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SENATE HANSARD 28 NOVEMBER 2018 27-15
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday, 28th November, 2017
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE in the Chair)
MOTION
REPORT OF THE SEVENTH RETREAT OF THE ASSOCIATION
OF SENATES, SHOORA AND EQUIVALENT COUNCILS IN
AFRICA AND THE ARAB WORLD (ASSECAA)
HON. SEN. MAKORE: I move the motion standing in my name
that this House takes note of the Report of the Seventh Retreat of the Association of Senates, Shoora and equivalent Councils in Africa and the Arab World (ASSECAA), held from 26th to 27th November, 2016 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
HON. SEN. BUKA: I second.
HON. SEN. MAKORE: Thank you Madam President. The
Seventh Retreat of ASSECAA of Senators, Shoora, equivalent Councils in Africa and the Arab World met in Addis Ababa at the kind invitation of the House of Federation of Ethiopia from 26th to 27th November,
- The Retreat’s theme was ‘the role of Parliamentarians in combating climate change in Africa and the Arab World.
The President of the Senate, Hon. Madzongwe headed the
Parliamentary delegation of the Senate which comprised of Hon. Sen. Chief Chiduku, Hon. Sen. Bhebe and Hon. Sen. Makore. Also participants from the following member countries attended the Retreat:
The House of Federation of the Democratic Federal Republic of Ethiopia, the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Shoora
Council of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Senate of the Republic of Burundi, the House of Dignitaries of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Council of Nation of the Democratic Republic of Algeria, the Senate of the Republic of Cameroon, Counselors of Morocco, the Shoora
Council of Qatar. The Senate of the Republic of Congo Brazzaville, The Shoora Council of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Council of States of the Republic of Sudan, the Senate of the Republic of Zimbabwe. Also in attendance was the Yemeni Ambassador in Addis Ababa, representing the Shoora council of Yemen.
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: Order, since there
is no Cabinet, Hon. Senators can sit anywhere in the House.
HON. SEN. MAKORE: Opening Ceremonies
The Retreat was held in the International Hotel in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia and fully organised by the General Secretary of the
Association. The opening occasion was officiated by His Excellency,
Dr. Gimechu, Dale, Minister of Environment, Forestry and Climate Change of the Federal Republic of Democratic Republic of Ethiopia who was also the guest of honour. The occasion was also graced by the
Resident Member of the Diplomatic Corps in Africa and represented
Regional Organisations.
In the opening ceremony, the Secretary General of ASSECAA, Mr.
Abdulwasie Yusuf Ali welcomed all delegates. He added that the theme of the Retreat was chosen carefully, as climate change pause a challenge in both our regions, threatens social and economic development and has had a negative impact on peace and security in our countries in particular and the world at large. Therefore, it is incumbent upon our African and Arab countries to engage in such global efforts to curb these challenges.
The current chairman of ASSECAA and Speaker of the Council of State of Sudan H.E. Dr. Omar Suliman Adam delivered a speech in which he expressed immense gratitude to both the House of Federation of Ethiopia represented by Speaker AtoYalew Abate, who exerted substantive efforts to organise the august meeting. He thanked the Ethiopian people and Government for the warm reception and generous hospitality accorded to all delegates. He pointed out that these
ASSECAA Retreats have gained importance in serving as important fora for sharing expertise and experiences among member states. These would bring cooperation among member states in a way that fosters socio-economic integration. He further added that these Retreats usually involve valuable proposals from scholars, statesmen and policy analysts on the various modalities of improving the Association’s role and its contribution to the achievement of sustainable Parliamentary development in Africa and the Arab world.
He indicated that the theme ‘Climate Change’ is contemporary in addition to being inextricably linked to Arab and African regions’ prospects due to the fact that climate change poses a threat to our nations, our economies as well as our security. Several studies indicate that the two regions of African-Arab world will be hit hardest by the vagaries of climate change that will lead to water scarcity, rising temperatures, droughts, desertification, floods, rising sea levels in addition to arable and land degradation as well as crop failure which might result in inextricable conflicts over resources in Africa and Arab nations.
He urged parliamentarians to seriously assume the responsibility of raising awareness amongst their constituencies and communities about the significance and risk of such a phenomenon as well as taking precautions to address these challenges through effective legislation and strict oversight of the Executive. He further urged Africa and Arab states to seriously engage in global efforts that curb the vagaries of climate change through the effective implementation, adaptation and legislation of mitigation policies and programmes. The Guest of Honour, H. E. Dr.Gemechu Dale, the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Climate of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, delivered a speech in which he expressed pleasure at Addis Ababa’s hosting of such an important retreat to shed light on an issue that is related to the failure of the countries and generations. He highlighted that climate change has had multiple negative effects that include floods, hurricanes, rising temperatures, drought, food shortages, displacement of populations leading to conflicts over scarce resources.
He informed the delegates that holding the meeting in Addis
Ababa at a time when Ethiopia has been elected the chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum may have its own significance. This reflects the effective role played by Ethiopia in handling climate crises. He hoped that this retreat would cope up with historic accomplishment and recommendations and that Arab and African countries should engage in the global efforts aiming at tackling the problems of climate change. He emphasised the importance of all countries to make the most use of expertise and information provided by the international community to countries affected by climate change.
The working paper presented for debate – the meeting received three working papers for debate under the theme of the retreat.
The role of parliamentarians in combating climate change in
Africa and the Arab world region
The first paper presented by Prof. Charles Ukeje from the Institute of Peace and Secuerity Studies at Addis Ababa University was on the impact of climate change on peace and security imperatives in Africa and the Middle East. This presentation which was based on available scientific evidence elaborated on the threats posed by climate change on peace and security of countries. It informed the delegates that climate change poses the most formidable challenges faced by Africa and the Middle East in the 21st century as 2016 will likely be the first full year to exact the mark of 1.2 degrees celcius above pre-industrial levels which make it perilously closer to the 1.5 degrees centigrade – target set in the Paris Climate Pact. This resulted in rising temperatures, depletion of hot water bodies such as rivers, marshlands and lakes causing floods in different regions and massive population displacement as the livelihood of all populations are threatened on a daily basis, in addition to growing poverty and intensified competition for resources.
According to figures from the International Organisation for
Migration (IOM), a study indicated that most of the world’s 200 million predicted climate change migrants will be from Africa. Further, grim reality projects that 70 to 250 million people in Africa will be exposed to increased water stress by 2020 and that by 2050, sub-Saharan Africa will be afflicted by a 29% increase in water shortage while river flow in the Nile region will decrease by 75% by 2100.
Furthermore, the study showed that water scarcity would directly induce food shortages as agriculture is still the mainstay of the Africa economy, one in which more than two-thirds of the content’s population still relies for subsistence. It also exposed a looming disaster for Africa which estimates that one-quarter of Africa’s population living within
100 km of the coast in most large cities are prone to flooding from Lagos to Mombasa.
The paper reviewed many studies and scientific reports from different sources, among which was the report of the Max Plank Institute for Chemistry which recently argued that if mankind continues to release carbon dioxide as it does now, people living in the Middle East and North America will have to expect about 200 unusually hot days in a year.
The study further argued that there is a positive relationship between climate change and armed conflicts such that many regions in
Africa would witness conflicts induced and increased by climate change. Accordingly, the study called upon African and Arab States to engage in global efforts aimed at reducing the impact of climate change.
The second working paper was presented by Mr. Admed AlMukhtar, Senior Political Officer at the Continental Early Warning
System (CEWS) at the African Union Commission’s Peace and Security
Department. He presented a working paper entitled, “Terrorism and Climate Change in Africa and Arab world. His paper defined terrorism as an unlawful act of violence that lacks internal and international legitimacy. He highlighted that Africa and the Arab world have suffered from terrorism over the past debate. This saw such a phenomenon involving forms and intensity and assuming greater proportions as evidenced by the terrorist acts committed by the Muslim youths movement – Boko Haram and ISIL.
He touched upon the efforts exerted at the continental level to combat terrorism affirming that Africa has exerted great efforts to fight terrorism since 1992 when the African Union adopted a resolution on the strengthening of corporation and coordination amongst countries in terms of combating the menacing dangerous phenomenon of extremism and terrorism. Such efforts culminated in the establishment of African Union member states of the African Centre for Study and Research on
Terrorism which is based in the people’s democratic republic of Algeria, with an aim to serve as a forum for effective cooperation between member countries and regional mechanisms and to play a significant role in bolstering counter-terrorism efforts through studies and research, sharing information, establishing a database on terrorism and enhancing the early warning system.
The African Union has created the Continental Early Warning System (CEWS) for the purpose of working closely with member countries to fight terrorism. The paper gave an illustration of terrorist attacks that have been launched against a number of Arab and African countries since early 2001, which is indicative of the dangers the scourge of terrorism poses to Arab and African communities and the world at large.
With regard to the reason and motives for terrorism, the paper highlighted that these include rising unemployment, growing poverty levels, the spread of crime networks active among youths, institutional weaknesses of governance, rampant corruption and lack of oversight of the executive, factors that he said create fertile ground for terror groups.
On the relationship between terrorism and climate change, he pointed out that climate change causes environmental degradation, ecosystem deterioration, deforestation, drought, floods and famine resulting in food shortages. He explained that mass migrations triggered by climate change tipped the social balance, sparked conflicts over food, housing and other social services, giving rise to security disorders that have ultimately resulted in terrorism growing in such a manner that it now poses a menace to the whole world.
Evidently, climate change results in the displacement of 20 to 30 million people annually. For example, the depletion of Lake Chad has left serious repercussions on the local economy and caused misery and destitution, which encouraged Boko Haram terrorist groups to recruit large numbers of youths into its ranks.
This paper urged countries to work with the international community in a coordinated and compatible manner so as to keep terrorism in check.
The third working paper titled, “The impact of climate change on economic development in Africa and the Arab world” was presented by Mr. Yusuf Ahmed, the former vice president of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia and now the Presidential Advisor. His paper complemented the conclusions from the previous papers on the fact that global warming resulting from human-induced greenhouse gas emissions poses a most serious threat to the planet. It elaborated the impact of climate change on economic development, pointing out the injustices and inequalities surrounding such an issue in that developing countries bear the brunt of the negative effects of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE), despite the fact that they emit not more than 8% of average global emissions.
It explained that African and Arab nations are located in the hot regions close to the Equator, an indication that climate change takes a heavy toll on them by disrupting development and destroying major economic sectors, mainly tourism and agriculture.
Mr. Yusuf Ahmed’s paper reminded delegates that global debates on climate change led to the signing of the 2016 Paris Agreement on Climate Change which stipulates, among other things that rich countries should offer an estimated $100 billion in aid to developing countries in order to help them adapt to climate change effects, build low-carbon economies and reinforce resilience to combat such effects. This represents recognition of the great harms inflicted upon developing countries on the part of wealthy industrial nations.
As a matter of fact, climate change effects on the two regions’ economies include water scarcity due to erratic precipitation patterns and low rainfall coupled with a growing need for water, in addition to water and food shortages and protracted droughts that kill livestock and eliminate flora and fauna. Furthermore, climate change leads to coastal erosion due to rising sea levels. This in turn leads to the deterioration of economic activities, including agriculture, tourism, industries and services, which ultimately reflect negatively on the socio-political stability of affected countries.
It has been posited that an average rise in temperatures by 1 degree celsius results in a 2-3% drop in economic growth in the Arab world, in addition to extinction of 20-30% of species. The study further indicated that a 1.5% increase in average temperatures may lead to the loss of
1.7% of Africa’s GDP which is indicative of the enormous negative effects of climate change on Africa and the Arab world.
The study recommended that Arab and African governments take a set of precautions to tackle this phenomenon, precautions that include adopting climate friendly policies in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, developing clean energy technology, such as solar energy, hydraulic energy and wind energy, introducing smart agriculture techniques such as changing agricultural production patters and developing new crops, mainly temperature resistant ones and high yielding varieties. It further recommended that African and Arab governments adopt sophisticated techniques for rationalizing water use and management and integrate anti-climate change polices, the green economy and investment in modern and clean technology into state plans and programmes.
Following the presentations, participants deliberated upon the issues raised in the working papers and their debates reviewed their country experiences and the efforts and contributions made by their respective governments in order to reduce the negative impacts of climate change on national peace and security threats of terrorism and the effects on economic development. In their debates, delegates were of the view that countries should effectively get involved in the programmes designed to fight climate change and take pre-emptive measures to prevent catastrophies that can be caused by climate change.
Recommendations
- It is important for us as Parliamentarians to enact national legislation based on available data and debates on climate change as well as the recommendations for the enactment of laws on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and replacing bio and fossil fuels with environmentally-friendly materials.
- Parliamentarians ought to urge our government to intensify environmental awareness among influential elites and sociopolitical bodies, especially as indicators show that large grassroots sections of our communities are unaware of the risks posed by climate change, which implies that fighting this challenge represents a matter of saving lives of entire human communities.
- We call upon our Government to prioritise the inclusion of climate change issues in our national plans and policies and to present these issues to international fora in order to get the best of compensations provided for in the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. I thank you.
+HON. SEN. BHEBE: Thank you Madam President for
giving me this opportunity to add my voice and also second the report that was tabled by Hon. Sen. Makore on the Retreat of the
Association of Senates, Shoora and equivalent Councils in Africa
and the Arab World that was held from 26th to 27th November 2016 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I was one of the members.
Hon. Sen. Makore has tabled the report on what happened in Addis Ababa. I want to thank the opportunity that we was afforded to travel and meet there. We were being led by the President of Senate. What has been highlighted covers almost everything that took place but I would want to add my voice on a few things that I understood. I want to dwell much on the climate change issues which was one of the themes. When they touched on the issues to do with climate change in African countries and the Arab countries, it was noted that this was giving problems to almost all of the mentioned countries. We discussed a lot on this, for it was covering social and economic issues in those countries.
They also indicated that there are certain things that are being done in a country that will cause climate change. You realise that way back we never had such incidences of climate but now it is happening because there are certain things that we do as a country, for example, failure to dispose certain things that may cause pollution or veld fires that are not done properly which may cause climate change. It was also highlighted that climate change affects even the way people are supposed to live, especially in the countries that I mentioned, African and Arab countries. When we have climate change, most of the times you might be expecting rains and because of that climate change, you might not receive the rains and it affects even the way people live, especially when it comes to farming.
Climate change can cause drought in a nation, affects even the rain seasons and can cause floods. It can also cause soil erosion and this will eventually lead to drought. Climate change can also affect the agriculture seasons and this can lead to drought in the nation. Climate change also affects even the economy of the country in a way that most of the industries will not be functioning. There are so many things that were highlighted that can be effects
of climate change, which was what Hon. Sen. Makore highlighted
If you also take note that way back, especially when you look at the traditional leaders, there were certain cultures that were done before the rainy season so that when the rainy season comes or during the rainy season, for example, if it rains today and is windy, the following day people will not go to work on the fields. That was the culture that was there and it was honoured. We never experienced such issues to do with climate change. Nowadays, you realise that even from any sea you can have overspill of waters that can cause floods and people might argue because of certain issues that might have affected the political side, all these are causes of climate change.
There are also issues to do with terrorists that can contribute on climate change. These are some of the issues that were highlighted in that retreat that we attended. The Committee that Hon. Sen. Highlighted on emphasised that they were putting priority on men. Madam President indicated that in future there is need for the Committee to include women. In this retreat, there was only one woman representative. What I realised is that some of the countries have not reached the point of giving an equal opportunity to women to participate in politics. These are the few words that I have. I just wanted to add my voice and second the motion. I thank you Madam President.
HON. SEN. MUMVURI: Thank you Madam President. I
rise to support the debate which is going on in this House. I want to thank the delegation which went to Addis Ababa. Climate change is a topical issue which is cutting across all nations; it is not only in Africa or Zimbabwe. It is everywhere. These are facts which are coming from all over the world and how we must harness the climate change so that it does not devastate or threaten peace and security. It so happens that I am the Chairperson of the Peace and Security Thematic Committee in this House. It touches very well on the things which we cover there. If there is climate change negatively, it impacts very much on agriculture, scarcity of water, as what Hon. Sen. Makore has already alluded to. These are things which we must think seriously about the whole world over. It is not to be left to the Government of the day only but it is the duty of everyone. We are seeing it in the rural or farming areas where we are settled, people are cutting trees, depleting forests and doing all sorts of mining. The mining here in Zimbabwe which is done by the makorokozas has to be organised mining. If it goes on the way it is now – Zimbabwe is a beautiful country but one day we will leave this country as a desert to our future generation. So, this is a welcome meeting which the delegation held in Ethiopia but we must bring these issues closer home so that when we go to our constituencies we also try to do our part and protect the environment and harness the devastating effects of climate change which are going on. The facts and figures which have been given are frightening considering the rate at which climate change is affecting the environment which is around us. People who are displaced by this; 20 – 30 million is a joke, it is a very big number and we cannot leave it like that. The only thing which I want to urge national governments the world over is serious research. We must fund that research backed by facts and figures to come up with methods which we can share with the world over to try and harness some of the devastating effects which are being brought by climate change.
We happen to be taking the right action as a Parliament of
Zimbabwe. I think now we have the Sustainable Development
Thematic Committee which is chaired by Hon. Sen. Chief
Mtshane. This is in our effort to try to rectify the effects of climate change. We all have to put our heads as committees and that Committee must be empowered so that it coordinates all the work which we do as parliamentarians. This was specifically aimed at parliamentarians on how they can impact on reducing climate change in the world. So, what Hon. Sen. Makore has already said is just the beginning and we must take it seriously at our national level as I said before that research must be supported and Government must be serious to put a lot of funding, and move forward to see what can be done.
It is a serious issue which we must debate with objective minds and then come up with solutions. Thank you Madam President.
*HON. SEN. SHOKO: Madam President, I am very happy with Hon. Sen. Makore for bringing this important issue of climate change because if you travel outside Harare, you will notice vast lands of deforestation. These forests are the ones which are causing climatic change and also plastics which are thrown everywhere affect the ecology. The report makes us as Senators to appreciate the need to educate people that we meet about climatic change. Many a times when we talk about climatic change, many people wonder what it is because they do not have the knowledge or education about it.
In our schools, we talk about soil erosion but if you were to come to our homes, you can see women engaging in activities that cause soil erosion. They sweep even in the roads removing all the soil and a river will be left to form but the City Council had come up with ridges. They are not aware that they are causing soil erosion which makes our rivers silt. So, we should go forward as Senators educating people whom we come across about climate change telling them not to burn forests because these forests are the ones that bring rainfall and guard against soil erosion.
Pollution also causes climate change. From the research that has been done, there are about three big polluters namely; South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt, but when they engage in pollution, they affect us as well. This means that they will be damaging the ozone layer and the sun will affect us. As it affects us, it will also affect everything that is on earth. The water in our rivers will evaporate at a higher rate which means the organisation that we have like EMA should be supported so that they are able to go out on awareness campaigns on the effect of climate change. God gave us this earth so that we look after it, which means when we are polluting it, we are committing a sin.
Climate change is an issue that us as Senators and communities including the chiefs and village heads should really understand. We should know what it means when we talk of climate change. So, as Government, we should train all these people so that they can educate others. Some people when they get hold of an axe, what they quickly think of is just cutting down trees. If you go to the rural areas like Mwenezi where I come from, when I see my uncle holding an axe, I know that he is going to cut down trees. Those uncles and grandfathers should be educated that an axe is not for cutting down trees. It is not allowed to cut down trees because those trees are the ones which provide us with firewood and water. They give us a lot of things and if you cut down a tree, you must plant another one as a replacement.
This issue of climate change, we can take it as child play but it is a very pertinent issue which we should understand. This report which has been given by Hon. Sen. Makore is very educative. I once attended a conference similar to that and you find that the issues that are articulated in there are the same. All of them refer to the same thing that we should look after our environment. If you walk through the streets of Harare, the plastics that you see in the lands and even the rivers you will find these empty plastic bottles. They are the ones that are causing climate change because where water was supposed to flow through, it cannot. Animals are also being killed because of those plastics because of rubbish that is being dumped in rivers. Even the fertilisers and the chemicals that we use, they cause climate change. When the climate has changed, what it means is that things will no longer be the same.
Now we are saying seasons have changed. They have changed because of the animals and insects that were there, like ants and were killed by those chemicals. So this issue, Madam President is a very important issue. We should put in place laws that people should follow, especially the people that we have resettled. They cut down trees in the forest to the extent that in 25 years time, there will be a lot of deserts on our high ways because grass will not be growing. So, I think with this good report, laws should be enacted so that we move forward. Thank you Madam President.
HON. SEN. MAKORE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MAKONE: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 29th November, 2017.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE DELEGATION
TO THE EIGHTH RETREAT OF THE ASSOCIATION OF SENATES,
SHOORA AND EQUIVALENT COUNCILS IN AFRICA AND THE
ARAB WORLD
HON. SEN. SINAMPANDE: I move the motion standing
in my name:
That this House takes note of the Report of the Parliament of
Zimbabwe Delegation to the Eighth Retreat of the Association of
Senates, Shoora and Equivalent Councils in Africa and the Arab
World, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 20th to 21st May 2017.
HON. SEN. CHIEF MUSARURWA: I second.
HON. SEN. SINAMPANDE: Thank you Madam President.
Before I go into my motion, I would like to thank the people of this country, especially the war veterans, for what they did for us.
At the kind invitation of the House of Federation of the
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the General
Secretariat of the Association of Senates, Shoora and Equivalent
Councils in Africa and the Arab World (ASSECCAA),
ASSECAA’s eighth Retreat was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from May 20-21, 2017.
The Senate of the Republic of Zimbabwe was represented by
the delegation led by the President of the Senate Hon. Edna Madzongwe which comprised of:
Hon. Senator Chief Musarurwa
Hon. Senator Judith Mawire
Hon. Senator Herbert Sinampande
PARTICIPATION
The under-listed member Shoora, Senates and equivalent council in Africa and the Arab world attended the retreat.
- Council of the Nation of the People’s Democratic
Republic of Algeria,
- House of Counselors of Morocco
- Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
- Shoora Council of the State of Qatar
- Shoora Council of the Kingdom of Bahrain
- House of the Senate of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
- Council of States of the Republic of Sudan
- Senate of the Republic of Burundi
- House of Federation of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
- Senate of the Republic of Zimbabwe
The Senate of the Kingdom of Swaziland was represented by the officials from the Swaziland Embassy in Addis Ababa, with
Yemen’s Shoora Council represented by the officials from its Addis Ababa based embassy.
The retreat commenced with open speeches by His Excellency Dr. Omar Suleiman Adam Wanees, Chairman of
ASSECAA and Speaker of the Council States of Sudan and Mr.
Abdulwaise Yusuf Ali, ASSECCA’s Secretary General. Both emphasised the importance of the topics raised for debate in the committees at this meeting and that member councils should take up the responsibility of ensuring that conference outcomes are reflected in their legislative and oversight functions.
The meeting expressed gratitude to ASSECAA’s leadership
for selecting highly significant topics characteristic of the present day world, dominated by a plethora of trends and notions that should utilise the experiences of member parliaments.
The meeting deliberated upon the following three key topics:
- Good governance: Concepts, features and models, a working paper by Dr. Habib Makhtoum, Chairman of the Committee on Peace and Foreign Communication Council of States of Sudan.
- Responsibilities of the present generations in ensuring peace and security of future generations: Reflections on the leadership role of the legislature, a paper presented by
Ambassador Ibrahim Idris Ibrahim, Executive Manager of
IW Research and Consultancy (Pvt) (Ltd.) Centre for International Relations.
- Parliamentarians in Africa and the Arab regions: what should they do to enhance sustainable development in the two regions, work-paper by Negussie Zewdie (MSc) Agricultural expert, from Pace, Development and Democracy Forum (Think-tank).
On recommendations, participants engaged in extensive debate on the aforementioned topics which led to the following recommendations:
- Parliaments should prioritise good governance in a way that spares their countries of internal conflicts and help attain, maintain development and progress.
- Parliaments should take their role of exercising oversight of the Executive seriously.
- Parliamentarians affirmed the importance of effectively implementing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the responsibilities of present generations towards future generations as issued by UNESCO in 1997.
- ASSECAA should consider the idea of establishing a specialised Committee within the association to be called “the Committee on Science and Technology”, which will be tasked with conducting scientific research on the most up to date methods of promoting economic development and introducing relevant scientific and industrial aspects into university and secondary school curricula.
- Further, the above-mentioned Committee will be tasked with debating on and recommending the best research methods and means of exploiting the natural resources and cultural components abounding in Africa and the
Arab World so as to achieve economic development in the two regions.
- The Parliamentarians stressed that the socio-political stability of each and every country is a precondition for development of our two regions, therefore ensuring stability in member nations will allow for harnessing the potential of Afro-Arab nations for attaining sustainable development.
- Parliamentarians stressed the necessity of supporting Afro-Arab cohesiveness and integration to promote good governance through ASSECAA and other institutions. I thank you Mr. President. –[HON.
SENATORS: Hear, hear.]-
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE:
I thought that Hon. Sen. Chief Musarurwa was going to second
this.
HON. SEN. CHIEF MUSARURWA: Thank you Mr.
President Sir, I will debate it tomorrow.
HON. SEN. SINAMPANDE: Before I move the
adjournment of the debate, I would like to correct Mr. President that I am not Sinamapande. I am Sinampande.
THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: I
got it.
HON. SEN. SINAMPANDE: Now you got it. I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIEF MUSARURWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday 29th November, 2017.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON
GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT ON ACCESS TO SAFE AND CLEAN WATER IN RURAL AREAS
Fourth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the First Report of the Thematic Committee on Gender and Development on Access to Safe and Clean Water in Rural Areas.
Question again proposed.
*HON. SEN. BUKA: Thank you Mr. President. I rise to support the report given by Hon. Sen. Makore who talked in detail about what happened. In my speech supporting this motion, I am grateful to the Parliament of Zimbabwe for giving us the opportunity of moving around looking at the water situation in rural areas where people are accessing clean water. We visited the following areas: Gutu/Mupandawana, Gokwe/Nembudziya,
Guruve, Mberengwa, Zimunya in Mutare and Shamva/Madziva.
In all the places which we visited, we were inspecting the water supply in growth points, looking at how this water was treated and whether it was adequate to meet their needs. We also wanted to get their feelings towards the water supply. We looked at the water supply in rural areas. What we were mainly interested in was the distance travelled by the women folk in fetching water. We were also interested in the hygienic situation of the water and wanted to check whether there was no water borne diseases in the water which they were using.
When we were travelling around these places carrying out our research, we realised that many people had access to water but in most cases, some of these people had unhygienic water. I will take an example of these growth points. The water supply system in these areas is archaic and when the growth points were constructed, they were meant to be areas which were to be habited by a small population. The population has now ballooned and the water supply is no longer able to cater for the needs of the huge population.
When we look at the machinery which is used in the purification of the water or water assessment such as the water wells, dams and rivers, they do not have adequate water for use by the population in these growth points. We also realised that the machinery which was being used especially in these boreholes were very old and could not meet the demand of the huge population. These machines are strained and they consistently break down hence water problems. In the growth points, besides facing water shortages, there is a tug of war in the supply of water between ZINWA and the Rural District Councils (RDCs) because each of the two institutions want to collect water levies. This needs to be worked out to see to how this problem can be solved. What should be done in these growth points is to come up with new ways and systems of supplying water to those areas because at the moment people are in problems. They are accessing unhygienic water from unsafe sources.
The other aspect we looked at in these growth points is that those people who own dams do not buy water treatment chemicals on their own. The system is not decentralised. They can only access these chemicals from Harare which has a company that supplies the chemicals; hence people continue to take unhygienic water because chemicals are not readily available. Even in rural areas, most people get water from boreholes. Some of them are very old; they were sunk before independence and others immediately after independence. As a result, most of them have broken down.
We have realised that the District Development Fund which is the organ responsible for maintaining the boreholes in rural areas is allocated a little amount by the State. Even the councils which benefit from the fiscus are given inadequate amount for maintenance of these water points. As a result, there is poor access to clean water. We used to have Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) which were financially supporting the water supply systems but they have since withdrawn their services. We have been told by the residents in the rural areas that the health personnel are now under pressure because people are constantly affected by waterborne diseases. They said that the mostly affected are children under the age of five.
We were also told that in Gokwe North, there were very few boreholes. It was noted during the cholera epidemic that most of the people who died were from Gokwe North. In the rural areas, there is nobody responsible for maintaining those machines or even aware of what is needed. Consequently, although people are able to access water, the water is unhygienic. It is a danger to health. We are calling for the Government to look at ways and means of making the people in rural areas access clean water.
According to developmental plans, we need to supply people in rural area with piped water. There are a few people who are using piped water. We also noticed that some people are digging wells along river beds. When they get that water, it appears to be clean but it would not have been purified. It will cause a lot of diseases on the populace. We were informed that the World Bank is in the process of assisting the rural councils to access clean water. Unfortunately, there were no detailed plans on how this system was going to reach the people. No timeline was set for this assistance to come and that a budget is put in place so that people can access safe water.
In all the places where we traveled to, we saw that the councillors were prepared to give us detailed information on the water systems in their areas. We look forward to our Government to allocate more funds to the responsible authorities so that people in rural areas can access clean water. As we know, most of the people in Zimbabwe live in rural areas. We feel that people in rural areas are marginalised because they face a lot of other problems such as poor road infrastructure and poor access to many facilities. It is even stated in our Constitution that access to clean water is a right of every citizen in Zimbabwe. We are looking forward to the ministries responsible for water to look for ways and means of making people access clean water so that people do not suffer from water borne diseases.
In this day and age, people should be accessing water from piped water pumped through electricity or solar power. Some of them can even use diesel engines and others can access purifying chemicals easily.
With those few words, I am grateful to the Chairperson, Hon.
Sen. Makore who is an able leader. I am also grateful to the Hon. Senators who participated in this outreach programme because we made a thorough investigation. If our recommendations are taken, they can lead to good sanitation in rural areas. I thank
HON. SEN. MUSAKA: Thank you Mr. President for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to this report. I would like to thank the Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Sen. Makore and his colleagues. The report is thoroughly thought through, clearly presented and really informative. I thank you Hon. Sen. Makore.
The issue of both rural and urban councils; I think this is where the issue is. It is utter chaos. The issue of money, I do not agree, it is not money- it is total incompetence, deliberate may be in most cases. The type of councilors elected in most of them, in most cases can hardly read and write. They are driven by the Chief Executive of the council, he does everything, they have no knowledge most of them what to do. I will give you an example of my own council in Mhondoro-Ngezi, ward five. There is a council chairman who is hardly literate but he is so much revered, all the councilors gather around him but the Chief Executive acts like he is the boss in distributing money. This is a serious issue. It is sad really for me to say this because for the past 10 years or so, the Ministers also running those Ministries for some reasons or the other, I do not know whether they did not see this problem.
I appeal that I think that there should be a criteria for electing councilors. Whether it is rural or urban, Harare is probably the worst one in terms of the – [HON. SENATORS: Inaudible interjections.] – Yes, Mr. President please protect me. I think people have the right to say….
THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
(HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA): Order, Hon. Sen.
Sinampande.
HON. SEN. MUSAKA: Thank you Mr. President. We should be able to point out where the problems are and talk about them. Imagine Mr. President the amount of money that is being poured. The agencies responsible for water in both rural and urban – I have here environment, and they are also dealing with boreholes. DDF are also dealing with boreholes, rural councils are also dealing with boreholes and United Nations agencies like UNICEF are also dealing with boreholes. Then World Bank, there is so much money there and it is a question of management and organising but the whole thing is chaotically organised including the actual issue that has been mentioned by Hon. Sen. Buka, that of cleanliness.
The location of a toilet and a borehole – if you go to any township and in most of these growth points, it is chaotic. You will find a toilet is here and a small butchery is here. It is not planned and it is just unhygienic. These are the issues that actually whoever is coming in the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and National Housing should be a bit more knowledgeable and must be sensitised that these problems should be looked after. Boreholes in some rural areas have become a campaign tool - you will find that in one village, there are five boreholes and then in the next village there is none. How does this happen? You will hear that UNICEF drilled the borehole here and another organisation wants to drill in the same locality, whereas there should be sufficient distribution of enough boreholes for everybody if the whole thing is scientifically done.
Mr. President, this is an important issue and this report got to the heart of my interests in terms of rural development and cleanliness. I thank you Mr. President.
HON. SEN. MAKORE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MUSAKA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 29th November, 2017.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON
INDIGENISATION AND EMPOWERMENT ON THE
CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING THE NON-
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COMMUNITY SHARE
OWNERSHIP TRUSTS
Fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the First Report of the Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment on the Circumstances surrounding the non-establishment of community share ownership trusts in Mudzi and Mutoko.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MASUKU: I move that the debate do now
adjourn.
HON. SEN. KOMICH: I second.
Motion put and agreed to
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 29th November, 2017.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS ON SDG NO. 3
Sixth Order read: Adjourned debate on the First Report of the Thematic Committee on Sustainable Development Goals on SDG No. 3.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. CHIEF MTSHANE: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MUMVURI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 29th November, 2017.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS
Seventh Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MASUKU: I move that the debate do now
adjourn.
HON. SEN. MUMVURI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 29th November, 2017.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON PEACE AND SECURITY ON THE PREPAREDNESS OF THE GRAIN
MARKETING BOARD TO HANDLE THE 2016/2017 CROP
DELIVERIES AND THE SUCCESS OF THE COMMAND
AGRICULTURE PROGARAMME
Eighth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the First Report of the Thematic Committee on Peace and Security on the preparedness of the Grain Marketing Board to handle the
2016/2017 crop deliveries and success of the Command Agriculture Programme.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MUMVURI: I move that the debate do now
adjourn.
HON. SEN. CHIEF MUSARURWA: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 29th November 2017.
MOTION
REPORT OF THE ZIMBABWE DELEGATION TO THE
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PROMOTING
STAKEHOLDER AND PARLIAMENTARY DIALOGUE ON THE
ARMS TRADE TREATY (ATT)
Ninth Order read: Adjourned debate on Report of the Zimbabwe Delegation to the International Conference on Promoting
Stakeholder and Parliamentary Dialogue on the Arms Trade Treaty.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. MASUKU: I move that the debate do now
adjourn.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday 29th November 2017.
On the motion of HON. SEN. MASUKU seconded by HON. SEN. MAKORE, the House adjourned at One Minute past Four o’clock p.m.