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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY HANSARD 14 June 2016 42-65

PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE

Tuesday, 14th June, 2016

The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two O’clock p.m.

PRAYERS

(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)

ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. SPEAKER

BASELINE SURVEYS ON ECONOMIC LITERACY AND

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

THE HON. SPEAKER:  I wish to inform the House that Parliament of

Zimbabwe engaged professional consultants to conduct Baseline Surveys on Economic Literacy and Customer Satisfaction.  The baseline surveys will form an objective basis for planning various interventions and capacity building programmes for parliamentarians.   In this regard, Members of Parliament must cooperate fully with the consultant and complete the questionnaires.  The consultant will be stationed at the Members’ Dining Hall from 1300 hours to 1500 hours.

CHANGES TO PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

THE HON. SPEAKER:  I have to inform the House of changes to Portfolio Committee membership where Hon. Dr. K. Guzah is moving from the Portfolio Committees on Youth, Indigenisation and Economic

Empowerment and Environment, Water and Climate to the Portfolio Committees on Lands Agriculture and Resettlement and Foreign Affairs respectively.

MOTION

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

HON. MATUKE: Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that Orders of the Day Numbers 1 and 3 be stood over until Order of the Day Number 2 and the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.

HON. RUNGANI: I second.

SECOND READING

PAN-AFRICAN MINERALS UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY BILL (H. B. 10, 2015)

Second Order read:  Adjourned debate on motion on the Second Reading of the Pan-African Minerals University of Science and Technology

Bill (H. B. 10, 2015).

Question again proposed.

SECOND READING

PAN AFRICAN MINERALS UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY BILL (H.B.10, 2015)

Second Order read: Adjourned debate on the Second Reading of the Pan-African Minerals University of Science and Technology Bill,

(H.B. 10, 2015).

HON. MATUKE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.

HON. RUNGANI: I second.

Motion put and agreed to.

Debate to resume: Wednesday, 15th June, 2016.

MOTION

PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS

Fourth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.

*HON. UTA: Thank you Hon. Speaker – [AN HON. MEMBER:

Munonzi ani?] – Hon. Uta – [Laughter] – Thank you Hon. Speaker, I would like to support the speech of our President…

HON. SPEAKER: Order, order.  Hon. Members, can we respect

the aura of the House.  I think it was not proper to ask the Hon. Member that unonzi ani?  That is not proper.

*HON. UTA: Thank you Hon. Speaker.  I would like to support the motion on the Presidential Speech.  We thank the Lord for giving us such a leader who has love – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear] – a leader who has love and is capable of fulfilling the needs of many people. He should be sanctified and his life should be prolonged.  He is a spring of water created by God.  – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –

Hon. Speaker, I would like to speak about the importance of the soil.  The animal called a human being, good or bad came from the soil.

Where we live, agriculture, food or clothing come from the soil – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – Hon. Speaker, as I look at the issue of agriculture, in my constituency, Buhera, people are now able to farm.

However, they do not have adequate agricultural inputs like fertilizer. Hon. Speaker, people in my constituency want to be empowered through irrigation schemes and drilling of boreholes which can be used in irrigation projects.

Mr. Speaker Sir, I will now discuss ZIM-ASSET.  In my constituency, there is now improvement.  People have improved their lives because they now understand that agriculture is the backbone of all development.  There should be reforestation, including growing of fruit trees and construction of schools and clinics.  These things determine the development of a nation.  We know that in some areas, we have people who oppose progress in the country.  As surely as the sun rises from the East to the West, come what may, the sun will always rise from the East.  This means, despite the work of the retrogressive acts of the enemies, Zimbabwe will always develop.  We have people who are involved in welding, bakery, gardening, carpentry.  However, if boreholes dry out, that would mean that there will be no progress in these projects and cooperatives fail to thrive.  We also say, education is very essential to the development of the country.  We know that there are some people who are saying, these days education has no need, but as the leaders, we need to encourage them to go to school.  My plea with the Government is that BEAM should be funded and empowered so that it pays for the orphans and other vulnerable children.  If BEAM does not support them, the girl child becomes a victim because they will get a way of supporting the family by getting pregnant.  However, we need to be strong and be resolute in the development of our country, especially in agriculture for development.  I thank you.  [HON.

MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.] -

THE HON. SPEAKER:  Order, order Hon Members, when I say

order you should speak softly or lower your voices.

HON.  MATUKE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.

HON. RUNGANI:  I second.

Motion put and agreed to.

Debate to resume:  Wednesday, 15th June, 2016.

 

MOTION

SECOND REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON

HEALTH AND CHILD CARE ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF

THE TARGETTED APPROACH PROGRAMME IN MISSION

HOSPITALS

HON. MGUNI:  I move the motion standing in my name that this

House takes note of the Second Report of the Portfolio Committee on

Health and Child Care, on the Implementation of the Targeted

Approach Programme in Mission Hospitals.

HON. P. D SIBANDA:  I second.

HON. MGUNI:

                                1. INTRODUCTION

As part of its oversight role over the Ministry of Health and Child

Care, the Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care resolved to enquire into the Targeted Approach Programme (TAP). The written submissions made to the Committee over mismanagement and abuse of the TAP funds at Mnene Mission Hospital compelled the Committee to make further enquiries into the implementation of the Targeted

Approach Programme in Mission Hospitals.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the enquiry were:

2.1 To investigate the number of mission hospitals that benefited from the Targeted Approach Programme;

2.2 To ascertain how the funds were disbursed and utilised.

2.3 To recommend policies that may strengthen the TAP

3.0  METHODOLOGY

The Committee used three methods of data collection namely: oral evidence, fact finding visits to the six selected mission hospitals in

Zimbabwe and review on the Auditor-General’s Reports on Targeted

Approach Programme.

3.1  Oral Evidence Sessions

3.1.1 Mnene Mission Hospital Executive and the Mberengwa District Medical Officer briefed the Committee on the refurbishment of the hospital on the 16th of September, 2014.

3.1.2           The Chief Executive Officer of Zimbabwe Association of Church-related Hospitals (ZACH) briefed the Committee on how TAP funds were disbursed and utilised on the 12th of May, 2015.

3.1.3 The Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr. Parirenyatwa, appeared before the Committee to explain measures the Ministry had put in place to ensure TAP funds were used for the intended purpose on the 17th of June, 2015.

3.1.4 The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Mr. W. L Manungo, briefed the Committee on the disbursement of the TAP funds on the 7th of July, 2015.

3.1.5 The Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Health and

Child Care, Brigadier General Dr. G. Gwinji, appeared before the Committee to further clarify issues pertaining to the disbursements of TAP funds on the 18th of November, 2015.

3.1.6 The St. Albert’s Mission Hospital Officials appeared before the Committee to clarify how they utilised the TAP funds and criteria used to select the suppliers on the 25th of November, 2015.

                                3.2    Fact Finding Visits

The Committee split into two groups and undertook fact finding visits to the following six (6) mission hospitals out of the twenty-three

(23) given by the Ministry of Finance during an oral hearing session:

  • Mnene Mission Hospital (Midlands) and St. Albert’s Mission

Hospital (Mashonaland Central)—14th of October, 2015;

  • Mtshabezi Mission Hospital (Matebeleland South) and

Mutambara Mission Hospital (Manicaland) —15th of November,

2015;

  • Kariyangwe Mission Hospital (Matebeleland North) and Chikombedzi Mission Hospital (Masvingo)—16th of October, 2015.

                        3.3         Auditor-General’s Reports

3.3.1 The Committee considered the findings of the Auditor-

General’sReports of 2010, 2011 and 2013 in order to get a better understanding of issues surrounding the TAP although these focused on government institutions.

4.0         THE COMMITTEE’S FINDINGS

4.1         THE GENESIS OF THE TARGETED APPROACH

PROGRAMME

The idea of the Targeted Approach Programme started in 2009 with the aim to revamp health institutions which had suffered in terms of human resources, drugs, equipment, repairs and building of all health institutions due to the 2007/2008 economic decline. The programme was funded by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.

4.2    RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE MINISTRY OF

HEALTH AND CHILD CARE; FINANCE AND ECONOMIC

DEVELOPMENT AND THE MINISTRY OF PUBLIC WORKS

4.2.1 The Ministry of Health and Child Care’s responsibilities included procurement, financial management, monitoring and evaluation of the projects in the institutions.

4.2.2 The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development essentially facilitated the implementation of TAP through timeous disbursement of resources to the targeted institutions.

4.2.3 The Ministry of Public Works was also roped in to give assistance on infrastructure and fixed equipment tenders.

4.2.4 Joint meetings with all stakeholders, Ministry of Health and Child Care, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Public Works and State Procurement Board, were held before the inception of the programme.

                                4.3    SELECTION CRITERIA

Institutions to benefit under this programme were chosen by the Provincial Medical Directorate.  Institutions were asked to come up with priced areas of intervention before allocation of funds to that institution.  This then formed the basis of their budgets and they would procure guided by that. However, evidence on the ground revealed that some hospitals, for instance, Kariyangwe Mission Hospital, was not selected based on the aforesaid criteria; instead, the hospital received a phone call from MoHCC requesting them to submit their project proposal which was to be within US$37 000.  What it means is that Kariyangwe Mission Hospital was allocated some funds without submitting priced areas of interventions to qualify as beneficiaries.

                                4.4     TENDER PROCEDURES

Government procurement procedures were used by the public entities to utilise the funds while mission hospitals used their own procurement procedures. Meetings held during the fact finding visits to the mission hospitals revealed that the mission hospitals used different tendering procedures; Mnene and Mtshabezi Mission Hospitals used government tendering procedures while Kariyangwe used the Result Based Management System. At Mnene, the Committee was informed that tenders were approved by the Ministry of Health and Child Care, and not by the hospital’s Procurement and Tender Committee. It was further stated that some tenders that were approved by the State Procurement Board were overridden by the MoHCC.  At Mtshabezi, tenders of U$10 000.00 and below were approved by the hospital’s Tender and Procurement Committee, while for those above US$10 000.00, the hospital would seek authority from the MoHCC and would be approved by the Hospital Procurement and Tender Committee. The

Provincial Medical Directors (PMD) of Mashonaland Central and the

Health Services Administrator of St. Albert’s Mission Hospital informed the Committee that mission hospital officials did not receive proper training on tendering procedures as their counterparts in government institutions.

                                4.5    DISBURSMENT OF THE FUNDS

4.5.1 According to the MoHCC Officials, Ministry of Finance was the main funder of the programme and all monies were channeled through the Public Finance Management system. The mission hospitals also received their monies through the same system but sometimes direct into their own accounts as mission hospitals.

4.5.2 Many institutions benefited from a total of US$107 million which was disbursed between 2009 and 2014. Of the amount, Central

Hospitals received about US$52 million.  The hospitals are

Chitungwiza, Harare Central Hospital, Engutsheni, Mpilo, Parirenyatwa and United Bulawayo Hospitals.

4.5.3 Provincial Hospitals received US$21 million, targeting Bindura, Chinhoyi, Gwanda, Gweru, Marondera, Masvingo, Mutare and

Ngomahuru Hospitals.

4.5.4 District Hospitals received US$22 million, targeting

Beitbridge, Binga, Chiredzi, Chivhu, Gokwe, Karoi, Mahusekwa, Mvuma, Nkayi, Nyamandlovu, Rusape, Shurugwi and Victoria Falls

District Hospitals.

4.5.5 Mission Hospitals received about US$12 million. The hospitals are Bonda, Chikombedzi, Chireya, Chitsungo,

Gandachipfuwa, Gutu, Manana, Mary Mount, St. Mary’s, Munene,

Mutambara, Matibili, Kana, Pumula, Sanyati Baptist, St. Albert’s, Melary, Nyadire, Mtshabezi, St. Josephs’s,  St. Patrick’s,  St. Ruben’s

and Kariyangwe Mission Hospitals.

4.5.6 The table below shows the allocations and the actual disbursements of funds to Mnene, Mtshabezi, Kariyangwe, St. Albert’s, Mutambara and Chikombedzi Mission Hopsitals.

Table1. Allocations and Actual Disbursements of Funds to

                                Mission Hospitals

Name of Mission Hospital Allocation in

 US$

Actual Disbursement in US$
Mnene 700 000.00 670 658.76
Mtshabezi 125,000.00 against a request of 650,000.00 37,450.00—deposited end of June 2015—to be disbursed on quarterly basis.
Kariyangwe Hospital officials were not informed of how much in total the hospital was allocated neither were they asked to submit their project plan and amount of funds they required. They were asked to 37,500.00—The hospital officials were informed that the money was to be disbursed in batches of the above-stated amount, without knowing the total amount the hospital
  plan within the envelop of  $37, 500. would get.
St. Albert 700, 000.00 709, 200
Mutambara 700, 000.00 Between 2012 and June 2015 the hospital had received a total of 439, 300.13
Chikombedzi 700, 000.00 In June 2012, the hospital received 250, 000.00, and no further disbursements were made despite promises for more money by the Ministry of Finance

 

                                4.6      INFRASTRUCTURE/PROJECTS UNDERTAKEN

4.6.1 Most of the hospitals’ infrastructure including road networks was poorly done while the medical equipment purchased was obsolete. According to the 2013 Auditor-General’s Report, the Ministry of Health and Child Care received non-functional medical equipment valued at US$1,369,850.00 in the government institutions. The non-functional medical equipment supplied to the hospitals includes Ventilators, Diathermy Machines, Suction Machines, Blood Gas Analyser, Multiparameter monitors among others.

4.6.2 The fact finding visits undertaken by the Committee confirmed similar findings in the mission hospitals. Mnene Mission Hospital had the worst findings on projects poorly done. Table 2 shows the unsuccessful projects at Mnene Mission hospital.

Table 2: Projects that were unsuccessful at Mnene Mission

Hospital

Name of

Mission

Hospital

 

Project  Cost Status of Project Supplier
Mnene

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ceiling Mounted X-

Ray Machine

 

 

 

180, 000

 

 

 

 

Had problem of card reader which failed to function. The contractor indicated that erratic power supply were causing the problem—card reader was later purchased and is ready for use Food Miles

Trading

Company

 

 

 

X-Ray Film Processor

 

 

 

 

 

40,500.00

 

 

 

 

The processor which was installed in the first place failed to function and the contractor delivered a new one a week before the Committee’s visit to the hospital. The processor still awaited testing and commissioning.

 

 

 

Capital

Trading

 

 

 

 

Autoclave

 

 

 

 

64, 634.25

 

 

 

Worked for two weeks only and is currently not functional. The contractor repaired it many times but it did not work.

 

 

Harness

Services

 

  55kg Washer Extractor

 

 

 

 

Renovations

 

65, 545.40

 

 

 

 

180, 000:- a deposit of  100, 000. was made

to the contractor

 

Worked for six months only. Erratic power supply was sited as the major problem. The Hospital tasked PMD technician to find the proper regulator for the machine.

 

Not complete: - All hospital buildings were painted outside only leaving the inside unpainted—the old paint is peeling off, giving an unpleasant atmosphere of the hospital. The Hospital invited the Ministry of Local

Government Public Works and

National Housing by end of 2014 for evaluation of the work done and work not done,

but the outcome is still outstanding.

 

 

Harness

Services

 

 

 

Food Miles

Trading

Company

 

4.6.3 Kariyangwe Mission Hospital’s major projects of the extension of the hospital kitchen and the labour ward were successful and brilliantly done. The extended kitchen now has a pantry, storage room, new steel cupboards and washrooms for cooks. It is painted and has wall and floor tiles. The hospital has applied for funds to purchase two industrial stoves. The extended labour ward now has a hand washing basin and sluice room. It is also painted and has wall and floor tiles. The hospital has applied for funds to purchase a resuscitaire.

4.6.4 Mtshabezi Mission Hospital’s projects were not undertaken and funds not spent due to delays in the approval of plans and other logistical procedures relating to the expenditure of the funds. The hospital advertised for tenders on the 23rd of September 2015, and had opened them a week before the Committee’s visit.

  1. 6.5 At St. Albert’s Mission Hospital, To-Ryo Gumi (Pvt) Ltd. was contracted to do the following: extension of mortuary, construction of incinerator, construction of new offices.

This was not done, although payment was made to the contractor. There was no clear explanation given on why payment was made for jobs not done.

  1. 6.6 Projects at Mutambara Mission Hospital under the TAP fund included construction of a library at the nursing school; purchasing and repairs of kitchen equipment; laundry, theater, dental and rehabilitation equipment; medical surgical supplies, equipment; machinery (including vehicles) spares, consumables; and amenities bill settlement. At the time of the Committee’s visit, the hospital had deposited only 5% for the purchase of a UDI Truck out of a total cost of US$53,345.00 and 5% of a Hilux out of a total cost of US$35,600.00. The deposit was made on the 7th of August 2012 and the hospital was waiting for further disbursement of funds in order to make a full payment for the delivery of these vehicles. An ambulance, washing machine and laundry drier are key among the important items yet to be secured and were awaiting further disbursement.
  2. 6.7 Chikombedzi Mission Hospital’s projects included purchasing hospital furniture, medical equipment like autoclave, suction machine, laundry, theater, dental and rehabilitation equipment; medical and surgical supplies, borehole fitting; ambulance and service truck, machinery (including vehicles) spares and consumables, office machines, wheelchairs and generator. The hospital still had critical projects to undertake, under the fund, like X-ray, ultrasound scanner, toilets, fresh running water, infrastructure refurbishments and resuscitation of nursing school. A good number of purchased equipment was not at the hospital and was said to have gone for repairs.

                                4.7     SUPERVISION OF THE PROGRAMME

4.7.1 Both the Ministry of Health and Child Care and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development did not supervise or monitor the use of funds by the hospitals that benefited under the TAP. The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development stated that it was unable to follow up on selective basis as it lacks the necessary capacity and relied on reports from the MoHCC. On the other hand, the Provincial Medical Directors and District Medical Officers were never informed of the disbursement of these funds by the MoHCC, leaving institutions to manage the funds by themselves. Furthermore, the MoHCC disbursed funds to mission hospitals without receiving acquittals.

4.8     INDUCTION ON THE TARGETED APPROACH

PROGRAMME

4.8.1 Kariyangwe Mission Hospital was not inducted on the programme while Mnene and Mtshabezi Mission Hospitals were inducted. Officials at Kariyangwe Mission Hospital were asked to liaise with Binga District Hospital on how the funds were to be used.

                                4.9     COMMUNICATION ON THE FUNDING

4.9.1 All the mission hospitals visited by the Committee stated that communication regarding the Targeted Approach funds came direct to the hospitals through telephone, without accompanying official documents. The Committee was told that the Provincial Medical Directors and District Medical Officers were not informed of this programme.

10. COMMITTEE OBSERVATIONS

The Committee observed that:

10.1 Targeted Approach Programme was a noble idea that was meant to give life to the ailing health institutions. However, evidence on the ground revealed that various programmes relating to rehabilitation and upgrading of infrastructure, replacement of fixed and mechanical equipment among others were either partially done or not done at all while some equipment were obsolete and non-functional.

10.2     There was serious lack of supervision by both the Ministry of Health and Child Care and  the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development that resulted in the abuse of funds.

10.3 Budgeting and resource allocation was not above board as two Ministries were involved and not liaising with each other.

10.4 Mission hospitals did not have the capacity to manage large sums of money, a lax   financial system that allowed leakage of funds into individual pockets.

10.5      Provincial Medical Directors (PMDs) and the Zimbabwe Association of Church Related  Hospitals (ZACH) were by-passed; hence, they could not supervise the programme.

10.6 PMDs were also by-passed in the disbursements of the funds and were told not to  interfere  with the programme.

10.7 Tender procedures were flawed as the same company was contracted in almost all hospitals.

10.8 Most of the hospitals negligently purchased dysfunctional equipment.

10.9 Disbursements of funds were inconsistent resulting in the stalling of some projects.

10.10        Ministry of Health and Child Care disbursed funds to mission hospitals without receiving acquittals from these institutions.

10.11        Communication regarding the TAP funds to the beneficiaries was done through telephone calls.

11. RECOMMENDATIONS

In light of the afore-mentioned findings and observations, the

Committee recommends the following:

11.1 All institutions should have skilled procurement officers or allow officers who are already working in the health institutions to do short courses on procurement by December, 2016.

11.2 Ministry of Health and Child Care must supervise and monitor every activity and disbursed funds  to its institutions.

11.3 The practice of by-passing the PMDs and Zimbabwe Association of Church Related Hospitals should be stopped henceforth.

11.4 Government tender procedures should be followed. Disciplinary action should be taken on those who deviated from these procedures.

11.5 The Committee strongly recommends that an investigative audit by external auditors be carried out in mission hospitals that benefitted from this programme with immediate effect.

11.6 Legal action should be taken against the contracted companies that failed to perform work. Furthermore, these contracted companies should be de-listed from tendering system and pay back the money by June 2016.

11.7 Ministry of Finance and Economic Development should release funds for outstanding projects in mission hospitals by April

2016

11.8 Ministry of Health and Child Care should not disburse funds to hospitals before receiving acquittals from them.

11.9 Official Government business must be communicated in writing, not through the telephone. I thank you.

          HON. P. D. SIBANDA:  Thank you Mr. Acting Speaker – [HON.

MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MARUMAHOKO): 

Order, order.  I did not hear you.  What did you say? – [AN HON. MEMBER:  He said Mr. Acting Speaker.] -  Who said so?  You address me as Mr. Speaker.  That is all.

HON. P. D. SIBANDA:  So, I think the Hansard has to be corrected Mr. Speaker.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Hon. Member, may you

proceed with your debate.

HON. P.D. SIBANDA:  Thank you Mr. Speaker.  The motion that has been raised by Hon. Mguni on behalf of the Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care, from a distance might appear as if it is one of those useless motions that people can ignore that

Honourable Members can ignore, and look away. A closer analysis Mr.

Speaker, will show you that this is a motion that was blown out after some corruption was exposed at Mnene hospital by Honourable Zhou, in which it was alleged that millions of Government funds were abused in hospitals.

Mr. Speaker Sir, this was a programme which was meant to resuscitate our health care infrastructure after a decade of decay and neglect of our health institutions by the Government. Therefore, Government deliberately put in funds in that programme which was meant to resuscitate both the infrastructure and the equipment of our health programmes in this country. While the budgeted amount of money went over $200m, it is proven that about $107m of public funds were released with an aim to try and revive our health infrastructure. What is sad Mr. Speaker Sir, is to note that today, not half of whatever was intended to be achieved was achieved by the disbursement of that amount of money.

The reasons behind that are the two issues that have created curiosity to some Honourable Members like myself. First to note Mr.

Speaker Sir, if you look into the report on at the disbursement of figures, you will see that it is indicated that Mnene hospital which is in the Midlands Province received $670 658.76. Mtshabezi hospital which is in Matabeleland South received $37 450.00. Kariangwe hospital in Binga where I come from received $37 500. I want to repeat, it received

$37 500 against $670 658.00 that was disbursed to Mnene hospital. St.

Alberts Mission hospital which is in Mashonaland Central received

$709 200.00 against a background where Mtshabezi hospital in Matabeleland South received only $37 450 and Kariangwe hospital only received $37 500. Mutambara hospital in Manicaland received $439 313.00 at a time when Kariangwe hospital received $37 500 and at a time when Mtshabezi hospital received $37 450.00. Chikombedzi hospital in Masvingo Province received $250 000.

When I analyse this pattern of disbursement, what it tells me as a person that comes from the western region of this country is that we have got a tendency as a country to disburse more resources to regions that are on the eastern side than on the western side. As I stand right now to speak, my analysis is that Zimbabwe is a country that distributes resources according to tribes and regions. What we are seeing here is that we have got a Central Government that feels that a hospital in Mashonaland Central should receive $700 000 – close to a million dollars and only gives $37 000 to a hospital that is in Matabeleland South and another that is in Matabeleland North. It is not by coincidence that hospitals in Masvingo, Mashonaland Central, Manicaland and Mashonaland East received close to a million dollars when hospitals in Matabeleland received below $40 000.

As a Parliament and as a Government, when we hear the people of Matabeleland crying about marginalisation, you think that those people are cry babies but facts are here to speak for themselves. A whole Central Government has got the capacity and audacity to release a million dollars to a hospital and release only $37 000 to an equally big hospital because it is situated in Matabeleland.

When we called the Permanent Secretary, he could not justify why hospitals in Matabeleland were receiving a paltry $37 000 against close to a million that was being given to hospitals that are in Mashonaland. What it means in this country is that the people of Matabeleland South and Matabeleland North are second class citizens of Zimbabwe and therefore whenever they receive resources, what they receive is as good as nothing.  This is the sad reality that is reflected by the report of your Committee. This is just one Ministry. I am sure we can try to go and scan how other Ministries are also distributing resources. What it means is that Matabeleland as a region, is receiving less than 6% of total allocations that are coming from the resources of this country and that is how sad it is.

As I stand here as a person from Binga, when I look at you and I look at every other Member of Parliament that comes from this region, in the eyes of the Executive they are superior than me. That is what it means – [HON MEMBERS: Aaaah!] Government is deliberately marginalising against the people of Matabeleland by ensuring that we do not get sufficient resources. If we look at the manner that our country has been developing since 1980, the trend is reflected in this report - develop Shona first and leave the rest out.  This is the sad reflection of this Government that has been running this country since 1980 up to today.

The second issue that generates curiosity to a person like me when

I look at this report, is that when we went to Mnene, Mutambara, Kariangwe and every hospital that we visited, there is one trend and pattern. One individual from the Ministry of Health and Child Care was calling all the hospitals and telling them who to award tenders to.  One individual’s name keeps appearing in all the hospitals, that is how the trend is.

Despite all the audits that were conducted, they pointed to that individual.  To date, that individual is still working in the Ministry of Health and Child Care at the Headquarters next to the Accounting Officer and nothing has happened to that person.  Our analysis, if you listened to what machines and equipment were bought throughout the hospitals that were mentioned, over 50% of the amounts of money that was distributed literally returned to Harare into pockets that are at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and Ministry of Health and Child Care.  We are saying out of the $107 million that was disbursed, over half a million dollars of that amount of money, directly went into pockets.  It is no wonder nothing that was bought at those hospitals is functional as we speak.  It is a reflection of how corrupt our system has been.  The leadership of the country is silent when $107 million that is meant to develop this country goes into lining individual pockets.  Then we call ourselves leaders of the people.

Mr. Speaker, what is also very clear in this report is that there is a lackadaisical approach to use public funds in this Government.  Can you imagine that after disbursing something like $700 000.00 (seven hundred thousand dollars) into a hospital account, instructions are given through verbal communication?  Nothing written, just verbal communication, that is how we treat public funds in this country.  This is how the Executive treats public funds.  They can simply disburse $700 000.00, that is close to a million dollars and give verbal instruction on how to use that amount of money and no one is then made to account.  We are talking about Ministries that have got Accounting Officers, then we begin to question whether, as a country, we are desirous of being transparent and accountable when it comes to public resources?

It is not surprising that we are at the level of economic problems that we have as a country because of the manner in which we treat public resources.  We treat public resources as if they are a feeding trough for the men and women who are in the ruling class as nobody is made to account.  That is why we find ourselves in these levels of problems that we currently have because everybody can feed whatever goes through into the system and no one is accountable.

Mr. Speaker as I conclude, I see Mr. Gandiwa wants to ensure that I get away from here.  There was also a problem that was clearly noticed in this programme.  You wonder how a Ministry can disburse $107 million of public funds without notifying the critical structures or the implementing structures of the receiving Ministry.  We used to think that governance is gained through experience.  When people have been ruling since 1980, we expect that by 2014/15, they will be having experience of how to run things properly.  Instead, they are acting as if they have just come out of the assembly points in 1980 when it is

2014/15 so...

*HON. M. R. N. MAWERE: Mr. Speaker, on a point of order!  Excuse me Mr. Speaker Sir, we do appreciate what the Hon. Member is talking about but making reference to assembly points is denigrating the freedom fighters that liberated the country. – [HON. CHIBAYA:

Makatukwa kuShake shake mukati zii!]- - [HON. MPARIWA:

Kunyarara kunge muri kugerwa musoro muchitukwa!]-

                          THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, Order you may

proceed Hon. Member.  You are left with three minutes.

HON. D. SIBANDA:  Thank you Mr. Speaker, I had no intention

to insult the war veterans, if that is what my brother read out of my statement…

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Proceed with your debate

please.

HON. P.D. SIBANDA:  Basically, I was saying that this

Government seems not to have a desire to properly handle public funds.  Since 1980, that is how this Government has been treating public funds, taking public funds and consuming them privately without any accountability to the public.  This is shown by how these amounts of monies were utilised.  Therefore, as part and parcel of my recommendations, I think this Government should begin to show political will from the top office of trying to curb corruption.  If we do not do that, we will continue to sink as we have been since 1980.  I thank you.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER

ZANU PF CAUCUS MEETING

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  All ZANU PF Hon. Members

are required to attend Caucus tomorrow at 0900hrs at ZANU PF

Headquarters. – [HON. CHIBAYA: Monotukwa futi!] –

HON. DR. CHIMEDZA:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, I rise to

debate on this motion on the targeted approach programme.  Firstly, let me acknowledge the report and the findings therein and also put into perspective some of the issues that have been debated herein.

The issues that have been raised of corruption and nonaccountability are really deplorable for us as a nation and a terrible indictment on the people that were in charge.  Let it be known that this programme was done during the tenure of the Inclusive Government – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – The then Minister of Finance was Hon. Tendai Biti from the then MDC-T, the then Minister of Health was Hon. Madzorere.  If you look at what was happening, for the first time in the history of this Government, accountability was thrown out of the window. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –

The systems that had proven to work, that if a Government was disbursing funds would have to go through the Government structures, that include provincial systems, the PMDs, all these systems for the first time, we bypassed.  Money was given especially to mission hospitals.

The mission hospitals, some of them have never worked in Government had no knowledge on what tender procedures are.  As a result, a lot of  -

[HON. CHIBAYA: Inaudible interjections.] –

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order please.

HON. DR. CHIMEDZA. Can you protect me please? The money was improperly disbursed and improperly supervised by the then

Ministers and even without acquittal, they went on to give more money.  I think we have learnt a lesson.  When the new Government came in, this is where audits were done and this rot was unearthed.   - [HON. CHIBAYA: Which new Government.] – This Government that is here now.  - [HON. CHIBAYA: Inaudible interjections.] – Yes.  - [Laughter.] - what you also need to understand is that when you distribute money in hospitals, it is according to equitable distribution.  You do not give the amount of money to hospitals because you have given the same amount to a hospital, the needs are different.  The structures, requirements and states of hospitals are different.  If you go to a new hospital, you do not give it a million dollars just because you have gone to Mnene Hospital which is run down and given them a million dollars.  You give the money according to need.  There is assessment and distribution, so to say that the money was given to the east or west based on tribe is really irresponsible to say the least.

What has come out of this report is Government and officials that slept on duty, the procedures that were not followed; a lot of money that was misused.  We want to applaud the system that then unearthed and corrected this.  I am sure from now on, even those that did this can also learn.  Those that cry loudest here were partly responsible for most of this rot.  The Hon. Member was saying it is like people never learnt, they were new people who knew nothing about governance and made a lot of mistakes.  We understand that.  Thank you.

HON. DR. KEREKE: Good afternoon Mr. Speaker Sir. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the debate at hand.  Certainly, I also want to commend the Committee for coming up with sobering observations.  Firstly, I want to urge Parliament, the august House that in terms of our programmes to implement the oversight function, we look at the time lapse and how relevant and how useful the product of our sweat would be.  Here we are looking at a very proficient and telling report born out of a hard working Committee of the House but it is looking at a period 2012 long back after the horse has bolted.  Perhaps we need to look at ways through which we can ensure that matters to do with the audit functions in our line Ministries as

Parliament, we try to be as current as possible.  If you are a farmer, you do not contemplate how to deal with the ways of weevils well after the granary is vanquished.  You plan, I am harvesting now weevils come to destroy my grain, you put remedial measures before it has happened.

That aside, let us take the lessons that have come out of the report.

The first is the issue, the opaqueness of our procurement systems. This is a serious issue Mr. Speaker Sir, which should be corrected.  We have a tendency where fiscal resources are going into line ministries without proper procurement and accountability systems in place.  $107 million is not small change for the size of our economy.    Even if it was $20 million, we are in a drought year, that $20 million was going to count a lot in terms of food importation.

The opaque nature, Mr. Speaker Sir, of our procurement systems, we tend to have more like subsumed our own conscience into accepting that corruption is normal; that public officials are certain sacred cows; when they are corrupt, they receive corrupt funds, they cannot be held to account.  I want to say it is Parliament which set rules and laws that are there to deal with the vices of corruption and non-accountability.  In the exercise of   our oversight function, we should come out with measures that would ensure that those laws are followed.

Mr. Speaker Sir, when one looks at the resources our economy has, be it mining, agricultural land and human capital, one can conclude that perhaps one of the most significant milestone on the neck of our economy is the vice of corruption.  Yes, sanctions are a vice which degraded our performance Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to say at this juncture, 50 to 60% of our troubles are as a result of corruption.  We need to ensure that we cannot hope to have effective productivity in the tentacles of our economy as long as we have not dealt with the vice of corruption.

We are in a negative inflation territory, which means the general cost of production are not raising.  In fact, they are declining from a pricing point of view; you then ask what the causes of our underperformance are. There is a new cost which is more hazardous than the hyper-inflation that our country experienced in the year 2007, 2008 and the like.  This new cost is called resource leakages through corruption.  If you disburse a $107 million, 605 of that is going towards unproductive /non-productive areas, we cannot expect the production and capitalisation of those institutions as would have been planned to take place.

We have a challenge as the august House to ensure that line ministries, implementing institutions and public institutions utilise resources as would have been allocated to them.  Mr. Speaker Sir, perhaps it is time we also look at the way Parliament evaluates fiscal performance.  We sit here; we debate budgets and then legislate through Finance Bills, pieces of legislation which set the parameters, magnitudes of our budgets that have to be followed.

However, as Parliament, we tend to sit in acquiescence when budget parameters are missed, that is lawlessness.  It is a breach of a fiscal and Finance Bill.  We really need to exercise rigor to introspect and find out why those budgetary provisions have been missed or omitted.

Mr. Speaker Sir, I would also want to add on and say, let us move towards zero-base budgeting concept, which says when you are financing a project, look at the actual results from base to finish and say, how much resources are we ploughing into this project and at what stage should we see the end product.  Mr. Speaker Sir, we cannot budget as Parliament or add our input into budgets and be happy to see mere compliance with quantums – to say, if we set a budget at US$20 million and if it reaches US$20 million and less, we clap hands and say, it was observed.  We need to go into the budget, what did that US$20 do, vis a vis, the original plan.

Mr. Speaker Sir, we need to promote fiscal constitutionalism.

Fiscal constitutionalism means that we are respecting the reality that the function of Treasury is a creature of the Constitution.  The institution of Parliament discusses and approves budgets.  When those budgets are approved through a Finance Bill, let us promote the observance of that law, the Finance Bill.  I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.

HON. MATUKE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.

                          HON. MUKWANGWARIWA: I second

Motion put and agreed to.

Debate to resume: Wednesday, 15 June, 2016.

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT

CITY OF GWERU WATER AUDIT

                          THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC

WORKS AND NATIONAL HOUSING (HON. KASUKUWERE):

Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  Last week, Hon. Chibaya raised a very important issue, which I will make a statement to on the City of Gweru.  Mr. Speaker Sir, after being inundated with numerous reports and allegations of corruption at the City of Gweru, the Ministry of Local Government commissioned an audit into the state of affairs of the City of Gweru.

The investigations unearthed a lot of irregularities, if not absurdities which included inter alia: that the water account (which is one of the main source of funds for a council), was not ring fenced as per ministerial directive.  This means that instead of channeling all water revenues towards improving water supply and its quality to Gweru residents, councilors and management would channel it towards their own self-aggrandisement.

The audit also unearthed delays in billing and other anomalies.  The sum total of all this was that council was sitting on non-revenuewater of more than 30%, which means, of all treated and pumped water, council could, on a daily basis, account for 30% of its water.  This, together with dwindling revenue inflows and crippling strikes by employees due to non-payment of salaries and in a bid to strengthen and plug both financial and real water leakages in the council’s water account, a water audit was recommended as a strategy to unearth the leakages, inefficiencies, real and apparent losses and proffer solutions to the same.

The City of Gweru then floated an informal tender, which was duly advertised in national papers as per statutes.  The tender was open to the public and it closed on the 8th of January, 2016, at 12pm.  Tenders were opened immediately thereafter in the presence of bidders who chose to attend.  The council’s procurement committee then evaluated the tenders and it was awarded to Zimbabwe Innovative Technologies (ZIMIT), which was the most responsive according to specifications.

The preliminary water audit findings to date has identified more than 3000 illegal connections, various properties that are not on the council’s billing platform, more than 15000 non-functional meters and a proliferation of unprotected wells doted all over the City, to name a few.  The audit has also unearthed stands and other properties that have been created and parceled out illegally and such properties are not on council’s database while at the same time, drawing water from council’s water distribution system illegally.

As a consequence of the incremental adjustments being done to council’s systems based on the preliminary findings, council’s water revenue base is widening and there is improved recovery and water supply is on the mend.

The Ministry would want to put it on record that Engineer V. Choga is one of the employees and Director of ZIMIT according to the company profile of ZIMIT and is neither a shareholder of ZIMIT nor is he related to Mark Choga, who is one of the members of the caretaker commission running the affairs of the City of Gweru.

The Ministry will not be deterred from taking corrective action on all the unearthed irregularities at the City of Gweru and will not rest on its laurels until sanctity prevails at the City of Gweru.  We will also hasten to say that no amount of threat or malicious reporting will impede our drive to ensure that Gweru residents are protected from unfair treatment and we will not rest until quality services are availed to all the residents of Gweru.  I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, I am sure Hon.

Members are aware that this is a Ministerial Statement and all you need to do is seek clarification only and no debate.

HON. CHIBAYA: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker.  I just want to seek clarification from the Hon. Minister regarding the relationship between Mark Choga and Engineer Choga, who is the director of ZIMIT company.  My understanding is that Engineer Choga is the brother to Mr. Mark Choga whom he appointed as a commissioner.  Secondly, I am not so sure Hon. Speaker if the Hon. Minister did his research properly when he spoke of salary arrears for employees.  When you appointed the Commission Hon. Minister, the City of Gweru was in four months arrears and as things stand now, the Commission which you appointed is in six months arrears.

Thirdly, on the issue of the availability of water, Hon. Minister, the situation – I stay in Gweru, the situation is now worse than before.  I thank you.

HON. ENG. MUDZURI: I would like to seek clarification on the area where he said he will not sit on corruption.  Has Gweru managed to work as a full council?  The Minister has come here to quickly say there is a problem with the elected councilors but he has not come to say if Gweru ever worked as a full council.  The Constitution demands that a full council be instituted which will have MPs and Senators contributing to the development of that city.  The full council is mandated by the Constitution to sit and plan the development of the economy of a city council.  That council is not …

HON. CHAPFIKA:  On a point of order Mr. Speaker Sir.  You

gave a ruling regarding the proceedings after the Minister’s presentation.  You said we can seek clarification or ask specific questions but the Hon. Member is debating – [HON. MEMBERS:

Inaudible interjection.] –

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Order, order Hon Members.

Hon Maridadi, do you want me to name you? I was listening to his speech, may you proceed just to seek clarification.

HON. ENG. MUDZURI:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, my

clarification comes on the point where the Minister is administering a non existent Urban Council’s Act, which he should have long brought to this Parliament.  He should be able to administer a proper Urban Council Act which includes the administration of a council that constitutes Senators, Ministers and other councilors who were elected.

He is coming here to say he has seen a lot of wrong things happening.

My next clarification is on your tender, which you said you floated and it ended on the 20th January.  It is clear, according to the ethical rules of engineering that whenever you see people floating a tender during holidays, there is suspicion of serious corruption and targeted people who are likely to be invited to bring their tender.  Can you clarify why it was done during the Christmas holiday?

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Order, order please Hon

Members.  We are not now opening up a debate.  I have allowed Hon.

Mudzuri to go out of his way a little bit but I cannot continue doing so.

I just need you to seek clarification.

HON. P. D SIBANDA:  Thank you Mr. Speaker.  I have three clarifications that I want to get from the Hon. Minister.  The first one is, when I heard the Minister reading his statement, he seemed to indicate that he intervened in the affairs of the local authority of Gweru because there were problems and he cited two problems to do with water and salary arrears.  The Central Government of Zimbabwe has got numerous problems.  I can count them up to 20 or 30, including the cash crisis.  Does the Minister see it as something that is good if the people of Zimbabwe are to say that instead of this Government we need a Commission to run the country because it has problems?

Secondly, the Hon. Minister seems to indicate that he took that action to protect the residents of Gweru.  The residents of Gweru made clear who they wanted to protect their interests and they elected their representatives.  Did the Minister consult the residents of Gweru before his intervention, if not, where does he draw the mandate to protect people who have already elected people to protect them outside the provisions of the Constitution?

Lastly, I think when the Hon. Minister gets an opportunity like this, to come here, there are other issues as well that he has to clarify.  For example; the expenditure in terms of allowances that are being drawn by his commission because it is “his commission,” are actually more than those that were being drawn by the councilors that he suspended.  What is the rationale behind increasing the expenditure of people that you pretend to be protecting?  Thank you.

HON. SITHOLE:  I want to seek clarification in terms of the conduct that is being exhibited by the Hon. Minister.  I say this in relation to the national Constitution, specifically Section 2, which talks about the supremacy of the Constitution - read in conjunction with Section 276, which talks about the independence of local authorities.  It clearly states that local authorities have a mandate to manage their own local affairs.  Also, Section 278, talks about the appointment of tribunals, which should be done through an Act of Parliament.  So, I would want to know why the Minister is just acting as if we are in a zoo?  Thank you.

HON. KASUKUWERE:  Let me start by thanking the Hon. Members for seeking clarification, which I am able to provide.  I want to thank Hon. Chibaya who raised the issue in the first instance.  The point that he raised was that I had appointed Mr. Choga, who subsequently had awarded himself a tender.  What I came to do this afternoon is to clarify that it is not the same person.  The Engineer V.

Choga he was talking about and Mark Choga are two different people.  So, I thought I was only clarifying a point.  What the Hon. Member had done was to say that I, in particular, had appointed a person who had given himself a tender and what I have done today is to clarify that they have similar names but they are two different people.  The Hon. Member seems to know much more than I do, but if I was to pursue the thinking that all people with the same surname are related, even the Moyos in Bulawayo would not be able operate because if you are going to use the surnames and say no Moyo should work in this place because so and so is doing this, it would be very difficult – [HON. MEMBERS:

Inaudible interjections.] –

Secondly, I thought I would not go into this area but I only want to encourage the Hon. Member to also pay his water bill because he is one of those who are affected by this audit.  He has not been paying, he illegally connected water – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible

interjections.] –

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order.  Hon. Members, remember you are in Parliament, so behave well – [HON. CHIBAYA:

The Minister is also in Parliament.]

HON. MARIDADI: On a point of order Mr. Speaker.  My point of order is that the Minister must not be personal.  I think the issue that was brought by Hon. Chibaya is to assist this country.  He must not be personal because we are not being personal with the Minister.  He is a Government Minister and we expect a lot better from a Minister of Government.  From a national leader, we expect a lot better and I think the Minister can do better.  Thank you.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  You may proceed Hon.

Minister.

HON. KASUKUWERE:  Mr. Speaker – [HON. MEMBERS:

Inaudible interjections.] –

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Order, order, just resume

your seat.

Hon. Chamisa having stood up.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Before you proceed Hon.

Chamisa, are you going to make a new point of order, not what others have been trying to pursue?  If not, then I might ask you to sit down.

HON. CHAMISA:  Hon. Speaker, when Members of Parliament come to Parliament, they are carrying the full colour, steam and tenure of the people whom they represent.  We have a serious violation of a fundamental constitutional right, the right to confidentiality of personal details.  For a Minister to stand up, it is a constitutional right.  You have privacy issues; he has privacy issues to the extent that they are not public in the term of his representation.  So, to the extent that he has done what he has done; he has to apologise, withdraw for the benefit of our Constitution – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Yes, Hon. Chibaya is accountable to the people because he is a public official but not when you delve into issues of privacy – [HON.

MEMBERS: Hear, hear.]  –

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Hon. Minister, you may proceed – [HON. MEMBERS: Make a ruling, make a ruling!] – You do not force the Chair to make a ruling.  I was going to make a ruling, why do you want to force me to make a ruling.

Hon. Minister, avoid to pick up on an Hon. Member.  You may proceed – [HON. MEMBERS: Please withdraw!.] –

Withdraw what, order please, I have made a ruling.  Hon.

Minister, you may proceed.

HON. KASUKUWERE: Mr. Speaker Sir, for progress sake, I want to withdraw the statement I had made, that the Hon. Member has not been paying for his water in Gweru.  So, that statement is withdrawn but I will engage the Hon. Member privately when we meet outside – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.]I have withdrawn. 

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Order, order, Hon. Maridadi; you may proceed Hon. Minister.

HON. KASUKUWERE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  The

second question that has been raised by Hon. Mudzuri is to do with the alignment.  Mr. Speaker Sir, on the issue to do with alignment, I will be coming to Parliament on that process.  As you are aware, we have over

400 pieces of legislation that had to be aligned in terms of the new

Constitution.  Our Ministry and the Ministry of Lands and Rural Development working together, will be bringing to Parliament, various alignment processes that will achieve exactly what the Hon. Member is seeking us to do.

HON. MUDZURI:  On a point of order Mr. Speaker.  The

Minister is working outside the Constitution by not having done that for three years.  What he is actually saying is, he can see the wrong thing in Gweru where they have failed to supply water, but they have failed to supply a simple legislative law which can be governing the city.  That is what he should answer – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – Why should you go and pick on people who are paying residential monies.  He must be able to respond why he has failed to bring the law.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Order, Hon. Members, very

soon I will ask one of you to go out if you continue making noise – [AN HON. MEMBER:  For seeking clarification?] – Seeking clarification when you are making noise.

HON. KASUKUWERE: We have already tabled in this House

some of the amendments that we are making.  So, I am sure, with the support of colleagues here, we will be able to achieve the objectives as set out in our Constitution.

Hon. Sibanda raised an issue - [HON. MUDZURI:  Inaudible

interjection.] – 

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Mudzuri, you are a

senior Hon. Member, I do not want to mention your name again.  Be

patient.

HON. KASUKUWERE:  Thank you Hon. Speaker, I am sure I received questions from more than five Hon. Members, so perhaps some of them I might have skipped them.  You remind me so that I can get back to them.  Hon. Sibanda raised almost a similar issue – on why concern yourselves with water and corruption yet we voted?  However, the Urban Councils Act is still the piece of legislation that we are using to administer the councils and we cannot run away from that until after alignment, then we can talk of a change.  This is what I am doing; I will be coming to Parliament and I have already tabled before Parliament.  The process is already underway of amending but there can never be a vacuum in terms of the administration of the country.

The laws that are in place must still be implemented up to a point where were we have amended them.  You cannot live a vacuum in a country.  I want to also thank Hon. Sibanda for raising an important issue to deal with the amount that the Commission might be drawing.  I am not sure how much they are getting as opposed to what the council was getting.  I will go, have a look at it and then come and give a response.

Lastly, the question raised by Hon. Sithole to do with the independence of local authorities.  Mr. Speaker, I am not sure whether it was the drafters intention to create republics within a republic.  This Minister is appointed in terms of the law.  I am appointed to administer sections of the law. I administer the Urban Councils Act and various other pieces of legislation.  For one to say because in the Constitution, Section 278 stated quite clearly and categorically that yes, they will be independent, it does not take away the right of the appointed Ministers in Section 276 to run Ministries.  I have authority delegated to me and I also delegate that authority, subsidiary legislation to local authorities. But to assume that the legislation intended at one given time to allow councils to do as they see fit is wrong.  I do not think that is what the law intends them to do.  Thank you Mr. Speaker.

HON. ENG. MUDZURI:  On a point of order Mr. Speaker.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Order.  I think I said there is

no debate.  Resume your seats.  Initially, I told you that there should not be any debate except when one is seeking clarification.  It is now being turned into a debate.  Resume your seats, it is over.  You may – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.] – There is question time tomorrow and you may ask the Minister.

HON. ENG. MUDZURI:  On a point of order Mr. Speaker.

                          THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  You may ask during the

Question Time tomorrow.  What is your point of order Hon. Mudzuri?

HON. ENG. MUDZURI:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  On a

point of order, I want to say the Minister did not respond to the clarification we sought.  It is not a debate.  If you read the Constitution it says, “No other law can supersede the Constitution.”  We have asked the Minister on what supersedes the Constitution.  He must also respond to my question where I said there are provincial councils which should be coming...

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Order, order.  Hon. Minister,

I think I may take you back to the question asked by Hon. Chibaya, which you need to clarify.  He was talking of non-payment of workers when the Commission was appointed, maybe that one alone and nothing

else.

HON. KASUKUWERE:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  I would

want to thank the Hon. Member.  As far as I am concerned, the Commission has been doing a good job.  However, if there has been some delay as put across by the Hon. Member, I will also go and check the details and come back and report to Parliament.

Secondly Mr. Speaker, on the question raised by Hon. Mudzuri, I would want to submit that the Commission has been doing a fantastic job.  Like I have said, the water situation, servicing of land and availability of stands has improved tremendously.  On the second question, I do not want to go deeper but would rather respond and stop here.  I will go and get the other facts which the Hon. Member has raised, to do with the two months beyond the four which were there before.

Mr. Speaker, on the last question which was raised by Hon.

Mudzuri, there has been an erroneous belief by Members of Parliament, councillors, et cetera to interpret the legislation.  That is the business of the courts.  Here as legislators, we make laws; we do not interpret them.  Therefore, for one to come and tell me that the law is no longer a law, that pronouncement can only be made by a court.  If the matter has been brought before the courts and is struck down by the Constitutional Court, it cannot be struck by the whims or caprices of an individual.  It has to go through the processes and it is only the Constitutional Court that has the mandate of striking any legislation in terms of it being ultra-vires the Constitution.  So, we cannot be told by individuals.

Thank you Mr. Speaker.

HON. MARIDADI:  On a point of order Mr. Speaker …       THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  How can you raise a point of

order when I have said …

HON. MARIDADI:  Mr. Speaker, my point of order is that we

still have questions to ask the Minister.  The Minister cannot just walk out when Members of Parliament still have questions to ask – [HON.

MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –

*As Members of Parliament we are involved in serious business.

The Minister has come to present a Ministerial Statement.

Unfortunately, the Minister is abdicating his duty by going out of the

House before he has clarified concerns raised by Members of Parliament.  One may even ask why he bothered coming if he did not want to complete the task at hand.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Hon. Maridadi, resume your

seat.  I said you can only seek clarification and there is no debate.  What is obtaining now is turning into a debate and I will not allow that.

HON. GONESE:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  My point of order

relates to the Ministerial Statement that was given.  I believe that after a Ministerial Statement has been given, Hon. Members are given an opportunity to seek clarification.  There are members who have stood up and were waiting to be recognised but you did not recognise them.  It is now unfortunate that the Minister has performed a disappearing act.  We believe that in terms of our procedures, it is very clear that he does so only when Members have exhausted issues that they want clarified.

There were still issues to be clarified by Hon. Members. Three or four members were on their feet and I was surprised when you asked the Clerk to read the Sixth Order of the Day, when in fact that business had not yet been exhausted.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Order Hon. Member.  Your

complaint may sound genuine but you were not in the Chamber.  Order

Hon. Members.  The Minister is no longer here, so we proceed.

MOTION

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

          HON. MATUKE:  Mr. Speaker, I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 6 to 16 be stood over, until Order of the Day, Number 17 and the rest of the Orders have been disposed of.

HON. RUNGANI: I second.

Motion put and agreed to.

MOTION

REPORT OF THE AFRICAN UNION OBSERVATON MISSION TO

CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE

HON. A. MNANGAGWA:  Thank you Mr. Speaker.  I move the

motion standing in my name that:

This House takes note of the Report of the African Union Observation

Mission to Congo Brazzaville Presidential Elections held in March,

2016.

HON. RUNGANI:  I second.

HON. A. MNANGAGWA:  Mr. Speaker Sir, an African Union

Electoral Observation Mission comprising of 21 African States including Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Cote D’ivoire, Djibouti, DRC, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Malawi, Mauritania, Rwanda, Saharawi, Sao Tome, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia and Zimbabwe which was represented by Hon. A. Mnangagwa, the Member of the

National Assembly for Chirumanzu-Zibagwe Constituency and one of

Zimbabwe’s representative in the Pan-African Parliament. The election observers were deployed throughout the Republic of Congo to:

  1. Follow the electoral process; and
  2. Meet with Government and electoral officials, candidates and political parties, civil society representatives and media to provide a critical assessment of the conduct of the election.

Hon. A. Mnangagwa was deployed in polling stations around the central business district and immediate rural areas in the north, west, east and south of the capital Brazzaville.

The Observation Mission was specifically mandated to observe the Presidential Election in line with relevant African Union and international instruments such as the African Charter on Democracy,

Elections and Governance, the OAU/AU Declaration on the Principles

Governing Elections in Africa, the African Union Guidelines for

Election Observation and Monitoring Missions, the International Covenant on Civil Political Rights (ICCPR), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the 2005 Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation to which the AU is a signatory and the national laws of the Republic of Congo.

The overarching goal of the mission was to provide an objective, independent and impartial assessment of the conduct of the elections in line with aforementioned international and regional best practice and standards. –[HON CHIBAYA: Ari nani uyu auya  kwete benzi rabuda.]-

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. DZIVA): Order! Hon.

Chibaya, the language that you have used is very unparliamentary. Can you please withdraw what you have said now!

HON. CHIBAYA: Ndiri kuwithdrawer kana kumedza mashoko angu okuti kwauya munhu ari nani paChair.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Pedzisa zvese uwithdrawe

zvawataura. Hazvibvumidzwi muparliament.

HON. CHIBAYA: I think you should also refer to me as an

Honourable Member and not say “zvawataura”.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: You said kwete benzi rabuda.

Can you please withdraw that?

HON. CHIBAYA: I withdraw kwete benzi rabuda.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Can you not see that you are

embarrassing yourself.

HON. A. MNANGAGWA: Thank you Madam Speaker.

Presidential candidates were nine in all, who included five independents;

  1. His Excellency, President Denis Sassou Nguesso, who represented the Congolese Labour Party,
  2. Guy Brice Parfait Lolelas, representing the Movement for

Democracy and Integral Development,

  1. Pascal Tsaty Mabiala, representing the Pan African Union for

Social Democracy,

  1. Andre Okombi Salissa, representing the Initiative for

Democracy in Congo,

  1. Jean-Marie Michael Mokoko (independent candidate)
  2. Joseph Kignoumbi Kia Mboungou (independent candidate)
  3. Michael Mboussi Ngouri (independent candidate)
  4. Anguios Nganguia Engabe (independent candidate)
  5. Claudine Munari (independent candidate)

Conduct of the Elections

Polling went according to plan, commencing at 7a.m. on Sunday, 20th of March 2016 and finishing at 7p.m. the same day. On the whole, the election was conducted in a peaceful environment, with people eager and enthusiastic to cast their votes.

Candidates Performance

Of the nine candidates, His Excellency, President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Congolese Labour Party won the election, with 867 179, representing  60% of the total votes cast.

Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas of the Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development came second with 260 090 votes representing 15% and third was Jean-Marie Mokoko with 199 414 votes representing 14%.

Environment Before, During and After the Poll

  1. On the eve of the election, telecommunications, internet and transportation were cut off, while shops and some hotels were closed.
  2. The polling stations in rural areas were far apart, thereby affecting some voters, especially the elderly who could not walk long distances.
  3. Due to lack of adequate transportation, some voters had to traverse long distances to polling stations.
  4. Generally, all the Congolese voted.

Goodwill/Solidarity Messages

On the eve of the election, I was invited by His Excellency, President Denis Sassou Nguesso together with several Ambassadors who represented their respective countries to meet His Excellency at his palace. When it was my turn to exchange greetings with His

Excellency, I conveyed a message of solidarity from His Excellency,

the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence

Forces, Cde R. G. Mugabe, who wished His Excellency, President Denis Sassou Nguesso good health and a resounding success in the election.

In turn, President Denis Sassou Nguesso expressed gratitude and highlighted that it was important to have friends who think of you in times of need like this one. He further noted that Zimbabwe had come at the right time when he needed encouragement and calmness.

He requested me to convey a message of warmth and solidarity to His Excellency, Cde R. G. Mugabe and to wish him well in all his endeavours and great plans he has for Zimbabwe. I thank you.

*HON. MARIDADI: Thank you Madam Speaker for giving me

this opportunity to debate. The first thing that I observed is that there were nine candidates that were contesting the Presidential election including the incumbent Denis Sassou Nguesso. Of the nine contesting candidates, five were independents. The report that has been tabled is that we did not hear that the opposition was accused of having run the race and being arrested for having tried to run for presidency. It is a good development which Africa should emulate. We did not hear issues emanating from the Hon. Member who tabled the report that there were missing persons during the election period.

Furthermore, she also stated that elections were conducted in a peaceful manner.  There was no violence and there were no arrests, meaning that all the candidates were given sufficient time to conduct their rallies and election campaigns.  The Hon. Member did not witness malpractices such as Nikuv that was tailor-made to ensure the interests of the other party would carry the day at the end of the election.

I would like to commend Congo Brazzaville for conducting its elections properly so that the east, southern and central African countries can emulate such good ways of conducting elections as envisaged by the Congo Brazzaville elections and reports will emanate in the mould that has been tabled by Hon. Mnangagwa.  I thank you for having led a delegation to Congo Brazzaville which is next to the

Democratic Republic of Congo.

*HON. MPARIWA: Thank you Madam Speaker.  I would also

want to add my voice and commend the good report that has been tabled by Hon. Mnangagwa as our representative who observed the elections that were recently held in the Congo Brazzaville.  I congratulate her on her appointment as Chairperson of the Southern Region Parliamentary Caucus.  Congratulations, it helps to raise our flag high by holding such positions.

I am saying so because of the report that she has tabled.  I believe that it was tabled by the Chairperson of the Southern region in the country which means that we have learnt.   A lot has been said by Hon. Maridadi but as women, I would like to say that such an opportunity gave her the chance to observe that there will be several candidates for an election and people would vote freely, not killed or assaulted.  She did not mention any incidents of busing in of people from certain constituencies into others to vote for a particular candidate but that the elections were conducted in a free and fair manner.

It is difficult when you have nine candidates but five were independent yet they were permitted to contest in the presidential race.  Eventually, there would be a winner, they were all given opportunity to show themselves and there were no reports of violence, abuse or harassment of party supporters.  The question that remains is, I pray that in Africa, in Southern Africa in particular we should emulate such a manner in which people run such races that each person is free to contest for the presidency.

Personally, I wish, we could witness elections being run in the same manner in Zimbabwe, the region and Africa as a whole.  Thank you Hon. Mnangagwa, we have learnt that elections can be conducted peacefully, with acceptable results to all and that people continue to live in peace.  I thank you.

*HON. MAPIKI:  Mr. Speaker, first and foremost I would like to congratulate Hon. Mnangagwa on her election and having represented us well meaning.  Our Zimbabwean women, educated as they are, we now have women of that calibre who can table very good reports like the one she has just tabled.

I have observed that southern African countries in SADC or those that are in the African Union have improved in the manner in which they are running their elections as witnessed by the Congo Brazzaville experience.  We want to believe that Zimbabwe is now much further in terms of accessibility of the polling stations.  You said the polling stations were far stretched and people had problems accessing them.  Zimbabwean voters are now ward-based so people do not travel long distances.  We are streets ahead of other countries and it shows that

Zimbabwe has created a better polling environment.

She made reference to voter education and it shows that

Zimbabwe is also better in that regard and we could even teach them on how to go about it.  The fact that there are independent people who can go about teaching people on voter education is a good thing and voter education is on-going throughout the year.

The report has also shown that other SADC countries have emulated other countries that conduct elections every five years and the elections are held in a free and fair manner.  The other point that was raised in the report was that there were a lot of candidates who lost and the same pertains in Zimbabwe.  Others will run the race and complain after the results because they will have lost.  It is correct that there is always an excuse for everything like our elders say but elections will have been held.  When conducting our elections, a lot of political parties such as NDU, Simba Makoni and others are contesting but once they lose, they start complaining and claiming that the elections were not free and fair.

I also observed that SADC countries now have a better procedure of conducting elections.  Thank you Hon. Mnangagwa, remain resolute as you represent us and continue tabling such good reports.  I thank you.

*HON. MAVENYENGWA:  Thank you Madam Speaker for the

opportunity that you have accorded me to speak on the elections that were held in the Congo Brazzaville.  First and foremost, I am grateful for Hon. Mnangagwa’s appointment.  It shows that women are raising our flag high and that the equality of men and women is now coming into play.

I thank her for the report that she tabled on the elections that were well conducted in the Congo Brazzaville.  I have observed that even in Zimbabwe, since 1980, our elections have been continuously been held when they fall due.  I also heard her talking about nine candidates that ran the presidential race and of the nine, the eventual winner was congratulated by the losers who conceded that the elections had been conducted in a free and fair manner.  Zimbabwe should emulate the same practice.  When you run the race in Zimbabwe and lose, you should concede the result so that our country can move forward.

Furthermore, Members of Parliament should concede results not only after winning but dispute them when they lose.  Let us just concede results that emerge during elections because that would have been the choice of the people.

I heard that the elections in the Congo Brazzaville went well and that there were no missing persons in Congo but we did not hear the reports saying that the elections were not free and fair because there were missing persons.  This surprises me that a missing person is alluded to as a cause for an election not having been free and fair, there are a lot of missing persons in this country.  If there is a missing person, investigations have to be done because there are several missing persons.  There are people that went missing during the period of the liberation war.  The elections in the Congo teach us that we should accept the result that emerges from an electoral process and that those that lose will try their luck next time.

Zimbabwe is the pride of Africa, His Excellency, President Mugabe has never barred anyone from contesting elections.  We know that certain people ran the race of presidency without any followers and no one barred them from contesting.  So the report tabled by Hon.

Mnangagwa is an eye opener and should be a lesson to our opposition parties that they should quickly embrace the result of the election and that there has to be a single winner.  Accept your loss, I thank you.

HON. DR. MASHAKADA:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  I want

to thank Hon. Mnangagwa for tabling the report of her election observation in Congo Brazzaville which has got telling lessons for

Zimbabwe.  Congo Brazzaville is a former French colony in central Africa.  You may recall that this country has had a chequered history.  It has been unstable for most of its post independence years - with the current President who won the recent elections observed by Hon. Mnangagwa having been deposed from office at one stage but he rebounced back and introduced political and constitutional reforms.

I am sure his inclusive approach has in part helped him to be retained or reelected as the President of Congo Brazzaville.  I am sure also the stability of this country in terms of free and fair elections is also attributed from the economic stability of this country. As you know, Congo Brazzaville is a rich oil producing country, and it think its GDP per capita is very impressive.  When citizens are happy, it is not

difficult to retain the sitting President.   From the Report I can discern that Africa has to conduct its elections as they did in Congo Brazzaville in terms of the AU Protocol on governance, democracy and elections.

I am happy that her report clearly shows that Congo Brazzaville is one of those countries that have adhered to this important AU Protocol.  What we saw in Congo Brazzaville from the report is that the elections were peaceful, free, fair and credible.  That is what the Protocol calls upon countries to embrace.  The other feature of the AU Protocol on governance, democracy and elections is that the citizens must be able to express their free will and we can see this from her report, that the people from Congo Brazzaville were able to express their free will.

The other feature of the Protocol is that Electoral Commissions must be truly independent.  The fact that there were not post election violence and other issues shows that the Electoral Commission in Congo Brazzaville was truly independent and impartial.  The other issue in the Protocol which is revealed by her report is that all political parties must be able to campaign freely, have access to the media, freedom of association, freedom of assembly – from her report – all these things were observed as obtaining on the ground.   From her report, I can only say that Congo Brazzaville provides pioneering lessons for other

African countries which are going to hold elections like Zimbabwe in 2018, to uphold the AU Protocol of governance, democracy and

elections.

However, I was a bit worried when she talked about all communication, telecommunication, everything jammed during the election day.  These kinds of developments are not necessary because they really turned the otherwise good performance of the country in terms of the elections.  I hope that those are lessons that we should draw from her report that there is no need to jam communication.  There is no need to interfere with any form of communication because it will raise unnecessary aspersions on an otherwise good election.

Madam Speaker, before I take my seat, let me also congratulate

Hon. Mnangagwa on her election as the Chairperson of the Pan African Parliament, Southern African Regional Caucus.  Congratulations Hon.

Member.   I thank you.

*HON. CHAMISA:  Thank you Madam Speaker. I have a few words to add on the report tabled by Hon. Mnangagwa, the member from Zibagwe; thank you – congratulations on your election.  While your upliftment is also a plus or a feather in the cap of Zimbabwe, you are raising the flag high, we thank you for that.  I am going to mention 3 things; firstly, you did travel very well.  We also draw a lesson that our observer missions in Africa should be held over a period of time after and before the election, so that you have sufficient on how the election is run.  There were some fighting and killing of one another in Congo Brazzaville after the election, when others were alleging that there was vote snatching, there were street fights; this is a curse for Africa.  Africa should emerge from this habit of conducting disputed elections.

Africa should have credible elections that are violence free.  We are not there to fight one another or kill one another, it is not a cock fight where they pay and one has to die.  We know there should be one cock at every homestead but when we have an election we should not use denigrating information or be derisive of others.  We are looking at these things because this has a negative effect on our economy because of political differences - more-so if there has been political violence during an election.

It is my wish that we arise and become the first born child of Africa in terms of leading the way on conducting good elections, as opposed to be the last born child in Africa in terms of running our election badly.  We should not have people spilling blood because there has been election after a victory has been declared.  There should never be a question of the winner and the vanquished, that type of spirit does not auger well for Africa and does not take Africa any further.  It is our wish that Africa conducts uncontested elections. Africa should rise up so that we can teach Europe and America that elections can be done peacefully in Africa so that they can learn and draw lessons from the African democracy. The Europeans and the Americans can draw lessons from this. We should not just go there to ensure that we draw lessons from best practices. We should not have an election system where we seriously assault the woman that we married.

We need elections to go in a proper and fair manner, that people  have run a one man race should not be the way - but we should have an election that has people that are contesting. We should not have a President who runs his own race or an Member of Parliament who runs his or her own race. There is not competition where you compete against yourself or your shadow, you compete against others.

Competition is because there are many, there is plurality this is what we should bear in mind when we go for an election. We should all be there to contest, fairly and you should win fairly and squarely. You should never win alone or run a race alone and mislead yourself that you have won a race because the next day you will have a serious comatose in the economy. This is because we lie to each other politically. We lie to ourselves that we have won and these are empty victories.

This is a good Report the word should be taken to the political parties that you and I represent, that we should not cheat during elections because you reap what you sow.  We will end up having serious problems. We have serious challenges because of electoral fraud. Electoral fraud is not good to the fraudsters themselves. When we go to the next election you are neer centers of power in your leaders. We are also near our leaders and we should put our heads together and speak with one voice and tell our leaders that we should not have disputed elections. We should have elections that are run in a normal manner. We should live well and enjoy our peace so that Africa grows better. I thank you – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.]-

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Let me take this opportunity

to congratulate Hon. A. Mnangagwa for the position that she has ascended to in the Pan African Parliament. You represented the Zimbabwean woman and the Zimbabwean children. Well done you have raised our flag high.

HON. MATUKE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.

HON. MARIDADI: I second.

Motion out and agreed to.

Debate to resume: Wednesday, 14th June, 2016.

On the motion of HON. MATUKE, seconded by HON.

MARIDADI, the House adjourned at Eleven Minutes to Five o’clock p.m.

 

 

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