• Version
• Download 80
• File Size 453.53 KB
• File Count 1
• Create Date March 26, 2025
• Last Updated March 26, 2025

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY HANSARD 26 MARCH 2025 Vol. 51 No. 37

PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE

Wednesday, 26^th March, 2025

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

PRAYERS

(THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER in the Chair)

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

         *HON. NYABANI:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  My question is directed to the Minister of Health and Child Care.   In his absence, any Minister who is able to respond may do so.  Where we come from…

         *HON. MAKUMIRE:  On a point of order Madam Speaker Ma’am.  May you please assist us to know the Ministers who are there and those who are absent?  Also, let us know who will be the acting Leader of Government Business today.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER

APOLOGIES RECEIVED FROM MINISTERS

          

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  I have a list of Hon. Ministers and Deputy Ministers who have sought leave of the House:- Hon. Gen. Rtd. Dr. C.D.G.N. Chiwenga, Vice President; Hon. Col. Rtd. K.C.D. Mohadi, Vice President;  Hon. T. Machakaire, Minister of Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training; Hon. B. Rwodzi, Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry; Hon. M. N. Ndlovu, Minister of Industry and Commerce; Hon. Z. Soda, Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities; Hon. J. Paradza, Deputy Minister of Environment, Climate and Wildlife; Hon. Brig. Gen. Rtd. L. Mayihlome, Deputy Minister of Defence; Hon. C. Sanyatwe, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage; Hon. P. Kambamura, Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development; Hon. A. Gata, Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education; Hon. R Modi, Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce; Hon. V. Haritatos, Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement; Hon. D. Marapira, Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement.

Those who are present, you can see them.  The Acting Leader of Government Business is Hon. Prof. Murwira.

*HON. NYABANI:  Thank you Madam Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Health. In his absence, I will direct it to the Leader of Government Business. Patients who are transferred from rural clinics to referral hospitals here in Harare are asked for cash upfront before receiving treatment. What is Government policy in ensuring that these patients receive treatment and pay later after they have been attended to?

*THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. PROF. MURWIRA):  Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to thank Hon. Nyabani for the pertinent question on what Government policy is concerning the treatment of patients transferred from different areas to Harare and are requested to pay money before receiving treatment. The Government policy is that a patient must be treated and money will be paid later. That is the correct Government policy. If there are situations where people were requested to pay first before treatment, it means it is a completely different issue that does not consist of the issue of Government policy.

*HON. NYABANI:  I would like to thank the Minister for the response. What steps can be taken by those who would have failed to be attended to when they visit hospitals where they will be asked to pay first before receiving treatment?

*HON. PROF. MURWIRA:  Thank you. There are two issues. There are those who do not have money but are in need of assistance. They can get help from the Social Welfare. Secondly, if there is someone being denied treatment before payment, it is an issue which can be reported to the officials so that steps can be taken against that hospital. I am talking of Government hospitals, not private hospitals.

*HON. MASHONGANYIKA:  Thank you Madam Speaker. I also want to add my voice to the question asked by Hon. Nyabani. We see that if someone has some few dollars and wants to pay but having already paid consultation fee and is given a prescription, where they are required to buy the medication, those medications must be bought urgently, what is Government policy in terms of providing medicines to those who are treated at Government health facilities?

*HON. PROF. MURWIRA:  Thank you Madam Speaker. I am going to answer the question in two parts. Firstly, currently if a person needs help without money and the hospital has no medication, it means the patient is expected to go and buy medication. If there is a problem of not having money, that is when I mentioned the Social Welfare. Going forward, there is a Bill which is going to be brought to this august House, the National Health Insurance. This country would like to eliminate problems that occur in the healthcare system. When you as Members of Parliament work together and make sure that the Bill is passed, the hospitals would be funded by the National Health Insurance. This is another way of making sure that we resolve these challenges. I thank you.

HON. V. MOYO:  Thank you Madam Speaker. My supplementary question is with regard to the Government policy on the payment of ambulance fees. There are cases where people are referred from district hospitals to referral hospitals. Is it Government policy for the patients to pay for the fuel to enjoy those services?  Thank you.

*HON. PROF. MURWIRA:  Thank you Madam Speaker. My response would be similar to the answers that I was giving. If there is a particular case of buying fuel, it could be a particular case but an ambulance must have its own fuel. The issue is, after it has been billed, who pays? If they fail to pay, what happens? So, first and foremost, the work of the Ministry of Health and Child Care, which is the work of Government, is to look after the health of its residents and citizens. Therefore, therapy first and payment later because mari hairapwi, anorapwa munhu. If there is a problem, then Social Welfare can pay. Otherwise, we look after the patient first. That is the policy. If there is a diversion to this, it is a diversion which should be attended to using different means, which is non-compliant to the established policy. Otherwise, the policy is clear, look after the person’s life first. I thank you.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: List of Hon. Ministers who are present in the House: - Hon. Minister Mhona, Transport and Infrastructural Development; Hon. Minister Prof. M. Ncube, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion; Hon. Minister Prof. Murwira, Foreign Affairs; Hon. Minister T. Mnangagwa, Deputy Minister of Tourism; Hon. Minister Kazembe Kazembe, Home Affairs; Hon. M. Ncube, Deputy Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities; Hon. Sacco, Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development; Hon. S. Sibanda, Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education.

         *HON. MABURUTSE: Thank you Madam Speaker, My question is directed to the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement. The Government came up with a very good programme of village business units in every village but we see that most of the areas did not see these programmes.  They have not reached the villages. What is Government policy or modalities which have been put in place in line with the vision of the Government of having the village business units with 330 boreholes throughout the country by the time we reach 2030, the boreholes must be there and business units will be operational throughout the country? Thank you.

THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): I want to thank Hon. Maburutse for asking a pertinent question. The Government policy is to make sure that this programme reaches all the villages throughout the country. We have got about 35 000 villages throughout the country.  The programme cannot reach all areas at once but it can develop stage by stage. It is difficult to do that programme in one day or a short period but this  is a programme for the whole country.

 However, the Government is going to make sure that the programme is progressing and is spreading to other areas so that by 2030, every village has got this business unit.  If the programme has not yet reached the Hon. Member's area, it is definitely going to come. Thank you.

 HON. S. TSHUMA: Thank you Madam Speaker.  My supplementary question to the Minister is, what is the Government's policy of making sure that these boreholes reach the constituencies equally or maybe when they are deployed to the province, the province distributes perhaps five or ten per constituency? As we are debating right now, there are constituencies which do not have even one borehole but other Members of Parliament have more than ten.  Their boreholes are now more than a hundred. What is the distribution policy on these boreholes? Are they looking at the status of the Hon. Members or they are looking at people who are in the rural areas so that they can get water and be able to develop at the same time rather than for other villages in other areas to benefit twice this year whilst others are waiting to benefit in 2030?

HON. PROF. MURWIRA:  Thank you Madam Speaker Ma'am.  I also want to thank Hon. Tshuma for the supplementary question. I want to mention that there is a beginning for everything and it is going to spread to all other areas. Yes, there may be other areas that have already got these boreholes but we are going to make sure that the programme  spreads throughout the country and all the 35 000 intended villages are going to benefit.

In terms of His Excellency’s mantra that living no place and no one behind, we are going to move forward all together. No one is expected to be left behind or an area that is going to be omitted in terms of development. Section 30 of our Constitution clearly states that there must be development.

 Madam Speaker, we are not going to benefit all of us at once. Hon. Members, can you kindly wait. Development is going to reach all villages. Thank you.

HON. HWENDE: On a point of order. The Minister is not addressing the question. He is repeating what he has already said.

The question and the plea of the Hon. Member is that the programme must be distributed equally. If those Members from the ZANU PF Party are crying foul of not receiving the boreholes, what about us Members of the Opposition?   Minister, face the question and answer it properly rather than continuing to repeat what he has already said.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Before the Hon. Minister answers, we have already announced the Ministers who are present in this august House. However, we have been joined by Hon. Makwiranzou, Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development; Hon. S. Chikomo, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Hon. K. D Mnangagwa, Deputy Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion.

Hon. Minister, you are being asked to address the issue that others are getting more boreholes whilst others do not have boreholes.

HON. PROF. MURWIRA: Thank you Madam Speaker. I am saying, if a bus departs from  Harare  to Beitbridge, these things have got time and place.  If the programme does not start from your area, it may not necessarily mean the programme is not there – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.]

HON. TOGAREPI: Madam Speaker, I think Hon. Members on your left, maybe some of them may have taken musombodhyia – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.] – because Madam Speaker, we are asking the Minister questions and when the Minister is answering, they make noise.  It could be that they have taken mutoriro and I think we need to ensure that we protect the Minister.

*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  May we give the Minister the opportunity to respond to the question?  If you did not understand properly, you are free to ask another question as a supplementary.

*HON. HAMAUSWA:  On a point of order Madam Speaker. The Government Chief Whip spoke about the issue of mutoriro, is it parliamentary language?  

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Hon. Hamauswa and Hon. Bajila, please take your seats.

HON. BAJILA:  No, Madam Speaker, we are requesting that you make a ruling – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.] –

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Order!  Please may we have order?  Hon. Togarepi, please may you withdraw your statement?  In this august House, we do not use terms like someone has drunk musombodhiya.

HON. TOGAREPI:  I withdraw – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.] – if one of them is drunk.

+HON. S. MAHLANGU:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  My supplementary question is directed to the Minister.  There are boreholes that were sunk in the year 2023.  What is the Government programme pertaining to completing these boreholes so that each and every place should have a borehole?  There are a lot of boreholes that were drilled in 2023 and they were left incomplete.  When are you planning to complete the process of making these boreholes usable? Thank you.

HON. PROF. MURWIRA:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  My answer will be that budgets are proposed and approved through this House.  It is our collective responsibility to prioritise this programme through the budgetary process because the policy has no deficiency.  The policy says everyone, every place should not be left behind.  However, this is always constrained by budgets and budgets are a collective responsibility where this House has got a primary responsibility to give this programme money.  When you are asking about the policy, there is no deficiency.  We want 35 000 boreholes today but the next question is, how possible is it?

 It is possible based on the availability of the budget and a country cannot stretch itself beyond what it can do.  Therefore, this is our response, policy- no deficiency.  Things always start somewhere.  It cannot always start at your own particular home. I thank you.

*HON. MATANGIRA:  Supplementary question Madam Speaker.  Thank you Madam Speaker. My supplementary is an issue concerning boreholes.  We had not seen a programme which is good like this but we are saying that Minister, the boreholes in our area were sunk and most of them are dry holes. There is no water.   Is it not possible for the responsible Ministry and the Government…?

*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Hon. Matangira, can you kindly use one language?

*HON. MATANGIRA:  Is it possible to have people who do hydro-geophysical surveys? – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.] – Madam Speaker, if you could please protect me.

HON. BAJILA:  On a point of order Madam Speaker.  While I have no problem with African attire, Standing Order Number 80 (5) reads as follows, ‘the attire for male Hon. Members shall include suits, jackets and tie as well as safari suit’.  African attire is only mentioned as permissible for female Members.  This is in terms of the Standing Orders.  So, I am rising, with respect to male Members wearing hats and wearing African attire – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.]–

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Hon. Matangira is properly dressed.  Hon. Matangira, please go ahead with your question.

*HON. MATANGIRA:  Thank you Madam Speaker for the protection.  My question is, is it possible for the Government…

HON. CHIGUMBU:  Point of order Madam Speaker.

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

*HON. CHIGUMBU:  Madam Speaker, can you come up with a proper ruling?  If all of us come dressed like Hon. Matangira, is it proper?

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Your point of order is overruled.  Hon. Matangira, may you please proceed.

*HON. MATANGIRA:  My question is, is it possible for the Government to have the expertise, those who are going to identify the amount of water underground before the drilling of the boreholes so that the boreholes are targeted where there is enough water and that the village businesses are going to go forward properly?  We might drill maybe 20 boreholes and end up having dry holes without water. May we start by doing a survey and know the amount of water before drilling the borehole?  Is it possible to do geophysical?

*HON. PROF. MURWIRA: Thank you Madam Speaker.  Underground water in Zimbabwe, in areas which are not Nyamandlovhu or in areas which are not Kalahari Sands, especially in the stones area which we call basement complex, they have got some vents or some ventricles which are there underground.  We do not have what we call clear aquifers. We have got shutter belts which come up with this pump. So it is difficult for them to sink water. This is the case when you see the borehole being drilled, they would have already tried using machinery. Sometimes there is an issue of probability that the things which are underground are only known to God. As humans, we try to use machines. The machines only show us the probability and we cannot win most of the time. So it means that we can fail. I want to give a promise that when you see them drilling, it means that they have tried by all means to do some surveying. They must not lose heart. We are going to drill more boreholes until we get enough water.

         HON. MAKOPE: On a point of privilege Madam Speaker.  Thank you Madam Speaker. The issue being discussed is an issue which touches the hearts of many. May the Minister come up with a written document in response to where we come from with the programme of drilling boreholes, where we are and where we are going? How are we going to reach 2030 at the pace indicated? It is going to eliminate most of the questions which are being asked. We can also be able to see where most boreholes are being drilled and where they are lacking. We must also address the issue of boreholes which are supposed to be drilled for cattle, especially for Matabeleland South, Mwenezi and other areas. The programme was just mentioned but there was nothing much which was done. A written response can address all these issues.  I thank you.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: I believe the Acting Leader of Government Business has heard the plea.

+HON. NKALA: My question is directed to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. What is the Government policy on the shortage of teachers, especially for the schools that are in rural areas? Most of these schools end up employing their teachers and they get paid through the SDC Committees. What is the Government policy on fully furnishing schools with enough teachers so that our children can have proper education?

THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Thank you Hon. Speaker Ma’am. The Government’s programme for making sure that all our schools are well staffed is ongoing. There is a phased recruitment of teachers. I think this year we increased the number of teachers being recruited. As you would know, Zimbabwe does not have a shortage of trained teachers. It is a budgetary issue. This issue is being looked into progressively through the Treasury and the Public Service Commission.

So, our policy is very clear that we are having the policy of making sure that every school is well staffed with  well trained-qualified teachers. We are just working on the phases based on the availability of resources. The programme is ongoing. The policy is clear. The path is to be walked. I thank you.

+HON. NKALA:  Thank you Madam Speaker. We are talking of other schools that have spent about three to four years without a teacher. We are glad enough that we are hearing of the Government’s programmes on which they are trying to eradicate this issue of the lack of teachers including the engagement with the Ministry of Finance. We are speaking of this concerning children who have spent about three years without a teacher, for example, a Maths teacher, a Science teacher or a Geography teacher. While this programme is being implemented, what is the temporary solution to addressing this issue? Some of them are going to be sitting for their ‘O’-Level or ‘A’-Level examinations this year or next year. While we are waiting for this process, what is the short-term measure that we can use to address this situation in various districts currently?  I thank you.

THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Thank you Hon. Speaker Ma’am. We appreciate the need to make sure that every school and every child has access to a well-trained teacher. This year alone, the programme could be called short-term, 8 000 teachers have been authorised for recruitment. I am sure  talking about the future, this programme is going to alleviate these problems. Talking about the past, what we can only say is that we are progressing on this issue. Just to have that patience to say we might have missed last year but this year we are progressing to the next level which is the 8 000 teachers that are going to be recruited.

We believe that by using this movement, as a country we are going to have more access to trained teachers. In terms of policy, as I said, it is Government policy that we have adequate teachers everywhere and well-trained teachers for that matter. There is no policy inadequacy. It is a budgetary issue. This budgetary issue has been worked on and this year 8000 teachers are going to be recruited. Progressively so, this is going to happen and this is our response.  I thank you.

         *HON. MADZIVANYIKA: I want to thank the Hon. Minister for the response on the issue of increasing the number of teachers. Our parents are suffering paying extra lessons because there are no teachers. Is it Government policy of requesting children to pay USD1 for civic days to cover the Independence Day Celebrations whilst they are struggling to pay examination fees and extra lessons?

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Can you kindly mention where these issues are happening?

*HON MADZIVANYIKA: These issues are happening throughout the country, especially in Midlands Province. I have a letter from the DSI in Midlands writing to PED.

*HON. PROF. MURWIRA: There is no Government policy which talks about extra lessons. If there is an area where this is happening, may the question be a written question so that we can research on the matter and answer the question properly. When we are talking about an issue of policy, there is nothing like that but if we are talking about an event which happened at a certain area, we must mention where the incident happened so that the question can be answered through a written response.

*HON. C. HLATYWAYO: Thank you Madam Speaker. The issue of lack of teachers in rural areas is being caused by conditions of service, especially when we look at the accommodation of teachers. Most teachers want transfer from rural to urban schools due to poor working conditions. What is Government policy with regard to the issue of improving the working conditions?

HON. TOGAREPI: On a point of order. The Hon. Member is telling us a story and not asking a question. Madam Speaker, let us have Hon. Members asking questions.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Member, the question you asked is different from the original question asked earlier. That is a totally new question. The matter cannot be asked as a supplementary question to the first question.

HON. MUTIMBANYOKA:  My question is directed to the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education. What policies has the Ministry put in place to ensure the financial stability and operational efficiency of the State-owned enterprises under its purview, particularly in light of its strategic role in advancing research, innovation and skills development? I so submit.

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. S. SIBANDA): With regards to the question that has been asked by the Hon Member, in terms of the operations of the entities under the purview of the Ministry, they are guided by the corporate governance statutes. Therefore, everything that is done is in line with corporate governance statutes. That is the reason why there are AGMs that are held every year where all the stakeholders and shareholders meet and discuss  issues to do with corporate governance where issues to do with innovation are raised. If there are issues that are not in line with the expectations of the corporate governance statutes, they are raised and rectified.

*HON. MAPIKI: My question is directed to the Minister of Energy and Power Development. What is Government policy on the issue of selling gas which is being done by people in the rural areas, especially those who are not trained? Some are now selling gas everywhere under the trees and there are issues of mishandling the gas. What is Government policy in alleviating these challenges?

*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. SIMBANEGAVI): Government policy is that we do not encourage people to sell gas from undesignated areas but gas must be sold from registered agents. Due to lack of electricity in the country, we are encouraging people to use gas for cooking. People must buy LP gas from registered dealers to reduce accidents which are associated with the mishandling of gas. If there are areas or places where gas is being sold from undesignated areas, may you kindly put forward the names of those people so that we can go there, train them and encourage them to follow proper procedures?

*HON. HAMAUSWA: Is it difficult for Government to do research of what is expected for someone to sell gas? When issues are now being brought in this august House, it means that the procedures for selling gas are not being followed. May the Minister come up with a programme where he is going to publish and reduce the regulations considering that people must sell gas? May the Minister work with the people who are selling gas and reduce the regulation in terms of paper work?

*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENERGY AND POWER DEVELOPMENT (HON. SIMBANEGAVI):   Thank you Hon. Hamauswa.  I might not know the difficult procedures needed but as far as I know, selling gas does not need many regulations to be followed.  It is different from selling fuel which has to be sold at service stations.  Gas can be sold in many places.  The requirement is for the seller to be in a designated area and to follow the prescribed requirements which are not many.  As you know, we do not have adequate electricity in the country, hence we are encouraging people to use gas which is easily accessible in their areas.  However, people selling gas should be given the authority to do so and be trained to ensure that gas tanks being brought for filling do not have leaks and must meet the required standards.  The gas sellers should teach their customers how to use the gas tanks properly and prevent their children from tampering with the gas tanks.  We are encouraging all those selling gas to be equipped with enough knowledge to impart to the end users. They must sell in as many areas as possible so people can easily access gas. 

*HON. ZVAIPA:  Supplementary Madam Speaker.  I want to thank the Hon. Minister for the response.  She said it is not that difficult for people to get a permit to sell gas but looking at her explanation, it is very difficult for us to acquire the permit or licence.  Secondly, what plans has Government put in place to curb the shortage in electricity?  We are not allowed to cut down trees for firewood and the gas is not easily accessible as it is not allowed to be sold anywhere.  What should the poor people do to also have power in their houses?

*HON. SIMBANEGAVI:  I cannot say gas is not being sold everywhere.  It is actually recommended for people to have access to gas but it cannot be anywhere but in authorised places.  We would want to have as many gas outlets as possible so people have easy access.  We have a department called ZERA which understands that gas has to be used for cooking, for fridges and much more.  So, they need to know where one is conducting the gas business and I think that is the most important thing for anyone who wants to sell gas.

*HON. KUKA:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  My supplementary question is to find out what plans our Government has in place to ensure that we electrify the whole nation.  We have gas being sold everywhere but people are not being sensitised on how to use gas properly.  As a result, many dangers have been experienced such as burning of properties and people.  So, there is probably need to reduce the use of gas in favour of electricity.  I thank you.

*HON. SIMBANEGAVI:  Thank you Hon. Member for your question.  As Ministry of Energy, we usually explain to people that we have limited hydro-electricity because of very low water levels in Kariba.  We all know that…

*HON. MAKUMIRE:  On a point of order Madam Speaker.  The issue to do with low water levels should not be a problem now because we received vast amounts of rainfall this year.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER.  Point of order overruled.

*HON. SIMBANEGAVI:  Let me clarify the issue of rainfall.  If we have rains today, we do not expect water levels to rise by tomorrow. The water which feeds Kariba Dam comes from countries like Zambia and Angola.  It may take up to two or three months to start seeing the water rise, that is if the amount of rainfall in those countries is substantial.  We also have other rivers feeding into Kariba but it does not mean that if we have rainfall this year, it will fill the dam.  The rainfall that falls in Masvingo does not go into Kariba Dam, so it will take time for the dam to fill up.  As Government, we do not just sit and wait for the dam to fill up but we look at other options to get power.  At the moment, citizens can buy solar panels at low prices because we have a lot of sunshine in our region.  A law has been introduced to buy products for the installation of solar tax-free.  Everyone should be able to install solar so they can power their houses.  Another law is there to motivate those companies that want to invest in solar to be able to feed excess power into the grid.  Most of our farmers are urged to have mini-grids in their households which they can use and feed the surplus into the grid to assist others.  Those in industries have been told not to only rely on hydro-electricity but to look into having solar power.  We have a reasonable amount of wind in this country and people can generate electricity using wind.  We also have a law which says Zimbabweans should be free to generate electricity using any of the ways mentioned above to ensure adequate electricity.  I thank you. 

HON. JIMU:  Thank you Madam Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Finance. What is Government policy regarding the annual disbursement of the Constituency Development Funds (CDF)?

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE):  Thank you very much. There are basically two ways in which we can impact more directly at constituency level to support our citizens. As Members of this august House, they have elected us to support them. Those include devolution funding and also include the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).  I am pleased to report that after a long process of administrative work in the background, we have kind of workout things such as vendor numbers and so forth. We have finally been able to allocate vendor numbers for 71 constituencies. The disbursements of those funds will occur soon, certainly I have been assured that by end of next week there will be quite a bit of movement in disbursement of these funds.

In terms of policy, our policy is to disburse and support the constituencies through the CDF mechanism. I do hope the Hon. Member is one of those who have submitted their requests, their projects and they are ready to go. I hope they have done that. If they have not, they should do so, so that they can benefit from the CDF funding. I thank you.

*HON. MATSUNGA:  Thank you Madam Speaker. My supplementary question to the Minister of Finance is, it is now three years since you promised this august House that we will receive CDF funds but there is nothing up to now. Kindly give us a response with dates and days because from the information which you are sending to the general public, they are thinking that we are abusing those funds. I am kindly asking you to say it clearly so that those people whom we represent in our constituencies know that we have not yet received anything from the Ministry of Finance. You are still in your way planning the disbursement of the funds and the funds are not disbursed yet. The way you speak Hon. Minister sounds as if we received those funds. Some of us have big bodies because of poverty and they think it is the CDF that we are spending.

HON. PROF. M. NCUBE:  Thank you Madam Speaker. I thank the Hon. Member for the passionate presentation on this important issue. It is unfortunate and I sympathise with her if she is being accused or anyone is being accused of squandering CDF funds, instead of directing them at projects that are designed to support our citizens in the various constituencies. Clearly, the citizens at the constituencies should be told that most of the time our Members are very honest and decent people, they have no business in dipping their hands into CDF funding.

The issue has just been resource constraints from time to time. That has been the issue but also just delays in getting the administrative work going. If you know how this process works, it is a pool and push process in the sense that a Member of Parliament also ought to do their work and be ready to support projects on the ground and a lot of admin work to put in place. I have a list here and I hope that again the Hon. Member is on that list of those that will begin to receive funding as of next week.

We do go through cash constraints cycles. Like this week, we are cash constrained for anything other than salaries. Do not expect anything this week unless it has got to do with salaries. Why? Because there are certain times when we have to pay salaries and cash turns to go towards that. Next week we would have completed the salary payment cycle and we will then begin to make payments towards the CDF. I am aware that some Members have done well out of development, supporting projects using CDF funding. I hope that the Hon. Member who spoke with such passion has also managed to develop projects. Those of you who are not sure of how to go about it, do work with your chiefs and ask your colleagues how it is done so that you can improve the lives of your supporters or citizens on the ground. I thank you.

*HON. HWENDE:  On a point of order Madam Speaker.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  May we have order? What is your point of order Hon. Hwende?

*HON. HWENDE:  Thank you Madam Speaker. The Hon. Minister, the question which was asked was only for you to state a day for next week because there is a ruling which was made by the Speaker of Parliament on a motion of contempt of Parliament which he wanted to pass against yourself. This is because you came to Parliament on three occasions and then you misled Parliament, resulting in pressure being put on Members of Parliament.

In Bulawayo, in our budget meeting, you even gave a date and that was in November. You then came here, in this august House and that was in December. On three occasions misleading Parliament and misleading Parliament is a serious offense. I want the Minister to take this seriously. If you are going to pay next week, we understand the resource constraints this week but we want to know which day next week?  Is it on Friday so that we are free, if he does not meet his deadline, to proceed with the motion of contempt against the Minister because this is a serious matter?

If you lie to Parliament, what about other Votes that we allocate to hospitals. That is why there are no drugs in hospitals because you promise to provide drugs in hospitals – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.] –

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Order, order!

HON. PROF. M. NCUBE:  Thank you Madam Speaker. First of all, I was not aware of the details and fact that Hon. Hwende has explained regarding this issue. Since he is looking for a date, let us work on the date of 10^th April to begin these payments. I thank you.

*HON. MUGWADI:  Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to thank the Minister of Finance for the promise he gave us. I wanted to say as we speak, of these issues, let us try our level best to take these issues seriously. Madam Speaker, we sometimes think that in this 10^th Parliament, do we have the correct legislators in here? I think in other previous Parliaments, Nineth or Eighth Parliament, I do not think this has ever happened, that Members of Parliament go into the third year without receiving Constituency Development Fund disbursements.  I would like to ask the Minister of Finance to comment on the letter that was published last year stating that they were disbursing the funds. I was expecting them to send the same letter apologising to people that they did not disburse this CDF.

When we get to our rural areas, they will simply ask what happened from the first year you got into Parliament with regards to CDF?  I am kindly asking for such responses, to respond to such letters, for people to be notified that we did not receive those CDF funds. I thank you.

HON. PROF. NCUBE: I must say, Madam Speaker, I could not tell whether that was a statement or a question but I thought that in terms of payments, I said that we will start paying from the 10^th  of April. I was asked for a date, I have given a date. Thank you very much.

*HON. TOBAIWA: Hon. Minister, as Honourable Members, we opened our accounts and some of the accounts have now been closed for non-activity.  As Members of Parliament, we do not have funds to keep on depositing into those accounts to activate those accounts. There is not even bonus to ensure that we keep the accounts active.

Hon. Minister, in those accounts which were then closed, what should be done? You are now saying you will start disbursing funds on the 10^th of April, 2025 but some of the accounts are closed. You said in this august House that CDF was once disbursed. Will you write another letter to those banks to let them activate those accounts? You told us to deposit some funds into those accounts and we once deposited $10 to activate those accounts. Thank you.

HON. PROF. NCUBE: I need to understand something. If your account was opened in the last two weeks, which is when the vendor numbers were released, I do not understand why your account would have been closed. Opened two weeks ago, and then it was closed, that is very interesting. I think I need to understand the real details of what is going on here. However, as to the administrative work of me writing to banks and so forth, that is not typically what the Minister would do.

I would leave that administration work in the background to the Clerk of Parliament and its staff to assist Members to make sure that their accounts remain active so that money can be paid into those accounts but then if a bank is being difficult, maybe they are violating some policy. Where I need to intervene, I would be very happy to intervene on violation of policy by some bank.

HON. MUTIMBANYOKA: Point of privilege!  My question is very simple for the Hon. Minister. Is the Constituency Development Fund going to cover just this year or are you going to cover all the other years that we have been receiving from 2023 up to date? I so submit and I thank you.

HON. PROF. NCUBE: Thank you very much. They will only cover this year, I thank you.

*HON. ZVAIPA: Thank you Madam Speaker. My point of priviledge was directed to the Hon. Minister, the issue of CDF, may he kindly give us the names of those 71 people who are benefiting. Kindly notify the august House that so and so received CDF funds. I thank you.

*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Members, let us proceed with our work. The issue of CDF has been in discussion for quite some time. The Minister promised that he will start disbursing the funds on the 10^th of April, 2025.

*HON. ZIKI: My question is directed to the Minister of Health. We have been observing for quite some time that we did not have anything to do with the upgrading of institutions that focus on the training of nurses.   Like now, we have just discovered that the number is gradually going down. 

I was of the view that it was good for the nation that we increase and upgrade the nurse training places which will then ensure that they assist us as a nation. What programmes do we have to ensure that we upgrade and uplift the places where nurses and doctors are trained? I thank you.

*THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Thank you Madam Speaker. I will simply say, the Government's policy says we must be able to train as many nurses as possible. Also, in some other colleges, like universities and hospitals which are independent, the Government is there to ensure that as many nurses as possible be trained.  We will continue working in collaboration and following the rules and laws of the country to ensure that these places continue enrolling more and more nurses.  Rome was not built in one day.  We will try our level best to ensure that we continue upgrading them.  Thank you.

HON. HAMAUSWA:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  I would like to thank the Minister for his response.  I would like to ask the Minister, is it Government's policy to ensure that the gap there be fulfilled by other countries which have a different way of nurse training which does not satisfy us?  Like now we discover that some of the nurses are being trained in countries like Zambia.  Those citizens of Zimbabwe are now paying the Government of Zambia. Is it good for our Government or is it not good for our Government to work in collaboration with the universities so that we do not export those students to learn in other countries?  What is your view on that Hon. Minister?

*HON. PROF. MURWIRA:  Thank you Madam Speaker and I would like to thank the question from Hon. Hamauswa to add on to the same question which was asked before which says that we have other citizens from this country who are now undergoing training in other countries.

We have a law in the Ministry of Health and Child Care and also in the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, to see and ensure that what was learnt, is it good?  We have such a responsibility to look into it.  

He then further asked to say, is it not good to ask to continue teaching even in universities?  Yes, it is good.  That is the way to go because most of these colleges which teach these nurses will be overseen by universities.  Just like what I said, Rome was not built in a day. We cannot be stationary, we will continue ensuring that we recruit more of those nurses for training.  His idea was, what do we think?  I think it is a good idea. I thank you.

*HON. NYABANI:  Thank you Madam Speaker. My supplementary question is, do you see it, as a Government, for us to have quite a number of nurses?  A lot of nurses are being trained here but at the end they end up going out of the country for greener pastures.  What plan does the Government have to ensure that we have good remuneration for those nurses so that they cannot go out of the country?  I thank you.

*HON. PROF. MURWIRA:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  I would like to thank Hon. Nyabani for the question.  His question has got two parts.  Today we had those Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.  We were discussing the same issue. It is not bad at all to educate people.  We continue educating people.  If they stay in or if they go out of the country, we continue educating them and teaching them because as I am speaking, the Minister of Finance can simply tell you, like now, these people whom we trained here are the people who are bringing in USD2 billion which comes annually.  If we had not taught them, they would not have gone out of the country.  So, as they go out of the country, we said we do not continue speaking to going to foreign countries as a bad habit, no.  I will simply say, country X, if somebody goes from this country and comes, goes to the other country, that person will be called an expatriate.  If a skilled someone comes from this country, they will simply say you are running away from the bad economy in this country.  No, that is not it.  It is an expatriate from this country.

That is the issue which we would like to continue speaking to.  We should continue saying we have our very own engineers, we have our very own nurses who are forking in USD2 billion, which will ensure that we have enough electricity in this year.  I would like to clear that.

The second issue is that we will continue teaching and training those Zimbabweans to ensure that if you feel like you want to work in this country, they can work in this country.  If you want to go out of the country, they will simply go.  Even in Foreign Affairs, we have a group which is called the Diaspora.  People are here, people are there. Yes, there is nothing wrong with that.  If they are there, yes, we are okay if they are there according to the law. We have to think deeply before we start talking.  We would like to ensure that we have adequate numbers of people who work in the health sector and we continue having more funds but remember, money does not come from nowhere.  People have got to work for it.   That is why we are saying as a country, we have to do farming, mining and innovation.  Even if we have rain, it can evaporate from the sea.  Let us work for our country. I thank you.

HON. SAGANDIRA:   Thank you very much.  I want to direct my question to the Leader of Government Business.  Which steps does Government plan to take in terms of addressing those who have been working for three years to get certificates of good standing as nurses and professionals? I thank you. Thank you.

THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. PROF. MURWIRA):  Certificates of good standing are given to nurses who have good standing.  That is the first point.  This implies that when nurses request or apply for such certificates, they are then evaluated for good standing and if there are others who have spent a long time, the issue will be looked into.  Not everyone is given a certificate of good standing but character and the delivery that they do determines whether they are given a certificate of good standing or not.  So these issues really need to be looked into.  It might not be palatable but this is the fact. Thank you.

+HON. S. NDEBELE: My question is directed to the Minister of Women Affairs. Following the withdrawal of USAID from supporting organisations that were working with safe shelters or one-stop centres, what measures has the Government put in place to make sure that there is food and transport for would-be victims?  I so submit.

         THE MINISTER OF WOMEN AFFAIRS, COMMUNITY, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (HON. SEN. M. MUTSVANGWA):  Thank you Madam Speaker. I would like to thank Hon. Ndebele for that question. In the first place, I want to say the Government of Zimbabwe has always put in resources to make sure that our gender equality and women empowerment issues are taken seriously. Yes, the Ministry works together with development partners. We work together with NGOs. We work together with civil society organisations. Some of them were benefiting from the USAID. I want to say as a country, we have upscaled our engagements, especially with corporate companies in this country, with the private sector kuti nyika inovakwa nevene vayo   – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –

 We want to make sure that all those safe shelters which are critical in terms of reducing Gender-Based Violence in this country are maintained. Sustainability of one-stop centres is very critical for gender equality and women empowerment in this country. We all know that investing in gender equality and women empowerment is not the right thing to do. It is the smartest thing to do for a country’s economy to develop. I thank you.

         *HON. NJANJI: Thank you very much Madam Speaker Ma’am. I want to direct my question to the Minister of Industry and Commerce. What steps is the Government planning to take in promoting the local textile industry? I thank you.

*THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. PROF. MURWIRA):

Thank you Hon. Speaker Ma’am. I want to start by saying that the Minister of Industry and Commerce is there to ensure that local products are produced. The Ministry has a cotton value chain, which uses the approach that there is a cotton value chain, maize value chain, mawuyu value chain and different value chains. In terms of promoting the production of local goods, the Ministry supports all stages from primary production, from the production of maize, cotton and others. This is meant to promote local products so that they are promoted and sold after being refined. I thank you.

HON. M. ZIYAMBI: Thank you Madam Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. My question is about trademark copyrights or patents specifically looking at youthful people in Zimbabwe, our young and upcoming artists, whether they are in the entertainment industry or even in the music industry. What is Government policy on making sure that these young artist are not  abused or their content is not being imitated by other artists who are a bit older and have the information on the market, on where to market this content?

 Madam Speaker, this question is of utmost importance because the intellectual property and content of these issues are not actually being protected by the Government. What is the Government policy on protecting these young people in terms of awareness and their content? I thank you.

THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Thank you Madam Speaker. Hon. Ziyambi is asking on the issue of protecting intellectual property. Zimbabwe has an infrastructure of laws that are meant to protect intellectual property. Zimbabwe is also a signatory to (ARIPO) Zimbabwe, the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation and we house (WIPO) World Intellectual Property Organisation and Zimbabwe is also a part of WIPO,

Zimbabwe Intellectual Property Office; when you look at the knowledge production areas and copyright laws, we have that infrastructure. The issue could be enforcement but enforcement is normally done after complaints are lodged. In terms of the legal, we have the legal infrastructure and we have the policy infrastructure because for any country to progress and industrialise, it has to protect its intellectual property. After all, it starts from the head. Zimbabwe is quite aware of that and our laws punish people who copy without acknowledgement and punish people who earn from other people’s intellectual property rights. I want to say unless there is something else, when it comes to the legal and policy infrastructure we have those including the physical infrastructure and human capital infrastructure to make sure that this happens, they are all there. If there are particular issues, I think they can be tackled in that particular manner. In terms of the legal and policy infrastructure, we have. If there are any gaps, we will be happy to review them. I thank you.

HON. MOLOKELA –TSIYE: Hon. Minister, the issue is not whether Zimbabwe has adequate legal framework. The issue is enforcement of those laws. We have one of the worst enforcement processes in this country and that is the real major concern.

Our artists and all our creative people in this country are crying left, right and centre because they are not benefiting at all from their hard work. The issue is not the law. The issue is enforcement and making sure that food is not taken out of the mouths of hard-working creatives and artists.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. TSITSI ZHOU): That is not a question. It is a comment but do you want to comment further?

         HON. PROF. MURWIRA: I want to thank Hon. Molokela for that comment. I want to say, that it is a philosophical issue. We own this country all of us and we have a responsibility to apprehend any wrongdoer and report. If enforcement has been identified as a problem, us as a people with our country, let us take care of it and let us report all misdemeanours so that we stop them all of us. So, I agree with you, if there is a problem with enforcement, let us report these cases and let the legal infrastructure look after it. I agree with the comment but action must be taken by all of us and not a section of society, the whole society.

         HON. MAKOPE: I understand the attachment component in Higher and Tertiary Education is very critical. It is my observation that we have seen many students struggling to secure placement leading to some of the students deferring their programmes. What policy or programme is in place to make sure that our students get attachment, particularly in the polytechnics and universities just like what the teachers’ colleges and health institutions are doing?

         THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. S. SIBANDA): I would like to thank the Hon. Member for this important question. Indeed, the issue of attachment is of paramount importance in line with the achievement of human capital development. I would like us to view this issue of human capital development as an ecosystem where there is interaction of different ministries and players. The mandate of the Ministry is,  colleges and universities  train students in second or third year depending on the level, whether it is a diploma or first degree, the students are required to go for attachment. That is where I would like to bring the issue of ecosystem into play.

         Unlike the Ministry of Health where the training is carried out within the same Ministry and the attachment is done within the same Ministry when we look at the universities and colleges, I will put aside teachers' colleges where there is ready placement for attachment in terms of the attachment being done in the schools. There is need for different players to be aware of the importance of human capital development, that it does not serve the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education alone but the industry and other players also benefit from this.

         When it comes to attachment, they are not attached within the Ministry but they should be attached in the industry. When I say industry, I am talking about agriculture assuming that student is being trained in line with agriculture. It can also be in the manufacturing sector when that student is being trained in line with manufacturing and also HR issues. It is a broader aspect. It does not touch the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education alone.

         For us to achieve this, there is need for collective effort. They cannot be attached within the same Ministry simply because the Ministry is supposed to go out through the colleges and do an assessment when they are attached in the industry there. We are happy to report that there was a meeting two days ago between the industry and the Ministry of Skills Audit. One of the issues that was discussed was to do with the need for the industry to participate in terms of human capital development and also in line with identifying the gaps or skills requirement. In line with the question that has been asked, the issues that were discussed were the importance of the industry in terms of attaching students.

         What probably this House can assist us in terms of achieving important issues, is to come up with a statutory issue whereby we put a cap to say, for example, 2% of the manpower that is within a certain company should be students that are on attachment coming from the understanding that the employees are coming from the colleges and universities. Therefore, all the players should play a role in terms of developing prospective employees who are going to get into those companies.

         We really understand the challenge that is there but what we should realise is that it cannot be solved by the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education but by the broader aspects of our economy in different sectors where the students are supposed to be attached. I so submit.

         HON. MAKOPE: My understanding is that he has talked about the ecosystem where all the players put their initiatives to make sure that the students get attachment. What is being done by the universities or colleges themselves to make sure that a child they are training is securing the place for attachment, because they cannot just train someone and just leave that student alone to look for attachment for themselves? There is a gap there where the university or the college should take the initiative to make sure that the students are training get that secondment.

         HON. SIBANDA:  Over and above the issue of engaging the industry in terms of conscientising the industry on the importance of taking students on attachment, the colleges and universities through the entities that they have developed are absorbing some students on attachment.  But as alluded to before, I want the Hon. Member to realise that attachment is supposed to be done in the industry while the Ministry, through its entities and institutions can come up with the companies where the students can be attached.  The students are supposed to be attached in the industries that are in line with their particular profession.  Attachments should be done in the industry and not within the Ministry.  Whilst the Ministry can engage the industry to realise the importance of attaching students, the Ministry does not have direct control but what we can think around is how, as this august House, can we revamp our industries so that they can attach some students.  I so submit.

         HON. BONDA:  Thank you Madam Speaker. Cognisant of the drought that was induced by El-Nino, I would like to ask the Minister of Lands and Agriculture if Government has any plans to resume the Presidential Heifer Pass on Scheme to give relief to the peasant farmers who lost a sizeable number of their herds during the drought and empower the rural communities who lost their herds to the drought induced El-Nino.  I thank you.

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

         HON. C. MOYO:  Thank you Madam Speaker, if it pleases you, can the time for Questions Without Notice be extended by 10 minutes.

HON. KAMBUZUMA:  I second.

Motion put and agreed to.

HON. PROF. MURWIRA:  We are aware of the problems that were caused by the El-Nino last year.  Fortunately, this year, we have had very good rains, which means our pastures are recovering.  However, we also lost some livestock during the drought although the loss was a bit limited that particular year because of the mitigation measures that we had taken.  But still we lost, so Government continues to have a policy of empowering farmers from small scale to large scale farmers using different methods.  The pass on scheme that the Hon. Member is talking about is a very important scheme for restocking that Government adopted and has never dropped.  It continues even during good years, so it is important but we emphasise the consistency of the Government of Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa’s policies that we continue following our logical policies as long as they are still making sense and review them when they are no longer making sense.  However, for now, the restocking policy makes sense, so it continues.

*HON. CHINODAKUFA:  Thank you Madam Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister of Agriculture.  What plans does Government have on the upcoming winter wheat crop?

*THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. PROF. MURWIRA):  Thank you Madam Speaker.  The Government was given a programme by the Ministry of Agriculture on what we want to do with winter crop.  We are expecting about 120 000 hectares or more.  The issue to do with electricity was also discussed and the Ministry of Energy promised to work on that.  Water issues were also discussed and we have enough water.  The programme that we have focuses on farming only.  This year we are expecting a bumper wheat harvest.  I thank you.

*HON. JONGA:  My question is directed to the Minister of Agriculture.  I want to start by thanking His Excellency for the good initiatives.  My question is that the President bought rigs and deployed them to the provinces but the challenge is that we are not accessing these rigs as we are told they were taken for service.  We do not know how long the servicing will take. 

THE TEMPORAY SPEAKER:  Hon. Member, this question might need some research, so I am not going to allow it. 

HON. C. SIBANDA:  My question is directed to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education.  What is Government policy on labour justice on the protection and integrity of our public examinations given that the teachers who marked the 2024 examinations have still not been paid their allowances?  I so submit.

THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. PROF. MURWIRA):  Thank you very much Hon. Speaker Ma’am.  The year 2024 in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, in our junior education, has been a very good year because we recorded zero leakages for the first time.  So, examination security improved drastically for that year and we keep on improving our examination security.  So, the policy is to continue safeguarding the integrity of our examination system.  Zimbabwe is known for its very good education system and we continue improving and now we are on heritage-based education.  When it comes to the policy of paying our examiners, we pay them as per contract.  That particular case of delay could be very particular but the policy is stable in terms of the integrity of our examinations.  I want to assure you Hon. Speaker that our examination system has high degrees of integrity and we safeguard those exams and this education system very jealously through stringent policies and practices to ensure that we are good.

*HON. MAKUMIRE:  Point of privilege Madam Speaker. The Minister has spoken well. Also, there was good intention by the Government that there was extension of time given for payment of examination fees. However, there is a problem people are facing…

*THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Hon. Makumire that is a different question.

*HON. MAKUMIRE:  No, it is not.

*THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  The owner of the question has requested for a supplementary question and I thought you wanted to say something which was in line with the question which was asked. Hon. Sibanda, proceed.

HON. SIBANDA:  I would like to thank the Minister for the response, particularly on the policy. Now that we are almost getting to a point where you need to rehire the same markers, soon I know the June examinations will be due and you need to rehire them. Can you assure the exam markers that they will get their payment soonest? Thank you.

*THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Your supplementary question is not a proper question. I would like to applaud the Hon. Ministers for having responded to the so many questions that were on the Order Paper. This is commendable and I would like to urge Hon. Ministers who have questions still on the Order Paper to respond to the questions.

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE

HON. MAKUMIRE:  Thank you Madam Speaker. Last week, the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education made an announcement to the media that the Government has extended registration deadline to the 16^th May. The challenge that is happening across the country is that the schools are saying they have not received a circular from Government to effect this change. I just wanted the Leader of Government Business to assure the nation that indeed the registration dates have been extended. Thank you.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  You are requesting for the Leader of Government Business to make the statement again when the statement was already made by Hon. Minister Moyo. There is no need for over emphasis. The message was sent.

*HON. HAMAUSWA:  On a point of order Madam Speaker. I wanted to commend before the Ministers leave that we are always appealing for Ministers to attend the august House. We are quite happy to see them here. Well done to the Ministers who have been here. If there is anything that has been done to ensure that they come today, may it be repeated so that they keep on coming. I thank you.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Acting Leader of the House, the Hon. Member would like to thank all the Ministers who were present today. Keep it up and continue to encourage them to come and respond to questions. Thank you Hon. Hamauswa – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.] – I think I have made a statement to encourage them not to leave – [HON. MADZIVANYIKA:  Inaudible interjections.] – Order, Hon. Madzivanyika! Please respect the Chair, if you cannot respect me as a person – [HON. MHANGWA:  Inaudible interjections.] – Order, Hon. Mhangwa!

We are going to defer Question Numbers 1 to 6 because they are directed to the Minister of Lands. Apparently, they are not in the House and we are going to defer the questions.

HON. ENG. MHANGWA:  On a point of order Madam Speaker. If you take note for the whole of 2025, my question was on number 1. Maybe we are still assuming there is still a Minister of Agriculture when there is no Minister anymore. For three months and we are going into the fourth month Madam Speaker, there is no question from that Ministry that has been answered. There is a need for intervention from your side so that we hear what is their challenge.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Hon. Mhangwa, last week the Hon. Minister of Lands was in the House.  I was in the Chair and you were not in the House. I wrote a note to the Hon. Minister, requesting him to respond to this particular question. He gave us a response that they had already submitted a written response to the Clerks-at-the-Table. I spoke to Mr. Daniel to ensure that they get the response to this question. If not, it needs to be there on the Order Paper again. As we speak, I see that question on the Order Paper but unfortunately, the Hon. Minister is not in the House. You were not in the House when the Hon. Minister responded to some of the questions that were on the Order Paper last week.

HON. ENG. MHANGWA:  I acknowledge Madam Speaker but the last I spoke to him he had said it is Deputy Ministers that do that. It is not him who does that.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  In this august House, Ministers are Ministers. We do not recognise ministers as deputy or substantive. Ministers are ministers.  So, we are going to defer questions 1 to 6.

REOPENING OF BINDURA NICKEL MINE

7. HON. HAMAUSWA asked the Minister of Finance and Economic Development and Investment Promotion to inform the House when the Ministry is expected to reopen Nickel Mine in Bindura considering its significance to Mashonaland Central Province and the nation at large.

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE):  Thank you Madam Speaker. I thank Hon. Hamauswa for the question. First of all, I agree with him that this is an important asset or mine in the Mashonaland Central Province and also for the nation at large. I must say, the enquiry though really falls outside the purview of the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion but it pertains specifically to the sector Ministry responsible for Mines and Mining Development and also Mutapa Fund. So, I request that it be redirected to the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development and also Mutapa Investment Fund.

For Mutapa Investment Fund Madam Speaker, again I propose that the Parliamentary Committee on Mines and Mining Development could call them to come and explain because they are the custodians of the detail on the Bindura Nickel Mine. The mine is one of those under the Kuvimba Group and Kuvimba Group falls under Mutapa. That is how it cascades. If we could handle that way, I think Hon. Hamauswa will be satisfied with the answers that will come out of both Mutapa and Ministry of Mines and Mining Development enquiries.

HON. HAMAUSWA:  I have a supplementary, specifically on the aspect when the Minister brought in the Mutapa Investment. I thought the Minister would come in, that was my thinking when I drafted this question because the ministry he presides over is    economic and investment promotion. Therefore, I wanted to know on the investment promotion side and now I am happy that he brought in the Mutapa issue which originated from the ministry. I think it was also brought into existence through a Statutory Instrument from the Ministry of Finance.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. TSITSI ZHOU): Hon. Hamauswa, if you recall, the Hon. Speaker and the Leader of Government Business had to clarify this issue and the Hon. Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, who is the leader of Government Business, actually mentioned that Mutapa does not take away policy issues that are directed to ministries. Therefore, the Hon. Minister of Finance is correct to refer this question to the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development. If you can refer or rewrite this question and direct it to the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development.

LIQUIDATION OF THE SHAREHOLDING OF KUVIMBA MINING HOUSE

8. HON. JAMES asked the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion to inform the House whether the liquidation of the 12.5% shareholding of Kuvimba Mining House currently held by the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) is linked to the Global Compensation Deed (GCD) which was signed in July 2020 by CFU, Southern African Commercial Farmers Association (SACFA), Valuation Consortium (VALCON) and the Government of Zimbabwe (GOZ).

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Thank you Hon. James for your question. Any disposal of all or part of this shareholding goes towards liquidating the liability of USD3.5 billion agreed under the Global Compensation Deed. I thank you Madam Speaker.

HON. JAMES:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  Minister, the PROFCA deal, where some of these, you mentioned 440 owed farmers had been approved to get some sort of payment that is ongoing now, I believe that money  was set aside in the budget. Is it still linked to the GCD or is it still linked to the 12.5% holding in Kuvimba?

HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Madam Speaker, yes, the payment to farmers out of what was allocated in the budget is linked to the Global Compensation Deal, so is the 12.5%. So, you can see that we have been trying to resolve this issue using the straight budgetary allocation as well as using the holdings in terms of assets and in terms of investment to deal with this liability. Thank you.

REPLACEMENT OF THE OUTGOING PRESIDENT OF KUVIMBA MINING HOUSE BY THE CURRENT CFU PRESIDENT

9. HON. JAMES asked the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion to confirm to the House whether the current President of the CFU has replaced the outgoing President as the board member of Kuvimba Mining House as expected.

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Thank you once again Hon. James. I did make some enquiries on this issue because the President of the CFU, the previous one, was appointed when we were much closer to Kuvimba Mining Group as Minister of Finance.  I have established that he is still a board member. This is the previous CFU President of Kuvimba.  The term of that initial board has not expired and he is still a board member.

However, let me hasten to say that the principle in appointing board members really should also be driven by skills, the skills to contribute to the stewardship of the company.   I just get a feeling that perhaps Kuvimba feels that the current President also possesses the right skills to continue to serve the board until his term expires. Who knows what will happen once his term expires? Maybe someone else will come in.  It could be that the new President of the CFU could be the right candidate to fill that position. We will get to know as we go forward but again to be clear, Kuvimba Mining House is now a subsidiary of Mutapa and the Minister of Finance does not have any governance jurisdiction in terms of board appointments. However, I still endeavoured to get more information in the way I have tried to answer you. I thank you Madam Speaker.

HON. JAMES: Madam Speaker, it seems highly irregular that the new CFU President is the elected official and the board members state that the President of that farming union should be on the board. I would have thought that the change-over would have been more or less immediate.

HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you Hon. James once again. Perhaps what I should do Madam Speaker, is to pass this on to Mutapa because this is a company that falls under them. It is a shareholder matter.  It is an intra-shareholder dispute within the farmer community itself. It has a specific portion, which is the CFU portion. I think this should be handled at that level and not from a policy-making body such as Parliament.  I would be very happy to introduce, maybe the affected parties to Mutapa. So  this issue is resolved at that level. I would not want them to be in dispute. These are worthy partners that we want to assist with the conversation. We want them to be satisfied that things are going the right way. I thank you.

CONSIDERATION OF CFU SHAREHOLDING AS AN INTERIM PAYMENT TO FARMERS AFFECTED BY THE FAST TRACK LAND REFORM PROGRAMME

10. HON. JAMES asked the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion to apprise the House whether the liquidation of the CFU’s 12.5% shareholding will be considered as an interim payment to all farmers affected by the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP), pending further negotiations by all parties concerned, considering that the previous terms have repeatedly not been met by the Government of Zimbabwe.

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Thank you Madam Speaker. The payment out of any liquidation of the 12.5% for sure will go towards compensation of farmers under the Global Compensation Deed.  It will only support those who signed up to the deed in the first place because there are some who opted out and perhaps are looking for other ways to seek restitution.  We wish them well.  People have their choices but I can assure Hon. James that any liquidation of this 12.5% will go towards compensating farmers who agree to the terms and conditions of the Global Compensation Deed.  I thank you.

HON. JAMES:  Supplementary question Madam Speaker.   Hon. Minister, the legally mandated representatives of the farming unions have been trying to meet you for these further negotiations and have not been successful.  Are you receptive to meeting them to get clarity on this issue of the GCD and so on?

HON. PROF. M. NCUBE:  Thank you Madam Speaker.

 

I am always very happy to welcome the farmers who wish to have further conversations but then I must hasten to say that we already have an agreement and an agreed payment modality which involves the issuance of 10 year bonds with a 2% coupon when we look backwards from year 10 but 1% when we look forward into year 10 and the agreement is that we would liquidate the first 10% value of that bond obligation within the first year.  So, we have an agreement in terms of payment modality but if colleagues want to have further conversation, my door is always open and I will be happy to receive the delegation.  I thank you.

HON. JAMES:  Supplementary question Madam Speaker.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  That is the last one.

HON. JAMES:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  Hon. Minister, the people negotiating with you regarding the Profica deal are not legally mandated by the bulk of the title deed holders.  Is he aware of this?

HON. PROF. M. NCUBE:  We have been having discussions on this compensation over the last 15 years.  It is only in the last five years or so that we have been able to have traction and there is a team that has been negotiating and we were always under the impression that it is legally mandated.  No one has ever objected before in the last 15 years that this was the wrong team.  Suddenly, the assertion that this is the wrong team is new.  I am hearing it for the first time now, today.  We have always understood that they were the legally mandated team.

This team worked for a very long time Madam Speaker, gruelling hours with Valcon trying to value each farm, farm by farm.  We argued with them about valuations.  We negotiated.  What we did, we even went to town hall meetings in Bulawayo and Harare, not only once but twice.  We filled a hall up in the Mount Pleasant, Pomona area and then we did a referendum.  So, it also went to the group as a collective in addition to the leadership who were working with us.  So, I must say I am quite surprised that now there is an assertion that perhaps some of these leadership members are not legally legitimate.  It is quite a surprise but we have come a long way.  This issue was stuck for a while and now we have a payment plan for compensation and the compensation has begun.  I thank you Madam Speaker.

HON. JAMES:  Madam Speaker, one last supplementary question please.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Honourable James, I had said that was the last one but you may go ahead.

HON. JAMES:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  Hon. Minister, it would be prudent to meet the legitimately elected members because the roadshows that you are referring to gave a very different message that I think probably has not been conveyed to you.  So I would appeal to you that you do meet with the legally mandated members of the farming community and title deed holders.  I thank you Honourable Minister.

HON. PROF. M. NCUBE:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  Again, I thank Hon. James for giving me this new information.  It is always good to learn new things and understand new things and I am happy to receive again a delegation from the farmers to understand what new difficulty has arisen since we have made all these agreements and put them in place and in fact, have a payment plan and are executing on that payment plan.  What variations are being sought or if there are other strategies perhaps to fast-track payment, what are those but I am happy to listen.  My door is open.  Hon. James is free to approach my office and bring over these colleagues who want to have further conversations on this matter.  I thank you.

CURRENCY OF KUVIMBA MINING HOUSE SHARES

11. HON. JAMES asked the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion whether the purchase of the remaining 35% shareholding of the Kuvimba Mining House was done in United States Dollars, USD 1.6 billion, as previously stated in this House.

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE):  Frankly, on this one I would not want to give specific figures on a specific transaction.  This can be submitted offline or online in writing properly.  I do not have that specific figure but I would be happy to provide it.  Certainly, these were purchased by Mutapa for a specific amount and we want to request Mutapa to be able to tell us what that figure is.  Again, they could do it through the Parliamentary Committee on Mines and Mining Development perhaps or an appropriate committee and then they can be very specific about that transaction and how it was structured, how it was funded.  That is what I would propose Madam Speaker. Thank you.

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

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  What is your point of order?

HON. MADZIVANYIKA:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  I am aware that the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion is the one which actually issued a Treasury Bill that paid this 35% shareholding which was remaining under Mutapa.  So for the Hon. Minister to say that he may not be able to answer the specific question, this is a specific question session and I expect the Minister to answer.  I am sure the Hon. Minister is aware of this transaction.  He must just provide answers. Thank you Madam Speaker.

HON. PROF. M. NCUBE:  Madam Speaker, we have issued Treasury Bills to Mutapa, not just for the purchase of these shares but more broadly for their use as part of their capitalisation programme as we launch Mutapa but this is a specific question about the purchase of shares as to how much was applied, what are the terms and so forth.  That is why I am saying that we can get that answer very easily by inviting Mutapa to explain that.  I am sure they will be very happy to do that.  I would not want to start delving into their activities in this House.  I thank you.

HON. MADZIVANYIKA:  Supplementary question Madam Speaker.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  I think the Minister is very clear Hon. Madzivanyika.  Can you please allow us to proceed?

HON. MADZIVANYIKA:  It is now a supplementary question.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  What supplementary question do you have because I thought maybe you wanted clarity and he clarified that he will refer the issue to Mutapa to respond?

HON. MADZIVANYIKA: My supplementary question is, the Leader of the House clarified the issue of Mutapa to say, if you have a specific question, you send the specific question to the specific ministry because the power has already been taken away from the individual ministries on companies which are under Mutapa. When it comes to financial issues, the issue of Treasury Bills sits in the Ministry of Finance.  We expect an answer from the Minister on this one. That is why I am saying Madam Speaker, it is important when the same Ministry issues a Treasury Bill to pay 1.6 billion US dollars worth of 35% of the outstanding Kuvimba. We cannot just come here and say he cannot answer that question. It defies logic Madam Speaker.

 My supplementary question goes, 35% of Kuvimba was valued at US dollars 1.6 billion if you do your mathematics.  If 35% is 1.6 billion, and 100% is 4.6 billion, how does this 4.6 billion compare with the 2022 Kuvimba mining valuation done by the same Government through the same Ministry of Finance which allocated Kuvimba a total value of 1.5 billion? So from 2022, the Government of Zimbabwe indicated that Kuvimba as a whole is valued at 1.5 billion. One year later when the Government wants to buy 35% shareholding, it then says the value of Kuvimba now is valued at 4.6 billion. Are we not being prejudiced as a country? That is my question to the Hon. Minister.

HON. PPROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you very much. The Hon. Member seems to have very specific figures that he has either created or is aware of. So I do not know what he is asking me to clarify if he is already aware of these figures. What I am urging him to do is to get the correct facts by summoning Mutapa to this House, through the Parliamentary Committee or some other committee to explain and submit accurate figures on this matter. It is that simple. I thank you.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MAUNGANIDZE): Hon. Madzivanyika, I think the Minister is very clear, the issue is going to be referred to Mutapa. Then they can respond. The Minister does not have the responses that he requires right now. I think it is prudent for us to move on. – [HON. MADZIVANYIKA: With your indulgence, it is a very important issue, everyone out there is complaining about the issue of Mutapa. If you fizzle this out, Madam Speaker, you will be doing an injustice to the majority of Zimbabwe.]-

Hon. Madzivanyika I did not give you a chance to speak. The issue is being referred to Mutapa.  – [HON. MADZIVANYIKA: Mutapa is not a Minister.]- The Minister does not have the answers that you want right now. – [HON. MADZIVANYIKA: He can come back with answers. If he says that, that will be fine than to say that go to Mutapa. I am against the idea of going to Mutapa. Mutapa is not a Minister. When we come to Parliament, we ask questions.] – Hon. Madzivanyika, I did not recognise you. We are moving on for the sake of progress, can you please allow us to move on?

HON. MOLOKELA – TSIYE: On a point of order Madam Speaker, with due respect.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: What is your point of order?

 HON. MOLOKELA – TSIYE: Madam Speaker, with all due respect, this matter was discussed last week in this very House where a length of time was taken to clarify who exactly is accountable and responsible for the Mutapa Investment Fund. The conclusion, if you refer back to the Hansard of last week, was that we cannot expect the Mutapa Fund people to come here and answer on Wednesdays. A Minister has to be responsible and accountable for that. To that extent, as far as I remember and I stand corrected, the Hon. Minister of Finance is the relevant Minister cited. I think we need to refer this matter to the Hansard of last week.

HON. PROF.  M. NCUBE: I declare categorically that I am not the responsible Minister for Mutapa. It is an entity that reports directly to the Office of the President and Cabinet. It does not report to the Minister of Finance. What happens is that there are certain aspects to the extent that the Minister of Finance administers the Public Finance Management Act and has to give certain opinions perhaps even approvals. That is still our realm but I am not the responsible Minister. This House can call on anybody and can summon anybody to explain.

If the Hon. Member feels that talking to Mutapa and getting clarification on this matter is so important, surely in the next few days you will be able to ask Mutapa to come and sit in Parliament and explain these things in full the same way that you have invited ZESA or ZINARA, before or some other government-owned entity. Why is it different this time?

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: I think the Minister is clear.

HON. HAMAUSWA: Point of order Madam Speaker. I have a different issue, Madam Speaker.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: What is your issue Hon. Hamauswa?

HON. HAMAUSWA: My issue arises from the Constitution which I am holding here which explains the powers of Parliament. The Constitution says that Parliament has the power to summon anyone except the President. This means that now that Mutapa falls under the purview of the Office of the President, then it is difficult for Parliament to play an oversight role over all the resources that fall under Mutapa.

When we want to have answers from Ministers, then we are referred to the Office of the President and Cabinet. It becomes very difficult. I am therefore proposing and moving a motion that may one of the Vice-Presidents come here and answer questions related to Mutapa issues, because I am sure that we can request the Vice-Presidents to appear as also outlined by the provisions of the Constitution so that at least the Members of Parliament will be able to hear from the Executive what is going on within Mutapa.

HON. MADZIVANYIKA: On a point of clarity Madam Speaker. Just clarification.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: What clarification do you require?

 HON. MADZIVANYIKA: I hear the Hon. Minister says that it is not part of Mutapa.  If you read the Founding Act that forms Mutapa, there is Section 3 or 4, which gives the Minister the power to appoint the Mutapa Board. If you look at the Founding Act, it says the definition of the Minister means Minister of Finance. Whenever we talk about the Minister in the Mutapa Act, you are referring to the Minister of Finance. To then come and say that I do not have anything to do with Mutapa, I think it is a disgrace. Madam Speaker, please we need answers on this very important subject. We need to finalise who is going to give answers. We agreed last time to say if questions talk about companies in Mutapa, then we refer to the Minister of Mines. When the person is talking about finance issues in Mutapa, we refer directly to the Minister of Finance who is here. I would want to hear from the Minister saying that our colleagues and I have not prepared very well. Can you give me time to go and look at it and give you answers? That is more acceptable than to completely run away from his mandate. I thank you.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Thank you Hon. Madzivanyika. Admin will seek clarity on the issue then we get a response.

IMPORTATION BAN FOR 10-YEAR SECOND-HAND VEHICLES

14. HON. BONDA asked the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion to appraise the House on the importation ban for 10-year second-hand vehicles at a time when the local Motor manufacturing industry is not fully functional to meet the local demand.

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): I thank Hon. Bonda for the question asking me to appraise this house on the importation ban for 10-year second-hand vehicles at a time when the local motor manufacturing industry is not fully functional to meet the local demand. Madam Speaker, I take note of Honourable Bonda's question on why second-hand vehicles aged 10 years and above from the date of manufacture at the time of importation were banned.  I wish to inform the House that the measure was put in place in terms of the control of goods import and export commerce regulations.  These regulations are under the purview of the Minister of Industry and Commerce, hence I refer the question asked for a fuller explanation to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

Having said that, I still want to proceed to address a few aspects of this question, which is that there is also a push in the industry to even lower this limit further, going the other way, while the Hon. Member feels that perhaps this is too strict, maybe it ought to be increased.  At least that is the semantic input of the question, that we are also having a push the other way, so that then we can support the policy of having our trucks and vehicles assembled locally.  Therefore, just to reduce the importation of vehicles completely. So, I think the Hon. Member will find that this may not have an easy answer, given this need to support the burgeoning local assembly industry.  I must hasten to say, I visited Quest Motors a month ago in Mutare and I was suitably impressed by the capacity that they have to start manufacturing, putting down, assembling the knock-down kits that are imported together to sell locally. They even say that if they are supported the right way, they can even compete with the South African Motor Industry.  So, it is not a straightforward matter to say the least.

If there is unmet local demand, that local demand, at least according to those who are arguing in this direction, will be met by locally produced, locally assembled vehicles.  Then maybe to conclude, technically it is really an issue under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.  My job then is to support that ministry upon the relevant consultation. I thank you.

REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES IN UNITED STATES DOLLARS

15. HON. CHIHOTA asked the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion to explain to the House why ZIMRA demands the registration of new vehicles to be paid in USD, exclusively without consideration for ZiG, thereby undermining our local currency.

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION (HON. PROF. NCUBE): Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am.  I also take note of the question by Hon. Chihota on why Government is demanding USD on registration of new vehicles without consideration of Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), thereby undermining the local currency.

As you would be aware, Hon. Members, purchase of imported motor vehicles are transacted in foreign currency.  As a matter of principle, Government requires due fees, taxes and levies to be paid in the currency denominated of trade, in order to finance procurement of raw materials used for production of number plates, et cetera.  However, the Government remains committed to the use of local currency in the economy and the bulk of fees and charges across the economy are payable in local currency

EXPLANATION ON PASSENGERS RISK INSURANCE

          HON. C. HLATYWAYO asked the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion to explain to the House on Passengers Risk Insurance.

1. How the insurance is administered and its use
2. How much revenue has been collected from 2023 to date?

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION (HON. PROF. NCUBE): Thank you very much.  I thank Hon. Hlatywayo for the question. Public passenger liability is a special risk that no single insurer has an appetite for in the country. To address this, the Insurance Council of Zimbabwe (ICZ) has formed a special pool called the Special Risk Insurance Consortium (SRIC) to underwrite such risks.  The issuance of public passenger vehicle insurance is done in collaboration with the Road Motor Transportation (RMT) which operates under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development.  RMT only issues route permits to public passenger vehicles after the production of a valid public passenger liability insurance cover and access to the insurance database.

When a public passenger vehicle with a valid insurance is involved in an accident, the Civil Protection Unit and the Insurance Council of Zimbabwe coordinate assistance to victims. They work with emergency services, hospitals and funeral parlours to provide the necessary care.  The costs are handled by the CPU and later claimed from insurers.

That really pertains to the response to question 16A. 

 In terms of how much resources have been raised so far under the Public Passenger Vehicle Annual Insurance Scheme, in 2023, the revenues raised amount to US$2.5 million. In 2024, it was US$2.6 million.  Then, the number of insured in 2023 accidents was 38.  In 2024, it was 28.  In terms of the number of policies for what it is worth, in 2023, it was about 12 000 and in 2024, it was about 15 000.  It is important to note that a single accident can have between 1 to 50 claimants from this fund.  I thank you Madam Speaker.

MOBILISATION OF DOMESTIC RESOURCE TOWARDS FINANCING THE HEALTH SECTOR

17. HON. BAJILA asked the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion to inform the House on Government plans on domestic resource mobilisation towards financing the health sector.

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION (HON. PROF. NCUBE):  Madam Speaker, I thank Honourable Bajila for the question.  I respond as follows; Hon. Members will be aware that to enhance domestic resource mobilisation towards financing the health sector, Government is implementing several policies which were approved in this august House and they include: 1. The special surtax on beverages, sugar content. This is in order to discourage the consumption of high sugar content beverages. The funds obtained from this levy are ringfenced for therapy and procurement of cancer equipment for diagnosis. 

 In addition, the Government through the 2022-2023 National Budget, ringfenced and appropriated additional funds generated from the review of excise duty on cigarettes and energy drinks from the Consolidated Revenue Fund towards treatment and support of cancer, diabetes, hypertension patients through the Non-Communicable Disease Fund.  These are your so-called SIM taxes.

Furthermore, the funds derived from the AIDS levy are also ringfenced towards financing the health sector as a response to the HIV/AIDS resource requirement.  Special excise duty on airtime, Government in 2017 designated 5% of the sale value of airtime towards the health fund levy. The resources raised are ringfenced for the purchase of drugs and equipment for public hospitals and clinics.  As you can see, we have been diligent and tried very hard to come up with these various sources of revenue, mainly Sin taxes and so forth, to really support the health sector. What is happening globally has changed the entire landscape in terms of overseas development support to the health sector.  Some countries are in a worse situation than us. I would not mention them, but I have got some horrifying data right across Africa that the cut-off funding from abroad for the health sector is going to create real, real challenges for the fiscus. However, we have tried our best over the years, and thank you to Members in this august House for allowing us to put in these various taxes which will go a long way to ameliorating the challenges in the health sector funding.  I thank you. 

         HON. BAJILA: Thank you so much Madam Speaker. I would like to thank the Minister for his response. Just last week, the Minister of Health revealed that the Ministry needs 17 million per month for basic medicines and they have been allocated 44 million for that for the whole year, when they actually need 204 million for the entire year. This is a sign that the resources are not enough. But I want to thank the Minister for saying that these taxes and levies that are being collected are being ring-fenced.

Section 302 of the Constitution says that unless there is an Act of Parliament ring-fencing certain taxes, they all belong to the Consolidated Revenue Fund. Using what tool is the Ministry ring-fencing these taxes or they are disbursing as and what will have come? If there is no specific tool ring-fencing the taxes and levies, it is squarely at the discretion of the Minister. My question is on the tool that the Minister is ring-fencing the said taxes and levies.

HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you very much. Yes, the taxes automatically belong to the Consolidated Revenue Fund but we have raised these resources from these specific taxes to tackle certain situations in the health sector which are very urgent. As we go about spending, we do recognise and track how much we are raising so far and I am happy to give the Hon. Member a tracker as to how much we are raising every month from these various taxes and how these then are going to be applied to the needs of the health sector.

These are clearly not special funds, he is correct about that but as we spend, following a quasi or virtual ring-fencing approach in the absence of specific legally constituted funds.

HON. C. HLATYWAYO: Thank you Madam Speaker. Thank you Minister for your response. The Ministry for Health, about 48% to 52% of its requirements were funded by donors or the external funders, mainly from USAID, PEPFAR and other organisations linked to the United States of America. Now that the American Government, through its Presidential Orders, has withdrawn funding for those issues, including health issues. Are you going to come up with a supplementary budget to fund that 48% to 52% deficit on our health here in Zimbabwe?

HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: The Honourable Member has asked a very important question, a very critical question, which I think will give me an opportunity to explain something. I thank him for that. Madam Speaker Ma’am, the Hon. Member is correct, that the Ministry of Health has been drawing easily 48% of its budget from abroad and from donors, to support the various programmes but at the same time, if you look at the level of budget utilisation by the Ministry of Health, it never goes above 60% in any given year.

We have a situation where the budget utilisation is skewed towards drawing resources from donors, rather than from Government itself. Therefore, the Honourable Member, I think will realise from my argument that, I believe he is saying that the deficit in the Ministry of Health that will arise from the cut-off of this ODA from the US will not be as large and as alarming. Only if the Ministry of Health could use 100% of its budget, so this year we urge them to use 100% of their budget, they will find that this will go….

Hon. Hlatywayo having stood up on a point of order.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Hlatywayo, can you please allow the Minister to finish? He is still explaining himself, thank you. Hon. Minister you may proceed.

HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you very much. A combination of using 100% of that extra 40%, which always remains unused in any given year, if that were used that would go a long way in dealing with the gap that is being opened by the cutting off of aid from outside. Also, we have done our analysis and feel that the resources that are going to be raised from these additional taxes, syntaxes that I referred to, will go a long way towards closing that gap. We feel that the gap will not be as large and as alarming as Members might think because this was such a big shock to everybody, so it is quite easy to really feel that we have a situation that we cannot handle but I think that we will do our best to close this gap. I thank you. Thank you.

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

HON. PINDUKA: Madam Speaker, I move that the time for the Questions With Notice be extended with 20 minutes.

HON. C. MOYO: I second.

Motion put and agreed to.

COLLECTION OF SPORTS LEVIES BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES

18. HON. V. MOYO asked the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion to inform the House on the Government policy regarding the collection of sports levies by local authorities specifically, the Victoria Falls City Council to support sporting activities in their jurisdictions as a way of curbing drug and substance abuse.

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Thank you Madam Speaker, Hon. V. Moyo thank you for your question. I wish to respond to the question by V. Moyo on the Government policy regarding the collection of sports levies by local authorities, specifically Victoria Falls, to support sporting activities in their jurisdiction to deal with this very important issue of drug and substance abuse. I wish to advise the House that financing of sporting activities by local authorities really falls outside the purview of Central Government, particularly my Ministry, hence I wish to refer perhaps the question of Hon. V. Moyo to the Minister of Local Government and Public Works. It is really falling under the local authorities themselves and perhaps the person who can give us a better perspective on this is the Minister responsible for Local Government and Public Works. I thank you.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: What is your supplementary? The Minister has requested for the question to be referred to the Minister of Local Government.

HON. V. MOYO: Point of clarity?

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Okay, you may go ahead.

HON. V. MOYO: Thank you Madam Speaker. The reason I bring up to the Ministry of Finance is because the Ministry of Finance is also cited in the approval of council budgets and I bring this case particularly because the time when the City Council did apply, the Ministry of Finance was cited as one of those Ministries that did not accede to that application.

HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Thank you very much. I think Madam Speaker, we may need to go into this case a lot deeper. As I say, we will need the assistance of the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works and the Victoria Falls City Council itself. We always stand ready to assist our local authorities, especially on important issues such as drug and substance abuse. If we are cited as having perhaps, you know, were reticent, stood back or refused to accede to some request, that clearly is an issue.

Even I am concerned as the Hon. Member, we just need further information, more information on this. Maybe when we redirect it to Minister of Local Government, who has direct access to local authorities, it may shed light to all. I really insist that we redirect it. I will also be ready to support in the provision of the answer and dig up whatever information we have in Treasury pertaining to the specific things just mentioned. I thank you. Thank you.

DISBURSEMENTS OF DEVOLUTION FUNDS TO LOCAL AUTHORITIES

19. HON. MAKUMIRE asked the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion to apprise the House on the Government policy regarding timely disbursements of Devolution Funds to Local Authorities and considering payment of some component of the devolution funds in foreign currency.

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): Thank you Hon. Makumire for your question. I am sure that all Members agree that the intergovernmental fiscal transfers of devolution funds by Government are a critical avenue towards empowering our communities. This is done through the provision of basic services and infrastructure as well as procurement of key pieces of equipment to facilitate service delivery at the local level, a key ingredient towards socio-economic transformation.

Madam Speaker, let me also say to the House that the 2025 National Budget has a provisional allocation of 13.6 billion towards devolution and fulfilment of the Constitution.  It stipulates that not less than 5% of the national revenues generated in any financial year must be allocated to the provinces and local authorities in a particular financial year. The above budgetary allocation is meant mainly to sustain the implementation of ongoing construction projects countrywide as well as capacitation of some local authorities through the procurement of critical equipment and utility vehicles that include to acquire critical equipment and vehicles.  It could also include backhaul loaders, motorised graders, tippers, refuse trucks and drilling rigs for boreholes among others.

Madam Speaker, to facilitate the smooth implementation of projects and programmes that are being supported through the devolution funding, it is imperative that local authorities work closely with their parent Ministry in the preparation of their annual work plans.  This is in order to guide implementation of the planned activities and achievements of the set performance goals.

Furthermore, in line with the provision of the Zimbabwe Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers Administrative Systems Manual launched by Government in May 2024 upon receipt of devolution funds, local authorities should use the resources for the intended purpose.  They should use the resources in line with the value for money principles and ensure that the funds are properly recorded and fully accounted for thereof.

Accordingly, Treasury will strive to disperse the devolution funds on a monthly basis subject to quarterly reviews in line with the provision of paragraph 86 of the Zimbabwe IGFT Administrative Systems Manual. With regards to disbursement of resources in foreign currency to cater for some of the components under devolution projects and programmes, Treasury stands ready to assist local authorities through their line of Ministry on a case-by-case basis. We are happy to disburse funds in foreign currency on a case-by-case basis.

Madam Speaker, for the avoidance of doubt, priority will be accorded towards those projects or programmes and procurement of equipment that is ordinarily not locally available or is imported and therefore requires foreign currency for that importation. I thank you, Madam Speaker. Thank you.

HON. MAKUMIRE:  Thank you very much Madam Speaker Ma’am.  The Hon. Minister has highlighted that the devolution manual requires the Treasury to disburse these allocations on a monthly basis. So, I rise to enquire from the Minister so that he appraises the House if he is following the provisions of this manual.  Are there any disbursements that have been made since the introduction of this devolution manual?

HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: I thank the Hon. Member for the supplementary question.  Yes, devolution funds have been disbursed in line with the manual but of course, there has to be projects to fund in the first place. So, the issue of projects identification, preparation at that local level or just purchase of critical equipment is a prerequisite for the disbursements. What we have found out, Madam Speaker Ma’am, is that there just needs to be better coordination.  I urge Members here to maybe follow this piece of advice. Even for me, I was advised by the most successful MPs who know how to make use of these devolution funds that the MP should work hard to be in the forefront of drawing down on these funds, work with the local traditional leadership but most importantly, work with the CEO of the Rural District Council. I repeat, work with the CEO of the Rural District Council because we have noticed that there is a gap in strategy, understanding and even the chemistry between these individuals running the local RDCs and other leaders, including Members of Parliament.

Madam Speaker, so if there is a way to work together, identify projects as a unit, you will find that you will make a lot of progress. There are a few Members, I think at some point I will be able to draw out, I will be able to share, Madam Speaker Ma’am, information on how some Members here have been very successful and you could learn from them, copy from them as to how to draw down on these funds.  Once there is a project, then we have an obligation to disburse on this quarterly basis for whatever projects are available for funding on the ground. I thank you.

POLICY REGARDING MINE EMPLOYEES WHO CONTRIBUTED PENSIONS IN USD CURRENCY BUT RECEIVED PAYOUTS IN LOCAL CURRENCY

20. HON. MUROMBEDZI asked the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion what the Government policy is regarding mine employees who contributed pension to the MIPF in USD but later received payouts in local currency and to elaborate on the measures being put in place to ensure those who made lifetime pension contributions get their pensions in the currency and value they contributed.

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE): I thank Hon. Murombezi for the question. Thank you Hon. Ma'am.  Madam Speaker, you may be aware following the introduction of the multi-currency regime in October 2009 that the Mining Industry Pension Fund, MIPF, started receiving contributions in U.S. dollars, which was the functional currency until 2019. Therefore, the funds, pension contributions, investment returns and benefits were paid in foreign currency during this period. The currency reforms implemented in 2019 had the effect of re-denominating all foreign currency assets and liabilities into Zimbabwe dollars, ZWL as the new mono currency.

Madam Speaker Ma’am, drawing lessons from the 2009 currency reform, Government through IPEC, the Regulator for Pensions and Insurance issued a guidance paper on the conversion of insurance and pension liabilities from the U.S. dollars to Zimbabwe dollars.  This was to ensure Pension Fund members and policyholders equitably benefit from the revaluation gains on assets that supported their liabilities prior to the 2019 currency conversion. It is worth noting that during the period 2019 to 2020, Government adopted the Zimbabwe dollars, ZWL, as the mono currency. Hence, pension contributions and benefits were also paid in or paid out in Zimbabwe dollars, ZWL.

However, Government gazetted Statutory Instrument 280 in 2020, which provides for the payment of pension contributions in foreign currency, investments to be done in the matching currency and pension benefits being payable in the same matching currency. Statutory Instrument 280 of 2020 was premised on the fact that there are forex-generating employers such as the mining houses, NGOs, including U.N. agencies and export generating companies which were paying their employees in forex.  Since pensions contracts are borne out of contracts of employment, it was therefore justifiable to allow contributions in forex.  Following the gazetting of S.I. 280 of 2020, some MIPF participating mining houses commenced pension contributions in foreign currency as salaries were denominated in foreign currency.  MIPF has over the years been investing in foreign currency denominated assets such as real estate, listed equity, money market and equity market thereby generating forex income which IPEC is insisting should benefit members of the fund. As at 30 June 2024, MIPF total assets amounted to 2.9 billion ZiG or USD70.9 million.  In line with the requirements of S.I. 280 of 2020, the forex generating capacity of assets of the MIPF, pensioners are all receiving US dollar cushioning allowances effective July 2023.  These were paid as a once off in 2023 and quarterly in 2024.  For the year 2023, USD2.38million was paid out to pensioners and USD3.75million has been paid for 2024.  This was over and above the monthly local currency pension payments. 

The measures in place to ring-fence US dollar contributions and income for payments of benefits to members are also summarised in the paper.  Let me refer to the forex denominated assets. MIPF has invested in assets that generate forex which includes, for avoidance of doubt, the investment property, money market and others. Looking at the benefit statements of foreign contributions and benefits, the MIPF is also required by IPEC to conduct annual general meetings.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Order Hon. Minister, our extension has lapsed.  May you please wind up.

HON. PROF. M. NCUBE:  Let me wind up Madam Speaker Ma’am.  I feel that I have concluded the response to question 20.  What is just remaining is the last question No. 21. I thank you.

HON. KAMBUZUMA:  With your indulgence Madam Speaker, the Minister has one last question to answer.  So I move that question time be extended.

HON. C. MOYO:  I second.

Motion put and agreed to.

EXPLANATION ON THE PURPOSE OF THE MUTAPA INVESTMENT PLAN

21. HON. MADZIVANYIKA asked the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion to explain to the House whether Mutapa Investment Fund was created with the purpose of creating value and wealth for current and future generations of Zimbabwe and if the Ministry could disclose the progress made towards the valuation of all assets and loans acquired, including the financial statements.

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION (HON. M. NCUBE): The objectives of Mutapa Investment Fund are stated in Section 4 of the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Zimbabwe Act [Chapter 22:20].  The objectives are as follows:

1. to make secure investments for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations of Zimbabweans and
2. to support the development objectives of the Government, including its long-term economic and social development and
3. to support fiscal or macro-economic stabilisation, in particular to supplement the revenues of Zimbabwe when these are prejudiced by the fluctuation of prices payable for those minerals on which royalties and other taxes are collected for the benefit of the Consolidated Revenue Fund and
4. to contribute to the revenues of Zimbabwe from the net returns on its investments in accordance with Section 21.

Mutapa Investment Fund was formed to create wealth and long-term value for the people of Zimbabwe through the prudent management of its investment portfolio. In 2024, the Mutapa Investment Fund (MIF) completed an independent valuation of its investment portfolio, resulting in a gross asset valuation of $16 billion. Parallel to this MIF, management is actively strengthening financial reporting frameworks across its holding to enable the production of consolidated financial statements. These statements will offer stakeholders a transparent view of the fund’s performance, encompassing detailed disclosures of gross assets, net asset values and fair market valuations. Furthermore, the financial statements will incorporate a comprehensive analysis of the MIF’s and investees liability position and associated financial risks, all subject to an independent audit opinion. To bolster these financial reporting efforts, MIF appointed a Chief Finance Officer in Q4, 2024, tasked with overseeing financial reporting and collaborating closely with the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer.

HON. MADZIVANYIKA:  I am happy with this contradiction that sometime the Hon. Minister said that he is not able to answer but to a question that he is comfortable with, he answers. So, I am sure we are now moving in the same direction. The Minister highlighted that the 2024 valuation for Mutapa amounted to USD16 billion but in the same year, Kuvimba Mining House which has less than 12 companies under its name is valued at USD4.6 billion. Does that mean that the remaining 32 companies under Mutapa are valued at around USD11.4 billion? 

HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: Through deductive reasoning, if something is valued at a certain figure and you know the value of one of those components, it stands to reason that the value of the remaining assets is that total value minus the value of that specific entry. So, since he has a value for Kuvimba, although I did advise that it is best to receive the report first and interrogate it, he has an interest in Kuvimba because he keeps going on about it.  Others have interests in other assets, so if we get the whole report, we will get to know everything – Air Zimbabwe, Kuvimba, NRZ, Tel One, Net One, ZESA.  We want to know. So, why Kuvimba?  I urge the Member to open up his mind and allow the whole House to receive the entire report, be it the annual report, audit report or valuation report. We all want to know.  I will urge him to go in that direction since he is saying we are now moving in the same direction. That is the direction I want us to move in.  It is a very simple issue. This is an august House that can summon anybody or any document. It is that straight forward. I thank you.

HON. MUROMBEDZI:  On a point of privilege.

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER (HON. MAUNGANIDZE):  What is your point of privilege?

HON. MUROMBEDZI:  Thank you Madam Speaker. I was cut off on my question when you were moving to Question 20. I just wanted to thank the Hon. Minister for responding to the MIPF question and also to ask for clarification from the Minister on MIPF as well as to find out if he knows there are certain mining companies that are …

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Hon. Murombezi, we cannot go back. We are now on question 21.

HON. MUROMBEDZI:  I was about to finish. …

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Even if you finish, the Minister is not going to clarify Hon. Murombedzi.

HON. MUROMBEDZI:  I just want him to know …

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Can you please take your seat? Hon. Madzivanyika, you can ask your last supplementary question.

HON. MADZIVANYIKA:  Thank you Madam Speaker. My last supplementary question is, Government of Zimbabwe, in the year 2022, gave a valuation report to Mutapa Investment Fund companies and the valuation report given in 2022 indicated that the total value of all companies under Mutapa Investment Fund amounts to USD1.5 billion. Can the Honourable Minister make a reconciliation now?

What has happened from 2022 to 2024, where the new value is now 16 billion according to what is standard in Parliament? Thank you very much Madam Speaker.

HON. PROF. M. NCUBE:  Thank you Madam Speaker. First of all, if I could correct Hon. Madzivanyika, I think maybe it was a tongue error. He said that the value of assets under Mutapa is USD1.6 billion.  I think that was an error. I should be talking to the Chair. So, I will forgive him.  It is under Kuvimba – [HON. MADZIVANYIKA: Madam Chair, if you can allow me to correct myself there. It is allowed.] –

THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER:  Hon. Madzivanyka! Can you allow the Minister to respond? – [HON. MADZIVANYIKA: I thought he allowed me to correct.] – Hon. Madzivanyika, I am the Chair. Hon. Minister, you may respond.

HON. PROF. M. NCUBE:  Thank you Madam Speaker.  This is exactly the line of questioning, the line of analysis that we would want to pursue when Mutapa is given the opportunity to come before this House to explain the valuation, to explain the various transactions, to explain their strategy as to how they will switch all these 33 companies, all these assets, so that they can contribute fully to the creation of our regeneration of our GDP. This is exactly the type of questions that we expect on that day. I had wished the Honourable Member would then say, I will summon them in the next one month or two months. We want to hear that from him. I am surprised that he is not even enthusiastic about inviting them. I think he should be enthusiastic. Thank you.

FINANCING OF VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRES

22. HON. MAKUMIRE asked the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion to update the House on the Government’s plans to finance Vocational Training Centres for sustenance of its operations.

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE):  Thank you. The Government plans to finance and sustain operations of the VTCs which play a critical role in equipping our youth with skills necessary to drive the nation's economic growth and development and these plans are financed through the Budget annually. The Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training has allocated ZiG1 billion for 2025, of which vocational training has been allocated 200 million towards their operations.  The support targets:

1. empowerment of these VTCs, not just to evolve into industrial hubs that will serve as catalysts for local economic growth within their respective communities. These availed resources will be used to resuscitate the infrastructure.
2. is to adjust the curriculum of the VTCs to suit the needs of the communities which they are supposed to support and help.
3. is to facilitate the processing of loans through the Empower Bank. On Empower Bank, Madam Speaker, I can hasten to add that yesterday I awarded them a prescribed asset status, which means that from now on going forward, they should find it easier to partner with other investors, pension funds and others who then get brownie points under prescribed assets provisions as they partner with Empower Bank. This will help them to extend more resources that is shared with other investors going forward and may even help them to recapitalise.

This development was advocated for by the Members of this Parliament. I know the names, I will not mention them and we have finally implemented that request from Parliament for both the Empower Bank and also Women's Bank. This has also been accorded a prescribed asset status. I thank you.

HON. MAKUMIRE:  Thank you very much Madam Speaker. It has been established that since 2016, the VTCs in Zimbabwe have not received any funding for infrastructure development. This is evident even if you go around all the VTCs that are in Zimbabwe. You are going to realise that there is no adequate infrastructure for these VTCs to carry out their business. Now, my supplementary question to the Honourable Minister is, when can we expect the Treasury to disburse funds for upgrading infrastructure development so that we improve the learning facilities at these institutions? Thank you very much.

HON. PROF. M. NCUBE:  I thank the Hon. Member for the questions. We have said that already 200 million has been allocated towards the VTCs in terms of their operations and I have outlined which operations are being targeted in addition to infrastructure investment. I am surprised by Hon. Members saying that in the last three years or something, he mentioned some figure, there has been no disbursement. That can only be incorrect. Otherwise, the Ministry for Youth Empowerment has nothing to do. It is doing nothing. That cannot be correct.

I think what we can do is just to come up with a compendium where we can list the VTCs that have been upgraded, whose infrastructure has been revamped over the last three years and then we can share that with this House or the Honourable Member and be able to say at what stage that kind of update that has taken place is it. It cannot be that really nothing has been done. That would be awkward and strange. I thank you.

WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE

INFORMATION ON DIRECTORS AND NAME OF COMPANY HOLDING 12.5% CFU SHARES

12. HON. JAMES asked the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion to inform the House: a) The Directors of the company holding the 12.5% CFU shares and to provide the name of that company. b) Whether the CFU’s 12.5% shareholding referred to in this case is included in the final purchase of the remaining 35% shareholding in Kuvimba Mining Company acquired by the Government, if so, whether the CFU agreed to this sale on behalf of the farmers, and also disclose who was given the money.

         THE MINISTER OF FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION (HON. NCUBE): Part a): The 12.5% is held by Datvest Nominees pending payment to be made to former arm owners who opt to receive compensation under terms agreed with Government.

         Part b): No as explained above, this is separate from the shares that were previously owned by a third private investors.

PROGRESS ON INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND STAFF MONITORED PROGRAMME

13. HON. G. K. HLATYWAYO asked the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion to appraise the House on the progress made by the Government regarding the International Monetary Fund Staff Monitored Program.

        THE MINISTER OF FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION (HON. PROF. M. NCUBE: International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission team conducted a visit to Zimbabwe from January 30 to February 2025, as part of the preparatory phase for the implementation of a Monitored Programme (SMP).

         I regards the Government and the IMF team are at an advanced stage of designing the prior action, qualitative and quantitative targets, which will constitute the staff-monitored programme. Once agreed the target is to sign the SMP in April 2025 during the IMF spring meetings.

This SMP is designed to support the country’s economic stabilisation efforts and facilitate engagement and reengagement with the international community as an integral part of the Government’s External Debt Arrears Clearance Programme.

On the motion of HON. KAMBUZUMA, seconded by HON. NYANDORO, the House adjourned at Six Minutes to Six o’clock p.m.