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SENATE HANSARD 12 JUNE 2025 VOL 34 NO 54

PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE

Thursday, 12^th June, 2025

The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p. m.

PRAYERS

(THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)

HON. SEN. MLOTSHWA:  Thank you Mr. President. Fellow Hon. Members, I stand before you here today, deeply alarmed by the recent incident that happened at Mahetshe Primary School in Maphisa, where police officers brutalised innocent children during what was supposed to be a crime awareness campaign. This event exposes a disturbing pattern, an endemic culture of violence within our police service that increasingly disregards the rights and dignity of our children.

Mr. President, it is unacceptable that toddlers and young learners are subjected to torture and inhumane treatment, especially in a nation committed to protecting its most vulnerable. The response from law enforcement has been dismissive, attempting to sweep this matter under the carpet and avoiding accountability. I call upon the Minister of Home Affairs to demand immediate action. Police officers involved must be prosecuted for assault and a transparent investigation must be conducted without delay.

Moreover, the Minister of Education must answer how police entered school premises and brutalised children without proper authorisation or reporting to school authorities. We must also hold the school authorities accountable for inviting law enforcement into a space meant for learning and development without safeguarding our children’s welfare. This incident is a wake-up call. We must reaffirm our commitment to children’s rights and ensure justice prevails. Our nation’s integrity depends on it.

THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE:  Thank you Hon. Senator Mlotshwa. Certainly, I think the responsible Minister, in this case, the Minister of Home Affairs, should look into this alleged incident and respond accordingly.

HON. SEN. MANYENGAVANA:  Thank you Mr. President for recognising me. I rise to give a statement of national interest under the Standing Rules and Orders, section 61 (1) and (2). I take cognisance of the fact that we are all here at one time in our lives, a product of the country's educational systems. Despite our country attaining high literacy rates in the past years, commendable according to African standards…

THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE:  Hon. Senator Manyengavana, I can hardly hear you. I am sure the other senators cannot hear you either – [HON. SEN. MANYENGAVANA: Sorry, Mr. President Sir.] – I have not finished. Can you speak a little bit closer to your mic and a bit more slowly? Be composed.

HON. SEN. MANYENGAVANA:  Thank you Mr. President.  I take cognisance of the fact that we are all here at one time in our lives, a product of country's educational systems. Despite our country attaining high literacy rates in the past years, commendable according to African standards, currently the country has witnessed regression where in particular, the University of Zimbabwe has been on strike for the past 60 days, therefore affecting the business at the college. Mr. President Sir, our students are not taking lectures as lecturers are on strike. The strike has affected the invigilation of examinations, examination settings and supervision of thesis. Mr. President, we risk the gains that we have made over the years in terms of our educational standards and ultimately, the milestones that we have set for ourselves as a nation, in particular, our quest to become an Upper Middle-Income economy by 2030.

A worrying development Mr. President is that we understand the university administration has hired lecturers to rush through students for graduation. This may have disastrous consequences on the credibility of the country's education system of our students and nation. Therefore Mr. President Sir, I ask the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education and the Minister of Finance, to give a comprehensive statement on how they are going to solve the crisis in a manner that will address the problem and ensure that the strike does not spread to other State universities and colleges. Thank you.

THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE:  Thank you Hon. Senator Manyengavana. In future, make sure that your statement is no more than one minute. However, I will allow you since this is your first time.

Today is Thursday and in accordance with the Standing Orders of the Senate, today we start with Questions Without Notice. We do have a number of Hon. Ministers present and the number is not impressive but all the same, we do have some Ministers. As usual, the Hon. Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development is here – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear] – Hon. Minister Mavima, the Hon. Minister of Skills Audit.

The number is not very impressive but all the same, we do have some. These are Hon Mhona, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development, Hon. Prof Mavima, Minister of Skills Audit; Hon. Ncube, the Deputy Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities, Hon. M.  Mavhunga, the Minister of Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Affairs, Hon. Dr. Makwiranzou, the Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development and Hon. Mavetera, the Minister of ICT.

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

*HON. SEN. SHIRI:  Thank you. Mr. President for according me this opportunity. My question is directed to the Minister of ICT, Hon. Mavetera.  What plans do you have in terms of raising awareness to the general public on Artificial Intelligence including those people living with disabilities on their way of living? I thank you.

*THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY, POSTAL AND COURIER SERVICES (HON. DR. MAVETERA):  Thank you, Mr. President and I also want to thank Hon. Sen. Shiri for a very important question.  As Government, our aim is to ensure that whenever we are doing our projects we should not leave any place behind.  When we talk of embracing Artificial Intelligence, nobody should be left behind. By so doing, I would like to promise the House that within our programme as a nation, we managed to come out with an Artificial Intelligence RAM report which simply means readiness assessment methodology report. That RAM report is assisting us to ensure that we come up with an AI strategy. In that strategy, that is where we have the programme whereby, firstly would like to have what we call infrastructure and secondly, we would like to do what we call the skills assessments. That is to mention just but a few.

On those skills, I would like to promise that people living with disabilities are also included.  Also, we want to proceed with the programme that we used to do before, we would like to provide ICT gadgets. I believe you know that we have been assisting in areas like Jairos Jiri and Kapota.  Those are the programmes which we are doing so that we ensure that nobody is left behind. In our strategy, which we have, we would like to ensure that we teach people digital online skills.

Mr. President, currently, we have what we call a 1.5 million coding programme. That programme is actually targeting everyone else regardless of the persons disabilities. We also have physical visits, which we intend to do, we come and raise awareness of artificial intelligence.  I thank you.

*HON. SEN. CHIEF NGEZI: Thank you, Mr. President, for the opportunity which you have accorded me. My question is directed to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development.  Who advises the Ministry to say this is the road which you should repair or work on?  Hon. President Sir, if we know the person we will then go through that person, I thank you – [Laughter.] –

 *THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA):  Thank you Mr. President and I also want to thank the Hon. Senator Chief Ngezi for asking such a question. I was trying to figure out to say, does he represent the area called Mhondoro-Ngezi or it is simply a name? Why am I saying so? I was actually wondering whether he is the one in charge of that territory.  In terms of our roads, we do not focus on saying this is the road which we have to work on, we actually focus on what we call emotional roads.  Those roads which connect the majority.  Mr. President Sir, if you look into the Ministry of Transport as it is, people used to know us working on those major connecting roads which links us to other neighbouring countries.

As we go to those rural areas, we used to have what is called DDF, which is now called RIDA. Those were the people who were responsible for those roads which linked the chiefs, Grain Marketing Board being assisted by the rural district council for that area. That is how we used to do it.  Also focusing on the urban areas, we used to see local authorities and councils working on those roads. That is how everything should be structured.  Mr. President Sir, simply because we have a listening President, His Excellency, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa, simply said if we keep on saying this road belongs to so and so we will create problems, we have to work together. 

Mr. President, when we have a lot of rain, a lot of roads are damaged.  Some of the roads now have more than 20 years without proper resurfacing. So, we are working together to ensure that we repair all those roads.  We are also focusing on the roads which link to those chiefs’ areas. I think the Chief has spoken in a hidden way, if you have such roads in those routes which you use when going to constituencies to meet the general public - we are working with the Ministries, who we call the Ministers of State. We have Provincial Road Engineers, they will simply say in this province, we have this and that road which needs to be repaired.

So, the biggest problem we have is that most of our roads were damaged at the same time so we are focusing on the areas close to 90,000 kilometers of roads we have in this country. Sometimes you discover that at times for us to repair all the roads at once, is not possible, simply because we are using the only budget we get from Treasury. So if we are not under certain sanctions, we could go and borrow some funds from the IMF or World Bank but we are not able to go and access such funds. We are simply using the same Treasury funds. When people feel that we have delayed repairing those roads it is because we also rely on the same budget which is allocated from this august House. So, we will be working with all the companies to ensure that we repair all the roads. I thank you.

*HON. SEN. CHIEF. CHIREYA: Thank you so much Mr. President. My question is directed to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development. The roads which they constructed in our areas are perfect. We have some of the vehicles that actually break down and they take close to two days stationed on the road, which would then become a risk to other road users. Do we have any other plans to curb such problems?

*HON. MHONA: Thank you Mr. President and I would also like to thank Hon. Senator Chief Chireya for the question. Yes, it is very true that we have those people who misbehave. Whenever they have their vehicles break down, they will simply leave it there for a day or two. We are working hand in glove with officials from Home Affairs and the Uniformed Forces. If we see such vehicles, we simply tow the vehicles and then keep them somewhere. We ensure that you pay a fine for keeping that vehicle and V.I.D will also look at the vehicles to see if they are roadworthy. So, from the time you discover going forward, you will see some of these things being done. If you have a broken down vehicle, people should put a reflective triangle but they are not actually doing that. That is leading to a lot of congestion.

 I would like to thank you and applaud Hon. Senator Chief Chireya. It is very true that we are facing such problems but now going forward, you will see us working in that manner. As C.M.E.D, we have vehicles that can tow even a 30-tonne truck and ensure that people pay fines. I thank you.

*HON. SEN. ZINDI: Thank you Mr. President. I am making a follow-up on this question. The Minister has given us promises just now but can he kindly tell us when they will start to do what he promised? Even heavy vehicles can take close to a week without being repaired and mechanics will simply try to repair it there. In other countries, people will be charged. May you as the Minister, kindly tell us the timeframe to say when they will start doing what he has alluded to? I thank you.

*HON. MHONA: Thank you Mr. President. I would also like to thank Hon. Senator Zindi for the supplementary question. As I said before, we have what we call the whole of Government approach. The uniformed forces are under the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage and we work hand-in-glove with the police and the V.I.D as we speak right now, we actually started looking at some of the structures that we are building right now. All those things should start to take place but currently as we speak, we have not started.

*HON. SEN. KADUNGURE: Thank you Mr. President, for according me this opportunity. My question is directed to the Minister of War Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Affairs. Firstly, I would like to thank her for the splendid job which she is doing.  As a Ministry, they are recognising and remembering war veterans. My question now is, as we know there was no decent burial for those war veterans during the liberation struggle. What plans do they have to ensure that they repatriate and have decent burial for fallen heroes?

         *THE MINISTER OF WAR VETERANS OF THE LIBERATION STRUGGLE AFFAIRS (HON. SEN. MAVHUNGA): Thank you Mr. President. I would like to thank Hon. Senator Kadungure for a good question which she has actually directed in remembering the fallen heroes. I remember when we fought for this country, soon after the end of the liberation war, people could not be buried decently. As a Ministry, we were actually tasked to ensure that those people who were not buried properly be repatriated and have decent burial. We cannot do this alone. We actually have the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade to ensure that they work together. Even those from Local Government and Public Works, we have chiefs who should be involved in cultural procedures. Also those who died in other countries, the Foreign Affairs and International Trade in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion who will support us financially need to work together on this issue. A lot of ministries need to be involved.

After we were tasked to deal with this issue, we were allocated a certain amount of money so that we could identify where we have shallow graves. We have started, some of us were in Masvingo and we are actually planning to bring together all stakeholders to ensure that we do this programme together so that we can bury decently those who died during the liberation struggle.

         *HON. SEN. GWATURE: Thank you Mr. President. I heard our Minister speaking saying we have different stakeholders who would like to assist in the decent exhumation and reburial of those fallen heroes. My question is, are they going to assist everyone who died during the liberation struggle? We have some of these fallen heroes who are being exhumed and being reburied and that is being done by the families while the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage or other stakeholders are not assisting them. So, kindly clarify for us.

         * HON. SEN. MAVHUNGA: Thank you Mr. President. I would like to thank Hon. Senator Gwature. I would like to promise her that we do not have any segregation because all those people died for the liberation struggle, they wanted to ensure that this country attains freedom. Sometimes some of those people do the reburials and fail to do proper coordination. Maybe they will be doing it as a matter of urgency. If ever you discover that somebody was buried here, before you exhume those bodies, we should also include all the stakeholders. I thank you.

         HON. SEN. KATUMBA: Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to the Minister of Mines and Mining Development, to update this House on the effectiveness of the small-scale miners’ fund since its inception and further appraise the House on the key achievement from this fund.

         *THE MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING DEVELOPMENT (HON. CHITANDO): Thank you Mr. President of the Senate. I would like to thank the Hon. Member who asked this question. Mr. President, kindly assist me. This question is written on Questions with Notice, should I respond to it now or not?

         THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: You will respond to it when Questions with Notice come. I thank you.

         *HON. SEN. CHIEF CHIKUKWA: Thank you Mr. President. Kindly allow me to ask my question which is bothering me. I would like to direct it to the Minister of Mines. I am so touched simply because the Head of State said we have to ensure that we have gender equality for the whole nation to do well. We have these female miners but what is worrying me most is that their Ministry is the one which is responsible for people to start mining. They have the modern types of machinery. They used to take coordinates and ensure that they offered someone with a prospecting licence and a certificate for that person to start working. They are giving our female colleagues to start mining.

         If there is no mineral that is being extracted, there is no problem. When they start to discover or extract gold, that is when you see this Ministry of ours bringing someone with a certificate which is backdated. Remember, we had this old lady and this female colleague of ours who was working all along. They will simply say, this is the new owner of the farm. When you gave this mine to someone who was struggling way back, why is it that there is a disorder in their office? I thank you.

*THE MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING DEVELOPMENT (HON. CHITANDO): Thank you Mr. President and I would also want to thank the Hon. Member who asked this question. Honestly speaking, our ministry is the one which is responsible for issuing out those EPOs to those women and youth. I will bring together the total number. For example, I will simply say in Hwange, we have four women who are shareholders; we also have 15 youths who also own their mines. I hear what you are saying that there are other people who are being given these backdated certificates.

I am kindly requesting you Mr. President, if it is possible, let the Hon. Member give us the names of those people and we will ensure that we start investigating. I say so because, in every province, we have a provincial mining director. That mining director is the one whom we gave the authority to look into that to ensure that there is peace in those areas and that we resolve all disputes. 

THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDNET OF SENATE:  Let us avoid having site shows.

HON. CHITANDO: Thank you Mr. President. I am kindly asking the Hon. Member if he knows those people who were affected in that, to kindly provide the names of those people and we will ensure that we will come out with a resolution. It is a very bad habit. We want to resolve such squabbles. I thank you.

         HON. SEN. PHULU: Thank you Mr. President. I would like to ask a follow-up to say, that the Act requires that whenever a dispute arises regarding the occupation of claims or the validity of a certificate, the Commissioners should, where the parties choose to have the district head of those Commissioners, try to resolve the disputes. In many cases, they hold hearings. There is inadequate recording of proceedings so that at the end of the day, what transpired before the Commissioner is not properly recorded. What steps are being taken or what steps may be taken to ensure that those disputes are a bit more formal than they are at the present moment?

         *HON. CHITANDO: Thank you Mr. President. I would like to thank Hon. Member who asked this question. Honestly speaking, they must produce minutes to ensure how this conflict was resolved. Let me admit to saying that if you have all things in place, kindly provide that information to us so that we can come out with a concrete resolution but there must be a clear recording for the proceeding. I thank you.

         *HON. SEN. ZINDI: I am seeking clarification in the sense that when a dispute arises between farmers and miners, the one who presides over the dispute is the Provincial Mining Director (PMD). In this case, it now gives the impression that the same ministry which would have caused the problem in terms of issuing the mining certificate, is the judge, the jury and the prosecutor at the same time, where is the fairness? Why is that composition that way?

THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Hon. Minister, I think this is emphasising the need for you to bring to this Senate the Mines and Minerals Act.  You are using a moribund Act which is out of sync with what is now prevailing in this country.

*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING DEVELOPMENT RESPONSIBLE FOR OIL AND GAS RESEARCH AND OTHER STRATEGIC MINERALS EXPLORATION (HON. DR. MAKWIRANZOU): Thank you, Mr. President. You spoke very well. We actually have our Act which we have been trying to amend. Right now, we are at a stage where we want our Act to be gazetted, but before our Act is gazetted, we took it to the Attorney General's Office and then the Attorney General said there was an error somewhere. So, as we stand, we rectified the problems and we await the Act to be gazetted. I hope that our Act will be gazetted any time soon.

Hon. President of the Senate, kindly allow me to respond to the other previous question. What actually happens is the resolution to the disputes, starts with the Provincial Mining Director. At our head office, we have our own Chief Engineer who oversees the outcome of the dispute. If he discovers that there is somewhere where it is not clarified, he will simply ask the PMD to come and try to resolve that matter. I thank you.

^∞HON. SEN. MUPANDE: (Technical fault, no translation)

THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you Hon. Senator. Mupande, unfortunately, we did not get any translation.  Can someone please help us? Hon. Senator. Kabondo you can help us if you are conversant with this language.

HON. SEN. KABONDO: Thank you Mr. President what Hon. Senator. Mupande is trying to say is the Minister promised that he was going to rehabilitate the Bulawayo, Victoria Falls and Binga roads.  She is saddened by what happened last night when a Stallion bus was involved in a head-on collision with a truck and some people died on the spot.  She is trying to find out when the road is going to be rehabilitated because a lot is happening on that road.  I thank you.

HON. SEN. TSHABANGU: The question is not captured correctly.

Hon. Senator. Mupande repeated her question again.

THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Hon. Senator Tshabangu you can help us.

HON. SEN. TSHABANGU: Let me assist Hon. President of Senate Sir, I am also conversant with Tonga. In addition to what Hon. Senator. Kabondo and Hon. Senator. Mupande alluded to is that the Victoria Falls Road is deplorable to such an extent that residents of Hwange and Victoria Falls, if they want to go to Bulawayo they go via Botswana.  This route is longer but safer and this is shocking, there is a lot of traffic in Botswana, we are actually congesting the Botswana roads and we are likely to cause more accidents on those roads.  I think the point is as a country for us to navigate ourselves from one city to another we have to go to another country.  This is a sad story and I think this is what she was trying to put across.

THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Hon. President of Senate Sir, let me thank Hon. Senator. Mupande, Hon. Senator. Kabondo and Hon. Senator. Tshabangu who were actually interpreting the same question that was raised by Hon. Senator. Mupande.   As it was being modified it was having new components.  I want to thank Hon. Senators and just start by saying to those who lost their precious lives and those who lost their dear loved ones in the accident that happened to be comforted by the Lord.  Those who were injured to be healed and also to say to the people of Zimbabwe that it is quite saddening that we are witnessing high numbers especially on our roads, be it in a good or poor state, we cannot condone such kind of poor practices that we are witnessing on our roads.  Pertaining to the bus that they have said, I am sure the police will furnish us with detailed information as to those who were injured and the fatalities. 

What I wanted to say to this august Senate, we have been talking about this road for some time and I gave a background of this road that it was constructed in 1941 and indeed it was quite old, weak, we could not continue patching it.  However, once again because of our listening President Dr. Cde E. Mnangagwa, then said we needed to rehabilitate the entire road.  The concerns coming from this august House. We then have to move with speed as a Ministry. The procurement process was done and now I can safely and gladly say that as I speak, contractors are on site. They are busy opening detours. Five contractors moved on site starting from the great City of Bulawayo on a continuous stretch covering almost 250km and we are going to have three additional contractors after the adjudication of the three remaining contractors. They will  mobilise on site, meaning that we will be having eight contractors plus the one who has been operating on that particular stretch, making them nine.

So you can see that we are actually paying due attention to the road where we have promised the citizenry that in 10 months it will be done with the entire stretch covering almost 440 kilometres. So it is again my humble plea to the people of Zimbabwe to say yes. For now, it can be actually a pain where I heard there are alternative routes which I do not want to comment on those alternative routes in the state of those roads that Hon. Senator Tshabangu was talking about. So precisely, this is what we are doing as a Ministry. I will gladly invite again as I always do, Hon. Senator Tshabangu, that on the 25^th of July, we will be in Bulawayo touring the roads that are from Bulawayo straight to Victoria Falls and we will be witnessing roadworks but not talking. So we are going to be moving traffic from the current road to the detour, meaning that we are going to rip the entire road. Not only that road, we are also going to be working on the Kwekwe-Nkayi-Lupani Road which will then shorten the distance to Victoria Falls by almost 200 kilometres. So we are going to be witnessing that. We are now going to be working on the entire stretch of the Bulawayo-Nkayi, which I am sure is also a favourite of Hon. Senator Tshabangu. So this is what is happening in Matabeleland and also currently working on the Bulawayo-Tsholotsho and the Bulawayo-Nkezi Road. As a Ministry, we are no longer talking and we are executing with speed. But it therefore calls for patience from the citizenry. Thank you Mr. President.

         +HON. SEN. MUPFUMIRA: Thank you Mr. President, for according me this opportunity. This is a supplementary question to Hon. Minister Mhona. We once spoke about this issue before. I would like to ask about the issue of doing the COP15. It is starting from 23 to 31 July. Are you sure that the road will be constructed by then?

THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: We missed the train. We have tried to bolt the horse when the door is already open. Hon. Minister?

*HON. MHONA: Thank you Mr. President. Thank you Hon. Senator Mupfumira. Honestly speaking, the road will not be over yet but it will be repaired for people to pass, to utilise that road for the programme that we have in July. The road will be much better for people to travel from Victoria Falls to Bulawayo. We will simply patch those potholes and ensure that people travel well.

^^HON. SEN. MOHADI: Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to the Minister of War Veterans. I would like to thank you for giving me this opportunity to add my question. I would like to thank the great work that the Hon. Minister of War Veterans is doing in ensuring that there is development for all the war veterans. Therefore, my question is whether the other war veterans are classified under the Mujibas and the Chimbwidos. Are they not going to get the help that is being offered to other war veterans that they worked with in ensuring that we get our independence? I thank you.

THE MINISTER OF VETERANS OF THE LIBERATION STRUGGLE AFFAIRS (HON. SEN. MAVHUNGA): First of all, let me as well thank the Hon. Senator for appreciating the work that our Ministry is doing for the veterans. The question was whether the war collaborators are also going to benefit from the projects or whatever we were doing for the other categories of veterans. Yes, we have four categories. Like I always say to this Senate, the veterans, the non-combatants, ex-detainees and war collaborators. The first two categories that are the veterans and the ex-detainees are now receiving their pension because they were covered by the previous Acts that were repealed in order to come up with Veterans of Liberation Struggle, Chapter 17:12.

Now that they were vetted, the war collaborators and non-combatants, we are at an advanced stage of gazetting. What is involved in gazetting the people who have been vetted? It is like we vet them. In order to publish, we have to first concur with the Ministry of Finance on their benefits. We are going through that process, so they will also benefit.

As for the other non-monetary benefits, we are already assisting them.  You heard us announcing that we are now going to have Presidential residential stands. So they will also benefit and they always benefit from the land like other Zimbabweans. Thank you Mr. President.

^*HON. SEN. KUPFUMA: I want to direct my question to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development. I want to ask pertaining to service delivery, especially the issue of shortage of trains in Zimbabwe. We note that workers are not being paid properly. They do not have tools of trade from cars and protective clothing like gloves. We request the Hon. Minister to explain to the House when these things are going to be corrected and what is to happen before things are rectified. Thank you.

*THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Hon. President of the Senate. I want to thank the Honourable Senator for that question, which is quite pertinent. It means that she is passionate about the people that the Hon. Member represents, which is what we are seized with as a Ministry. We know that we are working together with Mutapa Investments, which means that what the Hon. Member was asking about would need us to go and research it. So, I would request that the Hon. Member should put it in writing so that I will go and get a comprehensive answer.

 Questions without Notice were interrupted by THE HON DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in terms of Standing Order Number 67.

HON. ZINDI: Mr. President, with your indulgence may I propose the extension of the question and answer session, please.

HON. MLOTSHWA: I second.

THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: The time for questions is extended by fifteen (15) minutes.

Motion put and agreed to.

*HON. SEN. CHIEF DANDAWA: Mr. President, I have two questions. My first question is directed to the Minister of Mines…

THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: One man one question.

*HON. SEN. CHIEF DANDAWA: Thank you President. I want to direct my question to the Minister of Mines. Is it legal that someone will just come from Harare to our local areas with a letter claiming a large piece of land, maybe from Harare to Bindura and this is happening? I want clarification on that. We have seen some people coming with letters. They will say that they have letters from EMA. They will be prospecting and they will just claim that this is my piece of land now.

*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING DEVELOPMENT (HON. KAMBAMURA): Thank you Mr. President. I want to thank the Hon. Member for that question. What happens is that those who issue exploration licences should go through the Provincial Mining Director. EMA does not give licences but as you are aware, there is exploration, discovery, mining and processing, then marketing. So EMA comes in after the exploration when a discovery has been made. Before mining, there is a report which is required by EMA. The miner would need that EMA report and after the report has been approved, then that is when they will start mining but EMA does not give out licences.

THE HON. DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Well, I think questions which are being raised are only buttressing the fact which I raised earlier. There is so much happening in the mining field which needs to be corrected.

⁺HON. SEN. SINDO: Thank you for the opportunity Mr. President. My question is directed to the Minister of War Veterans. Last year in June, he came here and said the Gazette was going to come out in October. My surprise is that up to now, she is still talking about the Gazette, that we now do not know when it is going to come out. Then we still have the Gazette of people who were vetted and there are some people who were vetted in 2002. If I am making a clear follow-up, there were teams who were getting them to open accounts. My question is, these accounts which were opened in 2002, are they still working or they will have to open new accounts again?

THE MINISTER OF VETERANS OF THE LIBERATION STRUGGLE AFFAIRS (HON. SEN. MAVHUNGA): Thank you Mr. President. The vetting, which is a blitz vetting, was completed in November last year. Like I said, in order to gazette, we have to seek concurrence from the Ministry of Finance and once we get that concurrence, we will gazette. However, we did our part at our level but we are waiting for that concurrence.

Regarding those who opened their accounts, I think it is normal for everyone else to have a bank account. I do not think it was just for the purpose of depositing money because the benefits had to be determined. What if the determination does not involve cash? I would say when an account is closed, it will as well be opened. Thank you.

HON. SEN. ZINDI: Mr. President, my question is directed to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development. Christmas Pass has become a hazard in terms of accidents that are taking place right at that meandering road. The promise was that the Feruka bypass would have been completed by now. May I find out how far the construction of that Feruka bypass has gone in order for us to curb accidents taking place on that meandering Christmas Pass road? I thank you.

         THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Mr. President. Let me also thank the Hon. Senator Zindi. Maybe to put the facts right, it was not the construction of the bypass which was going to be ready by now but it was the procurement process which I assured that we are working on a PPP arrangement, working with a private player so that we start the reconstruction of the road.

However, I am also glad to appraise this august House that indeed the procurement has been done and I humbly request the Hon. Senator on the next coming Saturday, on the 21^st of June, to witness the opening of this major milestone of the bypass. The contractor is mobilised again on site and is busy opening the road, where we are going to be constructing 31.5 kilometres towards the Forbes Border Post, and this is what we are going to be doing. It is good news again to the people of Zimbabwe and in particular to Manicaland, that the long-awaited bypass is now commencing and we must applaud the Second Republic in the efforts under very difficult circumstances of what we are doing. We are seized with the acquiring of land for the expansion of the Forbes Border Post and the contractor has been identified again to work on the feasibility studies, so concurrently we will be doing the road and the Forbes Border Post. Thank you, Mr. President.

         *HON. SEN. MUNZVERENGWI: Thank you Mr. President. I want to direct my question to the Minister of Mines. The question that was raised by Hon. Senator Chief Nechombo, we all noted that it was a question which touched a lot of people. My question is that the group of people who are involved in disputes normally is the vulnerable group of women and young people. These disputes are happening and they are being caused by some people, so I am saying that is it not possible, Hon. Minister, for Government to protect those who are vulnerable, to ring-fence their interests and is it not possible that the Ministry deals with disputes, so that maybe a database is created of disputes throughout the country?

On top of that, when there is a dispute and when it goes to court, your office cannot intervene because it will be in the courts, so my question is, you would find that someone comes with an EPO, with a paper, despite the fact that those who will be there are protected by the law and they should continue mining but they do not know where to go. My question is, is it not possible for the people to be protected because they do not know what to do and where to go? I thank you.

*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING DEVELOPMENT RESPONSIBLE FOR GAS AND OIL EXPLORATION (HON. DR. MAKWIRANZOU): Thank you Hon. President. I want to thank the Hon. Senator for that question. I want to request that, if possible, maybe the Hon. Senator should write down the question because the Hon. Senator touched on a lot of issues and a lot of places. I thank you.

*HON. SEN. GUMPO: Madam President, there is a controversial issue of a housing scheme in Kariba. I do not know whether the Hon. Minister is here.

THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE (A. DUBE): The Hon. Minister is in the house.  Please go ahead.

*HON. SEN. GUMPO: Hon. Minister, there is this area which is called Kasese in Kariba, which is in Mahombekombe Township. It is located under high voltage power lines. It was left by Rhodesians 60 years ago. There was a promise that squatters would be relocated to another place but about two years ago, they were promised that a new Kasese Township would be created but up to now, nothing has happened. There is no progress, Hon. Minister. The people of Kariba are asking what is happening. I thank you.

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF NATIONAL HOUSING AND SOCIAL AMENITIES (HON. M. NCUBE): Thank you, Madam President. I would also like to thank Hon. Senator Gumpo for the question about the Kasese people who are settled under the ZESA pylons. Yes, we are seized with the matter of the Kasese and the Ministry is working on it. We have identified an area where they will be settled but due to financial resources we did not manage to complete the services in the area. However, the Ministry is working on it with the Ministry of Finance to release more funds so that we can go and do the services and resettle those people in the designated area. I thank you, Madam President.

HON. SEN. TSHABANGU: Hon. Madam President. I have noticed that the Minister of Health is not with us in the House, and I had a specific question for the Minister of Health. Unless I can put it and see if we have any Minister who has a spine to take it up. If none, maybe then I can be requested to put it in writing. However, let me flag it out.

THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: You want to ask the same question or do you want to ask the Government?

HON. SEN. TSHABANGU: Yes, I want to ask the same question.

THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Why can you not put it in writing, Hon Tshabangu?

HON. SEN. TSHABANGU: There is a Leader of Government.

THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Where is the Leader of Government?

HON. SEN. TSHABANGU: There is no Leader of Government.

THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Hon. Tshabangu there is no Leader of Government. Can you put it in writing?

HON. TSHABANGU: However, the Minister of Transport is the acting Minister of Health. In terms of years, he is the acting Minister.

THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: No, they are saying no, Hon. Tshabangu. Kindly put it in writing. Order! Hon. Senators they are saying no can you put it in writing, Hon. Tshabangu? What is your point of order?

HON. SEN PHULU: My point of order is that I have noticed week-in-week-out that I see the Minister of Local Government and Public Works was here. The Ministers, they come and they answer questions without notice and they ignore people who have taken their time to put things in writing. I think this is extremely unfair. May you direct...

THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Point noted. Point taken, Hon. Advocate.

*HON. SEN. MBOHWA: Thank you Madam President. I want to direct my question to the Minister of Mines. However, let me change and direct my question to the Minister Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services. Hon. Minister, we were in Nembudziya during the Independence celebrations and we witnessed the President launching the Presidential Internet Scheme and we were happy.

I want to understand as a Ministry, how far have you gone with the implementation of the launch that was done by the President, especially regarding that issue? I thank you.

* THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY, POSTAL AND COURIER SERVICES (HON. DR. MAVETERA):  Thank you Senate President for this opportunity.  I want to thank Hon. Senator Mbohwa for that pertinent question. At the moment, as the Ministry of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services, ICT, the issue of connectivity is an issue that we are seized with.  When we launched the scheme, we were targeting spreading of internet connectivity to rural areas.  When we compare rural areas and urban areas, we would find that internet is more concentrated in urban areas. So, our plan was to look at ways that we could use it. We identified Starlink and we are going to be using Starlink to access rural communities.  The first strategy is to provide computers. Then secondly, connectivity and thirdly, educating the people on Information Communication Technology (ICT) tools and using ICT.

Pertaining to gadgets like computers, we are researching the issue and looking at the schools that already received computers. We are going to identify what...

THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE (HON. SEN. DUBE):  Order, order! Hon. Mbohwa, may you kindly switch off your microphone?  Thank you, you may proceed Hon. Minister.

HON. DR. MAVETERA:  Thank you Senate President. Thank you Hon. Senator Mbohwa.  Continuing with my response, the issue of computers is quite important in terms of connectivity. We are going to be identifying province by province, distributing computers and Starlink is going to be accessible also in clinics, schools and other facilities.  I want to say that this is what we are doing.  So far, we have managed to connect 34 clinics and 24 schools.  We are targeting all the provinces so that we fulfil this plan.  Starlink gadgets are going to be taken to clinics and schools.

Secondly, you asked the question of connectivity. We have engaged Telco players.  We informed them to come up with a plan which is going to provide connectivity to rural communities.   They submitted their plan.

Regarding the Presidential Internet Scheme, we are not going to concentrate on Starlink but other players like TelOne, NetOne and Econet are going to be providing connectivity. We continue to follow up on these plans even in rural areas, borderline areas and other peripheral areas.  We are going to be using fibre-optic cables, which are provided by other players and Starlink.  I thank you.

Questions Without Notice were interrupted by THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in terms of Standing Order Number 67. 

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE

BREAKDOWN OF MONEY GENERATED FROM LICENCING OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT

4. HON. SEN. NGWENA asked the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development to apprise the House with a detailed breakdown of the money generated from the licencing of public transport passenger operator vehicles from the fourth quarter of 2024 to May 2025.

THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA):   Madam President, I want to thank the Hon. Senator for this very important question. The point of interest is particularly on the breakdown of money generated from the licencing of public transport operator vehicles. Leveraging on the ‘user pay principle’, the ministry generates money from licences and permits issued to public transport operators.

These licences and permit fees are a form of road user charges which are channelled towards road infrastructure, rehabilitating, maintaining and developing our roads.

The type of licence, operator licence for the period asked by the Hon. Senator.

Type of Licence/Permit	Amount Generated (ZWG)
Operator’s Licence	1 579 735.00
Route Permit	2 969 167.00
Cross border Permit	3 533 400.00

 

These are the figures asked by the Hon. Senator pertaining to the particular period she highlighted. Thank you Madam President Ma’am.

UPDATE ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE SMALL-SCALE MINERS FUND

10. HON. SEN. KATUMBA asked the Minister of Mines and Mining Development to update the House on the effectiveness of the Small-Scale Miners Fund since its inception and to further apprise the House on the key achievements of this fund.

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. MAKWIRANZOU): Thank you Senate President. I also want to thank Hon. Senator Katumba for asking that question. 

Hon. Senate President, I can respond that the Government has established a USD10 million-dollar facility especially to support small-scale miners.  Of this USD10 million-dollar facility, a total of USD5 million was allocated to ZMDC for the establishment of gold service centres.  USD5 million dollars was again given to the Mining Industry Loan Fund.  Out of this USD5 million dollars to the Mining Industry Loan Fund, USD2 million has been utilised towards the acquisition of equipment.  The Ministry bought some of the mining equipment that has already started to be used. It has been disbursed to small-scale miners.

Regarding the effectiveness of the Mining Industry Loan Fund which Hon. Senator Katumba asked, the Mining Industry Loan Fund has been established so that it can support small-scale farmers by enhancing their compliance with regulatory requirements and indeed boosting their production. This is achieved through the provision of critical mining equipment which enables beneficiaries to operate more efficiently and sustainably.

In addition, the key achievements of the Mining Industry Loan Fund can be stated that in 2025, eight small-scale farmers received equipment under the Mining Industry Loan Fund.  This increased their capacity significantly. The Ministry remains steadfast in ensuring that the fund continues to empower small-scale miners, thus fostering growth and formalisation within this sector. I now want to talk about the equipment distributed from 2023 to 2025. It started with major equipment. Seven submersible pumps were allocated, one compressor, one generator, two windlass systems, eighteen magazine boxes and one clear water pump as well as one extractor box.

A financial summary of a total of $72 427. 72 was disbursed. The Zimbabwe dollar disbursed was $42 947 502. 27. Thus, $42. 95 million. In addition, Madam President, I also want to advise that a total of 25 small-scale miners were supported. I thank you Madam President.

WRITTEN SUBMISSION TO QUESTION WITH NOTICE

BREAKDOWN OF FUNDS GENERATED FROM GROUND RENTAL FEES MONTHLY

11. HON. NDEBELE asked the Minister of Mines and Mining Development to provide a detailed monthly breakdown of funds generated by the Ministry from ground rental fees?

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MINES AND MINING DEVELOPMENT RESPONSIBLE FOR OIL AND GAS RESEARCH AND OTHER STRATEGIC MINERALS EXPLORATION (HON. DR. MAKWIRANZOU):  A breakdown of the funds generated from ground rental fees from January to May 2025 is as shown below:

	ZWG	USD
January	25 091 367. 27	337 560
February	27 660 869. 87	238 128
March	56 236 075. 03	325 244
April	9 338 526. 08	683 345
May	21 545 917. 31	315 208
TOTAL	139 872 755. 66	1 899 485

 

MOTION

REPORT ON THE 69^TH SESSION OF THE CONVENTION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN (CSW 69) HELD IN NEW YORK CITY

First Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report on the 69^th Session of the Convention on the Status of Women (CSW 69) on the Review and Appraisal of the Implementation of the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Outcomes of the 23^rd Special Session of the General Assembly.

Question again proposed.

HON. SEN. MBOHWA:  Madam President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.

HON. SEN. SHIRI:  I second.

Motion put and agreed to.

Debate to resume: Tuesday, 17^th June, 2025.

MOTION

DECLARATION OF A CULTURAL PUBLIC HOLIDAY

Second Order read:  Adjourned debate on motion on the culture that promotes the preservation of traditional practices thereby enhancing the dignity of the people.

Question again proposed.

HON. SEN. CHIEF CHIKWAKA:  Madam President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.

HON. SEN. MUZODA:  I second.

Motion put and agreed to.

Debate to resume: Tuesday, 17^th June, 2025.

MOTION

REPORT OF THE JOINT PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC WORKS AND NATIONAL HOUSING AND THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS ON THE STATE OF WATER SUPPLY IN BULAWAYO

Third Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the Report of the Joint Portfolio Committee on Local Government, Public Works and National Housing and the Thematic Committee on Sustainable Development Goals.

Question again proposed.

HON. SEN. CHIEF CHIKWAKA:  Madam President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.

HON. SEN. SIBANDA:  I second.

Motion put and agreed to.

Debate to resume: Tuesday, 17^th June, 2025.

MOTION

PRESERVATION OF INDIGENOUS CULTURE, CUSTOMS AND HERITAGE AS THE BEDROCK OF OUR NATIONAL IDENTITY

Fourth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the ever-increasing loss of our cultural values and norms.

Question again proposed.

HON. SEN. GOTORA:  Madam President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.

HON. SEN. CHIEF CHIKWAKA:  I second.

Motion put and agreed to.

Debate to resume: Tuesday, 17^th June, 2025.

MOTION

PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADDRESS

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

Question again proposed.

HON. SEN. GOTORA:  I move that the debate do now adjourn.

HON. SEN. CHIEF CHIKWAKA:  I second Madam President.

Motion put and agreed to.

Debate to resume: Tuesday, 17^th June, 2025.

On the motion of HON. SEN. MUZENDA, seconded by HON. SEN. GOTORA, the Senate adjourned at Twelve Minutes past Four o’clock p.m. until Tuesday, 17^th June, 2025.