTIMBA: The term of office for this Parliament is expiring in August. The Ministry of Finance had given us the opportunity to buy vehicles duty free up to August. Most of us have not been able to use this facility. May you facilitate that this provision be extended to December Hon. Speaker? – [HON. MUNENGAMI: Unotadza kudzoka iwewe.] – haa iwe nyarara mhani iwe.
*THE ACTING SPEAKER: Hon. Munengami, please give him the chance to put across his point. It is a good point – [HON. CHINOTIMBA: Ndosaka wazonzi wakadhakwa.] – May you continue Hon. Chinotimba.
*HON. CHINOTIMBA: I was responding to this drunkard…
*THE ACTING SPEAKER: No, Hon. Chinotimba. Address the Speaker.
*HON. CHINOTIMBA: Hon. Speaker and your board that looks after the welfare of Hon. Member, may you please ensure that whether a Member is coming back to Parliament or not, they should be able to import a vehicle duty free. Our Chief Whips should go and ask the Minister of Finance on our behalf. We need a response this week so that we do not panic.
*THE ACTING SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Chinotimba for that point of order. However, the conclusion that you made is a good conclusion. So, we will task the Chief Whips to go and engage the Hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Development to lodge a request like you have indicated and we are going to indicate to those who are nearby so that they are aware of the plight and request of the House. I thank you.
*HON. TEKESHE: My point is similar to that of Hon. Munengami. I got into a shop today and I was shocked to find that the local currency was around ZW$6 000 and ordinary people can no longer afford bread. We need to come to the point of CDF, which is just lying idle because no-one wants the RTGS and they charge the black-market rate. The request is that if Parliament could negotiate to benefit from the auction floor so that this is looked into because ZW$21 million has gone down to US$4 000 and is no longer enough for the constituency.
*THE ACTING SPEAKER: This is a valid point Hon. Member. We are going to notify the responsible authority, particularly the Minister of Finance and Economic Development so that he looks into the issue of CDF which is ZW$21 million. Indeed, it has been eroded by inflation and as inflation continues, it continues to lose its value.
*HON. MPARIWA: I thank you Hon. Speaker for giving me the opportunity to speak. When you listen and look at what is happening, there is shivering at a national level regarding the cries and plea of workers concerning the meagre salaries which are not enough to cover their essential needs. No matter what questions we ask, it is not possible because the money is not enough. Yesterday, I was reading a newspaper and it was written that Alpha Media workers had downed tools because they could not continue going to work. They cannot afford food, transport to work and other daily needs in order to do their jobs.
I also read of ZIMRA workers and we were told that ZIMRA workers are not going to work also because they do not have the tools of trade. Looking at what has been raised by Hon. Members, it indicates that people are no longer able to work. My request then is that what we said is affecting different ministries and so, there is need to carry out investigations so that we know what to do because people are incapacitated, including Hon. Members in this House. No-one is accepting RTGs.
I saw Hon. Prof. Ncube setting some things aside in the shops but the following day, you found the same things back on the shelves in USD. We need to have guidance from the Hon. Ministers because no-one can afford what is happening. The Hon. Ministers of Industry, Labour and Finance and Economic Development should come to this House and explain where people are accepting RTGs.
*THE ACTING SPEAKER: This is a valid point Hon. Member and it relates to what has been said by Hon. Munengami. However, your point spreads to different line ministries, so this question is going to be raised with responsible authorities regarding the value of money.
*HON. HAMAUSWA: Mr. Speaker, I want to raise an issue with regards to the harmonised elections which are going to be held this year. This was raised before by Hon. Machingauta who said that the Hon. Minister of Home Affairs should come to this august House and explain the preparedness of his Ministry regarding peaceful elections. However, Mr. Speaker Sir, our term is coming to an end and we are left with a few days before we go for elections. The Hon. Minister has not come to the House to fulfil the request that was raised in this august House that he should explain the state of preparedness of the Ministry of Home Affairs and indeed, the nation for holding peaceful elections.
I believe that if that is raised, this would allow the people of Zimbabwe to have confidence that elections will be held in a peaceful environment. However, this request has been made three times and it is a request that we ask Mr. Speaker that before the end of the week, the Minister of Home Affairs should give us a ministerial statement on what measures the Ministry is putting in place to ensure peaceful elections. We look forward to peaceful elections. Thank you.
*THE ACTING SPEAKER: I have two responses; the first one being that if the Minister of Home Affairs was to come tomorrow, then I will request that you ask your question during the Question and Answer session because days are moving and we want peace like what His Excellency the President has proclaimed that there should be peace in the nation. Secondly, if the Minister is not coming, we are still going to engage him so that he brings state of preparedness ministerial speech to the august House so that elections are held in peace.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE ACTING SPEAKER
NON-ADVERSE REPORT RECEIVED FROM THE PARLIAMENTARY LEGAL COMMITTEE
THE ACTING SPEAKER: I have received a non-adverse report from the Parliamentary Legal Committee on the Electoral Amendment Bill [H. B. 11A, 2022].
HON. R. R. NYATHI: Hon Speaker Sir, I move that Orders of the Day Numbers 1 to 11 be stood over until the rest of the Orders have been disposed of.
HON. MATANGIRA: I second.
HON. MUSHORIWA: I object Mr. Speaker Sir, because two weeks ago, the Leader of the House moved for the suspension of normal business of the House until we had disposed of all Government business. As you can see, Order Numbers 1 to 10 relate to Government business and this is the business we have come prepared to dispose. There cannot be an excuse because just last Thursday, we had posed the same question to the Hon. Speaker when we wanted to move points of national interest. The Speaker made a ruling that the suspension supersedes everything and to that extent and given the number of Bills that are before this august House, we cannot do any other business unless the Hon. Minister rescinds the suspension of the Orders of the day. If the Minister is not here, I think we might have to temporary adjourn the House until the Minister comes back.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Mushoriwa. I am being informed that the Minister is coming back. So Order of the Day Number 11 is reply to the Presidential Speech which is Government business.
HON. GONESE: Mr. Speaker Sir, I just need some clarification. Order of the Day Number 11 relates to a reply to the Presidential Speech. It was moved by a private Member, so it is an ordinary motion by a private Member and does not fall under the definition of Government business. If you are making a ruling on that premise Mr. Speaker, I stand to be corrected.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: The reason why we have moved to Motion number 11 is because we have a Minister who would want to respond to the Hon. Members who debated earlier on. What I said Hon. Gonese is not subject to debate – [HON. GONESE: Inaudible interjections.] - Give me the floor please. We do not have to exchange words between you and me.
HON. GONESE: But my point is that if there is no Government business to transact and if the suspension was on the basis that until the Government business on the Order Paper is disposed of; but this is not Government business, it is a private member’s Motion. If there is an objection Mr. Speaker, there is a procedure. The consequences of any objection should be followed. The Hon. Minister should take a seat.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: The fact that the Hon. Minister is standing means it is Government business.
HON. GONESE: But the point is that the motion moved by Hon. Nyathi was objected to and not seconded. When there was an objection by Hon. Mushoriwa, the Speaker should have asked for those in favour of the motion or those who are against the motion. So, my point is because there was an objection which was not withdrawn, procedures have to be followed of the objection.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: The suspension was to give precedence to Government business and not that the House to transact private business. Thank you. It is done.
HON. GONESE: No, Mr. Speaker, rules are rules. Hon Nyathi moved a motion to stand over some items. It was duly seconded which is fine but after the secondment, there was an objection and when there is an objection, there is a process which must be followed. When the objection is not withdrawn, you must ascertain those who are in favour of the motion and those who are against. Whether it is going to be by way of a voice vote or a division, that is besides the point. So, let us have due process.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Eleventh Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF INFORMATION PUBLICITY AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. K. PARADZA): Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir. I rise to give a response to the Presidential State of the Nation Address by my Ministry, the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services. Let me thank first of all, those Hon. Members who contributed to the SONA debate, more so specifically on the issues related to my Ministry.
Mr. Speaker Sir, my Ministry has made tremendous progress in realigning the legal and regulatory framework to the provisions of the Constitution as well as the introduction of new players in television community campus satellite content distribution spaces. A call centre was also initiated by my Ministry during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to ensure that citizens have reliable access to information in their preferred language.
The digital Terrestrial Migration Project (DTT) was also initiated through my Ministry. A lot has been done and the project is yet to be completed but citizens are already enjoying the benefits of the project. The media landscape has been transformed a lot as a result of all these achievements. Media reforms were initiated in an effort to create an enabling media environment. The trajectory started with the repealing of various pieces of legislation which included the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) (Chapter 10:27) and replacing it with the Freedom of Information Act Chapter (10:33), in July 2020. The Act gives effect to the right of access to information in accordance with the Constitution. We further consolidated the media reforms by enacting the Zimbabwe Media Commission Act (Chapter 10:35), in April 2021 which operationalised the Zimbabwe Media Commission.
Mr. Speaker, my Ministry is also currently working on a Media Practitioners Draft Bill which will enhance the principle of co-regulation. The Bill is meant to ensure that the media is democratically held accountable and bring professionalism to the calling which has been infected by fake news, misinformation and disinformation. In further reform to the media sector, the amendment of the Broadcasting Services Act is underway. This amendment is very important because it speaks to business in the media sector and will bring investment in the sector. It is my vision that the media sector should be a major employer which has the capacity to absorb graduates from our many local universities.
The amendment will also free up the airwaves and allow more players to operate for the overall benefit of the broadcasting sector. The process has already been initiated through the introduction of new players in television, community, campus and satellite content distribution spaces to mention but a few. To date, fourteen community radio stations, eight campus radio stations and six national free to air television stations have been licenced. In all, we now have 32 radio stations in Zimbabwe.
These developments, Mr. Speaker Sir, are testimony to my Ministry’s commitment to provide universal access to information for all citizens. Our goal is to ensure that all communities and all languages in our country have a voice and every culture is celebrated and promoted. Community radio stations will not only be there to provide entertainment but also act as crucial mediums of information when the country is faced with natural disasters and emergencies caused by climate change such as the Cyclone Idai that ravaged parts of Manicaland in 2019. For example, Chimanimani FM which was established with the help of our development partners will also serve as part of early warning systems for disasters such as cyclones. This will hopefully save more lives and property. In addition, community radio stations will become the fabric that holds communities together and promote unity. Different communities will also have a central reliable point where they access information such as ongoing Government projects and others that are specific to their needs
Campus radio stations on the other hand, provide a practical training ground for our mass communication students to develop skills in broadcasting and operating the technical equipment. This prepares them for broadcasting jobs after graduating. The campus radios engage the youths at institutions of higher learning and are platforms for the promotion of emerging musical trends. These also give promotional exposure to new and emerging artists, therefore helping nurture music talents. In short, campus radio stations bring life skills and educational information to tertiary students.
The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, ZBC was awarded two more television stations while a content distribution service licence was awarded to Azam Media Pvt Ltd. The coming in of the new players in the broadcasting industry has provided health competition leading to improved content and lower prices for citizens. As I said earlier, the Ministry also initiated a call centre at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to provide a two-way communication channel for the citizenry and Government. This has now been converted into a national communication centre. The national communication centre provides quality customer services to the users of Government services. Citizens get immediate answers and solutions to their queries. This makes sure that citizens have reliable access to information in their preferred language and get immediate response at no cost to themselves.
The mobile cinema programmes (bioscope) have been brought back in order to take information to the people in all corners of the country. As we continue to build transmitters to cover every square inch of Zimbabwe, we also recognise that this will take time and a lot of resources. Government is also communicating its programmes and projects through these mobile cinema systems which provide infotainment. This is one of the many ways the Ministry is using to give feedback to our citizens.
A lot of resources have been poured into the Zimbabwe Digital Terrestrial Television Migration Project (DTT). Whilst the project is not yet comlpete, citizens are already enjoying the benefits of the investment made. In this regard, the Ministry procured 50 thousand Set-Top Boxes (STBs) to be sold at a subsidised cost to those who can afford so that citizenry can have more enhanced access to information and enjoy local content and productions. STB’s were distributed freely in Binga and Hurungwe, in this regard. The digital TV satellite was switched on around 18 sites where transmitters are digital compliant.
The media landscape in Zimbabwe has surely been transformed and my Ministry undertakes to continue to work around the clock to ensure total transformation of the media environment leaving no one and no place behind. In an effort to curb misinformation, disinformation, fake news and unethical reporting during the forthcoming 2023 Harmonised Elections, the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) developed an election reporting and peace journalism manual that was validated by media stakeholders in November 2022. The Commission will soon be rolling out training programmes for all media practitioners covering elections. The ZMC national interest driven media brand was further entrenched by an open-door policy to deepen democratic engagements with stakeholder on information dissemination, professionalism, ethics, and inclusivity in diversity as well as widening the media reach in Zimbabwe. Following right behind COVID-19 and the effects of digitalisation on the media business, the Commission put into place some mechanisms that would assist the media in reporting the forthcoming 2023 Harmonised Elections as is required by the Zimbabwe Electoral Act Section 160 (k) as read with Statutory Instrument 33 of 2008 (Media Coverage of Elections General Regulations).
Generally, elections bring to the fore the need for inter-agency coordination and highlight the need for media regulation and governance. This is so as the media is expected to play a critical role in creating a conducive environment for holding free and credible elections. Hon. Speaker, the media is expected to be objective, factual and fair.
There is no express provision in the 2013 Constitution and in the ZMC Act on the registration of mass media services and the accreditation of journalists. The repeal of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA,) Chapter 10:27 created a legal lacuna as the ZMC Act does not provide for either the registration of media houses or the accreditation of journalists and other media practitioners.
This being the case, my Ministry in consultation with the ZMC and other stakeholders, came up with the Draft ZMC Amendment Bill principles which were approved by Cabinet in November 2022. As stated earlier, the Media Practitioners Bill will provide for the registration of media services, accreditation of media practitioners, and a framework for co-regulation.
The current registration and accreditation framework were adopted in line with the provisions of AIPPA. The framework seems relevant in line with the Statutory Instrument 169C of 2002 dealing with registration and accreditation issues.
The AIPPA had restrictions for applications to qualify for registration as mass media owners in Zimbabwe and for foreigners to invest in the media. However, there are some applicants who find it difficult to pay the registration amount at once. The ZMC Board made a decision to accept a payment plan from applicants finding it difficult to pay the full amount at once. The Commission noted and acknowledged the following issues characterizing the media environment. These factors influence the policy direction and activities of the Commission from a strategic point of view.
Falsehoods and Hate Speech – the developments in ICT have managed to redefine the media globally. Of concern has been its effect on the spread of falsehood, hate speech, and invasion of privacy. As alluded to above, there is no law at the disposal of the Commission to deal with these issues. The Cyber-Security and Data Protection Act provides for some of these breaches of freedom of the press and expression but does not capture all the ancillary shortcomings related to cyber security.
Breaches of Freedom of Expression of the Press – The Ministry has noted with concern instances of abuse of freedom of the press and that of expression as provided for by Section 61 of the Constitution. In some cases…
HON. MADZIMURE: On a point of order! What the Minister is saying is purely coming from the Ministry and not from the debates that were made here by Members responding to the Presidential Speech. This is now a Ministerial Statement. Some of the things that the Minister is raising are new things that can even cause conflict. If there was anything that was said by the Members, the Minister must be referring to the individual Members who made those statements.
THE ACTING SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Madzimure but he is the Minister. Hon. Members made contributions, and some of the things were actually hanging in the air. Therefore, as the Minister, he is supposed to give sufficient responses, clarify and add impetus to the points that were raised by Hon. Members. You cannot just restrict him to the issues that were raised.
HON. PARADZA: Thank you, Hon. Speaker. In some cases, reliable information is increasingly becoming a scarce commodity. We have seen a deliberate abuse of social media platforms by those who peddle fake news and even blatant intentional falsehoods, including spreading hateful speech, ethnic hatred, and promoting other decisive agenda. It is disturbing to note that there are some media outlets that celebrate these distortions.
Lack of Professionalism - Hon. Speaker, concerns have been raised by Hon. Members on issues to deal with professional conduct by the media when it comes to ethics. Polarisation continues to characterise the media and the reportage that obtains today. It becomes difficult for readers, listeners, and viewers most of the time to get what is true and correct. Continued engagements and dialogue with stakeholders are hoped to help bring some sustainable remedies.
Hon. Speaker the advent of ICTs means anyone, anytime can communicate anything through various platforms. Most of this information is not verified. It leaves citizens bombarded with too much information that is not credible, thus left confused. Mainstream media most of the time is failing to fill this void.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Zimbabwe citizens want true, correct and credible information. Due to the growth of ICTs and online publications, as I have mentioned, media has had to redefine itself in the context of the current operating environment. The COVID-19 period posed challenges mostly to the print media as movement of goods and services were restricted, so were print publications. This scenario witnessed media services downsizing and adopting survival strategies to remain economically afloat while at the same time remain relevant.
Failure to adapt to the new technologies witnessed some media services going under mostly community and regional publishers. The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the developments in the ICTs, have managed to reshape and redefine the media sector today. They have also reshaped and reoriented reading, viewing and listening trends. Simply put Hon. Speaker, the media in this country will never be the same again.
In terms of the economy, economic challenges have impacted negatively on most media operations. Media services have scaled down operations, meaning as I said, reduced print runs, newspapers are becoming thinner and thinner with a few news articles. Newsprint procurement which is a major operation cost continues to be a big challenge coupled with other operational requirements that include machinery, transport and operation capital. A huge number of media services are failing to start publishing after getting licenced. Media is not on the priority list regarding loan schemes by banks. It is difficult for media operators to access operating capital.
Community publishers have been hit harder by this negative operating environment, with those unable to adapt to e-publishing finding it difficult to operate. My Ministry together with ZMC are focused on the need to address the fast changes taking place in the media which the Constitution of Zimbabwe requires ZMC to regulate. There is need to revisit report of the media and Media Panel of Inquiry (IMPI) to determine what constitutes the media sector in Zimbabwe. The report of 2014 will influence how regulations should be framed. The worldwide phenomenon, popularly known as convergence, will have far reaching effects on media landscape and on regulation.
The ZMC continues to receive media complaints against some journalists and media houses but cannot do anything owing to the lack of legal provisions on how to deal with such complaints as alluded to above.
A law dealing with media governance or regulation is not yet in place as envisaged and this has created a legal void. The ZMC Act in its current form, does not provide for media regulation but issues that threaten freedom of expression and of the media.
As I stated earlier, all these gaps will be cured by the proposed Media Practitioners Bill, which is currently being drafted by the Attorney-General and should be ready anytime soon.
Hon. Speaker Sir, the media as the fourth estate is expected to play a critical role in the forthcoming elections. The role of the media is to provide that two-way communication between the voters and the candidates. It is expected to unpack the electoral process for various stakeholders. It is the duty of the media to objectively inform citizens of their rights and activities taking place as part of the electoral process. Above all, the media should assist in the creation of a conducive environment for the holding of a free and credible election.
On the other hand, Hon. Speaker, if left unchecked, the media can make or break this election. It becomes a major challenge for the country to go for elections without any laws or instruments that govern the conduct of the media. It is in this respect that my Ministry sees the need for the Media Practitioners Bill being an urgent issue. I thank you.
HON. MATANGIRA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. TEKESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 7th June, 2023.
HON. BITI: Before adjourning, can the Minister be reminded to bring his statement tomorrow on the issues of the runaway exchange rate which is now at ZWL6500:USD1 and also the issue of the blended rate of inflation which is non-existent anywhere in the world and was implemented through Statutory Instrument 127 of 2023.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE), the House adjourned at Twenty-Six Minutes past Three o’clock p.m.
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 1st June 2023
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
VISITORS’ IN THE SPEAKER’S GALLERY
THE HON. SPEAKER: I wish to recognise the presence in the Speaker’s Gallery of members of staff from the Parliament of Namibia led by Mr. Gideon Shuuya, Deputy Director Security and Risk Management who are on a benchmarking visit to our Parliament. You are most welcome. - [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] -
HON. MUSHORIWA: I rise on a matter of national interest…
HON. TOGAREPI: On a point of order Mr. Speaker Sir. Standing Orders were suspended by the Minister of Justice because we wanted to deal with the Bills. So I do not know why he has been allowed to present.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Matters of national interest are within our Standing Orders. The Government Chief Whip is in order. Only motions can be moved for tabling.
MOTION
RATIFICATION OF THE AGREEMENT ON THE PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES OF THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI) on behalf of THE MINISTR OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. SODA): I rise to move that:
WHEREAS section 327 (2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that any convention, treaty or agreement acceded to, concluded or executed by or under the authority of the President with one or more foreign states or governments or international organisations shall be subject to approval by Parliament.
WHEREAS the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the International Atomic Energy Agency (Agreement) was made in 1959:
WHEREAS the Republic of Zimbabwe is not a signatory to the aforesaid Agreement;
WHEREAS article 38 of the Agreement provides for acceptation;
WHEREAS the Republic of Zimbabwe is a Member of the International Atomic Energy Agency,
AND WHEREAS the Republic of Zimbabwe is desirous of becoming a Party to the Agreement;
NOW, THEREFORE, in terms of section 327 (2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, this House resolves that the aforesaid Convention be and is hereby approved for accession.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
RATIFICATION OF THE AMENDMENT TO THE CONVENTION ON PHYSICAL PROTECTION OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move the motion standing in my name;
THAT WHEREAS section 327 (2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that any convention, treaty or agreement acceded to, concluded or executed by or under the authority of the President with one or more foreign states or governments or international organisations shall be subject to approval by Parliament;
WHEREAS the Amendment to the Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (Amendment) was adopted on 8th July, 2005;
WHEREAS the Republic of Zimbabwe is not a signatory to the aforesaid Amendment;
WHEREAS the Amendment entered into force on 8th May, 2016;
WHEREAS article 18 of the Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material provides for signature, ratification and accession:
AND WHEREAS the Republic of Zimbabwe is desirous of becoming a party to the Amendment;
NOW, THEREFORE, in terms of section 327 (2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, resolves that the aforesaid Convention be and is hereby approved for accession in this House.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
RATIFICATION OF THE CONVENTION ON NUCLEAR SAFETY
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move the motion standing in my name;
THAT WHEREAS section 327(2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that any convention, treaty or agreement acceded to, concluded or executed by or under the authority of the President with one or more foreign states or governments or international organizations shall be subject to approval by Parliament;
WHEREAS the Convention on Nuclear Safety was adopted on 17th June, 1994 and was opened for signature on 20th September, 1994;
WHEREAS the Republic of Zimbabwe is not a signatory to the aforesaid Convention;
WHEREAS the Convention entered into force on 24th October, 1996;
WHEREAS article 30 (3) of the Convention provides that, after its entry into force, the Convention shall open for accession by all States;
AND WHEREAS the Republic of Zimbabwe is desirous of becoming a party to the Convention;
NOW, THEREFORE, in terms of section 327(2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, this House resolves that the aforesaid Convention be and is hereby approved for accession.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
RATIFICATION OF THE JOINT PROTOCOL RELATING TO THE APPLICATION OF THE VIENNA CONVENTION AND THE PARIS CONVENTION
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move the motion standing in my name;
THAT WHEREAS section 327 (2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that any convention, treaty or agreement acceded to, concluded or executed by or under the authority of the President with one or more foreign states or governments or
international organisations shall be subject to approval by Parliament;
WHEREAS the Joint Protocol relating to the Application of the Vienna Convention and the Paris Convention was adopted and opened for signature on 21st September, 1988.
WHEREAS the Republic of Zimbabwe is not a signatory to the aforesaid Amendment;
WHEREAS the Joint Protocol entered into force on 27th April, 1992,
WHEREAS article VI of the Joint Protocol provides for signature, ratification and accession;
AND WHEREAS the Republic of Zimbabwe is desirous of becoming a Party to the Joint Protocol;
NOW, THEREFORE, in terms of section 327 (2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, this House resolves that the aforesaid Convention be and is hereby approved for
accession.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
RATIFICATION OF THE PROTOCOL TO AMEND THE VIENNA CONVENTION ON CIVIL LIABILITY FOR NUCLEAR DAMAGE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move the motion standing in my name;
THAT WHEREAS, Section 327 (2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, provides that any convention, treaty or agreement acceded to, concluded or executed by or under the authority of the President, with one or more foreign states or governments or international organisations shall be subject to approval by Parliament;
AND WHEREAS, the protocol to amend the Vienna Convention on civil liability for nuclear damage was adopted on 12th September, 1997 and opened for signature on 29th September, 1997;
AND WHEREAS, the Republic of Zimbabwe is not a signatory to the aforesaid protocol;
AND WHEREAS, the protocol entered into force on 4th October, 2003;
AND WHEREAS, Article 20 (3) of the protocol provides for accession after its entry into force by any State which had not signed the protocol;
AND WHEREAS, the Republic of Zimbabwe is desirous of becoming a part to the protocol;
NOW THEREFORE, in terms of Section 327 (2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, this House resolved that the aforesaid protocol be and is hereby approved for accession. I thank you.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
RATIFICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF ACTS OF NUCLEAR TERRORISM
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I move the motion standing in my name that this House takes note;
THAT WHEREAS, Section 327 (2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that any convention, treaty or agreement acceded to, concluded or executed by or under the authority of the President, with one or more foreign states or governments or international organisations shall be subject to approval by Parliament;
AND WHEREAS, the international convention for the suppression of acts of nuclear terrorism entered into force on 7th July, 2007;
AND WHEREAS, the Republic of Zimbabwe is not a signatory to the aforesaid convention;
AND WHEREAS, Article 24 (3) of the convention provides for accession by any State;
AND WHEREAS, the Republic of Zimbabwe is a member of the International Atomic Energy Agents;
AND WHEREAS, the Republic of Zimbabwe is desirous of becoming a part to the convention;
NOW THEREFORE, in terms of Section 327 (2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, this House resolves that the aforesaid convention be and hereby approved for accession. I thank you.
HON. BITI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. The principal anti-nuclear convention which has given rise to all these five or six conventions that we are ratifying today were signed after the Second World War in 1952. Zimbabwe signed, acceded but has not ratified. The point is, why is the Minister bringing these things today when he has had five years to bring them. I think Parliament should issue a yellow card to people who sleep on duty and then force this august House to act last minute. Parliament is two months or four weeks away from dissolution where was Cde. Soda Zhemu? Was he sleeping on duty that he now comes here and forces us to suspend the important work we have around the many Bills before the House? I think Mr. Speaker, you need to give him a yellow card. Thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order! In this august House, no Minister is referred to as comrade. So please withdraw that.
HON. BITI: He is not a comrade, I withdraw. So my submission Mr. Speaker Sir, is that Ministers need to be put on notice. Section 314 of the Constitution says that constitutional obligations should be executed diligently and if an agreement has been signed which requires ratification in terms of Section 327, it ought to be brought before this House diligently. Some of these conventions are being brought post facto when they should be brought before. We need to give approval before they are signed.
So Mr. Speaker Sir, whilst we support wholeheartedly the convention, I think Minister Zhemu must be given a yellow card. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: A yellow card?
HON. BITI: Or a red card.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Mr. Speaker, I do not agree with Hon. Biti. A lot has been done in terms of ensuring that we ratify all the treaties that we are party to and the journey we started by even coming to this august House to have an International Treaties Act that would govern that.
So it is because of that work that you now see a lot of these treaties and conventions coming to the august House for ratification. In fact, we must actually applaud the Minister for bringing all these treaties and conventions for ratification. It shows that within Ministries, there is now a follow up mechanism to ensure that all the outstanding treaties are ratified by Parliament. I so submit Mr. Speaker Sir.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
RATIFICATION OF THE VIENNA CONVENTION ON CIVIL LIABILITY FOR NUCLEAR DAMAGE ADOPTED AND OPENED FOR SIGNATURE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI) on behalf of THE MINISTER OF ENEGRY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. SODA): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I move the motion standing in my name;
THAT WHEREAS Section 327(2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that any convention, treaty or agreement acceded to, concluded or executed by or under the authority of the President with one or more foreign states or governments or international organisations shall be subject to approval by Parliament;
WHEREAS the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage was adopted and opened for signature on 21st May, 1963 and entered into force on 12th November, 1977;
WHEREAS the Republic of Zimbabwe is not a signatory to the aforesaid Convention;
WHEREAS the Convention entered into force on 12th November, 1977;
WHEREAS article XXIV of the Convention provides for accession, by all State Members of the United Nations, or of any of the specialised agencies or of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) not represented at the International Conference on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage held in Vienna from 29th April, to 19th May, 1963;
WHEREAS Zimbabwe is a member of both, the United Nations and IAEA;
AND WHEREAS Zimbabwe is desirous of becoming a Party to the Convention;
NOW, THEREFORE, in terms of Section 327(2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, this House resolves that the aforesaid Convention be and is hereby approved for accession
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I move that Orders of the Day Nos 8 to 16, be stood over until Order of the Day No. 17 has been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
COMMITTEE STAGE
LABOUR AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 14, 2021]
Seventeenth Order read: Resumption of Committee: Labour Amendment Bill [H. B. 14, 2021].
House in Committee.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Yesterday when we reported progress, we were on the Schedule.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): We want to add another Clause on Transitional Provisions so that it will read as follows: ‘where a labour officer made a draft ruling in terms of Section 93 (5) (c) and for whatever reason, the draft ruling was not registered with the Labour Court in terms of Section 93 (5) (a) and (b), of the repealed provision, such draft ruling shall automatically be deemed to be a judgment or ruling of the labour officer which, for execution purposes, shall be registered in the appropriate court, provided an employer shall have a right of appeal to the Labour Court within 30 days after notice of registration. The quantum shall be calculated based on the currency in which the judgment was made and payable in Zimbabwean currency at the prevailing official rate’. I submit.
Amendment to the Transitional Provisions put and agreed to.
Transitional Provisions, as amended, put and agreed to.
Schedule of Minor Amendments put and agreed to.
House resumed.
Bill reported with amendments.
Bill referred to the Parliamentary Legal Committee.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am, I move that we revert to Order of the Day No. 16 on the Order Paper.
Motion put and agreed to.
SECOND READING
CHILDREN’S AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 12, 2021]
Sixteenth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Second Reading of the Children’s Amendment Bill [H. B. 12, 2021].
Question again proposed.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Madam Speaker, I move that we adjourn debate because the Committee Chairperson is not around.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Friday, 2nd June, 2023.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER
NON. ADVERSE REPORT RECEIVED FROM THE PARLIAMENTARY LEGAL COMMITTEE
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have received a Non-Adverse Report from the Parliamentary Legal Committee on the Criminal Law Codification Reform Bill [H.B. 15A, 2022].
CONSIDERATION STAGE:
CRIMINAL LAW CODIFICATION REFORM BILL [H.B. 15A, 2022].
Amendment to Clause 2 put and agreed to.
Clause 2, as amended, put and agreed to.
Third Reading: With leave, forthwith.
THIRD READING
CRIMINAL LAW CODIFICATION REFORM BILL [H.B. 15A, 2022].
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Madam Speaker, I now move that the Bill be read the third time.
Motion put and agreed do.
Bill read the third time.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Madam Speaker, I move that todays Orders of the Day, Nos. 1 to 9 on today’s Order Paper be stood over until Order of the Day, No. 10 has been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
COMMITTEE STAGE
ELECTORAL AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 11, 2022]
Tenth Order read: Resumption of Committee: Electoral Amendment Bill [H. B. 11, 2022].
House in Committee
On Clause New Clause 4:
HON. BITI: Madam Chair, can I debate this one. I thought this was just a question of drafting because we are trying to restate what is already in the Constitution, namely that staff of ZEC should be apolitical. It was parked for rewording purposes.
HON ZIYAMBI: Hon. Chair, provisions of the Clause proposed by Hon. Hwende as it appears on the Order Paper are fully covered by both the Constitution and the Electoral Act and I move that we delete this provision.
Amendments to Clause New Clause 4, put and negatived.
On Clause New Clause 6:
HON. ZIYAMBI: Hon. Chair, this one is not necessary. The provisions as they are now, are adequate in our circumstances and whatever we require, the Commission can provide. So, I do not think this is necessary and I move that it be removed and not be adopted.
HON. BITI: When we had this debate, this is where we had discussions around the role of the Registrar-General and to quote your language, we threw away the baby with the bathwater when we removed carte blanche. Is this not an opportunity to revisit the old status quo and marry it with the constitutional provision that still places responsibility on the preparation of the voters roll on ZEC but the gathering of data et cetera, we create a symmetry between the Registrar’s office and ZEC because we cannot amend the Constitution.
HON. MARKHAM: Madam Speaker, the Hansard captured what the Minister said in this Clause, where he said that ZEC could not operate without the hand of the Registrar-General and the database of the Registrar-General anyway. We will save the country a huge amount of money if, when you do your I.D registration you are also registered to vote because it is the same information that you use to register for your I.D that ZEC also wants. So, there is no need to have two databases in the current format. We understand why it was done before because it was not being operated correctly but the Minister actually agreed and it is captured in the Hansard. It was parked just for the wording but now we see that Clause 6 changes everything completely. I suggest that we look at it very carefully as this is an opportune time to cut a lot of costs on ZEC to the Registrar and the Registrar only comes when you register you I.D.
HON. MADZIMURE: I just want to buttress what Hon. Markham was saying. When you are registered, the information that you supply is exactly the same information that you also supply when you register as a voter. What will be left for you to do is when you want to be allocated to a specific polling station but as a voter, you will have been registered. This takes away a lot of work from ZEC.
HON. ZIYAMBI: Thank you Hon. Chair. I agree entirely that we need a Registrar of Voters separate from ZEC and I agree that once that is done the Registrar of Voters, if that is the Registrar-General, then we can look at that. However, in the current format, we cannot change this without first changing our Constitution to separate the Registrar of Voters from the Electoral Vote. At the moment, the Electoral Vote is doing that and even if we are to accept what Hon. Markham is saying, we must do - and also what Hon. Madzimure is saying. For as long as we have not separated the Registrar of Voters from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), we will still have the same duplication. I suggest that this one, is not for now. What is needed is to ensure that after the elections, we amend the Constitution so that we remove the function of registering voters and we leave the independent electoral body with the core function of running elections.
Then the Registrar General (RG) will now do exactly what Hon. Madzimure was saying, when I turn 18, automatically I get a notification and then I update my database and I am a registered voter. When I am deceased, automatically the system will remove me from both the vital registration system and from the voters’ roll. Some of the arguments that they are putting forward are very valid, but they are not for now. We need now to go and amend the Constitution and clean it up so that we have separate roles for those that will be doing the job of elections.
Even the delimitation process, we do not need a hangover for the commission to be involved in delimitation; they have fights with everyone else and that is carried over to an election. The way it was - we had a Delimitation Commission which was divorced from the electoral body makes the situation even tidier. I submit that we do not need this for now and I am moving that we remove it and keep it in our minds for when we have the next Session of Parliament. I thank you.
HON. MARKHAM: Madam Chair, my objection is, we had 10 years to do this. With those two Constitutional amendments, why was such an important issue left out. Why was devolution left out? They were left out because you were dragging because you do not want any change anything.
HON. ZIYAMBI: Hon. Chair, some of these issues you get to appreciate them with the experience that you get when the provisions are being put into use. We had no delimitation, even the voter registration exercise that has happened now and the attainted difficulties that have emerged. If you recall, this Constitution was put into place; there were those that were very strong that let us remove from the RG, but now we have convergence of views to say that the RG must indeed be the Registrar of voters. So it is not correct that why was it not done.
In fact, if you recall, my argument at that particular juncture, when we have Amendment Number 2, my argument was the Constitution is a living document, if we experience things that are not practical, let us change them and this is the conversation that we are now having. I submit that let us park it but it is a good idea that we have the Registrar of voters doing all these things. Indeed, we will save money. I submit that let us put it on hold, leave it for another day. I thank you.
Amendment to Clause New Clause 6, put and negative.
On insertion of new clause, amendment of Section 21: Cap 2.13:
HON. BITI: This is the one that allows the person to take photographs of the voters’ roll. So we had agreed on that one. I am saying let us agree on it. This provision is simply saying, when you go for your voter inspection and remember the voters’ roll is posted outside, you can take photographs.
HON. HWENDE: Hon. Minister, on this one, we took our time discussing. When we went to voter inspection, you remember the argument was it was no longer necessary because when you go for inspection, the voters’ roll will be already pasted outside but that is not what is happening. If you go now, nothing is pasted outside. What we were saying is it is a new practice that they would be doing and we want it to be included so that if we include that the voters’ roll must be pasted outside, then this falls out. When it is being pasted out of an amendment of the law, then you can just take a photograph outside. Right now, they just show you, there is no opportunity for you to take a photograph of the voters’ roll. Thank you.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Hon. Chair. I was looking at the Act as it is. I do not see anything offensive if you take a photo of what you are allowed currently to take notes on. I think it is okay. We can incorporate this amendment.
*HON. MURAI: Madam Chair, I have an issue concerning names that appear on phones – [AN HON. MEMBER: What clause is that? This is Committee Stage where we discuss clause by clause.]-
HON. MOKONE: The issue of double accreditation of journalists should be scrapped. Journalists should only be accredited by ZNC and ZEC should not demand accreditation from journalists. The other issue is the issue of ZBC, it should enjoy its independence.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Hon. Chair. I do not agree that accreditation of observers must happen six months before elections. What it means is that we will have people who will camp in this country six months before elections pretending to be observers, in the mean time they can do anything. When the election is called after a proclamation then they can come but before proclamation, you end up with people saying we want to be in your country six months before election and six months after an election because there is a pre-election and post-election period. I think our law is very accommodating to observers.
On the issue of journalists, I tend to agree that journalists are not observers. They are on duty and they are accredited by their media council. It means that you will be accrediting them twice and I have never seen an observer reporting from journalists. They are supposed to be governed by their rules and conditions as established by their council, and I agree that journalists should not be accredited twice.
I also agree that the issue of ZBC being singled out to be impartial and what, we now have several media houses. I think that has fallen away because of technology and the times that we are in, it is not necessary to single out the State media during elections. There are several media houses and because of the advent of technology, there is no prejudice whatsoever. ZBC should be allowed to behave like any other media house according to their way of working. They should not be constrained to the rules set up by ZEC.
HON. HWENDE: Hon. Minister, I think you remember that when we parked the issue of observers, we had also agreed that the six months before should fall away but the reason why we parked it was that you were going to check whether the law currently provides for them to be accredited immediately after the proclamation. So that was the only thing that you were supposed to go and check because we are now agreeing to say if the proclamation is done, then observers can start being accredited. That was the issue that we wanted clarification on.
On journalists, we are happy that you are also agreeing but the issue of ZBC, I do not understand your logic because the reason why ZBC is being singled out is because it is funded by tax payers’ money. The reason why it is funded by tax payers’ money is precisely for them to cover all political parties, kwete zvenyu zvamunoita zvekuti ZBC is only covering ZANU PF. They are not covering all other political parties and so forth. –[HON. NYABANI: Washaya zvekutaura here, hazvisi zvezera rako izvi?]- Iwewe chimbonotenga mazino, you should have bought teeth with the USD40 000 that you were given so that you speak sense.
HON. MADZIMURE: I just want to talk about ZBC. If the Minister’s word is what should be happening, then it means ZBC cannot force anyone to buy licences because if they are going to behave like any other media, it must be able to do its own business, generating its own funds and not to be allocated any money from the State. It ceases to be a State broadcaster. If it remains a State broadcaster, it cannot be allowed to align to a certain party. I cannot fund ZANU PF’s mouthpiece. We cannot do that. –[HON. NYABANI: Inaudible interjection]- Aiwa Nyabani, musoro idemhe kani, unechiiko iwewe? What we are discussing here is beyond you. Wakarigirwa neFAZ knowing that you are useless.
HON. TOGAREPI: Madam Chair, I hear what the Hon. Members from the other side are saying but Herald or what they call State media is owned by ZIMPAPERS to do business and compete with other media houses. They go where they feel there is news. They cannot take everything and they cannot report on everything even trash. So, if we are clamouring for freedom of the Press, we should also give them freedom to take news where they want. Thank you.
HON. MARKHAM: The issue of State media is a hot topic. I understand what the Hon. Chief Whip is trying to say defending the current propaganda. The issue is very simple – not 100% of State media should cover the ruling party. The 3% or 1% on opposition parties is totally negative. That changes the State media role. In other SADC countries, depending on your proportional representation in Parliament, you are given time in the lead up to the election to carry out your debates and to carry out your party manifesto. The media should be forced to abide by the allocation we have in Parliament because it is logical that if we are one third in Parliament, then one third of the people who are invited for us, therefore we should be allowed one third of the time on the State media. At the moment, it is totally used as 100% as a propaganda piece. Thank you.
HON. ZIYAMBI: Hon. Chair, I just want to speak about observers. The issue of journalists, I think we have time to discuss about it. There are several categories of people who are to observe elections and they apply to the chief election agents to be accredited and these are local observers. I believe local observers do not need an accreditation which is more than four days because this accreditation is about having access to the polling area and procedures that are happening during the polling days and they are local. Whatever they want to interrogate, they are able to do it and they do not need accreditation to do that.
We have foreign observers that apply to the Minister of Foreign Affairs by the nature of where they are coming from. There are certain procedures that need to be done to ensure the safety, security and the vetting. Again, those particular observers, they have foreign missions here. They do not need accreditation for a duration that is over and above the time that poling is happening because their foreign missions have accreditation to be in Zimbabwe and observe whatever they want to do.
So, I do not know what mischief is being solved here where an organisation called Veritas for instance, wants to be accredited for six months when they are already operating in Zimbabwe, they are not barred from going to ZANU PF rallies if they so wish, they are not barred from roaming around the country. This accreditation that is in the Act, pertains to when ZEC now deploys people to poling areas. These individuals should now be given access and observe what is happening from the setting up of tents, transportation and everything. So, I submit that the Act as it is, is very adequate and we should not temper with it. We cannot have foreigners coming here for six months, we might as well give them work permits not accreditation cards. They have foreign missions that are accredited. We have local organisations, they are already allowed to operate, so this amendment Hon. Chair, is unacceptable. I propose that we do not adopt it. The amendment that is being proposed by journalists while I agree with them, I think we can park it and we have more conversation around it, we can always have a look at it at a later stage. I so submit.
HON. HWENDE: I think the Hon. Minister did not respond to the issue. We agreed the last time we sat that the six months should actually fall off but what the Hon. Minister had actually promised to do was that he was going to consult primarily because once the proclamation is done, in this case 21st June is the nomination day. Truly, that could actually fall under the parameters and that is what we thought the Hon. Minister was going to do then come and say look, the 60 days is out but we can then simply state that from proclamation, observers can now be permitted. I think this is a good compromise which I believe the Hon. Minister must not have a problem with, because when we go to the nomination court, truly there should not be a problem – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
HON. CHIKOMBO: Just to add on the issue of observers, you will see that the proclamation has been done, the electoral process has started. If we do not accredit local observers now, the time that the ballot papers are going to be printed, who is going to be there observing on behalf of the candidates? No-one because they will still be waiting to be accredited. That is what we want to say that there are importeant aspects of elections, first the nomination court, it needs to be observed by local observers and also international observers. I am happy that you are agreeing that we can bring foreign observers immediately after proclamation.
The printing is very important and all the way to the final storage is very important. We need local observers to have been accredited already.
HON. ZIYAMBI: Thank you Hon. Chair, Hon. Members are not reading the Act in its current form and appreciating what observers are supposed to do. Observers have nothing to do with printing of ballot papers. That is the first point – [AN. HON. MEMBER: Inaudible interjections.] – that is what the Act says. The function of an observer according to the Act, persons who are accredited by the Commission in terms of this party as observers of an election shall be entitled to do any of the following: to observe the election process and in particular the conduct of polling at the election.
I am submitting that what we are doing by accrediting, we are saying the election process is now starting and ZEC is now moving to polling station areas and that process starts four or so days before election day. Observers will then be accredited to observe that process until elections are over. Before that, all those so called local observers have nothing that stops them from going to attend a rally being conducted by party A, B or to go and attend any other process. By their nature, the elections, you need to identify somebody who will have access to a poling area for security reasons. So, you cannot then say you want to accredit somebody for doing nothing over a period of 2 months. Accreditation is for the process when the election process starts. Any other processes, people have access on nomination day, the Nomination Court is an open court. You are not asked to produce your identity documents. If you are not a voter and you want to walk in a polling station when they are setting up, it is a security area, you need to produce an accreditation card that gives you access into that area.
So, I am submitting that we are grappling over nothing. Foreign observers have foreign missions here, those Ambassadors have got accreditation cards that give them parameters on how to operate. Local observers are allowed to operate; that is why I mentioned an example for instance. They are allowed to do their work but on election day, they are not allowed to entre the polling station unless they are accredited. So, I am submitting that it is correct as it is. Never mind what you can say was an agreement by me. Having studied the Act, I realised that there is no need to change the law, it is correct as it is. I submit Hon. Chair.
HON. CHIKOMBO: I would like to get further clarification from the Hon. Minister. What do you mean when you say proper election? My understanding is that when proclamation has been made, it explains that the election has begun. There is this process of sitting the Nomination Court where these observers are supposed to participate and they must be given unfettered access to the process followed by the printing of ballots. So, if you then say they are not allowed to do that, then they are only allowed to access polling stations. Election is a process and it is not an event. So, what prejudice do we suffer as a Government if we are to allow observers to be accredited just after proclamation of the election? I submit.
HON. ZIYAMBI: Hon. Chair, the Hon. Member was not listening to me – [HON. CHIKOMBO: I was listening.] – so, can we proceed – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE TEMPORARY CHAIPERSON: Order Hon. Members, he is explaining.
HON. ZIYAMBI: When proclamation is done, it is setting a road map of the election. There is nobody who is barred from attending a rally. I repeat, no one is barred from attending a rally, on one is barred from attending a nomination court, you do not need accreditation to attend a nomination court but when ballots are being dispatched and you want to access the polling area where ballots are stored before the actual polling day, it is a security area, you need to identify yourself that you have been accredited. Any other processes, nobody is barred from attending to those processes.
The printing of ballot boxes has nothing to do with foreign or local observers. The people who can talk about having access are political parties, not foreign or local observers is strictly for political parties. So it has nothing to do with those observers. I have explained that in all other processes, you do not need accreditation or to identify yourself, you are allowed. So I submit.
On Clause 18:
HON. GONESE: I move the amendment standing in my name that: The Bill is amended by the insertion of a new clause on page 7 in line 40 as follows— “18 Amendment of section 47 of Cap. 2:13 The principal Act is amended in Section 47 (“Nomination fee”) by the insertion of a new sub-section (2) as follows— “(2) The nomination fee shall neither be exorbitant nor inhibitive but reasonable enough to allow an eligible citizen to stand for election for public office.”. And the subsequent clauses shall accordingly be renumbered.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Hon. Chair, this is consistent with the provisions of the Constitution. I agree.
Amendment to Clause 18 put and agreed to.
Clause 18 as amended, put and agreed to.
On Clause 20:
HON. GONESE: I move the amendment standing in my name that: The principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following Section 52B and C— “52B Printing of Ballot Paper: The Commission shall call for a competitive tender to print ballot papers and all related electoral material including the procurement of indelible ink, the supply of ballot boxes and all relevant material.
Election Commission National Logistics Committee (1) Every political party in Parliament should have one representative each in the Commission’s National Logistics Committee established in terms of paragraph 7 of the First Schedule to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Act [Chapter 2:13]. (2). All other political parties that are not in Parliament shall have one representative in the Commission’s National Logistics Committee, and subsequent clauses were renumbered accordingly.
HON. MUSHORIWA: I think this one is actually a simple matter which I think we will not have a problem with as a House. We are saying that this is in terms of our Public Procurement Laws. You just need to make sure that when the printing of ballot paper is being done, the Commission shall call for a competitive tender which is in tandem with our laws.
Secondly, every political party in Parliament should have one representative on the logistics committee which is very commendable. We are not saying every political party but we are basically limiting it to political parties that are represented in Parliament. Therefore, I move for the adoption of the amendment as proposed on the Order Paper.
HON. MADZIMURE: What this section seeks to address is actually the Public Procurement Act. There is no organisation or institution in this country that enjoys taxpayers’ money that can just procure something without going through the process that is provided for by the Procurement Laws of Zimbabwe (PRAZ).
Therefore, it is important that ZEC issue a tender that organisations respond to and when it comes to the actual printing, there is no harm in having each political party in Parliament represented by a single member to go and observe the printing.
The printing of the ballots must also be accounted for; how many ballots were printed, and how many extras were printed - that is very important. This will ensure that the process is credible. The adoption of this amendment will not prejudice anyone but it will enhance the credibility.
HON. BITI: Madam Chair, we want our law to comply with the 2 August 2006, SADC Protocol on Standard Elections agreed in Mauritius. Those guidelines emphasise two things; transparency of the ballot paper and transparency in two respects, transparency around who is going to print it which in any event is consistent with our Public Procurement Laws. If you go to Section 315 of the Constitution is clear that there shall be a law made for the transparent procurement of services and goods to the State. We would like our Electoral Act to be consistent with international standards. The second thing which is again consistent with the SADC Protocol on Elections is transparency about the actual process of printing. Political parties and not observers are allowed to go and witness the printing of ballot papers.
Recently in August 2022, there was an election in Kenya, we witnessed political parties going to Germany to witness the printing of their ballot paper. There was an election in Lesotho, we witnessed political parties in Lesotho witnessing the printing of the ballot paper. We are asking the Minister representing the Executive to please concede to the incorporation of this SADC Protocol into our own domestic law. After all, whatever amendments we are doing right now are not affecting this election because the proclamation was made in S.I. 85 of 2023 and therefore, this is for the next election. We hope the Minister can grant us that respectful concession. I thank you.
HON. ZIYAMBI: This provision is not acceptable for the main reason that this is a highly security issue that does not require what they have indicated there. Having said that, I listened very attentively to Hon Biti; political parties, that is okay. That has been done but it is how they observed that as an issue. The principle of allowing them is there. It is how it was done that is being argued. Having said that, the process that happens from the time of dispatch to the time that results are announced, political parties are participants. Once the materials arrive at a polling station, political parties, presiding officers and everyone who is there is supposed to reconcile and sign for the material that has arrived.
Before you start voting in the morning, you do the same. When voting closes, you reconcile ballots that have been used and the residue to ensure that it is exactly the same quantity that you received. Sometimes we are fearing our own shadows when there is nothing to fear. The way the process is being done, if all of us as political parties are alert, we will not even spend time debating this. Over and above that, perhaps five years from now we will have voting machines. My humble submission is that let us proceed. We do not need this. Let us concentrate on what we can do to ensure that the integrity of the vote is maintained by the processes that I have said are available and we ensure that we protect it.
Not only that, after voting the results are pasted and since 2008 we have been doing that, you paste on the wall signed results. If we follow the process as it should, we will realise that we are fearing nothing. My submission is that let us park this for another day because beyond 2028, we will not be needing ballot papers. We will have machines. I move that we reject this and we proceed with the Bill. I thank you.
*HON. CHIDZIVA: My contribution is that sometimes you do not know that ballot papers are printed at different places. There are some ballot papers which are specifically printed for Harare where upon putting an X, it then disappears. These ballot papers react and remove all the ink written on them. Let us agree from the onset that we need to set the rules before ballot papers are printed. By so doing, we will ensure that a transparent process is maintained.
I am sure most of us will remember the scenario in 2013 where there was Nikuv and so forth. We need to perfect our processes so that there will be no disputes after elections.
HON. HWENDE: I think when the Minister responded you went far ahead and dealt with issues that are not on the table. The issue that is on the table here is the issue of the printing of ballot papers. Our appeal to you is to incorporate the SADC Protocol on Elections. It is good that the whole world is watching you whilst you are denying the things that you agreed on at SADC. We are not asking for anything apart from what you agreed together with your colleagues that political parties must be allowed to witness the printing of ballot papers. There is nothing like security risk when it comes to printing of ballot papers. In fact, in most countries they do not use their dubious printing company like what you are doing here.
HON ZIYAMBI: On a point of clarification, can you give me the SADC provision verbatim on printing of ballot papers.
HON HWENDE: Let Mr. Dias check for you. That is his job. We are all Zimbabweans and the intention that we have is that we want to hold elections that are not contested. It is not only good for CCC but good for the country. We have simple things that even your Head of State agreed with his fellow Head of States that let us enhance electoral processes by allowing political parties – people do not even know where ballot papers are printed.
Last time you invited political parties to verify printing of ballot papers, instead of them witnessing the process, they were just shown the printing process for two minutes through the glass. In less than two minutes, everyone was being told to leave. When you ask everyone to go out you are shooting yourselves in the foot because all you are doing is cheating the people and the country will not go anywhere. We want this country’s electoral processes to be such that anyone who wins is congratulated by the loser. - [HON. NYABANI: Inaudible interjection.] - Hon Chair, can you concentrate on the debate and protect me from this toothless man here. Please protect me Hon. Chair. So we just want the Hon. Minister to clarify two things which are: firstly, you are a signatory to the SADC Protocol on Elections, so are you officially discarding the SADC Protocol on Elections and things that they have agreed to which are being done in the SADC and even in Malawi where the President is. It says that the printing process must be transparent and that interested parties must witness the printing process of ballot papers. This is what is happening in Malawi where the Head of State is. It is also happening in Botswana and Namibia. When they print their ballot papers, they invite all their political parties to come and witness. Some countries are no longer printing the Presidential ballot papers in their own country in an effort to enhance transparency. They are printing in Dubai or Germany and even invite political parties and pay for them to go and witness the process.
Secondly, we have also spoken about the security issues surrounding the observation of the printing process. Our question is, can you clarify to Zimbabweans what is so secretive about a political party representative or candidate witnessing the printing of a ballot paper, which is a public document. What security are you talking about? You cannot just throw words and sit down. Whatever we are asking, we are doing so in good faith. We just want our country to have a free and fair election so that the results are not contested and whoever wins proceeds with the business of running this country. It is good for the country, for us and for you as well as for everyone else. I thank you very much.
HON. ZIYAMBI: Thank you Hon. Chair. The printing of our ballot papers is transparent, so it is compliant with the SADC Protocol and other protocols. Our legislation to that effect is not sufficient because they have not motivated enough. The observation, like I indicated, is not a legislative issue but how it was done that needs to be dealt with. So, the issue of procurement that is subject to a competitive tender, that is subject to amendment is the one I said we cannot do. Those that have been speaking about googling; in America, a company won a tender to provide voting machines. When the elections came, it must have been the Republicans, they lost in several States where those machines were used and they were crying foul that there was manipulation but they had done what they are calling an open and very good tendering process.
I have indicated that the issue of security of the ballot box for political parties, we can ensure that we do it and we do not need to grapple about needing competitive tenders or logistic committees. To be very honest with you, all these are populated with human beings that are capable of also being bribed even if they carry a label of a political party, but when you have a general policy that when ballots arrive at a particular polling station, every political party must ensure they do what they must do to protect the ballot. So, this amendment, I do not accept because I believe our laws as they stand are extremely compliant with all the protocols that we have signed. So, I submit that we cannot adopt it, so let us move on.
HON. DUTIRO: If you are moving to another clause, I accept it because there is no reason why Hon. Hwende was speaking of the SADC guidelines. Those are simple guidelines which we can either follow or may not follow. Guidelines is the key word.
Secondly, the idea of having the interested parties to witness the printing of ballots was given as a proposal and is yet to be adopted by SADC. I was the Vice Chairperson of the SADC Troika on Politics, Defence and Security in Madagascar. I am wondering where their fear is coming from. I am not sure if my Hon. colleagues are aware of the electoral processes in terms of printing these ballot papers. The number of ballot papers, voters, voting centres and the figures that are sent to polling stations are all known and the ballot papers have serial numbers. So, I am just wondering where their fears are coming from.
HON. MADZIMURE: Madam Chair, Section 7 (4) of the SADC Guidelines on elections talks about the issue of – [HON. ZIYAMBI: Guideline ka.] - Minister, even though they are guidelines, what we are trying to do here is to ensure that the result that we get out of an election will motivate the people of Zimbabwe to behave like a people who have come from an election, where there is a possibility that you can lose an election or you can win an election. So, the whole thing that we are talking about here is to ensure that our election is simply credible.
As you were saying, we have got nothing to hide. So, if you have got nothing to hide, why should you get to a point where you froth because you just do not want that to happen. If there is nothing to hide, why can we not simply do the best that we can do to ensure that after an election, there is a real feel, people think that exactly what has come out of this election is a result of the people’s will.
The biggest problem that we have, is we will continuously go in circles and we will end up even dying. The majority of the people who used to sit on these benches are now all dead and they left us in a messy because they were taking exactly the same stance that I will not change. We do not help the nation by simply saying we just do not want. You can give other reasons but if there is nothing to fear, why cannot people observe.
HON. HAMAUSWA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I also want to support the issues being raised by Hon. Members that the printing of ballot papers is very important. If we look at the SADC Guidelines, they actually outline responsibilities of Member States in holding democratic elections. One of the issues is to ensure transparency, – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjection.] – Ko haugoni kunyarara here, ukanyarara unobvei. Madam Chair can I be protected? – [Laughter.] –
Madam Speaker Ma’am, I want to add my voice to the issue of printing of ballot papers. At the centre of this issue, is the issue of legitimacy and we all know – I always want to repeat that we claim that we are in the Second Republic and in the old republic, the contested issue was the illegitimacy of elections. The legitimacy of elections needs to be enhanced by our own laws. This is the reason why we are reforming the laws, including the electoral laws, to make sure that there is legitimacy in the processes we do.
SADC guidelines, actually places on the responsibility of the member States to make sure that there is full observation of the entire electoral cycle, including the pre-election period. So, when they say entire electoral cycle, they actually include even the ballot papers. They need to be observed. Kana isusu tisiri kuisa poison muchikafu chatiri kubika, tiri kutyirei kuti vanhu vaone kuti chiri kubikwa sei. Tiri kudirei kunobika kuseri tichiti kune security. Chinhu chatoda kuzopa vanhu?
So, Madam Speaker Ma’am, the issue of the ballot paper is like we are cooking food for everyone. We all want to see what ingredients are put in the pot to cook the food. The issue of the ballot papers, political parties are supposed to see – that is a bone of contention that since time immemorial, ballot papers are printed in large numbers than the voters themselves. It is said there are duplicates of ballot papers. So, we need to know the printing company. If the Minister calls for tender, all political parties should have representatives to see where and how the ballot papers are printed and how they are sealed. When they come to polling stations, we are just given something which we never witnessed its origin. That is what we want to avoid. Iyi issue inoita kuti Zimbabwe ionekwe sokuti iri kufanana nedzimwe nyika. Zimbabwe ionekwe sokuti yaita mareform kunyaya dzesarudzo dzagara dziri kusiya gwapa panyika ino yeZimbabwe, yova chiseko chedzimwe nyika. Ndatenda.
* HON. ZIYAMBI: Hon. Chair, I was listening to Hon. Hamauswa, he is now debating something out of the Bill. He is attacking other political parties. If we go that far, a party that has Members who fight among themselves, some of the Members belong to that party. Even at a funeral, they fight but he is saying that ZANU PF this and that. He should stick to the Bill and stop attacking other political parties. If we go into attack as he is doing, as we speak, they do not have a list of contesting candidates, yet we are about to go to elections…
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON (HON. MAVETERA): Order, Order Hon. Members! Hon. Members, I know this is a very sensitive Bill because it is the Electoral Amendment Bill. You all have got different political persuasions and come from different political parties but let us all try to stick to the principle, which is discussing the Bill and not going on to speak about political parties, political leaders and all that. So please, I am kindly requesting you to stick to speaking about the Bill. We are now on amendment to Clause 20. Let us speak about that and stop all this because we will not finish this Bill.
HON. HWENDE: Hon. Chair, the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs must withdraw the issue he spoke about concerning Advocate Chamisa. Advocate Chamisa is not here in Parliament so he must stand up – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Can you protect me against this man?
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Order, order!
HON. HWENDE: Adv. Chamisa is not in here so the Minister must withdraw his reference to Hon. Chamisa.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: You are out of order Honourable.
*HON. HWENDE: If he had witnessed the printing of ballot papers in Zvimba, he would not have lost the primary election – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] - The issue that we are talking about could help them. They lost the primary elections because they did not see where the ballot papers where being printed. That is why you all lost in the primary elections. You are used to stealing, you steal from each other and you want to continue stealing from the country – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] -
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Order, order! – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] - Hon. Members from the right may you please sit down. Hon. Munetsi, please sit down – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] - Hon. Nyathi!
*HON. CHIKOMBA: Thank you Madam Chair. I want to remind the House that if there are any disagreements on the issue of allowing political parties to witness the printing of the ballot papers, it is because the ballot paper is the one which brings out the credibility of results. If a political party does not have access to the printing of ballot papers, it cannot come across the ballot paper at polling stations. If you look at what made the people of Zimbabwe to go for the liberation struggle, it was the issue of allowing the ordinary people to vote - what we call universal suffrage: one man, one vote. This starts with the printing of the ballot paper.
We cannot say elections were transparent if political parties are not allowed to witness the printing of ballot papers. The issue of security which the Minister is referring to, I think the Nomination Court scrutinises each and every paper of aspiring candidates despite political affiliation that we have passed the bar set for you to be considered a candidate. This addresses the issue of security issues.
Secondly, where ballot papers are being printed, which is Fidelity Printers - if that is where issues of security threat are emanating from, why do you go there? Why do we use those facilities because observers are not a security threat, but it is because of the environment which you would have used to print the ballot papers? You see a presidential candidate is asked to pay US$20 000 for them to witness the printing of ballot papers while they are 100 metres away. What is the use of US$20 000?
We know that you cannot effect this provision for the forthcoming elections, but for the next elections, as alluded to by the former speaker. Worldwide, there are no political parties which just wake up to see the ballot papers on voting day. What challenge do you face in allowing political parties who are already there to observe? What prejudice do you suffer as a State? One thing is that you must allow all the political players an equal chance to participate because they have shown an interest by paying the money and they have passed all the security checks which have been put in place by the State. I thank you.
Amendment to Clause 20, put and negatived.
On Clause 23:
HON. BITI: This one Hon. Minister, we agreed that it does not make sense that a polling station can transmit results but the standard, Madam Chair, is that at constituency level because at constituency level, results are signed off by all the political parties. Our submission, Hon. Minister, is that if we can then have the transmission at constituency level, not at individual polling station. That would be my proposal. We accept that at polling stations, it does not work but at constituency level it works because the constituency is a collection of all the polling stations, so it makes sense.
Can we propose that the onward transmission of the real time commences at polling stations because at polling stations, everyone signs off, you sit at the main centre. If you are in Chiendambuya or if you are in Hwedza North, you sit at Sadza and you have got your own results and you transmit them. It is more practical.
HON. ZIYAMBI: Thank you Hon. Chair. As soon as the returning officer at the constituency command centre finishes, they then go to the province. By the nature of our votes, they cannot be transmitted directly because of the proportional representation issues that need to be dealt with at the provincial command centre. They will transmit them to the provincial command centre and the provincial command centre is the one that transmits them to the national after they have collated. This amendment may actually happen in future. It is not a bad amendment, but for now, we cannot change it. For 2028, I think we will bring another amendment and we will be looking at many other issues.
HON. BITI: Madam Chair, the calculation of PR has nothing to do with the results at the constituency level. We totally agree with the Minister that allowing transmission at polling station has a problem and the Minister gave the example of Chegutu, of Hon. Dexter Nduna’s case where a wrong result was actually transmitted. At constituency level, it is different because everyone signs off to say we have got 22 polling stations in this constituency and this is what we got, councillor in ward so and so, MP Mr. Dube of party X, Mrs. Chinhamhora of party Y got this and Presidential Candidate Mr. Y got this and Mr. Z got this. There is nothing wrong with that.
We see it happening in other countries and it is best practice. That is what we are appealing for. We referred to the SADC Protocols earlier on. The African Charter also has its own principles on democracy and elections. Let us follow international standards. Let us follow African standards. A lot of these things, we are trying to remove the perception.
I was listening very carefully to the arguments on the previous subject to do with the observation of printing of ballot papers. A political party is not going to sit in a room to see the printing of ballot papers from ballot paper No. 1 to the eleventh million if there are eleven million voters in that country, but it is the symbolism that we had actually seen which helps to create an atmosphere of credibility, legitimacy and confidence in the whole system.
We are recalibrating the social contract and the social fabric of our society. We are trying to find a new consensus that we can all agree so that one who wins the election shakes the loser and the loser shakes the winner, and they go and play golf together at Harare Royal Golf Club. That is what we are trying to do. These things are important, let us follow them because since 1980, we have always been fighting on elections. VaNkomo navaMugabe had such problems and vaTsvangirai, navaMugabe, vakasvika pakufa vese, nanhasi tichirikungonetsana. Ngatimbosvikai pekuti hatinetsaneba. Tomhoresana tichitengerana doro mubhawa riri paseri apa. Thank you.
HON. ZIYAMBI: Thank you Hon. Chair. I agree with him but this amendment is not for now, so I am rejecting it.
HON. MARKHAM: Madam Chair, the Minister cannot say not for now – why are we debating because it is not for now, saka ngatiendei kumba.
HON. HWENDE: We are calling for the division of the House. It is a very important issue and the Minister is not agreeing. The rule allows us to call for division. I am officially calling for a division of the House so that we can solve this problem on Clause 23.
HON. BITI: The reason for division is the question of whether or not results at the constituency level should be transmitted real time to the national constituency centre. That is the issue.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Hon. Biti, it is on adopting Clause 23 and that is what we are arguing for and not about ballots. We had already finished about the ballots. We were now on Clause 23. The bells can now be rung. Thank you.
[Bells rung]
[House divided.]
AYES 46: Hon. Bushu B., Hon. Chibagu G., Hon. Chikukwa M. R., Hon. Chikuni E., Hon. Chinotimba J., Hon. Chiwetu J. Z., Hon. Dutiro P., Hon. Dzepasi G., Hon. Kabozo S., Hon. Kapuya F., Hon. Kashiri C., Hon. Madziva S., Hon. Makari Z. H., Hon. Makope M., Hon. Marikisi N., Hon. Masvisvi D., Hon. Mataranyika D., Hon. Mavetera T. A., Hon. Mguni S. K., Hon. Mkandla M., Hon. Muchimwe P.T., Hon. Mudau M., Hon. Munetsi J., Hon. Muponora N., Hon. Murambiwa O., Hon. Murire J. Rtd., Hon. Musanhi K. S., Hon. Musiyiwa R., Hon. Mutodi E., Hon. Ncube E., Hon. Nduna D. T., Hon. Nguluvhe A., Hon. Nyabani T., Hon. Nyathi R. R., Hon. Raidza M., Hon. Saizi T., Hon. Samambwa E., Hon. Shumbamhini H., Hon. Sibanda O., Hon. Sithole Josiah., Hon. Svuure D., Hon. Togarepi P., Hon. Tongofa M., Hon. Wadyajena J. M., Hon. Ziyambe Z., Hon. Zizhou M.
Tellers: Hon. Raidza M., Hon. Sibanda L.
NOES 26 : Hon. Biti L. T., Hon. Chidziva H., Hon. Chikombo W., Hon. Chimbaira G., Hon. Chinyanganya M., Hon. Gonese I. T., Hon. Hamauswa S., Hon. Hwende C., Hon. January S., Hon. Machingauta C., Hon. Madzimure W., Hon. Maphosa L., Hon. Markham A. N., Hon. Matewu C., Hon. Matsunga S., Hon. Mokone S., Hon. Molokela-Tsiye F. D., Hon. Munengami F., Murai E., Hon. Mushoriwa E., Hon. Mutseyami C. P., Hon. Nyamudeza S., Hon. Nyokanhete J., Hon. Sibanda L, Hon. Tarusenga U. D., Hon. Tembo M.
Tellers: Hon. Matewu C., Hon. Chinotimba J.
Clause 23 put and negative.
On Clause28:
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Madam Chair, we removed this Clause in our earlier discussions, so it falls away.
*HON. BITI: Madam Chair, why is it there is no longer give and take in our discussions? We were doing our business smoothly; are we now doing this? – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE TEMPORARY CHAIREPRSON: Order Hon. Members. Hon. Biti, take your seat. Hon. Members, take your seats. Hon. Biti, we have completed this Bill.
HON. HWENDE: On a point of order. Madam Chair, there is no quorum in this House.
[Bells rung]
[Quorum formed]
Question that Clause 28 be removed from the Bill put and agreed to.
Clause 28 accordingly deleted.
On Clause 31:
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Hon. Chair, this clause is extremely problematic. While I appreciate the need for a code of conduct, but this clause will violate a lot of rights of contestants like it says here, Clause 31 (e) “if any party violates the provisions of the Code, the Commission may disqualify the candidate from participating in the election in the constituency or ward concerned. What this clause is saying is that there is no time for ZEC to do this when campaigning period is happening. There will not be any due process that will be followed.
We are saying this may be Mushoriwa, somebody will just go and report Mushoriwa broke the code of conduct. He did 1,2,3 and 4 and ZEC may disqualify him. There is no provision there, neither is there time to call witnesses and interrogate everything. This is dangerous for now. I think it is not appropriate. We need to put our heads together and think how we want the code applied but not to give ZEC powers that will end up all of us crying.
HON. MUSHORIWA: I am convinced by the Hon. Minister that we remove it.
Amendment to Clause 31 put and negatived.
Clause 31, as amended, put and negatived.
On Clause 33;
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): This is another one Chair. ZEC are not experts in how media practitioners are governed. It is not their business. Their business is to conduct an election. Journalists are governed by their own media council. If there are issues that you believe need to be addressed, they must be addressed to the relevant council. This one again is more or less like the other one that we have just dealt with. Let us leave journalists to be controlled by their own council and regulations and not put them in the Electoral Act. I submit.
Amendment to Clause 33 put and negatived.
Clause 33, as amended, put and negatived.
On Clause 36;
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): This one we spoke about it and agreed, so we are removing it.
Amendment to Clause 36 put and negatived.
Clause 36, as amended, put and negatived.
On Clause 38;
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): This clause is extremely problematic, if not unconstitutional. When an election is held, the President will be in charge until the next President is sworn into office. This one will create a structure where a civil servant will take charge before another President is sworn into office. I think this one, let us park it. It is not desirable because the Constitution says, when an election is held the moment the President elect assumes office, he takes the reins and the other President is no longer President. This one will create a parallel structure that maybe dangerous. I submit and indicate that we remove this one, it is not necessary.
HON. MUSHORIWA: With all due respect to the Hon. Minister, I do not think there will be two centres of power. What the transitional clause means is purely administrative, not political. We concede that the President will remain in office until the inauguration of the one that has actually won but what we do have is, we have got the administrative arm. Remember after the elections the State remains there – [AN HON. MEMBER: Zvakamboitika kwani?] Because we have never had a transition before but you can check even the American system. He is appointed by the sitting President and remember these are the permanent secretaries. Most of the permanent secretaries are appointed by the current President.
HON. BITI: There is nothing malicious. We have a Constitution with limited terms of office and I want to take the natural case. The term of office of the sitting President has ended and another one is coming in. You want a process that administratively smoothens power transfer. Our problem in Zimbabwe is that we have not heard the tradition of smooth power transfer. So, you are trying to entrench this. The unfortunate thing is that since independence we had one President, baba vaMugabe, may his soul rest in peace - but you and I know, there was no smooth power transfer in 2017, kune zvakandoitika. Madam Chair, what this does is to just smoothen the power transfer. It is not creating or taking away power from anyone, tomorrow it will be you Hon. Togarepi.
Therefore, Hon. Minister, this provision is good because we do not have a tradition of power transfer in Africa. In Africa, we have a problem that munhu akapihwa chimuti anobva amhanya nechimuti. So, this provision helps administratively.
Madam Chair, if you watch the Olympics Games; in Africa, we have boys and girls who partake in marathon races from Ethiopia and Kenya and they just perform long distances because as Africans, we are unable to partake in short distances because hatigone kupanana chimuti. This provision only assists kuti chimuti chipihwe mumwe zvakanaka. I thank you.
*HON. HAMAUSWA: I would also like to add one thing that I have observed in other countries. In other countries in the SADC region that we visited during their elections, they have got what they call instruments of power which are equally the same as what we practice here with regard to chieftainship. So, other countries actually have the symbolism of power which they call instruments of power. This means that the incumbent President, in the case that he loses the election, takes those instruments of power as a process, handing them to the winning President. So, this is what should be happening at the peaceful transfer. In Zimbabwe, the chieftainship processes practice the same thing, so I support that provision.
HON. TOGAREPI: We do not want to bring in changes to the Constitution through the back door. What Hon. Members are bringing can only come in when we change the Constitution. At the moment, we stick to the Constitution. When transfer of power happens, we will use relevant structures that are there at the moment. Therefore, we cannot be persuaded in this Act to try and do things that were never there.
*HON. CHIDZIVA: The issue of transition is very important because in some instances, those who are in power may fail to win the election and there is a runoff. It is very unfortunate that those people remain in power using Presidential powers to come up with solutions for that period. However, if we have a committee, it will run the electoral affairs throughout and work to see that there is a smooth transition of power.
HON. MATARANYIKA: Thank you Hon. Chair. The problem with the proposal is that it is unconstitutional. If you look at Section 94, assumption of office by President and Vice President, it is very clear how this is done. In any case, the proposal will not survive scrutiny by PLC, it is unconstitutional.
Let us not waste time here, let us proceed – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): When an election is held and the results are clear, there is no contestation after nine days, there is supposed to be a swearing-in. You do not need to remove the powers that the incumbent President has before handing over and give them to the Chief Secretary. In any event, the person who hires and fires a Chief Secretary is the President who is there. So, you cannot have somebody who is called a Chief Secretary who may be fired for convening that by the very same President who is still there. We do not need all this. Once an election is held and everything is okay, that incumbent President will ensure that the process is leading up to the swearing-in ceremony.
In any event, it is part of the Executive powers that the President has to manage his or her own affairs. Why do you want somebody to manage the Presidential affairs as if he is no longer in office? Our Constitution does not say once the results are announced, the President ceases to have executive powers. This clause is manifestly taking away all the executive powers from the President before the swearing-in ceremony and the Constitution never envisaged such a scenario. Hence Hon. Mataranyika is right to say this is manifestly unconstitutional because you are taking away the executive powers the moment results are announced and handing it over to appointed officials by the very same President who can even fire them the day the election results are announced. Therefore, let us not worry about that and be suspicious of each other.
Allow me to respond to Hon. Chidziva who asked his question in Shona. If elections are done and they are inconclusive, the sitting President will continue running the affairs. Our Constitution does not say let us go for an election with a committee in place. That is not allowed.
HON. HWENDE: Let us divide the House on this matter.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: How many of you are present so that we can divide the House. If you are more than 15 Members we can then proceed. We cannot ring the bells when you are less than 15 Members. - [HON MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections]-
[Bells rung]
House divided.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON (HON. MAVETERA): I was using Standing Order No. 135 (b) because Hon Members on my left requested which Standing Order is it which states that if you are less than 15 you just have to stand and we do not vote.
The question over which the House shall divide is that of Clause 38. That Clause as amended, should be rejected. The Ayes are agreeing to the rejection of Clause 38. The Noes are saying Clause 38 should remain as amended.
HON. MUSHORIWA: On a point of order Madam Chair. It is this side that had put the proposal. Generally, the division should be on those people that are saying let this amendment be part of the Bill.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON: Order, we do not need to go through the processes of you debating. We are saying Hon. Members to my left are saying “No”, you do not allow the rejection of Clause 38. Simple.
AYES 50: Hon. Bushu B, Hon. Chanda G, Hon. Chibagu, Hon Hon. Chidamba S., Hon Chikukwa M. Chikuni E., Hon Chinotimba J., Hon. Chiwetu J.Z.; R., Hon. Chombo M., Hon. Dutiro P., Hon. Dzepasi G., Hon. Dzuma S., Hon. Kashiri C., Hon. Madziva S., Hon. Makari Z.H., Hon. Makope M, Hon. Marikisi N., Hon Maronge C., Hon. Masoka. N., Hon. Mataranyika D.M., Hon. Mathe S., Hon Mguni Hlalani., Hon. Mhlanga J.N., Hon. Mnangagwa T., Hon. Mpame C., Hon. Mudau M, Hon. Munetsi J., Muponora N, Hon. Murambiwa O., Hon. Murire J (Rtd) Col. Dr., Hon. Mutambisi C., Hon. Nduna D. T., Hon. Nguluvhe A., Hon Nkomo M, Hon. Nowedza E., Hon. Nyabani T., Hon. Nyathi R. R., Hon. Paradza K., Hon. Raidza M., Hon. Saizi T., Hon. Shumbamhini H., Hon. Sibanda O., Hon. Sithole Josiah., Hon. Svuure D., Hon. Togarepi P., Hon. Tongofa M., Hon. Tsuura N., Hon. Ziyambi Z., Hon. Zizhou M.
Tellers: Hon. Raidza and Hon. Chinotimba
NOES: 26: Hon. Biti L. T., Hon. Chidakwa J., Hon. Chidziva H., Hon. Chikombo. W., Hon. Chimbaira G., Hon Dube G., Hon. Gonese I. T., Hon. Hamauswa S., Hon. Hwende C., Hon. Machingauta C., Hon. Madzimure W., Hon Mago N., Hon. Masuku P., Hon. Matambo J., Hon. Matewu C., Hon. Matsunga S., Hon. Mokone S., Hon. Murai E., Hon. Musarurwa Y., Hon. Mushoriwa E., Hon Mutseyami C. P., Hon. Nyamudeza S., Hon Nyokanhete J. Hon. Sibanda L., Hon. Tembo M., Hon. Tshuma D.,
Teller: Hon. Matewu C, Hon Sibanda L.
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON (HON. MAVETERA): Order! I have 50 Ayes and 26 Noes. Therefore, the amendment is accordingly rejected.
Clause 38 as amended, put and negatived.
House resumed.
Bill reported with amendments.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER
NON-ADVERSE REPORT RECEVED FROM THE PARLIAMENTARY LEGAL COMMITTEE
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have received a Non-Adverse Report from the Parliamentary Legal Committee on the Labour Amendment Bill [H. B 14A, 2022].
CONSIDERATION STAGE
LABOUR AMENDMENT BILL [H. B 14A, 2022]
Amendments to Clauses 8, 12 and 31 put and agreed to.
Bill, as amended, adopted.
Third Reading: With leave, forthwith.
THIRD READING
LABOUR AMENDMENT BILL [H. B 14A, 2022]
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I now move that the Bill be read the third time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read the third time.
Business was suspended at 1837 hours and resumed at 1925 hours.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that we revert to Order of the Day, Number 16 on the Order Paper.
Motion put and agreed to.
SECOND READING
CHILDREN’S AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 12, 2021]
Sixteenth Order read: Second Reading: Children’s Amendment Bill [H. B. 12, 2021].
Question again proposed.
HON. MATARANYIKA: Madam Speaker, I rise to present the second reading speech on the Children’s Amendment Bill.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The Children’s Amendment Bill [H.B. 12, 2021] was gazetted on 3
December, 2021. It seeks to align the Children’s Act [Chapter 5:06], the main statute on children’s rights in Zimbabwe to the Constitution and international conventions. The Bill essentially aims to strengthen the country’s child protection framework, in particular to afford all children needful protection and assistance to enable them to fully assume their responsibilities in the community. In addition, it seeks to ensure that children grow up in an environment which is conducive for their full and harmonious development.
In compliance with Section 141 of the Constitution which enjoins
Parliament to ensure public involvement in its legislative process and that interested parties are consulted on Bills, the joint Portfolio Committees on Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare; and Health and Child Care embarked on public consultations on the Children’s Amendment Bill. This report summarises the views of the people of Zimbabwe on the Bill.
2.0 METHODOLOGY
As part of preparations for public consultations on the Bill, the
Portfolio Committee on Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare attended a workshop to unpack the Bill on 15 June 2022.
The workshop was organised by Parliament in collaboration with
the Southern African Parliamentary Support Trust (SAPST). The joint Committees then proceeded to conduct public hearings on the Bill from 11 to 15 July 2022. In this regard, the joint Committees were divided into two teams that undertook consultations at eleven venues across the ten provinces of Zimbabwe as shown on Appendix 1.
Additionally, the Committees received and considered written
submissions from stakeholders including Leonard Cheshire Disability Zimbabwe.
3.0 OVERVIEW OF THE PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS
While Team A reached a total of 825 people comprising of 51.9%
(428) males, 48.1% (397) female during the public hearings, Team B interfaced with a total of 1016 citizens comprising of 450 males and 566 females. The aggregate reach was therefore, 1841 people, where 47.7% were male participants and 52.3% were females.
- 0 GENERAL SUBMISSIONS
The public applauded Parliament for the efforts made to gather their
views on the Bill and recommended that consultations cover more districts of the country in the future to allow for wider participation in the law-making process.
Members of the public noted that the law must adequately protect the rights of children including the unborn child and those affected by church doctrines. These encompass the right to health, education, clothes and homes. Furthermore, children should be protected from child marriages including harmful cultural practices such as “kugara nhaka; and kuzvarira” as these vices still affected children in some parts of our society. It was also highlighted that the Bill must eliminate any form of discrimination of children whether male female or with disability. Poverty was identified as the leading behind child marriages, child labour, early pregnancies and school dropouts. In this regard, the Government was called upon to urgently embark on poverty alleviation programmes. There was also an outcry against high levels of child labour in the country, especially in the vending occupation and the Government was implored to intervene in this regard. A penalty of one-month imprisonment or community service was proposed for any parent or guardian found guilty of such an offence.
Children called for mandatory jail sentences for perpetrators of rape and other crimes related to the abuse of children and the need to do away with any fines or bail. While a majority of students highlighted that corporal punishment should remain banned as it was a form of child abuse, some were of the view that it was necessary to enforce discipline and good behaviour. It was noted that the scrapping of corporal punishment had resulted in spiraling cases of indiscipline amongst children including drug abuse, prostitution and criminal activities. There was a popular view, especially amongst adults that children should be made accountable for their actions for the betterment of our society. Proposals were made to impose a nine months imprisonment penalty on children who engage in prostitution and a 3 - 12 months jail term for drug abuse.
In relation to the children’s right to education, the Government was urged to provide free basic state funded primary and secondary education considering that most parents and guardians could not afford to pay tuition fees for their children due to economic hardship. Students also implored the GGovernment to compulsorily introduce feeding programs at all schools to ensure that no child’s concentration in school is impaired by hunger and to fulfil the right to food for all. A proposal was also made for the law to stipulate the minimum distance which children must travel for purposes of accessing a school. Students further noted a need to outlaw the withholding of examination results on the basis of non-payment of tuition fees and depriving students of their right to education as it was not their responsibility but that of the parent. The Government was also urged to ensure that all schools install disability friendly facilities including teachers conversant with sign language and braille.
Additionally, the Government should provide assistive devices for learners with disabilities free of charges. Furthermore, a call was made for the Government to ensure equal access to education by children in urban and rural areas through uniform provision of materials for the new education curriculum such as internet, mobile network connectivity and information communication technology (ICT) equipment. Members of the public also underscored the need for provision of sanitary ware by the Government in schools as some girls were missing school during menstruation due to inaccessibility of sanitary. Finally, an appeal was made for the Government to establish health facilities at schools to ensure that students who fall ill urgently access medical care.
5.0 SPECIFIC SUBMISSIONS ON THE BILL
5.1 Clause 1: Short Title of the Bill
There was no objection raised concerning the title of the Bill in all
the ten provinces.
5.2 Clause 2: Preamble
The public applauded the effort being made by the Bill to align the
law to the Constitution and international conventions on children’s rights.
5.3 Clause 3: Interpretation
This clause defines key terms in the Bill. It is pertinent to note that
there was general consensus by both adults and children that the definition of a child should encompass any person under the age of eighteen years. In addition, a recommendation was made to add the definition of a “child with disability.”
5.4 Clause 4: Establishment of the Child Protection and Welfare Council
The Clause renames the “Child Welfare Council” to become the
“Child Protection and Welfare Council” and provides for additional representatives from organisations of parents of children with disabilities. Stakeholders applauded the move to incorporate representatives of Organisations of Parents of Children with Disabilities in the Council as it was deemed to promote parental responsibility and representation. However, it was noted that due diligence should be done to ensure the equal representation of these organisations and that various types of disabilities are represented to ensure that no child is left behind.
5.5 Clause 5: Functions of the Child Protection and Welfare Council
The Clause adds more functions to the Child Protection and Welfare
Council and obligates the Council to seek the views of children and ensure their participation in the execution of its functions.
5.6 Clause 6: Ill-Treatment or Neglect of Children and Young Persons
No comments were made on this Clause which deletes the term “an
infant| and substitutes it with “a child under the age of seven years” in the principal Act.
5.7 Clause 7: Corruption of Children and Young Persons
The public strongly supported this Clause which provides for the
creation of an offence when any person allows or causes a child to participate in child sexual abuse material or any person participates in child grooming. It further stipulates penalties for such offenders ranging from: a fine not exceeding level 12 or imprisonment for not more than 10 years for persons who allows a child to reside or frequent a brothel; a fine not exceeding level 13 and imprisonment not exceeding 15 years for persons who facilitate the sexual exploitation of a child; and a fine not exceeding level 14 or imprisonment sentence not exceeding 15 years for those who participate in child grooming.
In reaction to this Clause, the public highlighted that while it is the duty of parents to take care of the children and teach them upright ways of living, parents have lost ubuntu and socialize their children to corrupt activities such as drug abuse. It was suggested that the Bill provides for the setting up rehabilitation centres for children involved in drug abuse. In addition, members of the public noted that some children were being corrupted through sharing a bedroom with their parents.
5.8 Clause 8: Medical Examination and Treatment of Children and Young Persons.
There was overwhelming endorsement of this Clause which makes
it an offence for any parent or guardian to deny access to medical treatment to a child in their care without a reasonable cause for such denial of medical treatment. The public recommended the deletion of the term “reasonable cause” as it could be abused to justify the violation of the children’s right to health care.
In addition, a call was made for the upwards review of the penalty for denying a child access to health from a level 5 fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 6 months to 5 years and extension of the same penalty to religious leaders who encouraged congregants to engage in such practices. A proposal was also made for the Clause to provide for free medical care for persons under 18 years of age in line with the National Health Policy. This would facilitate the full realization of children’s right to health as most parents and guardians could not afford to meet the cost of health services for their children, for instance the consultation fees were identified as a prohibitive factor.
Finally, members of the public noted the need to repeal the requirement that children be accompanied by parents or guardians for purposes of accessing health services.
5.9 Clause 9: Duty to Report Abuse of Child
This Clause imposes a duty on teachers, medical practitioners, legal
practitioners and ministers of religion, amongst others who in their professional capacity are likely to interact with children, to report any case of abuse or suspected abuse on a child to a police officer or a child protection officer. The Clause further provides for the disciplining and sanctioning of any individual who fails to do so by their professional or vocational body. Members of the public widely supported this Clause and recommended that the Bill extends the duty to report child abuse to every adult. A proposal was also made for the Clause to specify the time frame for reporting the abuse or suspected abuse and penalty in case of failure to do so. It was suggested that the reporting period be limited to 3 days and penalty be 5 years imprisonment.
5.10 Clause 11: Power to Bind Over Person Having Custody of Young Girl, Child or Young Persone to Exercise Proper Care
No comments were registered on this clause.
5.11 Clause 12: Conducing to commission of offence by child or young person
This clause will replace section 13 of the principal Act to make
provision for an offence where parents and guardians conduce the commission of an offence by a child or fails to take reasonable steps to ensure that the child does not commit an offence where they could prevent such offence. There was general consensus that adults who encourage and train children to commit offences should be punished severely as it was morally their responsibility to guide children in good ways. The following penalties were suggested for offenders: 5 years imprisonment for those who facilitate drug abuse, withdrawal of liquor licences for bars which sell alcohol to children and 15 years imprisonment for those who aid children to indulge in sexual intercourse.
5.13 Clause 13: Registration of Institutions
Members of the public registered their support for the registration
and regulation of voluntary institutions that accommodate children. Emphasis was made on the importance of maintaining a family type environment in these institution as it is the most suitable set up for the upbringing of responsible members of society. Furthermore, members of the public indicated that individuals intending to register such institutions should undergo a thorough vetting process lest children may fall prey to abuse. It was suggested that these individuals be assessed by the local leadership and local Government structures before they can be granted the permission to register any institution that accommodates children. In addition, it was highlighted that the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare should ensure that each district of the country has a facility to cater for children in need of care.
5.14 Clause 14: Early Intervention and Family Preservation
This clause provides for the insertion of a new Part V in the
principal Act on early intervention and family preservation programmes that may be provided either by the State or through private organisations. It provides for norms and standards for national and private early intervention and family preservation programmes as well as court orders for the participation in such programmes. The Government was urged to fund early interventions, particularly in the case of families of children with disabilities.
5.15 Clause 15: Restrictions on Making Adoption Order
This clause provides for consultation of a child on any issue
pertinent to their adoption, considering the child’s capacity to form his or her views in accordance with his or her age. Members of the public expressed their support for this clause and noted that most orphaned children are at risk of being abused by relatives. However, a proposal was made for the Clause to specify the minimum age for consultation as 12 years as your children were deemed to be immature to form opinions on such matters. Furthermore, a call was made for the Government to establish mechanisms to monitor the welfare of adopted children to ensure that they do not face any form of abuse.
5.16 Clause 16: Access to Identity Documents
This clause allows a Child Protection Officer to obtain a birth
certificate for a child without parental care and is identified as a child in need of care and protection. The public applauded this provision as it would offer some relief to a considerable number of children who were experiencing challenges in accessing birth certificates. A recommendation was also made to enable guardians and specific duty bearers in the community such as headmasters and traditional leaders and pastors to exercise the same function in order to facilitate a wider realisation of the children’s right to identity. Furthermore, a call was made to impose a six months imprisonment penalty on parents who fail to obtain a birth certificate within a period of 48 days after birth of a child.
5.17 Clauses 17 - 21
There were no comments from members of the public and
stakeholders on these Clauses.
5.18 Additional Clauses
Members of the public proposed addition of the following clauses
in the Bill to make the proposed law more robust in addressing current child protection issues:
- Child assessment – this will seek to determine the needs of a child who is at risk of child abuse. This will involve partnering with police, health personnel, social workers and teachers to carry out an inquiry and assessment of the child’s needs.
- Duty for investigating child abuse – The clause will give mandate the department to make or cause child assessment inquiries as they consider necessary to enable them to decide whether they should take any action to safeguard or promote the child’s welfare.
- Victims of gender-based violence –The public urged that there is need for a Clause which caters for the rights of children who are victims of gender-based violence.
6.0 COMMITTEES OBSERVATIONS
6.1 The Bill embraces the children’s “nothing for us, without us, is
not for us” adage as it promotes the participation and involvement of children in the determination of issues that affect them. Clause 5 of the Bill enjoins the Child Protection and Welfare Council to seek the views of children and their full participation in the execution of its functions. In addition, Clause 15 which stipulates that an adoption order can only be made after the courts are satisfied that the child concerned has been consulted.
6.2 It is commendable that the Bill seeks not only to align the law
to the Constitution and international conventions, but endeavours to respond to the current socio-economic environment. An illustrative example is Clause 19 of the Bill which defines “earnings” to incorporate income generated through informal trade in relation to the Maintenance Act [Chapter 5:09].
6.3 The Bill makes great efforts to promote the welfare of all
children and protect them from abuse through provisions such as Clause 8 on Medical Examination and Treatment of Children and Young Persons, Clause 9 on the Duty to Report Abuse of Child by professionals and Clause 12 on Conducing to Commission of Offence by Child and Clause 13 on Registration of Institutions, amongst others.
6.4 There was a general public view that stiff penalties should be
imposed on perpetrators of child abuse.
6.5 The efforts made by the Government to provide sanitary wear to
girls in school in line with Section 3 of the Education Amendment Act (No. 15 of 2019] are commendable. However, the accessibility of these materials remains a challenge which disrupts the education process for the girl child as some have to miss school during menstruation due to lack of the same.
6.6 Child indiscipline is a serious challenge afflicting our society
today and we seem to be grappling in terms of ways to deal with the issue since the outlawing of corporal punishment.
6.7 Adoption is an underutilised option which has the potential to
afford a considerable number of vulnerable children a home(s) and better life prospects. This can be attributed to ignorance and cultural beliefs which discourage living with “totem-less” children.
6.8 There are a myriad of challenges impeding the realisation of
children’s right to education in Zimbabwe including incapacitation to pay tuition fees by parents and guardians, lack of disability friendly facilities, disruption of learning for the girl child due to early marriages, teen pregnancies and during the menstrual period for those who cannot access sanitary wear.
6.9 The abuse of drugs and other substances by children is a major
challenge currently being experienced in the country.
6.10 The current legal framework limits children’s full access to
health services, in particular, section 35 of the Public Health Act [Chapter 15: 17] which provides that children require parental or a guardian’s consent to access medical health services. In practice, this provision is usually applied to prohibit children from obtaining contraceptives and other sexual reproductive health rights (SRHR), thereby exposing them to sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies.
6.11 Cases of teacher or pupil love and sexual relationships are a rife occurrence in Zimbabwe.
7.0 COMMITTEES RECOMMENDATIONS
7.1 The Bill should provide for the establishment of state funded
drug and substance abuse rehabilitation institutions for children, at least one per province by 31 July 2023.
7.2 The insertion of a clause which provides for the provision of free medical services to children at public health care institutions. In addition, health care centres should provide these medical services indiscriminately, including those relating to SRHR, regardless of whether the child is alone or in the company of a parent or guardian.
7.3 The insertion of a clause on mandatory imprisonment of
perpetrators of child sexual abuse.
7.4 The Public Service Commission in conjunction with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education should dismiss all teachers found guilty of engaging in love or sexual relationships with children or pupils.
7.5 While the country should maintain the ban on corporal
punishment in accordance with current international human rights law and practice, the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare in collaboration with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and other relevant Government Ministries, should come up with a holistic framework of dealing with child indiscipline suitable for our local context by 31 December 2022. This should include strengthening child counselling and probation services in the country.
7.6 The Ministry of Primary and Secondary in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development other relevant Government departments, should address challenges in the education sector by 30 June 2023 in order to facilitate the full realization of the children’s right to education in Zimbabwe. This includes the provision of free basic state funded primary and secondary education, adequate sanitary wear for girls in schools, establishment of disability friendly facilities and feeding schemes at all schools, amongst others.
7.7 The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare should conduct public awareness programmes to demystify the adoption process in Zimbabwe by 31 March 2023.
7.8 Parliament should expeditiously pass the Children’s Amendment Bill so that we afford our children the needful protection and assistance for them to fully assume their responsibilities in the community and to ultimately ensure that they grow up in an environment conducive to their full and harmonious development.
8.0 CONCLUSION
The Children’s Amendment Bill is a progressive piece of legislation
which is set to robustly protect and promote the rights of children in Zimbabwe. Once it is enacted into law, the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, should embark on countrywide educational and awareness campaigns to conscientise the public of the Bill within a period of three months after it is passed into law. In this regard, deliberate efforts should be made to engage children, religious leaders, law enforcement agents, headmasters and community leaders, amongst others.
APPENDIX 1
PROVINCE |
VENUE |
MALE |
FEMALE |
TOTAL |
Bulawayo |
Stanlely Hall, Makokoba |
57 |
66 |
123 |
Harare |
Epworth |
57 |
55 |
112 |
Dzivarasekwa |
43 |
40 |
83 |
|
Manicaland |
Murambinda BSPZ Hall |
58 |
69 |
127 |
Masvingo |
Tabudirira Secondary School, Bikita |
104 |
146 |
250 |
Mashonaland Central |
Mvurwi Park |
99 |
27 |
126 |
Mashonland East |
Hwedza Inn |
85 |
81 |
166 |
Mashonaland West |
Neuso Business Centre, Mhondoro |
151 |
315 |
466 |
Matebeleland North |
Pashu Business Centre, Binga |
78 |
37 |
115 |
Matebeleland South |
Ingwizi Business Centre, Plumtree |
79 |
67 |
146 |
Midlands |
Cross Roads Business Centre, Silobela |
67 |
60 |
127 |
|
Grand Total |
878 |
963 |
1841 |
HON. BITI: Thank you very much Madam Speaker Ma’am. I am going to be very brief. I think this is a very progressive Bill. Children are the future and foundation of any society; which is why Section 81 of the Constitution gives children such paramount importance and place in our Constitution. I would like to see this amendment Bill capture the spirit and ethos of the constitutional protection that is given to children in Section 81of the Constitution.
Why do we want to protect children? We want to protect children because the challenges that children face keep on evolving and therefore, this Act needs to be modernised. To me, this Parliament must focus on the mischiefs. What are the biggest challenges that children are facing at the present moment? I would say, number one is the issue of education. The fact that children are dropping out – if you read the April, 2022 ZIMVAC report, in some provinces, for instance in the Gokwe area, as much as 50% of the children are failing to write Grade Seven examinations. So, I think we need to insert in this Bill, a provision that deals with the issue of education because there is a mischief there, there is a problem.
Number two, something we have spoken about, the issue of child marriages. We have communities that are preying on children, 14-years olds are getting pregnant; 9-year olds are getting pregnant. We have some religious sects that are perceived not to be respecting children. So, let us ensure that we put in this Bill, concrete provisions that prevent child marriages and that impose harsh penalties on those that convert children into wives as if Zimbabwe has a shortage of women that are above 18 years. That should be seen in this Bill.
Another thing is the age of sexual consent, 16-year olds; 14-year olds, are being abused and ravished upon. There is a Constitutional Court judgement handed down in the past year, the case of Diana Eunice Kawenda versus Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, which nullified provisions of the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act that allowed sex to take place and presume that a child at 14 could have sex. We need to ensure, in this Bill that only a child above 18 can engage in sex. We need to put the penalties.
The third thing, after marriages and child sex, is children’s immorality. There is one thing that we need to emphasise, the issue of pornography. I do not see a lot of it being in this Bill. If you look at the Cyber-Security Bill and the amendments of the Criminal Code that were made in the Cyber-Security Bill, there are certain things, I submit we should take and put them here. For instance, the reproduction of child nude pictures, et cetera. We need to see that happening here so that children are not exploited by pedophiles and other sick people vakazadza nyika yese iyi. So, I would like to see the extraction of some of those provisions on pornography, on child pictures and so forth. There are sick people in this world who get satisfaction from looking at pornographic pictures of children.
The other issue, is human trafficking in children. It is a big business and I think my brother, the Minister of Justice will confirm that Zimbabwe has been cited, unfortunately as some centre of human trafficking and children are involved. We have children that are being taken and being sold in certain parts of the Middle East. Our own children. So, I would like to see this Bill speak to the issue and the challenge of child trafficking.
Also another challenge, is the issue of drug abuse. If you go to Court 14, Court 14 is the one that is dealing with prosecution of drugs and there is a prosecutor there, Mr. Tsopotsa. You will be shocked by the number of high school students that you see. I shall not mention the notorious schools but the notorious schools are very close to Harare CBD. So, there is something that is happening amongst our youths viz-a-vis the consumption of drugs. I would like to see this Bill protect children by imposing harsh penalties on those that are peddling drugs to children. You see these drug dealers selling drugs pabreak. It is a big industry. Let us deal with this big industry because it is rampant.
There is also the issue of mental health and the mental well-being of our children. COVID affected our children because a lot of them were kept in isolation. A lot of them could not travel from their homes. So, depression; mental illness has become so rife amongst our children. I would like to see how we are going to deal with these issues and the issues I have spoken above, drugs and mental health require an approach that goes beyond punitive measures. So, we need psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical scientists, homes that cater for these children. So, I would like to see this Bill recognising the importance of this psycho- treatment that is now so necessary in respect of children that are victims of drugs and children that are going through mental challenges. Mental well-being has become a challenge.
The other issue is, some years ago, 2016, I did a child marriage for Loveness Mudzuri, Ruvimbo Tsokodzi versus the case that outlawed child marriages. In the process of the research to that case, I was shocked by statistics that show that the majority of abuse; the bulk of abuse that takes place against children, actually takes place inside the household. The majority of abuse, either vana varikutambwa navo chiramu, vovatiwa and so forth. The majority of people that abuse children are actually known to that child. So, to the average child, the home is not a safe environment, particularly the creature called stepfather. The creature called stepfather is a terrible creature. I am not a psycho-specialist. I am not a psychologist but I would like to see the law reinforced to protect the child in the family unit, particularly our traditional cultures dzechiramu. You will find zirume ziguru richitamba chiramu nekamwana richibata mazamhu, we should proscribe those kinds of things. The household is not a safe environment for the child. I do not know how we are going to deal with that.
I now come to social welfare issues. In the 80s, we used to have programmes where children would get milk or mahewu pabreak because for 90% of the households in Zimbabwe, children are leaving for school without eating. I can speak for my own experience, my parents used to go kumusha. I used to cook porridge, that porridge would last me the whole week. So, kamukaka kandaipuhwa kuchikoro, kuGombo Primary School, kuDzivaresekwa ndokaitondi chengeta. It is not happening now. I would like to see a situation where this Act makes it compulsory that a child get supplementary feeding scheme at school. So, it is important.
Then, the quality of education, we should speak about it in this Bill. Our children are being trained to be workers. To look for jobs. Children are taught to say, dear sir, I am looking for a vacancy when we have moved to an era where they are startups, there is entrepreneurship, there is creativity and so forth. So, I will conclude, Madam Speaker by saying that this is a good start but let us not miss this opportunity. Let us protect children, let us enhance children. I thank you very much Madam Speaker.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I just want to touch on a few issues that are in this report as a Member of the Justice Committee. I also want to applaud the Chairman, hoping that what we put in as recommendations is going to be adhered to to its expected end.
Madam Speaker, on Clause 7, the Hon. Chair and the proposal by the Hon. Minister in terms of the habitat or the accommodation for children is quite key and needs to be adhered to, to its conclusive end. I will give you an example of N23A where I come from in Pfupajena, Ward 5 in Chegutu West Constituency. There are three families of 10 each and the two rooms are separated by a curtain, and one is separated by a wall but each family of ten has got children – girl children, boy children and parents in one room. What it means is there are no conjugal rights, copulation and procreation and there is rampant child abuse, girl child marriages and such because of lack of accommodation.
It is my hope that this Bill is going to speak to such issues so that we can use this Bill as a pedestal and as a platform to make sure that we reduce and completely annihilate the scourge of child marriages, child abuse because of a void in accommodation. How do I propose that this happens Madam Speaker? As we change the Child Act, we need to also look at the Urban Councils Act, Section 152 and 205 that speaks to how estate management can be conducted in the urban centres so that we can use these Acts in order that we completely reduce the housing backlog so that there is no child abuse, early child marriages and children do not get to see adult action and that way they have no appetite for adult games.
There are three ways to alleviate the housing backlog which urban councils can actually indulge in. They can either sell a stand or lease it and there is a third provision where they can donate it. It is allowable, it is there. The two sections speak to one another and they have got those three provisions. I want, Madam Speaker, at the end of this debate, that we amalgamate or get those sections to be in sync with the Constitution which is sui generis. There is no way, in this day and age, where the pensioners can buy the stands, they earn US$50 maximum per month. They continue to live in those dilapidated, deplorable, disused state of situation like for example in N23A. There is no way that the teachers and nurses are able to buy stands. They will continue to be packed like a bus full of molecules or a test tube in a place of residence. It is my thinking, Madam Speaker, that we can use this Child Act in order to get these other subsidiary Acts to be in sync with the Constitution which is sui generis in order that we deal with Clause 7.
Madam Speaker, Clause 8, I think as I end, also talks to issues to do with registration of children and also Clause 9 deals with the issues to do with access to health for the children. Madam Speaker, we spent a lot of time the other time talking about how children can, without guardians, be able to access health care institutions. As has been said, children are getting pregnant at the age of 12, 13, 14 because of the onset of puberty stage at a very early age because we are now getting food stuffs that are not traditional. So, our children are getting pregnant at that age.
My clarion call would be to use this Act in order that the children get to have access to free medical healthcare institutions even without the parents. Some children need guardianship. They have no parents. Both parents are late. I would want us to use this Act in order that the children are registered on Clause 8, the children get free access to medical health institution. Yours truly was the advocate and called for the feeding of children at primary schools because when we went to primary school, we used to access what is called umkara in Ndebele. That is very cold milk at the gate. You would get that and you would also get something for the left hand and you went to class.
During the time of Dr. Dokora, I called for school feeding and it was taken on board. It is my thinking that there is need to robustly have continuity on that and how do I intend that there is the support of school feeding programmes especially at primary school? Section 13 (4) of the Constitution speaks to the resources of those areas helping the development of the same areas in the advent of the abolition of the community share ownership trusts and such like, Madam Speaker, that spoke of empowerment of the formerly marginalised black majority in those communities. It is my thinking that the mining houses and the construction industry should pour in a lot of money to enhance the spoon feeding of our children in those areas and the issues to do with guardianship. Madam Speaker, the laws should be loosened up a bit. I know of people that are still in the courts that are trying to get guardianship of minors. We need to use this child Act in order to elaborately make sure that there are ways that children can find comfort in guardians that want to adopt them.
Having said that, I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to vociferously, effectively, efficiently and elaborately put across what the people of Chegutu West would have me put across especially Chairman Lameck Nyamarango, Sarah Chikukwa, Majory Ruzha, Patricia Nyamadzao and indeed Mr. Jones. Thank you.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Hon. Speaker. Allow me to thank the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Labour and Health for a very good report which, by and large, supported the Bill. Also allow me to thank Hon. Biti and Hon. Nduna. I am very pleased because there is support for the Bill.
Hon. Biti had issues about education, marriage issues, age of sexual consent and the good thing is, we are all in agreement. In our previous Bills, we discussed extensively some of these issues, the Marriages Bill, the Child Justice Bill and we put in provisions. I believe that we will always continue to improve our laws.
At this juncture Madam Speaker, and looking at the clock, I believe we can tackle and zero in on the specific provisions within the Bill and discuss those. My plea to the House is, given the time that we are doing it, the majority of the issues are covered, we do not have a lot of time to look at improving beyond what is there. We have a very good Bill and I would want to plead that the Hon. Members allow me to move that the Bill be now read a second time so that we can discuss clause by clause in the Committee stage. I thank you.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read a second time.
Committee Stage: With leave, forthwith.
COMMITTEE STAGE
CHILDREN’S AMENDMENT BILL [H.B. 12, 2021]
House in Committee.
Clauses 1 to 15 put and agreed to.
On Clause 16:
*HON. CHIDZIVA: On this clause, how is the practice of asking relatives to come and witness so that the child can be issued with documents? My suggestion is that since the National Registration number will have already been issued at the time of acquiring a birth certificate, the child should automatically get the National Registration Card.
*THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS: The clause is not related to this but I will try to help him. When a child is issued with a birth certificate, the process does not require fingerprints. Whether the mother or the father or any other relative if the biological parents are not there, a child can acquire a birth certificate then proceed for his or her national identity document. The reason why they do that is for security reasons because this is a document that will identify the person for the rest of their lives. So, it would not be ideal for any holder of a birth certificate to just go and get a national identity document because we will end up having people with multiple identity documents since they would have obtained birth certificates. No-one would have proved the issues of security and this will reduce fraudulent activities.
If you lose your identity document, all the witnesses will not be necessary for replacement. This issue that we are discussing about has got nothing to do with the clause. It is just to help the child to access a birth certificate so that they can attend school or use it wherever it is required. If the Child Protection Officers see it fit, they can even proceed to acquire the birth certificate for the child, I thank you.
Clause 17 put and agreed to.
Clauses 18 to 21 put and agreed to.
Schedule put and agreed to.
House resumed.
Bill reported without amendments.
Third Reading: With leave; forthwith.
THIRD READING
CHILDREN’S AMENDMENT BIL [H.B. 12, 2021]
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Madam Speaker, I now move that the Bill be read the third time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read the third time.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Madam Speaker, I want to thank the Hon. Members of Parliament who worked hard this week starting on Tuesday working for long hours from 2pm until 10 to 11p.m and I want to commend the hard work and the patriotism that was shown. Here and there, we would argue but this has been commendable.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI), the House adjourned at Seventeen Minutes to Nine o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 6th June, 2023.