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SENATE HANSARD 03 APRIL 2025 Vol. 34 No. 41

PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE

Wednesday, 3^rd April, 2025

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

PRAYERS

(THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE in the Chair)

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: I have to inform the Senate that we have the following Hon. Ministers; Prof. Murwira, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Hon. Matuke, Minister of State for National Security; Hon. Z. Ziyambi, Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs; Hon. S. Sibanda, Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development.  

*HON. SEN. MAVENYENGWA:  Thank you Mr. President of the Senate, my question is directed to the Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Hon. Prof. Murwira.  I want to find out from the Minister that ever since the First Republic, we heard them talking about engagement and the re-engagement thrust. To date, in terms of engagement and re-engagement policy, what have we achieved as a country?  

THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. PROF. MURWIRA): Thank you Mr. President Sir. I thank Hon. Mavenyengwa for the question.  He wants to find out what has been the results of the engagement and re-engagement process in the Second Republic. We are re-affirming the friendship of those we already have and those countries that had disengaged from us, we want them to re-engage.  We first came up with a policy called friends to all and enemy to none.  As a country, we befriend everyone and we do not want any enemies but it does not mean that we do not have those people who hate us.  They may hate us but our policy is that we do not hate anyone.

We further stated that if you want to trade with us and cooperate with us, you are free to come and work with us through our policy, ‘Zimbabwe is open for business.’  We also said we are the leaders and owners of this country and came up with a policy, ‘Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo.’  We also went further to say that as a country, we do not want anyone in our society to be left behind or any place to be left behind. If we are in the United Nations, we do not want any countries that are left behind.  As we work with others at all material times, we should know that we are Zimbabweans, we are going to use our innovation, we are going to revolutionise our minds.  We are a country that fought for its independence; we know the importance of freedom, hence we declared Zimbabwe will forever be sovereign.  So, these six policies about our country, which is our doctrine, we were able to have bilateral relations with a lot of countries so that they could come and we would work together from China up to Russia, Britain, USA and Canada.

This helped us so that I can answer the second rank of his question. Because of the Vision of His Excellency, the President, E.D. Mnangagwa, you observe that our economy, when we entered the Second Republic, we had a GDP of 16 billion.  At the moment, as for our economy, we now have an economy of more than 50 billion. It was because of the businesses that came to invest in this country, we are now making steel, which used to be made at Zisco Steel but it is now being produced at Manhize. All this occurred because we said we are a friend to all and an enemy to none.  Everyone can come and invest in Zimbabwe.

In 2024, we were able to export goods over seven billion, which means that our exports have grown up. In the Second Republic, we used to export USD 2 billion. So, there was more than 300% increase in the export figures. This means that this relationship that we are having with other countries and the peace that we have internally and amongst others, in terms of Section 64 of the Constitution, which says we should talk and live in harmony with others, we should meet in public parties that are the world over that involve themselves in peace. So, the President's foreign policy has brought us development and our economy has grown but we are not going to sit on our laurels. We will continue working hard to ensure that our country's economy is growing. We have a doctrine for the President, which I am lifting up here, it shows what we stand for as a country.  Inside the doctrine, there are six things; the country is built by its owners, we are a friend to all and an enemy to none, Zimbabwe is open to business is the third one, come and invest. Fourth, leaving no one and no place behind, let us work together. Fifth, the revolution for the minds speak, well knowing who you are and lastly, Zimbabwe will forever be a sovereign independent State. Due to the respect that we have bestowed upon ourselves, we have been able to lure friends. People do not come to people who look down upon themselves. So, we see the economy growing because no one wants to visit a fool. They want to visit people, normal people, because of this policy that has a lot of thinking in it.

THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: We have been joined by Hon. Minister Mhona, Minister for Transport and Infrastructural Development; Hon. Minister Kazembe, who is the Minister for Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage; Hon. Minister Soda, who happens to be the Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities. Amongst us, we also have Hon. Minister Garwe, Minister for Local Government and Public Works and Hon. Minister Mombeshora, the Minister of Health and Child Care. We have a host of Ministers today. Thank you very much Hon. Ministers.

*HON. SEN. MAVENYENGWA: My supplementary question is that we once had those people who would want to come and invest in Zimbabwe, say that there were a lot of delays in setting up businesses and the taxes or the levies that they pay, what have you done to improve that situation so that investors can quickly set up their businesses? I thank you.

HON. PROF. MURWIRA:  Thank you for the supplementary question Hon. Senator Mavenyengwa that you want to find out about the delays in setting up businesses. The country is growing, so the country is developing. It can only develop by knowing what needs to be attended to. It can only develop if we meet the people and they give their complaints and you attend to them. If you are making a stool or a chair, they will say that it is hard. Then you iron out the creases until it becomes smooth. We have the Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency, ZIDA, to make it easy for one to set up his business. The plethora of licenses that we used to have, were reduced by His Excellency, the President so that one can pay the levies once and that you only take money from the investor through taxes. We are learning, Rome was not built in a day. What we saw five years ago and what we are going to see now and five years later should show the development in our society or in our country. We are developing and have accepted that we need to develop. So, we are attending to these problems and ensuring that we iron out all the rough edges. I thank you.

         *HON. SEN. ZINDI:  Thank you Mr. President of the Senate.  My supplementary is, these investors that are coming to invest in Zimbabwe, do we have a difference in the types of businesses that they can come and set up in the country?  Let me give an example.  We see those who are coming to invest are coming here to make bricks for construction.  Some are opening up restaurants where they prepare meals and we can go and drink.  Is this what they should be coming for or they should be coming to create employment?  

It is an opportunity that we also hear from the Government that this is an opportunity for the local Zimbabwean people.  How are you going about this when you give foreigners the policy before they come to invest in Zimbabwe?  

*HON. PROF. MURWIRA:  Thank you Mr. President of the Senate.  I thank the Hon. Member for the supplementary question.  Let me start by saying that when you are making a stool, you need to refine it or modify it.  If you see a Peugeot 404 and you see today's car, people learn and improve but Zimbabwe has a very good law on the reserved sector.  This reserved sector is for Zimbabweans.  You will observe that brick moulding is in the reserved sector.  Even the collection of river sand also is in the reserved sector.  

The first question was, are people coming and we said yes, they are coming.  If they are now going to the reserved sector, we will move them away from the sector.  So my observation is that this is a very good question.  We respond that now we have a law that governs the reserved sector that enables our people to open up these organisations which cannot come here and be involved in borehole drilling.  We can drill our water.

The policy of Zimbabwe is very clear but there are people that misbehave.  That is why people end up being arrested.  Hence, we have the police and the courts.  Stealing is a word that is found in the dictionary because at one time they once saw someone stealing. So this unlawful activity is called stealing.  So stealing does happen but the person has to be arrested.  Is there a remedy when someone steals? Yes, there is, in this regard it is called the reserved sector.  I thank you.

*HON. SEN. HUNGWE:  Thank you, Mr. President of the Senate.  We heard the Minister's eloquent response but the question begs an answer.  Are our friends that we work together with as partners in the business paying taxes because for the Government to be able to discharge its obligations, it survives on taxes.  I thought I would just ask or are they going to have an exemption for the payment of tax because a lot of gold is leaving this country?  I thank you.

*HON. PROF. MURWIRA:  Thank you, Hon. President. I would like to thank the Hon. Sen. Hungwe for the question.  Let me state that for a country to move forward or to move smoothly citizens need to pay taxes.  Taxes enable us to sit in here and enjoy electricity because it is the taxes that drive a country.  So, the law requires a businessman or a woman to pay the tax.

Everyone who is in business is supposed to pay taxes.  If there are those who misbehave and do not pay taxes or are difficult nuts to crack it means that the law must visit them so as to ensure that they pay their taxes or they should be incarcerated where possible. The law is very clear but we have those that steal.  The business of police officers and detectives is to look for thieves. Every citizen must ensure that we look for thieves who want to have a free ride.  People want to have good roads but they do not want to pay tax.  The person who says our roads are bad is the one who is not paying the taxes.  So the issue of taxes is very important to us.  So the question is very important.  If they are not paying taxes, they are misbehaving because the law says they should pay the taxes.  I thank you.

HON. SEN. NCUBE:  My question goes to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development.  Hon. Minister, what is Government policy or programme in resuscitating and revitalising labour-based road construction units in the rural areas where they can create employment and also provide minimal maintenance for low-volume roads?  Thank you, Mr. President.

THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA):  Thank you Mr. President Sir and let me also thank Hon. Sen. Engineer McKenzie Ncube for that very important question which is in two parts. The first part relates to low-volume roads in our rural constituents and I am happy that before I came to this august House, we were finalising a product that we think is going to support and buttress where we see year-in, year-out grading of our roads but we will be also using certain products to make sure that when we grade our roads, we do not need to come again every year.

So in terms of the low-volume roads, in terms of traffic, we use that nanotechnology and  nanoparticles to make sure that we administer our roads and mix with our gravel but this depends on certain particular soils that we have within our provinces and also in terms of labour-backed programmes.  We know that through rural district councils, we used to have people from our communities manning and rehabilitating our roads which is a programme that is commendable.  I have also appealed not only in the rural constituencies but even our cities where we know that for the past 20 years, roads that were under the purview of local authorities were neglected and you find some communities can come together, mobilise resources and through the Department of Roads we will then come with our equipment to also work together with our citizenry buttressing the mantra of his Excellency that nyika inovakwa nevene vayo. So, I do concur with what the Hon. Senator has said in terms of us participating in the road maintenance and road rehabilitation programme as the citizenry. Thank you Mr. President.

THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you very much Hon. Minister. May I also inform the House that we have also been joined by two other Ministers? We have Hon. Ncube, who is the Deputy Minister for National Housing and Social Amenities. We also have Hon. Kabikira, who is the Deputy Minister for Local Government and Public Works.

HON. SEN. MANYENGEVANA: Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to Hon. Z. Ziyambi, the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. My question is people of Zimbabwe applaud the existence of the Sovereign Fund, which is a standard practice the world over but in our case and in the interest of transparency, it is in the national interest for the people of Zimbabwe to know the strength of the fund at the inception and where it is now. At what stage would the people of Zimbabwe begin to see the tangible benefits of the Mutapa Fund? I thank you, Mr. President.

THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (HON. Z. ZIYAMBI): Thank you, Mr. President. I want to thank the Hon. Member for the question, which is a very good question indeed. Actually, what Government has done is to lump all the Government companies under Mutapa Fund. So, what Mutapa Fund is doing Mr. President now, is to quantify the actual value of the companies under Mutapa and once they finish that, then the public will be made aware of the value. It is very good because it will allow us now to be credit-rated and we can actually borrow as a nation against that for any developments that we want. So, it is a very good question, but it is work in progress that the fund is doing. I thank you.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE

APOLOGIES RECEIVED FROM MINISTERS

THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Thank you Hon. Minister. I have just received some apologies that I feel you must know. I have an apology from Hon. D. Phuti, Deputy Minister for Information and Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services. I have another apology from D. Mnangagwa, Hon. Deputy Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion. I also have another apology from Hon. Dr. O. Marupi, Deputy Minister for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Hon. Professor M. Ncube, Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Hon. Mavhunga, Minister of Veterans of the Liberation Struggle, Hon. O. C. Z. Muchinguri, Minister of Defence and Security Services.

HON. SEN. ZVIDZAI: Thank you Mr. President. I have got a supplementary question to the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. Minister, in your answer, you seem to suggest that at the point of inception of the Mutapa Fund, Government was completely lights out with respect to the strength, the financial strength of this fund. Have I understood you to say that or have I not understood you properly?

HON. Z. ZIYAMBI: Thank you Mr. President. You totally misunderstood me. I said the fund, these were separate companies administered differently now are under one roof. So, the company has to do an audit for themselves, not to rely on others, with the information that they inherit and then they should be able now to say, this is the current status of the company. These are our liabilities. These are our assets and be able to come up with the true value. They have engaged evaluators to evaluate and come up with current data, not to say that that data was not there within the individual settings of the companies. I thank you.

HON. SEN. ZVIDZAI: I think the question was very clear that, at its inception, what was the strength of the Mutapa Fund? It could be nominal, it could be an approximation. The people want to know the strength of the Mutapa Fund at its inception for transparency, so that we can track. If in the next six months, the value is lower, then we know the money is being wasted. So, we need to know where we started from.

HON. Z. ZIYAMBI: Thank you Mr. President. That is what I am saying, that the fund was recently put together and the office was set up. So, that is what they are doing so that they will say, when we inherited, this is how we quantified it. They do not want to use historical data. They are doing it for themselves to say, we inherited ZUPCO, this is the status that it was like. We inherited ZESA. We inherited this and then they come up with a wholesome figure to say, as Mutapa Fund, these are our assets, these are our liabilities as at inception and that is what they are doing. I thank you.

HON. SEN. MANYENGAVANA: Thank you Hon. President.

I hope we get a satisfactory answer. Hon. Minister, what we are talking about is public enterprises and these companies were in existence and Government knew when they had the idea to have all these companies under one umbrella. Honestly, the people of Zimbabwe need to understand and need to know how much this vehicle called Mutapa Fund is holding. For us in this House to say, we are still investigating, we are still auditing. Honestly, after a year, I think it is not fair Hon. Minister. I think you can give us a time frame. It will help the people of Zimbabwe to understand where their money is going.

         HON. Z. ZIYAMBI: Thank you Mr. President, the information that is required is actually tabled here. So, the Hon. Member and those that are interested in what I said will be provided, can use that and do the mathematics. This is public information. If you want to know the value of POSB, it is a listed company. It is a public company. You can get that information. If you want to know about ZESA, you can get that. What I was referring to is Mutapa Fund in its entirety. If you want the individual company, like you are saying, this public information is there in the public domain. So, there is nothing that has been hidden from the public Mr. President.

HON. SEN. MOHADI: Thank you Mr. President. My question goes to the Leader of the House because I cannot see the Ministers that I wanted to direct my question to. Minister, elephants are causing havoc in the rural areas and as a result, they are destroying the fields. In other places, children are no longer going to school just because they are afraid of elephants. I contacted ZIMPARKS, where I was told that they have a lot of elephants within other areas and they do not know where they can chase them to. So, what can our Government do in order to protect our farmers and the school-going children? I thank you.

THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND FINANCIAL AFFAIRS (HON. Z. ZIYAMBI):  Thank you Mr. President Sir. I want to thank the Honourable Senator for the question. I believe the Honourable Senator actually did the correct thing.  We always have human-wildlife conflicts and when that occurs, National Parks is informed. In the majority of cases, if they identify animals that are now problematic, they put them down.  I am not very sure why she was given an answer that related to the population of elephants. The normal procedure is once they are informed, they take action and ensure that they remove the elephants from areas where human beings are living. If there is a feeling that the animals have become dangerous, they put them down. I submit Mr. President.

*HON. SEN. CHITSAMBA:  Thank you President of the Senate for the opportunity to pose my question to the Minister of Local Government and National Housing. May you please clarify so that the Members of the august House and those at home can understand when are the provincial councillors going to start their work? They have been patiently waiting to no avail. May you please clarify?

THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTATY AFFAIRS (HON. Z. ZIYAMBI):  Thank you Mr. President of the Senate. I thank the Member for this question, which was also asked yesterday in the National Assembly. It is true that when we conducted our elections, in terms of our elections, which we should call harmonised elections, elections are conducted for those who serve on provincial councils. Our Constitution says that it should be an enabling act that clearly spells out the work of the provincial council.

Allow me Mr. President of Senate, to say that when we were drafting our Constitution, we borrowed some input from countries that are bigger than us, which are Federal States. So, we are now busy because we have Central Government and Local Government. What will these councillors be doing? We are currently doing consultations so that when we come up with this law, it reads well and will not contradict other laws.

We do not want to quickly come up with the setting up of these provincial councils without a properly reasoned out or properly crafted enabling act that is quite clear so as to give the terms of reference of these provincial councillors.

*HON. SEN. MUZODA:   Thank you Mr. President. I want to thank the Honourable Minister for the clarification about coming up with an enabling Act. Mr. President, it is now 12 years since these people were elected and since 2013, they have not been serving in any position. When is this law going to be completed?

HON. Z. ZIYAMBI:  Thank you Mr. President of the Senate. I am not there to say why is the enabling act not being enacted. I am giving you what it is that we are doing and what we intend to do so that when you complete this law, there will not be any arguments but work in terms of the law.

+HON. S. MOYO:   The Honourable Minister is telling us that there is no specific law and my question is that these people are given their salaries but at times they go for three months or so without salaries and the question is, where are these monies coming from? I thank you.

*HON. Z. ZIYAMBI:  Mr. President Sir, if I understood well, the question is that these people are earning salaries. This is good, which means they have been favoured. I thank you.

*THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE:  Honourable Minister, it would be appropriate if we were to look into the question very well because it was saying at times they are paid and at times they are not paid.  Maybe it needs to be written down.

*HON. Z. ZIYAMBI:  Maybe the President was sympathetic towards them that as we move towards coming up with this Act, please give them the money.

HON. SEN. ZVIDZAI:  On a point of order Mr. President Sir. When we leave our homes to come to this House to transact the business of the nation, we are doing it very seriously.  Mr. President, we also expect ministers, as they answer our questions, to do that with respect. To be serious about the business of this House because we are not joking. We are not joking about the taxpayers' money that is being abused through whatever power. Thank you.

HON. Z. ZIYAMBI:  Mr. President, I want to thank you. I am not sure where the disrespect is. I actually tried to explain that the President was very humane in giving them before they took an oath of office. I do not see any inch of disrespect in that because the normal procedure, there is no Member of Parliament who gets a salary without taking an oath of office because you would not have assumed your duties.

I was explaining that for us to operationalise the provincial councils, we have to make sure that the laws are speaking to each other.  We cannot just rush to operationalise an organ when we are seeing some tipping problems. We have to iron them out. There is no lack of seriousness in taking the business of the Senate in responding that way. I am not sure why they are agitating for a different answer from what I have given. I thank you Mr. President.

*HON. SEN. HUNGWE: Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development, Hon. Mhona. This year, our Independence celebrations are in Gokwe North Province - Nembudziya. The shortest road from Harare to Nembudziya is the Sanyati Copper Queen Road which goes through Kadoma. That is a bad road. I would like to find out from the Hon. Minister what the state of that road is now as next week we are going to celebrate our independence.

THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: This was a specific question. I will allow it to be answered because it deals with the Independence Celebrations.

*THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you President of the Senate. I want to thank  Hon. Senator Hungwe for asking the question. It is true. I want to thank you Mr. President of the Senate for allowing us to clarify. I want to thank His Excellency the President for his vision for Independence celebrations to be celebrated in different districts or provinces.

Last year we were in Buhera, Manicaland and one time we were in Mt. Darwin. Now, we have moved to Gokwe. The majority of the residents in Gokwe, according to the ordinary men in the street they were thinking that development would never reach such areas. The truth of the matter is, we are facing the Independence celebrations but as the Ministry of Roads and Infrastructural Development, we are looking after post-Independence celebrations. We are going there and we are not only attending the route to Nembudziya but also other people who come from other provinces to access the destination easily.

The Copper Queen Road is the Alaska Copper Queen that also leads to Gokwe from Mashonaland West. The Golden Valley Sanyati Road that she has mentioned is a major road and we would want to ensure that it passes through Kadoma Patchway then get to Munyati River and then across Munyati River you get to Nembudziya. We started repairing the road last year. At the moment we have 20 kilometers that are being tarred. If you go to the Independence celebration you will see our machinery on the road busy at work.

We want to ensure that the road is tarred up to Nembudziya. The Independence celebrations are a few weeks away. We do maintenance grading and we have not reached the stage where we are going to tar the road so that we will be able to travel safely. As we get to Munyati River, we have a bridge. It is a single-lane or single weighbridge. We are ensuring that we  widen the bridge so that it can be a two-way traffic bridge. We have a Munyati Maintenance Unit Station in that place. These are the works that are being done for us to celebrate our Independence. The majority of the people are seeing state-of-the-art road machinery being used on that particular road.

I urge everyone to come to the Independence celebrations and in the meantime witness the work that has been done by the Second Republic. A stadium has been constructed and soccer lovers are going to enjoy that. This is the devolution that we are talking about as we devolve all over the country. I thank you.

+HON. SEN. L. SIBANDA: I want to direct my question to the Hon. Minister. My question is that, towards the end of last year, there was immunisation of children against polio. In February this year a similar process was done and the community health workers who facilitated that in communities have the database of children and up to today, they have not been paid. The question is, when are they going to be paid?

The last round of polio vaccination was in February and community health workers do most of the job. They have the database of children in communities from zero to ten years old who were being vaccinated. The number is being added to the number that was being vaccinated and up to now, these community health workers have not been paid. When are the community health workers going to be paid? Another round of polio vaccination is coming. I thank you.

THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. DR. MOMBESHORA): Thank you Mr. President. Let me thank the Hon. Senator for that inquiry. We have had several rounds of polio vaccination and the last one which was carried out was in February. We have a fund, partly from our coffers and partly funded by partners. At the end of each round of vaccination, we get a compilation of who participated and then payments will be made. I have had complaints from some parts of Harare about people who participated and were not paid. I have instructed the department that deals with vaccination to look into the issue and I hope I will get an answer soon. I think the money is there.

It was just a compilation of the correct data on who participated.  I thank you.

         *HON. SEN. GUMPO: My question is directed to the Minister of Transport.  The people of Mashonaland West celebrated after seeing the first phase of the Harare – Chirundu Road rehabilitation programme and the quality of the side roads that you were constructing.  However, they would like to know when the project will be continuing because at the moment nothing is happening.

         *THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT (HON. MHONA): Thank you Hon. Senator Gumpo for that very important question.  Indeed, it is true that we have a critical road which connects Beitbridge-Harare-Chirundu connecting to countries like Zambia, DRC, Malawi and other roads.  As I speak, I do not know when you last used that road because I know you will be driving from Kariba.  We now have a contractor on the ground who is working on a very bad patch going towards Makuti.  In the past, we resurfaced the road with the help of our partners from Japan.  We are still working on that road and from Harare we are going to continue from the roundabout where we ended but the contractors on the ground are currently patching potholes caused by the heavy rains.  We have engaged the contractors who are completing the Beitbridge-Harare Road.  After they complete that road, they will proceed to the Chirundu-Harare Road.  The budget that we are using for the different roads is the same which we were using last year.  I request that you bear with us because we cannot work on all the roads at once but this road is very critical and the contractor is already working on it.  I thank you.

         *HON. SEN. CHIEF CHARUMBIRA:  Hon. Minister, I once requested that you give this august House a planned schedule of the roads that you will be working on so that we focus on asking about the completion of the roads on the schedule and not ask about roads that are not on the schedule. 

         *HON. MHONA:  Thank you Hon. Senator Chief Charumbira for the question.  I will indeed come to this august House with the requested schedule.  I thank you.

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

         HON. SEN. TONGOGARA:  Mr. President of Senate, I request that the time for Questions Without Notice be extended by 30 minutes since today we have a House full of Ministers.

         HON. SEN. ZINDI:  I second.

         Motion put and agreed to.

         THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE:  Surely, because today we have the highest number of Ministers that we have ever had, I will extend that time by 30 minutes.

         HON. SEN. TONGOGARA:  My question is directed to the Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education.  Could the Hon. Minister update us on the progress of infrastructure development in the State Universities, in particular with regards to student accommodation as most of them cannot secure on-campus accommodation?

         THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HON. SIBANDA):  I would like to thank Hon. Senator Tongogara for the question.  Student accommodation is of paramount importance in terms of the education of our students at universities.  As a Government, we take this issue seriously and the universities are also involved in the establishment of student accommodation.  Just last year, during the graduation at Bindura University, His Excellency, the President, commissioned the dining hall which is part of the student accommodation.  In almost all universities we are involved in the construction of student accommodation bearing the financial challenges we might be having here and there.  To inform this House, the issue of student accommodation is one that we take seriously and are involved in.

         HON. SEN. KATUMBA:  My question is directed to the Minister of Health.  Hon. Minister, there are no baby cards in the hospitals anymore which used to be issued after giving birth.  As a Ministry, what are you doing to make sure those cards are availed?

         THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. KWIDINI):  I want to thank the Hon. Member for the question.  Yes, we had challenges in printing those cards sometime last year and we ran out of stock. It was just a question of funding which had run out but I think the printing has started and very soon the cards will be available in all institutions.  I thank you.

         *HON. SEN. BIMHA:  My question is directed to the Deputy Minister of Sport.  This country has produced a lot of people who have excelled in arts and sports.  I think we do not have our own hall of fame.  At times it is difficult for them to be awarded the national hero’s status. Many sportsmen and those that are into arts, football and other such disciplines should have their own hall of fame, the likes of the late George Shaya, who was five times soccer star of the year consecutively. This is the first of its kind.

THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE: Please Hon. Senator, can you ask your question now?

*HON. SEN. BIMHA: I want to find out from the Hon. Minister if we have in place our own hall of fame to honour these sportspersons. Thank you Mr. President of the Senate.

*DEPUTY MINISTER OF SPORTS, RECREATION, ARTS AND CULTURE (HON. JESAYA): I just want to thank Hon. Sen. for the question, which is a pertinent one. We say that the people can only be respected by their own people. As a Ministry, we have in place those that excel in the sporting disciplines. In the Ministry of Sports, we have different disciplines; we have that arts and sports. We are coming up with sporting ambassadors. The same for arts and cultural ambassadors that we work with. Let me take this opportunity to thank the Government for the steps that it took to recognise those that are in the sporting and arts industries. In terms of the hero status that is bestowed on them when they pass away, when the late Dr. Oliver Mutukudzi passed away, he was given National Hero Status as well as a Soul Jah Love. It is that type of conferment that we have as a Ministry.  I thank you.

*HON. SEN. ZINDI: Thank you Hon. President, my question is directed to the Hon. Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage. He once posed a question in the august Senate, about the issue of drivers in the cities, especially in Harare, who drive commuter omnibus and mushika-shika vehicles with regards to the manner in which they are driving on the roads, they are causing accidents.

They do not give way to oncoming traffic, he recommended that measures were going to be taken and that they will seriously look into this issue but this is continuing unabated.

There are some hwindis that ride at the back of the commuter omnibuses and if you are not very careful, you may be involved in an accident. Why is it difficult to tame this jungle, especially in Harare?

*THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Let me thank the Hon. Sen. who has just posed the question for asking such a pertinent question. She has said the truth about the manner in which some of our drivers, especially those for the mushika-shika vehicles drive, but they are not alone, there are many of them.

If you would agree with me that the police tried to tame the traffic jungle.  I want to go back to the Commissioner General of Police, Mr. Mutamba and the Hon. Senator asked why the exercise has stopped. Laws are there to be maintained but even if the laws are there, there are those people who misbehave. However, it is the duty of the police to arrest them. The Hon. Sen. wanted to know what we are going to do.

We are going to install technology as a panacea. Even if we send the police, they would also try as much as possible but a police officer is also a human being and some of them will act contrary to the instructions and receive certain considerations to look the other side, which is what we do not want to see happening. Yes, it does happen but we are going to install technology to ensure that we put this to an end. We were supposed to have done this last year, but this year we are going to put an electronic traffic management system. Last year, we secured a company that wanted to work with us.

 With the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development, Hon. Mhona, we drew water from the same well and we did not have sufficient funding but we then decided to have partners that would want to partner with us since we are open for business.

We found a company in Dubai, that wanted to invest their money so that we could collaborate with them; when we were about to sign the agreement, they became evasive and we had to go back to the drawing board.

This year, I would want to promise this august Senate that we will not get to the end of this year before we install cameras in our major cities such as Harare, Mutare and Bulawayo. Those that are responsible for procuring in our department have gone to tender for that. Once we install these cameras, it means that no police officer can be bribed.

The camera on the machine does not drink tea and does not turn the other side or turn a blind eye. So those that are going to drive, like the mushika shika drivers, are going to be arrested, nabbed by the camera and they are going to be fined instantly because of technology. Should one continue flouting the law, we are in talks with the Ministry of Justice so that if one offends twice or thrice, they can be banned from driving. I would want to promise this august Senate that if we use technology, we will get to the bottom of this and we are not going to get to the end of the year before installing such technology. Thank you Hon. President of Senate.

*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: My supplementary question is that if good things are done, people are going to vandalise these cameras.   Are there any measures to ensure that these cameras are not going to be vandalised…?

Hon. Senators having stood up.

THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE (HON. A. DUBE): I had given the floor to Hon. Sen. Tongogara. You have a valid point but you do not just rise. You can proceed Hon. Tongogara.

*HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you, Madam President.  I have asked this question because vandalism is rife in this country. The example that I can give is Harare, the streetlights were installed; people were happy but everything has now been vandalised. We now move into the dark city. What measures are there to protect these cameras so that they would not be vandalised and be removed from the road? I thank you.

HON. KAZEMBE: Thank you, Madam President of the Senate. Let me thank Hon. Sen. Tongogara for the supplementary question, which is pertinent. Yes, indeed, she is telling the truth. We do have people who are naughty and who misbehave, who break the law. We have three measures in place now. We are busy crafting a law with the Ministry of Justice that gives a stiff penalty. We will incarcerate these offenders, have long jail sentences as a measure of deterrence. So, these cameras are vandal-proof, if you hit them, they will not be destroyed. You have to use a bomb to dismantle it. Thirdly, the design or the layout of the cameras is done in such a way that the guard will guard the other guard.

If you put in cameras and you have the know-how, you cannot reach another camera before you get to the other camera. So, they will be overlapped when they are designed. If you beat those three systems, then you will be an exception to the rule but we are able to safeguard our cameras. The issue that we are talking about, we tried it, we had cameras installed in 2022 and they are in place. They are arresting people. We wanted to have a pilot, a proof of concept project. They are still there.

Many people are not vandalising them because they do not know them. Maybe if they become too many, that is when they will start vandalising. Those that might have attempted to vandalise it might have failed. I am thinking of the three methods to protect these cameras from vandalism. I thank you.

HON. SEN. MUNZVERENGWI: Thank you, Madam President. My question is directed to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. I am talking about the schools in the communal lands. We have areas where children are still learning from pole and dagga rooms. We also have a problem with the teachers who come to such areas. They spend six months at most and they are transferred. All I am saying to the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education is, what measures are you putting in place to ensure that schools in the outlying areas, like the border areas, are improved? We have a lot of schools in towns, that have improved but in the rural areas, they are still so backward. I thank you.

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR NATIONAL SECURITY (HON. SEN. MATUKE): Thank you Madam President. I would want to thank the Hon. Member for the question on the schools that we have in the rural areas which are poorly constructed. Also, the teachers do not stay for long in those places. Hence, they always flock to urban schools. She gave an example of schools that are in the border areas.

It is Government's intention to ensure that state of the art schools are built as those we have in the urban areas. We all know that when we embarked on the Land Reform Programme, too many schools came into being. A lot of people were moved from their communal lands into these new resettlement areas, which caused the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to contend with a number of schools that were there.  Let me inform the Hon. Member that a school is constructed either by the people and the Government together.  It may be a matter of funding, which would not have been sufficient to cover the education sector but it is the Government's intention to ensure that in all areas that she has mentioned, schools are constructed and that they are of the right standard.

The other reason why teachers were not willing to stay long in these schools was lack of energy and lack of internet connectivity. The Government is also looking into that, through the Presidential Solar Scheme. The Government has put in place measures to ensure that every school and every house at a school has energy so that teachers in the urban and teachers in the communal areas have the same standard of living. Boreholes are being drilled in all schools and solar installation is also going to be done. This is going to help us to ensure that there will be better schools in communal lands. I thank you.

HON. SEN. S MOYO: What is the policy of the Government, for the parents that are not paying a school fees?

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR NATIONAL SECURITY (HON. SEN. MATUKE): Madam President, I thought it is a new question, but however I can attempt to answer the question. It is Government policy that no kid will be sent away because of non-payment of school fees. If schools want to collect the fees, they should  pursue the fees through the parent or the guardian.

*HON. SEN. MUZODA: Madam President, my question is directed to the Minister of Health and Child Care. I want to ask the Hon. Minister if we had partners who used to fund our programmes in the health sector through the provision of medication.  We heard that after the Executive Order that was passed by the Trump administration, that aid was no longer coming. My question is we have people who were benefiting from ARVs.  So, we want to know from the Minister what interventions the Government has in place because we were getting this support by adding on to our resources.  So, the question is now that we are standing alone, what is the Government doing so that people will not suffer and so that people will not die of HIV? I thank you.

*THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE (HON. PROF. MURWIRA):  Thank you Madam President.  I stood up because this question is a question that has a lot to do with our foreign policy.

The first thing that I want to say is that every country is sovereign.  We come together under the United Nations.  The United Nations is what unites us and it speaks to what happens in different countries globally but when there is a country that has sovereign decisions, then that particular country should have its resolutions respected and honoured.  Zimbabwe can decide to fund country X every year and having done that, Zimbabwe has the democratic right to withdraw aid and the beneficiary cannot say why you are taking away such aid.  So, every country has a sovereign decision as a country – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.] -

*HON. SEN. MUZODA:  On a point of order Madam President. I asked on the issue of tablets.  When are tablets going to be availed?  So, the question is when are these tablets going to be availed?  Are the tablets available now Madam President? – [HON. MEMBERS:  Inaudible interjections.] -

THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE:  Order, Hon. Senator!  I am the Chair.  Can you please leave the Hon. Minister?  He knows what he is doing.

HON. SEN. MUZODA:  Sorry Madam President, I asked the Minister of Health...

THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE:  Can you kindly take your seat?

HON. PROF. MURWIRA:  Thank you, Madam President. I wanted us to have the same understanding.  I wanted to clarify the point of sovereignty that each and every country has its own sovereignty including these countries which fund other sovereign countries if they are not doing it under the auspices of the United Nations.  So, every country can come up with laws to that effect.   When they cannot give us that aid, we cannot complain that they are not able to provide aid.

We have through this august House, through this Parliament, laws which empower us to budget for that particular Ministry so that our people are catered for.  That is why I responded by saying that this is an issue that has something to do with foreign policy and the Minister of Health and Child Care tells us that we have medicines here in Zimbabwe.  The moment we talk about other countries, then...

HON. SEN. S. MOYO:  Point of order Madam President.

THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE:  Let him finish then you can ask him.

HON. SEN. S. MOYO:  Point of order Madam President.

THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE:  No point of order, sit down.  I cannot give you the point of order.

*HON. PROF. MURWIRA:  Thank you Madam President.  We have collective decision-making which is constitutional.  This question speaks about another country which funds another country.  This means it has a foreign affairs component and the foreign affairs component says that every country has its sovereignty.  As a country, we are very proud and we have got a national Aids Levy that we use as a way of collecting money.  If there is anyone who has decided to come and fund us, then we appreciate but if they say that they cannot continue, then it is okay.

We have our independence, we have our sovereignty and we have the HIV/AIDS levy.  The Minister is not here, we do not talk about foreign funding but we have our own funding.  I thank you.

THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE:  Hon. Minister, if you want to respond, I can see you are standing.

THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. DR. MOMBESHORA):  Thank you Madam Speaker.  Thank you for that question. The question talks about what plans we have in place so that we have enough medication. 

Let me start by saying that we buy a six-month’s supply. The first six months up to June have enough supply of medicines, enough supply of tablets, last week after buying the second batch which will cover another three months from the end of June to the end of September. We are using money raised locally.  We have the National AIDS Trust Fund which receives contributions from every employed person which is coming from taxes, the AIDS levy that is taxed.  So, I instructed the responsible department not to buy anything else but to prioritise ARVs, TB and malaria medication so that we have enough medication here in Zimbabwe. 

We understand that there were a lot of people who are panicking, some who were skipping taking their medication thinking that there would be a shortage but let me assure you that we have enough ARVs.  Then also we are engaging the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion.  We believe that we are going to get more money for that so that we have enough medication.  The HIV/AIDS disease is quite a priority and we know that.  We will not have a shortage of medication.  If there are people who are taking medication, may they continue taking that medication religiously as prescribed by the doctors?  I thank you.

WRITTEN SUBMISSION TO QUESTION WITH NOTICE

POSITION ON CHOLERA EPIDEMIC

1. HON. SEN. ADV. PHULU asked the Minister of Health and Child Care to appraise the House on the Government position regarding the end of the 18-month cholera outbreak that has been reported in the Kariba District and if the Ministry could explain where lapses may have occurred given the previous cholera epidemic devastation on the population.

THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (HON. DR. MOMBESHORA):  As we respond to cholera outbreaks, we do the following;

1. Capacity building has been conducted for healthcare workers to respond to MPox including testing and response. There is however need to continue with training for more healthcare workers and community.
2. Cholera Response and Operational Plan 2023-2025 is in place and has itemised activities with a budget of 22 million USD.
3. Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) training is ongoing. The country needs to train all national, provincial district and health facility staff to enable rapid response teams to respond to emergencies.
4. The Emergency Preparedness and Response Technical Working Group has been meeting to discuss emergencies.

Success of the Cholera Outbreak Response

         Zimbabwe just came out of the 18-month long cholera outbreak that affected all the country’s 12 provinces and affected all the districts in the country.  In 2023 the country reported 14 517 suspected cholera cases, 1 735 confirmed cases and 253 deaths while 20 154 suspected cases 2 449 and 379 deaths were reported in 2024.  The case fatality was 2.2% and 1.9% respectively.  WHO recommends a case fatality of less than 1%?

         During these 18 months of the cholera outbreak in 2023/2024 the provinces that recorded the most cases were Harare Metropolitan 10 356, Manicaland 6 666, Mashonaland Central 4 384, Mashonaland West 3 773 and Masvingo 3 492.  The case fatality rate for Harare Province was 0.53% meaning that of the 10 356 people who had cholera in Harare Province 55 succumbed to the disease. Likewise, 133 of the 6 666 cases in Manicaland died of cholera with a case fatality ratio of 1.9%.

         The successes and achievements in 2023-24 cholera control included;

• The identification of each one of the drivers of cholera in our coordinated response and made sure that it was using the whole of Government approach where the cholera outbreak was discussed as the first item in the weekly Cabinet meetings. Political commitment is very important and recommendations from Cabinet meetings were always relayed to the public through radio and televised feedback every Tuesday post Cabinet briefings.
• I appointed a cholera Incident Manager (IM) who reported directly to the Minister of Health and Child Care so that cholera outbreak was better coordinated.
• We helped drill boreholes in the affected areas in Buhera District where the absence of safe water was a concern.
• An Inter-Ministerial Committee to help in restoring sanity in the streets of Harare was formed. Through this Committee, Operation Chenesa Harare or Clean-up Harare was initiated to rid Harare of the garbage that was pilling up in the streets and moving street vendors to designated vending areas.  With such initiatives, we saw cholera cases going down in cleaned-up areas.
• To mitigate against cholera, the Ministry also advocated for the increase in potable-piped water provision at the household level daily, having an uninterrupted supply of water in the capital and other cities.
• Using the Whole of Government Approach and engaging other Ministries, electricity lines and water reticulation systems were repaired so that safe water reached the affected suburbs.
• We had to make sure that our cholera operational plan budgetary allocation to fight cholera was released. In that regard, USD 12 000 000 was disbursed towards cholera response to cater for medical and laboratory supplies, food for patients, allowances for healthcare workers, training and fuel for Rapid Response Teams.
• The Minister of Health and Child Care and his team had several visits to cholera affected areas including Chiadzwa, Marange, Buhera and other meetings with affected community leadership including the religious sect leaders.
• Visits to the Paddock suburbs, visits to Buhera, visits to Marange, visits to Chiadzwa, visits mining areas, actively engaging with all of them.
• Oral cholera vaccination (OCV) was a turning point for our response as the International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision availed 2.5 million vaccines for the hot spots.
• The support from African CDC in training and deploying community health workers, WHO, UNICEF, MSF, Zimbabwe RED Cross Society and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), WVI and others assisted in the cholera response.
• We continue to engage with traditional leaders, religious leaders from various church denominations, community leaders in the affected areas for them to play a role in cholera prevention and control initiatives
• The Ministry of Health and Child Care is working with the Ministry of Information Publicity and Broadcasting Services to engage the media including local community radios in the dissemination of health education messages to the populace
• The issue of Risk Factors for cholera transmission is always with us. Cholera in Zimbabwe is not a product of the Ministry of Health and Child Care, we do institute the response and put in place mitigation measures. The risk factors for cholera are elsewhere and these include the following:
• The absence of adequate sate water, erratic water supplies, consumption of contaminated water from unprotected water sources.
• Uncollected refuse, poor sanitation.
• Open defecation, poor waste management and poor hand hygiene practices.
• Dilapidated sewerage systems.
• Improper handling, preparation and/or transportation of an infected corpse.
• Consumption of contaminated food and/or water at gatherings (including funerals).
• Cultural practices at gatherings (shaking hands at funerals).
• Overcrowding compounded by poor hygienic practices.

Dysfunctional and unplanned peri-urban settlements.

Wide spread food vending under unhygienic conditions exacerbates the situation.

Religious practices (such as objectors to seeking care at health facilities).  Cultural practices like hand shaking and sharing food at funerals.

The resurgence of new cholera cases in Gache Gache area of Kariba District in September 2024 is a result of the persistence of these risk factors. I am glad to report that the Kariba cholera outbreak which had 128 suspected cholera cases and one (1) death has since been declared over after the district went for 28 days without reporting a single case.  The outbreak was linked to drinking contaminated water and poor hygiene.

         The Ministry responded by setting up of cholera treatment camps, health education, distribution of aqua tablets and water purification chemicals as well as vaccinating the entire population in the affected area numbering 2 608.

         The current cholera outbreaks being reported in other districts in Mashonaland Central specifically from Glendale, Shamva, Bindura, Mt Darwin and from Mashonaland East in UMP are linked to artisanal mining being practised in these areas as that population is highly mobile and difficult to access with our interventions. As they are highly mobile, the disease will spread to our communities where there are settlements without proper sanitation facilities.

         The total number of suspected and confirmed cholera cases reported in Zimbabwe as of 2 April, 2025 are 706, and 19 deaths. Mashonaland Central has reported the highest number of cases at 405. Most of them were from Glendale area, followed by Mashonaland West 132 (all in Kariba Gache Gache Area), Mashonaland East 115 cases from UMP and Wedza, Masvingo 29 and Beitbridge 12 cases.

There are sporadic cases being suspected from other districts. To date 21 districts have reported at least a case including the spots I have mentioned above. During the 7-day period 18 March to 24 March, 2025, there were 38 new suspected cholera reported new suspected cases in the last 7 days are Mashonaland Central (19) and Mashonaland East (9), Midlands (8) and Matabeleland South (2). The districts that reported cases were Bindura (4), Mazowe (2), Mt Darwin (4), Shamva (3) UMP (9), Rushinga (6), Chirumhanzu (8) and Beitbridge (2). Cholera has been reported in provinces and 21 districts reported cases.

In the last 72 hours (three days only), one case was reported from UMP showing that cases are on the decline.

My teams are on the ground responding to the threats using our traditional methods of health education, enhanced hygiene, setting up of treatment camps and coordinating the response.

I thank you.

Questions With Notice were interrupted by THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF SENATE in terms of Standing Order No. 67.

MOTION

CONDOLENCES ON THE DEATH OF FORMER DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE HON. CHEN. CHENHAMO CHAKEZHA CHIMUTENGWENDE

         First Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on the sudden death of the former Deputy President of the Hon. Senate Chen. Chenhamo Chakezha Chimutengwende

         Question again proposed.

         HON. SEN. GOTORA: Thank you Madam President. Let me firstly thank Hon. Tongogara for the motion that she brought concerning the late Hon. Chimutengwe. He worked for this country, especially in the area of information before we got our independence. Hon. Chimutengwende used to write stories. During the war, we would read about the articles that he used to write. He is a person who fought for this country and it helped in the liberation of the country. Hon. Chimutengwende together with me lived on the same street called Forest Road, in Mount Pleasant. We used to meet and chat.

At first, there were some challenges in Mashonaland Central, of not real tribalism and people not getting along, of people in Mashonaland Central because of leadership struggles. When Hon. Chimutengwende was asked to go to the Central Committee, he refused because he wanted to bring unity to the province. He worked very well to the satisfaction of everyone. He was not afraid. He united people in Mashonaland Central province. When he was now a Minister in the Government, I worked with him when he was the Minister of Environment, Tourism and Wildlife. He is one of the Ministers whom we worked with, who promoted the CAMPFIRE programme after taking over from the late Hon.  S. K. Moyo. He really helped in the establishment of the programme.

In 1997, when CITES came to Zimbabwe, Hon. Chimutengwende worked very hard to unite the whole of Saharan Africa so that we speak with one voice. That is when we went to the CITES, there would be no divisions between the North, East, West and the South, so that we would agree on the mandate of CITES. Hon. Chimutengwende worked very hard sending delegates to West Africa, East Africa and some went to West Africa. They were now able to speak French and those in East Africa speak English and there was no problem. All those regions were united, including the communities in West Africa. They visited in 1997 to help us downlist the elephants.

The communities of East Africa also came so that we would fight the downlisting of delisted animals, which were on the list of  CITES. The truth is that we succeeded because of the efforts of Hon. Chimutengwende to unite these regions in Africa, which normally fight each other in the CITES because people want to know what to do, so that we can sell the horns of elephants. We managed to bring those regions together. We could talk and talk and bend the ivory because we would not have any place to keep the ivory. The solution is in us uniting so that we fight.

So, I say Hon. Chimutengwende, rest in peace because you worked very hard and brought results which are clear. Hon. Chimutengwende united Mashonaland Central and broadcasted information on the struggle. He also worked in the downlisting of ivory elephants in all regions, the whole of Africa, working together. I want to thank you, Madam President.

HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: I move that the debate be now adjourned.

HON. SEN. S. MOYO: I second

Motion put and agreed to

Debate to resume: Tuesday, 8^th May, 2025.

On the motion of HON. SEN. GOTORA, seconded by HON. SEN. NCUBE, the Senate adjourned at Eighteen Minutes past Four o`clock p.m. until Tuesday, 8^th April, 2025.