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SENATE HANSARD 17 NOVEMBER 2021 VOL 31 NO 12
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 17th November, 2021
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: Madam President, I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 and 2 be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Third Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. SHUMBA: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the motion on the State of the Nation Address by His Excellency the President when he opened the Fourth Session of the Ninth Parliament. We would like to thank the President because he is a listening President. He listens to our concerns and acts upon them.
I am very happy because when he assumed office, he spoke of unity in the country amongst people and this is exactly what we witnessed – there was no violence. We see it as a good initiative because everyone listened to the President’s speech. This is what he expected from us, that we are united in building this nation. If we fight amongst ourselves, we will witness no progress in our lives. He also spoke about our economy and sanctions as well. This is what has held us back; even our economy cannot perform better because of these sanctions.
We are seeing progress on what he promised us. We remain hopeful that things are shaping up. We had a few problems before but when he came in and did his work, we are actually seeing positive signs. Even the auction system, we appreciate this because we are seeing a positive change in that particular area. His Excellency the President is very determined to fix this country. He spoke about a lot of things and we are actually seeing some of the things.
The whole nation is happy and even young children are delighted, they know what Pfumvudza is all about; that is Pfumvudza/Intwasa Programme. Even children are reciting poems of what the President articulated in the State of the Nation Address. In order for the economy to work out positively for economic growth, we need programmes such as Pfumvudza/Intwasa to be functional. So we are happy with some of these programmes. We had Pfumvudza since last year and people got bumper harvests; their stomachs are full, they are happy and some of the harvest was sent to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB). Our grain silos are full as we speak, so we can actually confirm that the President is not just talking but putting those things into practice. We are very happy about this.
He spoke about a lot of things and even roads are being rehabilitated. Everyone is praising the New Dispensation. In his own words, he mentioned that there is need to fix roads, clinics and other things - they should be functional. There is need to fix our roads up to Chirundu. It was our desire not to be given cars and helicopters instead but the whole intention was that we would be running away from bad roads. We are grateful for infrastructural development, one example being of the Beitbridge Border Post. A lot of developments have taken place and I heard people saying good things about the place. We are very happy with what the President is doing. We are very delighted with what His Excellency and Head of State and Government is engaging in.
We now have a factory in Mwenezi manufacturing beer from amarula fruit, which is a very good development. These are the things that were mentioned by His Excellency in His State of the Nation Address speech. We are very thankful to His Excellency for the work that he is doing to this nation. He is a hardworking man. He is always in his office putting what he says into practice. He said a lot of things, even if you go into mining, he is encouraging investment into mining. In areas like Ngundu, we anticipate to witness gold mining. The whole objective is for the economic growth of this country. We see that he is not just talking but he is putting things into practice. He is working on the ground.
We are fully aware that the congestion at Mbudzi roundabout is something that they are working on under infrastructural development. He has a vision. We anticipate a successful Vision 2030 for the nation. People should be able to go wherever they so wish, conducting business. We would like to thank His Excellency for the good things that he has done. That is all I wanted to say Mr. President Sir. With these few words, I thank you.
*HON. SEN. BAIPAI: Thank you Mr. President for the opportunity that you have given me. I would like to thank the President of Zimbabwe for the work he is doing. He fought very well against COVID. TB has been a dreadful disease amongst citizens. It is my wish that we get medication so that we get rid of tuberculosis for good. The issue of drug abuse amongst the youths, they have become reckless. They cannot control themselves after consuming the drugs and they lose respect for elders. There is a high rate of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases amongst these youths. It is my wish that we have a law within the health sector to criminalise and imprison those that are found selling drugs to these youths. As they engage in infrastructure development working on the roads, it is my wish that the Nyanga Road, known as Bhinya Road be attended to. That is my kind request to His Excellency. Thank you very much.
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: Mr. President Sir, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. MATHUTHU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 18th November, 2021.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE VIRTUAL 49TH PLENARY ASSEMBLY SESSION OF THE SADC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM
Fourth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report of the 49th Plenary Assembly Session of the SADC-Parliamentary Forum held virtually from 25th to 27th June.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: Mr. President Sir, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. CHIRONGOMA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 18th November, 2021.
MOTION
CONSTRUCTION, UPGRADING AND REHABILITATION OF THE ROAD NETWORK IN THE COUNTRY
Fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the importance of a sound road network.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to say a few words on the motion raised by Hon. Sen. Mabika. This is a very important motion to us as a nation because we know that without roads, nothing moves forward. Even development, there is nothing of that sort. It is different from ways back when we used to take a very long period travelling to another place. Through His Excellency and the projects that he is doing, we understand there has been some great improvements on the roads. It is easier to travel and you can actually calculate your distance and destination but if there are no good roads for you to travel on, it is very difficult.
I would like to thank the New Dispensation and His Excellency who has a very good vision. Through the Lord’s grace, we got a lot of rainfall and managed to have a good harvest in the country. Again, because of the heavy rains, the roads were damaged but because of his great vision, they embarked on fixing the roads in the country. They declared it a national disaster which meant the Government intervened on this particular disaster. Even in rural areas, it is something he embarked on fixing infrastructure. We would like to thank him for that.
You also heard Hon. Mabika talking about the Mt. Selinda- Chipinge Road that they wish it could be fixed so that farmers may access and be able to sell their produce. There is also another road Mr. President. We actually have areas where back in the days there never used to be any roads or access to those areas. I remember my father acquiring a farm in that particular area. He was given a licence to farm which was then called a Master of African Tillage. These were people said to have been thrown away and even to this day, farmers cannot access roads so that they are able to sell their produce. No one comes there to assist because of the poor state of roads, such that people are afraid to further damage their vehicles.
The road I am referring to Mr. President is from Mushandira- Bonongwe; you cross Save Bridge and get to Gandami till you get to Jumba. Then to your right you actually reach Chivhu and your left Msasa. This road has been named Bhinya Road. There is no vehicle that uses this road and comes out undamaged. This is a very bad road Mr. President and it is my kind request that the Minister of Transport and Minister of Provincial Affairs should come through to assist us.
These people who have been thrown into this area where there is no access, may they be assisted so that they are able to also get farming equipment and inputs? They should be able to take their farm produce to Chivhu. If that road is fixed, it means that the community which stays in that area are able to travel and that way, we can talk of development in that community. Without that, there is nothing that happens to that community. Their produce will rot within their own backyards.
Mr. President, I welcome the motion that was brought into this House. The New Dispensation is doing a lot in terms of development of infrastructure. The Kanyemba Road was fixed and people are now able to cross into Zambia. This is the development that we have always been talking about and development that comes about if roads are fixed. Even investors coming into this country, rural areas will not be the same again if the roads have been fixed. Our rural area will develop and investors are attracted to these places because there is easy access.
Right now Mr. President as you know, we fought in the liberation struggle and for our freedom. The cake is very big and must not be eaten by just a few. Everyone should be able to find a share because everyone has a right to get a piece of the cake. This is why you see these days that when we talk of development in the urban areas, the same is also being done in the rural areas. I am sure everyone has heard that people in the rural areas are very happy because the roads are being fixed. I would like to also appreciate the vision of the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe. I would like to urge that we continue to fix the roads because when we fix roads, we have done development in different parts of the country. Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity.
*HON. SEN. SHUMBA: Thank you Mr. President. I delayed a bit but these are sophisticated modern gadgets and as you know, Chirungu chakauya negarava so eventually I got there. I would want to applaud the motion that was moved by Hon. Mabika. It is a very important motion because when there is no road infrastructure, there is no development or transportation. I would want to thank her dearly because this affects the entire country and everyone. Although she was centring on roads that are in her area, the state of the bad roads is a nationwide phenomenon. We would want to thank the New Dispensation led by President Mnangagwa. They are fighting very hard but Rome was not built in a day. His vision and objectives are very clear. He is on record clearly spelling out that he wants all road infrastructure to be better.
We went as far as Mberengwa with the SDGs Committee. When we were going to Musumhi, we got there and a lot of people were suffering from back-ache. They were asking whether there were any Members of Parliament (MPs) in that area because of the bad road. We proceeded to Matabeleland North. We left the tar-macadamised roads and went into dust roads. Generally, the roads are all bad. It is envisaged, in accordance with the President’s vision, that the roads are going to be repaired and the infrastructure is going to be good. Even in Mwenezi where I come from, once you leave the tar-macadamised roads and go into dust road, you will hate travelling using your vehicle because of the bad state of the roads.
Like I earlier on said, Rome was not built in a day. We should be united as MPs and Senators – maybe the Ministry of Transport does not have people that can see the state of roads in various areas but MPs are the President’s eyes. As has been done by Hon. Mabika, we now know that there is a road in Mt. Selinda which is bad and need repairs. I urge all of us to be in the same mode so that we are able to repair our roads and they will be in good state. They can plan accordingly because of the number of roads that are bad in Mwenezi and Mberengwa and then come up with a holistic plan to deal with that.
Generally, roads are being repaired. I urge our councils and DDF to also support the President’s vision that roads be accessible. People want to travel on passable roads. I urge that the roads be properly constructed so that we have got good road infrastructure and we will be able to transport crops. I remember our local GMB in Mwenezi appealing for roads that go to the farms to be properly constructed so that they become accessible. Truckers no longer want to use those roads because of the breakdowns that they suffer or because of wear and tear on their vehicles. We need to work very hard in that regard. Once again, I thank Hon. Sen. Mabika and all those that are going to be of similar minds, that roads be repaired for us to be developed. I thank you
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 18th November, 2021.
MOTION
ENACTMENT OF LAWS THAT CULMINATE IN DETERRENT SENTENCES BEING METED OUT TO CULPRITS FOUND COMMITTING CRIMES THAT DAMAGE THE ENVIRONMENT
Sixth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on grave and rapid environmental damage.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President for affording me this opportunity to debate because this motion is very important to us as a country. I recall that there once came a motion in this House dealing with veld fires that had become rampant in the country.
Our country has been destroyed because of small scale miners who are mining gold trying to make a living but as they do that, once they have found the mineral, they forget to go and rehabilitate the areas they would have done the excavations so that there will be no land degradation. I always urge that the Ministry of Mines have a vision to come up with a mass education programme targeted towards small scale miners that once they have excavated pits, upon leaving that area, they should leave the pit covered. These small scale miners are not bothered but it is because of ignorance. It is important that there should be pit reclamation exercises once one has completed mining. It is my considered view that there be a campaign to educate small scale miners.
You may arrest a culprit and incarcerate them but upon release from incarceration, they may not have the knowledge on how best not to commit the same offence. If we were to do that, it would help us to ensure that we put an end to the open pits that are not covered. I once said that there was once a motion to deal with veld fires when there was a Committee on Sustainable Development Goals which wanted to find out the causes and the end result of veld fires. Hon. Sen. Chirongoma’s has again been re-launched. It is just that there has been no meaningful change with regards to addressing the issue of veld fires.
Veld fires have actually been exacerbated instead of being put to an end. This is not just an issue to be dealt with by the Ministry of Environment alone. It now requires a concerted approach as a country so that we safeguard our country from these veld fires that are occurring willy-nilly. This results in the disturbance of flora and fauna, hence causing soil erosion. This also leads to siltation in our dams because there would be no grass. It affects our farming ability to reclaim our status as the bread basket of Africa because there will be no meaningful irrigation.
I have also observed that there is environmental degradation caused by streambank cultivation. I am happy that the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture is ensuring that people are given pieces of land legally and that they should not go and do cultivation willy-nilly. There is now going to be an orderly allocation of land which is legal. We know that once they have been allocated land, there are always bad apples. Whenever things are going to be done in a proper manner, there is bound to be those wayward characters. I once again reiterate that the problems that we are facing in this country, the majority of them are caused by ignorance amongst our people. Outreach programmes need to be planned so that people can be taught on how best they can desist from such malpractices. Once they are knowledgeable, it helps us as a country Mr. President.
We are also having our environment disturbed by deforestation. Whenever you see a Zimbabwean person moving around, they will be carrying an axe hung on their shoulder. When they see a tree that is several years old, they cut it willy-nilly and lorries come and carry firewood which is then sold in urban areas and also for curing tobacco. That is a problem Mr. President, that a person will cut down trees, they are arrested and they pay a minimal fine, they go back to the forest with their axe and start cutting firewood again. It is a problem that is nationwide and if it was possible, the authorities on environment preservation should put to action a plan that is deterrent to would-be offenders. Whenever we are coming up with plans, we should always involve our traditional leaders because they are the custodians of the people whom they live with. The traditional leaders live within these communities from time immemorial. They have been ruling these communities and once the chief is involved, his word is respected by his subjects.
That approach Mr. President, will help us reduce environmental degradation which we are seized with and we will be able to appreciate that each one of us has a duty to play and not leave everything to the Ministry. Once we work as a united people, we will achieve more and we will be knowledgeable, and this knowledge will quickly spread to the people. Once the people become knowledgeable, a lot of these offences committed due to ignorance will be avoided.
We should not leave the task of enlightening people to the powers that be in the environment sector. Once a person is arrested, they should be given deterrent sentences. I am worried that the sentences that are being passed against offenders are not deterrent, they will spend a few days in jail and go back to the community and commit the same offences again.
In conclusion Mr. President, I urge that we work together with the relevant ministries that ensure that our environment and natural resources are preserved. Our traditional leaders and us as legislators should go into our constituencies and educate our people about the negative effects of stream bank cultivation, forest degradation and the cutting down of trees, deforestation. Once we educate them, they will do better because they would have been enlightened and our future will be bright. I thank you for giving me this opportunity Mr. President. Once again, I thank Hon. Sen. Chirongoma for moving this important motion. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF MAKUMBE: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to say a few words on this pleasing motion which was moved by Hon. Sen. Chirongoma. Indeed, our country is being destroyed under our watch. As the august House in this country, it is incumbent upon us to come up with a law that ensures that our heritage should not be destroyed in the manner that it is. Firewood is being sold on the roadside and we are going past without raising any eyebrows as if it is a good practice. Trees are important, some have medicinal values and others provide us with shade and fruits and cattle can also obtain food. We also get firewood from trees but a lot of trees are being destroyed under our watch.
In most cases this is being caused by people who will be looking for money; gold or those into tobacco growing. It is well documented that everyone who is into tobacco growing should grow trees but they are not doing so. In our communal lands, we never used to grow tobacco but when you ask for the trees that they are growing towards tobacco curing, there is nothing. They grow trees at their homestead and when they want to cure tobacco they go to the forest which belongs to everyone and depletes that forest. We need very strong laws to arrest this culture of cutting down trees.
We must have stringent environmental laws that protect our natural heritage. There is soil erosion because all the trees are gone. Some trees are now extinct, especially in the form of fruit trees as people randomly cut down trees. When you leave Harare using any road, you will notice firewood piled along the roadside for sale, even wood that is not yet dry. If we were serious about it, we would deploy people to go and arrest those people who are selling this firewood. If there is no stringent law, then people will do as they please. Deterrence can only be brought about when there are sufficient laws and as this august House, we should revisit the laws that govern such issues with a view to come up with laws that protect our environment. We owe this country to our children. What legacy are we leaving them? What natural heritage are we leaving them? We run the risk of leaving our children with nothing.
A few weeks ago, the President was at COP 26, a Climate Change Summit. It is because of land degradation, we are cutting down trees willy-nilly. The chiefs and headmen should tell people not to cut down trees where they are not going to be ploughing because trees are life and our heritage. Our inheritance must come up with ways to arrest people who are selling firewood illegally. Deterrent fines should be imposed so that likeminded offenders will not behave in such a manner and the arresting officials should not be bribed. It is bribery that is fueling the destruction of our country. I have seen you committing an offence – pay and thereafter go away. The two of you are now planning to kill this country that belongs to 70 million people – it is a bad practice.
I am a chief and Buhera especially the south which is under my jurisdiction is fast turning into a desert due to the random cutting down of trees. As traditional leaders and leaders in our different communities, let us urge people to work hard to ensure that our people do not destroy the environment so that we are able to protect our inheritance. I decided to also contribute because this affects me so much as a chief. We are very few but it is very hot in here and it means that the weather is no longer good – times are now very hard. We are killing this country called Zimbabwe which is a very beautiful country. Let us protect this country by doing good work. Let us arrest offenders as responsible citizens. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: Thank you Mr. President for affording me the opportunity to also debate on the…
THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENTOF SENATE (HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA): Order, order, you are not connected yet.
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: Thank you Mr. President for affording me the opportunity to also debate on the importance of this motion that was tabled by Hon. Sen. Chirongoma and I also thank the seconder. I am not going to say much because a lot has already been said by our chief.
Mr. President, let me say that this country has a lot of gold and because of the abundance of this gold, gold is now being found everywhere so the majority of our people are mining gold as a way of sustaining themselves. It is not bad that we have a lot of gold in this country. It would have been good if people were going to mine responsibly and legally so that we safeguard their lives because most times, there are disputes where there is gold mining. A lot of people now have claims and some mines have several owners who will then contest for ownership.
In Mashonaland Central, you will find that there is Mupfure and to the west there is Tsakare Primary and Tsakare Secondary Schools and a gold belt passes through the schools. Mr. President, the Government should be clear on the laws that are used by small scale miners because we are now observing a problem in that some of the gold is now being found either on someone’s homestead or in someone’s field. You find an outsider coming to claim that the gold belongs to him despite the fact that the homestead or field belongs to someone else. Hence there will be conflict and fights because the owner of the field will be claiming ownership and the miner will be saying, he has the right to the place since he has the requisite permits that allow him to mine in that area. There should be mechanisms to address disputes between the farmer and the miner over the issue of the gold.
It is true as has been alluded by Hon. Sen. Chief Makumbe that our country is no longer attractive. We no longer have trees and have pits all over and we are turning a blind eye to this bad practice…
THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Order, order, I see most of you are surprised as to what that noise is all about. It is our air conditioning system, we need to lower the temperature a bit and switch it off again. Thank you. Hon. Sen. Chimbudzi, you may proceed.
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: My view point Mr. President Sir is that there is no law that is required to regulate our mining and the protection of our environment. Let us give the power to the chiefs; every chief knows what is found within his jurisdiction. He must come up with laws that govern his subjects who will be mining gold or those who will be looking after the trees or covering up their pits. There is no need for a document to come from the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Tourism and Hospitality Industry when the chief is there.
Once we take that route, Zimbabwe is going to be a peaceful country because the chiefs will be working with their subjects from the ground. It will put a stop to fights because there is no one who will come out of the area to fight someone who is already under the jurisdiction of a particular chief. The chief is well and able to deal with his subjects. My view is that Government should allow the chiefs to ensure that there are no pits that are left uncovered after mining, no land degradation, no willy-nilly cutting of trees and no soil erosion. It is only the chief who can ensure that there are no veld fires. A lot of people have lost lives because of veld fires. People might have had their own veld fires but when wild fires come, they destroy plantations. As a result, people lose their investments. Government can eradicate this problem by empowering the chiefs to deal with the subjects and Zimbabwe will be a green belt again. These illegal miners do not sell their gold to Fidelity for fear that they could be arrested. As a result, leakages are causing a lot of loss to the country. Chiefs can direct that everyone sells at Fidelity and it is done. Chiefs have capacity to do that and there is no need for any law or document to come from Government. There will be peace in all our areas. Thank you Mr. President.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: Mr. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 18th November, 2021.
MOTION
CONDOLENCES ON THE DEATH OF HON. SEN. REJOICE TIMIRE
Seventh Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the untimely death of Honourable Senator Rejoice Timire.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. C. NDLOVU: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity. I would like to make a short contribution to the debate on the life of Hon. Senator Timire. Hon. Senator Timire was a member of the Gender and Development Thematic Committee that I chair. I was lucky to chair that Committee because it had two disabled persons in the name of the late Hon. Sen. Timire and Hon. Sen. Khupe. Hon. Sen. Timire was one of the most reliable Members in the Committee despite her disability. When COVID came, we had to have some of our meetings virtually. To chair a virtual meeting was one of the most difficult things I had to do because we had Members who would just appear and at times would not contribute but Hon. Sen. Timire would always come to the rescue and start the discussions, start the contributions and debates in our meetings. She was forever present when we had public hearings. She was one of the people that you would find waiting at the venue. We have most of our Members who were not disabled and I always wondered how it is that she always makes sure that she prepares on time and does everything on time, to be on time for meetings yet some of us who are able-bodied were not able to be as punctual as she was.
Hon. Sen. Timire was not born disabled. That brings me to the point where I think I would urge our Parliament, our Government to listen to the voices of disabled people. We have those that were born with disabilities and those of us that meet disability later in life and it can happen to any one of us. I urge our Government and Parliament that we should treat our members of the community living with disabilities with respect. In their different forums, they have cried out for basic necessities, for instance there is an outcry to have public transport system that is accessible and user friendly to disabled people. This is not a huge task. This can only enable them to conduct and go on with their lives the best way they know how under the conditions. It is the responsibility of our Government to make sure that we listen to these voices because it can happen to any one of us that at one stage or another we become disabled.
The life of Hon. Sen. Timire should give us life lessons when we treat those amongst us who are disabled. The life of Hon. Sen. Timire should guide us. Her life should not have been in vain. The fact that we had the opportunity to work with her and see how effective she was when she carried out her work should be encouragement enough to make sure that we take care of those members of our society. I still want to believe that Parliament and Government have the capacity and we have a listening President to listen to those of our society that are disabled. I have watched Hon. Sen. Khupe, listened to him debate and I have had the opportunity also to listen to Hon. Sen. Timire when she was alive. When they made their contributions, there is nothing that says they are disabled and I urge this Parliament to also look at increasing the number of disabled people because their tenacity and work ethic is actually quite different from ours, those of you who are saying they are able-bodied. They know they are disabled and plan in a better way. I think it is something that we need to learn and emulate.
In other countries Hon. President, their public facilities and even pavements are user friendly to people living with disabilities. For instance, if you take people who are blind, they have got pavements that have got nodes so that when they are using their sticks they would know which direction the road is going. Even if they are crossing robots, they would know that this is at a robot and can live without being guided. This is something that we need to start looking at as a nation, to say how best we can treat our disabled communities.
I urge all members of this House, the Hon. Senators, that we join together with the voices of those that are living with disabilities in our communities to make their lives better and integrate them fully into functional citizens of our country. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. SHUMBA: I also want to add my voice on the death of Senator Timire and because this is a condolence message, that is why I toned my voice. I would want to thank the mover of the motion. I rise to give testimony on the life of Hon. Senator Timire. Before doing so, my condolences for the passing on of Ambassador Simon Khaya Moyo. Three Senators have died so far. We would want to also know that it is God’s law that we eventually die and there is nothing we can do about it. Some die after a long illness and others after a short illness. Others just find themselves dead the following day.
We did not anticipate that we would not have Hon. Timire by now. She was ill for a very short time. Be that as it may, we say it was God’s way. So, I met Hon. Timire in this august House when we were in this Parliament. She was someone who was very free although she was wheelchair bound. We were with her in the SDGs Committee. She was dedicated to duty. I said we once went to Mberengwa and the roads were bad but she would get there first before the bus got to the destination. She was really dedicated to her work. She diligently and was inspired to look after her constituency.
She would also ask at every institution and every place that we would go about the welfare of the disabled. She was very keen at empowering and improving the state of the disabled people. We have lost a very important Hon. Member. There is nothing much we can do about it because it was only time that removes someone from this planet. I would want to say, we worked very well with this lady and may her soul rest in peace. I thank you.
THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE (HON. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA): I would like to advise Senators that we are mourning the passing of Hon. Sen. Khaya Moyo at the moment but if you want to debate on that one, you move a motion specific on that. We do not mix the two. Hon. Sen. Timire’s motion is already on the Order Paper and we are debating but we also have the death pertaining to Hon. Sen. Khaya Moyo which we are not yet debating. I am appealing to you not to mix the two issues. The motion on the late Hon. Sen. Simon Khaya Moyo will come at its own time. Those that are motivated to move a motion on Hon. Sen. Khaya Moyo, I think that is coming very soon.
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 18th November, 2021.
MOTION
ENACTMENT OF LEGISLATION THAT UPHOLDS THE RIGHTS AND WELFARE OF CHILDREN ACCOMPANYING INCARCERATED MOTHERS IN PRISONS
Eighth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on challenges faced by children of incarcerated mothers.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 18th November, 2021.
On the motion of HON. SEN. MUZENDA seconded by HON. SEN. MATHUTHU, the Senate adjourned at Eight Minutes to Four o’clock p.m.