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SENATE HANSARD 21 NOVEMBER 2018 28-20
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Wednesday, 21st November, 2018
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
LIGHTING CEREMONY IN COMMEMORATION OF 16 DAYS OF
ACTIVISM AGAINST GENDER BASED VIOLENCE
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I have to
inform the Senate that all Senators are invited to a lighting ceremony in commemoration of 16 days of activism against gender based violence on Monday, 26 November, 2018 at 1830 hours at Parliament Building along Nelson Mandela Avenue. The event is being organised by Parliament in partnership with Netherlands Embassy and is held annually from 25 November to 10 December.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
First Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the
Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I move that the debate be adjourned.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 22nd November, 2018.
MOTION
PROTECTION OF CATTLE AGAINST TICK-BORNE DISEASES
Second Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the call to control tick-borne diseases affecting livestock in Zimbabwe.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President. Firstly, I would like to thank the mover of the motion Hon. Sen. Chimbudzi for the motion which deals with tick-borne diseases which have almost wiped out our livestock in this country. This is because of ignorance on how best to eradicate such diseases. In the olden days, people were forced to take their cattle for dipping. That is why we had a lot of livestock to such an extent that pastures were no longer enough. As a result, measures were put in place to ensure that the herds were controlled.
Today with the advent of the land reform, we are now taught that farming is not only in crops but we are also enlightened that we can go into cattle ranching. Cattle ranching can be very profitable to an extent that one can eke out a living and be able to sustain a family. There is a serious problem for people that were resettled in that they were no diptanks that were constructed in those areas. Some people are now spraying their cattle with dipping chemicals using knapsacks so as to protect them from tick-borne diseases. We plead with the Government through the veterinary officers to ensure that dip-tanks are constructed in all resettlement areas. The areas are properly demarcated in terms of the fields and pastures. We appreciate that the resettled people have their livestock. I again reiterate that the resettlement officers and officials from the Ministry should go into the resettled areas and see how best they can come up with solutions to ensure that livestock can be dipped to protect them from tick-borne diseases.
Livestock such as cattle are a source of wealth. One can sell a beast to pay school fees for children as well as to provide for their basic needs. It is my plea that the resettled farmers be assisted through construction of dip tanks and furthermore, they be enlightened as to why it is imperative for livestock to be dipped. If they are ignorant, they will lose a lot of livestock. With such education, diseases that are killing cattle can be eradicated. I thank you.
+HON. SEN. MKHWEBU: I thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to debate on this motion which was moved by Hon. Sen. Chimbudzi and her seconder. This motion is very important indeed, particularly for us who are from Matabeleland region which falls under region 5. In region 5, there is no water. The dip-tanks are there but there is no water to pour into these dip-tanks and cattle diseases are plenty there. We wish we could dip our beasts weekly but, we fail because of lack of water in some of our regions.
We are therefore requesting Government for borehole drilling vehicles. In each and every dip-tank, we should pour that water so that our beasts are always in good state without diseases, particularly the tick borne diseases because of lack of dipping. All over the country, we expect that water but as the rains have delayed in coming, the majority of people are worried and are digging for water to pour into their dip tanks. We are therefore requesting that DDF which has such machinery for drilling boreholes should help the people in the rural areas, in small farming areas and in some homesteads water is a problem.
Mr. President Sir, I support this motion because of Hon. Sen.
Chimbudzi’s vision. It is not only in Matabeleland but there are many places that are going without water where there is need for dip-tanks there. In these new resettlement areas, we do not have dip-tanks; we survive by using hand spraying methods for dipping our beasts and it is not enough to cover the burley and the hooves of the beasts.
These tick-borne diseases are a problem, particularly in region 5 because we cannot spray the medicine in-between the hooves. Mr. President, it is only easy when all regions can have dip-tanks so that beasts can be dipped and get the water all over their bodies. Therefore, we request that Government should look into all regions without diptanks. As representatives for these communities, we request particularly in the rural constituencies that there be a number of dip-tanks so as to reduce the diseases that affect our beasts.
There is the lump skin disease as well that affects beasts. We used to buy some medication for ourselves because it is a problem disease in our districts. Those who are selling the drugs now require us to buy them in foreign currency. We therefore request that Government should ensure that we buy the drugs for our beasts using bond notes. It is clear now that rural people are having difficulties in buying these drugs because they cannot access the foreign currency. Those who sell the drugs refuse to sell to us using bond notes. We request that people be allowed to use bond notes, that is the rural people, shop keepers and all those who sell veterinary drugs. It should be legalised that people buy using bond notes. We have failed to fight against some of these diseases because of the challenges of foreign currency in rural areas for we do not have the money to buy the drugs. With those few words Mr. President, I thank you.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: Thank you Mr. President. I want to thank
Hon. Sen. Chimbudzi who moved this motion and her seconder Hon.
Sen. Chief Ngungubane. I just want to add my voice to this motion and I have a few things to talk about. You will find that it is a very good motion which is talking about livestock.
Most of our people live on livestock. Some people live on crops, that is those who have sufficient rainfall but for those who are in regions 4 and 5, they really find it difficult to live without livestock, especially when we are talking about cattle. Mr. President, if we look at the issue of cattle especially looking at the current year and time, you will find that we have a lot of problems and we are moving towards the rain season whereby we are supposed to be having all necessary chemicals for dipping. This is the time whereby ticks are at their highest level. So, there is need for chemicals to dip these cattle and if not so, they will die.
Mr. President, you will find that spraying beasts is very effective and they effectively kill the ticks but they tend to be very expensive. Our farmers do not have sufficient resources and they end up limiting those chemicals when they spray their cattle. As a result, these cattle do not get sufficient chemicals and the animals die because if instructions are not well followed, most of the cattle do not really survive.
Another problem that we have Mr. President, is that the number of dip-tanks that we have per area are so limited. Taking into account that now we have drought, our cattle are not supposed to travel long distances – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.] – It becomes a problem again for those cattle to be taken to dip-tanks because of distance. When they get there, if we are talking about the plunge dip tanks, these cattle are very thin and for them to get into those plunge dip tanks. Some of them get in and are unable to get out such that someone has to be present to wait for those which will have failed to swim across to pull them out of those plunge dip tanks. So, these are the problems that are being faced by our farmers Mr. President and they need help.
Mr. President, looking at this drought situation, our cattle, as thin as they are, need supplementary feeding. If we do not provide supplementary feeding, because of the blood being sucked by ticks, the survival of the cattle becomes very slim. So, there is need for farmers to be trained on mitigation measures such as growing fodder crops in order to provide supplementary feeds for their cattle. The cost of a 50kg supplementary feed for pan feeding costs $25 per bag and very few farmers can afford to buy this manufactured feeds. So, there is need for farmers to be trained to produce fodder crops such as lucerne, banner grass and many more. However, the problem comes because, as we are debating, the water table has gone too low and the boreholes are getting dry which makes it difficult for farmers to grow fodder crops because they do not have sufficient water. As long as there are problems in terms of feeding, there will also be problems of ticks.
Mr. President, our farmers have got a problem, even if we talk about these livestock as their main source of wealth, market prices are very low and there is no way they can sell these animals, they just watch them. We are talking of the bond notes that we have and farmers sell their cattle at a lowest rate of the bond notes and they will not be able to buy supplementary feeds for their cattle.
Without much ado, there is also need to provide funding so that farmers can buy chemicals for dip-tanks. These chemicals are very expensive and I am speaking out of experience. An ordinary farmer cannot afford and there is need for the Government to intervene and assist these farmers to get sufficient chemicals for dip-tanks. With those few words Mr. President, I thank you.
*HON. SEN. MALULEKE: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to air my views. I thank the mover, Hon. Sen. Chimbudzi for such a good motion and the seconder. We are grateful that you came up with a motion that is useful to us as Senators. In particular, these tick borne diseases are prevalent in the communal lands during this dry season. Our observation is that as we leave our constituencies as men and men, we are concerned on the relish that our children will have as a result of the state of our livestock.
Our livestock should be properly looked after. Donkeys are important for their draft power. Cattle, goats and sheep are equally important are equally important if we look after them properly. You did very well Hon. Sen. Chimbudzi. Mr. President, in my Constituency in the Lowveld, we are in the red zone. It is our plea that a lot of these tick borne diseases arise from these red zone areas because of the hot temperatures that we experience. These tick borne diseases cause cattle to succumb to heart water. Mr. President, ordinary people cannot afford to pay for the chemicals because they are told to pay in foreign currency denominations, which they do not have.
It is our further plea to those who are in the veterinary section to intervene and ensure that chemicals that are required to treat our cattle become affordable. When we were growing up, there was cattle selling at the market place and a lot of villagers would thrive on that. Gone are those days because the Government no longer comes with such good laws to ensure that our cattle are not sold for a song, for example, $10. Our Government urges that cattle should be sold at a good price, but because of the drought and the prevailing climatic conditions and that we are in the red zone, our cattle are not being sold at profitable prices.
We urge the Government to intervene and ensure that the ordinary people in the communal lands have chemicals at affordable prices. We are grateful that the Government gave us livestock through Command Livestock but they urge that if this Command Livestock projects are coming to the communal lands, the Veterinary Department should give us good prices. However, when we go there, we buy chemicals at exorbitant prices. There are also others that are private players who sell these chemicals at exorbitant prices.
Although the Government urges people to ensure that their cattle are dipped, the distances which they travel are too long and are not sustainable. We urge that a lot of dip tanks be constructed so that the ordinary people have ready access within short distances for their cattle to be dipped. We are into cattle ranching more than crop farming because crops are readily affected by drought. At the moment we do not have sufficient pastures because of erratic rains.
We further appeal to Government to ensure that affordable food is also given to the people in the communal lands. We are in the red zone. I know that we have got the buffer and the green zone. Those that are in the buffer and green zone are better, unlike us because they have got sufficient rains. Their cattle and goats have sufficient pasture. We have embarked on command project. We urge those that are involved in such activities to take into account diseases that affect cattle. Calves are not having sufficient milk from their mothers. As a result, they have stunted growth.
We should be able to produce carcasses that are acceptable internationally. The responsible Minister should come here and hear our plea in Parliament. He should understand our plight as members of public that are in the constituencies.
Spray dipping chemicals on livestock does not get rid of tick borne diseases. It is difficult for ticks to be eliminated. Dipping can be the solution as the animal is completely immersed into the chemicals. This habit of spraying chemicals does not get rid of tick borne disease. The tick borne disease will eventually cause heart water disease and a lot of cattle are succumbing to that.
We should have chemicals that are affordable so that the communal farmer can benefit. We know that some of these chemicals are imported. We urge those that are importing these chemicals to sell them at affordable prices so that we are able to maintain and look after our livestock properly.
The 1993 Act concerning this issue should be repealed because it is an archaic law since we are in a new dispensation. I mentioned that there are some people that have been referred and these people buy communal farmers’ beasts. They remove the head, fats and other things. After that they weigh the carcass and then pay – either $5 or $30 and they also deduct some money after slaughtering the beast. We urge that there be level ground to ensure that the livestock farmers do not get a raw deal from such unscrupulous players. Thank you Mr. President for affording me this time.
HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: I move that the motion do now adjourn.
HON. MOHADI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 22nd November, 2018.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE 139TH ASSEMBLY OF THE INTER-
PARLIAMENTARY UNION (IPU)
Adjourned debate on motion on the Report of the 139th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Geneva, Switzerland
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: Thank you Mr. President. I just want to thank Hon. Sen. Muzenda and her seconder Hon. Chief Mtshane for presenting this report. I also want to add my voice to this motion. I will just choose a few items that I will take care of.
During her presentation, Hon. Sen. Muzenda talked a lot about the sidelining of women and youth. As a country, we have to think about these vulnerable groups who are mostly oppressed. You find that there are so many declarations on the rights of women and youths and they are enshrined in our Constitution but when things happen, those rights are forgotten. People end up not recognising that women and youths have got their rights.
We have an issue which is pending on the declaration of women rights which talked about 50-50 representation in all decision making processes. It is not happening. You find that women and youths act on decisions that they do not pass. Those decisions are made somewhere where they cannot reach. They are then just given instructions to follow. It is so worrying because they end up not doing what they are supposed to do.
She went on to talk about the youth – their migration. You find that our youths migrate trying to find greener pastures or trying to get employment elsewhere but they do not get it. At the end of the day, we have what they call human trafficking whereby our youths are taken as slaves and they work in other countries without getting a salary, which is also a worrying issue. Mr. President, if you can imagine your child or a woman being lured to a foreign country and her passport taken away, it is really miserable. Our youths as you can recall Mr. President, one of our Senators talked about drug abuse. These youths, because of idleness, end up engaging in drug abuse and prostitution for them to get a living. There is need for our youths to be trained so that maybe we get employment for them. Projects are maybe the best cure for these youths so that they do not just migrate to wherever they think and they get abused by other people. So, there is need for them to be taken to vocational training centres for training on different skills so that they can sustain themselves.
Also she talked about climate change. It is real and we are living with it. Climate change involves a lot of issues. As we talk, you find that these droughts which we were just talking about here are also caused by climate change. The season where we think we have rains just like what we are facing at the moment – there is no rain and there is no grass or pastures for our animals. As a result, our cattle are dying now. Also, sometimes due to climate change, when it starts raining, it becomes more than what is needed at a particular time and we end up having floods which wash away the good soils to the rivers and the seas. We then remain with degraded areas whereby nothing grows. If you go to most areas that are not protected, the soil is so degraded in such a way that it needs a lot of fertilisers if we are to grow proper crops that will sustain our people. This is all because of climate change. Without much-ado there is need for us as Parliamentarians to go for workshops where we can learn more about climate change so that this information goes down to our constituencies. We have work to do Mr. President, to educate our communities on how climate change affects our people.
With these few words Mr. President, I thank you.
HON. SEN. MUZENDA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. GWESHE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to Resume: Thursday, 22nd November 2018.
MOTION
NATIONAL POLICY ON PERSONS LIVING WITH DISABILITY
Fourth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the need to formulate a comprehensive National Disability Policy and review the Disabled Persons Act.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. TIMVEOS: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. RAMBANEPASI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 22nd November, 2018.
MOTION
DEVOLUTION OF POWER
Fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the call for devolution
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MWONZORA: I move that the debate do now
adjourn.
HON. SEN. MAKONE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 22nd November, 2018.
MOTION
CASH SITUATION IN THE COUNTRY
Sixth order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the call to solve the cash crisis in the country.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. SHOKO: Thank you Mr. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHINAKE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Thursday, 22nd November, 2018.
On the motion of HON. SEN. MUZENDA, seconded by HON. SEN. SINAMPANDE, the House adjourned at Twenty Two Minutes
past Three o’clock p.m.