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SENATE HANSARD 20 OCTOBER 2022 VOL 31 NO 77
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Thursday, 20th October, 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
SWICHING OFF OF CELLPHONES
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Hon. Senators, you are reminded to put your cellphones on silent or better still to switch them off.
APOLOGIES RECEIVED FROM MINISTERS
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I have a list of Ministers who have tendered apologies and they are as follows:- Hon. Rtd. Gen. Dr. Chiwenga, The Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care; Hon. O.C. Z. Muchinguri-Kashiri, Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs; Hon. W. Chitando, Minister of Mines and Mining Development; Hon. Sen. M. Mutsvangwa, Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services; Hon. M. N. Ndlovu, Minister of Environment, Climate Change, Tourism and Hospitality Industry; Hon. J. Moyo, Minister of Local Government and Public Works; Hon. Dr. A. J. Masuka, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement; Hon. E. Moyo, Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education; Hon. Z. Soda, Minister of Energy and Power Development; Hon. M. Chombo, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Public Works and Hon. Dr. J. C. Mangwiro, Deputy Minister of Health and Health Care.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
HON. SEN. MANYAU: My question is directed to the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare. We hear that at Social Welfare, there are funds for projects for the disabled to venture into projects. However, we have never had anyone among the disabled who has managed to access these loans. Among the disabled we have a lot of people who have got brilliant ideas and project proposals but they do not know how to access these monies. We also heard that the requirements for one to obtain the loan are very difficult. So, Minister what is the Government policy concerning this issue?
THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. PROF. MAVIMA): Thank you Mr. President and let me also thank Hon. Sen. Manyau for raising a very pertinent question. However, the issue also came to my attention yesterday when four people living with disabilities came to my office asking about the revolving fund which is supposed to be assisting them to start empowerment projects. They echoed the same sentiments that they are not accessing the loans.
Therefore, I have asked the responsible department within the Ministry, headed by Mr. Mutetwa to give me the report indicating the money available, the number of people who have applied, those who have managed to access the money as well as the number of those who failed indicating the reasons also. Generally, we said that there must be money which is responsible for assisting those people. It is the report that I am supposed to receive from Mr. Mtetwa but generally Hon. President, we said that there must be money for helping people living with disability to venture into empowerment projects. They must write down their projects, get assistance and be advised on how best they can run the projects. They must not do those projects on their own but they must get assistance and get enough information on how these small businesses can be best run and managed. There is need to get information from the Ministry in that same department. We want to help people because they do not have anything. This money must be given to people depending on the project proposal and the knowledge they would have received. All this is being done by the department so that a person can access help.
I request that I must be given the information, the report that talks about how many managed to get the money, those who failed and the reasons because we have got that money in our coffers. We want that money increased so that we can increase the number of beneficiaries living with disabilities in the country. We must not leave anyone behind towards vision 2030. I will come back in this Senate to give full information on the report that I am going to receive from the department which is responsible for disabilities in the Ministry. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President. I also want to thank the Minister for giving the response concerning the project for people living with disability. My supplementary is that in your Ministry, do you have any department that deals with monitoring and evaluation? If there is that department, it was going to address the gaps that people are not able to access these funds whilst they are supposed to benefit.
*HON. PROF. MAVIMA: Thank you Mr. President, I want to thank Hon. Sen. Tongogara for raising that pertinent question. The department is there which is responsible for monitoring and evaluation but this is an issue of today and I do not want to wait for the report that will come in the first or second quarter. I want to be given enough evidence by the heads of the department, Dr. Mtetwa is preparing the report. I also mentioned that this issue was brought up after the disabled people came to me yesterday raising the issue that they are trying to access money for projects but have failed. All along, I thought that people were accessing the monies but that was not the case. I thought people were receiving their monies for projects since we had our disability policy. That is another thing that we are going to use to empower our people who live with disability so that they can venture into projects. Even though the department is there, I need the information urgently, I am not going to wait for the report. After the department has done the report, may be by the end of the day, I want those doing implementation to give me the information urgently.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: One more Minister has joined the Chamber, Hon. Minister Z. Soda, the Minister of Energy and Power Development.
HON. B. MPOFU: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to ask the question. My question is directed to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. My question is on policy; what is Government policy on teachers teaching primary school children without the knowledge of their language. An example is a teacher teaching with limited knowledge of Ndebele teaching primary school children in a school that is predominantly of Ndebele community. What is Government doing about that especially on primary schools?
THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. E. NDLOVU): I would like to thank the Hon. Member of the Senate for the pertinent question because it is prevalent throughout the region in Matabeleland where quite a number of teachers are deployed there without the requisite Ndebele language knowledge. The policy is that when a child is still young at ECD level up to grade 3, the child must be taught in his/her mother tongue but we have a challenge of teachers from that region. We have been advocating for more teachers to be trained from that particular region without success. Most of the children in that region opt for other qualifications. The majority of them do not finish school. They leave for South Africa or Botswana and they do not finish their primary and secondary education. That is the biggest challenge that we have. We have been in touch with the training colleges to investigate the shortage that is there and I am very disappointed that we have failed to get children into those colleges. I am very disappointed. We have failed to get volunteers even in my own constituency which is Bulilima.
I volunteered to pay for a teacher standing in front of me that - do you have children who want to train as teachers because we have shortage of teachers. They said they do not want to be teachers; she wanted to become a nurse. She does not want to be an engineer but wants to be a nurse. So we have got a problem as a country and in that particular region, we have got a problem of no recruitment into the higher and tertiary education. That is a big challenge. That is why we have low pass rates because a child understands a subject when he/she is taught in the mother tongue. We have a problem and I am appealing to Members of Parliament, those from where the minority languages are out of the 16 languages. We have got an appeal and we are appealing to you to assist us to make sure that we market the colleges that can train teachers for us. I thank you Mr. President.
HON. SEN. MANYAU: I thank you Mr. President. Our Minister talked about shortages of teachers. Hon. Minister, what are you doing for teachers who teach children with special needs? I was amazed when you said you offered to pay for a teacher and I am appealing if you can do the same to our children with special needs. We do not have teachers who can teach sign language yet they are expected to compete with us when it comes to looking for jobs. I thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Hon. Sen. Manyau, I will allow that to fly but it is not a supplementary. The previous Sen. asked for Ndebele teachers but your so-called supplementary is on sign language, but I will allow you Hon. Minister to respond.
HON. DR. E. NDLOVU: Thank you Mr. President for allowing the question to be responded to. The Hon. Member, I am sure is aware that from the Ministry’s point of view, we have done our level best to come up with Braille and even lessons for those who are disabled in terms of cassettes, speakers and radios to make sure that we facilitate. The teachers, yes they are in short supply including schools. We have fewer schools for the disabled and I think there is Emerald Hill in Harare and also one in Bulawayo, the St. Georges. We are trying our level best to make sure that we facilitate sign language and Braille in our schools. I thank you.
HON. SEN. B. MPOFU: Thank you Mr. President for allowing me to ask a supplementary question. Thank you Hon. Minister for the response. I wanted to find out from the Minister if this is a confirmation that there is no unemployment of primary school teachers of Ndebele dissent. Thank you.
HON. SEN. B. MPOFU: Thank you Mr. President. I do not think there are facts there. It is a talk that is very prevalent in our society. The truth must be told that we have got a screen in the office. Because of the ICT computers and software that we have, all the teachers that graduate register with the Ministry. After registration with the Ministry – we have transferred that register to the Public Service Commission which has got a register of all the teachers that have graduated. I am yet to be informed that there are Ndebele teachers that are available that have not been deployed. If the Member of the Senate has got the list, he can afford me at my office just across, at Ambassador House, so that we use that list; but on our screens we are told that we do not have Ndebele teachers, we do not have Venda teachers, we do not have Kalanga, Sotho, Ndau and Tonga teachers.
They are in short supply. There are a lot of teachers who claim to have knowledge of those languages and when we deploy them there we find that they do not have. That has caused a lot of trouble for us because the teacher will be there for three months and then he applies to change the school. They use that trick in order to be deployed. I would really appreciate those Ndebele teachers that have not been employed, that have not been engaged. I thank you.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: My question is directed to the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare about the school going children. We used to have a programme whereby those children were fed at school, especially the ECD and primary school going children, particularly during this dry season and in the Lowveld areas where they did not harvest. Do you have anything in place for those children?
THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. PROF. MAVIMA): Let me thank Hon. Sen. Mohadi for a very important question related to the school feeding programme which I am familiar with because I used to be the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. It is essentially not a social welfare programme. There is a school feeding policy within the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education which is supposed to be run by that Ministry. There is an element where they get grain through Social Welfare as part of the general distribution that Social Welfare does but it is a programme that is run within the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.
It has other elements including the development of nutrition gardens at schools and mobilisation of parents to contribute towards the provision of the needed items. The initiation should be done by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. We can collaborate with them in the implementation of this programme. In this season, when we have shortages and food insecurities across the country, it is a very essential programme and it has been proven to increase school attendance, retention and even improve pass rates. So, it is a programme that is needed.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Hon. Minister Ndlovu would you want to make a comment.
THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
EDUCATION (HON. DR. E. NDLOVU): Yes, thank Hon. Mohadi for the question. This question is very pertinent and yesterday I was very emotional about it. We were given the money to source for food and various materials for the Ministry but only to find out yesterday that we have had challenges in terms of the procurement processes that are taking place in Government.
I think you are aware that there is a lot of control now following the discovery by Government that certain companies were using black market rates to give us quotations as Government so there is strict monitoring from the Procurement Unit so that we prevent such behavior by the private sector. As a result, our school feeding programme has suffered a blow as we have been unable to procure. The construction of schools has been delayed because we have not been able to procure the materials because of this procurement process which is cumbersome. There are a lot of investigations that take place before you can be given authority by the Ministry of Finance for payment.
We really want our children to have the food on the table and we would appreciate if the Ministry of Labour could afford us maize meal to feed our children. If they have got the beans and cooking oil the better so that at least in the meantime, whilst this procurement system is being addressed, our children can have something. You know, a hungry brain does not work. Children need to have something in their tummies. The day before yesterday when I was driving from Makoni, I saw little children coming from school very late and I was saying imagine if there is no food in school. That means that child since morning has not had food in their tummy and you expect results out of that child. You cannot.
So, it is really a worrisome situation which we are trying to address as Government. I hope and pray that very soon, the procurement issues will be addressed and ironed out, especially in partnership with the private sector where we procure the products. I thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you Minister. Let us hope the procurement issue is sorted out as soon as possible because it is affecting a lot of things. Here in Parliament, our Hon. Members are having challenges having nowhere to sleep and it is not a good situation at all.
*HON. SEN. KAMBIZI: My question is directed to the Minister of Energy. The issue of electricity is something which is very important for the Zimbabweans and Zimbabwe at large especially when looking at the issue of businesses, schools, irrigation and social living conditions of all Zimbabweans. Hence Mr. President, I am requesting the Minister to clearly explain what Government policy is on the issue of electricity to be made available to all Zimbabweans including all those who are in the peripheries. When are we going to be able to access electricity in terms of prices among other things?
*THE MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. SODA): I want to thank Hon. Sen. Kambizi for raising a pertinent question on the provision of electricity throughout the country which will help the economic development of the country and business to move forward including irrigation, mining and so on. At the end of last month, there is a problem which happened that electricity was disconnected throughout the country. Many people were troubled as to what had transpired. The disconnection of electricity was caused by a veld fire which damaged an electricity line. This caused problems on the systems which controls electricity from Kariba.
Let me also talk about the issue of deficit in electricity. Yes, there is deficit in electricity because the level of economic activities or the growth of industry in the country focusing on the issue of development is now far much better than the amount of electricity which can be generated in the country including the electricity which we buy from other countries. The countries that we buy electricity from are also facing challenges because they do not have enough to provide their own countries, hence it also affects us.
Right now South Africa is also affected by the deficit of electricity, hence they give us the extra they get which is now reduced compared to the past. As a country, we used to believe that we receive electricity from our neighbouring countries but when they have problems we are also affected. When Hwange Power Station was constructed in 1983 and 1986. That power station had a capacity of 920 mega watts but over the period, this power station has operated without any rehabilitation. Right now we expect about 400 mega watts leaving a deficit of 520 mega watts as the power station is not fully functional. In Kariba, we get hydro electricity which is produced through water but what is happening is that the water level has gone very low and we do not expect to produce much electricity until year end. The amount of electricity being produced is low because of the little amount of water being captured in the dam. The other issue is that we also share Kariba Dam with Zambia. The question then is; what is Government policy on the issue of electricity deficit? Development is higher compared to the amount of electricity which is needed. Government has got many policies in place to lessen the shortage. We have another power station in Hwange, which used to have six units that were operational. Currently, Government has added two more units which are Units 7 and 8. These two units are expected to produce 600 mega watts after completion of refurbishment. We expect the first unit to produce 300 mega watts of electricity in November. Plans to commission that unit are under way. This is because some of the components used to make a unit are put in stages and then evaluated to ensure expectations are met. Presently, the electricity deficit is between 250 and 300 mega watts and that is causing the load shedding during afternoon and evening peak. We expect this to be a thing of the past as soon as one of the units starts working. Load shedding is soon going to come to an end.
The other end which we expect to be operational in March or April next year is going to produce about 300 mega watts. Government is also giving us the opportunity to phase out all the recurring problems. As soon as Units 7and 8 are functional, then there will be need to rehabilitate other units, which are Units 1 and 6. Right now we are checking on what needs to be done in these units and we call that detailed project reports. If we complete refurbishments, we will be able to produce the installed capacity of 900 mega watts. We expect to get more water this rain season so that the Kariba Dam water level can rise. When Kariba power station is not functioning well, the Hwange Power Station will chip in so that we do not have an electricity deficit in the country.
We also have other people who work as independent power producers and are playing their part in constructing power stations. We are at present getting around 80 mega watts from independent power producers. I also alluded to buying electricity from other countries and in the past two months, we managed to buy electricity from ZESCO, a Zambian electricity company. ZESA can negotiate with EDM from Mozambique to get electricity. EDM has said it can sell about 150 mega watts. These are some of the interventions being done by Government to end the electricity deficit. For those companies with machinery that uses a lot of electricity, ZERA is offering them licences to have their own solar power stations so that they can produce their own electricity. Some companies in the mining sector have started generating their own electricity and these are companies such as Caledonia Mining. Our expectations are that by year end, they will be able to produce their own electricity adequate for use at their premises. If they generate extra electricity, they can sell to ZETDC. We also have Batoka, in the Zambezi River offering the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe an opportunity to work together. We can come up with another power station like Kariba which is expected to produce about 2400 mega watts to be shared between the two countries. So we are still to do a feasibility study to see how the environment will be affected by this development.
Hon. Sen Kambizi also asked about rural electrification. In 2002, the rural electrification company was formed with the purpose to ensure that the rural people can also get electricity just like the urban folk. This company is going forward doing its mandate and continues to invite us to commission rural electrification projects. This project is being done and it uses 6% of the money that we buy electricity with; 6% of that money is channeled towards the Rural Electrification Programme.
Unfortunately, if our budget allocation is not enough, it takes time for the project to reach other areas. We expect all rural schools, clinics, chiefs’ homesteads, and Government offices like AGRITEX and veterinary services to have electricity, including those people who are committed to having electricity. There are people who need electricity for irrigation purposes on their farms. This is one of the mandates of the Rural Electrification Programme but some of the delays are caused by lack of funds. Some of the money will be allocated through this Senate that will see how much money is allocated to the Rural Electrification Programme. When the money is not allocated timeously, it means that the project will take time to achieve. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. KOMICHI: Thank you Mr. President. My question is going to be directed to two ministries. My first question is directed to the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage and the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare. The question stems from an audio that is circulating that was generated in Mberengwa.
There was a conference that was addressed by senior members of ZANU PF. The audio has brought much fear and anxiety among people in different communities. The audio was instructing people who are supposed to disburse food relief to not disburse food to members of opposition parties. It also mentioned that what happened in 2008 was better compared to what is going to happen this time around; people are going to be beaten. What is Government policy with regards to the promotion of peace in the rural areas as we head towards the elections? How is Government going to guarantee that people who support opposition parties will get food and farming inputs because normally distribution starts around this time of the year? Everyone deserves to be given food but here, there is an audio that is circulating, of senior ZANU PF officials instructing people to do otherwise.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: An audio you said Hon. Sen. Komichi, I am talking to you.
*HON. SEN. KOMICHI: I beg your pardon Mr. President.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I am confirming that you said your question is based on an audio…
*HON. SEN. KOMICHI: An audio yes, because names were even mentioned …
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: No, no because anybody can make an audio, agreed? – [HON. SEN. KOMICHI: Yes.] – That is why I think in courts they do not accept such evidence. Anyway, I will ask the relevant Ministers to respond because it is not necessarily credible information as it were. So firstly, the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and thereafter the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage.
*THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. PROF. MAVIMA): Thank you Mr. President for affording me this opportunity. I also want to thank Hon. Sen. Komichi for raising a pertinent question. What is good about this question is that it helps to clearly explain Government policy; especially Government policy on how we are going to alleviate a problem that is happening in the country, that is drought in different areas of the country.
I am not going to argue with him about the audio that is purportedly circulating on social media. I want this House to know the difference between Government policies and Government initiatives on the issue of drought relief in the country. We have 3.7 million people that are going to be allocated food relief by Government between January and March next year, and all these people are Zimbabweans. The Government policy is to make sure that no one is going to die because of hunger. It does not matter whether you are black or white; which denomination you believe in or political affiliation but it is everyone’s right.
As long as you are a Zimbabwean, we are not going to let you down or not give you food – that is what I was instructed by the leader of Government, His Excellency Dr. Mnangagwa when we discussed this issue in Cabinet. We proposed to His Excellency that with the amount of food that we have in our silos, it is very important that we disburse 65% food relief and the remainder must fend for themselves else we risk cleaning out our silos at the risk of experiencing another drought in the next season. His Excellency denied the proposal and said that we should disburse 100% food relief and ensure that every family that is food insecure gets food. So that is Government policy, that is what we are doing as Government. Food is there, we are getting reports from the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture every week about the quantities of food left in our silos. The food that we have in our silos is enough to feed this country for 12 months, which means that we are going to harvest again and remain with a surplus. Therefore, Zimbabweans will not die of hunger.
On the issue of rumors, I do not work with rumors. As a Minister, I work with instructions from His Excellency, the President that no Zimbabwean will die of hunger. My mandate therefore, as the Minister of Social Welfare is to make sure what His Excellency has said comes to fruition.
The Government is not dull to an extent that we want votes in 2023 and then we start selecting who receives food aid. If it is true that the audio was from some Members of ZANU PF, then their minds must be examined because we want 5 million votes in the next election, hence we cannot get those people if we do not give everyone in the country food aid.
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. MAVHUNGU-MABOYI): Thank you Mr. President for giving me the opportunity to comment on the issue of social media. As Home Affairs, we do not listen to social media. However, as Hon. Maboyi, if I send a voice note, the people from my constituency can easily depict my voice, so I think the people from where this audio originated can as well help us identify the source or culprit in that audio. We really want to put that habit of abusing the social media where activists circulate falsehoods on social media. I thank you.
HON. SEN. KOMICHI: I think for the benefit of the Minister of Home Affairs, the audio captures the name of Cde Mudha Owen Ncube and Cde…
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Order! I think we all know that the question of the social media is one which is topical in this world today. Credibility and the way social media is being manipulated, used to divide nations and used to do all sorts of things, it is not wise, neither is it credible for this House to spend our time disusing social media issues.
Questions without Notice were interrupted by THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in terms of Standing Order No.62.
HON. SEN. KOMICHI: I move that time for Questions without Notice be extended by twenty five minutes.
HON. SEN. CHINAKE: I second.
HON. SEN. GUMPO: My question is directed to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development. The road between Harare and Chirundu; road users are very grateful that you have put a unit working on that road especially between Karoi and Makuti. However, because the road has not been resurfaced for over 30 years, I think the base has become so weak that it is very difficult to successfully cover the potholes. So, what can be done in order to accelerate the programme because the rains are near? I thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Your question will be inadmissible because it is on a particular issue. Question time without notices are for questions on policy, however, I will allow the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development to respond if he has got the facts with him.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): I want to thank Hon. Sen. Gumpo for that very important question because the Hon. Sen. has touched on a very important road which is our flagship as a nation. That road starts from Beitbridge, Northbound to Harare then Chirundu, vis-a vis Chirundu-Harare-Beitbridge.
As you know Mr. President Sir, we are seized in rehabilitating the stretch between Harare and Beitbridge, not necessarily patching but we are rehabilitating complete reconstruction of the road. I am happy to say as we close here, there will be over 400km of that stretch and the whole stretch is less than a 1000 km from Beitbridge to Chirundu. Mr. President Sir, I am happy that with the advent of the Second Republic, the road has been problematic in the sense that we would bid and not perform but alas, upon the advent of the Second Republic, we have seen an accelerated pace in rehabilitating this road and I want to assure this august House that as we then move with speed on the Harare-Beitbridge as we are doing, we are also gravitating towards the Chirundu Boarder Post and not necessarily the road itself but we are also rehabilitating Chirundu Boarder Post starting 2023, we will be working on the Chirundu Border Post to actually mirror the Beitbridge-Harare Road that you know is at an advantaged stage as we speak.
Mr. President Sir, that stretch, the Hon. Sen. has highlighted, now we are just maintaining it but we have already arranged a team of contractors to start working from Chirundu Border Post, so I want to allay the fears and especially to those from Mashonaland West, to say that road is at the centre of His Excellency the President and is very aware of that stretch. You will see us soon after the rains rehabilitating moving plant and equipment to that stretch as we are also doing along Harare – Beitbridge; so is our gateway to the SADC region. We know very well that is a very important road and that is why I said it is a flagship road. We are seized as a Ministry and I want to ask and seek for indulgence from the people of Zimbabwe to say as we patch the road, that is not the long term, we are going to rehabilitate, reconstruct the road and you will see us commencing the works along that road very soon.
We also hope to finish by mid-next year and we would have completed the Harare-Masvingo Road, then Harare-Masvingo-Beitbridge and Harare-Chirundu will be the next road that we will be working on. So, I want to assure this august Senate that we are going to have a complete road network covering Chirundu-Harare and Beitbridge. Also to say for Manicaland, we also come and rehabilitate Forbes Border Post and you will see us rehabilitating Harare and Nyamapanda Road. Just in the near future, we are descending on Harare-Chirundu, to assure the Hon. Senator. I thank you Hon. President.
*HON. SEN. CHINAKE: Thank you Mr. President, my question is directed to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. We have problems of papers leaking during examination time, what is Government policy to alleviate the issue of leakage of exam papers? Every year, our children are being disadvantaged, they pretend they are sitting for an exam they do not know whilst they know the papers already.
*THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. DR. E. NDLOVU): Thank you Mr. President and Hon. Sen. Chinake. This is very sad indeed. At the moment we are investigating what really happened in that case. I thank you.
HON. SEN. MABIKA: Thank you Mr. President, my question is directed to the Minister of Transport. What is Government policy on contractors who have inadequate and inefficient equipment but they win tenders to rehabilitate the roads? They can rehabilitate for a few metres and their machinery breaks down and they disappear for weeks, only to resurface with a struggling grader after a few weeks? I would also want to know if there is a monitoring vehicle to quickly resolve such challenges, especially when we look at timeframes and that equipment and tenders that are paid without adequate machinery.
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Mr. President. Let me also thank Hon. Sen. Mabika for giving me this platform to articulate issues to do with our procurement procedures. Mr. President, the desire of Government is to make sure that we empower our citizenry. Secondly, one who is given a tender must perform satisfactorily since we are tapping into the fiscus of the nation. I want to assure the august Senate that there is no way we can give a tender and be happy if we have shoddy works. A similar question was also posed in the august House, the National Assembly where we warned contractors that times of getting money from Government are over, especially if you do not do proper work. I am happy to say that the current legislation that we have allays the fears of contractors just being paid without performing.
We only pay when we are happy. We have got what we call Interim Payment Certificates. Those who are into construction or provision of services would know where you can only raise that IPC and be paid after monitoring exercise. So, we have seen mushrooming of bogus companies with the intent of undercutting when they tender but when we ask them to go and perform the work, they have been found wanting. Also, it was my humble plea in the National Assembly and in this august Senate to say let us have punitive measures especially aligning our Procurement Act which will then allow us not just to focus on the pricing modalities. We need to move away from that not focusing mainly on the price because the tendency amongst some of these unscrupulous contractors would tender lowly so that they get the job. When they go out, they will not perform, so this is something that we are working on as a Ministry of Transport to deregister such contractors and we have got a register in each province. They would move from one province to another under-cutting and not performing and this will result in the scenario that has been said by the Hon. Senator. So, I want to thank the Hon. Senator for bringing up that and say we are not paying for shoddy work. Even if you check our books, that time is over.
Questions Without Notice were interrupted by the HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in terms of Standing Order No. 67.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Unfortunately, we have two questions with notice and both the questioner and the Hon. Minister are not present. So all the questions With Notice on the Order Paper are deferred to next week.
MOTION
CONDOLENCES ON THE DEATH OF HON. SEN. WATSON KHUPE
First Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the passing on of the late Member of Senate, Hon. Sen. Watson Khupe.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MANYAU: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to wind up the motion. I want to thank everyone who expressed the way they worked with the late Hon. Sen. Khupe. It is true he left a gap which will never be filled because he was someone who was easy to work with, a humble man. I want to thank everyone and I move that the House now adopts the motion.
Motion that this House:-
EXPRESSES its profound sorrow on the passing on of the late Member of the Senate representing Disabled Persons, Hon. Sen. Watson Khupe on Saturday, 16th July, 2022;
PLACES on record its appreciation for the services which the late Hon. Senator rendered to Parliament and the Nation at large;
RESOLVES that its profound sympathies be conveyed to the Khupe family, relatives and the entire Nation for the loss of the Hon. Senator, put and agreed to.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE DELEGATION TO THE 7TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE AFRICAN PARLIAMENTARIANS NETWORK ON DEVELOPMENT EVALUATION HELD IN MOROCCO
Second Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report of the Delegation to the 7th Annual General Meeting of the African Parliamentarians’ Network on Development Evaluation.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: Mr. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 25th October, 2022.
MOTION
RATIFICATION OF THE PROTOCOL TO THE CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL INTERESTS IN MOBILE EQUIPMENT ON MATTERS SPECIFIC TO AIRCRAFT EQUIPMENT
THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Mr. President Sir. I move the motion standing in my name that:
WHEREAS section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that any international treaty which has been concluded or executed by or under the authority of the President does not bind Zimbabwe until it has been approved by Parliament;
WHEREAS the protocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters Specific to Aircraft Equipment entered into force on 1 March, 2006;
WHEREAS the Republic of Zimbabwe is a party to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters Specific to Aircraft Equipment;
WHEREAS Article XXVI (3) of the aforesaid protocol provides that any State which does not sign the protocol may accede to it at any time:
NOW, THEREFORE, in terms of section 327 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, Parliament resolves that the aforesaid protocol be and is hereby approved.
Allow me to express my sincere gratitude to this august House for allowing me to move the motion to consider the accession to the Protocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters Specific to Aircraft Equipment by the Republic of Zimbabwe. Mr. President Sir, my Ministry and the Civil Aviation of Zimbabwe have seen it prudent for the country to go through the process to accede to this protocol so that the country can fully benefit from international agreements relating to aircraft equipment like this one.
Mr. President Sir, Section 327 (20) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that any international treaty which has been concluded or executed by the President’s authority does not bind Zimbabwe until it has been approved by Parliament. The protocol before you was signed at Cape Town on 16th November 2001 and entered into force on 1st March 2006. Thus, after the conclusion of the protocol, Zimbabwe is able to accede to it anytime in terms of Article XXV1 (3) or the protocol. Furthermore, Zimbabwe is already a party to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters Specific to Aircraft Equipment and the Convention on International Civil Aviation (ICAO), which was signed in Chicago on 7th December 1944.
The protocol addresses the need to adapt the Convention to meet the particular requirements of aircraft finance and it extends the sphere of application to include contracts of sale of aircraft equipment. This protocol sets up a legal framework to facilitate asset-based financing of aircraft by improving predictability as to the enforceability of security, title reservation and leasing rights in aircraft and therefore protecting lenders and lessors and allowing borrowers better access to credit at lower costs. It is intended to protect interests of aircraft vendors and financiers by overcoming disparities in national laws through establishing a legal framework. Mr. President Sir, consequently, this will significantly reduce credit risk and the cost of financing associated with equipment that moves rapidly between jurisdictions, including aircrafts. In light of the above, it is pivotal that Zimbabwe accedes to this international legal framework to fully unlock the benefits of these aviation mechanisms. I so move Mr. President Sir.
*HON. SEN. KOMICHI: I want to thank the Minister of
Transport and if I look at the date this paper was presented, 1st March 2006, many years have passed till now. Thank you for taking this big role, otherwise things were not right. I also want to support this motion because it gives us the opportunity to have access to aircraft equipment that is durable and in good condition. It will also help us as a country to be able to work with other countries doing business and building relations. We also see that the aircraft industry in Zimbabwe has been destroyed or it was receding but right now, the economy of the country is boosting. I do not know but can we resuscitate our routes like Asia and Europe so that the country can have business and development. This Memorandum of Agreement which was done will enable us to have the aircrafts to have spare parts and more lifespan in their operation. To that end, I agree and support you Hon. Minister and plead with this House to approve this cause.
*HON. MHONA: I want to thank Hon. Sen. Komichi for supporting this issue and cause. It is very true that the issue which he has raised is very pertinent because the issue of aircraft and allowing us to work together with other countries is going to help us. Even the aircrafts which we used to look for from others is going to be easy. He also mentioned that sourcing some of the parts which we use on some of our aircrafts is going to be easy. If you look at this Memorandum of Understanding, we are able to borrow aircrafts from other countries whilst we also lend other countries. This will enable the movement of crafts to be easy. I also want to thank this august House and this has been hanging for a long time without any progress in the manner we do business but this has brought some light and we hope to progress well.
Motion put and agreed to.
On the motion of THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA), the Senate adjourned at Five Minutes past Four o’clock p.m until Tuesday, 25th October, 2022.