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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY HANSARD 17 FEBRUARY 2021 VOL 47 NO 22
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 17th February, 2021
The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)
THE HON. SPEAKER: The Hon. Minister of Information,
Publicity and Broadcasting Services where is your staff, the journalists.
THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND
BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. MUTSVANGWA):
The Clerks at the Table might know better.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Minister, today is Members day just like it is tomorrow Thursday. The message from this House and the Senate must go to the people through the media. We are not quite happy with the sluggish manner in which ZBC in particular covers this House and the Senate. The message must go out there; policy issues from Hon. Ministers must go out there and can only do so through the media, both public and private. This is the importance of the fourth estate in any country.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. SPEAKER
APOLOGIES FROM HON. MINISTERS
THE HON. SPEAKER: I have got some apologies from the following Hon. Ministers; Hon. Rtd. General Dr. Constantino D. N.
Chiwenga, Hon. Kembo C. D. Mohadi, Hon. Oppah C. Z. Muchinguri- Kashiri, Hon. July Moyo, Hon. Ziyambi, Hon, Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndhlovu and Hon. Cain Mathema.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order.
THE HON: SPEAKER: Is it a point of order really, nobody has spoken.
HON. T. MLISWA: It is you who was speaking, so how do I come in. It is to do with section 107, exactly what you are talking about.
THE HON. SPEAKER: It is a point of clarification.
HON. T. MLISWA: I stand guided by you. Mr. Speaker Sir, it is on the announcement of the Ministers who have been constantly absent but what is important as we conduct our duty, is to send a clear message to the Executive that they have work to do. Already they know there is COVID and there are many issues which are affecting people. Parliament has done what it can in ensuring that social distancing is observed to accommodate the Ministers.
As you can see, today is their day and Members are present. I do not know what other excuse they have other than disrespecting this House and yourself as Chair. On numerous occasions they just do not attend. What Members of the Cabinet and Executive must understand is, even if you are not asked a question, you being in this House, you learn from other line ministries. Wednesday and Thursday are for that, so do not think that you just come here to answer questions but you also come to learn and understand because some of these issues we talk about affect your Ministry too and you being here, you are able to grasp
certain issues which make us a better nation at the end of the day. Line ministries are able to then function properly.
So it is important that lessons be given to the Executive that Wednesday - I see some of you come here, they are not asked questions but also listen to what other Ministers are responding to which affects you. So it is important Mr. Speaker Sir, to conduct a workshop with the Members of the Executive to understand that coming to Parliament is a mandate that they have. Just as they attend Cabinet meetings at the end of the day, it is equally important for them to be here on Wednesday and Thursday and discharge their duties in a manner which is professional. I will certainly not hesitate in following the rules of this House to ensure that those who are not here answer accordingly because it is becoming a circus. They really do not respect this House and it is about time Mr. Speaker Sir, you allow me to take the necessary measures of holding any of them in contempt so that they can learn. Parliament should have a stick coated with salt to discipline absconding Ministers so that they do their work. Thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you very much Hon. Mliswa. Some of those Ministers who are not here are connecting virtually. I think what we need to do Hon. Mliswa, is to actually indicate that they should be here in the House and not to connect virtually, but my calculation is that the Hon. Ministers are present; the Clerk is showing me. But, we need to write to them that they should be here in person accordingly. Thank you very much.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
HON. T. MOYO: My question is directed to the Hon. Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. In his absence, I will direct the question to the Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. My question is that in view of the decline in the pass rate of Grade 7 district examinations for 2020 which saw a decline from 46.9% in 2019 to 27.1% in 2020, what is Government policy towards the students and schools that performed dismally in the Grade 7 examinations? Should they proceed to Form 1 or should they be given a chance to rewrite the examinations and what happens to the schools that performed 0% during the Grade 7 examinations? Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL
HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, I
would like to sincerely thank the Hon. Member for such a pertinent question.
Yes, indeed, the pass rate that we witnessed this time around is very worrisome in any language. The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is seized with the matter. They are actually investigating to find out exactly what transpired and a decision will be made – it is indeed worrisome Mr. Speaker Sir. I thank you.
(V)HON. T. MOYO: What remedial policies will be taken towards those schools, particularly in Matabeleland region that obtained 0%? What action is going to be taken by the Government on those schools - particularly the teachers who did not perform well, whose students failed dismally? I thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: That aspect Hon. Minister.
HON. KAZEMBE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, as I mentioned
earlier that Government is equally worried and disturbed – investigations are on going to establish the reasons why this happened and that will then inform decisions going forward. I thank you Mr. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you – [HON. MEMBERS:
Inaudible interjections.] – I am making a ruling. The question asked by Hon. T. Moyo is of great importance to our education system and it will be fair for the Hon. Minister of Primary and Secondary Education to come up with a Ministerial Statement to explain this low pass rate and also those schools where there has been a zero pass – what are the reasons?
I think that the nation deserves to know and we expect that statement next week on Tuesday at the latest. – [HON. MADZIMURE:
Inaudible interjection.] Yes, I have called upon Hon. Kashiri and Hon.
Madzimure, you may come through soon after him. Hon. Kashiri!
HON. KASHIRI: Hon. Speaker Sir, I am looking for a gadget to use.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Pardon!
HON. KASHIRI: I am looking for a gadget to use Sir.
THE HON. SPEAKER: No, no wait a minute, wait a minute! We spent a lot of money to purchase Ipads for you – these tablets. There is no excuse that you do not bring these tablets. Next time, any Hon. Member who does not have a tablet will not be allowed to pose questions because you were given that asset last year.
HON. KASHIRI: Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir. My question is directed to the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement. Minister, we appreciate the Command Agriculture Programme, my question is, we have seen a lot of fertilizer being sold on the streets and in the markets, but it is supposed to be given to farmers.
This is an illicit exercise that has been going on.
What measures have you put in place to make sure that farmers who get fertilizer are the actual farmers and not middlemen who get fertilizer for onward selling? Thank you.
THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, WATER,
CLIMATE AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR.
MASUKA): Mr. Speaker Sir, the Hon. Member asked a very pertinent question and very concerning question that inputs are being misused and abused.
We started this year with the Presidential Input Scheme, ‘Pfumvudza’, and for the first time, we requested every beneficiary to sign a contract form to indicate their acceptance of the inputs and also that the inputs will be committed for the intended purpose. We also widened the supervision to include Provincial Ministers. For the Command Scheme, selection of the beneficiaries is done by the bank, CBZ Bank, Agro-Yield and the contracts are signed by them.
We then activated the National Land Inspectorate comprising of security departments to try and ensure that we minimize the abuse of inputs. We have had 12 cases of input abusers being arrested and brought to book. I urge the Hon. Member that as soon as there is suspicion that there is abuse of input, then it becomes everyone’s responsibility to ensure that reports are made and culprits are brought to book. So I would appreciate receiving from the Hon. Member the names and places of where this is taking place so that we can immediately respond to this. I thank you.
HON. KASHIRI: Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir and thank you Hon. Minister for your response. This rampant exercise that is going on is mostly coming from people who have signed affidavits. Meaning that a person approaches a farmer to lease some hectares from the farmer …
THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, Order, may you address the
Chair please!
HON. KASHIRI: Then they sign an Affidavit, he does not even have a farm or a field and is not even a farmer. He gets a signed affidavit and goes and applies to CBZ Bank …
THE HON. SPEAKER: What is the question?
HON. KASHIRI: The question is, is it possible or would the ministry be in a position to do an audit to say whoever has received inputs has actually gone to the field and farm?
THE MINISTER OF LANDS AGRICULTURE,
FISHERIES, WATER, CLIMATE AND RURAL
RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA): Thank you Mr. Speaker
Sir. Certainly, we have allowed joint ventures to be entered into for the purpose of increasing and incentivising productivity. So in the case that has been cited where specifically the input abusers went to CBZ, again I would urge the Hon. Member to avail us with details so that we can act as expeditiously as is humanly impossible. Thank you Mr. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: The question Hon. Minister is
would it not be better to carry out an audit for those people who got inputs under an affidavit when in fact they do not have some land. That is the question.
HON. DR. MASUKA: Mr. Speaker Sir, thank you for the
clarification. If I repeat and say there is an affidavit signed between a would be farmer who wants to farm and they go to CBZ to get input and then they sell those inputs; the suggestion is that we must conduct an audit. We are already undertaking the first crop and livestock assessment which will be complete by the end of the month. It will be able to weed out that. What I am saying is that we need not to wait for that. We need the names now so that we can act. Thank you.
HON. MISIHAIRABWI-MUSHONGA: On a point of
order. Mr. Speaker, we are putting our hands because we do not want to disturb the process but unfortunately those that are in the House and have microphones are getting all the recognition.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Raise them higher so that they can
attract my attention. – [HON. MEMBERS Inaudible interjections] – I hear you. In terms of our Standing Orders, we can only allow three Supplementary Questions.
HON. T. MLISWA: Hon. Speaker, my supplementary
question is the contract for the Command farmer is between Mliswa and Agro-yield. So, where does Government come in because Government only has land, they do not give the inputs. So can the Minister tell us where Government comes in when my contract is with the bank? If I abuse the inputs it is me who pays the bank not the Government. Government has moved from Command Agriculture where it used to run to now a commercial point where it is the bank which enters into a contract with the farmer, so the abuse of inputs, Government cannot stop it because if I get those inputs and sell them, it is me the person who is contracted with the bank who pays. So I would like to know where Government comes in, in terms of abuse of inputs when I signed the contract with Agro-yield because I will tell Government that I did not sign the contract with you.
HON. DR. MASUKA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I thank
the Hon. Member for the question. Government has everything to do with Command or as it is now called the National Enhanced Productivity Scheme (NEPS). Government provides the guarantee to CBZ that enables CBZ to on lend to farmers. If a farmer fails to pay, Government still must honour the guarantee. So, it is in Government’s interest to ensure that every input taken is utilised for the intended purpose.
In terms of the tripartite agreement, Government has also the responsibility to monitor the utilisation of those inputs. So our Agritex teams and the Command team are out in the field to ensure that the inputs are utilised for the intended purposes. So, why Government gives this guarantee is that we enhance production. So we have the players’ roles and obligations clearly spelt out, so it is in Government’s interest to ensure that any input abuser is brought to book. I thank you.
HON. MARKHAM: Thank you Hon. Speaker. My
supplementary question is I would like to understand from the Minister on the policy on the land. Do they include contract on land preparation and ploughing and does this include fuel, for either Command Agriculture or Pfumvudza?
HON. DR. MASUKA: Mr. Speaker Sir, for Command, yes,
we budgeted for 35 million litres of fuel. So far we have distributed 14 million litres for Pfumvumdza being a conservation approach, the fuel is the person. For preparation of land and ploughing, the farmer has an option to higher those services and they negotiate.
(v)HON. NDUNA: Mr. Speaker Sir, I ask that you pay attention to the chats. The chats will have in them questions from Hon. Members who are on virtual which are police questions. I therefore also ask you to direct those questions to the relevant ministers in the House. That is going to ameliorate and help us who are on line so that we continue to be muted until you call upon us to listen to our questions.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Okay, raise your hands.
HON. NDUNA. My hand has been raised since we started Parliament Mr. Speaker.
*HON. MUDARIKWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question to
the Minister of Agriculture is that those farmers who are selling fertilizers are facing many problems in that those who sold cotton last year have not yet been paid and those who delivered wheat have not yet been paid as well. So, the Minister should look at the issue of having farmers paid in good time. Thank you.
THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTRUE, FISHERIES,
WATER, CLIMATE AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT: (HON. DR.
MASUKA): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. The Government in the past year endeavoured to pay farmers as expeditiously as they delivered. However, only cotton farmers still have some outstanding amounts but all wheat farmers have been paid and maize farmers all fully paid. So, Government has done extremely well compared to previous season. The last payments for cotton farmers are being prepared now and will be done. However that should not lead to the sale of inputs and as they say, two wrongs do not make a right and I could not say it in a better way.
Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. MADZIMURE: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I want to commend those countries that have come to our rescue as Zimbabwe by providing the COVID-19 Vaccines. My question is that there is a lot of skeptics about the effectiveness of the vaccine. Is the President going to lead by example tomorrow by making sure that they go public and receive the first shot of the dose?
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you very much. That is an
administrative issue and it will be taken care of by the Hon. Minister of Health and Child Care.
HON. MISIHAIRABWI-MUSHONGA: Thank you Mr. Speaker
Sir. My question is to the Leader of the House. We note that there are the lockdown measures by the President. One needs to know what is going on with the border post particularly the Beitbridge Border Post given that South Africa has opened that border. What is the position of Government around opening of the Beitbridge Border Post?
THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL
HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, I
would like to thank the Hon. Member for the question. Let me start by emphasising one point. As a Government when we make decisions with regards to COVID-19, the decisions are informed by the situation obtaining in the country not necessarily what happens in other countries but I know where the Hon. Member is coming from because obviously the border will affect us if the other side is open. If you look closely at the SI, our borders are not closed as such. Our returning citizens are allowed to come back and that has always been the case. Those who are going out, depending on whether they meet the requirements of the receiving country, they are still allowed to go. Thank you Mr. Speaker.
HON. MISIHAIRABWI-MUSHONGA: So, what is going to
happen to those citizens of other countries that would want to use Zimbabwe as a transit route? Are those allowed to go through the border or are they denied because that was not clear when the Minister of South Africa was speaking. He seemed to be saying the border is open for those that are coming in on transit.
THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL
HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Those
who are travelling by road have to comply with the regulations in the country and those are supposed to be quarantined accordingly or if they have their certificates which are valid and they is a maximum number of days that they can spend in the country, they come in and within a specific number of days, they are expected to leave the country but they must have a valid PCR Certificate. I thank you.
*HON. MUCHENJE: My question is directed to the Minister of Lands and Agriculture. We had good rains and some of the maize that were put under Pfumvudza is drying up - what measures have they put in place to ensure that the farmers sell their produce well and how good is their silo systems in terms of storage so that we will not starve. I thank you.
*THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTRUE,
FISHERIES, WATER, CLIMATE AND RUTRAL
RESETTLEMENT: (HON. DR. MASUKA): Thank you Mr. Speaker
Sir. I would like to thank the Hon. Member for the question that is in relation to the good rains that we have received from God’s mercy and that we are hoping for a bumper harvest in terms of a lot of crops. As Government, we are busy putting up funds to ensure that we buy the maize that we are going to receive in abundance as well as the small grains such as sorghum, millet and rapoko. We are also expecting the Grain Marketing Board and its silos to put 750 000 metric tonnes. We are also going to be opening up collection points where we are going to have 1 700 collection points so that the farmers will travel a minimum distance in order to sell their crops. We are also urging GMB to be in discussion with COTTCO so that where GMB and COTTCO are operating, where either of the two does now have a depot, the farmers could also utilise those facilities for ease of doing business. We believe that this will work out well and we are also trying as much as possible to ensure that we buy 11 driers. At the moment, we have nine because of the rains that we are having, others would want to go into winter wheat farming and because of the bumper harvest, they may not have cleared from the fields.
(v)HON. GONESE: On a point of order Mr. Speaker.
THE HON. SPEAKER: What is the point of order Hon. Gonese?
(v)HON. GONESE: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir. My point of order relates to Hon. Members who are not muting their gadgets. We are having difficulties in following proceedings especially those who are not inside the House. There is so much feed. Mr.
Speaker Sir, can you advise the ICT staff to mute Hon. Members’ gadgets. There is so much interference and feedback from Hon. Members who are not muting. If that could be attended to Mr. Speaker Sir so that we can follow proceedings.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you very much. I will ask ICT to deal with the matter through the Clerk of Parliament, but I am sure the Hon. Members must have heard Hon. Gonese. Please remain muted accordingly.
(v)*HON. CHINOTIMBA: May the Hon. Minister respond to the
Hon. Member’s question. Last season, the maize producer price had been announced by this time. When are they going to announce the producer price for this season?
*THE HON. SPEAKER: Chii kuannouncer? Please speak
correct vernacular.
*HON. DR. MASUKA: Mr. Speaker Sir. I thank the Hon.
Member for the question. In March is when we are expecting to do two things. The announcement of the pre-planting price of wheat and the announcement of the producer price for maize crop. We are expecting GMB to start receiving these crops from the 1st April. We know that the farmers are waiting and the announcements are going to be made. I thank you.
(v)HON. MADZIMURE: The Government’s policy through GMB Mr. Speaker Sir, when we have a bumper harvest like this one, normally they establish collection points instead of using COTTCO depots because there is no expertise. Is the Minister considering a situation where collection depots by the GMB are opened to facilitate the smooth delivery and collection of crops before they are damaged?
HON. DR. MASUKA: Mr. Speaker Sir, I did say so in vernacular. GMB envisaged opening up collection points as many as 1 800 collection points throughout the country in anticipation of the bumper harvest. We have also started negotiations between GMB and COTTCO so that the four regions of cotton growing areas in the country could have the dual purpose of receiving cotton and other harvests including maize and traditional grains. We are prepared for the bumper harvest. Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. T. MLISWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Minister, can you tell us the estimated tonnage of maize since we are expecting a bumper harvest? What are you doing to ensure that the roads are fixed in these rural areas? With the heavy dump we had, the roads damaged, logistically most trucks will not go anywhere. Minister, why can the producer price not be announced before we plant?
HON. DR. MASUKA: Mr. Speaker Sir, let me start with the last aspect of question regarding pricing. We have already announced the pre-planting price for maize and it is out there. The aspect of the estimated volume, I indicated earlier Mr. Speaker Sir that we have the first round of crops and livestock assessment underway and we expect the results by the end of the month. This is the footing and pacing method. We are also getting assistance for the first time to do a satellite aided area assessment. However, using the proxy of 2017 which was a very good year, we estimate that we will get somewhere in the region of
2.3 million to 2.5 million metric tonnes and perhaps more, because of the Pfumvudza approach.
Regarding roads Mr. Speaker Sir, the nation will have been informed that a state of disaster has been declared for the roads, which means that there would be a very rapid mobilisation of resources. We heard that $400 million equivalent of US dollars will be mobilised to ensure that we attend to the roads and we think that this will go a long way in ensuring that the roads are navigable so that we can collect all the grain that needs to be collected. Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
(v)HON. TOFFA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My question is directed to the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare. What is Government policy with regards to COVID-19 social grant in particular to the elderly?
HON. KAZEMBE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I am humbly
asking you to clarify the question if you got it. I could not get it clearly.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Social grant to ameliorate the impact of
COVID-19 amongst the vulnerable.
THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL
HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
Government is in the process of working out how best those affected can be assisted. I know the Ministry is busy together with the Ministry of Finance to come up with a package that can assist those who are affected.
(v)HON. TOFFA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My supplementary question is - the elderly were given NetOne swiping cards but they have not used them because they have been waiting for their soft grants.
When will the money be available?
HON. KAZEMBE: Mr Speaker Sir, this sounds more specific t but however, I will seek clarification from the line Ministry to try and give an explanation as to how far this exercise has gone. I thank you.
(v)*HON. MAVENYENGWA: My question is directed to the Minister of Lands and Agriculture. What is Government doing to ensure that farmers are able to fill in forms pertaining to yield from their fields since some of them cannot write?
THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTRUE, FISHERIES,
WATER CLIMATE AND RUTRAL RESETTLEMENT: (HON.
- MASUKA): Mr Speaker Sir, my understanding of the question is that there are some farmers who are finding it difficult to fill in forms to enable us to know their yield. We now know that there are quite a number of such farmers but Zimbabwe has many educated people who live amongst them who can assist. However, Agritex officials, starting this week will all have Ipads to enable them to assist farmers fill in their forms. I hope some of the farmers are not intentionally failing to give us the needed information because we said every person allocated A1 and A2 farms is mandated to give us a production return every year starting this year if they want to continue using that land. I thank you.
(v)*HON. MAVENYENGWA: I seek clarification on whether
these Agritex officers will be able to travel to the farms to assist farmers because they are currently asking us to send information via email.
Some of the farmers do not have those emails and others cannot write.
My thinking is that extension officers should visit farmers and teach the farmers how to fill in the information because most of them cannot do it.
*HON. DR. MASUKA: I think the Hon. Member did not clearly hear my explanation. I did say Agritex officials are coming to assist those farmers who cannot fulfil our information requests. Hon. Members can also get assistance from our offices. So, we can help you in your areas to give us all the information that we want. I thank you.
(v) *HON. SEREMWE: My supplementary question is on what the Minister is saying about Agritex officers coming to visit farmers. In each constituency we have about 26 000 people. About 20 000 are farming. Will they be able to assist each and every farmer? The other issue is, farmers are being given these forms to photocopy.
THE HON SPEAKER: The question is that demand for Agritex services overshoots the available manpower from Agritex. How do you contend with that situation?
HON. DR. MASUKA: Mr. Speaker, this has just been brought to my attention and it is something that we will assess. However, what we are doing is commensurate with the resources that had been availed.
Thank you.
HON. T. MLISWA: Mr Speaker Sir, the production history that the Minister seeks, firstly the land audit has not been done and there have been fights on land which affect productivity. Second, Zimbabwe has been faced with sanctions, how does he expect people to produce when the Government knows that we are under sanctions? Do sanctions not affect the farmer too? How will the farmers produce when they have equally been hit by sanctions? The land audits are not out and there are many disputes on these farms. We seem to be going ahead of what is supposed to happen first. There is no report of the land audit or report of the multiple farm ownership but we are rushing to produce when the environment is not conducive for us to produce. Why can you not suspend this issue of production because the war veterans went to the struggle and it is an issue which is sensitive. We are under sanctions, we cannot produce, the Government must march against sanctions until they are removed, then Zimbabwe will be able to produce. Why are you expecting someone to produce when we have sanctions?
THE HON. SPEAKER: Can we desist from – [HON. BITI:
Inaudible interjections.] – order Hon. Biti. Can we desist from making some wild emotional statements? Hon. T. Mliswa is one of the most successful farmers and the most productive under the same conditions that he is querying now, that appears to be a contradiction on the situation on the land.
THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER, CLIMATE AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR.
- MASUKA): Mr. Speaker Sir, the member has clearly misunderstood the intention of the production returns. The production returns Mr. Speaker Sir are part of our vision 2030. The national development strategy and the agriculture and food systems transformation strategy to achieve vision 2030 with agriculture at the epicenter of that. To transform agriculture, we need to understand what is happening on farms so therefore the returns have sections that solicit....
THE HON. SPEAKER: Unmute your gadget Hon. Member.
HON. DR. A. MASUKA: The member misunderstood the
purpose of getting the production returns. The returns are part of the agriculture and food systems transformation strategy feeding into the national development strategy and through it to vision 2030 to transform the nation for vision 2030, the 70% of our population, 11 million people predominantly in rural areas, A1, and resettlement. We need to understand the circumstances that they are in through these productions returns. So there is a section where we write what we are producing. There is a section in this form where we ask about constraints production. We envisage that the 18 thousand A2 farmers would be transformed to become business women and businessmen through structured interventions as a result of the feedback that we get from them. We envisage that the 360 000 A1 farmers will be transformed into SMEs through the structured feedback that we get from them so that together they can become business people and be mainstreamed into agriculture as a journey towards 2030. I thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon Minister the aspect of land audit, is it ongoing - is the report going to be submitted soon?
THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER, CLIMATE AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR.
- MASUKA): Mr. Speaker Sir, the land audit is being undertaken by the Zimbabwe Lands Commission. Resources permitting, they will be able to complete that audit in various phases. We have done the first phase where we have done 57 000 units and we expect that they will go into the second phase where they will look at 78 000 units and in due course they will be able to complete that. As the results come in, because they are based on sampled districts and provinces, we will be able to utilise that information to improve our farming. I thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Nduna, I received your question on line which talks about Government policy regarding Clerks who do not perform well but instead perform dismally and not according to the performance contract.
HON. NDUNA: It is the Town Clerk Mr. Speaker Sir.
THE HON. SPEAKER: It is the Town Clerks?
HON. NDUNA: Yes Mr. Speaker Sir.
THE HON. SPEAKER: That question is for the Minister of Local Government.
THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL
HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to thank the Hon. Member for the question. Town Clerks work under the supervision of the councils and the councils...
HON. NDUNA: The Hon. Minister is on mute.
THE HON. SPEAKER: You are muted Hon. Minister thank you
for that Hon. Nduna.
HON. KAZEMBE: Thank you Mr. Speaker I was saying I want
to thank the Hon. Member for the question but Town Clerks, their performance is supervised by local councils. Those obviously determine their contract and their expectations in as far as their performance is concerned. I thank you Mr. Speaker.
HON. NDUNA: Can I please ask a supplementary Hon. Speaker?
THE HON. SPEAKER: The supplementary will not make sense
because I think the Hon. Minister is very clear, the councils must ensure that the contracts are performed by the Town Clerks.
HON. BITI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My question is directed to the esteemed Minister of Sport, Hon. Coventry. Hon. Minister I am concerned by the failure of the Government to open up sport, sport is business, sport is employment, it is recreational and you more than anyone else in this august House knows that because you are our finest ever athlete.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Biti, please ask your question.
HON. BITI: Yes I am asking Hon. Minister that in light of the
COVID-19 protocols provided by the Government and WHO, why you are not opening sport when the rest of Africa and the world have opened up sport?
THE MINISTER OF YOUTH, SPORT, ARTS AND RECREATION (HON. COVENTRY): Thank you Hon. Speaker, I
would like to thank the Hon. Member for the question. As we all know and we heard from out leadership two days ago that the lockdown has been extended, so for sport we will follow all national laws. As of now we are still in level 4 which does not allow us to have gatherings. The majority of our sports will all bring people together and we will have people coming together with gatherings which the national law at this point does not allow.
As we saw last year, as soon as the levels came down sport was then allowed to reopen and as of January when we saw a spike and the rest of the country went into national lockdown and sport stopped. So as and when it is appropriate and as and when our leadership now feels that it is now safe for us to come down levels, sport will resume. There is nothing stopping any citizen to go for a walk to be healthy to be walking between the curfew hours and to be staying healthy in their own residence. I thank you Hon. Speaker.
HON. BITI: Hon Speaker Sir, sport is a job, it is employment and the regulations allow enterprises to function. In every other country they are having bubbles, the athletes go into a bubble then they have their sports without audiences. We are watching in empty stadiums why can we not do that in Zimbabwe for the benefit of these sportsmen who are workers protected by the labour laws of the country and are therefore treated as essential services in terms of the very same regulations that the Hon. Minister is relying on?
HON. COVENTRY: Thank you Hon. Speaker, as I said earlier,
sports does not fall under essential services as of right now in this national law, level 4, where we are. As soon as we start coming forward - and last year we had already spoken to the football federation to resume through a bubble, that process has been put forward to the SRC and to the Ministry, it was actually approved and then it was supposed to start beginning of this year when we saw a spike and we went back into national lockdown. So, as soon as it is safe for our athletes to continue training, there will be a progression of sport coming back under the
terms that the Hon. Member just mentioned with no spectators, with regular testing, with athletes in bubbles.
Hon. Speaker we just sent our paraolympians to Dubai. They were in a bubble, they were training and they were safe. So there are some exceptions that are being made for specific teams. We saw FC Platinum had competed, they were in a bubble. It also comes down to finance. The sports have to be able to show the SRC, the Ministry and the Ministry of Health and Child Care that they can protect their players by testing regularly and if those protocols are not followed by the national associations, they will not be given the opportunity to reopen. Thank you Hon. Speaker.
HON. NDUNA: Mr. Speaker Sir, does Government also have a plan to take over the infrastructure or these sporting facilities from councils because they are in a deplorable, dilapidated and disused state. They might never be usable ever again if they have not been taken over by Government in the manner that the State took over the clinics and health care institutions.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Your question should have been
underlined by a precondition that if the sport goes under a bubble. I am sure Hon. Minister you can respond accordingly. That is my understanding.
HON. COVENTRY: At the moment what the Sport and Recreation Commission are doing is taking inventory of all the sporting infrastructure that we have around the country, but not just that the state in which it is as of right now and the potential cost that it would take to get back up to the level that is expected internationally, not just up to the standard that it was but up to the standard that is now needed for international games and tournaments to be played. Once that is done I will be able to bring a report back to the House to give them an update on that and a way forward. Thank you Hon. Speaker.
HON. T. MLISWA: My supplementary Mr. Speaker Sir is still guided by the WHO regulations. The Minister just alluded to the fact that a team went to Dubai and one went to China. So when they are training where do they train and what are the protocols to be observed when they are training because if you see what is happening world over the crowd is not allowed. Tennis for example is two people playing, an umpire – four. So even in terms of WHO regulations it is 30 people who the number must not exceed. I do not really understand, players are tested equally but we are sending them outside to contest. So how do we expect them to do well when they are not training adequately and effectively because winning medals is about training hard so it is either we ban sports until things are better because it is kind of contradictory at the end of the day. We are sending teams out to compete so how are they training, what are the regulations when they are training? So an understanding needs to be done but the crowd must not be there.
In soccer the most you get are 26 people on the field and the players are equally tested before they go on the field. Just like we are in Parliament today we were tested to be in Parliament so what stops that and we are probably more than all the players in soccer. So there needs to be clarity in terms of that adhering to the WHO regulations.
THE HON. SPEAKER: My understanding was that the previous response by the Hon. Minister was that she is engaging with the authorities to make sure that the sports does take place under bubble. So allow the Hon. Minister to investigate the matter and come up with modalities accordingly – [HON. BITI: Inaudible interjections.] - Hon. Biti there is no voice competition between yourself and myself. Thank you.
(v) HON. MBONDIAH: The question is directed to the Minister of Health and Child Care. Are there any measures being taken to ensure that the vaccine has no side effects and if so what compensatory plans are there? Also is the vaccine effective against the newly discovered covid-19 variant.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE
(HON. DR. MANGWIRO): Any medicine or drug for that matter if it is given to a human being, might have side effects, but from the studies that have been done so far by the people who produce the vaccine, there seems to be very minimal reaction. Like I said at the beginning, people might react. We are ready to manage the side effects which can be just anaphylaxis reactions or localised reactions we can manage that one and it is very possible that it will not be very severe, it is something that we can take control of.
He also asked about the newly discovered South African variant. I want to repeat that viruses mutate or they change their state for their own survival every time but there is no way a vaccine can be manufactured against each variant everyday because if you see the South African variant is only about two or three months old but in a few weeks more it will be changed. So what we normally do is these vaccines are manufactured for the generality of the virus but there is no way we can catch up to say everyday it mutates we make another one so the vaccine should be able to cover generally. However, next time this variant- if people are supposed to make vaccine against it, it will take us another eight months to a year because vaccines are not made overnight. So right now this South African variant is something that is there, we are aware of it and we are sure that people will be covered. I thank you HON. DR. KHUPE: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir. Hon. Minister, there are media reports going around that people with chronic diseases such as HIV and cancer will not be vaccinated. Is it true or false?
HON. DR. MANGWIRO: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir and thank
you Hon. Member. I will say that people who suffer from diabetes, cancer and HIV are people with immunosuppression and by that I mean that their body defence mechanism is weak …
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Minister, I think you are muted.
HON. DR. MANGWIRO: I am going to start again and say that people with cancer, HIV, diabetes mellitus and hypertension have weakened immunities. We have no policy to say that they are not going to be vaccinated – actually, these people need the vaccine much more because they need to be protected. These are the people we are saying, those with underlying conditions and the elderly – we are targeting people who we know have weak immunities. The elderly have weakness in their immunity due to age – their marrow, reaction and production of antibodies is much slower now.
So those people with those underlying conditions must get the vaccine so that they can fight the disease/virus better when they get it because their antibodies will have been enhanced from the vaccine. We cannot discriminate and it is not correct to say that they are not going to be vaccinated. It is clear that it is not correct – those must be just the ordinary rumours that always go round the mill. In short, we are vaccinating them because they need the vaccine much more than those people whose immunities are okay.
(V) HON. NDUNA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Is it possible Mr. Speaker Sir, to have pamphlets and some documentation that state the characteristics of the vaccine and the vaccines that we hope our people to be administered with? So that we, as legislators, can give to our people who have no access to television and radio communication including distributing these pamphlets in remote areas so that people can read for themselves on the characteristics of these vaccines to warde off speculation.
HON. DR. MANGWIRO: Yes, thank you Mr. Speaker Sir and
thank you Hon. Member for the suggestion in terms of awareness. We are lucky, in this era to have many advertising types. Yes, pamphlets are part of advertising but events have now been taken over by electronics, that is Google, WhatsApp and Twitter and the Ministry of Health and Child Care also has a website where these things are well advertise - printed papers will also be part of it, including Members of Parliament.
You are part of the awareness campaign group – we expect you to be part of it for purposes of information dissemination because you have far reaching numbers of people who can hear and listen to you. So, awareness campaigns will continue to say that the Sinopharm, Sinovac or whatever vaccine has to be administered in a certain method – that is what we are doing. There are certain reactions, if they happen to happen; we are ready to manage all those. I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. TOGAREPI: Due to incessant rains, roads have been damaged and becoming impassable. What has Government put in place to repair the roads that have become a danger to the travelling public?
THE HON. SPEAKER: I thought that this was answered adequately by the Hon. Dr. Masuka.
Let me also appeal to Online Hon. Members, you cannot ask two or three questions – you will stick to one primary question.
(v) HON. L. MAYIHLOME: The question is to the Leader of
Government Business. When is Government going to establish a Port Authority to improve coordination at border stations and reduce conflicting instructions issued especially by ZIMRA and Immigration Departments as well as coordination with countries that we share borders with?
THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL
HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I want to thank the Hon. Member for the question – very pertinent and indeed, there is need for a Port Authority that has been long overdue. I am glad to say that this has already been put in place and is chaired by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development. So it is already in place now. I thank you.
(V) *HON. SHAVA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Health and Child Care. What plans does Government have to ensure that there is separation of mortuaries for those who die of COVID-19 and those who die of natural causes?
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD
CARE (HON. DR. MANGWIRO): Thank you Hon. Speaker, first and foremost, I thank the Hon. Member and if I understood the question well, I would want to believe that those who succumb to COVID-19 and those who succumb to cancer and various diseases should be housed in different mortuaries.
The infrastructure that we currently have cannot sustain such a scenario - it will be difficult. The Hon. Member wants separation of deceased persons that they should be kept in different mortuaries according to diseases that caused their deaths. My belief is that those who die of COVID, in terms of contamination, we treat everyone as someone who has been positive to COVID-19. So we encourage the frontline workers at these hospitals to receive treatment, ensuring that they are inoculated and they will receive first this vaccine that we are going to use. Even when they are in these mortuaries, they should also understand that anyone who would have died from even road traffic accident could be infected with COVID so they should always protect themselves so that they cannot be contaminated.
Furthermore, the reason why we discourage gatherings is that there will be transmission of the virus amongst the relatives when they mix. I am not talking about the danger emanating from the deceased who would have succumbed to COVID -19 but the mourning relatives. Mortuary attendants should always protect themselves because they handle various bodies; those who would have tested positive to Covid and those who would be negative. Even if a person had not succumbed to COVID, we urge the mortuary attendants to use hygienic manners or to treat corpses in the same manner because they can contract the disease. The reason we do not like large gathering is because when a lot of people gather at a relative’s funeral, they may spread the disease amongst themselves. However, it is difficult for us to have separate mortuaries that cater for different corpses that would have succumbed to different ailments but what we can best do is to protect the frontline workers in the same manner as we used to treat other contagious diseases such as tuberculosis or pneumonia. We want people to treat contagious diseases is a manner that will protect everyone. I thank you.
(v) HON. GONESE: Thank you Hon. Speaker. My supplementary
question to the Minister is, can the Minister clarify whether corpses can infect each other or someone else? Does the virus remain active after someone dies?
*HON. DR. MANGWIRO: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. First
and foremost, the possibility is when people are put in mortuaries, they will be in different shelves but under one roof. It is very rare or unheard of that a corpse can give the other its disease. Usually, those who are alive who may touch this corpse and touch the other corpse might transmit the disease. All people who work in a mortuary are treated as if they all have COVID. Mortuary attendants are very much aware of this possibility and even when people go to bury their loved ones, that is why we are saying treat anyone who has died as if it is COVID. The possibility of corpses spreading the disease to each other is unheard of but the mortuary attendants might spread the disease. This is why I said at our funeral gatherings, that is where we might transmit the virus to each other, not the corpse itself. Even on admission into hospital, we always treat everyone as COVID patients, so that we prevent the spread.
I thank you.
Hon. Muchimwe having wanted to debate on virtual.
HON. T. MLISWA: On a point of order, he is not properly dressed. He does not have a tie.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Muchimwe, you cannot debate, you are not properly dressed. I made an announcement yesterday that you must be in proper attire. Please make sure that you are in proper attire in terms of our Standing Orders.
(v) HON. MUSARURWA: My question to the Minister of
Transport is, I am seeing a huge challenge on the users of public transport like now, during lockdown. Already there is a transport challenge. Are there any plans to assist our people who use public transport to be provided with enough or adequate transport? The ZUPCO buses are not road worthy. A majority of them do not have proper tyres, breaks, no hooters, just to name a few.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND
INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank
you Hon. Speaker. I want to thank Hon. Musarurwa for that very important question. The question is in two parts. She talked about the transportation of people and also the second part, about ZUPCO which then falls under the purview of the Local Government. In terms of the transportation, it becomes a Local Government issue whereby the
Minister has to address issues of ZUPCO, but in general if they are
under transportation outside the ZUPCO element, it is very important that also using other communities outside the jurisdiction of ZUPCO, these issues are of paramount importance. So with your guidance Hon. Speaker Sir, I do not know the other part of the ZUPCO whether you would expect me to address that one.
THE HON. SPEAKER: You may proceed.
HON. MHONA: Hon. Speaker Sir, issues of ZUPCO for now, the arrangement that is there given the lockdown whereby the arrangement is ongoing – I am sure the same could also be extended to the communities where the service is not being provided. I am sure the Hon. has raised a very important position whereby even in local communities especially in the rural communities, people are not having the access of ZUPCO. I am sure Government position now is to extend the same to the communities that are not being covered as of now. Thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Minister. You have all
the approbation Hon. new Minister.
*HON. RAIDZA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My question is
directed to the Minister of Agriculture. We are observing that a lot of cattle are dying from January disease. What measures are being put in place to assist the communal farmers?
THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER, CLIMATE AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR.
MASUKA): I would like to thank the Hon. Member for the question.
The past three years, we lost cattle in excess of 500 000 because of the January disease. Last year in November, Government came up with a programme called Presidential Grease Blitz Programme where we were targeting one million cattle for households owners in Zimbabwe. We targeted that we would give them a kilogramme each of tick grease since dip tanks did not have sufficient water because of the two years that we have experienced droughts and others have not been functioning properly. At present, we managed to give more than 450 000 households in 25 districts that are prone to the January disease. We are looking at Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West and Masvingo Provinces. Cattle die but the rate is much lower by 47% of cattle mortality in the January disease as a result of this Government intervention.
If there are areas where farmers have not accessed tick grease and their cattle are dying, they should quickly get in touch with us so that we quickly go there and intervene. There are certain areas where we are giving for the second time because the disease had become too prominent in that particular area. Furthermore, Government has found funds to reconstruct dip tanks and also to restructure or maintain all the 4 000 dip tanks which are going to be back to normal. I thank you.
HON. TSUNGA: Mr. Speaker Sir, my question is directed to the Minister of National Housing. Lately, we have witnessed a lot of internal displacements of our citizens in Zimbabwe through man-made and also natural phenomenon like demolitions, cyclones and evictions of our citizens. I was just wondering whether there is any policy with regards to safeguarding the rights of internally displaced persons in this country and whether there any maneuvers by Government to ensure that that those internal displaced persons have alternative settlements to which they can be relocated. Otherwise, we see a lot of people out in the open being susceptible to harsh weather conditions and other elements.
Thank you Mr. Speaker.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF NATIONAL HOUSING AND
SOCIAL AMENITIES (HON. SIMBANEGAVI): Thank you Mr.
Speaker Sir. I would like to thank the Hon. Member for the essential question. Definitely, the Government has a policy for those that have been displaced by natural disasters. I must say, recently Cabinet passed a resolution with regards to those that have been affected especially in the human settlements.
As the Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities, we also have a new human settlement policy that is going to be launched very soon. This one would also be tackling issues of people who are going to be displaced by natural disasters especially those that have been allocated land in wetlands and other undesignated areas.
It is unfortunate that as a nation we have people who have built on wetlands and other undesirable places. However, we have decided as Government that we will not let these people suffer despite the misdemeanours of people who sell land to people illegally. Government has put in place this human settlement policy to make sure that people who have suffered this misfortune will be relocated to new farms that have been identified by the Government, through the Ministry of Lands and the Ministry of Local Government, working together with the Ministry of National Housing. So far we have identified about six farms and these will be considered for those people who have suffered the recent natural disasters by having their houses flooded. So Government has a policy that is in place to ensure that all those people that are living in wetlands that have had their houses also demolished by recent council activities will be resettled in new places, either temporarily or as we progress we will be accommodating them permanently on some of these places. I thank you.
THE HON. SPEAKER: The answer is comprehensive. I do not think you can get anything more clearer than that. Thank you.
(v)HON. C. MOYO: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My question is directed to the Minister of Home Affairs. Under the new COVID-19 regulations, letters for employees were a requirement to pass through roadblocks, and the exemption letter. Is it still a requirement to get them from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce?
THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL
HERITGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Yes, those letters are still a requirement because the lockdown was announced and was very clear. The restrictions still remain. Only those who provide essential services are allowed. Therefore, they are supposed to provide proof in the form of letters. For the company to get that letter, they have to be authorised by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce again by way of a letter. So yes, those letters are still a requirement until the level four lockdown is lifted. I thank you Madam Speaker.
(v)HON. MOKONE: My question is directed to the Minister of
Home Affairs. What is Government’s policy on the arrest and detention of children below the age of five years in police custody for violating the COVID-19 regulations?
THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Thank you Madam Speaker. I
want to thank the Hon. Member for such a pertinent question. I have a funny feeling that I know where the question is leading to. I will try and respond to it sufficiently. Madam Speaker, the Government policy does not allow children under that age to be in custody for COVID regulation related offences. I have a funny feeling that the Hon. Member is referring to an issue that circulated on social medial. That particular incident is being investigated. Police or Government does not condone such behaviour. Results of the investigations will be made to the citizenry. I thank you.
(v)HON. P. ZHOU: My question is directed to the Minister of
Lands, Water, Fisheries, Climate and Rural Resettlement. It seems like ZINWA has increased water tariffs to above US$9 per milligram (mgl) from an already high USD5 per NGL with zero consultation with stakeholders who had already been invoiced at this rate. What is the rationale of increasing the rates in US dollar terms by 90% when our crops are saturated from the continuous downpours and 2020 inflation rate is a mere 0.62%.
HON. DR. MASUKA: I thank the Hon. Member for the question. I was not aware that ZINWA had hiked the rates. It is something that we will investigate and report the findings to this august House. I thank you.
HON. MAPHOSA: Madam Speaker, I asked a question before those questions and it was skipped. My question was directed to the Minister of Transport. What is the Ministry doing with regards to the state of our roads, especially those that are linking cities because they are in a very bad state. The incessant rains have induced big potholes in the middle of the roads. So I want to know what the Ministry is doing since the roads are now a death trap to the citizens.
HON. T. MLISWA: Madam Speaker, that. question was answered ably by the Minister of Agriculture when I posed the question on the roads when he said there was a $400m facility which has been put together. The Hon Member can be referred to the Hansard.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Thank you very much Hon.
Mliswa. It is true.
HON. MAPHOSA: That was a different question. Hon. Mliswa had asked about the connection of meandering roads in the agricultural sector but I am talking about the main roads.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: True, but like what Hon.
Mliswa said I think it is also prudent for you to be able to relate to it since it is interconnected. If you look at the response it is a national disaster but it is already being adhered to. I am sure that was responded to Madam. Are you answered?
HON. MAPHOSA: It is okay Hon, Speaker but I was listening, it was not responded to.
HON. DR. KHUPE: Madam Speaker, I think this is a very important question because as we speak now roads are damaged and impassable. The Minister did allude to the $400m but what Members would want to know and understand is what government is doing right now to make sure that roads are being repaired. I drove from Bulawayo this morning and there are potholes everywhere, yet no activity anywhere. Nothing is happening. It is a state of emergency so what is government doing to make sure roads are repaired because tyres are bursting, accidents are happening so the question is what government is doing right now as a stop gap measure and not what they intend to do with the $400m.
HON. MHONA: Thank you Hon. Maphosa for such an important question. Truly speaking this is topical and as alluded to by Hon, Dr. Khupe, government is seized with road rehabilitation programme 2 which is running currently and it will run for three years. Prior to that we had Phase 1 where you witnessed government managing roads in town and outside town. This Phase 2 is going to be in four phases. The first phase is something that has to be done now and what we are doing is clearing bushes and patching potholes.
There is an implementation matrix as we speak whereby within 60 days and the Minister standing before you will also be on the ground paving and filling those potholes. Some common materials have been secured which include asphalt and bitumen to manage the current status quo. We need to move with speed. We cannot wait for the rains so I am sure the Hon. Member raised a very important question. I want to thank my fellow Hon. Minister of Lands and Agriculture who then alluded to the issue of the 400 million which is now going to be staggered as it is not going to be disbursed at once. Currently 20% of that amount is going towards the emergency that we are faced with as a nation.
I am glad that I will also be coming to you Hon. Members in terms of prioritisation of the roads whereby the road authorities as you know the Ministry of Transport does have the roads department, DDF, Local Authorities and Rural District Councils. Government has now taken that mandate to man the roads and to address the issues so that we will not leave that mandate to local authorities. The local authorities are now seized with the prioritisation of roads needing urgent attention. This is something that is happening immediately we are on the ground.
(v)HON. SAUKE: My question is directed to the Minister of
Health and Child Care. What is government’s policy regarding patients in hospitals. Are they going to be vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccine and is the vaccine not going to neutralise the drug they will have been receiving.
HON. MASUKA: Thank you Hon. for the question. This vaccination programme is well programmed. It goes from injecting our frontline workers who are doctors, nurses, those working in mortuaries, airlines etcetera. So, if one is admitted and falls in that category they will be vaccinated because we have a well laid out process that is going to happen. The vaccine, if given to someone on other medications – really this is a vaccine which is going to induce anti-bodies production in the person who will have been vaccinated. It is not a drug like gendermicin or diazepam. It is going to produce anti-bodies in the body.
In short, those people who are already on medication for hypertension or diabetes should continue to take their medication without worrying that the vaccine might dilute their medicines because these are not related. The sight of action is quite different and the response of the body is quite different. It is a very good question because people might say if I get my vaccine, should I take my medicines? I want to repeat, people should continue to take their medications or injections if they are on insulin or anything, say heparin or clexane. They must continue to take their medicines because this is part of the treatment. If they stop, this might give negative results like stroke.
(v)HON. H. MGUNI: Due to the heavy rains accompanied by
thunder and lightning that our country is currently facing, a lot of electrical systems and cables have been destroyed around the country and some of them supply clinics and school, especially now during the time of COVID, is there a plan to replace the damaged infrastructure as a matter of urgency? In my constituency there are six transformers that were damaged and those transformers supply power to a number of schools and clinics.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER
DEVELOPMENT (HON. MUDYIWA): I would like to thank the Hon
Member for that question. Yes, of late we have been having a lot of challenges in terms of supplying electricity due to a number of reasons – the heavy rains which resulted in a number of electricity lines being affected. Vandalism is another cause for depleted generation of electricity and again of late, we had the damage at Hwange which happened at the power station.
As a Government, we are working towards improving our
generation of electricity. First of all, we are working on repairing the damaged unit at Hwange. I am sure you are aware that from last year, we were operating with three to four units with the rest having been down because of ageing and numerous other problems, but they are being attended to. Government is trying to repair those units and make sure that we restore generation of electricity.
As for the transformers, Government last year commissioned a number of transformers which we are distributing at the moment. More transformers are expected to be delivered in the country in the next few months. As for the lines, ZETDC is working flat out to repair the affected lines. Basically that is what I can say at the moment but our aim is that we deliver electricity as expected with minimum interruptions. If we have to load-shed it has to be minimum. I think you have observed that after the accident that Hwange our load shedding has been very minimal. That is what we are working on. I thank you.
(v)HON MUDARIKWA: I would appreciate if the Minister would
submit to Parliament a report detailing the total cost of damage on what caused the fire at Hwange Power station.
HON MUDYIWA: We are working towards the production of
that report.
(v)*HON CHINOTIMBA: We have electricity lines that are being vandalised and your people are saying they cannot go and get poles because they do not have manpower to go and replace the damaged poles in rural areas. People are hiring private vehicles to go and carry those poles. People want to know what measures you have put in place to replace the damaged infrastructure. Those in rural areas supply the manpower to set up the poles in order for people to have electricity.
HON. MUDYIWA: I want to thank Hon Chinotimba for his question. ZETDC was working with a few vehicles for quite some time because they had no funds to buy new vehicles. Last year we commissioned new vehicles in the form of lorries to ease the situation but these were not enough and we still have a shortage of vehicles to enable them to attend to breakdowns. However, with the few available vehicles, ZETDC still tries to attend to problems. If you assist them, it is because you want to but ZETDC has to use those few vehicles to do their work.
Secondly, we have a limited manpower to do the work especially pertaining to the issue of poles that they end up employing contract workers particularly during the rainy season where we have a lot of poles falling. However, even with the limited manpower, they still try to do something but if you have such cases, I would appreciate if you can report so that we can know and can assist. Thank you.
Questions Without Notice were interrupted by THE
TEMPORARY SPEAKER in terms of Standing Order No. 64.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE
ALLOCATION OF LAND AT ARDA ESTATE IN KAIREZI
- HON. SARUWAKA asked the Minister of Lands,
Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement to inform the House:
- what Government policy is regarding the allocation of land at the
Agricultural Rural and Development Authority (ARDA) Estate in
Kairezi;
- why some Ministry officials are attempting to dispossess Ms Beauty Nyakurimwa (ID: 75 - 053034 -J-50, DOB: 21/10/58) of Plot
Number 6 on the Estate which was allocated to her under the Land Reform Programme, Reference L/183 dated 17 December 2001, in favour of Mr Luckson Gotosa whose offer letter indicates that he was allocated Plot Number 8 on the same Estate;
- when the Ministry will implement the determination by the
Zimbabwe Land Commission issued on 17 December 2017 in Beauty Nyakurimwa`s favor and to further explain why there were delays in this regard; and
- what guarantee will the Ministry provide to her in respect of her ownership of Plot Number 6 on the Estate considering that she is a widow and to further elaborate how other women experiencing similar challenges should be treated.
It is with a heavy heart that I inform the House and indeed the Minister that today around mid-morning, Ms. Beauty Nyakurimwa, the person who had asked me to pose the question passed on. I would not rule out a stress related case where her plot was going to be taken away. So I wanted the Minister to be aware that the lady passed away today and can he please still assist the family so that they do not lose the plot.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Thank you and may her soul
rest in peace. Let us refer to our notes. I am sure we have been sent today’s proceedings on our emails and that is where we are going to find the Questions With Notice.
THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE,
FISHERIES, WATER, CLIMATE AND RESETTLEMENT (HON.
- MASUKA): With yourIndulgence Madam Speaker, I have not received the notes and I was trying to check on my gadget.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Okay, Hon. Minister. We
can stand over Questions 1and 2 that are related to you. We are kindly asking if you can then bring the responses next week.
The Hon. Member is asking if you can also take note that this lady who sent Hon. Saruwaka to present this question had some challenges. I feel when we come here in Parliament, I believe that as much as we have some people that we are representing, when we are here, we represent them but for us to then be mentioning their names, I think it is out of order. However, since we are dealing with an issue as you said she is now deceased, I am sure the Hon. Minister has heard and it is in order.
He is going to respond accordingly next week. We really are sorry and may her soul rest in peace.
INSTALLATION OF BASE STATIONS IN THE UMZINGWANE
CONSTITUENCY
- HON. BRIG. GEN. (RTD.) MAYIHLOME asked the
Minister of Information, Technology, Postal and Courier Services to inform the House when Base Stations will be installed in the Umzingwane Constituency.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF INFORMATION,
PUBLICITY AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. PHUTI):
Thank you very much Madam Speaker for this opportunity to respond to pertinent question raised by Hon. Brig. Rtd. Gen. Mayihlome on a question that has appeared on the Order Paper. Madam Speaker, I must acknowledge that this question was previously asked in 2018 in this august House and remains as pertinent as it ever was then if not even more. In my previous response, I advised that Umzingwane area was due to benefit from a base station that was then planned under the Build, Operate and Transfer programme (BOT) that was agreed between POTRAZ and the Mobile Network Operators. At that point in time, survey had been done and preliminary works and arrangements were under way. Quite regrettably, the programme stopped due to shortages of foreign currency. I must however point out that the situation has since changed for the better following the introduction of the auction system and the two parties to the BOT has started to remobilise around and for the installed project.
Once those resources become available, my Ministry will ensure that deployment is done equitably and expeditiously; of course subject to the availability of requisite foreign currency resources. For now, my assurance to the Hon. Member is that the network coverage requirements for the people of Umzingwane constituency are within the foresight of our radar and will deliver once the resources become available. I appreciate also that this question gives the required action on this very important matter. I thank you.
PURCHASE OF LOW QUANTITY DATA BUNDLES
- HON. BRIG. GEN. (RTD.) MAYIHLOME asked Minister of Information, Communication Technology and Courier Services to explain to the House why it costs more to purchase low quantity data bundles in comparison to larger quantities considering that it ends up being punitive and discriminatory against the poor.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF INFORMATION,
PUBLICITY AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. PHUTI):
Thank you Madam Speaker and I thank the Hon. Member once again who asked the question. To start with, pricing of data services is determined using a cost based pricing principle where only costs incurred to provide data services are taken into account to arrive at the final charge for the services. Using this principle, the telecommunication sector has maximum tariff threshold where operators cannot go beyond but can charge other tariffs below the threshold. In this case of data services, the current maximum price operators have come up with various data bundle initiatives meant amongst others to drive data usages and increase in the customer loyalty and contribute to economic activities like education as well as create more revenue streams. The data bundles are differentiated in terms of bundle size, expiry date as well as price per megabyte. We need to point out that differential in prices of data bundles is not meant to disadvantage the poor but rather to cater for different segments of users who have different needs. Educational bundles, bundles for small and medium enterprises and corporates who are heavy users are generally low as compared to social media bundles. The low bundle cost for the heavy users also fits into the pricing of the product which positively benefits the economy.
Given that much of the business and education during the COVID19 era is being done online, operators tend to provide preferential bundle prices to those businesses and educational institutions and students so that they execute their business and studies well. Heavy users also benefit from economies of scale from recharging one big bundle that reflect commitment to data usage as opposed to small bundle users who do not have much commitment in terms of data usage. The heavy users provide operators with more planning options for importation of bandwidth in bulk which tend to reduce the unit cost of getting the data; whereas small bundle users do not reduce the unit cost of importing the international bundles, I thank you.
HON. CHINYANGANYA: Thank you Madam Speaker, my
supplementary question is what is the Government doing to make sure that operators charge low cost for bundles in Zimbabwe? If we look at the data costs around the SADC region, Zimbabwe I think is the most expensive. So what is the Government doing to make sure that mobile operators reduce their tariffs so that they can be affordable to everyone?
Thank you.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF INFORMATION,
COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY, POSTAL AND COURIER
SERVICES (HON. PHUTI): Thank you Madam Speaker. I want to admit that I had not taken the job to benchmark with what other jurisdictions are doing currently but the post and telecommunications regulator which is PORTRAZ has the responsibility to make sure that mobile operators do not push beyond a particular threshold given and I must admit that it is probably a principle of business to then know what you do in-between what you have been allowed to operate within.
I therefore appreciate that you raise and bring forward a contribution that there should be a considerable amount of attention given to the issue of data given the fact that on-line usages have become a new tendency that is inadvertent and therefore this is an issue that we will also try to take note of as important as raised. I thank you.
(v)HON. MUDARIKWA: May the Minister submit to the august House why it is that in Zimbabwe there is no internal roaming within the different networks in Zimbabwe. Thank you Madam Speaker.
HON. PHUTI: I like the question that has been raised by the Hon. Member as it gives pressure that is supposed to be exerted to where this is supposed to be responded from. It lies on the willingness to cooporate on the part of the mobile operators themselves. It is not the responsibility of Government to do that. However, I know very well that some mobile operators are very willing and interested but because of other issues personal to those private entities some players might not be really at liberty to come on board. So I think if this is raised as you have started Honourable, it will raise the necessary attention it should get. I thank you.
(v)HON. MUDARIKWA: I raise a point of clarity.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: What is your point of clarity?
(v)HON. MUDARIKWA: The point of clarity is that the reason why everything is expensive is that at every hill you see there are three structures there. The cost of operation is high because there is repetition. They are not sharing resources and for the Minister to say they are willing, it is the role of PORTRAZ to make them have the will to share so that people enjoy lost costs.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Minister, did you hear
the question? Okay, the Hon. Member is saying there is no willingness when it comes to local network providers. It seems like at any hill you will find that there are three boosters, meaning the three major network providers. So there is need for PORTRAZ to then come in, sanitise and make sure that all these network providers will be able to work together.
So that is what he is saying – I am sure it is because there is no willingness from network providers to be working together. What is your response to that?
HON. PHUTI: I must admit to this august House that there is perfunctory approach to corporations in terms of mobile network operators coming to work together and this is probably a result of the competitive environment that they find themselves in. However, as raised properly, it is pertinent that Government through the regulator PORTRAZ be there to try and bring these parties together so that they do not lay the burden on the receiving end which is the consumer.
This has been implemented successfully in the infrastructure sharing strategy which has seen base stations erected across the country where all the operators are having to share the infrastructure by putting what is necessary for the accessibility of their network. Surely if that has been done successfully, I want to admit that it needs therefore that PORTRAZ and us exert the necessary pressure that these mobile network operators work together as well on issues such as these as raised. I thank you.
NUST ENROLMENT IN COMPARISON TO OTHER
UNIVERSITIES
- HON. BRIG. GEN. RTD. MAYIHLOME asked the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation Science and Technology
Development to inform the House why the National University of
Science and Technology (NUST) enrolment is less than a third of
Midlands State University and less than half of Great Zimbabwe University enrolments respectively yet NUST is the second oldest university in the country.
THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Thank you Hon.
Speaker. Madam Speaker, I wish to start by explaining the two categories of universities we have in Zimbabwe. We have the specialist universities and the general universities. The National University of
Science and Technology falls under the specialist university category whilst Midlands State University and Great Zimbabwe University fall under the general university category.
Madam Speaker, the mandate of NUST requires the university to focus on science and technology subjects, hence the appropriateness of its name. Specifically, NUST is established to respond to the countriy’s needs in the field of science and technology. Although there are some none science and technology courses offered at NUST, the university has been directed to focus on its mandate of teaching science and technology and become a premier institution in that regard as well as streamline the non-core mandate courses.
The current enrolment at NUST is 11 517 broken down as follows;
7 275 students enrolled for the science and technology subjects and 4 242 students enrolled for business courses. By design, NUST being a specialist university focusing on science and technology has its carrying capacity limited by the corresponding facilities required to facilitate the teaching of science and technology subjects.
Madam Speaker Ma’am, Hon. Members, specifically the enrolment for MSU is 28 172 and GZU is 19 610. It is important to note that, by design, general universities offer science and technology courses as well as non-science and technology courses. Resultantly, enrolments are naturally high because of the high number of students who enroll to study non-science and technology courses.
Madam Speaker Ma’am, Hon. Members, furthermore with regard to Higher and Tertiary Education institutions, it is not a numbers game but the quality of the programmes offered by different institutions. It is not NUST alone with lower enrolment figures, we also have the Harare Institute of Technology, a specialist university focusing on science and technology courses and has a total enrolment of 2 443 students with only 180 students enrolled for non-science and technology courses.
Madam Speaker, Hon. Members, it is the purpose in life of a university which shall determine whether a university shall have a high or low enrolment figures. Generally, the teaching of Science and
Technology subjects requires well equipped laboratories and specialised equipment, the cost which limits enrolment of large numbers of students. NUST is therefore, a good example of such a specialist university focusing on science and technology course. I thank you Madam Speaker
Ma’am and I also wish to thank Hon. Mayihlome for asking this very important question.
Questions with Notice were interrupted by THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER in terms of Standing Order Number 64.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL
HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Thank you Madam Speaker, I move
that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 26 be stood over until Order of the Day, Number 27 has been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
SECOND READING
CENTRE FOR EDUCATION, INNOVATION, RESEARCH AND
DEVELOPMENT BILL [H.B. 1, 2020]
Twenty Seventh Order read: Second Reading: Centre for
Education, Innovation, Research and Development Bill [H. B. 1, 2020].
THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY
EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Madam Speaker, I
am humbled to present the principles of the Centre for Education, Innovation, Research and Development Bill.
Madam Speaker Ma’am, the level of human development is expressed by the extend and efficiency with which human needs are met by (1) industry and (2) the extent to which this industry is produced and nurtured by the education. Let me clarify from the start that industry only takes any one of the following forms: - (1) You mine it (mining);
(2) You grow it (agriculture) and (3) you make it (manufacturing). Thus, the way education is designed and delivered determines whether industry can happen or not. To this end, we postulate that the extent to which a nation’s education, innovation, research and development are deliberately linked to cause industry for purposes of meeting human needs defines the state of development of that nation.
Madam Speaker Ma’am, our nation has the vision of becoming an
Upper Middle Income Economy by 2030 as expressed by His
Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Dr. E. D.
Mnangagwa. An Upper Middle Income Economy is our National
Strategic Intent (NSI). National Strategic Intentions are fulfilled by the design and configuration of human capital and national assets. Heritage based Education 5.0 is the design we developed and deployed to give national capability through HTE. However, for all this to succeed, this has to be underpinned by sound legal frameworks that have a deliberate intention to cause the same. Games are won or lost at design stage.
Industrialisation is normally produced using a two-pronged approach; (1) ‘Investment-driven’ and (2) ‘Innovation-driven’. Investment-driven industrialisation relies on Foreign Direct Investment and imported technology as drivers for economic growth whilst innovation-driven industrialisation relies on local innovations for industrialisation. Zimbabwe shall combine the investment-driven type of industrialisation and the innovation-driven industrialisation.
Innovation-driven industrialisation has successfully been applied in the industrialised countries. For example, Cooperative Research Centres in Australia since 1990, the Swedish Competence Centre since 1994, the Austrian K1 and K2 Centres of the COMET programme since 2006,
Fraunhofer Institute of Germany since 1973 and the United States of America, Industry/Cooperative Research Centres since 1980. It is important to note that all industries that come to this country as investment type of industries were born as innovation types of industry in their countries of origin.
Advanced nations, for example the United States of America, since 1891 have used their higher and tertiary education institutions as engines for stimulating economic growth through reorganising these institutions to focus on applied research for the production of quality goods and services. For example, the foremost United States University driving United States industrialisation in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century was Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Charles w. Wessner, 2013. Illustrating the impact, a single research university can have in a region. In 2004 alone, MIT produced 133 patents, launched 20 startup companies and spent $1.2 billion in sponsored research – Charles W. Wessner, 2013.
Additionally, data from 1994 showed that at that time MIT graduates had founded over 4 000 companies employing 1.1 million people, generating $232 Billion in sales world-wide – Charles W. Wessner, 2013. The most famous example of University led economic development is Stanford University, which played a central role in the emergence of Silicon Valley.
Madam Speaker, the proposed Centre for Education,
Innovation, Research and Development Bill shall cause development of similar institutions in Zimbabwe to, among other objectives, act as a conduit to cause industry, add value to our natural heritage, innovate products based on our natural heritage, promote import substitution as well as ensure we turn our education into a pillar for industrial growth.
Objectives of CEIRD: The centre for Education, Innovation, Research and Development aims to:
- foster high quality education, innovation, research and development in strategically important sectors that have impact to the economy and society of Zimbabwe;
- produce a strong competitive enterprise base for Zimbabwe through facilitation of technology development and transfer;
-harness renowned pool of talent in the public (Government, universities and research institutes including SIRDC) and private industries to maximise exchange of talent and knowledge;
-complete the upper level of Zimbabwe’s education, innovation, research and development system through coordination in the in creation of better knowledge and applications;
-create an internationally competitive education, innovation, research and development system that attracts talent locally and internationally through prioritised projects and;
-circumvent rigid bureaucracies by creating synergies among public and private institutions that are programme based, thus appointed staff will have dual appointments at the institution.
Position of Centre in the Zimbabwe, Science and Technology
Research Landscape
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Position of the Centre for Education, Innovation, Research and Development in the Zimbabwe Science and Technology Landscape
It is important to note that the Centre occupies the upper level of all coordinating mechanisms and operates above all existing research institutes in Zimbabwe.
The expected outcomes of this institution are Intellectual property
(IP) – based industrialisation opportunities in line with the Zimbabwe
Constitutional dictates of Devolution. This entails that industry in
Zimbabwe’s provinces will be grown based on particular natural advantages. The ultimate aim is to enhance the chances to surpass an upper middle-income economy by 2030 and Human Capital with a culture of innovation which will be the catalysts for development in the nation and will help the country attract significant science and technology-based investment.
PRINCIPLES OF THE CEIRD BILL
Principle 1: Configuration of the Centre
This is a State granted institution. It shall have operational staff that are project based. Projects differ from time to time. Therefore, employment of researchers shall be on part time appointment. Strategically important programmes that have an impact to the economy and society through potential to produce industry shall drive the agenda of the Centre. Education, Innovation, Research and Development shall be grounded in our heritage, specifically on the heritage endowments found in different regions of Zimbabwe, for example, research centre in
Beitbridge may focus its research on the heritage of this district; Marula. Another research centre can be located in Hwange focusing its research on coal et cetera. The centre shall have the following founding institutes that focused on strategically important areas of the economy and society.
Health and Environment: The Centre shall conduct education, innovation, research and development focusing on medical technology, implants, prostheses, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, environmental technology and toxicology. The potential industries are Environmental Technologies, Pharmaceuticals, Agricultural Biotechnology, Medical Biotechnology, Animal Biotechnology and Prosthetic manufacturing industries .
Security and Protection: The objective is to provide people and the environment with the best possible protection from natural disaster threats. Education, Innovation, Research and Development shall focus on early detection, prevention, direct protection and quickly overcoming the consequences of a disastrous event. Furthermore, Education, Innovation, Research and Development shall focus on, for example, sniffer devices technology for detecting hazardous substances, IT security, saving lives disasters and crisis management. The aim is to create a reliable and flexible system for saving human lives in an emergency, using sensors, communication technology elements and robots. The possible industries are Robotics, Security Technology,
Imaging (Scanner) Technologies and Computer Hardware and Software.
Mobility and Transport: The Centre shall conduct Education,
Innovation, Research and Development to make transportation reliable.
Focus areas shall include Automotive Technology, Rail Technology,
Aviation and Transport and Mobility. The possible industries are Automotive, Rail Technology, Vehicle Communications and Drone Technologies.
Production and Supply Services: Education, Innovation, Research and Development shall focus on energy and resource-efficient processes for tomorrow’s manufacturers as well as Industry 4.0. the possible industries are Manufacturing Technologies, Automobile and Plant Engineering, Robotics and Materials Technologies.
Energy Communication Technologies: Education, Innovation, Research and Development shall focus on application-oriented, customised and integrated solution for a specific sector: tailored IT solutions. Furthermore, focus shall be on Big Date, Image Processing,
Cloud Computing, Broadband Communications, Virtual and Augmented
Reality. The possible industries are Manufacturing Technologies, Telecommunications, Data Warehousing, Hardware, Software and
Mobile Technologies.
Energy and Natural Resources: Education, Innovation, Research and Development shall focus on Renewable Energy, Energy Storage and
Management, using raw material more efficiently, recycling construction waste and other building technology research. The possible industries are Appliances manufacturing, Battery Technologies, Wind and Solar
Power Technologies.
Geospatial, Aeronautical and Space Sciences: Education,
Innovation, Research and Development shall focus on developing Geospatial Science and Earth Observation, Space Sciences, Space
Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering and Astronautical Engineering.
The possible industries are Satellite Manufacturing, Satellite Communication Technologies, Drone Technologies and GIS Technologies.
Food Technology: Education, Innovation, Research and Development shall focus on indigenous food systems for Zimbabwe.
The possible industries are Bakery, Milling, Food processing etc.
Electronics and electro-mechanical systems: Education, Innovation, Research and Development shall focus on robotics, mechatronics, wireless electricity, electro-mechanical systems. Possible industries include mobile communication, Nanotechnology, Biomedical electronics etc.
The Centre shall use cooperative research arrangements. This entails that researchers from university, colleges, research institutes and government work together as a team to accomplish a specific research project. The Centre shall span of industries using successfully incubated prototypes from the innovation hubs and industrial parks. This is the method Zimbabwe shall use to industrialise
Funds of the Centre: Funding for the Centre of Education, Innovation, Research and Development shall consist of base funding in the form of moneys appropriated by an Act of Parliament for the purposes of the Centre, any moneys allocated by Treasury for that purpose, any other Projects through its own research and development and innovations.
The Centre, like national universities and State Research Institutions shall operate in the public domain and therefore not be subject to taxation under the laws of Zimbabwe.
Staff of the Centre: The Centre shall have a complement of permanent administrative staff responsible for overall management of the education, innovation, research and development programmes and for the legal, financial, communications as well as networking aspects of the Centre. It shall utilise staff from universities, colleges, research institutes, and government laboratories coordinated by the Chief
Scientist from the Ministry for Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development.
Researchers and Innovators shall come from a university college or research institution. Researchers are project based thus, they shall only come to together to work on a specific project and be rewarded accordingly. The head of a Centre and the research staff of the Centre shall have dual appointments at the research institute and university for the duration of the program. Masters and PhD students shall be part of the staff. For example, the Cooperative Research Centre in Australia are producing the highest number of Masters and PHD graduates who are practically industrilising that country.
Administration of the Centre: There shall be a Scientific Board comprising of heads of institutes and Principal Scientists. This Board shall be headed by a Chief Scientist. The Board shall be responsible for overseeing the activities of the Centre of Education, Innovation, Research and Development. There shall be an Administrative Council headed by a Chairman. This council shall be constituted by eminent scientists, a legal practitioner and an accountant. In addition, there shall be a Registrar responsible for administration. There shall be a corresponding link Director in the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development.
Madam Speaker, the Centre for Education, Innovation, Research and Development through the strength of its collaborative research framework, new products from innovation and spin of industries shall be at the core of ensuring that Zimbabwe is industrialised and modernised in order to attain Vision 2030 of an upper middle income economy.
Madam Speaker, I move that the Bill be now read a second time.
THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): I move that the debate do now
adjourn.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 9th March, 2021
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE), the House adjourned
at Sixteen Minutes to Six o’clock p.m.