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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY HANSARD 04 October 2018 45 09
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 4th October, 2018
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. SPEAKER
APPOINTMENT TO THE COMMITTEE ON STANDING RULES
AND ORDERS
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order! I wish to inform the House that further to the announcement made on Tuesday, 2nd October, 2018 relating to the appointment of members to the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders, the following members have also been appointed to serve on the Committee:
Hon. Sen. Perence Shiri, Leader of Government Business in the
Senate;
Hon. Sen. Elias Mudzuri, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate;
Hon. Sen. Tsitsi Muzenda, ZANU PF Chief Whip in the Senate;
Hon. Sen. Lilian Timveos, MDC-Alliance Chief Whip in the
Senate;
Hon. Sen. Omega Hungwe appointed by the President of the
Senate.
For the avoidance of doubt, the Committee on Standing Rules and
Orders shall consist of the following:
Hon. Advocate Jacob Francis Mudenda, the Speaker of the
National Assembly and Chairperson;
Hon. Mabel Memory Chinomona, President of the Senate and
Deputy Chairperson;
Hon. Tsitsi Gezi, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly;
Hon. Sen. Lt. General (Rtd) Michael Reuben Nyambuya, Deputy
President of the Senate;
Hon. Mthuli Ncube, Minister of Finance and Economic
Development;
Hon. Oppah Chamu Zvipange Muchinguri-Kashiri, Minister of
Defence;
Hon. Dr. Joram Gumbo, Minister of Energy and Power
Development;
Hon. Ziyambi Ziyambi, Minister of Justice, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs and Leader of Government Business in the
National Assembly;
Hon. Sen. Chief Air Marshall (Rtd) Perence Shiri, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement and Leader of Government Business in the Senate;
Hon. Tabitha Khumalo, Leader of the Opposition in the National
Assembly;
Hon. Sen. Elias Mudzuri, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate;
Hon. Pupurai Togarepi, ZANU PF Chief Whip in the National
Assembly;
Hon. Prosper Chapfiwa Mutseyami, MDC-Alliance Chief Whip in the National Assembly;
Hon. Sen. Tsitsi Muzenda, ZANU Pf Chief Whip in the Senate;
Hon. Sen. Lilian Timveos, MDC Alliance Chief Whip in the
Senate;
Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira, the President of the National Council of Chiefs;
Hon. Royi Billah appointed by the Speaker.
Hon. Sen. Omega Hungwe, appointed by the President of the Senate and eight members, four being members from the National Assembly and four from the Senate:
Hon. Marian Chombo;
Hon. Innocent Gonese;
Hon. Spiwe Mukunyaidze;
Hon. Mathew Nyashanu;
Hon. Sen. Sikelela Gumpo;
Hon. Sen. Morgan Komichi; Hon. Sen. Tambudzani Mohadi and Hon. Sen. Sydney Sekeramayi.
DEFENSIVE DRIVING COURSE
THE HON. SPEAKER: I also wish to inform the House that the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe is offering free defensive driving courses to Hon. Members. The course takes two days to complete. Hon.
Members who are interested in the course should register with the
Human Resources Department in Office Number 405, 4th Floor, Parliament Building.
APPOINTMENT OF THE DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE
CHAIRPERSON’S PANEL
THE HON. SPEAKER: Section 136 (1) (b) of the Constitution states that the person presiding at any sitting of the National Assembly must be “in the absence of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, a member elected for the purpose by the House but that member must not be a Minister or a Deputy Minister.”
Standing Order Number 10 (1) provides that “as soon as is practicable after the commencement of every Parliament, and from time to time thereafter as necessity may arise, the National Assembly shall elect one of its members to be Deputy Chairperson of Committees who shall be entitled to exercise all the powers of the Chairperson of
Committees excluding his or her powers as Deputy Speaker of the
National Assembly.” I now therefore call for the nominations for the position of Deputy Chairperson of Committees.
HON. TOGAREPI: I rise to nominate Hon. William Mutomba.
HON. PARADZA: I second.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Is there any further nomination?
There being no further nomination, I therefore declare Hon.
William Mutomba duly elected to the Chairpersons panel.
APPOINTMENT OF THE CHAIRPERSON’S PANEL
THE HON. SPEAKER: Standing Order Number 10 (3) provides that as soon as practicable after the commencement of every session or as the occasion may require thereafter, the National Assembly may elect two members, who with the Chairperson of Committees and the Deputy
Chairperson of the Committees, shall constitute the Chairperson’s Panel.
Such members shall be entitled to exercise the powers of the Deputy Chairperson, save in regard to the acceptance of a motion for the closure. Now therefore, I call upon for nominations for two positions of members of the Chairperson’s Panel.
HON. MGUNI: I nominate Hon. Martin Khumalo and Hon.
Tatenda Mavetera.
HON. KWARAMBA: I second.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Any further nominations?
There being no nominations, I therefore declare Hon. Martin
Khumalo and Hon. Tatenda Mavetera duly elected to the Chairperson’s Panel.
HON. NDUNA: On a point of order Mr. Speaker, I do not have a
Notice of Motion but I have got a point of order.
THE HON. SPEAKER: In terms of what Standing Order? – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Hon. Chikwinya order, order – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – [HON.
ZWIZWAI: Mr. Speaker Sir, on a point of order!] – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Hon. Member, I have not recognised you. – [HON. ZWIZWAI: On a point of privilege Mr.
Speaker.] – I have not recognised you, Hon. Nduna, please go ahead.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, I have been observing over a long period of time now that the Order Papers are insufficient. I am quite sure there is a renewed impetus and attention to detail from Hon. Members. I have not been able to get my Order Paper for sometime now and request that there be an increase in number. I thank you. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – HON. ZWIZWAI: On a point of order Mr. Speaker Sir!
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order, I am attending to the Whip – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Order, order, do you not see that I am attending to your Chief Whip. – [HON. ZWIZWAI:
That is fine Mr. Speaker.] –
HON. ZWIZWAI: Mr. Speaker Sir, as you were restraining Hon. Nduna, when you asked him to sit down, he pointed a middle finger which is a direct insult to the Chair – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – We will not accept any Hon. Member to do that to the Chair or any other Hon. Member for that matter. So this is a very serious matter Mr. Speaker. We will not allow anyone to do that in this august House and he ran away. – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you, thank you – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Order, order. When I was looking at the Hon. Member - where is he now? – [HON. MEMBERS:
He ran away!] – Anyway, in terms of decorum, even the Chair cannot comment on that sign. I am sure you understand and if it was done, then it was wrong. I thank you. – [HON. ZWIZWAI: Zvatopera?] –
[Laughter.] - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
Hon. Nduna having returned to the Chamber.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order Hon. Nduna. In your
absence, I was ruling on the offensive sign that is alleged to have been given by yourself and I would not want to comment further on that. It
should not happen, thank you.
I did not comment on the point of order raised by Hon. Nduna regarding the shortage of the Order Paper. I have instructed the Deputy Clerk to go and check with Papers Office what the position is, but for the future we will make sure that there are enough copies for your picking.
Thank you.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
First Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the
Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
+HON. MATHE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir for the opportunity that you have given me to make this contribution. I am also informed that you were in the last Parliament and you were a good leader; congratulations for that. I would also like to congratulate Madam Speaker, Hon. Gezi for being the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly. I am thoroughly humbled by seeing you on that Chair and please allow me to continue my debate by contributing to the speech that was delivered by His Excellency President Mnangagwa. I congratulate him because he won these elections resoundingly – [An Hon. Member having communicated something to Hon. Mathe] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order Hon. Member
seated next to Hon. Mathe.
+HON. MATHE: Madam Speaker, I had congratulated His
Excellency Hon. Mnangagwa for winning the elections resoundingly.
The President won resoundingly on the harmonised elections held on
30th July, 2018 and we realise that the President has the majority of Members of Parliament in this House. He has two-thirds majority, that is why we have to congratulate him – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible
interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order Hon. Member.
HON. CHIKWINYA: On a point of order. The Hon. Member is
misleading the House, the President does not have two-thirds majority.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Mathe, may you clarify
your statement?
+HON. MATHE: Thank you Madam Speaker for asking me to
clarify on the two-thirds. I am saying, I said congratulations to His Excellency Hon. Mnangagwa; what I am saying is that there are twothirds Members of Parliament of the ZANU PF party. I am not saying
His Excellency won by two-thirds but he has two-thirds majority of Members of Parliament in this august House. I am not very sure whether I am making some calculation mistakes but as far as I am concerned, we have two-thirds majority of Members of Parliament in this House.
I am also congratulating His Excellency the President and praising him greatly because he showed that he is a hero; he is somebody who is to be emulated. He was courageous enough to take the steps of trying to make peace in the country, taking all the steps to protect the public because there were some elements in our society who wanted to create chaos and the country would have been plunged into darkness. If he had not taken the bold steps of cutting off that violence, many people would have lost lives. As I am speaking, because of the steps he took Zimbabwe has peace.
HON. CHIKWINYA: On a point of order. Madam Speaker,
there is a ruling by the Speaker of Parliament, in particular the person being Adv. Mudenda, seconded by yourself yesterday that we shall not discuss on the 1st August, 2018 and the Hon. Member continues to dig deeply into that incident.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: The point of order is noted.
Hon. Mathe, we are not allowed to debate on issues which are under investigations.
+HON. MATHE: Madam Speaker, the President showed that he was a man of his words because he created an atmosphere where we had peace before, during and after the elections. I also congratulate His
Excellency because he promised that there is going to be development in Zimbabwe and if we go according to his plans, we will have the creation of jobs and wealth in the country, and very few people will be unemployed. He said he is going to fight corruption and by 2030 Zimbabwe will be a middle income country.
Madam Speaker, we are so happy and we are all looking forward to the year 2030 when we are going to be a middle income nation. We have all the faith in him because so far what he has promised us has been fulfilled and we also look forward to having many people being employed. I am also saying the President should take us out of the land of Egypt and take us to the land of milk and honey in Canaan which is an affluent life for the people of Zimbabwe.
The President also looked for ways of improving agriculture in the country and is sourcing for farming implements and technologies so that there is development in the country because Zimbabwe has an agrobased economy. We wish the farming implements, the tractors which have been sourced from outside should be distributed equally in the districts so that we start ploughing at the same time because the rains are upon us. We are very grateful for what the President is doing for his nation. In his speech, His Excellency also said Zimbabwe will develop and the reason Zimbabwe should develop is because it is an agro-based economy and if we improve on our agricultural styles and methods, and move the implements and distribute them on time, definitely we will have a bumper harvest.
The President also touched on the road infrastructure and said he was going to widen the roads and create many roads which will be tarred and be on time, but he is not going to create spaghetti roads. He is going to create a very good road infrastructure in the country. All the civil servants who will be manning some of those works should play an oversight role to make sure that the work is done perfectly and according to the construction agreements. We have some people who have negative attitudes towards Zimbabwe and when we are supposed to develop; they will be indulging in corrupt activities so that earmarked projects are not properly carried out. All I am saying is we need to play a strong oversight role on the people who will be involved in allocating jobs on road works.
May we also take into account the Nkayi-Bulawayo Road which should also be constructed, refurbished and repaired and I am sure from what is happening now, that road is going to be completed because it has been outstanding for quite some time.
The President also said the people of Zimbabwe are going to have a good supply of clean water. As a way of supporting that speech, there are boreholes which are being drilled in various areas within the country. We have equipment which can drill up to 1 000 metres deep sinking boreholes and because of that, we are asking the people who are responsible for using this equipment which was sourced by His
Excellency to move around the country, particularly in remote areas like Nkayi, drilling boreholes so that people have access to clean water. I thank you for the time you gave me to make my contribution and I am pleased with the speech given by His Excellency. I thank you.
HON. SINGO: Thank you Madam Speaker for this opportunity to add my voice on this motion. May I take this opportunity to congratulate His Excellency, President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa and our Speakers Hon. J. F. Mudenda and Deputy Speaker, Hon. T. Gezi and all of us in this august House – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – congratulations, makorokoto, amhlophe. I want to thank His Excellency for he is a caring President and he works tirelessly to revive the country’s economy. He encourages Zimbabweans to commit to the rebuilding of the country in unity, peace and love and together we can succeed– [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –
Madam Speaker, I think there is need for rural electrification to increase the number of schools in e-education and also the issue of distances covered by children when going to school. There are places like Beitbridge, there is need to build more universities, colleges and vocational centres.
Madam Speaker, on health issues, Beitbridge Referral Hospital is inadequate to accommodate patients as it caters for the people in the district as well as those in transit. There is need for proper structures to accommodate waiting mothers, emergency facilities and more nurses’ homes as the current ones are not enough.
On gender equality and empowerment, women should be recognised in all decision making positions like in Parliament, Government and even the private sector. The girl child should be empowered by being given a chance to go to school because if you educate a girl child, you educate the nation – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –
Women should be given land in their own right so that they can produce and sustain their families as they have the capacity to do so. The women and youths should be involved in command livestock even if they do not have any collateral. The President highlighted that agriculture is the key sector of our economy and there is need for maximum land use for those who already have the land and there should be maximum production. I thank you. – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear.] -
HON. S. SITHOLE: Thank you Madam Speaker. Firstly, I want
to give 100% appreciation to all people from Insiza South as they are the ones that chose me to come and represent them in this august House.
Once again, I want to give more appreciation to His Excellency, First
Secretary of the ruling party, ZANU PF and President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces and his family to be voted in July by thousands and thousands of
Zimbabweans. This means the voice of the people is the voice of God.
Madam Speaker, I extend my congratulations to you and to the Speaker of the National Assembly and all members of this august House, amhlophe, makorokoto – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] -
Madam Speaker, on Tuesday, 25th September, 2018, on the motion moved by Hon. Kwaramba seconded by Hon. Musabayana. The President, on his State of the Nation Address speech made all
Zimbabweans proud that they have a leader who puts God first in his leadership.
On the economy, His Excellency the President said his new administration is committed to prioritise economic development as a strategy response to the pressing need to lift our economic development in line with our national as well as regional exploration. Madam Speaker, His Excellency went further to say though we have made progress over the last 10 months, some challenges however still continue to face the country and urged the Executive, parastatals, public, private sector partnership to bring about economic order and growth, job creation and end corruption to improve our social services which include education and health care Madam Speaker, this is a goal we must all share.
This was a powerful speech by the President which challenged the private sector to be honest, ethical and honourable in their business dealings. The President said it is very important to table the Gold Trade
Bill as there are some leakages of precious minerals. God bless this
House day and night okungapheliyo nini lanini, thank you Madam Speaker.
HON. MKANDLA: Thank you Madam Speaker. It is my
pleasure and great honour to be afforded this opportunity to deliver my maiden speech. On the motion moved by Hon. Kwaramba and seconded by Hon. Musabayana. Madam Speaker, first of all, allow me to congratulate His Excellency Hon. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – for his resounding victory on the 30th July, 2018 election. I am optimistic that his election to this post will guide Zimbabwe to prosperity and make us a middle income economy by 2030.
Madam Speaker, allow me the opportunity to also congratulate Hon. Adv. Francis Jacob Mudenda and Hon. Tsitsi Gezi for being duly elected Speakers of Parliament amhlophe, makorokoto – [HON.
MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] -
Madam Speaker, I am in full support of the President’s national address on the renewed urgency and vigor by the Government to continue to drive a high performance culture within all public entities. It is true that all public servants require a great change in their work ethics to ensure the efficient and prudent use of public resources, responsiveness, accountability, as well as, timely, impartial and equitable delivery of goods and services to the people of Zimbabwe.
Madam Speaker, the President spoke of corruption and devolution of power. Managers should employ locals based on merit, unless they do not have the required qualifications. We applaud the Government for having schools built after independence. However, the sad truth is that the schools are not enough. Children still travel long distances to school. Where I come from in Matabeleland North Province, there are no sufficient schools providing sciences. There is need to equip all the provinces with the required education.
Madam Speaker, we also thank the Government for providing clinics and hospitals, although they are not enough in the rural areas where people travel long distances to reach a health centre or hospital. I would like to urge the responsible authority to look into the issue of Hwange District Hospital, which has taken ten years plus to be completed. People from Hwange, especially from the rural areas need the services from this hospital. We appreciate what the Government did for the children under five years of age, who are getting free treatment and free antenatal to pregnant women.
Madam Speaker, the President also spoke about Command Agriculture. We are appealing for more dams and boreholes in Hwange District so that women and youths can benefit from irrigation schemes. We require more of command agriculture because Region 5 is too dry and cannot fully take part in farming.
Madam Speaker, I am calling all civil servants to show the world that they are hardworking, they are a competitive and an honest labour force. This will enhance more investment in our country, thereby showing the world that Zimbabwe is open for business. Madam Speaker, all civil servants should remember that the ball is in their court to turn around our economy. Let us not be cry babies but rather work hard and be united for the common goal of creating a middle income economy by 2030. Let us put our partisan differences aside so that we can build a prosperous Zimbabwe that everyone so desires. Let us all say no to corruption. Let us all commit to re-building our nation as one people, united by one flag and one national anthem. I thank you Hon.
Speaker.
HON. KARIKOGA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to congratulate His Excellency, Cde. E.D. Mnangagwa on his resounding victory in the just ended harmonized elections – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – I do applaud the trust of his leadership, his commitment to servant leadership, anchored on service and listening leadership.
I would also like to thank the people of Gokwe-Mapfungautsi for sending me here to represent them, “ndinokutendayi abi yangu.”
Madam Speaker, as stated by His Excellency in his SONA, “Parliament is a sacred institution. Collectively, we carry our people’s hopes, dreams and aspirations. A great deal of trust has been placed upon us to work tirelessly as servant leaders in love, unity and harmony to deliver a prosperous Zimbabwe for our people. Servant leadership can be characterised by traits like listening, commitment to the growth of other people and building communities.”
Madam Speaker, as legislators here, servants, leaders and citizens, I urge all of us to embrace the culture of voluntary subordination by demonstrating a revolutionary attitude that demands putting our people first and be symbols of service to humanity, regardless of political affiliation. We do share a common vision to make Zimbabwe a middle country as was outlined by His Excellency. This should be possible with very exciting and sound bills such as the Zimbabwe Investment and
Development Agency Bill, which seeks to consolidate various pieces of legislation on investment, which are presently spread under various Acts. The Bill will also provide for the establishment centre, the
Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency. We have seen how similar institutions have propelled growth in the promotion of investments in countries like Rwanda and Mauritius. With Rwanda, they do have Rwanda Development Board and in the Mauritius they have Mauritius Investment Authority.
Mr. Speaker Sir, as a greenhorn MP, I pledge myself to learn from His Excellency and my tenure as an MP will be characterised by acts of service, where I will work tirelessly to improve the living conditions among deep seated poverty currently pervading my constituency,
Gokwe-Mapfungautsi. As a low hanging fruit, we will be introducing
“nhimbe.” This will be a monthly community initiative which will be done to public areas such as schools, clinics and old widows houses. We ought to be champions of love, non-violence, forgiveness and peacefulness. Moral reasoning is at the core of our new dispensation.
Mr. Speaker Sir, my constituency, Gokwe-Mapfungautsi is well known for cotton production. We are primarily cotton farmers and we do it with distinction. I am encouraged by His Excellency’s correct diagnosis about the pivotal role that agriculture plays. I am talking about the Command Agriculture. His wisdom of Command Agriculture has become the fulcrum upon which our economy revival prospects are anchored on.
In conclusion from where I stand, the struggle of today is not altogether for today. It is for the vast future also. I say to my fellow MPs, let us proceed with the great task which events have devolved us.
I thank you.
HON. NDIWENI: Mr. Speaker Sir, thank you for affording me this opportunity to make my maiden speech. Firstly, allow me to congratulate His Excellency, the President of the Second Republic, Cde. E.D. Mnangagwa, aka Pfee on his resounding win at the just ended Harmonised Elections of the 30th of July, 2018, and to my fellow MPs, congratulations on making it into this 9th Parliament. I would like to congratulate yourself on your election as Speaker of this august House. Let me hasten from deep down my heart, to thank the people of
Hurungwe Central for entrusting me to represent them in this august
House “Vanhu chaivo chaivo, vakavhotera munhu chaiye chaiye”
Mr. Speaker Sir, allow me to speak in support of the motion moved by Hon. Kwaramba, seconded by Hon. Musabayana pertaining to the State of the Nation Address by His Excellency, the President. Allow me to quote on the President’s eloquent speech, “I urge us all, the Executive, Legislature, and the public and private sectors alike to be partners, partners in bringing about economic order and growth, job creation, an end to corruption, improving our social services, and in the provision of requisite infrastructure, water and sanitation, education, healthcare and good environmental practices. This is the goal we must all share.” Mr. Speaker Sir, allow me to zero in on the above quotation, as it relates to my constituency.
My constituency is largely dependent on agriculture. I can easily and boisterously say we are the bread basket of Mashonaland West in particular, and of Zimbabwe in general. With land distribution that was successfully undertaken, job creation in my constituency would entail proper and efficient utilisation of the land we acquired; good farming practices, leading to an increase in output, which in turn would increase the number of jobs available. With increased farming output, there would be a subsequent increase in service industries in my constituency, also assisting in absorbing a sizable number of our unemployed youths. Value addition, as spelt out, by His Excellency the President, would help in easing unemployment in my constituency.
We grow tobacco and tobacco floors should all be based in my constituency, together with cigarette manufacturing companies, thereby further increasing the number of jobs available to our people. There is nothing special in the production of cigarettes that my constituents, given the correct training and equipment would fail to produce. All the above are achievable goals which are low hanging fruits easily attainable if we all put our heads together in fulfilling our President’s vision.
Mr. Speaker Sir, still on agriculture, I would want to thank His
Excellency, for bringing about programs such as Command Agriculture. These have gone a long way in improving productivity in agriculture in my constituency. We however, would urge more supervision on the part of the implementing officials, so as to remove the bottlenecks that are currently being experienced. The Presidential input scheme is another programme that we can never sufficiently thank our President for. This programme has vastly improved production within our A1 small scale farmers.
Still on agriculture, l would like to urge the private sector, specifically, tobacco merchants, and other related industries, to complement Government efforts in ploughing back their proceeds to the communities that sustain their businesses. Why should we continue having poor roads, poor schools, and poor hospitals when these companies are enjoying triple digit percentage profits from our sweat? I would want to remind these companies that a happier and healthier community produces bigger and better yields.
In supporting the President’s call for zero tolerance to corruption, I would like to urge everyone and people outside my constituency inclusive, that the biggest catalyst to corruption is SILENCE. Fighting corruption should start with me and you fellow citizens and parliamentarians. There is nowhere where corruption occurs, and there are no witnesses. My personal observation is that the biggest weapon against corruption is speaking out.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I am 1000% behind the President’s call on change of attitude and behavior amongst our public officials and everyone tasked to serve our people. Our people have entrusted us with these positions, and let us all pay them back by working diligently and transparently in the fulfillment of their aspirations. I urge all of us to be servant leaders.
My constituents are very hard-working. All they need is to be empowered so that they perform more. Their basic needs are water, sanitation, healthcare and education. These are needs that can easily be fulfilled in line with our President’s vision.
On infrastructure, I am glad to report that there has been a hive of activity in road maintenance and rehabilitation in my constituency. I would like to thank the Government for the financial assistance given to local authorities through ZINARA in this endeavor.
The Bills that were presented by the President will facilitate the smooth running of the Legislative agenda in our quest of attaining a middle income society by the year 2030. Of particular interest to my constituents is the Bill on the implementation of devolution, and the one on Mines and Minerals.
My constituents applaud the President’s Speech on the importance
of the provision of water, sanitation and healthcare. This dovetails with the basic needs of Hurungwe Central. Almost half of my constituents consist of newly resettled farmers who by virtue of location, find themselves greatly in need of these essential services. I would like to thank His Excellency the President, on the programme of drilling boreholes that was initiated in the provinces. We however, appeal for a more concerted effort in the provision of additional health facilities in these resettled areas.
Let me conclude by saying if we work together across the political divide, there is no challenge that is insurmountable. Together we can build a better Zimbabwe. Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. God bless Hurungwe Central. God bless Zimbabwe. I thank you.
HON. E. MASUKU: Mr. Speaker Sir and hon. members of this august House, I wish to commence by acknowledging and appreciating the political leadership of our country under the presidency of His Excellency Comrade E.D. Mnangagwa for creating an enabling environment for peaceful, free and fair elections – [HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear.] –
Of course, the President mentioned during his State of the Nation
Address (SONA) the events of the 1st of August….
HON. CHIKWINYA: On a point order Mr. Speaker.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MUTOMBA): What is
your point of order?
HON. CHIKWINYA: Mr. Speaker, we do not constitute a quorum.
Bells rung.
Quorum formed.
HON. E. MASUKU: Of course, the President mentioned during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) the events of the 1st of August 2018 in which six people lost their lives are regrettable. All human life is blessed and our sincerest prayers are with the families of all those who needlessly lost their lives on the day. The reports of political violence that we hear of and read about in various media platforms are clear acts of criminality which should be handled as such. As the President reminded us in his SONA, elections are decisively in the past and now is the time for us to get down to working and delivering on the various election promises and commitments which we made to our people.
I also want to appreciate Zimbabweans in general and the people of Umguza in particular for coming out in their numbers to cast their vote. We thank you for giving us the mandate to lead you for the next five years. We will do our best to realize all the promises that we made to you during our campaigns.
In his SONA, the President admonished all of us to be servant leaders who will work tirelessly to improve the lives of our people. We welcome this call and commit that we will indeed work hard and tirelessly in order to improve the quality of life for our people. In no particular order of importance, I will outline some of our constituency developmental initiatives in the context of the President’s SONA to all of us.
We at Umguza Constituency have identified particular focus areas which require attention from us as the leadership in order to improve the quality of life for our people as said by the President in his SONA.
These focus areas include and are not certainly limited to the following:
Food insecurity
Umguza Constituency falls within agricultural region 5. It receives below 650 millimeters of rainfall per year. Despite this, households do practice crop production and grow particularly maize and millet for subsistence use. Crop yields are however low and the risk of crop failure is high. Because of this, food insecurity is a common challenge amongst households. Many people do not have adequate access to good healthy food. In line with the President’s call during the SONA, it is my wish to work closely with local farmers to come up with innovative ways of enabling irrigation of crops to alleviate the perennial challenge of reduced crop yield and poor access to good nutritious food.
There is a need to assist widows and child headed households to cultivate their land in order to enable them to grow and ultimately access food. We will also work closely with the Ministry of Agriculture to assist households adapt to the uncertainties and effects of climate change on rainfall cycles in order to enable households to farm wisely in the view of changing rainfall patterns.
Promoting education and appreciating top performing teachers and pupils
Mr. Speaker Sir, we all know that education is a very important denominator for the development of a country. The most developed and advanced economies of the world have high standards of education. Education plays a crucial role in the advancement of technologies. It not only helps us in surviving but also makes people aware of their rights and duties towards the nation. Education itself is a right everybody is born with and is also recognised in our Constitution. – [HON.
MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] - In his State of the Nation Address (SONA), the President committed to prioritising economic development as a strategic response to the pressing need to leap frog our economic development in line with our national aspirations as well as regional, continental and international trajectory. We as a province, are going to promote the importance of education because it is through an educated citizenry that economic development as called for by the President can be realised …
HON. G. K. SITHOLE: On a point of order Mr. Speaker, there is a breakdown in communication! – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible
interjections.] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order, less noise in the
House Hon. Members. Order, order, may you please sit down Hon.
Member.
HON. G. K. SITHOLE: Mr. Speaker Sir, I withdraw my point of order, thank you.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Thank you, may you resume
your debate Hon. Member?
HON. E. MASUKU: We are going to work hard to improve the
dilapidated schooling infrastructure in the province. I will also champion the recognition of top performing pupils and teachers in the area through various initiatives such as prize giving days as well as sports tournaments in order to encourage optimal academic and extracurricular performance by our learners and educators.
Mr. Speaker Sir, in his SONA, the President emphasized the importance of agriculture for our economy. Zimbabwe is a largely agricultural society and while we do not receive a lot of rainfall in our constituency due to the geographical reasons …
Hon. Chinotimba having passed between the Chair and the Hon.
Member on the floor.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order Hon. Member.
Hon. Chinotimba, I have noted what you just did. Could you just respect the Chair and go back the way you went to that place. – [HON.
CHINOTIMBA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.] – Thank you very much.
Hon. Member, you may resume your debate.
HON. E. MASUKU: Thank you Mr. Speaker. We will strive to
encourage and support farmers to conduct best agricultural activities that lead to active, sustainable and productive use of land.
Coupled with its uneven land and poor soils, the area covering the constituency is best suited for animal husbandry as compared to crop production. For this reason, we will closely work with the Ministry of Agriculture to assist our people to utilise the enormous animal husbandry opportunities that our constituency offers. Construction and rehabilitation dip tanks is a must in the area since there are so many tick borne diseases that affect livestock.
During his SONA, the President bemoaned the outbreak of water borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid. He invited all of us to commit to the eradication of these diseases through addressing the challenges that relate to clean water and the provision of sanitation. In Umguza, we have identified new places where we will spearhead the drilling of new boreholes to improve access to clean water for our people.
Mr. Speaker Sir, we have also identified various other developmental initiatives that all speak to the general development mantra of the President as contained in his SONA. These include and are not limited to: -
- addressing gender-based violence which unfortunately affects mostly women;
- promoting practical projects to address unemployment for the youth; and iii.paving of roads and improvement of the transport network.
In Matabeleland North, we acknowledge the need for unity and as
Such, will engage with all leaders across the political divide to unite all of us in our province so that we can work for the greater good of our people. I thank you. – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –
HON. KWARAMBA: Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. CHINOTIMBA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 9th October, 2018.
On the motion of HON. O. MGUNI, seconded by HON.
KWARAMBA, the House adjourned at Eight Minutes to Five o’clock
p.m. until Tuesday, 9th October, 2018.