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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY HANSARD 26 FEBRUARY 2025 VOL 51 No 28

PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE

Wednesday, 26^th February, 2025

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

PRAYERS

(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)

ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. SPEAKER

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH SERVICE

THE HON. SPEAKER:  I wish to inform the House that there will be a Catholic Church Service tomorrow, 27^th February, 2025 at 1200 noon in the Special Committee Room Number 1.  All Members are invited including even non-Catholic members.

APOLOGIES RECEIVED FROM MINISTERS

THE HON. SPEAKER:  I have received apologies from the Executive as follows: Hon. Gen. Rtd Dr. Chiwenga, Vice President; Hon. Col. Rtd. K.C.D Mohadi, Vice President; Hon. K. D. Mnangagwa, Deputy Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion; Hon. Dr. S.G. Nyoni, Minister of Environment, Climate and Wildlife; Hon. J. Paradza, Deputy Minister of Environment, Climate and Wildlife; Hon. T. Machakaire, Minister of Youth Empowerment; Hon. E. Jesaya, Deputy Minister of Sports, Recreation Arts and Culture; Hon. T. Mnangagwa, Deputy Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry; Hon. Brig. Gen. Rtd. Mayihlome, Deputy Minister of Defence; Hon. J. Mhlanga, Deputy Minister of Women’s Affairs, Communities, Small and Medium Enterprises Development; Hon. Prof. Dr. A. Murwira, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Hon. S. Chikomo, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Hon. K. Kazembe, Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage; Hon. C. Sanyatwe, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage; Hon. Ziyambi, Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs; Hon. W. Chitando, Minister of Mines and Mining Development; Hon. P. Kambamura, Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development; Hon. S. Sibanda, Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation Science and Technology Development; Hon. A. Gata, Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education; Hon. R. Modi, Deputy Ministry of Industry and Commerce; Hon. Simbanegavi, Deputy Minister of Energy and Power Development; Hon. Z. Soda, Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities; Hon. V. Haritatos, Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development and Hon. D. Marapira, Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development.

My observation is that there are quite clear apologies that have been very consistent.  My suspicion is that these Ministers who tender apologies cannot be on national duty every week - [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] – It is impossible.  I am therefore directing the Clerk and his staff to make a proper analysis of those Ministers who have been consistently tendering their apologies and appropriate action therefore must be taken sooner than later. That is the first observation.

The second observation is that when His Excellency addressed the Cabinet in the 2025 Cabinet Session; he made a very telling statement in which he was appealing to all the Ministers and their Deputies to perform in terms of their constitutional mandates.  Such apologies do not seem to answer to that appeal and where you have Deputy Ministers again consistently absenting themselves with some apologies, that cannot be acceptable.

In terms of Constitution provision Section 107(2), it is very clear.  Every Vice President, minister and deputy minister must attend Parliament and Parliamentary Committees in order to answer questions concerning matters for which he or she is collectively or individually responsible. I think the public or we owe to the public performance.

When the Hon. Ministers answer to parliamentary processes, it is their time to shine on public policy in which they are telling the world what Government is doing, the challenges Government is facing and what Government is doing about those challenges and that creates public trust in the Government of the day – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] - We cannot afford to miss that golden opportunity. We should not and above all, it is the taxpayer who shoulders the responsibilities for us to be in our offices and that must be respected as well.

I have been analysing Written Questions which have not been attended to.  I will go through them – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear] - A question to Minister of Industry and Commerce, one question has been outstanding since 16^th October, 2024 – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] -.  Then there are three questions outstanding for the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, outstanding since 27^th November, 2024 up to 12^th February, 2025.

Then we have six questions that have not been attended to by the Hon. Minister of Health and Child Care, from 16^th October, 2024 – [HON. MEMBERS:  Hear, hear.] - to 12^th February, 2025.  Another six questions that have not been attended to since 16^th October, 2024 are for the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare up to 12^th February, 2025.  Then we have 11 questions that have not been attended to by the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion – [HON. MEMBERS:  Hear, hear.] - from 16^th October, 2024 right up to 12^th February, 2025.

In fact, all the questions are of national interest.  I analysed them.  Then Minister of Mines and Mining Development, seven questions outstanding.  Deferred since 16^th October, 2024 up to 12^th February, 2025. Then we have three questions for the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, deferred from 30^th October, 2024 up to 12^th February, 2025.  Then we have three questions for the Minister of Local Government and Public Works. This one is not bad, deferred from 12^th February, 2025 - just three weeks only. I hope there will be answers today, that is the only one that seems to be better in responses than others. – [HON. MEMBERS: Transport! Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development!] – I am going by my records. Do not educate me where I do not need it.

Then there are two questions from Minister of Youth Empowerment and Vocational Training, deferred from 13^th November, 2024 to 12^th February, 2025.  One question, this one is not bad as well for Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, only deferred from 12^th February 2025.

I had to do this analysis in order to demonstrate that we owe it to the public, we owe it to Parliament that these questions of national interest must be dealt with and give the opportunity for the Hon. Ministers again as I said, to shine on Government policy and indicate to the world that something is happening as far as the Executive is concerned. I hope and trust I will not be forced to analyse again such performance.

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

         HON. TSITSI ZHOU:  Thank you Hon. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement.  What is the Government policy in regard to unpacking and addressing the questions being raised by farmers pertaining to the title deeds programme that was launched by His Excellency, Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa?

The questions being raised are the amount that is charged per hectare for the title deeds and the timeframe for payments for the title deeds?  I thank you Hon. Speaker.

THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA):  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  I thank the Hon. Member for the very pertinent question.

The policy on the land tenure has been clearly and eloquently enunciated by His Excellency, the President of the Republic. We will recall that in 2013, the Constitution said that we were going to give more secure tenure.  The tenure that we had then had been an A1 permit, an offer letter and a 99-year lease. So, it had to be more secure than this.

In the President's wisdom and in aligning with the Constitution, he pronounced a title deed on 9^th October, 2024.  The message was communicated from the President's Office.  Subsequent to that, a Land Tenure Technical Implementation Committee, headed by Mr. Kuda Tagwireyi was formed and comprises eminent Zimbabweans. They have done quite a lot of work and the President launched the Title Deeds Programme during the third week of December in 2024.

Subsequent to that, a communiqué was issued which looked at the 10 most frequently asked questions relating to land. That is available and I can redistribute that to Hon. Members. The specific question relates to an operational aspect which relates to the value of the formula used to calculate what a farmer is going to pay.  The broad parameters Mr. Speaker Sir, are the agro-ecological zones which determine the potential of the farm.  Therefore, agro-ecological Region One would be able to pay a higher amount per hectare compared to, for example, agro-ecological Region Five which would be extensive ranching.

         Then the secondary attributes that this Committee has looked at are those that are to do with the specific potential of the locality of that particular farm within an agroecological zone - for example within  Region 2, a farm can be  on Kalahari side and within that same Region 2 although they have the same amount per hectare for the region, the specific locality is that this is on sandy soils and the other on red soils. So, the potential of those two farms would be different and they put another value.

They also look at tertiary attributes such as proximity to towns, roads, the existence of rivers, dams and other infrastructure that the farmer might have found. So, it becomes so unique to that particular property and we have urged the Technical Implementation Committee to avail this formula so that farmers are more aware of   the cost of their particular farms. Once that has been computed there is a national discount as directed by the President that this cannot be for the true value. What I understand from the technical committee at this stage is that they have now engaged three commercial valuers to be able to verify this process to see whether indeed this discount that they are going to apply throughout is substantial.

The other aspect is that a discount is going to be given to civil servants depending on the length of service in Government, that discounts will be given to War Veterans and once that formula is out, I will be happy to share with this august House. Thank you.

HON. MADZIVANYIKA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I am sure this issue of land has created a lot of controversy. I want to go straight to my question. There is an outcry out there which relates to the issue of valuation of the land to say Zimbabwe is paying debt, the BIPPA and the 3.5billion to foreign farm owners with regard to the issue of compensation for the improvements made on the farms. The question then is, the value that our people of the land versus the compensation that this nation is paying to the former farmers is not consistent. Can the Minister shed more light on that issue because it is a source of worry for most Zimbabwe? Thank you.

HON. DR. MASUKA: I do not see where the confusion arises. The Constitution is very eloquent of 2013 which this House passed that clearly indicates that the State will compensate for land and improvements on BIPPA farms and on indigenous farms. The State agreed with a valuation consortium and entered into an agreement on the purpose of a valuation that was carried out and this is the basis for the payment and I do not know where the controversy is coming from.

HON. JAMES:  Good afternoon.  Hon. Minister, these title deeds that have been issued now, have they been issued from the original title deeds that you required during the fast-track reform programme?

         HON. DR. MASUKA: Let us go back to the Land Reform Programme and what is captured in the Constitution that the land is vested in the State, in the President on behalf of the people of Zimbabwe. So, the Land Reform Programme was a process where the land was acquired from the former farm owners and vested in the State. So, it is State land, the agricultural land for which we are applying these title deeds programme. So, in terms of the law, the land belongs to the President and on behalf of the people of Zimbabwe and if we go to the Constitution, it says that the State may alienate the land for value and this is what the President is doing, alienating that land for value and the value I said, that the technical committee is in the process of giving us this formula.

         So, it is this property which was acquired by the State, which property X now belongs to the State, the President and the title deed is therefore the President selling to this new beneficiary.  A survey diagram is required in terms of the issuance of a title.  That survey diagram is done on this property that belongs to the President.  There is no direct relationship between the old and the new.  What is going to happen therefore is that on this deed, there is no reference at all to anything that existed on this land.  It is the President alienating piece X 1 to this beneficiary and as surveyed.  Just to give an example of the 23 500 A2 farmers and 13 000 plots already have a survey diagram on them.  These are the purposes for which now they will be transferred to these without reference to the old title. 

         So, this question I think ought to be clearer because there is an assumption by others and misplaced ones that whoever holds these old title deed in their drawer may link this to the new title deed.  There is no relationship between these two.

         HON. GANYIWA:  Since the Government is already issuing the title deeds to the farm holders, does it mean that it has stopped issuing or parcel out the land to the new applicants especially looking at the historical background whereby if one applied for a farm, the Government used to withdraw certain number of hectarage from the farm holder and give to the new applicant.  Does it mean that all those who had applied for the piece of land, their applications are not processed at the moment?

         HON. DR. MASUKA: Mr. Speaker Sir, I thank the Hon. Member for the important question seeking clarification on whether there is continuing issuance of land.  The President His Excellency Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa, on the 9^th October when he issued the statement, he also indicated that there is a moratorium on the issuance of new permits irrespective of class.  There is however an exception that there was work in progress.  For example, if there had been withdrawal for a person before the 9^th October when work was in progress, he allowed that to be concluded.  Ordinarily in the day-to-day administration of land under the State, there are four categories that we look at.  We look at multiple farm owners, abandoned plots, under-utilised plots and derelict plots.  These become the subject of sub-division but that has been put on hold for those that are called work in progress.

         *HON. MABURUTSE:  Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement.  Mr. Speaker, we have an armyworm that has become a menace which is destroying any crop and this will lead to hunger, even if we have farmed very well.  I want to ask the Minister what plans do they have concerning the farmers so that they can fight this armyworm and what plans are in place so that we avert the dangers of the armyworm in the future? Thank you.

*THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA): Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the Chairperson of our Committee for a very pertinent question which is looking at the challenge that has befallen us as a country.

These armyworms are in two different types. The first one, I think is the one which is called the African armyworm, spodoptera exempta.  The African armyworm is brought into the country as insects or moths after being blown by the wind from countries like Tanzania and Mozambique.  So, when we have our winds before the rains, they are carried by the winds and when the winds stop, that is when they get down.  Those moths lay eggs then we have the larvae, the pupae then the moth.  That is the life cycle of the African armyworm.  So, when this worm comes out, there are lots of them, and they will move around destroying crops.

When we talk about climate change, we must know that this is also caused by climate change and the Government has put a new department of Migratory Pest Control which is alert to things like these.  We can equate it to fire brigade in town.  What we do is we give pesticides to farmers.

We distributed about 3 million, 200 litre bottles last year and we distributed about 4 000 spray knapsacks so that when the farmer notices these worms, that is the first point of call, then he alerts the Agritex officers then the Agritex officers, through their WhatsApp groups, go to provinces, then from provinces to command centres.  Our command centres now have vehicles.  They have motorised knapsacks and drones so that we can react quickly.

Last year, it only affected five provinces and nine districts.  This year, all the 10 provinces including Bulawayo and Harare, we are seeing the armyworm.  About 30 districts have been affected, which means there is an increase.  I am given a daily report of what is happening in our country.  What they are saying is that in Masvingo and Manicaland, they are a menace in those two provinces but we have sent out people to curb their spread.  Now we know the direction of the worms.  If we put signs of certain colours and they see them, as they are attracted to certain colours, they will come down, then we can study them.  So, we can control them by using those colours.  The African armyworm destroys everything where it lands, from grazing land to crops.  It feeds on the crops, especially when the crops are still young. 

We have a smaller version of this worm, which is called the fall armyworm.  The fall armyworm is also known as spodoptera frugiperda. The fall armyworm was not common here in Africa but it started in 2016 at a farm in Matabeleland.  I think it was brought by importing maize without following proper channels.  When it was here, many people who grow sorghum, maize and so on started noticing holes on the leaves of their crops.  You find that they eat the leaves, they just put holes on the leaves.  The worm goes into the husks of the maize and it will eat the stalk.  If we do not stop it there, it will affect the growth of the cob.  What it means is that even if we get enough rains like this time, if we do not unite, we can end up having hunger. It starts with us farmers that if we see these worms in our fields, we whistleblow to Agritex officers. If we follow their instructions, we can win. What we can do from 2025/26 farming season, I am putting a Statutory Instrument that every maize seed and sorghum seed should be protected from these worms. That is what we are doing Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

HON. C. MOYO: Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir. It is sad that the death toll for the Masvingo/Beitbridge fatal accident has risen to 28. May their souls rest in peace? My question to the Hon. Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development is; what is Government policy towards bus operators without valid passenger insurance policy, route permits and mandatory driver retests? Thank you.

THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir and let me also ride on what Hon. Moyo has said to those who have departed to say their souls rest in eternal peace. It is quite disheartening and after witnessing this very horrific accident which occurred and for the betterment of the august House, this accident happened less than 200 metres from the tollgate. So, any reasonable driver would start to disengage as we approach a tollgate and you wonder why this driver was speeding as he was approaching the tollgate.

We visited the scene of the accident which was a touching moment and even to the people of Zimbabwe. The sanctity and dignity of our people has decimated, where you find some people searching the dead bodies and helping themselves as well as even mobilising the collection eggs that were not broken for resale. After witnessing this accident, those eye witnesses were worried because they were watching from the tollgate.

I also want to thank Government for chipping in through the declaration by His Excellency, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa as a State of Disaster whereby volunteers also had to chip in assisting those who were maimed and those who were injured. To respond to Hon. Moyo’s question, the Road Motor Transportation Act is very clear, [Chapter 13:15]. It articulates the charges that pertain to the drivers and operators. We have Commissioners in the Road Motor Transportation Act and I am happy that we have decentralised now. We are in almost every province.

If you do not comply, the minister is mandated to instruct the Commissioner to make sure that we cancel the operator’s licence or we deregister the operator. This is what we have done for now whilst we are engaging further investigations.  So, because of the promulgation of this Road Motor Transportation Act, you find that we have got an arsenal to use and it also articulates issues to do with the licencing under the Vehicle Licencing Act where we are also saying in terms of drivers, they must not drive without retest.

You need to take a retest after every five years and this particular case, the driver, his retested expired in 2021. It is also saddening that we have our people manning roads and I speak from those superintending over roadblocks. I have engaged my counterparts, the Minister of Home Affairs to say the police and the VID, if you allow buses to pass through manned roadblocks and the bus is involved in an accident, you must be accountable. – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear] -

So, we are not going to take it easy. His Excellency was very vivid on this case to say those must be taken to account. We are saying there is no way a bus must leave a rank without proper documentation. Going forward, you will see our VID and the police right from the stations making sure that there is proper documentation before a bus embarks on a journey. The exercise should be that you do not have passengers being dropped along the way because the bus is not compliant. You will see us making sure that we monitor our buses but above all, to the people of Zimbabwe, this calls for a holistic approach where we cannot make it ourselves. Police officers along the road especially Hon. Members, if you see someone speeding and also not adhering to the rules and regulations on our roads, please feel free to raise alarm and we will act accordingly. Thank you.

HON. MAKUMIRE: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker Sir. The Government of Zimbabwe, in 2023, promulgated a Statutory Instrument No. 118, which mandates all public service vehicles to have speed limiting devices. The supplementary question to the Hon. Minister is on the impediments of the enforcement of this provision because we realise that most of these accidents are from speeding drivers like he has explained that the bus was approaching the tollgate and it was speeding. What is stopping the implementation of this Statutory Instrument? Thank you.

HON. MHONA: Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir. Let me also thank my brother Hon. Makumire for that very important question. Indeed, yes, the S. I. 118 of 2023 was promulgated and it is also saddening that our people especially drivers, have been tampering with these gadgets. In this particular case of Beitbridge, there was a speed monitoring device that was tampered with and we wonder, soon after the installation of these gadgets, drivers have gone a step further to see how they can circumvent this speed monitoring device, which therefore calls for punitive sanctions to be imposed on such errant drivers.

I want to concur with the Hon. Member that yes, this will actually try to mitigate but you wonder if you are driving along our roads, we have been engaging, so what we have done through the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, we are going to summon drivers and also operators. Others are also saying the gadgets are there but maybe it is prudent and I will liaise with my counterpart, the Minister of Industry so that from the source of manufacturing, we have these gadgets so that at the end of the day, we do not require bus operators to install gadgets thereafter. I am sure we are going to take a step further to make sure that the buses will come governed and you find that such buses that are governed from the source, we do not have these issues of tampering with the gadgets. Thank you.

*HON. TOGAREPI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My supplementary question is when incidences like these take place, we hear that a company’s licence had been confiscated. After a few weeks, we hear that the same company with a confiscated licence is back on the road. Can the Hon. Minister explain to us what will have happened for such a company to go back on the road when they do not have proper documentation and licence? What is Government policy on that?

*HON. MHONA: Thank you Hon. Speaker and thank Hon. Togarepi. He has raised a very pertinent question. It is true and it is saddening and shocking to the generality of Zimbabweans that you find people coming back. When we put our laws in place, at times we do not look at the future. If we go to our Road Motor Transportation Act, it says that all those that are getting on the roads, if they are careless on the roads, you will not be allowed to drive for six months.  We should come back to this House with a law, stiffer penalties curbing careless driving.  They were taking advantage of the gaps in our laws. Regarding the number of days a driver can come back, it was said that if they rectify their papers then they can come back on the roads.

         *HON. P. MOYO: Thank you Mr. Speaker. We want to thank the Minister for his answers. My supplementary question is that for a person to get to Beitbridge, they pass through many roadblocks without anything happening. What does the law say for the people manning the roadblocks to ensure they follow the law? What is the Government doing about the bus that we are talking about? The accident happened in Beitbridge the driver was coming from Harare carrying people and passing through roadblocks.  What does the law say because the only culprits are the driver and the owner, what about the people manning the roadblocks?

         *HON. MHONA: Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you Hon. Moyo.  The question that she raised indeed falls on our lap as the Ministry.  As I have said, as we are working with the Minister of Home Affairs, we say we have people manning roadblocks and looking at the papers of people if they have permits.  Yes, we have VID and the police. Also, coming to this House as the department of law enforcement we are the ones who came up with the laws, we are here so that we have stiffer penalties so the Police or the VID Officers should be punished as well.  If we bring those laws, we should also make sure that the laws are followed.

         We also queried the bus was coming from here, firstly these buses are not supposed to travel at night and they pass through four provinces from Harare, Mashonaland East, Masvingo then Matabeleland South. So, from our discussions with the Minister of Home Affairs, our police and VID, we cautioned why they allowed the bus to pass through their roadblocks.   If we see things like that; we have a listening President, so in that case, we can relieve them of their duties and allow the law to take its course first.

         *HON. MAPIKI: Thank you Mr. Speaker.  My question was supposed to go to the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage. In Zimbabwe, we are now skillful when it comes to crimes.  There is a shortage of police posts because people are traveling 50km to a police station.  Women are being abused and it is difficult for them to find transport money so they go and report.  Are you not copying what the education and clinic departments are doing by putting around a radius of 5km. I think we should also have police posts in a radius of three to five kilometers. 

         *THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Hon. Speaker. Thank you Hon. Mapiki, it is very true.  He has raised a very pertinent question. We see people walking for long distances but we have satellite posts. If we sit down with those provinces as Members of Parliament, I think we can come up with places where we can come up with these posts.  I think they are there to help. If we have places like those, Police can come and put their post there where they can work in conjunction with the nearest police station. If we know such places, we will be very happy to assist. We have said that we have clinics and hospitals in such areas so I think the Police should also come closer to the people.

         *HON. S. TSHUMA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. My supplementary question to the Minister is we are seeing these places where there is a need for police posts.  When we engage police, they say that if you can construct places for them to work from and to live, then it would be okay.  Is that what is supposed to happen that the residents in the rural areas should help in constructing places where police can work?

*HON. MHONA: Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you Hon. Tshuma. The Government policy is that the Government should construct buildings but the country belongs to us also.  The rate of crimes and the rate of how our resources are being plundered is alarming.  When we put our heads together and build places where our police can work from, it would be commendable.  It is voluntary.  The Government does not encourage people to work but people and the Government can work together if we can come together and put up a structure it will be very welcome.

*HON. MUGWADI:  Thank you Mr. Speaker. My supplementary question on this issue is that, is your Ministry aware that most crimes that were being committed like armed robberies in the urban areas, the robbers are now going into the rural areas because they know that the police will shoot to kill?

         Is the Ministry aware that the robbers are now targeting the rural folks where they are involved in stock theft and then they raid people? The people in the rural areas are facing a lot of challenges concerning these armed robbers.

         *THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA):  Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you Hon. Mugwadi. He has asked and given a warning to help other people that there are a lot of these armed robberies in rural areas. So, I am just warning the people of Zimbabwe not to keep cash in their homes. I want to thank him that we work together with the police. We see that a lot of them are now going to the rural areas. That is why we are saying that we should have a police post closer to the people. I think the police should be visible in the rural areas so that if crimes are committed, people can find help there because no one can run away from the police.

         HON. MUKOMBERI:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My question is directed to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education in respect to the Government policy in relation to the time lag for replacing a teacher after one has transferred from a certain school. In rural areas, they usually experience a longer time for replacing a teacher after one has transferred as compared to urban centres. So, the question is, do we have a specified time lag to say that this is maximum period before a teacher is replaced so that learners will continue with their learning without any disturbances? Thank you.

THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT OF TRANSPORT AND

INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA):   

Let me also thank my brother Hon. Mukomberi for that very important question. It is of paramount importance that whenever we fill our vacancies on a particular school, the Government policy is there to say up to four years. The teacher is supposed to reside on that particular station. Therefore, in the event that there is a gap, that gap must be filled immediately. I am sure that working closely with the provinces and recently, the Minister of Education has been talking about filling even using temporary teachers for that particular position to cover the gaps. I am sure that this might relate to a particular situation of a school known by the Hon. Member. I will be very happy if he can furnish further details so that I will also cascade to the Hon. Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir.

THE HON. SPEAKER: I hope that the Hon. Member will

provide the details for a specific school where that has happened.

HON. MUKOMBERI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I will do exactly that.

HON. NYANDORO: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My question

is directed to the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services. What is the Government policy regarding media coverage and publicity of regional and international events hosted by the country, particularly in terms of promoting the country’s interests and image globally?

THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION, PUBLICITY AND

BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. DR. MUSWERE):  Thank

you Mr. Speaker Sir. The Government policy in terms of international

coverage is very clear that we also support covering international news, international sports and so much content in terms of the licencing framework, which licencing framework has allowed us to be able to licence a number of institutions including now private players and community radio stations. So, we have a very clear policy that we will continue to also give Zimbabweans an opportunity to be able to be part of the global village in terms of information, in terms of entertainment and in terms of edutainment as well. Thank you.

         HON. MANDIWANZIRA: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. I also would like to add to the question to the Hon. Minister, especially where he mentioned the issue of the community radio stations. It does appear that they have been having difficulties to carry out their work to cover their communities largely because of funding and because by law, they are not allowed to take advertising. My question to the Minister is, to what extent has Government extended its hands to now directly fund community radio stations from Treasury?

         HON. DR. MUSWERE: We did the Second Reading of the Broadcasting Services Act amendments yesterday. I am sure today will be in a position to finalise in terms of the responses from the Members of Parliament. Part of the amendments that this House is seized with also include the Broadcasting Service Act [Chapter 12:06] in order to allow for the creation for the media fund which will support community radio stations. So, these are part of the amendments that this House is currently seized with and I am hoping and praying that this sails through in terms of the proposal that we have to this House. Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.

         *HON. NHARI:  Thank you Hon. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Health and Child Care. In the past few weeks, the Ministry of Health and Child Care was vaccinating children against polio. My question is, what is Government policy concerning churches that do not allow their congregants to go to hospitals and be vaccinated?

         *THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. KWIDINI):  Thank you Mr. Speaker. It is very true. Religious beliefs pose challenges to the health workers and the country when children are supposed to be vaccinated against diseases. We are seized with the matter together with other Government departments so that we enforce children’s rights that they should get help when all the children are getting help despite their religious beliefs because when diseases befall us, they will fall on everyone.

 So, we are busy crafting a law that if there are vaccinations taking place, every child should benefit despite their religious beliefs.

         *HON. P. ZHOU: I want to thank the Minister for his answer but my supplementary question is that each year when children are being vaccinated, they refuse to have their children vaccinated.  This means that diseases such as polio or measles will not be eradicated because their children will have the diseases within.  Hon. Minister, do you know the number of children that have not been vaccinated.  What do you do when they are affected by polio and measles?  What plans do you have in place to ensure a decrease of those diseases in the children who will not have been vaccinated?

         THE HON. SPEAKER:  That question has good intentions but the moment you go into statistics, you will require the Ministry to have a written question so that they can do their research accordingly and be in a position to give you the statistics.

         *HON. ZVAIPA:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  My supplementary question is, after Government has realised that there are churches that say people are treated by God while Government is saying there is some medication meant to cure diseases, has Government made an effort to visit those churches and educate them about vaccination?

         THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. KWIDINI):  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  I would like to thank the Hon. Member for the supplementary question.  Indeed, there is so much change going on the world-over and there is a combination of approaches towards society.  The leaders of churches, especially those that have been stopping people from getting medical treatment are now inviting our Ministry on the days they will be meeting to enable their children to be vaccinated.  The problem still remains with a few new churches that might come up and are still to allow people to get vaccinated.  Most of the churches that were well known for refusing vaccinations are now working with Government and are now registering under medical facilities for maternity. Some of them have not been doing that but I know that there might still be a few resisting change.  Most of them are cooperating with Government and now allow their children to get vaccinated and go for treatment at hospitals.

         *HON. P. ZHOU:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  My question is directed to the Minister of Local Government.  I am repeating this question because there is power in repetition.  Local Provincial Councils were elected in 2023 and to date, they have not started working.  What are the plans with regards to those provincial councils?

         THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. GARWE):  I would like to thank the Hon. Member who said she was repeating the question and I will repeat the answer because there is power in repetition.  We are working on the laws with the assistance of stakeholders who are drafting the Bill.  We expect that in March or April, we will be through.

         THE HON. SPEAKER:  Hon. Minister, Hon Zhou looks like she is unable to hear you.  Could you please speak up?

         HON. GARWE:  Noted Hon. Speaker.  Let me raise my voice.  The Hon. Member asked a very good question on Government’s plans with regards to the provincial councils who were elected three years ago and are supposed to have started work.  The current Provincial Councils were elected in August, 2023 during the elections where we were all elected.  To answer the Hon. Member, we are working on the Provincial Council’s Bill as Local Government and all the interested stakeholders.  We expect that in March, the Bill will have gone through the Cabinet Committee on Legislation then to Cabinet.  We expect the Bill to have come to this august House by April and I expect to have the Bill done during the first half of this year.

         HON. MUTSEYAMI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My supplementary question to the Hon. Minister is that this issue was raised sometime in 2024 and the Leader of the House then, who happens to be not present today, Hon. Ziyambi Ziyambi promised this House that the Bill was ready and the time he was talking about that was in August. Then he said it was ready and by December it will be done.

Now, it is on record in the Hansard and now the Hon. Minister responsible for the Ministry is putting to us that it will be ready by April. My question to the Hon. Minister is, what would happen in terms of the enumeration of the Provincial Council members and all those things that they were supposed to be entitled to as they were supposed to be serving for the period then when they were sworn in up to the time  when the Bill  became  an Act. What is going to happen to that period?

THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. GARWE): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.

Allow me also to thank the Hon. Member for the question. The preparation of regulations and the laws is not a once off affair. The Minister of Justice and my Ministry had hoped by December we would have finished.

However, several issues were raised from stakeholders which necessitated our meeting again in December to polish up, which work we have already done and what is now outstanding…

THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Minister, kindly address the Chair, please.

HON. GARWE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker Sir.  The process of preparing laws is not an event. My Ministry and the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs would have hoped to get this Bill passed through Cabinet by December 2024.

However, Mr. Speaker, several issues were raised by stakeholders which we had overlooked in the preparation of the Bill which we have now attended to and we are hoping before the end of March, we would have taken the Bill to the Cabinet Committee responsible for legal issues to then look at it and further take it to Cabinet.  We are hoping by the end of this first quarter, we would have done that.

However, the Hon. Members’ question is talking about remuneration. Mr. Speaker, I will have to refer that question to Treasury because I am not responsible for any remuneration. Thank you.

HON. MUSHORIWA: Supplementary question!

THE HON. SPEAKER:  Mr. Speaker. Does it really arise after that explanation?

HON. MUSHORIWA:  It does, Mr. Speaker. Thank you Mr. Speaker. The Hon. Minister, in response to the supplementary by Hon. Mutseyami, I just wanted to bring to your attention that the Government Gazetted a Bill [HB. 5, 2021].

 I just want to understand, Hon. Minister, are you reinventing the wheel or are you supposed to build on the lapsed Bill that was gazetted and tabled in this Parliament?

HON. GARWE:  Mr. Speaker, we are not reinventing the wheel. We only raised issues that were raised by stakeholders, which are pertinent.  The Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs is the Chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Legislation. So, we must take the Bill back to stakeholders, which we have done and we are only waiting to take it back to Cabinet Committee on Legislation for onward presentation to Cabinet, Mr. Speaker and then to come here. Thank you.

+HON. GWABENI: Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. What is Government policy regarding the availability of reading books in schools without any fees required from parents year after year? Parents are saying books are costing exorbitantly more than the school fees. Thank you.

 THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA):  Thank you Hon. Speaker. Let me also thank Hon. Gwabeni. Unfortunately, I joined the interpretation a bit late but I heard clearly what she was implying in terms of books now being expensive more than fees. What I did not get is whether these are textbooks or exercise books.

 However, Hon. Speaker Sir, as you know that in terms of our policy, fees for rural schools or Government schools with regards  are affordable, where there is engagement of all stakeholders to come up with desired fees for a particular school. You therefore find that in terms of the ICT policy that is being driven and my colleague here, where we are also going to use gadgets on our school. I am sure this will then alleviate some of the challenges posed by the Hon. Member, that if we now go online, at times it will be easier as well for parents, so that some of the material that we will be having, will be accessible freely on our gadgets.

I also want to concur to say yes, in the event of books, in some instances, given the number of subjects, they might be on a higher note but will continue engaging. Also liaising with the Hon. Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, so that as we then partake and look into the exercise of our base, we can go digital and mitigate some of these challenges bedevilling our parents. Thank you so much, Hon. Speaker Sir.

HON. KANGAUSARU: Thank you for affording me this opportunity to ask my question.

 

My question is directed to the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. In his 2024 State of the Nation Address, His Excellency the President, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa, highlighted several critical Bills requiring urgent attention. However, delays in drafting these Bills persist due to a shortage of legal drafters in the Attorney General's Office. Notably, some Bills mentioned in the 2023 State of the Nation Address also remain undrafted.

What measures is the Ministry taking to address these challenges and expedite the legislative drafting process? So, I submit.

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. MAZUNGUNYE): Thank you Madam Speaker.  I also want to take this opportunity to thank the Hon. Kangausaru for that question, which is very important.  I also appreciate the fact that the core business of Parliament is making the laws and such Bills should be coming.

I also hasten to mention to this Hon. House that indeed, as the Ministry, we have been seized with challenges about drafters of Bills. That has been the challenge which has been there, which has affected the House for the time mentioned by the Hon. Member.

However, I wish to notify this House that the Minister of Justice, League and Parliamentary Affairs has currently done a lot to assist in that regard. The Ministry of Justice at the moment has outsourced five drafters from the private sector who are helping and are working under the guidance of the Attorney General and they are assisting in drafting the Bills. Currently, there are drafters who have been taken from various departments and they are undergoing training at the University of Zimbabwe for drafting wherein an MOU was signed between the Ministry and the University of Zimbabwe. So, the Ministry is doing all its best to ensure that Bills will come through to Parliament. So, I submit.

HON. KANGAUSARU: Given the shortage of legal drafters, which has led to prolonged delays in the drafting of critical Bills from both 2023 and 2024 State of the Nation Address, has the Ministry considered engaging additional drafters, seconding experts or implementing capacity building initiatives to expedite the registry drafting process?

HON. MAZUNGUNYE:  I think that is exactly what I have just explained, that currently we have 15 drafters who have been engaged by the Ministry undergoing training with the University of Zimbabwe for eight-weeks.  When they finish doing their training, we will see Bills coming through to Parliament.

HON. S. SAKUPWANYA:  My supplementary question is to do with the timelines of the Bills. We have seen some of these Bills, like the Youth Bill in particular, it has been with the Attorney General’s Office for a number of years, even before we got into Parliament. Do they have a timeline to state when they resolve the problems to do with the drafters to say the outstanding Bills, we expect that by the end of this year they will be complete and brought to Parliament or otherwise?

HON. MAZUNGUNYE:  I will just reiterate the point that we might not be having timelines with regards to when the Bills will have to come to Parliament because, as you are aware, Bills, when they are completed, are sent to the Ministries and they come to the Ministry, they are sent to Parliament.  There are no timelines which we can mention at the moment. However, what we can assure the House is that the training which is being done by the drafters is going to take eight weeks. Right now, they are in their third week. So, after the eighth week, I can assure this House that when they come, they start drafting and we will see a positive change in that regard.

HON. MUTSEYAMI:  My supplementary question to the Hon.  Minister is with regards to these drafters who will be going for the eight-week training programme. What measures have you put in place so that you will retain these drafters for a long time because the major problem that has been experienced in the Ministry is the issue of salaries and as a result, most of these people seek greener pastures. So, what remedy have you put in place so that you will avoid this challenge?  It has been recurring for years.

HON. MAZUNGUNYE: In that regard, I admit that it has been an issue and the real reason for the lack of drafters has been the issue of brain drain. I admit that fact. However, this is an issue which we also have had time to liaise with the Treasury so that something can be done with the drafters that we have. As I have mentioned earlier, the drafters which we have outsourced from the private sector, have a different agreement which they have entered with the Government and them.  They are being paid by Treasury and that has also assisted in a long way. On that note, those who are undergoing training, they are also going to have a separate agreement with the Ministry which will liaise with Treasury so that we can be able to keep the drafters and avoid the brain drain again.

^∞HON. NYELELE: I would like to ask the question in my mother language. My question is, what measures are the water authorities taking to ensure that water gets to all the RDCs because when there is no electricity, water does not get to hospitals?  It is so bad that sometimes expectant mothers have to go to the river to fetch water and schools are also closed because of that.

         THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. GARWE):  Madam Speaker Ma’am, the transmission is bad.  May the Hon. Member repeat her question so that I will be able to pick or if there is anyone who is able to assist? I will appreciate.

         *THE HON. SPEAKER:  I will ask the Hon. Member to repeat the question but may you please put on the headphones so that you will be able to understand the question.

^∞HON. NYELELE: My question is directed to the Minister of Agriculture, not the Hon.  Minister you asked to respond to the question.  What are the measures in place with regards to availing water when there is no electricity, water cannot be accessed in the RDCs?  Even hospitals cannot operate well. Expectant mothers are asked to go and fetch water from the rivers and there are crocodiles. They are also long distances.  Even schools have to be closed because of lack of water. What measures are you going to put in place so that we may operate smoothly?

         THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA):  Madam Speaker Ma'am, I thank the Hon. Member for the question.  The question relates to provision of water when there is no electricity in some hospitals, rural hospitals and rural district councils, the provision of water is a constitutional right and therefore the expectation is that the State will take all reasonable measures to ensure that there is adequate, safe and potable water.

The role of the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries and Water and Rural Development in this regard is that through the Zimbabwe National Water Authority, Government is the biggest provider of treated water to many rural centres. In fact, we have 435 water supply points throughout the country. The Hon. Member seems to have a very specific area that she is relating to.  I would be willing to get the details so that we can investigate that so that where possible, we can work with the Zimbabwe Electric Supply Authority (ZESA) so that we can investigate the cause of these outages and see whether we can have some ring fencing.

May I hasten to add that ZESA and ZINWA have a Memorandum of Understanding to ring-fence water supply points and exempt them from load shedding? Consequently, during the month of January, the electricity supply to water stations was around 61%. So, we could try and investigate this specific one Madam Speaker Ma’am.

         HON. MARIKANO:  Thank you Madam Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Health and Child Care. Madam Speaker, what is the Government policy regarding the usage of non-medical equipment such as cardboard boxes in Government hospitals? I thank you. – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –

                  *THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. KWIDINI):  Thank you Madam Speaker, Ma’am.  Let me respond to the question by the Hon. Member on the use of cardboard boxes in hospitals and what it is all about. We should assist each other.

         When a road accident occurs, it does not take place in a hospital. With regard to the Beitbridge accident where a lot of lives were lost and a lot of people were injured, when the road accident victims are injured and are ferried to hospital from the accident site, they are ferried by ambulances or helpers. There are people who have been trained in first aid, this is where such items are used because it will not be a hospital.  When the injured are being driven to hospital and along the way, items that are readily available on the spot are used to alleviate the situation.  So, the Hon. Member could be mixing up issues.

The Beitbridge hospital is too small to take care of all those people, especially the injured.  So, at the hospital, there are other things that must be undertaken such as x-rays and investigations.  Often times, the item that would have been used temporarily will be used until the person is attended to fully. I thank you.

*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Thank you for the response, Hon. Deputy Minister. 

*HON. MARIKANO:  Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am now referring to the case that the Hon. Minister is referring to – [AN HON. MEMBER: Iwe uri kunyeba iwe! Gara pasi!] - It is happening in major Government hospitals, which is so embarrassing to the country - [AN HON. MEMBER: Gara pasi! Gara pasi!] - May you please protect me, Madam Speaker Ma’am?

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  May we please have order?  Hon. Member, please ask your question.  You first referred to a social media post that we all saw.  We should not take this august House lightly. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections] – [HON. MUNEMO: On a point of order Madam Speaker!] –

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  What is your point of order?

*HON. MUNEMO:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  I just want to say that as Hon. Members, we need to show our constituents what we came for here. What the Hon. Member is talking about … - [AN HON. MEMBER: Gara pasi!] -  is what she saw on social media?  The Hon. Minister responded well to her question.

*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Order, order!  It is true, the Hon. Deputy Minister opened up our eyes and he responded very well.

HON. BONDA:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  Of late, we have seen the air rescue ambulances and helicopters that we received from Belarus. How prepared are they to come to rescue the people in such incidences where we get – [AN HON. MEMBER: That is a new question!] –

*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  You need to learn the procedures of this august House. How can you ask a supplementary question on top of another?  You may proceed Honourable.

HON. BONDA:  I am saying that we received some air rescue ambulances and the helicopters from Belarus. How prepared are they or proactive in such instances where we get accidents like that to be prompt and assist people with the medical first aid kits? I thank you.

* HON. KWIDINI:  I would like to thank the Hon. Member  for the question. I think that is a new question and not about the cardboard boxes.  The air ambulances came from Russia. Right now we are rectifying some issues in the region.

         In the past, they flew, as you saw, assisting victims from all over the country.  We noticed that there are some other items that need to be worked on. There are a lot of things that must be rectified with regard to the air rescue ambulances.  I thank you.

         *HON. MADZIVANYIKA:  My supplementary question is that is this where we are as a country when a person is injured, our nurses who attend to the scenes use card boxes as first aid.

         *THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  That question will not be responded to because it was already responded. 

         HON. TOBAIWA:  My question is directed to the Minister of Mines.  What is Government policy in ensuring that foreign mining companies practice environmentally sustainable mining in Zimbabwe?

         HON. MHONA:  Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am.  Let me also thank Hon. Tobaiwa for that very important question.  Before any mining activity takes place, they need to comply with the environmental impact assessment dictates.  I am sure this is what has to take place whether you are a national or a foreigner, you need to adhere and comply with that regulation.  Thank you.

         HON. TOBAIWA:  We have just seen Chinese companies all over Zimbabwe causing massive degradation using leaching mining system and that destroys the environment.  Could the Minister explain why Government is taking a blind eye to the distraction?  I thank you.

         HON. MHONA:  The basic application of law is that there is no selective application of law, whether you are a national or a foreigner.  In this particular case, I am sure the Hon. Member is seized with a particular case of this company that is violating what has been put in place in terms of the legislation.  I will therefore kindly request the Hon. Member to furnish us with this particular mining company that is violating the law but let me hasten to say that we do not consider whether one is of a particular nationality in this particular case because as a country, we are a friend to all and enemy to none.  We do not segregate on race or tribe but we just operate business as business.  Thank you.

         *HON. MUDUMI:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  On the same issue, those who are getting EIAs from the Government, where we come from they will be having EIAs documents and start mining on people’s fields without the consent of the farmers.  What are Government’s plans to ensure that the farmer is informed on time that the miners are now taking over operations ahead of farming? 

         *HON. MHONA:  I want to thank the Hon. Member.  He referred to a problem that is facing a lot of people where we find arguments between farmers and miners. We are expecting that a Bill will be brought in this august House to address that issue whereby a farmer and a miner may work together.  So, I expect that as we debate, those issues will be addressed but if there is anyone breaking the law, there is a police department that is responsible for addressing such disputes. I thank you.

HON. MUROMBEDZI: My supplementary question to the Hon. Minister is, is his Ministry, considering mandatory public reporting by mining companies on their environmental and social impact, how will this information be made accessible to the affected communities? I so submit.

HON. MHONA: Thank you Hon. Madam Speaker Ma’am and let me also thank Hon. Murombedzi for that very important question. Normally, as you partake in an Environmental Impact Assessment, there is a meeting of all stakeholders that takes place as to raise awareness and also to seek concurrence and any objections to that effect. So, I think that whenever there is an activity that is happening in your locality, you also need to make sure that all stakeholders are appraised on the particular development of that particular project so that when the project commences, there is no one who will then come thereafter to object. I do concur that yes, in some instances, others might miss that very important gathering of the stakeholders to deliberate on a particular project that might have a negative impact as it starts operating within their communities. I so submit.

HON. P. NDUDZO:  My question is directed to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. What strategies are in place to support vulnerable populations including children with disabilities in completing the Primary and Secondary Education?

HON. MHONA:  Yes, I do concur that it is upon us as citizens to make sure that people with disabilities are well catered for, whether they availed service at public institutions or  in particular schools like she has raised. I want to assure the House that there is financial support - she was not very clear whether the support is financial or it has to do with some resources about easy access at a particular infrastructure. I want to say to the Hon. Member that if it is related to the less privilege in terms of capacity, there is also BEAM available to cater for that, whether someone has disability or not. Those less privileged will be catered for and in terms of amenities, whether they is  infrastructure, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is advocating for easy access to those with disabilities so that they also enjoy similar services as those who are able-bodied. Thank you.

HON. MASVISVI:  Thank you, Madam Speaker.  In light of the recent commemoration of the Youth Day under the theme ‘Empower Youth and Secure the Future’, my question therefore is, could the Minister of Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training outline the specific action plans and initiatives the Ministry has implemented or intends to implement to empower young people and ensure their meaningful contribution to the nation's future developments? 

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF YOUTH EMPOWERMENT, DEVELOPMENT AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING (HON. MUPAMHANGA):  Thank you Madam Speaker and I would also like to thank the Hon. Member for the question.  It is true that we recently celebrated or commemorated the National Youth Day.  As the Ministry of Youth Empowerment Development and Vocational Training, we have honed in on providing young people with skills training as well as the relaunch of the rebranded Youth Service in Zimbabwe.  Additionally, on 21^st February, 2025, His Excellency, the President, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa launched the Digital Skills Programme.  This is additionally onto skills that we have been giving in Vocational Training Centres.

We are of the belief that digital skills allow our young people to enter the market. The world is heading towards digital skills and we feel that young people must also acquire such skills to be competitive. In that vein, we are working closely together with the Office of the President and Cabinet who received this Digital Skills Programme through the Government of the United Arab Emirates as well as sister Ministries such as the Ministry of ICT, in order to achieve this goal.  I thank you.

Questions Without Notice were interrupted by THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER in terms of Standing Order No. 68.

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE

         HON. MADZIVANYIKA:  On a point of privilege Madam Speaker.  Thank you very much Madam Speaker.  In terms of Order 68, subsection 6, of our Standing Rules and Orders and I quote, ‘Notices of questions for oral answers must be given no later than 1.00 p.m. on Thursday for answers on the following Wednesday or on Monday for answers on the following Friday.

Madam Speaker, I think we have got a challenge with regards to the issue of questions.  We send our questions according to the dictates of these Standing Rules and Orders but they take more time to come on the Order Paper.  May you assist us in that regard?  Thank you Madam Speaker.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Thank you Hon. Madzivanyika, you have raised a very valid point.  I am sure the Clerk's desk has taken note of that.

LIST OF COMMUNITY SHARE OWNERSHIP TRUSTS IN HWANGE MINING AREA

1. HON. BONDA asked the Minister of Industry and Commerce to inform the House whether there are any Community Share Ownership Trusts in Hwange mining area and if so, to provide the list of such trusts?

THE MINISTER OF INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE (HON. MANGALISO NDLOVU):  Thank you, Madam Speaker.  I want to start by giving a brief background on why community trusts were created and implemented. 

Community trusts were established by the Government of Zimbabwe in line with the indigenisation and economic empowerment legislation and policy frameworks as part of the national strategy to achieve broad-based indigenisation of the economy and economic empowerment of previously disadvantaged indigenous majority.  Community trusts acquire equity on behalf of their respective communities in companies which are called qualifying businesses involved in the commercial exploitation of natural resources in their areas and use the proceeds to fund socio-economic development projects aimed at uplifting the living standards of those communities.

Madam Speaker, the first trust was registered and launched in 2011 and commenced operations in 2012.  By the end of 2013, 61 community trusts had been registered across all 60 rural district councils and one urban community.  Out of the 61 registered CSOTs, only 26 were capacitated and operationalised, most of whom now are not operational. 

The Hwange Community Trust was registered in 2012 and is among the 35 trusts that remain unfunded.  In Matabeleland North Province we had two trusts, Umguza and Bubi that received funding. Madam Speaker, my Ministry is committed to revive these dormant community ownership trusts and ensuring their long-term sustainability through strategic enterprise development initiatives.  Hwange, unfortunately, is among the trusts that have not yet received funding and therefore not operational.  I thank you, Madam Speaker.

HON. BONDA:   Supplementary question Madam Speaker?  I think this is a pertinent answer that I got from the Minister but it is also very emotional to the people in Hwange considering the degradation that is happening, considering all the mines, the safaris and everything that is happening in the environment, in the socio-economic environment.

My question would then be, knowing that Hwange does not have those community social responsibilities, what is the Government doing to promptly empower the people of Hwange?  As we know that at the moment, Hwange is one of the main mining areas that is producing coal, it is the main area that is producing lithium, it has got one of the biggest parks in the country and there is quite a lot of business that is happening there and yet the Government is quite sure and knows that there is nothing that is being deposited into the account, how is the Government going to do this to actually assist the people of Hwange because they are living in abject poverty?  This is something that is known to the Government that there is nothing that is happening.  When is the Government going to promptly make sure that some deposits are done in the account of Hwange CSOT?  I thank you.

         HON. M. NDLOVU: In my response, I highlighted that there was a Community Share Ownership Trust in Hwange District which was registered in 2012. As the programme turned out, there was more focus mainly on gold and platinum rich areas, which is where we saw community trust that got funding at the time. Government, in 2019, had a policy adjustment on indigenisation on the 51/49 requirement with two key minerals remaining, which is diamond and platinum which are the two minerals that still require significant local shareholding.

         However, for the comfort of the Hon. Member, we will be engaging all the communities where there is intensive mining because our permit rule is that communities ought to benefit beyond the royalties that these companies are paying to the local authorities. It is important to note that there is already an established royalty fee that they pay to the Rural District Council, the Community Share Ownership Trusts were coming as a way of initiative mainly socio-economic projects for the communities in those areas.

         I am equally passionate Hon. Member, about Hwange, given such an environment, I appreciate the degradation that is taking place and certainly this year, we will be engaging the mining companies in Hwange to make sure that we establish a file that will go towards empowering communities. I thank you.

STATISTICS ON NEONATAL AND MATERNAL DEATHS FROM 1 JANUARY 2024 TO DATE

 

7. HON. MUROMBEDZI asked the Minister of Health and Child Care to provide statistics on neonatal and maternal deaths for the period from 1^st January to date and a detailed breakdown of causes of these deaths’ province by province.

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. DR. KWIDINI): Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I would like to respond to Hon. Murombedzi’s question. It is unfortunate that January, 2025 or January, 2024, the question just came as January to date but nevertheless, the information that I have is for 2024. Maybe it is because of the delays. I will start by the maternal deaths for January 2025. The maternal deaths at January 2025 to date is currently set as 54. Moving back to 2024, I will start by Harare Province where we have maternal deaths of 19 and neonatal deaths of 111.

2025:

Province                           Maternal Deaths                Neonatal Deaths

Harare                                  19                                111

Bulawayo                             4                                   50

Midlands Province               9                                 22

Mashonaland West              7                                   33

Masvingo                             3                                   12

Mashonaland                        2                                   14

Mashonaland Central           4                                   11

Manicaland                           2                                   22

Matabeleland North             4                                     9

Matabeleland South             0                                    15

TOTAL                              54                                299

         The leading cause of death was hypertensive disorders and its complications including renal failure. The other was post-partum hemorrhage post having an abortion, post normal delivery and also post caesarian section. Sexes was also a contributory factor. Some had underlying HIV and Diabetic Mellitus conditions. Other causes were a dilated cardiomyopathy. On neonatal deaths of 299, the leading cause was respiratory distress as a complication. Secondary was birth asplenium due to challenges with intercultural chair. I so submit on that question.

         HON. MUROMBEDZI: Madam Speaker, given the alarming statistics that the Minister has just given us on the maternal deaths and particularly in the rural areas where access to healthcare facilities remain a challenge, what immediate measures is the Ministry of Health implementing to ensure that pregnant women receive timely and adequate maternal care including addressing the shortage of midwives as well as increasing access to emergency of obstetric services? I so submit.

         HON. DR. KWIDINI: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I want to thank the Hon. Member for the additional question. It is very true that we are having challenges in rural areas, especially when one changes skills and also the road networks where our people should access medical attention quickly, especially the pregnant women. However, what we have done as the ministry now is, we are retraining because we know our trained midwives have migrated to what is called greener pastures, which gives us a burden as a ministry. So, we have reintroduced a massive retraining of midwives so that we can cater for those people in rural areas.

         We are also upgrading what we call primary care nurses in rural areas to be able to be midwives so that they can also render the services like the ones which were being given by those departed midwives. We have gone far further to deploy what we call mobile small scanning machines so that our pregnant women can undergo scanning which is recommended at the initial stage where the pregnant woman is going to book for antenatal care so that we reduce those complications, especially on maternal and neonatal deaths.

         We have seen the Ministry has procured more ambulances which are going to be deployed and which we have already deployed into district rural hospitals so that if any one of the clinics in those districts has raised an alarming especially on the complicated pregnant mothers, the ambulances are going for fury those people to the specialised area where there is a district hospital where the caesarian sections are being done on time. There is also health awareness campaigns and education which we are giving through our village health workers that all pregnant women or pregnant mothers are encouraged, the moment they realise that they are pregnant, they should immediately visit the nearest hospital or clinic so that they are booked and they are known they are pregnant so that that these early diagnosis of pregnancy complications are detected on time. I submit. 

         HON. TOGAREPI: Madam Speaker. Can the Minister help us make sure that these midwives are paid adequately by their employers so that they stay on the job? What we are hearing from these midwives is that when they are helping women give birth, they are doing the same work as other nurses.  As a Ministry, what are you doing to help those midwives get salaries that they are happy with or better working conditions so that they help women on national service duty for the future generation?

         * HON. DR. KWIDINI: I would like to thank Hon. Togarepi.  Indeed as the Ministry of Health, we are not responsible for the remuneration of the staff.  There is a board that is responsible for that and it is the employer. We will try to give them incentives so that they work happily such as non-monetary incentives, for example a midwife, when others share accommodation, we may give them non-shared accommodation so that they stay with their families because of the importance of their role.

         Secondly, merely the title of midwifery means it is at another level.  It is a specialised training for the general nurse.  We are now working on the restructuring of the grades to ensure that those who specialise will get better remuneration.  I am sure in the next two to three months, that will be completed. If you look at social media, you will realise that because of the shortage of midwives, sometimes they leave easily because they are overwhelmed. For us to return them, let us ensure that we give them a locum, which means after working hours, the midwife will be regarded as working on locum, which means it is an extra pay as extra duty after the normal hours.  This will ensure that they will stay even in rural areas or where there is that need. This also is being addressed concerning all civil servants who work in rural areas, especially the health workers from donor funds. That will be an incentive to them including those working in urban areas, they can opt to work in rural areas. That will ensure that our health workers will appreciate working in rural areas. I thank you.

         HON. DR. KHUPE: Thank you Madam Speaker.  Our mantra is no woman must die while giving birth because when women are giving birth, they will be performing a nation duty.  They are giving birth to Hon. Members who are sitting in this House.  My question is, what is our current maternal mortality rate; the figure that we have is not the latest, it is about 363 per 100 000 live births which is still too high. I thank you.

         HON. DR. KWIDINI: Thank you Madam Speaker.  On that one, I would not want to give wrong information especially with figures because figures do not lie.  As she mentioned the numbers, I would recommend maybe then, with your indulgence, she can put it in writing so that we can come up with the current status of information that Hon. Dr. Khupe requested so that we do not  lie in the august House, especially with numbers and figures.  Statistics need  to be accurate. I thank you.

         HON. MASHONGANYIKA: My supplementary is, I just want to thank the Minister for the good response.  I want to hear about the side of neonatal sepsis.  The main cause of neonatal sepsis is a lack of sterilisation in rural areas.  They do not have proper machines.  What is  Government policy regarding the buying of proper sterilisation machines at the rural health centres?

         HON. DR. KWIDINI: Thank you Madam Speaker.  I also want to thank Hon. Mashonganyika for the additional question.  Sometimes neonatal sepsis is not only caused by lack of equipment that is very useful or active to be used. There are several cases of neonatal sepsis that can cause these deaths, be those not admitted in the hospitals.  They can be caused by our cultured women inserting some traditional medicines before giving birth especially when they are told by their elders to say when you insert such medicine it will ease the passage of giving birth.  Those inserted traditional medicines can also predispose to neonatal sepsis. 

Yes, sometimes especially delayed visits to the labour ward or delivery area, the pregnant woman is about 30km away from the institution where she is supposed to deliver; along the way, the delivery process can happen. Along the way, the pregnant women or the clients on the way can also contract the infection whilst going to a safer delivery place.

 In the hospital yes, we admit that some of our equipment now we are rebranding. We are buying the modern ones so that we do not actually use them manually other than what we were doing at the beginning; some machines were operated manually, thereby leading to infections.  Our medical staff use non-sterile gloves or surgical gloves.

 All those things are to be looked into so that we work with modern systems, especially on delivery such that when our clients are delivering, we try by all means to zero factor in the issues of infection or introducing infections, especially to these newly born babies.  Everything that is supposed to be used during the delivery process or even those who need incubators everything, they should have a proper total sterile procedure being followed at all costs.  I thank you.

         HON. KARIMATSENGA-NYAMUPINGA: On a point of order Madam Speaker!

         THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Point of order Hon. Nyamupinga.

         HON. KARIMATSENGA-NYAMUPINGA: Madam Speaker we are privileged that this question was raised when you are sitting on the Chair because you understand the importance of reproductive health because you have gone through it.  I am asking for your indulgence Madam Speaker, can you not allow at least to have supplementary questions raised on this issue.  It is an issue of maternal health which means life and death or increasing population in this country.  I was asking for your indulgence if you could allow these questions, l want to supplement maybe they will help us as we go to our constituencies and speak to the women there.

         THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I hear you Hon. Nyamupinga.  I will allow you to ask your question. Please go ahead and ask your question Hon. Nyamupinga.

         HON. KARIMATSENGA-NYAMUPINGA: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker.  My supplementary question is, what the Minister raised in his response that they are going to buy some ambulances. I want to find out from him on the ambulances that are going to be purchased, are we going to purchase ambulances that are specifically for maternal health that carry a woman who wants to deliver or the baby who might be delivered on the way?  There are those special ambulances for women, not general ambulances.

         HON. DR. KWIDINI: Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to also thank Hon. Nyamupinga for the question. It is very true that as a country we need to move with time, especially on the situation she has raised practically the issue of delivery by mothers while on their way to the institution where delivery must be taking place. The challenge that we have is that most of those specialised ambulances in our country cannot function properly because of our roads. There is a lot of machinery needed in that ambulance but it is mostly electrical. So, these ambulances or motor vehicles are affected by dust. The moment they are affected by dust, in two weeks or three weeks’ time, they will not be functional. We have seen it costly to the Government every time we procure such ambulances.

What we are doing now in our institutions when we are sending these ambulances that we have procured, we are now sending them with experienced people. Sometimes when they need a doctor, the doctor is also sent. Some of them are still not yet employed after their qualification. So, that is the way we want to make sure that it  happens and assists our clients. Also not forgetting what I have said earlier on, that is why we are doing the awareness campaigns to educate pregnant mothers such that the moment they realised that they are pregnant, they should be booked that they are pregnant.

Moreover, they are told their due dates by the nurses at the clinics. That is why we have also increased the number of mothers’ waiting shelters in our institutions so that a week earlier, our pregnant mothers are supposed to be at the hospital or at the clinic and will be waiting for their time. If the nurse or the health practitioner at the site notices that there is complication or the baby is on the breech presentation, pregnant mothers cannot deliver at a clinic. It means that pregnant woman should be referred to district hospital for further management where we prevent all these complications which will lead us to have this maternal deaths.

         HON. KAPOIKILU: One of the causes of maternal death is difficult delivery. Sometimes women face challenges such as where you get the head of the child being bigger than the pelvis, where you get caught on an abnormal position in the uterus such as transverse line or the breech. Midwives cannot perform caesarean section. The question is, does the Government have any plans in training what we call clinical officers who are a bridge between the nurses and doctors and allow them to do caesarean section? Is there any plan of training the clinical officers in our country?

         HON. DR. KWIDINI: Thank you so much Madam Speaker. As I said earlier on, that one clinical officer is somebody who is between a nurse and a doctor.  As I said, we have more doctors than before. We are going to see more doctors being deployed to the district hospitals. As we speak right now, all our district hospitals are closer to our clinics which are the referrals. Our clinic is referred to the district hospital. We have got more doctors as of now.

Nevertheless, we want to employ and recruit more who can go and assist in the rural health centres which is in between clinics and district hospitals. By so doing, we want to reduce this gap of this complicated pregnancy. Even if there is a clinical officer at a rural centre, they cannot manage to deliver this complicated pregnancy which has been mentioned by the Hon. Member. Those pregnant women need referrals to the district hospitals or at large the provincial level. This is because some of them are diagnosed on scan as breech presentation babies.  He said earlier on during the ante-natal care visits, that is when these problems are diagnosed such that these pregnant mothers are referred to specialised institutions where they are going to be assisted without taking time or wasting their time visiting the rural health centres where they will not get proper management. I thank you.

Hon. Murombedzi and Hon. Zemura having stood up to make their contributions.

         *THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Members, as we started, you heard that the Hon. Ministers are not coming to respond to the questions. Right now, we are left with 25 minutes. I realise that there are many Hon. Ministers waiting to give their responses in this august House. If we keep on adding, the 25 minutes will be finished and the Ministers will go back with their responses. We all have questions. Can you make it a question for next week?

          HON. MUROMBEDZI: I just want clarity whether these figures are for January this year or the whole of last year.

         *THE DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Make it a question for next week. Let us proceed.

         HON. MUROMBEDZI: What about my point of clarity Madam Speaker? I just want to hear if the figures he gave are for January this year or for the whole of last year. It is just a one-word answer.

         *THE DEPUTY SPEAKER:  You will ask when you see the Hon Minister.

EQUIPPING OF CHIREDZI GENERAL HOSPITAL WITH RADIOTHERAPY, X-RAY MACHINE AND BASIC MEDICINES

10. HON. MAKUMIRE asked the Minister of Health and Child Care to inform the House what the Government is doing to ensure that Chiredzi General Hospital is equipped with a functional radiotherapy, X-ray machine and basic medicines.

         THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. KWIDINI): Thank you Madam Speaker for the question from Hon. Makumire. The X-ray machine for Chiredzi was installed second week of January 2025 and the users were trained. Radiotherapy is specialised and cannot be decentralised to districts. According to our levels of care, this service will go to provincial level only. Other cancer screening machines such as colposcopy, leep, cryotherapy machines, liquid base cytology are the basic equipment that we have decentralised and more equipment required. I thank you.

EQUIPPING OF CHIREDZI GENERAL HOSPITAL WITH RADIOTHERAPY, X-RAY MACHINE AND BASIC MEDICINES

10. MAKUMIRE asked the Minister of Health and Child Care to inform the House what Government is doing to ensure that Chiredzi General Hospital is equipped with a functional Radiotherapy X-ray machine and the basic medicines.

         THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. KWIDINI):  The X-ray machine for Chiredzi was installed in the second week of January 2025 and users were trained.  Radio-therapy is specialised and cannot be decentralised to districts according to our levels of care.  This service will go to provincial level only.  Other cancer screening machines such as colposcopy, leep, cryotherapy, liquid base cytology are the basic equipment that we have decentralised and more equipment is required.  I thank you.

         HON. MAKUMIRE:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  I want to appreciate the response from the Hon. Minister.  He mentioned that the training for the X-ray machine was done in the first week of January.  When can we expect the patients in need of the service to be served?

HON. KWIDINI:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  I might not have the current information but I believe the moment the machine is installed and the users are trained to use the machine, definitely our patients will be able to visit the site so as to receive the service they require.  I thank you.

RETENTION OF SKILLED MANPOWER IN GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS

14. HON. ENG. MHANGWA asked the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to inform the House what measures are being taken to retain the skilled manpower in Government departments in particular the Ministry of Energy and Power Development.

   THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. E. MOYO): The Government has a Skills, Attraction and Development Fund.  One of the reasons for setting up this Fund is to pay retention allowance to members in critical manpower shortage areas.  Engineers in the Public Service including those in the Ministry of Energy are benefitting from this Fund.  The payment of retention allowances has assisted to stem the brain drain.

  HON. ENG. MHANGWA:  Supplementary question Madam Speaker.  The basis of the question Hon. Minister was that retention by then had been promised but not yet paid. Please confirm if it has been paid in the last two months.

       HON. E. MOYO:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  This response that I have seems to imply that this is already happening because it says that this Fund has assisted to stem the brain drain.  If there is still some doubt, then I will have to check with the Public Service Commission because they are the ones who administer this Fund.

PAYMENT OF PENSION PACKAGES FOR CIVIL SERVANTS UPON RETIREMENT

15. BONDA asked the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare what measures have been put in place to ensure that long serving civil servants are given decent pension packages on retirement.

     THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. E. MOYO):  Prior to January 2024, retiring civil servants were being paid their lump sum in local currency only.  After members started contributing their pension benefits in USD this was also extended to payment of lump sum benefits.  This managed to significantly improve pension benefits which pensioners are receiving.  Very important to mention that the pension payout is a combination of both ZiG and USD.  In the long term, Government is planning to revamp the pension scheme.  This is why Parliament is currently consulting the public on the State Service Pension Amendment Bill and I am aware that the Committee is out at the moment consulting the public.  I thank you.

   HON. ENG. MHANGWA:  The Minister noted that there has been an adjustment to take care of those that have retired now.  What about those who retired before the introduction of the USD payout?

    HON. E. MOYO:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  This is a very dicey question because it has to do with looking at the budget going backwards but this is what has been done now to cure the problem.  Currently, people are contributing both in ZiG and USD.  So for those who contributed in both USD and ZiG, that has been considered in terms of pension payout in recognition of the currency contribution that was made.  I know that in the period before some people lost value and I think it is a question we can refer to Treasury to assist.  There is the 2007-2009 era where a lot of value was lost but that can only rest with the Ministry of Finance.  I thank you.

PROGRESS ON STRUCTURED DIALOGUE PLATFORM ON ZIMBABWE’S DEBT MANAGEMENT

43. HON. G. K. HLATYWAYO asked the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs on progress made on the Structured Dialogue Platform on Zimbabwe's debt management.

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. MAZUNGUNYE): Madam Speaker, let me thank Hon. Hlatywayo for asking a very pertinent question on progress made on the Structured Dialogue Platform on Zimbabwe State Management. The Structured Dialogue Platform was established in December 2022.

It is a dialogue platform where the Government of Zimbabwe negotiates with its creditors and development partners in resolving debt arrears and unblocking access to credit. Lenders therefore proposed or insisted that the Government embark on a process of reform in clearance of arrears and debt resolution. The process is being championed by AFDB President Dr. A. Adesina.

Sector working groups have been elected to spearhead arrear clearances and debt resolution processes with key strategic pillars guiding the process. These include economic growth and stability, reform, governance reform and land tenure reforms. The sector working groups have achieved several milestones in achieving these reforms.

Madam Speaker, on economic growth and stability, Government has been able to make progress in the following areas: -

(a) Transfer of the country's foreign currency liabilities from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to the Treasurer, allowing the bank to concentrate on its core mandates;

(b) The exchange rate is now determined on the interbank market based on the willing buyer, willing seller foreign exchange system, eliminating multiple exchange rates;

(c) Introduction of the new structured currency, the Zimbabwe Gold backed by Gold, and foreign currency balances offering a stable and predictable monetary environment;

(d) Tight monetary policy through raising the bank policy rate and increasing statutory reserve requirements; and

(e) Fiscal deficit is being maintained at below 2% of the GDP by aligning expenditure outlays to available revenue resources.

Madam Speaker, there has been progress by the sector working groups, the Group on Governance, and since April 2024, there have been various achievements including the drafting of five bills, namely the Anti-Corruption Bill, Public Interest Disclosure Bill, Witness Protection Bill, and Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Act Amendment Bill. 

In June 2024, there was engagement with civil society organisations in addressing concerns regarding the PVO Bill, which the Bill is now before the Senate.

Also, the Abolition of Death Penalty Bill, which is undergoing parliamentary approval, is a milestone in improving the human rights environment in Zimbabwe.

Madam Speaker, there has also been an ongoing programme which aims at decentralising the justice delivery system. Countrywide building of courts in Manicaland, Mashonaland West, Masvingo, and Bulawayo has seen improvement in the service and justice delivery across Zimbabwe.

Also, the decentralisation of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission to five provinces, including Manicaland, Mashonaland West, Masvingo, and Bulawayo has enhanced access to services of the Commission.

Furthermore, the Government has made progress with regards to land tenure reforms. These reforms also form part of the National Development Strategy. Thematic working groups on image building, engagement, re-engagement processes of the country.  There have been efforts by the Zimbabwe Land Commission to give security of tenure in the land reform programmes. This is in line with Section 292 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

 Furthermore, landowners who benefited from the land reform programme with 99-year lease offer letters and permits, which will make them bankable, registrable, and transferable. This is in line with NDS1's objectives of providing security of tenure for agricultural land to increase productivity and investment in agriculture.

Madam Speaker, regarding compensation of former farm owners, a remarkable 444 applications under the Global Compensation Deed have been approved for payment by the Compensation Committee. The Government has allocated USD35 million in the 2024 budget for the compensation of the former farm owners. The balance will be paid via bond issuances.

A total of 92 farms under the Resolution of Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreements, BIPPA, have been approved for payment. The BIPPA farmers will be compensated for land and improvements on the farms. Madam Speaker, going forward, the roadmap for the areas, clearance and debt resolution process shall include the following:

Continuation with the implementation of reforms under the pillars of the three sector working groups; continuing with structured dialogue platform meetings, both at high and technical level, as a platform for building trust, feedback, and reporting of progress on the implementation of the reforms; resolution of BIPPAs through the multi-year payment plan; engaging a bilateral creditor champion to assist with the resource mobilisation of bridging finance to clear areas to the World Bank, AFDB, EIB, and others; request for debt relief and restructuring, thus working together with the financial and legal advisors  - Options are the G20 Common Framework or similar mechanism; and arrears clearance, debt relief, and restructuring from Paris Club creditors, non-Paris Club creditors, multilateral regional development banks, and also other creditors.

In conclusion, Madam Speaker, the country's commitment to resolving its debt burden represents an opportunity for a brighter and more stable economic future. This will in turn boost its credit worthiness and improve access to international capital markets for mass development.  If the process is properly managed, Madam Speaker, the Government's vision of becoming an upper-middle income economy by 2030 will be realised. I thank you, Madam Speaker. Thank you.

Questions With Notice were interrupted by the TEMPORARY SPEAKER in terms of Standing Order Number 68.

         HON. MUSHORIWA:  I move that the time be extended by a further 15 minutes.

         HON. MADZIVANYIKA:  I second.

         Motion put and agreed to.

HON. G. K. HLATYWAWO: I just want to find out, Hon. Minister, you have noted on the economic front, you know the presence of the Anti-Corruption Commission as one of the key achievements. I just wanted to refer you to the Corruption Transparency Index which was recently released, which states that Zimbabwe was ranked 158 out of 180. This has been the worst since 2015. The mark was actually 21 out of 100. So, would you say that this is progress? Also, on the issue of exchange rates that you made reference to, you are saying that we have one exchange rate but that is not true. We still have the parallel market and we have also been consulting stakeholders. They have been telling us that they would rather have a market-driven exchange rate as opposed to the, you know, controlled exchange rate that we have. So, would you say that that is progress?

On your political reforms, I would also want to hear you in terms of, you know, your briefing in terms of electoral reforms and also issues around press freedom. Recently, we have seen, you know, journalists being arrested on account of...

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MAUNGANIDZE): Order, Hon.  Hlatywayo! You are only allowed to ask one question.

HON. G. K. HLATYWAYO: So, media reforms, can you update us in terms of press freedom?

HON. MAZUNGUNYE: Thank you Madam Speaker and I also want to thank the Hon.  Member for the supplementary question. Indeed, as you have alluded to, there are statistics which have been circulating and as the Ministry and also as the sector working groups, we are visiting the issue.  We are going to deliberate as the sector working groups to find out how the figures or the statistics came about.

However, what I had mentioned in this august House is the progress that we have made as the sector working groups in issues to do with corruption as to the Bills that I have alluded to. I think that would be my response in that regard if there is any further need to clarify on the statistics that may be dealt with and we may respond as we will check the statistics.

Hon. Mushoriwa having stood up to ask a supplementary question.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  There are no more supplementary questions. The time for questions without notice has expired. That was the last question. I am not taking any more supplementary questions.

HON. MUSHORIWA: On a point of order, Madam Speaker.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Can you please take your seat so that we proceed?

HON. MUSHORIWA: But you made a ruling, Madam Speaker…

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  And I made it clear that I am only taking one question.

WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE

CAPACITATION OF ST. PETERS HOSPITAL IN CHIPINGE SOUTH

5. HON. C. HLATYWAYO asked Minister of Health and Child Care to explain to the House what plans Government will embark on to capacitate St Peters Hospital in Chipinge South which provides services to a population of about 100 000 in terms of the following-
6. filling of vacant posts for Registered General Nurses (RGNs);
7. nurse aides;
8. general hands;
9. power supplies;
10. accommodation; and
11. construction of an administration block and offices among other service. [Deferred from 16^th October 2024]

THE MINISTER IF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. DR. MOMBESHORA): Registered General Nurses (RGNs), St Peters hospital has an established of 35 RGNs and 28 are in post, seven posts are vacant. Of these 20 are RGNs and 8 are Midwives. The Health Service Commission deploys RGNs the nurse training schools as and when vacant positions arise.

Government plans are in place to double the health workforce by increasing the current training outputs of RGNs from the current 800 to 1200 per year according to the Health Workforce (HWF) Strategy (2023-2030).

Nurse Aides; St Peters hospital has an establishment of 11 Nurse Aides and all the posts are filled. Government plans are in place to ensure that health workers are retained to achieve 80% UHC by 2030 from the current 55% UHC HWF Strategy (2023-2030). To achieve this Government has put in place retention measures such as the Junior Service Housing Loan facility which benefits all health workers below the deputy director grade. Government has also introduced the duty-free car vehicle importation scheme to benefit all the grades in the health service.

General hands; St Peters hospital has an establishment of 12 General hand and all the posts are filled. Government plans are in place to increase the numbers of general hands by creating two (2) additional posts for ambulance drivers. Staff bids were done and submitted to Treasury, awaiting for response.

Power supplies; 40kw generator currently covers the whole hospital, laboratory and isolation ward. St Peters hospital is on the waiting list for facilities to undergo solarisation under the assessment which was done by Global Fund. Government plans are in place as the Ministry is currently working with the relevant authorities to ensure a reliable power supply to the hospital or connecting the hospital to the national grid.

Accommodation the Ministry of Health and Child Care is working with the church authorities at St Peters hospital to construct additional staff housing and to renovate the existing ones. Construction of an admiration block and offices among other services. The Ministry of Health and Child Care is prioritising the construction of new administration blocks, offices and a new theater to improve the hospital’s administrative capacity. The Ministry will ensure that the hospital has the necessary equipment, supplies and staff to deliver quality health services to the population of Chipinge South.

CONSTRUCTION OF A CLINIC IN CROWBROUGH

6. HON. HAMAUSWA asked the Minister of Health and Childcare to inform the House the plans that have been put in place to support the residents of Crowbrough phases 1 to 4 in the construction of a clinic in view of the fact that there is public clinic in the area at all despite the presence of more than 20 000 residents in the vicinity.

THE MINISTER IF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. DR. MOMBESHORA): Provision of Health Services within the urban communities at the clinic is currently being implemented through urban local authorities. As such, Ministry of Health and Child Care is working with the Harare City Council to ensure that this project is expedited.

STATUS OF ZIMBABWE’S PARTICIPATION AND PRODUCTION OF ANNUAL DEMOGRAPHIC HEALTH SURVEYS

8. HON. BAJILA asked the Minister of Health and Child Care to inform the House on the status of Zimbabwe’s participation and production of annual demographic health surveys since 2015. [Deferred from 30^th October, 2024].

THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. DR. MOMBESHORA): Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey (ZDHS) is not an annual report. It introduced a schedule for production every five years.

Yes, the last edition was in 2015-2016. The report is produced by ZimStat. Ministry of Health and Child Care provides workforce/enumerators when conducting the survey. Currently, ZIMSTAT is in the process of producing the ZDHS report for 2024. So far in 2024 December, they disseminated the Key Indicator Report (KIR). In January 2025, they conducted a report writing meeting, a step towards production of the final report.

UPSURGE OF HIV/AIDS CASES IN LUVEVE AND EMAKHANDENI

9. HON BAJILA asked the Minister of Health and Child Care to inform the House on the latest upsurge of HIV/AIDS cases in Luveve and Emakhandeni areas in Bulawayo and to explain the mitigatory measures the Ministry is taking to deal with this situation.

THE MINISTER IF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. DR. MOMBESHORA): We are not aware that there is an upsurge of HIV/AIDS cases in Luveve and Emakhadheni, compared to the rest of Bulawayo. The whole of Bulawayo Metropolitan Province recorded just over 1000 new HIV positive cases in 2024. It is important to note that the highest number of new infections is recorded among the 15-29 years age group. Therefore, districts like Emakhandeni and Luveve which have higher proportion of young persons, would report more new HIV cases.

We provide the following interventions to fight HIV:

1. Promote abstinence among youths and delaying sex until marriage.
2. Being faithful to one faithful partner.
3. Correct and consistent use of condoms
4. Encourage PrEP. PEP. ART
5. Early diagnosis and treatment of STIs
6. Free HIV testing and counselling, free ART, Free and frank discussions about reproductive health and rights and fighting stigma
7. Get smart, get circumcised

PAYMENT OF BEAM FEES FOR SCHOOLS IN CHIPINGE SOUTH CONSTITUENCY

13. HON. C. HLATYWAYO asked the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to inform the House when the Ministry is going to pay BEAM fees for pupils in the following schools in Ward 26 of Chipinge South Constituency, Matikwa, Munepasi, Takwirira Primary Schools and Chinyamukwakwa and Katanga Secondary Schools

    THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. E. MOYO):  Mr. Speaker, I rise in response to the inquiry by Hon. Hlatywayo pertaining to the BEAM payment status of the following schools, Matikwa, Munepasi, Takwirira primary schools and Chinyamukwakwa and Katanga secondary schools. Our records are indicating that Matikwa and Munepasi primary schools have not yet submitted their claims for 2023 and efforts are being made to follow up with the two schools with the uncaptured data so that the data is captured. As for Takwirira primary school and Chinyamukwakwa and Katanga secondary schools, the data has already been captured and now awaits payment once the disbursement of funds is done by Treasury.

PAYMENT OF FORMER ARDA EMPLOYEES

11. 11. C. HLATYAWAYO asked the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to inform the House on whether
12. there are any plans in place to pay 460 former ARDA employees who were retrenched in 2009 in Chisumbanje, Chipinge South, Middle Sabi, Mutema and Musikavanhu areas.
13. To inform the House on whether there are any plans in place for the provision of food aid to civil servants in Chipinge South under the existing drought relief program in view of the fact that they cannot afford to buy mealie-meal using their paltry salaries.
14. To inform the House on when the Ministry is going to make BEAM payments to schools in Chipinge South since the last payments were made three years ago

  THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. E. MOYO):  Madam Speaker, according to our records, we do not have any retrenchment dispute involving ARDA Estates.  There is no case of non-payment of retrenchment packages involving ARDA Estates and the said 460 former employees registered with the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare.  Mr. Speaker, let me take this opportunity to encourage such individuals who were retrenched during the said period or any other period and did not get their retrenchment packages, if they are there they can approach our offices for assistance.

1. b) Speaker Sir, I respectfully advise the House that civil servants are not eligible for the food assistance programme as they can afford to purchase mealie-meal in the open markets. Markets are functional and prices are stable to the extent that civil servants can afford to buy mealie meal just like any other employed persons.
2. c) On outstanding BEAM fees payments, our records show that the Ministry has cleared all BEAM fees arrears for 2022. For 2023, part payment was made.  The Ministry is working on paying USD requests made for 2023 and for this year.  Speaker Sir, let me take this opportunity to highlight to the House that payments are done as and when Treasury releases resources for the BEAM programme.

EMPLOYMENT OF GENERAL WORKERS IN GOVERNMENT

 

12. S. SITHOLE asked the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to inform the House what plans the Ministry has put in place regarding employment of General Workers in Government Institutions.

  THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. E. MOYO):  The response to this question will focus on members employed through the Public Service Commission (all line ministries except the Ministry of Health and Child Care) and will not focus on general workers employed by other government institutions.  The employment of general workers (general hands, office orderlies, technical hands, dip attendants, watchmen) in the Public Service is guided by the Principal Procedures which guide the appointment of members.  These are detailed as follows:

  -        Appointments shall be made by the Public Service                                 Commission subject to availability of funded vacant posts                         and Treasury concurrence.

  -        The Public Service Commission maintains a database where                            candidates interested in joining the Public Service                                        Commission are required to register for employment.

  -        All candidates to be appointed into the Public Service are                         selected from a list of candidates provided by the Public                        Service Commission; when recruiting Dip Attendants,                                    Herdsmen (Tsetse Control Division), Ward Development                       Coordinators, and Community Development Coordinators,                       the responsible Ministry advertises posts locally.

  -        All appointments shall have regard to the merit principle,                     ability, objectivity, fairness, inclusion of men and women,                         and persons with disabilities;

  -        The minimum entry qualification into the Public Service                      shall be 5 O’ Levels at grade C or better.

  -        Candidates to be considered for the filling of a post shall be                            required to be conversant in any officially recognised                              languages of Zimbabwe.

  -        Candidates shall be interviewed by District Recruitment                   Committees/Provincial Recruitment Committees or                                 Recruitment Committees at Head Office.

  -        Successful candidates shall be appointed subject to passing                        security vetting and medical examinations.

DEADLINES FOR PAYMENT OF DROUGHT RELIEF FOOD TRANSPORTERS IN CHIPINGE DISTRICT

16. HON. C. HLATYWAYO asked the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to update the House on the deadlines for payment and payment methods for the transporters contracted to ferry drought relief food for the period May to July and August to October 2024 in Chipinge District Grain Marketing Board respectively.

THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. E. MOYO): Thank you Hon. Member for your question.  Mr. Speaker Sir, allow me to inform the House that the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare has submitted all payment arrears to the Ministry of Finance and Investment Promotion to mobilise the required financial resources.  This week, the Ministry received 40 million and was disbursed to all districts and payments to transporters have started.  The Ministry engaged Treasury and has been promised another 40 million for payments of transporters.  Mr. Speaker Sir, once these resources have been availed, payments will be effected immediately and this applies to all transporters nationwide.

MOTION

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

         HON. TOGAREPI:  I move that Orders of the Day, Numbers 1 to 34 on today’s Order Paper be stood over until Order of the Day Number 35 has been disposed of.

         HON. NYANDORO: I second.

Motion put and agreed to.

SECOND READING

BROADCASTING SERVICES AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 10, 2024]

         Thirty-fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Second Reading of the Broadcasting Services Amendment Bill [H.B. 10 of 2024].

Question again proposed.

HON. MUSHORIWA: I want to thank the Hon. Minister for bringing the Broadcasting Services Amendment Bill to this august House. Broadcasting as part of the broader communication to the public is of concern, it is a key issue. We are aware that as a country, we are one of the few countries that is lagging behind in terms of the number of broadcasters, if you compare with our sister countries even within the region.

My first comment is that the Hon. Minister in coming up with this Bill, he wants to take power that was vested within Parliament in respect of the appointments of board directors of the Broadcasting Services Board.  The proper procedure is what is existing, where Parliament, through its Standing Orders has to do public interviews and everybody will actually follow through to see those interviews. What the Hon. Minister now wants us to do, the Hon. Minister wants to take that power away from Parliament so that the power now becomes his and the President's. As Parliament, we cannot move one step forward like we did when we did the current Broadcasting Service Act and then allow the Minister to take us two steps backwards. I think it will not be proper, Madam Speaker.

The second issue that I have a challenge with in respect to this Bill relates Madam Speaker, to the issue of Community broadcasting licences that are being given. One of the things that the Hon. Minister proposes and says in this Bill is that Community broadcasting licences have got a caveat.  The caveat being that they are not allowed to discuss political matters.  Madam Speaker, I think we cannot allow the passing of a Bill with such a provision. If you then come and say that a community broadcaster cannot discuss politics, even within that community, I think it does not make sense.

Fundamentally Madam Speaker, if you look at the definitions, there is no definition of what constitutes a political matter.  I think we need clarification and a proper definition.  Otherwise, Madam Speaker, it is my view that we should allow freedom of expression to happen even at community level.  You do not want the community broadcasters to have a problem if members of the community complain that the council is not attending to the road. The road now has got a lot of potholes because what defines what political matters are is too broad to be allowed to just exist in a piece of legislation without a proper definition of what it is that the Hon. Minister wants to cure by bringing such a provision within the broadcasting service.

Then Madam Speaker, I am also not so happy in respect to the issue of broadcasting licences. Madam Speaker, we do not have a problem in ensuring that the public broadcaster gets licences and people should pay for licences. I think it goes across, whether you go to South Africa or the United Kingdom, BBC and SABC.  Madam Speaker, it is the proposal which the Hon. Minister is bringing, which I think needs to be panel-beaten.

You want to tell us, Madam Speaker, through this Bill, that before you pay your ZINARA licence, you need to make sure that you show them that you have paid the ZBC licence. I do not think that is the proper thing to do Madam Speaker.  ZINARA being an authority for registration of vehicles, surely you cannot then allow a caveat to say that you cannot licence a vehicle until such a person has shown you a ZBC licence.  The confusion in this Bill, Madam Speaker, it then says, if a person then says, my car does not have a radio, then ZINARA will now be allowed to issue a licence. The question Madam Speaker, is that you do not want to create ambiguous provisions within the law.

What it would tend to then do Madam Speaker, is that even someone with a radio or you could actually remove the radio from the car.  I am not sure whether the Hon. Minister would want ZINARA to then conduct vehicle inspections, which I think is not prudent.

Then Madam Speaker, I believe that the Hon. Minister needs to think deeper, especially as we prepare to come to the Committee Stages of this Bill. We need to say to ourselves, how best can we collect licences for the public broadcaster? We need to think beyond the normal or the system that we have used.  Furthermore, we need to be saying, how do we fund ZBC? How do we fund ZTV?  The funding model should also correspond with what is actually happening. The content of ZBC, whether it is radio or television, Madam Speaker, it also needs to reflect public sentiment that people are actually raising.

Then there is an issue Madam Speaker, which I will need an explanation from the Hon. Minister.  The Hon. Minister is now proposing to increase foreign shareholding to around 40%. I am also sure Madam Speaker, whether such a provision is fundamental,  I actually believe that we need a situation where we have got a broadcasting service in Zimbabwe which is robust and well capitalised, rather than a situation where you licence Mushoriwa, give him a television licence, collect capital to make sure that you bring quality services to the public. I think, it would be an exercise in futility.

One of the things that you need to understand Madam Speaker, is that if you look at the number of DSTV subscribers, for instance, they are quite a huge chunk.  Yet, we have more than three or so broadcasting services that were licenced. We need to look at the quality of the content that is coming from those broadcasting services.  If you restrict it to 40% to foreign, it does not work.

Madam Speaker, the Hon. Minister also needs to be aware. In this era of digital and social media, you will then come to a situation where the majority of the people do not listen to the various broadcasting stations that are there but rely on content creation by social people. 

Then the other aspect which I thought I also need clarification from the Hon. Minister; currently, on satellite stations like DSTV, ZBC is allowed as a public broadcaster to be there and if you do not pay your DSTV subscription in time, you are assured that ZBC will continue to be beaming. I note that in this Bill, the Hon. Minister now proposes to have about three.  I am not so sure what it is that he wants to achieve by increasing the number to three, bearing in mind that we have only one public broadcaster.  Unless it is a way of saying that you need to make sure that ZBC and any other two broadcasters should be included for free within those satellite broadcasting services. I think we need to make sure that this is clear.

Madam Speaker, let me conclude by saying that there are certain things that this Bill needs to do. This Bill talks about ZINARA but when you look even in the definition of a dealer, ZINARA is not included.  I am thinking that the Hon. Minister will need to do more in terms of when we come to the next stage of this Bill, in making sure that we try by all means to relook at the drafting aspect of this Bill so that it achieves the desired purpose.

Madam Speaker, I conclude by saying, as Parliament, we should never allow a situation where we go back to the positives that we have actually achieved. The Standing Committee, our Parliamentary Committee should be allowed to continue to conduct interviews for prospective board members who want to serve on this broadcasting board, rather than to have a situation where things are done clandestinely. I thank you Madam Speaker.

HON. SHIRIYEDENGA:  Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I would like to add my voice to this debate and also thank the Hon. Minister for producing this Bill and also giving us the opportunity to debate.

I believe this Bill is long overdue.  I also believe that it presents us with an opportunity to reform our broadcasting regulatory framework to ensure that we have diversity, pluralism and also the enjoyment of basic media freedom.  So, this is a good opportunity for us.  I also note that the Bill has equally both progressive and retrogressive clauses, which I believe could actually aid our broadcasting services and also at the same time impede progress and all the developments that we have achieved as a country. Firstly, I would like to talk about the board appointments. I would like to concur with my colleagues on the fact that currently as the Act stands, we as Parliamentarians are given an opportunity to actually interview and make recommendations as to the rightful candidates that occupy the office as board members.

Unfortunately, this Bill has become retrogressive in the sense that it is taking away powers from Parliament in terms of appointing board members. Now, the appointments are done by the President in consultation with the Minister. I believe it is very retrogressive and transgresses the provision of the African Charter on Broadcasting which clearly states that all broadcast and telecommunication regulation should be protected against political and economic interference. The Minister needs to look closely with regards to that.  One of the things I have noted with the current board, precisely relates to the mandate, it is the fact that the board seems to be quite on other pertinent issues that relate to its mandate.

I say so particularly looking at what the Constitution says in Section 155 which obliges the State to take all appropriate measures to provide contestants in an election with fair and equal access to electronic and print media both private and public. We have seen cases where media coverage particularly public broadcasters, being skewed towards one political party which is partisan and a transgression of what the Constitution detects. The board has kept quiet on that one. So, I believe that we need to actually extend the mandate of the board to look into other issues which regulate, not just its operation but even elections as well.

Then on the issue of radio licencing, I think my colleagues have spoken broadly with regards to that. What it simply means is that you will end up with a situation whereby ZBC will be penalising us for using phones with radio receivers. This is where we are headed to and clearly there is no linkage with regards to radio licencing and motor vehicle licencing. What it means literally is that this Bill prioritises entertainment as opposed to safety. So, I think let us take into account the concerns of the people of Zimbabwe particularly which came out during Public Hearings as well.

In addition, we look at the fact that ZBC and other public broadcaster have the opportunity to generate revenue through advertisement, public and live broadcast but that is not happening. When penalising motorists, we are literally creating a cry baby mentality on the part of our State media. I say so because they have the potential to generate revenue and you are also looking at the content. I can safely say that for example on the 27^th January 2025, ZBC, during its prime-time news, actually took almost two minutes broadcasting donkeys about how stubborn they are on the road.

Surely, that is not content that generates money. Really, we need content which motivates motorists to pay their licences. If you look at this provision, we have people that have many vehicles, what it really means is that we are now advocating for multi-taxation on those people that have many vehicles because now you have been compelled to pay radio licences for – let us say one has four cars, now one person will be made to pay for four cars.  Some are pool cars and you realise that in some instances, some people will just drive one car for maybe two weeks or in a week, you only sit in that car for two hours, then you are made to pay radio licence.  So, I believe the Minister should look into that as well. 

On that issue, there is a provision which I think is the 8^th schedule in the draft Bill which speaks to the waiver for motorists.  For those motorists that do not have radio receivers but then you look at the administrative aspect of it, does it mean that whenever one has to licence his or her vehicle, he has to go back to ZINARA or to ZBC for his vehicle to be inspected?  That is a cumbersome process and I think the Minister should look into that. 

It also opens the door for corruption.  Some people out there will start to lie and say they do not have a radio receiver and they get those exemptions whilst they do have a radio receiver.  That should be looked into. 

Lastly, I would like to talk about the community broadcasting licencing.  On that score, there are several good provisions, particularly if you look at the broadcasting fund, to actually aid community radio stations.  You look at even provisions around local content and the provisions around the involvement of communities in terms of determining the licences which is a good move.  However, I would like to concur with Hon. Mushoriwa as well that the current Act does restrict community radio stations from speaking to issues around political matters.  The thing is how do you define it?  What is a political matter when you are looking at local issues for example, around service delivery, if you do not have a voter, if your bins are not being collected, there is a political aspect to it.  So, I think the definition of political matter should be actually reviewed and if need be, it should be confined to partisan politics – [HON. MEMBER: Hear, hear.] -

HON. KANGAUSARU: Thank you for affording me this opportunity to give my views on this Broadcasting Service Amendment Bill which is currently under consideration in this House and which has sparked intense debate among us.  The Bill seeks to amend the Broadcasting Service Act [Chapter 12:06] and align with the Constitution and the Public Entity Corporative Governance Act. 

I am going to deal with three key provisions of the Bill.  The mandatory radio licence.  The Bill proposes that motorists must purchase a radio licence from the ZBC before obtaining a licence or insurance. The second issue is local content quota, the Bill mandates a broadcaster to air at least 75% local content.  A move aimed at promoting local talent and culture.  The third one is the shift from control to regulations.  The Bill seeks to transform the role of the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe from controlling to regulating and managing broadcasting service bands. I am in favour of the Bill, Madam Speaker but before I speak in favour of the Bill, I would like to speak a little bit about those that are arguing against the Bill.  They are saying there is an additional financial burden that is being given to motorists.  They are concerned about the financial burden of purchasing a radio licence which they may be unable to purchase or to afford and they are saying also that there is a lack of accountability.

Critics argue that the ZBC has failed to demonstrate accountability and transparency in its operations, making it unjustifiable to compel motorists to fund it.  They are also talking about the restricting media freedom.  Some argue that the Bill's provision may restrict media freedom and diversity as well as stifling competition in the broadcasting sector but Madam Speaker, I am in favour of this Bill, that this Bill will generate revenue.  The mandatory radio licencing is expected to generate significant revenue for the ZBC, estimated at USD73.6 million per year and also in favour of this Bill is that we promote local content, thereby encouraging our local talents.

The local content quota is seen as a positive move to promote local talent, culture and economic growth.  It also aligns with the international best practices.  The shift from control to regulation is in line with the international best practices in broadcasting regulations.

Madam Speaker, the Broadcasting Services Amendment Bill has sparked debate among stakeholders in Zimbabwe.  While the Bill has positive provisions such as promoting local content, like I alluded to earlier and aligning with international best practises, it also raises concerns.  Like the critics have said, it is giving additional financial burden, there is lack of accountability and restricting media freedom. Therefore, as the Bill proceeds through this House, it is essential, Madam Speaker, to carefully consider the concerns and ensure that the final product promotes a vibrant, diverse and independent broadcasting sector in Zimbabwe.

My recommendation, therefore, Madam Speaker is that before we consider this, there must be stakeholder engagement.  The Government should engage with stakeholders, including motorists, broadcasters and civil society organisations to address concerns and gather feedback on the Bill.

Secondly, on transparency and accountability, the ZBC should demonstrate transparency and accountability in its operation, including clear financial reporting and programming schedules.  Thirdly, Government should establish a clear regulatory framework that promotes media freedom, diversity and competition in the broadcasting sector.

By carefully considering these recommendations Madam Speaker and addressing concerns raised by stakeholders, the Broadcasting Services Amendment Bill can be refined to promote a vibrant and independent broadcasting sector in Zimbabwe.  So, I submit, Madam Speaker.

THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION, PUBLICITY AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. DR. MUSWERE):  Thank you Madam Speaker.  First and foremost, I would like to thank the Committee for a lot of good work during the consultations that they managed to achieve in terms of the report that is before us.  I also want to thank all the Members of Parliament for the contributions that seek to enrich and to strengthen the growth and robustness of the media industry through broadcasting services. 

I will respond to all the issues that have been raised with respect to the Broadcasting Services Amendment Bill. I will move first in terms of the response to the recommendations from the Portfolio Committee on Media Broadcasting Services report focussing primarily on the Broadcasting Services Amendment Bill [H. B.10, 2024].

Madam Speaker, as I have already indicated, the Committee did a great job. I will commence with the introduction in terms of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee which captured the constitutional obligations that are before us as a people, the background and at the same time, the methodology that was utilised. It reflects that the supremacy of the people is still key in terms of legislative processes as we work towards ensuring that we leave no one and no place behind.

         In terms of the recommendations that community radio stations be exempted from public hearings by virtue of their broadcasting being apolitical and dealing with community issues, this is addressed in the amendment under Clause 7 (6) which exempts community radio broadcasting services, applicants to attend a public inquiry conducted by the authority for the purposes of determining his/her or its suitability to be licenced.

         I will move to the second issue that allows up to 40% in terms of foreign ownership in broadcasting licences, which has a lot of impact in terms of local media control. We have taken note of this and as I have already indicated, that there will not be any changes to the particular section. It will remain as it is to the effect that no person other than a citizen of Zimbabwe shall be a director of a licensee.

This relates to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of a nation in that media sovereignty is key. What we broadcast reflects who we are. The media sector is a very sensitive security issue which can create a lot of instability in any nation. So, by virtue of that, they will not be any amendments to this particular section.

I will move to the third item that there be a provision to limit the number of licences that one can get to ensure diverse ownership and to ensure more citizens benefit from the freedom to establish broadcasting entities as provided in terms of Section 61 of the Constitution. We are obliged in terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe in terms of Section 61 and Section 62 of the Constitution. Section 61 of the Constitution relates to freedom of expression and also reflects to the freedom of the media. We have taken this on board as it is already part of a constitutional obligation that we must abide to.

I will move to item 4, that there be a provision in the Bill to cater for convergence in broadcasting, that is to the merging of different types of mass media such as traditional media, print media broadcasting media, new media and the internet as well as portable and highly interactive technologies through digital media. We have taken note of the recommendation. This is done through Clause 17, by amending Section 46 to add to the regulatory powers of the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe such that technological convergence and migration may be dealt with by way of regulation. This makes it easier to keep up with the rapid technological changes since effecting changes to regulation is faster.

I will highlight the current circumstances in the media industry relating to a decrease in terms of daily circulation, in terms of the physical print media in terms of the newspaper that has gone down drastically from a minimum of 100 000 daily circulation in terms of newspapers to a maximum currently for the whole sector of around

10 000 in terms of circulation. We are in the 4^th industrial revolution and there is need to ensure that there is convergence. We have long reached the point of convergence between media and ICT and this is a fact. I have already indicated that this is being well taken care of through the amendments that we have put in place in terms of the Broadcasting Services Amendments.

         I will move to item 5, that the board composition of BAZ be reduced from 12 to seven members, thereby ensuring that there is gender balance and it complies with the law. The Public Entities and Corporate Governance Act is very clear in terms of gender balance. I want to assure the Hon. Members that the board will be composed in terms of the gender parameters that have been set in terms of the laws of our country.

         At the same time, one of the key issues is why do we propose to reduce the number from 12 to seven? Let us look at the practicalities in terms of the organisational capacity. The total number of employees under the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe, temporary workers and permanent employees, the total is not beyond 40. In the majority of cases usually, the employees are less than 30. So, why should we have a board of directors of 12 people superintending over a total employee composition of not more than 40 people.

         The board composition and the board size should reflect to the practice and to the reality in terms of organisational management. It should reflect in terms of the unit of command and it should reflect in terms of the span of control. It should reflect in terms of organisational efficiency and it should also reflect in terms of the constitutional obligations that are before us. We have the African Charter and Zimbabwe is one of the key participants and is also a signatory to a number of international statutes and international agreements. As a Ministry, we propose that the board composition be reduced to seven, but at the same time we take care of the parliamentary oversight role and we can have at least two of the members coming from Parliament.

         I will move to item 6, that there be the introduction of new broadcasting services classes. This was addressed in the amendment through Clause 5, in that we will now have the following classes: public, commercial, community, subscription management, open narrow casting, satellite uplinks, data casting, web casting and also internet-based broadcasting.

         I will move to item 7, that in terms of local content, Public Broadcasters with multiple channels should air or dedicate to viewing of local sports content. The recommendation by the Portfolio Committee is welcome as I have indicated that they have done a brilliant job. This is the effect of Clause 21, amendment of the sixth schedule to ensure that at list 50% local and regional sports content resides within the broadcasting parameters of Zimbabwe.

         Sports are universal and we need to support the growth of local sports and regional sports as Zimbabwe also partakes in other regional and international sporting activities. There is an opportunity for us as a people to also support the growth of the sports sector as an industry.

 

            

         I want to move Madam Speaker to respond to the Hon. Members after the second reading.  I want to move to questions by the other Hon. Members who have also greatly contributed to the enrichment of this Bill.  Whether the amendments in terms of the Broadcasting Services Act enhance freedom of expression? Yes, the amendments will comply with Section 61 and Section 62 of the Constitution and the purpose of the Broadcasting Services Act [Chapter 12:06] is the creation and regulation of the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe. The protection and management of the broadcasting spectrum.  These are all meant to ensure that we enhance the freedom of expression and also as guaranteed in terms of the supreme law of the land the Constitution under Section 61 of the Constitution.

         The amendment seeks to ensure that there is media diversity, media plurality and also the robustness of the media industry.  The appointment of BAZ board members in the amendment does not reflect this. I have already dealt with this matter Madam Speaker, in terms of the African Charter in that the size of the organisation should reflect the size in terms of the board of directors who have the fiduciary responsibility to be in charge of the organisation otherwise we will end up having an institution with more board members than the actual employees that work for the regulatory authority.  This is a regulator that is in charge of the broadcasting sector. I have already dealt with this particular matter.

         Foreign investment should not be allowed, I have already dealt with this matter. In terms of public service obligations of transmitting up to three channels.  ZBC in the past used to have one channel so every subscription broadcasting service licence and subscription management licence was required to transmit the one channel.  I am more than euphoric Madam Speaker, to highlight to the House that we are finalising the expansion in terms of the Constitution in that work is currently underway at Montrose Studios where we are expanding in terms of radio service but at the same time, work has already started in terms of expanding other two new channels in terms of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation.

What we seek to achieve Madam Speaker, is to ensure that we have in this first year, ten new radio studios that reflect on the constitutionally recognised languages in Zimbabwe based at Montrose Studios and we have an additional six in terms of the Constitution which makes  it sixteen in terms of the recognition of our languages.  The six will be based in Harare and there is an expansion effort to ensure that we achieve two new television stations.

I want to reflect on the next comment that is on community broadcasting licences that there is no clarity on how far they can venture into politics.  Madam Speaker, Community radio stations are clearly defined in terms of the Broadcasting Services Act and also in terms of the Statutory Instrument that supports the establishment of community radio stations.

The importance of community radio stations is that they mainly focus on heritage-based broadcasting which seeks to ensure that we also maintain, retain and protect our national languages.  Discussions around road development and other such issues can be discussed at community radio stations. The issue that Hon. Members are worried about is dealt with in terms of the Broadcasting Services Act.  I think it could be Section 20 of the Act in terms of politics. Section 20 of the Broadcasting Services Act is very clear that no political party or organisation shall hold or have control of any broadcasting licence or signal career licence.  We do not want to politicise these community radio stations.  There is a clear mandate to deal with community issues within a particular jurisdiction.  These are not platforms for political activities.  Community issues can be dealt with at that level.

The construction of schools, bridges and roads is taking place in terms of agriculture, the climate-proof agriculture, and Pfumvudza/ Intwasa these are community issues.  Our traditional issues are the customary issues that take place within that particular community but mainly the major issue is to ensure that there is heritage-based broadcasting to support our local languages.

The mandatory licencing being introduced is one of the issues that have been raised.  It is very unfair as it mandates everyone to pay for radio licences even for those without the radio. Madam Speaker, the amendment does not mandate everyone to pay including those without the radio.  A person who does not have a radio receiver is exempted from paying.  A varied exemption certificate is issued by ZBC if the vehicle is to be insured or in terms of the licencing framework is not equipped with a radio licence.  The proposal is very clear that those who do not own do not receive the electromagnetic signals will not be obliged to pay.

I will move to the recommendations by Hon. Hamauswa on a comprehensive approach to mandatory licencing.  A comprehensive approach is work in progress and will work together with Hon. Members of Parliament as we seek to ensure that we build a robust media industry where citizens pay for the services that they enjoy.

I will move to some of the issues which I have already addressed in terms of the size of BAZ, I have already dealt with this particular matter. Also, to elaborate further on the role and responsibility of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation its scope and obligation is different from community radio stations and commercial televisions.  The role and responsibility also include coverage in terms of parliamentary debates, parliamentary proceedings and many other national events.  The public broadcaster’s national obligation covers national issues.  Commercial television stations are not obliged to cover parliamentary proceedings.  Their scope and focus are very commercial.

Madam Speaker, we now have fourteen registered community radio stations which are all fully functional and part of the proposals in terms of these amendments also seek to expand in terms of the responsibility for broadcasting fund to cater for the shortcomings in of the operational capability within the community radio stations. The fund will also take care of other operational expenses and costs so that we can have a robust and sustainable community radio station network that seeks to ensure that we leave no one and no place behind.

Madam Speaker, there is no financial burden, the issue is about a service. The issue is about compliance.  The issue is about ensuring that we grow the media industry. I have already addressed that this Bill seeks to ensure that we have diversity and pluralism and also it is very progressive and that it will add in terms of the convergence that we have in our country.

On the issue about the Minister wanting to take all the powers from Parliament, I am sure that I have addressed that matter in that two of the members will still come from Parliament. I hope that I have addressed all the pertinent issues related to the amendments that we seek. Thank you Madam Speaker.

I move that the Bill be now read a second time.

Motion put and agreed to.

         Bill read a second time.

         Committee Stage: Thursday, 27^th February, 2025.

          On the motion of HON. KAMBUZUMA, seconded by HON. C. MOYO, the House adjourned at Seventeen Minutes Past Six o’clock p.m.