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SENATE HANSARD 02 NOVEMBER 2021 VOL 31 NO 5
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 2nd November, 2021
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE
COLLECTION OF 2020 STANDING RULES AND ORDERS
THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE (HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA): I wish to remind Hon. Senators to collect hard copies of the Ninth Edition of the 2020 Standing Orders from Journals office in Room 101, first floor, Parliament building. Hon. Senators should note that soft copies of the same have been circulated through their emails. I thank you.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
First Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech
*HON. SEN. MATIIRIRA: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to debate on the Presidential Speech in this august House. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Kambizi for moving the motion and his seconder, Hon. Sen. Mabika.
I would like to thank the President of the country for his speech in this august House, a speech which was aimed at developing the economy of Zimbabwe as the citizens of this country. Firstly, I would like to speak on agriculture which is the backbone of this country. In the President’s speech concerning agriculture, this country did a lot of good things such that this year, there will be plenty of food for everyone as alluded to by the President. We would like to applaud him for that. The people in rural areas embraced the Pfumvudza Programme and already, they have inputs in preparation for the rain season. This development should be applauded.
There is also the issue of the Women’s Bank, which is a very important development in the life of women. We all know that if women are empowered, the development of the country even at household level will be a marvel. There are a lot of widows taking care of orphans around the country, but if these widows are empowered, they will not grieve over the upkeep of the orphans. So, we would like to be thankful over the introduction of the Women’s Bank. We propose that there be ease of accessing loans from the bank so that our country can develop.
The President also spoke about the introduction of Bills. We should unite as Zimbabwean citizens such that when the Bills are introduced in the House, we work hard and make sure that they are passed on time. The President also indicated that these Bills should be aligned to the Constitution, so there is need for us to work towards that goal; it is very important. The Presidential Speech relates well to the fulfillment of the country’s manifesto. He indicated that the economy can only be developed by its citizens and we as the Members of Parliament are the custodians of this country. We should therefore unite and ensure the development of our economy by working with passion and zeal for the development of our country. We should all listen to the Presidential Speech and act accordingly in order to build our economy. I support the Presidential Speech and I believe we should continue to listen to the Speech which is very essential as it speaks to and about the development of our country Zimbabwe. May God help us to develop our nation. I thank you.
^^HON. SEN. MOHADI: Thank you Mr. President of the Senate for giving me the opportunity to add my voice on the State of the Nation Address by His Excellency, the President of the country Cde. Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa.
I would also like to thank Hon. Sen. Kambizi who moved this motion in this august House and the seconder. I will not say much because this motion has already been debated by a number of Hon. Members, but what bothers me Hon. President of the Senate is that even if we debate on motions brought forward, it does not help because our Ministers are not making follow ups on issues that are debated in this august House. There are certain issues that require responses for Hon. Members who would have debated but Ministers are not in to answer to the concerns. My plea is that the Ministers need to be encouraged to be available each time we debate so that they take part on issues brought forward.
Allow me to say a few words on agriculture with specific attention to Region 5. Farmers in Region 5 do cultivate small grains but their priority is on animal husbandry. We had Cold Storage Commission and Libread in West Nicholson which used to export beef but right now this is history. If you want to please a farmer in Region 5 or in Matabeleland region as a whole, tell them about animal husbandry because this is where they get their pride from. I therefore encourage Government to see that by coming up with programmes like Pfumvudza, farmers in Region 5 need to get a similar programme that is targeting livestock farming so that farmers can get more cattle as a country because incessant drought left these farmers with less cattle. Mr. President, still in Region 5, we continue to encourage farmers to grow small grains because they are no longer able to major in livestock farming as they used to. Small grains will give them better yields.
I would like to thank our President of the Second Republic for the great job that he is carrying out through the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development in the rehabilitation of the Beitbridge-Chirundu Road because once the rehabilitation exercise is over, instead of taking 10 to 11 hours from Beitbridge to Harare, we will be taking maybe between 5 to 6 hours because there is a great job being done on this particular road.
Still on the issue of infrastructure development, with special focus on hospitals and schools, my plea to the Government is that there be more schools, especially in resettlement areas because we still have pupils who travel 20 km to the nearest school and another 20 km from school – coming to a total 40 km. They will certainly not perform well at school because they will be tired. They only eat one meal in the evening and they have no peace at all. We therefore plead to the Government to make sure that more schools are built, especially in resettlement areas.
Still on the issue of schools, with special focus on secondary schools, it is my plea that all secondary schools have laboratories so that pupils can learn science subjects so that they have a wide array of choice when they get to the working environment. In Beitbridge, there are about seven secondary schools if I am not mistaken but there is only one school with a laboratory and this is certainly not good at all.
I would like to be grateful of what the address had on women because we have been given an opportunity to grow especially regarding the 30% given to councils. Women can go to elections and once elections are done, 30% is allocated to women because we are aiming at reaching the 50% in 2030 as indicated in the SDGs.
I applaud the quota system issue which has been increased to the following full term. I hope that even though we have not reached the 50-50, we will be fast nearing that figure. The President also encouraged women to work hard and elevate themselves academically so that when opportunities that require women in decision making positions are available, they are not found wanting. I found this to be a great issue in the upliftment of women because he continues to stand by his message of not leaving anyone behind in his journey. He wishes to carry everyone aboard. He does not want to leave anyone behind. With these few words, I would like to thank you for giving me this opportunity.
*HON. SEN. MBOWA: Thank you Mr President for affording me this opportunity to add my voice in support of the motion on the Presidential Speech. I also want to take this opportunity to thank the mover of this motion, Hon. Sen Kambizi and the seconder Hon. Sen Mabika. I would want to express my sincere gratitude to His Excellency the President, for his wise words and visionary leadership that exudes his mantra of a listening President. The President showed that he places a lot of importance on the peace, security and unity of the Zimbabwean people, which currently exists in this country. He further stated that this peace and tranquillity helps us to remain united so that we can be able to achieve our Vision 2030 of being an upper middle income country. He went on to say that brick upon brick, we will build this country to attain our envisaged vision and nothing will stop us. I was happy when the President disclosed that our economy has improved and that only this year we had a 7, 8% economic growth. This gives us the hope as the Zimbabwean people that we are headed in the right direction. The President vowed that he would steer the Zimbabwean ship through difficult times until it attains a good life for every citizen and that this is going to be supported by the youths’ involvement in this country. He also said that he is going to empower the youths and that no one should be left behind. Not even any place should be left behind, meaning that each and every one of us will play an effective and meaningful role in the attainment of this vision.
For us to attain this vision, we need to be hands on and emulate our President who leads by example. Our country is severely reeling from the imposition of the illegal sanctions. Despite this prevailing unsuitable conditions, our President has ably grown our economy. In the agricultural sector, the President introduced the Pfumvudza/Intwasa Programme which was championed by women and has achieved self- sustenance for a lot of households. We witnessed a bumper harvest. Looking at the statistics; they show that a million women participated in this programme. As women, we should be proud of this achievement as it has led to food security which will also translate to peace and tranquillity. We also observed and applaud the President for budgeting for two boreholes per constituency and dam construction. This visionary leadership will ensure that irrigation schemes will be able to sustain the livelihood of communities in and around water bodies. We will also be able to grow horticultural produce and cash crops. With the President at the helm, we are in good hands and Zimbabwe is going to go far. DDF is going to provide 3000 tractors for use by middle income farmers. The President is walking the talk in ensuring that we eliminate hunger in this country, in line with the SDG on food security.
In order to attain Vision 2030, we see chicken rearing projects, cattle breeding and other animal husbandry projects that are going to be implemented at each household level. This will have the net effect of developing communal farmers, which will cascade through the supply chain. Tick grease and January disease vaccines are now being made available in all villages in order to protect our livestock. In the mining sector, we observe that the youths are now also heavily involved and large mines have now been resuscitated, hence creating employment for our local people. The same also has been witnessed in the industry sector. We are also now involved in value chain addition of our products. Last week but one, the President was in Mwenezi commissioning a new company that is going to be involved in the production of Amarula derived drinks. This translates into the beneficiation of the local community through its natural resources. The same should also be said about the Masawu fruit which is abundant in Mutoko.
THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: Order, Hon Sen Mbowa, our Hansard Reporters informed me that they are having interpretation challenges, their machines are down. This means your debate may not be properly recorded for Hansard. You may continue debating but ensure that you go to the Hansard after adjournment of the House and see that your debate is there in its entirety, or you may choose to debate on another day.
HON. SEN. MBOWA: Thank you Mr. President, I will continue with the debate. In the education sector, education 5.0 has led to the production of oxygen by a certain university and it is now exporting this product which is bringing in the much needed forex in this country. There are a lot of activities that are being undertaken by our tertiary institutions which give credence to the saying that a country is developed by its own people. We have moved away from glorifying white collar jobs into blue collar jobs in order to become self-sustaining. As a result, we are now very knowledgeable and skilled in the provision of such goods and services. We thank the President for affording us this opportunity to be self-sustaining. The President also stated that he has established a foreign currency auction floor in order to regulate foreign currency trading and bring sanity into that sector. As a result, we have seen a phenomenal growth in the capitalisation of our industries. SMEDCO, Women’s Bank and Empower Bank for the youths have also been allocated funds in a bid to achieve Vision 2030. Women and the youths are faced with the challenge of the banks demanding collateral security which is not readily available to the majority of women and youths. It is my considered view that the issue of collateral and interest rates should be revisited so that they become affordable. The working environment for small scale businesses should be conducive to work in. Issues like provision of water and ablution facilities should be improved for this sector. At times we work in very dusty environments, which is detrimental to our health. We urge that there be an improvement in that regard. The measures that the President has put in place have ensured that fuel and electricity are now readily available.
The President also spoke about the addition of two generators at Hwange Power Station. Over and above that, we are going to have solar power augmenting electricity generation. This further bolsters the fact that indeed our President is a visionary leader.
He also touched on the issue of buses and we urge them to be sensitive to the disabled population of Zimbabwe across the different age groups and sexes. I will give an example of countries that are not sensitive to the disabled. It was recently reported that a particular disabled Minister failed to attend COP26 which the President is currently attending due to their insensitivity to this wheel chair bound Minister. The President also pledged to expand our airports as well as spruce up old ones in line with our Vision 2030. The President has also improved our road infrastructure and I also solidly stand behind the President in calling for the removal of these illegal sanctions.
In conclusion, I heard that a Committee has been set up to deal with drug related problems. Where I live, I am informed that there was a party for the youths who unashamedly were dancing in the nude. This is deplorable behaviour which should be condemned as in the majority of cases, it is the mother who feels the pain of raising a wayward child. We support the President in coming up with these drug abuse reduction measures and that all culprits should be arrested. Hopefully, this will lead to the restoration of the dignity between the youths and the elderly in all social spheres. I thank you Hon. President Sir.
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I move that the debate do now adjourn.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 3rd November, 2021.
MOTION
LEAVE TO MOVE FOR THE RESTORATION OF THE MARRIAGES BILL [H. B. 7 A, 2019] 9 AND THE PENSIONS AND PROVIDENT FUNDS AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 17A, 2019] ON THE ORDER PAPER
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Mr. President Sir, I seek leave of the House to move that the following Bills, which were superseded by the end of the Third Session of the Ninth Parliament be restored on the Order Paper at the stages that they had reached;
- Marriages Bill [H. B. 7A, 2019];
- Pensions and Provident Funds Amendment Bill [H. B. 17A, 2019].
I so submit Mr. President Sir.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
RESTORATION OF THE MARRIAGES BILL [H. B. 7A, 2019] AND THE PENSIONS AND PROVIDENT FUNDS AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 17A, 2019] ON THE ORDER PAPER
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Mr. President Sir, I move that the following Bills, which were superseded by the end of the Third Session of the Ninth Parliament be restored on the Order Paper at the stages that they had reached;
- Marriages Bill [H. B. 7A, 2019];
- Pensions and Provident Funds Amendment Bill [H. B. 17A. 2019].
I so submit Mr. President Sir.
Motion put and agreed to.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI), the Senate adjourned at Twenty-Seven Minutes Past Three o’clock p.m.