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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY HANSARD 25 JUNE 2025 Vol 51 No 59

PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE

Wednesday, 25^th June, 2025.

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

PRAYERS

(THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair)

ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER

PETITION RECEIVED FROM HABAKKUK TRUST ZIMBABWE

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have to inform the House that on Wednesday, 11^th June, 2025, Parliament received a petition from Habakkuk Trust Zimbabwe, beseeching Parliament to exercise its constitutional role in addressing the inclusion of women as assessors in traditional courts and promote gender sensitivity. The petition has since been referred to the Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.

HALF–DAY WORKSHOP TO UNPACK THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AND DISPOSAL OF PUBLIC ASSETS AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 2, 2025] AND THE PIPELINES AMENDMENT BILL [H. B. 3, 2025]

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have to remind the House that on Thursday, 26^th June, 2025, there will be a Half-Day workshop to unpack the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Amendment Bill [H. B. 2, 2025] and the Pipelines Amendment Bill [H. B. 3, 2025] at 0900 hours in the Multi-Purpose Hall.  All Hon. Members are invited to attend.

VISITORS IN THE SPEAKER’S GALLERY

         THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  I would like to acknowledge the presence of the members of the public from Mutare Central Constituency, Manicaland Province, who are in the Speaker’s Gallery.  You are most welcome. – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.]

APOLOGIES RECEIVED FROM MINISTERS

         THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  I have a list of the Hon. Ministers and Deputy Ministers who have sought leave of absence from the House: Hon. Gen. Rtd Dr. C. G. D. N.  Chiwenga, Vice President; Hon. Rtd. Col. K. C. D. Mohadi, Vice President, Hon. Prof. M. Ncube, Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion; Hon. M. Mavhunga, Minister of Veterans and Liberation Struggle Affairs; Hon. D. Garwe, Minister of Local Government and Public Works; Hon. Prof. A. Murwira, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Hon. W. Chitando, Minister of Mines and Mining Development; Hon. M. N. Ndlovu, Minister of Industry and Commerce; Hon. Dr. A. J. Masuka, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development; Hon. Dr. D. T. Mombeshora; Minister of Health and Child Care; Hon. K. D. Mnangagwa, Deputy Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion; Hon. H. Moyo, Deputy Minister of Veterans and Liberation Struggle Affairs; Hon. J. Mhlanga, Deputy Minister of Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development; Hon. C. Sanyatwe, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage; Hon. D. Phuti, Deputy Minister of Information, Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services; Hon. A. Gata, Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education; Hon. Dinha, Deputy Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare; Hon. R. Modi, Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce; Hon. J. Sacco, Deputy Minister of Transport, Infrastructure Development; 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. 

         HON. MADZIVANYIKA:  On a point of order Madam Speaker.

         THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I am sorry Hon. Member, we do not entertain points of order on a Wednesday.  It was a ruling given by the Hon. Speaker – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.] –

HON. MADZIVANYIKA:  Madam Speaker Ma’am, I am not aware of that ruling.  Maybe you can refresh my memory.  Points of order are so fundamental, they guide the behaviour of this Parliament. Maybe you can guide me on that.  There is no such ruling.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: It was a ruling made by the Speaker. I am sorry – [HON. MEMBERS:  Rinhi?] -  It was made before you came to Parliament – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.]

         HON. BAJILA: A few minutes later, Members will be asking for points of order here.  We want you to guide us here.  There is no point of order today?

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Yes.

HON. MADZIVANYIKA:  On a point of privilege.  Standing Order Number 27, read together with Section 107 of the Constitution, mandates Ministers to attend Parliament and answer questions.  It is common cause that every Wednesday is a Question and Answer session for Ministers to interface with the country.  I wonder what is happening – we have got 22 Ministers but there are only four Ministers here.  There are also 22 Deputy Ministers.  Can you try to assist us so that these Ministers and Deputy Ministers respect and take Parliament business seriously?

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Your concerns Hon. Madzivanyika, have been noted.

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

+HON. MUJEYI: My question is directed to the Minister of Local Government.  We have had years of drought.  What is the Government doing to ensure that councils in the urban areas can assist members of the community to get drinking water and for household use?  The water table is now difficult to drill a borehole.  What measures is the Government taking to assist people who are living in the rural areas? 

THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. Z. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Madam Speaker. I want to thank the Hon. Member for the question which relates to the availability of water to Municipalities and Councils. The Government has been doing a lot in terms of ensuring that all our citizens get safe, potable water. If you look at Harare, we have several dams that have been constructed. Kunzvi Dam is under construction. We have Marovanyati in Buhera.

The Minister of Local Government and Public Works and Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement are now doing feasibility studies to ensure that they create a conveyancing platform to bring water to Harare, Chitungwiza and Ruwa to service those particular areas.

Above that Madam Speaker, if you look at the Southern Region, the Gwayi-Shangani Dam is under construction. I knew of that only two weeks ago, a significant tranche of money was released to the contractors, around five million, so that they can continue doing the work. Once that dam is completed, again, they will be constructing a conveyancing platform to bring water to Bulawayo but also service those within the conveyancing platform so that they can also have safe, potable water.

In several areas, we are doing that in conjunction with local authorities. So basically, the policy thrust is to ensure that we have safe, potable water, which is available in the majority of our municipal areas. I thank you.

⁺HON. MUJEYI:  I want to thank the Government for the dam construction programme that they are doing. I understand you have funds that you have allocated to Gwayi-Shangani. Whilst you are working on that in Bulawayo, you have five dams and they do not have water. What is it that you are putting as a mitigation measure to have water in councils while we are waiting for Gwayi-Shangani?

HON. Z. ZIYAMBI: Madam Speaker, this becomes a very specific question to say what are the specific mitigation measures to solve the problem. What I have indicated is the policy to ensure that we have a sustainable way of providing water to Bulawayo. I know that currently, the provision of bulk water to Bulawayo is there. We have problems with the municipality of Bulawayo in terms of ensuring that their conveyancing platforms are not leaking and they have chemicals. Like I said, this becomes a specific question which then requires the Minister to come and explain further the problems that bedevil Bulawayo in terms of water provision. I submit.

HON. DR. KHUPE: Thank you very much and I would like to thank the Hon. Minister for his response. I would like the Minister, for the benefit of the viewers and all those people who are interested to know about the issue related to water, when exactly do you think that the Gwayi-Shangani project is going to be completed? If you can just tell us that it is at 99.1%, 95 or 80% complete, I think this will assist the viewers because this is a very strategic dam which will ensure that Binga, Lupane, Bulawayo and Hwange and along the route from Gwayi to Bulawayo will not have any water problems once the Gwayi-Shangani Dam is complete. Can you please enlighten us on when exactly the project might be completed? I thank you. 

HON. Z. ZIYAMBI: Thank you Madam Speaker. The honest answer is that if we had available resources or lines of credit, we would want that dam to be completed like yesterday. So, we eat what we hunt. When we get money, we allocate and we continue building. Madam Speaker, what we have to appreciate is that particular dam has been on the cards for a very long time. When the Second Republic came into power, His Excellency said we must start building. There is no way that we are going to get anyone to help us. We have to help ourselves and we have to start building that, to construct that dam and this is what we have done.

 I have alluded to the fact that only this week there was an agreement to release at least five million so that we do not stop construction work. So, the desire to have it completed is there but like what we always say, we have accustomed ourselves to the mantra that we build our own country with or without external financing and this is what we are doing, I submit.

HON. MASHONGANYIKA:  Thank you Madam Speaker, my supplementary question is, when are you going to address the issue of water rationing in all urban towns? It is becoming a very big problem in all small towns in our country. Thank you.

HON. Z. ZIYAMBI: Water rationing is a manifestation of a problem and what the Second Republic is doing to ensure that we provide a bulk water supply to our municipalities. Over and above that Madam Speaker, we have realised that the majority of our councils have not been able to bill and collect their rates efficiently. We are now going to shift to a policy whereby we are going to do prepaid meters for water provision. This will allow for efficient collection and will also allow for efficient water conveyancing to the population, I submit.

         +HON. NKOMO:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  My question is directed to the Minister of Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Affairs.  What is it that the Government is doing specifically for those who used to assist the war veterans with cooking during the liberation struggle?  How far have we gone with processing their payments?  I thank you.

THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. Z. ZIYAMBI):  Thank you Madam Speaker.  Madam Speaker, the issue of payments to war collaborators is a subject that is under discussion but the issue of recognising their contribution, not necessarily in terms of monetary payment but in terms of ensuring that they are given the due recognition is the process that is underway.  I submit Madam Speaker.

HON. TOGAREPI:  Supplementary question Madam Speaker.  If the Minister could assist us with information. These war collaborators were vetted more than two years ago.  To date, they have not been gazetted or recognised.  What is going to be their fate if they have not been gazetted up to now?  What is the Government policy in ensuring that recognition has been done and the vetting process completed? 

HON. Z. ZIYAMBI:  Madam Speaker, the process of vetting was started. What is now required is to ensure that it is completed and all the necessary processes are done.  That is what the Ministry of Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Affairs is seized with, to ensure that the process they started is completed.  I cannot give a definitive date on when that process will be completed but what I can assure the Government Chief Whip is that the Government is seized with that matter and we have a desire to ensure that it is completed.  I submit Hon. Speaker.

+HON. MAHLANGU:  Supplementary question.  Since it has been a long time since the vetting process, what is the timeframe that they are giving to us to pay back their dues?  They played a very important role during the time of the War of Liberation.  I thank you.

HON. Z. ZIYAMBI:  Madam Speaker, part of my earlier response addressed that to say we are seized with that.  I cannot give a timeline on when that is going to be completed but the desire of the Government is to ensure that we complete it.  We close that chapter and we move forward with a view of ensuring that they are given the due recognition that they deserve.  I thank you.

HON. J. SITHOLE:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  I have got no supplementary question but I want to put the record straight – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.] -  The Leader of the House is struggling to answer these questions but the Deputy Minister of Defence and War Veterans is there.  He is supposed to take the question and answer it.

HON. Z. ZIYAMBI:  Maybe to clarify Madam Speaker, I think the Hon. Member is living in the past. The Deputy Minister of Defence is here. The Deputy Minister of Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Affairs is Comrade Headman Moyo.  I have not seen him here.  I am not lost.  I am not struggling.  I am saying what I know – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] - So I do not need to be directed by an Hon. Member who is failing to identify his own Ministers.  I submit.

HON. HADEBE:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  Two years ago, the war collaborators were asked to open bank accounts and most of those bank accounts have since closed.  What is the Government's position concerning the reopening of those accounts? Actually, they were asked to pay USD20 to open bank accounts.  Thank you.

HON. Z. ZIYAMBI:  Madam Speaker, I think we have a problem where people want to twist issues and request an answer that I am not going to give.  I indicated that there is a process of vetting that needs to be completed.  When that process is completed, the Government is going to give due recognition to the contribution by war collaborators.

HON. HADEBE:  On a point of order Madam Speaker.

*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Please give the Minister a chance to respond.

HON. HADEBE:  I agree with Hon. Sithole that the Minister is struggling.  Let us forgive him. Thank you – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.] –

HON. Z. ZIYAMBI:  The Hon. Member must withdraw that.  He must withdraw what he said.  He must specifically indicate where I am struggling because I am very clear on what I am saying.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Hon. Hadebe, please withdraw that.

HON. HADEBE:  Madam Speaker, I will only withdraw after Hon. Sithole has withdrawn because it was coming from Hon. Sithole.  I was simply agreeing with what Hon. Sithole had said. Thank you.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  You must both withdraw your statements.

HON. J. SITHOLE:  I never said that.  He is the one who said it – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.] –

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Hon. Sithole, please withdraw your statement.

HON. J. SITHOLE:  He is the one who said it.  He is supposed to withdraw.  When the Minister said he must withdraw, he never said it to me, so he must withdraw.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Hon. Sithole, please withdraw the statement that you said earlier about the Minister.

HON. J. SITHOLE:  Madam Speaker, I talked clearly and loudly.  I was not shouting at the Minister.  The Minister never said it to me; he said he must withdraw.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Hon. Sithole, please.

         HON.  J. SITHOLE: I withdraw Madam Speaker Ma’am.

         THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you. Hon. Hadebe, please withdraw your statement.

HON. HADEBE: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. I withdraw. Let us just hope he will not struggle. Thank you.

         THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Just withdraw and take your seat.

HON. Z. ZIYAMBI: Madam Speaker, I take exception to that. He is saying, I am withdrawing but I hope the Minister will not struggle. So, he actually repeated that. I think action must be taken.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Hadebe, please may you approach the Chair.

         Hon. Hadebe having approached the Chair

HON. HADEBE: Thank you very much Madam Chair. I withdraw.

*HON. MAKUVIRE: My question is directed to the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare. What is the Government's policy in making sure that street kids get accommodation since most of them are stealing goods for a living?

THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. E. MOYO): Thank you very much Madam Speaker Ma’am. The issue of people in the streets who become a hazard on the streets, taking things and fooling people, we have a programme as a Ministry, to institutionalise them and keep them at designated places. Our biggest place that we have here in Harare is currently under renovation with the perimeter wall. What has been happening is that they are taken there and after a few days, they escape and run back.

The other important thing to note is that we need to capacitate the Ministry in terms of provisions in order to keep them in those institutions and also, to support them with livelihood programmes. If you take them to an institution where there are a bit of inadequacies and they cannot get extra cash for their other needs, the temptation to go back to the street is very high. These are the matters that we are currently dealing with. We were dealing with that issue and several others during the greater part of this morning, so that we can source the resources to capacitate the Ministry to adequately look after these people. That is what we are currently doing. Thank you.

HON. MANDIWANZIRA: Thank you very much Madam Speaker and thank you Hon. Minister, for the response. If you move around the City of Harare, I do not know what the situation is in other urban locations. A lot of these people on the streets are young children. They are doing drugs and they are begging. It does seem like a nuisance right now but when you project into the future, in 10 years, the level of criminal activity is likely to be very high, as well as a broken generation. Is there any Government policy to particularly deal with these young children and get them not just off the streets but into schools and boarding homes to make sure that the problem is eliminated? I ask this question but also recognise the great work that our First Lady has been doing in rehabilitating some of these children. I thank you.

HON. E. MOYO:  Thank you Madam Speaker and thank you Hon. Member, for the supplementary question. Yes, it is true, we have a lot of young children in the streets. Our social development division is always actively trying to locate relatives of these people. Where they are found, these children are reintegrated with their families. In some cases, you find that the whole family is also on the streets. So, the rehabilitation process that I was talking about, we want to institutionalise them. Some of them are homeless, others are just because they enjoy begging. They find it easy to get money from passers-by. We are trying to locate, reintegrate and then rehabilitate these people but we need a lot of resources to do that.

Some of these children must be taken away from the streets to schools. There are others that the First Lady took, I think it is in the area of Chipinge, who are currently housed. They are doing very well. We need to do such programmes all over the country so that we remove them from the streets. All that requires is that our social security pillar is strengthened and capacitated so that we can take them in and rehabilitate them in these centres.

 The other problem that we have is the issue of our social workers. This is one area where we are getting a lot of brain drain as a country, maybe because we are not paying attractively as compared to Europe. You know the ageing populations in some parts of Europe is creating this brain drain away from us. We have very good institutions that are training our professionals in social work. They are attracted and they are being drawn from us and given better packages. These are some of the things that I was talking about that we were discussing this morning on how we can strengthen the social protection pillar and also see how we can retain our social workers to deal with these issues. There is a small allowance that is given, a retention allowance that is given to social development officers. It is not sufficient enough and not strong enough of a motivation for them to stay on. These issues are noted and they are being worked on. The key factor in all this, is the issue of sufficient capacitation to deal with these issues.

         HON. KARENYI:  Thank you Madam Speaker. My supplementary question to the Hon. Minister is, while you have mentioned that there are programmes in place to capacitate mothers or children living on the streets, may you clarify how these programmes are being implemented on the ground? Furthermore, how is the Ministry ensuring that these interventions are sustainable and that they lead to the integration of both the children and their mothers in the society? We do not want to run programmes which are not sustainable. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

         HON. E. MOYO: Thank you, Madam Speaker and thank you to the Hon. Member. The structure that we have is that we have Social Development Officers in every district of this country. Those are the people that are tasked on the ground with the responsibility to identify these people, look for their relatives, and see the possibility of reintegration. Of course, for it to be sustainable, they need to be supported in terms of their livelihoods.

To achieve all that, we need Treasury funding because social protection is the responsibility of the Government to look after its people, particularly the disadvantaged ones. So, this is why I was saying we need that capacitation so that this programme is effective but then the people who really identify such people are basically the Social Development Officers at the district level.

There is another element that I may also add, that we also have adults who are also loitering in the streets, who must be removed from the streets. We also do that, but however, the enforcement of removal is administered by Home Affairs. So, we liaise with Home Affairs to remove such people but then the problem is that they also relapse and go back to the streets. So, it should be an ongoing thing but then the sustainable way is identification, capacitating them, rehabilitating them and then we ensure that as long as we cannot capacitate that it will be difficult. We remove them and after two or three days, they come back to the streets.

The issue I spoke about, where we are doing a perimeter wall, really, it is something just to keep them in, but we do not want that institution to be a prison. It must be a place where they can stay being supported, staying happy and some of them can be screened and taken to vocational training centres to get skills for their livelihoods.

I thank you, Madam Speaker.

HON. MADZIVANYIKA: Thank you, Madam Speaker, Ma'am. My supplementary question to the Hon. Minister says: when the children are taken from the streets, they are supposed to be sent to rehabilitation centres or re-establishment centres. Do we have such re-establishment centres in Zimbabwe? I just wish the Hon. Minister to give examples of re-establishment centres or rehabilitation centres which are operational. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

         HON. E. MOYO: Yes, Madam Speaker, we have such centres, but they are not many. They are not enough for the number of people in the streets. So, we need continuous development in that area. I forgot the name of the place here in Harare. It is a very big place.

I have been there just outside Harare. It is a very big place, it can accommodate a lot of children. I have spoken about the place in Chipinge where children have been housed. There is another place in Luveve, which we used to call Remand, where they are also kept. We also spoke about the issue. These things are interlinked with drug abuse and so forth.

         I think the Government took a decision to say the COVID isolation centres be rehabilitated, to take in such people for their rehabilitation. Some people are in the streets because of drugs. Others are in the streets because they are homeless. They are there for different reasons. So, that integration process and capacitation are critical for the sustainability of that programme. I thank you.

         ^*HON. HUNGWE: Thank you, Madam Speaker Ma’am. Thank you Hon. Minister. My question is directed to the Minister of Industry and Commerce. What is Government policy in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce concerning the products which are being imported into this country? Again, what is Government policy regards the protection of locally produced products so as to avoid the selling of imported goods in order to protect our market? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

*THE HON. MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. Z. ZIYAMBI): Thank you, Madam Speaker. I also want to thank the Hon. Member for asking a pertinent question.

         Yes, we do have our industries, our local money and labour from our local people in this country. We also have similar goods from other countries which are being imported and sold in this country. They sell their goods at the lowest prices compared to our local companies, which end up disrupting the production cycle and buying and selling of our local companies.

         Madam Speaker, the Government is looking into this issue. In the past few months, the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Funds has increased the import duty, in a bid to discourage companies which are importing goods from other countries to continue to import and also to protect and support the local industries.

So, the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion and the Minister of Industry and Commerce are going to work hand in glove to make sure that they can desist from that like what we did on the cars. There was also another S.I. on cement where people were now importing cement, we worked on that S.I. and protected our local companies like PPC, among others. So, the Government is going to continue to watch closely to make sure that it protects our local industries. The Government is not going to shy about the issue. They are going to close all the avenues for imports. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

         *HON. S. TSHUMA: |Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am.

My supplementary question to the Minister is that we have also seen that there was a ban on the import of metal, building metal in the country, because we now have a company called Manhize which is producing metal. We further examined and discovered that the metal which is being produced at Manhize is not enough a lot of the metals used for building are not produced there. So, my question is, is it not proper to allow other companies to import until Manhize is now able to produce all types of metals which are needed?

HON. Z. ZIYAMBI: I want to thank Hon. Tshuma for explaining that the Government is clearly observing and has also banned the importation of metal because we now have a company which is producing metals in this country. Which clearly shows that the question which was asked, some people are aware of Government projects and policies which are happening in the country. The Hon. Member indicated that there are some types of metal bars which are not produced at Manhize. This ban opened the avenue for Government to see that there are some metals which are not produced at Manhize.

         Those who want to import the types of metals which are not produced locally can get licences to do so and they must approach the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. We are not saying all metals are now imported but we are also only going to look into the issue and give leeway for the types of metals which are not produced locally.

HON. G. K. HLATYWAYO: My supplementary question. Protectionism is good insofar as it promotes local industries but it might also end up in a situation where we put the burden especially in the absence of competition, we put the burden on the end user, who is the ordinary citizen. What measures are being put in place by the Government to make sure that those products remain affordable to the ordinary people? 

HON. Z. ZIYAMBI: Thank you Madam Speaker, I want to thank the Hon. Member for asking the measures that will be taken to ensure that the products remain affordable. Madam Speaker, we have officers within the Ministry of Industry and Commerce specifically to look at that, to look at the cost build-up and the way that our companies are charging the end users. So, from a policy perspective, we have mechanisms to look at that but also from a policy perspective, we do not want to kill our own industry in the name of trying to open up and ensure that our products are cheaper. We are alive to the fact that in Zimbabwe, the cost of production is high because of the sanctions that we have. We are not the same with the countries that are around us. As a result, if we do not protect our industries, it means we will kill them and we will become a marketplace. So, we are alive to that and we will try to find a balance between the need to ensure that products and goods are cheaper as well as to ensure that our industry survives. I thank you Madam Speaker.

         *HON. MUDEKUNYE:  Thank you Madam Speaker. My supplementary question is, we see that there are local products which are being produced. Some of the products are already banned from being imported but we see that the Ministry is giving permits for those things to be imported. If we look at the prices for the locally produced things, the prices are quite affordable.  So, what is the Government policy to make sure that things that were banned by the Government must not be given permits to be imported? I thank you.

*HON. Z. ZIYAMBI:  Thank you Madam Speaker. The Hon Member asked a question and also answered it himself in the same manner that I would have responded to the question.  Yes, we have forbidden some imports but there are some people who are engaged in unlawful activities. Those who are doing corrupt activities must be reported to the police and the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission.  As the Government, we declared that these goods must not be imported. I thank you Madam Speaker.

HON. MAPHOSA. Thank you Hon. Speaker.  What is the Government policy on the transfer of exam teachers who are teaching grade 7 and form 6? They are being transferred before the kids write their exams.

THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. Z. ZIYAMBI): Thank you Madam Speaker. That is not a policy issue; it is an administrative one.

I would not want to venture into a scenario where I do not even know the reasons for the transfer and other attendant issues. It is very administrative and it is not policy-related because the Government does not issue a policy on the transfer of teachers of exam classes. I have never heard of that but administratively, depending on the situation, the Ministry can decide to do that. I so submit Madam Speaker.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Thank you Hon Minister. Hon. Maphosa, you can put your question in writing.

HON. MAKOMBE:  My question is directed to the Ministry of Health. Recent public health reports indicate a concerning surge in new HIV infections and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) across various provinces in Zimbabwe. This trend poses a significant threat to national health gains made over the years and raises questions about the effectiveness of current prevention and awareness intervention strategies. My question, therefore, is what policy measures are in place to deal with such things that are happening in our country?  I thank you.

THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. Z. ZIYAMBI):  Madam Speaker, I am not aware of the report.  That is the first point. Secondly, he is speaking about statistical analysis, a movement from a certain figure to a certain figure. It is not a policy issue.

This is exactly a question that is a candidate for being put in writing so that the Minister can come and indicate the trends and the analysis and whether the interventions are not working or working but certain things need to be done. So, I believe this is not a question that can be answered in the segment of a policy session but a question that can be answered backed by statistics, with the Minister explaining the intervention and what has been happening. I so submit Madam Speaker.

THE HON DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Hon. Makombe, I am sure you have taken note of that.

         HON. MUTSEYAMI: On a point of order. With your due respect Madam Speaker, last week all these questions to do with the Minister of Health were posed to the Hon. Minister. There was an agreement through your office and the Chair for the Hon. Minister to come to this House and give a broad Ministerial Statement of which Hon. Members would entertain to bring questions and get enlightenment across the country. So, through your office Madam Speaker, may you please make the process happen so that the Hon. Minister would come to bring the Ministerial Statement? I am sure you are seeing the anxiety among the Hon. Members…

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have taken note of that Hon. Mutseyami. Thank you.

HON. BUTAU: Thank you Madam Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Energy. This question is referenced and motivated by the fact that Mbire Constituency and those upstream border the Zambezi River and the Zambezi River Authority has a balance sheet that is not being sweated enough to benefit the communities in the Zambezi Basin. Are there any plans, therefore to allow the Zambezi River Authority to participate either in energy production or to assist ZESA with access to credit? Thank you.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Butau please, may you put your question in writing so that the Minister responsible will come to this House with a comprehensive answer?

HON. BUTAU: Thank you Madam Speaker.

HON. CHIDUWA: Thank you Madam Speaker. My question is directed to the Hon. Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry.

Zimbabwe is going to host the 2027 Cricket World Cup together with South Africa and Namibia. However, Zimbabwe currently has got hotel rooms deficit. I wanted to find out from the Hon. Minister, what is the Government policy with regards to ensuring that as a country, when we host such events, we have adequate conference facilities and hotel rooms? I submit.

THE MINISTER OF TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY (HON. RWODZI): Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I would like to thank Hon. Chiduwa for the question. Our President, from 2018 until date, has a mantra that Zimbabwe is open for business, whereby in our Ministry we ride on that. We are very aware that we are actually hosting two World Cup events for cricket. The first one is in August 2026 for under nineteens and the second one is for the main teams in the world which we are going to co-host with South Africa.

 We are co-hosting the first one with South Africa and Namibia. Yes, we do not have enough rooms and we are preaching, going for road shows, enticing those who can invest in the country in terms of accommodation to be adequate. However, we are actually very happy and we take this with two hands…

*HON. HWENDE: On a point of order Madam Speaker. The Minister is going in circles. May the Hon. Minister go straight to the answer? She is busy sloganeering and going in circles.

*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: That is not your job to tell the House how the Minister should respond. Sit down!

HON. RWODZI: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma'am. I was saying, we take cognisance of the fact that our rooms are not enough to host the World Cup. We have already agreed with Zambia in Livingstone, Katima Mulilo and Kasane. What is happening now at the moment and exciting, is that Zimbabwe has become a hub of the southern region for tourism. The players will be coming into Zimbabwe...

HON. HADEBE:  On a point of order Madam Speaker. The Hon. Minister is saying that they go around using some roadshows to look for investors to come and build some lodges. A whole Hon. Minister operating like a tout in Mbare Musika…-[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]-

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Hadebe, why can you not wait and ask for a supplementary question? Please take your seat.

HON. RWODZI: Thank you Hon. Madam Speaker Ma'am. We have agreed with Livingstone, Katima Mulilo and Kasane for extra accommodation that we would need. However, again these are just contingent plans. We have three hotels right now as we speak, that have started construction in Victoria Falls. So, yes, we are doing everything that we are doing so that it is a contingent plan. To answer the question more is to tell the Hon. Member...

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Order Hon. Minister! Hon. Makumire, please, may you leave the House! - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]-

HON. MAKUMIRE: What violations did I …

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I heard you shouting, saying which one, which one? Why are you interrupting the Hon. Minister? Please leave the House.

HON. MAKUMIRE: Madam Speaker, I have never said a word. I was quiet, listening to the response from the Hon. Minister and never said a word. I do not think that it will be fair to chuck me out of this House without any offence. - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]-

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Makumire, please leave the House. - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]-

HON. MAKUMIRE: Madam Speaker, is it on record that I have said any word in this House?

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I was looking at you and heard you shouting. - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]-

Hon. Makumire, please leave the House. - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]-

I forgive you because your Chief Whip asked for forgiveness on your behalf. You should thank your Chief Whip. Please proceed Hon. Minister.

         HON. RWODZI: I was saying, technically we have enough rooms. Let us tell the House that we are co-hosting with South Africa and Namibia and it is not like all the teams will be coming to the country at one go. They will be coming and going to another country and another country but everything that we are doing is just a contingency plan because we are telling the teams to come and have their base in Zimbabwe so that we have more tourism income during that event.

         HON. CHIDUWA: My follow-up question is, we have noted that the hotel prices, if you look at Katima Mulilo in Namibia, Kasane in Botswana and Livingstone in Zambia, compared to Victoria Falls, our prices are very high and uncompetitive. I wanted to find out what Government policy is to ensure that our hotel rooms’ prices, the pricing models are competitive.

         THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Chiduwa, that is a new question.

         HON. GUMEDE: With us preparing to co-host this Cricket World Cup event, do you have specific incentives or support mechanisms that you are offering investors around the hospitality sector to urgently increase accommodation? I also wanted to find out how the Government is ensuring that host cities are ready in terms of accommodation, transport and tourism services.

         HON. RWODZI: Yes, there are incentives that are given to investors who come into the country to invest, particularly in the special economic zones. This World Cup or the land that we have in Victoria Falls is in a special economic zone. So, ZIDA incentives apply from not paying tax for five years and also for importing any product or equipment that comes out of the country duty-free and many other incentives that ZIDA offers. So, yes, we are doing that.

         HON. G. K. HLATYWAYO: Can the Hon. Minister explain how road shows are going to lead to increased room capacity?

         HON. RWODZI: We have been doing these roadshows since end of 2023. It is calling in the investors who are happy to come and invest, telling our story, the advantages of coming to Zimbabwe and the results are already there. The media is writing about that, so we contact these roadshows in other countries. I will give an example of the roadshows that we had end of last year in South Africa in Johannesburg and Cape Town. We actually have three investors right now that are in the process of procedures with ZIDA, which shows that these roadshows have results. I thank you.

         HON. MADZIVANYIKA: I appreciate Hon. Minister that the issue of roadshows in other countries brings investors to Zimbabwe. However, the question coming from Hon. Hlatywayo that I need clarification on is how roadshows improve accommodation in Zimbabwe in preparation for the Cricket World Cup?

         THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. TSITSI ZHOU): I am not going to give the floor to the Hon. Minister because she has just responded to that question.

         HON. MUROMBEDZI: Given the scale of the 2027 Cricket World Cup and the global attention that it is going to be bringing to the country and to make sure we are not going to be caught unawares, I am respectful through your Chair, Madam Speaker, I would like to ask the Hon. Minister to bring a Ministerial Statement which shows the current bed capacity in Victoria Falls, the planned hotel and lodge expansion, the policy incentives to encourage private sector participation as well as the whole of Government approach that is being done for that project so that if there are any gaps, this House can assist in that regard.

         THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: The Hon. Minister has literally responded to most of those things that you have requested for a Ministerial Statement and I think it is not necessary Hon. Murombedzi.

THE HON. HADEBE: My question is directed to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development. Three months ago, the Minister spoke passionately that work was to resume soon on the reconstruction of the Bulawayo-Beitbridge Road, Bulawayo-Nkayi Road, Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road, and Bulawayo–Tsholotsho Road. There is a noticeable delay. May the Minister provide an update on the status of the road rehabilitation?  I thank you.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Yours is a specific question, Hon. Hadebe.

         HON. MAKUMIRE: Point of order, Madam Speaker.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Point of order! Proceed.

HON. MAKUMIRE: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. The roads that have been mentioned by the Hon. Member are national roads. So, national roads are not...

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Makumire, I am not deaf. Hon. Hadebe went on to request statistics and his was a specific question and I did not allow that.

         HON. MACHANGU: Thank you Madam Speaker. A cognisance of the UZ strike that has taken more than 60 days and it has affected the academic term. Does the Government have any comprehensive long-term plan to prevent such recurrence in other institutions of higher and tertiary education?

         THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. S. SIBANDA): Thank you Madam Speaker.  With regards to the long-term plan that the Government has in terms of alleviating further situations like the one that we have at the University of Zimbabwe, is that through the Education 5.0 Model, it encourages universities and institutions to come out with innovative ideas that can develop into projects, that can... –[HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] -

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order. Order. Can we allow the Hon. Minister to be heard in silence?

HON. S. SIBANDA:  Our heritage-based Education 5.0 cultivates a culture of encouraging universities to come up with innovative ideas that can translate into projects, that can contribute to the third income stream. The third income stream will assist institutions not to rely on the traditional income streams, like fees and Government grants. As the Government, we support the innovations that are there in the institutions so that they grow into businesses which can assist, on top of the grants that come from the Government, in line with salaries. These can be top-ups from the third income streams. That is the current situation at the University of Zimbabwe.

There is a question that is already there that sort of answers the question. The question is there under the session of Oral Answers to Questions with Notice. I do not know whether I can venture into that or wait for that particular session. So I submit.

HON. SHIRIYEDENGA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma'am. The question relates to the obligation of the Government to cushion the lecturers throughout the country. If the Minister could assist in terms of what measures his Ministry or the Government has put in place to ensure that our lecturers are cushioned against the economic hardships that are facing in the country. I think that is what the first speaker asked. I thank you.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: That question should then be directed to the Minister of Public Service.

THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. E. MOYO): Thank you Madam Speaker. I think the question overally speaks to industrial relations in the country or the public service. I will try and look at the general framework and not be specific to universities. Now, the general framework that is currently being undertaken is that there is a job evaluation that was done and is currently at the validation stage. That should scientifically locate people where they are supposed to be.  The Patterson Model is being used to determine a scale to locate people.  I believe that is going to address some of those anomalies that we now experience.

It will also address the issues of internal and external inconsistencies. We have to be consistent; any job evaluation and any remuneration model must speak to internal inconsistencies within the Government and external inconsistencies that are within the region. So the job evaluation process is what is currently happening to address those concerns. Yes, there are interventions here and there that are happening. The overall objective and the thrust are to scientifically determine salaries and not to thumb-suck them.  I thank you.

HON. GUMEDE: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I would like to ask the Hon. Minister about the long-term policy solutions that the Ministry is currently working on in terms of addressing these strikes. I would like to find out how the Ministry ensures sustainable staff engagement to avoid repeated disruptions to learning. As it is, at 60 days, at this one particular institution where students have been disturbed in their academic calendars. So there are root causes that are there that need to be specifically addressed. What is the policy and what is the Ministry doing around that?

HON. E. MOYO: Thank you Madam Speaker. The long-term solutions lie in the tripartite agreement that is business, Government, and labour so that some benchmarks are established and then agreements are reached which create the frameworks for whatever remuneration comes in. All that is determined by the cake on the table. What can our economy absorb? Then that is agreed in terms of cost of living by businesses to be monitored and agreed to in terms of demands by workers, to also be agreed to in terms of the Government, its priorities being looked at.

Once those benchmarks and agreements are secured and I think that is going to come around about August, the documents are currently being developed. So we think that should give us long-term comfort. What is important in industrial relations is the issue of dialogue where there are problems, people must talk. These dialogues are given or created through basically two platforms. There is the National Employment Council, which we normally call NECs and then the National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC) who are currently in Mutare as we speak right now and working on how to proceed on these matters. They are not basically talking figures right now, but they are talking about frameworks. That is meant to establish dialogue so that there are industrial relations. I think gone are the days when someone becomes a master and the other becomes a servant. The idea now is for people to come together.

HON. HWENDE: Point of order Hon. Speaker.

HON. E. MOYO:  I thank you Madam Speaker.  I have finished – [Laughter.] -

 

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Your point of order Hon. Hwende will then fall away.

         HON. HWENDE: It is a point of privilege.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Can you please take your seat Hon. Hwende?

HON. HWENDE:  No, no….

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Hon. Hwende, can you please take your seat?

HON. HWENDE:  Please allow me to…..

         THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  I have requested you to take your seat. Hon. Hwende, you want to disrupt the business of the day. First, you requested a point of order, whilst you were standing you requested a point of privilege. If you keep standing and you keep shouting, I will request you to leave the House – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] -

HON. MADZIVANYIKA:  My follow-up question Madam Speaker to the Hon.  Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education is that he alluded to the fact that there is need, according to Education 5.0, for Government or for universities to have innovative ideas and create income streams that cushion universities so that they try to assist the ailing lecturers. My follow-up question Madam Speaker therefore is this confirmation that the Government has failed to do its primary role of ensuring that our lecturers are adequately paid in light of the development?

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  That question has been responded to by the Minister of Public Service.

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

I would want to ask Madam Speaker, if you can jog our memory in terms of under what conditions are we supposed to be asking for a point of order that you can accept because I think there have been two or three times when we have had a standoff between the Chair and the Members who are asking for a point of order and then you are saying no. Is it possible that you can just jog our memory to say, under these conditions, you cannot ask for a point of order?

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Thank you very much Hon.  Chigumbu. I refused to take the point of order from Hon. Hwende because first he requested a point of order, then he requested a point of privilege. I can only take a point of order from a Member who has made the decision to ask a point of order and please do not disrupt the process.

HON. BVUTE:  My question is directed to the Ministry of Home Affairs.  What plans does the Ministry of Home Affairs and police have to stop the practice of truckers or heavy vehicles carrying passengers on top of their produce? Examples are that we have seen trucks carrying bags of bananas, tobacco bales, sugarcane, and so forth to the market.  The same farmers will be piled on top of their goods, thereby endangering their lives in the event of serious accidents. Of late, most of them have resulted in many fatalities. I so submit.

THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): The policy is very simple. Anybody who violates traffic laws must be arrested. Simple and straightforward.

         HON. F. NCUBE:  My question is directed to the Minister of Health and Child Care. What are Government plans to improve the availability of medicines in hospitals across the country?

THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. Z. ZIYAMBI): Madam Speaker, Government has consistently and persistently provided funding to our national pharmaceutical company but what we have realised as Government is that the supply chain system has a lot of leakages. We are now undertaking measures to ensure that we plug the loopholes by way of having an electronic tracking system of drugs from the source to the patient. We have realised that continuously providing funding when we have leakages will not help. Government is alive to that. We are in the process of ensuring that we tighten the leakages that have been happening along the chain so that the availability of drugs to the end user is guaranteed.

HON. MURAMBIWA: Madam Speaker, riding on the mantra, no one and no place should be left behind by His Excellency, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa; what plans does the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development have to facilitate the provision of ZUPCO buses to rural areas to make life easier for rural people as they want to visit growth points, town and cities since ZUPCO buses tend to be cheaper than other transport operators.

THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. ZIYAMBI): I want to thank the Hon. Member for the question, which has been wrongly directed to the Minister of Transport.

Actually, Madam Speaker, the Ministry of Transport does not administer ZUPCO, it has been privatised. It is a private company of Government. What the Government will try to do is to ensure that all our areas are accessible and that is the policy thrust within the Ministry of Transport to ensure that we improve our roads. A road is an economy. Once our roads are good, that will attract other private players and there will be competition. The thrust within the Ministry, within the limits of the resources, like I indicated that we are a closed community, we do not have lines of credit. We eat what we hunt. Within the limits of our cake, we will try to improve our road network, trying not to leave anyone behind, so that the more we open up and we have very good roads, the more the transport operators will be attracted. Once there is competition, the pricing will go down. I thank you Madam Speaker.

^*HON. KARENYI:  My supplementary question Madam Speaker is, when we grew up, we knew that ZUPCO buses were so many. The problem now is, we no longer see those buses according to what we expected, which shows some of the issues that have been raised like corruption during the procurement of the buses. What is the Government policy or plans to ensure that those buses, if they are procured, will continue providing services and avoid a shortage on the roads because people are losing their lives due to illegal taxis?

HON. Z. ZIYAMBI: Thank you Madam Speaker. I also like to thank Hon. Karenyi for the question, being so articulate about the problems that the country faced, including some of the problems that were caused by some who are here. I am glad that the Hon. Minister said that there was a time when we had a lot of buses but some people forgot that the country is supposed to be built by its own people. They went to call for problems in this country and the Hon. Member said the buses are now few. Yes, the buses became few because we used to get foreign lines of credit, procuring buses spare parts was no longer the case. The coming of the Second Republic...

HON. JAMES: On a point of order.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: What is your point of order?

HON. JAMES: Madam Speaker, can I remind the Minister that we have two assembly plants in this country that are quite capable of making these buses that do not need external lines of credit. There is enough money in the country and we see a lot of vehicles being dished out left, right and centre...

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, Hon. James! Are you responding on behalf of the Hon. Minister? Can you give the Hon. Minister the opportunity to respond?

HON. JAMES: I am just pointing out that we...

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Please take your seat. You are in no position to respond. Allow the Hon. Minister to respond.

^*HON. Z. ZIYAMBI:  Thank you Madam Speaker. My response is that we had companies with assembly plants. We are not yet capable of manufacturing engines but we only assemble kits that are imported. Those kits are not manufactured here, so that is where our problem was. Our currency lost value because of what happened. I am glad that the Hon. Member has acknowledged that.

The President came and he said we can no longer follow and came up with plans to move forward. We started importing a lot of buses. We realised that due to their nature, they can service urban routes. When the President went to Belarus recently, he went with a team of business people that looked at ways of getting those knock down kits to be assembled here so that we can actually assemble those buses here and that we may go back to that level referred to by Hon. Karenyi. Thank you.

^*HON. ZVAIPA: Thank you Madam Speaker. Yes, Zimbabwe is not the only country that is under sanctions. When this country was still Rhodesia, it was under sanctions but the buses were still many. What are the plans to ensure that we go back to the high number of buses that was alluded to by the Hon. Member?

HON. TOGAREPI: On a point of order!

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: What is your point of order?

HON. TOGAREPI: The Hon. Member must not give us a

history lesson. We remember Rhodesia with hatred and pain and for somebody to talk about Rhodesia when in 1990 we had more buses than we had in Rhodesia, he does not want to refer to when we were independent. He talks about Rhodesia 45 years after independence, you still have nostalgia about Rhodesia. Hon. Speaker, I do not want this, I am very angry. Can you withdraw the word Rhodesia? - [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]-

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Order, order! Can we have order in the House? You are out of order Hon. Zvaipa.

^*HON. GWANGWABA: My supplementary question is directed to the Leader of Government Business. I would like to find out those few ZUPCO buses that we have, what plans do they have to ensure that they service a lot of routes? We realise that there are some that go to certain areas yet other places are not serviced.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: You responded to the question that the Leader of Government Business responded to. ZUPCO is a company that is also in business. It is important that those buses must use navigable roads and service various routes. The roads themselves will ensure that the costs are low.

         *HON. MUWOMBI:  Thank you Madam Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare.  What plans does the Government have to ensure that people are given drought relief in areas where the rain was bad this year?  I thank you.

THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. E. MOYO):  The Food Mitigation Programme ended on 31^st March this year.  However, it was extended a bit for about a month and it is going to be on a monthly basis to those areas that have been identified and verified as needy. So, the official deadline for food mitigation was 31^st March, 2025.  Currently, we only proceed where needs have been identified, confirmed and then assistance goes there.  So, it is now needs-based.  Thank you.

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

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  May I remind the Hon. Ministers here present that we have 80 questions on the Order Paper and we request that these questions be responded to. If your Ministry has questions to respond to, please stay behind and respond to these very important questions.

CONSTRUCTION OF MODERN TOILETS AT TONGAAT HULETT, HIPPO VALLEY AND TRIANGLE

14. HON. MAKUMIRE asked the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to inform the House with information regarding Government's plans to ensure that Tongaat Hulett, Hippo Valley and Triangle construct modern private toilets for their employees.

THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. E. MOYO):  Decent work promotes opportunities for people to work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. The Ministry is committed to ensuring decent working conditions for all employees. We recognise the importance of sanitation facilities, including modern private toilets, for promoting employee health and dignity. Our plans include engaging Tongaat Hulett to assess their current facilities and identify areas for improvement.

We will encourage the company to invest in modern infrastructure that meets health and safety standards. The Ministry will conduct regular monitoring inspections and enforcement of labour laws to ensure compliance and promotion of decent work. Our goal is to foster a safe and healthy work environment, aligning with the decent work agenda. I thank you.

*HON. MAKUMIRE:  Supplementary question. Thank you

Madam Speaker. The situation in this place where sugar cane is planted has open toilets where you can see what someone next to you is doing in the toilets. It depicts pre-independence situations. Some of the people working there are in-laws and it is undignified for them to use those toilets. 

The Hon. Minister said the Ministry will go to assess, how long will it take to ensure that you have fulfilled the assessment? 

HON. E. MOYO:  There is no specific time here but this issue has come to us and we have already activated our system to go and inspect the areas and then also engage the company so that those facilities are upgraded to ensure human dignity. Since it has come, we have already spoken to the officers on the ground to do the inspection and also all the work required until the facilities are upgraded. Thank you.

HON. MADZIVANYIKA:  Supplementary question.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  May I request the House to have a supplementary question from the questioner so that we cover a lot of ground. If you can allow us to do that?

HON. MADZIVANYIKA:  Supplementary Madam Speaker.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  I hear you but if you can allow the questioner to give a supplementary question so that we can also cover a lot of ground.

HON. MADZIVANYIKA:  Madam Speaker, I do not think it is sustainable in light of the fact that it is important to ask all pertinent questions so that the people out there get help.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  If you insist, you can proceed.

HON. MADZIVANYIKA:  Thank you Madam Speaker. My supplementary question therefore goes to the…

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Order Hon. Madzivanyika.  Hon. Members on my right, you are conversing so loudly. Probably you are more interested in this discussion going on but you are making it difficult for us to hear the questions and responses. Please, can you allow the Hon. Member to be heard in silence?

HON. MADZIVANYIKA:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  My supplementary question to the Hon. Minister. It appears the Hon. Minister had not yet completed his investigations on this issue because he alluded to the fact that he has dispatched a team to go and make investigations. Can this question remain on the Order Paper until the investigations are completed so that the people of Chiredzi get the answers they deserve? Thank you Madam Speaker.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Is that supposed to be a supplementary question Hon. Madzivanyika?

HON. MADZIVANYIKA:  Yes.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Really?  That is not a question. You are advising the House.

HON. MADZIVANYIKA:  I am asking.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: No Hon. Madzivanyika, you have raised something very important which probably the question remains on the Order Paper until the investigations have been done. I am going to allow that but that was not a supplementary question.

HALTING OF MASSIVE RETRENCHMENT AT HIPPO VALLEY AND TRIANGLE ESTATES

15. HON. MAKUMIRE asked the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to explain the Government's strategies to halt the massive retrenchment at Hippo Valley and Triangle Estates.

THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. E. MOYO): The Government is committed to protecting jobs and ensuring economic stability. It is against this background that this august House passed the retrenchment laws to govern the retrenchment process. It is important to understand that retrenchment is provided for in the Labour Act, [Chapter 28:01]. There is a procedure that is followed to meet legal requirements to retrench.

Among the requirements is the need to engage and dialogue about the company challenges and to explore if the company can adopt alternative solutions to avoid retrenchment. In terms of Section 12 (d), there are measures to avoid retrenchment and the Ministry, through the Retrenchment Board, determines if the democratic principles were followed and whether the issue of measures to avoid retrenchment were also followed.

However, considering the numbers involved, the Ministry did not rely on the legal provisions but it was quick to send a fact-finding team when the company posted its notice in the media. The Ministry continues to intervene and give direction. The company has already been directed to establish workers' committees to allow dialogue in a democratic setup. Labour administration is ready to assist when called upon but we should also point out that unions are involved and the law also empowers the unions to preside over the process. I thank you.

ADDRESSING UNFAIR LABOUR PRACTICES BY COMPANIES

18. HON. TSVANGIRAI asked the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to inform the House on measures being taken to address unfair labour practices perpetrated by companies, such as Norton Bricks and Moreharvest, where it is alleged that workers are subjected to poor working conditions and remuneration in violation of their rights.

THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. E. MOYO): Thank you, Madam Speaker. The question will be addressed in a two-pronged approach, starting with the generalised position that companies are perpetrating unfair labour practices and the second answer will deal with specific allegations against two named companies.

One of the core businesses of labour administration in Zimbabwe overseen by this Ministry is the focus on promoting fair labour practice, which resonates well with ensuring decent working conditions and fostering a conducive labour market environment for our workers. This is done through the administration of the Labour Act and the whole Act provides for labour relations between employers and employees, including their organised institutions. The purpose of this Act is to advance social justice and democracy at the workplace by giving effect to the fundamental rights of employees, providing a legal framework for bargaining, promoting labour standards and securing the just, effective and expeditious dispute resolution.

At the centre of this mandate is the labour officer who addresses unfair labour practices through the following measures. Conducts workplace inspections, promotes fair labour practices through training of both management and workers, hears and resolves unfair labour practice disputes and facilitates the domestication of international labour standards. In general, this answers the question of how the Ministry addresses unfair labour practices perpetrated by companies.

Now I will come to alleged unfair labour practices perpetrated by Norton Bricks and Moreharvest companies. The Ministry has decentralised its operations to all provinces. In addition, the labour office functions are also delegated to respective National Employment Councils. Each company is classified under relevant National Employment Council, which carries out, among other duties, collective bargaining and dispute resolution.

The Mashonaland West Provincial Labour Office and National Employment Council offices have not received any complaints from Norton Bricks workers in relation to unfair labour practices. Harare Head Office has also indicated that there were no allegations received from Moreharvest Company. However, since Hon. Tsvangirai has conveyed the allegations, the Ministry went on to assign labour inspectors to verify the allegations on the ground. Our labour inspectors found that there were decent work deficiencies and non-compliance with the Labour Act. Management was directed to comply and improve working conditions.

However, it was also observed that we needed to strengthen the enforcement of laws, train and maintain labour officers' visibility on a regular basis. In order to do that, the Labour Department needs to be equipped with vehicles and relevant equipment in order to closely monitor and conduct labour inspections, as well as improve labour officers' conditions of service to cap the high turnover. Let me assure you that the Ministry will continue to monitor and enforce all labour laws. I thank you.

HON. TSVANGIRAI: What specific legal action will be taken against companies found violating labour laws, particularly in cases of poor working conditions underpayment. I thank you.

HON. E. MOYO: On poor working conditions, that is to be addressed through the National Employment Councils. If there is no agreement, the parties go for voluntary arbitration.  Now, in terms of poor working conditions, the general atmosphere at the workplace, if there are deficits, the Ministry has mechanisms. One of the mechanisms is the issue of the NECs and arbitration. If the matters are of quite a legal nature, not of a civil nature, then these matters can be routed to the legal line.

Sometimes these matters can also be taken to the Labour Court. So, these are some of the legal mechanisms to address such deficits. I thank you.

HON. TOGAREPI: I would like to check with the Minister whether there is a deliberate policy by the Government when we have international investors coming to do business in Zimbabwe that they are schooled to understand and appreciate Zimbabwean labour laws. Many a time we have seen in the media, our people being badly treated by some of our investors, some of the employers who come to do business in Zimbabwe. Do we have a deliberate way of saying, we have come to Zimbabwe, we employ the people of Zimbabwe? This is how we expect you to interact and work with your employees.

HON. E. MOYO: Yes, they are given what is expected in terms of labour relations in the country. However, we realise that there are some investors who comply and there are others who do not comply. So, for those who do not comply, we have come up with a programme which we have already rolled out in Mashonaland West Province, where investors have been invited and issues around decent work deficits have been raised and they have been advised to comply.

If these things become too serious, we may even recommend withdrawal of their licences. We have done some work in Mashonaland Central where there have been some problems in terms of work deficits. What we have done is that we have called in associations representing some of these investors, where these work deficits seem to be prevalent.

Working with the relevant ambassadors, we are going to run a series of workshops to try and make sure that there is compliance to our labour laws. So, this is what we are doing. We have already done some work but now we think we have to deal with these issues from a national perspective and not to target individual companies because it might be too difficult to go through them. We are going to deal with the associations and the ambassadors. I thank you.

BRIEF ON DROUGHT MITIGATION PROGRAMME FOR TSHOLOTSHO DISTRICT

19. HON. L. SIBANDA asked the Minister of Public Services, Labour and Social Welfare, to brief the House on the drought mitigation programme for Tsholotsho District, given that some households are already vulnerable to food insecurity due to a lack of inputs.

         HON. E. MOYO: Thank you Madam Speaker. The Minister has taken note of the question and will make an assessment of the said affected communities and the outcome will determine the response to mitigate the effects of hunger within that community since this programme now needs-based. I thank you.

PAYMENT OF PENSIONERS AFFECTED BY DOLLARISATION IN 2009

20. HON. MURERI asked the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare whether it is the Government’s policy to pay pensioners in local currency (ZWG), yet their contributions were in United States Dollars during the period 2009 to 2017.

HON. E. MOYO: The Government's pension framework operates on a pay-as-you-go basis, which means that current pension obligations are funded from the national fiscus, not from accumulated individual contributions. Statute Instrument 33 of 2019 legally converted USD balances to local currency on a one-to-one basis.

         Consequently, all pension calculations and payments were transitioned into Zimbabwe dollars in line with that policy. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's Monetary Policy Statement of 5 April 2024, supported by Statute Instrument 60 of 2024, formalised the conversion of Zimbabwe dollars into the new currency ZIG. In compliance with the Public Service Commission approved the conversion of Zimbabwe dollar earnings and pension liabilities into ZiG using prescribed exchange rates.

         As of now, earnings are paid in US dollars and pensions are calculated based on the final USD earnings. Pensions are then paid in a dual structure. Partially in hard USD and partially in ZiG. Based on the prevailing exchange rate for each month, pension amounts are indexed to the current earnings of serving members and denominated in the currency of those earnings. It is important to note that while some contributions were made in USD over a defined period, many pensioners are now receiving benefits in USD or USD equivalent, well beyond their contribution period. Others who contributed in Zimbabwe dollars are also receiving a portion of their pensions in hard USD, reflecting a commitment to benefit preservation.

NUMBER OF PUBLIC SERVICES COMMISSION BUSES IN BULAWAYO PROVINCE

21. HON. BAJILA asked the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to inform the House on the following:
22. a) The number of Public Service Commission buses allocated to cushion civil servants in the Bulawayo Province.
23. b) Government plans for servicing those buses.
24. c) Whether it is government policy for civil servants to contribute towards the servicing of such a fleet.

         HON. E. MOYO: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Bulawayo Province has a total of 17 buses allocated to civil servants' transport requirements. The detailed routes are as follows;

1. Cowdry Park, Emakhandeni-Mpilo - that one is functional, it is on the road.
2. NkuLumane-Mthunzini - Airport. It is functional and is on the road.

• Magwegwe North-Engutsheni - On the road and functioning.

1. Pumula-Mthunzini-UBH - on the road and functioning.
2. Emganwini - on the road and functioning.
3. Luveve – Emganwini -UBH, it is on the road and functioning.

• Cowdry Park-Kensington, on the road and functioning.
• Mahatshula – Queens Park – Philani – Hopefountain, on the road and functioning.

1. Mpopoma, on the road and functioning.
2. Cowdry Park – it is off-road at FAW- Bulawayo for service.
3. Pumula North is also off-road. It is parked at Umhlahlandlela Government Building, pending service.

• Mahatshula - Off-road and parked at Umhlahlandlela Government Building, pending service.
• Tshabalala, off-road. It is at FAW- Bulawayo for service.
• Entumbane North and Pumula. It is off-road and parked at Umhlahlandlela Government Building pending service.

1. Phelandaba is off-road. It is parked at the Umhlahlandlela Government Building pending service.

• Emthunzini and Pumula South. Off-road parked at Emhlahlandlela pending service.
• Finally, Luveve and Ingutsheni. It is off-road at FAW- Bulawayo for service.

The Public Service Commission has bus maintenance framework agreements with two service providers for a period of three years, effective 17 April 2025 to 17 April 2028. The agreements are as follows;

Public Service Commission and Drivers' Wealth trading as legit automotive. The other one is Public Service Commission and High Profile. These framework agreements are for bus services, repairs, towing and panel beating. The Public Service Commission advertised a tender on 22 June 2025 to increase the number of service providers for the servicing, repair, touring and panel beating of the buses. This intervention would increase the number of buses being maintained. The Public Service Commission has also engaged Treasury to increase the funding for bus maintenance. The Public Service Commission has also engaged Treasury on capital expenditure funding to expedite payment for new buses.

     It is Government policy that the Public Service Commission is responsible for servicing the bus fleet. Civil servants do not contribute towards the servicing of the bus fleet but only pay a nominal amount as bus fare. The average bus fare for a distance of 20 kilometres is  ZiG 6 per trip. I thank you.

HON. BAJILA:  I wish to thank the Hon. Minister for the response. I would have been satisfied if the Minister had gone to do investigations, given that in the question, I indicated that civil servants are saying they are being made to pay for repairs.

I liked the way the Minister handled the question from Hon. Tsvangirai that those issues that sought to be like allegations, they actually went to investigate them. So, I would have been satisfied. I am not sure if the Minister could say they have gone to the ground to confirm that indeed, no civil servant has been asked to make contributions for the Public Service Commission fleet. I thank you.

HON. E. MOYO: Thank you Madam Speaker. I thought the question required the policy position of the Government. If a specific allegation has been made, then we would have gone on to investigate that. Now, I would request the Member perhaps to give us this question again with more details to enable investigation into this matter. As a matter of Government policy, civil servants are not supposed to be contributing towards the repair of these buses. I thank you.

PLANS TO IMPROVE RETIREMENT PACKAGES FOR PENSIONERS

22. HON. MAKUMIRE asked the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to apprise the House about the Government’s plans to improve the retirement pension for pensioners.

         THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. E MOYO):  Thank you Madam Speaker. The Government is committed to pension reform and sustainability. The State Service Pensions Fund has been introduced through the State Services Pension Bill [H.B. 9, 2024], which formalises the defined pension structure of the pension system. Under this model, the Government guarantees pension payments regardless of fund performance, thereby assuming an open-ended liability for all qualifying beneficiaries. A key reform under the Bill is the statutory endorsement of pension indexation. This policy links pension benefits to the salary levels of serving members. Therefore, whenever there is an upward adjustment in salaries, pension benefits are automatically revised at quoting.

Additionally, the Bill provides for the potential to pay amounts above indexed levels depending on the performance of fund investments once the law is enacted. Furthermore, the Government has launched a retirement planning programme designed to help public servants prepare for retirement. This includes access to subsidised financial products, affordable loans, direct linkage to service providers, that is for housing, health and insurance, to avoid exploitation by intermediaries, financial literacy and pension education sessions throughout an employee's career. These measures are aimed at enhancing income security for pensioners, improving benefit adequacy and strengthening the overall pension ecosystem. I thank you.

*HON. MAKUMIRE:  Madam Speaker, if you look closely, most of the pensioners are earning less than USD30.  That money is not enough to buy food even for one person, yet they have families to look after. Most of them are elderly people who need medication, especially with regard to increasing their earnings to ensure that they get money that can sustain a family. I thank you.

HON. E. MOYO:  Thank you very much Madam Speaker. Yes, pensions in many cases are quite small and insufficient to sustain livelihoods. However, I want to explain two things. In this country, we basically have two models of pensions, the pension to which you contribute as you work in a particular company or Government, where you contribute and then the employer also contributes and usually these are administered in the private sector.  They are administered by different insurance companies like Old Mutual and many others. So, companies have such schemes with those asset managers to grow the pensions. Then the second one is the social security pension, which is basically administered by NSSA. That is not the primary pension but it is a secondary pension and that pension is determined by the contributions that people make. The contributions are very small. If you look at your pay-slip to see what pension one is paying, it is quite small and these pension amounts that are paid out are actually determined by actual scientific calculations to determine what pension can be paid. Some people might have worked for five, six years or ten years and then perhaps they lose their job. Then, when they reach the age of 60, they begin to claim, even if they have not been contributing for a very long period of time. All those factors are put together to determine the amount that can be made so that the fund is also sustainable regardless of how much they contributed.

On the part of Government pensions, workers contribute and also Government contributes. Then, using that, the pension of a person is determined depending on the years, wages, at what age they retired and all those factors that they consider to determine a pension. If anything has to change in that regard, it means that the input into the pension fund must change so that the output is related to the input. I thank you.

HON. MALINGANISO: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma'am. With the understanding that NSSA is proven to be dependable over time, where in the end pensioners confuse it as the main pension fund where their employers would have failed, is there a possibility that there is a policy shift where Government, through NSSA, sees to it that contributions go more the way of NSSA, which is dependable to cushion workers where employers are failing to own up to the pension that they would have deducted?

HON. E. MOYO:  Thank you very much Madam Speaker. I think that is a suggestion which has some legislative bearing to shift the role of NSSA to be a main pension provider. Perhaps, if that could be brought up and motivated and then due process followed to make that shift. At the moment, the main pension should be provided by the employers and NSSA provides the secondary social security pension. I thank you.

HON. TOGAREPI: Madam Speaker, if you would allow me just one second. Minister, what we are running away from when we look at the pensions is very simple. Many providers, whether they are asset managers, insurance companies or NSSA, we see the assets they have. Huge assets but what they pay out is very little. When all these pensioners are dead, who is going to enjoy these assets? I think the Ministry of Public Service should just look at our members. Are they being paid fairly for their contributions? I do not think so.

Actuaries are human beings because we live with insurance companies that are some of the richest in this world but the people who earn from them earn less than what they would have contributed in their lifetime. That is my feeling. I do not know what policy the Government has in place to investigate who is enjoying the assets of member contributions.

HON. E. MOYO: Thank you Madam Speaker. I am not sure if I have to really give a definitive answer to that. I will take it and say it is noted and I have taken it down because the issue of pensions does not only fall under this Ministry but also falls under the Ministry of Finance, which is currently pushing the pension reform agenda. So, perhaps it could fall within that purview and then it could be exhaustively ventilated and perhaps resolved. It is an important question. A lot of people have put in money but they have lost everything, yet companies have remained with huge assets. So, it is a genuine concern which I think through legislative measures and also in consultation with the people who oversee the pension industry, could help us in that regard. I thank you.

EXPLANATION ON REGISTRATION FOR GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE TO THE ELDERLY

23. HON. MAKUMIRE asked the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to explain to the House why registration for Government assistance for the elderly was being done by shadow councillors for the ruling party when sitting/elected opposition councillors for Wards 2, 5 and 8 are there.

THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. E. MOYO): Thank you Madam Speaker and thank you Hon. Member, for the question. The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare has officers at the district level who have the responsibility for enumeration. During the peak of the hunger period, the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare enlisted the services of community child care workers (CCWs) to assist with the enumeration of eligible beneficiaries for the Cash for Cereal Programme.

Councillors and traditional leaders cannot be enlisted for such services as they are supposed to be part of the help desk, which is a grievance-handling mechanism for social protection programmes. They cannot be referees and players at the same time. I hope the Hon. Member has taken note of the correct procedure for registration of beneficiaries onto social protection programmes. I thank you.

         *HON. MAKUMIRE: I have a supplementary question, Madam Speaker. What happened at Chiredzi Town, the councillors that were elected and currently serving, those who lost from the ruling party were writing beneficiaries. May the question remain on the Order Paper so that it is well established? Yes, the Minister spoke about a very good programme. However, when this programme is handled by politicians, it does not give a good impression. I think there is need to investigate so that we know the details. Thank you.

HON. E. MOYO: We communicated on the ground and that was found not to be true. We sometimes perhaps confuse CCWs to be aligned with this or that. However, I was told that it was CCWs who were enlisted to do that programme. I would encourage the Hon. Member and everyone of us here, if we see such transgressions, let us raise them live so that they can be investigated and a resolution to that matter can be found. Thank you.

HON. MAKUMIRE: On a point of privilege Madam Speaker. I had to communicate with the district officers from the ministry. They confirmed that the task was being handled by the council chairperson, who then contacted shadowed councillors from his political party. If possible, the Hon. Minister can also seek audience with the ones that were affected, talk to the city councillors on what really transpired. I begin to wonder if the investigations brought the correct information from the ground. This is because the feedback that we are getting from the Hon. Minister is not true. Thank you very much.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MAUNGANIDZE):  Point of order Hon. Makumire. I think the Minister has been very clear in his response and he has informed the House that he did a thorough investigation. What the Minister has told us is what is on the ground.

HON. MADZIVANYIKA: Supplementary question Madam Speaker. As a matter of policy, are politicians allowed to be part of CCWs under the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare? Thank you.

HON. E. MOYO: I think the question is introducing a complication because now we have to check if those people indeed are politicians. What I would advise is that if the Hon. Member who brought up the question is not satisfied, he has to come to the office on a bilateral visit. We can then bring in the officers and perhaps talk more about that issue. This is because we may be general and may never be able to converge. Thank you.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Questions 24, 25 and 26, Hon. Makumire, you have exhausted your four questions for this session.

So, I request the Hon. Minister to submit the written responses.

INFORMATION ON THE CRITERIA USED IN THE DISBURSEMENT OF BEAM FUNDS

27. HON. S. TSHUMA asked the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to state the criteria used in the disbursement of BEAM funds to schools, especially in the rural areas and when the Ministry intends to clear outstanding arrears from 2022 at Madzivazvido Secondary School and other schools in Gokwe-Kabuyuni Constituency.

THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. E. MOYO): Thank you Hon. Member for that question. BEAM (Basic Education Assistance Module) payments are guided by the BEAM manual, which emphasises the equal disbursement of resources to all schools with BEAM beneficiaries. However, this disbursement is guided by the availability of cash from the Treasury. The last full payment we did was in 2022 when Treasury released sufficient amounts. However, subsequent disbursements has not been enough to cover everyone, hence the accrual of arrears.

We are in active engagement with Treasury to clear all arrears and Treasury is committed to the same. As such, once Treasury releases the funds, my Ministry will clear all the outstanding arrears. I thank you.

*HON. S. TSHUMA: Supplementary Madam Speaker Ma’am. 

The question was segmented to the Minister. The schools where we come from are recruiting 70 to 80% learners who are supposed to be paid by BEAM. If the Hon. Minister is indeed confirming that all the way from 2022, there was no money paid to those schools, it means those schools will close. What are the plans?  This is because right now as Hon. Members, we are the ones who have to pay for chalks or flags or other equipment. The money that those few paying learners do is not enough to sustain schools. What I am saying is that my question was segmented or cut. The arrears are now 41 000 due to be paid from BEAM. I thank you.

HON. E. MOYO: Schools are under serious distress. We have actively engaged the Government system under the Treasury so that releases can be made. We know that a huge amount is owing and may not be easily extinguished but then a progressive and structured way of dealing with this matter is being proposed. We are dealing with this matter very actively. My colleagues here will confirm that. The Minister of Finance is actively mobilising so that BEAM payments can be made.

The distress in schools is highly acknowledged and it is the Government's responsibility to make sure that those underprivileged are also assisted. The Government is committed to doing that. I thank you.

         ^*HON. S. TSHUMA: On a point of clarity. Thank you, Madam Speaker. This is a very serious issue, considering the problem that our schools are facing right now in the rural areas. If we leave the Minister to go without exhausting this issue which he has handed over to the Minister of Finance, it means we are not going to get a response immediately. Why does the Minister not ask the Minister of Finance to come and clarify the BEAM issue, because it is a very topical issue in schools? I thank you.

^*HON. MURAMBIWA: My supplementary question to the Minister is, may I know which criteria is used for allocating BEAM funds because in some school be in the same area, 90% of students are under BEAM, at another school there is 15% which is in the same locality. What is the criteria they use because we see that some of those schools will be in the same area? I thank you.

HON. E. MOYO: Madam Speaker, the criteria really comes through a handbook which is issued by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. That is what is followed, the school selection committees follow that criteria but basically, from a social protection point of view, that is a programme to cater for the underprivileged. So, the number of students to a particular school depends on some variables, one of which naturally could be the enrolment, that is the size of the school and secondly, the level of vulnerability in that community. So those two brought together, inform and then help the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to determine the criteria and then advise the school selection committees to move accordingly. I thank you.

*HON. S. TSHUMA: I was looking forward to getting a response to the point of clarity that I raised but then you recognised Hon. Murambiwa before I could get a response.

*THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: I thought you were suggesting that the Minister should come together with the Minister of Finance so I did not get the clarity part of it.

*HON. S. TSHUMA: I wanted to get a response from the Minister of Public Service to say what was he going to do concerning coming with the Minister of Finance.

HON. E. MOYO: I do not think I have powers to pull the Minister of Finance into the House. I can only deal with issues that deal with my Ministry. So, if there is a need for a joint statement or maybe a joint appearance before a particular Committee, it is at the pleasure of Parliament to determine so and not me. Thank you.

*HON. MAKUMIRE: My point of order is we are only supposed to have three supplementary questions.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: In this current session, we only had two.

IMPROVEMENT OF THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AT AIRPORT PRIMARY SCHOOL IN BULAWAYO NORTH

29. HON. GUMEDE asked the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education to inform;
30. a) the House on the measures the Ministry has put in place to improve the learning environment and provide decent infrastructure at Airport Primary School in Bulawayo North in light of concerns raised by the community regarding overcrowding and inadequate facilities; and
31. b) has the Ministry allocated any budget for infrastructural development at Airport Primary School under the Education Sector Strategic Plan.

THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. T. MOYO): The Ministry's role in supporting infrastructural development at Airport Primary School primarily involves engaging the responsible authority which is Airport Company Zimbabwe (ACZ), to ensure that their development plans align with national educational standards. As the school falls under ACZ's jurisdiction, financial and material support for the projects is expected to come from the responsible authority and the income-generating initiatives spearheaded by the School Development Committee (SDC). The Ministry will continue to provide technical guidance and oversight to ensure that the construction of facilities such as the proposed borehole and classrooms meet required specifications and quality standards.

On the second part, since Airport Primary School is managed by a responsible authority, the Government has not allocated a specific budget for its infrastructural development under the Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP). However, the Ministry recognises the importance of maintaining adequate and proper learning conditions and is actively collaborating with ACZ and the local community to address the identified challenges. The Ministry remains committed to facilitating coordination between all stakeholders to expedite the implementation of the planned infrastructure projects and will monitor progress to ensure compliance with educational and infrastructure policies. I submit.

⁺HON. GUMEDE: Thank you for the response that the Hon. Minister T. Moyo has given to this House. I wanted to find out if while they are talking to the responsible authority that you alluded to, are there any plans that you have to counter the challenges that the children are facing at school so that they can get their education properly? I know you indicated that there is no durawall or surrounding fence, which means that security-wise it is not safe for the children when they are at school or when they are going to school. I am therefore asking that the Hon. Minister, whilst you are talking to the responsible authority, are there any plans or measures that have been taken to secure the safety of the children?

HON. T. MOYO: Madam Speaker, I wish to thank the Hon. Member for the question. There are a number of initiatives that could be done by the school to address the challenges that the school is facing, which includes the issue of fencing and also provision of an enabling environment to ensure that students effectively learn at that school. One of the ways is to introduce a building levy where at least 40 percent of the parents can vote for the introduction of that levy. The parents who should vote should be bona fide parents, not people masquerading as parents. That is one way of addressing the challenge through a levy.

The other way is the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is encouraging all our schools to embark on commercial ventures. This could be gardens, piggery or poultry projects as ways of raising money towards improving the ambience prevailing in our schools. Those are ways of mobilising funding towards improving the conditions that prevail at that school. Thank you.

WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE

PAYMENT OF TEACHERS CONTRACTED BY ZIMSEC FOR THE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER EXAMINATION

17. HON. D. MOYO asked the Minister of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare to inform the House when teachers who were contracted by ZIMSEC to monitor the October/November 2024 examinations will be paid.

THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. E. MOYO):   This question lies within the purview of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and as such, may the Hon. Member redirect the question to the relevant Ministry for a proper response?

INFORMATION ON CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES UNDER THE AGE OF 18 IN CHIREDZI DISTRICT

24. HON. MAKUMIRE asked the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to provide information on:

(a) number of children with disability under the age of 18 in Chiredzi;

(b) the number of those going to school and those who are failing to go to school;

(c) Government’s plans to ensure that those who are not going to school are given an opportunity to access basic education.

THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. DINHA):  There are 4 127 children with disabilities in Chiredzi District. Out of the 4 127 children with disabilities in Chiredzi District, 3714 are in schools ranging from mainstream schools to special schools. The remaining 413 who are not in school consists of children with multiple disabilities who are yet to be enrolled in school, those staying away from schools, those in need of assistive devices and those that are too young to be enrolled into special schools. The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare is working to ensure that these children are in school through the following interventions:

1. i) Enrolling children with special needs into special schools such as Kapota.
2. ii) Collaboration with the Ministry of Primary of Secondary Education to ensure the placement of children with special needs in the correct learning environment.

iii)    Enrolment of children with disabilities into the Basic Education Assistance Module programme which pays tuition, levy and boarding fees for children withl with special needs at special schools.

1. iv) The disability Vocational Fund is assisting some of the children who are neither enrolled in primary nor secondary education by sending them to vocational skills training.
2. v) Purchasing assistive devices for needy children so that they can be afforded their right to education.
3. vi) Continuous identification and documentation of children with disabilities and linking them with needed services. I thank you.

PROVISION OF OLD AGE PENSION TO SENIOR CITIZENS

25. HON. MAKUMIRE asked the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to apprise the House about the Government’s plans to provide all senior citizens with old age pension as a case in neighbouring countries like Botswana and Namibia.

         THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. E. MOYO):  The Government is looking at introducing the Universal Old Age Pension Scheme for all citizens.  Currently, the Ministry with assistance from NSSA is working on proposals for funding of the scheme which will soon be presented to Cabinet for approval.

EXPLANATION ON WHY BEAM STARTS IN THE SECOND TERM

26. HON. MAKUMIRE asked the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to inform the House why the Basic Education Assistant Module (BEAM) starts in the second term and not first term.

         THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE (HON. E. MOYO): The BEAM processes for each year are supposed to commence in the third term of the previous year. This timeline allows the Community Selection Committees ample time to select beneficiaries and notify them of their selection prior to the commencement of Term 1. This is outlined in the BEAM operational manual. Instances where selection for the current year are commencing in the 2^nd Term would be exceptional and require further investigation by our Ministry and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. As such, I urge Hon. Makumire to provide us with further and specific details with regards to these allegations so as to enable my Ministry to timeously carry out this investigation.

Questions with Notice were interrupted by THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER in terms of Standing Order No. 68.

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT

DRUG AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE

 THE MINISTER OF DEFENCE (HON. MUCHINGURI-KASHIRI): Madam Speaker, allow me to thank the august House for the unflinching support rendered towards the fight against the drug and substance abuse menace in the country. Madam Speaker, drug and substance abuse has been with us since time immemorial.

However, the challenge has been aggravated by the heightened globalisation, which has created a well-coordinated drug economy, introducing new addictive products to our communities. The menace is proving to be unselective and no one is immune. Families, learning institutions, workplaces and churches are being affected.

It is a disturbing situation to note that some of the victims are raping and even killing their parents. We have lost precious lives due to road traffic accidents caused by the influence of drugs. The emerging drug culture is exerting pressure on the tight fiscal space and fuelling violent criminal activities. The magnitude and complexity of this challenge require that we adopt the multi-stakeholder approach in earnest, leaving no one and no community behind.

 Madam Speaker, allow me to commend the visionary leadership of His Excellency, President Dr. E.D. Mnangagwa, for inculcating a whole of Government and society approach in our response to this menace by directing that the Government elevate the Inter-Ministerial Committee to a multi-sectoral National Committee on Drug and Substance Abuse. I also thank him for launching the multi-sectoral Action Plan 2024-2030, which I so submit.

I also thank him for launching the Action Plan. The President declared zero tolerance to drug and substance abuse, made a clarion call to action by every Zimbabwean and provided us with a strategic roadmap to fight against drug and substance abuse. My Ministerial Statement is intended to provide an update to the august House on the progress made by the National Committee on Drug and Substance Abuse since its establishment in April 2023. Allow me to begin by unpacking the structures of the National Committee for the benefit of Hon. Members.

Madam Speaker, to ensure a coordinated and effective multi-sectoral response, a three-tier governance structure was established under the National Drug and Substance Abuse Response Framework. Allow me to announce that Members of Parliament have been co-opted to the structures of the committees to represent their constituencies. I will start with the National Committee on Drug and Substance Abuse.

The National Committee on Drug and Substance Abuse is the highest-level policy-making body, which is chaired by the Minister of Defence and deputised by the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage. The National Committee is responsible for providing guidance and oversight on the implementation of the drug and substance abuse programme. Members include all the ministries, Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Chief Secretary to the President and  Cabinet, the Chairman of the Public Service Commission, Deputy Chief Secretaries, the Secretary to Public Service Commission, the Secretary for Finance and Economic Development, the Joint Operations Command, the President of the Chiefs' Council and his Deputy, the leadership of the Council of Churches and Indigenous Churches, the Association of Universities, in particular Vice-Chancellors and development partners and Parliament’s Chief Whips.

The National Technical Committee is the operational arm of the National Committee and is chaired by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and deputised by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage. Members are the Permanent Secretaries from line ministries, heads of agencies and the public health advisor in the Office of the President and Cabinet. The Technical Committee provides technical guidance, coordination and reporting mechanisms on the national response.

Regarding some national committees, these are provincial committees, which are chaired by the Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution. The committees provide guidance and oversight to district committees. The provincial committee is a replication of the national committee and members include all provincial heads of ministries, departments, agencies, Chief Executive Officers of urban and rural district councils, provincial chief council, Members of Parliament, representatives, church leadership, private volunteer organisations and political leadership and also traditional leaders, particularly chiefs, are part of this provincial committee.

On district committees, the district committee is a replication of the provincial committee and is chaired by district development coordinators. Members are ministries, departments, agencies, district heads, district heads of chiefs, Members of Parliament, district heads of religious organisations, Private Voluntary Organisations and also political leadership. The district committee is responsible for coordinating the implementation of the drugs and substance abuse programmes in the district, providing guidance to ward and village committees and reporting to the Provincial Drug and Substance Abuse Committees.

The next tier will be Ward Development Committees. At the community level, we have adopted Local Government Ward Development Committees and also village committees which are chaired by councillors, supported by headmen and village heads. Members also include school heads, Members of Parliament, religious and faith-based organisations, social welfare workers, nurses in charge of these rural clinics, village health workers, youth officers, women officers, political leadership, civil society organisations and other Government and non-government development officers at the ward level.

Village committees implement programmes and activities at the grassroots level. Madam Speaker, the village committees require support from Honourable Members with regards to the mobilisation of communities and coordination of activities. This abuse is taking place at the village level and it is very critical that we build the capacity of these structures.

The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare provides secretariat roles to all these committees from the national to sub-national levels, with Dr. Mahomva, the Public Health Advisor to the President and Cabinet supporting these committees.

Madam Speaker, each committee at all levels operates through seven similar pillars, each led by a line ministry with clear responsibilities and deliverables. The National Action Plan is the reference point for pillar programmes and activities despite the resource constraints. The pillars have made significant strides in addressing the challenges that are bedevilling our country.

Allow me to briefly highlight activities which are being undertaken by these pillars. I will start with the Supply Reduction Pillar and Madam Speaker, allow me to say the key activities of the Supply Reduction Pillar are aimed at reducing the amount of drugs and dangerous substances made available to our communities through surveillance, operations, raids, arrests of drug dealers, destruction of drug bases and confiscated drugs and the naming and shaming of convicted drug lords and peddlers.

The Chairperson of the Supply Reduction Pillar is the President's Department and members include the Ministries of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage and Defence. The CID Drug and Narcotics Unit was decentralised to all ten provinces of Zimbabwe in order to curb drug and substance abuse. Since the establishment of the Committee in 2023, a total of 31 789 suspects have been arrested. Of those arrested, 3 585 were referred to court and of those referred to court, 1 831 were convicted, with some receiving sentences of up to 15 years, demonstrating the seriousness attached which the Government is addressing this nation's scourge. A total of 665 bases were destroyed across the provinces during the period under review. Madam Speaker, after the conclusion of court proceedings, the convicted suppliers and offenders are named and shamed without fear or favour.

Madam Speaker, the Ministry of Home Affairs gazetted Statutory Instrument 62 of 25 which I so submit to the august House. The S.I. amended the Schedule to the Harmful Liquids Act, Chapter 9, Section 10 in order to incorporate unregulated, unauthorised or illegally produced alcohol beverage containing ethanol and these are tumbwa, musombodiya or by any other name whatsoever. These apply to those who manufacture, those who sell, those who supply or possess or drink these substances. These substances are banned.

Madam Speaker, the National Committee is concerned with the proliferation of liquid operators, of liquor operators. The actions undertaken by the Liquor Licencing Board include closure of liquor outlets at bus termini and fuel services stations, restricting of bottle stores in the CBD, allowing chain supermarkets only.

Cancellation of licences also has been effected for those that sell illicit brews. From October 2023 to March 2025, 296 non-compliant premises were shut down. The Liquor Act, Chapter 14, Section 12 is being reviewed to transition the board into a National Liquor Licencing Authority.

Allow me to inform the House on the recognised liquor licences and their stipulated operating terms of liquor regulations, Statutory Instrument [197 of 2004]. I will start with the type of licence, which is the Airport Liquor licence and they operate any day from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. These other types of licences will operate in the same manner, which is the bar liquor licence and the beer hall liquor licence, which trades from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Bottle store liquor licence, any day between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Club Liquor Licence, any day from 10.30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Hotel liquor licence, any day other than Sunday, 10.30 a.m. to 10.30 p.m. Night club, any day other than Sunday, 8.00 p.m. to 3.00 a.m. the following day. Passenger vessel liquor licence, any day from 10.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m. Raw strand, this is an ordinary licence, any day 11.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. and between 6.00 p.m. and 11.00 p.m. Raw strand special licence, any day 11.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. and 4.00 p.m. Theatre club liquor, any day 10.00 p.m. to midnight. Theatre liquor licence, any day 5.00 p.m. to 11.00 p.m. Wine produce liquor licence, any day 8.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. Extended hours, occasional liquor licence, any day other than Sunday 11.00 p.m. to 2.30 a.m. Then special bottle store licence, any day 8.00 a.m. to 9.00 a.m.

Communities are encouraged to report drug supplies and peddlers to their nearest police station. Anonymous reports can be made to CID Drugs and Narcotics on 0242 777 593 or WhatsApp number 0712 800 197. The Hon. Members are the eyes and ears of the pillar. The drug economy is rooted and thrives in our constituencies.

Madam Speaker, it is the responsibility of Hon. Members to protect the electorate which ushered them to this august House. The supply of drugs to our communities is a threat to our support base. We appeal to Honourable Members to provide more information on drug barons, peddlers, drug bases and errant liquor operators. I now move on to the Demand Reduction Pillar.

 Madam Speaker, the activities of demand reduction are centred on awareness and education on the dangers of drug and substance abuse at the family level, community level, churches, learning institutions and workplaces. The pillar is also tasked to design programmes and activities to occupy and empower the youth to avoid idleness and starve the drug market.

The Chairperson for Demand Reduction Pillar is the Minister of Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training and members include Ministries of Primary and Secondary Education, Higher and Tertiary Education, Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Women Affairs, Local Government and Public Works, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, development partners, community-based organisations, churches and traditional leadership and also the Portfolio Committee responsible for this particular pillar in Parliament.

Madam Speaker, a total of 9 931 926 people were reached through coordinated education and awareness campaigns led by stakeholders, including religious organisations and Government ministries. Additionally, the Ministry of Youth Empowerment engaged 89 heads of denominations to disseminate the multi-sectoral plan against drug and substance abuse, ensuring that faith-based communities are actively involved in prevention efforts. Through a multi-ministerial effort involving the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports, Lands, Education and Women Affairs, substantial progress has been made in providing livelihood and empowerment programmes.

Madam Speaker, 45 vocational training centres and 25 satellites across the country have been revitalised to offer courses in agriculture, engineering, construction, electrical, hospital, hospitality and cosmetology to the youth. The youth services in Zimbabwe programme has trained about 2 958 youths. Mechanisms have been put in place to provide a pathway for drug and substance abuse survivors.

The current training at Dadaya, Vumba and Guyu Training Centres accommodated about 70 drug and substance use survivors from the enrolment of 1 844 youths. The Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training, through the Youth Fund, is offering project loans to the youth as individuals and in groups for youth empowerment. The Youth Build Zimbabwe is encouraging youths to participate in the development of their communities by providing labour to construct, rehabilitate classrooms, clinics and community halls.

Junior Parliamentarians are capacitated on drug and substance abuse issues during Parliamentary Sessions. These young leaders now serve as key advocates for prevention, sensitisation and peer education among youth constituencies. The Nhanga programme established sport, arts and culture clubs reaching over 12 000 youth. In addition, the demand reduction pillar through the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has conducted community service fairs and career fairs.

These events served to enroll school dropouts, promote anti-drug messages to learners, parents and communities and create awareness on the importance of education and the risks of drug abuse. Madam Speaker, drug and substance abuse is now a topic taught from ECD A to A-level within the guidance and counselling learning areas. A three-pronged guidance and counselling strategy is being deployed, which includes interactive counselling sessions, special assemblies and sports gatherings to strengthen school policies and safeguarding mechanisms in 2023 to 2024.

Madam Speaker, safeguarding policies were revised specifically targeting drug and substance abuse and provided schools with clear implementation guidelines and frameworks for creating school-level anti-drug policies. Teacher trainings were conducted to support the implementation of this policy. The school health policy gives room for collaboration between the Ministries of Primary and Secondary Education and the Ministry of Health and Child Care.

The policy allows Health officials to conduct health services in schools and include the screening of people for mental health issues, which include drug and substance use if need be. A total of 24 000 traditional leaders have been capacitated on drug and substance abuse prevention strategies. This initiative ensures sustained community leadership involvement in drug prevention at the grassroots level and leveraging their influence to shape norms and behavioural change.

Madam Speaker, the victims and those to be victims are in the communities. The community lower lower-level structures are a vital cog in a successful response to this message. We look forward to closer collaboration with Honourable Members to ensure more demand reduction activities at the grassroots levels.

I move to Harm Reduction Treatment and Rehabilitation Pillar. The Harm Reduction Treatment and Rehabilitation Pillar assists victims in fighting addiction through treatment and rehabilitation services. The Chairperson for Harm Reduction Treatment and Rehabilitation Pillar is the Minister of Health and Child Care and members include Ministries of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Youth Empowerment, Home Affairs, Women Affairs, Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe, NatPharm, Liquor Licencing Board, development partners, faith-based organisations, community-based organisations and also the Portfolio Committee responsible for this area. A total of 15 648 patients received treatment. Outpatient care services are still available at all provincial hospitals free of charge.

The National Committee is aware of the limited inpatient Government treatment facilities. In the spirit of our President's mantra of leaving no one and no community behind, 67 facilities under the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works were identified for repurposing to Government stand-alone treatment rehabilitation and skills development centres. The list is not exhaustive and Honourable Members can identify more usable facilities in their constituencies for repurposing to treatment rehabilitation and skills development centres.

To date, three such facilities have been operationalised. That is Chipadze in Bindura, Amaveni in Kwekwe and Chinotimba in Victoria Falls. To complement the Government's effort in operationalising more centres, we are engaging our partners. One of the partners, Cole Porter Missionary Society under the Seventh-Day Adventist Church is renovating three rehabilitation centres, that is Chitubu Satellite Clinic in Glen Norah, Wilkins Opportunistic Infectious Ward and Wilkins Hospitals Annex Ward. The opportunistic infectious ward is at 92% completion. We took note of private rehabilitation facilities conducting business without the due registration process.

In terms of the Health Profession Act, Chapter 27, Section 19, it is an offence to operate a rehabilitation facility without registration with the Health Professions Authority. The Authority has heightened inspections, offenders are arrested and facilities shut down. We also took note that most of these private rehabilitation facilities, are charging exorbitant prices. We have the responsible and respective committees investigating most of these private operators. The Health Profession Authority published in the print media, a list of registered rehabilitation centres for the benefit of citizens.

On the Government side, it is Parirenyatwa Hospital, Sally Mugabe, Ingutsheni, Ngomahuru and Halfway Hospital in Masvingo, Chipadze in Bindura, Amaveni in Kwekwe and Chinotimba in Victoria Falls. The private operators are Mandipa Hope Drug Rehabilitation Centre, the Chariot Rehabilitation and Wellness Centre, Fern Valley Mental and Rehabilitation in Mutare, Gateway Mental Health and Rehabilitation Psychology Unit in Harare, Mandara Mana Wellness Centre, Fortress Rehabilitation Unit Ruwa, Mubatsirapamwe Hospital and Chrysalis Transformation Centre. We encourage Hon. Members to report dubious facilities operating in our constituencies in order to protect our citizens from manipulative practices.

It is also the prerogative of this august House to interrogate the cost of services, as I have indicated, offered by these private operators. On psychosocial support and community reintegration pillar, the psychosocial support and community reintegration pillar provides support services to victims and their families. The chairperson for this psychosocial support and community reintegration pillar is the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare. Members include Ministries of Youth, Health and Child Care, Home Affairs, Women's Affairs, Local Government and Public Works, Finance and development partners, community-based organisations, churches and traditional leadership, including also the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee, which is in this particular sector. A toll-free line 0801 4424 was established to provide confidential counselling, referral services and support to affected individuals and families.

Additionally, Ministry of Health COVID-19 call centre with dial number 2024, was repurposed to a mental health care centre to provide complementary drug and substance counselling and referral services.

We appeal to Hon. Members to publicise the toll-free numbers. To date, the toll-free platform has reached over 10,356 people, offered timely intervention and connected communities with life-saving services. The two outpatient psychosocial support centres in Harare, Makombe Complex and Fort Street, Bulawayo, under the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, provided outpatient psychosocial support services to 11,340 individuals and families.

As a way of promoting positive parenting and preventing relapse in communities, there are currently 688 functional parenting groups across the provinces. These groups aim to strengthen family bonds, equip parents with effective parenting skills and create supportive environments for children's growth and development. They also serve as platforms for peer support and the sharing of best practices in child rearing. A total of 160 community-based support groups have been established across all provinces, spearheaded by religious leaders and private partners. Additionally, the establishment of drug-free livelihood centres is being earmarked, with Old Highfields Community Hall already operational.

The Legal and Policy Pillar is seized with reviewing our laws and policies to effectively combat drugs and substance abuse. The chairperson for the Legal and Policy Pillar is the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, and the members are all Ministries. The Dangerous Drugs Act, Chapter 15, Section 2, was amended through promulgation of Statutory Instrument 167 of 2024, which leaves crystal meth, mutoriro, under the schedule in the Dangerous Drugs Act, Chapter 15, Section 2, for much more punitive sentences. The national committee recommended the establishment of a Drug and Substance Abuse Control Agency, to ensure long-lasting solutions to the menace. The Bill is to be tabled before Cabinet, and we are hoping that next week this will find accommodation into Cabinet.

Amongst the proposed Cabinet functions of the agency, these functions include enhancing coordination, swiftly responding with regulations to close legislative gaps, and imposing stiffer penalties outside the standard scale of fines. The Bill for the agency, as I have indicated, will be tabled before Cabinet next week. We appeal to the august House to support the bill once it is presented to Parliament and expedite the due processes. We implore the august House to assist the judiciary with punitive laws. In other jurisdictions, drug trafficking is a serious offence, and this House can lobby for sentences linked to the number of lives destroyed. Drug and substance abuse is spreading like fire. It is now within the public service, private sector, churches, and learning institutions and Parliament.

This House can debate on compulsory drug and substance abuse testing at workplaces and learning institutions with a view to not punishing the victims but providing early assistance.

I will move on to the media and communication pillar. The media and communication pillar informs and educates the public on drug and substance abuse, and is chaired by the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services and all Ministries are members. The information, education and communication tool was developed and is ready for use by stakeholders, including Parliament. The pillar also provides media coverage on activities done by ministries, departments, agencies and other stakeholders, including Parliament. The Artificial Intelligence chart board phase one was completed and work is in progress on phase two. Hon. Members are pivotal in the dissemination of educational materials to communities, resource mobilisation and economic strengthening pillar. The resource mobilisation pillar is the fundraising arm of the National Committee that ensures all pillars are funded to undertake their activities in the combating of the menace.  The Chairperson for resource mobilisation pillar is chaired by the Ministry of Public Works and Local Government and members include Finance, Industry and Commerce, Tourism and Hospitality, Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Development Partners, the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Mines, Bankers Association.

Madam Speaker, we thank the august House for support towards national budgetary allocation in 2023, the treasury allocated 500 million in 2024, 30 billion and in 2025 ZWL800 million. However, the rate of disbursements and quantum of these funds remain unmerged with the demands of the multi-sectoral action plan, which is affecting the holistic implementation of the plan. The primary focus is mobilising resources to renovate and operationalise the 67 treatment and rehabilitation facilities under local government and public works. The list of which I so submit to the august House. We have engaged partners to complement Government’s efforts in expediting the establishment of more rehabilitation centres, as I have indicated earlier. We are preparing for a high-level resource mobilisation meeting in which our partners will deliver their pledges to His Excellency the President.

I appeal to Hon. Members to identify the local economic actors and well-wishers and facilitate linkages with the resource mobilisation pillars in order to ensure that our constituencies have partners on this day. I also appeal to the Hon. Members to consider funding local rehabilitation centres with CDF funds and lobbying for prioritisation of rehabilitation centres under devolution-funded projects. Shared responsibility in the fight against drug and substance abuse, while the Government is leading the robust structures and mechanisms to combat the growing menace of drug and substance abuse. It must be clearly stated that this fight is not the responsibility of the Government alone, nor of those directly tasked to spearhead the response. Like any other national disaster, fighting the drug and substance abuse demands the full participation of every Zimbabwean, including Members of Parliament, community leaders, families and citizens at large. Since no family has been spared from this menace.

His Excellency the President, through the multisectoral drug and substance abuse action plan, demonstrated the political will to fight against drug and substance abuse, leaving no one and no community behind. Parliamentarians in particular play a crucial role in advancing interests and well-being of the electorate by championing awareness, mobilising communities and holding stakeholders accountable within their constituencies. We have been equipped with vehicles which can assist in organising outreach meetings at the grassroots level. We appreciate the Parliament Portfolio Committee on Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training for interfacing with the Demand Reduction Pillar. We encourage the rest of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committees to engage the relevant pillars and the technical committees for the purposes of sharing information and experiences with the ultimate goal of sharpening our strategies.

In conclusion, Madam Speaker, the journey to a drug-free Zimbabwe requires the collective effort of every citizen, community and institution. The milestones achieved so far are a testament to what can be done through strong leadership, multi-sectoral collaboration and community-driven solutions. As we advance towards Vision 2030, the Government remains resolute in building a Zimbabwe where every young person can thrive free from the chains of addiction. Let us continue to work together in unity, compassion and determination to end the scourge of drug and substance abuse in our beloved country. I so submit Madam Speaker.

HON. CHIDUWA: Thank you so much, Madam Speaker Ma'am. I want to make my submission by thanking the Hon. Minister for the comprehensive and informative Ministerial Statement, which comes at a time when our communities are overwhelmed with this problem of drug and substance abuse. I would also want to applaud the work that is being done by the National Committee, which is implementing the Zimbabwe multisectoral drug and substance abuse plan from 2024 to 2030. However, the point of clarity that I also wanted to find out from the Hon. Minister is, how far are they taking into account that the drug and substance abuse seems now to be a regional problem and it is a cross-border problem? As we implement the drug and substance abuse plan, to what extent are we...

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MAUNGANIDZE): Order, Hon. Chiduwa. You are now debating. Can you please stick to your point that you need clarity on? You may proceed.

HON. CHIDUWA: My point of clarity is if the Committee is taking into account the regional approach in fighting drug and substance abuse.

HON. DR. KHUPE: Thank you very much Madam Speaker. I would also like to add my voice in thanking the Hon. Minister for an incisive presentation on drug and substance abuse, because drugs are destroying the social fabric of our nation. The issue that I need clarity on is that you said that about 31,000 people were arrested and 3,000 were taken to court and 1,000 were convicted. My problem is that from 30,000 to 3, 000 and 1,000, you will find that the 1,000 which was arrested, are small boys. The kingpins are still out there. There is this issue of catch and release, where people are caught and then are released. Can you please clarify why these 31,000 were not taken to court and convicted? As long as we have been found to be selling drugs, you must be convicted immediately and sent to prison because you are destroying the lives of our children. Our children are now cabbages. If you go everywhere, you will see that our children are cabbages and it is destroying this country. Can you please do something? I know you are doing a lot but can you please go a step further and arrest these kingpins? These strings which these drugs are flowing from, can they be arrested? Thank you.

HON. BAJILA: Thank you so much Madam Speaker. I would also like to thank the Minister for this statement. I would like to find out when she was speaking about operating hours for these places that sell alcohol, she mentioned a licence for extension of hours which can be sought and it runs from 11pm to 2.30 am. What I would like to find out about this licence is, can this kind of licence be given permanently that this institution has extended hours of licence or is it a licence that you can apply if you have a specific event at your place where you sell liquor? There are places that we know are permanently operating till morning. I want to find out if they have this licence permanently and perhaps maybe to also say the issue that says the restaurant licence runs up to 4 pm. Have there been considerations on what this could mean for tourism in the country if our restaurants stop selling alcohol at 4 pm? I thank you.

         *HON. P. ZHOU: Firstly, I would like to thank the Hon. Minister for the Ministerial Statement. I have learnt a lot. I did not get your point when you said, all those who are in rehabilitation centres, do they pay money or how does the system function? When someone has entered rehabilitation, will they come out with a certificate?

*HON. TOGAREPI:  Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the Hon. Minister for the Ministerial Statement and all the areas that were bothering us. You hear those who are enforcing the laws, like ZRP and those who are fighting against drug and substance abuse, say that they are looking for people who will be selling the drugs. Even now, if you say Hon. Minister, can you go and show me these people who are selling drugs? It is like we are a society of people who are doing drugs. I was thinking, we know all these places, why can we not just go and arrest all these people and visit the places where they sell drugs and substances abuse?

These people are killing millions of people who are abusing drugs in this country. If the law allows, can we just arrest these people because our children have perished? Thank you Madam Speaker.

HON. T. MOYO: On the supply reduction pillar, you are naming and shaming. It is commendable but how many have been named and shamed by now? Hon. Minister, are you able to provide a database accordingly to Parliament, detailing even the provinces where these drug lords are?

Thirdly, are these people who have been named and shamed also assisting in naming other members of the cartel? Then on the Demand Reduction Pillar, Madam Speaker, I do not remember being called to a meeting or any activity at a district structure. My question is, is there clear monitoring and evaluation so that we see these structures from the National Committee down to the Ward Committee? Thank you Madam Speaker.

*HON. NYANDORO: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. My question to the Hon. Minister is, how can we be assisted as Hon. Members by the Ministry that has to do with the issuing of licences? We have bottle stores that have been built between houses and they make noise until antemeridian. We are not being helped in any way and most parents are crying that they are not sleeping well because of the noises. How can we be assisted so that bottle stores cannot be built between houses?

*HON. TSITSI. ZHOU:  Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to thank the statement that has been given by the Minister of Defence. I would like to thank her for the statement that she made about parents who are crying a lot about this drug and substance abuse and old people who are being raped by young people. She has mentioned many ministries and a lot of committees at the ward level that can help on the rehabilitation of people. What are the plans that the Minister has to ensure that this work goes smoothly through the ministries that she has mentioned?

+HON. MAHLANGU: Thank you Madam Speaker. You talked about committees at the district and ward level and where Members of Parliament and councillors are found. I do not know from the side of the councillors.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Mahlangu, may you repeat your question?

+HON. MAHLANGU: Thank you Madam Speaker. Thank you for the Ministerial Statement that you presented Hon. Minister. It is well detailed and it helps us to make informed decisions as lawmakers. I want to know, especially about the committees where councillors and MPs are also included as Members of the Committees. Do MPs, for example, as an MP, I was not aware of certain issues. I participate in different programmes for drug abuse. I was participating not as someone who is a committee member. I want to know what ways we are using to sensitise, especially the Hon. Member so that we can fight the issue of drug and substance abuse. I thank you.

HON. CHIDZIVA: Thank you Madam Speaker. Thank you Minister, for the Ministerial Statement. My points of clarity are one on the issue of food and security. In the three rehabilitation centres that we have mentioned, the Chipadze, Amaveni and Chinochimba, communication with these centres, they say, they cannot accommodate people with psychological problems because of security and availability of food. My other point of clarity is, why can we not rush to have centres in the areas where we know that there is a higher population of people who have been affected by the use of drugs, like our capital cities so that we might have rehabilitation centres in those areas?

Then another aspect is on the issue of the hospital Minister, there is no free charge. People are paying for the treatment of those affected. If you research further, you will see that people are paying; there is no free treatment. Around the issue of the 67 rehabilitation centres, I wanted to know when you think these centres can start working or have been completed on the issue of refurbishment. In this case, there is this issue Crystalmetheny, which is a sex enhancement substance. Some children are being born to those who are abusing this drug. What is the plan of this Government for the issue of children born to addicts? Thank you.

         HON. MAKUMIRE: Thank you very much Madam Speaker.

I want to appreciate the work that is being done by the Hon. Minister. I am excited by Statutory Instrument 62 of 2025. I am sure it is going to address most of the problems. The first point of clarity is on the supply reduction pillar. There are a lot of issues that have been raised by the Hon. Minister but I want to ask the Hon. Minister to clarify if there are any plans to invite police from different areas to come and do some raids because the public has lost confidence in local police since they are also implicated in the corruption. Some of them are implicated in the corruption around the dealings in our communities.

Secondly, there is the toll-free number that has been given under the harm reduction pillar. I also need clarity from the Hon. Minister if there is a toll-free number again for tipping off the police under the supply reduction pillar. On the structure that has been laid down by the Hon. Minister, there is involvement of political leadership. I want the Hon. Minister to clarify whether the political leadership is going to involve all political parties that are within the community or the political leadership from one political party. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –

The last point of clarification, may you protect me Hon. Madam Speaker. The last one is on the excavation of the structures that have been laid down. I am sure it runs from the national level to the village level. Are there any timelines for the activation of these structures at a lower level? Thank you very much.

         THE MINISTER OF DEFENCE (HON. MUCHINGURI – KASHIRI): Thank you Madam Speaker. Let me start by thanking the Hon. Members for their support of the efforts that are being made by the Government, which I have highlighted in the presentation. Let me attempt to respond to some quite pertinent issues.

I will start with Hon. Chiduwa, who wants clarity on what is being done by our committee since this problem has become regional and also a cross-border issue which affects not just Zimbabwe but also other countries in the region. Let me begin by sharing with this august House that we are working with all the other regional countries through SADC and also through Interpol to make sure that we share experiences. Also, Interpol assists us particularly in identifying those international drug peddlers. The agency which is on cards, as I indicated, that now we have reached the stage where the Cabinet Committee on Legislation has deliberated on this. Our main focus will be on enforcement and also the sharing of best practices with other countries in the region that have already established these agencies. I want to assure the august House that the committee will not leave any stone unturned because Zimbabwe in the past was free of this problem but as I indicated, the issue of globalisation is caught up with Zimbabwe.

Let me also mention that because of our multi-currency system in Zimbabwe, we have become a target because these peddlers easily access USD. This is a very serious problem and you may be aware that because we collaborate, other countries like South Africa have been able to arrest some of the companies that were producing these dangerous substances across the Limpopo. So we are really in control of the situation but we hope as the agency comes into operation, they will do more and we hope that as a Committee, they will be more effective.

Dr. Khupe, thank you for supporting the efforts that the committee is making and you asked me to clarify on what is happening in the area of those that have been arrested, the number being 31 000 and only 1 000 are being dragged before the courts. You also need Hon. Member, to appreciate that the Cabinet resolved that the police will not be allowed to fine these offenders. – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] -  All the cases now will be brought before the courts and you can imagine the load that is before the Judiciary. We require the Judiciary to work 24/7 to deal with all these cases. So we are working very closely with the Judiciary to make sure that the processing of these cases is speeded up, just to make sure that we, as much as possible, deter most of those involved by the hard fines.

I appreciated the recommendation that came from Hon. Togarepi, drawing lessons from other countries that most of these offenders, those who deal or sell these drugs and substances are put on the firing squad. So I am hoping that this is something that can be discussed in this august House and it will become a deterrent because this is a very serious problem that we are facing. We have to take very stern measures to curtail this serious problem.

Also, the Hon. Member who made reference to that the kingpins are not being arrested. You may recall that in my presentation, I did allude to quite a number that have been named and shamed and I provided the number. If I did not provide the statistics, maybe we can accommodate this at a request which was advanced that I should provide statistics for other sectors. I will touch on it when I make reference to the other request for data.

The Hon. Bajila, regarding the operating hours of the restaurant, is it the restaurant operators? These are licences that have been advanced before this problem was declared as a menace by His Excellency and as I have indicated that the legal pillar is looking at all these loopholes or gaps that are in our legislation or which we find in our Acts and this is an issue that I have taken note of and the Minister of Justice is not present but these are issues that we will raise as we meet as a committee. But feel free also to raise this issue when dealing with the individual pillars, in particular that of Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. It is very important to advance some of these recommendations but I have also taken note of the issues.

Then another issue was raised, I did not record the name of the Member of Parliament but I am sure the parliamentary officials have taken note of the name, regarding the rehabilitation centres which are within the cities, we do not have many that are in the rural areas. I did mention in my presentation that we have identified almost 67 of them and we have tied all these rehabilitation centres to companies, mining companies or road construction companies that are operating within communities dotted around the country and we are hoping that when we launch the resource mobilisation all these companies will be invited so that they plough back to communities because these are people that pray to the drug operators - these are people, some who are not employed and because of lack of opportunities when these companies have opportunities, they are also expected to assist with community challenges.

I am glad that His Excellency and Cabinet approved that we need to resuscitate the community assistance programmes that should benefit various communities where resources are being exploited because if they are minerals, if they are exploited, they will not go back again so it is important to invest in a just cause.

Hon. Togarepi made reference to bases which are dotted across the country. I have invited Hon. Members, if they know of some bases which require attention, to come forward and share this information with the committee or you can approach the Ministers of State or CID offices that are dotted across the country. This should be private information which can be dropped into a box without necessarily identifying your problems. There is such a provision to protect those people wishing to share that information with the committee.

It is a problem we have succeeded in some areas and not succeeded in others and as I indicated that this is not a problem for Government alone but the concerns that you have raised in this august House demonstrates that you are concerned and we are hoping that as we interact we can share information so that we can attend to these problems but also take comfort that as we introduce this Bill where we will be introducing the agency, its responsibility would be to hunt down these bases and so far as I indicated we have successively attended to them and freed the victims.

Hon. Moyo - supply killer, how many have been named and shamed - that is the information that I will present during my next presentation to the august House and true that the licences are being advanced to those liquor operators in residential areas. Please bear with us that this is an issue that we need to investigate if there are those cases, please report these cases to us now that we know that you have a special role to play in this exercise.

Hon. Zhou, you thanked the President for putting in place measures to address this menace, we really appreciate. You did allude to the committees that are at the village level and that they lack the literature to be able to disseminate the effective messages to various communities. The committee, you may also appreciate that they are working with the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, in particular the Midlands State University, to come up with literature that covers all 16 languages so that we are able to disseminate the right messages to various communities in our respective constituencies. We hope that the exercise will be completed soon.  The resources that we are mobilising will go towards some of these exercises because information is critical. We have taken note that even Hon. Members or even in churches there is only one statement that is made by either the church leaders that we should guard against those that are taking drugs and substances and they end there, without explaining or defining the problem itself, the types of drugs and how it is affecting society and also talking about some of these acts that are in place to make sure that we control the operations of these various operators that deal in liquor and also some of those entities that are selling these dangerous substances like tumbwa and musombodhiya and the dangerous drugs, which perhaps we would present at my next presentation.

^*Hon. Togarepi has taught me that I can also speak in Shona.  As I have mentioned, the drugs are being taken not only by our children without jobs but also by those who are doctors or teachers are taking drugs and engaging in substance abuse. These actions are being done in a village of a headman or a chief. Our social fabric has been destroyed and our culture has been invaded by these drugs. These children are not only causing havoc by raping their parents, some are driving mushika-shika and they are driving recklessly. These people are driving with licences and some are driving without because of drugs.

We want to take the responsibility of building rehabilitation centres. We also want our headmen to offer people to build rehabilitation centres and also provide the bricks and all that will be needed to build them. We want these children to be trained in different courses in their local communities and the money will be advanced so that we are not only helping these people in rehabilitation but we are also helping them not to have idle minds. We also help them to go to the youth service and be trained and given money to do their projects.

Hon. Members have highlighted that they were not aware of this Committee. We tasked the Ministers of State. This is not the first time this Committee has been put in place. We had the Committee, multi-sectoral Committee, which had the same characteristics and we succeeded before and Hon. Members were part and parcel of this Committee.  So at that level, we were hoping that the Ministers of State would, automatically invite the Members of Parliament because they are critical stakeholders and at the national level, we were doing so but with the chiefs and the senators. We realised that there was that gap and from now going forward, we will be working together with all the Portfolio Committees, so, my apologies. You are very critical and we would want you to debate these issues and ensure that as you address meetings in your various constituencies, you also prioritise this area of drug and substance abuse.  So, we will send information to Ministers of State so that work begins now.

There was also a concern about food and security on Chipadze and other two rehabilitation centres where they are not accepting those that have psycho-social problems, we can understand. We deliberately made a decision that we want stand- alone rehabilitation because it is not necessarily the case that all the victims have some psychiatric problems, as was the case in some psychiatric cases. So, bear with the Committee that we have discovered that those victims who have no psychiatric problems mixed with those who have the problem. Most of the victims also come out as not normal.

We are trying to separate these two, which is why Ingutsheni in Bulawayo now is accommodating only psychiatric patients and we leave the others to a stand-alone rehabilitation centre. At times, we also felt that some were imprisoned and it is like we are punishing these people until they have committed very serious offences. Where parents approach the Committee or the police, we have accommodated them differently.

Also, there was concern that we need to accommodate more centres within urban areas. I agree with you that this is where there is more concentration but it does not imply that in the rural areas there are no problems. I remember attending a funeral in the rural areas and at that funeral, there were almost 20 young people who were just lying there, almost like they had no life. We are referring to rural areas. So, this is just one area, a drop in the ocean. What about other areas? This was just one community; what about the other communities?  The President is saying, let us throw our net wider so that we accommodate many areas but I will submit a list of those proposed rehabilitation centres.  If you think of some other rehabilitation areas, please do not hesitate to approach the Committee.

Then hospitals that are charging fees, I am not sure whether this is happening.  If it is happening, please feel free to approach my office so that we are able to investigate.  We can work with the Minister of Health and Child Care so that we address this particular problem because patients are supposed to be treated free of charge.  We have six general hospitals that are now in operation and we will investigate to make sure that this is not happening.

There was concern also on what we are doing about those children that are born of mothers that are taking these drugs, in particular Crystal meth.  This is the first time that this issue has been raised.  This is a medical issue that perhaps we will look into.  When we get the correct technical answers since we have indicated that there are many ministries that are involved, we will advise you accordingly.

Hon. Makumire, Supply Reduction Pillar - what plans are in place, is it inviting the police?  Perhaps I did not quite understand the question.  May I request the Hon. Member to fill me in on this issue so that I can provide a relevant answer?  

HON. MAKUMIRE:  With your indulgence Mr Speaker, the situation in our communities is that our locals no longer have trust in some local police officers, not because they are suspected to be dealing with these drug lords.  So, the point that I am seeking clarity on is the efforts that can be made by the Government to invite the police who are not resident in that local community to come and do some raids.  Is that clear now?

HON. MUCHINGURI-KASHIRI:  Thank you Hon. Makumire, for clarifying that question.  I think it is unfair to paint the whole police force with a black brush.  There are of course some individuals who are not trustworthy but to bring the whole institution into disrepute is unfair.  I think the police have done a wonderful job, as I indicated, of arresting 31 000 perpetrators.  If they have achieved this high number, the courts of course are bombarded with demands of sailing a number of cases through the courts. We need to give credit to the police.

What I would request the Hon. Member to do is to serve us with information on those police forces in the areas of concern.  I am sure it is in a particular area. If we could know those few police officers, because I am very uncomfortable accepting the position where it is a blanket statement that brings all the police force into disrepute.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. J. TSHUMA):  Order Hon. Minister!  Due to our time constraints, could I please humbly ask you to wind up because we might end up having an automatic adjournment? Thank you.

HON. MUCHINGURI-KASHIRI:  Lastly, there was also a question on whether in our structures, we are only considering political parties, the ruling party.  This menace is not affecting only the ruling party. Perhaps this question was ill-informed. As I indicated, all families are affected.  This is not only affecting ZANU-PF members but every member of our society. So, in that case, as was the case of COVID where all political parties were involved, in this vein, I give comfort that all political parties are major players because it is their members who are affected by this drug menace. I think that is the last clarification that I would advance. I want to thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.

On the motion of HON. TOGAREPI, seconded by HON. C. MOYO, the House adjourned at Seven Minutes to Seven o’clock p.m.