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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY HANSARD 16 March 2017 43-45

PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE

Thursday, 16^th March, 2017

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

PRAYERS

(THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair)

HON. CROSS: On a point of order Madam Speaker. When we adjourned yesterday, we were discussing a motion on village health workers and it was agreed that the motion should be brought forward to today.  It is not on the Order Paper and I would like to see it reinstated on the Order Paper for discussion this afternoon so that we can conclude the debate.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Hon. Cross, I am being advised

that it cannot be brought forward because it was a ministerial statement from the Minister.  If you needed any clarifications, you should have done so yesterday.

HON. CROSS: Madam Speaker, it was not a ministerial statement.  It was on village health workers debated by the Acting Chairperson of the Health Committee.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Was it a report from the

Chairperson?

HON. CROSS: Yes.

 THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: And the response from the Minister was not given? –[HON. MEMBERS: Yes.] – We are going to look

into that.

MOTION

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

HON. MATUKE: I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 5 be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.

HON. MUKWANGWARIWA: I second.

Motion put and agreed to.

MOTION

PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS

Sixth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the

Presidential Speech.

Question again proposed.

HON. MARIDADI: Thank you Madam Speaker for this wonderful opportunity to debate. When the President delivered his Speech, he spoke about two very important issues.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Could you please wait Hon.

Maridadi, there seems to be a feeling that you debated this motion before?

HON. MARIDADI: If I debated, I can debate on behalf of Hon.

Maziwisa.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: You can proceed. We have checked

with our records.

HON. MARIDADI: I would like to ask the secretariat of Parliament to bring me some exhibits that I have. Can you kindly bring the exhibits that I want to show to the House – the dishes and all the other things so that when I

debate, I put my debate in context.

One small dish, one large dish, transistor radio, a thread, binder and outer blanket were laid on the table.

The President spoke about two issues. He spoke about the economic downturn and he said Government was working hard to ensure that the economy can start working again and for very obvious reasons. The President then spoke about the need for Zimbabweans to shun corruption. Madam Speaker, I want to talk about those two issues, the need for Zimbabweans to shun corruption and the need for the economy to grow. There are issues that I want to highlight here which militate against the growth of this economy. The last time I spoke about this, I brought exhibits of blankets and I spoke to that. Today I have some exhibits and some documentary evidence here that I have which are militating against the growth of this economy.

There are people that are operating in this economy that are not following regulations that are stipulated by Government. What I have before this House are two dishes. These two dishes are imported into this country by a company that I have put tabs on. When this dish (small) comes through the border, it is cleared at $0.02. This one here (big) clears at the border at $0.04. That is the duty that they pay. I went to buy this one here (small dish) for $6 and I bought this one here (big dish) for $13. They are imported from China.

In China Madam Speaker, they pay the correct amount but when they come to

Zimbabwe, they do not pay the correct amount. I am talking about $0.02 and $0.04 and I have the evidence here.

I have another item. This is a transistor radio. This radio declares at the border $1.20 and it is sold in Zimbabwe for $14. Let me go on to the next thing. I have here what is called a quilting kit. A quilting kit consists of a liner, binder and the outer blanket. When these things are imported into Zimbabwe, there is the binder, liner, the outer blanket and the thread. It is called a quilting kit. When you put these together, you then come up with a blanket. This blanket here in Zimbabwe sells for about $20. A blanket which is manufactured in Zimbabwe is sold for $30 for a double. Companies in Zimbabwe like Waverly do all the manufacturing from lint to a complete blanket. The lint will lead to this outer material, it will also lead to this inside material and it will lead to this binding cloth and to a complete blanket, a double of which will sell for $30.

When these quilting kits come into Zimbabwe, what they declare at the border is $0.40. A local company which is manufacturing blankets cannot compete with a company that is importing a quilting kit for $0.40 and sell a blanket because they can even sell it for $3 and still make a profit. Actually, this material here, when it is being imported into Zimbabwe must declare $2.93 per metre at the border but this whole set is declaring $0.40 at the border. That is the level of prejudice to this Government.

This Chinese Company would not able to do this if they are not protected by senior people in Government. The document that I have here

Madam Speaker will tell you what has been imported into this country. The

Chinese Company I am talking about here is called Yufan Import and Export

Trade Company. It  does not have a bank account. I wonder how they are then able to pay for these things in China if they do not go through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe because they must essentially go through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. They must submit an application to the RBZ and say we need so much to be able to import these items into the country but I do not know how they do it because they do not go through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Holder. Can we have order in the House? - [AN HON. MEMBER: Akadhakwa.] –

HON. HOLDER: I am sorry, I was speaking a little bit louder but I was just trying to highlight that what Hon. Maridadi is saying has something to do with the Bill which is on Order Number 1 which they shot down. The Hon.

Member who said I am drunk, did he buy me beer?

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! It is only that I heard your voice and you are not supposed to speak when another Hon. Member is debating.

HON. MARIDADI: They do not have a bank account and what it means is that they do not pay corporate tax. When I went to buy these items, they have three different sets of tariffs. They do not allow to swipe. If you are buying using bond notes, this dish here costs $16. If you are using US dollars you pay about $12. They will tell you that if you are buying more than one, they do not want bond notes, they want US dollars and I have documentary evidence to that.

Madam Speaker, if you look at the extent of prejudice – I was calculating here – a 40 foot container paid ZIMRA $4 000 when in actual fact it should have paid $49 970. I am talking of one container. This item that I have here which is called a Bill of Entry talks about twenty 40 foot containers that have come into Zimbabwe and they have only paid about $80 when in actual fact if you calculate $49 000 by 20, it is about a million. With this kind of attitude, we are not able to go anywhere. But let me bring it home.

ZANU PF owned two companies, one called National Blankets and another one called Kango. National Blankets had machinery and employed people to produce blankets. But because National Blankets can no longer compete with people that are protected who import these quilting kits.

National Blankets; to all intents and purposes has closed shop; it is no longer there.  All of us in this House, when we grew up, we remember the kind of plates and pots which were called Kango.  Kango is a company that was owned by ZANU PF.  Kango has closed shop because of imports of plates like this for two cents and sell it for whatever price, Kango cannot compete because they must buy material and come up with a plate like this via a manufacturing process.

I will bring it closer to home even further.  Cone Textiles is the company that used to do most of these materials.  It is now done by a company called Waverly Blankets.  Waverly employed 1800 people but when these imports started coming into Zimbabwe, they have retrenched and now employ about 400 people.  What it means is that 1400 jobs have been exported to China who do not pay corporate tax, Pay As You Earn, et cetera.

Madam Speaker, what we want to do is, we need now to say, the

Chinese companies that are operating in Zimbabwe, how are they registered?  Who are they doing their banking with?  Does the Reserve Bank and ZIMRA know that they are importing and exporting?  When they get bond notes, they simply go on the streets of Harare and harden the money into US dollars and the money is spirited out of the country.  It is very easy to take money out of Zimbabwe.  If you have $200 000, you simply go to Charles Prince Airport, you charter a plane and you fly into South Africa.  It is that simple.  You do not use Air Zimbabwe and South African Airways because Harare

International Airport security limits the amount of money that you must take out.  That is how money is leaving this country.  It does not really matter how much policy and regulations the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is going to put into place, money will still leave the country.

The fact of the matter is that, we must start now to investigate all companies.  I am talking across sectors.  If you go into the brick molding sector, Chinese companies that are molding bricks are selling those bricks at a price such that Willdale Limited, a Zimbabwean company cannot survive.  A

Chinese company that is selling fast foods does it in such a way that a Zimbabwean company that is in that industry is not able to survive.

Madam Speaker, the textile industry in Zimbabwe to all intents and purposes is dead.  Hon. Nduna from Chegutu can vouch for me.  There is no way that David Whitehead can come back if we have this kind of thing.

These are cheap imports but what I want to reiterate today is that these people who are doing these things are protected by senior Government officials.

Today I hear that one of the Chinese people and a Member of Parliament of Zimbabwe are trying to borrow money from CBZ so that they resuscitate National Blankets.  You will not be able to resuscitate National Blankets as long as there are cheap imports that you are going to compete with.  You are not going to revive the textile industry for as long as there are cheap imports that you are going to compete with.  You are not going to revive Kango for as long as there are these imports coming into Zimbabwe that are equally good but are selling at a quarter of your input into production.

Madam Speaker, there is Capri Corporation, a wholly owned

Zimbabwean company.  In the past two years, Capri Corporation has invested $15 million into the manufacture of refrigerators and stoves.  They made a profit of $200 000 in 2015.  If you are in business and you invest $15 million and make a profit of $200 000, get out of that business.  You would rather put that money in a bank.  Where you have an interest rate of 5%, you are able to make more money than you are making in manufacturing.

The reason why Capri is making that meager profit is because there is Samsung.  Samsung is a South Korean company that has been given a licence to manufacture in Zimbabwe.  If you go to Samsung in Harare today, all you see is an office the size of this desk.  That is all they have.  They bring complete refrigerators to sell in this country competing with refrigerators from Capri and the other company which does industrial refrigerators.

Madam Speaker, if you go to Capri, which I visited about three weeks ago, it is a hive of activity but they are operating at 40% of capacity because of Samsung.  Why are we bringing Samsung into Zimbabwe when we have our own company that is manufacturing in Zimbabwe?  Samsung could not go into Zambia.  In South Africa, their products have knocked down the prices of refrigerators but they now have a ready market in Zimbabwe.  They have been given a ready market in Zimbabwe, they are militating against our own companies and we are exporting jobs to South Korea.

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank you for your time but I want to say the attitude of senior Government officials who protect corrupt people, especially Chinese must stop.  In my next installment which is coming very soon, I am going to name and shame you.  What I am urging Hon. Ministers and Hon. Members of Parliament who are protecting these people is to please stop forthwith so that you avoid the embarrassment of me standing up here because I will name you. I will say your first name, second name, surname and the constituency that you represent.  Thank you Madam Speaker.

*HON. CHINOTIMBA:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  There are

certain things that we can talk about that are really painful when we think about them.  The issue that was being debated here by Hon. Maridadi is a touching and painful issue.  He did not look at the political situation in Zimbabwe but he mentioned strategies of how we can develop our country, create jobs and sources of livelihood.  The issue of companies …

*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Hon. Member, I would want to

understand whether you are debating the Presidential Speech?

*HON. CHINOTIMBA:  There are so many things that the President mentioned.  He talked about ZIM ASSET, education, the economy and many other issues.  So, I would want to support what the President was saying.  He implored people to stop corruption.  We cannot name the corrupt individuals because they know themselves.  Your conscience will tell you.  Those people who sin may not be seen by the people but their conscience tells them that they are sinning.

The issue that the country further sinks when we have put Statutory Instrument 64 to resuscitate our companies is unfortunate. The President said we need to rescue our companies and we are watching whilst are companies are sinking. You are the Speaker of Parliament, we have Ministers, Judges and Vice Presidents who are drunkards and all those other things that we have. What I am saying is that if we do not protect what the President said, surely we will continue to point fingers at the President saying he is not capable. We may even point fingers at the Cabinet but when we see that there is corruption, we are not able to point out the corruption like what Hon. Maridadi did.

Last week we toured the industries and we saw a car that was full of goods that had passed through the border. They were offloading the goods at one company. The good thing was that I was there and I was able to impound the car. I went to ZIMRA and reported the issue. I took the ZIMRA people there and it was realised that the goods had been under declared. So, when the President tells us what to do, people might point fingers at the Government yet it is us the people who fail to realise that if we do not adhere to what the President says, our country will not develop.

Madam President on the issue of schools, the President mentioned that in this country children should go to school. Some of us here in this august House do not even pay school fees, especially in the rural areas, the Members of Parliament are not paying school fees. Political party members are not paying schools fees but they want that school to continue with its work and for education to continue while as adults, we are not doing what the President said. My request is that we should all stop corrupt activities and adhere to – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Madam Speaker, we were quiet on this side when the Members on your left were debating. So, our request is that since we now have a biometric system, we also need breathalysers to see if the Members of Parliament that come in here are not drunk. Most of our Members of Parliament are drunkards and when they come into this House they will have taken some alcohol – [AN HON. MEMBER:

Inaudible interjection.] –

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I never heard him refer to anyone by name.

*HON. CHINOTIMBA: Madam Speaker, my request is that the Hon. Member must withdraw his words. The remark that I murdered someone is not right because he can also murder someone.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Zwizwai, may you please

leave the House.

The Hon. Member duly left the House.

*HON. CHINOTIMBA: Thank you Madam Speaker.

HON. J. TSHUMA: Good afternoon Madam Speaker. I also stand to add my voice in appreciation for the efforts that our Head of State, the

President has been trying to put across to us as a nation of Zimbabwe. Madam Speaker, I want to speak in particular reference to the issue of industries, in particular one industry called ZISCO Steel.

Madam Speaker, the President is on record talking about issues of corruption and people doing a disservice to the nation. I was looking very much and soberly at the issue of ZISCO Steel with the perspective of the chain reaction that ZISCO Steel can actually bring if it can be opened to start working today. Why I say so Madam Speaker, I have interests in companies like NRZ, which was headquartered in Bulawayo and used to employ so many people in Bulawayo. I have got interests in Hwange Colliery Company where I grew up, which used to be a vibrant company offering superb services to its people but today everything is gone.

I was saying to myself Madam Speaker, here is a company called ZISCO Steel. If we all had to put our efforts into resuscitating that company, without even looking for foreign help because that is a very pivotal company; if ZISCO Steel starts functioning today, guess what happens? We have got Sable Chemicals which used to supply oxygen to ZISCO Steel. For Sable Chemicals to actually get that oxygen, they were using what we call the water electrolysis plant which requires so much electricity. It is on record that Sable

Chemicals used to pay ZESA in advance for its electricity, which made ZESA to be liquid enough to be able to service its importation of electricity from the other regional partners like South Africa and Namibia.

Now, because ZISCO Steel is no longer working, Sable Chemicals no longer has to produce that oxygen, which means that they no longer require much power from ZESA. Therefore, there is a crippling effect to ZESA as well as to the manufacturer of our fertilisers. Let us go away from Sable Chemicals in Kwekwe and go to Hwange Colliery Company. There used to be two express trains that used to leave Hwange coming to Kwekwe. Those trains, I remember passenger trains would actually give way to them. They were taking coke from Hwange everyday to ZISCO Steel. That also guaranteed that Hwange Colliery Company would be functional and have its people well employed and paid on time.

While we are at it, for Hwange to transport that coke from Hwange to

Kwekwe, NRZ was playing a pivotal role, which means that NRZ was being well paid. So, it was easy to maintain its fleet and pay its workers. Therefore, there was not going to be any need for retrenchment whatsoever. Alas, here we came with our greedy mindsets and started appointing boards that do not even know what they are doing. The whole rot started there. You have a board that does not even have a technical person who knows about locomotives and mining at Hwange Colliery Company. You have a board that is so unclear about what we call corporate governance and then you expect that board to actually hire competent people. How does that happen? Therefore, the people that will be hired in management positions also become useless as much as the board is useless.

By the way, we are talking about the Presidential Speech whereby the

President is saying let us stop corruption. Let us stop shooting ourselves on our own feet but here we are – [AN HON. MEMBER: Inaudible interjection.] – When we have all these perspectives Madam Speaker, you begin to wonder if we are all for building this nation or some of us are for filling our pockets but at the expense of who - the nation?  We cannot allow that as this august House because the problem is that if you want to build your own pocket, I do not benefit from that.  So, do not expect me to come here and defend you in your unscrupulous activities that you do that benefit you and your family.

That is why I am saying that as a nation, we need to start moving in a

direction whereby we say, let us put Zimbabwe first, as the President wants us to do.  We should not want to just feed our own pockets and families at the expense of the whole nation.

So, as I was speaking about the ZESA issue, you will now realise that – I remember there was one time when there was a ceremony in Kwekwe.  A budget was made, tents, food and drinks were put aside and we were told that ZISCO is coming to life.  But suddenly - I remember that was during the GNU period and Mr. Welshman Ncube was the Minister of Industry.  What then happened – nothing.  So, what I am saying is that for us as a nation and Members of Parliament here, we should be lobbying for Government to put aside money so that we can go and resuscitate ZISCO Steel on our own, as the Zimbabwean |Government.  This can be done without any outside partnership because that is a component with side effects that will change the scope of industry in Zimbabwe.  I will give you another example, there was Lancashire Steel which used to get by-products from ZISCO Steel and manufactured our harrows, ploughs, axes etcetera.  That was going to feed even into our command agriculture scheme instead of us going to Belarus or Brazil to

import those things, we could be doing them here, meaning that we would be creating jobs for our own people.  That is our purpose and why we are here.  We should make sure that we safeguard our people and defend them from unruly elements amongst our society.

When you look at that, then you will know that we are playing who is fooling who here.  So, I want to stand up and implore our fellow comrades, brothers and sisters to follow the footsteps of our President.  He wants us to stop corruption and alleviate the suffering of our ordinary people that we represent here.  How do we do that?  We can only do it if we are honest with each other.  Let us tell each other the truth and let us not promote people who want to fatten their pockets at the expense of the whole nation.  That is very treasonous and we cannot allow that.  I want to say that the President did so well but now the question is; what are you and me doing about it?  It should begin from there.  Let us all take steps – I am very pleased with Hon.

Maridadi’s presentation.  It shows that he goes an extra mile to check his facts and present proper things.  These are the kind of things that we need as a nation – to build, because we cannot keep on saying that we want to build, yet we condone corruption.  We cannot say we want to build yet we want to turn a blind eye to evil deeds.  That is not building but destroying.

I am sure where I stand as I speak right now; I speak for my organisation that has put me here.  My organisation does not condone corruption but some of our members do that.  So, we want to separate that and say whoever is doing that to kill our nation must be brought to book and be answerable so that we can move forward.  I could talk the whole day but the long and short of it all is, let us stop corruption, let us be sincere and build Zimbabwe together by being truthful to one another.  I thank you Madam Speaker.

HON. GABBUZA:  I will not be long but there are just two issues that I wanted to raise, which emanated from the President’s speech.  The President raised issues to do with giving an indication that this year, we were going to have normal to above normal rains but unfortunately after that pronouncement, we did not see our civil service taking precautionary measures to prepare for that kind of pronouncement.  What we were looking forward to is the issue that at least our Civil Protection Unit must have been prepared to avert the disaster that we eventually saw.  Bridges and dams must have been inspected and many other mitigatory measures should have been taken to avoid the catastrophe that we eventually had.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Order, Hon. Members would you

try as much as possible to lower your whispers.  Please try to speak to someone who is close to you and not to call to someone who is very far.  Please take note that there should be no meetings in Parliament.  You are allowed to go outside and have your meetings.

HON. GABBUZA:  The other issue that I would want to draw the attention of the Executive is the issue of checking on our bridges, which could have assisted us a lot in averting the natural disaster and flooding that we eventually had.  Once in a while I take time to go under most of our bridges.  Bridges are designed to withstand vertical horizontal pressure, but when bridges pillar collapses, they cannot withstand the horizontal pressure from the flowing water.  This being the case – that is why you see most of our bridges that eventually got flushed away by the floods was not an issue of the floods but an issue of poor workmanship and lack of inspection of some of the

Government infrastructure.

Just yesterday, in relation to this issue of disaster preparedness, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development indicated to us that the rains caused a lot of damage.  We should not blame the rains but the workmanship on our roads because there is nothing wrong about rains.  In various countries like the tropical rain forest, they have plenty of rain every day, more than what we receive but their roads are still standing.  Roads can be made even under water.  Two days ago, we saw on the international media, some clever countries designing bridges that even go under water.  So, water is not an issue when it comes to complaining about whether the road will go or not.  It is a matter of how you design your roads.  So, we would appeal to the civil service to ensure that when they do some of these designs, they must meet the standards so as to meet the worst possible disasters that might emanate in the country.

The second issue that the President raised was the issue of education, which I know many of you are aware he is very passionate about.  Beginning of this year we were given figures of pass rates in the country.  The President raised issues to do with education but when we look at the pass rates that were released from ZIMSEC “O” levels, in particular, Matabeleland North was the worst with the lowest pass rate.  You then ask yourself if Matabeleland North had the lowest pass rate this year and also had the lowest pass rate last year, what are the issues there?

Upon analysis, the issue is about the level of teacher/student ratios that we have in many of our schools.  Most of the teachers in most Matabeleland North schools are temporary teachers.  Now, Government has put a freeze on the recruitment of qualified and non qualified teachers to the extent that as we speak, we get a school which is running with two teachers from Form One to Form Four.  This is not characteristic of many other places or other provinces because they already had qualified teachers.  However, in our situation where we had temporary teachers, Government has put a freeze on recruitment of temporary teachers. It has also put a freeze on the recruitment of qualified teachers so we get about twelve schools that have form one up to four but only one or two teachers doing all the work.  One of these is also the headmaster, when he goes to a meeting, one teacher remains teaching form one up to form

four.

I do not know what is there for us in Matabeleland North.  I think this is something that needs urgent attention and we still appeal to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education or those Ministers who are here present to raise this issue in Cabinet because it is causing very high teacher-student ratios.  One teacher teaches about 80-90 students.  For those with an education background, there is no way you can teach 90 students in a class and expect them to pass but this is what is happening in many schools in Matabeleland North.

At primary school it is even worse.  I went to a school last week where there are three teachers who teach grade 1 to 7.  We are moving towards second term and there is no hope that Government will ever put more teachers in those schools because they are not talking of any lifting or special waiver for these particular schools.  If it remains like that, some of us are very greatly concerned that the President is worried about education.  Unfortunately, this scenario will not put the country on the map or at least to be at equitable levels in terms of education.

We will get to a situation where some provinces are lagging behind. They are already lagging behind but if they are going to go without teachers for all these long periods of time, it will be even worse.  There is an issue of high teacher-student ratios but there is also the problem of those few teachers that are there, they are overburdened and they are stressed.  They cannot work effectively because if they have to teach all those subjects and being two only in the whole school- I think it is demoralizing.

More-so, I think for the students in most schools, we were beginning to witness a lot of drop outs because they get to school and there are no teachers or there is only one teacher.  I am of the idea that if Government cannot employ, why can it not move some excess labour in some departments in the Civil Service.  I have in mind the Ministry of Youth.  We have several young men and women who are equally qualified to teach at schools.  They have obtained five O’ levels and they can work as temporary teachers.  At the moment, they spend most of their time doing almost nothing and just wait for their salaries, come month-end.  Why can we not move those youth officers at the moment when Government has no money because that will not cause an extra cost to Government?  That is what I think can be a mitigatory measure in the short term.

Those are the two concerns that I am really worried about and I will lobby with the other fellow Government workers and others to see if that can possibly be initiated because the situation - particularly in Matabeleland North, is very critical and the Minister may not be aware because it is not common in all other places. I thank you.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  I would like to assure Hon. Cross that the motion you were talking about is on the Order Paper and it is Order Number 35.  You can prepare yourself for that.

*HON. MARUMAHOKO:  Thank you Hon. Speaker.  My focus is on developing our economy.  As the President said, we need to work hard and develop our economy.  The economy of Zimbabwe was based on chrome.

The Great Dyke area up to Zvishavane was rich in chrome.

Over a million jobs were created in the mines.  All of a sudden, it was announced that there would no longer be chrome exportation to other countries because of beneficiation.  Beneficiation does not come before we are prepared for it.  We were supposed to have built our furnaces. We are also supposed to have enough energy, then we can talk of beneficiation.  At that time, we did not have furnaces and energy for Zimbabwe.  Even up to now, we do not have the required power to power our industries to be resuscitated but we abandoned the export of chrome to engage in beneficiation.  How are we going to do that when we do not have furnaces and we do not have power?

Over a million jobs were lost because of that decision.

In Chiadzwa, the diamond companies are not bringing in any revenue and we decided to close the companies and amalgamate them into one.  We did not look at the reasons why revenue was not coming in.  We came up with a decision to say we need to amalgamate these companies.  A businessman does not invest his own money in a business but he uses loans that he borrows and is given about 25-50 years to pay back the loan.  In so doing, he sources contracts of where he can sell his products, where he can get a contract to supply for the next twenty years.  We wake up one morning and we decide we have closed the mines; for the person to pay back the loan he borrowed, he is not able. For the standing partnership to deliver the product, there is a gap.

Right now, there are no diamonds.

If you look at the history of America, for its economy to be as strong as it is, most of the money came from mining, especially alluvial mining.  California is one of the states that brought in alluvial  metals.  Here in Zimbabwe we started doing that. In a very short space of time, that was abandoned.  The Government is the one that had to do that.  Government is supposed to facilitate and not take over the businesses.  It should not be involved in businesses.  The environment that we are talking about that if we do alluvial mining, we will resuscitate our economy.  Those who are engaged in alluvial gold mining are there and they are experts.  We should look into that and resuscitate our economy.

If we are to say all companies should engage in such activities. The challenges we are facing in Zimbabwe will be a thing of the past.  There is so much wealth in alluvial gold mining.  We can get 10-30 tonnes in a week but we said we do not want that.  Government should only facilitate.

Government in 1980 took over all the mines in Zimbabwe through ZMDC.  Today there is not even one mine that is operating.  All the mines are no longer operating and we are no looking at where we are going, where we came from and what are we doing.  Our wealth is important.  This country has everything.  It has resources but we cannot manage the resources for our country to develop.

On land reform, the land reform is a process.  It cannot be done in one day.  A process means that it is supposed to be gradual and our children should also benefit.  It should be sustainable.  Right now, we are talking about farm sizes; have we looked at the issue of production because what we need to look at is production.  Are our farms producing?  What is it that is making our farms not to produce?

The Government came up with a good project of Command Agriculture.

We are supposed to evaluate and see what the advantages of Command Agriculture are.  We also need to look at the size of our farms and the way forward because that is the inheritance and heritage of those to come.  It has to be sustainable.  We need to do that because that is what is causing our nation not to develop.

All the other issues I talked about – the companies, there is no investor who is willing to invest in Zimbabwe because they are afraid that tomorrow the company will not be operational.  Once it is closed, what is the future?  We are given guidance on what to do but in no time we abandon them.  We must assist the President, this is our duty.  He gives us policy direction and we should expand on it, but that is not happening. This nation is rich in natural resources and we should not be suffering as we are experiencing right now.

The problem is with the way we operate our resources.

Hon. Maridadi was talking about corruption.  I do not think if we continue singing that song, it will come to pass because everywhere, that is the order of the day.  It is not surprising to find someone engaging in corruption because that is the order of the day.  If you go to a company to have your car serviced, when you go out, the mechanic can follow you and ask you to bring the car privately to him and you will be charged less.  So, there is no way that you can actually say business is moving openly and swiftly.  I think as Hon. Members, we should look into it and sing from the same hymn book so that where there is corruption, we stamp it out.

I would like to give an example as was given by Hon. Maridadi, last year; there was a Chinese company that was bringing in spare parts into Zimbabwe.  The spare parts would come under one of the Government Ministries.  As they came into the country, they were sold by a private company.  They were not paying duty because it was believed it is a Government Ministry.  They sold their parts but they were not paying anything.  So, there were a lot of things that Hon. Maridadi did not mention and I request that each of us takes up the challenge and address these issues because we will have nothing to leave for our children.  We need to look at sustainability and ensure that the future generation is able to have a source of livelihood.  We have destroyed our nation.  I thank you.

HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Thank you Madam Speaker for allowing me

also to debate on the issue of the Presidential Speech that was presented last year.  Before I even get into the merits of my matter, it is important that I indicate that in normal and ordinary countries, when the Head of State is going to give a speech, it is either through a normal Presidential Speech or State of the Nation Address, usually business comes to a standstill.

Hon. Speaker, an address by a President of a country is not a normal address.  It is not something that is ordinary.  It is usually something that is extraordinary because it is a speech by the Chief Executive of the country.  Usually it is a speech that is intended to outline the major challenges that the nation is facing, including the symptoms that some of my colleagues have already highlighted.  When the Head of State is speaking, you expect to hear touchable and real solutions to the challenges that the nation is facing.  The speech by the Head of State is a speech that is supposed to give the nation the direction that the country is going to take in a certain given period of time.  Therefore, a speech by the President is not an ordinary speech, it is an extraordinary speech; it is an important speech in a country. Ordinarily, it is supposed to bring business to a standstill.

However, in this country, I have realised that be it the State of the Nation Address or be it any  other speech by the President; because we are all aware that the President does not make speeches every day except during campaigns that you might be able to see him on television now and again making speeches.  Ordinarily, when there are no campaigns, when you see the Head of State coming into Parliament to make a speech, you all pay attention.

It is a speech that is supposed to grab the attention of the nation.

I have realised, the few years that I have been in Parliament that in this country, even when the Head of State is going to address, it is business as usual.  People do not pay attention.  It does not grab the attention of the population.  I have always been wondering why that is the scenario.  When the Head of State speaks, there are certain things that you expect, especially the one that he gave when he was opening Parliament, we expected that the Head of State was obviously going to speak to issues of our 98% unemployment rate; the crumbling health sector, highlight on the education sector that has become a pale shadow of what is known of it or that he would speak about rampant corruption that is bedeviling this nation, especially the public sector like my colleague Hon. Tshuma indicated.

Remember, this is the speech which was given during the year when a

Vice President of this country went to a police station to release suspects that had been arrested for corruption.  Therefore, the expectations of a nation is that when the Head of State comes to give his speech, he will touch on these things because they are pertinent; they are important things, when an Acting Head of State would go to a police station to release suspects that are under investigation by the police and then no further action is taken.  Those things are expected.

You expect the Head of State to speak to issues like, very important people in this nation are not getting allowances that they are supposed to be getting; the chiefs, our traditional leaders.  This speech by the President was given at a time when traditional leaders had their allowances in about seven/eight months’ arrears.  Therefore, you expected those kinds of things to be addressed.

You expect the speech of the Head of State to speak to the concerns pertaining to the state of welfare of the population in the country; looking at the poverty levels; school dropout levels; accessibility of higher and tertiary education, life expectancy levels, wage levels and all those challenges that are bedeviling this nation.  We can continue to talk about HIV/AIDS but that is not the only ill that is bedeviling this nation.  We have got so many ills.  We have become a nation of problems.  If we are going to declare a national disaster Hon. Speaker, I think everything is a national disaster in this country. We have to declare everything a national disaster. So, in the face of all these challenges, it is important that we note that these challenges are a function of the challenges that we are facing in our economy. All these challenges that we are talking about are merely symptoms. What Hon. Maridadi was outlining here is that there are symptoms of a sick economy that needs to be healed.

Therefore, we expected that when the Head of State was going to speak, he would have spoken to issues like lack of capital inflows in this country. Why is it that we do not have capital, always crying about no foreign currency and no US$ which is our adopted currency? We should be speaking to the bad and inconsistent policies that investors have been complaining about in this nation and say how do we deal with them. We expected issues of low confidence in the economy – how do we deal with issues of low economy and low confidence that is in the economy. We expected the Head of State to talk to the decaying infrastructure in the country as what Hon. Gabbuza was saying.

When in a nation you begin to become a nation where there are cases and complains about natural things that you cannot change, it is a sign that you have got serious problems. When you see a nation complaining about rainfall that it is destroying our infrastructure, it is a sign that mapererwa. You have got no ideas of how you can redress the challenges that you are facing as a nation. We expected a genuine and honest Head of State to speak about a bloated Cabinet that is always facing a huge rate of turn-over which is consuming a huge chunk of our fiscus.

A nation expects a Head of State of speak to issues of uncontrolled appetite and penchant for foreign travels, where you have a Head of State being called a visitor to his nation because week in and week out, he is out of the country. We expect the Head of State when he is speaking to the nation to explain to us why he is always out of the country week in and week out. –[AN HON. MEMBER: Inaudible interjection.] - It is important, do not say ah! He is accountable. Who am I, I am a Zimbabwean and I am the one that is paying for his travels. So, it is important for the Head of State to speak to those issues.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MUTOMBA): May you be

reminded that you are supposed to be addressing the Chair. You need not to answer whatever is coming from the floor.

HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Thank you Hon Speaker. I will abide by your ruling. To take my colleagues back, when I started, I indicated that when the Head of State who is the CEO of a nation is speaking, the nation is supposed to come to a standstill. It is supposed to pay attention and listen because he is the man that is in charge of the nation. Therefore, when he speaks, people are supposed to listen. However, what we have experienced in this nation is that when the Head of State is speaking, everyone carries on with their business because it has become a tradition that when he comes to speak, things that he speaks to are not relevant to the prevailing issues. What are the real issues that people expect the Head of State to speak about?

They expect the Head of State to explain why he is always out of the country instead of attending to the problems that are here. They expect the Head of State to inform the nation about the returns that are coming out of his multiple journeys that he is making each and every week. Hon. Speaker, if the Head of the Nation takes out US$6 million every week going out of the country, the nation needs to know how much he is bringing in by his going out. If we do not speak to those issues, our economy will continue to decline. Our hospitals and companies will continue to be closed. So, Hon. Speaker, we expect the Head of State to...

Hon. Mukupe having stood up again.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Sibanda. Hon. Mukupe,

you were standing up and you have not said anything.

HON. MUKUPE: Yes, it has been withdrawn.

*HON. CHINOTIMBA: On a point of order Mr. Speaker.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: What is your point of order?

*HON. CHINOTIMBA: My point of order Mr. Speaker has been clarified by my Chief Whip, but I wanted to ask how many leaders go out for medical treatment and to seek for sanctions. That money that is exernalised is money that can be used. There are no toilets in Highfields.

HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. There are pertinent issues that we need to attend to as a nation. I know some of my colleagues are so much in love with the person of the current Head of State. Let us not forget that when we are debating, we are not debating looking at an individual. We are debating looking at the institution, the Office of the President because tomorrow it will be Hon. Mukupe who will be President for example. Should we allow him to be taking water across from our country to other countries? – [Laughter.]-

So when I am speaking, I am not speaking to the incumbent. I am speaking to the institution. There are certain critical issues that need to be attended to when the Head of State comes to address Parliament. It is important that he addresses the nation on those issues. We have got the so called Seke Diesel Electricity Plant. For a long time, people have been speaking to it. The electricity that is being generated there is double expensive than electricity that we get from Mozambique and South Africa but no one has attended to it. When I listen to my colleagues, they are busy setting free the culprit who is the Chief Executive Officer of the country, and everyone is saying the President has been busy talking about corruption.

The problem is that the President is talking about corruption. What we need is not people that talk about corruption. What we need are not people that will talk about our problems. We need people in offices who are occupying the one centre of power office to make sure that they take action against the ills that we are facing. Apparently, the Head of State that we have has failed dismally in that area. He has failed dismally. I have talked about issues...

HON. MAONDERA: On a point of order Hon. Speaker.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: What is your point of Order Hon.

Maondera.

HON. MAONDERA: My point of order is that I am surprised to hear

Hon. Nyoni hackling and she is one of the Ministers who rarely comes to Parliament. We want to listen to issues but she is busy hackling and she rarely comes to Parliament.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: No point of order, I did not hear that

Hon. Maondera.

HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Hon. Speaker, with all due respect to the Office of the President, when we call him the Head of State, Head of Government, Commander-in-Chief, First Secretary, Chancellor of all universities and all those titles, those titles do not just go without any expected return. When we give you all those titles, what we expect are results and right now as we speak, corruption is going uncontrolled, the economy is decaying, hospitals have closed, schools have got no teachers and nothing is happening. We want to pay civil servants bonuses with land because the Government, the Head of

State, the Chief Executive Officer has failed. If it was a private company, President Mugabe would have long been fired. He is not supposed to continue to be where he is. He has failed this nation and therefore, the best that he can do like in other countries that have got leadership that have a conscience, that loves the people and not themselves, not selfish leadership, when they fail they say can I give someone an opportunity to do better because I have failed. How long does he want to continue failing? I think it is time that he steps down and give new leadership to take over this country. I thank you.

THE MINISTER OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES AND COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT (HON. NYONI): I move that

the debate do now adjourn.

Motion put and agreed to.

Debate to resume: Tuesday, 21^st March, 2017.

MOTION

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

THE MINISTER OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

AND COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT (HON. NYONI): I move that

Orders of the Day, Numbers 7 to 44 on today’s Order Paper be stood over

until Order of the Day, Number 45 has been disposed of.

Motion put and agreed to.

MOTION

FIRST REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON SMALL AND

MEDIUM ENTERPRISES AND COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT ON

THE OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT AND ECONOMIC

CONTRIBUTIONS OF SMES AND THE INFORMAL SECTOR

Forty-fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the First Report of the Portfolio Committee on Small and Medium Enterprises and

Cooperative Development on the Operational Environment and Economic Contributions of Small and Medium Enterprises and the Informal Sector in Zimbabwe.

Question again proposed.

THE MINISTER OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES AND COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT (HON. NYONI): I would like

to thank the Portfolio Committee on the detailed and informative report on the operational environment and economic contributions of small and medium enterprises and informal sector in Zimbabwe. Indeed, the SME sector has become an engine for economic development in our country given its immense contribution in employment creation and contribution to the GDP of over 60%.

My response focuses on the recommendations that were given in the report. Recommendation No. 6.1: the Ministry of Small and Medium

Enterprises and Cooperative Development should draft a National

Formalisation Strategy with clear incentives to motivate SMEs  to formalise their operations by December 2016.

My Ministry has identified formalisation of the SME sector among other recommendations of the Fin Scope Survey which was in 2012 as of paramount importance to revamp and develop the sector in line with the ZIM ASSET which clearly articulates the importance of MSMEs. Also Labour Force Survey of 2014, highlights that close to 90% MSME business entities are operating informally.

Formalisation is a transformation of an economic unit from noncompliance to compliance. Formalisation will result in the realisation of the following benefits:

1. Broadening of the tax base;
2. Provision of higher quality, better paid and more sustainable jobs;
3. Reinforcement of the social contract between citizens and their state;
4. Strengthening of the reliability of agreements between firms;
5. Building investor confidence especially in joint ventures and in partnerships;
6. Increased formalisation on local enterprises to facilitate deal making and strengthening frameworks for policy advocacy;
7. Improved access business services, formal markets and productive resources such as capital and land;
8. Formalisation may also increase welfare of some marginalised groups by confirming their rights to take advantage of market opportunities and other benefits in the economy;
9. Reduction of the cash economy and provision of more resources for intermediation by the formal financial sector such as banks;
10. Freedom from corruption and embarrassment of the SMEs

In cognisance of that, the Ministry has embarked on formalisation of the SME sector where in collaboration with other stakeholders is in a process of developing the formalisation strategy  of the sector which will avert informality and encourage people to formalise their businesses. The zero draft has since been completed and we are now in the process of coming up with the first draft of the policy.

This formalisation strategy once complete will employ the following strategies to incentivise MSMEs to formaliase:

1. Review of labour laws to incorporate MSMEs;
2. Capacity building of MSMEs and MSMEs associations;
3. Developing simplified and sustainable MSMEs tax systems;
4. Financial inclusion of MSMEs;
5. Simplification of business registration and licensing processes;
6. Provision of appropriate and affordable infrastructure and work space;
7. Development of local, regional and international markets for registered and licenced MSMEs.

Recommendation 6.2:  The Ministry of SMECD should develop a national database of SMEs that are in existence by 2016.

Response

Mr. Speaker Sir, the Ministry is in the process of developing a national database of SMEs which is being funded by the African

Development Bank and the following equipment was purchased in 2016:

1. 150 desktop computers; ii. 108 laptops; iii. 67 printers.

The use of this equipment will enable district officers to capture SME information in their respective districts.  Currently, Tel One is in the process of installing Wide Area Network (WAN) and a consultant has been engaged to develop and install the data base system.  Training of Ministry officials on data base management has commenced on 20^th February, 2017 with three provinces (Mashonaland East, Manicaland and Masvingo) and will be rolled to other provinces.

Recommendation 6.3:  The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development should unlock the BADEA loan facility of US$3 million which was approved by Parliament to recapitalise SMEDCO for the provision of adequate financial resources to foster the growth and development of SMEs sector by December, 2016.

Response

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development is yet to secure the loan from the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) meant for the recapitalisation of SMEDCO.  The major challenge, among others being encountered is associated with the economic sanctions imposed on the country.  However, efforts are underway to recapitalise SMEDCO through the issuance of US10 million Treasury Bonds that were issued by the Reserve Bank of

Zimbabwe last year.

Recommendation 6.4:  Local authorities should plough back 3% revenue collected from the SMEs towards the development of decent workspaces and for the provision of better services to the sector.

Response

The Ministry has continuously engaged local authorities in any new developments and encourages them to plough back part of the revenue generated from SMEs towards the development of infrastructure of SMEs.  In addition, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Hon. P. Chinamasa, in his 2017 Budget Statement also acknowledged that provision of infrastructure for SMEs remains one of the most important features for supporting their businesses.  In that regard, the Minister proposed that Government will be introducing incentives for institutional investors such as pension funds, insurance companies and other private investors, who finance the construction of infrastructure such as market malls/factory shells for SMEs.

Recommendation 6.5:  The Ministry of SMECD in collaboration with ZIMRA and local authorities should hold countrywide programmes on tax policies, by-laws and relevant regulations on a yearly basis.

Response

The Ministry of SMECD in collaboration with ZIMRA has embarked on a programme on tax education countrywide targeting the SMEs and cooperatives.  The programme is aimed at sensitising and educating the SMEs and cooperatives on tax issues as well as encouraging them to be tax compliant through registering with ZIMRA.  A module to that effect has been developed and also a training programme covering all the provinces has been developed.  The tax education training workshops are being funded by ZIMRA and they have since commenced in all provinces.  The programme has a target of registering at least 15 000 SMEs by the end of the first quarter of 2017.

Recommendation 6.6:  ZIMRA and local authorities should establish an SME desk in their respective institutions as a strategy of improving relations with the SME sector by October, 2016.

Response

The Ministry is in consultation with ZIMRA and local authorities where we are encouraging them to establish SME desk as a strategy of improving relations with the SME sector.

Recommendation 6.7:  ZIMRA should establish offices in all districts of the country by December 2017 and should not only be visible in the districts when collecting revenue.

Response

ZIMRA has some regional offices which cover all provinces in the country.  It is hoped that this current exercise will encourage them to open district offices.

Recommendation 6.8 and 6.9:  The Ministry of SMECD must engage the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe for it to be flexible on the types of collateral, maturity periods and interest rates on loans to suit the business models of SMEs by September, 2016.

6.9:  The Ministry of SMECD should liaise with banks so that they are more visible in rural areas by October 2016, for instance, in the form of mobile banks operating at given intervals or coinciding with key events in rural communities such as agricultural marketing seasons.

Response

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, in collaboration with key stakeholders developed the National Financial Inclusion Strategy

(NFIS), which was launched on 11^th March, 2016 by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development.  This is a five year road map defined in the Zimbabwean context as effective use of a wide range of quality, affordable and accessible financial services provided in a fair and transparent manner through formal/regulated entities by all Zimbabweans.  The Ministry is engaging some banks to open branches in rural areas.  I thank you.

                          HON. MANGAMI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I rise to thank the

Minister for this detailed response to the Committee’s response. On behalf of the Committee, we thank you for taking up each recommendation which you are working on as to our Committee’s report. I also want to thank the Hon. Members who contributed to this

Committee report and say that as the Portfolio Committee on Small and Medium Enterprises, and Cooperative Development Hon. Minister. We continue to appreciate your continuous responses to the Committee’s reports and hope that will actually facilitate the smooth development of our rural areas, especially those that are disadvantaged which are actually financially excluded. Mr. Speaker Sir, I now move for the adoption of the report that:

This House takes note of the First Report of the Portfolio

Committee on Small and Medium Enterprises and Cooperative

Development on the Operational Environment and Economic

Contributions of small and Medium Enterprises and the Informal Sector in Zimbabwe. I thank you.

Motion put and agreed to.

MOTION

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

HON. MATUKE: Mr. Speaker Sir, with the leave of the House, I move that we revert back to motion number 35 on the Order Paper.

HON. D. SIBANDA: I second.

Motion put and agreed to.

MOTION

FIRST REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON

HEALTH AND CHILD CARE ON THE DEPLOYMENT, ROLES

AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE VILLAGE HEALTH

WORKERS/CITY HEALTH PROMOTERS IN THE PROVISION OF

PRIMARY HEALTH CARE

Thirty Fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the First

Report of the Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care on the

Deployment, Roles and Responsibilities of the Village Health Workers/

City Health Promoters in the Provision of Primary Health Care in Zimbabwe.

Question again proposed.

HON. CROSS: Thank you Mr. Speaker for this opportunity to address this particular issue this afternoon. We have to recognise Mr. Speaker that this is an extremely important subject. It is a subject which affects the basic health needs of everybody in the country. The first port of call of especially the poor people of Zimbabwe is the village health worker and the primary health care centres. Therefore, I think the shocking nature of this particular report is the revelation to all of us that this particular community of voluntary workers is being badly neglected and abused. 

Mr. Speaker, I think we have to recognise today that this is an extremely important report and one which I hope other Members will debate. I think this report in particular needs a ministerial response. Once we have concluded this report and I hope we can wrap it up quite quickly, I hope that the Minister will then come to the House and give a report on this issue. The first thing I want to address is this question of salaries and allowances, if we can call them that. How on earth can you in all honest pay an individual $14 per month to work as a primary health care agent? Who in his right mind can possibly expect people to perform their roles with that ridiculous amount of money, especially when you hear that they are not even getting that on a regular basis? 

Mr. Speaker, I do not think we can look at a figure less than $100 per month plus, uniforms, equipment and the facilities that are needed to enable them to perform their roles at the village or community level. I will just point out to Members that $100 per month will cost us $14 million. At the moment, we are spending $4 million. That is the aggregate cost of the total cost of these 10 000 primary health care workers in our communities. I do not think that $14 million is a lot of money. It is the kind of money which I think we can find. 

The second thing Mr. Speaker is to understand that the primary health care clinic is the focal point for the operation of this village or community based health care workers. If we do not have enough primary health care clinics that are properly equipped and have the basic infrastructure, and the staff to deal with the next level of demand for health services, then the majority of our people will go without the necessary services that are required. We already have 1 600 primary health care clinics today, all we need is another 400. Again Mr. Speaker, if we made a consented effort as a community and country, we could provide those additional clinics without difficult. 

I believe that if we get together we can make sure that those clinics are properly maintained, have the necessary pharmaceuticals and access to the internet, and power to do the job that they are required to do. In my constituency, I have Tshabalala Clinic which has 12 beds, a gynecological maternity unit and women can have their children there safely. We get the services of a doctor once a week. We have 21 staff members there and serve about 250 patients per day. That is the kind of facility we need in every ward in Zimbabwe. What should happen is that the community health worker should be attached to the clinic and their salary should be part of the budget of the clinic, no matter how the salary is funded. I think we should make a sincere effort to achieve that

The next thing is to make the clinics responsible for supervision and payment of salaries. You cannot have these 10 500 or 14 000 individuals running around the country without supervision or proper assistance and support. The only way you can do that is through the primary health clinics. You cannot do that through administrative offices or the other structures of Government.

The last thing I want to suggest Mr. Speaker, let us get all the agents concerned with this issue together. Let us have a meeting of local authorities attended by the donor agencies and the global fund. The global fund in Zimbabwe is $100 million per year, funded principally by the United States. I am quite certain that if this programme was presented to them in a proper context and situation, they would be prepared to fund this. I am quite certain of that. Let us get the Minister of Health and Child Care and the Minister of Local Government there and have an indaba on this particular issue. Let us sit down as a country and discuss this. Let us put the situation right. I hope that the Chairman of the Committee concerned will pursue this issue with vigor the same way that Hon. Paradza is pursuing with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the dilapidated nature of our foreign missions. 

THE MINISTER OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES AND COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT (HON. S. NYONI): I

move that the debate do now adjourn.

Motion put and agreed to.

Debate to resume: Tuesday, 21^st March, 2017.

On the motion of THE MINISTER OF SMALL AND MEDIUM

ENTERPRISES AND COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT (HON. S.

NYONI), the House adjourned at Seven Minutes past Four o’clock p.m.