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SENATE HANSARD 18 MAY 2023 VOL 32 NO 30
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 18th May, 2023.
The Senate met at Half-past Two O’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE
APOLOGIES FROM MINISTERS
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Before I go to the Ministers present, I have quite a long list of Ministers who have tendered apologies in respect of today’s sitting, that is Thursday 18th May, 2023;
Hon. General Rtd. Dr. C. D. G. Chiwenga, Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care; Hon. J. Moyo, Minister of Local Government and Public Works; Hon. M. Chombo, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Public Works; Hon. Prof. M. Ncube, Minister of Finance and Economic Development; Hon. O. C. Z. Muchinguri-Kashiri, Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs; Hon. F. Mhona, Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development; Hon. E. Moyo, Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education; Hon. K. Coventry, Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation,;Hon. W. Chitando, Minister of Mines and Mining Development; Hon. Prof. Murwira, Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development; Hon. R. Machingura, Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development; Hon. S. Nzenza, Minister of Industry and Commerce; Hon. E. Ndlovu, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education; Hon. D. Garwe, Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities; Hon. Mangwiro, Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care.
In the Chamber today, we have the Hon. Minister of Energy and Power Development, Hon. Zhemu Soda; Hon. Minister M. Mavhunga, Minister of State for Mashonaland Central Province and Hon. D. Musabayana, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
*HON. SEN. MANYAU: Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. I posed the question last time and I was given a response. On further research, I came up with something new. So, my question to the Hon. Minister is; as a country, do we have programmes that we are carrying out for people that are living with disability like looking for markets outside the country? A lot of stuff like handicrafts are bought by those that are outside the country by the whites. Is there any programme that is being conducted so that if we tell our constituents they can benefit? If we have such a programme, the country will also benefit in foreign currency and people will have a better livelihood. Thank you.
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. DR. MUSABAYANA): Thank you Mr. President. I would want to thank Hon. Sen. Manyau for her question which is a pertinent one. It is important because when the President says ‘leave no place and no-one behind’, it means that even those that live with disabilities are also to become part and parcel of development programmes. When we look at the economy of the country, they should be considered. In line with the issue of the need for them to sell their handicrafts outside the country, we have our department or our organization, Zimtrade and it deals primarily with the trade of external buyers.
The issue of handicrafts which you talked about; you are correct. We have a lot of places in communal lands where people manufacture handicrafts which were sent to countries like Germany and other European countries where such handicrafts, crotchets or sculptures are mainly bought. Even the Expo 2020 in Dubai, we also had a pavilion where Zimbabwean people, especially women, were exhibiting their handicrafts. In so doing, we will be assisting them and we will assist them by paying the exhibition fees.
In 2020, we were in Durban in South Africa where we also afforded people who make handicrafts to be able to exhibit their wares which will then secure markets for exports. We are working in line with Government’s policy through devolution to each province so that where there are desk offices that attend to people that would want to sell or export their wares, those that have their wares who may be living with disabilities or able-bodied, they can do that.
In Marondera, there is a place called Mawachi and they are into crotchet of doilies which they sell outside the country. There are others that use their feet to draw some artifacts which they sell to countries outside Zimbabwe. If there are such people, they should go to our offices or Government offices that are near them so that they may be assisted on what course of action they should take together with Zimtrade so that they can sell their wares. Thank you.
HON. SEN. CHIEF MAKUMBE: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to ask my question. My question is addressed to the Minister of Energy and Power Development. I want to start by congratulating him for bringing on Hwange No. 7 and 8 onto the grid. However, the information available suggest that there are 2000 megawatts available through independent power producers. My question is; what is the Ministry doing in seeing to it that these IPPs produce power as per their mandate or as per their agreements with the Government because this is affecting the Government’s thrust of ‘Zimbabwe is open for business’ in a very negative way?
I also appreciate from him whether we have got the correct IPPs wanting to do the job – are they having any challenges? If so, what is the Ministry and the Minister doing to alleviate those challenges so that Zimbabwe as a country with our thirst for development, we have adequate power? I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. SODA): Thank you Mr. President. Let me also take this opportunity to thank the Hon. Member who is our Chief for asking a very pertinent question and also to appreciate him for the good commendation that he has made for the progress that the country has actually made in terms of dealing with our power supply situation which has been a cause for concern for quite some time. It is true that Unit 7 at Hwange completed what we call reliability test.
It was run on commissioning tests where they were testing on the turbine running capacity which was successful and also the boiler hydraulics was successful. What happened after running it for the period in which they were supposed to do the tests, they had to take it out of the grid in order to do evaluations by the technicians before the unit would finally be available on commercial basis. We now expect that unit to be brought back on the grid on the 22nd of this month, which is next week Monday. That is when they are expecting Unit 7 to be brought after completing the works that they have been undertaking on that unit.
Unit 8 was synchronised on Thursday last week and it was run for about three hours until they discovered that there was an area that they needed to attend to and it was briefly taken off the grid. They have been working on the unit and according to what they had pre-determined at a time when they took it off the grid, the unit was supposed to be tied back to the grid today. We are yet to hear from the power utility whether that has happened. We now expect that we will be having contribution of 600 megawatts that will be coming from the expansion project any time before the end of this month; the 300 megawatts coming on commercial availability and the 300 megawatts from Unit 8 still on commercial test.
That is going to assist us in a big way given that for Kariba, we have managed to increase generation from the power station with the additional water allocation which was made after the two utilities, ZESCO and ZESA met with the ZRA who managed the water resources and agreed to improve on the water allocations. As for today, the maximum that was being generated from Kariba was getting up to 800 megawatts.
I now come to the question that was raised with regards to about 200 megawatts with the independent power producers where the Hon. Senator is suggesting that ZESA does not seem to be doing much to getting access to the 2000 megawatts. I do not think that information is correct Mr. President, we are only aware of about 1.2 megawatts of a power station that was recently completed in Seke which our technicians from ZETDC are working with the investor and are currently seized with in order to bring that to the grid.
I am aware that in terms of the capacity that is registered with ZERA, it could be in excess of the 2000 that he is referring to but this is what has just been licenced by ZERA and not much has happened with the independent power producers. Again, the question as to what the Government is doing to ensure that if there are any challenges with independent producers, the challenges are being attended to; you might be aware that previously, the major constraint or set back was on currencies, most of the investors who were coming into the country were not amenable to immediately develop their projects until the Government made last year the availability of Government implement agreement, which now provides a mitigation against a currency convertibility and also mitigation against performance by the off-taker which is our power utility ZETDC.
So, that has now been taken care of and also to the independent power producers who are coming to invest, there are quite a number of incentives that are being provided by the Government of Zimbabwe. I will refer you to the National Renewable Energy Policy which was launched by His Excellency the President in 2020, it spells quite a number of incentives that are on offer by the Government, one of them being access to land. When an investor is coming to Zimbabwe, with the intention of establishing a power station, access to land is provided by the Government of Zimbabwe. Over and above that, we also give rebates for importation of materials that are used for establishment of renewable energy projects and in some instances, tax holidays can be offered to investors.
We also have another facility which we call net mistering facility where any investor, including households that have potential to produce electricity from their solar systems mounted on their roof tops. Those that are producing in excess of what they require, there is not a facility to sell the excess to the grid. We are coming up with all these innovations in order to improve supply of electricity to the grid. The advantages of enrolling on the net metering facilities, you will not tax yourself to procure storage facilities. When you are generating your electricity you will be banking or you are supplying power into the grid and at a time when you will require to use your power that you would have send into the grid, you can always have access to that and you do not require immediately to pay or to procure equipment for storage. That is one of the advantages.
Also, for equipment or projects that are below a threshold of 5 megawatts, you will not go through the rigorous process of licencing that ZERA normally requires. So, there is a lot that Government is doing to assist the independent power producers to come and develop their projects in the country in terms of incentives that are being offered and also we continue to engage with them to understand if they are having any challenges so that the Government makes an intervention with regards to those problems or challenges that they may be facing.
We are also involved as Government in many other projects to try to alleviate the challenge of power shortages in the country apart from the involvement of the independent power producers. You might be aware that after unit 8, that ZESA is currently working on, they shall be proceeding to do a rehabilitation of the existing power station to give it a new life with the hope that it will be brought back to the installed capacity of 920 megawatts. There are a lot of interventions including our participation on the Batoka which is also on course and also our involvement in Mozambique through the Mphanda Nkuwa project which is currently being considered. So, there are a lot of interventions that the Government is making with the hope that we will have adequate power supply and again to ensure that the economy continues to move. I thank you Mr. President.
HON. SEN. CHIEF MAKUMBE: Thank you Mr. President, I want to appreciate the response that has been given to me by the Hon. Minister. Suffice to ask this other question and say are there any timelines as to when we can expect these IPPs or grid soon? The market has so many IPPs who have been licenced but when are they coming on board to give us power as a country? We need power. Are there any indications as to when we are going to have power from these so called IPPs?
HON. SODA: Thank you Mr. President. By their nature, the IPPs are private sector investments and I would not want to be tempted to give the timelines as to when these private sector investments will be available. What we have done that and what we are doing is, like I earlier on indicated, to continue to engage with them and listen to them in case there are challenges that we might as Government attend to. I am aware that we have a register that gives a number of between 80 to 90 licenced investments by the independent power producers.
In the past, it has been an issue of incentives which they required but with the promulgation of the policy which I have just explained, we provided some incentives and we have also dealt with one of their risks being the inability by the power utility to meet the financial obligations at a time when these projects would have been development and they are selling the power to the power utility. That has been dealt with through the Government implementation agreement. We will continue as Government to review the licences, those that would have failed to develop their projects within the given timelines, the licences will be scrapped so that we also free the substations. Whenever a project is licenced, there is a grid impact study which is conducted to ascertain whether the power that will be generated from a project can be accepted by the nearest substation which will be nearer to the project. In many instances, the projects are developing only up to some stages, like up to a stage of obtaining a licence and nothing then happens thereafter.
We are also aware of the speculative tendencies by some of these project proponents. They do not have the adequate funds to develop their projects. We will continue to have those projects on our registers but nothing happening on the ground. We are aware and this time for all the licences that ZERA, the regulator is issuing. They are very strict in terms of ascertaining whether that project will develop to the final stages. They would want to be assured that the project has adequate funding. Those that would not have exhibited potential to raise the funding, up to a given period, the licences will be scrapped off. This is what we are doing as Government to listen to the IPPs and to also scrape off those licences that would have not proceeded to development of the projects but these are private sector led projects. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President. I would like to thank the Minister for the explanation and the policies that they are implementing to ensure that Zimbabwean residents have adequate power. My question now is, are you promising the winter wheat farmers that they are going to have adequate power in order to have a good harvest? With power outages, the crop will dry up due to inadequacy of water.
*HON. SODA: Thank you Mr. President. I would like to thank the Hon. Senator for a good question which had allowed me to take this opportunity to promise the wheat farmers that winter wheat would adequately be taken care of through the provision of adequate electricity. The required 85 000 hectares as indicted by the Ministry of Agriculture, our Ministry has taken note of that and we had discussions with ZESA and the division of ZETDC that there will be 120 megawatts that has been set aside specifically for the growing of wheat. Such arrangements also enclose the extended demand of electricity. If you look at our Kariba power station, it had an average of 350 kilowatts. ZESA then sat down and had discussions with the Zambian power utility. Now, from April up to August 2023, we have an increased supply of 500 megawatts from Kariba. The power generation was increased to 562 megawatts. Be that as it may, today, we are receiving from Kariba 800 megawatts so that the wheat farmers are able to access electricity for them to irrigate the winter wheat crop.
Another arrangement that was done by ZESA in order to provide farmers with electricity is that the farmers are now in clusters. A farmer who wants to grow wheat should go to ZESA in the area where they are farming and notify them that they will be growing wheat so that should we have inadequate power supplies, such farmers are given priority and allowed to get the electricity regardless of the fact that there may not be sufficient power. In short, there is sufficient electricity provision for wheat farmers but there are times when vandalism can also rear its ugly head. It is one of the problems that we are facing. People are into stealing copper wires and some also destroy transformers and steal the power poles.
When people see that there is load shedding, there would be some mischievous people who would have committed crime of vandalising copper cables and stealing poles. As a result, there will be power load shedding. Should you be one of the farmers who had notified ZESA that you are into winter wheat growing, you will be assisted. Please inform ZESA as soon as possible because there may be challenges that may have occurred because the transformer would have been destroyed or it is because of load shedding.
ZESA also took steps to assist farmers because it is known that farmers only receive payment once they sell their crops. So the farmers are encouraged to go and enter into stop orders with ZESA in the local area so that they are given power. The farmers should be honest enough to also pay for the power that they would have used. After such arrangements have been made, they have harvested and they are involved into side marketing that has a bad effect on ZESA. This leads to underdevelopment of the country. We are destroying our own selves. We should own up and encourage those that are into farming that as soon as they enter into a stop order arrangement, they must pay as and when the time is right. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. KOMICHI: Thank you Hon. President. My apologies, I may pose a question that has already been posed because I came late. What has caused the black-market rate to go up as it has? The salary increase we got a few months ago has been eroded. Before the salary increase, the workers were earning much more than what they are now actually earning. There is now hyperinflation, prices have gone up and people are being hurt by what has been happening. May I be enlightened as to what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the parallel rate does not go overboard and that prices should be reduced to make basic commodities affordable to those that earn little. I thank you.
*THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION, PUBLICITY AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. MUTSVANGWA): Thank you President of the Senate. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Komichi for his question, which is a pertinent one. The issue of price increases is quite disturbing to the Government. In the past two Cabinet meetings, it was top on our agenda.
What happens in this country is that there are those people that I might refer to as being naughty who when they hear that civil servants have been given salary increase, inflate their prices then there are those who take money to the black market and cause the black market rate to rise with the intention to erode the Zimbabwean currency. As a Government, we know that the world-over, people use their own currencies. As Government, we are into the multi-currency era because we have observed that the enemies of this country are trying to strangle the people of Zimbabwe by constantly attacking our local currency. That is why the Government took such a decision.
Be that as it may, the Government is seriously seized with the matter and Government has put together an urgent committee made up of the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, the Minister of Industry and Commerce and the Minister of Information Publicity and Broadcasting Services that they come up, investigate and research. This research should be primary research. They should talk to the primary retailers; in fact, I would say all retailers so that we find the reasons why the local manufacturers of these goods are raising their prices.
We have observed that the prices are going up both in United States dollar terms and in Zimbabwean dollar terms. It has also been observed that a lot of these people are turning down the Zimbabwean dollar which is a legal tender, which means if you have United States dollars or any other currency or the Zimbabwean dollar you should be allowed to buy. They also found out that in large supermarkets, certain food stuffs were no longer available on the shelfs but at corner shops and informal retail shops such goods were readily available.
You may know that two weeks ago, the Government took some measures and you may also be aware that these people are taking advantage of these goods that they are manufacturing in Zimbabwe yet they refuse to accept the Zimbabwean dollar when they have used the Zimbabwean money in manufacturing them. There are also some big shops that are importing goods and are charging exorbitant prices. So, the 14 commodity products such as sugar, mealie meal and cooking oil had duties payable on those items suspended so as to ensure that the lives of the Zimbabwean people become easier. It means that these items are now exempted from duty and a lot of these items have increased in terms of availability so that the people that are increasing the prices will find it difficult to increase the prices. So, these are some of the commodities that were put in that bracket.
The monetary sector, that is the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and also the RBZ, are also looking into the issue of this exchange rate so that there is stability. People are taking advantage of that. It is important for us to know that there are some people who misbehave, the naughty ones, who believe that every time when we go to elections, they must strangle the people of Zimbabwe so that they think that their Government is not important as well as their country. As a result of that, the Government has also taken up several measures like looking into the auction floor to see if those that are getting money from those people are using the money that they are getting for the intended purpose so that they go into the shops and find out how people are being taken advantage of and what is the justification of increasing the prices of such goods.
They are not only going to end there; the Ministry of Industry and Commerce teams as we speak, are on the ground in urban areas, in the shops to find out the weight of the commodities that are being sold. The 2kg sugar pack may not weigh 2kgs and mealie meal, if it were to be weighed, you would find that a packet written 10kgs may not actually be 10kgs.
The Government suspended 15% to those that will have sold those commodities in United States dollars. All these measures are being taken to control this price madness so that prices become affordable. The Government will stop at nothing to ensure that the lives of the Zimbabwean people becomes comfortable by taking all the necessary measures. The Government is constantly saying that we have sufficient maize but there are certain shops that were limiting the quantities that customers would buy, for example a single packet per customer. The Government is looking into such issues. It is also looking into the issue of the Silo Foods through the Grain Marketing Board so that mealie meal is sold at a lower price.
There are a lot of things that are being done, but I urge this august House that whenever you hear Government giving you feedback in the Cabinet, you should also listen to these Cabinet briefs so that you are in a position to explain all these important measures that the Government is making as regards taming the exchange rate and the price increase. I thank you.
Questions Without Notice were interrupted by THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE (HON. SEN. MOHADI) in terms of Standing Order No. 67.
HON. SEN. KOMICHI: I move that the time for questions without notice be extended by twenty minutes.
HON. SEN. CHINAKE: I second.
Motion put and agreed.
HON. SEN. MWONZORA: Thank you very much Madam President. My question is directed to the Minister of Information, Hon. Sen. Mutsvangwa. Between 2009 and 2013, Zimbabwe was involved in drafting the Constitution and I am happy to note that you were part of that process. What is important about this drafting of the Constitution was that it was inclusive with our people being asked what they wanted in their Constitution. Further, what is important is that the process was documented. In other words, the Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs allowed the recording of the documentary of this very important process.
The documentary has been produced and it is called The Democrats. You may know that this documentary has won 19 international awards but the documentary was banned in Zimbabwe and it was banned under the First Republic. My question is whether you are aware that the ban of this very important documentary still stands and if so, what are your plans as Government about that? Thank you.
*THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION, PUBLICITY AND BORADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. MUTSVANGWA): Thank you very much Madam President and I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Mwonzora for a very important question. Hon. Sen. Mwonzora and I worked together when I was co-chairing COPAC. It was an extremely important activity which happened in the history of our country and this was a people driven Constitution where we went out to all districts of this country. It was people driven and people were allowed to say exactly what they wanted. It was inclusive and this is why we are very proud of our Constitution.
I remember when we started that process as 25 Members of Parliament, the room was cold but by the time we went into the second month, the room was warm and we worked as Zimbabweans together, which is what we should always continue to do. I do appreciate and I know about the documentary he is talking about, The Democrats. What I would like to ask him as a lawyer and I think this is something which he knows exactly how to go about it, this is something which is very specific and if it is put in writing to the Minister of Justice, maybe he will be surprised and he will give some kind of answer which will satisfy you adequately. Thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIFAMBA: Thank you Madam President, I believe Hon. Sen. Komichi asked the question that I wanted to pose. Thank you.
HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: Thank you Madam President. My question was supposed to be directed to the Minister of Transport, but because he is not in, may you allow me to redirect that question to the Leader of Business in the House? Madam, National Railways of Zimbabwe, a parastatal that operates about 3000 kilometers of rail providing passenger and freight services is in dire need of recapitalisation. The wagons, the locomotives, the tracks and the signaling systems are all antiquated and in need of replacement.
There is lack of maintenance, lack of spare parts and overdue replacement of old equipment leading to a situation where only part of the rail-road is in good condition. There is reduced service and goods transport has been declining from about four million tons in 2015 to about three million tons currently. May the Minister explain to this House what the Government is doing to bring back NRZ to its maximum operational condition so that it restores all the services that it used to offer? I thank you.
THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION, PUBLICITY AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. MUTSVANGWA): Thank you Madam President. I would like to thank Hon. Sen. Kambizi for such a lucid explanation of the challenges which NRZ is facing. As policy of Government, if we are going to develop as a country, it cannot over-emphasise the importance of rail transport. We cannot be transporting bulk packages through buses, I think that would kill our roads. There is a lot of work which is done by the Ministry of Transport to make sure that our road infrastructure is developed, improved and re-gravelled, but we are aware of the fact that most of the bulk packages, or rather looking at heavy things, are being transported by roads and this is damaging our roads. If you look at Victoria Falls Road, Bulawayo to Beitbridge Road, this is why the Ministry is working very fast to make sure that road is repaired otherwise it had really become a danger to our people because there are a lot of heavy traffic on that road and this is due to the transformation which is happening in the country.
All what I would like to respond to Hon. Sen. Kambizi is to say National Railways of Zimbabwe is very critical to this Government and a lot of work is being done to make sure that all these issues which you have raised about the wagons, locomotives are replaced. Some of them are antiquated, lack of maintenance and spare parts. These are issues which are right in front of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, they are working on it and I suggest to Hon. Sen. Kambizi to put that question in writing so that the Hon. Minister of Transport can actually give a detailed list of what is actually being done to make sure that we do not carry bulk things on our roads. With our boarders having been renovated, we know what Beitbridge is like and we know that soon Forbes Boarder Post will also be developed to ensure smooth movement of vehicles. We really need to maintain our roads and with the mining activities going on in our country and for us to achieve that 12 billion industry by 2025, it is critical that most of these products should actually be transported by National Railways of Zimbabwe. I thank you.
THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE (HON. SEN. MOHADI): I would like to advise Hon. Sen. Kambizi that this is a specific question which needs to be written down for research and a comprehensive response will be given.
*HON. SEN. CHINAKE: Thank you Madam President, my question is directed to the Hon. Minister of Local Government. In the absence of the Hon. Minister, I will refer the question to the Leader of Government Business before she leaves. My question is if you visit all cities including Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru and Kwekwe, they are some people who are busy washing cars all over even here at Parliament, we say we want our country to be clean but these people are littering everywhere. The workers from the City Council would have cleaned in the morning and these people will litter everywhere with dirty water, mutton clothes and buckets used for cleaning the cars. What is Government policy with regards to such actions?
*THE MINISTER ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. SODA): Thank you Madam President. It is true what the Hon. Member has highlighted, that is taking place in the towns, the washing of cars on undesignated places. If we take note of what His Excellency the President said that 1st Friday of each month be National Clean Up day, people must not be littering the streets. It is common sense that people are breaking the law and the city fathers have the power to enforce by-laws. They must enforce such by-laws, we are even surprised why they are not bringing such culprits to book because they have the mandate to do that. It is the duty of the councils; the leadership of those councils should ensure that the by-laws are enforced. If these are not in place, they must put them in place. We do not expect people to litter everywhere. We must follow what His Excellency the President said about maintaining our country clean, not only once a month but on a daily basis. City fathers must enforce by-laws to make sure that our country is always clean. I thank you.
(v)HON. SEN. MKHWEBU: [Part of question not recorded due to technical fault] My question is directed to the Hon. Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, [technical fault] Gwanda narrow bridge links Blanket Mine, Bvumbachigwe, Matopo, what plans do you have for that road Hon. Minister?
THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I am sorry the Hon. Minister of Transport is not with us today. I do not know whether you mind that we refer that question to the Leader of Government Business.
(v)HON. SEN. MKHWEBU: Thank you Madam President.
THE HON. MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. SODA): Thank you Madam President. You were right to ask the Hon. Member that in the absence of the Hon. Minister of Transport, can I proceed to answer. This question is more specific than being a policy question. I would want to ask the Hon. Member to put this question in writing and direct it to the Hon. Minister of Transport so that she will be accorded a more comprehensive and correct response to the question that she has just asked. I thank you.
Questions Without Notice were interrupted by THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE (HON. SEN. MOHADI) in terms of Standing Order No. 67.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
HON. MWONZORA: I move that Order of the Day, Number one be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
HON. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE 52ND PLENARY ASSEMBLY SESSION OF THE SADC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM HELD IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Second Order read: Adjourned debate on motion that this House takes note of the Report of Delegation to the 52nd Plenary Assembly Session of the SADC-Parliamentary Forum.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIRONGOMA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 23rd May, 2023.
MOTION
SUSTAINABLE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
Third Order Read: Adjourned debate on motion on Sustainable Healthcare System in Zimbabwe.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MABIKA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 23rd May, 2023.
MOTION
PROMOTION OF DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAMMES FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT
Fourth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on Sustainable Management of Waste.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 23rd May, 2023.
MOTION
PROTECTION OF VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING
Fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on Measures to Combat Human Trafficking.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. GIJIMA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 23rd May, 2023.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE 145TH ASSEMBLY OF THE INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION AND RELATED MEETINGS
Sixth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report of the 145th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and related meetings held in Kigali Rwanda from 11th to 15th October, 2022.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: Mr. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 23rd May, 2023.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE ZIMBABWE ELECTORAL COMMISSION FOR THE 7TH MAY 2022 BY-ELECTION
Seventh Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission for the 7th May, 2022 by election.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MATHUTHU: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. RWAMBIWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 23rd May, 2023.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. SODA), the Senate adjourned at Three Minutes past Four o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 23rd May, 2023.