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SENATE HANSARD 16 JUNE 2022 VOL 31 NO 50
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBAWE
Thursday, 16th June, 2022
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE
NON-ADVERSE REPORTS RECEIVED FROM THE PARLIAMENTARY LEGAL COMMITTEE
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I wish to
inform the House that I have received Non-Adverse Reports from the Parliamentary Legal Committee, on the following:-
Statutory Instrument Nos. 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 96, 97, 98, 100, 101, 103 and 104 published in the Gazette during the month of May, 2022.
APOLOGIES RECEIVED FROM MINISTERS
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Today is a Thursday and as you would know, it is time for Questions without Notice. I do have apologies that have been submitted by the following Ministers: -
Hon. General (Rtd) Dr. C. D. G. N. Chiwenga, Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care;
Hon. O. C. Z. Muchinguri-Kashiri, Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs;
Hon. Dr. A. J. Masuka, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement;
Hon. W. Chitando, Minister of Mines and Mining Development;
Hon. F. Mhona, Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development;
Hon. Dr. K. Coventry, Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation;
Hon. V. Haritatos, Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement;
Hon. Chiduwa, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Development;
Disappointingly, in the Chamber today, we only have two Ministers so far, and very disappointingly I must say. The Hon. Kazembe, Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, and the Deputy Minister of Local Government and Public Works, as usual, Hon. M. Chombo. Assuming the other Ministers will join us, can we start with these two Ministers here present?
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA: Thank you Hon. President. My question is for the attention of the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage. Hon. Minister, what is the policy on illegal settlers on resettlement land in terms of the police arresting them? Is it that they have to first of all report to the Ministry of Lands before the arrest or if it is an illegal settlement, they have to proceed to arrest?
THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Thank you Mr. President Sir. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Chief Charumbira for the question. Yes, illegal settlement is not allowed, it is illegal from the word ‘illegal’ itself. However, police do not just go and start arresting people; what needs to happen is to establish.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Hon. Minister, you are not connected.
HON. KAZEMBE: Yes, it is the Ministry of Lands that complains to the police that this person is settled illegally because it is the Ministry of Lands that can determine whether the person is settled illegally or legally. That is how it works. I would like to sincerely thank the Hon. Senator.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to the Minister of Home Affairs. We were told that the issuance of important documents such as birth certificates and national identification documents has now been decentralised. My question is, I was hoping that the influx of people at the Central Registry Office in Harare would go down but we still see long queues winding there. I am at pains to understand what exactly is happening. Do we have an infinite number of people acquiring birth certificates and national identification documents? Thank you Mr. President.
*THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Thank you Mr. President. First and foremost, I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Tongogara for the question. Yes indeed, it also surprised us as to why people are still following long queues when the President has decentralised. We started a programme of issuing birth certificates and national identification documents and other documents under the programme called mobile registration. As we speak, the process is ongoing; officers are on the ground in all the rural areas. I may want to inform the august House that on the 30th of May, the number of people who had acquired national registration documents exceeded 508 000 and those who acquired birth certificates were 549 000, including such documents as death certificates which are also being acquired there. We do not know why people are now forming long queues. The programme which was launched by His Excellency the President is moving smoothly. We are in the middle of executing this programme and we did not expect the queues to go away within two or three months. The programme is ongoing until September. We hope that by the time we reach September, everyone will have acquired registration documents and birth certificates to those eligible to receive such documents. I thank you.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: Thank you Mr. President. My question goes to the Minister of Local Government and Public Works. Hon. Minister, you will recall that there were some houses which were built 10 to 15 years ago countrywide and to date, some have not been completed. When do you think they can resume and finish the construction of those houses? I thank you.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. CHOMBO): Thank you Hon. President and thank you very much Hon. Sen. Mohadi for that question. Surely, we have incomplete buildings dating back to – some of them to almost 20 years or more. Most of the projects that were stalled was mainly because of financial difficulties. What we did is, we went all over the country to make a list of all the buildings which were incomplete and made a requisition for funding from the Ministry of Finance. Some of them have taken shape like in Lupane and in Siyakobvu and many buildings are shaping up right now but we still fall short of financing. It is something that my Ministry is seized with and also the Central Government. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. MANYAU: Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. We have a lot of people who are living with disability who are self-employed and are into handicrafts. If we are to sell their products outside the country, we will be empowering them and the country will also gain foreign currency. What measures do you have in place to assist us as people living with disability to ensure that we find markets to sell our products? As people living with disability, we do not have the necessary exposure to these markets despite the fact that we have very good art craft work that can earn us a lot of money. We may be taken advantage of by unscrupulous people who are underpaying the disabled. Thank you.
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. DR. MUSABAYANA): I would like to thank the Hon. Senator for the pertinent question. First and foremost, I would like to talk about the issue of trade. As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, we strongly do as the President has suggested in international trade. You will observe that a lot of the work that is being done by ZimTrade, which is a company that incorporates the Government, which is in partnership with the Government and the private sector. It mainly looks at the issue of opening up markets in countries the world-over. As we speak right now, this year we were in Dubai for Expo 2020. A lot of the goods that were on display are curios such as sculptures and other things. As Government, we shouldered that burden to ensure that all those that are into handicrafts and crockery work, commonly referred to as doilies, be ferried free of charge and be sold at such markets. This shows that the Government is truly interested in ensuring that those people that are living with disabilities are given markets.
We have several places in this country such as hotels or other places where people that are living with disability are there and they have their handicrafts. They are even getting awards. I will give an example of Mawati in Marondera. There is a woman that we found there. She uses her feet and she does sewing and crochet things. She exports a lot of products out of the country. So that lodge or hotel has received several accolades from outside the country. We do not want those that are living with disability to just produce their curios, but they should go to ZIMTRADE or even as individuals and they will be assisted. They will be empowered in terms of what the requirements for exports are. So as a Government, we will then see how best we can assist them so that when they have these international exhibitions outside the country we assist them.
There is an opportunity. There are markets to be explored and to be tapped into. As a Ministry, we urge them to work hand in glove with us so that the youth and those living with disabilities are assisted. We have a desk for the youths as well and we will be coming up with a desk for the people that are living with disabilities in everything that we do. Thank you Mr. President.
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: Thank you Mr. President for affording me this opportunity to pose my question to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and international Affairs. Mr. President, what is Government policy as regards the bilateral relations with other countries such as South Africa? They are busy clamouring that Zimbabwe should be investigated by the international world because of the disappearance of people, specifically Blessing Ali who disappeared. What is Government policy because the police are still investigating and yet this is now being broadcast on television stations in South Africa?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. DR. MUSABAYANA): I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Chimbudzi for the question. Mr. President, first and foremost, as a country - Zimbabwe is guided by our Constitution which was adopted in 2013. If you look at section 12, it says as Foreign Affairs we are guided in the manner on which we conduct our operations as regards our relationship with other countries.
Zimbabwe is an independent country and it has a legitimate Government that leads this country. It is a sovereign State. We do not care what outsiders are saying as regards our politics or our governance for as long as our Government is abiding by its Constitution. We have very good bilateral relations with South Africa. The head of the South African country and ourselves are brothers. They work hand in glove with each other. This may have emanated from either newspapers or those which are on television or on social media who just give their opinion as happens during this time of the year. We have the Commonwealth meeting that is there next week in Rwanda. It is common cause that if we have such meetings, we have amongst us people that advocate for punitive measures against Zimbabwe. They want to portray Zimbabwe in bad light in terms of governance when in fact that is not the correct position. The people that are making those allegations are doing so as individuals. It would then become our concern if it were the South African Government that then is raising such aspersions.
You should never listen to them. Dismiss them as social media. No one is going to come in here and investigate anything in this country unless if our Government has allowed them to come and do so. There is no one who has the right to come and do that in our country. Who should be investigating who because we are a sovereign State. Furthermore, let me put it on record that we work very well with SADC and we abide by the SADC principles as well as the African Union as we are a member State of the African Union who is in good standing with the African Union. So it has not come from either SADC or the African Union. It is just a trivial issue. You should not waste your airtime or you data on that. Just ignore them. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage. We are aware that you are responsible for law and order in the country but we saw in Chitungwiza people’s houses being burnt. People were going berserk on the streets. As the Minister responsible for law and order and our security in this country, is anything being done in terms of such an incident so that peace is maintained? I thank you Mr. President.
THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Let me thank Hon. Sen. Tongogara for such a pertinent question that she has raised that as the Government of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage which is responsible for the police and maintenance of law and order and peace, what are we doing to ensure that such incidents do not reoccur. First and foremost Mr. President, it is something that we do not expect to happen from Zimbabwean citizens in a free and independent country with its own Constitution, as has been earlier on referred to by my colleague, the Hon. Minister.
Before I say where we are going, it is important to explain so that everyone gets to know where we are coming from or where we stand. As has been referred to by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, we have a problem with people that whenever there is an offence that is alleged to have been committed, they politicise the issue. An offence is just but an offence regardless the stature of the person, whether tall or short, thin or fat and belongs to a certain religion or any political party; that is neither here nor there. The law will take its own course. The people that were there have said this was a case between lovers which went bad and the offence will be treated just like that.
As leaders of political parties, I urge you not to clothe any offence that has been committed with a political party. The case is being investigated to get to the bottom of what happened. As has been correctly pointed out by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, whenever there is a gathering that is going to occur; as has been pointed out, we have people that have an anti-Zimbabwe agenda and that everyone should look down upon Zimbabwe and label us as the bad guys. They do it every year whenever there is an international gathering, whether it is the United Nations or anything. Before we get there, there will be allegations of abductions and certain things. The script is the same.
What I want the Zimbabwean citizens to know is that Zimbabwe is not a banana republic. Zimbabwe has its own laws. If there were others that used to do hat and get away with it, that was in the past. Our Government and police force has people that do their work diligently. When I get to the question that Hon. Sen. Tongogara has asked, it is a case that is under investigation and we are not going to leave any stone unturned. We know that they are reading from the same script that they would want to cast Zimbabwe in bad light as a lawless nation.
We want to tell this House that the alleged offender who was a fugitive from justice as we speak now is now in police custody. The truth will come out and I will not go deeper into the case because it will now be appearing before the courts. The alleged murderer or suspect has now been arrested and is in the hands of the police. He is already giving a narration of what transpired. Hon. Sen. Tongogara and the Zimbabwean citizens should be free to live well because this country abides by the law. We have a police force that is responsible for law and order. This country will never become ungovernable. Those that committed arson, it does not matter whether they belong to any political party or whether they are tall or short, whoever falls foul of the law shall be arrested and the world over, we are renowned as police officers that do their work diligently.
We carry out our investigations with a tooth comb and 2023 is now by the corner. Everyone should go and freely vote. The President is on record urging everyone to ensure that we conduct free and fair elections that should be conducted peacefully. There are some that would want Zimbabwe to be painted as a bad and hence, they would want to incite outsiders or the international community. Those that have committed offences are going to be arrested. Any likeminded person who would want to commit such offences should know that the police will be out there. No one is above the law. I thank you.
+HON. SEN. KHUMALO: My question comes as a supplementary question to the question which was raised by Hon. Sen. Tongogara regarding perpetrators of violence who act on behalf of other people who are sent to do such atrocities. How about those who are behind such violence because these are the people who are creating havoc in the country? What happens to those who are sending people to perpetrate violence because as long as they are not arrested, then violence will not end in the country? I thank you.
HON. KAZEMBE: Thank you Mr. President Sir. I would like to thank both Hon. Sen. Khumalo for the question and Hon. Sen. Mohadi for the interpretation assistance. Yes Mr. President Sir, it is very tricky to assume that people have been sent by somebody to kill someone, unless if it is clearly stated in court or the investigations clearly show that somebody actually sent someone to do this, then that person becomes also co-accused and they are accountable and are taken to court. I want to thank you.
*HON. SEN. MOYO: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity. My question is directed to the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, and in his absence, I direct it to the Leader of Government Business. There are people who lost their homes through arson. Some were just innocent bystanders. It is not easy to rebuild Mr. President. What is going to happen to those who lost their houses through arson?
*THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Mr. President. Our Social Welfare Department, during such calamities like accidents and arson, have got offices in different areas where we come from. They work together with the Ministry of Home Affairs who carry out investigations to determine how victims of arson are surviving and where they are staying so that paper work is generated in response to such and that they can have accommodation. I cannot go into specifics on a specific case. It is important that the Hon. Senator puts the question in writing so that it is directed to the responsible office which would respond accordingly. For instance, if someone is insured, the insurance is going to pay but others might be desperate without any covering. So the Social Welfare Department will respond accordingly. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF NTABENI: Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to the Minister of Home Affairs, Hon. Kazembe Kazembe. The Police Commissioner released a statement that when a police officer is seen carrying a spike, that officer will be arrested. He also said that police officers are not supposed to interfere with service vehicles which carry people, risking people’s lives passing through red robots. What is the position since this is happening? I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Thank you Mr. President. Let me thank the Hon. Senator for his pertinent question. Indeed, it is true that the police gave a statement that it is illegal for police officers to use spikes to stop motorists. This is the announcement that was made by Government as a policy. I believe that the Hon. Senator said interference with vehicles which ferry people, that is not true. What was banned is the use of spikes to stop motorists. We said that it is important to find alternative means of stopping suspected violators of traffic rule. We need to stop motorists who might be suspected.
Let me also inform this august House that Government is coming up with policy through the electronic traffic management system which will be done by the Ministry of Home Affairs together with the Ministry of ICT. When we install the system, there will not be a reason for police officers to use spikes and other deterrent ways of stopping motorists because the new system will be using surveillance cameras and other electronics which will be monitoring traffic. They can capture number plates and the pictures of the motorists which will be stored at CVR. Within a short time, the police officers would know who passed through a red traffic light and who violated traffic regulations. This is what Government is doing at the moment. It is possible to eliminate spikes. What the Hon. Senator said that there must not be interference is not correct. Government said police cannot risk the safety of people. I thank you.
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to the Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care. May the Minister favour this House by explaining strategies and programmes being put in place by the Government via the Ministry of Health and Child Care to reduce morbidity and mortality due to communicable diseases?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. DR. MANGWIRO): Thank you Mr. President. I want to thank the Hon. Member for the pertinent question about communicable diseases. These are diseases that can be transmitted all over. As Government, it has always been our policy to have these diseases kept under surveillance. We have as a Ministry, environmental technicians who are supposed to be moving around towns and rural areas looking for possible transmission and sources of communicable diseases. Once it is picked, as Government, we rush there together. There is always an Epidemiological Department specifically assigned for diseases. We have a director for each communicable disease that is there who gets to work everyday surveilling the possible outbreaks. Also, these environmental health technicians and everyone in the Health for that matter are out on awareness programmes about the transmission of some of these diseases and prevention methods are put in place. Where someone gets problems, appropriate management is done from as low as village health centres where we have village health workers. They are also taught how to prevent communicable diseases.
After village health centres, we have rural health centres where this teaching is there as well and we have environmental health technicians supervising the village health centres and rural health centres up to district level. We have a doctor or director assigned to look after the communicable diseases in those areas and move up to the province, where the Provincial Medical Director has got an EHT who specially works on those diseases as well up to the Ministry level where we have a Chief Director running with that. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. M. NDLOVU: Thank you Mr. President. I will ask my question in Shona so that the Minister understands. My Shona is at window level but I am certain that he will understand what I am trying to say. These days, a lot of things are happening in high density areas. People are moving around with machetes breaking into people’s homes and killing people. As I speak, in Bulawayo, three people were killed in such a way. Last week, an armed robbery and theft also took place. What is the Ministry of Home Affairs doing in order to protect the people? People are now spending sleepless nights and are no longer happy. How are you going to assist us Hon. Minister? In the past we used to have police patrolling during the night dealing with such eventualities. Why are police officers no longer doing night patrols? Do you have shortage of police officers or you now have a change of laws and operations? Give us some light on how best you are going to tackle such a problem.
*THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Hon. Sen. Ndlovu, your Shona is not at window but roof level. Indeed, this is a development which is not pleasing that people are now robbing households and this is on the increase. Figures of arrests have also risen and the police are doing their duty. Yes, we might have challenges here and there but the truth of the matter is that Government is running with the matter. We are looking into the issue of patrols by police officers. We would also want to increase the fleet of motor bikes and motor vehicles so that a lot of police officers will be on patrol in the various places where we live.
The increase in the number of offences is not only akin to Zimbabwe only. I was fortunate enough to meet my counterparts in South Africa last week when we had the SAPCO meeting where the heads of police officers meet. I met my South African counterpart, Minister Bheki Nxele, the Prime Minister from Namibia and others. We discussed these issues and I then realised that this offence is prevalent in the region. The crime rate has gone up. Be that as it may, I am happy that the meeting came up with resolutions and programmes that a research be conducted as to why there is this high rate of crime. People are now committing crimes and run to neighbouring countries. We are now coordinating our approach and we hope that as various Ministers of Home Affairs, we will be able to get to the bottom of things. It is my hope that the Ministry of Finance is busy putting funds to ensure that we are mobile.
We are also conducting awareness campaigns in areas where we live. There are many people who are keeping a lot of money in their homes because some are into gold mining. Keeping money in homes is dangerous because that is why armed robbers are now being attracted to households. This invites criminals and is harmful to us. As Government, I would like to assure this House that we are doing all that we can to ensure that we bring down the crime rate and empower the police so that they are mobile and are able to carry out their duty. I thank you.
HON. SEN. S. MPOFU: My question is directed to the Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care. We hear that there is an outbreak of monkey pox in other countries. How prepared are we as a country against this disease? What causes this disease and how is it spread? What signs and symptoms are there for one to know that he has contracted this disease?
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. DR. MANGWIRO): Monkey pox is one of the viruses that get spread almost similarly to other viruses. It can be through fomites – things that we use like towels and so forth. It can be spread easily as well. Its origin is said to be down from West Africa, Europe and then all over. In our country, we have not recorded a case as of now.
One will know that they have been attacked by this virus if they develop a rush which is bigger and very uncomfortable. One can also have pains, shivering, headaches and all those virus infection like symptoms, even generalised body weakness. The person might also lose appetite. This infection literally behaves like the COVID-19 except that this is more particular because of the nodules that appear on a person’s body. It can actually be fatal if not taken care of. Prevention is the best. What we are doing now with our masks and making sure that we clean ourselves before eating is because it can also be transmitted by taking infected food. It is almost similar to other viruses except that then when it comes, there are nodules or a rush that appears on the body which is a bit more visible.
As Government, we are on the look-out for this. We have very strong surveillance systems, like I mentioned earlier on that we have EHT who specifically check out on these symptoms. We also take blood samples from people time and again to make sure that we do not miss it. This is how we are doing it. The virus is there mainly in Europe but the transmission of viruses is because of easy movement of people. We are definitely on the look-out and on guard.
HON. SEN MOHADI: My question goes to the Minister of Home Affairs. How best can the Ministry minimise corruption at the borders? You find that during the past two years, our borders were closed because of the construction that was taking place. Now that the construction is complete and the borders are open, the people no longer use the border but instead use the undesignated places to cross. No one is arresting them though there is police guarding down the river. Those people just go scot free and Government is losing a lot of money because a lot of goods are being smuggled through the undesignated crossing places.
THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Let me start by thanking Hon. Sen Mohadi for the pertinent question. This question is in two parts, with one talking about corruption and the other talking about people crossing the border through undesignated points which comes back to corruption at the end of the day. Let me deal with corruption first. Mr. Speaker Sir, corruption, like I have always said religiously takes two to be corrupt. One person cannot corrupt themselves. I always say we have a collective responsibility to stop corruption. If we are really serious, we can stop it. Whilst it is police’s responsibility to arrest those who commit crimes, some of the issues cannot be left to the police alone. The entire nation needs to take part as we are all responsible collectively.
Coming to the border, there are a number of departments there. There is ZIMRA, Immigration, Port Health and Ministry of Transport, so you never know who exactly is corrupt. So, Government has been sending ferret teams consisting of police, the President’s department and the Army to try and arrest this scourge. This has helped as we have accounted for a lot of people at the border. Also, to ensure that those that we send do not end up getting involved, we have been changing teams and that has yielded results. In fact, the police spokesperson has been giving statistics of people who are getting arrested every week trying to bribe the police. We have also started deploying covert police officers who in some cases pretend to be travelers. Some have boarded buses and attempted to bribe our police officers. So, even police officers who are involved have been arrested. These police officers have been deployed to man the road blocks so as to account for those who are not using designated areas.
The other intervention that Government has done is to upgrade the border because congestion causes corruption as people try to find fast ways of gaining access. If there is efficiency, we expect that people will follow the designated routes. So Government has upgraded Beitbridge Border Post. I know the Hon. Senator comes from that area and she will agree with me that the new look Beitbridge is very different from what was there. There is also technology that has been deployed there to ensure people are assisted smoothly. Technology is envisaged to be the solution to corruption because technology does not take bribes nor does it go for tea. Technology removes the human interface because every time there is physical interface, there is likely to be corruption. So it is critical that there be efficiency at the border so that people will be served timeously and there will be less corruption.
Now, coming to the borders, it is a bigger challenge but Government is doing something about it. In some areas, we are now deploying through the entire security sector drones to man our borders. We have also created some teams in certain border areas, in particular stretching from Botswana all the way down. We now have patrols there. Work is still in progress and we have to improve our roads as well as deploy more suitable vehicles. Treasury is seized with that matter. However, we do have a challenge along our borders but Government is attending to that. I thank you.
Questions without Notice were interrupted by THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in terms of Standing Order No. 67.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Hon. President Sir, I move that time for questions without notice be extended for 15 minutes.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
THE HON DPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: We will extend by five minutes because we have already overshot our time by ten minutes.
HON. SEN MWONZORA: My question is directed to the Minister of Home Affairs. Over the past week or two, we have seen a surge in politically motivated violence in Chitungwiza and Kuwadzana for instance. What is causing this and what is Government doing about it? I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Thank you Hon. Sen. Mwonzora for that important question. I think part of that question I responded to earlier on in detail. So, I will respond to the question what is causing the violence. I will be very blunt and say it is politicians who are causing this. Politicians are inciting violence which is something we do not expect from leaders. Leaders are supposed to lead by example. I did mention earlier on that Zimbabwe is a peace loving country but for reasons; we know that people cannot wait for elections – maybe they are worried that they are going to lose. I am not talking about any particular party but I am simply saying that politicians, those who are involved in the game. There are elections coming next year, 2023 is around the corner but because some are scared of losing, they now resort to violence. They now want Zimbabwe to remain on the spotlight. So they are inciting violence so that there is reason for Zimbabwe to be put on the agenda.
I said it earlier on but maybe Hon. Sen. Mwonzora was not in but for his benefit, I will repeat. We are aware that people have an agenda to destabilise the country to suit their political objective but as Zimbabwe, we have the law in our country. We have the Constitution of Zimbabwe and able men who can deal with those malcontents. As I mentioned earlier on, it is there for everyone to see, this is a public domain – politicians inciting violence, telling people to go out there to kill people and burn houses. We cannot have such leadership in this country and if you do that, obviously the law will take its course.
Like I mentioned earlier on, this is not a banana republic. The law will take its course, our police are very competent, and will deal with the situation. So Hon. Sen. Mwonzora, you can sleep well, knowing that you are in a safe country. I thank you.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: Thank you Mr. President, my question is directed to the Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care. Mr. President, I would like to know from the Hon. Minister how far has the Ministry gone in establishing the 10 provincial rehabilitation centres for drug substance abusers.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. DR. MANGWIRO): Thank you Mr. President and thank you Hon. Senator for the pertinent question asking how far the Ministry is in establishing rehabilitation centres for addicts or rather, rehabilitating those affected with addiction to drugs or whatever.
Like I said last time, addiction or these drug problems are real health problems in that the people who get addicted have a change in their normal body functions which if they are withdrawn or the drug that they are using is withdrawn suddenly, can be fatal. So the best way to deal with it is, we have first and foremost, the acute level where a person is admitted whether it is confusion, shivering, having fits or whatever. We admit them into acute wards that are already established mainly at our central hospitals. The Hon. Minister has directed that we have a ward or two per each provincial or district hospital to take care of these people at acute level.
When they are a bit better, they then can be taken to other areas – other than acute emergencies. The Ministry has identified areas like old beer halls or council buildings. We have said each province/district must have these rehabilitation centres established – we call these, halfway homes. Where the person is between going back into hospital going to the community, these areas are there to really try and adjust the addict or whoever to go back into society. So these are being established all over the country urgently because we are now aware that the drug addiction problem is very high in our country.
So the Hon. Senator can rest assured that acute emergencies, we can deal with. Halfway homes are being established as we speak. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to the Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care. Firstly, I want to thank and applaud him for the rehabilitation of hospitals countrywide. My question is; what measures do they have to rehabilitate army hospitals especially in the camps because the status of these hospitals is deplorable? I thank you.
HON. DR. MANGWIRO: Thank you Mr. President, I want to thank the Hon. Senator for the question, and also for applauding us for the rehabilitation we are engaged in. Currently, our army hospitals are in a deplorable state but at Manyame, we are in the process of constructing a new hospital. Rehabilitation of hospitals will be a continuous process because illness does not select anyone. So, together as we rehabilitate other hospitals, we will also rehabilitate the army hospitals throughout the country. I thank you.
Questions without Notice were interrupted by THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE, in terms of Standing Order No. 67.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: There is not
a single Minister who is present to answer questions with notice that were submitted; sad, very, very sad. Leader of the House, if you could take note of that, not a single Minister has turned up for those with questions on the Order Paper.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Mr. President Sir. I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 3 be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE JUDICIAL SERVICE COMMISSION FOR THE YEAR 2021
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Mr. President Sir, I rise that this House takes note of the Report of the Judicial Service Commission for the year 2021 presented to this House in terms of Section 323 (1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. I so submit Mr. President Sir.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION FOR THE YEAR 2021
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Mr. President Sir, I move that this House takes note of the Report of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission for the year 2021, presented to this House in terms of Section 323 (1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE NATIONAL PEACE AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION FOR THE YEAR 2021
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Mr. President Sir, I move that this House takes note of the Report of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission for the year 2021, presented to this House of Parliament in terms of section 323 (1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ZIMBABWE ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION FOR THE YEAR 2020
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Mr. President Sir. I move that this House takes note of the Report of the Zimbabwe Anti- Corruption Commission for the year 2020, presented to this House of Parliament in terms of section 323 (1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
Motion put and agreed to.
COMMITTEE STAGE
ZIMBABWE INDEPENDENT COMPLAINTS COMMISSION BILL [H. B. 5A, 2021]
Eighth Order read: Committee Stage: Zimbabwe Independent Complaints Commission Bill [H. B. 5A, 2021].
House in Committee.
Clauses 1 to 29 put and agreed to.
Schedule 7 put and agreed to.
House resumed.
Bill reported without amendments.
Third Reading: With leave, forthwith.
THIRD READING
ZIMBABWE INDEPENDENT COMPLAINTS COMMISSION BILL [H. B. 5A, 2021]
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Mr. President. I now move that the Zimbabwe Independent Complaints Commission Bill [H. B. 5A, 2021] be read the third time.
Motion put and agreed to.
Bill read the third time.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS, the Senate adjourned at Eleven Minutes past Four o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 5th July, 2022.