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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY HANSARD 16 JUNE 2021 VOL 47 NO 61
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 16th June, 2021
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
REMOVAL OF MOTIONS FROM THE ORDER PAPER IN
TERMS OF STANDING ORDER NO. 107 (1)
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have to inform the House
that with effect from today, all motions and notices of motions which have exceeded Twenty-one days and are still appearing on the Order
Paper will be removed pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order No. 107 (1). Once such motions are removed from the Order Paper, they cannot be reinstated within the same session. Hon. Members are therefore urged to take charge of their motions and notices of motions and should ensure that they do not exceed the stated time limit.
INVITATION TO JOIN THE PARLIAMENTARY CAUCUS
STEERING COMMITTEE ON CHILD RIGHTS
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I wish to inform the House that the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Caucus on Child Rights is requesting members who wish to join the Caucus to submit their names to Mr. T. Chiremba, Secretary to the Caucus in Office No.
101, First Floor, Parliament Building.
APOLOGIES RECEIVED FROM MINISTERS
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have got a list of Hon.
Ministers who have sought leave of absence from the House. The
Ministers are: Hon. Vice President, Dr. Chiwenga; Hon. Dr. F. M.
Shava, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Hon. Nzenza, Minister of Industry and Commerce; Hon. Mathema, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education; Hon. D. Garwe, Minister of
National Housing and Social Amenities ; Hon. K. Coventry, Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation; Hon. Soda Z., Minister of Energy and Power Development; Hon. Masuku, ; Hon. Chitando, Minister of
Mines and Mining Development and Hon. Musabayana, Deputy
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
(v)HON. MUSHORIWA: On a point of clarification Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I just wanted you to probably help us in understanding your earlier statement when you said that motions that have lapsed a certain period have to be removed from the Order Paper with immediate effect.
My question and clarification that I want to seek Hon. Madam Speaker is that as you may be aware, we have been asking questions pertaining to how the Business of the House has been prioritised to the extent that even when we were waiting to debate one’s motion, the order of the House has not been very clear. I am seeking your indulgence to simply say that could the immediate withdrawal of motions not be extended to be given notice rather than to immediately remove those motions bearing in mind that the Business of the House is done by the Whips and sometimes when trying to move a motion, you will find that your motion will not be having priority at that particular moment.
I think the urgency of then saying today, do you not think that a notice or giving some days could suffice to give members sufficient time to dispose of their motions?
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: You are Hon. Mushoriwa?
(v)HON. MUSHORIWA: Yes Ma’am.
THE HON. DPEUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Mushoriwa, if you refer
to your Standing Orders booklet, it is provided for in the Standing Orders. This is just a reminder and I am sure that the Hon. Speaker has also spoken about it. So …
(v)HON. MUSHORIWA: Agreed Madam Speaker that it is provided in the Standing Orders but the same Standing Orders also provide the manner in which the Business of the House is to be conducted and apparently …
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: So are you saying we should keep reminding you?
(v)HON. MUSHORIWA: Madam Speaker, I am on record for I think three times questioning on how the Business of the House and even questioning on whether we still have the Business of the House Committee because sometimes it has been haphazard and this is the reason why I am saying, could you extend your indulgence in terms of allowing Hon. Members some leeway to dispose their motions rather than for them to wake up tomorrow to find that the motions that they wanted to close have been removed from the Order Paper?
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Mushoriwa, this is why I am issuing a reminder. Hon. Members can reinstate their motions in the next session.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
(v)*HON. T. ZHOU: Good afternoon Madam Speaker Ma’am.
My question is directed to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Hon. Mhona. Hon. Minister, on which side of the road are drivers supposed to overtake? What can be done for our drivers to be aware of the fact that if they are moving at a slow speed on a dual carriage, they have to be on the extreme left than to continue on the right lane of the road to enable fast moving traffic to proceed and on which side of the road should they overtake. I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND
INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank
you Madam Speaker, I also want to thank the Hon. Member who is the MP for Mberengwa, Hon. Zhou. I want to thank him for his question.
He actually took the words from my mouth. We had put in place measures in partnership with the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe, to embark on a programme to educate drivers, that when you are driving in a dual carriage way what is expected but because of COVID-19 pandemic, we are unable to do that now. We wanted to raise awareness in Zimbabwe that these are some of the reasons why there is high road carnage because we are failing to adhere to the regulations that guide traffic on the appropriate lane to use. I am sure that once COVID-19 comes to an end, we will embark on this programme. We should educate our drivers so that we protect lives on the roads. I thank you.
(v)*HON. G. SITHOLE: My supplementary question is - when drivers are travelling during the night, when they want to overtake, some vehicles do not have very bright lights. Is it lawful for motor vehicles to have very bright lights which cause other motorists to be forced out of the roads? Is that legal? Thank you.
*HON. MHONA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would also like to thank the Hon. Member of Parliament for Chitungwiza, Hon. Godfrey Karakadzai Sithole for his supplementary question to the one that was posed by Hon. Zhou. Some of these things Madam Speaker, we put lights on some of the motor vehicles that are extremely bright as if they are going on a hunting expedition. I think as a country, we cannot come up with a law that we should have lights that will cause other road users not to see properly but as drivers, we should ensure that we do not flash the driver in front of you so as not to impair their vision. We should enlighten others to use the road wisely and to use it being mindful of the driver in front of you and not do anything that may cause an accident. I thank you very much for your question.
HON. NDUNA: I want to know from the Minister if there are plans to revitalise, revamp the highway code so that it is in conformity with the modern day trend and the infrastructure development that Hon. Zhou has alluded to and also with the SADC signage that has come into
play.
*HON. MHONA: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. Let me also hasten to thank Hon. Nduna for that very important question as a follow up to advise the House that Zimbabwe has signed the SADC Protocols in terms of the road signs and our highway code which is also under the purview of the Ministry. I am glad to say that we are in conformity to the standards and dictates of that protocol. That is going to be happening and it is actually happening. Thank you very much.
HON. GABBUZA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I just want to hear from the Minister; we have signed SADC Protocols on signage but we still do not see a lot of signage on our roads. If a foreigner came to Zimbabwe, they would be lost in this country. It is so difficult to find anywhere because the road signs are no longer there, especially on the old roads. What are they doing as a Ministry?
HON. MHONA: Thank you Madam Speaker. Let me also thank
Hon. Gabbuza Gabbuza for the pertinent question that he has raised.
Madam Speaker, if you notice that with the advent of the Second Republic, whatever we are renovating and whatever we are rehabilitating in terms of road maintenance, we are now putting the new SADC signage and others might be wondering what sort of signage we are talking about. We are saying those who are literate and those who are illiterate, they would all be in a position to use the same road. If you go through the new roads, we are putting this signage. I am glad that you have highlighted that old roads – yes, we do not have signage. I can assure you that as we partake into this very important project of the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme, we will make sure that we have signage that is in compliance with the SADC Protocol. Thank you Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, I would like to remind Hon. Members who are on virtual to switch on your video whenever you are speaking. Thank you.
(v)HON. MUDARIKWA: Thank you Madam Speaker. My
question to the Minister is on provisional licences. When are we going to start testing people using sign language?
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND
INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank
you Madam Speaker, let me also thank Hon. Mudarikwa for that. I am glad that this august House mandated to come up with relevant tools of legislation that would also facilitate some of the challenges that we face. I am glad to partake in the process whereby they can initiate that kind of an arrangement. As we speak, we are saying this is the desire of the 2nd Republic so that we comply with the Constitution fully in terms of what we are supposed to offer and these are some of the initiatives that as a
Ministry, we are welcome to work together with the Members of Parliament. Thank you Madam Speaker.
*HON. E. NCUBE: Thank you Madam Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Finance and Economic Development. What measures does Government have to put to an end the people that are in the habit of waylaying customers in stores such as TM and OK who want to buy using cash and then they offer to swipe on their behalf in exchange for the cash. We ask this because we no longer see Z$2 and Z$5 notes in circulation in shops that we are buying. Is this not what we call mopping up of our cash? What do they need this money for that they are getting from the people who want to buy? I thank you.
The Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs having stood up to respond to a question.
HON. T. MLISWA: Uyu akatanga aenda kun’angaka uyu
achinobvunza-bvunza
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Mliswa.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Can you restrain
him Madam Speaker. He is out of order.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Mliswa Order please.
Order Hon. Mliswa!
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Can you restrain
him Madam Speaker. He is out of order, can you restrain him.
HON. T. MLISWA: He went to a witch-doctor this one, the Minister of Justice. He must be restrained from going to the witchdoctors where he went to.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Mliswa. Why are
you doing that?
HON. T. MLISWA: He did it.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: You are out of Order Hon.
Mliswa, this is not the platform.
HON. T. MLISWA: I will tell you that it will not work.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I will order you to go out
Hon. Mliswa if you continue doing that.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Madam Speaker,
he must withdraw his words or he must go out.
HON. T. MLISWA: No, you are not the Chair to say that. You went there.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Can you
withdraw.
HON. T. MLISWA: I have evidence and I can show you the evidence of the person he went to and it is in my phone.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Can you
withdraw. This is abuse of Parliament Madam Speaker.
HON. T. MLISWA: I have evidence.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, this is not the platform
Hon. Mliswa. You are actually abusing me, you are not abusing him.
HON. T. MLISWA: I have evidence and I can show it to you.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, I do not want to see that.
Hon. Mliswa, leave the House.
HON. T. MLISWA: Iwewe regera nyaya yokuenda kun’anga
uchitsvaka mafavours. You have been doing this for a very long time. You cannot send me outside when he was there. He cannot do that. He went to a witch-doctor and I have evidence.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, this is not Mashonaland
West. No Hon. Mliswa.
HON. T. MLISWA: You were supposed to ask for evidence not
to chuck me out of the House unless if he is using the same spell on you again. Ndizvo zvaanoita, mishonga yake yaanoita and ndakuexpoza.
Hon. Mliswa was escorted out of the House by the Serjeant-atArms.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Madam Speaker
I think this is unbecoming behavior in the House and I propose that action must be taken. It is not the first time. On several occasions he causes commotion in the House, he does not respect anyone and I believe that he is abusing his presence in the House, particularly on
Wednesdays to abuse the House. I think it is high time that the Hon. Member is investigated by Parliament. He has been abusing Ministers, fellow MPs and everyone else and I do not know why we have been lenient with him. He does not respect the rules of this House and he does whatever he wants and abuses everyone. I believe that as Parliament, we must investigate his behavior. He has been doing this for a very long time and these incidences are well documented. I plead with you Madam
Speaker that an investigation be done on his conduct in this august House. He is a shame to this House.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have noted your concerns
Hon. Minister. I will give a ruling tomorrow. Thank you.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Regarding the
question about those who will be in short and requesting shoppers to exchange cash for swiping, Madam Speaker, Deputy Minister, my understanding is we do not have a law to regulate such conduct. I will defer the question to the Deputy Minister to say do we have any policy as regards those that go to shops coercing shoppers to give them or negotiating with shoppers to give them cash in return to swiping? I thank you.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FINANCE (HON.
CHIDUWA): Thank you Madam Speaker. What I can say with regards to the vice that we are seeing these days where we have got currency dealers who are dealing in the illegal parallel market soliciting for those who are shopping so that they can swipe for them. First of all, I would want to say it is an illegal activity but in terms of the policy, the illegality is on the use of parallel market activities but with regards to someone going in the shop to swipe for whoever on their behalf, at the moment, we do nto have a law that is stopping such practices. So, that is the position that is there but what is illegal is the parallel market activities. Thank you.
HON. GONESE: Thank you Madam Speaker. My supplementary
question to the Hon. Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Development is whether this is not a symptom because apart from those who are asking consumers for cash so that they can swipe for them, we also have a proliferation of people at our supermarkets who are exchanging USD. These are asking consumers to give them USD so that they can use either ecocash or a swipe to purchase goods from the supermarkets.
My question therefore is, is this not a symptom that the policies of this Government are not working? Firstly, there is a shortage of cash which is why people would then go and ask to swipe on behalf of others so that they can get cash. In terms of foreign currency, the policies that the auction rate is viable are not working because the reason why people would then exchange USD for a different rate is because the current auction rate is not sustainable.
For people who go to the supermarket to continue doing that is because there is a market and the only reason why there is a market would be that the policies are not working, the auction rate is not sustainable and it is not commensurate with market forces.
(v)HON. T. ZHOU: On a point of order! The Hon. Member is now debating instead of asking questions.
HON. CHIDUWA: Thank you Madam Speaker. What I would
want to submit is the fact that there is a parallel market and the fact that we have got people who are dealing in illegal activities does not mean that whatever they are doing is correct.
The market is driven by market fundamentals; the Dutch Auction System is an open system where those who would want to buy foreign currency should go and bid. There is no control over the bids that are submitted by bidders. Whatever comes from the auction is a reflection of demand and supply. Anything outside that is done by speculators.
The existence of speculators does not mean that the Dutch Auction System is not efficient.
Our system is efficient but what we need to deal with is the issue of greediness, economic saboteurs and those who think that they can benefit from arbitrage. Arbitrage is not only existent in Zimbabwe. Speculators are everywhere and the issue of the differential between the market and the parallel market rate is not something that is peculiar to Zimbabwe, it is everywhere. The moment the differential is driven by greediness, then it becomes a challenge to us and this is why we had to come up with those intervention measures but in terms of the efficacy of the auction system, we are happy that the auction system has brought stability in prices.
However, whatever problems that we are facing because of the intervention that we have made, these are transitory problems. It is a normal economic activity. What we are doing in terms of the intervention that we have done is that we are mopping up excess liquidity in the market. You will see that this is going to curtail a number of those parallel market activities. In terms of the efficacy of the market, we are happy with the performance and what is coming out of the market is a reflection of market forces, demand and supply for foreign currency. I thank you.
HON. MUTOMBA: My supplementary question to the Deputy
Minister of Finance and Economic Development is that is it not possible to come up with a Statutory Instrument which must enforce these supermarket dealers or business people not to trade in cash. Their business is to trade in goods, now, if we are letting these people trade in cash, it means they are now competing with banks or Bureau de change.
Why are we allowing them to trade in cash? What could actually be happening is that they will be selling products, cash is being left at the till and that cash is taken into the rmarket so much that they can buy the entire USDs which is supposed to be coming in so that we can get some tax. I thank you.
HON. CHIDUWA: Thank you Hon. Member. We have already
started engagements with the Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers to ensure that they rein in their members. We started off with moral suasion. From the monetary point of view, it is not difficult. We can wake up tomorrow and limit all swipe transactions per card to one shop. This will mean that people may not be able to swipe more than twice in one supermarket. Again, these are some of the policy options that are there but at the moment, we have engaged the CZR and they are engaging their members. After that, when we do the review, if it continues, then we will be able to come up with policy interventions. However, at the moment, we are at a stage where we are engaging the retailing community to stop the practice.
HON. G. SITHOLE: My supplementary to the Hon. Deputy
Minister is that, I would want to know what the Government is doing in terms of policy measures to ensure that the bond note that we are using is also acceptable internationally and regionally. I thank you.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. CHIDUWA): The issue of the
convertibility and regional or international acceptance of our currency – as we speak now, the Zimbabwean dollar is accepted regionally and internationally through the exchange rate. Not every currency is convertible. We are looking at currencies like the United States dollar, the Euro, the Chinese and all that. Not every currency can be accepted in every country. Every country has its own currency and that is what is being used locally. When you want to do international and regional transactions, then you go to your bank and convert to the accepted currency in that destination. When we are using the exchange rate, it means our currency can be used locally and regionally via the exchange rate. There is no need for us to come up with a policy position to say we would want our currency to be used in the United States. We use the exchange rate.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: For the benefit of those Hon. Members who are on the virtual platform, the following Hon. Ministers are in the House; Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs,
Hon. Ziyambi; Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting
Services, Hon. Sen. Mutsvangwa; Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs, Hon. O.C. Z. Muchinguri-Kashiri; Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology
Development, Hon. Prof. Murwira and his Deputy Hon. Machingura; Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Hon. Mhona; Minister of State for National Security, Hon. O Ncube; Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Hon. Chiduwa; Deputy
Minister of ICT, postal and courier Services, Hon. Phuti; Deputy
Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Hon. Kambamura; Deputy
Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Hon. Chombo; Deputy Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities, Hon.
Simbanegavi; Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Hon. Moyo; Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, climate and Rural and Resettlement, Hon. Dr. Masuku; Deputy Minister of
Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Hon. Mabhoyi and Deputy Minister of Energy and Power Development, Hon. Mudyiwa.
HON. MUSARURWA: My question is directed to the Minister
of Justice. According to the Constitution of Zimbabwe, it is clear on the rights of accused persons in terms of Section 70 (v), that any person who has been tried and convicted of an offence has a right to have their case reviewed and appealed against both conviction and sentence. Why is this right taken away through unreasonable delays which cause a lot of people to suffer for years? What is Government policy on unreasonable delays in hearing and determining appeals? Is it not a misconduct of the judiciary to unreasonably delay hearings and determination on appeal causing a lot of people to suffer in prison?
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Madam Speaker, you will notice that recently, the President appointed Constitutional and Supreme Court judges. We also want to appoint more High Court judges. The reason why this move was being taken is because we acknowledge that there were delays in ensuring that cases are expedited. As we add more staff to the bench, we will ensure that cases will be dealt with accordingly.
HON. GONESE: My supplementary question to the Minister is
based on the adage that justice delayed is justice denied. We have a situation where Hon. judges, magistrates and all members of the judiciary sometimes take inordinate delays in pronouncing judgements. This also applies to bail applications which in terms of the Constitution are urgent matters. There have been some guidelines relating to the period of time within which judgements are supposed to be written. We are now having a situation where this is not being adhered to.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: May you ask your question
Hon. Gonese?
HON. GONESE: As Government, do you have any policy in
place to ensure that this situation is adhered to because this is not just a question of personnel but of the presiding officers not appreciating the inconvenience and injustice to the affected accused person? What is Government planning to do so that this situation can be addressed and does not persist?
HON. ZIYAMBI: The original question indicated the
constitutional position which ultimately is the policy and has also indicated that justice delayed is justice denied. All efforts must be made to ensure that we realise that goal, of ensuring that justice is dispensed quickly. The policy of Government remains the same – to ensure that justice is dispensed as quickly as possible.
*HON. KARIMAZONDO: My question is directed to the
Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement.
What is Government’s policy as regards to the issue of rabies? Once a person has been bitten by a dog, what is the individual supposed to do? *THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE,
FISHERIES, WATER, CLIMATE AND RURAL
RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA): I thank the Hon. Member
for the question. Rabies is one of the diseases that should be reported to the Government department so that we move around inoculating dogs so that they are protected from rabies. Once one is bitten by a rabid dog, we urge the individual to go to the hospital and the owners of the dog would be asked why their dog is not vaccinated against rabies as per our laws.
*HON. KARIMAZONDO: I thank the Minister for the clear
elucidation to the question. When one goes to the clinic, for one to be assisted once they have been attacked by a rabid dog and goes to the clinic, for one to access drugs, they are asked to buy their own medicine which is not readily available and the drugs are very expensive. What can Government do to assist the people because the majority of the people are failing to buy this medication? I would want to give an example of what happens when we look at the issue of HIV/AIDS.
People might contract the disease through enjoyment or not but being bitten by a rabies dog is not by choice. Can Government take into consideration measures to ensure that the victims are assisted?
HON. DR. MASUKA: I thank Hon. Karimazondo for the question
he posed. I will start by saying prevention of rabies is to encourage everyone to have their dogs vaccinated annually. In the unfortunate event that one has been attacked by a rabid dog and they go to the hospital, I will then say the issue of drugs falls with the Ministry of
Health and they are in a better position to talk about the pricing of drugs. I may not be the best person to comment about the prices but people should pay in terms of the drugs that they can access because they are a Ministry on their own that deal with such issues. I thank you.
(v) *HON. SARUWAKA: My supplementary question to the Hon.
Minister is that how can communities be assisted to enable them to be allowed to buy this rabies vaccination once the Government fails to do that. I have an incident that occurred in my constituency when the community wanted to buy the drugs, they were told that they were not allowed to buy the drugs. There are rabid dogs and the community would want to assist but they are told they cannot do so but we are also hearing that the Government does not have sufficient funds to do so. How best can this be resolved so that the community can play a hand once the Government has failed to come up with the drugs? Thank you.
HON. DR. MASUKA: Thank you for the question that has been
raised that there are certain communities that would want to assist the Government by buying the drugs because the Government will not be having them. That was in the past. At the moment, the drugs are available. If they have any problems they should indicate the area where there is that problem and we will attend to it so that they can access the drug. We urge all dog owners to know that they are obliged to have their dogs vaccinated annually. Thank you.
HON. KASHIRI: We recognise that the Deputy Minister of
Health is now in the House. There is part of the question that Hon. Karimazondo asked about the fees or the value of the medicines that are required to treat rabies as compared to somebody who is getting free medicine for HIV/AIDS if he may assist in terms of that?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE
(HON. DR. MANGWIRO): Thank you Hon. for asking for this
clarification about the rabies vaccine. I will take it a step further to say rabies is an extremely fatal disease if it is not treated properly. The Minister of Agriculture has explicitly expressed that all dogs must be vaccinated because the rabies disease is fatal. If a person is bitten by a dog, the owner of the dog must produce a certificate of vaccination to prove that the dog was vaccinated. If it is a wild dog or that one met in the streets or does not have a certificate, we presume the dog has rabies and a person must be given an anti-toxin, the anti-rabies vaccine.
So, the vaccine is generally available in our hospitals. As to the prices, if you go private it would be expensive but in our Government hospitals, I may not have the cost price itself but generally it is available. Most of the times depending on the hospital, it is at times given for free depending on the situation. However, about the prices I will clarify and give you the specific prices. I am sure if people have money and the
Hon. Minister has said the vaccines are available, I do not see it being a criminal case if one can afford to buy and I will definitely encourage those who can and make sure our people are protected. I will definitely bring the correct prices and the general availability of these anti-toxins for the rabies virus.
Like the Minister said, we generally encourage people to make sure their dogs are vaccinated. What I might also say to the Minister is that control of wild and roaming dogs, I think needs to be upped a bit especially in towns. We definitely need to take control of these. Also, rabies comes from other wild animals like foxes and those also need to be controlled. It has been found that at times cats can transmit the same disease. I am sure we definitely need to take control of these. As for the prices, I repeat I will get you the correct figures and bring them to you.
(v)HON. NGWENYA: My question is directed to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. I understand in 2020, they received a grant in aid for the rehabilitation of schools all over the country. Most of the schools however have not received that grant in aid. May the
Ministry please clarify the position?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. E. MOYO): I would like to
thank the Hon. Member for the question. The grant in aid meant for rehabilitation is given to us by Treasury and sometimes those resources may not be enough to go round all deserving schools. However, as releases are being made, those grants are made available to deserving schools. The process of getting the grant is that the affected school makes representation to the district office which makes their own assessment and recommendations to the province and then it comes to head office. Upon releases from Treasury, those monies are then released to the schools for rehabilitation. I thank you.
(v)HON. NGWENYA: My supplementary question is, I need
clarification. I realise that most of the schools getting grants are for 2021 but some of the schools that applied for 2020 grant have still not received anything. Is there any priority that you use as Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to select certain schools at the expense of other schools?
HON. E. MOYO: Thank you for the supplementary question. I think that question might be related to a specific instance for which you can get all the details so that we can investigate. Otherwise these grants are issued on a first come first served basis. So, if there are people that applied in 2020 and did not get grants whilst those who applied in 2021 got the grants, then we need further details to investigate and then give you a detailed answer. I thank you.
(v)HON. MOKONE: My question is directed to the Minister of Information and Publicity. Some time towards the end of last year we saw the Ministry issuing six television licences to new broadcasters and six community radio licences. When are these radio and television stations going to start operating because we are now in mid-year and going towards the end of the year before they start operating? I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION, PUBLICITY AND
BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. MUTSVANGWA): I
want to thank the Hon. Member for the question. The issue of access to information to all our people in this country is what Government is rolling out. The issuance of six licences to commercial televisions is one direction to ensure we bring in more players into the media space. The licences were issued through BAZ, the statutory body which is mandated to issue out licences. The process went very well and the six licences were issued. We have no doubt as a Ministry that within the set deadline of 18 months we will certainly have commercial televisions being rolled out. They have 18 months, to go through the whole process, put their issues together and make sure that they flight their televisions.
HON. NDUNA: My question is directed to the Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development Hon. Kambura. What is Government policy in relation to the operations of the provincial mining directors cognisant of the fact that in the Act that he presides over, the current Mines and Minerals Act, I have not seen the inclusion of mining directors but only of the mining commissioners. What is Government policy in relation to the operations of the mining directors?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING
DEVELOPMENT (HON. KAMBURA): I want to thank the Hon.
Member for the question. It is not Government policy or is it a policy as such but when provincial mining directors were appointed, they were appointed riding on the powers and authority of the Permanent
Secretary, who is the Chief Mining Commissioner …
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: You are no longer connected
Hon. Minister.
HON. KAMBAMURA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I
would like to thank Hon. Nduna for the question. I would like to point out that the appointment of Provincial Mining Directors was done under the authority of the Permanent Secretary, who is the Chief Mining Commissioner but we have since noted the anomaly and have included it in the amendment of the Mines and Minerals Bill that will be coming to Parliament soon. In the amended Bill, we have factored that aspect but they will be referred to as Mining Directors in the amended Bill. Thank you.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I want to
thank the Hon. Minister for his eloquent response. Would it please the Hon. Minister to hold in abeyance the actions of the Mining Directors in so far as eviction or the cancellation of licences of people who hold title to claims until their operations or offices have been regularised? I am alive to the fact that there are only seven courts that have been commissioned by the Constitution but the Mining Directors are acting as a court in terms of despoiling those who hold title in terms of disputes and otherwise. Would it please the Hon. Minister to hold in abeyance their actions so that they can be regularised and after regularisation then the Mining Directors can carry on their duties with impunity?
HON. KAMBAMURA: Thank you Hon. Speaker Ma’am. The
Office of the Provincial Mining Director is fully constituted and as I have said, they ride on the powers of the Permanent Secretary and have the right to sit over disputes, of which …
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: You are not connected Hon.
Deputy Minister.
HON. KAMBAMURA: Thank you Hon. Speaker Ma’am, the
office of the Provincial Mining Directors is fully constituted and as I indicated before, they ride on the powers of the Permanent Secretary who is the Chief Mining Commissioner. So they are allowed to sit over disputes and also to decide on cancellation of mining titles after referring matters to the Permanent Secretary. Where the miner is not satisfied with the ruling, he/she can appeal to the Hon. Minister before the Mining Director finally cancels the mining title. If there is a specific issue that Hon. Nduna has, he should put it in writing and bring it forward so that we investigate the matter. I thank you.
HON. NDUNA: On a point of clarity Madam Speaker! – [HON.
- NDEBELE: Inaudible interjection.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Ndebele! – [(v) HON. MBONDIAH: Hon. Speaker, my hand has been up, I am on virtual!] – I am following these lists Hon. Member. Hon. Nduna, please proceed.
HON. NDUNA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. My point of
clarity rides on the Constitution which is the supreme law of the land.
Section 2 of the Constitution says, “Any Act of Parliament which is inconsistent with the Constitution should be repudiated to the extent of its inconsistency”. The Constitution recognises seven powers of the court. What has given the Mining Directors the powers that the courts have? Their actions are with impunity, without approaching the courts for eviction or cancellation of the licences. What is it that is informing their action that is above the Constitution? This is the point of clarity Madam Speaker Ma’am.
HON. KAMBAMURA: Thank you Hon. Speaker Ma’am. I
would like to thank Hon. Nduna for the supplementary question. Unfortunately, I do not have the Act with me here but it is clearly stated that they can cancel a mining title. So if you can check with me Hon. Nduna, I will give you the exact sections that refer to that part.
I am not quite sure about the point that you brought forward that there are some irregularities. I think for the past few months, we were carrying out consultations during the amendment of the Mines and Minerals Bill. I think if ever there are any irregularities that you noted, you should have brought them forward. I would like to thank you, if ever; you brought some forward to be considered in the amendment of the final Act. I thank you.
(v)HON. MASENDA: Madam Speaker, it is Hon. Masenda on
virtual. Is that in respect to Written Questions?
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, it is Questions without
Notices.
(v)HON. MASENDA: I did not book my name for Questions
Without Notices.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Your name is on the list. –
[(v)HON. MUSHORIWA: May I replace him Hon. Speaker?] – No!
HON. JOSIAH SITHOLE: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am.
My question is directed to the Minister of Local Government and Public
Works. Considering the disasters that we have been experiencing during the past rain season in towns like Harare where there was a lot of flooding and destruction of houses, what is the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works doing about construction by people through our local authorities where houses are being built in waterways and wetlands in rural local Government authorities?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT
AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. CHOMBO): Thank you Hon.
Speaker and thank you for that question from Hon. Madhuku.
Of course and for sure the rains wrecked havoc and a lot of destruction, especially to our infrastructure. As such, Central
Government has set up a committee in the Cabinet that is led by the Vice President Hon. C. G. N. Chiwenga which looks at dysfunctional settlements. There is a programme that is going around identifying those structures or buildings that need immediate attention and a budget has been set aside for that. I thank you.
(v)HON. JOSIAH SITHOLE: Madam Speaker, my question is
we are saying local authorities in the rural areas are continuing to allow construction of houses in wetlands and in waterways yet we have learnt a lesson from Harare. What is being done about these local authorities?
HON. CHOMBO: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would want to thank Hon. Sithole for that follow up question. The programme for dysfunctional settlements is being done all over the 10 provinces and there was an investigation that was done to identify those areas or those structures that have been put on wetlands especially. By so doing, we are trying to identify who put those people on wetlands. If they are land barons, they are going to be taken to book and pay for that. If it is local authority, they have to pay for that and if it is the central government, they also have to pay for that but because the central Government is responsible for all the humans, we have to make sure that all the people have been resettled on the right place and we address who the issues after we have made sure that they have been resettled.
For now, we have put in place systems whereby no one is supposed to be constructing anything especially on wet lands. My Ministry will be very happy to be given that information if there is any local authorities that are still perpetuating that kind of act. I thank you.
HON. KASHIRI: Thank you Madam Speaker. It has become knowledge with local councils to issue stands presumably to build lodges within dams’ water bodies. What is the policy regards such practice. We have seen lodges sprouting around dams within towns and definitely they will mess up water bodies. What is the policy regards?
HON. CHOMBO: Thank you Madam Speaker and thank you very much Hon. Kashiri for that question. When somebody is allocated a stand and mostly if it is for commercial, you have to get EIA from EMA to see if that place is suitable for that kind of construction. As somebody within the area, you are supposed to question especially if you are an MP and you see there is an anomaly, you question that and you are free to go and check if all that has been done especially the EIA before that construction. If it has not been done, you are free to lodge a complaint and that can be taken to court and be addressed. I thank you. (v)HON. MBONDIYAH: Thank you Madam Speaker. My
question is directed to the Minister of Mines and Mining Development. What is Government policy regarding the pits and gullies left open by small scale miners leading to the loss of livestock and human lives?
Thank you.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING
DEVELOPMENT (HON. KAMBAMURA): Thank you Madam
Speaker. I would like to thank the Hon. Member for the question on open pits that are left by miners after they have extracted minerals. It is Government that the miners must fill up or rehabilitate those pits after mining, failure of which heavy penalties must be put on them. The
Ministry is currently working with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism to see that miners comply to both the Environmental Act and the Mines and Minerals Act. We are looking forward to seeing the miners in the sector as our teams will be going around the country to monitor the activities of the small scale miners. I thank you Madam
Speaker.
(v)HON. MBONDIYAH: Hon. Minister is there stipulated fine, if so what is the fine?
HON. KAMBAMURA: Madam Speaker, teams from the
Ministry of Mines are already on the ground doing that task, checking on compliance but officials from Ministry of Environment will be joining us soon but I do not have the exact dates of when they will be joining our teams but we will advise the Hon. Member when I check with the Ministry of Environment as to when they will be joining our teams. It is something that we have agreed with them that they will be joining our teams to check on compliance throughout our mining areas. I thank you.
HON. A. NDEBELE: Madam Speaker, on the question of
unsustainable mining activities, could the Minister appraise this House on what his Ministry is doing to contain the activities of Chinese nationals who continue to practice unsustainable river bed mining? I ask this question on the background of the fact that this morning, the media was awash with pictures of irresponsible river bed mining taking place in the Rushinga mining area. Thank you.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING
DEVELOPMENT (HON. KAMBAMURA): Thank you Hon.
Speaker. I think this is not a follow up question but it is a new question altogether. However, I will try to answer the question. River bed or alluvial mining was banned by Cabinet last year and I hear that there are people who are still doing that, they are doing it illegally. I call upon the Minister of Home Affairs to look into that. I thank you.
(v)HON. MUCHIMWE: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like
to applaud His Excellency President E. D. Mnangagwa for his restless effort -[AN. HON. MEMBER: Inaudible interjection]-
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members. Hon.
Muchimwe, please ask your question.
(v) HON. MUCHIMWE: My question is the road has ended.
Hon. Muchimwe not having been clear on virtual
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Muchimwe, please may
you write down your question so that the Minister will investigate and give you an answer.
(v)HON. MUCHIMWE: Okay, thank you very much.
HON. P. DUBE: Thank you Madam Speaker. My question is
directed to the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement. What is the minimum distance between the main roads and the resettlements?
THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION, PUBLICITY AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. MUTSVANGWA):
Thank you Madam Speaker and I want to thank the Hon. Member for that particular question which is very technical and I think he will get a very good answer if he puts it in writing.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. P. Dube, I think you
have taken note of what the Minister has said. Put your question in writing. Thank you.
HON. P. DUBE: Thank you Hon. Chair.
*(v) HON. CHINOTIMBA: My question is directed to the Minister of Agriculture. What is Government policy concerning deforestation which is taking place during the winter season? People are cutting down trees. What does Government policy say concerning people who are wantonly cutting down trees? Thank you.
THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION, PUBLICITY AND
BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. MUTSVANGWA):
Thank you Madam Speaker. I want to thank the Hon. Member for his question on deforestation. The people who are cutting down trees are destroying the environment and those people should be reported to the police so that they are reprimanded. Thank you.
(V)*HON. CHINOTIMBA: Thank you Hon. Minister. People are
reporting to the police but nothing is being done. The police say that it is work that is supposed to be done by EMA. When we approach EMA, they will tell us that they do not have any police to do that work. EMA will also refer you to the police yet the police also expect us to go to EMA. What then are we are supposed to do?
HON. KAZEMBE: If that is what is happening, then Hon.
Chinotimba as a representative of the people, you can take up the issue to the District Inspector, Police. However, I would like to explain what happens with such issue but, I believe the Minister of Mines and Mining Development touched on that issue.
What normally happens is that when the police say that it is a responsibility of EMA, what they mean is that the department that deals with deforestation is EMA because they know the policy. I want to mention what the Deputy Minister of Mines said, that if people are mining in the wrong places, the police should bring them to book. In most cases, the custodians of the law are responsible. The police are not saying EMA is responsible but they are saying EMA is the custodian of the Act.
However, what would have been done in terms of the environment
is a criminal offence. If the police realise that this activity is unlawful, they have the right to arrest people. I urge Hon. Members of Parliament, if you come across cases whereby the police have erred or ignore such issues, you should take it up with my Ministry or even to consult the District Inspector, Police. I thank you.
HON. JOSIAH SITHOLE: Do we still have structures that we used to have way back whereby within our local communities there were people who were actually working together with the local leadership, the chiefs and headmen to ensure that there was no cutting down of trees?
*THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION, PUBLICITY AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. MUTSVANGWA): I
want to thank the Hon. Member for the supplementary question concerning the work being done by EMA. I believe this is not a policy question but the issue here is that they are not doing their duty. I will take this matter to the Minister of Environment and Tourism to look into the work that is being done by EMA.
The question that is mainly centered on structures that used to be there way back in the communities - those structures that ensured that no deforestation is taking place are still there. I believe they would not do away with those structures because their work is important but when referring to the different areas, I think the question should be put in writing so that the relevant Minister can give a clarification on the structures in terms of protecting the environment.
HON. KASHIRI: Thank you Madam Speaker. My question goes to the Hon. Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Hon. Kambamura. I would like to know the magnitude of the steel project to be put in Manhidze and if the Government was consulted in the eviction of the 800 people who were affected by the project. I thank you.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING
DEVELOPMENT (HON. KAMBAMURA): Thank you Hon. Speaker.
I would like to thank Hon. Kashiri for the question about the project in
Manhidze. Initially, I would like to point out that there is no figure like 800 people being evicted. The word eviction is not proper in this regard but if ever there are people to be removed, they will be relocated.
The project to be set up in Manhidze, Mashonaland East will be of great magnitude such that the company will produce about 1 million tonnes of carbon steel per annum. It will be one of the largest plants in the whole of Africa. The industrial park to be set up will employ about 2000 local Zimbabweans.
Currently, desk top projects that are yet to be done involve the building of a dam along the Munyati River, construction of a power line from Sherwood to Chivhu, the refurbishment of a railway line from Mvuma to Chivhu and the construction of a road from Chivhu to the project site. Currently, there is no determination that has been made as to how many people will be relocated. There is an EIA that is being undertaken and after the conclusion of the EIA report, that is when the company will know how many families will be moved from the project area. They are yet to determine the exact location of the project area and to see which families will be affected. Whatever will be done in the relocation of the families, it will be done in consultation with the local leadership and also the company will undertake to meet all the costs of relocation which include building of houses for the affected families.
(v)HON. MUDARIKWA: My supplementary question to the Hon.
Minister is will the resettlement programme of the affected families in Chivhu be within the World Bank recommended standards of resettlements because the people are settled on mining industries?
HON. KAMBAMURA: I would like to point out that currently, we do not know if ever there are going to be any relocation to be made. As I have said, there is an EIA process that is being undertaken. It is after the finalisation of the EIA report that we will know if ever there are families to be relocated. I would like to assure you that the company is committed to follow all our legislation with regards to relocation of affected people in mining areas.
(v)HON. GANDAWA: It appears that there are people who are going to be moved. The Minister has mentioned that there is likely to be construction of a railway line and obviously people are going to be moved. What preparatory plans are there to ensure that those who are going to be moved from those places are taken care of adequately?
HON. KAMBAMURA: I have said that the company is going to
refurbish an existing railway line. On the existing railway line, there are no families that are staying there. Any refurbishment is going to be done after an EIA report has been completed...
(v)HON. TOFFA: On a point of order, the Minister is not responding to the question that has been asked by the Hon. Member.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Minister please respond
to the question which has been asked.
HON. KAMBAMURA: That is what I was doing. Maybe the
Hon. Member can wait for me to finish.
In my initial response, I indicated that the company shall be refurbishing an existing railway line and in conclusion of the current EIA report, if ever there is need to relocate people, that will be done according to our legislation and that will be the mandate of the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture to find a suitable place to relocate or move the families that will be affected. The company will meet all the costs of relocation. That will all be put down in the EIA report to be finalised.
(v)HON. GANDAWA: Madam Speaker, I am not answered.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Maybe you will need to put that in writing Hon. Gandawa.
(v)HON. TOFFA: My supplementary question is, at what point are the people or citizens that are affected going to be consulted and at what point are the members of that community made aware of what is going on formally. This is what is causing a lot of friction. At what point does the Minister talk to people?
HON. KAMBAMURA: That is the process that is being undertaken as we speak right now. Two weeks ago, we had an InterMinisterial Team which deliberated on the way forward. One of the things that was agreed to was to do everything in consultation with the local community. So, the process is on-going. I thank you.
Questions Without Notice were interrupted by THE HON.
DEPUTY SPEAKER in terms of Standing Order No. 64
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE
COMMUNITY SHARE OWNERSHIP TRUSTS AND THE
INDIGENISATION AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT POLICY
- HON. TSUURA asked the Minister of Mines and Mining
Development to explain to the House the Government policy regarding Community Share Ownership Trusts and the indigenization and economic empowerment policy.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING
DEVELOPMENT (HON. KAMBAMURA): In 2007, the Government of Zimbabwe promulgated the Indigenous Economic Empowerment Act with the intention of empowering indigenous Zimbabweans and thus, gave the law a provision for the setting up of Community Share
Ownership Trusts (CSOTs).
The Community Share Ownership Trust was launched by the
Government of Zimbabwe in order to empower indigenous Zimbabweans and to address imbalances spawned by colonial dispossession. In 2018, the Finance Act by the Ministry of Finance and
Economic Development repealed sections of the Indigenisation and
Economic Act, and restricted provisions and requirements of the Indigenisation Act to the platinum and diamond mining sectors.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE RURAL INFORMATION SERVICE
CENTRE IN HURUNGWE EAST
- HON. MASENDA asked the Minister of Information, Communication and Technology to inform the House when the construction of the Rural Information Service Center will commence in Hurungwe East.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF INFORMATION,
COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY, POSTAL AND COURIER
SERVICES (HON. PHUTI): Madam Speaker, allow me to thank the
Hon. Member for the question but by ‘Rural Information Service Centre’ I assume the Hon. Member is referring to ‘Community Information
Centres’. If this assumption is correct Madam Speaker, my response is as follows;
Establishment of Community Information Centres (CICs) is done on the basis of equitable distribution among the ten (10) provinces of the country. The first phase saw the establishment of 146 CICs in all Post Offices that had access space except for just a couple. For those post offices that did not have excess space, containerised village information centres (CVICs) were established within the environs of the concerned Post Offices. In this regard, Mashonaland West Province had the second highest number of CICs established, with 15 CICs, coming after Manicaland that has 18.
The second phase saw the deployment of 24 CVICs spread across the country’s eight (8) rural provinces. During this second phase, Mashonaland West Province benefitted three (3) CVICs distributed as follows; Chirundu, Rafingora and Selous.
During the third phase, the Ministry of ICT, Postals and Courier Services through the Universal Services Fund (USF) which is administered by POTRAZ, looks forward to the deployment of a further
24 CVICs or CICs every year for three years throughout the country’s eight (8) rural provinces. It is under this phase that, depending on the results of the assessment in the province, the Ministry will consider Hurungwe East. Consultations will always be made with local leadership in coming up with areas that should benefit the province. I thank you.
(v)HON. GANDAWA: On a point of order Madam Speaker. I would want to learn from you. When we ask specific questions from Hon. Members, the expectation is that we get specific answers to the question submitted. We seem to be getting general answers to our questions. I am not too sure if we can raise supplementary questions to specific questions that we will have raised. Hon. Masenda raised a specific question for his constituency. I am glad the Minister came with a response but the response that we are getting is not very specific to his constituency. I would like to learn from you Hon. Speaker, if written questions get general answers or we get specific answers to a particular constituency when questions are raised? Thank you Madam Speaker.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think the Deputy Minister
has done justice to that question Hon. Gandawa.
(v)HON. JOSIAH SITHOLE: May I find out from the Hon.
Minister whether they are checking if these Community Information Centres are functional because we are just seeing them and they are not being used as there is nothing happening.
HON. DR. MUSWERE: Thank you very much for giving me the
opportunity to respond to a question that excites me very much - to check on whether the Community Information Centres are used optimally. I am happy to respond to this question because prior, we saw Community Information Centres being launched all over but there was no mechanism of following up as to how they work, who they serve and how much. However, let me say to you that the Community Information Centres that we are rolling out are coupled with connectivity that goes for a free period of time to encourage people to use that service for various purposes, amongst them research and to enhance other ICT related requirements. I will give an example of a Community Information Centre in Binga that I officially opened last weekend, whereupon mopping up the POTRAZ staff found three people conducting interviews online and that proved that the Community Information Centre is servicing including those that are outside the expected perimeters such as interviews for jobs, schools and other necessities. That is how the CICs are serving currently. I will also spice and say there is an assumption from somewhere that CICs are distributed selectively. Let me give an example that will satisfy one of my learned colleagues here, that just this weekend the information centre that I launched was in Binga and one may know where Binga and what Binga is about. I thank you Madam Speaker.
POLICY TOWARDS CURBING ARMED ROBBERIES, BURGLARY
AND MUGGINGS
- HON. MASUKU asked the Minister of Home Affairs and cultural heritage to inform the House what government policy is towards:
- Curbing armed robberies, burglary and muggings which are rampant.
- Giving municipal police arresting powers so that they can augment the national police as is the case in other jurisdictions.
- Procedure followed by the police in response to incidents of distress calls such as accidents, robbery and burglary.
- Plans available to increase police vehicle fleet within provinces and districts that are failing to get assistance from private sector donations.
- Plans available for the decentralisation of the production of passports and national identities to provinces and districts.
THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL
HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Madam Speaker, according to the
briefings availed to me by the Commissioner General of Police, they have intensified their operations throughout the country to fight armed robberies, burglary and muggings. As previously alluded to in my previous responses to the same question, the Commissioner General of Police has taken note of robbery reports. Furthermore, there are numerous on-going measures aimed at curbing armed robberies, burglaries and muggings which include the following: intensifying foot, cycle and motorised patrols in crime prone areas. In addition, the Commissioner General has directed all officers commanding provinces to deploy Support Unit, Criminal Investigations Department, Duty Uniform Branch and Police Intelligence in hot spots to curtail the robbery cases. Also heightening awareness campaigns, educating members of the public not to keep large sums of money at home or business premises or even to move around with huge sums of money. You find for instance people moving around with R190 000. I know there is a case where this amount was stolen. You find people keeping as much as close to a million United States dollars in a company safe when financial institutions are available.
The Police Command is engaging the Judiciary as well as another measure, urging them to impose stiffer penalties on perpetrators of violent crimes such as armed robberies, muggings and murder as a deterrent measures. It is also in this regard that we continue to appeal to the House to tighten the legislation so that fugitive armed robbers when finally caught are not easily given bail. In fact, some of the armed robberies are being committed by such elements who flout bail conditions with impunity, for instance the notorious armed robber Taj Abdul who has been evading justice for more than 20 years. When he was arrested, he was on the brink of being granted bail. As another measure, the police is also engaging various stakeholders with a view to enhancing inter-agency co-operation in the fight against crime. Recently, the police held meetings with security companies in an endeavour to improve security strategies such as the way companies are handling cash-in-transit movements among others as another measure, police have also established that some of the armed robbery cases being recorded across the country are as a result of the influx of unlicensed firearms. Some of these firearms were illegally brought into the country by criminal syndicates through the country’s porous borders.
Furthermore, some licensed firearms owners are also not securing their weapons and in the process end up losing them to criminals who then use them to commit robbery cases. Accordingly, the police is intensifying roadblocks, stop and searches as well as awareness campaigns to conscientise firearm license holders to adhere to the provisions of the Firearms Act which demands the safe storage of firearms at all times. I thank you.
HON. C. MOYO: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I want to
ask the Hon. Minister whether it is true that the former kombi drivers and conductors who did not join ZUPCO are the perpetrators especially when we consider the rise in the crime rates? I thank you.
HON. KAZEMBE: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I want
to thank the Hon. Member for the question and to be perfectly honest, I am hearing this for the first time but it could be worthwhile information that I will take across to the police to investigate further. I thank you. (v)HON. WATSON: Thank you Madam Speaker, having heard
everything that the Hon. Minister said. Did the Commissioner General tell him when he believes all these interventions will have an impact? Crime escalates in Bulawayo everyday armed robberies, muggings all kinds of crime and one of the hot spots is actually two blocks from the Bulawayo Central Police Station. How difficult can it be to send officers on patrol along the CBD hot spots? Why are we not seeing any sign of that or any sign of reduction in the armed robberies – they happen virtually every other night? Thank you.
HON. KAZEMBE: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I want
to assume that I got the question correctly. I thought I heard the Hon. Member saying that they are not seeing action on the ground with regards to what the Commissioner General has promised …
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Police patrols during the
night, especially in Bulawayo. – [(v)HON. WATSON: And during the day Madam Speaker, in the CBD, two blocks from the Police Station.] – HON. KAZEMBE: Well if it is not happening as yet Madam
Speaker Ma’am, this is an issue that we discussed recently and if it is not happening as yet, I will have to seek audience with the Commissioner General to find out why it is not happening the way he promised. Otherwise, I am glad that the Hon. Member has brought to my attention what is on the ground. We will follow up.
(v)HON. TOFFA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I would
like to thank the Hon. Minister for his response but listening to his response, the Hon. Minister spoke about …
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order, please may you
raise your voice Hon. Toffa.
(v)HON. TOFFA: Sure Madam Speaker Ma’am. Madam Speaker
Ma’am, having listened to the Hon. Minister’s response and considering the time that he has been given to respond to the question. The Hon. Minister spoke about intensified patrols on foot, bicycle and car patrols and has not asked on the percentages involved. Bulawayo, for instance, has had an issue with not having police car patrols on the ground. We need to know what percentage increase? What does he mean by intensified?
HON. KAZEMBE: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I would
like to thank the Hon. Member but if the Hon. Member wants to know the specific percentage, I think it is a bit too technical for me. What we have agreed in our discussions is that we should see more presence. So if we were seeing five police officers, for example, we should see more 10 to 15 officers. It must be visible so that it becomes a deterrent but as for the specific percentage, I am not in a position to give the exact percentage. I thank you.
(v)HON. TOFFA: Madam Speaker Ma’am, for instance, Hillside Police Station has no cars. So how can they have intensified because as we speak there is no single car that has been released to their none existent fleet? How has that been intensified?
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think on that Hon. Toffa,
you will need to put it in writing again so that the Hon. Minister can investigate on why it is that there are no cars in Hillside.
(v)HON. TOFFA: Madam Speaker Ma’am, people will be getting
robbed everyday as we speak.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Please put that question in
writing Hon. Toffa.
HON. KASHIRI: Thank you Madam Speaker. Hon. Minister,
my question relates to the intensified patrols that you mentioned. We come from rural areas where distances are large compared to urban areas. What is the plan in terms of supplying more vehicles to cover these distances to intensify the operations?
HON. KAZEMBE: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I would
like to thank Hon. Kashiri for such a very pertinent question. With your indulgence Madam Speaker, I notice that the next question is exactly like that one. I think there is another question again for the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage so maybe I could respond to this one and kill two birds with one stone or I respond to the question that is on the Order Paper which speaks to the number of vehicles. I stand guided.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: On my Order Paper you only
have one question which is Question Number 14.
HON. KAZEMBE: Madam Speaker maybe I have that question
where we are being asked what we are doing about vehicles but I can respond.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes please, go ahead.
HON. KAZEMBE: Thank you Madam Speaker. When I said
that we are going to intensify, obviously when you come up with a strategy, these are strategies that we came up with together with the police in order to deal with increase in armed robberies. These armed robberies are very common in urban areas – that is why we are concentrating in urban areas at the moment. It does not necessarily mean that we are not doing anything about the rural areas. The nature of crimes in urban and rural areas are slightly different.
So we approach the two categories differently and appropriately but responding to the issue that the Hon. Member raised with regards to vehicles, this is an issue that is being dealt with by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. I am glad that the Minister of Finance and Economic Development is here. Indeed, we do have challenges but something is already in place. Recently, not too long ago, I delivered 58 vehicles to the police, courtesy of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.
Indeed, we have a shortage of vehicles but the Minister of Finance and Economic Development is seized with that matter. We hope and trust that we will be getting these vehicles in due course. I thank you.
HON. KASHIRI: Point of clarity Hon. Speaker! Thank you Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the Hon. Minister for his response.
Where we come from, there are no good roads. When you see police vehicles sometimes when they dispatch them, they are all generic. For instance, if they are releasing Toyota Hiluxes or Mazda BT 50s, some of these cars will not last in our constituencies. It is my view that if you could, may be…
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Kashiri, you are
not connected.
HON. KASHIRI: Thank you Madam Speaker. I was saying it is
my view that if it were possible, the Ministry to look at separating the type of vehicles they sent to rural areas versus those that they are circulating in towns because of the nature of the roads that are in rural areas. The Mazdas and the Hiluxes are not durable. We would like the 4 x 4s, high clearance ground so that we can have durability. I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND
CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Thank you Mr.
Speaker Sir. I would like to thank the Hon. Member, Hon. Kashiri for that suggestion. Yes, I said the Minister of Finance is here, he is actually helping us with regards to the purchasing of vehicles. I confirm that yes, as they are buying the vehicles, they are buying different categories. This is why they have given us the Datsuns – Datsun go, the smaller vehicles for the town to assist in town but as we go forward, the
Minister will be purchasing different – infact he is even going to purchase motor cycles which are going to assist in certain areas performing certain specific tasks. So, yes I can confirm that different types of vehicles will be bought in phases to ensure that each and every area is taken care of. Thank you Mr. Speaker.
HON. GABBUZA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I would like to
know from the Minister what is the Ministry’s plans with the several broken vehicles in almost all police stations? I can give an example of Fairbridge, which has got 60 broken trucks, some of which can be repaired and be useful.
HON. KAZEMBE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I want to
thank the Hon. Member for that observation. It is true and police are actually seized with it and, they are going through analysing case by case, checking which vehicle can be repaired and whether it is economic to repair them. Some of them are actually now too old such that even repairing them can end up being more expensive than purchasing a small Datsun Go. I agree with him that some of them are usable and we do have plans to repair, especially the bigger trucks. The police is actually looking at it to see, evaluate and cost the exercise to see how much it costs and then we can approach Treasury for the funding. I thank you.
HON. NDEBELE: My question is on the issue of community policing. In several neighbourhood, you would find communities have organised themselves into neighbourhoods watch committees, which are really doing a commendable job. I want to check with the Minister if there are any plans to incentivise these neighbourhood watch committees? Community members attest to the fact that in rural areas cattle rustlers are brought to book sometimes, single handedly by members of the community that assist the police. However, I have noticed that they really cut out a sorry figure, these community based police officers, if you allow me to use that phrase loosely; torn uniform, rundown boots. So I want to check with the Minister if here is any consideration to prioritise these individuals because sometimes they will tell you, Honourable I have travelled 40 km on foot with this culprit and they are hungry. They get to the police station and no lunch is arranged for their welfare. I thank you.
HON. KAZEMBE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I want to thank Hon. Ndebele for the follow-up question. I agree with the Hon. Member that we do have neighbourhood watch committees, the CCCs, community based kind of committees which assist the police. It is indeed our wish to try and incentivise them. You would agree with me that we need even to incentivise the policeforce itself. With your indulgence, we are fortunate that the Minister of Finance is here, I think this is his area. With your indulgence, I will defer the question to him to assist with regards to what Treasury is doing along those lines. I know that it is being attended to with regards to how we can incentivise our police, including the neighbourhood committees.
(v)HON. NGWENYA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I would like to
enquire from the Minister, whether it is the issue of source of funds that the community people buy things like tyres for the police? Does this not compromise the police officers when those same people who buy tyres for them commit crimes? Will they not be biased and favour those people?
HON. KAZEMBE: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I would like to
thank the Hon. Member for that question. It is undesirable to say the very least, that we end up getting financial support from communities.
That situation, as I have alluded to, is a situation that the Ministry of
Finance is seized with, trying to ensure that our police are resourced.
That is why I had actually deferred the earlier question to the Minister of Finance because all these issues have a lot to do with resources and I feel the Minister of Finance is here, he can answer. Yes, it is undesirable but at the same time, if you heard what Hon. Ndebele said, he was actually grateful that communities in some areas are assisting police to deal with crime. Yes, assistance is accepted but it should come without any conditions to expect favours. Police are trained people. Their job requires that they treat everybody fairly but nonetheless, the issue with regards to resources, I would kindly with your indulgence ask the Minister of Finance to give more details as I know he is seized with this issue. Thank you Mr. Speaker.
HON. KASHIRI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Hon. Minister, it is a bit of common knowledge and it has happened many a time that police cannot attend to scenes because they lack fuel. The vehicle might be available at the station but they do not have fuel. As you deliberate with the Minister of Finance, would you please make sure that we have fuel storage tanks that are supplied fuel at police stations? This will assist us in intensifying operations. It is just an observation Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. KAZEMBE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. All these questions are revolving around the issue of resources. This is why I was kindly asking you to allow the Minister of Finance to give a comprehensive response. I am aware that he has got plans to ensure that he assists the police. He is the best to articulate the plans that he has because everything is around resources and the person who gives me resources is sitting right next to me. He can articulate what he has in plan. I know he is doing something and he has already given 58 vehicles to the police and there are more that are coming. He would be the best person to articulate what he has in plan for us as policy. I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Thank you Mr.
Speaker Sir. Thank you for allowing me to say a few words about the issue of resourcing the police force. Our resourcing agenda roadmap is premised on three areas. First of all, it is on the infrastructure and cantonment issues. Secondly, it is on logistics and transportation and finally it is on the emoluments, the salaries and general working conditions. We have tried to attack all those three categories. I know someone asked about the issue of incentives for community providers of securities. It is an issue of thinking through the type of incentives we should be offering for services. We have been very thorough and we have reasonably done very well in offering incentives for the productive sector but not so much for service provision. We are working on this and I take on board the question with a bit of suggestion, that we should look into this kind of service and see how we could incentivise them. I thank him for that.
Going back to the three categories for supporting the police on infrastructure; we have embarked on a programme for building houses, for building cantonment areas for the police. Some of you who drive on Enterprise Road, you have seen those apartments at Tomlinson Depot or Chimoyo Flats which is a new name. We are completing those and we recently released about ZWL$285 million which will be followed by the cash releases to complete those apartments. That is just one example. We have said we want to go around the country and try to document the sort of gaps that exist in the quality of infrastructure. In the other areas of the security cluster, just to digrace for two minutes, for the prisons for instance, we have moved further down the line. This morning I was at Chikurubi Prison to go and see for myself with the Minister of Justice, the Chairman of Public Service Commission and the Deputy Minister for Housing. We wanted to see for ourselves what is going on, the houses that we have built there and we have done a bit, but there is more housing coming on stream. We want to do the same thing with the police, just to make sure that we can clear the backlog of housing.
Coming to the issue of logistics and transportation, we have a vehicle acquisition programme. Minister Kazembe is right that so far we have handed over small vehicles mainly for urban usage. We are now going to add higher clearance vehicles you see in the rural areas. We have a programme right now where we have acquired just over an additional of 100 vehicles which we are delivering to the police. They are already fully branded and over time you will see a bit of change in the mobility of the police. We also added motor cycles as well to the buying programme because to respond to a breakage in some house somewhere, you just need two policemen on a motor cycle to respond to that and a motor cycle costs US$1000 equivalent at the most. It is not an expensive vehicle. We have realised this and we are making sure that they are capacitated. We are doing something about this. That also applies to prisons and eventually the military side.
Coming to the issue of working conditions, emoluments, salaries; again on the security cluster, we have been able to try to keep within at least 75% of the cost of living level and poverty datum line. It is never easy. We always have budget constraints but we have tried to keep to that level so that at the moment, a Constable is on a salary of just about ZWL$33 000. I think we have gone a long way in trying to upgrade the level of salaries and we will continue to do that.
On the issue of uniforms, boots and so forth; again we have done a lot in the last two years in making sure they can acquire material. They do have their own shops or other facilities where they can sew up their uniforms but the idea is to support them with material and we are doing that. I think over time, you will see an improvement in the situation. This is not a one year issue but a multi-year programme of improvement of the quality of support to the police services and their own services to the community. I thank you.
HON. CHARLES MOYO: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker.
On Sunday, thieves broke into my house and I engaged the officer in charge. Besides that, the last Saturday for your own information, the Minister of Home Affairs, the officer said the problem is the issue of incentives to Neighbourhood Watch Committees. Surely with this kind of cold weather, no incentive! Mr. Speaker, I met the chairperson for the neighbourhood watch committee who said they are 14 but they are not getting any incentive. The thieves even went with the keys of the whole house. I think it dwells around with how we can incentivise our neighbourhood watch committees, taking into consideration that the suggestion boxes are no longer being used, even the WhatsApp platform is not even being used. My question is - what could be the timeline? Usually, the Hon. Minister of Finance would say by December, February or by July. Surely, when can you say is the deadline to look into the neighbourhood watch committees because they are going to play a pivotal role, especially in addressing the issue of crime. I thank you.
HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: I thank the Hon. Member for the supplementary question. He wants specifics on the date. Unfortunately, I cannot give him a specific date. He just made a proposal. In fact, it is a question but it is actually a discussion Mr. Speaker Sir. You will agree with me, which I will appreciate. They have made suggestions, that is what I am hearing. I have to take it back and reflect with the officials on a possible incentive scheme, but it is a noble one at the same time to improve the quality of policing in our communities. So, the best I can think of in terms of timing is the next budget which is November, because that is when I am able to put things in a Finance Bill and turn into law which is enforceable by this Parliament. By the way Hon. Members, we are going to have a retreat Mr. Speaker Sir. I expect him to by then come up with a few ideas as to how we could do this together and whatever we propose will find its way into the Finance Bill, it will helps us manage our community security situation. Thank you.
(v)HON. BRIG. GEN. (RTD) MAYIHLOME: Than you Hon.
Speaker Sir. My supplementary question is directed to the Hon. Minister of Finance. He spoke about the suggestive structure and emoluments, but what he did not talk about and what is critical to me are the tools of trade. Our police forces are so backward in terms of the equipment. You talk of speed traps, they do not have any, even at roadblocks they use drums. I think they are the only police force in the world that is still using drums. What is the Minister doing about resourcing police to be fully equipped with modern equipment? Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Thank you Mr.
Speaker Sir. I thank the Hon. Member for that question. He is trying to address the issue of technology resources that the police need to do their job. We are looking into this. I have asked my officials to interlocute with their colleagues in Home Affairs and the Police so that we can get a list of this equipment that they need and the budget required so that we can deal with it. I know one of the foremost things had been the issue drones for example, for policing borders and other places and the speed traps which he has referred to and other vehicles for catching those who are over speeding. They know their equipment and I cannot summarise it for them. So we are just waiting for that list and we will be able to support them in this regard. I thank the Hon. Member for raising such an important issue. Thank you.
HON. NDEBELE: I have a suggestion for the Minister of Home Affairs. Sometimes Hon. Minister with regards to vehicles - it is not so much a question of lack of these vehicles but a question of abuse. So as part of your strategies, I will be happy if you review vehicle policies with a view of really tightening them up. In police stations that have one vehicle, you hear constant reference to mota yamudhara meaning it is a vehicle for the top most officer at that particular station, yet it is not. In reviewing the policy, I will also be happy if you reactivate the system of log books and the actual checking of where a vehicle has been taken to, because more often than not, you are driving in a particular province and you are bound to meet a police vehicle that clearly says it does not belong there and when you look at the person in there, you can tell that they are not pursuing duty, but possibly braaing meat out of their province. That leaves a gap where the vehicle belongs. Thank you.
(v) HON. TOFA: On a point of order Hon. Speaker. There has been inequality when it comes to choosing Hon. Members to speak because there is no gender balance.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MUTOMBA): I am
not seeing anybody except yourself at the moment who would want to raise supplementary questions and I was to give you the floor after the Minister has responded to the question that was raised by Hon. Ndebele.
I do not know how you would want me to operate here Hon. Tofa.
THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL
HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I
would like to thank Hon. Ndebele for his suggestion which I think is in two parts. The first part was an observation that the vehicle seems to be the vehicle that belongs to Mdhara, mota yaMdhara. I think that situation is going to be dealt with as the plan that the Hon. Minister of Finance articulated it is rolled out. The reason why that is happening is because there will only be one vehicle at the whole police station. So, it is only prudent to give it in the hands of the person in charge. He is the one who allocates the vehicle to whoever depending on the case that is supposed to be attended to. That is why they end up referring to it as mota yaMdhara.
I agree with Hon. Ndebele that we may need to tighten and the way forward in my view – in fact, recently Cabinet approved an integrated solution of the entire Home Affairs which includes computerisation of the police and the system that we are working towards will ensure that those vehicles are fitted with tracking devices which link them to the main platform, the main integrated system and it will be able to show us where each vehicle has gone to in accordance with the deployment. If it goes out of bounds, an alarm is raised at the Headquarters. That system was approved by Cabinet and we have already started working on the system and a number of partners have been engaged and discussions are ongoing. I thank you.
(v) HON. TOFA: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir. My
question is to the Minister of Finance. He stated that they increase the number of bicycles and he also said they bought a 100 vehicles but what the Minister did not do was to tell us how many vehicles were actually needed for the full police force and how many bicycles so that when we are exercising our oversight role and checking the boxes, we will be able to know where we are at. I am sure as the Minister of Finance, understand figures, he should know what I am talking about. Thank you.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Thank you Mr.
Speaker Sir. It is a very specific figure but also we did not refer to bicycles. If our police are on bicycles, they will be much too slow to respond to some of the very fast moving crimes that we are aware of.
However, in terms of the actual numbers, our target figure has been 500 vehicles and we are working towards that target - this is just the police alone. For motorcycles, our official target is 200 motorcycles but these figures will be reviewed and the more vehicles the police have, the better. I thank you.
(v)HON. MUDARIKWA: My question is directed to both the
Minister of Finance and Economic Development and the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage. Is it not better for you to give vehicle loan schemes to certain ranks of the police officers? The reason why I am suggesting this is that if it is your personal vehicle, there is more care to it and we will have a pool of vehicles readily available. It will not strain Government so much because those vehicles will now be paid as a mileage used on police services. I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): The Hon. Member has
proffered a suggestion, we will chew the bone on it and mallow over it, see if it is something we could consider. If we do, I think it will be a shock to the system.
THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL
HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): In addition to what the Minister of
Finance has said, it really needs to be looked at. We will be the first to do such in the world but it is a worthwhile suggestion. My only concern is that the way police operates, to then rely on an individual’s vehicle whether it is on loan or not becomes a bit difficult. We are supposed to provide service as police which is unconditional. So, if we end up involving personal vehicles, I think it becomes a problem.
POLICY TOWARDS CURBING ARMED ROBBERIES,
BURGLARY AND MUGGINGS
14C. HON. MASUKU asked the Minister of Home Affairs and
Cultural Heritage to outline plans available for the decentralisation of the production of passports and national identities to provinces and districts.
THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL
HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): The department has decentralised
issuance of vital civil registration documents such as birth certificates, death certificates and national identity documents to all the provinces. It has also decentralised to 62 districts and 206 sub-offices. So, the decentralisation programme is already ongoing and plans are under way to establish more registry offices subject to availability of funds.
Production of passports is a centralised function in line with the
International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards. While of acceptance of passport applications is done at 10 provincial offices; in 2020, the department embarked on a programme to decentralise processing of passport applications to districts with the view to ensure accessibility by members of the public. This saw the department establishing a passport office in Chitungwiza district for example. The programme is ongoing and in 2021, the department intends to establish two more passport offices at district level. I thank you.
HON. MUDARIKWA: I am suggesting to the Hon. Minister that
the birth certificates office should be decentralised to the clinics where the child is born and immediately is issued with a birth certificate rather than to travel with the papers from the clinic to the district office which is 170 km away from where I live. I thank you.
HON. KAZEMBE: I would like to thank Hon. Mudarikwa for
such a brilliant suggestion. Government recently approved the engagement of a private company on a BOT arrangement which is going to, not only issue passports but also look at the issue of issuing birth certificates and ID’s.
Indeed, they are going to deploy an integrated solution which will include exactly what the Hon. Member of Parliament is suggesting. This is why I said, it is a brilliant suggestion because it is already in the pipeline. Once a child is born, automatically that record goes straight real time to the civil registry and the process is initiated automatically.
Within the database at the registrar’s department, there will be what we call a family tree which automatically links that new born child to the family. So as soon as that record hits the registrars system, then the process is initiated.
Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to say this imitative by Government is going to end all these troubles because this company has done this in more than 25 countries and they have offered to do this to the
Government of Zimbabwe. The Government of Zimbabwe is not paying anything for it; they will recover their money from the revenue that they will collect from the passport.
So, in our view, this is the solution to all our problems. Over and above the issuance of birth certificates straight from the birth places, it would also mean that people will be able to apply for passports from the comfort of their homes because this is a very sophisticated system which is used the world over where applications are done real time and on line and people are only invited to the Passport Office for their biometric characteristics to be captured.
We are going to work together with the Ministry of ICT and the Ministry of Finance who already have kiosks out there – the CICs and the kiosks used by the Ministry of Finance. We will use them as outlets for issuance of passports. There will be no need to come and queue at Makombe; it will be delivered at all those various district outlets. We hope and trust that this system will be ready for use according to the timelines that they have given us. By December, people will be able to enjoy these services.
(v)HON. TOFFA: I would like to thank the Minister for his response and also for the progressive measure that they are taking as Ministry and Government. Issuance of birth certificates at hospitals and clinics when babies are born is not new – it has been in existence. What is the Ministry doing to make sure that nothing but a birth certificate and birth record is issued to the baby because when most mothers give birth, they are subjected to questions about the payments of bills which in turn takes away the baby’s right of getting a birth certificate.....
THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON (HON. MUTOMBA):
What is your question Hon. Toffa?
(v)HON. TOFFA: What is the Ministry doing to make sure that the hospitals issue nothing but a birth certificate and a birth record and no questions asked?
HON. KAZEMBE: This requires us to have a conversation with the Ministry of Health and see how best we can deal with this issue. As the Ministry of Home Affairs, we have got nothing to do with bills at the clinics. It is something we need to talk about. I understand what she is saying, that the right of that child is taken away because of the outstanding bill. Once the system that I alluded to earlier on is in place, it happens automatically. You cannot withhold the record. The moment it is out, it goes real time on line straight to the Registrar General but before the system is deployed, I think we need to have a conversation with our colleague Ministry and see if that is really happening and what can be done about it.
WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE
PROGRESS MADE IN RESOLVING OWNERSHIP WRANGLE OF
PEACE MINE AND POLICY REGARDING DOUBLE
CERTIFICATION
- HON. M. M. MPOFU asked ask the Minister of Mines and Mining Development to inform the House progress made in resolving ownership wrangle of Peace Mine due to double certification which has been raging on since 2004 and to explain the Government policy regarding double certification created by officials in the Ministry.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING
DEVELOPMENT (HON. KAMBAMURA): The ownership wrangle
at Peace Mine was not fully resolved. It is still at the courts. The Ministry currently has a dispute committee to check circumstances surrounding double certification. The Committee holds sittings and determines the rightful holder of mining titles. The Ministry is currently working towards the implementation of the mining cadastre system to help resolve the issue of double certification created by manual system and to prevent such occurrences in future.
OWNERSHIP OF MALGREEN MINE IN SILOBELA AND
MEASURES TOWARDS EMPOWERING THE YOUTHS BY THE
MINE
- HON. M.M. MPOFU asked the Minister of Mines and Mining
Development to inform the House who the owner of Malgreen mine in Silobela is and to further clarify the measures being taken by the mine towards empowering the youths.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING
DEVELOPMENT (HON. KAMBAMURA): Malgreen Mine was
registered in the name of Silobela Youth in Mining. The mine is owned by a syndicate of six youths based in Silobela. The mine is a functional small scale gold mine and has been selling its gold to Fidelity Printers and Refiners. Most of the workers at the mine are youths between the ages of 18 – 35.
SETTING UP OF HAMMER AND BALL MILLS AND CURBING OF
ILLEGAL GOLD PROCESSING
- HON. M.M. MPOFU asked the Minister of Mines and Mining
Development to explain to the House:
- What Government policy is regarding the setting up of hammer and ball mills in view of the noticeable number of mills which have mushroomed across the country and;
- What the Ministry is doing to curb illegal gold processing.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING
DEVELOPMENT (HON. KAMBAMURA): On legally registered
mining location or processing site, there is no discrimination on the type of equipment to use. There has however been a proliferation of illegal mining activities whereby use of hammer mills and ball mills is preferred because they are mobile.
The use of hammer and ball mills on illegal mining sites is outside of the tenets of the law and joint operations continue to be carried out to discourage the activity.
STATUS OF JENA MINE IN SILOBELA CONSTITUENCY
- HON. M.M. MPOFU asked the Minister for Mines and Mining Development to inform the House on the status of Jena Mine, in the Silobela Constituency, amid unsubstantiated rumours doing rounds, that the Mine has been sold to Landela Company, sparking fears and despondency that the surrounding communities will not get any benefits from this new company in terms of its corporate social responsibility.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING
DEVELOPMENT (HON. KAMBAMURA): A new mining group,
Kuvimba Mining House, in which Government has 65 percent shareholding, was launched in 2020. The company boasts of an asset portfolio of USD1.5 billion worth of minerals such as gold, nickel and chrome. The mining assets will attract massive investment over the next years giving dividend to shareholders. It will benefit the youth, war veterans, pensioners, depositors whose monies were eroded. This is a way of achieving partial privatisation with the Government owning 65% of the shares in the mining group while 35% is held by a number of investors.
The Kuvimba Gold Mining portfolio spans across Freda Rebecca
Gold Mine, Shamva Gold Mine and Jena Mine. In 2020, Kuvimba Holdings (Pvt) Limited acquired 85% of Jena Mine from ZMDC. The company intends to bring in an investment which will see production increasing for 25 kgs per month to 100 kgs per month and this will result in employment creation for the youth in surrounding communities. The acquisition resulted in Jena Mining transitioning to becoming a private entity.
In terms of corporate social responsibility, Kuvimba Holdings (Pvt) Limited will continue to carry out the CSR activities in the community which were being done by ZMDC such as road maintenance.
Questions with Notice were interrupted by THE TEMPORARY
SPEAKER in terms of Standing Order No. 64.
TABLING OF REPORTS FROM THE AUDITOR-
GENERAL
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. NCUBE): Mr. Speaker, I seek leave
of the House to table the Report of the Auditor General for the year ended 31st December 2019.
Section 10 (1) of the Audit Office Act [Chapter 22:18], provides that the Auditor General after examining the accounts transmitted to him or her in terms of Section 35 (6) and (7) of the Public Finance
Management Act [Chapter 22:19] and the accounts of any public entity, designated corporate body or statutory fund and after signing a certificate recording the result of his or her examination, shall prepare and submit to the Minister not later than the 30th of June in each year, a report on the outcome of his or her examination and audit of the accounts referred to him or her in terms of Section 6 (1).
The Audit Office Act further provides in Section 12 that any report transmitted in terms of Section 10 shall be laid by the Minister before this august House on one of the seven days on which the House sits after he or she has received such report.
Mr. Speaker Sir, in line with the aforementioned provisions of our laws, I now lay the Report of the Auditor General for the year ended 31st December 2019 before this august House for consideration. The contents of the report are as follows: Financial year ended 31 December, 2019 on local authorities; Financial year ended 31 December 2019 on the Appropriation Accounts and Fund Accounts; Revenue and Finance
Statements and Fund Accounts in Arrear as at 31 December, 2019; the Financial year ended 31 December 2019 on State Enterprises and Parastatals and Annual Performance Report of the Auditor General for the year 2019. This is complete for 2019. I will table the 2020 Report once it is ready. I thank you.
HON. MPARIWA: I rise just to express my appreciation and on behalf of my colleagues also in the Public Accounts Committee in terms of the tabling of the reports that the Minister of Finance has tabled to today. We really appreciate because this was actually hampering the work of the Public Accounts and several other committees. Yesterday, it was raised by Hon. Mushoriwa that there were reports that have not been tabled by the Minister responsible and indeed in our meeting on Monday as Public Accounts Committee, we had actually highlighted the nontabling of these reports and the Speaker had highlighted that if the Minister will not have tabled the reports, then he would have done so in terms of the Audit Act. I really want to appreciate that the Minister has tabled the reports and that this is the culture that is missing, and I think the Minister will continue tabling the reports and also activate others to do likewise. Thank you.
HON. KASHIRI: I would like to thank the Minister for bringing the reports to the House. However, we wanted to ask whether these copies will be available in our pigeon holes as hard copies or they are coming as soft copies so we could be on the lookout for them. I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): They will be available
as hard copies but they can also be available as soft copies if you so wish, both versions. Thank you.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. NCUBE): Mr. Speaker, I move that Order Numbers 1 to 11 be stood over until Order Number 12 is disposed
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
CONDOLENCES ON THE DEATH OF HON. SIBUSISO BUSI
MOYO
Twelfth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the untimely passing on of the late Hon. Sen. Sibusiso Busi Moyo.
Question again proposed.
HON. RAIDZA: As the mover of the motion, I want to thank the
Hon. Members who took their time to debate this motion; Hon.
Chikukwa, Hon. Mutambisi, Hon. Chingosho, Hon. Mpariwa and Hon. P. Moyo. I therefore move that:
This House expresses its profound sorrow on the untimely passing on of the late Senator for Midlands Province and Minister for Foreign
Affairs and International Trade, Hon. Sen. Sibusiso Busi Moyo, on
Wednesday 20th January, 2021;
Places on record its appreciation for the services, which the late
Hon. Member rendered to Parliament and the nation at large;
Resolves that its profound sympathies be conveyed to the Moyo family, relatives and the entire Midlands Province.
On the motion of HON. MUTAMBISI seconded by HON.
MPARIWA, the House adjourned at Eighteen Minutes to Six o’clock p.m.