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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY HANSARD 5 MAY 2013 VOL. 39 NO. 18

PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE

Tuesday, 21st May, 2013       

The House of Assembly met at a Quarter-past Two O’clock p.m.

PRAYERS

(MR. SPEAKER in the Chair)

ANNOUNCEMENT BY MR. SPEAKER

DISTRIBUTION OF T-SHIRTS

  1. SPEAKER: I wish to inform the House that the Election Resource Centre, through the Public Relations Department is distributing t-shirts to Members of Parliament. The t-shirts are aimed at encouraging young people to vote.  Public Relations Officers will be outside the Members’ Dining Hall today and tomorrow issuing out the t-

shirts.

MOTION

PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS

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

Presidential Speech.

Question again proposed.

+MR. P. SIBANDA: I want to thank you Mr. Speaker Sir, for the opportunity that you have given me to contribute to the speech that was delivered by the President.  When we take a look at the President’s Speech, we realise that the President highlighted several ways that we can use to improve our country.  The President indicated that his desire is for this country to have a vibrant economy.  He also highlighted that we should not be a violent nation, especially during the campaigns and elections periods. One thing that I was not happy with Mr. Speaker, is that when the President was addressing the House, some people outside were busy engaging in violent, beating each other.

The President also alluded to the fact that, in as much as the Constitution took so long to be brought to this House for debate and for it to become a lawful document, the people of Zimbabwe worked together. Now, everyone is happy about the Constitution, especially after the House of Assembly passed it.

The President again touched on how we can improve our economy, the infrastructure and also upgrading some ministries.  He talked about provision of medication and the understaffing of nurses and doctors in our hospitals.

Coming to my constituency, I have 15 wards. When I highlighted

the infrastructures that are there, especially on roads, we realise that it is difficult to move because of potholes especially on the Binga-Bulawayo Road or Kamativi. When you pass through Tinde and Kariyangwe, one is forced to drive at a speed of between 0 - 20 km per hour.  It is difficult to travel along that road because of potholes.

Siyabuwa – Gokwe road is a big road that is supposed to be developed if there was money. Construction of this road should have started long back, but because of our economy, nothing has been done so far. However, what I did not understand is the stament that was said by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Minister Goche, when he said that Binga has no market whilst Binga is a holiday resort area and there are many safaris surrounding that area. This country gets so much money from Binga even though Minister Goche said there is no income that he gets from Binga, which is not true.

When we come to education, the Ministry of Education - we have a shortage of teachers and there are few professionally qualified teachers in that area. There are few colleges also that offer such qualifications for teaching practice around Binga. There are few children who pass their studies although they would have used the little resources that they have.

In the schools, there are no benches and chairs. Practically, there are no materials to use.  Some of the children write sitting on their chairs without desks, while others sit on rocks. We are therefore, asking the Ministry that is responsible for giving the Ministry of Education funds, to allocate adequate funds to the Ministry. I also realise that even the District Office is having difficulties in travelling to such areas because of our poor roads. Most of the schools are far from each other and the roads are so bad that they cannot even use public transport.

When it comes to ZRP, I realised that many people  are committing crimes, especially those who are taking cows to Zambia but nothing is being done to them. Is it not possible for the Ministry of

Home affairs to put up offices along the Zambezi Valley so that people who are poaching or engaging in cattle rustling will not be able to do so because of tight security. May the responsible Ministry try to allocate enough resources to the police so that they would be able to do their routine patrols.

We also realise that in the District Administrator’s office there are a few cars that were allocated to their office, making it difficult for the District Administrator to move around checking or to even visiting the chiefs.

The prisons, I am so happy that they have been allocated cars although it is only one car that they were given. We were expecting that they will be given more cars. We realise that even the blankets that were allocated to the prisoners are not enough. The blankets are few especially in this cold season.

In hospitals, there will be only one doctor or one nurse whilst we have so many sub-clinics. I would want to urge that we have more doctors in such areas to assist the Binga people.  Additional vehicles will also be of assistance to the District Administrator in making their routine check in clinics. In Binga there is a malaria outbreak. Malaria is a disease that is common in Binga but there is nothing that the Ministry of Health has done as a preventive measure. We are therefore requesting that the Ministry allocate us enough funds for equipment in all the clinics.

National Parks were not given enough boats so that they can patrol along rivers. They also do not have vehicles to move around checking for poachers who move from Zambia so as to control this problem of poachers coming from other countries to our country. It is so difficult for them to implement control measures because they do not have the resources to use. The only resource that they were given were computers and there is nothing much that thay can do with computers.  They can be able to see that there is a poacher coming in but there is nothing that they can do practically. When we look at the Zambezi River, we realise that it is one of the major rivers that we have in Binga. The Zambezi River is where we get most of our resources. Also we would be happy if most of the camps that were closed could be opened.

I also want to touch on CMED, we realise that it is the only distributor of fuel that we have in Binga and it is the only company that is fixing Government vehicles, but most of the times, CMED does not have fuel to fuel our cars. It has been three months now without fuel in Binga and people are not able to move due to lack of fuel. People have to walk for long distances because of lack of transport. Therefore, I would like to urge the Government to allocate enough fuel to CMED.

When it comes to the Registrars’ Office, we ralise that there is only one registrars’ office. If only we could have more registry centres in different wards so that people can get birth certificates and national identity documents.

The Government Ministry that looks at the issue of civil servants, especially the teachers and policemen who work in rural areas also do not have cars and have to walk long distances or those who are trying to monitor the working systems in rural areas will have to walk long distances too, especially in Government institutions like police, registry and AREX. We therefore urge the Government to allocate enough vehicles to all ministries. AREX does not have cars or motorbikes that they can use as their mode of transport when they are monitoring the farmers’ performance on fields. We are therefore, urging the Government that if they get resources they should allocate them accordingly and equally to all ministries.

When it comes to cotton farmers, Binga is an area where cotton is planted but the money that they get is 35c which is Grade D. I therefore urge the Ministry to try and help so that they can get at least 85c or $1 which is the money that they received last year.

  1. MUDARIKWA: My contribution to the Presidential Speech is basically based on a few items. The first one is when the President addressed the august House, he thanked COPAC and hon. members for a job well-done. I also want to salute COPAC and the COPAC Management Committee for a job well-done. I also want to salute the people of Zimbabwe for having produced a Constitution and thank

Parliament of Zimbabwe for passing the Constitution.

Mr. Speaker Sir, Zimbabwe is going to have the United Nations World Tourism Organisation General Assembly in Victoria Falls.  This will take Zimbabwe to greater heights, but there is need for the Minister of Tourism to come on a monthly basis to inform the august House on the progress that is happening there.

Also Mr. Speaker Sir, encourage hon. members to visit the Victoria Falls so that we have domestic tourism. Yes, some are saying we have no money but we can organise as a group and go and see for ourselves what is there and this will assist us in understanding the value of what we have in Zimbabwe.

Mr. Speaker Sir, the issue of the Constituency Development Bill was supposed to come to the august House.  However, it did not come, but the little bit that we got for the Constituency Development Fund, in my Constituency, Uzumba, we managed to establish Dr. Gurney Irrigation Scheme.  We also had Mutize Primary School.  Kids were walking 15 kilometres and this school is now assisting in that area.  We have Nyaitenga Irrigation Scheme where our farmers are now producing vegetables to Mbare Musika.  We have Chidodo Clinic which is still under construction.  We have Chimodzi Dip Tank and last week the cattle started dipping there.  We have Rukariro Secondary School, Nyaruchera Primary School and Nyashonjwa Primary School.

What we are facing Mr. Speaker Sir, is a situation where there is a need for the Constituency Development Fund because development in Zimbabwe always follows where there is a Mercedes Benz.  So, there is need for the hon. Members of Parliament to be directly involved in the development of their Constituencies.  I hope the Hon. Minister Matinenga will bring in the Bill for the Constituency Development Fund.

The issue of our agriculture Mr. Speaker Sir, is the element of no credit lines for agriculture.  Also, we are facing a very difficult situation.  Importation of vegetables has destroyed our agriculture.  Our priorities need to be prioritised.  There is need to establish irrigation schemes in the communal lands.  This year, I will appeal to the august House that if anyone delivers maize to the GMB, he must be paid on the same day because we faced with a situation where it took a year without any payment to the farmers for the maize delivered.  We need to allocate more money to AgriBank for it to assist the farmers.

There is need for accountability.  Communal lands used to produce

80% of the maize consumed but because they were shortchanged by GMB, they delivered maize and they were not paid.  Now, our communal farmers have joined the begging bowl and they cannot develop the agriculture on their own.  There is need to start production of stock feeds and deliver them to Matabeleland at a reasonable price for the farmers to benefit.

There is also need for serious control of veld fires.  This is destroying our economy because most of our cattle do not have anywhere to graze. The history of our mining industry Mr. Speaker Sir, dates back into the times of Munhumutapa Kingdom, when the people of Zimbabwe were trading in gold with the Portuguese.  It is critical that we continue expanding the small scale miners, the so called makorokoza.  In other countries like West Africa, gold panning has been declared a poverty alleviation programme so that it gets funding from the international community.

The other most important thing is that Zimbabwe has almost all the minerals but on the ground…

  1. SPEAKER:  Order, Hon. Mudarikwa, I am advised by

Hansard people that they cannot hear you.  Kindly move forward and use the microphone on the front.

  1. MUDARIKWA:  Thank you Mr. Speaker for the promotion.

Maybe in the next Parliament I will be a Minister.

Mr. Speaker Sir, I was on the history of the mining industry of

Zimbabwe.  It dates back to the time of the Munhumutapa Kingdom.  The miners that we had during the Munhumutapa Kingdom, there were no engineers and they were simple miners but they managed to attract the Portuguese to come all the way from Beira to Zimbabwe and traded in gold.  Our Government must take gold panning as a poverty alleviation programme to remove poverty in the communal lands.  The current gold price is unacceptable because the situation is that most of the small scale gold panners are paid 15% less that paid at the London Metal Price.  They then pay presumptive tax and royalties.  This creates a situation which then encourages smuggling.

Mr. Speaker Sir, our diamonds – we are very rich in diamonds.  In the whole of the SADC Region, we are a country where we can move around and get the diamonds and just put them in your pocket.  But, there is no income to the economy because most of the agreements that were signed in the diamond industry were not brought to the august House.  There is need for people to realise that all agreements to be signed, they must be brought to the august House for verification, then we offer a free service to these people so that the nation can have a benefit.

The issue of exploration is critical for any development of the mining industry, but it is critical that we engage the relevant international organisations that are involved in the actual exploration and not the current situation where we try to drill a borehole as if we are drilling a borehole for water.  We must move with times like what I am doing.  I am now debating using my iPad.  We must move with technology because it is critical Mr. Speaker Sir that as we move, we must never continue to be BBC which means those born before computers.

Staff retention Mr. Speaker Sir, is very critical.  The Ministry of Mines needs to give incentives to the workers, engineers and everybody to remain in the Ministry of Mines.

Computerisation of mining title is critical Mr. Speaker Sir.  Other countries as we talk now, just mention a name and they give you on the computer the mining title, GPS Coordinates and everything.  We are developed and we are educated.  We have a Minister of ICT but when you go to most of the Ministries, you see people carrying bundles and bundles of files.  We must always continue Mr. Speaker, to move with times.  We must also increase the mining districts in the Ministry of Mines. Just as an example, the mining district of Harare goes up to

Nyamapanda and to Mukumbura.  It is one mining district. We need to have more mining commissioners and also, there is need for transparency.

Mr. Speaker Sir, on the issue of chrome production, it is a sorrowful sight when you go to the chrome dyke.  We are the only country that was given a mountain of chrome dyke – from Mtorashanga to Bulawayo and up to Lalapansi.  All those areas are full of chrome but we are not exporting the chrome.  Even the chrome that has been dug is sitting there in mountains and mountains of chrome and we have the skills of our people.  They have the capacity to dig the chrome, but now the chrome is not being exported and our brothers are using those skills now in digging mice.  This has no value to the nation.  We must continue to appreciate the value of the minerals.  A poor man, when you go into the history of poverty – poverty is the inability to utilise the resources around you for your personal, family and international benefit; but Zimbabwe, we are missing this point.  We need to continue to realise that all the minerals are there for us. There is need for value addition.

When we talk of value addition, we are transforming. If you look around in this august House most of the suits we are wearing are from China and that shows there is something wrong in our way of doing business. Why should we be wearing a suit made in China when cotton is produced in Muzarabani and Gokwe? It is critical that we value add, produce our own suits even if they are of poor quality but “yours is yours”. You must be always proud of your product.

There is a need of setting up a Mining Development Bank. When we have a Mining Development Bank, it is going to assist Zimbabweans in the creation of employment. It is going to assist Zimbabweans in mining. Last week when I was in Johannesburg, it was a sorrowful sight to see a graduate in Mathematics working in a hotel as a waiter. This is unacceptable. We must never allow such a situation where our intellectuals are being misplaced, misused, abused and any other name that will suit the type of work they are doing.

We need to develop our railway system. Our railway line now needs urgent development for the benefit of the mining industry. There is need for consultations with the Chamber of Mines. When you go into the history of coal, we are sitting on the best type of coal in the whole world. We must take a leaf from Mozambique. What the Mozambicans have done is that they have billions and billions of investments. We have many people who are sitting on the mining claims for the purpose of speculation.

For any mine or industry to develop, there must be energy available. Our situation is that the little bit of energy we have got must be managed properly. The issue of prepaid meters is our national responsibility. If we are putting prepaid meters it must be for everybody. Our situation is that prepaid meters are being put to my house and other people’s houses.  There are no prepaid meters in Government institutions and yet Government is the largest consumer of electricity. There is a need to make sure that there is no discrimination in the installation of prepaid meters. It must be for everybody.

The issue of demand side management is critical. We must learn to save the little bit of what we have. You go to any Government building in the middle of the night, electricity is on and air conditioners are on, they do not care. It is free for all. This must be addressed.

The Gokwe Thermal is one area which shows our total ignorance. Gokwe Thermal was pegged in 1972 but up to now nothing is happening. It is going back and forth to the minister, back to Rio Tinto and back again to the minister. One day they say it will happen but we will all be dead. We want these things to happen when we are still alive. There is also need for us to pay our electricity bills. It is critical that we assist ZESA to move forward.

There is need to bring in duty free vehicles that run on 100% blend. These will reduce the national energy bill for Zimbabwe. We need to have vehicles that are 100% blend, tractors that are 100% blend and then we manage our economy in the interest of everybody.  Chisumbanje Project is not a project for one Province or District.  It is a national project because the construction of Kondo Dam is going to affect the people in Buhera, Wedza, even up to Seke. Kondo Dam is one of the dams that is going to feed into Chisumbanje Irrigation Scheme. It is critical that we manage these national projects in the interest of Zimbabwe.

There is an urgent need for dualisation of our national highways. The carnage on the road has reached an unacceptable level. We must not think that all is well when we hear that everyday there is an accident. It is luck for some of the people with modern vehicles with airbags, they can survive. Also, some people with big tummies, they have what are called natural airbags. After an accident they can survive but for people who do not have airbags and vehicles without airbags, they face a very difficult time.

There is need for ZINARA to just put the money they want for vehicle licenses in diesel. Each time vehicles are being licensed, you go to ZINARA offices, it is sorrowful because people will be standing there. The people who are employed there are semi computer literate. People are wasting time. Why do you not just put 2 cents per litre to cover the licensing of all those vehicles and we remove the human hand?

There is need for upgrading the roads in my constituency because they have reached levels that are unacceptable.

There is need for the creation of meaningful youth projects that will assist our youths. Cross boarder traders are critical for the development of our economy and our families. We must make sure that most of our cross boarder traders pay using plastic money. Our cross boarder traders must never be harassed by ZIMRA.

Last week I was in Chivhu, I saw a ZIMRA roadblock.  Is there a boundary or have we acknowledged the existence of the Republic of Enkeldoorn where we think that these people are coming in from a new country? If somebody is cleared at the border, that is it. People must move freely.  It gives a terrible image for the country.

Our parastatals remain the biggest burden to the Government. They have never paid any dividend. There is a big asset trimming programme where people are saying the parastatals are making a loss every time but nobody is resigning. It is critical that we implement what is in the new

Constitution to say that these permanent Chief Executives in parastatals must now go home or must go into agriculture. Parastatlas are national assets. They must never benefit an individual.

E-learning is critical for the development of our economy. The programme that has started must roll out to all the districts in Zimbabwe. It is important that this ministry is funded for the benefit of our young kids so that they go and be accepted because they are computer literate from a young age. It is critical that there is no way that we can continue to concentrate on a calculator. We must move with time.

The Government cadetship programme is now a disaster. We must, as the august House, recommend that all the cadets be paid because our sons and daughters are now suffering. They cannot go back to school.

The money is not there.

Vocational skills are critical for the development of any economy. I can give you just a rough idea of the pass rate of few secondary schools in my constituency. Chipfunde Secondary School in 2010, the pass rate was 0%.  What it means is that we have 100% people who have to go to vocational training. Chidodo Secondary School, in 2010, had 6% and in 2011, had 7% pass rate. We have 93% of students needing vocational training. If we go to Chitimbe Secondary School, it had 13% and 25%.

Therefore 75% of the students need vocational training.

If we go to Uzumba High School, it had 45% and 49% pass rate.

So 51% of the students need vocational training. Morris Secondary

School had 0% and so 100% of their students need vocational training. Mr. Speaker Sir, I am highlighting this because we are sitting on a time bomb of our unemployed youth who have no skill. We must give our youth relevant skills for the benefit of this country. It is also for the benefit of our economy.

My recommendation is that all the vocational training centres be given a priority in the funding and staff allocation. We must create a team of builders that will assist in teaching the students. We must assist Jairos Jiri which trains all the disabled people. We must increase their grant so that the nation continues to have skilled people. The Minister responsible for vocational training centres must also continue to come and brief the august House on what is happening.

Mr. Speaker Sir, the nation is going to have elections. We hope and pray that we will have very peaceful elections. Those who will have lost must lose with dignity and those who will have won must also win with dignity. Our Parliament must also assist in training some of our hon. members because there are other hon. members who have not debated since the opening of the august House. These hon. members must be given awards for coming to listen. It means they were listening attentively and that is why they were not debating. So we must salute them for having listened attentively.

Mr. Speaker sir, the challenge I give to all honourable members is to thank those who were listening whilst I was talking. Those who were not listening, I also want to thank you because you were not making noise. Those who were sleeping, I also want to thank you because you did not produce ngonono. It was a smooth sleep, a dignified sleep.

Mr. Speaker, I want to close by this small saying, “the slow motion of a cheetah is not its weakness”. I now lay my report to you Mr.

Speaker Sir and thank you again, for allowing me to debate on this motion. Maybe, it is my last day to debate but I want to thank you Mr.

Speaker Sir. We worked together in a brotherly manner, as comrades, as

Zimbabweans, as SADC members and we worked together as Pan Africanists. Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. 

  1. J. M. GUMBO: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I rise to thank Hon. Sibanda and Hon. Mudarikwa for the contributions that they have made today. I also want to thank other members who contributed on this motion. It has been a motion which has been on the Order Paper for a long time. It is a motion that allows members to speak on various issues that affect their constituents and constituencies. So it was an open check to us and all that remains for me now is, to thank those hon. members and request that the motion be adopted and the President be informed of our pleasure for the speech that he was pleased to deliver to us. Mr.

Speaker, having said that, I therefore move that the motion be now put.

Motion, that a respectful address be presented to the President of

Zimbabwe as follows:

May it please you, Mr. President;

We, the members of the House of Assembly desire to express our loyalty to Zimbabwe and beg leave to offer our respectful thanks for the speech which you have been pleased to address to Parliament, - Put and agreed to.

MOTION

VOTER REGISTRATION EXERCISE

         Second Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on Mobile Voter Registration Exercise.

Question again proposed.

*MR. CHIMBETETE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. What

surprised me is that when the day of mobile registration started in Nyanga at Nyatate Centre, I was in Nyanga but unaware of that development until Tuesday. This was on the 29th of April 2013. As I was busy at the communal home, I heard that there was a mobile registration exercise at Nyatate. Upon arrival, I saw a lot of potential voters being turned away because they did not have adequate documentation to register as voters.  I then phoned and called the Chairperson to bring the mobile registration staff to Nyanga. From the 29th, they left for Nyanga North and came to St. Monica Primary School. It then went further to Fombe Primary School, Avilla Mission and to Chabatarongo. It returned to Nyanga North on the 14th of May 2013. They worked at Chitombo and then went to Ruchera and ended on the 19th of May, 2013.

You can see that out of 31 wards, only 7 wards were serviced. This means that 24 wards were not attended to until now and the mobile registration exercise stopped. Mr. Speaker, I put my voice that there is need for the programme to be restarted and that this registration exercise be done on a ward basis so as to enable all the wards equal opportunities for registration. We hear that favouritism would come to play based on the people who support a particular party in a particular ward.  I deplore such exercises. I urge you Mr. Speaker, to ask the Minister of Finance to provide funding so that the exercise can be re-launched for 30 days.  For those 30 days, registration should be based at ward level.  There were also logistical problems -people did not have bus fares to travel to the registration centres.  There are a lot of people in my area who do not have I.D.s and birth certificates.  From my ward to Nyanga, one requires US$10 for the trip.  It is difficult for a rural based person to come across US$10.  If the registration is ward based, all the people will be able to register.

  1. MADZIMURE:  Mr. Speaker, I totally support the mover of the motion and would expect that the House will support Hon.

Chikwinya’s proposal.  The issue of voter registration is very, very important in a democracy because that is the reason why the war of liberation was fought.  The war of liberation was fought because we wanted our people to be afforded the opportunity to vote.  During the Smith regime, Smith said that for people to vote in an urban area, they should have property so that you put your money where your mouth is.  As Zimbabweans, we said no, we are all human beings and we have got a right to decide on our future.

The reason why people vote is not at the benevolence of the

Government or those who are ruling.  It is because those people have a stake in the governance of a country.  Every individual, in a way, contributes to the running of a country and contributes to the existence of a Government in the form of taxes that we pay.  Whenever you buy something, you pay sales tax.  If you are employed, you pay Income Tax and if you buy goods outside the country, you pay duty.  This is the money that sustains a Government.  As a result, the people have a right to decide on the Government that they want.  This is done through an election where a party is voted into power by the people who have looked at the manifesto of that political party and say, here is a party that has policies that will see us through as a country and that will enable the country to develop.  So it is not a favour for the people to be allowed to vote.  People went to war because of that discrimination.

I heard, through rumours that voter registration teams were going to be sent to the districts to conduct voter registration.  In my constituency, there was no single poster that informed the people that voter registration had started, not even a signage to point where the registration centres were.   There was total blackout even on television and radio as to where the registration centres were situated.  To make matters worse, they chose those centres where the least people voted during the Referendum, that is what they did in Harare.  The most inconvenient centre was the centre that was chosen.  You then ask yourself what the motive behind all this was.  In my constituency, they chose Kambuzuma High 2 where we had only 215 people who voted for the Referendum, it is in the periphery of the constituency.  I was of the opinion that they would make life easy for people, especially the elderly by having a central place to conduct registration but alas, I found out that they had a mission.

Mr. Speaker, my own reading of the situation is that, it was a well calculated move to make sure that it becomes extremely difficult for people especially in the urban areas to vote.  Even at that remote place where the least people went to vote, the people responded because of the means and ways that we used to mobilise them.  When the ZEC Chairperson, Judge Rita Makarau visited the polling station, the report which came out was that they found 500 people in the queue at the registration centre but there were more than 1 000 people at any given time for those two days.  Of particular concern was the requirements for one to register as a voter.  Those requirements were communicated to them by the officers when they were already at the registration centre.  If you had a bill in your name, for example, W. Madzimure and your I.D. is Willias Madzimure, they would say, “how do we know that W.

Madzimure is Willias Madzimure, there are many W. Madzimure.”  That would be used as an excuse for not registering you.  If my child took the bill with W. Madzimure and his name is Lloyd Madzimure, they would turn him back and ask him to bring a letter from the father.

In one of the cases, a child went to register with a water bill.

When she got there, she was told that the mother should write a letter.  She went back and the mother wrote the letter.  She was turned back again and told to include her mother’s I.D. and her I.D. and she did that. When she came back, the officials told her that the mother was not the owner of the bill but the father.  She told them that the father was late and they asked her to go and bring the death certificate.  She went back and brought a photocopy of the death certificate and they told her that they wanted an original copy.  She refused to go back home and told them that she was not going back home until they registered her.  She stood her ground but how many people can do that?  This lady is an enlightened girl who has ‘A’ levels.  This can only be done by very few people, even hon. members in this House cannot do that.  The majority of the people will simply walk away; they do not even understand their rights as well. – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections] – only people like my muzukuru who managed to be a legislator when he was an alien can do that.

Mr. Speaker, you then ask yourself, why we make it so difficult for a Zimbabwean, a citizen of Zimbabwe to register to vote in an area where he or she wants to vote.  What is the reason?  If it was a byelection, you would say people are being bused from all over but this is a general election.  Why do we make it so difficult for our own people?  I have just discovered that the oppression that we suffered under Ian

Smith can be understood because he was a white person against the

black but our systems as black people have proved to be the worst.  Mr.

Speaker the solution and I believe even the least educated Member of Parliament would understand that as a solution.  We do not have a problem Mr. Speaker, the problem is the system of exclusion - A system which believes that that there are people who are more equal than others.  What would then happen if you had all the requirements and the requirements were not even complicated?  Mr. Speaker, those who are very quick in their thinking - because what they wanted was a letter which showed the identification of the person who is writing and the recipient.  People could just write any Identification Number (ID) number which they wanted, they would still get away with it.   

What I also discovered was that there are people who are privileged to register. In my Constituency, there is a cooperative called Joshua Mqabuko Cooperative.  They had a form which they had to fill for all those people whom they perceive to be aligned to them, and had to use those forms to go and register  This was a form from a new association which the Government does not even know.  Mr. Speaker Sir, those bona fide people who reside in Kambuzuma did not manage to do that.  My own analysis is that this is well calculated to make sure that the first time voter does not register.  An alien who was born in Zimbabwe, who should naturally be entitled to vote like my muzukuru, those were also being denied to register on the basis that they are alien but the aliens who were born in Zimbabwe by law should be allowed to vote.

Mr. Speaker Sir, the reason is very simple – [AN HON MEMBER: 

Hausati wavamutemo] – It is sad to realise that after all these years in Parliament, hon. members who have been in this House for five years cannot understand how legislation works and what legislation we have especially electoral laws that bring them to this House.  It tells you that they came into Parliament through chicanery or by tsvimbo mugotsi.

Mr. Speaker these people do not deserve to be here.

Mr. Speaker, my analysis is very simple. The use of political violence is not going to work in this election.  The world will not allow that.  So, some people think that they can win this technically by disfranchising Zimbabweans to vote.  You can see from hon.

Chikwinya’s analysis that in one province with a population which is a quarter of Harare, they had 100 registration centres compared to Harare which had less than 48 registration centres.  Census figures are there for us to see.

The whole idea is to make sure that few people from the urban areas do register at the same time forcing those in the rural areas to register.  Mr. Speaker the election before us is not going to be determined by the wishes of a political party, it is going to be determined by the people who have resolved that they will make sure that they choose a party that they believe in.  If you also look at the ages that are being forced to register in the rural areas, we are talking about those people who are 40 years old.  You ask yourself why a 40 year old was not voting.  The person has a reason.

Mr. Speaker, I am of the opinion that ZEC should take charge of voter registration and that voter registration needs to be done again.  Mr.

Speaker, voter registration is our right.  The issue of Identification Cards (IDs) – [MR BHASIKITI-CHUMA:  Takazvisupporter zvose izvo] – for Hon. Bhasikiti-Chuma to claim that he supported this thing so no one else should debate – his position as a Politburo member is of no consequence to this House.  It adds no value at all in this House.

Mr. Speaker, when some hon. members came to this House, they looked really pathetic…..

  1. SPEAKER: Order, order, Hon. Madzimure, refrain from straying from the motion please. Stick to the motion.
  2. MADZIMURE: Mr. Speaker, I am just asking ZEC to conduct voter registrations where all Zimbabweans are given the opportunity to register. Mr. Speaker, I cannot be in the business of transporting people to the registration centre myself or to the Registrar-

General’s Office myself.  I do not have mangoes to sell for me to get the money like other hon. members.  I cannot grab a farm because my conscience tells me I cannot do that.   The money I have, I worked for and it is not my responsibility to do that.

Mr. Speaker, I totally support Hon. Chikwinya’s resolution that the

Minister of Finance must make funds available – [MR BHASIKITICHUMA: Is that a resolution] – whatever is resolved is a resolution, so if you ended up in Standard Six and went to a teacher’s college, you cannot comprehend some of these issues.  Madam Speaker, I totally support the motion and support even what the Chairperson of the ZEC said that it was chaotic and something that should not be seen in a civilised country like Zimbabwe.  Let us allow our people to register.  Let us allow those people to make their own decisions after all no one can claim that whoever registered is from my party because a person can change overnight.  There is no assurance that those who think that the people who are registering from a certain province where they perceive themselves to have a majority, the outcome will be the same.  Let us campaign peacefully, let our people register and go to elections.  If hon. Bhasikiti-Chuma is going to be elected on that basis, I will congratulate him.  Thank you Madam Speaker.

  1. GUMBO: Thank you Madam Speaker. I rise to just add my voice to this very important motion which was moved by Hon. Chikwinya. I could be repeating what other hon. members have already said because I was not present when he moved the motion.  What I want to say is that this is a meaningful motion that should not be confused by people trying to politic because what is stated in the motion is what we support.  We have all been affected across the board as Zimbabweans.

My point here is that, we should allow Honourable Chikwinya, because we have no time, to wind up the motion which I think we all support because it is meaningful.  This did not affect only one person or only one political party as you will want to portray from the debates that I am listening to.  I also come from a rural constituency whereby one chieftain area had just one point only for people to go, register and check for their names.  It was pathetic and we all agree that this exercise should be given time.  I think it is very clear that in the new Constitution that we have already passed here, which I think is waiting assent by the President, we should be given time as per this Constitution, that is 30 days, for our people to register.  That will assist us.

As one of the speakers said, when we look at people going to register, we should not sink so low as to think that those who go to register at a particular point support your political party.  You might be very surprised because your vote is your secret.   Let us just look at it from the legislative point of view, which I think Honourable Chikwinya has done.  Let us support it from that perspective, that this is a very important motion.  Maybe we should have moved this motion earlier and resolved as a House what we think affects most of the people in the country, so that they can have the necessary documents and exercise their right to vote.

Without wasting much time, Madam Speaker, I support the motion.  All I want to say about the other part that Honourable Chikwinya wants us to resolve on, which is the last point that we bring in the SROC, I do not know whether it is necessary.  I believe on the first two points which you made, that is, the involvement of the Ministry of Justice for a repeat of the exercise; and that the Ministry of Finance provides the necessary funding.   We know that we have got problems as a country but this is an important exercise.  If we are going to have elections, let us push the Government as Parliamentarians that they put their heads together and put some money on the table.  This will allow this exercise to be executed properly and also for our people to get the necessary documents.

It is pathetic that there was not even dissemination of information, particularly in the rural areas.  They just went around telling the chiefs and you know what chiefs will do.  They should have told the politicians who are interested in seeing that people register to vote for them but we were not told.  It does not matter.  I do not know in other areas but where I come from, not even the MDC guys or the ZANU PF guys in politics were aware of the exercise including myself.  We only heard that people had gone to a point and they just had one day in a chieftain area, a constituency where you have got over 26 000 people who might have voted.

We have got many entrances and new people coming.  The requirements were not very clear.  When they first went out to do the exercise, some of the officers were using a circular which had been passed in April but there was a new circular that had changed the scenario for registration.  So, I think we are just wasting time on this issue because we all agree and I think from our side, we agree.  Let us have this exercise redone.  Let us push the Government to redo it and we support it.

I want to say to Honourable Chikwinya, this is a well meaningful motion and we totally support it. You can move it and it will have our blessings as well.  Thank you very much.

ENG. E. MUDZURI:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  I really want

to support the previous speakers and I feel that we should add another recommendation where ZEC takes charge of its responsibility.  I say so because here, we are now asking the Minister of Justice to ensure that the exercise is redone, when it is ZEC that should take its responsibility to ensure that everyone registers.  As has been argued elsewhere that there has been poor registration, in my constituency, we ended up sending people back without registering.  This was because of the same reasons which were given by Honourable Madzimure that people were turned back several times.

I confronted the registration officers in my constituency, asking about the conditions that are required for someone to register.  I noticed that there was a table which Honourable Dr. Gumbo has mentioned, which had the last requirement that says you can use an affidavit for yourself to confirm where you are staying.  That was not being applied.  The argument that I was told was that they were not given that instruction.  I made the effort of phoning the Registrar General’s office, Mr. Muchemeyi.  He said this can be handled by Mr. Mudede.  I went on to Mr. Mudede’s office and asked what it means and he said it has not yet been gazetted but was likely to be gazetted soon.

In the requirements, there was a clause stating that the registration officer may register a person when there is enough evidence of a person staying at the residence purporting to be.  I cannot quote everything that was there but it was either item L or G.  When I discussed with the RG to say this item gives someone the right to even say I have got proof of residence which I was given by the owner of the House, now I can go and register and even if with the same surname, he said no, it does not mean you stay there.  I then asked him if I should write a letter for my wife, my son and everyone because the mere fact that the person has taken a utility bill from my house means he has authority and has access to that house.

The purpose of the registration is meant for a person to identify where he wants to vote from rather than where he is lodging because this is a national election.  Like what Honourable Madzimure has said, you cannot vote in two places.  Even if you bus people as much as you want, that person ends up in one station where that person wants to vote from and that is the purpose of registering.  Family members are finding it difficult, in case your father is not there or is late to write these letters.

The problem that I had was that the staff wanted to get instructions from Mr. Mudede.  So, I took a trip to ZEC offices and when I got there, they were in a meeting.  I am still waiting for a call from Dr. Sekeramayi because I told him that I would like to discuss with him about the requirements they have agreed on with Mr. Mudede for people to be able to register.  People were being turned away in thousands and were not able to register.  People are not that patient because they do not benefit anything other than to say “I want to vote this year” and they need to be in the register.

ZEC seems not to be coming back to us.  I also encountered a scenario where people in different political parties thought that kune munhu anogona kufamba nemunhu.  It is not true.  I can bring in a thousand voters and they might never vote for me.  Someone from another political party became so violent at a registration centre and I reported the matter to the police.  He wanted to attack me saying that I was not allowed to ask and that I should leave that place.  I told him that, I am a Member of Parliament standing for you and I am only asking for these requirements which were gazetted on Friday, whether they were now effective or not.  He was saying ibva, wakaita something nezuro, talking all sorts of abusive words and almost assaulting me.  I told the gentleman that if you see someone registering whilst smiling at you, he/she may vote for you because that person might be afraid of you or that person might be pleasing you for that time.  If I register people zvechitsotsi they might never vote for me.

So what we need is to have this spirit of allowing Zimbabweans to register to ensure that they have a chance to choose their own candidate when the day comes and there are still weeks to come before an election.  However, politics changes overnight – you might think you are popular today and you are very unpopular tomorrow and people will have to do that choice.  So let us use our respective offices, we are legislators, when we go there, we are not going to choose a side, we are going to represent everyone.    Let us also accept that there are landlords who refuse to write letters for others, which mean the aspect of an affidavit, if somebody lies within the affidavit, then it is their problem, they would have determined where they want to vote for and it becomes easier for the registration.

But what came out clearly was that there were no affidavit forms first, and then secondly there was no Commissioner of Oaths to confirm those affidavits.  So these things are needed so that some of these officers are allowed to be Commissioners of Oaths to allow people to register on the spot.  I want to say we cannot further debate this issue as my colleague says, but we need to consider that all those areas where we have not polished, in the next 30 days, it must be agree by all Parliamentarians and Central Government that we do not wait for an instruction, we wait for instructions that are determined by this august House, that are determined by the law to ensure that people register and they do not wait for instructions, they wait for what is coming from the law.

With these words, I want to reconfirm that let us add the recommendation where Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) becomes fully involved and when ZEC is fully involved, it must be answerable for any mistake that is done by the Registrar General.

MRS. MATAMISA:  Thank you Madam Speaker, let me start by

thanking hon. Chikwinya for bringing this very serious motion into this House.  Madam Speaker, I will start by registering my descontence to what has been happening through the period of voter registration which is supposed to be an on-going activity because voter registration does not end by elections but it continues on and on, so that people continue to have their names added to the Voters’ Roll.

However, as I am standing now, Kadoma is one of the places where this serious mechanism of trying to remove people from the

Voter’s Roll has been happening and for interest sake, there was not even a single centre put in any single ward in Kadoma.   Out of the 13 wards, there was no place where people were supposed to go and register for the forth coming elections.  Now, this is a problem, Madam Speaker, because when I went to inquire, before the 29th, I was just visiting the Registry Office and I found what was happening.  In

Kadoma, people came in buses from the outside constituencies, Chakari,

Sanyati, Mhondoro Ngezi, that is the Central Registry and those who came in buses, were the only people being attended to.   The people from Kadoma do not need to bring buses, but they walk to the Registry because they belong there and these people have never been attended to. They were being sent away and one of the days I even met a Councilor who was sending away these people and we almost fought there.

Madam Speaker, what we are talking here is reality on the ground, this is what is happening. Some of our friends out there, having seen that some of the constituencies are now a no go area for them also because people know their dirty tricks, they have been promised heaven on earth and they have seen nothing, so they now want to show them their true colours that they cannot vote for them.  So the best method they are now employing is to make sure that they dis-enfranchise the people of my constituency.  They have not yet started registering to become voters.

Hence this very serious motion is promoting what I have come here to debate on, to say that we have to continue this voter registration exercise and on a serious note; every ward must have a centre for people to register and not send the only mobile that we have in Kadoma, Sanyati and Chakari which was made up of the people at the Central Registry and it was sent out.  The main Registry was closed for all these days with nothing happening.  As from the 29th when they started this mobile registration, Kadoma Central Registry was not functioning because if it went on functioning, it would mean Kadoma people would also register.  So I think it is really important for us as Legislators to correct what can be corrected when there is still time and I am saying that the registration process must be started afresh so that all the people can have that platform to register.

I feel, Madam Speaker, that as if it were not enough, as long as we have this Registrar’s Office registering our people to vote, we will never get all our people of Zimbabwe reaching that chance of registering.

Mudede’s office is dis-enfranchising Zimbabweans who have a right to choose their own leaders.  Now one questions, what is the role of ZEC? Why did we have to put ZEC in place, if it cannot take its real position and start to do its work which it was set for?  It is a problem and I think we are losing out on that, if we do not implement the policies that we put in place, then we are failing the nation.  So we must voice together as Legislators to say ZEC must take charge, it is the role of ZEC to make sure all those who are going to vote, all those who are of age must be registered as voters in Zimbabwe before the time for election comes.  It may sound sour to other people’s ears but this is the truth on the ground. We want our children, our relatives and everyone who is of age to go and register to vote.  Everyone must be given a chance to exercise his or her constitutional right.

In preparation for the coming election, I really feel that as the motion speaks, it is important that the Ministry of Finance does seriously fund this exercise of voter registration, because when I went to our Registry Office, they said they do not have people to work, then I went to ZEC on the 29th when the exercise started, where they were busy playing games on their computers, I asked the ZEC leader why there was nothing happening in the Kadoma Office?  She said she had not been given the mandate to recruit people, to keep the Kadoma Registry Office open.  So these are problems that are being created by other people who do not want to see people of Kadoma voting.  The truth is that they know the results before we have gone for the elections that they will not win Kadoma and so they do not want the people of Kadoma to be registered to vote.  Instead they registered them somewhere and bring them in buses so that they vote there and take the seat from us Madam Speaker, let me say that this will be a non-starter, they know it but we are only saying, we cannot go into an election whereby the result or the outcome is already pre-determined, that is why we are saying it must be free for all, everybody must go and registered to vote.  People must vote for the people they want, if they want this party or the other, let them vote for the people they want, that is it.  Mr. Speaker, Sir with these words, I really and truly support this motion and the demands of the motion; I really recommend that they be met as they are because I see nothing wrong with everything that has been put down in this motion because it ensures that the Zimbabweans are in charge.

Once it is followed the Zimbabweans will be in charge at the end of the day.  It is not the workers that we employ that must take charge, we are the politicians and we stand in for the people who voted us into these positions. We must speak out so that things can go the correct way and things must be corrected.  Today is the day and this is the time we must correct the voter registration exercise.  I thank you Mr. Speaker.

  1. CHIKWINYA:  Thank you Mr. Speaker, I rise to wind up

the debate.  I want to appreciate the level of participation by the ten members of Parliament who had their input into this debate which I want to believe is in sync with the process and events currently underway within our country.

I want to thank Hon. Chitando who seconded my motion and emphasized on the need to ease proof of residence so that the process can become easier.  Hon Ncube, who encouraged the Executive to migrate to the use of the ICT platform as we move forward with this ICT generation that voter registration, must be done on line.  We do not see how we fail to do that when we actually have an internet penetration of around 32% and cell phone penetration of around 96%.  I also want to thank Hon. Bhasikiti-Chuma who whilst he is coming from the other

side of the House equally shared the same passion with me that politicians or political parties across the divide, were affected in the manner in which this voter registration was done and equally emphasized on the need for funding required from the Ministry of Finance.

I want to thank Hon. Saruwaka who among all the points he mentioned, emphasized on the issue of how we are dealing with aliens.

Mr. Speaker, it is with regret that we, as a nation have adopted the word

‘aliens’ which in my view is actually a xenophobic phrase meant to alienate others who are actually of third or fourth generation

Zimbabweans.  In this House and this nation, there sits hon. Patrick Zhuwao, I see him as my brother, my friend and colleague and as a fellow Zimbabwean.  He is a beneficiary of our political system, he and his uncle are the greatest beneficiaries of our political systems but they are aliens.

I also want to thank Hon. Machacha who said whilst he has 24 wards, only two centers were provided and therefore bussing of people became necessary which actually incurred costs.  Hon. Chimbetete equally so, had 31 wards and only 7 had centers.  I want to thank Hon Madzimure, he emphasized on the issue that citizens must be allowed space and opportunity to participate in matters of who should govern them.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to thank Hon. Dr. Jorum Gumbo for quite a mature debate actually encouraging all of us to be able to adopt this motion.  I believe the Executive will be able to support Parliament in this regard.  I also want to thank Hon. Mudzuri who shared with us, is experienced and I also want to commend him for the efforts he did in engaging the Registrar General.  I would lastly want to thank Hon. Matamisa who shared with us exactly the same experiences which the majority of the constituencies or the nation at large faced.

Mr. Speaker, whilst I am winding up I also want to give credit to Justice Rita Makarau and just to let her know that we celebrated the positives of her efforts but we will continue as Parliament to closely monitor all the events and processes and we will be quick to condemn and act on any acts or omissions contrary to the letter and spirit of the registration exercise.

I am in possession here of Electoral Amendment Regulations number 18 of 2013, under Statutory Instrument 68 of 2013.  When members were debating and they were talking of gazetting new regulations which are meant to ease voter registration, the regulations are contained in this Statutory Instrument which was gazetted on Friday.  The regulations among other issues actually bring upon that affidavit which Hon. Mudzuri was talking to, the gazetting was done under Statutory 68 of 2013, where upon the registration officer has now been conferred with the Commissioner of Oaths status.

It is only you the intended register or the person who intends to  register to vote, you simply fill in the affidavit form and the registration officer present will become the Commissioner of Oaths.  The duty is upon the State to prove that you have lied under the affidavit, so I think this is going to become a way of easing out the regulations required for one to register which were actually the proof of residence.  I want to commend the Executive and I want to quote the Prime Minister who said on Sunday that the Executive through Cabinet have agreed and without necessarily having gone through Statutory Instrument 68, I want to believe that there will be a circular which will be distributed once the 30 day period has been promulgated at the inception of the Presidential

Proclamation of the elections as contained in our newly adopted Constitution awaiting Presidential Assent.

I says every school in Zimbabwe shall be converted to become a registration centre. I want to believe the Executive met it and are going to enforce it and I have no doubt that that coming from the Prime Minister, is actually going to happen.  Every school in Zimbabwe shall be made to be a registration centre.  I want to believe that at least there is a school in every ward therefore that makes it easy for every ward to have a centre.  In other wards in rural areas you might have two or three schools - that is even better. I want to believe that once that has been put to force we are going to have de-congestion of registration centers and ease of access to registration centers by people who intend to vote.

Mr. Speaker, before I sit today, the Civic Society of Zimbabwe met at the Media Centre at 1000 hrs and 50 organizations were represented.  They made a statement with regards to their observations and with regards to their concerns with the voter registration process.  I have taken time to respect their communiqué to the nation because as parliamentarians, we have also the legitimate and alter-ego right of representing our constituencies.  We work in collaboration with the civic society organizations who also compliment government and our efforts in making sure that the voices of the people are heard.

Mr. Speaker I will just go through their communiqué for the purpose of the members of Parliament and the nation who were not present at their meeting.  The civic society members listed said:

Noting the conclusion of the Constitution making process, a key milestone to the implementation of the Global Political Agreement which paves the way for preparations of free and fair elections,

Recognizing the centrality of an inclusive voter registration exercise as a key foundation to a credible electoral process.

Having observed the just ended mobile voter registration exercise  that commenced on the 29th of April and ended on 19th May 2013,

Disheartened by the observations of various electoral stakeholders such as Parliament, the Church, Cabinet and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) that the process was inadequate, chaotic, slow and did not capture all those interested in registering voters.

Desirous of seeing a peaceful, free and fair election in Zimbabwe, Do hereby make the following observations and recommendations.

OBSERVATIONS

INADEQUATE EDUCATION AND INFORMATION ON THE

PROCESS -  The process was hampered by a dearth of information, publicity and limited voter education.  We noted the exclusion of key stakeholders such as the church, civic society which were not accredited to complement the Electoral Commission in providing voter education.  Even where civic society sought to legitimately mobilise citizens to participate in the process, they were met with heavy-handedness.  As a result, potential voters were largely ignorant of the dates, centres and requirements for registration.  I think this simply goes to complement what Members of Parliament were saying.

ACCESSIBILITY - The process was characterised by lack of true decentralisation.  The centres were not in proportion to the intended beneficiaries, leaving many communities without the service or citizens having to travel long distances to register as voters.  Further, the manner in which the methodology of the exercise was crafted did not reflect any due consideration of the special needs of groups such as women, youths, the elderly, the infirm, workers and people living with disabilities.  This resulted in the disenfranchisement of a significant number in these key sectors.

LACK OF PROFESSIONALISM - Some centres did not adhere

to the stipulated opening and closing times.   Prospective voters in the queues by closing time were turned away even when the mobile unit was relocating the following day, leaving citizens frustrated in their efforts to register.

INADEQUATE HUMAN RESOURCES - Mobile units and

static centres were plagued with an excruciatingly slow pace of processing applications for registration resulting in long slow moving queues particularly in urban centres.

INCONSISTENCIES IN PROCEDURE AND

REQUIREMENTS - Some centres turned away prospective registrants who were ‘aliens’ or had opted for an affidavit as proof of residence while some centres accepted prospective registrants in similar circumstances.  Some centres were not issuing registration slips asking prospective registrants the slips the following day at a different centre.

GENERAL ABSENCE OF FULL SERVICE - Mobile and static

units had limited service.  Reports reveal that not all of the units were offering a comprehensive package of birth certificates, national identification papers and voter registration on site.  As a result, prospective registrants were unable to benefit fully from a single centre.

Some citizens with waiting passes were asked to produce birth certificates. Upon failure to do so, they failed to register.

FUNDING - There was no clarity in terms of the resources that were disbursed for this exercise, with one Arm of Government claiming to have disbursed funds while the recipients claiming to have received different amounts.  As a result, there was lack of accountability and blame games revolving around inadequate funding dominated the narrative for the insufficiencies of the exercise.

In light of the foregoing, it is our overall assessment that the mobile voter registration exercise as implemented by the Registrar

General’s office and supervised by ZEC, has failed to comprehensively reach out to all prospective registrants.

Accordingly, we do hereby make the following recommendations:

  1. The process must be re-started in line with the new Constitution, which stipulates a 30 day period for registration after enactment. It is our view that the preceding exercise cannot be substituted for this constitutionally mandated process.
  2. Legal instruments guiding the issue of ‘aliens’ and the use of affidavit as proof of residence put in place recently should be publicised to ensure that citizens are able to benefit fully.
  3. As a precondition to the aforementioned exercise, the public must be adequately informed of the process, the requirements and the modalities prior to the commencement of the process.
  4. A comprehensive inclusive process must be undertaken with adequate financial and well trained human resources. This process must be effectively decentralised to the ward level in each constituency.  Adequate time must be allocated to each centre in proportion to the population density in the community.
  5. Stakeholders should have unfettered access to the process, particularly civil society organisations pursuing their legitimate functions of sensitising, mobilising citizens to participate in the process.
  6. Effective supervision of the Registrar General’s office by ZEC to safeguard the integrity of the process for which ZEC is ultimately accountable to stakeholders.

I have taken time Mr. Speaker to quote this communiqué because the civic society voice is very critical in the determination of a free and fair election.  They are a critical component as a stakeholder to the outcome of our elections.  Once the civic society condemns the process to which we are intending to hold our elections, we are bound to have the whole world condemning the elections.  Therefore we need to take on board all stakeholders for them to be happy with the process for there is nothing to hide and there is nothing to be afraid of.  Mr. Speaker, I therefore move that the motion be adopted as it is.  Thank you.

Motion put and agreed to.

MOTION

CONDOLENCES ON THE DEATH OF HON. SEISO MOYO

Third Order read:  Adjourned debate on the condolence message for the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation, Hon. Seiso Moyo.

Question again proposed.

  1. CROSS:  Mr. Speaker, I want to make my own views because Seiso Moyo was a member who lived in my constituency.  He was not only a friend, a colleague but someone I respected; he was a unifier.  I think there are very few people in this House who would have really called him anything like an enemy or someone with whom you would have a serious dispute.

What concerns me about his death was the aftermath.  When I went to the house to visit the family to express my condolences the day after his death, I found his wife at the house in distress.  This is because he had died without a will; he died intestate.  The late Seiso Moyo had two wives, one by tradition and one by legal marriage in the church.  His family was not protected and there was no guidance to his executor as to what his intentions were with his assets.

The late Deputy Minister died with some significant assets.  He had a farm in the Beitbridge area, he had cattle, two hard body vehicles, a home in Bulawayo and he had some significant financial resources.  On the day he died, all that was frozen.  In addition, the family descended upon him.  His wife has been working in Botswana for more than 20 years and she lives in Gaborone.  She came back for the funeral.

When I got to the house one of the vehicles had already disappeared and

I had to intervene in the family’s affairs and help his wife to protect herself and the family from the deprivations of Seiso’s extended family.

Mr. Speaker I want to make the point that I wonder how many members of this House have got a will and how many members of this

House have made provisions for their families.  In Seiso Moyo’s case, there were two women involved and five children.  All five children were going to school or university.  His two girls at university had to have their fees paid by the end of January.  His estate was frozen and the family was unable to make those payments and we had to assist as a party to ensure that those girls went to university at one time.  In addition, if his two girls are absolutely superb, they are both world class students.  His eldest daughter, I think is one of the outstanding students of the day in South Africa.  Therefore, if their careers had been threatened by this event, it would have been a tragedy.

Mr. Speaker, when I was General Manager of the CSC, when we lost staff, I forced every member of staff in the CSC; there were over 5 000 people, to sign a Will which we drafted.  Upon a death, we automatically, stepped into the ring to protect the wife because I sensed, when I was General Manager that we had a woman whose husband died who was on the streets with a suitcase.  The family took the car; the family took the house; the family stripped her and she was left literally penniless.  So I stepped into the ring on behalf of the people who worked for me with their consent and made sure that every man who worked for us had a Will.

Mr. Speaker, I sincerely wish that we ensure that every member of this House has a Will and that, that Will is executed properly on behalf of their families.  I think we should do that in memory of people like Seiso Moyo, who served their country well, who loved their families; loved their kids; brought up their children to be the best kind of people that they could be; but lost sight of the fact that, even though they were young people and Seiso was considerably younger than me, that when the time came they could not judge when he would be called home.  Mr. Speaker, with those few remarks, I express my condolences to the family and I hope this House adopts this motion today.

  1. HLALO: Mr. Speaker Sir, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
  2. MAHLANGU:  I second.

         Motion put and agreed to.

Debate to resume: Wednesday, 22nd May, 2013.

MOTION

FIRST REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON

EDUCATION, SPORT, ARTS AND CULTURE ON THE

ADMINISTRATION OF SOCCER IN ZIMBABWE

Fourth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the First Report of the Portfolio Committee on Education, Sport, Arts and Culture on the

Administration of Soccer in Zimbabwe and issues surrounding the Asiagate Scandal.

Question again proposed.

  1. KARENYI:  I move that the debate do now adjourn.
  2. CHIMHINI: I second.

Motion put and agreed to.

Debate to resume: Wednesday, 22nd May, 2013.

On the motion of MS. KARENYI, seconded by MR.

MAHLANGU, the House adjourned at Ten Minutes Past Four O’clock p.m.

 

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