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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY HANSARD 13 JULY 2022 VOL 48 NO 59
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 13 July 2022.
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER
APOLOGIES RECEIVED FROM MINISTERS
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have a list of Ministers and Deputy Ministers who have sought leave of absence from the House: the Hon. C. D. G. N. Chiwenga, Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care; Hon. O. C. Z. Muchinguri-Kashiri, Minister for Defence and War Veterans Affairs; Hon. Prof. A. Murwira, Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development; Hon. W. Chitando, Minister of Mines and Mining Development; Hon. Prof. M. Ncube, Minister of Finance and Economic Development; Hon. Dr. E. Ndlovu, Minister for Primary and Secondary Education; Hon. A. Masuka, Minister for Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement; Hon. Dr. F. Shava, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is your point of order Hon. Mliswa?
HON. T. MLISWA: Good afternoon to you Madam Speaker. You have just gone through the list, there are also Deputy Ministers who are not here and even the Leader of Government Business is also not here, unless there is somebody who is taking over. There are a number of Deputy Ministers who seem to have been taught bad habits by their superiors in not coming to Parliament and not respecting this institution. We keep saying this and I think it is important that those who are here share with their peers at the end of the day that they must respect this institution. We respect the Executive and the Judiciary but we seem not to be respected. Not only that, I also want to bring the aspect of how we are not respected. Last time the Commercial Court was being opened by the President, Madam Speaker was standing for the Speaker and she was not recognised - yet when we are here we recognise the Judiciary and the Executive. She was sitting out there yet she was occupying the seat of the Speaker. I had to go and talk to them but here is the Speaker of Parliament sitting mumhomho, mupovho - yet we respect them. That has continued and it must stop because it is not them as individuals that need to be respected but it is the Office that must be respected. It is the Office of Members of Parliament that has to be respected because that is the will of the people. I do not know at what point they will be cultured, some of them are arrogant, stubborn, and incompetent and do not have the courtesy to send in an apology. That does not augur well with us wanting to achieve the 2030 middle income status. It is a let-down to His Excellency. Unfortunately, he is not here; we practice oversight and the message must be clear to His Excellency that he does not have Ministers who stand for him. They are there for other business.
Hon. July Moyo is not here to respond but is busy writing letters to the local authorities so that money comes out. His job now is to write letters wanting money. How can a Minister be a debt collector? He is not here to answer issues of all the deals that he is doing. The Government is a lawyer, the Attorney-General and the Minister is a lawyer, why is it the lawyer is writing a letter? To us, they are bent on reducing and denigrating His Excellency’s name and they must be brought to book once and for all. I will not waste much of your time but I have gotten the point home, especially Hon. July Moyo. Where is he? He is seen writing letters left, right and centre wanting a 10% commission. He has been paid. Ndozvinonetsa kana wadya mari dzevanhu. Haurari usiku nekuti unenge uchingonyora matsamba uchirotomoka. He must come and answer on why he is writing letters when he is not a debt collector.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Mliswa. The issue of Ministers and Deputy Ministers who are not yet here, I think we must give them some few minutes. I think they are on their way, they will be here soon. I just hope so.
HON. BITI: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I rise on a question of national interest. The cost of living has risen, inflation is now 430%. In the shops there are now goods that are being charged exclusively in USD. Cooking oil, sugar and other commodities - retailers are refusing to accept ZWL. Therefore, I am respectfully asking the Minister of Finance and Economic Development to give a Ministerial Statement on the rising inflation, the exchange rate which is now 1: 800 and the continued arbitrage. Madam Speaker, in that Ministerial Statement, may the Minister of Finance and Economic Development also explain the logic of gold coins. I thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Biti, I think the Deputy Minister of Finance is here, he has taken note of what you have said –[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] -
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order! My point of order is that of the various noises which are being made by Members of Parliament. I think we must have respect for each other or else we reduce this Parliament into being a beer hall. I do not think some of us are prepared to do that.
First of all, you seem not to respect the Hon. Deputy Speaker here; when the procession came into the House, Members of Parliament were making noise. Now, the Hon. Deputy Speaker is in the Chair and you are still making noise. As much as you might not like some of your colleagues, I do not think it is necessary to call them vatengesi because when one fires back again, it is a pity that it is not me that you are calling mutengesi - otherwise I would also fire back even harder.
May we respect this House; if you really want to talk, go outside and talk? You cannot disrespect the Hon. Deputy Speaker because she is a woman. We must respect the position that she has, musha mukadzi. I kindly ask all the vaera Shumba in this House and all those from my clan to respect the women like we do to our own wives.
HON. NDUNA: My point of national interest borders on our role as Parliamentarians: oversight, representative and legislative. Our Constitution left it open ended in terms of alignment, the representative role speaks to infrastructure development, roads and also housing infrastructure development, provision of water and a good robust resilient sewer reticulation system.
The last one of the representative role is actually being repudiated because we have not been able to address the housing infrastructure backlog-. The last time in the Eighth Parliament, it was standing nearly at five million households. In my constituency, it stands at 35 000 households, that has not moved down an inch.
My point of priviledge speaks about the request of having the Minister of Local Government and Public Works to have a joint ministerial statement with the Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities in order that they speak to Section 72 (7) (c) of the Constitution that says, ‘The people of Zimbabwe should be enabled to assert their right to land, which land was taken without compensation from their forefathers. How has this evolved and developed in the agricultural sector, the A1 and the A2 are getting land for free…
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Member, remember that it has to be one minute only.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Madam Speaker, I am concluding. The 10 hectares in the A1 field translates to ten hundred thousand square metres in the urban society. We have not done anything for the people in the urban sector in that we are selling to them at a rate of $25 per square metre, 25 million USD, the land that we have given to the A1 farmers for free. This land which has been given to the urbanites and the local authorities is for urban expansion.
I ask that Section 205 (1) (c) of the Urban Councils Act which is here, I request that it be transcribed by the Hansard and it be aligned to the 72 (7) (c) of the Constitution, in particular also section 152 (7) (a) of the Urban Councils Act should also be aligned to the Constitution so that people can get the land for free and also just paying for housing infrastructure development.
The issue of insanity is doing something over and over again, the solo way all the time and expecting a different result. Madam Speaker Maam, we need to have a paradigm shift in so far as it relates to urban housing infrastructure development, in particular in Chegutu. There is ubiquitous amount of land that if given to the President and also that it gets to be given to the people for free so that they can develop and that they can develop their housing in a robust, resilient, effective and efficient housing infrastructure development.
So my clarion call is for a Ministerial Statement so that we can effectively interrogate the issue of housing infrastructure development, otherwise we have revoked the representative role.
HON. MADZIMURE: Thank you Madam Speaker. My question of national interest speaks to the issue of the duty to respect fundamental human rights and freedoms.
Madam Speaker, the State and every person including the institution and also agencies of the Government and every level must respect, protect, promote and fulfill the rights and freedom set out in Chapter 4, of the Constitution. Of late, we have seen a number of Government institutions and even the courts themselves failing to protect the human rights and freedoms. This normally is evident when …
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Remember, it has to be one minute only.
HON. MADZIMURE: Madam Speaker, I think the Chair is only the Chair to preside over this House in a fair manner, if we are not allowed to raise issues…
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: You are now wasting your time, remember it has to be one minute.
HON. MADZIMURE: Madam Speaker, there has been a general deliberate way of making sure that the law is applied selectively. For instance, we have seen Hon. Members of Parliament in this House being leg-ironed into the courts for issues like even re-twitting a message. Of all those people who have been incarcerated in that manner, not a single one has been convicted. A number of MPs are detained at Chikurubi whilst on remand when there is a Remand Prison for an issue or a matter that is not near anything like murder or armed robbery. Even the person who killed Moreblessing Ali is detained today at Central Remand Prison. He is not at Chikurubi but someone who is accused of having said mabhonzo aBlessing achamuka is at Chikurubi. More-so, an Hon. Member of Parliament has been treated worse than a common criminal. Is it now lawful that the law is applied selectively, deliberately – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible audible interjections.] - My point of order is that the Hon. Minister of Justice must come here and give a Ministerial Statement why there is selective application...
HON. KARUMAZONDO: My point of order is that the Hon. Member cannot debate matters that are before the courts – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
Hon. S. Banda, Hon. Mukapiko and Hon. Chiminya having been standing and interjecting:
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: May the three Hon. Members who are standing please go out! – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – The three of you, please leave the House! Do not sit down but leave the House! – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – No, go out the three of you – [HON. BANDA: This is for the people who are at Chikurubi for no reason.] – Please, leave the House the three of you!
HON. KARUMAZONDO: Thank you Madam Speaker. You know it is very unfortunate to be opposition, maybe I wanted to support.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is your point of order!
HON. KARUMAZONDO: My point of order is that the Hon. Member cannot debate the issues that are before the courts.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Madzimure, we cannot discuss issues which are before the courts.
HON. MADZIMURE: We are not debating the matter before the courts. My issue is on the treatment of Members of Parliament who are incarcerated, including those who are here like him...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Madzimure, I advise you to raise a question to the responsible Minister. Please, take your seat.
Hon. Gonese having stood up on a point of clarity:
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Please take your seat. I am not going to allow anymore points of clarification. Please take your seat.
HON. GONESE: It is not a new issue and I think it is within my right. I believe Madam Speaker that you should give me audience first and listen to me...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: We cannot continue with...
HON. GONESE: No, no we are not continuing. I am not raising a new issue but I am seeking clarification on the ruling that you have made. Yes, if you can allow me Madam Speaker. A matter of national interest has been raised in this august House and I believe that you have to give me audience first and listen to what I want to articulate. You cannot just say no, we have had enough...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: We cannot continue doing that Hon. Member. I have made a ruling, so you cannot seek clarification over my – [HON.GONESE: That is why I am seeking clarification. I am seeking to have an understanding on that point. I am not questioning your ruling Madam Speaker. I am not challenging your ruling but it is my entitlement as a Member of Parliament to have an understanding on the issue which was raised.] – I advised the Hon. Member to raise a question – [HON. GONESE: Yes, I am simply seeking clarification. You are not even giving me an opportunity to articulate where I need clarification.] – You are not allowed to challenge my ruling – [HON. GONESE: I am not challenging your ruling but seeking clarification. Who said I am challenging your ruling Madam Speaker? I have simply asked if I can have some clarification because you have made a ruling on the basis that a matter is subjudice and I wanted to seek clarification on what...] – I advised him to raise a question – [HON. GONESE: Yes, but I am also a Member of this House and I was listening and I am seeking clarification on a point which you have not even allowed me. You are not even listening to me and I have not challenged your ruling. I have stood and I was very clear it is a point for clarification, yes.]-
HON. GONESE: Madam Speaker, I just wanted to seek clarity. When a matter is raised and it is a general principle about the upholding of the Constitution, when Hon. Madzimure stood, my understanding was that he was raising a general principle regarding the upholding of the Constitution. The entitlement to the fundamental human rights which are enshrined in Chapter 4 of our Constitution and what I just seek to be enlightened on is that if a general principle is heard and is speaking to institutions of Government, the Judiciary is part of those institutions and as a general principle, there is a remand prison. I am not talking about a specific matter but I am simply talking about the general principle that you have got a remand prison and a maximum prison. My understanding is that people who are facing charges or have not been convicted are generally remanded in that institution which is called the Harare Remand Prison. If our institutions which are supposed to uphold the Constitution are remanding some accused person in a maximum prison which is not meant for remand, is that not an issue which we as an institution should take note of? This is where I just wanted to understand your ruling when you are saying the question must be directed to the relevant Minister because I believe that as the Chair of this august institution, it is important to have an interrogation of that principle which is being violated which I understood Hon. Madzimure to be alluding to. That is where I wanted that clarification from you as the Speaker presiding over and we may also need a Ministerial Statement without having to ask the Minister. I would have expected the Hon. Chair to ask the Hon. Minister responsible for the administration of justice to come and issue a statement on why we are having accused persons being remanded in maximum prison instead of a remand prison.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: That is why I advised Hon. Madzimure to ask a question to the responsible Minister.
HON. GONESE: It is more fundamental than that Madam Speaker, which is why if a fundamental issue has been raised you can then direct...
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: That is my ruling and you cannot challenge my ruling. Please take your seat – [HON. GONESE: I am not challenging your ruling but the Chair can then direct the Minister to respond, which I would have expected. Is it not neater to...] – I will not allow you to continue doing that. Please take your seat.
HON. T. MLISWA. Just on point of clarity, Hon. Madzimure said that Hon. Members who are castrated - I am not castrated. I think he wanted to say incarcerated. I needed to make that very clear that I am not castrated. I think he wanted to use the word incarceration. It is important he corrects that for the Hansard because the whole nation will think that we are castrated, yet we are not castrated. May he just correct that and use the word incarceration than castrated. Thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you for that, I am sure the Hansard will capture the right word.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
HON. MARKHAM: On a point of order Madam Speaker. You recognised me yesterday and you said I would state my point of privilege today and I specifically asked if it could be followed but I have been left out.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Markham, we are supposed to take only three. You will get your chance tomorrow or next week.
HON. MARKHAM: Madam Speaker, I have learnt from the Chair that tomorrow never comes. Yesterday you specially mentioned four people and I was the third but today I am suddenly the fourth and I am ignored.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I am sorry I will give you time tomorrow.
HON. MARKHAM: Madam Speaker, that is what you said yesterday.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Please, may you take your seat. I will give you time tomorrow.
HON. MARKHAM: I will take my seat Madam Speaker, as long as Hansard captures it correctly. Thank you.
HON. MUSAKWA: Thank you Madam Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. What is the policy position on bridging financing of schools whose enrolment is 80% or 90% funded by BEAM, considering that these funds take long to be disbursed and schools have challenges in financing their requirements?
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Madam Speaker. With your indulgence, may I humbly request the Hon. Member, Pastor Musakwa to go through the question again? Thank you.
HON. MUSAKWA: Thank you. I was saying what is the Government policy position on providing bridging finance to schools whose enrolment is 80% or 90% and even 100% funded by BEAM, considering that these funds take long to be released and schools are incapacitated at the beginning of the year until September, October when the BEAM is released? They have no funding to finance their activities. For instance in my constituency, I have got schools like Bikita, Masunda, Mashavhi, Ngwedyere and many others. So I need to know the policy position in relation to making sure that these schools function normally. Thank you.
HON. MHONA: Thank you Madam Speaker. Let me also thank Hon. Pastor Musakwa for the question. The Hon. Member has raised a pertinent question. The issue to do with funding of schools has been happening across where funds from BEAM were taking time to come through. However, let me hasten to say to the august House, as we perform our oversight role, soon after the budget allocations, it is also imperative upon us to make sure that the Ministry gets the allocation so that they then channel the funds, release and disburse accordingly. I urge the Hon. Members also to push and it is the Government policy to make sure that whenever funds are allocated, they must be disbursed. If you find that there are delays, let us also come into play together with the Ministry so that we support that the Bill comes through faster. I thank you.
HON. MAHLANGU: Thank you Madam Speaker. My supplementary question is; most of the schools applied for BEAM using term one budget. Already, if you have not paid those fees for term one, we are now going to term 3, who is going to pay the difference? Looking at it, let us say the school fees were 20 dollars and right now it is 100, who is going to pay the difference because it was pegged at 20 dollars?
HON. MHONA: Thank you Hon. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the Hon. Member for that important follow up question. When it comes to the issues to support the budgetary items, like I alluded to earlier on to say this question should have been brought before this august House, to say as we are now nearing the half year end, we have seen what we have allocated to various ministries not being disbursed. What is the Government doing? It is also a humble plea to my fellow colleagues to say besides the Government, we have oversight role that we must exercise - we do not need to wait until such a time when we come here and ask questions. Even if funding is not provided, the Government is supposed to meet in full what has been outstanding. So I assure the Hon. Members that those that have been outstanding in terms of the payments, the Government is supposed to pay as agreed on the BEAM structure.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is your point of order?
HON. T. MLISWA: This is a very important question which touches on the entire country from a budgetary point of view. This question must be directed to the Minister of Finance as to why the Ministry disburses funds late. That is the whole essence of it; we can dodge around and say a lot, we pass the budget here and this august House does it timeously burning midnight candles but the money is disbursed late. I think if the Ministry of Finance can respond to that because that is Treasury but when it comes to money for corrupt activities like devolution, fire tenders, the money is released quickly yet for what you have budgeted for, it is not released. For us to get proper answers, may this question be directed to the Minister of Finance? Why does the Ministry disburse money late? How come there is no supplementary budget which comes in, in spite of the inflation because there is no way you can run this economy by not having a supplementary budget when there is inflation. You will be totally crazy to think that the money we pass here and the inflation which is rising would sustain any Ministry and the economy is totally wrong from a mathematical point of view and economic point of view. So, what sort of economics are you doing when prices are going up, yet you are not adjusting and not coming up with a supplementary budget? That is why it should go to the Ministry of Finance, ndovanehomwe yacho ava.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. CHIDUWA): Thank you Madam Speaker and I thank the Hon. Member for the question. These are relevant and pertinent questions that are dealing with the disbursement of budgeted funds and also to ensure that whenever we provide social protection, it is not just on paper; protection which is budgeted for and released.
I would want to mention that with regards to BEAM, when we started the first term of the year, the disbursement was very timely. I think it is important for the Hon. Members who raised the issue with regard to these disbursements; the first term the disbursement was very timely and it is one of the first social protection funds that we released early, around February.
With regards to outstanding fees, I think this is an issue of principle. Where we have committed ourselves to say we are going to pay, we are going to pay and if there are any schools where the disbursements have not been done, I think it may also be a question of the submission of requests to Ministry of Finance. With regards to how the funds are released, we first of all deal with a request which is coming from the responsible Ministry. After the request, we do a budget release and when the budget release is done, we do a pay run and when the pay run is done then we do cash release. We can only do the budget release when there is a request. Why is it like that - it is because as a Government, the moment we are running a cash budget we only release when there is cash. So if there are any late disbursements, it is probably because of the way we are managing our expenditures. We only eat what we harvest, this is where we are.
HON. T. MLISWA: The Hon. Minister must be honest. Is it the ministries that are incompetent because you are basically saying that there is nothing coming to us, so we cannot release. Is it your admission that the ministries are incompetent, there is nothing coming through to Treasury and as a result, you cannot release money? What you are saying is that these departments know their needs and you are there to release money; you are ready to release money if the needs come to you. Is it your position that these ministries are incompetent in terms of what they are doing? My question was timeous disbursement of money and you are saying no the money is there but it is not. In terms of the devolution funds which Hon. Chombo said that there was no enabling Act for devolution, you then released money. Now I do not know - where there is no law you release money and where everything is in order you are incompetent. Can you tell this august House which is which? You are skating around but no, you are a young honest man who certainly owes the nation and your constituency the truth at this moment. May you please tell the truth?
HON. CHIDUWA: Thank you Madam Speaker. What I explained is the standard budgetary process that we go through as Treasury and as Government, and that process has got nothing to do with us measuring the competence of specific Ministers or ministries. So, I do not have the powers to determine who is competent and who is not. What I stated is that the standard budgetary process, and even if the budget has been released and approved here in Parliament, we only release upon request. If specific ministries and departments do not request their budgets, we are not going to release. The release is based on request, I submit.
HON. MADHUKU: Thank you very much, my question is directed to the Hon. Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage. Madam Speaker Ma’am, in recent days and months we have been seeing a proliferation of cases of armed robberies throughout the country. It is so disturbing because as a nation, we are feeling that we are very unsecure. A lot of people are being shot and in some cases, even by guns with silencers. I would want to ask the Hon. Minister for Home Affairs, what has been put in place by the Ministry to ensure that they are proactive and also they rapidly react or respond to such cases of armed robbery so that we feel safe? I thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. MAVHUNGU-MABOYI): Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am for the question which has been asked. We are very worried about the armed robberies which are happening. Police are not everywhere but we are trying the best to make sure that we protect the people, banks and so forth. However, you will find that things are happening. We are talking of people who are intelligent and are also understudying the police. I do not think that we are all happy here about what is happening but it is happening. We are facilitating whatever we are able to do. If armed robberies are happening, usually we go and attend to that and at times we do not have vehicles to dash quickly but we are trying to do everything we can. Thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: My supplementary question is, the numbers of armed robbers involve people in the security, the army, police and these are trained people and they are dangerous. It seems that you have been overtaken in terms of protecting the citizens. To be honest, what are you doing as the police? Are you well equipped? Are you well trained to be able to deal with former army personnel and so forth in terms of kubata pfuti? We need to be quite serious. It is not the civilians who are doing this. If we do not say this, we are lying to the nation. It is the ex-soldier, police, security and some serving who are given guns. While they have guns, they use those guns to do armed robberies. What are you doing to curb that? What measures are you taking as the Ministry of Home Affairs to first deal with your own? The issue is not about the people. It is about your own in terms of the security. What are you doing to ensure that people are safe?
HON. MAVHUNGU-MABOYI: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. Yes, we understand there are trained personnel, we cannot refute that one. If there are trained personnel who are doing that, for sure they are experts. We also have police officers who are experts but we cannot say the police or the army are the ones who are stealing. Even ourselves here, we might be one of those who are doing that. We are saying once they are arrested we are going to deal with them. Remember, mbavha inonzi imbavha yasungwa. We are training them. We are not saying we override them because they are there and they are doing these things. We are trying all means to make sure that we make a follow up of whatever is being happening. Those who have been involved in this chicanery - you know there are police officers who have been arrested. Let us not pretend, we are dealing with a human being who is intelligent like you, so we are going to arrest those we are going to come across doing that, whether police, army, MPs and security we are going to arrest.
HON. T. MLISWA: Madam Speaker, I want to appreciate the response by the Hon. Minister. If you recall Madam Speaker, when we were young, there was an operation which was used to be done in terms of people surrendering arms. What has happened to that? If you had arms, if you do not use them, you surrendered them. Not only that, we have got experts who are good at dealing with armed robbers. One of them is Nemaisa. Why can you not bring Nemaisa back to the police? Nemaisa was fired because of Delish Nguwaya. When he arrested Nguwaya at the time, Nemaisa was fired over a personal issue. We would want to know why one of the best experts in dealing with homicide was fired. I would want you to give us a Ministerial Statement. What wrong did Nemaisa do in terms of his conduct with the police? Not only that, why was he fired? If there was anything Madam Speaker, I think it was a personal issue where he arrested Nguwaya and he was then fired. We now lost a top cop who was experienced in terms of homicide.
I know that this country has got some of the best homicide people but all of them have been purged because of personal differences and so forth. Right now, we are going through the worst policing ever in this country under Commissioner General Matanga. During the days of Augustine Chihuri, whether you like it or not, there was no such crime. Chihuri could have been anything but there was control in the police and there was discipline. Whether it was corrupt or not, there was still discipline with the corruption in the police because he was in total control. Right now, there is no total control of the police in this country. We need the Minister to come up with a Ministerial Statement in terms of the firearms database of this country. It is very important. We need a database of the firearms in this country, those which are registered and those which are not and we are able to account. Without doing that we will have even our own kids having guns. There needs to be an audit of the firearms in this country for those licensed and those not licensed for us to deal with these armed robberies. I therefore request for a Ministerial Statement in terms of the firearms which are in the country. Thank you.
HON. MAVHUNGU-MABOYI: Thank you very much Hon. Mliswa. I think this was an advice – [HON. T. MLISWA: No. I want a database of the firearms.] – Thank you very much. It was an advice that we look as Nemaisa used to do. I do not know him by the way, but we are going to do a report – [HON. T. MLISWA: Inaudible interjection.] – No, I am not going to capture that one – [Laughter.] - The Ministerial Statement is going to be brought in here and that good advice, but tomorrow do not talk of human rights because we are going to enter into all the houses - including yours, searching for guns – [HON. MEMBERS:Hear, hear.] –
HON. GONESE: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. My supplementary question emanates from the adage that ‘prevention is better than cure’. In terms of the original supplementary question, it is related to serving members both in the police and in the army. The Hon. Minister did not properly address that aspect as to what the Ministry is doing to try to ascertain why so many serving members of the police or the army as the securityservices are being involved in cases like armed robbery. Try to find out why it is that they are resorting to crime when in fact they are supposed to be enforcing the law. If the Hon. Deputy Minister can address that aspect as to what they are doing to try to prevent those members not just dealing with those who have been arrested but try to nip the issue in the bud.
HON. MAVHUNGU-MABOYI: Thank you Hon. Gonese for that question. I am not very aware that all those armed robberies are being done by the army and the police. I know of course that there are some who have been arrested but if you are insisting that I should talk more about it, I have no words to say. I think we will bring the Ministerial Statement.
HON. GOZHO: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. My question is directed to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. Since he is not here, I will direct my question to the Leader of Government Business. My question is; how prepared is your Ministry to roll out free education next year? This week’s Sunday Mail reported the Government’s commitment to provide free education in 2023. We had that before - is it a political campaign or a genuine commitment? If so, can you tell the House mechanisms put in place to ensure free education in 2023? Thank you.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Hon. Speaker. I would like to thank Hon. Gozho for that very important question. The issue to do with free education is something which is entitled to every Zimbabwean and it is a Government policy that it must be provided. So my humble plea again to the Hon. Member is, as we then discuss issues to do with the budget, let us have a position so that we account and fund for such a noble cause so that we have free education. We are saying at the end of the day, when the Government says we are going to provide it, let it be known that it then becomes a Government policy to make sure that we fulfill. I am happy that the Hon. Member has raised it and it also calls upon us as Hon. Members to make sure that it is applicable and implemented accordingly. I thank you.
HON. MUCHENJE: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. How are you going to introduce free education when you cannot run the schools when children are paying school fees? How are you going to run schools without any cent?
HON. MHONA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. Let me also thank Hon. Muchenje for that very important question. Madam Speaker Ma’am, now we are dealing with her opinion which is not a Government policy. She is assuming that we will fail to deliver and I might not be better placed to deal with her emotions. I thank you.
HON. CHIKOMBO: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. My question is directed to the Minister of Local Government, Hon. Marian Chombo. Your Ministry had an audacity to procure five tankers on behalf of local authorities. I want to know from you, is it a Government policy or where were you operating from as far as legal position is concerned? Are you the procurement agent for local authorities? I thank you.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. CHOMBO): Thank you Hon. Speaker. Thank you very much for that pertinent question. Last time I think there was a request for Ministerial Statement in relation to that. I am going to present that Ministerial Statement tomorrow if it is okay with the House –[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections]-
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Members, order please!
(v)HON DR. MURIRE: My question is directed to the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare with regards to Government policy on opening of schools that are constructed using devolution funds and CDF. We have got a number of schools that have been constructed and are now white elephants because there is no deployment of teachers. What is Government’s policy regarding that because we might end up going for years with those schools not being utilised? I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Let me thank Hon. Retired Colonel Murire for that important question. He also raised a very important question in terms of placement of our teachers. I am happy that the Hon. Member has cited those kinds of schools under the infrastructure development and I would want the Hon. Member to come forward since he is aware of some of those schools so that I will then take the message to my counterpart and make sure that the schools are opened and enrolment begins.
HON. BRG. GEN. (RTD) MAYIHLOME: My question is directed to the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education. Educational colleges continue to churn graduates who find no employment long after they have completed. We have examples of teachers who graduated in 2015 and are still not employed because their skills are deemed undesirable or are not required. Firstly, why does Government not conduct need based training before they train these students on courses that are deemed undesirable at the end? Secondly, what measures will Government take to absorb those students who have been unemployed for over six years?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. MACHINGURA): Teacher education in Zimbabwe is done by the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development. The deployment of teachers is done by Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. When the teachers are trained, if there is a special request from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, like for instance the recent issue of languages, the Ministry has reacted promptly and provided the teaching of languages that are required in the sister Ministry.
As regards to those teachers that are not employed as yet, the Ministry has advertised for posts where they said we are going to recruit 10 000 teachers. How they do it as to the logistics and the modalities, I think the Ministry of Primary and Secondary can actually answer that question. As regards human capital capacitation, that is the preserve of the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education and whenever we are asked by any sector in the country that certain skills are required and there is a gap in that skills area, the Ministry will endeavour to provide the skills that are required.
*HON. MATANGIRA: Currently, we have a shortage of fertilizer in the country and we have many students who studied science at university. Can they not manufacture fertilizer for us in the country? Are they not able to manufacture even organic fertilizer?
*HON. MACHINGURA: I would like to thank Hon. Matangira for the question which is important to the country. Our education system moved from Education 3.0 to Education 5.0 in order to precisely address that gap. That is why we have Education 5.0 which has two parts which were not found in Education 3.0, that is, innovation and industrialisation. The way students were being taught changed so that they are able to produce end products. We are not yet in a position to produce organic fertilizers but we are doing research with Verify Engineering to produce fertilizer from raw materials like coal.
It is not only fertilizer that we intend to manufacture. During the COVID-19 period, there was a shortage of oxygen in this country. We could not import oxygen from other countries because they were also suffering from the same disease. Verify Engineering did a research and started producing oxygen for our local market.
Similarly, we had a shortage of cows for beef production. Chinhoyi University of Technology did a research on how to produce good quality beef. The university is now breeding cows for beef and milk production for our country. They also have advantages and disadvantages of each breed so that one can choose what is best for them. We are in the process of doing that fertilizer project but we are saying everything that is imported in the country, we are allowing that as a country, not the Ministry only.
We will be appreciating the inputs because we will also import ideas from them and we are in the process of producing fertilizer for the country. The institutions in Zimbabwe are doing the processes.
Currently, the Minister is doing that process and that is why he is not in the august House. You have to listen to the television and radios; we are in the process of doing that. We are taking it step by step; therefore, very soon we will be producing fertilizer as a country.
*HON. MATANGIRA: Is it possible for the Hon. Minister through his Ministry, to do peer education in the rural areas? Is it possible that the Ministry comes through the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development to conduct peer education and mix with traditional trees so that we can find fertilizers?
*HON. MACHINGURA: Thank you Madam Speaker Maam. As I included in my earlier response, we are now manufacturing cattle feed, blocks of salts and other products. All those resources are available at the Chinhoyi University of Technology and we are working with the Ministry of Agriculture.
It is important to do outreach programmes so that we educate people, since they have good cattle breeds that they are selling. I thank you.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Madam Speaker Maam. Would it please the Minister, seeing at independence the University of Zimbabwe was the only institution of higher learning to unleash those teachers that have been tutored on the local languages, in particular the 14 plus sign language to the institution of higher learning which is called the University of Zimbabwe so that they can rescind on teaching foreign languages ahead of local languages? I say this because there is a ruling that has said there can never be a certificate issued to you if you do not pass those foreign languages ahead of local languages. Would it please the Minister to unleash because of the language policy that has been launched by his Excellency, unleash our teachers to that institution of higher learning in order that we master the local language first and it is priority ahead of foreign languages immediately and rescind on the current position of that institute of higher learning?
HON. MACHINGURA: I thank you very much for allowing two new questions to come disguised as supplementary questions. The issue of local languages is very important to us, especially when we look at development and also when we look at the fact that we want to attain Vision 2030.
We know that all instruction has been done in foreign languages. We are saying even though we emphasise on science and technology also in the Ministry, would it not be better to teach our people in their vernacular languages, the mathematical, the scientific concepts because that is where we are moving towards?
The University of Zimbabwe, as asked by the Hon. Member, is aware of what I am talking about. If you look at one of the institutions that our ministries has established, which is the National Languages Centre at Midlands State University, it is the one that is doing the translation of important documents like the Constitution into all the 16 official languages that are in the Constitution of Zimbabwe. We will take that Hon. Nduna examine what is happening about vernacular languages at the university and take that recommendation from you.
HON. JOSIAH SITHOLE: Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Local Government and Public Works. Does Government have a policy of capacitating urban local authorities financially where it is clear that they are failing to provide sustainable waste water services, especially in old suburbs across the country? A good example is Makokoba in Bulawayo, Mbare and any other old suburb where raw sewer is flowing in the streets on a daily basis owing to dilapidated sewer infrastructure.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. CHOMBO): Thank you Hon. Speaker and thank you very much to the Hon. Member of Parliament for that very relevant question. The Ministry has a facility to make sure that all the local authorities are capacitated. We have the devolution funds and they are meant to address those. If you know, the devolution funds address five items and that is clinics, education, power, water and sewer. So if you look at most of the projects that have been undertaken by most of the local authorities - be it urban or rural, mostly it was the water and sewer infrastructure. Even Makokoba which you have mentioned, we have put in a lot of resources to capacitate the local authorities. I thank you.
HON. JAMES SITHOLE: Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you Hon. Minister for that response, but obviously responding to the devolution funds - those funds are inadequate compared to the work that needs to be done with regards to replacing those worn-out pipes. So I was hoping that the Ministry would have another programme other than the devolution funds just as what is being done on the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Funds. The situation out there is very bad. Thank you.
HON. CHOMBO: Thank you Hon. Speaker. What we mostly encourage is, if the local authority is financially sound, we approve borrowing powers for them to be able to access resources to make sure that they bring their sewer and water reticulation up to speed. I thank you.
HON. BITI: Mr. Speaker Sir, my question to the esteemed Minister Hon. Chombo is that her Ministry keeps on referring to the use of devolution funds but the fundamental issue is that there is no devolution law authorising the disbursement of those funds. So you now have the Minister, Minister July Moyo on his own – willy-nilly now distributing these funds at his own discretion, thereby opening up for corruption and abuse. Why is the Ministry distributing devolution funds in the absence of a legal framework? Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. T. MLISWA: She comes, she says that here and she still steals. Ishavi ripi iroro?
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. KHUMALO): Hon. Mliswa, please you are not even connected, can you allow the Minister to respond.
HON. CHOMBO: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I think that question has been brought up in this august House so many times. If you look at section 301, it is a constitutional requirement that we provide 5% - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]- So that gives us the power to do such. I thank you.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Mliswa, allow her please to answer the question.
HON. BITI: Section 301 says an Act of Parliament must provide for equitable allocation of grants between provincial and metropolitan councils and local authorities. Therefore, you cannot distribute the funds without an Act of Parliament, so why are they doing that without an Act of Parliament?
HON. CHOMBO: I think when we were approving the budget, it is the same House that approved the disbursement of the devolution funds. I thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: We really do not want the Minister to think that we are so ignorant to the fact that you are preoccupied with looting devolution money. We are not preoccupied with looting. We are preoccupied in making sure the law works. This House passes the law and it is an insult for her to come to us all the time disregarding the law, talking about the very same Act which talks about an enabling Act which must be there to pass money. I do not know what needs to be done for you to understand that. You have got very cute short hair and I would expect fresh air to be permeating through your brain so that you do not make us stupid, because we cannot come here and you are blindly defending the Minister. Every day it is the same thing. We cannot have that.
This House passes the law and she came and said it in the Hansard the last time that we had no Act, which means it is criminal and what they are doing is wrong, but she continues to stand and argue where there is no argument. We are not stupid Mr. Speaker Sir. May she stop talking about this because all these things are on record. Some of us will leave before you and we will make sure you are arrested for these issues. –[Laughter]- You are laughing but you will lose weight so much that you will remember I told you that you will be sitting under a Musasa tree and the police will arrive and say, ‘what were you doing disbursing money without an Act?’ It is not a joke. We have got the Attorney General’s Office, we have got Government. You will even go out and give fire tenders to Masvingo Council. You will become so corrupt that even fire tenders, you just award the fire tenders. Are you not ashamed? What is it with you influential people behaving in such a manner when the country is suffering as it is?
No, we must be serious. Mr. Speaker, we are tired of this. The best thing is, you must tell her to sit down and we must be asking her when the Act is coming to Parliament. This must be requested. We cannot have such a thing happening. I see you are also growing white hair like Hon. July Moyo, meaning that you are Siamese twins in terms of corruption and we are tired of this rubbish.
You will be dividing provinces because of your need to loot, at the same time throwing spanners into the works for His Excellency. We are sick and tired of this. We did not go to the Second Republic so that we put thieves in power. We ushered the Second Republic into power so that His Excellency can take the country forward, but you are busy throwing spanners in the works through looting. Are you not ashamed of yourselves? Your husband Chombo used to steal, your current Minister is also stealing. Chombo was a better thief but you are stealing in broad daylight.-[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections]-
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order Hon. Members!
HON. CHOMBO: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker and thank you very much Hon. Mliswa. The Act is with the Attorney General’s office, I cannot say when it is coming but when it is through the office, it will come through. I thank you.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Mliswa, you asked a question but you are not listening to the Minister – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]- Order Hon. Members! Can we proceed? Order please! I also think as Members of Parliament, we also erred by approving a budget which has no Act because we are the ones who approved the devolution budget – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]- Order please! Can I suggest that the Minister provides a Ministerial Statement on what is happening?
HON. CHOMBO: Noted Hon. Speaker.
HON. KABOZO: Thank you Mr. Speaker for affording me this
chance to air my views in this august House. My million dollar
question goes to the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement. What is the Government policy measure with regards to the decentralisation of the Presidential Borehole Drilling Scheme to alleviate water challenges, not only in towns but to the rural folk?
THE MINISTER IN CHARGE OF AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES, WATER RESOURCES, IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT, SANITATION AND HYGIENCE (HON. MARAPIRA): Government policy when it comes to Presidential borehole drilling, we are going to drill boreholes in every village in the country and we have already started. We are going to have 35 000 boreholes throughout the country by 2025.
HON. R. NYATHI: My supplementary question is, if you remember, sometime I stood in this august House to talk about boreholes. They were introduced that they are coming to our constituencies and I requested that where possible, can we have a schedule of how those boreholes are going to be drilled. It is almost four years now in this Parliament and the boreholes are being spoken of every time. In my constituency which is Shurugwi North, I have never seen these boreholes. My question is; can we have a schedule so that we all know that this time it is in Midlands and in Midlands it is going to this particular constituency so that I can also have a turn to have boreholes in my constituency. I thank you.
HON. MARAPIRA: If I got your question, you said boreholes have been talked about in the last four years but there is no schedule. The Presidential Borehole Drilling is a new scheme. We are going to drill 35 000 boreholes by 2025. By end of this year we would have done 5 000 boreholes and the distribution is very simple. We are doing two boreholes per ward throughout the country. It is very straight forward. If you want more information you can put that in writing and you can forward to ZINWA within your province and district.
*HON. MATANGIRA: My supplementary question is; indeed, we should have boreholes being drilled but there is need for financing of such works. We have water bodies in this country that were electrified a long time ago. Is it not possible for Ministry of Agriculture to just go to already built dams and flowing rivers? That does not need any money because the water bodies are already there. Thank you.
HON. MARAPIRA: Mr. Speaker, the Government policy we have in place is to say all the water bodies in this country are the ones that we are giving attention to. We are actually developing and channeling them towards irrigation. I kindly ask the Hon. Member to give us evidence of the water bodies in his constituency so that we can quickly give attention to the work that is supposed to be done with regard to what he said.
HON. GOZHO: My supplementary to the Minister is; you said you are going to drill two boreholes in each ward. There are some constituencies in the rural areas, when you are talking of a ward it is as big as a constituency. So are you saying a woman will carry a bucket for 20 km?
HON. MARAPIRA: This is what I said. We are actually busy drilling boreholes and by 2025, we look forward to have drilled 35 000 village by village but for now we are focusing on two boreholes per ward.
HON. NYAMUDEZA: What is the sequence so far of drilling these boreholes? There is Region 1 up to Region 6, where do you start drilling those boreholes in these regions?
HON. MARAPIRA: We are not choosing boreholes according to agrological natural regional confirmation but what we are doing is, we are going to provide boreholes to every village. These boreholes are village based boreholes. So every constituency where you are coming from, if it is not an urbanised constituency, you are going to have two boreholes per village by 2025. I thank you.
HON. MURAI: Thank you Mr. Speaker. Is it by coincidence Hon. Minister that you up the game of drilling these boreholes towards elections? Why is it that you set your target beyond the mandate you were given by the people up to 2025, as if you are not going for an election? Anything can happen during the election. Why do you set targets beyond your mandate which you are given in the office? Will you still be there?
HON. MARAPIRA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. The drilling of boreholes is meant for our villages. We want to drill 35 thousand boreholes until 2025 and that has nothing to do with politics. I thank you.
(v)HON. GANDAWA: My question is directed to the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement. He mentioned that boreholes will be drilled per village. Can you favour us with the villages that are going to benefit?
THE MINISTER IN CHARGE OF AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES, WATER RESOURCES, IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT, SANITATION AND HYGIENCE (HON. MARAPIRA): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I have already indicated that for this year we are going to do two boreholes per ward. Already, if he is coming from a rural constituency, the Hon. MP will receive two boreholes per ward. By 2025, we would have done 35 thousand boreholes village by village. I thank you.
HON. MAHLANGU: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My question is directed to the Minister of Local Government. The Minister wrote a letter to the City of Harare to pay the so-called outstanding amount to Pomona Company. Is it the duty of the Minister to act as debt collector on behalf of the private company?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. CHOMBO): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I would like to thank the Hon. Member for the question. Surely, the Ministry of Local Government is not a debt collector. We are the line Ministry and the local authorities fall under the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works. If a contractor or anybody brings a complaint or request through the Ministry, it is our duty to contact the relevant local authority to try and address the complaint or the request. If the local authority has got a contractual agreement with any supplier, definitely they have to honour up to it. Thank you.
HON. MADZIMURE: Mr. Speaker, does the Minister now want us to believe that the Ministry has the duty – [HON. MLISWA: Inaudible interjection] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Mliswa, when you speak, some Hon. Members listen to you but you do not want to listen to other Members. You can proceed Hon. Member.
HON. MADZIMURE: Thank you Mr. Speaker. Is the Minister trying to tell this House that all of a sudden the Ministry now has the responsibility of acting on behalf of a private company that has its own lawyers and administration that looks at its own issues? Does the Minister want us to believe that it is the Ministry that is in contract with the City of Harare? Where in the Acts of Zimbabwe do we have a law that allows a Minister to follow up on a credit?
HON. CHOMBO: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir. Thank you also Hon. Madzimure for the follow up question. I answered this as a general question, not being specific to the Pomona letter that was brought up. In general, as the Local Government Ministry, any complaint that comes from anybody within Zimbabwe, it is our duty to make sure that the relevant authority addresses it. I thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: My supplementary question is that the Minister cannot get away with receiving complaints from stakeholders. There is a process, there is a procedure. Even the President himself with the powers invested in him, if there is a theft complaint, he does not go and arrest. He uses the institutions which are there to do the job. There are three tiers of the Government which are local authorities, provincial and central and they have got their powers. They make binding resolutions in whatever they do. The devolution is not about you wanting to just give and spend money. Devolution is about respecting the power as well. Power devolves as well. You cannot say you are at Central Government and you are making a decision to override. There are processes and procedures...
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Mliswa, what is your supplementary question?
HON. T. MLISWA: My point is; they cannot ask about fire tenders. You are talking about people coming to complain, who came to complain? Masvingo has got fire tenders but you gave them a fire tender, they resolved. Where is the resolution from the council to say they need a fire tender? There are certain priorities and the basic requirements required for service delivery which we have not met. So in essence, Government brought those machines through a Government to Government analysis. I propose that you do not burden the ratepayers if it is so. Just do like they did with us in the mechanisation programme where Government absorbed the debt. Do not burden the ratepayers who are already suffering from a tight economic environment. It is utter rubbish; so what powers can you tell us - the section which gives you the powers to be able to override and not only that, these people have got their lawyers too - why are their lawyers not doing the job....
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Member, please!
HON. T. MLISWA: To us, we are really tired - next time can we have Hon. J. Moyo not her, she is being used as a punching bag. You must stop being used as a punching bag; the Hon. Minister must be here himself. KuCabinet anoenda kunogara, maCity Council anoenda kunotyisidzira vanhu nebvudzi rewhite riya riya kuti vasaine maresolutions asina basa, taneta nazvo.
HON. CHOMBO: Thank you Hon. Speaker and Hon. T. Mliswa. For your information, the Pomona deal was given a national project status and as such, it has national interest. I thank you. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members. Order please!
Questions without Notice were interrupted by the TEMPORARY SPEAKER in terms of Standing Order No. 68.
HON. T. MLISWA: I move that time for Questions Without Notice be extended by 10 minutes.
HON. CHIDZIVA: I second.
(V)HON. S. MOKONE: Thank you very much. My question to the Deputy Minister of Local Government is that since you know that Harare is already suffocating with some of the debts that they have incurred somewhere, where do you think they are going to get this money to pay these debt collectors for the Pomona deal?
HON. CHOMBO: I did not understand the question.
(V)HON. MOKONE: My question to the Deputy Minister of Local Government is that since you know that Harare is already suffocating with some of the debts that they have incurred somewhere, where do you think they are going to get this money to pay these debt collectors for the Pomona deal?
HON. CHOMBO: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker, I would like to thank Hon. Mokone for that follow up question. Harare City Council entered into a contractual agreement with Geogenix on the Pomona deal and whatever they agreed to is what they are supposed to honour. It is not the duty of the Ministry to go and say they are now unable to. If they are not able to pay, they can try to find other instruments to make sure that they honour their debts. I thank you.
HON. MARKHAM: My point of order is; we are being misled by the Hon. Deputy Minister. The last time the issue of debt collection came up with City of Harare to collect debts, she told us not to debt collect but her Ministry now goes and debt collects for a private company. Can she explain that to the House, please?
HON. CHOMBO: Thank you Hon. Speaker, I thank Hon. Markham for that follow up question. When I answered I categorically stated that the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works is not a debt collector, but if anybody comes through my Ministry to request for any assistance or whatsoever, it is my duty as a line Ministry to make sure that I collect complainants to the relevant local authority. We are not debt collecting for the said company.
HON. MADZIMURE: Thank you Mr. Speaker. City of Harare has its own elected councilors. They made a resolution because they have realised that there are issues with the contract especially the fact that it did not go to tender. Laws were breached; this particular deal did not go to tender and the Government then claimed ownership of the deal by claiming it to be a national project. So it is the Government that went into an agreement with this company, not the City of Harare because the Government by-passed some of our laws like the issue of tendering. It should have gone to tender but that did not happen. As far as the city is concerned, they cannot be dragged into a dirty deal. So the council has no money and as we speak, they cannot pay their workers and with these bills from this company, the City of Harare is going just to disappear or we are going to pay through the nose. As residents, we are not prepared to do so. Why does the Minister force the City of Harare to pay when that company has its own legal systems to follow?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. CHOMBO): Thank you Hon. Speaker. Thank you Hon. Madzimure for that question. Thank you very much for stating that this project was given national project status. As such, my Ministry has interest in it. If I can show you the minutes of what transpired from the inception of this project up to the end, you will see that the local authority was heavily involved. So it is a misrepresentation that Local Government skipped some of the steps. You can come to my office and we can avail the steps that we have taken to make sure that we arrive at that. Thank you.
HON. HWENDE: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. M. KHUMALO): The ten minutes extended time has lapsed.
HON. HWENDE: Do not protect thieves. Why are you protecting thieves? No, no, no. This is a very important matter. We must discuss it.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Member, the ten minutes have expired.
HON. HWENDE: No, you cannot protect corruption. This matter must be discussed.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: You are now challenging the Chair.
HON. HWENDE: I am not challenging you. I am just asking you to allow us to debate because money is being stolen in this country and you are sitting there protecting people who are looting.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: You are now challenging the Chair.
HON. HWENDE: I am not challenging you but do not protect people who are corrupt and are looting in this country.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Member, it is nothing about corruption. I am saying the ten minutes extension time has expired.
HON. HWENDE: This is a very important matter. The City of Harare is being forced to pay $22.000 per day. It is a very important matter.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Member, procedure has to be followed.
HON. HWENDE: No, there is no procedure. Why are you protecting thieves? What kind of procedure is that?
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Can we proceed?
HON. HWENDE: We are not going to proceed. This matter must be discussed here. Why should we proceed? We are not going to any other question. We must discuss this matter today. Why are you protecting thieves? This is Parliament. You cannot allow thieves to be protected by Parliament. We are exercising our oversight role.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Member, can you sit down.
HON. HWENDE: I am not going to sit down. Why should I sit down? You want me to sit down so that Harare can be forced to pay $22.000 per day?
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Member, whatever you are going to say, the procedure will not allow that.
HON. HWENDE: What procedure? Your procedure is allowing thieves to go scot free. What kind of procedure is that?
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: We are following procedure here. Sit down Hon. Member.
HON. HWENDE: What kind of procedure are you talking about? I am not going to sit down. Why should I sit down? You want me to sit down so that you can allow Harare to be looted? We are not going to allow looting here. This looting must stop today.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Member, I will ask you to go out.
HON. HWENDE: I am not going out.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: You are challenging the Chair. Can you go out?
HON. HWENDE: What I am saying is, can you allow this debate to go ahead? This is a very important matter. Can you allow the debate to continue? People are looting and you are allowing people to loot. What kind of a Speaker are you?
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Member, can you go out!
HON. HWENDE: No, no, no. Let us debate this matter today. “Ungadzingire munhu nyaya yecorruption. Mari yacho kwairi kudyiwa imi hamusi kukuona?” You are trying to protect thieves then you are chasing me out.
The Sergeant-At-Arms escorted Hon. Hwende out of the House.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE
IMPACT OF SI 62 OF 22 ON ALLOCATION OF LAND
- HON. MARKHAM asked the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement to inform the House that considering S.I. 62 of 22 indicating that Indigenous and BIPPA farmers will be allocated back their land—
- explain why the land was acquired in the first place and how
many were affected;
- how many farmers have returned to their land to date;
- how will returning farmers be compensated for the lost capital.
THE MINISTER IN CHARGE OF AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES, WATER RESOURCES, IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT, SANITATION AND HYGIENCE (HON. MARAPIRA)): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I would like to thank the Hon. Member for that question. Hon. Member, Zimbabwe inherited at independence a racially two agricultural land ownership pattern where the white large scale commercial farmers consisting of less than 1% of the population occupied 45% of agricultural land. About 75% of this is in high rainfall areas of Zimbabwe where the potential for agricultural production is high. At the tips of the programme, there was a deliberate move to acquire land from the white commercial farmers where a large chunk of land, 642 black owned farms were acquired most of them by error. An effort to de-list the farms through gazetting was superseded by the passing of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, Amendment Number 17 Act: 2005, which listed the schedules in which the farms were gazetted and cleared them acquired.
The passing of the Constitutional Amendment Act, Number 17 on 14th September, 2005 had the following effect: All agricultural land which was under Section 5, preliminary note on or before 14th September, 2005 became State land. The courts could no longer have powers to entertain challenges to the acquisition of agricultural land. This means the acquisition process was much easier, more efficient and speedy. All indigenously owned farms which were under Section 5 on or before 14th September, 2005 were also acquired and became State land. All agricultural land which was covered by BIPPA and also under Section 5 by 14th September, 2005 also stands acquired in terms of the amendment. Most of the black owned farms were not occupied and the owners are still in occupation of their properties. The land is still State land. Legally they do not have the powers to make any transactions, hence the introduction of Statutory Instrument 62:2020. Those will be compensated for both land and improvements after their farms are valued and Compensation Committee has recommended and fixed the values of the compensation payable. I thank you.
HON. MARKHAM: My supplementary is, can the Minister confirm that all indigenous black farmers are back on the 600 plus land acquired in error?
HON. MARAPIRA: Thank you Hon. Member. I cannot confirm; right now we have to follow certain audits to make sure that are the 600 on the farm or not yet on the farm.
HON. MARKHAM: The Minister did not answer the other parts of my question.
HON. MARAPIRA: Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir. I would like to thank the Hon. Member. I would kindly need time to go and verify the exact number of farmers who went back on land and the farmers who have not gone back on their land.
HON. MARKHAM: Mr. Speaker, can the Minister give timeframe as to when he will come back with the answer to the written question. We need figures.
HON. MARAPIRA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. My Ministry will be able to provide the answer in the next two weeks. I thank you.
MAIZE VARIANCE OF EXPECTED OUTPUT FOR 2021-2022 SEASON
11 HON. MARKHAM asked the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement to explain to the House the maize variance of expected output of 2.7 million metric tonnes reduced to 1.7 million tonnes for the 2021 – 2022 season.
THE MINISTER IN CHARGE OF AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES, WATER RESOURCES, IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT, SANITATION AND HYGIENCE (HON. MARAPIRA): The maize variance of expected output was on account of the following:
- The 2021/22 season started late in December 2021 in most parts of the country. Where it started early like the first week of October to mid November 2021, it was a false start.
- Rainfall distribution was poor in both space and time across country.
- There were incessant rains in January followed by prolonged dry spell in the first week of February to the end of March. The false start of the season resulted in failed crop establishment forcing the farmers to replant several times.
- The late onset caused late planting which were affected by the prolonged dry spell at the reproductive stage causing write off, especially in the central and southern part of the country. Incessant rains caused excessive leaching of nitrogen and other crop nutrients, thereby reducing crop yields.
The above four factors resulted in reduced production as follows:
|
|
2021/22 |
2020/21 |
|
Traditional grains |
194 100 tonnes |
3 479 968 tonnes |
|
Maize production |
155 7914 tonnes |
2 700 000 tonnes |
The total cereal production for 2021/22 season is 1 700 000 tonnes.
(v)HON MARKHAM: Could the Minister explain what Government is going to do about inputs for maize that were handed out and farmers cannot repay them. Secondly, there is a major issue with the pricing of maize from the GMB, particularly for the season. Does the Minister have any idea whether that affected deliveries to GMB despite it being a monopoly?
HON. MARAPIRA: Government is going to consider the losses which were made because of incessant rainfall. We will come back to Parliament with a paper. When it comes to GMB, prices of maize and other cereals, the Ministry is busy working on that and will come up with a statement as soon as certain approvals are done by Cabinet.
HON. MADZIMURE: I just want the Minister to explain why we have not realised the benefits of giving inputs that we are giving to those A2 farmers considering that we have been doing this over and over again. Are we saying it is going to be a perennial way of doing business as far as agriculture is concerned where we are going to continuously give inputs and have very little being paid back? Is this not becoming a cost, considering that we are also importing both wheat and maize?
HON. MARAPIRA: The challenge is not about giving out inputs and non-repayment. We have to look at a lot of factors. We have seen that we have erratic rainfall and that is why the current Government policy is focusing on irrigation development. The other challenge we are having is that our contractors are not giving inputs to our farmers on time, which again affects production of farmers especially where the rainfall is good. We have to look at all those factors before we can conclude that the provision of inputs to farmers is bad. It should be done properly with every farmer getting his or her inputs at the right time and be able to plant at the correct time.
GMB MONOPOLY AS SOLE BUYER OF MAIZE
- HON MARKHAM asked the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement to explain to the House if the GMB monopoly as a sole buyer of maize is not violating the Constitution.
THE MINISTER IN CHARGE OF AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES, WATER RESOURCES, IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT, SANITATION AND HYGIENCE (HON. MARAPIRA): GMB is not the sole buyer of maize. As such, it does not occupy a monopoly position. Any contractor is free to sponsor and contract grain production and in turn purchase that contracted grain.
The Ministry has pronounced the need for users of agricultural raw materials to sponsor and contract at least 40% of their annual requirements. There is no violation of the Constitution and the Ministry would wish the Hon. Member to cite the specific provision of the Constitution being violated so that a response specifically and aligned to the provision would be provided. I thank you.
HON. MADZIMURE: If the GMB is not a monopoly, what gives it the power to search for maize, confiscate and force people to take the same to the GMB depot?
HON. MARAPIRA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I thank the Hon. Member for such a brilliant question. What the GMB is doing through the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement is specifically to police and make sure that no one is shortchanged within the process of grain marketing.
We have a lot of companies, we are contracting farmers; they should only buy what they have contracted. We have the Government and through the Presidential Input Scheme, they have given us a lot of inputs and those inputs should be delivered to the Grain Marketing Board.
At the same time, we have Government through the Agro-Yield Programmes; they finance a lot of inputs. If there is no control of marketing into contractors and marketing into GMB, there will be a rampant side marketing activity within the country.
HON. MARKHAM: Following up on the last supplementary - why in Macheke, Odzi and Rusape area where GMB is going around forcing farmers to deliver their maize in respect of them wanting to retain some maize for their workers? I thank you.
HON. MARAPIRA: I would kindly ask the Hon. Member where he has indicated that in Rusape and other areas within Rusape where there is evidence that certain farmers were being pushed by GMB to deliver their maize to GMB and not retain anything for the workers or the animals. Can that information be furnished within the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement to my attention or to the other Minister’s attention?
Every financer has the right to protect where he or she has financed. As Government, if we finance certain facilities within the agricultural fraternity, we have the right to protect but we will not go to a farmer and take everything. We will take to GMB what is reasonable and leave what is reasonable for the farmers’ workers and animals. I thank you.
WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE
POLICY REGARDING SUPPORTING PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES BEGGING ON THE STREETS
- HON. E. NCUBE asked the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to explain to the House Government policy regarding supporting persons with disabilities making a living through begging on the streets usually accompanied by minors.
THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. PROF. MAVIMA): As a Ministry, the number of persons with disabilities who are begging on the streets of Harare and other cities throughout Zimbabwe is increasing at an alarming rate. The situation is worsened by the fact that the above mentioned vulnerable groups are being accompanied by minors.
As a remedy, the Department of Disability Affairs in collaboration with the Department of Social Development, formally known as Social Welfare are working tirelessly to ensure the provision of Inclusive Social Protection Services to Vulnerable and Disadvantaged PWDs residing in both rural and urban areas. The situation is compounded by the fact that most of the PWDs residing in urban areas are living below Poverty Datum Line. As a Ministry, we introduced various Social Protection Services or Social Safety Nets which are in line with the National Disability Policy, National Development Strategy 1, Social Welfare Assistance Act and the Disabled Persons Act (NDP 2021, NDS 1 2021/2025, Disabled Persons Act [Chapter 17.01].
First and foremost, pertaining to PWDs who are begging on the streets being accompanied by minors, the Department of Social Development is providing the following Child Protection Services such as Foster Care, place of safety, Residential Child Care as well as positive parenting services for children to be cared and brought up within their families. To this effect, the Children’s Act is considered adequate when it comes to protecting minors used for street begging. Our probation officers are therefore mandated by law to apply to the children’s court so that such children are classified as in need of care and taken away into places of safety.
Alternatively, in the case of PWDs parents, the Department of Social Development, through its Family Protection Unit, is planning to provide capacity building training workshops on positive parenting skills specifically targeting parents with disabilities who are begging on the streets being accompanied by their minors.
The department of Disability Affairs under the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare has the mandate to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of the rights of persons with disabilities, including those who are begging on the streets. The Department of Disability Affairs has procured over 300 assistive devices for PWDs which are equitably distributed throughout the 10 provinces in Zimbabwe. Additionally, the Department of Disability Affairs is targeting to provide over 1000 PWDs with disability revolving loans and special grants. Please note, individuals with disabilities will receive loans amounting to USD1000 equivalent to the prevailing current Zimbabwean dollar rate and PWDs groups of 10 will receive special grants amounting to USD3000 equivalent to the prevailing current Zimbabwean dollar rate.
I am humbly privileged to inform you that beginning next week, my Ministry is engaging specific finance institutions to facilitate the disbursement of self-help grants and loans to persons with disabilities as prescribed by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. Pursuant to the Government of Zimbabwe’s grand economic empowerment agenda, my Ministry will conduct capacity building training workshops on Project Planning and Management, specifically targeting 100 PWDs residing in Buhera District, Manicaland Province and more trainings of this nature will be cascaded to other provinces.
Mr. Speaker Sir, let me emphasise the fact that the most sustainable way of discouraging begging is to equip persons with disabilities with requisite educational and vocational skills to prepare them for either formal employment or to participate in self-help projects. To that end, my Ministry has got a facility to pay required fees and levies to vocational training centres, colleges and universities for all persons with disabilities in need of such a facility. To date, over 10000 PWDs received Diploma and Degree certificates at various institutions of higher learning such as University of Zimbabwe, Midlands State University, GZU, CUT and other prestigious institutions of higher learning.
In the case of equal employment opportunities, Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare in partnership with the Public Service Commission has employed and deployed over 2000 PWDs who are working in various Government Ministries. It is my pleasure to report that for the first time in the history of our Ministry, the Chief Director, Social Development/Disability Affairs and Deputy Director, Department of Disability Affairs Posts are occupied by persons with visual impairments. May I at this juncture point out the fact that begging could also be curtailed through the provision of a number of safety nets meant to cushion poor families against such vagaries of poverty, hunger and lack of basic needs. To that end, my Ministry is doing its level best under present economic circumstances to ensure that persons with disabilities access social protection services.
The department of Social Development provides cash transfers to targeted vulnerable households, including PWDs households through the Harmonised Social Cash Transfer Programme. Please note, we have engaged NetOne to disburse these funds. As a Ministry, we are implementing the Food Deficit Mitigation Strategy (FDMS) Drought Relief Programme. It is my pleasure to inform this august House that the ZIMVAC Assessment to re-target vulnerable PWDs who are in need of food was concluded in May this year and the assessment report is expected to come out very soon. These safety nets are widely meant to curtail the begging phenomenon by persons with disabilities.
In conclusion, the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, in conjunction with relevant development partners, are making frantic efforts to ensure the provision of Inclusive Social Protection Services utilizing the NDS 1 mantra which subscribes to the notion that, no one and no place should be left behind. Thank you.
OUTSTANDING TERMINAL BENEFITS FOR DYNO NOBEL PVT. LTD. KWEKWE WORKERS
- HON. CHIKWINYA asked the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to inform the House;
a) when would the workers at Dyno Nobel Pvt. Ltd, Kwekwe can expect their outstanding terminal benefits and salary arrears which are due from 2008;
b) what currency would be applicable in the payment of their outstanding arrears.
THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. PROF. MAVIMA): Our investigations show that Dyno Nobel Pvt. Ltd. case was not brought before our Labour Office in Kwekwe. I will update the House if any other information concerning the case comes up.
ISSUANCE OF DEVELOPMENT PERMITS TO RESIDENTS OF UPPER AND LOWER RANGEMORE AREAS IN UMGUZA CONSTITUENCY
- HON. MOYO asked the Minister of Local Government and Public Works to inform the House the measures that have been put in place towards the issuance of development permits to residents of Upper and Lower Rangemore areas in Umguza Constituency.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. CHOMBO): Upper and lower Rangemore is made up of 206 privately owned plots with title and two Government owned plots vis Stand 6 of Lot G Upper Rangemore and the remainder of Lot 27A Lower Rangemore. The area measures approximately 3 283 hectares in extent.
There are 21 developers who have been granted permits, proposing 8 532 stands covering 685.0604 hectares of land whereas 23 applications for permits, proposing 7 292 stands covering 515.664 hectares are pending in the upper and lower Rangemore area.
The issuance of subdivision permits had been halted pending infrastructure provision strategies and solid financial commitments. My Ministry has however resuscitated the issuance of permits to those properties that can be connected to Bulawayo City Council’s existing infrastructure. The approval shall be done in liaison with Bulawayo City Council.
Meanwhile, the Ministry is in the process of setting up a joint management Committee to spearhead development in the area. I thank you.
Questions with Notice were interrupted by THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER in terms of Standing Order No. 68.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER
MARCH AGAINST DRUG ABUSE
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: There will be a march against drug abuse starting from 0830hours at Africa Unity Square to Harare Polytechnic. The march is being organised by the First Lady, Dr. A. Mnangagwa. All Members of Parliament are invited to attend.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. MATAMISA: I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 17 on today’s Order Paper be stood over until Order of the Day, Number 18 has been disposed of.
HON. B. DUBE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
RATIFICATION OF THE GENERAL CONVENTION ON PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES OF THE ORGANISATION OF AFRICAN UNITY
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. MUSABAYANA): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I rise to present the following:
WHEREAS Section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that an international treaty which has been concluded or executed under the authority of the President does not bind Zimbabwe until it has been approved by Parliament;
WHEREAS the General Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the Organization of the African Unity entered into force on the 25th of October 1965.
AND WHEREAS the Republic of Zimbabwe has not signed nor ratified the General Convention on Privileges of the Organisation of African Unity;
AND WHEREAS the Republic of Zimbabwe is desirous to accede to the said General Convention;
NOW, THEREFORE, in terms of section 327(2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, this House resolves that the aforesaid Agreement be and is hereby approved.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
RATIFICATION OF THE ADDITIONAL PROTOCOL ON PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES OF THE ORGANISATION
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. DR. MUSABAYANA): I move the motion standing in my name that;
WHEREAS section 327(2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that an international treaty which has been concluded or executed by or under the authority of the President does not bind Zimbabwe until it has been approved by Parliament;
AND WHEREAS the Additional Protocol on Privileges and Immunities of the Organisation was approved by the OAU Heads of State and Government at its Seventeenth Ordinary Session at Freetown, Sierra Leone on 3rd July, 1980;
AND WHEREAS the Republic of Zimbabwe has not signed nor ratify the Additional Protocol on Privileges and Immunities of the Organisation;
AND WHEREAS the Republic of Zimbabwe is desirous to accede to the said Agreement;
NOW, THEREFORE, in terms of section 327(2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, this House resolves that the aforesaid Agreement be and is hereby approved.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. MUTAMBISI: I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 20 to 31 be stood over until Order of the Day, Number 32 on today’s Order Paper has been disposed of.
HON. B. DUBE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Thirty Second Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
THE MINISTER OF NATIONAL HOUSING AND SOCIAL AMENITIES (HON. GARWE): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I wish to address a response to the address by the President, His Excellency Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa on the State of the Nation Address and the Opening of the Fourth Session of the Ninth Parliament of Zimbabwe on 7 October, 2021.
Mr. Speaker Sir the Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities is spearheading the implementation of the Zimbabwe National Human Settlements Policy. The policy strengthens the implementation of the National Housing Delivery Programme across the country.
Land access and tenure
The Zimbabwe National Human Settlements Policy created an enabling environment for the responsible ministries and the respective local authorities to issue title deeds for fully serviced or developed stands and agro-residential plots.
The policy instructs developers to stop the construction of superstructures before offsite and onsite services are provided. There are two options that are available for the issuance of title deeds which are Normal Title Deed and Early Title Deed. In this regard, the issuance of title deeds should follow the following major stages;
- Complete servicing of land
- Purchase price of stand fully paid
- Certificate of occupation
- Title survey
- Agreement of sale
In addition to the above stages, for a normal title deed, there
should be a fully developed principal building and for an early title deed, there should be a bank approval letter for loan application.
Regularisation and sanitisation of informal settlements
The regularisation and sanitisation programme for informal and irregular settlements is being implemented in various settlements across the country, in accordance with the National Human Settlements Policy. Regularisation is a multi-staged process of upgrading informal settlements to improve quality of life through provision of requisite onsite and offsite services and tenure.
The Ministry is currently spearheading the regularisation and sanitisation of the following settlements:
- Caledonia
- Epworth
- Gimboki South, Mutare
- Hatcliffe Extension
The Ministry has also embarked on a sanitisation of the planned
Garikayi/Hlalani Kuhle settlements in Lupane and Gwanda. The programme has started in Lupane with the construction of on-site infrastructure by a private company.
The Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities is developing a regularisation protocol to standardise the regularisation process. There are scenarios of double or multiple allocations and where residents have built houses in social amenities’ stands or wetlands, the construction of high-rise apartments or identification of alternative land will be adopted to address the anomalies.
The Ministry proposed a checklist for the regularisation and sanitisation of informal settlements which involves the following stages;
- Re-planning, i.e mapping of the settlements using drones.
- Comparison of the mapping results with the existing lay-out plans
or using the mapping results to produce new lay-out plans for the settlement.
- Title survey.
- Engineering designs for roads, water, sewer and electricity.
- Construction of roads, sewer and water reticulation and electricity
reticulation.
- Individuals pay required amounts of money to recover cost of land
and cost of servicing.
- Title deed issuance once financial obligations are completed.
Densification
The Zimbabwe National Human Settlement Policy is promoting
the construction of high-rise structures so as to save agricultural land which is a ‘finite resource’. In a bid to curb settlement sprawl, the policy mandates that at least 40% of land for human settlements development must be reserved for construction of flats.
The Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities, being the housing delivery lead Ministry, is spearheading the densification by the construction of flats in the following areas;
- Dzivaresekwa flats (Harare) – 16 blocks of flats (256 units)
- Marondera Dombotombo Project (Marondera) – 4 blocks of flats (64 units)
- Senga Mess Camp Project (Gweru) – 8 blocks of flats (128 units)
- Waneka flats (Harare) – 2 blocks of flats (48 units)
When developing lay-out plans, local authorities and private land
developers are expected to comply with the requirement of the policy that 40% of land for housing should be reserved for densification. I thank you.
HON. MUTAMBISI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. B. DUBE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 14th July, 2022.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. MUTAMBISI: I move that we revert to Order of the Day, Number 13 on today’s Order Paper.
HON. B. DUBE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON DEFENCE, HOME AFFAIRS AND SECURITY SERVICES ON THE PETITION FROM ZIMBABWE NATIONAL LIBERATION WAR VETERANS ASSOCIATION HARARE PROVINCE
Thirteenth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report of the Portfolio Committee on Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services on the Petition from the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association–Harare Province, calling for the amendment of the State Services (Pensions) (Uniformed Forces) (Amendment) Regulations (Number 17 Statutory Instrument 257 of 2020).
Question again proposed.
(v) HON. DR. MURIRE: I would like to support the petition and report by the Portfolio Committee. Government has made numerous legislation regarding the compensation and pensions of war veterans. Pensions are part of recognition given to those who fought for the liberation war. From 1908 when we gained independence, there has been different treatment and different awards given to war veterans. I am sure those benefits are given in recognition of the service that the war veterans offered during the struggle. As such, the service that was rendered by the various categories of war veterans is the same. When we recognise that service as being the same, there is no reason why in terms of awarding benefits or compensation, the war veterans should be treated differently.
In 1980, there was demobilisation and some who joined the Army were given some other benefits and those who were demobilised were given demobilisation perks. That is understood. Sometime later, some war veterans who were in the Army were given credit for the service that they rendered during the struggle. It was in form of years’ credit according to what you gained. For example, I am a war veteran and in 1992, I had scored 12 years and I was given a credit of eight years. That made me qualify to retire from the Army in May, 1992. Some decided to remain in the service. Forty-two years later, those who remained in the service are given another different award which is different from those who decided not to stay in the Army. It therefore means that those who decided to get demobilised are always penalised or they do not have some of the benefits that those who remained in the service are getting. It is my proposal Mr. Speaker Sir that Government should come up with a uniform administrative arrangement for all war veterans so that some do not remain disadvantaged. If you go to land, some war veterans did not get land and some got, yet that is the purpose for which we went to war.
In summary, it is recommended that Government adopts a standard award for all war veterans so that they do not continue getting awards of different benefits piecemeal. I support the report that Statutory Instrument 297 of 2017 be amended so that it covers all war veterans in terms of pension awards. I so submit Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. BRIG. GEN. (RTD). MAYIHLOME: Mr. Speaker Sir, I would like thank Hon. Members that have contributed to the debate on the important report. I realise that the prayer of the Harare Province of the War Veterans was recommendation that the State Pension Regulations be amended and all the three ministries that are affected, that is the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Defence and Home Affairs and the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare did not object to that recommendation. Hence, there is no point in continuing to belabour something that is already agreed to by everybody. I therefore would like to thank the ministries and the debaters for supporting this recommendation and urge that Government takes immediate action to rectify the anomaly as put in the prayer by the Harare Province of the War Veterans Association. On that note Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that this House adopts the motion.
Motion that this House takes note of the Report of the Portfolio Committee on Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services on the Petition from the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association-Harare Province, calling for the Amendment of the State Services (Pensions) (Uniformed Forces) (Amendment) Regulations (Number 17 Statutory Instrument 257 of 2020 put and agreed to.
On the motion of HON. MUTAMBISI, seconded by HON. B. DUBE, the House adjourned at Twenty-Nine Minutes to Six o’clock p.m.