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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY HANSARD 25 SEPTEMBER 2024 Vol. 50 No. 88.pdf

PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE

Wednesday, 25^th September, 2024

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

PRAYERS

(THE HON. SPEAKER in the Chair)

ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE HON. SPEAKER

APOLOGIES RECEIVED FROM MINISTERS

         THE HON. SPEAKER:  I have received apologies from the Executive; Hon. Vice President Dr. Chiwenga.  Hon. Vice President Rtd. Col. C. D. Mohadi; the Minister of Defence, Hon. C. Z. Muchinguri-Kashiri; the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Hon. Prof. M. Ncube; Hon. Dr. S. G. Nyoni;

Hon. Members trying to settle down.

THE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Members, at the back there, can you be attentive?

Hon. K. Coventry, she has written me a letter that she is on sabbatical leave; the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Hon. B. Rwodzi; the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Hon. Shava; the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Hon. S. Chikomo; the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Hon. Sanyatwe;  the Deputy Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Hon. Mazungunye; the Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Hon. W. Chitando;  the Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Hon. Kambamura; the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, Hon. Prof. Dr. A. Murwira, the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Hon. T. Moyo; the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Hon. J. G. Moyo, the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Hon. Sen. Matuke; the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Hon. M. Ndlovu; the Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Hon. Modi; the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Hon. Mhona; the Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Hon. J. Sacco;  the Deputy Minister of Energy and Power Development, Hon. Simbanegavi; the Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities, Hon. Z. Soda.

I am advised that the Hon. D. Garwe is the Acting Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities. The Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities, Hon. Z. Soda; the Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement, Hon. D. Marapira and the Minister of Health and Child Care, Hon. Dr. Mombeshora.  I am advised that the Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care is coming.

         Quite a number of Ministers are at the U.N. for the United Nations General Assembly

         HON. HAMAUSWA: Point of order Hon. Speaker, Sir. 

THE HON. SPEAKER:  Yes, what is your point of order?

HON. HAMAUSWA: Thank you for giving me the opportunity.  My point of order arises from the list you have highlighted, of Ministers who are absent with apologies. I took note of Minister of Sports who has actually written to you that she is on sabbatical leave.  Two weeks ago, I raised a point of national importance concerning a sporting activity which is of importance to Zimbabwe and this is baseball.  I requested a Ministerial Statement for the Minister to appraise this House on the status of baseball in light of the upcoming activity where Zimbabwe is supposed to host South Africa in December. Zimbabwe is supposed to confirm by September.  Therefore, I am kindly requesting your office to remind the Ministry since the Deputy is here, to bring the Ministerial Statement because the situation is not good.  We may fail to host South Africa because there are issues that need to be sorted out.  Thank you.

         THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you very much Hon. Hamauswa.  Just a point of clarification, did you say Zimbabwe has not responded to South Africa in terms of hosting? 

         HON. HAMAUSWA:  Yes Hon. Speaker, according to my investigations and engagements with those who are involved, they are supposed to confirm the status of the grounds which are not yet confirmed.  There is need for support from the Government so that the grounds are up to standard.  What we needed was a Ministerial Statement so that the Members of Parliament will also be able to assist in requesting the Ministry of Finance to support the Ministry in preparation of hosting South Africa.  Thank you.

         THE HON. SPEAKER: May I understand the nature of the Ministerial Statement being requested?

         HON. HAMAUSWA:  The Ministerial Statement which is being requested concerns the status of baseball in general.  In particular the preparedness of Zimbabwe to host South Africa considering that there are issues related to the national grounds - which is Motor Action Sports Club currently being used for baseball, but there are also issues related to rehabilitation of those grounds.  There are no funds to rehabilitate the grounds and yet as I raised last two weeks, Zimbabwe is number three in terms of baseball in Africa and number two in Southern Africa.  This gives us an opportunity and also considering our move towards sports tourism.  Neglecting baseball may actually paint a bad picture and the other part which is more important also is that baseball was sponsored by Japan.  So, it was a Government to Government cooperation between two Governments. 

         Now, Zimbabweans were weaned by the Japanese to run on their own, but now there is no adequate support from the Government which is what we are now requesting.  We also want the Ministry to appraise us on the preparedness of our country to host South Africa because it also brings a lot of advantages to us, especially with regard to sports tourism.  Thank you, Mr. Speaker Sir.

         HON. SPEAKER:  While I cannot vouch for the veracity of your findings – is the Hon. Deputy Minister here. 

         The Hon. Deputy Minister having stood up. 

         THE HON. SPEAKER:  Perhaps in liaison with the Acting Minister, a Ministerial Statement can be prepared in terms of the state of our preparedness to host baseball in Zimbabwe.  Perhaps that could be done for next week, if you do not mind.

         THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF SPORTS, RECREATION, ARTS AND CULTURE (HON. JESAYA):  Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir, we will do that. 

         THE HON. SPEAKER:  Thank you very much. 

         HON. MUSHORIWA:  On a point of order Mr. Speaker Sir.  When you were doing the announcements of the Ministers, the Leader of the Government Business was in, I have seen that he has left.  I am just wondering who will be the Leader of Government Business today.

         HON. TOGAREPI:  Hon. Speaker, can I help my colleague. 

         THE HON. SPEAKER: Yes please.

         HON. TOGAREPI:  I want to help my colleague to remain in his lane.  He is getting into my lane; I do not think he is doing the right thing. 

         THE HON. SPEAKER:  May you announce the Leader of Government Business?

         HON. TOGAREPI:  The Acting Leader of Government Business is Hon. Dr. Masuka.

         THE HON. SPEAKER:  The ship is not without the captain, so you are assured that Hon. Dr. Masuka is the Acting Leader of Government of Business.  The Leader of Government Business is in the Senate at the moment, he is not really absent.  Thank you. 

         THE HON. SPEAKER:  May we proceed with Questions Without Notice.  I am grateful to the Chief Whips from both sides, they have given us a list.  So, I will be guided by that list. 

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTION WITHOUT NOTICE

         *HON. T. SHUMBA:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  Before asking my question, I want to thank the Hon. Minister for improving the rural clinics and building other healthcare facilities in the rural areas.  My question is; what is Government policy in increasing the number of doctors, especially for rural healthcare centres? Sometimes people in the rural areas spend two to three days waiting for the doctors and their conditions worsen whilst they are waiting to see the doctor. 

         THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. KWIDINI):   I want to thank the Hon. Member for asking a pertinent question.  It is true, as Government and as the Ministry of Health and Child Care, we do not have enough doctors and nurses.  They have gone outside the country in the diaspora to look for better opportunities but for the past months, the Ministry of Health came up with ways and means to improve the number of healthcare workers in thecountry.  There is a program called compactand it was approved in the Cabinet last three week.  There are few health workers which include doctors and nurses.  Right now, we are in the middle of improving the number of workers through recruitment, retention and training. All those things are being done in a bid to address the issue of shortages of healthcare workers. By 2026 since our programme is rolling up to 2030, our aim is to double the number of healthcare workers, including increasing the numbers of doctors and nurses so that each and every healthcare facility should have enough nurses and doctors.  Thank you.

         *HON. KANGAUSARU:  Thank you Hon. Speaker and I want to thank the Minister for the responds.  Since we do not have enough doctors, is it not possible to have a doctor who can visit even once a month so that people can get help especially in rural areas?  Many people are in need of attention of doctors, for example, those who are diabetic and other diseases in the rural areas. 

         HON. KWIDINI:  Thank you Mr. Speaker for the supplementary question from Hon. Kangausaru. It is true that as a Ministry of Health and Child Care, we have programmes that we call outreach programmes where specialist doctors and nurses go to different district health centres to attend to patients’ needs or perform operations.  Members in this august House should know that they have the right to initiate and invite the health services to visit their areas and give assistance to people with health matters. As a Ministry, we do have that programme.  Our Ministry can come together with the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs, Prisons and Correctional Services.  So, we take doctors from the above-mentioned institutions to go and carry out those outreach programmes, so people do not have to travel long distances.   I thank you.

         *HON. HWENDE:   Thank you Mr. Speaker.  I want to find out what Government policy is concerning salaries of doctors?  If you look at the way the rate is going, you will find that doctors are now earning something below US$200.  What is Government’s policy in terms of raising their salaries so that they are able to send their children to school?

         *THE HON. SPEAKER:  I was listening attentively when the Minister started to respond.  He did say that there are programmes which are being rolled out until 2026.  Hence the programmes are there which are looking into the issues of salaries and retention of doctors and other medical staff so that they stay in the country and be assisted accordingly.

         *HON. S. TSHUMA:  Thank you Mr. Speaker.  My question is directed to the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion.  Looking at the issue of CDF, which you mentioned yesterday that it has been increased, we want to thank him for increasing CDF from USD20 000 to USD50 000.  I would want to continue to say - [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.] -

         *THE HON. SPEAKER:  Depending on the answer from the Hon. Minister concerned, you can ask a supplementary question.  Do not shut down a Member who is asking a question.

         *HON. S. TSHUMA: Thank you for protecting me.  I wanted to understand how he is going to roll-out the CDF so as to reach the intended beneficiaries.  The ZiG black market rate has gone up and if we are to get quotations now, the USD50 000 is like ZiG$1 500 000 in shops where we are getting quotations.  What measures has Government put in place to ensure that the ZiG retains its value?  The money is already depreciating and it will not buy as much as it is intended to buy because of inflation.

         *THE HON. SPEAKER:  It is USD50 000, so there should be no confusion.  I announced USD50 000 not ZiG50 000.

         *HON. S. TSHUMA:  Yes, Mr. Speaker Sir, I am in agreement with you that it is USD50 000. But what was happening in the 9^th Parliament is that the money was announced in USD but disbursed to the constituencies in local currency.

         *THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR.  MASUKA):  Thank you Hon. Speaker.  I also want to thank the Hon. Member for the question.  I also heard that it is USD50 000 disbursed in local currency at the prevailing bank rate.  But they do not seem to know whether this amount will be disbursed in USD or local currency.  So, I will hand over the issue to the Minister so they can curb inflation and the money will be able to buy something.

         THE HON. SPEAKER:  Before we go any further, is Hon Mutseyami here?  I should have advised right at the beginning that on Wednesdays, we do not raise matters of national interest.  So, you can reserve that for tomorrow.

         HON. MUTSEYAMI:  Thank you Mr. Speaker. It was a matter of privilege, so I will ask it tomorrow.

         HON. MATARA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  My question goes to the Minister of Finance.  Most shops are rejecting local currency and the few goods being sold in local currency are pegged at very high prices.  What measures do you have in place to solve this problem given that civil servants are paid in local currency?  I thank you.

         THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA):  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  I thank the Hon. Member for a very pertinent question.  When people earn money, they expect to be able to pay for goods and services in any of the shops that they go into.  Now, when there is a restriction on account of a certain currency, Government ought to intervene to restore the dignity and value of the currency.  The RBZ Governor is seized with the matter and an announcement will be made shortly.  Thank you, Mr. Speaker Sir.

         THE HON. SPEAKER:  I thought the Hon. Minister indicated that the RBZ Governor will soon make an announcement on the issue raised.  So, let us wait for that announcement.  No more supplementary questions.  What the Minister indicated is what I also saw in the press that the RBZ Governor, under the instruction of Cabinet, is going to come up with a raft of measures to deal with the situation.

HON. MUSHORIWA: Can I seek your indulgence?

THE HON. SPEAKER: There is no indulgence to be sought. When he announces, that will be the time.

*HON. JARAVAZA: Let me start by thanking the Hon. Speaker for giving me this opportunity to ask my question. I also want to thank the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa for his vision to introduce the ZiG currency. This money has got value and we really like our ZiG. We must protect it because it is our local currency. What is Government policy towards Government institutions like schools which are refusing our local currency to be paid as school fees in favour of US dollar?

*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. GATA): I want to thank the Hon. Member for the pertinent question regarding payment of school fees. We have our local currency which we encourage its use in schools. In addition, we have the multi-currency system in the country. Parents can pay using any currency as long as it is in line with the prevailing exchange rate of the day. If there are any schools that are refusing our local currency, the ZiG, I request the parents to bring us a list of such schools and we will deal with them.

*HON. MUNEMO: I want to thank the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development for rehabilitating a lot of roads in towns and cities. What is Government policy with regards to rehabilitating rural roads which need to be maintained with gravel? The rain season is upon us, hence we fear that most vehicles will not be able to reach destinations where people stay.

*THE MINISTER LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA): The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development is in the process of procuring earth moving machines for local authorities. There is a programme where for example in the province, Government departments and local authorities can come together to refurbish roads at provincial level until it is completed and not on a piece-meal basis. They are going to combine their machines in a province and rehabilitate one particular road until it is completed. ZINARA is also going to buy the machines and help in the process of refurbishment of these roads. This is the thrust that the Government has taken in order to quicken the process of road rehabilitation.

If citizens feel that there is a certain road that is lagging behind in terms of rehabilitation, they can write to the Ministry to make sure that the road is prioritised.

HON. HADEBE: The Bulawayo-Victorial Falls road and Bulawayo-Nkayi road is a very sorry state and the Hon. Speaker would agree with me that when vene vayo had a biggest rally in Nkayi, they had to use helicopters then my question to the Minister is, when is Government going to resume the rehabilitation of the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road and Bulawayo-Nkayi Road?

*THE MINISTER LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA): I want to thank the Hon. Member for the question which is fairly specific to Bulawayo-Victoria Falls and Bulawayo-Nkayi Roads. I will raise this with the Minister and an appropriate response will be proffered.

An Hon Member having stood up to pose a supplementary question.

THE HON. SPEAKER: Our questions are about general policy. If you go to specific issues, then the questions must come under the written form. That is the procedure that we need to adopt.

         *HON. TSVANGIRAI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I heard the Minister explaining that he is going to buy machinery and graders. We saw that during the Mid-Term Budget Review, the Ministry of Transport overspent by over 244%, exceeding their budget. My question is where is this money going to and come from for them to carry out these programmes? Thank you.

         THE HON. SPEAKER: Again, that is specific. It is a good question, but bring it under written form because it is very specific. Thank you.

         *HON. MUGWADI:  Thank you Mr. Speaker. May the issue of the Bulawayo/Victoria Falls Road, although it is a specific road, I saw it fit that this road be treated as a national concern as a gateway to Victoria Falls.

         THE HON. SPEAKER: Why are you getting lost? The Hon. Minister said despite of the fact that specific question, you raise the issue with the responsible Minister.

         *HON. MUGWADI:  Thank you Mr. Speaker. Maybe I might be lost, but I am saying that because of its importance, this road must not be referred to as specific but national concern because it is the regional link to the Victoria Falls, our biggest tourist resort.

         THE HON. SPEAKER: I come from that part of the country and I have driven on that road. The observation by Hon. Hadebe is correct. So, the response of the Hon. Minister is appropriate despite the fact that those were two specific roads Bulawayo/Nkayi, Bulawayo/ Victoria Falls, he would raise the matter with the Minister of Transport. It was very indulgent.

         HON. P. DUBE: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker Sir. My question is directed to the Minister of Finance. It would seem like five months after the introduction of our local currency, the ZiG notes and coins, the ZiG notes are easily getting worn out, particularly the 10 ZiG and the 20 ZiG that are circulating. My question is, what is Government policy with regards to the organisations or people who refuse to accept torn ZiG notes and therefore, disadvantaging the medium of exchange? Thank you very much.

THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR.  MASUKA): Thank you Mr. Speaker and I thank the Hon. Member for the question. The issue is very specific to the 10 ZiG note that it is easily torn. Therefore, the transacting public are finding that this is not accepted by some shops. It is something that I will raise with the Minister of Finance so that this issue can be examined to see whether it is the velocity of circulation is what is causing that or that more durable paper maybe found and used. It is something that I will raise with the responsible Minister and I thank the Hon. Member for bringing such a pertinent question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

         *HON. HWENDE: Point of Order Mr. Speaker Sir. The way the questions are being answered today is not proper. When we come to the House, we expect the Executive to respond to us. When there is a Leader of Government Business and he does not have any proper answer, he is also referring to Ministers. It shows that we have wasted our time coming here. With all due respect Hon. Speaker, kindly help us because the spokesperson of Government is not well prepared. He is not giving us answers and he is referring to different ministries. Help us Mr. Speaker Sir.

         THE HON. SPEAKER: Do you want my response to the point of order? I think the issues being referred to; the Hon. Acting Leader of Government Business has given an honest answer. We still have next week. The issues that are referred to the respective Ministers, they should be able to give you comprehensive answers tomorrow. It will be unfair for the Hon. Acting Leader of Government Business to mislead you. You need to get correct answers. So, wait for next week and you will get the correct answers. In any case, there are several Ministers here responsible for various sectors of the economy, but you become too inquisitive to one Minister, why?

         An Hon. Member having stood up on a point of order

         THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, Order! You cannot have a point of Order from what I have said. I am saying spread your questions. Otherwise, I will also say you are not thinking beyond other sectors other than the Ministry of Finance. There are issues on ICT, Home Affairs and so many other issues. 

         HON. ENG. MHANGWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker.  The format that we have is one where you have a list and people have already prepared the questions.  If we are shooting from the hip, based on the Ministers there, it would come differently.  The fact that the questions are already prepared and waiting for the Ministers on the list that you have, that is the result that comes and this is topical.

         THE HON. SPEAKER: Unfortunately, in your list here, you do not have the subject matter.  So, you want me to be a prophet.  There is no subject matter against each name, there is nothing.

         HON. MADZIVANYIKA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  My question is directed to the Minister of Higher Education but let me direct it to the Leader of Government Business because the Minister is not in the House.  The University of Zimbabwe recently churned out over 6 700 graduates and all other universities are doing the same.  What is the Government policy in terms of absorbing our graduates who are seeking employment under the circumstances?

         Hon. Mugwadi having wanted to raise a point of order.

         THE HON. SPEAKER: Order, Hon. Mugwadi.  I was enquiring if there is a Deputy Minister of Higher Education, please help us with the response.

         THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. S. SIBANDA): Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir.  I missed the last part of the question.

         THE HON. SPEAKER: The last part of the question was the market absorption of the graduates that have graduated from the universities.  Do they have employment?

         HON. S. SIBANDA: Thank you very much.  Whilst I feel that the question is most appropriate for the skills audit, I will attempt to respond as follows.  Since 2018, when we started education 5.0, the whole thrust is to produce graduates who are not oriented towards looking for employment.  The whole idea is to produce graduates who are innovative and come up with ideas whereby the Government can assist them in terms of coming up with new industries.  So, what we are doing is, we are encouraging and even His Excellency has always been speaking about the issue of encouraging our youth to dream in terms of their aspirations.  As the Government, we come in, in terms of supporting their ideas.  We are having innovation phases where our graduates are displaying their expertise and this is where we are able to identify where we can come in as Government.

         The whole idea is to try to move away from the product that was being produced as a result of education 3.0, where the graduates were not focusing further on innovation and industrialisation.  Our thrust is in line with innovation and industrialisation, that is what we are trying to push.   I thank you.

         HON. MADZIVANYIKA: Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Hon. Minister, for the response.  However, my supplementary question is, how are you going to cater for over 13 000 plus graduates that are being churned out of universities and vocational training centres every year in terms of supporting them, and how to become business people like you are saying?  Is it humanly possible for all those graduates to be entrepreneurs and business people?  Are you capable to have the capacity to support them in terms of financing?  Thank you.

         THE HON. SPEAKER: Be very careful in the language.  You do not address the Hon. Minister personally.  You ask for Government policy, not are you, it is not permissible in any Parliament.

         HON. S. SIBANDA: Thank you very much Hon. Speaker Sir.  I would like to thank the Hon. Member for this important question.  As Government, the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education is not working in isolation.  What I gave was the direction that is being taken by the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education in terms of the final product that we produce and institutions that fall under the Ministry but the graduates that are produced spread across several sectors.  They are then absorbed by several ministries.  As the august House, what I feel we can do is, whilst we identify such gaps, it is up to us to assist in terms of coming up with policies that can shape our country.  I want to run away from the idea of probably having the ideas and having some questions but probably not proffering some solutions.  Whilst it is the duty of Government but as this House, we can assist in terms of ideas in what we can do in terms of absorbing the graduates.

         Like I have said, the graduates fall under several ministries and there is not much of a challenge as one may think in terms of the ability of these graduates to be absorbed across all the sectors of our economy.  I thank you.

         HON. ENG. MHANGWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  The country with the highest number of entrepreneurs, the United States of America (USA), has only 17% of people who become entrepreneurs sometime in their life, not recent graduates.  Meaning that they have left 84% of the people to join the job market.  So, when graduates come and we have statistics of more than 84%, what is the plan for the 84% or more for our country?

         THE HON. SPEAKER: I am not a mathematician, 17% from 100, does that give you 84%?

         HON. ENG. MHANGWA: It is America which has 17%, we have less than 17%, meaning we can be at 16% so as to make it 84%.

         THE HON. SPEAKER: Let us try to be factual, especially when we speak from the pedestal of the academics standing point.  You do not have any statistics at the moment but as a matter of general question, I will allow the Hon. Deputy Minister to respond.

         THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. S. SIBANDA): Thank you very much. I would like to refer the question to the Leader of the House because it is now touching the Ministry of Industry or other ministries which absorb the graduates. Ours is probably to train the graduates and then in terms of absorption, it caters for other ministries. Thank you.

         THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA): Thank you Mr. Speaker. I thank the Hon. Member for the supplementary question and the Deputy Minister for clearly articulating the role of the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development in developing new cadres or graduates who are not producing certificates only but producing goods and services. The context is that while the heritage-based education thrust is contextual to Zimbabwe, our resources must inform our training so that the graduates are able to be entrepreneurial in the context of the resources that we have, the land, minerals and tourism. In heritage-based education, it is that thrust that goes through incubation at universities and the industrial attachment and agro-industrial that gives that. Government realises that this must be complemented by a comprehensive skills audit.

         Hon. Speaker Sir, that is as was undertaken in 2018. There is now a dedicated Ministry to scan the whole environment and be able to provide real time information to the specific training needs of the country and to identify where the gaps are. For example, you would find that in the medical field, practitioners readily find employment because we still have a gap. Whereas in the social sciences, for example, the University of Zimbabwe as an example, was producing up to 50-60% of the graduates 2018-2020 in social sciences - but it has begun now because of heritage based education to tilt that towards the STEM so that we can then have this entrepreneurial aspect. While we do so, the Vision 2030 is about mordenisation and industrialisation of the country. The Government has put in place National Development Strategy 1 and now is working on National Development Strategy 2 to ensure that the industry begins to do more and capacity utilisation in industry has increased tremendously.  This is evidenced by the goods on our shelves. There is activity that is beginning to take place. We need that momentum gathering Mr. Speaker Sir, to be accelerated.

We also need new industries to come up and we see quite a lot of these coming in the mining sector, the Manhize and everywhere. A lot is happening, but not sufficient to absorb the current numbers that are coming from colleges. I think in due course, that will happen and we are on the right track. What we need to do is to be able to do more and I urge the Hon. Members to identify areas where they think that there is need to train and where industries can come up so that collectively, we can ensure that more of these graduates can be absorbed into employment and more can go into entrepreneurship. Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.

HON. HAMAUSWA: Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir. When the Hon. Minister was responding to the second question, he said that there are a lot of students who are graduating and then he implored this House to proffer suggestions on what can be done so that graduates are accommodated. What I would like to suggest is that the Hon. Minister should come up with a Ministerial Statement detailing what can be done in order to address the issue of graduates who cannot be accommodated. My supplementary question therefore is, is it possible for the Hon. Minister to bring a Ministerial Statement to this House so that we will be able to assist the Hon. Minister? This is based on his response to the supplementary question. If the Hon. Minister brings a Ministerial Statement then we bring our contributions to add on to that. I thank you.

  HON. DR. MASUKA: I want to thank the Hon. Member for that question. Government is seized with preparing National Strategy Development 2. The Hon. Minister of Finance has already started the process and this is the opportunity for us to work on NDS 2, working towards 2030 and NDS2 is going to clarify these issues. Looking at the thematic areas which would lead us to vision 2030, these issues are contained in the National Development Strategy 2 and this is the pathway and framework which is going to allow us to attain that vision. When we receive NDS 2, we can also proffer suggestions. I thank you.

THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you very much Hon. Minister. Honourable Hamauswa, it is a two-way approach. Your suggestion is correct but if you read standing Order Number 21 (d), the House through its specific Committees, can also come up with policies which can be tabled before the Executive. In terms of Standing Order Number 21 (d) of the National Assembly Standing Orders, it is a two-way traffic.

 HON. HAMAUSWA: Thank you Mr. Speaker.

THE HON. SPEAKER: Thank you.

*HON. MUWOMBI: Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir. I want to direct my question to the Minister of Agriculture. I wanted to find out Government plans, especially looking at rural areas which were affected by drought and there is no water. What is Government planning to do regarding that issue? I thank you.

         *THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA): Thank you Hon. Speaker. I am enthused because this is my Ministry. It falls under the purview of my Ministry. In the past three years, we have not suffered the drought like the one that we faced in the previous season.  Government, through the Rural Development 8.0, has plans to buy machines which are going to sink 100 boreholes.  Now, we have 28 machines which are at the Zimbabwe National Water Authority but at the moment, we have also engaged independent players so that we have 40 machines for drilling boreholes to be used throughout the country.  The way we apply this project is that we look at the dry arid regions like Regions 4 and 5.  So we looked at the wards that are found in those regions, in 1 620 wards, there are 1 035 wards which fall under Regions 4 and 5.  These are the dry arid areas, so we decided to start with those areas and we allocated these machines to those provinces  looking at the wards that are found in the two regions.  So, Masvingo has six machines, Midlands has five machines, Matabeleland South has four machines and Matabeleland North five machines and so forth. 

So, we cannot take machines to every province or to every district because it is expensive to sink boreholes.  We do not have enough funds for doing everything at one go.  So, yesterday we decided that for the machines that are found in these areas and people see that their areas are very dry and when they see that there is need for more diesel in drilling pits, then those who are representatives of such areas and Government officials can bring that information. But despite that, we request Hon. Members to also tell us of areas which are dry and facing challenges.  Sometimes we might be thinking that this is Region 3 which has enough water, but you would find that some regions might be dry.  So, if we have that information, then we are going to respond accordingly. I thank you.

         HON. S. SAKUPWANYA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  My supplementary question to the Minister is, I believe when he introduced the borehole programme, he mentioned that in each borehole station, there will be village business units that will be run by two youths, thereby creating a small green market that will be supplied to the market.  I want to know if that programme is still running concurrently with the establishment of these boreholes and if so, at what success rate has it been done or implemented so far?

          HON. DR. MASUKA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I thank the Hon. Member for the supplementary question.  The context in which the Presidential Rural Development Programme was run was that the primary entry point is the village business unit to cater for the thirty-five thousand villages.  Then there was the youth business unit in which it was envisaged that two centres within a ward would be established, specifically for youths.  Then there was a School Business Unit in which it was envisaged that each of the 9 600 schools would have a school business unit to try and re-orient the thinking about entrepreneurship and agriculture as a business at a learner level.  Then there was the Vocational Training Centre Business Unit to try and reorient the graduates and to be able to create them as the employees of the village business units and the youths business units.  We have made progress in the implementation of the youths business units in that the proof of concept has been proven, but we do not have the adequate resources to be able to replicate them at the precept which we had originally envisaged.  On the drought, Government resources, as expected, have been redirected towards procurement of grain and feed for people and livestock.  It means that we have had to reorient the concept of the youth business unit and suspended it currently and concentrated on establishing a ward drought mitigation centre, so that in each ward, there is a point where both people and animals can have relief.  So, that programme is now in abeyance and should we have normal rainfall as expected, we hope that we will be able to have the normal programming when the resources are availed.  I thank you.

*HON. S. TSHUMA:  Thank you Hon. Speaker. I want to thank the Hon. Minister for that response.  I want to ask the Hon. Minister if it is possible, through ZINWA, to get a database per Constituency level.  He mentioned the distribution of machines throughout provinces and districts.  My question is, if the Ministry is looking at areas which do not have access to these boreholes or areas without many boreholes, there are areas or wards that have more boreholes than others. I am saying that because His Excellency says that no one is going to be left behind, but there are areas which are always lagging behind and people are suffering due to shortage of boreholes in their areas but others continuously benefiting.  This is equally affecting their livestock.  I thank you.

*THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA):  I want to thank the Hon.

 Member for that question.  Firstly, I would like to say that we

know all the boreholes.  We have that database.  We have 40000

boreholes throughout the country and 15000 dip wells.  But

because we did not have good rains during the past season,

we decided to engage ZINWA for the already existing boreholes

to get capacity tested to determine the amount of water.  We are

also installing taps but because we did not have adequate rains,

you will find that boreholes between 40-50mts do not have

enough water and they have to be deepened.  So, the

supplementary question is that there are areas with boreholes,

which are still benefitting from the sinking of boreholes and

some which do not have.  The Hon. Member was

alluding to the President’s mantra of leaving no one behind.  So,

we would request that the Hon. Member submit

information regarding the areas that are lagging behind to enable

us to fulfill the President’s mantra of “leaving no one behind”.

HON. MAONEKE:  I would like to ask the Hon. Minister if he is aware that in irrigation schemes where we installed solar systems, some of the systems are malfunctioning soon after being installed.  So, my question is, are there technicians who are servicing and maintaining such equipment?  Is it also possible that the beneficiaries should be empowered so that some would give feedback and getting basic technical know-how?  I thank you.

THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA):  Hon. Speaker Sir, let me thank the Hon. Member for that question.  When we started this programme, we thought that we were going to be empowering the youths with technical expertise so that they would be able to service and maintain these boreholes, but we could not do that because we did not have enough funding for the skills empowerment programme.  ZINWA, however, works with contractors in sinking boreholes, installing solar systems and drip irrigation schemes.  When such schemes malfunction, then we need that information so that we can determine whether the contractor did a great job or not.  If they did not do a good job, then they are not supposed to be paid because they provided a substandard service. Furthermore, you asked whether people are allowed to attend to these installations. I want to talk about village business units which we alluded to earlier on and these are the owners of these boreholes. They will maintain and service these boreholes as businesswomen or businessmen. We believe that they take ownership and there will be a business village manager who will be guiding them in terms of engaging experts who service this equipment.

         Sometimes we look at the company which would have installed such equipment. If it was a substandard job, then the company should be compelled to go and redo that job because there should be a guarantee period. As a business, it is important for the business to engage an expert who is qualified to fix the equipment.

         *HON. KARIKOGA: I want to direct my question to the Minister of Agriculture. The contractors who are responsible for sinking boreholes like what the Hon. Minister said that, they look at regions like 3, 4, or 5 – a district might have its own plans regarding the sinking and then a new programme comes to add on to the already existing project of sinking boreholes. Does the Ministry have plans to make sure that there is equality and equity in terms of distributing boreholes across provinces?

         *HON. DR. MASUKA: I thank the Hon. Member for that question. The President spoke about devolution and decentralization.  I want to say that boreholes that are sunk at ward level do not fall under ZINWA or under the Ministry. These come from the wards. For example, they can say 1 620 wards have centres and that information is collated into our database. We have identified ward mitigation centres and that information was sent to Parliament so that Members of Parliament will contribute giving their input on whether these are centres or not. The Ministers of Provincial Affairs and Devolution lead these programmes in provinces to ascertain whether the drilling rigs are following the prescribed areas.

         When we see that the district officers are going where the national programme is, then we need to relook at this and correct it because the shortage of water is quite a critical issue. We cannot waste resources by drilling boreholes in the same area ignoring other areas. This will be like a waste of money. If this is happening, then it is important to look at it.

We have development partners like NGOs who have the task of providing water. They also indicated the wards and the areas where they want to operate in. Where there are such partners, Government does not go there but identifies areas which lack and need water. With that kind of information, we will be able to deal with the situation. If you have such areas, you can bring the information to the Ministry.

*HON. MUGWADI: My supplementary question to the Minister is, what plans does your Ministry have in terms of making sure that we attain the 40 000 mark? This is a Presidential Borehole Drilling Scheme but sometimes some contractors attempt to sink boreholes but after siting, they drill empty holes without water and they would say we sunk so many boreholes despite having not reached the water table. What is the Ministry doing about that?

*HON. DR. MASUKA: When sinking, there are professionals who site for water before the actual sinking. They do siting and determine whether there is potential for reaching the water table. When they reach the water table, then they also test the water and say it is a dry hole. If it is, then they would leave. As Government, we instructed them not to close those holes because God may hear us and when rains come sometimes such boreholes might provide water even though it is a dry hole. Because we did not have enough water during the past season, you would find that drilling rigs would sometimes go as deep as 40 to 100 metres so as to reach the water table. These are the boreholes that we count.

Every Monday at 7 am, I have a meeting with ZINWA and other stakeholders looking at statistics and progress from every ward. Most of these drilling equipments have GPS tracking whereby from your phone you can track using the GPS system where these rigs are drilling. This helps us in creating an up to date database. If that is not enough, we would also be glad to have your feedback so that we know what is happening in different areas so that we become very practical and talk about things that are happening.

If the Hon. Member knows of a place where it said that there is water and there is no water. So, we need that information as a Ministry so that we have proper statistics regarding the updates of what is happening in different areas. I thank you.

         *HON. BONDA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I want to ask the Hon. Minister the plans that they have. The Minister spoke about Regions 4 and 5 which do not have water. My question is that having known that there is no water, what are the plans and what is the Ministry doing in creating surface dams? When looking at Region 5, you can drill 150 to 200 metres deep. What is Government plan regarding the water harvesting programme? The Minister spoke about drills, so we want to know where these drills are. This is because where we come from, we do not see them. We want to know where we can find them. Thank you.

         *HON. DR. MASUKA:  Thank you to the Hon. Member for the very pertinent two-pronged question. The first relates to these areas in dry regions where we drill perhaps to a depth of 150 metres and still not find water. I hope that this will come out clearly and loudly that what we are dealing with is an emergency situation where we do not have water. The only situation that we are looking at and credible one, is to be able to get drilling rigs that can go up to half a kilometer. We now have two within ZINWA and we are hiring some more.

         We think that if we do water mining, we will be able to get some water to assist communities in these distressed areas until the rain comes. The other one is more about resilience rather than the mitigation site. How do we then accelerate water harvesting and the Government has a very robust programme to ensure that we accelerate dam construction? We are also going to be looking at how we are going to accelerate where we identify and construct. So, that is a long term, but the immediate response now is how we find water to be able to ensure that people and livestock can have something until we expect rains in the next six weeks. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

         *HON. JONGA: Thank you Hon. Speaker Ma’am and good afternoon to you. I want to start by thanking His Excellency, President Dr. E.D. Mnangagwa for the Pfumvudza/Intwasa Programme, which is a perennial programme that aims to ensure that there is food security in the country. My question is directed to the Minister of Lands that since the year is almost over, what does Government plan to do regarding the provision of Pfumvudza/Intwasa inputs? Thank you.

         *HON. DR. MASUKA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am and I thank the Hon. Member. As we are coming from a dry season, we did not have a good harvest and I know farmers are anticipating inputs as soon as possible as they look forward to good rains. The Government of President Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa is orderly. We have already distributed seeds to GMB depots across the country. We have also taken lime to our GMB depots. We also have herbicides for eradicating army worms and we have fumigation containers which are going to be distributed.

On the 16^th in Buhera, His Excellency is going to launch a programme which will culminate in the national distribution of such inputs. Every household is going to get a bag of fertilizer and a bag of seeds, whether it is maize seed or small seeds depending on the ecological region in different areas. We are going to use the Pfumvudza template which farmers are already aware of, where they will dig three small halls and everyone is going to be encouraged to do that so that no one is left behind in this programme, in this Intwasa/Pfumvudza Programme. I thank you.

*HON. HUNGWE: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I want to ask regarding the distribution of inputs to farmers. Normally, people face challenges in terms of distribution. So, I wanted to find out the transport arrangement? Thank you.

HON. DR. MASUKA Thank you Hon. Speaker and thank you to the Hon. Member. In the past two/three years, the President, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa saw it fit that Government should fund transport and logistics so that inputs are distributed to every ward. Government has already paid for that. In the past, people would pay for transportation from fertilizer warehouses to GMB depots and families contributed a dollar each, but now because we noted the corruption that was there then, Government decided to take up the programme. The councillors in every ward are the ones who lead these programmes and the local headmen have a database of people who are found in these areas. People do not pay for transport and logistics for fertilizer and seeds because Government has already paid for that. I thank you.

*HON. MAPIKI: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. My supplementary question is, how is the relationship of the Ministry with seed houses and companies which supply herbicides so that people have quality seeds and quality herbicides for treating their crops, to protect and preserve the integrity of our farmers? I thank you.

         *THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. MASUKA): Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am.  I would like to thank the Hon Member for that question, when you go to buy seed and you find that you have been duped and bought low quality seeds which do not work properly, the first thing is that we have laws.  We have the Seed Certification Scheme, which falls under the Seed Act and we have Government workers who work with these companies who monitor the quality of the seed production process.  Also looking at things like fumigation, pesticides, there is a pesticides registration programme which prescribes that before pesticides are used, the Government would investigate for three years how the pesticide works, whether it is effective or the time it can be used.  After determining that then we look at those who sell those pesticides.  There are some people who are very calculative, who take advantage of farmers and sell substandard inputs.  So, as law makers, it is our responsibility to weed out such people so that farmers can do their job using quality seeds.  I thank you.

         *HON. MATINENGA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. My supplementary question is, what does Government plan to do in terms of educating the nation about land preparation, the digging of these small holes which falls under Pfumvudza, so that everyone benefits from these programmes, so that these things are clear and everyone is made aware of what should be done?

         *HON. MASUKA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am.  I want to thank the Hon. Member for that pertinent question.  The President always says that no one is going to be left behind and no place will be left behind. As the Ministry of Agriculture, we use the home as a planning unit.  We have 1.8 million households.  Sometimes, there are children from within those families who might be married but we count them as household owners.  We do not look at the ages.  Having done that, on 25^th of June, 2024,we launched the summer plant.  Then we decided to disseminate information regarding that plan.  Every province, district, ward, village and homestead got information regarding this and AGRITEX is busy training households.  There are 35 000 farmer field schools where farmers are going to be conscientised.

         Having done that, we then said that for those who have prepared their land for Pfumvudza, they are given inputs.  It does not matter that the household is affiliated to any entity or what.  We also said that every Councillor chairs the local committee at ward level and the Councillor is responsible for distributing such input. The deputy is a representative of the local chief.  Then we also said that other committee members should be village heads. The seven village heads who know the different homesteads in the village will be part of the village. AGRITEX does not have that database and they do not know the people.  Since the headmen are the local people, they bring that database and they work with AGRITEX.  This will ensure that no one is left behind and no place is left behind.  If there are any suggestions and recommendations on how we can tighten the programme, then you are welcome to these suggestions.  I thank you.

         Hon. Members having wanted to pause more supplementary questions

         THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: We have had enough supplementary questions.

         HON. MUWODZERI: Thank you Madam Speaker.  My question is directed to the Minister of Energy.  What is the Government policy as of now in terms of shortage of electricity that we are experiencing every day?  Thank you.

         THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, WATER, FISHERIES AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA): Thank you Madam Speaker.  I thank the Hon, Member for the very pertinent question.  It is a question that is relevant but also the relevance in the context of climate change. We have the two major  power sources for the country.  The first being a thermal at Hwange and Hwange 6 and 7 are producing as expected ordinarily 600/614 megawatts daily.  Hwange 1 to 6 are largely antiquated, breakdowns are increasing.  So, those are attended to as they arise, but the major problem that we are facing is that of Kariba.

         On account of the very low levels in Kariba, the generation at Kariba has been reduced by the Zambezi River Authority to the two generating units that is ZESCOM and ZESA, to an extent that capacity at Kariba is 1035 megawatts daily.  Currently, we are generating something in the region of 1605 to 2000 megawatts, simply because of the very low water levels.  This is why load shedding is increasing. Having said that, Government has put in place mechanisms to ensure that it can attract private sector investment into power generation through a framework of independent power producers.  Quite a lot of independent producers have now come on board,  just three or four weeks ago, ZIMPLATS and many more are coming on board.

         We also have plans as Government to ensure that we establish additional power generation units in addition to revamping Hwange 1 to 6.  So, the depressed power generation leads to depressed power supply and increased power outages at domestic level simply because of the climate change that we see.  We think that with the anticipated normal to above normal rain season, Kariba will be sufficiently replenished so that we can generate increased electricity and consequently reduce the load shedding that is seen at this stage.  I thank you.

         HON. MADZIVANYIKA:  Thank you Hon. Madam Speaker.  I want to thank the Hon. Minister for the response. The Hon. Minister indicated that he is going to engage the independent power producers to try to solve the challenge of load shedding.  My supplementary question therefore is, is it not possible for independent power producers to close the gap of about 800 megawatts which is our daily deficit under the circumstances?  Is it not possible for the Minister to explore options of importations to solve the challenge in the medium to short term?  Thank you.  

          HON. DR. MASUKA:  Madam Speaker, it is an aspect that I omitted. We already import very substantial amounts from South Africa and Mozambique. That is the deficit that we face, ordinarily it is around 300 to 500 megawatts.  It is met through imports but noting that as a region, we generally suffer the same climate change issues, so generation in the region would be depressed.  In terms of the plans, submissions by independent power producers are that we will be able to get quite a lot of power.  I think the power utility envisages that from about 2026 onwards, we should be sufficient and be able to actually have surplus to generate and export to others.

 I may wish to mention that recently, Cabinet approved the establishment of 600 megawatts floating solar power plant at Kariba to complement this effort.  We expect that the first 150 megawatts will start in the first quarter of next year.  So, there are plans all-round to explore all mechanisms of ensuring that the country has adequate power because power is a necessary input for the rapid industrialisation that is taking place across all sectors of the economy. 

HON. MALINGANISO:  I would like to thank the Minister for comprehensive responses.  My question is, given that there is a possibility that Zimbabwe has uranium, has the Government considered the possibility also of utilising nuclear energy?  Thank you.

HON. DR. MASUKA:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  I want to thank the Hon. Member for looking at an option that Government is already considering.  The short answer is, it is one of the Government options, nuclear energy and there is active discussion within Government regarding that.  I can add that the Minister of Energy and Power Development last week was in Vienna in Austria at the International Atomic Energy Annual Conference and this subject came up for discussion and Zimbabwe’s position was made clear that it is an option. It was made clear that we are considering that and we have the right to use that aspect of nuclear to ensure that there is adequate electricity. More announcements will be made when a firm position has been reached as to what energy mix and what proportion, thus taken on board and what it would contribute.  Thank you Madam Speaker. 

+HON. MAHLANGU:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  We are requesting the Ministry to have a clear timetable of load shedding because most of the times you do load shedding abruptly without the citizens knowledge.  If load shedding starts at 0500 hours and you bring electricity back at 2200 hours, it becomes very difficult and that is what causes theft of ZESA cables.  I am asking the Minister to come up with a schedule of load shedding.  I thank you.

HON. DR. MASUKA:  Thank you Madam Speaker and I want to thank the Hon. Member for the question.  Indeed, it is desirable and we all know how much ZESA is going to generate at 12 midnight and how much the country is going to demand at 12 midnight. We know the shortfall and ZESA then indicates which suburbs it is going to cut off and sends the schedule so that people prepare accordingly.  I think that is the desirable aspect.  I think within ZESA, there is that understanding but simply because it is not done, it means that there are other externalities outside that.  This is occasioned by the fact that within the energy mix, there is a very substantial import component and that import component is dependent on availability.  You might publish a schedule but if the import component is not available at that time, then that schedule is as good as academic. 

Also, some instances are reflective of the aging infrastructure that we now have where there are faults that then happen.  This compounds the situation.  However, Madam Speaker, I have noted the very noble idea, and I will bring this to the attention of the responsible Minister so that they can consider that and hopefully that they will be able to provide a more comprehensive and up to date response next week.  Thank you Madam Speaker.

HON. ENG. MHANGWA:  Thank you Hon. Speaker.  I was busy trying to do the mathematics Hon. Speaker. If we have the100+, 1200+ that we generate from both Kariba and Hwange and we add the imports of about 300 megawatts that are in the region, we are already around 1.5.  Hon. Speaker, the extent to which the country is grappling with the energy crisis, the biggest load being residential not having electricity for more than 12 hours, the mathematics is not adding.  What is the sustainable plan?  We always mention the issue of rainfall shortages but even with good rainfall, Kariba is not a baseload station, it is not the panacea to our electricity problems.  We need a baseload; what is the plan so that we have baseload that is available 24 to Zimbabwe?

 Inasmuch as solar and hydro can come in as supplementary as there are merely peak loads, you cannot have hydro giving me the 1 035 for 24 hours, seven days a week even with good rainfall. 

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Hon. Eng. Mhangwa, is that a supplementary?

HON. ENG. MHANGWA:  The sustainable plan to make Zimbabwe energy sufficient using reliable and available energy in the form of a baseload, the gap that we are given based on what the Minister gave us, we only have a gap of about 300 megawatts. A gap of 300 megawatts does not warranty us having outages for 12 to 15 hours.  It can only happen when our problems are much bigger than what you stated. 

THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA): Mr. Speaker Sir, I thank the Hon. Member for the accurate mathematics.  Ordinarily, we generate between 1 300 to 1 400 daily.  The peak low demand as presented by the Minister to Cabinet weekly is about 1 800 to 1 850.  So, the shortfall that I indicated earlier of the 300 to 500 megawatts daily, which is partially alleviated by imports when they are available and if they are not available, we see the increased load shedding.  Also, the market reduction in the generation at Kariba is also compounding the problem.  The second aspect is that the Hon. Member is looking for a more sustainable supply situation, which is about the electricity strategy that the Ministry has.  May I, with your concurrence, defer this to the responsible Minister who will be able to come and present the robust electricity strategy for the country to assure us of sustainable energy supply commensurate with rapid industrialisation that is envisaged?  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.

         *HON. CHINODAKUFA: Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir.  I want to direct my question to the Minister of Housing.  What can assist Government in terms of providing accommodation for civil servants?

         THE ACTING MINISTER OF NATIONAL HOUSING AND SOCIAL AMENITIES (HON. GARWE):  Thank you Hon. Speaker.  I want to thank the Hon. Member for that pertinent question regarding adequate housing for the people of Zimbabwe.  Government has a housing policy which says that first in urban areas, but in rural district council centres, there are also housing programmes so that no-one is left behind and every Zimbabwean gets a house in order to fulfill Vision 2030.  Secondly, Government saw it fit after looking at the single-story buildings that were being built after independence, which led to the urban sprawl and eventually where cities grow stretching into farms.  Government then came up with a policy of high-rise buildings, flats and cluster development.  In that programme, Government then said that in every 100, 40% should be high rise buildings.  This is 40% densification in terms of development.  This will culminate in the building of flats.  This is meant to curb the shortage of housing and accommodation.  I thank you.

         *HON. CHINODAKUFA:  Hon. Speaker, we appreciate the high-rise buildings but the question is, in terms of distributing these houses, how are rural people going to benefit from this development?  I thank you.

         THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MACHINGURA): Where will the houses have been built?  Is it in urban areas or towns?  So, how did you want those in the rural areas to benefit if they are in the rural areas?  Hon. Minister, did you get the question?

HON. GARWE:  Hon. Speaker Sir, the question is not clear but let me assist the Hon. Member.  In rural areas, we have rural district councils which have waiting lists where people write their names and councils are responsible for building.  We have developers in councils and these developers are working with Government in terms of building in these communities.  There is a percentage which is given to Government and the other percentage is being sold to people and civil servants benefit from that.  In RDCs, we have the rural housing programme which was launched last year and is premised on the building of high-rise buildings.  This benefits civil servants like teachers, extension workers and others.  In UMP, we launched another programme and in Mtawatawa, there are a number of flats which go up to four floors.  This programme is going to be populated throughout the districts across the country.  I thank you.

*HON. KARIMATSENGA-NYAMUPINGA:  Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir.  I just want to find out more about the good project alluded to by the Hon. Minister.  Are the disabled going to be covered in the high-rise buildings and our relatives, parents and others who are going to be visiting these flats, are they also going to be catered for in terms of the building plans?  I thank you.

HON. GARWE:  I want to thank the Hon. Member for that pertinent question.  Indeed, all programmes, specifically the designing of such projects by architects and engineers make the plans with people with disabilities in mind, with pavilions and other amenities for those with disabilities.  Those which were constructed in the past do not have that provision, but now there is a provision of lifts and other facilities which will make it easier for the people with disabilities.  Lifts have a challenge which was alluded to earlier by the leader of Government business, which is the issue of electricity. Most lifts use electricity but as time goes on, in 2030, we will not be having these challenges.  We will be constructing buildings which would cater for everyone and no-one will be left behind.  I thank you.

Questions Without Notice were interrupted by THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER in terms of Standing Order Number 68.

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE

    THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  I have got a request that I start with questions directed to Hon. Kazembe because he has a meeting to attend.  So, with the indulgence of the House, I will go to question No. 28.

PROVISION OF JULY 2023 TO JUNE 2024 CRIME STATISTICS WITHIN LUVEVE ZRP STATION’S JURISDICTION

28. HON. BAJILA asked the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage to provide the House with the July 2023 to June 2024 crime statistics within the Luveve ZRP Station’s area of jurisdiction and to state Government plans to fight crime in this area.

THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): I would like to thank the Hon Member for asking this question. It is the Ministry’s mandate to maintain peace, law and order through the Zimbabwe Republic Police in order to ensure safe and secure environment. Having said that I also wish to state that fighting crime is not just the responsibility of the ZRP and other security agents. Society at large, through various platforms and us as political and community leaders have a key leadership and facilitative role to play. Allow me therefore to provide the following statistics of Luveve station’s area of jurisdiction.

But before I do that, what we should focus on is not first the statistics, but analyse the statistics and observe trends that will be useful for recommending policy issues and improving service delivery and reducing crime.

Crime Statistics for Luveve Police Station for the Period July 2022 to June 2023 versus July 2023 to June 2024.

CRIME	JULY 2022 TO JUNE 2023	JULY 2023 TO JUNE 2024	TREND +/-	%CHANGE
Murder	4	3	-1	-25
Armed robbery (firearm)	4	0	-4	-100
Armed robbery (other weapons)	14	22	8	+57
Plain robbery	23	19	-4	-17
Rape (juvenile)	6	5	-1	-17
Rape (adult)	2	6	4	+200
Theft of motor vehicle	0	3	3
Theft from motor vehicle	14	16	2	+14
Fraud	9	11	2	+22
Unlawful entry into premises and theft	144	143	-1	-1
Theft	79	55	-24	-30
Stock theft	4	8	4	+100
Assault	101	107	6	+6
TOTAL	404	398	-6	-1
	July 2022 to June 2023	July 2023 to June 2024	TREND +/-	%CHANGE
General Crime (excl traffic offences)	950	883	-67	-7

         In actual fact, the cases are decreasing as opposed to what the Hon Member said that they are actually increasing. Having said that, we still have a duty to ensure that we maintain peace and order and we will do our utmost to reduce the crime rate.

         People have been worried that we seem to have substantial increase in crimes. What I have observed is that if you look at the statistics, the numbers are actually not going up. It is the access to information which is increase. People now have real time information because of technology. A person in Binga will know what happened in Rushinga the minute it happens, the reason being we now have access to information. We get to know all the crimes that are happening in the country. Because you have that knowledge, it is a bit alarming that you do have a number of murder cases. Otherwise the actual statistics are showing a downward trend if we look at the figures.

MEASURES TAKEN AGAINST POLICE OFFICERS WHO SET POLICE DOGS ON AN INNOCENT TEENAGER AT LUKONA BUSINESS CENTRE

29. HON BAJILA asked the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage to inform the House what disciplinary measures were taken against police officers who, in the course of their duties, set police dogs on an innocent teenager at Lukona Business Centre in Bubi District, Matabeleland North on 28 August 2024.

THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): I wish to inform the House that there was a gold rush at Saunby Mine, Village 3, Lukona, Inyathi on 28 August 2024. Illegal miners flooded the area and stared to prospect for gold illegally. The police were called in to assist in managing the situation which had turned volatile. On seeing that the police had been called in, the illegal miners fled but others sought to confront the police with dangerous weapons leading to the unleashing of police dogs to manage the situations.

Nine accused persons were arrested in the process. Further investigations carried out by the police established that among the illegal miners who were confrontational, was the boy in question aged 17 years who had been bitten by one of the dogs. The boy has however, been taken by his parents to the village with the intention of evading arrest. The police made a follow up and established that the boy had indeed been bitten by the dog during the course of the confrontation. He is currently receiving medical attention at a private institution in Bulawayo. The police are carrying out investigations and it would be preposterous to apportion blame on the police before the conclusion of the investigations. I thank you.

Hon. Bonda having asked a supplementary question in Tonga.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON MACHINGURA): It looks like we do not have Tonga interpretation.

#HON BONDA: I will speak in Chewa. The Hon Minister’s name is synonymous with Malawi names, so I will ask in Chewa. My question is that the child was bitten by a dog and the child is under age. As a Ministry, what measures are in place to take the child to a private hospital on the issue of bills? What measures have you taken on the police officers who incited the dog to bit the child?

         THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: You are saying the child is under age, what was the child doing at that place?

#HON. BONDA: My point of clarity Hon. Speaker Sir is that the Minister does not understand the Chewa language. What I am saying is, you did not give me a clear answer. Minister Kazembe’s surname is from Malawi, may you give me an appropriate answer?

#THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): First and foremost, I want to inform the House and the nation that I am not from Malawi.  I was born and bred here in Zimbabwe.  My name is Kazembe but I am from Zimbabwe.  (Reporter had left this portion but someone should listen)

The Hon. Member asked in Chewa and I will try to respond. You said that there is a matter about a child who was bitten by a dog, what was the child doing at that place? The police officers did not go to his homestead, but they came across illegal miners and there was a confrontation and the dog bit the child. What was that person doing at that place?

#HON. BONDA: The Hon. Minister is not giving me a clear answer on what I asked. I said as the child is of tender age, what is Government doing so that the child gets proper medication? I understand that the child was found at an inappropriate place, but as a Ministry, what measures are you doing so that the child gets appropriate medication and be assisted with hospital bills? That is my question.

HON. KAZEMBE: The answer may not be comprehensive because I am struggling to speak in the language that I am being forced to respond to, but I will try. The child was at an illegal mining point and the dog that bit him, nobody knows whether the owner of the dog was old or young. The dog is trained and the Hon. Member is saying the matter is under investigations and I cannot give

a conclusive answer until the matter is finalised by the police.

         HON. NYABANI: On a point of order. The Hon. Member was supposed to withdraw that the Hon. Minister comes from Malawi.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Nyabani. Hon. Bonda, can you withdraw what you said that Hon. Kazembe comes from Malawi?

#HON. BONDA: Thank you Hon. Speaker. I just said that the surname is found in Malawi but I did not say that he comes from Malawi but his surname is Malawian. If you think I am lying, I have got proof that this surname comes from Malawi.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Bonda, please withdraw that statement.

HON. BONDA: I did not say so Mr. Speaker Sir, but if it is a matter of…

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Please withdraw Hon. Member.

HON. BONDA: I will withdraw Hon. Speaker.

PLANS TO CURB CATTLE RUSTLING IN MHONDORO AND BANKET DISTRICTS

31. HON. MUROMBEDZI asked the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage to state the plans put in place by Government to curb cattle rustling in the Mhondoro and Banket districts, among other areas.

THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Hon. Murombedzi is asking the Minister to state the plans in place by Government to curb cattle rustling in Mhondoro and Banket districts, among others. May I take this opportunity to thank the Hon. Member for the question. The ZRP has come up with robust strategies meant to assist in curbing the scourge of cattle rustling, not only in Mhondoro and Banket but countrywide. Additional resources have been allocated to the anti-stock theft teams who are working in conjunction with the communities to end the menace of cattle rustling.

 In the two districts specifically mentioned by the Hon. Member, there are teams currently on the ground working with village committees and farmers for permanent solutions to protect our national herd. I wish to urge the Hon. Member and others indeed, to advise communities in their constituencies to take more security measures to safeguard their livestock. This among other measures, include branding and forming community policing groups and working closely with the police. I thank you.

*HON. MALINGANISO: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My supplementary question is, is it possible that the Government urges us to go back to our culture that at a village, there should be one homestead so that we discuss the issue of stock theft? 

* HON. KAZEMBE: I want to ask the Hon. Member and I also encourage that you should assist the police officers as members of the community. We should encourage each other to support the police because they are there to enforce the law to arrest those who have committed crimes. To stop crimes, we should lock our doors and even put some screen doors. We should also keep our stock safe.  The police officers have got a duty to do. Where we stay, there is a boom gate which is there and cattle cannot pass through and we can also see them. We encourage people in the neighborhood to assist each other for the prevention of stock theft. Thank you.

         THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: What the Hon. Minister said has nothing to do with his Ministry but you should work with the Ministry of Agriculture to maintain homesteads.

PLANS TO OPEN A FORMAL BORDER POST AT MABEE WHICH LINKS ZIMBABWE AND MOZAMBIQUE

32. HON. HLATYWAYO asked the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage to apprise the House on the plans in place to open a formal border post at Mabee which links Zimbabwe and Mozambique considering that it is a hive of economic activity.

      THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  I want to thank the Hon. Member for asking such an important question in this august House.  If it pleases the House, allow me to note that the opening of a new border is part of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage’s Strategic Plan.  My Ministry, through the Department of Immigration, is championing the National Migration Policy under the Border Governance Thematic Area 4, Key Strategy 6, which envisages the opening of official ports of entry/exit at all strategic places along the border line.

      There are agreements between Mozambique and Zimbabwe that are in place that allow both countries to do feasibility studies targeting the formalisation of identified informal crossing points as guided by data.  This is seen not only as mechanisms of trade enhancement, but a security measure to counter the smuggling of persons and goods across jurisdictions.

      I wish to inform the august House that preliminary assessments conducted in the Mabee area reflected a hive of activity warranting a feasibility study.  The borderline communities in the area inter-marry, fall under the same chiefs as well as land across the border line.  As an established official crossing point, it requires bilateral consultations, and joint feasibility assessment with Mozambique is inevitable for Mabee crossing point.  The Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, through diplomatic channel, will initiate consultation with their Mozambican counterparts.

     I would like to take this opportunity to also indicate that the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage has taken note of other informal crossing points on the eastern border region such as Nyanga, Nyamaropa, Nyafaro, Mutasa, Katiyo, Chinaka, Mutare, Imbeza, Border Streams, Burma Valley, Chimanimani, Vumba, Chikukwa, Southdown, Tamandayi, Zamchiya, Chambuta and Mahenye.  All these, together with the specific one that the Hon Member is asking, are going through the same process in ensuring that they become formalised.  However, it is important to note that we have Forbes Border Post and Mount Selinda Border Post as our formal crossing points in the Eastern region, from an immigration perspective.  I thank you.

     <HON. C. HLATYWAYO: Thank you Hon. Minister for your response.  You talked of feasibility study to upgrade the borders.  Do you have plans in relation to this border?  I am asking with regard to timeframe?  I think that it is a pertinent question for us to know that surely you have commenced work on what you mentioned.  The way you spoke was just general to say there is something that you are working on. We wanted to know if you have a programme as a Government. We want to know what exactly is happening and when are you going to implement this, when is this going to start?

      <HON. KAZEMBE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  We have already started the work.   The moment we saw this question, we listed all border posts which we anticipate can be upgraded to better border posts.  The feasibility study has already started.  What has not started, we will start after we have ascertained that it is possible, then we will engage our counterparts, the Mozambicans.  The border consists of two countries.  It might be that we need to upgrade the border but if our counterparts are not willing to upgrade it, we cannot do it against their will.

      *HON. NYABANI: Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir.  I want to thank Hon. Kazembe for clarity.  I want to look at the border areas where there were mines during the struggle.  I wanted to know regarding the Mozambique-Zimbabwe Border, are there risks of such mines being along the border line area or within the two countries?  We are told that in border lines where there were mines, that is where the Zimbabwean border ends…

      THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Nyabani, is this question related in any way to the question that was asked?  Is it a supplementary question or it is a new question?

      HON. NYABANI: It is related – the question is, where you are, what is your take on mines?

     *HON. KAZEMBE: I want to thank Hon. Nyabani for that question, but this is a question which should be put to the Ministry of Defence.  It does not fall under my Ministry.  I will take it to the Minister of Defence.  I thank you.

      *HON. NYABANI: The clarification that I wanted to say is that where there were landmines along the border, is this the exact border or not or may be the border is after the landmines?  The question is the demarcation of the border.

         THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: The Hon. Minister said that if it is anything to do with landmines, then he will take the question to the Minister of Defence.

      Hon. Hamauswa having stood to debate before he was recognised.

     THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Hamauswa, you know the rules of this House.  You do not just stand up and debate without my permission, but anyway go ahead.

       *HON. HAMAUSWA: Please forgive me Hon. Speaker.  I wanted to request that I be recognised.  I thought that it was not going to be fair to Hon. Nyabani because it is not about mining.  The question is looking at Government policy regarding new border demarcations.  The question is, was there a mistake in terms of demarcating the Zimbabwean-Mozambican Border?  Was the demarcation at the correct point or not?  The Ministry of Home Affairs, as a Ministry, do they have a plan regarding the demarcations so that what belongs to Zimbabwe is not taken by some other country or a neighbouring country?  The question is to do with policy and re-demarcating of border.  The Hon. Minister said that we started a feasibility study and the studies are not yet complete.  After the studies have been done, then they are going to engage other countries…

       THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: So, Hon. Member, you want him to respond to all that, but he informed the House that the study is ongoing.  When the research has been done, the nation will be informed.  Thank you.

          +HON. BONDA: What measures is Government putting in place so that it becomes easier for people to pass through the border post from Zimbabwe to other neighbouring countries in particular Zimbabwe-Botswana border.  What measures is the Ministry taking so that people including Kalanga families who stay at the border post find it easy for them to pass through.

         THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE):  I will try to answer the question and I hope I will be on the right track.  I think the Hon. Member is asking about those people who live by the border and what is the Ministry doing to facilitate their movement across.  Some of them are families around the border, in particular Zimbabwe-Botswana border.  There are discussions around the possibility of having an identification cards (IDs) as a means to be able to move from one side of the border to the other.  Those discussions are still in progress.  Officers from our Immigration Department are speaking with their counterparts in Botswana but our Heads of State have agreed in principle that we should go towards that.  We should look at the possibilities of people just using their ordinary identification cards (IDs), if you present your ID at the boarder you just go across but discussions are still in progress.  I thank you.

STATUS OF STAFF VACANCIES AND PLANS TO RESOLVE CHALLENGES AT PUMULA DISTRICT REGISTRY OFFICES

33. HON. MAHLANGU asked the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage to inform the House on the status of staff vacancies at Pumula District Registry offices in Bulawayo Ward 17 and to state how Government plans to resolve the challenges encountered.

         THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Mr. Speaker, Sir, my sincere apologies, I did not bring a prepared response.  I only saw this question when I got here and it is so specific that I would ask for the Hon. Member’s indulgence to prepare a comprehensive answer and bring it next week or tomorrow. 

         THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: That is okay Hon. Minister.  Hon. Members, with your indulgence, I will move to Question No. 60 up to 66 because the Local Government Minister is going to the same meeting with the Minister of Home Affairs. 

PROGRESS TOWARDS COMPENSATING PFUGARI PRIVATE DEVELOPER

60. HON. MANANZVA asked the Minister of Local Government and Public Works to provide an update on progress made towards compensating Pfugari Private Developer for the land allocated to residents in Whitecliff.

         THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. GARWE):  Mr. Speaker Sir, the Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities and that of Local Government and Public Works are working on a model to ensure that beneficiaries will pay for the land to Mr. Pfugari but through an escrow account or through an allocation account.  Beneficiaries will pay for the land and also pay for developments in terms of the onsite infrastructure.  The onsite infrastructure will be done by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works. 

         *HON. MANANZVA:  My supplementary question is that whilst this is being done, are there any negotiations between Government and Mr. Pfugari because we are seeing Pfugari bringing eviction orders to residents.

         *HON. GARWE:  I want to thank the Hon. Member for that question.  Indeed, there are talks that are happening.  If they are bringing eviction papers, please bring those papers to our offices so that we engage them.  Government does not have other places where they can give Mr. Pfugari as compensation.  Those who have stands there would pay for land and services, for land it will go to Pfugari but for development, it will go to Local Government.  Please bring those letters so that we can do the engagements.

         *HON. HAMAUSWA:  After having seen most of residents of that area who are 5 000 plus, Mr. Pfugari gave an offer that those who live in that area pay around five dollars per square metre or less than five dollars per square metre and the money is not much.  The issue lies with Government.  We want to know whether Government is dragging its feet or not regarding the plans that were tabled by Pfugari.  He said that since Government cannot afford to pay Mr. Pfugari, the residents should then contribute something augmenting what Government could be doing or paying since Government cannot pay or whether Government is saying it will pay I do not know.

         *THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  What is your question Hon. Hamauswa?

         *HON. HAMAUSWA:  The question is that people are saying that we were not allowed to pay the monies that Mr. Pfugari was requesting. 

         *HON. GARWE: I want to warn the Hon. Member that this country has laws, you do not just come up with plans but you follow the laws of the land.  We engaged Mr. Pfugari that the land could be yours but the people belong to Government.  We must engage and then Government will do a regularisation exercise and people will pay the cost of land into an escrow account or special purpose account, then Mr. Pfugari at the end of the month would get a ratio for their land.  As Government, we do not look at some issues which are done illegally but we follow the laws.  I thank you.

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION OF SCHOOLS, CLINICS AND A POLICE POST BY J. S. OMAR PVT DEVELOPER IN WHITECLIFFE

61. 61. HON. MANANZVA asked the Minister of Local Government and Public Works on: a) Measures being taken against J. S. Omar Private Developer to ensure that there is proper infrastructure development for more than 4000 houses in Granary, Zvimba East Constituency, Ward 29 and 9, such as access roads and sewer reticulation; and b) Measures being taken to ensure that there is construction of schools, clinics and a police post in the same area.

THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS: (HON. GARWE): I would like to thank the Hon. Member for asking the question and I wish to advise that to ensure that J. S. OMAR Investment Development meet the necessary standards, Zvimba Rural District Council is taking the following measures.

Issuing the development permit for water and sewer reticulation from stands 3567 to 3596, 4711 to 4808, 4811 to 4826, 4862 to 4873, 6183 to 6774, 6822 to 6829 and 6867 to 6868 and Henry Township to comply with base standards. Council also issued a development permit for its major 20m and 15m road in 2022.

         Conducting an onsite infrastructure development inspection to monitor progress of the construction of the sewer treatment plant and portion of the 20m and 15m road which has development permits.  The sewer plant is about 85% complete and we will address sanitation for about 2 000 stands.

         Requiring submission of detailed infrastructure plans and timelines.  Zvimba RDC also reminded them of their expired development permits on 3 February 2023. Collaborating with relevant authorities to ensure adherence to guidelines as stated by EMA and considering revocation of Development permits if non-compliance persists.

There are measures being taken to ensure that there is construction of schools, clinics and Police post in the same area. Zvimba Rural District Council recently secured a school site from the developer as part of their endowment.  The community is ready to commence construction on the site.  In public interest developers should however be mandated as a permit condition to see the additional land to the one required for endowment purposes for public, government or local authority use as and when required.  Mr. Speaker Sir, I visited this site last week and I saw a school that was to be built by the developer which is on site.  So that is in addition to the school that the RDC is going to build. I thank you.

         *HON. MANANZVA: Thank you Hon. Minister.  My supplementary question is that when you look at the development you are talking about, where people are given accommodation, it has been more than fifteen years without any servicing of roads and without water. So, the developments permits which are expiring, do these permits have conditions or not because some houses were built without council approval.  So, the question is do these development permits have timelines and conditions?   I thank you.

THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS: (HON. GARWE): Thank you Hon. Speaker and I thank Hon. Mananzva for that question.  There is no development permit without development conditions. The conditions on site services are like roads, water reticulation and sewage disposal.  There are timelines that we know where we are coming from but because of the sanctions that we are facing that were slapped on us by the Western Countries, our money was weakened. Currency was weakened, and this affected even the performance of developers.  However, the developers are on site and there is technology that the developer is using.  There is a sewer plant where the bio- digesters, there are roads that are being serviced.  The 30m road and the 50m road and delays came because of inflation not because there were no conditions for developers.                 

                  CONSTRUCTION OF MAHWAU CLINIC

64. HON. MUROMBEDZI asked the Minister of Local Government and Public Works to explain to the House why Hurungwe Rural District council has taken a long time to complete the construction of Mahwau Clinic under Chief Chundu’s jurisdiction.

THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS: (HON. GARWE:  Mr. Speaker Sir, Mahwau Clinic was funded by the Local Authority’s Partner, Carbon Green. The project was suspended in July 2023, due to Zimbabwe Anti- Corruption Commission investigations. Council wrote to ZACC seeking permission to resume the clinic works, which permission was granted on condition that Council should maintain a separate record of materials.

Council held a meeting with Carbon Green to deliberate on the assumption of works. Quotations for materials required to complete the outstanding works were sourced and submitted to Carbon Green. Council is now waiting for disbursement of funds by the Partner to complete the outstanding works.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Now we revert to the questions that we have skipped primarily to allow the Ministers to leave.

PROVISION OF PIPED WATER TO COMMUNITIES ALONG ZAMBEZI RIVER

 

 

3. HON. BONDA asked the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Resettlement, to inform the House what plans are in place regarding the provision of piped water supplies to communities along the Zambezi River, particularly schools and households, in Simangani Ward in Hwange District.

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. HARITATOS):  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir and thank you to the Hon. Member for the question. The Zimbabwe National Water Authority is currently implementing a PSIP funded called Rural Water Supply Development. This programme entails resuscitating of dormer village water supply systems through former village water supply schemes and developing new rural water supply systems through identifying suitable water resources and constructing water treatment plants, storage reservoirs and reticulation systems. This programme has seen resuscitating of water supply schemes such as Masase in Mashonaland East Province (Chivhu) and construction of completely new water supply stations like Bomba Business center in Midlands Province (Gokwe South District). The Simangani Community together with communities along the Zambezi River will benefit from this program and the water source will be the Zambezi River. Supplying clean water to rural communities is part of Vision 2030.

HON. BONDA: My supplementary is actually going to be on the sense that the Simangani Village is where the source of water that goes to ZESA power station is being drawn.  Along that water power line we find that the water has actually been extended to some villages that are almost close to 30 to 40km being supplied by ZINWA.  So, my question was, why cannot the people, whilst we are considering devolution that it is a mineral close to them and at the source  being tapped, be supplied with even raw water? That area is so dry and there is no water but other people are benefiting from ZINWA, through that pipeline as far as 30 to 40km away.

HON. HARITATOS:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir and thank you to the Hon. Member for the supplementary.  I must say I am a bit taken back by that.  I have not visited personally but it boggles my mind why exactly this community is not getting the water that it deserves.  The idea is obviously, if one community has better source than the other, is to conveyance the water from one to the other but the community of which the water is coming from cannot be left without.  I think that is a great injustice and you have the re- assurance Hon. Member, through you Mr. Speaker Sir, so that we look into this.  We cannot rectify that.  Definitely the community must benefit if the water is coming from there but the bare minimum, it must benefit. Thank you Mr. Speaker.

         THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Section 68 (8) of the Standing Orders reads; “ if a Member does not distinguish his or her question by an asterisk or if he/she is not present to ask it or if it is not reached by 4.45p.m., the Minister to whom it is addressed must cause an answer to be printed in the official report unless the Member has, before 4.45 p.m., signified his or her desire to postpone the question” This is to the Ministers that are present. If the time lapses before you answer the question, you can submit your written responses unless the Members who asked the questions had signified that they want to postpone or defer them until you can answer them.

WRITTEN SUBMISSION TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE

HARNESSING OF PIPED WATER FROM LAKE KARIBA TO RURAL NYAMINYAMI

      4.HON. MUROMBEDZI asked the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development to inform the House on the Ministry’s plans regarding the harnessing of piped fresh water from Lanake Kariba to Rural Nyaminyami and in particular Negande.

    THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA):  Rural Nyaminyami and the Negande Community will also benefit from the same program stated in the response to question 3.

 

COMPLETION OF GWAYI- SHANGANI DAM IN MATEBELELAND NORTH

6. HON. MUROMBEDZI asked the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development what the Ministry’s position is regarding the completion of the Gwayi-Shangani in Matabeleland North and to apprise the House when piped water will be provided to the City of Bulawayo.

THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA):  The Gwayi-Shangani Dam is at 70.2% complete and requires an investment of USD4 million every  month in order to meet the target completion date of December 2024 otherwise the completion date will shift to 2025 subject to availability of funding.

COMMENCEMENT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL BOREHOLE DRILLING SCHEME IN GWANDA NORTH

7. HON. D. NKALA asked the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development to inform the House when the Presidential Borehole Drilling Scheme will commence in Gwanda North, in view of the persistent drought.

           THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA):  The rural development programme is still commencing and Gwanda District in whole is a beneficiary of the programme.  Borehole drilling programme is focusing on the most critical areas identified by our extension officers, there are limited drilling rigs as the whole Province only has two drilling rigs.  As such, Gwanda North has one borehole which has been drilled to date whilst the whole Province has 225 boreholes drilled to date.  Bulilima and Beitbridge based on the severity of the drought situation have the highest number (65 and 18 respectively) of boreholes drilled to date.

PLANS REGARDING THE NEW RESETTLEMENT AT ENYANDENI RESETTLEMENT AREA, GWANDA NORTH

8. HON. D. NKALA asked the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development to inform the House Government’s plans regarding the new resettlement that has mushroomed at Enyandeni Resettlement area of Gwanda North, an area renowned for pastoral grazing of livestock.

           THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA):  Enyandeni Resettlement issue is being addressed.  To date, collaborations with Zimbabwe Republic Police has been done to address the issues of land barons.  However, evictions require more support through due process where the Lands Commission and other relevant stakeholders are required to collectively work together.  Since the blitz which targeted the land barons in communal areas has been stopped, there has been a rampant increase in cases.

MEASURES TO SUPPORT THE CHILONGA COMMUNITY RELOCATION

10. HON. MAKUMIRE: asked the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development to inform the House the measures being taken by the Government to support the Chilonga community in their current settlement as an alternative to relocating them for Lucerne cultivation.

THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA): The proposed farm development plan shows that instead of relocation, there will be reorganisation.  The existing homestead will be incorporated in the new scheme and the current Chilonga irrigation will be expanded to cater for some of the villagers whose fields are going to be affected by the Lucerne project.  A completely new irrigation block is also going to be developed along Runde River on the Eastern side of the proposed project.  This again will be for the villagers affected by the Lucerne project.  The villagers will be free to grow crops of their choice or to grow Lucerne as out-growers.  In short, there are plans for coexistence and not relocation of the Chilonga community.

PAYMENT OF COTTON FARMERS FOR THE 2022-2023 SEASON

 

11. HON. HLATYWAYO asked the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, to inform the House when the cotton farmers will be fully paid for their 2022-2023 cotton deliveries to COTTCO.

THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA): Cottco is being mindful of the indebtedness to the farmers and engagements with various financiers are underway for facilities to liquidate the outstanding balances.

Table 1: Outstanding amounts 2022/23 according to COTTCO

TOTAL AMOUNT OWING		AMOUNT PAID		AMOUNT OWING
USD	ZIG	USD	ZIG	USD	ZIG
23,722,509	4,186,325	20,917,906	1,374,156	2,804,603	42,378,867

 

To date, USD 20 917 906 has been paid against a target of USD 23 722 509, hence there is an outstanding debt amounting to USD 2 804 603.  Continuous lobbying with financiers will continue to ensure the debt is cleared so as to allow the farmers to have sufficient revenue required for preparations for the upcoming season.

PLANS TO SUPPORT CULTIVATION OF LUCERNE GRASS

12. HON. MOYO asked the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development to inform the House whether the Ministry has plans in place to support the cultivation of lucerne grass to supplement livestock feed in rural communities, considering that most grazing land is being lost to rural development.

THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA):  Under the presidential forage legumes, the Ministry was focusing on velvet beans, lablab and sun hemp. However, Lucerne as one of the favourable grass species has been to the basket of inputs for the current season.  Lucerne is more effective under irrigation and controlled grazing whilst legumes are adaptive and resilient to drought conditions.  Braciaria, Buffalo and Katombora Rodes in addition to Lucerne are some of the pasture grasses being distributed to farmers for production of pasture feed.  Since the commencement of the Presidential Pasture Scheme, 515 000 farmers have been targeted, and these have to date received the pasture seed.  An additional 300 000 farmers have been added to initial lot and distribution is expected to commence next season, procurement process for the pasture seeds are underway.

COMMENCEMEMNT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL BOREHOLE SCHEME AND LIVESTOCK MITIGATION PROGRAMME FOR GOKWE KABUYUNI CONSTITUENCY

13. HON. S. TSHUMA asked the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development to explain to the House the following:
14. When the livestock mitigation programme will come to the dry wards of Gokwe Kabuyuni Constituency considering that people have started losing their livestock due to drought.
15. When the Ministry is going to rehabilitate the Chitekete Dam wall, as it is the only source of water for livestock and humans living within a radius of 20km of the dam and also considering that this has to be done before the rain season starts.
16. When the presidential borehole scheme is going to benefit the people of Gokwe Kabuyuni Constituency, taking into cognisant that the area is one of the driest parts of the province.

THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA): It is important to note that generally, the El Nino induced drought had drastically affected both livestock and crop production in Zimbabwe. Government continue to implement drought mitigation efforts across all the rural provinces. The water situation is deteriorating with rivers and streams having dried up, earth dams are becoming muddy and cattle are succumbing to drought related deaths due to lack of water and grazing. According to reports from provinces, water availability and grazing condition continue to deteriorate on a daily basis. This is putting pressure on the limited resources in Natural Regions IV and V. A total of 7404 cattle deaths have now been reported in Matabeleland South, Matabeleland North, Midlands and Masvingo Provinces. Water supply is critically required in the provinces.

         In Midlands Province, 416 cattle deaths have been recorded with Mberengwa being the hardest hit district. Efforts to drill boreholes and provide feed are underway with 255 metric tonnes of feed delivered to affected districts. The province now has 66% of the wards being distressed and Mberengwa and Kwekwe are critically in need of boreholes.

         It is important to highlight that Gokwe Kabuyuni Constituency is one of the beneficiaries of the Presidential Rural Development Programme where the borehole drilling programme is being implemented. A total of 10 boreholes have been drilled in the constituency covering areas such as Mandaza, Zamba, Musindo Villages, Sikiti Primary School et cetera. These boreholes have become part of ward-based livestock drought mitigation centres being established countrywide starting with drier parts of the country. Some 1 620 ward-based livestock drought mitigation centres have been identified and construction of water troughs is underway.

         In terms of stock feed, the Ministry secured 1.5 million bales from Den Dairy in Midlands and logistical arrangements are being organised to transport bales to Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South and parts of Midlands. These bales are adding to the 2.2 million bales already secured through the hay bailing programme. Efforts are also underway to lobby private sector for production of more hay bales for distribution to the vulnerable drier parts of the country.

2030. b) Government through the Zimbabwe National Water Authority is constructing 15 high impactful dams across the country in line with the Second Republic’s vision to transform Zimbabwe into an upper middle society by 2030. Amongst the impactful dam construction projects include Gwayi Shangani and Kunzvi Dams, which are going to curb perennial water challenges for domestic use in Bulawayo and Harare Metropolitan Provinces respectively. In the case of Chitekete dam wall, an assessment was done in July 2024 and an assessment report was paving way for the commencement of the works. Once resources are available rehabilitation works will commence in no time.
2031. c) Government is leaving no one and no place behind under the Second Republic. Government’s thrust is to make sure that no one, no place, no village is left behind. As such, under the Rural Development Programme, Government is targeting to drill 35 000 boreholes across rural provinces.

         Some 23 818 boreholes have been drilled to date by ZINWA, RIDA and development partners. Gokwe Kabuyuni is amongst the beneficiaries of the Presidential Borehole Scheme. As I initially indicated, 10 boreholes have been drilled in Mandaza Village, Zamba Village, Musindo Village, Sikiti Primary School, Chireya Mission, Chemhondoro Mission to mention but a few. The programme is currently targeting such drier parts of the country as there has been realisation that ward based livestock drought mitigation centres require boreholes and watering points.

STATISTICS OF REGISTERED BOREHOLES AND FUNDS COLECTED BY ZINWA IN BULAWAYO PROVINCE

14. HON BAJILA asked the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development to inform the House whether the Ministry has statistics relating to registered boreholes in Bulawayo Province and also funds collected by ZINWA from boreholes registration in Bulawayo Province and to further state how these funds are being utilised.

THE MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, WATER AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. DR. MASUKA): It is important to note that registration of boreholes is not under the purview of ZINWA. Registration of boreholes is the jurisdiction of the sub catchment councils. In Zimbabwe, water is managed by either ZINWA or sub catchment councils as per ZINWA ACT Chapter 20:25. ZINWA manages water from state dams or state boreholes and sub catchment councils manages water and boreholes that are in private hands.

In the case of Bulawayo that is the responsibility of Upper Gwayi sub catchment council. To date Upper Gwayi Shangani sub catchment council identified 2336 boreholes in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province and 467 boreholes have been registered. Registration of boreholes helps catchment councils to allocate permits. Funds raised from registration of boreholes are used for day to day operations of the sub catchment council.

PLANS REGARDING THE RE-OPENING OF THE POLICE BASE AT CHIREDZI TOWN OLD BUS TERMINUS

30. HON. MAKUMIRE asked the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage to inform the House what the Government's plans are regarding the reopening of the police base at the old bus terminus in Chiredzi Town and also when police bases will be established in the new suburbs.

    THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Allow me to thank the Hon. Member for this important question. May it please the Hon. Member and indeed this august House, to note that plans are afoot to establish a new police station to cover Chiredzi urban, including the old bus terminus in lieu of establishing a base. In the interim, the old bus terminus is being extensively covered by deployments done by ZRP Chiredzi. Once the new police station has been set up, the old station will thus, cater only for the rural areas of Chiredzi. This arrangement as for the new suburbs in Chiredzi, a police base known as Lioness Base was established to cater for the policing needs of those in the new suburbs. This was done to ensure that policing services are brought closer to the people in the new suburbs. Thank you.   

CONSTRUCTION OF CLASSROOM BLOCKS FOR SCHOOLS IN MKOBA SOUTH CONSTITUENCY

52. HON. KUKA: asked the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education to inform the House the plans that have been put in place to construct classroom blocks in schools with high student enrolment such as in Budiriro and Mawunga in Mkoba South Constituency to avoid lessons being conducted in the open.

THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. T. MOYO): Thank you Hon. Kuka for asking this very important question about the construction of more educational infrastructure in schools.  The Construction of schools or classroom blocks is a joint activity where both Government and School Development Committees (SDCs) have a part to play.  The Central Government, through Treasury avails resources to construct schools and in some instances to renovate or build new classroom blocks.

As you pointed out, schools such as Budiriro and Mawunga in your constituency have had increased enrolment due to population growth and rural-urban migration. Admittedly, this is the trend in the majority of our urban schools.  The Ministry is mobilising resources through our Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) in order to address infrastructure development in schools.  However, as a Ministry, we have so many schools in that category, which means that we have many competing priorities within the sector.

As an alternative to our PISP, the Government has also authorised schools to collect building levies so that they can attend to their infrastructural development needs.  Where there is need for additional classrooms blocks, schools are therefore urged to take advantage of this levy to augment Government efforts in providing the necessary school infrastructure.  However, the Ministry will continue to mobilise resources to ensure that learners have adequate and appropriate decent learning spaces.

PROGRESS MADE TOWARDS DISTRIBUTION OF NDAU TEXTBOOKS TO ALL SCHOOLS IN CHIPINGE

53. HON. HLATYWAYO asked the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education to apprise the House on:
54. The progress made towards the distribution of Ndau textbooks to all schools in Chipinge as a way of facilitating the learning of their indigenous language and;
55. Measures taken by the Ministry to ensure that examination centres are provided for Mahachi satellite primary school.

THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. T. MOYO): Thank you very much, Honourable Hlatywayo, for asking this important question.

• According to our Constitution, Ndau is one of the 16 officially recognised indigenous languages which the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is mandated to offer teaching and learning services in both primary and secondary schools where the language is widely spoken.

So far, the Ministry has managed to acquire textbooks that are usable in primary and secondary schools. As a pilot project, 45 schools have been identified for the distribution of Ndau textbooks in Chipinge District. As we speak, the District Schools Inspector is coordinating the fair distribution of textbooks in prioritised schools. The Ministry plans to ensure that Ndau textbooks are available to schools where the language is spoken throughout Zimbabwe.

We also encourage schools’ administration to use their initiatives in acquiring approved Ndau textbooks from book shops. This will afford them opportunity to complement government efforts in ensuring the teaching of indigenous languages as part of our Heritage Based Curriculum.

• The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education appreciates the important question you have raised concerning issuing examination centre status to Mahachi Satellite Primary School. The issue of granting schools examination centre status depends on their registration and the necessary infrastructure.

As we speak, the Ministry is in the process of registering all satellite schools to get examination centre status, In the second quarter, more than 230 satellite schools were registered by the Ministry which now enables them to get the substantive leadership to spearhead school development.

         A school should be registered first in order to enable it to run its own examination processes. If the school is not yet registered, its examination procedures continue to be managed from the established parent school. Registration is done when the responsible authority applies to the Ministry after satisfying basic conditions. Such conditions are determined by factors such as the population catchment, enrolment statistics and the availability of key amenities like sanitation and water. Mahachi Primary School needs to satisfy registration processes first before being granted examination centre status.

         The second factor has to do with building infrastructure that satisfies security of examination material as required by the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (ZIMSEC). The school needs to construct a Strong Room for storage of examination papers and equipment in order to avoid leakages. As a satellite school, responsible authorities at Mahachi Primary School need to satisfy these requirements.

         Every year, through the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP), the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education identifies areas in which urgent construction of school infrastructure is prioritised. The Ministry is overwhelmed by the number of communities requiring attention, hence its encouragement for local responsible authorities to support government with their own initiatives as described above.

POLICY REGARDING THE TEACHING OF HOME ECONOMICS

 

54. HON. V. MOYO asked the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education to inform the House whether there is a policy in place to encourage the teaching of Home Economics starting at infancy level in schools as a way of ensuring development of skills from the primary education level.

THE MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (HON. T. MOYO):  The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has recently viewed the curriculum framework for both primary and secondary pupils.  The review was based on the views of the outreach that was conducted in 2022 following the expiry of what was called the Curriculum Framework for Primary and Secondary Education 2015 – 2022.  Different views were consolidated to come up with a cluster of learning areas.  A learning area refers to a broad discipline that is learnt in an educational context such as a school or class.  It is a broad term that encompasses various subject matter, topics and skills, values, attitudes and dispositions that are learnt to help learners acquire knowledge, understanding and proficiency.

For now, at Infant Level, the following are the learning area clusters. 

-Indigenous Language

-English Language

-Mathematics

-Science and Technology

-Physical Education and Arts

-Social Sciences

         The Home Economics falls under a cluster of the social sciences.  So, the Ministry has not neglected the teaching of the Home Economics.  However, because of the number of the teaching areas that are currently on the offer, we cannot have Home Economics as a stand-alone subject at infant level.  Like any other subject at the infant level, it is under a cluster of learning areas.

PLANS TO INSTALL BOOSTERS, RADIO AND TELEVISION TRANSMITTERS IN BINGA SOUTH

59. HON. CUMANZALA: asked the Minister of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services to apprise the House on the plans by the Ministry to install relevant connectivity boosters including network, radio and television transmitters in Binga South Constituency, particularly in Pashu, Siadindi, Sinamagonde, Chibila, Mabobolo, and Chinonge wards to enable people to access information and create an informed, educated, and a knowledgeable society.

THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY, POSTAL AND COURIER SERVICES (HON. MAVETERA):  Radio and television transmitters and allied networks are under the purview of the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services.

Binga South Mobile Network Coverage

Area	Solution
Pashu	·       Currently covered by existing base station Pashu (2G/3G), planned for upgrade to 4G in 2025
Siadindi	·       Partly covered by existing base stations Lusulu (2G/3G) and Kariyangwe (2G/3G/4G), site surveys for additional coverage planned for 2025
Sinamagonde	·       Area is covered by existing base station Lusulu (2G/3G), planned for upgrade to 4G in 2025
Chibila	·       Partly covered by existing base station Lusulu (2G/3G), planned for upgrade to 4G in 2025
Mabobolo	·       Partly covered by existing base stations Pashu and Nachuluwe (2G/3G), planned for upgrade to 4G in 2025.  Additional coverage surveys to be carried out in the area in 2025
Chinonge	·       Partly covered by existing base stations Mzola (2G/3G/4G) and Lusulu (2G/3G), additional coverage planned for 2025

 

 

CRITERIA ON THE ALLOCATION OF ZUPCO BUSES

65. HON. V. MOYO asked the Minister of Local Government and Public Works to inform the House on the criteria used to allocate ZUPCO buses that ply Milonga Jambezi and Ndlovu routes.

         THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. GARWE):  Mr. Speaker Sir, following a directive and communique from the Chief Secretary that all State Owned Enterprises including ZUPCO now report to Mutapa Investment for their operations and that all line Ministries should desist from interfering with operations of such companies/organisations.

         The Ministry has since desisted from running the operations of ZUPCO.  As such the question should be directed to Mutapa Investment for they are the ones accountable for the opeations of all State Owned Enterprises under Mutapa Investments.

OUTSTANDING ISSUES ON THE DISPUTED MVUTHU CHIEFTAINSHIP

66. HON. V. MOYO asked the Minister of Local Government and Public Works to inform the House on outstanding issues regarding the disputed Mvuthu chieftainship wherein someone has been acting in that capacity for a period of over 10 years despite the court ruling on that matter.

         THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS (HON. GARWE):  Mr. Speaker Sir, I would like to inform the august House that substantive Chief Mvuthu, born Nyangayesizwe Mlotswa died on 10^th March 2014.  He was survived by three daughters and had no male descendant.  As is custom, after the mourning period for the late Chief was over, the Matabeleland North Provincial Assembly and the Mvuthu clan commenced the selection process of a new chief.  A candidate was chosen observing the Mvuthu succession custom.  Naturally, as per the Mvuthu tradition succession, which is primogeniture, the chieftainship was supposed to be moved to the late chief’s eldest son.  However, the late Chief did not have any male children and therefore the Mvuthu clan nominated his cousin as the successor.  This did not go down well with the late Chief’s eldest daughter, Silibaziso who took the matter to the High Court under case HC 3449/15.  Aggrieved by the High Court’s decision, the late Chief’s daughter appealed to the Supreme Court which held that the summons under case No HC 3449/15 failed to properly bring out the constitutional issue and advised that a constitutional application should be properly filed to determine the constitutionality of the Nguni Custom which exclude women from ascending the Chieftanship throne.  The late Chief’s daughter then filed an application with the Constitutional Court.  The Constitutional court nullified the nomination of an uncle by the Mvuthu family on 21 December 2014.  The Constitutional Court then directed that a selection meeting to nominate the substantive Chief Mvuthu be reconvened within 60 days in accordance with the Constitution and the Traditional Leaders Act (Chpt 29:17).

         The Matabeleland North Provincial Assembly debated the matter at its full meeting held on 1^st April 2022.  There were mixed reactions.  The matter was referred to the National Council of Chiefs and was deliberated on at its meeting held on 16^th October 2022 in Bulawayo.  The National Council on Chiefs indicated that they were at pains recommending the appointment of a chief contrary to the succession tradition of the clan.  They however, noted the need to resolve the conflict between the Constitutional provisions on Gender (Chapter 4) and appointment of traditional leaders Chapter 15.  The Attorney General’s office has since advised that the matter should now be treated as a dispute and should be referred back to the Provincial Assembly which will then make a recommendation to His Excellency.  We now await the tabling of the issue in the Provincial Assembly.

STATUS OF THE ARTS SECTOR

75. D MOYO asked the Minister of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture to inform the House on the status of the Arts Sector in the country and to further state Government plans to improve this sector.

         THE MINISTER OF SPORT, RECREATION, ARTS AND CULTURE (HON.  COVENTRY):   The Ministry in the area of Arts works through two agencies, the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) and the National Gallery of Zimbabwe (NGZ).  The mandate being to develop and promote the arts sector with the major focus of creating and promoting a friendly and enabling environment for the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) sector in Zimbabwe.

         The NACZ has been championing the professionalisation of the arts sector through conducting regular capacity building workshops as well as encouraging promoters and festivals to do the same.  The objective is to equip artists with business management skills towards a more professionalised arts industry.  At the same time NACZ has been coordinating sector specific strategy policies.  Through the NGZ, as Government, we continue to expose our visual artists at the world’s largest platform such as the Venice Biennale in Italy.  Arguably Zimbabwe has been one of the few African countries to use this platform to bring value and recognition to our artists and their works.  Lessons learnt have helped in the transformation of Tengenenge Community Arts Centre in Guruve which has more than one hundred artists working as a community.

         Meanwhile, the Ministry is concerned with the obtained status of infrastructure meant for the arts in the country.  A National Audit of 200 CCI facilities in the 10 administrative provinces done by the NACZ on the state of community halls meant for theatre and live music performances showed that 75% are in a state of disrepair and out of use.  Stage lighting, ablutions, roof and ceiling damages and the lack of painting maintenance was noted.  City Councils and Local Authorities cite the lack of credit lines to fund refurbishment.

Government’s efforts to improve the sector covers the following strategies:-

1. Establishing of a national association, guilds and unions so that the sector is better structured. Capacity building workshops are being conducted across provinces.
2. Formalisation of the sector in order to create the much-needed employment. This is meant to create a sustainable economy around the arts.
3. Formulation of sector policies together with the stakeholders, to date we have the National Creative and Culture Industries Strategy which gave birth to the sub-sector policies like the Music Strategy and the Film strategy.
4. Development of a Language Policy. After the approval by Cabinet of the principles for a draft languages Bill, the Language Committee has developed a draft National Languages Policy yet to be subjected to stakeholder validation.
5. Treasury has seen the support of the Arts Development Fund (ADF), which for 2024 has been funded to ZiG2,892,009.00. The Fund is meant to cater for administrative grants for associations.  Arts Education Scholarships, commercialised projects as well as mobility support.  In the last few months, the Ministry supported request for travelling (mobility) to Netherlands, South Africa, Indonesia and Comoros.  Supported artists were travelling to attend major arts events, meetings and festivals.
6. The Victoria Falls National Gallery of Zimbabwe will be commissioned soon and one project being done is the Chogam Sculpture Park meant to draw world collectors and buyer to Zimbabwe.
7. Cabinet has approved the setting up of two film studios one in Harare and another in Bulawayo as a start towards marketing Zimbabwe as a prime film destination in Africa as well as creating employment for our youths. I thank you.

PLANS TO UPGRADE SPORTS FACILITIES IN CHITUNGWIZA

76. HON. MAZHINDU asked the Minister of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture to inform the House whether there are any plans by the Ministry to upgrade the following sports facilities in Chitungwiza: a) Chibuku Stadium b) Chitungwiza Tennis Court c) Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex.

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF SPORT, RECREATION, ARTS AND CULTURE (HON. JESAYA): One of the Ministry’ mandates is to ensure that there is access to sport and recreation for all.  This Ministry guided by the National Sport and Recreation Policy, which states that the Ministry shall work closely with the Ministries and Departments in the facilitation of the provision and maintenance of sport and recreation infrastructure across the country.

CHIBUKU STADIUM

The Chibuku Stadium is owned by the Chtungwiza City Council.  The provisions of Urban Councils Act Chapter 29:19 and Rural District Councils Act 29:13, underscores that the Council has the responsibility to adorn and maintain any facility under the control of the Council.  The Ministry however, remains mindful to work closely with Chitungwiza City Council towards the refurbishment of any sporting facilities.

CHITUNGWIZA TENNIS COURT

          Sporting facilities in Zimbabwe are either owned by the Government through its various agencies, for example, schools’ system, teachers’ colleges, technical colleges and Universities, just but to name a few other facilities owned by local authorities.  The Chitungwiza Tennis Court is owned by the Chitungwiza City Council and the Ministry encourages that the Councils works with the Tennis Association of Zimbabwe once the land dispute on the ownership of the facility is resolved by the Council.  The dispute over the ownership of the facility is resolved by the Council.  The dispute over the ownership of the land has delayed initial plans by Tennis Zimbabwe to resuscitate the facility.

         CHITUNGWIZA ACQUATIC COMPLEX

         Guided by the policy and NDS1 strategy, the Ministry is working on upgrading and resuscitation of Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex.  The Ministry has embarked on a strategy to engage suitable investors and sustainable partnerships such as Build-Operate-Own and Transfer (BOOT), Build-Operate and Transfer (BOT), Private- Public-Partnership (PPP) for infrastructure and facilities development across mega sporting facilities.  With this in mind, the Ministry is assessing possibilities of attracting a financier or investors for our sport facilities earmarked for resuscitation.     

         The Ministry envisages a process of completing one mega project then go to the next. With that in mind, the main focus is to complete refurbishment works at National Sport Stadium, then Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex.  Other facilities the Ministry has earmarked for refurbishment are Bulawayo’s Khumalo Hockey Stadium and Harare’s Magamba Hockey Stadium.  

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

MOTION

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

         HON. KAMBUZUMA: I move that all Orders of the Day on today’s Order Paper be stood over until Order of the Day Number 5 has been disposed of.

HON. P. ZHOU: I second.

Motion put and agreed to.

MOTION

REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON DEFENCE, HOME AFFAIRS, SECURITY SERVICES AND WAR VETERANS AFFAIRS ON THE PETITION FROM SAM PARIRENYATWA ON THE EXHUMATION AND DECENT BURIAL OF HEROES AND HEROINES WHO PERISHED DURING THE LIBERATION STRUGGLE

         HON. NGULUVHE: I move the motion standing in my name that

this House considers and adopts the Report of the Portfolio Committee on Defence, Home Affairs, Security Services and War Veterans Affairs on the petition from Sam Parirenyatwa on exhumation and decent reburial of heroes and heroines who perished during the Liberation Struggle.

         HON. S. SAKUPWANYA: I second.

              HON. NGULUVHE:

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Pursuant to Section 149 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, Mr. Sam Parirenyatwa petitioned Parliament of Zimbabwe on the need for government to conduct exhumation and decent reburial of heroes and heroines who perished during the liberation struggle. Accordingly, the petition was referred to the Portfolio Committee on Defence, Home Affairs, Security Services and War Veterans Affairs for consideration. This report, therefore, is a summary of key findings, observations and recommendations on the enquiry into the issues raised in the petition.

  2.0 OBJECTIVE OF THE ENQUIRY WERE:  

• To the position of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage on the issues raised by the petitioner.
• To gather the views of the public in order to respond to the issues raised by the petitioner.
• To come up with recommendations on the issues raised by the petitioner

3.0 METHODOLOGY

The Committee undertook the following activities in gathering evidence; 

3.1 It received oral evidence from the petitioner in order to get first-hand information on specific issues that needed to be addressed;

3.2 It also gathered oral evidence from Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage. 

3.4 It conducted public hearings and toured provincial shrines in Lupane, Bulawayo, Gwanda, Gweru, Masvingo, Mutare, Kadoma, Harare, Marondera and Bindura. 

3.5 It analysed the evidence and came up with this report outlining the findings, observations and recommendations.  

4.0 PETITIONER`S PRAYER

In the petition, Mr. Sam Parirenyatwa petitioned Parliament of Zimbabwe to address the following issues: 

1. Bring the nation/government to account for the deplorable and now inaccessible conditions of the external shrines (mostly in Zambia, Angola and Mozambique) where veterans of the liberation struggle were buried;
2. Ensure the nation/government account for the poor state of our provincial and district heroes’ acres;

• Make inquiries on the magnitude of veterans of the liberation struggle still buried in shallow graves across the length and breadth of Zimbabwe;

1. Bring the authorities to account on why remains of our National Heroes of our First Chimurenga/Umvukelo (Nehanda, Kaguvi, Chingaira and others) are still stashed in

British Museums, 43 years after independence and; 

1. Amend sections 23 and 84 of the Zimbabwean Constitution to accommodate legislative budgetary support for the gallant sons and daughters of the soil who perished during the war of liberation.

5.0 COMMITTEE FINDINGS

5.1 State of external shrines mostly in Zambia, Angola and Mozambique 

The petitioner expressed total displeasure regarding the state of external shrines in Zambia, Angola and Mozambique which he said was in deplorable state. He acknowledged the existence of sections 23 and 84 of the Constitution on issues relating to war veterans. However, he bemoaned that it was silent on the fate of those who perished whilst fighting for the independence and freedom of Zimbabwe. Ambassador R. Faramisi, the Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage admitted that external shrines were indeed not in good state. He highlighted that currently the Department of National Museum and Monuments of Zimbabwe was implementing the Liberation Heritage Management programme. This programme includes rehabilitation and development of shrines at former revolutionary camps in Mozambique and Zambia. He added that the programme was now being extended to countries such as Angola, Tanzania and Botswana.   

The Secretary also indicated that the Department of National Museum and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) was overwhelmed by the task of maintaining the heritage sites mainly due to resource constraints, be it financial, human or material.

         During public hearings, veterans submitted that in Zambia, the land where Freedom Camp is located was sold to an individual and is now a private property. They also added that at Mukushi Camp, remains of the dead bodies were still visible and stockpiled at the grave site. They emphasized the need for the government to ensure that all remains of the veterans outside the country be brought back home for decent reburials.  

4.2 State of Provincial and District Heroes’ Acres 

The petitioner raised concern over the poor state of provincial and district heroes’ acres which do not resemble graves of freedom fighters. Ambassador R. Faranisi, Secretary for Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage agreed that these heroes’ acres should have a distinctive character and be source of inspiration for the present and future generations.  However, the National Museum and Monuments of Zimbabwe was receiving inadequate funds from Treasury, which makes it difficult to discharge such mandate.  Participants at most public hearings confirmed that provincial and district heroes were no longer maintained and were characterised by tall grass, trees and pathways. They indicated that at some provincial sites, families of deceased heroes volunteered to cut grass and trees. They proposed the need for a perimeter fence or durawall around the heroes’ acres to restrict trespassing. The public also proposed the need for security personnel to provide security at sites and also to put ablution facilities and solar powered borehole to ensure that sites have reliable water supply. 

4.3 Exhumation of the remains of the veterans lying in different parts across Zimbabwe for decent reburials 

The petitioner noted with concerned that within Zimbabwe, there were still many fallen heroes in shallow graves in several places and these needed to be exhumed and be accorded decent reburials as per our culture. Ambassador R. Faranisi indicated that some exhumations had already been done at Chibondo in the Mt. Darwin, Butcher Site in Rusape, Herbert Mine/Matumba in Mutasa and Chiwere in Odzi, Mutare among others. However, the exercises had been on a slow pace due to inadequate funding.  

         Participants concurred that the pace of the exhumation and reburial exercise was indeed slower than expected. They felt that government had not done enough in facilitating the exercise. It was also raised that human remains from the liberation war times have remained largely abandoned in unmarked and undocumented mass graves throughout the country for almost four decades.  

         Concern was also raised by members of the public that in instances where exhumation had been done, the remains of the deceased heroes sometimes took more than 10 years in mortuaries waiting for reburial. A good example was the exhumation done at Chibondo in Bindura in 2012, whose remains are still waiting for reburial. In Matabeleland North, The Committee was taken to Jotsholo to witness two mass graves where five bodies were placed in one grave and two bodies in one grave. The public called for government to prioritise and speed up the exhumation and reburial exercise. They emphasised that the exercise should involve surviving war veterans of the liberation struggle for quick identification of both marked and unmarked graves. 

4.4 Remains of the fallen heroes and heroines of First Chimurenga in United Kingdom

(UK) Museum

The petitioner expressed concern that after 43 years of independence, the remains of the First Chimurenga such as Mbuya Nehanda, Sekuru Kaguvi, Chiwashira, Chingaira and others were still stashed in UK museums. He called upon government to expeditiously facilitate their repatriation. In response, Ambassador R. Faranisi submitted that a delegation from NMM visited the UK and confirmed that there were indeed human remains of Zimbabwean origin in the UK at the Natural History Museum and at the Duckworth Laboratory University of Cambridge. The Committee was informed that the Natural History Museum Trustees had met on 15 November 2022 and agreed to return the remains of all eleven (11) individuals to Zimbabwe as requested.  

         Participants at all the public hearing venues agreed that the remains of fallen heroes and heroines of the First Chimurenga should be repatriated and this process was long overdue. They emphasised the need for government to expedite the process. 

4.5 Budgetary allocation for the fallen heroes 

The petitioner made reference to sections 23 and 84 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe (Amendment No.19) 2013 that it only provides budget for vetted and surviving heroes but was silent on the fate of our fallen heroes and heroines. He proposed for an amendment to sections 23 and 84 of the Zimbabwean Constitution to accommodate legislative budgetary support for the gallant sons and daughters of the soil who perished during the war of liberation.  

 

The public cited lack of a dedicated fund for the exhumation and reburial exercise. They therefore proposed for the establishment of a dedicated fund through an appropriate Act of Parliament that should compel Treasury to avail a budget for the exhumations and reburials. 

5.0 COMMITTEE`S OBSERVATIONS

The Committee observed the following: 

5.1 There was a strong desire amongst the veterans of the liberation struggle in ensuring that fallen heroes in shallow graves are exhumed and accorded decent burials

5.2 The provincial and district shrines were indeed not in good state, with most of them engulfed by bushes and tall grasses.

5.3 There was under allocation of budget to the department of National Museum and Monuments of Zimbabwe towards maintenance of shrines both internally and outside the country. 

5.4 There was no uniformity in terms of graves structure and designs at provincial and district heroes’ acres, as some have tombstones whilst others do not have.  This is mainly due to late disbursements of funds towards funeral and purchase of tombstones. As a result, sometimes families of the deceased veterans were forced to make contributions to purchase tombstone for their relatives. 

5.5 The process of repatriating the remains of the national heroes of the First Chimurenga who are still in UK has taken longer than expected.  

5.6 There were no officers employed by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage as care takers to do regular maintenance at all provincial and district heroes acres including at shrines outside the country. 

5.7 Inadequate funding was a major setback in the exhumation and reburial exercise.

 8.0 COMMITTEE`S RECOMMENDATIONS 

The Committee recommends the followings: 

  8.1 That, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage through the Department of National Museum and Monument of Zimbabwe, must speed up the exhumation exercise to ensure decent reburial for the remains and this programme should start latest by 31^st of July 2024. 

8.2 That, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage be allocated adequate funding for the exhumation and reburials during the forthcoming Mid Term Fiscal Review from the 1^st  of August.

8.3 That, Ministry of Veterans of Liberation Struggle Affairs must ensure that whenever a veteran is a declared hero, funeral assistance benefit must be provided within three days of notice of death to allow normal and decent burials of war veterans. 

8.4 That, the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion should consider capacitating the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe to enable it to

recruit adequate personnel to take care of heroes` shrines, both in and outside the country in the 2025 National Budget.

8.5 That, a dedicated fund for the exhumations and reburials, be established through an appropriate Act of Parliament to compel Treasury adequately fund the exercise by 31 December 2025.   

9.0 CONCLUSION

This report highlighted the constitutional provisions on issues raised in the petition, the main findings from the public hearings and the recommendations by the Portfolio Committee. Therefore, there is need for collaborative efforts amongst concerned ministries, government departments, this distinguished Portfolio Committee and living veterans of the liberation struggle to ensure that both local shrines and those abroad are transformed into iconic sites, the exhumation and reburial exercise is expeditiously done and the remains of First Chimurenga fighters are repatriated. All these efforts should be done remembering that the independence that Zimbabwe is enjoying came through a protracted liberation struggle.

      HON. S. SAKUPWANYA: Thank you Mr. Speaker for affording me the opportunity to debate the important report presented by Hon. Nguluvhe pertaining to the exhumation, decent reburial of those who died during the liberation struggle.  Zimbabwe would not be where it is today if not for the gallant sons and daughters of the soil who died for this country, who sacrificed their lives for us to live our own, who lived by the gun so that particularly the youth may never have the sound of it firing.

         The souls we call war veterans were much younger than I am when they decided to go to war and free Zimbabwe.  To put it into perspective, these war veterans knew that going to war meant risking your life.  In fact, the moment they decided to go to fight meant they mentally prepared themselves for death.  Some of these young men and women of the time who died, said their blood will not be in vain.  When they died, they have vowed that their descendants would one of the day rule this country and with their dying breadth accepted death in exchange for a free Zimbabwe, the Canaan they would never see.

         I am ashamed today that those heroes and heroines still wait to see the Zimbabwe they fought for. The bones cry out to touch the soil that they bleed for.  All they wished for has come to fruition yet we have not brought them home to the land that they gave their life for.  So, I vehemently support the point that we must indeed have exhumation and reburials for those outside of Zimbabwe and in particular those in Zimbabwe as well.  Interestingly today, this day, our Government handed over the remains of 16 South African heroes, who died in exile during the Apartheid era. 

         Today, the South African Government took those heroes for decent burial back in South Africa and stated that they will return for the four who remain.  Why, then can we not do the same for our heroes who are in Mozambique, Zambia, Angola, Tanzania, to mention a few.  It is imperative again that I speak on the remains of our heroes and heroines of the First Chimurenga whose remains are still in the hands of our former colonisers, 43 years later.  They still hold on to those skulls of our heroes, to serve what purpose.  As it stands, our heroes and heroines are paraded in museums, all for pleasure and financial gain.  They are used as foils of war in which they teach their children false narratives of them being conquerors and the remains of our heroes acting as proof that they successfully colonised the black men physically, mentally more importantly religiously.  It must be demanded at the earliest opportunity that those remains of our stalwarts be brought back immediately.  It must be demanded that Zimbabwe be compensated by our former colonisers.  We used these precious remains as toll fees in a cabinet.  This great insult to the black people of Zimbabwe should not be taken lightly and reparations must be paid.

         On the state of our district and provincial heroes acres, the call by the petitioner to beseech Government to provide legislative budgetary support is justified as our heroes are not only those who died in the bombings in Chinhoyi, Chomoio and Nyadzonia but it includes those whose blood was spilt outside and within our frontiers.  On this note, it is vital that a proper database of all fallen heroes be created and displayed at various district and provincial heroes’ acres.  In that light, for those named heroes who died in the bushes, Government must extent a gesture to the families of the fallen heroes as per our norms.  Allow me to speak in my mother tongue when I say if one dies, we have to go and pay condolences.  Therefore, we are supposed to do so as a country to our fallen heroes. Even their families will appreciate that my father, mother, brother or sister has been recognised by the Government of Zimbabwe and their blood was not in vain.  We appreciate their family contributions that they made to the freedom of Zimbabwe

  In conclusion, I have no doubt that if these fallen heroes were to see what has become of Zimbabwe, they would be proud to see a Government of the people with people-oriented policies being implemented.  They would be proud to see growth and prosperity on the horizon of this great nation.  They would see ownership of land, mines and ownership of the economy by the descendants of the indigenous Black Zimbabweans.  They would see the death of colonialism in all its forms and determined people who have chartered their path to success as the President always says Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo.  So, let us use our means to dignify the fallen heroes. Let us bring those outside our borders.  Let us take care of those within our borders.  For us to know where we are going, we need to know where we have come from. There is no Zimbabwe without these fallen heroes.  We must name and give decent burials as soon as possible, where possible.  I so submit.  

HON. KAMBUZUMA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.

HON. MUSHORIWA: I second.

Motion put and agreed to.

Debate to resume: Thursday, 26^th September, 2024.

MOTION

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

HON. KAMBUZUMA: I move that we revert to Order of the Day, Number 4.

HON. MUSHORIWA: I second.

Motion put and agreed to.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: I wish to remind the House that we are almost coming to the end of the Session.  Those with motions, please move for adoption of your motions, otherwise they will fall off from the Order Paper.

MOTION

REPORT OF THE ZIMBABWE WOMEN PARLIAMENTARY CAUCUS (ZWPC) 68^TH SESSION OF THE COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN (CSW68)

HON. MUTAMBI: I move the motion standing in my

 Name, that this House considers and adopts the Report of the Zimbabwe Women Parliamentary Caucus (ZWPC) on the 8^th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68).

         HON. O. SIBANDA: I second.     

HON. MUTANDI: Hon Speaker, I rise before the august House to present the report of the 68^th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) which Parliament of Zimbabwe delegation attended from the 11^th – 22^nd of March 2024 in New York City, United States of America. Allow me, Hon. Speaker, to preface my presentation by extending my deep gratitude and heartfelt congratulations to His Excellency, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, on his assumption of the chairmanship of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Doubtless, his leadership and dedication to the progress and unity of Zimbabwe have been exemplary. Under his stewardship, we look forward to witnessing innovative strategies that will harness the potential of our region, promote sustainable economic growth, and enhance the quality of life for all SADC citizens. We thank His Excellency for all the gender sensitive appointments laws and policies he has made. We therefore look forward that as Chairman of SADC, he will continue to improve the number of women in decision making positions and to eradicate Gender-Based Violence in Zimbabwe and the Region. As we embark on this new chapter under his chairmanship, we pledge our unwavering support to deepen and uphold the values of unity, peace, and development that SADC stands for.

• Parliament of Zimbabwe Delegation

Parliament of Zimbabwe delegation, headed by President of the Senate and the patron of Zimbabwe Women Parliamentary Caucus, Hon. M. Chinomona, comprised of Hon. Maybe Mbohwa, the Chairperson of the ZWPC, Hon. Getrude Mutandi, the Chairperson of the Women’s Affairs Committee, Hon. Sisasenkosi Ndebele the Chairperson of the Thematic Committee on Gender and Development, and support staff.

2.0    Themes, Side Events, and Best Practices Shared

2.1    Hon. Speaker, CSW 68 was conducted under the theme: “Accelerating the Achievement of Gender Equality and the Empowerment of all Women and Girls by Addressing Poverty and Strengthening Institutions and Financing with a Gender Perspective.”

2.2    Furthermore, two Zimbabwe side events were conducted, the first one under the theme, “Breaking Barriers and Bridging Gaps, Advancing Gender Equality through Financial Inclusion of Women and Girls” during which Zimbabwe showcased good practices in promoting women and girls’ financial inclusion initiatives. The second event was on the review theme, “Safe Spaces Catalyzing Women and Girls: Social and Economic Security, A Case of Collaboration between Government, Civil Society Organisations and Development Partners in Zimbabwe.” During the event, the good work by the First Lady of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Dr. Auxilia Mnangagwa on creating safe spaces for women and girls in the country was showcased – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.]-

2.3    Broad insights were shared from CSW 68^th session and the said side events around the following areas;

• Socio-economic empowerment policies for HIV prevention and the young women.
• Women’s political participation in equitable and strong public institutions.
• Gender responsive agriculture and climate change.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and gender.
• Harnessing education for women and girls in Africa.
• Financial inclusion through digitalisation.
• Addressing poverty through Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) financing.
• Financing and accountability for gender equality and women's empowerment.

2.4    Mr. Speaker Sir, I am pleased to inform the House that key lessons and best practices with potential to transform national gender laws and policies were drawn from the proceedings and deliberations conducted. 

First, Kenya’s digital skills campaign and model of utilising the digital space demonstrated how women in rural areas could access Women Enterprise Fund (WEF) and Hustler Fund without the need to physically visiting any office.

Second, the creation of safe spaces for women and girls remains critical in curbing Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV). This could be achieved through enacting relevant laws providing for safe spaces for victims of SGBV.

Third, addressing women’s and girls’ poverty through the mobilisation of financial resources from the public, private, and international sources, through institutions such as Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank and Empower Bank was well received.

Fourth, keeping girls in schools, in line with AU mantra, “Africa Educate Her” was found as an effective way of protecting them from HIV, child marriage and other harmful social practices.

Fifth, integrating gender considerations into the Public Expenditure or Gender Budgeting Frameworks, was identified as effective in fostering women participation in the budget process, improve service delivery, social protection financing systems and preventing corruption.

Sixth, affirmative action and legislated quota system are effective in increasing the number of women elected into offices as illustrated by the Rwanda case.

Seventh, gender mainstreaming in climate financing to bridge the gender inequality gaps in key sectors including agriculture is critical to national adaptation and mitigation efforts.

Eighth, compilation of multidimensional sex-disaggregated poverty data and statistics is essential in understanding the unique needs for women and girls.   

• Recommendations to the ZWPC
  • Capacity building of all Female Parliamentarians on artificial intelligence (AI) skills (31 December 2024)
  • ZWPC to up-scale its advocacy for the Gender Equality Bill and Sexual Harassment Bill (ongoing/31 December 2025).
  • Capacity building and advocacy for the recognition, reduction and redistribution of unpaid domestic and care work including consulting stakeholders, government and civil society organisation (on-going).
  • ZWPC to intensify its advocacy for the institutionalising Gender Responsive Budget (GRB) in all government MDAs as well as increased budget allocation in key ministries and departments such as the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprise Development, Zimbabwe Gender Commission, SEMDCO, Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank and Youths Empower Bank.
  • Lobby for electoral reforms to ensure women friendly political environment (this is ongoing targeting 2028 Harmonised Elections).
  • Lobby the government to scale up climate financing to increase resources aimed at empowering women to participate in the mainstream economy.
  • Engage its stakeholders on the Beijing Platform of Action +30 Review Report to take stock of progress from 1994 to date in preparation for CSW 69.
  • Sensitisation of ZWPC members on the Zimbabwe Climate Change Gender Action Plan.
  • Lobby for the increased participation of women in the climate change agenda including more representation from female Parliamentarians at the annual Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP 29) in 2024 in line with the Zimbabwe Climate Change Gender Action Plan.
• Recommendations to the Portfolio Committee on Women Affairs, Community, SMSs Development and the Thematic Committee on Gender and Development
  • The two Committees to enhance their efforts in monitoring and push for more resources allocations to the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, SMEs Development, Zimbabwe Gender Commission, Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank and Youths Empower Bank and other line Ministries that handle health, social protection, land, agriculture and education, among others (on-going).
  • The two Committees must monitor the implementation of CEDAW, Beijing Platform of Action +30 Review, other regional, international agreements and conventions on women’s and girls’ rights.
  • The two Committees must engage the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement on the land audit and assess the number of women who have benefitted from the Land Redistribution Process and probably lobby for more land to be allocated to women (31 December 2024).
  • Engage the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, and Small and Medium Enterprise Development (MWACSMED) towards developing financial inclusion strategy and digital facility similar to ‘Husler Fund’ from Kenya which utilises the USSD codes rather than internet services - ongoing.
• Conclusion

The participation of the ZWPC at the CSW remains critical as it provides the platform for networking, capacity building, sharing experiences and ideas for advancing gender equality globally. The ZWPC as a gender equality lobby organ of Parliament remains key in advocating for progressive legal reforms to transform the lives of women and girls in Zimbabwe. I so submit.

         HON. O. SIBANDA: Thank you, Mr. Speaker Sir, for allowing me to second the motion my colleague MP, Hon. G. Mutandi presented.  I am more interested in buttressing the importance of harnessing education for women and girls in Africa, particularly in our country, Zimbabwe. Education remains one of the best tools that Governments can use to transform the lives of their citizens, especially women with the ultimate objective to achieve gender equality. Zimbabwe is among the countries that have made tremendous progress in advancing the emancipation of women, especially, their participation in national development programmes including the political space.

         Mr. Speaker Sir, while there are challenges to overcome, there are also many positive developments and best practices that can be learnt from the participation of Zimbabwe at the CSW 68. Firstly, increasing funding for girls’ education initiatives would go a long way in emancipating women and girls to stand up for their rights. You may be aware that the African Union is running a campaign themed, “Africa Educate Her”, which seeks to encourage member states to invest heavily in educating and keeping the girl child in school to empower her future. This campaign is a clarion call to all AU Member states and stakeholders to speed up the work needed towards protecting girls’ rights to education during emergencies. The campaign reflects on the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the women’s and girls’ rights, especially in the hard-to-reach and most remote areas of countries in Africa. Zimbabwe is not spared and must actively participate in this campaign.

         Mr. Speaker Sir, according to UNESCO, statistics show that only 37% of women in Sub-Saharan Africa are literate, compared to 64% of men. In Zimbabwe, only 64% of girls complete primary education, compared to 76% of boys. In addition, girls are more likely to drop out of school due to early marriage, pregnancy and domestic responsibilities. Limited access to education, especially in rural communities where girls have to travel long distances to access education has proved to be problematic and most girls end up dropping out of school. This has mainly been attributed to gender stereotypes and bias whereby women are often discouraged from pursuing certain subjects or careers, such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields.

 In addition, limited access to education has also contributed to the limited participation of women in decision-making spaces. Women in many communities face barriers to education due to poverty, lack of access to schools and cultural norms. In addition, women and girls are also vulnerable to sexual harassment, bullying and physical violence in educational settings. If you visit universities and colleges, women suffer in silence and there are very limited platforms for reporting GBV cases. It is against this background that I call upon the Ministry of Women’s Affairs to work hand in glove with the two education Ministries to support the girl child across all sectors of the economy.

         Mr. Speaker Sir, as the ZWPC, we applaud the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, which continues to implement initiatives aimed at increasing access to education, including the construction of schools and increasing the budget for the sector. The education sector always takes the lion’s share of the national cake, showing the Government’s commitment to enhancing access to all. In the past few years, especially with the establishment of the Zimbabwe Gender Commission and the Human Rights Commission, we have witnessed a reduction in the violation of women’s and girls’ rights in educational settings. Globally, we have witnessed increased enrolment rates of girls in primary education by 15% (UNICEF). On the other hand, the number of girls enrolled in secondary education has increased by 20% since 2000 (UNICEF). This has also translated to an increased number of women in leadership positions. But this is not adequate, we need more women to occupy the decision-making spaces.

         Mr. Speaker Sir, in light of that, I therefore call upon our Government to enhance access to education through adequately funding basic education as stipulated in Section 75 of the Constitution and cemented by the Education Amendment Act. With the enactment of the Education Amendment Act, we have witnessed more schools providing support services to pregnant girls to continue with education while the re-entry supports the girls in going back to complete their education. Therefore, implementing policies that promote gender equality and providing support services can help create a more equitable future where women are empowered to participate fully in the education sector.

         Mr. Speaker Sir, harnessing education for women and girls in Zimbabwe requires a multi-faceted approach that addresses the country’s specific challenges. By implementing policies that promote gender equality, increasing funding for education and providing support services, we can work towards a more equitable future where women are empowered to participate fully in the economy. Let me conclude by recommending the following:

1. As we enter the budget-making season, we would like to see an increase in funding for girls’ education initiatives, including the provision of sanitary wear in schools.
2. The implementation of the free basic state-funded education as provided for in the Education Amendment Act will go a long way in emancipating the girl child.
3. Provide adequate resources to curb Gender-Based Violence and discrimination in schools and across all sectors of the economy.

         I thank you.

         HON. MUGWADI:  On a point of privilege Hon. Speaker.  I do not know Mr. Speaker Sir, it has crossed your mind that there are Hon. Members who travel daily to Parliament from their Constituencies.  Inasmuch as we would to be very actively involved, honestly speaking Mr. Speaker, our minds are on the roads now because we are supposed to travel.  If it pleases you Mr. Speaker Sir, I do not wish to interrupt the business of the day but going forward, that may need to be taken as a serious course for other Hon. Members. 

         THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Noted, Hon. Murombedzi please take the floor. 

         HON. MUROMBEDZI:  Hon. Speaker Sir, today I am pleased to add my voice to the crucial issues surrounding the advancement of gender equality and women’s empowerment, as highlighted in the 68^th   Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 68). This session emphasised Accelerating the Achievement of Gender Equality and the Empowerment of all Women and Girls by Addressing Poverty and Strengthening Institutions and Financing with a Gender Perspective.  Key areas that I shall focus on are poverty alleviation, institutional reforms, financing, climate change, and the role of technology like artificial intelligence in advancing gender equality;

1. Accelerating Gender Equality through Financial Inclusion

Zimbabwe showcased the Breaking Barriers and Bridging Gaps: Advancing Gender Equality through Financial Inclusion of Women and Girls event. This highlighted financial inclusion programmes aimed at improving women's access to financial resources, critical for their empowerment.  Despite commendable efforts, women in Zimbabwe, especially in rural areas, remain under-represented in the formal financial sector. Parliament must work with the Ministry of Finance to implement policies that enhance financial inclusion through gender-sensitive budgeting, particularly for programmes targeting women entrepreneurs in SMEs.  This aligns with Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which Zimbabwe ratified.  Article 13 of CEDAW calls for equal access to financial and credit services for women, crucial in addressing structural inequalities.

2. Gender-Responsive Agricultural Practices in the Face of Climate Change Discussions on Gender Responsive Agriculture and Climate Change revealed that fewer than 10% of African women own land. It was noted that women's land ownership could increase resilience against climate change impacts. Zimbabwe should draw from this dialogue and work towards implementing gender-responsive land policies that prioritise women’s ownership and management rights over agricultural land. Parliament must lobby for the prioritisation of female land ownership in any land redistribution programme and seek to include women in climate adaptation initiatives.  This action is supported by the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which Zimbabwe has ratified.  Article 7 (5) emphasizes gender-responsive adaptation efforts, acknowledging the disproportionate effects of climate change on women.
3. Harnessing Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Gender Equality*

A key emerging issue was Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Gender. It was highlighted that the digital divide, particularly for rural women, threatens to widen as AI technologies advance, excluding them from employment, education, and public services.  Zimbabwe needs to take proactive steps in developing national strategies that close the digital gender gap by increasing access to technology for women. Parliament should mandate that ICT training and resources are made accessible to all women, especially in rural communities.  This action aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 5, which targets the achievement of gender equality by 2030. SDG 9 also emphasizes the need for inclusive and sustainable industrialisation, including equitable access to technology.

 

 

4. Addressing Poverty through SGBV Prevention and Financing

A session on Addressing Poverty through Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) Financing highlighted the critical role of adequate resource allocation to curb SGBV and empower survivors. 

Parliament should work closely with relevant ministries to scale up investments in programmes that prevent SGBV and support survivors, ensuring that women and girls are not only safe but also economically empowered. A critical step forward is increasing budget allocations toward SGBV prevention.  The Maputo Protocol (Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa) calls for the protection of women and girls from violence, making it mandatory for governments to allocate resources towards combating SGBV. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections] -  

         THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Hon Members, order.  Standing Order No 64 (4) says “any motion for the adjournment of the House moved in terms of this Standing Order must, unless previously disposed of, lapse at Five Minutes to Seven o’clock”.  So, there is nothing wrong with debating.  Please proceed Hon. Murombedzi.

         HON. MUROMBEDZI:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  I was disturbed a bit but I will move on.

5. Advancing Women’s Political Participation

During the session on Promoting Women’s Political Participation in Equitable and Strong Public Institutions, it was noted that women’s organisations need to engage more women in civic education to promote women candidates in elections.  Hon Speaker, we must push for reforms that ensure gender parity in political representation, with political parties being held accountable for the inclusion of women in decision-making positions. Parliament should consider mandatory quotas for women's representation, not just at the national level but at local governance levels as well.  Zimbabwe's commitment under the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action mandates gender parity in political representation. We must align our national laws and electoral systems with this international commitment to ensure that women's voices are adequately represented.

6. The Role of the Care Economy in Reducing Poverty

The session on the Care Economy and Climate Change stressed the disproportionate burden placed on women in caregiving roles, often at the expense of their economic opportunities.  There is an urgent need for Parliament to advocate for comprehensive care economy policies that recognise and reduce the unpaid care work burden on women, particularly in the context of climate change. We must introduce legislative reforms that provide social protections and support services for caregivers, enabling them to participate more fully in the economy.  The International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No. 156 on Workers with Family Responsibilities supports the rights of care givers and advocates for policies that balance work and family responsibilities, particularly benefiting women.

Conclusion

In closing, Parliament must recognise that gender equality is not only a fundamental human right but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable nation. This engagement in CSW 68 has provided us with valuable insights and examples from global partners that can inform our legislative agenda. By aligning with key international treaties and conventions, Zimbabwe can lead in achieving substantive gender equality across all sectors of society.  I so submit.  Thank you very much.

         HON. KAMBUZUMA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.

         HON. NYANDORO: I second.

         Motion put and agreed to.

         Debate to resume: Thursday, 26^th September, 2024.

         On the motion of HON. KAMBUZUMA, seconded by HON. MUREYANI, the House adjourned at a Quarter past Six o’clock p.m.