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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY HANSARD 3 OCTOBER 2013 VOL. 40 NO. 8

PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE

Thursday, 3rd October, 2013.

The National Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two o’clock p.m.

PRAYERS

(MR. SPEAKER in the Chair)

ANNOUNCEMENTS BY MR. SPEAKER

VACANCY IN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

  1. SPEAKER: Notification of a vacancy in the membership of

Parliament in terms of Section 39(1) of the Electoral Act Chapter 2 (13);  Section 39(1) of the Electoral Act, Chapter 2(13) provides that, “a vacancy in the membership of Parliament which exists otherwise, than through dissolution of Parliament shall, subject to this Section be notified to the President and the Commission in writing by the Speaker of the National Assembly as soon as possible after the Speaker becomes aware of the vacancy”.

I hereby inform this honourable House of the provisions of the Electoral Act that a vacancy exists in the membership of Parliament in the National Assembly; the seat of Bikita West Constituency.  The vacancy arose by reason of a declaration made on 30th September, 2013 in terms of Section 129 (1) (k) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe by the Secretary for Administration for Zimbabwe African Union Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) political party, that Dr. Munyaradzi Kereke, who was a member of that party at the time of his election, has ceased to be a member and no longer represents the interests of that party in Parliament.

HOUSE ETIQUETTE AND DECORUM

  1. SPEAKER:  I wish to inform the House that Standing Order

Number 54 of the National Assembly states that “at the commencement of business and when the House adjourns, or business is suspended, members shall stand in their places until the Speaker or a member presiding has entered or left the Chamber as the case may be.”  By convention, all members rise from their seats when the President, who is the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces enters or leaves the House.  This is done in deference to the high office he holds.  In this regard, members only rise from their seats in respect of the categories of persons specified above.

Standing Order Number 81 of the National Assembly states that,

“any member who willfully disobeys any lawful order of the House and any member who interrupts the orderly conduct of business in the House shall be guilty of contempt” – [HON MEMBERS: Hear, hear] – I am concerned by the unacceptable behaviour of Members Parliament from the MDC, who rose from their seats when the Leader of the Opposition, Hon T. Khupe entered the Chamber yesterday.  Moreso, Hon. Khupe did not even bow to the Chair – [HON MEMBERS: Shame, shame!] – before she took her seat.  This apparent lack of respect for the Chair and the august House is a flagrant violation of Standing Rules and Orders and will not be tolerated in future without appropriate censure.  It is the

Chair’s hope that such an unfortunate incident will not occur again.  In other words, this is a warning and a serious one for that matter.

SWITCHING OFF OF CELL PHONES

  1. SPEAKER:  May I make this other announcement, hon.

members, do not test the patience of the Chair and the Chair’s accommodation, especially when we advise that members should switch off their cell phones before business commences.  I do not want to see a repeat of what happened yesterday.  I will not make further announcements about switching off cellphones when we next sit.  It must be taken as a Standing Order.

MOTION

PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH:  DEBATE ON ADDRESS

First Order read:  Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.

Question again proposed.

  1. MUDEREDZWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. First and

foremost, I would like to thank you for affording me this opportunity to make a contribution to the Presidential Speech.  I would like to begin by congratulating you Mr. Speaker Sir, for being elected to the highest office of the National Assembly.  May the Almighty God bless you.

Mr. Speaker Sir, I would like to salute the President of the

Republic of Zimbabwe who is also the Commander-In-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, Cde. R.G Mugabe for leading ZANU PF as a team to victory – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections] –

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Order, can we give a chance to the hon. member to debate?  Hon. member can you continue?

  1. MUDEREDZWA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I was

saying, I would like to salute the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe who is also the Commander-In-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces for leading the Team ZANU PF to a resounding victory.  May the Almighty God bless our President in abundance.

I would also like to give praise to all hon. Members of Parliament who managed to come to this august House in one way or the other.  May the Almighty God bless them also.  Madam Speaker, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe gave us a speech which was well loaded with socio-economic challenges and what the Government is going to do to address those challenges.

Madam Speaker Sir, – [HON MEMBERS: Inaudible

interjections]-

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Order hon. members.  Can we have order in the House?  Order!  The hon. member can continue and address the Chair as Madam Speaker Ma’am.

  1. MUDEREDZWA: Madam Speaker Ma’am, I was saying,

the Presidential Speech was well loaded and I would like to make a contribution as a member of Team ZANU PF.  My constituency, Buhera Central is typically rural.  There is no tarred road in this constituency.  I would like to echo sentiments made by Hon. Chinotimba and Hon. Mandipaka to say the road from Murambinda to Birchenough Bridge is in a sorry state.  This road is inaccessible and it is very difficult for business to come to Buhera district.  It is my request Madam Speaker

Ma’am, that this road be tarred as a matter of urgency.  This road also connects Buhera and Chipinge and it is the shortest route to Harare from Chipinge, hence it is also going to benefit people from Chipinge.  At the present moment, they are coming via Mutare or via Masvingo and the distance is too much.

Madam Speaker, the President also talked about the need to improve overall supply of electricity in the whole country.  In Buhera Central Constituency where I come from, Madam Speaker, there is only one school, Nyashanu Mission and one business centre – Masasa, that are electrified.  The rest of the Constituency does not have electricity and I am calling upon the ZANU PF Government to make sure that we address this anomaly by funding ZESA and REA so that they can provide electricity in the rural areas.  This was not possible even in the last Government of convenience.

Madam Speaker, there is need in these two respects for the Government to focus its energy in the rural areas. The rural areas have been neglected over the years by the Government of convenience which was in office. The Minister of Energy, who was in the office during the last Government, did not do anything to my Constituency.  Madam Speaker, I am appealing to the Government to ensure that all rural areas are taken on board, when we compile the budget for the coming year, 2014.

The drought alleviation programme should be pursued with vigour as we approach the farming season this year.  Apart from the maize grain that is being provided, inputs should be speedily provided to the people in the rural areas so that they overcome the dependence on donor support that is taking place at the present moment.  Madam Speaker, Buhera Central Constituency falls under the ecological region 4 and 5, where the area is drought prone and drinking water is a scarce commodity.  Therefore, there is need for the ZANU PF Government to drill boreholes in order to alleviate the shortages water. DDF, if properly funded and supervised, can deliver in this regard.

Madam Speaker, civil servants should be well remunerated because they have stood the taste of time through difficult times and the nation is indebted to them for their resilience and commitment to duty.

My last praise goes to the Security Forces of this great country.  Their continued stance against adversity in safeguarding our sovereignty and independence should be held in high esteem.  The peace that we are enjoying is a product of their dedication to duty.  I wonder where the motion of Security Sector Reform is coming from.  This nation is squarely in safe hands in the area of security.  Therefore Members from the opposite side should go along with us in denouncing sanctions that have caused a lot of suffering to our people.

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank you for giving me this opportunity to make my Maiden Speech.  I thank you.

  1. NDORO: Thank you Madam Speaker for affording me this opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Presidential Speech. I would like to start by congratulating you, the Deputy Speaker and the Speaker, for your election to lead this august House as well as the President of Zimbabwe and team ZANU PF for winning the July 31 harmonised elections resoundingly.

Madam Speaker, the two third majority clinched by ZANU PF means that the revolutionary part can now implement its people orientated policies and programmes without any disturbances from the foreign sponsored opposition parties.  ZANU PF part is now the main party and the foreign sponsored and controlled MDC-T already has one of its legs in the dustbin of this countries’ politics.

Madam Speaker, it is important to note that this country has not witnessed any meaningful development in the last 12 or so years that these foreign sponsored parties have been in existence.  It was the same MDC which approached the United States of America and EU to impose sanctions in this country.

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order, order!

  1. MADZIMURE: On a point of order.

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is your point of order?

MR MADZIMURE: The hon. member is promoting violence by

stating things that are not a fact, which he cannot substantiate in this House.  The MDC is not a sponsored party – [HON. MEMBERS

inaudible interjections]

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, can the hon. Member continue

with his debate.

  1. NDORO: Fortunately, although the sanctions have caused a lot of suffering among the people of Zimbabwe, they failed to break that resilience, that revolutionary spirit among the people, hence the resounding victory by ZANU PF.  The three legged animal called the inclusive government which had some ministers singing foreign tune and opposing the black economic empowerment programme is no more. That being the case, Madam Speaker, we expect the revolutionary

ZANU PF Government, to fulfill the people’s aspirations as enunciated by the President when he officially opened this august House. I am happy that the Government has plans to build 1 000 clinics across the country. In my Constituency, Murehwa West, we have four wards which have no clinics. This is forcing people to travel for more than 20 km to seek medical attention. As a community, we have moulded enough bricks for the four clinics, one in each ward and we are still to approach relevant authorities to seek assistance in the form of building materials.

Madam Speaker, on the issue of roads, the roads are in a bad state and this has forced many transport operators to shun some routes especially the Kadenge-Musani, Chikupo Cross, and Kadenge to Kasino Business Centre. This has also seen people being forced to pay as much as a dollar for a distance or journey of 5 km. We therefore urge the Government to capacitate DDF and the Rural Council so that they will be in a position to grade roads in rural areas. Madam Speaker, it is disturbing to note that foreigners are now the major players in the transport and retail sectors, yet these sectors are reserved for the indigenous black people. We do not need expatriate knowledge or skills in these areas. We therefore, call upon the Government to put in place policies that ensure that only the indigenous people run these sectors. I thank you Madam Speaker. -[HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear]-

MR MUKANDURI: Thank you Madam Speaker, first of all  I would like to congratulate you…

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Can that microphone be put

off?

MR MUKANDURI: Thank you Madam Speaker, first of all I

would like to congratulate you and the Honourable Speaker for assuming those stewardship posts. I would also like to congratulate His

Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe President Robert Gabriel Mugabe for winning the Harmonised Election on 31st July, which were considered to be free, fair and credible. Not only by the people of Zimbabwe, but by the regional body such as the AU, SADC and other friendly countries like China and Russia [Hear, hear]

Madam Speaker on that note, I would like to appeal to other Zimbabwean people to accept the outcome of the July 31st Election as they were free and fair. Coming to the substance of the Presidential

Speech, first of all I would like to say I represent Zaka East in Masvingo Province. It is an area which has been marginalised, it is an area in the periphery. On infrastructure, we have a road that links Chekenyere,

Chitora, Svuure to Jerera which is our growth point. It is really in a poor state, I would really appeal to the revolutionary party’s Government which is in power to look into that problem.

Madam Speaker, we also have a road that links Benzi, Chiredza,

Zibhowa to Jerera which as I have already stated is our growth point. The road is also in a bad state and I do appeal to the Government to look into that problem. We do also have feeder roads that that feed into these trunk roads. We would to appeal to the Government to give DDF or capitalise DDF to do their core business that is to maintain these roads. I now come to the point of health which was raised by His Excellency the President. In Zaka East we have only three clinics, three clinics that service the entire Constituency. They do not have adequate manpower, they do not have enough drugs. In addition to that the residents in the Constituency they will be happy if we have a clinic in every ward, that is to say at least four more health centres in Zaka East Constituency. They are prepared to mould bricks. In Chiromo they have already moulded bricks and they will soon approach the relevant authorities to get the authority to build their own clinic.

Madam Speaker, I would also like to appeal to the Minister of Health to look into the staffing of these clinics because they are very few nurses in those clinics. They are over worked and as human beings they will tend to be tired and they will not do their job efficiently.

I come to the issue of water, Zaka East is in region 5 and 6 according to the ecological regions of Zimbabwe, it is a very dry area. There is not enough water for drinking. I need to say the Constituency requires boreholes in almost every ward so that people have water to drink as well as for any other purpose. I therefore, implore the relevant authorities to look into this.

In connection with agriculture, as I have mention Zaka East is in region 5 it is prone to drought. We have persistent drought year in year out. So I would appeal to the relevant authorities especially the Ministry of Agriculture to use their extension officers to concientise the people of Zaka East that they should plant  drought resistant crops rather than give them maize seeds which do not do well in that region since year in, year out we have drought in Zaka East. Also to have irrigation projects, we have one of the biggest dams by the name of Manjirenji. Some of the people of Zaka East were displaced to make way for Manjirenji Dam but they see the water flowing along Chiredzi River into the dam and it goes to Mkwasine then Hippo Valley. They have no access to that water from that water body. I would definitely and sincerely appeal to the Minister of Agriculture Irrigation Services to look into that problem. They want to utilise that water and they also want to benefit from that water from Manjirenji Dam because they are the people who are abiding, but at the end of the day, they are not benefiting from that water body.

Madam Speaker, I come to the issue of power, Zaka East Constituency has 18 primary and secondary schools.   Apparently, we have two secondary schools and these are Surure, Muzinda but Benzi of late was connected to the national grid.  These schools have no electricity Madam Speaker. They cannot use computers and I do appeal to the Minister of Energy and Power Development to give authority to

REA so that these schools can be connected to the national grid.

I come to the issue of corruption which was raised by His Excellency the President.  Madam Speaker, corruption is a societal evil which knows no boundary.  In my constituency, people struggle to get relevant documents like birth certificates.

An hon. member having passed between the Chair and the hon.

Member speaking.

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, hon. member, you cannot

cross the line between the Speaker and the Chair.

         MR MUKANDURI:  Thank you Madam Speaker, I was

deliberating on the issue of corruption.  I was saying corruption is a societal evil which should be fought by all people.  In my constituency, people struggle to get documents like birth certificates and national identity cards from the relevant departments.  There is too much red tape/bureaucracy. People should be sympathetic to the community they serve.  I honestly and sincerely appeal to the Minister of Home Affairs, who supervises this department to look into the issue.

The President did comment on the work done by our security forces. The security forces in this country are doing a tremendous job and yet some people try to trivialise them.  They are human beings who have human rights and if they say you are a security threat, they are making a military statement.

A few years ago, we had a problem where they foiled a coup that was supposed to be carried out in Equatorial Guinea and it was done by our security forces here.  That group was led by Simon Mann; if I am not mistaken, I think he is a British citizen.  Britain is involved in quiet a number of areas, for example, in Kenya we read in the newspapers that the same British people, Samantha Lewthwaite, masterminded the attack in Westgate where human beings were killed, property was destroyed.  In Zimbabwe, we should by and large, commend the good job done by

our security forces.

We are here, we go home after work and sleep, knowing that we have peace in this country.  So we should commend our security forces

for that.

Lastly, Madam Speaker, I come to the issue of civil service, they are a resilient force. They are working under very difficult conditions but their remuneration at the end of the day is very poor.  I was glad to hear the President saying that the ZANU PF Government is going to look into their welfare and remuneration packages.

An hon. member having passed between the Chair and the hon. Member speaking.

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, hon. member, you cannot

cross the line between the Speaker and the Chair.

MR MUKANDURI:  Thank you Madam Speaker, I was just

concluding my debate.  I was just saying the Executive should look into the problem of our civil servants. These are people who have no other businesses apart from Government work.  They wake up every day, go to work all day and that is the only potential that they have.   I would recommend that they be given salaries at least above the poverty datum line.  I do not know the figure but at least they should be given a figure which is above the poverty datum line.

I would like to thank you for affording me this opportunity to contribute to this debate.

*MRS CHIKUNI:  Thank you Madam Speaker for giving me this opportunity to speak on this motion.  I also want to congratulate you for being elected to the position of Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.  I want to congratulate His Excellency Cde.  Robert Mugabe for a resounding victory in the 31st July, 2013 elections and we are proud of that in both rural and urban areas.  We are very much assured of his capable leadership.  Not only is he an icon in Zimbabwe, he is also an icon in other African countries, and they depend on him for guidance.

I want to congratulate the people of Zimbabwe for voting peacefully, especially in these elections where the Constitution aimed at increasing the number of women parliamentarians.  That is why we now have many women legislators in Parliament.  I want to congratulate the people of Zimbabwe for the peaceful job done from the time of the

Referendum to the elections.  I want to support what was said by His

Excellency when he was opening this Session, when he was talking about agriculture.  He said agriculture is the mainstay of the economy of Zimbabwe and therefore agriculture should be supported in the rural areas.

When I look at my area Chimanimani West and East, Western Chimanimani is a constituency with all the ecological regions. However, in regions 3, 4 and 5, there is untold hunger within the communities.  In these regions, during the last rainy season, there was a lot of rainfall during the start of the rainy season, but it did not last for the rest of the cropping season.  These areas include Mhandarume, Chakohwa, Nyanyadzi and so on.

Madam Speaker, the President also discussed the distribution of seed in rural areas.  As far as we are concerned, we do not have an equitable distribution of seed to assist all the people.  As suggested by His Excellency, it is important for the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) to be given seed so that they sell it at an affordable price to the ordinary people in the rural areas.  Fertilizers and all the types of seeds needed by local farmers for their ecological regions should also be affordable and accessible. This should be in such a way that, farmers are able to buy these inputs in time for the farming season.  Within the agricultural sector, you will note that there is now climate change.  Many people in my constituency are now practicing what we call dhiga ugute, yekuchera makomba tichizoradzika uswa.  It is a plausible process, but, you will note that the people who are using this method of conservation are cutting grass causing shortage of fodder for the cattle.  Therefore, these people should be helped to assess how much grass they should cut for this process so that the pastures remain adequate for the cattle.

Madam Speaker, when we talk of agriculture, we also talk of the conservation, especially in areas such as Cashel Valley.  People are not conserving the natural resources as they should be.  The best way is to educate the Chiefs and the Headmen so that they do not allocate people stands and farms in areas of marshlands and slopes so that we conserve the natural resources and preserve it from problems such as soil erosion.

Madam Speaker, I will now talk about health.  Many people have come out in the open concerning their status on HIV and AIDS.

Sometimes they live in fear because of lack of HIV and AIDS drugs. We urge the Government to keep in stock a lot of these drugs because many people have been affected by this virus.  Some of these people have been afraid to come out in the open about their status because of stigmatisation.  We need to increase drugs to these people so that those people who have come out into the open, admitting that they are living with the HIV and AIDS virus are given assistance so that they can live a normal life and be able to fend for their families.

Madam Speaker, still under health issues, in my constituency, there is a clinic which was built in 2011 and is still not complete.  The amount which has been allocated from the Constituency Development Fund for the construction of that clinic was not enough to complete the project.  I appeal to local authorities to put more funds into the construction project of the clinic so that it is completed for the benefit of the community.  I also plead with the powers that be, to increase the manpower at these health institutions because at the moment, they are overworked.

         Madam Speaker, I will now talk about the workforce of Zimbabwe.  Zimbabweans are naturally hard workers and their salaries should be commensurate with their work.  In his speech, His Excellency, President Robert Mugabe promised that he looks forward to an increment of workers’ salaries to acceptable levels.  The President also talked about the welfare of the workers.  We hope that ministries responsible for the workers’ welfare and salaries will implement what was suggested by His Excellency.

In most cases, these workers are not able to fully give the assistance expected of them because of poor remuneration and welfare.  As a parent, one looks forward to taking their child to a better school than the one they would have attended for a better education, especially boarding schools.  This is the parents’ ambition, but when the salaries are low they cannot afford boarding school fees.  I thank you Madam Speaker for giving me this opportunity.

  1. MACKENZIE: Thank you Madam Speaker.  I rise to join other hon. members who have contributed to the Presidential Speech delivered to this august House on the 17th September, 2013.  First and foremost, I want to start off by congratulating our revolutionary party ZANU PF and all the hon. members from ZANU PF for resoundingly hammering our opponents in the 2013 harmonised elections.  These elections taught our opponents a lesson.  Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate our visionary, inspirational and revolutionary leader,

President. Robert Gabriel Mugabe…

Hon. Cross having been reading a novel during debate.

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!  Hon. Cross is reading a novel, can you please stand up and I will send the Sergeant-At-Arms to escort you so that you read the novel outside this House.

Sergeant-At-Arms escorts Hon. Cross outside the House.

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. member, you can resume your

debate. [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Order, hon. members.  Hon.

Mackenzie you can resume your debate.

  1. MACKENZIE: Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate our visionary, inspirational and revolutionary leader, President Robert Gabriel Mugabe for comprehensively routing Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai for the third consecutive time since the formation of the MDC party. Madam Speaker, the appointment of the Speaker of this House and his team is indeed a pleasure to me and the people of my constituency. It is an appointment which we will cherish for a very long time.  I want to thank the party for giving me this honour.  I want to also thank the people of Zimbabwe for the political maturity exhibited before, during and after the elections.

Madam Speaker, I want to give a special thanks to the people of Kariba, my beloved constituency for re-electing me for the second time after having elected me to represent them from 2000 to 2005.  I want to applaud the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU) and all the progressive organisations that came to observe and monitor the elections and declaring the elections free, fair, peaceful and credible.  Madam Speaker, last but not least, I want to congratulate the newly appointed Cabinet and thank the President once again for the wise selection of the Cabinet.  The Cabinet has wisdom, knowledge and energy to lead us in our endeavour to achieve what is outlined in the manifesto as is clearly enunciated by His Excellency in his Address.

Madam Speaker, Kariba Constituency is endowed with abundant natural resources, yet it is the most underdeveloped in Zimbabwe.  There are virtually no roads in Nyami-Nyami resulting in critical shortage of public transport.  Sound transport infrastructure is crucial in national development activities.  No investment will take place where there are no roads.  Qualified personnel will not be attracted to go where there are no roads.  Drought relief and agricultural inputs cannot be delivered where there are no roads and the abundant natural resources cannot be tapped where there are no roads.  Madam Speaker, the roads in the rural parts of Kariba Constituency were last graded in 2006.  I am urging Government to urgently consider upgrading and tarring the Karoi - Binga road, Siakobvu -  Bumi Hills road and the Makande to Kariba road.  The Karoi - Binga road is a very strategic road that will contribute significantly to the economic development of our country.

Sound investment in various economic sectors in Kariba is held back by the poor road network.  The Karoi-Binga road would reduce the distance from Kariba to Victoria Falls by half.  Tourism, fisheries and mining industries will be boosted by the upgrading of this road, linking Kariba and Victoria Falls.

Madam Speaker, the greater part of Kariba Constituency lies in ecological region 4 and 5.  Perennial hunger and starvation have gone on for a very long time without receiving attention.  As I am speaking, Madam Speaker, families are starving and have resorted to living on wild fruits.  Madam Speaker, I am urging Government to deliver food to Kariba Constituency as a matter of urgency.

As a long term measure to mitigate the risk caused by drought and perennial hunger, Government should set up massive irrigation schemes in Kariba to produce the much needed food.  We have abundant water from Lake Kariba, which is not utilised for irrigation agriculture.  Our people are just 40km to 50km from the lake.  Madam Speaker, the call for increase in agricultural production is a welcome move.  In order for the production of maize to be viable the price of fertiliser should be reviewed.

Madam Speaker, it remains very unfair that Kariba produces electricity that is used to drive the industry in other parts of Zimbabwe and to service people as far as Mutare and Masvingo while we the people of Kariba, after having been removed from the Zambezi river to give way for the construction of the dam for the much needed electricity, are still waiting for a chance to use that electricity.  The industrial hub of Nyaminyami District is at Chalala and the hotels along the lake shore are using generators for electricity.  We need electricity to light our homes and to start some home based industries.  Government should take electricity to areas under Chief Mola, Chief Negande and to all the fishery industries along the lake shore.

On health matters, Madam Speaker, Government should deploy doctors to rural district hospitals.  Siakobvu Hospital urgently needs a resident doctor and surgical equipment.  Currently, referral centres for the sick people from Siakobvu Hospital are Karoi and Gokwe Hospitals, which are more than 200km away.  With the nature of our roads many people have lost their lives in transit to referral centres.  We urgently need a resident doctor at Siakobvu.

Madam Speaker, on the conservation of natural resources, the Campfire Programme, one of the first indigenisation and economic empowerment programmes in Zimbabwe, is no longer viable.  It has been seriously affected by the high rate of poaching.  Binga,

Nyaminyami and Hurungwe, going as far as Mbire, used to earn a lot of revenue from the Campfire Programme and now because of the high rate of poaching the councils in those areas are struggling to make ends meet.

Madam Speaker, Government should come up with stern measures to protect local manufacturing industries.  While I agree that as a country we need investors from outside.  I think we have relaxed our laws to a level where we have allowed outsiders to come and invest in some areas where our local people can invest without outsiders.  I am really disturbed to see the Chinese investing in brick moulding; coming all the way from China to invest in brick moulding.  This is a basic production area, which must be preserved for our Zimbabweans.

Madam Speaker, the major economic activity in Kariba is kapenta fishing.  I am really hurt by what is happening in the kapenta fishing industry.  The influx of kapenta from Mozambique, which is coming into the country duty free and is sold at US$2 per kilogram, has badly affected the production of local kapenta.  Why should we as a country allow kapenta from Mozambique when we can produce our own kapenta?  I am calling for the Government to immediately stop the influx of kapenta from Mozambique and to promote the local product.  Currently our kapenta fish has no taker, while National Parks is calling for the payment of fishing permits from our operators.  Unfortunately, they cannot afford to make the payments.  Sometimes the operators have asked National Parks to pay them by giving them kapenta instead of cash because cash is hard to come by.

Madam Speaker, turning to education, Kariba Constituency does not have a single boarding primary or secondary school.  Our secondary school going children normally attend secondary schools some distance away from Kariba.  I think at the moment, we have more than 500 children from Kariba attending boarding schools outside Kariba.  Some children are forced to squatter far away from their parents in order to attend their secondary education.  I am urging Government and private players to consider the plight of our people in Kariba and to come and invest in the education sector.

Kariba Constituency comprises of both urban and rural parts of Kariba.  The major challenge facing the urban part of my constituency is the shortage of land for residential, industrial and commercial stands.  Government should consider allocating more state land to the municipality of Kariba.  Madam Speaker, I thank you.

*MS. MAHOKA: Thank you Madam Speaker, I want to give

thanks and respect by congratulating you for being elected to the post you now hold and also congratulate the President R. G. Mugabe on his resounding victory.

I want to debate on the Speech that was delivered by the President on the day he opened this session of Parliament. I want to put more emphasis on the issue of electricity that was mentioned by the President.  We have a big challenge that calls for urgent Government attention because without electricity, there will be slow development. This challenge needs a deeper scrutiny because it was destroyed by Hon. Mangoma who had been in charge. He destroyed it so much that it now needs the Government to revisit the electricity supplies problem so that electricity can be available once more in many areas both in towns and in the rural areas.

In my constituency, there are many farmers who want to irrigate especially tobacco this time of the year. However, farmers are failing to irrigate the tobacco because electricity is a big problem to them.

We are also of the opinion that prepaid electricity should be in towns only and not in the farms because this facility does not assist us as farmers. Many farmers are not happy because of this electricity supply facility. The electricity will not suffice us because we will need to irrigate so that this country can develop.

I want to say, the office bearers who were put in place by the dealers who were there should be looked into, because we may assume that we have genuine workers of the Government, whereas those may be dealers who were given those offices. We want workers of the Government who can work for an impressive Government, because the people, who put this Government in power, are expecting best service that is commensurate with the expectations of the best Government that they have put in place which is led by ZANU PF.

We are of the opinion that every office should be vetted because what is happening to the electricity supply services is not very impressing to us. There is need for the Government to urgently look into what is happening there. We cannot say there is no money for improving the electricity supply service whilst people are paying for their bills the way they are doing. The money that is being paid by the people is too much but what that money is doing for us is not evident.

Therefore, farmers have got a lot of problems, with the electricity supply services and there should be an urgent inquiry into the issue of electricity supplies, so that dealers can be taken out of office and genuine Government employees should take over and do their duties expeditiously because people are expecting services from us.

The President spoke about agriculture, because he can actually envision that agriculture is the backbone to the development of this country. All other endevours can be pursued also but farming can develop this country, Zimbabwe. That wealth of this country lies in agriculture. The challenge that we have in agriculture now requires the

Government to urgently see that the money that was being held onto, by Hon. Biti when the President had said money should be disbursed to the farmers, holding onto it like it was his money, whereas it was

Government finance, we want the Hon. Minister who is now in charge, to make sure that the Ministry of Agriculture is allocated enough money for farming.

It does not help us as a country to import maize produced by fellow black people like us from other countries, when we are able to fill our granaries. In my constituency, Hurungwe East, they can fill the granaries if they can get enough money for farming. There are others also who, when given money for agricultural activities, use it for marrying wives and buying posh cars.

We are saying, those people must be arrested. The Government must follow-up on those people and arrest them. They should not squander Government funds.  Government funds should be given to people who want to use it profitably in farming because if we say for example, A1s only, it can actually fill our granaries if we allocate them enough resources. Even if they can invest in two hectares; one for personal consumption and the other hectare for sale, those two hectares can be sufficient for feeding the whole country because all the years since 1980, the silos in this country used to be filled until the time this other animal came. That is the one that has made our production trends drop since 2002 and especially in 2008. Everything went down and the Ministry of Agriculture became lowly esteemed because, there are lazy people who do not want to do farming. They just wait to be fed and if they are given Government funds, they plan to marry. When they are given state funds for farming, they decide to buy cars – [HON. MEMBERS: Applauding] – and if they are given farm implements, they park them at their houses in urban areas, keeping them idle.

Those in the communal areas or those in A1 and A2 farms, need those implements urgently together with the money that suffice for their farming needs for them to produce abundantly.

The Government should also be alert when people are given money for farming. Banks should not put too many laws because time will be going for the farmer when the banks will be telling the farmer to bring this and that whilst it is very evident that the person is a farmer. Like right now, time is not on our side.  It is moving and Government should quickly see to it that when money is allocated to the banks for farmers, banks should consider the farmer as a farmer, issue out money and then the farmer should also know that this Government fund from the bank should be paid back, it is not just for spending. People should take these loans knowing that it will have to be repaid so that we can continue with farming because to us, farming is the life source of this country.

So, we wish that this Government should urgently shift its attention to agriculture. Let us not talk too much about death notices; we should act because the people back home, now need more action and the silos should be filled. It does not help us importing maize grain from other countries while we can fill our silos. That money should be given to us. If you deliver your maize grain to the Grain Marketing Board this week, the payment should also come forthwith because people chose the Government that impresses them. For many years past, the Government has been delivering the best service to them and 2008, that is when things derailed.

People now know that a ZANU PF Government represents them so, they reinstated it. The Government should therefore urgently give people funds for farming as well as enough inputs. The inputs should not be too little. The soils that we now have, have been overused and now need enough fertilizers per hectare. If we can be given six Ammonium Nitrate (AN) bags and six for Compound D, and the people actually use that appropriately in one hectare, we should produce the expected output, six to seven tonnes per hectare. One can get much money from the GMB, which can sustain family when you receive that money on time.

In Hurungwe East, there is the problem that there are people who bought fertilisers in 2009 and they are asking the Government to followup on the fertilisers so that, the fertilisers can go to the relevant farmers. Other people who sold their maize grain did not get their money also from the GMB. The Government should consider that these people who sold their grain to the GMB in 2009 get their money urgently because people sold their grain to the GMB and it did not work. The Government should quickly make sure that these people get their money back on time. We shall fill these silos if we are given enough funding.

Let me digress to the issue of health that the President spoke about. In Hurungwe East, we have the challenge of hospitals. Hospitals are there but there are no medicines, (there are no medicines) especially for those HIV/AIDS patients. There is a big challenge and I think the Government needs to expeditiously look into the issue of availing the

HIV drug. You also find that the clinics are not within accessible reach. People travel 10-15 km. I am urging the Government to ensure that the hospitals are built and are made accessible to the people. Government should ensure that the nurses are adequately remunerated, so that they can take their children to boarding schools and that they can also get food for their children. Civil Servants will be able to treat us well if the Government is remunerating them well. The issue of hospitals and medication should be looked into.

On the issue of roads, the road network in the rural areas especially in Hurungwe East, is not accessible at all. Such roads like Chirairo and Marere network needs the Government to move in with speed. We may do good farming, but, we cannot take that grain to the GMB because the roads are not accessible. We have two bridges that were washed away. We used logs and stones to try and build up the bridges. The

Government needs to ensure that they repair these bridges to ensure that the farmers do not face challenges when delivering their produce to the GMB.

Even to travel to the hospital, it is difficult because for someone to get into a scotch-cart to go to the hospital, the road network is bad. So the Government needs to move with speed to address this issue. I think the issue of tollgates, that we are paying; those who pay tollgate fees are the people from rural areas. You find that their tollgates are only found on main roads. I do not think that the main roads are where most people live. Where we come from, the Government needs to ensure that the roads in the rural areas are constructed to ensure that there is a smooth road network.

When allocating tenders to those people who are constructing the roads, we are requesting that the Government should not just avail these tenders to anyone, but, to the experts who will ensure that they construct roads that will have a long life span. Today, you find that some of the roads that have been constructed, they have patches here and there because they are of poor quality. We want experts to do the work and this should be the same in rural areas. On the issue of Constituency Development Fund (CDF) that was mentioned by the President, it is meant for the people and Government needs to seriously look into this. This money should be availed to the people as soon as possible because these are the funds that can ensure development in a constituency.

If it is availed to the Members of Parliament, they know the problems and the challenges in their constituencies. This money should be used in line with the developments needed in the area. Then there is the issue of having mercy on Members of Parliament who abused this money. These people should be brought to book. They should be imprisoned so that they know that Government funds cannot be abused.

I do not think that this is something that we should uphold, we should condemn that. I think the Government has the records. All those people, if they did not know that it was Government money, once they are in prison, they will be able to know that they used Government money.

If they do not want to go to prison, they should pay back the money to the Government. So, we cannot just say it is water under the bridge. The people whom we represent want to see the action that we are going to take. On the issue of the Ministry of Gender, I was thinking that the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development would need a community center in every ward in each constituency. The constituents will assist us because anything that comes into the ward, the

Member of Parliament and the Councillor can address these issues. Everyone in the ward can go to the ward centre, if it comes to the distribution of certain things and they can actually travel to the wards.

The Government will know that this ward has so many disabled people and so many women in the constituency because the ward centres mainly assist the women and the children who face the most challenges.

So these ward centres will assist us. The Government needs to look into the issue of setting up these ward centres so that women and youths can be assisted in various areas. Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to thank the majority of the people in Zimbabwe for electing me to represent them in Hurungwe East. I also want to thank the nation for electing the President to be the Head of State. I think even my colleagues will agree with me that His Excellency, is the President of the nation, who should hold the post of President until his death.

I was talking to one of them in the afternoon and they are all satisfied with the way the President rules this country. They are even happy about it in their own party. They are saying even if the President stands for ZANU PF, he is also representing us because they know that he is a father figure with good standing and condemns corruption. The President has dignity and so he should lead the country. He is a President for the whole country and the whole world. Wherever he goes, or in any country he goes to, all people respect him. I thank you Mr.

Speaker.

*MR. MUSANHI: I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to say a few things that I have observed. I am not going to repeat what others have said.

  1. SPEAKER: In terms of our Standing Rules and Orders the hon member cannot debate twice on the Presidential Address unless if the Chair is so ill advised.

*MR. MUSANHI: Mr. Speaker Sir, yes I debated the Speech but I

have omissions that I realised and I just want to add to.

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR HARARE

METROPOLITAN: I move that the debate do now adjourn.

Motion put and agreed to.

Debate to resume: Tuesday, 15th October, 2013

MOTION

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR HARARE METROPOLITAN: I

move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 2 to 4 be stood over until Order of the Day, Number 5 has been disposed of.

Motion put and agreed to.

MOTION

ATTACK ON THE WESTGATE MALL IN NAIROBI

Fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the terrorist attacks on the Westgate Shopping Mall in Kenya.

Question again proposed.

  1. MUKANDURI: I would like to thank the mover of this motion Hon. G. Moyo. This is a very important issue concerning Africa. The terrorist attack on the 21st of September 2013 at Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi is a very cruel, heinous and barbaric act which happened in Kenya on the African soil. It should be condemned in all forms.

Human life is sacrosanct but we should not lose focus on what happened in Kenya. Certain countries and organisations should not take advantage of the bad things that happened in Kenya. From the media, we understand they are now heroes due to the fact that people lost their lives and there was property which was destroyed. We should not lose focus on what happened in Kenya.

I was reading the British Telegraph. They were saying there was an ex-British Marine, an ex-soldier in United Kingdom. This guy is now being taken as a hero. They say that he saved more than hundred people. How could they count the victims in such a situation and arrive at that number because there were people who were under the rubble and I presume there are people who are still trapped under that rubble. The media being the media as it is, are taking that ex-royal marine soldier. They are not counting the loss of the people who died or people who were maimed in the terrorist attack in Nairobi, Kenya.

In Kenya, they have Abdul/Haji, a businessman; who is now being paraded as a hero because he saved an American national.  Hajji had gone to Westgate, why?  Because according to press reports, he had a brother – I think who is serving in one of the security arms departments of the State.  He had gone to rescue his brother because his brother had sent him a message to say, ‘Brother Hajji, I am trapped here.  There has been a terrorist attack’.

Yet, this officer, if he is an officer of the State, should have reported the matter to his superiors so that the responsible organ would take immediate action to go and rescue the people who were trapped, maimed or killed at the Westgate terrorist attack.  I am saying, we should not lose focus because human life is sacrosanct.

The United Nations Declaration of 1948 says, ‘Human rights are important and fundamental’, - regardless of whether you are a black man or white man; you are treated equally because we all have blood.  Unfortunately, in Kenya, they are not in charge or in control of the operation.  The so called experts from other countries have taken charge, they say they have the know-how and yet this is a Kenyan incident.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has set-up a Commission where we expect this so-called ex-marine, whose picture is not even being shown for some unknown reasons, who was armed in Kenya to testify.  A foreign ex-soldier moving about in another country whilst he is armed. Honestly, we should try to put our house in order on the African continent because we allow foreign countries to carry weapons.  This incident will be taken advantage of by hostile organisations such as MOSSAD and try to create destabilisation in other countries because of the Kenyan incident.

So, we are saying, whilst we share and pass our condolences – foreigners should leave Kenya and the Kenyan people should be in charge of the operation.  Whilst this thing happened, the Kenyan people should also have laws, even here as Zimbabwe – should have very clear laws on guns.  Who is supposed to carry a gun, where; when and why? – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear] -  Reading on the Internet, I am told that there was a certain man, Mr. Raju, who was in a bank at the Westgate shopping mall.  He sent a message to his colleagues, who are members of the Kenyan gun squad saying, ‘What happened at Westgate is not a robbery.  Can you please come to my rescue in dozens’.  Yet, Kenya is a State with State machinery; these people have guns in Kenya.

What does the law say in Kenya?

We appeal to our brothers in Kenya and say, ‘Put your house in order’.  Guns should be kept in barracks, in secure places and not in places like Westgate.  We also want to know how many people were killed in this terrorist attack because the Kenyan Government is mum today they say this figure; tomorrow they say that figure.  How many people/terrorists were killed?  How many terrorists escaped?  It is very vital for us as Africans because we should also say, ‘This happened in Kenya, where did these people go?’.   Maybe next time, as one of my colleagues said yesterday, ‘No country is immune from these terrorist attacks’, because they are barbaric.  They do things that we can never foresee.

I would like also to say to the Western powers that they should not put blame squarely on Kenya because in the press they were saying, ‘we had fore-warned Kenya; we had fore-warned South Africa to say there is this lady of British origin who is believed to have master-minded the planning and execution of this operation.  So, terrorists come from all over the world.’  This is a British national, some of them and in particular this lady is a terrorist.  If anything happens on the African continent – blame should not be given to the Government.

A few years ago, we had Cholera in Zimbabwe and because of that incident, the Western powers said that they wanted to come and attack.  Terrorism should be defined in two categories – there are individual actors who are terrorists but there are also State actors who promote terrorism, if you go and kill innocent people -[HON. MEMBERS: Hear,

hear] -

Mr. Speaker Sir, I am saying, we share and are concerned with what happened in Kenya but we appeal to our Kenyan brothers to be in charge of that operation.  They might bring in experts with the knowhow but over and above that, they should be in charge and inform their

African brothers.  Kenya has a national security, “the National

Intelligence Service (NIS)”, they work together with SISA. This is a regional African intelligence organisation which Zimbabwe currently chairs.  They should share information and intelligence to say, ‘We suspect these terrorists boarded planes and may have gone to the south or so forth.  Please be on the lookout’.

In summary, I share the concerns of the mover of this motion.  I honestly and sincerely say that we should send our condolences to the bereaved families of those people who were killed in Kenya and the relatives of the people who were injured in this callous, brutal and evil terrorist attack that happened in Westgate close to two weeks now.   Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir.

  1. MATANGIRA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I stand to concur with the mover of the motion that as Africans, we have to stand together in times of catastrophy that claim peoples’ lives.

*I just want to say that we should mourn as a continent because in

Africa, we are one …

*MR. SPEAKER:  Order, order.  Hon. member, we agreed to use one language per delivery. So it is either you speak in English, Shona, or any vernacular that you choose.  Please carry on.

*MR. MATANGIRA:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  We are all black people, and whatever befalls us, we should mourn together.  We want to support the mover of the motion who feels that we should send our condolences to the people of Kenya who lost their loved ones in the terrorist attack that happened at the Westgate Shopping Mall, in Nairobi, Kenya; claiming lives of women and children in that catastrophe.

I wanted to add my voice in this august House that the issue of terrorism, we say, when we want to comfort people, we say God has allowed this catastrophe to happen but we will find that the person who has done this is not named.  For us to talk of the Al-Shabaab and AlQuaeda as terrorists that they are bad people and here in Zimbabwe we also have our own people who may be termed terrorists who are equally bad.  Why can we not just pass our condolences to Kenya for their loss at the Westgate Mall?

Before I came to the House this Afternoon, I read a paper where the

President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta was saying that the Government in Somalia should put its house in order.  Those in Somalia were also encouraging the Kenyans to evacuate their soldiers from Somalia.

It should be clear to this House that borders may create enmity which may lead countries to go to war. If I look at Zimbabwe, we have a Manicaland Province and then if I go to Mozambique you will find that there is also a Manicaland Province.  If Mozambicans claim that the boundary of their Manica Province is at our current Marondera District, a war may erupt because of the expansionist policy.  Kenya is doing a good service in Somalia in maintaining peace and order, and it is in line with the duty that it was assigned to do by the Africa Peace Keeping Force.

Now the Somalians are saying that Kenya should evacuate because we are the same people and the boundary was brought in by the white people, which is dividing the people of Kenya and Somalia.  It is my request in this House that we should send our condolence messages because those who moved this motion are black like us.  But, those that opposed moved the motion, if we look into it, we will find that they are the mouthpiece of those who have caused these problems.

If you look at Somalia, you will not know whether those who came to bomb the Westgate Mall, were sent by America because the person who won the elections in Kenya was Uhuru Kenyatta who is not friendly to the British and the Americans.  Surely, we do mourn the people of Kenya, but, at the same time God said that before you remove the small fragment in someone’s eye, first of all, remove the log that is in your own eye.  What this actually means is, you should first clean your house before you clean the church.  You should make peace with your own people, before you go and make peace with those who are not part of you.

I think that in this august House, we should write a letter to the U.S. Embassy that ZIDERA, I do not know what ZIDERA means but I believe that it is about imposing sanctions against Zimbabwe. So, we are supposed to agree in this House that we need to tell the people of the United States, Australia and Britain through their embassies to remove the sanctions.  There is hunger here in Zimbabwe and people are dying.  This is not because the people of Zimbabwe are lazy but it is because they have no money to fund agricultural projects.

Let us mourn with the people of Kenya.  Let us praise ourselves because we are able and that is why there was a call for the security sector reform.  We should do things the African way.  The security of the people should be of top priority.  The defence forces and the ZRP are working as per expectations; they are okay as they are.

I will conclude by encouraging members of this august House to debate motions which have been introduced into this House in a progressive manner.  The debate should not degenerate into a circus contrary to the motion raised.  I thank you Mr. Speaker.

  1.           MUSANHI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  The subject

that we are discussing here is a very sensitive one.

Mr. Speaker Sir, these terrorist groups are ruthless and we do not want our country to end up being involved in something that we do not know.  Mr. Speaker Sir, Zimbabwe is for Zimbabweans and if you are breaking the laws of our country, you must be held accountable for it.  Whilst we share the grief of the people who died in Kenya, it should just end on that point that we are sorry for what happened in your country.  For us to start playing the blame game for things that we do not know how they came about will not help us.

For us to go on a rampage and say as this august House we are blaming the groups that attacked the Westgate Mall in Kenya, it will not do us any good.  Mr. Speaker Sir, we should learn from lessons that happened yesteryear in our country when Zimbabwe was trying to help our neighbour Mozambique. Do not forget that the war ended up involving us in Zimbabwe, people being massacred in the North Eastern part of our country and quite a number of lives were lost because of that war. I come from the North Eastern border, in Rushinga, that is where my home is and I know of a few people that were killed because of that war.

Mr. Speaker Sir, I concur with Hon. Matangira who has said Kenyans should deal with their own business and should defend their own country, not for us Zimbabweans to make a voice for them. We know we are Africans but –

  1. SPEAKER: Order! I thought you stood up to support the motion.
  2. MUSANHI: I am supporting to pay our condolences to the people of Kenya that have been killed but I am not supporting the motion as it was raised.

Mr. Speaker, like Hon. Matangira said, the movers of this motion are not trustworthy people – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible

interjections.]. 

  1. SPEAKER: Order! Can the hon. member repeat what he

said?

  1. MUSANHI: I repeat to say we should send our condolences to the dead people of Kenya. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections]. We cannot –
  2. SPEAKER: Hon. member, do you withdraw what you said

earlier on?

  1. MUSANHI: Withdrawn Mr. Speaker Sir.
  2. SPEAKER: Thank you. Carry on.
  3. MUSANHI: In conclusion Mr. Speaker, I would like to urge all Zimbabweans to try and be united in whatever we are doing so that we do one thing as a country and not look at the person who has moved a motion and condemn the motion.
  4. A. NDHLOVU: I would like to add my voice to this motion moved by Dr. G. Moyo and thank him for denouncing such devilish acts of terrorism done or perpetrated by the detractors of Kenya on the 21st

September, 2013 at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi.

Mr. Speaker Sir, the right to life is a universal human right as clearly outlined by the 1948 United Nations Declaration on the rights of all human beings and as such, it must be respected and no single person can butcher people, whether they are innocent or guilty. Everyone has a right to life. I therefore condemn this act of terrorism in the strongest possible terms and I say to the victims, rest in eternal peace. I extend my condolences to the victims’ families and solidarity to the people of Kenya as they are our brothers and sisters.

Terrorism is a type of war just like what some people refer to as restrictive measures in fear of calling them what they are, sanctions. Sanctions and terrorism are weapons of imperialism and they need to be denounced and should never be tolerated at all cost – [HON.

MEMBERS: Hear, hear.]. As we all may be aware, the major victims of conflict are women and the children.

Conflict is fertile ground for neo-colonialism. The act which happened in Kenya, Mr. Speaker Sir, clearly indicates that none of us as

Africans are safe. All of us are under siege from neo-colonialism. We all know the work done by economic hit-man. We all know, Mr. Speaker

Sir, as the previous speaker mentioned that the imperialists’ preferred candidate did not make it. We all know that Raila Odinga was the preferred candidate and therefore, these are efforts to destabilise

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Government and they should be denounced – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.].

Mr. Speaker Sir, allow me to say that as a country, and as a region, we need to be on guard and ensure that our security is on course and watch out for any such type of terrorist attacks. September, Mr. Speaker Sir, seems to be the month for terrorism, whether here or in the Americas where some of these terrorist attacks emanate from. So we need to be very alert.

Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to urge President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Government to stay focused and not be moved by such efforts to destabilise his country, which efforts I will suspect were actually –a case study which the imperialists want to repeat in SADC and we know exactly where the imperialists are targeting. All of us need to be united in denouncing such activities because terrorism does not discriminate. It does not matter who you are. It does not matter if you are aligned to the people who are bringing that terrorism to you or not. All of us are vulnerable and as such, we must be united and denounce such acts.

As I stand in solidarity with the people of Kenya, Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to denounce the acts of terrorism we witnessed a week ago in our own country where the ZANU PF office in Highfield was petrol bombed. That is terrorism and this happening a week after terrorist attacks in Nairobi, should never be taken lightly.

I want to conclude by thanking His Excellency the President for calling on all of us to be united and find strength in our diversity and be able to tolerate one another as we differ and make sure that we are united in defence of our sovereignty and territorial integrity.

I will conclude, Mr. Speaker Sir, by saying that Africa defeated these imperialists through the decolonisation process.  Africa is controlling her resources and this does not please the semi-imperialists.

They therefore want to destabilise the whole continent so that they are in control of the resources which they desperately need.  This is done through such acts of terrorism and we need to be on guard.

Mr. Speaker Sir, I want to thank you for allowing me this opportunity to extend my condolences to the victims’ families and solidarity with the people of Kenya.  I agree with other hon. members who debated on this motion in a progressive manner that we indeed need to probably sign the Book of Condolences at the Kenyan Embassy in Harare.  I thank you Mr. Speaker.  Long live Africa, long live Kenya and long live Zimbabwe.  I thank you.

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR HARARE

METROPOLITAN (MRS. CHIKUKWA):  I move that the debate do now adjourn.

Motion put and agreed to.

Debate to resume:  Tuesday, 15th October, 2013.

On the motion of THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR HARARE

METROPOLITAN, the House adjourned at Half past Four o’clock

p.m. until Tuesday, 15th October, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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