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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY HANSARD 16 May 2017 43-64

PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE

Wednesday, 17^th May, 2017

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

PRAYERS

(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. SPEAKER

INVITATION TO THE COMMISSIONING OF TOKWE-MKORSI

DAM

THE HON. SPEAKER:  I have to inform the House that all Hon.

Members are invited by the Hon. Minister of Environment, Water and

Climate to the commissioning of the Tokwe-Mkorsi Dam on 18^th May,

2017 and it will be at 2.00 p.m.  Hon. Members, please note that Parliament is unable to provide fuel coupons and accommodation for this event.

I think there should have been perhaps some better coordination between us and the Ministry so that we could facilitate travel arrangements, but for the moment, those who can afford, please proceed accordingly.

HON. NDUNA:  On a point of order Mr. Speaker Sir.  Even though Parliament cannot provide for all Members of Parliament, is it not prudent for at least Parliament to provide for a certain section of Hon. Members, in particular, those that relate to this infrastructure development so that Parliament is seen also to be serious in that regard to advance the ZIM ASSET cause, Mr. Speaker.  

          THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order!  As I indicated earlier on,

last minute arrangements can be very futile.  I think in future, we will coordinate better with the responsible Ministry so that we can come to some understanding as to the logistics.

          *HON. CHINOTIMBA: Thank you Mr. Speaker.  My point of

order is on privilege.  I rise to say, as Parliament, we should thank the issue of Command Agriculture – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible

interjections.] –

          THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order!  I think it is really a point

of privilege.  So, I give you the floor.  Please be brief because this is your Question Time.

          *HON. CHINOTIMBA: Thank you Mr. Speaker.  As Members

of Parliament, God blessed us with enough rains and people were able to produce a lot or crops through Command Agriculture.  As Parliament, we would like to support such initiatives.  We would like to thank the Minister and the Vice President.  They should remain steadfast so that we continue to have a good harvest.  If we have bumper harvests, we will not be perpetually bothering Minister Mupfumira for food support.

If possible, these people should be promoted.  I thank you.

             *HON. ZWIZWAI: Thank you Mr. Speaker.  I rise on a point of

correction.  As Parliament, we are not here to belittle the President.  He is the one who initiated the Command Agriculture.  We do not accept ZANU PF Factions to come here to compete and praise those that are in the succession race.  Mr. Speaker, this House is not an arena for factions that are in the succession race.  Command Agriculture was initiated by His Excellency, the President Cde. R. G. Mugabe.  If you want to thank, you should thank him.  I thank you. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –

          THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order! By the door there.  Hon. Zwizwai, I think the correction is accepted but you read too much and gone further to talk about factions.  I do not think Hon. Chinotimba was speaking from that position. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Order, order!  Hon. Members, I shall not allow some points of order because this is time for your questions.   I think I have been a bit unprocedural, I did not ask for any notices of motions.  Are there any notices of motions?  If there are none, we can proceed.

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

          +HON. NKOMO: Thank you Mr. Speaker.  My question is a

point of privileges….

          THE HON. SPEAKER: Go straight to your question.  Where is it going?

            +HON. MALAKI NKOMO: What I wanted to ask Hon. Speaker

is, some of us would want to hear what is being said in Parliament…

          +THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Member please sit down.  All of

you sit down.  Once I say that ask your question, Hon. Nkomo, please go straight and ask a question that is directed to the Hon. Minister who is right here.  Can you go ahead and ask your question?

            +HON. MALAKI NKOMO: The question I wanted to ask is that

we would want to hear what is being said in Parliament, however, because of the noise, some of us end up not hearing anything.  Is it not possible for something to be done concerning this issue, that is where my question is.

          +THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Member, I have heard you, we

will do something about it.

          +HON. MLILO: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  I would like to direct my question to the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, Hon. Kasukuwere.

          Hon. Zindi having stood up. 

          THE HON. SPEAKER:  Hon. Member, please take your seat.

          HON. ZINDI:  Suddenly, Hon. Samukange has taken my seat –

[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] -

          +HON. MLILO:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  I want to direct my question to the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing.  I would like to know what Government policy is concerning implementing Government policies in small towns.  What makes me ask this question is that in the past we asked what Government policy says concerning the employment of people by

Government in smaller towns.  However, the answer that the Hon. Member gave us concerning that policy is not what is actually taking place on the ground.  What happens is that different councillors in different towns end up hiring their own people from their political parties. That is not what Government policy says.  I thank you.

          *THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC

WORKS AND NATIONAL HOUSING (HON. KASUKUWERE):

Thank you Mr. Speaker, I have heard him – [AN HON. MEMBER:

Minister, please answer in Ndebele.] -  I have understood him but I cannot answer in Ndebele.

          THE HON. SPEAKER: Please, go ahead Minister.

          *HON. KASUKUWERE: Thank you Mr. Speaker and I thank

Hon. Mlilo for his question on council workers. I will start with the Constitution, it is against discrimination.  If he has information as regards discriminatory tendencies, it will be good for him to put it in writing so that we can look into it.  No one can be denied employment as a result of their political affiliation; we need full information so that we can investigate the issue.  I thank you Mr. Speaker.

          +HON. MLILO: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  I would like to ask the Minister, what has Government done to make sure that there are people from his Ministry who are send to ensure that Government policies are followed on the ground.

          *HON. KASUKUWERE: Speech not recorded due to technical

fault. 

+HON. MUNENGAMI: Thank you Hon. Speaker. My question

to the Minister is, he said that the Constitution does not discriminate on partisan grounds when employing.  Why is it that your Ministry, when council has employed someone capable of his duties - like in the case of the Town Clerk of Harare, why did you bar the employment of the Town Clerk opting for someone from your political party ZANU PF?  Please clarify on that.

*THE HON. SPEAKER:  The Hon. Minister said if you have incidents that are occurring, as MPs, you must report to his office.

HON. MUNENGAMI: These are factual things and he is actually very much aware that at one time City of Harare employed a Town Clerk which he as a Minister refused to accept. So that is the same question which I am asking him – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible

interjections.] –

THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, I think he is very clear. You are not debating an individual, we are talking of policy issues.  All Members of Parliament who have a complaint and can actually confirm, approach the Ministry with those facts – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –

HON. P. D. SIBANDA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. My supplementary question to the Hon. Minister pertaining to the question asked by Hon. Mlilo which is a question relating to the power..

THE HON. SPEAKER:  Ask your question please.

HON. P. D. SIBANDA:  Hon. Speaker, my supplementary question to the Hon. Minister is that issues of employment are some of the issues that are given to the province and autonomous status of local authorities.  Your response was such that you are able to intervene...

THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, you do not debate the reply; you ask a supplementary question, full stop.

HON. P. D. SIBANDA:  Hon. Minister, by interfering in the issues of how local authorities employ people especially those of low grades...

THE HON. SPEAKER:  Hon. Member, ask your supplementary

question.

HON. P. D. SIBANDA:  That is what I am asking Hon. Speaker.

THE HON. SPEAKER:  No, you are making a statement. Ask your question.

HON. P. D. SIBANDA:  Hon. Speaker, my supplementary question to the Hon. Minister is - will your Ministrynot be interfering with the province of local authorities by interfering with issues of employment especially of junior employees in local authorities as asked by my colleague?  I thank you.

HON. KASUKUWERE:  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Hon. Member for his question and just to remind him that the Urban Councils Act guide the operations of our local authorities in the country and the councils are a creature of our legislation.  As Minister, I have a responsibility to ensure that all that happens in the local authorities is in terms of the law; in terms of employment and all other areas…..

          THE HON. SPEAKER:  Order, order.  Hon. Mashayamombe,

Hon. Mashayamombe, if you are not interested in the debate you can leave the House.

          HON. KASUKUWERE:  In other words Mr. Speaker, councils

are not a state within a state. We are governed by laws which give the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing the authority to superintend and supervise activities of local authorities and that is a broad responsibility.  Whatever we do is in terms of the law.

Local authorities are not autonomous or states within the country of Zimbabwe.

          HON. NYAMUPINGA:  On a point of order Mr. Speaker.

Considering that we only have a few women in this House, we feel that when they stand up and you recognise three male Members of

Parliament forgetting your female Members of Parliament – we feel that gender parity is not taking place –[HON. MEMBERS:  Hear, hear.] -

          THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order, order! This is not an arena for popular posturing – [HON. MEMBERS:  Aaaaaaaah.] –When I looked – [HON. MEMBERS:  Aaaaaaaah.] – Order, order! Those who asked supplementary questions were all male; the majority of them on my left.  You do not expect me to wait until a female Member of Parliament rises.  So, you have to open your eyes and see that there is someone who has not been recognised then your observation is justified but the points of order that arose came from male Hon. Members.

          HON. DR. CHIMEDZA: My question is directed to the Minister of Finance and Economic Development…

          HON. ZINDI:  On a point of order…

          THE HON. SPEAKER:  I will come to you.

            HON. ZINDI:  But it is in relation to what Hon. Nyamupinga has

just raised.

          THE HON. SPEAKER:  I will come to you.

HON. DR. CHIMEDZA: My question is directed to the Minister of Finance and Economic Development but seeing that he is not here and it is related to public service, I will direct it to the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Services.

Money is deducted from civil servants’ salaries every month for their medical aid.  From the last time we checked, most of the money had not been remitted.  Public Service Medical Aid Society is owed almost $90 million by Government.  As a result, service providers to Public Service are owed over a $150 million.  Hospitals and pharmacies have been closed and laboratories are struggling.  We are losing jobs in that sector and we are creating jobs for Indians.  People are now moving to India because we are starving our own system with the money that we owe. When are we going to settle the bill for Premier Service Medical Aid Society so that we capacitate them to pay service providers and then we bring our private health system up to scratch?

THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL SERVICES (HON. MUPFUMIRA): I would like to thank

the Hon. Member for a very good observation and question.

However, my Ministry is not responsible for remittance of payments to service providers.  I will follow up the issue with the Minister of Finance and Economic Development to find out what the latest status is on Premier Service Medical Aid Society.

HON. MPARIWA: With all due respect Hon. Speaker, I am not contesting what you have said but I think when Hon. Nyamupinga stood up; she was not posturing.  I did not see her heels.  She was standing even obstructed by other members.  Just to put the record straight, when we rise in Parliament to speak on behalf of the people, we present women, the elderly and families.  As women, you must take us seriously.  It is offensive to say the least.  I thank you – [HON.

MEMBERS:  Hear, hear.] -

THE HON. SPEAKER:  Order, order, order! Order! Order!

Order! Order!  Hon. Chimedza.

HON. DR. CHIMEDZA: My apologies Mr. Speaker.

THE HON. SPEAKER:  Thank you. Hon Mpariwa, if the Hon.

Speaker’s language was a bit harsh, I apologise.

HON. DR. CHIMEDZA: I directed the question to the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Services because the employees are under this Ministry. As such, I think the Minister should be at the pulse of what is happening with this issue.  If the money is being paid, you should have discussed with the Minister of Finance and Economic Development.  It should concern you and we need some sort of idea that this thing is on the radar of both Ministers and they are working on it.

          THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND

SOCIAL SERVICES (HON. MUPFUMIRA):  With all due respect

Mr. Speaker, the question was directed to the Minister of Finance and Economic Development and I gave the facts as I know them.  The issue of Premier Medical Service – it is not the only service provider that has not been paid.  We are aware of the current liquidity challenges and I am not here to say it will be today or tomorrow.  I have other equally important issues which require the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, hence I have said I will follow through to find out the latest status on the issue.

*HON. NYAMUPINGA:  Thank you Mr. Speaker, your apology

is accepted.  My question is directed to the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Services Hon. Mupfumira.  I want to find out if as Government you are also looking into the pensions that people receive from NSSA upon reaching 60 years.  We are aware that companies are shutting down when workers are 40 or 50 years of age, and those that are at 50 are no longer employable; are they going to wait for another 10 years before they receive their pension and in the meantime the children are not going to school and they have nothing to feed the children with.  Are you also going to look at the revision of pensionable age to 60 years so that they be reduced?  Thank you Mr. Speaker.

          *THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL SERVICES (HON. MUPFUMIRA):  Thank you Mr.

Speaker and I thank the Hon. Member for her question and comments.  Firstly, we are very much aware that the amounts received by people on pension are meagre and we are working to ensure that within the next few months, they receive reasonable amounts.

Secondly Mr. Speaker, on the issue of age, this should be looked into holistically and not just to NSSA or that we should reduce the pensionable age from 60 for 50; we will bring that to Parliament.  We will bring in documentation that would determine the pensionable age of workers whether it is 50 years or whether it is going to be 60 or 70 years before Parliament for its consideration. At the moment however, we are working with what is legally in the law.  I thank you.

          *HON. MATAMBANADZO:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  –

[HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.]-  May I be heard in silence please?  Thank you for the time that you have given me to ask my supplementary question to the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Services on the question that was posed.  I wanted to find out that, when you look into the issue of pensionable age, it might take a bit of time.  I was of the belief that those that have not yet reached the pensionable age and are still capable of working, can you not give them loans from your bank so that they can be able to do their projects and earn their pension.  Is that not possible?

THE HON. SPEAKER:  Order, order.   Hon. Matambanadzo,

please ask a question.

          *HON. MATAMBANADZO: I had already given my

supplementary question.  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  My question to the Hon. Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Services is that, is it not possible that those that are younger and who have been retrenched or are no longer employed as a result of the closure of their companies and have been pension contributors but have not yet reached the pensionable age; can they not be given loans from the NSSA Bank that you recently opened so that they can start projects?  By so doing, you will be supporting indigenisation.  I thank you.

          *HON. MUPFUMIRA:  Thank you Mr. Speaker. I thank the Hon.

Member for the question.  The Hon. Member’s suggestion is good.  As NSSA, we have a department that is responsible for disbursing loans.  They go through small to medium enterprises and we have set aside funds for retrenchees in that regard, they are entitled to loans so that they can come up with projects that are legal.  Anyone can go and open an account at the National Building Society, it is legal.  We have set aside some funding so that they can start their own projects as retrenchees.  I thank you.

          *HON. ZINDI: Thank you Mr. Speaker.  I want to ask the

Minister whether it is a requirement that I am supposed to go under the banner of SMEs or that as a retrenchee in my own right, I should simply go there and access a loan without any other conditions or strings attached.  Is it conditional I should only go through SMEs?  That is what I want the Minister to explain because it is my right as a worker.

          *HON. MUPFUMIRA:  Thank you Mr. Speaker, the issue here is

that there are experts and several Government departments that are involved. We have given money to people that deal with SMEs. There are processes which need to be followed so as to ensure that the loans that are disbursed can be serviced. We are not a financial institution and therefore, we will give SEDCO. They are the experts that disburse that amount. Go through SEDCO and access loans. They look at the viability of your project because there are others that were given loans for projects but they never repaid the loans. It is up to you to go and apply and be able to access these loans. I thank you.

          HON. ZINDI: Hon. Speaker, I rise to seek clarification arising from the response of the Minister. I immediately got worried to know that, if I am to go by the response of the Minister, they do not have the capacity to be able to loan people who should access loans from the bank. I was of the opinion that they have established a bank which has got the capacity to be able to disburse and give loans to whoever wants to access the loans from the National Building Society. can I have clarification and confirmation that they do not have the capacity to loan, hence to give loans through SMEs?

          HON. MUPFUMIRA:  Thank you Mr. Speaker. I think I was

very clear in my earlier response. We have the bank which I said anybody can go and loan from the bank. I did not say they are not capable but I said NSSA, as an institution does not give loans to individuals. The bank is there and anybody is allowed to go and get a loan depending on certain credit checks which will be done but there is a special fund for retrenchment which is not the NBS. As far as the bank is concerned, anyone is free to go and access loans if they so wish, anybody.

          *HON. CHIBAYA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I would want to

thank the Minister for her responses. Minister, you said you are looking at increasing the $60. My question is what levels are you going to be looking at and when?

            *HON. MUPFUMIRA: I want to thank the Hon. Member for the

question. My response is that the current board’s objective is that we should give people a livable pension. Secondly, we should improve the benefits that we are giving to the people. I am happy to announce that from 1^st April, 2017 we started on funeral benefits for members and whether pensioners. Apart from the $300 that was being disbursed as funeral benefit, we are now going to be looking at the provision of a casket, transport and all the requirements. If you already had a policy, $500 is immediately disbursed as cash over and above the $300 that they were being given. It is good enough.

          On the issue of money, I made a statement earlier on that we have to increase to a livable pension. It is a process and not an overnight event. NSSA has been around for years and the $60 was the figure. There is an actuarial evaluation process which will be through by June, that will show us where we will get to. We are doing an evaluation and I am hoping certainly by September, 2017 we should have not less than $100. End of the year, I am saying at least $150. My wish is that we keep on increasing the livable pension of our pensioners. Already, the funeral benefit is functional so we have people’s interests at heart, that is why you saw us changing things in all the areas that NSSA has investments. We have been following them up. We do not want people to pay extra in contributions but they must be paid more.

          The National Health Insurance that is being talked about, we want to introduce it with the existing funds, not to have members contributing more. If we manage it properly, we should be able to introduce the National Health Insurance. Thank you Mr. Speaker and I hope I am

clear.

            *HON. MUZONDIWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is

directed to the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development. Minister, what plans do you have to give grants to students especially university and college students?

          THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY

EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

(HON. DR. GANDAWA): I thank the Hon. Member for such a good question. At the moment Government has fiscal constraints and we can, therefore, not reinstate the granting of grants to the education sector students in conjunction with the Reserve Bank, we are looking at ways to come up with loans but we cannot disburse grants at the moment. We are looking forward to disbursing loans. The RBZ has already advertised for financiers that can give such loans at low premiums so that students can be able to pay for their tuition and accommodation fees. I thank you Mr. Speaker.

          THE HON. SPEAKER: It has been brought to my attention by

Hon. Gonese that I did not announce the names of the Hon. Ministers who sought leave of absence in terms of our Standing Orders. Hon.

Members, the Hon. Ministers are as follows:

Hon. Dr. Dokora, Hon. Mandiwanzira, Hon. Mabuwa, Hon. T.

Muzenda, Hon. Prof – [ HON. ZWIZWAI:  The list is bogus Mr. Speaker because Hon. Mabuwa is here. It is a rigged list.] – Order, order.  Order please, I have not finished.  I think Hon. Mabuwa must be commended.  She was supposed to have travelled, unfortunately, because of certain circumstances, she has to travel next week.  Inspite of having advised us, she decided to be here in Parliament, we commend that – [HON. MEMBERS:Hear, hear.] –

Can I proceed?  The next one is Hon. Prof. Moyo, Hon. Mushowe,

Hon. Mlambo, Hon. A. Ndhlovu, Hon. A. Damasane, Hon. Eng.

Madanha and Hon. Mguni.

HON. GONESE:  Thank you Mr. Speaker.  I rise on a matter of privilege arising from that announcement. Over time, we have had these announcements being made of the Hon. Ministers who would have sought leave of absence.  The Hon. Speaker is aware that in terms of our Standing Orders, there is a specific provision in terms of Standing Order No. 63, whereby those Members who have not sought leave are supposed to be charged with contempt of Parliament.  I know Mr. Speaker, this has been raised before in this august House, but I think that it has now taken ordinately long period of time without any specific action being taken.  The Chair has advised us that His Excellency, the President has been informed about this problem.

We have also been given assurance by the Hon. Vice President, who is the Leader of Government business that he advised Ministers at

Cabinet about the need for them to attend Parliament in compliance with Section 107 of our Constitution.  However Mr. Speaker, I believe that time has now come for Parliament to show its teeth.  We have got the powers enshrined in our Standing Orders and I believe that mechanisms must be put in place.  At this point in time, I am suggesting that a

Privileges Committee be set up in terms of which all those truant Ministers who have not been seeking the leave of the Speaker, who have not been seeking leave of absence, can be brought to account.  They can be given an opportunity to explain themselves and they have to appear before that privileges committee which will then investigate and interrogate the issues so that those who are to be found guilty can be punished appropriately as provided for in terms of the Standing Orders.  That is my motion Mr. Speaker that we set up a privileges committee so that this committee can interrogate.  The Ministers can explain themselves as to why they have not been seeking the leave of absence –

[HON. MEMBERS:Hear, hear.] –

THE HON. SPEAKER:  Order, order.  In addition, my apologies.

The two Vice Presidents and Hon. Mumbengegwi are with the visiting King.  It could be perennial but as foreign Minister, he travels a lot.  The second aspect I want to address myself to is what Hon. Gonese has raised.  I think we cannot start by constituting a committee now.  We need to do some administrative audit and identify those that need to be interrogated.  To suggest a privileges committee now, I do not think it is proper.

*HON. MUTSEYAMI:  Thank you Hon. Speaker and Good Afternoon.  My supplementary question is, when the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education responded, he said that plans are underway for students to access loans so that they can go to school because Government cannot come up with grants.  If one is given a loan, once you have used the loan, you should repay it.  Once these students have been granted the loans and they go to school, is there a waiver to the period that they need to repay the loan after completion of their studies because one can go to school, be educated, complete their studies but may even reach the retirement age before they are employed.  Are they going to be secured in terms of their loan repayments after they would have acquired their degrees and after the Government would have created the 2.2 million jobs?  Is there any such plans?

*HON. DR. GANDAWA:  Thank you Mr. Speaker.  I thank the Hon. Member for such a pertinent question.  As I have earlier on said, the RBZ and the Ministry of Finance are working on the modalities so that we can have discussions with financiers so that the students can be assisted in that regard at tertiary institutions and colleges.  This is still under consideration.  Government and financiers are going to come up with an agreement that will be user friendly to the students upon their attaining their degrees and once they attain employment.  The modalities are going to be worked out and it is work in progress.  The RBZ advertised two days ago.  I take his points he has given us and the ideas to look into the situation and how best we assist them.  We accept the

Hon. Member’s contribution so that it becomes easier for both the country and our students.  I thank you.

*HON. MACHINGURA: Thank you Mr. Speaker.  Our spirits have been lifted when the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education said the loans could be accessed in August this year.  I would like to find out from the Hon. Minister if that will still be possible, the timelines for the disbursements of loans in August this year are they likely to be achieved?  I thank you.

   *HON. DR. GANDAWA:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  I thank the Hon. Member for the question.  Our plans with the Ministry of Finance and the RBZ, we hope that when the September semester starts, we would want to be in a position to be disbursing these funds. So we hit the ground  running this last year so that the students can access these loans in September.  I thank you Madam Speaker.

HON. KHUPE:  Thank you Madam Speaker...

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Order Hon. Members.  Hon.

Members at the front bench, the consultations are making noise.  Please, the questions are coming to the Ministers and yet you are talking to the Ministers.  How do they hear what is being asked?

HON. KHUPE:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  My question is directed to the Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce.  Madam Speaker, the cash crisis has become more defined and bond notes have added to that crisis.  The business community is the hardest hit because they are failing to pay their foreign suppliers, resulting in the majority of them shutting down.  What is the Ministry doing in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and the Reserve Bank to make sure that businesses have access to foreign currency because theoretically, right now as we speak, bank accounts reflect that there is money when in actual fact the money is not there.  So, what is Government doing to make sure that businesses have access to foreign currency?  At the same time, it is not clear in what currency the money is, whether it is in bond notes or United States Dollars.  So, I would like to know what the Ministry is doing in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and the Reserve Bank Governor to see to it that businesses have access to foreign currency so that they are able to pay for their foreign supplies.  I thank you.

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE (HON. MABUWA):  Thank you Madam Speaker.  I

would like to thank the Hon. Member for asking this very important question regarding shortage of foreign currency in our nostro accounts as we acquire raw material and equipment.  I would like to inform the House that there is a standing committee that has been created in the Ministry and it is spearheaded by the Ministry of Finance and Economic

Development...

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Hon. Mukwangwariwa, may

you please leave the House.

HON. ZWIZWAI:  Go out!

Hon. Mukwangwariwa walked out of the House.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Hon. Zwizwai, you can as

well go out – [Laughter.]-

HON. MABUWA:  That special committee is responsible for liaising and getting information from industries on a case by case basis and what we did is we used to meet weekly, but now the Committee is meeting twice a week to make sure that we facilitate the prioritisation and payment of foreign acquired raw material, as well as the acquisition of equipment.

This Committee is also responsible for the implementation of Statutory Instrument Number 6 which talks to the wavering of duty and the wavering of all duties that are due on equipment supplies.

*HON. ADV. CHAMISA:  Thank you Madam Speaker for such a good answer to such a good question that was posed by Vice President Khupe.  From what we saw written by the IMF a few weeks ago...

*HON. MANDIPAKA:  I seek clarification from Hon. Advocate

Chamisa.  He said the Vice President and not the Vice President of the MDC.  He should state it in full – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjection.]-

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Order Hon. Members.  Hon.

Zwizwai, you have got to respect yourself.

*HON. ADV. CHAMISA:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  I withdraw my statement and clarify.  I thank you Hon. Mandipaka for the clarity that you seek - the good question that was posed by the Vice President of the outgoing Prime Minister of the Inclusive Government who is Hon. Thokozani Khupe.  My question is that the IMF has talked about a lot of issues in terms of our economy and it is said that it is has shown that our economy was in the doldrums or that the economic situation was now bad, especially the lack of cash in the banks and that pensioners are having difficulties in accessing their money.

My question is as a result of what the IMF has said, Madam Speaker, as Government, what are we doing about it to rectify the problems that were raised?

*HON. MUPFUMI:  On a point of order Madam Speaker.  May

he please ask the question instead of giving us a lecture.  I thank you.

*HON. ADV. CHAMISA:  I was saying, based on what the IMF

said, what are we doing about it as a country to correct the issue that shows that our economy has declined?  It has resulted in the suffering of the majority of the people.  Teachers are suffering and nurses are suffering.  What can we do in terms of the business and the economy?  I thank you.

* HON. MABUWA:  Thank you for the question that has been asked by the Hon. Member.  It is a pertinent question which is a follow up with regards to the steps the Government can take.  Maybe he read about the opinion of the International Monetary Fund which expresses their view point.

The IMF, throughout the years, has been known as an expert and when they give expert evidence the world listens.  Once the world listens, what happens is that it is followed and it is accepted that this is the state in which our economy is in.  It may be something that may bother each and every country that the IMF has given their expert opinion on.  It is based on their expertise and they gave their expertise as regards each country.  The interpretation that we derive from their opinion is applied according to our own circumstances.  It increases our country risk factor resulting in us carrying out environmental scanning for our country to come up with measures.

We have a relationship that we are mending with the IMF and the same is being done for the World Bank.  We are doing this to mitigate our country’s risk factors, go further and look at how best we can do and we then can decide to also give our own side of view and ask them to check our records to see what is happening.  We will come up with measures to look into issues that would have been raised by the IMF.

          We will also look at our relationship as Africa and see what we should do to come up with mitigatory strategies, hence you then find out that we will come here in Parliament and request that Zimbabwe be allowed to be a member of Africa Trade Insurance.  These are measures that we are taking to mitigate our country risk factors so that Zimbabwe is seen to be doing something when it experiences such issues.  We also revive our relationship with Afrexim Bank as well as the PTA bank, which is now the Trade and Investment Bank and other banks that are in Africa. They then can go and present our case which tends to mitigate the reports by the IMF which says that our financial sector has gone down so that we can have an A rating for financial sector so that we use other means to access.  I thank you.

             *HON. MASHAYAMOMBE: Thank you Madam Speaker.  My

question is directed to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural?

Development.  Hon. Minister, what is Government policy as regards people that are involved in road accidents and destroy the infrastructure.

They also destroy bridges and solar lights in the cities.  I thank you.

          THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND

INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. GUMBO):

Thank you Madam Speaker.  I would like to thank Hon. Mashayamombe for his pertinent question.  I cannot give a response on this question.  I request him to put the question in writing so that as an Hon. Member, he should be given a satisfactory answer.  It needs to be researched so that I can eliminate operating in the dark.  I thank you.

           *HON. KAZEMBE: Thank you Madam Speaker.  My question is

directed to the Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development, regarding the issue of the Brazil equipment.  There are people who were given this equipment more than a year ago, because it was not sufficiently delivered and there were some parts that were missing.  What is Government policy as regards repayment for such equipment?  When are such people expected to repay for this equipment because when it was delivered, it was not complete.  I thank you.

          THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, MECHANISATION

AND IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. MADE): Madam

Speaker, I would like to thank the Hon. Member and really plead that he puts the question in writing so that I deal with the very specific areas.

            *HON. MASHONGANYIKA: Thank you Madam Speaker.  My

question is directed to the Minister of Primary Education - [HON.

MEMBERS: Haapo!]-

             THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order! Do you not see

that the noise that we make waste a lot of time?  Let me address her, not yourselves.

             *HON. MASHONGANYIKA: Let me direct the question to the

Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development.  My question is, what is Government policy as regards our Government schools where children are not paying school fees because they are failing to access cash?  This is causing your new curriculum….

            *THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: May he not answer.  Let me

advise you on that point Hon. Member.  Please put your question in written form.  If you want an oral answer, you can wait for next week.

Thank you.

          HON. D. SIBANDA: Thank you Madam Speaker.  My question is

directed to the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Services.

Is it Government policy or is it in the Ministry’s policies that board members are removed from the board because they belong to certain organizations?  The reason why I am asking this question is because of the ZCTU President who is being removed from the NSSA Board.  Why is he being removed from the NSSA Board?

          THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND

SOCIAL SERVICES (HON. MUPFUMIRA): Thank you Madam

Speaker.  I would like to thank the Hon. Member for the question.  It is

Government policy that boards are appointed and removed by a

Minister.  It is also the NSSA Act that the board is tripartite; workers, employers and Government.  It is also normal board requirements that confidentiality is kept within a board.

          In terms of the Act, if a member carries acts of misconduct, the Minister can remove the member.  It is not our policy to discriminate against any trade union.  If we remove any member, we will request that particular organisation to give us new names, which is the normal procedure and that is what we will do.  I thank you.

          HON. D. SIBANDA: Thank you very much Madam Speaker.  I

would like the Minister to clarify and shed more light; does it mean that the ZCTU President who is being removed committed a misconduct?

          THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Sibanda, that is too

personal and it is not a policy question.  Order, Hon. Members. I was explaining to Hon. Sibanda that, it is too personal. If you need something of that nature, you can put the question in written form so that you get an explanation.

          HON. ADV. CHAMISA: My supplementary question has to do

with the rights that are in the Constitution, particularly Section 65 (2), that trade union leaders are supposed to be protected.  This is not just a constitutional right but it is also a right that flows from ILO statutes that we are part to as member countries.   Are we not violating the rights of a trade union leader who is legitimately exercising his responsibilities in terms of the law?

          THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Are we not coming to the

same question? – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Order Hon. Members, can we have order please, the Minister is answering.

          HON. MUPFUMIRA: Thank you Madam Speaker.  I want to

thank the Hon. Member.  A board appointment is not an employment. There are certain requirements, rules and regulations and norms which are expected of any board member – [AN HON. MEMBER: Which are

those?] –

          THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Order.

          HON. MUPFUMIRA:  If a board member carries acts of

misconduct, if he does not work well within the board, the Minister is at liberty to remove the board member.  It is not employment. ILO - we are talking about employment.  Boards are at the pleasure of whoever the appointing authorities is, so I am not talking about – [HON.

MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –

          THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order Hon. Members.

          *HON. MUPFUMIRA:  We are not talking about people who are working Hon. Speaker – [HON. ZWIZWAI: Imimi Minister maka appointwa.] – kunemitemo.

          THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Zwizwai, order.

          *HON. MUPFUMIRA: There are certain laws that need to be

followed. In this House, you send people that are misbehaving out of the House.  If the people do not behave in formal etiquette, we can dismiss them.  I like all my trade unions and we like people that conform to corporate governance norms and ethics. This is not a job where you can be employed to be a board member.

            Questions with Notice were interrupted by THE HON. DEPUTY

SPEAKER in terms of Standing Order No. 64. – [HON. MEMBERS:

Inaudible interjections.] –

          THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Order, Hon. Members can

you please take your seats, I am giving an order and if I call for order, I will be referring to you all to take your seats.

 HON. ZINDI: I move that time for Questions Without Notice be extended.

          HON. MUKWANGWARIWA: I object.

          THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Someone is objecting – [AN. HON. ZWIZWAI: Hazvigone kuti munhu wamadzinga muHouse ouya oobjecta.] – Hon. Zwizwai, you do not know why I send him outside.

          HON. D. SIBANDA:  On a point of order Madam Speaker.

          THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  No, no.

HON. D. SIBANDA: Some of these members have got nothing to say. They have not even asked one question. He does not represent anyone in this House.  He has not even bothered himself to ask even one question.  That is why he is always objecting, hapana kana mubvunzo one waunobvunza iwewe. Kudhara wanzi buda panze, he has not even said a thing in this House.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Can we have order Hon. Chief Whip – [HON. GONESE:  Iye munhu wamadzinga uyu.] – Yes, I ordered him to come back – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible

interjections.] –

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE

HON. GONESE:  On a matter of privilege Madam Speaker.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is the matter of

privilege?

HON. GONESE:  The matter of privilege arises from the fact –

[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –  THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order.

HON. GONESE:  The matter of privilege arises from the fact that

– [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Order Hon. Members.

HON. GONESE:  I had said the matter of privilege rises from the fact that you had specifically nominated Hon. Members, I think it was Hon. Masuku, Hon. Tshuma, you had nominated them that they were going to ask questions.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Hon. Member,

HON. GONESE:  I am just raising it Madam Speaker.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Member, I think you are

just delaying us. I had nominated them but I cannot extend the time when the time is over.  No, we cannot have that.  Hon. Gonese, why are you doing that? – [AN. HON. MEMBER: Kupolling station vanovhara pane munhu wekupedzisira nyangwe 7 dzachaya.] – Are we at a polling station?  – [AN. HON. MEMBER: Ko vanhu varikuiteiko apo?] –

Order Hon. Members, what are you doing there?  Hon. Members who are not Ministers, please leave the front bench.  I am asking you  those who are not Ministers, please leave the front bench, you are confusing people here.  That is too much noise. How can we proceed with business of the House? – [HON. MLISWA: Inaudible interjection.] – Hon. Mliswa, you see what is happening there?

HON. GONESE:  Madam Speaker on deferring question 1, I just want to raise an issue – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – but this time listen to me.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Hon. Gonese, order please!  HON. GONESE:  But Madam Speaker, I have a point.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Gonese, I have made a ruling, you cannot just speak – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible

interjections.] –

HON. GONESE: Thank you very much Madam Speaker.  I just

wanted to raise the point that this question was deferred since the 15^th of

March which means to say that it has been on the Order...

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Which one?

HON. GONESE:  Question No. 1.  If you look at the time when it was raised, it was deferred since the 15^th of March and it has been continuously deferred.  You are aware Madam Speaker that in respect of Written Questions, even if the relevant Minister is not here, the Ministry officials can prepare a written response because it is still on notice.  Last week Hon. Chidhakwa came to read answers on behalf of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.  So, that is the point that I am raising that we should not have questions which take more than two months before they are responded to because they can be submitted as Written Answers to Questions with Notice and so, the Minister could have delegated another Minister to respond.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  You have got a very valid point but I think last time when Hon. Chidhakwa was here, the Hon.

Member was not in that time, this is what happened  – [HON.

MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – No, it is okay, I take your point.

– [AN. HON. MEMBER: Next time musatanga kuattaka vanhu Madam

Speaker.] – You cannot just stand up and start talking whilst I am in the

Chair.  – [HON. MUPFUMI: Inaudible interjection.] –

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Hon. Mupfumi, this is why I

am asking those who are not Ministers not to sit there – [HON.

MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –

          HON. MLISWA:  On a point of order. It is quite sad that we attack the Executive for not being here to respond, but there are Members of Parliament who are responsible for the questions on the

Order Paper who are not here.  They equally have not asked for leave.

We cannot continue like this.  They do not take this House seriously and I think with due respect, Minister Kasukuwere is here to respond to these questions.  It is equally important for you as the Chair to try and zero in on these Ministers, especially those from ZANU PF who only appear when there are functions.

          THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Thank you Hon. Mliswa.

Hon. Mliswa has a valid point of order, especially those on my right, you will have to respect the House and also support the Ministers.

CONSTRUCTION OF MUPFURE, NYAGAMBU, DZUMBUNU

AND MARIRANGWE BRIDGES IN MHONDORO-MUBAIRA

CONSTITUENCY

26. HON. GANGARAHWE asked the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development to indicate when the Ministry would construct Mupfure, Nyagambu, Dzumbunu and Marirangwe bridges along skyline road in Mhondoro – Mubaira Constituency which have been rendered impassable by the heavy rains received this year and in view of the fact that it was indicated in January, 2017 that they would be reconstructed under emergency funding and that a team of engineers from the Ministry has already been sent to assess Mupfure and

Nyagambu bridges and a Bill of Quantities.

THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND

INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. GUMBO):

Mr. Speaker Sir, the Mupfure, Nyagambu, Dzumbunu and Marirangwe

Bridges along Skyline-Mubaira road are going to be attended to in the second phase of the emergency road works programme.

The emergency works were categorized into phases according to the urgency and to enable Government to harness the funding that is required to carry out the works.  The most urgent work formed phase 1 (60 days) and this phase is now almost halfway through.  As soon as this is completed, funding will be availed for the second phase.  The bridge repairs will be done in this second phase over a period of 180 days.  I thank you.

RESUMPTION OF ROAD CONSTRUCTION IN MHONDORO-

MUBAIRA CONSTITUENCY

27. HON. GANGARAHWE asked the Minister of Transport and

Infrastructural Development to state when  road construction  under the Ministry in Mhondoro – Mubaira Constituency would resume, considering that the re-grading exercise was interrupted by the heavy rains in February 2017 which further worsened the state of the roads.

THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND

INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. GUMBO): 

Mr. Speaker Sir, it is true that grading of the Skyline-Mubaira-Chegutu road which traverses Mashonaland East and West Provinces was suspended due to the heavy rains.  Grading in the Mashonaland East section of the road resumed last week and 5 km has been covered so far.  The grading of the road in Mashonaland West Province is programmed for the second phase which will start after the completion of the current phase one works.  Phase one will be completed in about a month’s time.

I thank you.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Before we proceed with

questions, I just want to remind Hon. Members that they cannot attend to cellphones here in Parliament, please.  You can go outside.  Can you hear me?  I do not want to send people outside -[AN HON. MEMBER:

Dorcas!] – Why are you lifting up your hand –[AN HON. MEMBER:

You want to send the Minister out?] – which Minister now?  -[AN HON.

MEMBER: Kasukuwere!]- Aah no.  Why Minister Kasukuwere?

Unodenha stereki iwewe.

ROADS REPAIRED TO DATE FOLLOWING DECLARATION OF

STATE OF DISASTER

29. HON. N. MGUNI asked the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development to inform the House which roads have been repaired to date using the millions of dollars set aside for that purpose, following the declaration of the state of disaster on the country’s roads.

THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND

INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. GUMBO):

Mr. Speaker Sir, since the declaration of state of disaster on our roads in February 2017, the Government mobilised $14.5 million dollars which was readily disbursed to the Department of Roads for the State Roads Emergency Rehabilitation Programme which commenced on the 13^th of March 2017.  The progress of the programme in brief is as follows:

1. Progress of the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme

1.1. State Roads

Manicaland Province

Completed Projects

1. Stapleford Road: Washed away section and culvert construction completed.
2. Honde-Valley Road: Washed away sections completed and opened to traffic.

Mashonaland Central Province

Completed Projects

1. Centenary-Gutsa Road: Washed away section repairs have been completed.
2. Katarira-Mahuwe Road: Repair and upgrading of culverts, progress is at 55% complete.

Mashonaland East Province

Completed Projects

1. Wedza-Mutiweshir-Goneso washaway completed.
2. Murewa-Madicheche box culvert and culvert repair completed.

Mashonaland West Province

Ongoing Projects

1. Harare-Chirundu damaged sections: Pothole patching and shoulder re-gravelling, progress is at 65% complete.  Bush clearing is at 45%
2. Chegutu-Chinhoyi: Pothole patching and routine maintenance activities, progress is at 50% complete.
3. Lionsden-Mhangura: Bush clearing and pothole patching is at

62% complete.

Masvingo Province Completed Projects

1. Moodies Pass-Mushongwe: Drift Construction was completed.
2. Makambe-Malipati: Construction of the retaining wall is now completed.
3. Bondolfi-Renco- Causeway, construction was completed,
4. Makwi-Neshuro: pipe culvert construction was completed.

          Matabeleland North Province: Completed Projects  Lonely-Motapa Road: shoulder grading has been completed.

          Matabeleland South Province: Completed Projects

1. Ntepe-Mbizo: erosion protection works have been completed,
2. Old Gwanda Road: backfilling of washaways has been completed.

Midlands Province; Completed Projects

• Gwehava-Sai Loop Road: Work on damaged pipe Drifts at

Chipanangare has been completed,

• Gungubane Mangava Road: drift repairs have been completed at the 100 Km. peg,
• West Nicholson Mberengwa: Temporary approaches at

Mwenezi Bridge have been completed.

1.2 Urban Roads

Repair work on urban roads is continuing, with good progress in the major routes around Harare and work commencing in other urban areas.  Pothole patching has been the main focus and below is a brief report on surfaced roads for the major cities.

City of Harare: Completed Projects:

• The Chase road has been completely patched,
• Stonechart Lane,
• Sunridge Road,
• Mabvuku Drive,
• Donnybrooke Way,
• Tynwald road and other roads which had not been listed here which I know had been done but that was before the compilation of this list had been done.

City of Bulawayo: Completed Projects

• Khami Road,
• Nketa Drive,
• Steelworks Road,
• Five Street. Rural Roads:

          Funding has also been released to the District Development Fund (DDF) and Rural District Councils (RDCs), and considerable repair work has been done.

          Manicaland Province: Completed Projects

          This is the work of RDCs

• Shinja Road: Piped drift has been repaired,
• Bande-Avila Road: Damaged culverts have been repaired,
• Govakova- Village 50 West: Road repairs have been completed,
• Mandeya Loop Road: Culvert construction has been completed,
• Bazely-Mwandiyambira: Grading has been completed.

Mashonaland Central Province: Completed Projects:

• Gweshe-Katena: Drift repairs have been completed,
• Kahumwe-Kapatamu: Damaged sections have been repaired,
• Bakasa-Kadzimwenje: 15 Km. of grading have been completed,
• Chiswiti-Dande: Mupamhadzi Causeway has been repaired, 5) Matope-Mutondwe: Pavement repairs have been completed,

6) Chishapa road:  Culvert repairs have been completed.

Mashonaland East Province: Completed Projects:

• Chivhu-Zimhondi: Pavement repairs have been completed,
• Zvichemo Ruzvidzo: Grading has been completed, 3) Bangauya-Chindoko:  Grading has been completed, 4) Munyawiri-Pote:  Grading has been completed.

Mashonaland West Province: Completed Projects:

• Vuti East road: Nyangahwe piped drift has been repaired,
• Johanadale-Lowood: Damaged piped drift has been repaired, 3) Zumbare-Chigaro:  23 Km. of the pavement have been repaired,

4) Manyewe-Bururu:  27 Km. have been repaired.

Masvingo Province: Completed Projects:

1)  Padare-Chipinda:  Piped drift repairs have been completed, 2)  Neshuro-Dinhe:  Culvert repairs were completed,

• Kono-Matambwe: Piped drift approaches were completed,
• Masekesa-Gudo: Drift repairs have been completed,
• Veza-Bangala: Culvert repairs have been completed.

          Matabeleland North Province: Completed Projects:

• Gobi-Lisulu-Sibombela: Piped drift and culvert repairs have been completed,
• Litshe Road: Damaged culvert has been repaired,
• Rest Camp-Majiji: Construction of the collapsed culvert has been completed,
• Nkayi-Tshalalisa: Damaged culverts and drift have been repaired,
• Nkunzi-Guswini: Backfilling of gullies and drift repairs have been completed

          Matabeleland South Province: Completed Projects:

• Old Machuchuti-Tule: 14 Kms. of grading have been completed,
• Kumbudzi-Mtshabezi: 11 Kms. of grading have been completed,
• Kafusi-Mapate Bridge: Repairs have been completed,
• Sontala-Mbembeswana: 24 Kms. of grading have been completed
• Makado-Malusungane: 18 Kms. of grading have been completed.

Midlands Province: Completed Projects:

• Chimbandi-Chireya: Culver construction has been completed,
• Manot-Mbungu road: Re-gravelling of the affected sections has been completed,
• Donga-Pakame: Piped bridge repairs have been completed,
• Python-Donsa Road: Reclamation and backfilling of gullies has been completed,
• Mkoba-Dimbamiwa: Bridge approach has been repaired,
• Siboza-Pakame: Nyagambu Bridge repairs have been completed.

These are some of the projects that have been completed with the money that was allocated to us, the $14.5 million that the Hon. Member wanted to know about.  The works are continuing and we are now on Phase 2 of the project.  So, most of the roads are going to be attended to.

I thank you Madam Speaker.

HON. MARIDADI: Thank you Madam Speaker. If you look at how Tafara Way was repaired, Tafara Way is the main road between Tafara and Mabvuku and that is the road used by most transporters – buses, lorries et cetera but, although it was repaired, that road is already bad.  But, if you look at the one in Mt. Pleasant, it was well repaired and it can take quite a number of months for it to be damaged.  So, what really causes the fact that some roads are properly repaired and others are not?  Is it the calibre of people who stay there?

*HON. DR. GUMBO:  I want to thank Hon. Maridadi for the question that he raised for me to explain the position.  Hon. Speaker, when we called for an emergency on the state of our roads, we worked with the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Hon. Kasukuwere, and we requested His Excellency the President to declare it as a disaster, of which he did.  But, we also requested for SPB so that we bypass the tender procedure and we use those companies that are available in order for us to repair the roads in the whole country.  It is not the only road that is bad.  I also realise that Chiremba Road was not properly repaired.  Those who are not repairing those roads properly are the City of Harare – they are doing a shoddy job.

The other companies that I am talking about that repair the roads are doing well.  We did not look at the social status of people, whether they are wealthy or not, as a Ministry we do not consider the social status. As a Ministry, our aim is to construct wider roads for areas where most people stay. I talked to ZINARA as the Minister of Transport that they should engage City of Harare to ensure the roads are repaired well.

If we use Chiremba road, there is a problem before you even go a long distance. Our hope was that since the SPB has allowed us to take companies that are already there to address the road issue, these are the challenges that we have met. I agree with you and we are looking into it. We may decide to take away the tenders because it does not help in anyway. I thank you.

*HON. CHIBAYA: I want to thank you Madam Speaker for according me the opportunity to pose my question to Minister Gumbo. I want to thank you for the good work that you are doing as a Ministry. As you were explaining the roads that you have repaired, I did not hear you mention Gweru because I am sure in Gweru we have quite a number of relatives that you visit in Mkoba. What are you doing in Gweru Hon.

Minister?

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Chibaya, please go and

put your question in writing. I will not allow you to answer that question Minister because he is referring to a particular place. Can you put it in writing?

*HON. CHIBAYA: The question is saying that money was allocated to repair roads that were damaged by the heavy rains countrywide. My request is that he responds to my question.

HON. DR. GUMBO: Yes, the question that was raised was that $14, 5 million was disbursed and how did we utilise it looking at the roads countrywide. It is true we did it in phases in repairing those roads and we considered the badly damaged roads. We did not forget Mkoba and other towns. In urban areas, we work with the councils especially when we realise that they are facing challenges. The councils were getting money from ZINARA but it is inadequate for them to complete repairing all the roads, that is why we requested for a disaster fund. So, we will go to other urban areas as well.

Even in Harare, there are other areas with roads that have not yet been repaired. So, we did it in phases. Phase one has been completed and we are now going on phase two. We will try to ensure that our roads in the areas we stay are acceptable and safe.

*HON. MACHINGURA: Madam Speaker, I wanted to find out

that of the $14 million disbursed to repair roads, what criteria was used because the road from Tanganda to Chiredzi, which brings in a lot of money to the country, was left behind.

*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Minister, you

segregated that road.

HON. DR. GUMBO: Madam Speaker, I thank the Hon. Member

for the question. Maybe I was not able to quite explain. I said we have three phases that we use to repair the roads. Firstly, the wash-aways that I talked about in rural areas were quite many. In the second phase, the road that he is talking about is not a road that can be repaired using the money that we have. It requires quite a lot of funding. As we speak right now, there are companies that we requested to give us quotations.

Let me explain by saying Madam Speaker that the companies we are taking, for us not to have problems with the Public Accounts Committee in their oversight, we said if an emergency is declared, then the companies bypass the SPB. This allows us to say if we are taking the road from Chiredzi, we get companies from that list on which they can compete among themselves as service providers. The company that wins the tender will repair the road. So, the road that you are talking about, I am aware of it and we have listed companies which have tendered to repair those roads. I want to enlighten all the Hon. Members in this House that I cannot give you a whole volume which is huge to show you how many roads we want to address. We are not looking at politics or provinces but we want to repair the roads in our country as Ministry of Transport without favour.

*HON. MLISWA: Minister, we want to thank you for the work that you are doing and where you have repaired you have surely done a good job but on the issue of companies; for the companies that are not performing well, I heard Hon. Maridadi talking of his area. He is saying that the City Council is the one that is giving those tenders. Can they not come in and remove that service provider and recommend a good company because they are responsible for the roads.

HON. DR. GUMBO: Mr. Speaker, I responded to that question. I said that there are areas that were repaired but we discovered that the poor roads were done by City Council. We said that and requested ZINARA to call those people to talk to them that they cannot proceed because at the end of the day, ZINARA is the one that pays. I responded to this before and I said that I know the roads that were done; the bad roads and we know which companies we will have given the tender. We have identified the roads. Sometimes the mixtures that were being used by the City of Harare were compromised. We complain when work is not done well and it cost us more to repair it.

*HON. MUTSEYAMI: Hon. Minister, I want to thank the Hon.

Minister for his explanation on the road mentioned by Hon. Machingura. Hon. Minister, my request is that the road that we are talking about, as we speak it is more than 110 km and it is a major highway. There is no road at all. My request is that, from your explanation Hon. Minister, now that you have stopped the official tender, when do you think you can commence the repairing of that road? I thank you.

*HON. DR. GUMBO: I want to thank Hon. Mutseyami for

requesting me to clarify. The road that he is talking about is a pertinent highway. It requires that we give the tender to a company that is good at road construction because of the traffic that moves along that road. I say that the tender process has been done. Because of the fact that I was busy and the challenges that I faced, I am not sure of the stages now.  I still need to find out whether they have given out the tender for that and I would want that road to be attended to as soon as possible.  Those people had to come and talk to us and they realised that it was on our plan because as Hon. Members, you have highlighted the challenges of that road.  We are doing our best to ensure that we attend to that road as soon as possible.  I thank you – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.] –

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MARUMAHOKO):

Order, order.  Hon. Nduna, we cannot allow any further clarifications, we need to proceed with our work.

MEASURES TO RESOLVE THE CONFLICT BETWEEN KAROI

COMMUNITIES AND A CHINESE CONTRACTOR EXTRACTING

SAND FROM THE BADZE RIVER

30. HON. KWARAMBA asked the Minister of Environment

Water and Climate to inform the House

• What measures the Government is taking to resolve the conflict between Karoi Communities and a Chinese contractor who is extracting sand from the Badze River resulting in environmental degradation and siltation of the river.
• What legal provisions are being used by the Chinese Contract in those operations given the fact that the Mines and Minerals Act only allows the mining operations on a Joint Venture Agreement with

Government?

THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT,  PUBLIC  WORKS AND NATIONAL HOUSING (HON. KASUKUWERE) on behalf of THE MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT, WATER AND CLIMATE (HON. MUCHINGURI):  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  I would like to thank the Hon. Member for the question.  Mr. Speaker Sir, commercial sand extraction is regulated under the Environmental

Management Act, Chapter 20:27 as read with Statutory Instrument 3 of 2011.  It therefore follows that sand extraction requires a licence before such activities are undertaken.  The person or persons engaging in sand extraction should submit an Environmental Management Plan to the Agency for approval.  The plan specifies economic, environmental and socio-cultural considerations which in this case would avert conflict with local communities and lead to continuous rehabilitation of the mined out areas to avoid degradation and siltation of the rivers.

Mr. Speaker Sir, it is disheartening to note that the Chinese contractor is operating outside the provisions of the national laws.  In this case, the contractor has been issued with an environmental protection order in terms of Section 37 (4) (b) of the Environmental Management Act, Chapter 20:27.  The order directed the contractor to cease operations and abide by the provisions of the law meant to avoid land degradation, siltation and conflict with the locals by consulting and involving them on the work at hand.  The inclusion of locals is a key facet in sustainability of any project.

Mr. Speaker Sir, I need to highlight that the project at hand is not prescribed as a mining project in terms of the mining laws of the country.  The sand being mined is not classified in this case as a mineral and does not fall under any provisions of the mining regulations.  Mr. Speaker Sir, my Ministry is committed to ensuring sustainability in all projects that are undertaken in the country with communities having a say in how these projects are undertaken.

HON. KHUPE:  What is your Ministry doing to make sure that social corporate responsibility is adhered to?  If you look at this Chinese company in question, it is extracting sand, causing environmental degradation and siltation which is a big disadvantage to the communities.  What is your Ministry doing to ensure that this particular company ploughs back to the communities so that they benefit from their sand which is being taken by this company?

HON. KASUKUWERE:  Mr. Speaker Sir, I would like to thank the Hon. Member for the question.  I am sure this speaks a lot to the issues to do with how communities can benefit from their national resources.  I think this is a question that has been addressed and is being addressed.  In terms of our empowerment laws, in terms of the community trust and where possible, I think the Ministry of Mines has also been encouraging communities alongside the partners, who are in this case the companies, to have a mutually beneficial relationship that should see the communities benefiting from their resources which are extracted in mining in those areas.

To that extend Mr. Speaker, what I would also do is to put this question forward and ensure that EMA fully ensures that there is compliance and work together with other sister Ministries to ensure that communities do benefit.  This has been a long standing policy position of our Government that the people must benefit, be it the mineral resources or any other resources that is obtained in the communities.  I thank you.

*HON. MLISWA:  My supplementary question is on the issue when the Chinese do their mining, they do not rehabilitate the environment.  There will be dams and pits and people lose their livestock and even children lose their lives.  I have seen that in my Ward 13 that the Chinese have destroyed this country.  Where is the

Environmental Management Authority and what is your Government policy.  There is need for whoever who excavates to fill the hole after doing their mining.  What are you doing, especially to these Chinese companies, they have destroyed our country?  I thank you.

*HON. KASUKUWERE:  Let me thank Hon. Mliswa for his supplementary question in support of what Hon. Khupe has said.  The companies that have been mining in our country are many.  Several nationals have done mining in our country.  If you go to Masvingo at Mvuma shopping centre, you will see the dumpsites.  If you go to Dorowa, you will see the same thing.  We should not be blaming the Chinese alone.  Let us look at this case in its entirety.  All those that are into mining should be able to do sustainable mining which is good for the community.

Secondly, there is the issue of the pits that are left uncovered.  The agency for Environmental Management (EMA) should ensure that they look into such issues.  The issue is going to be under consideration in the Mines and Mining Amendment Bill where a fund is going to be set up to ensure that after they will have completed their mining, the fund will be able to rehabilitate the environment.  Government agreed that we should have such a fund called the Environmental Reclamation Fund which will be controlled by the Ministry of Mines.

*HON. ADV. CHAMISA:  Thank you Mr. Speaker.  I want to ask the Minister who is standing in for the Minister of Environment and Water, Hon. Muchinguri, whether they are seeing it easier to take two steps to have an Infrastructure Development programme for the community; so that those that are mining within a certain community would leave something beneficial to the community such as roads, clinics and hospitals so that they benefit after the miners will have left.

Secondly, is it not possible that when we come up with these mines, we do not look at looting of our minerals but that we have a city, a town or a residential place of some sort or habitat so that once the mining activity ends, the people can be able to sustain themselves after the life of mining? Is Government looking in that direction so that there will not be ghost towns when the miners leave.  I thank you.

HON. KASUKUWERE:  Thank you very much Advocate

Chamisa for the question.  I would want to say that we have a convergence of minds on the issue of empowerment.  We are in agreement when it comes to empowering people in ensuring that they have their wealth.  We now agree on the issue of the Community Share

Ownership Trust that we used to argue over when we were both in

Cabinet.

If you go to Shurugwi today, we have schools and dams.  There is a company that is operating there called Unki.  US$10 million was given to the Community Share Ownership Trust.  Let me move with the issues.  Go to Zvimba, Ngezi in Chegutu, ZIMPLATS put US$10 million dollars in the CSOTs.  There is also the 10% shareholding that should be given to the CSOTs and it covers Norton, which is the area for Hon. Mliswa.  We go to the Midlands, the Zvishavane Community Trust is in place.  It has built a lot of good schools.  It has received funding, US$10 million from Mimosa.  Schools and clinics are being built, roads are being constructed and they have also purchased road construction equipment.  You could ask Hon. Zhuwao and he can give you a document on a lot of things that have been done.  Circle Cement and Lafarge are building schools in Hon. Simbanegavi’s area – vocational schools and US$300

million was ploughed into that CSOT.

In Gwanda in Matabeleland, companies that are in that area such as Caledonia Mine and PPC, they put a Community Shareholding for the community.  They put in a fund of US$10 million that has been used to uplift the science laboratory schools in Matabeleland South Province.  In

Umguza, it is happening in Matabeleland North.  It may not have

reached Binga, but at the mining resources where there is an abundance of mining resources, this has been done very well.

I thank you that we are in agreement and we are in congruence as regards this issue.  A lot of people have suffered and we should remain united on that issue.  They announce ownership in London when the locals have nothing to do.  I believe that the issue of you being a lawyer has helped both of us.  Let us remain in that mode.  I thank you.

BENEFITS GAINED BY THE DISABLED FROM THE STEM

PROGRAMME

31. HON. MGUNI asked the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education Science and Technology Development to inform the House whether students with disabilities have benefited from the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Programme in view

of the fact that there is a shortage of specialised teachers.

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY

EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

(HON. DR. GANDAWA):  Mr. Speaker Sir, any student who passed Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics at O’level and wishes to advance to A’level, taking a combination of these STEM subjects benefits from the STEM initiative on a first come, first served basis without discrimination.  There is no record of any student with disabilities who has been turned away if he or she has the requisite qualifications.

The STEM initiative as well as the implementation of the enrolment exercise is guided by the principles of our national

Constitution which stipulates that there shall be no discrimination on the basis of, among others gender and disability.  This accounts for the fact that our application forms and admission notifications do not capture statistics on students or applicants with disabilities since they are all treated equally and without discrimination.  I thank you, Mr. Speaker

Sir.

*HON. MLISWA:  This is an important question because

Minister, we want to find out how many people have benefited from

STEM that are living with disabilities and do these schools have infrastructure that is user friendly to the disabled.  The majority of them cannot access the classrooms because the environment is not conducive.  What has been done by the Government to ensure that the environment is conducive to learning for students with disabilities and how many students with disabilities have benefited from such a programme?  I thank you.

HON. DR. GANDAWA:  Thank you Mr. Speaker.  I thank Hon. Mliswa for a supplementary question.  I believe that in my response I have said that we did not have the statistics as regards the children with disabilities that have benefited from STEM.  We did not discriminate whether they were able-bodied or disabled, but if there is need for such research, I will go back and research into that area to find out how many students with disabilities have benefited from such a programme.  I would not like to mislead this House.  We had not looked at it in that manner.  We were looking at students who had Cs or better who could be enrolled for science subjects.  May I be given an opportunity to go and look into this issue?

The other part of his question appeared as if the schools do not have infrastructure for students with disabilities.  I would want to research into this area so that as the Government we look into these issues that these children with such disabilities may not be discriminated against such that they are given the same opportunity as well-bodied children.  I thank you.

*HON. CHIBAYA:  Thank you.  I have heard what the Minister has said, but it is known that in this country 10% of our population are people living with disabilities.  Can he go back to the policy and make sure that 10% of the STEM beneficiaries are students living with disabilities.

The Minister says that they do not discriminate, but once we treat the able-bodied and the disabled the same, we will have discriminated because the disabled ones already start at a disadvantage.  If it were possible, they should go back to Government policy and deliberately say that 10% of students that are going to benefit from STEM are those that live with disabilities.  I thank you.

*HON. DR. GANDAWA:  I would like to thank the Hon. Member.  I believe that it was more of a comment than a question that we should revisit the issue of the 10% of people living with disabilities and ensure that these are catered for in STEM.  I believe it can be done and it is beneficial to our country.  I thank you.

HON. GABBUZA:  Mr. Speaker, the Minister indicated that access to STEM is on the first come, first served basis which means that children are competing equally.  Is the Minister therefore considering supporting rural secondary schools, especially the laboratories so that those rural students are able to compete equally with those schools that already have proper laboratories to pass science subjects in towns et cetera.  I know it is not in their mandate, but are they considering a deliberate policy to promote science education by supporting school laboratories.

          THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY

EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

(HON. DR. GANDAWA): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  I would like to thank the Hon. Member for a very pertinent question.  We are indeed seized with the matter. We are aware that most of our schools in the rural areas do not have the facilities that will allow our students to benefit from the STEM, which gives a gap between the rural community and urban schools.

          We are mobilising resources in the Ministry to the tune of $3 million to try and assist the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to set up what we call STEM hubs in each district.  We are starting per district; we identify schools in each district that we can capacitate to be able to teach these STEM subjects.  Our target was August but we are still mobilising the resources and we will advise the districts and which schools that we will fund to set these laboratories in schools.  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.

WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE

PERIOD FOR RESOLVING CASES OF CORRUPTION,

MISMANAGEMENT AND FRAUD IN CHIREDZI TOWN

14. HON. CHIWA asked the Minister of Local Government,

Public Works and National Housing to inform the House how long it would take the Ministry to resolve cases of corruption, mismanagement and fraud which were raised by the residents association and stakeholders in Chiredzi Town, given that reports of such cases were also confirmed by the Nhamo led investigation team, as well as the Auditor General.

THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC

WORKS AND NATIONAL HOUSING (HON. KASUKUWERE):

Mr. Speaker Sir, may I inform the Hon. Member that indeed, the Ministry is seized with the alleged cases of corruption, fraud and mismanagement of public affairs bedeviling Chiredzi Town Council.  It was in response to the calls from the Hon. Member and Chiredzi residents and Ratepayers Association that I deployed an investigation team to look into these cases of corruption from 29 March to 8 April 2016.  I have had sight of the investigation report and the Ministry is already in the process of implementing recommendations from the report.

CHALLENGES FACED BY CHIREDZI TOWN COUNCIL

15. CHIWA asked the Minister of Local Government Public

Works and National Housing to explain the challenges faced by the Chiredzi Town Council which have resulted in its failure to provide sewer and road services in Makondo Extension Ward 8, despite the fact that residents paid up the full value of their stands seven years ago.

THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC

WORKS AND NATIONAL HOUSING (HON. KASUKUWERE):

Mr. Speaker Sir, may I inform the Hon. Member that I have taken note of the question and I will deploy officials to investigate the matter.

USE OF SEPTIC TANKS AS A SEWER RETICULATION SYSTEM

BY CHIREDZI TOWN COUNCIL

16. CHIWA asked the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing to state whether it is now standard practice for residents of high density suburbs to use septic tanks as a sewer reticulation system, as is the case in Ward 7, Chiredzi Town Council; and to further elaborate how the town council would account for service fees paid by the same residents.

THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC

WORKS AND NATIONAL HOUSING (HON. KASUKUWERE):

Mr. Speaker Sir, may I inform the Hon. Member that it is not Government policy for residents of high density suburbs to use septic tanks as a sewer reticulation system.  Instead, the respective local authority should connect its residents to the conventional sewer reticulation system.  The use of septic tanks in high density suburbs is strongly discouraged as it contaminates underground water.

RECOVERY OF THE ZIMBABWE NATIONAL ROAD

ADMINISTRATION FUNDS IN CHIREDZI TOWN

25. HON. CHIWA asked the Minister of Transport and

Infrastructural Development to inform the House what steps the Ministry is taking to recover the Zimbabwe National Road Administration Funds that were paid to the contractor for road resurfacing project in Lion Drive, Chiredzi Town, considering that the road collapsed within two weeks after commissioning.

THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND

INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. GUMBO): 

Mr. Speaker Sir, in 2016, Chiredzi Town Council submitted the rehabilitation of Lion Drive as their periodic project.  ZINARA approved the project and Chiredzi Town Council proceeded to award the contract to a contractor named Clime Construction through a tender process.  In terms of the Roads Act, Chiredzi Town Council has an obligation to supervise the implementation of the works and ZINARA has to monitor the same.

The contract sum was $60,685.66 and to date, the contractor has claimed and has been paid $31,630.00 to cover mobilisation and earthworks up to Base 1.  The contractor has submitted a claim for $29,065.50 for surfacing works but council has not yet certified the works for ZINARA to pay, alleging poor workmanship.  The council has written to the contractor to make good before payment is processed.

Mr. Speaker Sir, a ZINARA team went to site for interim payment certificate verification and they advised council that there was poor workmanship and there was need for them to engage with their contractor.  ZINARA is still waiting for the outcome of their engagement.

REHABILITATION OF MANYUCHI AND CHPWE BRIDGES IN

MARANDA AREA

28.HON. L. MOYO asked the Minister of Transport and

Infrastructural Development to inform the House, what steps the

Ministry is taking to rehabilitate the Manyuchi bridge below Manyuchi

Dam and the Chipwe bridges in Maranda Area which link Mberengwa,

Mwenezi and Beitbridge in Matabeleland South.

THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND

INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. GUMBO): 

Mr. Speaker Sir, the bridge in question is a single span bridge which lies along Sarahuru-Maranda-Mwenezi road which was damaged during the cyclone Eline of the year 2000.  Big rocks were carried from the dam and were deposited on the bridge.

Chipwe Causeway which lies along the same route was also completely washed away during the same period.  The effect was such that the whole Manyuchi community area could not access Maranda

Mission hospital and growth point during the rainy season.

The Ministry has prioritised the repair of Chipwe Causeway as it is cheaper and benefits the travelling public than the repair of Manyuchi Bridge.  The repairs will be carried out under the emergency road rehabilitation programme which is on-going.  The repairs will cost $285

000 and have been scheduled for the second phase of the programme.

In respect of Manyuchi Bridge, the design team is still investigating possible solutions to either expand the bridge or relocate as the current site is not ideal for such a structure as it is located 150-200 metres downstream of the Manyuchi Dam Spillway.  The repair of the bridge will be considered for phase 3 of the emergency works programme.

          Questions with Notice were interrupted by the TEMPORARY SPEAKER in terms of Standing Order No. 64.

          On the motion of THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION

COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY, POSTAL AND COURIER SERVICES (HON. MANDIWANZIRA), the House adjourned at

Thirteen Minutes to Five o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 6^th June, 2017.