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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY HANSARD 17 JULY 2024 VOL 50 NO 71

PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE

Wednesday, 17^th July, 2024

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

PRAYERS

(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)

ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. SPEAKER

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH SERVICE

          THE HON. SPEAKER: I have to inform the House that all Catholic members are invited to a meeting at 12.00 o’clock noon on Thursday, 18^th July, 2024 in the Special Committee Room No.1 at the Ground Floor. This will be followed by a Holy mass at 12.30 hours at the same venue. All Hon. Members of Parliament including non- Catholics are invited for the holy mass.

APOLOGIES RECEIVED FROM MINISTERS

          THE HON. SPEAKER: I have received apologies from members of the Executive; Hon. Sen. M. Mutsvangwa, Minister of Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development; Hon. J. Mhlanga, Deputy Minister of Women’s Affairs Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development; Hon. D. Garwe, Minister of Local Government and Public Works; Hon. B. Kabikira, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Public Works; Hon. K. Coventry, Minister of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture; Hon. Z. Ziyambi, Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs; Hon. Dr. S. Nyoni, Minister of Environment, Climate and Wildlife; Hon. J. Paradza, Deputy Minister of Environment, Climate and Wildlife. Why is he not here? I got a letter from the Hon. Minister indicating that he will be here. Hon. F. Shava, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Hon. S. Chikomo, Deputy of Minister Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Hon. Haritatos, Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement and Hon. S. T. Kwidini, Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care; Hon. Prof. Mavima, Minister of Skills Audit and Development and Hon. Prof. M. Ncube, Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion. Hon. Prof. Murwira is the Acting Leader of Government Business.

          Hon. Maburutse having given a notice of motion, the Hon. Speaker asked him to repeat the notice of motion, but before repeating the notice of motion, he approached the Government Chief Whip. 

          THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order. If you are called by your Chief Whip, you seek permission accordingly. You do not leave your place while you are upstanding and I have called upon you to speak.

HON. MABURUTSE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, point taken.  Can I proceed?

THE HON. SPEAKER: We do not say point taken in the House.

HON. MABURUTSE: My apologies Mr. Speaker Sir.

THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you. I have seen Hon. Members entering the House after prayers on my left and on my right. I am going to effect my ruling and the ruling is: even if you have come to Parliament and I ask you to get out of the House, you will not get your benefits for that particular day.

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

⁺HON. R.  MPOFU: Good afternoon Mr. Speaker Sir, my question is directed to the Minister of Transport. First, I would like to commend the Ministry for the big job they are doing, refurbishing the roads throughout the country.  What measures is the Ministry putting in place for Bulawayo-Kezi Road and Gwanda-Maphisa Road? I have asked this question before and would like to know whether there is something that is being done now because the road is also dilapidated, there are too many accidents there and people who are disabled and cannot use their wheelchairs on that road. I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.

⁺THE HON. SPEAKER: The question is good but is misplaced. We ask policy questions relating to Government business and if you have a specific question that requires a specific answer, you put such question in writing so that the Minister can have time to research and submit a written answer, forgive me Hon. Mpofu.

⁺HON. R. MPOFU: I have heard you Mr. Speaker Sir. I will do that next time. I thank you.

HON. KANGAUSARU: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, good afternoon and greetings from Hurungwe. My question goes to the Minister of Lands and Agriculture. What steps is the Ministry taking to ensure that policies, financial support and programmes aimed at supporting agriculture in the remote areas are reimplemented effectively, transparently and with measurable outcomes for the benefit of our rural population? I thank you.

THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA): Mr. Speaker Sir, I thank the Hon. Member for the question which is very broad, seeking to know what measures as a Ministry, we take to ensure that the policies, strategies, projects are implemented equitably, transparently...

THE HON. SPEAKER: You may synthesise your response 

HON. DR. MASUKA: Mr. Speaker Sir, the Ministry’s planning unit is a household. The 1.8 million households throughout the country, irrespective of where they are, for example in the Summer Plan that was approved by Cabinet yesterday, we envisage that the 1.8 million households throughout the country across 35 000 villages in 1 620 rural wards will each receive support with three Pfumvudza/ Intwasa plots and that the distribution will be done fairly. We have set up committees and Cabinet approved and just as an example that the ward councillor and all the village heads in a particular ward constitute this committee that the woman coordinator from the Ministry of Women’s Affairs is part of this committee. The youth are represented by the youth’s coordinator in the ward. We have even gone to an extent Mr. Speaker of saying that the Agritex officer can only be a secretary to this committee and the nearest learned person being the headmaster of the school is also part of this committee.  Therefore, we have ensured that this is done as transparently as is humanly possible. Should however, any case of malfeasance arise, the Hon. Member and many others would want to alert us to any such happenings across the provinces.

Mr. Speaker Sir, when I go out, I ordinarily give out my phone number so that anyone, anywhere, witnessing anything happen within the agricultural space where they seek to get clarification on the Ministry’s policy, is able to send me an SMS, and with your indulgence, may I give out that number again. It is 0772169957. Thank you, Mr. Speaker Sir.

THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Minister, some people, Hon. Members have said come again, you have been rather fast with your number.

   HON. DR. MASUKA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, the number is 0772169957 - as things happen Hon. Members, please send me a text message. Thank you very much.

HON. KANGAUSARU: Thank you Hon. Minister for such a good response to my question, but I would like to fragment or reduce my question to a small unit. It might look like a different question but it is the same question.  What financial mechanism is available to small farmers’ units to enhance their credit and ensuring them financial services crucial for agricultural development?  I thank you.

          THE HON.SPEAKER: That is a different question altogether.  Unfortunately it does not arise.

          HON. KANGAUSARU: To be clarified on the…

          THE HON. SPEAKER: Order!  I have ruled.  That question is very specific to some certain sections of the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement.      

HON. L. NCUBE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir and good afternoon.  My question is directed to the Minister of Health and Child Care. What measures has the Ministry of Health and Child Care taken to date to treat with urgency deserved, the problem of lack of anti-venom drugs in clinics and hospitals? I thank you.

          THE HON. SPEAKER: Can you repeat your question and speak up please?

Hon. L. Ncube repeated her questions.

 HON. PROF. MURWIRA: Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir. I wish to thank Hon. Ncube for that question on anti-venom.  I guess or predict that she is talking about anti snake venom, snake bite venom from snakes. If that is the case, assuming it is the case Hon Speaker Sir, we are not aware of the shortage.  If the Hon. Member is clear about specifically where that anti-venom was not found, we will be happy if she can put that in writing so that we go to that specific place because it might be a specific place where anti-venom was not found so that we really remedy that issue because we do not have the evidence of lack of anti-venom drugs in this country.  I thank you.

HON. CHINANZVAVANA: Supplementary Mr. Speaker Sir.

THE HON SPEAKER: Who is asking for supplementary?

HON. CHINANANZVAVANA: I am here Mr. Speaker Sir, Hon Chinanzvavana.

THE HON. SPEAKER: I will come back to you if need be. The question titivates on some specifics and to say there are no anti-venom drugs in hospitals is asking a question that is fait accompli because you need data to prove that. The question should ask and relate to policy, what is Government policy in so far as the distribution of that medication is concerned. I am very clear.  That is why the Hon. Leader of Government Business had a problem in being specific.

HON. L. MOYO:  Supplementary question.

THE HON. SPEAKER:  There is no supplementary.  I have ruled already.  Hon. Member, with all due respect, if you have hospitals or clinics that do not have that medication, then you can ask a written question to ask the Minister of Health and Child Care why that medication is not being distributed to those hospitals and clinics you have identified and you get the response accordingly – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections. ] - Hon. Hamuaswa, can you listen?

HON. L. NCUBE:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I will provide the evidence.

THE HON. SPEAKER:  Most appreciated.

HON. EDGAR NCUBE:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  Good afternoon Mr. Speaker – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.] –

THE HON. SPEAKER:  Order, order!  For the sake of Parliamentary proceedings, I think I have allowed that greeting to carry on.  It is not in order.  It is unparliamentary – [HON. MEMBERS:  Hear, hear.] – So just take the floor and ask the question in spite of you wanting to greet me.

HON. EDGAR NCUBE:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My question goes to the Minister of Local Government and Public Works.  We have seen the drought in this season and we have seen in the cities and towns that taps are running dry.  What is Government policy to help the cities and towns on this problem?  Thank you.

HON. HAMAUSWA:  On a point of order Mr. Speaker Sir.

THE HON. SPEAKER:  There is no point of order.

HON. HAMAUSWA:  If you could indulge me Mr. Speaker.

THE HON. SPEAKER:  I have not responded.  Hon. Ncube, did you indicate the unavailability of water in the cities and towns?  I did not quite get that last part of your question.

HON. EDGAR NCUBE:  Let me repeat my question.  My question is directed to the Minister of Local Government and Public Works.  The country is facing a severe drought due to poor rains.  As a result, cities are now starting not to receive running water from their taps.  What is the Government policy to avert the water situation in towns and cities?  I thank you Mr. Speaker.  

          THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir. From a policy perspective, Government policy, when we have put a conveyancing for water, the policy is to keep the tap wet.

          If I could summarise the answer, I would say that Government policy is to make the taps wet.  However, the issue is complex; the drought and the water availability, especially in dams, are not quite related, for example in Harare, the dams could be more than 70% full even if it is not raining, but the taps will be dry.  So, this is the question of the conveyancing system of water, which is a very important issue of the infrastructure for conveyancing.

          Here, I am trying to answer the questions of the rain, drought, and the availability of water.  In certain cities, it applies, this drought issue where dams might be dry but overally, when we talk about the percentage, the Minister responsible for water is available Hon. Speaker.  When it comes to the percentage of water in this country, we do not have a shortage of water yet, especially in the cities but the conveyancing system of that water. So, the Government policy is to make sure that our conveyancing system is revamped and that the taps are wet.

          HON. E. NCUBE: Thank you for your answer, Hon. Minister.  I wanted to ask if there are any plans to help the councils to convey the water to the residents.

          THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. E. Ncube, I thought the Hon. Minister had covered that aspect of your question.

          HON. MATEWU: Thank you, Mr. Speaker Sir.  My supplementary question to the Hon. Minister would be that the main reason for the lack of water in the cities, towns and town boards is that of the water purification plants that were built in the Rhodesian era.

          When is the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works going to assist in rebuilding or expanding the existing water purification plants that are in our town boards?  For example, the Marondera one was built in 1975 catering for 20 000 residents, now the population is reaching circa 100 000.  When is the Government going to ensure that we rebuild and expand these water treatment plants so that the expanding population in both towns and cities can have clean water in terms of the United Nations resolution?  I thank you.

          HON. PROF. MURWIRA: I wish to thank the Hon. Member for asking that policy question when it comes to the Central Government and local authorities.  I am saying this deliberately because local authorities are a devolved structure of Government. It means that the councils must be able to specifically answer the ‘when’ question. But when it comes to Government policy, it says all local authorities must have master plans.  All local authorities must show high levels of the organisation. The taxes that they collect from the people must be used to improve the quality of life of citizens through the provision of the amenities that are required for a good living.

 We know that different cities have different water treatment plants of different ages.  The Government, through the administration of His Excellency, the President, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa, has asked specifically that all local authorities must have master plans so that we can be able to serve the people better and that they have to be accountable at that level.

So, in terms of Government action, this is the Central Government action that has directed that this happens.  The local authorities should then act on the specifics unless the Hon. Member is saying we should replace as an emergency, the inefficient local authorities.  We would be happy to do so through this Parliament.

*HON. MATANGIRA: I am happy with the answer that the Leader of the House is giving but from where I come, Bindura South Constituency, Manhenga. Over 4 000 people as I speak right now, do not have access to clean water.  There is likely to be an outbreak of Cholera because of non-availability of water.  The situation is dire. What can be done so that these people can get water immediately?  Approximately 4 000 people do not have water right now.

THE HON. SPEAKER:  Hon. Matangira, I thought the Hon. Minister was clear.  Does that local authority have a master plan? If it has a master plan, what has it done about the problem?

Secondly, the Hon. Minister has said if there is a question of emergency, the Central Government is prepared to look into the matter based on urgency.  Your question does not titivate in that direction.

          *HON. HAMAUSWA:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  My supplementary is that I heard the Hon. Minister saying Harare is not affected by drought, but we saw your Committee Mr. Speaker, visiting Kunzvi Dam.  We watched  on the news that they were happy because Kunzvi Dam was now on 50% completion, meaning that it is about to be completed.  This means it will ease the problems of water shortages in Harare.  We want to know whether the Hon. Minister is aware of Kunzvi Dam which is being constructed because the dams in Harare are not enough to cater for the population that is in Harare. 

          THE HON. SPEAKER:  I am in trouble.  Can you ask questions that relate to policy?  You have asked a specific question.  What the Hon. Minister did was to give an example, not that he was inviting the House to debate on specifics - stick to policy. 

          *HON. HAMAUSWA:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  I was thinking that if people ask policy questions, the Hon. Minister …

          THE HON. SPEAKER:  I thought you have heard for yourself, chiri murusakasaka chazvinzwira. 

          HON. GUMBO:   What is Government policy on the involvement of the private sector in the provision of water services and sanitation in order to improve water supply in urban areas?

          HON. PROF. MURWIRA:  Hon. Speaker, I have the Minister responsible for water here but if you would allow me, if he can add after I have said what I am thinking.  Hon. Speaker, private sector – what is Government policy overall in the private sector in the first place? 

His Excellency the President, Dr. E. D, Mnangagwa always said this is a private sector led economy.  So that is a policy statement on the involvement of the private sector when it comes to the provision of services.  Hon. Speaker, as we were moving to Parliament today, to the National Assembly, we moved along roads that are being made by the private sector - that is one type of involvement. The other type of involvement would be taking over facilities for provision of services, but it is the same. It is a private sector led economy – that is our policy, unless there is something more specific than that. 

          If it is a policy question to say ‘what is our policy?’  Our policy is very simple – private sector led economy towards Vision 2030 and the vehicle is NDS1.  I thank you.

          HON. JAMES:  Supplementary!

          THE HON. SPEAKER:  Sorry, is there a supplementary?

- [HON. JAMES: Yes.] -  Please proceed.

HON. JAMES:  Thank you Mr. Speaker.  My understanding was that the question from my Hon. Colleague was: what is Government doing to increase the water purification plants?  As per our earlier committee yesterday, Government is trying to regularise a lot of the informal sectors and we got the assurance that Government would be responsible for all off-site infrastructure.  Thank you.

          THE HON. SPEAKER:  What is your question?

          HON. JAMES:  It was a policy that was given to us that Government would be responsible for the off-site infrastructure.  I think the Hon. Minister is trying to pass the buck onto somebody else.

          HON. PROF. MURWIRA:  Hon. Speaker, we were talking about dry taps and water provision in the plans that are old.  What we have been saying as Government is, we have asked local authorities to do their masterplans and also to be citizen-centric.  Citizen-centric meaning we will collect taxes from people, use those taxes to give people the services that they are paying for.  It is not central Government’s direct duty to collect taxes for the purposes of administering a local authority, because it has certain provisions that allows them to do so?  In actual fact, these are little islands of taxation within the economy.

          So let us face it as people of this country that most of our urban local authorities, particularly the ones in Harare, you do not have to be very educated to see that they are failing because there is no water in the taps.  The policy is to make them not fail by focusing on the conveyancing system, because you will find that 60% of pumped water in Harare is lost in conveyancing.  This is where the issue is, if we have to focus on the question of national interest.  It is about how we have to work on these local authorities through asking them to do the proper thing like asking them for the masterplan that we can solve this issue.  I think it is a question that has to be solved without even pointing a finger elsewhere, but at the local authority.  I thank you.

          *HON. NYABANI:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  My question is directed to the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion.  In his absence, I will direct it to the Leader of the House.  My question …

          *THE HON. SPEAKER:  That is not your duty, just ask the question and the Chair will direct accordingly.

          *HON. NYABANI:  Thank your Mr. Speaker.  I want to know Government policy when it comes to companies that are contracted by Government and are given money to work in the country?

          *HON. PROF. MURWIRA:  Thank you Hon. Speaker.  The Government is there to oversee that public funds are ring-fenced.  Everyone who is contracted by Government to work, signs a contract so that they provide services.  When we are talking about laws, that is what happens but it does not mean that everyone who signs a contract is able to finish.  If they are unable to complete the work, there are also laws that also bind them.

          I am saying that there is a law for doing work and a law for reprimanding.  So everything is in order.

*HON. NYABANI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Thank you, Hon. Minister, for your response. I wanted to say that, is it not possible for a contracted company to pay a guarantee fee to the Government so that if it fails to deliver to the expected level, Government will hold on to the guarantee at the bank so that money will be paid back?

THE HON. SPEAKER:  Please, stick to policy issues not to some specific companies that have failed to perform. That should be done through a written question.

HON. CHIGUMBU: Thank you Mr. Speaker. Minister, do we have a policy that speaks to an issue of making sure that those who would have failed to provide adequate services are blacklisted? Can something be done to make sure that they will not be contracted again to ensure that Government is not short-changed by similar individuals each and every time when they want certain things to be done? Thank you.

THE HON. SPEAKER:  I thought the Hon. Minister had answered that. The Hon. Minister, Leader of Government Business, vati ivo zvombo zviripo. The law is there requiring specific performance. The law is there to apply for shoddy work. That is what the Hon. Minister said. There is no better policy than application of the law.

HON. CHIGUMBU:  Mr. Speaker, just to clarify. I am asking in terms of whether there is a way these people can be blacklisted. Yes, the policy might be there or the laws might be there to correct some misdeeds, but do we have a policy that speaks to blacklisting these people so that they will not be contracted again to do whatever Government wants to be done?

THE HON. SPEAKER:  Order! What is enforceable is that which is determined by the law. A policy is not enforceable at law, please!

HON. MADZIVANYIKA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My follow up to the Minister is why is it that we continue to see recurrence of such malpractices, whereby companies which would have been awarded tenders to supply Government, continuously fail to meet their obligations, yet there is a law? Is it a matter of lack of enforceability? Thank you.

THE HON. SPEAKER:  Again, if you want specific answers and you have got specific situations of dereliction of performance, please ask a written question.

HON. MAKUVIRE:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My question is directed to the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education. What is the Government position on the provision of free sanitary pads in all schools for all girls?

THE HON. SPEAKER:  I will allow the Minister to respond but this question has been asked, I do not know how many times. Perhaps, as they say in Shona, dzokororo ine simba.

*THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA):  The issue of sanitary pads – the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has a policy of doing that. They give them. When it comes to Higher and Tertiary Education, we have never come across such a huge problem but if there is a challenge, we have a student affairs department. Every college and every university has got that welfare department. Students who have different challenges, including sanitary pads, go to that department and they get help there. If it is on policy level, our laws are clear. When it comes to execution, it has to be specific, but the laws are there because the aim of Government is that people should not be in trouble. If they face any challenges, they should approach them so that it can be rectified.

*HON. MAKUVIRE:  I have heard your response Minister, but the real situation is that in schools, there are no sanitary pads. We have schools where our children are learning and there are no sanitary pads in those schools. We want to know when it is going to be implemented. Yes, the policy is there, we have heard about it, but when are we going to get them?

HON. PROF. MURWIRA: Mr. Speaker Sir, I am requesting the Hon. Member to put the question in writing citing all the schools facing challenges and take it to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Hon. Moyo, so that he can investigate specifically. The law on itself is good.

HON. DR. KHUPE: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir. During the 2021 Budget, if I am not mistaken, we proposed that every school must have a girls’ room, where sanitary wear is stored so that when girls experience that time of the month, they just walk into that girls’ room and have access to sanitary wear. My question is, has Government implemented that because it is not a difficult thing to do? You just make sure that every school has a girls’ room so that girls know where to get the sanitary wear from. I thank you.

HON. PROF. MURWIRA: Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir. With your permission, I would allow the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education to answer that specific question.

          THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. T. MOYO): Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir and good afternoon to you. May I thank the Hon. Member Dr. Khupe for the question? We have a policy in place that it is the obligation of Government to provide sanitary wear. We had some tours three weeks ago to determine whether sanitary wear is available in schools. The Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education accompanied Ministry officials and in all the schools that we visited, we discovered that they have sanitary wear. There are specific rooms where sanitary wear can be found for use by the girls. I thank you.

          HON. MUROMBEDZI: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker. Given the positive impact of the provision of sanitary wear in schools on girls and having seen that it increases their school attendance over their well-being and ending period poverty, what is Government policy in place to ensure there is sustainable funding and consistent supply of these products in all schools, especially in rural areas and under-privileged areas?

          HON. T. MOYO: Hon. Speaker Sir, may I thank the Hon. Member for the question. The Government of Zimbabwe deliberately allocates funding for sanitary wear. We have a department which deals with the welfare issues of students, especially the girl child. The challenge which we used to have was the issue of procurement which was centralised. We have since decentralised the procurement of sanitary wear as well as decentralisation in terms of procurement of food stuffs for the school feeding programme.

          So, we have a budget and we always receive funds from Treasury towards the procurement of sanitary wear that we distribute to all the ten provinces of Zimbabwe. The rural schools are not left behind. In fact, we prioritise rural areas and that is where the most marginalised girls are located. That is the policy which we have in place.

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

          THE HON. SPEAKER: Arising from where?

          HON. HAMAUSWA: Arising from the way you have kept the decorum of this House up to date. There is a way in which you have kept the decorum of this House in terms of dressing. I have seen Hon. Elizabeth Masuku putting on a scarf which was not allowed in this House. I do not know if anything has changed in terms of policy over the decorum of this House where a scarf is now allowed. Thank you.

          THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, yes, we made some ruling three years ago and we abide by that ruling. Hon. Member, can you remove that scarf?

          HON.  MASUKU: But it is not a party regalia.

          THE HON. SPEAKER: Can you remove the scarf?

          HON.  MASUKU: Okay.

          THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you.

          HON.  MASUKU: Asi marwadziwa nei imi machinja imi?

          THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, order.

          *HON. MANGONDO: Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir. I want to direct my question to the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, particularly focusing on the shortage of liquid cash in the rural areas on change which is required for boarding commuter omnibuses and buses. The challenge is that there is no money…

          THE HON. SPEAKER: A straight forward question to the Hon. Minister of Finance. 

          *HON. MANGONDO: Sorry Hon. Speaker Sir. My question is, what does Government plan to do in order to avail cash so that people can have change, particularly looking at the local currency ZiG? I thank you.

          THE HON. SPEAKER: I think it is Hon. Minister Mhona, is it?

          THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA) on behalf of THE MINISTER OF FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE):   Hon. Speaker Sir, my apologies if you may indulge me, the Hon. Member can come through again.

          THE HON. SPEAKER: Sorry, the Hon. Minister has just come in, can you repeat your question?

          *HON. MANGONDO: Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir. My question pertains to cash which is needed for purchasing goods and even for people who use public transport as change particularly looking at the ZiG currency.

          HON. MHONA: I want to thank the Hon. Member for that pertinent question. Indeed, it is true this is a challenge which is being faced by many people who need change as they board commuter omnibuses. The Governor of the Reserve Bank last month had a meeting with public transport operators to try and address this challenge. He promised that it is an issue which is going to be looked into so that coins are availed. I believe that when the Hon. Minister of Finance comes with the Mid-Term Review, these are issues which are going to be corrected so that people would have access to cash. This is not all, but the Ministry of Information is going to carry out outreach programmes where people will be taught on how to use the new currency even in rural areas.  This is a complaint which was lodged and the Ministry of Finance is addressing that through the Reserve Bank. I thank you.

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

          THE HON. SPEAKER: Is there anything wrong with the Minister’s response Hon. Member?

          HON. MATANGIRA: No, Hon. Speaker.

          THE HON. SPEAKER: If there is nothing wrong with the Minister’s response, you cannot raise a point of order. 

HON. MATANGIRA: It is not about the Hon. Minister, we are saying a speck has been seen in my eye when a big log is lying in the eye of the other person speaking. We spoke about the flag and Zimbabwe bird on a scarf when the same ruling says we bar all yellow from your left, but there is a lot of yellow on the other side Hon. Speaker - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –

THE HON. SPEAKER: Order if I recall, we ruled on the scarf and the ties - [HON. MEMBERS: Yellow.] –

HON. TAFANANA ZHOU: On a point of order Mr. Speaker.

THE HON. SPEAKER: What is your point of order?

*HON. TAFANANA ZHOU: For the benefit of the Hon. Members Hon. Speaker, I am one of the members who was here in this House when you made a ruling. Some female Members of Parliament were putting on yellow clothes, the males were putting on yellow ties.  You made a ruling that they were not allowed to put on that and the scarf was no allowed.  I just wanted to remind you Hon. Speaker.

THE HON. SPEAKER: I have ruled already.

*HON. MANGONDO: Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir, and I appreciate the response that I got from the Hon. Minister, my supplementary question is that the shortage of ZiG, is it not perpetuating the black-market where you find that the demand for US dollar continues to increase.  I thank you.

*HON. MHONA: I want to thank Hon. Mangondo.  Indeed, it is true, the causes of inflation are issues to do with a lot of liquid cash circulating or the shortage of cash.  According to what the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe said, this money is gold backed so it is different from money which was not backed by gold.  So, because our currency is backed by gold, this is how money is going to be circulating. It might be a challenge that there is not a lot of our liquid cash in circulation. People might expect a lot of cash but when there is a lot of cash, this results in inflation and this will perpetuate the black-market.  I thank you.

HON. MADZIVANYIKA: Thank you Hon. Speaker.  My supplementary question is a follow up to the reserves.  I am aware that the RBZ Governor indicated that they are going to print more money, considering the reserves accumulation in terms of gold and foreign currency reserves. As of last month, the Reserve Bank Governor indicated that their reserves have increased to USD400m from the initial USD285 million.  Could there be any harm that they print no additional differenceof USD115 million to allow change in the market by increasing only M1 money which is notes and coins?  Our people are in a difficult situation in terms of change.

HON. MHONA: Thank you Hon. Speaker and I thank the Hon. Member for the pertinent question that he has raised.  We have agreed that we have got a challenge of change which must be addressed.  In terms of the money supply, like he has indicated the M1, we are saying yes, we are close to 400, precisely around 387 million in our reserves pertaining to cover the ZiG.  We are saying in terms of printing money, the Governor will not go beyond that.  I do not think that will then affect the issue of change.  The Hon. Member is right to say what we now need are smaller denominations so that we promote transitionary processes to flow, whether we are talking of those who are in cities or those in the villages.   I do agree that we need to address the issue of change.  In terms of the money supply growth, it is in tandem with what is in our reserves.

*HON. S. TSHUMA: Thank you Hon. Speaker I direct my question to the Minister of Agriculture. I want to find out what the Ministry’s plans are, especially considering that we do not have enough rains and most of our small dams are drying up.  They might not be having much water as time goes on.  What is the Ministry doing in order to assist villagers and our livestock so that there will not be shortage of water? I thank you.

*THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA): Thank you Speaker Sir. I want to thank the Hon. Member for that question.  This year the whole country did not receive adequate rains but we know that we have different ecological zones which are referred to as agro-ecological zones from number 1 to 5. The number 1 ecological region has a lot of rain,  the same as region 2 and 3.  Where we come from in our different constituencies, we have a lot of wards and 1035 wards are in semi-arid areas that fall under regions 4 and 5.  These are areas which are earmarked for boreholes which are going to supplement the water that villagers are getting and for the sake of their livestock. Those who watch televisions saw the Vice President General Retired Mohadi who was in Gwaranyemba in Gwanda launching the ward drought mitigation centre, a programme which focuses on developing every ward where every ward is given a borehole and four 5000 litre tanks.  Now we are no longer putting four 5000 litre tanks, but we are putting two.

 We also allocated a reservoir which is meant for livestock and consumption and also we set aside where people can wash their clothes. On Monday, we had a meeting with ZINWA, which is responsible for this programme and this is what we are focusing on as Government.  We have 28 rigs which were distributed across the country, especially in dry areas which fall under Midlands, Matabeleland South and Masvingo.  There are a number of beneficiaries who were given on average two, three, four rigs for sinking boreholes.

Sometimes as Government, we might not be able to distribute fuel or allocate fuel, but we have meetings with Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution every month. Last month we had a meeting and we noted that most of the rigs were not operating because they were not properly funded.  There was no money from Government. So we agreed that the community should come together and pull resources so that they fuel the rigs.  I believe that if the challenge persists, then we can send an emergency response rig which will assist communities. I thank you Hon Speaker Sir.

*HON. S. TSHUMA: Thank you and I want to thank the Hon. Minister for that in-depth response. I wanted to find out the timelines, how long it is going to take because our livestock might be suffering, especially as we get into the hot season? Sometimes you would find that some livestock can go for 40km, at times a rig can also have a target of 40km.  So the question then is that, is it not possible that every ward should have its own rig?  I thank you.

 *HON. DR. MASUKA: People should not walk for long distances because there must be boreholes in every neighborhood but the Government does not have adequate resources and funding from the fiscus is not enough.  Then we also faced drought in the past farming season.  So we had to come up with an alternative which is that in every ward, there should be a borehole.  We also agreed that the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, the Hon. Minister sends a circular, which identifies where a borehole is going to be sunk. For example, in Matabeleland South we have 167 wards, so we allocate to certain wards.   We say ward number 1, Hon. Minister, there should be a borehole and the community would identify where that borehole should be sunk.  This is what should be done in every area.  So it is now up to the representative to engage with those who were empowered with decision making for the different wards.

We also said that we should do our mapping for the whole of Zimbabwe identifying the drought prone areas where water will not be enough and people are most likely going to face challenges in terms of feeding their livestock.  I thank you.

*HON. TOFANANA ZHOU:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  I want to thank the Hon. Minister for his response.  We appreciate the programme which speaks to empowering 35 000 villages with 35000 solar powered boreholes.  So Hon. Minister, are there other boreholes which have already been there?  This is a supplementary question to Hon. Tshuma’s question.  What other plans do you have which are going to assist women so that they access piped and tapped water?  I thank you.

*HON. DR. MASUKA:   I want to thank the Hon. Member for that pertinent question. When we look at safe wells and boreholes, accumulatively they are around 53 000 and for boreholes we have around 42 000 and most of them were sunk long back.  They have a traditional way of pumping which was referred to as bush pumps, but it is not a word I want to use and such pumps, after establishing the village business units, we decided that we cannot sink another borehole whilst that one is there.

So RIDA and ZINWA were tasked with going to visit every borehole.  Some were sunk by RIDA which was DDF, so that there are those which still generate a lot of water and those which generate a lot of water are then augmented with water tanks, but those which do not, would remain like that.  We want to look for such and we are going to put such tanks.  This fulfills the vision of His Excellency, President E. D. Mnangagwa through village business units.  I thank you.

          *HON. GWANGWABA: I want to direct my question to the Hon. Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement.  What are the Government plans to do with areas that have big rivers capable of providing water to communities?

          *THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA):   Indeed, it is true we have some big rivers and because of that, we have constructed several dams.  We have a lot of dams and the rivers that we are focusing on are rivers that do not dry and such perennial rivers are the ones used for water harvesting for the benefit of communities.

          The Government, in the past, had a plan to use Lake Mutirikwi as a water point which would benefit the community.  Now, the Government policy is that we are going to harvest and distribute water from that dam.  This programme has already started, so we are going to spread this initiative to the rest of the country.

          However, after doing water harvesting…

          THE HON. SPEAKER: Order! Hon. Ministers of Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Affairs and Home Affairs, may you come to my office now.

          *HON. DR. MASUKA: After ascertaining that we can only divert water for irrigation from some rivers when we decide to use the water for consumption, we are then going to come up with water treatment points.  However, some dams only need a borehole which may cost maybe 10,000 ZiG.  This is easier. So, sometimes this is done in other communities so that communities can start their irrigation projects.  I thank you.

          *HON. MAPIKI: Thank you Hon. Speaker Ma’am.  I would like to appreciate the question that was asked by Hon. Tshuma regarding our livestock.  What does the Government plan to do with silted dams?  Is de-siltation in progress?

          *HON. DR. MASUKA: Every time I come to this august House, this question is asked.  So, I believe today is the last time it will be asked. 

It was discovered by engineers who construct dams that many people assume that dams are created when people dig pits but that is not true.  Water harvesting is done when a point is identified where a stream is blocked and water accumulates.  When it accumulates, in a case where there is a lot of river sand or siltation, then it is cheaper to construct a new dam instead of desilting the old dam.  That is why we do not normally encourage desilting.  Some of the ZINWA dams are eight metres deeper and become very expensive when you can construct three dams; it is different from small dams. When we were given a task to construct dams, we sent our engineers to prospect so that they decide whether it was cheaper to construct a dam or to desilt.  I thank you.

          *HON. SAGANDIRA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am.  I want to direct my question to the Hon. Minister. Mostly we focus on those who live on dry land but we do not look at aquatic animals like fish which lose their lives because water would have dried.  So, what does the Government plan to do with aquatic species like fish which are found in dams that are drying?  I thank you. 

          *HON. DR. MASUKA: Thank you, Madam Speaker Ma’am. The Government is busy working to provide water for people, fish, and livestock.  We know that fish hibernate in sand and mud.  Fish are very sensitive but sometimes people look for fish when the water dries. We want to urge the line Ministry to ensure that we have enough resources.  I thank you.

          *HON. MUWODZERI: Thank you, Madam Speaker Ma’am.  My question is directed to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development.  When Government cars are involved in accidents and parked for a long time, you find sometimes grass covering the car after being parked for a long time.  Some will just be parked whilst still new but they are not being serviced. So when does the Government auction those vehicles?

*THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA):  Thank you Hon. Madam Speaker Ma’am and thank you to Hon. Muwodzeri for that question.  Indeed, it is true, we note that in the past week, we had a number of accidents.  A number of cars that were impounded by the police were burnt.  The cars came through the Public Procurement and Disposal Act which was passed by this august House which allows Government to dispose of furniture and other assets.  This is the law that is applied in order to dispose different assets.  The law is there, now it is up to any ministry which has such assets to dispose using the law. 

          In addition, sometimes you find that people do not collect their cars after they are impounded.  Some would just leave their cars, especially those who have their cars impounded for different reasons.  ZIMRA also impounds cars and there is a specific period where they can keep the cars but if the cars are not collected within that particular period, then the cars are disposed of using the law that I alluded to earlier.  So it is up to the Ministry to look at such assets and decide when to dispose them.  I thank you.

          HON. P. NDUDZO:   Thank you Madam Speaker.  My question is directed to the Minister of Health and Child Care.  What steps is the Government taking to address the rising costs of prescription drugs and ensure affordable access to essential medicine for all our people, mostly in rural areas?  Thank you.

          THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA):  Thank you very much Hon. Speaker Ma’am.  I would like to thank the Hon. Member for his question.

          Government policy on the cost of drugs is to make sure that drugs are available everywhere and every time - that is the policy. To extent that Government has to make sure that there are cold chain facilities across the country being managed by NATPHARM so that medicines are kept at those places - unfortunately, most of the medicines that we have are being imported. However, to address this as well, the Ministry of Health and Child Care has been restructured in such a way that it will also have to focus on the manufacture of drugs when it comes to that policy. In order to encourage the private pharmaceutical sector to do this, the department that had been done so far include the one for bio- pharmaceutical production which has to link with the private sector as well as the universities so that at the end of the day, we are going to have the drugs that are available. 

          When it comes to policy, the policy is to make sure that drugs are available and the infrastructure that is being put, the cold chain infrastructure is to make sure that drugs are decentralised in terms of availability - this is the policy.  Deficits can come here and there, but Government policy is not to cause deficits but to make sure that medicines is available. 

The issue of cost mainly is due to the issue of importation but the policy that I have talked about of drug manufacturing is bound to address this.  It might not happen in one day but a nation does not die.  It will happen if the policy is there. I thank you.

          HON. A. T. MAVHUNGA:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  My question is directed to the Minister of Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training.  There is a segment or sector of young people that is not in education, employment or in training and that sector is called NEET.  In the spirit of leaving no one and no place behind.  What policy is in place or what steps are being taken so that these young people are empowered so that they do not fall into criminal activities, prostitution and drug and substance abuse?  What is the stand point?  Thank you.

          THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA):  Thank you Hon. Speaker.  I would like to thank the Hon. Member for asking to do with the youth that are not institutions and what Government policy is.

          I would like to answer that question starting from a nation-building point of view.  It is very important that every member of society contributes to the building of the country.  It therefore, means that we cannot have people who are not doing so and expect to be a prosperous country.   Government policy is to say, there are people who are in the institutions – those are catered for that way.  There are people who may be outside of institutions, Government has a system of vocational training which means, if you cannot go to a polytechnic, you can go to a vocational training center; if you cannot, there is a third stream. 

          We have a policy that we call, Integrated Skills Expansion and Outreach Programme.  This policy makes it imperative for polytechnics, vocational training centers for industrial training and trade testing departments, and universities to go out there and identify those youths, give them the skills that are required, including building, construction basically, bricklaying and so forth.   The programme has started in earnest and I think we will be able to see the results as we go forward.  The spirit being that, there cannot be a person who is sitting at home and not contributing to nation building.  It is not in the interest of this country.

          The policy is about inclusivity and leaving no place and no one behind.  The implementation modality, one of them is what I call, the integrated skills expansion and outreach programme to equip everybody with the instruments of building this country.  I thank you.

          HON. A. T. MAVHUNGA:  It has come to light Madam Speaker that the state of vocational training center needs serious attention.  The responsible ministry highlighted the issue of funding and stated that they have challenges in accessing the ZIMDEF fund in order to construct and retool these vocational training centers so that the two million young people who are not in education, employment and training have access…

          THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Order, order.  Ask your question Hon. Mavhunga.

          HON. A. T. MAVHUNGA:  My question is, does the Ministry have access to that fund to retool and construct vocational training centres?

THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA):  Thank you Hon. Speaker Ma’am. Government policy is to build a Vocational Training Centres (VTC) at least in every district.  There is what we call the policy and then the implementation. If the implementation and the policy are together, there is no gap. If there is a gap, it means there is need for effort and this is catered for through the budgetary system, the budgetary system which comes through this august House. It is very important therefore, that I implore Hon. Members when it comes to budget for expanding the VTCs, they help us with the money. I want to emphasise that this money comes from this House. I thank you.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Thank you Hon. Minister. Hon. Sakupwanya, why are you standing?

HON. S. SAKUPWANYA: Thank you Hon. Speaker Ma’am. My question to the Hon. Minister is that for those who have gone through these VTCs or who have been afforded the skills, what mechanisms has Government implemented to ensure that they will be able to contribute to the economy, whether through jobs or through loan facilities? Are there mechanisms to follow up on the success stories of those who have come to these Vocational Training Centres? I thank you.

HON. PROF. MURWIRA:  Thank you very much Hon. Speaker, I wish to thank the Hon. Member for the supplementary question. I will again start from a nation building perspective. We have to have the mentality of working, first of all, for ourselves. This is what we teach, especially using Heritage-Based Education 5.0.  The colonial set-up and I want to explain in the interest of nation building, was that there were certain groups of people who owned jobs because they wanted their farms to produce and they wanted cheap labour as much as possible.

So, they take people and say I employ you. This language has gotten into our people too much.  What our policy is that of course, if there are people who have got that chance to do that, they can always employ other people. If people have a mentality that they go and get skills in order to do their own thing, this nation will fly. Without confusion, I hope, I am saying I want to set this stage whereby, we say, are we training people to be used or are we training people to use themselves to build this country? We are not saying that everybody will be able to be so talented that they do that, but if it is 100%, then there is a problem with the system.

This is the system that we are correcting through Heritage-Based Education 5.0, which actually, also in terms of statues have passed through this august House in terms of the laws to make sure that this happen. What has Government done to make sure that these skilled people can have access to loans? We have empowered them, which is basically the Youth Bank. It might not be 100% capitalised, but you can see from a policy perspective there is that intention to make sure that these things happen.

There is Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry, whose job is exactly to do this. In terms of the policy environment, it is clear but as I say, there is policy, there is implementation and the gap is what we have to address. In terms of adequacy of policy, Zimbabwe does not necessarily have a problem in terms of adequacy of policy. It is about implementation and also mentality of nation building, whereby we are saying, everybody has to use their knowledge and skill, first of all to fend for themselves and fend for others. If we start from that perspective, this nation will fly.

Therefore, I am saying, the policies are there but together with Hon. Members, if we can start to work on the mentality of working for ourselves and employing others, this nation will not have problems. This is what His Excellency, the President is saying by Vision 2030 and leaving no place, no one behind, a knowledge and innovation led economy. Leaving no place and no one behind means we are working. So, it is a working nation. Once this gets to our heads and to our hands, we will build this country. I thank you.

HON. MALINGANISO:  Madam Speaker, of the two million that have been spoken of, there are those that are degreed and those that are skilled. Those that are degreed, allow me to refer to them as schooled and those that are skilled as really skilled. The question is, what is being done to make certain that those that are skilled, maybe through VCTs are equipped to go and fend for themselves? I thank you.

HON. PROF. MURWIRA: Thank you Madam Speaker. As we say, the Government’s modernisation and industrialisation agenda has two pipelines. The first pipeline, which has been traditional is to wait for investors and make the environment conducive for investors, which we have done; which means people come and invest from elsewhere. The second stream which was not being done, but which is being done by the Second Republic is the one of innovation led development, where you set up factories from your knowledge and skill and not wait.

Just last week, His Excellency the President opened a baobab processing plant at Mutare Teachers’ College that employs 200 people, but that also takes raw materials from more than 10 thousand families. These are the steps that we are taking, besides the loans that are being talked about, most of the problems that we face are problems which emanate from a philosophical underpinning of nation building. For example, I would say, if you have a skill of making clay pots and there is an anthill that you have been with for the past hundred years, but somebody has to come from somewhere to make clay pots and you look for employment from them, it is not the lack of clay. It is the lack of a philosophy for development.

This is exactly what His Excellency has said, when he said, nyika inovakwa nevene vayo, ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo. We have changed the philosophy of nation building and these skilled schooled which the Hon. Member has been talking about, are being told to change the philosophy. Let us have the Empower Bank working. Let us have our attitude working. Let us have our philosophy working. Let us build this country. Every child of this country has to start working.

What I am saying Madam Speaker is that it is a philosophical shift that has to happen because some people come in this country and make a lot of money while other people who are in this country are not making that money. The question is why? It is a philosophical question. Therefore, I am saying my answer is change the philosophy and it was changed. Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo. Nyika ichivakwa nevene vayo. I thank you.

          HON. MARASHE: Thank you Madam Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare. Is it Government policy to discriminate rural and urban councillors in terms of their roles in the distribution of food aid for the vulnerable in light of the fact that rural councillors are at the centre of food distribution, yet urban councillors are sidelined?

          THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): First of all, Government policy is to reach all people that are in need. We have got urban and rural areas. The way people are helped in rural areas is different from the way people are helped in urban areas. In urban areas, we use a cash transfer system which goes straight to the family. Therefore, I do not know how one can intervene on electronics in the air. They go straight to the fore. This is a matter of differences in the method of delivery. I have just been dramatic in order to demonstrate the point that the other is electronics and the other is physical. The physical, you meet and talk and the electronics, they go through the wire. I thank you.

          Questions without Notice were interrupted by THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER in terms of Standing Order No. 68

          HON. DR. MUTODI: Point of order Madam Speaker. I am asking if you can extend the time for Questions without Notice with another 20 minutes. We have got other critical questions to ask.

          HON. MADZIVANYIKA: I second.

          Motion put and agreed to.

          THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: There are no objections, we will extend the Questions without Notice time with ten minutes.

          HON. MARASHE: Thank you Hon. Minister. Do you distribute food via electronics?

          HON. PROF. MURWIRA: Thank you Hon. Speaker Ma’am. I want to thank the Hon. Member for seeking clarification on what I have just said. In urban areas, people are given money to go and buy goods at the shops. In the rural areas, people are given grain. Therefore, the ones in the urban areas have money transferred to their banks so that they can go and buy food at the supermarket. Sure, food is transferred through electronics that way.

          However, real food is in the shops physically but the way Government feeds is that it feeds with the means to go and buy the food. I was trying to be dramatic in the way I was explaining the things, to explain cash transfer system of His Excellency the President, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa. I hope I have made it very clear. It helps people who might not have understood. That is why I thank her for the question.

          HON. MADZIVANYIKA: I think the worry of the Hon. Member is that Local Government leaders who are councillors should be at the forefront of identifying the vulnerable people or the vulnerable members of society in urban areas. Unfortunately, the question now comes after the realisation that some other groups of people are doing the registrations on behalf of councillors. Why are local authority leaders who are councillors in urban areas not aware of this programme? Is it being done clandestinely without the knowledge of local leaders who should be at the forefront of identifying the vulnerable people of society? Thank you.

          *HON. NYAKUEDZWA: On a point of order Madam Speaker. What Hon. Madzivanyika is saying is not bad but there are no councillors who are involved in distributing food.

          HON. PROF. MURWIRA: Thank you Hon. Speaker Ma’am. Government policy is to make sure that everybody who needs food gets it through Social Welfare. It is a Government structure that is a product of the law which was made in this august House. So, we have structures on the ground which identify those people. However, if there are extra people that might not have been identified, and there is a local representative, they can approach this structure called Social Welfare so that people can be helped.

I think it is the responsibility of every citizen, and including Members of Parliament and councillors to identify vulnerable people so that they are helped. The only difference therefore, is that in the rural areas, they are given physical goods and in the urban, they have electronic cash transfers where they can go and buy goods. This is very important that the other ones do not have too many people being seen and the other one, people can gather where they can be given food.

When it comes to Government policy, it is very clear and nobody should be left behind and nobody should be hungry. All people in this country have got a responsibility to identify those people that need help and report them to the correct structure. If there are specific cases, it therefore means that it can be put in writing and the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare can answer those specific issues. It is very important that every question is answered adequately. I thank you.

HON. MADZIVANYIKA: On a point of order Madam Speaker.

I thought that the Minister would answer the question because the question was very direct. Why are councillors in urban areas excluded out of this process yet councillors in urban areas participate? That was the question. I kindly request with your indulgence Madam Speaker so that I get answers on this very important situation. There are some people who do this work of identifying people, leaving others out and checking people on political lines to say, do you subscribe to our values and so forth? That situation is not sustainable.

          THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Madzivanyika, I advise you to put that question in writing so that the responsible Minister will come to this House with a comprehensive answer.

          HON. DR. MUTODI: My question is directed to the Leader of Government Business.  Following political violence in the United States of America, particularly the firing of bullets that narrowly missed the former President Donald Trump, what action has your Government taken to register the anger and disappointment of the people of Zimbabwe against perpetrators of violence in what is viewed globally as the most democratic State in the world? Thank you very much.

HON. ZVAIPA: Point of order.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is your point of order?

*HON. ZVAIPA: My point of order is directed to Hon. Mutodi saying that what he is asking about USA, we should leave it because you did the same when you were in Bikita.  Let us concentrate on what is happening here. I thank you.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Your point of order is overruled.

THE MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. PROF MURWIRA): Thank you Hon. Speaker Ma’am, the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe, led by His Excellency the President, Dr. E. D Mnangagwa wrote a statement condemning political violence. It was written to His Excellency the President of the United States of America, His Excellency President Biden, registering Zimbabwe’s condolences for the people that had passed away and also condemning all forms of violence. I am happy to report that it was very well received by our sister country, the USA thanking the President for such a gesture. Thank you very much.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Minister. Unfortunately, the extended ten minutes have lapsed.

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: We are deferring questions number 1 to 6.

REHABILITATION OF THE CHITEKETE DAM WALL IN GOKWE-KABUYUNI

9. HON. S. TSHUMA asked the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, fisheries, Water and Rural Development to inform the House on the Ministry’s plans regarding the rehabilitation of the Chitekete Dam wall in Gokwe-Kabuyuni Constituency.

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. MARAPIRA): Thank you Madam Speaker, Hon. Member I can confirm that a team from ZINWA will be dispatched to the dam to do assessment of the current state of the dam and come up with a bill of quantities that will be send to Treasury for resources allocation towards the rehabilitation of Chitekete Dam in Gokwe. The Ministry will also imploy other avenues for resource mobilisation, including utilising the water fund to rehabilitate the dam.

*HON. S. TSHUMA: I want to thank the Hon. Minister for his response and we want to note that this has been a dry season, so I wanted to request that this dam should be considered so that it has enough water.

HON. MARAPIRA: We are going to be assisting them. We are going to be in the community and we are going to make sure that we sink boreholes in that particular community. I thank you.

NUMBER OF COMMERCIAL FARMS GAZETTED FOR COMPULSORY LAND ACQUISTION

10. HON. JAMES asked the Minister of Lands, Agriculture,

Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement to inform the House the following-

a) the quantum of the commercial farms purchased by the Government and Local Government authorities since 2000 highlighting the number of Title Deeds holders, total area and value of the land.

b) the number of commercial farming title deeds which were gazetted for compulsory acquisition during the Fast Track Land Reform Acquisition process and still remain unpaid to this day and to further state the hectarage of such farms.

        THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. MARAPIRA): Madam Speaker, this question has been asked before but I will still repeat. Government did purchase many commercial farms for urban expansion. All land acquired was handed over to the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works. In terms of the compensation quantum, the value had been determined by the compensation committee which is still seized with the matter.

       The following land was gazetted and handed over to urban expansion:

	Gazetted Activities for agricultural activites		Land handed over for urban expansion		Land Haned over to AFC**
Province	No. of Farms	Area (HA)	No. of Farms	Area (HA)	No. of Farms	Area (HA)
Manicaland	577	662330.1577	2	719.4800	0	0
Mash Central	843	906760.8097	5	5965.9800	4	469.6081
Mash East	1215	1254660.908	17	9453.9501	4	3810.9314
Mash West	1419	1730041.522	30	11649.1648	2	262.8478
Masvingo	485	1961805.122	2	1917.0200	3	2288.8516
Mat. North	466	1828122.794	1	316.2210	0	0
Mat. South	837	1457703.413	2	8650.1500	2	3999.1091
Midlands	837	1015461.382	1	3565.0000	0	0
Harare		10816886.1084	18	10291.1123	3	841.673
Total	6214	10816886.1084	78	52528.0782	18	11673.0210

 

          The following farms were gazette for resettlement and some were handed over to Ministry of Local Government and Public Works for urban expansion. We have quite a list which will take five days for me to explain but land handed over was acquired as rural land or urban part of the Land Acquisition Act.

           Land handed over to AFC with the intention of mobilising resources to pay compensation for formal farm owners. I thank you Madam Speaker.

          HON. JAMES: Thank you Madam Speaker.  That is a totally unacceptable answer from the Ministry. Can I ask him to put it all in writing?

          THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Sorry can you come again.

          HON. JAMES: I am not satisfied with the answer given by the Minister. Can he put it in writing, there is insufficient detail in the question given…

         THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:   You will get the Hansard where the response that he has given will be written.

          HON. JAMES: Madam Speaker, I understand that but I think the detail that he has given is not sufficient.  Can he give an answer to the question in hard copy form and give us a copy. Thank you.

        THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: You requested the Hon. Minister to give a response which he has just done.  You are indicating that you are not satisfied with the response and this is the Ministry that has given you a response Hon. James.

HON. JAMES: Yes, Madam Speaker, there are insufficient details on the response he has given, so I am asking him to take some time and put it in hard copy and then give me a copy of that. Thank you.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. TSITSI ZHOU): Are you asking for a Ministerial Statement?

HON. JAMES:  That would be if he wants to make it public, yes but if you want to put it in writing, I will accept that.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: It looks like Hon. James has answers to his question.  As far as I can hear, it seems you have answers to your questions because the Hon. Minister has responded to the question.

HON. JAMES: Madam Speaker, what the response  lacks is details.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Do you have details?

HON. JAMES: He has the details, which is what I am asking for.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: He responded to the question.

HON. JAMES:  Without details.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Question number 12, Hon. C. Moyo.

HON. JAMES:  Point of order Madam, you have skipped number 11.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Hon. James please take your seat.  Hon C. Moyo, the Hon Minister will  provide a written response.

HON. JAMES:  Point of order Madam Speaker.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Sorry Hon. James, I am being reminded that the Hon. Minister had responded to question number 10. Question number 11 has not been responded to yet.

UPDATE ON THE AMOUNT RAISED TOWARDS SUPPORT TO FOOD AID BENEFICIARIES

11. HON. JAMES asked the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement to explain to the House the following:-

(a) how the calculations were done to arrive at a figure of US$3 billion to support food aid to beneficiaries this season; and

(b) to further update the House on the amount raised so far as well as the sources of where Aid has come from.

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. MARAPIRA): Thank you Madam Speaker.  Funding was secured from Treasury for the upgrading of the dam booster pump station and a contractor was awarded this contract. The contract from the supplier…

HON. JAMES: Point of order Madam Speaker, he is not answering to Question Number 11.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER: He is not responding to Question Number 11?  Is that the question you are responding to Hon. Minister?

HON. MARAPIRA: Thank you Madam Speaker.  Following this season’s devastating El Nino induced drought, the President declared a National State of Disaster on 3^rd April, 2024.  The declaration is an indicative source and resource requirement of US$2 billion from mitigation excluding US$7.717million.  The agriculture sector requirement is US$2.7 billion for search and rescue then US$2.3 million for mitigation, another US$2 billion on mitigation again and US$700 million for resilience building. 

The calculations were informed by the second round crops and livestock assessment.  The Zimbabwe Livelihood Assessment Committee and Rapid Assessment conducted by the Ministry’s departments were involved in the calculations.  Sources of food aid have been thorough and the assistance will be done through Government Social Welfare grain distribution development partners and donor community.  I thank you Madam Speaker.

HON. JAMES:  The private sector has been given permission to import grain as well to mitigate a lot of the drought shortfall.  Can the Hon. Minister give us an idea of what percentage of our requirements will come in from private enterprise thereby reducing the amount of aid and assistance required?

HON. MARAPIRA: Thank you Madam Speaker.  We will put that in writing because I do not want to give inaccurate figures.  I thank you Madam Speaker.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Thank you Hon. Minister.  You will provide a written response for Question Number 12.

CONSTRUCTION OF BETSA PRIMARY SCHOOL IN GWANDA NORTH CONSTITUENCY

26. HON. NKALA asked the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education to inform the House on the Ministry’s plans regarding the construction of Betsa Primary School in Gwanda North Constituency.

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. GATA):  Thank you Hon. Nkala for raising the important issue.  The Ministry is seized with the school infrastructure deficit that is currently obtaining in our country. The ministry is mobilising resources to alleviate the shortage.  High on the list of the ministry’s priority are brand new schools learning spaces in the form of extra classrooms, specialised rooms and sporting facilities.

Through funding from Treasury, Government has the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) which pays for the construction of schools. Every year, PSIP identifies schools that should be given priority for construction projects.  In the next budget, the Ministry will consider the construction of a new classroom block at Beta Primary School through the PSIP.  Meanwhile, current developments are that the engineer of the Rural District Council in Gwanda examined the existing structure and discovered that it is no longer sustainable due to cracks.  He recommended that it should be put down to prevent any possible danger to learners and any other stakeholders in the area.

          HON. NKALA: What are the measures taken to ensure that these buildings do not deteriorate to the extent of being decommissioned?

          HON. GATA: We always do check up on the schools and the buildings, so this is one of the measures that we have done to send an engineer from the Rural District Council.  So this is all a process that we do to make sure that our buildings are in the correct form and that they are not a possible danger to our learners. I thank you.

POSITION REGARDING THE NATIONAL PLEDGE

28. HON. BAJILA asked the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education to inform the House what the Government’s current position is regarding the National Pledge given the Constitutional Court ruling CCZ20/20 which invalidated the reciting of the National Pledge and salutation of Zimbabwe’s flag.

          THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. GATA): Thank you Hon. Bajila for asking this relevant question.  Indeed, the Constitutional Court ruling CCZ20/20 judged that the National Pledge is constitutionally invalid, in that it violates the right to freedom of religion enshrined in Section 60 (1) of the Constitution about school children not sharing the belief in the existence of God and the parental right enshrined in Section 60 (3) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

          In particular, the court ruled that the words on the National Pledge which says, “Almighty God, in whose hands our future lies” violate the religious freedoms of learners who do not believe in the existence of God. 

In addition, it ruled that the words, “I salute the National Flag” also contravene the beliefs of school children, parents, or guardians who do not believe in it.

However, the Constitutional Court directed the Ministry to formulate a pledge of allegiance that accommodates learners who do not believe in God or in saluting the National Flag.  As such, our legal division is exploring this matter so that we can revise and come up with a pledge that does not violate people’s religious rights.  Therefore, at present, it is not mandatory for learners who do not believe in God or in saluting the flag to recite the Pledge until the Pledge has been revised.

 IMPROVEMENT OF AVAILABILITY OF TEXTBOOKS TO ALL PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS

29. HON. BAJILA asked the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education to apprise the House on what Government plans are regarding the improvement of the availability of textbooks to all pupils for all subjects at primary and secondary levels.

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. GATA): Once again, thank you Hon. Bajila for raising the important question on the Government’s plans for improving the availability of textbooks in our schools.

There are three ways set by the Ministry to improve the availability of textbooks in both primary and secondary schools. The first one is through the fiscus whereby the Treasury allocates funds for the purchase of textbooks.  The Ministry has been getting this funding from the Treasury for some years now and we were able to purchase textbooks for some of the needy schools, especially what we call S3 schools. These are some of the disadvantaged schools in Zimbabwe.

The second approach is through textbook levies where school authorities apply for a special levy to the Ministry for the sole purpose of purchasing textbooks.  Applications are done through local district education offices.

The third approach is through our development partners who often partner with the Ministry in sourcing textbooks for schools.  Our partners in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education often release funds to purchase textbooks which are distributed to schools.  Priority is again given to needy schools.  However, the demand for textbooks is always high.  As such, we encourage schools to also take initiatives by applying for textbook levies.  The Ministry approves such levies after considering the economic situation and the parent’s ability to meet the costs.

HON. BAJILA: Through your indulgence, I would like to request a more detailed ministerial statement.  In her answers, the Minister said that we have been getting funding for some years to fund the supply of some textbooks in some schools. We might need to get one but for how long has the Government been funding textbooks?  Which subject areas has the Government been focusing on?  Her statement is full of a lot of this and that.  I thank you.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Bajila, during this session, you can only ask supplementary questions.  Ministerial statements are normally given when there are new policies that need to be spelt out. Question number 30, Hon. Murombedzi and I would like to apologise for the earlier mishap.

NUMBER OF GENUINE CHINESE NATIONALS IN ZIMBABWE

36. 36. KARENYI asked the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage to apprise the House of the number of nationals in Zimbabwe who are genuinely of Chinese origin.

          THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE):  Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am.  The question by the Hon. Member was for the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage to respond on the number of nationals in Zimbabwe who are genuinely of Chinese origin - that is the way it was crafted.  I would like to assume that maybe the question is requesting us to give a number of Chinese people in the country – who are genuinely in the country.  I suspect because I am failing to understand. 

Madam Speaker, if that is the question which I assume it is, I stand corrected, I will attempt to answer it in the manner that I am understanding it, but I will be ready to…

          THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Let me ask Hon. Karenyi to clarify.

          HON. KARENYI:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  The question has been there for a long time and I think the Journals Office have also omitted something because it was in three parts, if I remember very well.

          THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:   Do you want to refer it to the Journals Office? 

          HON. KARENYI:    They could have amended it. I can even read it …

          THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:   We cannot do this now. You can go to the Journals Office and probably make that correction then the Hon. Minister will respond.  He needs to prepare for the response, you need to be alive to that – this is a Questions With Notice session.

          HON. KARENYI:  I think the Ministry has had it for a long time  with the correct wording.  Even if you check last week’s Order Paper, it is there with the correct one.

          THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: We are dealing with the Order Paper that we are holding right now. The question only has this question: ‘to ask the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage to apprise the House of the number of nationals in Zimbabwe who are genuinely of Chinese origin’ and it ends there. 

          HON. KARENYI:  It was even going further Madam Speaker to even find out …

          THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Hon. Karenyi, please can you do as I have requested?

          HON. KARENYI:   I think the Hon. Minister can help me, he has all three questions.

          THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Hon. Karenyi!  Next question Hon. Malinganiso! 

          HON. MADZIVANYIKA:  On a point of privilege Madam Speaker.  I think this situation has persisted for a long time.  I do not know who is changing the substance of the questions, they have been changed several times and I once complained.

          I see my question again here, after complaining, has been changed again.  Over and above that Madam Speaker, yesterday, when we had a debate on war veterans.  It was posted on our parliamentary Facebook page and I do not think it is professional to do that Madam Speaker – that is my submission.

          THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Yes, I totally agree with you that our Administration should not bring these errors that will inconvenience both the Hon. Ministers and Hon. Members.  We will request the Administration to do better and we will not expect this to recur in this august House.  Do you have the full question and full response Hon. Minister?

          HON. KAZEMBE:  Madam Speaker, we respond to the question that is on the Order Paper.  So, I had the response to the question that is on the Order Paper which I read out.  I am prepared to give that answer, unless if there are follow-up questions.  I am still prepared to respond.  Otherwise, I came prepared with an answer for the question that is on the Order Paper.

          THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Well noted Hon. Minister.  Let me ask, Hon. Karenyi, are you comfortable with him answering this?

          HON. KARENYI:  Madam Speaker, with all due respect, this question has been on the Order Paper for some time.  Unless if the Order Paper – if I am now being told that they only forwarded the question to the Hon. Minister last week, because this question has been there.  The Ministry has been receiving this unless, if they are now saying the question was crafted last week.  I crafted this question a long time ago.

          THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Hon. Karenyi, let me make a correction.  We can only deal with what is on today’s Order Paper, unless you are saying we need to wait, communicate with the Journals and they bring Order Papers from the previous weeks.  My question was, are you comfortable with the Hon. Minister responding to this part of the question?

          HON. KARENYI:  He has already stated that it will lose the relevance of the question – that is what he said.  Is there any need for him to answer?  There is no reason.  I also think that maybe somebody doctored the question because there is no reason at all to change it.

          THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Hon. Karenyi please take your seat.  We are going to – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Hon. Madzivanyika and Hon. Chokururama!  Hon. Minister, I will allow you to respond to this part of the question.

          HON. MAMOMBE:  On a point of order Madam Speaker Ma’am.  I think, it is really unfair because the question is in the name of Hon. Karenyi – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] -

          THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Order, order Hon. Members! Order!

          HON. MAMOMBE:  The question is in the name of Hon. Karenyi and if it was captured wrongly, it will not be fair for her because the response will not be captured, the actual question that Hon. Karenyi has …

          THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Hon. Mamombe! – [HON. MAMOMBE:  Yes!] – Hon. Karenyi indicated that this question has been on the Order Paper for a long time.  It is imperative that the Hon. Minister is available and Hon. Karenyi is also available.  He can respond to this part of the question.  We are all aware that there has been an omission.  She indicated that. – [HON. MAMOMBE: It is a wrong question!  The point is it is a wrong question!] – Hon. Mamombe, Hon. Karenyi said that this is part of the question.  Hon. Minister, please respond to this part of the question. – [HON. KARENYI:  Inaudible interjections.] -  I am not going to give you the opportunity to speak.  . – [HON. KARENYI:  Inaudible interjection.] -  Order Hon. Karenyi, it is important that if you want to communicate you do it properly.  You cannot just stand up and use the microphone.  Hon. Minister, please proceed. – [HON. HAMAUSWA:  On a point of order Madam Speaker Ma’am!] – Order Hon. Hamauswa, I have not recognised you yet! Can you please take your seat!  - [HON. HAMAUSWA: But I said on a point of order! Iwe, haisi Parliament ye one side ka ino iyi. Sei ma questions asinga chinjwe uko?  Munongo chinja maquestions ekunouku chete!] -  Order, order, can we have order in the House!  Hon. Minister, please proceed.

THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE) Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to appraise the House on the question raised. Given the Government’s thrust in attracting investment captured, His Excellency the President’s mantra, Zimbabwe is open for business, the country received quite a number of investors from all over the world, including China. These are vetted and issued permits in line with laws and regulations governing the investments. On average, the department of immigration receives about 50 applications for investor permits and 445 temporal employment permits applications from Chinese nationals per month.

All these applications like that of all other nationals are processed on the basis of authentic travel and identity documents. Any anomalies require verification of the documents with respective Embassies. In the case of Chinese nationals, we are satisfied as the Ministry with the co-operation we receive from the Chinese Embassy. Those that have been found ineligible to stay in Zimbabwe have, like all other foreign nationals, been asked to live the country. Pre-COVID, there was a surge of Sino to Africa migration as the 20-35 ages emigrated en masse to Africa. Post COVID, we now have an estimated 25 000 Chinese nationals in Zimbabwe. This is in response to the vast mining opportunities that Zimbabwe is presenting to the world. The immigration department is also implementing a new and improved online border management system the OBMS, which will enable the department to account for all foreign nationals residing in the country. However, if there are any foreign nationals who are in the country without genuine documents, members are free to come forward and inform us and appropriate action will be taken. I thank you.  

ERADICATION OF STOCK THEFT IN ZVIMBA SOUTH CONSTITUENCY BY THE ZIMBABWE REPUBLIC POLICE

37. HON. MALINGANISO asked the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage to apprise the House on steps being taken by the Zimbabwe Republic Police to eradicate stock theft, particularly in Ward 6, Ward 20, Ward 21, Ward 33 and Ward 34, in Zvimba South Constituency.

THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. May I start by thanking the Hon. Member for the question.       I wish to inform the House that statistics from the Zimbabwe Republic Police indicate that between January and June 2024, stock theft cases in the mentioned Zvimba South Constituency wards were generally high as follows: cattle, we had one case, goats, four cases, sheep, one case, birds two cases. We had a total of eight cases and a total number 35 animals stolen.

In Wards 20 and 21, that is the Darwendale area, we had seven cattle stolen, 15 goats, one sheep, nine birds, making a total of 32. Wards 33 and 34, Banket area, we had eight cattle, 14 goats, no sheep and birds were stolen.

Madam Speaker, I wish to inform the House that from the above cases, a total of 17 accused persons were arrested and are at various stages of prosecution. Two of the four accused persons in Ward 6 have been convicted and are each serving a nine-year jail term for cattle rustling. The Zimbabwe Republic Police is on high alert and has been continuously implementing various measures to eradicate stock theft, not only in Zvimba South Constituency, but country wide. These include foot and motorised night patrols targeting farming areas, deployment of  crack teams for stop and search operations along major highways and feeder roads, awareness campaigns in collaboration with the traditional leadership, church leaders and schools, conscientising communities to construct kraals closer to their homesteads, pen their stocks daily, conducting regular checks at night, regular stock counting and branding.

Police has also strengthened community policing initiatives in the form of the village Anti- Stock Theft Committees, neighbourhood watch and community liaison committees to assist the police in this regard. Religious enforcement of stock management procedures including stock clearance and issuance of permits in liaison with Veterinary Services are being done.

In addition, surveillance of butcheries and abattoirs is ongoing with police officers on patrol checking relevant stock registers.

Madam Speaker Ma’am, I wish to assure the House and the Hon. Member that the police are seized with delivering their constitutional mandate enshrined in Section 219 (1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe and stands ready to work with all stakeholders in their various policing areas to reduce the prevalence of crime in society. I thank you Madam Speaker.    

COMPLETION OF THE DAVIS CAMP BRIDGE WHICH LINKS BOTSWANA, SOUTH AFRICA AND ZIMBABWE

46. HON. M. NDEBELE asked the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development to inform the House when the Davis Camp Bridge, which links Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe through Mpoengs Border Post will be completed as it has been outstanding since 2018.

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. SACCO):  Thank you Madam Speaker. Allow me to respond to the question raised by Hon. Ndebele as follows: The bridge referred to here is along Simukwe River on the border of Matobo District and Mangwe District and is under the purview of RIDA. Therefore, the construction of the bridge in question was being undertaken by RIDA before works were suspended. Construction came to a halt due to design issues corresponding to geotechnical issues, which is the ground formation issues, which were encountered during construction. The authority is currently working on rectifying the anomalies relating to the design and subservice conditions. Construction works will resume once this matter is resolved and the funding will be sought to ensure the completion of the bridge structure. We will also ensure that RIDA works hand-in-hand with my Ministry through the relevant road engineers and our bridges section, under the department of roads to guarantee that the design review process and subsequent construction of the bridge is expedited. I so submit Madam Speaker.

HON. M. NDEBELE:  Thank you Hon. Minister. Through you Madam Speaker, I am convinced with your response. All what happened is because of the back up by the DDF. Can you not speed the process because currently speaking, on the 26^th December last year, four children tried to cross the river and two of them perished right on the spot and they died. We buried them. The bridge is just linking Mangwe and Matobo. Across the river, there is a 200m school, whereby almost 200 children attend school across the river on yearly basis. During the time the river is flooded, we have got a lot of children perishing. Can you not prioritise issues and give us first preference? Thank you.

           HON. SACCO: I would like to pay condolences to those who lost their lives at this bridge and I note your concern that it is of utmost importance that this bridge needs to be constructed. I have noted your concerns and we will work on expediting the process. I so submit.

          HON. DR. MUTODI: I rise on a point of order. The time for Questions with Notice has expired. Can the questions be deferred to another date? I thank you.

          THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: You are correct Hon. Dr. Mutodi.

WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE

MEASURES TO CURB IMMINENT HUNGER

7. HON. C. HLATYWAYO asked the Minister of Lands Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement to explain to the House the following-

(a)     the state of preparedness by the Ministry to curb imminent hunger

 (b)    statistics pertaining to quantities available for food distribution at each Grain Marketing Board depot in the country.

(c)     measures being put in place by the Government to curb hunger apart from the Social Welfare Department pogramme.

          THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. MARAPIRA): Thank you Mr. Speaker, the Government is seized upon delivering a four (4) pronged strategy to deal with the food vulnerabilities that arose from the E-Nino induced drought. These include;

1. Utilisation of current stocks mainly comprised for household private sector and GMB stocks
2. Current harvest
3. Grain Imports by the private sector and
4. The Winter Cereals programme.
5. b) The current grain stocks as of 14 July 2024 are at 90,963 distributed across all the Grain Market Depots in the country.

Table 2: Maize and traditional grains stocks as at 23 June

Crop	Stocks as at 07/07/24(MT)	Stocks as at 14/7/24(MT)
GMB maize stocks	72,902	69,833
Traditional grains stocks	21,852	21,130
Total	94,754	90,963

 

1. c) Zimbabwe’s food security strategy, to feed 6 million of 9,2 million people in rural areas deemed vulnerable, to March, 2025, is based on four components thus –
2. stock held by individuals, private sector and Government
3. the meagre El-Nino induced drought harvest gleanings

iii. Imports by Government and the private sector and

1. A wheat-based food security intervention

Zimbabwe has a comparative advantage to grow wheat than maize or sorghum in winter. Zimbabwe’s intervention is based on this competitive and comparative advantage. For the ongoing winter wheat season, 121 982 Ha of wheat has been planted with the target to produce 600 000 MT. ARDA which has been transformed to be the country’s food security agent has 61 815 to produce 100 000 Mt of wheat in winter. The wheat could be for swap arrangements with maize, internally or externally and for direct consumption.

A new strategies grain reserve concept with the target of 1,5 million Mt (being 1. Million MT Maize and 300 000 MT traditional grains) for the Strategic Grain Reserve (SGR) was approved by Cabinet in 2022. This aspirational target ensures three years supply of buffer stocks (equivalent to 500 000 MT social welfare support). In view of climate change and other exogenous disruptive forces since the advent of the Second Re public, ARDA is being transformed to become the “food, feed, fibre and seed security agent for the nation”. Regarding food security, the ARDA target is to plough 100 000ha annually to yield 5000 000MT of grain. In this regard, in terms of both the national food sovereignty imperative and risk management, ARDA must eventually produce 75% of this production at its own estates and less through joint ventures.

It is important to note that since Government reviewed the physical strategic grain reserve in 2022 from 750 000MT to 1, 5 million Mt to achieve this SGR target, surplus annual production in excess of annual consumption need to be planned and funded over the next three seasons. The Cabinet approved urban land development plan under AFC must of necessity, contribute to this effect from the 20204/ 2025 season onward.

RATIONALE FOR EXCLUDING NORTON FROM THE PRESIDENTIAL BOREHOLE DRILLING SCHEME

8. HON. TSVANGIRAI asked the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement to inform the House the rationale behind Norton being excluded from benefiting from the Presidential borehole drilling scheme despite the fact that it is prone to cases of Cholera.

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. MARAPIRA): The spirit of the Second Republic’s commitment that no place and no one will be left behind in the journey towards Vision 2030; Norton Constituency has not been left out. It will also benefit from the Presidential Borehole drilling programme. ZINWA is yet to receive funds for borehole drilling from Treasury. Currently the focus is on equipping boreholes in villages in regions 4 and 5, which are being prioritised because of the El-Nino induced drought which has disproportionately affected villages in those respective regions.

REHABILITATION OF THE UMZINGWANE DAM BOOSTER PUMP STATION

• HON. C. MOYO asked the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement to appraise the House on the progress made by Bulawayo Technical Team on Water and Sanitation towards the following;

a) Rehabilitation of the Umzingwane dam booster pump station including the transformer upgrade which will improve water delivery.

b) The upgrade of the 2.8km Cowdry Park water main line from 110 to 315 millimetres.

c) The upgrading of the Nyamandlovu aquifer water supply system to consistently supply 16 mega litres of water per day.

d) Improved potable water supply in the City of Bulawayo from the current 125 mega litres per day to 175 mega litres as the minimum that can be supplied.

e) Improved water and sewer reticulation system.

f) Adequate and consistent availability of water treatment chemicals.

          THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. MARAPIRA):  Funding was secured from Treasury for the upgrading of the dam booster pump station and a contractor was award this contract.

          The contract for the supply and installation of water pumps and accessories at Mzingwane pump station is currently underway.  The procurement of materials for the suction and manifolds is 100% complete, fabrication and installation of suction and delivery remains at 50% and procurement of pumps is at 30%.  Pumps are in the production stage and delivery is expected in September.

b) With the secured funding it was agreed that instead of implementing this project now, the availed financial resources be directed to improving the available raw supply from Mzingwane, Inyakuni and Mtshebezi raw water supply systems.

c) Rehabilitation of Nyamandlovu 60 boreholes, 20 at Epping Forest and 40 at Rochester, is ongoing, 42 out of 60 boreholes are now operational. The total amount of water being supplied from the aquifer is 14 to 16 megalitres of water per day.

d) To improve on the raw water available, work is currently on going at Mzingwane, Inyankuni dam site and at Nyamandlovu aquifer. The contract for the supply and installation of water pumps and accessories at Mzingwane pump station is currently underway.  The procurement of materials for the suction and manifolds is 100% complete, fabrication and installation of suction and delivery remains at 50% and procurement of pumps is at 30%.  Pumps are in the production stage and delivery is expected in September.

          The Mtshaezi-Mzingwane interlinking pipeline bypass project was advertised on 30^th June, 2024 and the tender will be closing 30^th July, 2024.

          The mechanical works at Inyakhuni are in progress:  pump assembly at 20% completion, valve manufacture and assembly at 30%, electromagnetic flow metre assembly is at 20% and overhead crane at 50%.

          The rehabilitation of Clarifiers Ncema Water Treatment Works is in progress and contract successfully moved to site.  Contractor currently doing fabrication of the components.

          An NRW Reduction Action Plan consisting of projects amounting to USD2.3 million have been identified and earmarked for implementation in 2024.  The requirements have been submitted for funding consideration.  The water Mains Renewal Tender has been submitted to PMU for advertising.  The City is also in the process of procuring leak repair materials to reduce the backlog of leaks.

e) Several projects have been identified for rehabilitation and upgrading. Currently work is ongoing on sewer chokes in hotspot areas, manhole replacements and replacements of old and collapsing sewer out falls.

f) The city has managed to consistently supply water treatment chemical. However, they require consistently USD90 000 monthly for chemicals.  There is need for more financial resources for them to maintain a four and six month’s supply to ensure availability of the chemicals we need.

ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHOOLS FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

25. HON. MAVHUDZI asked Minister of Primary and Secondary Education to inform the House the measures that are being taken by Government regarding the establishment of schools for children with special needs, for example children with autism.

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. GATA):  Thank you so much, Hon. Mavhudzi for asking this very important question. The issue of children with special needs is of importance to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. The Ministry has a Department of Learner Welfare and Psychological Services (LePS) led by a Chief Director. This department has two units that specialise in matteres which Hon. Mavhudzi has raised. There is a unit called Psychological Services section and another one referred to as the Special Needs Education. The Psychological Services is under psychologists who specialise in assessing learners living with mental challenges and recommending appropriate teaching and learning interventions. The special needs section is responsible for assessing the level of speech, sight and hearing impairment, among other challenges. Both sections have been decentralised to districts through establishment of learning Support Service Resource centres. This ensures that children with special needs are assessed early. Districts have been tasked to maintain Learning Support Services Client Profile Database of all learners so that those with special needs are identified in order to prescribe appropriate teaching and learning programmes.

          Over and above, the Ministry has a policy of inclusive education where children with different needs are catered for. Schools in the country have facilities to cater for mild special needs cases. Some of the teachers trained in special needs are deployed to schools and districts offices to cater for special cases. For now, there is no need to build new special segregated classes for learners with severe or profound special needs in the country because the once available are enough for our children. All severe and profound cases are referred to the existing special segregated schools available for now.

UPGRADING OF SATELLITE SCHOOLS IN CHIPINGE CONSTITUENCY

27. HON. C. HLATYWAYO asked the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education to inform the House the Ministry’s plans towards the upgrading of satellite schools offering Early Childhood Development (ECD) learning in Nyamushuma Ward 22, Chenji Ward 28 and Rufaro in Ward 29 among others in the Chipinge South Constituency.

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. GATA): Thank you Hon. Hlatywayo for asking this very important question.  I take upgrading to mean either formally registering the school or building it up by constructing more classrooms and learning facilities.

When it comes to registering satellite schools, it is the duty of the responsible authority, which in this case is Chipinge Rural District Council, to approach the Ministry and apply for registration.  To register, factors such as the size of the local population and enrolment catchments are considered.  The responsible authority must play its part by applying for registration.  As such, the satellite schools you mentioned, that is Nhamushuma in Ward 22, Chenji in Ward 28, and Rufaro in Ward 29 29 in Chipinge South Constituency have not been registered by the responsible authority, which is Chipinge Rural District Council.

When it comes to the construction of schools through the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP), Government and its partners in the education sector may come in.  Every year, an evaluation process is done to consider schools that need assistance.  Chipinge Rural District Council needs to register the satellite schools so that they may be considered.

          Questions with Notice were interrupted by THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER in terms of Standing Order No. 68.

MOTION

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

          HON. KAMBUZUMA: I move that the House reverts to Order Number 1 on today’s Order Paper.

          HON. SHAMU: I second.

          Motion put and agreed to.

MOTION

COMPENSATION FOR TEXBOOK AUTHORS, MUSICIANS

AND PENALTIES FOR PIRACY

          HON. DR. MUTODI: I move the motion standing in my name that this House:

CONCERNED about the surge in cases of piracy where Intellectual Property Rights and Copyrights Acts are violated with impunity by unscrupulous individuals;

 NOTICING THAT many academic textbooks approved as set books by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education have been unlawfully photocopied and subsequently sold on the black market;

          WORRIED THAT authors of such textbooks have been prejudiced of huge sums of money leaving them poverty stricken and destitute;

 FURTHER WORRIED that publishing houses have also lost huge amounts of money in the form of investment for the printing and publication of such books;

 COGNISANT THAT the continued photocopying of textbooks and the unlawful reselling of such books continues to bleed the nation and causes massive brain drain that compromises the quality of education in the country;

    NOW, THEREFORE, resolves that—

• a Compensation Fund be established to restitute authors of text books and musicians who have incurred losses of their intellectual property through piracy for the period 2000 to 2024; and
• the Compensation Fund be administered by the Ministries of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development; Primary and Secondary Education; Sports, Recreation, Arts and Cultureand Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage;
• stiff penalties be imposed on culprits engaging in piracy and the violation of the Copyrights Act.

HON. SHAMU: I second.

HON. DR. MUTODI: This is a motion which is concerned about the surge in cases of piracy for intellectual property and copyrights, which copyrights are being violated with impunity by unscrupulous individuals. In the Bible, on Hosea 4 vs 6, it says, “my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”. In other circles, they say that you need to feed the hen that lays the eggs. Taking this into the education sector, it all means that as a nation of Zimbabwe, we need to support this source of our knowledge, intelligence, inventions, ideas, discoveries, theories and hypothesis, equations, models and financial knowledge. We have summed it all up in our tradition and history through idioms like kuziva mbuya huudzwa.

Our ancestors have seen that it is through the actions of research and idea generation that we can create a future for ourselves. We have proponents of theories, we have experimentalists who invent technologies, we have thinkers and debaters even here in Parliament who generate ideas and these ideas as I have said, give us life, a future and they are responsible for the evolution and transformation of our lives.

What do I mean when we talk of intellectual property rights? These are ideas, inventions, creative expressions based on where there is willingness to bestow the status of property. This is according to a peer reviewed journal on intellectual property rights. Originally Madam Speaker, only patents, trademarks, industrial designs, were protected as industrial property but now intellectual property goes further to provide the mechanism of handling infringements, piracy and unauthorised use of intellectual property. It also provides a pool of information to the general public since all forms of IP are published except for State secrets.

IP protection is sought for the following reasons: for patents which are industrial features, shapes and configurations. We also seek intellectual property protection on trademarks which are marks, names, logos, and other terms in which trade happens. There are also copyrights, expressions in ideas, in material form including literature, music, dramatic art, cinematology, audio tapes and computer software. It also includes geographical indications.

If we go deeper into patents, we talk of inventions, discoveries or scientific discoveries, and even mathematical models. We also go to findings which we read in books of history to say, David Livingstone discovered the Victoria Falls. It is his own discovery which is entitled to his own name. There are also substance discoveries; you discover medicine or a mixture of substances which are helpful to society, the rearrangement of existing phenomena, any method of agriculture and medical procedure or any energy conversions. All these things need to be protected by law.

Narrowing down to the situation in Zimbabwe on piracy; if you talk of authors, there are approximately 10 000 schools in Zimbabwe, of which 7 081 of them are primary and 3 066 of them are secondary schools. Each year there are at least 4.4 million students in primary education and 2.3 million students in secondary education, making a total of 6.7 million every year. On average, if a textbook in mathematics was produced by an author and published, it must have at least 200 000 copies if it is meant for ‘O’ level and at least 500 000 copies if it was meant for ‘A’ levels. However, what is obtaining in our country is that most schools are simply buying a single textbook from the publisher and go on to photocopy the textbook, have students buy their own copies from the black market in violation of the Copyright Act. The black market textbooks are actually photocopied and bound versions of original textbooks are sold in bookshops.

Assuming an author was getting US$2 from a book published in his name or her name, just 50 000 copies would earn the author a minimum of US$100 000 and the publisher says US$500 000. The State would also get a substantial amount from taxes ranging from VAT and other transactional taxes. The same situation is obtaining among musicians and publishers of content used by broadcasting services such as our ZBC and ZTN. This situation has resulted in authors being prejudiced of huge amounts of money and this also affects the publishers. Authors of textbooks are living miserable lives yet their intellectual’s works are being sold by vendors and the vendors earning all the proceeds which the authors should have got from his hard work.

As a result of this situation, there is now no interest among authors to continue producing content for our Primary and Secondary Schools. The Minister of Education, Hon. T. Moyo acknowledged in this House some previous weeks ago that reading materials were now scarce for some subjects as there were no authors that are prepared to produce the necessary content, knowing that they will be working for nothing and they will get nothing from their hard intellectual work. The Minister also noted that fiscal constraints have made it impossible for the Government to provide textbooks for learners resulting in very low pass rates in some centres.

This question has also risen this afternoon. I am sure it is from Hon. Bajila, that there are no text books. Government is not producing funds to support such. Coming to musicians, I have with me here, if I can show you and the rest of the House, all these CDs, Mp3s and DVDs. I have extracted them from the street. I have one example here: this is Suluman Chimbetu, Leonard Zhakata with several songs; Hoto, Maruvaenyika, Pakuyambuka, Tinevimbo and so on.  I have this one from Alick Macheso with albums like Dzinosvikakure, Tsokadzerwendo, Kwatabvamitunhu, Ndezvashe, Vakiridzo; I have this again from Simon Chimbetu the late musician, his sweat is being enjoyed by vendors - may his soul rest in peace. I have African Panorama, Boterekwa, Hoko, One way, Pachipamwe; I have this one from James Chimombe…

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Can we please move on.

HON. DR. MUTODI: I am about to finish Madam Speaker. It has got some significance. I will talk about this later. Oliver Mtukudzi again the late musician pirated, there is also Nicolas Zakaria, Leonard Dembo, Tongai Moyo, Tomas Mapfumo and Pengaudzoke. All of this music has been pirated. Recently we heard some news that some musicians have been living miserable lives. They have been receiving some tokens of appreciation from well-wishers. A number of these musicians like Alick Macheso, Suluman Chimbetu, Chirimusango Shumba Hwenje, Chipfupi, Sandra Ndebele, Jaiz Marabini, Madzibaba Zakaria, amongst others have received some gift from a well wisher who must have considered that their good work has been pirated and sold on the informal market, leading to them getting nothing from their hard work.

 It is important that this Parliament provides a solution with regards to the huge losses of authors of text books and losses incurred by artists over a long period of time since our independence and since the modern civalisation. The factors leading to the rampant photocopying of text books and piracy of artistic work needs to be discussed. They include high level of unemployment which have obtained since the year 2000, leading to jobless youths resorting to selling or pirating intellectual property so as to make ends meet. There has been high demand for text books against low disposable incomes for parents with school going age children. There is also been lack of subsidies from Government to enable schools to produce text books needed by learners and learning institutions in the product of their business and also in the work of evolving a curriculum. There is also increased use of electronic gadgets in internet services which allows schools to scan text books and use the scanned text books in their online libraries without any kind of supervision. I have also been prejudiced, this is my advanced Human in Economic Geography, I have produced 5000 to 10 00 copies, schools have just bought a few and photocopied. I have seen these textbooks being photocopied and being used as a photocopied version by many schools and students. I have also been prejudiced in the other version which is Physical Geography, there are several artists and several authors just like me who have actually been prejudiced as a result of the piracy of their text books in their intellectual work.

 The lack of stiff penalties and legislation in combating the abuse of intellectual property, especially the unauthorized use of text books and their sale on the black-market needs to be confronted head on. Given the prevalence of the piracy scourge and the subsequent in impoverishment of the author and artist, it is apparent that the major action to be taken by this Parliament through this motion, is putting an end to the brain drain that the country has witnessed with respect to our intellectuals who have migrated to neighbouring countries and overseas where their work has paid them a decent life.

It is high time that intellectual property is respected and producers of content for our education are protected so as to guarantee the quality of education as well as efficiency of our science and arts sectors. In order to correct this situation, I propose a two-pronged approach, one which is restitution from the value they have stolen authors and artists and secondly, the promulgation of necessary laws which prohibit vendors from unlawfully benefiting from other people`s intellectual property. I will also suggest, since this is a subject that is new to say what is the criteria that is going to be used. I am sure we have suggested in this motion that a compensation fund be established and once that compensation fund has been established, it will then be managed by the relevant Ministries which are the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education as well as the Ministry of Arts.

The compensation fund must therefore be drawn from the fiscus and the source of information to support whether one has been prejudiced or not shall be said at ZBC for music. The publishing houses for books, the ZBC again for content and also museums and monuments organisations for art and media organisations for medical discoveries. The criteria should actually center on the discretion of the Ministry officials in determining who has been prejudiced and to what extent and as to the level at which they can be compensated.  This summarises my motion on the intellectual property.  I thank you.

          HON. SHAMU: Thank you Madam Speaker.  I rise in support of the motion moved by Hon. Dr. Energy Mutodi on the need to protect intellectual property from piracy.  The need to ensure authors of scientific work and creators of art enjoy fruits of their work and the need to establish laws that prohibit the continued piracy of intellectual and artistic work.  I was once a former Minister of Information Publicity and Broadcasting Services.  During my service in Government, I worked with several authors of digital content as well as musicians and their associations. In fact, I was the Patron of the Musicians Association.

          Madam Speaker, most of what they raised as complaints in the trade was piracy of their work on the streets where their work was pirated and sold for pittance. It is indeed correct and factual what Hon. Mutodi said and highlighted the shoulders of the various CDs that are being sold on the streets. There are also several authors of books of various labels of our education system. We have indeed millions of dollars collectively as a result of piracy.

          It is apparent, given the evidence presented before this Hon. House that the Government through this Parliament and cooperation of the Executive put in place laws and policies that do not only protect our intellectual properties from piracy but also, take measures that seek to restitute those who have already lost their value due to the scourge of piracy.

          In this motion, Hon. Dr. Mutodi suggested that a compensation fund must be set up to restitute authors of textbooks as well as musicians who have incurred losses of their intellectual property for the period 2000 to 2024. I strongly support this move and I do hope that this move is taken promptly as it is effective and adequate enough to be able to give us results that will make us realise the objectives of this motion.

          I want to further suggest that the compensation fund must be a permanent feature until such time that the scourge of piracy has been dealt with effectively.

          HON. MUTOKONYI: I also rise to buttress the motion raised by Hon. Mutodi, seconded by Hon. Shamu. It is very clear that this has become a business to others of selling other people’s properties and IPs. You realise that our President, Cde. Dr. Mnangagwa put up the innovation hubs in all universities in Zimbabwe and a lot of innovation is happening there and we are seeing a lot of products that are being developed by our students here in Zimbabwe. At some point, you will realise that the same products, whilst one is still on developing it and they go to an existing company to seek support, you see that the same company is already having that product but getting it from this inventor.

          So, yes, I do concur that there has to be very punitive laws to stop this. Also, the cost to this is more to do with this digital economy or era that we are in whereby a lot of things easily happen by just the click of a button. I do concur with the two Hon. Members that there has to be a modality in terms of the compensation fund so that also the original inventors also tend to benefit. Also, as a country where we need to also look more in detail is in the cyber side of things whereby, we would also want more innovation in as far as to stop these copyrights and others because it is always going to happen.

Madam Speaker, I also suggest that we might need to see how other countries are doing in as far as ensuring that the IP is protected so that we can also apply the same measures and methods.  Finally, it is very often imperative that we need to invest more into our industries so that we have less of these youth and other vendors who think that it is a business of selling other people’s property and by that we may see a reduction in that because someone thinks that it is a business yet it is not.  It has to be a business that should be benefiting the owner of the product.

          HON. DR. MUTODI: I move that the debate do now adjourn.

          HON. SHAMU: I second.

          Motion put and agreed to.

          Debate to resume: Thursday, 18^th July, 2024.

On the motion of HON. KAMBUZUMA, seconded by HON. NYANDORO, the House adjourned at Eighteen Minutes to Six o’clock p.m.